Au Revoir 2009, You Were Mighty Fine

What a fabulous break it has been. We had a wonderful Christmas. We did a lot of traveling this past weekend, but fortunately the weather wasn't too bad and we were able to relax a lot. Zach and I were spoiled as usual -- so much so that Dad had to leave his new office chair at Grandmas' because there was no room! It was nice to get to see Uncle Adam. He brought his dog, Bo, with him and we enjoyed him a lot. He was super sweet and now I want a puppy, too! Dad says no, boo!

Santa was good to us. I got the puppet theater I asked for and Zach got a fire truck. We've been lounging around all week, playing with our toys, and putting things away. I got a new dollhouse from Grandma D, so we rearranged my room and put it up there. Dad got a new LCD monitor from Nana, so I got his old one, plus his old laptop, so guess what??? ... I have a computer in my room now! Pretty slick! Computer time is strictly monitored, but it is still nice that my room is now more of my own private space rather than just somewhere to sleep.

Mom and Dad are SO excited to go out tonight with some friends. Zach and I are SO excited that cousin Tara is being super-awesome and driving down here to watch us kids. We can't wait to see what she has in store for us.

That's about it! I had a fun playdate with a classmate yesterday and Z and I have been playing in the snow a LOT! We've been playing a silly new Wii game and doing a lot of screwing off -- very little productivity happening around here, except for Mom of course, she's always super-productive, ha ha ha. Maybe she'll get productive enough to get some more pics on here later this weekend.

Have a safe and happy New Year!
Katherine

A Soggy Woggy Christmas

While many of you up North have been getting snow and ice, we've been getting nothing but 2 full days of non-stop rain! Last year at this time, it was so cold one of our pipes exploded. Now this year, we're just hoping the sump pump keeps on a pumpin' while we're gone this weekend! It is supposed to snow later tomorrow, but no White Christmas for us in the morning. Not that we're complaining .... we don't miss the ice one bit. Grandma and Grandpa D lost power for almost a full day, so we've been baking and cooking a lot today to take to their house tomorrow. They have a generator, but it limits Grandma's cooking capabilities since it is in the basement.

I've been having a very nice, relaxing break so far. We've been doing lots of reading, baking and Holiday movie watching. I like having Dad home and even if Mom won't admit it, she does too. Dad took us shopping for Mom on Tuesday and we think we got her some great gifts. Zach and I have been playing really nicely together and you can tell he loves the pint-sized company of me.

Today was the perfect Christmas Eve day. We went to see the new Chipmunks movie after lunch. Mom spent most of the time before and after that baking. Dad even pitched in and assembled Grandma's famous broccoli & rice casserole. He opened 4 things and dumped them in all by himself! After a dinner of ribeyes and gratin dauphinois, we finally relaxed and watched the Polar Express. We put out the cookies, carrots, milk and the elf and went up to bed. We checked the Santa Tracker and he seems to be right on target. I didn't cry this year when I said goodbye to Buddy. For some reason though, that made Mom cry twice as much. You would think after the TP job that elf pulled last night she would be happy to see him go! She keeps mumbling stuff about "the magic almost being gone...". I'm not sure what she means, but she always seems to get a little sobstricken when I start asking all my questions and she can see "the wheels turning in my head". All I know is I have been one heck of a good girl this year and even though I went to bed worried my stocking wouldn't be stuffed, I still think everything will be fine in my heart.

We've got a long weekend coming up! First to Grandma D's by lunch and then eventually up to WI to visit with Nana, Papa, Uncle Adam and maybe some other relatives as well. I'm excited to see everyone and of course, the getting presents thing is kind of fun, too.

Have a very Merry Christmas!
Katherine.





Buddy ready for his departure back home
















Zach really enjoyed decorating this year
















He did great work!














All of our little gingerbread people (this batch was consumed in 3 days, we had to make another one today)

Holiday Smiles

Hello. Hope everyone is making their final preparations. Each year, everyone comments on how quickly the Holidays approach and this year is no exception. I can't believe Christmas is next week! And I can't believe we're off to WI this weekend to celebrate with Nana's side. We're hoping for some good sledding snow at Aunt Corrie's to play in. Mom's hoping for a dip in the hot tub...fire it up girls!

We've been keeping busy around here. Mom has been doing lots of baking. Dad went shopping with Uncle D. Buddy made a plate of spaghetti with maple syrup and marshmallows. Zach, well...he is really obsessed with the "list". He said the other day that Daddy is on the naughty list for swiping Christmas. Who knew? I've been busy doing fun stuff at school, like making little buche de noels, gingerbread houses and wearing my pajamas to school today....yippee! We've also been watching all the best Holiday flims, like Home Alone, Rudolph, Elf, Frosty and of course, Dora.

Mom is helping out at my Christmas party on Friday and then we're heading North right after school. I'm really looking forward to the weekend!

Ciao for now,
K.






Oh my.














Naughty elves














Even naughtier elf.

Return of the Elf

Oh boy oh boy! I've been waiting every day since Thanksgiving to see if Santa was going to send us an elf again this year. I was really starting to sweat it out when December 1st came and passed and still no elf! But luckily on Wednesday, there was a wrapped package on the porch. With a return address of THE NORTH POLE! I screamed with joy! Santa packed him in marshmallows, how silly! Let me tell you though, those North Pole marshmallows are to die for, so much better than the regular kind! So far, Buddy has been pretty well-behaved. He hid in my stocking, crawled into bed with me one night, and got into the candy dish the other night. We think he's maturing with age and getting into less mischief. Or perhaps, we're causing enough mischief around here for everyone. Zach is really, really getting on my nerves lately. I can't even breathe without him screaming, "Kackine do dat Mama!". He isn't even tattling as much as he is lying. Kackine make the mess, Kackine pinch me, Kackine not nice. He even accuses me of stuff while I am at school and couldn't possibly have done it! Oh well, guess that comes with having a little brother.

He has been very good in regards to the Advent Calendar. Every day after school, he patiently waits for me to get settled and we walk over to the calendar together, open the correct door and we each get a piece of candy. He doesn't sneak into it or anything. Mom and Dad took us to Toys R Us last night to look around -- talk about torture! My list of nothing turned into a list of excess -- probably not the best idea since Mom told me that Santa does not get you every single thing.

Dad finished up the corn this weekend, hooray! With Zach's help of course! Mom and I had a fun girl's night Friday. Gingerbread pancakes and shopping at Aldis. How exciting!

Have a great week.
Katherine