Four Feet More

Finally, the Christmas shopping is done, the pizzelles are baked (waffled?) and the presents are wrapped. Our disastrous cranberry cordials (which tasted like cough syrup) have been rescued, thanks to an extra infusion of vodka and sugar. It's been a busy holiday pre-season, and frankly, I'm ready to get down to the actual holiday.

Tonight we'll do our annual family dinner and celebration of the day we brought Vika and Eamon home. On the menu, roasted capon (I'm feeling very Victorian with that one), mashed sweet potatoes, some vegetable (not sure what - Jeff's cooking) and cranberry sauce. We'll also spend some time today at mom's, visiting with my step-family.

The kids will get to open two gifts today. One from us (always a pair of PJs), and one from Merripen (since he is leaving tonight with Santa). Vika is in that total girl mode where she wants us to dress alike. Often she'll come into the bathroom, make a note of what I'm wearing, and then rush into her bedroom to put on something similar. So, to accommodate this peculiarity of hers, I bought us matching PJs. We may look completely dorky in our lavender Nick & Nora owl jams, but Vika will LOVE it.

Tomorrow will begin with a breakfast of gingerbread waffles with cranberry compote and lots of present opening. Of course, that's after Jeff has gone downstairs and checked to make sure Santa came (the kids are a bit worried he may skip our house this year - with good reason).

But, before all that, we'll hold our annual viewing of the video below and spend some time remembering that hectic Christmas Eve 4 years ago. The Christmas Eve that delivered us all home, safe and sound, a family at last!



Have a happy holiday everyone! I wish you good health and much joy in 2010!

Remember the video I shared with you all about our trip to Disneyland in 2006? Well, you can't see it anymore because YouTube has blocked it. Apparently, Aly & AJ (or perhaps Disney) asked to have it blocked because the video features their version of the song, "Zip A Dee Doo Dah."

Really? Is this what the world of copyrights has come to? I'm not making any money off the video, and I bought the song, fair and square, off of iTunes. In fact, I would think that the video might give the Aly and AJ version of the song a little more exposure to people who hadn't heard it before. Heck, maybe people even bought the song as a result of my video!

*sigh* I wonder if any of my other videos featuring songs by recording artists will be blocked as well?

I just finished watching "The Wizard of Oz" with the kids for the first time. Even though I know it is a beloved family movie, I've always found it a bit disturbing. The witch flying by the house on her bike and those dang flying monkeys... completely creepy. I actually haven't seen the movie since right after college, when some friends and I watched it in an attempt to locate the munchkin hanging in the woods (I can neither confirm not deny this urban legend).

Then, a few years back, I worked on a stage production of "The Wizard of Oz" (I was a "munchkin wrangler"), and I began to appreciate the show on a different level. So, when flipping through the channels last night and seeing Dorothy flying in the tornado, I decided to let the kids watch the munchkin scene. And then we all got sucked in... Since it was too late to watch the whole movie, we TiVo'd it instead and finished it this afternoon.

Surprisingly, I enjoyed it this time around. And the kids didn't seem nearly as creeped out by the witch and flying monkeys as I was at their age. Although, when I put Vika to bed last night, she did have a lot of questions about the wicked witch. So I said to her, "When I was little, I used to be so scared of that witch! But now when I see her, I think, 'She's just a woman in green paint!'" Vika laughed and then started talking about what a pain it must have been for the actress to put on all that make-up each day. In her version of the witch voice Vika said, "Aren't you done yet?!"

Nightmares averted.

Here's a little something "Wizard of Oz" for your viewing enjoyment (from my guilty pleasure, "Family Guy."). Beware, it's completely sophomoric, but the first part is pretty funny.

Tomorrow, we will hit the open road, headed for Disneyland. I'm so excited, I could just spit! Except that I don't spit when I'm excited. That's just gross. But you get the idea.

Anyway, I'm thrilled that we're taking the kids down south to visit Mickey and the gang. I grew up going to Disneyland often, and I want my kids to have the same happy memories there that I do. There's just something about walking through those gates and into Main Street, USA that lifts my spirits every time.

Two years ago we took the kids to Disney World in Orlando, FL and while it may have been a bit soon for them to be exposed to so much Disney goodness (they'd only been home for 9 months, and sensory overload was definitely an issue), we still had fun. The video below captures some of the memories we made at the Magic Kingdom and also features Cathy and Matte, our good friends who got engaged right next to the castle. It is amazing to see how little the kids were! Eamon especially has grown a ton in the past 2 years. And yes, he does wiggle his butt like that when he's excited. Vika spontaneously breaks into dance. Often. Sad thing is, she has some better moves than her Mama. Dang kid.

While we're gone, feel free to capture some Disney culinary magic yourself by visiting this site: Disney Recipes. Pretty much anything from Boma is good, and the Sweet Potato Pancakes from Boatwrights are GLORIOUS. Have fun, fellow foodies.

Oh, and before I forget, HAPPY BIRTHDAY KATHY!!!! I hope you have a great one!

Enjoy the video!

Vika, aka "Scrappy Spice," doing her rendition of "Wannabe." Eamon makes a brief cameo - for some reason he felt the need to throw off his shirt before jumping into the scene. I assure you that normally, my child is clothed.



Thanks Joe and Ange for gifting Vix with the karaoke set. Scenes like this one are now painfully common in our house. At least it's given us some good blackmail footage. ;)