Wow, I can’t believe we’re half way through the first month of the new year. So much has happened since my last pre-Christmas blog.

• 12/18: Daddy took Houston to his final basketball game of 2010. Instead of busting out his “light sabers” during the game, he instead tested out intense karate chops on the air, as well as milder chops on some kids.
• 12/19: The family attended our church’s Christmas play that evening. Then we hit a drive-through Living Nativity before heading home and collapsing from our full day of church activities and holiday-related fun.

Initially scared of the mammoth decoration, Houston finally decides to strike a pose w/ Mr. Scott’s Grinch.

• 12/21: We visited Miss Pat for the year’s last appointment and then went to the Y so I could squeeze in a swim before Christmas. Unfortunately, the pool was closed due to a broken pump. Not willing to load the boys right back into the van, I thought that the least I could do while I had some free childcare was to take a long, hot shower, serving as a much-needed break from my Mommy duties.
• 12/22: I packed my bundled-up boys back in the van because the twins had a doc appointment very early this morning. Regrettably, my pediatrician didn’t have the vaccine Gabriel and Zeke needed, so this was a totally unnecessary and extremely frustrating trek made way across town.
• 12/23: Daddy and Houston ran errands for 7 hours, while I hung out with the twins and wrapped all the Christmas gifts during their nap.
• 12/24: Unable to find a brisket yesterday, Daddy took the clan out in search of the cut of meat. He also decided to pick up a last-minute gift for Houston: an X-Box remote so that the two gamer geeks can bond via video fun. That night we watched “The Nativity,” while we treated the kids to cookies and popcorn for dinner. Later, of course, Daddy and I had Santa duty, of which assembling Houston’s Buzz Lightyear bike was the lowlight.

Daddy instructs our caped crusader, Gabriel, in the proper ways of playing w/ radio-controlled cars.

• 12/25: The kids seemed pretty overwhelmed with the magic of Christmas morning. Even though they didn’t get tons of gifts, the spectacle off silver-wrapped boxes, goodies within red velvet sacks and full stockings had the 3 Amigos (for once in their lives) speechless. The customary hyperactivity eventually returned as the boys figured out their toys and culminated by the time Granny and Grumps arrived that afternoon. Daddy, the kids and I built a crooked “Frosty” in the fresh snow. Then the family feasted on yummy brisket, which Daddy somehow managed to smoke outside, despite all the white stuff cooling down the grill’s firebox.
• 12/26: Church was cancelled due to the major snowfall, so Daddy and I took the boys sledding in the back yard on the kids’ plastic rocking horse. The make-shift toboggan actually worked well, although buying a real sled would probably be a good investment.
• 12/27: After Granny and Grumps hit the road, we went into town to buy each boy (including Daddy) a cool Keepsake ornament from Hallmark and Mommy some half-priced ornaments from Pier One. Too tired to cook at home, we ate dinner at Chik-fil-A. Daddy and I were able to relax a bit while Houston, Gabriel and Zeke ran around with some other spastic boys in the play area.

Ignoring Daddy’s instruction, Zeke says, “Maybe if I hit the vehicle w/ the remote, it will move faster.”

• 12/29-1/1: We stayed at Gramsey and Papa’s house in Virginia and spent lots of time with family, including a rare visit from Great Grandma Bobby. Lisa and Albert were no-shows because Rick ended up having his appendix removed. Poor dude. But we did get to hang with Ingrid, Ellie, Mia and Ashley, who made a special trip out to see us and partake in some spicy oyster shooters.
• 1/5: Houston had a blast attending his first Adventure Club at church. This is a weekly program for kids that is more action-oriented than is children’s church. He went this past week, too, and says he loves it, so we hope to keep Houston him involved in the club throughout the new year.
• 1/6: This was the day the dreadful stomach flu reared its ugly head in our house. It began with Zeke, who had it intermittently coming out of both ends starting in the morning, but seemed pretty happy regardless. Since the twins had to get vaccines that afternoon, we told our pediatrician about Zeke’s symptoms, but he said that stomach bugs just have to run their course. Bummer.

Even w/o an assembled track, the choo-choo-loving 3 Amigos get into playing w/ Thomas, Toby & James.

