After Christmas

I found the Jan Brett book at Barnes & Noble and just as I suspected, they had a whole PILE of them! It's even prettier than it appeared online! The girls opened their Christmas Eve gifts (which is always pj's, a tradition that comes from my childhood), got ready for bed, then we read our book. After that we put out reindeer food in the front yard and cookies for Santa in the family room. Here are the girls in their Christmas pj's.

Christmas morning we were downstairs by 7 and out of the house on our way to Maine by 9:45. YIKES! It really didn't feel as rushed as it sounds. We were all looking forward to spending time with family. Surprisingly, the highways were pretty busy with Christmas travelers, but we made it to my parent's house by 2:15 and even stopped at Bean's for a return on the way.

Some highlights:

Lucy got a stuffed duck which she went crazy over!

Rebecca was so excited to get Nellie the American Girl doll! It was tops on her list.

This is Allison after we got home playing with her new Leapster first thing in the morning! She wouldn't put it down!

And Katie used her Christmas money to have a second hole pierced in each ear! She looks so cute doesn't she!?

All in all a great Christmas! Now...Happy New Year!

Magical Mint Kiss Cookies

Magical Mint Kiss Cookies

1 c. butter or margarine softened
2/3 c. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. Hershey's cocoa
About 48 Hershey's Chocolate Mint Kisses
Powered sugar

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Beat butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl until creamy. Stir together flour and cocoa; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Mold scant tablespoon dough around each chocolate kiss, covering completely. Shape into balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Cool about 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. Cool completely. Roll in powdered sugar. Roll in sugar again just before serving, if desired. Makes about 4 dozen cookies.


This recipe is a great one for the kids to help with. My girls unwrap all the candies while I prepare the dough. Then they mold the dough around the kisses. These are the cookies we are making for Santa this year! I think he'll LOVE them...

I'm just discovered The Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore BUT illustrated by JAN BRETT. This book is beautiful! Jan Brett is from our area and at least one of the pictures in the book is of a local landmark. Click on the link to Jan Brett and there's a whole little note from her about the story and the illustrations, very cool. Even if you aren't from here the book is so gorgeous. Ever since my brother and I were growing up, reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas has been a Christmas Eve tradition, one I have carried into our family. Now that I have seen this Jan Brett edition, I MUST FIND IT! Barnes and Noble here in town claims they don't have it...I don't believe them!!! If there is time this weekend I'll go check it out for myself. Worst case scenario, I order it from Amazon and get it after Christmas. No big deal.

This is probably the last post I will do before Christmas so, HAVE A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

The Perfect Tree

I thought this was a nice reminder of the greatest gift ever given...Jesus' life on the cross.

The Perfect Tree
by
Ray Boltz

The ornaments are ready, the place has been prepared.
Strings of lights and holly are draped across the chair.
The family's all together I know where they must be.
Everyone one is searching for the perfect tree.

The perfect tree grew very long ago.
And it was not decked with silver or ornaments of gold.
But hanging from its branches was a gift for you and me.
Jesus laid His life down on the perfect tree.

Mother wants a straight one, the children want it tall.
Dad just hopes that somehow he can get it down the hall.
Soon they'll gather 'round it; I wonder if they see...

The perfect tree grew very long ago.
And it was not decked with silver or ornaments of gold.
But hanging from its branches was a gift for you and me.
Jesus laid His life down on the perfect tree.

With all the celebrations, sometimes the truth is lost
That every step this baby took brought Him closer to the cross.

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Fun Christmas Links

If your kiddos haven't contacted Santa Claus yet they can e-mail him. My girls sent messages to Santa via e-mail and got instant replies from him. Becky and Allison thought it was quite cool.

Watch Santa's journey around the world Christmas Eve. Norad shows his progress via satellite. It's all very neat.

I almost don't dare say it, but, I'm DONE shopping. Not bad, a couple of days to spare even.

