Wednesday, December 31, 2008

NYE Madness...Or Not.

Last night, the Warriors won the Sonora tournament.

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We then had to drive home 5 of the most hyper boys EVER.

EVER.

No games now until Saturday...and then we'll have, on average, 3 a week until March.

Love, love, love basketball!

We all stayed up late (after arriving home after 11pm, but it IS Christmas break and poor little Brian DID go to bed) and watched an older movie....The Net, so this is a slow morning for us.  It's actually going to be a wonderfully slow day...and I am thrilled.

But 1st...sweet Maggie:
And Mollie...who is single handedly taking apart our Christmas tree.  And yes, we still have a tree and lights on our house for another week.  We celebrate Epiphany, so we have another week to go.

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As for today...it's New Years Eve and we are staying home all. night. long.  By choice.  M is making his pasta for supper (and he's making omelets right now....man, I love a prof who is on vacation!!!) and at some point after that I am going to make a huge pot of chocolate fondue.  And watch movies.  And snooze on the couch.  And watch movies.  And snooze on the couch.

The boys want to have some friends over so I am sure we will have a revolving door going on, which doesn't bother me a bit...cuz I'll be on the couch watching movies.  And snoozing.  And watching movies.  And snoozing.

And maybe playing some Animal Crossing.

Till midnight.

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Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Not Much...

...going on.

And I couldn't be happier.

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Last night's cocktail was an amazingly tasty amaretto sour.  With not one, but two cherries.  Which aren't supposed to really be in an amaretto sour, but I like them so that guy that I like so much always drops one in.  Or sometimes two.

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I, in turn, cooked up an incredibly yummy pasta using up all the odds and ends that were hanging around...EDIBLE odds and ends, thankyouverymuch.

So very, very yummy.
Last night was the tournaments semi-finals, which they won rather easily.  The finals are tonight at 8:45pm, so we will be heading our shortly.

In the meantime, today was a boy day.  I drove Brian out to Nico's, stayed for coffee and then brought both of them home with me.  Once home, a few neighbors came over, plus a few more friends of Bri's from school and they played outside on this beautifully sunny December day.  In the meantime, most of the basketball team was in and out, in and out...playing video games and eating.  

I love that.

Matthew, on the flip side, is bored.  Very, very bored.

I was, too...but then cleaned out the pantry (long over due), caught up on laundry and made a pot of shredded beef for tacos, which thankfully fed the masses.
Our plan is to load up my car, drive the 30 miles to the game, drop them off an hour before they play and then find a Starbucks for an extremely large caffeinated coffee....then back in time for tip off.

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Sunday, December 28, 2008

Sunday

Basketball.  Basketball.  basketball.

Me loves me some basketball, especially when my #35 is on the court.  Which happens to be alot lately.

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This morning, M and Matthew played in church and I am sorry to say that I didn't take a picture of my oldest in his truly spiffy tie.

Sorry, Matthew.  But cool tie.

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I did capture Brian and Logan, though! 

I just finished watching a hallmark channel christmas movie and am going to now practice my hula hooping, tightrope walking and ski jumping on the wii fit.  

Silly, silly game.

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Saturday, December 27, 2008

The Holiday

I am assuming what I am feeling is what is known as the 'post-christmas' letdown.

Otherwise known as pure exhaustion.

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I am looking at my little house and wondering if it will ever be clean again...or at least put back together.  That is my main mission for today, along with picking out the new skateboard for Brian and some new clothes for Alex, who seems to have grown again overnight.

Better put bricks on his head.

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So, Christmas Eve.  Church at 5pm with lots of Christmas carols and just great music all the way around.  It's still been only a few years since I've sat side by side in a pew next to my favorite guy and I just kept looking over and thinking how nice it was.  

It's the little things.

We then drove south to our Christmas Eve tradition...Maggiano's for a late night supper.  

M and his mom, having a Christmas cocktail.
Grandma and Grandpa with Brian, who loves salmon like nobody's business, so his Grandma special ordered for him that night.  Cuz it was Christmas.
My big boys...happy and full.
Home to open the 'one present on Christmas Eve' present...jammies.  I also did not put any of the photos of what happened next, but they all stood up, dropped their pants, pranced a bit, AND THEN put on their new jammies.

