365 Fail

This time last year, I had lofty plans to do a 365 project involving a random act of kindness each day. By mid-January I amended my big plans and decided to do two small photography projects--one involving food and one involving the monkeys, but not at all related to Dining with Monkeys. Since I like taking pictures of my food (it helps when pitching stories and writing reviews) and my kids (they are just so cute!), I thought these projects would be super easy. As long as I was focused, they were. Problem is maintaining that focus.

At year's end, I managed only 152 pictures of the kids. Of course I probably took hundreds more, but I limited the project to pictures of just the two of them.



I did a little better in the food category. There are 305.



I think the pictures somewhat reflect my dedication to making "healthy choices" as much as possible, though it is clear that pizza, alcohol and sweets make several appearances.

Related to the healthy choices, I started a diet journal to track what I ate every single day. I actually did this almost every day. I didn't do it during our three week summer vacation or during the past two weeks, but basically every other day, which is pretty good.

I'd say my biggest victory in 2011 was kicking my Diet Coke habit. I only drank one a day, but even that much can be detrimental to one's health. I replaced the DC with La Croix sparkling water. It has no calories, no sugar, no carbs, no nothing--just bubbles. I love it. I may have the occasional DC at the movies when I fail to sneak in a La Croix (I have a stash in my car), but now it tastes sickly sweet.

I'm still pondering my 2012 resolutions and projects. This has gotten me thinking...

Family Photo Shoot

This is the third year in a row that our friend, Chip, has taken our family photos for our annual New Year's card. Warren and I had a hard time deciding where the setting should be, but finally agreed on Mud Island. I really wanted to get the city skyline in back of us. It was a pretty grey day, and I hadn't counted on it being so windy, but I just love how the pictures turned out.



Here's the full set. You can see that we spent a lot of time goofing off.




And here's how our card turned out. (tinyprints.com is awesome.)




Happy New Year!

Team Oster by Alex Warble

My gift to the family this year was an Alex Warble painting of...us! I absolutely love his work and was excited to see what he would come up with.

He used the pictures from last year's family photo shoot. I asked him to put us in the park since I love his landscapes. I was really happy with the way it turned out. The kids especially love it. In fact, it kind of blew their minds. (Can you spot the Ninja Turtle?) Even Warren likes it!



I had planned to use the picture on our annual New Year's cards, but couldn't pass up a new family photo shoot with the oh so talented Chip Chockley. Pictures to come...

Holiday Action

We started Christmas Eve off with a nice hike through the Old Forest with our friends from Team Provencio.



Then we went to Studio on the Square to see the latest Sherlock Holmes movie. (It was awesome. Robert Downey represents Wing Chun quite well.)

That evening we went to my mom's house for some present opening. This is the second year that we've just gotten gifts for the kids. I don't mind not having a lot of presents for myself, and I really like not having to do a lot of shopping. We mostly try to enjoy each other's company.

Satchel and Jiro's big gifts this year were skateboards, scooters, and a keyboard. The keyboard was a surprise, and Satchel couldn't wait to play it.



Once the kids had enough time to love on their gifts, we all headed out for some Chinese food. After dinner, Satchel convinced us to play his new board game, Life.

I don't know what asshole decided to make it even more complicated than it was twenty years ago, but it is anything but fun now. Thankfully we all agreed to quit after about thirty minutes.



Back home we had much more fun playing Jiro's new Connect Four game. Well, I had fun. I beat everyone!

Christmas morning we all woke up early to go deliver meals for MIFA. It's our third year doing it so I guess that makes it a tradition.

It's the one day of the year that I let the monkeys drink coffee and eat cookies for breakfast. It really puts them in the holiday spirit.



MIFA gets a lot of volunteers on Christmas, so our route usually takes an hour or less. Each house gets a hot meal and a gift bag.



When we were done, I was ready for a real breakfast, but the boys were dying to go to the skatepark and try out their new gear. I was out voted, but I didn't complain. I love hanging at the skatepark.




My guys are so cute.



After an hour and a half, I finally convinced them to take me to breakfast. CKs is where we go because it's pretty much the only place open. I was so excited to try the new donut burger! Unfortunately we went to the one on Union and they looked at me like I was crazy when I tried to order one. It was sad not getting to eat one, but I am looking at it as a blessing in disguise.

While at breakfast I got a call about an impromptu CPOP meeting at the Beauty Shop, so I got to pop over for a couple of mimosas. I think that next year we will have to go there instead of CKs!



