Riding High

I don't think the excitement level could possibly be any higher around here.  It is crazy.

Two days ago, Seth was so wired with excited energy and so utterly out of control that, in the course of tearing around the house, he deliberately kept throwing himself against walls; he simply didn't know how to contain himself.  I spent most of that day trying to keep a gentle hand on his shoulder or rubbing his back, or having him on my lap, because it seemed as if that was the only way he could be calmed a little.

Lizzie is driving everyone a little batty with her continuous excitement-jumping...she thumps around the house non stop, jumping, asking every 5-10 minutes how many days left until Christmas.

Matthew is a little rougher around the edges than usual, though in less obvious ways than his younger siblings; he's a little frayed.

But it's been mostly fun: We've done crafts; baked; watched Christmas movies; read tons of stories; listened to music; and simply enjoyed the season.

Matthew said on Saturday that he'd had the perfect day:

• First, he got to have breakfast out with a beloved friend and exchange gifts with him; he and his friend sat at their own table for almost two hours, eating and talking, while the boys' moms enjoyed breakfast and conversation at a different table.  (Win-win for all of us, I'd say!)

• Later, after his curling practice/game, he got to eat hot dogs and drink pop  ("pop, Mom!") at the curlers' Christmas party.  He entered a bunch of tickets he'd earned while curling into a silent auction and won the thing he (and I!) had most hoped to win (the game Battleship) and he was awarded a prize of a crisp, new $20 bill (the equivalent of almost a month's allowance!) for having the third highest score of all sixty kids who played in the afternoon's competition.

• In the evening, we loaded the van up with kids and cookies and hot chocolate and candy canes and drove around the city looking at all of the pretty lights on display.

Matthew sighed when I tucked him into bed last night...he'd so loved his day!

Oh, and one funny thing.  While driving around and looking at lights, we were talking about the Christmas story...the real one, with Jesus in a manger, etc. etc.  We've read it a number of times in the past month and we've been having discussions about the various circumstances surrounding the occasion, including the reason that Mary and Joseph were headed back to Bethlehem at the time of Jesus' birth.

I asked the kids if they remembered what a census was and Seth snorted and said, "of course - it's when you sniff and smell and use your eyes to see things."  It took Geoff and me a minute to figure out what he was connecting in his brain and then we started to laugh and laugh and laugh.  We were pretty close to crossing over into the giggling-without-being-able-to-stop zone.

"No, Seth, not our five senses," we finally explained.  "We're talking about the census when people were being counted at the time of Jesus' birth!"  When he finally caught onto the nuance, we all started laughing!

Anyway...

...three days 'til Christmas.  Geoff's off work now for two weeks and it's going to be awesome having him around...although the poor guy is already having to adjust to the incredible volume of both noise and activity that seem to pervade our house.  Although we won't be doing any sleeping in (that'll wait for another decade, I suppose!), it'll be nice to hang out a little together.

Now, if we can just figure out a way to manage all of that out-of-control excitement factor!  Come already, Christmas, come!!