Christmas 2011 Part I....

The Mothers Goose have been so full of the Christmas spirit it seems like the 12 days of Christmas were more like 21. Speaking of the 12 Days of Christmas, my girls love singing along to Christmas carols (Little Drummer Boy and Santa Claus is Coming to Town are big hits) but the best is hearing Luce sing the third verse of 12 Days... "On the 3rd day of Christmas, my true love gave to me: 3 henchmen..." I cannot convince her otherwise. I blame Disney. Of course who better to sing Christmas carols with than our own house pianist Nonne. She and the extended clan came down for a holiday hoedown that set the bar for all future family holiday parties. It included festive folks both little, slightly not little and some donning very gay apparel. We ate and sang the night away and it set the perfect tone for the ensuing Christmas mayhem. 

The kids are at a great age for experiencing the wonder of Christmas morning and the looks on their faces when they came down the stairs was just priceless. One of the top gifts on Luce's wish list was a "sleigh and reindeer" and I must say, Santa really came through. I'm fairly certain we didn't get dressed all day, and only paused our playing to eat the 20 pound turkey Mimi prepared for the 5 of us. All that, and this post is only Part I...

Happy Everything...

Thanks to a great photographer, we got another winning shot for our holiday card which is a darn good thing otherwise we'd have to choose from pictures like this or this or this. I just don't know where the girls got their goofy gene... I'm innocent. So we've had an eventful few weeks full of thanks, sweet treats and holiday cheer. Of course nothing gets us more in the Christmas spirit than our annual trip to the Pops with our Troutfriends. We have a very busy schedule ahead of us, but I'll be sure to document all of the frivolity on film, especially since I'm operating a few paces behind everyone due the fractured fibula and all (what, I didn't mention that?). That's ok, I get to take nice shots from back here.

Don't Worry Mama, You're Going to Love Five!

Those were the exact words of comfort she told Mama Mer when Mer said, "I'm feeling a little sad that you're turning 5." One day we're fighting with her swaddle and the next we're organizing a snake party. Yes, you read that correctly. My princess and Dorothy loving daughter requested a snake party... a python party to be exact. Alas, we could only come up with a 5 foot long rat snake which suited the kids just fine. Lucia loved being "queen cobra" for the day and even shared candle blowing duties with her little sister. Thanks again to Auntie Cathy for providing the trick candles... who doesn't want to eat a cake covered in kid spit??

To the Victor(s) Go the Spoils...

...and the lollipops, and Snickers and Twizzlers, etc. etc. The girls thoroughly enjoyed their first trick or treating tromp through the 'hood, but they especially enjoyed the aftermath. Tigger made it about a block before I had to carry her home and Ida (have I explained that one yet? No? Her costume was based on the main character of this book) would have danced all night if we had let her. Speaking of tromping, on our latest adventure Luce took her camera along and produced some interesting results... I think we may have a future Annie Leibovitz on our hands.

A Luce Tooth...

On October 16th, we went to bed with a wiggly tooth and didn't think much of it. These things usually take a few days right? We should have known better...the very next day we received this picture from our awesome sitter, which sent the Tooth Fairy scrambling. Luce was very excited of course and Mamas were in no way emotionally prepared for this momentous occasion. Where's that pause button when you need it?
In addition to painted ponies going up and down, this month was also filled with fantastic fits of fall fun with friends, phew. From corn mazes to Blue Hills we tackled the great outdoors with gusto... and what's more fun than climbing a mountain? Running down the back of it of course. Finally, it's hard to believe that in two short weeks we went from swimming in the ocean, to snowpants. While I froze my tootsies off on the field, the girls enjoyed all the typical pre-Halloween activities. Let's hope it melts in time for our trick or treating adventure... these costumes won't quite look the same under winter coats.

So Long Summer, Thanks for Everything...

So this picture was taken on October 9... on a beach... in Maine. Nah, there's no such thing as global warming. No matter, the Mothers Goose will take advantage of melting polar ice caps if it means long weekends spent like this. In addition to frolicking by the seashore, we also took a minute to celebrate my birthday. A word about the cake, the girls each had creative input. Luce thought I would really like a Patriots cake (she's right) and Carmen insisted that my cake have "GUMMY WORMS!!!" (she says it like that every time). So, Nonne took those demands to the bakery department... and came back with this. I'd like to know who this "Fram" person is.

Other random acts of cuteness:

Carmen has been very concerned about fire safety and is excited for Halloween.

Lucia has been practicing her oratory skills... perhaps leading up to her run for the Hawaiian state senate?

In addition to her impromptu speeches, Luce has also given us these gems:

"Everyone is lucky in their own way."

"It's ok mom, you just worry about yourself... I'm fine."

