Hydrangeas and Hyacinths

Fourth of July Recap

2011-07-05T13:24:00.000-04:00

We woke up early (for me anyway!) and went to see the 4th of July Parade in a neighborhood. After slathering on plenty of sunscreen we hunkered down on on some prime real estate.

Hubby went and got all of us some water ice to cool off. It was really hot and humid and we were on the sunny side of the street. Lemon water ice on a hot humid day=yum!

Finally we heard the parade coming down the street! It was full of marching bands and floats...

I felt a little bit silly but started to cry when I saw how proud these gentlemen were to be carrying our flag with such honor.

My girls were waving their flags and so excited.

One of the clowns came over to show the girls her giant shoes. They wanted to know if her feet were really that big.

After the parade we made our way home to relax and for a while. The girls and I made some delicious lemon cupcakes with lemon coconut frosting and red white and blue sprinkles. After a dinner of hamburgers, potato salad and watermelon we went to see fireworks. By the time we all got home and showered and in bed it was so late. It was a great day!

Checking off that summer list

2011-06-30T12:03:00.000-04:00

Making fruit smoothie ice pops...

...loaded with strawberries, blueberries, vanilla yogurt and ground flax seed. Yummy!

Cuddling with one of our fuzzy buddies on the couch...

...trying to figure out how to get the hamster out of the ball...

...a little playdough on the porch...

...with a lot of bed head going on...

...pets are never far away from these girls...

...the hydrangeas are in bloom...

I love the different colors on opposite sides of the house.

We are loving these lazy days of summer around here!

Reading on the porch, this girl always has a book handy. Now going into second grade, she's just started reading Little Women. I'm so proud of her!

Now off to Home Depot to pick up some paint and trim for various projects around the house.

Our weekend in pictures

2011-06-27T10:14:00.000-04:00

finished the butterfly project...

took MIL out for birthday breakfast and went to the park...

took our first day trip to the beach for the summer...

got home really late and really tired but very happy and content.

Lazy Days of Summer

2011-06-24T21:16:00.000-04:00

We've been keeping busy the past few days enjoying the slower, lazier days of summer. Sleeping in, eating pancakes for breakfast, doing summer bridgework, reading and doing crafts.

Yesterday we pulled out the art kits and drew some pictures. These were some great little art kits that I picked up at the craft store at Christmas time. Speaking of, I can't believe it's only 6 months until the big day!

The girls have been really good with not watching tv and keeping themselves entertained. They pulled out some games to play like Zingo and Hyper Dash.

Today we started on a new project that I saw on one of my favorite blogs, Whatever. I can't wait to show you the finished product. The girls are really excited about it.

Tonight was our traditional Friday night: PIZZA AND MOVIE NIGHT. Every Friday I make the pizzas and the girls get to pick out a movie from Redbox. Tonight's selection was Gnomeo & Juliet. I love Fridays!

We've got a lot going on this weekend. Tomorrow is MIL's birthday and we're taking her out for breakfast and then the rest of the day will be spent working around the house, cleaning up the yard, finishing up some projects, etc. Sunday we're taking a day trip to the beach. The first this season! Can't wait to sink my toes in the sand.

Whole Wheat Dark Chocolate Pancakes=Yummy Deliciousness!

2011-06-23T12:49:00.000-04:00

The girls wanted a special breakfast this morning so I whipped up these:

They were delicious! Here's the recipe just in case you're in the mood. Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Dark Chocolate Pancakes
Makes 4 pancakes

3/4 cup skim milk
2 Tbls white vinegar
1 cup white whole wheat flour
2 Tbls sugar
1 tsp baking powder
.5 tsp baking soda
.5 tsp salt
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
2 Tbls canola oil
Dark chocolate chips

Combine the milk and vinegar and let it sit for a few minutes. In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk together the egg, vanilla and canola oil together with the milk. Make a well in the flour mixture and add the wet ingredients. Only mix until combined, don't over mix or they'll turn out tough. Ladle some out on a preheated griddle and sprinkle on some dark chocolate chips. Cook until edges start to brown and bubbles form on top. Flip over and cook for a few minutes more. We ate them up with sliced bananas.

There were no leftovers!

Kicking off summer on a sweet note

2011-06-21T22:11:00.000-04:00

Our first day of summer tradition continues!

We went to get some ice cream after dinner tonight.

Sophie really enjoyed it until she dropped the whole thing on the ground! The nice people at Breuster's gave her a new cone. This time in a cup!

Mia was so excited to see some of her buddies from school. They all sat together and giggled about everything. It was like I was seeing into the future when they all go to high school together.

It was a great way to kickoff the summer!

Summer is officially here!

2011-06-21T15:35:00.001-04:00

This girl finished first grade today. My oh my how time flies! I now have a second grader and a preschooler

This one is going to be the death of me!

Now that summer is here we are ready to get started on our summer list. I first got the idea a couple of years ago when I saw Meg's post. Her's just keeps getting better every year!

Here's a close up view. Mia added a few of her own to the list. Anyway, we're so excited that summer is here and can't wait to get started on that list. Tonight we're heading out to get some ice cream to kick off the start of summer.

So.....It's been awhile

2011-06-20T14:51:00.000-04:00

I love to read blogs. There. I admitted it. I started this little blog of mine several years ago and fell off the blog wagon a little over two years ago. I'm ready to jump back in. I can't wait to share a little view into our life, some projects we're working on and some yummy recipes.

I hope you enjoy the ride!

Wordless Wednesday: Caught in the Act!

2009-04-29T06:00:00.000-04:00

Check out 5 Minutes for Mom for more Wordless Wednesday!

Wordless Wednesday: Tea Party

2009-04-22T06:00:00.000-04:00

For more Wordless Wednesday check out 5 Minutes for Mom!

A Walk in the Park

2009-04-21T06:00:00.001-04:00

This past Saturday was absolutely beautiful! One of the girls' most favorite things to do is to have dinner at the park. We grabbed a pizza and headed to the park to eat and play.

Curly Girl loves the Power Puff Girls. Here she is pretending to be Buttercup.

Munchkin and Curly Girl, the Power Puff Girls!

After eating our dinner we headed down to the river for a walk.

The girls were dying to go down to the water and throw stones.

They love exploring around the historical site and finding new things.

They had fun playing with their shadows.

They thought it was pretty cool to go out over the water on the pier.

Finally! Munchkin loves throwing stones into the river.

And, as the sun went down we stopped at the playground for a little swinging and sliding.

It was a great day.

Little Ballerina Girl

2009-04-20T06:00:00.000-04:00

For two years now Munchkin has been watching her big sister go to ballet class. The other day I heard them upstairs playing dress up. Curly Girl of course had to wear her recital costume from last year. When Munchkin saw it she just had to be a ballerina too. So I pulled out one of Curly Girl's old leotards for her. She was so excited to be a ballerina. Curly Girl decided to teach her little sister some of her dance moves.

And yes, I've already signed Munchkin up for ballet class in the fall!

What's going on?

2009-04-17T10:20:00.005-04:00

I'm really trying to get on here and update more often! Life just seems to keep getting in the way. Anyway, here's what's been going on around here lately...

The weather has been a little crazy here, beautiful one day and cold and rainy the next. On one of the beautiful the girls and I ventured outdoors for a little chalk therapy. Munchkin loves to color but she usually ends up drawing on her sister's pictures.

Curly Girl is totally infatuated with flowers. She spends hours sniffing all the flowers that are blooming. It's a challenge to keep her from picking them.

But how can I turn down a beautiful bouquet when it's delivered to me like this?

She's a total girly-girl. She loves all things pink, butterflies and flowers.

Her shoes totally match her personality!

We colored eggs at a friend's house one day. This was the first time that Munchkin actually was able to do it herself. She was in heaven! She was still working on her eggs after Curly Girl and her friend went out to play.

Curly Girl loved painting the eggs.

Curly Girl's finished products...

Easter was beautiful if a little chilly. The Easter Bunny was very good to the girls. They loved getting dressed up in their Easter dresses.

We had breakfast with my in-laws. Here's the girls with their big cousins.

Then it was off to my parents house for Easter dinner. Munchkin and my niece are just 11 days apart. They love to play with each other and get so excited when they're together. It's so funny that my niece looks more like me than my own daughter.

Here's my sister, Cookie, with her youngest son and my two nieces.

My two beautiful nieces. I think they're going to be trouble when they grow up!

All of the grandkids. Christmas is a lot of fun around here!

In addition to all these goings-on my birthday was the other day. It was nice. I had a nice lunch with my parents and then Hubby took me and the girls out for dinner.

I also joined a gym and have been going regularly. It's working! I've lost about 12 pounds in the past month so I'm happy with that.

I also decided to become an Avon representative. So I've been pretty busy around here but like I said I'm going to try to keep things up to date around here!

Wordless Wednesday: Not Now Mom, I'm Working!

2009-04-08T10:34:00.001-04:00

For more Wordless Wednesday check out 5 Minutes for Mom!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2009-04-03T17:03:00.002-04:00

Ahh...finally home! We've been running around since about 9am this morning. Munchkin and I dropped Curly Girl off at preschool this morning and went to the gym. It was the very first time that Munchkin has ever been in any type of daycare situation and even though she was a bit shy and apprehensive she did pretty well. I think she was too shy to tell the ladies watching her that she had to go to the potty though and ended up having an accident when I was almost finished my workout. So that cut short but I still squeezed in a pretty good workout.

After that we went to Curly Girl's school to see the kids do their Easter bonnet parade. It was so cute and the kids had a great time.

Curly Girl and her best buddy

After that we went to the mall to meet Mom Mom and Cookie, my favorite (and only) sister for lunch and a little shopping. Thanks to Mom Mom we got Munchkin her Easter dress and of course she could't resist buying the girls a few other things.

So we're finally home and Curly Girl just left with Tia (my sister in law) to go watch her cousins in dance class. It's just me and my Munchkin chilling out now and we're beat!

Looking forward to a nice quiet night.

