Belated holiday wishes and continued traditions

When your last holiday card is epic, it's a hard act to follow. When you used to write regularly, and now barely every - it's hard to think of what to do next. 

But you can't very well give up now, can you? 

Christmas Spectacular

Christmas time is full of magic, wonder, and amazement. One of our most favorite times of the year. If I had to guess, it's probably one of the most talked about topic on this blog. I mean other than moving and straight up crazy things that only happen to us.

This year was important & unique. Important because the girls are strong with their belief and it was baby boy's first Christmas. Unique because Thanksgiving was late & shortly after the big day we were jetting off for a vacation. This is important to note because the pressure to start Christmas came on strong the very weekend after Thanksgiving.  While there was still turkey leftovers to be had - it was a tree that was top of mind. The first day we could, we were off to find a tree. We found a tree, but I thought it was too small. I like a big tree. We have 6 million ornaments and enough space to get a big full tree. This particular tree? While it looked perfect, looked short to me. But my husband felt strongly it was big enough. The guy on the tree lot? Also spent time convincing me that the tree was big enough. Both tried to convince me of our ceiling height, neither having ever measured the actual height of the ceiling. I agreed, I knew better, but I agreed.  We got adorable pictures. And maybe it was a success...

We got the tree home, cut off the netting and as it fanned out we quickly realized I was right. More accurately the ball & chain was wrong. And I'll be honest with you, this wasn't my finest moment. Queue: adult sized temper tantrum. I knew I was right. We weren't going to be able to use half of our ornaments, how will we choose? I can't believe how wrong he was? Why did you fight so hard for something wrong?

Christmas time is full of magic, wonder and amazement. And apparently throwing a plastic water container clear across the house.

We took a gamble. Next time measuring - and wouldn't you know? The tree stand took the tree back. And the magic was back...

Until it wasn't. And the tree we got was too big. We didn't have enough lights. And those that we did have? Half went out.

Maybe you'd think - this is the end of the story. And maybe this is the first post you've ever read here. I went on to trip the tree, create several holiday displays throughout the house. 

 And finally, it was Christmas time. It was full of magic, wonder and amazement.

Until it wasn't. 

The bigger they are. The harder they fall. 

We lost a lot. But we gained a new tree stand. Which required a bit more tree trimming. 

Do your lights hang low? Do they wobble to and fro? They do when you have to further cut the tree to fit in the new stand. You know. So it stops toppling over.

 And finally, it was Christmas time. It was full of crooked magic, wonder and amazement.

I gave the kid $10 for a field trip. Told her to bring back change. She brought back 7 cents.

She used most of her/my money to get me a Christmas present. The rest? A mood ring. Because of course. This morning I opened an ornament. "in memory of this year! So we remember how the tree fell on you." It's a glass one. Like most that we lost. And she is the best. The end. 

Until it was over.

... and to all a good night!

Her heart

If I were writing here anymore, you'd likely hear about how challenging things get. In particular JJ. She's a tough kid. She is (too) smart, a character, funny, charismatic, impatient, kind, selfish, giving, loving, whiney, the list goes on. A loved, adored, magnificently trying on my last nerve, kid.

But her heart? It's her heart that is most incredible.

Santa brought the movie Maleficent. I was nervous on how scary it might be for JJ. Dragons, fire, battle scenes, Maleficent in general with her magic. At first the plan was: watch it without her. But I researched it a bit and found that it wasn't as scary as the trailers made it seem.  Maybe we'd give it a go, during the day...

Battle scenes, fire, fighting, an army coming out of the ground, a dragon / serpent made of roots & wood - not a blink of the eye. But this scene? Where Maleficent comes face to face with baby Auroa?



Straight. Tear. Breakdown. The first 30 seconds broke her. I found it on YouTube titled "funny scene" - because it's cute. But to her? To not love on this little baby was pure evil. And that's my girl.

Coal {of} mine

Since (almost) last I wrote here, there were just sonogram photos I thought I would share his announcement. 

His arrival has been oh so very exciting for oh so many reasons. It's been over 3 months. It feels like we've known him forever and yet I can't believe how fast these months have gone, even when it feels like it's going slow. If that makes any kind of sense.  

To follow (our web friendly*) birth announcement. The front side is fairly traditional in terms of what information is provided. 

Side note: Why the hat?  Short(ish)** story: when he was born and we announced his birth we weren't I wasn't 100% on the name. 

It went a little like this: 

I posted the first picture 4 hours after he was born. I had hoped we would come to a decision before we posted anything, but word on the street (texts) was that it had been leaked. The baby was born, that he was a he & how (very) much he weighed. It does sound of so very Kimye, doesn't it? I mean, sure, I don't take naked selfies and the ball & chain doesn't talk about himself in the third person - but there were people scooping us on our own son's birth before we were ready.  (In hindsight I probably could have used another celebrity couple. Cause now you are thinking, wait? Does she have a sex tape? Does he hate on Taylor Swift? And other terrible things about the couple I chose. But you know what I mean, right? I digress...)

Since it was on an instant message circuit I figured, I'll deal with the stress of not knowing (for sure) the name. I didn't want anyone to hear that he was born and we were still silent. If it were me? My mind would go to something possibly being wrong, and it hadn't.

Baby BOY G. He's here. And he means business. 11lbs. 10oz. 22 inches.
and no name other than "oh my god" & "he's HUGE!"

And when I finally got myself together, a day later:

Name official: Coleman Bennett > nickname: Coal. Or Moose.
Or "yes. I know how big he is." #whatsmymotherlovinname

The moose comment was strictly random. I threw it in: an animal, known for it's size to make fun of a situation that was stressful (you'll see a watered down version of why to follow). And it stuck. And it makes me smile. 

