Happy New Year

I wasn't sure if I would get a chance to say it before it is officially upon us, so early is better than not at all.

I don't do resolutions...I have a hard time sticking to them, to be honest. I can tell you though, what I am hoping this year will bring.

There are a lot of things I want, of course. Not material things (although there are a few of those too), but just things.

The one thing though, that I am hoping this year will be is a year of self-examination. A year, to re-evaluate, where I am, where I want to be, and what exactly it is I want out this thing called life. It's been a long time coming, and what better time than now?

On The Agenda For The Long(ish) Weekend

Last night: family game night. Disney DVD Scene It, in which the team of Ryun and Emily kicked Katherine's and my butt. What was I thinking suggesting that those two be on the same team? You'd think I'd know better by now. Sheesh.

Tonight: Patriots fans rule this roost. Guess what we'll be doing?

Tomorrow: Undecorating. We usually do this right after the new year, but, quite inconveniently, the holiday falls in the middle of the week. Next week is too late and this weekend seems too early, but, we had to pick one.

Monday: Ryun will be working during the day. The kids and I will be enjoying another day of school vacation. This is most definitely the best vacation as far as school vacations go...new toys for Christmas have yet to loose their appeal, making entertaining the kids one heck of a lot easier.

Monday night: Where else would we be but, the Utley's New Year's Eve Bash?

Tuesday: The New Year's Day tradition: Adam and Jean's house for some fantastic Italian dining, and wonderful company to boot.

Wednesday: back to "real life."

Survey

Do you believe in the "natural treatment" of mood disorders, ADHD, and things of that nature? How well do you think things like herbs, fish oils and other "natural remedies" work?

I am not sure why exactly, but sometimes, these types of treatments seem more appealing to me than the standard, "take this manufactured drug" and all will be well again.

What do you think?

Christmas: Present Review

The big hits were...

Nintendo Wii from Mimi and Papa for Emily and Katherine (and apparently Ryun who maybe has played it equal to the amount of time the girls have.

This very cool toy for Julia. I set it up today for her and she LOVES it.


And for Ryun and I? A weekend away here, courtesy of my parents, to celebrate our 10th anniversary. We will actually be leaving on our anniversary (May 24th) which actually falls on Memorial Day weekend, just like it did the year we were married. I am beside myself with excitement over this, as you might imagine. We have been there once before, with Ryun's grandparents, back when Emily and Katherine were little, and I LOVED it.

The rest:

Emily: fashion sketch book, Bingo game, digital camera, bracelet, Be Bratz doll, Hairspray DVD, moon sand, journal, clothes, Streak and Style Hair, tooth tunes, and a book.

Katherine: Checkers game, digital camera, Be Bratz doll,bracelet, Ratatouille DVD, snowperson, moon sand, journal, clothes, Gelastic, beading set, Cranium Zoo game, tooth tunes

Julia: Aqua Doodle Color, Planet DVD, Eric Carle's ABC book, Wooden puzzle, letter sorting puzzle, clothes, Leap Frog Dominoes, tea party set.

Emily and Katherine also got as "share" toys: High School Musical Dance Mat, Home Alone DVD, ET DVD, Rampage Wii, Chicken Little Wii, Playground Wii, Bowling Wii, Puppy Wii, Carnival Wii. Disney Scene It DVD Game, and the High School Musical 2 DVD.


So they barely got anything this Christmas, poor kids (LOL). These of course, weren't all from Ryun and I.

Christmas: In Pictures

Obviously, Emily was very excited to get this gift. It's a "Be Bratz" doll, that you can activate online and build a room, take care of her etc. Basically, it's the same idea as Webkinz.

Here's Julia looking very determined. She was trying hard to get the wrapper off of her chocolate Santa.

Julia loved her snowperson (Thanks Deb!)

Ditto for Katherine.

ANother one of Katherine's favorite gitfts was this journal. She loved the shiny cover and fluffy pen.

Here's Julia hanging with Dad in the rocking chair.

The last three "posed" pictures were taken just before we started opening presents.

We had a very nice day, the details of which I would love to share, but, I am too tired! Back tomorrow with more!

