Doin' Our Thing

It's a rockin' New Year's Eve over here, as usual!lol! No, we're having fun, as always, with games, games and more games, movies, lots of yummy food, and highly charged children eagerly anticipating midnight. And they are all wide awake. My only bit of sadness is the the teenager is at a party somewhere else, but he's in some one's house, and there for the night. No driving will be happening, so at least I know he's safe. And I'm reasonable sure he'll call us later. Tomorrow is pajama day with more games, more food and a little bit of football and a few minutes of the parade before my kids get bored. They are not big parade watchers!

So, many blessings in the New Year to all of you!

Great Movies!

We've seen two phenomenal movies this week, both more for the thinking set than those just seeking cheap thrills!lol!

We took the kids to see The Waterhorse. I had very little expectation for this movie, as the previews didn't look that great to me, but the two youngest wanted to see it very much. SB was a little put out by the idea of seeing it as well. But?? It may well be the best family movie of the year! Very, very good. I will buy this movie as soon as it comes out. There is some intense action in one part that made the princess hide her eyes, but other than that, it's perfect!

And Mark and I saw The Great Debaters. Oh.My.Gosh. This is my pick for the best overall film of the year, bar none. The acting is superb, the story draws you completely and utterly in. You will laugh and you will most definitely cry. Please go see this movie in the theater. (I will babysit, Karin!)

Garbage In/ Garbage Out

SB got the movie Hairspray for Christmas. Not from us. We had talked about seeing it in the theater, but never got around to it. Even though it is just rated PG, after doing a tiny bit of research, we had decided that SB and the teenager were the only ones we were going to allow to see the movie. We are pretty strict about what our kids see.

Anyway, after the two youngest went to bed the other night, Mark and SB and I sat down to watch the movie. We turned it off after 20 minutes and no less than 10 completely lewd references. Michelle Pfeiffer's character singing about winning a beauty pageant by "screwing the judges", the main character singing about how "she'll go pretty far , but not all the way", the main character singing about loving Baltimore, even the flasher, who doesn't flash the audience, but does flash passers-by on the street. And on and on. Things that a 12 year old does not need filling her head. We in this country talk about how quickly our children grow up, the sexualization of our children and bemoan the fact that middle school and even some elementary school children experiment earlier and earlier with sex and related activities. Well, why not? When a movie that glorifies, just in the first 20 minutes, so much of this and is marketed to the tween set, what are our children to think? I don't know about your kids, but mine walk around singing songs from movies. God forbid they walk around singing these ones. I want to protect the minds of my children, not give them more garbage to process. They get enough of that just from daily life. Isn't it my job to keep as much garbage as possible from entering their precious minds for as long as I can? They have years and years to be exposed to that sort of lewdness. That movie is leaving our house in the garbage pile!

It's That Time of Year

It's my last day of work for the year! Woohoo! It's also Christmas bonus day which always makes me happy. I have really awesome employers who really let me know how much they appreciate me! Mark has been off since Wednesday trying to use up the vacation he has to use before the end of the year.
Tonight is the kiddos music program, tomorrow the parties, a two day wrestling tournament, and cookie baking and a movie day with my girls while the boys go to a football game. Then it's Christmas Eve and Christmas! I am finished shopping, and have most of the wrapping done, but am just waiting for a couple of things to be delivered.
My days will be hectic, but fun, as I'm sure yours will be. I'm off to enjoy my family and the season.

Merry Christmas!

Watch My Girl Grow

My creation
Originally uploaded by mlm4.

This was SB's 4th year dancing in The Snow Queen. Here is a group of pictures of her with the director each year. Amazing how she's grown in such a short time...

Martha Stewart's Got Nothing on Me!

Our family craft project for the evening, minus Mark who is working, was helping the teenager create a diorama for his book report. We all joined in making little people and a car... What book, you may ask, did the teenager read? Well, following in his mother's footsteps as far as high school reading material goes..he read Christine. I'll bet Martha never made a diorama of that! Ha!

Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow

Thank You God, for friends and family who pray, and for Your answer to prayer.

Thank You God, for a relatively easy, though very long, first experience with these kind of tests and technicians who put me right at ease.

And Thank You God, for radiologists who read results and give them to you immediately. And find nothing abnormal.

Merry, Merry Christmas!!

Extra! Extra! Read All About It...

Today's blurb about the Teenager from the school website!

(The teenager) was unable to wrestle for 5th place due to injury. He has been an awesome addition to the team making us wonder where he had been the past three years. Now nick- named the "pin-ball" for his knack for pinning, could make a lot of noise once he gets really into the grove of wrestling.

So Close...

