Nag and thou shalt receive

I'm very impressed with Kirk. That boy has great focus and determination, traits that will serve him well later in life. It's kind of a big pain for me, but good for him.

Grandma Pat can take credit for this one. She decided to take all of her grandkids skating over the Thanksgiving weekend. FYI--Klamath Falls has a really nice outdoor skating rink and a nifty Zamboni to keep the ice smooth. Not like the old days where you'd practically break a leg skating on the lumpy, bumpy rink out by Moore Park or, heaven forbid, the "A" Canal. It was Kirk's first time skating and after he decided to let go of the wall, he did pretty good.

This led to two weeks of nagging to go to the Lloyd Center skating rink. We decided to go this past Sunday because it was a benefit for the food bank and we could finish our shopping. Kirk spent about 4 hours skating while we went to various stores in the mall to shop. He wouldn't even leave to eat lunch, so we got him a dog, chips and a root beer.

This happy event led to a few hours of nagging about our tree. Can we put it up? Can we put it up TONIGHT?????

At approximately 9:30 pm Sunday I finished putting up the tree (thank goodness for fakes). Kirk is finally getting the hang of spreading out the ornaments and not putting all the reds together. The same cannot be said of his father, but Kirk did a good job of coaching his dad to space them out a little better. Kirk takes the tree decorating quite seriously.

Suzanne, for once, paid very little attention to any of it. She got her hand swatted once and seemed to having enough of decorating She likes to sit on the couch and look at the lights, but she's doing a good job of keeping her fingers to herself this year. The next test will be when I put some presents under the tree. I wouldn't bother except that Oscar has taken up residence underneath the tree and he's as clumsy as an ox and could bring the entire thing down.

We are having a cozy holiday this year. I'm throwing a party on the 22nd for our friends and neighbors, which will be a lot of fun. The highlights will be Grandpa Wick's egg nog (a boozy holiday treat!) and Susan's hot crab dip. I'm also going to offer a signature holiday drink. I'm torn between the Ginger Martini or a Cranberry Vodka Slushy. If you have a preference, please let me know.

Suzanne loves a party and I'm sure she'll be the queen of this one. It is nice having two kids who are social and good in crowds. I just hope she manages to keep her clothes on the entire time. When she feels like getting nakey, she doesn't care who is in the house.

Yikes! Banging from upstairs...wait...it's from the bathroom. Please let me find Suzanne sitting on the potty!