Making a list, checking it twice ...

or three times ... or four. :-D

I think we're starting to see some progress as we close in on Christmas in just 4 days! (I started typing this on the 21st.) Today, the girls and I spent several hours making goodies; some for us, some for friends. We made a load of Peanut Butter Balls, a double batch of Tiger Butter, 81 Thin Mints (Erica counted :-), 1 1/2-batches of White Chocolate Party Mix and Spiced Pecans. We spent an inordinate amount of time making everything, packaging it up, then cleaning up after ourselves. By then it was about 3:00 and no one had eaten any lunch. However, many had eaten a fair amount of chocolate! ;-) Rachel & I showered, got everybody loaded up and made a run for the border. By the time we did all this, it was 4:35 before we were heading over to Dr. Moon's office to deliver the goodies. While en route (but still very close to Lebanon), I decided to check to see what time their office closed. Turns out it was 4:30! So, I made a U-turn, then headed back in to town to mail our Christmas photo cards. It was actually pretty enjoyable – we were all in good spirits and Grant & Trent both slept!

The rest of the evening was spent eating dinner – yummy Baked French Toast, provided by a kind soul at church – and gift wrapping with Mick while the girls cleaned up from dinner and took turns holding Trent. We probably got at least half of it done! I'm determined to finish before Christmas this year!!

Phew!!

What a weekend! It started out bright and early Saturday morning with a shopping trip. Mick and I (and Trent) took off around 9 am. First stop was church so Mick could help move pews. I stayed in the car and tended to Trent. Then we drove down to Castleton and finished up our Christmas shopping. I spent 2 hours in Jo-Ann's picking up 3 patterns and picking out fabric for those sewing projects for Rachel. It was pretty crowded and very confusing for this novice seamstress. I made about 5 phone calls to Kelly during that shopping trip -- she was an invaluable source of information. I'm going to put all the fabric and materials in a big box and wrap them together. I can't wait to see Rachel's expression -- I think she is going to be very excited! While I was in Jo-Ann's, Mick went to Target and Dick's Sporting Goods to finish up his shopping.

From there, we drove back home, stopping by for a quick lunch on the way. We had made plans to go sledding in the afternoon, so we had asked Rachel to get the snow gear packed up and ready to go. True to her first-born nature, she attacked that mission with much vigor and organization, as is evidenced by these pictures:

How funny is that?! Yep, I would've done the same thing ... separate trash bags, with typed-up contents taped to the sides. ;-)

Heather & Ron were finishing up moving things to their new house, so their girls were at Mom & Dad's. We picked up Holly & Ellie and I dropped everyone off at the famous Maze Road hill and went back to Mom & Dad's with my sidekick.

The sledding only lasted an hour or so, then we ate dinner with Mom & Dad, then drove the girls back to their new house and got a tour. Got home by 10pm!

Today was just as busy ... up at 5:30 to put a roast in the crockpot, and make the communion bread and baked oatmeal. I woke Mick up around 7:45 and he was a tremendous help -- cleaning up the mess I'd made in the kitchen while I bathed the younger girls. After church, we had a nice dinner, topped by our Advent readings and gifts. For this last Sunday in Advent, we gave the girls their own giant Hershey's Special Dark bar. Boy, were they thrilled! During dinner, we got a call from Bob, who was on his way over with Melanie. They hadn't gotten to meet Trent yet, plus they had a Christmas gift for the girls ... a new Wii gameset! Very exciting! Hopefully, we'll get it all hooked up in the next day or so.

Right after they left, we headed back over to church for our annual Lessons & Carols service. Kelly & I sang with the choir and the Ladies Madrigal group (Rachel joined that group), the kids sang "Joy to the World" with a kids' choir, and Rachel, Courtney & Erica sang "What Child is This". They did a great job! Mom & Dad came up and we had nice time afterward visiting and eating goodies. We didn't get home until about 8:45. Trent was a fussbudget, so I quickly got wrapped up taking care of him, while everybody else fended for themselves for dinner. It was cereal for most of them, and judging by the surprise I found after everyone went to bed, it looks like Grant tried to pour his own cereal! :-D I think I fell asleep before anybody else (except for Brooke, who climbed up on the couch by Mick and fell asleep within minutes).

