mommie blogs

my sweet, beautiful claire...

2012-01-27T16:04:00.000-05:00

she had a spa day. mani/pedi, hair cut and style, deep conditioning, the works!

and she certainly could not wait to get those silly bows out of her hair.

Love her!

its back....

2012-01-25T12:58:00.000-05:00

Nothing says cold & flu season, like the good ol' nebulizer! sweet Double L did not do so good on his last breathing test and an annoying, chronic cough has been around like his shadow!

With a little help from daddy's iPad and the 'where's my water' game, the good ol' neb isn't so bad!

snowy saturday...

2012-01-24T11:49:00.000-05:00

Saturday was snowy and icy! Double L and his daddy found a new hill to sled down! Little L, Claire and I stayed warm and cozy inside. I loved it.

I baked...

The Pioneer Woman's blueberry muffins and the staple on snowy days: chocolate chip cookies!

I listened to music...
on the playlist:
Etta James
Cold Play
Wilco
Ryan Adams
Bob Marley
The Beatles ...listening to 'your mother should know' as I type
Nat King Cole
Sam Cooke
just to name a few...

I wore warm and comfy clothes, never dried my hair and sipped tea to keep warm! I love my estate sale tea cups, but bub opted for a mug (*dayspring's mr. mug!)

And for dinner, we went Mexican with some beef enchiladas and quesadillas

Feel free to borrow my quickly defrost and soften butter technique! On the stove while the oven preheats and bakes yummies. Yes, no microwave in this old house!

the babes...

2012-01-18T00:08:00.001-05:00

Siblings -- When I was little, I always wanted a sibling. I was a true 'lonely only'. When I was blessed with my adorable baby brother, I was the ripe old age of 21! Not exactly the playmate I had hoped for, but nonetheless a completeness was felt when he was born. But the loneliness definitely lit a fire in my heart for a BIG family. Now with our little family of four +Claire, I feel a sense of completeness. Not knowing if another one will join us is on my mind on occasion, but most of the time my heart is fully fixed on the siblings I am loving and teaching right now!

when to start potty training...

2012-01-16T06:01:00.001-05:00

When oh when to start potty training...

looking back, maybe waited too long for double L. He was an exclusive 'number 2' potty-goer from 2 1/2 on... But pee-pee was a little harder!

Little L talks about the potty all the time. She tells me when she is going 'pee-pee' and 'poo'.

here she is Christmas morning, going pee-pee on the potty with Gigi!

2012

2012-01-14T11:00:00.001-05:00

Looking forward to new adventures in twenty-twelve!

bug...

2011-12-12T14:33:00.001-05:00

The crib is stripped...

Little L has her first stomach bug... sweet baby girl!

but I am praying soon she'll be back to her silly self...

jingle vs juggle vs peace on earth or just within my home

2011-12-07T14:19:00.000-05:00

on the plate/list/calendar right now...

little l is not sleeping great - make that up for hours in the middle of the night, unless snuggling with mommie or rocking with daddy!
bub's birthday is friday - no present, no money! oh, but reservations and yummy breakfast planned
have no idea what presents are on the 3rd floor and exactly how many more need to be purchased - pretty sure not so many and many more (in respective order)
house is half decorated with rubbermaids stacked in the mudroom
no tree yet!
not a single cookie baked
continue to rock out to Christmas music all day long
Advent celebrated every night with a verse and piece of chocolate
continue making hot chocolate with marshmallows
sit on LL's bed and admire that tiny christmas tree lighting up the night in his room and how much he loves it
"pretend" to be the live nativity with LL as the director (LL - baby Jesus, me - Mary, Bub - Joseph, Little L - angel and Claire - playing the rest... shepherds, sheep, wise men)
finally thankful for my part-time gig
acknowledge the understanding it will all come together and if it doesn't everything will be absolutely fine
relaxing in the peace that covers my home!!

Hope you are enjoying this Christmas season amongst the hustle and bustle and lists and stuff!!

image: pinterest

A night to remember...

2011-12-04T20:49:00.001-05:00

Saturday night, we had the opportunity to see Charlotte's Web at the Arden Theatre Company. I grew up going to plays/musicals/ballets and always thought my children would as well.

When I was presented the opportunity to take LL to the theatre's bookworms class, I jumped at it! He loved it. I loved it. Not only because the program is so well done and fosters individuality, it brought my very shy, sometimes not so confident four year old out of his shell. Typing the words brings tears to my eyes because its such an answered prayer. If you are local, please checkout the program here as well as their drama classes for older children. It is such a safe and warm environment. LL cannot wait until the classes resume in January!

As for Charlotte's Web --- it was performed so well. Kept a little four year old completely intrigued the entire performance. This was LL's first play, so I could not wait to see his reaction. At first, he asked "Mama, where's the actual pig?". I explained that the actor was "playing", "pretending" to be the pig which is called "acting". He totally got it and by the time Templeton was introduced he was totally into all the actors. His favorite performance was, of course, Charlotte, but kindly said he liked all the actors. And for his daddy and mama -- we loved it. The Theatre's depiction of E. B. White's classic story was excellent. They captured the story of a special, unconditional love between two friends beautifully. The set is realistic with the opportunity to use your imagination to bring the scenes to life -- huge barn, the real dirt patch (LL just loved the fact they brought in real dirt in), "Charlotte" flying down (actor gave complements to her rock climbing coach) and the actors -- most played duel roles, but never did LL or myself for that matter see it as confusing. They all did a fabulous job and even hosted a short Q & A after the play.

Honestly, if you are local, it is a must see and what a special event to share with your little ones this holiday season.

Special thanks goes out to the Arden Theatre Company who invited me and my two favorite guys (little l hung out at home with her auntie). Before the show, they had a special reception with craft sections, a yummy buffet, popcorn machine and adorable real piggy! After the show, the Theatre hosted a fun ice-cream social!!

Here is a picture of me loving on Bubbles (she is up for adoption!!) and her taking little nips of my fingers...

Don't you love her tutu!!! I think Claire would love if we adopted Bubbles...

Showtimes and ticket information - click here >>

the juggle

2011-11-18T12:02:00.001-05:00

I haven't posted since August. I have thought about this little blog so many times over the last couple of months. Thinking when LL started school how sweet that day was and how I should chronicle it. Or when Little L started walking, how cute the videos were and how I should provide an update. But as quickly as I would think about this blog, I felt overwhelmed by the next thing on the list. I have been getting wonderful opportunities sent to me which would never have reached me if not for this tiny spec on the internet. Some opportunities fit our life perfectly and others don't, but I want to talk about it all. I want to share everything we are given and how special those moments are. But sometimes its just too much to juggle.

I started back to work part-time in September. After acting like a brat, bumming around, asking for prayers for a better attitude, but never really allowing myself to feel grateful for the provision of the perfectly presented opportunity, I finally just snapped out of it. I just recently really started believing the praise I was throwing out on the table about "I know this job is such a blessing, I was given exactly what I asked for, I still have such flexibility, etc..." I am very thankful for the opportunity. I just hate to juggle. I like everything in order, time to do it all, without pressure or stress. And when life isn't wrapped up in a bow, I worry. My biggest sin is worry. Maybe I have written about my worry before, maybe not. But I worry and after I worry, I stress, and get testy, and sometimes even shot down. Then I cannot seem to juggle the simplest of tasks.

As for now, I think I am going to add the blog back into the air. Just like another ball to juggle. Not because I have too, just because I want too!

image source: layne tanner on pinterest

raining days = 300 piece puzzles

2011-08-25T09:57:00.001-04:00

LL loves puzzles and he can ~~concur~~ (um yeah!) conquer 300 pieces in no time! 'jammas and disney puzzles = perfect way to spend a stormy morning!

more WW here

wordless wednesday: car art!

2011-08-03T00:36:00.001-04:00

We love the SEA!!

2011-07-28T14:11:00.000-04:00

The sea... that's how LL referred to the ocean and the bay while we were away. And I love it! Every time he would say it, I would smile!

We have been fortunate enough to travel multiple times this summer and we had a blast. First was Disney, than we headed to Bethany, Delaware with bub's parents and one of his brothers (and his sweet family), and than we headed down to see Gigi for a few days in LBI (long beach island, NJ). In between, we saw Thomas, had a wonderful time at VBS and celebrated our Double L's 4th birthday!

WOW and it's still only July. Quieter summer days have started and I certainly am enjoying some down time...

Here are some beach vacation pics:

TomBoy!

2011-07-26T17:25:00.000-04:00

Little L loves Double L's cars and we find her sneaking in her brother's car boxes often...

She gets so excited when they roll away. Its too funny.

Yuck!

2011-07-22T12:00:00.000-04:00

Its 100+ degrees here! Its awful and sticky and humid and totally YUCK! We snuck away to the beach this week to hang out with Gigi, her sisters, her mama (my mom-mom) and a couple of her brothers. It was just me, double l and little l. It was breezy on the beach and so much fun to spend hours just talking and playing in the ocean! We had to get back and I kind of wish we spent just one more day at the beach. But I did miss my bub, and of course Claire. So today, we are stuck inside and will be working on puzzles and special crafts for daddy.

I have so many pictures from our little adventures to post and since there are no more vacations scheduled I will be working on some posts for next week!

For now, we are drinking lots of water, working our brains out, hanging in the A/C and sweet little l is catching up on sleep. She just doesn't like sleeping anywhere but her crib!

Hope you are staying cool and having fun!

LL is FOUR!

2011-07-18T10:19:00.000-04:00

Wow! Looking back brings tears to my eyes, but looking forward brings pure joy. I am looking forward to what God has in store for my little man this coming year. He will start the kindergarten-readiness class in school this September and will continue to participate in Kids Joy (preschool bible study/play class) as well. He is building strong friendships throughout all parts of his little, exciting life.

I must tell you all that double l is just the coolest guy I know and I absolutely love him to pieces. He is smart, funny and adorably cute!

LL: I am so glad you enjoyed your birthday! We love you tons.

**The cupcakes were the creation of my brother-in-law (in from the west coast) along with his assistants (my sweet SIL, MIL and little nephew). It was a special treat to have them in town, so we had a special celebration with family on Friday! LL's birthday was Sunday and he had his friends over in the afternoon for a cookout and cake (buzz of course, from yummy Clay's)

Thomas!!

2011-07-11T08:14:00.001-04:00

Double L, along with so many little boys and girls have loved Thomas for years! Silly, yes since he is only about to turn 4, but so true. As soon as he could push a train it was Thomas and Friends in his little hand! So when we discussed what he wanted his little summer adventures to be, "riding Thomas the train" was definitely on the list! And as we keep crossing adventures off the list, Thomas was on of them! We had a blast. We met friends and their sweet little girl for lunch and headed through Amish country to ride a very adorable train.

Here is our recap in pics:

p.s. little l spent the afternoon at her mimi and pops (with claire!)

The Wiggles: Concert Giveaway!!

2011-07-11T08:02:00.000-04:00

Attention Philly Mamas: I am giving away tickets for Saturday's show. Enter here!

update on little l

2011-06-28T09:41:00.001-04:00

Our little scooter is making some progress with the help of physical therapy. Small progress, but progress nonetheless...

While she scoots, she sometimes pushes forward and puts weight on her hands (like she is attempting to crawl)
She will go from sitting or scooting position to belly
Her daddy found her standing in her crib (HUGE!)
She is playing in "tall knee" more
She is taking steps while we hold her hands (HUGE!)

She does not like her exercises and gets annoyed with therapy after 40 minutes, but we are soldiering through and pray progress continues even if it is at a slower pace!

And to be honest, I am not sure why I want a climbing, wobbly walker just yet!!!

Summer List: Camp

2011-06-27T12:50:00.000-04:00

Last week, Double L attended his first VBS (vacation bible school). The camp was at our church and sweetly named "camp little bear". Since I was a counselor, little l attended "camp baby bear". I loved it and I am pretty sure LL did as well. I was his counselor and it was a true blessing to see how God worked in his little heart last week. From watching his attentiveness during bible block to singing along side him during music, memories were made that I will always treasure in my heart. Double L was shy during music in the beginning of the week. Mostly opting to sit on my lap or stay seated while we stood, danced and sang. I asked him why and honestly he said he did not know 'the hand moves' so would rather sit and watch. So, I did what ever modern day media mommie would do... Hello YouTube! We watched the videos after dinner, practiced the moves and sang the songs throughout the day. By the end of the week, he was proudly singing and praising God and my bub & I still sing the songs as I think they are permanently imprinted in our brains!!!

