A Little Nutcracker for Your Holiday Enjoyment

Just in time for the holidays, I present Miss Charlotte.

A Charlie Brown Christmas

I've always been a sucker for the classic Peanuts Christmas show. I hated the aluminum, colored trees that Lucy wanted, and completely sided with Charlie and Linus when they bought the pitifully small and decrepit tree instead. Molly and I used to try to pick out a "Charlie Brown" tree from the woods behind our house to put up in our playroom downstairs.

We headed out to the Farmer's Market yesterday to get our Christmas tree. We almost picked up one at either Whole Foods or Food Lion when we saw the prices were low and effort would be minimal, but Russell convinced me to trek over to our favorite spot instead. Good thing we did, or we wouldn't have seen these.

Anyone for a blue, purple, or red tree? Nothing says Christmas like spray paint, or spray snow, or whatever that is.

Charlotte kept up the spirit of the old Charlie Brown Christmas special by choosing her own reject for our playroom. One place was selling what looked to be the somewhat awkward and destroyed tops of other trees for a minimal price. I told Charlotte to pick whichever one she wanted for the playroom.

She gravitated toward the one with a bow, of course. I could tell right away there was a reason for that bow, but there was no changing her mind. She was excited that the tree was so little she could carry it to the truck herself. (Speaking of, see that bright star over her left shoulder? That's our black pickup truck. Think it's a sign?)

Sure enough, when we got home and took off the bow, the top was flat as a pancake and the tree looks more like the bottom level of a snowman than a small tree. But she still loves it, and what's there is full and lush.

I tried to get some cute pictures of the kids amongst the trees, but I guess my photos turned out more "Charlie Brown" than Christmas card as well.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas, and we hope you'll have a "Charlie Brown" moment this year.

Fun Times

This post should probably be a recap of Thanksgiving, but I'm not that organized right now. Instead I'm going to share some silly photos of me and the kids at the school playground yesterday. They convinced me to go out at dusk, in 30-something degree weather, cause they were "bored." What a great idea!

Anson and I (and a random kid who was there) shot some hoops, while Charlotte primarily spun around on various vomit-inducing playthings. She finally got me into a spinning tulip, and I felt a little off-kilter all evening.

Take some time this month to get away from your computers, TVs, and the mall. Stop, relax, and take a "spin" outside!

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Anson with the jump shot! By the way, he insists on wearing gym shorts every day, no matter the weather, and his Under Armour hoodie. He is suddenly "aware" of what all of the other kids are wearing. Like the neon green laces? Those were his addition.

Charlotte spins, and spins, and spins, and spins...I'm getting dizzy just looking at her.

It wouldn't be a playground outing if Charlotte didn't hang upside down at some point.

Here I am trying out the tulip. I am going to warn you, it is hard to stop those things once you get going.

The piece de resistance -- a spinning walking circle, ripe for falls and broken limbs. (It's hard to tell in the photo, but the circle spins in the opposite direction that you walk.) Remind me, why would they put these things on a school playground?

I'm Just One Stomach Flu Away From My Goal Weight

Did any of you see The Devil Wears Prada movie a few years ago? One of the characters in the fashion industry says, "I'm just one stomach flu away from my goal weight," even though she's already super skinny. I remember thinking how horrible, yet funny, that quote was.

Well I'm here to tell you it works. Start with the flu, follow up with a week taking care of your dad after having surgery, and finish up with a lingering sickness, and you're done!

Thankfully I have Thanksgiving coming up to set me straight. I can't wait for the stuffing, turkey, potatoes, and snacks galore. I'm going to watch the Macy's parade (even if I'm the only one), some football, and sit in front of the fire and finish reading The Hunger Games.

Hope yours is equally relaxing!

I'm thankful for all of you.

Love, Morgan

Extraordinary Smiles

I'm a celebrity!

Well, sort of.

Check out the web page of Dr. James Harrold, click on the Patient Before and Afters, and then #26. That's moi.

I had my teeth fixed in early 2005, and they just asked me if they could use my pic on the web site.

I actually had the two from teeth improved a bit in 1995 when I chipped one. They were really, really yellow and spotted before that. Then, in 2005, I decided to fix the spaces, etc. I've always meant to go back and have them very slightly shortened, but I've been too lazy.

I was thankful I looked pretty decent in the photo, and then I realized why. I've been Photoshopped! I have a mole on my nose -- believe me, you can't miss it -- and it's not there. So I imagine they "spruced" up the rest of my face as well. Oh, the perks of being famous.

