Is This Normal?
The chaos that is the KerbersArchive for Christmas
Bye bye Christmas!
Well, it’s official…Christmas is over. This is always a bittersweet time for me, as I love the season, but I’m usually very happy to have my house back, too. As I type this, the tree is out at the curb, the decorations are almost all put away (why is it that I always forget one thing and don’t notice it until the boxes are back downstairs in storage?) and the house is close to being back to normal. Close. We just have to find space for about a hundred new toys, games, dolls, and cars. I love the generosity of our families, but man…our house isn’t big enough for all this stuff. I seriously have to find a way to convince everyone that my kids don’t need so much stuff.
I know, I know…good luck with that!!
When Ben got up from his “rest” today (he’s much to big for naps many days now) he asked me where the tree was. I told him it was outside waiting for the garbage man to come take it. He said to me, “but Mommy…the Christmas tree isn’t garbage!” I tried to explain that we were done with it so it kind of was, and when that didn’t work I tried to explain recycling to him. That didn’t work either. I finally just said, “well, that’s where it’s going to be until the workers come to pick it up.” That’s what worked. Basically for Ben, “workers” fix and/or do anything. I don’t know why I can’t learn that the easier the explanation, the better he gets it. He summed it all up when he looked out the window, waved, and said, ”bye bye Christmas tree…see you next year!”
The last Christmas
Last night we had our last Christmas celebration, with Grandma & Grandpa Kerber and Aunt Theresa. The kids were so excited to open gifts again. I swear, they’re going to grow up thinking that Christmas is really a week-long holiday! We had a very nice night, and both kids were very excited about their presents. Emma got a kitchen from Grandma & Grandpa, and she was instantly like a little mother putting stuff away and collecting all the pieces to put them where they belonged. She also really loved a little Fairy cottage that she got from Aunt Theresa. It had lots of “babies” she could put inside and lots of doors and windows to open and close.
Ben loved everything he got, but a few highlights were his helmet and knee pads and his Story Reader from Grandma & Grandpa. You may not think that a helmet and knee pads would be that exciting, but the kid had them all the entire night. Being a little chip off the old block of his dad, he loved the idea of staying safe while riding his scooter outside. The Story Reader is a machine that reads books for you, and gives you a noise to indicate that it’s time to turn the page. It’s much like the old books on tape, but just in digital format. He also got a bunch of books to go with it, and has already listened to most of them at least once. He especially loved Mack truck he got. Mack is the truck who carries McQueen in the Cars movie. You just really can’t top anything Cars with Ben.
It was again a great night. I feel like I’ve been saying that in just about every post I have, but it’s true. We’ve had so much holiday fun this year. And spreading it out has been a nice way to keep us all from being totally overwhelmed with gifts. My kids are so lucky to have so many family members who love them.
The Henrikson Christmas
Yes, we had another get-together today…this time the Henrikson family, my mom’s side…in Leland at my cousin Debbi’s house. The cousins on this side basically grew up together as brothers and sisters, and it’s always great to get together. Tonight there were 32 of us there, and we had a blast.
The “little” kids (11 of them ranging from 20 months – 14 years) had a gift exchange and the “adults” (aged 17 – 70) had a grab bag. We did what is known as a “chili dump” meaning that we each made a small batch of chili, brought it, and we dumped them all together into one big pot. It sounds kind of gross, but it was really great!
One of the highlights of the afternoon and evening was seeing Deb’s youngest son Brady’s new puppy, Holly. Santa brought her for Brady even though this was the first year he didn’t ask for a puppy. She’s a 6 week old miniature shitzu, and she is adorable! Emma was absolutely in love with her, and so was I. I would so love to get a puppy if it didn’t mean sooooo much work and commitment. Dave just kept saying things like, “where would we put her when we go to your folks?” or “who would take it out when it’s 1° at 5:30 in the morning?” I know we’re not at all ready for a puppy, but Ems just adores puppies, so it’s tempting. Plus, Ben would really benefit from getting one, too. He’s very interested, but half scared, of almost every dog we see. If we do take the puppy plunge, it won’t be for a long time.
Anyway, back to our holiday celebration. Even though we were all having a great time at the party, it was a tad bit bittersweet, because it was the last time we’ll see my parents until the end of March at the earliest. They’re leaving tomorrow for Florida. I think that Ben kind of understood it better this year, and he was very sad to say good-bye to them. I’m really hoping that we’ll get down there for Spring Break.
We still have one more Christmas party to go, and it will be another big one. It’s kind of nice to have Christmas last all the way until New Year’s Eve!
The Atherton Christmas
Today we traveled to Earlville to get together with the Atherton side of the family. We used to do this every Christmas Eve at Grandma Jane’s, and it was always a fun party. The highlight was singing Christmas carols with everyone…and the pinnacle was a rendition of “The Twelve Days of Christmas” with everyone taking a different day. As most of us cousins got married and started families, it just got too hard to get everyone together on Christmas Eve. But we still tried to get as many people to Grandma’s as possible. That changed the last few years. Grandma couldn’t really play the host anymore, and even if we all brought everything it just got too difficult for her. Now that she’s living in the nursing home, our celebration was very different, but it was nice. We were at my aunt and uncle’s house, and actually almost everyone who still lives in Illinois was there. It was, though, not at all the same without my Uncle Jim there. Even though no one said it, I know that we were all thinking about the many years of singing while Jim accompanied us on his guitar. It was certainly a little bit bittersweet to all be there without him.
