Holiday Spirit

This was Toby after we opened our gifts at the house. He was drunk off the holiday spirit. Can you tell?

Christmas is definitely one of Toby's favorite holidays: (1) because we're home more than usual, and (2) because he gets to go on a car ride. This year, we spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with Jeff's family, which meant we all got to spend some quality time with Dakota (the one-year-old Glenn family puppy):

Toby is seven years her senior, so needless to say, he was asleep the minute we got in the car to head home. Dakota is all play, all the time. It was actually the first time I really realized how old mature Toby is getting; he was all, "Please just let me just lay here and chew on this bone." -- and she was just like "Play now, chew later, old man." Toby secretly loved the attention, though he'd never admit it.

Anyhow, before Christmas day arrived, we had a few great moments with friends at the house; mainly, we had our annual "latkah night" that I mentioned here.

Our friend Jacqueline takes care of us in the food department always. Not only did she prepare this meal, but she told us the story of Hanukkah while we ate it. She is like the wise Canadian grandmother I never had.

Later that week, I took Jac's latkah recipe and made good ole' fashioned American hashbrowns, turkey bacon, and white chocolate chip pancakes for Lauren, Matthew, and Hudson. It was the biggest meal I have made in the new house, and I was quite impressed with myself -- seeing as I'd never made pancakes or hashbrowns before. Don't judge me.

Here was the scene immediately following the meal:

Even Toby was out.

Honestly, when Toby makes that face, I know all is as it should be.

Speaking of faces; take a look at my reaction when I was opening my present from Jeff.

It was the unicorn of all things magical; a 27" iMac.

That's my "oh-no-you-didn't-but-I'm-so-happy-you-did" face.

I also got this pink Craftsman tool bag. (I am usually not overly thrilled about this level of cuteness, but this was hard to deny.) We bought Dad the traditional red and black one for all of this trips to and from the house. We'll be twins. A little bribery goes a long way, right? 

It was a really great holiday. Jeff received a ton of new tools for the house, and this really hip hand-held console that plays Super Nintendo cartridges from the 80s. (From yours truly, of course.)

Don't let his cool demeanor fool you ... he was pumped.

Leo, on the other hand, was not impressed by the whole holiday experience and tried to escape by crawling into every. single. box. that. we. opened.

Here's to the warm holiday season, and the approaching new year.

Ryan

Tradition

Traditions are a funny thing.

This may or may not come as a surprise to you, but I am a sucker for a cause; and if you think about it, traditions are all just a bunch of little causes trying to make it. They're all just trying to stay relevant; and I have to be honest, I am rooting for them. I even considered putting a menorah up in our window this year (bring on the latkah, am I right?!), and I really want to do the whole Elf on a Shelf thing and I don't even have a kid. I just want to make memories, people.

Anyhow, this week, I started to take notice of all of the traditions Jeff and I adhere to. For one, we had our first spaghetti cook-off in the new house this week, which is what really got me thinking.

Let me explain.

A little over a year ago, Shelley and I were discussing the culinary nuances of Prego versus Ragu. I cook my spaghetti with Prego and she uses the lesser of the two Ragu. We debated the matter in detail and could not [by any means] come to an amicable end. Therefore, we did what sisters do, and decided to let our spaghetti do the talking. We had a good ol' fashioned cook-off. (While I knew this would end in tears for my Ragu-cooking-sister, I thought it was only fair.)

We have had a spaghetti cook-off about once a month ever since (save the months our kitchen was packed in a storage unit). On Wednesday of this week, we had our inaugural dinner at the house. Mom, Dad, and all of the kids were here. It was a particularly special night as it was also the day before Autumn's 12th birthday.

It was our first real family dinner at the house; and it was also the first time I looked around the kitchen and wished that Maw Maw was there to see everyone at the table.

It's funny, I don't know how old I was when I stopped spending the night at this house. I suppose I was probably around Autumn's age, but sometimes I have really vivid flashbacks of spending time here when I was little. They always hit me at the oddest times; like when I wake up to get some water in the middle of the night, or when I am about to go to bed. (There has never been a lot of overhead lighting in this house, so it must be something about the lamp-light that brings back these memories.) Anyhow, this picture of Autumn made me particularly nostalgic. She is sitting in what used to be her great grandmother's house. How is that for some tradition?

