Christmas Review

Pictures and video added! More on the upcoming December album!

Get comfy because I feel that this is going to be long one. We had a wonderful Christmas. Things started on Christmas Eve with the arrival of Papa and Gram Meagher just after K. had gone down for a nap. Her whole face lit up when she woke up and saw them, they got a “Hi Gram!” and “PAPA!!!” I’m happy to say that she was as good as gold at Christmas Eve mass and considering it was over an hour and a half this two year old deserves a prize! There was the traditional nativity play and K. did not miss a beat of it. Her favorite? The angels which she referred to as “buh-flies” once she spied their wings.

When we got home Aunt Colleen and Uncle Sven had arrived, so we sat down to a delicious dinner. She learned to do “Cheers!” and every meal after this had to include some toasts (get ready Papa and Gram Coberly!). And for Christmas Dinner the next day we had a perfect center piece coutesty of my sister. The lamp holds a tea light so you can light it up!

Of course, we checked out Santa’s progress, he was in the Azores when we looked. At first Miss K. was just too worked up to go to sleep, she was busy entertaining and being entertained. When I said it was time to brush teeth and go to bed, her reply was no. However, I explained to her that “Santa Claus only delivers presents to boys and girls that are asleep.” She pondered this for a second, grabbed blankie, said “Com’on Mommi” and was off to her room. I’m not kidding, it happened just like that. I’ve never seen her get into bed so quickly. Once she went down, the assembly began. She must have known that something was up because it took her a while to fall asleep so we had to keep things somewhat quiet.
The next morning (and ok, I don’t care how old you are, don’t you get all excited when you first wake up on Christmas morning?). We brought her downstairs while saying “let’s see if Santa Claus came!” However, Miss K. wasn’t interested in Santa Claus, she was hungry and as far as she was concerned he could wait until after breakfast. She went straight into the kitchen to have a bite, leaving the rest of us dumbfounded. I’m sure that this is the only year that this will happen. Don’t worry; once she had a full belly, it was right to the living room. Presents! Wow, our family got her some great gifts. Each one had to be unwrapped, opened, and played with for a bit before she moved on to the next thing. And I think she’s got the hang of this Santa thing, Christmas night she asked “Presents?” I explained to her that we opened all of the presents, she would need to wait until her birthday before she got more presents.

Christmas card dancing… She loved the card Great Grandma and Grandpa Coberly sent, it had her dancing!

The rest of the time was spent relaxing and hanging with family. Ted and I had the rare opportunity to get out of the house, just the two of us, which was wonderful (and OMG the sales were too good to pass up). Some long overdue date nights are definitely in our future. The decorations are down (thanks for the help M&D!) for another year and the living room is back in its “new” arrangement. I hated to see them come down but I knew if it was either then or the following weekend when I would be completely sick of them. I have a cold…yes if you are counting this is number 3 in about as many months. I don’t know what type of super virus this is but I seem to be the only one who is not immune to it because Ted and Katherine are healthy, the same as with the past two colds.

So what’s in store for us next? Well, the start of a New Year makes folks want to organize, organize, organize and we are included in that group, even the blog has a fresh new look. First thing…Toy Storage. I know that my obsessive compulsive self will only be able to take so much of having the new toys scattered all over the floor. And the number of toys only grows (and grows!) from here so the time has come to find a practical and decent looking toy storage solution. Bookcase? Bin system? Hmmmmm… I also need to start searching in earnest for the “big girl bed” to be purchased this Spring. She’s ready and its time. We’ll be switching out the Classic Pooh decorations for “Buh-flies”/dragonflies (and maybe some Katydids?). I did snag an “oh so cute!” canvas bin at Homegoods this weekend that is perfect for her stuffed animals. The pattern on it is dragonflies.

No big plans for New Years Eve and that is A-OK with us. We’ll probably pop a bottle of champagne and put our feet up in front of a “Rockin’” New Year’s Eve. Ahhhh!

And the loudest toy award goes to...

You Better Watch Out...

Santa Claus is coming to town! Courtesy of NORAD, we'll be tracking Santa's path this year. Ok, so Katherine does not fully get it but we've got to start these traditions early. She does know who "Claus" is, as she refers to him but I don't think she gets that the Big Guy is about to leave her a bunch of loot under the tree. I'm sure after about 9am on Christmas Morning she'll have connected the dots. Too bad it's another 364 days until he returns.

