Record Snowfall

We have had SNOW and A LOT of it! Nearly 2 feet of the white powdery stuff. We are up to our windowsill in our bedroom and the kids have to wade through. At least to Dog is loving it.

Have a Holly Jolly Christmas!

This is Cole's very favorite Christmas song and he wants it to be on repeat on the cd player in the car all of the time. He sings along and knows almost all of the words. He loves everything, absolutely everything, about this season of holiday festivities! I love that he is so into it all. It makes the spirit soar within me too.

Rhys gasps says, "Mama" and points following his excitement with the token "un-gah!". This is his go-to sound when he doesn't have a word for what he is pointing at...this happens a lot. He points at inflated lit snowmen in a yard, at a decorated tree in a window, and sometimes at traffic reflectors. He is noticing every light imaginable now and thinks they are all special.

Cole gasped and said, in whispered tones "wow" when I placed the baby Jesus figurine in the nativity scene. He also is regularly saying, "this is the best Christmas ever". I agree. It has been pretty wonderful.

I have eaten enough cookies and chocolate and I am a bit tired of hearing Elvis crooning about his blue Christmas but I can't get enough of Burl Ives telling me to have a Holly Jolly Christmas. I dig that tune too. Cole has good taste.

Things we have done:

Decorate Gingerbread house

Neighborhood light tour

The spirit of the season

This year, I am determined to make Christmas a marathon, not a sprint. Maybe a relay race or a triathlon is a better analogy. We are doing something almost every day as a deliberate celebration of Christmas. All of our activities are pretty traditional. We have advent calendars for both boys, we sing and listen to Christmas music, we have built and decorated a gingerbread house, we have made one batch of cookies with more planned, and we have done our shopping. Cole is working through a seemingly endless list of craft projects and learning opportunities in preschool and Rhys is going with the flow. I feel like I am living Christmas in every moment of every day and am striking a balance of doing and buying and giving. I am loving it. I love my family, both near and far. I love my friends and am looking forward to giving them gifts through their children on Christmas Eve. Happy Holidays. 'Tis the season. Merry Christmas. For this holiday season, I hope it is merry and bright for all.

Jet Lag and Christmas Decorations

I cannot believe that it has been 4 days since we got home and I am still getting up at 4am and the boys are right behind me with Cole rising at 5:30 and Rhys at 6:30. We are all hoping to get everyone on a regular schedule soon.
This hasn't stopped us from moving on with life. We got to our house at 7pm on Wednesday night, the boys were up at 4am. I got up with them, started unpacking and doing laundry, took Cole with me to the grocery store and to pick Sasha up from the kennel at 7am and then took Cole to school at 9. I was exhausted and still am 4 days later.
We watched my friend's boys (3 and 8 months) yesterday and pulled out the Christmas decorations. We put up the tree, nativity scene, and other inside decor. It snowed and was really nice to put the tree up with the snow swirling around outside.
Today, we went and got a new tree topper for our tree and some outside decorations. I am happy with the little set of reindeer and sleigh, penguins with lights, and tiny trees. The house is aglow with soft light while white snow is littering the ground outside. It is Christmas Time! Good thing, too...I think I would be hibernating otherwise.

God willing, the boys will sleep all night tonight and we won't see each other until daylight.

England

I am quite determined to avoid a lengthy post about our trip to England. While I know people are interested and I want to create an entry about it, I just don't think there is too much to say, at the end of the day. It was wonderful and relaxing - very low-key. I will give highlights and let pictures speak for the trip.

• We left on Wednesday and the preparations and planning on how we would negotiate 5 bags, 4 carry-ons, 2 car seats, and 2 children was about to play out. We ended up parking in short-term parking, getting everyone checked in for the flight along with the checked luggage and Chris took the car to long-term parking while I camped out with the boys and our carry-on luggage. Cole was a gem on the flight but Rhys refused to sit in the baby seat and insisted on sitting on me for the entire flight. He was burning with fever and I was miserable.
• We landed in London, went through immigration, collected our luggage, went through customs and found a place for me to park with the kids while Chris went to get the rental car. An hour later, my lovely and talented husband had found a parking garage close to where we were hanging out. I was amazed since he hadn't driven in the UK for 8 years and the airport is the size of a small city - I also don't know how he managed to find just the right parking garage - but he did.
• We drove for 4 hours to Middlesbrough (Cole slept for most the entire time. Rhys slept for 15 minutes at a time crying for me between his naps) and fell into the welcoming arms of Nanna and Grandad and proceeded to be taken care of for 2 glorious weeks.
• It rained. It poured, and it was cold. We, thankfully, took advantage of a sunny day and drove to Whitby - a seaside town that is a favorite of mine and Chirs'
• Chris and I left the boys with Nanna and Grandad for 2 nights while we went the the Lake District about 2 hours north west from Middlesbrough. It was beautiful and I found a new appreciation for the force of nature. It rained buckets, almost constantly. People lost lives and homes in a flood that was said to be the worst in 1000 years.
• Chris' Dad ordered a turkey for Thanksgiving from a butcher and when Chris and I got back to Middlesbrough, I made the sides and we had a US Thanksgiving in the UK. I love my in-laws for understanding how important my own traditions are.
• We celebrated Christmas with the Hardings on Sunday. The boys were so excited to unwrap all of their gifts. It is hard to keep it all in perspective when children are so young and truly see gifts as a pirate sees booty. We shall do our best to instill the qualities that will make our children generous and thankful. I am not sure I will see those qualities so much this year, though.
• We drove to Slough on Tuesday to spend the night before our Wednesday morning flight home. We checked into our hotel and as luck would have it, the train station was in the adjacent parking lot. We freshened up and got the boys on the train to Windsor for dinner at an Italian restaurant in the shadow of the Castle. What a great way to end the trip!
• Wednesday was a 29 hour day for us with the time difference and Chris and I packed, lugged, queued, and entertained children for every single minute of it. He took Rhys on this leg of the trip and suffered under his hand similarly as I had on the trip going. I drove us home after Chris retrieved the car and that drive in - yes, rain - and rush hour from DC took 2 hours.