Sugar Cookies: The Julia Edition

Early this afternoon, I decided to roll out the dough, and start the infamous "sugar cookie making extravaganza." Julia quickly took notice (the older two kids were out in the snow) and insisted that not only was I using playdough and not cookie dough, but, that she must help me immediately. I gave her some of the dough, a little flour, and a couple of the smaller cookie cutters I wasn't using. She pulled a chair up to the counter and started to play. She decided not long after to strip down to her underwear, apparently perturbed by the fact that her outfit was getting "messy."

Anyway, of course, I took some pictures, of both Julia and the cookies, in various stages of being done.

Here is the counter, all prepped and ready for some dough.

Julia, hard at work.

Obviously, she was having a great time.

...in the oven...

...cooling on the racks...

...and finally, frosted and ready to consume.
Yum.

Chirstmas Meme

1. Wrapping or gift bags?
Gift bags, except for the cost. I am probably the world's worst wrapper though so gift bags rock.

2. Real or artificial tree?
We've done both. Artificial has been the way to go for us for a while though...less clean up and less work (vacuuming the needles and watering).

3. When do you put up the tree?
Either Thanksgiving weekend or the weekend after. This year, it was the weekend after.

4. When do you take the tree down?
Whatever weekend surrounds the New Year holiday.

5. Do you like egg nog?
LOVE it.

6. Favorite gift received as a child?
Oh, hell. I don’t know. Most of ‘em were pretty good. Ditto, Deb.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?
Yes.

8. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?
Is there *truly* such a thing? Right on Deb. No such thing as a bad gift...it truly is the thought behind the gift that counts in my book.

9. Mail or email Christmas cards?
Snail mail.

10. Favorite Christmas Movie?
A Christmas Story.

11. When do you start shopping for Christmas?
Around Thanksgiving.

12. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?
Food? I am really not picky.

13. Clear lights or colored on the tree?
Colored.

14. Favorite Christmas song(s)?
Merry Christmas Darling.

15. Travel at Christmas or stay home?
Ryun would say home for sure...me? I am happy wherever the extended family is.

16. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer?
Hell, yeah.

17. Angel on the tree top or a star?
Angel.

18. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas Morning?
Morning.

19. Most annoying thing about this time of year?
F'ing people who don't know how to drive in a mall parking lot. (Why yes, I did go to the mall today, why do you ask?)

20. Do you decorate your tree in any specific theme or color?
Not unless “random stuff” is a theme.

21. What do you leave for Santa?
cookies and milk. Usually home made sugar cookies.

22. Least favorite holiday song?
Love em all.

23. Favorite ornament?
any homemade ones...especially those made by my kids.

24. Family tradition?
Mom and Dad's for Christmas dinner.

25. Ever been to Midnight Mass or late-night Christmas Eve services?
I seem to recall a midnight mass at some point.

Taken from Deb.

May I Present To You...

...Julia's first "homemade" contribution to the Christmas Tree:


And also, this adorable wall hanging, made by painting her foot and having her "stamp" the wood.



I may as well tell you, since you all know I am a sap already, a tear (or two) came to my eyes when I opened her bag and found these.

Have you ever had the urge...

...to just do your kid's homework for them because doing it would just be easier than actually trying to explain it? I find myself feeling that urge quite frequently, most especially when it comes to math. It seems that as an adult, I actually have the mental capacity, the logical reasoning skills and the patience needed to do the math, but completely lack the skills necessary to explain how to do the math. I had neither the know how or the explanations when I was a kid myself, so at least knowing how to actually do the math is progress. Still, it's frustrating.

Snow Babies Kids

Is anyone else hooked on ...

...Journeyman? That show just gets better and better with each passing week. There's a new episode on tonight too...two new episodes in one week!

Of course it totally helps that I am totally in love with the lead actor, Kevin McKidd.

***UPDATE*** Darnit..it looks like tonight's episode might be the last...EVER. It really sucks when you are addicted to a show that's cancelled. Blah.

I forgot to mention...

...as usual my concern for how Julia was going to behave at the concert was completely unnecessary. She was an angel, and absolutely adorable clapping and singing along to the music.

YAY!

Julia

The other night at dinner, she swallowed the wrong way and had a coughing fit. Tears filled her eyes, as they sometimes do when an "I swallowed the wrong way coughing fit" ensues. She wiped at them furiously and exclaimed angrily, "MOM, MY EYES ARE BROKEN!"

Emily

For the first time last night, Emily wore a bra. For the first time over the weekend, she wore nylons (as opposed to tights). Last night, she wore both at the same time.

