A "Real Life" Valentines Day

Can I just tell you how awesome my hubby is?

OK. Good.

Friday he arranged for a babysitter and took me out to a very romantic dinner for 3 (we took Gabrielle, of course). He really went out of his way to make the date special since we've not been out in a LOOOOOng time. We ate some spectacular Italian food. I had Chicken French with greens and beans au gratin on the side. Yummy! I love anything green and the greens and beans were to die for! During dinner, he gave me a fun card with a heartfelt letter inside. And yes, I teared up while reading but was able to keep my composure in public. Gabrielle kept things light as she chucked a gazillion cheerios onto the floor and tossed every toy we brought along. Overall, she was very pleasant company.

During dinner I realized what a good listener Tim really is. I've been complaining ALOT about wanting a snickers bar lately (I've been watching my chocolate intake after overdosing on OREO's last week) so he busted out some Godiva Chocolate Pearls after our meal - what a good man! I've also had some major fights with my closet lately and they have left me in some bad , down-right foul moods. He also informed me that he spent some time shopping for an outfit for me to wear to dinner but it never materialized because of my inconsistent clothing size these days - so now I get to go out and pick some clothes myself. It was a great Pre-Valentine's Day UNTIL...

3 AM - when Gabrielle decided she would exercise her lungs for several hours. Holy cow -is that girl LOUD. She must take after me. We finally got back to sleep at 5:15am and our Samuel woke up promptly at 6am with Gabrielle following closely behind at 6:45. Tim, nor I, were expressing a "Valentine's Day Spirit" to say the least. So, I took a nap and hubby in his exhausted state took the kids. Once I got up, it was Tim's turn to sleep, UNTIL...

Samuel's nice quiet play turned into hysterics when he decided to shove a small purple fluffy pom-pom up his left nostril. Samuel kept shoving his finger up his nose trying to get it out only driving that little purple pom-pom further up. Oh-boy, our first object up the nose experience. Tim had to hold him down, while I gently tweezed that snot cover pom pom out. He never thought he'd survive, but he did. And so did we, UNTIL...

Gabrielle picked up an itsy-bitsy-teensy-weensy unknown object from the kitchen floor with her newly perfected pincher grip (even though I vacuum and sweep like a mad woman) and began coughing, choking, gagging, crying and spitting up. Whatever was lodged in her throat (probably some crusty piece of food - gross) eventually made it's way down after a minor freak out from mama and then some prayers. She survived, and so did we, UNTIL...

Gabrielle found her way into the food pantry while Daddy was getting out some stuff for dinner. She's perfected the forward crawl and so she will hunt you down wherever you may be and promptly get under your feet. Daddy accidentally dropped a can of tuna fish and it landed on the poor baby's hand. Oh my did she cry. After a small freak out from mama and some prayers, she was just fine - just a little bruise.

Thankfully all the incidents of the day were minor and we celebrated our Valentine's Day the best way we knew how. With lots of patience, hugs and heart-shape cookies. Heart-shape cookies always make the day a little brighter. Thank you Eileen!

Wordless Wednesday - Christmas Catch Up

(Click on collage to enlarge)

Christmas Card Out Takes

Gabrielle, stop looking at the cat!

Ooops, forgot the bow!

Don't hate me because I'm gorgeous!

A bit too sultry for a 7 month old!

Pleeeease, look at mommy!

Blurry...Ugh!

Finished Product! Good Enough!

Merry Christmas Blog Land!
May you be blessed and may your day be filled with great joy!

Wordless Wednesday - When Samuel decorates the tree...

The Inevitable

It was bound to happen.

I mean it was totally out of his control.

There was no preventing it and no way around it.

It was simply inevitable.

Tim turned 30 this past Monday.


That is a picture of yummy carrot cake that I was supposed to make but things being as they are, Eileen (my mom-away-from-home) made it for me.

Notice I spared him 30 individual candles and put the big ones on. I thought it might be a fire hazard with little children around.


That is a re-enactment of blowing out the candles. I was too slow to get the picture the first time around. Ooops!

And that is a photo of a kid in a candy store. His big gift from several friends and family was a smart phone of his choice.

Honey, Even though you're no longer twenty-something, you still look like a babe to me!!!
I love you!

Harvest Fun - Part 2

Today is Election Day. Please vote!!! It counts!

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My mother came to visit us last weekend. It was about time. We had not seen her in 5 months. We had a great visit. She played a ton with Samuel. Gabrielle adored her and I just loved having her company.

Samuel and Nana had a great time getting out the pumpkin guts.

