finished projects....

pretty apron for me...

flannel wash cloths for the girls...

This is some of Cara's baby shower gift (I am working on more baby items as I type this), we are excited to meet her baby boy Jayden Robert in January!

A banner to put in Jayden's room....

A soft, warm flannel and fleece monkey blanket....

bestest friends

Yes, they argue and fight.
Yes, they can drive me crazy.
Yes they are complete opposites.

But at the end of the day, they are each other's best friend.



God, I love these girlies!



I am pretty sure that immediately following this photo op, they were back to the fun game of "take each other's favorite toy and run".....leaving the other crying and screaming.

for Noah...

I had so much fun putting this book together for Noah's 3rd birthday!

September

Here we are,
at the end of summer and getting ready for
the changes that will come with September 2008.

DJ, will be starting grade 8. He and I will be getting up at 6:15 in order to reinstate the "school day" morning routine and get the bus at 7:15. Its going to be tough for me at first, I am not the cheerful mom who wakes up refreshed, happily ready to start the day....I am a tad bit resentful and bitchy until I can get some caffeine and wash my face, and even then I am slow to move. DJ is also a little grump in the morning.....we have an unspoken understanding to not antagonise each other as we "wake up".
I am hopeful that he will have a great year, he has some amazing teachers that we have met with over the summer and although he doesn't say it, I know he is ready to go back to school.

Avery will be starting pre-school as a peer model at our school system's early learning center. She is getting excited for school....initially, she wasn't thrilled with the idea of going to school, but after we went "school shopping", she suddenly saw it differently.....such a girl! She will be at school on Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 12:45- 3:15, a nice balanced schedule. I am looking into a morning dance class for her too.

Emmy and I will have our own special time when Avery is at school, I am really looking forward to this change. She has always had to share me with someone, so it will be so nice to have our one on one time together. It will be the perfect time to enroll her in a swim class and plan fun things with just Emmy in mind.....although, I know that she will miss her sister!

So, with new clothes, backpacks, sneakers, school supplies and lunch boxes waiting in the wings, I mentally prepare for the adjustments and changes that come with the month of September.
I am not ready for the unavoidable weeks of chaos that we will endure until we find our rhythm, the cold weather that is lurking around the corner, or the strict bedtimes and wake up times. But, I am ready to let go a little bit and watch my kids spread their wings.....I think.

Fancy Nancy

Avery has a new literary friend named Nancy, Fancy Nancy.....and she is just that!

Fancy Nancy loves to dress up with lots of frilly, sparkly accessories and feels that everyone should be fancy too!

I am having so much fun reading these books with Avery and Emmy, the illustrations and the stories are gorgeously presented. Love, love, love these books!

I may be guilty of enjoying the books more than the girls.....although, Avery was quite excited about her books and told me, pretty frankly, that she wants lots of "fancy things" to wear with her new school clothes....

I think I can help her out with that!

handmade treasures

My mother-in-law makes the most amazing gifts for the girls. She makes them dolls, clothes, bags, aprons and all sewn to perfection with beautiful fabric. She made DJ a really nice flannel bathrobe with a fish designed material, which he adores!
I put the beautiful dolls and special gifts on shelves in their rooms to be seen and loved. The girls have quite a collection that I know will be treasured as they grow and have their own children to share them with.
So, I wanted to share some of her recent gifts.....these are just a few of the many hand made items that the girls have from Grandma Elaine.....

Teddy Bear

School bag
Jumpers for school
Sundress & hat
Tank and light pants (hat....not shown)



I will have to photograph all of Grandma Elaine's work and post it all......

stuck

The "mister" has his own blog that I frequent on a regular basis.....he is pretty comical in his own odd way. My blog is about my family, friends and things that are going on with me....the mister's blog is about his personal views on obscure, current events and things floating around the Internet.

The latest post on "the C-Mac Blog" is a little piece about this random guy's video montage dedicated to his girlfriend, complete with my husband's commentary about it.
Ever since I read this post, I have not been able to get the stupid song out of my head!
It has overtaken my quiet moments to the point that I find myself singing or humming this ridiculous song.....its killing me. Seriously.