"Mom, is it ok if we just pop our heads in the gift store?" (said during a recent trip to the science museum)

Sometimes I find it hard to believe that we still have 8 years to go before she's officially a teenager.

Dialogue From the Backseat v.II and Other Trouble Tales...

Lucia's Mimi taught her a fun new game to play in the car. It involves thinking of a number and the other passengers trying to guess it (we keep it simple, nothing over 10). Carmen decided she wanted to play, so when she said "My tuurrrrn!" Lucia agreed... it went something like this:

C: I got my numbah!

L: Is it 2?

C: No.

L: Is it 7?

C: Nope

L: Is it 9?

C: Nnnnnope!

L: (lists all the numbers 1- 10)

C: Noooooo!

L: What is it?!?

C: It's L!

L: THAT'S NOT A NUMBER!

Ah that Carmen... she sure loves a good game. She also has a new one that sorta resembles a magic trick. (or twick as she would say).

C: Cwose your eyes!

Me: (eyes closed)

C: Now open your eyes!

Me: (eyes open)

C: It's chocowaaaate!

Please note: 1) the "supwise" is always chocolate and 2) no actual chocolate (or anything for that matter) has ever been produced by the magician. She just likes saying it.

Finally, today during lunch whilst I was in the kitchen I heard Carmen say, "Here you go, you can have some." (mind you, it was just me and Carmen) I turn around to see Carmen feeding Pirate's Booty to one of the kittens - who was happily licking it. I exclaimed, "Carmen no!" So she looked at me, semi-guiltily, then popped the piece of Pirate's Booty in her mouth. Lovely.

For more classic Do-Dah moments, please observe here.

Ladies and Gentlemen, Please Give a Warm Welcome to: Cash and Dazzle

Can you tell them apart? Neither can we.

We spent the long Labor Day weekend relaxing at home, preparing for the new school year and kitty shopping. Truth be told, we only went to one place and there they were -- two adorable sisters, just like ours. We hadn't intended to get all black kitties again, but the girls fell in love and then well, the rest is history. A note about the names: Lucia has always liked the name Cash (as in Johnny) and it seemed perfectly fitting given her coloring. The other name came out of left field. It was going to be Volcano for the longest time (Lava for short) then she thought that Scorpion would be a good name - - because, "like scorpions, cats walk with their tails up." Luckily, at the last minute, inspiration struck and Luce turned to Mama Mer and said, "I know, how about Dazzle?!?" Yes. Please. Anything but Volcano.
In case you're wondering, no Carmen did not get a say in the naming process. Though she has been asserting herself more and more. Case in point, today's sibling argument on the ride home from school:

C: "blah blah blah Mama Mer's towel dwess...."

L: "It is not a towel dress, it is called a robe."

C: "It's not a wobe, it's a towel dwess."

L: "ROBE!"

C (full lung capacity): "TOWEELLLL DRREEEESSSSS!!!"

I'm with Carmen on this one, I much prefer towel dress. In fact, I think I'll go trademark that now.

And August Goes Out with A Wooooosh...

See what I did there? With the hurricane Irene reference? Anyway... hot off the heels of camp the Mothers Goose decided that they needed MORE FUN in their lives and headed down to Connecticut to attend a good old fashioned state fair with our long lost friend Schindler and her adorable family. Lucia wasted no time buddying up to Annie and the two of them had a blast "fairing it up." The road trip started off a bit shaky with Carmen projectile vomiting the contents of her lunch, but luckily that was just when we were picking Mama Mer up from the office, so we had time to hose everything down... Carmen recovered from the incident quite nicely, must be all that tiger blood. Upon returning to Boston, we had another treat waiting for us in the form of another Seattle cousin visit! Jackson had a blast hanging with the cousins and Carmen did her best to "use her words" with him. "No Jackson, I don't wike dat!" was heard on more than one occasion. Luckily, we had the beach with the pre-Irene waves to keep us all busy and tuckered out.

Show Us Your Camp Face!

Show us your camp face VV!

Show us your camp face Carmen!

Show us your camp face Leary sisters and Uncle B!

Show us your camp face Mama Fran!

Whew, I think that covers it. In case you haven't figured it out, we had yet another wonderful week at camp experiencing age old traditions like floating on giant plastic creatures and solving some new mysteries, like why they call this Sneaker Rock. Even when the weather turned a little rainy for a day, our spirits were not dampened...not one bit. All in all, a great week, with great food and drink and the best family money can buy, er hope for.

Graduation is Really a Four Letter Word...

