Heat Wave!

Officially, it was 66 degrees in Englewood yesterday! Very nice! That's a record-breaker for the end of December, so obviously we had to get everyone outside to blow the stink off.

We took a walk, John rode his trike, we took the outside Christmas decorations down, and we even managed to enlist the help of our kids to clean up the NEVER ENDING seed thingies that our nasty locust tree keeps dropping.

Just look at those things...they look like little snakes all over our yard! GROSS!

We raked up EIGHT trash bags full and the girls were convinced that we were breaking some child labor laws.

Christmas 2008

We went to Grandma & Grandpa Baker's on Christmas Eve, enjoyed Christmas morning at home, and then headed up to Ansonia to spend Christmas Day with the Trittschuh's. It's was a blur of activity. The kids were in overload with the fantastic gifts and I was about sick from scarfing too much food. Apparently I was too caught up in the activity to remember to get my camera out regularly - I have just a few random pictures from each gathering. However, I did manage to capture a few money shots of Beth opening the "home run" gifts from her grandparents, so that's a plus.

Christmas 08

Hello little face...

Gavin Cain Deaton, finally arrived today at 3:55PM after a week of contractions, but only 10 minutes of pushing! (Apparently my sister is what you could call a power-pusher...geesh!) Gavin weighed in at 8 lbs. 10 oz. and was 22 inches long. He's got a head full of light brown hair and even sounds like a boy with a deep little cry. He's just beautiful and had us all bawling from the start.

Happy birthday Gavin! It's nice to finally meet you.

For more "Gavin related" pictures, click here.

Gavin Cain Deaton

2008 Christmas Card Photo

I was amazed that I could get all three kids in front of the tree without fighting - even more so that I could snap a shot of them all smiling. They almost look like they like each other. Shhh, don't tell anyone...

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

What an exhausting, but wonderful time of the year! The outside lights are up; the tree is decorated with ornaments that bring a smile or a memory with the hanging of each one; the Christmas movies have been brought up from the basement (I seriously could watch Polar Express over and over and never get tired of it); and the excitement of the kids is contagious.

Last weekend we celebrated a yearly ritual here at the Trittschuh house. Cookie night! My sister & niece, my friend and her kids, and me and my brood all get together, eat pizza and make cookies. This year, Grandma and Grandpa Baker even stopped by to help out for a bit.

By the end of the night every single child and adult in the house was covered in flour and/or dried icing - and I'm still finding sprinkles in the oddest areas of my house. But it is really something that I've come to look forward too. I think the kids do too.

Sugar cookies...made with flour, sugar, love, and maybe even a little bit of slobber. That's the absolute best!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is my absolute favorite holiday. You get all of the great food and family togetherness, without the pressure of presents. It sort of makes me sad that it is the one holiday with very little recognition. If you go to a store, you'll see the back to school stuff replaced by Halloween decorations; then Halloween gets replaced by Christmas. I know that Thanksgiving doesn't have much to commercialize, but it just doesn't seem right to just skip it.

Anyhoo, we had a lovely day. We went to Grandma & Grandpa Trittschuh's for a nice lunch with the entire family. What a spread they had there! Just when we had digested enough to finally be able to breathe, we packed up and headed to my Mom's house for a feast with the other side. I don't want to even think about the calories consumed that day, but really, I am just very thankful that we have family close by to be able to do that with. There are many people out there that spend Thanksgiving alone and I was lucky enough to spend time with almost every single person in my family in one day. That certainly is special. So, now is the time where I will reflect and will make a list for what I am thankful for:

First and foremost, my children. They are the light of my life.

My husband. Even after 13 years of marriage he is still my best friend.

My family. My loud, wonderful, loving, and even at times disfunctional family. I love you.

My friends. You laugh with me, listen to me bitch, and understand when I sometimes don't say anything at all. You are wonderful.

On top of all of this, I have a home, a job, a vehicle that gets me where I need to go (most of the time), we have food in the cupboard, and we have our health...everything else seems immaterial, now doesn't it? Even so, I still can't help but to be thankful for Diet Coke, flannel sheets, Zumba, high heeled boots, my TiVo, chocolate, and beer. For those are the litle perks that make everyday life so very wonderful. Happy Holidays all!