They're checking to see which Christmas special is on tonight. Don't you check every day? No? Your days don't center on which Christmas-themed activity will be most exciting? You don't have your iTunes Christmas playlist on constant shuffle all day? Well, you need to re-evaluate and find some Christmas spirit!

In fact, my favorite Katherine quote from the last few days was during our family viewing of "Rudolph."

"Why can't the GIRL reindeer fly and pull the sleigh?"

I was surprised and my first response was something like, Maybe Santa doesn't know that girls are as strong as boys, but you can ask him this year when you see him, OK?

Katherine wasn't interested in my idea though, she decided, "I think there's magic in the antlers and that's what makes them fly. And only BOY reindeers have antlers, so only the boys can fly!"

I'm glad we were able to clear up that confusion!

What's This?

Why, it's an 'Advent Plate' of course. You have a wreath? You've never heard of an Advent plate? Well, we hadn't either. But we also forgot that our wreath didn't make it through last year, and we weren't prepared on Sunday. So Chris got creative and designed this recycled/repurposed Advent Plate.

We don't have many rituals, but dinners in Advent are always special. We talk about how Advent is for waiting, and each night we go around the table and talk about what we're waiting for. Sometimes it's Jesus, other times it's FOOD. This week there's been a LOT of excitement about the school Christmas concert (December 16, 2pm, be there or be square!) But it is just nice to stop, take a deep breath, and enjoy a quiet minute or two together.

Of course, we have the Traditional Chocolate calendar as well. Boom Boom always makes sure we have them. This morning at breakfast, Maggie went from sleepy and crabby to beyond excited, jumping from the table shouting "IT'S DECEMBER FIRST - WE CAN HAVE OUR CHOCOLATE!"

And now I'm off to read a few chapters of The BFG and then enjoy our DVR'd 'MUPPET CHRISTMAS' because you just can't have enough Christmas Spirit in this house!

It's been 3 1/2 weeks since Maggie's birthday. And I've started to write this blog at least 3 times since then. But it seems every time I try to write, there's a new development in the saga of her birthday present. Let's see if I can finish this before I have another birth, or death, to write about.

Maggie had a GREAT birthday. She had 9 friends come over on a sunny Saturday for a "BALLOON PARTY" Um, I wasn't sure what that was either, but we figured it out. We blew up a gazillion ballons, and came up with 2 hours of games to play with the balloons. So what if the pizza wasn't ready when Chris went to pick it up, and I burned through those games in 15 minutes? The girls didn't care. They made up their own games, and when in doubt? Dance Party!

It was 2 hours of pure joy for Maggie. (And 2 hours of frustration for Katherine, it's hard to be the little sister sometimes!) A good time was had by all - even when we ran out of activities and just sent the girls outside with their balloons to run around until their parents came back to pick them up!
On the morning of her birthday, Maggie was thrilled to wakeup and find PRESENTS! Look at her cute bag for her piano books!

Chris gets credit (and blame) for her biggest gift. An aquarium. For fish. Real ones.

(Maddie is white, Molly is orange, and Blacky is self explanatory)

Yes, he thought it would be OK to have a pet (or 3) in this house. I swore we'd never have pets. But it turns out, fish don't count as real pets! And it made for 3 VERY excited little girls! After Maggie's birthday dinner we went to Petco and chose 3 Molly fish. They were quickly named and loved. Life was grand.

Fast Forward 24 hours. I went up to give Abby her bath, and glanced in the tank (kept in their bathroom so I don't have to look at it all the time) and I was SHOCKED to see lots of little tiny black fishies swimming in the tank!

CONGRATULATIONS! You now own 23 fish, Blacky is a new Mommy! Ok, this was NOT part of the plan. I called Petco in a panic, but their only advice was, come over now and get a special net to keep the babies safe from the predator Mommy and friends, or just let nature take it's course. It was 730 on a Saturday and I'd had a glass of wine after the birthday party. I was not going to Petco for a special net. (Who goes to Petco on a Saturday night anyway? HA!) We decided nature would take its course.

