The End of the Year

As we are getting ready to say farewell to another year, I cannot help but think about the previous twelve months. So much has happened to our little family this year. There were definitely some high points - Olivia turning one, Emma turned five, Emma started Kindergarten, Halloween, family times, etc. - and there were certainly enough low points to remember as well (we won't get into those right now).

At the end of the day, and the year today, I have to try to look on the bright side of things and remember just how blessed I am to have what I do. My girls are beautiful, healthy and happy. I have a loving husband who accepts me with all of my weirdness. I have an amazing family who supports and loves me. In the end, as long as I have my family with me I can take whatever else happens. We may not be a traditional family, and we may all be a little crazy, but we love each other and we take care of each other. Who could want anything more?

So, farewell to 2008. I can only hope that 2009 brings more happiness and joy to my family and that we are able to spend more time together.I mean, come on, who wouldn't want to spend more time with these two beautiful little people :)

Holidays at Home

So, it has been a little while since I have been able to download some pics and actually post, but here I am, finally! With the holidays and the completion of the work around the house, it has been a very busy few weeks.

We had a most wonderful Christmas here at our house. The girls were thrilled with all of their presents. Olivia really didn't care about the opening of the presents - only when she saw a dolly that she wanted did she get excited. Otherwise, she was busy playing with the new train set that was all ready to go for them in the morning.
After we finished up here we made the long journey - across the street - to my MIL's house for round #2. Again, the girls were greeted with more beautiful presents and were kept very happy and content for hours.
I was able to present Jason with something that he has recently expressed interest in - a guitar. Soon, he'll take some lessons and before you know it we'll be filling the house with music that doesn't come from XM.All and all, it was a wonderful day, spent with family that I love and adore. I couldn't have asked for a better day, other than having more family around. But, miles and other distance separates us. Although we may not have been able to be with everyone that we wanted to, they were certainly in our hearts and minds. Much love to all of our family!

Home, again

Finally - we are home! It has been a long haul and although there are still things that need to be finished, the larger, dirtier projects are done and we are able to live here again! Never thought I would miss it so much, but I did. There is just something to be said about the comforts of home. Love to my MIL for letting us take refuge at her house - you are a lifesaver!!!!!

Please Join...

The Compassionate Friends
Worldwide Candle Lighting

Join me on Sunday, December 14, 2008 along with other bereaved families, for The Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting. Visit The Compassionate Friends website to find a formal service near you, or light a candle in your home at 7 PM knowing you will be joined by hundreds of thousands of people who are thinking about the children around the world who are gone, but continue to live on in the hearts that they touched.

A Remembrance Book will also be available on The Compassionate Friends' website on that day to post a message or tribute.
The Worldwide Candle Lighting held yearly the second Sunday in December

Long Hard Road

This past week has been an interesting and unsettling one. We have been staying at my MIL's house since our house is in a state of unrest. Our new windows are (finally) going in and some of them require a little more work than others since we are changing their function. Plus, we took up the carpet in our living room to reveal beautiful hardwood underneath and that is going to be sanded and refinished today/tomorrow. Stuff is everywhere. Dogs are here. Cats are there. I am nowhere. Girls have been troopers. MIL is a godsend!!!

Snow Me Over

I hate winter. Ok, maybe I should clarify that. I hate having to bundle up the girls to go out to the store, having to put Olivia's shoes/socks back on once we reach our destination (5 miles away), taking everything off in the store, putting it back on to go out, getting home and having to (again) put Olivia's shoes/socks back on to get inside and then having to take everything off again and hang it up in its respective place. I hate being cold from October to June. I hate how in this blessed state of MI we get so few days of sun during the winter.

But, I do love some things about it. The fresh snow coating the trees that arch over the roads is beautiful. I almost drove off the road staring at it this morning when I headed out. I love to see the crazy people (sorry bro!) out running in the freezing cold. I love the pure joy on my girls' faces when they see the snow. I love that Emma keeps asking if we have enough snow to make a snowman.

Mostly, I love that it gives me a reason to stay inside cuddle up with my girls, or watch them cuddle together. Who wouldn't love that.

Post Thanksgiving Haze

The last couple of days have been full of fun, food, travel, shopping, relaxation, shopping, fun and oh, did I mention shopping? Now, I was not one of those crazies who camped out in front of a store to grab a great deal. I was one of those people who scanned the Internet, found the early deals, and ordered from the comfort and warmth of my home. Today, however, my MIL and I had cabin fever and decided to head out to a cute little town near us to do some shopping. If they had only known we were coming!

