What did you think?

I'm at my parents for a few days before we head to Pittsburgh to visit with my older brother Matt, his wife Chrissie and their two boys and attend a family reunion for my mom's side of the family. Aside from my brother's family, it's been years since I've seen my mom's family - the last time I was at a gathering was for my Grandpa Bill's funeral and I was about 14 weeks pregnant with Ella.

I enjoy spending time at my parents because there's lots of space for the kids to play and a big yard to run around in and a long flat driveway to ride bikes on. But for some reason Ella has not been sleeping well the last couple of times we've been in Clearfield. I was really hoping it wouldn't happen this time, but of course, around 2:00 am she wakes up crying for me and when I go in she doesn't go back to sleep for another 1 1/2 to 2 hours. I lost track of time at some point. It was very frustrating and annoying. Of course that lack of sleep catches up to her throughout the day and she had probably an hour long temper tantrum over the clothes I picked out for her (I really didn't care what she wore, but she wanted to wear her sister's shorts and was literally hysterical because she couldn't.). Looking back, if I had known what it would have led to I would have said " sure, wear Catherine's shorts", because it was so not worth the fuss. But once I put my foot down about something I cannot give in to Ella - if I do it will come back to haunt me. I have a hard time comprehending why this stuff matters so much to her. Why a pair of shorts is worth the screaming and the tears?

Oh well. Enough about Ella. Who out there is watching So You Think You Can Dance???? Erin, Renee - I know both of you are. What did you think about tonight's show? I am really liking this season. The dancer's are all really good. I have found that I really really enjoy contemporary dance - it's grown on me these past few years and I tend to look forward to it and to how the dancers will do with it. I'm having a hard time remembering all the dancers because I don't have DVR at my parents and I can't just quickly rewatch a dance that I like. Which I do at home. A couple of times! I liked Pasha and Jesse - mostly because Pasha really surprised me and was awesome, plus the choreography was great. Jesus and Sarah's Paso Doble was cool and he's another guy that I enjoy watching. Neil and Lauren's hip hop was cool - I liked this new guy's choreography alot - I agree with Mia about the fluidity of it. Lacey and Kameron - good as I would have expected. I like him but he hasn't wow'ed me yet. I like Jimmy alot, Danny not as much. Danny is great, but seems to be lacking in emotion and passion. And since the judges always say that's an important part I'll hold that against him. I love Hok and was surprised he could at least keep up with his dance (was it the Samba?) and look so comfortable. I know I'm forgetting and I'm really just talking about the guys. Can you blame me?! :) For the girls I like Lacey, Sarah, the girl that dances with Hok (name?), Lauren, not sure about Jesse. Last year I had already decided I liked Benji and Travis was growing on me and I loved Musa and Alison as well. This year I'm still figuring out who I'm rooting for.

How bout you? Who was hot and not so hot tonight? Who do you like regardless of how they do? I have a hard time separating personality/performance from dance technique so I know some of my fav's might be different from, say...Renee, who knows dance and can appreciate the training and technique probably more than I do. I think it would be fun if the few of us that read this and watch would weigh in weekly and share opinions, rants, raves, etc....

And if you're not watching, check it out on Wednesday and Thursday nights on Fox. My mom was actually watching with me tonight and enjoying it!

Hola

So it's been awhile since I've posted. I've been having too much fun reading other people's blogs - much easier than actually writing something on my own.

I figured I should post some pictures just to let you know that I'm still out here and give you something new to look at.

These are from our trip to Chincoteague Virginia over Memorial Day weekend. We had a nice time with Matt's parents and the kids played non-stop. Once we got to the beach Ella barely stopped running (hence the picture) - she was just so overjoyed to be at the beach. Catherine's favorite spot was the beach chair (hence the picture!) - she was just taking everything in - and looking very cute doing it. The close up shots are from a park that had a wooden boat the kids could play around. Ella's hair is red because she painted it earlier that day - she did a good job of it.

.

Chincoteague is very different from Ocean City, NJ - where I've grown up vacationing. Very calm and quiet and not busy at all. It was a nice change of pace for me. I'd like to head down for a week the end of August or beginning of September before Ella starts school. The highlight of the trip for Ella was riding on the moped (how the heck do you spell that?) with Matt. As soon as she'd get whiny and annoying he'd take her for a ride around the block. We're seriously thinking of buying one at the end of the summer when they sell them off cheap. Not because of Ella (although that's an added bonus) but it gets amazing mileage and Matt could take it the mile to work and do his immediate errands with it. I think the highlight of everyone else was watching me come within inches of wrecking the moped - twice. I was barely moving so there was no danger to my safety - just to the fence and shed that were in front of me.

Since then we've been trying to beat the heat (Ella is again terrified of swimming pools - she had gotten over it by the end of last summer and apparently forgot that she wasn't afraid and now she's afraid again. I feel like it's my fault since I never did swim lessons with her. I know it's not too late but I keep procrastinating and I'm not sure where to go. She loves water just not pools with no shallow ends.) and stay entertained. Catherine and Ella are like tweedle dee and tweedle dum. They play together all the time - not always nicely. Catherine adores her big sister - she's the first one she asks for when she wakes up after nap. I think "Ella" has replaced mommy as Catherine's most frequently used word. That and NO.

Well Ella is anxious to go watch Charlie and Lola, which means I can (i.e., should) start doing some housework. Adios!

PS - I turn 30 in three days. Yikes!!!!

Hmmmm.....

So much on my mind and so much I shoud be doing. But my last post is about an episode of The Office that is two episodes back so I'm in need of a change....

So here are some things I want to share. Nothing special.

1. I mowed the lawn for the first time yesterday. I felt pretty proud of myself.
2. I ran 3 1/2 miles yesterday. Trying to push myself past the 3 mile mark so I don't get stuck there. Contemplating doing a 10k in the fall. When I excercise I tend to have alot of energy afterwards (weird?). Sunday I ran and then proceeded to clean the kitchen and then go outside and trim the hedges. Seriously. And the Monday's run was followed by the lawn mowing.
3. The Office season finale was really good. In true Office fashion the little moments were the true big moments. I'm excited for next season. If you're a real office geek, like me, go to NBC and then to The Office and you can read Creed's blog.

4. Once again I realized how different my kids are from each other. Today after playing at the park for a few hours I noticed that Catherine had a pretty good scrape on her knee. Don't know how or when she got it because she didn't let me know. With Ella, no injury goes unnoticed - no matter how small or seemingly invisible.

5. I have to recommend this recipe for icing. I made it for cupcakes (as shown in the post) and it is much lighter and not nearly as sweet as a buttercream icing. I'm sure you save some fat and calories, but most importantly, it tastes good. Now I'm just waiting for a reason to make the peanut butter pie you can also see in the same post. Thanks Crafty P!

6. Tonight is the last episode EVER of one of my favorite shows - Veronica Mars. I'm pretty sad, especially because the episode was written as a season finale, not a series finale. So we'll be left with a cliff hanger and have no closure for these characters that we've grown to love over the past three years. This season wasn't as good as the first two, but I think it's because the network (CW) was pushing the creator to make changes and make it easier for the casual viewer to jump in and watch. The previous seasons had series long mysteries that built up to intense season finales. But even so, it was better than alot of the stuff that's on TV now, but just wasn't able to get good ratings (again I'll blame the network - I'm a true fan!). Now it's being replaced by some crap crap crap reality show called The Farmer needs a Wife. I feel a bit sick just writing that. Can you tell how I feel about reality TV? The really sad part is, it's the type of stuff that America watches. I would love to know what is so fascinating about these reality shows? If you are a fan (in general, not neccesarily of the farmer variety) please stand proud and let me know why it appeals to you. We're all allowed our opinions, I have mine, but I am curious about others'. I promise, it won't change the way I feel about you!!! :)

7. Speaking of reality TV, I am going to be hypocritical and tell you about the ONE reality show I watch. So You Think You Can Dance, which premiers this Thursday. I am not an AI fan, but for some reason I really love SYTYCD (not typing that out again). It features a wide variety of up and coming dancers - from studio trained to street dancers. If you appreciate dance (your appreciation doesn't have to compare to your actual ability) you should like this show.

