In the spirit

We brought up the Christmas tree today and decorated it. Claire was SO excited to put up the tree and to do the ornaments. I didn't think that she would be as into it this year as she was, it was really adorable. Even Paige was trying to hang some of the ornaments (with help from her big sister of course)... Claire kept walking around the living room saying look daddy me and mommy are decorating the tree, mommy says that I am doing a great job! Very proud of herself she was for sure. I am usually a total pill/really anal about where on the tree the ornaments go. You have to put the small ones at the top, the big ones at the bottom. You can't put two of the same color or same size too close together etc. This is one of the reason that Cory can't stand decorating the tree with me. This year was different though, for the most part I really didn't care. Claire was having so much fun and feeling like such a BIG girl that I was enjoying her excitement too much to worry about where on the tree the ornaments were placed. I can already tell that this Christmas is going to be one for the memory books. Today was just the beginning of the excitement and joy that Christmas is going to bring to our family this year. I was thinking to myself as we were all in the living room decorating the tree together, this is one memory that I will hold onto forever!

Thanksgiving Feast

They had a feast today at Claire's school and all the parents/grandparents were invited to come. All the kids were to bring a 1/2 cup of their favorite treat which was then poured into this HUGE bowl and then all the kids got a cup of the mix to eat for the feast. All the kids looked so cute sitting in a big circle singing their 3 songs with their Indian Hats and the necklaces they made in class on. Here are a few pictures that I snapped of Claire. Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving with their families and if you are traveling be safe.

What is the news

I went back to the doctor today and was told that I do NOT need surgery. YEAH!! The bone is filling in as we had hoped and in about 2 weeks I will be off the crutches completely and I can then take the boot off when I am around the house. As for now I don't need to sleep with the boot on anymore thank god talk about a heating device try to wear a walking boot on your leg all night. I can also start putting more weight on my foot, he said about half on my foot and to continue to hold the other half with my upper body on the crutches. The doc told me that how my foot is feeling, (fine or achy) is the best way to tell if I am over doing it. I still can't believe that I did this, it must have been a real doozy (sp?)considering that by the time this is all said and done I will have been out of commission for just about 12 weeks. Thank you to everyone who has been so helpful. My wonderful husband who has been going to the grocery store, doing all the laundry and definitely pitching in more around the house for the past 7 weeks. To Catherine who has been nice enough to meet us every morning to take Claire into preschool, to Carol who has been wonderful about meeting me at dance every Friday to take Claire into dance, to my mom who has gone with me to both my doctor's appointments (because I am a chicken, I know 31 and still a chicken) thanks for the emotional support and for pushing me around the mall in a wheelchair just so I could get out of the house and to my mother in law who was nice enough to come out and help me pick up Claire from dance a few Fridays and go to the grocery store for me. It is time like this that you can see who your true friends are and who you can really count on in hard times.

Other news, I went Christmas shopping with my mother in law, Lisa and grandma on Sunday for the girls. We went to Toys R Us and had a fun time walking around picking out things to get for them. It is hard for them to think of things to get and since Claire has given me about a million ideas it was not a problem to throw some of them their way. Paige is a little harder because she is at that age where she isn't really excited about anything and she doesn't play with things for very long. We did manage to come up with some cute things that I know she will enjoy. Now I just have to think of some things to get Paige, anybody have ideas of what to get a 19 month old, I am all ears.....
Hope everyone is having a great time getting ready for the holidays. Hey Carol, Kelli and Kathaleen do we still want to do a girls shopping day? I can go anytime after 12/8 and we won't have to worry about wheelchairs (thanks for the offer though Carol) or crutches.

Really makes you stop and think

While I was out yesterday a song came on the radio that I have heard many times before, however, this time it was different some how. It might have been because I had just heard about the 3 year old little boy who was playing in his backyard with his dog one minute and the next he and the dog were both gone. As of last night the police had expanded the search up to 6 miles around his house and still had not found him or the dog.
I wish that my girls could have the childhood that I had where they could play outside any time of day or night and not have to be afraid or ongaurd. My friends and I use to LOVE to play outside when it was dark to play flashlight tag, kick the can or ghost in the graveyard, it makes me sad to think that our children can't have that same freedom. As parents we feel like we have to be there with them to supervise all the time and with what happened yesterday with the 3 year old it seems we are right. I only hope and pray that he and the dog just wandered off, anyone know an update?
Below are the lyrics to the song that I heard on the radio. The song title is A Different World by Bucky Covington (yes he was on American Idol and I have to admit that I was not a big fan of his on the show, but now he has several songs out that I like).

Let me know what you all think.

We were born to mothers who smoked and drank
Our cribs were covered in lead-based paint
No childproof lids
No seat belts in cars
Rode bikes with no helmets
and still here we are
Still here we are

We got daddy's belt when we misbehaved
Had three TV channels you got up to change
No video games and no satellite
All we had were friends and they were outside
Playing outside

It was a different life
When we were boys and girls
Not just a different time
It was a different world

School always started the same everyday
the pledge of allegiance, then someone would pray
not every kid made the team when they tried
We got disappointed but that was alright
We turned out alright

It was a different life
When we were boys and girls
Not just a different time
It was a different world

No bottled water
We'd drink from a garden hose
And every Sunday,
All the stores were closed.

