I Did It!

Zirkle Project 365 is complete for 2009! I can not believe that a whole year has passed since beginning this endeavor. Time has a way of flying by, but I'm enjoying reliving the minutiae of the year as I review the pictures that I've taken.

And now it's time to evaluate the project as I gear up to do it again in 2010 (hey, that rhymes):

• I love my results, and feel as if my photography skills have really improved over the past year, but the pictures and accounts seem to be a bit one-dimensional since nearly all of the pictures were taken by me and all of the updates were written by me. In 2010, I plan to give the camera to other family members more often and have them supply the written update to correspond with their pictures.
• I need to make sure that I get the pictures posted more frequently, because doing more than a week's worth of pictures at a time is really overwhelming. And I also need to recognize that posting the updates on a daily basis is just not realistic. So, continue posting each day's picture and update, but perhaps every 3 days, instead of daily or weekly or (ahem) monthly.
• More reader input would be greatly appreciated! See a picture that you really like? Leave a comment! Did a post crack you up? Let me know! It is so much easier to keep up with this type of a task if I know that folks are reading it.

Thanks to this project, I have been inspired to turn my passion for photography into a business, so be looking for some updates about that in future posts. I can't wait to take a picture of my new camera!

Happy New Year!

We rang in the new year with our neighborhood friends at the Christiano's house. The kids came too for a fun night of games, karaoke, and general frivolity. We're not talking about the table though. Sigh.

Necessary Mess

Kevin has been frustrated with the shelving in our garage for some time now. So now he is building new shelves that will get a lot of stuff off the floor, allowing more room for bikes and scooters. Of course, before new shelves can go in, everything needed to come off the old shelves. Seemed like a perfect excuse for me to get all of our Christmas decorations put away since all of the tubs were already down. We're both looking forward to starting the new year with the house cleaned up and a bit more organized.

Gaming with Gram

One of the girls' favorite new games is Parchesi. Gram was patient enough to play it with them four times during her visit with us. That's saying a lot because the game is not a fast one, and they can get a little distracted after the first 30 minutes of play. Today's game followed a fun girls day of shopping with lunch at Panera while Kevin and Grandad started work on new shelving in our garage.

Devoured

Baking with Nana

Nana brought a new recipe with her for old-fashioned pound cake. It required sifting the flour three times! She had a special cake pan shaped like a circle of Christmas trees and she sprinkled the finished cake with powdered sugar and red and green sprinkles to make them look like they had been decorated with snow. It was so pretty, and the cake was quite tasty.

All Together

My parents came today to share in the celebration of Jesus' birthday. It was their 45th wedding anniversary! I prepared a special turkey dinner, followed by Paula Deen's Molten Lava Cakes (if you've never tried these, this is the best recipe I've ever found, and they are sooooo delicious). There was a lot more game playing: Apples to Apples Jr., Parchesi, and Sudoku, which all led to more laughter. Katy couldn't resist the invitation to get really messy and pick the turkey carcas with Grandma.

Merry Christmas!

Not only did we spend Christmas morning in our house this year, we got to spend the whole vacation here because all the grandparents came to us. Christmas morning started early (5:56 a.m. to be exact), but it was relaxing and full of love and laughter. We spent the rest of the day playing games and just enjoying our time together. I have never felt more blessed.

Christmas Eve

I purchased a gingerbread house kit at the beginning of this month and have been asked nearly every day if today was the day we would get to decorate it. There has been so much other stuff going on, that it just hasn't been a good time. Several days ago, Katy suggested that we wait and do it with the grandparents, which I thought was a fabulous idea! Grandma did the icing, and the kids did the candy. By the last side, the kids decided to try to fit as much candy on as possible just to be funny and I love their resulting candy mosaic.

We also had a lot of discussion about what to do about Santa's treats this year because of our milk-loving kitties. I suggested leaving a beer, but they didn't like that idea, so Olivia wrote Santa a note and we put the glass of milk in the fridge.

