A Very Bouncy Christmas Party

My mom's side of the family definitely knows how to throw a party. A few years ago my cousins, who taught gymnastics at the local sports academy, came up with the brilliant idea of using the gymnasium for our ever-increasing annual Christmas party.

With giant trampolines, springy floors, jumping mats galore and all sorts of other equipment, what's not to love? Throw in donuts that look exactly like hot dogs and a pinata and my kids never wanted to leave (even after I confiscated most of their pinata candy).

Look who we found from halfway around the world...

Merry Christmas

It's a Christmas miracle: we are all looking at the camera and smiling. Happy holidays!

A vacation to the Dentist

My brother-in-law happens to be a dentist, so when I found myself 3,000 miles away from home with a ginormous tooth-ache and sans dental insurance, I decided it made economic sense to hop on the short flight to go see him (leaving the kids and Pete far away).

It turned out to be a great trip. Zack saw me in the morning and cleared up the two major mouth issues I've been having, and then I enjoyed a relaxing visit with my sister and her family for a couple of days.

Eli and I enjoyed several rounds of chase and "where did it go?" and I sneaked him all sorts of candy and no-nos (I mean yogos). Max just sat there and smiled and slept like some sort of freak alien baby. Karen made a delicious lemon chicken linguini for dinner and we all enjoyed Christmas cookies that a neighbor dropped by as we watched SNL with Hugh Laurie. The next day we even both (alternatingly) hit her neighborhood gym (to burn off the plate of cookies).

5 stars for Zack's dentistry, and 5 stars for the deluxe accommodations. I think I may need to eat more gummy worms so I can repeat this lovely adventure. But let's please not talk about my flight and drive back home (through the blizzard).
Alien Max
Kare-bear
Eli Whereditgo

Is there a doctor in the house? Why, yes, there is.

Calvin came out of his bedroom "dressed and ready" for his self-proclaimed new profession: medicine (incidentally, it took a lot of bargaining and chocolate chips to convince him that this was not an appropriate church outfit).

And it's a good thing too, because after an early Christmas present from Aunt Laura, Bryn is now the proud mother of twins who need constant checkups.

I don't know what all the fuss is about twins and how demanding they are. Bryn's twins sleep 23.5 hours a day, require infrequent feedings with imaginary milk in a bottle, and nap alone in the freezing car during church.

Calvin's bedside manner is very constructive; he's pounding on Baby Hannah with his hammer...er...reflex mallet.

Christmas Party

Bryn made some helpful illustrations for Santa this year: a picture of a doll for her and a picture of a tiger for Calvin.Ding dong ding dong; that was our song; with joyful ring; all caroling (it's still stuck in my head).

Special thanks to EP; half the photos here are hers (the good ones).

Violation of Child Labor Laws

Calvin exhibits his mad folding skills whilst expounding upon the lollipop-holding properties of washcloths.

Baby Bling

Thanks to Laura, who graciously agreed to accompany me to the bead store this afternoon, I was finally able to finish this bracelet/necklace set for a friend's baby. And can I just say how pleased I am to finally have a camera with a decent (super) macro mode? Very pleased.

The Making of the Greenwreath

The second book in Susan Cooper's series The Dark is Rising is called Greenwitch. It's named that for a tradition in a small village where the women of the community get together and make a "Greenwitch," a figure made of hawthorn and hazel greenery, and then throw it into the sea.

So this is what I thought of the first time I attended a wreathmaking party. Last night was wreath no. 7. I'm still enchanted by the idea of this group of women from the community coming together to enjoy a Christmas program of music and readings, and then we create our little green offerings that mark the opening of the Christmas season.

One of these years, I'm going to throw my wreath into the sea when the season is finished (although I think the bow and the frame may land me a misdemeanor and a $500 fine). Special thanks to Carrie for accepting the title of Princess of the Wreathmaking Extravaganza with her pine bough scepter.

The wreathmaking party is always bittersweet because it dredges up memories of parties past and the people who are no longer with us. We miss you all!

Device Wanted: Internal Stabilization Unit

Said unit must be ingestable by a toddler under 3 (i.e. hidden in a donut), able to counteract such actions as but not limited to: a) running down the hall at top speed only to take a dive at the end into the corner of a door, b) falling backwards off a counter stool, c) being carried by an older sister and thrown ("accidentally") into a wooden pew head-first, d) slipping off the top of an eight foot ladder at the playground, and e) all four of the above within a 24-hour period.

Will pay a Finity of U.S. Dollars not to have another mug shot like this (not to mention the goose egg in the back of his head):

Another Wildly Successful Photo shoot

Attention Modeling Scouts (yet again):
We took pictures of the kids this morning for a preschool project, and I thought share the fruits of the shoot. Please try not to be jealous of Calvin's hair. He does it himself: after I spray and brush it down, he runs his fingers through it to give it that "tousled" look.