Christmas Tree Adventure

Our family has managed to turn putting up a Christmas tree into an all day adventure. It's always very tiring and very cold but, mostly, it's always very, very fun.

Yesterday we woke later than we typically do and were out of the house in full Wisconsin winter performance gear by 9 a.m.

After a stop at a local greasy spoon for pancakes and eggs it was off to the tree farm.

This year the hunt for the perfect tree was shorter than most. I'd say our search lasted less than an hour, which for us is fast. Hank was anxious to help cut down the Balsam Fir we chose.

Everyone (minus baby Elisabeth, of course) took turns cutting.

Carrying the tree back to the car... where's Superdad?

Maybe this Balsam will find its way into our living room in 2017.

Superdad ties the tree to the roof of the van and we're headed home to decorate.

And, we're done. Time to enjoy.

The Fairy Nutcracker: A Post by Madeleine

I like my nutcracker it is a girl
I am going to see the nutcracker at the marcus with mommy and
Ant clo and di! the end

Here it is





From Supermom: Madeleine got this nutcracker from St. Nick.

Superdad, Super Lawyer

Kudos to Superdad, one of Super Lawyer's newly crowned "Rising Stars" .

Apparently the Super Lawyer list is the definitive list, compiled in part by other attorneys, of who's who in the legal community.

Superdad found out a few months ago that he'd been named to this list but it wasn't officially announced until recently.

Here he is in all his glory. His name was also featured on the complete Super Lawyer list, which was published in the December issue of Milwaukee Magazine.

Way to go, Superdad!

Freezing

It's cold here today. Colder than Wisconsin, cold. So cold Hank's nature preschool stayed indoors today. So cold that Elisabeth starts crying the moment the wind hits her face.

Hank, Elisabeth and I arrived home at noon after Hank's morning of preschool and mine (and, well, Elisabeth's too) of errands. Our house was cold. I blamed it on old windows and threw on an extra sweater.

After about an hour I started thinking that it was ridiculously cold in our house, even given the extreme temperatures today. Hank was whining about being "freeeeeeezing" and I wasn't feeling to warm or toasty either.

So, I checked the thermostat. It read: fifty-five degrees. Yep, fifty-five.

Apparently someone nudged the gauge down to fifty-two degrees and the temperature dropped quickly. The kids are all denying any culpability but I remain suspicious.

In any event, the house is back to the sixties now, at least, and my fingers have thawed enough to blog.

Happy St. Nick's Day

I didn't even know who St. Nick was as a child, other than another name for Santa Claus. After marrying Superdad I was duly informed since, apparently, St. Nick's Day is a traditional holiday for many Orthodox Catholics growing up in Milwaukee, of which his mom was one of (although many will argue that its roots are German. Or Dutch. You can decide for yourself by reading more about the holiday here).

Last night, per tradition, we hung our stockings in anticipation of the generous saint's visit.

The kids were easy to rouse this morning. They dressed in half the time it usually takes them and dashed downstairs to see if their behavior in 2006 warranted presents or coal. Thankfully it was presents for all.

To those who celebrate the holiday and to those who don't, I hope you all have as pleasant a day as we've been having. Happy St. Nick's Day!

UPDATE: Superdad informs me that it's impossible to be both Orthodox and Catholic. Superdad's mom is (well, was) Orthodox. Oops.

Top Yahoo Searches

The number one most searched person on Yahoo this year was Britney Spears.

All I can ask is why???

Snowed In

Wisconsinites have been talking about our expected snowstorm for days. Usually when there's so much hype we end up getting about two flakes and rolling our eyes about how catastrophic those who predict the weather make a snowstorm sound. We live in Wisconsin, for pity's sake. We know snow.

But this morning did not disappoint. Weather experts are calling this morning's blizzard the worst snowstorm this area of the state has seen in seven years. Schools were cancelled. Joe played hooky.

Madeleine and Hank threw on their snow gear and were out flinging snow at each other by 7:30, shown here:


They were back in for oatmeal and toast by 9:00.

It's 11:30 now and it's still snowing and the kids are back out, along with the 3,700 other kids on our block. These are the days I especially love living in Wisconsin.

Hank's Train Track

Last night was peaceful. Serene, even. Joe had the girls upstairs in the bathtub, I was in the kitchen enjoying some of Chopin's Nocturnes while washing dishes and Hank was busy in the living room setting up a Brio train track.

When I walked in to check on Hank this was the track that greeted me:


My four year old little genius made the track, complete with twists, turns and bridges all by himself without one iota of help from an adult mind.

Am I proud? Yes.

Thanksgiving Recap

Never one to re-do what's already been done, I'll simply refer to you my aunt's blog for some of our Thanksgiving trip highlights.

