camera love

New camera from Santa + a few years of Photoshop experience = one happy mama. :)

my girls

In time out...

After time out...

Took these two of my little mischief-makers last month.

my crazy valentines + a new addition!!

A day late on these Valentine's pics...oops! I was too preoccupied last night receiving the surprise Valentine's news that our new niece decided to make her arrival yesterday! Yay! Yes, that's right...I said NIECE! Finally another girl in the family! Here she is, Miss Lyla:

Can't wait to meet you, baby girl!!

a day in the life of a 6-year-old

The very first day of being a 6-year-old, that is.

As requested, the day began with Dutch Baby Pancakes for breakfast (the most yummy breakfast ever, by the way).

Then it was time to chat on speaker phone to receive birthday wishes while opening a couple of presents.

Then it was Lego mania in pj's for a few hours.

Then it was time to be presented with a special pan of cupcakes decorated by the sister of the birthday boy.

That afternoon, a party was held at a local gymnastics facility where several of the new 6-year-old's classmates joined in on the celebration. A good time was had by all. :)

Following the party, the birthday boy returned home for presents from Mom, Dad and Grace and a couple of pictures with his parents, who can't figure our when their tiny baby turned into the giant kid!

I'm pretty sure Sam had a fantastic birthday! And he is very proud to FINALLY be 6. :)

God bless Skype

Opening a birthday present from Grandma Pat last week,

as Grandma Pat and Grandma Debbie watch :)

KONG!

toy review -- Melissa & Doug Cupcakes!!

Birthday celebration post is coming when I pull the pics off the camera, but thought I'd jump in first with a toy review...as promised. :)

Melissa & Doug has been popping up everywhere in recent years and they are doing a great job at providing fun, make believe toys for young kids. Grace received this fun toy for Christmas this year and has been having a blast with it. It's a cupcake set of wooden cupcakes, a pan, wrappers, frostings and icing tubes for decorating.

She even decorated a set for her brother on his birthday. :)

My only warning to parents is that the icing tubes are actually dry erase markers and DO NOT come out of fabrics...so, make sure your little bakers are working in a supervised setting and on a hard surface that cleans up easily!

Purchase one for your little baker here.

I know, I know...

...where have I been, right? Before my last two posts, my kick off to blogging in 2011 was...well...weak would be a major understatement. I did figure out how to get a really cheap calendar, though: steam through January as an unorganized mess and then order a new calendar for a fraction of the price on February 1st. Yes, I know that I have a calendar program on my computer, but it's just not the same as having one hanging obnoxiously next to my head screaming my appointments and obligations into my ear.

So, anyway, the recap...

Since my post on Christmas, we:

• spent a week in MI visiting family and enjoying the holidays.

• came home and organized the house to donate the old, unused toys and make homes for the new toys that were gifted by Santa, Mommy and Daddy, and a whole slew of family in MI.

• took down the Christmas decorations. I'm totally feeling the absence of our Elf on the Shelf, Astro Lester. Can't wait for him to return in November!

• experienced fairy tale week at dance class.

• went away to a cabin in the Natural Bridge area for one night. This was my Christmas present to Kris and it was our first time getting away from everything by ourselves, without kids, with no agenda or major life event taking place. If only off-season rates applied year-round (and the babysitter for 24 hours didn't cost more than the accommodations!)...we'd totally be there once a month for the quiet and absence of work.

• celebrated Kris' 37th birthday!

• watched Sam start his first ever basketball season. The kid can shoot! Well, he can shoot in practice and make basket after basket...we're still trying to get him to take a shot in a game! Total team player, though...loves to pass that ball around! :)

• noticed that our little girl has moved on from jealous, needing-mama's-attention-at-all-times girl to helpful, I-love-to-help-mama-babysit-the-neighbor-baby girl. Yay! :)

• had a couple of nice, impressive snows for Kentucky.

• learned all about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as interpreted by Sam after talking extensively about him at school. I'm continuously fascinated by the way my boy's mind thinks beyond what he is taught which leads to impressive questions from such a little man.

• went on a hunt for Jessie and Bullseye Toy Story medium-size figure for Owen for his birthday. In case anyone is wondering, that is a near-impossible feat just three weeks after Christmas. We did manage to score a Jessie, but Bullseye had to be replaced with a little green martian, complete with a CLAW! :)

• attended family night mass and activities to kick off Catholic Schools Week.

• had two kids on antibiotics...twice...for strep throat.

• celebrated Sam's 6th birthday (kind of obvious from my last post).

• hosted a small Super Bowl party.

I'm also working on a fun wedding invitation suite right now, which makes me a little homesick since the couple wanted their invitation to resemble a map of Michigan.

So, I think that gets everyone caught up to today. I plan on elaborating on some of those bullets in separate posts, so, fear not. You will not miss out on the photos! :) I also plan on doing a few "toy reviews" so I can show some photos from Christmas and try and mask the fact that it took me over a month to update the blog with them. (And because I need the separate posts to boost my post numbers. My total number of posts for the year right now is down-right embarrassing...and, let's be honest...that "we are alive" post in January shouldn't even count.) That will still work, even though I told you what I'm up to, right?