It's the Most Sweet Time of the Year

At least it is around our house. I try to keep the amount of sweets around the house to the bare minimum to avoid temptation for all of us. At most, there is one type of sweet item to pack in lunches, and perhaps some ice cream for dessert after dinner. There's cake for birthdays, but that's really it. So the kids are completely excited and a bit overwhelmed by the fact they have five kinds of cookies from which to choose! The decision can be really tough, so tonight I let them each pick two. It was still a big decision, but the reward was so sweet.

Wrapper in Training

When I was a pre-teen, I wrapped nearly all of the Christmas gifts for my family. I really enjoyed making the boxes look pretty, although I never came close to rivaling Aunt Melanie's talent--some of her boxes are still circulating! Somehow, after we got married, Kevin took on the roll of wrapper for our family. He is an expert at using the absolute minimum of paper, and while his packages turn out a bit utilitarian and minimalist, they are very neatly executed. This year, Ryan expressed an interest in wrapping his gifts to his sisters, and I wonder if perhaps the torch is being passed again.

Breakfast of Zirkles

When I came downstairs this morning, I discovered that all three kids and Kevin had already finished breakfast. And none had remembered to put their cereal boxes away. Grrrrr.

The Last Sunday of Advent

We have two manger scenes, or creche, in our home, but this one is my favorite. It reminds me a lot of the one we had in my house when I was growing up, and it was Kevin's from when he was a boy. The kids love plugging in the light bulb to illuminate it each day, and it helps us all to remember the focus for this season. It is also a tiny bit bittersweet, because just a few years ago the figures would be rearranged every time I saw it, but now the kids keep their hands to themselves. I guess the mantra: "Look with your eyes, not with your hands" finally stuck.

Christmas Came Early

We got the kids new snow boots and snow pants this year for Christmas. We weren't sure if we'd get any snow this winter, but knew we were planning to try snow tubing a few times. Thanks to the early arrival of winter, some presents arrived early too. The kids loved their new boots (good thing because I bought them large so they can wear them for 2 years). Unfortunately the snow pants did not arrive in time, so we made due with old, short ones and some other waterproof clothing items (e.g. Kevin's rainpants zipped off to shorts underneath one of the girl's sweatpants covered with jeans).

Snow Day

At this point, we have had freezing rain and sleet for about 5 hours, so there is a very slick surface on all the roads. The kids have been home from school since 10:15 a.m., and we have everything we need in case of power outages. There is a chance we may get a good amount of snow, but it will probably be mostly ice. The kids are dying to get out and play in it, but the snow that is falling is very wet and mixed with sleet so it hurts when it hits you. But it is quite novel to have snow and Christmas decorations at the same time in North Carolina! We're not naive enough to say we'll have a "white Christmas," but we'll enjoy the snow for the time we have it.

ETA: We ended up with about 4 inches of snow when we went to bed, but it changed over to freezing rain which compacted it down to about 2 inches when we woke up.

Christmas Party

Aftermath

Katy and I sometimes butt heads. Today, she refused to take her cold medicine because she claimed it felt like slugs in her mouth. I gave her 5 minutes to take the medicine on her own or I would give it to her. She chose not to take it on her own, so I chose to give it to her. And then she spit it all out into my hand.

In one of my not-so-proud parenting moments, I then smeared the goo all over her face. How's that for maturity? So, I may be a grown-up in age, but I still am learning to control my temper. After Kevin cleaned her up (he recognized that I was probably not of the proper mindset at the time), Katy apologized to me for not taking her medicine. And I apologized for my reaction. And we both forgave each other and moved on.

Believe!

It is a first grade tradition at our school for the children to come back to school one evening just before Christmas  in their PJs for a special The Polar Express night. Livvy and Katy were so excited, they could barely finish dinner (I'll blame it on excitement, and not the fact that they didn't really like my baked ziti...). They were greeted by their teachers, who were also sporting PJs, and each received a golden ticket to board. Then it was hot cocoa and Christmas cookies all around, a craft, and finally each student received a jingle bell to prove that they still believed, just like the boy in the story.

