Getting ready for Santa

It's been a very full and busy day in the kitchen this Christmas Eve. The girls baked cookies, made fudge (which didn't set and got tossed out), baked pizza muffins for lunch, and helped Bryan as he made four batches of peanut brittle. Meanwhile I made Paleo apple muffins for breakfast, a Paleo breakfast casserole, and three pies for tomorrow.

We attended the 8:30 p.m. Christmas Eve Mass and Cameron altar served. The combined adult choirs performed for about thirty minutes before Mass and overwhelmed all of us with a beautiful Hallelujah Chorus after Communion. Surprisingly it wasn't crowded at all; there were plenty of seats available. The downpour and lightening outside may have discouraged some from attending. After Mass, the girls were excited to get things ready for Santa's arrival. Brenna placed a cookie and peanut brittle piece, alongside the milk. Cameron created a cross as a gift for Santa.

Bryan opened up the fireplace and set out towels for Santa's wet feet....

Merry Christmas Eve. Sweet dreams to all!

Slump It Fuse It

The WAVE program at Westbrook includes creative mini-courses that rotate every 9 weeks. Cameron gets to request certain classes, though there is no guarantee she'll be assigned to her first choice.

The first 9 weeks she did KWIS news, a short television news program. For that class she worked on-screen doing the weather and behind the camera (literally) as cameraman.

She started this 9 weeks with a 4.5 week "Creativity" course (her 7th choice) and is ending with her first pick, a course called "Slump It Fuse It."

She had to put together a box with gloves, goggles, and apron because they were working with glass. Today she brought home her first project (of two) and I'm super impressed!

I don't know whether you can see the details of this pretty glass, but she cut clear glass and colored glass, added frit (green dots), and full fused it in a kiln. How cool is this!

Brenna's Love Note

Brenna set up this little love note for me using the magnetic poetry set I received years ago from Dove. Can you read it? "mom has unique beauty love daughters". She shaped the rest of the words into a heart.

Parker Grace

Congratulations to Amanda & Brad as they welcome their daughter, Parker Grace. Cameron and Brenna are thrilled to have their first Kelly cousin, born Wednesday, November 24,at 4:23 pm. weighing 8 lbs. 5.3 oz., and measuring 20.5 inches.

Even Bryan was very moved when he received the news. He commented that it was a little different for him since this is his first niece on his side of the family, his brother's child.

When Brad called last night, I could hear the emotion in Bryan's voice and it reminded me of vividly of when he called his mother after Cameron was born.

We both spent a lot time thinking and talking about Donna and how much this new granddaughter would mean to her. We'll all make sure that Parker knows something about her Grandma Donna.

Welcome little Parker! We can't wait to meet you and for a moment be one big Kelly family.

Pumpkin patch

Another year at the pumpkin patch, but this year they don't look like little girls anymore at all.

Chess Club

I've been meaning to post that shortly after school started, Brenna brought home several notices about school clubs she could join. Several of these meet after school (3-4 p.m.)which makes it pretty difficult for a working mom to allow her to participate since the daycare van only picks up right after school.

One club meets in the morning, before school, though they select their members by seniority (returning members) and then by a lottery (draw names.) Brenna expressed an interest, and I signed the permission form. She came home a few days later thrilled beyond belief because her name was chosen for the .... chess club!

Every Tuesday and Thursday she arrives at school before 7:30 in order to play chess with other members for thirty minutes. Apparently there is a "chess master" (volunteer) who goes around watching them play games, teaches them moves, and sometimes plays against a student. She's learned quite a bit and loves showing off her new strategies and skills.

Happy Halloween!!

Cameron & Brenna are enjoying another year of Trick or Treating in our neighborhood. We had to quell Brenna's desire for a scary, bloody, mask or frightening character. She settled on a Ninja costume, but we couldn't find one in her size. Then she discovered this Astrid costume (from the movie How to Train Your Dragon). In case you're unfamiliar with the movie, here's a picture of the character. She's a young viking girl who is tough, energetic, and beautiful with a strong and determined persona. Sound like anyone in this family?? Cameron chose the Mad Scientist idea several weeks ago, though we waited until the last minute to try and find a white lab coat. Ultimately we had to brave the crowds at Party City, but Bryan had gloves and safety goggles to complete the outfit. Cameron tried to make her hair wild and Bryan added the name tag "D. Mento, Scientist."

Bryan took them around the street for about 45 minutes and they returned with a few pounds of sugar. Any bets how long it will take for them to get in bed and settle down?