• 1/7: The virus spread to Houston (who projectile vomited on our recliner) and then Gabriel (who hurled on our couch). By evening, the nasty excretions from all three kids was nearly constant. And by night, the violent bug was raging throughout my body. The only thing that made me feel any better was sleeping, so to Daddy’s dismay, he had to tend to the sick masses.
• 1/8: Daddy’s body was the last to succumb to the virus, although his symptoms were never as intense as was the rest of the family’s. Now that the entire clan was ill and exhausted, I begged Granny to come to town to help with the healing and cleaning. How quickly our fairly tidy and orderly house had devolved into an utter wreck. Nearly every blanket, towel and piece of clothing had been used to (initially) wipe up and (subsequently) cover up the disgusting bodily fluids that coated our floors and even some walls. A heartfelt thanks goes out to Granny “the saint,” who drove through 10″ of snow to save us.
• 1/10: Since I was still battling the bug, I couldn’t make the year’s first Greensboro Mothers of Multiple (GMOM) meeting. I’m finally getting involved in this group, as well as the Moms Club of Greensboro, which is a organization aimed at stay-at-home moms and their families. Both offer lots of fun opportunities for the boys to play and friends, as well as an outlet for me to bond with other moms and perhaps make some new friends myself.

Since Santa was too tired & frustrated to attach the training wheels, Daddy helps balance Houston on his new bike.

• 1/11: Although we opted to skip Miss Pat’s in case we were still contagious, this was the first day everyone started feeling well. School was cancelled because of snow and ice, so we invited Maddie and her dad over to play outside. After an intense snowball battle, the twins headed indoors to hang with Daddy (who was working from home due to the wintry conditions), while Maddie and Houston went for some wild downhill rides on our rocking-horse sled.
• 1/13: We took Zeke to see an ear, nose and throat specialist for his cough, which never went away, and in fact, had worsened, despite using various cough syrups under doctor supervision. It had gotten to the point where Zeke sounded like he was coughing up a hair ball and was waking up every night. The specialist checked him out and ordered him a CT scan. Thankfully, nothing is wrong with Zeke’s nodes, tonsils or any other throat anatomy. The doc thinks the most likely diagnosis is that it’s a sinus thing, so we’re giving him a two-week round of antibiotics. I think the meds are finally working because last night was Zeke’s first totally restful sleep in a while. The doc did say that some kid coughs are never diagnosed, and then out of the blue, it ceases to be — kind of a medical mystery, which is also my new way of referring to Zeke: he’s “our little medical mystery” for sure!

Staking his claim on Thomas the train, Gabriel announces to his brothers, “My choo-choo!”

• 1/14: This was the first time I got to swim at the Y in nearly a month, and boy, did I need the work out and the alone time. Child Watch was packed so the boys had a blast. And then we rounded out our pleasant day with Zeke taking his first doo-doo in the potty at home. Yay!
• 1/15: Having missed last weekend’s game due to the stomach bug, Houston attended his first basketball game of the year. Gabriel went with Daddy and Houston so that Zeke could have some one-on-one time with Mommy.

I still have lots of Christmas photos to edit, but in the meantime, click the above photo to check out all the pics from Christmas morning. There are also a few random shots at the end of the December gallery.

Even though I did the entirety of my Christmas shopping for the kids via the Internet and accomplished it all in just one night, using only three websites and spending way less than what we had budgeted, the holidays are still such a busy time of year. More than not, though, the clan has been a lot more holly-jolly than bah-humbug.

The adventure begins @ Sugar Plum Farm.

As can be expected with the 3 Amigos, there was never a dull moment during our Thanksgiving in the mountains.

• Daddy and I took Gabriel and Zeke on a hike up the back side of Uncle Clay and Aunt Naomi’s house. After much initial whining and plenty of dramatic falling, our outdoorsy boys eventually overcame and conquered the steep hill.
• On the windy wagon ride up Sugar Plum Farm’s mountainside, Zeke decided that choosing and cutting a Christmas tree is way lame. There was more dramatic tumbling and lots of crying while Daddy, Houston, Gabe and I picked out “Freddy the Fir.” Thankfully, Zeke recovered once he had his blankie and warm food in his belly.
• Houston used his first porta-potty while atop the chilly mountain at Sugar Plum. Since both Daddy and son were bundled in bulky winter gear, and only Houston would fit inside, Stephen had Houston stand on the seat for discharge, and then picked him up and shook him over the hole for the remainder of the task — actually an efficient and fairly clean means to an end.
• Houston and Gabe insisted on taking off their gloves while toasting marshmallows around the Sugar Plum campfire, yet refused to warm up their hands near the flames. Why they seemingly want to run through our home campfires, but wanted to steer clear of this fire is beyond me.

Zeke & Daddy chill behind the Creek House.

After Thanksgiving, Daddy and I implemented the “no more floor blankies” rule with the twins. We had gotten tired of kids constantly tripping on slippery fleece; the blankies acting as dust, dirt and hair catchers; kids crying when they misplace their beloved blankies; battling keeping yucky floor blankies out of cribs; and trying to keep a stash of clean blankies around, which had become just an added burden to my never-endless laundry load.

If they ever need a fix, Gabe and Zeke are more than welcome to cuddle with their blankies in bed. The same rule holds true for Gabriel’s cherished pacifier: an empty baby bottle. But other than those moments of weakness, blankies and bottles are only allowed during nap time and while in bed at night. Thankfully, the transition has gone surprisingly well.

