The Nutcracker

Last weekend was our Nutcracker performance.  We had a five hour dress rehearsal the night before, and then on Saturday we performed two shows.  Rylan had two parts; a dancing gingerbread and a butterfly in the Waltz of the Flowers.  Dean and I were party parents again.  Since this was our second year, we were much more relaxed and it was a lot more fun.  There was definitely a different dynamic amongst the party scene people this year, because it felt much better.  The kids were more fun, there were actual 'parents' rather than teenage girls playing the role of a man to help fill in the scene, and there was more acting involved this year.  We had to chase around our naughty kids, Dean and another dad fought over who got to bring out the toy soldier and hold his toy gun, and my stage 'daughter' took a liking to us and interacted with us quite a bit.  Last year our two stage daughters treated us like we had a disease or something.

I thought it would be much more interesting to take our pictures in front of the set rather than the hallway like last year, but the stage lighting made it next to impossible to get something decent.  I never did get a good shot of my dress, but here it is.  I added a whole bunch of fabric bits and baubles to make it more colorful and sparkly for the stage.  I was going for an Edwardian look, but you can't really tell in the pictures.  I'm not satisfied with it, yet.  I will be making changes before next year.  Hopefully losing the 20 pounds (again) I gained back since last year will be included in those changes.  It will fit much better, I'm sure.

Rylan had a lot of fun performing this year.  This girl loves the stage - absolutely no butterflies.  There was a hitch this year - there was only once dance between her gingerbread and the butterfly.  She and four other little girls were all in the same quick-change boat, so I was backstage with the other moms to help our girls strip completely out of one outfit and into another - and then back again since she was a ginger in the finale.  It was stressful, yet comical.  Rylan learned quickly that there was no time for modesty, and nobody really cares...

I have been really, really lame about posting stuff on the blog.  I never posted about our Nutcracker experience (Rylan's second, and our first) last year, so I am including some pictures here.  Rylan performed as a snow flurry.  She and her class performed alongside the older girls that were the snowflakes.  She looked beautiful.

Here we are, feeling much more relaxed as we had the matinee under our belts and were a lot less nervous.  I am actually wearing my wedding dress.  I was about 8 weeks post BR surgery here, so I was still very sore and swollen, and the dancing bothered me just a bit.  After seeing the video of us dancing on stage, I felt like I looked very washed out and pale, so I thought I needed to add color to the dress this year.  We did have a lot of fun, which played a big part in our decision to do it again this year - and probably be roped into this part for a few years to come.  (if they'll have us)  It is definitely a unique couple experience, and we really enjoyed playing off of each other on stage.  Dean is a ham.  This year we cracked ourselves up, pretending to take selfies in front of the Christmas tree during the party scene - during rehearsal of course.

Many, many thanks to my mom for putting in the long hours of babysitting so that we could take part in this!

All I want for Christmas is to be able to breathe. Normally.

In the past week our family has gone through:

4 cans of chicken soup

2 cans tomato soup

2 gallons of juice

2 liters of 7-up

1 jar of honey

1 box of tea

1 box of saltines

2 bottles of Children's Tylenol

3 boxes of Kleenex

1 box of extra-strength Mucinex

It is difficult when a family member is sick.  It is even harder when four are sick simultaneously.  You have to compete for couch space.  Feverish kids want to lay on you, as well as the cat.  There aren't enough Kleenex boxes to go around.  Somebody is going to have to let the dog out.  And it won't be me, since I can't lift my head off the pillow without it splitting into two.

My hero this week is my 8 year old daughter (the only one well at the time) who managed to make the rest of us tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.  She let the dog out.  Multiple times.  She fetched blankets, charger cords, Kleenex and made tea.  My husband, also my hero, who was just a bit less dizzy than I, was the one who made the heroic trip to the grocery store to replenish our stores, and monitor everyone's temperature.

We managed.  We survived.  We even got the tree decorated.  I kept half-lidded eyes on the breakables, as each child hung up their ornaments.  I didn't give a whit where they ended up on the tree.  We had Christmas movie marathons.  I've watched every episode of every season of Shawn the Sheep.  I think I'm good now, thanks.  Even though being sick absolutely sucks, everybody being in the same boat draws a family closer together.  United in snot.  And phlegm.  The one with the highest temperature of the hour wins....a popsicle!

And now, our little Florence Nightingale is taking her turn.  She is the lucky one.  She has four family members to wait on her.

Jordan is so, so lucky that he is in OKC at the moment...  

and now, in that post-cold energy rush, it is sinking in that I've only got 5 days to get my Christmas shit together....

So I guess the holidays are here...

I am beginning to really resent our slave-like Calvert school schedule.  It is ridiculous that I constantly have my eyeballs glued to a planner, yet it never dawns on me what day it really is.  To me, it's just Lesson Day 62, and Jordan is currently slogging though Day 32, Rylan Day 46, and Owen Day 53.  I live and breathe the mantra, How much can we get done today in the never-ending effort to get caught up, instead of noticing that fall has happened, Halloween has happened, Thanksgiving has happened, and HELLO? Christmas is just around the corner??  This curriculum is robbing us of quite a lot.  :(

Fall has happened.

