SNOW DAY!!

(Sarah and Meagan go double down the hill.)

The kids are thrilled that for a second day in a row they have a SNOW DAY! Some parents inflict guilt on their kids by telling the proverbial, "When I was your age, I had to walk to school in 10 feet of snow uphill both ways..." I can't hold any such claim over my kids to illustrate how easy they have it now a days. I did all my schooling in Hawaii, Tucson, and southern Italy with nary a flake of snow on even a single day of school. I envied the kids I heard about in other parts of the country getting to play in the snow all day instead of going to school. So, yesterday was my day to share my childhood woes with them as they sipped hot cocoa after playing in the snow all day and I told them how "When I was a kid, I never got a snow day...not even once!" James, always looking at the bright side, said, "Well at least you get to have snow days with us now." He's right. Yesterday, though my to-do list is full of last minute holiday have-to's, I obliged them by hiking out back behind our house to find "our hill", the best sledding hill in walking distance-but it's out of sight from our home so the kids are only allowed to go there with an adult. There, 8 kids from around the neighborhood and I had a great time sledding a chunk of the afternoon away. Hooray for Snow Days!

James and Mather finish a run together. Look out here comes Charlie right behind you!

One of the neigbor girls built a "jump" on the sledding hill. It didn't work so well for the older kids, but Charlie and his friend Gabe loved it! With a good push from me they'd become airborne at the bottom of the hill. The two of them took turns, each time yelling, "Awesome! I got some air on that one!"

Abra-Ca-Dabra!

Abra-Ca-Dabra! Right before your very eyes, I've changed the name and address of my blog! I was thinking that with Christmas coming and all, I might let more than the 7 of you who read this know about my blog. Inviting more people here seemed to require a bit of house cleaning. So, I've worked my magic, or rather mAJjc, and changed things up a little bit. Thanks to you, family and friends, who have inspired me with your own blogs and encouraged me with your comments. Compliments for this, my favorite picture of the five of us, go to my sister-in-law, Shawna (see more of her work at http://www.lifeshadowsphotography.com/). Shawna captured this moment a little over a year ago. One of my New Year's resolutions is to get a big print of it and get it on a wall in our home before we no longer look anything like this anymore, because before you know it these three kids will, POOF!, like magic, grow up before your very eyes! I'm determined to capture some of the mAJjc as they do.

2-4-6-8 Who do we Appreciate? GREEN LIZARDS!!

Our boys just finished a fun-filled soccer season. So did Jeff and I. Somehow, Jeff and I got roped into coaching Charlie's team when they didn't have enough coaches for his age-group. I'm not sure how this happened, but the blame rests with Jeff if you ask me.

Jeff has never played soccer a day in his life, except maybe in P.E. You could say that I grew up around soccer fields, which is true. My brother, Chad, played competitive soccer all while growing up and I spent many a Saturday morning around soccer fields, grumbling all the time. I can remember being bored out of my mind and passing the time on any set of monkey bars that happened to be around the soccer fields. See, like I said, I grew up around soccer fields. I should note that I was really good at coming to clap for the team just as they shook hands and gathered around the snack mom for sliced oranges and a pop...yeah, I was really good at showing up for the snacks at the end of the game.

So, as you might gather, Jeff and I coaching a soccer team was a pretty hysterical concept. But, Jeff read up on the rules of the game and worked with the kids with his signature patience and enthusiasm. I delighted in running up and down the field yelling "Only feet, no hands on the ball!" with the most adorable 4-year-olds around.

We were the "Green Lizards" ( a name we chose because a friend was willing to lend us the "Green Lizards" sign she had made for her daughter's team the season previous). I have to say the Green Lizards were one fun bunch of kids. We had one little guy who incorporated his super hero persona into the game...so basically, Superman was on our team. We had another little guy who had the biggest heart and would run, not for the ball, but for anyone who had fallen down to help them back up. We had a little girl on the team who loved to show off her nail polish and pretty jewelry to me on the field until she realized the ball was in play and then she'd take off and score a goal. Another little girl started the season not wanting to ever give anyone "five", especailly not Jeff. By the end of the season, she was the one running up to give out "fives", especially to Jeff. And then there was our own Charlie who surprised us with his dad's competitive spirit and perhaps his Uncle Chad's soccer ability. He scored something like 6 goals in his first game. After the game, I complimented him and said, "You are pretty good at soccer like Uncle Chad." He responded, "How many goals Uncle Chad get?" Remember, I never really saw any of Chad's games so I made up a number. "10", I said. Charlie mulled that over and responded, "Next time I'm going to get 11 goals."