In about an hour, I'll be off to attend the festivities in Katherine's class...I can't wait!

How's the weather in New England?

Santa came a little early for us and Beth and I went to pick up our Christmas present new TV this past weekend. I got it hooked up and then tuned in the Hi-Def New England-Arizona game that was played in Gillette Stadium outside of Boston. It was almost like being there... except that it was 50 degrees and sunny outside and not like this.

Christmas Carols...sort of

Trying really hard to keep my mind on work this afternoon, we're almost there! Anyways in my...ahem...Internet Research for today I came across this. You have scroll down and read all of the comments that people have posted, it is giving me quite a chuckle. Of course it is also making me think of all of the song lyrics that I have butchered over the years. Not only song lyrics, I was high school before I realized (duh!) that the candy "Now and Later" is not "Nalumater" (Shout out to you Bridget!). Katherine is starting to sing songs lately, I heard part of Jingle Bells last night so I'm sure we'll have some additions to what others are posting really soon! Enjoy!

Oh S***!

So I'll take the honor of being the first person to teach bad words to my child. On our way into work/preschool this morning my thoughts floated off into "my own little world", as Ted refers to it. When I came to I thought I had taken the wrong exit off of the highway (I hadn't). So for that brief second not only did I think (or rather didn't think) oh S*** I accidentally blurted out S***! I then heard this sweet little voice in the backseat...S***! Crap! We've been so good about language usage, how could I let that slip? Not only that, I let it slip on the way INTO preschool, ensuring a phone call later of "Do you know what your daughter just said?" I immediately started the repairs "That was a bad word that mommy said, she shouldn't have said it." Yeah, whatever Mom. I warned the teachers, they thought it was hilarious..."They always pick up on those words right away." Yeah, and I'm hoping she forgets...probably wishful thinking.

ON TREE!

I know I've mentioned this before but it is so cute that it deserves a repeat. Katherine loves our Christmas tree. We've developed a little routine for when we get home. Katherine runs right into the living room and situates herself in front of the tree while I head over to the plug. I then say: "Say the magic words!" and Katherine literally yells out "On Tree!!". Magically, the tree lights up! How cute is that? We haven't been very good with the video camera in oh, the past year or so but this might worth digging it out.

A Rudolph update. I took a look and found out that the original Rudolph was on CBS on December 4th. No sign of a repeat. That explains why ABC Family is showing that awful animated version, they don't own the rights to the real thing.

Ted and I have been exhausted the last two nights. The CR-V needed a repair which was thankfully under warranty, nothing serious, but it required us to bring the car up to the dealership which of course is NOT on the way home. So Tuesday I left work and drove straight up to the dealership (up my favorite road in Raleigh...Capital Blvd, 8 lanes of pure mayhem) to drop off the car. Ted picked up Katherine and then came to pick me up and we headed home. Last night, we picked up Katherine first then headed up to the dealership so I could pick up the car. All in all this did not take much time but I think it was the extra little bit added to our nightly routine that took the wind out of us. K. went to bed at her normal time and we weren't far behind. We tried flipping through the channels a bit but then realized all we wanted to do was go to sleep. No swinging nightlife around our house these days.

Speaking of nightlife, we are the ONLY house this year on our street with Christmas lights outside. Ok, so I haven't taken a look down the WHOLE street but its not that long and from what I can see from our front porch, we are it. Bah-humbug indeed! I also have to admit the weather forecasts for Western Massachusetts for the next week have been making me a bit homesick. Snowstorms tomorrow, Sunday night and probably something the 24th and 25th as well. A guaranteed White Christmas! Ok Ok, I haven't been away that long, I know that with that snow comes alot of shoveling, scraping and de-icing. This area would be in absolute panic right now (we'll save that story for the annual ice storm around here). But wow! We're supposed to get rain which just isn't as nice.

What a great lamp!!!

