Adam's New Best Friends

As I mentioned in previous posts, Adam has 2 new toys which are proving to be endlessly fascinating to him. On the left is the Garmin StreetPilot c330 GPS and on the right is the Motorola Q smartphone. Where have they been all his life?

Nana and Grandpa

Nana and Grandpa came to visit last night. Drew was so excited to see them! Apparently, Santa had left a few gifts for Drew at their house, so they brought them along too. Thankfully, Santa remembered that we have a small house so none of the presents was huge, as they have a tendency to be quite large when they are left at Judy and Charlie's house.

We didn't do much during the day outside of a thrilling ride to the post office to demonstrate Adam's GPS - his new favorite toy.

Before they headed home this evening, Adam and Charlie went to pick up dinner from Maiwand Kabob. We love their food -- even Drew eats it, and we normally wind up getting kabobs whenever we have family visiting from out of town.

Merry Christmas

We had a great Christmas this year. Not too much stress and everyone seemed to get along. What more can you ask for? Drew came downstairs this morning to see a bunch of Christmas presents under the tree. Santa had also eaten his cookies and drunk his milk during his stop last night.


Opening presents is very exciting, but Drew hardly stopped to look at each one before he was opening the next one. I guess that's pretty normal at this age.


We had a delicious dinner at Aunt Carole and Uncle Andy's (with Dad and Melva too), if I do say so myself:

Too many hors oeuvre's to mention
Standing Rib Roast
Yorkshire Pudding
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Broccoli and Hollandaise
Coconut/hot milk Christmas tree cake (made by Melva)

Everyone's Lipitor (or the cholesterol medication du jour) was working overtime today! We almost forgot to take any pictures after dinner so we quickly snapped this one right before we left.

Drew was one tired boy by Christmas night. We stopped at my friend Bonnie's house around 6 and Drew had fallen asleep on the way. He rallied for a little while, but was out like a light as soon as we got him home and in bed!

Happy Birthday Dad!

Today is Dad's ??th birthday. I'm not going to say the number, though, because I'm sure I'd get in trouble for it. We went to lunch today at Shannon's (it's Monday and that's our usual day), but we actually celebrated on Saturday at his house with dinner, cake and presents. Melva made a delicious dinner that included ham and macaroni and cheese--the kids were very happy!

Andy and Carole gave Dad a card that played the Chicken Dance (Alex picked it out), and I got a video of the kids doing the dance along to the music, but I haven't figured out how to post videos. I see that Megan uses youtube, so I'll probably try that route when I get some time. The kids were rambunctious as usual with Drew and Alex doing their usual routine. I really hope those two decide to get along one of these days--I think they're more like brothers than cousins.

Unfortunately, Adam had to work so he missed the party, but he got to have some chocolate cake when he got home.


On our way home, we stopped to see one of the most decorated houses in Columbia, not too far from Dad and Melva's. Drew was so taken by it that he wanted to get out of the car to look at it up close, then he kept running up and down through the tunnel (driveway) ,and I had to practically drag him away to look at the rest of the yard. This place gets written up in the paper every year, although there's a house on the way to Andy and Carole's that's actually going to be in an HGTV special about "extreme lights" or something like that. We stop there almost every time we've been to Andy and Carole's. Drew likes that house because there's a big Grinch toward the front of the yard.

Choir Practice

Quite the look for choir practice, isn't it? Did I mention that it's dark outside, too?

Oh Christmas Tree

Drew is VERY excited about Christmas this year. Once he saw that people had their houses decorated and had their Christmas trees, he was on us constantly about putting our lights up and getting our own tree. We bought a couple of new ornaments last weekend, including one that has the Grinch on it and he really wanted to hang it up.

We managed to get out to get the Christmas tree yesterday (it took us all of 2 minutes to pick it out), and spent part of this evening decorating it. Drew was a big help in putting on the ornaments, but, I don't know if you can really see it in the picture, he put all of the ornaments on 1 or 2 branches. They kept falling off because the branches couldn't handle all the weight. We told him to put them higher or on the other side of the tree, but that just wasn't the look he was going for. I waited until he went to bed and moved them all around (Adam said my OCD kicked in).

Cold Weather

It actually got cold enough to pull out the winter coats, gloves and hats. This hat always gets a laugh when he wears it, but Drew picked it out himself last year when we were at Grandma's house.

