Decorating

Just after Thanksgiving we did some Christmas decorating.  This is the first year I've decorated the house for Christmas, as we insanely moved into our house last year on December 14th.  Who moves in the middle of December?  My decorating last year consisted of putting up a very silly looking fake tree on Christmas Eve so that we would have something to put the presents under.  It had no lights and only about six ornaments the children had made.  Pathetic, but the best I could do under the circumstances.

This is has been different.  The whole main floor has been Christmasified, and I love it.  Everything looks fun and festive.  I thought the children were old enough this year that I would only have to say, "We don't play with Christmas tree ornaments" one time, but it turns out my instruction/dictate/plea has fallen on deaf ears.  Only yesterday, after weeks of having the tree up, I had to say, yet again, "Do NOT play with the Christmas tree ornaments.  DO NOT DO IT!!!!!"  Unfortunately, the most appealing ornaments are the felt and sequined ones my Grandma Barnes made years ago, and which are prone to being ruined.  They hold dear memories for me, and every time I see them off the tree, I find myself growling and getting very snippy.  Not so Christmasy.  In fact, on several occasions I have been told I am on the naughty list and not getting anything from Santa.  I remind the children they are doing something they shouldn't be doing, earning themselves a spot on the naughty list too.  They tend to growl too.

But I digress.  We decorated.  In addition, I bought (already put together) gingerbread houses at Costco, and having in the house was almost too much for the children to bear.  They had had had to decorate them or they were going to die.  I had thought to leave them out as child created decoration, but with the desperate need to decorate came a desperate need to consume all the candy frostinged in place.  The houses have ended up in the top of the broom closet, with the children allowed to eat a piece or two of candy whenever they remember they are up there.  Does that seem mean?

These pictures sure are not going to win any awards for clarity.

I think I asked Brandt to look like he was decorating the tree so I could take his picture.

Doesn't this look natural.

We put on some Christmas music as we decorated, specifically Harry Connick, Jr.

The kids loved the CD!

They danced, they sang, and they replayed their favorite song about eight times.

A rare picture or two of me.

I'm almost always taking the picture. 

The finished product.

And on to gingerbread houses--

Brandt's house.

I didn't get a picture of Blythe's.