8. OK, final TV plug. Friday Night Lights became one of my favorite shows this year (next to The Office and Veronica). I resisted watching it at first, but got sucked in after a few episodes because Matt was hooked from the start and I was curious. I know how annoying it can be to have someone bug you to watch a show (b/c I do it alot!) but I really think you'll like this one. You don't have to be a football fan to enjoy it. There's some typical risque high school behavior, but it definitely doesn't center around that. Anyway - NBC is replaying the entire first season on Sunday nights at 9pm - since there's not much good on during the summer I suggest you check it out (or tape it!).

9. We're heading to Chincoteague VA this Memorial Day weekend to visit with Matt's parents and stay at their little beach place. Not excited for the four hour drive, but I'm looking forward to a few days at the beach. I hope everyone has a wonderful extended weekend - I know it's more than a half a week away but the chances of me actually posting again before that are rather slim.....

I'll leave you with some pictures to reward you for actually reading all this (or not, I'll never know)

Beach Games

So how many of you are Office lovers out there? I don't mean that you love the place where you or your husband work, but the awesomely funny show - The Office....

What did you think of last night's epi? Were you holding your breath for the last 2 minutes? All season I've been hoping Pam got up the courage to speak her mind about a few things and finally it happened!!! I have to go watch it again - at least one more time, because it just goes by so fast. I never watch it live but start it 20 minutes late so I can bypass conmmericals - the whole time I'm watching I'm checking how much time is left and I'm wishing it were longer.

Some highlights for me (in no particular order)- Creed catching the fish and then showing up with a skeleton saying "no one told me we got hotdogs", Stanley taking Jim out with the sumo suit, Jim walking Karen into the lake, Dwight yelling at Ryan and Ryan quitting, The whole bus singing "The Gambler", poor Andy floating away (in the background while Michael is talking), and many more I'm sure.

What were the highlights for you? Are you excited or scared for next weeks finale! One hour long - yippee!

Also - potential SPOILERS - but nothing too bad. But be warned....
Word on the street is that there are two separate finales filmed. Rashida Jones (Karen) is involved in a pilot over at FOX and if it gets picked up she'll leave the show. Which is the reason for the two different episodes. Of course I hope the pilot gets picked up so the show moves in a (hopefully) pro Jim and Pam direction. But I'm pretty annoyed that the direction of the show may be determined at all by Rashida Jones. I think the writers should do what they want and plan regardless of her. I am hoping Jim and Karen break up and a) she leaves for the corporate position or b) she stays in Scranton but they still break up. I am worried that if her show at FOX doesn't get picked up then they'll keep Jim and Karen together which will annoy me. What do you think? Come on, if you watch The Office you have to be wondering what's going to happen as well....

PS. Just read that next season will be 24 episodes - 4 of which will be hour long specials! Yeah!

Singing

Here is a video of ella singing - just a trial - working on posting videos...

Spreading Rumors

So I've known that Ella really wants another baby brother or sister (she says sister). But until today I don't think I really knew how much she really wants one. And also thinks it might actually be happening. Perhaps it's a variation on the Field of Dreams - if you think it, it will come. It being a new baby.

Today when I picked her up from her class after church one of the teachers came up and said "Congratulations!" I knew by the way she said it what kind of congratulations it was and I immediately looked down to see if my belly was looking big for some reason. But she cleared it right up by saying that Ella shared with the whole class during circle time that what she was thankful for was "that my mommy has a new baby in her belly!"

Can you believe that!!!!!!?????

I actually laughed pretty hard and then explained that, no, I was not pregnant, but Ella keeps talking like I am. To the point of even naming the baby. She even informed the class that it would take awhile - like 9 weeks! Don't I wish.

Later on I saw one of the other teachers for her class and said, "J., just so you know, I'm not pregnant.". She replied, "I know, Ella's been saying that for awhile now and could tell you weren't getting any bigger so I figured it wasn't true." Oh man. I'm wondering how many people at my church think I'm pregnant. Now I'm going to be self conscious about wearing fitted shirts when I'm having a fat day (usually the times when I don't wear a fitted shirt, but still...).

When I told Ella later that mommy didn't have a baby in her belly, she started to cry and said "But I really really want one!" It almost made me want to say, "Ok sweetie, we'll have another baby just for you". Almost, but not quite...

Conversations with Ella

The other day I was making hamburgers and Ella was "helping" me. I told her a number of times, don't put your hands in the raw meat. I turned around to do something and when I looked back, of course she had her hands in the raw meat...

Me: Ella, I told you not to do that. Why did you do that?

Ella: The serpent made me do it.

Me: WHAT???

Ella: The evil serpent made me do it.

Oh great. She's already blaming the devil.

(the day before she was making Matt play "sunday school" with her and he was telling her the creation story....)

A few nights ago as we were saying prayers....

Ella: Hey God....(pause)....I love you.

What you can't hear was the sound of my heart melting.

She pushes me to the edge of my sanity pretty much every day but she is so full of love - it was wonderful to hear that expressed towards God rather than Diego or ice cream or pancakes! Here's a picture of her giving some love to her little sister. Not sure how well it is being received.... :)

April Fool's!!

So this is what I saw when I looked out the front door this morning.

















Fun fun fun.....

And this is what I saw when I looked out my back door
















double whammy!!!

(In case you can't see clearly in the picture - a rather large tree has fallen across our backyard.)

On a positive note now we don't have to worry about the tree falling on the kids when they play in the back yard. That was from Matt. I didn't know we were worried about the tree falling on the kids.

Along with I'm sure most of the people in the Mid-Atlantic region, I am pretty desperate for Spring. We've had some glimpses - a few days in the 70's - only to be replaced by two weeks of 40's and 50's all topped off by a rain/snow storm! Perhaps it's time I watch An Inconvenient Truth?

On a side note- Elizabeth's blog (from A Groove Slightly Tranformed) has disappeared! Beth - if you check in here ever, just wanted to know that you're alright.

It's Official...

I now join the ranks of thousands (dare I say, millions...) of women who have gone before me. I am officially a Soccer Mom! I bet you were expecting something a bit different, right? It's just that you hear the description "soccer mom" so often and I have a vision in my head of who that is describing. Today as I took Ella to her first day of a six week soccer camp I realized, oh my goodness, I'm a soccer mom! Now I'm not running a carload of kids to and from games with a stash of gatorade and oranges in the trunk, but I've taken the first step in that journey. Kind of scary. As much as I love soccer I never saw myself as the soccer mom. I always saw myself as the coach. Which, hopefully as the kids get older, I will be. First and most importantly, one or hopefully both of my girls will have to like soccer enough to warrant me being their coach.

Today reality hit when I realized that Ella was not going to step onto the soccer "field" and be transformed into an instant star. I don't think I really thought that would happen, but deep down a little tiny part of me wondered if when she got the chance she would prove to be a natural. Not a natural. At least not at age three! I don't think I was brave enough to play soccer until I was in third grade. Ella has inherited some of my tendencies towards shyness so I was very proud of her for getting out there and not crying (I imagine I would have at age three) and being excited to go back the next week. She was definitely timid and nervous and had a hard time listening and was usually pretty far behind everyone else. I'm sure it was a number of factors - the big truck that was digging and spreading dirt 30 feet away that made Ella nervous, being in a totally new situation with kids she'd never met before, or having two coaches with English accents (who knows, maybe she couldn't understand them!). Even though she may never have the interest in soccer that I did, it's exciting for her to be at the age when she can start to try new things.

