...to attend the little girls'

...dance recital

So sweet they were...

They were so excited to get all fancied up!

Abbey seemed a bit nervous as she watched the big girls dance...

Audrey loved watching the big girls dance!

And we arrived just in time to watch this beautiful young lady dance her routines!

These handsome boys came to the event to support my girls...

And Paddy gave Audrey flowers when she finished dancing.  This sweet gesture made me cry...

The dancing was also sweet...

And to top off their evening they even got to see Santa and Mrs. Claus.  Sweet...

Such a sweet evening...watching the girls together.

...to attend the kids

...annual Christmas concert

Because they got all dressed up in the holiday finery I decided it would be fun to do a quick photo shoot before we left...

Isabella and her classmates started off the festivities with two songs...

Will had a small speaking part...

And Abigail was so proud to be part of the show...

Here is a very short video of one of the last songs...

(Don't fault the videographer.  The camera had a hard time focusing from so far away.)

After the concert, the moment we got into the van this evening Audrey said (very loudly), "What was our family Advent activity today?  It surely wasn't that concert was it!?!"

I'm afraid so sweetie.

Apparently sitting through an evening of song and dance isn't a four-year-old's idea of fun.

Overheard this week...

When asking my four-year-old to put her socks and undies in her drawer (while I was putting the rest of her laundry away) she responds with a short rant:

"Why am I always responsible for putting everything away!  You expect me to do everything!  You don't even do anything! And then I have to do all the chores!"

Hmm?

I assure you, I am thoroughly confused by this statement.

Next.

While putting my ten-year old to bed the other night she says to me:

"Mom, it is your responsibility as a parent to get some sleep.  This makes all of us happier.  And especially makes you less grumpy."

Noted.

So sweet.  She is really thinking about my well-being.

Next.

There is a Children's Home here in Watertown.  While driving by Saturday morning my children were asking what children 'get' to live there.  My oldest began to explain that children with bad parents have to go there to live.

Then Audrey sweetly asks, "Well when do we get to go there?" It was almost as if commenting she might like to see what this inside of the buildings look like.

Umm...this is not what she was thinking.  Silly me.

Me:  Audrey, why would you go there?

Audrey:  Well, because we have a bad momma.  Especially because you always yell at us!".

Ouch.

Noted.

I see a trend here.

Perhaps I need to relax my temper a bit...

...to recap A & A's first

...day of basketball fun.

After sitting through hours of practices and games for Isabella and Will, Saturday was finally Abbey's turn to play!

She was so excited about practicing for her first basketball experience.

Very serious as she practiced her dribbling.

 She loved participating in the drills.

And thought taking shots was the mostest of the fun!

And take a look at who else decided to join in the fun...

Why yes.  The Little Queen herself.

Who knew she even wanted to play?

Well...she did.  And she did every drill, 

tried every shot, 

and even joined in for the final team cheer!

P. S.

Here is Paddy.  He's the real reason Audrey decided to play.

He's her BFF.

So sweet.

...to watch will play

...his first two games of basketball this evening!

If you would have asked a few months ago if my kids were interested in playing basketball I would have said, "Nah...not really".

Imagine my surprise a month or so when Will came home and announced that he wanted to play basketball.   When I found out that all the kids in his class were going to play (there are only 7 other kids) I wasn't surprised. Will loves his classmates, he loves being part of a team, and he loves to play sports.  When it comes to a combination of these three things he is non-discriminatory.

Who knew that three of the four of them would quickly become basketball aficionados!

If you saw the scores of the games this evening you would have thought that Will would have come home completely disheartened.  Nope.  These lil' men played so hard and never gave up.  I don't remember the scores exactly but the first game they lost 4-36 or so.  The second was a better match up at 8-28.

*Disclaimer:  Warning!  Before you view these photos you must understand his mother takes no credit for his attire.  Will's sense of style is all his own.


During the first game these were the two boys Will was matched up with.

Yep.  They are a little taller.

I think we should have checked these boys' birth certificates.

Will didn't care.

He held his own.

And he tried so hard.

And near the end he even scored one basket.

He and his teammates ran and shot and guarded and jumped.  They never gave up.   And even though they lost we were so proud of them.