We did enjoy the fall - in a very limited way.  A few leaf walks, a visit to an apple orchard, a hike, the pumpkin patch, Trick-or-Treating on Halloween, leaf raking...  It was all crammed in and between everything else that makes the fall crazy - scout popcorn, scouting for food, Fall Camporee, (all compounded by adding Owen to the family scouting roster), Nutcracker practices, Lego...  I don't like leaving seasonal and family rituals out of the schedule and then fitting them in where we can.  There is no downtime, no spontaneity, and by Thanksgiving we are exhausted.

Thanksgiving has happened.

Thanksgiving was supposed to be spent at home in CO this year, but a schedule switch had to be made in order to accommodate a family trip to CA over New Years, so we went to OKC for Thanksgiving instead of Christmas, so that we wouldn't have two big trips just days apart.  It actually worked out really well.  We had a very good week in OKC, beginning with a family get-together the evening we arrived, which was great since that gave us a chance to see everyone - including our newest grandniece, now 9 months old.  Since this year is the 'off year', in which all the families would be spending the holiday with their inlaws, we knew that our Thanksgiving would be just our family and Dean's folks.  Eight of us.  Can I just say how wonderful that was?  Don't get me wrong - I love the whole family get-togethers and all, but for this wallflower, a small, intimate dinner with 'just us', was wonderful.  In addition, this was not Jordan's scheduled holiday visitation with his mom, so he got to spend the week with us  - and more importantly his grandparents, although we did agree that he could spend the night on Thanksgiving and most of Friday with his mom.  He flies out to OKC in just a few more days, and will spend two weeks with her during Christmas.

Back to the actual event - there was no stress in cooking, no stress in traveling anywhere, no stress of a houseful of people, no stress in clean up.. there was just no stress at all!  I didn't know what to do with myself in a nonstressed state.  So I knitted.  That stressed me out, so I felt better.  My MIL handled the turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole and mashed potatoes, and I made the rolls, sweet potatoes and gravy.  This was the first time - EVER - that Jordan had the quintessential childhood experience of waking up to the smell of roasting turkey.  For 14 years that child has had to wait for that... a shame!  I have only roasted a turkey once, (last Christmas??) and that was during the day, and I can't remember if he was here or not - he may have been with his mom, who doesn't cook.  Every other holiday in which turkey is involved, the roasting happened at a house he was traveling to, so he never experience that wonderful smell that weaves its way into your dreams and wakes you up at 5:30 a.m. with a growling stomach!  So glad he was with us.

Christmas is happening.

It is now the 10th, and all we have managed to do is drag the tree up from the basement last night, and untangle the lights.  That's it.  Oh, and I put up the advent calendar.  And purchased a poinsettia and a wreath for the door.  I love, love to decorate, yet there is just no time! :(  I am in the process of clearing out about 500 curriculum books (no joke!) from the office shelves to put up my Santa and Nativity displays.  That is the safest spot for them, so every year the books have to be moved temporarily - which, as you can imagine, is a huge chore.  Especially when you have a bum knee.

I haven't even thought about Christmas presents.  At all.

We are leaving for CA in about two weeks.  I haven't thought about that either.  Other than to think about temporary pet placement.

All that is on my mind (apart from stupid schoolwork) is the Nutcracker.  After this weekend, it will be over.  This is Rylan's third year performing in her dance academy's production, and it is the fourth year they have been putting it on.  It is a 'smaller' performance overall when compared to others - the music has been edited for length, the set is more scaled back and it is performed in a high school auditorium, but it does seem to get bigger in scope every year.  This year Rylan is dancing as a Gingerbread and as a butterfly during the Waltz of the Flowers.  Dean and I are once again performing in the party scene.  We are the 'parents' of four, including two very naughty boys, so we get to do a lot of 'scolding' during the party.  Good times.  No different from our daily life.  I spent a very stressful week last week altering my dress so that it looked more 'festive' and period-appropriate.  I will post pictures eventually.  I'm not happy with it, but it will have to do.  We performed last Friday at a different high school for some elementary kiddos, and then we perform twice this coming Saturday.  It will be a long nine hours at the theater.  Last year I was freaked out by it all.  This year I am surprisingly calm.

2013 In Review

Here is a link to the awesome list of questions that inspired this post.

1.      What did you do in 2013 that you’d never done before?

* Knitting.  I've knitted three scarves in the past, but this time around I am knitting a hat.  So far I have learned how to purl, knit in the round and cable.  The hat isn't completed yet, but I am getting close.
* I danced on stage with my husband in the Nutcracker.  We were part of the party scene.  I have never danced in a performance before, other than in dance recitals when I was a kid.  It was the highlight of my year.  :)
*Visited my dad's childhood home.  My dad's first few years were spent in Crawford, Nebraska.  We had a family weekend over Labor Day where we all gathered at Fort Robinson, NE, which is just a couple miles away from Crawford.
*Saw the peloton of pro bicyclists go by as they raced into our city in the second-to-last stage of the USA Pro Challenge this past August.  That was very cool!

