Christmas break/vacation!

Every year our office is closed the week between Christmas and New Years. So that means that we get the entire week off! Usually we try to go somewhere fun, but this year we opted to stay home. It was a good move. The roads are crazy busy this time of year and fuel is expensive, so we chose to spend our Christmas vacation... at home! I worked some half days the week before Christmas too, so we had a nice long break and spent some good quality family time together. I would like to say that we did a bunch of school but, um, no... ;)

During our break I tried to focus on the kids and not so much on myself (blush) or the Pack. We cooked together, went to the zoo, did crafts, went swimming (no pictures as I was swimming too!), scoped out our construction sight, played dress up with The Pack, had some water fun on the trampoline, and generally just tried to enjoy each other.

Each kid was able to achieve a major (in my book!) milestone as well. Frankie can now buckle his own seat belt and Ella can swim across the width of the big, deep pool, by herself! Life is so much easier when a child can bathe them self, buckle their own seat belt, and wipe :) Now two out of two of my kids can do that, thereby making my life so much easier!

And, we were also able to get rid of two cats and have the third one booked for a new home, as well! It is SO much better with three, rather than five, cats now!

So, without further adu, pictures!

Happy tots in our house that is under construction

Ella cooking pancakes. Yes, that is a huge pancake! And no, Ranger did not get it.

We also had a big time playing dress up! I think Madea looks smashing in pink.
Note Bridger's enthusiastic participation ;) He wouldn't leave the couch!

And who could look more handsome (and patient!) than Ranger?

Pull your pants up, Billy! Good grief!

These are the reasons that my couch looks like hell! Well, at least a part of the reason. We do seem to be a bit rough on furniture...

Jaws! This is the kitten that we're keeping. Frankie named her "Lucy" :).

This one kitten, that we gave away, LOVED to sleep on Billy

And obviously Billy didn't seem to mind in the least

These were not staged pictures - these two napped together for about 45 minutes!

We took the bike to the zoo

I liked the way Ella carried her jacket - in her teeth! Think she's been raised a little to closely with The Pack or something?

Looking for something

Whatever it was, I think Frankie found it!

We always see something unique when we visit the zoo, no matter how many times we go. This trip was somewhat of a dud, until we saw these zoo workers hauling away a drugged hartebeast!

Peanut gallery, overseeing the hartebeast removal

And I just couldn't help posting a picture of this little guy :)

The worthless African horse

Our house is coming along - slowly but surely!

Ella has an infatuation with the cement mixture

Luckily she refrained from jumping in it!

This is the interesting find that I discovered on Christmas morning. The Pack had somehow put the outside entry rug into their water! (?)

The wee ones playing with their Christmas moon dough

I was counting heads among The Pack and couldn't find Billy's. He was fast asleep under the mat, with his butt covered in moon dough!

I bathed the dogs while the kids jumped on the trampoline in their swimsuits splashing each other with water and the hose. I gave Sanyu a ridge, just like Billy's!
So, there are just a few pictures from our wonderful Christmas vacation, which is about to come to an end :( Work and golf starts next week so it's back to reality!

A Merry Christmas!

This year it was just the three of us, at home, in EBB.  I had previously made arrangements with buddies of ours to spend Christmas out somewhere but those plans changed several times as we didn't know if we'd be moving or not, and Tanya went home for Christmas. This is the second or third Christmas I've spent in EBB- usually we go somewhere else in UG- and let me say, I love EBB Christmases!

Christmas Eve it rained ALL morning until about 1pm, so we just hung out watching movies together :) Very laid back and cozy! After it stopped raining we went to the market, slogged through the mud and bought our usual veggies and fruits, bought our Pack food (chicken mash!), then came home and enjoyed our Pack, kittens and trampoline in the drier weather. For dinner we went out for pizza, came home, opened gifts (new pj's and movies from Granny!), bathed and watched Little Rascals.

New jammies! Ella's has fighting chipmunks and says "Free Spirit" - which translated into H means, "Crazy as hell!" Very fitting for our little L :) 

Christmas gifts

Christmas morning dawned bright and cheery, we got Granny and Grandpa on Skype, and the kids proceeded to dig into their presents! Poor me, I only had one small gift to open - because I'd opened all my others before hand!! Ha ha, do I ever like being an adult sometimes :) 

Christmas gifts unveiled

Granny and Grandpa joined us, via Skype and web cams!

Carnage

  

Even the kittens got in on the action!

Rowdy liked playing with the kitten IN the box!

The younguns played with their toys (moon dough!) until it was time to go to church and we got all gussied up. I must say, you have never experienced Christmas until you've done so at our church! It was A.W.E.S.O.M.E!!!! The entire service was a drama, actually written by someone in our church. I remember being in EBB two years ago and being blown away then by the Christmas service - it was even better this time! Ugandans have a distinct advantage over Westerners because their culture is much more similar to middle eastern culture, so these dramas are far more natural. And plus, Ugandans are just naturally good looking people and are cool :) Poor old Frankie got overcome by his cold about half way through the service - his nose had started running in the morning and during the service his eyes started weeping too :( Poor boy! Plus the fact that he got stuck behind a lady in a big blond wig. The little tyke had a hard time seeing through his weeping eyes and past the big blond wig!

This is what happens when you're on the naughty list :( Yep, poor Billy had to spend his FIRST CHRISTMAS, which should have been REALLY SPECIAL, outside. Banished. All because of his tendency to steal toys and eat them!

