Kidnapped by Facebook!

I've been temporarily kidnapped by Facebook (and Christmas preparation, Princess's birthday celebrations, etc)...but I *must* share this find with you!

Check out Dogeared Jewelry--their stuff is so sweet and perfect for gift giving. They sell their stuff online as well as at places like Nordstrom.

I really really want the mother daughter necklace set...I might splurge on it next year and do a special day with Princess and give it to her then...or maybe I should save it for *next* Christmas.
Or look at this necklace...
This last necklace I'm thinking about buying as a gift for someone for this year.

Isn't their stuff CUTE?! I love it!

Happy Birthday, Princess!

Happy 5th Birthday, Princess!!

Five years ago, on December 4th, 2003, my sweet baby girl entered the world at 9:16am. It was a long hard labor that ended in a rush c-section, but it was worth every moment once I saw that baby held up over the blue drape! All ten pounds thirteen ounces and 22.25 inches of her! Her gender was a surprise and she was the first one to hear her name.

Now here we are, five years later, and our lives have changed SO much and our baby girl has brought so much joy to our life. She is an exuberant, vocal, happy, beautiful and bright little girl.

I love you baby girl, now and forever.

Knock, knock!

Knock, knock! Is this thing still on?!

Gosh, life has just been BUSY...and then once I started neglecting my blog, it just snowballed out of control! However, this blog is supposed to be a place where I keep tabs on my little ones and my life, so I need to get back in the swing of things!

I can't believe my little blog missed Halloween AND Thanksgiving! Yikes!

Back from Disneyland...but life is crazy!

We've been back from Disneyland but life is *very* crazy here right now! I haven't forgotten about you all or about my blog...but time is scarce these days and I have some family stuff going on.

Disneyland was AMAZING! Better than I ever dreamed it could be! The longest line we waited in was fifteen minutes and that was very rare--we walked right onto almost every ride and even were able to stay on rides like Dumbo to ride them two times in a row! It was fabulous!

On our very first day my children held hands with Minnie Mouse and went skipping through ToonTown with her! They were the envy of many children, that's for sure! The next day we were able to march with Mickey down Main Street as the Main Street Band marched to Town Square. We met every princess except Mulan (and my children don't know who she is anyhow) and had pictures taken with TONS of characters. My little girl held hands with Pluto and they explored several store windows along Main Street. It just was wonderful!!

It truly was a magical trip. We have been spoiled for future trips!!

Look at the expression on my little girl's face--this was when she saw Snow White on a float during the Parade of Dreams. The joy on her face just takes my breath away.

Pink Toes

Last week I managed to go out and get a pedicure while my husband took the children to a birthday party. Ahhh, I love pedicures and am vowing to get them done more often! Anyhow, I came home with red toenails and the children were quite impressed and requested I paint their toenails.
And so I now have two children with pink toenails. Yes, one of those children is a boy--he loves pink because his sissy loves pink. I had to take a picture for future blackmailing purposes.

We fly home from Disneyland tomorrow!

Fall Decorating

Before we left for our Disneyland trip (yes, we're there right now!) I put out most of my fall decorations. It was a good way to put off packing and I was getting tired of the summer decorations. And, as always, I ended up rearranging stuff and turning a medium project into a big project!
This little spot on top of the bookcase in my dining room (we're a wee bit short on space here!) looks SO much better now. It used to house some of our art supplies. Supplies that were supposed to stay inside the baskets...obviously that didn't work so well! I've moved the art supplies into the freshly painted black dresser that I'm using as a sofa table (pictures of that next week!) and now the top of the bookcase is available for decorating!
Much better, don't you think! I'm not 100% thrilled with this arrangement. I like the jars, but I'm "eh" on the basket. I have mini gourds in two of the jars and fall leaves (fake, of course!) in the third jar. The leaves look better in real life--not so squished. Anyhow, originally I had the jars centered on top of the bookcase (no basket) and then I looked around my house and realized just how often I do a grouping of three...it is rather insane! I need to start expanding my horizons beyond the number three! So, I tried to break out of my rut...but I didn't really have anything else in a large enough scale to put up on top of this very tall bookcase--so I stuck my Halloween treat basket up there. It'll do for now.