We had a lovely time and now are glad to be home to decorate and get ready for Christmas! Bring it!

Feeding the ducks at Stewart Park - near Chris' parent's house

Highland Cow
Chris with the boys and his Mam

Whitby

Statue in his Christmas Finest - Whitby

Lake District

Travellers Rest Inn - where we stayed in Grasmere

Another shot of the Inn

Thanksgiving in the UK

Eggs for Sale - see them as Deviled above

Flooding in the Lakes

more Lakes

Sheep below our window at the Travellers Rest Inn

Christmas in the UK

Rhys in his Christmas Hat

Snuggling with the boys

Rhys holding his train ticket on the train to Windsor

Cole on the train to Windsor

We need to talk

At Rhys' 18 month appointment, I was asked how many words he has. I said that he says Mama and Dada and baby. The doctor said that mama and dada don't count so he only has 1 word. The doctor gave me a referral to see an audiologist and contact information for the county program to help speech delayed children. I was upset and Chris talked me off the ledge. We even cancelled his hearing appointment and didn't call the county number deciding to give him until after Christmas to start talking better. Well, it has been 3 weeks now and yesterday Chris commented that Rhys really isn't talking well. Hello? I know this. Today, he seems to be better. I don't know if I am just getting used to his "words" or if they are becoming more obvious. Either way, we will give him until after Christmas and then make some calls and appointments to get him on track well in advance of his second birthday.

Meanwhile, I am recovering from my event fatigue and have already started planning a campaign fundraiser for my friend Jessica's husband Jeremiah Chiappelli. I am excited about it and am reminded of all of the great times I had planning large DC charity events "back in the day". We should have the venue and caterer sorted out before our trip to England next week and then when I get back, I will host a little social evening at my house for the host committee to be given their tasks. Onward and upward!

A busy week

Sunday, October 25th marked the beginning of a very busy and somewhat stressful but fun week in the life of the Harding family.
Sunday:
9:15am - pick up my Mom (a.k.a. Grandma) from the airport
11:30 am - take the family out to lunch at Chick and Ruth's Delly in Annapolis followed by a cupcake
1:30 - kids take naps and I start work on the photo op cutout painting for our planned Halloween Carnival
3:30 - kids wake and we start plans for dinner
5:00 - dinner and play until bedtime
8:00 - continue working on photo op
Monday:
9:15 - out the door to get Rhys a flu shot and Cole a flu mist - one at the health department and the other at the pediatrician
10:30 - head to Annapolis for grocery shopping at Whole Foods
11:45 - lunch at a diner
12:30 - home for naps
1:00 - Conference Call with Work
5:00 - dinner
8:00 - work on photo op while kids go to bed
Tuesday:
9:00 - Drop Cole off at School (mom stays home with Rhys)
9:15 - begin shopping for work lunch on Wednesday and printing items for Thursday
12:00 - pick up Cole from school
Rest of afternoon - work and play with kids
4:30 - 6:00 - research PA Systems, pricing, and availability for purchase for THURSDAY's event.
7:30 - after dinner, make all components for quiche that I will make Wednesday morning for work lunch and veggie lasagna that we will have for dinner tomorrow night.
Wednesday:
7:00 am - start making quiche and doing laundry for today's wardrobe
9:30 -pack up lunch items and leave for work retreat
10:00 - 4:00 - work retreat
4:30 - purchase PA System
5:00 - dinner with family
6:00 - 10:45 - print and prepare all items for Thursday's event
Thursday:
7:30 - 5:00 - WORKSHOP
5:00 - collapse at home in a plate of home made chicken pot pie and a glass of red wine.
Friday:
FUN FUN FUN - played all day with the kids and my mom - trip to the farm at 10:00, Halloween Party at 11:30, dinner out with my mom at 7:30
Satuday:
Set up and prepare for our Halloween Carnival between prayers for the rain to stop.
1:30 - the rain stops!
3:30 - everyone arrives to party and play
4:45 - pizza!
5:30 - RAIN!
6:15 - trick or treating fun.
PHEW!

This one is of Rhys at the Halloween Party on Friday - He took a break from the Dalmation outfit.

We had a bouncy castle and beanbag toss courtesy of my friend, Kim.

We also had a duck pond with rubber duckies

The photo op that Chris so handily cut out and I painted

We also had guess the candy corn, a drag strip for racing cars and a can tower to knock down.

Cole showing me some of his trick or treat loot

Rhys in his costume - this was earlier in the month. I didn't get a good picture of him last night.