Yes, it's been too damn long since I posted. I kind of revolted this past December. I refused to do our annual Christmas Party, I bought fewer gifts for everyone, we didn't entertain much and I generally refused to be over worked. Christmas is for everyone including me. Usually I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to make everyone else happy thus stressing myself out totally. Not this year, not this time. I took a year off essentially. There was still a lot to do and a lot to think over. Christmas is busy no matter how you do it.
We did the Polar Express and Hood River on the first weekend of December. That was great fun but I did blog about that.
Sophia had a few performances in December. Her choir performed a few times. Two times at a retirement facility. The retirees have a choir and the kids came in to sing a couple songs with them. It was very cute. Sophia warned me before we went to the retirement home, "Mom, some of the people will be in wheel chairs." Ahh, yeah, I was pretty sure that some would be. She didn't want me to be shocked. Needless to say, I wasn't.
They also sang at the zoo during Zoo Lights. I did not get the following warning, "Mom, there will be some animals at the zoo." I was shocked, there WERE animals. I am pretty sure having the kids sing at the zoo is the zoo's way of getting bodies in the door. It was rainy and cold but we went and had a great time, elephant ears and all.
Next she was in "My Oregon Report" the 4th grade play. She was, wait for it, wait for it......the "Know-It-All." It just comes so naturally. Where ever did she get that? It must skip a generation. Mom and Ed made the trek down for the show. Rex and Tina came too. Greg and Rebecca showed up too. She had quite the fan turn out. The show was adorable. The kids were great and really excited. For the little kids it's like Broadway. For Sophia and her pals it was like being on Broadway. We were thrilled, as always, to have mom and Ed come for the show.
We attended a couple Christmas Parties. The first one was a family party at the Stewarts. They live near Peacock Lane. It's the local row of houses that decorates for the holiday. Cars and people line up to walk or drive the street. Personally, I don't find it that interesting but the kids love it and the longer I have these kids the more it is affirmed and confirmed that it is NOT ABOUT ME. Bob walked the kids down to Peacock Lane, I stayed behind to guard the house with a couple other moms.
The second Christmas Party was at Bob's boss's condo and was all his work friends. A couple days before the party 2 separate people came up to Bob and went through a whole story about how Susan, Bob's boss, wanted him to dress up as an elf. Bob was confused about the whole thing and said, "No, Susan had not mentioned this to him." Well of course we figured out it was a joke but we decided to follow through. I rented a giant elf suit and he showed up in it. Now there is a confident man. It was hilarious. Everyone got their picture with the giant elf. Eventually he changed into his regular clothes but then some late comers showed up so back on went the elf costume.
I attended a brunch at my friend Karmen's house. She is so sweet and had a white elephant gift exchange but she supplied all the gifts. We played a game to get to know everyone. Everyone was apprehensive about the game but of course, it was fun.
School was out for the whole week before Christmas. It was a fairly calm time with the kids. Bob took off work from December 22nd to January 3rd. It’s so nice to have him home when the kids are off. It took a while for him to get in the groove of our daily life but once he did it was all good.
Mom and Ed came back on the 23rd and stayed until the 27th. We had a really nice time. While they were here we went to the Nutcracker with all 3 kids. They boys had never been before. It was the last performance of the Nutcracker for the season so it was at noon on the 24th. I was a little nervous that the boys wouldn’t make it through the whole thing. Instead, they loved it! I think they may have cut it down a bit or at least it seemed shorter. Perhaps it was because it was so entertaining. I have seen the Nutcracker no less then10 times, probably closer to 15. Anyway, it is by far the best production of the Nutcracker I have ever seen. The sets were beautiful and the dancing was amazing. I have NEVER said that about the Nutcracker before. The snow fairies had a snow ball fight that was both funny and beautiful. Hard to describe for sure.
