Christmas Lists 2011

Nikki:

Great Wolf Lodge (Poconos) Gift Cards
New Potholders
Weight Watchers Cookbook
Keurig Elite Brewing System (hot chocolate, teas, hot apple cider and starbucks coffee)
Movie Theatre Gift Cert. (Finally I can take the kids to the movies by myself!!!)
Canon Rebel 18 or 20 megapixel
Photoshop Elements 10
Ticket Master Gift cards... we like to go to the circus every year and would like to do another show this year
Movie Passes


Jeff:


ALL OF THE KIDS HAVE WISH LISTS AT TOYS R US. BUt THERE ARE SOME ADDITIONAL THINGS THAT ARE NOT AT TRU

Madison:
Ipod Touch
American Girl anything
movie passes

Savannah:
American Girl Anything
movie passes

Tyler:
Indoor Swing: (THis could be a gift for all the kids to share!)http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=5817&cmSource=Search
Movie passes
Home Depot build builders workshop

IN IT TO END IT!!

Being that I have not really talked to too many of you about my awesome weekend in NYC doing the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer I wanted to tell my story here!....

So way back in May my friend, Denise, asked me if I wanted to do this with her during a weight watcher meeting. My initial reaction was.. NO, you are crazy! How the hell am I going to train for that with 3 kids at home!!

As time went on I head that 3 of my local friends with kids (one with 4) was going to do this walk as well. Denise drug me to a meeting at the Somerville Library to learn more about it. At the end of this meeting I was not convinced. I was more scared about the physical element of training for a 40 mile walk. TIME?? Where the hell was I going to find it?? Then the $1800 I had to raise. I know myself and figured, what ever... I would register and flush $40.00 registration fee down the drain when I decided to not do it.

Then the reality set in ... I wanted to do it! I wanted the challenge. I wanted the excuse to get out of the house to go for a walk. I did not have any emotional attachment to Breast Cancer. I initially was in it for my Dad who I lost to Pancreatic Cancer a year prior. The more I trained I realized I was in it for ME and my girls and YOURS! I do not want my kids to have to deal with this disease! So I am hoping the little I could do might help.

THE NIGHT BEFORE:

On Friday night we stayed in the Sheridan in NYC. Was fun to see the city from the 21st floor. Avon had a room set up for people that had to check in , buy stuff, get their free fundraising gifts, hand in money... etc. We went to see what it was all about. We were already checked in (Thank god.. that was a mess!.. a well organized mess!) We needed to pick up our Kodak Flip Video cameras that we won and baseball hats. Then on the way out there were reps from other companies including Avon that gave us free products including waterbottles. Avon gave us a bunch, but in the pack was a "blister blocker" stick. I did pre buy this thinking that I would not need it.. but hey they gave it to us! So I was going to use it!

After we did all of the Avon stuff we headed out to the restaurant across the street for a good carb overload. Then back to bed! This was not a good nights sleep for all we worried about was when we had to wake up. Denise was up at 3am. I did not wake until 4:40ish I think!

SATURDAY MORNING: WALKED 26.2 miles in 10 hours

It was a brisk cold morning in NYC. We got on the bus and headed to Chelsea Piers! We had a light breakfast, coffee and admired the sea of pink! There were so many fun things to see. From the outfits that people made to the costumes and the spirit. Opening ceremonies were mainly 4 people with testimonies. Holy TEARS! This was a great way to make us realize really why we were there! We are helping so many people that we will never know. So we began our trek out at 7am .... over the Brooklyn bridge, back over a train bridge and somehow ended at Randell's Island. We finished the 29.2 miles... barely! We laughed, cried, walked ssslllloooowww, and FAST. We sat and rested, drank a ton and trudged through. There was not really a minute that I thought I wanted to bail!

When we FINALLY... and I say FINALLY because right at the almost breaking point someone said to us... "YOU ARE ALMOST THERE! Just over the foot bridge and you are there!!!" In the moment we were so excited.. we were ALMOST there! So we crossed the bridge and could not see pink tents anywhere! If it was not so far back I would have killed that lady! It was really another 2 miles from where we saw her. They really took us to the far end of the island. We were pissed and tired and cranky!! All I wanted was to go to bed... but we could not yet!

