Catching up, as usual

Hmmm, where to begin. I have to look at the calendar to remember all that's happened. Not that we haven't been busy as a family, but work has seemed to take over quite a bit of my thoughts lately. Ok, We went to John and Maggie's to do a gift exchange. That was fun. We all played WiiResort and ended up getting it for ourselves. When Shara doesn't get too frustrated or tired, she's been enjoying the swords - slice and dice game. She also likes canoeing with Alan. I haven't tried it with her yet, but we have 3 remotes now so we'll all be able to do it together.

We went to Jessie's 5th birthday at a little gym like place. Also fun, but the best part for Shara was me pulling her and Caroline around the room with a hula hoop, on the scooters. She asked to have her 6th birthday at one of these places.

The KED Art Show was last week. Quite impressive. They learned about so many artists and had projects inspired by all of them. Here are a few of our favorites:




Then came ALA. Shara joined me on Saturday and had a fun time, but mostly enjoyed going around the exhibit hall with Bonnie & Amanda (librarian friends), while I had a meeting. She was certainly a magnet for swag! We got some good junk.

Sunday morning I had to go into work, but when I got home, we went the the MFA to see some Picasso & Monet in person. Shara was actually less than impressed and would have rather done an art project than just look at the paintings on the wall. Good to remember for next time. We may go in this weekend and see the mummies. Yesterday we had a mommy & Shara day. We went out to lunch at a local deli, did some shopping at Target and when we came home, planned on making a dessert, but Shara wanted to take a nap so mommy made the dessert. Alan & I thought it was pretty yucky, but Shara loved it. Then I had to go out and get styrofoam balls for a KED project. Didn't go through her folders until last night - taught us a good lesson!

Last day of school vacation

What a nice break from the norm. Shara had a great time on her vacation. She spent 2 nights at her Oma & Jidor's. Auntie Chris & Oma took her to see the Princess and the Frog and they left before it was 1/2 over. Apparently the Voodoo was very scary. We'll try it again when she's older. Plus seeing it at home may be more comforting than on the big screen. They did go to Wendy's, so all was not lost. It sounds like the rest of the time was spent fairly relaxing. She then had a day with Daddy & Mommy - Wednesday, then a day with just Daddy - Thursday. They tried to get to a puppet showing of the Velveteen Rabbit in Brookline and were a little late due to the snow/ice. Another trip to Wendy's took its place as well as a new marionette - Shara picked a kitty. We had a shrimp & pasta dinner for New Year's Eve and then had a lot of fun playing our new Wii Fit + and eating strawberries dipped in chocolate ganache. New Year's Day was fun too. Tina & Jack, and Theresa, Matt, Johnny, Anna, and their cousin Brian, came over for a little party. The kids had a great time playing together and the adults had a great time eating and talking. Nice way to bring in the New Year and we're going to make it a point to get more friends over for Shara to play with and probably should get more friends over for mommy & daddy to play with too!

Yesterday Shara & mommy played a bit in the snow, but pretty much we all stayed in and had a really great day doing a puzzle, eating & drinking hot chocolate, and enjoying a nice fire. I think we'd all be happy never leaving the house again!

Hanukkah at Bubbe's & Wii!

We went to Bubbe's last Friday for our hanukkah party. We had a lot of fun. The trip there wasn't very interesting - the usual stop at Whole Foods for some decent road food. Shara had a good nap in the car and I started knitting her leg warmers. Obviously Alan drove. We got to Bubbe's about a hour or two early so got to visit and help out. Shara couldn't wait for her cousins to show up. When they did, as Alan noted, they looked very sophisticated. Can't believe Samantha is almost in college and Lizzy is soon off to Scotland! Wow, time flies. When we moved to this area, I remember the first visit from Samantha and Jill - sam was 8.

Anyway, I hardly saw Shara the whole night. She was more than happy spending time with her cousins. I was there for the dance recital she set up. Liz & Sam knew exactly what "make a window" meant, being old dance pros. They followed Shara's directions beautifully. I also remember us all hanging out in the bedroom taking lots of silly pictures of each other and not feeling so bad that I only got to 16 mhz when Liz & Sam got to just 17. Yes Shara, we know you can hear them all!

Since I can't remember much of the evening, other than all of us staying up until 10 PM! I'd like to invite our family to post their comments about their memories.

The next day, after a good breakfast of Bubbe's eggs, bagels, lox and cream cheese, we drove home, again, nothing special. When we got home, the long clean-up process began. Where to put all the new things! Wow, there was a lot to put away. Alan started getting the Wii set up - that is the best invention ever! We all had so much fun on Sunday. We could all play - Shara was just as good at the golf as we were. She also had fun with the tilt table, getting the balls in the holes. Alan has some video of her boxing, which we'll have to figure out how to post - it's from his phone, so apparently not as simple. We also have tons of photos from Hanukkah, since Shara took the camera and went to town.