In what will surely be the first a long string of emotional graduation ceremonies (well, emotional for the Mothers Goose anyway), we watched our eldest daughter graduate from her amazing family-based daycare after 4 short, yet monumental years. After getting over her bout of depression ("I don't wanna graduate!"), Luce glommed onto the concept that she was a "big girl" moving on to "big girl school." Meanwhile, I've been a veritable train wreck of emotion... sigh.
Not to be outdone on the big changes front, Carmen also reach a significant milestone... and decided to sing about it (incidentally, Luce thinks this video is HIGHlarious). Annnnd speaking of goofballs, we have certainly kept ourselves entertained with various ways to beat the heat this summer - some more traditional than others.

Where Have You Gone Sadie Tom Brady Tedy Bruschi??

Ok, so I think I know where she's gone... gone, gone, gone. It has been a week since we last saw her and I've come to terms with her untimely departure. Not that anyone else has - the kids have yet to notice (and I fear when they finally do) and Mer claims to "have never slept better." Ok, fine. Well, I'll miss you lil kitty... it was a fun 9 years (we got her right after the first Pats Super Bowl, can you tell?). She really was a good sport, most of the time.
On a lighter note, the Mothers Goose enjoyed another fun 4th in Vacationland with the standard issue parade and birthday celebration. We even motivated to "walk the earth" and visited lots of fun fairy houses and built one of our own.  Next time we'll bring blueprints.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

You *know* it's a party when these things get dusted off and hauled up to Maine (the accordions, not the relatives). I had some uploading glitches with Google's Piccasa (ahem He and Ho), so sorry for the backdating... but family reunion was in June and I have a lot of catching up to do! Despite the dismal weather, it was a glorious week on the lake, and a little rain or 51 degree temps weren't going to dampen our spirits - - or swimming. We made the best of things by rocking out, drinking a lot, acting silly, and eating our faces off. Lucia also provided some entertainment with a puppet show - a full (well, pretty close) production of the Wizard of Oz... luckily she had some non-union crew there to lend a hand. All in all, a pretty great week - oh, and did I mention we also got to watch THE BRUINS WITH THE STANLEY CUP!?!? Woo to the hoo.
Although family reunion is a tough act to follow, we finished up the month with more good times including birthdays with old (now older) friends and strawberry eating, er, picking. Whew, can't wait to see what July has in store!

What a Quacktastic month!

So much blog material, so little time! Our month started off with a little R and R for the newly minted partner and her very lucky spouse. The firm put all of the partners up in a seaside resort down on the cape, where Mama Mer spent the majority of her free time in meetings whilst I pursued other rigorous activities. Of course, we have Mimi to thank for allowing us the weekend getaway - she bravely took on both girls for 2.5 days and I believe she captured some of it on film. Apparently they spent all of Saturday at the Wizard of Oz exhibit at the Children's Museum... pictures to follow soon! As if seeing the Wizard of Oz exhibit wasn't enough, the girls recently had the chance to drive a WWII amphibious landing vehicle! Just another day in the life of the luckiest girls on the planet. Speaking of lucky... did you know that in June we also celebrated family reunion AND got to witness the Bruins winning the Stanley Cup??? It's all true, and I will discuss in the next post. In the meantime, watch this.

Makin' Memories on Memorial Day...

The sun and heat finally decided to show up and for once they had perfect timing. The Mothers Goose got their flag on up north and partook in the typical Memorial Day traditions of cousin camera mugging and  celebrating a birthday we could not refuse. After the parade the girls snuck in a quick dip in the balmy 52 degree ocean, not that it deterred them a bit. Aside from cheering 3 day weekends, veterans and BBQ gluttony, we recently had cause for another celebration - Mama Mer's promotion to grand high partner poobah. Our pal Dr. Martin generously organized a little party in Mer's honor, which was a veritable who's who of local dignitaries, rock stars and performance artists. In all seriousness, we're very proud of her achievement and you should buy her a drink next time you see her!

Rain, rain GO AWAY...

Now that spring is here, we'd love to be able to go outside and ENJOY it. Of course, on Mother's Day, the 50 degree weather did not deter Carmen one bit. It has been rather gloomy and cold here, but as the saying goes when life hands you lemonade... you do this.

Also helping us stay on the sunny side of life, are our good friends the Caseys!

Luke, Harper and their folks paid us a visit which was a great excuse to hold babies, eat ice cream and look at old stuff. Come back soon now, ya hear!

Spring, Spring - it's a Wonderful Thing!

Yes, now that the snow is finally, officially, undeniably GONE we can finally move on to Spring - oh wait, two last ski house pics first! Ok, now that's out of the way - we can make room for things like swingsets, swimming and Easter. The girls thoroughly enjoyed Easter at Mimi's and had more than their fill of tasty confections. As if that wasn't exciting enough, we recently got to witness a real live princess wedding (with nary a Disney logo in sight) and participate in the annual Ellen's House Egg Hunt. Oh, and tomorrow we're taking the girls to their first Red Sox game. Pray for us... no, actually pray for the Sox!

