Oh goodness me...where have we been? We have been away for the past 3 days and last week was b-u-s-y. We had a great upbuilding weekend and then Monday hits with a bang!!! As usual ;) Unfortunately, I think I have a sinus/ear infection so I have an 8:15 am appointment with the doctor in the morning. Then...if I'm feeling any better I'm going to take Flossy and Ro to see Wall-E. Ro is a HUGE "o-bot" fan and will be thrilled to pieces and Bella loves going to the movies and getting butter loaded popcorn. Who am I kidding, so do I!

So, after a day of tyring to get "caught up" while feeling under the weather, I thought I might outta catch up with everyone.

Bedtime around here has become a strategic plot by the kids to see how long they can stay up. Isabella is reading faster and faster everyday and so that makes it go a little quicker, but Jude has to chat about every picture in the book whilst I read it (picture that sentence said with a Bri-ish accent;). Isabella has this bear, "Frasier", that Auntie Nikki bought her when she was a newborn. She still sleeps with him and totes him around n all our trips. He has actually been a great comfort object for her and made weening from breastfeeding and the pacifier very smooth. Jude,on the other hand was never fond of a comfort buddy. He just liked nursing and was quite attached to his "mi-mi" (Binky). Now, all of a sudden, he has "my Frasier" which is a blue pancake bear given to him as a newborn from our sweet Weiss's. Well...there has been no affection for this bear until tonight when we couldn't find him!!!! Isn't that how it works? All we wanted was for them to go to sleep b/c they are both over tired and Jude was up all night. Well...after looking for him, I spotted him in the dark under Jude's bed. Now, he has already gotten up out of his bed twice and I'm sure that's nothin' compared to tonight. That, ladies and gentlemen, is why there will be no more babies on board for this house! OK, now we can make that 3 times! Ugggghhhh!

So, this is not much of a post and I don't even have a picture to post, but I promise I will. Hopefully I can post some video this week b/c we just bought a camcorder that store video on sandisk and burns to your computer's hard drive. A lot cheaper than anything else on the market and in my opinion much cooler.

Link-O-Mania

Two weeks until vacation and counting! And since I don't have any pictures to post and we'll be at our 3 day district convention for the next 3 days, I am going to leave you with lots of cool stuff to look at until I get back! I hope everyone has a great weekend. Especially my dear Weiss' ;) Enjoy your vacation super tons :)

Now, many of you have asked for the super gooey low-fat chocolate cookies so go here. They are delish...and low-fat.

For those of you with affection for man's best friend, you can get the cutest collars from Lucky Fiona. We bought this for our little Fiona and she loves it! Be sure to check all her collars.

If you want some free pics go here and they will give you 200 free prints and a free 8x8 photo book!

I just found this out a few months ago b/c we don't have one. If you have a little boy and like cheap t-shirts and shorts hat aew cute visit Crazy8.com. They are like Old Navy, but owned by Gymboree. They have girls clothes too!

I love, love, love Crewcuts. It's J Crew for wee ones and I must say I love, love, love their sales only!

Cute paperdolls to download by Weewonderfuls.

This will make you laugh!

Blueberry pie, walk on by...

I love that song. Now, we don't have blueberries, but we do have lots of blackberries! We went blackberry picking this weekend and the kiddos just loved it. Jude dove right in like a pro and Isabella did too. Then Aunt Sarah came over and watched them while we went suit shopping. There was an older man who helped us. Apparently he was from Chicago and he talked about the Fish Keg off Howard and then we started talkling about Chicago pizza. It made me crave Giordanos and reminded about there shipping option. Nikki sent us some pizza from them one year for our Anniversary. It arrived packed in dry ice and was sooooo good! I miss Giordanos, Navy Pier, our cute little apartment a block from he L and 4 blocks from Lake Michigan. I miss Michigan Ave, Lake Front Drive, walking around in Evanston, Anthropologie. I miss Chi-Town. We might be going in September to see Andrew Bird and take the kids. That or Branson (I've never been) with Uncle Rob and Aunt Celeste.

Ok, so now for the pictures. The sun was right about us and no shade so the colors are harsh and the shadows are bad, but I love them anyways.












So now for Tristan's photos :) I'm so proud!!!




