martini time

grandmoth would have been 80 years old this week. and three years ago today was one of the hardest of my life. and molly is 2 1/2 years old.

for those that i love and miss so much...i will drink a martini today.


(picture taken on new years eve, 2002)

new look

finally got rid of that 'summer' header and now i have a nice festive look to the blog...so those that read this through a feed...go check it out .... my services are for sale!

getting old...

so...this week, for the first time, i saw a doctor because i was having some annoying 'symptoms' of something and wanted answers...so i went...and then i had, like, lab tests...and all those things that people who are 'getting older' have to do. and today i got my results...and wouldn't you know, i require medication.

i suppose i shouldn't complain too much, as it is the necessity of medication that supports my family, but still...i just never thought it would be me.

oye.

finally...

one month before he leaves office, he finally does something right...

(from the associated press)

The president said that on the one hand, the government has a responsibility not to undermine the private enterprise system, yet on the other hand, it must safeguard the broader health and stability of the U.S. economy.

"If we were to allow the free market to take its course now, it would almost certainly lead to disorderly bankruptcy and liquidation for the automakers," he said.

"Under ordinary economic circumstances, I would say this is the price that failed companies must pay," the president said. "And I would not favor intervening to prevent the automakers from going out of business. But these are not ordinary circumstances.

"In the midst of a financial crisis and a recession, allowing the U.S. auto industry to collapse is not a responsible course of action."

so many blog posts on the brain...

i swear i will share them....daily december and 80th birthdays and trips to great wolf lodge...why can't christmas be another month away???

twilight

so i finally broke down and started the twilight series...i'm about a 1/3 of the way through the last book in the series...and i'm probably just as addicted as most others (well, maybe not as much as the teenage girls...)

i'm interested in seeing the movie, but just wasn't sold on robert pattinson as edward (who also played cedric in the harry potter movies - which i wasn't sold on him in those movies either)...

until i saw this picture from this month's vanity fair photo shoot with the twilight cast:

and then i turned into paris hilton and was all like...dang...that's hot....

kid council

so several months ago, we're enjoying a nice family dinner when one of the children mentioned that they would like to make another family trip to great wolf lodge . we have been twice before, with the last trip when molly was only a few months old (her first trip to a pool...all the pictures of which were lost in a laptop crash...ah well).

anyway, i digress. the conversation continues about how difficult it is to go away sometimes, with the distance, and the expense and possibly missing school. we propose something 'to the council' - we will take you to great wolf lodge if you would like it as your christmas gift - no other gifts, just the trip.

after pretty short deliberation at the dinner table, they all reach a unanimous decision - they want the trip. we tell them that we will re-visit the topic in a few weeks to make sure that this is still their desire.

a week or two later, we discuss again. yes, their vote remains the same. and thus, as parents, we began the process of the 'christmas surprise'...

we book a room at a pretty good rate...we discuss with teachers...we deflect future conversations saying that we don't know if it's going to work...we talk to swim teachers....and choir directors....and secretly pack the kids and even load the van to the near top.

it's saturday morning - just like any other and we tell the kids to eat breakfast and get dressed...we have some errands to run (like Christmas shopping) so we're all going out...

we pile them in the car and remarkably, no one notices that the back of the van has suitcases in it...we successfully distracted them with our new GPS unit and by putting on a movie..."it's going to be a bit of drive to the one store we want to go to..." we say, "so sit back and relax..."

porter asks if we can go to the toboggan run later...we remark that we don't know if it's open yet, but maybe, if they're good while we're shopping, we can go to the community center pool.

we drive and drive. they ask where we're going, but only about 3 times. we're nearly to traverse city (2 hours of driving later!) when we stop for lunch, telling them that we're almost to the store, so it's best if we eat first and then we can get the shopping done. so we eat...and we climb back into the van...with just 5 miles to go.

I'm in the left-hand turn lane...into the resort. lilly reads the sign..."great wolf lodge?!??" and she and maya look at each other..."WE'RE GOING TO GREAT WOLF LODGE???!!?!?" and they say - no wonder you said we could go to the pool this afternoon!

and we pull in and say "merry christmas"...

i never thought in my wildest dreams that they wouldn't have guessed we were going within the first hour of the trip. but they didn't - and their surprise when we arrived was totally worth it.

we got our fill of the waterpark.





we enjoyed story time and the 'snow' in the lobby.

we had sugar cookies and milk delivered to our room as a 'sleepy time' snack.

and we ate out at some of the kid's favorite restaurants.

they loved the trip, and the fact that they got to 'skip' of day of school to do it.
quality family time - what the holiday season should be all about.

(ps - they'll still be getting some gifts on Christmas, too...but they don't know that yet!)

capes

enjoy!



PS - for my aunt sue (and ben) - did you picture this when you gave porter that collection of superhero pajamas??

conspiracy

got this from another blog i read...and it rings so true that i thought i'd share...



even our own 'kid council' voted for no gifts this year (though they are getting some...) in lieu of a family trip...

we are doing fewer gifts. and we'll be making some great memories on our trip. and my charity of choice this time of year is heifer international.

now don't presume i'm thinking we're like the model non-commercial christmas family - cause we do have three different trees and did buy a whole new set of icicle lights by the case this year...but we're on our way...

join the advent conspiracy.