It was a different life
When we were boys and girls
Not just a different time
It was a different world

It was a different life
When we were boys and girls
Not just a different time
It was a different world

It was a different world

Here is the link to the song if you want to hear it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AlrFOBmdVI

Play date of 8

Today both the girls and I had play dates. We got together with some of Claire's friends from school and went to a nearby park since it was suppose to be a pretty decent day temperature wise. It was 3 of Claire's friends: Julia, Emma and Lena who she talks about all the time and then all of them have little sisters. Yes, you are reading this correctly I have finally found little girls who are also 3 years old for Claire to have play dates with and the best part is all of the girls from school also have little sisters that are Paige's age. So not only did Claire have her friends to play with but Paige met some new friends as well. Paige had Claire (the moms and I were joking around and called my Claire "big" Claire and the other Claire "little" Claire, Audrey and Anna to run around with. Audrey will be 2 in December, Anna in March, Paige in April and "little" Claire in May so they are all right about the exact same age as well.
I also had a nice time having some adult conversation for about 90 minutes and getting to know some new friends.
Aren't play dates the best, especially when they can be outside and the kids can get all that fresh air. Both of the girls are sleeping and I am going to go relax too.

Love You!

After Cory put Paige to bed last night he walked into our room and said did you know that Paige can say "love you" I said "no". He proceded to tell me that she could and she had just told him. I told him that I did not believe him because she would have told me that she loved me first since she loves me more (of course I don't think this is true I just like to push his buttons)..........Well at lunch today I remembered this conversation and asked Paige if she could say "love you" and sure enough she said it. I took a few videos of her saying it as well as other things too.

One of THOSE Days......

Wow, today has been one of those days that I think that I am going to lose my mind. The girls are into everything and driving me absolutely CRAZY! I love my daughter's to death don't get me wrong but I am not sure that I am going to get through the day at the rate that we are going.

Claire is SO attached to me that it is about to literally drive me crazy. Every time I sit down she wants to get on my lap, if I try to go into the office and check my email she is in there with me talking my ear off or sitting at her desk (which consists of a full Rubbermaid container that needs to be taken down stairs with her stool from her make-up table)drawing, coloring or painting. Why she has to be with me seriously ALL THE TIME I don't understand it. I mean if she is not sitting on my lap she has to be right next to me with her hand on my leg or is leaning against me. Also, when we were at our neighbors house over the weekend Ms. Kelli asked Claire if she wanted to have a play date with Tia this week on Wednesday? I said that they should work out great and now all day Claire has been asking me when we are going to Ms. Kelli's for our play date with Tia. Note to self next time do not let Claire hear us talk about play dates, just surprise her on the day of.

I am trying to break Paige of her binky and blankie and it is not going well. First step is getting her to the point where she can only have them when she is sleeping or in the car. It has been going well for the past 4 days, when she would ask for them I would tell her that they were night night, she would say okay and move on. TODAY is a different story, she keeps walking around the house whining and crying for them. If I tell her they are night night then she tells me that she wants to go night night. Seriously, you are what almost 19 months and you have already figured out how to work the system??

So to get out of the house so I did not do harm to either of them or myself we jumped in to the car to go for a ride. As we drove I saw that gas prices are down to $1.76, wahoo!! I also listened to Ryan Seacrest's radio show. He starting talking about this new technology that grocery stores are coming out with. They are talking about getting a High Tech Cart Cleaning System that would be like a car wash but for carts. This would be great to cut back on all the germs that we and our kids are exposed to every time we go to the store. I am however one of those moms that grabs a disinfect wipe either out of my purse or from the containers they have out and wipe all the bars and straps down before anyone touches it because of all those nasty germs. They then got into a long conversation about where germs are that we don't even think about. They said those lovely trays that fold down from the back of the airplane seats, how many times are they wiped down if ever. One lady called in and said menu's at restaurants, that's it I am officially grossed out and the radio goes off. I make such an effort when I go out to eat that I wipe down the table especially where the girls are going to eat with my wipes and then to find out that all my hard work is blown to he** because I just touched that dirty/germy menu and now I am cutting up their food. Sigh!

Anyways tonight I am going to my girlfriend Elizabeth's Tupperware party and plan on stopping at Starbucks on my way to get a Peppermint Hot Chocolate. I am not much of a coffee drinker but Hot Chocolate I LOVE. Last year around this time, Cory's aunt Lisa introduced me to Starbucks Peppermint Hot Chocolate that they only offer around the holidays. So if I can just get through the next 4 hours until Cory gets home and then I can escape to the sound of nothing in my car on the way to the party while sipping my hot chocolate my day will end better than it started. And please don't get me wrong I love my kids and love spending all this time with them while they are young and I get to watch them experience everything for the first or second time, however, there are days like today that mommy just needs a break.

