Christmas Wrap-Up!

Hi Friends -- time for a quick Christmas wrap-up!

We had the kids and the littles at our house this year 

and it was

so fun! 

Since Mr. Tennis was recovering from his latest ailment, we 

decided to keep it very casual.  

Ok, I admit it, also, I am not the best cook or very organized, so . . . 

we ordered pizza for our Christmas Eve celebration!

I did prepare my famous Mexican Dip - - which was gobbled

up by all during the short time I was out picking up the pizza!

Even little Janie loved it! :)

It was such a relaxing holiday.

Everyone enjoyed the time together

and seemed to love their gifts.

Maddy received a selfie-extender and it worked great

for the photo above! 

Am afraid it might have been the most popular gift and everyone wanted one!

Go figure! :)

We went to Christmas Eve mass at 5 PM and

enjoyed seeing the luminaries on our block glowing 

softly when we returned home.

On Christmas Day, our low-key celebration continued with Connor

joining us mid-morning for a Christmas lunch.

Hey, I actually did cook while watching the Frozen Celebration from Disney World,

and made chicken enchiladas - Feliz Navidad! 

Rainbow sherbet topped off the meal

and then everyone enjoyed movie and nap time!

It really was a super relaxing day -- just what the doctor ordered.

Hope your holiday was fun and relaxing too!

The Birthday Report - Turning 13!

She's a teenager now!

Woohoo!!

Sweetest teen ever!

Since it was her birthday on the 20th, I wanted to share some of the special 

things about Miss Maddy!

She is thoughtful and kind. 

Maddy is a hard working student -- some subjects are really

difficult this year, but she tackles the homework and assignments

without delay immediately after school.

She LOVES chips -- almost every kind of chip -- 

the spicier the better!

While we're on the subject of food, she also

loves chicken strips and fries - always with ranch dressing.
Ketchup?  No thank you! Ranch is good for dipping almost

everything, even chips!

Maddy loves her family and has so much fun
spending time with Connor, Philip, Catherine and the littles.
She had the most fun this year shopping for the little ones!
The girl does love to shop!
But not always to buy something -- one of Maddy's regular stops
is Barnes & Noble where she will collect 5, 6, 10 books and sit and look through
them for hours if I had the patience for that! ;)
 She especially enjoys books on dogs and training dogs!

She is devoted to her faith and finds comfort and power in prayer.
Her Catholic education is very important to her, even if she doesn't
always appreciate wearing a uniform every day.

Turning 13 was not just a milestone birthday, it was
a bit difficult as Mr. Tennis was in the hospital again.
Deja vu, right?
That was hard to have him ill on her birthday.
We're so happy
to have him home again and feeling a bit better.

I think 13 is going to a fabulous year for her!
Happy Birthday to our sweet Maddy!

Christmas Tree Decorating 101

Oh dear -- why, oh why am I not one of those 

super-organized

people with gifts purchased and wrapped,

house cleaned and decorated??

But, let's just accept it, stop 

beating myself up

and have a few more Hershey kisses while I ponder that,

shall we??? :)

We finally got our tree up and mostly decorated!

Here's my extremely valid excuse!

Last April/May when we had the floors done,

the guys had to jackhammer out the

concrete subfloor!

A ton of that concrete dust and debris

floated down to the storage room below, covering

everything in a very thick layer of 

yucky, icky-sticky dust, bits of concrete, etc!
So, unless everything was totally covered (and it wasn't)
that crud got everywhere and messed up my decorations!
A lot of garland and wreaths had to be tossed -- there's no
way without the hose (and it's too cold for that)
to get that dust out!

So, this year, we went for a different look on the mantle!
Can you say white feather boas??
So floaty and soft -- Maddy says it reminds her of snow
(yes, she's praying for snow and lots of it!)!

Maddy and I love it and, after all, our opinions count the most!
We still have few a few more things to pull out and dust off.
One of these days
(maybe Dec. 24th), we'll be ready!  :)

Fa
 LaLaLaLa
LaLaLaLa!

Baking with Betty (or I should say Bettys)

Last Saturday, Maddy and I started what we plan to be an annual holiday tradition!

Baking with the littles!

