Tae Kwon Do

Zack had his first tae kwon do class last Friday. He was so excited, and he did a really great job listening to the instructor. He learned some different moves/forms (I'm really not sure of the terminology at this point). We are hoping this will be a good social experience for Zack, as well as boosting his confidence, coordination, and focus.

Zack in his uniform (with dinner still on his face :) )

He got another stripe--a yellow one--on his belt!!

A New Christmas Train

Another present that Zack got for Christmas (that got forgotten in the excitement of hot wheels and transformers) was a new Christmas train for Gramma's house. We went over there last week and set it up. Xander wasn't too sure about the thing, it was pretty fast and pretty loud. Zack, on the other hand, was going crazy, even chasing the train around on the track. The boys just loves trains!

Xander was doing really well with his shape puzzle.

Xander sitting up on the chair watching the train. He decided he didn't want to get too close.

Merry Christmas, everyone!!  We had a wonderful day, starting bright and early this morning with gifts at Mark's Mom's house.  Zack was ecstatic about his Hot Wheels Trick Track from Santa Claus and his Transformers.  He (rather, Mark, Mike and I) spent most of the day transforming them back and forth.  Xander was thrilled to get a Clipo table from Santa and a ride-on John Deere tractor.  The best part for him, though, was opening the presents.  He loved helping everyone else open theirs, too.  Mark was pretty excited about getting a Garmin heart rate monitor with GPS.  I had also gotten him a second storage cabinet for our porch, and, rather than waste an entire roll or more of wrapping paper on the box, I made a lego replica of it, complete with tools inside.  Mark's brother Mike got a Wii, which we used to get a bit of a muscle workout, bowling, boxing and playing tennis and baseball.  My big gift was a new digital camera--it's small and it's PINK!!!  Mark also got me a new George Foreman grill with removable plates--no more washing the grill on the side of the sink!  I made a picture frame for my sister Eileen with pictures of us at my first Christmas, my wedding shower, and at Thanksgiving.  I used Printshop, and it said "Having a sister is like having a best friend for life."  When she opened it, she cried!  Even though we hated each other growing up, becoming parents and settling down has brought us really close.

We were so blessed that we were able to spend time both with Mark's family and mine.  I missed having a big, chaotic, noisy dinner with my family, but the time we got over there was lots of fun.  We also were saddened by not having Mom and Mark's dad with us.  Even though this was our fifth Christmas without Mom, it's just not the same.  We used to spend Christmas Eve to sometimes decorate the Christmas tree and make eggnog.  Mom would pull out way too many ornaments, Dad would fuss with the lights and the glass bead garlands, and I would put ornaments up until I didn't want to see another ornament.  We would smile about the ten star ornaments and glass ball ornaments with our names on them.  And when Mom made eggnog, it would inevitably come up to the very top of the bowl but not overflow, but then we had to figure out how to get the bowl into the refrigerator.  I guess I just need to hold on to those memories and do my best to pass them on to my boys and impress upon them the importance of having a big, wonderful family.  It certainly made for some interesting stories for me to tell!!

(I'm not at home right now, but I will upload lots of pictures once we get back home.) 

Old Stomping Grounds

When Eileen called me Monday morning and said she was coming to Raleigh, I definitely wanted to get all the boys together. So we were trying to think about what to do outside, since it was such a nice temperature for a December day. We decided on Brentwood Park, which is right down the road from the house we grew up in. While we were there, we talked about several memories that we had from the park, different injuries we had, too. The boys played on the playground that I used to take my neighbor's son to in high school. Eileen and I realized how much the youngest four grandchildren, ages 4, 3, 2, and 1, all kind of look alike. It was lots of fun!!

Eileen and I (in a not-so-good self portrait)

Christopher, Zack, Damien and Xander

Christopher pushing big brother Damien on the swing

AAHHHHHH!!!!

Me and Xander (it was a windy day!!)

Zack, Damien and Christopher eating their picnic lunch (in December)

Trimming the Tree

There's nothing like welcoming the holidays like putting on some sing-along Christmas music and decorating the Christmas tree--while dinner is cooking and an hour before Zack goes to tae-kwon-do (we're doing a two-week trial right now). Zack was very eager about putting up ornaments, even the breakable ones, bringing Mommy much nervousness. Xander was still not so sure about this tree being inside our house. Every time one of the branches touched him, he would cringe and back away. It finally got done the next day, and now we have a decorated tree!!

Xander spinning his keepsake ornament: a big bear and a little bear reading a book together. He loves to climb in our laps with a good book!

Zack's Superman ornament, since he's been all about superheroes this year

He tried to help!


Our Christmas tree--now that I look at it in a picture, it kind of has a weird shape!

Happy Birthday Daddy!!

We went to Chili's for Mark's birthday dinner, we haven't been out to dinner like that for a long time. The boys were good--Xander was flirting with a little girl behind him--considering they didn't take good naps that day. After dinner we came home to have cake and ice cream. An uneventful birthday but fun, too.

What Xander had done with the cake about 10 seconds after I gave it to him.

Emotional Drain

I didn't think I would use this as a sounding board, so please forgive for doing just that. Tonight was a busy night at Kohl's. I was working in the jewelry department, and it was the busiest I have seen it over there. There were three women, a mother and her twin daughters (who must have been at least 35 or so), that were in the store for about 3 hours!! They shopped for several pieces of jewelry, so I spent a good bit of time helping them. Just about the whole time they were they, the two daughters were fussing and arguing with they mother. As I was ringing them up, I was saddened by the whole thing, and I decided to say something to them. I told the mother, "They're taking you for granted. I don't have a mother to argue with anymore." She thanked me for realizing that, and wished they would, too.





The holidays are the hardest time for me. I miss my mom so much!! I do wish that she was here to see my boys and critique my parenting as I saw her do my sisters. I wish my boys could know what a wonderful person Mom was and how many lives she touched with her generous love. I know that holidays are stressful for all of us sometimes, but please be sure to show your love to those around you. Enjoy every blessed second you have with that person, and let them know how much you love them. You never know if this Christmas will be your last with them.

Mom and I on her last Christmas with us