Sleigh bells ring, are you listening?

Molls met her first horse today.

The horse's name was Sherlock Holmes



Happy holidays!



The great outdoors

We're in heaven here in sunny Florida. It's not beach weather, but has been absolutely perfect for taking walks, riding bikes, and playing tennis ... and we are all taking full advantage. Molly demands at least 3 wagon rides per day and spends the rest of her time running around on the back porch. Jason, Sean, Betsy, Archie, and I have been playing tennis at every opportunity. And we've even fired up the hot tub to give Molls a swim.  The best part is, we're here till Jan 2.

I forgot my camera at home, so will have to collect photos from Betsy and Jason from Christmas. There are many good ones to share! Attached is one of Molly and I with my Grandma, Mom, and Aunt Suzie.

The problem with multitasking ...

In my rush to get holiday cards in the mail, I accidentally put the stamps in the wrong corner. What makes this even more embarrassing is that this late in December, all the post office had left were wedding stamps. SO, friends and family, if the post office does indeed hand sort my cards, you may eventually get an adorable pic of Molly in an envelope with a big white cake in the left hand corner. Or not. Yes, I am a working Mom.

Merry early Christmas

Since we're heading to Florida for Christmas, we decided to celebrate early and give Molly a week to play with her toys before having to leave most of them behind. The gift opening was fun and Molly definitely understood what she was supposed to do -- as soon as we gave her permission to tear into the gifts, she got down to business. She's been a playing machine ever since! I've never seen her so serious...check it out:

The fam (a few nights before "Christmas")

What's in the bag?

Focus

Focus

Peekaboo!

Wouldn't be Christmas without something from Nebraska

Molly approves

Legos!

Molly in action with her new picnic basket:

Although it looks like Christmas was all about Molly, Jason and I ended up with some good loot too. I can't wait to start using my new pink iPod Nano. Thanks Jason!

Merry early Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Headbangers ball

Love this band. Love this girl. Enjoy:

To watch the real video and see what's making Molly so happy, check out Jason's blog.

Supermom gets taken down by kryptonite

What happened to me? Within an hour of writing that blog post, I was taken down by some kind of food poisoning or flu! All that hard work baking, and I wasn't even able to drop off the homemade goodies! Jason still took the gifts in this AM, while I was wallowing in bed recovering from a sleepless night, but he had to replace the adorable penguin containers with a box of cookies from the grocery store. That whole supermom feeling didn't last long... But now Jason can feel like a superdad after picking up the pieces and saving the day on the gifts!

Supermom

Yes, I am feeling a little proud of myself, but I totally kicked butt on the holiday gifts for the Penguins class teachers. Stocking stuffers, gift cards, homemade cupcakes and cookies, all in penguin-themed Tupperware and gift bags, and all organized/purchased/baked by ME. If I can't brag on the blog, where else can I brag?

Lil' kicker

This year, Molly's daycare scored big points by hosting the holiday party at an indoor soccer facility. Perfect setting for a bunch of 1- to 4-year old kids who are sick of being cooped up in city condos for the winter. Molly had a blast running around and yelling "ball, ball, ball!" And Jason was happy to see his little girl get excited about his favorite sport.

Not exactly thrilled to meet Santa...

SO happy to have a chance to play soccer

Molly in action. We didn't get any footage of her actually kicking the ball, but I think you can tell from this clip how happy she was to be there:

We're still a few months away from Molly being old enough to participate in group soccer lessons. But we'll get her signed up as soon as she hits the 18-month mark!

A good report

Big day today for the Molls. School pictures came back and we had our winter quarter parent-teacher conference. After a rocky transition, it seems like Molly has adjusted well to the Penguins class and has been having lots of fun. She's been singing, dancing, learning new words (add "apple" to the list!), participating in circle time, enjoying the various art projects, reading, eating, and napping like a champ. All without the pacifier!

16 months and proud of it

She's very into having fun right now and loves being chased, lifted, bounced, or turned upside down. We've also had great success with youtube. The chicken dance is a big hit (Molly can even do the moves) as well as a song called "We Are the Dinosaurs." She likes to march.

Molly still doesn't like when the boys try to hug her...and they ALL try to hug her. But I can live with that :) My girl just needs her space!

