Christmas Eve- Pictures Added

Its Christmas Eve and 9:30pm - All the gifts for the kids are wrapped. I even made sugar cookies with Gina tonight for Santa. Oh what a ball she had - she did such a great job! Her favorite cookie cutter was the snowman. So, Santa ended up with about eight snowmen. I got quite a few shots of her making cookies and I can't wait to post them. She is getting so big and so independent. Right before the kids where sent off to bed for the night Gina, Vin, and I set out Santa's snack and the food for the reindeer of course!

I wasn't able to get the Christmas tree up this year (its already packed for moving).So after the kids went to bed I ran down to the basement and grabbed some Christmas lights and strung them through the curtain rods in the dining room. It looks great and I think the kids will get a big kick out of it. I will tell them Santa hung the lights up for us, because he knew we were in the process of moving and thought he would help us out.

I think the kids are going to have a great time tomorrow. Well, off to bed I go - Gina is busting at the seams to she what Santa has brought her. So we will be up early.

Merry Christmas!

Kids + Mommy's White Shirt = Stain

Today for the first time in three years I am wearing a white shirt! Sounds weird huh? Well, when you have two little ones everything ends up on your shirt. So for the past three years I have wore a white shirt with a sweater over it or a jacket of some sort to "protect" it against the little stain makers!

So, today I decided I was going to throw caution to the wind and wear a white linen blouse to work. Not only did I have to iron it! (amazing feat unto itself in the AM) I was going to make it out of the house without a stain on it!

I am happy to report I made it out of the house without a stain on it which was not easy given the fact Gina and Joey were having toast with GRAPE jelly (thanks, Vin - you stinker) on it when I left this morning!

Well off to work I go. Here are a couple of pictures I took over the weekend off my cell phone.

Joey hanging out at the park:

Gina playing dress up - The socks on her hands are her "Gloves"!

Have a good Wednesday!

I Missed It!

Yesterday, I came home from work; Vin and the kids were outside playing in the kiddie pool having a great time. Joey was heading toward the pool after his snack and I asked, Vin "is he ok getting into the pool?" "Does he need help?"Vin looked over and said, "No he's ok he can do it." So I watched. Joe climbed into the kiddie pool like a pro! No biggy he was having a ball climbing in and out of the pool with his plastic watering can. Now of course the water isn't that deep and Vin is right there watching the two of them play. But still, I was like wow! "When did Joe get so agile on his feet that he can get in and out of the pool with stuff in his hand"? I missed it! I missed a milestone of Joe's independence. I was bummed. He is turning into a little boy so fast and I hadn't realized it until yesterday. I have been so busy lately; I get home have dinner, baths, and stories or the goodnight show with them and then the night is over and off to bed they go!

It's life's little reality check for working mom's - it reminds you to slow down, stop what your doing and pay attention because your kids are learning, growing and changing before your eyes.

Balloons

Its amazing how the smallest thing can entertain the kids. Last night I brought home two balloons, a Cinderella and a Thomas the train one for each of them.

They had the best time with those balloons running around the house, pulling on the string making them bounce up and down. It was fun just to watch them so entertained by it all.

Its so easy to forget how the simple things are some times the best things of all. It helps me remember to not get so caught up in the rat race and enjoy the simple things.

Have a great Wednesday!

Sleepy - Is it Tuesday or Wednesday?

I know I am tired because I keep forgetting what day it is! Is it Tuesday or Wednesday? I have to keep looking at my calendar to make sure I am on the right day heading to the right meeting. I finished my iced coffee way to early and have started on my Diet Pepsi.

Why am I so tired? Well my sweet baby boy Joe is still getting up 4 times a night!! You may remember that Joe started getting up throughout the night last week because he was sick - which is totally understandable given the situation.

But, now my little man is healthy and should be back on track....Well you know what happens when you get up 4 or 5 times a night when your sick and your mommy comes to your rescue?

You figure out if you SCREAM and I mean SCREAM (The boy has a set of pipes on him) at the top of your lungs mommy will come barreling into your room, barely able to make it through the door without taking a toe off due to the half sleep stupor she's in. Its called Mommy autopilot!

Joey now thinks to himself, "Hm mm this is cool, Mommy is now my puppet and I can get her to do my bidding...." Evil laugh

Now of course I am not sure what Joey is thinking, but it basically means I have to start over and sleep train the boy all over again to get him back on track; Its going to take a month....

Back to the drawing board!

Have a good Wednesday!