Monday, November 29, 2010

wrapping the books...

This weekend, while the boy was at his show and the girl was ice skating with a friend, Jeff and I undertook the task of wrapping our Christmas books. I thought I had blogged about this before, but I can't seem to find the post. Anyway, here's what it's all about... for about the last 7 or 8 Christmases, we have counted down to the 25th by unwrapping a book a day.
The first year, only Alex was old enough to get it so it was a free for all... he was able to open any book he wanted. The next Christmas, when Clara was old enough to get it, we still had them open any book but they switched off nights. BUT, we quickly found out that wasn't going to work. Alex was extremely upset when he excitedly unwrapped his book and found it to be Barbie in the Nutcracker. So, the next year, the color coding began...
This year our 1st and the 24th books are wrapped in red. We always start with the same book each year. It is a big giant board book story of the nativity with puzzle pieces of all of the "characters" to fit into each page. They wouldn't touch a board book now with a ten foot pole... but somehow this one at Christmas is actually eagerly anticipated. The book for the 24th is Twas the Night Before Christmas. For this year, I have the gorgeous pop-up book edition (The Night Before Christmas Pop-up)... I found it for 75% off after Christmas last year and the kids haven't seen it yet! So, that leaves 11 books each... Alex in green this year and Clara in blue.

I keep wondering when the kids will outgrow this tradition.... but so far they haven't. They've been chattering on for weeks now because it was almost time to start unwrapping books. We have more books than days (I pick up a book or two each year at the after Christmas clearance sales)... so they never know which books they will unwrap each year. There are some beloved favorites that MUST be there each year.... above is Clara's stack,Dream Snow is a must and so is The Twelve Dogs of Christmas.

So, now they're all wrapped, in their basket and ready to go for Wednesday! The kids can't wait!!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Oh Christmas Tree...

With our crazy holiday schedule, we try to put up our tree on the day after Thanksgiving. So, once Clara got home from her sleepover, it was time to decorate!

The kids love getting all of the ornaments out each year. This year they started spreading them out all over our coffee table....
And then picking and choosing which ones they would like to put on...
Decorating the tree is such a special family time for us....
... so many of our ornaments have stories behind them. We try to buy them when we go on vacation, so when they would run across one, they would stop and share memories about that trip. Clara also has an ornament for each Nutcracker performance she has been in over the years which bring back special memories. And with being in a Christmas show last year (and again this year for Alex) adds lots of ornaments to our tree. Add to these... handmade paper ornaments from preschool, favorite cartoon characters, ornaments from my childhood tree, and ones my grandmother hand painted.... it makes for one very special tree....

.... and a special time of remembering when we decorate it.

Friday, November 26, 2010

what I am thankful for...

Last night at dinner, Clara's friend had prepared little place cards for each of us and inside of each card we were supposed to write what we were thankful for... we each had a lit candle in front of us and after we read our card aloud, we blew out our candle.

It made me think about what I was really thankful for... and at that moment, I was so very thankful to be surrounded by this group of friends. Thanksgiving is a huge family day in my family and this is the second year in a row that we have been unable to go to Missouri to be with them. It was tough thinking about facing this family holiday without one. But then our friends offered to host Thanksgiving and we gratefully accepted the invitation.

Three couples.... six kids....
... all of us truly enjoying being together....
... after dinner as all six kids played peacefully together (okay... so there was the occasional loud thump from upstairs and other noise... but no bickering or tattling - this time), the guys watched football and I was sitting with the moms... I began to realize that we're becoming a bit like our own "family" of sorts... we spend holidays together (it was at this same house that Clara and I spent Easter), celebrate birthdays together, we trade favors, and with some of the girls dancing together, we attend recitals together and go out to dinner afterward as one big noisy group! :-) I love that our kids are growing up together. And I truly love that we all enjoy each others company.... my kids have had friends where I didn't really know (or wanted to get to know) the parents, and I've had friends where my kids didn't really mesh (age or personality) with their kids... but this is one group that gets along well from top (parents) to bottom (the kids)....

... and for that, I am very thankful.

thanksgiving morning....

Thanksgiving morning we were up at 5:00am, so we could get down to the parade. Our check-in time was 5:45, with rehearsal at around 6:10... ugh.

Jeff and I were pretty groggy... but Alex was pretty bright-eyed....
And then it was time to rehearse in the dark.

