randoms...

my sweet baby boy. i love this kid.

my princess in the car. her "cheesy" smile!

our house. have i ever shown you the front?

the kids asleep in the car on the way to westport for thanksgiving! we had a fun 1 1/2 hours just chatting, david and me!

who do you think was having the most fun playing with jamey's Christmas present? it was the 29 year old...

i should also mention that i have a teenager. my 3 year old acts like a 13 year old. we have had a few crazy temper tantrums this week. i mentioned to david that teen years could be interesting. he mentioned that, if he was lucky, he might deploy a lot in those years!! the thing is, it's a quick turn around, and she is the most pleasant, mature little 3 year old. she's so much fun to be around and gets so much.

also, should mention that a few weeks ago, i fit into my college jeans!!! whoo hoo!!! today, i had to put on a belt, because my "fat jeans" (ie, fat jeans from four years ago) were falling down!! AND, i lost a pound and a half over thanksgiving week... just thought i would brag for a second!!!

we FINALLY, really, have heat and hot water back. it was out again yesterday (our temporary fix of oil having run out), and somehow instead of being filled first thing yesterday, they had us slated for today. so, at 1:30pm when i went to take a shower, it was cold. and still cold at 4:30. they finally came out around 7pm to fill us back up! hopefully they are aware of the problem and we won't run out of oil anytime soon!!!

battles... nora loves to pick out what she wears. and hates to have her hair done. and loves to wear princess or sparkly shoes. and hates to wear pants (except for leggings). i have decided that most of the time, it's not worth the fight. i put my foot down on princess shoes at preschool. but, to the commissary or other errands?

speaking of commissary, we were there the other day, just nora and me. there was a kid crying, and she asked why he was sad. i said i didn't know. then, at the deli counter, in front of a group of people, she announced that she was sad. i asked why and she said "because i miss my daddy". mind you, we were at the commissary, for military. i am sure most people assumed he was deployed, etc, as the "aww" spread through the group. i didn't want them to feel too bad for us, and reassured them that daddy was at home watching football. thankfully, that doesn't stop my little girl from missing her daddy!!! (what will we do when he is really gone!!)

thanksgiving...,

grandpa took us to the coolest park on thanksgiving morning... instead of the parade! i got to go to the top of the "tower", and took a shot of daddy!

he really was having fun!!

nora was a princess... she needed to be rescued. and jamey thought he could rescue her!!

me and grandpa!!

hanging out with grandpa.

bundled up baby boy!!

almost the whole fam! with the beach in the background...

snuggling with grammie!

fred's birthday. he was 12 years old! we had such a fun party!!!

i was wiped out!!! and david enjoyed finding waldo. nora LOVED the where's waldo books!!

cousins!!! d russ, sarah, andrew, rene, peter, david, me!!

brothers playing stratego! nora did not want a whole lot of pictures taken! we had a blast! it was so much fun. we went to westport, ct, for thanksgiving, then to boston for the weekend. a few shopping trips, games, so much fun.

home to no heat and no hot water. thankfully, that seems to be fixed.

it's beginning to look a lot like...

CHRISTmas!! i can't wait. my favorite night of the year was the other night... decorating for Christmas. it was so fun to have the kids wake up to it! i love this whole season!!

my gimpy reindeer, held up by a vase! all these decs were bought at tj maxx with my mom last year, when we decorated my house together! such wonderful memories!

my hard won candlesticks from cracker barrel. i won them at a keeno night in san diego!

oh Christmas tree... i bought it 7 years ago... it was so fun decorating with decorations i bought 7 years ago, ones from david and my childhood, our kids ornaments, and ones we have bought together (honeymoon, in maine...)

the table. my cinnamon scented pinecones. i love walking into this house!!

AND.... nora's octopus cake for her thanksgiving day feast at school. they were supposed to bring their favorite thing, and nora had been begging to make this!! so, we did! she was "so excited, mommy"!! she cracked all four eggs... did i mention that already??

last night when nora went to bed, she asked if the Christmas tree would still be up in the morning! so sweet... i assured her it would be. we also started a new tradition thanks to cousin susan! we got an "elf on a shelf"!

Christmas... i love it! i love the reason for it. i love the smells, the foods, the decorations, the snow (ask me again in a month...), the lights, the love, the time with family. i love being decorated for it! (i do, however, hate it before thanksgiving!- except when i get to come home to my decs. i usually decorate right before so we come back to it... especially when my sissy comes to visit after thanksgiving!!! yeah for that! but Christmas music on the radio since halloween... no thanks!)

we are trying to decide if we are going to the macy's day parade this year. those are some of my favorite holiday memories growing up. the staking out of our "spot"- although they have changed the parade route, so our "spot" would have to change. being interviewed on tv about my experience, seeing ground zero after sept 11th, and dad getting his clothes back from the dry cleaners that had just reopened. (btw- my dad was working in one of the smaller wtc buildings in sept 2001, and thankfully wasn't there that week...) seeing shows in nyc, shopping, central park, pam and fred's, the friedrichs. so many fun memories with thanksgiving, ushering in Christmas! I LOVE IT! however, it's supposed to rain tomorrow... so that may mean no parade (if it were just me and david, we would go... the kids may not enjoy that as much!!!)

happy thanksgiving! i am thankful for the little things. that when i asked nora today why God made a rainbow, she said "because Jesus died on the cross for our sins". umm, no, but STILL a great answer! and for friends and new adventures! and that they are coming to fix our heater today!