Before the family update, some important information. Yesterday was our annual Holiday Walk at work. Before you start thinking "My what a healthy bunch you work with!", think again. We walked no further that the next food table. Being the central office for a state agency we are broken up into various sections according to work functions (i.e. fiscal services, community services, director's office, etc...). I am part of the Program Policy, Planning and Evaluation section. Isn't that a mouthful. Anyways, for the holiday walk, each section puts together a table of goodies, decks the halls and then we all walk around eating and socializing. There are contests for best food and decorations. Sounds nice doesn't it? This year the decision was made to cut down on the amount of food (which in past years has been obscene, you basically eat your way through the week before Christmas around here) and focus our attention to helping the needy. Each section was to create a sculpture made out of non-perishable food that could then be donated to a local food bank. Our section was stumped. We had no problem bringing in the food to donate, but what sculpture to make with it? We hemmed and hawed until 4:30 on Friday when we felt a decision had to be made so any last minute items could be purchased before Monday. A snowman? No. Train? No. Christmas Tree? Taken by another section. Then someone (not me!) jokingly mentioned, "Wouldn't it be funny if we could make the Old Man's Major Award?" Our eyes lit up, that was it!!! Some quick planning (we are planners after all!) and we had it. Check it out. To complete the theme we made sure to have the movie playing next to our display. It was a hit! We won for most creative AND most fun sculpture.

Katherine's fever broke during the night on Friday. She still slept quite a bit this weekend but she was back to her old self by Saturday night. My cold is just about gone as well. So far, so good for Ted, he's felt a little bad here and there but nothing major. We'll keep our fingers crossed that we stay healthy through Christmas. Speaking of which, our preparations are just about done. We are hosting my parents, sister, and her fiancee Sven this year. Presents are all bought, delivered, wrapped and tucked safetly away from prying eyes. The house is decorated and straightened up, it will get the big cleaning this weekend. The only thing that is left is to plan the menu. Decisions, decisions, what tasty treats should we make?

I'm hoping we can go for a brief ride around town this weekend to look at the Christmas lights. Katherine gets quite a kick out of all of the displays..."lights!!!" We also heard that Santa Claus came to visit preschool yesterday, to collect any last minute gift wishes! I tuned to ABC Family last night in the hopes of watching Rudolph only to find out that it wasn't the original Rudolph but some computer animated remake. Excuse me?? There is no need to mess with the original.

Ta Daaaa!

I present to you the decorated living room! In the end, I had to move the loveseat under the front window. I started assembly the tree there and quickly confirmed that there was not enough space period. So, I very easily slid the loveseat over and moved the tree to its usual spot. After the Christmas though, the loveseat is going right back to its new spot (thanks Bryn!).

Miss K. is home today. She woke up at 3:19 last night quite chipper but also quite warm. She stayed up for a while before falling back to sleep around 4:30. My cold had fully broken through so I was miserable. Ted let me stay in bed. however, unlike Miss K. he never fell back to sleep himself. We are splitting up the work day, I have a can't be missed meeting later so Ted is coming home early. And I'm switching next week's Friday off for today. Katherine just went down for her nap, poor thing just does not feel good at all today, a fever and I suspect I may have given her my cold. Ted is on his way home and I need to get cracking putting the fresh sheets on the bed. My guess is he's exhausted having been up since 3:19 and a nap is in order for him as well!

Soaked...

Dear Not one but TWO Drivers of State Cars:

Did you not see the pedestrian walking down the street (on the sidewalk!)? Did you have to drive through that puddle at breakneck speed???? I'll give some lenience to the first van that went by but the second one that was RIGHT BEHIND the first one??? Surely you saw it drench me, was there a need to get me more wet?? Seriously, my whole backside is SOAKED!!!! Have some concern for those of us that choose to walk to our meetings on campus, even on rainy days! I even forgot my umbrella today but was staying perfectly dry underneath my coat. Did you figure, hey if the rain isn't gonna do it to her, we'll take care of it!! Was your state appointed business that important???

Sincerely,
One poor state employee sitting at her desk in wet pants and undies.

Mickey Recap

So we sat down and watched Mickey last night. Did anyone else notice that it was even more cut down than usual? I mean I already knew Mickey's Christmas Carol was a truncated version of the real deal but this was like how fast can we get through this so that we will have room for our 5 minute commercial breaks? A few scenes and lines that I always enjoyed and was waiting for (like when Goofy falls down the stairs at Scrooge's house..."Marley watch out for that last...step!") were cut out. What gives?

