have yourself a merry little christmas

Admittedly, I have been super-lazy this Christmas vacation!  But I'm all riled up about the fireworks going off tonight and keeping my kids up needlessly that I needed something to do to channel my energies.  So, I'm finally getting around to posting about Christmas!  

Memaw and PawPaw came to visit the week before, and we all got to go to Britton's piano recital together.  Then I had three days of work while everyone else was hanging out and starting vacation.  But that just made the Thursday before Christmas all that much sweeter because I got to join them!  Unfortunately, PawPaw was on call back in Ohio, so he had to head out on the 23rd.  We decided to keep ourselves busy, and got started on Santa's cookies!

Memaw took us bowling on Friday, and then on Saturday she, Britton, and I went to see the "Greatest Showman" movie, which was fantastic.  We like to change up the theme of our Christmas Eve dinner every year, and this year Memaw treated us to Louisiana cooking!  She made gumbo - so good! - and I ordered a king cake from New Orleans.

Barrett refused the gumbo, but accepted a Christmas cookie as his dinner

Just like that, it was Christmas morning!  The kids got us up at 6:30ish, and we ventured downstairs to see what Santa had left.  Score!  Both kids got scooters, and Britton got Shopkins, a makeup kit (only for fun dress up at home), LOL little sister dolls, a "Real Live Pet" kitten, and a Hermione costume for her American Girl dolls.  Barrett got the Paw Patrol Sea Patroller, play dough, PJ Masks, and LEGO sets of the Batmobile and Ninjago.  They both also received clothes, LEGO sets from Memaw and PawPaw of camper sets, books, and craft sets.   

The scene from the family room Christmas afternoon - no real need to get dressed or go anywhere, so we hung out and played with all the new toys!

Merry Christmas, ya'll!

let it snow!

The hubs and I chuckled when the weather report predicted snow for Thursday night.  Sure, snow in Texas, right.  When we moved from Pennsylvania to Texas, one of the hardest things to admit to myself was that in moving, I was giving up having snow in winter.  Even after years of living in West Virginia and Pennsylvania, shoveling snow and navigating slick roads, I still think snow is downright magical.  The first flakes floating through the night sky, shining in street lights, giving promise to a late-rise morning with school cancellations and snowball fights - snow is easy to remember in a good light.  I knew I wouldn't see it in Texas, and I rightly mourned it our first year here.  

Turns out, I was wrong.  In fact, it does snow in Texas!  Sure, we didn't get a blizzard, and it didn't stick around for long.  But when the hubs saw the radar showing snow over our house late Thursday night, we went outside, and there it was, floating through the air.  Knowing Britton needed to see this (Barrett isn't as attached to snow because he has less memories of it), I got her out of bed and dragged her outside to see the snow against the streetlights.  She was absolutely delighted, in a way that proves to me that Britton thinks snow is just as magical as I do.

Barrett woke up early Friday from a nightmare, and after going back to sleep, the hubs woke me up.  Grumpy and tired, I had no idea why he'd be so cruel as to wake me up so early on my day off!  And then I saw it - snow on the ground!  We knew we'd never get back to sleep, so we waited until about 6:45 am, and woke up the kids, so they could play in it before school.

Before dawn, the snow's on the ground

I pulled down the "hats, gloves, and scarves" basket from the hall closet - the basket we've not touched since moving here - and pulled out what might still fit.  Barrett got Britton's old gloves, Britton wore mine, and they both put on coats that are a couple sizes too small!

I've never seen so many of my neighbors at 7:00 am!  Everyone was out, making snowmen and taking pictures.  Because we have four large trees in our front yard, we didn't have any snow - but our neighbors did, so we hopped across the street for a little snowball fight and snowman-making!

Snow on palm trees?!?  Even though the snow most likely killed my flowers, I'm ok - it most likely killed off all the mosquitoes too!

On Thursday night, after the excitement of snow died down and the hubs and I gave up and went to bed, I found these pages on my nightstand.  Britton had captured the moment so well, and shared it with me.

She wrote down about getting out of bed to see the snow, and drew herself seeing the snow in the streetlights!

And left us with some beautiful words about snow (recounted, removing third grade spelling and grammar) - "Snow is always in the air at wintertime.  It snows everywhere, including Texas.  I saw the snowflakes falling gracefully, as they dance in the sky.  I wonder why it always snows."  Always the teacher, she also added a quiz!

barrett: 54 months old

This kid is ready for Christmas!  And a haircut, but I digress.  The haircut is coming this weekend - I had to trim bangs tonight, and while he can now see, he also looks like Little Lord Fauntleroy, so the glorious locks have to be tamed.  

