Forever Touch Giveaway!

giveaway hosted by Baby Gators Den

*My friend Joanna over at Baby Gators Den is hosting this giveaway. I think Forever Touch is fantastic so I wanted to help her promote them!*

Father's Day is only a few weeks away and I've already started racking my brain for gift ideas for my husband. How can I find something special enough for the man who is such a loving father to my two children? I don't want to give some golf balls or something that's going to last a year or two then get tossed into a donate pile during the next basement purge. I want to give the fathers in my life something that they will hold close to their heart and treasure for a lifetime. Some of my most prized possessions are pieces of jewelry or keepsakes passed down from past generations because when I hold them I feel a connection to my great-grandmother or whomever it belonged to. So when you're thinking about Father's Day gift ideas for your husband, dad or grandpa this year, think outside the box. Wouldn't it be amazing to give them something that they can feel a connection to you and your children at any time or place? I've written about Forever Touch before and how much I love their keepsakes and jewelry. They can make whatever your heart desires for the father in your life. Just think about how special it will be for not only them, but future generations in your family.

The possibilities are endless, but here are a few ideas that Forever Touch can design for you:

• pendants
• bracelets
• cuff links
• money clips
• tie bars
• tie tack
• key rings
• paper weight
• whatever you can dream up, they can make...

The owners of Forever Touch, Virgil and Cynthia, are some of the kindest people I have ever met. Not only can they create one-of-a-kind keepsakes that will be treasured forever, but they make it an absolute pleasure to work with them. If you live in Rhode Island, you can visit their Cranston showroom (935 Park Ave., Cranston, RI 02910) but if you live out of state they can make the process just as easy by mailing you everything you need to make your keepsake. Give them a call at (401) 467-6880 or visit them on Facebook to talk with them about your one-of-a-kind gift.

Visit Forever Touch to learn more at:

• ForeverTouch.com
• facebook.com/forevertouchstudio (you have to read the heartfelt stories from some of their clients!)

I'm very excited to be able to giveaway a $250 gift certificate to Forever Touch to a lucky reader. Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter. There are multiple ways to earn an entry and the more you enter, the better your chances! Best of luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Mother's Day 2013

I'm not going to bother making excuses for why it's been so long since I've blogged. I honestly feel like I've promised myself i'm going to get back to writing consistently about, oh, 100 times since the start of this year.

So instead I'll just jump back into it, and hope it's the start of a new trend!

Yesterday, of course, was Mother's Day. It was my 4th year celebrating being a Mom, and I think it was the best yet. The kids slept until 7:15, which meant I was able to drink 2 cups of hot coffee AND read my book in peace before they stirred. Seriously, that could have been all the celebration I needed. That's how much I had been craving that morning alone time.

Dan showed up an hour or so later and he came bearing bagels, donuts and more coffee, as well as flowers and gifts from the kids. We had a nice breakfast together, went for a family walk, had lunch and put the kids down for naps. Then he went outside, leaving me more quiet time to myself. I almost didn't know what to with such unusual amounts of me-time!

Later in the afternoon my parents and sisters came to celebrate. My amazing mom brought dinner, and we all had a nice time chatting and spending time together.

It was such a great day and i'm so thankful to have such a wonderful family. Being a mom is the best thing I've ever done with my life, as well as being the most challenging. It's made me understand my own mom so much more, and has brought me so much closer to my sister and all my other mom friends. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day! I hope all of you had a wonderful day too, and I really hope to write again sooner than a month from now!

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Easter 2013

I had plans to do a big Easter recap post yesterday, but as with most of my plans these days it didn't happen. We did have a wonderful day though. The kids, Stephanie especially, had so much fun tearing into their baskets and hunting for eggs. We went to my sister's house for Easter dinner and I ate way too much good food which, combined with the overabundance of chocolate in this house, is not helping my get healthy goals. But anyway.

During the egg hunt at my sister's house, Joseph's wheezing seemed to get worse. He has been sick on and off since February, with this latest cold lingering longer than most. His sleep had been non-existent and we were having nights reminiscent of the first 7 months of his life. (Meaning we walked him around our tiny apartment for hours on end, trying to help get comfortable.) But he acted completely fine during the day. Maybe a little whinier and clingier than normal, but still his happy self. Even the wheeze didn't concern me much, as it's something we notice every time he gets a cold and the Dr usually says it's nothing. But it was really pronounced when he came in from running around outside in the cold air, which caused a little niggle of worry in my brain. Then he had another night of no sleep, so it was off the the Dr we went yesterday morning.

