Christmas Is Over?!?!

Anyone else shocked by this?!?

I swear that yesterday it was Thanksgiving and somehow time warped and now it's 2 days past Christmas!

The boys declared this to be the best Christmas yet. Pretty spectacular words for a mom to hear. Especially a mom that had knee surgery 2 weeks prior. A mom who still cannot drive. A mom who gave her husband a 2 page list of things to purchase on Christmas Eve! Joe gets the win for best husband/father ever!!

Traditions are important for both Joe & I. Last year we took the boys on the our first annual NYC Christmas trip. We decided this trip would occur on the first Friday of each December. Ehh.....except for year #2. Tough to walk around NYC with a fully torn ACL & MCL.

Then on December 9th I had surgery. It made it beyond difficult to finish any shopping or to do any of the fun extra things that I wanted to do. The boys didn't notice the lack of holiday spirit. And next year we'll be right back into the full swing of things! It's amazing how difficult we mom's are on ourselves!!!!

Having this injury taught me that the best Christmas isn't one that is determined by the number of presents under the tree. It isn't determined by all the extra Christmas related activities that you do. But it is determined by the number of times you tell your kids you love them, by the number of hugs you give, by the number of times you watch Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer while cuddling on the couch.

And this is what I will remember most about this Christmas!

Date Night

I had such a wonderful night. The kind of night that can make a girl giddy. Tonight was date night with my two favorite boys, Aidan & Connor.

Joe had plans with some co-workers. It included him attending a Lia Sophia party. Oh the money I would have paid to see my husband at a jewelry party!

The boys & I went to the mall. It's been a long time since I've been to the mall on Friday night! We played some games at the arcade. Aidan beat me at air hockey. And then Connor beat me at air hockey. The boys turned in their tickets and collected their prizes. Then we went to Target to pick out a birthday present for Neeeee-Oooooo (as Connor affectionately calls him!)

We headed over to Friendly's for dinner after. We were seated next to a group of 4 older women. Ages 72 +. They never stopped laughing. Not even for a minute. It made me smile. A lot!!! I know that someday myself, Merrie, Sharon, and Kelly will be those women. It makes my heart happy to have friends like them! It makes my heart smile to know that 40 years from now we'll still laugh at the same jokes.

Each lady hugged me goodbye and told me how lucky I am to have such wonderful children. I couldn't agree more.

I love date nights with my boys!!!

Favorite time of the year!

When I started this blog I had every intent on updating it frequently. I had not expected to tear both my ACL and MCL. I wish I could say I tore these ligaments by jumping over fire while climbing some bad ass mountain. But it's a work related injury. An injury I never expected and still makes me fume with anger! But I'm trying not to let myself get so angry over the things I have no control.

So with a torn ACL and MCL I'm really limited in what I can do. This is where my anger really kicks in! Fall is my absolute favorite time of year. Decorating, apple picking, baking, pumpkin picking, long walks in the woods, jumping in leaves, trick or treating, hay rides, the list goes on and on. This year there have been no long walks, no jumping in leaves, no hay rides. I have to be grateful for the things I can do and know that next year I'll enjoy these activities so much more!!

Joe, the boys, and I had a busy weekend. Or as busy as my knee would allow. We were able to go apple picking. I couldn't do much of it, but fully enjoyed what I could do. We also picked out our pumpkins. It's still too soon to carve them but we gave them fun masks in the meantime. I would highly recommend trying this to anyone. It was super easy, super inexpensive, and the pumpkins are super cute.

Yup- I just used the word "super" 3 times in that sentence. I promise that I won't ever do that again....(unless I find another super idea......ha ha ha!!! )

Yellow Winton Flyer

The boys and I had a busy weekend. It started off on Friday when we went school shopping and out to dinner with some wonderful friends. We went to this great little British place in Bennington VT. One of our closest friends is from Wales. She introduced us to mushy peas, HP sauce, chocolate buttons, and Chip Butty.

Yes I was hesitant to taste but everything was delicious. Aidan is a particular fan of the Chip Butty. French fries on a buttered roll. It's a 7 year old's dinner dream!!!

Saturday we set off to Tanglewood with some more fabulous friends for movie night with John Williams and the Boston Pops. I had been looking forward to this performance all summer. I worked at Tanglewood while I was in college and it's one of my favorite places in the Berkshires. We had a wonderful night. The sky was clear and the stars were shining bright. Thankfully the people sitting in front of us had a huge candelabra. It made finding our spot, after trips to the bathroom, a lot less difficult!!

Morgan Freeman was the guest speaker. I could listen to his voice all day. Especially with the Boston Pops accompanying it.

Mr. Freeman began telling a story. A story that I now realize is from a book, The Rievers, by William Faulkner. The story, which I will not tell as well, talks of a boy living in Mississippi in the early 1900's. His grandfather buys a beautiful yellow car. This car is the desire of the people living in the small town. The grandfather entrusts the young boy to watch his car and make sure it is safe. The boy is filled with temptation and ends up taking the car for a drive. This car is a yellow Winton Flyer.

