The Muehleck's Rockin New Years Eve

Dick Clark ain't got nothin' on us!

The kids wanted to stay up until midnight, but everyone is fading fast.
Well, almost everyone.

We decided around 10:45pm that we weren't going to make it until midnight Central time, so we decided to join Dick Clark in his countdown to New Years on the East coast.  Judging by the lack of enthusiasm in the room, that was probably a good idea!

Pajama Day

After 7 consecutive days of travel and celebrations, today we declared a Pajama Day

If anyone needs us, you know where to find us!

The Day After: Santa Came!

Finally, at long last, we were headed back home on December 26th to see what Santa had left under our tree!  The present opening continues ...

Amazingly enough, Santa had come in and left a pile for each of the kids while we were gone on our holiday travels.  Not only that, but the kids each got the few remaining items that they had been hoping for on their Christmas lists!

Kara was thrilled to find a LeapPad in her pile, and I still don't know HOW Santa managed that one!  Those things have been sold out everywhere since October!  She also got a microphone, scrapbook set and Password Journal.

Jenna's big gift from Santa this year was a Casio Keyboard, so now she can learn to play piano just like she's always wanted!  (because you know, every pop-star can play the keyboard or piano!)

She also got an American Girl craft set, microphone and Password Journal, so her list was complete!

I can still hardly believe it, but at just 4-1/2 years old Jack got a Nintendo ds from Santa!  Jenna and Kara had to wait until they were much older, but I guess Santa didn't want the 3 of them fighting over them anymore and decided to let Jack have one of his very own.  He also gave Jack some new Play Dough, Legos, and a Mario Brothers racetrack with slot cars.  Score!

Jenna, Kara and Jack are certainly lucky little kids to have received EVERYTHING they wanted on their Christmas lists this year!  What mommy & daddy and grandma & pa and grandma Muehleck and their aunts/uncles didn't get them Santa did.  They must have been EXTRA good this year : )

Christmas Afternoon/Evening

Next stop on the crazy train was Christmas Day at Grandma Muehleck's house.

We arrived early in the afternoon for our annual appetizer and present-overload.

None of us quite knew what to expect or how the day was going to look or feel without Buck there, but it very much the same.  We all missed him and his presence that day, but were all able to celebrate the true spirit of Christmas and learn how to keep the traditions alive without him there.  Doing that is so much easier with the little kids ... they keep their focus the same and bring smiles because of their enthusiasm.

Jack's favorite gifts this year were the red Angry Bird blanket, Chicago Bears Pillow Pet and Talking Erik doll from Happy Feet.  He also got a complete set of Mario Bros. figurines, so that just made his day!

Kara and Jenna were each thrilled about the bag of loot they got from Justice from Grandma.  A rolling duffel bag filled with an outfit, pajamas, journal, pen and craft set.  They're both just growing up so quickly and I really realized it this Christmas time when their lists no longer included anything princess or Barbie-related.  I don't miss the giant heaps of plastic toys, but do miss my baby girls.

Once the gifts were all unwrapped we headed upstairs for a very light dinner.  Grandma had the traditional Christmas poppers at every place setting, and everyone wore their paper crowns as usual.  Now that's a tradition that I know will stick for years to come : )

I shouldn't make it seem like the kids were the only ones to luck out in the gift department.  I got a beautiful glass lantern that I just love from Mary Karen.  I had been eyeing lanterns for a while and wanting one for our front porch and a little birdie must have told MK about that!  The same little birdie remembered a sweater that I had pointed out while shopping for the kids with her and she went back to purchase it for me for Christmas.  (thanks, Carolyn!)

My favorite gifts of all though were the framed watercolors that Carolyn gave each of her children and older grandchildren.  She had divided up the collection of watercolors that Jerry had painted, both finished and unfinished, and framed them for her kids and grandkids to have.  What a special present.  We can't wait to get them hung up in our house to enjoy for years to come!  I'll post pics once we get that accomplished.

Christmas Morning

We spent Christmas Eve night at my parent's house, so Christmas morning was spent there this year.  It was such a nice, relaxing morning opening gifts with Grandma and Pa and Uncle Dan and Aunt Ann.  We had a nice breakfast together, then attended Christmas mass at St. Linus to start our day.

