Fairy Tales

It's been a while...I started this a while ago, so it has been a while...again...

I have missed documenting three months worth of holidays and a birthday.  We're already onto planning the next birthday in our family.  Sadly our lives are pretty much documented in our phones these days and because the iCloud is not cooperating fully every time I think about trying to update the blog, I get stuck on how to turn life documented by phone into life documented by blog.  And Halloween documentation leaves much to be desired.   

I was at the girls' school to help with our little Sock Monkey's Halloween party.  Thankfully another mom was there to catch up with our vampire cheerleader.  I tried to catch parts of the parade, but didn't have the best view for taking pictures and had to get back to help the room moms run the party. 

The first trick or treat in New Jersey went very well, especially considering that most kids in this state had not celebrated Halloween the two years prior.  There was a party in our neighborhood and we all had a really great time.

After Halloween, we had a fantastic visit from Nana and Papa.  We spent two days in NYC and showed them lots of sights.  They took us to see The Rockettes--it was perfect to have a little taste of the holidays with family.

Really such a great visit.  The pictures and the time lapse don't do it justice.  

And on the 50th anniversary of a sad day in history, we celebrated 9 years of our sweet Hannah.

We celebrated with a chocolate spa party complete with chocolate fountain.  Sad to say there was more than the usual accompanying stress with the planning of this party.  There was yet another letter sent home and subsequent combing and shampooing and panicking that went on in the week before the party and sadly, for another several weeks after.  For those keeping track, this is the 3rd time our family has dealt personally with head lice.  In fact I titled this blog "Fairy Tales" because at the time I started writing it, I was still in the midst of stress and drama and chaos and because I have two or three bottles of "Fairy Tales" shampoo and conditioner sitting in my bathroom, I am reminded every day that I am not living in a Fairy Tale, but I have since decided to turn over a new leaf.  I decided to approach 2014 with a new attitude.  To breathe in and breathe out.  The test came immediately.  Kids went back to school last Thursday for one day, then had a snow day, but after two days of school this week (Monday & Tuesday) we had two letters notifying us that head lice had again been found in each of their classrooms.  The Fairy Tale continues.  And in the words of Forest Gump, "That's all I have to say about that".

Back to November...although there was a Spa Party in a Box fail, several Pinterest fails and the aforementioned stress and headaches, the end result was a fun party...

And happy girls.  Keeping this perspective as the next party is right around the corner.

Nathan spent the day of the party away from the chocolate spa hanging out with his friends.  He was disappointed when he came home to find he had missed the chocolate fountain and the unfortunate chocolate explosion that caused us to clean up and put away the fountain prematurely.  We have yet to break it out again, although it was promised we'd do so.

The day after the party.  There was a trip organized and planned by Hannah's friends' moms.  I offered to drive half of the group--very out of my comfort zone, but all went well.  It sometimes blows my mind to think that I first learned to drive in a town with one street of stop lights and very little else.  

We went back and forth on including Sarah in this trip for a little while, but decided it was best that she wait until she was a little older.  Although, as she recently pointed out, it won't be Annie that she sees since they just had their "final" Broadway performance, there will be other times.  

Instead of Annie, she went bowling with her friend Lila and her dad.  Not nearly the same thing, but she had fun.  It's a hard knock life, being a little sister.  Ba dump bump.

Next up, Thanksgiving.  Just the 5 of us and our first in New Jersey.  One of the best yet.  In the last four years of doing this holiday alone, we have almost figured it out.  There was a lot of team work and it was so nice and relaxing.

Suddenly, it was Christmas card time.  Note that word on the mantle.  That word was missing from my life this past December.  Actually, contrary to what I just wrote about the relaxing Thanksgiving, the peace started slipping away some time in November.  I'm sorry for that.  Something I hope I can remedy in the coming Decembers.

December began with our official Elf on the Shelf visitor.  The coordination duty fell to the man of the house along with all of the Christmas decorations.  He somehow manages to pick up where I leave off when I am drowning and trying to find that elusive PEACE.