Brenna's school picture

We finally received Brenna's 3rd grade school photo. It took me by surprise to see that she looks so much older than her 2nd grade photo. I allowed Brenna to select the background color, though it surprised me she chose this one over the blue. She went to school with the outer shirt unbuttoned and opened so you could see her necklace and the "Dream Big" t-shirt underneath. I have no idea why she buttoned it up so high.

Cameron's school picture

How awesome is this?

Cameron's middle school takes their individual photo during the second week of school in order to add the image to the required student ID badge. Is it just a mother's bias or is she just that photogenic? I think she's gorgeous and I'm starting to see her "adult" face emerging out of her youthful childish one.

Happy Birthday Cameron!

Another year passes and Cameron is now 11. One of these days I'm going to wake up and she'll be graduating high school, turning 21, getting married, etc. I wonder if this is how my mom felt.

For her birthday we bought Cameron a desk for her bedroom, to create a personal space for her homework and studying; however, I try to have just a little something to open on her actual birthday. Earlier this summer I won a Twitter contest from MckMama and planned to give the prize to Cameron for her birthday, but it hadn't arrived! With perfect timing, the box showed up on the doorstep late this afternoon.

Cameron really likes the young Christian singing trio known as PureNRG and her gift was an autographed CD prize pack.

Happy Birthday Cameron!!

Cameron & the Cello

You may remember going into middle school and having to choose one elective. Last Spring when we read through all the options: Art, Theater Arts, Band, Orchestra, Choir, Cameron had a difficult time choosing just one. Just one. It's kind of like the Robert Frost poem - Two Roads Diverged in a Yellow Wood, and sorry I could not travel both... So she waivered between Art, Theater Arts, and Music.

I pushed a little. I simply told her that if she's ever wanted to learn to play an instrument other than the piano...EVER... then she had to take either Band or Orchestra in sixth grade. She would never have this opportunity again, where if she takes a year of music and decides it's not her thing, she can move into another elective and know that she tried an instrument once. (For the record, in our personal middle school experiences Bryan took band/percussion and I took choir.)

Cameron chose Orchestra, specifically the Cello. It's a beautiful instrument.

Because she can't take the instrument on the school bus, we rent one from a family-owned violin shop in Pasadena for Cameron to practice at home. She uses a school instrument during class-time. Wednesday we brought it home for the first time.

Cameron had a long list of rules to tell us about handling the cello. First, always take the bow out of the case before removing the cello. It's also the last thing to be packed.

When you need to rest your cello, never stand it up and lean it against a chair or couch. You're supposed to lay it on the long side with the strings facing away from any walkway. You don't want to accidentally walk past and knock into the strings.

She has a block of rosin for the bow. I never knew that you used rosin for anything other than your dance shoes!

She showed us how to hold the bow and draw it across the strings. Brenna and I also learned the names of the strings. For some reason I expected the sound to be screechy, but Cameron played a recognizable "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" without any "feedback" sound.



I'm looking forward to... listening ... to her grow and learn more about music and this instrument.

Happy 8th Birthday Brenna!

As I drove Brenna to school this morning, I asked her how it felt to be eight years old. Just like her Daddy, she said to me, "But Mom, I'm won't be eight until this afternoon." (when she was born)

I surprised her during her school lunch to hand out chocolate-chocolate chip cookies for her classmates. After school, she excitedly told us that she was the first person in her class to get a "Birthday Bonus" of $10 Kubena cash, which is half of her weekly librarian earnings.

Despite an intense work week, Bryan surprised us by arriving home in time to join us for Brenna's special birthday dinner.

Brenna received her main birthday present last weekend: new blue bedding to replace her old pink Disney princess cover. I felt it was important that she have something small to open along with her card.

She loved getting new doll clothes for her Our Generation doll. This year Brenna chose Cafe Express for her birthday dinner. Immediately after this photo, she opened the door over her foot, scraping the top.

Papa and Nana called to sing their Happy Birthday wishes while we were at dinner. I'm not sure what they were saying (or singing) exactly, but Brenna laughed and laughed.


After dinner she couldn't decide between Baskin Robbins or iYougart. Bryan and Brenna flipped a coin (Heads I win, tails you lose) and Brenna wanted to be surprised at the answer. We were so busy chatting in the car that she didn't realize we were at Baskin Robbins until we got out!