Allison seems to have some sort of icky cold thing brewing. She has a rash all over her belly and back. No fever. Her nose is becoming increasingly gross and she has a little cough. I say, BRING IT ON! Let's get this sick thing over and done before CHRISTMAS!!! In a few days she'll be feeling much better. There's always that chance that someone else will get it...NO, we aren't going to think like that! Having sick kids on Christmas and being sick on Christmas is the WORST! Becky has a cold too but it doesn't seem too bad. With her I just have to watch her asthma. She's taken her inhaler for the last few days and definitely seems to be breathing easier. Katie rarely (knock on wood) gets sick, and when she does she doesn't like to be fussed with. She's not a very good patient. Becky either, really. Only Allison lets me take care of her. So anyway, hopefully Christmas will be sickness free!

Here's a fun little thingy that Allison brought home from school today, (yes, she went to school, germs and all. She doesn't have a fever!, and I needed to finish shopping!)

How to Make Snowman Soup

1 package hot chocolate mix
3 Hershey kisses
15 (or so) marshmallows
1 candy cane

Was told you've been real good this year
Always glad to hear it
With freezing weather drawing near
You'll need to warm the spirit
So have a little Snowman Soup
Complete with stirring stick
Add hot water, sip it slow
It's sure to do the trick!

Christmas Cards

I've been thinking about how much it has meant to me this year to receive pictures of different families and kids in Christmas cards this year. I always enjoy a cute Christmas picture but this year, being away from friends and family in Maine, those pictures have meant so much more! It's amazing how quickly children change. It's been less than a year since we move away and in many cases, much less than that since we've seen some of these same kids, and yet they've somehow managed to grow up even more since we last saw them!! I'm sure it's that way for people seeing my girls too. When you're with them everyday you don't notice the changes in them as quickly. So, thank you for sending the pictures of your beautiful children! It makes me miss you guys but it also makes me thankful that we're keeping in touch!

I subscribe to a very fun Disney newsletter and this month's issue mentioned a cool way to surprise your kids. You can have a Disney character call them on the phone to wish them Merry Christmas or Happy Birthday or even for no particular reason, just to say Hi and have a great day. It's called Disney's Enchanted Call. Check out the link. It's $2.49 per call and oh so worth it! My girls got a big kick out of it. We even had Mickey Mouse call my parents.

Survivor Finale was interesting. I'm glad Yul won. It was all pretty predictable. I would've like to see the Aitu four turn on each other before the voted Adam out. NOW WHAT AM I GOING TO WATCH ON THURSDAYS??? I am totally running out of TV viewing options that appeal to me! Amazing Race all stars coming in February. LOST back in February. Okay, it sounds like February will be a good TV month.