Evening with the neighbors

Last night Cory, Claire (we left Paige home with grandma) and I went up to one of our neighbors house for dinner and to hang out. We decided instead of doing the actual dinner thing that we would do appetizers instead. I took my "Chili Cheese Dip" which I know is good and a new recipe "Philadelphia Buffalo Chicken Dip" to try for the first time. I had read only good reviews about it but of course I was a little nervous as to how it would go over. Well the men dove into it and absolutely LOVED it and I do have to say that it was mighty good, I will definitely make it again. We also had some YUMMY chicken salad that Kelli made and Carol brought her famous wienies wrapped in bacon sprinkled with brown sugar (none of this was fattening either, lol)........I also took brownies and Kelli made some strawberry shortcake. All the food was wonderful I think we should do it once a month, gosh can you imagine we would probably get as big as a house. We were joking as we were eating saying it was like Thanksgiving, there was so much food and we were all so full, yet we just kept eating.....
We had a great time all the kids played in the basement (for the most part, they had to come up and check on us from time to time) and the adults had some drinks and just caught up. We only had a few bumps in the road. Somehow Claire got picked to be the one who got to go to "jail" and by this I mean locked in the dark in the closet. My poor baby she was so scared I could hear her becoming more and more panicked as the adults tried to figure out a way to get her out. It just so happened that the one closet she got locked in didn't have a key to go with it. Since my foot is broken and it is difficult to get up and down the steps I couldn't get to her in the basement. Cory was outside the door trying to calm her down and Carol being a quick thinking mom says let's sing a song. Kelli is running trying to get a credit card out of her wallet (apparently this has happened before and her dad used his cc to get the door open) and Lee was having a few words with the kids. It seemed to take forever for them to get Claire out but all and all as I look back now she wasn't in there anymore than 5 minutes. Good thing that she isn't afraid of the dark I think it was just the whole idea of not being able to get out.
How did she get out you ask? Well the lock for the door is actually on the inside so once we all calmed down for a minute we told Claire she could open it by turning the button and then the knob and voila, she was out!! Whew!! I don't know who was more frazzled me or Claire.
All and all the evening went very well and everyone kids/parents had a good time. I know we all say this all the time, but we truly are so lucky to have great neighbors and friends.

It Figures

I swear it never fails right after I fill up my tank with gas the price drops. I have been watching the price of gas the last week or so (check my blog titled "I might have a problem" to understand my obsession with gas prices) and it has been dropping and was down to $1.93 so I decided that I would go ahead and fill up. So I did and let me tell you it was wonderful I got 16 gallons of gas for $30, I can't remember the last time that happened. I was so excited (again doesn't take much to excite me these days)that I called my mom and Cory to tell them about my fill up. Well, tonight as I was on my way home from work I passed the gas station and the sign read $1.89. It never fails right when I think that I got a good deal on gas the price drops even more and I realize that if I had just waited one more day I would have gotten even a better deal. Oh well there is always next time, right?

Recipes

I don't know about all of you but I LOVE to try new recipes. My sister in law introduced us to a new Chicken Enchilada recipe that I made for the first time tonight and it was delicious. I thought that I would share it with any of you that want to try a new-yummy recipe. If you have any good/easy/quick recipes to share I would love to try them.

Creamy Chicken Enchiladas

1 T Butter or Margarine
1 md. onion chopped
1 (4.5 oz) can chopped green chilies
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened and cut up
2.5 cups cooked, chopped chicken breast
4-8 inch (burrito size) or 8-4 inch (taco size) flour tortillas
4 oz ( 1 cup) Monterey Jack Cheese
1 cup half and half

*Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat; add onion and saute 5 minutes. Add green chilies and saute 1 minute more. Stir in cream cheese and chicken; cook, stirring constantly until cream cheese is melted. You can also add some garlic powder at this point to add a bit more favor.

* Spoon chicken mixture onto all tortillas evenly. Roll and place them seam side down in a lightly greased 9 X 13 inch pan. Pour half and half over tortillas and then sprinkle with cheese.

* Bake at 350 for 45 minutes.

* Garnish with salsa, sour cream or even jalapenos.

Enjoy!

Take Two!

Well we tried again today to get a Christmas card pic of the girls and between the two attempts we might have a couple of good ones. Per a request from Carol I will post a few of my favorites. As you will see they have on the same outfit as our first attempt because this is the closest outfits that we could that kind of matched....BEWARE contains a lot of pictures....

That was a challenge

So Cory and I tried to take some pictures of the girls over the weekend in hopes of getting a good shot for our Christmas card. Well, it didn't go so well. Paige was tired from the time change and being up two nights in a row late and was not having it at all. Claire did great and basically did everything we ask her to. The things that we were doing to get them to smile was ridiculous, anybody that drove by and saw us had to think that we were CRAZY! We got some really cute expressions from Claire but we couldn't even get Paige to crack a smile. Oh well there is always this week before it gets too cold.