Merry Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had as wonderful a Christmas as our family did. Big thanks to Aunt Betty for suggesting a family picture and a bigger thanks to everyone for patiently gathering for it! It is not a perfect family portrait, but at least now we have one!

And the girls sporting one of their favorite Santa gifts-Rock Star Demi Lovato outfits from the movie camp rock! Katie especially loved the big dangly earrings. Everyone thought they were the girls dance outfits! They could work for that.....especially since Katie added her new Allegro hat to the ensemble!

Now off to PA to celebrate with the other half!

Enjoy the rest of 2008 and peace and prosperity to you all for 2009.

Kristin

Grrrr....

I have to get something off my chest today. I can't stand crazy inconsiderate people on the road. Really, that's all. If I had it within my power to shoot missles at cars that cut others off or feel like they can cruise down the fast lane and cut into the long line waiting to exit at the last minute, I would. Honestly. I would. And not even flinch. Today it took me about 1 hour and 45 minutes to drive 35 miles. On the highway. The strech of 95 south from Washington St Woburn to Rt 3 north took me just over an hour. It's only 5 miles long. It just happens to be a mall exit. And I am apparently the only person in the whole state of Massachusetts that tries to be in the right lane at an appropriate time. Really puts you in the holiday mood, let me tell you. Thank god for my Dad-I didn't even get home in time to pick up Paige from school. I was still in Burlington when school let out. I leave work 1hr and 25m before she gets out. Usually only takes me about 40 minutes to drive home.
My other pet peeve? At least TRY to clean the snow off your car people-please? Not that I mind terribly when you fly past me on the highway doing 95 (obviously this beef is not from today) and all the snow hits me smack in the windshield, but some day it's gonna crack. That's gonna take time out of my life that I just don't have to spare. I know it's cold out, and you may have trouble reaching, but please try, just for me? Thanks.
And if you are reading this and guilty of any of the above offenses, I wouldn't suggest telling me-you will likely get a long lecture and I may not look at you the same as before.....
Whew, that feels better.
So, in the spirit of the holidays, can we all just try to be a little more patient and wait our turn for once?
I just love Christmas.
Kristin

More snow....

Well, we were pretty much snowed in this weekend. I think we got a total of about 20 inches between the 2 storms. Great for playing in snow. And we got the girls snowshoes for Christmas this year. It took all my will power not to give them to the girls Saturday. What a great day for it! You watch, as soon as they open those gifts the snow will magically disappear and not come back until they've outgrown them. Come to think of it, that might not be too bad....

Today was the ever-famous kids Christmas party at the Club. Ah, the Club, what a great place! Many of you have heard me extoll it's many virtues in the past. Both my dad and Mark are members of this social club near downtown. Mostly it's a place for people (and by that I mean long lines of white Nashua men who know someone in order to get in) to hang out and solve the worlds problems. They just happen to down pitchers of beer and eat fabulous $5 pizzas while they are doing it. Seriously, it is one happy laid-back place to be. I know there are people out there who may judge it or not see it for what it is (or can be) but I have never been to a local place where the people are friendly and all the salt-of-the-earth wants to buy the beautiful lady a beer. That's me by the way. And yes, when I am there, I really do feel pretty beautiful. Let's just say the odds are stacked in my favor.

My absolute favorite time to visit the club is for meat bingo. No, you do not play bingo with pepperoni for chips, this is man's bingo. And everyone who really knows me, know that I a bit more boy-like than girl-like. I drink beer, watch sports (and know what it is I'm watching) and want to set up a campfire spot with a beer cooler and a TV behind the shed in the back yard. I went to a male dominated school and fit right in. But I digress. Meat bingo is played with regular playing cards, three stapled together to form a set. You buy your cards like at any bingo hall, but you can drink beer while you play. And a really cool guy with the deepest voice you ever heard calls the cards. "And the next card is an Ace.....it's the Ace.... of Spades......" His voice is so deep he thought Kim was making fun of him when she was telling Pirate jokes one night. ARGH! Honestly though, you've never lived until you've been to meat bingo. Why is it called meat bingo? Because you don't win money. No, you win MEAT. I have only won once. I walked away with 8.5 pounds of pork ribs. Oh yeah, when I picked up my prize, it was rather amusing to walk around and hear shouts of "hey, nice rack!" from the crowd. We always go with Kim and Justin-it just wouldn't be the same without them. Here's a typical night.