Snooty Snoot Party

WHEW! I'm glad that's over! The party last night was fun, in a sort of, sit with people you don't know and get to know them, kind of way. It was nice to put faces with some of the names Ed talks about, and folks were genuinely friendly. But, the anticipation...you know, "Is what I'm going wear going to be okay?" "Who will we sit with?" "Will the kids be okay with the sitter?" All of that was going through my head. And then when we got there -- Ed insisted he didn't need to wear a coat and tie, I thought different, but what do I know. So we get there and it is instantly obvious that he SHOULD have worn a coat and tie! Ed is noticing coats and ties and I'm noticing long, sparkly dresses!! Mind you, it's 7:15 and the social hour went until 8:00, then sit down for dinner. I knew I had nothing different to wear at home but Ed wanted to go home to get himself properly attired. I just kept telling myself that there were probably plenty of women there in pants. So we got back to the restaurant by 10 til 8, which really was fine since the social hour was really just cocktails and mingling, and it was no great loss to miss most of that! Anyway...there were, in fact, plenty of ladies dressed just like me or even less dressed up than me! I was relieved! Isn't that always the way with women at social events? Some are dressed to the nines and others didn't give their clothes a thought until it was time to get dressed! I like to be right in the middle of that spectrum. Okay, so concern number one, check.
We ended up sitting at a table with Ed's boss and his wife. Nice, nice people. We were also joined by two other couples who seemed nice enough. As it turned out, the other two men were VP's from the company, one a retired Navy admiral of the pacific submarine fleet. I had no idea who they were all evening and was very surprised when they were acknowledged by the party's host. I actually thought there was some sort of mistake! I mean, these two men were joking around and just being GOOFY. I didn't think they were ANYONE'S boss. And it wasn't until we were on our way home that Ed told me they were EVERYONE'S boss at the party. He said he felt very awkward at first because they sat with us, but over the course of the evening he lightened up. I'm not a wife who knows who's who of my husband's work or who he's the boss of and who's his boss. As a matter of fact, on the way to the party I made sure I knew what Ed's title and role are so I could answer intelligently if some other spouse were to ask me. I just don't keep up with all that. And I'm glad I didn't who we were sitting with. It was very easy for me, in my ignorance, to be myself and to be comfortable! As a matter of fact, one of the two boss men found out that Ed and I had our anniversary a few days ago and made sure he passed the word and EMBARRASSED us to death!! I'm sitting there enjoying my cheesecake when the DJ announces our anniversary and wants us out on the dance floor for the first dance of the night! Oh yeah, don't you know I thought I would die. Then I figured, I'm not going to see these folks again for a long time, if ever. Ed, on the other hand has to work with them! So we went out and danced our dance! Next thing I know, champagne is going around on our behalf! I tell you, these folks know how to spend the company's money! Okay, concern number two, check!
Our babysitter did an excellent job and the girls loved her! We'll be calling her again for sure. Concern number three, check!
All in all an enlightening evening. We even got a Christmas ornament from the party. It's a White House 2006 ornament! I love it!! I am glad it's over, and if we go next year, the concerns just won't be there! I'll look forward to that!
P.S. Try the link above. I did it right this time! I'm going to fix the links in my last post so they'll work too!

Roses

Aren't these roses BEAUTIFUL?? They are my anniversary gift from my husband. There are 14 roses, one for each year of marriage. I remember that my dad used to do that for my mom; one rose for each year. Anyway, I've never seen so much baby's breath in a bouquet. I hope they last a good long while! I love them on the breakfast table, the colors are so Christmasy!

Have you tried the Celestial Seasonings Holiday Teas yet? I LOVE the Candy Cane one. It's a green tea with peppermint, vanilla, and other yummy stuff. It's not for you caffeine junkies though -- it's decaf. I'm also loving the new Peppermint Kisses from Hershey. SO GOOD! There's a cheesecake recipe on the back of the bag that I haven't tried yet but it sounds easy enough and delicious.

We are planning a trip to New York City over spring break. Any suggestions for must see attractions would be VERY appreciated! We'd like to take the girls to American Girl Place, but beyond that we have no real plans. We won't be there the whole week so that will make it tough to see tons of stuff, on the other hand, it'll give us reason to go back! Logistically I'm not sure if we'll be driving there. Our hotel doesn't have parking, wait, I take that back. It does have parking for $48 a day!! I'm going to check into taking the train right into the city. We'll see. Again, any suggestions would be great!

As you can see, I've included a few links this time. I hope they work because I'm not exactly computer savvy and I just pointed and clicked until it seemed to make sense. Check it out.

Rainy and upper 40's today. Not very Christmas like. WE WANT SNOW!!

Gappy Grinned Girl

Notice anything MISSING in this smile? Rebecca is so proud of her gappy grin! She lost these two most recent teeth one right after the other. She was SO excited when the tooth fairy gave her $3 and some Skittles scented chap stick!

Allison and I made gingerbread cookies and sugar cookies the other day. Katie and Rebecca had some friends over on Sunday for a cookie decorating party and I baked the cookies ahead of time. I thought it would be fun for Allison to cut out the cookies. She had more fun scooping the flour into little piles. That's what she's doing in this picture. See her little pile?

I snapped this picture of me and Ally! She was so willing to cooperate while I tried to get a decent picture! The party was a lot of fun, although we all ate WAY too many cookies!

Yesterday was Rebecca's first b-ball game. She did GREAT! Ed and I were so impressed with how she played! At first she stood with her hands folded in front of her and she would only walk quickly from one end of the court to the other instead of running. And if you know Becky you can just picture her prissy girl walk! Too funny. Then she started to really get into it! She's a great little rebounder! She needs to work on her shooting but she's totally getting the basics! It was really fun to watch!

