Frame-a-Day Week 52 (!) + One: 12/24-12/31

Well, here we are...the last "Frame-a-Day" installment for 2011.  Honestly, I feel like the older I get, the faster the years go...it could also be related to the kids getting older as well.

But, I did it!  I don't think my friends who haven't done this type of project really fully grasp the feeling of accomplishment with this.

Without any further ado, here are the last 7 plus New Year's Eve:

December 24--"Emmanuel"--Trust and Earnest learned the song "Emmanuel" at Sunday school, which is likely a variation of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel". We did not get to attend Mass where the kids were going to lead everyone in singing the chorus, so I told them that they could sing it at the family Christmas party, which they did.

December 25--Merry Christmas--For the third consecutive year, we hosted Christmas Day for both sets of grandparents. We had a great dinner and a day with present opening spread over pretty much all of it. Trust made all of us gifts. I received a pinch pot with my name (Mommy) on it and a homemade locket; while Earnest made a book at school about his family which made me teary. Those were probably among some of the the best gifts, at least in my eyes.

December 26--White Men Can Jump--Gran and Gramps stayed at the [hotel] and we enjoyed a dip in the pool this morning before they headed back home.

December 27--Build-a-Bear-(and-Penguin)--Trust had received a gift card to Build-a-Bear for her birthday from Nana and Grampy and I asked them to get one for each boy for Christmas so they could all go together to make new friends. We went today and we now have Woody the Penguin, Sprinkle the Confetti Bear and Cuddly the Camouflage Bear in our house.

*December 28--Botanical Garden, Revisited--I took Trust, Earnest and Nana to the botanical garden exhibit as she and Chretien did on December sixteenth.  There were even a few crafts to do--a bird feeder and a collage calendar for 2012--a perfect way to spend the morning in Trust's mind.

*December 29--Let It Snow, Man--Exactly six months to the day ago, Trust and I went to a local library and created a giant hot air balloon.  Today was another "big" craft at the library; the seasonally appropriate, but not yet accurate, snowman creation.

December 30--Three Turn Trouble--A local school had free public skating this week and we went over this morning for Trust to get a bit of practice time in.  She is currently in the gamma ISI figure skating level and is struggling a bit on the "three turns" that are required to pass this level.  I caught her mid-turn here and despite her troubles, I think she looks pretty 'professional' here in her set up.

 December 31--New Year's Eve "Fundue" Party--We had our own little New Year's Eve "Fundue" (as Earnest called it) party at home tonight.  We had cheese fondue with homemade bread, apples, mushrooms, carrots, potatoes and teriyaki chicken for dinner and then chocolate fondue with Rice Krispie treats, strawberries, bananas and mini marshmallows for dessert.

Frame-A-Day Week 51: 12/17-12/23

Only one more week (and a day, which I will probably tack on to Week 52...so I guess Week 52 has a bonus day).  Can I say how much I am looking forward to 2012's Frame-A-Day weeks actually beginning on Sunday, the "right" first day of the week?

I know I said it last week, too, but I have really enjoyed shooting the photos this month.  I figured that would be the case.  We're hitting the height of the Christmas holiday photo ops in these next few days.

 December 17--Come Sail Away--...even if it is within the confines of the local YMCA. Today was the boys' last swim class, and for a treat, Earnest's class got to ride in the "boat".

December 18--Another Visit with Santa--Tonight was our neighbors' annual Christmas party, complete with the requisite visit with Santa.  Santa always brings the kids a little goodie at the party as well, which makes it fun for them.

December 19--Play Me a Tune--Trust has been learning the recorder in music class for the last six weeks, and today, she got to bring it home.  She was so excited to play us "Mary Had a Little Lamb" and "Hot Cross Buns" and can't wait to play for everyone on Christmas Eve.

December 20--The Magic of Santa--Each child received a special personalized video from Santa via my email.  It proves that Santa really does know if you've been bad or good, as well as how your vacation, birthday party, or other special days during the year went.  I would highly recommend this for anyone who has believers--it's at http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/home.

December 21--Santa-on-a-Stick--Some cheerful flowers came complete with a Santa-on-a-Stick.  It's getting close...I will add that I am so grateful that my 14+ hour Wednesdays are over.  I was concerned about finding subjects to shoot on days when I might not even see my kids, but for the most part, it seemed to work out for the 14 Wednesdays that were involved.

