How To Handle The Holidays?

Lately, I have been dreading the coming of the Holidays. It's not that I don't love them, I really do. It's just that I am not too certain how I should handle the holidays with my over-abundance of toddlers.

Last year was really quite simple. Thanksgiving was easy because the babies were not quite as mobile as they are now, and they really just spent most of lunch in their carriers, content to watch the folly of the adults which apparently made for interesting amusement.

Christmas Eve at my Grandfather's went well because the babies again were regulated to their carriers and were fine with sitting in a semi-circle chattering amongst themselves about the goings on with the adults.

Christmas was cancelled for the most part at the last minute due to my nieces and nephew all being sick. We just stayed at home and did our own thing there and it was all good.

In fact, it worked out well because it took the babies a couple of days to unwrap all of their presents because they had to test everything out before going on to the next one!

This year, though, we are mobile. Not only can we all walk, but they can climb and have the coordination to not only open cabinets and drawers, but can also move furniture if they are so inclined (which actually has happened a few times believe it or not!)

So, here is my folly. Do people normally take their multiples to their relatives houses for the holidays, or have do they just move everything to their house to make things easier on everyone?

Mine are going to be 21 months when Christmas rolls around this year and I am not too sure it's a very good idea to unleash them on the houses of others during the holidays, given their newly acquired skills!

At least at my house, I have a way to feed them (containment in the feeding chairs) and their toys to keep them out of trouble...somewhat!

My fears are that they will find the houses of others more fun than new toys & treat it like a jungle gym or worse!

It's not easy keeping one toddler under control during the holidays as a guest at other peoples houses (especially main gatherings.)

But being able to successfully keep three toddlers under control & out of trouble is a quite a whole different ballgame altogether!

When one toddler gets into trouble or hurt, the other two usually end up taking advantage of the focused parent and use the opportunity to try and get into some sort of trouble themselves!

I have already hurt some feelings when I had to try and explain to a few family members why it was that we couldn't come for a visit.

I was only thinking of their breakables that they so lovingly cherish and really do not want to put up out of reach of tiny hands. Then again, when it comes to Kai, climbing is his forte' and "Up" may not be high or safe enough!

I shudder to think of the possibilities of disaster. Think of Thanksgiving. This is a time when we normally haul out the pretty table linens and fine china and the crystal. My kids just love breaky noises.

Would the temptation of a table cloth prove too much for the ever-conniving mind of a toddler? What about three little minds that work in tandem?

Then there is the matter of the Christmas tree. I have a sort of idea or game plan on how to actually get to have mine and it survive the year.

But the tree at other unsuspecting family members may not be so protected. Just think of it. A Christmas tree to a child is all sparkly, lit up, and hung with all sorts of little toy type objects just waiting to be played with.

How am I to keep my tiny trio from playing with something so inviting? Then there is the matter of other people's presents.

This year, the babies should be able to figure out and master the art of unwrapping a present.

They aren't all that adept at the communication skills with folks other than each other (that multiple thing) so trying to tell them "No" might just entice them to pump up the effort a bit and go a little further.

So, I am torn. I want them to have family time and celebrate with others. But, at the same time, I am worried about the rest of the family getting stressed over the idea that my tiny trio would basically be overrunning their homes!

So, does anyone have any ideas on how to handle the situation? Should I be daring & venture over to the unsuspecting relatives homes for Thanksgiving & Christmas?

Or, should I try and convince them that it's a better idea to come to my house and celebrate?

Pantry Moving Revelation

We are currently in the process of moving to a bigger house. Over the course of packing and weeding out the things we really just do not need anymore, I made a startling discovery.

I know it’s a strange thing to start with, but on this particular day I had run out of things to pack up that weren’t in the bedroom near the babies. So, I turned to my kitchen of all places.

I opened my pantry door, and decided to start organizing and boxing the things we just really do not use or need right now. I discovered that I had 8 boxes of Cheerios.

These weren’t ordinary boxes, either. These are the 36oz, double-bagged super-duper extra-huge boxes. I had the equivalent of 16 large-sized boxes of cereal in my pantry (plus one newly opened one on my counter!)

Now, we do go through a lot of cereal each month. We get one huge box per child per month from having the WICC program. I really do not know how the state can possibly expect a toddler to consume that much cereal in one month, but apparently they think it’s very possible.

Don’t get me wrong, I am very grateful for this program. It’s just that I am amazed, knowing how much the kids really do eat and waste from being babies each month, and I am quite certain that we could NEVER possibly eat that much cereal.

Next, I noticed that I had over 25 cans of evaporated milk sitting on my shelf. I don’t normally cook with evaporated milk unless its Christmas time. I can tell you that we will probably be making a LOT of fudge this Christmas!

Then there is the case of the pound of beans or peas we get for each child per month. I know that I have only ever cooked one pound for them. They adored the black-eyed peas, too. In fact, we STILL have some in our freezer from that original pound that I figured out how to cook one weekend.

