Seems comfy?

Doesn't it?

Merry Christmas 2013

How to pack

Want to know how I do it? How do I pack for 3 kids for 8 days away from home and fit it into 1 duffel bag?

No? Then check back later

Yes? Read on.

First I do a little planning ahead. I figure out if there are any special occasions or events that require special attire.

I like to use the 2 gallon size plastic zipper type bags.

I pull out all the clothes that I might like to bring with us for the number of days we are planning on being away +two extra per kid.

I start laying out outfits. I happen to like it when the kids somewhat coordinate their clothes. Coordinating means that they are roughly wearing the same colors or the colors don't look crazy together. When we visit family, someone is always taking a picture. I like knowing that what the kids are wearing will somewhat match and look good in the event that picture gets printed and hung on the wall or made into a Christmas card.

For each day we are planning on being gone, I make a pile with the following stuff:

1 pair of William pants, underwear, socks, and shirt
1 pair of Amelia pants, underwear, socks, shirt (tights/dress/sweater as it necessary)
1 pair of Gemma pants, shirt, socks

I put all items in 1 giant ziplock bag together and zip it shut. Sometimes if there is a special occasion dress, I will put in the hair accessories for the girls as well. I could do this for every day, but I usually just pack them separately since the girls wear a lot of the same bows over and over again.

There is usually a little bit of air left in the bag. This time we were a little more pressed for space with all of the Christmas gifts needing to be transported. John helped me by laying on top of each bag and pressing the air out. Then we were able to throw everything into one bag for all three kids.

While we are out of town, I can just pull one of the big bags of clothes out and get my kids dressed. This is much easier in the mornings too. No digging through bags to find the right socks or different pants.

The only down side I have found is that when someone needs a new outfit because of spilt milk or wet from snow. Then I need to have an extra set of pants/shirt/socks. I don't have a great solution to this other than having an extra on hand or rewearing clothes from a precious day.

Park time, in December?

On Friday last week, I was supposed to be getting ready for Christmas. I was supposed to be cleaning and wrapping and merry making. However, the temperature was 70 degrees. It is physically impossible to stay inside on a day like that. So, I packed up the kids and went to the park for an hour. We met up with some friends and has a blast running around and burning off some energy. So what if I had to stay up until 2am wrapping presents?

Amelia's Christmas party

Amelia had a Christmas party at school on the Friday before Christmas. We haven't been able to go to her school parties yet this year, so I was happy to have the chance to go with her. It was fun to see her with her friends and in her school environment.

She was very happy about the special time too. She picked a special hairstyle (braid with a side ponytail) and a festive Christmas shirt.

Ballet video #2

Here is more of Amelia dancing!

Ballet video #1

Amelia's class doing ballet exercises.

I forgot to mention in the last post, Amelia was thrilled we were all coming. She let on she had a surprise for us and told me it would be right away during class. Sure enough, Amelia can now do a bridge by herself (lay on her back and push herself up with just her hands and feet). I have video, but it is on the big camera. The likelihood of getting that posted here is unlikely...

Also, not in the video is Gemma. This part isn't about Amelia, but I want to remember it. Gemma comes with me when I/we bring Amelia to dance only occasionally now (last year she always came with). She spends every minute of the dance class working to get herself into the door of the dance class. She wants to be in there so badly!

What ends up happening is she runs toward the open door and I dash to grab her before she interrupts the class (the door is always open). Gemma will either then rush back to the door or pretend to play with a toy just long enough for me to relax and then rush the door again. It is a lot of running.

Anyway, Gemma was overjoyed to finally allowed to be in the room with the dance class. For awhile, she was happy to sit and watch from my lap or standing just next to me. That only lasted for a few minutes and then she wanted to BE with the class. She wanted to dance too. So, we (mostly John) spent the rest of the time grabbing her away from her grasp.