What's going on?

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!

Busy, Busy, Busy

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.

Feelin' A Little Blue

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.

A Few of My Favorite Things...

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!

Weekend Fun

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?

Happy Birthday Mom

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!