As for Catherine, I had to drag her off the field. She wanted to be out there with the rest of them. Maybe she's the natural....hmmm...just a few years till we find out! Just kiddding!!!

Sorry no pictures to post - Ella looked quite cute in her soccer gear but I can't find the camera....bummer.

More to come...

Today was a beautiful Spring day. Sunny and in the 70's. Tomorrow looks to be more of the same. The next day we have an Easter egg hunt and Ella is supposed to start soccer "camp". So of course it will be in the 50's and raining. Go figure. After that it's in the 40's and 50's for the rest of the week and weekend. So today we had to take advantage of the weather and spent the majority of the day outside. We spent the morning at the zoo with some friends and had a picnic lunch there. Then more outside play time at home until Catherine napped. Ella watched a little tv and then was back outside again until dinner time.

Did you catch that Ella is starting soccer? I'm so excited- it's a six week program that meets for one hour each week. I have no idea if she'll like or how she'll do, but I'm glad that she'll have a chance to try it at an early age. Of course I'm hoping she'll love it as much as I do and I'll get to be her coach at some point. This summer, she is also going to do a worship dance mini session with one of her favorite people, my friend Renee. She's always been very interested in dance, despite not being really graceful or anything. There's no chance that I could be a dance teacher, so that's why I'm hoping she'll enjoy soccer as well. I'll keep you posted.

I'm experimenting with uploading videos and then posting them on this site. So bear with me if you end with alot of viewing opportunities that aren't too interesting....until then, some candid pictures of the kids taken by our friend Joe -

Spring is in the air

Just a reminder to anyone lucky enough to have a Rita's water ice close by...

Tomorrow is the first day of spring but more importantly it's free Rita's water ice day! Of course it's supposed to be the coldest day of the week, but the deMontaigne's will be there, freezing our butts off, getting our free water ice. And the fun thing is, we don't really like Rita's that much. We much prefer the italian water ice we can get year round at the pizza place down the street (and it's a closer walk). But free is free and we can't pass that up!

That's Ella getting all excited at the thought of free water ice. She's been bugging me to go to Rita's for weeks now. One day of warm weather and all of sudden she wants to get her swimming pool out and go to Rita's. The picture is right before going to church on Sunday all dressed up in the outfit that Matt picked out for her. I thought it was so cute I had to find an excuse to post it!

OK, now I need some input. It's almost Spring - so that gets me thinking about Spring cleaning! In theory I think it's a good idea. I imagine my house sparkling clean, smelling fresh with all the windows open and the stale air of winter being swept away by a spring breeze. The open window part is the most realistic thing. Sparkling clean, not so much. I have a hard enough time keeping up with regular straightening and laundry and cooking to think about deep cleaning. But it's something I've always wanted to do - and to do within a short period of time, not over a month or so.
So my questions are:

Do you spring clean?

When? How? What does is consist of? How long to do give yourself to do spring cleaning (a long day, a week?)? If you don't have time to really do a deep spring cleaning, what are some of the essential things you do do?

My problem probably lies in organizing and straightening - those two things seem to be my downfall and take up most of my time. I feel like most of my time is spent cleaning up the tornado left by my kids from mealtime and playtime. Now I have been getting Ella to help put her dishes away and help clean up toys, but it still doesn't change the fact that after I get everything put away I don't have time or energy to clean other than dusting or vacuuming (and not as often as I'd like either).

So share some secrets, tips, favorite cleaning product... whatever!

I'm thinking of asking some of my organizationally-gifted friends to maybe spend a day helping me go through some problem areas in the house. If I'm brave I'll post some before and after pictures. If you are one of those people blessed with organizational skills, please feel free to offer your services!!! In return I'm happy to cook you dinner, babysit your kids - whatever it takes!

Just some recent pictures of the kids!

Ella enjoying herself at a cooking birthday party. Happy 2nd Birthday Mackenzie!

Catherine enjoying herself outside on one of our nicer end of winter days.
Catherine holding her ears as Matt uses his band saw to cut something.

We've had some nice weather and are definitely ready for spring. On Wednesday it was 75 degrees and sunny out! It seems like a distant memory because we are currently in the midst of a ice/snow storm. Pretty yucky and messy out. Of course the deMontaigne's ventured out to Target this morning - we knew it was bad out because we were able to get a spot right up front .

It's been a long week. We all got sick at the end of last week and into the weekend. The yucky stomach flu kind. As I've noted before I hate this type of illness - it actually makes me feel very overwhelmed and depressed/anxious. I'm very glad it's passed, I just wish that I was able to deal with it better - its' part of life, but it's one part that I can't handle! Aside from all the seriously bad things that can happen like cancer and death and stuff. Not to make light of that - more to make fun of myself for freaking out about things that aren't a big deal in the big picture.

Well the kids are in bed and I think Matt and I are going to watch a movie - Casino Royale. Sorry for the rather dull post. Hopefully I'll come up with something more scintillating in the next few days!

I'm in my hometown of Clearfield for a few days, spending time with the kids visiting my parents. It's always a treat for them to visit Nama and Pap-Pap's house - filled with all of the toys I grew up playing with since my mom doesn't throw anything away. Currently she is bidding on Ebay for a vintage Fisher Price doll house family (from the 70's) so her set will be complete.

While we were here Ella got to go sled ridding for the first time down the little hill in my parent's back yard. She really loved and went up and down the hill for about a half hour straight. Catherine went to but didn't seem to enjoy it as much - she did look cute all bundled up though.

My mom got down a couple bins of old dress up clothes and costumes and Ella tried on everything! She rarely stands still long enough to get a good picture but I tried- I'll have to post some when I put them on my computer.

A few weeks ago Ella discovered a few of our old Disney movies - The Lion King (man the animation looks so old) and Toy Story and Toy Story 2. It's actually been fun watching these movies over and over and over again. It's a nice change from her previous favorite Madagascar, from which she was beginning to quote lines, such as "You're on the Jersey side of this cesspool." Seriously. After watching Toy Story 2 I heard her on one of her toy phones saying "hi big scary man, why'd you take Woody". So I do know that she's following the story even though some of the jokes are over her head. With the Lion King we have to fast forward 50% of it - Scar's Hitler inspired speech and the hyena's marching like Nazi's, Muffasa's death, the ending battle between Simba and Scar - actually makes for pretty short movie that way. But I swear when Simba climbs the mountain/rock to take his place as the rightful king I get tears in my eyes. I know it's sappy - but they just don't make 'em that way anymore.

I just saw that "they" are hoping to release Toy Story 3 in 2009. Wonder if they'll still have the original "cast"? Can't imagine anyone else doing the voice of Woody and Buzz.

We're heading back home tomorrow. I'm looking forward to seeing Matt and the result of his latest home improvement project - new windows! He put new windows in all our bedrooms (we had our main floor done a few years ago - he watched and learned and saved the money doing it himself this time around)! I am so excited at the thought of being able to open and close my windows on a whim. If you have old, practically painted shut, windows - you can relate to my excitement. We're also hoping it will cut down on the amount of stink bugs that get in our house. Matt is hopeful and I am skeptical because those things are persistent. I don't know if they are just in our area, but everyone with older house that aren't as air tight seem to get them.