 This year, only granddaughter Janie met the age requirement - 4 years old -- for baking fun!  

Next year, her brother Walt will meet the required age too!

After we picked her up, we took her out for lunch!  

She had a special meal of chicken tenders, french fries and chocolate milk.  

She followed her Aunt Maddy's lead and dipped her fries and her chicken 

in ranch dressing and washed it all down with that delicious chocolate milk. 

 Yummy!

Jane was quite the little baker!  She turned the candy cane 

around so it was the letter "J."

After the cookies cooled and were frosted, she was in charge of sprinkles!

That girl knows how to put some sprinkles on cookies!

Almost time to test the cookies!

Betty Crocker always does a taste test!

Is that picture behind her crooked or is my picture-taking crooked??  It's driving me crazy!

Jane declared the cookies to be out of this world!

She made sure to take some home for her brothers and also for her friends!

We had such a fun time!

Bonus - Muffy enjoyed tasting a 

few sprinkles that fell on the floor and lots of playtime with Janie!

A tradition is born!

Visiting Santa!

Hello Friends!

Oh yes-- even though she is nearly 13,

Mads agreed to see Santa if the line wasn't too long last weekend!

Lo and behold . . .

the line wasn't long!

Yippee!!

After the Santa people e-mailed me the photo,

I thought it would be fun (for me anyway)

to talk a walk down memory lane 

for some earlier Santa visits!

Santa 2008
(at our neighbor's annual Santa party)

Santa 2010 - a Santa visit at our local zoo - it was freezing that day!

Ahhh -- 2011 -- the year of the vest!
Loved that vest!

2012
Maddy and her friend Janie at a Santa event!

And in 2013 -
a really sunny and warm day visit with Santa!

Hope you have a magical weekend and get all your shopping done!

When It Rains . . .

Have you ever had one of those weeks 

that you just want to erase from the calendar or at least your memory bank?
Kind of like "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day?"

Last week was one of those!

The week started with Mr. Tennis not feeling well and 

ending up in the hospital for a couple days for tests.

Miss Maddy had a ton of homework!

Seriously -- what's with the math these days??

I thought all numbers were rational numbers -

I felt irrational and cranky after trying to decipher that homework.

Stress and anxiety made me wake up around 3 am every day

so I could worry in peace and quiet resulting

in a huge killer headache and neck ache.

Advil and some old muscle relaxers to the rescue!

On a better day for Muffy -- ignoring those pesky cats!

Even our pup Miss Muffy got ill and had to see the vet!

Still not sure what is the matter with her right front paw 

causing her to limp and cry. 

 Have you ever tried to soak a dog's paw???

No more pity party here.

This week is looking much better,

 the sun is shining, the temps are not freezing

and we all seem to be feeling pretty good!

A highlight from the week  --

while waiting in the hospital, the piped-in music changed from 

the usual Muzak to a Brahms lullaby!

So sweet - they play that whenever a new baby is born!

A little reminder - life is precious -- 

treasure every moment.

The Gobble Gobble Report!

Hello December!

I've gotten a bit delayed reporting on our Thanksgiving -- so sorry!

(and I had to borrow Catherine's photos as couldn't find my photo cord connector thingy)

We had a fabulous time with family and so much fun!

The food was absolutely delicious,

the games we played were a blast

and the company and little kids -- divine!!

Philip and Catherine outdid themselves!

How do they make it look so easy and effortless and

yummy!!!

I contributed my Mom's famous (in family circles)

strawberry strawberry jello, fruit salad and pumpkin pie.

Sadly all were inhaled so quickly, I have no photos

to prove my culinary prowess!

After dinner, we played a rousing game of

Thanksgiving Bingo (thanks Jodee for letting me be a total copycat).

Maddy and I had selected perfect prizes and the kids -- everyone

really -- had a blast playing BINGO!  :)

Little Walt got the first bingo!  Way to go W!

We also played (or I attempted) a round of Guesstures.

Basically charades with a timer.  

Girls against the boys and somehow we got the tougher

assignments, so the boys beat us.

Next time, we'll get them.

Such a wonderful holiday, giving thanks, chowing down

and playing games with family -- it doesn't get much better than that!