Come in said the King with a yum, yum, yum!

While reading King Bidgood's In the Bathtub to the kids I said, "Hey, wouldn't that be fun to have dinner in the bathtub tonight?!

Long awkward pause, both kids staring at me with James' look saying "What are you...a child?"

Slightly ashamed, I stammered, "We could make something that doesn't spill?"

Finally James said, "Mom, we can't eat in the bathtub."

"What? No. We could have a lot of fun, it would just be one time." I pleaded.

"No mom, there's no eating in the bathroom."

"Sigh...Okay, you're right. Let's just finish the story."

Stupid rules.

Haunted?

During my ritual Straightening Before Bed I discovered an empty book shelf and a floor full of books. Bemusedly, I started picking the books back up, trying to figure out when the kids had time to take them all off the shelf again and why hadn't I noticed them doing it, when it hit me. . . my house could be haunted and I would never know it.

I suddenly imagined a poor neglected ghost moving things around, dumping things off shelves, making things disappear right after I set them down (my darn keys), unfolding newly folded laundry; he could be causing the cold spots, the house's sudden drops in temperature, Eleanor getting shut into rooms inexplicably, the disembodied weird sounds and voice I blame on the baby monitor without giving a second thought. He could be doing all these things just trying to get noticed.

But I would never notice.

I would just assume it was the kids or the house or frankly, just be too preoccupied to notice anything was weird at all.

Poor Little Ghostie.

My Favorites of the Year (or rather last year)

Books: Hat Full of Sky (series: wee free men, hat full of sky, wintersmith) by Terry Pratchett
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (seriously--everyone should read this book).

Favorite thing I watched: I would have to go with season five of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It was really a phenomal year. Joss Whedon is a masterful story teller and is one of the few people who map out the entire series before he begins so you aren't left with things that just make no sense. When knew plots unfold, you see clues from earlier seasons that show he planned it all along. If nothing else, it makes me happy because I know new twists aren't really pandering for ratings. Except for perhaps Firefly, this was the best season of television yet (and Tim and I watch a lot of t.v.) Come to think of it, Firefly is Joss Whedon too. Joss is awesome. (and yes, I am fully aware of the fact that we are kind of late to the Buffy scene--but we were haters).

Also, since we are on the topic of television I have to say that my favorite actor this year was hands down Neil Patrick Harris. He just makes me happy in whatever role he is playing. Something about him is just so likeable even when the character he is playing is reprehensible.

Tim's Birthday Picture

Pictures of James

James and his Science Fair Project.

He actually did all the work himself, even on the poster. Well, I organized his stuff and mounted them on the poster board...and I edited his answers for wordiness since I was pretty sure he didn't want to write as much as he was saying so I guess that actually just leaves him with doing the cutting and the writing and the project itself, but still, it was a lot of work.

It was more intense than I thought it would be--someone even took him out of class to ask him questions about the project. He winded up getting second place out of the kindergartners (only 5 other Kindergartners entered, but still, he had fun being noticed).

Addendum: As my brother Jamey pointed out in his comment, this is indeed his hat. We visited my parents for the weekend and were totally unprepared for the cold. It was either that hat, or a pink one. How did my mom get so many pink hats?

Pictures of Gillian

Pictures of Eleanor

Eleanor loves her little monkey. When we put her down, one hand immediately starts searching for the monkey and the other for to tuck her blanket in. (and yes, she does normally have a sheet).

Eleanor discovered the joy of dishwashers making it nearly impossible to actually load the dishwasher.

People often ask why I go to the hassle of putting Eleanor's hair up in the little ties you see in her recent pictures. I think the picture below says it all. (that is clay she is holding by the way).

My Christmas/Birthday Presents

Tim bought me a key chain and a key finder for my birthday. James had to miss two days of school because I couldn't find my keys. They are still AWOL...and yet I know they are here, because I made it home.

