Grey Gaas

My family is Irish. Last week we lost one of our cousins. We are good at being Irish and so we drank. As we drank, we discussed the merits of Grey Goose Vodka. What happened then was a tale of its origin created by the warped mind of my cousin Joel. This is his story:

Grey Goose vodka was invented by a Mr. Goose. He married a woman name Ms. Greygaas. He made a vodka and it was fantastic. He loved his wife very much. He was honored that she had taken his name when they married because she had such a wonderful name before. So he decided to name the vodka after her and call it Greygaas. But decided to spell it Grey Goose to include his name too. But the correct pronunciation should always be like Greygaas*. So what begins as a love story ends as a story of a man who attempts to be chivalrous but just can't do it 100%. After badgering Joel for quite some time about how ridiculous his story is, he claimed to have read it on Wikipedia. So here's that link; try and find the story:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grey_Goose_vodka

The moral of this story is. When you're feeling inconsolable about the loss of a family member, just find that "special" family member to make you feel all warm & fuzzy inside.

Look how adamant he is and how his family just laughs at him. Bless his heart.

Love you Joel!

*a spelling which I am completely making up by the way

Stephen

I keep looking at your facebook page.
You were my first friend.
I opened up the scrapbook my mom made and the very first picture is us kissing at age 1. The second picture is us in the July 4th Parade in Grandma's neighborhood.
I remember fighting w/ some kid in Kindergarten because he was sitting next to you. I was so upset. You were MY cousin and that was MY seat!
I remember talking you into walking to the bus stop the long way when there was snow so we'd miss the bus on purpose and have to stay home. That only worked once before our parents caught on.
I remember being jealous of your store bought Halloween costume. It was a cheap plastic Yoda mask with a crappy rubber band. I thought it was awesome.
I remember annoying the crap out of Megan during sleepovers.
I remember Lory chasing you around the St. Michael's playground yelling "Campbell soup! Campbell soup!" and you were so happy when you got to change your name.
I remember drinking Mellow Yellows after our moms' soccer games and singing the Donovan song.
I remember getting candy cigarrettes at Friendly's and thinking we were so cool.
I remember being a flower girl and you the ring bearer.
I remember sitting at the playground by my house until late at night, catching up on all the years we'd missed.
I remember taking Grandpa's raft out too far in the ocean. We were trying to reach the waves where they began. The current was too strong and we couldn't get back to shore. Grandpa had to swim out and drag us back in.
That's how I'm thinking of this. You had gone too far and Grandpa came and got you.

I love you and I will miss you so very much.

Ice Skating

I mopped the floors to celebrate our puppy finding a new home. Layla discovered that she could glide around in her socks after I did that. This spring I'm enrolling her into dance classes because she cannot keep her feet still. We watched the new Muppet Christmas special this year and every time they broke into song, Layla broke into dance. This is her favorite activity recently, singing and dancing in a circle:

P.S. Layla got her own digital camera as a bday present so look for blog posts by Layla coming soon!

Merry Christmas!!

Where does the time go? Lordy, I don't' know how my mom survived with a job, three toddlers and two teenagers back in the day. It's two days before Christmas and we have yet to wrap a single present OR even get our tree up!! It's so so sad. Between hospital visits, birthday parties, Christmas parties, and plays I've done very little to prepare for this wonderful holiday and it saddens me. I mean, I've only watched A Christmas Story once and haven't even touched It's a Wonderful Life! It's a crime!!

Here's what we have been doing lately:

Visiting Santa Claus!

Chuck did a painting for his dad for Christmas. It came out beautifully! Of course I forgot to take a photo of the finished product but here's the work in progress:

We celebrated Christmas a bit early with Chuck's dad since they are in Puerto Vallarta this week (lucky dogs!) Layla was actually happy that she got this Disney Princess Calendar but not that I wanted to take a picture of it.

Mia's class had a small holiday party at school. They sang Raffi's "Must Be Santa" which was awesome since when my siblings were much younger, we hear that song ad nauseum. I actually started singing along by reflex until Chuck elbowed me in the ribs. So I let the kids have the glory.

I love the snapping.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!!

I need a nap.

Hooked on Phonics worked for me!

Mia is really getting into reading and writing. It's amazing to watch your children develop, just one of many things that makes parenting worth all the trials. Watching her sound out difficult words and putting them together to read sentences, read books. It's awesome.
The girls received some early Christmas presents from her great grandparents on Chuck's side. They were in town for Thanksgiving and wanted to see them opened. One was a little Disney Princess (of course) diary. Side note - I promise to try really hard to NOT be one of those parents that reads their kids diaries but I think at age 5 it's not yet considered an invasion of privacy.

She has as of yet just written one page and then gave up because she was tired of trying to figure out how to spell things. She created a title page for her new diary and her title is this:

Printsess Slepnge Byoode

(translation: Princess Sleeping Beauty)

10 points for creativity! The kid's got the greatest imagination.

Words that should be 4 letters

Tumor is just about the scariest thing a doctor can say. It is second only to Cancer. I am lucky to have a "benign" tumor. Although the definition of benign is "of a gentle disposition". I have to disagree with that and find a new adjective for the angiomyolypoma that has made a home in my kidney. Little 3 cm masses that rupture, bleed, and make you want to die from the pain are anything but gentle.
Today I feel ok. Ok is only due to a nice orange bottle full of percosets.

But there is a silver lining to the dark cloud. While I am incapacitated, my husband has been amazing. He even pushed me around the supermarket in a wheelchair while we waited on my prescription to be ready. He's done laundry, read to the girls, put them to bed, and has just about waited on me hand and foot. I have wonderful friends and family that have been so supportive. I am truly blessed. So I just wanted to say thanks to everyone in my life. I love you all!

It's Christmas Ryan!

It's that time of year. The Christmas season is my favorite! I adore Christmas music and driving through neighborhoods looking at the lights and decorations people put up. Until recently, my favorite Christmas CD was Muppet Christmas with John Denver. It's nostalgic and wonderful. I used to put it in my walkman and fall asleep to it when I was a kid as I cuddled up to my stuffed Santa (which I still have and put out every year!) Now, my favorite, my mom's favorite, my sister Erin's favorite and my brother Ryan's least favorite in the whole world is the five CD set by Sufjan Stevens. Ryan might have liked it at first but since it has become the staple of mom's Christmas listening, he has been overwhelmed by the soothing sounds and they have become nails on a chalkboard to the poor boy. Me, I have it on repeat on my office computer and I never tire of it. How can you not love this?


Merry Christmas to all my friends, family, and internet readers!