So as we continue to breeze through our summer adventure list, I am shocked at how time is flying by... Looking forward to some down time, where there are no plans excepts bubbles and ice-cream, no long drives and even longer packing lists... but for now I am finding joy in the excitement each new adventure brings to my children's faces!

How is your summer going?

p.s. we went to see Thomas over the weekend, but more on that later in the week!

Cars 2!

2011-06-22T06:00:00.000-04:00

I'm interrupting the Disney posts for some awesome news -- we saw Cars 2! We were fortunate to have been invited to advanced screening on Saturday. We surprised LL, but just showing up to the theater. He was so excited when he found out what we were seeing. Not sure he got the whole "advanced screening" stuff, but nonetheless he was thrilled! Since we were on vacation last week and that's when I received the invite, we had no time to secure a sitter, so little l tagged along. Needless to say, I only caught bits and pieces as I was wondering the halls with little miss.

Even though double l loved the whole movie thing and loves Cars, it turns out the entire plot was way over his head and a bit mature (in my bub's opinion). Definitely a bit violent with the whole spy thing, which maybe they thought their core audience mature over the several years since the first movie. Not sure we will join the crew (cousins in from out of town next month) if they decide to go see it.

But if your son or daughter loved the first Cars and still talks about McQueen and the gang they may really enjoy themselves. Maybe too mature for your 3 or 4 year old or at least over their head plot wise!

I, of course, loved the animation and thought Disney/Pixar did a fabulous job as the gang traveled to all the countries. I was happy to catch each country! My bub said the same thing and thought it was very well done!

Here is the trailer:

So tell me -- who is headed to Cars 2 this weekend?

Oh and a McQueen bike has been requested for a birthday gift, so obviously Cars still reins in commerce!!

**'mommie blogs' was given four free tickets to the advanced screening. However, all opinions above are my own**

Disney! {part two}

2011-06-21T11:14:00.000-04:00

Dinner @ Artist Point - Located in Disney's Wilderness Lodge, its a yummy restaurant with such a cool lobby to check out before enjoying a delicious meal. I had the homemade Gnocchi with a variety a mushrooms and spinach. The salmon is their specialty! The lobby had cool hot springs, native american artifacts and comfy rockers by the fire. Oh and how could I forget the antique push train!

Dinner @ California Grill - This restaurant is hands down my favorite! I had the flat breads (all of them I think!) and their filet. And for dessert -- that yummy chocolate cake below... Gigi likes celebrating birthdays in Disney, so we had an early LL celebration. He wanted pudding, so Gigi and I enjoyed his cake! The views are amazing. You just walk out onto this awesome catwalk and you can see all of Disney. I love any view of the castle!

Quick photo on our walk to the Boardwalk!

Disney part one found here

DISNEY! {part one}

2011-06-20T16:12:00.000-04:00

We are breezing through our summer list! Last week, we were fortunate enough to fly to Disney for 6 days! We had a blast. It was hot, but easy for us to stay cool as we stayed at the Beach Club which just so happens to have the coolest water slide of all the Disney resort! Its a pirate slide and its a SERIOUS water slide. Double L must have went down a hundred times. He could not get enough. So on really hot days and when we just could not take a moment more of running around in the heat -- we had a refreshing and fabulous time in the sand bottom pool! LL loved Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom. And our character breakfast was a hit with everyone except little l. She definitely did not like the characters and how do I put it -- well, just flat out SCREAMED every time one came to our table. We had a glimmer of hope when Minnie played peek-a-boo with her. She literally stared at her straight faced and than Donald came up and ruined it all. Oh well, maybe next time she will give them endearing hugs like LL did. It was so sweet.

Here are some pictures from the first part of our trip:

Our flight: Little L's first plane ride! She received wings and a certificate! I love her "not impressed" look below. Double L has flown a couple times before, but never met the pilots and checked out the cockpit. This time, he was able to and LOVED it! Those pilots made LL's day. My mom (Gigi) and my brother flew down with us. My stepdad joined us a day later. Gigi loved rocking little l to sleep on the plane. Um, so did I!!!

Animal Kingdom: It was so HOT and crowded that we only went on a few rides. But we made it to Dinoland and LL was amazed with all the cool Dinosaur statues and ride. The "Dinosaur" ride was a huge hit. I thought it was scary, but LL had a blast!

Character Breakfast @ The Beach Club

To Dads Everywhere: HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

2011-06-19T09:39:00.000-04:00

MISS YOU DAD!

summer list 2011...

2011-06-13T06:33:00.004-04:00

Our summer adventure list has been made!!!

Some plans are set and others in the works.

Disney!
Hangin' with Thomas
Investigate and explore dinosaurs and sharks
Build sand castles
Big 4th Birthday
Camp Little Bear!!
Bike rides
Lots and lots of popsicles and ice-cream
Mini-golf
Swimming, Swimming, and more Swimming...
Cars 2 (probably multiple times, I just have a feeling!!)

What's on your list?

*image source: Coastal Living
**Awesome idea for a summer list: Jen from Our Daily Big Top (her and her clan always have such a fun list)

Little Miss Little L...

2011-06-09T16:42:00.000-04:00

We had Little L's one year well baby. She is such a big girl and was chatting up a storm. She is 25 lbs and 31" long, but she is back on the charts at 93%/94% (respectively). We grow 'em big in this house!!

Remember little miss' issue with movement, well unfortunately she did not pass the test even as a little scooter. She was evaluated for hypotonia today. Just like her brother who enjoyed the perks of PT, I am confident that she will be fine. We will be taking little PT adventures twice a week for awhile and will have another evaluation in 12 weeks. Little Miss is sure to give me the business as we practice her moves for 30 minutes twice a day, but "tough love" was prescribed and this mama will do her best!

The heat is way too much for me. With temps in the high 90s and having 100 blaring in my face yesterday in the car, I could have passed out. After PT, my little princess and I met my mom and double l at suburban square (local outside mall), it was soooo hot. We ate, went straight to Trader Joe's and back home. Normally, I would drag those kiddos in every store. No way, no how... I literally had beads of sweat on my forehead. YUCK!

Hope you are staying cool!

absolutely beautiful...

2011-06-03T16:13:00.000-04:00

I just sat down at my desk with a cup of tea and this amazing breeze is coming through the windows. My sheer curtains show just enough sunshine and beauty outside (while masking the weeds in the beds and poison ivy sneaking through our hedges). Couldn't help but think of SouleMama's "at this moment" posts!

I don't have a photo, but just imagine peace, no humidity and an adorable 3 (almost 4) year old popping over to say HI!

Hope you enjoy your weekend! We finally have a break from the heat and will be enjoying ever second.

**Preschool commencement was this morning. Cannot believe I will posting about the end of the school year. Time just keeps flying by...**

The heat is on

2011-06-02T04:49:00.000-04:00

It has been over 90 degrees for days now and we are melting...

We drug out the baby pool and have been having some fun right here in our backyard. Plenty of water and sunscreen mixed with the A/C running full blast when we just can't take it any longer.

Devon Horse Show

2011-06-01T04:15:00.000-04:00

Every year, we go to the Devon Horse Show (well at least since double l has been born). Since my bub's company is a sponsor, we receive tickets through his work. It always so nice, the horses are all beautiful and there are so many rides and games to keep your little ones engaged. Sunday was hot, so are time was limited to just a few hours, but everyone had a great time. Looking through my pictures, I did not have one picture of a horse. UGH, looks like the heat my have gotten to my brain.

Here are some pictures of double l on the rides and little l chilling, well actually sweating in her stroller (thank goodness for the mist hoses!!).

For all you local mamas ~ there is still time to check out DHS!!!

Come on summer...

2011-05-31T16:07:00.000-04:00

Even thought summer doesn't officially start over memorial day weekend, it always feels like it to me. So here is to our UNofficial start to summer...

Here are some pictures from our little town's parade!

We remember our heros lost and all vets and active personnel...

Birthday Party: Derby Theme

2011-05-25T13:56:00.000-04:00

In honor of my bub's Louisville, Kentucky roots, we made Little L's party a Derby theme. Granted we were a few weeks late and it actually was the day of the Preakness (so sad Animal Kingdom just missed the win!), but we went ahead and celebrated with derby hats, horses and a yummy brunch!

Instead of the traditional red rose wreath, we opted for pink (of course!)

Smash cakes for both babes! Just could not resist having Clay's make LL a superhero one as well. He is such a super brother!

Pink flowers everywhere! Love that we still have them all over the house. as well as light and hot pink balloons (oh and huge horse balloons that little l is a little freaked out about -- YIKES)

Our dapper appeal... bow ties for the boys and hats for the ladies. Um, little l would not keep her hat on and mine was so big I couldn't see. It was comical!

Our Menu:
3 Quiches - traditional lorraine, ham & cheddar and veggie
Yummy overnight french toast with pecans and fresh blueberries
2 Breads - cranberry/pumpkin and banana
Pasta Salad
Green Salad
Berry Salad (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries
Beverages: Mint Tea, Regular Ol' Southern Tea, and Lemonade

Little L is ONE!!!

2011-05-23T11:16:00.000-04:00

My baby, my sweet precious baby girl turned one last Wednesday. We celebrated with family that night and the whole gang on Saturday. Its taken me forever to write a post, mostly because I cannot believe she is ONE. It honestly feels like yesterday I was in the hospital giving birth.

Little L is sweet and funny. She loves just hanging with you and chatting in her own special language. With the occasional word, like "mama", "hiyo", "ukie", "daddy" and even "claire-bear" (which is outstandingly clear!!!). She has definitely found her WILL! And when you occasionally must tell her no, she will give you the business with a "face" of pure discontent. I told Kris his little angel has an attitude (ha!). She is my sidekick and goes with me everywhere. She is perfectly content in the ergo and trotting around with her mama. I feel so blessed to be able to spend all this time with her this past year. Not working, even part-time, was such an answered prayer.

Looking back on the past year, I remember the challenge of acclimating the family to her arrival. Not just double l, but me as well. Kris is such a "steady-eddy", he remained our rock! And all the while, little l was so easy and sweet. It was like she knew we (meaning LL and I) were adjusting and she just had remained patient with us. I just loved what a peaceful, content baby she was. Her happiness is contagious! Even in dark hours of postpartum depression, she brought pure joy my way. She brings a smile to everyone's face that crosses her path.

Where LL is shy and quiet. He has such a peaceful, sweetness about him. Little L is the life of the party. She has a pure joyful spirit! And I cannot wait to see what the Lord has planned for this coming year!

Here are just a few shots from her birthday (more photos to follow in the coming days...)

Birthday Breakfast: Pancakes!!! (her favorite...)

Claire had 'hope for pancakes' and stayed right under her!

Her Birthday Dinner: Pizza and Cake!! First time ever tasting cake (or any sweets). She was a little unsure! Adorable (and a bit YUCK) how her big brother help clean her hands!!

party people, are you ready???

2011-05-16T08:40:00.001-04:00

Little L's birthday week begins --- RIGHT NOW!

Local Mamas: JCrew Savings for a Great Cause!

2011-05-16T08:32:00.000-04:00

SPRING SAVINGS TO BENEFIT OVARIAN CANCER RESEARCH

Receive 15% off all purchases made at the J. Crew in the King of Prussia Mall on Thursday, May 19 from 6 – 9 PM. Proceeds will benefit the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation.

All funds earned will go directly to research to find a cure for ovarian cancer.

WHO: Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation survivors, families and friends

WHEN: Thursday, May 19 6 – 9 PM

WHERE: J. Crew, King of Prussia Mall, 160 N. Gulph Road, King of Prussia, PA

To RSVP or for more information, please contact Robin Cohen, co-founder of the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation, at robin@sandyovarian.org.

town-wide yard sale

2011-05-14T21:27:00.001-04:00

We participated in our town-wide yard sale this weekend. And much to my surprise, we made $45!! Yay me (well, us, but I am the one that sat out there!!!). I only sold stuff for 2.5 hours, because we have miles to go before little l's birthday party. Ahem... she is turning one on Wednesday! Yikes - how did this happen so fast?? At any rate, we sold off some baby stuff. We honestly did not even put a dent into what we have, but I still felt a little sad. I mean, could we remain a family of four+claire? I think so... But I still could not part with so much and kept making excuses the night before. And when my bub pulled out my maternity clothes and suggested those items get put out, I got very emotional. I am not a hoarded at all. But something inside of me cannot let go, cannot move on.

The town-wide yard sale is an annual event. Maybe next year, I will put out some more baby items. That's a good plan... each year I will put out a little. And at this rate, by the time the children are 10, we should just have the keepsakes remaining (ha!).

