I keep checking the calendar

So tomorrow is December 1st and today we played outside with no coats on and I had a few windows open. I feel like I should be decorating Easter eggs, not Christmas trees! I have lived in New England all my life and I am pretty used to the weather being all over the place, but this is really odd. It's not that strange to not have snow, but temps in the sixties when it should be in the forties is messed up. Becca keeps asking when it is going to snow. It is supposed to get cooler this weekend and possible flurries on Monday so she may get her wish. I am wishing for a little snow too. But just a little and just for Christmas.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

But it certainly doesn't feel like Christmas as far as the weather. It has been in the 50s for several days now.
Traditionally the day after Thanksgiving we go to the Christmas Dove and the girls each pick out an ornament for the tree and we add a piece to our nativity set. Dom and I had a little bit of a hard time getting into the spirit this year because it was close to sixty degrees outside, but the girls were as excited as ever and it is always fun to check out all the Christmas decorations.
They have a really cool chair that looks just like Santa and each girls took a turn sitting in it so mom could get a picture. This is as close as we get to actually sitting on Santa's lap. Neither girl has any interest in sitting in the lap of the mall Santa. I ask every year and every year they say no and that is as far as it goes. I gave up trying to coax and bribe years ago. It wasn't worth the hassle for a crappy polaroid picture.
Upon returning home we got out our Christmas decorations and put up everything but the tree.
This year we had major lighting issues. We do lots of lights inside and out. On the mantle, I light up the nativity set, around windows etc. This year we had several sets that either didn't work at all or only partially worked. We had one set where the two ends were lit up but about 8 inches in the middle wasn't lit up. How does that happen?? After several failed attempts to find that one annoying little bulb causing all the problems we decided to buy some more lights. We also have one of those wire reindeer with the lights on it and the head moves back and forth well within a week of having it last year the lights started to go out. and within two weeks we had what looked like a headless reindeer. We decided to tear off all the lights and put on new ones ourselves. How hard could it be? Harder than I want to admit. Dom kept saying it should be easy for me I'm creative and I kept insisting it should be easy for him he's an engineer. We finally got it look acceptable. We bought the really bright LED lights. Our deer now looks like it grew up in the woods near a nuclear power plant. I love it!
The evening was capped off with a viewing of Frosty the Snowman and A Year Without a Santa Clause. I love Heat miser and Freeze miser. In fact I love most all of the classic kids Christmas shows.

On Saturday we made a trip to the Christmas tree lot just up the road to cut down our tree. They have cute little names for the rows. We got our tree on Frostys Freeway. There's an old cemetary with a sign that says Cemetary of Christmas Past. And a big hill called Burgermeister Hill which is fun to sled down when there is snow on the ground. (Just ask Auntie Lisa.) This sort of helped us get in the spirit with no snow but we made the best of it. We trudged way to the back of the lot (and through the mud) and found a cute little tree we all liked. We brought it back home and got out the ornaments and the Christmas music and had fun 'Rockin around the Christmas tree.' And of course our tree wouldn't be complete without the train around the bottom.
The evening ended with a viewing of the Polar Express. Another great movie.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope that everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving! We had a nice time. Dom and I hosted our parents. Dom was in charge of the turkey and did an excellent job as usual. I was in charge of the sides and dessert. My mom and Dom's mom also provided some yummy goodies. I got brave and tried some new recipes. A mushroom stuffing which was excellent. I also did the green beans with roasted red peppers. Instead of rolls or cornbread I made foccacia. For dessert I made a chocolate cherry cheesecake and chocolate chip biscotti. The adults enjoyed everything, but the kids well...Becca ate a grilled cheese sandwich. Kenzie, who will usually try anything insisted she didn't like turkey and refused to even try one bite. She ate mashed potatoes and corn. I did finally get her to try turkey the next day and she like it. The girls also made some really cute napkin holders to put on the table.
Boomer and my parents dog Toby, chased each other all over the house all day long. After everyone left Boomer was exhausted and curled up with Kenzie to take a rest.

"Kenzie, you're such a Canadian!"

Becca said this to her sister, meaning of course, comedian. This was actually said about two years ago and has since been a running joke in the family. I bring it up today because for the past week Kenzie has acquired somewhat of a Canadian accent. "What a good movie, eh?"
"Blues a great color, eh?" I have no idea where she picked this up and it is amusing and yet disturbing at the same time. I am reminded of parenting articles that I have read about how hurtful it can be to label your children because they will live up to the label. It is obviously true, because now Kenzie thinks she is a Canadian. We may have ruined her life and she will have to spend years in counceling with an identity crisis. Am I American, eh? Am I Canadian, eh? What am I, eh?.....Okay probably not. I mean is there really anything wrong with being Canadian? But it's funny, eh?

My baby is four!

