Merry Christmas! Just checking in early since I may get brave and tackle the shopping malls tomorrow morning. I was thinking of all those great sales I missed last weekend during our record breaking snow storm. We ended up with about 2 feet of snow in one day. The 7th biggest snow storm in December in Baltimore history. Now it is busy melting under all the rain. Tom spent the entire day last Saturday snowblowing our driveway 3 times and the neighbors two or more times. He had to take a break when the snow blower chewed up the neighbor's christmas light extension cord. But he was back out on Sunday for two more passes. Not to mention all the shoveling I had to do on the sidewalks and patio so Cookie could get out to go to the bathroom! Yes it was a whole lot of snow for use. Sadly Allison and I did not get to enjoy it too much since Allison had a whole bunch of tests to study for and a big paper to write. We spent our time indoors studying and typing. I also took advantage of some of the time to prepare for Christmas, although I was still up late Christmas eve setting everything up.
It turned out we spent a whole lot of time studying for naught. School was cancelled for the rest of the week. The kids now have a two week vacation. They spent the first week home with Tom while I went in to work. It didn't help Tom's schedule very well-he had some errands planned but did not get to keep to his schedule as efficiently as planned. And we really did not know if the kids were having school each day, so we kept up with Allison's studying. As I said, it was all for naught. So Scott managed to squeeze in a sleepover with our neighbor's son. And our neighbor's invited us over Sunday night for dessert, appetizers and champagne. They were heading off to Miami so we decided to try and get together for a pre Christmas visit and gift exchange for the kids.
And Tom was still trying to keep the kids occupied all week, so they ran off to the mall to pick up our family phot0s and caught the Chipmunk movie. (Tom slept and the kids thought the first movie was better). But I got my family Christmas photos and I started sending out the family Christmas cards this week. So if you haven't yet received your card, it is on the way. We were running a bit late this year since I decided I wanted a family photo with the dog. I had to locate a studio that allowed us to bring a dog and then there were only certain days and times allowed to bring in the dog. But it worked out well and the pictures turned out pretty cute. So look for it in the mail(along with my extensive yearly journal). And I still have some more cards to mail out this weekend. Tom was also busy sending out cards and gifts to coworkers this past week.
Our clinic was closed this Friday, but I am usually off anyway. We decided to catch the Christmas mass at the gorgeous chapel at my work site, the retirement community. We attended the beautiful mass on Thursday night at 7pm and had plenty of time to visit with our neighbors Christmas eve for dinner afterwards.
Of course, that meant I was up very late Christmas eve. And along came Christmas Day! The kids were very nice and gave us until 8am before dragging me out of bed to tear open the gifts. We managed to check out our stash and clean up in time to start cooking. I invited several families over to the house for dinner, so we all put together a potluck which turned out to be way too much food but delicious and a lot of fun. The kids even played a round of Scott's new Mario Monopoly game. Some of us would have enjoyed a drive out to historical Hampden for the Christmas lights, but the rain kept us away. Instead we sat down to enjoy Tom's Star Trek video.
So we managed to get in a few phone calls to most of you, unless of course your phone was busy, you weren't answering when we called, or you were busy talking to someone else. But we did dial everyone's phone today except Dan and Sheila who are in Missouri and Laura and DAn who we will hopefully be visiting soon in Detroit.
We will probably head out on Sunday if the roads look good.
So wish me good luck on shopping and my trip to the bank for a last Girl Scout cookie money deposit.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! Kathleen and family

Global warming? I think not. At least, not in Baltimore. We hit an all time record for snow fall this past weekend-2 feet! It is insane. Of course, school is closed on Monday. The kids are ecstatic. Especially Allison since she had lots of tests and a paper due over the next 3 days. Scott just had a Christmas party and his school's Christmas pageant, so he is not missing too much. They will probably get to school on Tuesday, but noone has plowed our street at the end of the driveway yet. It started snowing on Friday night at 10pm and did not stop until Sunday morning at 2am. Tom plowed the driveway with our snow blower 3 times on Saturday and once on Sunday. I did the walks and patio so the dog could at least get out to go to the bathroom. They actually closed all the malls on Saturday and the airports too. The Chicago Bears were supposed to fly in on Friday night for the Sunday game, but missed their window of opportunity. Instead they showed up on Sunday morning and the game was pushed back from 1pm to 4pm. And it was to our advantage since the Ravens won! Snow and all covering most of the stadium. So tom will stay home with the kids tomorrow and I will be braving the roads. He did get out briefly Sunday afternoon to pick up a few items. I spent the whole weekend inside doing laundry, dishes and getting ready for Christmas. We finally got the tree and lights up! It sure feels like Christmas now. Even Michigan or Indiana doesn't have all this snow! We will have to go North to warm up!
