pinky & sisters

Counting down Xmas ABC family style

2009-11-30T16:43:00.003-05:00

Things I'm doing to kick off the Christmas season.

1. Getting up at 2am to start shopping on Black Friday.

It was wild, it was crazy, and there's a rumor that I may have been

a little extreme in my reaction to $7.50 puffer vests in Target.

When I was through, they needed CSI to make sense of it all.

2. Getting a two hour "nap" in while 2 little girls jumped on my head waiting

for me to get up so I can start Christmas decorating.

3. Hop out of bed and go to Home Depot to get a real live tree.

Where an unforeseen meltdown occurred because I would not

purchased a seizing reindeer for my front yard.

4. A picture does not convey the wretched state of this reindeer.

He's my nightmare and a 4yr old's dream.

5. Yay! A shot with the flash when all else fails.
We're happy we found a tree.
That lost a thousand needles in the back of my minivan.
And through the house.
That I vacuum up everyday.
It smells real nice though.

6. A tree lovingly decorated by the hands of 4yr & 5yr old.

7. I can take the pictures to prove it, but I'll leave it to the closeups

to convey the serenity of a loved tree.

8. Me - "Nora, can I take your picture by the tree?"

Nora: "uh huh."

Me: " Can you look at me and stop watching 'The Dog who Saved Christmas'?

Stranger in a strange land.

2009-11-24T13:37:00.004-05:00

Hello sweet freedom!

Yep. We're healthy again and both girls are back in school.

Charlotte wanted to play with her leapster this afternoon and told me she wasn't going to school.

Hmm.

I almost had a mini panic attack and then a firm "Put your shoes on,

Leapster will be there when you get home", may have been uttered by yours truley.

And out the door we were!

Crisis averted.

( bad picture of this layout. It looks very cute in person. This photo...not so much!)
It's bad enough when I have made little trips out of the house I feel like a stranger

in a strange land. Now is not the time to be disorientated.

I've got to be on my game to get all those toys that are wanted by my twosome.

Charlotte has already discovered one present. I have to find a good hiding spot in this house.

She's quick. She found it in my closet which she's never gone in before. Nora neither.

Oh well. At least it was only the one.

Bored and .....oh yes BORED!

2009-11-18T13:26:00.003-05:00

I've been home with this little cupcake this week. She's been sick, mostly that heavy wet sounding cough. We've had one night with a fever, but our days have been fever free. Still not sure what we have. But let's get healthy again ALREADY!

Someone in Nora's class has strep according to the note that came home yesterday. Please don't breath in Nora's direction. Can I say that?!

Nothing else happening in our spunky little world. Come on, I've been house bound! I know when I get out I'll probably be talking too much to everyone I see.

Trolling the black Friday ads online and I think I know what I'm getting everyone for Christmas, except Allie. Allie...you're hard to buy for! I just can't buy you any more clothes....that will end up on your floor, books you won't read, or music you can download. I was thinking a gas card, but there are no cool gas stations like Sheetz or Wawas. Hmm...

Drive by

2009-11-14T12:35:00.003-05:00

Title hard to read.

"Little Adventures"

Nora is on the road to recovery after an epic battle with high fevers and a rattling cough.

We missed a week of school and assorted activities.

Now I'm on a Charlotte watch. Craig and I have managed to stay healthy so far.

We did pass a few cooties to Uncle Bobby and we're VERY sorry for that!

We've had a rough week so this was super cool to see today!

Go me!

we are.

2009-11-09T17:48:00.001-05:00

are we or aren't we?

2009-11-07T11:03:00.002-05:00

I'm stressed out.

I've been so cautious about keeping us cootie free that I'm tuckered out.

Is the flu season almost over?

Nora had a cough last week and I kept worrying it was going to develop into something worse.

She looks and sounds good today, so Charlotte told me she wasn't feeling well.

Nora received an invite to a birthday party at a bounce house on Monday and I've

called the mom to tell her we can't make it. In my defense, Nora almost always does get sick with a germ after those places. A trip to the Strong Museum closed us down half a week!

