Savannah is pierced!

Aunt Amy, Uncle Harland, Abby, and Grace got Savannah a gift certificate to have her ears pierced for Christmas. I could not wait to take her. She was just as good as Madison was. We hope the pierced ears makes her look more like a girl. Thank you to the Pond Family!

Always knew I was not a "city" chic

Today we went to NYC to see the tree, American Girl Store, Toys R Us, and FAO Schwarz. Well, let me say...what a disaster! We should have known when the traffic into the tunnel was crazy. So we finally get to a parking garage and I think we got one of the last spots. Trying to bundle the girls up was not that much fun when you are trying to gather your belongings as fast as you can to let the attendants take your car. Anyhow, we make it out to the tree waiting to find my parents who were also searching for a parking spot. We saw the tree and the ice rink from afar. There was close to a million people waiting to skate. They must all be on crack!! Ok, so we know that the tree is a major attraction, if we walk away from that madness we will be ok! WRONG! There was a line that wrapped around a city block to get into the American Girl store. If I was alone I would never have waited, but Madison really wanted to go there. So we waited and as soon as we got to the front of the line we found my parents. We made a mad dash to Bitty Baby, made our purchase and got the hell out of there. I could not believe what I was seeing. Then we got stuck in a mob scene of another million people (half of them where looking at Saks windows and the other trying to take pics of the tree.) I was so frustrated I wanted to go home after being there for 30 minutes. We decided to walk to FAO... and again another huge line to get in. I wanted Maddie to see it, but we were not buying anything so I said forget it. We will go back another time when it is warmed. I could not believe what I was seeing. This only confirmed that I will NEVER go to the city for New Years or a parade. I can not take the crowds. We will take Maddie back in the spring with out Savannah so we can ditch the stroller. Then to top it all off we left during rush hour and we had two hungry kids that wanted nothing to do with non-moving traffic. The ride home was long and not so much fun. Lets just say that today was not what I was expecting. (I did not even take one picture) :(

Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas. We all got everything we wanted. The only think Madison wanted from Santa was "bones." These are the candies in the 25 cent machines outside of BabiesRUs and ToysRUs. And Santa pulled through. Among a million other gifts, some of her favorites were 3 new baby dolls, a new doll stroller, and a cash register. Savannah was showered with clothes and she (I) got a sit and stand stroller, which I LOVE!!! Jeff's top gifts were a GPS and a musical lights show for the xmas decorations for next year. I was so thrilled with a new LAPTOP... yes, I can now digital scrapbook on the road!!! : ) I also got a roomba (nothing better than a robot cleaning for you!), a digital camera, and a digital picture frame. As you can see we all made out well. Thank you to everyone that helped make our Christmas so special! Here are a few pictures from this special day! (If I can figure out how to load some video I will share...don't sit up waiting for it!)

I'm back!

I am sorry for my lack of posts but I have been super busy. I just finished the last of my gift baskets a few minutes ago. There were many stresses with my baskets this year. Most of which where out of my control, but I still worried. I was very happy with what the final outcome of the baskets looked like.

Madison turned 3 on December 17th. We had small family party for her a few weeks before the 17th and then she played with her cousins on her actual birthday. Having a Christmas birthday is hard so we try to separate it from the holiday. Savannah turned 5 months old and I feel like a bad mother that I did not send out a picture yet. ( I will, I promise)

Christmas is almost here and I am more excited than Madison, I think. I can remember when my mom could not sleep on X-mas eve because she was so excited for the morning. I now know how she felt. Madison understands and it so excited for Santa (as long as he does not come in... just drop the presents down the chimney.) We will be putting out Chocolate Milk and cookies.

We are going to my sisters house on Christmas eve to see my dad. Then on Christmas morning we open gifts at home then go to my moms. Later in the day we will be going to the Young's for dinner. It will be a crazy day, but so much fun! We can not wait.

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!

Dashing Through the Holidays!

Why do holidays have to be so scheduled and hectic. Why don't we all get together more during the year so we don't feel like we need to see everyone we know right before the holidays? Although I am excited to see people I have not seen in a while and have a great time, it just is always so hectic.

I think I am writing this because I am starting to feel the gift basket pressures. I always get like this 2 weeks before the holiday. I am doing 120+ baskets this year and there were a few snags process. Which leaves be feeling pressure. I work on this a few hours every night. I am a stay at home mother and I feel guilty when I work. When I don't start to work until 9 PM, I am exhausted by 11.

Then to think about what I need to get done for this weekend on top of continuous basket work. Tonight I made a mad dash to fill 4 stockings for a party on Saturday night. Sunday morning we have church and another party right after. Sometime Sunday I need to make sure my house is in order and cupcakes are made for Maddie's birthday and playgroup in the morning. Then I am sure we will have some cake that night with what ever family wants to pop over. Ok, writing about this makes me more stressed. I know I work best under pressure and feel great when it is all over, but GEEZZZ... BREATH...

But there is some how still time to play. Tonight I took some fun pictures of Madison's eyes. I know a mother is bias, but I love Maddie's eyes. Especially when they are wet. Here are a few to share. Someday when I have more time I will scrap these and share the page.

Comments!

I just wanted to send this out there. I know I have several readers that are not commenting. I get a ton of people who tell me that they read a post and had something positive or negative to say about it. I would really like to know who is reading, or am I only writing to Amy and Sandra?? You know who you are!! Don't be shy! I know you are out there... COMMENT. If you are anything like me, you think if you comment then it looks like you are snooping and reading my life. You feel like you are being nosey! Well, guess what... I would not be writing all of this if no one was reading. You are not being nosey, but being a part of our lives and stories. I need support!!! COMMENT AWAY!! (but, be nice..most of the time) And read the comments again, because I can comment to your comments!

Merry Christmas

I have made several attempts to print this card and winkflash keeps telling me the print quality is no good. And I simply do not have the time to do it again. So I will post it here for all to see and you will be recieving a more generic Christmas card this year! Sorry!

Sisters are so special!

The girls tickled my heart today. Today was the first time I saw the girls interact with each other with out me in the middle of it. We were in the car and I was watching them in the mirror. Savannah was glaring at Maddie with an innocent smile, thinking "I love her." And Madison noticed she was looking at her. She began to smile back and talk to her. "Hello Pretty Girl" was the first thing she told her. They were locked into each other. It brought tears to my eyes to know that they will one day be the best of friends. For a while after Madison was born, I felt like I ruined her life by having another baby. I knew she would be OK, but life was different for her. And now that they are interacting I can see that we made the best decision for her.

I know Madison can not wait for Savannah to be big enough so she can play with her. Today she gave her a few of the blocks she was playing with. Then, she called me so I could see that Savannah was playing with blocks too. Too cute. And every day I am amazed at how much I can love something x2. They are the best things that ever happened to me, even when they are bad!