A Home Fit for a Cookie

I've always wanted to build a gingerbread house, and this year, we finally did it. We had a few little breakages, and we had to fit time to build it around the winter concert, but we managed it! Next year, maybe we'll try designing our own instead of reaching for the kit at Michael's.


I was in charge of assembly and basic frosting. Professional, it wasn't, but it did stick together until we finally threw it out around Valentine's day.


The kids were in charge of candy. Because, duh, that's the fun part. They were fortunately not very tempted by the gumdrops and hard candies that came in the kit. Good thing we weren't decorating with Sweet Tarts and Nerds Ropes!

The finished house looked lovely and festive. Sure, it's no Hogwarts made of gingerbread like we've seen on Food Network Challenge, but for a first attempt, we were pretty proud of it!

Land of Bittersweet

Nicky danced at the Beethoven Waldheim in the Land of Sweets Dance from the Nutcracker. And now I have a confession to make. I'm actually making this blog post on July 28th, 2008. I got so very behind on my blog that I'm catching up several months all at once. However, in this case, it gives me a perspective I wouldn't have had on this photo if I were really writing in December.

This is Nicky's very last dance as a dancer of the Saucon Valley Dance Conservatory. A few months after this photo was taken, he tearfully announced that he didn't want to dance any more. He was being picked on by boys at his school, I think, and I know he was tired of all the constant running from class to class.

So this photo, which was just a perfunctory take-a-picture-because-you-always-do at the time, has a much stronger meaning now. Sometimes I think I take too many pictures. Then something like this happens, and I remember that you just never know when you're documenting a milestone.

No Charlie Brown Tree Here!

Nicky got to pick out our tree this year. It took him about 30 seconds before he decided on the tree. (Which turned out to be too tall for our living room, but, hey - it was a really nice tree!) He was thrilled that we let him pick - we forget sometimes how many things get decided for him, being the littlest.

Kairi, meanwhile is getting WAY too big! If she looks a bit overdressed in the photo below, it's because she's still wearing the headband and necklace she wore the night before to her very first semi-formal dance. She got in for free because she made HIGH HONOR ROLL for the first marking period!!! We're so proud to be the parents of such a dedicated and lovely young lady!

Carolling with the (Brass) Choir

I wasn't too thrilled about driving Kairi and Sheridan through the snow to the Portugeuse American Club in south side Bethlehem. Once I got there, though, I was so glad I did. The club itself is gorgeous, and the kids did such a great job playing for the Christmas party. I love the sound of the brass instruments - it's so great that Kairi chose to take up the horn! It was pretty fun listening to the girls speculate about the possibility of a snow day all the way home, too. I knew they were out of luck, but why spoil their fun?

A Snowy Evening

Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening
by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

Sibling Rivalry

I think dance is teaching my children bad things. I mean, who casts a brother and a sister as characters that have to fight on stage?? Ah, well. Truth be told, they had a great time "beating each other up" in the big fight scene between the Rat King and The Nutcracker. Nicky even enjoyed being dragged off stage by his sister at the end of the scene. Go figure.
After the intermission, Nicky reemerged as an energetic dancer in the Russian, and Kairi escorted Clara and the Nutcracker Prince to the Land of Sweets as a really sweet angel. She was in front of the line for nearly the whole dance, and she led everyone beautifully. They looked lovely with their candles on the darkened stage.

As fun as it is to see the kids dance, it's nice when it's all over and they're ready to accept their roses and head out for some peppermint hot chocolate with Grammy!

No Fairy Tale Castle

There's a book called "Squids Will Be Squids". It parodies fables. One of the stories is about a grasshopper mom whose son comes home with a history project due the next day that involves rewriting 12 Greek myths as a stage play, creating a set, all costumes, and setting it to original music. When the hopping mad grasshopper mom says "HOW LONG HAVE YOU KNOWN ABOUT THIS ASSIGNMENT??!!?" her son, not realizing his imminent danger just shrugs and says, "I dunno."

To be fair, Kairi DID tell us she was supposed to build a labelled 3-D model of a medieval castle before it was due. But did she have time to do it? Not likely. So, the weekend of the Nutcracker found us working our tails off, castle style. First, we had to cut the styrofoam boards into a bazillion little bricks. Next, we pasted the bricks to a castle shaped frame made of boxes and pringles cans...
Add stone spray paint, astroturf, toy knights, popsicle sticks, river rocks, moss, styrofoam peanuts, chains, straw....
And voila - one completed castle!
(No, that is NOT pringle can you see behind the tower. SHHH!)

