no more bedhead

Our instruction to the kiddies was "No one gets up before 7:30". I considered us very lucky as I didn't hear stirrings until 7:00. Then, at 7:30 we were greeted by Reveille, as played by Beenie on his cornet!!

Well, if that didn't get us out of bed, albeit doubled over in laughter, I don't know what would. I made my way downstairs while the kids waited patiently impatiently at the top of the stairs. See, I have the most important job of the morning - making coffee. I then let the dog out, turned on the Christmas tree, and took a picture of the living room - the "before" shot.

The kids were finally let free, and it was like firing a gun at the starting line of a race! The distant sound of the elephant stampede, as four sets of feet pounded their way down the stairs. There were looks of confusion as the kids didn't see what they expected Santa to bring them, but the big, red-attired guy knew what he was doing as always.

Munchkin got her own Fisher Price dollhouse, complete with people and furniture - including Hillary Clinton on a campaign stop.

Stewie got a real drum set. Candy apple red, just like Neal Peart's! He spent the rest of the day doing his best Ginger Baker impression!


Keke got a real guitar. She strummed away to her heart's content, and started to cop the true "folk singer" attitude with her siblings. Now we need to get her the Jewel songbook!

Beenie had written a letter to Santa that he left with his stocking that had some requests for stuff. Unfortunately, as we had been watching the NORAD coverage of Santa's flight, the big guy had left the pole several hours before Beenie left the note, so instead he got a camera. I think that was okay, because he had been asking for one for about the last two years!


After "opening" our stockings, we settled in for a nice breakfast of Ellen's homemade Tea Ring!! Yum!! Of course, nothing better with that than the "good" orange juice - out of the box rather than the can (boy, do we know how to live!!!). Then it was back to the presents. We spent the rest of the morning opening gifts from the relatives and each other. It was a good time. I think each kid got stuff that they weren't expecting, as well as some things that they had asked for.

Ellen got the fifth Harry Potter movie, which Keke had been dying to give to her. (Of course she was dying to give it to her so that she could watch it, but still it's the thought...) She also got the Jim Shore angel that she had wanted for so long, and the best ever -> tickets to see Richard Thompson!!

A couple of stories go along with those. The Jim Shore angel is something that Ellen has mentioned that she wanted for quite some time. It is a very specific one, as we're not really "Jim Shore people". I had it all planned out that I was going to get it for her, and I even told my mother of my plan when we were visiting her this summer. Well, fall rolled around, and I went to order the angel, but I couldn't remember which one it was. I knew it was a "peace" angel, but it turned out that there was more than one!! Oh, no!! So for a little over a month I was in a panic, not knowing how to bring Jim Shore up in conversation without tipping my hand. Ah, but patience always prevails. We went out to a Christmas party, and after it was over, she wanted to go to the mall. Normally I would bitch and moan about that, but that night she dragged me over to the Jim Shore display and casually mentioned which one she wanted. Yay!! Next day - online - ordered.

Richard Thompson is one of Ellen's most favorite musicians. However, she has never seen him perform live. Through one twist of fate or another, it hasn't happened. One time in Washington, she was offered free tickets but couldn't go because her parents were coming into town that evening. We had tickets to see him with David Wilcox a couple of days before Beenie's due date, but he showed up two weeks early, so we didn't get to see him then either. A couple of time we found out he was playing after the show had already happened. This time, I heard that he was coming to town, and I ordered the tickets. A few days before Christmas (after I already had the tix in hand), Ellen said that tickets to the show would be a great present. Yep. I knew that. And they were. Now, just keep your fingers crossed that we'll get there.

As for my Christmas, the good news is I don't have to update my del.icio.us wishlist. I got some slippers and sleep pants and a shirt and some books. Beenie got me a great lotus seed bracelet. Keke got me a wash mitt that she thought was very silly and would make me laugh. Stewie got me a LED light keyring, that I now have attached to a jump drive.

All in all, it was a good Christmas. Until about 10:00pm. That's when Ellen and I were enjoying some alone time with a movie and a couple glasses of wine. That, too, was good until we heard Stewie calling. Ellen went up and quickly called for me. Stewie was covered head to toe in vomit, as was his bed. I was there for moral support. I don't do vomit. I'm more likely to add to than to help with. We (and by we I mean Ellen) got him cleaned up and set up on the couch, and I went up to bed. A few minutes later Keke came out of her room and downstairs complaining of not feeling well. Yep. More vomit. We got her squared away, then Beenie started. It wasn't exactly the "happy ending" to Christmas we were expecting.

We got everyone nursed back to health by the evening of the 26th, then it was my turn. I was out of commission overnight on the 26th, and into the afternoon of the 27th. I was getting ready for bed when Ellen decided that we all looked like we were having so much fun that she should get in on it, too. So she was out of commission all day yesterday. I think everyone is over it now, but it sure made for a crappy vacation week.

And that, kids, is the story of our Christmas 2007. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Now that Bill Parcells (nickname: The Big Tuna), has been named VP of the Miami NFL team (the Dolphins), isn't there a Dolphin-Tuna joke out there somewhere? Unfortunately, it's eluding me.

Ellen and I have a number of prints on the walls in our bedroom. Tonight Stewie was in there with me and he was asking me questions about some of them. One of them is a picture of the lighthouse at Neil's Harbour, in Nova Scotia, where Ellen and I went on our honeymoon. This is the conversation that ensued:

Me: Mommy and I have been there. We visited that lighthouse.

Stewie: Were we there?

Me: No, it was right after mommy and I got married.