 

2.      Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions and will you make more for next year?
I never did officially write anything down, but here is what I was thinking as the new year (2013)rolled in...
* I needed to take care of my shoulder.  The pain was increasing and affecting my daily life in every way.  I began physical therapy in early March, and progressed through the hoops of nerve study, MRI, surgery in May, and then more physical therapy.  By August I was officially pain free.
* I wanted a breast reduction.  It was something that I have wanted to do for years.  This year I got serious.  It was part of the reason why I was having issues with my shoulder, anyway.  I'd done years of chiropractic, massage, physical therapy, pain meds...  Nothing was going to ease the discomfort of carrying those things around but to surgically reduce their size.  I fought the insurance company for three months before I finally got it approved.  Surgery was in October, and I have to say this is the single-most BEST thing I have ever done for myself.  I am still very emotional about it - I am so incredibly happy with the results and the way I physically feel, now.
* Lose some weight.  This went hand-in-hand with the other two.  I will continue to have issues with joint and back pain until I get the weight off.  I lost 20 pounds between July and October.  Despite curtailing my exercise while I recovered from the breast reduction and all the culinary goodies that come with the holidays, I have maintained that loss so far.  Very proud of that.  :)

For next year...
* lose another 20 lbs
* save up enough $$ to take a family vacation next New Years to see my nephew march in the Rose Parade and go to Disneyland.
* spend more time with my extended family
* grow more than just weeds and basil in my garden
* actually DO those annual 694 hours of instruction time per child that I promise the state I will do.
* read 10 books.  I have no problem with reading or even the desire to read.  It's more about taking the time to actually do so.

3.      Did anyone close to you give birth?
My niece by marriage gave birth to a baby girl, EmmaRae, on July 31st.  I got to see and hold her for the first time during our Thanksgiving visit.  Such a sweet, beautiful baby girl.  How I miss holding babies and smelling their scent and listening to their sounds.  Sad sigh.

4.      Did anyone close to you die?
My uncle Buzz passed away in early December, shortly before 2013 began.  It has been a long year of 'firsts' where we did things as a family that were marked by his absence.  I visited his grave for the first time yesterday, as Rylan and I were driving to Boulder on an errand.  It was a spur of the moment decision.  We had not been invited to the burial, but my mom had shared with me whereabouts in the small cemetery his grave was located, so with just a few minutes' searching we found it.  There were three different Christmas arrangements there, by his headstone.  He is missed a great deal.
In February my great-aunt Bernice passed away.  She had been suffering for several years with Alzheimer's.  She was a grand lady that loved to collect antiques.  I remember going to her house, just down the street from my grandma's, to have tea, and then take a tour of her latest finds.  She walked everywhere and was busy, busy, busy.  She reminded me so much of my grandpa Orin (her older brother).  She had a sharp mind and wit.. it was so sad when the signs of Alzheimer's began to take hold.

5.      What countries did you visit?
Maybe I should change this to say 'counties' so that I can actually write something here.

6.      What would you like to have in 2014 that you lacked in 2013?
A more peaceful household.  Some days the chaos of the kids is just overwhelming.

7.      What dates from 2013 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
May 22nd: shoulder surgery
Oct 10th: breast reduction surgery
Dec 31st: running the Resolution Run 5K - a goal of mine since July

8.      What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Losing the weight and regaining control of my health.  Wow.  Hard to put in to words how big this was.

9.      What was your biggest failure?
Getting control of the finances, record-keeping, bill paying... I have a continual pile of receipts that just will. never. end.
 

10.   Did you suffer illness or injury?
I got the flu in March, which really sucked, but otherwise it was a very fortunate year.

11.   What was the best thing you bought?
Hmmm. My Fitbit!  That little device was a catalyst for a lot of beneficial changes.

But honorable mention goes to the Keurig.  :)

12.   What was the best thing you received?
A beautiful red mug with white and gold snowflakes from my husband.  A total just-because surprise and very touching.  :)
 

13.   Where did most of your money go?
Projects around the house.  We replaced the old mish-mash of laminate and carpeting on the main floor with some beautiful Pergo flooring, along with new tile around the fireplace and paint for the walls.  The rest of it went towards running gear, tools and curriculum.

14.   What did you get really excited about?
My surgery.  It changed everything.

15.   What song will always remind you of 2013?
Blurred Lines.  I know, I know.  Quit yer bitching.  I loved that song.  It began my walking playlist for months.  I think too much has been read into the lyrics.  It has a great beat!  Nuff' said.

16.   Compared to this time last year, are you: a) happier or sadder? B) thinner or fatter? C) richer or poorer?
a) happier - much happier!     b) thinner - yay!    c) I wouldn't say 'richer' per se, but we have improved the quality of some things in our life.

17.    What do you wish you’d done more of?
Schoolwork.  Travel.  Camping.  Nature Study.

18.   What do you wish you’d done less of?
Fretting about things I had no control over.

19   How did you spend Christmas?
We stayed at home this year.  We visited Santa a couple days before, shopped for gifts at the last minute...  We went to services on Christmas Eve with my dad and brother and nephews, and then they all came over after for a spaghetti dinner.  My nephews were sweet in saying that they loved the food and just hanging out with all of us together.  After they left we bundled up and headed out to look at Christmas lights.  We had a nice Christmas morning opening gifts, ate chocolate waffles for breakfast, and a turkey dinner at my mom's that afternoon.  We did puzzles, movies, popcorn, hot cocoa and left overs for the remainder of the day.