Happy Anniversary

Today was our 6th wedding anniversary. I got some beautiful flowers, and Adam got some candy (it's a traditional gift for the 6th anniversary-who knew?!?!) We had the opportunity to actually spend the day together since Adam wasn't working, and my friend Pattee kept Drew overnight for us. We spent the afternoon buying new phones and some new clothes for Adam, which I know doesn't necessarily SOUND very exciting, but it's almost impossible to do those kinds of things with Drew around.

We went to dinner at Cynthia's in Severna Park. The food was really good - Adam had venison and I had duck which aren't things you normally find on the dinner table at or. Drew had a great time at Aunt Pattee and Uncle Lebster's house and he got to see "The Bee Movie" and to eat dinner at Cheeburger Cheeburger.

Saturday Brunch

Deborah and Jeff were kind enough to invite a bunch of family over for brunch this morning. Catharine was in town for Thanksgiving (but no Liddy or Jim, unfortunately). All of the kids had a great time playing and running around, and Hailey and Becca decided that they definitely need to spend more time together. They spent most of their time in various dressed up in various outfits, including a two-headed monster which I really should have posted here instead of this fairly normal looking picture.

The boys weren't really interested in having their picture taken. Or is that obvious?

Catharine managed to get the adults to pose for a picture before most people left. Unfortunately, Melva had to leave before everyone was herded into the living room (and Dad was unable to attend). I don't get to see my uncles John or Ned very often so it was great to be able to talk to them today. Also, Adam and Moody got to engage in a fairly civil political discussion before Cathy came back in the room and said it was time to go (good timing?).

Ben, Alex and Drew spent some time playing in the yard and raking leaves, although they mostly moved leaves from the street back into the yard instead of the other way around. At least it kept them occupied until it was time to go. Afterward, Andy headed over to Cathy's to move her piano to his house. Hopefully, this one won't go missing!

I'm Thankful for...

Thanksgiving Days that are not stressful, and this year we had a fairly low stress day. The big dinner was held at Andy and Carole's, so I didn't have to do any cleaning--great for me, but not so much for them. I handled the turkey, gravy and a cranberry apple pie, Mark made hors d'oeurvres and Carole made stuffing, potatoes, turnips, green bean casserole and more veggies and more hors d'oeurvres (50,000 hors d'oeurvres according to Adam). We had a fairly small group and a LOT of food.

Luckily, the weather was nice in the afternoon so everyone was outside playing for a while until the cold front came through. Andy, Mark, and Adam threw the football and played some Frisbee while I slaved away in the kitchen (not really).

The table was beautiful so I took a picture before we destroyed it.
Andy found a new use for napkin rings after he finished his dinner.

I had to take a picture of this turkey that Alex made at school. The most wonderful thing about this project you can't actually see because it's written in pencil, so I'll just tell you. It says, "I'm thankful for my Aunt Lisa because I love her. Alex." He made my whole week!

Thanksgiving Feast #1

Today was Thanksgiving feast day at Drew's school. He actually had two sessions of Thanksgiving today, since both his morning and afternoon classes hosted a meal for their families. Adam went to the morning feast, and Dad and I went to the afternoon feast. All of the kids had little costumes on to be either Pilgrims or Indians (I mean Native Americans). Drew was an Indian in the morning and a Pilgrim in the afternoon, not that any of the kids really cared one way or another. It was just an excuse to wear silly headgear.

Adam discovered this morning that Drew loves cranberry sauce. He ate two servings at the morning feast and had some more in the afternoon (and nothing else). It's just bizarre what he will and won't eat. Anyway, Dad and I enjoyed our meals even if we only stayed a short while. We were invited back to the classroom for dessert, but I had to get back to work, so we declined. We'll have plenty of desserts in the next week of constant Thanksgiving. Our office is having a Thanksgiving feast for lunch tomorrow, and we're having a Thanksgiving brunch at church on Sunday. Oh yeah, and next Thursday is REALLY Thanksgiving.

Of course, we have lots of things for which we're thankful every day.

Grandma's House - Live Free or Die

Ok, I'm way behind in my posting, plus I just haven't been taking many pictures since Halloween, but thank goodness Pat sent me some pictures from Adam and Drew's trip to New Hampshire. They managed the air travel without a hitch, except for the dying portable DVD player and the confiscation of Adam's toothpaste in Manchester (You've got to watch out for those dangerous dental hygiene products). Luckily, Grandma donated her portable DVD to the cause, and Drew got to watch a movie on the trip back.

