Look what we got!!

Our very own elf on a shelf!

MerryMerry!!

The rest of the month (waaayyy back in November!)

Brought back another special visitor.

Amanda and little man Grant

Another mom's outing to the zoo (with Katie L. and her boys), followed by lunch at a favorite little spot. 

LOVE.LOVE.LOVE!

 The rest of the month was spent getting in touch with our creative sides.

Happy Birthday buddy!

This gal right here always keeps her promises.

So not on her birthday (a little over two months ago), but the afternoon before, 

because we were gonna be so so so busy on the actual day of,
we took a stroll around the Wallyhood. We saw this guy.

We played at Meridian park.

And then we settled in at Molly's for Andi's yearly birthday ice cream sundae!

Mmmmmmm

Happy! Happy! Yum! Yum! 

Next on the agenda... packing for NYC!

I am the best present giver EVER!!!  

Ice cream and a kidless trip to NYC!

I better be on the receiving end of awesomeness come DECEMBER 26th, 2011... 

just sayin'

Some of the things I forgot...

It is a lot so, take this as a warning.  I am about to purge 2.5 months of forgotten posts! 

YIKES.

Grab a beer, wine, or whatever gets you through the night and enjoy!

...I forgot how cute they were.

 ...the first time they said "cheeseballs!" for the camera.

...when Mimi got the cutest haircut on earth!

and how awful my iphone camera is

...and how delicious she was afterward.

...drinking beers with great friends!

...that the sun does in fact shine here!

...that we took swim lessons,

and how much we loved it!

...how much we like Caity!

...that some days I put forth lots of effort in the morning.

...to post the F.D.O.S. pictures

first day of school

 Oh, and how I tried to recreate them a week later because 

I was not pleased with the real first day of school pics.

  Yeah, I'm a freak!

How they did not cooperate one little bit!

We NEVER for forget how much we LOVE teacher Janice, and here she is!

Thanksgiving part one

Wake up to two crazies crying out "mama I awake now!!"  Peal myself out of bed, while the gals are carrying on loudly, I brush my teeth, make coffee and get two cups of milk.  When I walk into the room, inevitably one of the girls has undressed herself and wet the bed, the other is screaming "other mommy! other mommy! Not this mommy!!" I struggle with them and try to sing, dance and make them laugh so they might break out of the spell they are in when they wake every morning. After that, anything goes.  Playing at the park, play dough, painting, coloring, yelling, laughing, tantrums, trips to the park, the zoo, the grocery store, Little Gym, school, and then the dreaded afternoon nap.  During this nap I have to get the wash done, clean various parts of the house, think about making dinner, make dinner, run errands, work out, nap, and find my sanity again without a cocktail.  The girls get up once again and we are off, full speed ahead, activities, dinner, and then my favorite time of the day... BEDTIME!!  Not because the day is over but because this is the time they are the sweetest, snuggliest and funniest.  This is when they are tender and give me lots of hugs.  This is when they sit in my lap and listen to books, this is when they tell me "oh mommy, i love you too" when I say I love you.  This is when I know that all of the day's struggles and all the "problems" I think I have melt away with one look, one smile and one kiss from the girls.  This is when I KNOW FOR SURE without a doubt, without hesitation, that I am 100% the best mom for them and they are the best kids for me.  So lucky for us God knew this and made us a family.  I am thankful for every runny nose, dirty diaper, sleepless night , crying fit, puke storm, rule broken, tantrum thrown, and all the other "bad stuff" because with out it I would never appreciate all the tender sweet moments that make it all worthwhile. 

 I love you Marlo and Eme and I am thankful to be your mommy!