{pretty, happy, funny, real}

{Pretty}

Pondering chocolate...

{Happy}  cousins, cousins, and more cousins!

Missing 2 little guys whose parents just moved them to Hong Kong...

 Not a wonderful picture, but includes all the kiddos on this side of the family (plus Santa)!!

Each child sings or plays one song for Santa before receiving a gift from Nana and Papa.  Here is one of my talented nephews on his cello. 

{Funny}

I have a particularly silly brother-in-law who's making a collage of everyone in the family wearing these goofy glasses.  He insisted on including the new baby.

{Real}

Some very last minute treat-making...  Thank goodness for my little elves...

And here we all are after Christmas Eve Mass.  This is about as good as it gets!!



Linking up with Like Mother, Like Daughter today! Merry Christmas!

{pretty, happy, funny, real} The 'It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" Edition

{Pretty, Happy}
I  love the cheerful atmosphere when everything's decorated for Christmas!  This year was particularly enjoyable because it's our first Christmas in our new house!

The 'big' tree

The living room mantle

Our Jesse tree and Advent book basket

The stockings all hung...

{Funny, Real}

St. Nicholas brought this cool Lego set on his feast day, but...

...this is as much progress as we've made.  Thank goodness for the 12 days of Christmas!

Somebody decided all the nativity figures needed to be as close as possible to Baby Jesus.

I searched all over for a new tree angel, but was dissatisfied with the ones I found.  I ordered this one online, and nobody likes her, except for me.  I think the male contingent is annoyed by her fuzzy wings.  Oh well.

Every morning, these are usually the first 2 faces I see.  They like to make their own apple cider in the coffee maker.  Somebody was still a little crabby and irritated that she had to wait in line... 

Merry Christmas!!

Capturing contentment with the lovely ladies at Like Mother, Like Daughter!

Happy Birthday, Eustace! (And a Girls' Morning Out)

I've been procrastinating Little Miss 4-y-o's first 'real' haircut in order to preserve what's left of her curly, curly hair... Yesterday, we made it a girls' morning out. What fun!  (and a big thanks to Grandma for keeping the boys occupied!!)

This is her hairdo before the extreme makeover.  We didn't even brush it before her appointment , so the difference would be really dramatic...

Another view of the 'look' before scissors...

...and big sister's long locks prior to haircut...

And let's not forget that yesterday was Eustace's birthday!!  Here is the birthday boy with his little princess.  My pictures from his cake and present-opening last night turned out blurry, so this one's from our recent trip to the Smokies...  We thought we'd get all fixed up in honor of his 38th.

I sprung for manicures for my sweet girls.  I also reminded them that I've only had 2 of these in my entire life, so they shouldn't get too used to this kind of pampering.  :)  It was really fun, actually, and may need to become a Christmas tradition.

Note the sparkles.

Loops and I in the process of becoming gorgeous.  Does anyone in this picture remind you of the Grinch Who Stole Christmas?

Annie, my favorite stylist, and Miss Felic who is just about to get her big trim.

Lucy opted for green polish on one hand, red polish on the other, and gold crackles over all.  Very 10-year-old and very pretty.

Halfway there...

And the end results!

After the big outing, Felicity took a big nap, enjoyed Daddy's birthday party, and then had a little trouble falling asleep.  As I was lying beside her to encourage sleepiness, we had the following conversation:

Me: You need to close your eyes and be still and try to go to sleep.

Felic:  How do you know my eyes are open?

Me:  I can just tell.

Felic:  Well, then you need to take your glasses off. 

Have a great day and enjoy the countdown to Christmas!!

Spoiled

I'm spoiled and that's all there is to it. Our refrigerator malfunctioned last week, so we've had to use the one in the basement for everything since then.

It seems like such hard work to walk downstairs every time we need milk or juice or whatever. Ridiculous! What would I do if we had to go outside and milk a cow everyday?

First of all, I'm thinking I should be very grateful that we have a backup fridge. So, that's my first reality check.

Second, this has been a great opportunity to really clean out my main appliance (thanks for your help with that, Mom!).

Yes, I had to throw out some things that spoiled before we realized the problem. That's a bummer and seems so wasteful. But, fortunately, we have plenty more. Another reality check.

The repairman got the part we need and is on his way over this afternoon. Yay! I am resolved to be more grateful for what we've got.

Opening Night

For the past several years, early Advent in our family has included involvement in the Nutcracker. Although I think we're growing somewhat accustomed to the busy schedule of rehearsals and performances, opening night is just as exciting as ever.

Of course, in our rush to get out the door in time, I forgot my camera. Suffice it to say we had a fun night with Aunt Emily, cousins James and Julia, and Grandma and Pada.

Lucy did a great job in her role as angel. She looks so pretty on stage - she's very comfortable in front of the audience and has a natural, pretty smile. Yes, I'm a proud mommy.

Anyway, the director of our Ballet company is a huge dog lover. For the second year, dogs available at the local humane society have been featured performers in the show. It's a lovely idea, really, but let me tell you how it played out for us.

The second a particular little black dachsund mix made his appearance on stage (at the VERY beginning of the show), my 6-y-o son was convinced he was meant to be a dog owner. And I mean the owner of that particular doggie. This is what I heard for the rest of the night. Continuously:

"Mom, can we get that dog?"

"Why not?"

"Please, mom. Call dad and ask him."

"I'd rather have a dog than a new brother or sister."

"Mom, that dog is going to go home with somebody else!"

"If you get me that dog, I will have low blood pressure for the rest of my life."

"Mooooooooooooom!"

"We can't get one like that at the pet store." (true enough - mutts like that are hard to come by.)

I'm not sure he even saw any ballet, he was so obsessed with that cute little doggie.

My sister, too, was captivated by a really sweet bloodhound mix. She came close to signing papers to take her home. I guess it runs in the family.

Snow!

In honor of the first significant snowfall of the season, we interrupted our school day for a morning of playing outside! That's just how we homeschoolers roll...

Note the absence of big sister who was sleeping in after a late-night Nutcracker rehearsal... Opening night is tomorrow!