Easter Bonnet Fun

2009-04-02T06:00:00.000-04:00

Curly Girl has her Easter Parade at preschool tomorrow so yesterday we worked on her Easter Bonnet. She started out helping me with it but quickly got bored so she told me what she wanted on it and where and then took off on me.

Luckily I was able to coax her into modeling it for me once it was finished.

Gives a whole new meaning to pear shaped butt

2009-04-01T13:59:00.002-04:00

See more Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom!

Wordless Wednesday: M-I-C-K-E-Y!

2009-03-25T06:00:00.000-04:00

See more Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom!

It's Been Awhile...

2009-03-24T10:53:00.002-04:00

Why hello. Yes, it's been awhile. I felt as though I'd lost my mojo. Well, I'm here to try and get it back. So let's just jump right back in...

Curly Girl and I were sitting at the kitchen table. She was coloring and I, of course, was on my computer. The radio was on in the background when the dj said that the next song would be Let's Talk About S E X by Salt n Peppa.

Suddenly I hear "Mom? What's s e x?"

"Umm...well...it's a grown up thing."

"How old do you have to be for s e x?" Keep in mind she thinks it's something like driving or picking your own bedtime.

"Well..."

"Can I do s e x when I'm 13?"

Oh, heck no!, I'm thinking. "Uh, no sweetie, you have to be at least 25."

"Oh, man! That's forever!"

I know babe, but not nearly enough.

The Easter Bunny and Muffins at the Mall

2009-01-16T09:47:00.003-05:00

7:30 am this morning:

Curly Girl: "Mommy! Hurry, come downstairs and see what's there!"

Me: still half asleep "What is it, sweetie?"

Curly Girl: "The Easter Bunny was here last night and decorated our house for Valentine's Day!"

Silly girl! I had to explain it to her that I did it last night after she went to bed. She loves to decorate the house so I saved a few things for her to put up today when she gets back from preschool.
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Yesterday I took the girls to the mall to walk around for a bit with my Mom and my little niece. My girls love to walk around in the mall and look at everything. Their favorite place to stop is the food court where we usually get some muffins from My Favorite Muffin.

As we were walking around the mall Curly Girl looked up at me and said "I love coming to the mall!"

I asked her, "What do you love about the mall?"

She says, "Muffins. And clothes."

Boy, she certainly does take after me in some ways!

Like Father, Like Daughter

2009-01-14T14:22:00.002-05:00

Check out more Wordless Wednesday over at 5 Minutes for Mom!

Childhood Memories

2009-01-12T10:03:00.003-05:00

I was reading a post on Blissfully Domestic written by Resourceful Mommy today about nostalgic toys and it got me to reminiscing about my favorite toys growing up.

Here's some of the things that I remember playing with as a child of the 70's and 80's:

Rubik's Cube

One Christmas my brother and I each got the other a Rubik's Cube. We were so excited to give them to each other.

Little Professor Calculator
I remember playing with this all the time.

Fashion Plates
These were so much fun!

Milky the Cow
I have no idea why I loved this toy so much.

Scout, Tonto's Horse from the Lone Ranger
I loved anything that had to do with horses and I remember spending hours playing with this horse.

Definitely Dinosaurs
This was all I wanted one Christmas and Santa brought it to me on Christmas Eve. I had a dinosaur obsession too.

The Good Humor Ice Cream Truck Ride On
I have memories of riding this down the sidewalk where we grew up in Northeast Philadelphia.

The Human Pincushion

2009-01-08T20:01:00.002-05:00

I've been dealing with plantar fasciitis ever since I was pregnant with Curly Girl. Sometimes it's so painful that I'd rather gnaw off my own foot than keep dealing with it. I've tried going to an orthopedic doctor who told me to do stretches (didn't work). I've taken tons of aspirin to deal with the pain (doesn't work). I tried taking medicine that the doctor prescribed for the pain and swelling (ended up with hives for 3 days!).

So today Hubby thought he was doing a good thing and set me up with an acupunturist. It was quite interesting. I'm usually really open minded when it comes to new experiences. I found the office. It seemed nice, clean and just like a doctor's office.

They took me back to a room with a table set up in the middle of the room and anatomy posters on the walls. There was soft Chinese music playing in the background and incense burning. I started talking with the acupuncturist who was a very nice soft spoken Chinese lady.

Of course, the first thing she says is that it's probably because of my weight. Well, no duh, I kind of knew that and I've been working on losing weight. Problem is that my feet hurt so bad that it hurts to exercise but I need to exercise so that I can lose the weight.

After we talked I hopped up on the table and laid back. She then proceeded to stick me with about 10-15 needles in each leg from the knee down. It didn't really hurt but it wasn't fun either. She then turned off the lights and told me that she'd be back in 20 minutes.

"Crap!" I thought. What am I going to do for 20 minutes? I thought about the book I'd brought with me that was sitting in my purse across the room. Except I couldn't get up and walk over to get it with needles sticking in my feet!

Finally it hit me! I sitting here in a quiet room with nobody yelling at me, climbing on me or asking me for stuff. I closed my eyes and just chilled and IT WAS GREAT!

Did it relieve the pain I feel in my feet every waking moment? Nope. I'm not sure if I'm going to go back. At $65 a pop twice a week I'm not sure that we could afford it.

I guess I'm just going to have to deal with it until our new insurance kicks in at Hubby's new job. It was nice to get away for a bit though.

Moon Sand stinks!

2009-01-07T10:05:00.002-05:00

This stuff?

Do yourself a favor and DON'T GET IT! It sucks!

Curly Girl got some from Santa and yesterday I finally let her open it because we were stuck inside on a cold, rainy day. It's messy, doesn't stick together except to your kid's hands which they then proceed to wipe all over everything. You also need to wash their hands with dish soap to get all of the residue off.

Apparently it's not as fun as play doh either because after five minutes Curly Girl sighed, looked at me and said that she's "so done with it". So after 15 minutes of cleaning up it has now been sent to purgatory, also known as the basement here. Never to be seen again until spring when I let them take it outside and never bring it back over my threshold.

Taking a break

2009-01-04T19:06:00.002-05:00

Taking a little break from cleaning up all the pine needles and clipping a mountain of coupons to check in.

Hubby made this delicious bread last night while I was dismantling the Christmas tree. It's kind of like a cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese in the center. DELICIOUS! However, it's not very good when you're supposed to be watching what you're eating.

I'll post the recipe tomorrow. Off to attack the rest of those coupons!

Happy New Year and All That

2009-01-03T18:21:00.004-05:00

So, yeah...things have been a little crazy around here. I'm still working on taking down the Christmas decorations, attending various preschool birthday parties and all that good stuff.

I dropped off a whole van load of stuff off at Goodwill today and snagged a 5 foot tall light up plastic snowman for next Christmas. I've been wanting one! Everyone must be decluttering too because for the first time I actually had to wait in line to pull up and unload everything.

Santa was very good to all of us. I've been wanting a pink iPod forever and I finally got one plus some other things. The kids got everything they wanted and had a great holiday. Hubby started his new job and is getting all settled in so things are good.

I heard about Project 365 today and decided that I'd do it. Here's my first three days of 2009:

January 1, 2009
Getting a pedicure

January 2, 2009
Never too many Mickeys!

January 3, 2009
Multitasking

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T14:09:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas! We wish you peace and joy!

The presents are unwrapped and I am TIRED! Hope you enjoy your holiday!

Feelin' A Little Blue

2008-12-22T22:04:00.002-05:00

Sorry for the extended absences lately. I've been feeling really melancholy this Christmas. I just feel like it's not the same anymore.

I miss my family at Christmas. My parents are busy with work and their lives. My sister works full time and has two little boys. My youngest brother is going through a really tough time in his life right now. My younger brother has always been distanced from my life. Christmas was always a really special time for us though. We always came together for Christmas Eve.

This year Christmas Eve is different though. My younger brother and his family don't usually show up at my parents until right before I'm ready to get my kids home and in bed, usually around 9pm. My youngest brother is separated from his wife who was like a sister to me and I'm having a hard time getting over that. My sister spends time with her inlaws which she needs to do. I just really miss having everyone together. I just have to deal with it I guess.

My Dad and I have a little tradition that we do every year. We eat kielbasa and sauerkraut on Christmas Eve and have babka and tons of other food. Every year my Dad and I make the trip to Philadelphia to stand in line at the butcher and a particular Polish bakery in the neighborhood where my Dad grew up. He drives around his old neighborhood and points out all the places that he remembers as a kid. It's funny because every year he tells me the same stories! I let him though because I want to remember them so that when it's my turn to take my daughters I can tell them the stories.

It was great to spend some time with my Dad. We used to work together so we spent tons of time together but when I decided to be a stay at home mom I just don't get to see him as much. We visited our old office to wish everyone a merry Christmas and then went to have some lunch.

My Mom got to spend some one on one time with the girls as well. They love going over to my parents' house but just don't get over there very often.

Tomorrow I'll hit the food store for some last minute things then the girls and I will finish up our last minute baking. Tomorrow night we'll be heading over to my sister in law's house for her birthday. Then Christmas Eve will be spent with my family over at my parents' house.

Today is also my 7th anniversary. It hasn't been an easy 7 years but we're working on it. I think my parents made being married look so easy that I sometimes expect too much from my Hubby. He always gives the girls their baths and puts them to bed and he lets me sleep in EVERY weekend. He even cooks dinner quite often.

Well, the last batch of cookies is out of the oven and I'm off to spend some time with Hubby before heading off to bed.

O Christmas Tree

2008-12-15T10:53:00.003-05:00

Well, here she is! I've probably taken about 50 pictures of this tree and I can't get one that I really like so I figured I'd just put these up here for now.

We usually use all colored lights but this year it seems that every single colored light set that I had decided to burn out at the same time so we have white lights this year.

I have a collection of old family ornaments that my Mom passed down to me, some old ornaments that I made when I was in school, some ornaments that I made in the past and now Curly Girl has added a few homemade ornaments as well. In addition, every year Hubby and I buy an ornament that represents something that we did this year or that we experienced. I also buy each of the girls a special ornament.