After eating her "Birthday Cake" ice cream, she declared today to be her "Best Birthday Ever!"

Happy 8th Birthday Brenna Sue!

School Days

Both of the girls had a great first day of school. Brenna loves her teacher; she gushed about how they wrote out applications for class jobs to earn Kubena Cash that they can use to purchase special items--like sitting next to a friend--or cool stuff from a class store. Brenna applied for the jobs of Computer Technician, Librarian, and Banker. In addition to the benefits, bad conduct marks are accompanied by a citation carrying a fine to be paid from their "cash."

Cameron rides the bus to WAVE in the morning. During homeroom she swapped out her top locker for one on the bottom. Last week at WolfCamp she became very concerned when we discovered she was too short to see the combination lock to open the locker. Cameron also received her revised schedule reflecting the correct Orchestra period - the draft schedule placed her in Viola lessons. We rented a cello.

Yesterday one of the boys in her carpool joined a number of others who missed the bus from WAVE, so Cameron waited with the carpool mom until they found out what happened and that the school was sending another bus around. Eventually she made it to the neighbor's house, arriving just a few minutes before me!

Today both girls reported good days again, though I can tell they're more tired.

Brenna received her classroom job today - Librarian. Naturally I found some sweetness in this since it's a close relative to my own career as Archivist. Then the irony slapped me full in the face. Brenna will be responsible for organizing her class books? This is my daughter who takes books from her own bookcase, reads from multiple titles at a time, stacks them up on her bed frame shelf, her dresser top, the floor, until I have told her repeatedly to put them away. Repeatedly to the point that eventually I put them away for her. Will being "class librarian" rub off on her, providing the desire to put away her own books? I'm hopeful, but not optimistic.

Cameron submited her first & second choices for the WAVE 9-week mini-course offered every M-W-F morning. I believe she told me she marked the TV News as her first choice, though it's limited to 24 students. Her second choice is a writing mini-course where you choose some fanciful other-worldly writing topic. Selections will be published in the Westbrook Journal in May. (Can we say "just like her mother?") Other mini-course options she expressed an interest in included Photoshop, Stained Glass, and Videography.

For the past two nights I've plowed through stacks of paperwork requiring my signature: proof of residency, language spoken at home, ethnicity/race required reporting, phone numbers x3 for 2, alternate contacts. I've written checks for Orchestra Booster, PTA, Orchestra Polo shirt, school pictures, mini-course supplies fees, and probably one or two more that aren't coming to mind.

I hope the rest of the week continues on such a positive note.

New Beginnings

And they're off! Back to school for another year. Where does the time go??

Though we are zoned for Space Center Intermediate school, Cameron will be attending the GT special WAVE program at Westbrook. Instead of starting at 9 a.m., WAVE begins at 8 a.m. and they bus GT kids from the zoned schools to WIS. Also, I've already noticed a marked difference in the level of maturity between GT kids and regular middle schoolers. I'm hopeful that will go a long way towards making Cameron feel more independent, self-confident, and assured.

She had a little trouble going to sleep last night, but woke on time and quickly got ready. By the time I made it into the kitchen, Cameron had already fixed breakfast for all three of us.

We're not dropping her off at the zoned school, choosing to use the bus from the school closer to our house. We left with plenty of time to figure out the new drop-off procedure. I noticed several other students that we know, so she shouldn't have been too uncomfortable figuring out which bus to get on.

Meanwhile Brenna and I parked across the street and watched to see what time the bus actually pulls away from the school. Brenna became a little sad when she realized Cameron forgot to tell her goodbye, but the feeling was short-lived because we headed over to the elementary school. It feels very strange to have my girls in two different schools this year, though I'm not worried about either of them. Brenna is already self-assured and knows her way around the elementary school without worry. Cameron will figure it out. The school and WAVE program are very impressive and I have no doubts that the teachers will spend much of today sorting out issues and guiding them in the right direction.

We have after-school arrangements for both; Cameron's involves a lot of "let's play it by ear" since hers are more flexible. I did get us into a car pool thanks to a kind and generous Mom I know from both church and elementary PTA. It started as a "helping hand" for the first week, but appears to be evolving into a more long-term solution - at least until after-school sports get started. I expect by then Cameron will have made friends with other WAVE students and we'll be in a better place to figure out what we need.

T-shirt for Brenna

While in Boston for the CNMC I saw this t-shirt and reminded of
Brenna. When she was younger she spoke with a "Boston" accent! Well,
she had trouble with her R's, so naturally everything sounded a little
like this.

