It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

Craig pulled out the Christmas tree lights soon after Thanksgiving and Johngideon and Montgomery had a ball "helping" him with them. They were so excited! They were even kind enough to unwind all of the lights from their neat spools and mix them together so they could dance the "tangle"! Of  course they also spent a little time testing the strength of the light strings, and also seeing if the lights could possibly have alternative careers as jump ropes!

I got some great action shots...

...and Craig got a longer opportunity to spend on lights management. He's not sure he'll require their "help" next year!  :o)

Gommy "the Blur" looks like a smurf in these photos because after she'd changed into her jammies, I thought Craig might "want" her help outside while he was stringing lights on the porch. She modified her attire for the weather and just kept it all on when she came back inside.

 I think she looks adorable!

I love the way Craig loves the holiday season. I'm not a grinch, but he definitely is the one in our family who leads the charge in decorating and making sure we all start feeling festive.

He creates holiday scenes all throughout the house and hangs lights and garland greenery indoors as well as out.

After an incredibly busy weekend (more on that later...whew!!), and missing three or four planned opportunities to purchase our family Christmas tree at places we intended (like Job's school Senior Class Christmas Tree Sale (oops!) -- missing car keys issues prevented that one) or places we have enjoyed purchasing from in the past (this time of year we are scheduling family life around performances -- I think Maia alone must do about 10 or more per week!), we finally had everyone together in one vehicle and skated into a nearby urban tree lot at 9:50 p.m. on a Wednesday night (just before they closed at 10:00 p.m.!)...responsible school-night parenting at its best!

It was Job's year to choose the tree and we think he picked a great one -- thankfully very quickly because it was literally FREEZING...

...off which we swiftly cut a treetrunk slice...mmm...smells so good! (each year we write the date on these slices and save them for ornaments)... 

 ...threw on top on the van...

 ...and zipped the two minutes back to the house :o)...

...where Job was kind enough to pose next to his pick...hope he enjoys it 'cause he'll be out of college next time its his turn! Ahhh, the joys of a big family :-)

The lights went on the next day. Hopefully we'll get around to ornaments soon...?

Take Care. Much love.

A little bit of Thanksgiving.

Aren't baby cousins awesome! Gommy had been waiting to see her "cute little baby cousin -- what's her name again, Mommy? -- " Nia again for months, and was very excited to "play" with her over Thanksgiving. She thought Nia was wonderful! Nia thought Montgomery was interesting at best...and objected loudly to being so thoroughly smotherloved. I can't wait to see the fun they have together as they grow older. By the way, the cute grown-up is Nia's mom, my cousin Aneisha, who has her hands full raising Miss Personality!

(For the record, I realize Christmas is just around the corner, but I feel very successful and quite accomplished to be finally getting to posting from our holiday turkey trip junket!)

While Gommy was joyfully smotherloving Nia, the girls' older brothers were happily engaged in an epic Star Wars Edition Monopoly game battle in Grandma's sunroom.

Job was the banker (or the equivalent Star Wars role) and was really enjoying the game with his younger brothers and little cousins Kevin and Justin. Life is usually so busy on the homefront that he rarely has time to just fully engross himself in a board game...it was great (and rather...sorry, Job...endearing) to see him having a good time with the younger guys. And they really loved the time with him too!

We were so glad our cousins (and Maia's godparents) Tracey and Jamel stopped by on their way to the airport heading back home to Chicago. We haven't seen them in awhile and it was great to catch up. Maia caught them up on Bedford family details while Job tried to pull himself away from the game.

It was hard ;o)

But we managed to grab him for a quick photo or two. I think his head might have still been in the game though...

I love that whatever Job involves himself in, he tends to give it his full attention and "be" in the moment. Wish I could learn to do more of that!

Also on our visit, we got to hang out with another of Gommy's future aces, my cousin Shanic's 2-year-old daughter Zoe! Gommy couldn't wait to go visit Zoe, and hung out by the carport door, baby in arms, repeatedly asking if I was ready to go yet...

...until my "in a minute" responses became almost unbearable!

I can't believe I forgot to whip out my camera and take a picture of the two of them playing together later! They are so cute and funny together!

On the way down a few days earlier, Maia led the crew in an impromptu exercise routine when we stopped for a bite. It's a long drive and that really helped to get the wiggles out...thank you Maia! But we did get a couple of funny looks from other restaurant patrons in the parking lot! (Not sure Gommy has the movement quite right :o)

And I just can't resist...

earlier that week Gommy tried to pose nicely for me after a day at school in her fun Thanksgiving week stripey orange attire (YES, it was a bad hair day!)...

...But, as usual, the sillies attacked and we ended up something like this...

...and before too long, like this...

   

Thank goodness for ice packs :-) !

Other Thanksgiving break photos (with Grandma, Carol Anne, Aunt Gret, Najema...) are still enjoying a long vacation -- or rather, incarceration! -- in my phone camera. When they are freed I will post them too.

Much Love. Take Care.

Mmmm....

