Christmas 2010- Photos

Christmas Eve in PL, and a few from Christmas morning.

Macy's 8th Floor

This year we found the perfect time to see the holiday display at Macy's (Dayton's for life...). We went on the day before Thanksgiving, and walked straight in. It was a little weird meeting up with Santa when it was still November, but great to not stand in line with whiny kids. (The kids all had a wonderful time, and no one was whiny, even when the cheeseballs packed for snack ran out!) The display this year had a theme of 'Day in the Life of an Elf' and we all really enjoyed it. We also had fun taking the light rail downtown.

Happy Birthday, C!

Looking through my photos, I realized that along with lots of things, I failed to blog about Colin's birthday. We had a party with the theme of balls- footballs, basketballs, baseballs- Colin loves them all. And that boy has got an arm! He has a way of throwing a ball at you from point blank range that is cute and scary at the same time. I'm happy to report that our television screen is still intact. The thing I would like to remember about this birthday was how Colin savored his birthday gifts. He would inspect the wrapped box, then gingerly peel the tape from one of the side flaps, then repeat on the other side, before sliding the present out of the paper- it was hilarious to watch our two year old hold the whole room of guests in suspense, while he stopped just short of folding the wrapping paper as he unwrapped his presents.

Seventies Stylin'!

These are just a few pictures we took at home before Mark's party. I need to get some copies of the photos taken at the party, to help memorialize such a fun night.

Hello? Is Anybody Still There?

Poor, poor blog. We've been going through a rough patch, blogging-wise, not life-wise. Life has been pretty wonderful, actually, which is probably inversely proportional to the speed of my blog updating. So, here is a super speedy rehash of the last few months of 2010. As well as a renewed effort to blog more frequently in 2011...

1. NOVEMBER

Seventies Redeux- Danielle hosted an awesome 1970's themed party for Mark's 40th birthday. Mike had a full beard leading up to the party, and accessorized his polyester with a 1970's era mustache. It was pretty freaky, and while it was fun for the night, I was glad to see the razor come out the next day.

Thanksgiving was a wonderfully low-key event. Bridget and Steve were on their rotation with the in-laws, so it was just the five of us at Mom and Dad's. We had a great meal, and a really relaxing day in P.L.

2. DECEMBER

I was fortunate to have some PTO to burn, so it was nice taking off some days in early December for Christmas shopping (as well as the week of Thanksgiving). Thanks to G and G for watching the kids, so Mike and I could have a really productive day. We were able to swing through the old neighborhood and have a nice lunch at Blackbird, in its new location- 38th and Nicollet! I definitely would like to plan a shopping day sans kids next December.

Bridget and Steve joined us in celebrating Mike's birthday this year. We went to the new Psycho Suzy's for a drink, before heading to Jax for too decadent of a meal. I hope next time, Bridget will be able to enjoy her meal.

We had a really terrific Christmas this year. Colin really got into opening presents, and it was so fun to watch him rip off a corner of wrapping paper, and squeal in delight, as if he knew what he was opening. The tree went up the weekend after Thanksgiving, and the elves came to our house quite early this year, to check in and report back to Santa that we were ready for his visit. However, such an early visit from the elves made for a long wait until the Big Day.

I had fun making batches of cookies, so I was ready with a cookie plate whenever we went for a visit somewhere. I made cardamom cookies, almond triangles, molasses cookies, pumpkin cookies, double chocolate cherry cookies, and orange/dark chocolate dipped cookies. I really enjoyed the cardamoms and plan on making them again for sure, and the molasses cookies were also a hit.

I gave Mike a package of Gopher Basketball tickets for his birthday this year, and the first game was against South Dakota on 12/23. Mom and Dad graciously agreed to let the kids sleep over, so we dropped them off, went to the game, and went back to our house childless, to wrap presents, and then sleep in a bit on Christmas Eve morning. I think that was hands-down Mike's favorite Christmas present.

We tried Christmas mass at Pax this year, since St. Mike's has always been so packed, and while we were relegated to the downstairs gymnasium, it didn't feel as chaotic and useless as past years in P.L. Steve stayed home with Laurel, and had dinner all ready to go when we arrived back home.

