Christmas Day 2011

Even though Ben said he'd come and wake us at 7 am on Christmas morning, Sam was up before he was. Ben came into our bedroom to get me and I said I was amazed Sam was up before him; but I wasn't surprised that he was awake because Dad was making a lot of noise downstairs. Ben replied "you are very quiet and Dad is like a bulldozer!!!"   The kids got a lot of presents this year and this was probably the best Christmas ever for them.  They got game chairs that they have been using ever since they unwrapped them.

Maggie wanted a soccer ball, but was probably more excited about her new DS games after she had unwrapped them!!!!

Ben had wanted an iPod and was really excited to unwrap it and get Sam to download some music for him.  He's really into music at the moment and loves to listen to the local pop radio station-drives Sam crazy, but I love to sing along with him!!!!

I made an enormous amount of food this year, in fact I started making dishes on Christmas Eve.  I also broke the rule of not making dishes you haven't made before when you have guests, almost everything I made for dinner was something that I had never made before

Our appetizers were blue cheese and artichoke/rosemary tartlets that Ben and I made at Time for Dinner, they are absolutely heavenly.
I made turkey (of course) and gravy and bread rolls (from the kolache factory). Then we had cranberries that Milly made at Thanksgiving, corn casserole (made at Time for Dinner) and then several dishes that were new:
Dressing-made with sausage, carrots, celery, dried cherries, almonds, garlic and thyme & sage from the garden
Brussels-made with fresh chestnuts that I roasted first
Cauliflower and broccoli casserole-made with eggs, shallots & coconut milk
Sweet potatoes with Granny Smith apples, maple syrup, butter and pecans on top
Best looking-baked pears with caramelized onions, spinach and wrapped in prosciutto
Dessert was triple chocolate cheesecake-picture below......

Christmas Eve 2011

My Christmas/New Year holiday started on Christmas Eve morning with Ben waking me up and reminding me that I had promised they could make gingerbread men. We had bought a couple of kits from Trader Joe's, so Ben and Maggie spent early Saturday morning decorating them. It kept them amused for a short while, which was about all they were good for because they tasted terrible!!! Santa was left one at night and took one of the feet, but no more. Guess even the reindeer wouldn't eat them.....

They did look pretty cool when they were finished and Ben did help Maggie with hers, so it was a good start to the day...

Ben made lunch for Maggie (whether she wanted it or not). It was pretty healthy and she was a good sport about eating it

We went to Molly and Tim's for Christmas Eve as usual. This year, Molly decided to let everyone make their own calzone, it was a great idea and easy to organize. The kids had a great time because they could make their own pizza and sit and watch TV together.  Molly always manages to find the best gifts for Ben and Maggie.  Ben got an educational laptop and Maggie got a camcorder!!!!

Got some great pictures of Ben with "his girls"!!!!!

Maggie's field trip to the zoo

With the wonders of modern technology, I was able to stay at the hospital with Sam but also keep tabs on Maggie's field trip to the zoo. One of the other parents had his daughter, Maggie and another girl with him and he sent me regular pictures of them during their trip.  During second grade, the kids study insects in depth and at the end of the first semester, they go to the insectarium at the zoo.

After they had been in the insectarium, they broke off into small groups and spent a couple of hours running around the rest of the zoo

Maggie's crossfit class

I took Maggie to her Crossfit class on Monday because Sam was still in the hospital.  I had told Sam that we needed some Crossfit footage to rival Ben's gymnastics, so I had a prime opportunity to get some while we were waiting for her.  You can see that she is very enthusiastic about doing the workout, but Sam says she wasn't making the effort that she usually does.  He also redirects her more than I did-I pretty much just stayed out of her way and let the coaches deal with her.
Oh, yes, that is me manically humming to "moves like Jagger" on the first video-love that song!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJqFxrP1zVw&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S24a9VdPG0w&feature=youtu.be
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOAOY-UQH3c&feature=youtu.be

Random stuff-getting ready for Christmas

For some reason, we thought it was a good idea to schedule health-related things close to Christmas. I had a wisdom tooth and molar removed last Friday and Sam had a cardiac cath procedure done on Monday. Now we are both like the walking wounded, I have been on antibiotics and pain killers for a week and Sam is having to take things easy for a few days. Luckily, we are both OK and hopefully will be back to normal before the holidays arrive. We had a long day on Monday because Sam had to be at the hospital at 6:30 am and we didn't pick him up until after 5. The kids were happy to see him, maybe just because we went for pizza after we got him. They looked so glum waiting in the corridor for him to get dressed, but I couldn't stop laughing at Ben because he had his head in the middle of the wipes holder and would not move!!!!

In preparation for Christmas, I had my nails painted red and green. Does having small children legitimize this???!!!! Pity the weather isn't really cooperating with me being able to show them off!!!!

Ben celebrated the season by having his hair cut.  He looks so cute with it cut.  I tried to get Maggie's cut out of her eyes but she was having none of it.  I did manage to tie it back when she went to school on Tuesday though.  Should have taken a picture while I had the opportunity, but I was in the middle of getting them out of the door and off to school at the time.

Ben loves to paint pottery.  We made this plate for Santa's cookies this year.  It came out really well. 

After all the other things that have been going on, we are way behind on Christmas preparations this year. However, I ran out to Target on Tuesday night and got almost everything. We are ready!!!!

Maggie the Crossfit queen

Sam has been taking Maggie to a Crossfit kids class for quite a few months now. She is really enthusiastic and good at it. I told Sam that he needs to take some video of her doing a class so she can rival Ben's gymnastics videos. Hopefully, we'll get some one day. The teachers at the gym love her and it's great that she has something to call her own.
They had a Christmas party tonight and she had a great time dancing in the dark with the flashing lights and fog machine. Gotta love Maggie, she delights in everything....

Wisdom teeth

Why are they called wisdom teeth?  They don't make you any wiser.  They usually cause more trouble than their worth.  We should have evolved enough to eliminate them by now-according to Wikipedia, there are about 35% of the population who have been smart enough to do just that!!!  I was not smart enough and I finally had one of them removed.  It came through the gum line when I was 18.  It has never caused my any problems.  However, I had a root canal on the molar next to it & the dentist told me I would have to take it out before he could put a crown on it.  Well, my horrible procrastination and generally irrational fear of dentists and oral surgery resulted in the 2nd molar breaking the other week and me having to now get both of them out!!  Seriously, some days, I wish  I could just get them all pulled out and be done with it.
I had them pulled out this morning and so far, so good.  I had the general anesthetic, they gave me nitrous before doing the i.v., how cool is that???!!!!  The surgeon had come highly recommended and I can see why.  Now to make sure it heals properly and then I can see about the other work I need to get done.
I hate teeth.....