Happy New Year!

We had a pretty relaxed day today. I know I keep saying it, but it's nice to be with family. A summary of activities from yesterday and today follows:

--My sisters, their kids, DD, and DS#2 left for Houston before 10AM. DS#3 really wanted to go with them, but DH was able to talk him out of having a complete meltdown.

--DS#1 at soccer practice yesterday morning (9-11AM).

--I got off early from work, around 2PM and headed home to pack the car. We were on our way by 3:30PM and we got to my sister C's house by 6:30PM. DS#3 slept in the car for most of the way.

--The three girls have been playing so well together and with DS#3. They even helped him build some train tracks for his trains to ride on then they played trains with him. He loved all of that attention. DS#3 has been playing non-stop with nephew N's old trains and he loves visiting my sister C's house for this reason.

--The kids didn't get up until closer to 7-7:30 AM. Not bad for them. My sister C fed them cinnamon rolls and chocolate banana bread. Yum! She is such a wonderful hostess and we really appreciate all of her hospitality.

--My sister C and I went shopping at Hobby Lobby, Target, and then some outlet stores (Ann Taylor Loft, Gap, Coach). Her shopping style is much more suited to mine. We didn't spend more than a few minutes at the Coach store, for example. We looked around, didn't see anything we had to have, and left.

--My niece E used her new nail kit to give the girls pedicures. DD also took her fingernail polish off so she could put green nail polish on instead of the bright pink she had on there. She also had her toes painted in different colors while the other two girls chose alternating colors.

--We played Apples to Apples again tonight. The girls could play on their own but none of them are confident enough. Their preference for answers was hard to predict. We also played Scrabble Slam, a new word card game.

--DS#1 introduced DH to Mafia Wars, a popular game on Facebook. I thought it was interesting that DH was asking DS#1 a whole bunch of questions about how to play. They played on their laptops side-by-side. I also brought my laptop so I could surf the web and refer to my blog so I can finish up the journaling for my Project 365 2009 album.

--We set off a few fireworks outside. DS#3 was so tired that all he could do was cuddle with my sister M. It was also rather chilly with a good breeze that made it difficult to light some of the fireworks. DS#3 was fascinated with the fireworks despite his sleepy state. His cousins hovered over him--so cute! Even before we finished with the fireworks, DS#3 wanted to come inside to warm up and after his bath, he actually asked to go to sleep. It didn't take him long to go to sleep.

--DD was getting wild and kept getting too close to others with her sparklers. We think she was a bit overtired--not so cute. We all had so much fun with the fireworks. They've been banned at home for so long because of the dry conditions that we really have never had much chance to do fireworks at New Year's or the Fourth of July.

--We watched movies including "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe", "G-Force", and "Night At The Museum".

--DD asked to go to bed around 10:30PM, even before the "G-Force" movie was over. She was exhausted! Everyone else stayed up until midnight.

I'll post pictures tomorrow when we get home. We'll be counting down to midnight here shortly. Happy New Year to All!

**Edited to add a few pictures and few more details. We missed the ball dropping in Times Square. Oh well, we still had fun!

From Books to Manicures to Swords

It was a drizzly, cloudy day today. Of course, since there are no windows at work, I really didn't see that until I left work to go home. My family apparently spent most of the day at home, although my sister M took DS#2 and my nephew N to Target to exchange her gift for DS#2. Meanwhile the girls played at home all day. I saw this picture in my sister C's camera. I guess the girls must have set up a little play area on the stair landing. DD doesn't read as much as her big brothers, so it was nice to see her reading along with her baby brother and her cousins.

When I got home, we went out for dinner at Pei Wei. My sister M really wanted to get a manicure and she had mentioned that to the girls earlier, so they were very excited about it. They were also excited about the fact that we had only girls (6 of us) in my sister C's van, while DH had only boys (5 of them) in his van. The girls basically only got their nails painted, while M decided she wanted a spa pedicure instead. For some reason, my niece A and DD messed up their nails before they were dry and had them redone again (DD's nails were redone twice and she still messed up her thumb nail again). If we had more time, my sister C and I might have joined in. We'll have something to look forward to on future "girls only" outings.

