Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Tuesday Tell All

Our transition back to *life as usual* has gone quite well! 
We ran a lot of errands today and visited Mr. Wonderful which is always a favorite! Ezra is getting some new teeth is so he's been a little clingy but he's still sleeping well and I'm still getting a nap so all is well. =)
Amelie got *the Target version of an American Girl doll* for Thanksmas and she is in love! She dressed up in a semi-matching outfit to bring her in for show and tell yesterday.
Cuties!

And not to be outdone--Maeve cheesing with Jessie!
That's it for now!
Mr. Wonderful is upstairs finishing up tucking in the girls and I'm waiting for our first conversation of the day....you know, because it's almost impossible to have a *real* one while they're all awake! =)
Good night!

Monday, November 29, 2010

Counting Down Christmas

Mr. Wonderful and Amelie had the whole week off for Thanksgiving so it was a little difficult today to get in gear and get 2/5 of the family out the door.
I miss "vacation"!
Luckily we're totally used to getting up at quarter to 7 since the kids always get up at the same exact time.
{At least it's not quarter to 6! =)}
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Anyways, I thought about potty training Maeve again today but lost the motivation before we even started.
Meh.
Instead the littles and I met our buddies for coffee and Ezra and PJ's favorite--*floor snacks* (i.e. anything left or dropped onto the floor and shoved in their mouths before the mothers have time to react.).
Ezra is just about fully walking all the time now so he was completely ooc (out of control). He loves his new found big-boy freedom and I swear he looks about a foot taller all the time now! 
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In other news my *Adoraboots* a la Old Navy came today.
Mine are actually black but Old Navy must have sold out of them and so I couldn't find a picture of the right color. These are more fun though!
They're pretty hideous but super comfortable AND the most important thing of all is that they keep my toes warm! It's a winter miracle!!
I was so sick of frozen toes that I had to treat myself to these and really, for $15 I just couldn't go wrong.
They're my new inanimate besties.
Not to be confused with my actual bestie who dropped by Sunday for a few with her sweet little bundle of newborn boyness, Hosea:
He's perfect and I couldn't help but touch him with my frozen fingers.
Such a handsome guy! 
Just like the rest of the handsome guys in his family! =)
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That's it for now!
Happy Monday, or as I like to call it, *Back To Reality Day*!!

Literally: This Is What They Look Like When They're Waiting To Open Presents....



Sunday, November 28, 2010

We had a nice and relaxing day yesterday.
Friday night when we got back from NY we did all the unpacking and putting-away-ing and the laundry and the straightening so Saturday we could relax!
Some out of town friends stopped by for a morning visit and it was great to catch up with them!
Mostly, Maeve and Ezra gave their son, Zander, a crash course on what it's like to have other people who want to "share" (steal) your toys. =)
After lunch and naps we got ready for the Fire Truck Parade!
Granny and Pop came over to watch with us and we bundled the children and waited...and waited....
It got started a bit late but since it goes right out front of our house it didn't matter too much. =)
There were soooo many firetrucks and thankfully not all of them were blaring their sirens this year! 
It was great fun and the kids loved the lights and the candy and Mommy loved the super short, non-existent commute. =)
The kids all ready to go!!
Granny and E-Boy!
Firetrucks! Lights! Candy! What more could a kid want?!

Saturday, November 27, 2010

Christmas In November And Pictures To Prove It

The best part about our trip to New York?
Aside from the wood heat, wide open spaces and Thanksgiving food and Christmas celebration?
Seeing my family!
My parents!
My babies playing in my parents' home!
Cousin Ezra and Cousin Ethan--only 2 weeks apart in age!
Granny and Pop with all of their babies!
My brothers and sister in law and nephew!
Present time!
Cousin rides of danger and fun!
Girls in matching dresses with their new dolls!
Christmas Jammies!
The whole Ackerman clan!
My Mom holding Maeve, my brother Michael, Sister in Law Amy holding Ethan, my brother (her husband) Matthew, Me and Ezra, Mr. Wonderful, Amelie and my Dad!
What a treat to see them all! It's been exactly a year since I saw my brothers, Amy and Ethan. I can't believe how quickly our time together went!