And last but not least, with his underwear on. Well...at least he thought he was putting his underwear on. It was actually a pajama tank! LOL!

The cool thing about this blog...

So many of you might be wondering why I share my daily musings with the world. Well...in 2009 I plan on doing this, Isn't that cool! All of our silliness can be recorded in a book for us to read when our babies are all grown up :) Hopefully, I will look back and think good things and not "wow, did I really not have a life!" LOL! Just thought I would share. Also, visit my photo blog for a preview of my recent twins session. It was so much fun! Have a great Saturday.

Found.

I couldn't think of a more appropriate title! First of all, remember the debit card story? Well...I was sitting at the bank yesterday cleaning out my wallet and low and behold behind my drivers liscence was my debit card. Poor Ro was blamed for the whole thing! Anyways, it worked out for the better b/c in canceling the card, we got a much better checking account with rewards and everything! Still, it didn't make Tristan very happy thinking about all the seeking he did.

We were at Target yesterday and an employee came over the intercom and said "Joe Smith, please meet your party at the front of the store." Isabella looked up at me and in a whisper with her little hands clasped around her mouth she said "Mommy! There is a party at the front of the store!" She has been on a kick lately of being very helpful. She doesn't want to be asked to do things either. For example, the other day she woke up, brushed her teeth and made every bed in the house. She loves to help as long as it's her thought and not mine or her daddy's. Like last night, we out for a little while and did some suit shopping for Tristan and had some dinner. It was past their bedtime when we got home s B ran inside, got her pj's on and was heading for the bathroom when Tristan said "let's brush your teeth!". Ok, WRONG thing to say. She was so mad at him. "That's what I was going to do, I wanted to surprise you!" It was a long drag out battle after that. We got past it though, eventually ;)

Jude, well,lets just say I hope the terrible 3's are easier than the terribe 2's! He's mommy's boy and I love that, but stubborn he is. I think he must get that from me as well. We went to Jessica's studio the the other day to play with her lights and see her awesome space. We couldn't get a picture of him even if we were a walking lollipop. He has a love/hate relationship with my camera that even bribery will not fix. Oh well! I got these shots of flossy.

Into the White

Today was loads of fun. Molly and Andy came to play. They all played so well together, but after awhile it was obvious they were itching to get outside so we went out in the rain and did some puddle jumping. I have some cute pics, but I'm too tired to upload them so maybe tomorrow. Something I will share is a love for the Pixies that Isabella has discovered. It's so adorable! She loves Into the White. The video below is live in Boston in 91'. She knows the words and everything. I love that kid! Her daddy is so proud of her musical interests.

Remember to turn off the music player at the footer!

I can make that and remote thief...

So this is an attempt to feed my frenzy and vent some steam. Now, Tristan is a good man, a really good man, but sometimes....nevermind. Just let me explain. He's handy, he can build furniture, sew anything, upholster and build things. Truly he is talented. I have learned, though, that if I want to buy something, do not tell Tristan. Y a know why? Because I get the good ole "I can make that". Tonight he proceeded to tell me that he can make the dog a new frisbee! Ay yae yea (me slapping my forehead). Yeah honey, like the 15 tons of cement and wooden post sitting outside our house that are someday going to be a privacy fence. Ok sweetie, you go ahead and make the dog a frisbee.

Next, he is a remote hog. Now, I know this is a common trait of the male species so I have to let it slide, but let me tell you...I used to actually like the history channel and discovery. Ok, so right now I got up to get a drink and I come back and the movie I'm watching is off and he's watching Discovery. So, that's not bad right? Well, not really, but the point is SHARE!!!!! So, like I said, to feed my frenzy I will now award him with the MERMAN OF THE YEAR award. I love you honey :)



And Discovery Channel, I still do love you, especially for this commercial :) READERS: Please mute the music player at the bottom of the page so you can hear the Disocery song :)

Randomness....

