The morning didn’t quite go the way we wanted – I think this is the first Christmas in my whole entire life that I didn’t get to mass – but we had a mostly good day. The girls found out today that…
…we’re going to Disney World!
Author: Sarah
Christmas Eve
‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring…except for Mommy clicking the mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in hopes that Saint Nicholas soon would be there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds, not actually sleeping, but calling for “Mommmmmmy” instead…
Yeah. Don’t they get that Santa won’t come until everyone is sleeping???
Coooookies!
Last night I piped some simple decorations on pre-baked (yes, I cheated) gingerbread men for the bus drivers:
And today Carrie and I baked a million (OK, only 16 dozen or so) G.G. cookies. She even stayed up really late to help us decorate them all tonight. This is the first time in years that I’m not going to up past midnight on the night before Christmas Eve finishing them by myself!
“Gingerbread” Houses
All the K/1 classes met in the school cafeteria tonight to construct these gingerbread houses out of empty milk cartons, graham crackers, frosting and candies. A cute, fun project!
This is Nacho Doggie!
That was a quick trip! We had fun hanging out with Jeannie, John and the kids, but now we’re back home and have just a few short days to get everything together for Christmas. I thought I was so very nearly done before we left, but looking at my list there’s a lot left to do!
In other news, Carolyn is campaigning hard to change Molly’s name to “Nacho” and Murphy’s name to “Olive”. While both are hilariously funny names for dogs, I’m pretty sure neither dog is going to start responding to their new names. Though I do love Olive the Other Reindeer and Olive My Love. And really, how funny would it be to introduce your dog named “Nacho” to someone? “Hi, this is Nacho dog!” (Carrie totally doesn’t get the Nacho = “Not Your” joke…)
School Holiday Party
I signed up to bring a treat for the class holiday party, but the treat I decided on became an activity as well – decorating gingerbread men! So I dropped Anna off at Nikki’s house and headed to the school for the holiday party. What fun!
Did you know that the echo line in Rudolph the Red-Nose Reindeer after “Then one foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say…” is no longer “Ho, Ho, Ho”, but “In his underwear!”? I didn’t. All the parents who had come along to help in the class cracked up when the kids all shouted that line. Who knew?
After the party, Carrie and I dashed to pick up Anna, and then went home to pack up the car. We’re in NYC now!
Field Trip
Carrie took her first school field trip today. They went to tour a historic home and watch a puppet show of The Night Before Christmas, and then they went to the local VA hospital to sing Christmas, Hannukah and patriotic songs. Anna and I went along as chaperones (well, OK, I was a chaperone, Anna was my tag-along). It was a lot of fun!
Twins
My cousin Kathy had her twin girls this morning! Abby and Emma, welcome to the world!
Birthday & Biscotti
Yesterday was my birthday. Denis and the girls got me a lovely mother’s necklace, and we went out to the local hibachi place for dinner with my family. The girls gave me the best present ever by behaving like angels at the restaurant. Anna was initially horrified by the giant flames, until she saw the enormous pile of rice the chef was going to cook…then she got really, really excited! Carolyn was duly impressed by the egg tricks.
Today Carrie and I went to Dan & Genevra’s new house to make biscotti. They are way, way tastier than store-bought biscotti! Carrie loves to help cook and bake!
Seventeen Months Old!
Dear Anna,
Today you are seventeen months old. Another month before you are officially one and a half! You’ve gained one of your top molars to bring your total number of teeth to nine, and you’re just on the verge of outgrowing a lot of your 12-18 month clothes.
What else is new this month? You have a lot of new words and a lot of new signs. Your favorite words to say are “belly”, “Molly”, “star” and “‘nack!” (you use this one a lot to get snacks). Other fun new words are “plate”, “fork” and “Nee-Nee”, your best friend Nikki. I think we’ve been out shopping with Nikki and her mom just a little too often, because pretty much whenever we get in the car to go anywhere, you start asking for “Nee-Nee”!
You’ve learned how to climb up on the chairs and couches, and I swear you’re going to give me a head full of gray hair by Christmas. Because once you climb up on those chairs and couches, you stand and walk around on them without a care in the world.
When you’re not playing Danger-baby, you have a lot of fun playing with your baby doll. You really, really love babies – dolls, pictures of babies, babies you see in the mall – you’re obsessed with babies! You’re also still obsessed with books. First thing in the morning, before Daddy leaves for work, he walks into your room to say goodbye, and you ask him for a book. That occupies you long enough for me to get dressed and start getting your sister ready for school. And once your sister gets on the bus, you get your daily episode (or two, if I’m under-caffeinated) of Signing Time.
You are exhausting to parent lately, with your constant need to climb and explore. Luckily, you still go to sleep really easily and sleep all night. You’ve chosen a couple of loveys finally – a pink plush “my first doll” and a small baby Minnie Mouse. Oh, and “Billy”, your small taggie square. (I think maybe “Billy” is a combination of “blanket” and “pillow”?) Now I just have to somehow manage to get myself to bed at a reasonable hour so I’ll be able to keep up with your danger baby antics!
Love, Mommy