Well, I am starting to feel the strain. It happens sometimes where I feel I have a lot on my plate and it seems like nothing is getting done well. There is the itch to reorganize and declutter the whole house too. We have upcoming parties which I really enjoy but they do cause me to stress out too. I wish I was more laid back sometimes. I keep reminding myself at the end of the day that there are much worse problems to have and we all have those times where we feel like we aren't "together" or just "behind". Yes, I do wish my basement didn't look a tornado went through it or that all my laundry was done and put away or that there were no stacks of paper anywhere etc...but for now I'm just going to reflect on what I am thankful for:
~ A wonderful husband
~ 2 wonderful daughters who teach me so much about myself - they bring me pure joy
~ A warm house
~ Food to Eat
~ Healthy families
~ Good books
~ Hot Cocoa
~ Warm blankets
~ Hot Showers
~ Rose
...and that's just a few things. I need to remember what my priorities are in this season of my life. They'll only be little for such a short time.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Lauren ~ 21 months
Dear Lauren,
You will be 2 years old in just a couple of months. Time has flown by so quickly. You have really shown us how two siblings can be so different. You love your "jesse". It is so sweet to see you get upset when Jess goes to school. You genuinely miss her and can't wait until we pick her up.
You have such a fun personality. This is a wonderful age to watch you grow. You've got the family laughing all the time. You have a beautiful smiley face but you also have a very serious pouty face. You used to scream all the time but it's gotten a lot better now that you can say more words. You love to try to do things yourself. You want to put your socks on yourself and try to put your pants on yourself. You'd usually rather climb stairs yourself than be carried. You even said the other day while putting on socks "I do it m..self." You love putting on shoes - yours, Jess' and even mine (mommy). You love to dress up and dance with Jessica. You love your babies and are really starting to care for them. You feed them and put them to bed. I think babies are your favorite thing to play with right now. You're quite the helper too - like taking the groceries out of the shopping bag and bringing each item to me and when we get ready to leave you bring everyone their shoes and coats...you'll always say "here ya go". You have so many words now. You seem to understand so much which has been so helpful. When we say "I love you" you respond withh "achoo". We know what you mean. :-)
We haven't started potty training you but you don't like to have poop in your diaper. You'll always run to tell me as soon as you've done your #2 and you want me to change you a.s.a.p. You usually say "poopy...eeewwww" or "stinka".
At bedtime, you always ask for "pray" and "tinkle" -- Mommy will pray with you and then sing twinkle, twinkle little star. You usually sleep all night in your bed but sometimes you wake up crying and we scoop you up and bring into bed with us.
We've just started doing a little "time out" discipline with you. When you get frustrated you sometimes hit and maybe even try to bite. It's usually just Jessica and mommy that gets the brunt of that behavior. You're learning though.
Your favorites:
Book: Big Red Barn, Going on a Bear Hunt, I Can Do It
Food: Bacon, grapes, avocado but you eat lots of things
Toy: Babies
You have way too many words to list out I think. You even tell me in the morning whether you want to wear a clip or headband.
We are working on teaching you shapes and colors and we practice your counting all the time (especially climbing stairs).
Oh and you love Elmo!
You're our little bear and you love to cuddle and be held but you also have a strong independent spirit. You have blessed our family in so many ways. I am so thankful that we were able to give Jessica a sister. I hope you always remain close. We love you so much. :-)
You will be 2 years old in just a couple of months. Time has flown by so quickly. You have really shown us how two siblings can be so different. You love your "jesse". It is so sweet to see you get upset when Jess goes to school. You genuinely miss her and can't wait until we pick her up.
You have such a fun personality. This is a wonderful age to watch you grow. You've got the family laughing all the time. You have a beautiful smiley face but you also have a very serious pouty face. You used to scream all the time but it's gotten a lot better now that you can say more words. You love to try to do things yourself. You want to put your socks on yourself and try to put your pants on yourself. You'd usually rather climb stairs yourself than be carried. You even said the other day while putting on socks "I do it m..self." You love putting on shoes - yours, Jess' and even mine (mommy). You love to dress up and dance with Jessica. You love your babies and are really starting to care for them. You feed them and put them to bed. I think babies are your favorite thing to play with right now. You're quite the helper too - like taking the groceries out of the shopping bag and bringing each item to me and when we get ready to leave you bring everyone their shoes and coats...you'll always say "here ya go". You have so many words now. You seem to understand so much which has been so helpful. When we say "I love you" you respond withh "achoo". We know what you mean. :-)
We haven't started potty training you but you don't like to have poop in your diaper. You'll always run to tell me as soon as you've done your #2 and you want me to change you a.s.a.p. You usually say "poopy...eeewwww" or "stinka".