We are also probably one of the last families on Earth that does NOT own a DVR so there was no prerecording and watching minus the commercials. This is what got Katherine mixed up; until we started watching holiday specials this year she had never really watched commercial TV so she didn't have a clue what a commercial break was. When a break came she would look at me like "Huh? What's this? Where's my show?" and lose interest in the TV pretty quickly. We made it through Mickey and most of Pooh ok but by the time Santa Claus is Coming to Town came on she had had it with the commercials (so had I). She watched the beginning then got bored at the first break and I decided it would be best for all to just head off to bed. This technological laggert is beginning to see the benefits of DVR.

We are experiencing some weird weather around here today. It is very unseasonably warm with thunderstorms and tornado warnings. The warm temps won't last for long though, a cold front is coming through, so we'll be back down to normal by tomorrow.

Elf Yourself

Around my office, we get QUITE a chuckle out of this. Last year there was also a Scrooge version but I don't think its running this year.

In addition to some great holiday TV tonight, we need to catch up on our chocolate Advent calendars. K. got a little inquisitive and was trying to open all of the doors..."Mo Choclat?" So I had to put them up on top of the fridge which means we totally forgot about them for a few days.

FRAGILE

Katherine woke up at 4:30 this morning. I went into her room and firmly told her that it was still “sleepy time”. I got her to lay back down until 5:00 when she started talking again. Ted went in and again got her to lay back down but at 5:20 she announced “Daddy, Daddy! Wake up!” Ugh. We were fortunate for two things, 1. We get the Sprout Channel now and 2. Sesame Street was on. So I propped her up on pillows in the TV room, covered her up with blankies and she was content for the next 30-40 minutes. I immediately hit the hay again (VERY thankful that our family room is on the second floor) to see if I could squeak out another 25 minutes of shut eye. However, there was a distinct lump in the back of my throat and my head felt a little heavy, which could only mean one thing. I am about to get a cold. Ugh, again. I know I’ll feel a bit groggy today but tomorrow will probably be the day it all hits me. Lovely, of course I have meetings tomorrow so staying home to rest?…not really an option unless I’m dying.

I forgot to mention that A Charlie Brown Christmas was on last night. Not too worry though, Miss K and I were tuned in. She seemed to enjoy the Halloween and Thanksgiving specials a bit more but she did watch quite a bit of this one before she got ancy. This is quite the week for Christmas specials. Garfield is on tonight. On Wednesday there’s Mickey’s Christmas Carol followed by Winnie the Pooh and Christmas Too and finally Santa Claus is Coming to Town. Wow, that’s a jam packed evening. Rudolph is on Thursday night but not until 9pm, which is too late for Katherine. It will replay on the 15th at 7, which is perfect.

In a slightly different genre, let’s talk Christmas movies. I have been remiss at not officially mentioning the hands down favorite around this blog, though I’ve hinted at it multiple times. That would be A Christmas Story. My sister, cousins Bill and Aly and myself have a small obsession with this movie. When it’s on 24/7 on Christmas Day? Oh yeah…we’re watching. We can spout off quotes at a moments notice. Others in our family do not get what we see in this movie. My husband is included in this group; the other half of this blog loves National Lampoons. And I’ve discovered in conversations with others that you either love the movie or hate it, there’s not much in between. To us it’s hilarious each and every time. Just thinking about it is making me chuckle right now.

Swede (Bob Clark): "It looks like a lamp."
The Old Man: "It is a lamp, you nincompoop. But it's a major award. I won it."
Swede: "Damn, hell, you say you won it?"
The Old Man: "Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Mind power, Swede, mind power."

Santa!

I took Katherine to see Santa Friday morning. I figured the crowds would be much lighter on a weekday and I was right. We first encountered Santa on our way to the restroom at the mall. As we were walking into the women's bathroom, we heard jingling coming from the men's room. Two seconds later, who should appear but the Big Guy himself (wouldn't I be shocked if the jingle bells weren't from Santa but some merry shopper). He stopped and said hello to Katherine, who just beamed back at him. Took some weight off of me as I quickly realized she wasn't afraid of him. He informed that he had just been feeding his reindeer (make your own joke out of that one).