Hope you all are enjoying your weekend!

no self esteem issues here...

2011-05-11T04:40:00.001-04:00

This picture cracks me up. Double L staring at a picture of himself!! He always does. Love it

A Mother Understands...

2011-05-09T15:22:00.000-04:00

A mother understands what a child does not say. ~Author Unknown

My mother's day was wonderful. The weather was perfect. My homemade breakfast was so yummy. And just relaxing after church was more than I could have asked for. My cards and gift were so thoughtful in every detail! I enjoyed a yummy dinner with my mama, her mama and two aunts (who have been like mothers to me). I am truly blessed.

We did hit a challenging point with Double L yesterday as we got ready for church. A 3 year old's strong will decided to stand up to the normal routine, which resulted in LL swatting at me as I tried to move forward with dressing him for church. The day did not remain difficult and half way to church all was back to normal and the strong will that matched up to my own sung sweet songs and later told me "I want to miss you, mama" as I was leaving for dinner. Fast forward to this afternoon, LL and I were watching an episode of the 'Baby Story' ("we" occasionally need a baby fix!) and I normally mute commercials because ya just never know what will be previewed. Today, little l distracted me and a preview of a female cop reality show came on. Apparently, a teen was being arrested for "hitting" her mom. LL said "mama, she hit her mama and look at the police", I quickly responded "yes, she is in trouble and being taken away by the police". He instantly broke into tears and clung to me. He would not tell what was wrong, but he did not need too. I am sure, he thought of himself yesterday and got scared. In my response, I did not even think of the tantrum from yesterday and began to feel awful that he was so upset. But I simply took the moment to remind him how much I love him, how special and loving he is, and how I am here to pray for him and protect him from all I can. He settled down and eventually moved off my lap and back to playing.

The whole experience just made me think of this quote, "A mother understands what a child does not say" and how I understand when a child at school hurts his feelings just by his silence on the car ride home (normally filled with chatter) or when he starts banging his feet up the stair because mama is spending way too much time rocking little l at naptime. I think its part the God given make-up of a mother and part true love for that little one!

I, certainly, hope you all enjoyed your mother's day and feel blessed as well.

JCrew Event

2011-05-06T09:43:00.001-04:00

Oh how I adore JCrew!!! I was so excited to join some local mamas for a night out and a night of shopping. Shannon from Philly Burb Moms organized a fabulous evening for us at The Brinton Lake JCrew store.

JCrew has some adorable pieces for spring and summer. I loved everything, but with our budget in mind, I made a mental list of what was "needed" and headed over to the store.

On the list:

Bermuda shorts for mama (ones that I could "dress up" for church or a nice summer dinner out
Black thin belt (my old banana leather one broke -- Grrrr...)
A navy or black casual button down for my bub
Critter shorts for Double L
For Little L - well, crewcuts starts at size 2, but some stuff runs small, so I just thought I would browse :-)

What did I pick up:

Navy Bermudas! Ahem, in a size 6 which I almost become giddy just typing it. I have been working hard on this baby weight! Now I am on a hunt for cute wedges to give my leg a little length. I am a shorty-pants, but I just loved these shorts!!!

Since my old black thin belt broke, I have been searching for another one. I love this one! Its a soft black, so of course I stood confused under the store's lights -- is it black or navy? Never fails, I always do that!!! Do you? At any rate the antique-patina buckle sold me. I cannot wait to wear it. Maybe tonight -- Its date night!!!

I picked up a navy button down for my bub. They did not have a black one and its a little Johnny Cash for summer! My bub wears a casual button down EVERY DAY to work with jeans and he has a handful of shirts with worn holes in the elbows. He seriously needs to pick up a few more.

As for my babes, I would have bought everything in their crewcuts section. Oh and I absolutely love that this Jcrew store has all in one. Totally convenient! At any rate, I stayed the course and picked up these adorable pieces...

For our tiny dancer...

I love their critter shorts! These have little bicycles on them!

LL has so many crewcuts graphic tees. They are always so cute and last forever!!

I buy them a little big and have gotten 2 season out of them, plus layer with long sleeves for the Fall!!

The evening was great. JCrew was an excellent host and provided small bites to eat as well as a generous discount for our purchases. Unfortunately, I did not win the giveaways, but it was certainly fun to know that fellow mamas won big (pieces of jewelry, gift cards, private shopping evening...).

Are you a JCrew/crewcuts customer? What have you been admiring this season? Oh and help me out -- need a pair of cute wedges for my bermudas??

for more fashion friday, jump over here!!!

moving on...

2011-05-04T16:34:00.000-04:00

I found myself the other day, folding laundry, changing sheets -- you know the normal stuff! Never did I imagine my emotions would go from even keeled to a wreck in minutes. After I made LL's bed, I brought the rest of the laundry in my bedroom. As I was busy folding, LL came in with the rest of the crew and found his taggie (small blanket with silk tags on the edges) on the floor. It must of fell out of the basket. He picked it up and stated "mama, this is my taggie. It needs to be in my room". I, of course, apologize for my oversight and asked him to go put it on my bed. As I was finishing my sentence, his next statement hit me so hard. "Mama, I don't need it anymore". WHAT!! I said quickly, "are you sure? you can still have your taggie, there is nothing wrong with it". He repeated himself and went on his merry way, while I was left sitting on my bed with tears filling my eyes. My husband did not realize I was getting upset and just casually stated how it was great how he is moving on and such a big boy. But to me, it was too much to handle. I know, nuts, right? Here I was last summer, potty training, taking the binky away, discipline in full force... I know LL is growing up! I know he wasn't going to sleep with his taggie forever, but I just didn't think that day would come this fast.

I have been thinking about how quickly time is rushing by so much lately. Maybe its because we are planning Little L's first birthday or because I read LL's progress report where his teacher pointed out he is still saying "my" for "I" (ex:my love you, mama) and how I love that about him and now I need to correct it and he has been correcting himself. As I type this I have tears in my eyes. My baby, my firstborn is growing up so fast and I don't even know how to grasp it. Oh and my baby-baby is going to be referred to as a toddler soon. Don't get me wrong -- I dream about, I pray about their future! Honestly, I look forward to what God has in store for them. But this week, I just want the future to remain far away and for my babies to not move on so quickly!

Super Claire...

2011-04-28T08:24:00.000-04:00

Did you know my children (including Claire) are superheroes? Oh yes, due to an adventurous 3 year old, fondly called double L here at 'mommie blogs' -- we find ourselves pretending we all are superheroes often. LL is either superman, batman or spiderman. Little L is "batgirl baby" (so cute -- LL made it up). My bub is usually Robin (makes me laugh everytime!) and Claire, well she is super Claire. Oh me -- I am batgirl.

Some inquired about LL's cape in my 'best friends' post and I wanted to give Stonyfield a special thank you for providing my family with three capes. Little L received one during the luncheon at Fork which quickly became LL's and than Claire's. So, they sent us two more (more pics to follow...). Now, our children will all be official superheroes. Without the cape, their power is just not the same!!!

best friends

2011-04-26T06:44:00.002-04:00

We talk about best friends a lot. Double L has a lot of friends from several circles (school, sunday school, kids joy, our friends' children, cousins). He even pairs everyone in the house together as well. One day I am his best friend, the next day daddy is, the next day Little L is mine, etc...

But everyday, it would appear to an outsider that Double L's best bud is Claire. He loves her and she certainly loves him too. He is the only one with more energy than her!

We adopted Claire when I was almost three months pregnant with LL. I always grew up with dogs (my bub too) and we had been casually looking for some time. I remember when I got the email about cocker/golden mixed puppies. There were nine pups -- half black and half golden. I could not hit forward quick enough. It was Christmas time, which is such an adopt-a-puppy kind of time, right?? Anyway, at first Kris said a flat out NO and than I warmed him up to a visit. Actually, I whined because our friends had gone and adopted one of the pups and I was soooo jealous. Anyway, I told him we would just look. HA! He smartly said "who just looks at puppies". So true, we left with Claire (almost another one as well -- I was very emotional!!) and our life is better for it. Honestly, I truly believe our lives are better because Claire is apart of our family. Everyday she gives us unconditional love. Everyday, she just wants to sit by me. Everyday she wants to play, cuddle, walk -- whatever you want! Its like Claire is a best friend to all us!

But no one except LL can play as hard as she wants...

p.s. please excuse the weeds and lack of flowers! Ahem, its on the list!!

Easter 2011

2011-04-25T15:38:00.002-04:00

I hope your weekend was wonderful and if Easter was celebrated, that joy filled your homes. Joy certainly filled our home. We had an inspiring service at our church and than headed back home to do the final preparations for Easter dinner. We hosted some family (13 ~ not including us!). Our home is small, but it always seems to come together and have just enough room (no matter how many).

I did not take any pictures of dinner or any prep pictures -- Oops! My table and buffet were simple. I love tulips! So they were spread around. We had nine at our table and than a kids' table, so not much more fuss could fit. We ate family style with some veggie and rolls behind us on the buffet. I like serving family style. Yes, there is no room for flowers, candles or elbows, but there is alot of interaction. You have to interact with someone you are leaning over to get at the turkey!! Our menu was vast: grilled turkey tenderloin, lasagna, green beans, pineapple stuffing, spinach, rolls, and ham (not a favorite in this home, but mom-mom told me I had to have it and my aunt was kind enough to bring it!). Oh and dessert -- so many desserts: cheesecake, strawberry shortcake, apple pie, apple cake, coconut cake, and a ton of ice-cream. Needless to say, there was tons of leftovers and as always my mama brought one lasagna to eat and one for us to freeze! Gotta love Italian mamas!

Double L and Little L enjoyed every minute. From the time they woke up to the time we said our prayers!!! They were given tons of fun stuff and heard several books telling the story of Jesus' death and resurrection. The day was so fun filled that as my bub and I were cleaning up late last night, we turned to each other and said "we forgot the egg hunt". Well, it was not missed, but we certainly will try to remember next year.

Here are some pictures from yesterday morning...

Along with some chocolate, LL got little surprises which included the Tangled dvd! He was so excited.

Here is Little L taking out her books...

and checking out her "Jesus Lives" book. Just like her mama (always reads the back of the books)!

Home from church and hanging with her favorite person!

The boy who refuses to look at the camera...

Yep, gave up after the last one. I pick my battles and yesterday it wasn't going to be about photos!

Hope you are enjoying your day. Today is summer like with warm hair and bright sunshine.

Croup:The Hijacker

2011-04-20T17:28:00.001-04:00

Ah, Spring Break! We had a full agenda for this week. Double L was looking forward to all kinds of adventures:playdates, the gym's kids' club, long walks, even running errands in preparation for Easter. But we have been hijacked, by none other than CROUP! You all know it and hate it. Well, there is a little, and might I say adorable 3 year old that now hates it with us. No, not because he remembers ever having it as a baby, but because his little sister has it now and it is RUINING his spring break. Playdates have been canceled, no kids club to be had...

But this afternoon, Gigi saved the day! She picked him up and whisked him away to my brother's baseball game. He was so excited by her arrival, he literally ran around the dining room table a hundred times (well maybe five), giggling. Perhaps, also due to all the energy he has bottled up all week.

So, for a few hours LL will forget all about the hijacker and I will have some much needed cuddle time with my sweet baby girl!

Hope your spring breaks going well...

update: double l had an awesome time at the game. there was a playground there with SIX slides. he came home and ran over and gave me a big hug. needless to say, he was scrubbed down head to toe in the tub. a tell tale sign of a fun afternoon!!! many thanks to gigi who made a little man very happy today! wait until he finds out that we need to go to the doctor's office tomorrow... yikes.

Stonyfield Lunch

2011-04-20T17:02:00.002-04:00

Last Thursday, I attended a luncheon at Fork hosted by Stonyfield featuring Robyn O'Brien. I am not sure how to tell you how excited I was when Jo-Lynne sent me the invite and I received confirmation I was added to the list of attendees. We are totally a Stonyfield family and not only because our babes love their yogurt, but we do too. I knew the discussion would be about food -- not just organics, the food industry as a whole which is important to me. Since 2003, I have been committed to having better food choices for my family. At that time, it was just me and my bub. Our first change came with milk. I switched to Soy and felt an almost immediate change in my digestive system. Knowing I was not lactose intolerant, I quickly started drinking organic milk and still felt great. Little by little, I made additional organic changes -- meats/poultry came next, all dairy, and finally fruits and veggies. Then our family grew and my desire to know more about the foods we were eating became even more important. I started reading every labels and oh what I found. Even the "all natural" peanut butters and ketchups had the yucky stuff in them. I started taking a serious look at how the animal I was cooking was treated and found troubling news. I began seeking out food stores (examples:here and here) and food brands (example: here) that would take an active approach to offer healthy foods options and without compromising the treatment of animals. However, I knew Thursdays lunch would be more about what's in our food and how it is affecting ALL of us! I just didn't know what more of a change I needed to make and the stats on why were overwhelming to say the least.

