The Halls are Decked

The kids had so much fun decorating their rooms this year.  They each have their own tree, a mini stocking, many decorations and stars hanging from the ceiling :)  Many mornings Lil'C will get up, put on her Santa hat and go to work "fixing" her tree.  She then goes downstairs to "fix" the big tree.  We have many branches with 3 or more ornaments on them.  I have given up rearranging them and have learned to embrace her sense of style :)

Here are some of the family room....

The big tree

New look on the mantle this year

Our new hand knit stockings!!  Made by my brother in-law's talented Mom

Where Have I Been!?!?

Hello All (if there is anybody left reading), Happy December!  I cannot believe that November is behind us and I did not sit down to write once.  The blogging break was filled with so many projects, a special weekend Mother's Retreat (picture above was taken there), holiday shopping, a Charlie Brown Thanksgiving with friends, Thanksgiving with family, planning Advent and decorating for Christmas.  It was a wonderful month, absolutely wonderful. 

And now we are moving into December.  Once again I spent most of November preparing for December so that I could enjoy all the magic of the season.  It means for a lot of work in November (shopping, creating, wrapping, crafting, cards, decorating) but it makes for a fun and relaxing December. 

This December I am planning to post a photo a day up until Christmas.  I probably won't write much but plan to tell our story through photos and short blurbs.  Below you will find the photos for December 1st and 2nd.  I wish you all a magical holiday season!!!

December 1st--Cousins Decorating my Mom's Tree

December 2nd--This Year's Basket of Advent Holiday Books

Happy Halloween!

So much to share about Lil'C's Princess Parties, but our 50 hour power outage got in the way of blogging ;) I hope to share all the photos and details later this week. For now I wanted to share some Halloween Photos from last night.  We like to Trick or Treat with my sister in her neighborhood (houses are close together and they all get into it).  It was so much fun!  Because of all of the power outages, our town has been postponed until Saturday so this year the kids get to go twice :)  LIl'C was Peter Pan, Z was Batman, my niece was Rapunzel on her wedding day and my nephew was Jake from the Neverland Pirates :)  I hope you all enjoyed your night!

ZPD

 We were very lucky the other night and got to meet up with my brother-in-law right after he dealt with some "thugs" ;)  In the four years he has been a Police Officer, we had never seen him in uniform!  This time we got to see not only his uniform but his cruiser!

Z got to sit in the cruiser and even had a chance to turn on the blue lights.  It was a lot of fun but unfortunately Lil'C was a bit too spooked to participate.  She stayed a safe distance away the whole time :)

Loveable Lil'C

Happy Birthday to the sweetest little girl I know!!  My little princess turns 3 today and it is so hard for Scott and I to come to terms with this.  The little 6 lb baby we once knew is now a "preschooler". Saying "goodbye" to the toddler years was much harder than I thought and I will admit I shed a lot of tears.  We are so blessed to have this little love in our life and I would love to share a glimpse of what she is like right now at age 3 :)

-Lil'C loves to do puzzles!!! "Play puzzles with me?" is a phrase we often here around here.  And most mornings we can be found doing puzzles while sipping our morning coffee :)  Her fairy princess puzzle from Auntie Amber is her favorite at the moment.

-Lil'C is so enthusiastic about life!  When she sees the moon at night, you would think she had just been handed the worlds best toy.  The simple things in life excite her and she has a way of making others around her smile.

-Lil'C loves to dress up.  She loves to dress as a fairy, a princess or just put all of the contents of our dress up box on her body!  She will also go to the store like this and gets a million smiles because of it!  She also loves jammies and shoes :)  She would change both 10 times a day if I let her.

-Lil'C loves "my boys" in her Kindermusik class.  She is the only little girl in the class and she refers to the rest of her class as "My Boys".  She loves her class, is so imaginative and is the first to tell someone if they are not doing what they are suppose to!

-Lil'C loves to create.  She is a crafty girl and loves to work with any medium that is presented to her.  Playdoh is a favorite but she also loves stamps, markers, paints, crayons....anything!

-Lil'C loves her good buddies Jocelyn and Chloe.  They are two of her favorite people and she talks about them constantly.  She loves to play dress up with Chloe (Chloe introduced her to that world) and Playdoh with Jocelyn.  She is so excited to party with her two Princess Friends this week!

-Lil'C loves to visit Z's school.  On Monday's she and I have lunch duty and she LOVES it.  She plays on the playground, lines up with the 4 year olds, eats with them and then plays with them afterwards.  She cannot wait until she can go to school next year and I know she will run right through the doors without looking back.