Well if I try and type much more I'll probably end up not finishing this so I'll end here.....

Don't forget Daylight Savings Time this weekend!

When you know you're a dork....

There are times when it's just confirmed. This was one of them.

I have been taking Master's level classes in Biblical Counseling for hmmm...about 4 years now. It's kind of funny because people in my current class assumed that I was pretty far along in the program - which is far from the truth - it's been two years since my last class. But I'm at the point where I felt ready to get back into it and this class - Essential Qualities of a Biblical Counselor - is only 8 weeks long and involves self evaluation and writing rather than a book list so I figured I could handle that.

Anyway - the last hour of the class is spent in counseling. We are paired up with a person and we switch from week to week on who is the counselor and who is the counselee. Last week was my first time as the counselee and we were talking a bit about how I have become more of a worrier (sp?) and more anxious since I've been a mom. The conversation went like this....

Her: Do you know where it was said "All that I have feared has come to pass"?

Me (seriously): Oh yeah, wasn't that in the Lord of the Rings?

Her: No, it was Job.

Me (still serious): Well I'm pretty sure it was in the Lord of the Rings too!

Yeah, that pretty much clinched it.

Home again, home again

I got home Monday night from my longest trip away from the kids. I took the bus (man, that was an experience in itself, luckily I quickly connected with a 20 year old heading to visit her boyfriend in Penn State and had a traveling buddy the rest of the trip. She made my day when she was shocked that I was turning 30 - she thought I was her age!) to State College, met up with friends and journeyed on to Ohio the next morning. Funny thing was talking to Matt at one point and realized he knew nothing about my travel plans - only that I was leaving Thursday and going to Ohio - no clue that I was staying in State College and not getting there until Friday afternoon. If it were him traveling I would know every detail of his trip - him...not so much. We had a wonderful time - I think we seriously talked for three days straight. And of course enjoyed a relaxing day at the spa - in robes and slippers from 9-3! It's hard to believe it was a week ago - I'd been thinking about it for so long and now it's a week past already. It was such a great time to be away from all the responsibilities of everyday life and spend time with friends sharing our lives together. It was wonderful to come home though - Catherine didn't know what to think - took a few minutes before she came to see me. But Ella just sat in my lap and hugged and every so often would just touch my face and say momma. Very sweet...

We had a nice snow/ice storm Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Everyone else stayed home from work on Wednesday but Matt only works a mile away so he had no excuse not to. Only time that's worked out to be a disadvantage!

Ella has been a royal terror lately - throwing some tantrums that have me convinced she's possessed. Long story short, we decided that it was time to finally take away her pacifier. I am pretty embarrassed to admit that at age three she still uses one. Only at naptime and nighttime. We originally said she would be done at three years old but somehow that got delayed (just by two months though!). These tantrums would result in her wanting to go up to her room and sneak her "nooky" - basically the only way she would calm down. We're hoping the elimination of the pacifier will help us deal with the tantrums. It felt good to make the decision and stick to it. Last night was her first night and she did alright - up a bit early, but that's too be expected. Naptime didn't happen - she got pretty sad and upset when I was attempting to get her ready to nap but we persevered through it and she went to bed no problem tonight. I've been dreading this for awhile now and I am just so happy that we did it. I'm sure we'll struggle a bit over the next week but so far so good!

Other news...

my usual (as usual as it gets with me) TV review -

Friday Night Lights has worked it's way into one of my favorite show - Matt got me hooked even when I was trying so hard not to watch another show. Just so so good - and this past week's epi was great - tackled issues of racisim in a pretty honest way.
The Office - better than last week's episode with too much over the top Michael. The bat story was funny - I like when all the lesser used characters get screen time - even if it's only a line or two. I loved Michael coming to see Pam at her art show - worked so perfectly after he told Ryan that being a manager was about inspiring people. Oh yeah - Kelly getting so excited about Ryan relocating closer to her was hilarious!
Greys Anatomy - I don't even know what to say. Wow -very intense. The question of the week is "Is she or isn't she?" I gotta admit that I loved the scene where Meredith saw Dylan (bomb squad guy) and Denny - two great surprises.

I did forget to let everyone know what a wonderful husband I have. He stayed at home with the kids from Thursday to Monday and didn't complain at all. In fact, he said that they had a good time. He did such a good job of it that I think perhaps I should go back to work and he can be a stay at home dad. Today he got some much deserved guy time away and went with his friend Jon to a Winterfest that was held nearby. There were alot of local breweries there and you were able to sample the different varieties that they offered. He's in bed already - poor boy isn't used to that much beer! :)

That's what's new in our household. I'm so happy it's mid-February - we're getting closer and closer to a Spring thaw! One more big snow storm and I'll be ready.....actually I'm ready with our without the snow....

Old friends....

I just realized that this is my 50th post. Woohoo! I'm still relatively new to this whole blogging world and still a bit fascinated by it. When I graduated from high school no one had cell phones, the internet was completely new. I remember being in college and having the internet and e-mail explained to me. It seemed so hard to comprehend and was such a luxury. Now it is my primary form of communication. I still have letters from friends at other schools and notes of encouragement that friends would put in each other's mailboxes. Now we send e-cards. As much as I like those notes and letters that we are able to pull out and reminisce with, not having to search for a stamp or an address certainly has helped me keep in touch with friends.

And cell phones. How much different would have those long distance relationships that many of us endured have been if we had unlimited nights and weekends?

Ok, not the point of this post at all. I really just wanted to say how interesting this blogging world is and is it something we could have even predicted we'd be doing 10 years ago? I love the way we reconnect with people from various stages of our lives and meet new people who've checked out our blog after seeing us post on another.

The fact that this is my 50th post and my interest in the blogging community were actually not what I intended to write about tonight. What is on my mind is that I am getting away. I am leaving my husband and two kids behind for an extended weekend away with my college friends to celebrate our 30th birthdays. I am NOT 30 yet! I will cling to my 20's until the last possibly moment which is still 5 months from now. Out of the nine of us that stay in touch, seven of us are turning 30 this year, with the other two just a few months behind. I've known all of these girls since I was 18 years old (one even longer - Shannon!) and we got to experience those life changing college years together. They all knew me before I was a wife and a mom and the mature woman that I am today. Pause for laughter....because you all know the mature part isn't true! We've laughed together, cried together, prayed together, studied together, slacked off together, pigged out together, play pranks together, ran together, fought and made up together, danced together, played sports together, cooked together, worshipped together, fallen short together - basically we've lived together. I've seen each one get married and met every baby (we're up to 11 with 3 on the way). It's amazing that we've been out of college for longer than we were in it and we've all stayed connected. Our time together in college was far from perfect. In fact I think all of us would agree that we did alot of dumb things (and I'm not even talking about the Miss Dairy pagent you (meaning not me!) all performed) and have grown greatly in our faith and as women since graduating. We've learned to be more honest, less afraid, more confident in who we are.

We meet as familes once a year over the summer but this is the first time in years that it's just us girls. We're crashing at Heidi's house and are enjoying time to hang out and spending all day Saturday being pampered at a spa. Matt asked me today what I was looking forward to the most - spending the day at the spa, hanging out with friends....or getting away from the kids. I can honestly say that going to the spa is exciting and I am really really looking forward to getting away from the kids (add another really in there), but the highlight is being together with these wonderful women. So to Shannon, Emily (we'll miss you California girl) Kate, Erin, Heidi, Cindy, Kerri, Karen - I love you guys!