I'm hoping to get lots of baking/candy making done tomorrow. We're pretty well-stocked with ingredients, so we'll see how productive we are. A lot of it depends on Trent and how much he sleeps! We're hoping to deliver some goodies on Tuesday, wrap on Wednesday, then a tea party at the Orrs on Thursday. Fun!

Today was a productive day of preparing for Christmas, thanks to Amazon and their Free Super Saver Shipping! I focused on getting the rest of the gifts for the cousins. Unfortunately with our dialup, it still takes hours, but I'd rather spend the hours here at home, rather than driving through snow and fighting crowds trying to find just the right thing. I still have one more gift to get for Rachel, and 1 more cousin, I think. I also ordered Mom & Dad's gift and a couple of stocking stuffers for Mick. My goal is to get the Christmas shopping completely done by Saturday, then next week, we can hopefully just focus on baking and wrapping gifts.

Next Thursday, we are planning on going to the Orrs for a Christmas tea. Mom wanted to have one while the Ramseys are here, and they'll only be here from Wednesday through Sunday. I'm sure it will be a whirlwind couple of days, as always, but we're looking forward to it! The snow has been pretty amazing this year. I can't remember a December this snowy in recent years. We are hoping to go sledding on the famous Maze Road hill on Saturday. I'm not sure how many pictures I'll be able to get this time, since I have little Trent. We may just spend most of our time in the warm van. :-)

It's strange to have this much time to update the blog. Last night, Trent was awake off and on (mostly on) for most of the evening; most of the day, really. He just couldn't get settled in until very late. Tonight, I put him in the bath with Grant around 9:00. After that, Rachel put him in some snuggly pajamas, and he just quietly drifted off to sleep! Amazing! He's been asleep ever since (it's 11 pm now) and is laying on Mick right now. Too cute. I told Mick if it's because of the bath, I'm going to be giving him a bath every night, rather than the usual once a week. ;-) I'll close with Trent in those snuggly PJs ...

Wrapping it up

So, 2:06 am seems like a good time to wrap up the majority of my Christmas shopping. :-) It's hard to find time and privacy during the day, so, I'll take the night -- er, morning. I'm excited about what I've been able to find for everyone, mostly at Amazon.com. I took full advantage of their Free Super Saver Shipping and saved about $20 in S&H costs. So far, I've only gone shopping one time. Last Friday, I had my 6-week checkup, got some lunch, then went to several stores with Trent (aka "My Sidekick"). He slept beautifully from the time I got into the doctor's office, until about the 3rd store, which amounted to about 4 hours. Then he was awake...and hungry...and unhappy. And since pushing a large shopping cart while holding a crying 6-week-old is not the easiest, or most fun activity, I vowed to do as much shopping as I could online. I don't know that it's the most economical alternative, but this year, I really think it's the best.

Other than the online shopping, today was a pretty quiet day ("quiet" being a relative term, of course). Some friends were going to drop off their 2 girls while they went to a Christmas party, but one ended up not feeling well. We were disappointed, but the good thing was, we got the house cleaned up in record time, and just before we got the call saying they weren't coming over. ;-)

My sidekick has just woken up and decided now is a good time for a late-night snack. Guess he wants to celebrate the shopping wrap-up, too. ;-)

Our surprise, distinguished guest ...

We had an unexpected guest move in today ...

How funny is this?!! A Jane Austen action figure!! She comes complete with a quill pen, a writing desk, and what appears to be an original (and, I'm sure, signed) publication of "Pride and Prejudice"! Too funny!

The mysterious package was delivered by our postman and was addressed to "The Worley Girls". There was no return address, although it was surely a dear friend who knows how much Jane Austen fever that has currently gripped this household! Even our 4yo will sit through the 2-hr. Keira Knightley of "P&P", the 4-hr BBC "Emma" and most of the 6-hr BBC "P&P", which we just borrowed from the library yesterday.

