DJ

I just wanted to put in some old pictures of DJ, he is cute isn't he?!

Dirty Laundry

I am trapped in my basement fighting off the elusive laundry monster.......it is a battle I fight daily, quite valiantly I must add.
I have absolutely no idea how this heaping mess of dirty clothes gets the better of me. But as I look more closely at the situation, I think maybe, the fact that Emmy is gross and smears regurgitated food on her shirts or that Avery feels inspired to change her outfit (undies included) multiple times a day or that Chris throws his dirty clothes in his closet (why?!) to be discovered in a pretty gross state of matter.......maybe that is why I am constantly chasing down this beast.
Finally, when I think that I have won the battle, I still have the daunting task of disposing of the remains......to the proper drawers of course.

TGIF

Wow, this week flew by.....its Friday!
I have to work at the salon on Saturday, but its no biggie......its usually pretty fun.
Al and Georgia are heading to Boston for the weekend, so Chris and I will be meeting up with them for dinner, will be nice to get out.
No plans as of now for Sunday.
It is the last gymnastics class, but I have a feeling that Avery will fully protest this and refuse to go. I'll try to persuade her.

Uncle Al Song

Baby Bella Day

So, tomorrow is Baby Bella day, this is what Avery calls the days that I babysit Bella. Me and my girlies love that little sweetpea! I can't believe that she is 4 months old.......I really can't believe that Dacia and Rick are married to each other and have a 4 month old baby!

Ha! Just kidding! Rick got a spiffy haircut tonight, so I was able to chit chat with him a bit......yeah, he kind of adores his baby girl.......as every Daddy should!

Party in my Tummy

Cute Chris

Al's photoshop attempt....

not so good.

Creepy, weird, happy, dancing things

This is what the small people who share my home with me are presently watching.

If you are not familiar with Yo, Gabba Gabba.....you don't know what you are missing.

Songs with titles such as, "party in my tummy", "I like fish", "don't bite your friends" and "try it, you'll like it" are just a small sample of what this show offers! Seriously, the creators are clearly on something! What

are these creepy things supposed to be anyway?

And why the hell do I allow my children to be subjected to this?!

Uncle Al

Just want to send a shout out to Big Al......enjoy!

Bedtime

Avery stayed up later than usual and we curled up under a blanket and watched "How the Grinch stole Christmas".

I was surprised that she liked it because she is used to super-animated, crystal-clear, HDTV cartoons, but it was a hit. Less is more I guess.

Oh, and I didn't mind snuggling on the couch with my princess either.

Kiss~Hug~Eskimo Kiss~Eskimo Kiss,

Kiss~Hug~Eskimo Kiss~Eskimo Kiss last one!

I hate 5pm

I'm hungry.....what's for dinner?
God, I wish that I had a personal chef to whip up whatever I (or the kids) felt like eating, at any time of the day. Unfortunately, I do not have this luxury as a part of my daily routine.
Instead, I get the privilege of being head chef at Casa De McLaughlin.....along with maid, chauffeur, personal stylist, homework consultant and financial manager!

I actually don't mind cooking, it can be fun at times, but I dread creating new meals for my kids. They are stuck on what they like.....plain elbows/shells (w/butter, but they still insist that it is plain), chicken noodle soup (with the broth drained), hot dogs, mac and cheese, grilled cheese, chicken nuggets (only from McDonald's).....I think you get it. Thankfully, they do like most fruits and veggies, which makes me feel better.
So, I have to recycle these meals over and over and make sure that they are somewhat nutritious.....seriously, it is so boring. I make the kids' dinner and then Chris and I eat something else......I'm sure that I am not the only double-meal-maker, but its getting old!
I remember having a conversation with Remily about giving the kids dinner and if they didn't eat it, we resorted to giving them oatmeal to fill their bellies.....I felt validated that she did this too!
I think that for a while, my family thought oatmeal was an entree.

Tonight the kids had chicken noodle soup, to which I added more pasta and drained the broth before serving.....who does this?! They got all of the food groups and I got through another uninspired meal. Did I mention that my house is a disgusting mess?.......I need to clean it now.

Girl talk

Tonight, I had a chance to sit on my big purple chair and talk on the phone with Remily : )
This is a great feat as we had to fit it in between my work schedule, her Mommy routine and Dancing with the Stars finale...I am so disappointed that Mel and Maksim didn't take the trophy.

