Following is a random sampling of the pictures that did NOT make it onto this year's Huffman family Christmas card. Please feel free to laugh at our expense!
Mom watches bratty eldest child after Dad huffs glue:
Eldest child gets one naughty face closer to a big twisty arm pinch from Mom:
Forlorn children sit with Mom who somehow gained 30 pounds for this one picture and Dad who suffers sudden intestinal distress:
Last attempt before nightfall on photo shoot Day 1; coincides with eldest son's only genuine smile of the day:
Two youngest children accept bribe; oldest does not; parents think of ways to exact revenge:
Sunglasses anyone?
Duh. . .
"One" silly picture before we get serious; day 1 of photo attempts; taken by 82 year old grandpa known as Big Ole Bob:
Another gem by B.O.B.:
Boys do what they do best--take rearview self-portraits:
Middle child exerts authority and takes charge of remote button; eldest and youngest seen in typical form:
Cocoa With an inch or two of snow on the ground and the kids' first official 'snow day' (actually, a 2 hour early dismissal), I felt inspired to search for a "from scratch" kind of cocoa recipe last night. And, lord, did I find it! My only regret was giving it to the kids right before bedtime--poor Casey was awake until 11:00. Thank goodness for this morning's 2 hour delay; he happily snuggled deeper under his blankets and slept past 9:00. Without further delay, here is the recipe (makes 3 servings): What you'll need: 3 cups milk 1/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate grated (we used mini morsels) 1 tablespoon white sugar (we used 2 tablespoons powdered) 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 egg What you'll do: 1. Nuke milk for 2 minutes. 2. Stir in chocolate, sugar, cinnamon. 3. Whisk egg until totally smooth and add to the mixture. 4. Nuke for 3-4 minutes until foamy (don't boil). 5. Whisk again and poor into mugs. 6. Enjoy! (preferrably several hours before bedtime!)
Climbing Keller climbed in his second competition on Saturday, the 11th. He had a case of jitters this time around, as the competition was run very differently from the last one, and he had to have peers watch him and sign off on his climbs. But he's a natural climber and he did an awesome job of getting up the walls! Here's a video of him climbing one of the easier climbs of the day. For this route/problem, he had to climb using the holds taped with white for his hands, and any foot holds. The tougher climbs of the day aren't video taped because his mom was too busy fretting and ringing my hands to remember to pull the camera out!
Christmas With an inch or so of the white stuff on the ground, snow boots drying by the door, and me running from store to store like a lunatic---it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here! Some of my favorite parts of this year's Christmas countdown so far: * Casey and I had a "date" last Sunday to go shopping for his brother and sister. When he came down from bed in the morning, he had on a collared shirt--commonly known around here as a "school picture shirt." I asked why he was fancied up and he very shyly said, "I thought it would look nice for our date." Be still my heart. Someone is going to be very lucky some day when he turns his little romantic heart in her direction. Off we went to watch the Steelers game and have lunch (during which he kept innocently yelling "Go, black guys" despite my gentle prompting to call them "Steelers" instead), and to Toys R Us where the masses were huddled; with my sweet boy in his collared shirt. *We've started a "12 Days of Christmas Huffman Family Game Night Challenge" around here. So far, many rounds of Toy Story Yahtzee, Kerplunk, Monopoly Jr. and Shut the Box have been played. We missed last night (too busy enjoying our delish cocoa), but I'm not allowing myself too much guilt over it. This is a new tradition for our family, and I think it's okay to flub up a bit in the beginning ;) *The kids had a two hour delay this morning (only in the WDC metro area would this dusting of snow qualify as delay-worthy!) so Dave had Keller and Marley out in the yard making snow piles while Casey caught up on missed sleep. Something about seeing everyone bundled up out there just makes things feel 'right' as we get closer to Christmas.
Phase 2 of "Turkey Day, Huffman-style" included a pinch of this:
a dash of this:
a sprinkle of this:
and a few glasses of yummy wine mixed with sparkling blueberry goodness:
All while (Dave and?) I worked on this:
Our first "solo family" Thanksgiving was (mainly) a success. We had one minor glitch in the stuffing department, but I'm all for letting go and moving on. So many hours spent walking around in an apron, feeling all Martha Stewart-y. . .and now it's all over!
On our kids' thankful lists:
Keller. . ."bread, in all of its forms" Casey. . . "TV! Oh, and Keller" Marley very sweetly named all of us, and her grandparents. Then gave a whopper fake burp to end her sentiment. That's my girl!
We had two unfortunate losses in the family today. While I cooked away, unaware of her actions, Marley apparently tried to teach her Zhu-Zhu pets to swim. RIP, you noisy rodents:
Our little crew decided to spend Thanksgiving at home this year, with just the five of us. It's barely noon and we've already made a few memories that will last a life time, for better or worse ;)
My cooking assistants: (Casey would not participate because he is sad about turkeys being killed. We thought we had a budding vegetarian in the family, until I reminded him that his much beloved bacon comes from a pig, and that said pig does not tend to live through the experience of having the bacon removed!)
Our berry crumb pie "after" picture ("after" Marley pulled it off the counter and dropped it onto Juno's food and water bowls):
Keller is known to be an out-of-the-box thinker. Not so much this morning:
I've got lots of pictures, but not lots of time to write, so enjoy the photos and brief, yet fascinating captions, from the past two weeks! Marley, my sister, my mom and I went to Berkeley Springs, WV for the weekend to celebrate a milestone birthday for my mom. Marley never figured out that the weekend wasn't actually meant to be a celebration for HER ;)
Casey's kindergarten class took a trip to Ticonderoga Farm We took our annual family trip to Cox Farms Fall Festival, where I tried unsuccessfully to take a nice picture of all 3 kids smiling and looking at the camera. Why do I even try?! We took a hike out at SNP Saturday and were rewarded with awesome views from the top, an incredible sunset, and an amazing and exciting encounter with a baby black bear! Don't worry, we were safely inside the van and happened to spot it in the woods, just 20 feet or so away from the road. Anyone who knows Keller knows he loves to go vertical. Yesterday I searched the house for him, sure that his silence meant he was sneaking screen time somewhere. And then I spotted him. I'm going to require him to wear his climbing gear 24/7. Alfred E. Neuman, a stealthy ninja, and a very sassy cheerleader descended upon the neighborhood last night for trick-or-treat. Marley earned her entrance into Stitch Club last night after an excited post-trick-or-treat dash into the living room that ended with eyebrow-to-coffee table contact. We snuggled on a bed in the ER and watched the Steelers game together for two hours. I can't believe we made it 8 years with no stitches in the family--just hoping that her brothers don't rush to join this particular club!
Keller turned 8 on Sunday. Sometimes it's hard to believe it has ONLY been eight years since he was born ;) but mostly it's hard to believe he's already half-way to driving age. Ahhhh!
For school on Friday, "we" made Mummy Cookies for his class. They're milanos covered with frosting 'bandages' and gel eyes. I pushed for something healthier but still Halloweenish--my fun/gory idea was to make bread sticks in the shape of skeleton bones and give the kids some pizza sauce (blood) to dunk their bones in. Keller quickly informed me that none of the other kids were 'forced' to bring something they didn't want. So cookies it was. Because heaven forbid a child be 'forced' to eat something other than cupcakes or cookies on his birthday.
We celebrated his birthday with a bash at our gym on Sunday afternoon. The kids got to spend an hour on the rock wall, then had pizza and cake, then spent an hour in the pool. Everyone had a blast and I think we sent a few kids home tired. Not mine, of course. We hit a playground for an hour after the party :)