Meet at La Carettas for dinner. 2 margarita limit.
Go to the Club to get good seats!
Spend $25 bucks each playing bingo.
Spend a lot more on beer. Did I mention pitchers of miller lite are only $6?
Eat the free sandwiches at half time
Get bored at half time and ask Justin to sing us a song. He then belts out Country Roads. Half the bar joins in, the other half look at us like "who brought the drunk kids?
Collect any winnings and head to Killarny's for more beer and sing a longs.
Pound tylenol and water to avoid hangover the next morning.

It is so fun, but limited to twice per year. That's all our old bodies can take!

The second best reason to be there is the kids party. The Sunday before Christmas every year Santa visits and the kids get to sing carols, eat donuts and make crafts. And everyone gets to sit on Santas lap for a picture and he gives them a present. And they are great presents. Mark's dues are paid back just in the party alone. This year was no exception. Katie did have one meltdown, since a few older kids got to sing into the microphone, but she didn't get a chance. Maybe next year kiddo.

Here are some cute shots of the kids with the fantastic Santa!



Well I hope all your shopping is done! Have a great holiday everyone-I will likely be offline for awhile but I am sure there will be more stories to tell when I return!
Kristin

One week to go.....

So, I went through the pile-o-gifts tonight and I think we're good. Santa is done, just a few family things to finish up and we're off! This last stretch is always hard. I am home tomorrow-thank goodness. School is getting out early with the impending snow so it's off to the grocery store with Paige before school. I can do that and make it back in time to walk her to school. Duh duh da dahhhhhh-I am........SUPER MOM! Cape and all. Don't laugh, someday after I get the kids ready for school, commute to MA with the other morons, work all day to implement programs no one wants to follow, commute home, drive the kids to dance, do homework, make a healthy meal, read and wash up the kids, clean off the kitchen counter for the 18th million time, pack everyone's stuff for the next day, then do a load of laundry while editing photos and post here, I am really going to wear a cape the next day. Maybe something in brown. Velvet. To match my eyes.
Back to the holidays. So we sent out our cards. You should receive them soon! I did not include a letter this year. If you are disappointed don't be-it would just be a summary of all the cool things I write here! And after last years embarassment I could do without it anyway. Oh you don't remember or didn't notice? Let me remind you.
I wrote a paragraph for each of us. Paige about kindergarten, Katie and her antics, me with photography and Mark about fishing. Oh yes, I bragged about the 42 inch fish he caught on 07-07-07. I even checked the spelling but thought I had it right. Mark proof read it too. I think he liked it that way. I didn't even notice until a friend emailed us and asked if that was her bust or her inseam. Oh yes, about 80 of our closest friends and family were told he caught a 42 inch stripper instead of a 42 inch striper. I am a pretty cool wife but I draw the line somewhere!
So happy holidays to you all in case I don't get back here. Or maybe I will write more since we won't be able to leave the house for awhile with all this white stuff coming!
Keep warm!
Kristin

Ice Ice Baby!

Well, I was so excited for the ice storm today. Really. We last had one about 2 years, when I had just gotten my camera. This was a second shot (ha!) at getting some cool images. I think I did OK but was really lazy and did not use a tripod or monopod. They would be so much better if I had!


We lost power around 1am and got it back just about 8pm-ish. It was a long day but I was home with the girls and we survived. Mark had a half day as we were supposed to get the new TV installed. Oh, did I just call it a TV? It's more like the jumbo-tron at Fenway. Honestly, I didn't visualize it properly when Mark said 46 inches. It is huge. Ginormous even. It was such a deal, that it would cost us MORE money to return it and get one more appropriate for the size of our room, so we are keeping it. How's that for logic.

Anyway, my poor husband, all excited, had to cancel the installation today because we had no power! Such a let down. At least he was home, I really thought he wouldn't make it in to Manchester from Michigan last night. Luckily, he made his connection in Cleveland just in time. Some poor guy had just sat in his seat when Mark made it panting to the gate. Thank god. Feel bad for Mr. no-more-seat but at least Mark got home!

It wasn't all fun and games, my parents had a tree fall just between their shed and their house. My grandmother also lost a tree in her back yard and the driveway was littered with power lines. Such devestating beauty that ice is. Luckily no one was hurt, and no property damage was realized so except for a little work, we are all good.