Sure enough, the Dr says he has a slight case of pneumonia. I had no idea he was so sick. This boy has the opposite of a man-cold every time he gets sick. The smile never leaves his face, so it's hard to know when he really doesn't feel good. But I feel so terrible that all those nights of frustration from him not sleeping were really him unable to breathe comfortably. But the good thing is that now he has medicine and is on the mend. He slept all night long last night and knock on wood is sleeping soundly tonight too. He should be well on the road to recovery by the time we move to the new house on Saturday.

If you celebrated, I hope your Easter was full of blessings and that you had a wonderful day!

Happy Easter from my loves

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Happy New Year!

Happy New Year everyone! I can't believe it's 2013. Time flies!

We just got home from a trip to NY to visit my in-laws, and i'm ready to start a fresh new year. I have big plans for myself, my family, our home, our budget, and this blog. I thought long and hard about resolutions that would relate to the plans I hope to achieve, and I decided that the best way to tackle them is one month at a time.

(I absolutely love the Happiness Project by Gretchen Wilson, so I've based my plan very loosely on her book.)

Each month I will have one over-arching goal that I set for myself. I'll have several smaller goals or tasks that will help me reach that goal each month. I will check in here once a week to keep myself on track and help myself reach my goals.

January's goal is to get healthy. I know losing weight is a common New Years resolution, and it's kind of cliche, but it's also very important and very necessary. I had amazing weight loss success in 2012 and felt very healthy and proud of myself, only to gain most of it back during the last 3 months of the year. I need to get back on track!

To help myself get healthier I need to:
~Drink more water (at least 8 glasses a day)
~Log all my food intake into My Fitness Pal
~ Exercise most days of the week
~Go to bed by 11 each night
~Get up at 6am so I can have a cup of coffee before my family wakes up. (My days are less stressful and more calm when this happens.)
~Eat one healthy snack in the middle of the day and one at night. (Not a whole meal's worth at each snack time, like I've been doing lately.)

I'll be posting the success of my first week next Tuesday! (As for today, I've logged all my food and done 30 minutes of cardio. Not bad for the first day.)

I hope you all had a healthy, happy and fun New Years Eve (we stayed at my Mother-in-Laws and watched the ball drop in our jammies, which is my preferred way to celebrate!) and please feel free to share your plans for the new year with me.

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Christmas Toy Favorites!

*Hi Everyone! I took an unintentional blogging break this week, spending a lot of time with family and friends and enjoying every bit of this holiday season. I will return with my regular 3-4 posts a week in the New Year. For today, I've written a quick little post about my children's favorite gifts this Christmas!

I hope that all of you who celebrate had a very Merry Christmas! I know we did. Christmas morning was full of magic as the anticipation of the season finally culminated in Santa's arrival. Stephanie was thrilled as she ran into the living room and delighted in the stuffed stockings and piles of brightly wrapped gifts under the tree. She shrieked with excitement over each gift and took each one out to play with as she opened it.

Joseph was a little more subdued, often getting overwhelmed by his sister's enthusiasm. But he too enjoyed ripping off the wrapping paper and playing with his new toys. We spent the day in our own home, welcoming my parents, grandparents and sister in the afternoon for Christmas dinner.

It was a day full of good food, conversation, and holiday spirit.

As the kids have continued to play with their new toys these past few days, a few clear favorites have emerged.

Joseph is particularly enjoying his Fisher- Price Laugh and Learn: Learning Piggy Bank

And his Fisher-Price Little People Zoo Talkers Animal Sounds Zoo

(The zoo is actually a big hit with Stephanie too!)

Of the toys Stephanie received, her favorite by far is the Crayola Magnetic Double Easel

She's also loving Bell, the interactive storybook buddy, who is the companion to her beloved Jingle. 

Did your kids love their gifts? Did you? What were their (and your) favorites this year?

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Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Stephanie and Joseph are full of anticipation and excitement today, as we scurry around getting last minute things done for our holiday celebration. Tonight we'll go to my parent's house to celebrate with extended family, and then tomorrow we're hosting dinner for my parents, grandparents, and sister.

I've crossed everything off my to-do list for today, which is both amazing and a little disconcerting. I'm racking my brain wondering what i'm forgetting, since it seems like there is no way I could have gotten it done this early. But, since I can't seem to think of anything i'm missing, i'm taking a minute to relax and check in with all of you!