Stewie: But where were we?

Me: You weren't born yet.

Stewie: But where were we?

Me: Waiting to be born.

Stewie: Where is that?

Me: I don't know. The place where babies are before they are born.

Stewie: The dentist's office?

1. They don't use a litter box.


2. They leave poop bombs in the yard.


3. I'm going to have to clean up poop bombs in the yard.


4. They need room to run


5. You can't leave them for the weekend with a big pile of food and know that they'll be fine


6. I'm going to end up taking care of it.


7. We already have 4 kids, 3 cats, and 2 adults crammed into a tiny house


8. I'm going to end up taking care of it.


9. We already had to put a cat on prozac for anxiety disorders, what will this do to her?


10. I'm going to end up taking care of it, I just know it

So the deal is that the dog got dumped by the mother of one of the parents at the school. So the story goes, she took her kid and the dog out in their van, and made the kid open the door and dump the dog out. It made its way to school where it sat in Ellen's room all day. Now it's ours. I'm glad it has a good home, compared to the one it came from, but dammit, I don't want another animal to take care of.

I'm sure that in the long run everything will be fine, and he will be a nice addition to the family, and we'll get all those logistical details worked out, but I don't like change!

So, I guess the dog's okay. The kids are going nuts and everyone wants to play with him and take him out for a walk. I hope that lasts. He's a pretty good dog so far. He likes to play tug-of-war with his rope chew toy, and he is full of energy. He goes, goes, goes, then crashes and sleeps. Then the cycle repeats.


I am resigned to my fate, but I will try to make the best of it. At least he's cute. (And yes, he does open his eyes.)

web zen's list for today is photography zen

i would like to draw your attention to

postcard polaroid

flickrvision

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The best blog posting I've seen in a while (from An Entirely Other Day):

Sometimes parenthood seems like an eighteen year Kobayashi Maru.

Here's the original post.

What a weekend! Call me weird, but I look forward to Diocesan Convention each year. It's a great time to see people who I may not have seen in, well, a year. It's time to come together as a diocese and celebrate all the work that we do, and, as far as I see it, a time to see how we can better do that work together.

This was my fifth convention. I started out going by myself, then Ellen came with me, then the kids started coming, too. There is a wonderful children's program each year, and they have blast! This is my first year away from Trinity Commons. It was held at Sawmill Creek Resort, mostly as a response to the people from the western end of the diocese who complain, rightly, that driving to Cleveland can be a hassle. The downside was that is was a very expensive convention. We opted not to go to the banquet (about $200 for our family of 6), or get the continental breakfast ($66), or the boxed lunch ($62). Fortunately, Ellen and I both were volunteering so we were given boxed lunches, and we brought sandwiches for the kids. And, as a "staff" person, I was given a room, where Beenie and I stayed Friday night, while Ellen and the other kids went back to her folks house (about 45 minutes away).

Complaining aside, it was still a great weekend. I had to be there on Thursday as we needed to rehearse the "show" after the a/v company got everything set up. It was fun watching them work to hang the lights and get the screens and mics set up. I used to do that in college and after, and it was like old times. Once Martha got there and we got everything squared away it was 10:00 pm.

Friday morning I needed to be there a 8:30 and we finished up our "run-through" by lunch time. Convention started at 1:00, and (at least from my perspective) everything went great!! During the course of the two day convention, only one "weirdness" happened - when a powerpoint presentation decided to advance itself at a rate of about 3 slides per second! Fortunately we were able to stop it and reset it before the speaker said "As you'll see on the slide...". Phew!

The Convention Eucharist was Saturday morning and Beenie had been asked to read the Old Testament Lesson. Since he and I were the only ones from the family there, and I had work to do to get ready for day two, he was pretty much on his own. I saw him talking to staff members, and getting his assigned seat, and hooking up with some of our friends from another parish, who agreed to keep an eye on him. However, no fear, he did an awesome job!!!

The other highlight of the weekend was the election for General Convention Deputy. The General Convention is a meeting of representatives from all the dioceses that make up the Episcopal Church. They meet once every three years. The last one was in Columbus. The next one, in 2009, is in Anaheim, California. Each diocese, in addition to its bishops, is allowed 4 clergy deputies, and 4 lay deputies. We elected ours this weekend. We had 10 lay people running for the 4 positions!

The exciting news is that I was elected to be one of those deputies!!! It took three ballots (two ballots to elect the other 3), but I'm in. I'll be serving with Sam, Sue, and Stephen. Although my name doesn't begin with S, I think it will be okay. Actually, us, combined with Alan, Brian, Gay, and Conrad (our clergy deputies) are a really good deputation. I expect to learn a lot, and to have a great time doing it!!

So, our rallying cry for the rest of the weekend has been "We're going to Anaheim!!!" While the diocese will be paying my way out there, we plan to take the kids (another awesome kids program) and stay a few extra days to do Disneyland, and other SoCal attractions. I think we will all have an amazing time! And Ellen is going to volunteer to help with the kids program, so maybe she'll have her way paid, too!

I know I've used a lot of exclamation points in this post. I am very excited, but I do recognize the responsibility that I just signed up for/had thrust upon me. I've heard that two dioceses have already submitted legislation to repeal B033, and by the time that the convention convenes, the 2008 Lambeth Meeting will have happened. It should be an interesting convention, and I am looking forward to jumping into church politics with both feet.

In other news from the weekend, Tracey was not elected Bishop of Chicago. I'm sad, for both her and the church, but as I've said before, she will be a great bishop, and she will find that perfect fit eventually.