A Season of Pictures

Here are some pictures from our holidays. Enjoy!!

Our giant Christmas tree. It was over 8' tall and 6' wide. What were we thinking?!?



Here is C and her friend Sophie. We couldn't get one of them looking and smiling at the same time, but here they are making silly faces.



Here is C and M playing. Also, M's first ponytail. Yes, I know I'm a wacko and had to take a picture of it...but she looks so cute!





And here are some of C's favorite presents: Fairy wings, wand, and a Barbie house! (Yes, that is a disco ball hanging from it...)



Hope you enjoy them! I'll be back with a more meaningful post soon...

Back to regularly scheduled programming...

Happy New Year! 2008?!? Really, already?? 2007 seemed to fly by us as I am sure it did for many of you. I wish I could say that J and I jetted off someplace romantic for NYE, but we didn't. We were here celebrating during the day with some family friends, and then ringing in the arrival of 2008 with my brother. He came back with us over Christmas and went home on the 1st. Back to school for him...

And today we started our normal schedule again. C went back to school and M and I headed to the grocery store. Exciting, right? I have to say, I'm enjoying the peace in our house right now. Notice I didn't say quiet...but peace. My sister is away until the 8th, and we are for the first time alone in our house since early November. It's funny how relaxing that is. I'm still running around crazy after the kids all day long but once J is home and the girls are in bed...we are alone! I've missed some couple time with the hubby that's for sure. So far we've managed to watch a few movies, and have a few talks. Maybe, if the stars align we'll even get to go out this weekend.

So I think this is part of my new year's resolutions...to find more peace in my life. I'm a better mother and wife when I feel peaceful, so it's definitely a resolution I need to keep. I'm not sure what kind of changes I'm going to make for this to happen, but stayed tune to find out...

Merry Christmas to all..and then some...

Happy holidays! We're back from our trip to NJ to celebrate Christmas with the family. As usual, it took us forever to make the trip because of traffic and bathroom trips. The way up took us about 6 hours (including a 20 minute bathroom stop for C, and 45 minute dinner break). Luckily I had the foresight to send most of our presents up with my inlaws so we weren't cramped on the way up. The way back was a completely different story. Alas, I'm getting ahead of myself. Here's a rundown of our week:

• C and M had a blast playing with Aunt C (J's sister) who was in from CA. We only see her twice a year, so it's one of the main reasons we head up for Christmas. C really remembers her so she was over the moon to see her, but M was a little resistant. She warmed up the next morning and had a blast from there.
• C and I arrived to NJ with allergy/cold issues. Both of us were pretty miserable the first day or two, but recovered. J and M seemed fine for a while, but are getting it now.
• C was able to see her friend Sophie who moved away this summer. To say the girls were excited to see each other was an understatement. They were adorable together. We met up for lunch and then headed to a local B&N to let them play a bit. They sat and read books which was just soo cute. Pictures from that will come...
• Christmas Eve was insane as always. The festivities started around 2 pm at my inlaws and by 4, the kids had opened presents. Early, yes but they were running around in circles so it gave them something to do. C enjoyed everything she got and loved playing with her cousins. By the time we headed over to my mom's house at 7, it was another story. Both girls were fried and acting up. Moral of the story: one Christmas Eve for us from now on.
• Santa came in with a bang on Christmas morning. Both girls LOVED all the presents and excitement. While I didn't get pictures, I have video that I'm going to edit and post. The biggest hits were C's Barbie dolls and M's Little People Garage. They are still opening new toys at home and loving it. I ,on the other hand, am trying to figure out what to do with all of them!
• Aunt C and I made a Rice Krispie house instead of the traditional gingerbread. It was much easier to build (thicker pieces) but harder to decorate since the surface was uneven. We all loved to eat the "debris" though! :)

I think those are the highlights from the trip. The week also included family drama, bad weather, and a trip to the ER. Yup, that's right...the ER. M was running a 104 fever on Wednesday so I called our pediatrician and she wanted us to get checked out. The dr. at the ER said it's probably viral and M seems to be feeling better today. She's back to eating, so I'm taking that as a good sign.

The trip home took over 9 hours which was horrendous. The weather was bad, the traffic through Nj was worse, and M was running a fever the whole time. To say we will never travel the day after Christmas again is an understatement.

So there you go...the holiday according to us. Hope you all had a wonderful one and a happy new year!

The long and winding week...

