Festivus for the rest of us!

Ah, Festivus. The kids started this tradition. I'm not sure what year we started it but here are a few of the earliest pictures I could find along with some of this year. For some reason the kids wanted to go to the garage for something. Then I guess they just wanted to go outside barefoot. Naturally, I didn't want them to (get some boots on! wear a coat!) but once they made it clear it was a competition...well, that's different. Far be it from me to discourage my children from attaining a goal. Then of course they had to see who could go the farthest. Here Kristjan makes for the basketball hoop. This was in 2003 so I guess he's 9.

And here he is this year completing a walk all the way around the house with Danny and Brandon.

Here I am on my very brief dash. I like to participate but I have no delusions about winning.

I went farther this year but I'm still last.

And here's Nastassja, I guess she's 13 here - definitely beat me.

And once again, Nastassja takes the ladies division by storm - she even went twice...

Here's the toughest part, at least in my book. The AFTERMATH. You think it's over, but no. The snow is stuck to your feet - now we keep towels handy to get it off as fast as possible. It doesn't really help. Oh but the exhilaration of another successful Feats of Strength!

We usually hold Festivus on Dec. 26th (Daddy's birthday) but this year we bumped it up to New Year's Eve since Nastassja, Anthony and Ray wouldn't be there until Dec. 28. We kicked off the festivities with Mexican food - enchiladas, the kid's favorite. Then Nastassja and I went for our walk. It was a little hazardous this year since we had had a couple of warm days in wich the snow melted and then refroze. Then it snowed again - about 6 inches, so there was powder with a layer of ice underneath, nice. Oh, and the temperature was 12. When we finished the boys took their walk around the house. When they got back there was some dispute about the winner. I had declared Brandon the winner since he was last, even pausing for his photo to be taken after Danny and Kristjan went in. Some declared there was too much, um, complaining during the trek ( I believe the accusation was "Brandon screamed like a girl the whole way") So the boys decided to take it to a new level by making snow angels with their shirts off. Then they decided to do it face down! Too much fun....

A reader wants to know "what about the airing of grievances?" No dear reader, we don't do the airing of grievances....unless one counts "screaming like a girl" while walking around the house. Oh, and I must point out that the girls didn't "scream like girls!"

Here are my babies - Atalya, Yeshi and little ROS still in the works. Yeshi has a broken left arm from falling off a scooter (some jumping was involved..) that was ER visit #3 of 6 this past year. This one was significant because it was the day after I had taken him to ER for visit #2 - sprained neck. Now THAT one was rough, some kid put him in a choke hold at a grappling tournament in Richmond, he felt his neck pop, got dizzy and then his neck went numb. Great - got to go to the hospital in the ambulance on the backboard in a neckbrace. And to make it even more fun, Dad was in Iraq at the time. Fortunately it turned out to be just a sprained neck. Hence the subsequent injury to the arm because he's a "get back on the horse" kind of guy. And there's Atalya, sitting there looking all maternal and uninjured. Nice. What can I say? Hashem is watching over my babies and I'm pretty relieved about that. I'll have to write another post on ER boy and my daughter the Uber-mommy.....

Atalya

I thought I'd put a random picture up here. This is my daughter Atalya when we were in NYC last April. She's 5 months pregnant with our little Ray of Sunshine. ROS was born on Aug. 9 and weighed in at TEN pounds! I have 2 other grandchildren from my stepdaughter Dusti - Izabella and Jacob. All three grandkids are (of course) the cutest babies you ever saw - I love being a Bubbe!