Christmas Pics

Okay better late than never, here are some pictures from Christmas morning and Christmas night!

Paige awake, all smiles and ready to do some damage.
Both the girls got to open one present on Christmas Eve and it was a Zhu Zhu Pet, so when they got their houses for their pets on Christmas morning they were happy!
Claire with a game for her Leapster that Santa brought.
She asked for this back in October and I told her I would let Santa know. Next time we were at Target she looked for them and couldn't find them anywhere. Needless to say she was SUPER excited to open this present.
Paige already changing Katie's diaper and clothes.
She got the crib that she wanted for Katie too!
Okay, before we went to my sister's house for Christmas dinner and to see my side of the family I told Cory I would like to take a family picture so he set up the camera and got the timer ready. This is the best of the 5 we took, we couldn't get the girls to give us good smiles so I told them to think of something funny, something that would make them go ha ha. Well Claire got the idea but Paige just said "ha ha".
Claire with another game for her leapster at my sister's.
Paige acting silly.
Paige all excited and still acting silly.
Daddy and one of his girls!

Paige's eyes are actually kind of open in this picture, can it be?
Daddy and his other baby girl.
Me and my sister, everyone says we look so much alike I just don't see it that much.
Trying to get another family picture, this time with my dad as the photographer.
Still trying, nope

Papa playing with the girls and their Zhu Zhu pets, Paige LOVES hers......

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday with their loved ones, I love this time of year!!

Looking for a new read

I am not a very big reader, never have been, but when I do get a hold of a good book, Harry Potter Series and Twilight Series I really enjoy reading and can't put them down. Ever since I finished Breaking Dawn which was almost a year ago I haven't been able to find a new book that really grabs my interest. I was at Target the other day looking in their book section for a new book when I came across the House of Night Series. I have never heard of this series but when I saw that there are six books in the series I figured it had to be pretty good. I am almost half way through the first book "Marked" and from what I can tell so far it is kind of like Harry Potter but with Vampires. Once you are "marked" to become a vampire you go to a school that is only for young adults who have been "marked" and are going through the transition of turning into a vampire. Of course all the teachers at the school are vampires and helping the students to understand what is happening to them and teaching them the history of vampires.
I will finish the book as I want to see what will happen to the characters I have meet so far, but so far I have not gotten to the point where I am dying to see what will happen next and can't put the book down. Have any of you read this series or are you currently reading them? I would love to hear your thoughts, should I stick with them or finish "Marked" and be done with them???

Straight No Chaser

Have you all heard "12 days of Christmas" done by Straight No Chaser, it is great! Definitely one of my new favorites, Merry Christmas everyone.

Tuesdays Tasties

Butter Cookies

* 2 1/3 cups flour
* 1 cup butter
* 1 cup sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 egg

-Mix all together, roll out onto a floured work surface, cut into your favorite shapes and bake at 375 for 9-11 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned on a greased cookie sheet.
-Frost with your favorite icing or powdered sugar and milk.

Florida Bound

okay not right this minute or anytime in the next few months, BUT I justed booked our family vacation for this summer and am so excited! I have heard that Siesta Key is absolutely beautiful and the beaches are amazing so that is where I set my eyes to go for our next vacation. Last summer we went Sanibel and it was beautiful there too, however, the beach was very shelly as they are known for shelling on Sanibel. I told myself that our next vacation to the beach would be on soft, powder like sandy beaches and when I heard that is exactly how it is in Siesta Key I starting looking for a nice place to stay. Good thing I started looking now as the complex that I found that looks nice and is ON THE BEACH (another one of mine and Cory's must haves) is already booking up for the summer. I am talking already booked for the month of July and half way booked for June. It worked out perfectly as far as timing goes. Last year we went on vacation the beginning of July and I NEVER thought it would get here, so this year we moved it up a month and right around the time of Cory's birthday! I can't imagine a better way to spend your birthday then sitting on the deck, having a drink and watching the sunset and he agrees. :)

Starting a new family tradition

I made sugar cookies yesterday and then after dinner we all decorated them together. The girls absolutely had a ball and didn't want to stop, Cory on the other hand was done as soon as we began. He is such a guy wondering why I was putting the wax paper on the table in front of the girls (he very quickly understood as he was saying "oh my god the icing is going everywhere") yes dear that is why we have wax paper covering the table. Claire did a pretty good job as she understood not to get too much icing on the spoon and to smooth it out over the cookie. Paige on the other hand was plunging her spoon into the icing covering it with icing and putting way too much on the cookies. Cory hung in there until I said okay I will finish up, why don't you go give the girls a bath. However when I came up stairs and heard him getting frustrated because the girls had gotten water all over the floor (that is what you get for leaving them unattended, did I just say that)and his sweatshirt was all wet, he might have preferred to finish icing the cookies while I gave the bath. Oh well it is a learning experience for everyone, the girls really enjoyed it and it will get easier for everyone as the girls get older, here's to next year!