Feel free to share your Christmas plans with me, i'd love to know what everyone is up to tonight and tomorrow. And for those of you travelling, I wish you a safe and secure trip. May you all find peace, joy and love this holiday season.

Merry Christmas from my family to yours! xoxo

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Christmas Crafting

I love crafting with Stephanie, especially now that she's at an age where she really enjoys it. I had a bunch of ideas from Pinterest that I wrote about here, but I haven't actually done any of them with her yet. We have done some crafts though, and she's had so much fun making them.

So far we've done:

Door Hangings (Bought at Target for $1, markers included. Can't beat that.)

Foam Stockings (I found the stockings at the Dollar Store. They came in a package of 8. Foam stickers also came from the Dollar Store.)

Torn Paper Christmas Trees. (I cut out the Christmas tree shape, we tore up a piece of green paper, and Stephanie glued the pieces to the tree.)

We've also done a lot of coloring in Christmas coloring books, decorating cards and paper with Christmas stickers, and a few surprise projects that I don't want to write about yet because they will be Christmas gifts.

I've love to hear what holiday crafts you and your little ones have been up to, so please feel free to share!

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Christmas Children's Books

Last month I wrote about our favorite Thanksgiving children's books, and today i'm excited to be doing the same thing with Christmas books!

We actually own a lot more Christmas books than we do Thanksgiving ones, which is nice because we can read them all season without having to return them to the library. There have been a few that we've borrowed from the library though, and some of them will eventually become part of our home collection since they are so well-loved!

Here are five of our favorites this year:

The Polar Express by Chris Van Allsburg. This is one of our books, and even though I put it out after Thanksgiving I didn't expect to read it to her. It's a classic and beautifully illustrated but I assumed there were just too many words. That just goes to show that I shouldn't assume anything when it comes to my kids. This is Stephanie's absolute favorite Christmas book and we read it almost every day.

Olive the Other Reindeer by J. Otto Seibold and Vivian Walsh. This is a cute little tale about a dog named Olive who hears her name on the radio and assumes it means Santa is calling her to come be his reindeer. (She misinterprets the song lyric "all of the other reindeer" as "Olive the other reindeer.") Santa takes pity on her and lets her join his team on Christmas night. I had watched the movie that's based on this book a long time ago, and I feel like the book is much cuter! Stephanie requests it often, and will be pretty disappointed when it has to go back to the library.

Fancy Nancy: Splendiferous Christmas by Jane O'Connor. We adore Fancy Nancy, and this book about Nancy's extra fancy Christmas doesn't disappoint. Full of colorful pictures and "fancy" words, Nancy's Christmas book is one that we will definitely need to buy at some point.

The Berenstain Bears Meet Santa Bear by Stan and Jan Berenstain. This is the original Berenstain Bears Christmas book (there have been other modern ones that have come out since.) I read this one growing up, and love sharing it with Stephanie now. In fact, the copy I'm reading to her is the one I owned when I was little. It tells the story of how Sister Bear writes a huge list to Santa, but eventually learns that it isn't good to be greedy, and that there is much more to Christmas than receiving gifts. Definitely a good one!

Franklin's Christmas Gift by Paulette Bourgeois. This is a sweet story about Franklin the turtle and his class's Christmas toy drive for needy children. When Franklin goes home to choose a toy, he discovers that all of his toys are too special for him to donate. But then at school the next day he hears about the generous donations his friends are making and feels like none of his toys are good enough to donate. He eventually figures out just the right toy to give and feels filled with the Christmas spirit. Franklin books are perfect for preschoolers. They are sweet and simple, with concepts that are easy for little ones to grasp. If you can get your hands on a copy of this (Franklin books are hard to find!) I highly recommend it.

Since I love children's literature, especially holiday-related books, I would love to hear some of your suggestions! Please share your favorites, either in the comments or on my Facebook page.

I shared my favorite Christmas books because that's the holiday we celebrate in our house. If you celebrate Hannukah or Kwanzaa, feel free to share any children's books about those holidays that you love too!

*I was not compensated in any way to write about these books. I either own them or have borrowed them from the library. 

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Thankful Thursday: Christmas Edition Week 1

It's officially the first Thankful Thursday of the holiday season! This week i'm thankful for:

~Being done with my Christmas shopping! Last night's trip to finish up the kids was the last of it. I'm hoping that this means i'll really be able to relax and enjoy the rest of the season without the stress of shopping hanging over my head.

