Reminder to myself...

Count your blessings instead of your crosses;
Count your gains instead of your losses.

Count your smiles instead of your tears;
Count your courage instead of your fears.

Count your health instead of your wealth;
Love your neighbor as much as yourself.

Sunshine!

I am loving this weather! There really is something to what they say about needing the sunshine to keep you feeling cheerful and happy. Just feeling the warm sun on my skin, I didnt even mind squinting from the sun in my eyes today!
After taking Kaitlyn to school, the triplets and I stayed outside for about an hour and a half. They rode their bikes and scooters in the driveway, chased the dog playing fetch and played 'Hide and Boo Seek' as they call it (from Mickey Mouse). I vacuumed my car and was in amazement at how dirty it could get in just over one month! It has a black interior which shows everything... But now it looks good as new (on the inside anyway!) Now I have to take it to a car wash for the outside (also black and shows everything! heehee)
The girls and I have been spending some really nice 'girly' time together. Over the weekend we baked brownies together, made bead jewelry (necklaces and bracelets) and foam door hangars. After school, we played computer games, had a 'tea party', played a few board games and read books before bed. It has been very nice.
But...we do miss Tim like crazy, he has been gone for 2 weeks and we cant wait for him to come home.
Here's to another sunny day tomorrow!!

Bubbly

The girls and I love to listen to this song, especially when any one of us is feeling down or a bit grumpy. We cant help but sing this out loud and smile!! For some reason, I've needed to listen to this often lately! Just thought I'd share...

Puzzle Addiction

I just started working on puzzles just over a month ago and so far have completed 3, almost done a 4th and the 5th was 75% done and the cats knocked it over...ack!

Puzzle #1 - Disney 1,000 pieces (Unfortunately one piece got lost or was missing from the start, I think it makes it unique! ;)


Puzzle #2 - Angel Baby 500 pieces


Puzzle #3 - Another Angel Baby (Christmas gift from Sean & Holly)


Puzzle #4 - Disney - cats destroyed it before I could get a pic :(

Puzzle #4 - Picture of the girls (Christmas gift from Tim) Almost done
--picture to follow when complete!

New Kitchen Set!

I wanted to post pics of the girl's kitchen set from Mommom and Poppop - so here they are!

As you can see there is a fridge (with water & ice dispenser), Stove/Oven with timer and sink with sprayer!

They are actually life-size for my little girls!

Some Number Fun

Can anyone figure out how this works? I have tried all different techniques - its got me stumped! Oh and by the way, I am having trouble inserting websites as a direct link, so please just copy and paste for now till I can figure this out...

http://www.quizyourprofile.com/guessyournumber.swf

TGIF

The girls and I are very happy that school is back in session, however, I am ready for a relaxing weekend. It feels like we have been playing catch-up these last few days... getting back on schedule, meals, sleeping, chores. It has been crazy and in some ways I feel buried in it all. But we are looking forward to this weekend to catch our breath and slow down a bit.
Believe it or not, there are still a few holiday updates coming, but for now, I am going to play with the girls and get ready for lunch and a cozy nap... whew!

Holiday Update #3

Christmas Eve December 24th
During the day, Tim stayed home with the girls and I went out to get some last minute shopping done (for Tim…ssshhh!) We did some wrapping also. Then, at 6pm, we went to the Christmas Eve Candlelight service at our church and it was beautiful! The girls got to go up on stage with all the kids as the pastor and his wife read a Christmas story. Everything was decorated so beautifully and it really gave us that warm and cozy feeling. Of course singing ‘Silent Night’ by candlelight brought the tears streaming down my cheeks, as I remember every Christmas Eve of my life, all the way up until last year, being in church aside of my mom singing that song. I miss them so terribly, it hurts.