Little penguins

What I'm thankful for

Life is pretty good right now, and I have much to be thankful for this holiday season. At the top of the list, obviously, are Jason and Molly. We're a happy little family unit, made even happier by the purchase of the Medium Green Egg smoker, which helped us make the best Thanksgiving turkey we've ever had.

Jason, Molls, and the Egg

Of course I'm also thankful for my 2 beautiful sisters and that they are both living in/near Chicago. It makes it easy for my parents (who I am also thankful for) to come visit and see all of us at once.

Sus, B, Mom, Molly, and Me

Now that we're finished with Thanksgiving...time to get in the Christmas spirit :) The stockings are hung by the chimney, with care, and we're picking up the tree tomorrow. Woo hoo! 

All business...

Jason and I finally decided it was time to snip the party in the back of Molly's hair and get rid of the mullet once and for all. Unfortunately, cutting a toddler's hair is much more difficult than expected. Molly no longer has a tail, but one side is longer than the other, and there are a couple of chunks in the back that look like they were hacked off at random. That's because they were. Poor kid... Now I know why children's hair salons like Snippets are in business!

Yes, I'm still cute

No more mullet!

What's cooking?

With my family, Thanksgiving is all about the sides. Cornbread, stuffing, cranberries, potatoes, green bean casserole. Need I go on? We are also pretty particular about our pies. Mocha pie and apple pie are served every Thanksgiving. No pumpkin. And if you put a piece of cheese on your pie, my mom will give you a dirty look.

Because no one is really all that into the bird, Jason and I have spent the last few years experimenting. We've had some highs (beer can chicken) and some lows (turducken), but every year has been fun trying out a new recipe. Except, of course, the year I had the flu.

This Thanksgiving, in honor of our obsession with Top Chef, we're going to try a Rick Bayless recipe -- Mesquite-smoked grilled turkey with red chile adobo sauce (see page 2 of this article). Why not? It can't be worse than the turducken. And by cooking the turkey on the grill, it frees up the oven for our delicious sides :) Wish us luck!

National Blog Posting Month

I guess November is National Blog Posting Month (NaBloPoMo) and I should be writing a post a day. Ack! Missed the boat on that one. I promise to do it next year. Or maybe I'll just do it next month instead. My own personal Blog Posting Month :)

If you follow this blog, you'll know that I usually only manage one or two posts a week, and that lately, I've basically just been posting pictures of Molly. Family members are probably okay with that, but I feel like I should be writing more. I want to write more.

Now that I have tendinitis in my wrist, I have fewer excuses for not blogging. I can't play tennis (though I could still go to the gym...). I can't knit. So I might as well update my blog! Jason is traveling the next couple of days, so look forward to new posts about Top Chef, football, and whatever else pops in my head after Molly goes to bed.

Speaking of the Molls, I'll leave you with this:

The Vipper of Vip, wearing a cape of her own design, at Chloe's 3rd birthday party

Snuggle up

I've never been a big snuggler. Ask my mother. Ask my husband. But now that I have a 1-year-old in fleece pajamas, my world has changed. How could I not love cuddling up with this adorable little girl??

Happiness is a warm baby

Second cousins

While I was getting ready with Lauren and the other bridesmaids on Saturday, Jason took Molly out for ice cream (Graeter's!) and then over to play with her cousin Ella. Well, technically, they are second cousins if I can trust the 'cousin chart' and kinship definitions on Wikipedia :) I think I probably can.

I loved Emily's email about the weekend:

Here are some of the pictures of Ella and Molly together from Saturday. They really enjoyed playing together. And we got the biggest kick out of watching them eat together. Ella had to eat everything that Molly ate and served the same way as Molly was served. It was great to watch!

-Emily

P.S. I think Molly needs a dog!

First taste of the good stuff

Ella, Molly, and Uncle Neal in the sandbox

Competitive toddler eating -- who can take down the most peas?

Adorable times two

Chillin' with Sadie and Uncle Neal

Snuggling with Sadie and Uncle Neal :) 

More fun times with Ella  and one of the dogs...probably Sadie (Molly's favorite)

Beautiful bride

I can't believe it -- all of my close friends from high school are married! Last weekend was Lauren's wedding in Cincinnati. We wined and dined on the Kentucky side of the river on Fri night and then danced the night away at Hyde Park Country Club on Sat.