My sister C treated "the girls" to ice cream at Baskin-Robbins and then we headed home. Earlier I mentioned that DS#2 had exchanged his gift from M. He ended up getting some foam swords instead of the Apples to Apples Junior game that she had gotten him originally. We had given my nephew N some foam swords for Christmas also, so with all of those swords and various other "weapons" that we have at home, all the kids staged a "sword fight". All the kids struck a pose for my dear sis C for this hilarious picture. I think this just shows the many varied interests of "the girls"--from books to manicures, to swords.

Second Wave of Visitors

My sisters are here! They got here this afternoon when I was at work. My sister M did her Christmas shopping later than my sister C and I, so she gave her presents to my children today instead of at Thanksgiving when my sister C and I gave our gifts. One of her gifts to DS#3 was another Duplo Thomas the Tank Engine set, and this one included "James" the red engine. Here DS#3 is getting a closer look at James, Thomas, and Stanley and my sister C is bending down close to the ground to get to his eye level. What a great moment between the two of them!

DH's sister L is still here and all of us played DS#2's new game, Apples to Apples. Actually, I was just watching at first, but then DH had to go grill some steaks for dinner and I took over his turns. Thanks to me (*WINK*) DH and I won the game! It was a really fun party game and one we will definitely bring with us when we visit Houston for New Year's. We're planning on doing a "game night" on New Year's Eve so games like these will be really fun with the whole family playing.

Goodbye Dinner

My in-laws are leaving tomorrow, so it's usually our tradition to go out to eat on our last night together. They wanted to go to Paesano's, another of our favorite restaurants. After a long nap today, DS#3 was in a great mood, so I made the grandkids pose with their grandparents for a picture before we even got our dinner, just in case DS#3 got cranky later on.

DD has been all over her aunt L since she got here on Christmas day. L is really great with kids and she has always been great with my kids. DD tends to favor women anyway, but she especially loves all of her aunts, whether they're my sisters or DH's sisters. L has been sleeping in DD's room and DD has been excited about that too. Poor L has been awakened rather early a few times, but at least she's from the Eastern Time Zone.

Even DS#3, who usually prefers men, was bonding with L at dinner. He was even chatting with her and we were all enjoying hearing him talk. That was some great nap he had today!

L is staying until Tuesday but Grandma, Grandpa, and G are leaving early tomorrow. My sisters and their kids will be arriving some time tomorrow morning and we'll have a full house again. I'm so glad that I enjoy my family so much because this holiday season has been such a wonderful time for me with all of my family coming to visit!

Soccer Cones

After the flurry of activity this past week, today was very relaxed. The two youngest were still up by 6:30AM, and DS#3 was very needy, but most of us got to stay in bed (or at least go back to bed) until at least 9AM. That's when I got up to make the usual banana chocolate chip pancakes and turkey bacon. Then Grandma and Grandpa ran off to meet with a realtor. We're still hoping that they will sell their house in Palm Springs so they can move here. I got to run off to Target and Michael's to buy more batteries and to see if there was any Christmas stuff left that I wanted to buy--there wasn't. DH ran off to the Riverwalk and the Alamo with his siblings. His brother G has never been there before and the weather was in the low 60s and sunny by then--just beautiful.

DS#2 and DD had their friends A and M over. DS#2 played with various toys, including his new Nerf Vulcan Blaster and Nintendo DS Scribblenauts game. DD played with her new toys but then went outside and started playing with the soccer cones we have back there. DS#3 was in such a good mood by then that in the picture above he is yelling at the top of his voice, "La la la! La la la! I'm loud." I got a few other great pictures of them having fun, but these two probably tell the story the best.

We went to church when everyone got home and then DH grilled lamb kebobs and veggies for dinner. Both DD and DS#3 asked to go to bed some time before 8:30PM and were asleep about five minutes later. I don't think I really did much today compared to yesterday, but I'm tired too. I guess we're all catching up on rest from Christmas.

Merry Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas, Everyone! I spent a lonely day at work yesterday, but my dear family did come for a visit at dinner time. That totally made my day! I got home around 7:30AM and everyone was still eating breakfast. Apparently, DD and DS#3 both got up (and went to Grandma and Grandpa's room downstairs) around 4AM. They both apparently fell asleep again, thank goodness. When I got home I insisted on taking a picture of the kids in front of the tree before they could open gifts. I'll do what it takes to get pictures of my adorable babies! :)

We have this tradition of distributing the gifts before everyone opens anything. DS#3 didn't know this, of course, so he started opening as soon as there was a gift in front of him to open. Grandma bought him this musical guitar. He loved it so much that he didn't play with anything else for quite a while. In fact, everyone finished opening all their gifts before he even opened the second gift. More on this later...