It is a good thing Tom's parents visited last weekend. They were complaining it was cold last weekend! Ha! We even traveled south to warm up a bit(all the way into the 40s!) in Williamsburg, VA. We spent Saturday night at Busch Gardens for their first version of Christmas town with holiday lights and Christmas shows. It was a bit chilly and unbelievably crowded. It definitely got us into the holiday spirit. Our next door neighbors went down this weekend and said it was empty. I guess we picked the busiest night of the season to attend! And then we had a rainy day all last Sunday. We mostly did some shopping at the outlets. But only at the indoor stores(not many).
Tom's parents headed back to Florida on Monday. Weds night our family drove down to Annapolis to have our family photo taken with the dog included at JC Penney. So my cards will be a bit late this year but I think it is worth the wait. I will pick up the photos this coming Weds.
On Friday Tom and I had our work partys. It was a bit crazy around here since everyone was anticipating the big snowstorm. Baltimorons go crazy and buy out all the milk and toilet paper. And when Allison and I stopped into the grocery store Friday night after her piano lesson, sure enough all the milk was gone. So was all the red meat. I didn't check on the toilet paper(we have plenty since we shop at the club stores). I got a lot of errands run on Friday before my work party, but it was crazy out there. Lots of people, long lines and scary driving. And we still have one more week of shopping to go. I did get some shopping done on line thank goodness. But sadly I still need to stop into the mall. Oh no. I also discovered that Tom and I are hosting Christmas dinner, so I started picking up food items. And I am busy working this week. Tom thank goodness is off with the kids for the next two weeks. Hopefully we will make it up to Detroit next week for a holiday break since we are supposed to get more snow on Christmas Day.
The kids and the dog can't get enough. I wouldn't mind if I didn't have to go to work!
Merry Christmas! (One week early). Kathleen and family

So we survived Scott's birthday party last weekend. I even had time to stop into the mall with Allison so she could get a haircut and pick up a quick Christmas gift too.
We were hoping to pick out our Christmas tree too last weekend, but the weather was still pretty cold and wet. Tom actually picked up a tree for us this past week, we just haven't had the chance to put it up. I was busy running around throwing up a few Christmas decorations in the house. The kids managed to get their little trees decorated in the front foyer, and Tom hung up all his Star Trek/Star Wars collection on his new tree that he got on St Nick's Day last Sunday. We also enjoyed a free Army Band Christmas concert this past week-I picked up tickets for the family as a St Nick's Day gift. Something to get us all in the holiday spirit. The concert was held at the High School at Fort Meade and included the army band and choir together. Overall an enjoyable show(and did I mention free?!). Tom's parents were sorry they missed it. They arrived the next night for a quick weekend visit. We haven't seen them since we visited Florida in the spring.
Friday the kids had school, so Tom and I spent the day with Mom and Dad browsing the antique shops in Olde Ellicott City as well as stopping in for lunch. We did not spend much time outside since it was pretty chilly. Just a quick walk around the neighborhood to take Cookie out in the morning. That evening I dropped Scott off to a Kids in the Kitchen class where he made French Toast and Hot Chocolate for dinner and watched Night at the Museum II with our next door neighbor, Sammy. Allison on the other hand had a piano lesson. I also had to pack up the Girl Scout's goodies that they prepared the weekend before to be delivered to the hospital patients.
Saturday we all headed down to Williamsburg VA. We spent the evening enjoying the Christmas lights and shows at Busch Gardens. Still a bit chilly for the Florida people to be outside, but it got us all in the Christmas spirit. We stayed the night and woke up to a very rainy day(at least a bit warmer). This did not make for good window shopping weather in Historic Williamsburg, so after church, we just made a few stops into the Williamsburg Pottery Factory and the Potomac Mills Outlet on our way home.
Since we were out of town, Allison and I missed singing at the mall with the Girl Scout choir, and Scott missed his Cub Scout Christmas party. Too many activities and too little time! But I think we all rather enjoyed our trip down to Williamsburg. Scott definitely enjoyed the swim in the hotel pool.
Monday Grandma and Grandpa were back home in Florida(a whole lot warmer) after Tom dropped them off at the airport. We made sure to take advantage of Mom Seitz's sewing skills first and had her help us pick out and cut out some fabric to cover our kitchen stools. The old material was wearing off the stools, so we replaced it with a new paisley pattern(much nicer than the original). And we didn't have to buy new stools-they just look new. Thanks Mom! They look beautiful! Tom got them all stapled and put back together again.
We also celebrated two birthdays this past weekend-Linda Seitz had a birthday on Saturday(Happy Birthday Linda!) and our puppy Cookie turned one year old on December 13th! She's a big girl now!
