Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to everyone! It's been a joyous day in our house. Ryan and Brendan were very aware that they couldn't wake too early, since no one really knows what time Santa will arrive. So they slept until 7:45. What a great present for us!

After taking time to sort and pass out presents, the children began unwrapping their gifts. Brendan, at age 6, certainly has this down pat. He was thrilled and couldn't wait to see what was in each present. Ryan, at 3, had to be reminded that we weren't stopping to play with each toy. Open first, play later. Kelsey, at 20 months, was quite good at opening presents! Still, she took her time moving from one gift to the other.

Santa was good to everyone! The kids have been busy playing all morning. Legos, Pokemon, books, Diego toys, Batman toys, baby dolls, shopping carts, and lots of play food. (I think my favorite may be a Melissa & Doug cookie set that is so adorable and fun!) We stopped to say hello to family via our webcam around noon. We're relaxing now, but soon I'll begin working on our Christmas dinner. We'll likely watch a movie tonight. Tomorrow, we get to do it all over again when Grammy and Papa arrive from Oklahoma in the early evening hours.

On Christmas Eve, the kids decorated Christmas trees (frosted upside-down sugar cones that are decorated with candy). Kelsey's tree is light on the frosting. You can guess what she did with it.

Brendan with his tree.

Ryan with his tree.

Ryan, looking quite handsome after church on Christmas Eve.

A playful Kelsey and big brother Brendan after church on Christmas Eve. The kids were fantastic at church. Now if only we could get there in time to find a seat.

Horned Frog family

Before Tuesday night's game against Boise State

Christmas Eve

It is on days like this that I am particularly grateful I am now home with the kids. Sure, if I worked full-time, I could take a vacation day. But this entire holiday season has been more fun and less stressful.

Today, we awoke to an excited Brendan at 6:45 a.m. I think we should prepare for an early morning tomorrow! He was even more thrilled to hear that the Horned Frogs pulled out a victory. (Last night, he was so sad that Boise State was winning when he went to bed. As I tucked him into bed, he told me I had to hurry back downstairs to cheer on those Frogs.)

The kids have mostly been playing this morning. We ventured out to the grocery store just before lunch. What a mess. The parking lot was overflowing, and warmer temperatures have created a mess of the snow. (And it's raining!) It was worth it, though. I forgot to get pie crust and I am looking forward to pumpkin pie with dinner tomorrow.

We have also been tracking Santa on http://www.noradsanta.org/en/home.html. At this moment, he's delivering presents to children in Kyrgyzstan!

This afternoon, we'll be baking gingerbread men and assorted other designs for Santa, decorating Christmas trees (sugar cones turned upside down, frosted with icing, then decorated with candies), possibly attending church if hubby gets home early (otherwise, we'll go tomorrow), then enjoying family time until bedtime. Happy Christmas Eve to all!

Happy Holidays!

Christmas ... a little early

Ken and I are enjoying a Christmas gift a little early (which is unheard of in this house). Our new Dell Inspiron 530 desktop arrived on Friday. Ken waited until yesterday to open it, and I finally set it up today.

Wow ... it's fast. For the tech geeks out there, it has an Intel Core2Quad processor, which means this baby should be able to handle photos and videos with ease. The hard drive has 640 GB. Hello, how can I possibly use that much? There are other fancy specs, but I'm too tired to remember them now.

What I can tell you is that the tower is smaller than our previous, 6-year-old Dell, it's quieter, and so much faster. We're running Vista. I have no complaints so far. But I'm not that picky, either. All I know is that I can now sit down, check my email and even check a website before Kelsey even notices I've left her bedroom.

(Oh, it also means that the webcam we purchased for Christmas last year now works. We could never successfully connect on a video call, and it became obvious it was our PC's fault. Today, it worked effortlessly.)

Go FROGS!

Tuesday night the Horned Frogs battle Boise State (the team with the blue field) in the Poinsettia Bowl. We'll be watching. Hopefully, you will, too.

ESPN, 8 p.m.

GO FROGS!!!

Looking back

Just for fun, I thought I'd post this photo again from Christmas Eve two years ago. Brendan is 4 1/2 and Ryan is almost 18 months. Too cute.

Snow day (cont'd)

It's 3:35, and I'm running out of tricks to keep the snowed-in kids
entertained. (How long is this holiday break?) Now Brendan is outside
with a neighbor for more snow fun.

Snow day

Today should have been the last day of school before a two-week
holiday break. Instead it's a snow day.

The forecast called for 5-10 inches, and unlike past super-storm
forecasts, this one appears to be living up to its hype.

The kids were out by 8:15 to help dad shovel and to build snow forts,
throw snowballs, make snow angels, and do cannonballs into the snow.
It was a perfect release for kids who have been stuck inside all week
thanks to lousy weather and a stomach bug.