I rejoined the family, took a 15 minute nap, and then rallied for an afternoon movie with Warren and my mom. (The kids went to Aunt Leslie's house.) We saw The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I loved it. I'm definitely reading the books now...and dreaming of running off with Daniel Craig.

After the movie, we went to Leslie's house for a turkey dinner and a nap on the couch. The boys had a blast introducing their cousin Scarlett to the wonderful world of the 3DS.



All in all we had a lovely weekend. I hope that you did too!

Winter Camp

I didn't want the monkeys to be home playing video games for their entire winter break, so I signed them up for Winter Camp at the JCC last week. The plan was for them to do basketball in the morning (they had a Grizzlies Camp coinciding with Winter Camp) and then swim and play games in the afternoon until Warren and I could pick them up.



When I told them that I signed them up for basketball camp, they cried. Big, sad tears. Even though they've been enjoying playing basketball for Evergreen Presbyterian they know that they are not good. They mostly like playing because all of their friends are playing. When I told them that I didn't think any of their friends had signed up for basketball camp they had a second round of tears.

Seriously.

I eventually got them on board. I told them they could do art instead of basketball if they wanted, and I agreed to give them money for the vending machine.



Pictured above is the "healthy" vending machine at the JCC. There are two junky ones one either side of it. Those are the ones that the monkeys shoved all of my money in. They negotiated a deal in which I agreed to give them $1 on Monday, $2 on Tuesday, and so on. (By Wednesday they didn't even want money!)

When I picked them up the first day, they were all smiles and raving about art. I was glad that they had fun, but disappointed that they didn't try basketball. And they refused to go swimming. (They are weird about changing their clothes in front of other people.)



On Tuesday they promised to try basketball, but they still refused to swim.

By Wednesday they were back to art, and had made some friends. They also learned how to play "War." When I told them that I used to play with Tracey when I was little, Satchel said, "They had it all the way back then?" I nodded. "How is it still fun?" he asked in awe.



Thursday they were rabid for their electronic devices, since they insisted every other kid was bringing their DS or iPod, but I stayed strong. I was happy to find them running around enough to work up a sweat.



On Friday I had to practically drag them out of there and I wasn't allowed to leave without talking to the mom of their new friends so we could plan a play date.

All in all I'd say it was a success.

This week, they get to hang at the house with Warren and do whatever they want between raking leaves and assisting with porch building.

(Almost) A Decade of Co-Sleeping

I snapped this picture sometime last week when I went to wake up the monkeys for Winter Camp. They look so sweet when they are sleeping, right? Little did I know that it would be one of the last times that they would share a bed.


Satchel and Jiro have had a bunk bed ever since we moved into our new house...nearly five years ago...but Satchel never had any interest in sleeping by himself.

As you can see from these drawings Warren and I did for the very first issue of Fertile Ground that we started co-sleeping from the get go...in a double bed. Not a queen, a double.



When Satchel was one, we got a king sized bed. It was heaven. Then Jiro came along and it didn't feel so big anymore. When Jiro was a baby, I slept with him in the double and Warren and Satchel slept in the king. However, after Jiro was born, Warren went on a twelve week dig and it was just the three of us. I got a giggle out of these drawings I did for issue #8.







I really did love sharing a bed with the monkeys, but they can really take up some serious space! Even when they were way smaller, they were serious bed hogs.


Getting the bunk beds was awesome. They happily shared the bottom double for nearly five years. For the first few, one or both of them would find their way into the big bed with Warren and I, but as they got bigger, we got more adamant about them staying put.

I will miss seeing the two of them curled up together each morning, but I can understand why Satchel is finally ready to have his own space. And surprisingly, Jiro has taken it all in stride.

Of course there has been talk of who is going to sleep with which kitten.

Colleen's Cookie Carousal

A couple of years ago, we had an epic cookie party at Tsunami. Last year we never managed to get it worked out. This year we made up for last year!



Colleen decided to make this year's party a little more low key--everyone was asked to bring their dough already made and to leave the kids with their dads (or whoever).

We started off with a few mimosas...



and some savory treats.





Once everyone was loosened up, the cookie making commenced.



I decided not to make anything so that I could be a helper (and assistant bartender). This was a good plan.

I started off helping Margot make some "healthy cookies."




Then I decorated a few of Ashley's sugar cookies.



Elizabeth decorated her own!!



She made one special for me.



Yes, it quickly became that kind of party. We did a lot of laughing.




And there is even a music video of our (rated G) activities, thanks to Alli.





It was a really fun way to spend a Sunday. And when I brought home a huge box of cookies, the boys couldn't agree more.

A super big thank you to Colleen for being awesome in every way!