Lauren (and her mom, and probably Steve) put in so much work making every detail of the wedding absolutely perfect. The flowers were gorgeous, the food was delicious, and the band was awesome. I'm pissed I forgot to bring home a jar of the homemade pepper jam they had as a wedding favor. Oh well!

Anyway, it was a wonderful wedding and I'm so happy I got to be part of it!

Rehearsal dinner on the river

Dana and LT

Getting hitched! At St Xavier in Cincinnati, OH

Linds and Dana -- looking lovely. I had a pretty purple dress too, but no pictures to prove it!

A double dose of Halloween

This year, Molly got to sport her costume twice -- once at the daycare Harvest Fest on Thursday and also at our very own O'Grady costume party last night. Molls was a pretty serious Pebbles at the Harvest Fest. But I think by the party on Saturday, she was used to the whole costume thing and had a good time running around and enjoying the tricks and the treats. It probably helped that she had Fred and Wilma by her side on Saturday, and her Grandma and Grandpa, too! 

Hanging out at the Harvest Fest

Costume parade...pretty much just looks like a bunch of parents walking with kids in coats :)

Urban trick or treating -- how many kids can you cram in an apartment hallway?

Sponge Marsha Square Pants trying to pick up Pebbles' trail of treats

Yabba dabba doo!

Meet the O'Flintstones

A big crowd for a little condo

The Denver post - part II (2 little pumpkins)

We ended up going to the pumpkin patch on our last day in Denver, so of course we ended up with some adorable pictures. I'll keep the writing on this post short because the Project Runway finale is starting and I want to be able to give it my full attention :) But I don't think anyone checks out this blog for the prose anyway...

The oldest O'Grady brothers and their little pumpkins. Hats courtesy of Grandma Lynette... awww!

Molly decided to crash Jeremy and Megan's family photo

Our happy family -- check out those mountains in the background! 

All tuckered out on the plane ride home after a wonderful vacation :)

The Denver post - part I

We're taking so many good pictures, I think I will have to put together at least 2 posts from this trip to Denver -- our first visit to meet Will! Without further ado, here is my ADORABLE nephew (and Jeremy):

Awww! Guess who knit that sweater? 

We arrived Friday morning, after a pretty easy flight with a very well behaved Molly, and headed straight over to Megan and Jeremy's new house in Stapleton. Jeremy was there to greet us at the door, with Will in his arms, and Jason and I were quick to jump at the chance to hold him for the first time. I know Molly was that size, at one point, but it's like I don't even remember it!

We've been busy this weekend -- parks, Aunt Kathy's art exhibit, good food, and lots of time with family. Molly was able to hang out with 2 of her great-grandmas, and also her great-great grandpa Joe. If only Steve was here, we could have taken another 5 generations photo! We took a few 4 generations photos though, which I will include in post #2.

Sliding through the rocks. Wheeee!

Dinner out -- Molls and Will just chillin' at the table with everyone

So happy to be here!

Great-great grandpa Joe, Molly, Jeremy, and Will

A tale of too many servings

I've been wanting to go to Publican for a while now, so was very excited when Susie decided to celebrate her birthday there. 

The birthday girl, and Sean, at Publican

We all enjoyed the dinner, but made a few rookie mistakes. I think the next time we go there will be better. First of all, I probably won't go back with more than 6 people. We had a party of 8 (me, Jason, Susie, Sean, Betsy, Archie, and my parents) and with the communal seating, long tables, and high ceilings, it was really hard to talk to everyone. Second, I don't think I will order anything from the seafood side of the menu. The meat dishes were sooo much better than the fish dishes. No question.

We also had a bit of an ordering mix up, that I think was probably my fault since I was in charge of ordering :) I chose 7 dishes and 2 vegetable sides to share -- but since we had a party of 8, the waiter thought I wanted 2 servings of everything. By the third dish, we were all getting full and starting to worry about how much more we had coming. I was expecting small plates and every course was coming out family style! Luckily we figured out the problem and were able to cancel the double orders. Needless to say, we all walked out of there completely stuffed!

The highlights of the night included the Brussels sprouts (who knew!?), the squash, the pork tenderloin, and the lamb curry. I also really enjoyed the ham plate as a starter. Oh, and the sweetbreads were very good too, so long as I didn't think too much about what I was eating :) 

Happy birthday, Sus! And thanks for the extravagant, and I'm sure very expensive meal, Dad!