I really shouldn't take pictures and drive, but...

Isn't that glorious? In winter, we often drive to and from work in the dark, or near dark. Today, it paid off for me when I caught this sunset on my commute home. The pictures don't do justice to the way it looked - it seemed like the entire sky was on fire. I like to think that beauty like this is God's way of telling us to pay attention.

Thankful (To Be Alive!)

We had a near disaster on our way to the 1000 islands for Thanksgiving. We were driving along, talking to Mom, when I saw a tree in the road ahead. I assumed Scott saw it, too, but when he didn't slow or swerve, I screamed "Tree!" Scott swerved to avoid (most) of the tree just in time, but when he did, the car went into a spin. I was screaming, the kids were screaming, and then BOOM, we hit the median, facing the wrong way. I dropped the cell in all this. Scotty, ever levelheaded, turned the car around, avoiding the oncoming traffic, and swung over to the shoulder. I was shaking and trying to make sure everyone was okay, but Scott said "Talk to your mom!"

Sure enough, Mom was panicking on the other end - trust Scott to think of that! We're all fine, and the car is just slightly less pretty where paint was scraped off the bumper, but it was very scary! It started snowing when we hit NY, so you can bet we took the rest of the journey VERY slowly. It made for a picturesque river view, though.

Later, we found a broken branch from the tree stuck next to the headlight. We put it in the car, where it sits to remind us to be careful.

After all that excitement, only Nicky was really revved about the Thanksgiving game, but the Packers triumphed when Brett threw a beautiful game against the Lions, and Nicky bounced his way to the table for turkey and all the trimmings. He entertained Grandpa with his descriptions of the exact football he was hoping to get for Christmas for the rest of the day.

Mom put us to work during the rest of the weekend, since she's starting up a fabric shop to go with her quilting business. We helped her clean out her screen porch and set up her stock out there. She's very excited, and I hope she ends up with lots of customers. At the very least, she should be able to give herself a discount on quilt supplies.

It was a really nice weekend, and was only marred by the fact that we had to hurry back to get Kairi and Nicky to Nutcracker practice on Sunday. Well, okay, maybe we didn't HURRY. After all, you never know when a tree will jump into the road!

Would You Like To Buy A Raffle Ticket?

Why oh why is it snowing this early in November? Because I was supposed to sit outside and sell raffle tickets with middle schoolers all day, naturally. We sat there in freezing rain, snow, and slush for hours. And we only sold about $24 in raffle tickets. *sigh*

At least the raffle was a success overall - we raised over $1000 for the drama club. Thanks for making such a fabulous quilt, Mom - do you have a waterproof one for next time??

This and That

This is what happens when you try to update your blog all at once with the activities of a whole month and then some. You end up with a mish-mash of things you forgot to put in. So, here's some random thoughts and pictures from the season. First, I adore fall. Almost everyone who knows me knows that. I mean, c'mon. Look at what I can see on my way home from work - the pond scene above is just one example of the flat out gorgeousness of the season.
On top of that, even the rainy dreary fall days can be cheered up with a pumpkin spice cappucino from what Nicky calls the "yummy store" on my way to work. Granted, it bears little relationship to pumpkin, and has nothing much in common with cappucino either. But as sugary, spicy warm drinks go... mmmmm....

But seriously, folks. One of the things we did this month that was actually worthwhile was to participate in the Crop Walk. It's amazing that walking through a beautiful, scenic park actually helped others in need, thanks to the generosity of our sponsors from church. (And if you need sponsors from church, sending the children around with the envelope is apparently the way to go - they found us nearly $200 in sponsors in about half an hour!) I'm glad the kids are learning to volunteer and support good causes like ending hunger. I'm also glad the Allentown walk didn't take us through the kind of neighborhoods the Albany walk used to when I was a kid!

We also enjoyed our usual trip to the Halloween parade - with a bonus this year! Although Kai sat beside us and watched the bands, fire trucks, and floats go by...


...Nick was actually IN the parade with his TKD buddies!

