First Friday

It was a whopping 11 degrees (F) out tonight, so the thought of just staying put in our warm house may have crossed my mind to be honest. I'm so glad we didn't. The boys and I met Brian in the Third Ward for Gallery Night. Our friend Jason was back in town for a show at the Tory Folliard Gallery. We are big fans of his work, and it's so fun to watch his art evolves. Plus, it was great to see him too, of course. From there, we went over to Fred's t-shirt shop to pick up some gifts. Next up was a trip over to Pizzaria 3301 at Villa Palermo. Our friend Lynn's sister is part of the family that owns Palermos, and Lynn was participating in an art show there. We got to see her amazing stuff (seriously cool cloches), plus met up with some friends for some delicious pizza and wine. Seriously, the wood-fire pizzas were amazing! I need to go back. They were having a pizza and wine tasting, so the place was jam packed. Our group was placed in the R&D department. The kids table was in a hair-net required zone, which was pretty awesome. We thought we'd go, see Lynn's stuff, have a pizza and head home. We ended up staying until 11:00 pm. It was a blast.

St. Nick

The boys fell asleep in H's bed last night after H read James and the Giant Peach to his brother. C does this, this time of year. He gets completely freaked out by Santa, and last night, they were expecting a visit from St. Nick. Their alarm was set for 6am (H leaves the house around 7am), and they were excited to wake us up -- including Brian who had to work until the early morning hours on a project -- so we could open presents. Sure enough, he paid our home a visit! Their stockings were filled with Christmas activities, candy and new PJs (like every year). Even Storm got a stocking filled with Beggin' Strips and carob cookies.

Wishing

"Magic" the Elf has been making an appearance at our house since December 1. The boys wrote their wish lists, and sent them along the very first night he came. Let's just say, their lists are not as simple as they used to be. Both boys want the new, nearly impossible to find Xbox One, of course. (We still have an old Wii). H also has a go-cart, laptop and Duck Dynasty Chia Pet on his list. C has jelly bellys, Rainbow Loom rubber bands and a pair of soccer cleats. Funny.

Trimming the Tree

My plan was to get the tree in the house, and decorate it slowly during the week. The boys had a different plan in mind. We finished it! Every year they get to pick out a new ornament. Monches Farm has some beautiful ones so C picked out a pig and H got a car with a Christmas tree on top. They were the first ornaments we put on the tree. I think it turned out absolutely beautiful.

Picking Out Our Tree

After the Santa Brunch, we went to pick out our Christmas tree. We typically prefer to pick out our own, but thanks to our jam packed weekend, there was just no way we could fit that in. We heard that Monches Farm has some nice ones, and oh my gosh, were they right. We picked out a perfect tree. Plus, the setting is absolutely magical. I have a feeling we'll be going back there again.

Santa Brunch

Here we go again! Today was the annual Santa Brunch, which the boys still look so forward to -- especially H. It's pretty cute. He got to meet with Santa and ended up having quite the long conversation. C, in standard form, won't go near him. But he did perfect his Spongebob smile. I can't tell you how many photos I have of him doing the tooth smile. We had to fit in a picture of my parents and the grandkids. Next year, Jake is off to college! It seemed much calmer compared to other years, and as always, a great way to kick of the holidays.

Leftovers

On Friday, we loaded up the car, and headed back to the old stomping grounds to hang out with a bunch of some of our favorite people. It's been a number of years since we've made it to Leftover Day, and Leif and Melissa sure did have a house full this time around. It was incredible! We changed back into our PJs, loaded up our plates, and found our spots for an epic movie day that lasted from 1pm to 1am. We watched no less than six of them! Swiss Family Robinson (C's favorite). Monsters University. The Bling Ring. Best in Show. The Way Way Back (H's favorite). Pitch Perfect. I don't think we've watched that many movies in the past few months, let alone a day. I can see why it's one of Melissa's favorite days of the year. It was really awesome. After a few hours of slumber, Brian, the boys and I got ourselves packed up, said our good-byes and made a quick stop in Chinatown for dim sum before dropping Brian off downtown. He has an event for a client tonight, and needed to spend the day setting up. H, C and I have arrived home safe, relishing in the glory of an epic day.