April Fools Day Indeed...

So this is what April looks like in Maine. I'd say they got a good 6" of snowfall on the first... just enough for us to make the world's filthiest snowman. Spring snow is gross. In between snow play and bouncing around the room with cousins, April also brought us a fun visit from Auntie JoJo. Then of course it was back to ski country for our penultimate dip in the pool - with decorative accessories. Then it really warmed up and we were able to take the kids to the playground for outdoor fun in the sun. As I type, there is a surprise swing set being installed in the backyard (Spring!) because our girls, love to swing.

Assorted Talking Pictures...

From this random collection you will learn that:

1) Top Pot Donuts are sweeeeeet.

2) Skiing is more fun with friends.

3) Even in her advanced age, Mama Mer is still smokin'.

Look Carmen, the Real Emerald City!

Have Dorothy dresses will travel, right? The Mothers Goose decided to give family air travel another shot (yes, we're still scarred from Miami) so we packed up our gingham and headed west of Kansas. The timing was perfect because it allowed us to celebrate two birthdays (Uncle B! Mama Mer!) and brought the cousins together for a much needed visit. The first nights were spent at a downtown hotel that shall remain nameless due to a bedbug incident (it rhymes with Schhmeston)... but after my Silkwood moments, and several thousand Starwood points later, we all settled in and had a grand old time.
We enjoyed celebrating Uncle B's birthday out at his favorite burger joint where Lucia was so excited to see cousin Jackson, she promptly fell asleep at the table... but not before trying her hand at a little Picasso. While Lucia dozed, Carmen took the opportunity to share some girl talk with Veronica.
Of course we were all excited to celebrate the FNPP ritual together along with friends too. And when we weren't playing dress up or having dance parties, we could be found soaking up all the glorious Seattle weather... literally. In the end we had too much fun, ate far too much and left way too soon.

Oh the Two-Dah Day...

So the girl with a thousand names reached a big milestone this past week, thus giving her yet another nickname - Two-Dah. Since her actual birthday fell in the middle of the week, she had lots of chances to perfect her candle blowing technique... which, if you recall, is much improved over last year. With our baby on the verge of losing "the baby" part of childhood, here are some things we're going to miss about the pre-two Trouble:

-Her asking for a "bauble" (aka bottle)
-Giving us the stink eye (perhaps that one will stick)
-"Morrre sybup pwease" (the kid loves pancakes)
-All of the incoherent Oz talk... "Dorsey Gale, wion, 'carecrow, ruby swippers, etc. etc."
-Dancing around in a circle when listening to her "jam!"

And a million other things that we've vowed not to forget, and now I can't remember... . Happy Birthday Trouble, thanks for keeping us on our toes.


Addendum: How could I have forgotten the best Carmenism yet!?! When asked a question such as, "Who wants to go sledding? or Who wants ice cream" Her reply, "I dooooooo."

New Year's Resolution Progress Report...

Ok, so we haven't made that many successful ski trips down an actual slope; HOWEVER, we have enjoyed our winter retreats up to Loon Mountain and all of the fun that goes with it. Like swimming for instance... and endangering the lives of our children. The girls seem to need the break from "the city" as much as Moms do, so this long and snowy winter has been quite enjoyable. Of course, when we're not swimming, sledding or sort of skiing, we can always be found dancing around in costumes. That fact may never change... I hope.

We Sure Picked A Good Year to Take up Skiing...

Take that Old Man Winter! I heard someone say that we've had snow each week since Christmas and that we're in line for another big storm on Wednesday. Well bring it on we say! Of course, looking out at the 10 ft high snow banks in my driveway, I'm not sure where we're going to put another single flake, but that's a problem for another day. In the meantime, all this white stuff has been keeping us rather busy from our backyard to the ski slopes – we are trying hard to take advantage of Mother Nature's abundant wintery gifts. So when we're not falling down the mountain (ok, that's just me on the snowboard) the girls have had ample opportunities to perfect their sledding techniques. Of course in between our outdoor play, we got the chance to celebrate birthdays with cousins and catch up with some dear, old friends. So far, this winter ain't half bad...

Let's Dive Right In...

So this is what our house looked like, the morning after Santa's visit and moments before all holy hell broke loose. Interestingly enough, the girls woke up at their usual 6:30 hour, but we had to stall "the big reveal" for a bit and we were able to keep them upstairs watching Little Bear until Mimi's arrival. Then we coaxed them down the stairs and BOOM, Christmas was officially in full swing (or slide). Despite a run in with the norovirus (luckily just Fran and Mimi), it was a great day to spend with friends, family and as always, FOOD. Of course, I fear our house will never recover from Santa's generosity... but we've been talking about building a two-car garage anyway.