DS#1 had lots of "little" gifts--"little" in size and not price. He got lots of video games--"Assassin's Creed II", "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2", and "Borderlands". He got an ITunes gift certificate, shirt, and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Calendar from his grandparents. Look at that smile on his face from holding onto that calendar! He also got a Wendy's gift certificate from my sister C and that brought a big smile to his face, too!

DD got lots of clothes and Hannah Montana gifts. This is a Hannah Montana guitar from my mom and dad that she just loved! We joked about how she and DS#3 could play duets together on their guitars. Then we joked that since DS#2 plays guitar, they could even play trios. After church, DD spent the rest of the day playing with some of the crafty gifts she received. She made jewelry, stickers, and played with her Bendaroos.

Look at that wall of presents! When I told DS#2 that I wanted to take a picture of him with his new toys and gifts, he made this wall for some reason. It took him a while to do it too, because he was trying to stand all of the presents up. Where DS#1 had the "little" gifts, DS#2 definitely had the "big" gifts. His favorite was probably the "Scribblenauts" game for his Nintendo DS. He has been talking about this game for a good month or so. DH and I HAD to get it for him.

Speaking of "have to get" gifts, DS#3 just "had to get" Thomas the Tank Engine gifts because he loves trains SO MUCH. He opened the presents from my dear sis C next, and only because DD had quickly finished opening her gifts and she didn't seem to like seeing other unopened gifts lying around. She got him a radio control Thomas and one of the Duplo Thomas sets (we got him one too). He played with this one for a long time too. He enjoyed just watching the trains move by themselves. He didn't even try to "control" the trains, he just wanted them to keep going. At one point he was just watching Thomas drive around in circles. He clutched the Duplo Thomas during the whole time at church and he had to have Thomas and Stanley at the dinner table with him.

One side note about the food--for the first time ever, I baked a turkey and it turned out really well. Yay me! I picked some simple side dishes since I knew I would be working on Christmas Eve--cornbread stuffing from a mix, turkey gravy from a jar, frozen premade dinner rolls, and green bean casserole. Grandma bought the cranberry relish from our local grocery store, although I had bought some canned cranberries.

My dear SIL L arrived just before dinner and while Grandma and Grandpa were talking about how cold it was here (30s to 50s), she and my BIL G were talking about how warm it was here (she came from Boston and he came from Alaska). We had such a great family dinner. It is SO good to be able to see them all since we see them so rarely. After dinner we watched had ice cream and some also had cake (German Chocolate that my in-laws bought) then we watched Elf. More family activities tomorrow but for today, a really wonderful Christmas. I hope everyone else out there had a really wonderful Christmas too!

Our First Christmas Visitors

We did a lot more cleaning this morning, and then we decided to take a break and go to the mall for lunch and then Haagen-Dazs ice cream. Well, the real reason was that DH and I wanted Haagen-Dazs ice cream. *WINK* This isn't the greatest picture, but when I saw this scene I had to take a picture so I could remember it. The kids all looked so happy sitting together and enjoying their ice cream--DD and DS#3 with chocolate, DS#2 with Dulce de Leche, and DS#1 with a Bailey's shake. Seeing this just made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. :)

Grandma, Grandpa, and DH's brother G arrived at our house while we were at the mall. After getting reacquainted and relaxing a little this afternoon, we headed to DH's favorite restaurant (and a favorite of my in-laws as well) El Mirasol for dinner. Here DS#3 is showing Papa his "teeth". He didn't have a nap again today. Sadly, we think he has pretty much given up naps. Before he would at least take one every other day or so. He has only taken the very shortest of naps in the last few days that I've been home. *SIGH*

Here is a group picture of everyone. It's always nice when we get together with family. DH and I look forward to the day when they move here. Hopefully that will be very soon. When I asked DS#1 this morning (while I was driving him to an early morning soccer practice) what he was looking forward to the most with Christmas approaching. He answered that we hadn't seen Uncle G in a while. During a later conversation, DS#2 agreed. It's nice to know that the kids aren't always about Christmas PRESENTS. :)

