Jingle Bells

T'was the week before Christmas
And in front of the tree
Contemplating the ornaments
Sat Liam and Lily

(Ok you sort of have to force that rhyme. Sorry, I'll try harder next time.)

Deck the halls

The Halloween treats are long gone and it's time to look forward to our next fun event: Christmas! Yesterday the weather was good for putting up the outdoor lights. However, first the strings needed to be unfolded and that calls for family participation.

(Please don't picket, the kids were offered a fair wage in exchange for their labour. And, no, we didn't send them up on the roof.)

If you, like me, used to help your dad do this annual task, you will remember the steps were as follows: untangle the strings of lights, check for wear, check for bulbs with blue, red, green or yellow paint chipping off and replace (with the same colour of course), plug the whole thing in and if it doesn't work, check bulb by bulb to see which one is burnt out and causing the whole string to fail.

Sheesh! Things are a lot easier these days with these fancy schmancy eco-friendly lights. Somewhere, you know Clark Griswold is shedding a little tear. And, yes, now I do feel very old, thanks for pointing that out.

Liam's first crack at this task was in 2005 at 10 months. Lily at six months in 2007.