Actually our Elf was something of an over-achiever this year.

I mean, really?

Snow came with snow days and snow men.

Hannah named this little guy, Eric.  He was her portable snow man.  After this first snow melted, she moved him into the freezer for a while and brought him out after our latest big snow last week.  Unfortunately for all involved, his story ended during that snow.  Big brother and little sister attempted to build his replacement, but the damage was done.  Hard knock life of the middle child as well.

In between the snow days, late start days and already bursting at the seam days of December, there was a sweet performance by the first graders--The Gingerbread Review.  It was adorable.  It was also recreated by most of the two first grade Daisy Troops at a retirement village locally.  It was something Hannah's Daisy troop had done, but when I suggested it, I had no idea the extra stress it would put on the moms involved.  Apparently, I was not the only one around here feeling the lack of peace.

December was almost too busy to document apparently and we had a man down almost every week of the month, ending with mom in bed almost all day both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Honestly, it was such a luxury to be able to do that.  I know I should be thankful that I have an amazing family (especially husband) who picked up where I left off.  There was no one to entertain and we were able to adjust Christmas to meet our needs, but it was disappointing to me to feel so sick that I just couldn't enjoy all of the parts of Christmas.  I have not one single picture on my phone, but it took everything I had that day to get up and watch them open gifts in person that day.  I actually was sick for some time before Christmas, but because we so rarely have a babysitter and we had the company work party canceled the weekend before, I rallied for my birthday and the babysitter we had scheduled--we went out and it was fun.  I needed that night out contrary to what my body thought.  I guess 38 year old's don't rally well.

By New Year's Eve, I was feeling pretty much back to normal and we attempted a ski day in Pennsylvania.

We drove an hour to the place Nathan will be attending his school's ski club for the next few weeks and got the girls back on skis and Nathan back on his board.  They had a good day.  The snow was not great and we spent most of the time on the beginner slope, but it was such a great day.  A great family day.

We ended the day exhausted at a nearby Texas Roadhouse and then went home to do our best to stay up to watch the ball drop.  One didn't make it.  One had to be revived and watch the rewound version and one made it.  38 year old's must also struggle to stay up on NYE.

And here we are in 2014.  Back in school a week and back to busy.  Sarah, lover of all board games, decided she wanted to learn to play chess.  Appalled that none of us (including the 38 year old) knew how to play, the 36 year old taught the entire family.  The details are a tiny bit fuzzy to the 38 year old, but there's a lot of other details crammed in that brain.  Sarah ended a play date on a snow day's eve playing chess with her friend, Georgia.  I had to hurry them up when I saw how quickly it was becoming a snow night and got Georgia home.  Although we are now the owners of 4 wheel drive vehicles, I am still not a fan of driving in the blinding and quickly accumulating snow.

This week meant the beginning of ski club and winter baseball work outs for Nathan.  He's also started playing basketball in a rec league and after school for fun.  He's busy, but doing well.  Homework and school work have certainly kicked in for all of them.  

I am, in fact, due to have a conference call with Hannah's teacher to discuss how we can better manage Hannah's epic homework sessions.  Just another piece to the lack of PEACE in December.  Thankfully her teacher is fantastic and is keeping the communication open.  

On that note, I'd better close.  Hopefully to return before another three months has passed.  For now I'm just thankful I've gotten through this one and that I'm feeling much better about all the stress and frustration that I was feeling when I sat down to write about the lack of  "Fairy Tale" feel in our life.  Actually, having acquired a book of Fairy Tales recently as part of a lesson for one of Daisy Troop meetings, we have it much better than most of the people in those stories... I mean I don't really want to have to push anyone into her oven because she the other option is being fattened up and eaten, or live out in the cold and only have warm and happy moments that last as long as a match stays lit...in the old ones, the endings don't tie up nearly as neatly as they do for Walt Disney.

Fairy Tales are over-rated.   

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