Happy Maryland Day!

On this day, in 1634, 150 European settlers landed on a small island in the Potomac River. Those settlers went on to found a colony which later became our little state.

March 25, now known as Maryland Day, is an official state holiday commemorating the landing and celebrating the birth of the "Old Line State", the "Free State", "Little America," Mary's land.

Happy Birthday, Maryland!

Resolutions

The boys and I celebrated the new year quietly.

Or rather, it was quiet after the Just Dance 4 tournament.

We played Hedbanz, watched Bolt and settled in to flip between the New Year's Eve shows. Neither boy made it to midnight. Matt passed out shortly before ten and Gabe made it to eleven.

The next day, we talked a bit about resolutions and the things we'd like to do in 2013. I'll give you one from each of us and you can guess whose is whose.

• Learn karate
• Work on being a movie director
• Create more.

Apologies to the Fat Guy

Matt is smart, energetic, compassionate and very very funny. He is also - and has been since birth - my most challenging child to parent.

Last week, we were having it out over a homework assignment. We were both tired, cranky and intolerant. One smart comment too many and I sent him to his room. As he stomped muttering down the hall, I hollered, "you keep this up and there's a fat guy in a red suit who won't be stopping here next week!"

He stopped dead in his tracks, spun around and stared at me in horror.

"You just called Santa fat! He's never going to come here now!" and he burst into tears.

Later, when we were making up (as we usually do), I told him I was sorry for calling Santa fat and I'd make sure I let the big guy know.

I thought that was the end of it, but that night as I was listening to their prayers, Matt ended with a very serious plea.

"Please tell Santa that Mommy is sorry for calling him fat. She's usually a very good girl."

Apparently, I was forgiven.

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Merry Christmas from the three of us to you!

Happy New Year!

The boys and I have a New Year's Eve slumber party tradition. 

In years past, we watched movies, camped out in the living room, made crafts and played video games. As this year's holiday approached, I wondered if my guys would rather kick off the New Year with an outing.  A number of venues in our area were advertising family-friendly events.  But with a big trip pending in March and Christmas barely behind us, I decided our regular slumber party would be more wallet friendly.

So, I stocked our refrigerator and pantry with root beer, sparkling cider, popcorn and the ingredients to make pizza. I researched activies and made sure our favorite pjs were clean.

It was a good decision. Friday morning, I woke with a pounding, stuffy head.  My body ached and I felt like I could sleep for days. 

We stayed in pajamas all day.  We spent the morning and early afternoon building the LEGO Star Wars ships the boys received for Christmas.

While the pizza was in the oven, we pulled the queen-sized mattress off my bed and dragged it into the living room.  We watched movies, played Wii and our new Disney Scene It.

Dosed with a liberal dose of cold medicine, I participated in all of these from a reclining position on the mattress. It was the perfect party for me.

Gabriel, normally my night owl, fell asleep first.

Matt, normally snoring by nine, was riled up and ready to go.  He was very interested in the folks at Time Square.  I think he'd fit right in.

Happy New Year!