What a longgggg day!

Ezra was up for good at 3:30AM and so was I! Boo! He was actually very happy and played well but I was sooo tired. He took a good mid-day nap but Maeve was up and I was waiting for the electrician to come (no-show, of course) so I didn't get to rest!

Then we had the Halloween frenzy! Gah! I have decided Halloween on a school night is not my favorite! We still had fun with the cousins and the grandparents though! 

Some quick pictures of the kiddos and then I'm going to bed! =)

My Favorite Cupcake Maeve!

My Handsome Monster Who WILL BE TWO TOMORROW!!!

My Beautiful Raggedy Ann-Amelie!

And yes, this *is* the best picture I got of the kids--after tons of candy, and a long day I'll take it. =)

Happy Halloween!

Sunday Seven

1. It is cold and I am not used to it. It was common, in NY, to have very cold weather/snow in October--luckily we've been spared icky October weather while I've lived in NJ. I'm just not equipped to deal with it anymore. =)

2. My littles are completely addicted to Little Einsteins. Have you ever watched it? Super cute--they incorporate classical music and some art history into their program.

3. Can't wait to see my kiddos dressed up tomorrow for Halloween! Hopefully there will be picture-taking-cooperation!!

4. I've been on an organizing spree and I like it. 

5. Ezra has one day left as a 1 year old. *moment of silence*

6. I took a bunch of pictures today and they were all horrible. Boo. 
7. My husband had obligations/work every day (and some nights) this week. I'm trying to focus more on being thankful that he has work than on the fact that I miss him when he's gone. His busy season is just starting--guess I better buck up! 
Happy Sunday!

We woke up to wintry weather this morning! It was sooooo chilly! My poor husband had to supervise students doing outdoor service projects today and he froze. 

At the same time Amelie participated in the school's walk-a-thon and had a wonderful day! 

They walked laps (friends and family pledge money to support them/the school) and then got to celebrate with a fun lunch and outdoor games. 

Maeve had an exciting day too--she got to trick or treat at preschool!

Isn't she the cutest cupcake ever? =)

And since there's never enough Amelie coverage on this blog--a video of her singing The B*I*B*L*E in spanish =)

I have extra layers on tonight--I'm trying to prolong the time until we turn on our heater because it's SOOOOO expensive to even keep our house slightly warm! 

Stupid winter. 

At least it's good baking weather! =)

Happy Friday!

Behold:

We were home all day waiting for a delivery--which, btw, was AWESOME. I got all domestic and made this delicious recipe from my new favorite website: Skinny Taste. I even used ricotta that I made myself (so easy, soooo yummy!!)

Behold: 

Chicken Rollatini with Spinach alla Parmigiana

Anyways, that delivery I was talking about? Well, we are enrolled in a program for the state of NJ that helps with energy bills for low-income households. They came through our house and did an energy audit and out of the deal we get much needed insulation, some new windows/door, a new fridge and deep freeze at no cost! The appliances arrived today and the quality was just spectacular! This program has been an amazing blessing and encouragement to us!
Anyways, I can't believe the week is more than half way over! I'm looking forward to Bible study tomorrow and need to get crackin' on another night's homework for it! =)
Happy Wednesday!

We spent a lovely morning with our friends 

(thank goodness because we had a ROUGH night). 

It's another gorgeous fall day--so beautiful outside! Soon we'll have our hands full with raking the 9 billion leaves that fall in our back yard--also, 9 billion is in fact an UNDERSTATEMENT! =)

***

I have been researching cake designs for Ezra's birthday--I think I've settled on a train cake of some sort--here are some finalists:

***

Not much else going on--but you know,

*no news is good news*!

I'm sooooo ready for bed tonight--after hours of children up and around and not sleeping last night we are all weary.

Happy Tuesday!

