Jinger Bells

Well, here it is, the night before Thanksgiving and the first snowfall of the year arrives. Ever since hearing that it might snow today my kids started asking if they would be able to snowboard later and of course I tried to not be too optimistic so they wouldn't be let down when all we received was a random flurry. Well, we did get a little more than a flurry, and apparently you don't really need that much snow to be able to snowboard because by golly-here they are in full glory-sliding down the "hill" that is our front yard. Even Dakota was thrilled to play in the foreign (to her) white stuff. Also, in the true spirit of the season, my children have started singing various Christmas songs. Well, ok, just one in particular. The other day I was driving Lars and Maddi around and from the back of the van I heard the following:

Jinger Bells! Jinger Bells!

Jinger all the way,

Erf is fun, ish to wide

one horse open sleigh

HEY!

What struck me the most is that they BOTH were singing the same wrong words with some random made up word in its place. I remember being little (or who am I kidding-it even happens now) when you just can't figure out what the darn words are! Oh well, sing it loud, sing it proud!!! Welcome to the Christmas season--

First Batch

Here it is, the official first batch of "puppy chow" of the season. The kids love to help in the kitchen and are my official taste testers for many creations. (Mostly of the unhealthy sort). This first batch lasted for about two days so I suspect I will be asked when we can make it again sometime very soon!

Puppy Chow

12 oz box of Crispex

12 oz bag of chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/2 cup butter

2 c. powdered sugar

Melt chips, butter and peanut butter over low heat. Stir in cereal. Pour into a large container or bag and pour powdered sugar over. Shake or mix well.

Pre-Thanksgiving Dinner

Saturday we got to go to CF to hang out with family and I ate enough (this family does not lack in the food preparation department) food that it gave me a little precursor of what is to come next week for the ACTUAL Thanksgiving celebration. That feeling of being permanently stuffed for about six weeks straight due to big meals and holiday parties is almost enough to make me want to boycott the holidays, but who am I kidding. I eat enough "puppy chow mix" during the holiday season that I can put it in it's own food group. And besides, what good would it be if I couldn't put "lose 10 pounds" on my New Year's resolution list?? Anyway-to my family--it was great to see you this weekend and we love you much!! Hope to see you again soon. To the rest of you--enjoy the holidays and if you are ever in the mood for some puppy chow, stop on by and I'll share mine with ya!

PS-Matt--you've been blogged! HA!

High School Reunion

So, you know when you haven't seen someone forever but whenever you do see them it's like you just picked up right where you left off? That's how it is with three of my dearest high school friends I got to go out with last Friday night. My friend Clare from D.C., Christy from D.M., and Erin from right here in good 'ol I.C. were able to get together and didn't stop talking long enough to take a breath, let alone stop laughing for 4 hours. It's just so nice to have those friends who knew you when you were possibly the biggest dork of your life, but they STILL love you anyway. It was so great to rehash old stories of getting away with things (and just as many of NOT getting away with them)...or the favorite stories that get repeated every time we manage to get together like "Loomis Park + beer cans=Police Officers". I like to think that we are older (Ugghh!)-did I mention it was also Clare's birthday!? and much wiser than we were so many years ago, but its nice to know that those moments that made me who I am today were also shared by such dear friends and helped make them who they are today as well. Ok, ok, enough with the sentimental crap already, and I must give a big thanks to the husbands of the group who braved the wrath of four chatterboxes. They were troopers as we discussed such favorite topics as Taco Tico and the "Vortex" (yes, they were just as confused as many of you are right now) but they stuck it out. (Mostly because they had designated drivers to get them home safely!) All in all, it was an awesome night and when we do it again in another 5 years, I am confident we'll once again pick up right where we left off! Love ya girls-

Football Fever

Well, we finally managed to get our camera to one of Drew's football games--of course the last one of the season. For being the first weekend in November we were very thankful for the beautiful weather!! Drew and his team played hard and had lots of fun, and got lots of practice playing all positions. On the way to his last game he asked me what I thought his favorite position might be, I immediately thought/assumed that it would be the QB or some receiver who gets to score the points. How surprised I was when he said "...linebacker, because I get to rip off their flags!" Stupid me!! How would I know how the mind of a 7 year old boy works??!! I played tea parties and dollies and tried to use ink pens to add make-up to their faces. (How shocked I was when I discovered that it doesn't come off...) Anyway, football was great and now we are getting ready to move onto basketball---we'll keep you posted!!

Halloween- Part 2

Pay Dirt! We hit the mother load! We have never before collected so much candy while trick-or-treating. It was quite an adventure this year as it was our first time actually trick-or-treating in our own neighborhood. As more and more houses get built it is fun to meet with new neighbors and they loved seeing the kids in their costumes. There were a couple of scary moments for Maddi as two of the houses had adults wearing "monster" costumes and she was completely horrified. After that, she would ask me at each stop if we were at a monster house. I would reassure her each time that we weren't but she still would not go up to the house for her treat until she saw them come to the door not wearing a costume. The kids are waiting for tomorrow when they get to divy up their candy and start "trading" with each other for the pieces they really want. All in all, the kids had a great time and it looks like we won't run out of candy until Christmas. Maybe Santa can borrow some from us for stocking stuffers.....