This year we're looking for the perfect Mickey Mouse ornament for Munchkin because of her Mickey obsession and for Curly Girl we're on the hunt for a ballerina ornament to commemorate her very first dance recital. I'm not sure what Hubby and I will end up with yet but if I keep procrastinating we'll probably not have much of a selection.

So, enough talking, here she is...

Taken with the flash on

Taken with the flash off

A Few of My Favorite Things...

2008-12-15T06:00:00.002-05:00

The house is finally all decorated, the tree is up now I need to get started on the baking and wrapping. I'll post some pictures of the tree tomorrow but for now here are a few of my favorite decorations...

My Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer collection

My family is mostly all in the real estate business and one year I remember telling my Mom that I felt like Herbie the Elf in Rudolph who didn't want to be an elf, he wanted to be a dentist. I didn't want to be a Realtor anymore. I wanted to do something different. I saw these figurines one time and had to have them.

My railing and staircase

For years now I've been collecting Dept 56 and Kohl's Christmas houses. Some I've bought, some my Hubby bought and some came from my parents and my friend.

Main Street

Hubby and I got married in December 2001 in a church that looked just like this one.

Here we are!

Dept 56 Dickens Village

This Santa and the pair below are very special to me because my parents painted them when I was very little. I remember growing up and seeing these out on display when I was little. They always remind me of my parents and the beautiful memories they always made sure that us kids had for Christmas.

Merry Christmas!

Check out boomama.net and Julia for more beautiful holiday decor!

Her Very First Christmas Pageant

2008-12-14T13:07:00.007-05:00

Curly Girl had her very first Christmas pageant at her preschool this past Friday night. She was one of the angels and she loved every minute of it.

She was so happy when she walked in and saw not only Mommy and Daddy there but her aunt Tia, Mom Mom and Pop Pop and her big cousin LuLu.

She cracked us all up when she literally strutted up onto the stage waving at us like she was a movie star or something.

After the play, the kids sang some Christmas songs that they've been practicing since Thanksgiving. They all did great! It was obvious the excitement that they all felt at being on stage with family watching.
Munchkin was dying to get on stage just like her big sister. After the play was finished she climbed up on the stage so that we could take her picture too.

Curly Girl and Mommy

Daddy and his girls

Afterwards we headed down to the classroom for refreshments. My sister in law brought some flowers for Curly Girl and she's still got them. She insisted that I put them into a vase in her room as soon as we got home.

We were so proud of Curly Girl and how well she did on stage. She definitely loves being in the spotlight and she's now looking forward to her dance recital in June.

The Christmas Tree Hunt and the "Best Day Ever!"

2008-12-13T11:12:00.005-05:00

Wow! It's been almost 10 days since I last posted. Sorry about that. Life just got in the way I guess.

Hubby finally got my computer all fixed up and running again. Thank goodness he works with computers otherwise I would've been in big trouble!

Last weekend we got our Christmas tree. It was quite an adventure. The day was cloudy, overcast and really cold (just about 35 degrees!). We bundled up the girls and grabbed some hot chocolate to take with us.

First we went to the tree farm where we've gotten our trees since 2003. After traipsing around for awhile we couldn't find a tree that was tall enough. We need one that's between 8 and 9 feet tall.

They were all just too small.

Charlie Brown Christmas anyone?

So off we went to the second tree farm. The trees were shaped nicer but still just too small.

The third tree farm was Christmas tree nirvana! We had a hard time choosing a tree because they were all perfect! We finally all agreed on this one.

Then we spent some time wandering around the tree farm. They had hay rides out to visit Santa, an indoor train set that the girls were in love with, Christmas carols, a giant train to climb on...

Then it was time to head home. So we packed everything up and headed home.Later that night we walked down the block to see our town's tree lighting ceremony. When we stepped outside we found that it was snowing! We went down and sang Christmas carols, there was a marching band and Santa arrived via firetruck.

We headed over to the fire station to get warm and the girls got to sit on Santa's lap. Munchkin hopped right up and told Santa that she wanted a candy cane for Christmas. After some prodding from Santa though she finally told him that she also wanted some Mickey Mouse toys for Christmas. Curly Girl asked for a princess Barbie doll. Santa also had a little toy for each of the girls, a Shining Star puppy for Munchkin and a game for Curly Girl.

It was a perfect day and the snow falling down made it even better. When we tucked Curly Girl into bed later that night she told me that it was her "best day ever!".

This Is Why My Husband Has Grey Hair Already

2008-12-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

Getting ready to go for a playdate at Curly Girl's the other she informed me that she HAD to wear a dress and her hair HAD to be placed in a ponytail.

Why?

"Because I want to look like a woman."

Uh, ok.

This friend we were going to see? You guessed it, he's a boy.

God help me.

Still no pictures yet, Hubby's still working on my computer.

Hey Stranger!

2008-12-03T12:53:00.003-05:00

Where have I been you may ask? Well, here's a few of the "fun" things that I've been up to for the past week and a half.

1. Baked and cooked like a fiend for Thanksgiving
2. Attended Curly Girl's Thanksgiving feast at preschool
3. Cooked a 25 pound turkey for Thanksgiving
4. Got the house cleaned and decorated for Christmas
5. Wrote 4 term papers for school (can't wait till this semester is done!)
6. Baked 4 dozen cookies for a fundraiser at school
7. Registered for my spring classes
8. Had to have Hubby fix my computer because of some darn virus it picked up while shopping online
9. Had to have Hubby fix the oven because it decided that it didn't want to work anymore (it's working now but who knows how much longer)
10. Had to call the fire department at 4:30 in the morning on Saturday morning because our carbon monoxide detector was going off. Everything was fine, we had to get some new detectors.

That's all I can think of right now. I hope to get back into the swing of things this week and post some pics of our Christmas decorations. The girls and I will be doing our gingerbread houses this weekend and visiting the tree farm for our tree.

I have a appointment with a foot doctor this Friday because I've been having severe pain in my foot for a while now. Apparently, they think I have plantar fasciitis. All I know is that it sucks! It hurts all the time and makes me want to just gnaw my foot off. It keeps me from exercising and even doing simple things like running up and down the stairs and getting the house cleaned up. I've never been so excited to go see the doctor in my life.

So that's what's been going on in my little corner of the world. I've got over 350 things waiting to be read in my Google Reader so if I haven't stopped by to visit you in a while, I'll get there!

No pictures because Hubby's still working on reinstalling everything back in my computer!

CVS Deals and the Littlest Reindeer

2008-11-23T17:27:00.003-05:00

Can you believe I got all of this for just $2.99?!!! Here's what I got:

(2) 2 packs of Magic Erasers
(2) Revlon Color Stay Eyeliners
(2) Revlon Color Stay Eye Shadow Quads
(2) 4 packs of Scunci No Slip Headbands
(1) Maybelline Mineral Power Foundation
(1) Silk Drops Hair Serum
(1) Complete Saline

Not too shabby, huh?

It was a nice quiet weekend around here. All in anticipation of the upcoming week. I got done some of my Thanksgiving dinner shopping and baked a couple of pumpkin pies. Tomorrow Munchkin and I will finish up our shopping at Walmart after we drop Curly Girl off at school.

Here's a pic of Munchkin getting ready for the holidays:

Christmas 2008 Pictures

2008-11-20T16:34:00.004-05:00

I took the girls to get their pictures done in their Christmas dresses last night. They had a great time hamming it up for the camera. The promise of a lollipop and some muffins at My Favorite Muffing helped too.

When we were done we stopped off at the food court for our muffins. As I was sitting there I thought about how many times I've gone to the mall with my Mom and sister and shared a muffin and some tea in the food court. It made me feel so happy to be sitting there with my own daughters just hanging out. I can just picture us when they're teenagers doing the same thing.

Anyway, here's some of their pictures. I think they turned out pretty good!

Christmas 2007

They sure have grown in just 1 year!

Our Thanksgiving Menu

2008-11-20T15:09:00.005-05:00

Curly Girl's preschool Thanksgiving Feast 2007

With just 1 week until Thanksgiving I've finally gotten around to figuring out what I'm making for Thanksgiving dinner. Here's what we're having:

Turkey: Of course! I usually brine mine overnight. It makes the juiciest, tastiest turkey around!

Sage Stuffing: My Mom makes the best stuffing and every year I try to duplicate it.

Gravy: I finally mastered the art of making a good gravy!

Cranberry-Apricot Sauce: A great recipe that I started making almost 10 years ago. Here's the recipe.

Easy Corn Casserole: Another great recipe! I love this!

Streuseled Sweet Potato Casserole: The best sweet potatoes in the world!

Green Beans Almondine

Glazed Carrots

Crescent Rolls

Pumpkin Pie

Apple Pie

My SIL and her family and my MIL will be having dinner with us at our home and then afterwards we'll be heading over to my parents' home for dessert.

I really miss the days when I used to have all of my brothers and my sister and my parents together on Thanksgiving. I know that once you start to have your own families that things change but this time of year makes me feel really melancholy for those days when we'd all hang out at my parents' house looking at old photo albums and remembering things we used to do.

Wordless Wednesday: Getting Ready for the Holidays

2008-11-18T20:48:00.001-05:00

See more Wordless Wednesday over at 5 Minutes for Mom!

With Much Appreciation

2008-11-18T07:43:00.004-05:00

I wanted to thank Donna over at Frugal Mom Blog for the awesome Inkubook giveaway that she hosted. I was one of the lucky 5 winners of a free photo book.

I was able to finally get a photo book done of all of the things that we did this fall as a family. The next one I plan will be for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.

Be sure to check out Donna yourself!