Friday, November 26, 2010

Wide Open Spaces = LOVE

Our first day in New York it was 65 and sunny.
Gorgeous!
It was a perfect day for Amelie to fly kites with her Pop!
They had a great time!
(Even if it did drop 15 degrees while they were out there!)








Home From Home And It Was Sweet

Thanksmas is over!
Boo!
It was nice to be home
also,
it's nice to be in my home again
although
I had to turn the heat up to 70 to help us adjust back down from the wood-heat-goodness. =)

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

How We Celebrate Pre-Thanksmas

5:30 am wake up call
5 hours and 30 minutes of driving
Driven by me because I'd rather not be the snack getting, dvd changing, keeping children happy passenger person
2 quick stops
20 minute nap taken by Ezra during the entire ride
piles of snacks consumed
dense fog driving
light traffic
cloudy, rainy, mild
an afternoon spent playing outside while the babies napped
Maeve's first time in a big-girl bed = success!!
flying kites with Amelie and Pop
until they flew across the pond and got stuck in the tree
Pop to the rescue!
Christmas lights
Christmas tree
Christmas movies
Family
Snacks
Fun
and the best part...?
WOOD HEAT!!!!!
90 degree house = LOVE!

Monday, November 22, 2010

In honor of Thanksgiving this week I'm posting my favorite ever entry on Awkward Family Photos....
*The Thanksgiving Letter*
An actual email sent out to the members of some family somewhere to plan their holiday celebration. 
Hilarious.

From: Marney
As you all know a fabulous Thanksgiving Dinner does not make itself. I need to ask each of you to help by bringing something to complete the meal. I truly appreciate your offers to assist with the meal preparation.
Now, while I do have quite a sense of humor and joke around all the time, I COULD NOT BE MORE SERIOUS when I am providing you with your Thanksgiving instructions and orders. I am very particular, so please perform your task EXACTLY as I have requested and read your portion very carefully. If I ask you to bring your offering in a container that has a lid, bring your offering in a container WITH A LID, NOT ALUMINUM FOIL! If I ask you to bring a serving spoon for your dish, BRING A SERVING SPOON, NOT A SOUP SPOON! And please do not forget anything.
All food that is to be cooked should already be prepared, bring it hot and ready to serve, warm or room temp. These are your ONLY THREE options. Anything meant to be served cold should, of course, already be cold.
The Mike Byron Family
1. Turnips in a casserole with a lid and a serving spoon. Please do not fill the casserole all the way up to the top, it gets too messy. I know this may come as a bit of a surprise to you, but most of us hate turnips so don’t feel like you a have to feed an army.
2. Two half gallons of ice cream, one must be VANILLA, I don’t care what the other one is. No store brands please. I did see an ad this morning for Hagan Daz Peppermint Bark Ice Cream, yum!! (no pressure here, though).
3. Toppings for the ice cream.
4. A case of bottled water, NOT gallons, any brand is ok.
The Bob Byron Family
1. Green beans or asparagus (not both) in a casserole with a lid and a serving spoon. If you are making the green beans, please prepare FOUR pounds, if you are making asparagus please prepare FIVE pounds. It is up to you how you wish to prepare them, no soupy sauces, no cheese (you know how Mike is), a light sprinkling of toasted nuts, or pancetta, or some EVOO would be a nice way to jazz them up.
2. A case of beer of your choice (I have Coors Light and Corona) or a bottle of clos du bois chardonnay (you will have to let me know which you will bring prior to 11/22).
The Lisa Byron Chesterford Family
1. Lisa as a married woman you are now required to contribute at the adult level. You can bring an hors d’ouvres. A few helpful hints/suggestions. Keep it very light, and non-filling, NO COCKTAIL SAUCE, no beans of any kind. I think your best bet would be a platter of fresh veggies and dip. Not a huge platter mind you (i.e., not the plastic platter from the supermarket).
The Michelle Bobble Family
1. Stuffing in a casserole with a serving spoon. Please make the stuffing sans meat.
2. 2.5-3 qts. of mashed squash in a casserole with a lid and serving spoon
3. Proscuitto pin wheel – please stick to the recipe, no need to bring a plate.
4. A pie knife
The June Davis Family
1. 15 LBS of mashed potatoes in a casserole with a serving spoon. Please do not use the over-size blue serving dish you used last year. Because you are making such a large batch you can do one of two things: put half the mash in a regulation size casserole with lid and put the other half in a plastic container and we can just replenish with that or use two regulation size casserole dishes with lids. Only one serving spoon is needed.
2. A bottle of clos du bois chardonnay
The Amy Misto Family (why do I even bother she will never read this)
1. A pumpkin pie in a pie dish (please use my silver palate recipe) no knife needed.
2. An apple pie in a pie dish, you can use your own recipe, no knife needed.
Looking forward to the 28th!!
Marney

