ho, ho, ho

i got officially into the holiday spirit this weekend: started on the christmas cards, was given a free afternoon to start shopping (thanks, nana/papa!) and took the kids to see santa (syd asked for "cars;" cass, for littlest pet shop) and cass didn't scream in fear for the first time.

like cassidy's preschool picture? she really likes wearing her red and black dress.

mike and i watched "angels and demons" and season 1 of "spaced," too.

our real tree from williams tree farm

love how the girls decorate the bottom the most....

silly sisters

excited over nana and papa's new minivan

it has 2 screens with satellite tv. kid-heaven.

grandpa and cassidy's game with pine needles

they created sideburns, whiskers, mustaches, beards and more!

thanksgiving and into christmas already

sorry i've been a bad blogger.

will post photos later but at least remembered to write quickly before nodding off. i have so many to go through....

thanksgiving was a good day. i took the girls to a nursing home to visit patients as a way to do something good (they're too young to volunteer to serve free meals). they were kinda shy but easygoing about it all and made a lot of people smile. afterward, we went to nana and papa's for a meal that left me full for a good 24 hours -- no lie! we enjoyed the afternoon watching the packers win and the kids playing with remote-control cars or dolls or football.

had round 2 of thanksgiving on saturday. mom graciously made food to bring down for lunch with us, dad, karin and jackson. in the afternoon, mom, karin, syd and i went to "the nutcracker" production by the dance company and the symphony. syd was very good and said she liked it "all." she often would clap her hands along to the beat of the songs. noooooo way in h-e-doublehockeysticks would cass have sat through that, so she had her own adventure with gramps -- menards and baskin robbins.

also got to see karin's pics from australia. she bought the girls hilarious gifts: sydney got a sydney t-shirt with koalas (karin used to love her stuffed koala, so it's an inside joke to me), and cassidy got a "i heart sydney" t-shirt (awesome!).

today, we pulled out christmas decorations and bought our first real tree at the tree farm. mike picked out the winner and did a good job. girls loved putting on the ornaments along the bottom as usual.

made this bread for the first time:

Speedy No-Knead Bread N.Y. Times

3 cups bread flour (I used whatever I have)
1 packet ( 1/4 ounce) instant yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
Oil as needed.

1. Combine flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups water and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest about 4 hours at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
2. Lightly oil a work surface and place dough on it; fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest 30 minutes more.

3. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6-to-8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under dough and put it into pot, seam side up. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes.

4. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: 1 big loaf.

domestically speaking

on friday morning, parent teacher conference for cassidy. report card said she was chatty, so i was worried. apparently the whole class is this way. she's just fine. gotta work on hardwriting and such. no biggie.

on friday night, we watched "up" for family movie night (mike was off!). it was cute but very different.

on saturday, made it to the gym for a class for the first time in ages (and my legs are paying for it). then cleaned, played war and zingo, got groceries. nothing too exciting. except teaching the kids how to jump rope. should have taken pics. oops.

today, went to a birthday part at chuck e. cheese (kids enjoyed; i dread that place), then watched the pack (we all enjoyed that win). now putting holiday music back on the ipod.

kid funnnies (1 for each)

Sydney: "Am I old enough to get married?"
Me: "No."
Syd: "Ian asked me to marry him." ... (stuff about him supposedly moving away) ... Me: "What did you say to him?"
Syd: "Yes."
What? My kid's getting married at age 7?
Supposedly the nuptials went down Friday.

Cass asks while I'm chopping, "Is the jalepeno spicy like fire? ... BBQ sauce? ... 10 gallons of hot?"

girls night out: jenn and karen plus 2

ok, so... i needed to take karen out for a night (because let's face it, she needed a break and i needed to see her).

we agreed to meet in madison and were lucky enough to have hosts (my cousin christopher and his boyfriend justin ... karen has been friends with chris for a long time and i've known him even longer. it was a happy reunion since we haven't seen each other for ages and could talk about grade school and old family pets and stuff).

karen and i shopped state street in the late afternoon before the four of us went out to eat at the old fashioned on capitol square for supper club fare, then hit up a nearby bar for more spotted cow.

it was so much fun catching up and talking about the good ol' days.

we made it way past karen's usual 8:30 bedtime but managed to get a good night's sleep before taking off in the morning.

i was on vacation this week

didn't do much, but that was the point. still:

-- played stay-at-home mom by taking care of the kids in the morning and running them to playdates.
-- got the carpets and couches cleaned.
-- organized a closet and bought a chore chart.
-- got a facial.
-- gave blood.
-- put pics in albums.
-- went to the tailor and the drycleaner.
-- went for a walk and mini putt in the beautiful weather.
-- caught a cold.

halloween party -- "mad men"

the bar was stocked, and we had chips and dip, heineken, john deere fruit snacks and oreos. much of the fun for the night was playing rock band. tired now. sorry for the short post.