Here's Jim, getting ready to start the number...

Rehearsing...


After a quick run through, it was time to go back to the "green room" on Daley Plaza to wait. I took a quick snap of the tree there...
We hung out for about an hour and a half (thank goodness I had put some "board games" on my phone that the kids could play) and then it was time for the actual broadcast.

Hanging out in the holding pen...

.... it amused me... it was an actual corral this year.

And then the broadcast began with the Barnum and Bailey group...
Another act followed then, and then it was our turn.

Getting ready to begin...
The toy soldier....
Raggedy Andy...
The gang of Santa's toys...
And now the kids....
They ran in and danced a circle around Santa.... but this year there were sooooo many people out where the there were only camera men last year that it was nearly impossible to get a clear shot. You will see random people in every single shot I took (plus you'll see them in the broadcast too.... ugh).



The End! :-)

After grabbing our gear in the green room, I took a couple of quick pics of Alex in his Jake costume in front of the tree....


And then it was time to head home for a big breakfast and a low key day before heading to dinner with friends later.

Here's the video of the performance...

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

The Scrambled States of America....

Today was Clara's first school assembly. Her class worked together with the fourth grade class to present a little skit called The Scrambled States of America. She got to be Louisiana.

Here she is delivering her line "I like to Cajun dance"...
And at the end, they all sang Fifty Nifty United States....

It was so much fun to see and she had a great time.

(excuse the photos.... I forgot to change my lens before we left and had to make due with what was on my camera)

Also... just a little FYI... Clara was very concerned about which yellow shirt she owned would be the most appropriate, so she packed all of her yellow shirts in her bag. I guess it was a good thing as she changed shirts several times today, due to spills... sigh. :-)

McDonald's Thanksgiving Day Parade...

... if you get WGN, watch for Alex and the fabulous cast of Miracle on 34th Street performing at the McDonald's Thanksgiving Day Parade... they are scheduled to go on at 8:12:56 AM Central.

And just for fun... here's last year's performance...

Monday, November 22, 2010

The Man with the Bag...

... from this year's production of Miracle...

Miracle 2010 from Porchlight Music Theatre on Vimeo.



(watch my poor red-headed boy attempt to dance) :-)

press opening

Yesterday was the press opening for Miracle on 34th Street. Jeff stayed backstage to help with the kids so Clara and I could go in and watch.

After the show, the kids went up to have their photo taken with Santa.

Here they are waiting in line for their turn...
and now sitting with Santa (aka... Jim)...
It was fun.... during the show they pick kids from the audience to sit on Santa's lap during the department store scene... and this year Clara got to be one of the kids. It was fun for her to be on the other side, watching and enjoying the show.

After the show, there was a reception with food and drinks.

Here are the kids from the cast posing for a photo...
And one of Alex and his "dad"....
... Thomas Mara and Thomas Mara, Jr.

It was a good time, but we were pretty worn out from our weekend so we cut out a little early so we could go home and just relax. I think it was the first night this week that we were all in the same place at the same time for dinner!

Friday, November 19, 2010

the transformation...

from Alex Radtke....





to....
... Thomas Mara, Jr.

Miracle on 34th Street opens this weekend!!!

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

because I can't put up a post...

...without a photo, I finally finished this layout that's been sitting open on my desktop for about a week now...
(supplies: My Style Template Pack 3 and Strange Dream Kit... all by Miss Kim Designs)

Life is crazy here since this is tech week for Alex.... press opening on Sunday!! So exciting! He'll be a red head again on Thursday and I'll be sure and take lots of photos.

Gosh... I really don't have much to say today.... I usually just ramble on about whatever photos I post, but this time I just have a layout... oh well... I'll try to take some photos to talk about for the next post! :-)

Sunday, November 14, 2010

fashion...

This morning was the Joffrey Nutcracker Family Dinner Kick-Off Event... a fashion show at Nordstrom. Clara was so excited to be in a fashion show with her friends!

Here she is with some of the girls from her ballet class...
.... their class has really become a pretty tight knit group. They have so much fun together.

Clara was pretty nervous before the show started... but she got right out there and walked the runway...

and even added....
a spin....
:-)

She did great and had so much fun with her friends. She had a four day weekend (they had Thursday and Friday off from school) and she was so pleased that she got to see her two friends from dance ALL four days of her weekend!