Great Weekend and Holiday Decorations

Can I first say how much I love long weekends with my husband? It's been so great to be a full family for four straight days! We've had a lot of fun and I'm sure Monday will be an adjustment for each of us. Thursday we shared a lovely Thanksgiving dinner with my Aunt Joan and Uncle Tom and cousin Evan. Dinner was super yummy and catching up was even more fun.

On Friday we had a lazy morning and then went to the gym. The girls played in the kids club and Oscar and I had a nice workout. After our workout the girls ate lunch in the car and we decided to try our first car wash experience. We'd talked about it for a few days prior and what was going to happen and how exciting it was. It started off iffy, Fiona had a very frightened face, but we kept up the excitement and eventually she was saying "Hi" to all the machines and laughing. It was very positive and both girls want to go again.

Saturday we had a nice lazy day again but were productive around the house. Oscar was cleaning up a storm and I headed to a friend's Mary Kay Party. When I returned I worked more on the Christmas tree (I was restringing the lights on our pre-lit tree because some had gone out...that's an undertaking!)

Sunday morning we did some family hanging out, and videoing. I worked more on the Christmas tree and getting the decorations ready. When the girls got up from nap time they helped me put all the ornaments on the tree. I was pretty happy with the tree because I was able to go the ball ornament route and the old wooden ornaments I received from my mother. I have many glass bulbs that were also my grandmothers and I've wanted to do a full antique bulb tree. Thanks to a huge sale at Joann's Fabrics I got some nice shatterproof ornaments which blend well with my antiques. Overall it's a beautiful look. I used some of the ornaments that didn't go on the tree to decorate my chandelier...looks interesting (idea inspired by Real Simple).

For the Finishing touch both girls put the star on top of the tree.

A Stroll Down Memory Lane

We were just looking at old pictures with the girls and watching some videos. This is still one of my favorite videos ever. Luli is just over 19 mths, and Fiona (though not in the video) is a newborn. This was during one of those times that Fiona was napping and Luli and I got to spend sometime together just us. This video still makes us laugh and now Luli and Fiona think it's hilarious also.

Happy Thanksgiving

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! I love Thanksgiving because I love to be surrounded by family and I love to eat. As the years progress I become more and more aware of the things I am thankful for. I am eternally thankful for my husband, who is probably the most supportive amazing husband I could have ever asked for. For seven plus years now he's been by my side making a perfect partner in everything we do. We work together to make our decisions and try hard to stick together and live a healthy, environmentally friendly, and considerate life. He's just the most amazing man, I can't put it any other way because the words don't exist to describe how I love this man.

I'm very thankful for my daughters who came to us with ease, taught us the value of life very quickly, and remind me to bring out my inner little girl every day. They teach me patience (well they push my patience and I teach myself MORE patience :) ). The smiles they give, the hugs they share, and the unconditional love they shower us with is the most amazing thing to have. They've also taught me the two most amazing names a person could be called, "Mommy" and "Daddy."

My parents are a continued network of support and love for which I thank God every day. My parents are there for us and our children whenever we need. The love they share with their grandchildren is the most amazing thing to witness. I'm thankful I have the ability to witness this and share in the joy of child and grandparent love.

The relationship that has grown so wonderfully with my brother is something I'm more thankful for every day. As adults we've come to understand each other so much more. We've come to rely on each other for support. He's an amazing, brilliant man who's talent shines like a star. I love him dearly.

My family that stretches the globe but remains a constant part of my life. I'm thankful for growing up a part of your lives and learning lessons of love and life from each of you.

My girlfriends and my mommy friends who help keep my sanity and help me grow as a woman and mother. For your friendship I am forever thankful.

I continue to be thankful for the way in which our country has grown and to be a witness to an amazing passage of history.

School Thanksgiving Festival

Luli's school decided to have a Thanksgiving party. I made a yummy pumpkin pie with whole wheat crust. The party was adorable as always and so fun to video and photograph. The kids made costumes for the show and sang two great songs. Each child had an Indian headdress with feathers and an Indian name they chose themselves. The boys were Chief "insert name" and the girls were Princess "Insert name," their only guideline was to create a name that related to nature. Luli quite accurately named herself "Princess Sunshine" isn't that adorable! I love it! For this party Luli had more of her singing voice on, which was great, I love to hear her sing and to see her do the dances. She's really grown so much from last year.

Cooking and Crafting

I've been busily working on several crafts and cooking up a storm. Fall and Winter could possibly be my favorite cooking seasons. I love to make soups and bake up yummy things to eat, why not I can hide it under my sweaters - right?! I made this really yummy pumpkin soup from this amazing cookbook my brother gave us a few years ago called "The Big Book of Soups and Stews." If you even remotely want to make soups you should own this book!

I'm working on one craft I can't talk about yet, for a variety of reasons. One reason is I have two little girls birthday parties to attend so I can't spoil it for them, and the second is that Santa is bringing this craft to my two ladies also! It's fun times to try and secretly create something with eyes glued to you. What I can share is a preview of my Holiday cards for this year. Last year I started making my own cards, I really like it. Oscar likes to point out that it isn't really saving money. To which I remind him, it's not the money I'm concerned with, I just really like to create them I think it means a lot to receive something someone has put a lot of energy into. And let me tell you, these cards did take awhile to make (mainly because I had to make so many).

Visit from Friends

In the beginning of November my very good friends Dana and Kristin came to visit us. We all met at college and bonded quickly, remaining great friends through the distance and changes of adult life.







Kristin brought her 5 mth old daughter, Donna, to visit also. We love having a baby in the house! Her presence was wonderful and the girls LOVED playing with her. They named their baby dolls "baby Donna" and loved gazing at the real Donna and petting her hair very gently. Fiona wanted a bit more "baby" attention for herself during the weekend and a few days afterward, which was to be expected.







The visit was lovely and we did a lot. Friday we went to tiny tots for Fiona's class, then picked up Luli and had a picnic. Luli took us all to see the "magic rocks" and take some pictures there. Saturday we went for a hike and picnic at Great Falls National Park, and Sunday before departure we enjoyed brunch at Patowmack Farm.

Beautiful Weather

We woke up Saturday morning to beautiful weather, getting up to the 70s. Well you can't sit around the house on a day like that in November! We packed up some lunches got dressed in our hiking gear and headed out to Shenandoah. The leaves were a wee bit past prime but it was a beautiful afternoon and the colors were still impressive. After a visit to the visitors center and touching all of the display stuff there we headed out to a short hike with a nice view. I should remember nice view always means rocks with sharp drops. This experience always leads to heightened anxiety for me even when it's just me and Oscar, add in my curious children and I'm a heartbeat away from a heart attack. Oscar likes to climb all over the rocks and Luli really wanted to climb with him. So it was *fun* keeping her with me! You can see in the pictures that I've got anxiety written all over it. Other than that we had a great time and really enjoyed the beautiful skyline drive and hike.