Celebrating Me...

One of the things I love most about this blog, is the chance to look back over the years at some of the memories I'm sure I'd forget if it weren't for this digital outlet. I am also very thankful that we have mementos like this one and this one to remind me how unique and funny my kiddos are (yeah, yeah so is every child everywhere, but this is my blog so I get to claim superiority here). Luce has been enjoying an after school drama program which culminated in the performance of her favorite book (as she mentioned on her Celebrating Me worksheet), the timeless classic Dooby Dooby Moo. We also enjoyed getting in the holiday spirit by attending a performance of The Gwinch as Carmen would say... if you ask me the popcorn was the best part of the show (seriously, save your money and your ears). And of course, it wouldn't be December without our annual trip to the Pops! with the Troutmans. Now we can release the hounds of Christmas!

From Toilet Bowl to Bowling Alley...

We all had a ball! Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays well, for Mothers Goose anyway, Lucia has since declared St. Patrick's Day as her favorite (must be the Irish roots). Anyway, it is a great time to stuff your face full of yummy food, watch football, and hang with the family... what more could you ask for? This year we resurrected an old Leary Thanksgiving tradition - - the famous Toilet Bowl backyard football game. Apparently when the Learys were littles, they would vie for the honor of the Toilet Bowl trophy, which now that I think of it we'll need to fashion a replica for next year... and teach the participants how to play football. Minor details. After the "game" came the food and real football... and then the post meal coma (which thankfully was not captured on film). With the cousins in town we branched out for some 10-pin fun... and while this pic came from a New York business trip, truer words were never said. Hope you all had as much Turkey Day fun as we did. Now to gear up for the chaos that is December...

A Super Scorpion Sixth Birthday...

Yeah, I can't explain it either. My daughter is fascinated by scorpions. So much so that she wanted one on her birthday cake. Mmmmm, yummy. Well, if scorpion cake doesn't whet your appetite, perhaps you'd enjoy a tiny venomous arthropod encrusted in sugar? Yes, that is a real scorpion... why would you want to eat it, that I cannot answer... but the kids loved them (the parents, perhaps not so much). Anyway, Luce had a fantastic extended birthday month with visits from Aunties and Uncles and Nonnes and Pappas all bearing gifts of course. At one point Carmen moaned, "when is it not going to be Lucia's birthday?!?" That's the thing about having a November birthday, it kinda kicks off the holiday season... which leads me to my next post: THANKSGIVING!

A Couple of Characters...

To the amazement of no one, Carmen decided on two Halloween costumes this year (same dress, different identities) and luckily Lucia had hers locked and loaded since November 1st of last year. Any one care to guess who they are?!? If you said a princess and Pocahontas you'd be WRONG! No, Carmen is clearly Mabel from Pirates of Penzance (or Ida from the eternally creepy Outside Over There book) and Luce is obviously princess Tiger Lilly from Peter Pan. Duh.
Before the nocturnal solicitation of treats could begin, mother nature had a very blustery trick to deliver in the form of Hurricane Sandy. She was rude enough to blow into town and close school for two whole days forcing mamas to resort to lots of indoor activities and creative kitchen arts. After 48 hours stuck inside, we were more than ready to head out and get some candy. Even with the hurricane, we had a great Halloween and the good news is, Carmen already has a lock on next year's costume.

Lordy Lordy Guess Who's...

In a rare, once in a lifetime event... I am dedicating this blog post to ME. Why? Because I'm 40 years old, and I CAN. Although, to be fair, I should really dedicate this post to my wonder woman super spouse Meredith because she put together a whopper of a birthday celebration for me. It involved gathering a gaggle of my bestest girls and heading to NYC for two days of Broadway and booze. It was  48 hours of laughing, crying (Once was very moving!), drinking, dancing, eating, did I mention drinking? I could not think of a better way to kick-start my mid-life crisis. Also HUGE thanks to Nonne, who came to babysit the kiddos for the weekend and apparently figured out how to use the Mac. Sure, some other fun things happened this month, but nothing will top NYC... I think anyway, some of the details are kinda fuzzy.

Three Little Maids From School...

You guys, where did September go?!?! Oh I know, it stayed the same but I traveled to Orlando and Seattle back to back in the middle of it. That's explains it. Ok, so I'm WAY behind with the blogging and the cute picturing but to recap the month: school is going great for all the kiddos, both establishments are exceeding our parental expectations and we're thrilled. Lucia loves making new friends and continues her rapid advancement towards sassy teen status and Carmen regularly exclaims, "Mama I wuv pwee-K" ... so we couldn't be happier. In between airports we managed to squeeze in a birthday party, a pedicure with Mama Mer and a trip to see The Mikado. Whew, no wonder we look like this at the end of the day.

Big First Day At the K

Ok, so Mamas have been dreading this day... the day we send our first baby off to Kindergarten. I was seriously considering medicating for the occasion because I thought I would be a soggy puddle of emotion. But you know what? None of us cried! Not even me! Lucia did great and has really been looking forward to starting school "like a big kid."  A few weeks into school and she is regularly declaring "Kindergarten is GREAT!" which is the best we could have hoped for... and I am certain her independent spirit will continue to bloom and grow (bloom and grow forevvvverrr). Never one to be left in the dust, Carmen also started a new pre-K program so we got her suited up as well. She had a successful first day and so far so good (knock on wood). And if this whole school thing doesn't work out, she also has this talent as back up.