When we got to camp we had to set up our tent (but a boyscout did it for us!), get our luggage, set up our beds, eat dinner, take a shower, and call our families to let them know we were still alive! BLAHH... I figured if I can just get through this I am golden! I was freezing and had forgotten my towel and the thought of walking to the Avon tent to buy these things was such a chore! But I did it!

I forgot that I mentioned the blister blocker before... well, it works! I used it several times and NO BLISTERS!! Denise on the other had did not and was not so lucky!

We were in bed by I think 8pm. I could not move! I tossed and turned all night long. Never slept!! I was not wide awake, but I heard everything and snoring from tents next to me! My hips hurt so I tossed all night! But some how I woke up and was ready to face the next day.

SUNDAY: WALKED 13.1 miles in 5 hours

Everyone had the same waddle. Kind of like we rode a horse for many hours! We had to walk across the park to brush our teeth, get dressed in a sleeping bag, repack, take down the tent, eat breakfast, go to the bathroom and fill our water bottles all to do it again! 13.1 miles today!

We were a bit slower today!! We stopped for icecream! YEAH! We did not have to be back before 3:00 so we figured we could take our time. We made it back before 1!! We were greeted by Denise's husband and daughter. Then we waited for the closing ceremony! This is the ceremony that changed my life forever. They have all of the survivors a different color shirt then walkers and they were allowed to march in to the front of the ceremony. I really noticed that most of the people these were my age. Not OVER 40 like we are told by dr's to get mammograms. This really affected me and realized that I am here for ME and my girls and yours! BUT ME! Just when we think we are too young for this we are NOT!

I am so proud of what I did, both physically and fundraising. I could not have done it with out the amazing support of my family and friends! I had received so many phone calls, text messages and emails that kept me going and smiling. THANK YOU!

One of my favorite personal highlights of my weekend came from my Cousin Clem! He is a helicopter pilot in NYC. He was flying in the sky while I went over the Brooklyn Bridge, text me all the way over! He sent his copter (not flown by him at the time) over my head! SO AWESOME!!! Then while I was at Randell's Island almost dead.. he flew over, circled 3 times, flew off and then text me some aerial pictures! Last by not least he did the same for closing ceremonies! He told me he would be there to cheer me on, but I had no idea he would be over my head! I loved it!!! Thank you Clemmie!

Here are some pictures from the weekend, know I took a picture of EVERY mile marker! I will spare you those pictures! Again, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! And I think I want to do it again next year! My friend, Linda, who is a professional Susan G Komen 3 day walker told me I would do it every year from that day forward and I did not believe her. I still did not believe her until this week. She is right ..... I will be there again next year! Who wants to walk with me next year??? Thinking about other cities, but I think for my families sake I need to stay in NYC for another year or so!

I am trying to upload more pics, but having a hard time... more to come!

Birthday Requests from the Prince and Princess

As many of you have asked I am posting some of the kids wishes. Know that they like everything, so you might see something better. These are just a few of the many requests:

Savannah:
Tangled Castle
Tangled Movie
Sequence for Kids Game
Play things to put in a purse... keys, make-up, etc!
Anything to catch and collect bugs. They have a net and a butterfly house, but magnifying glass, bug box, etc...

Tyler:
Anything Super Hero (Spiderman and Captain America are the newest favorites)
Airplanes, Helicopters, police cars... the bigger the better..with in reason!)
Matchbox Sky Busters (Runway)
Nano or hex bugs (extra batteries) and their nano habitats
Mighty bean case
colorforms
pool toys... he loves to throw stuff in the pool (fishing might be fun?? )
Playmobile

And Like I said, this is just a sample. Please NO COLORED BUBBLES!

Lost a Tooth!

