how cool is this?

oh no

it's happened. my oldest dd (who just turned 6!) asked me how mommies get their tummies put back together after they have a baby.

i ignored her long enough until she lost interest and went to go color. despite the fact that i want to be honest and straightforward with her, neither one of us is ready for that bit of news.

It's not bad enough that Sophie has cut her own hair (twice!) but now she has cut her little brother's hair. And with no remorse. I caught them in the bathroom, giggling and preening in the mirror. Fortunately it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Fall Swap

Hey all,

I'm participating in Hopsy's Fall Swap over at Monograms and Manicures. If you haven't been following her, rush over now. She is the cutest thing. She's hosting a Fall Swap that sounds like a treat so if you are interested, sign up. Hurry, it closes soon though.

Just testing out my new mobile blogging abilities.

Good ole' USA

This is the coolest map. You click on the flag and it tells you more about the point of interest.

Tommy Hilfiger Iconic Map

you say tomato...

setting: living room

me: are you doing gymnastics?

S: yes, but I didn't do a split, I did a splat!

cut to S in a heap on the floor

Happy Anniversary

me and my sweetie

3 children +

3 dogs +

2 houses +

2 apartments +

5 vehicles +

innumerable memories =

8 years!

I've been busy baking. Here's what I made for my husband's office. I hope they enjoy it. Death by Chocolate Triffle.

I used frozen Milky Bar instead of the Skor bars though. Yummy!

bangs

I've reported in past posts that my kooky daughter S. likes to cut her own hair. I guess she comes by it honestly. I got bored with my hair and cut bangs this afternoon. They are crooked and too short but what can I do? I guess that'll teach me! Now I remember why I swore I wouldn't cut my own hair anymore - the last time was in college (over 20 years ago for those of you counting).

Just like Daddy

Initially I thought it was because he wanted to be like Daddy but after a night sleeping in a chair with my sick son, I realized it might just be in his DNA. When Davis finally relaxed he put his hands behind his head and fell asleep. :

make your own peppermint patties

I came across this great website that had instructions on making your own peppermint patties. Since I love them sooo much, I had to try.

I suggest you do too, you won't be sorry.

It was fun for the kids to help me roll the peppermint mixture into balls and flatten them. I didn't take pictures of the dipped chocolates but you get the idea. One word of advice; don't put them on a cooling rack once they are dipped!! I thought, "oh, I'll let the excess chocolate drip off and it'll be nice and neat." Wrong. They stuck to the rack and I had to scrape them off, resulting in more shaved peppermint pieces than patties. But next time you bet I'll be cooling them on parchment or waxed paper. Let me know how yours turn out!

ghetto farm

we went to a birthday party at a local kids "ranch" or the ghetto farm as my friend calls it. It was, in fact, her daughter's birthday party so you can see she wasn't being too critical. The kids all had a great time getting muddy and chasing goats...

There were some cute animals and some animals that were just so ugly you couldn't help but like them. ah, good times.

cherry blossom time

I haven't been able to go downtown this year so I pulled some of my old photos out to show the cherry blossoms. This is from 2006, I'd just finished the Cherry Blossom 10 miler. It's surprising to me seeing how young my kids look. And this was before we even thought about having a 3rd child! The girls were 2 & 4 here; now they are almost 4, almost 6 and DCB is almost 2!!!

I haven't done any 10 milers since then either. I did the Rock-n-Roll 1/2 marathon in Virginia Beach that fall and my running days are behind me. My knees have had it.

Forgot I was supposed to be posting about the cherry blossoms. CNB works for the National Park Service and shares an office with the Chief Horticulturist, Rob Defeo so we usually get a heads up on when the blooms will be at peak. Still, it's a madhouse downtown and I don't usually drive in with the kids... I will try next year. And maybe I'll get tickets to next year's White House Easter Egg Roll.

Pavlova

I've always wanted to make one so when I saw Martha's chocolate version I had to start baking...

USS New York

USS New York
It was built with 24 tons of scrap steel from the World Trade Center.

It is the fifth in a new class of warship - designed for missions that include special operations against terrorists. It will carry a crew of 360 sailors and 700 combat-ready Marines to be delivered ashore by helicopters and assault craft.

Steel from the World Trade Center was melted down in a foundry in Amite , LA to cast the ship's bow section. When it recalled Navy Capt. Kevin Wensing, who was there. 'It was a spiritual moment for everybody there.' Junior Chavers, foundry operations manager, said that when the trade center steel first arrived, he touched it with his hand and the 'hair on my neck stood up.' 'It had a big meaning to it for all of us,' he said. 'They knocked us down. They can't keep us down. We're going to be back.'

The ship's motto?
'Never Forget'

Vernal Equinox

doggie pajamas?

I came across this while I was doing an internet search for a new dog bed for our labrador, Lilly. Maybe it's because I've always had big dogs, but I can't imagine a dog being willing to wear pajamas. It's pretty funny though. Do any of you dress your dogs? or cats? :-)

fabric sale!

Hey all,

I've been so caught up in reading all the blog from the women who went to the Martha show. It was so much fun reading your posts and seeing you on tv. I've been living vicariously through you.

