So, I have mentioned my 15 new best friends - the moms and dad on the 2009 Disney Moms Panel. 

To borrow a phrase the wisdom of which was imparted to me by my friends Whitney and Jennifer, bless their hearts (which is Southern, apparently, for are these people bat shit crazy??).  These women - and Doug - are convinced that we can make our presence known at the Expedition Everest 5K in September.  Now, I believe I’d make an excellent water hander outer, but really, I’d love to be able to do this.  It’s 3 miles, and if I survive the heart attack and the stroke I know I’ll suffer at about the end of the first mile, I might be able to crawl the other two miles.

But this brings me to my training regimine.  Right now, I am doing the Wii Fit, because, frankly, it’s cold outside, and I don’t like the cold - not even with a latte in hand.  So yesterday, my first day on the Wii Fit I think since Bush was in the White House (the other one), I ran the short distance.  I felt like I really accomplished something, as I did it without passing out or throwing up.  And it didn’t seem too bad.  So today, I decided to do the Island lap.  As soon I saw the distance bar across the bottom of the screen, I knew I had made a mistake, but I was determined.

After running what seemed like 437 miles, I finished.  I was so proud of myself for not dropping dead on the living room floor, in front of Granuaile!  But even though it gives you all sorts of little stars and happy sunshine and rainbows for your achievement, it doesn’t tell you what you’ve achieved.

Does anyone know - how do you know how far you are running on the Wii Fit?  Did I seriously do 437 miles, or should I keep practicing for that September 5K.  Bless their hearts.

Well, lucky you!  Not only am I not organized enough to get my end of the year family report into our Christmas cards, my kids are amazingly average and my husband, who is only typically here on the weekends anyway, acts as if housework might be linked to an immediately deadly form of some God awful disease.  So you have to come to the right place to avoid all those sunshine and rainbow end of year newsletters.

Having said that, though, it’s been one amazing year at our house!  By far, the biggest news of the year is NO MORE DIAPERS!!  Granuaile, the hardest of my three girls to potty train, is house broken!  We tried everything, but the thing that finally kicked in for her was something my friend Bec from OMOM (hi, Bec!!) used for her son, Thane.  We did a kitchen timer - you know, the ones you wind up to the time you want, and then they ring?  At one point during the training process, she was coming in and setting the clock so she could go to the potty - it was cute!  She is dry, day and night, and we’re out of diapers and pull-ups.  It’s a little bittersweet.  My last baby, potty trained :-(  Okay, I’m over it

Brighid decided to be a Marine, not be a Marine, go to boot camp and field operations training, be a Marine, then not be a Marine this year.  Whew, am I relieved!  She actually did phenomenally well at boot camp, and won the award of Overall Outstanding Cadet out of 180 kids - mostly boys. 

Then she went to San Luis Obispo, CA for field ops, where she got dehydrated to the point that her veins collapsed and they couldn’t start an IV for rehydration fluids.  That pretty much convinced her she might rather be a lawyer than a Marine.  Semper Fi, y’all.

Eilis had a great time with two weeks at SeaWorld camp.  She loves the place, and after a day there, feels much like she owns the joint.  She spent one week with the theme Red, White, and Shamu, but it was the next week - What’s For Lunch? that she really enjoyed. 

She’ll be making First Holy Communion in a few months, and made her first confession in early December.  Of course, the day after her first Confession, she asked me to steal Cinderella’s nail polish from my stay at the castle suite.  I guess she figured she should have something to confess the next time she went.  Or is that my crime??  Wait a minute……

Jim continued working in the midwest, and he participated in both of the summer trainings Brighid did.  He served as an instructor both at the Great Lakes Naval Training Station and at Field Ops.  And he’s still got those dimples to die for.  Swoon.

We took an amazing trip that included a few days in Rome - thank you very much to our driver friend Manilo Tranquili for his wonderful guided tour of the city and of Castel Gandolfo.  We had a terrific time.  Isn’t he a cutie??  Dark hair, piercing eyes, chiseled good looks… you have to love Italian men!

After a few days in Italy, we toured the British Isles.  I blogged about the trip.  Look back, you’ll see it.  I don’t want to over-use the word amazing, but it was.  Amazing.  Oh my gosh, this is turning into one of those family holiday letters, isn’t it???

I continued to puruse my career goal as a professional - as in people give me money for it!! - writer.  I did well this year!  In addition to work for my brother-in-law (maybe soon to be ex-brother-in-law, but that’s a whole ‘nother blog post) and the Virginia National Guard, I’ve written speeches for a former US Ambassador and helped build too many websites to count.  So if you’re surfing the web for information on theme weddings; surrealist art; Clark Gable; Lowell, MA; or any number of other topics, chances are, you will come across articles I’ve written. 

