More Christmas Party

Cousins galore!

Partly because I'm still unloading the gazillion things the girls got in their multiple party bags and tripping over stuffed animals (I wish someone had taken a photo of Auntie Dottie buying a cart full of 60 stuffed penguins!) but I have a few more party pics to share. I actually have 200 pics but I'll only share a few!

Some of the best are of the kids' faces when the characters came in. Our wonderful party planners (my mom and aunts!) rented costumes of Rudolph, Frosty, Spongebob, an elf, and a penguin and some of the "big cousins" were willing to sneak out and dress up (I think they enjoyed it actually. Especially Diane who as the penguin learned the Happy Feet dance and donned her tap shoes to dance for the kids. It was fabulous!) for the little ones. Earlier there were games for the kids and plenty of music for singing and dancing. How could we not have fun?

Our family did this type of party over 30 years ago when we "big cousins" were small. Few of us remember it though and the photos actually show some rather frightening characters (phew, good to see how much the costume industry has improved in those years!) and it has become a bit of a family joke. Did that party really happen? We see the pictures but funny none of us remember it . . . So it was decided last year that the new generation of Coleman cousins (31 families have descended from the 10 Coleman siblings. Only some of them were able to attend else we would have had to rent a convention center!) needed to recreate the event.

My girls really enjoyed the whole thing start to finish and I was thrilled to see them playing so well with cousins they don't often see or some they had never met before! The only disappointing part was tearing them away from it all. Brenna loves being with Nolan and Johnny and also discovered a great friendship with Jenna. Molly and Ariel were tearing up the dance floor and couldn't understand why they couldn't have a playdate the next day. The nearly 500 miles between us is really a problem. I hope as the girls get older, they can use email and phones to stay close to their cousins. I was blessed to grow up near mine (geographically and emotionally and nearly a dozen of us were born between 1970-1972) and I wouldn't trade that experience for the world. I can only hope the same for my girls . . .

Molly and Rudolph (Shhh! It's really cousin Lisa's boyfriend Angelo. She wouldn't pose for pictures with any characters so we had to tell her who this one really was. Can you tell she's excited? She has a big 'ol crush on him. :) (see the 8/22 entry)

Then there's Brenna and Santa

and then the girls with the ever-popular Uncle Don and Auntie Kristin


Cutie Cousins!

Thanksgiving

Backtracking a bit . . .

"A Freeman Thanksgiving" takes shape at Auntie Dottie's each year. At a mere 37 people this year it didn't seem overly crowded! Here you see the 4 tables being assembled - though we have parted ways with the custom tables that Uncle Al used to build to accommodate the yearly gathering! We won't even discuss the year that Auntie Dottie decided we all needed to eat at one table - picture folding tables snaking end to end throughout the house. We weren't necessarily in the same rooms, but we were at one table!! And in our family it's okay that at 40 yrs old, cousins still have to sit at the kids' table because after all - there's a kids' kids' table!

Every time I start to think that the 10 hr. drive north is becoming too much with the kids in school and such, I think about how much fun we have and I can't imagine missing it. Dean and I actually flew in from our Australian honeymoon the night before Thanksgiving 1996 and still made it to the dinner table, albeit bleary and very jetlagged, because I just couldn't bear to break tradition. The day may come when we do have to miss the festivities but until then . . . pass the potatoes, pass the dirty carrots (after all, what is a yam?), pass the broccoli, pass the peas and onions (who even eats those things!) . . .

Family Christmas Party

I need to rest before I can adequately describe today's festivities! So many of the children and grandchildren of the 10 Coleman siblings (my grandmother) gathered to usher in the holidays together. What a great time. Family everywhere, food everywhere and fun everywhere!!!

The girls had a ball with their cousins (first photo but they all didn't fit!), I had a ball with my cousins (second photo), and the "grownups" (third photo) had a ball watching the cousins enjoy the cousins!

I cannot thank my mom and all of my aunts for arranging today. I know they had fun with it but it clearly was a great deal of work too. We will not wait so many years before we do this again though - it was too much fun!