Mackenzie had a great birthday. Officially she turned four on the 8th and we celebrated with a little party with family and friends on The 11th. It was an Over the Hedge theme and I made her a cake of RJ the raccoon. She got lots of good stuff including the Cars movie that she has watched everyday since she got it. It is really cute especially since we like to watch Nascar. She keeps asking if she looks older and bigger. And when I remind her to do something she states that she already knows that because she is four now. She cracks me up on a daily basis and I wish that I could remember everything she says. We walked into Target the other day and they have a big Christmas tree already set up as you walk in. She looks at it and says really loudly "What the heck do you think this is Christmas?!"

I had a teacher conference for Becca last Thursday. I'll try not to brag and just say she has no problems completing her work. Her reading is off the charts for the testing that they do that ties into the 'no child left behind" BS. I can't believe that they have timed testing starting in Kindergarten. I am praying that once Bush is out of office they get rid of this whole program, because to put in bluntly, I think it sucks. I am so afraid that Becca will become bored because she needs a challenge. I felt better after talking to her teacher. She does let children work ahead that understand what needs to be done then provides fun worksheets to complete if they are done early. Some of the worksheets are on a third grade level that Becca can do. (Okay so I had to brag a little bit.)
We are hosting Thanksgiving this year for my parents and Dom's parents. So I have started planning for that. Becca's social calendar had been full of Birthday parties and I am hoping that the days following Thanksgiving will be a chance to recharge and gear up for Christmas.
Becca just came up to me and asked if I wanted to hear the song that she learned in school.(Out on the playground not music class.) 'Brian and Cynthia sitting in a tree k i s s i n g. First comes love then come marriage then come a baby in a baby carriage'. Some things never change...

New furbaby in the family

Welcome Toby

My parents have a new furbaby, Toby. Though after meeting Toby I think a better name would be Taz. Toby is a cute little bundle of fluff that is a cross between a Shih Tzu and a Poodle, making him a Shih Poo. Yeah say that ten times fast without getting into trouble. Despite only being about 4 lbs. and a quarter of the size of Boomer he gave Boomer a run for his money. They played really well together for the most part. But then Toby would get a little too wound up and start really growling and getting mean and sounding just like a Tazmanian Devil. He is a cutie though, but not at all the type of dog I pictured my dad getting.

Happy Birthday a little early!

The gifts have already been rolling in for Kenzie whose 4th birthday is Wednesday the 8th. We are having a little party for her on Saturday. Dom's parents are unable to come on Saturday so we went down this weekend so they could give her gifts. She made out quite well, with new clothes and toys from Nonna & Nonno and also with gifts sent from Auntie Lisa & Uncle Chuck.

Thanks Guys!!

The Life Cycle-We've got it backwards!

I received this as an email and thought it was great!

The Life Cycle:

I think the life cycle is all backwards.

· You should start out dead and get it out of the way.
· Then you wake up in a nursing home, feeling better every day.
· You get kicked out for being too healthy, go collect your pension · then, when you start work, you get a gold watch on your first day.
· You work 40 years until you're young enough to enjoy your retirement.
· You drink alcohol, you party, you're generally promiscuous,
· go to college and get ready for high school.
· You go to primary school, you become a kid, you play, you have no responsibilities,
· you become a baby.
· Then, you spend your last 9 months floating peacefully with luxuries like central heating, spa, room service on tap, larger living quarters everyday,
· and finally you finish off as an orgasm.
I rest my case.

Halloween Highlights!

Another Halloween has come and gone. While the children are still blissfully sleeping in their sugar induced coma I will take a few minutes to share the highlights.
Friday evening we headed to Strawberry Banke in Portsmouth for "Ghosts on the Banke".
Many of you may have made school field trips here at some point. It is a colonial village and museum where participants actually live and work. We got to trick or treat from house to house. There was also a bonfire, Storytelling in a barn, firewalkers performing, hayrides, a creatures of the night exhibit. And even a screening of 'The Wizard of Oz' against one of the buildings. We went with a small group of friends and had a great time.
The weather on Saturday was rainy, cold and windy. I had been fighting a cold and Dom took the girls with him to run some errands. It gave me a little chance to rest.
Sunday Dom did yardwork and the girls and I made Halloween cookies. Yummy!!
The girls got to wear their costumes to their respective dance classes. So cute! Becca was a penguin and we decided she must be 'Happy Feet' which is a new movie coming out about a dancing penquin.
On Halloween we were treated to 60 degree weather. No covering up the costumes with coats this year! Remember being a kid and having a great costume? Okay so maybe it wasn't a great costume. It was the cheesy plastic smock thing with a mask that you could hardly see or breath out of. Your face would get all sweaty and you would sound like Darth Vader when you would breathe. Then your mom would make you cover it up with a big winter jacket, hat, mittens. Nobody knew what you were. Those were the days.
There was an early trick or treat for the girls in town at the local businesses. Becca had Sunday School in the evening where mommy got"tricked" as it was actually a Halloween mass, I mean 'All Saints Eve' mass. The kids got to wear costumes and were "treated" to goodies after Mass. The kids thought it was great. As for Mom, it was fun but lets just say mom is glad Halloween is over.