I found a hard copy of this lost family Christmas Letter last January when cleaning out a cupboard that hadn't been cleaned since we moved into our new home seven years before. I very astutely carried it upstairs and recorded on my blog. Then set it to publish almost a year later. Here is a Christmas time capsule from ten years ago. Enjoy.
You know that you live with a lot of elementary school age children when...
You know that you live with a lot of elementary age children when the gourmet meals at your home that receive rave reviews include peanut butter & HONEY, toasted cheese, hot dogs, cheese burritos, and pizza.
You know that you live with a lot of elementary age children when you make your favorite meal of Tortellini Carbonara with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Artichokes and five out of seven family members groan and head for the peanut butter jar.
You know that you live with a lot of elementary age children when dinner conversation is dominated by jokes that go something like "Knock, Knock..." or "Why did the ________ cross the road", or "Why did the ______ throw the _____ out the window", and then an explanation of the joke by your first grader.
You know that you live with a lot of elementary age children on the days you go to volunteer at school for only an hour and a half in each class and people stop you to ask how long you've been substitute teaching.
You know that you live with a lot of elementary age children when you have four complete sets of construction paper sight word flash cards that you third kindergartner takes great delight in sorting into piles. And it is even more apparent that you live with a lot of elementary age children when you realize that this is only the THIRD kindergartner, but you can't remember how you got FOUR sets of flashcards.
You know that you live with a lot of elementary age children when you begin to have nightmares about studying for spelling tests for the rest of your life.
You know that you live with a lot of elementary age children when you have perfected a highlighting system to tell when each child is eating hot lunch, so that on those busy mornings you know which kid needs a gourmet peanut butter sandwich.
You know that you live with a lot of elementary age children when your younger child says something as sweet as, "Mommy, My is 'tute' as a button?" and you wonder whether to call the speech therapist or Grandma.
You know that you live with a lot of elementary age children when you receive a signed and certified letter from school addressed to the Tooth Fairy assuring you that your daughter really did lose her tooth at school and it is now somewhere out in the field having tragically fallen out of the tooth necklace provided by the front office.
You know that you live with a lot of elementary age children when while sitting in 5 o'clock traffic on you way home from dance class, you begin to have a panic attack about how you are ever going to manage to drive back and forth through commuter congestion to get to dance, basketball, and flag football practice when the new year begins.
You know that you live with a lot of elementary age children when you have four distinctively different works of art from the Halloween period still hanging on your fridge and Christmas is a a week away.
You know that you live with a lot of elementary age children when three of you children walk in a s you are composing this year's Christmas letter to show off their funny construction paper hats created for the New Years Eve Party they are planning. The evening will includ eggs filled with confetti (Thanks to ZOOM), fancy hats (Thanks to Creations by Miss M), great games (Thanks to Cranium and Milton Bradley), and Chinese food (Thanks to Dad and the restaurant down the street).
You know that you live with a lot of elementary age children when the menu for the Family New Years Party is met with exclamations of "YUCK!" and requests for a trip to Walmart to stock up on more of the items from the gourmet food group.
You know that you live with a lot of elementary age children when writing letters to Santa is a daily activity, and the last letters you found on the fridge says, "Dear Santa, Forget all my other letters. What I really want is..."
You know that this period shall soon pass when you read the rest of the letter, "...a portable CD player, a portable computer and headphones."
Still you are sure that a part of it will always be with you as you try to cram those Halloween masterpiece in Rubbermaid containers that you really need to label with the names of each of those elementary aged children so that all the art can leave home with the right child when that time finally comes.
And you know that you will look back fondly on this time, so you try to be patient and understanding as those elementary age children attempt once again to see how many Legos and Barbie shoes it takes to completely cover the family room floor.
We wish all of you a Happy Holiday Season, A Very Merry Christmas, and a New Year filled with Love, Peace, Hope, Joy, and less Legos and Barbie shoes than we have.