Gobble Gobble!

We're off tomorrow to enjoy the holiday in Boston and stuff ourselves silly!

The girls are excited to see all of their cousins both at Turkey Day

and at the Mega-Christmas party on Saturday.

Molly's turkey

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Picky Eaters

More and more lately I find the girls becoming pickier in what they will and will not eat. In an effort to get them to eat new things we made a chart for the fridge and they get a check mark if they try (which means 2 bites - one to taste and one to decide) a new food. After 10 checks they can pick a special treat.

Molly got her 10 checks last night and so we started discussing her treat. Brenna suggested that a lollipop which Lord knows is no special treat for these kids but if Molly was willing I was okay with it! Nope, Molly says the lollipop isn't what she wanted.

"I was thinking maybe a ride in a limo," she says.

WHAT?! Where on earth did that come from and how does she even know what a limo is?! And did she really think that's what I had in mind as a treat for ingesting maybe a whopping total of 2 oz. of food? This kid is insane. I could see her getting limo on the brain if our teenage neighbor just had a limo for a dance or something but no, we haven't seen or mentioned a limo in ages! I never know what's going on in that Molly-brain!

Investiture

Which is a fancy way of saying Brenna is officially a Girl Scout Brownie now. There was a little ceremony at school last night for parents to present the girls with their pins. Brenna was chosen to carry the Brownie flag during the procession so that made her quite proud. As you can see from her vest, she's been working hard and already has earned 5 "Try-It" patches. Nearly all of the girls in her class participate in scouts so it's a great activity for her.

Eek!

You know the news isn't good when the PreK teacher leads the kids out the door and seeing all the parents clustered together to claim their little darlings says pseudo-brightly (and with a very audible sigh), "Well, tomorrow will be new day!"

That can only mean things didn't go well today. I however didn't get called over to the steps for "a chat" so whatever the ruckus was, I guess Molly wasn't involved (too much anyway)!

That said, Miss Molly was standing to the side with the class' #1 alpha-male (who is ALWAYS in the time-out red chair according to Molly) and before I know it, they have planned a playdate at my house, for today, and his mother was asking me if it was okay. Mind you I had not 2, not 4, not 5 but SEVEN children here yesterday so I'm still not thinking straight! With the teacher's words ringing in my ears, I nodded blindly and home we came. Actually Molly and Quinn played very well and his mom picked him up after 1.5 hrs so it was fine.

Now Brenna is playing with his sister at their house so the process will repeat when I go to pick her up in an hour. I hope they're behaving!

Open House

(Molly's in the pink at the Lego table - I didn't take the photos so this is the best I have)

Today was Open House at the girls' school and I always help as a guide in showing prospective families around the school. The principal reminded me of a story from last year that I thought you'd get a kick out of:

I was asking Brenna all about her first day in Grade 1 with Sr. Ritamary (who has a rather "old school" approach to teaching.) She went on and on about all the neat things and commented that her desk was in the front row. When I asked where Sophia's (her best friend) desk was she replied,"I don't know." That seemed odd so I asked where Mary's (another good pal) desk was. Again I got, "I don't know."

When I asked how she could she could possibly miss two of her best buddies in one small classroom, she said with a sigh, "Mom, I guess they're somewhere behind me. But I don't know exactly where because Sister said we're supposed to keep our eyes in front and I sure didn’t want to look back there!"

That was my first clue that she was gonna do just fine that year!

Dancin' Fools!

Today was "Visitor Day" at the girls' dance classes. I always enjoy watching them and seeing how their classes are doing. Both really enjoy dancing and are doing great. This is Molly's second year and she's an old pro. It's Brenna's second year at this studio (4th overall) and her first year with jazz (which Molly is very jealous of - she wants to try that so badly!) Her teacher announced today that she will take them to a dance convention in January - not to compete but to take some classes and just see the show. Brenna is excited so I hope it's something we can do. I think it might be a bit overwhelming for her but if she wants to try it . . .