...to check in

...and report from the survival mode we seem to be perpetually stuck in

The Christmas season is my favorite time of the year.  I love the sounds, the smells, the pretty things...

Some of the things have been just the same this year as they have always been:

1.  I decided it was decorating day on Sunday this past weekend.  I wanted our home to be festive and pretty for the children.  And hour later it appeared as if an entire Christmas Tree Shop had blown up in my living room.  This always happens.

2.  We listen to Christmas music around here all day every day (because Mark is not here...he would not be able to stand this).  But I do it for the children.  They love it.  I We have stations on Pandora programmed, XM radio, and even the cable channel is set right to the Sounds of the Season music station.  This station is great since it is important to learn important holiday trivia like:

• In Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964) Hermey was a misfit elf who wanted to be a dentist.
• The 2008 Times Square New Year's Eve Ball was a 12 foot geodesic sphere that weighted 11, 875 pounds.
• Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas debuted on CBS in 1966.

3.  We have been doing our daily advent activities.  Each morning the children race downstairs to check to see what exciting task we'll be doing as a family that day.  What they don't realize is that I barely placed the said 'awesome' activity inside for that day only moments before they've opened the little door.

The thing I find most sweet is that even though our tasks have been pretty simple and haven't required any prep by me...each morning their responses are priceless.

1.  Let's make some fudge today!  "Yes!  We never did that."

2.  It's a popcorn night!  "Sweet! Mom makes the best popcorn."

3.  Ice-cream sundae night.  You make it on your own.  "Woo Hoo!  Best.  Night.  Ever!"

4.  Write Daddy a letter and make sure to include three things you miss about him.  "Great.  I think he'll like that."

5.  It's family game night.  Two games of Uno and you all are going down!  "Awesome!  You are so gonna lose mom!"

I've learned it not really what fancy thing we do, it is more about the focused time (5-15 minutes) each day that we are all doing something together.

And then...

There are many things that aren't the same.

1.  We do not have a Christmas tree this year.  I miss it terribly.  There is nothing I find more calming at the end of a day during these gloomy cloudy busy days than to sit (near Mark) by the light of a tree.

2.  There are no presents appearing under the tree for the kids (or for Mark) to shake and jiggle.  I miss this building anticipation and giddiness that comes from seeing pretty packages tied up with bows...

3.  And the obvious...although the bulk of my day is spent surrounded by people (mostly little people who intermittently barely ever listen and follow directions), at the end of the day when it is quiet sitting here by the fire...it's quite lonely.

...to be thankful

...for the little things we got to experience this past week

My thankful post is a bit late this week.  I am struggling doing the little things like...feeding my children three times a day, much less adding the extra's like 'computer time' into my day.

1.  Thanksgiving dinner with the Viele's.   It's hard to believe that all in the family were turned toward the camera at the same time!

What a delicious meal and entertaining evening.  Such a lovely table setting too!

2.  For being able to complete a 10K.  The course was considerably harder than I imagined it would be and it was also much colder than I had expected.  But I had a great cheering squad near the end that lifted my spirits.  Their presence added a little pep in my step (and I saw they had a latte waiting for me for when I finished)!

Besides Kyle and Taylor needs some serious kudos for shlepping six kids out early in the morning in the freezing cold (28 degrees...unheard of down in VA this time of year) to watch me finish a race...that is family love.

2.  For the time this trio got to spend together...

3.  For this little guy and watching him make his own fun with a bunch of girls this week.  Of course his fun mostly involves picking on them, taking something from them, or poking them till they tattle...

4.  For this little gal.  Who can believe she is six?  I love watching how good she is with little ones.  She followed and took care of (and tortured poor Liam) all week.  He loved it.  Mostly.

5.  For this young lady.  Nearly 11...and so wise for her young years and she has such a gift with words.  

6.  For this charmer.  She gets a bad rap for her predictably...not-so-good temper, but she's equally loving and has quite an imagination.

7.  For the phone line, internet, and Mark's willingness to call us so late at night.  I am/was so sad he was not here with us for Thanksgiving this year, but I am so thankful that I was able to talk with him and that I hear from him on a regular basis.