Connecticut Charm

Hello!

2008-10-23T13:11:00.005-04:00

Well, it's way past the end of summer and I had hoped I would get back to blogging once school started but better late than never I suppose! We had a wonderful, magical summer in Rhode Island and tons of visitors and parties at the new house. It is my dream house, walk outside and you are on the beach. Short walk to town, shopping and tons for the kids to do. Even though I live in Connecticut and we are close to the shore, I just feel at home in Rhode Island. I always have. I hope everyone had a wonderful summer as well.

E started her new school and L started there as well in preschool. The school has far exceeded my expectations. They have a live pianist at lunch! and they are served their meal by waitstaff! But more importantly, E is much more challenged academically. She is taking both Latin and French. The music, arts and theater program is absolutely amazing. They recently put on an energy-efficient addition and they are teaching the children about solar energy and there is just so much more she is exposed to. We, as a family, have always volunteered but now she is doing it with school as well. I could go on and on. I love how involved I get to be and the parents I have met are very sweet and it is like a family.

In other news....I am pregnant! Eight weeks along and everything is going great! After the ectopic pregnancy, we decided to just take things slow and whatever happens happens. Well it happened! We are so excited! We were planning a trip to Hawaii in the Spring but since I am due at the end of May (and I always deliver early) we moved our trip up and are going in November. The girls are very excited about being big sisters, especially L who will be 4 when the baby comes. E will be 10 and she is excited but she is more reserved about showing her feelings. She's more apprehensive as well. She's old enough to remember when L was born and she remembers the crying, etc. I regularly get together with a group of moms with children around L's age and three of them are pregnant, two just delivered in June/August and one more is trying now. So this baby already has lots of friends!

Halloween is just around the corner and I hope I can get a picture of the girls in their costumes up on here. E is going to be a "Devil Princess" and L will be a ballerina. I made E's costume but L had enough dress-up stuff that I didn't have to. We have another couple and their children over to our house on Halloween for dinner, then our town hosts a party on Main Street and tons of kids go. A lot of the houses on Main Street are having parties and the adults dress up and everyone gets into it. There is music and lights and it is just a lot of fun.

I have been trying to catch up on everyone's blogs, I seriously was unplugged (for the most part) this summer! I hope to be back in full swing with my blog, hopefully I still have some readers!

Happy to be back, hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful Fall season and have a Happy Halloween!

Summertime Rolls

2008-07-09T14:17:00.002-04:00

We are in RI for the Summer and I am taking a break for a while from blogging. So much going on! Hopefully I still have a few readers left and I will try and check in every now and then but for the most part, I will be busy with the new house and kids and going to the beach!!!

Hope everyone has a beautiful rest of the summer and I wish you all sunny days and good times with family and friends!

By the way, in the picture is E with Mr.C on her first ferris wheel ride! They are in the back so you can't really see too well. But she did it!

Summer Shopping!

2008-05-31T15:52:00.002-04:00

With everything that has gone on around here lately, my husband decided I needed a break and arranged (well his assistant arranged..lol) a trip with some girlfriends to NYC for spa treatments and shopping! He just told me this morning and I am leaving Sunday night for 3 days! I am so excited so I wanted to share! I am off to my neice's birthday party now but I will add the details later today or tomorrow morning!

House of emergncies lately

2008-05-21T20:33:00.010-04:00

I try to keep this blog positive but I feel I owe it to my readers to explain my longer than usual absences and delay in posting comments. Please know that we are all mostly well at the moment due to so much love, prayer and support from family and friends.

Our E, who is nine recently had appendicitis. It was misdiagnosed 3 times by her pediatrician (yes we switched drs since) and it ended up rupturing causing very serious emergency surgery. By the time she had the cat scan at the emergency room, they said it had ruptured 4 days earlier and it was the most scary thing that has ever happened to us. At the hospital they would not even discuss the next day with me, they would only go hour by hour. It was needless to say horrifying and I still have not broken down yet, you mothers know that your instinct to be strong for them overpowers your need to just lose it and get hysterical. I try not to think of how close we came to...sorry I can't still say it.

However, she has recovered remarkably well and it amazes me every day how fast she has bounced back. Children are amazing. She will actually be going back to school in two weeks! We are so blessed and I thank God and her doctors for her remarkable recovery. As well as all the prayers from friends and family and members of our church.

Then I was hospitalized for an ectopic pregnancy. Another extremely scary thing to go through but it was caught early and removed and I am doing very well.

Then it was L's turn just this last Monday. She woke up on Monday night (well early Tuesday morning) at 1:30 a.m. crying. My husband picked her up and brought her to me and she was burning up! I sent him to the kitchen to get Tylenol and while he was, she vomited all over me. She had had a bit of diarrhea that afternoon but her energy level was fine and she was eating and drinking as normal so I didn't think to much of that. We gave her a few sips of water to see if she would keep that down and she did so we gave her the Tylenol. She proceeded to vomit again all the Tylenol. I took her temperature under her armpit and it went up to 106.1. I have never seen anyone with a temp that high so we were trying to decide if we should bring her to the ER. We brought her in the bath and sponged her and after a half hour her fever went down to 103.2. I brought her out of the bath and continued to sponge her until her fever went down a bit more and she fell asleep. She slept with us in our bed (well I didn't sleep I was too worried) and she fell asleep and finally her fever broke. She woke up the next day absolutely fine! No fever, she ate breakfast, drank and had her energy back. Amazing!

So at this point everyone is recovering so well and hopefully things will be back to normal soon. I know I should have posted about this earlier because I'm sure you all would have sent positive thoughts and prayers our way but honestly I just have not had a minute to do so.

We are so lucky and thankful that everyone is well and recovering so wonderfully and I will keep you posted a bit more now that things have seemed to calm down around here.

Please send positive thoughts an prayers our way that we all continue on the road to recovery and good health!

Mother's Day!

2008-05-08T12:25:00.002-04:00

I know I have been a horrible blogger lately...just too much going on and have not found much time to myself lately. But I'm working on it! I plan to start this weekend. One of my favorite days of the year, Mother's Day. At our house we do "Mother's Day Weekend". Just like we do "Birthday Weekends" etc. We love holidays around here and make sure we make the most of them!

Our plans so far (or at least what I know of them!) will begin on Friday night when Mr.C and I will be going out for a date night. It has been a while since we have been to a movie for just the two of us so we are planning on dinner and a movie. I get to pick and I haven't decided yet what to see. In fact I don't even know what has come out recently! We will be going here to one of our favorite places for dinner. They always have the most fabulous salmon specials and I almost always get that. And I always get creme brulee for dessert. I am looking forward to dinner...if you can't tell!

On Saturday Mr.C will be dropping E and I off at this spa for some pampering in the morning. Then we will all be attending a birthday party at a local park for a friends two children. I am very excited because this friend I have not seen or talked to in 9 years! We had lost touch when we went our separate ways for college (we went to high school together) and she called me up out of the blue a couple weeks ago. It was so great because when we talked it was like no time had gone by at all and it turns out she now lives in the town next to us! I am so looking forward to seeing her again and meeting her family.

Sunday will be breakfast in bed (E has the whole menu planned out!) and then Mass and then....anything I want. Probably just staying home and spending time with Mr.C and my girls. That's really all I want to do. We have been quite busy lately and I am looking forward to relaxing at home all day.

Next weekend we will be heading to Rhode Island again to do more at the beach house. I already love it there. The designer I hired to help me with the house will be meeting us there again to do some more work. But to me it's not like work, I am having so much fun doing it! I will post some pictures soon. E's room is super cute. She wanted a "surfer girl" room. Now she will just have to learn how to surf this summer!

I hope all the moms have a lovely Mother's Day this weekend and I hope everyone has a lovely weekend as well!

Preppy Spring Swap goodies!!!!!

2008-04-24T12:14:00.007-04:00

I was so excited to receive my swap package the other day! I had so much fun with the Preppy Spring Swap and I hope everyone else did as well! Here are the pictures!

The girls were so excited to open the box with me!

Me with my package, I was even more excited! Coincidentally, we were all wearing pink and green!

What we found when we opened the box, pink and green goodness!

A tote bage (I LOVE tote bags) embroidered in pink with my monogram held lots of treasures! The monogram was beautiful, Preppy Mama is very talented!

E and L were so excited to find a special package for each of them to open as well! I was so touched that she included them, she is so sweet.

Contents of E and L's packages. Everything was so personalized for them, both in their favorite colors. Their packages included (among other goodies) princess stuff for L (her favorite!) and for E, she received notecards with a stamp, because she loves sending cards to her friends and beautiful ribbons for her collection!

Contents of my package! Preppy Mama did a great job picking perfect items for me!

S - Sweet Smelling Soaps The picture came out to bright, but the soaps were beautifully engraved and smelled so wonderful!

P - Pretty Pad and Pen This was so pretty, and I am a list maker so I love having such a pretty pad and pen to make my endless lists on!

R - Ribbon Belt I love my new belt! So cute, I will wear it so much...I already have actually!

I - Ink In pink and green of course! One of my hobbies is stamping and making cards so I loved these!

N - New Kitchen Towels So perfect for Spring and I don't have monogrammed kitchen towels, Preppy Mama is very talented with monogramming. I think I will have to give it a shot someday. I would monogram everything in my house probably!

G - Goodies The whole family enjoyed these with me! Especially my fellow chocoholic in my house L who kept taking my M&Ms and trying to hide them!

Thanks again Preppy Mama, you did a wonderful job picking just the right things for me! I had SO much fun with the swap and I hope everyone else did as well!

Pictures coming soon...I promise!

2008-04-18T22:00:00.002-04:00

I was almost done with my post with all the pictures of my swap package when all of sudden, blogger wouldn't upload the rest of my pictures!!! Argh. But the post is almost done and I will upload the rest of the pictures tomorrow, hopefully. I keep getting a message that says my upload is incomplete due to an internal error. I tried a bunch of different times but still not working. If there are still problems tomorrow, I'll just post what I have uploaded already because I am so excited to share with everyone my wonderful package!

I got my swap package!

2008-04-17T09:57:00.001-04:00

Yesterday I received my wonderful package from my partner Preppy Mama. It was so fun! I will be posting pictures later today of all my beautiful gifts!

The other side...

2008-04-15T13:31:00.002-04:00

In situations like this, you just don't know what to believe. I wanted to post a video that also explained things from the mothers side a bit.

Since I (in the past-but it never ends) have been involved with a bitter custody dispute, been harrassed by my ex's family, had them stand up in court and tell lies, I have seen how these things can happen. My ex's family are of a certain religion (some consider it a cult) and I try my best to be accepting of their faith. But my ex's mother actually told me "My religion tells me that I don't have to tell the truth in court because I do not hold the government, courts, police or anyone above my (God)" which she calls by a different name. But I don't want to offend anyone so I don't want to disclose that.

Thankfully, I had a smart judge and mediatior and they met with E and they knew her father's family lied and awarded me custody.

But what does it all matter when you see these children...they are the ones affected by all of this. Everytime E's dad doesn't show up for visitation, even though she doesn't want to go, she is still being let down. Every time he verbally/physically abused me in front of her, she gets so scared and withdrawn.

My heart goes out to any children who are in situations of any kind that involves abuse, neglect, custody battles, etc. As well as their family members that the children do have that truly love them, whomever that may be.

I am staying off youtube for the rest of the day. I don't close my eyes to these situations, they are all to real for me, however my heart can only take so much. I am going outside to play in the sun with my girls and hug them tighter than ever.

sorry if this makes you cry...

2008-04-15T12:22:00.004-04:00

Turn volume up

I just had to post this, it moved me to tears. NO child deserves any abuse and I can't stand it. I volunteer in a women's and children's shelter in a nearby city and it is just so heartbreaking what some children have endured. It is one of those situations where I want to do more to help these children, but I don't know what else to do. My husband and I have always said after one more biological child, we would adopt or even have foster children. But there are just so many children who need help. How can we educate these parents so this can stop? It just breaks my heart.

Thanks Everyone!

2008-04-01T11:34:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to thank everyone for their well wishes for my mom. She has always been so strong and healthy it took us all by such surpise when she had to have surgery. Then there were complications and she had to go back into the hospital. Nothing life-threatening but none the less it was scary.