And then there's this guy:

 

The person with whom I have so many traditions. The guy who comes from a beautifully nuclear and normal family, yet didn't bat an eye the day I pulled out the flow chart to explain how I'm related to my siblings. The guy who doesn't even let out a sigh when I say that we're having everyone over for spaghetti and cake (on his one night off) -- and oh yeah, can you please pick up some garlic bread and buy some balloons. The guy who took on a second job, so that we could remodel the house while I'm in grad school, and then lights the candles on my niece's birthday cake. For me, this guy is what family is about; and just look at him -- he's gorgeous, too.

Honestly, I love all of our weird-spaghetti-cooking-traditions, and this time of year always gets me sappy about my family even if I know they all secretly prefer Shelley's spaghetti because it has meat in it. So what if I'm not Jewish and don't have any kids; I'm putting up a menorah tomorrow -- and that elf is going to be on my shelf by morning.

Happy merry everything, all. Here's to making ridiculous traditions with the ones you love.

Ryan

Holiday Fever

This weekend, in between installing our new washer and dryer, organizing my office, and visiting with some friends and family -- we decorated for the holidays. We unpacked some of the items that were left behind in the attic, and combined a few of Maw Maw and Paw Paw's ornaments with our own. We also picked out our tree and a wreath for the front door.

Jeff and I spent the better half of the evening debating over which Pandora holiday station was best; Jeff eventually won, and we listened to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra holiday station whilst decorating. True story. (I wanted the Glee holiday station... but I suppose one must pick their battles.) Anyhow, here are a few details from around the house.

All in all, it was a really productive weekend; lots of cleaning-out, organizing and making the house feel like home. We also made a few other noteworthy advancements. For one, we finally have blinds in the guest room.

Also, if you missed yesterday's post, I finally finished my office.

 

And, perhaps the highlight of my weekend, we found these babies in the attic.

I have today off of work, so I'm about to get started stripping wallpaper in the dining room. My goal is to have ALL of the remaining wallpaper down before I go to sleep tonight; that includes the breakfast room, kitchen, dining room, the master bath, and the guest bathroom. Wish. me. luck.

Have a great day.

All our love,

Ryan and Jeff

Thankful

We have been in the house for ten weeks. Blink. of. an. eye. November came and went so fast that I find myself still planning what I'm going to take to Thanksgiving dinner -- and then I realize it's already happened!

I am ashamed to admit that we haven't made a whole lot of progress on the house over the last month or so, but in our defense... we've had a million few other things going on. For one, I officially completed a full year of graduate school! (Not to mention, I stepped foot in six states over the last four weeks: Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts!) 

I did some traveling for work, but the highlight of our month was our trip to Connecticut. This was our fourth year in a row visiting Lauren and Matthew over the Thanksgiving weekend; and it has turned in to one of our favorite traditions. This year, we decided to rent a car while we were there, so we could take a day trip up the coast. Our first stop was Jamestown, Rhode Island -- followed by a drive through Newport. 

Honestly, Rhode Island was hands-down one of the most beautiful places I've ever had the opportunity to visit. Between the cliffs, the history, and the colonial homes -- I was sold, and Jeff couldn't stop trying to guess how many fireplaces were in each mansion. We are definitely going back. 

We also drove to Boston and walked the Freedom Trail. Jeff's inner history-buff was in heaven.

We had a really great trip, mainly because of this guy. "Uncccccllleeee Jefffffffffff..."

November was a wild month; but we could not be more excited about each step we take. I have to say, home ownership is not for the birds!

We are really looking forward to spending our first Christmas in the new house. We have a lot to be grateful for this holiday season, and I cannot wait to celebrate with friends and family. 

This weekend, we'll be pulling out all of the holiday decorations and putting up the first of many Christmas trees in the formal living room. We are pretty excited -- I promise to post photos! 

All our love, 

Ryan and Jeff