CLICK HERE FOR BLOGGER TEMPLATES AND MYSPACE LAYOUTS »

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Quite the week

I have been having one of those weeks... I've been sick, Elle's been sick, Ted "dropped" the camera in the fire and Kassidy has been a true to form teenager. I'm in a rut and hopefully next week will be better. 


I got this email today and it pretty much summed up my life and while I am mostly grateful sometimes I could use some more appreciation for all I do. 

BEING A MOM

Mom and Dad were watching TV when Mom said, “I’m tired,
and it’s getting late. I think I’ll go to bed.”

She went to the kitchen to make sandwiches for the next day’s
lunches, rinsed out the popcorn bowls, took meat out of the
freezer for supper the following evening, checked the cereal
box levels, filled the sugar container, put spoons and bowls on
the table and started the coffee pot for brewing the next
morning.

She then put some wet clothes into the dryer, put a load of
clothes into the wash, ironed a shirt and secured a loose
button. She picked up the newspapers strewn on the floor,
picked up the game pieces left on the table and put the
telephone book back into the drawer. She watered the
plants, emptied a wastebasket and hung up a towel to dry. She
yawned and stretched and headed for the bedroom. She
stopped by the desk and wrote a note to the teacher, counted
out some cash for the field trip, and pulled a textbook out from
hiding under the chair. She signed a birthday card for a friend,
addressed and stamped the envelope and wrote a quick note
for the grocery store. She put both near her purse. Mom then
creamed her face, put on moisturizer, brushed and flossed her
teeth and trimmed her nails.

Hubby called, “I thought you were going to bed.” “I’m on my
way,” she said. She put some water into the dog’s dish and put
the cat outside, then made sure the doors were locked. She
looked in on each of the kids and turned out a bedside lamp,
hung up a shirt, threw some dirty socks in the hamper, and had
a brief conversation with the one up still doing homework. In
her own room, she set the alarm, laid out clothing for the next
day, straightened up the shoe rack. She added three things to
her list of things to do for tomorrow. About that time, the
hubby turned off the TV and announced to no one in particular
“I’m going to bed,” and he did.

Friday, January 23, 2009

My day off


Each night as I put Elle to bed we always talk about what is in store for the next day. This way she wakes up knowing where she will be that day... be it with us, Grandma or at daycare.  

She wakes up happy most days and announces her plans for the day usually based on what we talk about at bedtime the night 
before. Wednesdays are our day together so I try to do something fun. 

This week I cancelled our playdate because I was fighting a cold (that has won and I am praying no one else gets it). & Elle wasn't about to let me off the hook with what we decided to do at bedtime Tuesday. 

So, we baked cookies. I let her do it all from start to finish, including clean up and she had Kassidy help her decorate. It was fun and took my mind off being sick for awhile. 

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Hope


"On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord." - President Barack Obama 

As this historical day comes to an end I can not help but hope and for the first time in my life I feel inspired by a politician. I believe in this amazing country and am filled with pride at what I witnessed today. 

Thursday, January 8, 2009

The Holidays...finally

It is hard to believe that it is already January 16, 2009. The time really flew over the holidays and I am profoundly sad that it did. Christmas was a blast this year and watching Elle discover the spirit of the season was truly a sight to see. She even said good bye to her friends at daycare today with a hearty “Merry Christmas" and I am certain she will continue with this for quite some time. Here is a recap of our holidays, hope you enjoy. 

We kept with our tradition this year and spent Christmas Eve creating our gingerbread houses in fierce competition. This year the teams consisted of Jane, Megan and me vs. Brian, Ted and Kassidy. My team was victorious, but if you'd like to cast your votes just let me know. 



We sent Elle off to sleep with my annual reading of The Polar Express and she actually made it through the entire story this year. 

As expected (unlike last year's pleasant surprise), Nammy and Poppy arrived into Newark, NJ on Santa's sleigh at about 1:30 Christmas morning. Though the flight was delayed, they were worth wait and were home with us for Christmas morning. 
Elle loved her gifts from Santa, but especially her dress up stuff. 
Miss Kassidy had a blast too, but mostly was stoked on her new room (more about that in another post)!
 Christmas dinner at Jane's was yummy and fun!

The rest of the week with my parents was supposed to be low key, but because Elle's potty training was a disaster...
...I tried to keep my folks entertained on their visit, so we hit up the Irish Famine Memorial in NYC (which is really cool and I highly recommend it)...
& Little Italy New York where we saw two of my sorority sisters, Laurel & Allison, 
 & Elle abruptly ended the evening by getting her first case of the stomach bug and began vomiting in front of a restaurant full of diners, a wild ride over the Brooklyn Bridge through Williamsburg, Brooklyn that I am certain was the high light of our visit together if not our lives (you had to be there) and a quick trip to the submarine base in Groton, CT...
... while Kassidy had her first skiing adventure with her Uncle Brian and Aunt Megan and by all indications is a "natural" and we can't wait to see it for ourselves and capture a photo for posterity. 

I am missing my folks as always and am so grateful that they spent another Christmas with little us in Connecticut. They spoiled us so while they were here and our house seems so quiet with out them. We are back to our busy schedules and I can not wait until we all can be together again

...and will be counting down the days until they can smother us all with kiss sandwiches!

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Merry Christmas

From our home
             to yours....

Friday, December 19, 2008

Tagged by Jess



I am supposed to post the 6th picture on my 6th page of Flikr, but since I don't have Flikr I am posting my 6th picture on my 6th roll in IPhoto. 

This is my brother-in-law Brian and my two daughters. I assume Megan is taking the picture, as this was the first night Ted and I went out and they watched the girls for us. This was the first night they hooked us up and the favor of a date night out is always appreciated and they have yet to turn us down.  

My hero

I am very, very happy (more like ecstatic) to report that my husband captured the squirrel! We all awoke on Wednesday to quite the clatter in the attic and though Elle briefly thought it was Santa and his reindeer on our roof, her daddy realized he had won the battle!

 


Ted: 1 Squirrel: 0