Four older dancers from her teacher's other studio in VA will be dancing in the Macy's parade next week. Two years ago some of her girls danced on the Great Wall of China. Clearly this teacher does well, but what I like best is that this place is very low pressure, low stress. She wants the girls to dance for the love of dance regardless of how "good" they are. I'm just glad the girls' like it so much!

Parent Conferences

We had Parent/Teacher conferences for both girls on Friday.

Molly's was first. Her lead teacher simply said, "She's perfectly wonderful. If I had a class full of gems like her I'd come skipping to work every day!" Dean looked at me and I looked at him and then we had to break it to the teacher, "You have us mistaken with another family, we're MOLLY'S parents." She cracked up. Come to find out Molly is a lovable little Miss Personality who everyone wants to play with, is confident and careful in her work, is obedient and just a joy to deal with. We don’t know who’s file was actually read to us since that simply couldn’t be OUR Molly, but her teacher seemed thrilled with her “Miss Molly Oh Golly.” This teacher is very structured and comes off as being a toughie. The kids love her though. The secondary teacher who is in the class every day as well is a more soft-hearted lovey woman and Molly also has her completely wrapped around her finger. I'm just glad to see my little gal so happy to be in school and doing good work.

So buoyed by that report we went to Brenna's class. The news there was equally positive. Brenna is a good girl, easily stays on task and follows the rules, is generally as quiet as a mouse, is kind to everyone and is right on target for her academics. The only even slight recommendations were to work to get her to participate more now that she's comfortable and to encourage her to write more slowly to make her penmanship a bit neater. We can't complain about that!

It was nice to hear glowing comments about both kids. We're all very happy with this school and the girls' teachers this year really seem to have identified our kids personalities and have classrooms that will be great for our kids. Let's hope it continues!!

If my kids like school so much . . .

why do they look terrified in their school pictures???

I can't say I really like them (not that I think anyone is ever supposed to like school pictures, but still!) This is part of the reason I still take them for birthday portraits. At least you can preview and select those.

Molly however thinks hers is fabulous. She whipped it out of her school bag announcing "It's super cute, Mom!" When I asked her what specifically she thought was so nice about it, she replied "Oh, pretty much just that cute kid who's in it!" It's a shame she has such poor self -esteem. :) I think I'll have hers redone because they should be able to get her to smile at least ! Brenna doesn't want hers redone because this one shows all of her missing teeth. Every one of her previous school pictures has that "deer in the headlights" look as well so I don't know that a retake would be much different. Either way, these are the ones that go into the class composite photo. Oh well.

Sorry-looking turkeys

With October finished and Thanksgiving looming, I thought I'd share these pictures of the turkeys we've had our eye on at Homestead Farm. Here they are in late September:

And then this is in late October:

We sure hope Auntie Dottie is planning on cooking the whole flock to feed the crowd she hosts because these are some scrawny looking birds!! Maybe Molly was right and we should give her candy to the farmers - it might help plump up these birds!

And let me just tell you, these are the ugliest creatures I've ever seen (well, except for that vulture I once saw smack dab in the middle of our street but that was like something from a cheap horror flick! Ugh!!!) When they get stressed (they live in a pen that gets visited by dozens of screaming kids every day - when AREN'T they stressed!) their heads turn bright blue and their tail feathers spread. They're still ugly though. But they taste good. ;)

Still Plodding Along . . .

I think we're all still coming down from the sugar high of Halloween. It's been a tough few days. Both girls are a bit "off" - Brenna with a bad cold and Molly with a bad attitude. We'll muddle through somehow.

This will be a somewhat relaxing week though since the girls are off school for 2.5 days. Tomorrow is Election Day so Dean will be at the polls all day since he's now a big Chief Judge. He really likes it - and I think it makes him less nostalgic about not being on Capitol Hill so much anymore. The girls have the day off since their school is a polling place but Brenna has a field trip to the National Gallery of Art with her Brownie troop an Molly has a birthday party so we'll still be out and about. They are out again with a half day Thursday and Friday off for Parent/Teacher conferences. Wish me luck with those! I'm expecting good reports, but what you see is never what you get in this house! Either way, we can all use the rest so we're just going to lay low. We all need a break.