Yes, we sanitize all the time. Maybe too much? Can you become immune to it?

(Charlotte's not in the bubble! She's outside in the previous picture and decided to go in!)

Is it possible to be too paranoid of H1N1? Is it as bad as I've read about? The girls had their flu shots and I was ready to call for the swine flu shot after Halloween, but I have yet to hear anything good about it.

One family told us after our neighborhood Halloween parade, they each got the shot and were never sicker in their lives.

Oh be over flu season, you turning me into a paranoid hot mess!

evidence.

2009-11-04T09:59:00.004-05:00

Here I am editing pictures to send off for developing and I come across this sequence. It cracks me up! Typical storyline of two sisters.

Sweet pose for mama.
I'm going to throw you out of my picture now, lovingly of course.

You're taking too long, must use more FORCE.

reaction

"MOM!"

(the getaway.)

One room at a time....

2009-11-02T10:05:00.002-05:00

Dorothy and Cinderella hope you had a Happy Halloween! So we've been missing in action around these parts since early August I see. That must have been when we started the renovating the scrap room. We have been living limbo wise computer wise since then. Plus we were busy with new schools, schedules, and getting a new routine going. Well it was certainly worth the wait because we have a MARVELOUS scrap room now!
I will post photos soon because right now three crafty tornadoes have hit it hard!

Nora has a new haircut. We call it her "kindergarten cut" and it is not visible in this photo but it brushes her shoulders and she looks adorable. She is in the afternoon kindergarten class which runs from 12:00- 2:30. She absolutely is loving kindergarten and is making new friends. She even has some friends on the bus who are in 1st and 2Nd grade! She is so darn cute getting on and off the bus everyday. Craig usually has Thursday and Fridays off and Nora likes to have her out front bus wise on those days.

Charlotte has preschool 2 days a week at Seton School. She probably wishes she had more days there. I initially signed her up for 2 days because I have Nora and Charlotte's schedules coordinated and I was worried about Charlotte's pick up time conflicting with Nora's drop off from the bus. Turns out we have a 45 minute window between the two. Charlotte is making little friends as well.

We have been making little steps forward on the house since we moved in during July. We've taken down some enormous pines on the side of the house. We've had the scruffy weedy backyard cleared so we can plant some new trees in the spring. Craig has gutted a bathroom and has done more projects than I can remember and the best thing to happen was he built us the best scrappy room ever! I can't wait to share pictures.

Family and friends love our scrap room and understand our need and enthusiasm for our room. When I talk to the neighbors and they ask what we've been up to, I tell them we finished our scrap room/ craft room, I'm met with a blank stare. I have to tell them Martha has one. I still think they don't understand!

Ducks & dinner

2009-08-09T16:35:00.004-04:00

Craig has been working non stop since he moved up from Richmond, VA. So yesterday

was his first day off in Forever and we decided to make a family day out of it.

First we headed out for a delicious breakfast at the Highland Park Diner.

Then the farmers market which was very crowded. Each girl got their own tote to carry the fruit and veggies they each picked out. Nora spotted some fuzzy peaches and green pears. Charlotte spied some broccoli.

A stop in the afternoon in Pittsford to walk along the Erie Canal.

Which would not be complete without stopping to feed the ducks.

Love this picture! :)

My diet was destroyed this weekend because we had a kid free night out. My glorious niece

Lulu kindly said she would watch the girls and Craig and I were free to go out to dinner.

We went out with my brother Kevin & his wife Debbie to Veneto.

I love living in Rochester!

Monday the diet will be salvaged.

Used a sketch from Two peas class Super Sketches to create this layout. It was super fast to make. Love when that happens!

Lesson for today: Proper footwear

2009-08-07T19:18:00.004-04:00

So in my never ending quest to drop some lbs. I've been walking.

Also trying to eat the right foods, exercise, blah, blah, blah....

Not exciting. I do like to walk though.

I missed my morning walk so I made an effort to get a walk in the afternoon.

Why I walk in the a.m.

