A Busy and Fun Day

Nothing special, but a nice day in the Hill Household. Two big kids went off to school and the two little ones played so nicely...I cleaned the upstairs, really cleaned (not just dusting and vacuuming)...the walls/door frames were nasty - all those little hands make quite the messes! It felt great to get at least part of the house spic and span.
CAH came home from school and we went over her school work, had lunch and cleaned the basement (WAY too many toys were out at once!) Again, it felt great to tidy up. KBH received a doll bed for Christmas from my parents, so we put it next to her bed today. We also moved CAH's doll crib upstairs next to her bed. The girls had a ball getting everything set up!
This afternoon, to my delight, the contact person from Lakeridge Farms called me back and quoted me a great price for an indoor pool party for KBH (who will turn four in January.) I was SO relieved to have it planned!
When NCH came home, I made the kiddos cocoa and NCH talked about his day. He was eager to get started on a new Star Wars lego set he received for Christmas from my parents. I made spaghetti with meat sauce and garlic bread for dinner, and for dessert, the kiddos enjoyed the last of the reindeer cookies.
After dinner, hubby helped the kiddos open "day three" of the week-long gift from my parents (on day one, they give a book with a theme; for the next 6 nights, the kiddos open a gift and follow the instructions.) The book this year is called, "What Can I Give Jesus?" by Cheryl Kirking, and so far, the kiddos opened a dog bone for canine cousin Takoda, supplies to make Christmas cards to give away, and tonight - supplies to make cupcakes: keep 6 and give the rest away with the Christmas cards. After NCH and I cleaned up the dinner dishes, the kiddos all helped make the cupcakes. NCH read the directions, CAH got out the bakeware, KBH and NJH got to pour and mix. While NCH and CAH scooped the batter into the cupcake liners, KBH vacuumed. While the cupcakes baked, CAH did the dishes and KBH dried.



Afterwards, we watched The Charlie Brown Christmas special, frosted the cupcakes and got ready for bed.
The kiddos have also been enjoying two Christmas books with CDs...we gather in the boys' bedroom and listen to the bedtime stories.
Tomorrow, I look forward to cleaning the downstairs, going to KBH's preschool Christmas party, and in the evening - getting my hair cut and going out for dinner with two special friends.