Christmas Day Hair Flarping- A day to remember.

I wasn't sure if I should put this post on my family blog or mommy blog. Since I just put a post on the family blog, I guess it's time for me to talk about being a mom during this holiday.

As many moms out there, I have a vision as to what I think my Christmas day should look like... Excited children coming down the stairs to see the wonder of Christmas lights and presents under the tree. I dream of thankful children because they were given exactly what they wanted. A time of eating good food and maybe even an afternoon nap. But what I really envisioned this year was a day to spend with my family- playing games, opening presents, eating food, whatever! Just a day filled with joy, celebrating Jesus' birth.

It started out good. The kids were so excited Christmas morning. The oldest two rushed downstairs at the crack of dawn to open their stockings. I made them wait until my youngest was up before we could open the presents under the tree. By 8am, I thought the oldest two were going to explode, so I decided to wake up their brother. He had actually forgotten it was Christmas! How can a four year old forget it's Christmas?? But he did. When I reminded him what day it was, he rushed downstairs.

We opened presents. My husband and I spent the morning assembling racetracks, putting in batteries, and teaching the rules to new games. Then while the kids were playing, we opened our own gifts. It was a nice quiet morning at home.

Later in the morning, we went to my in-laws for breakfast. This is where all of the insanity began. One of the best gifts the kids got was this stuff called "flarp". It is just a small, plastic container of goo. When you stick your hand inside, it makes a farting noise. My kids loved it. They received many more gifts and lots and lots of sugary treats. They got so overstimulated from the excitement of it all, I didn't think we could ever bring them down. When we got back home, we Skyped my family in Atlanta and Germany and then sent everyone to take naps.

Naps didn't help. The kids woke up screaming, whining, pouting, demanding, and refusing to listen. They had become greedy little monsters amidst the rush of what is supposed to be a day of giving. We tried playing with them and their new toys. We played one game of Uno, trying to teach two four year olds the rules. (I was whipped by the end of that one!) We put together a new "Guess Who" game. (BTW, this is no easy task for those of you have never tried. The game is wonderful, but the set-up is rather difficult.) I showed the younger ones how to make smiley faces with their Light Brights and where they could carefully store the extra little pieces. It seemed everyone had calmed down a bit. Then my sister Skyped me.

As we tried to talk, each child ran in front of the camera to show their aunt a new toy. The excitement was beginning to build again. They not only showed her their new Christmas stuff, but they began bringing her just odd things like old, dirty mittens. At this point I told them all to go downstairs and play quietly for a few minutes. I just wanted to talk to my sister. Within minutes my oldest son comes upstairs and places something on my shoulder. As I reach back, I feel goop stuck in my hair. What was that? He is laughing. He had taken the "flarp" out of it's container and laid it on my shoulder as a joke, not realizing it was oozing into my hair. My sister laughed hysterically as I tried to pull this goo out of my hair. I was not amused. I sent the kids downstairs again and threw the flarp in the trash. My sister and I finished our conversation with orange goo in my hair. What could I do?? She insited that I should take a picture and post this on my blog. So here it is...

After our call was over, I pulled the rest of the flarp out, most of it anyways. Then I went to check on the kids. The basement was covered with all of their new Christmas toys, thrown throughout the room and pieces everywhere. The "Guess Who" game, which my husband and I had spent forever putting together, was in pieces. Every tiny, colored, Light Bright peg was thrown on the floor and stuck between couch cushions. The kids were laughing at the destruction of their new toys. And I had flarp in my hair!!!!

Now, it's Christmas and I want to give them a bit of a break. But this was too much for me to handle. After all of the fighting and whiny attitudes that I had heard today, I was at the end of my rope. I had the kids pick up all of their new toys and put them in a pile. We had a long discussion about being thankful for and taking care of the things we are given. So, yes, I took away my children's gifts on Christmas Day. Now, my husband was quick to point out that I was being a little harsh. But I had been leniant all day and this seemed to have created ungrateful, mean little children. Something drastic needed to be done.

Today my kids are more polite and thankful for everything. They are quickly earning back every toy through kindness and respect. Today is a new day and maybe they will remember this lesson next year. Maybe not. Either way, I am looking forward to today- a day of playing games and reading books and enjoying my beautiful children.