"PLEASE!!! Have a little MERCY!!!" Not to worry though - he later got to help clean up moon dough from the floor. Wonder what his poops are going to look like tomorrow!

All gussied up for church!

After church we went out to eat (gift to myself!) buffet style, at a place we never go. It was a fun experience as well! This is the place that urban Ugandans, who don't go to the village for Christmas and don't feel like busting their butts cooking all day, head to for Christmas dinner. Fortunately we got there early before the crowds really started so we could easily find a table. The food was great and the ambiance was awesome - think a large, unfinished concrete hotel, a few tacky Christmas decorations here and there and FUNKY FUNKY loud music, with a butt load of happily eating families, dressed to the nines! The thing about this place that cracks me up is this is really the place to go! Watching Frankie stuff himself with chicken was fun too :) I was glad that the food could perk him up!

 

We came home, Ella played and Frankie and I took naps - Frankie slept for almost three hours! Poor little guy - sucks to get a cold on Christmas :( The evening was beautiful and since the kids got basketball/soccer/sporting outfits from their Granny, we headed to a nearby basketball court with our soccer ball and the Pack (Um, yeah, that's a first. Basketball? For the H's?). We didn't get far before realizing that everyone and their Uncle was out and weaving through so many people with five dogs wasn't going to be the funnest thing to do. So, get this, we took the Pack home and proceeded on without them! Say what? A Pack Walk without the Pack?!!!! Oh my!!  

Ha ha! Are we confused or what? Chasing a soccer ball on a basketball court! 

We were the only ones on the basketball court and had a lot of fun. I was actually glad that we didn't have any of the Pack so that I could concentrate on just playing with the kids. What a hoot - the kids in their sporty new clothes, bouncing a soccer ball around, with their short, plump mother who has not an OUNCE of basketball playing skills in her whole entire frumpy body! We enjoy watching guys playing every evening when we walk our Pack, so pretended to be them. I always get a kick out of the kids commentary when we watch people playing - they describe people by the color of their shorts :). There are Red Guys, Black Guys, Yellow Guys, etc. It's also usually a big deal if we see a "fat" guy. That may sound mean, but it's not. Like good little Ugandans, my kids LOVE fat. Especially big, chubby black men! It is the funniest thing! So I was "The Fat Guy" (because the fat guys are always the coolest), Ella was "The Blue Guy With Pee On His Pants" (She had a little misfire during some Montana Pee Time behind a bush) and Frankie was "The Short Green Coach". I was a bit surprised that Ella could actually make baskets! I think I was about 25 before I could do that...

What a great day with my tots :) Merry Christmas, everyone! 

Bizarre Crafts

The following post is an attempt to prove to the world, and most importantly to myself, that I am indeed a wonderful parent. And also because my friend Amber dared me to post the results ;)

Knowing that Christmas was just around the corner, that I had done absolutely ZILCH with the kids to prepare for it, and that I had a few days off to take before Christmas, I looked on the Internet for some simple crafts to do with the kids. Found a great sight in the process http://www.enchantedlearning.com/ and gleaned a few simple projects that didn’t require a) any fancy materials and b) a lot of skill. You see, I HATE crafts. I am NOT a crafty type person and crafts are not on my fun list. But I just happened to have a daughter on whose fun list crafts seem to be near the top. Crap.

The set up. Look how nice and tidy everything is. I made the kids help me clean the house before we started :)

Bulky me, wrestling with the top of a Christmas tree. 30 has not treated me very kindly, physique wise. My head shrunk! I have a tiny head now, which makes everything else look really big ;)

The "3D" Christmas trees. Frankie said they were "super beautiful."

Frankie posing with Ella's Christmas tree. Yes, I got the wrong tree with the wrong kid. Oh well!

Ella, with Frankie's Christmas tree

I put the star on the top of L's tree :)

On to decorating stars. You have NO idea how many attempts it took me to get these stars to turn out!

Frankie decorating his Santa star. This was beginning with the children's fetish over cotton.

Wooo! Ella's fuzzy Santa. My how L loved that cotton!

Ella struggling to hang up her Santa star

After a long struggle (she didn't want any help), mission accomplished!

Needless to say, poor old Santa lost a bit of fuzz during the hanging up experience! Not quite as fuzzy as when he started, that's for sure...

Frank's finished Santa star. Not quite as fuzzy as L's!

Ella observantly stated, "Frankie is really focused." The vocabularly that young children aquire after watching three series of The Dog Whisperer - more than once! 

Ah... and the fuzz continues!

The little hands reaching for the big pile of cotton in the middle of the table got me inspired....

Grab a glue stick and first... a moustache!

Well, as you can see, one thing led to another...

...Until finally - hello Father Christmas!

The now Father Christmas/Old Saint Nick/Santa Claus, still focused on his project

Ella hanging up her fuzzy star in the kitchen

In all it's stunning glory

So pleased! She calls this "decorating"

Santa, still focused on chopping bits of construction paper

After these pictures of more "controlled" crafting, the children went free style. Basically lots of cotton cut up and pasted onto bits of construction paper and placed ALL over the house and compound. I have to wonder what the guards thought to find a construction paper and cotton decoration hanging on the gate. And imagine my surprise to find one of these little decorations placed carefully on the toilet seat! Ha ha!

Ella was thrilled that the house is now "decorated for Christmas!" What I thought would be several hours of controlled fun turned into an entire day long marathon of H craftiness :) I've a feeling we haven't seen the end of it either!