And we're off!

This past weekend marked the beginning of the whirlwind that's become the holiday season. It begins each year with Doug's birthday celebration (though it's unfortunate that his birthday has become lumped in with the holidays) and it ends with the trip back from Connecticut and the unpacking of all the stuff that we acquire while there.

To kick things off, Doug celebrated his 34th birthday in true adult style - working and eating take-out from PF Chang's. He had to work on a release until about 10pm (you'll see that in the background in the photo below), but we managed to squeeze in some excitement with a quirky animal card. This year it was squirrels (the cat cards took a break this year). Squirrels scream excitement.

Then I continued the celebration with a chocolate bachelorette brunch on Saturday in honor of the very near end of Marieke's single status. In only nine days Marieke and Curt will be married, and we marked this occasion in style at Cafe Fleuri, stuffing ourselves silly with chocolate. This was my (first) plate of sweetness. Isn't it just beautiful? Marieke topped hers off with a giant cotton candy drumstick, and as the bride she was allowed to do that, but I stuck with the chocolate. I told Marieke that we should celebrate the anniversary of her bachelorette each year at the chocolate brunch - I'd just need a week's notice so that I could fast appropriately before all that indulging.

So, sweetness on Saturday and then sweetness on Sunday, but of a different variety. On Sunday we went up to Maine to celebrate birthdays and Christmas with all of our favorite Mainers. We saw our new Falmouth contingent, Julie and Brian, and got to see their great house (I can definitely see why they chose to rent there). We also saw our Portland contingent. Ruby was a jolly little elf that day, full of smiles and babbles. She enjoyed the blocks that Santa Doug and Rosanne brought to her, at first giving them careful study but then quickly realizing that it's more fun to eat them. If that block were chocolate I would have been right there with you, Miss Ruby!

And now all we have to do is get through this week. Tonight I'm sewing Christmas presents, and then tomorrow I'm wrapping, Wednesday I'm wrapping, Thursday I'm packing and baking cookies, and then early Friday morning we're off for forty-eight hours of Connecticut Christmas. Ah, the holidays - the most crazy (but wonderful) time of year.

Living for weekends.

I've decided that I live for weekends. Even the hectic nature of them seems easier to handle because... they're weekends. Friday night through Sunday night is our time to live.

This weekend we were still celebrating Doug's birthday (because even if one's actual birthday isn't much of a big deal around here, we try to spread out the birthday cheer a bit and keep the celebration open for a week or so to make up for it), and on Friday night we headed out to The Comedy Studio to have some laughs. We were joined by a great group of friends, whom we do not see often enough for sure, but who we were very glad to have had the pleasure to see that night. Curt and Marieke joined us as did Chris and Arlene Julie and Michael (whom I realize I still call Mike, and I hope he doesn't mind since now he goes mostly by Michael) Andy and Sarah and Chris and Leigh (of whom I unfortunately do not have a photo - my apologies!). Not only did Doug get great gifts from the aforementioned great friends, but he got to eat really disgusting Chinese food (a real treat for him for some reason) and was even called on stage during one of the comedy acts to be a stand-in President Obama. Seems like one of the comics there that night is giving a routine at some awards assembly in Washington D.C. in January and wanted to have someone come on stage and pretend to be Obama. Why this was necessary was beyond me, since all Doug did was sit on a stool in the background, and who knows if the comic is actually giving said routine in January, but at least Doug got to do a little performing on stage that night, complete with a round of audience applause.If the President's job is to sit on stage during somewhat bland comedy routines, smile and look interested, then I think Doug should be a shoe-in for the position. Vote for Doug!

On Saturday, to continue with the birthday celebrations (but also to see our good friends again and exchange Christmas gifties), we headed up to Maine. All is going so well in Maine, it seems. Stu and Lu are enjoying spending time with each other and Chris and Chris are getting lots of exercise walking their little bundle of cuteness around the house to try to lull her out of fussy periods and into peaceful slumber. Doug and I tried our hand at keeping Ruby entertained. Doug was pretty good at it: He's got these baby bouncing skills that neither one of us knew he had, and was eager to hold the baby. But who wouldn't be eager to hold her? She is truly adorable. Wiggly, warm, so good-natured... I mean, despite the fact that she really didn't sleep at all while we were there, she didn't scream at all and we never really heard a peep out of her. I'm sure there are times when she's not quite that angelic, but from what we could tell Chris and Chris are pros at the parenting already, and Ruby is one star of a baby.

I wish I had taken more photos of the new family, but I was a little asleep at the switch yesterday. I did get two pretty good shots with Ruby in them - I love girl Chris's facial expression in this one, especially in relation to Ruby's (someday Ruby will pose for the camera, too!): And this one is great - Chris and Chris gave Doug a T-shirt for his birthday; it says "I heart my Mini." Here, though, it says something along the lines of "I heart Ruby", which is very apropros! I am always very impressed with how warm and inviting Chris and Chris have made their home, and now with Ruby it's even more so. It's hard to make that trek back to Dedham after spending time there, so we hope not to let too much time pass between visits.

And now, Sunday... on to shoveling, as this was the view through the front door this morning: Weekends are definitely fun times.