My mom has always been a role model for me to be independent, strong, and healthy and it was the first time in my life that I had to care for her like this. It was really hard to see her not bustling around the house, cleaning, picking up her granchildren, etc. I know my parents are getting older but both of them have always led such healthy, busy lives that they seem much younger and look younger than they are. So it was just a hard time to see my mom so helpless and see her frustration at being helpless.

But I am happy to report that she is coming home and is doing better. She has a long recovery time for the surgery but with her good health and good will, I know she will do great.

SWAP NEWS:

I think everything is all straightened out and everyone should have their partners information. A couple mix-ups but everything should be corrected now. The list I posted on my blog is correct. I made one change on the list due to a new participant.

If you have an email with a different name than the one listed on my blog please email me as soon as possible and I will fix it. I think if that happened I caught it in time and sent you a new email, but I just want to make sure. If you have not received an email from me with your partners information, please also email me as soon as possible.

Thanks for your patience and for participating in this fun swap!

Please bear with me...

2008-03-31T12:00:00.002-04:00

I have had a tough weekend and I am trying really hard to get everyone's names exchanged. There were a few mix-ups but hopefully I straightened them out. If your email partner is different than the list that I previously posted on my blog, please email me so I can make sure which is correct.

Also this is my first time being involved in a swap, much less hosting one so I don't really know what I am doing...hahaha. But I think it will all work out fine and be a lot of fun!

I have to go back to the hospital to see my mom, please keep her in your prayers.
Thanks for all your help guiding me through the process of hosting a swap as well as well as the well wishes for my mom.

Sorry for the delay...

2008-03-31T09:25:00.002-04:00

I have spent most of the weekend at the hospital with my mom. She has had some complications from her surgery and is having a tough time. I was able to get some of the emails out yesterday from my laptop that Mr.C brought to the hospital for me, but I still have a few more to send.

Thanks you for your patience and understanding. I hope to have the rest of the emails out today.
xoxo
Mrs.Charming

Partner List!

2008-03-29T15:18:00.007-04:00

We had a drop out at the last minute so what I decided to do is put my moms name in. I will use my address and email for that partner and I will give the gift of goodies to my mom. She has been going through such a hard time that I think it will really brighten her day. She is still on bedrest from surgery so I'll do all the shopping for her!

Here is the partner list:

Jennifer S and Kate H

Jill E and Kelly S

Scarlet O and Maria M

Paige M and Maggi M

Kate B and Sarah S

Elizabeth P and Hillary P

Ali and Liz W

MMM and Lisagh K

Cara F and Meghan M

TCP and Magnolia Mama

Stacy D and Sherry W

Erin B and Jennifer D

Amy S and Anne W

Amy F and Gina F

Kimberly M and Cassie

Sara W and Impoverished Preppy

Gail S and Gabi R

ATC and Pearls&Grace

Kim in ATL and Penny R

Andie and Christian M

Lori D and Michelle H

Chelsea W and SLS

Joey Michelle and Mary K

KK and Kacey M

Kim E and Linda L

Okay hope everyone finds their name, if any problems, please email me at connecticutcharm@hotmail.com.

I have to go to my moms now, she is not doing to well from her surgery but later tonight or tomorrow I will get everyone their email out with partners information!

Swap Update

2008-03-27T10:24:00.002-04:00

We have exactly 50 participants (that worked out well!) and I will post partners on March 29-30. Thank you to everyone who joined. I think I forgot to mention that after you recieve your package, it would be fun to post a picture on your blog of your gifts!

Remember to check back in a few days for the partner list. I will also be sending everyone an email with their partners information at that time as well.

Hope everyone's Spring is off to a great (warm) start! We are expecting snow...boo.

Thanks again for joining the fun!

Mrs.Charming

Last day to sign up!

2008-03-26T09:25:00.002-04:00

Today is your last chance to sign up for the PREPPY SPRING SWAP! If you just found out about it, check out the link on the right. It has all the rules and information about it.

Most importantly, to be entered in the swap I need an email with you name, address, email, and blog address if you have one. This information will be sent to your partner only. When I list partners on my blog I will just list by first name (with last initial if necessary) or nickname with a link to their blog if they have one.

So far we have 46 participants! Hurry and sign up today if you want to join the fun!

Swap Updates

2008-03-20T13:35:00.004-04:00

Just to answer some of the questions I have received:

You certainly can go by a nickname for privacy reasons, just let me know what you prefer I list when I post partners.

Also you don't have to have a blog to participate, when you receive your partners email, you can let them know a bit about yourself if you would like.

Feel free to post on your blog info about the swap and a link if you would like. Spread the word about our fun Preppy Spring Swap!

Remember to email me (connecticutcharm@hotmail.com) with your information to be entered in the swap. Commenting on the post that you want to join does not enroll you in the swap until I receive the email with the information listed in the rules.

Thanks so much to everyone who already signed up! We already have over 20 participants and there is still plenty of time to sign up! This will be lots of fun!

Happy Spring!!

Fun, Fun!

2008-03-19T12:53:00.003-04:00

So many people already signed up for the swap! I am so excited! For any newcomers all info can be found on the link at the right. Please feel free to put info about the swap or link to my blog on your blog as well.

It is a dreary day here in Connecticut and I am stuck indoors anyways since I had another cortisone injection in my back. I just ate way too much for lunch...leftover St. Patrick's Day Dinner. I think it may be nap time...if only my L would nap. If she does though she is up until 11 pm and that does not work out well for Mr.C and I. We like to have our evenings together.

I just finished some online shopping for Easter for the girls. Yes ridiculous express shipping charges and all. I have not had my act together with Easter at all. I don't know when the Easter Bunny started bringing gifts and not just candy but it is probably because E is not a sweets fan and I used to get her books, little toys, etc. instead. L would be fine with all chocolate but I always feel like I have to make everything even for them. If E gets gifts then L gets gifts. Since L will get candy, E will get candy, even though she won't eat it. Do I drive myself crazy with this a bit??

This year my sister is having Easter at her house and I am SO glad. I am not up to it. I don't even know why I ended up hosting St.Patrick's Day dinner with my parents. But Mr.C did help out A LOT with that. But I am looking forward to a long Easter weekend where I don't have to care if the house is a mess, I don't have to cook the meal, I am bringing glazed carrots (easy recipe) and that's all. I really hope the weather brightens up a bit so it starts to feel like Easter time!

Thanks again for everyone who signed up for the swap! And there is still plenty of time to sign up if you haven't yet. It will be so fun to get a cheery Spring, preppy, pink and green package in the mail!

PREPPY SPRING SWAP!

2008-03-17T15:03:00.003-04:00

I decided to go ahead and host the Preppy Spring Swap.
I have never participated in a swap, much less hosted one so I'll try keep it pretty simple.

RULES:

Sign up by: March 26
I'll post partners on: March 29-30
Send out items by: April 18

Budget: $20 (not including shipping)

To sign up: email me at connecticutcharm@hotmail.com with your name, mailing address and blog address.

I will list randomly selected partners on my blog by first name (or nickname) with links to their blogs so you can check out your partners blog for inspiration! I will send you an email with your partners email and home address on the day I post them.

Theme: Preppy Spring with a color theme of pink and green.

Details: You will send your partner 6 items (somewhat preppy, springy) in the colors pink and green. Items can be homemade, secondhand, candy, thrift store find, whatever.

Each item must represent 1 letter in the word SPRING.
Example (but not limited to):
S - stickers
P - pencils
R - really pretty picture
I - interesting Spring recipe
N - notecards
G - green ribbon

Use your imagination and creativity to make things fit. I think this will be fun! I think I covered everything. If not and anyone has any questions, leave a comment or email me at connecticutcharm@hotmail.com.

Happy Spring and have fun!!

Preppy Spring Swap?

2008-03-14T15:31:00.004-04:00

I have been toying with the idea of doing a Blogger Swap to celebrate the beginning of Spring. I have never participated in a swap so it is all new to me. But I have seen others and it seems like a lot of fun.

PREPPY SPRING SWAP

Some ideas: Each item has to start with the letters S P R I N G, all items must be pink and green, with a somewhat preppy style. Homemade or thrift-store finds (or at least Marshalls!) works out great too. I was thinking of a budget of $20 not including shipping.

For example:
S - Sweet smelling soaps
P - Pink candle
R - Ribbons
I - Interesting Spring recipe
N - Notecards
G - Goodies (pink/green M&Ms for example)
You can use your creativity to make things fit (P for pink and G for green is in there so that's handy too)

Does anyone else think this may be fun?

In the next couple of days if I receive comments that some of you may be interested, I will post the rules, dates, and how it will all work.

I am SO looking forward to Spring and I thought this will really get everyone excited too.

Let me know what you think!

Castle Cake

2008-03-14T15:19:00.002-04:00

This was my inspiration for the Castle Cake
So now you will all see what it was SUPPOSSED to look like...hahaha. I did my best though. Cake decorating has not come easy to me but I try! The girls also helped me make it putting on the candy and frosting, etc. but I can't blame the lopsidedness on them... I don't exactly know how that happened. One thing is I didn't use the baking pans specified in the recipe, I used a large sheet cake pan and cut it, which made it difficult to frost because you know how hard it is to frost cut cake. Crumbs everywhere! I just kept filling in more and more frosting...I think thats why the kids loved it so much too-all the frosting!

Some pictures

2008-03-13T13:34:00.005-04:00

My completely lopsided castle cake for the girls princess party...but they loved it and when asked what her favorite part of her birthday was, L replies "My castle cake!" Not the gifts, food, decoration, guests, it was the cake, so the time (and frustration) that went along with making it was so worth it. When I was little my mom used to make creative cakes she would see in Good Housekeeping or just make them up and I remember every one of them, the catepillar, treasure chest, ice skating rinc, etc. I don't remember gifts I recieved or even who was there...but I remember the effort my mom put into the cake and it means so much to do it for my kids now.

For E's class party this is her Valentine's Mailbox. Have to brag, it was the envy of all her friends, but I love crafting with her so we got really into it. The cups are filled with Valentine's candy that she gave out to her classmates. I stayed up until 2:30 am curling all those damn ribbons. But they looked cute and I am officially "coolest mom in the class." Especially after scoring bunches of tickets to the Hannah Montanna movie and bringing all E's friends. It was a blast though. Even Mr.C went. Mr.C and I go back and forth about the whole "role model" thing but E has never been interested in anything like this, she has always been such a bookworm, so we figure its ok to indulge her a bit. It's just fun, and she's so serious that she needs a bit of fun like that.

Maryland/DC trip. I think there is a picture in there of the backs of Mr.C, E, L, Mr.C's twin brother and his fiancee. You can even tell from the back how completely different they are for twins. The don't even look like brothers. His brother looks a good 7-8 years older than Mr.C (which is funny because his fiance is 38!!!) He's 31.
Oh - and notice Mr.C carrying my pink and green bag for me! It got to heavy with my back and all and he is such a good sport, doesn't bother him a bit to carry purses. Sigh...love him so much.

Random Bits

2008-03-10T09:30:00.003-04:00

After trying unsuccessfully to put up several pictures today on my blog - I GIVE UP! I finally have some time to do this and of course...not working. I will try again later this afternoon and will just have to spend my free time now browsing others blogs.

Some updates:
My mom is doing really well, she had surgery and has a bit of a long recovery time but we are all helping her out and she's just going nuts stuck home, so we try and make sure someone visits everyday.

I had a procedure done for my back that unfortunately was unsuccessful. It is a cortisone injection that we are going to try again. Sometimes it takes 3 injections to get relief.

Mr.C had his wisdom teeth out on Friday and is doing really well. He drove me nuts as a patient because he can not sit or lay in bed all day, he wasn't supposed to talk and he was on his phone, working from home, etc. He is one of those people who if you tell him he can't do something, he will prove you wrong to the extreme! But he is doing better everyday.

Girls are doing very well. E is having her CMTs at school and she is such a perfectionist that she has been obsessing about it a bit. L has completely backtracked with potty training. Cries and throws a tantrum when I try to put underpants on her. She was doing so well for a while...I'm not too concerned though, I know she'll get it eventually!

I hired someone to help me with decorating the beach house. I just had so much going on and I really want everything ready for the summer, so I thought I could use some help. I'm still very, very involved but its been really helpful to have someone else to do this with me.