Sunday before Mass there were no babies to be found. The girls and I had a long talk about the 'Circle of Life' and I had terrible guilt for not trying to save them. We got home from church to find BABIES! They hadn't been eaten, so I scooped out 3 of them to a separate bowl, hoping to save them.

The next day, my friend Amy came to take the babies. I ended up sending 8 with her. I sent 4 to my neighbor and we waited to see what would happen.

Soon I was suspicious of Molly the Molly fish. Why was she acting strangely? Was she fatter than 3 days earlier? Oh yes, she was. 6 days after our first birth, there was a second birth. No joke. 2 of our 3 fish had been pregnant when we got them. And the good news - thank you internet - I found out a Molly can continue to have babies every 30 days, for 5 or 6 cycles thanks to only ONE encounter with a male fish! GOOD GRIEF!

Very long story, somewhat shorter, we never got to find out about their future babies. Chris gave the tank a thorough cleaning on Sunday. He saved 3 of the newest babies and I had an adoptive family chosen for them. Sadly, they died before I could even get home from work that night.

And that was just the beginning. Over the next 5 days, all 3 of our Mollies died, plus a replacement Molly. 4 dead fish. And all those babies? They all died as well.

After EXTENSIVE consultation with my friend Samantha at Petco, we reset our tank, conditioned the water, and prepared it for new fish.

Last Saturday we went and brought home 3 Zebra Danios. They're tough we were told, they can survive anything! And they lay eggs - they don't have live babies!

They lasted a week. I never even got a picture of all three! On Saturday 2 of them were covered in a white fuzz. And by bedtime those 2 were dead. S, who goes to Petco on a Saturday night? GUILTY!

I could NOT let the last fish die. At 715 Saturday night, I brought back my water sample and 2 dead fish (they have a 30 day guarantee!) I met a rather strange man who assured me that they died of a fish fungus. And the solution was simple, just buy a $20 heater for the tank and add some special salts. I swear he thought I was CRAZY when I adamantly refused to pay for a heater for the dumb fish. I bought my salt and was on my way. And I can report, that the 3rd fish, Abby's fish "Stripedy" seems to be thriving in his slightly salty tank. He moves so fast it was hard to get a picture.

And there you have it. Maggie's 8th birthday, the saga of the Sepersky Fish!

On Wednesdays, Maggie goes to choir with Chris in the evening. She has kids choir from 6-7 and then stays for adult choir til 8.

This leaves me home with Abby and Katherine. Most nights, like tonight, we do baths a little early, and then have plenty of time for snuggling on the couch, in our jammies, reading books.

After I put Abby in her bed, all tucked in with her special blankies and music, I go into Katherine's room. And usually, I climb into bed with her for an extra few minutes of talking, just me and Katherine.

Tonight's conversation went something like this....

K-Mommy I'm so glad you're in my bed, it's cold in this bed.

Me-I'm always happy to snuggle with you Katherine, but maybe we should get you some flannel sheets so your bed won't feel so cold.

(brief explanation of the difference between flannel and regular sheets)

K-I think maybe Santa might bring me those special sheets. I've been thinking about a lot of things Santa could bring me.

Me-Oh really?

K-Yes, but, do you think Santa has me on the good list or the bad list?

Me-what do YOU think?

K-I think I'm on the good list. (pause) Do you think that some days Santa has you on the good list, but some days he has you on the bad list? Does it change?

Me - Well, probably.

K-Wow, I bet Santa has to sharpen his pencil almost every day if he's doing all that writing!

Me-(trying not to laugh out loud) Yes, I guess he needs a lot of pencils.

K - Mommy, it's really warm in this bed now, Um, I think you can get out now!

Me- OK Katherine, good night, I love you!

K-I love you too Mommy!

Apple picking October 8
Sandals at church October 9! We loved the warm weather while we had it!
A week later we needed coats and mittens to enjoy NEW SCOOTERS! The girls had been working to earn enough to buy themselves scooters since the beginning of the school year. They've done almost nothing but ride scooters ever since!
2 weeks later and the girls needed tights, long sleeves and coats for church!
Traditionally, the last Thursday and Friday of October are days off from school for a teacher convention. The last 3 years we've gone away for a night during that break, down to Key Lime Cove for watersides and fun. This year, with life exceptionally crazy, and no great discount on rooms,we decided to stay home and have fun here. The girls have talked about going camping, and since they will almost certainly never go with their parents, we thought we could "camp"in our own house. We brought out tents, lit a fire in the fireplace, and let the girls have fun. Thanks to Katherine's coughing, Maggie and I didn't exactly sleep. But everyone had fun.