The teenager rocked it this morning in his matches going 3-0...But, on his last pin he hurt his shoulder pretty badly. He was already done for the morning, but was supposed to wrestle in semi-finals since he went 6-2 in the tournament. His coaches pulled him, so he'll place 4th. They think it's just a bad strain and he should be ready to go again soon. What a great showing in his first tournament, but he's disappointed.

SB's cheer team placed 3rd in their competition. Still a great placement, but they too were disappointed after taking 1st last year. Sb thinks she's done cheering after this year. She wants to move on to volleyball and basketball, which I think is awesome!

Updated to add: Oops, my bad. Wrestling is so bizarre! So, the teenager placed 3rd in his pool of 9, but there were two pools. Since he was unable to continue wrestling, he placed 6th in the entire tournament of 18, but the top 8 medal, so he has a pretty shiny new medal!lol!

Christmas Meme

Seen at Karin's

Wrapping Paper or Gift Bags?
Both. Bags for the hard to wrap items.

Real tree or artificial?
Real. And only a noble fir.

When do you put up the tree?
Usually the second weekend in December, but it depends on what is going on.

When do you take the tree down?
January 2nd. I want everything put away in time to enjoy the rest of the break.

Do you like eggnog?
Ewww. I'm a hot chocolate girl!

Favorite gift received?
A calendar Mark had made for me many moons ago (maybe 1999?) at Kinko's with all pictures of the kids. It made me sob!!

Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes, that my mom painted for me. And the two eldest children have their own for their rooms. FE gets his own this year, although he has a toy one already.

Hardest person to buy for?
Someone who reads this blog!lol!

Easiest person to buy for?
the kiddos!

Worst gift you ever received?
Not saying!

Mail or email Christmas cards?
Mail. But I don't do many. It was one of the things I scaled back on a few years ago. I was going crazy.

Favorite Christmas movie?
Miracle on 34th Street, but the most recent remake, not the original!

When do you start shopping for Christmas?
January! But that doesn't mean i finish a moment before December 22nd!lol!

Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?
Yep. But not so anyone would know!

Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
COOKIES!!!

Clear lights or colored on the tree?
Clear, but colored on the house!

Favorite Christmas Song?
O Holy Night. (sung by me!lol!)

Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Stay home

Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?
Well you know Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and Vixen, Comet and Cupid and Donder and Blitzen but do you recall, the most famous reindeer of all?? Rudolph the red nosed reindeer!

Angel on top of the tree or star?
An angel. And a special angel. When i was about 18 and living with my mom, the star we had on top of the tree died. We had very little money. $20 to get us through however long. But we needed an angel. So, I went to Target and found he most beautiful porcelain angel for $19.99 And I bought her. And when I got married my mom gave her to me for my tree. And there she'll stay.

Open the presents on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?
One on Christmas Eve (new jammies), the rest on Christmas Day!

Most annoying thing about this time of year?
People who get grumpy and complain about how busy the stores are. What did you expect???

What I love most about Christmas?
Surprising my kids. The music. The sense of peace and joy and wonder.

You Win Some, You Lose Some

The teenager has a big wrestling tournament this weekend. Started at 8AM this morning and lasted until 7PM tonight and starts again at 8Am tomorrow. Long, long days. I was there to see all of his matches today between spending the morning in the Princess' class and then getting the kids taken care of after school. Amazingly it all worked out. My brother even went in to work super early so he could join me at the meet. Anyway, the teenager won 3 of his 5 matches. It's disappointing to see him lose, but it really is amazing he's winning as much as he is given he's never wrestled before and is wrestling at the Varsity level in a pretty heavy weight class. He's 4 and 3 overall. The team is not doing so well in the tournament though. Hopefully tomorrow will be better!

I will be at the tournament for a bit in the morning, along with my mom and brother and Mark. Then the girls and I will head to SB's cheer competition to sit on some more hard bleachers for 7 hours or so! I'm hoping I'll get out of there early enough to have a least a short date with my hubby, but we'll see how long both tournaments last.

Pretty Cookies!

The kids and I made these cookies last night. They are gorgeous and sooooo good! Buttery, flaky, perfect shortbread! The peppermint flavor is a little mild, which is perfect for my kids, but if I were making them just for me, i might use peppermint extract in place of the vanilla. Recipe follows.

Peppermint Candy Shortbread Cookies

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 25 to 30 minutes

Yield: 3 -1/2 dozen cookies

1 cup butter, softened (no substitutions)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup crushed peppermint candy
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/4 cup Corn Starch

FROSTING (optional):
1 cup powdered sugar
1 to 2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons crushed peppermint candy

Preheat oven to 300ºF.
Mix butter, sugar, crushed candy and vanilla thoroughly using an electric mixer. Gradually blend in flour and corn starch.
Form into 1-inch balls and place on ungreased baking sheets. Gently press down on each cookie to flatten using fingers or a flat bottomed drinking glass (dipped in sugar to prevent sticking).
Bake at 300ºF for 25 to 30 minutes, or until bottoms begin to brown. Cool for 5 minutes; remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Combine powdered sugar, milk and vanilla and mix until frosting is smooth. Drizzle cookies with frosting and sprinkle with crushed candy.