The twins are making great progress with Miss Pat.

• A few weeks ago, Gabe strung together his first four-word sentence during speech therapy (“More bubbles, Miss Pat”), while Zeke is saying plenty of two-word combinations.
• Gabe finally said “car,” instead of “brrrrrrrr,” yet he and Zeke still prefer “choo choo” over “train.” I suppose some words are just more interesting as sound effects.
• Miss Pat is impressed with the twins saying “please” and “thank you” without being prodded to do so. Turns out my heathen boys possess manners after all, although they usually reserve such civilized behavior for everyone other than Mommy.
• Miss Pat is also amazed at Gabriel and Zeke’s understanding of the alphabet. They probably know about half of their letters and the corresponding sounds, as well as a few numbers between 1 and 10.

Gabriel (left) & Zeke recuperate from their exhausting hike.

The dudes are currently in the throes of hardcore Christmas-show-mania. We own “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas” and “A Charlie Brown Christmas” on DVD, and the boys are obsessed. You may find Houston reciting dialog to a show (while watching it or otherwise), or Gabe and Zeke gleefully exclaiming “Bumble!” or “Hermey!” It’s fun to watch them get so excited over these holiday classics, although Daddy and I have had to reduce their viewings to a much saner rate of consumption.

The first weekend of the month was Christmas kick-off around the home front. After Daddy took Houston to his first basketball game, we took the 3 Amigos downtown for the city Christmas Parade. It snowed the entire time we were there (accumulating about 1 1/2″ by that night), which made for an even more festive occasion.

Since we were at the end of the parade route and only stayed out in the elements till the kids’ shoes and gloves were drenched, the boys didn’t see many balloons, but they did witness lots of marching bands and a few cool floats. We then hit one of our fave Mexican joints to thaw out, warm up and chow down.

That night, we strung lights on Freddy the Fir with the boys’ “assistance.” Stephen and I opted to decorate the tree once they had gone to bed, saving a few fave ornaments (most Rudolph stuff) that each amigo got to hang himself the next day: recuperation day. After the boys donned Freddy with the remaining bling, we watched “Elf” and drank hot chocolate with marshmallows by the fire. The scene would’ve warmed Norman Rockwell’s heart!

“Let it snow!” say Gabe, Zeke & Houston (L to R) @ the downtown holiday parade.

Last weekend, the family headed out to Houston’s second basketball game. Besides sometimes brandishing his “light sabers” (read: extended index fingers) during the game, Houston has found his comfort zone. I don’t think he particularly loves the sport — he’s much more interested in baseball, football and karate — but Houston seems to like playing on a team, running around with other kids for an hour-plus, and pleasing cool Coach Forrest. Needless to say, Gabe and Zeke enjoyed the jaunt, and had a blast tossing around spare basketballs and causing trouble with the coach’s two sons.

We ended up taking Zeke to the pediatrician for a second time, since his cough had gotten pretty nasty while up at Granny’s over Thanksgiving. The doc sent us to a radiology place for an x-ray, and thankfully, everything came back negative. So, the doc suggested that Zeke take a very small dose of cough suppressant 1-2 times per day, and that seems to have (finally) done the trick.

Last but not least, tonight was an extraordinary time for this domestic goddess. Greg and Merdy’s church offered a four-hour-long “Parents’ Night Out” — free baby-sitting services so that mom and/or dad could get a few things accomplished without lugging around a bunch of hoodlums or just have some kid-free adult time. I did both: a little light shopping (and was the only person relaxed, happy and humming Christmas ditties in Wal-Mart) before Stephen and I dined out on delectable Indian cuisine. What a treat!

Houston, Gabriel & Zeke (L to R) sit proudly in front of the Dillingham tree for 2010, “Freddy the Fir.”

When picking up the kids, we somehow managed to lock the van doors while the car was running and all three boys were buckled up inside. Being the smarty britches that he is, Houston followed my direction, unbuckling himself and then unlocking the doors via driver-seat controls. Consequently, he got his 10th star on our new reward chart, earning back his DS privileges.

Click the top photo to check out all the Thanksgiving fun, the snowy street shot to view parade pics, and the above photo to check out December stuff. Also available are Play Land photos and four humorous pine cone turkey pics at the end of the November gallery.

This blog is dedicated to the memory of Unka Jim. Thanks for the life lessons, the laughs, the love, the libation, and, of course, the buttons, buttons, buttons! We miss you. Rest in peace.

Also, rest in peace, Osiris. A mellow cat, who I adopted in 1992, and was lovingly raised by Gramsey and Papa from 1994 on. Have fun smelling the flowers in kitty heaven.