the leprachaun trap

Now all we need is some green beer!

love notes

"I want to give this to my boyfriend so he can come over for a playdate. Do you think it has too much lovieness??"

"Yes, sweetie, I think that it just might"

I am no six year old boy, but I am guessing he might not want to come over if he thinks he will have to walk arm and arm through a field carrying a basket?

Just guessing here.

And also guessing that she is going to scare off a number of boys in her day.

*****

also, some recent baby cuteness over on the photography blog

february at the beach

I spend a lot of time doing things that do not make my three year old happy. Hands on her tiny hips, she glares up at me and declares "YOU. DON'T. MAKE. ME. HAPPY.". It is often hard not to laugh, since the offense is usually something along the lines of denying her a second bowl of ice cream or passing a vending machine without buying her a pink lemonade.

This week, however, I managed to do something that actually made Claire happy.

For weeks she has been asking to see what the beach is like in the winter and finally we went.

It was a balmy 40 degrees or so, which in no way deterred her from taking off her boots and running up and down the beach for about half an hour, splashing in the water and collecting shells.

A true beach girl!

six years and two months

A new favorite of my big girl in her beloved bow and sweater...



Sassy, determined and full of style all her own.

just another winter day

I would say this pretty much sums up life here lately...

the big sister attempting to escape the pestering of the little sister

Raining. Cold. Suck inside. Mom running out of ideas to keep everyone entertained.

And did I mention February vacation starts next week?

yeah, the girls still have christmas trees in their rooms

This morning as my husband headed off to work, he asked what my plans were for the day.

"We are going to work on organizing some things around the house," I answered proudly, running through a mental list of all the things I hoped to get done.

Take down the Christmas trees in the girl's rooms... clean up the playroom for Abby's upcoming birthday party... have Abby write thank you notes for presents already received... take pictures of toys and baby gear that I want to post for sale on craigs list... it was going to be a productive day.

An hour later...

Five hours later...

And the chores? They will get done... eventually.

why I chose half day kindergarten

Friends, acquaintances, family are often surprised when they hear that my daughter goes to half day Kindergarten. Or that our town even still has half day Kindergarten.

I will admit that back in the baby days, when I looked ahead the the far, far off day that my girl would start school, full day kindergarten seemed like the mark of a better school. More equals better right? More time in school equals smarter kid right?

Fast forward five years and I chose half day kindergarten. Truth be told, our town does offer a lottery for full day kindergarten. And the lovely private school where my daughter went to preschool offers a very highly regarded full day Kindergarten program. But. Time is going by so fast. My time with both of my girls is going so fast. They have years of school ahead of them. Sixteen, at least.

And full day Kindergarten would mean that on days like today, we would not be able to hop on the 12:20 train into the city, lunch in hand, for an afternoon at the Children's Museum.

waiting for the train- the train ride always ranks as one of the best parts of the day

girl power!

both girls could happily spend hours climbing up and down this thing together

Days like today are the reason I chose half day Kindergarten. I just hope that down the road, those lost hours don't look bad on her Ivy league application.

9 years later

Back where we said "I do" nine years, two trips to Paris, one house in the suburbs, one station wagon, two beautiful baby girls and countless loads of laundry later.

If I had it to do all over again, I would not change a single thing!

all new for 2010!!

So you may have noticed this blog had been a bit neglected lately. In addition to the usual excuses about a busy fall and kids that no longer nap, I have to admit part of my neglect was due to the fact that this place really did not "fit" me any more.

My girls are no longer little or princess obsessed. To be honest, I never 100% loved the blog name, but now it just seems all wrong. So I am changing it. And redecorating, because like my house and my wardrobe this place needed some freshening up. And I will be moving to a new url (more to come on that).

And along with these changes, I hope to get back into blogging more regularly. Because I want to continue to document my side of the story. To share our adventures, both big and small with friends and family. To be able to look back and remember these days with my two beautiful girls.

I have also freshened up my cooking blog and hope to get back to posting some recipes and menus, both of which certain members of this household have missed.

goodbye 2009!

This year we continued our tradition of wine and Chinese food for New Years Eve, and decided to invite a few friends to make it a party.

Both girls, along with four of their friends, made it to midnight for the big countdown. We are still cleaning up the glitter as we say good bye to 2009 and look forward to all the adventures 2010 will bring!