The swing of the season

Wow, I feel like I've been gone from the blog for so long it's almost weird to start writing again! We have definitely been keeping busy around here. I am trying hard to stay calm and enjoy the Christmas season, but I honestly can't remember ever feeling so harried and overwhelmed by all that I "need" to get done within the next week. My lists are not helping.
Anyway, we have been trying our best to involve our kids in Christmas preparations. They helped me put the advent pockets up, they strung a garland with me, they have made Christmas cards and cookies with me, they have gone shopping with strict instructions to think only of the person we are buying a gift for (this is a pretty difficult thing to do), and we have talked a lot about the Christmas story. I think Emily is getting it, and she drags Caleb along into whatever she is up to.
Here they both marched into the kitchen, Emily singing, "and Baby Jesus is born, He's cute. Baby Jesus is born, He's cute."

 
Then she ran to get her "violin" and handed a trumpet and cymbals to Caleb as well:

I love that this was entirely orchestrated by Emily, and that Caleb so dutifully cooperated.

Another Christmas project was our annual sugar cookie house. Joseph really doesn't like the flavor of ginger bread, so he makes a sugar cookie house that we can put together as a family and then really enjoy eating afterward.

This morning we decided to take the kids to Lowe's for the Kid Clinic, where they got to build a little Christmas train engine. We were surprised by how much the kids enjoyed it and by how high quality the little trains were. This was final piece of a three-part project, and the lady in charge was kind enough to give us the other two parts to complete at home.

Emily added capes to the trains so they can fly. These ain't no wimpy trains stuck on restrictive tracks!

Below is the finished product. It's pretty cool. The engine has a little motor so when you pull it back it can pull the whole train forward.
Don't mind Caleb's crack - we've been having problems with keeping the kids' pants up lately. Is there some secret place moms shop that sells pants that are not low-rise for 5-year-olds? Emily's pants are the worst!

 A couple of other random things:
Last night around 4:30 am Caleb started crying. Joseph and I stayed in bed, thinking it would pass quickly. It didn't. It escalated and got so bad that I finally did get up so he wouldn't wake the girls. I asked him what the problem was, and he said he was crying because he can't drive the car. This is a real issue in his life! Almost every time he gets in the car with me he tries to get in the driver's seat and cries when I put him into his carseat because he can't drive. Just a couple more years, bud!


 Also, for you cloth diaperers out there, All About Cloth Diapers is on day 12 of their "favorite things" giveaway and they have some pretty amazing prizes today. So, if you happen to read this within the next hour and a half, go enter for a chance to win a Ragababe all-in-one (I have been trying to get my hands on one of these for months!) and an organic Ergo baby carrier, among other things. Good luck!