So we were getting ready for her concert at school and she said, "God I feel so old with the bra and nylons. Next thing you know, I'll have a boyfriend, a car and a cell phone."

My response (after the laughter): "Let's take it one step at a time, Emily."

Anyway, here's the little darling last night before the show.

Katherine made some comment jokingly about how she looked like a "slob" and Emily looked beautiful so I told them to pose. I told Katherine to be a "drama queen" and Emily to be a "beauty queen." This is the result:

The concert was very good, by the way. I was very impressed with the band, orchestra and chorus, especially considering that the students just started instrument lessons in fourth grade, and chorus in the 5th. They all sounded great.

Staying Until The Final Curtain

Emily's chorus concert is tonight at 7pm. She came home with a note on Friday, reminding us of what she is supposed to wear (black skirt or pants and a white blouse) and also with the details of how the students will be dismissed to their parents. Basically, when the students are done with their portion of the performance (this is also the band concert) they will be dismissed from the cafeteria at the end of the entire show. The emphasis on staying until the end of the show was evident in many parts of the letter (Please make sure to arrive on time and stay in the cafeteria until the end of the show, your parents will dismiss you at the end of the show etc). I understand the mentality behind it...for those who perform first, they have a full audience and if people leave when their performer is done, those at the end of the show have barely anyone there. It's not really fair and I feel bad, but, honestly, I have a three year old. The show doesn't start until 7pm. She doesn't nap anymore. My point? Keeping a three year old quiet and happy at 7 pm, for an extended period of time, it's just not going to happen, unless by some miracle of God, I can get her to nap today. So, unless we have to stay until the end because we have just the kind of luck that would make Emily's group the very last performance of the evening, we are leaving when she is done with her thing. It may not be fair to have an empty audience at the end of the show, but how fair will it be to have an unhappy three year old disturbing the show?

(You all of course realize that Julia is usually not a concern when it comes to this type of thing as I am usually able to distract her or find some way of keeping her entertained and happy, but it's just annoying to me that there was such a stress put on staying until the end of the show).

Milk and Bread

Why are they the "staple" of everyone's household shopping list during a major storm? If you didn't have milk in the house and were unable to leave for a period of time, what's the worst that could happen? So your kid doesn't have milk for a few days...it's not like that's some sort of life threatening concern. And bread? Again if you ran out and couldn't leave, would it be the end of the world? There are other things to eat besides sandwiches and toast when a storm blows through.

I have just always found it odd that when there is a storm coming, everyone and their brother runs to the store for milk and bread (and sometimes eggs).

Phone Call

I called Ryun a few minutes ago, knowing he would be on his way home.

He answered the phone, and in a very low, angry voice said, "Can I call you back? Now is reeeeeeally not a good time."

So naturally, I am freaking out. And, perhaps even more naturally, Ryun is probably freaking out about something minor.

I'll keep y'all posted.

***UPDATE*** It was an elevator door lock. Ok, people? Anyway, at least I can breathe now.

Topping the list of things that don't mix well we have...

...carpel tunnel and shoveling heavy, wet snow.

Ouch.

Ryun will be happy though, because I have managed to clear off the van and shovel a good portion of the lower half of the driveway that still needed to be done.

Results

The camera was on the wrong setting so it looks dark out and Emily and Katherine are a little blurry.

I promise you, there is a Dodge Caravan under there somewhere.

This is the path that Ryun shoveled when he got home last night. I shoveled the entire deck and stairs, as well as the lower half of the driveway, so Ryun could at least pull his car half way up the driveway.

Winter Wonderland.

Poor Ryun...

...has been commuting home since about 1:30 this afternoon...and he is just now getting in to Quincy.

Yikes.

In other unrelated news, check out this picture I took of the ice that formed on all of the branches the other day. The deck was like a skating rink too, which the kids thought was cool.

...And Here's What's Happening In My Neck Of The Woods...

That's a really loud plow you can hear in the background.

Comcast

This is such a long story so please pardon the short and abrupt tone this post may carry, but, you'd be here reading it all day long if I told you every detail in dramatic fashion. Here goes.