Our friends with the baby girl who I wrote about earlier are doing wonderful. She came home and we attended a party for her over the weekend. She is a miracle and so beautiful. She has a feeding tube that they taught her parents how to give it to her but other than that she is great! She had open heart surgery that was successful and she is doing so well. Can you imagine as a mother being told your baby has a 40% chance of survival and then to be able to bring her home and have everything work out so well? I am just so happy for them.

We will be going to Italy at the end of August for Mr.C's twin brothers wedding. Their dad has a villa in Tuscany so we will be staying there. I am so excited. We decided to stay for two weeks because we are bringing the girls and we want to do all the touristy things with them. The wedding festivities are going to be a weeklong event so it is going to be quite a good time I am sure!

Will try and post some pictures later of our recent trips and events. Hopefully I will have better luck!

I'm still here...

2008-02-29T09:15:00.003-05:00

We have been away for most of the month it seems. We went skiing in Vermont and we went on a last minute trip to Washington D.C. and Maryland. My mother had to go into the hospital and have surgery so I have been taking care of her lately and will be for quite a while. So I may not post again for a bit but I will try. Just letting everyone know I am still around and thanks for all the Happy Birthday comments!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-02-04T14:48:00.000-05:00

Today is my birthday! We had the girls party yesterday with family and friends and we kind of added my bday on to that. "Happy Birthday dear E... and L.... (and oh yea you too)" But Mr.C has something planned for next weekend so thats when we will really celebrate it. Girls party went well, I will post pictures soon. Mr.C took most pictures and I haven't even looked at them yet. We went straight from hosting that party starting at 3 to having friends over to watch the game. We are Giants fans...so YAY!!!

I can NOT believe I am 32. WOW.

E's Birthday Party!

2008-01-28T14:04:00.001-05:00

We had a super time at E's 9th birthday American Girl Spa Party. We had invited only a few girls (6) but one couldn't make it and another girl (her best friend!) got really sick that day so she had to cancel as well. But it actually worked out so well because we were able to take our time and relax.

When the girls arrived, we served them smoothies in a "fancy" glass, which they all got a big kick out of. I put on relaxing instrumental music and lit candles to set the mood.

First we did the craft which was making (decorating) flip flops and after they were made the girls changed into bathrobes and flip flops. They just put the robes over their clothes. (I got the bathrobes from Lillian Vernan Kids).

We then served healthy snacks (turkey wraps, veggie roll-ups, veggies and dip, pita chips, fruit salad.

After that we started the "Beauty Buffet". I had stations set up throughout the pool house for mani-pedis, facials, and doll hair do's. The biggest hit was the mani-pedis during which they got a foot massage and the second biggest hit was after they applied their oatmeal-yogurt mask they got to lay down with cucumbers on their eyes. For some reason they thought that was just the greatest!

After they were all pampered we took pictures with them and their dolls (who had their hair done)!

We then served cupcakes and ice cream as well as more fruit salad. Then E opened her gifts. We had a bit of extra time so we hung out listening to Hannah Montana and we played charades.

Everyone really had such a great time, especially E. Even though this party was a bit labor intensive for a kids party, it was so worth it. It was actually even the least I had ever spent on a birthday party because almost everything came in the package from American Girl (which I bought on clearance)! I had my manicurist come to do the girls nails but she did it at a very reasonable rate and I ended up cancelling the hairstylist because E didn't want to have her (and her guests) hair done, just the dolls. So my mom was doll hair stylist for the day!

It was just so much fun and Mr.C was such a good sport, he even helped with the facials, made the smoothies and took pictures.

This weekend coming up we are having the combination E&L party with family and some friends. I was planning on a tea party but everyone is hinting that a tea party on Superbowl Sunday just isn't so great. I might just scrap the tea sandwiches and do snacks and still have tea and then cupcakes.

Plus most people will be going to a big superbowl party with tons of food so snacks in the afternoon would be enough. I still want to have tea-related snacks though. I was thinking scones, cookies, chocolate dipped strawberries. I want something savory too not just sweet. Should I just do cheese and crackers? Any suggestions?

Hope everyone had a great weekend! We also went to a big Christmas Tree bonfire where we took some neat pictures. I'll post some soon.

How I Met My Husband...

2008-01-24T13:23:00.001-05:00

At a bar!!!

But of course I'll go into detail. E had just turned 2 and I had just really gotten back on my feet, finding a place to live and starting to connect with friends again. I went into the office on Wednesdays and Saturdays, but the rest of the week I worked from home for a publishing company. Since my mom was watching E for me on Wednesdays, she offered to take her Tuesday evenings and keep her overnight, to kind of give me a break. That way I could start seeing friends for dinner or whatever. I had NO interest in dating or men at this time at all.

One Tuesday night a co-worker called me up last minute to go with her to a local "dive" bar because she said they had the best hamburgers. I wasn't doing anything else so I agreed.

So we go to this place and it was not that much fun. We eat dinner and get hit on by a bunch of old men. At one point, this one older gentleman was talking to me and he kindof wouldn't leave me alone when this group of young guys walk through the door. They all looked like very clean-cut preppy ivy league kids except for one. He had long curly hair piled high on his head in a ponytail and a t-shirt and jeans. The other guys had polos and short hair, etc.

They ended up standing right next to where I was and I made eye contact with one of the guys in the group and gave him a face like "ugh, this guy won't leave me alone" So he asked me if I wanted to come play darts with them. The old guy said "oh you know these guys?" so I was off the hook.

So my friend and I went over with the group and started talking to them. Turns out they all went to elementary and high school together stayed friends through different colleges and were all good friends for a long time. The curly haired guy had a twin brother who was with them but they looked nothing alike at ALL. Made eye contact with the curly haired guy because at this point, not only was he the most beautiful man I had ever seen, he was so shy and sweet.

I sauntered over to the jukebox...is this all cheesy enough for you guys?...and he followed me over. We picked out songs together. Bob Marley, Neil Young and can't remember the other one. Ok it was Van Halen's Ice Cream Man but I didn't want to admit it.

We talked for a long while and he asked for my number...telling me he had never asked for a girls number in a bar before. I totally believed him...he was nervous. I gave him my CARD, it had my number on it since I mostly worked from home. I felt Oh So Important. And he called me the next day.

He left a message because I was not home and asked me to call him but he did not leave his number. I was upset because he seemed so nice and I thought I'd never talk to him again. But he called back later and asked me out.

The day after our first dinner date, he came to the park where I was with E. He played with E in the sandbox and we have been a family ever since.

The funny thing is...I came from this hippie family and I always prefered the conservative, preppy look. He came from the ultimate East Coast Preppy Power Family and he was such a hippie!

He is the nicest person I have ever met. He donates blood every 120 days or whatever it is you can do. He remembers everyone and everyone remembers him. We go to church or the library and he'll run into his 2nd grade teacher or an old friends parent and he always remembers them and their names and all. He has never been in a fight. Ever. He had only one girlfriend before me and was with her for years. He has no idea how gorgeous he is. All his friends always asked me questions when I was dating him like why did I like him, etc., because they know what an exceptional person he is and were protective of him.

He thinks I have the best family (well they really are) but their ideals are similar to his. He helps anyone in need and when we go for a walk, he brings a bag to pick up garbage on the street. He is on the board to many organizations that do so much good and make a difference in our world. He can talk to the CEO of a national corporation the same way he can talk to a homeless man on the street. He never loans money, he always gives it.

His family had difficulties with him dating me because I did not fit into their "idea" of who he should be with. They were not accepting that I had a child and that I was not married when I had her. He stood up for me and fought for us when we felt the whole world was against us. My parents accepted him but they were uncomfortable with how his family treated me.

We dated for three years, lived together for most of that time. I found out I was pregnant in July 2004 with L and we got married by ourselves at a park by a Justice of the Peace in November 2004. After L was born in February 2005, we got married in our church in August 2005 and we asked our family to be there.

I fall more in love with him everyday. He inspires me so much.

So thats our story. Some of it...of course there is much more but thats all I can do for now!

I'd love to hear how others met their husbands/boyfriends. Mr.C and I used to joke around and say we met at church or a coffee shop because whenever people asked where we met, we thought it sounded so cheesy..."at a bar." But thats where it happened!

thank you

2008-01-23T12:00:00.000-05:00

After my last post I felt like maybe people don't want to hear that kind of stuff (regarding my ex) but the responses and comments I got made me feel really good and have made it easy to share my story. I see a therapist and probably always will because she has been amazing and has helped me so much learn about myself and how to deal with having an abusive past. Plus I still have to deal with the guy on a regular basis. I won custody but (I believe) the courts are a bit biased when it comes to fathers because there are so many who are not involved in their children's lives. So if a dad shows up and says he wants to be part of the child's life, they allow visitation. I even know of a woman who's ex-husband hit her children and he still gets supervised visitation. My ex has never physically hurt E but I think its because she's not with him long enough on their visits.

It KILLS me sometimes to have to let her go with him but most times he just brings her to his sisters house and I know she is safe there. He still threatens me occasionally and is verbally abusive but each and every time, I call the police. It's a really hard situation that we try and make the best of. These are the cards we have been dealt, as they say. He really doesn't have too much of a relationship with E, he is basically incapable of love and he also suffers from mental illness. All I can do is what I think is best for E. She also goes to a therapist and if there is ever a sign that she is being affected in a negative way by him, it's back to court I go.

To the anonymous commenter who feels they may be in a similar situation, I hope that you find the courage to do what is best for you.

It can be so hard for some people to understand because I am a smart, capable person who did not grow up with abuse, yet I became involved with this person and stayed for three years. When you are in it, you don't realize what the reality of the situation is, if that makes any sense. It becomes normal, plus I believed I loved him and most of the time I believed it was my fault (if I even felt that there was anything wrong with it). He was very paranoid and jealous and I was alientated from all my friends and family. At the time my parents were living in another state and the situation was created in which (I felt) there there was nowhere for me to go, although I didn't want to leave him because I thought I loved him. I don't know if (as hard as this is to admit) I would have ever left him if I didn't become pregnant and have E. It wasn't until I was responsible for someone else that I realized that this was a horrible situation and I would not let her endure that.

I have worked really hard to be able to deal with the situation the best I can. I am not perfect and have learned that the best way for me to deal is to realize that he is a very troubled person who needs help and I try and surround him and everyone around me with love. I do not have the time to be angry or bitter. There is no point to live in fear or anger. I forgive him and I just make sure that E is not hurt. Because she does go to therapy and we have an honest relationship, she is aware (as much as an 8 year old can be) that her father is very troubled. She tells me everything and having been through that relationship, I think I would know if something was going on even if she didn't tell me.

She has also learned how to deal with this in her own way. She acts very different when he is around her, she basically protects herself from being hurt by him. When he doesn't show up for visitation, she understands that he is irresponsible and thats just the way it is. It's better that she knows this now, instead of living her life hoping that one day he will learn how to love and always being let down. Although she believes (and I do too) that he does love her the best he knows how.

Everything happens for a reason and everything that happens shapes you into who you are. I think that E will find a way to use what she has learned to help other people someday. It will make her a strong women who can deal with a variety of life's situations and different kinds of people.

Plus she has an excellent father in Mr.C. She doesn't remember him not being in her life since I met him when she was so young. He changed her diapers, got up with her at night, has been to every pediatrician appointment. He has an extra special relationship with her because he knows what she has to deal with and he more than makes up for it. He is there for EVERYTHING. If she has something at school, he will come home from work to be there, sometimes being the only dad there! He has been to every conference, takes her to piano, dance lessons, CCD, sports she's involved with, volunteers at her school, knows all her friends and teachers well. He helps her with homework every night. He taught her to ride a bike, to go fishing, takes her to baseball games, plays princess with her, they read the same books and talk about them, they go to the library together, movies, hiking, just anything you can imagine a great father doing and more. Everyone is so amazed at how close they are and it is the greatest feeling in the world.

So I concentrate on our blessings and teach my children to as well. I will post a bit later how I met Mr.C. Thanks again for making me feel comfortable sharing.

not pregnant...for now

2008-01-22T13:35:00.000-05:00

Well, definately not pregnant, as I got my period today (sorry for too much information). I am very irregular and everytime I think I might be pregnant, Mr.C just knows I am getting my period. Oh well. We didn't try or anything anyway but my other pregnancies were both unplanned.

