Christmas may be over, but.......

Alek and his friends have apparently been playing a game since one of the kids came to school with a Santa hat in December. At recess one kid puts on the Santa hat. The others chase him down and incarcerate him. The name of the game? Isn't it obvious??????????

Elf. B. I.

Creative Connections

Nora: Guess what I had for lunch today?

Alek: A sandwich.

Nora: No.

Alek: Pizza.

Nora: No.

Mommy: A hedgehog!

Nora: (angrily) NO! I did NOT eat a hedgehog! I ate pancakes and sausage.

Alek: You really did eat kind of a hedgehog.
Nora: STOP IT!

Mommy: Alek, don't tease her.

Alek: She did! Sausage is like ham. Ham is from pigs. Pigs are called hogs. Hedgehog.

Okay.... she ate a hedgehog.

No Word Wednesday

(Sorry Susan.... I'm not letting go without a fight.)

Life Goes On

Okay, so it's really painful that my Twilight post is now being shuffled down the page. It's literally almost painful. But, life must go on after Twilight... or so they tell me.

Here's some evidence that life did go on even in the midst of the Cullens and Swans, the Blacks and the Volturi.

We spent New Years with Dave's family and got to see Brian, Julie, and baby Lillian!

Nora and Brandon (whom I continually call Jacob and have done so since October, a full month before I'd even begun the first Twilight book, so I can't figure this out at all) were playing so quietly that I investigated.

This is a gift from Nora to me. We often receive Nora gifst around here. The wrapping paper consists of two kleenexes. I wouldn't give her the tape, so she improvised with stickers.

Well, when you have a child accustomed to having his picture taken, getting anything but "Cheese" can be a challenge. Walt loves jingle bells. You can often here one jingling as he makes his way through the house or yard.

Alek is now 8 years old! We celebrated by taking him (alone - left the younger two at some friends' home - Thanks Monika and Cameron!) to dinner the weekend before his birthday at a restaurant near the airport. It revolves, and we got to watch the planes taking off, landing, and just enjoyed the general hubub of the airport terminal exteriors.

On his birthday I surprised him by taking him out of school for his lunch/recess hour. We went to have our favorite Mom and Alek meal - sushi. California rolls, Crazy rolls, Phoenix rolls, and Unagi, baby! That evening, we ordered take-out Chinese (his choice) and played with presents.

Nora gave him a card that played "Bad to the Bone" She was VERY proud of it.

It was an RC kinda birthday. Truck, car, AND Airhogs!

Alek is not a cake fan, so he requested brownies for his birthday treat.

This past weekend was Alek's Cub Scout Pine Wood Derby. This is the car that Alek and David built together.

No matter what heat it was in, the car placed fourth every single time!

So, as you can see, depite the general gloom that has settled on me as the last sentences of Midnight Sun came and went. In spite of the fact that the movie is leaving the theaters and there will be no more teenagers gawking at the middle-aged moms bouncing in their seats and swooning at vampires....... life goes on. All is well and happy here in our little neck of the woods!

In the Closet No More....

Okay, so if you've been talking to me day to day, you know why there has been only one blog post in nearly two months. If you've been talking to me day to day, you know that I've truly discovered the fountain of youth. If you've been talking to me day to day, you hear the giddy gushings, the swooning giggles. You might even find me to be ridiculous and unbearable, but you know.


On the other hand, if you've not been talking to me day to day, you know none of this. You probably think I've been a little quiet. Some birthday cards did not go out on time. Some TV shows have been neglected. Book club books didn't get read. Maybe, you think, the holidays did her in. Maybe you're a little miffed at my lack of communications. I have been in the closet to all but those who see me... people who see me know the truth because I can't stop talking about it.... I was hiding from those I could hide from, but Katie once again has made me brave. Why fight it? Why hide what I'm clearly sharing with millions of middle-aged women and fresh-faced teenagers? If she can admit the addiction, I can as well. Besides, I can't let her gush about him while I remain silent. It might give her the edge, and he's mine.

She claims to be 16 again. I don't know, Katie.... I think I'm coming in at 14.... I think I beat you.

For those of you still in the dark, you don't have to be. Don't you know you can come out in the light? That dark business is myth. The sun burning your skin? Myth. Sleeping in coffins? Myth. It's Twilight. In all it's glory, all its incarnations.... Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn, and yes, Midnight Sun. 2500 pages of angst-ridden, teen-aged love. It's the devastatingly romantic and tortured Edward Cullen. It's the unrequited desperation of Jacob Black. It's battle-worn Jasper and exuberant Emmet and spritely Alice and the vain Rosalie. It's the noble Carlisle and tender Esme.... It's the villainous James, the vengeful Victoria. It's the frightening Volturi, the bitter Romanians, the swaggering Irish, the fierce Amazons, and the Werewolves. Oh... the werewolves. Katie's right. I DARE you not to get sucked in. Read the first. You'll be driving the streets at 10 pm in the rain trying to get your hands on the rest (and likely every place you go will be sold out). Don't laugh. I've lived it. Papercuts, my family and friends, will quite simply never be the same again.

I've read the books, even the unfinished draft of book 5 that's only online. I've seen the movie (thank you, Katie and Pen--- and Sharon). I've purchased the soundtrack. I am head over heels with vampires. Read Katie's blog and those she's linked to. I am not alone. The Cullens have a veritable army of women who would likely smite each other over a chance at Edward. Vampires are tragic, and romantic, and exciting, and fabulous in every way. My children are fascinated with me.

• Nora: "Are vampires bad guys?" Me, bristling: "Not ALL vampires are bad, Nora. Some of them just eat meat. Just like regular people. They're very nice and VERY handsome."


• Alek: "Why do you like them so much?" I have to think about this. Have to stay age appropriate, you know.... "Well, did you know that when a vampire hits a baseball, it can go a mile or more! BUT that vampires can run so fast and throw so hard and catch so well that it's not even a base hit???!!?!" He's sold. Success. Another fan. And he likes "Supermassive Black Hole," too.


• Both: "Was the movie good?" Me, swooning: "IT WAS DELIGHTFUL!!"

I've threatened and whined and cajoled my friends into reading these books. Really, if you've not read them, then you're not going to be very interested in a conversation with me at this point. I'm smitten. I know the release date of the DVD AND the next movie (March 21 and November 20 in case you're interested). I've driven my mother to buy the book. We've all driven our husbands into eye-rolling, patronizing, exasperated standers-by. What else can they do? How do they compete with the lush and devastatingly romantic world of a vampire?

In the preschool hallways the topics of diapers and sleeping schedules and playdates have been replaced with rapid, giddy talk of cold skin, mind-reading, wry smiles, and the anguished howls of desperate werewolves. There's speculation about the reality of two-exited bathrooms in airport terminals and the difficulties of escaping someone who sees the future. Just mention the books in public. Do it. Anywhere there are literate women, there are Twilight fans. Mark my words. It's everywhere.

And really, you should know, in case you ever run into a vampire, that you need to see their eyes. Are they black? Are they amber? Or are they red? Knowing the difference could be the difference between life, death, immortality, or the greatest romance of your life.