I won't go into the details of the mania, but we have all noticed lately that 95% of our dinner conversations revolve around the author, characters, plots, scripts, costumes, etc. We're dragging Mick along through all of this. Grant is blissfully unaware at this point, but I have a feeling he will be growing up with an unusual appreciation for all things Jane Austen. :-D

For those who may be concerned that we're feminizing Grant too much, no worries. Right after I took the last picture of him, he threw the doll at Claire!

:-D

As you can see, there's lots of excitement about our new houseguest. I have a feeling she's not going to be getting a moment's rest for some time! In fact, within the first half hour, she already been given a wardrobe update. It seems her lovely early 19th century gown had been covered by a Barbie outfit! Horrors! It was a most unforgiveable crime, perpetrated by one of the younger ones, who hasn't developed a mature fashion sense yet.

I couldn't make up a story this silly ...

So, I got up at 7:00 this morning intending to get my morning 30-minute walk in earlier than our usual 9:30 or 10:00 we'd been hitting lately.  It's supposed to be 95 degrees with high humidity today, so I wanted to get an early start. 

I stepped out onto the back porch to check the temperature to see if it was as cool as I'd hoped.  It was, so I decided to wake up the girls who would probably want to go with me.  I turned around to head back in and realized I'd accidentally locked myself out!  I immediately checked all the other outside doors, but they were locked, too.  Then I started visually checking the windows, but they all looked locked.  I then made a brief mental note to stop procrastinating and get a spare key hidden somewhere outside!  Reluctantly, I tried the doorbell once.  I figured that with my luck, Grant (2yo and in a crib) would be the only one to hear the doorbell.  I waited, but couldn't hear any noises.  So, I tried the doorbell 3 more times, waiting and listening after each attempt.  Nothing.  In attempt to keep the kids from waking each other up, we have fans running in each room, and I'm sure the fans were doing their jobs and muffling the sound of the doorbell.  Maybe if I would have tried to open a bar of Hershey's Special Dark, they would've come running.  Hindsight is 20/20.  :-D

So, I stood there for a few minutes and considered my options, and came up with nothing.  Then, for some reason, I got to looking at the kitchen windows again, and thought it looked like one of them might be unlocked.  I inspected it more closely, and lo and behold, it was!  So, good news/bad news.  The good news was, the kitchen window was unlocked!  The bad news was, it's the smallest window, and is about shoulder-height from outside!  I was really wishing I could get into the garage to get a ladder, but the garage was locked, too.  So, I got a porch chair and tried that.  From that height, I could lean into the window, but could not shimmy myself up.  Remember:  I am 7 months pregnant (and, it goes without saying, barefoot ;-)! 

It was momentarily defeating to think I was this close to getting back in, but couldn't!  I even thought about yelling up to the girls, but wanted to exhaust all my other options before resorting to that.  I thought if I was just a little higher up, I could get myself through that window.  I looked around again and thought of the 2 ladders in the garage.  Then, I had a lightbulb moment!!  The pool ladder!!  So, I hoisted it out of the pool and it was the perfect height to get through the window.  Just before I climbed in (which makes it sound like I did it so effortlessly and gracefully ;-) I noticed how dirty the outside window sill was.  I was wearing white pants and a white striped shirt, but since I was just outside the kitchen sink, I was able to reach in and grab a washcloth and wipe the sill off.  (Martha Stewart would be proud.)  Then, I was able to get in through the window up to my hips -- but I kind of got stuck; I think I completely filled the window.  At this point, I was absolutely sure someone would drive by and call 911 to report a suspicious pregnant woman trying to break into a house!  :-D   (No one ever drove by throughout this ordeal!!  That's how remote we are!!)  So, how could I get the rest of myself through that tiny window?  I ended up having to rotate myself onto my back and scoot myself through until I could get onto the counter.  And thankfully, again -- since I was right over the kitchen sink and sitting on the counter, I was even able to rinse off my dirty feet!

After all that exertion, who needed a walk??!! 

