Our day and thoughts on tradition

Let me just preface this post with this: I love my children dearly!

However, with that said, today was a challenge!

Wyatt woke up feeling much better then he has over the last 2 days and he was in the mood to be... how do I put it... annoying... and let me tell you... he succeeded!

The day started out with the kids waking up, in my personal opinion, much too early... which meant that my quiet time was not so quiet. Not a big deal, I at least got my bible study done and got to spend some time in the Word before Icyle came into the kitchen demanding my attention and then shortly after that Wyatt made it very clear that he was in the mood to bug anyone in any way he could.

One way this came out was while I was on hold trying to pay a bill Wyatt insisted that he dress up as Batman, Icyle wanted to dress up as Batman too (because she does whatever Wyatt does) but the problem is that we only have one batman mask and they both wanted it... so while I was on hold (for like an hour) I made a second mask... seen here:

But of course Wyatt wanted it, but I had made it to fit Icyle's head and not his... so that was how it all seemed to start... we got over that problem and then Wyatt started doing things to bug Icyle... like grabbing her cape and making her squeal... you know just being annoying! So I quickly decided that we needed to get out of the house... I needed some things from Target so off we went... after me quickly showering and also getting the kids dressed in regular clothes... you know... so that we didn't look like homeless super heroes!

The kids love target... we always look at toys and today I had some really random things that we needed to buy so we explored parts of the store that we have not been in for a long time! And of course we looked at Christmas stuff! I love Christmas... everything about it just makes me happy!  So we went through the many aisles of Christmas decorations and everyone was happy because the children were snacking on popcorn from the food court and I had a delicious pop... so we just took our precious time!

While we were at Target I bought a cookie spritzer gun! I have wanted one since I got married and this year Target is selling them for 10 dollars... which is quite a deal! So, I made up my mind that the kids and I were going to bake and decorate Christmas cookies today!

Not a bad plan... at least not in my head... Wyatt and I made the spritz dough while Icyle was sleeping (oh and this was after a random girl came to my house trying to sell stuff and asked if she could use my bathroom... a little weird) and that's when I realized that maybe today was not the best day for me to be making cookies with my kids (apparently all my patience was gone by this point)... but I had already started the process so I couldn't back out any more.

After we had successfully somehow managed to make the dough (in the bowl and not all over the floor) we began the decorating process (for which Icyle awoke just in time)...

Now, I know in my heart that my kids did not mean to spill thousands of tiny little cookie decorating balls all over the floor or spill colored sugar all over the table... I know that in my head... but at the time it seemed like my kids hated me and wanted me to suffer for something I has done to them!

Did I not just spend hours last night on my hands and knees scrubbing the kitchen floor with bleach and water? Did I not slave over making sure the kitchen was finally clean and sanitized so I could have this baby at home... yes... I did... and yes... they did spill thousands of tiny little balls... but I still love them! And can I just say that I am so thankful that (even though it cost 50 bucks) I replaced the filter in our vacuum today! That sucker has some major, ah, sucking power now... still took awhile to get all most of the balls off the floor, but I think I would still be doing it if it had not been for that new filter! Wow, what a difference!

Even with all of the drama though, I did enjoy making spritz cookies with my kids... it reminded me of my childhood when my brothers and I would bake spritz cookies with my mom and I am sure we drove her just as nuts as my kids drove me! But it's all part of tradition... I will make cookies with my kids every year that I can because tradition is part of what makes me love the holidays so much... that and I enjoy having these special memories with my kids... even if I was a little frustrated through out the whole process!