Unfortunately, I can't offer much in the way of commentary since I couldn't go, but clearly everyone loved riding Grandma and Grandpa George's ATVs.

George put Adam to work digging up huge rocks in the driveway. Adam tried to tell me that they were boulders, but he has been known to exaggerate.

I don't even want to comment on this picture. I'm SURE that the motor wasn't running at the time. Notice the soon to be completed garage in the background.


I did have a nice weekend seeing friends (and cleaning the house!) while they were gone, but I was glad to have them home at the end of the weekend.

I Got A Rock

Today is the day Drew had been waiting for all year. We've actually been celebrating Halloween for about a month now, but the big day is finally here. I think he's more excited by Halloween than he will be by Christmas, but we'll see about that in a month or so.

Today started out with trying to get Drew dressed and into his costume and over to daycare on time. The ladies at daycare were appropriately scared by the skeleton boy until he told them it was just a costume. They were so relieved.

This afternoon was the big parade at school. All of the kids get to make the rounds both inside and outside so everybody gets to see all of the costumes. Here's Drew lined up and ready to head out on parade. Right behind him is Shania. Isn't she a cutie? Shania had the most decorated house in the neighborhood, and Drew was very excited to go trick or treating there.

I wound up being in the parade (only to try to keep the kids in line) so I didn't get a lot of good shots, but the one below was taken right before Drew's class went back into the school to watch the rest of kids go by. Outside the school, it was like a gathering of the paparazzi, so I was kind of glad to be out of the crush.

After work, it was time for a quick dinner before trick or treating. Drew was in full regalia when he and Adam headed out tonight, and he was hoping to scare all of our neighbors when making the rounds. I stayed home to hand out the candy, and I sat out on the porch and chatted with Liz, my next door neighbor between each onslaught. We get a LOT of trick or treaters here--I think they bus them in.

After Adam and Drew got home, it was time for bath and bed. Adam finished up with handing out the candy, and then Halloween was over for another year.

I'm sure everyone got my Charlie Brown reference in the title.

We Booked It!

I AM SO EXCITED! Yes, I do mean to use all caps for that declaration. After a couple of months of discussion, I booked our 4 day cruise on the Disney Wonder! We leave on April 27th, and I can promise that I'll spend the next six months completely overplanning and obsessing about this vacation. Adam and I had first considered a trip to Disney World along with a visit to Great-Grandma's house next spring, but we decided that Drew wasn't quite up to the rigors of the parks just yet. Plus, the cruise offers their wonderful kids club which pretty much guarantee that (to quote my hairdresser, Karen) "they'll keep your kids away from you as much as you want." Not that we don't want to spend time with Drew, of course, but it will be great to have some alone time as well.

So, back to reality. Tonight, we had to get our pumpkin carved so it would be ready for the trick-or-treaters tomorrow night. Drew drew the face with some help from Adam, and then Adam and I took turns with the carving.

Doesn't this picture make you think of that cheesy horror film music?

Green Eggs and Ham

Drew has been fascinated by the book Green Eggs and Ham for quite a while. He's read the book and watched the video dozens of times now and practically knows the story by heart. He's been asking me for green eggs and ham for breakfast for about a week, so I decided that today was the day. As you can see, the eggs turned out a particularly unappetizing shade of green (1 less drop of blue food coloring next time), but we ate and enjoyed them anyway. I didn't have a brilliant idea for how to turn the ham green (other than leaving it in the refrigerator for several months), but I thought that green eggs would be good enough. How's that for promoting reading?


This afternoon, Drew and I picked up Hailey and Alex from a birthday party and took them home so we could visit for a little bit. Adam made it there in time for dinner, but not before being attacked by Alex, Drew and Purl. I don't know what it is about Adam, but the kids will not leave him alone once he walks in the door.

I can't believe I'm finally up to date. Now it's time for another work week to begin!

Fall is Finally Here

It finally cooled off here. I got home from Texas and was greeted by the same weather. Now it's starting to feel like October in Baltimore. Drew put on his flannel Thomas pj's tonight. I tried to get a good picture of him, but he just wanted to crawl all over Adam.

One week until Halloween. It's the only thing getting talked about around here!

Austin Is Still Weird

I just got yesterday back from a trip to see Sharon in Austin. I always love getting to spend time with Sharon and Doug, and Austin is the coolest, funkiest city I know (although most people who have lived in Austin for any length of time say that it really USED to be cool, although it's still better than most places). This trip was a wonderful, relaxing, recharging experience for me. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, and Sharon didn't even get hers out for a couple of days, so I didn't get nearly as much blog fodder as I would have liked. I'm especially sorry I didn't get any pictures of Central Market, even though I managed to make it there twice during my stay. I know, who else but me would be that excited about going to a grocery store?