Cooooooookieees!

White Chocolate Cranberry Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 tablespoons brandy
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 package white chocolate chips
1 1/4 cups dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Cream together butter and sugars until smooth. Add eggs and brandy. Stir in flour and baking soda until incorporated. Mix in chips and cranberries. Drop by rounded tablespoonful onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes, until lightly golden. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Yield: 4 dozen

Sleepy Head

After the benefit concert, we went to our neighbor's home with the other neighborhood families whose daughters were in the concert for dinner. We all enjoyed pizza and games and the girls played for a while and then watched a movie. Olivia didn't manage to stay awake through much of the movie and Kevin settled her down in the quieter front room. By the end of the movie, all but two of the girls had fallen asleep. The boys were all at Brandon's sleepover birthday party, so things were definitely quieter than usual. We let them all sleep on the couches for a little bit longer while we finished a rousing game of Catch Phrase.

Better Late Than Never

Usually our house is completely decorated by December 7th, but we've been a bit slow this year. The weather has not been cooperative with getting outdoor lights up: it's either been way too windy or raining, or I've had other projects taking precedence. And then my concerns about decorations with the cats has slowed me down inside. Fortunately, the kitties are showing little, if any, interest in our holiday decor, so I'm moving forward full tilt! If we were traveling for the holidays, I'd probably not bother with anything other than the tree with such a late start, but since we'll be home for the first time in years, and actually have visitors coming to celebrate with us, I'm going all out!

Sticky Situation

We've been having some issues of late with the girls using stickers in ways they shouldn't. Primarily putting stickers on surfaces that aren't meant to have stickers on them: walls, toys, furniture, etc. Our house rule for stickers has always been: only on paper or people. Because of the aforementioned misuse of stickers, I have confiscated all stickers and only allow the girls to use them while I'm supervising them (quite a step backwards for them). Apparently I missed some sticker sheets, because this is how Katy came downstairs for dinner today. My first instinct was to get angry. After all, she had used stickers without my supervision. However instead of reprimanding, I reached for my camera. Can you see the relief shining through in her smile? I took the chance to praise her using the stickers in an acceptable way before having her bring the sheets down for me to add to my stash.

Holiday Benefit Concert

Most years ADFA performs the Nutcracker at Christmas. But this year, a benefit concert was planned with the proceeds to benefit the Loyd family. The Loyd's youngest son was severely injured in April when his grandfather backed over him with a riding lawn mower. The child's recovery has been nothing short of miraculous, but their medical expenses are massive. The girls got to perform a dance to "Let it Snow." They were so excited for their stage debut. After their performance, we stayed to watch the ballet company perform excerpts from the Nutcracker. This was their first time to see a ballet performed live, and they were enchanted by what they saw.

Just Skate

I'm waiting for the pictures, unfortunately I left my camera in my van and didn't take any myself. Grrr. But the girls' best friend Sydney had a roller skating party for her birthday tonight. Kevin and Ryan missed the fun because of basketball practice, but the girls and I spent the evening making memories together. We can't wait to go back! We all started out in traditional skates, but first Katy, then Olivia and finally I switched over to blades. I was so proud of how well they did with learning this new skill.

The Halls are Decked

All of our holiday decorating is finally done! I can't wait for folks to come down and see things in person. Now to move on to the baking. For some reason the kids are w-a-y more excited about the baking than they have been about the decking...

Grouchy Helper

Generally Olivia is quite helpful around the house. She often asks to pitch in with things that I'm doing, and loves earning quarters for doing chores. But today was not one of those days. She prefers unloading the top shelf of the dishwasher, and was really angry about getting stuck with the bottom shelf because of the silverware. I tried to snap her picture to share her grouchy expression, but she deliberately pulled her hair forward to try to hide her face. Despite her grumpy attitude, she did still complete her assigned task.