Thanksgiving

We spent a really nice day at Brian's mom's house for Thanksgiving. Even Storm was invited! Pam's cranberry martinis were an excellent way to start the afternoon, followed by a delicious meal prepared by my mother-in-law. We all left happy, relaxed and full. A perfect day.

Slurp

I'm so excited! Thanksgiving is almost here. And we sure do have a fun, jam packed, extended holiday weekend planned. The boys are already off of school today. Brian took H into work with him, and they are pheasant hunting this afternoon. C and I are having a nice day around the house just getting things in order and watching cartoons. Good stuff. I sure have a lot to be thankful for. Brian and the boys. Our extended families. Storm. Our friends. A nice life. Lucky, lucky me.

(Yes, that is canned soup -- C's favorite. He put in the hat so his hair didn't fall into it while he slurped up the last drop.)

Informance

Today at C's school, the all the grades put on an Informance. The morning was K-2, and the afternoon was 3-4. They have a new music teacher this year, and she decided to put on a little concert teaching the parents what the kids are learning at each grade. It was so cool! Each grade did a couple songs, plus each class performed a song. C's grade used flashlights, sang in Spanish, and even danced. His class used hand bells in their song (he's the handsome guy in the back with the plaid shirt on). I didn't know what to expect, and it was completely awesome.

Games

We spent a nice day out at my parent's house on Saturday. Brian, my dad, my nephew and H met up with my cousin and his father-in-law for an afternoon of pheasant hunting. It was freezing cold out, but from what I hear, they had a blast. Brrrr.... Lucky C got to hang out with my mom and me. We met up afterwards at the house where a serious battle of Monopoly happened in front of the fire.

Toad Concert

Brian and I got out last night! Really, there's no excuse for not doing it more often. Except for maybe the fact that I'm a total homebody. But, I really need to get over that. It was so much fun. My mother-in-law came out to hang out with the boys, which they were super excited about. Brian and I went to All Purpose for dinner -- delicious -- then met up with Andrew + Shelly, Scott and Rob at Turner Ballroom to see the Toad the Wet Sprocket concert. The gang of us saw this band together at least once or twice back in the day. In fact, Andrew and Shelly even got engaged at one of their concerts! Needless to say, Toad is one of our favorites. And last night did not disappoint. They sounded great. Plus, it was really fun getting to hang out with these awesome people.

Champions

Tonight was the last night of Champions League -- a 3-week in-club tournament for U10 and below where they mix up all U9 teams. It's something C looks so forward to each year. (H does too -- they just don't have it for U12s any more...). C missed a night of games last week when he was sick. So Monday, he asked what the standings were, and said he had to make up 4 goals. Sure enough, he went off to score 6. He was a man on a mission. Tonight they ended up in the playoffs, and after a heated game, lost 0-1 -- coming in second place. He had a great time. The tournament ends with a Pasta Dinner for all the teams. Now the have a week off, then bring it indoor for the rest of the winter.

Bracelets

Rainbow Loom bracelets are quite the thing right now. For awhile, a little girl in C's class would make him one every day. (She even made Storm one for his birthday last week! It's on his collar.) Anyhow, C has learned how to make the bracelets without the loom. He took all of the ones he had apart so he could use the rubber bands and make his own. And then over the weekend, he went to Winkies and spent the money he had left on a gift card for a bunch of bands. He's been a busy guy, as you can see. It's so interesting to me to see the boys so into these things. The other day I was at the school for lunch duty, and it was the boys who were sitting at the lunch tables making them. I had to keep reminding them to eat! Then, tonight at soccer, one of C's teammates showed up with bracelets for all the players on his team. In blue and white -- the club colors. I love it!