We were luckily enough to be first in line to see him at the official Santa place. Again when he came out Miss K. started grinning from ear to ear. She went right up to him and said hello. The only she refused to do was sit on his lap, she was fine interacting with as long as she was on her own two feet. I told the person with the camera to just take pictures and not worry about the perfect lap shot, we'd just see what we got. The first two pictures were pure K. poses, the fact that Santa was in the shot was of no consequence to her (think Bill and Bryn's wedding). The third one they took was the keeper:

Yup, that's her back your seeing. But see that present in front of Santa? It was part of the decorations next to him. Katherine picked it up and brought it over to Santa to give to him. You can't tell cause the picture is small but Santa is smiling at her for giving him a present and she is grinning from ear to ear right back at him, very proud of herself. How could I not purchase the picture that captured that moment, even if it is of her back? After that, I felt our time with Santa was up, after all there were other children waiting, even though Santa and the staff were super nice and probably would have let us stay for another minute or two to try to get that perfect shot. And I swear to you, put the lady who was taking the pictures in an elf costume and you would have gotten..."we've got a lot people waiting little boy, so get moving!" (only in looks though, she was really sweet). Katherine very cutely said "Bye Santa!", we paid for our pictures (its not cheap to see Santa these days) and we were off. Being the nice Mom that I am, we took a walk over to the mall play area for a bit.

Combine that with an after nap library trip and all in all, it was a fun and busy Friday for Miss K. Saturday and Sunday were the usual weekend fair. As we head into a new week I owe all of you two things: 1. an November photo album 2.Pictures of the decorated living room. Both will be completed by mid-week!

Decking the halls

Katherine and I set right to work after we arrived home on Monday setting up the Christmas tree. She got quite a kick out of the whole thing. I think the challenge this year won't be keeping her away from the tree, it will be keep her from UNDER the tree:I loved laying under the Christmas tree myself when I was a kid, so I know the fascination. For the last two evenings, we went over to the light the tree first thing when we got home. Her whole face lights right up as soon as the tree is on. I love watching her discover this whole time of year, there's nothing like seeing Christmas through the eyes of a little one.

Small things make me really happy. Katherine was dry this evening and used the potty! Maybe we are moving forward once again!

Going to the Chapel...

We have returned from a wonderful weekend! The newly minted Mr. & Mrs. Celecki are preparing for their European honeymoon! The wedding was beautiful that’s all there is to say. But here are some highlights.

Ted and I arrived in NJ mid-morning on Friday. I couldn't believe it had been almost 10 years since I last visited Kristen in NJ (10 years??? are we that old that we can talk like that?). After checking in and relaxing for a bit I headed over to the bridesmaid's tea. The tea was one of my favorite parts of the weekend and a Smith tradition that I miss. Kristen even remembered to order beer cheese, which I have to find a recipe for. And check out this cake, how cute is that?
And here are all of Kristen's wonderful bridesmaid. Seriously girls, if I look better in one your pictures, please send it my way! After the tea, it was off to the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.

The wedding day dawned cool but nice and sunny. We started getting ready early. I don't have a good picture of my hair but it was as curly as it had ever been and even though it is short, the stylist managed an updo. Here is a picture of me walking down the aisle:

And the big moment, Kristen and John getting married!

After pictures at the church, we headed to the water front for a few pictures on the pier. Do I need to say it was cold? End of a pier, end of November, end of the day...brrrrr. Sorry Kristen! Then we all boarded the nice warm luxury party bus and headed up the reception. Riding in that bus was also a favorite part of my day as I have never been in a limo (or limo type vehicle in this case) before. Let's just say it was lively. The reception at Mayfair Farms was gorgeous, the room had a winter theme to it (sorry no pictures!).

Ted and I woke up very early Sunday morning to head back to Virginia. By early I mean 3am. No that is not a type. I was not very enthusiastic about this, I was in my happy place, comfy and cozy (Hampton Inn has very comfortable beds). I was more than happy to stay in bed for a few more hours, traffic or no traffic. But it was not to be, Ted wanted to get down I-95 before traffic got bad. So I literally poured myself into the passenger seat. We were at Ted's parents just after breakfast. I was back in bed by 9am for a three hour nap.

Miss K. had a wonderful weekend with Papa and Gram Coberly. I was impressed by how much her language skills had improved in just two days! She can now count not only in English but in Spanish too, thanks to "Dora Explora".

So thank you to everyone for a wonderful weekend!