Bloody Sunday

I love Sundays, but I hope I don't have another one like this again any time soon.  Church went fine until the last half-hour, when the nursery people brought Matthew to me.  He had put up with not having "Momma Harris" and Katie there for long enough, and finally had a meltdown.  He was done with nursery for the day.

We then went home, to Grandma's house for dinner, then back to church for tithing settlement.  Joey's tooth was hanging by a thread, so thankfully Brother Draayer (a dentist) pulled it out for us.  It bled for a little bit, but stopped very quickly.  Unfortunately, that was not the end for us.  Joey and Matthew went into the coat closet to see Matt's shoes light up.  Then Matt shut the door (which I told him not to do), and kept the lights off.  I heard a bang a few moments later, but thought they were just kicking the wall.  I went in there to tell them to get out, and Matt was standing there by a chair, covered -- and I mean COVERED -- in blood.  So was the chair.  He was just wiping it off as it soaked his entire face.  But he wasn't crying.  He didn't even look bothered at all.  He was just mad that I grabbed him and marched him to the bathroom.  He wanted me to quit touching him, but that thing would not stop gushing.  I had to have Haley come in and help clean up the sink (which turned from solid white to solid red) while I tried to stop the bleeding.  I completely soaked half a roll of toilet paper, plus some napkins.  We grabbed a bunch of toilet paper, and went back out into the foyer, where our dentist (Dr. Haslam -- yes, we have lots of dentists in our ward) was waiting.  He helped us get the bleeding under control, and just before his nose finally stopped bleeding, a gigantic blood clot came out.  It was like nothing I've ever seen before.

I don't think Matt has as many pain sensors as a normal human.  He NEVER cries when he gets hurt, unless he whines because he thinks someone did something mean.  I have a feeling we're going to be known at the ER very well.

Christmas Break Volume 2

Christmas was a success!  We prepared by bathing the children.  They were stinky.  First was this little character.  I just had to get a picture of him while he patiently waited to be dressed.  I love my little kids fresh out of the bath, covered in a towel!

On Christmas Eve, we had my parents and brother over for dinner.  We did this because Grandma Jane's gift for the boys was huge, and couldn't be wrapped.  We deliberated on how to give it to them, and decided to bring it over to our house, lock them in their rooms while it was brought in and assembled (thank you, Eric -- we had no idea how to do that), and then bring them down to see what it was.  They had been discussing the possibilities.  All they knew was that it was big and expensive.  They thought it might be a big wheels, gaming system, a club house, or a horse.  They were wrong, and Joey was not exceptionally excited for what it really was.  But by the end of the night, we couldn't keep him off of them.  It was a full, real drum set!  I was having some second thoughts about it (and still am), but we'll see how it goes.  They start lessons on Tuesday, and I think it will be more fun once they know how to play them.  But they've got some good practice in already.  So has Matt and Grace.

Other gifts received were Lego Indiana Jones 2 for the Wii (from Uncle Eric -- they've been asking for that one for a long time), a Hannah Montana guitar that plugs into the TV, puzzles and ABC laptops, and boots and a REAL laptop for Haley.

Later that night, we went on our traditional city tour of Christmas lights.  We were so happy to catch Santa taking a break in one of his favorite neighborhoods.  He came to the window, talked to the kids, and gave everybody a candy cane.  That's my very favorite part of Christmas Eve.  The kids were begging to go to bed at 7:30, thanks to Ben's ingenious idea of waking them up very early for a breakfast out and shopping.  It works every time.

Early the next morning, we were lucky enough to capture Santa's bounteous gifts he left before the kids got downstairs.  Haley got an official Time Bandit sweatshirt and cap, Andrew got a guitar, Grace and Joey got ukuleles, and Matthew got his garbage truck (complete with the most important part -- a garbage can that can be dumped).

The rest of the presents were awesome, too.  The kids played all morning with each other, and they're still going strong.  Some of the more popular gifts were lego Star Wars things, Zoobles and a house for them, pajamas, and light sabers.

I finally had time to take a shower before we went over to the Manley's for lunch.  As I was getting myself ready, I could feel the floor vibrating, and hear the drums being lovingly used.  I figured it must be the boys, but I went to the kitchen and saw them playing in there.  So I went downstairs to investigate, and found these two having a jam session.  Matthew was playing the symbols with his foot while singing the ABC's, and Grace was busy keeping the beat.  Classic.

Christmas Break Volume 1

We've been busy during this Christmas Break.  With Grace home from school, I've been trying to come up with enriching activities for her.  So far, we've made foam Gingerbread men, styrophoam ball bugs, and she's been busy practicing her gift wrapping.  She just takes whatever she can find and wraps it up!  On Christmas morning, I have a feeling we'll have a few surprises.  She tried to wrap up a pile of ripped up paper the other day.  I told her that probably wouldn't work -- that she'd have to find something hard and solid to wrap.  She has.

Matthew has been in fine form.  He has broken several of our creations, keeps feeding the dog balogna, keeps stealing flashlights because it's funny when the dog runs around trying to bite the light, and I've had to glue one of our Nativity Scene Joseph's head back on three times.