Here is my recap on the afternoon...

The Host ~ Stonyfield

Spend some time on their website in the "about us" section. What you will find is a company dedicated to offering their customers the highest quality yogurts with truly organic ingredients. A company dedicated to supporting organic farmers and making sure their stories are told. The company's mission (straight from the cows mouth!!) - "We’re committed to healthy food, healthy people, healthy business and a healthy planet." Stonyfield is engaging their customers in a fun way. They are asking for you to share "your organic moment". So take a moment, share your story and you never know you may win some great prizes or encourage another to make an important change in their daily diet!

Follow Stonyfield on Facebook and Twitter!!

The Menu

First Course

Baby greens with pea shoots, blood oranges, herb yogurt dressing

Made with Oikos Greek Yogurt

Second Course

Yogurt marinated grilled chicken, tandori style with quinoa, cucumbers, shaved fennel

Made with Stonyfield Whole Milk Yogurt

Dessert

Yogurt Panna Cotta

Made with Oikos Greek Yogurt

Lunch was absolutely delicious. I ate every last bite! Fork has been a favorite place for years. Actually, my bub and I went on one of our first dates there! That was almost eleven years ago!!!

The Speaker - Robyn O'Brien

I was honored to hear Robyn speak and her ability to connect with every women in the room was amazing. As she told her story (and if you have not seen her video - check it out NOW!), she made tears fill up in my eyes. I saw a passion in her that inspires me to stand firm when other's question me about my choices in food or where I choose to spend my grocery budget. And truths were told that convinced me that I still have so far to go in making a lasting, healthy change in our family's diet! She armed us with troublesome statistics. And when I heard what I or others maybe feeding my children could lead to hyperactivity, I took note. When cancer, girls reaching puberty at age 7, ADHD, etc... were discussed, I got scared. But than I started to calm down when Robyn spoke candidly about her 80/20 rule (80% of the time her and her family are eating the best they can) and how starting out small and working through your food journey slowly is most realistic.

Here our some steps that were discussed during lunch

If you are thinking organics and changing up your family's diet, start small - Milk, first! (its what kids ingest the most, right?)
Move towards the 80/20 rule. Lets be honest, our children aren't always with us and if I am being honest - sometimes I just want a package of Twizzlers!
Talk to your spouse about how a change to organics will effect the food budget, why you think its important, and what other expenses can change to support the financial move to a more healthier diet.
Speak in facts, but with compassion when talking to others about the reasons for your change. For example - when you are explaining why you would prefer your children be given organic milk at grandma and grandpa's house, arm them with the stats that made you change your mind!

More about Robyn:

Book: The Unhealthy Truth: How Our Food is Making Us Sick and What We Can Do About It

Twitter

Facebook

...Oh and one last thing, I was able to enjoy the lunch, the inspiring discussion, and other fabulous bloggers -- because they provided child care right there at the restaurant! Double L was at school, but Little L had so much fun and was so well taken care of!!

Disclosure:While attending the luncheon, I was given a gift bag and copy of Robyn's book!

better than expected!

2011-04-16T18:06:00.005-04:00

It was about 8PM last night and as we drove down 476, Kris turned to me and ask me "how was your day?". My response, "better than I expected". He had uttered the same words earlier in the day while we sat and enjoyed lunch in Media. By our side, Little L, who loves the bread at Iron Hill. We headed there right after Little L's procedures at CHOP. We knew she would love it and needed to give her a rest by driving a long way up Baltimore Pike (anyone who lives in my area knows the traffic on BP is a nightmare!). We did not mind at all! Saying our trip to the hospital went better than expected is an understatement. I was so concerned about the invasiveness of the VCUG, but Little L did not even cry A TEAR. This was a complete 180 from her doctor's visit which determined the UTI. She was so calm and sweet. I just stood there, bent over the hospital bed, kissing her forehead and thanking God for answered prayer. Little L smiled and chatted with all the medical staff. They seemed to enjoy her and kept telling us what a beautiful smile she has and how sweet her demeanor is. It was wonderful to hear. And even more wonderful to hear during our time at the hospital, the VCUG showed no signs of reflux! And later in the day, her doctor confirmed that the ultrasound showed all was well developed with her kidneys and bladder.

Praise God!

I can not rave enough about the medical staff at CHOP. Besides having state of the art equipment, every inch of the hospital planned out for a child's ease, and the best doctors in the world -- the entire medical staff that we worked with was so kind, gentle-spirited and walk us through every step! I still am so thankful and know how blessed we are to have this wonderful hospital less than 20 minutes from my driveway!

After lunch, we headed home for awhile and Little L took a very long nap. Even though she was an angel, I am sure she was tuckered out from the adventures of the entire morning and early afternoon. Gigi (my mom) had LL and he was having the time of his life. We headed over to my brother's baseball game (um, yeah I have a bro who is a freshman in HIGH SCHOOL!!!) and cheered that sweet UNCLE on...

So while we headed home and the car was so quiet! My bub and I reflected on what a full day we had and how it was so much better than we could have ever expected!

hope your weekend is turning out to be better than expected...

*reference posts for little l's procedures can be found here and here*

april showers...

2011-04-12T15:40:00.000-04:00

aw, look at that... after a soaking rain (of course little l got caught in it), the sun is trying to break through.

I am afraid it may not happen today. Wow, it's April 12th and this is my first post of the month. I love April! It's my birthday month, my mother's birthday month and always feels like a month of fresh new starts. Not sure if its because of the rain washing all of winter away or because I turn another year older (and hopefully wiser). I just love APRIL!

As I have been ignoring my blog, I have been busy celebrating another birthday! It was a special weekend. And between yummy homemade breakfasts, a small gathering (wine & cheese soiree of sorts) and tons of cake & ice-cream, I managed to gain some pounds! Joined our local Y and plan on working those LBs off as well as my left over baby ones! This week, I will be attending a fun event at a local Philadelphia restaurant. The event is sponsored by Stonyfield. I will tell you all about that later!!

Oh and I am trying this simple recipe for pulled BBQ chicken sandwiches tonight. I found the recipe on the Reluctant Entertainer. Don't you just love her blog. I try so many of her featured recipes and they are all so yummy and EASY! Meanwhile, I have totally wanted her book forever. I just need to go get it!!

Double L is enjoying his last few months of preschool and has been keeping us busy. Pre-soccer (actually soccer doesn't start until 4 around here - odd!) starts next week!!! And he is anxiously anticipating our Disney trip. Poor guy doesn't quite get the whole calendar thing as its months away!!

And Little L is moving more and more. Total blessing. She now scoots around on her bum! Its rather hilarious to watch! I think she is going to skip the entire crawling phase all together and just get up and walk. Her bestie gave her this cute, little ride-on or walk assist toy! We tried it out last night and she love it. Check out the pics. Love her totally dirty, sweaty hair. It was hot and humid yesterday. The mixed of sweat and sunscreen tamed her normally sticks-straight-up do!

I just love this little girl. I have a prayer request as well. Little L goes in for her ultrasound and VCUG later this week. If you could, please pray for God's healing hand and comfort for my sweet little girl. The tests are invasive and she is just to young to understand. Please pray for wisdom for her doctors and medical staff that will be performing the procedures. She will be at the best hospital and I know how blessed we are to have CHOP a few miles from our home! The test were order due to her UTI. I know she will be fine whatever the result. She is in the Lord's hands and that's the safest place of all!

hope you all are enjoying your April...

calling on my 'inner' domestic diva

2011-03-30T16:34:00.002-04:00

Now, I have been trying to become a domestic diva for some time now. And while I mastered 'her' when we lived in Massachusetts (first years of marriage, went back to school, no babies!), I cannot seem to grab hold of 'her' since moving back (um, 5 years ago!!).

I do cook, but rarely have a plan. I love to cook/bake, but usually want to go all out (find the best Ina recipe) and try to remain childless while I prep. This way of cooking is not realistic! So, I have been working on my approach. I still don't menu plan, but vow to try... soon!

However, I do 'dump down' recipes.

On Thanksgiving, I made my good friend (ha!) Tyler Florence's candied yams. Well, on any given day, I combine some simple ingredients and make sweet potatoes LL will actually eat & mash some plan ones for Little L!

Exhibits a, b, and c:

My rendition does not look as fancy as Tyler's, but will next year! YUMMY though, nonetheless!

Quick look in the pantry and no time to let them simmer, but good use of those left over cinnamon sticks!

Little L does not know what she is missing...

Also, I have enlisted a sous chef!

He always lets me know when the flour is "stuck to the side!!"

Here are some long time favorite recipes and new favorites:

Easiest banana bread EVER! - Food Network
Ina's Grown Up Mac and Cheese - I prepare this ahead of time in individual crocks and one with simple cheese (cheddar) for LL. When my bub is on his way home, I pop them in the oven & prepare a salad! EZ PZ Oh, see I posted about it already!
Rachel Ray's Italian Mac-n-Cheese - Perfect for a large crowd, pot luck, or caring ministry dish. I make two for a large gathering. I use ground turkey for a healthy version (sometimes!).
Orzo Salad from one of my favorite cookbooks - and how excited was I when I googled the recipe and a wonderful blog already had it typed out. Thank you "The Domestication Project", clearly I need to spend some additional time on your blog!
Ina's Lemon Yogurt Cake - Delicious and so easy. And I love all things Ina!
Reluctant Entertainer's Cranberry Lemon Pull-Aparts - I have made these so many times, for several different people and boy are they a hit! So good!

so tell me what's an easy way to start this menu planning???

oh, and what's for dinner?

backwards is better than nothing, right?

2011-03-28T08:05:00.000-04:00

Remember our stationary girl! Well, little miss seems to be wiggling backwards when she was on her belly! I must say, that even though we are totally guilty of holding her all the time (she is just so darn cute!), we have been doing her "exercises" every day! Little progress was being made on movement and honestly little l is so content with sitting a playing not moving around, but two things sparked a little excitement - a totally messy office and LEGOs. Of course, LEGOs -- total choke hazard! -- but she so tried to wiggle her body to get them. In the attempt, she managed to moved backwards, which frustrated her, but made me so happy. And as we were finishing our taxes (hey at least we finished before April this year!!) I placed her on the floor in the office with some toys. Well sure, she was surrounded with a paper mess explosion and before we knew it she was headed (well backwards headed??) under the daybed. So I must know -- backwards is progress right? Its better than nothing, right??

**reference fact: our little princess is 10 months and at her 9 month appt. her doctor was not at all impressed with her lack of movement. we were told (and I love my children's doctor) to start seriously working on her gross motor skills!!**

Local Mamas: Cradles to Crayons Mom's Night Out Bingo

2011-03-26T03:49:00.000-04:00

Another wonderful local fundraiser! This event supports Cradles to Crayon's.

Mom's Night Out & Bingo
Friday, April 8th from 7:30-10:30 pm at the Swarthmore Community
Center.

We will be collecting new & gently used children's supplies.
Cost of this event is $5 and includes light apps, bingo & soft
drinks. The event is a BYO so bring a bottle of wine & a friend!

There will be additional bingo cards & (hopefully, if we get enough
prizes) raffle items as well.

multigenerational households

2011-03-24T06:12:00.002-04:00

Here I am reading the March Parenting (early years) magazine and a flood of wonderful memories are coming back to me. The article, I am reading, is about multigenerational households (pgs. 52-54). While, my husband and I don't share our household with either set of parents, this was a way of life for my father's family. While my father was a child, him, his parents and siblings moved in with his mother's sister (who I lovingly referred to as 'nanny'). Nanny's husband had just past and her children were grown and busy with their own lives. Unfortunately, and for reasons I never was privy to, her children were never around or spent much time with her. I only met her sons once. Sad, I know. But I digress...

My father's family is Irish. Grandparents were right off the boat and I have been told that multigenerational homes were the "norm" (at least at the time) over in Ireland. Awhile after my father's family moved in, his forever-a-bachelor uncle joined the clan. Here was a home, about the size of mine (bigger kitchen, but only one bath) with four adults and six children (five boys and one girl). I am sure they had challenging moments, but what I saw was a family that cherished and loved one another's company. I am told my grandmother and nanny would sit in the kitchen for hours in the evening (my grandfather retired to bed early) and chatted while splitting a beer! Extra hands and most importantly extra pitching arms were available to play with and care for six children.

