Crap! It's Friday!

I don't know why, but it has felt like Thursday all day today. 

1. Last Sunday my mom invited us over for dinner along with my sister, Art, and her family. It was nice to be together. Edith was excited to have her picture taken with the boybies, but only August agreed sit for the photo. Edith actually smiled for a bunch of takes, but since I was only using my phone her hard and active smiling made her blurry. I love this shot, though. The looks on their faces make me laugh.

2. While we were at my mom's, I tried out a new app I downloaded to my iPad. The results were awesome.

3. We got some beautiful snow this week. I really like having all of the brown of winter covered up.

4. I love this time of year. It makes me happy.

5. Bud made this sign for the door of the room he shares with Big. It makes me smile.

6. I got to make an awesome double-decker Geo Trax course with Big this week. It was fun. I really could have used a few more pieces so I could do what I really wanted with it, though.

7. The kids got out of school for Christmas break on Wednesday. This is good and bad, but mostly good. So, it makes the favorites list.

8. When I took Ginger to basketball practice on Wednesday, we got there a little early and spent some time hanging in the car, talking. I really appreciate that we can just chill and have conversations about all kinds of stuff. That she thinks that me, her mom, is worth talking to. And it's great that Ginger doesn't mind if I take her photo and isn't self-conscious about being silly or goofy. We had a good time.

9. The good part about all of the kids being home for vacation (besides the fact that I love my kids) is that Ginger is so good about playing with and including her younger siblings. I appreciate it so much. This morning she took all of the kids to the basement to play and I was able to enjoy drinking a mug of eggnog mocha hot cocoa in absolute peace. It was heavenly. Thanks, Ginger!

10. Speaking of eggnog mocha hot cocoa.... it rocks my world.

11. Rophone is now off until the new year. So, so, sooooo fantastic. 

12. I tried making my dad's famous fudge for the first time in 2 years tonight. It is tradition that Rophone and I give some to Rophone's dad every year for Christmas. Some years I make it myself, but most of the time my dad would just let me snag some that he had made. This time of year he would always have a batch in the fridge just waiting to be handed out to folks. Since stealing my dad's fudge is no longer an option, it's time to hone the skill myself. The fudge I made tonight isn't perfect, but should be edible. As I made it, though, I felt a connection to my dad and I liked that. 

The Holiday Programs

With the way the kids' school lines up the performances for their Holiday program, more years than not I end up going to two separate performances. This year was no different. Thursday was the afternoon kindergarten and grades 1-3, Friday was the morning kindergarten and grades 4-6. 

So, on Thursday, Big, Edith, and I swung by to pick up my mom to go watch Bud perform. When we arrived, we realized that showing up 20 minutes before the performance wasn't nearly early enough to get a good seat (It's a cutthroat business, I tell you!). No matter, I thought. Not with my telephoto lens. I guess if I hadn't given Big the task of taking the camera bag out to the car I would have realized how light it was-- the lens was in the bag, but the camera sure wasn't. Luckily they pause for a few minutes before the individual grades perform so parents can take pictures. This is what I managed to capture over the heads of the gazillion other parents who were taking pictures of their own adorable 2nd graders. At least I had my phone so I could capture something, right?

Just know that Bud was cute and he did a great job. I will never get tired of watching that kid sing.

My mom and I decided to arrive a little earlier the next morning for the other half of the program. Even though we only got there about 10 minutes earlier than the previous day, there were so many seats available it was hard to choose! I kinda had a feeling we should sit on one side, but it was so open I couldn't decide. My indecisive nature allowed me to be swayed to the opposite side, which ended up being about as far away from where Big was standing as we could have been. I was so bummed to not have a good view of him for his very first school performance. 

Oh, well. At least this time I had my telephoto lens with me. I got up at the beginning and walked across the gym to take Big's picture before they started to sing. What a cutie.

The only problem was, that because I walked over there to take his picture Big assumed that I was sitting on that side of the room. So, most of the pictures I took of him were of the back of his head as he looked for me where I wasn't. At least I managed to snap a few. 

It was so fun to see Big perform in his first school program. Way to go, Big!

After sitting through the 4th and 5th grade numbers, it was finally time to see Ginger sing in her very last elementary school Holiday program. After 7 years of hearing the kindergarteners sing "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas", I'm pretty sure she's not sad to see it go. (When I think of how many more years I get to hear that song....)