Crazy, crazy boys.
So, no Christmas morning photos...I was video happy instead, but presents were opened, breakfast was made (scrambled eggs with roasted asparagus, homemade crumb cake, fruit salad with amaretto cream...plus lots and lots of coffee!), and the house picked up for round 2.  The rest of the family showed up, more presents, toys assembled, video games played, movies watched, lunch set out (antipasto...huge platter of meats and cheeses and veggies and bread), bike riding outside in between rain drops, and a huge...and I mean HUGE prime rib thrown in the oven.

Christmas dinner was that hunk 'o beef (which was soooo yummy!) with horseradish/dijon sauce, twice baked potatoes, garlic green beans and rolls...followed by coffee and cookies.

Are you seeing why I didn't take pictures?

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BUT, minus a wall, we were able to all eat at one big, long table.

I like that.
Barely anytime to recoup...the basketball tournament that is the reason we won't be travelling for the next 4 years, started the day after Christmas morning.

The very cutest thing EVER were the two cheerleaders who showed up in Alex's schools colors to watch him play.

OH MY.

Cutest thing EVER.
Out to lunch after and then it was off to Greg and Joanna's for supper, where my boys did this:
I had to post this because of Sophie's face...she is so happy just looking on.

bahaahaha!
It is now the morning after all of that.  We have a 5:45pm basketball game, but need to leave here around 4:00pm to get there on time...no buses this week, so we are the bus.  M and Matthew are playing for church tomorrow, so they are going to go practice while I run the above mentioned errands with the younger boys.

Supper, unfortunately, will be out after the game, but it will be something cheap and easy...maybe even a Nick's pizza to go.

And then we sleep.

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Wednesday, December 24, 2008

It's Christmas!

This morning while everyone was sleeping, cookies got baked.  

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Grandpa came over and put together a bike.  Shhhh....don't tell Logan!
Hungry on Christmas eve?  Better head to wienerschnitzel for chili dogs.

Just because.
Brian was thrilled...we let him get a footlong chili dog.
Should've wrapped it up for Christmas and put it under the tree.
Grandma and Grandpa, totally relaxed.
Our family tradition is to go to church at 5:00pm (though I do think we might make the leap to the 11:00pm service soon, now that we no longer have little boys) and then off to Maggiano's for a late supper.  It is so fun and festive there, plus the food is great...and makes for an incredibly relaxed mom who doesn't have to try and do it all.

We then come home and open one gift each...and it's always the same thing every year.  Something that makes us all match for Christmas morning.

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M and I then stay up late and drink ridiculously priced expensive champagne and watch It's a Wonderful Life before collapsing into bed...only to be awoken a few hours later by one boy or another.

This year, I'll have the coffee pot ready to go and once they turn it on and the pot is full...then they can wake us up.

Hmmmm....maybe we should start a tradition where they BRING us coffee in bed and once we've had a cup, THEN we open presents.

I'm sure that'll fly.

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Monday, December 22, 2008

Almost Done

The head elf is STILL wrapping and is kinda grumpy.

But he is so good at it that he cannot quit now.

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The head elf's wife did make him an eggnog.  With rum and real nutmeg on top.

Made him briefly smile.

Whew.
I did manage to squeeze in an absolutely adorable pedicure in the not so adorable rain.

Gotta love a snowman on your big toe.
Nothing else exciting happening...we are ready for Christmas.  Tomorrow morning I need to make a quick Trader Joe's run, which I'll do early.  

The plan is then to bake cookies and hang out all day long.  Can't wait!

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Sunday, December 21, 2008

Crazy, Crazy Boys

So here I sit, playing with iMovie some more while trying not to have a breakdown over the car situation.

And if you think it's because I don't have anything better to do, then you are wrong.

Cuz here is my laundry room, which is in DIRE need of help.

And yes, it is daffodil yellow.  I was young and didn't know any better and now I am older and have better things to do than repaint my laundry room. And obviously those better things have nothing to do with cleaning.