~Christmas decorations. I love that my house is decorated (except for the tree.) Whenever I come home it makes me happy to see the twinkling lights and whimsical knick-knacks scattered throughout our apartment. 

~Target. They have the best Christmas section, full of fun foods, gifts, movies, and household accessories to help brighten the season. 

~Christmas books. Stephanie and I snuggle up every night and read at least 3 Christmas books. She seems as enchanted with them as I am. (Be on the lookout for a list of our recommended children's Christmas books coming soon!)

~Christmas music. I love hearing it on the radio and listening to Stephanie sing along. We've been listening to it for so long now that she knows most of the songs!

~Mocha-mint coffee. Dunkin Donuts puts their bags of ground mocha-mint coffee out every year at Christmastime and I love it. It's just slightly minty and mocha-y, not too sweet and just...amazing. I always think I should stock up now for the rest of the year, but then I think part of why I love it so much is that it isn't available all year. 

I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season so far! Let me know what you're thankful for, and link up if you have a Thankful Thursday post of your own.

*Thanks to Joanna from Baby Gators Den for hosting Thankful Thursday each week!

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Holiday Traditions: Toy Shopping Night

Tonight Dan and I are going Christmas shopping for our kids. This is one of my favorite nights of the year, and one I look forward to for a long time!

It's been our tradition for the past three years to pick one night after Thanksgiving and head out together. We ask my parents to watch the kids, do our shopping, and go out to dinner. We started it for Stephanie's first Christmas, when she was 9 months old. We went to Toys R' Us with no plan and a monetary amount that we agreed we would spend. We loaded up our shopping cart, and looking back it makes me laugh. All that for a 9 month old! But it wasn't only Stephanie's first Christmas, it was our first Christmas as parents. We spoiled her and had a blast doing it. After shopping for hours we went to a Mexican restaurant and enjoyed a rare dinner out by ourselves.

Last year we did the same thing, but for both kids. We bought a little less because, in an effort to save money I had shopped early and gotten deals on some things. But we went together anyway, getting enough to reach our allotted amount of money for each child. (We also Elf-shop for Dan's Grandma. She gives us money and we pick out things for them, from her.)

This year is different. We're really budgeting and cutting back to save for a house, so I have done almost all of the shopping already. But Dan likes to be involved in the picking out of the toys, so I saved one present per child that he can choose tonight. He can also choose the Elf-shop toys. We're also going out to the same Mexican restaurant we always go to. Have to stick with tradition after all!

Christmas traditions like this fill me with so much joy and anticipation. It's fun to get a night out in the middle of all the holiday chaos, and I love that Dan wants to be involved in choosing gifts for our children. Also, lets face it-picking out toys for your kids is fun. There's nothing like wandering through a toy-store to bring you back to your own childhood for a few minutes.

How do you shop for your kids? Do you have a plan? Shop online? I love to hear the different ways people get their gifts.

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Christmas Crafting With Pinterest

Thanksgiving weekend is almost over, which means it's time to focus on Christmas! My mind is whirling in a million different directions, thinking of all the fun things I want to do to celebrate the season.

I have a lot of ideas and plans, and I can't wait to share them with you over the course of the month.

One of things I'm most excited about is Christmas crafting. I've taken a few trips to the craft stores and stocked up on Christmas stickers, foam shapes and wooden decorations to paint or color. I've also started pinning some craft ideas from Pinterest.

I am famous for pinning things and then never doing anything with them, so I'm making it my goal this holiday season to make at least three of the crafts that I have pinned to my Christmas board. Below are three of my favorites that I think I have a good chance of making with Stephanie!

Source: preschoolcrafts101.blogspot.com via Megan on Pinterest

Source: easy-christmas-crafts.com via Megan on Pinterest

Source: funhandprintart.blogspot.com via Megan on Pinterest

What crafts do you have planned for this holiday season?

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Thanksgiving Children's Books

We have been spending the whole month of November reading Thanksgiving books. We borrowed them from the library and have read each of them at least 5 times. (Stephanie is in a big reading phase right now. One morning we read every book in the library bag...that was 17 books.)

Here are some of our favorites for Thanksgiving:

Bear Says Thanks by Karma Wilson

The Littlest Pilgrim by Brandi Dougherty

Fancy Nancy: Our Thanksgiving Banquet by Jane O'Connor

Thank You For Thanksgiving by Julie Markes

Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks by Margaret Sutherland

Over the River: A Turkey's Tale by Derek Anderson

These books are all the perfect length for 2, 3 and 4 year olds. They held Stephanie's attention, they talk about Thanksgiving and giving thanks in language that a little one can comprehend, and they are all very sweet.

