The Best Christmas Gift EVER

Our kids love their Uncle B-Rad. He is one of those Uncles I am sure they will flock to as teenagers because he is a good listener, doesn't tend to live life by the rules, and always finds a way to have a good time.

So, it was no surprise to me this year when our youngest opened his present to find "The Whoopie". Our kids have had more fun with this one timeless toy than any other Santa left under the tree. Even at their young ages of 2 and 3.5, they know exactly what to do. They place the toy on the floor, turn around, and WHOOOOOOOOO.....

Sometimes they fall to the left...sometimes to the right.

Each one taking their turn at multiple dumps as if trying to achieve the best out of three...four..or five attempts. When one is laughing so hard they roll to their side, the other swoops in for a turn continuing the play.

I attempted to record a video of them in action, but could not contain my own laughter behind the camera. In playback, my cackling was too much and too loud. You're welcome.

So, here it is..the BEST Christmas gift ever!

Note: In the future, you are not likely to receive the same reaction to offering these sounds in public.

Thank you dear Uncle B-Rad. For Kate's Birthday, she wants a purple harmonica.

A decade gone...A year remembered

One year ago, I made a New Years resolution to begin logging (or blogging) the little moments with the kids that one day I would be unable to remember. The little moments that happen in life that are so precious, yet hard to remember amongst decades of memories.

So, as the year came to an end, I took a moment to look back on some of my favorite memories from 2009...

The Fun. Spending the time at Hershey and the Blizzard of 2009.

The Tough. Conor's endless medical visits and Katie's broken arm.

The Cherished. Katie's love for band aids and her Nana.

The Sweet. The kids first lessons in Chemistry and disappearance.

The Milestones. Conor's First Birthday and Kate's first day of school.

The kids have grown leaps and bounds over the last twelve months, with Conor learning to walk and Katie writing her first letter to Santa. While I don't know what is in store for the year ahead, I am fairly sure I will have a lot to write about!

Wishing all a joyful and prosperous 2010! Happy New Year!

Twas the week before Christmas

Twas the week before Christmas

and all across the East

a storm was a brewin'

as we all went to sleep.

We woke in the morning

to everything covered in white

Mother Nature had blessed us

with snow overnight.

The children were pressed

at the window in awe

at all of the snow

that had started to fall.

Mom in the kitchen

baking cookies to eat.

while the snow kept a comin'

almost two feet!

As it kept piling up

Boozer went crazy

this was one day

that the dog wasn't lazy.

Dad was busy spinning,

some cool Christmas tunes.

From Frank, to Dean,

to Johnny and June.

George Strait and Dave Matthews,

Jack Johnson as well.

We danced in the kitchen.

Shhhhh...don't tell.

The neighbor got stuck

while getting some booze

maybe next time

he'll stick to the shoes.

Ribs in the oven

A feast on its way

Then off to next door

So the kids could play.

Following our dinner

we cleaned up the mess.

Then gathered all around

to watch the Polar Express.

Eggnog was flowing

Liquor galore!

Oh, Mr. Weatherman

please call for more!

Wrinkles are for sheets

She reached up and grabbed my face with both hands, cocked her head to the side, frowned her brow, and pulled me in.

Kate: Mama?

Mom: Yes, Dear.

Kate (pointing to the outer side of my eye): What are those? Do you have wrinkles?

Mom: No. Wrinkles are for sheets. Those are smile lines.

Kate: Smile lines?

Mom: Yep. Smile lines are from many, many years of good fun...smiling and laughing.

Kate: Do I have smile lines?

Mom: Yes you do. When you smile. And if you keep having fun, one day you will have as many as Mommy too!

Kate: I want to! I want to!

And with that, I kissed her goodnight, turned off the light, and headed down the hall to apply the anti-wrinkle cream...just a few hours early.

Worst words at Christmas

As for many, Christmas has always been one of my favorite times of year! The smells, the music, the family gatherings... Since having children, this love has only grown. The kids are still small, and for the first time, our oldest understands the concept of Santa, knows all the words to Rudolph (including the classic inserts), and is talking of leaving cookies and Reindeer food on Christmas Eve. This is the year she (with the help of her teacher) wrote her first letter to Santa.

I don't know who is more excited! Her to receive the gifts, or me to play Santa. In looking at the letter, I figured I was lucky. The list had only three items, non of which were impossible (another brother or sister), or on the "Hot Toy of the Season" (Zhu Zhu pets) list. So, I grabbed my list for Conor, added these items, and headed to Toys R Us.