happy halloween -- the kid pics

on friday, cass had a parade at school but did not permit me to take pics. i have a few bad ones on my phone.

that night, we did the annual register star trick-or-treat, so you see the girls (tinerkbell and batgirl) with allie, luke and abe and then just morgan by herself.

on saturday after the soccer party, grandma and grandpa came down to trick-or-treat. it was cold and windy, but cass made it around the block once. syd survived twice -- she just loved it; she sang to herself practically. gramps got a lot of looks with his fake hand coming out of his jacket. and mike had fun scaring the neighborhood with the haunted garage.

my doll cake

this doll cake did not come from a freezer to be passed along to another sucker's freezer. this one came from wal-mart. happy 37th to me.

whoosh. there went the weekend

after a three-day training session at corporate this week, it was good to be home.

on saturday morning, i bundled up for three hours on the soccer field to watch syd and cass. they both did well, and syd even blocked a goal. in the afternoon, we played and cleaned. at night, mike and i went on a "date" to the symphony's "fright night," which featured songs from the "vertigo" soundtrack to "thriller." The members on stage were in costume, so it was laid back and great.

on sunday, did the church-grocery-lunch-packers thing and played outside again, plus went for a walk. mike saw that "paranormal activity" movie w/his sister, too.

got syd's school and soccer pics, so will have to scan soon.

new car

bye, bye, 2001 ford f150.
hello, 2010 toyota prius with a solar roof, navigation system, backup camera and the like.
mike has pics, but have to add them here at some point.

early birthday weekend

this was a jam-packed weekend.

on saturday, grandpa and daddy took the girls to soccer (cass wouldn't play, syd sat out a while because she has a bronchial infection and was out sick friday).

meanwhile, mom, karin, shelley and i walked in the making strides walk (we raised $900) on a brisk morning. it was so cold that the foot bridges (wooden) were slick. mom and shell both wiped out individually. we also laughed at the bd mongolian grill mascot falling (you had to see it!). after the walk, we went to the rockford woman victory lap brunch, which drew close to 800 people!

at home, we had cabin-apple pie and marble cake for karin/jennie bday celebration. in the afternoon, karin, dad and mom went to chicago because they had tickets to "cats." i lounged around w/the girls until mike got home from work, then i crashed.

on sunday, we got up to go to chicago to see the shedd aquarium. this experience -- not to mention seeing the El and Karin's house and the Sears Tower and all kinds of city things -- was sensory overload for the girls. they loved it. they loved the aquarium, too. we saw "fantasea," a show with beluga whales, dolphins and penguins. we also saw tons of other stuff, like a sea star the kids touched. it is a very nice museum and was on "free day," so that was a bonus.

goofy girls 2009

brrr

wow, we've actually had two days off together. in a row!

on saturday, cass waited for the frost to thaw on the fields for her soccer game. had to skip syd's game for her first badge-earning venture as a girl scout: cake decorating at dq. her troop really is a good bunch of girls, and they loved this activity: perfect for this age.

in the afternoon, mike mowed amid the flurries and i squeezed in some work and a peaceful kid-free trip to the grocery store.
in the evening, decided to have family movie night: "monster vs. aliens." it was ok. seth rogan's monster was the best part.

on sunday, cass bonked her head a good one before sunday school, so we were almost late due to 30 minutes of wailing. she's fine. whew.
after lunch, we headed out to the pumpkin patch for pumpkins, bouncies, the haunted barn and a few bites of cider donut.
tonight, mike fell asleep watching fox sunday night and i'm chilling in the living room with the girls under the glow of halloween lights on the mantle.

p.s. realized that i forgot to post last week. did not miss much. though we saw "zombieland" on date night: hilarious!

brrr

sorry. super-late posting this.

syd had her first girl scout meeting a week ago. the troop leader is a friend of mine, and her daughters are the same ages as the girls. she liked it so much she said she wants to be a scout next year already. first badge will be earned in a few weeks.

on saturday morning, mike and i ran around like crazy. syd had an eye appointment: the patching is working, so we can scale back to 90 minutes a day and maybe eliminate in 2 years. then we went to soccer. cass had a meltdown and wouldn't let the professional photog take her pic for individual or team shots, so i saved $35. syd had a later game, so i caught part of that before heading to a charity kickball game to play on the media team. caught one ball and made one hit (it's harder than it looks but fun). the kids thought it was funny to see me out there.

rest of the weekend was busy but mundane. listened to the packers (see those twins above?)

had syd's parent-teacher conference last night: she is doing well. have to practice math more: it's getting hard, people! also curled up by the fireplace w/hot cocoa. where did those 70-degree days go?

p.s. yes, cass is wearing her fairy costume from last year and flying around the house. what a nut!