In fact with E I didn't know until I was almost 5 months pregnant. Now you may wonder how on earth can that be??? Well I was very young, never had a regular period, in a very poor relationship I was taking the pill and it just never occurred to me. I went to the doctor one day because I had horrible heartburn and kept getting sick. (duh) The nurse asked if I could be pregnant and she had me take a test. Came back positive and I almost fainted. Went to an ob/gyn and she confirmed how far along I was(18 weeks).

Then with L, I was trying on dresses in a dressing room and nothing fit in my size, especially the bust. I went home, took a test and it was positive. Went to the Dr. and I was 9 weeks already. Actually it was hard to tell my family because my sister, who is 1-1/2 years older than me, had been trying for over a year with miscarriages and many heartbreaks but she had just gotten pregnant a couple months before me. Our girls are four months apart, her daughter was born premature. So I suppose I am pretty fertile, especially since I was on the pill both times. I don't take it anymore because...well obviously it doesn't seem to work for me.

Even though I had unplanned pregnancies, both times I was so absolutely thrilled. Even though the first time I was in a bad relationship, I was still over the moon, he however was not, I endured much abuse, he even kicked me in the stomach because he was so mad I got pregnant. He kicked us out when E was 3 months old. He had told me to leave many, many times before but he was so emotionally, physically, sexually, verbally abusive and manipulative so I felt trapped and I always stayed. UNTIL I had my E. He told me to leave that day when she was 3 months old, I looked at her innocent face and all of a sudden, it just hit me - I had the courage and the strength, and I left and never looked back. He kept trying to get me back but there was NO way I would ever let my daughter be subjected to the type of life we would have had if we stayed with him.

If you have ever seen the movie Waitress with Keri Russell, that moment when she looks at her baby, thats exactly how it was with me. My E saved me, she is my angel, because surely things would have ended tragically if I stayed with him.

I met Mr.C when E was 2 years old and it was love at first sight. He instantly loved E and has raised her as if she was his own. They have such a special bond and treats all of us as if we are his princesses. I have never met a man with a heart as pure and good as my husband. I am so truly blessed with my girls and husband.

Well I hope you didn't mind me getting so personal and emotional today but thats how I get this time of the month!

random bits...and a maybe baby?

2008-01-21T12:41:00.000-05:00

I wanted to try and update my blog a bit, we have been pretty busy - ok I have to stop saying that in every post...everyone is busy! I realized I never put up a picture of our Christmas outfits. The girls dresses were family heirloom dresses, LOVED E's, very old fashioned, not as crazy about L's but they looked good together. E's had a very small houndstooth pattern of navy and dark green so the green matched L's dress which unfortunatly was not velvet, which I really prefer for girls winter party dresses not that icky fake velour or whatever that stuff is...but anyway they did look cute. Sorry I had to crop their adorable faces off.

This was my dress:

Mr.C wore a suit with a dark green tie so we all coordinated...as usual!

My burn has been healing, slowly, but I still wrap it up most days so I don't bump it in to anything, its still a bit tender.

Over the weekend we took the girls to the this aquarium and had a great time.

I also took E out for a girls day, we got manicures at a new place (they don't have a website up yet, but they have a cute package for kids. We went to lunch and did some shopping. She received quite a few gift cards for Christmas and enjoyed going on a spending spree! Today she is at a friends house for a playdate and Mr.C has left for business for a couple days. So it is just L and me! Went out to brunch with her while the cleaning service was here. I was so proud of how well behaved she was. She has such great manners for her age.

The maybe baby title is because yesterday, all day - I had this overwhelming feeling that I wanted to have another baby! I don't know where it came from but it wasn't a fleeting thought because I still feel that way today. I was talking to Mr.C about it all day yesterday and he's like SURE! He's love to have a bunch of kids. We of course will be talking about it more when he returns. I wanted to wait until L was a bit older but...I don't know maybe if I got pregnant now I would have the baby when she would be starting preschool. So it might work out. I feel so giddy about it!

Other news...we have enrolled E in a new school for next year. It is something we have been thinking about doing for a while and when we found out L was accepted into the preschool so it just made sense to have them together. It is a co-ed private day school that runs pre-K to 12th grade. I am so excited about it. Now we don't have to worry about another school until college! E has been in the public school system and I have to say I do like it but it is just not challenging her. And I have heard from other parents that the middle school is really not up to par. She is most excited that she will be learning French and Latin and she will also take private piano lessons from one of the music teachers there. She does not like her current piano teacher (and I have to say...I have grown impatient with her attitude as well). This new school has an excellent theater, arts and music program and academically they are just above and beyond. Plus E's best friend switched to this school at the beginning of 3rd grade and her parents really love it, as well as their daughters.

So this year has started out with many changes and we are so excited to see what may come in the next few months. Maybe a new baby!!!

E's birthday party is this weekend and it is an American Girl Spa party that will be so much fun. All her friends are coming and I am turning the pool house into a "fancy" spa for the day! We have a manicurist and hairstylist coming (I explained to her that she will also be doing the dolls hair!) and we will be serving spa cuisine. I got a party kit from American Girl and it had some great stuff in it. It was an exceptional value at $45 (regularly $105 which is still a good value considering what came in the kit).

The following weekend we are having a combined party for E and L with family and we are having a Pink Princess Tea Party. On Superbowl Sunday. I did not realize this when I sent the invites but it is in the early afternoon so everyone will be home in time for their superbowl parties. Friends of ours are staying after the girls party to watch the game with us and celebrate my birthday since mine is Feb.4th. Mr.C is taking care of the food (and cake) for that since I will be making tea sandwiches all morning!

I'll be sure to update on the status of my baby fever! I've never felt it so strongly! I could already be pregnant...I think I might take a test. One thing though...I JUST got back to my regular weight (103 - I'm only 5'2) since having L (who is turning 3!) Yes I know it took me a while but it took me only 6 months to get back after E (but I was only 22 - its easier then)!

AND the other thing is my next baby will probably be my last that I would have naturally...we always said we would adopt after 3 biological children (if we wanted more than 3). So I want to really enjoy the pregnancy (I loved being pregnant).

RI house

2008-01-18T19:03:00.000-05:00

Finally some pictures of our new house. Mr.C wanted me to use pictures that he had taken a while back because most of mine were of the outside and property...the view is gorgeous. But he doesn't want that in my blog because of safety reasons.

The house is very new and decorating it will be so different than my home in CT which is very old (antique we call it). We transformed a barn on our property last year into a pool house and everything was new but we kept the style very much like the main house - classic, traditional (not stuffy though) Ralph Lauren meets Pottery Barn meets Ethan Allen, New England style. Although I didn't use Pottery Barn or Ethan Allen...we have some wonderful specialty furniture shops in our area...plus tons of antique shops. Just trying to best describe the style I guess.

BUT the RI house will be very different. I want to use local craftsmen and furniture shops and make it very Rhode Island - beachy but elegant. E wants a "sufer girl" room and I do believe PBK has bedding, accessories in that fashion. There are 5 bedrooms besides the master and I can't wait to do one room in a nautical theme for visiting children. It will be gender-neutral but with blues, boats, etc. stuff that I never got to do having only girls.

Oh and Mr.C is meeting with a landscape designer recommended by the property management company and I told him I want hydrangeas everywhere! That is my idea of a beach house...gorgeous blue hydrangeas and beach grass.

Birthday Season

2008-01-15T10:32:00.000-05:00

We have had a couple of very busy weeks and it is not about to slow down! On my husbands side we celebrated two birthdays since New Year's, and two of our friends celebrated birthdays as well. Coming up at the end of January is E's and L's is the beginning of February. A sister-in-law is two days before L and a neice AND a nephew are the day before L's. We were suppossed to go to Vermont before New Years but did not since we ended up in Rhode Island after Christmas. I rescheduled our skiing trip for the end of February. I think we will need a mini vacation then more anyway.

Friends of ours gave birth to a beautiful baby girl last week, but she needs a lot of special prayers as she is having some difficulties. She is at a children's hospital in New York City so she is receiving the best of care. Please say a little prayer for her.

Yesterday was a snow day and I thought I was going to go a bit nuts stuck inside all day, but we kept busy. We baked muffins and cornbread, made chili in the crockpot, E used her new sewing machine, and we played in the snow.

On a lighter note...

2008-01-04T18:31:00.000-05:00

How cute are critter pants?

OUCH

2008-01-04T18:02:00.000-05:00

Sorry its a bad picture, its not easy to take a picture of your own hand - plus its my new camera. But this is what happened to me last night while cooking dinner. Severe second degree burn on the side of my RIGHT hand. It seems we have been to the ER more this year than ever in my life! I have never burned myself this bad before and never realized how HORRIBLE the pain is. I can't imagine people who have suffered burns far worse.

Here's the irony...before taking my Christmas decorations down last weekend, I took this picture of the top of an armoire in the office.

Ten seconds later that red candle in the center lit the (fake) poinsetta leaves on fire. I yelled "FIRE!" Mr.C ran in and panicked and started blowing on it, I yelled at him "NO that makes it worse!" then he grabbed it and ran into the bathroom to put it in the sink...meanwhile flaming leaves dropped onto the floor and started an area rug on fire...by then I had grabbed the girls, the phone and ran outside. Called the Fire Department. By the time they came, Mr.C had grabbed a fire extinguisher and had everything out. It was SCARY.

So after being so thankful and of course I still am that no one was hurt then...its kind of like those movies (that I didn't watch) about how you can't cheat death...but in my case its not death but a burn. Weird. Anyhow I'm not even sure how I am able to type, my hand is still all wrapped up, but the percocet they gave me for the pain has certainly helped. Probably why I am rambling...

Privacy

2008-01-03T12:52:00.000-05:00

I had to go back through my blog and take out any personally identifying pictures today. I tend to view the world in a very optimistic way, always finding the positive. However I am very aware that there is the potential for bad things to happen and that they do happen.

I received a phone call and it could be totally unrelated to my blogging and probably is, but it really freaked me out. It was a creepy guy saying creepy things, acting as if he knew me. Yes, we have caller ID, but I almost always answer the phone even when it says "unavailable". Just habit.

So my husband and I were talking and he asked me to take out any pictures and also not write about where we WILL be going but its ok to write about where we HAVE gone. He also said I could use personal pictures as long as they aren't identifiable. So all the pictures I took in Rhode Island I am trying to crop so that I can post them! Mr.C said he wasn't to keen on me posting them at all since we aren't living there full time and he was worried about someone breaking in. But there is a security system and he hired a property management company to look after it so I convinced him it was ok! I just can't say what town it is in either. So I will post the (edited) pictures soon!

Back to happy thoughts....

We all have been having a wonderful holiday season. Christmas was crazy busy and everything turned out well regarding the meals and parties. The girls have been enjoying time off with dad, who is back to work on Monday...boo.

E's favorite Christmas gift was the American Girl doll. Her bday is coming up and she had been planning a Harry Potter party...but now she changed her mind and will be having an American Girl party. YAY! I'm much more excited about that. Not that I don't like Harry Potter but I couldn't get into the books. E and Mr.C loved them though.

L's favorite gift was everything! She loves playing with her toys and dress up. She is the type of child who will sit and play for quite a while with her dollhouses and things like that. Her bday is also coming up and we are having a pink princess tea party.

Mr.C's favorite gift was a radio control plane from Santa. He told me and the girls a few weeks before Christmas that when he was a kid, he asked Santa for one every year but never got one. So this year Santa remembered and he was pretty excited about it!

We had a lovely, low-key New Years Eve. We had two other families over, who have kids around our girls age. We played board games and had a potluck dinner. We have been doing that the past couple years, we just switch houses. Everyone stayed over here since we have the room. The kids had fun having a sleepover. Then on New Year's Day we had brunch. It was a great, calm, relaxing way to start the new year.

Hope everyone had a great New Year's as well!

Best.Christmas.Ever.

2007-12-27T16:49:00.000-05:00

I am on my laptop at a hotel in Rhode Island. On Christmas morning I unwrapped one of my gifts from my husband. It was a small box and inside was a picture of a house. I looked at him and he was beeming like a little child who just picked flowers for his mother. I asked him "What is this?...did you buy me a house?...hahaha" (sarcasticly)

HE.SAID.YES.

