sisters

The girls have been letting their hair grow since the summer. Sadly, they were not blessed with thick, wavy hair like me, thankyouverymuch. Their hair is straight, wispy and thin. They need it shorter to give it some life. I convinced Olivia to get it cut. Ava wanted no part of it. She declared she was growing her hair long. So, off we went Livi and I to Zig Zag salon. The nice stylist, propped Livi up in the booster seat and gave her a proper shampoo and condition. She was thrilled. The stylist began cutting and shaping and a mere 15 minutes later my little girl had a shoulder length bob with some long layers for volume. She look so polished and GROWN up. Most importantly, she loved it. As she skipped out of the salon, she told me how great it felt. Upon our arrival at home, Livi ran to show her twin her new do.

And within seconds, Ava announced she wanted her hair cut EXACTLY the same way.

Sorry September...

Not one post in September ...that means either not much happened or too much happened and I never had time to blog about it.


Too much is still happening. October is CRAZY...one week in and my head is spinning.


The girls are in Kindergarten...its half day...which is both good and bad. It is nice to have them home with me, but its also annoying to try and keep them occupied. We spend most of our late afternoons in the car running to ice skating, dance, science club etc.

I have been working a bit more, thankfully the unit has been usy so they have needed the help. But even one night shift a week can send me into a tailspin and I play catch up for awhile.

The girls birthday is coming up and with that comes the PARTY! They are excited. We also have plans to take them to American Girl in NYC so that should e alot of fun and I'll post all about it.

I really want to get back to regular postings on the blog, to record some of the daily stuff that goes on, one day I know I will want to look back and remember these CRAZY days!

Dream house

Since we came home from vacation I have been playing catch up with laundry, getting things put away and just trying to get some order around the house..With three girls, who like to pull everything out in every room, I spend more time putting the "stuff" back where it belongs than actually cleaning or making the house "pretty".

When we bought our house almost 9 years ago, I instantly fell in love. It has great bones...nice woodwork, beautiful mantle over the fireplace, gorgeous hardwood floors and an amazing perennial garden.

When we moved in to #423...I was just excited to own my first home and decorate something other than a bedroom. Sadly, my taste back then was not too refined. I bought furniture too quickly just to fill the rooms and now I am stuck with most of it....I love my house and it is truly a "home" but I have dreams about how I might decorate if given the chance again...

here's some eye candy..

Claw footed tub and those big beautiful windows!!

An all white kitchen...with DOUBLE farmer sinks!

A trough sink for the kids bathroom, plenty of room for three girls to brush their teeth.

I just love this mirror collection over the bed...but even we just had a king sized bed that would make me so happy!

What would your "dream" house have?

Vacationland

New Jersey is the Garden State...Maine is Vacationland..This is our 5th trip to Maine. We've done the seacoast towns of Ogunquit and Kennebunkport..Ate lobsters on Boothbay Harbor...and been far north to Moosehead Lake. When I was young, my parents took us on a vacation to Maine..to the Belgrade Lakes of Maine..so that is where we chose to go this year.

We rented a private house on a beautiful lake.. We had all the comforts of home..the lake was perfect for the girls to swim in...shallow and calm..they loved it. The cabin also came with some kayaks which we made great use of. Ava and Olivia are still small enough to squeeze into the one person kayak..It is so much fun to paddle way out with them and just enjoy the scenery and listen to them talk..

We had campfires and roasted marshmallows...made smores..told silly scary stories about lake monsters..gazed up at a beautiful dark sky..littered with thousands of stars..like nothing I have ever seen before..truly amazing..Even more amazing was that Ava and Olivia could point out the Big Dipper, the Bear and more..Where they learn this stuff I'm not sure...Maybe I should watch more Noggin.

We went on a boat ride..which they loved..and Maeve fell asleep the ENTIRE time..so I was able to enjoy it too!

