Festival of Trees

Another Festival of Trees tree is done and behind me. I can't believe I've done it for four years in a row! We had a prime place in the room this year, the best ever. The tree was called A Courtly Christmas and was loosely based on my impressions of Versailles and Louis XIV (yes, I know I'm spanning too much history, just indulge me a bit). The color theme was gold and french blue with a ton of luxe ornaments including fleur-de-lis, mirrors, and suns. My favorite part of it all was the box we constructed on the bottom out of gorgeous brocade fabric (thanks for the help, Mom). Decorating day was Sunday and it took us about 6.5 hours all told. Now bring on Christmas LOL.

Disney On Ice

On Sunday evening we braved a rainy, dark ride down to the "taco ballerina" (Taco Bell Arena) in order to see Disney on Ice. Allegra and Ian dressed up to the hilt, but Hero confined it to a Walt Disney World hoodie, because apparently she's to old to dress up for random occasions LOL. We were late because traffic and parking was a mess, but we were not the only ones, so the show actually got a delayed start and everything worked out just fine. The kids were enchanted with the show and enjoyed the whole spectacle. Colin, surprisingly, did watch the ice for the first 30 minutes. After that it was a game of "try to keep Colin from being disruptive", which James and I are old hands at. The best part of the show was that they did an It's a Small World sketch - the music immediately brings us to our wonderful trips to Disneyland and Disney World because it's the kids' favorite ride. I got sentimental and teary-eyed, but I did not cry LOL. I know the pictures aren't the best, but it's really hard to get good pictures of swiftly moving objects from nosebleed seats with a toddler grabbing at your camera every chance he gets and people standing up and walking around throughout a performance LOL.

Bump Watch & Ramblings

I've determined to be a more active poster, and I think I've suceeded so far (well, in quantity at least, if not in quality LOL). First of all, I had to share some belly pics. I can truly say there's nothing like a 5th child to make you truly balloon out at a downright alarming rate. These pictures were from last Friday - I was 12 weeks 1 day. I've only gained 1 pound so far, so I'm not sure what's going on in there LOL. The first picture is a better photo, but the angle makes me look much bigger in the second, so I had to include that one.



Okay, on to the promised Ramblings portion of today's posts. We live in a world designed for people who are not short. As a 5'1" woman I've grown accustomed to the fact that counters are too high, pants are too long, and God forbid I need something from a top rack in a store. Most of the time I'm okay with this, but I think it's time to start penalizing tall people for being, well, tall. I'm so tired of sitting behind really tall people at events and having to do the back and forth head swivel so that I can see what is going on. Just like there's been talk about charging morbidly obese people for two seats, I think they should make anyone over 6ft buy the seat directly behind them so that I don't get shafted anymore. What is prompting this vitriol, you ask? Well last night we all enjoyed Disney on Ice but most of my pictures didn't turn out since I couldn't see a freakin' thing due to the giant in front of me (hey, I get called munchkin often, so I don't think giant constitutes hate speech). Okay, okay, I'm kidding (kind of), but I know that anyone who is short or has sat behind someone really tall at an expensive venue totally knows what I mean. And for some more ramblings, I made cookies this morning. I don't have much time for housewifey things anymore between the kids, activities, and work, but it made me happy to squeeze it in (and Ian loves the cookies, which is no small feat). Ooh, and I almost forgot, I bought Harry Connick Jr's (love 'im) new Christmas album. I have the first and love it and when I saw the new one in Costco I couldn't resist. It's already playing in the car, which is pathetic in a way, but oh well, when you're 30 it doesn't matter what people think of you, right?

Introducing Our Newest Family Member...

On Halloween we finally got to "meet" the newest member of our family, baby #5. He or she was happily bopping around in there on the ultrasound. We watched the bean move its hands and rhythmically bob its little head back and forth. He or she also had a nice strong heartbeat of 162bpm. Best of all, the bean measured big so my due date was moved up to May 21st! Today we are at 12 weeks, so one more week to go in the 1st trimester and under 200 days to go total. I expect that I'll be starting to feel the little one moving in the next two weeks if my previous pregnancies are any clue and I can't wait! I have another u/s scheduled for next week as a part of the standard genetic-screening test. Everyone we know thinks its a boy, and we totally agree. As a matter of fact we generally refer to the bean as "he". If they don't say "It's a boy" in the u/s room in December there are going to be some dropped jaws for sure LOL. We love you Fife #5!

Halloween Madness

Another Halloween has come and gone. It seems like Halloween has been a very long affair this year with a never-ending string of themed recitals, parties, and whatnot. I'm so proud that I finished all five pieces of Allegra's Laura Ingalls costume (and it looked pretty darn good, if I do say so myself). Hero was Pumpkin Spice, Ian was a pirate, and Colin was (a family tradition now for all the children on their 2nd Halloweens) a duck. Friday was an absolutely balmy day with temps in the 60s. The kids were comfortable in their costumes with no need for coats, which made trick or treating a breeze. They made a very good haul and we should have candy well into the new year.

And, as a side note, congratulations President-elect Barack Obama! What beautiful and moving speeches both fine public servants, Obama and McCain, gave last night. Go America!!

Pumpkin Carving Time

I approach Halloween with a bit of trepidation due to the massive pumpkin-carving spree I must undertake. I'm not quite sure when carving ALL the pumpkins became my job, but it has been that way for several years now. At least this year my mom was in town to help (and she did an awesome job on the Obama pumpkin). On top of the mess, I tend to get complaints from the kids for my less than perfect renditions of their desired design. I am definitely not an artist LOL. Of course the fun is not over after the pumpkins are carved. Then it's time to roast pumpkin seeds (mmm) and, the day after Halloween, cut the jack o'lanterns up and roast them and puree them for some future homemade pumpkin pie. James took over pumpkin pureeing duties with some help from the boys.

Piano Recital & Festivals

It's a crazy time of year as far as piano lessons are concerned. The Halloween recital was Ian's first and it was especially cute since he played dressed up as a pirate. He did great (although he did need some prompting to play the repeat LOL). The girls did fine as well, playing both their Halloween pieces and their Sonatinas. The girls also just finished up the annual Hymn Festival, both of them earning Superior ratings. This weekend is the dreaded Sonatina Festival competition which has been the cause of much angst in the Fife household. It'll be nice to be done and move on to the less stressful Christmas songs.