Anyway, it was very therapeutic for me to talk to her, its so hard to touch base when we are just busy with life.
As the daily grind moves forward with whatever we have on the calender and the days pass, I just need to catch up with her to feel like me again!



So, it was great to talk about work, life, holiday plans and the kids. Tate turned 5 a few weeks ago, he is officially a big kid. I can remember him as a little bean swaddled up at the hospital, he is growing up so fast. I have to say that he is an amazing little guy, super smart and just fun to be around....I really love that boy!
Avery and Emmy both have fun with Tate and I have this little fantasy that one of them will grow up and marry him.....ha! wouldn't that be funny?!

Thankful

So, we had a really full Thanksgiving weekend......
My Brother Al was home from New Jersey for 3 days, Grandma Elaine was visiting from Florida, Thanksgiving at my parents, LaSalette, St.Jean Holiday party and Avery's birthday.....it was crazy, messy, chaotic and fun!



It is so good to spend time with my brother, he is witty, smart and funny.....I wish we could see him more, although he does make an effort to visit every month or so. The girls love him, Avery made up the "Uncle Al" song and she and Emmy dance to it. Its cute.
DJ has a little rivalry with Uncle Al, he is a little-teeny-tiny bit jealous because when Al is here, DJ is not the main focal point of my parents......but I know he loves him!



Grandma Elaine was able to spend some time with the kids, they were all happy to see her. Each time she comes, the initial shyness is less and less. Elaine brought Avery a puzzle and it did not take her long to pick up the concept and go with it! She loves it! Its neat to watch her discover new things....Emmy follows suit, its awesome!

Thanksgiving dinner was wonderful, as expected......Mom was stressed, as expected.
I love Thanksgiving, it is just a great day to eat and relax, although there really is not too much relaxing when there are small children involved!
We ate at my parents and spent time with my Grandmother, Aunt and cousin.
Later on we packed up the kids and went to see the lights at LaSalette, it was too nice of a night to pass up. It was beautiful and I tried to take it in. When I was little, it was just a lot of really neat lights and hot chocolate, so I tried to take in the spirituality and really appreciate it from an adults point of view, but Emmy had other ideas.
She didn't want any part of it and was trying to escape the confines of her stroller the whole time.
Needless to say, I didn't have a chance to reflect or take it in, but we saw the lights!

We went to Wright's Chicken Farm for our holiday gathering for the St.Jean side of my family. With all of the best intentions it was planned to be an enjoyable dinner with the family, however, not by any one's fault, it was horrible! DJ was not speaking to me, my girls were monsters, I couldn't engage in any conversation because everyone was spread out and my girls were monsters, neither Chris, me or the girls ate anything.....because they were monsters, I heard that the food sucked and we actually had to pay for this! Oh well, Donna informed me that next year it will be deserts and coffee at her house so we can actually spend time together as a family.

Avery is officially 4 years old! We had her party earlier in the month, so her day was just that....."her day". We did whatever she wanted, which was not going to Miss Buffy's gymnastics class! We played outside and hung out, she opened gifts from us and she got to play with them.....it was Avery's Day!!!!

Hi

So, I am going to give this a shot. I figure that it will be an easy way to keep in touch with friends as well as an outlet at the end of the day!

If you are even remotely interested in this, you probably know me, but I will refresh. I am a Mom of 3 amazing, fun, smart, interesting and creative kids.

DJ is 13, he is in 7th grade and he is in every way an individual......as well as creative and funny. He doesn't follow the crowd and he is quite an old soul.....we wouldn't have it any other way!

Avery is now 4, I can't believe that! She is such a girlie-princess-frilly-diva girl. She really loves to do things her way and is
pretty vocal about that.


Emmy is 20 months and she is trouble! She is determined to do everything her sister does, she is very independent but she is a mama's girl. She is such a cuddle bug......my Emmy doodle bug!

During the day, I stay home with my little girls, babysit Baby-Bella (2 days) and I work at the salon 9 hours a week. I think its a good balance most days.

My husband Chris is my best friend and partner in this chaos,
we are alike in many ways and I am lucky to have him with me. The kids think he is the funniest daddy ever......I think he is the best!

I want my children to grow into smart individuals that are able to express themselves, think out of the box, make good choices and just have happiness in life.

Its hard work being a Mom, but it is pretty cool!