Last, but certainly not least, the church held its annual retreat at the end of October. Scott went, but I stayed home to provide childcare for two other kids whose moms wanted to go to the retreat. Kairi, Nicky, Drew, and Amber (who happen to correspond with my kids' ages and genders exactly) went with me to Boo at the Zoo at the Philadelphia Zoo. Just one problem - it rained ALL DAY! And not just rain - torrential downpours, with flooded sidewalks and paths and drippy animals. The plus side was, the kids got PILES of candy from the trick-or-treat around the zoo because so few people showed up. The minus? We all got sick, and finished out the months with coughs and head colds. Ah well.

And then there's the story I know kids of the church will bring up for years. You see, we ordered pizza for the first night of the retreat (the kids were sleepover guests). And, not having room in my refrigerator for three pizza boxes, I popped them all in the oven to keep them away from evil dog.

Oh, I know what you're thinking. She doesn't LOOK evil. But she is. She really is. The next night, I went to cook some chicken strips rolled in potato chip coating and home made macaroni and cheese. I preheated the oven, and started making the cheese sauce. That's when I noticed the smoke, curling out of the oven vent.

You guessed it. The pizza boxes were ON FIRE. I pulled open the oven, and flaming bits of paper flew everywhere. The smoke alarms went off. All four kids shrieked and ran into the kitchen, then ran for the front door. Hilarity ensued.

The next morning, I was teaching Sunday school, and making muffins with the kids as an illustration of the story of Elijah and the widow. One of the moms of my sleepover guests said (in just that teasing tone - you know the one) "Baking?"

Yup. Gonna take awhile to live that one down.

There's a Sucker Born Every Minute

Yeah. So. I know. We already have two cats. But you see...

Nick took care of his betta. For a whole year. And it was still alive. But you can't pet a fish. He started making noises about how EVERYONE else had a pet. Daddy has Honey, our incredibly stupid Lab. Kairi has Midnight, the aloof and regal empress of a cat who deigns to let the rest of us pet her occassionally, but dotes on Kai. I have Princess, my snuggly lap cat who drapes herself all over me constantly. Nicky. Had a FISH. How unfair is that, Mommy?

So we starting thinking about maybe letting him have a kitten. And then one day in class, I offered an extra credit assignment that many students wanted, but only one could have (because one person was left partnerless for a debate, and someone would need to write 2). They started calling out bribes to get me to pick them (not that I take bribes). One student said, "My cat has kittens..." and I said, "Really?" He said no, he was just kidding at the same time my teacher's aide said "Are you looking for a kitten?" Well, one thing led to another, and to sum up a really long story: This is Angelina, Nicky's cat. (Yes, I know, Mom. I'm nuts.)

You gotta admit, she's got the wildest markings, huh?

The Saga of Robin Hood (and the Ghost)

We all love the new BBC America series Robin Hood. But I should have expected that Nicky, so much like me in so many ways, would start obsessing on Robin Hood as soon as he saw it. Robin's always been one of my favorite characters, and hey, how can you not like defeating the evil sheriff, defending justice, and winning the fair maiden? Especially when you can shoot three arrows at once, slide down ropes on your bow, and wear a really cool costume?

So naturally, Nick insisted on being Robin Hood for Halloween. But he couldn't be a BORING Robin Hood in the bright green, feather hatted costume (that I always thought looked more like Peter Pan anyway). He had to look JUST LIKE the Jonas Armstrong Robin.

They don't make BBC Robin Hood costumes. Or at least, not in America. And they won't ship them from the BBC shop in England either. (I shouldn't be surprised. They won't let us see the new season until 6 months after the folks in Britain.) So it was up to me to save the day. Two nights of sewing and three patterns later, the costume you see is the result. The trickiest part was the little "x"s along the side of the pants. Fortunately, Nicky didn't notice that his costume turned out a lot cleaner and less authentically shabby than Robin's. But all things considered, I think he make a cute crusader for justice.

Kai's costume has less backstory, basically because she couldn't make up her mind! We ended up buying her costume at the very last minute on the night before our party. Is it weird to say your daughter makes a pretty ghost??

Party Fun and Games

After all that decorating, when the time came for the actual party, the real fun began. I found the neatest game ideas on-line. We started with a build-a-scarecrow game where the kids had to find, stuff, and assemble a scarecrow. To make it easier, instead of making the scarecrows sit or stand, we traced Nicky in chalk on the sidewalk like a crime scene and they assembled the scarecrows lying flat.