DD has been bugging me for a couple of weeks to make a gingerbread house. I bought this premade kit and we finally got to make it today/tonight. I was in a hurry and first made the icing too thick and then made it too thin. The candies are probably falling off as I type this but DD had a lot of fun decorating the house all by herself so I let go of perfection. Besides, Grandma brought a gingerbread train kit that we can make later in the week. DD also wanted to make cookies for Santa, but since I have to work tomorrow, DH volunteered to do that with her tomorrow. Christmas is coming and it's all coming together. :)

The Cleanout

DH has been putting the kids to work during their Christmas vacation. We'd like to do something more with the game room and we have way too much stuff in there now. There's something about having such a wide range of kid ages that makes it difficult to get rid of toys because there's always another kid that can play with that toy. Every time DH tries to throw a toy away that he thinks DS#3 isn't interested in anymore, DS#3 starts playing with it--a lot. As a result of this clean out process, the game room is an unsightly mess.

I've been doing my own cleaning also. I can't remember when I posted the "before" picture of the sofa in my bedroom. Well, after a very long time I finally cleared that stuff off the sofa! Yay for me! Even DS#1 noticed without my pointing it out first, and he was actually shocked. Now, I have to admit that all that stuff hasn't reached its final destination yet--some of it is in a bag to give away, some of it was memorabilia and photos that I need to put on a few scrapbook pages, etc. At least it's a start, and I actually did throw some of it away. Can you believe it?!!

I also wanted to include some pictures I took at Fiesta Texas yesterday just to show that the kids are having SOME fun during their vacation. DS#3 seems like he's going to be a daredevil when it comes to rides. He never hesitates when it comes to a ride. DD worked hard to keep this teacup spinning (and spinning fast) during the ride and DS#3 really enjoyed it. Even though he did look a little dizzy in the middle of this ride, he still had a smile on his face.

This picture makes my heart stop for just a second and makes me feel afraid--VERY afraid. DD was tall enough to drive her own car on this ride. There were rails so that the cars didn't veer off course, but still, the sight of her driving this car made me fast forward to the day when she does actually drive a real car.

My little camera just wasn't fast enough to capture this action, but I thought it was a cool picture anyway because you can actually see DS#2's face. DH had texted me to take video instead, but I didn't bother checking my phone since I thought he was just telling me that it was almost their turn to go down the snow hill.

Lastly, I took this picture today when I took the kids to Chick-Fil-A. DH and DS#2 had gone to see the new movie "Avatar" at the 3D IMAX (which my Sci-Fi buff DH said was "amazing" by the way). I watched as DS#3 struggled to climb up the playscape while his big sister was oblivious. He asked for help and she started looking out for him. He quickly learned to scramble up that playscape almost as quickly as DD. She was great with him even when he would call her if he didn't see her right in front of or behind him. As I watched I was thankful that they have each other. After a while I could see him struggling to climb again and I hoped that meant that he was tired and would take a good nap. I was also afraid of a showdown when it was time to go but amazingly, that didn't happen at all. DD merely told him that she wanted to go and he followed her to get his shoes on.

Unfortunately, he didn't take a nap today, although I'm not sure if that was because my snoring prevented him from sleeping or he just wasn't sleepy by that time. Tomorrow, our first Christmas visitors arrive.

Holiday in the Park

I'm still in disbelief over this picture! DS#3 is actually sitting on Santa's lap! Read on for the details:

We went to Holiday in the Park at Fiesta Texas today. DD wanted to see Santa, so for the first time ever, we waited in line to see Santa. I think she was still excited from her encounter with Choo Choo Claus yesterday. The boys never seemed to care about seeing Santa when they were younger, and DH and I didn't like the long lines, so we let it go. We only waited in line for maybe 20 minutes today, and they were playing Frosty the Snowman on the TV screens to entertain the kids. We only mentioned Santa to DS#3 in the last five minutes or so and then he actually seemed a little excited. When it was our turn, DD was running and DS#3 ran after her. DH and I thought for sure that when he saw Santa he would turn and go to one of us instead. We were so wrong. He climbed right onto Santa's lap. What was even more amazing was that when Santa was talking to him, he talked back. DD was just overjoyed, of course, smiling from ear to ear and constantly giggling.

DH and I had to laugh when Santa pulled out his cell phone and showed the two of them a picture of his reindeer. Then, he gave each of them a "Twix PB" which is like a regular Twix bar except it has a chocolate cookie and peanut butter instead of the regular cookie and caramel.