My baby boy...

...is turning 6 today!! Every passing year hits me like a Mack truck. I miss that tiny little baby, but I wouldn't trade each stage following that for anything. Watching my kindergartener this school year makes me laugh, cry and beam with pride on pretty much a daily basis. He is learning so much and is so enthusiastic about every new bit of knowledge. He meets challenges head on and rarely even thinks about giving up on them. His crazy energy level works to his advantage as he has begun to try every sport under the sun! He is starting to really understand friendship and how his actions can affect others both positively and negatively. And his sensitive disposition paired with his hilarious sense of humor charms most everyone engages with.

For the first few years through babyhood and the toddler stage, I was so intent on taking care of him. Now, while his safety and well being is still my main priority, I am also learning to step back and watch as he learns to take care of himself. I'm still trying to figure out how God put such an old soul into such a little body as he thinks through situations and comes back with intuitive questions and conclusions that I'm not even sure is where most adults would end.

Happy birthday, my little man. May six be your best year yet! We love you!

Bucket List

Somebody asked me to place this list somewhere other than in my head. Since I've already crossed off the husband, the family, the house, the cat, the dog and a few other items, this list contains mostly travel and a few other things. You'll see that I'm not much of a thrill seeker...just more of an experience seeker. Here goes, in no particular order (except for the first two!)...

• See my kids faces as they experience Disney World

I'd like to see this while they are still young and in complete awe of everything...when they still think the whole thing is magical and not at all boring, or tiring, or hot, etc.

• Visit Italy

I studied art history in college and have my sights set on Florence first to see the more obscure, less sought after work of the masters there, then on to Rome for the mainstream stuff, and, of course, the Vatican.

• European vacation

To include France, Poland, Spain, and Greece to name a few. Would LOVE to find design inspiration in Greek architecture overlooking the Mediterranean.

• Take a honeymoon

We decided, when we got married, to do a quick, small trip to Mackinac Island since we were moving and the week was a little hectic, and agreed to do a bigger, longer trip chock full of new experiences for both of us "later". So far, "later" has not come...years living away from the rest of the family has had us using all available vacation time to visit back "home". Some of the other items on this list could come into play to accomplish this item. :)

• Be a room parent for each of my kids for at least one of their elementary school years

Too hard to step up for right now with the work schedule.

• Visit Ireland and England

Who wouldn't want to have a beer in a pub with the locals in Ireland? Or try to make the guards crack a smile at Buckingham Palace?

• Build my own business

I've been working on projects here and there for years, but never really put in the sweat to turn it in to something more. Ideally, I'd eventually like this to be enough to contribute to the household income without the need for a "regular" desk job. This would help me accomplish the above item, as well.

• Own a house with studio space

I'd love a single-purpose space that's just mine, where I can leave my projects out, pin up my creative inspiration, and just work. And when I'm done at the end of the day (or the middle of the night!), I'd love to be able to close the door and not worry about little hands getting into everything! Oh, and I wouldn't mind if that studio space was in a craftsman home, either. :)

• Walk the Freedom Trail in Boston with my kids

Definitely want to do this while they are still little sponges who are fascinated by history.

• Swim with tropical fish in clear, blue water and lounge on beautiful beaches in: Australia (Great Barrier Reef), Hawaii and Jamaica

• Have a destination girls' weekend with my college girlfriends

We're always trying to meet up and split the driving. I think it would be easier for us each to just drive to the nearest airport, though, and fly in somewhere...like NYC, or Jamaica, or Napa, or Paris!

• Take a Michigan vacation

I know...sounds like the same thing we do several times a year, but really, I want to take a MI vacation where we go see all the touristy sights and, while traveling around the state, take time to meet up with all the friends we are forced to ignore when we're traveling up for long family weekends/holidays/major life events.

• Attend as many nephews' and nieces' birthday parties as I can

I'm so sad that I haven't been able to be at any of the Vegas babies' parties, yet! I do hope to do this in the future and hit several more of the Chicago babies' parties, too. Luckily, Graham was born just after Christmas so we get to celebrate when we're together at the holidays.

• Host the family Christmas at our house

Growing up, Christmas traditions always included a big celebration at our own house on Christmas Eve. I really want to give that to our kids at least once, which I know is a stretch to do when you're at least two states away from the whole family, but that's what a bucket list is for, right?

• Learn how to can tomatoes

I loved the garden experience when we planted one for the first time last summer, but we felt a little overwhelmed by all the food it yielded...we had a hard time keeping up with the harvest and eating everything before it went bad. I would like to learn how to can the tomatoes at least, so I can feed my family fresh from the garden even in the middle of the winter.

• Learn how to cut hair

I've always thought that I could be good at this. I love styling hair for special occasions, so why not try my hand at cutting it? :)

Okay, that's all for now. I mean, there are the obvious ones, like childrens' graduations/weddings/etc. And I'm sure this list will grow and change (and hopefully dwindle!) as time goes by, but for now, this is my list. Now to start crossing off...