Christmas Cookies!

We had a rare normal evening this week with everyone home--no work, no church, no basketball games...a blessed quiet sit down with everyone for dinner and early to bed night! So we decided to go ahead and start on our Christmas cookies! Meg and Jack request chocolate chip; Will, sugar cookies with sprinkles. My favorite is the Ranger cookie, but those are yet to be baked. Ellen Claire's favorite...well, ECP likes them all. Really all EC wanted was the beaters after each batch! We only recently in the last 5 years or so started making huge batches of baked goods for Christmas. It's one of those things Jack's mom Reese always did and he always wanted me to do--shock! And really, for all my fussin' over the years about it, we all really enjoy it. Besides, it's a bone fide tradition now!

I wish we could share all the goodies with you! Much love and good eating this holiday season to all!

Meg's First Cheer Competition

Oswego East JV Cheerleaders did an amazing job at their first cheer competition last week! We were up awfully early to get to the competition, but it was worth it! Our girls placed third out of seven teams. They were "beat" by 2 teams with phenomenal routines--things that we didn't see until college in MY day--and these girls were all Freshmen and Sophomores in high school. The 2 winning routines were extremely difficult, but they had many mistakes. Our girls were solid--not a single deduction--but their routine did not have as much tumbling as the others. Oh well! They'll compete again in January and are hoping to qualify for the state competition in February. OH! I forgot to mention that the hair is fake :-) Meg and I had a huge 'discussion' on the hair and how ridiculous it looked...and then we got to the competition and EVERY other squad had the same fake curly ponytail thing going on! So much for what I know :-) Go Wolves!

The Season's First Snow

Well the time has come.

The time is here.

WINTER has hit

The kids gave a cheer!

It looks like Christmas

Everything is so white--

Our own special version

of a very silent night.

The peace that happens

on the night of the first snow,

Makes it almost worth it

The next day when your car won't go!

Enjoy these pictures, all of you who won't see

Nary a flake and think of the Pieds!

We'll be heading your way at the sign of the first defrost

For March is when we feel our minds all lost!

It snowed all night and into this morning. The kids were SO hopeful for a snow day! Will even slept in his pj's inside out--the guarantee for a snow day. Sorry the video is sideways---I didn't know that it wouldn't rotate once on computer :-) We think we got around 4 inches with more to come later this week. At least it's not too cold nor too windy. That would make it miserable! Right now it's just pretty and fun! Except for Jack who was out shoveling at 6:30 this morning. That snow blower investment is looking better and better...!

Another Birthday

So another year has come and gone and I am officially in my mid-thirties. Since I never seem to be in the pictures, Jack took this one of us yesterday on my birthday. They were so sweet and even managed to NOT fight that much! Jack and I had a great lunch together and we all made it home at a decent hour to have dinner together. It was a special day! Of course, Meg reminded me that now I was halfway to 68. Thanks, Meg. (see her birthday post for a reason!)

Our tree is FINALLY up!

Here in Oswego, we do things a bit earlier than we ever did when it comes to decorating. It just gets so cold so quickly that we have to get outside lights up in November. And with the outside lights comes out ALL the other stuff. After Christmas last year, we purchased our first artifical tree. I went kicking and screaming, but really it's the only safe thing to do. Our live trees just never lasted the whole time. Plus, I am a bit picky about my lights and this had it all done! Saved a lot of pouting by the other 4, I assure you!

Ellen Claire got the honors this year for the first ornament AND for the angel! This is the first Christmas that she's really been able to participate in and understand--well, to some degree. We wish ALL of you a wonderful, peaceful Christmas time!

Our "baby" is 15!!!!

So it has finally happened. We have a "real" teenager! If the hitting the teens didn't do it and the starting high school didn't do it and the cheerleading didn't do it...then the cell phone did. We have been putting this off for a long time but, alas, she has finally reached the point where we just don't have her with us all the time (sometimes that is a good thing, believe me). So as a complete surprise, we put Meg's phone in her new Vera Bradley cell phone holder. It took a second or two for her to realize what is was. You can see the moment it hit in the pictures. So much fun!

Of course, we only set her up for 500 messages, thinking that would be plenty. WRONG. She hit 100 in the first 24 hours of having the phone! And you have to understand that we gave her the phone at 6:30 AT NIGHT---so she had to go to sleep at some point and then went to school for the next 9 hours where they are not allowed to use their phones. WHEN DID SHE TEXT THAT MANY TIMES?!?! So, despite her father's ultimatum that we would just take her phone away at 500 messages, her smart mother upped our plan to unlimited messaging. Just because she didn't text didn't mean everyone else would stop, too!

She had a great birthday and had the sweet request of Taco Dip for her dinner. Why--I don't know. But when we told her she was halfway to 30, we put her in her place! She had been saying that WE were getting old!

What an incredible journey Jack and I have been on with Mary Margaret in the last 15 years.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! We had a quiet but good day here in Oswego. Jack and Will fried our turkey this year and it was delicious! It was really cold...you can't tell that by the NO COATS my "men" decided to wear outside. We had a hard time heating up the oil and keeping it hot for the whole time. Works the same with a grill, by the way. We can't grill for the life of us in the late fall through early spring. For all of you who live in better climates, you know how pitiful that is!!

I have to admit that I was a bit of a pain in the morning. It's hard for all of us (ahem--me) to be so far away from family! We are not heading south for any of the holidays--too far to drive for such a short time, sooo expensive to fly and, shock of all shocks, I have a job at Tiffany & Co for the season. Of course, all the Piedmonts were together, sans us...and the same for the Rogers side. But I had to put on my mommy hat and realize that THIS is my kids' family and the one they care the most about being with...just as all I wanted was to be with my parents. So we set the Turkey Table (named such by ECP) with the real china, silver and crystal and had our very own real Thanksgiving. They ate so much we really didn't have leftovers!!!!

My Georgia Peach

So maybe Ellen Claire will have a better winter this year?!? So far, it's not looking so good. When I told her the other day that she could go outside once we took her pajamas off and put all her stuff on, this is what she did. Is she a literal child or what?!? We keep all of our extras in a basket by the door. That way they all go off and in the same spot when the kiddos hit the door. Shoes are in a crate on the other side, over the heater vent. That way they dry off and are warm to the tootsies when we put them on. I never thought in a million years that I would have to develop cold weather strategies to keep my house from turning into one big puddle with ALL THIS STUFF swimming in it! And PS, as I post this on Dec 4th, we are expecting 3-6 inches of snow by tomorrow. I'll be sure to take pictures of our first real snow. The kids LOVE it...not so much for the rest of us!