We had each kid make a craft when they first arrived to hold their loot throughout the evening. I found black and orange tote bags at Michael's, and then printed a bunch of Halloween coloring pages. Then, the kids traced the pictures in fabric crayon and ironed them on the totes to make trick-or-treat bags.

We played a walking variation of Musical Chairs called Spooky Walk, where the kids landed on Halloween symbols on the floor, and then I drew symbols from a pumpkin to determine who was out. We wrapped kids in toilet paper for the Mummy Wrap.

Everyone loved the "Trick or Treat" game where you had to draw a pumpkin card from a bucket and perform whatever trick was written on it. Unless you were lucky and your card just said treat! I made the tricks as embarrassing as possible: dance like a ballerina, sing "the itsy bitsy spider", do the chicken dance. The only thing more amusing than the game was playing it again with my seventh graders at our Halloween party. The embarrassment factor definitely went up! We watched a "scary" movie (Goosebumps, about as scary as Blue's Clues in my opinion, but the kids ate it up) while they ate, and finished off with Bingo as the parents began to arrive. I was SOOO glad I put an end time on the invites, but it was really great fun. I was also glad we rented extra movies to entertain the stragglers while we cleaned - my house was back to normal (with a few extra decorations left up for fun) by the time the last guest left, which was a great relief!

Anyway, I think the kids enjoyed it. And while Nicky didn't recant his statement that "Aunt Cyndy throws the BEST parties" maybe we can come in second place!

But we want a SCARY party...

I decided to throw the kids a Halloween party this year, and both of them wanted it SCARY. Since the decorations we had were minimal in the first place, and cutesy to boot, I spent quite a bit of October scouring the Dollar Tree and my drama loft for cheap, spooky props. It turned out great in the end, and didn't cost much at all! Here's some of the decorations and spooky food we came up with. The front door was friendly enough...

For a touch of spooky, the moving spider my sister loaned us for the other side of the door was a creepy hit with all the guests (and everyone who trick or treated at our house later in the month).
We kept the kids downstairs by blocking it off with these glowing pumpkin pails from the dollar section at Target. They looked really cool! The cardboard coffin that was a sarcophagus in last year's fall drama production "Unwrapped" gave the bay window a creepy feeling - especially with the gross mask on the dummy inside. Better yet, the mask cost a buck at the dollar store. It looked better after dark, trust me. The flag out the window was another Cyndy contribution - thanks sis!

A couple of black light bulbs and a few packs of spider webs go a long way! Paired with more dollar store decorations, the living room looked creepy and ooky. One mom commented on what a lovely home we have, which was kind of funny considering it was covered in spider webbing...
The kids liked this little wooden skeleton hanging from the chandelier the best. They later added spiderwebs and spun a tale about how the skeleton had died after he was caught by a giant spider.

There's something about candlelight that's creepy, even with smiling pumpkin faces. These ceramic luminaries I had, but I'm pretty sure they were dollar store finds the previous year!

We added some creepy window decorations, a cemetary sign from the drama loft, black crepe paper streamers to hide the kitchen, spiderweb tablecloths, and a few scary masks hung over family pictures, $2 mini strobe lights, foam tombstones (man, dollar store again! That place was helpful...), and the effect was complete. Now, granted, you'd have to be pretty little to actually be SCARED by any of this, but it looked appropriately creepy, so the kids were thrilled. Which is probably how I managed to sneak in this bit of cuteness on the way to the guest bathroom (also a bastion of cute decorations - I draw the line at creepy bathrooms...)


On the issue of gross food, though, the kids definitely won. A little homemade pesto and gummy rats transformed bagel bites into "Moldy Pizza". We also did the whole mummy finger hot dogs deal, and some pretzels shaped like bats and pumpkins.

Even the vegetables had to be Halloween themed. But these are kids... aren't veggies scary ALL the time? (Actually, they were very popular. I was glad we made them, because one little guy didn't eat much else.)
But it wouldn't be Halloween without lots of sugar. Cupcakes were a must, and I figured thesee could watch my waist for me.

Witch hat cookies, lots of candy, and cupcakes galore disappeared like ghosts. Unfortunately, some children had eyes WAY bigger than their stomachs and took so much food they were throwing away whole cupcakes uneaten. *sigh* Now that we've got all these decorations, though, the question is.... should we do this again next year?? Maybe I'll just "forget" where I stored them. Hmmmmm.....