New Year's Resolutions

Well, it's been a lovely, lazy vacation. But now it's time for 2007, which means back to the grind of everyday life. First, though, here's our resolutions for the new year:

Scott wants to lose weight, pray more, and be more patient.

I want to lose weight, take more time to play with my family, do a better job with Sunday School, and get caught up on my scrapbooking.

Kairi wants to read more books, study more for Social Studies, and exercise more.

Nicky wants to learn karate and read the first Harry Potter book.

Here's hoping we can all make these resolutions come true!

Happy New Year!

Raving About the Rave

We headed out to the Promenade Shops, a new "lifestyle center" (READ: Mall) near our house today so that Kai could spend her birthday money, redeem a free birthday burger at Red Robin, and we could all try out the new movie theater, Rave Motion Pictures.

Kai didn't manage to spend her money because she couldn't find anything she wanted. The wait at Red Robin was _40_ minutes at noon on a Thursday! But we have nothing but praise for the Rave.

We went to see "Night at the Museum". The whole family enjoyed the movie VERY much. We thought it was funny, touching, and a great concept for a film. Okay, well the kids just thought it was funny. But either way, we liked it. Nicky and Kairi now have their hearts set on a visit to the Museum of Natural History in NYC, which works for me - I love that place.

The Rave itself though... me-ow. Lots of leg room, beautiful subtle lighting to get back to your seat, rocking recliners with flip up cupholders so you can snuggle with your date or small child - everything about it was fabu! Best of all?? 10 minutes from our new house! I forsee many future trips to this theater!

A Little More Birthday

Just a few more adorable photos of my birthday girl, taken after we got home from the mall. She was very happy with her pile of presents (and the pink roses from Daddy). She didn't want to go to bed and muss up her hair, but eventually, all good things must come to an end. Goodnight, birthday Princess!

Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice

I admit. I was a bit apprehensive about a Club Libby Lu birthday party. The cost, for one thing, was enough to give me pause. Another factor were the negative posts on the web and in newspapers, accusing Libby Lu of basically teaching little girls to be... let's keep with the family atmosphere on this blog and say trashy. But Kai really liked the idea, and when I looked into it in person, it didn't seem so bad on either count. So I decided to go for it. Turns out, it was a FABULOUS birthday party. In no way, at any time, did any of the activities seem even SLIGHTLY inappropriate (and I am a pretty strict mommy). The cost was _more_ than paid for with the great prizes the girls got to pick for their goody bags, which were also included and were actually cute little backpacks. The "makeover" that has feminists throwing hissy fits is no more than nail polish, pale pink eyeshadow and glitter lip gloss, with some glitter and rhinestones and a fancy hair do. The dance party at the end that some on the internet villified as an advertisement for pedophiles consisted of playing limbo and dancing to a line dance the kids do in GYM class. (Which involved lots of hopping, stomping, and turning in dizzy circles, with a few cha cha chas thrown in, as far as I could tell.) It's really scary to me that we live in a world were innocent dress up fun can be interpreted as a training ground for the next Paris Hiltons, just because it encourages little girls to ACT like little girls. *sigh* Okay, off my soapbox and back to the fun.

Kairi was treated like a COMPLETE princess from the second we entered Club Libby Lu. She and all her friends were greeted and given cute purple backpacks that said "I had a rocking time!" They were then allowed to pick 5 items from a big series of bins that had lip gloss, hair ties, sunglasses, necklaces, and so on, all tagged at $4.50 each if you bought them by themselves. Considering the party cost $20 a girl, the makeover, makeup compact, backpack and dance party were apparently free. Which is not that bad, since I didn't have to provide paper products, decorations, entertainment, or my house to make a mess in. Actually, it cost about as much as a movie party she had two years ago. And my kids are only allowed parties every other year, which lets us give them bigger parties when they do have them.

Next, they settled the girls around big heart shaped mirrors and started doing their hair and make-up. We had 8 girls total (which was NICE, because we HAD to invite her entire class by school rules, and might have had 15 show up including her special friends who aren't in her class!) They were giggling and having a wonderful time. Each girl got to pick their hairstyle - but 7 out of 8 girls picked exactly what Kairi wanted. They also got to pick their eyeshadow, nail polish and lip gloss shades and get rhinestone stickers on their cheeks. The whole store smelled like cotton candy and baby powder by the time they're done!

Once all the girls were done, it was time to party! The limbo and Cha Cha Slide got everyone giggling. We then headed down the mall to get some Haagen-Daaz ice cream, since food isn't allowed in Libby Lu. As you can imagine, 8 girls all dolled up with purple backpacks got a lot of attention - but not as much as Kai did! The girls were fighting over walking by her all the way down the mall. Apparently, she's quite the favorite. Or maybe it was just because it was her party! The ice cream, and then sitting in the mall rotunda to open presents were a sweet finish to the evening, and the girls headed home, after many hugs.

