School Christmas Show

Friday was the boys' school Christmas show -- they did an adaptation of the original "Cheaper by the Dozen." Jackson's class dressed as elves and sang a song about working together and decorating the tree. Porter's class dressed in vintage PJs and sang about lullabyes and babies -- Both the boys did fantastic this year!! We were a few rows back and had great seats to video / watch, but the boys had to scan the crowd of parents to look for us. Once they found us, the difference in how they reacted was right in line with their personalities: Jackson lit up; Porter got embarrassed and hid! But he opened up quickly, though and finished the act just as expected.

We went by their class rooms to pick them up and tell their teachers and friends Merry Christams and to have a good break. After that I headed to the office to work on a little internal company work. That afternoon we had our office holiday gathering -- right there in the conference room with beer, snacks and music.

Katie's office party at Vic/Anthony's was Friday night and I hung out with the boys for 'Boys Night In' -- we cooked sloppy joes and mac/cheese. Jackson declared that it was "the best Boys Night In of all time!" I got the boys to be at about 8:30 after watching some quality TV and then enjoyed some beer while watching my Clapton Guitar Festival DVD.

Saturday and Sunday were laid-back hanging around the house, with some shopping mixed in for good measure. I took the boys around to help me with some things I needed to do (pick up my sandals from the shoe repair; get car washed; trip to Target) and we went to Sam's for a HUGE bucket of bubble gum.

This week they're out of school and getting ready for all the Christmas action. I'm working on my normal client items and trying to wrap everything up by Thursday so I can take a week off. Looking forward to a little free time!

One for the Tooth Fairy

Well, we've got a good one for the Tooth Fairy tonight!! Jackson was eating one of his fruit leather snacks at dinner tonight and he said, "Hey, this is really loose!"... We knew for about a month or so that it was a little bit loose, and when he saw the dentist a few weeks ago, they said he'd probably lose it by Christmas. Well, tonight was the night -- a few minutes after he told us, he was taking another bite, and the tooth was free!

He's been hoping for a while to lose his first tooth -- call it a right of passage for the Kindergarden set. What a milestone -- From what I hear, the Tooth Fairy has two special gold dollar coins for him. We'll have to stay up late and make sure she visits tonight.

As for the rest of what's been going on lately... This past weekend was Breakfast With Santa at SVDP. Katie had worked so hard to help coordinate the crafts, and I was very proud of her and her friends -- everything was perfect. When Porter and I walked in, the first thing I heard was the jazz trio playing 'Linus and Lucy' from the Charlie Brown Christmas Album -- it just struck the right chord.

After that, we headed to the Red Caboose Christmas Tree Farm to pick out the perfect tree for our living room. We got a thinner one than usual this year -- they all seemed a bit slim, but nice shapes. Once we got it up, it seems so natural in the room -- I think I like it better than any of ours in the past!! We decorated outside with the big Santa and colored lights in the bushes, and all in all, our house looks great. It puts me in just the right mood.

On a bummer note, though, we've all been sick with the stomach flu at some time or another since last Friday. First Porter on Thursday night and Friday; then Katie on Monday during the day; then Jackson and I on Monday night. To beat it all, I was in Dallas on Monday!! I had flown up there that morning feeling fine, but during dinner with my friend Ian, I started feeling so bad, I couldn't even eat, much less finish my beer -- I excused myself and went back to the hotel, and by the time I got there, I was in no shape to do anything but suffer for about 9 hours...

But we all made it. Seems to be something going around, though. Lots of kids at school (Porter's class, especially) and some folks at work seem to be having issues...

For the most part, work is going great -- lots of activity both with clients, new prospects, and internally with getting our own ideas / capabilities / execution strategy in place. This year was a watershed mark, and next year is a prime opportunity to build on that success and extend it. Glad I'm able to be part of helping take the ECM practice where it can go.

Rest of the week is busy -- may need to fill in on Friday at a workshop for a vendor, but will see tomorrow if that makes sense. Other than that, it's just a big push to get work stuff done during the holidays when everyone eles is jacking around, and trying to shop for just the right things for Katie and the boys. Wish me luck, I'll need it.