Happy New Year!

For New Year's Eve we had planned to go over to our friends' house to light fireworks. They live on the cul de sac to covet where all the neighbors hang out and BBQ and do block parties and all the kids play together. They love their neighbors over there, and we were happy to be invited, but at the last minute, they warned us that they had been sick and we decided not to go. Plus, me being pregnant and it being cold outside... I was actually just looking forward to staying close to home--I'm such an old lady, I know. (Here's me and my big belly.)



It ended up being a fun time for us. Seth is at the age where Christmas and fireworks are wondrous events, so it's mostly fun to watch his reaction to everything. We had gone to a fireworks stand earlier in the day (for the first time in Texas) and bought a tall cylinder box filled with kid-friendly fireworks. Before we went outside to light them, Josh was careful to explain to them the rules of safety and how to light the fuse and then run away and not to light anything without permission and to take turns and not to ask too many questions to drive us nuts and to be patient and what to do if a car comes... he's an Eagle Scout and takes his responsibility of protecting the family very seriously. Sometimes I roll my eyes because all of this takes time and I want to go, go, go, already! But in the end, I'm always glad that he takes the time to prepare them.

I was excited to go outside and take pictures with my new camera. Josh's gift to me was letting me get a Canon SD900 Power Shot Camera (refurbished from the Canon employee website--thanks to Sig, so we got it at a great price) along with a 4Gig SDHC Card (geek speak for super fast and lots of memory) on sale at Office Depot. It takes stills and video and fits in the palm of my hand. It's so cool! I have been wanting a camera like this since last Christmas because of its size and convenience. I figure I ought to get a camera that I'm willing to carry around. My big SLR and our medium-sized digital were just too big for me to "remember" to bring along. Now I can just have this camera in my bag and be ready to shoot over a 1000 pics before needing to download the card. Yeah, I hear ya... now I have to post more pics. Maybe I will--GOSH!

When we got outside, it was cold and windy. The first thing we did was play with snappers... the little white things packed in sawdust that when thrown on the ground they explode in little snaps and sparks. Those are very kid-friendly. Sarah said, "Make me dance!" and the boys were throwing them at her feet so that she could dance around like in a Bugs Bunny cartoon. Seth went so far as to throw one at a passing car. I had to yell "No!" and "Absolutely Not!" and he smiled his wide and happy smile while saying "Yes, Mommy." The little punk. He was having so much fun.



Then we lit sparklers. Seth ran around like a crazy person yelling threats and curses like it was a wand (thanks Harry Potter). I got a picture of them holding their lit sparklers high. When we started to get into the bigger stuff, the fireworks were mostly comical. Not anything close to the level of spectacular that we would have seen had we gone to our friends' house. But we didn't spend very much money--it feels too much like lighting dollar bills one by one to me--so we got what we paid for. Some of the flowers were duds, but we had bought extras of those and the individual ones are fresher than the stuff packed in combo boxes. My favorites were the little sunflower ones that when lit fly gently up into the air, change different colors, and last all of two seconds. We had lots of those. Bottle rockets are always fun, and the kids each got to light more than one. There was a little red car that burst into flame and then 10 seconds later let out a little scream like a siren. We laughed the hardest at the tanks that are supposed to go forward and shoot a few rounds. The last one flipped over and shot towards us. So it was mostly a comedy fireworks night where we were concerned.





The other streets in our neighborhood had a little more action going on. When midnight hit, the sky lit up (but my camera battery had died by then--we had played with the camera all day). It was nice that we could see and enjoy someone else's hard-earned dollars go up in flames. We finished off our supply of firecrackers, and then cleaned up the street.



Going inside was like walking into a warm oven. I had made chicken pot pie for dinner, so we warmed the house by baking and then Josh lit the fireplace (go Josh!). We still haven't turned on the heat. I hate turning on the heat in Texas. It's so not right when you spend the majority of the year sweating. In the mornings the thermostat reads somewhere between 63 and 71 degrees fahrenheit. The kids heat up a deer corn bag or bring their blankets out and then the day warms up and it's not so bad. It's not neglectful parenting... we're building character here!

The kids spent a little more time on the Wii before heading to bed. Another late night for them on vacation... we have to get them back on track in the coming days before school starts up again. They haven't been up before 9:30am in the last few days. Josh had fun waking them up this morning... his idea of a great way to start the new year is blasting Van Halen's 5150 album, specifically a song that yells "Get UP!" over and over again. Zack was up first, then Sarah wandered out with Toph hair, and then Josh had to actually go and get Seth and carry him out. We enjoyed our living room and listened to Van Halen, but actually we were having fun watching Daddy sing Van Halen and play air drums and air guitar.



Breakfast was cereal and milk--my favorite! We cracked open a fresh box of Lucky Charms, and went for it. Josh just had his usual... ice cold Diet Coke. After that we opened a new Wii game that we got from Santa, Zelda Twilight Princess. Josh played and we all yelled instructions to him and gave ideas on how to solve different problems. It's a family game, for sure. I fell asleep after the first hour and half, though. When I woke up, Josh was cutting troll-looking monsters down.

We took a break for crackers, summer sausage and cheese that Josh's parents had sent. Apparently, Hickory Farms is the taste of the holidays for Josh. We added our own stuff, like pepperoni bites, cream cheese with raspberry chipotle sauce, ritz crackers, wheat thins, colby-jack cheese, and snowflake rolls with butter. We then dug into the Danish shortbread cookies and other goodies from the box that Josh's parents had sent. So much for watching my blood sugar, eh? (Not for too much longer, I hope!)



We decided that we should get outside for a bit. I took pictures of Zack riding his new razor scooter

and Seth trying to push his bike out which he doesn't know how to ride yet.


Sarah changed clothes about three times during the time we were out there. What is that about?

Then it was too cold for me, so I went in and shot video of Josh playing his Christmas gift, an electronic drum kit.





Now here I am blogging about our New Year adventures and figuring out how to post pics and vids for you. It's always a resolution for me to journal daily, but it usually doesn't last longer than a week, if that. Maybe this blog will change things... even if I just post a picture a day that I take with my new camera... that might work.

Or not... once baby comes, she will control my universe. I'll be nothing but a dairy cow and a walking zombie for lack of sleep. My mom and big bro are coming for the big event. They are really great at helping with babies and keeping the other kiddos entertained. It will be fun to have them after all the holiday stuff is over... I'm really loving my no-stress holiday season. I wonder what it would take to keep things this way for the entire year. That's a resolution worth keeping up with, and that's what I wish for all of you! A no-stress, happy new year!