It’s Christmas!
Wow what a day! I can only try to tell you about the wonderful day we all had. Last night, we left milk and cookies out for Santa, and went to bed in great anticipation for Christmas Day. When we woke up this morning, we rushed downstairs to see if Santa came and he did! Ben was very sad that he didn’t get to see Santa’s reindeer last night, but he was very excited to see that Santa ate our cookies and drank the milk. And then we saw all the things that he left for us, we were all very excited!
Once we started opening all the presents that Santa left, the excitement built even more. He brought Ben some new Lightning McQueens (which is what Ben asked him for) and a Batman scooter. He can already ride the scooter around the house, and we can all hardly wait to ride it on the sidewalk when it gets nice outside. Emma got a Moxy Uglydoll and a baby with a stroller, bottles, silverware, and a comb & brush. She was thrilled and wanted to get it out of the box instantly while saying, “baby…baby…baby…” over and over. He also brought some very appropriate stocking stuffers like McQueen underpants for Ben and new silverware for Ems. Both are things we need as we’re just mastering the skills to use these items. And of course, Santa brought us some new books. Always. 
After we opened everything up, we had some really good play time while we waited for family to get here. First to arrive were Grandma, Grandpa, Curtis and Brett. They loved all of our stuff from Santa, too. A little bit later Aunt Nanny, Uncle Rod, and Ryan arrived, and we had some turkey dinner. Dave had roasted the turkey in the rotisserie, and it was awesome, if I do say so myself. It’s really great to have a small group for dinner. It’s still the festive atmosphere without the total chaos. Don’t get me wrong…there was plenty of chaos when presents started, but dinner was relatively calm.
Once Emma woke up from her nap it was time to open presents. Ben the elf 
helped pass everything out and then we tried to open orderly from youngest to oldest. One problem was the youngest wasn’t too interested in her wrapped presents. Ems mainly just wanted to push her baby around in her stroller. Once we did get her attention enough to open her first gift, though, that changed. Dave & I got her a Little People doll house, and she loved it! After that, it was even tougher to get her to focus on a new present. Maybe that should tell us something…like we got her too much?? She also really loved pushing around the grocery cart that Grandma & Grandpa got her. It even had a baby in it just where she rides with Mommy!
Ben had a lot of favorite gifts. Dave and I got him his third Cars case with even more characters from the movie. He loved them, of course, as he loves most anything Cars related. He loved a space guy who rides a motorcycle that Grandma & Grandpa got him, and he was also pretty excited about getting Don’t Break the Ice. But really he loved everything he opened, and played with it all at some point during the day.
It was surprising, yet pleasing for me to see how much the kids played together. There were lots of things that they both loved and it was a glimpse into our future, when they can actually entertain themselves and play with each other. I could see it…that day is coming! All kidding aside, it was really cool to see their bond growing right in front of our eyes.
By far, though, the greatest thing about today was having all of the family together. Well, not all of the family. Of course the Florida Athertons weren’t here, and of course we wish they would have been. But as much as they hate the cold, I don’t really see that happening anytime soon. I can’t even describe how awesome it was to have everyone come to us this year. Sure, it meant a little bit of extra work for us getting ready, but it was nothing compared to driving the 2 hours up and back and spending the night in Sycamore. Sure, we love doing that, but on Christmas, it was soooooo nice to let my kids stay home and just play. I really owe my whole family a great big thank-you for making the drive this time. We got a couple of great family shots. Well, ours is not great, but it’s decent. I’m hoping that Grandma or Aunt Nancy got a better one for me to post, but for now this will have to do.
Overall, we had a wonderful Christmas Day. I hope I always feel this appreciative for everything that I have, because I truly am very happy and extremely blessed.
One Christmas tradition I don’t love…
…is being sick. I am almost always sick at Christmastime, and I know it’s all due to a lack of sleep. This tradition started in college, I think, when I would spend finals week cramming for those silly tests. I’m sure that was because of my incredible dedication as a student and not due to a complete lack of preparation throughout the entire semester. Either way, I inevitably came home with a horrible cold, or the flu, or bronchitis (only one time, but it was memorable). Now, it’s the same old story. I’ve heard “Honey, why are you still up?” from Dave at 11:00 or later more times in the last two weeks than I can count. There are just a million things to do. And while I love all the planning, shopping, baking, wrapping and partying, it’s taken its toll, and again I’m sick. I have that deep barking cough that I just can’t shake, and my voice sounds like Kim Carnes after a concert. It could be worse, I know, and I’m really trying not to complain. I finally got some Nyquil last night, so I had a great night sleep, and there really isn’t much to do today, so I’m taking it easy. I can’t wait for tomorrow!