-Lil'C loves stuffed friends!  Her crib is filled with them and she is very good about not playing favorites :)  She loves them all equally and will rotate who she snuggles with at night.  At the moment, her new Cinderella Build A Bear, a monkey she got from Grandma Mams, Curious George and her Tinkerbell are her favorites. 

-Lil'C LOVES her brother!!!  He is her world and she looks to him all day long.  He is her best friend and the person she would pick to spend all of her time with.  Yes they do a great deal of fighting but they also love to play together.  She loves to make him laugh, loves to sing with him and they already have a bunch of "personal jokes" and things between them.  It makes my heart smile to see this relationship grow. 

Happy Birthday Lil'C!!!  Daddy and I love you very much and are so proud of the little girl you are becoming :)

Leaf Catching

Yesterday was the perfect fall afternoon.  There was not a cloud in the sky, temperatures were in the upper 60's and there was an occasional breeze to bring the leaves from high in the treetops to the grass below.  As you all know, Fall is my FAVORITE season.  I love the food, holidays, bringing out my sweaters, the crisp weather, changing leaves, pumpkins.....all of it.  One of my favorite activities is catching leaves and I am so excited that Z shares my love for this activity. 

For the past few years, Z has joined me in the back yard as we chase the leaves and try to catch them before they hit the ground.  He never was really able to catch them but enjoyed it just the same.  This year that all changed....Z caught his first leaf!!!  Not only did he catch one, he caught 2 more after that.  He was all smiles as he and I slapped 5 over this big victory.  Lil'C ran around us "catching" her own leaves and giggling.  It was so much fun, the kind of afternoon where you skip the baths and all the chores that need to be done so that you can enjoy every minute of the warm sunshine while it lasts. 

Planning a Royal Gala (or two)

Next week my little girl turns 3 and to celebrate we are rolling out the red carpet and turning our home into a castle.  Lil'C is all about Cinderella and the rest of her royal friends and has requested a special "Princess Party".  There will be two parties, a brunch for her little friends and an afternoon gala a few days later for family.   The past two weeks have been spent planning and working on the party.  I made a video movie invitation (starring my amazing husband and Lil'C herself), turned old floor mats from my mom's classroom into swords and shields for the Knights in attendance, made a mural of a castle for the playroom and so much more. 

I love birthday parties and all of the creative energy that goes along with it.  I do tend to go overboard but it is hard not to get swept up in the fun of planning these parties.  My little angel's enthusiasm is enough to keep any tired momma going strong.  "Ooooh is that for my princess party??" and "Thank you for my party Momma!" are sweet words to my ears :)

See You Next Year Lake...

Yesterday as the kids and I were heading up to the car to head home Z asked, "Mommy can we go say good-bye to the lake?"  With a tear in my eye (don't know why but I always cry our last weekend of the year), I started walking that way.  "Good bye Lake, Good bye Raft, Good bye turtle in the sand that M's dad made (yes K it is still there!!!), Good bye Beach....." and it went on that way for awhile.  Scott joined us to say his good-byes and I looked at the kids and could not believe that they would be another 6 months older before we would be back again....another tear fell.

gorgeous fall hike

awesome views!!

We had a wonderful last weekend with good friends.  They have a son who is 8, one who is 6 and a daughter who is 2.  The kids got a long great and they really enjoyed their first weekend at our special place.  We played on the beach, went hiking, had a late night campfire where Scott and Dad played guitar while the girls danced and the boys roasted marshmallows and on Sunday we played in the rain.  They even helped us pack up for the winter, not a fun job for anyone but very necessary. 

our little fire sprites dancing round the campfire

Here is the sea turtle, 2 weeks old and still going strong!

As I closed the cabin door, with all of the winter preparations in place, I whispered "Thank You".  Thank you lake for another wonderful year of memories.  Thank you Tante and Uncle Howie for bringing it into our lives and thanks Mom and Dad for keeping the fun alive.  It means so much to all of us and we are so blessed to have this beautiful spot to come to and enjoy.  Thank you!

Z's First Pats Game!!!

Scott called me on Friday and asked if I wanted to go to the Patriots/Bronco's Game on Sunday.  He had been given AMAZING seats with free parking and he thought it would be fun to go.  Our entire family was suppose to be at the lake and so there was nobody to watch my beautiful children, so I told him to find somebody else.  I had suggested my sister (a HUGE fan) but he decided that this would be a great game to take Z to.....boy was he right!!