At bedtime, you always ask for "pray" and "tinkle" -- Mommy will pray with you and then sing twinkle, twinkle little star. You usually sleep all night in your bed but sometimes you wake up crying and we scoop you up and bring into bed with us.
We've just started doing a little "time out" discipline with you. When you get frustrated you sometimes hit and maybe even try to bite. It's usually just Jessica and mommy that gets the brunt of that behavior. You're learning though.
Your favorites:
Book: Big Red Barn, Going on a Bear Hunt, I Can Do It
Food: Bacon, grapes, avocado but you eat lots of things
Toy: Babies
You have way too many words to list out I think. You even tell me in the morning whether you want to wear a clip or headband.
We are working on teaching you shapes and colors and we practice your counting all the time (especially climbing stairs).
Oh and you love Elmo!
You're our little bear and you love to cuddle and be held but you also have a strong independent spirit. You have blessed our family in so many ways. I am so thankful that we were able to give Jessica a sister. I hope you always remain close. We love you so much. :-)
Jessica ~ 4 years and 8 months
My Dear Jessica,
I had to be very clear when I wrote your age in the title. If I ever say that you are 4, you always like to correct and say you are 4 1/2. Now 4 1/2 doesn't seem as accurate. In a couple of months you will be 5 years old. This is a very big milestone for you! It's a very special birthday. I can't believe you will be 5 and starting kindergarten next year. The new school year is still a ways off and I still can't help but think how quickly it is approaching. It feels like just yesterday that we brought you home to our apartment in West New York. Here you are now, a big sister now and you are growing so beautifully.
You recently started taking gymnastics classes and you love it. You love to dance too. Those are your favorite things in the whole world to do right now. I recently bought a cd of classical ballet music for children and you always want me to play it so you can dance in the living room. You've even told me that you want to have a ballet birthday party. We'll see. :-)
I want you to know how much I love our special moments together. You might think those moments revolve around big events. But some of the special moments I never want to forget are when we cuddle up for our stories at bedtime, enjoying watching a cooking show together, baking together, playing board games together and when you come in our room in the middle of the night to snuggle. My heart melts when I see you and Lauren playing so nicely together. I hope that you always remain best of friends. Lauren always like to copy everything you do. I know that is a big responsibility sometimes. You always look out for her and try to protect her. It makes us (mommy and daddy) so happy to see the love you have for her.
Since the day you were born, your smile lights up a room. You are so happy. You certainly have your moments of poutiness but you have grown so much in this area. You are very sensitive but still very strong.
You bring us so much joy and we can't imagine our life without you. We don't know what plans God has for you in your future but we feel so privileged and honored to be able to guide you, watch you grow and just enjoy who you are each day. We love you so much cuddles.
Questions to Jessica:
1) What is your favorite color? Pink and Purple
2) What do you want to be when you grow up? A ballerina
3) What is your favorite thing to do? Ballet and gymnastics
4) What is your favorite book? Fancy Nancy Bonjour Butterfly and Fancy Nancy Splendiferous Christmas
5) What do you love most about Lauren? I love that we like to play together.
6) What is your favorite thing to do with your family? Love going to the gym together and when we all cuddle together
7) What is your favorite food? Pancakes, yogurt...and a little candy :-)
8) What is your favorite toy? Daddy Lulu (Wuwu)
I had to be very clear when I wrote your age in the title. If I ever say that you are 4, you always like to correct and say you are 4 1/2. Now 4 1/2 doesn't seem as accurate. In a couple of months you will be 5 years old. This is a very big milestone for you! It's a very special birthday. I can't believe you will be 5 and starting kindergarten next year. The new school year is still a ways off and I still can't help but think how quickly it is approaching. It feels like just yesterday that we brought you home to our apartment in West New York. Here you are now, a big sister now and you are growing so beautifully.
You recently started taking gymnastics classes and you love it. You love to dance too. Those are your favorite things in the whole world to do right now. I recently bought a cd of classical ballet music for children and you always want me to play it so you can dance in the living room. You've even told me that you want to have a ballet birthday party. We'll see. :-)
I want you to know how much I love our special moments together. You might think those moments revolve around big events. But some of the special moments I never want to forget are when we cuddle up for our stories at bedtime, enjoying watching a cooking show together, baking together, playing board games together and when you come in our room in the middle of the night to snuggle. My heart melts when I see you and Lauren playing so nicely together. I hope that you always remain best of friends. Lauren always like to copy everything you do. I know that is a big responsibility sometimes. You always look out for her and try to protect her. It makes us (mommy and daddy) so happy to see the love you have for her.