1. Craig is still home until 9am and he can watch the girls while I walk unfettered.

2. Nobody's out and I don't have to stop, talk, or wave.

3. It's still pleasant in the morning. No overhead sun or heat making it sticky.

4. Did I mention the lack of parental responsibility?!

So I grabbed my camera and my kids after admonishing them to wear proper footwear and we left for Cobb's Hill Reservior. It's literally at the top of our street.

It started off pleasantly enough.

We walked a bit, stopped for pictures in front of the breathtaking (insert joke)

Rochester city view.

Then we continiued our 0.69 mile walk. How do I know this? It was posted all over.

Maybe it was in case someone freaked out they were walking too much.

Who would that be?

Maybe the two little girls who took off running and were chased down a red faced

woman screaming their names and mumbling some others!

After we took picture above (why is the dog the only one looking at me?) we started walking again at a leisurely pace. Maybe that was because Nora was wearing flip flops and Charlotte's shoes were on the wrong feet. I did try to be a good parent and fix them, but I was told by Charlotte she liked them that way.

Halfway around the reservior and the girls were Done.

Done.

Hence why I sneak out of the house and walk alone.

I can't seem to work on my house!

2009-08-05T16:41:00.003-04:00

So everyone knows by now about the big move. Richmond, VA to Rochester, NY.

I've had oodles of really good pictures sitting in my camera since May.

I can't stop printing them, sharing, staring, and scrapping them.

So here are some pictures taken in May.
The beautiful bride, my niece Jen had a destination wedding in St. Pete's Beach, FL.
Best time ever!

Back to my story.
I have a house that's new to me, but it's old. Like built in 1950s old.
Our last three houses have been new construction and you walk in to everything new and shiny.
The new house needs a do over. It's not bad, but it's long overdue for some updating.
I'm not motivated to do it.
I know, I know.
I will be, but I want to start slow.

I plan on living in this house forever.
It's a perfect size ranch in a beautiful established neighborhood.
We're still in the subarbs, but the top of my street is the city.
Love that.

But I can't do it all at once.

Rememeber I sold a lot on the other end?

Now I have to buy new stuff.

Rome wasn't built in a day!

Plus I LOVE that I get to scrapbook again. I've been collecting supplies like it's my job.
Like my full time job.
Don't tell Craig, he can't tell what's new scrap crap and what I've unpacked!

We're back!

2009-07-17T14:41:00.002-04:00

Guess who!

We're back in Rochester!

Hooray!

Can you tell I'm excited?

I have a zillion stories to tell and a mountain of pictures to sort through.

I'm finally back online with my computer and I'm ready to blog again!

Pictures from Jen's wedding

2009-05-20T11:41:00.002-04:00

Here's the site of Jen's photographer and she has beautiful photos from the wedding.
Check it out!

http://www.jasminestarblog.com/index.cfm?catID=2

Silly laptop not letting me create as link! Sorry, old school cut & paste into your address bar!

Randomness

2009-05-17T06:03:00.002-04:00

Absolutely random list

1. An extra$10 is never too much to spend to ensure we get 2 double beds next time we stay in a hotel. Two adults, two kids, one dog in one double bed is a travesty. Hence this post in the
middle of the night. I'm waiting for everyone to wake up so I can get my sleeping shift in.

2. First dance recital is over One more to go. Nora and Charlotte were absolutely fearless and
beautiful and I have the video to prove it! It will be posted as soon as I can figure it out. Craig said I can post pics and videos w/ my mini laptop. I'll be sleeping through my lesson
tomorrow.

3. House on Burray is no more. After several sleepless frantic nights Craig and I managed to
pack what was left of our possessions. Through the mother of all yard sales, craigslist, and the dump we were able to condense 7000 Sq ft(includes basement) into 4 6’D x 7’W x 8’H
relocubes. Don't worry, I didn't cry too long. But it was very difficult.

4. Pictures from Fl are popping up on FB. Yuck for me....yay for Nora & Charlotte!

5. I should have had a root canal done last summer. My tooth is killing me.

6. I couldn't recycle all my mags I've been collecting, but I couldn't in all conscience pack them
when I was throwing out so much good stuff. I packed them under my clothes in the back of
the hummer and I've been going through them while living hotel life and tearing out the pages
I like. Then I recycle them.