That's what this post is all about! We are counting down...1 month until vacation. Ahhh, the warm Florida sun, sand on my feet, Fat Tuesdays bushwhackers, Seaside, just plain old peace and quiet, watching the kids build sandcastles, boogie boarding, watching the dolphins and so much more. I love the drive down as well. The south is so inspiring to me, driving through little towns that you know are filled with so much history and lots of vintage goodies, the small poor towns that tell a story, the fruit and veggie stands and you know you're getting close when you see Palm trees for sale! No, it's not Hawaii or the Caribean. Just the good ole' south! We can't wait! This year we're blessed to have my little sis go with us so things will be even better ;)

Well...last week was the pits due to rain and apparently we're supposed to get just as much this week. So long tan before vacation, hello big reflector on the beach (me). We had lots of fun this weekend though. Dad, Charlie and Audrey came over last night for some amazing steaks, jalapeno sausage brats, corn on the cob, salad and strawberries. YUM! Dad grills the best food that I ever had. The kids played in the kiddie pool and we listened to the Foxboro Hot Tubs (Green Days new band) and then watched some golf. That's about it. Oh, Tristan let me sleep in until 10 am Saturday morning (Ro did't sleep Friday night for some reason) and when I woke up, he was getting the kids dressed (he even fixed Miss B's hair) and packed up to take them to Riverside to toss the frisbee to Fiona. I was a little worried that she might run away seeing as how she doesn't go off the leash, but they said she did great! Despite being untrained. Tristan said she started barking at a dog who was being walked by a young couple and the dog did not bark back. After they passed our ill behaved dog they rewarded their baby with a treat. Uh, yeah, it's obvious they don;t have kids!!! Just kidding...no really though, they just have more time to train their dog, right? LOL. While they were playing, I was waking up slowly to a few morning cups of joe and then started cleaning and doing laundry.

I got my Rancho Gordo beans in the mail straight from Napa Valley the other day. I can't wait to make them and make some honey corn bread. I'm sure the kids will be thrilled seeing as how they got raw veggies, fruit and a turkey roll up for dinner tonight. Um...yum mom. Isabella was thrilled b/c she loves raw veggies, but Jude was like "i not hungry" so I'm sure he WILL be eating breakfast and it won't be muffins like this morning ;)

Isn't the packaging great?


Molly is coming to play tomorrow and Flossy is so excited! They haven't seen each other for 2 whole weeks. We'll have to make some more banana bread because the kids ate one loaf in a day and a half. I think I'll make a full loaf and 3 mini loafs to freeze. Can you freeze banana bread? If not, I'm sure we'll eat it.

Oh, I have not forgotten about those of you who commented, you know who you are and you'll be getting a surprise soon!

Well...what's a post without some pictures. There's a broad spectrum of processing including "vintage film". Have I mentioned how much I love my beautiful kiddos, my husband and yes my little shedding, disobedient fleabag?

Thought I would just share some photos today. Jude had a lady bug yesterday and he giggled and giggled while it crawled on his hand. He said "it kickles", or tickles that is. Daddy had to hold his hand while I grabbed the camera. The other shots are from our cookie baking extravaganza. I got the best recipe from Amanda for light cookies and they are awesome! We baked banana bread today. Yum!

Votes are In!

Only 8 votes, 1 being mine ;) So, Mr. Jude is growing a surfer shag. It's in the in between phase right now, long on the ears, curling under in the back. When it dries after bath he looks like he has the 80's feathered, spikey look. Just get through this oddly strange phase and he'll look adorable with a little shag :) By the way, I noticed there are no comments (Thanks Penn for yours) and only 7 votes in the poll. So, who is reading this thing? I am going to have a little reward for those of you who read this blog, so if you comment 1 time this week on any post you will get something cool ;) Happy commenting!

Two in one day!

I'm getting good ;) Today was such a lazy day. It rained all day soo Flossy, Ro and I snuggled on the couch and watched The Little Princess with Shirley Temple. Then we had lunch, played and took a nap. Anyways, I guess I dozed off on the couch and Jude woke up. He came in the living room and managed to get my wallet and when I heard him I found my wallet dumped out on the floor next to the couch. I managed to find everything BUT my debit card. I told the kids if we don't find it we don't eat because mommy can't buy groceries without it.

Bella: We won't even get drive though. We'll be starving like the other people that don't get to eat!

Me: thinking (wow she actally does listen at dinner time when we talk about the starving kids in other countries).

Me: Ok, whoever finds mommy's card first gets a sucker.

Jude: It not in my woom, it not in Bella's woom. I know! (He walks into our room and grabs nothing and says here it is mama).