Hidden Object

Hank and I spotted this in the woods this morning driving out of the nature center where Hank's preschool is located.

Can you spot what we saw?

Turkey Coma

Thanksgiving was five days ago and I still feel as if I'm just coming out of my turkey-induced coma.

We spent our holiday in New Jersey with my aunt, cousins and their families and enjoyed delectable food and spectacular company.

Now life goes back to normal. I'm back at my dining room table, coffee in hand, laptop whirring away yet still I don't quite feel as if it's a typical Monday. I feel as if it's special, somehow; as if it's still a holiday.

I'm not worried. Any second now one of the kids is going to start yelling or crying and my peaceful blogging time will be cut off, shattering any illusion that it might still be a holiday. No, I am back on my own with the kids. Time to start laundry, chauffeuring to gymnastics class and restocking a very barren refrigerator.

I hope everyone had a great holiday; I know I did!

Good Wine

I'm not a wine expert. I don't read any wine magazines and I don't follow what's supposed to be good in a given year.

I do, however, know enough to know that a decent bottle, or even excellent, really, can be had for $10 or less. Since realizing that I've had a difficult time spending more than $10-$15 on a bottle of wine. (Superdad disagrees with me here, to an extent.)

Georges Duboeuf's 2005 Beaujolais Nouveau was brought to my attention last summer after receiving a case as a gift from my dad (thanks again, Dad!). He paid a ridiculously low price per bottle... $1.50 is what I think it worked out to.

My neighbors and I (and sometimes poor Superdad who always seems to be working during neighborhood cocktail hour) burned through the case this summer and it received rave reviews from all consumers.

I haven't scoped out its price per bottle recently namely because I keep falling into the best price (free!) because of a father who knows where to go to get a good price for a case and who seems to enjoy providing my neighborhood’s supply of wine, but I have to imagine it falls into my $10 or less criteria.

I've heard that a Beaujolais Nouveau is best consumed while it's young and also that Georges Duboeuf's 2006 Beaujolais Nouveau is set to hit the market any second, so keep your eyes peeled for this wine. It's yummy and I'm guessing fairly inexpensive, even by the bottle.

Trader Joe's

I might have been the last person in America who had never graced the inside of a Trader Joe's.

Until today.

Our brand spanking new Trader Joe's opened last Thursday and today, sans children (thanks, Dad!) I braved the crowds. Oh what fun!

Although it was busy and crowded I still enjoyed getting the lay of the land and managed to walk out without doing too much damage to my bottom line still buy some interesting things.


Superdad will be in heaven tonight since I bought his favorite snack in the world: corn chips and salsa.

Areas of the store still relatively unexplored at this point yet on my future "must see" list are: the cheese section (their selection looks great!), their alcohol section (no tequila, Quantum Void) and their cleaning aisle.

Any Trader Joe's experts out there with advice and favorite products encouraged to respond!

Photo Essay: Madeleine

I love to look at old photos. I'm often caught flipping through old albums at home and my favorites, I'll confess, are pictures of my kids chronicling their short lives.

Most recently I've been dwelling on Madeleine's past because, well, she's six now. So, for those interested, some pictorial highlights of Madeleine's young life follow.

Here is Madeleine at 8 months old on Easter when we still lived in Janesville. That was the first Easter Joe and I hosted and it was the first of what has become many.


Ah, and here 's Madeleine in the spring of 2002 at about 20 months old. She was visiting her grandparents and after an unusually long period of silence an investigation ensued and she was discovered perfecting her make-up regimen with her Nana's lipstick.


Madeleine again. This time she's two years old and it's Christmas.


Madeleine at three and a half years of age, looking pretty much as she does now.



Madeleine. Christmas 2004 (she's four here).


Here she is just prior to her fifth birthday (July 2005) in upstate New York.


And to cap the ode to Madeleine off, here she is modeling her new bathrobe on her sixth birthday this past August.

Chopsticks

We ordered Chinese food the other night and the kids immediately insisted on using chopsticks. We tried to teach them how to do it properly, but here's what they came up with:


And, just because she's cute:

New Trick

Look! She's standing!

And she can climb stairs now too. Fun, fun, fun!

Election Wrap-up

Republicans lost last night. Big time.

I suppose you might imagine I’m crying in my coffee.

Surprisingly, I’m not. I’m not upset, I’m mad. I’m fired up.

Why? Because, by and large, Republicans deserved to lose! What has happened to my Republican Party?

Remember 1994? Who was elected: conservative Republicans. Since their election, who’s been running the party? The moderates! And what have they done? Nationally, what conservative goals did we accomplish? Is government smaller? More accountable? Are taxes dramatically lower? Is there more efficiency in government? Those are things conservatives would have done, but moderates didn’t. The moderate, Big Tent Republicans, have drowned the conservative voices in the House and Senate out and I’m not going to take it anymore.