'Tis the (sick) season

December seems to be the month to get sick. For everyone. I am not sure if we've had one day go by in December in which one of us hasn't been feeling under the weather. My goodness!

Today, Brendan is home from school with a stomach flu. He's the fourth in the family to get it. I think it may be impossible to keep these things from spreading within a family. I thought Brendan would avoid it, since he wasn't around either Ryan and Kelsey while they were actually sick and he certainly doesn't put their cups and toys in his mouth. (Kelsey, on the other hand, most certainly got sick by doing just that.) Unfortunately, he didn't miss out.

Even hubbie, who rarely is sick, was up all last night with the stomach bug.

Now I'm in that annoying position of waiting to see if I'm next, and wondering if every stomach growl is a sign of what's to come. Ugh. Please let this be the last of the Healy house illnesses!

Newest reindeer

She could even qualify as Rudolph with a nose so red from a persistent
runny nose.

Today the Detroit Free Press, my former employer and a newspaper that is still dear to my heart, announced it will drop daily home delivery in March as a cost-cutting move. The plan has been in the works for months, as most of us were aware of some super secret project that was more outrageous than any of us could dream of.

The paper will still be sold at newsstands seven days a week, and will be available for home delivery on Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays. The move is somewhat bold, as this is the largest daily paper to drop daily home delivery. However, several other publications have done so. (This also applies to the Detroit News, which is the competition but a newspaper published as part of the joint operating agreement between the two papers.)

More changes are in store. I believe the redesigned version that is sold on newsstands will be quite different than what is published today.

So where are the cost savings? Well, they won't be printing as many papers each day, which means less money is spent on newsprint and overall production costs. The production staff will be reduced by 9 percent. Right now they don't anticipate any newsroom layoffs. Read more about it at freep.com.

"My favorite team this season"

If you missed ESPN's three-hour analysis Sunday night of the college football bowl matchups, then you missed some of Lee Corso's finest analysis in years. Seriously. This guy clearly knows what he's talking about.

When asked which bowl matchup is the best, Corso jumped at the TCU-Boise State game, saying that TCU is his favorite team of the season. Favorite. He made this comment at least three times during the show.

This, in spite of the fact that he picked Oklahoma to win at least three different times during the GameDay regular-season shows. Gees, those guys must have travelled exclusively with the Big 12 South in October and November.

But he likes TCU. He loves TCU.

(Again, I know what you're thinking: How do I have time to watch so much TV, let alone GameDay on Saturday mornings, with three children? I have no idea, but perhaps the fact that Ryan has mysteriously learned how to make the Gator snapping arms and can identify the Florida Gators on TV tells us something. Thankfully, college football doesn't last all year.)

Be a giving Frog fan

I know what you're thinking, what you've been stressing about ever since the bowl matchups were announced Sunday night. How can I possibly be in San Diego on Dec. 23 -- two days before Christmas -- to cheer on the mighty Horned Frogs?

Here's the good news: You can still show your support for TCU by purchasing a ticket to the Poinsettia Bowl. Instead of using the ticket yourself, you can designate it for underprivileged children in the San Diego area who'll attend because of your generosity. Get more details here.

Hayrides, snow and Santa

This morning we prepared for the holidays with "Snacks for Santa," a special holiday program at Kensington Metropark in Milford. We joined six families for the event, making it a special way to share Christmas cheer with friends.

First, we piled into a wagon for a horse-drawn hayride. We sang Christmas carols while shaking jingle bells, but mostly we were cold! It was in the low 20s, so everyone sat bundled under blankets and too many layers to count. The sights were beautiful, however. A decent snowfall yesterday made for picture-perfect conditions along the Huron River.

After 20 minutes or so, we arrived at our destination. A small house (warmed by a roaring fire) was awaiting us with cookies, fruit and hot chocolate. We settled in; it takes awhile to get those layers off. Then Santa arrived and the children were thrilled. One by one, the kids had a chance to talk to Santa about the year and their Christmas wishes.

After our visit with Santa, we wrapped up again to play in the snow briefly before heading home. It was such a nice time and we're so happy our friends invited us along. We'll definitely return next year!

Basement makeover

Our budding photographer, Brendan, wanted to document our newly renovated basement. No play-by-play reporting as with our bathroom renovation last year. After all, when you're doing more of the work on your own, there's less time for, well, everything.

Our basement was considered "partially finished," meaning that the basement was already laid out with walls and had (cheap and thin) carpet. There were some lights, a bathroom, and doors.

Two years ago, we took the lone "finished" room, which had a drywall ceiling, and turned it into our playroom/guest bedroom. We used the space frequently, particularly during the winter when we needed a change of scenery but going outside isn't an option. But we had longed to take advantage of our remaining space.