Kai headed through the mall to spend her Pawsenclaws gift card (from her brother) and designed an adorable Kitty stuffed animal. Then it was home to check out all of her loot. All told, she said it was her BEST birthday party ever!

Where a Kid Can Be A Kid

Kai's birthday had two parts. The "little kid" part and the "big girl" part. One of Scott's co-workers had given the kids an incredibly thoughtful Chuck E. Cheese gift card for Christmas, and we used it for Kai's birthday dinner and family fun before her party with friends over at Club Libby Lu. I'm glad she's not too big for the "kid stuff" at Chuck E.'s! We ate pepperoni pizza, played all the games, and Kai beat us all at skeeball - she's a whiz! It was a fun way to kick off an exciting evening.

Kairi, Age 10

Kairi is such a sweetheart, and we're so happy to be her parents. But we can't POSSIBLY be the parents of a 10 year old!! Where does the time go???

Kai's birthday was all about her. From presents to parties, Chuck E. Cheese to Club Libby Lu, birthday money to ice cream, she enjoyed every minute of her special day. I took lots of pictures throughout all the fun, but I took this one first thing that morning so I could always remember the way my pretty, talented, clever little girl looked at age 10.

Present Time!!

Christmas Eve, for us, is about the true meaning of Christmas. (Well, and apparently about baking this year, lol.) Christmas morning? That's about family. And, about PRESENTS!

We had a stupendously wonderful Christmas this year. After opening our stockings, Jon and Laurie (AKA Pop-Pop and Grammy) joined us for breakfast and we enjoyed muffins and bacon and eggs. Then it was time for the present frenzy.

We spent 2 or 3 hours tearing into paper and tossing aside bows. By the time we were done, everyone was happy and the room looked like a toy store explosion. Scott's favorite presents were Madden 2007, a wireless controller for his Game Cube, and a book about U2, by U2. My favorites were Willow Tree and Ten Thousand Villages angels and sculptures from various family members, the complete Indiana Jones trilogy and a VERY COOL signed photograph of Brett Favre!! Nicky adored his DS, and said his second favorite was the electric train that Grandma and Grandpa got him. We also had fun with Grammy and Pop-Pop's gift of a crazy Cranium Cadoo board game. Kairi loved her MP3 player and said her favorite gift was a box full of frog decor for her room from Grandma and Grandpa. Grammy and Pop-Pop also scored big points for a how to draw book. Grammy and Pop Pop were happy with their presents, too - they got a microwave, I Love Lucy DVD's, a Sinatra CD, and a framed picture I had restored of Scott's Grammy.

Here's some of the highlights, in photo form:

The traditional peek down the stairs...


...to see the pile of presents Santa left!


Nicky was thrilled with his stocking contents.


Kairi looks pretty happy, too!


And let's not forget Honey, Midnight, and Princess! They get stocking stuffers, too, naturally!


Here's Nicky's reaction to his DS....


....and Kai tearing into her MP3 player.


Grammy and Pop-Pop are so cute together after 30+ years of marriage!


Kai and Nick also got the coolest Cranium fort (which they've played with A LOT since Christmas!)


Here's their first construction attempt - it can go together hundreds of different ways.




And all of that was before lunch time! After the traditional ham dinner, Jon and Laurie went home, leaving us to watch the Eagles trounce all over the Cowboys. Now THAT'S really Scott's favorite Christmas gift, no matter what he says!

Twas the Night Before Christmas....

And all through the house were the smells of baking. I had already made 6 dozen cookies for Scott's work. Then I made 3 dozen more for Kairi and I to take to school. Then Nicky took my dozen to his dance class party. So then I made another 2 dozen to take to school. So I had made 11 dozen cookies, but there were STILL none in the house for Santa or company on Christmas. Unfortunately, Christmas Eve fell on a Sunday. So after church, I came home and Scott turned on a football game. I fell into my usual Sunday afternoon snooze mode and dozed off on the couch. Before I knew it, it was 3:30, no cookies were made, no lasagna for Christmas Eve dinner was started, and church was due to begin at 6:45! I hustled the gingerbread men into the oven and got the kids decorating them. For being left to their own devices, I think they did a beautiful job! I threw together a pan of Hello Dollies and tossed them in the oven while I prepped the lasagna. The lasagna went in, the Hello Dollies came out, and I started making fudge. That's when I realized that the lasagna wouldn't be done in time for us to get to church. I sent everyone scurrying to get dressed while I stirred and stirred the fudge (you can't just leave that stuff in the middle of the process, you know)! I pulled out the lasagna, finished the fudge, threw on clothes, and ran to church. Where, blessedly, I found the peace of the season and my usual puddly eyes as a candlelit church sang "Silent Night". Not to mention the soloists. And the violinist. It was wonderful. Although the morning service had a duet of "Mary, Did You Know?" that sent shivers down my spine. So really, both services were great bookends to the day. At any rate, we went back home, had candlelight dinner with slightly cool lasagna, and sent the kids off to bed in their new pajamas: their Christmas Eve present from Grandma. Then we baked more cookies and finally tumbled into bed. All in all, it was a very nice Christmas Eve. Just, well... busy. You'd think I'd be used to that by now!

