Happy Thanksgiving

Love our two little turkeys.

Santa Claus is coming to town

The other day, Lise' was acting up, and I mentioned that Santa was watching. That of course, created a list of questions about who he is, how can he see us, and is he really watching all the time?

One of my favorite was when she asked where he lived. When I explained the North Pole, she came back with, "Well, Little Bear (a favorite cartoon) went to the North Pole, and no one lived there." She doesn't miss a beat.

It was quite funny as she went around the house peeking out of every window hoping for a glimpse of him. He does do wonders though. She picked up her toy without being asked one morning.

There's more Santa to come, but he did send her an email this morning. Click here to see it.

Happy Friday

Where in the world does time go? Lise' is just over a month away from being 4, and that saddens me. She's no longer that little toddler that made us smile. She's full of attitude and kindness. She loves hugs and her sister. She's curious about everything, and enjoys hiking, dancing, and she LOVES school. Just wait until you see her. You'll be amazed.

In this video, she's hula hooping with the Wii.



Ballet Class-on this day, she was upset b/c some other little girl got the costume she wanted, and she was moping.

The
A few weeks ago, we went out to fly her kite. The wind was more than her little kite could take, and it took off without the string. Luckily, B was able to catch it before it flew off into the tops of the holly trees.






Daddy Love

Abri is so my child

For anyone who knows me, I'm not a fan of being cold. With winter on our doorstep this morning (32 degrees), it's a little more than chilly in the house. For days like that, we have the space heaters. I just went looking for Abri, and found her in the bathroom, with the door closed and the heater on.

HOLY RICKSHAW, that was a ride!

Can I just tell you, I'm still on a high from last night. After one long year of waiting, B and I finally made it to Broadway. If your memory fails you, last year, we had tickets, but the stage hands went on strike. I had been looking forward to this night since then. All week, the forecast was for rain, which dampened the enthusiasm, but only slightly. When it came time to leave, the skies were overcast and the temperature was in the 60's, but no downpours like we were expecting. We left the girls with the babysitters and took the train into the city.

It was a manager's outing with B's company, so we first met for dinner at Pomaire. It was a tiny little Chilean restaurant in the Hell's Kitchen section of NYC, just blocks from the theater. The food was tasty, and it was a good start to a great evening.



After dinner, we made it to the theater with minutes to spare beforethe curtains opened on Jersey Boys. Our seats were fantastic, and B and I couldn't get over how intimate the theater felt. There couldn't have been a bad seat in the house. You could see the spit coming out the actors' mouths. Five minutes into it, I was hooked. The show is the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Check out the site. For those born in generations following their notoriety, they are famous for songs like, "Sherry Baby", "Big Girls Don't Cry", & "Walk like a Man". It was amazing, and I was sorry it ever ended.

Once the play was over, it was a torrential downpour outside, which means no available cabs in NYC, especially in the theater district. We had about 20 minutes to get to the train at Penn Station 20 blocks away. It wasn't feasible to do on foot, and with no available cabs in sight, we took the next available transportation-the NYC rickshaws. If we missed this train, it'd be another hour before we could get out of the city, and our parental responsibilities were calling.

Leaving the theater



Familiar landmark

Me in the rickshaw



I've seen them time and time again on the streets, but in the back of my mind, I was always thinking, "Can those really be safe?" The answer-NO WAY! The rain was pouring down, so the driver zipped us up, and we were on our way. We weaved in and out of traffic like you never thought possible. At red lights, we'd be perpendicular to the flow of traffic in our lane, we ran red lights, we even ran over some man's foot. It was the most terrifying and exhilarating experience I've ever had in transportation. My favorite part was going through Times Square.

We survived!



Oh, what a night! I will hold onto this one for a very long time.

3 feet of leaves!

Wouldn't you love to see pics? Well, I'd love to share them with you, when I get the chance. I'm super busy today, but with any luck, by the end of the weekend, I'll have them posted.

I still haven't found my camera, but the good news is that the new one came it. It's cool too. Somehow it knows to take the picture when you smile-WEIRD.

I have lots to share, but it's my turn to host playgroup in 2 hours and 42 min. Therefore, I must hide the mess.

Hang in there. I'll be back.

VOTE VOTE VOTE

In addition to getting your vote in, you should check out all the free stuff places are giving away today. Click on the highlighted ones for the link to the offers.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

Starbucks Coffee-free brewed coffee

Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream

Whole Foods-I can't find the offer on their site either, but ours is giving out free coffee.

Where oh where is my camera?

I promised more pics to come, and I can come through, but not completely. The pictures I posted on Halloween were actually from our town's parade the Sunday prior. Lucky for me, I downloaded the pictures to the computer before heading out for Trick-Or-Treating.

All the festivities begin early up here. The kids are out of school at 2:30, and they leave school in their costumes and begin going door to door. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, and it turned out I didn't have to worry about dressing the girls in layers.

For the parade, both went as fish, and B was their fisherman. It was the funniest thing. B carried a fishing rod with a rubber fish on the end, and the girls enjoyed trying to catch it in their hands. It wasn't a planned thing, but they really did mimic fish biting at the bait. Everyone complimented us on Grandma's custom made costumes. The only people that seemed to be blind were the judges. I know I'm slightly biased, but the majority of kids were in their fairy, witch & spider man costumes. All cute, but not original by any means. After the parade, we all gathered at the firehouse for the costume contest, and they must have given out 30+ awards. Can you believe we didn't win one single thing? We weren't #1 by any means, but my gosh. They were cuter than half the kids out there. It must be the judges that were biased!

As for actual Halloween night, the girls gave up their fish costumes in exchange for costumes out the dress up box. Lise' went as a cowboy princess (complete with pink cowboy boots) and Abri wore the Mini Mouse costume with mouse ears. They were both adorable. We went to a friend's house for the night, so I'm hoping they call soon with news that they've found my camera. Otherwise, I may have to get the girls to dress up again for the sake of posting a picture.

All in all, they had a great time. This was the first time Lise' really understood what the night was all about. At about the 10th house, she received a full sized candy bar. Instead of saying Thank You, she said WOO HOO! It was the funniest thing. Eventually, I headed back to Karen's house with Abri and our husbands kept the bigger girls out. When they finally got back, there was a look of pride on their faces with their loot in hand. If only I could find my camera! Darn it!!!!! I will post a few more pics on our picture website (link on the right side of the blog), so be sure to check there for more entertaining photos.