(addendum: as Sara's comment pointed out--this is indeed a replica of the key rack Tim had in his house growing up. I actually have always loved it. I am not opposed to cats in general, I am just opposed to pets in general. This key rack just makes me think of just meeting Tim and his family and all the good memories associated with that time and that house. Also, I am opposed to pets specifically as well as generally).

For Christmas Tim bought Gillian and I mugs with the following images from Mary Engelbreit (whose work I love). Guess which one was mine and which one was Gillians.

What I Did Over Christmas Vacation

Over Christmas I came down with a compelling urge to organize our attic. I spent almost ever free moment for two weeks in the attic: throwing stuff away, sorting stuff, putting stuff into storage bins rather than mangled boxes, and finally labeling the bins with everything in them. I am so pleased with my work I am posting pictures, here, on my blog.

I am just kicking myself for not taking a before picture--I had no idea my efforts would yield such a tremendous improvement. I will try to paint the picture for you: filled (completely and totally filled) with mangled moving boxes towering high all around the entrance. Several times we have bought something we knew we had just because we could face having to find it in the attic.

I am mostly just impressed with the stuff I was able to throw away. Pay close attention to how much floor space there is near the entrance.

I am so proud.

I still have a couple mangled boxes as you can see--that one is full of Tim's plaster hand casts. I haven't figured out the best way to store those yet.

The Best Laid Plans

So I made these (what I think) adorable poinsettia clips for the girls, envisioning a fantastic sister picture all dressed up in Christmas dresses. It of course didn't work out like that. The girls were in such a mood, I didn't dare attempt a sister picture and below are the best I could get from the girls individually. I still think the clips were a cute idea however.

Christmas Day

We did all of our Christmas travelling and visiting before Christmas this year and so we enjoyed our first real Christmas at home. I had a great time playing Santa Clause. Below are some of the highlights.

Eleanor, who didn't get any presents, headed straight for the sugar.

Gillian and a few of her presents. The kids wore their bike helmets and knee pads for the next two days.

James and his cowboy outfit from Gillian and one of his Lego Sets.

Tim, in his own words, with everything he could want in life: "books, bacon, and beverage." Dare I add, "Buffy and Babies" to the list?

Christmas Eve

KIds and their new Christmas Pajamas.

Eleanor's first Christmas present.

5th Annual Sleeping Under the Christmas Tree Party

Normally at our Sleeping Under the Christmas Tree Party, each family member picks their favorite treat to make and share. This year, to avoid the hassle of finding delicious treats without eggs (not so easy) we had an appetizer party where everyone picked their favorite appetizer to make and share. Yum, yum, yum! Delicioso!

Attempt at a Sibling Picture

Eleanor George

(this is a Tim post) I love these two pictures of Eleanor. The light was just right in the second one and it really brought out the red in her hair, which I really love.


I love my baby so much!

Another Quote

The idea of going through all my Christmas pictures is still too daunting, so you are going to get another quote.

After asking James for help he asked me why he had to. Tired, after a long day of question answering I replied, "Why do you think?"

"Because you're mad with power," came the quick response.

I had to agree that was probably why.

Quote

While walking into school I reminded James that he needed to put all his Bionicles together so I could take a picture of them all for his baby book.

"I'm not a baby," he promptly said.

"Fine, your Book of Remembrance then" I told him waiting to see if he was going to ask me what remembrance meant.

After a bit, he said with a half smile and a final tone, "My Book of Awesome Things."

"Right," I said, "That sounds good, a Book of Awesome Things."

Save the Baby!

When Eleanor first started learning to climb our three little stairs, it was with the full body climb shown below. I would turn around and just see her perched an entire step up without really seeing how she did it. It was a little disorientating.

She can't get down the steps however and James and Gillian are very conscientious and concerned about her. Whenever Gillian sees El tottering at the top of the stairs, she sounds the alarm, "Save Her! Save Her!" and then James will rush to her and turn her around and pull her gently down the stairs.

It is nice not having to worry (as much).

Heidi and Tony Kissing in a Tree

My brother Tony and Heidi got married over Thanksgiving in Omaha, NE. My parents and the siblings all drove in from various parts of the country to enjoy in each other and the festivities. We had a great time. Although I didn't actually get a kissing picture.