I do not know how he kept this a secret from me!!!! He bought us a beach house in one of my favorite towns in Rhode Island. We have been vacationing in this town for the past few years and we rent a house there for two weeks. Every time we leave I actually cry in the car!

It has always been my dream to have a beach house. I tell him about how when we are old and grandparents I want to have a house on the ocean and ride my bicycle (with a basket) into town. That to me is my ideal life. Have a little garden, spend every evening walking on the beach. During both of my preganacies I actually craved going to the beach. I would drive to the shore, just to small the salt air and listen to the sounds and sit in the sand. There is no greater gift he could have ever bought me (us) than this.

So he had reservations made at this hotel for the day after Christmas and through the weekend so we could go see the house. We will be coming home Sunday. We have been to the house and it is PERFECT. It is as if he read my mind and built a house exactly as I would have wanted it. (He didn't build it-but if he had) There are so many things I can't wait to share about this and as you can tell I am more than excited!!!! The girls love the house and they think it is really neat to be here in the winter.

I am completely overcome with shock and joy and I almost don't know where to start! I have a whole new house to decorate!!!!! I get to be in Rhode Island for the whole summer and weekends and hey - whenever I want!!!!

Maybe some of you have a vacation house and I sound so very silly... but with everything I have been through in my life (and its been a lot) I would have never dreamed that I would actually have not only my beautiful home here in CT but now a beach house as well.

Oh and Christmas was good for everyone else here as well....hehehe.

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

More details to come!!!

Both of my ovens are going...

2007-12-23T15:55:00.001-05:00

So I thought I would take a break and sit down. Which I haven't done in quite a while! I love the holidays and all the preparations. I am a true homemaker at heart, ever since I was little when people asked me "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I always said "a wife and mother".

Right now I am baking cookies that I will package up for my guests to take home, both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. These are the cookies that I have made (and am making now)

Chocolate Orange Drops
Buckeye Balls
Raspberry Bars
Sugar Cookies (the girls decorated them so cute)
Double Ginger Crackles
Toasted Almond Butter Thins
Orange-Hazelnut Shortbread Cookies
Almond Biscotti

I am packaging them in red and white boxes with red or white ribbon. I'll try to remember to get a picture before I give them away!

The other day we made (well...decorated) a gingerbread house together. It was a kit that I bought at Costco so it was super easy. The girls had a lot of fun decortating it. Here's how it came out:

Tomorrow night we are hosting my husbands family over for dinner and to exchange gifts. One of his brothers does Christmas day with my husbands side of the family as well but we don't go. His father and girlfriend do not go there on Christmas day either so having them all here Christmas Eve works out well.

This is what we will be having Chrismas Eve:

Hors d'oerves:
Smoked-salmon roulades
Prosciutto-and-Pear wraps
Brie en Brioche
Assorted cheeses with crackers

Dinner:
Beef Tenderloin with Horseradish Sauce
Gruyere-Parmesan Scalloped Potatoes
Chopped-Vegetable Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette

Dessert:
Cheesecake
Cannolies
Christmas cookies

All very easy dishes that I have made before so no surprises!

Christmas Day we are having my family over for dinner and this is the menu:

Hors d'oerves:
Melon-and-Prosciutto rolls
Crudites with dips
Assorted cheeses and crackers

Dinner:
Beef Bourguinonne
Golden-crusted Potatoes
Broccoli rabe with red currant vinaigrette
Citrus Salad (my sister is bringing)

Dessert:
Apple Pie
Something my mom is bringing (I think Chocolate Mousse Cake)
More Christmas cookies!

I have a lot done already so my time in the kitchen is minimized during the parties. All presents are wrapped and I think...we are all set. After these last batches of cookies come out and cool I will assemble the boxes and then relax!

I hope everyone has a lovely holiday!

I like it

2007-12-19T18:40:00.000-05:00

I bought this a few weeks ago and I wanted to let everyone know what I thought after trying out some of the recipes and techniques.

I am very familiar with pureeing food, as I made my own baby food for both girls. Not that I have anything against jarred foods (I did use them occasionally when out or traveling) but I actually enjoyed making baby food. I spent Sunday afternoons every other week steaming, roasting and pureeing vegetables, fruits and meats for my girls. When they were older I fed them our meals and just used a grinder. I found this to be very simple.

So I would start this by saying if you have never done this, its really not all that hard. It does take some effort and time to make the purees but once you have them frozen it becomes very convenient and worth the effort and time.

The recipes in this book are super easy and very smart. I would have never thought of some of the combinations so I am loving this. I make chicken nuggets and keep them frozen because well, we eat them a lot. Now I use the recipe in this book and I have added the broccoli, spinach and sweet potato puree (at different times). We seriously cannot taste the difference. One thing though I bake my chicken nuggets, her recipe is frying them.

We have also added cauliflower to scrambled eggs, beets to pancakes (makes them pink), spinach to eggs (makes "green eggs"), cauliflower to mashed potatoes, spinach to pizza, I could go on.

Let's just say I have found this book to be really very good and useful. I tell my children what veggies or fruits I have "hidden" but not until after they tried the food and have loved everything I have made so far.

I kind of feel like I am back making baby foods again, which again, I like, not everyone does. But even if you don't make the purees ahead of time she has tips for making some when you are cooking as well.

I definitely reccomend this book for any mom who may have a picky eater. E has never been, she prefers veggies and fruits to sweets. But L is the opposite. I NEED to get more fruits and veggies into her.

I am aware of the controversy around this book but I don't pay attention to that stuff. I use my own judgement and if something interests me, I will try it. I think its a great idea to make food that your children already love, healthier. Not that I will stop making other things because I like them to try new things as well.

So all in all I have found this to be very useful. I also use the book 365 Foods Kids Love to Eat and have for a long time.

Hope this was helpful if anyone was wondering about this book.

Busy days

2007-12-19T12:26:00.000-05:00

It seems like I have not had more than 5 minutes to sit down in the past week! We hosted a Holiday Open House last weekend for friends, neighbors and Mr.C's business acquaintances. It was cocktails, hors d'ouerves and desserts and we had it catered. Which works out well because I am able to relax and enjoy myself. I felt like a guest at my own party! I didn't have to worry about getting anyone's drinks or taking things out of the oven and they even cleaned up afterwards. Perfect. It is an annual party and lots of fun. I put the girls to bed early and they slept through the whole night. With all the parties and gatherings this time of year, this is the one that is adults-only. I think everyone enjoys that and especially my friends who are stay-at-home moms! I had contemplated including children this year and all of them vehemently said NO WAY. Not that we don't all love and adore our children but it is really nice to look forward to a special night where we can all dress up and have adult conversations (until after the fourth appletini when we all get pretty loud!)

This is what I wore for the party:

I kept my jewelry simple, diamond stud earrings and tennis bracelet. I was so comfortable in this dress, and it is such a pretty color. I bought it specifically for the party but it will definitely work in the spring as well.

Other things going on in the Charming household lately...

L went on the potty for TWO straight days. Then back to diapers. Oh well. She is super excited for Christmas. Asks every night if Santa is coming.

I have bought E's class gift for her teacher. I am the class mom, which I love and try to do every year. So far I have been 3 out of 4 (k, 1st, 3rd)! I have also planned the party for Friday and shopped for the craft items as well as food.

I have menu planned and am 3/4 of the way done food shopping for Christmas Eve (in-laws) and Christmas Day (my family). I usually do Easter and my sister does Christmas Day but for some reason we switched this year. Yes, it was my idea, and No, I have no idea why. We decided this in the summer. It was probably on our monthly night out, after several glasses of wine. I am doing dinners both nights. I will post later my menus.

Today E is home with a cold and Mr.C has had this week (and the next two weeks) off and we are going to make a gingerbread house. We are not vacationing this year until February (except for weekend to Vermont before New Year's) so I am looking forward to lots of leisurely days with the family.

They got me

2007-12-12T18:08:00.000-05:00

I have been very good about ignoring these daily emails until today. I will be back online tonight, ordering some darling Spring clothes for the girls.

While I was blogging...

2007-12-12T17:57:00.000-05:00

L managaged to cover her entire face with Aquaphor (the skin cream) Mr.C was "watching" her so I could go into the office and blog. He thought she was "just playing in the bathroom" HELLO!! 2 year olds can NOT just "play in the bathroom" He is usually very good about this but somehow it just seemed normal to him for her to be in the bathroom, by herself and QUIET. I just finished wiping the last of it out of her eyelashes. She gets into EVERYTHING.

Playing Santa

2007-12-12T16:26:00.000-05:00

I promised I would post about what Mr.C and I were up to all day Monday and hopefully I can get it done while E is having her piano lesson right now.

Mr.C (besides his day job) is also a commercial real estate investor/developer. This is kind of a family business, brothers, fil and others are always involved. Anyway so Mr.C is friendly with a lot of tradesmen that he uses regularly for his projects. On Sunday night, he recieved a phone call from the owner of a construction company that is currently working on a project for Mr.C. He was telling him about one of his employees whose wife had become ill and had to be hospitalized. They have 3 school-age children. They have not done anything for Christmas and can't really afford to because of hospital/drs copays etc. He called Mr.C because he wanted to help out the family somehow and he knows how we adopt a family every year so he was asking for some ideas of what he could do. This is what we did:

Monday morning while no one was home, guy at work, wife at hosp, kids at school, we sent our cleaning service to the house. (I used my time slot) We also had the husband's sister in on this as well. Otherwise I don't know how we would've been able to get in the house! Mr.C and I went shopping. We bought an artificial tree and decorations. We bought toys and clothes for the kids and a few things for the husband and wife. We went food shopping. Then we went to the house where we were met by the owner (the guys boss) and the husband's sister. We set up the tree, decorated and wrapped all the gifts. Filled the fridge/freezer with food. It took pretty much all day and we were exhausted!

I can only imagine when the guy came home with the kids and the kids calling up mom at the hospital to tell her all about it!

This is what I love about the holidays. This was completely last minute and it worked out so well. The guy has no idea who did this or even that his boss was in on it (well actually it was his idea!)

I am sharing this because the happiness that this brought me as well as the family we had already helped means so much to me. Also I wanted to share the holiday spirit. Because to me the holiday season is about love and selfless giving. I am not going to get all preachy but you know what I mean. The true meaning of Christmas.

I know that when I hear of a random act of kindness it always inspires me. When I heard of someone paying the toll of the person in the car behind them, I started paying for the person behind me at the drive-thru. And I do it every time I go. Now it may not be too often, I don't like McDonalds or fast food, but we do end up there... And I think maybe they are then inspired to do something nice.

Just in time...lesson is over (only 30 minutes). Happy Holidays.

White Hot Chocolate

2007-12-12T14:08:00.000-05:00

I received this recipe for White Hot Chocolate in a Christmas card from a dear friend last week and I just made it. I am enjoying it right now as I catch up on reading some blogs. Very sweet but very delicious. Here is the recipe:

1 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
4 cups half and half
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
vanilla whipped topping
candy cane for garnish
(serves 2-4)

In medium saucepan over medium heat, combine white chocolate chips and heavy cream.

Stir continuously until white chocolate chips have completely melted.

Stir in half & half and vanilla extract.

Stir occassionally until heated through.

Pour into mugs and top with a dollop of vanilla whipped topping.

Garnish with a candy cane.

For a kick: Add desired amount of white chocolate liqueur.

Enjoy!

Over the weekend...

2007-12-11T18:06:00.000-05:00

We attended the Baptism to which I was fretting about what to wear earlier in the week. Thank you for the suggestions! I decided that since the brunch was to be held at a somewhat formal establishment I would wear a dress instead of my usual Sunday Mass skirt and sweater ensemble. We had a lovely time and the baby boy looked darling in his little white suit (with bow tie!) the food was fantastic, as was the service. This was for a family member on my husbands side so we saw a lot of family that we do not often see so that was nice as well. We took a car (meaning with driver) because that is "what you do" in my husbands family for any sort of occasion. So of course the girls loved that. Usually when we do that it is for date nights and such.