The back was a (very necessary) FAQ because holy hell were there questions asked frequently (edited for the world wide web). And because I know this might come up (surprisingly so): 

• No, we don't spell his name C-o-a-l.
• Yes, sometimes I do call him Coals. 
• No, not after the store either. 

A closer look of the back: 

Q: What took you so long to name him?

A: Coals was always "the" name. We had other name options: 6 for girls, 3 for boys.  I always feared without having options, the baby could be nameless if he or she didn't look like "the" name. You could announce the baby's birth but then not the name. And no one liked that! There would be phone calls asking, "when will we know the name???" Nurses coming in every few hours asking "And... who is this???" Messaging asking, "Do you know the name yet?" or "What about now?" or "What about now, do you know now?"  With both girls, we looked at them and knew.

When our doctor said "Oooh Bubba!" and we were officially shown our son we went into shock. A baby boy! My shock lasted longer than the ball&chain's and Bubba or Baby Boy Guarro was nameless. In addition to being shocked he was a boy, did he look like a Coals?  The ball&chain always knew he was our Coleman, but I wasn't sure.  He could have been a Coals or a Ben. He could have been a Jack, Gus, or Tony (insert a full day of revisiting 7-10 name books).  I finally caught up with the ball&chain and Coleman was officially named.

Q: Where did the name come from?

A: Coleman is my maiden name.  Bennett means blessed, and we are blessed to have Coals join us. His initials are CBG, the ball&chain's initials are CBG.  Elle's initials are Nana Lu's and JJ's initials are Poppa's (Guarro).

Q: Wait. Coleman? Isn't that a last name?

A: Yes. Last name for a first name, with the exception of the fact that Coleman is actually a first name.  We typically call him Coal vs. his full name. We'll reserve that for when he's in trouble, like everyone else.

Q: Did you know he would be this big? Did you break any hospital records?

A: No & not that we know of. We knew he was big, but no not this big. We were told by countless hospital staff, nurses and doctors it's the biggest baby they had seen all day / week / month / year or career - but no official word on record breaking. He broke our record, good enough for us.

Q: Can you believe it?

A: No, I don't believe it. It was certainly a déjà vu moment to be in yet another operating room and have the entire staff mouth or say "Oooh my G O D! He is HUGE!"  

Q: Was it a c-section?

A: What kind of question is that?  Yes.

Q: Were your other babies as big?

A: Yes & no. Elle was 10 lbs 14.8 oz and 22.25 inches. That's where the déjà vu of "Oh my GO D! She's HUGE!" comes in. JJ was 7 lbs 6 oz 20.25 inches.

Q: How are the girls?

A: Amazing, they love their little brother something fierce. Elle is so grateful to get her wish - a baby brother. JJ loves her baby, very much. Both are more loving than one heart can handle.

Q: How does it feel to be outnumbered?

A: Controlled chaos is still chaos. For example, family photos? We are going with majority rules to measure success. If most people are looking and almost smiling? It's printable.  We don't anticipate any peace, any time soon. But it's wonderful, all the same. A chaotic wonderful. We are happy, feel blessed & beyond lucky. With a health side of "what did we get ourselves into" & a deep appreciation for sleep.

*I updated some of the details / names / references it isn't the exact image word for word.

**Fine, it wasn't a short story & could have been shorter. 

20 questions - JJ v1

I once said I would interview L yearly, that was 2 years ago. I haven't interviewed her since. It was just JJ's 3rd birthday. And let's not discuss how much of her 2nd year I missed out on here. Um, I just looked. Turns out? I missed her entire 2nd year. Pretty much. So why not interview her? 

1. What is your favorite color? Pink.
2. What is your favorite toy? Umm... Ariel. (I asked for clarification: which kind) Dolls.
3. What is your favorite food? Hot dogs.
4. What is your favorite fruit? Umm.... hot dogs.
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Umm... pamkakes (pancakes).
6. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? Umm... hot dogs.
7. What is your favorite snack?  Umm... bananas.
8. What is your favorite drink?Umm... Nanas (Bananas)
9. What is your favorite tv show? Umm... a show. Like something.
10. What is your favorite outfit? Umm... this. (points to mismatching PJs that she has never worn before)
11. What is your favorite game? Umm... wipes. No not wipes... books! And baby!
12. What is your favorite animal? Umm... lions.
13. What is your favorite song? Umm... ABCs
14. What is your favorite book? Umm... library
15. Who is your best friend? Umm... (L interrupts for the 4th time and says "Rachel" she is sent to time out, as she was told 3 times prior to not prompt JJ) Rachel
16. What is your favorite thing to do outside? Umm... kitties.
17. What is your favorite holiday? Umm... bugs.
18. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Umm... my tiger (she doesn't have a tiger)
19. What do you want to be when you grow up? Umm... get my tooth out!
20. What's your favorite thing about school? Umm... paints!
21. What makes you happiest? Umm... you! (points to me & wins)
22. What are you scared of? Umm... mermaids! (Which is one of her favorite things... did she understand the question?)
23. What is the one thing you want to try this year? This! (Points to book that has a picture of Sponge Bob.)
24. Where in the world would you like to go? Splash park.
25. What is the best thing about being 3? I'm FREE! (how she says 3)
26. What makes you excited about being 4? Umm... babies.
27. What is your favorite thing to do? Umm... babies. No not babies. I wanna sing! (back and forth on what she is actually saying - turns out she says "ONE THING!" and then decides she likes to paint.)
28. What do you like most about our family? Umm... baby.