Since the day you were born, your smile lights up a room. You are so happy. You certainly have your moments of poutiness but you have grown so much in this area. You are very sensitive but still very strong.
You bring us so much joy and we can't imagine our life without you. We don't know what plans God has for you in your future but we feel so privileged and honored to be able to guide you, watch you grow and just enjoy who you are each day. We love you so much cuddles.
Questions to Jessica:
1) What is your favorite color? Pink and Purple
2) What do you want to be when you grow up? A ballerina
3) What is your favorite thing to do? Ballet and gymnastics
4) What is your favorite book? Fancy Nancy Bonjour Butterfly and Fancy Nancy Splendiferous Christmas
5) What do you love most about Lauren? I love that we like to play together.
6) What is your favorite thing to do with your family? Love going to the gym together and when we all cuddle together
7) What is your favorite food? Pancakes, yogurt...and a little candy :-)
8) What is your favorite toy? Daddy Lulu (Wuwu)
Saturday, January 2, 2010
The New Year ~ 2010
I wanted to take a moment and just jot down some thoughts on the upcoming year. The new year brings the feeling of a clean slate -- being able to start fresh. I really don't like the idea of resolutions. However, I do have areas where I want to work on in my own life. It's a process though. I strive to achieve certain things as a wife and mother and sometimes I just get in my own way.
Here are some of my best intentions for 2010 :-) :
1. Watch TV less - both for myself and the girls. It's so easy to put on a show when I want to get something done but in the end I know it's not the best thing for the girls.
2. Spend more time trying to document family activities, mom thoughts, photos ~ whether it's blogging or scrapbooking or getting photos into albums. I really want to at least some of the things I've started. I also want to do more journaling b/c I want to remember the little life details and just my thoughts on the joys and stresses of being a Mom at this stage in my life. I want to be able to have the girls look through all sorts of albums w/ written details to go with the pics. It truly is a priceless gift to our family.
3. Opening up our home more to friends and family. This is a tough one for me. I always feel like the house needs to be 'just so' when I have company and most of the time it's 'just not'. I want the girls to learn to care for their home but not to be bound by housework either. Everything doesn't have to be perfect. It's more important that our home just be a warm and welcoming place for friends and family to gather. This actually leads into the next item...
4. Gotta keep cooking more! :-)
5. I hate to add exercise to the list. It's so cliche. I'll just try harder and take it a week at a time.
6. I'm interested in trying to read the bible in a year. It's only January 2nd and I'm already behind though so I'm not sure how that will go. I really hope to do more reading too.
I'm sure I could go on and on about things I want to try to learn or accomplish but I also have a 4 1/2 year old and a 1 1/2 year old and they are my priority. I need to find the right balance of everything. It's a challenge for most moms. I just want to be a good example for the girls.
Well, I guess that's it for right now. New Year ~ Fresh Start!
"Tomorrow is a new day, with no mistakes in it..." ~ Anne of Green Gables
Here are some of my best intentions for 2010 :-) :
1. Watch TV less - both for myself and the girls. It's so easy to put on a show when I want to get something done but in the end I know it's not the best thing for the girls.
2. Spend more time trying to document family activities, mom thoughts, photos ~ whether it's blogging or scrapbooking or getting photos into albums. I really want to at least some of the things I've started. I also want to do more journaling b/c I want to remember the little life details and just my thoughts on the joys and stresses of being a Mom at this stage in my life. I want to be able to have the girls look through all sorts of albums w/ written details to go with the pics. It truly is a priceless gift to our family.
3. Opening up our home more to friends and family. This is a tough one for me. I always feel like the house needs to be 'just so' when I have company and most of the time it's 'just not'. I want the girls to learn to care for their home but not to be bound by housework either. Everything doesn't have to be perfect. It's more important that our home just be a warm and welcoming place for friends and family to gather. This actually leads into the next item...
4. Gotta keep cooking more! :-)
5. I hate to add exercise to the list. It's so cliche. I'll just try harder and take it a week at a time.
6. I'm interested in trying to read the bible in a year. It's only January 2nd and I'm already behind though so I'm not sure how that will go. I really hope to do more reading too.
