A Madison Mom

Ho Ho Ho

2009-12-20T16:39:00.000-05:00

Zoe and Ana were very happy to see Santa this year. I guess they both know that they've been good girls.
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Wordless Wednesday - Peace on Earth

2009-12-16T10:23:00.001-05:00

For more photos... check out 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordless Wednesday.

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Can't do it

2009-12-13T08:05:00.002-05:00

Ana is 17 months old.

We already know she's the size of a 2 year old. She's been wearing 24 month and 2t clothes for months. Now I guess she thinks she better act and talk like a 2 year old too.

I have a degree in Child Development and worked with infants and toddlers for years.... but I still can't remember if most 17 month olds use this many words. Zoe talked a lot... but not this much. Is it a 2nd child thing?

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Grace in Small Things - 83

2009-12-11T11:53:00.000-05:00

1. A hot cup of coffee

2. mittens

3. warm puffy coats

4. Christmas songs on the car radio

5. Christmas shopping online

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Jingle Bell Time - What a Swell Time

2009-12-09T23:23:00.001-05:00

Tonight was FINALLY Zoe's holiday show at school.

I say finally because if you stopped by the house anytime in the last few weeks you might have had the chance to hear her practicing since she was constantly singing one or three songs here and there during every day. CONSTANTLY.

She was SO excited that it was finally today.

I have to say I am extremely impressed with lack of stage fright. She has been thrilled knowing it was show time... but I always worry that she'll get nervous right before going on stage. She never does though. She truly loves being on stage performing. We will definitely be keeping up with her dance class for recitals... and I'm sure she'll be interested in joining some kind of chorus as she continues in school. Maybe some drama, too. The girl does have a knack for drama lately. (That's another post entirely I suppose.)

She went onto the stage with such confidence. She sang louder and more clearly than all of the other kids right from the get go. Sometimes she tends to be a little shy... but wow... get her on stage and she just shines. Even the teachers have made comments about how much she surprised them. I am one proud mama.

Zoe walked into the room with a smile on her face (and antlers and a red nose... like Rudolph).

She seemed to smile her way through singing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Jingle Bell Rock, and We Wish You a Merry Christmas.

I love this shot of Zoe. Her expression. Her pose. Can't you just tell what a great job she was doing? (I wish it was a better shot... but it is still a keeper.)

Here is the whole herd of reindeer. I'm sure Santa would be happy to have them pull his sleigh! I just think they all look so festive.

If you have 6 minutes and 50 seconds to share... here's the video!

If you can't see the video here is the YouTube link.

Somebody needs to tell me how to get better shots in places like auditoriums and gyms. I realize the lighting is just not ideal... but somebody must have some suggestions to help me improve. I'm thrilled to have these shots for memories... but I just wish the quality was better.

Grace in Small Things - 82

2009-12-05T09:37:00.012-05:00

1. A stomach bug that lasted about 6 hours instead of 24 hours or LONGER. (poor Zoe)

2. The look on Zoe's face when I included "popsicle" on her list of dinner choices. (at least she at something)

3. Finding out that Pizza Factory delivers Tiaramisu. (even though I missed Nick's company holiday party)

4. Waking up and seeing Nick was able to bring home some seafood risotto that I missed out on. Yeah for party take out.

5. Having Zoe wake up just about back to normal after a good nights sleep.

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My little elves

2009-12-04T14:27:00.001-05:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

This just never gets old. It cracks me up every time.

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Christmas Decorating during a Recession

2009-12-02T08:56:00.000-05:00

A friend e-mailed this to me and I couldn't resist sharing it.

I shoulda bought a lottery ticket!

2009-12-01T18:32:00.000-05:00

My e-mail is just full of prizes today!!! Well... not FULL... but we're feeling awfully lucky around here today.

First...
Zoe's school newsletter for December was e-mailed out just now. Under the section titled "Box Tops For Education" it announced that Zoe's class was the winner of this year's first box tops contest. Actually... it's says "we have an overwhelming winner." "Just in November they collected over 260 Box Tops. That is the greatest number of Box Tops EVER collected in a one month period by a class at 'insert Zoe's school name here'." How awesome is that???