PS - It's been a stressful few days as Catherine threw up yesterday and showed signs of the stomach bug. Perfect timing, I know. She's been fine today and we are just praying that it continues that way. I was panicked that Matt would get sick and I would have to stay home to take care of the kids. I would probably spend the weekend crying and depressed with the kids in front of the TV so we're all quite happy that he's still healthy. Keep him and the kids in your prayers - for continued health and a good few days without mom. I don't imagine I'll be posting again until late next week because I have a paper due for my new class (more on that sometime) when I get home and instead of working on it tonight I wrote this!

Megizzle....

Since I haven't been posting any pictures lately - I figured I would bombard you with a bunch. I'm sitting here watching Grey's Anatomy so I might be a bit distracted - oh no George is acting all weird - is he sick or is he regretting his impulsive marriage. Holy crap, they're all down....Ok hope that didn't spoil anything....
So they above picture is a shot of the cake I made the other night as a part of my cake decorating class. I missed a week so I was just concentrating on learning how to do the roses. I was pretty happy with how they turned out. I think I'm a bit ADD because I was supposed to put white dots on it and flowers along the border and I just felt like going home - so I did.

Here is Catherine looking stinkin' adorable. She's growing up so quickly!

Here are the kids all bundled up to go out in below zero (wind chill) weather. Catherine was waving hi to me as I took the picture!

And then Ella - one of the few pictures of her real smile, not her fake pirate smile (have I posted one of those? She is grimacing and has one eye kind of squinty - likes she's going "aaargggg"- that's often the face she makes when you ask her to smile. ).

So enough with the pictures. I did decide on Ella's preschool. A few days ago in fact, just now getting a chance to post. Interestingly enough, most of you advised going for the cheaper and closer one - which is what we ended up doing. I had basically decided on Lower Providence (the one we ended up picking) because of the money and the fact that when Catherine and Ella were both in preschool we could send the girls the same days rather than alternating and having no chill days as a family. But then at Bible study the next day I was told that in all likelihood FCA (the school located at the church where I do Bible study and the one that was a bit nicer) would offer a Pastor discount. Who knew?! So I found out that we could get a 25% discount making the price difference between the two $5/month. It was hard because I thought that God must be leading us towards FCA but as Matt and I continued to process and pray about it, we still felt that Lower Providence was a better choice for our family. In the end I feel like God gave me a gift because I felt like we were making a choice based primarily on money and I just get sick of having everything be about money. Sometimes I just don't want to have to worry about money. So even though it played a small factor (the $ went up a ton when you go 3days/week when they turn four) it wasn't the deciding factor and it made me more confident in the decision we made. So thank you God for Pastor's discounts! :)

Now you know more about picking a preschool than you ever wanted to. Thanks for adding your input.

On to something silly. I saw this posted on myspace and it just made me giggle. So even if you don't actually post it on your blog, I dare you to resist....

MY NINE NAMES

1. YOUR REAL NAME:Megan

2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (first 3 letters of real name plus izzle.)Megizzle

3. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (fav color and fav animal)Blue Dog

4. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, and current street Kathleen Second

5. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first

name, last 3 letters of mom's maiden name)Demmegil (seems more LOTR to me)

6. YOUR SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink).Green Cosmo

7. YOUR IRAQI NAME: (2nd letter of your first name, 3rd letter of your last name, any letter of your middle name, 2nd letter of your moms maiden name, 3rd letter of you dads middle name, 1st letter of a siblings first name, last letter of your moms middle name)Emkiwmn

8. YOUR WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mothers middle name)Jean

9. YOUR GOTH NAME: (black, and the name of one your pets]Black Goldie

Decisions, decisions....

I have a big decision looming before me. And it's one I have to make in the next day or two. Back in September when I put Ella on a few waiting lists for preschool I really didn't think we'd hear from all three of them. They all had waiting lists and are all quality programs. And September certainly isn't that early to get on a waiting lists. Some are said to have year plus long waits. I kind of figured that we had the best chance of getting into one that was really close and the best price and the others would be filled up. Of course all three schools would have a spot for Ella. We visited the first (cheapest, closest) earlier in the month and I was happy with what I saw and Ella was comfortable there. I figured our only dilemna would be, MWF or TR. That was enough of a decision for me and I thought about it for a week - while I'm thinking I hear from another school and we find out that Ella has the final spot for the three year old class - should we choose to accept! This one is more expensive, $35 more a month. I decide to take a tour just for the heck of it, in the back of mind thinking that it's not a good idea because I'll probably love it and have a tougher decision to make. What do ya know...I love it. I love the feel of it, the classroom layout, the structure, the curriculum. It's definitely nicer - but I'm not sure if it's worth the extra money. We could manage it for a year, but then when Catherine would start the following year that price difference would be even bigger. Each has its own advantages with scheduling, location, etc....but at this point it boils down to cost.

I guess my question is.....is it worth it and does it matter? Will our choice of a preschool really have that much of an impact on Ella and Catherine? A mom of four told me that when they get to kindergarten the teachers want kids that know how to listen and sit still and are acclimated to being in a classroom and with other kids. The rest doesn't really matter. Anyone agree with that? Ultimately I know there is no wrong decision. I'm sure the kids will do fine at either school (I forgot to add that the third was even more expensive than the 2nd and the furthest away = easy elimination!). Do we go the less expensive route and save money so we can invest in their education when they're older (i.e., all the classes and programs available to school age kids - because you know Ella will want to be a horseback rider! In her dreams..!)? Or are these formative years that important that we stretch ourselves to go to the more expensive school?

Ugh. Any wisdom from those that have been through this would be welcome. As well as from those who haven't and just have an opinion! As I said, I have to make a decision by Thursday at the latest, probably sooner than that. I'm sure you'll all be waiting on pins and needles to hear our pick!

Until then....please fill my comments with lots of advice or just tell me to suck it up and stop being so wishy washy. I promise I won't be offended. At least I won't be too offended. I mean, I probably will talk to you again....eventually!

In all seriousness, thanks for reading.....

She eats!

We had a minor miracle in our home this week. Ella, who is typically a fairly picky eater (mac 'n cheese, chicken nuggets, fruit, yogurt, breakfast food, pizza, grilled cheese - pretty basic, no veggies or "different" types of food) decided that she would partake of the lovely food that mom had prepared. Not once, not twice, but FOUR dinners this week, Ella ate exactly what I had prepared. I'm still a bit in shock over it. Dinner at our house is me making something for Matt and myself and then at the last minute going "oh man, what are the kids gonna eat." It's a mix of us liking to eat food that isn't always kid friendly (I know, I know....they need to get used to it) and me just not having the energy or the time to fight with her at the end of the day. We do occasionally, but many nights Matt or I am heading out the door for something and we just want to eat in peace. I know most of you are sighing and thinking that I really need to buckle down and make her eat what I cook. I just say "she'll come around" - and not really believing it.

But this week she ate pork chop dinner (potatoes, carrots and pork chops cooked in tomato soup and seasonings....I did fib a bit and tell her it was chicken!), Southwestern Chicken Soup - our favorite winter soup that is full of beans, corn, tomatoes, green chilies, and chicken - it's even a bit spicy, she ate Spinach-Tomato Pasta Toss (baby spinach, diced tomatoes with Italian seasoning, italian sausage and mozzarella cheese tossed with penne). I have to pause there and say that I came very close to getting out the camera and taking a picture of my daughter willingly eating green vegetables AND saying "yummy, this is delicious" at the same time. Last night she ate corn flake chicken (not a new thing), but stopped short of eating strawberry spinach salad. That was fine....more for me!

Tonight is taco salad. She's never eaten red meat so who knows how that will go over. I might be able to make a soft taco with everything but the meat....

In honor of Ella's eating I am going to post the recipe for the southwestern soup. This is so easy and so good. We usually end up freezing half of it and it's reheats nicely.