CVS, Walgreens and the Return of the Squirrel Thief

2008-11-17T10:25:00.004-05:00

Munchkin and I got some great deals at CVS and Walgreens today. I thought I'd show them on here because my sister is always saying that she just doesn't know how to do it. So here's what I did:

Walgreens:

3 Cans of Butterball Chicken Broth @ .79 each
3 Cans of Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce @ $1.69 each
2 Boxes of Lipton Tea Bags @ $4.79 each
1 Puffs @ $1.79
1 Disney Game Set (Christmas present for Curly Girl) $9.99

Coupons & Walgreens savings:

Broth: $1.20
Tea Bags: $5.60 (addt'l coupons for $1.35)
Puffs: .80
Game: $4.00
Cranberry Sauce: $2.70

TOTAL OOP: $13.57

CVS:
1st Transaction:

4 8pks Duracell Batteries
Loreal Advanced Revitalift
Loreal Age Perfect Moisturizer

minus $13.50 in coupons
minus $15.99 in Revitalift raincheck
minus $6 in ECB's
minus $14.87 on gift card

TOTAL: $13.96 OOP

2nd Transaction:

2 Pledge
2 Boxes Quaker Oatmeal
1 Fig Newtons
1 Nutter Butters
1 Vaseline Clinical Moisturizer
2 Kleenex
1 La Looks Hair Gel

minus $5.90 in coupons and $15.99 in ECB's used

TOTAL OOP: $4.38

And I still have $18 in ECB's to use next time!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh, remember that crazy squirrel that looted my porch decorations? Well, Hubby caught him having a chat with one of our cats on Saturday morning.

Apparently he was asking the cat to bring some more food out for him.

Sorry for the blurry shot, Hubby doesn't really know how to work the camera yet.

Holiday Traditions

2008-11-15T10:19:00.003-05:00

Christmas 2006

Christmas 2007

Growing up my family always had a lot of traditions during the holidays. Decorating the house with my Dad, all 6 of us being home with the Christmas music playing and decorating the Christmas tree and piling into the car and driving around looking at Christmas lights.

After having kids of my own I wanted to add some new traditions to the holiday season with them. When Curly Girl was 16 months old I started making a gingerbread house with her each Christmas. I can't find my picture from Christmas 2005 but you can see above our last two attempts.

It's something that she remembers all year long and she talks about a lot. We're planning on doing this year's gingerbread house on Thanksgiving weekend. This time Munchkin gets to join in.

I hope that this is something that the girls will continue to do when they have kids of their own.

Check out Candid Carrie for some other traditions!

Look Out Donald Trump!

2008-11-14T09:47:00.002-05:00

Apparently Munchkin is going to be a comedian. She's really been coming up with some funny stuff lately.

The other day the mailman, who just happens to be our neighbor, was delivering our mail. He always gives the kids the mail and a treat to the dog and chats for a bit. After talking for a couple of minutes to the girls he turned to leave when Munchkin yells out:

"Mr. Tom! YOU'RE FIRED!!"

Seems that she's found the Donald Trump doll that Hubby has and now it's her favorite thing to say. So she's either going to be a comedian or one heck of a business person! Or maybe the next Apprentice.

Knock Knock

2008-11-13T06:00:00.001-05:00

Curly Girl's been into the whole knock-knock joke phase for a while now. However, they usually go like this:

CG: Knock! Knock!

Me: Who's there?

CG: Banana!

Me: Banana who?

CG: Banana apple orange going for a walk, ha ha ha!

See? Not really getting it just yet.

The other day Munchkin decided to give it a try.

M: Mommy! Knock knock?

Me: Who's there?

M: (Throws her hands up in the air and looks serious) I DON'T KNOW!

She said it so seriously that I busted up laughing. Maybe we have some hope for a good joke in this house after all.

Wordless Wednesday: Somebody's NOT Happy

2008-11-12T13:14:00.002-05:00

Check out 5 Minutes for Mom for more Wordless Wednesday!

Wordless Wednesday: Backpackin'

2008-11-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

Not That I Think You Need A Reminder But...

2008-11-04T06:00:00.001-05:00

Get out there and VOTE today!

Someone's Been Stealing Our Decorations

2008-11-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

Hmm....What could my cats be looking at? Could it be the one responsible for stripping all of my Indian corn and nibbling on our jack o'lanterns? Let's just see...
Well, what do we have here? Looks like the mystery is solved. This little guy has been marauding our porch and stealing all of our decorations in preparation for winter.He's literally about two feet from the front door and obviously isn't the slightest bit worried about 2 kids, 4 cats, 1 pitbull and 1 mama watching him pillage our decorations.

"What are you lookin' at?"

"Yeah, that's right. I'm eatin' your stuff."

"What're you goin' to do about it?"

A little fun with leaves!

2008-11-03T08:12:00.004-05:00

What a relaxing weekend. After the Halloween night festivities we finally had a weekend where we just stayed home and puttered around the house. I got some things done that I've been wanting to do. I took down my Halloween decorations and put up a few Thanksgiving things. I even cleaned out some too-small clothes from the girls' closets. I even got to have lunch with my Mom all by myself.

Hubby and the girls did the first raking of the leaves too. We usually have to rake our yard of leaves at least 3 time before the end of November. We're surrounded by big old trees and I think every leaf in the neighborhood blows into our yard.

The kids don't mind though. Here's what they decided to do with our abundance of fall leaves:

We thought we lost Daddy at one point

Have nice day and don't forget to VOTE tomorrow!

Trick or Treat!

2008-10-31T20:42:00.005-04:00

Whew! We went trick or treating for 2 hours tonight! The weather was beautiful, clear and crisp with crunchy leaves underfoot. I love our neighborhood. It's full of beautiful old homes and most of the people are older so they love to see the little kids trick or treating.

Munchkin was kind of mad at me because she didn't want to sit still for a picture. They were both so excited to go.
They went right up to the doors and knocked, said "Trick or Treat!" and collected their candy.

They got to visit some of our favorite neighbors who stuffed their pumpkins full of candy.

Curly Girl looked up at the sky at one point and noticed all the stars out. She made a wish and I asked her what she wished for. She told me that she wished for Christmas. Talk about rushing things!

We were all tired when we got done! It was a great Halloween.

Check out the stash that they collected. Both of those pumpkin are full in the picture plus the candy on the table and in the bowl.

They each got to pick out one piece of candy when we got home. Of course, they picked their favorites lollipops or "cicle-pops" as Munchkin calls them.

What a great way to wrap up the Halloween season!

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T10:47:00.003-04:00

Curly Girl had her preschool Halloween party this morning. The kids had a little Halloween parade, sang some songs for us and recited a few poems.
I can hardly believe that my little girl will be in kindergarten this time next year and Munchkin will be at this preschool.

After the program the parents left and the kids are having their special treats.

While the big kids were doing their program Munchkin took advantage and went to play with the kitchen. She had a tea party with Mickey and made some phone calls.

Curly Girl loved it and she got to spend some time with her best buddy. They love hanging out together.

Happy Halloween! May your day be filled with more treats than tricks!

We plan on trick or treating around our neighborhood for a bit tonight, then snuggling on the couch to watch some Charlie Brown and Mickey Mouse Halloween specials.

Pumpkin carving and Mickey Mouse

2008-10-30T06:00:00.001-04:00

Guess what we did last night? We finally got our pumpkins carved! Since I'm in school Monday, Tuesday and Thursday nights last night was the one night that we'd all be home to carve them together. Even before we had the girls Hubby and I always carved pumpkins for Halloween. Granted, most of those times I was the one that ended up carving them!Munchkin and Curly Girl love to take rides on our shoulders. When no one's around to give her a ride she gives her best buddy Mickey a ride. Here, she insisted that I take her picture with him. On to the pumpkins...
Here's my beautiful Curly Girl working on her pumpkin. In the past we always just let her draw on her pumpkins with markers. This year I actually got a little daring and let them dig into them. Here she is thinking about what she'd like hers to look like. Wow, when I look at this picture all I can think of is how she's going to look when she's a teenager.

Munchkin's getting her markers all ready to draw on her pumpkin. She wasn't really sure what we were doing.
Finally! Pumpkin guts! Both girls really dove right into their pumpkins. There was pumpkin guts everywhere, the table, the floor, their hair, even in Munchkin's ears!

I intended to save the seeds to make some roasted pumpkin seeds but kind of gave up after I started cleaning the whole mess up. Maybe next year!
After a nice bath courtesy of Daddy they came down to see their finished pumpkins. They wanted to take them to bed with them. Yeah, I don't think so!

Think she was excited? She really loved the Mickey and the Minnie pumpkins.

The finished products...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Recipe: Pumpkin Pie Bread

2008-10-29T10:31:00.003-04:00

Remember yesterday when I said I was doing some baking? Well, Curly Girl and I tried a new pumpkin bread recipe and it is delicious! Munchkin has already had two pieces. Anyway, here's the recipe for anyone that's interested. It's from Allrecipes.com

Pumpkin Pie Bread

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
1/2 cup water

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans. Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat together sugar, oil, eggs, and pumpkin. Stir in flour mixture alternately with water. Divide batter evenly between the prepared pans.
Bake in the preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. For best flavor, store wrapped in plastic wrap at room temperature for a full day before serving.

Check out Life As Mom for other fall recipes!

Wordless Wednesday: Halloween 2006

2008-10-29T09:45:00.002-04:00

Check out more Wordless Wednesday over at 5 Minutes for Mom!

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

2008-10-28T11:37:00.002-04:00

It's really nasty outside today. 40 degrees, rainy and very windy. Not so good for playing baseball but the perfect kind of day for baking! Curly Girl are going to whip up some of this while Munchkin is taking her nap. If it turns out yummy I'll post the recipe later.

Now that I'm finally feeling better it seems as though it's time for the girls to get sick. I took Munchkin to the doctor yesterday because she's had a rumble in her chest when she breathes. Turns out she has a sinus infection too so Hubby's going to go get her medicine today. I think Curly Girl's got the same thing. They're still in good moods though and being sick hasn't slowed them down at all.

I just wish that I didn't have to leave the house tonight in the cold and rain to take my English midterm. Yuck!

Weekend Fun

2008-10-27T09:56:00.003-04:00

We tried to cram in some more fall activities this weekend. Thankfully the antibiotics are kicking in and I feel so much better.