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I have been waiting and waiting and waiting to have a Christmas pedicure...I even have a gift certificate for a free one and am meeting a girlfriend tomorrow morning at 9:30am for one.  And just now,  Mollie jumped on my foot.

And now I am going to contract some type of fungi if I get one tomorrow.

Lovely...but I am risking it anyway, because I really like pretty toes.
And today while trapped, quite literally trapped, in the In n Out drive thru line for 20 minutes, I took a video of 2 minutes of my life with boys.

This was before we got our food but after the chinese fire drill.  Welcome to my life.

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Can Anyone Say...

...tripod?

Oh my.  Sorry.

And it's long, so I had to edit it.  Which is not my greatest skill, but I do love iMovie.  Probably a little too much.

(plus, it's keeping me from thinking about the $1000.00 car repair that we had to make today.  Yep, that's ANOTHER $1000.00 that no, we cannot afford.  Especially at Christmas, but I do know that my God has a reason.  He does.)

Anyway, a very wiggily (and yes I meant wigg-ily and not wiggly) 12 Days of Christmas featuring two of my guys...Matthew is in the quartet!


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Saturday, December 20, 2008

Full

'Twas the Saturday before Christmas
and all through the house
not a creature was stirring
'til they smelled a german apple pancake.

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The bodies in this little house have increased...and so have the piles of stuff.

Everywhere.
And it all belongs to boys.

But they did find Dr Mario for wii....for me, so all is well.

And if you have a wii, we can play online together.  It is WAY fun!
We've been at a basketball tournament all week and today was the finals...lots of dads and lots of dads video cameras.
Our boys won by 6 and it was not an easy win...Alex was in foul trouble by the start of the 2nd quarter.  Not good...not good.  (Not good for the team and not good for the mama!!!)

A few highlights of my #35 (in white):

In the end, all was well....and after getting a huge trophy, my two youngest shot some hoops.

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Since we all 5 were there (in a car with only 4 seatbelts...Alex had gotten a ride there) we headed to our favortie spot...Nick's.

It was early, but worked out perfectly.

Came home and watched The Santa Claus and made homemade caramel corn...and fed all the neighbors, too.
Tomorrow morning is church as a family of 5...first time since August!

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B-I-N-G-O!

Gotta love beginning trumpet players...especially when they ooze cuteness.

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Thursday, December 18, 2008

Oops

That....THAT would be a chunk of money laying in the parking lot.

Mixed with my tears.

THAT is NOT blood, but that would be a present for that guy that I like so much. An expensive aged in oak for 18 years from Portugal present for that guy that I like so much.

Or should I say that WAS a present for that guy that I like so much.

Splat.

And if he reads this before Christmas, which he probably will, then Merry Christmas and smell my left shoe, cuz it smells really good right now.  In fact, it smells like it was aged for 18 years in an oak barrel rather than smelling like a shoe.

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Today was my Meals on Wheels day and more importantly, it was my last day with my dear friend Josephine.  At the young age of 95, she is moving out of state with her grandson and his family.

I will miss her.  Lots.  Close to 3 years of weekly lunches...3 years of spending time with a woman that I have grown to cherish.

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I decided to run a few errands when I got a call from M inviting me to lunch, which I gladly accepted.  I had to wait a few minutes in the ugly winter weather for him.

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I'm telling you...nothing beats blue skies and palm trees in December!
Greek salad from Daphnes...oh my.  You know me and my greek salad...we go hand in hand.
Came home carrying a rather large gift for my littlest nephew...man I LOVE being an Aunt, to a bunch of trumpets.  Lots of trumpets.  Little house.

But I do love my son who is moving home for break.  He is beyond excited to be moving home and sharing a room with Brian...BEYOND excited.

(but I am!)
Tonight is the 1st night in 9 days that we are all home for supper.  Unbelievable.  I am actually cooking a meal that we will all sit and eat together....pork roast, roasted potatoes and green beans.

Unless I drop it.

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Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Waiting

So here I sit, waiting for the termite man.

He is now 2 hours late.  I called and yes, he's on his way.  Soon.

That was an hour ago.