James also did well. He, a first time player, was somehow placed on a team with kids who had 4 or 5 seasons under their belts. I expressed concern to his coach about this explaining that I didn't want him to feel defeated before he ever got going. But, I was wrong, he was up for the challenge. He especially liked playing goalie. Goalie is all about saving the day and James lives to save the day, so it was a perfect match for him. I really appreciated how he admired the skills of the other players instead of letting it intimidate him. Whenever, he'd see one of his teammates do something amazing like kick the ball really far or make a tricky goal, he was the first to compliment them on their great skills.

Incidentally, Meagan spent all of her time "around" the soccer fields...she's well on her way to becoming a coach some day.

"It's a Beautiful Day" -U2

We are so excited about the direction we are starting to head in this country. I've been going about my day with such hope in my heart. I just want to hug everyone I see...though I'm resisting the urge! For me, like so many, Barack Obama first caught my attention in 2004 when he made his keynote address at the Democratic National Convention. Charlie was a newborn baby and as is true with a newborn in the house, everything else was just background noise including the Democratic National Convention. But, somehow, Barack Obama caught my attention in a BIG way. I remember, turning to Jeff and saying, "Who is this guy?" A couple of years later when rumors circulated that he might run for president, I got very excited and can still remember how I quickly called Jeff and my good friend Deirdre when he announced his candidacy. Later, I decided that maybe I was getting swept away in my own excitement, so I carefully studied all the viable cadidates--from both parties. Still, I remained convinced that Obama was just what we needed right now in history. I volunteered for his campaign in small ways, calling and canvasing, and met many wonderful people of all ages and mindsets along the way. I now refer to them affectionately as my "Obama Friends". Many of of my "Obama Friends" are like me and have never volunteered for a campaign of any kind, but felt inspired and motivated to be a part of this campaign. I really believe that President Elect Obama can unify us where before we were divided and that he can set us on a new track when we need it most. I don't think he'll do it easily or quickly...these things take time. But I'm filled with hope and pride for this country. And I'm feeling especially encouraged about the future of these three people and their generation, to whom I am quite endeared:

Charlie, Meagan, and James celebrating a new president at our very home made party.

We let the kids stay up late last night to be able to witness history in the making. They loved watching the results come in as they colored their own electoral maps red and blue (Thanks for the link, Deirdre). Victory was especially sweet thanks to this wonderful treat left on our door step by our good friends. Thank you!!

"Obama 2008" Cupcakes.

BARACK THE VOTE

The sign in our yard during the primary season.

I feel like I've been waiting for this day my whole life...and in some ways, I have. I've been inspired by stories from our history of phenomenal leaders like Martin Luther King Jr. and John Kennedy. I've often found myself wishing I had been alive to witness such leadership. I truly believe that today we have the opportunity to elect such a pivotal and inspirational leader in Barack Obama. I feel so nervous and excited about the election today...but mostly I feel grateful to live in a country where we all have a say in our government. Is it perfect? No. Do I care about who wins? Very much so. But today when I sat at a busy calling center making "get out the vote calls" with men and women of various races and religions that were anywhere from way younger than me to way older than me, I felt full of gratitude to be a part of a process where we all matter, none more or less than the other. I truly feel that no matter who you vote for, it's absolutely critical that we all make our voices heard. Democracy at its best depends on us all taking part and speaking our voice. To quote a cheesy poem I heard yesterday that I can't site because, I imagine, the author of it was too embarassed by its cheesyness to take responsibility for it (but I'm a sucker for cute little rhyme):

Vote for Obama,

or Vote for McCain,

but vote for someone,

or you can't complain.

It's a JUNGLE out there!

Our kids seem to have slept off their sugar intoxication from last night's Halloween celebration and are all snuggled up on the couch together getting their weekly dose cartoons.

I didn't like Halloween much as a kid. I have memories of a plastic Bugs Bunny mask jabbing me in the eyeballs, or my mom pulling a flowery blue dress out of my closet tieing a ratty stuffed dog to my wrist and saying, "This will make you look like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz" (It didn't...at all..as evidenced by every greeter at the doors I knocked on saying "who are you supposed to be?), or worst of all, when I wore a ballerina costume from a ballet recital of mine only to have some sweet old lady say to me as I thanked her for her treats and turned to hit the next house, "Oh, honey, is your tooshie cold?" in front of all my cool 5th grade friends--not cool.

