I celebrated my 38th birthday a couple of weeks ago. It was a quiet celebration with cake, flowers, a few presents and lots of hugs and kisses - it was perfect. My 38th year was a year of self-awareness and growth. I'm definitely a better wife, mom, and daughter but most of all I'm a better ME. I'm mentally and physically stronger and healthier than I've ever been in my entire life. Last year at this time I don't think I could have run two miles now it's nothing for me to run six or seven miles and I actually love it. I now spend more time reading scientific journals that I find fascinating and I get my morning hit of NPR which I simply disregarded several months ago. And most importantly, I have my glass of wine each night from my wine of the week club. Sure I still run around helping Alex with his homework/reading and volunteering in his class, trying to figure out how to calm down the Hannah temper tantrums, run to the grocery store and cook family meals, and go to work each day. But the point is I figured out how to carve a little ME time into each day which makes everyone in my life a bit happier.

Rock Band

What do you get when you mix a curling iron, a Barbie guitar, a 5 yr old, and a 3 yr old? A rock band, of course!! Hannah got a Barbie guitar for Christmas and sometimes insists on being called Hannah Montana. Alex's favorite song happens to be from the Offspring; not really kid appropriate but he loves to rock. I got an IPod for Christmas and have to peel it out of his hands. What can I say -- my kids love music. Hopefully talent comes with age because they have a long way to go before they can hit the record studios or American Idol.

Note: please disregard the messy bedroom.

The Cottontails

I've had several requests to post pictures of Hannah's dollhouse that we built for Christmas. I have to say that it turned out pretty darn cute considering my "crafty" talent is a little on the shaky side. Thank goodness for good ole Mom and Dad for lending many helping hands in getting this completed before Christmas - I'm not sure I could have gotten it together all by myself.

I absolutely loved my dollhouse when I was a little girl. So when I saw this kit on sale (about 20 years ago) I just had to buy it just in case I ever had a little girl to give it to. I also saved the "real" dollhouse furniture for Hannah but she's a bit to young to have it. The Calico Critters furniture collection that Santa brought works great in this precious little pink cottage. Hannah (and Alex) loves playing with her bunnies in her little house. I have to say that I've had my share of fun with it too. It's a nice quiet and peaceful activity to sit and play bunnies with Hannah on these cold days we've been having.

Alex's First Lost Tooth

Alex lost his first tooth this past week. He actually lost it during school. Apparently, he went to show his teacher his wiggly tooth and wiggled it a bit too hard and it popped out. He was so excited for the tooth fairy's first visit. The tooth fairy needs to perfect her technique a bit before the next tooth comes out. The tooth fairy waited until Alex was asleep and successfully made the exchange but there was a slight problem in the morning. Alex woke up and there was no tooth under the pillow but there was no dollar coin either. Jeff and I were in his room searching the pillow cases, shaking the sheets and tossing stuffed animals saying "I know the tooth fairy wouldn't just take the tooth without leaving something." We even pulled the mattress off and moved the entire bed but still no coin was to be found. Finally, after much searching and tossing we found that the coin had rolled under the trundle drawer under the bed. I'm going to have to make a tooth pillow or something for the next exchange - Alex is already starting to work on wiggling the next tooth so I don't have that much time. Wish the tooth fairy luck on tooth number 2.

It's Beginning to Look A lot Like Christmas - Sort Of

Imodium? Check
Cipro? Check
Holly Leaf Cookies? Check
Passport? Check
OK so Jeff is off to Indonesia until the 21st. We were able to squeeze in our Christmas picture during Jeff's prep for his trip but it wasn't easy. The first picture was a keeper but wait all the pictures we just took are blurry - that darn camera. Alex stop crying; Hannah get your clothes back on - we have to take more pictures before Daddy gets on the plane! What will stop this chaos and get those kids back in front of the tree? Left over Halloween chocolate. We were able to get a few more pictures before Jeff had to leave but ultimately someone looked goofy or wasn't looking at the camera. I tried to choose the best one but you'll see next week once I get my cards written and sent out.


So we ventured out for our yearly Santa visit but where's Hannah? Too bad the picture doesn't have sound because then you'd hear the high pitch screaming of my daughter. She wanted nothing to do with going in the vicinity of Santa this year. I couldn't even get her to sit on my lap next to Santa. So after standing in line for an hour and shelling out $35 here's our 2008 Santa picture. Alex was a champ and told Santa that his crying little sister wants a Barbie and Baby doll.




So the saga continues. What are we doing while Jeff is away? Alex has a birthday party to attend; both kids have their Christmas Program on the same day and time in separate schools (I haven't figured out how to clone myself yet but I'm still working on it); I need to get my Christmas cards written; I need to get teacher gifts; boxes of outdoor lights are still sitting on my kitchen floor; I haven't baked the first Christmas cookie (unless you call melting marshmallows for Holly Leaves baking); oh, and the doll house that I'm building for Hannah is still in 100 pieces at least it's painted and wallpapered. I'm not sure when I'll be able to go to work, eat or sleep but it's the Christmas season - I'll sleep next year.