I could've gone to my nieces school musical.  I could've run to the post office to mail one last package.  I could've run to Restoration Hardware for one last little gift I need...and that I have a 50% off coupon for.

Instead, I've been waiting.

It's actually a really good day to be waiting.  The rain is pouring down and the thermometer is reading 44 degrees.  Four-four.  I'm thinking that is pretty close to snow weather!

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So, I decided to make cookie dough...6 different kinds, and they are all wrapped up and waiting in the outside freezer.  I caught up on Lipstick Jungle (sick and wrong, but I love that show) and also planted red beets in Animal Crossing...which I now love in real life, too.  Beets...who would've thought?  Especially in a salad with goat cheese...mmmm.  I'm going to plant them this year in my garden.  Other than that, the laundry is pretty much caught up and I paid the electric bill...always a good thing when you want lights.  I am learning that new windows might make the bills go way down, but a bazillion strands of lights all over your house aren't exactly cost effective.

But it's Christmas.

Alex has a late practice and then M and the boys will head on campus for an Advent service.  I need to set up/take down the basketball snack bar (3 down, 6 to go) in the pouring rain.  Lovely.

Supper tonight for those home will be TJ's orange chicken, rice and veggie egg rolls.  I'll eat a cup of soup during my 45 minute break and a hot tea and pray for a little break in the rain during clean up time.




Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Shopping Day

Michael took the whole day off today and we were able to completely complete the Christmas shopping.

And eat cioppino.

Well....he ate cioppino and I had some clam chowder.

Yum.

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The cards have been mailed (all 170 of them...welcome to the life of a church worker) and the last of the packages that need to be sent will be sent tomorrow.  

Also tomorrow...the termite guy is de-termiting our little house.

Or is it un-termiting?

Whatever it is...tomorrow, the Orkin man will be treating our house with some supposedly un-harmful chemical that shouldn't make us sick, but if it does we are to go immediately to the hospital.

Sounds safe to me.

Tonight Brian had his 1st basketball game of the season at the same time that Alex had an away game at the same time that I had to set up the snack bar for the varsity game. 

 Can't be everywhere at once, even though I really wanted to.  So M was with Brian and Alex had no family members cheering for him at his game.  Sad.

I walked in the door at 8:45pm and while everyone had had some sort of dinner, they were all wilting from starvation, so I threw together a frittata with ham, gruyere and roasted yellow peppers which seemed to make everyone smile just a little bit.

No pictures because the vultures attacked it before I could finish pulling it out of the oven.  Oink, oink.

And now I can barely keep my eyes open, so off to dreamland I am going.  

Goodnight little termites.  Sleep well.

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Monday, December 15, 2008

It's Blustery Out There!

Remember me?

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It was a weekend of concerts (3 of them), parties (4 of them) and basketball games (only 2 of those)...plus a practice (just 1, thankyouverymuch).

In between there was sleep...not much, but there will always be time to sleep later.

Right?

While cleaning the backyard, a mushroom was found.  And a really big balloon.

M strung even more lights from our tiny little house while Maggie napped on our bed.  At least someone is well rested in our house.
Sunday I cooked.  And cooked.  And cooked.
Gravy...3 pots.  Pasta...7 lbs.  Meatballs...100.  Sausage...50, which I then cut in half.  Salad...6 bowls.  Garlic bread...10 loaves.
I like to have it all made early and warming in the oven before the party begins...mainly because I like to be a guest at my very own party.  And let me just say...two ovens rock.  ROCK.
The newest addition...the party board, created by my neighbor.  How I ever managed without it, I'll never know.  Sure made things easy.
Ready to eat...
...and eat they did.  This was a fun and not at all shy group....fun!
Practicing their carols...like they need to practice?
Alex scored this in the white elephant gift exchange...it goes perfectly with Matthew's shopping cart.  Hillbillies...that's what we are.

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This morning the skies opened and the rains came down...kind of like a monsoon.  We need it so badly...but it is cold and dreary outside!
Tomorrow, that guy that I like so much is taking the day off and we are finishing our shopping.  And going to lunch.  Just us.  

I can't wait.

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