It made so much food, that I have been hesitant to cook anymore as we STILL have leftovers! A friend of mine who also has quite a collection of dried beans and peas in her pantry has decided that we really should get together and pool them.

We have decided to either put them in a shallow wading pool and put it in the backyard as a make-shift sand box for our kids, or make dried soup mix bags and give it out as Christmas gifts this year.

I haven’t even opened our fridge yet. Then again, I know that since it quit cooling a few weeks ago (in anticipation of our moving I think it just gave up on us) that I had to throw out 8 dozen eggs that had potentially gone bad. I was afraid to test them on anyone to find out if they were any good or not after not knowing how long the fridge had been warming up.

It’s amazing the things we accumulate over time in our pantries. I could open my own grocery store soon if this had kept up. As it is, my fellow WICC recipient Mom’s and I plan on brainstorming for new and innovative uses for our surplus goods.

Our apologies in advance as our closest friends, acquaintances, and maybe even the mail man, will most likely be getting a festively adorned Holiday Gift Basket from us this Holiday Season.

It will come well stocked with some sort of Cheerio/Chex mix adaptation, some yummy fudge made from our evaporated milk, and possible some brownies or cookies from our surplus eggs supply (the babies only eat eggs if husband cooks them & that only happens on weekends)…

We even promise to come up with some nifty soup recipe to include in our very interesting yet oddly alluring dried bean & peas soup-mix included in your gift basket!

‘Till then, I am very creatively going to plan out my new pantry with all of those surplus boxes and bags. If I do it right, I may be able to make extra shelving space if I stack the boxes a certain way…After all, waste not, want not!

Early Christmas Shopping...Finding the Right Dollie!

I know I seem a bit early, starting my Christmas shopping in June. The new situation, having four kids, demands a bit more planning than starting shopping on the day after Thanksgiving. Last year, I shopped all the summer toy sales and consignment sales for Christmas.

I have since learned that EBay is my friend! I figured this out when, armed with my 20%-off-anything-in-the-store-coupon, I set out to try and buy my baby girl her Christmas dollie. Usually, these come from places like "The White Rabbit" or "Toy Fair"-everyone always gets excited over the red and white striped wrapped presents from "Toy Fair!"

Now, I am very picky when it comes to dollies. My grandmother and mum always made sure Santa remembered to deliver very special dollies under my Christmas tree each year, and I am doing my best to try and stick with tradition.

That day, I scoured the shelves of Toy Fair, hoping that the most wonderful dollie would be there waiting for me. It just wasn't happening. The new "Madame Alexander" collection was out there-I had done my homework on-line before heading out, however none of them seemed just right.

The only one I found that I liked ended up being the same dollie Vivie already has (coincidentally named "Baby") only she was dressed in a christening gown. I was tempted, but I had problems buying the same dollie with a different outfit... (she would know!) So I headed out, sans a Christmas dollie.

The problem wasn't the selection, so much as the fact that the newer dolls just aren't as pretty and nice as the ones we had growing up. I remember my second Christmas (I know what you're thinking-I must be nuts, but seriously I do) and my very own Bye-Lo baby was under my grandmother's Christmas tree in her very own canopied crib.

You have to understand that Bye-Lo is the name of my grandmother's most dearest baby doll (second only to Eloise) and we were all allowed as small children to sit in a chair and carefully hold the 1922 very breakable version of the doll given to my grandmother by her daddy. My grandmother and mum had very carefully helped Santa find one that looked as closely as possible to the original, finding her named as "Madame Alexander's Victoria." This was back around 1975 or so!

Although both my mum, and my grandmother are no longer around to help me, I am doing my best to carry on this tradition...Only "Madame Alexander's Victoria" no longer looks like the original Bye-Lo Baby, or even looks like the ones my sister and I received as children. I have both baby's in my china cabinet to compare them to, and they just aren't the same anymore for some reason.

This left me with a dilemma. How do I find the right baby doll? I finally broke down and got on-line and begin to search. I don't know what we ever did without EBay. There you can find the original breakable Bye-Lo's and I was even lucky enough to find a "Victoria" doll about the same era as the one I had as a child!

It only took about a week total, and I have managed to acquire two baby dolls for Vivie for Christmas- yes, one is a miniature version of my Bye-Lo Baby doll, the more modern "Victoria" circa 1975 and she is in perfect condition, smells like new (yes there is a distinctive new baby doll smell!) and is dressed in her little pink linen dress with her panties and booties still in tact! The other dollie is called "Madame Alexander's Little Sailor Pink Dumpling" and she was only $5.99 + shipping. Both baby's are much prettier and nicer than the current collection available in the area stores.

Funnier still, during my search for Vivie's perfect Christmas dollie, I ran across little sailor boy versions of "Huggums" dolls for my baby boys. Now everyone will have a Christmas dollie! I know that you are probably thinking that little boys shouldn't play with dollies- but when you have a baby girl the same age, it helps for everyone to have something similar to avoid conflict & perpetuate happiness! This Christmas should be very interesting and my shopping has only just begun!