What I learned this holiday season

Anticipation is a lot of the fun
I want to spend more time in church
My daughter loves songs, and singing, especially Jingle Bells
My husband can rock a stocking
My parents are thoughtful, thorough, and full of love
Our little street is perfect for us, right now
Snowmen are magical
Nothing gets my son to bed (and asleep) faster than the prospect of Santa's arrival
Wrapping presents with my husband late on Christmas Eve while watching Men in Black 3 and
having a Chocolate Bock is some of the most fun I've had
I am ok with half-finished paper chains hanging from the curtain rod
Homemade sparkly cat ornaments made from pipe cleaners are enough for the cat
One Santa gift and one mom and dad gift each plus a Santa stocking are probably plenty for my kids,
when added to the generous and thoughtful gifts sent by friends and family
Otherwise Christmas morning becomes an all day affair
In Owen's words at 5 pm "That was a short morning"
Simple can be better, especially concerning holiday meals
I love my mom's holiday ham
Watching my husband change a doll into a tutu, a tiara, and dancing shoes made my heart swell
Watching him install endless batteries and set up Cranky the crane did too
The best part of Christmas is slowing down and focusing on family; we are about to enjoy the gift of a week together, may we truly spend it on the kids

Things to make time for next year:

Naples Island (Long Beach) canal light displays and boat parade?
Rose parade float construction

Looking forward to:

watching kids play with new toys
snow day - Frazier Park/Mount Pinos
dot paint thank you notes
noon year's day celebration

Holiday Checklist

We have:

taken family pictures
visited tree festival
celebrated holiday season with neighbors
made a paper chain with red and green paper
put up outdoor lights
started opening one (or two) holiday books per day (our version of an advent calendar)
picked a tree
decorated a tree
sent round one of cards
made peppermint brownies
assembled and decorated our first Gingerbread house
made and wrapped gifts
opened gifts from Uncle Dave and Tia Jean
put up silver tree in kids' room
shopped
gone to see lights
watched holiday shows
made hot chocolate
tried eggnog (with peppermint sprinkles) (both kids loved it)
decorated cookies with Uncle Dave
gone ice skating
painted trees and a menorah
sang lots of carols (Frosty the Snowman is a favorite)
read The Polar Express (twice)
wrote a letter to Santa
visited Santa and took pictures with Santa
given cookies to garbage and recycling truck drivers
invited kids friends to Reindeer Rendezvous party to make reindeer food
hung ten cards on front door (that's what we've received so far)
had Christmas pajamas delivered magically via pillowcase
received (and eaten) yummy cookies from Amy next door
discussed whether we had replied to Santa's email asking about Owen's vegetable intake


We have not:

gone to see Grandpa play organ at the Vespers service
gone sledding
played in the snow
tried skiing
make snow
eaten snow
eaten yellow snow (jk)
snowshoed
gone to walk and see lights at Wakefield
held our Reindeer Rendezvous party
made Christmas Candy (O remembers pretzel sticks dipped in white chocolate and decorated with sprinkles)
emailed Santa

winterlight

it is quiet.
a cup of deep dark blood-red wine is in my cup
a cold wind blows

i am shaky
the waves of nausea have passed
i think

owen breathes in sleep
a winter's nap in the dim room
softly lit
4 spotlights, a colored string,
and
an angel

had a solitary hour at the mall today
it was bustling
with holiday fun and joy

shoppers, workers, a full parking lot
but in Newtown
and all across the land

tears fall
20 tiny souls lost
6 big souls too

and those two* parents.
thank goodness they are not
bearing witness to what has been done

*At the time of this writing, some details were fuzzy. I did not think the father had survived the incident.