This is what I wore:

The dress is tweed and it has the perfect autumn colors in it. The bag I wasn't too crazy about with the outfit but it matched well enough and it's big enough to carry all the Church essentials (books, toys, snack, drink, ALL for L). E is old enough to listen and participate at Mass, so I don't have to worry about her. BTW the dress did not look as short on me as on the model...if only my legs were that long... So it was completely appropriate for church in case anyone wondered.

Mr.C wore a suit, boring, so I won't post it.

The girls looked adorable and they had a very nice time as well, they played with their cousins and were the most well-behaved of the bunch. I am pretty tough regarding manners and behavior. I do not let my children run around like houligans, even though we were in a private room. Most of the cousins on that side have nannies (thats another post) so some of the parents were somewhat oblivious to the kids running around like that. Not acceptable in my book. Oh well. Speaking of nannies, we watched The Nanny Diaries over the weekend - I liked it, it was cute. Mr.C fell asleep. again. He always does when we watch a movie!

To the Baptism, E wore this:

And L wore this:

Yesterday Mr.C and I did something really great and it was a completely last minute thing. It took us all day and we are so excited about it. It's kind of a long story so I am going to have to post about it later or tomorrow. It involves us being "Santa and Mrs. Claus" for a family who really needed some Christmas magic this year.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend.

She's my girl!

2007-12-07T19:35:00.000-05:00

It's a Friday evening in December and we are home with no company coming over and the girls are tucked into bed. Mr.C rented The Nanny Diaries and we are about to settle in and watch it. I wanted to post what L said during prayers tonight before I forgot.

We all say together the usual prayers and then we individually say thanks or whatever we would like.

E: (age 8) Thank you God for a wonderful day and my family and I pray for a good, fun weekend and lots more snow. Amen.

L: (age 2) Thank you God for shopping. Amen.

Christmas Cards are in the mail!

2007-12-07T14:24:00.000-05:00

Just mailed our Christmas cards and realized I forgot to post pictures of the cards we made! I did take some pictures though during the process.

Here are some of the cards we made:

Here are my favorites:

Here are E's favorites:

And even Mr.C made some this year! His contribution:

This is the stamp for the back (and whoever made that cards signed their name under it):

This is what my craft table looked like when we were all trying to work on WAY to small of a space:

And here is what happened when we tried to keep L feeling like she was involved by giving her some markers and cards and letting her create in another room:

(Picture removed)

I think the cards are cute and E and I love crafting together. We make cards for close friends and family (about 30 cards) and we also use a local printing company for the many other cards. It was a lot of fun making them and I hope everyone who receives them likes them as well! BTW the markers that L drew on herself with were "silly scents" so she smelled of an odd combination of chocolate, licorice and lime. Came right off though!

What to wear?

2007-12-07T10:18:00.000-05:00

We are attending a Baptism this Sunday and I do not think I have ever attended one in the fall/winter. Very odd I know but it seems like there are so many winter babies in our family so Baptisms always end up in the spring or even summer. I almost always wear a lightweight wool or tweed skirt suit in a soft shade to them in spring or linen in summer. But I have no idea what to wear this weekend.

It is very early (10 a.m.) and it will be very chilly. I am thinking a tweed skirt in a brown autumn shade with a sweater and of course under a good coat. That is usually what I wear to Mass anyway on Sundays. The brunch afterwards will be at a very elegant place and I am just not sure that will be dressy enough though. I just can't make up my mind on what to wear. Since the brunch will probably run past 1 p.m. I suppose I can go with a wool suit...? What color? Any suggestions?

Theater Night

2007-12-07T09:34:00.001-05:00

On Wednesday, Mr.C and I had a really wonderful time at the Palace Theater where we saw Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Earlier in the day I got my mani-pedi as well as my hair and makeup at this place it was very nice to have some "me" time before our date. We had dinner at one of our favorite places, which is really close to the theater as well. This is what I wore:

First time wearing that dress (Ralph Lauren) and I loved it.

For jewelry Mr.C surprised me with this gorgeous necklace and earings:

I LOVE LOVE LOVE them.

Whenever we go to the theater we take a town car or limo and I can't help but feeling a bit like a princess. There is just something so magical about it for me. Of course I love when we go into NYC to the theater even more, especially this time of year, but this theater is also really nice because it is so close and we do not have to stay the night. Not that I mind staying in the city but with little ones at home I don't want to do it that often. I do however want to see a show very often!

The Name Game

2007-12-06T18:19:00.000-05:00

Oops! I forgot I got tagged! This looked fun so I wanted to get to it.

10. Witness Protection Name: (Mothers and Fathers middle names)
Marie Joseph.

9. Nascar Name: (first name of your Mothers Father, and first of Fathers Father)
Howard Anthony

8. Star Wars Name: (first three letters of your last name, first two letters of your first name)
Faiam

7. Detective Name: (Favorite color and favorite animal)
Pink Bunny

6. Soap Opera Name: (Middle name, city where you were born)
Elizabeth Greenwich

5. Superhero Name: (Second favorite color, fav drink and add "The" to the beginning)
The Green Tea (not too superhero-ish)

4. Fly Girl Name: (First two letters of first name, First two letters of Last name)
Amfa

3.Gangsta Name: Favorite ice cream flavor, favorite cookie)
Vanilla Butter

2. Rock Star Name: (Current pet name, last address street name)
Fishy (really) Sycamore

1. Stripper Name: (favorite perfume, fave candy)
Chanel Jelly Bean

I love physical therapy

2007-12-06T16:04:00.000-05:00

I have started physical therapy for my lower back...I have had a lot of pain since the end of October. This is from a previous injury going back quite a few years and somehow I seemed to have reinjured. I had/have two herniated discs and sciatica. I am 31 and lately have felt like I am 75!
But I try not to focus on the negative so I don't really complain about it. The only reason I am posting about it now is because... well... my physical therapist is SO HOT! He is probably 25 and thinks I am an old lady but I don't mind. It makes going much more enjoyable!
Today Mr.Charming worked from home so he took me and he thinks it is so funny that I am crushing like a little schoolgirl. Afterward in car I was giggling the whole ride. Then I made him stop at the Gap to pick up some new workout clothes because...any excuse to shop right? And a cute PT is a reason to shop. I love that I can joke about this with Mr.C. In fact he's been calling my cell from the home phone all afternoon saying he's "Jake" and he needs me to come in tonight for some "extra" exercises. Yes I know we are both silly/dorky. But a housewife has to have her little crushes! I love when a repairman shows up and he is a cutie. Mr.C is by far the most handsome/hottie/cutie I have ever laid eyes on so he has no worries about this at all. He actually thinks its really cute. And by the way, can you believe his name is Jake...its just about the dreamiest name, remember 16 Candles?

Later I will get to posting about our evening at the theater last night. SO wonderful. I love the dress that I wore. First time wearing it and it is just one of those perfect LBDs.

Cute Idea

2007-12-04T22:39:00.000-05:00

Just remembered I wanted to post this cute idea. Friends of ours got married over the summer so this is their "First" Christmas together. Well first Christmas as a married couple...anyway my friend was telling me that they went to get their tree last weekend on Saturday and they were telling the guy helping them at the tree farm they just got married, first tree, etc., so he cut off about a 1 inch round from the bottom of the tree for them to save. He said to dry it out and seal it to save it as a memento. Maybe this is a very popular tradition and I sound silly thinking it's so great but I had never heard of it. So when we went on Sunday we had the guy cut off a piece for us as well. It is drying out and I am going to carve the year in it and do it every year. I might even make a hole in it and use them as ornaments? Maybe have E do a handprint on one side and L do hers on the other? Not sure. Yes I can handcarve wood, one of my dad's hobbies was woodworking. I even have tools. Is this a popular tradition? If not isn't it the cutest idea?

Update: Its way to small for handprints but E suggested they paint their names on each side, so I think that is what we will do. Of course L can't do that yet but I'll have her just paint something on it.

Busy days

2007-12-04T13:07:00.000-05:00

We have been very busy here at the Charming household lately! Friday night Mr.F and I went to his company's holiday dinner at Le Chateau - lots of fabulous food, people and dresses! I wore this

I love the holidays (have I mentioned that a million times yet?) and we try to go to a lot of the local holiday events. Our town has a Holiday Festival every year with several craft fairs as well as horse-drawn carriage rides and visits with Santa. The Town Green is decorated and the Boy Scouts sell wreaths there. In the evening they have carolers and light the tree. So that is what we did on Saturday. At one of the craft fairs a newspaper photographer took pictures of the girls and I and E is soo excited to be in the paper. She has been in the papers a few times but each time she gets as excited as the last!
This is what the girls wore on Saturday:
E wore this

L wore this:

And I wore this:

On Sunday we went to get our Christmas Tree. We go to a place called Stew Leonards because it is so easy, everyone is so helpful and we always get a perfect tree. We used to go to the "cut-your-own" tree farm but with the two girls at this age this is so much easier. Plus they have Santa there and they got to sit on his sleigh and tell him what they want and we got the picture. So we now have about 4 different pictures with different Santas!
Here is L picking out our perfect tree

And Mr.F putting it on the car

We spent the rest of Sunday decorating the tree. Along with all our treasured ornaments, I also do a color theme for the tree. For example, silver and gold, jewel-toned colors, red and green plaid, etc. This year I was doing red and white, but I still need some extra white decorations. Mr.F said "I thought you were going to finally do a pink and green tree like in the girls playroom." I just always thought that would be to girly for him but he said go for it. SO now I am trying to decide if I will do it. I would just need to get more pink since I have green already. The tree is decorated with the red and some white but I haven't made it to the store yet...maybe I'll decide then.

On Monday E had a half day of school and we had our conference Monday night. It went really well and I could've listened to the teacher talk about how great E is for about 3 extra hours...lol. She just loves school and does very well.

So now I guess I'm caught up with my blog and I'll be spending some time reading everyone else's!

Tomorrow night Mr.F and I are going to the theater to see A Christmas Carol. I'm having a pampering day tomorrow so I am really looking forward to that.

Oh and Mr.F thinks his name on my blog should be Mr.Charming which is a good idea so I think I will refer to him as Mr.C from now on.

Charitable Shopping

2007-11-30T09:04:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I finished my shopping for our "adoptive" family. Every year for the past 4 years, we adopt a family in our town who has fallen on hard times. They sometimes are single moms, or families out of work, etc. The program is through the town's Community Services Council. Everyone in the family gets to make a wishlist and I buy all the things on their list (and extra stuff too).

This is the shopping I enjoy the most. More than for myself! I think about what it is like for them and get them things that they need but I love to get things that are just for fun too. Every year we have received a thank you card and it brings tears to my eyes. It is all anonymous, so they send the card to the CSC who forwards it to us.

Sometimes the list they make is so modest, this year for a little boy (age 6) he asked for a winter coat, gloves, new shoes, etc. Of course I bought a bunch of toys for him as well! The mom asked for a toaster, a suit for interviews, and several other kitchen items. I got her a suit at Ann Taylor. (They give sizes on the list)But I also got her a gift card at two clothing stores here in town. I also got a gift card for a day spa, I hope she enjoys that! The father (bless his heart) put on his list "nothing for me, just for my wife and kids" That just made me sob! I had a hard time getting things for him, I have a hard enough time buying for Mr.F! I bought some clothes, gift cards to Borders, Bobs, Kmart, grocery store, and the gas station but I wanted to get something fun too. Mr.F suggested an Ipod but what if they don't have a computer? I called CSC to see if they knew anything more about him so I could get something else and they said that he likes to fish. So I treked up to the newly opened Cabela's store and asked them for a top of the line fishing pole and some accessories. I think this will really be perfect. Can you tell I get really excited about this?

I do most of the shopping but we all get together as a family to wrap everything. While we do we talk about how important it is to help out and the real spirit of the season. I think this has really made an impact on E. Last spring as I was signing her up for a camp (it is a gardening camp) at a historical house in town and it is a bit pricey but it is the best camp she has ever been too. Anyway she suggested we donate a week at the camp for someone. I called CSC and they got in touch with someone who had a little girl and she got to go to this fantastic camp! And it was all E's idea. I was really proud.