So just two more weeks before Christmas and I still have a billion things to do. So that's all for now! Kathleen and Family

So last Sunday we were in tshirts and shorts, almost 70 outside and today we were freezing our tootsies off from our first snow of the season. Thanks Houston-we got all your snow! And lucky Allison and I got to march in it in a Christmas parade. We started off Saturday morning in a cold rainy downpour which quickly turned to ice and snow before we finished the parade. Thank goodness we were close to the front and only had about a 20 minute walk. But Allison and I were frozen solid along with the other chorus members. We were busy singing "Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow" while freezing to death. It was a bit festive though! And we got to walk back and see the rest of the parade and wave to Santa and Mrs Claus in their horse drawn sleigh. It did put us in a festive mood, albeit cold. We usually have this parade in Nov. when it is much warmer-there were times we wore tshirts. Not this time. I had hoped Tom and Scott would join us-it really is a nice parade. But since it was so lousy outside they stayed home. And sadly missed Breakfast with Santo since I did not sign Scott up ahead of time, thinking he and Tom would be joining us for the parade.
The drive back home was pretty horrible. I did manage to stop into Target on the way home though since I was already out. It was actually nice since the store wasn't overly crowded. The roads were very slushy and slippery so not alot of people left their homes. Not too great for the economy though. Nice for me however-I had to put together goody bags for Scott's birthday party today. He had a swim party at "Splashdown", a local swimming pool with indoor water tube slides, a rope swing and diving board. He had never been although Allison has been many times with the girl scouts. (Me too). The kids all had a great time today, and I even took Scott and Allison and two friends in early for extra swimming before their party was scheduled. The price included his food(hot dogs, chips, soda) plus a cake(custom picture-Mario of course) and ice cream. So I did not have to clean anything or set up-just show up and man the table and pass out food and goody bags. Besides Scott's party, I had my Girl Scout Holiday party on Friday night. We spent the evening making holiday baked goods for the local psyche patients, swapped holiday gifts and after a quick taco dinner, spent the evening having dessert at a local fondue restaurant, "The Melting Pot". The girls decided we needed to start a new tradition. They really enjoyed dipping brownies, rice krispie treats, cheesecake, pound cake, marshmallows, bananas and strawberries into tubs of chocolate. Who wouldn't love that! Plus it all fit into their cooking badge!
I got to spend some mom time during the day though when I enjoyed a morning out for Mother's Tea with the school moms. The school puts on an outing for all the moms each year at a local restaurant owned by one of the school families. They have coffee, tea and pastries, and bagels along with fruit and my favorite door raffles(although I did not win this year). It is a nice time to chit chat with the school moms. I look forward to it every year-and it is always on my day off! Although it didn't leave me much time to get the house set up for the Friday night meeting and start decorating for Christmas. Tom has the outside lights up but now we are working on the inside.
Actually we enjoyed St Nick's Day this Sunday with a visit from St Nick and stockings full of ornaments, gingerbread cookies and two new artificial trees for Allison and Tom to hang their ornament collections. Tom has a Star Trek/Star Wars/outer space tree and Allison has a cat collection. I get the big tree for my rocking horses and glass Christmas bulbs. Scott gets the kids tree(a collection of kids ornaments including Rudolph, Snoopy, Harry Potter and any other character they enjoyed). We had planned on picking up our live tree this weekend, but it was a bit too nasty last night. A good weekend to stay in and study with the kids(and wrap Christmas ornaments) but I did manage to spend some time outside with Cookie in the snow(which she loved!). She was busy chasing Scott down the small hills while he sledded with our neighbor. I had to give her a bath afterwards though since she had big frozen snowballs on her feet and could barely walk.
I was glad Tom made it home before the big snow. He was down in Charlottesville VA all week so I was juggling both of the kids and their schedules on my own. I had to get Scott to gymnastics and Allison to piano at the same time which as interesting. It made for a lot of driving last week.
I also had my own GS Leader meeting/holiday party on Weds night and had the kids help me out by making a dessert plate for the event. I also had to drop off shoebox gifts that the girls made up for kids at a local shelter for the holidays. Naturally on that night it was pouring rain which made it difficult to keep all the wrapping paper dry. We are almost done with donations. The school always puts on a toy collection as well as work. And we have already had a coat drive at work. Everyone is fussing though that donations are down quite a bit this year. Guess everyone is busy paying off their own debts.
We also had an appraiser stop by today since Tom decided to refinance our house and take advantage of the low rates. We didn't change our monthly mortgage payment, but we did knock off 4 yrs of payments. We are still waiting on our roof guy to replace our skylight-guess he is busy! Too bad we didn't discover the leak in the summer!
So Happy St Nick's Day! (December 6th). I am off to put out a few more Christmas decorations! Kathleen and Family