Yesterday we celebrated Maeve's birthday with family! It was so nice to see everyone--we love them! Before the big party I took the girls to Sweet & Sassy for a fun "makeover." The place is run by a bunch of 12 year olds and took forever to get our appointment started but luckily our stylist was perfect. =) Also, that place makes me feel OLD. 

Anyways, here are the girls after hair, nails, make up! 

Maeve was very excited by her presents, Amelie was very traumatized that the presents weren't for her (even though she DID get two presents--lucky bum!) and Ezra had no idea what was going on. =) Here's a picture of Maeve's requested Ladybug Cake that I made:

 Tickled to have the ladybug to herself--she ate only the eyes and lips =)

 I didn't take enough pictures and the only one I got of Uncle Jon and Danielle they were eating. Sorry! HA! Love you guys!

 Maeve loved her presents!!

 Aunt Micayla, Uncle Ryan, Pop-pop laughing (love!), Granny, and Xander!

 It was lovely and now it's over and I'm starting to accept that I have a 4 year old. =)

After lunch today I told my husband, 

"I just want one picture of all three kids."

So we posed and he chased and we corralled and I got nothin'. (Ezra is anti-picture at the moment). So the next best thing? Throwing them all in swings and telling them to smile. =)

I have a hard time getting pictures of Amelie because A) she's at school all the time B) she doesn't like to pose C)she'll only let me take one or two pictures at a time. Luckily today she let me take a few more. She started out silly:

Goofy:

Then I told her to look at Daddy and think about how much she loves him and she smiled sweetly. =)

And then the best of all:

Love my sweet girl!

Pictures of the Birthday Girl

Dear Maeve, 

4 years ago we welcomed you into our family! You were such a sweet, quiet and simple baby. You never cried. You were very content to lay anywhere at anytime and you liked to sleep in bed right next to Mommy. I was extra excited to meet you because I lost two little babies the year before you were born--and though I mourn their loss--I am so thankful that God knew I had to wait for you (even though the waiting was so very painful). You came at just the right time for our family--and that's one of the most important things I hope you'll ever learn-

-that God does things in His time and His timing is perfect every time. 
I am still learning this lesson!! 
 Sweet Maeve, you are loved and lovely. You have an amazing big sister who would do anything for you and a wonderful little brother who might be a little bit of a bother, but that will change with time--I pray that you will always cherish them. You are so outgoing and funny--so much like Daddy in so many good ways. Our love for you grows every single day! May the Lord bless you as you grow with a heart for Him, and with love and kindness for others. 
Happy 4th Birthday my dear one!

Love, Mama

It was rainy all day.

We stayed home.

I liked it.

Well, aside from Maeve's short trip out to preschool and back, that is. =)

I'm still preparing myself emotionally for Maeve's birthday tomorrow--I can't believe HOW QUICKLY this last year has gone. I can't even talk about a certain someone turning 2 in two weeks. GAH.

I took these pictures the other day of my little-big-girls--I love them so!

Maeve is so funny-what a diva! And Amelie is so grownup and lovely.

There is so much to be thankful for around here!

***
I heard this song while I was driving today--it's one of my new favorites. 

Happy Wednesday! And take a minute to be thankful for all of the blessings in *your* life!

Interview with the cutest *almost 4* year old in the land!

What's your favorite color?

Pink & Purple, Green

What's your favorite toy?

Polly Pockets and Disney Stuff

Who's your best friend?

Leah

What's your favorite thing to do?

Go to McDonalds and see Granny and have Grand-girl days

What's your favorite movie?

Mickey Mouse

What's your favorite thing to eat?

Dinosaur Chicken 

What's your favorite snack?

Whatever I eat at preschool.

What do you want to do for your birthday?

Open presents.

Who is your favorite person?

I love everybody and God and Jesus, His Son.

Is there anything else I should know?

Sometimes I like to play computer games and go on roller coasters.

The Good News * Bad News Edition

The Good News:

Ezra has been sleeping like a champ all week!