I'm sure I could go on and on about things I want to try to learn or accomplish but I also have a 4 1/2 year old and a 1 1/2 year old and they are my priority. I need to find the right balance of everything. It's a challenge for most moms. I just want to be a good example for the girls.
Well, I guess that's it for right now. New Year ~ Fresh Start!
"Tomorrow is a new day, with no mistakes in it..." ~ Anne of Green Gables
Thoughts on Christmas Planning
I just wanted to write a little note to myself to help me with Christmas plans for next year...just things I want to remember for next time.
1. Plan ahead what to put in the advent house -- a few too many last minute marshmallows in 2009 :-) Maybe there are slips of paper with a 'craft of the day' or a good deed for the day.
2. Incorporate an advent wreath in our home
3. Give Christmas PJs the day after Thanksgiving.
4. I really liked starting the new tradition of opening a gift on Christmas Eve of a book(s) and an ornament. I already purchased the ornament for the girls for 2010. Try to remember to take a photo of them with their ornament and books. I wish I did that this time.
5. Purchase a little tree from Michaels right after Thanksgiving for Lauren's room.
6. Purchase another 6' Canadian Christmas tree from target to match the one in the dining room.
7. Plan ahead and purchase ahead of time materials for more Christmas crafts. Definitely purchase another wooden ornament for the girls to paint. I absolutely love Jess' angel ornament from 2009.
8. Try to make the handprint ornaments in November. We also want to make a few more of our own ornaments in the coming year.
9. Don't purchase the tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. Decorate everything else that weekend but wait to the following for the tree.
10. The stockings need a little repair. Pull them out early to spruce them up.
11. Talk to the girls about a gift for Jesus and review the Samaritan's Purse catalog. Continue to seek ways we can help others.
12. And the usual...try to wrap earlier, ship gifts early, start shopping in October etc...
13. Plan gifts that the girls can make for grandparents.
1. Plan ahead what to put in the advent house -- a few too many last minute marshmallows in 2009 :-) Maybe there are slips of paper with a 'craft of the day' or a good deed for the day.
2. Incorporate an advent wreath in our home
3. Give Christmas PJs the day after Thanksgiving.
4. I really liked starting the new tradition of opening a gift on Christmas Eve of a book(s) and an ornament. I already purchased the ornament for the girls for 2010. Try to remember to take a photo of them with their ornament and books. I wish I did that this time.
5. Purchase a little tree from Michaels right after Thanksgiving for Lauren's room.
6. Purchase another 6' Canadian Christmas tree from target to match the one in the dining room.
7. Plan ahead and purchase ahead of time materials for more Christmas crafts. Definitely purchase another wooden ornament for the girls to paint. I absolutely love Jess' angel ornament from 2009.
8. Try to make the handprint ornaments in November. We also want to make a few more of our own ornaments in the coming year.
9. Don't purchase the tree the weekend after Thanksgiving. Decorate everything else that weekend but wait to the following for the tree.
10. The stockings need a little repair. Pull them out early to spruce them up.
11. Talk to the girls about a gift for Jesus and review the Samaritan's Purse catalog. Continue to seek ways we can help others.
12. And the usual...try to wrap earlier, ship gifts early, start shopping in October etc...
13. Plan gifts that the girls can make for grandparents.
Monday, December 28, 2009
More Christmas Activities 2009
I just wanted to capture some of the other fun stuff we did in December~ cookie party, playing in the snow, Christmas Spectacular, visiting santa, baking cookies, making ornaments....
