The 12 Tantrums of Christmas

Christmas was here! And now it is gone! And the Lord said, 'It is good.' While I really did enjoy all the festivities, I am glad the hap hap happiest time of the year is behind us. Christmas with three-year-olds is exciting, embarrassing, exhausting and egg casserole. I give you- The 2014 VanDernoot Christmas Spectacular!

Let's start with one of my favorite pictures of the holidays- I was frantically making cookies on Christmas Eve eve while Jamie was at a work meeting (last-minute Christmas shopping?). I turned on the Charlie Brown Christmas special, and when I came back in, the kids had turned the lights off and had scooted up to the TV to watch. It was just so darn sweet with the tree and the lights and the Christmas spirit. It made my Grinchy heart grow three sizes that night.

We had multiple countdown calendars (this was a terrible idea, it extended bedtime by 2- 20 minutes depending on the night). Santa's beard was a big hit, this was H's reaction when he realize there was only ONE spot left and therefore ONE day until Christmas. Genuine joy and excitement.

The kid's school made a Christmas tree that you added stickers to, picking out the perfect sticker to put on the tree each time made me grow at least 4-5 gray hairs a night. I am like a female Anderson Cooper right now.

And the 'Chocolate Flavored Candy' Advent calendar I purchased from the Dollar Tree was really the most desirable/most questionable ingredients of each night. If my kids start growing a sixth finger, it is from this.

The kids made these elves at school and I put them in the hallway across from the bathroom and a corner of the kitchen. I don't know how many times I almost had a heart attack when I saw these out of the side of my eye and thought someone was watching me pee/cook. I am glad to see these go most of all.

Our annual visit to the Train House in Overland. It was cold. Very, very cold.

Harry could have stayed there until he turned into a snowman.

Penny? Not so much. We had fun in the car though. I took one for the team and entertained her.

On Monday we went to my best friend's house so the kids could open presents with their cousins. This was when the embarrassing part of Christmas started. Let's just say that H was not shy about expressing his displeasure with presents he opened. Preschoolers are lacking certain social skills. Like manners and being aware of others emotions. Ugh.

P on the other hand, was thrilled with everything. Especially the stuff H didn't like. Although when we got in the car and at home, he was all about it. Of course.

We got our payback though.

We also decorated cookies...

and ate cookies too! I think we are all about 50% cookie at this point.

We spent Christmas Eve with my dad's side of the family. I've been doing this for as long as I remember, and Jamie and the kid's are forced to go along for tradition and all that stuff. Plus, of course they would go- where else would they be?

Presents! Ugh. At some point I had to pull H to the side and have a VERY serious talk about being grateful and pretending to like something when you really don't like something, which is apparently an impossible concept for a 3.5 year-old boy to understand. Luckily my grandparents weren't paying close attention, but I was still mortally embarrassed. Again.

My stepmom made the kids these awesome fleece blankets for their beds, she has a job at a fabric store and it is paying off great for us! The kids love them and they actually seem to be sleeping longer since we've had them. They're already late sleepers anyway, but I'll take all the additional minutes I can get.

Tractor! H is tractor crazy, we have to get this boy to a farm soon.

Christmas morning! H slept until 8:30ish and we literally had to wake P up sometime after nine. So much for being too excited to sleep. But H's face is pretty darn cute in these pictures.

Checking out the loot.

He approves!

P- not so much. She warmed up eventually though.

Santa is just SO clever, hiding H's spaceship in some blocks. Genius!

Checking out the lego table that they didn't ask for but Santa felt was developmentally appropriate for them to start showing an interest in.

H was a very deliberate present opener, we actually had to prod him along. P was a search and destroy present opener, she was done in about half the time. My girl.

Ready to head over to Gigi and Papa's for more presents! Someone needed to get H black socks. =(

P had a very Doc McStuffins Christmas! She needs to expand her TV shows by next Christmas or there won't be anything else to buy.

Chuggington! Disney Jr. was well-supported by the family of the VanDernoot children this year.

In the middle of the Christmas meal, my parents got in a lively discussion about the amount of junk in the junk drawer and therefore had to start organizing the junk drawer right then and there. Because that is obviously the best time.

This is the first time the bottom of the junk drawer has been exposed to light in 57 years.

Christmas number four at Grammy and Papa Bear's! Penny loves Great-Grandma's dog Mini. 

Grammy was all about the giant presents with multiple parts this year. H got an AWESOME tool bench!

And P got a vanity with a real working hair dryer! If you are cool with taking hours to blow dry your hair.

And a fake Iphone. Of course.

 So that's that. I would write more but I'm super distracted by the flying cockroach on Real Housewives of Atlanta right now. I hope your Christmas was as merry as ours! Happy New Year!