Parties, Bad Pictures, and One Stubborn Boy

Friday evening we had the kids' Taekwondo holiday party, complete with testing results, Warren's office party, and a lock-in at the school.



Saturday morning, Warren was heading to Huntsville to meet the Wing Chun group there and I had to work until noon. Since I had scheduled an 8am playdate for the boys, I really did not want them to attend the lock-in. (The last one they went to, they all decided to stay up all night. I found Satchel asleep in the foyer at 8am with a half-eaten biscuit in his mouth. He had fallen asleep just moments before my arrival and when I tried to get him to leave, he walked outside and got in someone else's car.)

Satchel, who at age 9, can see the larger picture (most of the time) reluctantly agreed to my compromise. I told the boys that they could go to the lock-in after the Taekwondo and Christmas parties until 10:30pm. Jiro, who despite being 7, is still very Jiro-centric. He really really wanted to go to the lock in all night because it was going to be the first time he ever got to spend the night with his buddy, Jordan. I offered to set up a separate sleepover during the holidays but Jiro replied, "Jordon's mom doesn't like us."

What followed was an epic battle of the wills. I so wanted to just give Jiro his way, but I knew that I would regret it. I stuck to my guns, but he did not make it easy. He went to bed--at home--very, very mad at me.

(While they were at the lock-in, Warren and I did manage to squeeze in a drink at the Cove, a trip to the pet store, and dinner at Tsunami.)

In order to get him to not ruin our Saturday, Satchel negotiated a deal in which I agreed to let Jiro purchase three apps on his iPod. (We all share an iTunes account, so this deal also benefited Satchel.) It was a small price to pay for happiness, so I accepted the deal.

I dropped the boys off at Casa Provencio and then went to work. Carlos gave me updates, and I knew it was just a matter of time before they were all eating donuts.



Carlos reported that there had been a debate between Donald's and Dunkin, and that Jiro had lost the fight for Donald's. (Though Jiro claimed he would eat no donuts at Dunkin, word on the street is that he ate the most.)

When I finished with work, I rejoined the boys (all 5 of them) and did my best to get some real food in them at Whole Foods before rotting their brains (and mine) at the latest Chipmunk movie. Oh lordy was it bad. Worst of all, Dave's hair appears to be thinning!



You can see here that Jiro actually did refuse to eat anything at Whole Foods.

After the movie, we said goodbye to Team P and went home for a rest and to await Warren's return. Warren made us a nice dinner, which Jiro actually ate. (Not surprisingly it also improved his mood tenfold.) Then we went to our friend Launa's housewarming party. Launa's son, Grey, is one of the boys' most favorite people ever. They ate cookies and played Pokemon while the adults mixed and mingled.



Grey ended up coming home with us for a sleepover and by Sunday morning everyone was happy.

The School Program

Evergreen Montessori is pretty well known for its annual Christmas/Holiday program. It's typically an all out affair. You may recall the year that Warren spent hours making Jiro an Ox costume, or even last year's Alien rock band performance.

Well, this year the parents requested that we have less choreography and more actual singing. The teachers obliged and soon, Satchel and Jiro were both home complaining of having to sing. Well, Satchel both complained, and practiced incessantly. In fact, he even practiced the songs that the younger children were performing. One morning, while eating breakfast he was lamenting over his line for the elementary's rendition of the Huron Carol. I said, "Let's hear it," and he started merrily singing, "Jesus your King is born, Jesus is born, in excelsis gloria."

I could literally hear my dad rolling over in his grave. "Uh, honey...is there another line you could sing instead?" I asked. Then we had the whole, "Jews believe Jesus was a great man, but not that he was the son of G-d," discussion.

I went to the school and talked with the director. She knows I am a pain in the ass. We reviewed the lyrics to the whole song and I basically just had to kindly request that they sit out of that particular song.

Now, I should say that Evergreen Montessori has no religious affiliation and that the theme of the program was "Christmastime around the world." The elementary students picked their own songs, and there was no Jesus agenda. But, it was too much. For me, anyway. Warren thought I was being a hypocrite, but I told him to shut up.

So, in the end, Satchel and Jiro were in one song about a baby donkey called El Burrito. They sang and played instruments--in their regular clothes, I should add. On the morning of the program, Satchel said to me, "Oh! I remembered what we're supposed to wear! Black and white."

They got off so easy this year!







Actually, it's probably safe to say that most of the boys in the elementary got off easy this year. The girls clearly enjoy performing much more! (I do think Satchel would be great on stage, but his shyness prevails.)

Regardless it was a lovely show, and I think all of the parents were happy with the low key results.