On Friday night we took the girls to a local university where the students had set up a great trick or treating area taking up the whole student center. We went with my SIL and my BIL and their two girls. The kids all had a great time! Lots of smiles and lots of candy! You can tell that the college kids really had a lot of fun putting together activities for the little kids to enjoy. Munchkin really got into the trick or treating and wasn't even the slightest scared to go into the spookier rooms. She'd just walk right in and go up to whatever ghost or goblin was holding the candy, say "Trick or Treat", take her candy and move right along to the next one. The older kids were a little more scared but not my brave little girl!

My little kittens

On Saturday it was rainy and cool and very windy so we just hung out at home all day. I still wasn't feeling 100% so Hubby took care of the kids so I could rest in bed. This is what I found when I finally made it downstairs.

Like my ballerina pit bull?

The girls spent the day playing dress up. Curly Girl loves to wear her dance recital costumes all the time. As soon as she gets home from school she changes right into them. They love pushing each other around in their baby doll stroller too.

Curly Girl got started on her Christmas wish list. At least this year she didn't circle EVERY toy in the catalog.
On Sunday the girls and I went to my parents' house for a Halloween party. The girls love playing with their cousins and Mom Mom loves to spoil the kids with whatever they want. Candy? Sure! Cupcakes? Sure! Cookies? Sure! They always have a great time. Here's Curly Girl with my niece and my Mom at her community club house. They have a Halloween party for the kids each year there.

Here's my little nephew dressed up as a cowboy. Isn't he just too cute? His big brother didn't want to wear his pirate costume.
Here's the girls in their costumes. Curly Girl, my two nieces and Munchkin outside the clubhouse waiting for the party to begin.

We've got two more Halloween parties this week, one at dance class on Thursday and Curly Girl's preschool party on Friday. Then I'll finally get around to planning for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

How was your weekend?

Ugh!

2008-10-24T21:21:00.003-04:00

I have been so sick this past week. I finally went to the doctor yesterday and found out that I have a double ear infection plus sinusitis. I feel like crap!

Hopefully after a couple of days of antibiotics I'll feel better and can get back into the swing of things.

Have a great weekend!

Tag You're It!

2008-10-23T08:03:00.003-04:00

Several blogs that I keep up with are playing a little tag. I'm not going to tag anyone but feel free to join in too!

This is the sixth photo in my sixth folder.
It's my Hubby, Curly Girl and Munchkin. It was taken on October 3, 2006. It was one of the first times that Curly Girl got to meet her new baby sister. Wow! They've both grown so much. I forgot how little Curly Girl was when Munchkin was born.

Want some FREE chocolate?

2008-10-22T17:53:00.001-04:00

Go here and get yourself some free chocolate!

Wordless Wednesday: What Happens When You Don't Listen to Mommy

2008-10-22T10:08:00.002-04:00

I play along with 5 Minutes for Mom! Check her out to see others!

Wordless Wednesday: What? How does my makeup look?

2008-10-15T06:00:00.001-04:00

I'm participating over at 5 Minutes for Mom!

Why do they have to grow up so fast?

2008-10-14T15:08:00.003-04:00

My Curly Girl has her first crush! And it's KILLING me! She's been talking nonstop since school started about a boy in her class. She tells us that she's going to marry him when she's a grownup and she's going to wear a dress like I did in our wedding picture and he's going to dress up like Daddy did.

So today we had a playdate at Chik Fil A. This morning when she was getting dressed she insisted that she HAD to wear a dress. Ok, that's fine, I choose my battles wisely. Then she insisted on wearing flip flops. Ok, the weather's warm today and it's probably the last time you'll be able to wear them until spring.

Then she turns to me and says "Mommy, I need some lipstick to look beautiful."

"No you don't" I told her, "You're beautiful just the way you are."

I don't know where she's getting this from. We've always told her that she's beautiful just the way she is and smart and strong and everything else we believe she is. We're trying to help her grow up with confidence in herself and not feel that she has to judge herself by what she sees in the mirror but what she knows is on her inside.

I've always made it a point that when I'm getting myself ready that I don't say anything negative about myself or make a face when I'm not happy about what I'm wearing. Not that I don't feel it sometimes but I just don't want my girls to grow up not feeling "pretty" enough or "good" enough.

Another thing I just don't get is why she feels like she has to be pretty for this little boy. I've always been confident in myself and have never felt like I had to impress the boys. I want her to have confidence and not chase boys. I really thought I'd have a few more years before I'd even have to worry about this stuff.

We don't have any Hanna Montana or High School Musical stuff in our house. She watches PBS when she watches tv or she watches a dvd. I have no idea where she's getting this stuff from. She's always telling me that the little boy is her boyfriend. He's a great kid and his mom's great.

I guess I just have to face it that my little girl is growing up and the more she's around other kids at school the more she's going to pick up. We just have to keep her grounded and build her confidence so that she becomes an independent thinker and isn't influenced by other people who may not have that at home.

I am so not ready for this age yet!

Pumpkins, parties & Big Bird!

2008-10-12T20:35:00.005-04:00

Wow! We had a busy weekend!

Saturday we went to our favorite pumpkin patch. It must now be everyone's favorite pumpkin patch though because it was so crowded that we quit early and then went to a friend's daughter's birthday party. Here's some of the pumpkin patch pics though:

Today we used our tickets that we had left to visit Sesame Place. We brought our two nieces with us which was great because Munchkin is just 11 days older than my one niece and my other niece is just 2 years older than Curly Girl. We had an awesome dinner at Red Robin and had Happy Birthday sung to Munchkin and my little niece. Their little eyes just lit up, it was so cute!

They all had a great time and passed out as soon as we got on the road to come home. After a quick bath they went right to bed. Here's some pics from today:

How was your weekend? What fun fall things did you do?

Out of the Mouths of Babes

2008-10-08T07:00:00.000-04:00

I was getting ready to leave for class one night. Munchkin was upstairs with me. I was in my bedroom and I heard her talking to her Mickey in the hallway.

"Mickey?" she said, "Mommy fahted."

What!!!? "I did not!" I said.

She looked at me, smiled then turned to Mickey and said "Yes, Mickey, Mommy fahted!" Then laughed and ran downstairs to tell Daddy and Sissy.

I definitely have to teach her to keep some things just between us.

Wordless Wednesday: Taking a moment to herself

2008-10-08T06:00:00.000-04:00

A little bit of this, a little bit of that

2008-10-07T11:21:00.006-04:00

Sorry to have been MIA lately but we've been so busy! We've been potty training (very successfully!),

going on a class trip to the pumpkin patch and

Finding the perfect pumpkin

Fresh, hot cider donuts and apple cider! Yum!

we had a birthday party at the park for Munchkin,

Collecting nuts with her cousins

Cousins, just 11 days apart!A Mickey Mouse cake, of course!
Playing at the playgroundClimbing trees

not to mention, I'm trying to keep up with my homework so I can maintain my 4.0 average.

Some great things that happened to us this week:

1. I made the President's List for the spring semester!
2. I was invited to join the International Honor Society!
3. Munchkin has been doing awesome with potty training!
4. Curly Girl is loving school and dance class!
5. Hubby received recognition at work for his 10 years of service!

We have tons of stuff planned like a family trip to the pumpkin patch, a trip to Sesame Place, a visit to the Philadelphia Zoo, just trying to squeeze in as much as possible to enjoy fall!

It's such a busy time of the year but I love it!

Happy Birthday Munchkin!

2008-10-02T06:00:00.000-04:00

October 2006

October 2007

October 2008

Dear Munchkin,

You're turning 2 today. I cannot believe how quickly time is flying by. You seem to be growing up before my very eyes. Please slow down, I'm not ready for it.

You are such an easygoing, happy little girl. It doesn't take much to make you happy and you tell me every day that you're happy. Your eyes light up when you see your sister. The first thing you do in the morning is knock on your door and call "Mommy?" If I don't answer you right away you start calling "Sissy? Sissy?" until your big sister opens your door. You walk out with a big smile on your face and say "Good Morning!". You spend most of your time following your sister and trying to do everything that she does. When we drop her off at school you get upset because you want to be with her.

I'm amazed at the words that you learn every day. Yesterday we went on a hayride to the pumpkin patch and you kept calling the pumpkins "pumpkin balls". Then we saw a cow and you kept calling to the "Moo Cow". You're always telling me "Mommy, I funny!" and that totally cracks us up. You've also recently been saying "You're fired!". I wonder if you've got a little Donald Trump in your future?

You've developed an obsession with Mickey Mouse. Not Minnie, only Mickey will do! You have a Mickey that you take EVERYWHERE with you. He's your potty buddy, your bedtime buddy, your mealtime buddy. It seems that he's replaced Teddy as your one true love.

You still love our pets. Treach is your favorite though. It's a good thing that he's such a patient dog because you love to lay on him while watching television and he always a good morning hug and a goodnight kiss.

Your favorite foods are "pop cicle pops" aka lollipops, "appuhs" aka apples and "baggells" aka bagels. You love milk and apple juice too. You generally love all food and are usually willing to try anything we put in front of you. You'll eat salad, all kinds of veggies and meats. You do have a sweet tooth though, just like Mommy, and frequently ask for "cannie" candy.

You are doing awesome on the potty! I am so proud of you. You stay pretty dry all day and are great at telling me when you have to go.

I'm so excited about all of the new things that we're going to see and do this year! You have such a joy for life and it's contagious. I'm so glad that I was chosen to be your Mommy.

I love you Munchkin! Happy 2nd birthday baby girl!

Wordless Wednesday-Child Labor

2008-10-01T06:00:00.000-04:00

CVSing with my girl

2008-09-29T13:55:00.005-04:00

Munchkin and I did our CVS run this morning after we dropped Curly Girl off at preschool. Look how much we got for $18.36!

We had lunch with Mom Mom and Pop Pop and now the girls are taking a nap. Time for me to get caught up with my school work.

Dinos and pizza in the big city

2008-09-27T21:59:00.007-04:00

Today we took advantage of the Free Museum Admission Day and took the girls to the Philadelphia Museum of Natural History. Even though it was humid and soggy we still had a great time seeing the dinosaurs and dioramas.