You know what truly makes it awesome??? Last week Zoe handed in 83 boxtops that we collected... and then yesterday we turned in another 96 (thanks mostly to Cara @ I Miei Due Bambini... and my Aunt Pru... and a bit of last minute scavenging around the house). Plus we sent in 20 more on the cut and paste handouts that were sent home. (10 on each picture). So we handed in 199 (if I counted properly) of those 260. Woo Hoo!!!!! Ice Cream party here we come!

Second...
I just got a comment/e-mail from Mrs. Kennedy (the creator of NaBloPoMo) telling me I was chosen (randomly) to receive one of the NaBloPoMo prizes!!! The prize I was picked to win is a one year Flickr pro account from Mrs. Kennedy herself. Eden Kennedy @ Fussy!!! How cool is that???

Do you know what makes that truly cool? I just got an e-mail from Flickr telling me my pro account expired. I was trying to decide whether to renew it or not. Perfect timing. Now there is no decision to make. Just an account to renew!

So... lucky lucky me. Anybody else want to e-mail and tell me I've won something? It certainly is a good feeling.

Still hanging in there...

2009-11-30T11:10:00.001-05:00

This little geranium flower is still hanging out in the front of our house. It seems like November 30th is late for flowers to bloom... but it and a few others have decided to make an appearance before December rolls in. Holding on until bitter winter comes to visit NJ.

I've also been doing some "hanging in there." Today is November 30th. The last day of NaBloPoMo. National Blog Posting Month. 30 posts in 30 days.

I did it!!!!

WooHoo!!!

Grace in Small Things - 81

2009-11-29T20:38:00.001-05:00

1. Coffee ice cream sodas.

2. A family dinner by candlelight (because Joy decided to perch herself on the "chandelier" today not thinking about how she might get melted at dinner time. Silly Joy.)

3. The girls' bedtime with Daddy.

4. Sitting in silence, typing, drinking wine.

5. Being able to watch full episodes of Bones online (Why are there so many shows on Thursday??? My dvr can't handle it.)

Daily Mugshot

2009-11-28T20:30:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I started doing a Daily Mugshot.

Because I am a glutton for punishment.

I've taken 2 photos (today and yesterday) so far.

It should be something that is easy to accomplish.

1 photo a day.... of myself... when I sit at the computer.

They even send you a reminder if you want. No excuse for forgetting.

I have browsed through the mugshot galleries... and it's really interesting to watch some of them. It's especially fun to watch some of them when the people have been growing out their hair... or growing a beard... or wear glasses sometimes. I'm looking forward to seeing how much I change... or don't. I think I might even start doing a mugshot for Zoe and Ana too. That would be even more interesting to see.

Anybody else want to try it? Or is anyone else already doing it? I'd love to add you to my favorites list!

Joy has returned to our home...

2009-11-27T22:30:00.002-05:00

and this... this is Joy...

Joy is our Elf of the Shelf. She (yes... SHE) joined our family last year and after reading her story Zoe named her Joy. We're very happy she's back to visit us again. She magically appeared tonight. We think it's because Santa came to town for the Madison Santa parade. Santa must have dropped off the elves while he was here. We were very surprised that when we came home from the parade... there was Joy.

Joy has a VERY important job. She spends the weeks before Christmas with us... and each night she uses her magic to travel to the North Pole to let Santa know how Zoe and Ana are behaving. Joy makes it back to our house before we wake up... and she picks a new place to sit and watch.

Zoe is extremely serious about Joy and the work she does. Last year... if Zoe was behaving badly... all anyone needed do was remind her in a whisper "Oh no... I hope Joy isn't seeing what you're doing... she's sure to tell Santa." Suddenly Zoe would stop whatever she was doing (usually whining or crying or occasionally having a fit over some preschool type drama) and would give a glance in Joy's direction. It's amazing what a little elf can do!

We've all been looking forward to Joy's return. Hopefully her magic is just as powerful this year!

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Happy Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T13:03:00.000-05:00

Wordless Wednesday - Last days of Pumpkins

2009-11-25T19:49:00.000-05:00

Visit Wordless Wednesday and 5 Minutes for Mom for more photo sharing.

