Happy St. Nick's Day!

St. Nick's was always the start of the holiday season at our home when I was growing up. My grandparents always decorated the Saturday after Christmas and were black Friday shoppers, but my dad waited to start stuff on the evening of the 5th when we all wrote our letters to St. Nick and left them in stockings hoping to get some candy!

We have been having do much fun decorating and getting ready for Christmas! We have actually got all thirteen trees up (I told Eric I needed to buy a new one....cause thirteen was an unlucky number and I know he rolled his eyes...but I think he might actually have been thinking about smacking me.... of course I try not to comment on his five computers but it is so hard).

I figure I will put up a few photos during the holiday season of the kids and the trees....here is Adrian in the Laundry room with my newest tree (last year tree and ornaments this year). I always wanted a white one with blue ornaments and it is in our mud / laundry room! Adrian and Eliza and I had the best time decorating it!

We have started cookies and fudge, made two gingerbread houses ...I love those prefab kits!!!!!!... except the kids all keep eating the candy off of them though. And we have eaten our advent calendar candy for the first five days (Thinking of you Grandma Shaw every time we open them). As well as having watched a lot of the Rankin and Bass Christmas specials..... I still love that heat miser and Cold Miser song the best....Melea is even doing the dances to it! She is so looking forward to making a snowman! she keeps talking about a "froooo sty" (it is with a long "Oh" sound ! I love the ABC FAMILY CHANNEL

We have visited Santa several times...and this year everyone has enjoyed it after a time! Actually our favorite Santa is always the one at Walmart. He has a ton of time and the photos are free! And even after I have paid the huge price at the mall.... this one always has time for all of us and the kids....he is great...and was great again last week with Adrian, and I can't wait to take all six of the children this year

But today is my actual favorite tradition....course it got a little warped last night.... first of all Adrian has been writing Santa lists for everyone....and She can write her own name.... but everything else she writes need translation. BUT SHE TOOK IT UPON HERSELF to write Santa Letters for all eight of us ,,,I am sure she was earning brownie points....and she has Colin and Melea helping do everything and keeps reminding them Santa is watching everything.....Oh if I could milk this for the whole year!

By the way! Adrian and Melea want cameras, and dolls, and clothes for them and Colin wants Elmo's and some cars and a lot of clothes and chocolate bars! (As well as about 100 other things that seem like they really belonged on Adrian's list. But she really did give a lot of thought to this....I have the new Harry Potter DVD on my list and a diamond (those deBeers & Kay commercials are so good even my four year old is deluded into thinking her dad should give me a diamond!.....They sure got there money's worth!! ) AND DAD NO DIAMONDS....I would rather have new windows!!!!!!!!!

But I forgot to buy or budget candy into the food budget for this week and with all the home improvements and my rules for when to use and not use a credit card (and CANDY IS NOT ONE OF THEM) so we got a lot of what we had in the house in our stockings.

We got the left over Pinata candy from Colin's birthday, and I bought some kisses on sale last week, a few nuts and some apples (I had them laying around in the kitchen) Eric and I got the oranges....cause no one really likes them but me...and they were a little squishy! I gave the girls some pony tail holders and the barrettes I had been making them and Colin got a rubber snake... which he promptly put into the Nativity scene with the others from his birthday party... he keeps telling me the snakes would be there too!

But the funny thing was it didn't matter to the kids!!!!!!! They had a blast opening and eating their candy downstairs as we waited for the bus this morning... so I sent them to school all loaded up on sugar and bouncing off the walls!

I realize that St. Nick's day is still really cool and I still like it and I think I will go eat my orange with my coffee. Have a great start to your holiday season!!!!!!!