So back to the excitment of ice-I did get out and got some great shots, but was waiting for Mark to get home from work when the sun came out. You would have thought we were in a war zone with all the falling ice. It was crazy. It was like it all melted at once! I couldn't get close enough to anything without fear of getting knocked unconcious-not to mention the damage that could happen to my camera!


So, here are the images I got-some by risking my life and lens! Hope you enjoy them....

































I will be posting these and the many more I took on my website http://www.kkg.smugmug.com/ in the winter gallery. Some day when I catch up that is. Still working on last Christmas and our trip to Colorado in June!
Ack!
Kristin

Hey Santa, over here!

Just in case you were wondering what the kids wanted from Santa, we did letters the other night. Not surprising Katie asked for the pink heels for her bear again! And yes, my little four year old can write her name all by herself-we don't even need to tell her the letters. So smart.

Paige went back to her letter about 4 times to add stuff. I think the top of her list is really the Nintendo DS. Probably not happening.

So that leads me to this thought. If you have finished shopping, DO NOT then ask your kids to write letters to Santa. How did I not know this was going to happen. Not one thing I bought was on their lists. Really. Now what do we do? Buy more? Ugh. Mark doesn't think they'll notice. Paige wrote that whole letter by herself with no help. She's going to notice.

Mark at least got his wish. Yes, we are the proud new owners of a 46" flat screen TV complete with surround sound entertainment system and blu-ray player. And free installation. And no interest for 3 years. I am excited but we watch so little TV I think it's a bit of a splurge. It makes him happy though-boys and their big high tech toys. Hannah Montana is going to look great on that set! Football should be pretty cool too.

Maybe I'll get my D300 next year.

And no, we can not watch TV during Christmas, just in case you were wondering. We can use the sound system to belt out some Holly Jolly Christmas, but that's it!

15 days and counting......

Kristin

A glimpse of the future

I got it. I know now what Katie is going to be when she grows up. It is oh-so-clear. She is going to be (insert drum roll here) a defense lawyer. The kind you call when you did the crime and don't want to do the time. This is for 2 reasons.
First, she will completely understand that you didn't really mean to do it, but you couldn't help yourself. It was there. I wanted it. So I took it. Empathy. She will know just what you are saying, and feeling. I couldn't help myself.
Second, the girl is a master at finding and exploiting loop holes.
Exhibit one-sometime time during potty training around the age of 2. She is sitting on the potty and keeps saying over and over "poop poop poop poopy poopy poop....." When I asked her what she was doing, she replied-I'm saying potty words. That's not very nice I reminded her, to which she promptly rebutted with "but I'm in the bathroom, it's OK to say potty words there!"
Well, not what I meant, but yes, I am sure that at least once Mark, me and probably her preschool teachers had told her that potty words only belong in the bathroom. Well that was where she was trying to keep them. Maybe she was trying to get it all out in an appropriate place?
Exhibit two-Monday night at our house. The girls were saying good bye to Auntie with their normal running jumping squeezy hugs. Well I don't like them to get too worked up before bed time so I enforced the "no running" rule that is so often forgotten in our house. Now, I am no speedwalking expert, but I would say Katie mastered the art of hip swinging, arm moving speed walking in about 0.56 nanoseconds. She looked just like those people in the Olympics-you know how you just get a glimpse and have to change the channel because it is so overwhelmingly uncomfortable to watch? That HAS to hurt and how does the hip not dislocate mid step? They must be bionic or double jointed or something-it is just not natural. Well, now that you have the visual, you know what Katie looked like that night, speedwalking over for a big squeeze hug. You gotta hand it to her-the girl knows how to make it work in her favor.
I know I must sound like she is just the Anti-Kristin these days, and at times she is, but really, I am jealous. I have never been comfortable standing up for myself to anyone. Ever. Although she is making life difficult for me now, I truly feel that she will be whatever she wants when she grows up, and will make her happiness happen. So often we sit back and wait for what we want, or complain that a change would be too hard. Not Katie. She'll see something and just go for it-nothing will get in her way-especially those silly things called rules.
How cool is that?
You go girl.
Please, just keep it legal.
Kristin

Katie's turn....