DS#2 stayed back and didn't get near Santa, of course, but as we were leaving, DS#2 passed in front of Santa and Santa tried to throw a candy bar at him too. When DS#2 got the candy bar, Santa grabbed him and said something about how DS#2 hadn't wanted to visit with him. The lady taking pictures snapped the picture at just the right time, so of course I HAD to buy a picture. My little camera isn't very fast and I missed this moment. I also got a picture of DS#3 and DD but their picture was much better. These pictures are both worth every penny I paid! :)

DS#1 wasn't with us because he was at a movie ("Avatar") with friends from school followed by a trip to the Riverwalk. The kids enjoyed various activities including one of their favorite rides called The Wave Runner where you basically spin the entire time. Because of centrifugal force, it's the only time I ever get to see DD sitting so close to her brothers, especially DS#2, although at one point, DS#2 was pushing her back. It was all in fun, though, because they both had big smiles on their faces.

They also had a short sled ride down "Frosty Chutes Snow Hill". It was very short, but fun. After all, we don't get to indulge in that sort of activity around here, only when we visit the grandparents in Colorado. Lastly, the most memorable thing about this trip for DS#2 was probably that he got a Houston Rockets hat from one of the gift shops. He was torn between them and the San Antonio Spurs hat, but he wanted the Rockets hat more and the Rockets hat was cheaper anyway. :)

Santa's Railroad Wonderland

Last night we went to the local Texas Transportation Museum where they have an event called Santa's Railroad Wonderland every December. Even before we went in there was someone selling these lighted swords for $5 each. I couldn't resist and I bought one for each of the older kids. DS#3 wasn't interested. They were so excited about the swords that they all willingly posed for this picture. Their excitement made the purchase well worth the money.

Our first stop was riding in an old train up and down the track. There wasn't much to see, but we still enjoyed the ride, especially DS#3 who was just taking it all in. Our next stop was a building where they had lots of trains set up and where they were running them constantly. DS#3 was fascinated and he was constantly pointing at this train or that train. From about five feet away he even noticed a bus in one of the scenes and pointed it out.

There was so much detail in some of these scenes. DD noticed that one of those houses looked like it was actually burning. There was smoke coming from the top of the roof where there was a hole as if there were a real fire in the house.

One of the attractions was getting to meet "Choo Choo Claus". Of course this term confused DS#3 so we just referred to "Choo Choo Claus" as "Santa". DH and I have never wanted to wait in those mall lines so our kids could get a picture with Santa, so DD was all excited about this rare opportunity. She was so excited that at first she was a little hesitant about going near him, and then when she got up there, she could barely talk. Yes, my DD, who just got in trouble last week for talking too much at school was actually speechless for the most part, especially when Santa asked her what she wanted for Christmas. The only thing she managed to blurt out was "Legos Space Police". She had already told me that she wanted this, but I wondered if she told Santa about this only because the boy in front of her had asked for it, too.

DS#3's favorite part of the whole trip was getting to watch Thomas the Tank Engine and his friend Percy together on one of the tracks in the "Garden" area which involved an outdoor setup of trains. The only way we were able to tear him away was to ask him to look for "Toby" the Tram Engine who is also one of his favorites. He did say when we were leaving that Toby was "at home". In fact he has two Toby's at home.

They had an old passenger engine that we got to walk through to see the very small spaces that people had to live in when they traveled on trains. My family all got into the engine part and the window portion was perfect for framing my little family. Of course DS#2 decided to be a little different and hang out the side instead of looking out of the window like everyone else. The big boys had the choice to stay home for this but they decided they wanted to go. I think they were happy they went. :)

Musical Sunday

I just wanted to show the picture of the Majestic Theatre that DH and I went to yesterday. The photo from my pocket camera actually came out decently. Isn't that ceiling just incredible? I loved just looking at the inside of the theatre.

Today, DS#2 had his first guitar recital ever. He played "What Child Is This?" in a duet with his teacher. He was nervous before the recital and he said as much. He went first so he was able to get it done and over quickly. DH and I were pretty proud of him. He's no professional, but he's definitely shown a progression of ability since he started lessons.

We left after the second performance of the recital because we had tickets to see the San Antonio Symphony. They're having a series of concerts specifically targeted at kids and we bought four tickets for DH, DS#2, DD, and me. DS#1 didn't seem interested and DS#3 would not have been able to sit still. Before the concert, DS#2 and DD had a chance to try out some instruments, sort of like a "instrument petting zoo". DD seemed particularly interested in the viola.