December 22-Rolo-ing Right Along--Look who helped me make some homemade turtle candy.  He actually did quite a good job unwrapping the Rolos.

December 23--Make Your Own Pizza--First day of vacation for Trust and Earnest and I took them out for lunch to break up the day and use an about to expire free pizza coupon Trust received last year at school for reading.  It was a nice way to kick off the Christmas holiday, and I was happy we could do it without my feeling too stressed to take a break from Christmas prep.

Frame-A-Day Week 50: 12/10-12/16

Week 50! We're almost there!! Who's signing on for a(nother) Project 365?

The month of December has been so much fun to shoot. I figured it would be. Despite craziness at work with the semester winding down and finals looming, I've managed to capture a lot of holiday cheer.

December 10--Peg's "Birthday" Party--Today was my friend Peg's annual holiday party, although Imp insisted it was a birthday party.  Peg and her husband Rick have hosted such a party every year for at least the past 15 or so.  It's always a bit chaotic and loud and full of fun and holiday cheer  This year I bought some ornament kits; I figured the girls and the younger boys would enjoy them and they did...for about 20 minutes, which is about what I assumed.

December 11--Christmas Tree Cutting--We went to a local farm to select our Christmas tree; in part, because the usual one (and many others) were already sold out.  Here we see the boys setting off for the fields to go find the perfect tree for our family.  We did, although we have yet to decorate it.

December 12--Third Week of Advent--We're already up to the pink candle!

December 13--Trimming Chubby--We name our tree every year and this year the name was an obvious one--the tree is super full and so "Chubby" seemed appropriate. We managed to get Chubby looking his best and he is all decked out for Christmas.

December 14--A Present from Gita--My friend Gita sent some fancy cookies home as an early Christmas gift for the kids.  They were pretty excited about the surprise package.

December 15--A Puzzling Time at the Library--I took the kids to the library tonight; the kids always enjoy the toys and puzzles at this library.

December 16--A Visit to the Botanic Garden--Chretien and I had a date today.  We went to the local botanic garden.  There were about 25 or so different trees, many decked out with ornaments crafted completely of items found in nature.  This is one of my favorite photos.

Frame a Day Week 49: 12/3-12/9

December 3--Polar Express--We traveled to the North Pole today.  We picked up Santa and brought him back home with us.  He collected the letters kids or their parents had written and just made everyone very happy to see him.

December 4--Holiday Fun--The kids enjoyed decorating gingerbread cookies. I loved that all three seemed to equally enjoy this activity. The newly decked out people will grace our mantel during the holiday season.

December 5--Our New Friends--Some of the finished products from yesterday's "Holiday Fun" activity.  Don't they look festive, gracing our mantel?

December 6--Bachelor Pad--...or something like one.  Last week we moved all the tubs of clothes and other stored items out of the crawl space behind the boys' room and brought up the train table and some of the crafts from downstairs.  I especially love the seating!  The kids have enjoyed playing up in this new addition quite a bit.  Hooray for making use of all available space in a relatively small house.

December 7--Work Neighborhood--Another rainy Wednesday; I notice them since on Wednesday evenings I teach a night class and trudge through the city blocks, attempting to stay dry. This was taken from my office window and the very urban neighborhood is apparent.

December 8--Fun on Mommy and Daddy's Bed--What is it about Mommy and Daddy's bed that is so appealing to kids? It's almost universal. I can still remember climbing into my parents' bed as a small child on weekend mornings.

December 9--Just So--The Y had their holiday party tonight, which was full of carnival games, a bounce house and crafts. Imp was very particular about the decorating of his cookie; the candies needed to be placed in just the right spots.

Frame-A-Day Week 48: 11/26-12/2

November 26--Punkin' Chunkin'--The kids are enamored with the Discovery Channel show "Punkin Chunkin" which airs around Thanksgiving each year. Basically, pumpkins are hurled through a Delaware field with different types of mechanical devices that the participants rig and hone. We let the kids have a shot at chunkin' their own pumpkins on today before composting.

November 27--Illustory Books Creation--Both Trust and Earnest made Illustory books today. Earnest wrote the more traditional biography as Trust has done in past years, while Trust officially put one of her many fictitious "Kate" stories into print for the first time. She was so thrilled to write fiction this time around.