20.   What was your favorite TV program?
The Middle and The Biggest Loser.

21.   What were your favorite books of the year?
Hyperbole and a Half: unfortunate situations, flawed coping mechanisms, mayhem, and other things that happened, by Allie Brosh. 

Absolutely hilarious and way too close to home, all at the same time.

22.   What was your favorite music from this year?
Everything on my walking/running playlist

23.   What were your favorite films of the year?
Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Frozen.

24.   What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I turned 42.  We spent the day hiking and then a nice dinner at my mom's.

25.   What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
It has been such an amazing year of transformation, I really can't think of what to say here.  Maybe if there was less arguing amongst the kids. 

26.   What political issue stirred you the most?
I am deeply concerned about what Common Core is doing to our nation's teachers and children, and what the Koch Brothers are up to.  The implications are scary, and the thought of politicians and businessmen driving our nation's education policy and instruction just completely pisses me off.

27.   What kept you sane?
Exercise.

28.   Who did you meet this year?
I met... some new doctors and nurses -all great at what they do!
 

29.   Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2013.

Your mental and physical health is the only thing that you have direct control over.  Do it.  Today.

30.  Best song lyric for the year?

"I went from zero, to my own hero"
-"Roar" by Katy Perry
 

Simple Woman's Daybook Entry

 

Outside my window... A new window location to look out of today! Even though it faces the street, the front window is my favorite spot. It has the best sunlight and view. It is sunny, and the streets and sidewalks are mostly clear of the snow from last week. There is still about 2-3 inches of crusty snow on the grass.

I am thinking... It's been a tough week emotionally. A person in my life let me down in a big way, and then turned around and made an even bigger demand on me and my time. I am already so busy, and this situation just...sucks. I am such a doormat. I love it when I can help others, but I think certain types of people sense that, and they just capitalize on that. I've really got to learn how to say "no" and put my time and my family first.

I am thankful... That we have a warm home, loving grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and that getting together for family fun is such a natural and easy thing for us. It really takes the stress out of the holidays in these parts.

From the Learning Rooms... pathetically little. We even missed out on the Hour of Code this past week because I am so lame and so busy. We will definitely get to it this week.

In the kitchen... I did manage to make two different batches of Christmas cookies this past week. I love to bake. I love friends that bake even more. Amanda - your cookies are evil. In a super delicious way. I'm not sure if I should thank you. But I will. And then I will reluctantly run another lap around the block to make up for liking your cookies so much.

I am wearing... pjs on a Sunday morning cannot be beat!

I am creating... shhhhh... I am attempting to make individual teepee hideouts for the little kids. Dean is cutting the pvc poles, and I am making the covering out of tanned buffalo hides. Okay, okay... bedsheets and fabric yardage that used to cover the walls in my classroom. Glad to finally use all of those yards of fabric for something!! Many thanks to friend Dennise for the inspiration. And the hundreds of pins out there devoted to said subject. With any luck, we'll have a teepee village surrounding the Christmas Tree on Christmas morning - complete with wild Indians, I'm sure.

Link to pic and how-to..

I am going... To Bed Bath & Beyond today to start the long and expensive journey of getting new window coverings for just about every window in the house. So long and so expensive, that they will have to be done one at a time. So we get to enjoy another long year of the house looking unfinished and unkempt. Today's window is the front office room that I am currently in. It is the most visible of the windows, and I would really like some privacy. A fabric shade was here before, but kitty shredded it to pieces because the bird feeder was positioned on the other side of the window. Despite repeated attempts to stalk and pounce on unsuspecting birds, she never got a clue that it just wasn't going to work out for her. Too many concussions from hitting the window, I suppose.

I am wondering... I've asked this before, and it is on my mind ever-so-much this week. If there was one responsibility in your life that you could let go of, what would it be? What would you just love to walk away from?

 

I am reading... Nothing much of consequence...there is just too much to do in a day. :(


I am hoping... For lots of sunshine this week. I need to run!

 

I am looking forward to... We are getting our girl scout troop together this week for an ornament co-op. I love this event!

 

I am learning... I think I am going to be learning about code, as I work through it with Rylan. Jordan can handle it on his own.

 

I am hearing... Felix Da Housecat, Radio.

Around the house... Painting. Lots and lots of painting. Dean finished the floors last weekend, and we could FINALLY put away the drills, saws, hammers, scraps of wood and so forth that have decorated our counters for the past eight months or so. That is a long, long time to live with dust and debris.  Now we can have paint cans, rollers in ziplock bags, brushes and paint trays instead. Much better. ;)

 

I am pondering... Hmm. Paint color I guess. I am really happy with the deep wall color I chose - called Pecan Sandie by Behr. It reminds me of creamy coffee. I am not happy with the medium hue I chose - off of the same pain chip. It has a definite lilac tinge to it that I do not like. I am debating just doing the whole lower level in Pecan Sandie. I really liked having dimension on some of the walls though, and having focal walls be the deep color. Hmmm. Decisions, decisions. Thank goodness it's not life or death around here.

One of my favorite things... Is an OCD fix! Here is a good one! Off to buy some filing folders!