We are happy to report that after over a year of being jealous of all of her peers, she has FINALLY lost a tooth! That tooth was hanging on by a thread today. I had a feeling that today was going to be the day so we took the before picture. (Dont mind the pool hair!) So I will tell the story as I saw it, but you really need to hear the story from her. She is so cute I can not take it! So just before baths we decided we needed some Smores! So just after taking the first bite into her Smore, she saw blood on it. She told be about it and said, "mommy my tooth is bleeding." We inspected the mouth to find NO TOOTH! Jeff and I looked quickly and could not find it. I was sure she swallowed it....

Then she said.... "wait.... I bet it is on the ground. I was chewing on it and I thought my marshmellow had a hard spot so I threw it out!" Well, thank goodness we found it on the ground! After the initial shock and the blood. She was so excited! I have not seen her this happy in a while! She could not find a phone fast enough to call Mema, Grammy, Abby and Grace, and our neighbor Nicole. (Dont not be offended if she did not call you, we had to move on to bath and bed!) Call her, she would be happy to tell the story again to you.

So then we went into panic mode, we were not quite ready for the tooth fairy. We made her a special door to get into our house a few months ago. Madison was asking me a million questions about how she get in, so we made her a door! But it was not hung up. I had to make a quick run to walmart to pick up special tape to hold it on the wall. She really wanted daddy to cut a whole in the sheet rock, so we had to explain the magic of the tooth fairy. She has never put herself to bed so quickly and so excitedly! She even told me she was going to sleep with a smile on her face so the tooth fairy could see the whole in her mouth. The cuteness was so exciting for me!

Dont mind her messy bed!

Mission wear the kids out.....

Yesterday Madison was diagnosed with Strep Throat again. So she stayed home from school which often makes for a very long day. So while Maddie took a little nap I was out in the pool with Ty and Anna. Ty did not take a nap. Then we came in for dinner and I promised them Polar Cub if they ate well. When we arrived at PC the power was out! They were able to serve us icepops, but not icecream. So we bought Ty and spiderman icepop and Anna a spongebob and rode to Ritas. Then we were going to go to Solberg airport to watch planes. Before we reached Solberg Ty was out cold! Then minutes after we left Anna feel asleep too! I was so excited... 2 down, one to go! We got home and put everyone in their beds and Maddies nap messed my plan ALL up! She was awake in my bed until 11 pm. Oh well, we had fun!

Memorial Day on Hay Island!

I am just going to highlight some of the things we did on this trip besides opening the cottage. Which I may add was less tragic than last year! There are always surprises after a long winter, but this year was fairly mild!
Maddie fished for the first time with a hook rather than a fish weight. She was so proud. Next time we go in August we will buy her some worms! My project, which was not a planned project, was to clear the steps of all over grown grass weeds that over time have made the steps disappear! My real motivation was that Tyler was having a hard time walking on them! So now we have steps again... atleast for now!

This is a project that Jeff has been talking about doing for several years! So this year was the one! They relayed the main door entrance! It had gotten to the point where the door only opened about 1 foot. It looks great ... Thanks guys! I always like to venture to the cottage one time with out Amy and her family earlier in the season. And this is not because I don't want their company, it is because every year I have different challenges with my family and I like to try to figure them out when the house is less hectic and not stress all summer when I don't have to. For example, this year, this is the first year that Tyler will not be in a pack and play. Where will he sleep? How will that go? Will I have to worry about him wearing his life jacket. (For those of you who know nothing about the cottage, it is an island in the 1000 islands .. no cars.. boat only! So we make the kids wear their life jackets every time they want to go outside!) I was having dreams that the only way I would be able to sleep up there would be to make Ty sleep in a life jacket. This trip was successful in this was too! He was a very good boy .. slept well and was very respective of the life jacket rules! Below is a picture of his bed in the closet! I know that sounds bad... but only those that have been there before will understand that it really is not a closet!

I enjoyed watching a mother robin care for her eggs! I love these pictures!

This is the girls watching Jeff and Reed do the cement!

Tyler painting in down time! Sorry the pics are out of order... too lazy to fix it!

Mothers Tea!

Overall I do not like Maddie's teacher this year. But I have to say that she did an end of the year show that she titled Mother's Tea!! It was super adorable, well rehearsed and definitely made me cry! and Cry and cry! But I was so thankful to able to see my daughter in school!

Filling up my heart!

