Santa

Mike loves to take The Gals to go see Santa, but normally - because he is always in New York for two weeks in December - he is rushing at the last minute to catch Santa before he leaves to go back to the North Pole. So, this year he decided to beat the rush and take The Gals early. They decided to leave their list of 45 things here and made new short lists to give him.

I wonder how many more years Mike will get to take them. I can picture him dragging two teenagers into the mall, and him smiling as our "angels" scowl at the camera. And then, he'll drag them both home, they will shut themselves in their bedrooms and think about what dopes we are and how we treat them like babies, and he and I will sit down with a glass of wine and laugh and laugh and laugh.

Wii Wee Wee

Ma, Jenny and The Gals had a great time bowling on the Wii. It was a nice way to work off that big meal we had.

Maggie

This was our first Thanksgiving with Ma and David's English Golden Retriever - Maggie. The kids had so much fun with her. Scarlett wasn't too happy about having a canine cousin, but she got plenty of loving, too.

This Year I'm Cooking The Turkey

I am about to put a turkey in the oven to take to my Ma's house tomorrow. Last year, as you will recall, Mike tried to fry our turkey in our turkey fryer that had a broken thermostat. The story of us having to call the fire department never gets old. Neither do these pictures.

Forty-One

Today is my birthday, and I am 41 - BO -- RING. It has gotten me to thinking about birthdays in general. Your first birthday really isn't for you - it is for your family. The best part is that it is probably the first time you ever get to try cake. Then, there are a bunch of birthdays that are boring - like 9 - and then comes 10 - double digits. That's exciting. Then 13 - a teenager. Yikes! Then, nothing big happens until 16 - Sweet Sixteen. But, wait, with the new laws you probably don't get to drive by yourself until you turn 17. Then, you turn 18 - you are an ADULT. But, you really only get to vote and buy lottery tickets. More boring ones - then you hit 21. That's always a biggie. Then, nothing, until 30, although I do remember 25 being a bad birthday. It seems to be the age where you think your life is going to be all set, and it never is, so you are depressed. Then, we stop celebrating except for the decade birthdays - 30, 40, 50. . . . It's like we will get more birthdays if we only celebrate them every 10 years. And, then, if you are lucky enough (like my dear Grandpa Van Eaton) to hit 100, everyone shows up, and it really isn't for you - it is really for the family, and the best part is that you probably are getting to eat cake again which they haven't allowed you to do for a long time because of some medical condition. So, as with everything else, birthdays are really all about the Circle of Life.


41 is boring. But, at least it isn't 46. If I were turning 46, I'd be on the bad side of 50. Not quite ready for that yet.

The College Man!

Today Logan got his acceptance letter to Johnson & Wales in Charlotte. He is excited! We are excited! He was taking a nap, and I called him downstairs. When he got down, The Gals and Mike and I were standing with balloons and his letter and I yelled "You got in! You got in!" He was so surprised. We are so proud of him (and no - I am not thinking about how I am going to let him go off to college next year - right now I am just thinking about the fact that he got accepted).

Dress Sale Time

Dark and early this morning my Dear Katie, her sister and I headed once again to the Dress Sale at Star Warehouse. We look forward to it every Spring and Winter. The line wasn't very long, and we were let in early (as usual). I wasn't in the market for any fancy dresses this season, but I did manage to find a few smocked ones that I just love. And, yes, I did look like the woman in this picture - full make up, hair done, sporty tank top. Right! I threw on some jeans, fixed my hair in a ponytail and hit the road. There's no time for primping when sale prices are involved!

Flurry Of Excitement

This morning, as The Gals were getting ready to leave for school, I looked out the window and it was SNOWING! We all ran for our coats. Around here, you never know how long snow is going to last, so you have to take advantage of it every second it is here. It's funny. Growing up in Michigan, we had a bunch of snow. I actually had to walk to my elementary school (which was across the street) no matter how much there was. I can remember stomping through it when it was higher than my boots. If you were lucky enough to have had someone walk in front of you, you could just step into their footprints. Problem was, I was short and sometimes I couldn't make it. In those cases, I would try to reach, but ended up falling on my face. I was so happy when I went to 5th grade because I didn't have a big enough locker to hold a snowsuit anymore, so I got to get a regular winter coat. The one thing I don't remember was being excited about snow. Now, my own kids go crazy when there are just flurries in the sky.

They Really Do Love Each Other

Poor Amanda has had a stomach virus for the past two days. Last night, before she went to bed, Madeline asked me to wash her baby and puppy that she sleeps with today while she was at school. Tonight, I said - I'm sorry, Madeline. I forgot to wash Baby and Puppy. She said - Mommy, you need to stop worrying about Amanda and start taking care of other things around here like washing our stuff. Sorry Madeline. I was too busy washing my sheets from this morning when Scarlett decided to throw up as a way to get me out of bed. Ahhh! If she hadn't of had such a big smile on her face when she said it, I might have had to throw her in the washing machine.

Rainy Day Fun

I don't know about where you live, but today where we are the weather was super wierd! You would see sunny skies one minute and black clouds and big wind the next. We didn't know what was going on. The Gals played outside for a while, then moved to play in the garage and then, when it finally did decide to rain, they grabbed their umbrellas and had some fun outside!

ER

Logan hurt his shoulder today at work, so the kids and I headed to the Emergency Room. He has a severe muscle strain in his left shoulder. They gave him a sling to use and, hopefully, he'll be back to bussing those tables again soon.

Really?

I have to admit that I am torn by yesterday's election. I think it is cool to be alive during this historic event, but I would have been happier if it had been someone who I knew anything about. After all this time, I still have no clue what this man stands for or what he believes in. Times being what they are, it isn't so clear-cut anymore by party lines. The only thing I can hope for now is that he doesn't make things any worse than they already are. I feel sorry for those people who voted for him just because their skin is the same color. That is real discrimination.

I was, however, very happy that The Gals seemed to get so excited about this. They took their own polls among us and their grandparents. We made popcorn, and they watched the election results last night until bedtime. I told them that one day maybe we would be watching election results for them, but Madeline put me straight saying no, she couldn't be President because she is going to be a dance teacher.

Sweet Ballerinas

My ma sent me this picture today that she had found on her computer at work. Of course, in my current depressed state with this Mono, I start crying thinking of how tiny they look, how we started our wonderful playgroup when they were this little, how time has flown by, etc. boo hoo, etc. Ahhh - I need a drink!

Logan Rocked The Vote!

How cool is it that Logan's first time voting is a presidential election? He won't tell us who he voted for (which, by law, is his right), but The Gals are working him hard so I may have that news later. Of course, I wanted to take pictures of him signing in with the volunteers, a picture of his ballot, a picture of him at the booth, and a picture of him putting it in the machine at the end. Unfortunately, they don't let you have a camera in the place - something about privacy. How can I scrapbook these important milestones if I have to worry about people's privacy?

It is pouring rain here. We did not have to stand in line at all at 9:00. Mike said he did at 6:00 for 30 minutes. I hope the rain doesn't keep people home. I have a feeling as the day goes on the lines will get longer and longer.