Rex and Tina joined us for Christmas Eve dinner. It’s always fun when we can all get together. Christmas morning was craziness as always. There was a bit less than usual but it was totally fine and the kids didn’t seem to notice. I hope to stay on this same trajectory for the next few years. The kids don’t “need” anything. We had a nice day and then went to dinner at the Wang’s and shared dinner with the Klines as well. It was such a nice dinner and the company was great. I love my friends so much and am continually grateful for my neighborhood, community and my amazing set of friends. That truly is the greatest gift of all.
The next couple days were fairly casual. The last day Ed felt the need to get home. They were out of town for 3 months until the end of November. To be gone for another long stint was just too much. He headed home and Mom stayed behind for the day. It was a drizzly day and the kids were jazzed to go to the zoo. We went a couple years ago when it was cold and rainy out and we loved it. The animals were out and the people were not. Perfect! As before, the animals were out. We had a really nice time and then spent a quiet afternoon at home until I took mom to the train station. It’s really nice to have the train as an option. It’s a nice ride and only about $30. We enjoyed having them here for the holiday.
The 28th and 29th was Horse Camp! Sophia got Horse Camp as one of her big gifts. Coulter and Kees had wanted to go but the camp was fairly full and Kees, he’s just not quite there. Sophia went on her own on the 28th. When I got there they said there was room for Coulter. Well I wasn’t going to go back and get him now but tomorrow? Yes, tomorrow. The following day was his birthday and he got to go to Horse Camp. He loved it! Sophia said he did really well, and she should know, she’s the “expert.”
We picked them up from Horse Camp and immediately headed to Pump It Up for Coulter’s Birthday Party. Coulter had never had a real birthday party before so this was a big deal. We invited a boat load of kids, about 25. I felt like we were doing our part for the community by providing a place for the kids to get their ya yas out during a cold and rainy time of year. The party was a smashing success and I thought it was the best money I have spent in a long time. No mess, no stress, no clean up, no prep no nothing. We brought a cake and they did the rest. I loved it! When our host said, “Would you like me to write down the kid’s names and what their gift is?” I wanted to kiss him. “Yes, yes I would like that.”
Coulter was so happy. It made me really happy. He was grateful, showed his appreciation and just shined.
To make sure our time was full we, of course, had a plan for the following day….BEACH!!!! Our friends Rebecca and Greg have a beautiful house in Manzanita and I kinda asked if we could come along. I did my best impression of puppy dog eyes and made it clear that we didn’t have plans for the New Years. Rebecca caught right on. It was Greg, Rebecca, Clara, her friend Alice and then our crew. It was great. We spent 3 nights and 4 days there. It was COLD! Like 28 degrees cold when we got there. We had to back track on the way there due to an accident on 26 but we got there safe and sound. Our time there was spent eating too much, reading, playing Scrabble and spending time on the beach.
The first full day we went to Cartem. That is always fun. It’s the local dump, recycling center and on-going flea market. If you can’t find it at Cartem you probably don’t need it. Rebecca, Sophia and I walked back to the house from Cartem. It’s about a mile or two. We had the dogs along and they needed some beach time. Now mind you it’s 28 degrees out and a bit breezy…. Sophia, the loon, took off her shoes and socks and ran around the beach bare foot. What is it with these kids? The last time it was that cold at the beach there was snow and all my kids took off their shoes and socks. They are a different breed for sure. After about a half hour she put them back on letting us know that, “The sand is REALLY cold.” Ahhh, yeah, we know that.
NYE was fun. We had a nice dinner, lots of snacky food and at 8:30 some friends came over with instruments in tow. There was a regular ole jam session going on for 2+ hours. I wished I had spoons or something I could use to participate. Maybe next year. Rebecca made home-made ice cream, the jam session was going on, the Leeks were bopping our heads up and down and everyone had a great time.
