The annual DN holiday party!
(read: a cluster of kids and dogs tearing through the halls of our office)
This was actually at the very end of the day, which explains Adrienne's flourescent red-cheeked hue.
Well, last year we brought the girls to the party wearing the same olive green. This year, it was red and white stripes (look up). I swear that was not planned. A little awesome / creepy, but not planned.
Adrienne was attached to Kelly's hip... and thankfully Kelly was wonderful about having a shadow... every. single. second. of. the. day.
Meanwhile Luke and Nick found one of the very few 'boy' toys in the office and were having a shooting contest.
Speaking of boy toys.....
It's been a long-standing joke (there are many a truths said in jest...) that Heidi (tall blonde) will gladly snatch Greg up the mintue I'm hit by a bus. And since Nick is Greg's clone, she's aptly enamored with him as well.
SO!
Greg and I turned the corner and her office door suddenly swings open. Out walks Nick with Heidi on his heels. What the........... WHAT!?!? Seven minutes in heaven!??! He's not EVEN 7! Can he even COUNT to 7?!?!
But I'll let the way-too-early intro to 7 Minutes slide.... because a little while later Heidi snapped a killer picture of us.
Nick so wants to love big dogs.... but they still worry him a bit. So the best thing to do is make daddy get slobbered on while he stands safely, and dryly, aside.
Adrienne, on the other hand, all about the puppy love.
(I know... I know... we're getting a dog... EVENTUALLY.)
Ay carumba! How much did she eat at that party!?!
Someone needs to cut back on the meatballs.
Party on!
That night.... the crew o' cousins came over for Christmas Eve Eve. I know it was due to the Friday night start of the holiday.... but you know when a night is just.......... fantastic. Well, this was one such night.
Christmas Eve starts with an introduction. A very FORMAL introduction nonetheless, from our goddaughter who is learning how to meet and greet...
"Hi Nono! Nice to meet you!"
After the pleasantries we got right to work BAKING!
First was a pumpkin pie for cousin Nick, the wrestler in red.
(not to be confused with cousin Big Nick, or Papa Nick, or a bevy of other Nicks in our family.... or the wrestler in blue who is perpetually the 'bad guy')
Thinking that I'm oh-so-brilliant I gave Adrienne the tricky task of cracking and beating the eggs (which she does quite skillfully...!) and I gave the 'safe and easy' task of spices to the 2 and 3 year olds. What can go wrong giving it a few shakes!?
Ummm, just an fyi.... nutmeg comes out really, REALLY fast.
That would be my hand attempting to snatch the jar from her hummingbird arm as its POURING into the bowl....
We went on to make the pie. And deliver it to cousin Nick the wrestler in red. No idea if it was edible but I did give him fair warning that it may be a bit.... nutmeggy.
(read: a cluster of kids and dogs tearing through the halls of our office)
This was actually at the very end of the day, which explains Adrienne's flourescent red-cheeked hue.
What is it they say about women who work closely.... they all start to do something at the same time.... what was it!? Oh, right! Dress their kids alike.
They know the drill. Their 'desk' - complete with stickers, coloring books, crayons, markers...
Funny... the kids are SO envious that I get to go to work every day.... they are CONVINCED all I do each day is play with dogs, eat copious amounts of butter-soaked food, color, do stickers and 'play' on the computer.
(well, maybe that last point isn't so far off......)
Adrienne was attached to Kelly's hip... and thankfully Kelly was wonderful about having a shadow... every. single. second. of. the. day.
Meanwhile Luke and Nick found one of the very few 'boy' toys in the office and were having a shooting contest.
It's been a long-standing joke (there are many a truths said in jest...) that Heidi (tall blonde) will gladly snatch Greg up the mintue I'm hit by a bus. And since Nick is Greg's clone, she's aptly enamored with him as well.
SO!
Greg and I turned the corner and her office door suddenly swings open. Out walks Nick with Heidi on his heels. What the........... WHAT!?!? Seven minutes in heaven!??! He's not EVEN 7! Can he even COUNT to 7?!?!
The 'story' goes that he was playing golf... and Jamie (yellow lab) kept trying to eat the balls as they were flying through the halls so she brought Nick behind closed doors so the dog wouldn't choke on them.
Sure Heidi. Sure....
But I'll let the way-too-early intro to 7 Minutes slide.... because a little while later Heidi snapped a killer picture of us.