7. Wondering how I'm going to entertain 2 kids all next week? Wish we could leave after
tomorrow's dance, but I also don't want the kids to miss their preschool graduations or
Tammy's wedding.

8. Nora and Char are obsessed with Aunt Suesue! There's tons of playacting involved and I
overheard a scene being played out in the back of the truck today. Nora always plays the
part of Suesue and Charlotte covers Allie, Lulu, Tasha, & Crack. Today "Suesue" was scolding
"Tasha" for not having on her seat belt!

9. Nora talks in her sleep. She just woke herself up and came over to hug me. LOVE her!

10. This makes me happy. http://www.vw.com/routan/gallery/en/us/#/exterior/0/

I'm still here!

2009-05-15T13:28:00.002-04:00

This is a blog post without pictures> BOO!

It's 1:30 in the afternoon, our first day of hotel life and Charlotte just kicked Nora. Not the first time and certainly not the last. I have them watching PBSkids. They're strangely hypnotized by Mr. Roger's right now.

Our house in Chesterfield, VA closed today and we're living in an extended living suite to finish off our schedule. We have dance recitals this weekend, preschool graduations next week, and a wedding Memorial Day weekend.

I took tons of photos of our quick trip to Fl last weekend. I'll be posting them as soon as I get settled in a new house.

In the meantime, I'll try to update as much as possible!

We're moving!

2009-04-21T11:11:00.004-04:00

Sorry I've been absent and not posting, but we've sold our house! Very exciting because we are preparing to move! So the not so exciting part is that I am constantly packing! Boo.

I have probably 95% of the kitchen packed, everything we not selling on craigslist packed in the family, dining, living room, and study packed. I have started packing the girls bedrooms. We're in the midst of sorting out our children's books. I'm letting the girls decide which ones they want to sell and which ones they want to keep. What we don't keep or sell will all be going to charity.

I am dreading packing the playroom and I'm holding out on that because I don't want to pack that too soon because where would we be without our oasis of toys.

So packing has been eyeopening. Who knew we had glasses we could use as a straw? Or so many coffee mugs from Las Vegas? My personal favorite has been finding all these wooden salad bowls I forgot about. I know I'll NEED them someday, they're coming with me!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-12T18:07:00.000-04:00

On a mini blog break because we're visiting family in Rochester, NY!

Home is where my babies are!

2009-04-08T09:35:00.002-04:00

Something that is very meaningful right now.

Hello

2009-04-05T18:02:00.001-04:00

Little yard work this weekend,

and playing,

and scrapping!

Can I brag for a second?

2009-04-01T15:17:00.003-04:00

These two girls had a fantastic visit to the dentist today! It was the first visit ever for both and they were both well behaved and had an all around perfect visit! No cavities or problems with either girl and the tooth I was worried about with Charlotte is fine. She fell off a kitchen breakfast stool a bit ago and there was bleeding around her tooth. I was worried it would turn grey. The dentist said it was fine and no worries.

Nora had an x-ray and the dentist thinks she will start feeling some loose teeth in six months to a year. Tooth fairy time! I can't tell you how relieved and proud I am! Dentist time does not equal scary time!

You can say that again!

2009-03-29T17:36:00.000-04:00

Scrap Space

2009-03-28T15:59:00.003-04:00

I have my scrap space located in a closet in my kids playroom. It's very convenient because I'm with the girls and everything I own is within arms reach.

My desk is laminate kitchen top from Home Depot installed by my husband with some accessories from Ikea on the walls and an Ikea stool. I keep the majority of my pattern paper stacked on the floor. Not the best solution, but when I'm looking for something, I usually find some paper I forgot about!

The top shelf of the closet holds all my paints, ribbons, buttons, & flowers. Buttons & flowers are in spaghetti jars that have been through the dishwasher a couple times. To the right of the paints is a box like container w/ 3 drawers where I keep alphas, rub-ons, & stickers.