But I’m not going to jump ship either. There are a lot of great, conservative Republicans left out there. But I’m going to expect them to step up to the plate. I’m going to expect them to take a stand. Publicly.

The Republican Party is at a crossroads. I suppose some in leadership will advocate shifting more towards the middle. If that happens they will lose my vote. When Republican candidates run on a conservative message by and large, they win. I believe people want government to encourage them to look to themselves, and the assurance that government isn't going to burden them with over-bloated bureaucracies, regulations and taxes.

I’m reengaged. I want my party back. Conservatives in office, can you hear me? You are our voice. Speak up. It’s time for some more bloodletting. Let’s take back our party.

Tuesday's Election

I've tried to stay away from politics on this blog which I'm sure has surprised many of you who know me. The reason I made that decision though was to try and keep this blog as upbeat and non-controversial as possible. I know many of my readers don't share my political affiliation and I hate to make people feel uncomfortable or, worse, angry.

But there's an election on Tuesday. A very important election. I was going to ignore it (on my blog, anyway) but I just can't. It's too important. There's far too much at stake. There are many reasons I'm voting as I am which is, in case you don't know me, almost universally Republican.

There are a few local races where I am crossing party lines but generally I'm voting my conservative conscience.

Why?

Locally we're in trouble. Businesses are being driven out of Wisconsin for a multitude of reasons, all of which warrant a change in administration, but the most frightening is the underhanded way our current governor is doing business. There are multiple (multiple!) examples of companies being denied a state contract, said business giving the Doyle campaign an obscene amount of money and -voila!- they're awarded a no-bid contract. Liberal or conservative, this should be more than a little troubling and, in my opinion, should negate every reason someone might have to vote for him.

And no, they (politicians) don't all do it. They aren't all corrupt and they aren't all the same (ethically). Contracts are for sale in Wisconsin and Jim Doyle needs to go.

My representative in the House will win, so I don't really feel the need to puff him up, but I will say the I generally believe Republicans deserve to return to Washington. Many of you know it pains me to say that. Most of the Republicans in the House and Senate have been abusing my conservative sensibilities for a few years now, and many haven't been much better than a mainline Democrat, fiscally speaking.

But that's the problem. Today's Democrat isn't yesterday's Democrat. Today's Democrat is a Howard Dean, Moveon.org Democrat. Need proof? Just look to Connecticut where the Democrat’s 2000's vice-presidential candidate was cut loose for daring to support the War in Iraq.

For the War in Iraq or against it, we're now there. America's troops are in harm's way and what happens there will directly affect global terrorism for years to come. We need to win in Iraq, and we need to win decisively. The election of anyone who's suggested they might even consider a premature pullout is extremely dangerous, in my humble opinion, not just for the troops who are there but also for a nation that was brutally attacked six short years ago.

Terrorists are still out there. We know what their goals are and anything less than total victory on our part means that someday, somewhere, we will once again fall victim to some vile plot. Their depravity and the evidence of their past destruction is a dangerous combination and not one I'm willing to trust into the hands of a party whose leader said that the idea that we might be able to win in Iraq is "just plain wrong."

I’m not looking to incite a riot here, or even a debate really (though of course you’re free to respond!) but I want to articulate a little of what I’m feeling about tomorrow, why I’m voting the way I am and why I feel it’s so important.

Thanks for reading!

L.L. Bean

I love L.L. Bean. Even when they screw up they are able to make it call better, and with minimal fuss.

I ordered some tights for Madeleine before school started and the first time she wore them to school they snagged and ripped. I returned them since they were supposed to be thick, durable tights able to withstand most things a 1st grader could throw at them.

L.L. Bean promptly sent me a brand new pair, no questions asked.

So, while I’m not overly impressed right now with the quality of their tights I am thrilled with their customer service and am more than willing to give their tights a second chance.

Happy Birthday, Mom

Had she lived, today would have been my mom’s sixty-first birthday.

Instead of the cake we would be having if she were here, I’m making Junket tonight. Few people ever know what I’m talking about when I speak of Junket, but it was a common dessert in my home growing up. Mom loved it and made it often enough that I can’t think of a dessert that reminds me of her more than that one.

Mom was an excellent cook, but she excelled at baking. She loved desserts, both the eating and construction of, and in recent years sort of became in charge of desserts at any family gathering. Here are the cakes she baked for Madeleine's baptism party in January of 2001 (which is also where the picture of Mom and Madeleine as a baby, above, was taken):

Her numerous gardens were well-known and spoken of with the highest regard. She knew more about what to grow, where to grow it and what would look just perfect in any given spot than any other person I know, professional horticulturalists included.