Southwestern Chicken Soup
2 cups chicken broth
2 lbs cooked chicken - cooked and cut into pieces
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans (16oz) stewed tomatoes
1 can corn
1 can (16oz) tomato juice
1 can chopped green chiles
1 pkg each of taco seasoning and ranch dressing mix

Mix together in large pot and cook on medium until warmed through. Top with monterey jack cheese.

I know the pkg seasoning mixes are high in sodium. There are low sodium taco mixes and you can always make your own. I'm sure there are recipes online. You can make this in the afternoon and let is heat up on low all day long or throw it together at the minute. Also, tostito chips are another good topper!
Enjoy


P.S. - In case you were wondering about Catherine, her dinner usually consists of cucumbers and apple sauce. In other words....she's worse than her sister. Sigh...

Mid month review....

Wow, it's been awhile. Sorry to those of you who happen to check in here and find that nothing is new - for two weeks! - it's been a long couple of weeks. The kids have had colds....which ended up progressing into a sinus infection (Ella) and ear infections (Catherine). Of course this all happens over the four day weekend that Matt is away at a Young Life camp. When he got home Monday night I was feeling a bit nutty and looking forward to a break and having another adult around as well. Unfortunately he collapsed on the couch and has been pretty much out of it since then. Yeah, since Monday. He did go to work a bit but would come home early, exhausted and spacey. So he's been pretty much living in the basement and sleeping a lot. I'll admit I was not very nice to him on Monday night/Tuesday morning. I think that's an understatement. Just a bit. He came home from being away for four days and collapsed on the couch without letting me know something was wrong. I understood it was a long weekend, but Ella had been sleeping with me for three relatively sleepless nights as she coughed so much I feared she would throw up (does this happen to anyone else's kids?). So I wasn't very nice and of course felt bad when I realized he was sick. He did say that he understood my frustrations since he was so out of it he didn't clue me into how he was feeling, leaving me to think he came home and was too tired to help out and give me a bit of relief. Basically a few seconds of communication and we would have avoided hours of frustration. That's something we work on all the time.

I spent alot of time at the computer this week- reading blogs, posting comments on some, but everytime I thought about adding something new I would just go into a daze and zone out. This is why I was never a successful journal keeper. I love writing and putting my thoughts out there but I think I'm a bit ADD and have a hard time staying focused unless I have a really specific topic. I think the best format for me would be to dictate my blog. That's it. I'll just record my thoughts..... and then I will absolutely never get around to typing them up! :)

What else is going on around here....

Well for starters I started this last night but didn't finish before the laptop ran out of juice and I'm just sitting down again. Matt's still sick. He's sick of being sick. Keep him in your prayers!

Another reason I didn't post this last night was that it was Thursday night! Until Veronica Mars comes back, Thursday is the only night that I watch TV - but of course there are three awesome shows on in an hour and a half period. Some highlights....

The Office - loved it! NBC has posted the director's cut on their website and it's definitely worth watching - Phyllis has a moment that made me laugh out loud as well as some other good scenes. I wish this show could be longer. Some of my favorite moments - the look Ryan gives the camera after adding the "accents" to the Mexican lemonade, Jim missing Dwight, Michael going to get Dwight at Staples and the music in the background (Love lifts us up...), Oscar talking to Angela as she walks away when Dwight walks in, and of course Jim's answer to Karen's question....and so many more....feel free to add your favorites....

Scrubs the musical - again, so funny. I was definitely laughing out loud the whole time. I was a bit distracted because Ella was having a hard time going to sleep so I'll have to rewatch it later.

Grey's Anatomy - really good episode, really hard to watch - many tears were shed. T.R. Knight (George) was my favorite in this one....

Ok, so I didn't plan on doing a tv recap....

In real life....

The kids are getting better, less coughing and nose running. Luckily they never get sick of being with me since it's been mom pretty much nonstop for about a week now. I've been trying to get out of the house as much as possible to give Matt time to rest without feeling guilty but I'm running out of options.

Our favorite new activity is finger painting in the tub. A friend in my MOTS group suggested it on Wednesday and we've already done it twice. The kids LOVE it - they paint on themselves, each other, the tub. After we're done painting I run the water and we clean everything -they even find that fun. Then we drain the bright blue-green paint water so they can get clean for real. Something is wrong with our tub drain so it takes forever for the water to drain - all in all this activity takes close to an hour!

Catherine is slowing starting to add some more understandable words. "All done" is her latest. She has this funny laugh-growl thing she does that cracks me up. Lately she really enjoys trying to put diapers on her baby dolls - just like her big sister. It's funny watching them interact. In some ways, Catherine is the ring leader. She often initiaties an activity that Ella will mimick or want to do as well. I think this is just an age thing - Ella would gladly direct all of Catherine's play but Catherine is all into being independent, whereas Ella loves playing with people.

I'm taking a cake decorating class. It's fun and I definitely have more to learn than I thought! After working with the icing so much and smelling it for hours on end, I have no desire to sample my own work.

Ok, I have to stop this randomness. I could go on and on about this and that and no one would ever get to the end. Sorry that I am not that great about updating things regularly or including pictures. I can recommend two blogs to go to if you're looking for some regular postings - especially on the area of motherhood and family stuff - Crafty Pumpkin (but Christina is having twins in a few months so catch her and all her quotes, fun tips and websites while you can!) and A Groove Slightly Transformed (Beth is a mom of four girls who spends alot of time processing life in a very honest way - good stuff to make you think!).

Thanks for checking in!

Missing Christmas....

Ok, so I didn't totally miss Christmas, but that's how it felt at the time when I was sitting on the stairs watching my kids unwrap their gifts from afar. I spent most of the day Christmas Eve and Christmas day in bed fighting the stomach flu. I say fighting, because I hate hate hate the stomach flu so much that I fight it and resist it until the bitter end. I really think I have a phobia to throwing up. Is there an official term for that? I have it. Maybe because I hardly ever do it so just the anticpation of it makes it worse than it is. Who knows...

Anyway - I didn't spend alot of time with the family over the actually day of Christmas. But we drove to my parents house later Christmas afternoon and after a little more rest I started feeling normal. Although it wasn't totally normal because I didn't want to eat alot which is unusual for me. Kind of convenient I guess. That feeling did go away towards the end of the week and I got to enjoy my mom's Christmas cookies and all the other tempting treats.

So I can't share too much about my kids' reaction to their gifts. Ella got a bike with training wheels, Catherine got a sit-n-spin (which she prefers standing on, fun fun...) they both got a little keyboard with a microphone (very funny to watch them "sing" into it- Catherine just does alot of heavy breathing), Ella got a desk from my parents where she can store all her art supplies and do all her art work. At the moment that's one of her favorite gifts.

It was nice having Christmas day at home. We've decided to try and stay home for the actual day of Christmas as much as possible. But we love seeing family so we pack up and head out pretty quickly for a week long Christmas tour. We headed to Clearfield for Christmas with the Koerber family, which was an event since we pretty much just celebrate Christmas and Christmas Eve all over again. After a few days there we head to Ellicott City for Christmas with the deMontaigne's. After about a week straight of presents I've had to keep reminding Ella that Christmas is over - until next year.