Favorite toys opened this year included Annalise's soccer cleats, ball, and shin guards. She looked so grown up when she tried it all on. Now we have to find a soccer league... Bennett handled the disappointment well of his Cars Piston Cup racetrack not working. Mike got it all set up, only to find it wasn't working. After depleting our supply of D batteries, I schlepped to the Super America in my pajama pants to buy their overpriced D batteries, and was disappointed to find that it was not a problem with batteries, but with the toy itself. Once we got it exchanged at Toys R Us the next week and set up all over again, all the kids had a lot of fun with it. Colin doesn't really have a standout favorite toy, although he probably enjoyed the goofball that Santa brought him, because it was immediately available, fun to touch, and ready to throw at unsuspecting family members not ready to catch it at close range/high velocity.

We had fun playing in our pajamas Christmas morning, and didn't head to Okabena until late afternoon. We had Christmas on Sunday morning, and headed back home on Sunday night. We had to get home, as A and B both had swim camp Monday through Thursday the last week of the year. It was fun to be at home that week, able to watch swimming lessons, and see so much of the kids and Mike, but of course I wasn't as productive as I would have liked.

I don't want to chance getting this post erased, as I've hit the "add photos" button several times without anything happening, so I will just get this posted, and add photos later. I really will, I promise!

Mr. Mom is Puddle of Ooze

Today was the greatest personal day of Mr. Mom's career! Predictably it had nothing to do with kids, wives, or making the world a better place. But it had everything to do with self indulgence, decadence, and unnecessary pampering.

Mrs. Dad had the tremendous foresight to get Mr. Mom a gift card to Uptown Dermatology & SkinSpa P.A. (www.uptowndermatology.com) for Christmas. This enabled Mr. Mom to renew his massage relationship with Laura, with whom he had not seen for over a year. As he crawled his tired, beaten, weary, 36 year old body up onto the table, the only thing Mr. Mom could think about was the loving selflessness that Mrs. Dad displayed by making this blessed appointment and, as an added bonus, giving Mr. Mom 5 hours of kid-free enjoyment afterward on a beautiful December Wednesday. That was top-notch wifery and I will be eternally grateful.

The Super-Packed-Chock-full of Awesome-Catch Up Post

Bobbing for apples

Colin also wore a Superman costume I made for Bennett's 18 month Halloween

Enjoying caramel apples from the Halloween party

I can still blog about Halloween, as Thanksgiving hasn't happened yet! I had a lot of fun making Annalise's Jessie the Cowgirl (from Toy Story) costume, and was thankful to borrow costumes for Bennett and Colin (Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story, and a white tiger). I find it hard to believe, but succumbed to the fact that I could not find cow-print fleece for chaps to save my life! Jessie must wrangle zebras instead of cows! As Annalise loves Halloween, and had been planning a party since school ended last year, we arranged an impromptu play date party on Halloween morning. The kids had a lot of fun. They didn't wait until I had my camera at the ready before starting bobbing for apples, however. A invited friends from Little Flowers as well as current classmates, and had a nice mix of guests.

This thankfully was the last Halloween we used a stroller. I couldn't keep up with A and B from house to house, when they ran across the yards and I had to go down the driveways and up the street. Colin was very in tune with the process, and never forgot to say "Trick or treat- thank you-BYE!!!" He handed his bucket to his brother or sister to bring to the front door, when I couldn't maneuver the stroller close enough. We stopped back at home after I took all three out, took a look at their booty on the kitchen table, and tucked our little tiger in to bed. Then Bennett, Annalise, and I went out for round two. We gave the kids free range with their candy this year, having a cut off about 30 minutes before meals. We got through the candy in just a few days, as Annalise, and the others to a lesser degree, has a voracious appetite for sweets.

Quotable, But Not of the MLK or JFK Variety

VS


B: "Why do we brush our teeth?"
Mr. Mom: "So your teeth stay healthy to help you chew food."
B: "But I want mine to fall out so I can get some cash."




Scene Setting: Kids playing in the basement while Mr. Mom is eating bon bons and watching Oprah.
B: "Hey A, look at my trick race track." (as he pushes the button and the Hot Wheels car goes catapulting off a ramp)
A: "Whoooaaa. That is soooo rock star B."