Yearbook Ad

We purchased a half-page ad in the elementary school yearbook to honor Cameron this year. Choosing which images to use in the design proved challenging, but I finally settled on her actual class photos, 2nd grade through 5th. However, I really wanted to use her fifth grade Spring photo (the one in yellow t-shirt) as it really captured her thoughtful nature.

The poem is one I memorized for 7th grade English when we read it in the book The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton. I often recite it for the girls when we raise the kitchen shades and see the sun rising across our back yard. They've also memorized the poem and now will occasionally point out "gold" to me. It seemed appropriate to use the poem for Cameron's yearbook as a reminder to her of those mornings.

Merr's 88th Birthday

Every year growing up, we spent Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve with Merr and our Henley family. As the grandkids grew up, married, and added our own children into the mix, it's become much harder to schedule family gatherings around Christmas. This year, Merr insisted we have a big party to celebrate her 88th birthday.

My aunts did a fabulous job decorating and planning the party. Merr sat in one corner visited with all her guests before lunch. Cameron had been writing actual letters to Merr for a few months, and she finally showed Merr her newly pierced ears. Merr looks pretty surprised!

After a lovely catered luncheon, Merr opened her presents. We gave her homemade rosemary mint soap from our local farmer's market. Then she gathered with her children & their spouses for a photo. (Uncle Mike wasn't there.)

We took more photos with Merr surrounded by her grandchildren, their spouses, and her great-grandchildren.

In hindsight, it was a very special birthday and party, because a few months later Merr fell and broke her femur at the hip socket. After a successful surgery, she spent several weeks in rehabilitation care. Today she's back at home with Aunt Pam and Uncle Jack, but the fall reminds us how fragile her body has become and how important it is to see her and tell her we love her very much.

Family Fun Run

In an attempt to "journal" or "scrapbook" a bit more of 2010, I'm going to work my way through the first half of the year. To start have to go all the way back to Februrary 13, 2010 when the elementary school hosted their annual Fun Run and Family Fun Day.

Just like last year, the school hosted a 3K run and 1K walk. This year all four of us signed up for the 3K, though I wasn't really sure I would run. Temperatures were pretty cold that morning, you can see how bundled up we were in the photograph. True to form, we arrived late a few moments before the run began and had to check in and get our numbers. We told Brenna and Cameron not to hang back with us, but to run at their own pace and meet us back at the school.

I struggled through the first 1K and Bryan kept pace with me. Brenna and Cameron lapped us and finished well ahead of us, but I managed to keep a fast walk/slow jog and I actually finished 3K with Bryan pushing me the whole way.

After the race, we went home, showered, and came back to the school for the Family Fun Day. The girls enjoyed the Cake Walk, playing it three or four times until they'd both won a prize.

I had a volunteer shift at a pickle spin booth, where players spin a wheel hoping to land on green to win a huge dill pickle. Thankfully Cameron wanted to work the shift with me so she handled putting the pickles into the baggies.

Brenna found her Rodeo Art on display. Even though she wasn't chosen for display at The Arts Alliance of Clear Lake show earlier, she was very proud of her own creation.

At the awards ceremony Brenna received a medal for second place in her age/grade division (K-2). We asked her how she did it and she said she just ran. She said she was running with Hailey, who won first place, and that if she had known they were first and second she would have ran ahead of Hailey to win first!

Living History

The day before Spring Break, Cameron's 5th grade presented their Living History project. Students were asked to choose someone "famous" in history and research their lives. Various portions of the project were due weekly including the Bibliography, Research Notes, Written Speech, Memorized Speech, and Props/Costumes.

Cameron considered many "famous" women before deciding on Marguerite Henry, the author of Newbery Award winning books such as Misty of Chincoteague, King of the Wind, and Justin Morgan Had a Horse. I was so proud of her for doing all of the work herself - including deciding on her costume and props, and drawing a large picture of the horse, Misty, in a stable door.

Students in character lined the hallways in their costumes with props. Parents and other students went up and down the hallway engaging the characters by pretending to press a "button" on a sign identifying famous persons in history such as George Washington, Sarah Palin, Juliette Low, Theodore Roosevelt, and many more - inventors, authors, political figures, explorers, etc.

Cameron, as Marguerite, sat on a little stool as though she was in the stables reading a book. When you pressed the "button," she looked up and delivered her speech, identifying herself and telling about Marguerite's life.