Our friends' Cookie Party:
Visiting the Rockefeller Christmas Tree before going to see A Christmas Spectacular:
We got a bunch of snow the week before Christmas:
Painting an angel ornament:
Visiting Santa (Lauren didn't want to have anything to do with him so our Santa pic is with just Jess). This pic was taken while waiting in line:
Making Christmas cookies:
Our friends' Cookie Party:
Visiting the Rockefeller Christmas Tree before going to see A Christmas Spectacular:
We got a bunch of snow the week before Christmas:
Painting an angel ornament:
Visiting Santa (Lauren didn't want to have anything to do with him so our Santa pic is with just Jess). This pic was taken while waiting in line:
Making Christmas cookies:
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Christmas 2009
This Christmas was so wonderful. We truly have so much to be thankful for this year. I am just thankful that everyone is healthy and happy. I probably should split this up into different blog posts but we'll see how we do with one. Jess was just over 4 1/2 years old and Lauren was almost 21 months on Christmas Day. This year we spent Christmas Eve with Scott's family and we had a quiet (well, I wouldn't really call it quiet :-P) family day at home. We did our pajama car ride to see the lights on the 23rd. I gave the girls a bunch of treats -- candy cane, marshmallows...warm milk...This is definitely one of our traditions. I think I'll do a separate post on some of our activities during the month of December. :-)
Let's take a look at some of the pics:
Getting our Tree: We went to our usual place ~ Hall's Nursery in Berkeley Heights. We got the tree 2 weekends after Thanksgiving since we were in Florida the weekend after Thanksgiving. I think we are going to stick with getting the tree that weekend. The pics of the girls together are funny b/c everytime I tried to take a picture Lauren would do this squealy scream. It was so funny. The tree ended up being so nice. It had a perfect shape and a nice point for our angel.
Jessica had her holiday party at Wesley on the 11th. It was her last day of school before vacation. They sang lots of songs for the parents and had treats. Lauren was happy to be there with big sister.
This is a pic of Jess getting ready for her car ride to see Christmas lights. You can see she's got her milk and treats in her little candy cane bucket...and of course Daddy Lulu is coming too.
And this is the girls hanging out afterward before they headed for bed.
Christmas Eve: We headed to Scott's parents' house and then to his cousin's house for a family Christmas party. At this point, I had not wrapped one present for the girls and Scott had stuff that had to be put together. We left the party around 10 and were up until around 3. But we were in good spirits and had fun making everything special for the girls. It was nice spending time with his whole family. The kids get along so well together...so cute.
Christmas Day: It was a quiet pajama day at home. We came down close to 8:00 and everyone got a little something to drink and we started unwrapping. Eventually I'd like to eat breakfast first but I didn't want to torture Jess. Jess had disney princess paper and Lauren had pink snowman paper. We had a great time opening presents and the girls loved everything. Afterward, we had a pancake breakfast and just hung out for the rest of the day. We made a rib roast for dinner, set a lovely table and just enjoyed each other's company....still in our PJs. We still had some snow outside so it was nice having a white Christmas too. I won't post many pics about presents but Jess loved her American Girl doll and Lauren loved her baby and cradle. They both loved the rose petal cottage and Jess loved her critter house. Lauren gave Jess her first real barbies - from the 3 musketeers and Jess gave Lauren a crawling baby with accessories.
Let's take a look at some of the pics:
Getting our Tree: We went to our usual place ~ Hall's Nursery in Berkeley Heights. We got the tree 2 weekends after Thanksgiving since we were in Florida the weekend after Thanksgiving. I think we are going to stick with getting the tree that weekend. The pics of the girls together are funny b/c everytime I tried to take a picture Lauren would do this squealy scream. It was so funny. The tree ended up being so nice. It had a perfect shape and a nice point for our angel.
Jessica had her holiday party at Wesley on the 11th. It was her last day of school before vacation. They sang lots of songs for the parents and had treats. Lauren was happy to be there with big sister.
This is a pic of Jess getting ready for her car ride to see Christmas lights. You can see she's got her milk and treats in her little candy cane bucket...and of course Daddy Lulu is coming too.
And this is the girls hanging out afterward before they headed for bed.
Christmas Eve: We headed to Scott's parents' house and then to his cousin's house for a family Christmas party. At this point, I had not wrapped one present for the girls and Scott had stuff that had to be put together. We left the party around 10 and were up until around 3. But we were in good spirits and had fun making everything special for the girls. It was nice spending time with his whole family. The kids get along so well together...so cute.
Christmas Day: It was a quiet pajama day at home. We came down close to 8:00 and everyone got a little something to drink and we started unwrapping. Eventually I'd like to eat breakfast first but I didn't want to torture Jess. Jess had disney princess paper and Lauren had pink snowman paper. We had a great time opening presents and the girls loved everything. Afterward, we had a pancake breakfast and just hung out for the rest of the day. We made a rib roast for dinner, set a lovely table and just enjoyed each other's company....still in our PJs. We still had some snow outside so it was nice having a white Christmas too. I won't post many pics about presents but Jess loved her American Girl doll and Lauren loved her baby and cradle. They both loved the rose petal cottage and Jess loved her critter house. Lauren gave Jess her first real barbies - from the 3 musketeers and Jess gave Lauren a crawling baby with accessories.
MERRY CHRISTMAS 2009!
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