P.S. Oh my, I look young!

It's Hurricane Season Again

Although the hockey season has been in full swing for a while, yesterday was our first full family outing.

Being a Canes fan means going all out with your outfit. Charlotte and I didn't have jerseys, so we stuck with the team colors, but Anson and Russell are die-hard fans and sported the appropriate fan wear. Anson's was even signed by everyone on the team, thanks to a good friend who works for the team.

First things first...the zambonis smooth the ice.

At the start of the game, the lights go out and the large spotlights start sweeping the crowd. Then a "hurricane" warning siren goes off, and the team skates out onto the ice to the sounds of "Rock Me Like a Hurricane." (Our team is in red.)

{I took most of these photos before the game started, which is one of the reasons why the seats look so empty. Once the game is in play, those hockey fans get a little sketchy if you try to mess with their viewing space by standing up to take a photo! Also, there was a marathon going on right around the stadium and the roads were closed. NOT good planning for game traffic and getting fans to the game on time.}

We are lucky enough to have seats at center ice, just a few rows behind the team.  See the red jersey on the aisle to the left of the stairs going down? To the right of the lady in the yellow sweater? That's Russell.

The kids, though they love the game, would rather concentrate on which snacks they are getting and whether or not they can get on the Jumbotron (not this time).

There's usually a minor fight or two to keep things interesting, and this game was no exception. A few minutes into the game, some players slammed into the clear wall and broke it, so we even got to see them come out and replace that. What a loud CRACK!

Unfortunately, our team was losing 5-1 when we decided to go home. Terrible, I know, what awful fans we are. But we had made the most of the day and had fun!

New Year's Resolutions

What, you might ask, am I doing talking about resolutions when it's only November? Well, I'm already preparing for Thanksgiving and Christmas, so why not 2012?

I was going back and reading some old posts when I came across this list of mine for 2010. Only two more months to get them done!

1.  Have more fun with the kids.
2.  Declutter the house and my life.
3.  Continue with the blog, even if only a few people read it!


I'm happy to report that I definitely did well with #1 (see next post about our trip to the mountains), am working on #2 and making progress (though I could be doing better), and continuing with #3. I even started a new one with just my sister for us to communicate with each other. It's fun and since it's only for us, there is no pressure. We post the outfits we wore that day, photos of things around the house that remind of our childhood, recipes, etc. It's such a nice way to stay connected across the miles.


So this is a reminder to start thinking about some resolutions. It doesn't really matter when they happen, or when you fulfill them. It's nice to stop and reevaluate what you are enjoying about your life, and what changes you can make to improve it. Sometimes I need those timelines to get me going.


No matter what you do, remember the smiling faces of your friends and family and how they are all thinking of you across the miles!

H-A-L-L-O-W-E-E-N

Spelling is almost dead over here. Charlotte is on the verge of understanding every word we spell, so I guess we'll just have to learn a new language to talk over her head.

Halloween was unorganized, messy, cold, and rainy here this year. We went costume shopping at lunchtime, carved pumpkins in the afternoon/evening, and then headed out into the dreaded freezing rain at dusk.

The kids had to wear layers and layers of clothes under their costumes. Trying to undress them at the end of the night was an Olympic sport.

But we had hot soup, roasted pumpkin seeds, a fire in the fireplace, and the ultimate -- candy -- to keep us going.

For those of you who don't know, Anson won't eat chocolate. He just doesn't like it. As a result, Charlotte rarely has it. So she likes it OK, but doesn't love it. You know what that means? That pile of chocolate is for ME!!!!

Fall Festivities

Fall is in full swing around here, and the Halloween activities have begun. Our friends have two Halloween parties every year -- one for kids and one for parents. Every inch, and I mean EVERY INCH, of their house is done up in decorations. Here are a few highlights.

We are missing out on the adult party (thank goodness we don't have to come up with costumes, we are terrible at that!), but the children enjoyed theirs. Charlotte started out as a panda, but after some face painting, became a zombie. Anson came very late to the party because of a basketball commitment and didn't get in the photos.

Charlotte maintained her apple bobbing title after some avid dunking.

The kids' school also had a fall festival and I participated partly by buying up some of these yummy treats. Wish I had the time to bake like these parents!

We're off to the North Carolina mountains this weekend to enjoy the fall foliage and possibly some snow!