A Christmas Nightcap...Oops, I Mean Recap

On the first day of Christmas, Santa left for me...

My own personal winery!!
That's right, the Big Guy left Mommy a DOZEN bottles of wine under the tree. I knew I was good this year :-)

Christmas was a blast! Seamus had picked out presents for us at school at "Santa's Secret Shop," and I helped him wrap them on Christmas Eve. He was so proud!

Look at these angelic faces just before leaving for church...yeah, somebody sure knows that Santa is on his way!!

"Nanny, PULL!" Seamus trying very hard to get into his gift from Aunt Chachi and Aunt Ashy (a super-cool TAG reading system!)

A few highlights from Christmas morning! Every year we take a picture of ourselves in our jammies in front of the tree. My mom bought Grace and I matching pajamas this year! Daddy got a Dan Marino jersey from Santa, which he did not take off all day. (Santa loves eBay.)
Hey, who gave this kid yet another stick and projectile?? This is why Mommy needs wine!

Gracie loves her bear given to her by her big brother.



Check out these two cool dudes.
One of the favorite new toys...Geotrax Grand Central Station!

The visor was actually Seamus' gift to Daddy, but then he realized he needed to wear it so he could look like "Nicklaus." (Jack Nicklaus)

Another big event over the weekend...Grace has moved into her toddler bed! She loves sleeping in a big-girl bed and has transitioned to it perfectly. I was a little sad to see the crib taken apart and packed away...can't believe my baby girl is going to be 2! In other big news, she is also in the midst of potty training!

A very merry Christmas was had by all, and we hope that it was just as wonderful for all of our friends!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Christmas Survey

I love these things!


1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? A combo...but I looooove to wrap with wrapping paper.
2. Real tree or artificial? Artificial and pre-lit. Doesn't get much better than that.
3. When do you put up the tree? Usually on Thanksgiving or the day after
4. When do you take the tree down? I leave it up as long as possible...once the Valentine hearts arrive, I know it's time to pack it away
5. Do you like egg nog? Yes! Have to have it this time of year.
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Wow, that is a tough one to narrow down...but my American Girl doll stands out
7. Hardest person to buy for? My mom!
8. Easiest person to buy for? Seamus and Grace
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes, a Fisher-Price Little People nativity set
10. Mail or e-mail Christmas cards? Mail...the trick is getting them done in time to actually arrive BEFORE Christmas!
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Thirteen tubes of Chapstick and two packs of gum from my darling husband 3 Christmases ago...oh, he's lucky I love him!
12. Favorite Christmas movie? Christmas Vacation
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Black Friday
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Who hasn't?
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? my Aunt Sue's Genets
16. Lights on the tree? Of course, but the real question...white or colored?
17. Favorite Christmas song? Christmas Eve/Sarajevo by Trans-Siberian Orchestra
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? A bit of both...we stretch Christmas to last about 2 weeks
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Forward, backward or jumbled up? Yes, I think I can
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Always an angel growing up, but now a star on our family tree
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? The scrooges...I say bah humbug to them...I love Christmas!!!
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? Nothing beats a homemade ornament given to you by your children
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? We usually do Italian on Christmas, chicken parm, yum!
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Just love, laughter, and lots of pictures to remember it all :-)

Unplugged (or, ICE STORM '08!)

Well, we did it. We survived Ice Storm '08! While I actually thought the ice-laden trees of our winter wonderland were quite pretty, they wreaked major havoc on our roadways and electrical system over this past weekend. Schools and businesses have been shut down for four days now, with no heat or power. I love how in the Northeast they give these natural phenomenons front-page billing on every newspaper with names like ICE STORM '08! Like it's some major concert event we're all dying to get tickets to. ICE-A-PALOOZA! WooHoo! Sign me right up!

The fun-filled weekend I had planned - kids' cookie exchange party, quick overnight getaway in CT with my college housemates, and Seamus' Christmas concert Sunday afternoon - all came to a screeching halt when we lost power Friday morning. So did 80% of our city. The temp Friday night was predicted to be 15 degrees. BRRR. I called five hotels and managed to land us a room, and we all stayed warm and toasty. Saturday morning, still no power. Saturday evening, still no power. Yay, Nanny and Poppy's power goes back on! We all shuffled over there for a slumber party. Sunday, still no power. Wow! Even I am in shock...and I'm a diehard Northeaster, who will take a mountain of snow and chilly temps over heat and humidity anyday. But as you can see we had some serious ice, ice baby...