You see, our basement is abnormally large for a house the size of ours. We have approximately 1,800 square feet in our ranch-style, three-bedroom home. In the basement, we have nearly 1,800 square feet. That's a huge amount of space just screaming to be used!

So this fall we added tons of insulation (to keep out the cold from outside and to minimize noise between floors), had recessed lighting installed in the largest room and bathroom, followed by a drywall ceiling, then painted the ceiling and walls and installed baseboards and painted them. With the exception of the lighting and ceiling, Ken, my mom and I did the rest of the work.

Here's the reveal:

The basement features a room that runs the width of our house, which is rather wide. At one end, we created a little nook with bookshelves and a table, where the kids can pull out puzzles and games or create their artwork. To the left sits an air hockey table, given to us by a neighbor, that has already proved to be a fan-favorite.

At the other end of the same room is our "family room," where we have a couch, electric fireplace to provide much-needed warmth and a TV. The door leads to the guest room/playroom. Between the two areas sits the pool table. Unfortunately, we are limited as to where the pool table can be placed. This is partially because of its size, but also because of a pipe that stands in the most awkward spot in the room. This vantage point is taken from my treadmill (see below).

Another view of the "family room," with my workout area behind the couch. I love that my treadmill is tucked out of the way, where little ones can't wander near it.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Brendan said it best at dinner last Wednesday night, when we shared what we're thankful for with two neighbors who joined us for dinner. He said, "I'm thankful for my friends and family." Of course, we're also thankful for so many other things -- our health, happiness, and all that we've been blessed with. But he summed it up quite nicely.

We shared our Thanksgiving, as has been our tradition since 2004, with two families who were also sent to Detroit, away from family and friends. At first, we rotated houses from year to year. Our families have multiplied so quickly, though, that we are now the official hosts as our home has a bit more space for everyone to move around. (We began with six adults and two children in 2004; now, we have six adults and eight children! Oh my!)

We try to keep it easy on everyone by divying up the dishes among the three families. I'm quite content being responsible for the turkey, rolls and mashed potatoes. After all, that's just about all I eat! Again this year, I brined the turkey overnight. The result is delicious. I have had nothing but good luck since I started brining our turkeys. We also made our first attempt at frying a turkey as well. It turned out well, though the cost of the peanut oil certainly makes it an expensive bird.

Our friends arrived around 4 p.m., and the kids enjoyed making snowmen while we did the final food prep. The kids watched "Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer" while we tried to eat. Next year, I think we'll be ready to have the kids join us for dinner. But with so many young ones, we wouldn't stand a chance of eating if the kids sat with us. Besides, most of the kids won't eat when we're together because they're too excited to play.

After the kids ate dinner, we took the kids downstairs to play and run off some energy. After dessert and a little chitchat, everyone headed home. No doubt, the kids were exhausted as they went right to sleep and didn't wake until after 8! (With the exception of Kelsey, who didn't sleep well at all. She's fighting a little cold.)

This update is coming nearly a week late because Kelsey passed along her cold to me and just about everyone else in the house. I'll be happy when we're healthy again. Still, we enjoyed our long weekend, filling it with holiday movies, Christmas decorating, ornament-making, and lots of play time.

Kelsey and I wait for the others to join us for Thanksgiving dinner. The littlest ones -- Kelsey, Jackson and Jake -- did eat with us as they are easily confined in a high chair. The feast was delicious.

The only way to convince the kids to pose for a picture was to give them cookies. Group photos were not in the cards that night.

We gave it one more shot for a group photo, this time with the adults. Brendan acted as the photographer. Maybe next year we'll have better luck!

Rankings

TCU has had an excellent run under Dennis Franchione (before he disgraced himself at A&M) and Gary Patterson. I give most of the credit to Patterson. When last night's BCS rankings came out, TCU could make some claims that I'm quite happy to point out to you:

• The Frogs are ranked #11. Right behind the No. 10 Ohio State Buckeyes. I am betting most of our Buckeye Nation friends are trying to overlook this. After all, they wouldn't want to actually credit our little school for doing so well.
• TCU has two losses this season. They have been to No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 6 Utah. The Frogs couldn't hold up against the Sooners, but their defense did hold OU to 25 yards rushing. Against Utah, it was a battle of the defenses as both offenses struggled to get points on the board. In the end, it was a last-minute Utah drive that did TCU in. No matter, two losses to two top 10 teams isn't much to complain about.

Despite all of this, TCU will still be screwed come bowl season. The Mountain West Conference lacks the glamour and prestige of other conferences, so its teams are stuck playing in meaningless bowls played so early in the postseason that people often miss them. Once again, this shows that college football is all about greed and politics. It has little to do with actually getting the best matchups on the field to battle for the best rankings.