Looking back, this multigenerational home was truly a blessing. My grandmother died suddenly in her early 40s of a brain aneurysm. While my father was set to marry my mother in a few months following her death, his other siblings were still teenagers (with his sister only 12). My nanny stepped in and even though she must have been dealing with her own grief, she took on the pain of those children and my grandfather. From that moment on, she was their living mother, who would become like a grandmother to me. While some husbands may never really get to know their sister-in-law, my grandfather became best friends with his and regarded her highly until the day he passed. And for my nanny, she formed unbreakable bonds with my father and his siblings. Many say, they were just as strong as my grandmother's with them and definitely stronger than with nanny's own children. And more tragedy followed with the early deaths of my father and his sister. But they, especially my grandfather who lived through the untimely deaths of his children and wife, always had a homestead, a place that was open to all of them and their growing families.

Even though its hard for me to imagine my mom and stepdad moving in or my brother moving in after he is married with children, I cannot say I would mind it. Personally for me as a child (my nanny watched me while my parents worked), I loved having hot water and honey with my great-uncle and nanny in the morning (while they sipped tea) and having my aunt and uncle running in & out of the house. Why wouldn't I want that always available, unconditional, everlasting, over-abundance of love for my children...

As I stated above, I witnessed a family that truly cherished one another and respected each other completely. These memories will be with me forever.

I love those Macs (nickname given from my maiden name) and miss those who are not here with us any longer (my dad, nanny, uncle francis, grandmom eleanor, poppy and aunt colleen).

like father, like son!

2011-03-23T04:23:00.002-04:00

Double L wearing his daddy's t-shirt from when he was about four! Many thanks to my mother-in-law for saving it! Love it!

overdue

2011-03-21T20:47:00.000-04:00

Our day started off gray and raining, but I must say after the last few days of sickness, everyone felt so much better. Everyone slept well and even though some (insert little l) had a running nose, all spirits were lifted (even my bub's). After their daddy headed to work, breakfast was finished, and little l woke up from her morning nap, we headed out for a long overdue adventure. We headed to the library! I know, so sad that with double l three and half, I am finally taking him to the local library. Now understand, he has been many times. Gigi (my mom) got him a card to her library years ago (seriously, but sounds so funny... ha!) and he goes weekly at school. But his own mama rather take him to bookstores (I love bookstores--obsessed), read in the corner and pay way too much $$ for books! He has his own library at home. Our bookcases are filled with books for him, me, everyone! Still there is something about the library! I love it. Double L loves it. And I must say, little l enjoyed herself as well. We got him another library card and he was happy this one is so close to him. Now, he is up to 3 cards! Too cute. Even mommie got a book. I have never read the Jane Austen books. I know, I cannot believe it either. And those babies are expensive. Even on Amazon. So, I took out "Emma" and I am looking forward to starting it this evening.

Even though this little adventure was long overdue (pun intended!), my little man and I are looking forward to weekly dates at our very own local library! His Gigi surrounded me with books while I was growing up, and even though I think I have done a good job, there is just something about trips to the library that makes] you even more excited about reading!

Some pics of our day:

check out the latest

2011-03-21T15:03:00.001-04:00

We are having such a better day today! Even my bub woke up and felt better.

Wanted to let ya know the latest on 'mommie reviews' (my review and giveaway blog --which gets little love!)

Imagination Movers Family 4PK Concert Tickets Giveaway (um, total mouth full!)
Mommie's 5 Baby/Toddler Must Haves

2011-03-20T20:05:00.000-04:00

This is the sick house. After a sick LL this week, little L has fell ill and her daddy too! Needless to say, I am behind on so many posts and look forward to a fresh start this week. Praying for health restored and for some productive days ahead.

I am thankful for my health! Praying that remains the case!

Hope everyone enjoyed their weekend!

Fashion Friday: Friends & Family Sales!

2011-03-18T08:49:00.001-04:00

Its fun friday and I am lovin' the 'fashion friday' posts! Join in here!

I am a sucker for a friends & family sale and there are two sales going on now - Gap (which includes Banana and Old Navy) and Janie & Jack!!

Here are some items I have been admiring...

Gap:

I love everything about this outfit! The soft shirt is so versatile. I am so into skinny belts as well. I wear them with my pants, over cardis and dresses! And everyone needs a good pair of khaki pants!

I love these 'always skinny' cuffed jeans. Yes, I know I am short and anything cuffed and cropped is a no-no (according to some...), but I rock my AGs all the time and love them! So mama needs a new pair!

Which brings me to this old navy outfit! HA! This is totally me. Honestly, I need that cardi and those sandals. And with 30% off, that's a complete steal!!! I would wear this EVERY morning (you know spring mornings are chilly, but quickly warm up!)

Now for my sweets...

Janie & Jack:

I have been admiring this swimsuit and coverup for some time now. How adore is it? Perfect little L and for our summer adventures!

LL would look adorable in these cuffed pants and linen shirt. Meanwhile, it would be a total fight getting this outfit on! I would have better luck with cargo shorts and a tee.

Will you be taking part in any of the friends & family sales?

What I Wore: and little l wore...

2011-03-16T20:46:00.000-04:00

I love The Pleated Poppy's 'What I Wore Wednesday' posts and thought this week I would join in. But honestly, we have no good mirrors in this old house, so I only have a half descent one below. So, let's fill in the blanks with little l!!!

Little L: All Dressed Up

(LL: J&J button down, Children's Place cords)

(Little L: BabyGap Dress and Cardi, J&J tights, Pediped MaryJane's)

**LL's clothes no longer on their websites as its from the Fall and Little L's dress is in-store only**

Little L: Play Clothes

(Old Navy Top; BabyGap sweatpants; Robeez shoes)

Mommie's Uniform:

(boyfriend cropped AGs;UO's tank;JCrew tissue tee; Anthro's scarf, old charles David flats)

**Urban no longer has these awesome layering tees. I love them and have them in every color. They are long, cotton and so comfy**

This is totally my uniform - jeans, layering tank, tee and scarf!!!

Go check out our hostess...

Local Mamas: All Children's Sale in Wayne, Pa

2011-03-16T15:38:00.000-04:00

Are you looking for a great selection of quality outgrown clothing, toys, books and even maternity wear? Baby gear too!!

Head over to the Heritage School (located on Church of the Saviour's Campus) on North Wayne Ave and find terrific deals! This sale supports the Heritage School (which is near and dear to my heart!!).

Details:
Sale begins Friday, March 18th (6pm-8pm) and continues on Saturday, March 19th (9am to noon).

leftovers

2011-03-15T12:52:00.000-04:00

I love the leftovers after we entertain. And I'm talking about just the food, but the clean house and the flowers. I adore the flowers. After everyone leaves, my bub and I clean up. I mean clean up real good. The kitchen is spotless and the dining room, well it's never looked as good!

***************

We had a small gathering (v. small!) after little L's baptism and I just love the flowers and cupcakes still left on the table!

baptism

2011-03-13T19:56:00.000-04:00

Little L was baptized today! It was such a special day that was celebrated by both set of grandparents and her uncle! Her big brother was right by her side. As we stood up in front of our church community, I could not help but remember LL's baptism!

My dearest baby girl, my most precious prayer is that you will look to the cross and remember always the grace that God will give you. Your daddy and I commit to nurture you in a Christian home. I love you my sweet and will teach all I can about the Lord's grace and mercy. After that, it is up to you!

My bub read the following scripture today:

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ - to the glory of God.

{Philippians 1:9-11}

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on your doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

{Deuteronomy 6:5-9}

40 days...

2011-03-11T17:16:00.000-05:00

Lent began on Wednesday and in the past I would be contemplating what I was going to give up! And I do plan on giving up *things*, but I really wanted to think about what I wanted to GAIN! Almost every week during my women's bible study, I ask the ladies to pray for me. To pray I don't get easily distracted away from God, away from His Word and away from my devotions. Every day following that request, I find myself easily distracted! The biggest distraction is of course my little children! But unfortunately, a close second, is my obsession with cleaning and trying to organize. I think August Fields explains the desire to make more your God so well...

Ya know what? I just need to clean up and out all the STUFF we have and make more room and time for God. When Sarah mentioned she was doing her 40 bags in 40 days again, I so wanted to join in. And I will, but I am going to take a more laid back approach. As I mentioned I have an issue with jumping into cleaning and organizing, so I don't want to become overcome with the challenge that I lose sight on my goal -- less distraction more time for the Word!! I also found the steps within Tsh Oxenreider's book, Organized Simplicity, very helpful. I am not even finished the book, but completely consumed with the thought of simple living!!

Here is what has been tackled this week:

Dining Room Closet (coat closet)
2 donation bags for LL's school (they are hosting an all children's sale - more to come...)
May Yard Sale box filling up from me just walking around the house!

Here is the list:

Closet Pics:

MESS!

I have a little thing for bags! And these are just my carry-alls!

And I found stuff I totally forgot about -- cute gray jacket & cozy CAbi fleece

All cleaned out & able to close the door! Um, yes you see stairs. Its our secret staircase (since been close off). Tons of fun finds in this old house!

How is your cleaning up and out going???

Fashion Friday: Nordstrom's Spring Catalog

2011-03-11T06:33:00.005-05:00

Oh boy, I just got a chance to check out Nordstrom's latest catalog. Several cute items were found.

So, here is mommie's wishlist ~

I love these heels! Love them and want them! Ahem, someone's birthday is coming up in April! These maybe my gift to myself. Are they not adorable???

Now, my bub is totally not a fan of bermuda shorts, but I think these ones in white are adorable. Especially, with heels or wedges (I am a shortie!).

Honestly, I would probably wear these Sam Edelman sandals every other day this summer. How awesome are these....

Okay, I had to add two items for my babes. How cute would little L look in these TOMS??

Double L is totally into superheroes now, especially Batman! I am thinking he needs a pair of Batman Havaianas. Mommie loves Havaianas, so its fitting to buy a pair for my little man.

Have you seen the catalog? What would be on your wishlist? I loved their take on business casual!

for more fashion friday, check out our hostess!

its been a tough week....

2011-03-09T20:29:00.002-05:00

This week has been tough! As I posted our weekend was a tough one, and unfortunately little l has gotten worse and I have had little time to deal with anything else. I took her to the doctor's on Monday as her fever was steady at 104.5 each time the Tylenol wore off with no cold symptoms. After the doctor ruled out ear infection, chest congestion, etc... They told me they had to test for an UTI. As I asked the question, I knew the answer and my heart started sinking... "How do you test for that", I said. And what the nurse said next made me tear up! "catheter". I felt awful for my little princess. As I tried to distract her, comfort her, she screamed more and more. When they were done, I just held her and cried myself. They tested for the UTI immediately and it came back positive. My poor little girl! The doctor proceeded to inform me that because little l is so young, they need to check her kidneys via ultrasound which will be accompanied by a reverse catheter so they can inject dye into her kidneys and bladder. Needless to say, I am a little beside myself thinking about all this. But I know she is fine, I just hate for her to go through anything like her brother. LL was poked, needled, biopsied, stitched up, you name it and continued to be a soldier through it all. Little l on the other hand gives you the business. When the nurses left the room, she kept looking at me and yelling. It was like she was saying "why in the world did you let them do that!!!" Little l continued to have very high fevers (ranging from 103.7-104.5). Late this afternoon and evening was the first time where her fever seems to be remaining lower than 103. We are trying to push fluids, but little bugger is not having it. The nurse told us to try popsicles, so that's on the menu for tomorrow. Double l can't wait!

Remember last week, I mentioned a great spring cleaning challenge. Well, I did manage to plan and begin my take on Sarah's 40 bags in 40 days. Stay tuned for more on that... But definitely check out her tips and outline of her process on her blog, Clover Lane! Like you mentioned last week, its an awesome idea!

For now, I am headed upstairs to read in bed and get to bed early. We have had several long nights!

...good night!

update on LL

2011-03-08T06:37:00.001-05:00

I am praising God for the wonderful doctor's appointment this mommie prayed for... Double L passed his breathing test with flying colors. After a month of treatments, he regained much better lung function and "sounds great" (stated by his specialist). I am so overjoyed. His doctor did advise to continue the treatments through March since its still a tricky month, but he should be treatment free for the Spring and Summer.

