Christmas in Chicago

Please Don't be Late

Wow! We've had a great weekend packed with Winters goodness and Christmas cheer.
First, let's get the exciting news out of the way:
It snowed in Seattle. Yes, snowed. And right now, it's 23 degrees outside. The only good I can get out of this situation is that we're all going to be ready for our Michigan visit because our bodies will be acclimated to the cold temps. Of course, in Seattle, when the rain turns to ice crystals, talk turns to snow days...people freak out and assume that no one should drive in the snow so all day yesterday people were betting on no school today. I joined them in their winter wishes and hoped beyond hope for someone to wake up and declare the roads simply undriveable.
Much to my amazement, my phone rang and 5:30 this morning with an automated message stating that Seattle Schools will be beginning 2 hours late. I'll take it! Unfortunately, I am one of those people who can not go back to sleep once I wake up...so, I've gotten a few things done around the house while the rest of my family sleeps off the events of last night.
Which brings me to the next bit of exciting news:
Our dear friend Rosie Thomas released a wonderful new Christmas album this year. The Many household has been listening to it consistently this season and Hazel can be heard at any given time singing Silent Night (which she sang with the choir on the record). Last night Rosie drove from Portland to Washington to end her brief Christmas tour among her friends at Townhall.
Hazel and Trey got on stage to sing with Santa's Helpers Choir and on the very last song Rosie asked Hazel to join her as she closed the show with Silent Night. Hazel was a bit shy during sound check but I think the crowd really boosted her confidence and when Rosie turned to her and asked her to climb the chair so they could sing together, my girl Hazel walked confidently and sang her little heart out. She even ended it with a HUGE "Merry Christmas!!"
I sat in the front row with August and beamed up at my long legged little singer. August yelled, "You go Hazel!!" and stood to applaud his baby sister. It was a good night and a great start to our holiday season.

Are You Game?

You'll have to click on the above image to really read the scores, but if you're up for it, here's a fun way to keep track of this years Christmas cards.
So go to your mail box and open your stack of Christmas cards. Using the above score sheet, tally your points for each card (if you received one from me it's worth a whopping 15 points, you're welcome!). At the end of the season tally your total points and chime in...let's see who's more popular...oh this is just like High School...how exciting!

(The Last) 10 on 10

Birthday Boy

August celebrated his 10th birthday last week. He opted to invite some friends over for Wii games followed by pizza from the place down the street and Trophy cupcakes. The cupcakes fell in transport but the boys loved them just the same.

The boys being...boys.
El gave August a super funny book called Wreck this Journal. All the boys loved it and immediately began following the directions on each page. This page said to chew it.
El also gave August this amazing drawing of a robot.

With all the Many birthdays done we can now focus on Christmas (and my dad's birthday).

It's Christmas Time in the City

Thanksgiving is over...now it's time for Christmas!! Trey spent, I don't know how long trying to get Tank to keep these antlers on his head long enough to snap a shot while the kids and I trimmed the tree.
Each year Grandma Klier gives the kids some ornaments and each year the kids are excited to open the boxes and hang their own personal decorations.
We also have a nice amount of old ornaments from Trey's childhood. Hazel was thrilled to find this red reindeer that had her daddy's name on it along with the year- 1980...and she read it!
We listened to the new Rosie Christmas record while we Christmafied the house. Hazel sang along with the songs she knew while August kept pushing the button on the At-At ornament.

Holiday Baking

I've officially begun the Holiday Baking Season! My thoughts shifted directly towards the fudge Tania would make every Christmas. The Many Family looked forward to the fudge every year. The last year The Walsh Family lived in Washington we were given a copy of said fudge recipe and I have had it tucked away in my cupboard. I thought that maybe, if I never looked at it, never made it for myself the idea of them moving back to Boston would not register in my heart and mind. This year, I took the recipe out of the cupboard and started mixing the chocolate. It's time I accept the loss.
As the chips slowly melted in the pot I thought of Tania and the boys. Thought of how their lives have changed yet again with the new baby. And not just any old baby, no, they have themselves a baby girl! Oona. So lovely.
The fudge is alright, not as good as when Tania makes it, it'll never be that good!

The kids are out of school this week. Perfect timing if you ask me. We have minimal plans for the week and I think we're all loving that fact.
Tomorrow I have some wonderful lady friends coming over to do some more baking. I couldn't help but start a little something this evening...made August's favorite- pumpkin scones. They turned out pretty good this time. He can hardly wait till the morning!
I've got a recipe for cranberry pistachio biscotti that I'm going to attempt tomorrow, I'll let you know how they turn out.
Happy Holiday Baking Season!

Hazel's 7th Birthday Party

Hazel had her birthday party tonight. She invited a hot list of gals and our friend Francis to go to a gymnastics center for an hour of sweaty playtime followed by an hour of pizza, cookies, water and a wrapping paper fight.


















Tomorrow is her actual day of birth and we're going out to eat at Buca with Aunt Kat and Uncle Justin along with our friends the Isreal family.