This year was a very Wii Christmas!  Our family got the Wii system and Rock Band Keyboard from Grandma and Pa along with a few games, and Uncle Dan and Aunt Ann gave us Mario and Shrek Cart cames w/ the steering wheels and some extra controlers.  We're all set!

Jenna also got a ds game, camera and mp3 player of her very own.
Jack scored some Legos, a Scooby Doo Pirate Castle, and a ds game.
Kara received a camera, ds game, and the singing Victorious doll.

Pa opening his presents (the annual box of cashews)



Grandma opening some more from the kids



Pa and his "Care Bear"

 

Pa and his little buddy Jack (and Jack's new Scooby Doo Pirate Castle)




Grandma and Jenna



Grandma and Kara




Grandma and Jack




Grandma and her 3 little buddies




me and dad, both wearing his pajama pants (Mark and I BOTH forgot to pack jammies so we BOTH had to wear some of Pa's clothes to bed!)




Uncle Dan, fighting for hugs




Aunt Ann


And now, for anyone that cares to actually WATCH the gift opening (*Grandma and Pa*), here's the video I took that morning:

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was spent in Mokena, IL at John and Adene's gorgeous new house ... spending time with mommy's extended family.  It has been tradition for a long time for my family to get together with my Uncle Jim, Aunt Ruthann and cousins Jim, John and Kristen.  Over the years we have added spouses and 12 kids and counting to the mix.  It's always great to get together and see our kids play with their second cousins. 

This year Santa Claus even made an appearance and handed out a gift to everyone in attendance ... and not just the kids!  Below are the very few pics that I managed to take that day ... hopefully some other attendees will share their photos soon too!

Here's a quick little video that I shot of Santa's arrival and the little kids' faces ...

(my favorite parts are when my mom is the only person in the room singing Jingle Bells, and when Santa's "Ho, ho, ho" sounds more like Andrew Dice Clay's "Oooohhhh" -- and my brother laughing at that.)



Family Christmas (a.k.a. "Christmas Adam")

Back when Mark and I were dating and first married we began the tradition of celebrating Christmas Eve- Eve together, just the two of us.  That usually consisted of going to see a movie and out for Mexican food, for some strange reason.  But it became tradition, the very fact that we would take the time to spend some alone time together before the hustle and bustle of the holidays were upon us.

Once we had kids and especially once we moved up to Wisconsin, our holidays began to include more hustle and bustle than ever before.  Two sides of the family that wanted to see us for each holiday, two hours of driving to get to said family's homes, packing up and driving with small kids and spending multiple nights away from home.  The stress of the holidays just became multiplied so it was more important than ever to declare Christmas Eve-Eve as "Family Christmas" ... the day when just the 3 of us, then just the 4 of us, and now just the 5 of us spend time together.  We exchange our family gifts and a few years ago the kids started calling this special day "Christmas Adam" because Adam comes before Eve, you know : )





the kids all ready to give mommy her gifts: a painting, a homemade calendar, and a few homemade ornaments for the tree



Jenna and Kara give daddy their carefully selected gifts: a mama and baby elephant from Kara and a Nerf basketball set from Jenna



daddy got an air hockey table from Jack



Jenna and Kara look over their Shutterfly books from mommy




Jenna and Kara with their texters from mom and dad




Jack oversees the present opening

 Not all gifts given were captured on film.  This year the gifts also included:

• an earring holder and ZhuZhu huskie dog, from Kara to Jenna
• a Crib Life doll, from Jenna to Kara
• a pillow pet monkey from Jenna and Kara to Jack
• a calendar and Rockey and CeeCee purse for each of the girls from Jack

Later that night mommy and daddy exchanged their gifts.  Mommy got a netbook from daddy and daddy got an iPod touch from mommy.  Lots of electronics this year!

My favorite part of the whole day was the fact that each of the kids was more excited about the gifts they were giving to their brother or sister or parents than the ones they were receiving.  When we said it was time to exchange gifts not one of them jumped first for a package with their own names on it but rather for a special gift that they had selected for someone else and couldn't wait to give.

Seeing the kids experience the true joy of giving was truly a joy for me.

Me and My Girlies

(photos taken by Jenna and Kara)



LOVE how this photo captures Kara's eyes ... great job, Jenna!



Me and My Little Bubba

(photos taken by Kara)