We had a parent-teacher conference with Barrett's teachers, and he's doing well in school!  He loves playing with his friends, going on the field trip to the grocery store, and turning blocks or Legos into anything - PJ Masks characters, Paw Patrol, whatever he comes up with.  While he started the school year quite shy, Barrett has come out of his shell and when I get to pick him up, all his little friends rush over and give him a hug goodbye.  

Likes:  Superheroes, wrestling with Britton, writing his letters

Dislikes:  waiting on Santa to get here!

100 months old!

Britton was super-jazzed this morning, not to take her monthly photo mind you, but to get to the Breakfast with Santa at her school!  And it didn't occur to me until I printed out her sheet last night that we've reached a huge milestone here - Britton is 100 months old now!  That's 8 years, 4 months, in normal age counting, but I've kept to months because we take the pictures monthly.  And now I've got 100 of these monthly photos and that seriously blows my mind!

Britton had a high and low in school this month.  She had taken a reading comprehension test (read the passage, answer multiple choice questions) and didn't do so well.  She didn't understand the questions - admittedly, I didn't understand what some of the questions were asking - so we decided that she needed to practice.  Over Thanksgiving break, I found five practice tests, and we went to work.  Well, the practice paid off and Britton nailed the next test when she returned to school this week!  I'm so proud of the hard work she put in, and accepting that learning new things makes your brain hurt and that's ok because it means it's getting stronger.  Or something like that!  And yes, the awesome score is a high, but also, we received an email from her teacher that they received the DLA (District Language Assessment) results back (every school takes them), and Britton was the only one in her class to get 100!  It doesn't count for any grade, but it's an amazing accomplishment, and I'm blown away by what this kid can do.  She's rocking this whole school thing!

Likes: making her own popsicles, playing soccer, exploring new parks (we found a great one today!), KFC coleslaw

Dislikes:  mosquitos still being out in December! (yeah, we ALL dislike this!)

thanksgiving 2017

I know we're a couple of days past Thanksgiving, but I'm finally crawling out of my food coma!  Unfortunately, PawPaw was on call for the holiday, but luckily, he sent Memaw to us the Saturday before Thanksgiving.  The kids were off school all week, and loved the crafts she brought with her - first up was making their own ornaments, reindeer candy canes, and miniature sleds out of popsicle sticks!

Then some bread baking!

Which got Britton into the mood for helping Memaw with the Parker House rolls for Thanksgiving dinner.  We didn't have a plan for the meal - we always go with turkey, bread, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and some casseroles.  So we watched some "Pioneer Woman" episodes for inspiration, and Memaw wrote down the Parker House roll recipe. 

There was much snuggling, lounging, and general laziness, perpetrated by myself, of course.

The required "thumbs up" picture with the bird.  This turkey smelled (and tasted) wonderful - the hubs stuffed it with lemon, garlic, tarragon, and thyme, and slathered the outside with tons of butter.

Ready to eat!

Memaw headed out Friday morning, and we all wanted to see her off.  I realized that we hadn't taken a group shot with everyone, so I set the camera on the kitchen island and set it to take our picture.  Barrett looks grumpy, I look like a hot mess, Britton is for some reason wearing a bathrobe over her dress, but it's us and it's real!

Just sharing a sweet picture of Barrett!

Since we don't touch Christmas stuff until after Thanksgiving, we've spent the entire weekend decorating for Christmas!  The cards are stuffed and ready for stamps, the outdoor lights are put up, and the trees and interior decor are set.  Now time to finish shopping and wrapping gifts!

cammy's 70th birthday

My mom turned 70 on November 10th!  She was planning a party, and asked if I could make the trip to Virginia Beach so her entire family could be there.  I could, but the airline ticket costs prohibited me from bringing the hubs and the kids too.  Yes, my mom was just here in Texas visiting at my birthday at the end of October, so about two weeks later I was headed to her!

I flew in ridiculously early on Friday morning, but I prefer to get to my destination and start my visit as soon as possible.  My mom picked me up at the airport and we went directly to Taste Unlimited (now called "Taste" which I can't even comment on because, please) for my favorite turkey/provolone/French bread sandwich.  My aunt Jill and cousin Kristen met us there, and due to the are-you-kidding-me cold weather, we decided to eat at Cammy's house instead of at the outdoor tables.  That night, Jill joined us for a birthday dinner of glorious seafood in butter at Croakers!

