this can only mean one thing

It's New Year's Eve!
As is our family New Year's Eve tradition, we end the old year with piles of sundae toppings...a plethora of ice cream flavors...pockets of whipped cream, and no persnickety nagging or warnings from Mama (for the first time of the year) about what should or should not go in the bowl.
It's the one time each year we all turn a blind eye to each other's sundae bowls and go nutso (except no one likes nuts so they're never in the mix).
New Years Eve sundaes at our house have no rules...no limits...just whatever your heart desires...and tummy can handle!
Luckily, no one has ever gone so crazy that they have an ice cream hangover the next day...though a couple years I've been close!




Happy 2012!

Sleepover

This is what dads and dogs look like when there are 5 tween-teens sleeping over and giggling profusely. I like to call this photo, "if we hide and pretend we're asleep, maybe they'll all go away"

my merry and bright

Merry Christmas Everyone!


(reindeer tracks in the snow!!)

13

Bob and I recently watched a movie called Thirteen. It was literally one of the scariest movies EVER. It starred that one girl who married Marilyn Manson...Rachel something or other (what was that girl thinking?). Anyway, she and her naughty 13 year old friends did all sorts of really bad things that I never even dreamed of doing at 13...nor any other age in my life, for that matter. So, thirteen wasn't looking too good to us parents-of-a-new-thirteen-year-old daughter.

But then I remembered...wait...our new 13-year old is a straight-A student. She mostly still talks to us and still smiles and laughs...a lot. She's kind to her teachers and grandparents and civil with her sisters. She's in Honor Society and and drama club and she's writing a book in her spare time. Oh yah...don't get me wrong...there are the eye-roll moments and the one facial expression (directed mostly at me) that lets me know that as her mom, I won't have any brains until she turns 26. But the odds are looking pretty good for us right now.

We know...we've heard...we've been there ourselves...the teen years aren't all roses and starlight wrapped in marshmallows, but I'd venture to say we have a pretty good foundation set. We have hope that the next few years will be ok. Maybe even great! I'll let you know in a couple years!! But for her first two days of being thirteen, it's been smooth sailing. So far so good--haha.

(teens enjoy beefcake posters of stars like Keith Urban--and apparently so do 8-year olds)

(a birthday feast fit for a teen)

(mom can still pick out cute clothes...every now and then)

so what'd you do today?

oh, nothing much

I only had time for making cherry nut bread, Russian Tea Cakes, chocolate chip cookies, sugar cookies, and Bob's favorite Christmas cookie--Mandel Bread (shhh-don't tell him that's actually a Jewish treat...ah the irony). Oh, and I also made peanut brittle, but that was while I was simultaneously watching our family movie night movie--"Always" (an all-time favorite of mine which I highly recommend). I finished that post-picture so it didn't make it into the mouth-watering group shot.

Ok, I actually had lots of help with the sugar cookies--thank goodness!! Nothing like a little holiday baking marathon to make the time fly...!!

bicycle built for two

Bob and I have very fond pre-kid memories of renting a tandem bike and taking nice long summer Saturday bike rides along Bear Creek near our old house. Those were the days when we thought these would be the days but turns out those were some pretty good days. Anyway, it was always our dream to get ourselves a tandem bike & start new fond memories of nice long Saturday family bike rides.

So, we put a tandem bike on our wish list this year (thinking I'd be keeping my fabulously high paying job...which only lasted 2 days...and we could finally make the purchase we've been waiting to make). Once that job went by the wayside, and before I had the chance to erase our dreams from the list, my fabulous sisters-in-law spotted that tandem bike on our list, bought it, and had it delivered as an early Christmas/birthday/next Christmas present! I think they might have thought it was a joke item on our list but I don't think they realize that they really did make our day...our week...our year!!

It was quite a sweet surprise when that big, huge box arrived on our front porch...and a bit of a scare when we opened the box and realized that...oh dear...we'd have to assemble parts of it ourselves (including the brakes!!). We thought that sort of construction project might be a marriage-buster, for sure, but it turned out to be relatively painless...once we scoured all our junk drawers and basement shelves and boxes in the garage for the appropriate tools (next year a big tool kit might be on the list). It also might have helped our numb fingers to have had a temperature higher than 45 to tighten bolts and adjust screws but we just couldn't wait one more day!!

Finally...after all the 'where's that wrenchy thing' and 'can't you read?' and 'are these directions in Chinese?' comments were out of the way, there was a little thing called success!!