Her favorite garden, and mine too, was her pool garden which is pictured here:

She was a warm, interesting and talented woman, one whose absence is noted by many but also, more importantly, whose life is remembered and celebrated by so many.

Happy Birthday, Mom, we miss you!

TV

This might seem like an odd post coming from someone who just blogged about canceling her cable, but our DVD player just broke. Almost every movie we own is a DVD, not a videocassette.

So. Instead of just buying a new DVD player Joe and I have been thinking we should probably buy a new TV too since I'm pretty sure our main TV was manufactured in the Stone Age.

I don't really know why we think this. We've been bewitched; captivated by all the gigantic TVs with pictures so sharp and clear you feel like you should be able to walk right into them.

What should we buy? Plasma! LCD! HDTV!

Anyone have an opinion?

Happy Halloween

No, Halloween isn't until tomorrow, but we trick-or-treated last night so to me it feels like the occasion has already passed. Superdad (disguised as Paul Bunyan) and I took out our princess, dinasaur and spider for almost two hours last night and came home with an absurd amount of candy that somehow keeps finding its way into my mouth.


This house took the cake last night, decoration-wise. The kids were deliciously scared but also savored the fun/scary feeling and jumped right into the tent only to find tricks (dressed up scary guy) and treats (a bowlful of candy).

Happy Birthday, Elisabeth! Happy Birthday, Hank!

Two of my children recently celebrated birthdays and I didn’t honor them here. Don’t feel too badly for them though as they were remembered and showered with love, affection and, most importantly, cake and presents in real life. Just not here. But what do they care; they can’t read.

We celebrated with family and friends in Door County, Wisconsin at the Landmark Resort the thirteenth through the fifteenth and then again on October seventeenth at our house for family unable to make the weekend festivities.

Happy Belated Birthday, Elisabeth!

Elisabeth turned one on Sunday, October fifteenth.



The extra candle seen above is a family tradition; an extra candle is added for good luck.

Elisabeth gets to try out the pool:



And, back home, she gets to try out a new toy:



Clearly, being one is exhausting:



Happy Belated Birthday, Hank!

Hank turned four on Tuesday, October seventeenth.



My Hanker-buddy loves to swim:



Who's the most interested in Hank's presents; Hank (middle), his cousin or Superdad?



The party moves home, as more guests and presents arrive:



And yet another tired birthday honoree (that's Madeleine on the other side of the bed):

Cable Television

I just cancelled our cable subscription. I love TV. And I love cable especially.

But I don't like paying an absurd amount of money for, mostly, trashy shows.

So it's gone. I wonder if I'll survive (just don't suggest cutting the high-speed internet, Superdad!).

Snow

It's October. Mid-October. And snow is predicted tomorrow or Thursday. Snow! I love winter just as much as the next Wisconsinite, maybe more, but this is ridiculous!

Attic Treasure

Last weekend my brother came up to Wisconsin for the weekend to go through the attic in our childhood home (which he talks about in his blog).

The attic, over the thirty some years my mom lived in the house, evolved into the catchall room in the house and accumulated a lot of interesting treasures and, unfortunately, a lot of useless junk.

Fortunately a lot of the junk was removed last weekend, much of it making its way out to the road for garbage day and the remainder held onto for a spring garage sale.

The treasures, though, we hung onto. One treasure I re-discovered was this adorable Mouse House:

My great-aunt Cloe made it for me and gave it to me for a Christmas present in 1983, I believe. My mom made sure she saved the card that came with the meticulously made Mouse House, in which Cloe noted that the lace curtains were made from the lace in Cloe’s corsage from my mom and stepdad’s wedding that previous September.

I spent many hours as a child playing with my Mouse House and I really wouldn’t hesitate to say it was one of my favorite childhood toys.

And now Madeleine is enjoying creating her own memories with the Mouse House and I’m taking pleasure in watching her playing with it, somehow reliving a bit of my childhood through her with each giggle I hear and with each story she creates for her new mouse family.

Signs of Fall

This gorgeous red maple tree three houses down:


Face painting at Fall Harvest Festival at Madeleine's school this afternoon:


Here's the newly painted fearless tiger showing off his fantastic and ferocious ROAR!

Little Red Riding Hood

I bought Elisabeth this beautiful edition of Little Red Riding Hood today. With that I am now done with shopping for both Elisabeth and Hank's birthdays (which are the fifteenth and seventeenth of October, respectively).

I love the story and, amazingly, it's a classic tale we don't already own.

And get this-- when I flipped to the first page I discovered that in this edition Little Red Riding Hood's real name is Elisabeth-- with an "s", just like our little Elisabeth.

Where I've Been

I'm the sister referred to here. I realize though that it's now Wednesday and I've been back since Sunday night, but I've had a lot of house catch-up to do and haven't made blogging a priority (shame, shame!).