So much for date night…

| December 10, 2016

Last night was Mark’s annual work Christmas party. In the over a decade he has worked there, we have never gone. We say we will, but then don’t. This year we were determined! Sam was at my mom’s all settled in for a sleepover at Grandmom’s house. We did make the party, and were looking forward to a nice quiet night at home where, dare I say it? I might be able to sleep in for a change! Alas, it was not to be. My mom called us a little after midnight. Poor Sammy. She had been having such a good time at Grandmom’s, and was all snuggled in for the night when she had one of her infamous bloody noses. This one was bad, and she was really upset. I wound up going to my mom’s to get her. I knew by the time I got there the bloody nose would be done, but she was still happy to see her Mama. I brought her home and got her all situated in bed with us. Sam and these darn bloody noses! Every time the weather gets too dry, she has a ton of them. Looks like the humidifier is coming out.

Sigh. So much for date night. Well, my mom did promise another sleepover soon – she feels like she missed out too! How about tonight? 😉

Christmas Crafting

| December 8, 2016

Sam had gotten this little wooden house at Michael’s and couldn’t wait to paint it. She did a very nice job, but then she and Mark had the idea of rigging up an electronics project to light it up. They worked really hard at making a display to light the windows for Christmas. Sam even helped Mark to solder! When it was all done, Sam was so happy with the finished project!

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This year, she also decided to make a little special something for my boss and his family. They are Jewish, and Mark and Sam found an electronics kit menorah. It actually lights up one “candle” at a time, for each night of Hannukah! I know they will love it.

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Ok, not so Christmas related, but Sam was so proud of her coloring that I had to share. She has a little notebook where on each page there is a design sort of watermarked into the paper. She used markers and ever so carefully colored in the entire page. It looks beautiful! I think I might frame it.

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Tree Lighting

| December 5, 2016

Last night was the official Springfield tree lighting. They have an event every year but this year was the first time we attended. We thought Sam would enjoy it, and there were a few surprises for her in store!

We stopped at one of the tables to get some hot chocolate. Thankfully, it wasn’t a freezing night, but the hot chocolate was yummy anyway! We got Sam a Santa hat (free!) at another table, as well as some cookies. Yum!

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It was a huge crowd of people, all milling around talking, wearing their Santa hats and listening to the DJ play Christmas carols.

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We had made arrangements to meet Sam’s friend, Lina, at the event. It was a miracle we found each other, but we did!

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It seemed like forever before anything happened, but then….fireworks!

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Sam was shocked! She definitely did not expect that.

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As the fireworks were going off, Santa arrived on the ladder truck to talk to the crowd.

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Finally, it was tree time!

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We walked home and I thought our house looked so nice, it deserved a mention on the blog. Here we are, all ready for Christmas!

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It’s still technically fall, right?

| December 4, 2016

Yeah, I know we have been all about Christmas around here, but it is still fall! Sam has been asking when she can jump in some leaves and today was the day! She had the time of her life. There’s nothing like a happy kid rolling around in a giant pile of leaves. It’s a good thing she was getting a bath later…

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Christmastime is near…

| December 4, 2016

So we’d better get that tree up! Yes! The day has arrived! Our tree is going up! We did decide on the purple and white lights that I mentioned before and I have to say, it looks pretty nice. I haven’t had a purple and white tree in ages but I do like it. Sam actually helped Mark and I string the lights this year, which she has never done. It is by far the worst part of decorating, so it was good to have an extra set of hands.

Some of the first ornaments Sam put on were her Ben and Holly ornaments from Grandmom. Every year, my mom gives her ornaments in the theme of her birthday party so this year it was Ben and Holly!

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Sam forgot all about this starfish pirate we bought down the shore this summer. She was thrilled to see him!

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We let Sam do a lot of the tree herself, and we noticed that the top of tree was looking somewhat bare of ornaments. Sam got a boost from her Grandmom, who came over to watch us decorate this year.

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Sam was happy to find some photo ornaments we had made for past Christmases.

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This ornament was labelled “to Pam and Mark from Smoke” who was my cat when I still lived at home. My mom and I had Sam going for a while about how Smoke had made the ornament himself. Sam wanted to know, How did he buy it? How did he write on it? Where did he get the paint? For every question, we had a perfectly logical answer. He was an extraordinary cat, you know! Sam wasn’t buying it, but she finally gave up and realized she was never going to win with her Mommy and her Grandmom teaming up against her. Mom logic trumps all, little girl!

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Sam had quite a dance party under the disco ball ornament. Love her Saturday Night Fever-esque pose!

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The cats were all too happy to help out. Do you notice what the box is labelled? Hmmm…do you think Penny can read?

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Sam was in full out kid mode the whole time. She was so excited, jumping around, singing, and having the best time.

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Penny tried to be helpful, but chomping on all of our ornaments is not helping…

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These cats are looking for trouble! It didn’t take long for Penny to climb in and Zach was not far behind. Thankfully, he is better behaved and a quick “NO” made him get right out. Yeah, Penny doesn’t care.

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Does this look like trouble, or what? Notice the sandbags protecting our tree from toppling? We need those. Trust me.

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We made sure to hang only non-breakable, non-edible ornaments down low. As you can see, we would lose a few if we put anything breakable there. Sam had fun playing with Zach though, and since the ornament is wooden, go for it!

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My little ham. She has to pose for everything. 🙂

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Dance party!

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Now it’s Zach’s turn to be helpful…

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Penny had fun laying in all the paper that the ornaments were wrapped in (and eating it…sigh) so Sam decided to try it out for herself. She said it was mighty comfy!

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The tree finally did get decorated so we could relax.

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Note the bells underneath? Yeah, that’s the cat alarm system. Anyway, in typical cat fashion, Penny couldn’t wait to lay under the tree. I love to see a little furball under there, just not climbing. Sam went it to join her to see what all the fuss is about.

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Happy cats…

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…a happy kid, and happy parents. A good night. We’re all ready for Santa!

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