When we came home, we baked cookies – believe it or not! That may be a new Christmas Eve tradition because it was a lot of fun and it gave fresh, warm cookies to leave for Santa! Kaitlyn was able to write the note to Santa all by herself this year and we set up the cookies and milk on the fireplace mantle. We also left carrots out front for the reindeer and sprinkled some glittery oatmeal on the front lawn so Rudolph could see our house clearly! Also, the girls exchanged gifts from each other and they were so thankful and really had a blast. They also gave Tim and I gifts they had made us in school. We read ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’ in front of the tree, as we have for the past 6 years, then it was time for bed. Santa actually left a candy cane in each girls hand also, so they woke up to a sweet surprise!






Christmas Morning!
The girls ran in to wake us up around 8am (not too bad considering how excited they were!) and we immediately came downstairs to see if Santa had really been here! Indeed, he was! The first thing the girls saw was a 3-story Barbie Dream House all set up next to the tree. We opened some presents, took a break for breakfast then finished opening presents and we were all done by 10:30am! These kids work fast!

Some of the highlight gifts were:
Kaitlyn – Nintendo DS Lite and games, Disney Princess Cash Register

Megan – Vtech laptop, Toy dog with bottle, pink sparkly shoes, Princess CD player


Morgan – Leapster and games, Princess CD player, Barbie hair styling head

Madison – Leapster and games, ‘American Girl’ type doll, Princess CD player



Mommy – Puzzle of a picture of the girls, In Touch mag subscription, Sonicare toothbrush
Daddy – Remote car starter, Simpsons DVD, PS2 games, Screwdrivers, Surfs Up DVD

Also, when my mom was last here to visit, she had left big gifts for the girls here from her and Poppop. So we walked into the playroom and they saw their new kitchen sets all set up with a big red bow!

After presents, we ate lunch and took a nap. Around 6pm we had dinner… a spiral cut ham – and dessert… our yummy cookies! We got on the web cam so Mommom and Poppop could see all of the girls presents and watch them open their stocking stuffers. We also watched a Christmas movie before bed and read some cozy stories.

It was a wonderful Christmas – we really missed having our family here to surround us, but made the best of it and had a nice, quiet day as a family of six.

Hit Counter

WOW, I am shocked at the positive response I have gotten from this blog...I really hope you enjoy reading and seeing the pictures! I started this blog in the end of August and put a hit counter on it starting September 1st - through the end of the year, the site was viewed...
1,580 times!
In just 4 months...so - that means almost 400 hits per month!

I hope you continue to enjoy into the new year and please, leave comments!!

Holiday Update #2

To continue with our holiday happenings, I will pick up with my last update…
Saturday, December 22, we drove out to the Poconos to visit with Tim’s dad and family. The girls could not wait to see the SNOW! It was very different, going from flat, sandy NJ to the huge mountains of PA and it’s beautiful to ‘visit’ the snow, but not live with it!

So we were able to see Tim’s dad, his wife and her daughter, Tim’s brother and his wife and their son. It was nice to spend time together with them, we don’t get to see them often enough because of living so far away.

The girls had a blast playing in the snow, we brought their sleds and snowsuits and they all got into the action. Of course, Madison still does not like the snow, so she gave it a try, but overall wanted to just walk around (I don’t blame her!). Here are some pictures of the fun in the snow and making snow angels:



Kaitlyn, Morgan & Tyler:

Getting ready for the 'big push'!

Morgan and Grandpop:

We were also able to have a gift exchange and the girls got a fun karaoke machine, which they love! And we had a nice dinner together and yummy dessert before it was time to hit the road again for our almost 3 hour drive home.

Tim's brother, Gary:

Chocolate cupcake faces:



The next day, Sunday, Tim’s mom and her husband came down in the morning and arrived just after we got home from church. The girls were very excited to see them! Anita brought delicious brownies; we exchanged gifts at home, played games and read books together. Also, one of my favorite things to do is listen to Tim’s mom play the piano, so she played some Christmas songs and the girls sung along, it was really cute! Then we went out and had a nice dinner together before they had to leave and drive home in the pouring rain.
Posing with Grandmom:

Showing off their new PJ's:

Singing Christmas carols:

We wrapped up that last weekend before Christmas by heading to the mall for some last minute shopping on Sunday night.