Have you ever had those moments as a parent where you are running on empty and just 1 or 2 things make your heart so happy and fill you back up again? Well, every time I look at these pictures I am filled back up again!

First, one night I began to put the girls to bed and I could hear Jeff telling Ty that he was putting him to bed. He was not fond of this idea so Jeff decided to do something that would make it fun for him. Ty started to call me to ask for a drink and when I brought it to him this is what I walked into! So SO SO cute to see Jeff in the crib with Tyler and a quilt over the top as a tent! Just made my night!!!!


Next, I was sitting on the patio working on something and Ty and Anna were playing in the baby pool. I heard Anna run upstairs. Before she got inside I asked her what she was going inside for. She replied with "Bath toys!" I said ok and put my head back in my work. I was listening, but not really watching! When I picked up my head the 2 of them were naked with a bar of soap! Now, Tyler is a VERY THROUGH washer!!! LOL! He was in his glory and did not understand that the landscapers next door did not want to see this! HAHA... he makes me laugh every day!

Uncle JungleGym....

Every Sunday we have dinner at the Young's. Almost all of those Sundays Amy, Harland, Abby and Grace are there too! Chris graces us with his presence about once a month. This particular week we had to break the bad news that AHAG were not going to be there this week! After and ooohhh... and oh man... Maddie had a brainstorm. She ran to Jeff and asked him to dial the phone to Uncle Chris. She called to ask him if he was going to Grammy's for dinner. He asked why and she told him the real reason... she needed someone to play with. So he said YES! And let me tell you... THEY PLAYED WITH HIM! So much so that his neck was sore the next day! Oh but he loved it! They call him Uncle Junglegym!

Batters Up!!!!

So this year is the first time we have been involed in a recreation sport. The season started out very rainy and cold. Not it is just plain HOT! But she is having fun and we are having fun watching her. One thing I have learned about this whole experience is that 1st base makes me very nervous. And you know I am not a nervous mom! But when she is playing 1st I am always there are contiantly reminding her to watch the ball at ALL TIMES. I think I am going to go with the flow with softball for next year only because it is not competitive... everyone bats, runs and plays a base 3 times and then it is over! NO SCORE, NO OUTS! It is fun to watch some of the kids play in the sand the whole time or chat with their friends. For the most part Maddie is really into it! She says she wants to play again next year! We shall see!

Cousin JoAnn Came to Visit

Ok, So I know I am slacking on the Blogging.. I am going to try to catch you up! I will start in the new year! My cousin JoAnn and her family came to stay with us for New Years so we could celebrate Uncle Sal and Aunt Gayle's 50th wedding anniversary with them! It was so great to have them here! There are a few picks from their stay!

We bought nurf guns for all the kids so we had a nice nurf war! Will always be remembered!So the dinner to my Aunt and Uncle was an upper class event and this is where Tyler was the happiest! Hope embarrasing! All he did was go snag ice from the bar and lick it off his plate! I let him do it until I saw people talking about us!

This is how Andrew enjoyed his salad! LOL

A few of the kids watching the older kids outside playing in the snow! Notice all the kids under the age of 3 and Clemmy .... SO CUTE!

Madison loved Andrew! Can not wait to be with him again! Now we video chat... so nice to see the people you love who live so far away!

This one is for you Uncle John...

I want to say THANK YOU to those that still follow my site even though I have neglected it for so long. Life is crazy over here. I am so tired come bed time I can not even think about this thing. I know you rely on this to keep connected to us when you are so far away. But I heard that Uncle John was worried about my marriage because we have not written in a while. Please know that we are doing GREAT! Right now as we speak the girls are at Amy's house playing and I am trying desperately to get Tyler to nap! It is not working. Yesterday he did not nap either and played hard outside all day. He crashed on the couch at 6pm and woke up at 4am. UGGG....So needless to say I am TIRED again and he wont nap. I am going to take him out in a minute so he will stop calling my name from his room! So this is exactly why I never blog anymore! Time is short... I will try to upload some pictures tonight and fill you in on some happenings in our lives in the past year! LOL! Again, thank you for continuing to follow!