Oh how I love these girls...

2009-11-24T23:46:00.000-05:00

Ana - 16 months

Zoe - 4 years 16 months

I have so many photos from our recent trip to Florida. I have to go through them... and delete the bad ones... and edit the OK ones... and sigh over some (like these) that make me think "did I really make those?" (the girls and the photos!)

These came out of the camera just perfect. These shots make me think I might be getting a handle on the manual camera settings. They were uploaded to our old computer when we got home... and this weekend they were transferred to our new computer (um... did I mention we bought an iMac?)... and since I have yet to get any editing software on this computer (other than iPhoto... is that useful at all?)... you get these straight out of the camera.

The rest you have to wait for. I have to spend a little more time with them. But these... these I love just the way they are.

Issues

2009-11-23T12:12:00.004-05:00

I'm still having commenting issues.

I'm TRYING to go back to the original Blogger commenting form.

I'm not sure if it's working yet.

Bare with me.

And... um... help.

sniffle sniffle

Edited: Scratch that. I'm back to JS Kit Echo. For now.

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A broken blog is SO frustrating

2009-11-22T23:39:00.003-05:00

edited: Comments on this post WERE done using IntenseDebate. It wasn't working/syncing/making life easy... so I removed the widget. Now it seems to be holding the comments that WERE made on this post hostage... and I can't get any comment form on this post. Arg! GRR! Ugh! Right now... my opinion... IntenseDebate sucks. Anyone have any opinions or suggestions? Of course if you want to comment and help me you'll have to do it on another post or e-mail me. GRRR! I would go back to annoying JSKit Echo... but now they are giving me an error too... and won't import my comments so I can install. (I know Carrie... WordPress)

I clicked one thing today... and I broke my blog.

Well... not really my whole blog. Just the commenting. But that's the important part right???

I thought I would try removing the confusing JS-Kit Echo comment system... and the next thing I knew I had no comment form at all. I panicked and had a bit of an anxiety attack. After some slow breathing and counting I settled in and started to work out how to fix it.

I've spent most of the day making adjustments. I installed a new comment form/system. I'm hoping it's easier than the last one that I was trying to use. I wasn't getting as many comments as I used to and I'm hoping it was because of the confusing form.

Now it looks like it's much easier. You just have to enter your name and e-mail (and blog site address if you have one). I'm hoping I'll be able to add back the comment luv if it's compatible. Also, if it's working like it's supposed to I should still be able to reply to comments through e-mail.

So what do you think? Can you comment (even just to say hello) so I can see if it's working properly?

If it works out I think it will end up being worth all of the anxiety and hours of fixing it.

(Now if I can just figure out how to get my post signature ABOVE the comment form I think I'll be in good shape! Anybody know how to do that? I keep trying with no success.)

Sharing a song...

2009-11-21T22:23:00.000-05:00

I'm subscribed to Nataly Dawn on YouTube. I just love her voice... and I love the whole "videosong" concept of recording each part live and meshing it all together. But... mostly... I love her voice. This came in my e-mail subscription today... and I've watched it enough times that I thought I would share it!

Grace in Small Things- 80

2009-11-20T21:15:00.003-05:00

1. Walking around the happy shiny Apple store.

2. Buying a happy shiny new iMac.

3. Feeling all computer fancy.

4. Having everything you click open REALLY fast.

5. The excitement of learning to use something new.

I'm not ready

2009-11-19T22:26:00.001-05:00

I'm not ready for Christmas lights, or candy canes, or Christmas carols, or Christmas trees, or Christmas shopping, or Christmas cards, or whiffs of fake pine when I walk through certain sections of the grocery store.

Not yet. I'm not ready.

I'm still eating peanut butter cups and kit kats from Halloween.

My mind is still on pumpkins, and crisp leaves.

Can we just hold off of dreaming of a white Christmas and Santa Claus coming to town? Just a little while longer?

My thoughts... I want to try to keep them on NOW just a bit longer. Can we stop rushing? Can't we concentrate just a little bit longer on thankfulness.