Finished! "The Wind in the Willows"

The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


What a wonderful children's story! Read this version to your kids, with beautiful full-page illustrations. The 12 and 10yos especially loved this story, but the 8 and 6yos liked it, too. I just had to explain some of the more difficult language to them.

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Cure for Monday Morning Blahs

 

Finished! "Emma"

Emma by Jane Austen


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This one took a little longer to get into than "Pride & Prejudice", but well worth the effort. I was worried I wouldn't like Emma Woodhouse as much as Elizabeth Bennett, but although she is more quirky, she is still very loveable. Fascinating character development and very satisfactory ending.

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Finished! "Black Ships Before Troy"

Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Iliad by Rosemary Sutcliff


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I knew this book would be good based on all the recommendations I've read, but I didn't know just *how* good. I started it as a read-aloud to my kids during our Ancient Greece history lessons. I have never read "The Iliad", just knew bits and pieces of the storyline. I have been reading a few chapters each day, but ended up finishing up the book on my own because I was so drawn in by it. Now the hard part will be not giving away more details to the kids while I finish reading it. I really loved it! Some of the parts have been a little too gruesome for the girls, but they are *girls*, after all. ;-)

We also have "The Adventures of Odysseus" by Sutcliff and now I'm expecting great things from that book, too!

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Strange Cheese

Last week, I bought some string cheese during my grocery visit.  I hadn't bought it in a long time, but the girls remembered it.  Except Claire, who during lunch today asked me for some "strange cheese."  :-D

Finished "Pride and Prejudice"!

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Fantastic! I'm a late-comer to Austen; this is the first book of hers I've read. Definitely surpassed my expectations.

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Igloo pictures

 

Cold weather and Super Colts

We've been hit with a string of cold days and snow.  On Friday, we got about 8 inches with very strong winds, which out here means BIG drifts!  Mick is literally building an igloo in the biggest one.  I think he's burning off nervous energy before the Colts take on the Saints in the Super Bowl later on this evening.  GO COLTS!!!

Frozen Tundra of Boone County

 

Point of clarification

<sounds of scuffling upstairs>

<daughter from upstairs> "Mom, Claire's grabbing from me!"

Me:  "Claire, stop grabbing from Brooke."

Claire:  "I'm not grabbing from Brooke.  I'm grabbing from Sarah!"

 

Oh.  Ok. 

Grant - 18 months

 

Happy New Year!!

Had a great day at Mom & Dad's today ringing in the new year! Chuck, Monica, Mason & Benjamin, the Bruces, and the Orrs were there. We ended up having a tremendous amount of food. I made Baked Ziti and Italian Bread, Mick made a gigantic salad, Kelly made spaghetti & meatballs, Monica made a pasta dish. We also had crackers, summer sausage & cheese, nachos & salsa, Chex Mix, Mom made cabbage (mainly for the guys -- ick!). We also had chocolate chunk cookies, brownies, thin mints and puppy chow. I only had one meal around 2:30 or 3:00, then snacked the rest of the day. Dad had the audacity to ask if anyone wanted ice cream around 8:00 pm. He didn't get any takers. :-D

The rest of the time we played games; Euchre, Yahtzee, Pictionary & Trivial Pursuit, guys vs. girls. For some reason, the girls had some pretty easy questions, unlike when we played on Christmas Eve and got some really hard ones! We ended up with 4 out of 6 pie pieces by the time we needed to stop.

Just a fun time of being together. Dad said they visited Grandma in the morning and she was doing pretty good. Actually, the past 2 days have been good days where she's smiled and talked more than usual. She's pretty amazing.

Tomorrow, we'll probably try to get some housework done and take down the Christmas decorations (our tree is completely dried out). Sunday is fellowship meal after church, but I don't know if we'll go to it or not. Then Mick has one more day off on Monday. We may head down to the Central Library ... we'll have to see. I predict Tuesday will be a little bumpy as we all try to get things back to normal. Not normal for long, though -- Courtney's birthday is on Friday! :-D The fun continues ...