Well, since I posted so much about Paige last time, it's time for a Katie story.
When we were at Build-a-Bear last week she showed a bit of her evil genius side. When she wants something, she'll go for it. She will analyze the situation and try to determine her best course of action. You can see steam coming out her ears. Should I throw a temper tantrum? Should I cry? Beg? Plead? That always works with Auntie Carol-"but I really really want it!" Or be sneaky? The sneaky side won out last Wednesday....

Katie: "Mom, I really really want these shoes for my bear! They're so cute!"
Of course they were. Clear plastic heels with pink trim. What could be more Katie than that?
Mom and then Dad too: "No Katie, we're getting enough today-maybe you can ask Santa."
Well that wasn't nearly good enough. So what does the evil genius do?
She licks her fingers-makes sure we have eye contact while she is doing this-and grabs the package the shoes are in.
Katie: "Mom-I licked my fingers, then touched this, so now we HAVE to buy it"
I knew she wasn't sure this would work. It was written all over her face. She had that "I am giving it shot, what do I have to lose, but please please please work" look on her face.
Mom: "Sorry Katie, it isn't like food you know!"

I am not sure how we got out of there without the shoes and without a temper tantrum, but we did. Talk about thinking outside of the box!

Kristin

Holiday time!

Well the season is upon us. It started out with a great Turkey Day feast (as always-who can resist?) and lots of time with family and friends. I took the whole week off, since I was supposed to be off anyway, to do some catch up. And that we did. After a year of having it in my closet, Paige got a new Tinkerbell border up in her room. She got some new furniture and a paint job on the walls too.

Wednesday we got to see our good friends from Colorado. I never realize just how much I miss them until we see them again. The girls are so much bigger and grown up. And we get right back into step as if it's only been a week or two since we were last together. There's something extra special about friends like that.

We had a great time bowling-well, I did, since I won! hee hee. Then some dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and a trip to Build-a-Bear for our Christmas presents to each other.

Turkey Day started out with a little annual get together at a friends house. Shots on the half hour starting at like 8am! It's always a blast and more fun each year as we meet new people and the girls are old enough to hang out with their friends. Then on to Moms for turkey. I appreciate the turkey, as they were supposed to have lamb, and we messed up everyones plans by staying in town. Sorry for that!

After Turkey Day it was back to work-putting up the Christmas tree and the porch decorations. Mark did the heavy work-and all the outside work. The house looks great, he did a super job out in the frigidness-we usually do that one as a team but it was way cold! And I had 2 shoots that day so I had my fill of the great outdoors!

I felt so bad for my first shoot. It was a great family, and they had relatives visiting from warmer areas-like Puerto Rico and Texas-and they were dragged out into 25 degree weather for pictures! They were troopers though-I think I got some great shots!

Saturday night was the most fun of the week. It started with swim lessons and normal stuff, then Paige danced downtown at the Holiday Stroll. She was nervous and had messed up a few times during rehearsal, I think because it was in a new room. When she was on stage though she just hit everything and had the best facials-the girl just loves to dance. She did Rescue Me, which she will be doing in Disney in February.

I have pictures to post but they aren't showing up when I search from them. I'll find them and post soon! OK found them-wow-talk about panic. Good think I back up everything before deleting my card. Near crying experience there. She's front and center.

And during her mini "solo"

If you want to see more (and there's LOTS more.....) go to my website www.kkg.smugmug.com under Allegro, Holiday Stroll, you should know the password. If you do not-email me and I'll send it to you. They should be posted Tuesday or Wednesday.

Afterwards the pizza party at Mariclares was so fun. The girls LOVED it and can't wait to go back and hang out with the "big" girls again! It is so nice to see everyone away from the studio and just relax together.

And if there is any doubt what this girl loves-just take a look at what she drew during the football game yesterday-if you can call that fiasco a game! Check out the detail on those pointe shoes!

Friday night we went to dinner at old friend's in Acton, then to the Nutcracker. It was performed by the Commonwealth Ballet and it was really good. Paige and Katie enjoyed it but Katie got a bit tired at the end. Paige came home asking when she can dance on her toes. I think we're in it for the long haul!

Well I hope you all had as great a week as we did. If I can complain about anything, it's that it's over and done with so quick.

Let's try to stretch December out a bit and enjoy it, OK?

Kristin