The concert was Christmas themed, of course, and included Santa Claus and one of his elves named "Elf Gang Holideus Mozart". It was definitely geared towards younger kids. DS#2 looked bored through most of it, but DD seemed to really enjoy it. (I asked DS#2 just now if he enjoyed the concert and he replied, "Kind of.") We have tickets to two more in the series, so I'm hoping he'll enjoy the others a bit better.

Tonight, we're planning to go to Santa's Railroad Wonderland which is held every December at the Texas Transportation Museum here in town. I'll report back tomorrow with pictures.

Thoughts on The Lion King

DH and I went to see The Lion King at the Majestic Theatre here in town today. I wanted to record some thoughts on the show:

--We didn't take into account the extra traffic in the area because of the Rivercenter Mall and Riverwalk. It took us twice as long to get there and even with valet parking (all the parking garages were full too) we got there late and they wouldn't let us in until after the first act finished. Luckily we got to see the first act on a monitor in the lobby. That was definitely not the same thing, however, as seeing it in person.

--The Majestic Theatre is really beautiful inside. I haven't been to a lot of theatres, but this one seems very unique to me since the ceiling looks like a starry sky and the boxes on the side look like part of a building. Cameras weren't allowed, but I did take a couple of pictures of the theatre during intermission. The pictures from my pocket camera really didn't do the place justice.

--I wanted to be close enough to see the performer's faces and we were. We had great seats! At first some people were in our seats, but since we were late, we didn't bother to say anything until during the intermission. There was a really tall woman in front of me and it was difficult to see past her. Our real seats were so much better.

--The story of The Lion King is simple enough, but the musical arrangement was very beautiful. I love all the harmonies with the African flair.

--The costumes had masks that the performers wore mostly on top of their heads, but at certain times, the masks would slide in front of their faces to add to the drama. This was a unique effect. The costumes were all pretty unique with the combination of puppetry and live action. I really wish I could have take pictures during the show, but I bought a program instead so I could remember some of the costumes.

I'm sure I forgot something, but that's all I can remember right now. DH and I had a lot of fun. :)

Party Day

Today was the designated day for holiday parties where I work. Each clinic is supposed to close by 10:30AM so everyone can participate in their department holiday party. Since I work in the operating room and we can't just stop surgery to have a party, we traditionally have to keep working past the 10:30AM cutoff. What usually happens is that the surgeons don't book as many cases and we still have a fairly light day.

This year our department catered the holiday party. In the past, it was more like a potluck and those that didn't bring anything gave a donation instead. Because of having to come to work in buses and the difficulty that comes with bringing food to work on a bus, the powers that be decided to cater the meal instead. That meant that everyone that wanted to attend had to pay $9 per plate. They had a couple of fundraisers to help pay for the enlisted military personnel so they didn't have to pay so much to eat at the party.

Because of the money that people spent, there was talk that if they didn't get to eat lunch, they would ask for a refund. Because of this, the powers that be decided to be more strict about shutting down (even partially) by 10:30AM. It worked out for the most part. There were a handful of stragglers, but all in all, the surgeons cooperated and everyone had a chance to participate.

There was also a dessert contest where some people did bring a dessert and they had some designated judges. There were some very delicious desserts there--my favorite part of the party. :) I was told to go home by around 1PM, but I stuck around just to get my hours in and because DS#1 didn't get out of school until 4PM.

Meanwhile, DH went to the holiday parties at DD's and DS#2's school. DS#3 was napless so he was a bit needy. DH only took a handful of pictures because DS#3 wanted to be carried constantly. DD had to sit out during the first part of the party because she was being punished for something she did earlier this week. She kept talking during working time in class, so much so that she had to move her clip to red. She didn't move her clip, hoping that the teacher wouldn't notice. When her teacher wrote a note in her conduct folder, she didn't bother showing it to DH or me. She also made the signature box look as if DH or I signed it, which we didn't. We were horrified at how dishonest she was! She's lost her privileges for a week. That includes playing with friends and watching TV. We hope that this will make an impression on her so she won't do this again!

Happy 43rd Bday to Me!