NYD was a bit slow in the morning. We all slept in until....at 10:40 Sophia realized that there was only 20 minutes until the Polar Plunge! She ran and got Alice and Clara and they all jumped out of bed, put on their swim gear and hopped in the car. It was a balmy 38 degrees out. Better then the day before. When we arrived at the beach the girls ran off toward the crowd. Rebecca and I were in slippers so we abandon those at the edge of the beach and ran after the girls. They got there with moments to spare. There was a big group photo and then they all, about 150 of them, ran into the water! It was hilarious fun. They all survived and said the sand was the worst part. If that was the worst part I should have done it. My feet were frozen. The girls all said that the water was warmer then the air.
Later Bob and I took a long walk on the beach with the dogs. Half way through the kids decided they wanted to join us. Greg brought them to us along with their bikes. It was almost 50 on the beach and there was only a slight breeze. As it turned out, the kids didn’t want to walk, they wanted to play on the beach. That was fine. They played around a creek and in the dunes. Their shoes were either soaked or off and they had on short sleeves. Again, they don’t get cold! Crazy babies. We all hung out for a couple hours. Then back to the cabin for food and later Rebecca and I took a long walk on the beach to see the sunset. It was an amazing first sunset of 2011.
On our way home Bob and I talked. There was little TV while we were at the beach and the kids were great. We decided that there would be no TV for the month of January. There were some tears about that but if the kids were that emotionally attached to the TV we NEED to remove it. So far, so good. The kids have been fighting less, sleeping in more and have been generally more agreeable. I like it.
We made it home on the 2nd and unpacked. It would have been nice to have some more time at home before Bob had to go back to work but the time at the beach was great too. We unpacked, cleaned up, washed all the sand off and tried to go to bed at a decent hour so everyone would be ready to go back to school. Getting up on the 3rd was tough but we made it to school on time.
It was a fairly straight forward week, Meals on Wheels, school, choir for Fia, play dates for the boys, breakfast with a friend, etc. Then on Thursday Dad and Sally came. They were here to celebrate Coulter’s and Rex’s Birthdays. I made a big dinner and we all gathered around the table yet again. Friday was spent with Dad and Sal shopping at Sur La Table, Powell’s, and antique shopping, then having lunch with Kees.
Sophia skipped school to attend the River City Music Festival with Clara. She was very excited. She went to a kids work shop with Chick Rose. He is an institution in the Blue Grass community and the northwest. After a tough go getting started Sophia had a great time jammin’ with the kids and she was the first soloist of the whole festival! Very exciting to say the least.
We realized, after playing all day, that Sophia had out grown her fiddle so the next day we went and got her a bigger one. Problem was, because we’d been around so much music and blue grassers I had an itch. Kees had an itch too. We BOTH got guitars. I have no idea how to play but we’re going to learn.
Sophia and Coulter have started winter basketball and Bob is coaching Sophia’s team. It is so much fun to see them playing, learning and having fun. The coaches are great and the man who runs the program is amazing. The place they play and practice is only blocks from our house.
And finally, last night, we went out for family karaoke. It was great fun and totally hilarious. There were 5 families that we knew and everyone (most everyone) was singing. There were a few really bad singers a few good ones and most of us just in the middle. My pal Sarah did back up dancing while her son sang. We laughed heartily. She even managed a somersault to which she reported, “The floor is really sticky.” I don’t even want to know…… My friends Mary Ann and Elana rocked it with Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody. When the rock part started, Mary Ann was spinning her hair around and shaking her head so hard I thought, “There is no way I would do that.” Today, Mary Ann is saying the same thing. I think she gave herself whiplash. It was worth it though. Again with the laughing…… It was fun. Sophia even got in on the act. Kees and Coulter just hung out on stage watching everyone perform.
So that is my brief of the past month. I have been wanting to blog but got so far behind I couldn’t catch up. I know that was a LONG one but it was all fun stuff. I hope that we have time to breath and that I can write about some other stuff soon. Sophia’s birthday is next week¸ that should be good material.