I've been keeping busy with a bunch of things at school, but mostly helping with the Girl Scouts. This is the first year we have scouting at school so there's a big learning curve while we all learn the best way to do things. Right now I'm coordinating a special program for the Grade 2 & 3 Brownies. There is a religious medal they can earn and I'm moving things into overdrive so they can get everything done and receive their medals at the Scout Sunday Mass in Feb. Our way-cool priest and one of the sisters will help me with the wrap-up sessions but right now it's all me. Soon I'll be shifting gears though and plunging headlong into the school auction again. I got sucked in to that venture 2 years ago and secretly enjoy all the hoopla. I do all the business end of things from the data entry to the catalog. Basically every sheet of paper related to the auction comes through my computer. It's a lot of work but I get to work with great people, get to spend a lot of time at school (like I'm not there anyway!) and generally feel like I'm putting some small part of my education to work again! After 7 years of filling sippy cups and repairing Polly pockets, it's nice to know I can still balance huge spreadsheets! Plus if I look busy enough, Dean won't send me back to work just yet!

Halloween Pictures

Here are my troops. They had a great time at the school pizza party and parade and then came home to trick or treat in the neighborhood with friends. It was a nice warm night so they didn't have to worry. The New Englander in me has a hard time adjusting to costumes that need to accommodate a sweatshirt underneath or a winter coat depending on the weather that particular year. We've had some nice nights the past few years.

They had school today (public schools were closed though) so they finished up at a decent time and came home to sort their loot. Molly gave all of her Butterfingers to her teacher (much to Dean's dismay - he loves those!), donated about 6 pieces to the candy drive and most of the rest she packed up for the farmers. ;) Brenna reluctantly parted with a few pieces for the candy drive. She may be a sweet and generous child in general, but all bets are off when there's candy involved! It was a fun night - especially because all the neighborhood daddies did the walking this time!

I leave you with this picture of my friend's 3 year old. You have to know that this child has a thin blonde bob hairstyle in real life. I nearly wet my pants when I saw her !!!

Too Much Farm

Clearly we've visited the farm way too many times recently.

Molly was telling me today that they're having a candy drive at school (they collect extra/unwanted candy on Weds. and donate it to shelters) She told me she would bring some in for that but wanted to donate most of her trick-or-treat goodies "to the farmers who don't have any candy."

Ummm, okay.

Silly me asked "Why?" knowing full well that Molly always has a perfectly logical explanation.

So she told me (with that "you're-simply-pathetic" look) "Well, because farmers grow their own food and they sure can't grow candy!"

Again, I have no idea how this child's mind works but all of her comments, when taken literally, actually make sense. Especially because she's so completely sure of herself when she says these things. I just love this age!

Neighborhood Parade

One quick photo of the girls and a few friends from our neighborhood party today. It's been a busy weekend - Brenna had a Girl Scout mock campout yesterday complete with tents and smores. This mommy got to chaperone and boy did I come home tired! Today was homework including a book report and preparations for this party/parade. Molly got pretty good makeup job but we couldn't get the white paint to work on Brenna - maybe she's fair enough already! Either way she was happy, looked great and both girls had a fun time at the party. Brenna came home with only 1 chopstick from her hair and her kimono all ripped in the back (See! these cheesy nylon things just don't hold up to industrial mommy costumes!) so I have some repairs to do tomorrow before the big night. 

Photos Are In!

Here is what a very cooperative 7 year old looks like. After years of portraits captured only through aggravation and tears, it's a nice change! This one was a simple "Look right, look left, click, click, click" and we were done. I think they came out pretty well.

And aunties out there, if you want a particular pose, just let me know. You know me, it's going to take a bit before I get them in envelopes and mailed!

Voila!

Today was a little party with the gang from my MOMS Club. Tuesday we have a pizza party at school and then trick-or-treating so we'll go all out with makeup for that. Brenna didn't wear her costume today since she came straight from her Irish step class and all of the kids there were little. She'll wear it Sunday for our neighborhood parade and I'll get some photos.