 

A few plans for the rest of the week... the normal activity schedule, bake some cookies for a bake sale fundraiser for a very sick scout in Jordan's troop [cancer... :( ], ornaments with the girl scouts, homeschool gym class, and a doctor appointment. A very low-key week indeed - just what I needed. :) I guess I should add decorate the tree, set up my Santa collection, and painting. Lots of painting.

 

Here is a picture for thought I am sharing...

My kids and my nephews (the three older boys) decorated gingerbread houses last night.  Drew (on the far left), and Colin (on the far right), may be cousins, but they are totally copycat versions of each other.  They even fake 'smile' the same.  Drew calls Colin his 'mini-me'.  SO true.  so true...

 

 

To read more entries and visit a variety of other blogs, go here...

 

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Thanksgiving, by the numbers...

1 - The number of times we ate at Ted's Cafe. We love this place. I entered 1000 cal. on MyFitnessPal and called it good. They serve a warm creamy queso dip, fresh, thick tortillas, chips & salsa to your table within a couple minutes of you sitting down. That queso dip is calling my naaame...

2 - The number of times I called my friend Shawn for emergency knitting help. I have now conquered the purl stitch and knitting in the round. I may finish my hat before the next century.

3 - The number of stores we shopped at on Black Friday. I usually have a rule that this day is a NOshopping day. but... when you run out of diapers, even a moral stance has to give way. So, in the late, late afternoon in the hopes of avoiding crowds, we dropped by Target to pick up some diapers, we went to Bed, Bath & Beyond to get my MIL a nice trashcan for the kitchen because paper bags on the floor were not cutting it, and I got these babies (see below) because it was so beyond time to replace them, and there was a New Balance store not far away, AND, well, it was Black Friday, no? I got them for 10% off!

3.5 - The number of hours we spent at Jasmine Moran Children's Museum. This was our second visit, and we really love this place. There was lots of new stuff to see and do. My favorite was the air tubes that you could watch large pompoms or scarves travel through.. Here are a few pics of the kids...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 - The number of times we visited Braum's for ice cream and food. If you don't live in the KS/OK/TX region you may not know what this place is, but their ice cream is* magical*. This was definitely the week to not think about calories. I need to stop writing about food.

5 - The number of items we carried into the hotel the night we left. (We split the drive over two days on the way out, because we couldn't leave until early evening). Dean was quick to remind me of this fact several times over the span of our visit - and related this fact to anybody who was willing to listen. There is some history behind this, because this has been a HUGE point of contention between us since the get-go. I was always of the frame of mind that each child had their own packed duffle bag of clothes/toiletries/books and so forth. Every time we stayed at a hotel, in went everybody's individual bag. That meant 4 duffle bags, 2 suitcases, 3-4 bags of electronics and paperwork that couldn't be left in the car, the little cooler and food bin (especially if it was a summer road trip), baby stuff (at various times over the course of the years), individual blankets and pillows for the kids and so forth. We usually filled an entire luggage cart from top to bottom. Dean was in the frame of mind that we should pack one 'hotel' bag. Into this bag would go an outfit for each person for the next day, and any diapers/toiletries we would need. I always said 'no', because invariably somebody would mess up their clothes at breakfast, we would run short on diapers, or forget something. This year I relented. I finally felt that the kids were old enough that we didn't need to factor in 'what-if'. So, when we rolled into Hays, KS at 12:35 a.m., we carried in one duffle bag, 2 electronics backpacks (don't want to leave it in the car overnight), 1 paperwork bag and my purse. Dean has won the argument, hands down. Now I just have to live with his gloating for the rest of my life.

6 - The number of Christmas placemats my SIL Joyce made for our family. LOVE THEM!

6 - The average number of hours it takes to drive through Kansas via I-70 - I-35. I like Kansas for the simple reason that it is good for prolonged conversations, listening to podcasts of Wait, Wait and This American Life, and knitting. Well - attempts at knitting.

6.5 - The number of miles I ran! :) Two runs - the first was mind-blowingly awesome. The second one hurt a little bit in the feet, and I felt a bit sore and stiff everywhere else. (I ran Monday and Wednesday). My shoes are sooo old, and the lining of the heel cup in one has completely rubbed away and I've patched it with duct tape more times than I can count since July, and I need to tape my heel so that I don't get a blister, and I forgot to pack tape, and there you go. Time for new shoes. (See #3)

8 - The number of snack bags I made for the car trip. We haven't been on a road trip since last Christmas, so since the littles are a year older, things get easier. The morning of the day we left, I made the snack bags - two per kid, one for the way there, one for the way back. Each bag had some vanilla wafers, pretzels, cheese crackers, wheat thins, starbursts, M&M's, Mike n' Ike's, Jolly Ranchers and fruit snacks. It worked like a charm - no repeatedly asking for food, and they were told, once it's gone, it's gone. Every bad had some left. Many, many thanks to my friend Amanda, for the idea. :) oh - and only one bag got dumped out - in the garage, at home, as we were unpacking.

$27.50 - The price of two adult movie tickets to see Catching Fire. Absolutely worth it. The movie was just as I imagined things in my head - especially the arena. On a side note, I had to bunch up some torn napkin and put it in my ears because the volume level was deafening. From the moment the first preview began, I was covering my ears. It is just me? Am I getting too old and sensitive? Jeez! TURN IT DOWN! Other than that, the movie was great.