Happy belated Thanksgiving to all of you! I had planned on posting over the week, but the insanity of it got the better of me. I don't even have any pictures to share!! I know, bad mommy...

We were in NJ from last Tuesday until yesterday. We hadn't planned on staying up that long but between family drama and J being sick, we stayed up there. The trip was supposed to be relaxing, minus actual Thanksgiving day, but it turned out anything but. Here's a glimpse of our week:

Tuesday - Arrived at 9 pm. Kids wound up from the drive and don't crash until after 10 pm. M wakes up at 3, and then again at 7 am for the day.

Wednesday - Kids up early but I took advantage of J being home and went back to bed. Woke up sometime after 9 am and get a call from my aunt about my mom. Spend the whole day dealing with that and don't get back home until sometime after 6pm. Kids in bed around 8, but M is again up all night. J begins to not feel well.

Thursday - Thanksgiving Day. Wake up early with the girls and the smell of turkey already in the oven. J is complaining about his head not feeling right. Both girls are cranky because of lack of sleep. Put M down for an early nap which I come to regret later. Spend the day eating and around 8 pm see the look on J's face meaning we need to leave. By 9 pm he's running a 102 degree fever. Spend the night tossing and turning, checking on J and getting woken up by M.

Friday - Black Friday. I had plans on venturing out this year, but between my lack of sleep and no noteworthy sales I decide not to go. J is still running a fever and both girls slept poorly again.

And on and on it goes... Monday I took J to the doctor's where he was told he had a virus. Great, thanks. He seems to be feeling better today, aside from a sore throat. Since M already had this, I'm waiting to see if C and I get it. Guess time will tell...

Now I know some of you may be wondering what the family drama is. I want to share, just not sure how to right now. You see, I've never advertised this blog to my family as I had started it for myself, to give me a place to vent. Given the nature of the internet I'm not sure who is reading this, if anyone...lol. Anyway, I don't want to violate anyone's privacy and I'm not sure I'm ready to vent about it anyway. So you can expect more on that later...

Ok...off to get this day going. Hope you all had a better Thanksgiving than we did!!

Bah Humbug!!!

Yes, I am officially a Grinch. I've noticed every year how stores start the Christmas season early and earlier. At first, it was right around Thanksgiving, then it was Veteran's Day, now...it was out before freaking Halloween!!! WTH?? Next year I'll be getting Caitlin's school supplies and buying tinsel at the same time?!?

Some may say I'm completely overreacting to some early holiday tidings, but it's not just that at all. Sure, I can't take Christmas lights up before December 1st but I know that's my personal pet peeve. What's bothering me is why are we rushing it? Why are we preparing for a holiday that is months away? Are our lives so busy that we need to multitask even holiday shopping right now? Buy a pumpkin and get a Christmas wreath for free??

I've recently discovered (well really admitted) that I am running, no sprinting through my life. Who made me realize this? My precocious first born, Miss C. I believe her exact words as I was rushing to get somewhere were, "Slow down Mommy! I can't move this fast!!" And she's right. She can't move that fast and neither can I without feeling like I'm shooting up crack. So the moral of this story is...SLOW DOWN!! Enjoy each moment even if you are running late, because you're running past precious moments in your life. In my case this means I need to wake up earlier or prepare more the night before so we don't have to rush, but I think it will be worth it. End of public service message...

Happy Halloween!

Here are some Halloween pictures. Both girls had a great time!!

Here is C posing with our pumpkins. Yes, that is a Cinderella pumpkin next to her...















Here is one of the girls with J. C is doing this smiling with her head up thing that we can't stop. Oh well...

No big surprise that C was another princess this year for Halloween. I figure by the time she's 8 we'll probably have each and every one. I was going to dress M up as a black cat, Flounder (with C being Ariel), or Tinkerbell, but she kept yelling "MICKEY!!!" at the Disney store, so I took that as a hint. Luckily, I had a costume from C's second Halloween and just had to buy some ears. Nice, huh??

Halloween Fun

Saturday we hit up Boo at the Zoo which was held at the National Zoo. We had a great time especially since our friends from Richmond came up. Here's a shot of C and her buddy.

Unfortunately, our camera died right after that but our friends got some. I'll post one once I get it.

Sunday we headed out to Cox Farms for their Fall Festival which was a ton of fun. C enjoyed a pony ride and M loved the apples!!

Today was C's school parade. Here is a quick shot of that.