Curly Girl has decided that she wants to live in the city because she loves the tall buildings and all of the different things to see. I remember feeling the same way when I was a little girl and would go with my Dad when he worked in construction and would bid on jobs in the city. I still remember going to visit him when he'd be working on the skyscrapers.

Here's the girls fitting into a cast of a fossilized dino egg:

Digging for fossils:

Taking a break from all the walking...
Watching the traffic go by...
Dinosaurs!!!
Munchkin was so scared but pretended to be brave. She wouldn't touch it no matter how hard I tried to get her to...
Curly Girl was a little braver since Daddy was holding her...
Curly Girl was upset looking at the dioramas because the animals weren't alive anymore. I tried to explain to her that scientists study them to help other animals but she wasn't too happy about that. We ended up just telling her that they weren't real animals. She still didn't believe us.
Munchkin was amazed by the dinosaurs...

After the museum we stopped by a little pizza shop for a late lunch. Big Sis helped her Little Sis fix the straw in her juice box. I've been seeing her taking more time and teaching her baby sis some things lately and giving her lots of hugs. A big move since before we would constantly have problems with her hitting her little sister. Curly Girl was also really proud of herself because we let her use a knife to cut her pizza all by herself. She did a great job!
We had a great time today. We love spending time together and exposing the girls to different things like museums. Hopefully they'll always remember the times we do these things.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

2008-09-26T06:00:00.000-04:00

One morning I was getting the girls dressed so that we could get to preschool. Hubby was in the bathroom with the door closed getting ready to go to work. As usual, whenever anyone is in the bathroom the kids want to know why they're in there, what're they doing and so on and so on.

Except this time instead of Curly Girl asking "What's Daddy doing in there?" she asked me:

"Why does Daddy pee with his finger?"

Uh, WHAT?!!

Seems that we have a Peeping Tom in the house and she's been peeping in the keyhole of the bathroom door.

Guess I need to put some tape over the hole.

Tra La La, Tra La La La

2008-09-25T11:32:00.004-04:00

I'm a child of the '70's so I grew up watching The Flintstones, The Brady Bunch, The Monkees and lots of others. I have this vivid memory of being at a neighbor's house eating a pb&j sandwich with one of my friends and watching this show. Does anyone else remember The Banana Splits? I've asked my brother, my parents and a few of my friends but no one else seems to remember it.

The reason I thought about it today was because Curly Girl was watching Tom & Jerry (another one I watched!) and when it was done I heard something else come on from the other room.

"Mom! I don't like this show! Can I watch something else?" she asked.

I went out to see what it was and there it was after all these years! A blast from the past! I was so excited I said to her "Oh, we have to watch this! I used to watch this when I was little!"

"I don't like this show!" she said. Then she changed her mind when the Mr. Man show came on.

So that was my trip down memory lane today. Now I have to send the youtube video to my family to prove I wasn't just imagining things!

What were some of your favorite shows as a kid?

Wordless Wednesday-Sister Bond

2008-09-24T08:07:00.003-04:00

Where's the Nyquil!

2008-09-20T14:07:00.003-04:00

Munchkin and I have been sick since Thursday. Runny nose, stuffy head, sore throat, blah, blah, blah. We were supposed to go apple picking today but I feel worse today than I have the past couple of days.

The neighbors are having a birthday party for their granddaughter today so Hubby is taking Curly Girls over to play for a bit while Munchkin and I rest up.

I hate being sick!

Stalked by Weight Watchers

2008-09-17T10:13:00.004-04:00

A few days ago I received some coupons and an advertisement for Weight Watchers in the mail. I didn't think anything of it and left it lying on the counter.

Later that day Hubby and I were in the kitchen when he noticed it and got a funny look on his face.

"What's this?" he asked.

I looked at him to see what he was talking about and saw the ad in his hand. "Just some junk mail. Why?"

Now he started to look a little mad. "Well, WHY are they sending you this?"

"What do you mean?" I said, wondering why he was starting to sound so angry.

"Well, why are they sending you this? Did you ever go there? What are they suggesting?" He was really looking kind of like he was going to jump in the car and take a ride over to the nearest Watch Watchers.

Then it hit me. "Hon, what do you think? That Weight Watchers has spies who drive around the neighborhood looking for fat people hanging around outside, then write down their addresses and mail them ads?"

Now he realized that he was kind of being silly. "Oh, I didn't really know. I guess that doesn't make sense." Then we had a good laugh.

I thought it was kind of sweet though that he was so protective of my feelings that he felt like he had to go beat up the Weight Watchers people because he thought they were calling me fat or something.

Wordless Wednesday- When Kids Attack Pit Bulls

2008-09-17T08:51:00.001-04:00

Oooo That Smell!

2008-09-16T08:33:00.004-04:00

Marcy Writes The Glamorous Life is hosting a Girl Party every Tuesday. We can share our tales of our not so glamorous life there, check it out!

My most recent not so glamorous life moment happened to take place yesterday afternoon. It all started at 7am, my feet hit the floor running. I was awakened by Curly Girl climbing into bed and demanding breakfast. After dressing both girls, getting breakfast for them, stripping the sheets from all the beds in the house and throwing them in the washer, getting myself dressed and made up I dropped Curly Girl off at school for the morning.

While Curly Girl was in school Munchkin and I went to the food store, went to Munchkin's doctor's appointment, dropped off food at the house and picked up Curly Girl from school. As a special little trip we stopped at the Golden Arches for some play time in the germ infested playland. We finally made it home about 2pm and Munchkin was ready for a nap.

She'll usually play quietly in her room for a little bit before falling asleep so I didn't think much of it when I heard her talking in her room. After a bit she fell asleep and stayed asleep for about 2 1/2 hours. Then we heard a loud thump. I raced upstairs because I knew that if she fell out of her bed and onto the hardwood floor that she would be upset.

As soon as I opened her door I smelled IT. I picked her up off the floor because she was crying and still half asleep. It was then that I realized that she didn't have a diaper on and the smell was getting worse. Once I opened up the shades for some light I got to take in the whole situation.

Picture this: toddler bed pulled slightly away from the wall, numerous stuff animals and blankets all half on and half on the bed, a lone CLEAN diaper lying on the bed. Hmm, where could that smell be coming from?

I pulled the bed a little further away from the wall and found the source, a nice, large pile on the floor, the baseboard, on the side of the bed. I turned to Munchkin to see what she was doing and finally noticed the poop clinging to her from her armpits to her toes.

So after a second bath and a second change of sheets and a thorough scrubbing of the floor I was ready to get dinner ready for the girls and Hubby so that I could go to school and finish up food shopping.

A glamorous life? Maybe not, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

PS That's what I looked like up top while cleaning up this mess!

The world's best ice cream!

2008-09-15T21:43:00.004-04:00

OMG! Have you tried this ice cream yet? It is DA BOMB! I just got back from food shopping after class tonight and I just had to have some. It tastes just like pumpkin pie. So freakin' good! Shop Rite had a great deal on it too. Two for $3.98

So I took Munchkin to the doctor today for her little "issue" and they think she just plays with it too much and it's really irritated. I've got to put antibiotic ointment on it and try to keep her from touching it (yeah right). Other than that she seems OK. I'm just going to keep an eye on it.

Today is also my little brother's birthday. He's six years younger than me and he's going through a really tough time in his life right now. I just want him to know that I love him and I hope that this year brings a lot of good changes for him. Happy Birthday! Luv ya!

You can lead a horse to water...

2008-09-14T22:10:00.003-04:00

Recently we've been having problems with getting Curly Girl to eat her dinner. It doesn't matter what I make she'll look at it and say "That's disgusting." "I'm not hungry." "I don't want that."

I just tell her "Fine, but that's all your getting until breakfast tomorrow."

Hubby on the other hand will beg her, plead with her, yell at her, threaten to take away toys, etc. on and on until he'll finally send her to bed in hysterics.

It's starting to get pretty ridiculous. I've told her no snacks after 3pm to make sure that she's hungry for dinner. I usually only put a little bit of food on her plate so she doesn't feel overwhelmed by it. I know she won't starve herself and she eats well during the day. She'll have breakfast, lunch and a couple of snacks, usually apples, yogurt, that kind of stuff.

I've tried to tell Hubby that she'll come around, that she won't starve herself. He keeps insisting that she has to eat dinner with us. I grew up with an eating disorder that I still struggle with to this day. I don't want either of my girls to have a problem like that so I try my best not to make food an issue. I don't use it as punishment or as a reward.

I have no idea what to do with her at this point. The arguing at dinner time is getting ridiculous.

In other news, I need to get Munchkin in to see the doctor tomorrow. When I was getting her into her pjs tonight I noticed that one of her n*pples was really swollen and seemed sore. I'm not sure what it is so I need to get her in there to get it checked out.

We had a nice quiet weekend around here but I'm glad tomorrow is Monday. It seems that on the weekend when Hubby is home things are totally thrown off schedule and the house is such a mess. I can't wait to get it all back in order tomorrow.

Remembering 9/11/01

2008-09-11T06:00:00.000-04:00

I will never forget where I was when I found out about the Trade Center being attacked. I had just picked up my sister to go to work at our family's real estate office. We walked into the office and the barber shop that was next door had on the television. We popped in to say "Good Morning" and when we saw the look on the barber's face we knew something was wrong.

I remember calling my parents, my husband and my friends. I remember sitting with my sister and watching everything unfolding on the television. I remember feeling like I was watching a movie and just not being able to believe that it was happening.

That night it was so weird looking into the sky and not seeing any planes flying overhead. I remember crying every time I watched footage on tv, imagining how the people on the planes and in the buildings felt and how their families felt.

When I went to Ground Zero a couple of years later it was still humbling to see the damage and to remember the loss of life.

It was during this time that I really thought about what life, religion, family and country really meant. It made me proud to see how we all pulled together as a country.