I hope Santa brings you all what you’re hoping for the mostest!!
The most surreal shopping experience ever
Yesterday Dave and I dropped the kids off at Aunt Theresa’s so we could completely finish our shopping. We just had a few things to get, but most of those things were at different places and we knew that we’d be running around most of the afternoon. Although it was a little bit of a madhouse at most stores, the shopping went great. You know those days when things just fall into place and you’re finding everything you want even cheaper than you expected? Well, it was one of those days. Then we went to Toys ‘R Us.
We just needed one more thing for each of the kids from Grandma and Grandpa Kerber. They give us an amount to spend, and we do their shopping, too. We actually had several ideas for Ben, and at one point we even had two different things in the cart while we were still deciding. We finally made a decision and were really excited about what we picked. I think he’ll love it. So then we were looking at things for Emma, when I looked down and there it was sitting on the shelf…the Bounce Back Racer. Now, let me first give you some background on this thing…I had first seen it on Jon & Kate Plus Eight earlier in the fall. Their kids were playing with them (in a shameless product promotion) and I thought Ben would love it. Well, apparently every other parent of a toddler thought the same thing, because they became impossible to find. No stores have them, even though they’ve been in the ads a lot. Amazon has them…for sixty bucks! Ebay has them…but most of them are going for at least that, too…often times more. I’m not sure that they have reached the status of the Cabbage Patch Kids from the 80’s, but they are obviously in high demand.
So, back to the story. I look down and there is one on the shelf. I grab it and say, “Oh my goodness, Honey, LOOK!” I really couldn’t believe it was in my hands. Brand new…$34.99. At that same time, a Toys R Us employee and a man walk up behind us and I hear the clerk say, “Oh, they just got it. Well, maybe they’ll decide against it.” Dave and I are kind of looking at it and at each other not really knowing what to do. The clerk askes me if he can scan the shelf marker and says, “Yep, that is our only one. That’s actually probably the only one in Bloomington/Normal.” He gives me a little smile and leaves, but the man who wants it kind of hovers around us, not pressuring, but definitely waiting to see what we’ll do. We talk about it a little bit, trying to figure out which gift we’d already gotten for Ben we’d replace with this. I knew I didn’t want to add another gift. Not only did we have plenty bought already, but then it would mean we’d have to get another for Emma, as well. It just wasn’t neccessary.
I himmed and hawed a bit more, and Dave said, “You have to decide. You were more excited about this thing than I was in the first place.”
So, I turned around to the man and said, “Sir, you can have this…we’ve decided against it.”
“Really?” He said, Are you sure?”
“Yes”, I said. “We are supposed to be done, so we’re going to stick that.”
“Thank you!” He exclaimed. “Happy holidays to you!!” And he walked away with a big smile on his face.
That’s when I thought, “I have made a big mistake!”
It was the Bounce Back Racer…the one thing I had been looking for all season! How could I just give it to this man who had no more right to it than we did! I ultimately do know it was the right thing to do. We had something in our cart that we know Ben will love. We were done shopping for him. There is certainly no reason we needed one more gift. But man. It was just one of those snap decisions that I think I will always question. I know I made that man’s night…if not his holiday season! I mean, who knows…that could have been the one toy that his son has asked Santa for. I guess I’ll just keep telling myself that some family here in town will be very grateful to me for a long time to come.
Ice, ice, baby
Today, which was supposed to be the last day of finals and the last day of school before Christmas break, has become a snow day. Well, to be more correct, it’s an ice day. We got about ½ – ¾” of ice covering everything last night.
Since it’s hovering right around the freezing mark, I don’t think it will be going away anytime soon. It is, however, melting enough to have huge chunks falling from our roof sporatically. Scary!
I don’t think anyone wanted a snow day today, as now we have to come back to a day of final exams before we start the new semester. But it is nice to have our break start a day early. The Normal Community HS ‘Festivus with the Rest of us’ (our annual holiday party) is scheduled for tonight, too. But that is still on…we Ironmen are not going to let a little ice keep us from partying!
Cookies!
Well, the Christmas traditions just keep on coming. Last night Ben and I made cut-out cookies, and tonight we frosted and decorated them. It was a mess, but we sure had fun! Poor Ems wanted to be with us in the mix so badly, but I have to say that she was just not much help! We did try to include her a little bit, though. How could we not let her help…it’s Christmas!
Overall, we had a great time and the results were some good lookin’ cookies sure to be enjoyed by many very soon! Don’t you hope you’re one of the lucky ones?
More Christmas fun
Last Friday, Ben spent the day with Grandma Kerber instead of going to Danielle’s. As if spending the day out at the farm wasn’t e
nough of a treat for him, Grandma had gotten a gingerbread house kit and planned on putting it together that day. As you can see, it turned out fantastic, and I think they both had a great time decorating the house. I’m not sure which one of them had more fun! Ben was very proud of the house when he and Daddy brought it home that night. It’s still sitting in the center of our table, and I’m sure it will be there long after Christmas. I have a feeling this may be something that Grandma will be stuck doing every year!!