The tickets were club seats so they had access to a lounge with couches, tables and big screen TVs when it started to rain.  They had their own bathrooms, concessions and sweet seats!  Scott bought Z a Pats Hat before the game (hoping that this would help him stop his love for the Jets) and they were off to their seats.  Ironically, my good friend Melanie and her crew were also at the game and 2 sections away :)  They all hung out during the rain together....I wish I had gone!

Z came home GLOWING!  "They won Mommy!!" (sorry Connie!!).  He grabbed his football out of the playroom and headed to bed all smiles.  What an amazing day with his dad!  Such a lucky boy and I hope he realizes that future football games will not be quite as luxurious and if they are, Mommy's going ;)

Robinson's Racing Pigs

I first saw these little pigs in 2002 at the Topsfield Fair.  It was a school field trip (my first as a paid teacher) and my co-teachers told me to make sure that I didn't miss Robinson's Racing Pigs.  We got there 20 minutes early, ate our lunches while we waited and I wondered what was so special about racing piggies.  Then the theme song started, a catchy little song which you just can't help but clap or sing along to.  The pigs race for Oreo cookies and there is even a race where they swim to the finish in a small pool.  It is a lot of fun, they do a great job getting the crowd involved and for the next 4 years, my field trip groups never missed those racing piggies!



This year was the first time in 6 years that I had been back to the fair.  Ironically it was the same day that my old school was doing their annual field trip :)  A few weeks before the fair, I showed Z and Lil'C videos on You Tube of Robinson's Racing Pigs. One look and they were hooked.  Soon they were singing the theme song and couldn't wait to see the live event.  The entire way to the fair you could hear "Robinson's Racing Pigs...." being sung from the back seat.  As soon as we got through the fair gates, they demanded to go see the pigs.  I explained that we had an hour before we should head over but they needed to see the race track NOW ;)  We headed over, scoped out where we would sit and then went to visit the Bees, Sheep and other Pigs.  The entire time I heard, "Mommy, is it time??". 

We got to the grandstand, ate our lunches and my kids could not contain their excitement.  When the theme song started up, Z sang right along and hugged me as he did so.  "Momma Racing Piggies, Robinson's Racing Pigs" Lil C said over and over.  They were ready!!!  When the pigs came out, they cheered them on and laughed as they raced.  They were undecided whether they liked the swimming potbelly pigs or the tiny piglets best but agreed it was their favorite part of the fair.

$2.25 for a ride ticket??? Seriously, this is the only ride they did.

Biggest Pumpkin EVER, from RI...2009 Pounds!!!!

"When we come back next year, let's bring Daddy!" Z said.  "He needs to see these pigs!!!"  At home Z raced around the house singing the theme song and Lil'C found her pig stuffed animal and curled up with it for nap time and said, "I love Robinson's Racing Pigs".  It was a great day at the fair and those loveable pigs stole the show!!!

Taking Out Evil Pigs!

It was all Angry Birds (Space) for Z's 6th Birthday Party or as Z liked to say, "Bird Day Party".  We had it at the local Bounce House where we did his fourth birthday and the kids were bouncing off the walls taking out those "Evil Pigs".  The theme of Angry Birds was decided almost a year ago and when he first played the space version of the game, the theme was modified.  It was such a fun party to plan and he had a WONDERFUL time.

What I love about this particular venue is how organized and clean the owner is.  You are the only party there and she is very good about keeping to the agenda that you create together.  The kids wash their hands when they go in to bounce, wash them before they go eat cake and wash them again when they come down to dance....no germs ;)  The party ends with a dance party and Z created a very unique set list.  He started off with the Angry Birds Space theme song, then Weekend Whip from Ninjago, the Muppet Show theme, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle theme song, Batman theme (from the old TV show) and finished up with Eye of the Tiger!  We gave the kids leis to wear during the dance party and most of them were destroyed by the little boys running around pulling on them :)

Z and I made Angry Bird masks with blowers for the group picture and as part of their souvenir to take home.  They came out so cute and the parents were so thrilled to be sent home with a loud blower ;)  The party favors were King Pig cups filled with Angry Bird Goodies.

I can't believe my baby is 6!!  It was a great day but we both decided on a much smaller celebration next year.  We are thinking of taking a good friend (or two) to the local amusement park.  It would be much cheaper and soooo much easier ;)

signing the birthday wall