My hope is that we never forget the losses that we suffered, that we never forget how we all pulled together not as Democrats or Republicans or Independents but as AMERICANS.

God Bless America!

Don't Make The Mommies Mad!

2008-09-10T22:01:00.004-04:00

Curly Girl's preschool is in the basement of a nearby church in a quiet, upscale. very old established neighborhood. One of the next door neighbor's has always given the church grief over the fact that when dropping off their children for preschool the moms (OH THE HORROR!) park in front of his house for a whole ten minutes.

Well it seems that since there is a new pastor in the church who doesn't want to rock the boat he agreed to reroute the way the children enter the school. Now instead of walking up a short walkway and entering the school doors we have to bring our kids around to the other side of the church, enter a side door, go up a flight of steps, down a hallway, down two more flights of steep, narrow, slippery steps, down another hallway and finally into the classroom.

I don't necessarily mind it so much but it's probably because I'm a pretty easygoing person however at drop off today there was a group of moms trying to convince everyone to still park they're cars, SUVs and minivans right in front of this man's house. I think it's pretty funny.

So when I went back to pick up Curly Girl from school everyone parked right in front of the man's house. I can't wait to see what happens next.

It's really ridiculous how petty some people can be. I mean, people are only dropping off their 3, 4 and 5 year olds for preschool for maybe ten minutes twice a day.

Me? I have more important things to worry about; like how can I get the people who go to the church in front of my house to stop parking in front of my house on Sundays? Oh, and I did park in front of his house : )

Wordless Wednesday: Odd Man Out

2008-09-09T22:05:00.001-04:00

First Day of School

2008-09-08T15:19:00.003-04:00

First Day of School 2007

First Day of School 2008

Today was Curly Girl's first day of school. She's been so excited that school was starting but then yesterday I noticed that she seemed anxious and out of sorts. When she was going to bed last night she kept asking me to sleep with her and telling me that she wasn't tired. I think that she was just so nervous about going back.

She sometimes gets overwhelmed when she's in a new situation or around a lot of people that she doesn't know well. It's funny though because when she's at dance class she walks in like she owns the place.

We sat together and colored for a bit until she loosened up a little bit. She did a little singing and dancing with her classmates.

We did a craft together and had a snack.
Then she played a bit with some of the other kids.
I know that when she goes back on Wednesday it'll be hard for her when I leave. It'll get easier for her though once she gets used to it.

Next year, kindergarten!

CVSing and football

2008-09-07T17:03:00.004-04:00

Lately I've been tentatively dipping my toe into the CVS pool. With more practice I'm getting better at getting some pretty good deals. This is what I got plus a Sunday newspaper (not shown) this week for a total of $8.60.
Then I went to Target and got two 60 count size 6 boxes of Luvs for a total of $19.

My final stop was at Lane Bryant. I desperately need some new clothes and I had some Real Woman dollars which are coupons for $25 off every $50 you purchase which my Mom gave me plus I had $65 on a gift card for a return I made and through My Points. I ended up getting a sweater plus 5 shirts for just $35 oop.

It was a really nice day out. Hubby kept the girls at home with him so that I could get some "me" time which I desperately needed. This week is the beginning of our busy schedule. Curly Girl will start preschool tomorrow three days a week plus dance class on Thursday mornings. Hubby is going to a certification class every day this week plus he'll have to complete some online coursework and I have school three nights a week. It's nice to get back into the fall groove though.

On another note, the Eagles won their opener today! E A G L E S! EAGLES!!! Here's Munchkin wearing her Eagles hat for good luck.

Life Doesn't Suck as Much as I Thought Thursday

2008-09-04T09:25:00.004-04:00

I was reading a post over here today about a beautiful little girl named Ivy who is suffering from a horrible disease. She really needs our help so if you have a chance please go here and sign the petition to get her that help.

It just breaks my heart to think of what this baby is suffering from.
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In separate news, I have to go to the dentist today for a fitting for a temporary cap on one of my molars that broke in half in January 2007! Yeah, I'm a horrible procrastinator. I'm also terrified of the dentist.

I just don't like the idea of having someone right up there in my face with needles and drills and stuff and seeing all that blood and the smell of all the "stuff" that they're doing in there. I'd rather go to the gyn.

But, on the other hand, I'm thankful that we have such great dental insurance through Hubby's job so that I can go get it done. I'm sure that there are many people who have tooth problems and are unable to get anything done because of lack of insurance.

So that's what I'm thankful for on this Life Doesn't Suck As Much As I Thought Thursday.

Proper grammer

2008-09-03T23:08:00.002-04:00

Munchkin has really been going through a real language explosion over the past few months. She's come up with some really funny things lately.

Yesterday while she was eating lunch she came running into the kitchen yelling "F**k! F**k!"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" I couldn't believe I heard her correctly. What in the world was she saying?

"Munchkin, what do you need?" I asked. "F**k! F**k!", she was started to get a little impatient with me.

"Why don't you show me, sweetie", I said. She looked at me like I was stupid and pulls open a drawer and pulls out......

...a fork!

I think we need to work on enunciation.

Splendor in the Grass

2008-09-03T21:15:00.001-04:00

This, That and Labor Day

2008-09-02T14:05:00.003-04:00

This weekend we celebrated the end of summer by going to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. It was a little warm but the weather was beautiful. It was a lot of fun with people dressed in period costumes, lots of outdoor entertainment and beautiful gardens filled with butterflies.

The girls were tired and out of sorts the whole day though. Temper tantrums and picking on each other all day. Other than that we had a great time.

I am so ready to get back into the fall groove though. I start my classes tonight. I go to school several nights a week to finish my education degree. Curly Girl starts back at preschool and dance class next week.

We also have quite a few things planned for the next two months to do. We've been working around the house fixing things up, painting and such. We also plan to go apple picking, hayride to the pumpkin patch, to the museum of natural history. Plus, we'll have Munchkin's second birthday and party coming up so we'll be heading back to Sesame Place for that.

I'm ready to get the house decorated for fall and get back into our regular routine. How about you?

Mommy/Daughter Date Night

2008-08-29T20:50:00.004-04:00

Curly Girl and I had a Mommy/Daughter Date Night tonight at Barnes and Noble. They usually have a family game night the last Friday of the month. This time, however, because of the holiday weekend they decided to do it last Friday so we missed it.

We decided to make the best of it so Curly Girl picked out a game that she wanted and a stack of books. She used some of her birthday money to buy the game and three books. We then went to the cafe to read some others.

The first thing she wanted was a giant sugar cookie (her favorite). I had a Godiva hot chocolate made with skim milk. They are sooo good! When Hubby and I used to hang out at B&N before kids that was our ritual. Get a huge stack of magazines, I would have the hot chocolate and he would get a cafe aulait.

Anyway, back to tonight. We settled in, Curly Girl ate 95% of her cookie (I had a little bit of it) and some milk. I gave her the money to pay for it and let her go up to the counter and order. She was so proud of herself. I showed her how to pay and get the change back.

We sat and read some books. She's doing so well reading the Stage 1 books. I'm so proud of her! We've always tried to encourage our girls to read and have always kept plenty of books around the house. Before we went to B&N we stopped by Toys R Us and after walking around every aisle she chose not to buy anything because she wanted to go to B&N.

While we were sitting there she says to me, "Mommy, I'm a grown up now so I have to tell you something."

I said, "What's that?"

She says, "Well, when I was a little baby you told me I can't say hate because that's a bad word. Well, now that I'm a grown up I just want to say that I hate hot chocolate."

Trying not to laugh out loud I said, "That's ok. I guess you are grown up enough now to use that word." A woman that was walking by glanced at me and smiled.

She ended up buying the game and three books and I let her pay herself. Just watching how confident she was handing over the stuff to the cashier and waiting to be rung up made me realize just how grown up she is now.

We just got home a bit ago. As we were walking in Munchkin heard the dog bark and knew we were home so Hubby let her come down from bed to say goodnight to us. Curly Girl and Munchkin gave each other a big kiss and hug and Curly Girl helped her baby sister get back into bed.

Things like this just make me so happy and I just want to remember these moments the rest of my life.

A ladybug on her finger

Happy Birthday Mom

2008-08-28T09:31:00.003-04:00

Today is my Mom's birthday. She's always been my best friend, my closest confidant, my partner in crime, my Mom. She always knows when I'm having a bad day and when I just need a swift kick in the butt.
She has nine grandchildren but still manages to make each one feel like they're the most important. Everyone wants to go to Mom-Mom's house. She's taught each one of her granddaughters the fine art of shopping!

She always makes sure that we all have what we need because that's what a Mom does. Sometimes she worries too much about us but again that's what a Mom does.
She's taught me what it means to be someone's Mom. To be there for your children, to catch them when they fall, to let them make mistakes on their own because that's how they grow into independent adults. Because no matter what your children do they will always be your babies.
So Happy Birthday Mom! I love you so much and thank you for everything you've ever done in my life. Thanks for loving me even when I'm not perfect. And always being there to catch me when I fall.
Thanks for being the best Mom-Mom my kids could ever ask for. Thanks for all of the little and the big things you do for us every day.
Thanks for teaching my brothers, my sister and me what it means to be a family. You've taught us that we can always depend on each other. You are truly the matriarch of the family!

Thanks for letting me make mistakes and thanks for picking me back up when I fall. Most of all, thanks for showing me how to be a great mom to my own kids. I love you!

Wordless Wednesday: All tucked in

2008-08-27T00:00:00.000-04:00

I love lists!

2008-08-26T10:16:00.004-04:00

Hi, my name is Supermommy and I'm addicted to making lists.

Yep, that's me. I LOVE lists. I make lists for the food store, I make lists of things I have to do, I make lists of books I want to read. I even have a list for all the things I want Hubby to do around the house (can't have him get bored, ya know!). I think I even have a list of lists around here somewhere.

I have a big five subject notebook that I keep next to my bed so that when I'm lying in bed at night and a thought hits me I can just pop it into the appropriate list.

My favorite place to keep my lists though is in my Palm Treo smartphone.
I love my phone. I got it about three years ago and it has my whole life in it.

