Makin' a List

I love Christmas music. Can't get enough of it. But there are certain Christmas songs that should be banned.

1. anything sung by Aaron Neville
2. that song with the annoying kids and Pachelbel's Canon
3. "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"- try explaining that one to the kids...
4. Dominique the Donkey- haven't heard it? Go here {and don't say I didn't warn you}
5. Feliz Navidad- repetition isn't always a good thing
6. "The Happiest Christmas Tree"- ho ho ho, he he he
7. "The Christmas Shoes"- ugh.
8. Dogs barking "Jingle Bells"- call the pound!
   
9. "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer"- for the love!
   
10. "Do They Know It's Christmas"- I need a Band Aid to cover my ears.

*what Christmas songs are like fingernails on a chalkboard to you??

it's the most wonderful time of the year!

I'm back!

And pleased to report that I have returned to the land of the living {and just in time}. The nausea has subsided for the most part, and I can feel energy starting to flow back into my veins! Blessed day!!

Now it's time to get festive. The house is decorated. The tree is trimmed. I'm in the midst of wrapping gifts and making all sorts of exciting things {including wreaths, Christmas cards, neighbor gifts, and goodies} that I'll post about when they're all finished.

Eddie the Elf arrived, and the Christmas blanket is warming the children.

There are new recipes to try and old favorites to remember.

All that's missing is the snow, which should arrive later this week.....

Beauty Is...

moving on to the regional level!

Kensie & Dr. Higgins {her principal}

Last night Kensie attended the district awards ceremony for Reflections, where she found out that she's moving on to regionals {whenever I say that I think of Glee}. She is so excited and proud of herself! She loved getting another trophy, too.

I've had requests to see the winning entry, so here it is:

Thanksgiving

We had a busy and fun Thanksgiving, as usual.

We spent the morning putting up Christmas decorations, then headed to Grandma May's for the first feast of the day. It was great to see family and eat fabulous food!

Then it was off to another meal with my family where we {of course} feasted on yummy food, shared what we are thankful for, played ping pong, and watched a very silly puppet show put on by the kids.

It was a fun and relaxing day, and we have SO MUCH to be thankful for!!

*excerpts from Kensie's Gratitude journal:

"I am grateful for my dad. He wrestles with me. He helps me when I can't open something. I love my dad."

"I am thankful for my home. It is nice and warm. Sometimes it's messy. We have a big TV. I love my home."

"I am grateful for my car. If we didn't have a car we would have to walk. I wouldn't want to walk. My car is old. I am glad that I have a car."

"I am thankful for animals. If we didn't have animals we wouldn't have meat. Animals are cute. I want a pet animal. I love animals."

Happy Thanksgiving!

Cue Music

The kids have a new favorite game. Surprisingly, Lincoln made it up. This is how it works:

One child sits in a chair with a piece of paper in hand. They say "next", and the other child comes in and stands before the stern looking child in the chair. Stern looking child says "cue music!" and the other child must dance as if their life depends on it. If the dance is good enough they are presented with a ticket to Vegas. If not, they are told that they will not be moving on. If they get a ticket then they become the judge.

They play this for hours. Jackson is the most ruthless judge, and rarely gives tickets. He cracks me up.


Another reason he cracks me up is that he calls Edward from Twilight "Swiper". He refuses to call him Edward. Well, he is kind of a fox, I guess Ü

in the spirit of thanksgiving

Musings part 2

things i'm missing lately:

England- I miss walks through Kensington Gardens, staying up late in the common room talking about anything and everything and then falling asleep in class the next morning, the tube, the Flake in the McDonald's ice cream cone....I could go on and on.

College life- by which I mean my life taking dance classes {oh, how my heart, soul, and body misses it}, Dr. Matheson & all he taught me about the "intellectual traditions of the west", going to concerts of friends in the local band scene every weekend....

Dancing- moving, learning, teaching, expressing, burning {calories that is...sometimes I wonder why I was always thin and am now not so thin. Oh yeah, it's because I was exercising 8+ hours a day. Duh.}.


I want these:

Matt refuses to put Christmas lights on our house. Can't say I blame him, but sometimes I miss having them when I see all of the houses in our neighborhood that have been professionally decked out in twinkling festiveness. I think if I could talk him into it this is the most I would get {the house on the right} ↓

This is pretty funny:

Hormones

I think that I may quite possibly be starting to feel like some semblance of a human being. I have rare moments where I actually feel like cooking and doing a load of laundry. They're rare, but at least they're there!

However, the hormones are just beginning to have a Jekyll & Hyde effect on me. Take today, for instance. My dad emailed this video for Kensie to watch (which is quite amazing. makes me want to bust out the ol' jump rope) and I bawled through the whole thing. BAWLED. Why? Who knows?! The kids were staring at me like I was crazy. Let's be honest, I was.

Ah, pregnancy.

Kensie's Week

self-portrait found on my camera

This past week was all about Kensie. She was awarded first place in the Choreography/Dance category for Reflections and will now move on to the district level. It was so cute to see her face when they called her name! She was most excited to get her very own trophy.









She also auditioned for the 3rd grade play, and found out that she will be playing the part of Thief #2 in Scrooge. She was hoping for one of the ghosts, but she's excited just to have a part!

Way to go, Kens!!