Not sure you can tell, but Maggie ended up on the couch to get away from Katherine in the big tent. Abby had her own private tent and actually slept the longest in the morning.

We also went to the Art Museum for a story time. There's always something new to see there - and this exhibit was perfect. From across the room it looked like a boring suitcase. But if you got close enough, you discovered that it actually is 2 stories deep, with a pond down below. The girls might have stayed there all d ay if we let them!
HALLOWEEN - We had fun for Halloween too. The weather did not cooperate - wind, rain and cold for Trick or Treat. But the girl had fun dressing up, and they didn't seem to mind that we only visited the houses on our block. The biggest disappointment? We didn't get enough trick-or-treaters at our house. And the ultimate insult for Maggie - she was upstairs, naked, just about to get in her shower when the doorbell rang for the last time. (Only the 4th time all night) Her wail of "Trick or treaters? Seriously? And I'm naked?" was pathetic and hysterical at the same time.

I love this picture of Abby - just kicking back, enjoying a Tootsie pop - not even bothering to remove her gloves before digging in.
October was a blur, honestly. Chris and I joked that we were really "tag-teaming" as it seemed that we were literally never home at the same time except to hand off the kids. His schedule this year means that he is leaving much earlier each day, and he has a few different committees and other meetings each month as well. Plus his usual church stuff in the evenings.

I am almost done with orientation for my new job at West Allis Memorial Hospital. I'm happy that my manager has been flexible in my hours there, but it still has meant a number of 10 hour days - putting the big girls on the bus at 9 and not getting home until 730pm. (Those days Abby left at 0645 with Chris) I've also been doing my minimum at my other job.

And classroom volunteering? Who know that schedule could get so complicated? Every other week in 2nd grade? Every third week in Kindergarten?

I know that many other families in the world do all of this and more on a daily basis. And I'm not writing to complain at all --- I am thrilled to have the flexibility to be home as much as I am while also enjoying the new challenges that come along with a different job. It's just crazy to look back and see that an entire month has passed in the blink of an eye. We're just taking it one day at a time! Hoping that we can settle into new routines soon!

We've got spirit yes we do, we've got spirit , how about you? The Brewers are the excitement in the Sepersky house this week. The girls have actually been following along all season, checking the morning paper to see who won the night before. And Maggie knows many of the players' names. It was hard to explain the concept of a "magic number" but cheering for a winning team is pretty basic. They're happy to cheer along with the rest of Wisconsin. Here's hoping they can finish off those silly Diamondbacks tomorrow night!

When they aren't cheering for the team, you'll very often find them reading. Maggie has always loved reading. But now that it has clicked for Katherine? She's devouring every book she can get her hands on! And Abby, who wants to do whatever the big kids are doing - she's quite the reader too! She'll flip the pages and tell the story or just read the letters off of the page. If the big girls can do it - so can Abby!

2 weekends ago, we took advantage of a new event for Milwaukee:Doors Open Milwaukee. The public was welcome to tour over 100 sites in Milwaukee, many not usually open to the public. It was a chilly, rainy Saturday, not ideal for walking around outside, but we managed to have a fantastic time. The girls performed on the stage at the Milwaukee Theater. Maggie was especially impressed with this having seen The Lion King performed there 4 years ago.
Next, we jumped over to Marquette to enjoy a few of Uncle Tom's buildings. It's funny to try and explain the idea of college, living in dorms, doing homework on the weekend, no moms or dads. I'm not sure they truly understand that. But it was fun for the adults! I haven't really been on campus since I toured in 1993-94ish. Plenty has changed! I'm excited to go back one of these days for a "real" tour with the architect!
Next it was over to the US Bank building for a trip up to the observation deck. It was once open to the public, but not anymore. For this event you had to take a freight elevator up and walk through a mechanical room to get to the views. But oh, even on a cloudy day the views were incredible. Earlier in the day there had been waterspouts on Lake Michigan, and even while we were up there, the clouds were just incredible.
We've had some bizarre weather. Warm and cold, frost advisories and 75 degree days. Plenty of days that feel like fall, but this week? It might as well be summer again! Last week, on a day that went from sunny to raining and back again almost every hour, Aunt Karen called about 3pm. "Is it raining there?" she asked. "Nope, not right this minute," I answered. "Well, it will be soon. It's crazy here and it's coming from the North."