Also, LL is so into cooking and baking. I love it! He is my assistant in the kitchen. Or maybe I am his...

what a weekend...

2011-03-07T08:50:00.000-05:00

I certainly had high hopes for this past weekend! It started off so well, but than "things" took a wrong turn!

Here is a quick recap as I try and put the pieces back together!!

Sunday morning - I am making breakfast, bub is in the shower, babes are patiently at the table. Oh and water is streaming down the ceiling fan! YIKES -- we have a leek. Will be calling our plumber today! Bub cut the electricity for the kitchen lights. Thankfully the stove and refrigerator are on a separate circuit!
Cable and Internet go out. Not the end of the world, but what in the world caused it. Fast forward to 9:00 PM and this strange beep in the basement. Apparently our cable box in the basement was plugged into an outlet that shares the same circuit as the kitchen lights?? huh! Gotta love this old house! Actually, we needed a good laugh. Cable and Internet - Fixed! Our spirits uplifted!
Bub and double l take a fun trip to Home Depot!
Little L develops a fever (late afternoon) and by 3:00AM it reaches 104. We push fluids and our sweet princess remains in wonderful spirits. I will be monitoring her today per the doctor.

**We already started pricing floors, tubs, etc... Right when I put an end to the home projects (house fund = empty! NO CASH!), something else breaks!!!

Hoping to publish updates on LL (great news from his Asthma appointment!) and an Little L turning 9 months!....

Stay tuned as for now I have some things left over and added to my "To-Do list"

ah the weekend is here...

2011-03-04T15:20:00.000-05:00

Our Friday started off very early. I mean very early and very frustrated. But with two cutie-pies, stress and exhaustion doesn't fit well in our schedule. So... we headed out on a little adventure. There really is no better way to kick off our weekend then a brisk walk around the neighborhood. Even though its still a little chilly around these parts, we bundled up and headed out for a morning walk. Boy o'boy, it was quite the walk! Long -- one and half hours!!! And packed with fun -- lots of cracks to jump, doggies all around and COUNT 'EM -- THREE DIGGERS. Oh yes a little boy's dream!

Hope your weekend is full of dreams come true!

What I will be doing...

Fun play date! Getting together with a good friend and her son after not seeing each other for way too long! Our boys are a day apart!
Working on organizing some blog posts! I have so many started and I just really need to get organized. Then headed over to your blogs. My reader is full. This week has been so crazy busy!
Making a plan to create my own personal version of Clover Lane's 40 bags in 40 days. Go over and read about it. Its brilliant. I told my mom about it today as she claimed she needed a project. Well, so do I!
Relaxing! Yes, after I clean this messy house and run to the store, but most definitely after church on Sunday! I have been craving my slow Sundays back. Church, lunch, and no plans!!!

Jumping over the cracks!

Talking to the "digger" operators!

Gotta love The Movers!

2011-03-04T15:04:00.001-05:00

Do your children like the Imagination Movers? LL certainly will shake what his mama gave him (ha!) to their songs. Well, the Movers' prime time concert special is debuting on Sunday, March 6 @ 6PM on the Disney Channel. Rich, Scott, Dave and Smitty play their most popular songs and leave a huge arena crowd on it's feet and wanting more. Special guests include Nina, Knit Knots, Warehouse Mouse, and Eddie the Monster, plus celebrity guests Joey Fatone ('NSYNC and Dancing with the Stars) and Duff Goldman (Ace of Cakes).

And for all the local Mamas (and Papas) -- The Movers are coming to town!!

Come on down to the Tower Theatre and see the Movers’ LIVE IN CONCERT on Sunday, April 10^th! Performances as 1:30pm & 4:30pm!

Your kids and even you can learn some moves prior to the concert. How fun is that! Check it out on Disney Junior's Join the Band!

For tickets, info & fan reviews for the Imagination Movers - click here!

*** Updated Disney Channel Showtimes!

•      1PM (ET/PT)            Tuesday, March 8, 2011
•      6 AM (ET/PT)            Wednesday, March 9, 2011
•      1PM (ET/PT)            Thursday, March 10, 2011
•      12:30PM (ET/PT)    Friday, March 11, 2011
•      7AM (ET/PT)            Saturday, March 12, 2011

discipline!

2011-03-02T15:36:00.002-05:00

In Monday's posts, I alluded to a challenging time that we went through... S.C.M left a sweet comment that made me want to address her question in a blog post. I never really explained the challenging time with LL and most importantly what we (bub and I) learned from it.

Little L was born in May, Double L turned 3 in July! Enough said, right? (ha!) We breezed through 2. I have no idea why anyone calls it the "terrible twos". It was awesome. LL was so sweet and lovable. His rare tantrums were actually cute and adorable. His desire to explore was fostered by both my bub and I. However, turning THREE was really difficult. Apparently normal and apparently a complete secret to me!!! So, here we were -- new baby rocking his world, independence and total selfishness so desired in his little mind, potty training in full force and oh that binkie -- yeah that's gotta go too. Looking back, why in the world was I SOOOOO shocked by his behavior. Well, there is no need to relive the behavior -- it was the normal -- tantrums, screaming, tears, kicking, biting, peeing on the floor (oh yes!), and the worst -- bedtime refusals. I'd rather focus on how we got through it!

At first, we were completely clueless, the normal time-outs that worked like a charm before did not anymore. Shamefully and out of total frustration/exhaustion, yelling was the next step. Surprise! That did not work. We spanked LL a total of four times as a result of him peeing on the floor next to the toilet out of protest(and on me). Um, DID NOT WORK either. We were at a loss. Totally spent. Tears flowed from my eyes as much as his... We needed answered prayer and that's exactly what we got! It was such a process, but boy it worked!

Here you go...

1.) Prayer - There is no way I can parent on my own. I don't have enough wisdom, strength, patience, you name it -- to shape another life in a positive way! So I went to the Lord and as always He listened. I asked for so much and He answered first with a memory verse from my bible study. The verse - Galatians 5:22,23 The fruits of the Spirit. All of which is needed to parent! Then wonderful people and books found there way to me. I stopped praying and asking for God to help LL to behave better and started asking for patience and the wisdom to be a good explain for him. I asked Him for the tools needed to reshape his life and the ability to embrace the challenges!

2.) Consistence - One of our early mistakes was we gave up too quickly, which completely confused LL. We thought time-out did not work anymore because it use to work like a charm - we would give him a warning, then if he did the behavior again, we would place him time-out and he stayed. Once he started running out of time-out, we gave up. So we spoke with his pediatrician. I love our pediatrician. She is not only a doctor out of one of the best if not the best children's hospital, she has SIX children! She gave us the best advice ever and it WORKED!

First - STOP TAKING THE BEHAVIOR PERSONALLY! Um, total breakthrough for me. Acknowledging the behavior was normal and we actually had more control than we thought was a complete breakthrough!
Second - REMAIN CALM. Yes, yes -- easier said than done, but once I stopped taking it PERSONALLY, I was surprisingly calm. Yelling always made the situation worse, but remaining calm eventually lead to a calmer incident. Let me explain -- At first putting LL in time-out was full of screaming, crying, kicking, biting, us having to hold him in time-out. Then the kicking and biting went away, then he sat on his own, etc... Now understand, there is usually tears I mean time-outs aren't fun, but all the out of control behavior has ceased.
Third - THE TECHNIC - Unwanted behavior happens, warning is given, unwanted behavior happens again after warning - time-out given! Now, my warnings are usually followed by a 1-2-3 and I am telling you it works for us! And we needed to be consistent with this -- every time. Exhausted and all! After a week, we saw a difference and after 3 months it was like the challenging time was long behind us.

3.) SOAK UP RESOURCES

Books were my main resource and one stands out as the most influential. "Sacred Parenting" by Gary Thomas! Now this book is NOT a "how-to". I did not need that as I had a great doctor to guide us in that department. This book highlights "how raising children shapes our souls"! With chapters like: Xerox R Us and Sacrifice, I started to really understand how my behavior, myself, my sin, my love really is going and IS shaping my child's life. When I read the back of book and it stated that this book will "demonstrate how God uses our kids to change us" I totally embraced the concept and remain focused on that logic EVERYDAY! Another good book is "Attached at the Heart" I would not say my parenting is attachment parenting as traditionally defined, but I would say I adopt a lot if not all the principles in some way.
Blogs, friends, teachers - I think just talking NOT COMPLAINING about our struggles as parents opens positive and helpful dialogue. Remember I told you in the begin (boy this is a long post, I am sorry!) that I always thought the two's were difficult and never knew the three's were challenging... well, once I started asking for help, suggestions, I found out what I was going through was so normal and we were not alone. Hearing from his teachers that his behavior did not change at all, was so eye opening to me. First, he obviously wasn't having a "behavioral issue". Secondly, the answers and solutions really did lie with us (his parents!). So many blogs were inspirational, informative, and just plain entertaining due a pretty stressful time. This post on Clover Lane stands out as such a source of inspiration and simple parenting advise at a time I most needed it! The night I read it, I so needed it and remember reading it aloud to bub.

4.) Parents UNITE - plain and simple! Discuss, agree upon and remain consistent with your discipline! It will never work if there are mixed messages, good cop/bad cop, etc...

So, there you have it, I have a perfectly behaved young man! HA!!! Its an ongoing process. Yes, I find myself raising my voice at times, bickering with bub, to "tired" to fight with LL and giving in to not-so-nice behavior! But now, I quickly realize MY behavior and get back on track. Where we spent most of the days in time-out, we are going days with NO time-outs. There hasn't been a bite, kick, or thankfully drop of pee-pee on the floor (well, purposely) for months! This is what worked for us and may not work for you, but I wanted to share and certainly hope it helped!

Anything to add... What you find helpful? Books, blogs that we can explore???

mama's boy...

2011-02-28T19:21:00.001-05:00

LL is not totally a "mama's boy" per say, but I certainly was soaking up the time I had with my little boy this weekend. He loved the Thomas Live show. We took one of his best friends (whose mama happens to be one of mine -- huge bonus!) and we made an adventure out of it. LL has been to Philadelphia many times (we live right outside the city limits) and loves pointing out all the huge buildings. He kept saying, "we are in the city", "look at the city"... way too cute.

Just holding his hand through the parking lot, hearing his excitement as we approached the venue and of course having him sit on my lap through the entire show was melting my heart. His little voice and all our little conversations mean the world to me. I knew his world was rocked after little l's birth and I seek out ways to always connect with him. Even though, we hit a rough part right after her birth, we are at such a wonderful place now. We figured out the right discipline for LL and where our days were filled with time-outs and tantrums, they are now filled with laughs and tiny adventures. Hearing he is a good boy and great example for other children is wonderful. He is my special little man and some times I can't believe the Lord loves me so much he gave me grace and the gift of my children.

Unfortunately, the birthday party was canceled and LL was certainly bummed. However, he did "guy things" with his daddy (home depot) after church and then went with me to my mom's (Gigi) for dinner.

Adding to my joy, my alone time with LL continued through today -- he had his checkout with the specialist (all went so well -- more on that later) and had a yummy lunch with just mama!

I love this boy...

2011-02-28T15:29:00.000-05:00

Do you see this?? 60 degrees but I have the bun warmers and heat on! Its so rainy. I have been chilled to the bone!

But I had an awesome lunch date at the California Pizza Kitchen...

2011-02-25T12:51:00.000-05:00

Ah, the weekend is almost here and we are going to have a fun filled one! Loving that Double L and I will have some special time alone as well. Thomas Live and a friend's fun birthday party! Little L will have some bonding time with her daddy where I am sure he will have her practice "dada" as she has perfected "mama!"

Wanted to leave you with some great posts that I read this week...

Beautiful story of redemption and the Lord's pure grace -- (in) courage

The Nester makes Ikea look good -- I have a few Ikea pieces and always overlook their potential! I will be reevaluating them.

Nap Transitioning over at Clover Lane -- Was so there a couple months ago, but she is a pro and will get through it smoothly!

Jo-Lynne's honest and well written admission about blogging -- love her. enough said!

Enjoy your weekend!

Thomas Live

2011-02-24T06:34:00.001-05:00

We are so excited for this weekend. We will be attending the Thomas Live show! Double L is so excited and truly loves Thomas. He is trying to figure out which Thomas shirt to wear. I mean, how cute is that. I am excited to see my favorite character, Percy! I mean, Percy is Thomas' best friend, so I am counting on him being in attendance.

So, if you are in the Philadelphia/South Jersey area -- Tickets are still available!!!