HOWEVER, Sharon did not forget her camera when she, Deede and I went off for our spa day and the Lake Austin Spa Resort on Friday. I can only say that those people really know what they're doing. The place is just overflowing with relaxation and serenity. We lounged around in our robes for most of the day while enjoying various combinations of massages, facials, and pedicures, not to mention the delicious lunch in the Aster Cafe.

We got a chance to spend some time by the pool since it was about 85 degrees that day.

Here we are sipping our organic mint decaf iced tea.

On Saturday, we changed gears and headed to Maker Faire, which is a giant DIY festival held at the Travis County Expo Center. I've never seen more geeks assembled in one place in my life. Doug's comment was that this was the place if you needed to figure out how to use an item (machine, gadget, etc.) for something other than its intended purpose. In other words, How To Hack Everything 101. It was interesting, but I don't think I'll be running off to go to another Maker Faire should it come to my town. I think Adam would have loved it, though.

I did like the art cars -- they're always fun. This was a van completely covered in every kind of camera you could imagine.

Another highlight of a trip to Austin for me is heading to South Congress Ave. (SoCo for those in the know) for some shopping and eating. The cupcake craze has hit that city as well as many others in the country, and Austin now has six cupcake emporiums. We visited Hey Cupcake which is housed in an Airstream trailer in a vacant lot on South Congress. The red velvet cupcakes were delicious!

I was sad when it was time to leave (Austin, not the cupcake place), but I missed Adam and Drew tremendously so I was ready to go home.

When I got back on Sunday afternoon, Adam and Andy had arranged a little birthday party for me at Andy and Carole's. Dad and Melva came too, and we all enjoyed Andy's delicious chicken on the grill. Carole didn't realize that we were having a party at her house until the last minute, but everyone was there to sing Happy Birthday before we called it an evening.

Pagan Ritual at the Pastor's House

(I'm so behind in my postings. I've actually created posts with pictures, but then I don't have time to write the text. I'm going to try to catch up before this weekend.)

Last night we went to the annual October bonfire at Pastor Beth's house. We went last year for the first time and Drew had a great time. The older kids decorate the whole yard in a scary Halloween theme and then take the smaller kids on tours and try to scare them out of their wits.

This year I asked Andy if he wanted to go along with Hailey and Alex. The kids jumped at the chance to put on their Halloween costumes a couple of weeks early, but Alex was threatened with an early death if he put a hole in or otherwise ruined his costume. Luckily, he and his costume survived the night unscathed.

Unfortunately, no organized scary tours took place this year. One of the older kids wound up breaking his arm right before we got there, so the party was a little more subdued than last year. The kids still had a good time, and Hailey even got to enjoy a s'more before we headed home for the evening. I lost Drew at one point, but I should have known that he wasn't really lost. While I was searching the dark backyard for him, he was up on the deck hustling apple cider and goldfish. Won't I ever learn?

Word for the Day - Firefighter

Yesterday was the Open House at the Ellicott City Fire Station. Andy was taking his kids as part of a Cub Scouts outing so Drew and I met them there. They had lots of activities for the kids, such as trying on fire gear, finding all the fire hazards in a "dangerous" room, and completing an obstacle course where you get to shoot the fire hose at the end.

The kids loved climbing all over the fire trucks and engines (yes, I do know the difference!), and Alex and Drew especially liked getting in the driver's seat. Luckily, the keys weren't in the ignition.

Here's Drew completing the obstacle course. Right after this picture was taken, the fire house got an actual call, and it was quite the sight watching as the firefighters yanked dozens of kids off the trucks, threw on their gear and sped out with sirens blaring all within about 30 seconds. Obviously, it looked like a good time to head home.

After that excitement, we headed to Steven's 2nd birthday party, where we got to see Aunt Sue and Brian. Drew loves going to Steven's house (well, Karl John, Kelly and Karl's house, too), because of the big yard and all the animals (dogs, cats, goats, not to mention horses at the next house). Coincidentally, Karl John is the current head of Baltimore City's Fire Academy. I guess the theme of the day was firefighter!

Steven got lots of great presents, and seemed to enjoy himself. He didn't even seem to get too overwhelmed with all the people at the party. Happy Birthday Steven!