2008 Fall Fun

We started the Fall season by making our annual trip to Cox Farms. We played on the slides, took a trip on the hay ride, and ate fresh apples and cider. This year was especially exciting at the farm because they had the biggest pumpkin in Virginia.

Alex and Hannah both had Halloween/Harvest parties at school. They were so excited and could hardly wait for Halloween night to come. We spent most of the afternoon carving huge pumpkins preparing (and waiting) for the spooky trick or treating fun. The weather was warm, the trees were colorful, and the candy was yummy. Now that Halloween is over, they are starting to write their "Santa Wish Lists" which are already quite long.

School Days

Alex has been a kindergartner for almost two weeks now and absolutely loves it. His first day was very exciting because he got to ride the bus with his neighborhood friends and choose his lunch from the cafeteria all by himself. Alex seems to enjoy all aspects of school. Although, I think recess and gym class are his favorites. Surprisingly, he even loves going to the school library and checking out new books. His class has already celebrated Constitution Day, had a Teddy Bear Picnic, and are preparing for a Hoedown. I can't wait to see all of the fun things that kindergarten has in store for him this year.

Hannah also started school - Knollwood Preschool. She absolutely loves it, too. I have her enrolled in the Lunch Bunch program just so see can stay a bit longer with her new friends and teacher, Mrs. Prihalla. Hannah has her school pictures tomorrow and can't wait to wear her flower dress and ribbons in her hair. I'm sure Knollwood will be a great experience for Hannah just as it was for Alex.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Hannah-Girl

We officially do not have any babies living in our house. Hannah is now a big 3 year old. She celebrated her birthday with lots of gifts, balloons, ice cream and cake. And she sure did rake in the (pink) gifts. I bought an unfinished set of table and chairs and my mom turned it into a princess masterpiece. Hannah actually squealed with delight when she saw her princess chairs. She loves having tea parties with her new bunny tea set and princess chairs. Hannah also got a princess canopy for her bed, lots of pink clothes, plastic jewelry beads, and a pink keyboard. She had a pretty pink 3rd Birthday. The best part of Hannah's 3rd birthday (at least for me) is that we have said goodbye to the pull-ups!! So, no more babies - only school going children live here.
I'll save the school stuff for another blog.

July Update

July started with a bang. We celebrated 4th of July at a neighbor's house and had small fireworks and lots of colorful smoke bombs. Hannah wasn't sure if fireworks were fun to watch so she hid behind her chair. In the end, she enjoyed the show as much as the other kids.

The kids and I went to Grandma and Grandpa's house for a long weekend and had a great time. We had an aquatic themed weekend. It started with a Hootie and the Blowfish concert which the kids loved (okay, maybe they loved the snowcones). We went for a ride on Grandpa's boat followed by a bit of fishing. Alex caught a croaker and wanted it for a pet. He finally threw the poor fish back but it wasn't easy to say goodbye to his new friend. We also went to the "beach" (aka the bay) and we couldn't get Alex out of the water - he loved jumping and playing in the waves. The only downside was that a three hour drive took about five hours with a 5 year old and a toddler in the process of potty training.

The month of July was our "Sizzlin Summer" month at Alex's preschool. This is a type of VBS only it meets once a week for four weeks which worked well for my work schedule. Each week the program consisted of a Bible lesson and songs, game time, snack time, craft time and a show. At the beginning of the month, Alex wasn't too excited about the Bible lesson but by the last session he was cheering the J-E-S-U-S cheer just as loud as anyone. I was as proud of him at that moment as I was watching him score four soccer goals in one game. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures because I was busy being a walking partner.

We've also been busy going to random summer events. I took Alex and Hannah to a working farm where they shucked corn and fed it to the animals. We've been going to the pool quite a bit. Alex loves the water! He is starting to swim a bit on his own and loves jumping off the diving board (with floaties). Jeff took Alex to a small water park with slides and a lazy river. And we all went to a carnival at the high school down the street from our house. We don't really have anything planned for the month August but I'm sure it will be filled with the end of summer fun and school time preparation.

Summer Time

It looks like summer is officially here. Alex "graduated" preschool and is now in summer camp.

Spring soccer season is over and Alex can't wait to play again in the fall.

We've made our first visit to the National zoo and Burke Lake Park with several more visits to come over the course of the season.

All of the summer flowers are planted and in full bloom.

All we have to do now is enjoy the hot, sticky weather at the pool and eat plenty of Popsicles to keep us cool. Happy Summer!!