Pumpkin Carving

So it was the night before Halloween and we finally decided that it was time to get our pumpkins carved. Lars and Maddi decided they wanted to paint theirs (of course!-anything to make an even bigger mess!) but Drew held out for the more traditional route of scooping out guts and carving up a face. Well, Drew is not a fan of really gross stuff and so the goopy feeling of the pumpkin "inards" if you will, was just about enough to throw him over the edge, or at least almost make his dinner come up. His eyes started watering and it took him a few handfuls of goop before he was moderately ok with it. The pumpkins turned out great and with Peanuts-The Great Pumpkin playing on TV in the background it was a great finish to an "All Hallows Eve"!

Red Sox Win

A shout out to all my optometry buddies and New England friends...Red Sox Rule!! Need I say more?

Happy Halloween-Part 1

So, we hosted the 1st annual Dempster Drive Halloween party at our house last night and it seemed to be a big hit. Since our basement isn't finished, the kids were able to be crazy and do pinatas, bob for apples (or "apple diving") as one kid put it, and just be loud and and crazy. It also gave the kids one more excuse to wear their overly priced costumes so as a parent I can feel a little better about the money I paid for it in the first place. That being said, my dear husband Jamie wanted me to make it very clear in the invitations that adults were not required to wear costumes, mostly because he was NOT wearing one. Later in the evening one of the kids' wigs was laying around so the guys were trying it on and I was able to get Jamie to pose for a picture. I must say, a pretty woman Jamie is not, but if anyone is missing a lead singer in their washed up '80's band, I've got a real looker for them!

Bumps and Bruises

I picked up Lars from preschool last week and found him on the playground with a big shiner on his right eye. The pitfalls of playing tag at the end of a long day. He didn't seem too upset about it by the time I got there and when we were leaving he insisted on stopping in the bathroom to "see it!" He took one look and said, "Cool." and walked away. So, my heart is feeling sad for my little boy that I wasn't there to protect and he is actually kind of proud! Boys. I must say, this guy has had his share of ups and downs as he took several other falls this summer after he learned to ride with no training wheels. There were many instances where I had to run and find my child laying in pools of blood (yes, pools) due to whacked chins (chins bleed forever!) and scraped knees, but none were quite as bloody as the one from this photo attached that gave him the fat lip. I suspect this won't be the last of the fat lip/black eye type of photos, but it still makes your heart stop everytime I hear one of my kids cry out because they got hurt. I also suspect that, as a mother, I will feel that way for the rest of my life no matter the source of their pain.

Frogger

Ok, so frogs aren't really my thing, but they seem to be my kids' thing. A favorite pastime for the kids in our neighborhood is to see how many frogs can be caught and it's always a competition to see who can find the smallest and largest one. I really shouldn't complain as this keeps them busy for hours and they love to just watch them do "frog things" whatever that may be. Who knew-a science experiment right in my own backyard! I have to admit, the really tiny ones are even kind of cute but since I have seen them pee on my children several times I have yet to offer for one to be put in my hand. Not very adventurous, I know, but once you pass the potty training stage the thought of being peed on again is not all that appealing. The best thing about it all is watching their faces light up when they run and tell you how many frogs they caught this time and scream, "isn't that awesome?" I hope you have an awesome day and don't forget to catch some frogs along the way---

Dance Fever

Maddi has always loved to dance around the house and gets off her chair every time a song comes on while watching High School Musical. Now that she is finally 3, she gets to take "real" dance lessons. Every Tuesday morning I wake Maddi up and say, "You have dance lessons today!" and I am greeted with a heartfelt "Yea!!!". This is by far this little girl's most favorite thing to do and it is so fun to watch her every week. She comes home and practices her special positions and walks, and is very focused on making sure she gets it just right. After going to baseball, t-ball, and football games for the big brothers, it's fun to have something just for Maddi.

Fort Fun

The kids love when cousin Cassie comes over to babysit. She's so much more fun than mom and dad, and she doesn't nag them about keeping things clean or picking up messes. Their favorite activity is fort making, and Cassie is quite good in this department. I think she and her sister Jessie, another beloved babysitter, had lots of practice at making forts. This particular fort welcomed us home one night after Jamie and I got to go out for dinner. (We had probably planned on a movie, too, but most likely spent the rest of the night at Target buying household items--but I digress). When we arrived everyone was asleep, including Cassie and both dogs. It's so fun to be reminded of being silly and carefree, and a time to remember that its more important to savor the moment than worrying about the after effects. Cassie recently moved back to Florida and we will miss her tons. By the way, we left the fort up for the whole next day...we just couldn't bear to take it down.

New Tools

Well, Lars has now turned five and when asked what he wanted for his birthday he had some very definite opinions. He wanted ALL and ANY Lego Star Wars sets, a REAL saw, a small hammer, and some nails. Well, leave it to Grandpa Jim to oblige him with the tools, and we now have our very own budding construction worker. He has been very busy nailing together any extra boards he can find in our garage, and he has recently gotten ahold of some extra roofing shingles and has created quite a masterpiece on our play structure in the backyard. He loves to help Dad with any project that he can, and is very focused. In fact the other day he offered to let me take a swing of his hammer to help him pound in a nail. Of course the minute I hit it, it bent sideways. Without missing a beat, Lars replied, "Well, you're not a very good worker are you mom!" So ends my construction career.

Maddi's Hair

From the beginning, Maddi has been a bit

challenged in the hair department. Of all my three kids, she has had the least amount of hair at this age. She has yet to have, or rather, NEED, a haircut whereas my boys would have had several at this point. It was with great pride, for Maddi AND me, when I was able to put the first two pigtails in her hair. Now, I know they are a bit pathetic, but just the fact that a few hairs were willing to cooperate and be held by the tiniest of hair bands was quite a triumphant moment for the two of us. Just look at that proud face!!!