Nick so wants to love big dogs.... but they still worry him a bit. So the best thing to do is make daddy get slobbered on while he stands safely, and dryly, aside.
Adrienne, on the other hand, all about the puppy love.
(I know... I know... we're getting a dog... EVENTUALLY.)
Someone needs to cut back on the meatballs.
She hasn't done this since she was a wee lass!
(as opposed to the middle-aged tot she is now....)
(as opposed to the middle-aged tot she is now....)
Party on!
That night.... the crew o' cousins came over for Christmas Eve Eve. I know it was due to the Friday night start of the holiday.... but you know when a night is just.......... fantastic. Well, this was one such night.
Christmas Eve starts with an introduction. A very FORMAL introduction nonetheless, from our goddaughter who is learning how to meet and greet...
"Hi Nono! Nice to meet you!"
After the pleasantries we got right to work BAKING!
First was a pumpkin pie for cousin Nick, the wrestler in red.
(not to be confused with cousin Big Nick, or Papa Nick, or a bevy of other Nicks in our family.... or the wrestler in blue who is perpetually the 'bad guy')
Thinking that I'm oh-so-brilliant I gave Adrienne the tricky task of cracking and beating the eggs (which she does quite skillfully...!) and I gave the 'safe and easy' task of spices to the 2 and 3 year olds. What can go wrong giving it a few shakes!?
Ummm, just an fyi.... nutmeg comes out really, REALLY fast.
That would be my hand attempting to snatch the jar from her hummingbird arm as its POURING into the bowl....
We went on to make the pie. And deliver it to cousin Nick the wrestler in red. No idea if it was edible but I did give him fair warning that it may be a bit.... nutmeggy.
Doesn't it LOOK like the baking was so calm and orderly in a still shot....
Looks can be deceiving.
WHY I insist on torturing my children and WHY they continue to fall for it.... I just don't know....
"OK guys! Sit here and wait until the clock counts down from 30!"
After giving it a few minutes staring at the stove clock (they always last longer than I would expect) we moved on to the main event:
COOKIES FOR SANTA
Except I forgot to set the timer.... my in-laws stopped by.... Greg's aunt and uncle stopped by.... and let's just say I hope Santa likes VERY CRUNCHY Snickerdoodles.
Aww, a family shot.....
My son, Popeye, and my daughter, a linebacker for the Chiefs.
This is your kids. This is your kids on Christmas cookies. Any questions?
Fast forward 8 hours..............
How RUDE! Rudolph knocked the chair over and didn't even pick it up?! Dirty napkins left on the table!? I'm going to put Santa and Rudolph on MY naughty list if these bad manners keep up!!
Did Santa come??!
The grass is always greener...........
After all the gifts were opened she put everything aside.... curled up on the couch with a color magic book... and quietly colored. She gave herself some much needed downtime.
Nick, on the other hand, insisted on riding Greg around the family room chasing after Zurg.
Much like Zurg, Nick often doesn't seem to have an 'off' button.
Another family shot..............
...............that will NEVER get framed.
(Or maybe it will. I look GREAT!)
...............that will NEVER get framed.
(Or maybe it will. I look GREAT!)
I'd have to go with more Lord Dark Helmet than Vader... but a valiant attempt at channeling the Sith spirit on Christmas!
Because it's never too early to learn how to SHOP!
Introducing Nick to the world of Hero Factory.
A#1 sign that he's into it:
the tongue
"And then the Wookie said to the Ewok.... no, YOU'RE the fuzzball!"
bahhh hahahahahaa!!!!
Let it Snow, Deck the Halls, Star Wars overture...
all staples in the Christmas music repertoire
Why God invented Photoshop.
Cuties!
Can't......... look.......... now..........
OK. You've got your picture. Can I get back to the takedown??
One last party for the day... we decided to drop by Sophia's for dessert.
Funny........ that TONGUE! Even when he's concentrating on something someone ELSE is doing...
Because if all the kids are there, so help me we are GOING to get a picture of them crammed on a couch.
.
Remember when................... I was married for about 2 seconds and almost got a divorce because Greg 'offered' to pick up slipcovers for our new living room furniture... PLASTIC slip covers.
Well guess what Santa brought me this Christmas..... a picture of my darling next to his coveted plastic slip covers.
LOVE IT!
LOVE IT!
Merry Christmas to all.....
No comments:
Post a Comment