I thought Heidi looked absolutely gorgeous.

Tony and Heidi cutting the cake.James and Charity Melanie and Chauncey

Although this isn't the best "couple" shot, I really liked both their expressions, they are familiar expressions.

Melanie looks like she is about to say something funny or just thinking something funny, some perspective on life or humorous thought that will make everyone who hears it chuckle and then have a nicer day.

Chauncey looks like he is deep in conversation with someone. Chauncey is a good conversationalist. He has well thought out ideas and presents them logically and when he is talking to you you feel like he is genuinely interested in you and the conversation.

I don't know--they just seemed like true expressions and I liked them, I am not explaining them well.

My mom and dad. My Mom and all the sisters.

Oops--now we have mom and all the sisters.

I actually stole this picture from Charity's blog. I thought it was a good picture of the siblings (minus Chauncey) and I thought Tony looked good and so very happy.

You should check out Charity's blog--it has much more comprehensive overage. I really like Charity's name, or perhaps I just really like Charity. All I know is that I am sitting here, writing her name on my blog and thinking, "I am so glad I get to write her name in my blog. When people read this, they are going to be jealous that I have a Charity and they don't."

Dad and Allison dancing.
Charity and her awesome cherry dress.

Self Designated Babysitter

James refuses to allow Eleanor to cry. As soon as she starts making unhappy noises, he rushes to her side to do all manner of ridiculous things to make her happy. Very few things give me as much pleasure as watching my children show concern for each other.

Feed Me Seymour!

Eleanor loves eating. And she is super fast about it. I don't even see her hand move, but the next thing I know she has a frosted mini-wheat from my cereal bowl in her mouth. Her pursuit of adult food is almost frantic. I am not allowing her to eat wheat until she is a year since James and Gillian were so borderline in having to avoid wheat in their diet. So we spend most of our time taking food away from her. I think that might contribute to the frantic fastness of it all.

p.s. just try to tell me you don't love that hair. She reminds me so much of the baby grinch in Jim Carrey's Grinch.

Snow Day

When we had our one and only "snow day" this year, I had to take a picture before school. It was also the coldest day of the year. Those are the kid's cold faces. Notice the blooming rose in the background--obviously snow days here mean something different than where I grew up in NY.

Trimmings and Trappings

I've been trying to do Gillian's hair every day. Of course it never seems to take long for everything to be falling out or falling down.
I love these pictures; they just seem to capture "baby" so much: the gummy smile, the chubby, grasping hand and intent stare, and of course the "everything is a chew toy."

We Caved

So we finally relented and put the crib up for Eleanor (is that the equivalent of throwing away the receipt?). We also gave her a mobile and a cute little monkey to sleep with. No one else ever got a monkey.

Bathrooms gone wild

Okay, this will be my first and likely last post for 2008. Buffy was out of town over Thanksgiving weekend attending her brother Tony's wedding. While she was gone, my parents and my brother Jesse came up from the Carolinas to help me remodel the master bathroom as a Christmas suprise for her.

Here is the before picture:
Note the fine workmanship in the original bathroom, how the original builder painstakingly duplicated the look and feel of an actual prison lavatory.

After 4 days of intensive work, here is the new old bathroom:

We pulled up linoleum, replaced rotted-out flooring, laid tile, replaced the vanity, moved the electrical wiring and plumbing systems to the adjacent wall, put in new light fixtures and bathroom hardware, and repainted. And the best part of it all: I bought all the upgrades off of craigslist for pennies on the dollar. Powerbuy!

It's another Festivus Miracle! I toyed with the idea of trying to keep it a suprise until Christmas, but couldn't figure out how to keep Buffy out of her bathroom for another 3 weeks.

Now, in the spirit of Festivus, it is time for the Feats of Strength, followed by the Airing of Grievances. This should prove interesting. And now I must leave and set up the Festivus aluminum pole in the center of the household.

Happy Holidays to all,

Tim