This is the picture you get of your 6th grader when they don't know you're taking their photo:

And this is the look you get when you holler a 6th grader's name in a crowded room so they'll look at you:

I love Ginger in that sweater. The color is fantastic on her. I was so happy that the 6th graders sang a new selection this year in addition to one of the old favorites. It was nice to hear something new.

The blonde boy next to Ginger is really getting into it in the last picture. Awesome. I really do love to go see and hear my kids perform, but I must admit that I'll be glad to only attend one show next year (provided they do it the same way). After that, it will be back to two until Big is out of elementary school. I sure do love my kids.

Friday Favorites

I don't really even know what happened last Saturday. I'm pretty sure it didn't even exist, so we'll just start with Sunday.

1. Since Rophone was working on Sunday morning and we had some sickies in house, we stayed home from church and spent some quality time together. I was able to play games with 3 of the 5 kids. 

This is a favorite for two reasons:

• I got to spend time with my kids that was time we would have been apart had we attended church. Not saying we shouldn't go to church, but taking advantage of the time to do something together is pretty darn good.
• My kids are developing a love of games. It was a huge part of my family life growing up, so I'm glad my kids are learning to enjoy it, too.

2. A fabulous friend gifted me with a new camera app for my iPhone. It's super cool and I love the pictures I've been able to take with it so far. 

3. On Monday morning, I was able to meet two dear friends for breakfast. It was a blast. I've already blogged about it, even. Scroll down or click here to read about it.

4. Rophone ordered me a new nutcracker to use as a stocking hanger. I love how it stands out in the crowd. My husband knows me so well.

5. We got some beautiful snow and I actually convinced Edith to don her snow clothes (she has an aversion to them for some reason) so she could come outside while I shoveled the driveway. She looked super cute and I had to laugh that she wouldn't walk in the snow, but would only step where I had already shoveled.

6. Edith and I took Pen to the orthodontist on Wednesday and the sisters enjoyed spending time together. I loved seeing them interact. Edith was so excited to have her picture taken with Pen that she just couldn't hold still (hence the blurry baby). Love these sisters.

7. My mom came with me to watch the kids sing in their Christmas programs both yesterday and today (they split up the program by grades). Yesterday we watched Bud, and today we got to see Big in his very first elementary school program and Ginger in her very last. It was great and I'll do a separate post about it over the weekend.

8. We were going to splurge for a real tree this year, but upon reflection decided we'd better just stick with the Charlie Brown Christmas tree we already own. The kids loved to decorate it and reminisce about all the ornaments as they put them on the tree. I love the festive spirit it brings. I just love this time of year.

9. Rophone and I got out for a few minutes tonight to take care of a few things. It is the time of year for that. It was nice to unwind a little with my honey after a Big day. It's always nice.

The Early Half-Birthday Triple-Birthday Party

Some of you who read my blog may remember the story of the Triple-Birthday-Party threesome of which I am a part. For those of you who don't remember or haven't been reading my blog long enough, you can read about it here. Anyway, long story short...

• It's a story about 3 girls
• Our parents were all friends
• Our mothers all got pregnant
• Our mothers gave birth to us 3 days in a row
• Our parents (still friends) made sure that we got together every year for a party (hence 'Triple' Birthday Party)

The sad part is that the last time that the three of us were able to get together was almost 18 1/2 years ago. That's a long time. If you read the post I linked to, you will see that there have been occasions where 2 of us have managed to celebrate, but it's just not the same. 

That's why today was so momentous. The stars aligned. The gods liked the cake pops I sent them...

We did it! The 3 of us got together for the first time in almost 18 1/2 years! It was so great to see them and I had such a fantastic time. I was so excited that I talked a lot, but that shouldn't surprise anyone. I didn't feel any awkwardness about how long we've been apart. It was almost like we were triplets separated at birth! (Or something)

We got the nice girl behind the counter at the restaurant to take a few photos of the fun. 

These next two photos are blurry and, no, we don't look normal, but we are still such goofs and I love it.

Such a blast. I can't imagine waiting that long to see my Triple-Birthday-Party friends again, and if we did we'd be almost 60! (ack!) It's clearly time to up the frequency with which we get together. I'm saving my money for a Triple-Birthday-Party getaway...

Friday Favorites

1. Rophone and I have been able to spend some good, quality time with the kids this week. It has been really nice. 

2. Edith has been more into letting me do her hair this week. She asks me to do it, even. This is a favorite because I think she looks so dang cute in pigtails or a ponytail.