The next morning started with party prep!  Jessica and her family surprised us by showing up early, and it started to feel like a party.

I don't think we've been in the same room together in almost two years now.  With moving to Texas, seeing everyone regularly is hard!

Aunt Jill

My cousin Stephanie (that's Kristen below, Stephanie's sister) made this beautiful photo board, with photos of my mom from childhood to the present.  She included little cards for people to leave messages, and my mom was really touched by the words left by her friends and family.

I loved being surrounded by people I've known forever!  Garrett is my nephew and you know Kristen by now.  I remember when these youngsters were born!  That makes me sound old, huh?

Kristen and Mike

Caroline is such a light of happiness, and Stephanie was more than happy to snuggle with her!

Every party must have cake, and this one came from our family's favorite bakery, Sugar Plum Bakery.  They made my wedding cake, and probably every birthday cake since.

Make a wish!

Here is Stephanie's husband Kevin, and daughter Alexandria.  I got treated to a tour of their new house the night before, and it is gorgeous!

After the last guests had trickled out, Cammy was tired and I was hungry, so I headed out to pizza with Stephanie and Jessica's families.  I had a horrible headache (turns out I had a sinus infection), but I wanted to see everyone before leaving town.  My whirlwind trip found me back to the airport on Sunday morning, and I felt like I blinked and the entire visit was over!  I'm sure it won't take me two years to get back again!

barrett: 54 months old

Let me tell you a story about this boy and his huge heart....The hubs had gotten a bouquet of flowers when Cammy came to visit, and by today they were pretty done. When the hubs went to throw the dead flowers away, Barrett started crying, saying, "But, the flowers are beautiful Daddy!" and he didn't want them thrown away.  Every ounce of this kid is sweetness, and his empathy is without bounds.  When Britton cries, he cries, solely because his sister is crying, without even knowing why.  I love his heart.

We've taken to going to the school playground and playing basketball, and Barrett loves it.  He can't get the ball anywhere near the basket yet, but that's ok because that's not the point - he just loves being a part of the game with us.  And when we send him on laps around the playground to wear him out, he runs effortlessly.  I foresee a long-distance runner in the family!

With his "tower of bad guys"

Likes:  basketball, PJ Masks, playing the drum kit Britton made from recyclables

Dislikes:  throwing away flowers

international quilt festival

One huge perk of living in Houston is that the International Quilt Festival is held here every year!  The hubs and I thought we'd pack up the kids, meander our way into downtown, and bring the average age of attendants down a couple of decades.  I promised Britton she could pick out a fat quarter of fabric if she didn't rush me or get annoyed when I wanted to stop at every booth, and the hubs agreed to take Barrett out to the lobby for entertainment if he melted down.  Let's go!

We walked through the exhibit of quilts, and hit up the booths first.  Adding crystals to quilts was HUGE this year!

Most booths specialized in fabrics, patterns, notions, equipment, or finished products for sale.  There weren't nearly as many Christmas quilts as I thought there would be, but this one from Victoria Findlay Wolfe Quilts in NYC caught my eye.

The hubs loves to try out long-arm quilting machines.  Even Britton got into the action this year!  We watched this customer (a pediatrician who quilts, say what?) trying out a long-arm machine with yarn - I've never seen that before!  It's like crewelwork without the hassle.

I bought some fabrics and the hubs found me some glass-head pins from France - they don't melt when you iron over them.  The kids were getting a little over the crowds, so we headed to the exhibition hall.  Some of the quilts that stopped me in my tracks:

"Self-Portrait with Illness: Chronic" by Thomas Knauer.  Mr. Knauer quilted a twin-sized sheet with the phrase "I am tired of being sick" over and over again.  At the bottom of the quilt you can see where he used colored thread on one phrase to make it stand out.

"A Village for All Seasons" by Karen Eckmeier.  She created an entire village, going from winter at the top through all four seasons to the bottom.  I loved the color and detail here.

In the Textile Posters section was "I Will Not Be Silenced" by Betty Busby, and she describes it as "the visceral impact of being told to shut up," with the word "resist" stitched throughout.  

"White Knight" by Patt Blair.  She improvised the mane, and the movement it portrays is incredible.

And we left with some goodies!