Ella really enjoyed playing with her cousins. Her and her cousin Isaac would head downstairs to the playroom at my parents and just play pretty peacefully until Ella decided she wanted Isaac's Thomas the Train all to herself. Yep, that's right. All the toys that she got from my parents and she wanted to play with Isaac's most prized gift. He was very sweet with her and quite generous but by the end of the visit he was starting to get frustrated. Ella understands sharing but she is only quick to apply it when she wants to play with other people's toys. When I would caution her about not giving a toy back to Isaac, she would respond "Mom, I'm just sharing it". Same thing when she would want to use Catherine's new shopping cart. But if Catherine tried to play with Ella's new toys that "kind" spirit of sharing totally disappeared and it became "That's MINE!". Anyway Catherine had fun trying to keep up with Ella and Isaac and got her first kiss from Isaac one night while they watched TV. I might try to post it because the look on her face is so funny.

While at Matt's parents house Ella got to spend an entire day with Hayden and Sophia -without mom and dad! It was nice for me to see that she was so comfortable with us leaving her with Matt's sister because we don't get to see them that often. Poor Catherine got stuck doing some after Christmas shopping with us!

We were gone for a week and we were all anxious to get home and actually enjoy our presents. Now I have to start going through their old toys and deciding what can be put away. I'm not sure which is a more daunting task, that or taking down the Christmas decorations.

My little bout with the flu aside, it was a really nice Christmas. Each year the kids understand more and more about what is going on and it makes it more exciting for me. One of my favorite things was watching home movies from Christmas' past. Waaaayyyyy past - some from when I was 12 years old! We got so many laughs out of it and a few tears as we got to see loved ones who have passed away (and even my old dog Broozer). It's made me realize how important and special it is to record those events - as annoying as it may be at the time (believe me, it was apparent that there were many times we were annoyed with video camera) it is definitely something I treasure having now.

I can't think of a graceful way to end this post other than....on to the New Year !! Hopefully I'll get some thoughts up about that soon!

One of those days

I know the day is far from over. But so far it's been one of those days. Not one of those days... but the good kind! I find myself most often sharing when the kids are frustrating me, driving me to tears, leading me to question being a stay at home mom. I figured a good day deserved as much attention!

Most of our days, one of them - Catherine or Ella - ends up being in a mood about something, having a tantrum, whining, getting hurt, not getting their way - and so on and so on. So while one is happy and playing nicely, the other is not. I find this to be the case most often - not all day long or even most of the day - but when they have meltdowns, it's usually not at the same time. Thank you Lord for that. But then there are the dreaded days when both are upset and crying and whining for an extended period of time at the same time. I had a day like that a few weeks ago and when Matt called to ask a question I just started crying. The kids were both crying and yelling about something and I just wanted to get dressed without someone pulling on my leg. He came home 20 minutes later - I was already going out to get a haircut so it was on the schedule, but he knew I needed a break was able to give me 20-30 minutes to compose myself before I had to go. Honestly - I thank God every day that not only is Matt able to do that, but he does it willingly. I try my best to make sure Catherine and Ella know what a wonderful father they have.

Ok, back on track here....
Today was one of those rare days when both children were happy and content (I think it's hard for a 1 year old who doesn't talk and is always wanting what her sister has to be content for too long) - not just for a little bit but from morning until naptime. To me that is amazing! Throw in a 2 1/2 hour trip to Ikea and I call it a miracle! I wasn't sure if I wanted to take both of them because when we go as a family it usually ends up with Ella running away from us in the Marketplace and then screaming because she wants another treat (sticky bun, ice cream cone - you name it, darn you Ikea for having pictures of everything so there is no mistake that you sell ice cream cones). That leads to revoking her TV time and then she is upset the entire car ride home. But before the meltdown, she loves playing in the ball pit and running around in the children's rooms and playing with the toys. Of course Catherine loves everything her sister loves so Ikea is really a great place for us to go.

Today the three of us walked- no cart, no stroller - all through Ikea, played, visited the bathroom via the baby care room (Ikea is so family friendly despite having tempting pictures of food and toys all over the place) ate lunch and perused the Marketplace all without a tantrum, without me yelling, without any tears and with lots of smiles. The Marketplace is the most dangerous part for us because 1. everyone is worn out by then 2. it's very easy for Ella to run off and get lost 3. it's very easy for me to get lost in the maze of glasses, rugs, candles, you name it..., and 4. the carts are so darn hard to operate -every time we go around a turn I have to practically run to the other side of the cart to avoid knocking over a display of some sort (can I get an AMEN on that - can anyone relate to how frustrating those carts are? I feel like I'm pushing the cart on ice). Today Ella decided, for I swear the 1st time since she could walk, that she wanted to ride in the cart and stayed there peacefully while I searched for and found the very random and specific piece of hardware we need to hang curtains, waited in a long line and finally made our way to the car. Catherine was starting to lose her patience by the end of the trip, but even that wasn't too bad.

For some reason Ella decided she wanted to watch her Thomas the Train DVD - she hasn't watched that in months. Of course when we got home I couldn't find it anywhere. For someone like Ella, little things like that tend to be her undoing. But in keeping with our day of happiness she agreed to watch Diego without fussing. And then they both napped, giving me the chance to accomplish all the important things I had to do today - like write this post!

So that's it. Just had to share that there are days that I love being a mom and often times I don't slow down enough to realize it. Thanks for listening...

edited to say....sorry for the all the typos and errors - I know it must have been painful to read! I tried to fix some that stood out but I'm sure there are plenty more....

Christmas Fun

Welcome to the 2006 Holiday Edition of Getting to Know Your Friends!

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot Chocolate - you know I'm not sure I've ever had egg nog. I'm sure I have but I really don't remember when - I am just pretty sure I don't like it.
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? I haven't had much luck with the Santa thing with Ella thus far- she's a bit scared of him so we don't talk alot about Santa. She's getting a bike and we won't wrap that so I guess that will be from Santa. If she's not into Santa I won't force it - I guess this year will be telling.

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White on the tree and house

4. Do you hang mistletoe? Don't have any

5. When do you put your decorations up? the sooner the better, but it's usually a process that begins after Thanksgiving.

6. Favorite dish? Our Christmas dinner was never real traditional for some reason. Every year my mom does something different so I don't have a favorite. But we always have the same thing for Christmas morning brunch - and my favorite is this yummy homemade cranberry coffee cake.

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child. I really can't pinpoint one moment. I remember waiting at the top of the steps every year with my brothers until we were allowed to come downstairs. It was such an exciting moment to come around the corner and see the stacks of gifts and have the tree all lit up and the Christmas music playing (same song every year, my fam was big on tradition!). That overall experience is a favorite memory.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Don't remember. I think I played along for awhile because I like the idea of him more than I actually believed.

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Currently - no. But growing up I exchanged gifts with my brothers. Even now when my family celebrates Christmas together the siblings and spouses exchange gifts the night before our "family Christmas".

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? white lights, gold and deep red balls along with tons of ornaments I had growing up and then the wedding and baby ornaments we've collected over the years. I still have my baby's first Christmas ornaments!

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? I love the idea of it - it seems so fun to be snowbound. But practically speaking it's not very fun trying to get kids into the car without standing in piles of snow. Also, the Philly area is not really good with snow removal and driving in it. So I've become a nervous snow driver. All through high school and college I never thought twice about driving in snow storm. Of course I lived in central PA and went to school in Western PA. People didn't freak out about snow as much as they do here.

12. Can you ice skate? yes, but hardly ever get a chance to. If I could pick one snow sport it would be snowboarding - haven't been able to do that since I had Ella.

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? I got a hope chest when I was a senior in college. Right before (weeks, not minutes) I got engaged. Pretty cool.

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? family and food, getting to give the gifts I bought people and getting Christmas cards and updates from friends and family.

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? I love my mom's Christmas cookies.

16. What tops your tree? Angel (from Target, nothing sentimental)

17. What is your favorite Christmas Song? O Holy Night, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

18. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? I guess yum - not super passionate either way.