30 - the number of family members that ate a large meal together on Thanksgiving. It was a very good day - nothing felt rushed, the food turned out perfectly (every family brought something) and my children did not act like buffoons or break anything, so that is always a plus. I made a spicy cranberry sauce appetizer (you eat it with cream cheese and crackers), a hot spinach and artichoke dip on toasted baguettes appetizer, 6 dozen rolls, hot cider, and helped with a few other things here and there. I came armed with my recipes and trusty bread machine.

91 - The number of tickets we earned by playing skeeball, plastic 10-pin bowling and rifle shooting when we took the kids to GattiTown for pizza and fun. The kids took their first-ever ride on Go Karts (the entire place is indoors). Rylan got to drive herself, I rode with Colin, and Owen rode with Dean. The kids spent their tickets on a plastic ball for Owen, a paper fan for Rylan, and a plastic kazoo for Colin. Nothing lasted longer than a couple of hours - except for the heartburn.

 

 

 

 

 

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Stepping out on date night with four left feet

 

 

It's not that I woke up one morning and decided that from now on I would look for every opportunity to step outside my comfort zone - let alone drag my husband with me.  However, on that day in August, when an email from my daughter's dance studio arrived with a request for adult volunteers to dance as party scene parents in the Nutcracker, my mind started racing.  Could I?  Should I?  We?  Would Dean be willing to do it with me?  Can he dance?  I don't know?!?!?  How is it that I have no idea if my husband can dance or not??

 

The sad fact is, since the moment we met, we have never danced.  Not once.  Not at our wedding, or at a club, or at someone else's wedding, not even in the living room.  We may have swayed to-and-fro a bit in the hospital room, but I was in active labor so I may have been hallucinating.  We made it official on the evening of November 1st, when Dean took my hand and we twirled on a bonafide dance floor for the very first time.  And then I started a count late, he stepped out with the wrong foot, and we fumbled for the other's hand as we each turned in the wrong direction.  We were dancing!

 

We had a great time.  It felt like a date night! We chatted, we laughed...  This plays directly into sage marriage advice - find and use opportunities to try new things together, as it will provide ways to learn and grow as a couple.  It is hard to put what I feel into words, but I feel so blessed - a thousand times over - that Dean was willing to step outside of his own comfort zone to do this with me.  Sure my stomach is in knots with anxiety over doing this, but this is such a rare opportunity that we get to dance together in the Nutcracker of all things...  It is exciting to be in rehearsal and to be a part of something bigger once again.  I also realize that this may be a long-time gig.  Willing and able adult volunteers are hard to find - and they know where we live.

 

 

 

Season's Greetings

 

 

I am totally rockin' the procrastination thang..

 

 

At long last I have gained back that square foot of desk space that has been occupied by the stack of unfinished Christmas cards since mid-November.  Our Shutterfly family photo card framed in festive greens and reds, along with the ubiquitous 'Annual Christmas Letter' (revised multiple times as time kept ticking by) is officially on its way to 40 or so unsuspecting family members and friends.

 

 

I.  am.  awesome.





The Most Wonderful Week of the Year

This is the best week of the entire year.  Seven straight days of empty white boxes on the calendar.  Bliss.  I love this week.   And, we are officially done with all things Christmas - everything was packed up yesterday (don't hate me).  I want to get back to all things homeschool next week with a serious bang.

There are numerous things to celebrate this week...

• no schoolwork, apart from reading
• a fridge full of leftovers
• tons of cookies!!!!
• there are several family games to play and puzzles to put together
• we can get caught up on chores around the house w/o guilt
• no karate lessons to drive to
• the upcoming new year creates the perfect atmosphere to sort, donate and pitch
• I get to shred all of my documents from 2004.  Hallelujah!

Since Dean is home all this week, we have three different major projects in the works.  Finish clearing out the basement (we are a third of the way there), move the entire playroom to the basement, and move the office to what was the playroom and will now be the official school room.  I.  can't.  wait.  I have wanted this for sooooo long.  I am sad that the kids will be playing in the basement, so I don't get to hear the sounds of play in the adjoining room as I am making dinner or whatnot, but I also don't have to hear the constant fighting over toys.  I don't have to deal with the constant mess of toys strewn EVERYWHERE!  The last straw came a few weeks ago when I came down the stairs during the night, stepped on a sharp piece of Lego and went down.  I was done - the toys were going to move come hell or high water.  I do have several concerns about how to make this work. I worry about supervision.  I will have to move the baby monitor around on a daily basis, and rotate out Jordan and Rylan as we move through our lessons - which might actually be a good thing because then I can work with them one on one.  We have a big gigantic behemoth T.V. down there.  We bolted that to the wall on Monday, so I feel much better about that.  Now all I have to worry about is the china cabinet...

I wanted to get a lot of posts done this week because my mental queue is getting out of control, but the work I described above is pulling rank.  I didn't even get to post about our actual Christmas, so here it goes...It was very nice.   We had dinner at my mom's on the 23rd, and opened presents.  We went to my brother and SIL's for the large family gathering on the morning of the 24th for a brunch.  That was awesome.  I highly recommend trying that instead of a large heavy evening holiday meal.  The kids got to play out in the snow, the adults weren't stressed about how late it was getting and the kids were in fine shape.  I'm all in favor of morning things - then it doesn't interfere with naptime. 