My big news of the year comes as a result of both my abilities as a writer and my love of all things Disney.  After submitting essays to Disney as an application for the 2009 Walt Disney World Moms Panel, I was surprised to get an email telling me I had been elevated to the second round.  They needed 3 more essays, but they needed them right in the middle of me having to do a 10 minute speech for someone on the financial future of Ireland.  I knew I blew it - my answers were a little smart ass-y and sarcastic - definitely NOT Disney-like.  I was floored when I was asked to schedule a telephone interview, and was in such a panic doing the interview, I thought I bombed.  When they asked me how I might explain to people how they could make Disney affordable in this economic climate, I suggested not buying the way over priced Disney souvenirs.  Way to endear myself to the Mouse House, no?  I waited one long, agonizing week before being called and told I was on the panel!  I had an awesome training weekend (yeah, I blogged it, go read), have 14 new best girlfriends, and a guy friend who is almost as sarcastic as I am :-)  And now, for a year, I’m answering vacation planning questions at www.disneyworldmoms.com .  Go visit me, ask me questions, and PLEASE give me good feedback

We closed the year out with another cruise to the Caribbean.  It was just what I hoped it would be - quiet and relaxing, no rushing to tour anything, just casual walks off the ship and through Cozumel and Key West.  I’d like to go away again next year the same week.  It was a nice way to kick off the holiday season.

So that’s it - our year in review. 

From Jim and I, along with Brighid, Eilis, and Granuaile, we wish you a healthy, prosperous New Year.  To my Irish friends, Athbhliain faoi mhaise daoibh.  And to my Italian friends (did I mention I took Italian classes for a little while this year?) Felice Anno Nuovo.

Of course, the night we had tickets, we forgot, and had to call the theatre and re-book.  We’re such idiots sometimes.

This was well worth the wait - and the expense - of rebooking!!  Highlights of the show included Michael Walker, portraying matriarch Edna Turnblad.  Funny, with a believable maternal tenderness, Walker’s Edna was a character to remember.  And as a mom to a daughter who is better than average in the size department, seeing Amy Toporek’s Tracy Turnblad was an absolute delight!  She rocked the role as the plus sized, but determined to find her way in the spotlight of acceptance, Tracy. 

The only complaint I have is possibly the busy curtain in front of which a good bit of the action took place.  Not necessary.

Eilis was so in love with this show, we almost bought tickets to see it again a second time.  We may still before the run is over - it really was that good.  Energetic, uplifting, and always nice to see plus sized girls get the guy, get the respect, and get the spotlight.

As a child, I had a grandmother who LOVED to buy us dresses.  Every Christmas and Easter, she would go to the Ugly Dress Shop and purchase for my sister Bean and I the most horrible creations ever produced by the early 70’s designers.  The dresses were always itchy, uncomfortable, God awful patterned monstrosities that sometimes actually fit us.

My mother had no trouble telling us how butt ugly these dresses were.  But she told us AFTER we got them home, away from my grandmother.  My mother never made us wear the dresses, but when my grandmother gave them to us, we had to be polite, be gracious, thank her, and act as if she were handing us an original Dolce and Gabbana couture collection gown.  So we did. 

It was that way with any gift we received.  If it was something we didn’t want or didn’t need, my mother would help us find someone to re-gift an item to.  If it was something that didn’t fit us, it would get passed on to someone that it would fit.  But NEVER did you tell someone you didn’t appreciate the thought behind the gift by telling them to their face that you didn’t want the gift.

Well, apparently, this particular lesson was lost on my husband.  He sees absolutely NO problem with telling someone to just give him cash for an occasion (which we were NEVER allowed to do in our house), or telling them once they’ve given him something “Thanks, but I don’t want it.” 

I cringe everytime someone gives Jim a gift.  I think it’s so rude to show anything but appreciation that someone has taken the time and effort to purchase something with you in mind. 

So, someone tell me I’m right!  Those that side with Jim will have access only to my blogs about bad restaurants, boring movies, and rotten kids.

Let’s just say that there won’t be much business from our family coming towards any incarnation of the Carnival Vacation Club.  To begin with, salespeople wearing Carnival Cruise Line uniforms pitch this program to you, and every piece of documentation features the Carnival Logo.  But this is NOT Carnival.  If you try in any way to get satisfaction for the disaster that is the Carnival Vacation Club through the cruise line, they will not be able to offer you any assistance. 

My in-laws used their points to book a trip for 7 of us on the Grand Princess.  We jumped through hoops to get people to call us back, to address issues, to fix problems.  We called the vacation club, we called the cruise line, we called Carnival, and left more messages in hopes of getting return phone calls than we could keep track of.

The free airline certificates that were promised to my in-laws never materialized, and the resort vacations were so limited in availability and location, that they were completely useless.  The cruise ended up costing them all of their points, plus additional thousands of dollars, but the insult in the whole thing is the fact that the cruise could have been purchased for less money in cash than in what was paid for in points.  Even the guy on the phone at the vacation club cautioned us not to buy more points to cover the additional passengers, warning us that it would be more money to buy the points than to pay for the cruise outright.