Grace and Joey are busy teaching each other about money.  Their conversations have been pretty cute.  They frequently exclaim "Whoa!" when they find a particularly neat one.

I ate lunch with Joey today at school for the first time this year.  Eric came along, and so did Grace and Matt.  It was very interesting to see Joey in his element.  Ben said that he's like the Godfather around there.  Everybody knows where Joey is, what he's doing, where he's going, and makes sure he approves of everything they do.  We got there a little early, and Joey wanted to introduce Eric to his class.  Everybody stopped to listen and give Joey their undivided attention (something I thought I'd never see in a Kindergarten classroom).  Joey said, "This is my uncle Eric.  He lives in New York.  And when he got there, he got sick and went to the hospital.  He was there for a long time."  Eric was very pleased with Joey's unique introduction of him.  Then, Joey lead us down to the lunch room before the rest of his class.  We all sat down, and the lunch ladies kept coming over to see how Joey was doing.  It was obvious that they converse with him on a regular basis, as they came and talked to him about their little "inside stories".  Then, as his class began to file in, the other kids started taking their seats.  But nobody would sit right next to Joey, and we heard a few comments among them about how that is Brekklyn's chair.  A few other little kids came by and longingly looked at the chair as if they wanted to sit there, but nobody dared.  Well, turns out Brekklyn sat at a whole other table (which doesn't happen very often, of course).  But it wasn't until a lunch lady finally gave some poor soul permission, that another kid finally took the royal seat next to Joey.  Very interesting lunch.  We learned a lot.  Eric was confused as to what was happening the whole time.  He's glad he's not in elementary school anymore -- too stressful for him.

I've been busy, too -- catching up on housework that I didn't get done last week because I was too busy with church stuff.  Please tell me I'm not the only one who does this:  (and yes, I am glaring at Ben for taking so many pictures of me being "crazy")

Ben took the kids on his annual "Get The Kids Up Early On Christmas Eve So They'll Go To Bed At A Reasonable Hour That Night" 6 AM breakfast/shop for Mom's present day.  They had a blast, and really enjoyed eating breakfast in a restaurant.  They are so excited to be served by somebody besides their mother.  And to think -- other people actually get PAID to do that!

It was such a beautiful day, and we really did want to wear out the kids as much as possible, so we took them to our favorite sledding hill and had a blast.  Matt didn't want to leave, but the others were "starving" after a good half hour of fun, so we headed back home for naps and lunch.

Our Newest Toothless Wonder

Joey has been working on losing a tooth for a few weeks now.  Last Saturday, December 18th, he finally pulled it out!  It kind of surprised him, I hear.  Ben and I were at the church decorating for the ward Christmas party, and the kids called us to tell us "the secret".  They were very excited, and the tooth fairy left him a dollar, as stated in the contract.  And the new tooth is already growing in!

And here is a photo of our breakfast dance-a-thon.  The kids were nicely eating their sausage and toast, when one of their favorite Christmas songs came on.  They, of course, had to take a short break to boogie down.  Thank you, Harry Connick, Jr.!

Note From Gracie

I just got another note from Gracie:

DEYRMOMILLUVYOOW

"Dear Mom, I love you."

It was complete with a picture of a roller coaster.  I love it!

This Week's Adventures

It's been a lonnnnggggg week.  I've been out of my mind busy with writing, practicing, and performing music.  We still have the Ward Christmas Party tonight (that I'm in charge of - hopefully for the last time:), four musical performances tomorrow, and then I can finally enjoy Christmas.  I'm really looking forward to Monday.  That sounds really crazy.

This week we:

Lost Matthew in a sea of blankets:

Practiced for our music program coming up tomorrow:

Caught Joey snuggling with "Mojo":

Waited patiently for Grace's preschool Christmas program to start:

Enjoyed the singing of Grace's entire preschool class.  My favorite was the "Reindeer Hokey Pokey":

Grace's Note

Grace just typed this note to me:

momdotfgitsomisliprz

"Mom, don't forget to sew my slippers."

4th Annual Kazamoto Christmas

On Saturday, we had our 4th Annual Kazamoto (Kazmierski/Shimamoto) Christmas Party.  Melissa and I came up with the idea four years ago, that we should get our families together for the Christmas season, and teach each other about Christmas in other countries.  Melissa has taught us about Sweden, Switzerland, France, and Holland.  I have taught us about Japan, Germany, Mexico, and Ireland.  It has been so interesting to learn about these countries!  They have some unique traditions, and it is apparent that some of their traditions have become American traditions as well.  I think Melissa and I are the ones who learn the most, but that's okay.  The kids get to be together, and we even have fun treats from the countries we are teaching about.  This year, Melissa made fondue, and I made Irish Snow-Capped Lemon Fairy Cakes.  What a great time we had.  Can't wait until next year!

I think we got most of the gang in this picture - we were just missing Andrew S (he was on the floor), Grace, and Haley (she was taking the picture).

Matt patiently waited to be served.

Ryan and Rachel had fun posing for the camera.

I don't know what was so funny, but I'm sure they do.

Haley and the girls had a great time, of course.  Fondue makes everything fun!

Enjoying our treats and soda.

The devil gummy bear Haley made with her fondue fork.