Time to go, I have to write a list of things I need to do today.

Sidenote: Curly Girl had her four year checkup yesterday. She's now 40 inches and 31 pounds, about 75% for heights and 25% for weight. She's a tall, skinny girl! She also got three shots which was REALLY fun (said sarcastically).

It's Party Time!

2008-08-23T21:44:00.021-04:00

Today was Curly Girl's birthday party.
There were water balloons,
there was a pinata,

there was a water slide,
there was cake, there was singing,

there was candy,

there was lots of food,

there was lots of love all around.

The birthday girl had a great birthday. "The best birthday ever.", according to her.

Losing your heart

2008-08-22T00:00:00.000-04:00

When we went to Sesame Place the other day I had just a taste of what parents must feel in that moment when they realize they can't find their child.

I was playing with Munchkin in the little kid area. Hubby and Curly Girl were off climbing in the nets and tubes. There were so many little kids in the play area where Munchkin and I were that it was hard to tell whose kid was whose. One of the dads walked in front of me and momentarily blocked my view from where I was sitting, it was maybe ten seconds or so. In that small amount of time Munchkin decided to take off to somewhere more interesting.

Suddenly I realized that she wasn't there. I swear she was only about five feet away from me and that quickly she was gone. I started to panic and call her name. I asked a few people if they had seen her and I realized that I couldn't even think of what she was wearing. I started running around calling for her and I went over to another section just next to where we were playing that had a slide and climbing set on on and I find Munchkin climbing up the slide, totally oblivious to how she freaked me out.

This really made me realize just how quickly they can disappear. She was just five feet away from me! It's so important to never take your eyes off of them for even a split second, especially when there are so many other kids around and everything is the same bright primary colors of the clothes they are wearing.

I hope that I never have to experience that feeling again. In just the 30 seconds or so that I thought I'd lost her I had so many horrible thoughts go through my mind. My heart goes out to those parents who have lost a child.

I just thank God that I found her when I did. I don't want to lose my heart ever again.

Welcome to Elmo's World!

2008-08-21T10:05:00.024-04:00

Yesterday we took Curly Girl and Munchkin to Sesame Place for the day. First we started off the day with some presents and balloons for Curly Girl.

Then after a birthday breakfast of pancakes we packed up and went to Sesame Place.

We've never been there and when both girls realized where we were they were so excited. While Curly Girl and Daddy went on the roller coaster, Munchkin and I stopped to visit Super Grover. She was brave until we got up close to him.
We then went over to see the Elmo's World show. We just made it in before the show was full so we ended up sitting in the nose bleed section. Curly Girl's not a huge Sesame Street fan, she thinks it's for babies, but both girls really enjoyed the Elmo Show. They were singing and clapping and dancing. Munchkin was so excited she stood up on my lap and danced the entire show.
After the show we stopped to watch the parade on Main Street. First we hit the merry go round though. Munchkin sat on my shoulders and danced, clapped and sang the whole time. Curly Girl had a bird's eye view from Daddy's shoulders.
After the parade we stopped and had lunch. We then headed over to the huge play area with climbing nets and all kinds of equipment for kids and grownups to climb on. Hubby took Curly Girl to climb on the nets and I took Munchkin to play in the area for the smaller kids. Then we met back up and I took the girls on a ride together.

The girls then went in this play area called "Ernie's Bed Bounce" , they had so much fun there!

We then went to cool off a bit and splash around in the water. I didn't think to wear my bathing suit so Daddy had to take the girls in the water.
After all that we were totally tired and it was dinner time so we packed up and went to Red Robin for dinner. We've never been there and we were not disappointed! They have the best hamburgers! The waitress even brought out ice cream and sang Happy Birthday to Curly Girl. She didn't forget Munchkin either. She even got her own ice cream.
We had an awesome day! We finally made it home just in time for bed. It was a great way to celebrate Curly Girl's birthday. We'll be going back in October for Munchkin's birthday for sure!

Birthday wishes

2008-08-20T00:00:00.000-04:00

I cannot believe that four years ago today this little tiny baby was placed in my arms for the first time. She made two long years of wishing and hoping and heartache disappear and made me someone's mother.

She continues to fill our lives with laughter and love and lots of hugs and kisses. She's grown from a dependent little baby to our big girl getting ready to take on the challenges that the world has to offer.

In the past four years she's become a big sister, performed in her very first dance recital and learned how to ride a bike (with training wheels). She's taught me what it means to let someone else walk around with your heart. She's taught me how to let go and trust her instincts. She's given me a heart attack when she received her first stitches at the age of 19 months.
She greets me every morning by jumping into my bed and telling me that she "had a good sleep" and that she loves me and gives me hugs and kisses. She's learning how to read and can work her way around a computer. She loves teaching her baby sister how to do all kinds of stuff like go down slides and drink from a cup without a lid and how to go potty like the big kids do.
So HAPPY BIRTHDAY my sweet baby girl! I love you so much and am enjoying this crazy ride we're on together. I hope that when you grow up you have a daughter who is just as wonderful as you are.

Where to start...

2008-08-17T16:56:00.006-04:00

I have so many things to accomplish this week but I can't seem to get them organized. I sit here at the computer and all of my thoughts just keep swirling around in my head. I guess I just have to get out some paper and start writing down what needs to be done and then just start doing them!

Saturday evening we took the girls for a picnic dinner down by the Delaware River. There's a beautiful park there and we just spread out a blanket and had some fried chicken, red grapes, rolls and potato salad. Curly Girl just kept saying "I love our picnic. It's bee-you-ti-ful!" I tried to take some pictures but of course after the second picture the batteries died. Here's the girls eating their chicken:

The weather has been absolutely perfect. Warm during the day with a light breeze and cool enough at night to need a light blanket. I love this time of year and can't wait for fall.

I've already started organizing the girls' fall clothes. Curly Girl has TONS of clothes. Hand me downs from her older cousins but they are all like new, some even have the tags on them still. Her preschool teacher last year used to call her "Super model" because she always had on a different outfit with matching coats and shoes. She's a lucky girl!

Munchkin is going to need a few more outfits though because she's between a 24 month and a 2T. The clothes that I had from Curly Girl are still a little too big on her to wear so I guess that's what she'll be getting from everyone for her birthday in October.

Curly Girl's birthday is on Wednesday and we're taking the girls to Sesame Place for the day. We've never been there but Curly Girl has been on the rides on the boardwalk down the shore and last November when we went to Disney World. They have a great deal where you buy a ticket now and get another one for later in the season. So, we're going to go on Wednesday and then go back in October for Munchkin's birthday.

I have to finish up planning everything for her birthday party next Saturday. On Tuesday I'm taking her to see a movie and then we'll stop and pick up the paper goods for her party. Then on Friday I'll stay home and get the cooking all done.

I plan on making a butterfly shaped birthday cake from cupcakes. She's obsessed with butterflies and flowers.

Guess I better get started on my list!

Random Cuteness, Hannah Montana and the Golden Arches

2008-08-14T15:55:00.007-04:00

Today was the end of a week long Hannah Montana Dance Camp that Curly Girl went to with her friend from school and three of her cousins. My girl can tear up a dance floor! She can't wait for September to get here so that we can get back to our regular routine of dance class (her 2nd year!) and now she'll be going to preschool three mornings a week. I can't believe that she'll be in kindergarten next year already.

Munchkin was so mad when we would drop Curly Girl off at dance camp this week. She wants to do everything her big sister does now. She'll be going to ballet class starting in September too.

She wore her very first ponytail this morning. She looks so freakin' cute!

It'll be nice to spend some one on one time with Munchkin when Curly Girl starts school again. Sometimes when both girls are home there's a little competition over who gets Mommy's attention.

It's so cute though how much they really do love each other. When Curly Girl's not home, Munchkin stands at the door and keeps asking me, "Where's Sissy? Where's Sissy?"

Next week is Curly Girl's fourth birthday. I can't believe how quickly the time goes by. She's really into taking pictures and is constantly asking to use my camera. I'd really like to get her a camera of her own. We'll have to see about that (Maybe for her birthday, Mom Mom? :). She took this picture this morning when we were getting ready to leave the house.

After dance camp I took my girls, Curly Girl's friend and my six year old niece to McDonald's for a special treat. Nice person that I am, I let them play for two hours in the playground. Then they took a nice bath in disinfectent, took Curly Girl's friend home and came home. The girls had some ice pops and are now curled up on the floor watching a movie. Well, Curly Girl is. Munchkin is climbing on top of her Dora kitchen and looking out the window at the construction trucks putting new curbs in down the street.

So, that was our day. Here's some "Cheese face" to make you smile!

Recipe Swap: What's in your crockpot?

2008-08-13T11:23:00.003-04:00

Fishmama over at Life As Mom is hosting a crockpot recipe swap so I thought I'd share one of my favorites. It can be served over rice, couscous or rolled up in tortillas with some cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. Yummy!

Crockpot Salsa Chicken

1 jar of salsa
1 can of cream of anything soup
2 boneless chicken breasts
taco seasoning

Put the chicken in the crockpot. Sprinkle with taco seasoning. Dump in the cream soup and the salsa. Cook in the crockpot on low for about 6-8 hours until chicken is cooked through. Shred up the chicken and serve over rice.

I also sometimes add in corn or whatever veggies I have around.

Check out Life As Mom for more recipes!

http://www.lifeasmom.com/2008/08/recipe-swap-whats-in-your-crockpot.html

Say Cheese!

2008-08-13T08:33:00.006-04:00

This past Saturday I took Curly Girl to get her four year old pictures taken at Sears. Usually she has such a hard time getting her pictures taken. She fights with me, she won't smile, she just generally hates to get her pictures taken.

This time I told Hubs that I was going to take her by myself so that she wouldn't be distracted by him or the Munchkin. As soon as I we got to the mall she was actually excited to be getting her pictures taken. She smiled, she had a great time. Here's the pictures of my big girl:

Too much fun at the water park

2008-08-06T09:08:00.004-04:00