Sure enough just as we were finishing our phone call, a HUGE storm hit my house. Wind, rain, hail, thunder, lightening, it was intense! Luckily it was short -the school held the kids inside for an extra 5 minutes to avoid the storm and they were able to come home once it passed. But it was intense!
All that crazy weather has likely contributed to the health of our family. Right on schedule (at least compared to Maggie's history) Katherine got her Kindergarten cold and missed 2 days last week. She went back to school and Abby came down with a similar illness. Unfortunately, Abby is always hit hard by respiratory bugs, and her germs required an urgent trip to the pediatrician for a prescription for steroids. She sounded like "Darth Vader meets Barking Seal" - which is cute and all, but not exactly practical. A few days of steroids, a few nights bathed in Vicks Vaporub, a few breathing treatments, and now she's back to her normal, happy self.

(ps last year she had to be strapped into a chair with her arms pinned to receive a breathing treatment. Hooray for Abby!)

After the wind and rain of last week, the warm temperatures this week make it perfect weather for raking leaves. Everything is dry, and there are PLENTY of leaves to rake! So far, the girls still find it fun - which is a bonus that I'm sure won't last too long!

See, Abby's already growing tired of the leaves. Or perhaps my pictures? No, I'm sure it's the leaves!

So, I took Maggie to her 2nd piano lesson tonight. I was blissfully alone in the waiting room. Chris was home with the little girls.

As I listened to the lesson in the next room, I couldn't help but send Chris this text

"Maggie is way chatty! she needs to talk less"

His loving reply?

"Apple, meet tree"

True love I tell ya!

But seriously, every time the teacher made any comment, Maggie had an elaborate story to tell. Or if they moved from one song to the other, Maggie had to tell her everything about the song, how often she practiced it, that it was Abby's favorite, that her Daddy had played the duet part, that she had tried to play along with the CD, ANYTHING! The good news is, she LOVES her lessons! She is so excited to be playing "real piano" as she calls it. We'll just have to work on the chattiness!

One of the perks of having 3 girls is the clothes. Not just having fun purchasing the clothes, but having fun watching clothes go from one daughter to the next. Seeing how some things hold up so well, and others barely make it though one child. And comparing the skills/abilities/personalities of each child as she wears a certain outfit. I can't help it, I have an emotional attachment to the things they wear.

For instance. I can tell you that Chris chose these purple athletic pants for Maggie when she was 2. I believe he was tired of all the pink and girly stuff - he wanted her to have athletic pants. Not sweat pants. She loved them, although she was so skinny that they NEVER stayed on her hips!

Maggie, 1/2006

Along came Katherine who also enjoyed the purple pants. (Pretty sure that under her sweatshirt is the same Elmo shirt, I can't be positive though) (and why did I take a picture of them picking their teeth?)

Katherine and Maggie 1/2009

So, put yourself in my position. Earlier this week, as the temperature began to drop, I frantically went to my trusty Rubbermaid storage bins of clothes, searching for warmer items, and I found PURPLE PANTS! (And Elmo shirt)

Abby 9/2011

Abby has been similarly impressed with her purple pants today. She even told the grocery clerk about them. "I -a- purple pants today, see?"

So, you'll understand why I had to grab my video camera when I found Abby sitting on the floor, talking to her pants. I could hear her talking, but it took me a minute to figure out she was muttering "Ahhh, Pockets, Pockets" while trying to open the velcro. Here is what happened next.

Ahhhh, the circle of life, or in this case, pants.