The Bad News:

Until last night--when he woke up at 3:30 and never went back to sleep. He went down for a short nap at 9 (I missed church--boo), up at 10 and THAT WAS IT. Gah. 

The Good News:

Amelie *loves* raking giant piles of leaves in the back yard:

The Bad News:

Maeve loves jumping in freshly raked piles of leaves. Poor Amelie. =)

The Good News:

My haircut came out great! It was cut and styled beautifully yesterday morning. And then I ran 2.7 miles (thankyouverymuch) and it was destroyed. 

The Bad News:

Hair cut still cute--hair styling fail. Yesterday it looked perfectly piece-y and oomphy and today--well, eh. Must learn to blow dry while curling under with round brush. Will probably never happen.

And, our final item:

Good News:

I ran 2+miles 6 days this week.

Bad News:

I just learned how to replicate Little Ceasar's Cheesy Bread at home. I may never be the same!

Good night!

Ezra has inherited a love...

or is it a compulsion?

It's a deep affinity for vacuuming.

Passed on from his Pop-pop, to his Daddy and to him.

Apparently it's a guy thing. 

I wonder if he'll still love it as much when he's a teenager?

I'll have to save the pictures as proof! =)

Mr. Wonderful is at the movies, the little ones are all soundly sleeping  and I am studying pictures of hairstyles on Pintrest. =) I spent the last 2+ years growing my bangs out and I've decided now that they are long I want them short. Le. Sigh. I think I'm going to ask for a combination of these pictures--hopefully my rockin' hair dresser is up to the challenge!!!  What do you think?

My girls both have awesome hair--I don't know where it came from. Maeve's is so pretty and straight and blond and Amelie's is so amazing and curly and perfectly-naturally-highlighted. Hopefully my haircut tomorrow is magical!! 
In other news, there is no news. We had a lovely day--Ezra and I went for a run during Maeve's preschool and then our dear friends came over for lunch. Love them. 
Tonight was family movie night--we ate takeout and watched The Little Mermaid. I have the movie memorized and couldn't help but recite some of the more familiar scenes which pretty much blew Amelie's mind because she has no idea that *I* was a kid when that came out. =) Isn't it funny that when you're a kid you just imagine that grownups were always grownups and that you'll always be young?
C'est Le Vie! 
Happy Friday--yay for weekends!

This week is flying by! We had Bible study at church--we are working on this Beth Moore Study:
It's really interesting so far--I'm excited to continue on. One verse in particular that stood out to me:

Jeremiah 17:14

  Heal me, LORD, and I will be healed;
   save me and I will be saved,
   for you are the one I praise. 

*****

For dinner tonight I made homemade chicken noodle soup & applesauce (with apples from NY) and bread (from Pampered Chef). 

So. Yummy. Perfect rainy-fall-day food. 

The kiddos are CA-Ra-Zy right now--they are watching Daddy play Wii and they love it. Everytime he wins they scream and hug and clap and everytime he loses a board they scream and cry. Either way, there is screaming, which, isn't very surprising. =)

***

Happy Thursday night!

My little darling Maeve started preschool today! She has been looking forward to it for a long time. She had a great day and brought home a picture she drew of a roller coaster (or at least, that's what she called it =).

Speaking of my Maeve, tonight when I tucked her in, she said a prayer and at the end, I asked her if she could tell me who Jesus was. She proceeded to tell me that He is the Son of God and that He loves us! And all of the sudden, while telling me this, she stopped and exclaimed (loudly):
"BUT WAIT!!! Did He come back yet?! Did I miss it?!!" 
Hi. larious. 
I assured her she didn't miss His return and that there were no way it could happen without her noticing it. Ha! 
I love my little grown-up-girl!

When my Mom was here last week, we celebrated Maeve & Ezra's birthday early! Nothing wrong with an extra birthday celebration! =)

Last minute cupcakes!

CUPCAKEEEEE!!!