Thanks Pam, Cindy, Lisa, Kendal, Aaron, Yvonne & Olivia!
This is what "AT LAST" looks like!

anatomy of a snowman

bottom

middle

middle, top

bigger bottom

face

done

aw fudge

We made fudge today. Well, we tried to make fudge today, but it turned out more like syrup or a wonderful fudgey topping for ice cream. Blame it on me--I forgot the whole we-live-a-mile-above-sea-level temperature adjustment, and didn't let it go slightly longer than the 'soft ball' stage like I needed to. And then my arm got too dang tired to stir it as long as it should have been stirred. But the girls added the ingredients beautifully so it tastes delicious--if you don't mind eating it by the spoonfull! Which is always ok with me.

Let it Snow

Here is a song from Julia's school choir concert today. She's in the front row with the sparkley skirt...to the right of the choir kickboxing match.

District Orchestra Concert

A bit from Emma's district-wide orchestra concert tonight. 510 middle & high school students playing their hearts out for the packed house. They did a great job! Sorry about the guy's big head in front of me...I know, annoying right?

today

While Emma was at rehearsal for her violin concert tonight, Sophie & Julia decided to take on some sledding at our neighborhood sledding hill. It was pretty cold (25) so they didn't last too long. But they had fun before their chins felt frostbitten!

away in a manger

When you've shopped around and can't find a suitable manger/stable/creche, you must make your own. That's what I did, anyway.
This one happens to be made out of paint stir sticks and tree branch trimmings from our back yard. Hey-you do what you gotta do!


(and then the wreath above it falls off the wall and smashes it to smithereens. argh)

I need a little christmas!

For Christmas, I got myself the one thing that was on my wish/hit list last year but was never in stock. I wrote to corporate. I wrote to the manufacturer. No one cared. But this year it was in stock, baby, and I swooped it up. It's a giant, spinning, pre-lit Christmas tree. So American. So Christmas. So obnoxious. So me! And sooooo what I need right now.

I blame Bob for putting the Las Vegas Tree idea in my head. He has wonderful childhood memories of his Grandparent's real tree, flocked white and spinning on a homemade rotating tree stand. His Grandpa was very resourceful. Bob said he even had present-opening timed according to the spins of the tree after dinner. I think he said it was 7 rotations between dinner and gifts. Greedy boy.

All my glittery ornaments sparkle with Christmas cheer as they slowly pass by over...and over...and over again. Magical. If it didn't take up a third of my living room, I might consider leaving it up all year. Then again, it's the anticipation that makes Christmas great, isn't it?!? Ho Ho Ho!



cue the choir of angels...............

thankful

After a stressful start to the week...a wretched trainer at my new job, a few completely sleepless nights, and a full blown panic attack, it was soooo nice to dive into cooking and baking and having everyone over for Thanksgiving dinner.
Helped me remember what's REALLY important in my life!


you go, Julia!

you go, Mark!

That tryptophan is mighty powerful stuff!

Sophie and Julia enjoyed an evening snack on the front porch...little turkey croissant sandwiches, pumpkin pie, and their very own bottles...of water...under the Christmas lights on our house...a good end to the day.

a man and his dog

or...a dog on his man.
Hey-if he's not eating a fish...or trash...we just go with it.

Poetry Cafe

Here is a small sampling of the poetic talent on display at Julia's school Poetry Cafe!

Another girl and her dog

they're baaaaaaaack

That is a new baby lock for our kitchen cabinet. No, we are not making a special announcement. It is just the next step in our attempt to curb our dog's zest for trash...among other things.

You see, yesterday I was greeted at the door by a wet dog. Why was he wet and what does that have to do with trash, you ask? Well, as I entered the family room, I noticed that our lovely, talented dog had gotten the fish bowl (formerly occupied by Julia's beta fish) down from the shelf, devoured the fish, and set the empty bowl neatly upright by his dog bed...presumably so I wouldn't notice anything was amiss. Seems he's acquired a taste for seafood after snacking on the remains of Sophie's suicidal beta fish a few weeks ago.

As I prepared to launch his behind out the back door, I turned the corner into the kitchen and was confronted by more of the crime spree scene...the rubber band previously keeping the trash cabinets tightly closed, chewed up on the floor. Cabinet doors flung wide open. Trash strewn all over the kitchen floor.
What a day of adventure Mack had!
Sorry, God, but I hope he had a giant tummy ache. I know I did!

So, now we have reverted back to baby lock days. And I have to add an extra 5 minutes to my morning routine to make my kitchen like Fort Knox before I leave the house.
Not sure where to hide the last remaining fish...good luck little buddy.

Winter Park

We got to go visit Cindy's condo again over the weekend...we are soooo lucky! We drove up Friday thinking we'd beat the Saturday...(opening ski day)...rush. Boy did we ever beat the rush. The whole place from Winter Park to Grand Lake was like a ghost town...stores & restaurants were closed until winter, streets were empty, and snow was scarce. If you're looking for a nice, quiet, relaxing visit to a ski resort, the day before opening day is THE day to go!! But we found some fun, one place open for ice cream, and even some snow before we headed home. Success!