Practically Perfect In Every Way

Ezra had his *one* year check up today!
*1*
ACK! 
Anyways, Dr. Steph said he was definitely perfect in every way (I totally knew it)!
He's 22 pounds which is 50% 
and 30 
inches tall which is also 50%! 
See?
Perfect!
I forgot to find out what his head circumferance was! 
I'm guess slightly higher than 50 =)
Oh well, it takes a whole lotta head to hold all this cuteness!!

Sunday, November 21, 2010

*Sun*day

It was another lovely, crisp Fall day and we finally conquered the ginormous piles of leaves in our backyard! Yay! It feels so good to check that stinkin' job off of our list!
I ran to Target super early to grab the girls a few Christmas presents because
a) most of the stuff they wanted was on sale today!
b) I don't black friday shop and don' t generally like crowds so it seemed perfect
It was actually like baby-black-friday. When I got there at quarter till 8 there was a line outside and when I walked up everyone was grilling everybody about what they were there to buy--I guess there were some electronics things on sale? There were people literally running to the electronics department. Yikes. They seemed mostly calm and cool though. I knocked off 90% of Christmas which is super stinkin' exciting!
In other news, I stayed home this morning with Ezra-boy because he's been running a fever off and on all day 
(which started with out awesome 4:30 wake up call--it's been a long day!). 
Poor guy! =(
Here's the girls dressed in their matching outfits--because the best antidote for being sad about missing church is dressing the girls alike!


Well, off to pack for our Thanksgiving trip!

Saturday, November 20, 2010

*3* Just 'Cause Part II

3 Favorite Places to Windows Shop
1. Mini Boden
2. Gymboree
3. Baby Gap

3 Favorite Places to Actually Shop
1. Rite Aid
2. Target.
3. Wegmans

3 Things I Can't Live Without
1. Canon DSLR
2. Computer w/Internet
3. Caffeinated Beverages in the morning

3 Things I Wish I Could Live Without
1. TV
2. Computer w/Internet
3. Cold Toes

3 Favorite Things To Bake
1. Bread
2. Cupcakes
3. Cookies

3 Favorite Books
1.The Bible
2. Pride and Prejudice
3.Anna Karenina

3 Favorite Magazines
1. US Weekly
2. Better Homes and Gardens
3. Entertainment Weekly

3 Favorite Christmas Albums
1. Kenny & Dolly Christmas (reminds me of my Grandmother)
2. Mariah Carey Christmas (vol 1) (reminds me of my Husband)
3. The Carpenter's Christmas (reminds me of my Parents)

3 Favorite Christmas Movies
1. Love Actually
2. It's A Wonderful Life
3. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Happy Saturday! 