(Sadly, one of the books I remember from growing up didn't go over well. A Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende Devlin was too lengthy and old for her this year.)

Have you read any books on Thanksgiving and giving thanks to your children? I'd love to hear your recommendations!

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Thanksgiving Countdown

On November 1st I wrote a Facebook status announcing my excitement that the holiday season was here. It's my all time favorite time of year.

In the past people have scoffed at my excitement and rolled their eyes at me, claiming i'm "forgetting all about Thanksgiving." This year I wrote a disclaimer in my status, stating that I wasn't forgetting Thanksgiving...it's part of the holiday season!

And it really is. I adore Thanksgiving just as much as I adore Christmas. I love the traditions, the food, the excitement that's in the air when we wake up in the morning. I love the football games and the parades, the family time and the "official" start of Christmas shopping. (Well, for most people. I try to be done by Thanksgiving.)

Thanksgiving also means I get to decorate for Christmas. I would love to decorate the week before Thanksgiving (My friend Melissa from Growing up Geeky has decorated her house already! I have to say i'm jealous.) but my husband would have a fit. So I resign myself to waiting for the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

Stephanie is already excited for Christmas. She talks about Christmas morning, about visiting Santa at the mall, about watching Christmas movies, reading Christmas books, listening to Christmas music and writing her Santa list. While I love her excitement, I also want to make sure she doesn't forget about Thanksgiving, so we've been talking about it a lot.

We borrowed a ton of books about Thanksgiving from the library and have been reading them every day. We talk about things we are thankful for and how Thanksgiving is a day set aside to reflect on all of our blessings. We talk about the trip we're going to take to NY that day, and the yummy food we're going to eat while we're there.

All this chatter has led her to ask, every morning since Halloween, if it's Thanksgiving yet. Yesterday I must have said "not yet" at least 25 times. Before 7am. Finally I decided that she needed a visual to see exactly when it would be Thanksgiving. Our traditional family calendar is high up on a wall, and isn't the easiest thing for a 2 year old to understand, so I made my own. Here is "Stephanie's Thanksgiving Countdown"

Every day from now until Thanksgiving she can put a sticker in that day's box. Once she puts her sticker on, we count how many days are left. She decorated it with crayons, and was jumping out of her pants excited to show "MY Thanksgiving calendar" to Dan when he got home from work. It was such a simple thing to make, but she is filled with pride over having her very own countdown. (She still asked me about 15 times today if it was Thanksgiving yet. So it didn't entirely fulfill it's purpose. But it's still fun.)

Are your kids excited about Thanksgiving? What kinds of things are you doing together in anticipation of the day? 

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Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone!

In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, this holiday feels more subdued than usual. But I'm still excited to take my kiddos out Trick-or-Treating and let them experience all the joys that come along with this special day. They are what it's all about and I love seeing their little faces light up on special, treat-filled days. Their excitement is contagious and I love being able to experience holidays with them. Stephanie is at a fun age, and understands what Trick-or-Treating means and that she will knock on people's doors and they will give her candy. We've been practicing saying "Trick-or-Treat" and then saying "thank you." She's so excited that she's been asking whether it's time to go since she woke up this morning!

(Of course, the whole day seems special and magical right now, before the candy-fueled, off-the wall bouncing around sets in. And before the post-sugar temper tantrums. But right now I can pretend that this year those things won't happen. Nobody burst my bubble...)

I hope everyone stays safe and takes precautions, especially if you go out in areas that have suffered downed trees and power lines!

Cinderella and the cutest little Pumpkin say HAPPY HALLOWEEN to all my wonderful A Baby Makes Four readers.

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Random Photo Challenge: Halloween Edition!

Welcome to week two of Random Photo Challenge! My friend Liz over at Learning to Juggle posted today's challenge: Post and share your favorite Halloween themed picture.

I decided to post a picture of Stephanie's first and second Halloween:

2010: A Ladybug for her 1st Halloween!

2011: A BumbleBee for her 2nd Haloween....with a precious 2 week old baby brother :)

*I will be posting my weekend Week in My Life post tomorrow morning....if we have power that is. Hurricane Sandy looks like she might hit us hard! I hope everyone stays safe over the next few days!

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4th of July Re-cap

She refused to smile nicely for me. "I makin funny faces mom!"