My little Picasso got his paint brush out and created a pumpkin masterpiece.

Despite samuel's pleading, I did the carving.

Our finished product. Can you guess who our pumpkin is?

This past weekend was our totally awesome Harvest Party at church. It is a safe alternative to "trick or treating." Here are my two kiddos all ready to go.

If you read this post then you would understand why my little girl is dressed as a bee. I made her costume for less than $6. Don't you just love the pink pom poms?

Dr. Samuel and his buddy, Judah.

Samuel won best costume for the night. I was totally shocked because he was not dressed for the theme of the party "Adventure Quest." Regardless, I was so happy for him. I'm not sure he totally got what was going on, but he knew he was special when he got applause from all the other kids and parents.

Way to go Samuel-Boo!!!

Harvest Fun - Part 1

We made our annual trip to Stokoe Farms this year to pick pumpkins. It was early October and 70 degrees. It just didn't seem right to have it so warm, but it made it a bit easier for Gabrielle to be outdoors all afternoon.

The pumpkin patch was absolutely beautiful this year.

She is just the sweetest, isn't she???

I just love watching my boys from a distance.

Mr. Muscles trying to pick up a pumpkin.

Like father, like son.

Like father, like daughter too.
(Holy cow! Does she have his facial expression or what?).

The hay box was a huge hit.
Lots of laughs and lots of hay down the pants!

And oh my goodness, could it be? A family picture!
(Too bad I look like a smurf.)

Easter Basket Bliss

Mr. Potato Head was a hit!

The slinky too!

The chocolate bunny was a mystery at first - until sampled.
Now all I hear is "Mommy, I LIKE chocolate!"

The best part of the morning for Samuel was reading the Guitar Center circular with Daddy and looking at all the drums. The more cymbals, the better!

The best part of the morning for Mommy was reading the Easter story to my son and having his full attention. I actually got a bit teary eyed as we snuggled on the couch under the blankets. Although he cannot fully understand the impact of the cross of Jesus Christ right now, I know that someday he will. What a wonderful Easter morning!

Holiday Happiness!

This has been a fabulous week for being in the Christmas Spirit!

First stop was last Sunday at Grzenda's Christmas Tree Farm. This is a beautiful place to get a tree. We were a bit unprepared for the weather (mix of snow and rain and very windy) but thankfully we bumped into some friends and they gave us a wool blanket, a Carhartt jacket for Tim, and a bright orange hat. I didn't have a hat with me, so Tim gave me his black hat and he decided to sport the orange hat. He knew that was the proper fashion maneuver for his super sensitive pregnant wife. We hopped on the tractor and rode past a beautiful frozen lake, on to the field of trees. They were magnificent! Tim sawed down our tree while Samuel stood on the side lines holding his very large snowball.

I think our tree is the best one we've ever had! I was amazed at how perfectly shaped it is and how great it smells! We brought the tree home, stuck it in the stand and guess what else we did? FORGOT to water it for the rest of the day. Between Tim's usual absent-mindedness and my pregnancy induced spaciness. We both forgot to water the tree. I was so upset I could cry. We put water in before bed and checked it the next morning. It had barely absorbed any water and there was a ton of needles on the floor. Yikes! We had to save our tree. So Tim had to take it out of the stand and make a fresh cut the next day and it's doing fine now.

Samuel "helped" me decorate the tree by pulling the lights off as I was putting them on. Somehow we managed to get all the lights and ornaments on and Samuel is just loving the tree! Probably loving it too much as he is constantly rearranging the ornaments.

Don't go into shock. Yes, that is me in an apron. The second stop was baking at KT's house. For those of you who know me. I just don't bake. I love to cook meals but baking to me is tedious, controlled and way too precise. But I figured with KT's help I could enjoy the process.

We made Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls and Andrea's famous caramel corn. The boys played together and napped at the same time.

We enjoyed the silence and a cup of coffee or two!

I made a second batch of caramel corn at home and my little buddy found a new sweet treat that might have replaced lunch if I didn't intervene. Every few minutes a small hand would pop up and steel a few kernals of corn while it was cooling.

The end result was several lovely gifts all ready to ship out to friends and family. I delivered the cinnamon rolls locally to some of my favorite people. I then made these cute goodie bags filled with caramel corn, a Christmas movie and a few other treats to my family members who have children and live out of town. This was actually KT's idea, so I have to give her credit. All my packages are mailed out and I, for the first time in holiday history, will not be waiting on huge lines at the post office with just enough time to get gifts out for the holidays. I guess this week has given me a nice sense of accomplishment.