Field Trip Chaperone

The days of Ryan wanting me to chaperone his field trips are limited. In fact, once he gets to middle school, there are no parent chaperones anymore. So when he asked me to please volunteer for his class trip to Old Salem, I made the necessary arrangments to do so. It was a great (albeit cold) day filled with hands-on activities to help learn about colonial times in this Moravian settlement. I got lucky with a great group of students, and we all had a lot of fun. Ryan's favorite part? The bakery. Mine too. :)

Keeping Dinner Fun

I love those days when I ask Kevin "what are you in the mood to have for dinner?" on a weekend and he replies "Chinaman!" Okay, not grammatically or politically correct, but gives me a thrill nonetheless. There was a time, not that long ago, that the kids would groan when we ordered Chinese food, but not anymore. Ever since I pulled out my chopsticks, Chinese food is fun. An adventure! And eagerly anticipated. I'm amazed at what they are willing to try, if only they get to try to eat it with two sticks. Their current favorite is General Tso's chicken, but they have tried (and enjoyed) Moo Shu chicken and they all eat tons of the vegetables. Almost makes me want to break out the chopsticks at every meal, but then they would lose their novelty, and also their effectiveness.

Still Making Room

As I go through the playroom, I empty out baskets and bins and buckets. Midnight was delighted to find a new, cozy spot to curl up for a nap.

Making Room

Each December I spend a few days going through the kids' toys. This is a project best done while they're at school, because some toys will end up disappearing. This is when I get rid of all the little crappy toys they get in Happy Meals and from the treasure box at school (and send them to school to be added back into the treasure box). And this is the time that those toys that they haven't played with in years get donated as well. Of course, if they notice that things are being given away, suddenly those items become their most favorite toy, played with for a day or two before being tossed aside again. It's also a time to get everything reorganized and back into the appropriate bins. This year, since the girls have become such good readers, I finally added labels to the bins. When Olivia noticed, she actually clapped her hands and exclaimed "this is awesome! Now we know where to put everything!" My sentiments exactly.

Rain. Again.

This has been one of the wettest years I've ever seen. Such a contrast to two years ago when we were in such a drought. I'm grateful for the rain--it makes my grass green and my plants grow--but I must say I'm getting a little tired of all these rainy days. Feels like we're living in Forks, or something...

BJ's Run

Every two weeks I head out to BJ's to get those items that we tend to consume in large quantities: milk, juice, eggs, butter, bread, coffee, chips, snacks, paper towels, toilet paper, Mountain Dew, napkins, peanut butter, meat, etc. I probably spend about 60% of our grocery budget there, and rely on the regular grocery store for produce and those items that aren't sold in bulk. Thank goodness for the large cargo area in my van, otherwise it would be an additional chore loading up our purchases.

It's Beginning to Look Like Christmas

We put up our tree today, but we're going to wait to put any ornaments on for about a week. This is Midnight and Bella's first Christmas, and we want to see whether they will be tree climbers before adding decorations! I know we'll need to find a different place to put our more breakable, blown-glass ornaments for the first few years, but hopefully everything else will be able to go on as usual. Olivia helped out by sweeping up the needles that fell during the assembly all by herself.

Get Wet!

What's better than a day at a fun water park with friends? A day at a fun water park when the weather outside is in the 50s! Great Wolf Lodge is an indoor waterpark that maintains a constant indoor temperature of 84 degrees. There is something for everyone to enjoy: a huge fort to climb in and explore, a splash pool with basketball and anchored floats for climbing, tons of slides ranging from tame to thrilling, and an area for little kids that doesn't go over 18-inches deep. We all had so much fun and can't wait to go back again.

Friends for a Decade

How is it possible that an entire decade has passed since Ryan and Samantha were born? Their friendship has grown through the years, and is still as strong as ever, despite their geographical distance. They both eagerly anticipate visits, and have the beautiful, easy kind of relationship that slips back into familiarity whenever they're together. This year, they really wanted to celebrate their birthdays together. Obviously a joint party wasn't feasible since they have different friends who live in different states, but the week after their big day we got together and spent two days at the Great Wolf Lodge in Concord, NC because Sam's family spent Thanksgiving with Steph's family in North Carolina.