I have not had a chance to load the turkey day pics, but I do have the day after pic of Emma's debut as an artist. I give you, the wall of Emma.


Thank you GD for the usage of your sticky-note pads and of course, the crayons. And to Olivia, who had a had in a couple of the masterpieces.

The Weekend Review

Being the last weekend before J has to start working partial Saturday's (gotta love retail during the holidays!), we wanted to make sure we all had a good time and just enjoyed each other. We started off by going to the music store and purchasing a drum for the girls for Christmas. A drum. In my house. Not at grandparents. My house. Crazy, maybe, but the girls are going to love it!

We then decided to come home and be cozy bums for the rest of the afternoon. J and I made it out that night (thank you Dana!!!) for a rare weekend outing minus children. It was wonderful. Dinner with my sweetie. Peaceful.

Sunday was a beautiful day, all be it cold, but still great. The usual grocery shopping out of the way and Olivia down for a nap, J, Emma and I went bowling - Emma's very first time! She had a great time and was really good at it. Must have some natural talent there - not from me that's for sure!

Today, it is snowing. Thanks MI. It gives way to a wonderful reason to stay in jammies, as the girls are at the moment, and to just have fun.

Bach-a-Bach-a

Olivia has her own special language right now. It's a very different experience from Emma, who never babbled and communicated with baby-talk. She went straight to talking right around eighteen months and hasn't stopped since. Olivia, however, is on the slower track. I must admit, I love hearing her garbled way of chatting. It is so cute and sweet and she has a very definitive opinion, although you may not know what it is.

She can certainly get a point across when needed. But I keep waiting for some real words to sneak out. There have been a few. Hi. Go (when she's talking to the dogs).Baby. Momma. Dadda. I swear she tries to say Emma. She does actually say a couple of phrases if you listen closely. Here you go.

I know it will happen when she is ready. Since the only experience we have is with Emma it's hard not to compare and worry a little bit. I am, however, glad to delay the inevitable arguing and screaming that will occur shortly. There are already very one-sided arguments from Emma in the backseat. "She's looking at me!" "Olivia just shushed me!"

Ah, the moments of silence are coming to an end and I know I will think back to these times and think, damn, I had it good.

Already???

Ugh. I thought maybe I was hearing things today. Perhaps my subconscious was trying to test my sanity. It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is next week already. But what is harder to believe is the Christmas music being piped through stores already. I could hardly believe what I was listening to. Scrooge I am not - I love my Christmas music - AFTER THANKSGIVING!!!!!

Emma took note today as well. We had unloaded ourselves from the car to pick up two of the reasons I vacuum daily and she saw a store window decorated with all that is Christmas. 'Momma, don't they know we haven't had Thanksgiving yet? I think I need to tell them it hasn't passed yet'. Observations of a five-year old.

An early start...

I never was one to wait until the last minute to start my Christmas shopping - save that one year I stopped somewhere on my way to Christmas Eve with my family for a gift. With the girls now, I feel like if I don't start planning in April I will be endlessly behind and lost in the drones. Of course, the hottest most desired toy list of the year doesn't come out that early, so anything purchased prior to that may not meet with the masses standards.

Ok, so what is my point exactly with my nonsensical rambling right now? Well, I can never be totally sure myself. All I know is that as we delved into the wretched world known as Christmas shopping, I felt some happiness as I tossed items into the cart for the girls and their cousins. At one point, I could feel myself thinking, who cares - what's one more toy! I truly dislike how early Christmas is thrust upon us - creeping into other holidays before they are even past. But, when the season is truly, officially upon us, I am in love. The sites, sounds, smells and meaning of Christmas is one of the things I truly enjoy. Of course, all of it is so much more special with my girls.

Look What I Can Do!

In an ongoing effort to be more like her sister, Olivia is now mastering the art of putting her socks and shoes on. It's a refreshing change from her usual pull & ditch seconds after being buckled into the car. All in good time I suppose - Em went through the same phase. I remember not being so amused when she did it either.



Of course, Emma had to sneak into the picture, so as to not miss out on a photo op :)

Sisters

When the girls sit together nicely to enjoy a little bit of Sesame Street, it just warms my heart. They actually gel together pretty well, although they do have their moments as I would expect from two girls. When I think about having one more, I worry about ruining the amazing dynamic we have going right now. As I type, Olivia just climbed up on the couch with Emma to snuggle - I love mornings like this.