To the left of the paints is another little unit where I keep acrylic stamps and stamp pads. Also filled with random embellishments. I keep my wood mounted stamps on top of said container. Hanging from closet rod are containers from Ikea where I store adhesives, deco scissors, and more randomness.

It was too quiet when I was taking my pictures earlier. I had to investigate and found the girls in a new hideaway behind the rocker in Charlotte's room!

I'm sold

2009-03-26T12:36:00.001-04:00

http://blogs.nypost.com/tv/archives/2009/03/the_office_pool_1.html

Thank you & please don't come again!

2009-03-23T13:20:00.007-04:00

We woke up on Saturday morning with an itch to go somewhere and do something cool. We've explored north of Richmond (Fredericksburg, DC, Annapolis, etc.) west (Charlottesville, bunch of small towns) and east of Richmond (VA beach, Williamsburg, Newport News, Norfolk, etc) but we've never gone further south than Petersburg. If you've been to Petersburg, you'd know why!

Road trip to Raleigh, NC! Why not less than 3hrs away, we'd do some sightseeing, shopping, and eating.

I was running around that morning getting quick breakfast for kids, cleaning the house in case we had buyers looking (go ahead let's laugh together...HAHA!) and someone asked me if they could pack some candy for the trip. Sure, why not, and the girls stuffed stuffed their pockets with left over gum, lollipops, and now & laters from the pinata at Nora's bday.

Check out Charlotte's lips above. Let's not forget the box of munchkins we bought with our coffees at Dunkin Donuts. Charlotte loves mini donuts. She's known for it, her thing!

First stop in Raleigh was the welcome center downtown which was housed in the Museum of History. Pretty cool place and Nora and Charlotte made a quick weaving craft.

Charlotte seemed more impressed with the sample provided than the craft she made with her Dad. Nora's little place mat came out wonderful!

Next stop had to be lunch because I was starving and I did not partake in the candy extravaganza happening in the backseat. We passed by a cool looking outdoor pizza joint called the Mellow Mushroom. The place was very busy and we had a 30 minute wait and we were given one of those lighty buzzy things and off to the bar area to wait. Craig got a Hefeweizen, me a Woodchuck Cider, and two sweet teas for the girls. We opt to pay for our drinks then and it only costs $8. We're in love with this place, Craig & I are gushing & enjoying our drinks when a little voice says.....

"I'm going to puke"

"What?" says Craig

My eyes get huge! It's Charlotte saying this...dejavu...holy crap..she'll really do it!!

"Grab her!!!!" I yell at Craig

He grabs her and in a split second decision he runs holding her to the men's room.

He just opens the door, the whole bar is watching, and Charlotte's vomiting major into the trash can right inside the door.

The door swings close, some people are still staring at the door, then they turn to look at me.

He took her into the men's room. What can I do?! I stare at the door with huge eyes and then Nora and I are just sitting there looking at each other.

Then the buzzer light thing on our table starts jumping around like crazy which would have attracted attention if people weren't looking at us already.

Craig and Charlotte return to the table.

"Our table's ready" I say uncertainly.

"Grab your beer, let's go" he says.

And we went...right to our outdoor table and ate the best pizza ever! I don't know if we're evil parents, but it's not like we could just go home!

Charlotte was absolutely fine after she threw up. Lesson learned.... pinata candy and Dunkin Donut minis + road trip = near disaster. Must pack GOOD healthy snacks for road trips! Disaster was adverted by quick thinking!

Look! Buffalo Rd, I mean BuffaloE RD.

Then we went to the Triangle Township Center for some retail therapy. I bought some little things in Archivers. Then we went to Z Gallerie and some woman who worked there yelled at Charlotte for touching a water fountain in the store. Come on, you can't tell children not to touch falling water! It seemed like she was following us around, so we took off.

Raleigh was nice to visit, but we probably won't be going back again any time soon!

Love Denim

2009-03-19T14:35:00.002-04:00

Love love love denim jackets on little girls in the spring!!!!
I think Pink looks like a show dog here, just saying!

Have a beautiful day!