Bob Marley is NOT in A Christmas Carol

I'm taking a big slice of humble pie right now, so if you haven't already, make sure you read the post below this one so you know why I'm feeling so embarrassed.

I decided to play another man vs. woman game of Catch Phrase, only this time it was at the Tower's and all of the hubbies were police officers (which isn't intimidating at all, but strangely eery because they all think so much alike). Anywho, we got started and the score was pretty balanced, so I guess there are multiple benefits in being a fellow police wife because we're all pretty similar in certain personality quirks as well.

Well, it came to be my turn, and I get another character from Charles Dickens' beloved A Christmas Carol. Was it Ebeneezer Scrooge? No. Bob Cratchett, his loyal clerk? No. And it wasn't any of the Christmas Ghosts...well, actually it was.

Jacob Marley, Scrooge's old business partner and first ghost to appear to Ebeneezer that cold Christmas Eve appeared on the screen. With all my incredible know-how of Charles Dickens and his short story, I should've been able to describe him in 10 words or less, right?

Right. But Jacob Marley doesn't sing reggae and is NOT a symbol of Rastafarianism, which is what I excitedly stated to my fellow girlies, in which they quickly responded back with "Bob Marley." I was so relieved, I started to pass the Catch Phrase contraption on, but quickly decided to confirm that Bob was short for Jacob....yeah, you can guess the outcome.

After everyone was able to collect themselves, the timer went out and the cops got the point, but before resuming the next set, they thought they'd re-enact a "Bob Marley Christmas Carol" by becoming the 3 ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. If I wasn't so mad at myself, I would've laughed because they did some awesome Jamaican accents and could very easily make a profit with their version of A Christmas Carol.

So, Melissa, I'm sorry. At least Scrooge McDuck was IN a version of A Christmas Carol.

Oh, and for anyone else that is possibly as dense as I am, here's who I was supposed to give clues about in Catch Phrase:
NOT him:

I don't think I'm going to play Catch Phrase for awhile.

A Christmas Party with Scrooge McDuck

Surprisingly, I'm not talking about any of the husbands when I mention Scrooge. Nope. I'm referring to the fact that the men totally wailed on the ladies during Catch Phrase and Melissa needs to read Charles Dickens (I TOLD you I would blog about it!).

Well, after a scrumptious feast of soups and rolls (I sampled everything, and it was ALL delicious!), we let the kids continue their romping in the Harris fun house, and the couples all decided to try a boy vs. girl game of Catch Phrase.

I could already feel the extra estrogen seep into me as I started to link minds with the other mommies as we gathered in a circle. We have this in the bag, I thought to myself smugly. There's no way the guys can beat us now that we have the feminine mystique going for us. Truly we know more about how to describe things to each other than any of these fellows that have only met a few times.

Yeah, right.

Apparently this supposed link that I thought we all shared by spending time together at Music Makers and Playgroups never actually led to anything intelligent, so we started the game out stuttering and sputtering our thoughts out, gesticulating to try to make the words come out, but the beeper from that cursed little machine took precedence and suddenly the hubbies were up a point. What?! How did THAT happen?! Well, it's just because it wasn't my turn.

As I was handed the beeping Catch Phrase contraption, it went to Ebeneezer Scrooge. Hah! It can't get any easier than this during a Christmas party! Say good-bye to your ONE point, men!

I casually said, "He says, 'Bah, humbug." Then waited for the instantaneous response. And waited...then waited some more until a few seconds had lapsed and I stared wide-eyed as the women-folk that I thought I was so mentally linked too, only to find more stuttering and sputtering of, "Oh, I know this!" "It's that one man...you know..." then Melissa piped in, "Scrooge McDuck!"

Scrooge McDuck?! I trusted my oh so brilliant team to be spouting off DISNEY CHARACTERS?! My mouth fell open and I couldn't believe it. I was so dumbfounded that I blurted, "Have you never even HEARD of Charles Dickens?!" Finally they muddled their way out of the right answer, we passed the Catch Phrase on in which the guys got it by the first clue, then it was our turn...and lost another point. Even a "best two out of three" didn't work out for the womenfolk. I wanted to go 3 out of 5, but the babies were hungry and tired, the toddlers had eaten a little too much sugar, and the hubbies were ready to get home and to bed.

Scrooge McDuck.

BAH, HUMBUG!!!!!

It's the Most Wonderful Time...

I just LOVE the Christmas season, so here's a peek at the decorations I put up (and yes, I put them all up myself while Chris was working to eliminate any spiffles that might arise...especially since I broke my rule of not decorating until after Thanksgiving. I did it all a week earlier).

Make sure you check out the post below this one which is our tree decorating experience. I think I'm going to be doing that on my own from now on too... ;)

Santa is the first to greet at the door.

Getting ready for the feast...

well, the family's not ready to actually eat on these, so they're mostly just for show for now.

My Grandma Lee has these Spode Christmas plates that we've used for years, and my mom got me a set of dinner plates to continue the tradition in my own home.

Night & day bookcase

The most breakable stuff was supposedly out of Seth's reach, but he's still found a way to get to the tiny teaset above the "Joy" sign. The hoodlum! Nothing broke, but he's still a hoodlum.

In the kitchen, and yes, we still need to paint the trim! :\

The real reason for the season.

This nativity was a wedding present from my Aunt Jenny and Aunt Kristina (one of the perks to getting married so soon after Christmas!)

Merry Christmas to all!

Tree Trimmin'

Well, for FHE we decided to decorate the tree we got through the YMCA (in which a portion of the proceeds goes to updated equipment and other YMCA goods).


I was taking pictures, so you'll have to use your imagination and picture me there with them. With all honesty, the picture taking didn't last very long...you'll see why.

The tree after I got the lights and ribbon on (I forgot to get the camera out until after I did those steps!)


Eliza, our "Elf in Training" happily looking on, providing her input in baby language. It was most helpful!



Chris and Seth started hanging the ornaments, but they weren't...quite...in the right place...


Moving the ornaments after I "instructed" them on proper tree trimming.


Chris trying to be patient (and not really succeeding) after the instructions


Sitting on the couch while I finished the tree decorating.


A close-up of some of the ornaments

O' Christmas Tree!

I just love the warmth from this holiday...even if that warmth sometimes comes in the form of anger or "meticulous" work (using Melissa's term for being anal about something)!

Happy Holidays!

Martin Elf Dance (Chris's idea!)

OK, it wasn't Chris's idea (and he'll probably hate the picture that I used let alone the fact that I did this in the first place). A friend of mine did this with her family as a disco, and I just couldn't help myself!

I sent it to the blog, but I don't know if I sent it right because it hasn't appeared yet, so here's the link to get a bit of the jollies for the holiday! Update: It sent it to my Playgroup blog, so you can either see it there or hit the link above.

Enjoy, and if you end up doing it, post me a comment so I can see you handiwork! ;) There are quite a few cute holiday themes that are perfect for the season.