After I was too old to trick-or-treat, the holiday seemed especially absurd to me. Who dedicates an entire day to the spooky and the scary?

But, now that I have kids of my own, I love the celebration. I love their excitement over the costumes and decorations. I love how they take such delight in the costumes of others. Most of all, I love how it's a night when the community pours out onto the streets and kids can knock on any porch-lit door and receive the goodness of strangers...in the form of yummy treats.

This year our three went as jungle animals.

Meagan was a giraffe. Jeff refabbed a size 5 costume into a a size 9 by building up the neck with an oatmeal box and adding extra giraffe material. She towered over all the other trick-or-treaters and was very easy to spot in the crowds of kids last night.

But, her neck would get sore and she'd have to rest for a bit here and there. What's a giraffe to do?:

James was a lion...a most adorable lion. The costume was lovingly created by his Grammy, my mom.

Sidebar: My mom, the same mom who told me the blue-flowered dress and ratty stuffed dog would do just fine for Dorothy, is, as it turns out, an amazing costume designer. It makes me hopeful that I too have some unhidden talents that will reveal themselves when I'm no longer raising children 24/7. Every fall, my mom has made anywhere from 1-5 costumes for her grandchildren starting from when Meagan, her first grandchild, celebrated her first Halloween as a caterpillar at just 10 days old. And the costumes are all amazing! Case in point: Last year, my niece won a community-wide costume contest in a Grammy created costume as...get this...Dorothy!

So, James was a lion all day. As he headed off to school in his costume, he said, with lion-like pride, "Grammy was sure nice to make his so warm and cozy for me."

As part of the photo shoot, I asked him to growl like a lion for the picture. James, who might be the sweetest boy in the universe, could only muster up this much of a growl:

Charlie was a monkey. A friend lent him this costume many weeks ago and he has worn it for a portion of almost every day since. He was excited to take his monkey act on the road last night:

(I love the banana in the back pocket).

Right after the kids got out of school, we went trick-or-or treating on our tiny cul-de-sac delivering pumpkin cookies to our 4 neighbors like we do every year:

The JUNGLE was well received by Bill and Kylie down the street who always buy extra special full-size treats for the kids every year.

Then we headed over to a Halloween gathering at our good friends' home. The kids all had such a fun time together:

Charlie monkeying around with his favorite matte, Gabe.

Meagan gives the party a long thumbs-up!

We parents stood back and enjoyed the splendor of seeing our crowd of a giraffe, a lion, a monkey, a pirate, 2 cowgirls, a tooth fairy, Superman, and a witch run from door to door yelling "Trick-Or-Treat".

When we returned to the house, we insisted that the kids let an adult check their candy to make sure it was safe to eat.

The LION apparently didn't get the memo that the candy had to be inspected before eating it. When he dumped his bag out for inspection, it was mostly wrappers. He had apparently been snacking on his treats all along the trick-or-treat route!

The MONKEY took great pride in counting all of his treats and shooed anyone away who looked like they might want to sample his stash--even his own mother.

The GIRAFFE made some sneaky trades with her brothers to bulk up her stash with her favorite treats.

No matter the disguise, their true colors always shine.

Chadder Cheese

My little brother is 34 today. Happy Birthday, Chadder Cheese! "Chadder Cheese" is a nick-name that this kid made up for Chad when we were kids, and I haven't let go of it. He may be my little brother, but I couldn't look up to him more. I admire the way he seeks knowledge (in high school he read the dictionary in his spare time). I admire the way he can be funny when you least expect it. I admire how he solves problems. I admire the way he looks out for our mom. I admire how he knows things you never thought he'd know. I admire how he adores kids--all kids--and delights in stories about them. I admire his sense of what is right and wrong. I admire his cool. I admire how he challenges himself physically, mentally, and spiritually. I admire his grit. I admire his persistence. I admire his dedication. I admire the man he is to his family (just look at him in this picture taken exactly two months ago when his son was born). I admire how he shares all this with his family, his friends, and his country...in his own quiet way, never for the sake recognition. Not just my world, but the whole world, is a better place with Chadder Cheese in it.