It's also good because she sometimes wakes up with her hair looking like this:

3. This reminds me of how much I love good bed head. 

4. Big has been in a better mood as of late. This is a favorite because it makes my life easier. And I love him and feel better when I know he's happy.

5. I have been able to spend a lot of time with Rophone this week, too. It's awesome how we can convince the kids that we need to get out of the house without them because we might be buying them something for Christmas while we're out. Not that we are. Or aren't. Just that we might. Yet another reason to love this time of year. And the fact that we have in-house babysitters. 

6. I made a Christmas craft this week. I'm rather excited about it because I think it's just perfect for me and my holiday house. It's so simple and cute, but not cutesy. (Plus, I had the kids put out the decorations this year and they crammed a bunch of same-height stuff on the mantle. The display really needed some height!)

7. Okay, if I'm being honest, those are really most of the Christmas decorations we own. So, yet another reason why my new Christmas star is a favorite!

8. Big went on a play date after school today, so I got to enjoy a little quiet time while Edith was napping. The other kids had early dismissal, but I still got about an hour and a half! Decadent.

9. Bud managed to coax his other front tooth out tonight. Not exactly a trauma-free experience for him, but I think we're both glad it's finally out of there. And he looks so dang cute with both his front teeth missing. I love this age!

10. Rophone and I got to go on a date tonight. I was so excited to go support my sister, Art, and her husband in a gallery showing of nutcrackers. They both made and contributed a nutcracker to be put on display. I love having artsy people in my family. It was so fun to be with my fabulous husband on a real adult-like date that was different than our norm. I just love being with him. It was great to hang out with some other adults, too. I took a picture of Rophone being adult-like on our date. 

Not a bad week. I'm pretty happy with it.

What They Want 2012

This is one of my favorite posts every year. I just love to see what my kids want for Christmas and their lists are always good for a few laughs. I've thought about having them fill out one of those "1 Thing I want, 1 Thing I Need, 1 Thing to Wear, and 1 Thing to Read" things, but where's the fun in that? It would serve to make them appear less greedy to the folks who read my blog, but I'm not into appearances. I know how they really are. Plus, the 3 of us (Rophone, Santa, and I) need some options to choose from! 

Edith didn't write out a list this year, but she told us a few of the things she desires:

1. A puppy (stuffed)
2. A purse
3. Fun socks

Big did a fabulous job writing out his own list this time around.

Number 8 on Big's list is a little hard to read but it says 'Bruder Fire Truck'. It's been Bruder, Bruder, Bruder around here for the last couple of years. I'm thinking we need to buy stock in the company.

The first thing on Bud's list surprised me a little, but I definitely wasn't surprised by #2. Bud discovered Parcheesi while on vacation for Thanksgiving and thought it was great. What I really love about his list is the super teeny 'iPod Touch' that has been squeezed in between numbers 10 and 11. Obviously he's hopeful but not very optimistic. 

I really love how Ginger's list illustrates that she is straddling the line between kid and teen. Just what every almost twelve year old needs-- a laptop (mac, good girl) and googly eyes. And I love how googly eyes aren't lumped together with the other art supplies. Ginger is right, they deserve their own number. 

I was glad to see that Pen included something really practical on her list this year. It made me laugh, but she really does need a new mattress. She may be disappointed, but that and the leather jacket are probably a no-go. At least she provided us with a lot to choose from. I hope she's not too bummed when Santa brings the two of us matching dresses to wear to church. Dresses are on her list after all.

I really enjoy reading my kids' wish lists every year-- they are like little windows into their minds. I almost always learn something new about them. Plus, I appreciate the fact that the kids understand that just because it's on their list it doesn't mean they're going to get it. Appreciation for what they do receive abounds. Can't wait to see what Santa comes up with!

Pen is Back!

I can hardly believe it, but this is a post about Pen! Another hard thing to believe is that I am a Dance Mom. Pen has been dancing for long enough that I probably need to begin owning the role. I'm pretty sure I still look like a deer in the headlights when confronted with all things dance, but I'm working on it. 

Pen performed in her High School's dance concert on Friday and Saturday nights this weekend. It's astounding to me how many levels of dance and how many different dance classes they have at her school. And this concert didn't even include the ballroom program! Anyway, it was great to see Pen in action as a part of the drill team. Soooo different than ballet. 

I took a few kinda blurry, oompa loompa-ish shots of Pen dancing, but I think she looks fantastic up there. Super tall and fantastic. And not fourteen. 

It was great to watch you in action, Pen. You're beautiful!