Today was a busy day but in a good way. At work, I was doing my own cases because we were short of residents. When my colleagues came to my room to give me breaks, I told them I didn't need them, although I did take a lunch break. I enjoy doing my own cases because I'm not compelled to talk to anyone during the case. My cases all went very well, so I had a nice, peaceful day.

This morning, one of my colleagues (CH), whose 40th birthday was just last week, saw me in the hallway and said very loudly, "Melanie, isn't it your birthday today? Happy Birthday!" He knew very well it was my birthday but he wanted to tell everyone else, and everyone else heard. All day, every time I saw him, he said the same thing as if he hadn't said it many times already. It was embarrassing but it was a good kind of attention, so it made my day feel a little more special. :)

Another of my colleagues (SB) announced overhead that everyone should wish me a "Happy Birthday" and that I was turning "The Big 5-0"! I don't know which was more concerning, the fact that he announced that erroneous fact overhead or that some people didn't automatically think that he was actually kidding. Of course one person (RM) who just turned 50 this year, teased me very loudly that I was turning 50 also.

Later, one of the anesthesia techs came up to me and asked me to go with him. I had an inkling about what this was about, and I turned out to be right. We went to the Anesthesia workroom and all of the anesthesia techs were there and they sang "Happy Birthday" to me as they were presenting me with a card and a small cupcake. After I thanked them all, one of them told me that the cupcake wasn't originally their idea, as someone had given them a bunch of cupcakes. Still, I thought it was very sweet of all of them to do this for me.

I didn't want to hang around work after I finished my room, so I went ahead and drove to DS#1's school. As it turned out, I waited for DS#1 to get out of soccer practice for almost two hours. He got out almost 30 minutes late--on the day that we were planning to meet DH and the other kids at PF Chang's for dinner. Oh well, at least I got to read my email on my IPhone and read my scrapbooking magazines.

By the time we got to PF Chang's, DH had already ordered and they were almost finished with the Lettuce Wraps appetizer. We ordered the usual Sichuan from the Sea Shrimps and Scallops (my favorite), Chang's Spicy Chicken, Orange Beef (all spicy), and we tried a new lamb dish that wasn't spicy but still very tasty. The kids started talking about sign language and I decided that I wanted a picture of them. Here DD's smile is so big because she's saying that "this means 'thumb'" while wiggling her thumb--total nonsense but she was so pleased with herself. I'm not sure what DS#2 is doing, but he's probably being his normal uncooperative self with pictures. DS#1 couldn't help but hold his hand behind DS#2's head. DS#3 was busy eating his Kid's Lo Mein but when he was finished, with minimal prompting from DH, he came up to me, gave me a hug, and very clearly wished me "Happy Birthday". That totally made my day! :)

What else would we do for dessert but go to Brindles?! I had their Cappucino Crunch (coffee bean bits in coffee ice cream). DD had the "Azteca", chocolate with cinnamon. DS#3 had his favorite, chocolate ice cream. DS#2 had his beloved Dreamsicle shake. DS#1 had the Pumpkin Pie ice cream, and DS had the Cafe Latte ice cream. Here, DD and DS#3 are so busy with their ice cream that they wouldn't look at Mama and her camera!

Because it was already after 7:30PM by the time we got home, we got everyone bathed and dressed for bed before I opened my presents. DS#3 was the most excited about opening presents. He could hardly wait--he started trying to pull at the paper as soon as we set the present down in front of him (and me). In fact, I was opening a present from DD (that she had made in Faith Formation this week) when he went ahead and opened this present.

Of course, my children are my most precious gifts, so I asked DH to take a picture of us, pajamas and all. Despite no makeup and acne, I don't look a day over 43, do I? ;-)

Santa Centerpieces

I have always loved crafts but I do not consider myself "crafty". I can copy what someone else does, but I'm not good at thinking that stuff up on my own. My work office mate, however, is "crafty". He showed me a wreath that he had made using ball ornaments and a big bow--fabulous! He also made some felt stockings for an auction at his kids' school. Just by seeing a picture in a magazine he cut the pattern by hand and sewed it all together by hand. This picture is the "before" picture. He saw these little Santas and lighted sleighs at Michael's Arts and Crafts Store and he saw the makings of a holiday centerpiece.

Here is my office mate with one of the finished products. The sleigh even plugs in and lights up! Our department was supposed to make these centerpieces for the holiday party on Friday and I knew just the person for the job. These are supposed to be raffled off and I think the winners will be happy to get them!