day 2

Well, you know what they say...."you can't make this stuff up". In true fashion of making the "ordinary, extraordinary' I will tell you about 1/2/10 Sedgley style.

I had the fortune of getting up and heading to the Y to take a cycle class at 8:15 this morning, I LOVE to take classes, and because I teach so much, don't always get the chance to, but am going to attempt to add that to my daily routine. Anyway, I love the Y, and even if I stopped working there, (which may happen when I am like, uh, 99 ) I would still go there EVERDAY.

Took a brillant class, and managed to sweat out close to 600 calories. Great way to start a Saturday! Don had the task of bringing all 3 kids to Brady's 9am basketball practice, and we all gathered back home around 10. I was sitting at the table savoring some high fiber oatmeal when they got home. I noticed immediately that it sounded like only one of the 4 loves of my life was walking into the house. When it was Don, I was taken aback, and thought, "what have you done with the kids?" They were all still in the car playing on their respective Nintendo DS's.....not sure exactly when they even realized that they were home, or that they were sitting in a car outside in 32 degree weather.... it was one of those funny and sad moments. As much as I was laughing at the fact that I have kids in that phase of life, I was thinking how sad it is to have kids in that phase on life....

So, the "vide-its" finally realized that they were home and freezing their asses off, and came inside. Now usually I am the "Queen of Christmas Past" come Dec 26th. However, since it takes so much time to decorate our house in N.C, I do enjoy keeping the spirit going. In NY, I used to have the tree at the curb arounnd lunchtime on 12/26, so for me, to still have decor up after the new year is something else.

Once the DS's were turned off, Don addressed the kids with his famous PLAN FOR THE DAY. (he loves those) He explained that we were going to have a Christmas scavenger hunt, after lunch, and that they were to find anything that was Christmas decor related and bring it into the dining room. Well, the kids could not do this fast enough. They immediately started to gather things as if they were squirrels hoarding nuts for the winter!

Within 30 minutes, all non fragile, "yes you can touch that" Christmas decor was in the dining room. We usually put up a main tree, and then two trees just for fun in our family room, and one on the outdoor dining room. This year, since we are in the process of screening in the whole back of the house, we only did the family room tree and the main tree. As per our good friend Richard's recommendation, we did the main tree in our foyer, so that has remained in tact, and we hope to work on that and the scavengar hunt results this week.

I had to bring Rory to basketball at 1pm, and we stopped at the grocery store afterwards. Somehow, (neither one of us is taking responsibility) as we walked past a display of juice, an entire bottle of cranberry juice spilled and emptied out all over the floor. I took a picture with my cell phone, but have yet figured out the mobile upload feature. So for now, that is my mental pic of the day....

We then had some neighborhood play dates, and since we felt like some diningroom table dancing may be in the future, we had no choice but to have Chris and AnnMarie over, since they will not be hosting any dance-a-thons anytime soon.

I prepared two Hungry Girl recipes. The boneless buffalo chicken and the onion rings. They were great, however, the name of the cookbook should be called "Starvin Marvin" because it took about 2 hrs to cut and prep the onion rings!

We played a few games and shared some laughs, and here I am. Happy and ready for another brewsky....

See ya tomorrow!

2010 Ready or Not?!

"Putting our best foot forward in 2010"

I am not sure what exactly Rory was drinking, but she was up with us until 3:30am!

Wow, a new year and a new thing added to my list of things to do. To post a photo each day in 2010 to capture our year. Where will the days of 2010 take us? What will our happiest day look like? When will our saddest and most trying time occur? There are many unknowns as we embark upon another year. I look forward to another year of watching my children grow, sharing many laughs and attempting to make others happy. I am continually overwhelmed and saddened by the speed in which my children are growing up. They are becoming more and more independent, and as much as I am proud of their milestones, they are bittersweet. Just today, Delaney finally has a genuine loose tooth. She has been hoping for one FOREVER, as she is always trying to catch up to Brady and Rory. Knowing her personality, she will probably pop it out as soon as she is able. That will certainly qualify for a picture on this blog!

We began preparing for 2010, by saying farewell to 2009 with our best friends in NC. As luck would have it, we have been able to find folks as crazy as we are. We have shared many great times with our North Carolina "framily" (friends that are family) and this night was no exception. There may not have been quite as many laughs as some of our other get togethers, however the night was a memorable one.

We gathered at Chris and AnneMarie's, in our most appropriate pajamas, at 7pm, (yes Barbara, we did not secretly meet an hour earlier) and the appetizers and beverages were plentiful. I was given the esteemed task of whipping up cosmos. The jury is still out on whether or not I will keep that job in the future.......

Before the clock struck 12, we saw the dining room table crash to the floor, a gummy bear stick to the ceiling, glass end up in the appetizers and feet covered in hummus. What a way to say farewell to 2009!

The kids had fun as usual, and the grownups managed to play a few rounds of catchphrase. As I loaded some of the pictures on the computer today to find one for this blog, I am not clear why we photographed Don's foot. It has made the cut as one of the first pics on this blog, and perhaps before this year ends, I will remember the reason behind the photo's origin.

We gathered at 11:30 today, to enjoy a "Carb-o-licious" brunch at the Shraga's house. Most of the New Year's Eve participants managed to attend, and we pieced the night together, and it felt great to spend the first day of the new year with "the usual suspects".

Before the brunch ended, a disturbing phone call brought us all back to reality. A co-worker was found dead this morning, and our usual loud crowd was suddenly silent and reflected on how one never knows where our next breath will take us.

So it is my intent to cherish each moment that I am given in 2010. I will take the time to stop and shoot! To forever remember these moments in my life - not just the posed and pretty, but the puke and pouting too.

Like the flash of a camera these moments are gone, so I will smile when I can, but will do my best to remember it all.