December 22

This one was an extra special treat for Madelyn! She rarely gets the opportunity to sleep in our bed , so the idea of snuggling up with Mom and Dad made her smile!

 

December 21

Who doesn't love ice cream?! For the Nielsens, it's one of five staples you can always find in our house, but it was still a special treat for Madelyn to create her very own "Christmas Sundae."

As I started to take pictures, Madelyn quickly told me to stop. She said she preferred to make a cooking show video. Okay. Sounded fun enough, but we had no idea that it would turn out the way it did. It's a little long (winded), but Chris and I both laughed at her raw "talk show" talent. We don't watch many cooking shows, so I'm not even sure where she got her idea, but look out Food Network, here comes Madelyn!

  

December 20

This morning was a new day with a new attitude. We believe in fresh starts, even after the worst of days, so today was as if yesterday never happened. :) Madelyn was cute when she opened today’s advent door. Right before she pulled it open, she pointed to yesterday’s date, cocked her head, and flashed a rather coy smile as if to say, “Can I just see what would have been?” I said, “You can open it.” I think she was a little surprised that it was empty, but she turned back to me and said, “Good thing I turned it around today, right?” Indeed, sweet girl. Indeed.

We love sitting by the fire and making s’mores, so I knew this one would be extra exciting! We even invited Madelyn’s friend, Isabelle (along with her mom and sister) to join us after dance class! What fun!

 

 

December 19

So, today was the first day Madelyn did not get anything in her advent calendar. We were in a hurry to get off to school, so we didn't think about checking the calendar. That actually ended up being a blessing because I didn't realize I'd be picking up a monster at the end of the day.

I know that this is a crazy time for little ones, and there are a lot of fun activities at school, and probably more sugar than usual. Top that off with finding out that 15 of the 16 teachers you have grown to love will not be teaching you after Christmas break, and you get one emotionally distraught kid. Man. That just doesn't even do it justice. Let me paint a prettier picture...

When I picked Madelyn up from school, the first thing she asked was to show her new "barbie" to one of her teachers. I didn't have it with me so I told her we'd have to show her tomorrow. She held it together while we were still in the room, but as soon as the door closed, the tears started flowing.

I asked her why she was so sad, and she really just wanted to show her doll to her teacher. Being the mean Mommy that I am, I told her we had to wait until tomorrow because we'd couldn't walk all the way back across campus.

Once I got her buckled into her seat, she started screaming. While screaming, she was turned around in her carseat, watching us pull away from the school. She started yelling, "I want my teachers! I need Miss Ashlynn! TEACHERS!" Her arms were outstretched in case anyone was watching so they could rescue her.

I kept driving. I didn't say a word.

The next thing I knew, there was a shoe coming toward my head. And then another. And then a headband. And then a barbie. A left-over breakfast bar. A blanket.... I had no idea there were so many items in the backseat. And now they were all in the front seat.

I stayed quiet, trying to keep my composure. When she realized I was ignoring her, and that shoes in my face weren't doing the trick, she used the ultimate defense. Her words. She began shouting such things as "I hate you!" "I think you're stupid!" "You are in trouble!" (that one made me laugh because I was thinking, boy if she only knew how much trouble she was in when we got home). Although it bothered me that she was saying these things, I forced myself to be quiet.

As we turned the corner on our street, she was still noticably upset, and as a last straw, she told me she was going to hit me when we get home. And indeed, as soon as I parked the car, she unbuckled her seatbelt and took a good swing at my shoulder.

I got out, opened her door (still not saying anything), scooped her out of the car, and walked into the house and put her in her room, on her bed. I left her in there to cry for a while, and after she settled down went in and talked to her.

After talking about her awful behavior, I asked her if she thought she was on the naughty or nice list, and she looked at me, with tears welling up again, and said, "I'm on the naughty list now. I need to say sorry to Santa." HA! That's really all I needed. But then I quickly said to her, "You need to say sorry to more than just Santa." She said, "I'm sorry, Mommy. I am just feeling tired, and I that's why I wasn't very nice to you." I told her I would always love her, even when she's being naughty. She replied, "And I will always love you. Even when you're an angry mommy." Oh, that kid. I do love her so.
 

December 18

Okay, so "homemade" might be a stretch since the dough was pre-made, but we did add Madelyn's favoirte toppings: cheese and pepperoni.