It’s nothing but a scam, and the fact that Carnival has accepted money to allow these people to use their name, their logo, and their uniform is an embarrassment to a reputable company.  I don’t know what is being pitched now to unsuspecting, happy cruisers, looking for a bargain and a way to enjoy a discounted vacation in the future, but beware.  Don’t sign anything until you’ve done your homework - and that should convince you that your signature is way too valuable to put on any Carnival Vacation Club documents.

Sleeping Beauty

Anyway, if I get nothing else, I wanted to stock up on holiday paper goods for the party I insist I am not having next year.  And I love to pick up wrapping paper at 70% off!  I had to pick up a few rolls this year, and hate paying $3 a roll for paper that is going to be ripped and shredded all over the house.

We had a very nice time at my mom’s on Christmas eve.  The girls got some wonderful gifts, and I got a cute leather jacket.  We had my mom’s traditional ham and potato salad, but there was also roast turkey and all kinds of snacks, cookies, and chocolates.  I know why I needed gastric bypass surgery!  We came home to find, as usual, Mrs. Claus has been here while we were away!  She always leaves us one gift to open up on Christmas Eve, and it is always Christmas pajamas for everyone!

The kids actually slept pretty good on Christmas morning.  Eilis and Jim were up first, but it wasn’t long before they were looking for Granuaile and I.

   Little did they know that it’s not a good thing to wake Granuaile before she has had the appropriate amount of unconscious time.

Brighid was the last one to come down the stairs, and she immediately begins regretting asking Mrs. Claus for those cute little boxer short Christmas PJs and wishes she had warm toasty PJs like the rest of us!

The kids all had a great time opening gifts - and it took a good two hours for them to get through the pile!

They’ve been playing Rock Band pretty much non-stop since yesterday afternoon.  I have been praying for an agent to come here and take them on tour.  No, seriously, get these people out of my house! 

We opted not to cook a big meal on Christmas day and have snack foods instead.  It sounded like a good plan to begin with, but it ended up being cook-a-palooza for me!  I made a big breakfast, which I usually do on Christmas day (scrapple, grits, eggs, cinnamon buns); and then made dips, appetizers, cheese platters, grape pizza, and zucchini squares.  It was way more time in the kitchen than it would have been if I had thrown a ham in the oven and kept it there.  But everyone enjoyed the food!

Brighid was the first to fall asleep - on the sofa around 7 PM.  I went up to bed around 8:45, watched a little TV, then fell asleep.  Jim came up after Eilis fell asleep on the chair downstairs, and Granuaile followed.

It was a Merry Christmas - peaceful, quiet, and wonderful fun for the girls.  And that’s really what Christmas is all about.

It’s so wonderful to have all three of my girls here with me.  I don’t know what next Christmas holds for this family.  Brighid will be well into her freshman year at college, and while I hope and pray and have sacrificed the necessary gifts to the gods of Please Don’t Let My Kid Forget About Me When She Moves Out, you just don’t know what her life has in store for her for next year.  This truly could be the last Christmas I have them all here, under my roof, able to enjoy being together.

Well damn, I just made myself so teary, I can’t see the mistakes I’m making!!

So, Mrs. Claus has chosen some lovely pajamas for everyone, and she will leave them on the steps while they are at Dram’s today for Christmas eve dinner.  That is the only gift they are allowed to unwrap Christmas eve.  Eilis has a plan to fall asleep under the table, so she is certain to wake up when Santa gets here.  I think this is her last year to believe.  She’s asking for photographic evidence of reindeer on our rooftop this year, so we may have to have the talk where you threaten to break limbs if the older sibling reveals to the younger sibling that there is no fat guy coming to eat the cookies and leave presents. 

If you have ever received a written invitation to our annual holiday party, you know I have a collection of holiday quotes that I love, and I’m gratetful to have the opportunity to use them this time of year!  This is one of my favorites, by Hamilton Wright Mabie -

We’re having our annual holiday open house tomorrow.  So far, we have about 80 people who have RSVPd, but we generally end up with a few more or a few less, depending on the weather and cold season.  The year it was 60 degrees and sunny, we had more than 130 people!! 

As it is Christmas, I have been trying to teach Granuaile about the baby Jesus, and what Christmas means, and how this is Jesus’ birthday and all that sort of stuff.  She really seemed to be grasping things.  I thought.

So, my stepmother came over the other day to help me get ready for the party.  And Granuaile attaches herself to Ann like velcro.  And she is telling her all about our party, and how it’s Baby Jesus’ birthday, and it’s going to be a great party, with Granuaile and Baby Jesus playing all day long and into the wee hours of the morning.

Yes.  Somehow, the kid thinks there will really be a baby Jesus showing up here tomorrow to have Happy Birthday sung to him and to play with her.

How do you disappoint this little face??