It is so amazing how life turns out sometimes. It was only 7 years ago that I was the single mom and someone did this for me. Thats one of the reasons I do this now because I can remember...here come the tears...going to pick up the items and being so blown away that someone did that for me and my daughter. And on that Christmas morning I truly, truly believed in Santa again. I felt like I was a little girl again and the spirit and magic of Christmas of that morning has stayed with me and will forever.

I think this is a gift not only to the family but for us as well, we get so much enjoyment out of doing this. I also know of some families who adopt a family instead of exchanging gifts with each other (except for the children) That way each family picks one member of the adoptive family to shop for. I recommend if anyone is in the position to do this and if you have a similar program in your town, try it out. You will certainly believe in the magic of Christmas again.

Tagged - 7 random or weird things about me

2007-11-29T11:20:00.000-05:00

I've been tagged by Pinot and Pacifiers

First here are the rules:
1. Link to the person that tagged you and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 random and or weird things about yourself.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know that they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Weird/Random things about me:

1. I am obsessed with organizing, containers and labels. After grocery shopping I remove almost everything from its packaging and put it in its appropriate (and labeled) container. In all of our closets, everything has to go in its labeled section, I could go on...

2. I sleep with five pillows every night, one for my head, one to hug, one between my knees, one under my feet and one behind my back. I also have to sleep with a fan on every night all year long.

3. I named my 2nd daughter after my favorite clothing label (starts with L ends in Y...I think you know) My husband named her middle name after his favorite baseball teams stadium (Shea).

4. I became pregant at 22 and I was not married. The father left when E was three months old. I did not cry. But I cry at commercials, movies, greeting cards, etc.

5. He was gone for one year and then came back and tried to fight me for custody. I did not have money for an attorney so I represented myself againt his attorney and I WON. I worked harder on that than anything I have ever done and I was so proud. I think sometimes I should have become an attorney.

6. I drink at least 3-4 Vitamin Waters (Formula 50) every day.

7. Growing up my parents were hippies and we grew all our own food and my mom made all our clothes. My husband grew up with a live-in staff and received a trust fund at 25. When we first got together it was very Romeo and Juliet. His family did not like that I had a child. My parents were like "his father is 'the man' that we rebel against". We got married with only E there by a Justice of the Peace at a park. Our families have since accepted and now somewhat get along but I definately have MIL issues. Fortunatly FIL loves me and is very sweet.

Now, I tag Happy Homemaker, Preppy Mama, Third Coast Preppy, Tickled Pink, Tickled Pink Talk, One Fabulous Mom and Magnolias, Marriage and Manhattan.

more shopping

2007-11-27T18:37:00.001-05:00

Rain Gear for the girls. These will be Christmas gifts. The green coat is for L the pink for E.

The nightgowns they will get before Christmas so they can wear them Christmas Eve. The robes and slippers will probably be gifts. I got their names on the robes, so I think they will like that. All Lands End stuff.

Homemade Cleaning Products

2007-11-27T16:35:00.000-05:00

This is how I make my cleaning products. Even though I put a lot of lavender in the surface spray it can still smell a bit vinegar-y but it fades in about 15 minutes. I started when E was a baby and I couldn't bear the thought of her crawling on the floor that was cleaned with harmful chemicals. I asked my mom and she said you always clean your floors with vinegar and water when you have little children crawling on them. I had no idea. She told me how to make my own cleaning products and how it was how her mother and grandmother always cleaned. I've tried different recipes but these work the best for me. I think some may be from Martha Stewart. Of course I make pretty labels for all my bottles and Mr.F thinks its very funny.

CLEANING PRODUCT RECIPES

GLASS CLEANER
1 CUP ISOPROPYL ALCOHOL
1 CUP WATER
1 TABLESPOON VINEGAR
40 DROPS LAVENDER ESSENTIAL OIL

SURFACE CLEANER
1 CUP WHITE VINEGAR
1 CUP WATER
45 DROPS LAVENDER ESSENTIAL OIL

GERM-BUSTER SCRUB & SHINE
-DEODORIZING DISINFECTANT SCRUB FOR KITCHEN/BATH
¾ CUP BAKING SODA
¼ CUP BORAX
3 TBSP LIQUID CASTILE SOAP
1 TBSP WHITE VINEGAR
30 DROPS EUCALYPTUS ESSENTIAL OIL
15 DROPS LEMON ESSENTIAL OIL
- FORM PASTE, STORE SEALED, SCRUB WITH SPONGE

LAVENDER-ROSE SWEET WATER MIST-
FOR CLOTHES AND LINENS
4 OZ ROSEWATER
1 OZ DISTILLED WATER
1 TBSP 150-190 PROOF ALCOHOL (GRAIN, BRANDY, VODKA)
10 DROPS VEG GLYCERIN
45 DROPS LAVENDER ESSENTIAL OIL

On My Christmas List...

2007-11-27T11:24:00.000-05:00

This amazing destination spa is literally less than 5 miles from my home. Even just looking at their website is relaxing! So I am adding this at the top of my Christmas list...a week here would be perfect!

Loving now...

2007-11-26T19:56:00.000-05:00

Mrs. Meyer's Gingerbread Holiday Clean-Up Kit. The mild dishsoap smells SO delicious I didn't even mind handwashing after Thanksgiving, which I had to do a lot of. I do NOT put any of my china or flatware or stemware in the dishwasher. The room fragrance really does make it smell as if you are baking...I wish it lasted a little longer though. The counter spray works well and also just smells great.

I like to buy Mrs. Meyers seasonal cleaning kits when they come out. I do not like cleaning products that smell like chemicals. I even make my own and I scent them with essential oils, usually lavendar, lemon or eucalyptus. I can list how I make them if anyone is interested. It is very simple. I do have a cleaning service that comes once a week on Mondays, but anyone with children knows that just doesn't cut it!

Shop, Shop and more Shopping!

2007-11-26T14:12:00.000-05:00

Thats pretty much what I did this weekend and today! I didn't go on Friday because thats when we decorate for Christmas. But Saturday Mr.F and I went to the most adorable toystore and bought lots of gifts for the girls. E was at a birthday party and L was at my mothers house. This is my favorite toystore and I usually buy all children's birthday gifts here. They always have exactly what I am looking for. We also went out to lunch here which is in the same shopping center as the toystore. We were very glad to get a lot of the girls Santa gifts done. The only thing left really is the Wii game system which Mr.F is going to pick up after work this week. I don't really know much about these things. He's very excited about it though. It's more for E and him then L. I also ordered E's American Girl doll and some clothes and accessories.

I am so excited about this. It is her first one and she finally wants one this year. I have asked her for the past few years and she never wanted one. So now for her birthday I am planning a trip here should be lots of fun!
Sunday we took the girls to the Westfarms Mall and the Rainforest Cafe. I pretty much finished up my shopping for family and friends there except for a few more things I can order online. Although you always think you're done and then you think of some more great ideas, right?
Today after pilates, L and I went to a friends for a playdate and lunch...turkey soup (I didn't mention that I had that last night for dinner). She is taking a much needed nap and I have just finished some more shopping online!

I bought these ornaments for the girls tree

I had planned on getting them for a friend but I think my friend will get more use out of this serving platter and plates:

And after browsing sale items, I couldn't resist a little something to remind me that summer will be here in just a few months (I know winter hasn't even started, but I am a summer girl!)

I bought the beach blanket AND the umbrella! Good thing Mr.F is used to us girls and all our pink and green!
I also picked up this suit for E:

and this one for L:

How great is it that they had my girls sizes (and on sale of course!)
Hope everyone had a great weekend!

Ow...that looks like it hurts

2007-11-24T14:36:00.000-05:00

While E, L and I about to go deliver our breads on Wednesday evening, Mr.F decided that the landscapers did not blow every last leaf off the yard and he needed to "finish up." Does your hubby get a little nuts about this when you have company coming over? Oh and it was DARK out. Off us girls went and not even an hour later I get a call..."Um honey...I think you need to come home...I walked into a tree branch and well... its kind of stuck... in my eye." We rushed home and my poor Mr.F was in some serious pain. (I was envisioning a large branch sticking out of his head but this was not the case.) He did have a piece of wood stuck in there though. He tried to flush it out but no luck. Off to the ER we went. With the girls. On Thanksgiving Eve. Of course being the busiest travel day of the year (as well as the biggest drinking night, my husband informed me) the ER was packed. Fortunatly, we did not have to wait at all and they took my husband right back. They irrigated his eye for about 45 minutes and it still did not dislodge the piece. I have to say I was so impressed with the nurses and drs who were so sweet and kept bringing my girls toys and juice and cookies and even a blanket to play on the floor. Even the cleaning lady came over to clean the floor before putting the blanket down. Anyway...the Dr then tried to dislodge the piece with a q-tip. I know... it was really gross. Finally got it out but he scratched his cornea pretty badly. They gave him some numbing drops, pain medication and an antibiotic. Then they told him he had to go to the optometrist on Thanksgiving. Thankfully they then said it could wait until Friday morning.
Here is L playing "scary monster" in the ER. A lot of our time was occupied taking silly pictures with my phone.

Other than that, we all had a lovely Thanksgiving!

Giving Thanks

2007-11-21T17:16:00.000-05:00

I have had a few minutes off to have some relaxing time... been cooking/cleaning/preparing for a few days now. I would say I'm tired but I really love doing this. E is finishing up the tags for the breads and then we are off to deliver them. I ended up getting so much done that tomorrow will actually be quite calm. We will watch the parade while eating cinnamon buns like we do every year. Have a light brunch (Mr.F is making that) and then guests arrive at 2.

There are so many things I am thankful for and I don't have much time but here we go.

1. My husband. He is my best friend. I am more comfortable with him than anyone in the world. We get along so well and rarely disagree and if we do it lasts about 10 minutes before one of us says I'm so sorry, I hate fighting, I love you, I can't be mad. He treats me and always has as if I am a queen and our girls as princesses. He believes thats how women and girls should be treated. He spoils us beyond belief and loves to make us happy. He is hysterically funny and makes me laugh until I have tears streaming down my face. He is the best father and does bath time every night that he is home to do it. He always changed diapers and watching me breastfeed L made him so happy he would become teary. He is "step dad" to E but really is a dad to her, having raised her since she was 2. He is patient and kind and thoughtful. I fall more in love with him every day.

2. My girls. They are my joy, my inspiration and my love. E has become one of the most thoughtful, sensitive, caring girls and she makes me so proud. Her dedication to school and piano blow me away, when I was 8 I didn't care that much about anything! She is sweet and loving and so protective of her little sister. L has grown so quickly into such a spunky, fun, lovable 2 year old. Everywhere she goes she makes everyone smile. Her passion comes through in everything that she does. Her love of life inspires me daily.

3. My family. Mom, dad, sister and brother. They have always been there for me and support me in everything I do. I am so thankful that we all live so close and get together often.

4. My community. I am so fortunate to live in a small town where everyone helps and supports each other. There is so many wonderful opportunities for my children. We feel safe playing outside and have a wonderful school system. When I lived here as a young single mom, I was fortunate to benefit from the generosity of those in this town who helped me through hard times. Now I am fortunate to be able to give back and help others who are in need. It makes me so happy to be able to donate my time as well as money to help my community.

5. My friends. Oh my, through good times and bad, they are always there. For late night talks and early morning walks, for last minute shopping trips and laughing about high school skinny dips. Also for new friends and the many wonderful ways they brighten my days!

6. My faith. I am thankful for my Catholic upbringing and how it has helped shaped who I am.

There are so many things I am thankful and grateful for but today and tomorrow I will be thinking of these 6 things the most. I hope everyone has a happy, healthy, fun and safe Thanksgiving!

Weekend Fun

2007-11-19T16:23:00.000-05:00

We had a blast at the game and UConn won! We were only cold when we were tailgating since Mr.F's season tickets are in the skybox. Here is our view

This is what I wore to the game:

After the game we picked up the girls who had a wonderful time with their Nana (my mom). At the craft fair E bought me these earings. I thought it was so sweet that she thought of me. And they are very pretty!

After Mass on Sunday E had CCD so Mr.F and I took L to the park for a bit. Then we took the girls to get their Christmas portrait done and they looked adorable. We then took them to see Bee Movie (in dresses and all!). Since we were out most of the day I didn't get a chance to make my Sunday dinner so we ended up getting takeout Chinese.