Friday, November 19, 2010

Mini Boden = Love

Mini Boden is doing an excellent job of increasing my love for them!
(As if our love needed any extra inspiration!!)
They sent me $25 off my next order just because I ordered once in the past!
I happily accepted it. =)
They were running a *buy 2 items get the 3rd for $1 plus free shipping* sale so I combined that with my voucher to get all of these super cute clothes for Ezra for $20.
Total splurge.
Totally worth it.
Also, it counts as his Christmas present because he's too little to feel ripped off for just getting cute clothes. =)


Thursday, November 18, 2010

Accentuate The Positive. Eliminate The Negative.

I'm ten shades of weird today so instead of writing the Whiney McWhinerson blog I felt like writing I've decided to be more productive and positive and write about the things that are true.
You're welcome. =)
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*My husband is amazing. Perfect for me. He *does* floors. Also dishes, laundry and dusting. And there's all the things he does with and for the children. Also, he's kind of a *rock* star with the music and the piano and that is all kinds of hottt. 

*My babies. They are beautiful. They all take naps. Everyday. And so do I. They are healthy and funny and happy and they love me and give the best kisses and hugs. 

*My parents have always supported me. They gave me wings and let me fly (even though it meant that I flew away) and they do what they can to encourage and bless me at every turn. 

*My in-laws are my parents away from home and I grow more thankful for them every day. They love us and help to meet our needs and encourage and laugh and support and love my babies so much. Also the babysitting--they are so good at helping us out with our precious children and I am super stinkin' thankful for that!!

*My bff. She has red hair and she speaks the truth. Her family is full of cuteness. Love them all!

*My loving, encouraging friends who seek out my company and invite me into their homes and meet me for coffee and love my babies and never leave me feeling like things are one-sided. They are priceless treasures to me. I would be absolutely lost without them. I'm so thankful that God has placed each one in my life. 

*My Jesus. My Savior. No one compares with You. You saved me even though I'm full of pride. You forgave my sins and are preparing me a place in Heaven. You love me even though I am no good at loving You. 

Ah...I feel better now. What are you thankful for? 

The Camera Caught The Illusive Smiling Maeve



Did Anyone...

...see how pretty Kate's hair was when they announced their engagement?
To. Die. For.
I guess they're pretty cute too. =)

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

The Day I Did Mom Stuff

My Maevey was lucky enough to have a Granny/Grandgirl day today so Ezra and I were on our own!
It always amazes me how much I get done with just one child around! 
It's not that my kids are bad at all (usually =) it's just that there's always so many little things to do when they're around that I don't get many big things done!
Well, today was another story!
During Ezra's nap I got down to what I like to call
*Laundry ZERO*
Laundry Zero = the point at which all laundry has been done, folded AND taken care of AND the hamper is empty. 
Laundry Zero is like a little piece of Heaven!!!
I also had time to go through the girls closet and reorganize and sort out clothes that don't fit or aren't seasonally appropriate--I've been dying to do this! 
What a good job to have done!
After errands and a visit to Mr. Wonderul, Ezra and I ate lunch during which I made a Turkey Pot Pie (with our leftover turkey from yesterday....turkey = love!).
This was the first time in the 20 years that I've been cooking that I made a successful pie crust!!! 
Go me!!!
(successful = delicious and mostly normal looking; it's not pretty but it was yummy!)
So, I had to commemorate with a picture..which I didn't take until I had already cut into it--but my first successful pie crust needed to be remembered!
After dinner Amelie and I raked a million leaves 
(only 3 million left to go!) and then I started working on her costume for the Thanksgiving party at school.
I didn't go by a pattern--I just bought some light fleece and "Indian" ribbon and decided to wing it.
I think the final project came out well and only took about 15 minutes:
Indian Amelie!
The neck is a little more "scoopy" than I had anticipated but since she's going to wear a shirt under it anyways it doesn't matter too much.
My Christmas cards arrived today and reminded me that we'll be celebrating Thanksmas = Christmas/Thanksgiving in NY very soon! Woot!
That's all for now!
Happy Wednesday!

Super Cute Super Random Baby GAP