We had a great time in the water park, we embarassed them by singing at the restaurant for dinner (the waitresses had all the dinner guests hum The Chicken Dance while they did the movements), and they exercised their brains going on the MagiQuest at the Lodge. It was an appropriately special way to celebrate their birthdays, and their friendship.

Let the Christmas Season Begin

I am firmly against having the Christmas season begin in any way, shape, or form before Thanksgiving is over. I did make one concession, which was to buy the kids tiny trees for their bedrooms a few weeks ago when Michael's was having a great sale on them. But they have sat, in their packaging, in my scrapbook room until this morning. Now that the turkey is behind us, they were thrilled to pull out their little trees. I can't wait to see how they choose to decorate them.

Thankful

We have been blessed in so many ways that I can not even begin to count them all. Our health, our family, wonderful friends, our home, food, clothing, and the list would go on. While I would have loved to spend this holiday with family, Kevin's lack of vacation time due to his new job (there's another blessing), mandated that we spend the holiday at home. Our friends, the Sedgleys, were also home this year, so we got together to celebrate this special day of reflection and gratitude. The food was all amazing, and if you have never brined a turkey before roasting it, make sure you do so the next time you have the chance! The turkey is usually the least favorite item on the Thanksgiving table for me, but this year's bird was moist, flavorful, and absolutely scrumptious.

Apple Pie

Ryan requested that I make apple pie for Thanksgiving this year. I found a wonderful recipe in Southern Living for an apple pie with a crumb topping. It was absolutely delicious! And so easy. I'll be making this one again for sure.

I Love a Parade

We knew that our town had a Christmas parade the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, but despite living here for over three years, we've never been. But this year was different. The girls got to be in the parade with their dance studio! Riding a float! Imagine their excitement, if you will.

I loved the small-town feel of the parade. Local high schools, dance troupes and scout troops, plus beauty pageant winners and Homecoming queens, shriners and even local businesses (like an OB/GYN practice!) were all represented. The girls had a ball shouting "A! We're Awesome! D! for Dynamite! Friends Forever! All together!" Their dance company is ADFA.

After the parade we went to our favorite local Mexican restaurant with the Huntleys and Sedgleys and got the waiters to sing Happy Birthday to Ryan. He was duly mortified, and we had a great time!

Thankful for Thanksgiving Skits

Parents were invited into the first grade classes today for a short Thanksgiving skit. I had the pleasure of going to two! The students each were assigned one or two letters of the alphabet, and each letter stood for something about the first Thanksgiving. Each student got to stand and read their letter's fact, and after reading the feather was added to a turkey body until the entire turkey was full. Students were allowed to choose whether to be pilgrims or indians (I mean, Native Americans), and I found it interesting that I ended up with one of each.

Wardrobe Change

There was a time that Ryan's wardrobe was quite varied with polo and rugby shirts, T-shirts, sweaters, sweatshirts. But not anymore. His wardrobe can best be described as jerseys. And under armor shirts to go under the jerseys. He wears one just about every day. And while he has primarily Panthers jerseys, he is expanding his wardrobe to include jerseys of favorite players on other teams. He would prefer having 7-10 tops comprising his entire wardrobe to a larger number of non-jersey (read: less expensive) tops. It's so interesting watching my kids develop personal style tastes and personalities that are distinct and separate from each other and from mine. It reminds me that I'm doing my job: I'm raising independent people who will one day be out on their own making all of their daily decisions with minimal, if any, input from me or Kevin.

Change of Plans

Upon arriving in West Virginia, we found out that the wedding had been cancelled earlier that afternoon. It's a long story, but ultimately a good decision for Kevin's cousin. Instead we went out for a nice dinner with Kevin's family and then took the kids to get bathing suits so that they could swim in the hotel pool. Ryan was thrilled to not have to get dressed up on his birthday, and said that he had a much better day than he had expected!