A new couch & a trip to the ER

To make things interesting this week, we thought that a trip to the ER may add some excitement. We had finally decided on a new couch for the living room, after much searching and debate. Off we went to the store to make our purchase, with Olivia in tow while Emma relaxed at Grandma's house. In front of the couch we wanted to purchase was this beautiful glass topped table. I had made a comment to Jason about how much I liked it but that we could never have it in the house right now. He felt the edges and said they were smooth and even the corners were rounded - but I saw head bumps and sticky finger prints all over it. Not more than a minute later, Olivia graciously proved why we could not have the table - she went to walk towards it and tripped over the rug that was placed under it and took a header into the table.

A nice little gash next her eye, oozing blood and a concerned sales person later and we were off the ER. Thankfully, it stopped bleeding shortly after we left the store. At the ER they determined that it would not need stitches - thank God! Olivia screamed bloody murder when they put her id bracelet on her ankle. Stitches would have required some kind of sedation, for her and me. So, after a little bit of the medical equivalent of super glue to her cut, we headed home.

She is certainly no worse for the wear - she was quite the little trooper. We were quite exhausted from the whole experience but were grateful that things weren't worse. We have called her our 'bubble wrap' child for many reasons...this just adds to the list.

Needless to say we didn't purchase our lovely new couch that day. If Olivia didn't like it, she could have just told us in a gentler, less ER kind of way.

Happy Halloween!!!!!!

We had a yummy start to our day - pumpkin flavored pancakes, cut into cute shapes accompanied by 'mummy sausages'. The girls loved them! Lunch was not be overshadowed by the earlier success, so we made grilled cheese sandwiches in the shapes of a kitty, a bat and a half-moon (no photo - eaten quickly!). Not to be outdone by the earlier meals, grandma provided dinner. We all dined on 'worms & sauce', followed by pumpkin cookies and of course, some of the booty.

Off to trick-or-treating! Olivia, having the choice of three costumes, dressed in Emma's ladybug outfit from her second Halloween. She was very cute and personable - she managed to fill up her whole bag with goodies!

Emma was the best kitty ever! Another bag of loot from her...she was quite pleased with her take this year. We had our doubts when we started out, but it did turn out to be a prosperous evening.
Not to be outdone, we all dressed up this year. It was totally worth it - I have never had so much fun at Halloween.

The Chefs, Queen for Day, Waiting for Daddy & Lounge Baby

Finally, a chance to post my pics from the last couple of days! It's hard to carve out time every day to do pictures, but I am going to try.

Thank you to Memere Croy in RI - the girls are the lucky recipients of matching aprons - they were so cute in them together! Emma loves to help cook and has been a 'Lil Chef' for quite some time. It does help that daddy is a pro :)
Emma has been on a mission of card making, coloring and 'projects' for the last few days. Her latest creation, a queen's crown, was inspired. She has been dancing and singing for the last couple of hours with this hat on - an Emma original. I am humbled in her presence.

Riley, one of our many four legged residents, has a ferocious bark - the poor UPS man should just throw our packages and save himself the onslaught of teeth and barking. However, when it comes to waiting for 'daddy' to come home, she looks pretty docile and quite honestly, a little pathetic.

While I was getting lunch together, Olivia was apparently bored, tired, who knows. She took it upon herself to go and retrieve one of her lovely knit blankets and take up residence on one the recliners (soon to be replaced!!!!). It's nice that she can take care of herself so well already. The process has begun...I will not be needed for everything...Emma became independent so early on that I am secretly hoping Olivia stays 'little' for longer. This is when I start to think about one more...I miss the baby/infant stage - crazy as it can be at times, I miss it.

Music to my Ears

Wednesday's are so much fun. Olivia and I head off to Music First class and then after we pick up Emma, it's off to story time at the local B&N. I love my Wednesday morning - I get to see the girls enjoy themselves and I get to have fun right alongside of them. This is our third week at music and Olivia is finally getting cozy with the setting and the 'routine'. She participated and had a lot of fun - I was so happy to see her liking it!

Story time was the busiest I've seen it - but the special Halloween event was not one to be missed. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to grab her costume and do a quick change in the car - I suppose if I weren't such a stickler for her wearing a seat belt it would have been achieved. But, there weren't that many kids in costume so I didn't feel like a total failure as a mom. At any rate, she had a great time and Olivia got her sugar fix with a candy-corn-pumpkin while Emma drank some 'warm chocolate' as the lady from the coffee joint sold it.

A perfect way to spend our Wednesday morning/early afternoon. I look forward to every day with my girl's but Wednesday has become a lot of fun.