November 28--Poor Sick Boy--November has been a rough month in our house. All three kids have been sick at some point, with two of them missing some school. Earnest missed school the first day of November and seems to be bookending the close of the month with another illness. Boo!

November 29--Biker Boy--The kids wanted to take advantage of the almost 60 degree day and ride their bikes after school.  For the time being, Imp is stuck using Trust's faded, hand-me-down pink duck helmet.  He doesn't seem to mind, as long as he gets to ride, too.

 November 30--Eight is Great!--Much to Chretien's and my disbelief, Trust will turn eight years old tomorrow.  Peppermint, our Elf on the Shelf (or in this case, the curtain rod) will greet her tomorrow morning with a smile and a birthday candle.

December 1--Happy Birthday, Trust!!--Trust turned 8 years old today!  For the fourth year, we went to her favorite restaurant for her birthday dinner, although for the past two years we've had to drive a bit of a distance since the location in our town closed last year.  Before dinner, we visited with Santa--not a bad way to celebrate a birthday which fell on a school day.

December 2--N-Cubed Plus T--Trust had a "sleep over" birthday party with her three N friends.  The girls had pizza, went to the museum, came back for ice cream cake and typical girly things like nail painting and the like.  The next morning they scarfed down cinnamon rolls and went to the Home Depot workshop to make snowman napkin holders.  Note that both Chretien and I were corrected when we called this a "slumber party".  Despite an explanation from the birthday girl, we are still unsure what the difference is, since both are a misnomer for this particular party--very little sleeping was actually done.

Frame-A-Day Week 47: 11/19-11/25

November 19--Merry Christmas Card--The kids made Santa with his sleigh at the Build and Grow workshop today. I decided it might be a good time to try to use the Lowe's greenery to get a potential Christmas card photo. This is probably the best candidate (so far).

November 20--Choo Choo--I took the boys to a train show today. They enjoyed watching the trains on the displays run, and even had a chance to be engineers at one table.

November 21--Pinch Pot Masterpiece--Three weeks ago, Earnest made a pinch pot in art class. Today he painted it and brought home the masterpiece. He plans to use it to "store money".

November 22--Gobble, Gobble--Look what landed, just in time for Thanksgiving. For the second year, I made these terrific turkeys. Everyone loves them. Who wouldn't? Oreos, candy corn, malted milk balls and Reese's peanut butter cups. Maybe better than the real thing??

November 23--Candy Land--Earnest and I caught a quick few rounds of Candy Land while it was quiet.  I beat him two games to one, but he was a gracious loser, which made me proud.

November 24--A Family Day--A nice day with my parents, my sister and her family. Happy Thanksgiving.

November 25--Obstacle Course--On this sunny Black Friday, the kids' thoughts were far away from shopping and sales.  Rather, they had fun in the backyard making an obstacle course.  Don't let their coats and hats fool you; it warmed up to 60 degrees today!

Frame-A-Day Week 46: 11/12-11/18

Zipping along through the year.  The end is in sight!

November 12--Hammering Out the Details--Today's "Build and Grow" workshop at Lowe's combined Chretien's love of building and my love of science--the kids built a "science lab" and took home cards with "experiments" to do at home; later we tried and failed to make Oobleck since we were a bit short on cornstarch.

November 13--Drive My Car--Imp found the remote controlled car today and took it out for a spin or two.

November 14--Swing Out, Sister--The tire swing is still getting use, despite the early nightfall these days.  The kids just love it.

November 15--Stuff the Turkey--Today the kids played "Stuff the Turkey" after school; this is based on a game by the same name which was played in school. They gathered various toys from one end of the yard to the other, where they then tried to assemble a structure using all the collected toys.

November 16--Turkey Time--We joke about how many turkeys live in our house. It looks like there are about four...the big one was made by Earnest, and the other three were made by each kid at the library.

November 17--We found a set of two puzzles/models from a Christmas that hadn't been opened yet; an elephant, which Earnest claimed, and this giraffe which Trust assembled.

November 18--Reading!...Earnest read a bunch of the Bob books this week.  It's so hard to believe he's starting to read.  He is so proud of himself, too.  It's fun to see his enthusiasm.  I hope he always enjoys reading.