When I arrived, I grabbed a flyer and headed towards the preschool section. I figured I would start at the back of the store and grab the Toy Lawn Mower that Katie wanted to give to Conor first. Then, it began. After ten minutes and a few too many trips up and down the same aisles, I went searching for help. The Lawn Mower was "not in stock", the attendant said. Come again? "The red, yellow, and blue model is not sold at this location." "Model?" I asked. Well, the pink lawn mower certainly wasn't going to fly for the BOY I was purchasing it for. (Did I mention I drove to this particular location because it was one of the largest stores in the area?) Sigh.

Okay, no big deal. I'll get it elsewhere. Onto my next purchase...the Minnie Mouse. I can't find it. "Sorry, Ma'am", the attendant said. "We don't carry Minnie. We only have Mickey." For a moment, I thought I didn't hear her correclty. No Minnie either? "No, Ma'am," she said.

Okay, this is getting a bit odd. "How about the Leap Frog alphabet?" I said. "The one where you put the letters on the refrigerator." We walked to two aisles over. Sold out. This can't be happening.

We proceeded to My Little Pony. Surely, there would be plenty of the these. As we turned down the aisle, I was relieved, the shelf was full of little pink boxes. Success! Then, we got closer. The little pink boxes I had gotten so excited about seconds ago were the miniature My Little Pony dolls with all the itty bitty corresponding accesories, brushes, mirrors...the larger single My Little Pony dolls were...you guessed it...Sold Out. Grrr.

I had lost all my enthusiasm at this point. It was at 7:23pm, in the My Little Pony aisle of Toys R Us that I decided this year... Mommy was simply going to shop on-line.

On my way out of the store, I decided that just for jollies, I would see if the little table and chairs set we wanted to get the kids was available. Nope. Sold Out.

I left the empty cart at the door, got in my car, and called my husband with a heavy heart. It was my first Christmas with a list in hand, and I left the toy store empty handed. I was so dissapointed. As he always does, he reassured me we could purchase the list on-line, take advantage of FREE SHIPPING, still use all my coupons, and get the items in time to wrap before Christmas. In fact, he said, it would be easier.

He was right. I felt better. I smiled, hung up the phone, and tucked my coupons away in my wallet. As I did, I noticed the fine print on a couple...in-store only.

Bah Humbug.

Let it Snow!

This past weekend, we backed out of our driveway just as the snow was beginning to fall (below...5-6 inches) . We were headed to Philly to celebrate little Jake's third birthday and enjoy time with dear friends...well, family.

The party was at Gymboree, and the kids had a blast hiding and dancing to the "Dinosaur" song...Where did they go?

(above...The Birthday Boy himself)

Little Man Conor

We then stayed over, and all our little ones snuggled up next to the Christmas tree and fireplace that night.

It was a wonderful weekend with friends. On the ride home, we were even able to enjoy the remnants from our first snowfall of the Season.

Isn't it beautiful?

Happy Holidays!

Whispers in the Dark

We laid in her bed, face to face, covers pulled up to our chins, exchanging our favorite events of the day. The room was dark, with only our shadows from the dimly lit Princess night light.

We talked about her day at school, who had to sit in the "thinking chair", who was the line leader, and what she ate for snack. She shared details of the story that was read, how she received a candy cane, and how Ms Marci had a box with lights in it. We talked about Christmas and what we thought Santa would bring. She asked about GrandMom, Pop, Mom Mom, and Pop Pop coming for Christmas and then declared "that would be fun!" She explained why she wanted to see Ava this weekend, and that she was going to take her "Ariel blanket" and her sleeping bag. She has never been light with words, but tonight, she was more talkative than ever. And so, I caught myself smiling at her in the dark thinking back to when I was a kid.

I remember spending weeks in the summer at my Mimi and Pa's house. Each night while I was there, we would turn off the lights, Mimi would crawl in the bed with me under the dim lit light of a Mockingbird, and we would chat. I don't know how much time really passed during those nightly chats all those years ago, but to me it felt like hours. We talked of nothing in particular...no conversation do I specifically remember. What I do remember about our nightly chats is how I felt I could say anything in the dark.

Just like those nights I remember with my Mimi, the conversation with my daughter on this night ended with many commands of "It's time to go to sleep now" and a few more confessions before her words fell silent.

While I laid there watching her fall asleep, I couldn't help but think back to those nights spent with my Mimi twenty years ago. How I can still see the shadows in the room, smell the crispness of the sheets, and feel the comfort of our shared conversation. I am so thankful for those moments and hope my daughter and I will always be able to share whispers in the dark.