Katie was selected to be a student of the month at her school! I guess the teachers select the kids based on their overall attitude and willingness to work hard and treat others kindly. It's such a good feeling as a parent to know that your child is being the kind of person you're hoping they'll be. Not just hoping...training, praying, disciplining them to be. It's a lot of work! But oh so worth it! She also made the Honor Roll. We're proud of her. I will continue to pray for her and train her and discipline her as she heads down the road of adolescence! And HOPEFULLY we'll all come through it relatively unscathed!

I found a shirt for the snooty snoot party. It's pretty basic but has a definite holiday look. I got a great necklace, earrings, and bracelett to gussy it up a bit! Now shoes...

We're REALLY liking our new church! The girls are enjoying their Sunday school classes and the children's church. They are going to participate in the Christmas Eve program and sing on Sunday morning. I think they are doing some sort of skit. I hope Allison will do it! We're starting to settle in and get to know more folks, and they're getting to know us. It's nice.

Amazing Race - the models won. They raced a good race and were fun to watch. My favorite team from this season were the couple from Kentucky! I'll never forget when the wife was talking about one of the other teams who happened to be a gay couple and she said, " I've never met no homosexuals before! I kinda like 'em. " Classic!

NCIS and The Unit are still pretty good - but I just get so irritated when there's a rerun on!! That's when I resort to Deal or No Deal!! Or worse yet, Friends reruns on TBS! There have been some cute Christmas movies on ABC Family so I've been watching a bit of that as well.

I haven't read a good book in awhile. The last GOOD book I read was by Neil Gammon. It was...I have NO idea what it was called! But it was good. Fantasy fiction stuff, which I don't usually go for. Joshilyn Jackson better get a new book out SOON!

12 SHOPPING DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS! If you're going to order anything else online, you'd better get to it!!! Me too!

A Little of This and A Little of That

17 shopping days until Christmas! Hmmm...I feel like I have it together but I'm not sure if I really do. How pathetic is that? I guess I'd better figure it out, huh? Ed and I are going to a snooty snoot party for his work and I have to find something to wear. Not easy. I thought dressy pants and a flouncy, holidayish, different from my usual style shirt. Throw on a few accessories and voila! I don't know. I'm having a hard time with the top part. I bought two pairs of pants at New York and Company, I love NY and Co., but I didn't find a top there. I went to the outlets this morning and went in all the fancy shnancy stores and found nothing. I mean GEESH, not everyone is looking for a turtleneck sweater or a twin set!

Ed and I will celebrate our 14th!! anniversary next Tuesday. WOWZER! I bought him a new wedding band. It's a brushed silver. Pretty basic but he loves it - yes I already gave it to him. Our original bands were, shall we say, economical, by ALL standards. His was completely bent out of shape. He wasn't even wearing it anymore. So now he has a pretty new one. I don't wear my wedding band. A few years ago, Ed got me an anniversary band and I just wear that with my engagement ring and wrap.

I have to admit that I am getting a little hooked on Deal or No Deal. Sad, I know. This is what happens when there is nothing else on TV. I resorted to game shows! I even like 1 vs. 100. The one with William Shatner is too...well, William Shatner is creepy. Amazing Race is good. I'm glad the blondes are GONE! I'm rooting for the model dudes, I think. Survivor is the same as always. I actually like Jonathan. Yul is too goody goody. And who are they going to send to exile island now that Candace is gone? I predict that Ozzie goes all the way - and deservedly so.

Time to go, Little Miss is batting her baby blues at me and telling me how much she loves me. I think she need some lovin'.

I Still Love My Dog

Do you know what THAT is?... It's the first sand/salt truck of the year driving up our road this morning. There was only a dusting but it was enough to make things slick. By the time I drove Rebecca to school the main roads were all clear but the driveways and parking lots were still covered. Allison was pretty excited! She wanted to get right out to play in it and proclaimed that it was "NOT FAIR" when I told her she had to go to school.