I've been meaning to write this post since Thursday. It's now Sunday. Better late than never, right??

In the days leading up to the 4th, I talked to Stephanie, in child terms, about what the 4th of July means. I told her that we live in America and that the 4th of July is America's birthday. She was thrilled by this news, and sang "Happy Birthday America" over and over again.


When the day arrived, it was the first time in a long time that Dan didn't have to work. It's been a long few weeks of him being out of the house for 15-20 hours at a time, coming home to sleep for 2-3 hours and then going right back to it. Very frustrating and tiring for all of us!

We started the holiday with a family walk to Dunkin Donuts (of course) and then put the kids down for an early nap.

When they woke, we headed to the farm to pick blueberries. (I never got around to making a bucket list like I did for last summer, but if I had, blueberry picking would have been on it. We love picking food fresh from the vine, and there's nothing quite like a sun-ripened blueberry!)

Originally we had planned to go into town and see fireworks, but Joseph was cranky, we were all tired, and so we decided to just stay home. We put the little guy to bed, and had a barbecue outside, just the three of us. After we cleaned up, Stephanie stood at our sliding glass door, peeking at the fireworks that were visible through the trees. She was enjoying them so much that Dan took her out to the end of the street so she could see them clearer.

When she came back, her eyes were shining with wonder and she tripped all over her words in her eagerness to describe all that she had seen. She headed off to bed with her head full of the delights of the day.

 It was a relaxing, low-key holiday spent with my little family of four. I'm always so thankful and proud to be an American, and I love that we get this day in the middle of summer to celebrate and be grateful for the land we live in. I hope all of you had as wonderful a day as we did!

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Memorial Day Photo Re-Cap

For our family, as for many others, Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer. Every year we kick off the season by hosting a barbeque for our family and friends. It's one of our favorite days of the year, and we look forward to it for months.

This year we also decided to take the kids to our local parade in the morning. Stephanie was thrilled to see Fire Trucks and balloons.

When she woke up from her nap in the afternoon, our guests were already here. There was a lot of good food, some delicious sangria, red white & blue cupcakes, and tons of laughter and talking. We had a volleyball game, a frisbee game, and a sprinkler for the little ones. It was a great day all around, and I always feel so blessed surrounded by so many of our loved ones. I hope all of you had as wonderful a holiday as we did.

And as always, we made sure to take some time during the day to remember the real reason for our long weekend. We will always remember the men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Words cannot express our graditude.

Joseph being Patriotic

Stephanie & I. She loves to take pics with me :)

My boys

We spent a long time trying to get a good family shot. This was the best we could get!

Stephanie & Daddy at the parade

Joseph & I waiting for the parade to start

3 adorable girls waiting for the sprinkler to turn on

They had a blast!

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Easter Re-Cap: Photo Edition

Happy Easter to those who celebrate! I hope you all had a happy, safe, and delicious holiday. Ours was full of family, fun, laughter, food, loads of chocolate, and plenty of toddler temper tantrums. 

On Saturday we went to an egg hunt at our church. Not only is my kid a master egg finder, but she also won a bag of candy-filled eggs. Can you say chocolate overload?

That night, we wrote a letter for the Easter Bunny, and put it out along with a carrot.

Joseph was so excited for the Easter Bunny to come that he was up for almost the entire night. Stephanie woke at 5 on Easter morning to use the potty, but I was able to convince her to go back to sleep until 8. When she came out to the living room, she was thrilled to search for eggs, and discover these overflowing baskets that the bunny left. 

She was amazed to discover that the EB had indeed eaten the carrot, and talked about it all morning.

When Joseph dug through his basket, he discovered that the bunny brought him some sunglasses, and thought they were pretty awesome.

We topped the morning off with a breakfast from Dunkin Donuts. My fast from DD coffee is over! I savored every last bit of that hazelnut deliciousness.

Easter dinner was at my sister's house, and of course we were an hour late. When we arrived, Stephanie (napless) cried and demanded I hold her for the first 45 minutes. She perked up for the egg hunt.

Then it was back inside. Stephanie loved digging into this basket from my parents.

We decided it was time to go home when Stephanie threw her biggest temper tantrum to date. We loaded everyone back into the car, and headed home for a quick supper, pjs, books, and bed.

Once both kids were in bed, Dan and I decided that, although holidays are 100% more tiring now that we have children, they are also 100% more magical and meaningful. Also, we will be consuming Easter treats from now until Halloween...

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