E is off from school all week for Thanksgiving break so today we went to the craft store and bought our Christmas card supplies. It has become a tradition that we all make our cards. It is a lot of fun. I'll post some pictures when we get some done.

While we were at the craft store (Michaels) I found a pink tree but E said it was to bright. So we settled on a white feather tree for the playroom which we decorated with pink and green since that matches the room. It looks pretty cute. We'll probably put more ornaments on when we do our Christmas decorating on Friday.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

Favorite Children's Books

2007-11-19T10:55:00.000-05:00

My first tag! How fun! I have been tagged by One Fabulous Mom to list my children's favorite books. Oh my there are so many.

I'll start with L.
Right now she is very into princesses so she loves this and any book about princesses.

We also still read this every night (and have since she was born)

Paper Parade is a book that was actually given to E when L was born but L wants us to read it just about every day.

She also loves any Dr. Suess book and the Baby Einstein books.

E is a very good reader and started reading at 4. She LOVES books and reads all the time.

She read all of the Harry Potter books

She is also making her way through a set of Illustrated Classics that she received as a gift.

One of her favorite books is The Secret Garden

In kindergarten, first and second grade she read all the Junie B. Jones books

as well as The Boxcar Children series

and the Magic Tree House series.

Every night E reads to all of us a story from this children's Bible

Both my girls like the Little Critters books by Mercer Mayer as well as poetry books, currently we are reading from A Family of Poems

Fabulous Flowers and Football

2007-11-17T10:30:00.001-05:00

A few weeks ago I had the honor of attending an event planning class with Preston Bailey in NYC. He is a celebrity event planner and his events are beyond fabulous. If you get a chance, check out his blog (on the right) and his website. Its amazing how he transforms spaces. His class was so inspiring and I was fortunate enough to get a chance to talk to him for a while after the class about my own venture here in Litchfield County.
This morning I have been planning my table for Thanksgiving and was just browsing the web for inspirations. I am thinking of doing something different this year instead of the traditional fall colors. I'll let you know what I come up with.
The girls were picked up by their Nana this morning to attend a craft fair, festival of trees and teddy bear picnic tea. Mr.F and I are almost on our way out the door to the UConn game. Should be fun but COLD. I made a ton of food yesterday for tailgating (I get into it with football shaped cookies and all). Mr.F is loading up the car. So we are off! Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

Thanksgiving Outfits

2007-11-16T14:02:00.000-05:00

The girls will be wearing this:

I love to have them either wear the same dress or match for special occasions.

I am pretty sure I will wear this:

Mr.F will most likely wear this

The shirt matches the girls dresses better in person than it shows in the pictures. I like when we all somewhat match but that shade of purple just isn't a color for me.

Thanksgiving Menu

2007-11-15T19:51:00.000-05:00

I have finalized my menu for Thanksgiving. I usually have this done a lot earlier but time just got away from me. My parents are bringing hors d'oerves and my sister is bringing dessert, apple pie and pumpkin cheesecake (plus something extra for the children). Little brother gets to bring the wine and beer! So here it is.

Roasted Squash Soup with Chestnut Puree

Watercress, Endive and Pear Salad

Perfect Roast Turkey

Herb and Apple Stuffing

Parmesan Smashed Potatoes

Green Beans with Glazed Shallots and Lemon

Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Sweet Potato Biscuits with Honey Butter

Cranberry Relish with Ginger

I'd love to hear what everyone else is making or bringing to their Thanksgiving! This is one of my favorite days of the year. My daughters also help me make different kinds of breads to give to family that we will not be seeing on Thanksgiving as well as neighbors and friends. I used to make all the breads from scratch but now we just buy the quick bread mixes. There are so many good ones and we just add some extras to make them more homemade. We put orange rind in the cranberry breads and apples in the cinnamon breads, etc. Its a lot of fun. We make special labels and deliver them Wednesday night so people can enjoy them with their meal on Thursday. I'll post later what we will all be wearing.

oh no she didn't

2007-11-14T13:06:00.000-05:00

My sweet little L is now down for her nap, and I am officially hooked on this blogging. Anyway, after bringing E to the dentist this morning, dropping her off at school, I stopped at the market to pick up a couple things. While going down the dairy aisle, L saw a lady picking up some yogurts. They happen to be E's favorite so L yelled out, "hey dat lady is taking E's yoggies!" She smiled at my L as I explained that everyone can buy those, they don't belong to us until they are in our home. This didn't seem to satisfy her and as we walked away, my sweet, darling L muttered (not to quietly) "stupid lady". I literally stopped dead in my tracks, look of horror on my face. Please don't get the impression that I think I or my family is "perfect". But my older daughter is and always has been very quiet and shy and I never have had to deal with this type of child who apparantly just says whatever she thinks. without hesitation. Of course after I left the store I called Mr.F who actually started LAUGHING...as I was on the verge of tears. I know. I need to lighten up. But we try very hard to watch what we say in front of our girls, and I think we do a pretty good job. I think its from Spongebob. I don't even let L watch that usually but of course E sometimes puts it on in the playroom. They say stupid on spongebob right? that must be it.

little girls and their curls

2007-11-14T11:37:00.000-05:00

(Picture removed)

This is my L, yes she is wearing a crown, yes she wears it backwards because "dats how it supposto be!" She also wears her princess dresses everyday, all of them. I just wanted to show off her curls. I LOVE her curls. I have very straight hair, as does E. But L got her fathers curls, which I was hoping she would!

Playing Dress Up?

2007-11-14T07:51:00.000-05:00

Yesterday E received her school pictures (they came out adorable). I can remember my third grade picture and it was so awkward. You know that stage where you go from being cute to ummmm... not so cute until you get to high school and you get the braces off and start doing your hair and thinking your a supermodel? But I'm sure my mom thought I was still cute. And so here I am looking at her picture and being so proud that SHE is not in that awkward phase and is still adorable. But my post here is not about how freakin adorable my child is...because that would just go on for way to long. Its about the class picture. It seems that I am the only parent in my child's class who had her dress up for picture day. There she is in the front row (because thats where they put the cute ones...not short!) with her button down peter pan colored shirt, jumper, tights and mary janes and matching bow in her hair. Not to dressy but perfectly appropriate right? Well out of the ten girls in her class, only ONE other girl wore a skirt. The rest had on jeans, t-shirts, just not "dressed up" clothes. I'm just wondering if anyone else who has school-age children dresses them up for picture day or if this is a thing of the past? My daughter happens to have very conservative tastes and since her best friend went to private school this year, she has been dressing almost everyday in a sort of "uniform" which I love (she really wants to go there...Mr.F and I are thinking of it for next year or starting in middle school). She has never worn jeans to school, or even tshirts so I know I am a bit more conservative with what she wears daily but I would have thought on picture day more kids would have been dressed up. NOT in hannah montanna tees and such. BTW, most of the moms around here dress outstanding. They just don't dress up their kids I guess. But maybe its just me and I am just playing dress up? Oh well...I love it.

Bday Cake

2007-11-13T08:56:00.000-05:00

Here is my version of the Meatloaf Cake that I made last night for Mr.F's bday dinner...I have to say it looks better in person than in the picture.
My kids like meatloaf anyway and this they just think this is fantastic. E has requested that I make meatloaf muffins and frost them with mashed potatoes so she can bring them to school for lunch. Which I can't believe I hadn't thought of before...today she got a slice of the "cake" to bring in for lunch. BTW, I just use my own meatloaf & mashed potato recipe, but the idea was all Martha's.

any opinions?

2007-11-12T12:40:00.000-05:00

I'm about to purchase this book for myself as well as some friends/family for Christmas. Does anyone have this or have any opinions on it? I'm always looking for ways to get my 2 year old to eat more veggies. My 8 year old actually prefers veggies over sweets so its never been an issue but my 2 year old actually wakes up in the morning asking for chocolate! I think this started with Halloween... But she has never been a veggie lover. Of course I would prefer her to eat whole veggies but right now its more important that she actually eats them in any way. I already puree tons of veggies and put them in the broth when I make chicken noodle soup (her current fave). So I think this book will give me some other good ideas along those lines.

Happy Birthday!

2007-11-12T08:55:00.000-05:00

Today is Mr.F's Birthday! So of course we had a very busy weekend because in our house we celebrate Birthday Weekends, not just one day! Started with breakfast in bed on Saturday morning...this is the greatest idea (I got in from the book Essentially Lilly) Hire someone to come to your house early to make breakfast and serve it to you in bed! Fortunatly we have a friend who owns a catering company so I asked her to do it. I'm not so sure about a stranger seeing me in my bed! After that Mr.F wanted to go to some electronics place? So I went into Marshalls next door with the girls and picked up this coat
I know it is last fall but I loved it then and I still love it now! Plus at Marshalls it was only $230!!!!
For dinner on Saturday night we went here
one of our favorites. This is what I wore:

The food was wonderful, as always. Mr.F and I always have a blast when we go out. After dinner we met some friends for drinks. It was good to see everyone!
After Mass on Sunday, we took the girls to the bakery for treats. In the afternoon we went to my MILs for cake for Mr.F and for her bday as hers was last week. Then a quiet evening at home watching the Amazing Race and Desperate Housewives during which I enjoyed my mini creme brule that I got at the bakery. YUM.
This morning I had my pilates class and came home to a clean house (the service comes mon. mornings)which I just recently switched from Fridays. I think I like starting the week with a clean house. Although I end up cleaning again on Fridays because otherwise I'll do it on the weekends (which I do not enjoy).
We will continue the bday celebration tonight, with this cake
I made it last year for him and he loved it, so he requested it again for this year.
Hope everyone had a great weekend!

staying warm

2007-11-09T11:13:00.000-05:00

This is how I am staying warm this morning. It probably wasn't all that much warmer yesterday but the sight of snow this morning just chilled me!!!

This tea is chocolate caramal chai - addicting.

These I have been wearing (almost) daily for weeks...sometimes I forget I have them on and after hopping in the minivan my E laughs and points at my feet.

And lastly...NO not the guy...my husbands cashmere sweater. He swears I buy them for him (for me). He could wear short sleeves all year. He wears them maybe 8 times throughout the winter...I on the other hand have been known to sleep in them. I have my own but his are so big and comfy.

for the little one...

2007-11-09T10:50:00.000-05:00

for E

2007-11-09T10:38:00.000-05:00

Snow?!?

2007-11-09T10:04:00.000-05:00

Well I guess its cold enough. This morning when I brought E out for the bus it was actually snowing for the first time this year here. It was just barely, but that is reason enough for me to finally shop for some winter essentials. I have been putting it off, not really accepting that the cold was here. As soon as I figure out how...I will share what I bought this morning. Stay warm!

All about me

2007-11-08T20:09:00.000-05:00

Here goes my first post. Yes I have been lurking around, loving reading everyones blogs for a while now and I finally have created one of my very own. What a great way to capture all the "little things" and the big things too. I sit at the computer almost daily, so hopefully updating this won't be as hard as journaling in the baby books or lugging out the video camera. I guess those aren't too hard either but its not something I do every day. Since I am just beginning, please bear with me as I learn how to do all the neat things I see on other blogs, like pictures, links, etc.
So about me: I am 30 ish ok 31 whats the big deal. I have an 8 year old, "E" and a 2 year old "L". My fabulous husband is 30 (about to be 31). I'll call him "Mr.F" for fabulous, yes he is to me. Not sure yet about using names but maybe as I get more comfortable with this I will. Do you use real names here in blog world? We live in Litchfield County, Connecticut. It is really beautiful here and I love it. I have lived in Connecticut all my life. I love the change of seasons, love being close to NYC, Boston and most of all the beach. I'm not "on" the beach but close enough to get to Long Island Sound for the weekends in the summer and we vacation in Rhode Island in the summer as well. Winter brings out the craftiness in me and I love making Halloween costumes and last year I made my girls Christmas dresses for the first time. Plus all of our birthdays are in the Fall/Winter so I really enjoy planning all the parties. Which brings me to my newest adventure: starting an event planning business. I have done this for family and friends for years and its something that I have slowly been working on getting started professionally. Its a lot of research and I want to be ready before I "officially" start. I'm going to focus on social events (but not weddings). Maybe weddings someday. More on this to come.

So thats it for now! I really look forward to "meeting" some new blogging friends and sharing bits of my life with you all.