Birthday Boy

We're leaving early tomorrow morning for West Virginia for a wedding so we let Ryan open his birthday gifts tonight. He was thrilled when he found his very own iPod nano inside one of his bags.

New Moon Night

I went to see the New Moon movie tonight with 5 fellow-Twilight friends. The midnight showing. And I didn't get any pictures of us! Ugh! But in honor of the festivities, the kids got to have breakfast for dinner.

True Love? Or True Beggar...

Midnight has become quite the milk monster. And he has learned to wrap our children around his little paw! Every morning, he hops up onto our barstools while I'm getting breakfast ready (he actually hops up on the stools whenever I'm cooking at the island). He is completely polite and just sits and watches, but his eyes tend to focus on the milk. Once the kids sit down, he begins to "work the room" in an attempt to coerce them to share. He has about a 100% effectiveness rate, and always gets to finish the bit of milk in the bottoms of their bowls and glasses.

Budget Buster

I've been informed that I need to stop visiting my favorite store. Apparently it is having a negative impact upon our bank account... Wonder if my edict can wait until after the Christmas shopping season?

Crazy Hair Day, Dry Run

Friday is "Crazy Hair Day" at the elementary school. Ryan is in desperate need of a hair cut, but has begged to please wait until Friday afternoon so that the can wear lots of pony tails all over his head. I decided to do a dry run of the kids' hairstyles this evening to make sure that they:

a.) liked them

b.) I could do them easily on Friday morning

The only way Katy would allow me to try the "cone head" style on her was to show her what it looked like on myself first! We had a lot of laughs trying out our crazy 'do's. And as I look at these pictures, I can't get over how much Ryan and Katy look alike.

Monopolizing

While waiting for breakfast to finish baking, the boys struck up a game of Star Wars Monopoly. A nice, quiet, laidback way to spend the morning after a long day and late night. I love how well they all play together, especially given the fact that they range in age from 7 to 12!

Ryan's Just About Birthday Party

We will be in West Virginia for a wedding on Ryan's actual 10th birthday, so we had his party this weekend. He asked for a football sleepover with his closest neighborhood friends plus one school friend. Pappy built a goal post out of PVC pipe and marked out a football field with marking paint on our back yard. The dads acted as referees and the boys played for several hours. I had dinner set up on the patio "concession stand" style, as requested by Ryan. Hotdogs, french fries, chips, soda and no vegetables (also requested by Ryan). The boys got to wind down in the hot tub after dinner, and then played rock band a bit before cake. Then they watched the newest Transformers movie before going to bed. The next morning featured monkey bread and scrambled eggs for breakfast. The boys had a great time, and Ryan remembered to say thank you to Kevin and me for his party without prompting.

Mystery Reader

The girls' teachers have a special time each Friday where a parent or grandparent gets to come in and read to the class. The identity of this person is always a surprise until they arrive. I worked it out with their teachers so that Nana & Pappy could be mystery readers this week. Nana read to Olivia's class on Thursday (they had someone else scheduled for Friday), and Pappy read to Katy's class on Friday. It meant as much to them as it did to the children who enjoyed the stories. Pappy had his group in the palm of his hand with visual aids (a pinecone and an acorn) that related to the book he read, "Little Badger's Just About Birthday."

Sight Word Game

Reading is taught now as a combination of phonics and sight words. The phonics give kids the tools to unlock larger words by sounding them out, but there are a large number of smaller words that they need to learn by sight. These are often those words that tend to defy the "rules" of phonics, or they are just so common that it makes sense to just memorize them. I made flashcards for these sight words back when Ryan was in first grade, and laminated them. They are back in use this year. Olivia really enjoys playing a game with them--she gets to keep all the cards she knows and whoever has the largest pile at the end wins. Nana helped her work through the stack today, and by the end of the "game," Olivia had all the cards in her pile.