The Saturday 7

1. We did better on our advent activities this week. On Sunday, we got our Christmas tree. It's our best tree ever and I love it. The girls love it too. This is their new breakfast spot:

On Monday, I took them each to Family Dollar separately so they could choose a gift for each other. Lena spent $6 on Lucy. Lucy spent $12.50 on Lena. Haha. Fortunately, they're too young to understand or care.

Tuesday was supposed to be cinnamon ornament day, but we didn't have any applesauce and I did not want to drive all the way to Meijer to get some, so we skipped it.

On Wednesday, we went back to Family Dollar and I let the girls pick out a couple toys for Toys for Tots. And on Thursday, we made these adorable minion ornaments:

I found a picture on Pinterest, but it didn't give any instructions, so we winged it. I got some clear glass ornaments and we filled them liberally with yellow paint, then swirled it all around until they were well coated. Originally, I taped off a line for the girls to paint the outside of the ornament black. But when we peeled off the tape the next day, most of the paint peeled off with it. So we went over the line with black Sharpie. That worked much better, and we should've just done that to begin with. Then we hot glued on eyes and drew smiles/hair/beards with Sharpie. The girls loved it.

2. Our Friday activity was Lucy's school Christmas program. The Pre-K and Kindergarten classes sang 5ish songs together before the elementary program. It was sheer chaos in the gym with a million and a half grandparents, aunts and uncles, long-lost cousins, and friends. We ended up sitting in the very back row because it was so packed. But we could see her pretty well. She was adorable as usual. I couldn't get any pictures from the nosebleed section, but she and Lena looked pretty cute before the performance:

This was after I attempted to curl her hair. I'm not sure if her hair doesn't hold curl well or if I'm just that bad of a stylist . . .

3. And today's activity, was our annual "Happy Birthday Jesus" party! I think this was our 5th one! I love this tradition, and even though it was hard on me physically this year to clean and decorate the house and make the food, I wouldn't dream of skipping it! And don't let me fool you into thinking I do anything elaborate. I hung like 4 streamers and 10 balloons, made overnight French toast, egg casserole, and set out a bowl of grapes. Haha. The older kids played "Happy Birthday Jesus" BINGO while I read the Christmas story. And I got a couple crafts from Oriental Trading that ended up being way too complicated. (This one - which the moms did, and this one - which a few of the kids attempted with a lot of assistance.) But the kids had a blast stuffing their faces with cupcakes and running around playing together. And we moms always enjoy the excuse to get together and drink coffee and chat. I didn't take a single picture, though. #slacker

4. As mentioned above, my pregnancy pain really hit full force this week. It's gotten to the point that I've started planning my days based on "sitting projects" and "standing projects" - making sure to alternate them so I don't end up in agony. I've determined that I can bear to stand for about 15 minute increments before it starts to get unbearable. It's going to be a loooooong 13 weeks . . .

5. I'm almost totally done with my Christmas shopping. But the problem with getting done early is that I keep finding more deals and thinking, "Oh, Lucy would love that!" or "That would be perfect for Lena!" even though I've already gone over-budget for both of them. I've been working on telling myself, "no." Haha. The one thing that was on both of their lists that I haven't been able to find, though, is fake make-up. I thought that'd be something easy I could pick up from any dollar store, but I haven't found it anywhere - Target, Kohl's, dollar stores, Wal-Mart, 5 Below. I've seen lots of kids' make-up, but nothing that is fake. Keep your eyes open for me. (And as much as I love Pinterest, I really don't want to pour nail polish into empty eye shadow compacts. I just want to buy it. #notDutchenough)

6. I saw this picture on Pinterest this week and had to laugh:

I've had a few people ask me recently if we're decorating a nursery for this baby. The answer is a big fat no. We live with my parents and are fortunate to have 3 bedrooms for our use. Right now, we're downstairs and the girls each have their own room upstairs. When the baby is born, he will sleep in our room until he's consistently sleeping through the night (which, if he's anything like his sisters won't be until I force him to cry it out around a year). Then we will see which one of his sisters his sleep schedule most aligns with. Lucy is a night owl. She would gladly stay up until 10:00 every night, and sometimes is awake in her room until then. Lena falls asleep seconds after I put her in bed, but is awake between 6:30 and 7 am every day. (Whereas Lucy would sleep until 9 every day if she could.) So we'll see how this baby is. (I'm rooting for night owl . . . and praying Lena grows out of the ridiculous early bird phase. Haha.)

7. And now, for our week in pictures:

Lucy wanted to pose with the minions. I'm not sure what that face is about, but it sure highlights her unibrow!

What I've resorted to in order to do housework.

What happens when I put wet hair in a top knot and don't take it out for two days . . .

And one video of my precious Lena . . .

(Her Christmas outfit is a touch too small. [Ahem - 18 months] That's what happens when matching outfits come in at Once Upon a Child. We snatch them up even if they're not quite the right size. Haha.)