Holidays

...holiday season is officially over :(  It was a great one, though!  Many wonderful memories.

4 days with 3 small children in a car weren't nearly as bad as they could have been!
Toys for kids and puzzles for grownups galore at Nunu's house!  Not to mention the Christmas gifts!
Fun hanging with Deb and her main man!
Birthday party for Eden with friends from NC/Mom's church!
80 degree day!  Wow.
Christmas Eve candlelight service!
Riding golf cart and feeding the ducks.  Nearly as fun as Christmas :)
Coming back home to megasnow, extra days off of work/school and lots of sledding!
Painting and finishing Eden's room with the xtra time...YES!!!
Lots of family together time...best of all :)

Having a child on the school calendar makes the season seem especially short, but also especially wonderful because you really savor the time off.  Sniff, back to it today.

Pops!

One of the best things about living where we do...culture hub!!!  It is not too shabby when you can go to church in the morning, hop a subway train afterward for a few stops and step out to the door of Symphony Hall for a Boston Pops holiday matinee as a family.  A special someone whose name starts with Gran and ends with Lily gifted us with tickets to this most stupendous holiday show and we were so thrilled for the kids to have the experience today.  Owen is the perfect age for sitting and taking it all in.  Asher made it about 40 minutes before wiggles set in.  Eden was into my stash of gum in my purse in about 20 minutes.  (Good thing I had that gum!)  But even with some wiggles (and the relief of attending a 'kids' matinee' where many of the other audience members with in the under-5 set), each one of us had a blast.  Eden was decked out in her Christmas dress and was a cute bomb.  She also waved her hands fast or slow all during the concert along with the music (mimicking Keith Lockhart!) which was kind of adorable.  Santa showed up at the end and Asher and Owen rushed over to me with loud whispers, "MOM, I think that's the REAL Santa!!"

Video Clip #1

Video Clip #2

Man in Red

I was suckered into the enormously profit-raking price of $24.99 for this photo because what better moment to keep on file than this one with my two handsome princes holding hands excitedly with Santa.  Asher asked for puzzles and Owen asked for a unicycle.  Eden asked to stay in Mom's arms.

Happy Thanksgiving 2013!

The Swints enjoyed a thoroughly wonderful day of giving thanks for many blessings.  Eden began the day enthralled with the characters of the Macy's thanksgiving parade...enTHRALLed.  Owen and Asher tore around the house and the yard full of anticipation for the big meal to come.  Nunu kept everyone busy and having fun while R & A prepped the food.  We filled the thanksgiving tree with our blessings:

We prettied our new furniture (with big thanks to our patron!) with some kid-exciting appetizers:

And then, we ate.
Asher:  I feel like a full hippo!
Owen:  Who's not eating breakfast tomorrow? [Raises hand.]

~Our menu this year~
Braeburn apple swans
Rotisserie grilled turkey
Cornbread and biscuit stuffing ala Dixie
Pureed giblet gravy (what children don't know can't offend then)
Roasted vegetable medley (red pepper, cauliflower, carrot, sweet potato, vidalia)
Green beans with bacon and onion
Mashed potatoes
Fresh cranberry orange sauce
Cinnamon applesauce
Everlasting Icebox Rolls

Pumpkin pie
French silk pie

Happy Thanksgiving!

Pictures by Amy M.

A friend has been pursuing her talents in photography (and I'd say she's doing well, wouldn't you??...see below), and offered to take some family photos.  Not only that but she put together a beautiful slide show for us.  Looking at them makes my heart happy; you just don't get to see your family from another's perspective very often.  Even with our flaws and foibles, she made us feel beautiful for a day and I will treasure these for a long time.

Slides:  http://akmurga.smugmug.com/Belonging/Swint-slideshow/n-KKggS
Collage:  http://www.amymurgatroyd.com/

What a gift!

Blogcation

Haven't been here for a while.  WAY TOO BUSY!!!  In the last month...

Heading up the school-wide Halloween party put on by the PTA.  That was most of the last month.  Went off very well, but wow, a lot of work.

Swimming lessons.
Soccer practices.
Soccer games.
Music classes.
Library storytime.
Weekend trip to Cape Cod.
Family pictures.
Church volunteering.
Doctor's appointments.
Viruses.
Eden and Asher evaluated for speech therapy (Eden for delayed speech progression, Asher for lisp, Eden qualified and starting therapy, Asher still in progress).
Development of shellfish allergy-Owen.
Renovations.
Children's choir at church.
Droppage of mass quantities of leaves in the yard.

And those are just the out of ordinary things, and the ordinary things keep us busy enough, thank you very much!!  Halloween is over now and I am saying no to extras for a while.

I couldn't begin to catch up.  How about a camera dump.

When boys have been watching ninja cartoons and get into the winter gear.  Asher as 'sequin ninja', ha ha.

Cuter every day.

 
Owen loving a power tool assignment.

Asher in flight

Touchdown.

Excited boys after spending $ from Mommo and Daddo!

Halloween!  You have no idea how difficult it was to get Eden into this costume.  She wanted NO PART.  It was a small miracle.  It came with boots, headband and silver wrist cuffs, but those were officially a no way.

Supper with friends before trick or treating.

Owen's BFF Sabrina

Owen insisted on dyed black hair for the true Clark Kent effect.

For Justice!

Smile for candy!

Eden was EXTREMELY wary of this whole business of going out after dark.  Not a time she's accustomed to leaving the house.  After our first stop I gave her a mini chocolate to eat, and...well...you've never seen such a quick conversion to exuberant willingness to go up to stranger's doors.  After securing her prize, she would plop down in her stroller, set her pumpkin pail on her lap and stare ahead quietly as if to say, "This feels right.  NEXT!!  Roll on, Daddy!"  She was one happy camper.

See what I mean?

Giddy with candy pleasure.

Methinks next year's costume won't be such a hard sell.