I thought this was a fun holiday version of the email that gets sent around so often. It's always fun to share Christmas memories and traditions.....so (since this is the way I happened upon this one) ...if you're a blogger, consider yourself TAGGED and you're obligated (not really, it's just fun to do - I want to read your answers.) to copy this to your blog for your readers to play along!

To Run or not to Run

Which month of the year do think would be the worst time to start a new exercise regime? I'm betting you all answered emphatically and without having to give it alot of thought - December! I'm not sure why I decided to get back on the ball with exercising - I never really stopped, I just wasn't making it a priority - running once or twice a week. So of course I feel inspired to start working out five days a week two weeks ago. That is in the midst of all the baking and cooking and shopping and parties that make up the month of December. Not only is it a month with lots of temptations that make you feel like exercise is pointless, but there just is not alot of time. I've made it through two weeks and often I find myself excercising at 8:30 or 9:00 at night after the kids are asleep. I really don't want to. Take tonight for instance. We had a long weekend. My parents were in town for a few days and there was lots of shopping and running around. Saturday was Ella's little birthday party (I did squeak out some time to run in the afternoon) and then tonight we hosted a group from church at our home. I haven't been sleeping well lately (and Ella has randomly decided to come visit us in bed at night - anyone with experience with this - kind of frustrating) so I was tired this afternoon. I had a hard time staying awake during a very good sermon at church today. I just wanted to lay on the couch all afternoon and watch football in a daze. Of course that doesn't happen - Ella decides not to nap, I realize that the giant frozen lasagna I am planning on serving needs two hours to cook - and it's less than two hours until people will be arriving, and I remember that we never fully cleaned up from Ella's part the night before. So I got about a half hour of relaxing and alot of busyness. Fast forward to 8:15. The kids are in bed, the kitchen is clean - at this point all I have to do is run. Because if I don't run tonight I will have to exercise five days in a row and I like to take a break in the middle of the week. So I got on the computer and checked my email and fantasy football leagues. I played a game of free cell. A half hour later I trudged downstairs and watched a bit of the Sunday night football game with Matt until I finally got myself on the treadmill.

I'm not writing this to make myself look like this great and dedicated exerciser. I'm not. I have to exercise because I like to eat. Also I spend so much time complaining about how I look that I figure I need to do something about it. In January I am going to do something about the eating habits. I like the way I feel when I work out. I like the feeling after a good work out and the way my muscles feel. But I don't particularly enjoy the act of excercising. I really have to convince myself to run - and sometimes two minutes into I want to quit. On Tuesday nights I do a "bootcamp" video with a bunch of friends and even though I enjoy it I anticipate how I'll feel in the middle of a million squats and fun stuff like that I don't want to do it. Even when I was playing sports in high school and college and was in pretty good shape I really hated the conditioning runs. So what I wonder - does it ever get easier? I've always wondered if I exercised regularly long enough - would I become one of those people who loves to exercise and enjoys it so much that they can't imagine their day without a good 5 mile jog. Or when they are stressed they just to unwind with a run. I read about people like that in novels and I even know some. But not me. When I'm stressed I want to lay on the couch. Sure I feel good about running but if someone came up with way to bypass exercise to get that feeling I would be all for it.

For everyone who checks in with blog I would love some feedback. Are you a current excerciser who loves it or one who grins and bears it? If you love it, have you always or did it grow on you (basically are some of us always going to hate working out or is their hope?)? Also for those of you lapsed exercisers - why and for how long - do you ever plan to start again? And, for those of you who never work out and don't plan it - are you just super disciplined eaters? I have more luck doing the exercise thing than I do that the diet thing. My failed attempts at that are a whole other post. For now I would to hear from you!

Ella turns three!

Some pictures of the birthday girl - more below.....



The birthday girl at Chuck-E-Cheese


Catherine hanging with Barney



Matt was having alot of fun jet skiing. I think we need to come back on his birthday!


Ella had fun attempting to play air hockey with Kelly and Mackenzie

So today is Ella' birthday. She turned three. For the longest time I couldn't believe she was actually going to be three, but we've been anticipating this for so long that I'm pretty used to the idea. How do I describe Ella? It really depends on the day and her mood. That in itself should tell you something! She is highly emotional - whether happy, sad or mad - there is no mistaking how she feels. She is also very sociable. She loves to play and have people to play with. She's at an age where she'll go to someone's house and go off and play and I won't hear from her unless there's a problem. Ella also loves to interact with adults - she knows all my friend's names and loves the attention that she gets from them. She is full of love - she hugs me and tells me she loves me. Catherine also gets lots of hugs and kisses from Ella. In fact, Ella is very free with the hugs. I love the feeling of her little arms wrapped around my neck - not wanting to let go. She loves to cook. Helping me make breakfast is a must for her - whether cracking the eggs, pouring the milk, she is quick to inform me "I don't need you." In fact that is something we hear pretty frequently in regards to all areas of Ella's life. She loves to do everything on her own - except of course when I'm trying to get something done. She loves imaginary play and I often hear her talking to herself and her babies (anything from an actual baby doll or stuffed animal to her Little People). She loves to sing - if she is in a good mood she spends alot of time in the car singing. It's highly entertaining because it's usually to the tune of one of her favorite songs (Away in the Manger) but with her own lyrics -which are based on recent events in her life. I'm sure you can imagine! She loves to dance, she loves to draw, she loves to read. She loves her tv shows - so much so that we have to limit it greatly. I think the current favorite is Diego. She's taken to using some of the Spanish phrases she hears on the show in her every day conversation - in the correct context of course! She loves her special blankie and doggie. She loves macaroni and cheese, chicken nuggets and pancakes.

Those are the things that Ella loves - there are a lot of them. But there are many things she doesn't like. Most of the food I make, for instance. Not getting her own way is a biggie. Ella doesn't take anything lightly and little insignificant frustrations or issues become monumental with her. Not being able to have pancakes for breakfast for the third day in a row has the potential to really put a damper in our day. As does attempting to brush her hair. Or not having the right socks on. Or me not being able to wrap her up in a blanket the exact way that she wants. You catch my drift....I'm hoping it's just a stage that she'll grow out of. But from what I hear the three's are rougher than the two's. If so, I don't know if I'll make it! Overall she is a sweet, tenderhearted little girl who is also stubborn and strong willed. I think she gets the sweetness and tenderhearted qualities from me...I'm not sure about the stubborness and strong will.....? Just kidding! :)

For her birthday we took her to Chuck-E-Cheese - it was her first time and she had alot of fun. Of course getting there was tough. I prepared her that there would be a big mouse there (remember her fear of "characters"?). Not sure why I thought that would help things. After that was very much against going there so we told her we would go to another pizza place with games. I know, I know, not good to lie. The whole way there she would randomly say "I don't want to see the big mouse" and I would reassure her that we wouldn't. So we pulled up into the parking lot and she gasped "mom, this is Chuckecheesus!! (that's the way she would say it, almost sounded like ChuckeJesus)" How did she know? I think the giant mouse on the sign out front must have gave it away - I was suprised she put it together that quickly! We made it in without incident when I explained the the mouse was just like Mickey Mouse and that really made everything alright. So we spent a few fun hours playing and eating and of course not wanting to come home at the end. We're having a little party for her on Saturday - alot of her friends that she likes to play with can't come (that's what I get for not planning too far in advance and doing it the second weekend in Dec.). I feel a bit sad for her since this the first year that's she's been anticipating a party (or I probably would have just had a small family party). But I think presents and cake will make everything okay!

Thanks for taking the time to read my long tribute to Ella. For those that know her, know that she is a special little girl. I can't believe it's been three years!