This limb snapped off a tree in our yard and landed on the deck. We were very, very lucky...there were many uprooted trees that smashed right through people's homes.
On Sunday we battled our cabin fever by attending a Toys for Tots fundraiser that my dad was DJing. Gigi was excited to get all dressed up in her pretty dress...
And Seamus couldn't wait to wear his festive Pimp Daddy hat...

They spent the entire afternoon on the dance floor, hula-hooping and limbo-ing away. (If you're looking for a way to keep your preschoolers entertained, download the music and teach them how to do "The Freeze." Hilarious!)
When it came time to visit with Santa, I said all I wanted for Christmas was for our power to be turned back on. (Well, that and a shiatsu massage cushion. And a Kindle. And a new Fiestaware place setting. And what the heck, world peace.)
I must have been a good girl this year because we got our power restored at noon on Monday! We were so fortunate to have had a warm place to spend the weekend, and I know there are still many, many more who do not yet have heat. But I am grateful that ICE STORM '08! has come and gone, and wonder when we should get in line for BLIZZARD '09!

We've Been Elfed!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

O Christmas Tree...

Here's another one for the "Things I never thought I'd hear myself say" file...

"SEAMUS! Underwear does NOT belong on the Christmas tree! Santa won't put presents under a tree that has UNDERWEAR on it!"




Just gotta say...(and I know this is 'evil mommy' of me) I am LOVING the Santa Claus threat. I've never seen anything work so well in my life!

Hula-rious!

I just came across this in my uploading and had to share because it is so darn funny.
Last month at the Sock Hop, my dad organized a hula-hoop contest for the kids. There were some great hula-ers out there, and Seamus got a kick out of watching it. A couple of days later, I found him in his room with a glow-in-the-dark necklace around his waist.
"What's that, Seamus? Your belt?" I asked him.
"No, it's my hula-hoop," he said.

I was dying laughing, and of course couldn't wait to see him try it out! Here's a video of him imitating the hula-hoopers he saw, with my dad providing the background music. (And please ignore the mess in my house. It was...well...I wish I had a good excuse, but apparently it was just a mess that day.) Enjoy!

Mean Girl

Yeah, that would be me. Mean, mean, mean. I yelled at my husband last night and stomped around the house in fury. I had a look of disgust on my face. The reason? He went to bed at 8:30.
You are probably thinking, Uh, what's the big freakin' deal?

Well...here's the thing. I was attempting to bake brownies, pack lunches, load and unload the dishwasher, wipe down the counters and iron a mountain of clothes all in the 60 minutes between the start of Ugly Betty and the start of the new Grey's. (BTW, I am freaking over Grey's. What is up with the Denny thing??)

So I'm rushing all over the house like a crazy woman and I run up to the bedroom, and there's hubby...all snuggled up under the comforter. WTH? (And I really didn't know what he was doing in that 60 minute time period but I assumed it was something productive. My first mistake.)

So I'm all like, "What ARE you DOING??? Is something wrong with you?? Are you SICK???"

To which he calmly replies, "No. I'm tired."

Me: "Well, this is a little STRANGE, isn't it? You being in bed THIS EARLY???

Him: "I'm...just...tired."

Well. This is just beyond my realm of comprehension. I start huffing and puffing, yanking the ironing board out, knocking the iron to the floor, tossing around piles of kids' clothing...because really, who in their right mind is allowed to just go to bed when they're tired?? There's ironing to be done, for crying out loud!

And my husband had the sense to just ignore me, instead of jumping up on the bed and screaming what I know he was probably thinking:

"If you weren't such a psycho-crazy lady about ironing and just put the godforsaken clothes in DRYER, then you too could be enjoying blissful slumber at 8:30 in the evening! But NO! You must iron! So iron away, wacko, and let me get some freakin' sleep!"

But he didn't say that.

So. I was a mean girl for yelling at my hubby, who truly does more for me and our family than I could ever ask for, and who deserves to go to sleep at 8:30 if he wants to.


But I still think it's weird.