Winner for the Thomas live giveaway has been
notified...

p.s. you cannot tell but mr. fancy face is sporting his Thomas 'jammas in the picture. I am sure they will be requested every night this week :-)

You Capture -- MY "Ls"

2011-02-23T17:41:00.000-05:00

So I have never participated in Beth's 'You Capture' because lets face it, I am no photographer!! But when I saw Bacardi Mama's (love her!) post, I knew this week's challenge was for me!!! THE LETTER "L"!!

I grabbed my camera and snapped shots of my "Ls" Double L and Little L = my heart, my love!

Not the best photos, but the best babes around!!!

If bub was here I would have snapped one of him too... And Claire was too busy barking at the cats outside!

someone loves yogurt...

2011-02-23T12:29:00.005-05:00

...love the mini goatee

my stationary girl!

2011-02-22T14:06:00.000-05:00

I try not to compare, I really do, but this little stationary girl leaves me no choice some times. Double L was rolling over by 4 months, belly sleeping at 5 months, crawling backwards at 6 months, forward by 9 months, standing by 11 months, etc... Granted he was a late walker, mostly due to his speed at crawling and oh well, he was a big boy.

Then there is our little 9 month old princess...

She is perfectly content sitting and playing, but hanging out on her belly usually results in some fuss! Today, she was content as long as her big brother, Claire and I were right by her side. Surprisingly, she even shimmied herself backwards (under the chair of course!). But she will NOT roll over. Either on her back or belly. She sleeps on her back and never even rolls to one side. Thankfully, she has started sleeping with her head rolled to one side and her little bald spot has filled in. To note: she has rolled over, so I know she physically can!

So, I need to know...

When did you little ones roll over?
Any advice to motivate our little stationary girl...
Am I just being silly, because we all know what happens once they are on the move (rolling and crawling...)?

Generation Happy

2011-02-22T11:07:00.001-05:00

Exciting news friends! I have taken the Generation Happy Pledge. I pledge to raise my little "movers and shakers" to understand and make health-concious decisions when it comes to eating and living. Check it out for yourself and see if you are up for taking the pledge.

I started feeding little l HappyBaby Foods right from solid foods:Day1. And plan on continuing well into her toddler years. I always wanted to, but never did get around to making homemade baby food when double l was an infant. I had one good organic choice for him in way of baby food and was content at the time. Fast forward to little l turning 6 months old and ready for first fruits and veggies. With all good intentions of making her homemade baby food, I fell short of the goal (once again). Much to my surprise, I found several choices and fell in love with HappyBaby! Their variety is terrific and their packaging make my life on the go so much easier. Most of all, I am impressed with their goal/mission/promise to their customers. Besides making delicious, healthy baby & toddler foods, they honestly feel they are socially responsible for doing so and providing the health information needed, so parents can make these important and intentional decisions for their children.

HappyBaby is sponsoring a wonderful video contest where the video with the most votes wins a $10,000 college scholarship! So if you think your baby is the "happiest baby", check out the contest and enter.

Little L and I have been practicing with the yogurt melts!

let the truth be told...

2011-02-17T11:30:00.001-05:00

I fancy myself a clean and organized person. I ~~often~~ sometimes stress over keeping a tidy, organized house. I am loving the new book I have started -- Organized Simplicity! But honestly, as of late, our home is a MESS! After reading the Nester's post (BTW, LOVE HER BLOG!), picked up my phone and ran around the house taking pictures. So sorry for the graining iphone photos, but I was on a mission. My mission -- proving to myself I have been rather happy, not stressed, living in this mess for the last couple weeks. My home is clean, its just not that tidy! Now, don't be fooled, I am not that comfortable with it. We have friends visiting throughout the weekend, so I am sure I will be running around tidying up. But I wanted to capture a time when I was fine with a mess (HA!)

**Dining room - To clarify its not the laundry room, not the office, not the mailbox. The place we eat our meals, gather as a family! Um, yeah -- apparently the baby's clean bedding (accompanied by my date night dress) found its way from the basement laundry to the chair and just stopped in it's tracks. It must love the PLASTIC table cloth (YUCK)....

***As soon as I walk through our entry way, here is the foyer! I love this Beatrice chair from Anthropologie. I begged my husband to try and win it in the employee sample auction. Never did I want Beatrice to be a dumping ground. Poor gal! Oh and remember my pet peeve -- shoes left around! My bub will get a kick out of this picture...

***The actual office. A.K.A. The junk drawer! Ah, look the cute pottery barn phone that hasn't found a new home and the valentine's ribbon made it all the way up to the 3rd floor, but stopped short of its storage container. Ah and the ever messy desk, with oh look my scrapbook box! Still working on LL's first year -- now that's just comical.

Now this I find very funny -- here you will find my hamper with the dirty dog blanket and a random towel next to it. Not in it, next to it. Not sure what happened here! Oh and the perfect stop for dry cleaning -- the mirror. Please tell me you do that too???

So there you have it! I am a mess. And hysterically, I stopped mid post to grab little l from her nap and mop the kitchen/bathroom floors. These pictures made me CLEAN!

Do you live in a "well lived in" home? Or are you nice and tidy? come clean...

my love bug...

2011-02-16T08:29:00.000-05:00

Ah, she is growing so fast, but still my little sweet baby!

To my dad:

2011-02-15T15:13:00.001-05:00

Dad,

22 years ago today, you went home and my world changed completely. You were escorted through the gates by angels where you surrendered yourself to our Lord for the last time. Because there, you will forever be together. And I wept, said good-bye over and over again, and then went into a bit of denial for awhile. But every step of the way, I missed you, loved you and have always remembered you. I know you would be proud of me not because I think I am worthy, but because you loved me unconditionally and always told me how much you cherished me and how beautiful I was. I can still hear you singing Joe Cooker and of course adding your own lyrics. You taught me how to pray, how to love unconditionally, and how to have patience. All of which I fail you. I will try harder. I promise.

Today has been hard. Some years go by and only joy surrounds my thoughts of you. But somehow today and maybe for a bit before, sadness has accompanied my memories and thoughts. I know it will pass. I pray it passes quickly. Your grandchildren certainly help. LL definitely has your eyes and they are such comfort at times. Its like you are looking at me, which is so overwhelming special. Little l shares your mother's name and birth date. I love that more than most know!

I don't see you much in my dreams anymore and that's okay. I still remember your voice and face perfectly. And I know that one day you will share that banquet table with me and we will be together again. For now, I am sad. Tomorrow I will smile. I promise.

Love, Courtney

love...

2011-02-14T08:49:00.000-05:00

As I walked downstairs this morning with two little ones in tow, I was greeted with gifts, coffee and a yummy breakfast! Ah, I *love* Valentine's Day!

We will be using our Mr. & Mrs. collection right away.

Oh and I *love* my new coffee to-go mug!

The truffles, well -- they will be gone by this evening (ha!)

Double L and I made Valentine's for his preschool class. Delicious white chocolate lollipops! Found the idea in the Disney Family Fun magazine (Christmas gift subscription from my sister & brother-in-law--love the magazine!)

happy valentine's day!

Attention local Philly Moms... Thomas Giveaway

2011-02-11T14:50:00.000-05:00

I am hosting a fun Thomas & Friends Live Giveaway on mommie reviews. Click over and enter!

dentist, norma rae, and ramblings...

2011-02-07T14:21:00.002-05:00

Look at my little trooper...

I took double L to the dentist last week. He is awesome. Every time he goes to a doctor, he such a good listener and just goes with the flow. All is well with those chompers! Did you know the nebulizer treatments could really effect a child's teeth? He needs to drink water after every treatment.

LL is doing great and still responding so well to the treatments. Praying we are completely off the meds as soon as possible.

And than there is my own little Norma Rae, who has gone on strike! Yep, she is striking from all things formula. Now, little l has been taking formula bottles for some time now as I was breastfeeding and bottle feeding as well as mixing her oatmeal with some formula. And everything was hunky dory until Saturday night. She refused her bottle. She than proceeded to have a fit every time we tried to feed her one since... Oh and formula in the oatmeal, um no thanks as well. So I was convinced -- she has an ear infection -- she has a belly infection -- she is allergic to formula (all of the sudden)! Ah none of the above. She is on strike! After meeting with her doctor today, I learned that some babies go into these phases where they are turned off of certain taste. Well, at lunch I attempted to feed her a bottle prior to her yummy fruits and veggies. After rocking while pinning her arm behind my back and having her close to her beloved breast, she took it. So could it be she is striking and wants the breast back. I completely weaned her as of last Saturday. I don't know. Have any of ya all been through this... She is otherwise completely happy and carefree. Oh and her ears, belly, lungs -- completely fine. We did learn she is 23 pounds. YIKES! Clearly she does not miss meals and now you understand my complete freak out!

And for all the local Philly crowd, I am working on a fun Thomas giveaway. I hope to have it posted soon!

Oh and I don't think we will be getting any snow this week. As much as I don't mind the snow, I am loving the break! Thought for moment there we were back living in Boston!

update on double l

2011-02-02T13:04:00.000-05:00

Boy oh boy, I have NOT missed these updates. LL's asthma has been so under control, I honestly thought it was behind us! Last Monday, we met with double l's asthma specialist. His lungs are not doing so well these days. The Singulair does not seem to be working anymore. Last winter was great, but this winter has been rough. Double l has this persistent cough and now his wheezing is back. So, back to the nebulizer -- twice a day to start and than once. He is using Pulmicort and we have already seen an improvement. Last night, I prayed for God's healing hand on his little lungs. I pray he outgrows this asthma before elementary school. He is such a trooper. He sits with his nebulizer (which has a "nemo" head now! FUN!!) and does not complain. I thought it maybe tough getting him back on it, but I think he just goes with the flow. Poor babe started using the nebulizer at 6 months. I am thankful we have never had an asthma emergency like I know so many have experienced and praise the Lord everyday.

I covet your prayers! We would like to have him weaned off the treatments as soon as possible. Our follow appointment is later this month.

... as I was adding the past links for reference, I could not help but read through the old post. Those pictures brought tears to my eyes. LL was so little and still such a trooper with all the yuck going on in his chest. I cannot believe how big he is. Time just keeps flying by...

our fun in the snow...

2011-01-28T07:55:00.000-05:00

Even though we have had eleven snowfalls so far this winter, we still love it. Yesterday was filled with rosy cheeks, wet mittens, maybe a sore back (from all that shoveling - thanks Kris!), and memories. Daddy worked from home, so breakfast, lunch and dinner were fun filled! Here are some snapshot from our day. Bub made YUMMY pancakes to start the day...

yet another...

2011-01-27T12:14:00.001-05:00

snow day...

15 inches fell last night and we are so enjoying it. defrosting upstairs in the playroom as the trains go round and round. potato soup started in the crockpot and it certainly smells yummy.

Enjoy your day!

another snow day...

2011-01-26T09:11:00.001-05:00

Image credit: Author: S. Kassirer Illustrated by Philomena O'Neil Purchase: Snow Day

8 Years ago today...

2011-01-24T13:25:00.000-05:00

I made the best and most important decision of my life! I said YES!!! And this song was playing in the background.

I love you Bub!

Whole Foods Email

2011-01-22T07:00:00.002-05:00

I just received this email from whole foods. I urge you to follow their steps and take action!

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is about to announce its decision on deregulating genetically engineered (GE) alfalfa.*
Do you believe organic and non-GE farmers have a right to grow foods without fear of contamination from genetically engineered crops? Do you want the choice to buy organic and non-GE products?
If so, please consider taking action immediately! Contact the USDA, the White House, and your Congressperson by Monday, January 24..

Click here to take action now

lets get this weekend started

2011-01-21T14:23:00.000-05:00

I am so craving breakfast for dinner, so that's what we will have...

It is going to be freezing this weekend, so hopefully we will spend most of our time indoors... playing candyland, organizing, reading, cooking...

Hope you enjoy your weekend and stay warm!

**image credit:Better Homes and Gardens

Coupons, discounts, sales... Oh My!

2011-01-20T10:00:00.000-05:00

I just got into "couponing". You should see me. I clip, clip, clip away... And sadly I too frequently forget about them when I am headed out the door. I truly envy the women that save so much every food store trip! I really am going to try harder this year and get more organized.

HOWEVER, I never forget about checking for coupon CODES before ordering anything online. Maybe its because it is in my blood as online marketing was such a big part of my former job. I know all the coupon sites and know who has the best deals.

One of the best sites out there is Bradsdeals.com. Have you heard of the site? If not, hurry over and check it out. I personally know this site receives exclusive offers from some of the biggest retail stores. So, it's worth a peek before ordering anything online.