Remember this? Well, it was partly PUKED up last night at 1:30 A.M. onto my bedroom rug!!!! Not a nice way to be woken up! Lucy did sleep in her crate that night that she did the damage and she was fine for more than 24 hours so we thought we were in the clear. WRONG!! Ed slept through most of the cleanup - although I think he was faking it! Who could blame him. IT WAS GROSS! I still love my dog...I still love my dog... I still love my dog...

Miscellaneous Pictures

We put up our Christmas Tree yesterday. Here's Ed and Katie sawing off the bottom to get it ready to put in the stand. We could've gotten a tree that was a bit larger but this one is SO full and very pretty.
Here are our stockings "hung by the chimney with care". The builders of our house very wisely put an outlet right above the mantel which is PERFECT for Christmas lights!

This is not a roughed up log cabin laying in the snow. It is our advent calendar after it was attacked by a candy crazed black lab! There WERE three peppermint hershey kisses in each door. Now there are none. As you can see, Lucy ate every single candy, the candy wrappers, and some of the doors, along with much of the calendar's trim and decorations! The calendar was up on the counter when we left the house. When we came home it was like this in the middle of the family room floor! I would've liked to see this whole event take place! Naughty dog! I called the vet and she said Lucy would be fine but may have an upset stomach for a while. She'll be sleeping in her crate tonight - I would not like to wake up to some sort of mess on my bedroom rug!

Rebecca did AWESOME at basketball practice tonight! She was totally getting the whole concept and she actively participated in the scrimmage! I was proud. Next week her team will play their first game. It will be fun to watch her progress this season.

Last night Katie and Rebecca performed in their first Children's Choir concert. It was INCREDIBLE! The children's choir was just part of the concert. There was an adult choir, a string trio made up of high school students, a harpist, and a professional soprano. There was also a well known folk singer there named David Grover. I just can't express how wonderful the whole thing was. The concert was in an old, 200 + year old, church with a gorgeous pipe organ. It was a ticketed event and was sold out. Ed and I had no idea what a big deal it was until we got there and people were talking about how special it was to have such a talented group of singers and performers together. We sat there in AWE for the whole concert. Allison enjoyed it very much but about half way through (it was 2 hours long) she started to get fidgety. I gave her a tootsie pop and she was golden!! If I could send the sounds of the show through my blog I would! And next year, this time, if you happen to be in Western MA., don't miss it!!

Mall Vendor

Okay, we've all been walking in the mall when up ahead you spot a vendor trying to pursuade passersby to let them demonstrate their various products. I don't know about you but I try to make myself busy looking the other way or talking to my kids, whatever. My technique really doesn't work. As a matter of fact, I have been carrying twelve shopping bags on one arm and Allison and our coats on another, and still I hear, "Would you like to try some lotion..." I think to myself, "Do I LOOK like I want to try some lotion!?" Instead, I say, as politely as I can muster, "No thanks." Well yesterday I passed by the vendor guy twice and I got to chuckling. I think he's selling lotion. His first request is for you to try his lotion. Then when you say no thanks to that, he squinches up his face, and with some kind of fast speaking accent he says, "Let me see your nails." It cracked me up! Normally I'm not paying attention to what he's saying or HOW he's saying it, but yesterday, well I found it quite funny! And it happended both times I walked passed him! So next time you pass a mall vendor, pay attention! You may get a good laugh out of it!

It's rainy, windy, and warm here today. I guess cold weather is on the way tomorrow. That's okay. I've heard talk that a good freeze would be great for the germs floating around out there! Time to FREEZE them!

Becky had her first basketball practice last weekend. She was pretty enthusiastic until about 10 minutes into practice the ball hit her square in the chest and knocked the wind out of her! After that she was less than impressed! Picture her standing on the court with her hands behind her back, trying not to move unless someone was coming directly towards her. That's how it was most of the practice. She did get into it a bit more during the last 10 minutes of practice. Maybe this week she'll enjoy it more! Nothing cuter than a bunch of little girls "playing" basketball! I'm sure with their limited skills and abilities they still play better than me!

Time to do some laundry! Have a Christmasy weekend!