Birdcages Revisited!

Remember those identical birdcages I bought for a steal at two different garage sales? Well, in the midst of a spray-painting frenzy last week, I repainted the red one--now it is black and is full of little gourds! Actually, it is full of little gourds and three plastic cups. Did that confuse you? See, the gourds are not exactly inexpensive (even using my 40% off coupons at Michaels!) and the birdcage is a lot bigger inside than I realized...so I used some plastic cups to take up some of the interior space. Look at my slightly blurry picture (ooops!) and see if you can see the cups. My husband had no idea they were in there until he practically stuck his nose in the cage.
By the way, it is sitting on my black dresser...I've repainted the drawer fronts from where Handsome scratched them up. I love it!! I'll have to post pictures of it when I return from vacation. Yes, we're still at Disneyland--I love this delayed post feature...

Box Tops for Education

If you're anything like me, you like to support your schools whenever possible. One popular way is by cutting out those "Boxtops for Education"...or, if you're REALLY like me, you don't cut them, you just rip them out and hope that you don't tear off any pertinent information. I have a hefty stockpile of boxtops that I've accumulated that will go off to school with my little girl next year--don't worry, I've been checking the expiration dates and they haven't expired!

So, lucky me--I was contacted by a marketing firm and given the opportunity to test out a NEW way to support the school of my choice. And, the best part?? It is by shopping!! Woohoo! Shopping is something I'm very very good at!
All you do is go to http://www.boxtops4education.com and click "Sign Up Now" and pick a school to support. Then you click on "Marketplace" and shop at the stores that are listed--anything from Nordstrom to Gap to Barnes and Noble! Hey, if you want to give a child a subscription to Zoobooks (remember that animal magazine?), they'll give a kickback of over 22% to your school!

Anyhow, it was super-duper easy to navigate and shop--I highly recommend it! A few clicks and POOF! Not only does my son have a new pair of snowpants, but I've supported the Catholic school I'm planning on sending my daughter to next fall!

So, what do you think? Did you know you could shop this way? I had no idea!

Look what I won!

I was lucky enough to win this cutie-pie apron from Whitney over at My Journey Toward: The Glamorous Life of a Housewife. Love it!
My daughter claims it is for her, but there is no way--it is too cute to be relegated to the dress-up box! I'm going to wear it with pride while I do my best impression of a 50s housewife and make yummy goodies for my family! Thanks, Whitney!!
We leave tomorrow for Disneyland! See you all on Sunday or Monday--don't forget me while I'm gone! I'll be taking lots of Disneyland pictures. Handsome and Princess are very excited! In the words of Handsome... "go-in Dihneelan, see mih-he mouh an minnie mouh!!"

September 11th

In 2001 I was working as an assistant director of admission at a college in Connecticut and my husband worked across the river as an engineer designing hull sections for nuclear submarines. On the morning of September 11th 2001 I was in a meeting with a colleague and two of our athletic coaches--we were discussing recruitment plans for our athletic department. Our meeting was interrupted by a call from my colleague's wife. A plane had just crashed into the World Trade Center and her sister was in midair, enroute from Boston to California. Needless to say, our meeting was over.

We worked the rest of the day in shock, glued to our computer screens to keep up-to-date with the news of what was going on just 1.5 hours down the road in New York City as well as in DC. Fortunately my colleague's sister-in-law was safe, but so many others were not. The submarines at the base were sent out, one after another, to open sea--except for one that was left to guard the entrance of the river. Huge barricades were erected around my husband's work site--one of just a handful of places in the country where submarines are designed and built.

I went home that night to my husband, horrified at the evil that had permeated our society. We had been talking about having a baby and the idea of bringing a baby into this world now seemed to be a selfish and terrifying thought.

September 11th is more than just another day...it is a date that brings me to my knees in gratitude for the lives of my loved ones and in prayer for those who no longer are with us and with thanks to those who spend every day working to keep there from being another September 11th.