Friday was the last day of "M" week for Montgomery's Pre-K class (in their fun grand yearlong adventure through the finer nuances of each letter of the alphabet :o)  So, because Montgomery is the only "M" girl in her whole class -- there are of course the boys Mark and Mason, but according to the Gommy Girl (with emphatic condescension)..."they don't like PINK!"   So, because of Gommy's lone M-girl status, and in celebration of "M" week, I baked yummy "M" muffins for her class...with PINK frosting of course!

I even packed them up to take to school in a pink-sparkly-tissue-paper-lined box, of which I am at the same time both proud and ashamed...



For the record, a clean, new, empty, sealed priority mail shipping box with the top panel edged on three sides by an exacto knife to create a "hinged" lid, makes a wonderful carrying tray-case for classroom goodies! I give sufficient business to our US Postal Service to not feel overwhelmingly embarrassed by my occasional misuse of their free shipping supplies. It IS true...necessity IS the mother of invention!

If you're interested in a great and rather wholesome yummy muffin recipe, check out Lynda's Recipe Box Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins. We modify it by omitting the honey and adding a little brown sugar, white sugar, molasses, vanilla extract and cinnamon...mmmmm. We also slightly amp up the milk and oil because of the extra dry ingredients. These muffins are so delicious with or without the chocolate chips.

Gommy proudly sported her special "M" attire to appropriately mark the day. She managed to pose so nicely for a photo for me..............................................before the sillies started to creep in....

...and get a little closer...

...and closer...

...until they finally overtook her!!  

"M" day is great! 

But what goes up -- thankfully! -- must come down. So much excitement can tire a little body out...and it's good to just get snuggy on the couch and watch a few "my shows" on the way out to nappy world...

Much Love. Take Care.

Josiah turns 12!

I can't believe another year has passed already...Josiah turned 12 earlier this week! And, in his classically Josiah-esque sense of humor, he informed me that this was the last year ever in his life that his age would be one syllable!

Craig and I took him to one of our favorite local breakfast spots, Cafe Hon.

 Pure "Bawlmer" baby...where else could you find a beloved giant pink flamingo gracing the front door...and wall...and roof...

..and flamingos in every window  :o)

We then grabbed Maia and went to hear Job give his senior speech at his high school. Very enjoyable experience, thought-provoking, funny yet sobering (dichotomous I know)...I was sick that I'd forgotten my real camera and had to take photos with the one on my phone. (I've gotta go through some gyrations to get the photos off the phone, so I'll add them when I can). Our good friends-like-family brothers Charity and Leon came out to support Job too.

Josiah hung out with me enjoying his day until it was time to pick up the little people from school. Montgomery was very excited about a cute jellyfish she'd made in class.

Very excited.

Really, very excited.

However, she did pause long enough to give her birthday brother a big hug...

And then it was back to new friend Jellyfish....

...which she then decided to dramatically call "dumb" and toss on the floor. Don't understand, not concerned :-)

We headed over and grabbed Johngideon from school next. He'd had a good day.

After a few errands...like to the grocery store to pick up the cake mix and frosting for the birthday cake -- oops! -- we swung into Josiah's idea of a great place for a snack, Subway! Grabbed a meatball marinara sub, his favorite item and headed home for some pure eatin' enjoyment!

Josiah REALLY likes meatball marinara subs!

No, really, I'm serious! :-)

When the entire clan made it back home, we swung into full birthday mode with Craig making a Josiah-style favorite dinner of loaded baked nachos, macaroni hamburger helper and fries and tater tots! Montgomery -- who likes to be extra very super "helpful" in the kitchen ;-) helped me decorate the double chocolate cake with chocolate chips on top. It was about then that I realized we only had 11 candles. I hadn't bought them in the store because I always keep extra at home (lots of birthdays to celebrate!). So, after a desperate and futile search we decided that twelve was such a momentous occasion that the cake needed a really big candle to mark it. It was really quite lovely...in an eclectic kind of way.

After MUCH thoughtful and lengthy wish-making (i.e. "Josiah, come on!" and  "Hurry up, hurry up, the flames are almost in the frosting!")...

...and creative Ninja cake-slicing...

...we got down to the present opening!

 

Cards and gifts from Grandmas and parents are great!

But...the highlight gift of the evening was Josiah's much-longed-for and very-long-awaited CELL PHONE! Of course that came only from his beloved and can't-help-but-spoil-the-boy godmother Auntie Joanne.

Do you think he likes it?! 

 Couldn't help getting a few stylized shots of the lovely Bedford ladies...

Including Gommy the "blur." So many photos I take of her come out this way because this little girl is in CONSTANT motion! (Aside: keep a lookout for a "BlurBlog" Entry in the future...a compilation of my Gommy the Blur photos.)

Back to the original thought at hand...couldn't resist taking a stylized photo of their handsome oldest brother either....

...before Craig helped the youngest two enjoy opening the first door on the new Advent Calendar.


Mmmm...chocolate!

Looks like this birthday partyer finally needs to hit the sack! 

Take Care. Much Love.
Happy Birthday Josiah!