The Holiday season can sometimes be overwhelming,to say the least! There are so many activities, parties, gifts, not to mention food and beverages. If you recall, (and I am sure you will if you are one of my loyal readers) on Thanksgiving morning I wrote a random blog about screws!! What was that all about?! I have so much to be thankful for and then on the day I could have gushed on—I wrote about screws!! This brings me back to the whole overwhelming thing.
Now it is time to share all my blog-worthy stories, before the year ends and the memories are tucked away! As you can imagine, this might be one of those long blogs. SO, if you are at work, get yourself a cup of coffee, if you are at home, pour yourself a glass of tequila–cus this might take awhile!
Now, the first thing that was definitely blog worthy that I skipped right over, was Michael’s 1st birthday. Jerry and I flew to VA to celebrate the special occasion. Talk about blog- worthy!! This guy is amazing!! Michael is not talking much—but understanding everything, he is walking, and even pooping on the toilette 85% of the time!! He’s a genius. And he loves his grandma sooooo much! We took him out for lunch for his birthday and he got his very first balloon!
Sara gave him a little party with his little friends and they all dressed up in costumes Michael is the really cute Yoda, with his friends, the frog and the cow—so totally adorable!
He ate his birthday cupcake with gusto, but unfortunately he did get a rash from the chocolate frosting, all over is face and chest. The good news is that a little bath in baking soda took care of the problem!
OK. Now we can jump to Thanksgiving. I have decided that TG is my favorite official holiday. It is really pretty much stress free. like most holidays, it is all about family. But like most holidays, the family can’t all be together. Sara’s family does not come home, and we are used to it, since she has not been home for TG in many years! Usually Angela comes home, but this year she celebrated in MN with Nick’s family. Yes, I was a bit sad about that, but I am one of those understanding moms, and I know that now I have to share my baby girl with her soon-to-be husband and his family. But the good news is that as usual, we celebrated TG with Kevin, Maggie, Brit, Zach, and Tony.
For the last couple of years we have been going over to their house. This is just so great for Jerry and I, since now we only have to make a few side dishes, instead of the whole thing!! And what made it even more special this year is that we were invited over to Kevin’s friends house for the big Turkey feast! Actually I could go on and on about how much fun we had and how totally delicious all the food was, but I will just mention a few things that made this meal a bit different than usual.
Besides having our usual side dishes (green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberries, nutbread . . ., there were a few new dishes introduced to our traditionals. Our host made his mom’s famous collard greens, mac and cheese, and home made (not from a tube) rolls! Yummmmm, I totally enjoyed all the new taste treats! And OMG, Gerry (our host) also made the very best dressing I have ever had!! I am not kidding!! It was definitely much better than the dressing I always made, which was my mom’s recipe. (sorry mom!) Anyway, a great dinner was followed by a “Scattergories” tournament! That was the first time I have ever played that game and it was so much fun–it is now officially my new favorite game!! And my g-kids saw that I liked it so much, they actually gave it to me for Christmas! Awesome!! Thanks for a very special TG!!
Now would probably be a good time to stop. But since I want to at least mention all the December hi-lites, it is going to be awhile, so if you need a break, to get another beverage of choice, or stand up and stretch, or take a walk to the other room ( if you know what I mean), this might me a good time to do it, since December had a whole lot of things to talk about!
INTERMISSION
On December 11th we attended Tony’s very first band concert, and it was totally awesome! T has taken to the saxophone, and I do believe that he was definitely the best one in the whole band! Not only did he hit all the right notes, but he looked so darn cute doing it!! I am so looking forward to watching him grow, as the band gets better each concert–year after year. Cheers to Tony!!
The next night it was Brittany’s turn. Brittany has been playing the clarinet ever since she was Tony’s age (10), and she is now a Junior in High School. So, yea, the sound quality was different than her brother’s concert. I am not just saying this, but Brittany was definitely the best one in the whole band! This year she has advanced to the “Wind Symphony” and is now playing the base clarinet. How talented is that!! You rock Brit!!
On Saturday we had a little change of pace. It was time for Tony’s basketball game. What can I say. Tony’s games are so much fun to watch. He has been playing the sport for several years already, and he has gotten really good. But what makes his games so special is his attitude. No matter how bad they are getting beaten by the other team, he just always has a smile. He travels up and down the court with a little extra hop in his step-always trying his hardest, and not letting anyone or anything get him down! Now really, I know that you have heard this before, but he is the cutest one on the team!
Speaking of Tony, I just have to tell you this really cute story. On the following Wednesday, Maggie had decided to clean out their basement. As she was sorting through the piles of old frames pictures she had collected through the years, she came across a Mickey Mouse picture. It was really a very nice, and beautifully matted and framed ( if I do say so myself!) picture . Of course it had been many years since it hung in the powder room at their old apartment. But it was in great shape, besides the layers of dust. Instead of discarding it, she set it aside—remembering that Tony’s teacher was really into the whole Disney, Mickey theme. When Tony came home from school, Maggie showed him the picture and asked if he wanted to give it to his teacher for Christmas. Tony thought that was a wonderful idea, so Maggie cleaned it up (like new), wrapped it, and sent it with Tony the next day. When his teacher opened it, she was so pleasantly surprised!! “Tony, this is a wonderful gift, you really didn’t have to do this!” She said with great joy. “No problem” Tony said. “It’s just an old picture that my mom found in the basement”. KIDS!!
So, that was the day before we had the worst snow storm so far this year! And it was also the day that our snow blower died!! Jerry had managed to get the big stuff done, but later, after the city plow had thrown another couple of feet in front of the driveway, Jerry had to clear it away with a shovel! My pour honey’s back!! We did end up having to buy a new one, even though we would have much rather used the money for a trip to Florida!
On the day of the big storm, Zach was supposed to have a basketball game, but it was canceled. Good thing he had another game on Saturday! Since Zach is in high school now, the competition gets harder. But he is so good, that he made the Freshman team–which is hard to do! Unfortunately most of the games are played after school, so we haven’t been able to attend, until the Saturday game! Zach played most of the game, and he was the best one! Not only was he awesome, but I actually captured a video of him making a perfect basket! And he looked so cute in his new uniform!! The best part was that his shoes even matched–purple and white uniform and shoes! There was only one other team mate who had purple and white shoes and Zach’s were better!! I so wish I would have gotten a pic of the complete look –oh well, maybe the next game! Zach — YOU OWN!!
OK, this is the story. I started writing this blog at 4:30 a.m., yesterday morning. I worked on it for a couple of hours, and then I had to get on with my day. I actually do have a life!! So then, I got up this morning at 5:30ish to try and finish, but of course, first I had to check my email, and then I had to switch over to Face Book, since my friend Beth had written on my wall, and of course I had to respond!! Finally I got back to this blog, and now it is hours later, and all I actually accomplished was to add the pictures and change a few words!
You are all probably thinking—” Is this blog ever going to end??” Or at the very least—I am sure that you are in need of another INTERMISSION! So I will be good to you, and actually end for now. I am not saying that I have finished my December adventures, I’m just sayin’ that I will have to keep you all waiting for the rest. I have not even mentioned Christmas yet, and there are at least 3 or 4 or more things to blog about before the years end. I will definitely try to finish it up later, but it is now time for breakfast, and like I said before—I do have a life, and of course there is the New Years Eve celebration! But if I don’t get back to it today, I will finish , even if I have to completed 2008 in ‘09. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