Attention better half:
Please update your blog with a new post asap. Every time I check in on your blog and see the title alone, the song infiltrates my brain to where I cannot escape it.
Please, please, please update, for the sake of my sanity.

random blurbs from me

Two glasses of chilled prosecco after an awesome date with my husband.....which was preceded by a full day with the kids, is absolute perfection.

Spending time out of the house with my husband (while leaving the kids with Grandma and Gramps) is really fun......and we need to do it more often.

Summer goes by so much faster than the other 3 seasons.

My 14 year old son is taller than me and weighs more than I do.

I am working hard on my 4 year plan, yet I can justify the cost of a new tattoo.......

I am grateful that my children are healthy and happy, my marriage is strong and my parents are close to us.

Friends fill the gaps.

I am in a happy place this week......not because of the 2 glasses of prosecco!

The Dark Knight date night....

Chris and I are going on a date tonight.....so what if its Wednesday!

Our plan is to check out the new Showcase Cinema De Lux at Patriot Place and finally see The Dark Knight.
We figure that we can actually accomplish going out to dinner (we can even enjoy an adult beverage) and catching a movie.....we usually have to choose between the 2 due to time restrictions that we put upon ourselves.

Naturally, I have about a million things to get done before Chris gets home.....spontaneity has not shown itself in years at my house.
I guess that's what happens when smallish people come into the picture and take over.....but I don't care because I am going on a real date tonight!!!

a little quiet time for me

Emmy, who is usually up between 6-6:30 am every morning, slept in until 8:30 am today!!
We didn't do anything different last night, bedtime routine was standard, normal bedtime and she was feeling good.....we'll see what tomorrow brings.....hoping that she has a repeat performance!

It was such a treat to have a little bit of quiet time before the 3 kids were up for the day and back to creating chaos : )

fun on wheels

This weekend, Chris and I dug out the skates, got me a new pair and took the girls in the double jogger for some fun "stroller-blading".
We had the best of intentions, we could get some exercise, have fun, fresh air and all with the kids.
Poor DJ was having a little bit of a hard time on the skates, so he rode his bike along with us.
Chris had no problem jumping back into the inline skates, getting all "tricky" with them and skating laps around me (show off!)....pretty impressive for an old guy!
I however, did not enjoy my new inline skates (I really wanted to) and they are going back to the store.
They hurt like hell and although I had no problem with balance, I just couldn't get a groove with them. It was so disappointing because as a kid, I loved to roller skate and did it all the time, indoors and outdoors. I know I can skate.
So, I came to the conclusion that me and inline skates don't mesh, but me and roller skates.....now that is a completely different story.

Those many practice laps around the driveway perfecting my skills, all those Sunday afternoons at Bobby's Rollaway skating to every song they played, and the makeshift roller rink I set up in my basement, have not passed in vain.
Even, breaking my arm when I was skating (at age 6) didn't deter me from rollerskating!

I can reclaim my love of skating despite my aversion to inline skates, I found these fun skates and I am eagerly awaiting their arrival by the weeks end to get out with the family for some "stroller skating".....old school style!

I didn't sign up for this

Do you ever feel like packing up and just running away from home?

I do.

I am so done with the never-ending mess that piles up around me, the incessant whining, the constant fighting between siblings, and the perpetual tantrums of a very strong willed two and a half year old......this is my world as I know it.
I am pretty sure that each one of my 3 children, is going through a growth stage, which is a bitch to Mom, who is wholeheartedly trying to give everybody a little extra attention and lots of hugs and kisses to get through this.
Its so challenging to dig out the last of my strength and patience when they are all losing it at the same time over something so petty (for the 6th time in 3 hours).....I keep telling myself that it will be OK, but will it?? And when??!!

Maybe I can head to a really comfy, quiet, tucked away little spa somewhere.....catch up on a good book, a pedicure, a few cocktails and savor a long, uninterrupted sleep in a bed all to myself.
Or some retail therapy.
Or check the calendar and realize that I should know by now, that when things get this crazy, expect that Aunt Flo is due to swing by!

PMS sucks.

Its time...