Well, this morning started off a bit hurried. Per my previous post, I fell asleep around 2am after getting home from Brittany's birthday party, but I forgot to set my alarm. Luckily, I woke up at 8:40am with just enough time to get ready and get to my nephew's basketball game. From the moment I woke up, I have been moving all day long so it feel goods to be able to have some downtime to myself.
Watching my nephew and his little teammates play basketball was quite the entertainment as are all sports that kids play when they are in elementary school. LOL. It was cute watching them try to dribble the ball up and down the court, trying to pass it to their teammates by basically handing it to them, and watching shot after shot go up in the air but nowhere near the basket. My sister-in-law were cracking up because my nephew would practically skip (not run) down the court and would forget to stay with his "man" while chasing after the ball. At the end of each period, he would turn and count down the seconds on the clock and would do a broncho in celebration. Sometimes I just wish I had a camera to record all of the hilarious things he does.
In talking with Amy, it was neat to find out that the league teaches not only the kids the basics and doesn't penalize them for not dribbling right, traveling, etc. as they learn, but they also encourage the parents and spectators to cheer for both teams as a way of teaching them good sportsmanship. Because as we know some parents need a little reminder that kids are kids, and it really is just a game. I think this is a concept that more people should embrace.
After Buddy's (my nephew) game was over, we "ditched" the parents, and the Kiddos and I came back to my place. But, before we got home, we decided to stop for a little treat and got some Dairy Queen. Yum! It was our "little secret". It's funny how if you tell kids that you are doing something and it's a little secret, you instantly go to the top of their "cool meter". When we got back to my house, we pulled up to find my parents here picking up some chairs that I had borrowed. My nephew comes into the house and says to my mom, "Don't tell mom and dad. It's our little secret." She didn't get it at first until I walked in and she asked me. When I told her that it had to do with the ice cream, she started laughing. I mean that's what Aunties are for - spoiling their nieces and nephews. :)
We ate lunch and watched movies all afternoon while the kids destroyed my house with game pieces, cards, and marbles. All in all, it was a pretty boring afternoon, but our evening was such a blast. After dinner, we put up the Christmas tree and made holiday Rice Krispie treats.
The Kiddos were so excited to put up the tree. All afternoon, "Turkey" (my niece) kept going over to the boxes and kept asking when she could put them up (as in my decorations), so when it came time to actually doing it, she was stoked. First, I put the tree together,and then we took a short pause to make the Rice Krispie treats. Buddy helped to melt the butter, while Turkey poured in the marshmallows and stirred for a bit until she got bored. What was I expecting? I am working with a 6 and 3 year old and trying to compete with Sponge Bob. So, yes, I ended up losing my helpers and making the treats on my own. They did show up to put sprinkles on the tops of the treats, though.
Once we finished making the treats, Buddy helped me to put up the Christmas lights, which we were one strand short, so my tree only has lights 2/3 of the way down. Guess this means I need to go shopping (again) and buy another strand to finish out the tree. Next, we put on the candy canes, and I thought Buddy was going to die of excitement. He said I was so awesome for putting them on my tree because according to him, Mom and Dad wouldn't let them put them up on their tree (which I found out later when I talked with his Mom that this wasn't the case...they simply couldn't find the specific candy canes they wanted so they hadn't put them up yet). Score 1 for Auntie! The best part, however, was putting on the rest of the decorations. Turkey ooohed and aaahhed when I opened the decorations box. We quickly got through the first layer and she said "that's it?" I cracked up because I still had two more layers. I pulled back the first layer to show the second one and she jumped up and down and ran in two quick circles with excitement over more tree decorations. It was the the cutest thing ever!
Although today was most definitely filled with a lot of funny, memorable moments (e.g. broncho kicks at the game, kids flying across my couches, Turkey pooping in her pants and running around with it like it was nothing, making Rice Krispies, watching movies, etc.), decorating my house and Christmas tree with the Kiddos was the best of all. I loved watching their faces as they put up the decorations and hearing Turkey squeal with excitement every time she picked up a new ornament and placed it on the tree. You can't buy moments like these. Today was a day I really wish I had a working camera because I would have loved to take photos of the kids decorating the tree and of them in their cute PJs lounging around the house.
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