Fun times...

david and my rents when he got home from work. they may have been more excited to see him than me!

another Christmas card possibility!!!

speaking of Christmas, there were some gifts given this weekend... jamey got a tool set and LOVED it! (we're working on the boy toys... he's got barbie down!)

and nora got the doll house she'd been asking for! check out that face!!! she was so surprised/excited!!!

sweet boys!! i love jamey's face!! look at that "cheese"!

i think i have them talked out of using this as THEIR Christmas card!! but, it's still cute!!

what great parents i have. i am not sure i say that enough. i am so fortunate to have such WONDERFUL, loving, giving, FUN parents! they are awesome. i hope my kids love me as much as i love them!!

per usual, after our cliff walk, we went to the park. the up and downs were running on sunday, too!!! however, there was another first. i saw four old guys take a dip. it was 50*. and, they only went in up to their waists. but, stayed in for a few minutes!! (like, more than five!) CRAZY!

sweet baby boy on a date with mom. it was the first tuesday that we didn't have too much to do (or at least had time to spare) when nora was at school. so we went to the park!!!

on saturday, we went to the children's museum. it was nice enough to play outside, and jamey climbed right into this sand box. at one point, i told him i loved him. he got out of the box, walked over, said "i love you", and got back in the sand box!

look at that cute man! he as taking a pic of james.

self-portrait. it was a bright day!!!

crazy week... crazier weekend. i had to delete over 8000 photos before i could upload more to my computer. hopefully, they are really backed up!! and, i secured my internet. and pulled out all my Christmas decorations in anticipation of having guests after thanksgiving. and, had nora help me make a cake for preschool tomorrow (she cracked the eggs like a pro!!!). mom and dad were here over the weekend, and it was fun to do newport with them. mom and i got to shop a little bit on friday afternoon. it was so fun! i have been wanting to just browse the cool shops and consignment stores here. we got to do just a little bit.

saturday, i went for a GREAT run around the neighborhood, and everyone else went to ballet. then, we took james to the doctor for an appointment and scheduled a minor surgery for dec. 3rd. then, the children's museum. THEN... david and i went on a date!! we saw harry potter in imax. so much fun!! sunday was church, then a cliff walk. and just enjoying what was left of the weekend with the fam! fun times...

fun...

out for breakfast...

snuggling before school...

ballet.. aren't they cute girls! she stinking LOVES ballet!!!

something i've realized in all this moving and making new friends. it's almost harder than dating! i mean, you meet someone. you think you'll get along. you set up a playdate. you have to come up with things to talk about, find a common ground, see how "compatible" you are. then you leave. sometimes with wishes of doing this again, sometimes with the next set of plans in place, sometimes with a "this was fun".

then, you get together a few times. you develop a friendship. you enjoy the same things. your kids get along well. sometimes, this is where the husbands get to meet. do the husbands mesh? can they be friends?

sometimes, you forget to call, or they don't call. time goes by. you might see each other in passing and say "we should get together again". maybe one of you will make an effort. maybe not. hard to tell.

i was describing this to david last night as we were talking about friends here. when i was talking about how i thought certain people were going to be good friends, he said "so, you're boyfriend/girlfriend now"? there's not a good "define the relationship" phrase for friends. there's not a talk to have (which is so much less pressure). but there is a dance you do when meeting new people. think about it.

then, there are the friends who have seen you at your best and at your worst. they saw you in the hospital when you had your kids. they have seen you try on awful bathing suits. they support you, even when they don't agree with you... and they'll tell you why they don't agree. they call you out on your mistakes, and "have your back". but, like any good relationship, those friendships take time.

speaking of friends... a friend introduced me to a blog, and they are having giveaways this week... thenester.com. i love giveaways!! and one more... www.pure-and-lovely.com fun times!

a whole lot of pictures...

these SUPER COOL magnetic blocks at the children's museum. nora was fascinated. AND, they put them on the light table, so they look even cooler.

jamey spent a TON of time in the water area. he loved it! it was so much fun to watch him have the time of his life!

he also really enjoyed the super big light bright. putting things in and out.

nora's future as a construction worker...

my last several days have involved cutting out projects. i have a TON of projects lined up for me! about twice as many as are shown here!!

grandpa and sadie drove down today. we took everyone to the park, in honor of the 60+* weather...

whee!!!!

my new haircut...

grandpa and the kids!

the slide. but, couldn't let go of that snack trap!

and nora loved to swing from the bar!

sadie-dog...

maybe a Christmas card pic??

something i am noticing recently. how things are named...

take my new favorite hair place (not where i went... just love the name!)- "curl up and dye".

or the ice cream place- "lickety splits".

another hair place- "shear power".

how about "pour judgement" (a bar and grill). or "pour house", in nyc.

then there's "cheaters". a strip joint (just saw it driving by!!). at least they call it like it is!!!

i am now on the lookout for places that make me smile!!