In my obsession to save on shipping and find percentages off, I have used Bradsdeals.com often.

Here are some links to popular retailers...

Bath and Body Works - Okay -- Coupons for FREE stuff with purchase. Enough said!

Dick's Sporting Goods - WOW! You'll find a dollar amount off your order for multiple order amounts! If you are going to spend the money on those new sneakers or workout gear, you should check here first!

Macys - just counted FOUR FREE SHIPPING OFFERS! as well as other discounts.

Even online only retailers are listed on the site... I mean hello! Overstock always has great prices and coupled with a coupon from brad's, your savings continues...

Oh and remember my 'resolution' to use more coupons while out and about. Um, yeah... Apparently, brads deals has me covered there as well. Printable coupons, peeps. I never checked this section before. Huh, I learn something knew everyday!

Bookmark it and SAVE!

*Disclosure: I have accepted a gift certificate for working with brad's deals. However, the opinions above are mine and I stand behind them!**

playtime!

2011-01-19T06:00:00.000-05:00

Little L took a long afternoon nap yesterday which allowed Double L and I to have extended playtime! Normally, I would keep interrupting us for cleaning, laundry, etc... But yesterday, we just sat and played with Buzz and Woody. We have two Buzz dolls, so each of us had one. I had so much fun and it totally reminded me of a past post...

Originally posted March 5, 2009

Here I was about to finish a post regarding my desire to attend the flower show every year, but I never end up going, when suddenly, a little hand reached up and touched me. I looked to my side and there was my little man just wanting to hang out with his mama. I stopped typing immediately and grabbed his hand letting him lead me to where ever he decided he wanted to go. We marched from room to room, chanting "march, march, march". We held hands and sang "ring around the rosy" as we moved in a circle.

I realized at that moment I do not spend enough time playing with him. Sure, we are together almost everyday, all day long. Sure, I feed him, change him, sing to him, rock him, etc... But I do not truly play with him as much as I should. I do not get down on his level and do exactly what he thinks is fun nearly enough. Fun to my little man is marching, singing, wrestling with the dog, and building tall towers only to knock them down, but quickly rebuild them again. I let the laundry, my work, the darn iphone, the dishes, the blog, the dog hair all distract me from playing with him until he wants to stop not until the dryer alarm goes off.

We played for hours. The entire morning and early afternoon was spent in playtime. Nothing, but perhaps a few diaper changes, tore us apart from the trucks, puzzles and songs. We even ate on the run, or should I say "march". We ended up under the table. A place that I have not been for a long time. The last time I spent more than a minute under the table (at which time I probably was attempting to break-up a lick fest between the dog and little man) was about 30 years ago. Do you know what? Its a blast under there. There are no bright lights, no phones, no computers, and best of all no dirty dishes. There aren't any distractions under the table. It is just you, your little one, perhaps the dog, a toy train and your imaginations. The little guy showed me all the intricate details of underneath the table. We chatted for awhile. I did not understand exactly what my superman was telling me, but he made me laugh and I think he was having a great time too. He seemed happy to have mama under the table, but probably has no clue how much that time meant to me.

I realized all the stuff that is distracting me from my sweet guy is NOT fun, but he is. My son is so much fun. Anyone that meets him knows he is such a gentle soul and adorable to look at for hours at a time. But he is fun and funny as well! He made me laugh all day long and smile more than I think I have in a really long time. As I resolve to spend much more time under the table, I will make sure I tune out the distractions. There is a whole new world under there. Who knew?

Snow Day

2011-01-18T09:37:00.004-05:00

I should say Ice Day. We had some snow fall last night and by this morning it was freezing rain. Most schools had a two hour delay, so that means LL's preschool is closed. I was kind of happy about it. LL woke up with a cough and sore throat and I have a ton of laundry. So, we are declaring today a rest/jamma day. Mama and little l will wear comfy clothes, but LL can enjoy his jammas all day.

To Do:

Workout: DONE!!!
Laundry: Second load is in the washer, a million loads to go...
Chili: Need to start after a much needed shower
Little L's AM nap: so far scrapped as I hear her chatting with the angels!!
Candyland/Hungry Hippo Tournaments: Schedule to begin after lunch

Hope you enjoy your day!

Tuckered Out!

2011-01-14T14:35:00.004-05:00

Double L doesn't need naps anymore (per him...). Still, he frequently falls asleep on the way home from Preschool, Church and Kids Joy. We are looking at 3 days out of the week, he needs a "rest". Once he wakes up he refers to his nap as a "rest", because as we know he doesn't need naps anymore. Which honestly, I'd rather him NOT take a nap as he will be fighting bedtime tonight. So, my question is -- when does the need for a nap stop or acknowledgement that its needed & taken earlier and bedtime can get back to normal again??? Because I just want bedtime back to normal again!!!

*meanwhile this is the first time he has ever done this... I had to grab my phone and than I put him to bed! Too cute.

Snow Day

2011-01-12T15:01:00.004-05:00

Another snow fall for us! As I am sure most of you are enjoying a blanket of the white stuff... We are having so much fun today. Take a look... Next up hot chocolate to go with those cookies...

Meanwhile, I have them way too close to one another.

*taken from my iphone as the canon is out of gas...

Blogging rant...

2011-01-10T16:21:00.003-05:00

Why oh why do not blog regularly like before??? I really do enjoy it and then I don't so much or get busy or have nothing to say...

As I was typing my posts for The Baby Weight Diary, I just had a million things run through my head that I wanted to tell you...

Instead of organizing my thoughts and possible orchestrating an entire post on each topic, I am just going to rant. Because we all know, I will never get around to all these individual post...

1.) My babies are awesome. I know I am bias, but they are. Double L is so sweet and kind. Sure he has moments where he disobeys us or throws a tantrum. But honestly he wants to be kind, he wants to love, he wants to listen. And I get so mad at myself when I lose sight of this sometimes while I am disciplining him. And Little L is a true joy, such an easy baby. I see how blessed I am now as she is teething. She is getting a little fussing and she has been giving us a run for our money in the sleep area. But this is so normal and to think we only had to manage it now at 7 1/2 months old! Amazing. I have no idea what she will grow up to be. We kid and say she will be a big CEO one day. And Double L will totally be the next Bear Grylls. But honestly, I pray they will know the Lord, love, and smile often. And secretly always need their mama!

2.) My bible study on Mark starts up on Wednesday. I sadly have not even looked at the homework. I had such promise as we ended the semester that I would work on the study over break and the time just escape me. I am reading a great book, Sacred Parenting, and referencing one of my favorite books, The Power of a Praying Wife. But I let days go by and not open my bible. That's one of the main reason I started the Mark study. I thought a study on the Gospel would be awesome and surely have me in the Word all the time. But there is an area that I am concentrating on and really being rewarded -- Prayer. Besides reviewing The Power of a Praying Wife, I read a little, brief Alpha book given as a Christmas gift from the leader of my study. I have been a Christian for a long time and unfortunately never felt 100% comfortable in prayer. I think its crazy at times as I sit and pray with my family, children, study group, alone... But I still don't feel secure with myself. I can't explain it. I know the Lord is listening. I know He wants me to pray. Jesus prayed. It establishes my relationship with Him. But my feelings remain. Until I started focusing on prayer and now its getting so much better! Next up --- Praying God's Word by Beth Moore.

3.) Resolutions. Ah, so we all know I want to lose the baby weight (ha!). But I also want to turn off the tube and READ. Ha, could you tell by #2!!! So give me some great book recommendations. I have a few ready for the night stand, and an awesome Amazon GC (from my fabulous SIL) to spend. I did get a BIG, LONG book for Christmas from my bub. Have you read Decision Points? Um, did I just lose all of you (ha, ha)?? I haven't started, but most say its a long one. Should take up most of the year : )

4.) Finally and a total rant. Our dishwasher lost its little top shelf spin thingy. I am sure you all know what I am talking about (ha!). Anyway, I needed to call Frigidaire to find out how to fix it. Um, they are closed because of snow. They are in Georgia. Okay, no offense to anyone in Georgia or of the same train of thought, but it seems this state had light freezing rain and some snow. I do not want anyone to ever go to work if its not safe out, but seriously! The ground can't even be that cold and don't they have salt trucks. Fine, I lived in Boston where they NEVER shutdown and Philadelphia is my home and city where I was born. Yes, we definitely don't handle the snow/ice as well as up North, but my company never closed for some snow and freezing rain. Blizzard, a foot -- yes. So I must wait and hope they can clear those roads and open for business tomorrow. Mama needs her dishwasher!!!!

Happiness is this boy... Love him so much! I am so thankful for him!

New Year, New Blog

2011-01-04T20:48:00.005-05:00

Hello Friends, Happy New Year. So (as you can tell), I have been away from blogging for awhile. I tried to jump back and miss it from time to time. But must admit these little ones keep me busy and I am loving our new normal as a family of four (plus Claire). I definitely want to post here from time to time, especially when I get that blogging itch. However, I am starting a new blog. I know, I know -- I don't make sense. But I must admit even though I honestly am loving my life and all the blessings I have received, I have been feeling a little down about my self image. During my workout today, which I have not worked out FOREVER, I decided to start a somewhat fitness blog, but really just a place to chronicle my daily exercise routine. I am hoping this blog keeps me accountable, organized and continues to challenge me to be more healthy!

So whenever your bored, please stop by and give me some words of encouragement...

The Baby Weight Diary begins...

And here are some pics of the babes during Christmas... Isn't little l growing so fast!

Opera Company of Philadelphia "Hallelujah!" Random Act of Culture

2010-12-11T12:09:00.000-05:00

Love, Love, Love these flash mobs... right here in my hometown!

Christmas Food Court Flash Mob, Hallelujah Chorus - Must See!

2010-12-11T12:07:00.000-05:00

Gino's or Pat's

2010-12-03T12:15:00.002-05:00

As you may or may not know, Philadelphia is know for their cheesesteaks. Yes 'cheesesteaks' not steak with cheese sandwiches as I have seen/heard them referred to around the U.S. And we live right outside 'Philly' as I and so many of us refer to it! And Philadelphia has long standing cheesesteak revivals -- Pat's and Gino's!

Honestly, if you are in town -- do not bother with anyone else. Yes, there are other choices that do you just fine. But in my house and all mi familia -- it's either Pat's or Gino's.

I am totally a Pat's girl. But apparently the men in my house are Gino's fans. Double l, his papa, uncle, pops, cousin and great-uncle all went to the UPenn basketball game and had to get cheesesteaks before the game. OF COURSE!! All but my bub, double l and Pops (to a degree) are locals. We were blessed to have half the California crew (more have moved out west) and relatives from my bub's birth state of Kentucky come in for Thanksgiving.

Double l housed the fries and the jury is still out on the steak. I am sure, just like his daddy, he will love his steak with whiz (yuck -- I am a provolone girl). But thought this picture was too cute. I received it that evening as the boys enjoyed a night out, so did their ladies. We met at the King of Prussia mall. Ah, got to love dinner and shopping!!! We not only have the best cheesesteaks, we have fabulous shopping. No mood for the city, run to the 'burbs. They have it ALL!!

Enjoy...

How I love this little man!!!

oh, double l's new thing is you grab the iphone, he looks down. gotta love 3 year olds exercising their God giving will!!

practice makes perfect

2010-12-02T05:46:00.000-05:00

There have been a number of things keeping me away from blogging, and there is one thing that we (insert my bub in the fun) have been spending time on and not seeing the fruits of our labor. Prepping the little ones for the christmas card photo. My word, it is not easy. Double l has been practicing holding little l and its more comical than card material. However, maybe that will be our approach this year -- a comedy of errors... But we really should start dressing them the part -- just in case we take a winner!!

Want to take a peak at the ones on the cutting room floor...

Bear hug style...

Wet Willy!!! She should really just get use to it...

Solo, playing some tunes...

No hands and little l looks scared, right???

My sweets! Love the PJs on little l; double l in his very brown outfit and the lovely claire-bear blanket on the sofa! If only they were dressed, propped in front of a tree and well, we had better lighting... oh and claire was in attendance, of course!

advent

2010-12-01T15:35:00.005-05:00

'Tis the season to come out of hiding...

I love advent and starting our advent book this morning definitely had me thinking about this little blog!

So, I am coming back (for now...) and boy, do I have some updates to share. Um, no (unlike before) I am NOT preggers again. But I do have two wonderfully, ever-so-fast growing children!

For now, happy advent friends!

day 1: for to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

isaiah 9:6