'Twas The Night Before Christmas

Ahh, Christmas Eve. That magical evening of childhood innocence, dancing sugar plums, homecooked deliciousness...


Okay time for a reality check...instead of visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads, the kids went bonkers from excitement and cookie overload. But I guess that's what Christmas is all about?


Dean chose to eat the whipped cream off of his cookie by dipping a Christmas card into the cream and licking it off. I figured...he wasn't crying...so have at it kid.


Time for the obligatory pose around the Christmas tree shot...we had 1 out of 4 kids cooperating (thanks Cha!)


Then we worked our way up to 2 out of 4 kids cooperating - a Christmas miracle.


The church service was beautiful...luminaries lined all of the walkways and we all lit candles and sang Silent Night at the end. Cole was particulary impressed that the minister asked us to light the chalice at the start of the service...a 4 year old's version of his 15 minutes of fame.



After the service everyone brought something sweet to eat...Dean decided to skip the cookies and cake and went right for the shoe.


Another Christmas miracle...when we got home the boys asked to go to bed. Huh?!? So we willingly obliged and went to our neighbors for drinks.

After settling into their kitchen stools with wine glass firmly planted in hand, I realized what Christmas means to me (besides the alcohol). Sitting with your friends and laughing about our crazy life. Making the kid's favorite foods and hearing them say thank you. Seeing their excitement about Santa coming to town. Hearing hundreds of people at church sing together by candlelight.

When you strip away the chaos it really was a fantastic day. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Hockey & Wine

Ryan and Cole asked to try out floor hockey this season. Things we've learned:

1. Setting ground rules for boys and hockey sticks is always a good thing
2. Cole would rather slide on the floor with his pads than actually play floor hockey
3. An empty racquetball court is the best place to kill time with 2 toddlers while waiting for their older brother's games to finish

And the best lesson of all that was a total "duh" when I learned it: When giving water to a kid wearing a hockey mask, use a straw






After their final game, we went to a party at our friends house during a freak October snow storm. There was lots of food and lots of wine, which led to lots of laughs and a quick stumble home to snuggle with the family.

Looks like it's going to be a long winter...good thing we live near a discount liquor store. Cheers!

Best. Husband. Ever.

For Mother's Day this year, Phil booked a Girlfriend's Weekend at the Golden Inn in Avalon, NJ. Not only did he score total brownie points for the idea, he scored double brownie points for willingly watching the boys for 3 days in a row.

Beachfront hotel...spa treatments...food and drinks...lots of drinks...heated pool...live bands...did I mention no kids? It was absolute heaven to hang on the beach without having to chase anyone down.

It was an awesome way to celebrate 10 years of friendship with my gal pal Sue. See you next year Golden Inn!

Cheerio

I know the hype has died down, but I never had a chance to post about the Royal Wedding party. Thanks to the miracle of TIVO, we were able to record the festivities and watch later that night.

Ironically, my parents were cleaning out their basement and had just given me my wedding dress and veil that had been hanging down there for 8 years. I didn’t dare try on the dress (out of fear that I wouldn’t be able to get it past my ankles) but the veil fit like a glove.


Many glasses of wine later, we settled in to watch. Despite the fact that I was continuously yelling “PIPPA!” in a drunken British accent, I’d say it was a jolly good time. Hopefully Harry gets hitched soon so we can do it again.

PIPPA!

2010 Christmas

Phew.

In what seemed like a whirlwind of gift wrap and cookies, the Christmas season came and went. The kids had a great time and the grown-ups are pooped. Here are a few highlights...

Ry has been begging us to join our Fellowship's intergenerational choir. He had his first performance at the Christmas Eve service and held his own with the old pros.

After a feast at the house, our neighbors had us over for dessert and Cole indulged. A lot.

Christmas morning was pretty normal. Muffins, Crispy Brunch, presents, and a mini trampoline. Santa did mess up with the trumpet...let's just say he probably didn't realize how loud it was when he shoved it down the chimney we don't have. Of course all of the boys love it so I'm now in a continual trumpet daze.

Overall I'll give this holiday season two thumbs up. Not to sound like a broken record, but the wine helped. Also the smiles on my children's faces. And the wine.

Happy holidays!!

Thankful

We had Thanksgiving at my sister's house and it included lots of food and plenty of wine. 8 adults, 7 kids. Wine, lots of wine.

We usually have Thanksgiving with Phil's parents and we always decorate a gingerbread house before dinner. Since we missed it this year, my sister-in-law sent home all the fixins and we fired it up at home.

Ry said, "Daddy told me that my side is organized and Cole's side is creative." Can you guess whose side is whose?

I'm thankful for a lot of things. For my awesome hubs, for my 4 crazy boys, and for all of my buds who leave us dinners on the back porch or whisk a kid or two away when we need a breather. For you and you and you - I am thankful!