Betty Crocker, I am not

I love the smell of freshly baked cookies. I am, however, baking challenged it seems. I try to blame it on the oven - admittedly, we have had some temperamental ovens in the past - but I must step up and take responsibility for human error. When I had my girls, I thought to myself 'oh, I can't wait to make cookies with them!' - what a great memory to create. Well, soon reality reminded me that I am not much of a baker. I love to cook and I can make a great breakfast/lunch/dinner but ask me to bake a cake, cookies, etc. and you are just asking for something to burn. This afternoon is cold, dreary, rainy, or in one simple word - Michigan. So I thought that Em and I could make cookies to make the house feel warm and yummy smelling. Smartly, I had purchased the pre-made cookies that are basically idiot proof - a freakin' monkey could break off the little blocks of dough and slap them on a cookie sheet. Well, I have managed to burn them before - but today was different! They came out looking like cookies - I was shocked and amazed. I am proud of myself for not igniting the little buggers and having to scrape hockey pucks off of the cookie sheet into the garbage as I grumble at myself for once again screwing up such a simple task. Martha Stewart would be appalled.

Friday Flibbitz

Oh what a joy to stumble out of bed this morning and realize that it is Friday! I dream of the weekend all week long as it is the time for the four of us to spend family time together. By the time J comes home from work, we eat, Em does homework (yes, homework in kindergarten!), both bippy's get a bath, teeth get brushed, stories are read, and bippy's are tucked in, there just isn't much time, or energy, left to do a whole heck of a lot. However, the weekend gives us complete days of 'what do you want to do?'. Sometimes we have something planned - like this weekend we'll be venturing down to my dad's to meet up with the fam to go to a corn maze. But most weekends are left to chance, mood and weather. Sometimes we just hunker down and stay home to play, create and enjoy each other in the home setting. Other times we take the girls to a fave spot or we just wing it and drive somewhere.

The gist of it is this - weekends are sacred to us as they are the only time we get to spend quality time together as a family. My girls and J are the most important people in my life and I cherish the time I get to spend with them. There are many moments during the week that are very special and near to my heart. But the weekends provide me with even more memories of us all together enjoying life and each other.

Here's to another weekend with my loves.

Christmas Lists - ALREADY!

How lucky, two posts in one day! I didn't get a chance to do anything the last couple of days, so I'm making up for it now. For anyone who has a little girl out there, beware of the American Girl catalog coming out!! Mine arrived today and oh my - I thought Em's head was going to spin around! She soon sat down, very eager to start marking her territory by circling the things that she, or her doll, thought they needed. I let her know that we would pass her wishes along to Santa and as she has said from school 'you get what you get and you don't throw a fit'. We'll see if that holds true :)

Sick Day

Ok, I may be one of the few people out there who would look forward to having a sick child at home for the day. On Monday, Em was not feeling quite up to going to school and after having a really yucky day on Sunday, we agreed it would be best. At first I thought, how am I going to keep Bippy off of her sister. But I soon discovered that it would be one of the best days. The girls stayed in their pj's and we cuddled on the couch for most of the day watching Sesame Street and Dora. Any other day and the TV watching would have been limited, as usual to one movie or a couple of educational shows (Dora, Word World or Super Why are the typical requests). But I was content with getting some time with the girls that didn't involve going anywhere. It was one of the best days I've had in a while, and it was spent cuddled up with my girls!

Congrats to Dirt Dawg & Dirrty Girl!!

A quick congrats to my brother for competing in and finishing the Columbus Marathon today! His time qualified him for running in the Boston Marathon. Congrats to my big brother, the dawg! Check out his stats:

Overall Place: 283 out of 3869
Time: 3:09:51
Pace: 7:15

My SIL, Dirrty Girl, competed in the half marathon and finished with a time of 2:17:57. Congrats to you too!!!

I'm sure he'll post an update on his blog soon - check that out at the left.

Inspired

After enjoying the festivities of the 'Zoo Boo' last night, I became inspired (sort of) to start this little venture. The whole evening, which was certainly highlighted by my dad parading around as a gecko, made me reflect on my family and the fun we have. I started thinking about how I could share our craziness with the world - in a safe, non-scary way. So, my mind went to the blogging world. My brother, the expert blogger in the fam, has been doing this for a little while and I enjoy reading his posts. It's a great way to keep up on things. And, having recently discovered some other inspiring blogs, I was resolved to the idea of at least giving this a shot.

So, for all the family, near or far, here will be my attempt at blogging. My kids will be sure to thank me in several years when they realize that they grew up being fodder for my ramblings. Asking for forgiveness in advance my little monkeys :)