DONE!

And she does look faintly like a leopard - one wearing size 12 pajamas that is. I greatly overestimated when I cut the fabric figuring she'd need warmer clothes underneath for trick or treating. Well, she could wear 2 ski parkas and it would still fit. Who cares - it's soft and it's warm and she's thrilled. So thrilled in fact that she got right down on all fours and started crawling around and growling.

And good mom that I am? I yelled "Get off that floor! Don't you know that costume isn't for playing in? Good Lord it took me hours to make that!" She thinks I'm possessed.

Lessons learned:
The blue thread was perfect given all the seams I had to rip out.
God bless spotted fleece that hides a multitude of sins.
Tails and mittens are easy to make.
Do not ever attempt to make sleeves without a pattern.
Do not ever try to sew sleeves onto a shirt that is already on the body of a 4 year old.
Do not ever try to sew sleeves period.

I'll have photos later since we have my MOMS Club party today. Brenna will be coming straight from Irish Dance class so she's not dressing up.

Now that all of this is behind me? I resolve that next year they'll both be wearing costumes that only involve mittens and tails!

(And no reason other than the season for this photo. I just decided to be wonder-photographer at the pumpkin patch and get some classy pictures of subjects who weren't complaining that they were cold!)

Wish Me Luck!

I have in my posession:

A 4-year-old who wants to be a leopard for Halloween (or possibly a jaguar depending on the day)

Invitations to three Halloween parties (beginning Thursday)

Two yards of brown and yellow spotted animal fleece (it's can be a leopard or a jaguar as the mood fits - though Brenna said it looked like a giraffe but the bolt specifically said "leopard" so I'm going with that)

Red thread and blue thread (refer to previous point that the fabric is brown and yellow)

A sewing machine

A pair of pajamas that fit said 4-year-old

A bizarre mother-brain thing that says I need to make Halloween costumes when that cheesy nylon leopard suit in Target would have been just fine.

What I do not have:

A pattern of any type (save the pajamas which are doing me little good at present)

Sharp Scissors *see Addendum

Any sewing ability whatsoever (witness Brenna's 2-yr-old poodle skirt costume. The entire thing was glue gunned together! and she still looked precious!)

Luckily, as I said, Molly is 4 and her expectations are minimal.

Do not be alarmed if photos next week show the poor child wearing two yards of leopard print fleece with a hole cut in the middle for her head and the whole thing simply tied around her waist. She does have a tail and ears so she's feeling good!

Brenna is going to be the first blonde, gap-toothed Asian princess to ever walk the face of the Earth. Don't think I'm making a kimono! She's already had her mommy-created costume moments in the sun! Target provided the heavy lifting for her cheesy nylon get-up and I've merely spray painted a pair of chopsticks to stick in her hair. Although that was 2 days ago and they're still wet. You might need to wish me luch on that too.

It's gonna be a long night . . .


Addendum: I found a 2" web picture of a pattern for doll pants which gave me a clue about how to cut the fabric (sharp scissors would have helped. I'll add those to my list for next time) and after some issues with the seams (which are very easy to pull out when the thread is blue against brown fabric - so see, it was a blessing in disguise!) not going right , I did manage to make a pair of pants sometime around 1 am. I even remembered to increase the size since Molly's slighter larger than an 18" doll! They are a bit too long (gotta love fleece though - just trim and go!) and they come halfway up to her armpits (I figure she'll be warm if nothing else) but they at least look like pants! I used some stretchy cording from a gift box as elastic. Improvisation is key. Now I need to go search for an idea for some kind of top. I don't know that I have it in me to do sleeves. Oh, and she wants leopard mittens with yellow paws on them. Ummmm, sure kid. Let me just whip them right up. I think I need to go buy real elastic!

Watch for photos later this week - this ought to be a hoot. I had better buy some makeup so I can do a cute face on her - it will draw attention to something other than her outfit!