Way back in the beginning of November, we were solicited by Comcast asking us if we would like to sign up for their new digital voice home phone service. We would pay $99 per month for the first year for our phone, cable and Internet, not including the price of the box we had, or the modem rental fee and that we would get free HBO for a year. We already had the tv and Internet through them, so we figured why not? It would save us the $50 we paid Verizon every month for the phone, at least for a year during the special Comcast was offering. I made the appointment, and confirmed with Comcast rep that I would not need to call Verizon to switch the phone service. She said that Comcast would "take care of everything." So, the appointment was all set for November 23rd. The tech came out and couldn't complete the install telling me that there was a "CDV" fail and that I needed to call Verizon and tell them that they had to release my number to Comcast (and that maybe I had a block on my Verizon service that wouldn't allow other companies to come in and change the service). This was annoying, but not a big deal and whatever, mistakes happen, right? So I called Verizon and that rep told me that there was no reason Comcast couldn't come out and take the number. I called Comcast back and told the rep this and she rescheduled the appointment for 4 days out, and this time, transferred me out to a "third party" authorization thing, in which I had to confirm that yes I was able to make the change on the account, yes, I wanted to have Comcast as my phone service, and yes, if need be I would sign over my first born...blah blah blah. I thought because I hadn't done this third party thing before, that when they came out again we would be set. They came out again, and guess what? We had another "CDV" fail. So now, calm little me is starting to get slightly annoyed. I call Comcast again and explain the situation to the rep on the phone (from start to finish) and she says to me, "But wait, we have your phone service listed as being installed and working yesterday." So, now I am getting pissed. I tell her that I am staring at a phone cord dangling from the new modem he left, not plugged in anywhere and that I also have in my hand the work order that says right on it, "CDV Fail." She puts me on hold...for TWENTY freaking minutes, without checking in once just to say that she was trying to figure it out or whatever. She finally gets back on the line and says she will fix the problem, and oh by the way, did I want to schedule a new appointment for them to come out again? "No fucking thank you" is what I thought but what I said was that I would rather spend the $50 extra a month with Verizon than have to deal with the aggravation of dealing with Comcast." So I called Verizon back and asked them about the FiOS service and what the pricing would be for all three services with them what channels it came with, how fast the Internet etc. The price was less, we got more, and the customer service rep explained every last detail from the costs, to the channels, to the speed and everything in between. He even told me I would get a free, flat screen, 19 inch high def tv and a free wireless router just for signing up. So I did. He advised me not to cancel my Comcast services until the Verizon tech was here and all was said and done with my new install because Comcast had been known to shit customers off before the date requested and then I would have nothing. That was horrifying to say the least. Anyway, I did call Comcast back, just to verify that the phone codes were taken off of my account and backdated to the first day they were ever on there. I listened to the balance first and...it was $244! OK? I was ready to jump through the damn phone and kill somebody. When I got a rep on the line, I had to RE-EXPLAIN the entire situation from way back to the beginning of November because there were NO NOTES OR INDICATIONS OF ANY ISSUES on my account at all. I asked to speak with a supervisor who assured me that the codes would be removed and backdated and all would be right with the world again. When I called again yesterday to cancel my service, it appeared from listening to the balance that all was back to normal. When the rep I got asked why I wanted to cancel, I straight out said that I was "very disappointed and upset by" the customer service or lack thereof that I had gotten from Comcast. She said, "Really?" I was like, "Yes, really."

So that's the story and that is why, Comcast SUCKS.

Weekend

This weekend was the union Christmas Party. It was a lot of fun and I think the kids thoroughly enjoyed themselves. There were two moonwalks, an area in which they could decorate gingerbread cookies, a long row of conference tables set up along one wall with crayons and paper for the kids to color, and of course the visit from Santa. Santa brought Emily the latest Harry Potter book, Katherine a Littlest Pet Shop set, and Julia a wooden puzzle (yes, we "sneak" the gifts in all labeled and ready to go so Santa can deliver them). We sang Christmas carols with the kids all sitting up front on the stage, and they were even treated to a reading of "Twas the Night Before Christmas" by one of the party planning committee members. Santa was a little late in his arrival and the guy on the microphone said, "Maybe Santa's stuck in the elevator...can someone go check that out?" It was one of those corny jokes that turned out to be extremely funny, given we were in a room full of Elevator Mechanics.

On Saturday night, Julia and I went up to my sister Heather's house for the night and the next day we left to head up north to Suzanne's to watch the Pat's kick butt. Beforehand though, we went to the mall, and took Julia to the "Rainforest Cafe" for lunch which she loved. It has to be one of the most fun restaurants to take kids with all of the moving animals, the lighting and the thunderstorms to boot.