I cried while I listened to the story. I cried because I was happy and because I was sad. I cried because my grandfather is Winton. I cried because Joe knew and quietly told our kids the story of the car and my grandfather.

My Papa was named after this obscure car. His father was friends with the man who designed and made the Winton. Connor is named after his great-grandfather. His full name is Connor Winton. I can only hope that tradition will carry on and Connor will give a future child the name Winton.

Listening to Morgan Freeman brought me great joy. I'm a skeptic at a lot of things but especially thinking that loved ones in heaven watch over us. In my extended family I am the minority. I have aunts that see butterflies and think it's the presence of my Papa. Other relatives see pennies lying on the ground and immediately think they are pennies from heaven. But in that moment I knew that my grandfather continues to be with us.

I suppose I will never look at pennies on the ground or butterflies quite the same way. But I feel a great reassurance in knowing that my Papa has "met" his great-grandsons!

Tanglewood at dusk

Me and my wonderful boys!

Little Blue & Little Yellow

Connor's favorite color is yellow. When we go to the library to pick out books, we try to find books that are yellow. Our new favorite author is Leo Lionni. When I saw he wrote a book titled, "Little Blue And Little Yellow" I knew we had to read it. It was an awesome read!! The kids loved it!!! And it taught Connor that we can mix colors to make new ones.

We sat outside this afternoon mixing together blue paint and yellow paint. The proof is all over Connor's hands, arms, and legs. Yellow & blue does make green!!

Danielle and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

I love reading this book to my kids. I love it even more when it's about Alexander's day. Not about my own day.

The day started off at 4am when Connor wet his bed. We've been trying to have him make it through the night without a diaper. He's good for a 3 day streak and day 4 is always a failure. You would think I would learn to put a mattress pad under his sheet. But I haven't learned yet. So at 4am I was scrubbing the mattress, praying that it doesn't smell like urine.

I was pretty restless after that. I attempted to go back to bed but sharing a bed with Connor and Joe does not make for a pleasant sleep environment.

I decided to make the kids french toast for breakfast. They like it when I cut them into long strips and they can dip those into the syrup. Just as I was pouring the syrup into individual bowls the phone rang. The caller ID showed that the call was coming from the Town Of Cheshire. Interesting since I don't know anyone that lives in Cheshire. It was Joe calling from the police station letting me know my car was being towed. Apparently I never re-registered my car.

I won't go on about the rest of the terrible, horrible, bad things that happened. I'll move forward to the positive parts of the day.

The boys wanted to go to the library for a drum performance. They were both hopeful that they would have the chance to play the drums. The performer was awesome!! He did a great job keeping the kids attention and making everyone feel good. And sure enough we were able to practice our talents at drumming on a ngoma drum. I loved watching the expression on the faces of Aidan & Connor and seeing how excited they were as they tapped away. It made the rest of the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day seem not so bad.

Well until Aidan told me that he wants to take drum lessons......

Rainy Days & Mondays

Don't they always get you down? They do for me. Today was especially tough being both a Monday and a rainy day! Although I hate to complain. We've had a fantastic summer so far. The weather has been wonderful!! We've been fortunate enough to spend lots of time swimming at my in-law's house and playing at a lot of parks!

But as Karen Carpenter bellowed "hanging around with nothing to do but frown, rainy days & Monday's always get me down."

I thrive on having lots of things to do. I enjoy being busy. I especially love when I am planning things. Planning parties, vacations, recipes, activities for the kids, arts & crafts. I love to come up with ideas and plan out how I am going to carry them through. Seeing the finished product makes me feel great!!

I work part time for a non profit agency. Over the weekend we had a bake sale and car wash to raise money for the kids we work for.

Now if there is one thing I do really well it is bake! I love mixing flour and spices while the mixer is blending together the sugars and butter. The smells in the kitchen while the cupcakes are rising brings a smile to my face. I play loud music and dance around the kitchen while I'm baking. I can vividly envision my imaginary bakery, Danielle's Delights. Warm gold tones and purples cover the walls. Throughout the bakery there is the faint smell of cinnamon and nutmeg.

But I digress.

I had offered to make some baked goods for the bake sale. My mind was turning with all the new recipes I had planned on making. Along with a few of the older, well loved, ones. When it came down to it, my mind planned faster then I actually had time for. I was working Wednesday through Saturday. This left very little time for the actual baking. I ended up making one favorite and one new recipe. The new recipe may now be the favorite.

So on this rainy Monday, with no baking left to do, I tried my best to keep the boys entertained. We visited Grandma Pat, went to the library, and did some grocery shopping. But in my mind, I'm thinking ahead to the holidays, with lots of delicious ideas dancing in my head.






The "old" favorite. Cookies & Cream Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting.





The "new" favorite. Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting. (FYI- there were none of these remaining at the end of the bake sale! So yummy!!!)