Winter Band Concert

Kairi played in her band concert tonight. She did a beautiful job, even surprising Mommy and Daddy by playing a special part featuring just the saxophones and her during one song. We were very surprised to notice that while Kai and her friends had played most of the songs with the 5th grade band last year, this year's fourth graders only played one song. This was explained when the band director said that this year's fifth grade class was one of the best he had conducted. As you can imagine, that makes us very happy - especially after all the hours we spend taking Kai to her private lessons! She just loves her horn and hopefully will continue to do well. As we said to her, though, if she does this well now, imagine what would happen if she PRACTICED a little more!! ;-)

Frog in Your Throat?

So. Nicky practiced. And he practiced. And he practiced. And he was ALL ready to sing the all important solo in the church Christmas play. And less than a week before the play, he got laryngitis. BADLY. His voice just went. :-( But, we needed him. And he could, well, sort of sing. So he sang. The play went perfectly, except for the fact that Nicky sounded like he was swallowing sandpaper. Ah, well.

We were very proud of him and the rest of the kids, anyway. Even with his weak voice, Nicky made everyone puddle up. Which is understandable, since the chorus of his song was:

Was He a boy like me?
Did He bounce on Daddy's knee?
Did He play games to make His mother smile?
As you place the final piece inside the manger scene,
I wonder if He was, a boy like me.

With all the craziness of the season, I'm glad we took the time to celebrate in song and drama the little boy who was born to save us all.

Christmas Comes Early to Wilson!!!!!!

WOOOOOO OOOO OOOOOO OOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOO OOOO OOOOO OOOOO OOOO OOOOOO OOO OO OOOO OO!!!!

Okay, so maybe that wasn't my most articulate blog opening ever but.... WOOO OOOOO OOOOOOO OOOOOO OOOOO!! !!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!

Kids who not that long ago learned language and literature in MY classroom are celebrating a STATE CHAMPIONSHIP RIGHT NOW in Hershey.

How articulate do you want me to be???

Go WARRIORS! You ROCK!!!!!

http://www.mcall.com/sports/highschool/all-piaa-wilson-121606-cn,0,2528535.story?coll=all-news-hed

Deck the Halls

We love decorating for the holidays. A question on Scrappin_FUN a few weeks ago asked if we went "overboard" with decorating. I'll let you all judge.

Here's the entrance of the house. I'm so excited that we have a carriage light now - it looks so cool at Christmas!

As you can see, the tree dominates the living room. We picked the first one we found at the lot that made the kids bend backward to see the top. Our new star isn't very visible in either shot, but it's nearly brushing the ceiling, so no wonder. Under the tree is the gorgeous quilted tree skirt Mom made us.

Our tree is a hodge podge of ornaments. No themes here! Every single ornament on the tree has a story. Most were made or given by a child. Many are paper, or foam. A few are glass and ceramic. No two really match. Here's a few of our favorites: a CD snowflake made by Nicky in Kindergarten, an angel Kairi made at Advent Workshop, Scott's "Go Eagles!" ball from the year they went to the Super Bowl, and my childhood puppy ornament. Each one is special to us, but classy... it's not.

We've also decorated the living room with lots of our favorite little Christmas items. The nutcracker is Nicky's, new this year. The houses line the windowsill behind the tree, and the bell (with mistletoe inside) is right in the entrance way for maximum kissage. There are a few other scattered decorations, including a Christmas lap quilt, but I think this blog entry has enough pictures as it is!

The stockings were hung.... by the stairway. But hey, in lieu of a fireplace, it's a pretty nice look. The entranceway is also home to our old nativity set and (of course!) a pretty Christmas quilt.

The view from the head of our dining room table is really pretty this time of year! My snowman collection has taken over the hutch and the sideboard bookcase has my new nativity. (Yes, mom, I was VERY CAREFUL when I had the candles lit for this picture.)
We also have some fun wooden reindeer in the kitchen, the kids have covered their rooms in garland and Christmas stuffed animals, and a certain dancing half snowman/ half Christmas tree that "scares" Nicky has been relegated to our room. All in all, the effect is cozy, and only a LITTLE cluttered. At least, I think so - maybe it's a lot cluttered. Oh well!