Best part was that all that fresh air every day knocked them out and they went to bed early most nights..While there was no local or cable TV..there was a DVD player and some old cheesy 80s movies..We watched Air force One, Beverly Hills Cop I and II and On Golden Pond..So fun..

It was a great vacation and one that I know I will fondly remember..the girls will too I hope. I can remember my trip to Belgrade Lakes when I was young and I still have such great memories of fishing, sleeping in the cabin, going out on the motorboat and so much more..It was truly a family vacation.

What I'm..

What I’m [reading] = The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan

What I’m [also reading] = Dune Road by Jane Green

What I’m [eating] = lately not too much..which is good. Down 8 pounds and being accountable. I'm sadly too old now to eat whatever I want and not exercise..It's over or
rather the beginning.

What I’m [hearing] = Goo Goo dolls, new songs have me amped up for their concert next week at PNC. Date night here we come!

What I’m [writing] = This blog. I am trying to keep it up. Its fun, and a nice way to be creative.

What I’m [missing] = sleeping in. The girls get up so early and really do not go down until 9 some nights. The days have been realllllyy long.

What I’m [loving] = My girls. Maeve is just delicious lately. She's getting a little personality and saying some words. It is so fun to watch her little self come to life! And Ava and Olivia are getting so big and ask questions and have opinions (sometimes too much)but they are great girls. I am so proud of them.

What I’m [googling] = NO joke. Hiking trails in Maine. We leave in 2 weeks and I am hoping we can get some easy trails to explore.

What I’m [watching] = Bethenny getting Married. And that's about it. TV stinks in my opinion.

What I’m [surprised about] = that I went to Target twice today..that is just ridiculous.

What I’m [wondering] = why my house gets so messy 5 minutes after I clean it up!!!

Party all the time..

I've been best friends with Tara since 1st grade. I'll be 36 next month. We've been friends for thirty years...thirty. That is just crazy. We've seen each other through most of life's ups and downs. We have had some laughs and cries. It all started with sharing a black crayon. We share such a long history, she knows me so well...she is part of my history.

Cathy is my other best friend. Is it childish to call someone your best friend when your almost 36?..Oh well I don't care. Being freinds with Cathy means we don't have to talk every day but when we are together it is like we were never apart. My friendship with Cathy goes deep. She has shared one of my life's biggest losses with me. She held my hand when Kelley slipped away and she will never know how much that meant to me. She was also there for me in our early 20's to drink many Amstel lights and to rescue me out of the "weeds " during my stint of worst waitress ever at Houlihans. Okay, maybe not worst ever, but most certainly not a very good one!

We celebrated Tara's daughter Gracie turning 2 years old this past week. It was a great time, swimming in the pool, eating pizza and cupcakes and enjoying the company of friends. So, there we all were. Tara and her 3 kids, Cathy and her three and me and mine. As I looked around at the nine children we have between us, I have to say it was pretty amazing. I realized what a gift we all have. We grew up together and now our children will too. There was a special comfort felt among my friends that day. I could casually say, "hey keep your eye on Maeve, while I help Gracie" and we passed baby Keira around like she was one of our own. The kids all played together. Cheering each other on as they took jumps off the diving board or shooting down the water slide. It was a great day.

I only hope that in thirty years, Tara, Cathy and I will be sitting around watching our grandchildren play together.

that's more like it..

Apparently 11 hours of sleep makes everything better..Much nicer day today.. Lots of catching up with bills, laundry and other nonsense. Maeve took a super long nap and 4 hours with the girls at camp passed by too quick.

Ava and Olivia have been playing Disney World most of the afternoon. Props included a measuring tape (to determine height restrictions), Maeve's Winnie the pooh ride on toy (aka the roller coaster) and Littlest Pet shop toys placed in tea cups (Mad Hatter's tea party ride) Poor Maeve has been denied entrance to all rides, they keep telling her she's too little..She'll get them back someday. BIG TIME.

My bliss is short lived..I'm working nights tonight and will be sleep deprived again in a mere 12 hours.