Yesterday Verizon came out to install the tv and internet (which reminds me I still need to do the Comcast post). So far, I am quite impressed.

Anyway, that again, explains my weekend absence. Darn weekends have a nerve being busy.

Christmas With Julia

For those of you who requested it...

...the "Comcast saga" will be posted soon.

Emily Update

Good news: no ear infection.

Bad news: strep throat.

Yummy pink medicine has been acquired and she should be back on her feet soon.

Trying Not To Freak

Emily has (well more than likely anyway) an ear infection. She has had only two ear infections in her entire life...one on June 29th, 2004 and one on October 13th, 2004. You might think it odd that I would remember the specific dates, but those dates happen to coincide with something else...her first ever seizure, and her last (known) seizure respectively. So yeah, every time she has ever had an ear infection she has had a seizure.

So, with the news that her med levels are low, and the added fact that she presented to the nurse with a fever of 101.7 and a slight redness to her ear, I am just slightly (ok more than slightly) concerned.

I am going to call the pediatrician when lunch hour is over and try and get an appointment for this afternoon. If I remember correctly the current school of thought with ear infections is to let then "run their course" for a few days before treating (which is just crazy if you ask me) but, I am hoping with her history, that they will make an exception.

As Ryun put it when I told him, "Sometimes an ear infection can just be an ear infection." Let's hope he's on to something there, huh?

Comcast...

...YOU SUCK. Your customer service sucks, your organizational skills (or lack thereof) suck and your prices are out-freaking-ragous.

So, I am canceling your ass, going with Verizon FiOS who's service I have yet to experience but, for the excellent customer service and MUCH BETTER pricing (which actually includes more channels and includes a FREE $400 television) I have received from them, the service could be inferior and it would still be worth it. Customer service is a big selling point for me and Comcast, you leave a lot, and I mean a lot to be desired.

So there.

Heroes

Wow...and holy crap...and, just, wow.

Why I Am Impressed With Emily's Teacher

She seems to be a wonderful teacher in all ways, academic and otherwise, but why am I really impressed?

She is reading the children a book called, "The Christmas Box" Not only is this one of my favorite books of all time, which is enough to impress me in and of itself, but it's a book about Christmas (and much more).

I am also really impressed because every day, the class sings a song. What song is it? "God Bless America."

It might not strike you at first. Why am I impressed? Because her teacher is actually celebrating Christmas, rather than having some sort of generic, "Holiday Celebration" and, she is singing a song, in school, with the word, "God" in it.

Politically correct is one thing, but taking the "fun" and tradition out of everything for the sake of those who may be offended? Well that's just wrong, and I am happy that her teacher seems to appreciate that fact.

Weekend Absence Explained

I hate when I have actual days between posts. Life just gets in the way sometimes.

Friday I was busy decorating the house. Friday night we decorated the tree as a family, while watching The Polar Express. We also completed the night with hot chocolate and egg nog (not together in the same cup). Julia was rightfully amazed by the tree and the lights and said the cutest thing while the tree was in the assembly stages; "We're making a tree right over there!" She has been unbelievably awesome about not touching the ornaments, or the various decorations that I daringly decided to set on the coffee and end tables. I have never been able to put things out like that. Emily and Katherine would never have allowed it...they just weren't the "do not touch" type of kids. I love, love, love having an easy toddler.

Saturday was the craft fair I had mentioned previously. It was fun, but other than that, not worth the time or effort...at least for me sales wise. I didn't sell a single thing, but, on the flip side, I handed out a few catalogs and business cards. Exposure is a good thing and maybe something will come of it. I am starting to get really frustrated with the whole thing to be honest, but, I am not ready to call it quits yet.

Katherine had a Girl Scout event yesterday so I did a little Christmas shopping after I dropped her off. I still have more to do, but progress is progress, right?

Last night the girls and I watched the Radio City Rockettes Christmas Spectacular which I recorded Saturday night. I have seen it "live" at Radio City back when Emily was just a wee little thing, and my parents took Emily and Katherine to Boston to see it last year. We enjoyed watching it last night, and Julia seemed to LOVE the dancing, costumes and music.

Anyway, that explains my absence over the weekend. I have plans to make out Christmas cards today, as well as get the house ready for "the boys" who will be making their way over tonight for poker. The house is fairly organized and clean (because I also did that on Friday while decorating) so it shouldn't be that hard to do.