We brought my dad home with us that afternoon and he stayed through the evening.  We got a pizza (it was too late to start the crockpot meal I had been planning to making), and had a quick dinner, then it was on to baking and frosting sugar cookies for Santa.  We hurried down to church and enjoyed a gorgeous candle light service.  Then we dropped of dad at his house, went home and put the kids to bed, and the stayed up until 3 am wrapping presents.  Good times. 

I picked dad up at 8 am, brought him home and then the kids came down and the present fest began.  We had a wonderful, low-key day.  A lazy breakfast of strawberry coffee cake, bacon and eggs, and then lots and lots of play.  My dad and I made stuffing and got the turkey into the roaster, and then we played a new game that the Oklahoma grandparents gave us.  Ever played Qwirkle?  It is awesome!! My stepmom joined us about dinner time, and we had a lovely Christmas meal of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, veggies and cherry pie.

Loved spending some time with my dad.  We haven't seen him since before Thanksgiving.  We both arrived home sicker than sick from Thanksgiving vacations, and then the whole Chicken Pox debacle - he's another family member that can not afford to get Shingles.  It was really nice to have him here, and he loved the chance to do some baking with Rylan.

Here are some pics...

A few thoughts...

I tried to talk Santa out of it, but he insisted on bringing ice skates to Rylan.  So now we have the pleasure of figuring out how to work in skating, ballet and tap lessons.  Wow.

Rylan can pack a mean snowball.

The Firefly is an awesome toy to use in the dark - so cool.

Opening presents one-handed is difficult...especially when you can't put down the cookie.

Owen eats, sleeps, and breathes all things Lightening McQueen.

Sparring gear is expensive.

Rylan's dollhouse family can now go on holiday in a cool camper van or go camping in the wilderness.

We've watched Cars2 five times in the past 72 hours.  It's still good.

Jordan got 2 new Nintendo 3DS games.  We also found out that Jordan has frequently been getting up in the middle of the night to play... even more disturbing is that it was online with other people.   All handheld gaming devices are now under lock and key.



It was a lovely holiday and I am thankful for all of the wonderful gifts that our family received.  It was so nice to visit with family that we haven't seen in awhile - it's great that most of our kids are at an age now that they can run around and play with their cousins without constant supervision.  I also felt the painful absence of my grandmothers.  We spoke of memories, fixed some of their trademark recipes, and set the table with their holiday finest.

I'll leave you with my grandma Betty's mealtime blessing....

Be present at our table Lord,

Be here and everywhere adored.

These mercies bless

and grant that we,

May feast and fellowship with thee.

Amen.

All things bright and beautiful

This holiday season didn't start out like we thought it would.  Dean and I were both sick.  In fact, we still sort of are.  Three weeks of this, and it is tough to shake.  We didn't get the Christmas lights up on the house.  It was too cold and snowy the first two weekends of the month, and well, we were sick.  I did get one, lonely little wreath up by the front door.  We did get most of the inside decorations up, though, in record time for us.  I unloaded all of the bookshelves that hold our school stuff, and I filled them in with my Santa collection (26)  and my Nativity collection (5).  We placed our small tree up in the front window, on a little table.  It is the designated Santa tree - it has all of the Santa ornaments.  Then we put up the main tree in our open living room/kitchen, which is a new thing for us this year.  We usually put it up in the big picture window in the play room (which I suppose would really be considered a dining room).  But that always encouraged kids to mess with it, drape it with toys and Jordan would suspend his marble track from it.  So we moved it this year, and I just love the new location.  We can see it at all times, I can chase kitty out of it before she strangles herself on a light string, and I can chase down Colin each time he runs away with an ornament.  It may not be visible to the street anymore, but our little tree is, and that is enough.

I swore a long time ago that this was to be the month of 'No'.  I only wanted to do things that really meant something special to us.  I was not going to pressure myself to do every little thing that came along.  We made up a wish list of Holiday Must-have's during our trip to OKC over Thanksgiving.

• Get the Christmas lights up on the house (next year - BEFORE Thanksgiving)
• Put up the tree the day after Thanksgiving
• Do the advent calendars
• Drive around and look at Christmas Light displays - sometime the week before Christmas
• Go to the Nutcracker
• Attend the Christmas Eve Candlelight service
• Plan several different nights of popcorn and Holiday movie
• Putting together the Christmas -themed puzzles
• Make cookies.  Lots of them.  Deliver them to friends.
• Put up the Santa Collection/Nativity scenes
• Make a tree ornament/do crafts
• Visit Santa
• Write out Christmas lists/complete a letter to Santa
• Go to the Hall of Trees at the Lincoln Center
• Build a gingerbread house
• Read multiple Christmas books, every day (we have about 60...)
• Take a family picture

This year brought a few surprises when attempting to stick to the list.  Most of the items involve just us or close family.  I love that.  No programs, group events, gift exchanges... all of those events incur a lot of stress - principally on me.  This has been the least- stressful holiday season on record.