Can we at least wait until next weekend? Can we hold off just a little longer?

Then maybe I'll be ready. But even then... I'm not promising to be ready. It's just all coming too fast.

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Where my mind has been today...

2009-11-18T21:30:00.002-05:00

My time online today has been consumed by a woman I have never met. Anissa Mayhew. A blogger. A 35 year old mother of 3 children (her youngest daughter just reached her 1 year anniversary of being cancer free!!!) A woman who's blog posts I just recently began reading. A woman who seems to be known by everyone I follow on Twitter... and 1/2 of the people I am friends with on Facebook. Every other blog I open up today has a post about her.

On Tuesday Anissa had a major stroke.

She is 35. She has 3 young children and a husband. She had a stroke. She is in the ICU.

Those facts just don't want to connect for me. I have to keep repeating them. It' shocking and unbelievable.

Anissa is an awesome online presence. Bloggers all over the internet are writing posts of support. Sharing photos of times shared with Anissa. Telling stories that illustrate what a vibrant, strong, hysterically funny woman she is. Her personality is larger than life. It is clear that she is a true friend to many. I don't know Anissa personally... but after today... after reading so many posts relaying stories and photos of her... I feel like I know her. I know her... and I am waiting with the rest of the people who know her to hear that she is on her way to recovery.

So far the updates sound good. She is fighting... and her friends are not surprised. She is a strong woman. Prayers and positive vibes are being sent her way from all ends of the internet.

If you want to get updates you can check her family's page at Caring Bridge (you can even sign up to get e-mail notification of journal updates) or visit Aiming Low. If you would like to help Anissa and her family in some way you can also visit Aiming Low to find out how.

My Girls are so Classy!

2009-11-17T21:49:00.003-05:00

I'm trying to transfer some new videos from my Flip and I'm having some issues. It's really driving me crazy. I plug the recorder into the port just like I'm suppose to... but my computer insists it doesn't "recognize" the hardware. But... even though it doesn't recognize it... it still autostarts the Flip software. THEN, to make it more fun, when it does "recognize" the Flip... it tells me there are no video files to transfer... even though I KNOW there are 16 of them.

So... I'm slightly irritated right now.

To look on the bright side of things... while I was fighting with my computer I did spend some time looking at the old videos. It is so hard to believe what changes 1 year (or less) can bring. I am so thankful that we have so many little video clips of the girls. They just grow and change so fast.

You may start seeing more videos... because clips like this one... they must be shared (maybe multiple times even)...

Hopefully I'll get the computer to accept the Flip again soon. I can't stand the thought of losing the videos that are on there. They might seem small and insignificant now... but they're just priceless.

Done

2009-11-16T22:03:00.000-05:00

We are all back home.

Nick has been home from his work trip since Wednesday(ish). He picked Zoe, Ana and me up from the airport tonight. So now... we're all safe and sound at home.

Ana is zonked out in her crib and Nick is reading Zoe a few stories and then I imagine Zoe will immediately be out cold. The house is silent.

Thanks to my mom ALL of our clothes came home clean except the pjs I was still wearing late this morning (isn't that the BEST!?!?!) The important things are unpacked (binkies, sleepy-time friends, tooth brushes, the dual room monitors). The rest of the unpacking will wait until tomorrow.

The transferring of pictures from camera to computer will wait.

The stroller swap back from double to single will wait.

Taking the dvds out of the portable dvd player bag to replace in their boxes will wait.

Emptying the snack travel bag will wait.

Whatever I'm forgetting about... it will wait.

It will all wait.

I'm done for today. Wiped out. Exhausted. Drained. Done.

We're home... and I'm done.

Grace in Small Things -79

2009-11-15T14:58:00.000-05:00

1. The enjoyment my brother gets out of putting his face in a hole.

2. The way Ana gets up and dances when The Wiggles come on.

3. Special addition Gingerbread coffee for the Keurig.

4. Getting to spend a little bit of time with 4 generations in one house (my grandparents, my parents, me, the girls)

5. The half way point!!! Day 15!!! 15 posts done!!! 15 more to go!!!