Cool Picture

This is the picture and write up about the teenager's first wrestling match that was posted on the school website. That face!


In Senior (the teenager's name) first wrestling match ever, he found himself playing the hero. After about 30 seconds (the teenager's name) was able to throw a head lock, and after a heart racing struggle to stay in bounds, was able to pin to earn his first Varsity victory along with setting the team record at 1-0 for the year.

So True...

If you're not reading Danielle Bean, you should be. A devout Catholic mom of 8, homeschooler, and great writer. Today's post about one of her boys and goodnight kisses really struck a chord with me. I see both of my boys letting go, but still reaching back occasionally. Even the teenager. It's always interesting to me who he asks to talk to when he needs to talk about something. If it's technical, relating to sports or something to do with boy stuff, or he's in trouble, he talks to Mark, but when he's sick or sad or feeling lonely, it's me. Some days he's all tough and stand offish and getting a hug from him is like pulling teeth, but some days he will still run and jump on me, or my lap, or come find me to make sure he says I love you before he leaves. As big as he is, that little boy that loved his mama so much is still inside of him.

Through the Whirly-Twirly Marshmallow Forest

First person to tell me the name of the movie my title is from wins....my admiration!

My brain is fuzzy. Lack of sleep. Much emotion.

Last week I found out my thyroid meds are not working so well anymore. It just involves a change in dosage, but explains my excessive emotions lately. I've been crying at the drop of a hat and getting a snippy with people as well. Not how I want to be. Hopefully my body will figure this out with the new dosage and regulate.

Yesterday, at my annual exam, my doctor found some irregularity in my breast tissue. Dense tissue was the exact wording. That along with some pain caused her to order a mammogram and an ultrasound. Dense breast tissue is sometimes difficult to spot disease in, which is why the ultrasound. I'm feeling pretty freaked out right now. Better today since yesterday i couldn't speak, but still scared. Yes, it may be nothing, but it might be something. And I am really nervous. I have the most amazing friends though. Really. Three of my good friends have offered to come with me to my visit. Mark would, but he has to be available to pick the Princess up from school. It would alarm her too much to be picked up by someone else, and really, I don't want my kids to have any idea of anything.

In the midst of processing this information, the teenager had his wrestling meet yesterday. He wrestled the 2 time state champion and was really nervous since he has never wrestled before. He was all prepared to lose. Mark and I were not able to be at the meet, but my brother, who is awesome beyond all awesomeness, went to watch. And he called me after the meet all choked up with pride. The teenager won. He won soundly. He pinned the guy in less than a minute. He won the meet for his team. My brother said that all the other players were yelling and screaming the teenager's name before the match and then yelling really loudly as he won. The teenager was thrilled, of course, and we were so filled with pride. Now, was this beginner's luck, or a sign of things to come? I don't know, but I do know that last night, when i needed some cheering up, that did it for me.

Christmas Favorites-Makes Me Wish I Traveled for Christmas!

This song always makes me feel so warm and fuzzy. And Kenny's voice is so soothing...

Happy Birthday!!!

It is my charming, precocious goddaughter's 3rd birthday! Happy Birthday Little Girl!!!

Busy Busy

I have no time for anything between now and Christmas. I actually have no idea how to finish my shopping even!

Yesterday we had two birthday parties, plus a hair appointment for me. Today is Generations and Mass. Tomorrow SB has cheer until 6 because competition is next week. She then has dance at 7. I have to be at Generations by 6:30 at the latest. SB needs to eat. I'm still trying to figure this all out. Oh, and the teenager has a wrestling meet. Plus, his car broke down yesterday so he'll be relying on me for transportation tomorrow! The rest of the week contains dance, more cheer practice, more dance, three more wrestling meets, all day cheer competition and hopefully getting our tree and decorating, plus rehearsal for Snow Queen. Oh, and you know, homework and life!

I always want to slow down and enjoy this time of year more, but everything happens right now. I don't know how, with children in activities in particular, it is even possible to take time to really think about the meaning of this time. My brain is so full of what I need to do. And that doesn't even include what I want to do, like bake. I LOVE to bake. But except for Christmas Eve when the kids and I do our cut out cookies, I can't figure out when to carve out the time. It really makes me a little sad.

I know these days are fleeting. And in a few years I'll have more time because my children will be on their own. And I need to relish this time of doing for them. And I do. I certainly wouldn't trade it. I just need more hours in the day!