Off to see the big man in red.....

Cory and I got the girls all dressed in their Christmas dresses and we headed to the mall to see Santa. Before we left the house I wanted to get some pictures of them in front of our tree, for anyone who has tried to take pictures of more than one child at a time you know how much of a challenge this can be.

I decided to start off easy doing one at a time and even easier by doing Claire first. Maybe I am just biased but, HOW CUTE IS SHE? She is just getting TOO big TOO fast, I can't believe she is going to start Kindergarten next year!



Then I moved on to my crazy Paige! She is having a hard time with pictures lately, either you get a smile with her eyes squinty or her eyes open but no smile. Sometimes you will get a pretty good smile and the eyes are open, but she will then lift her chin up as seen in this picture.

I had to throw this picture in, we were talking about seeing Santa and I happen to catch her expression at the right time.

Next, I moved on to trying to get a good shot of them together.

I think this picture is so sweet of Claire and Paige's expression is priceless.

Waiting in line to see Santa, they can see him through the trees.

Paige telling him that she wants a baby doll, crib, clothes and food for the baby and Claire told him that she wanted a Leapster and games to go with it.

I have to admit that I don't usually buy the picture that Santa's helper takes but, this year it turned out too good not too. I took one with my camera as well but the mall one was better. If you click on the picture it will become bigger and you can see it better.

Merry Christmas!

Tuesdays Tasties

Double Delicious Cookie Bars





* 1/2 cup margarine or butter (1 stick)
* 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
* 1- 14 oz. can of Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk
* 1- 12 oz. pkg Nestle Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
* 1 cup of Reese's Peanut Butter Chips

Preheat oven to 350 for metal or 325 for glass pan. Use a 13 x 9 baking pan. Melt margarine in microwave and pour into bottom of pan. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs evenly over butter. Pour sweetened condensed milk over crumbs. Top with all chips. Press down firmly with fork. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool completely and cut into bars.

This is SO good and SO easy!!

So this is a bath

Well I know it is hard to believe but Cory finished the tub and the girls finally got to take a bath. Bless their little hearts, the last bath they had was back in July when we were on vacation in Florida, ever since we got home it has been nothing but showers. They never really seemed to mind that they couldn't play in the bath tub but they sure were excited yesterday when they got to take their first bath in their new tub!! Here are some pictures of them having a ball!

All ready to get clean.

Blowing bubbles.........


Playing with toys they haven't seen in 8 months...........

Floating..........

Hanging out, look at those little tushies, too cute!

All clean and ready to get out!

Herman

I would like to introduce you to the newest member of our family, Herman our Elf. He arrived on Thanksgiving morning and has been watching over the girls every day and then giving Santa a nightly report on how their day was. We LOVE this little guy especially Paige, she would get out of bed every morning between 7-7:30am (one morning it was 6 something) to start her search for him and where his new "watching" spot was for the day. It was actually getting a little ridiculous, normally we don't get up in this house until 8-8:30am, so I had to have a talk with Paige and tell her that she has been getting up too early and Herman doesn't come back up 8am. Hey it worked we are back on our normal sleeping schedule. :) Cory and I are really enjoying his stay as well, when the girls are acting up, not listening, whining, fighting etc. we simple say "Herman are you hearing/seeing all this, please be sure to report this to Santa". Immediately the girls stop, apologize to us, each other and most importantly Herman. For those of you wondering how we came up with the name Herman, that is all Claire. When we read the book that came with him it said we had to name him as a family and that was the first name that popped out of her mouth. At first Cory tried to talk them into a new name, but I liked Herman and told him to leave it alone, that is what Claire picked and Paige agreed, so there you have it.

Wordy Wednesday

As you will see I titled this blog "Wordy Wednesday" because I know if I said wordless and then type even a few words someone......... Cassie, would totally bust me on it. So here are a few pictures that I forgot were on my camera from Thanksgiving. We tried to get Claire to get in the picture with me, Paige and my dad but she just wasn't in the mood. I still can't get use to my dad with a beard, it is hard for me and my sister to see him with one as he hasn't had one since we were in elementary school. He just has too handsome of a face to cover up with a bunch of hair, but that is just my opinion. Love ya dad!