Wonderful Weekend/500th post

In case I haven't mentioned it, having Fridays at home with my littles makes all the difference. I will definitely be continuing that if not increasing the time at home in the coming years. Yesterday we had such a lovely day.  It was cold in the morning, so we stayed home, made blueberry muffins for breakfast, cleaned up, organized the pantry, cleaned the kids bathroom, and fixed some lunch.  After lunch, we headed over to the annual tree festival, sponsored by the Boys and Girls Club.  We looked at the many gingerbread houses, tabletop trees, large trees, and also hung out for a while in the Kids corner making cards and ornaments. Owen even got to decorate a sugar cookie and he shared it with Laney.  Both kids enjoyed seeing all the decorations and working on the crafts.  Then we stopped at the bathroom, where O. used a stall all by himself for the first time and Laney used the potty too! She is getting to where she will use the potty 2-3 times a day.  Early Friday morning she had her baby doll sit on her pink potty 2-3 times and we praised the doll and gave her stickers and then lo and behold Laney sat and did BOTH pee pee and poo poo too. (She has pooed a handful of times on the potty but not as consistently as tinkling)

After the bathroom break we walked around at The Patios (the outdoor part of the mall) and saw a building site outside of Sears where they are putting in an outdoor play area. Then we drove over to Ralph's and pulled up right next to Grandma and Grandpa's car.  It was a gorgeous, coolish, sunny Fall afternoon and Laney was ready to fall asleep so I called G and G and the timing worked out perfectly because they were just about to check out. So they came out and sat with the kids while I ran in and got a few groceries for the weekend.  I drove home the long way and both kids were sleeping when I pulled in the garage around 3:30. I unloaded the food and the kids and started thinking about starting dinner. Of course Laney woke up (she had been sleeping over an hour) so she and I played downstairs and then I started making the cornbread and turkey chili for dinner. (Trader Joe's cornbread mix is the best!) Owen slept til 5:15 or so and after dinner we got ready for a popcorn/movie night. We had bought some fundraiser Kettle corn from our neighbor Kiera (her dance team is going to perform at Disney in April) and she had delivered it Thursday evening. So Owen picked out Numberland from Leapfrog for the movie. It has Violet and Scout (the kid's leapfrog dog stuffed animals) as main characters. Laney munched Pirate's Booty puffed baked corn and O. loved the kettle corn.  Altogether a fun fun day.

July 7-Saturday Park playmate/zoo with Julie, Kim and families

On Saturday we had the chance to meet up at a park about an hour from our relatives with two of my best college buddies and their families. Kim and Julie both have two boys; they have spent some time with each other but this was the first time all six kids were together. There was a park and a cute little zoo there so we had a fun fun afternoon!

Laney, Stephen,Ryan, Owen, Joseph, and Sean

popping bubbles

splash pad

Who's lap am I sitting on? I've never seen this guy before!

July 6-Friday Greenwich, CT day trip

Friday morning we drove to Greenwich, CT to visit Derek's Aunt Jean and Uncle Jerry. We met at their home and went to lunch at the Greenwich Country Club. After lunch we returned to their home to visit (and in Laney's case, nap) before Italian night at the club for dinner.  Uncle Chris, Aunt Linda, Diana and Christopher were driving in from Long Island to meet us for dinner. We all had a wonderful time feasting except for that moment between steak and chocolate cake when Laney threw up all over momma. We recovered with some help from Aunt Linda and cousin Diana, some big trash bags and fresh clothes from the car. The pix are post-sicky time.

Halloween/neighborhood potluck

This year Halloween fell on a Wednesday, just a day after superstorm Sandy hit the East coast, cancelling or postponing many trick or treating events there.  We had our annual neighborhood block party on Sunday the 29th, with a jumper (bounce house) and plenty of fun and good eats. The plan was for Delaney to be a pink butterfly and Owen a doctor. For trick or treat Wednesday, Laney ended up as Cinderella complete with real pearls and momma was the blue-haired princess. O. levitated as Dr. Owen. The kids had a blast trick or treating around our neighborhood and of course picking a piece of candy to enjoy when we got home. The pix tell the story better: 

Thursday July 5 evening