J-boy and friend - he decided to wear the helmet backwards, which meant he had a nose gaurd. :)  tee hee!

Tonight I played the worst piano I've ever had the misfortune to touch.  (this picture is actually my piano, which shares the brand name - thankfully that is where the similarities end)  I blushed the entire 30 minute program because it sounded so dreadful.  Lucky for me, I went straight from that performance to a recital preview (the jury w/ faculty the student has to pass before they can do their recital) and got to cleanse my palete with the lovely 9 foot steinway concert grand in the recital hall at the university.  (Ahh, that's more like it.)

 Christmas time for musicians means lots of unpaid gigs. :)  And I love [almost] every minute of it!

 these WILL be pajamas - I swear it will be done....

 altered apron for my sister-in-law's Christmas present (aprons seem to be a good go-to-gift)

 apparently the tree is the only thing that held still long enough for me to photograph this week... the Christmas tree is sitting on 3 boxes of food storage under the tree skirt - poor little thing needed a boost.

 Is it sad that my favorite time of day is after the kids are in bed, when the house is finally still and quiet and (hopefully, usually) tidy?  I love that peaceful moment before we go to bed and wake up to start all over again.

 waiting for K-lady at piano lessons - J-boy and I took turns running to the top of the stairs to drop a leaf and watch it drift down 3 flights of stairs. :)  Baby A snatched off her mitten and dropped it down, too. :)

 These are all taken from the same spot (atop my kitchen trash can next to the computer desk - small apartments have their charms, right?).  I adjusted the focus to get the bokeh in the middle pic, and for the top pic I put a little piece of black paper with a snowflake punched out of it over the lense (homemade free filter!).  If you try it, use the timer so you won't jostle the camera while you push the shutter.  I love it!

 J-boy at a Christmas parade - he HATES it when the firetruck and police cars go by and honk their horns and bleep their sirens.  He always runs as far away as he can (which is rather frustrating in my only-parent-at-the-parade experience - do I chase the running boy, or stay with the toddler perched precariously at the side of the road?  Since I can't ever decide between the two, I usually take a few steps towards J-boy and yell threats to him (over the sirens) that he better stay where I can see him OR ELSE.)  That's his hot chocolate next to the handicapped parking sign - he needed both hands to cover his ears. :)

 funny boy. :)

clipped from a video Joseph took as we set up the Christmas tree - always a fun, (sometimes frustrating), glorious mess.  Over the last 9 years Joseph and I have reached a compromise: Christmas music starts November 1st, the tree goes up as soon as the Thanksgiving turkey is put away (well, as soon as possible after the feast).  (confession: Sometimes I secretly listen to Christmas music before Halloween, but I know better than to subject Joseph to it till after Oct. 31st.)