For those of you who sew, I wanted to share an email I received today. You may already be aware of the darling outfits at Chez Ami by Patsy Aiken Designs. Well, they are having a clearance on some of their fabrics. $3.50 a yard and they are precut 2 yard pieces ($7) That's a fab price and the patterns are adorable.

I'm considering getting some of their tactel/spandex (swimsuit material) to make some bags to put wet swimsuits in. Do you think that would work? Does anyone have a good pattern?

Time Out Spot

I bought this rug at Ikea for Time Out. It's perfect because it's soft, big and portable. I can put it down on the floor whenever I need them to take a time out breather.

D. thinks it's all a game...

family time

We had a short but lovely visit with my sister in law, L. this week. She's such a sweetheart and I always enjoy spending time with her. It was nice to catch up and for the kiddos to spend time with her. Whenever we spend time with family it reminds me of how nice it would be to have family members living closer to us.  Ever since I left for University, I've lived hours and hours from family. Well, there was the period I lived in NY and was fairly close to my brothers; that was fun. The past 15 years I've lived states or even continents away from my family. My parents are now 3 hours away and I think that's the closest we've lived in ages. I'm grateful that we can visit our families and they visit us and that I have good friends here...and across the States.

A Sweet Valentine's Day

Well the girls had a great day at school. Sophie wore a pretty pink dress and Katy wore a lovely red one. They both had their 100th day of school parties as well as celebrated Valentine's Day. They came home with lots of little cards and even more candy. lollipops, smarties, candy bracelets, and the like. 

The piece de resistance:

Really?  Pixy Stix?  Am I crazy or does this seem wrong?

I mean they are 3 year olds!!

okay, since you were wondering, we gave pencils.

slow news day

i'm tired.

i'm sick.

i'm sick and tired.

i'm home with 2 sick kids and another one who doesn't nap.

the dog wants to go out at 3:30 in the morning.still.

i have lots of laundry to fold.

i have to go to the grocery store and i've been putting it off. 

my husband is out of town.

he's out of town while i care for sick kids and do 3 consecutive loads of laundry in the middle of the night so the baby will have his blankey and bear bear all clean and snuggly when he wakes up.

he's out of town while i'm changing a crib sheet with one hand (trying not to dirty anything) while holding the baby in the other arm because he's sick and shaking and crying and won't let me put him down.

i've delayed on sending birthday cards to my niece and nephew and now their birthdays are here and the cards are still on the counter.

i haven't made my bed yet, that's how tired i am.  i love to make my bed first thing in the morning.

slow news day

good morning

This morning I couldn't decide which I coveted more: sleep (or pretending to) or quiet time by myself downstairs.  It was already 7:00 on a Saturday and all the kids, dog and DH were still asleep!  A phenomena!  I opted to come down and read the paper and check email in solitude.  Bliss.

Well, as any mother knows, solitude is rare. I got the coffee started, realized the canister was low so I filled it.  Then I put the clean dishes away and loaded the dishwasher (how do the dirty dishes materialize overnight?  Maybe the socks lost in the dryer know.)  I let the dog out and then gave her fresh food and water.  After I let her in I had to clean up the floor from her voracious lapping.  Then I emptied the dryer (didn't fold it yet - that's for later) and let Lilly outside to fetch the paper.  

Since the paper hadn't arrived-it's 7:30!! where is it!?! Lilly decided to sniff around and sully the front yard.  Soooo, I gathered a few plastic bags (don't start about the environment right now.  I NEEDED a lot.)  I cleaned the front yard, frost notwithstanding.  Unfortunately Lilly's tummy isn't 100% right now so it wasn't pleasant.  But, I've been changing diapers for 5 years now so I'm not fazed.

I get back inside, thaw out, wait for the coffee to finish and clean off the kitchen island.  It's a clutter magnet and I used it last night to fold my fabric stash (THAT deserves another post).

As I was sitting down with my coffee and computer, lo and behold, I hear little footsteps on the stairs....

S. comes down, blinking like a little mole in the bright light, and asks for vitamins and breakfast.  Shortly thereafter, K. comes down complaining of a stomachache. She also visited us at 4:00 am with the same complaints.  Considering that kids in both of the girls classes are sick, I'm a little worried.  D. is still asleep or maybe he's not yelling in his crib loud enough for me to hear.  

Guess I'll go check.  There'll be time for a 2nd cup of coffee later.

Hope you all have a lovely, warm and cozy morning.

It's Baby Time!

We have a new niece!

Emery Charlotte B. was born Jan. 3, 2009

She weighs 7 lbs, 11 oz and is 21.5 "

It's nice because Emery and Katy share the same middle name.

Katharina Charlotte was named after her mother, maternal great-grandmother and paternal grandmother.  

Emery is a name that her parents liked and she is named after her paternal grandmother also.

We can't wait to meet her in person.

We also have a new nephew!

Travis Paul L. was born Jan. 30, 2009. 

He weighed 8 lbs, 14 oz. and was 23" long!

Both my brother and my sister in law are tall (6'5" & around 6"?) so I'm not surprised that Travis is such a big baby. 

Travis is a name his parents liked and he's named after his maternal grandfather.

I only a photo from his birth so I'll post some sweet baby photos when I get them.

We can't wait to meet Travis in person.

In case you're counting, the kids have 3 new cousins within the past 8 months; 

Luke V. July 2008

Emery B. January 2009

Travis L. January 2009