Bella: (Running into the room) Mommy, look what I found!

Me: What!:)

Bella: A seashell!

Me: You're not supposed to find other things!

Bella: I'm really frustrated. I'm as mad as you are. I'm sorry to say I looked all over the house and I can't find it. Mama, what are we gonna do if we can't find it?

Me: Go hungry.

Bellas: Or..............we could use daddy's!

Well...needless to say we didn't find it, but they did get to eat! We have no groceries so that's what we'll be doing tommorow (with daddy's card of course ;)

So here it is, Monday morning and I failed miserably to post daily last week like I said! I did however talk a good friend fof mine into blogging so that makes up for it, right? Amanda's blog

I have to let you all in on a little secret. I'm guiltlessly siting in front of my laptop reading blogs, drinking my coffee whilst my kiddos are shamelessly sitting in front of the TV. You see, I have this morning ritual of "mommy time" where the tv babysits my kids and I drink my "2" cups of coffee and escape via the internet! I'm only on my first cup so bear with me ;)

Not much news to share. It has been raining, raining and raining and dropping tree limbs! I'm so ready for vacation.

We played hide and seek last night and it was too much fun! Seriously :) The best hiding spt was when Isabella jumped under a pile of 6 loads of laundry that needed to be folded. See, I knew there was a reason for not folding that laundry ;)

Ok, so now for a pic. This was taken last Friday at the pool. I didn't get a good one of Ro.

Where is my mind?

Ok, what I meant to say is where have I been? Not blogging that's for sure. I promised myself that I would commit to this blog and I am a week behind on posting! It just hasn't been a hugely exciting week, so not much to blog. I will say that Jude has been going potty this week, sucessfully in the beginning and now we are back to sqaure one. I was so proud of him when he told me he said "Inee go potty" and thought, wow he really gets this. Well, what he was getting was go potty and she'll give me a gummy bear. Oh well, tommorow's a new day ;)

Tuesday we went to lunch with Pawpaw (my dad), Uncle Charlie and Aunt Audrey at the Brook then we went swimming with Stephanie and Alex. Bella is swimming great with her water wings and Jude is getting brave.

We cleaned house Wednesday and Ethan came over and spent the night. Tonight was fun for many reasons. Tristan took Jude with him this evening to run some errands (ie get mommy some cookies) and Bella and I had some good cuddle time. I read to her and she read 2 early readers to me. That girl can read! I was so impressed at how fast she is, despite my lack of help teaching her. No, there will not be a pole on should I homeschool her or not! LOL! We had some giggles and hugs and she fell fast asleep at 6:30 (not her typical bedtime). Her and Ethan stayed up until 11 pm last night and she woke up at 6 am so she was tired. Then Jude got home with daddy and we played "iderman" with him and "obot". He webbed us and then we carried on into the bedroom where mommy was a monster. It was all fun and games until the "obot" fell of our bed head first. I was thinking broken collar bone, some sort of a fracture. I ended the game ubruptly b/c the wailing didn't stop. He stopped when he heard the game was over and said "i bine"! I love one on one with my kids. I love them together. Can I just say, I love my kiddos. My big kiddo isn't too bad either ;)

So, before I bore you anymore, I will post some pics. They're not new b/c I'm still trying to figure out my new Nikon D300 (thanks daddy-my daddy that is)! But I am getting there :)

This photo was taken by Jessica from Fizzy Art Photography

I hope everyone had a great weekend! We sure did ;) Nothing special, just family time that was much needed. We had wicked storms today as many of you know, but we still have power! On a side note, let me just say that our kids are hornery. Bedtime is such a time of procrastination. After a major meltdown when Jude was woken up (he fell asleep at 5ish), we managed to feed them dinner (good old annie's organic ravioli). Then, daddy read them a few bible stories and whisked Jude away to bed (for real this time). I proceeded to lay with Isabella until she stuck her slimey little finger in my ear! Oh yes, she has discovered the "wet willy" (thank you veru much daddy) and she is GOOD. Anyways, after a few games of that I kissed her goodnight and here I am typing.
Isabella is sleeping and as I'm typing Jude is hiding in the hallway unaware that I KNOW he is awake! That's the other hornery child. Oh well, life is good :) So, who's the sneakiest? I'll let you decide.