• We didn't get the lights up.  Being sick and bad weather were the principal reason.  I feel bad about that, but on the bright side, there will be no stress of take-down, and no boost to the electric bill either.
• We did get the tree up.  It took an extra week to get the lights on it because it was hard to get Dean motivated. ;)
• We are doing the advent calendars, and I even made a new one.
• We will be driving around looking at lights with my mom tomorrow night.
• Rylan and I went to the Nutcracker last weekend with mom.  It was wonderful!
• We will be going to the Christmas Eve service with my Dad, brother, SIL and nephews, and listen as my mom plays the organ.  Should be very nice.   Owen and Colin will most likely be in the nursery - which they just love after spending so much time in there all during the fall while we were in Financial Peace University.
• We did the bulk of the holiday movies the first few days of December, in order to allow Jordan as much popcorn as humanly possible before he got braces on the 6th.
• Puzzles are going out today - per Jordan's request.
• So far we have made one batch of Christmas cookies- plenty more to come this week.
• Put up Santas and Nativities.  Accomplished by Dec 4th  Yay me.
• Make a tree ornament.  Sometime this week.
• Visit Santa.  We did this last night.  We went to our local community garden/education center, and it was just beautiful - I loved every minute of it.  The light displays were all garden-themed.  Plants, insects... there was even an imaginary Koi pond with lighted fish moving across.  Santa sat under an outdoor shelter and visited a long time with each and every kiddo that came along.  There wasn't a very long line (it was cold), and the kids thought it was just amazing and magical.  Santa even visited with Jordan, who stood at a respectful distance.  Jordan's magic was abruptly cut short a couple years ago.  Santa was very cool with it all, and gave Jordan some wise words of wisdom: Keep the magic alive in your heart.  Amen.
• Each kid wrote out wish lists by cutting out pictures and pasting.  Rylan managed to write out a letter to Santa last week - it will go in the Christmas scrapbook.
• The Hall of Trees was something of a mystery.  The performance hall was closed last year for renovation, so we were eagerly anticipating it this year.  In the years past (mom and I have made this our tradition for over ten years), thirty to forty merchants would decorate a tree with a theme and create an entire display with gifts, decorations, etc...  It took a half an hour to stroll past all of the displays that ran the length of the entire complex.  This year the kids and I met mom on the first day of the tree display (it was advertised in the paper and on the web) and there were no trees.  At least not like we were expecting.  There were 15-20 'mini-trees' on display in the art gallery room.  They were decorated rather simply, and were part of a silent auction.  That was it.  We were there 10 minutes.  What a huge disappointment.  We weren't the only ones baffled - there were a lot of confused patrons wandering around as well.  I hope they get back in the game next year.
• Build a gingerbread house.  The kids and I did this this past Friday.  A lot of work but it was pretty fun, actually.  I've never made one before, so I am adding it to my list of 40 Things (this will be #2) I suck at frosting anything but Jordan swore I did a really good job.  The cat, of all things, has been nibbling away at the roof all weekend.
• We have been reading Christmas stories all month.  We still have more than half of the books to go... I think I need to pare down our collection.
• Take a family picture.  We tried this yesterday.  The kids cooperated, but we were outside, looking partially into the sun and at least one family member in every picture is doing something they shouldn't be doing.  We are going to try again tonight... with a picture of all of us in our Christmas pj's....we'll see.
• There was a cookie-exchange party that I was invited to just this past weekend.  I really really wanted to go, but we already had family plans and then the chicken pox fiasco just wrenched everything.  I feel that it is important to avoid anyone and everyone until 14 days have passed,  which is, thankfully, Dec. 23rd.  Otherwise we would miss the family Christmas Eve brunch and I would be mad as hell.
• There was also my bookclub ornament exchange/party this past Saturday, but I already knew I was going to be missing that weeks ago because Jordan and Dean were going to be snowshoeing in RMNP with the scout troop and my mom couldn't watch the kids.
• We went to see White Christmas at our local dinner theater last Sunday with my brother and SIL.  My mom graciously gave the four of us tickets to the matinee and $20 each couple to spend on any extras like drinks or dessert.  She said to think of it as a gift from my late grandma Betty.. which makes me want to cry and smile at the same time.  Mom also offered to babysit all seven grand kids (at our house) while we were at the show.  My 15 yr old nephew manned the first hour on his own, until my mom arrived at our house after finishing up the last service at church.  He did a terrific job.  He even rocked Colin to sleep and placed him in his bed.  We had an awesome time at the show.  I can't remember the last time the four of us went out... it's literally been years.  The show was very good (I've never seen it before) and it makes me want to learn how to tap dance.

Each weekend has been a true delight.  Not too busy, but with just enough activities to keep things special and magical in their own right.  Having a slow month meant that I could schedule a focus weekend to get potty training underway which is my Christmas present to myself.  It's a little chilly for Owen to be running around in just a shirt and underwear, but it's working.  The two times that we left the house (for pictures and to see Santa) he wore pants as well, and each time by the end of the event he was wet, but we were prepared with extra underwear and pants in the car.  At least he didn't pee on Santa.  :)  We did that first thing.

Here is a picture diary...

Happy Holidays!