A Wolny Cousin Christmas Eve

It was a Wolny Christmas Eve at our house! We had a miniature traditional Polish Christmas Eve with perogies and fish and church after dinner. Ciocia Lily and Joe were in town as well and joined us for dinner and church. And it wouldn't be Christmas without the traditional impossible picture of all four kids...My kids really are good at taking some winning photos.

I would like to say that all four were perfect at church! We got the last group of seats, in the very last row, in the narthax (which was perfect) and although I came well armed with activities and distractions, they weren't really necessary. After saying Happy Birthday to Jesus, everyone came home and went straight to bed/sleep! That's what I call a successful Christmas Eve!

How Mommies Survive Christmas

First some Zumba and then some Amarula! Mmmmm, mmmm! 

It was a rough week...

Gingerbread Messes - I Mean Houses

So, George got brave, and decided to bring 3 gingerbread houses for the kids the week before Christmas. He was smart enough to assemble them so that the kids could get straight to decorating with no waiting required in the morning. (I believe George's helper may have had some issue with the first house assembly, but was a pro by #3!) 

He even labeled them with names written in chocolate chips. However, when I got to the table in the morning, after Ben and Nick had been there for a few minutes, the names were gone. Hmmm...

Let the sugar consumption begin! I just sat back and let them do their thing. I showed Nick a few things and then stepped away. It was best for everyone. 

Caught in the act!! Candy thief! 

The final product:

Ben (he did pretty good - he was his own architect for his design)

Eva (actually Andrea with the candy that Eva didn't eat before she could frost it to the house)

Nick (he took the longest working on his and enjoyed it)

George's present did its job and bought me an hour of activity for all three kids! 

A Nice, Peaceful Visit to the Library

Next up on the field trip list - Library! Elaina was sleeping, so I took the older three to the P'burg library for a little play time. The library is still under some construction, but the kids' area was more or less put together. The kids were very well behaved and everyone's listening ears were working! They picked out books and a ton of movies (which they only watched 2, repeatedly). 

Imagination Station - Wonly/Lewalk Style

Due to a series of events, we ended up in Perrysburg for Christmas this year along with the Lewalk's and Grandma at our house. With 4 kids under the age of 5, Kevin and I had to find some extra curricular activities for the bunch. First up - Imagination Station. Perfect! Elaina loved the infant room and all the textures. The older 3 bounced around from the hospital room, grocery store, fire house and water tables. Nick and Eva decided to build a tower taller than them, and they actually accomplished it. The kids also went through the new dinosaur exhibit, but I had forgotten my big camera, so no pictures in this post (but some coming in January)

Melting Snowmen Cookies

In keeping with my holiday snowman baking creations, I made melting snowmen cookies for Ben's Christmas class party. The boys helped make the cut outs, but based on tight schedules (and scarce quantity of marshmallows) I assembled and decorated after they had gone to bed. At the party, the kids all sat very quietly and ate their cookies - kind of shocking. Ben's teacher was amazed at how quiet they were, but they were also EXHAUSTED (and a little bit sick).

Olaf Cake!

My Olaf cake creation! I made it for a work friend's birthday. She loves snowman, and everyone knows Olaf is the rockstar of snowmen! It was quite the undertaking and turned out decent, but I feel like if I did another one, it could be way better!