Our old couch....everytime I couldn't find the kids, they were out laying down on it.

New car:)
New scratches:(



Can hardly see it, huh???
Outfit on Tuesday...
Outfit today.....
New tv stand/fireplace:)

Not so new.....

when you scrape the entire right side of it against a hard plastic wheel bumper. You heard it right...first time in 16 years and I destroyed the side of the van. The new van. Ugh. I was trying to avoid being hit by the bus that was pulling into the opposite lane and when I twisted the wheel to the right-right into a parked truck. Ugh. I got out and looked at the truck-no damage. I looked at the van-a little scratch. Whew. I thought I had better check a second time so I pulled the van over after I stopped shaking. Apparently I didn't look far enough up the side.....a HUGE scrape mark from the back wheel to the front door AND it had buckled the metal. UGH! It pains my heart to even think about it. Less than 48 hours and it needs body work:( Guess I know what Todd is getting for me for Christmas.

Speaking of Todd...I was dreading telling him so I stopped by his work to tell him what happened. He hugged me, told me it was no big deal, and to not worry about it. How sweet. He choked a bit when I told him about the deductible we would have to shell out BEFORE Christmas but it wasn't as bad as the throwing up he would have done if we had had to pay out of pocket to get it fixed.

Where did this come from???

Whenever we go out for Chinese or Thai, Isabella insists on using chopsticks. WE never use them but she won't eat without them....even if it takes her twice as long. Is it hereditary???

Picture Post

Todd and Elisabeth watching a tv show....I guess I moved the furniture out a little too early.
When the truck pulled up, Isabella started screaming "I don't want the green furniture!! I want my old one back!!"
Here she is trying to push the chair back into the truck.
Todd was pretty sure they weren't going to get the couch into the house. Oh, he of little faith!


This was the line we stood in to get into the movie theater AND we got there 45 minutes in advance AND we already had the tickets! CRAZY!!!!

Isabella's outfit for Monday, Nov. 23rd. You only see pictures of when her father drops her off -he is much better at remembering than I am!!!

Where have I been???

Why, buying a new/used van!!! Todd innocently told me that there was a used dark grey mini-van in the lot at the Honda dealership. Two hours later, I was there makin' a deal:) Two hours later, I was picking the check up from the bank. Twenty minutes from then, I was telling Todd what I did. Of course I would never have done this if I hadn't been 100% sure he was going to be on board. Our van has over 100,000 miles on it, the muffler is going, the side doors are clunking when they open and shut (could have been Bella riding them as they did this), and something funky is going on when it shifts from 1st to 2nd gear. Also, the BIG check up is coming in January. AND...the best part, besides the leather seats and the built-in DVD player, is that the monthly payments will be less per month!!!

I have also been counting down the days until the New Moon (aka my vampire Edward Cullen) and tonight was the night. The boy makes me sing!!!! We bought tickets a week ago, stood in line for 45 minutes tonight waiting to get in, and then ended up sitting next to loud-mouthed idiot who had to comment about every part of the movie. I guess I'll have to go see it a few more times. Poor me.

Good happenings:)

Bella's favorite Christmas decoration is this musical tree that I bought from Hallmark last year. It has 6 children from different areas of the world and when you press down on them, they each play their own country's instrument.


Today, at 2 pm, we will be the proud owners of new family room furniture!!! WHOOO HOOOO!! No, we haven't hit the jackpot .... we've hit something called 18 months of free financing. Our furniture was purchased when Elisabeth was about 2 years old...and has been put through the wringer with little miss "I like to eat pudding on the arm of the chair and drink chocolate milk on the couch cushions". New rules for the new furniture. Okay, those who know me know that she will be drinking chocolate milk and eating pudding in the family room within the week. I am not going to lie.

Outift #2

Daddy did pretty good, huh?? I put the clothes out but they all made it on the body in the correct order:) I am surprised the tights are on....when I looked at the label this morning, they were 12-24 months. I hoped they would stretch. The crotch is probably at her knees but HEY, she looks great:)

The Elf on the Shelf

I found this awesome little gift ..... it comes with a little elf and a storybook. The story tells about a little elf that comes to live with your family and then every night flies back to Santa and reports on your child's behavior. Each morning, the elf appears in a different spot and the child has to find him. It is really cool idea. I though Isabella would LOVE him.....I read the story, was all excited to get the elf out of the box, and then she promptly put him in a drawer and slammed it shut. Nice. I hate to tell her but he can still get out that drawer, fly to Santa, and rat on her!

Here's the website: www.elfontheshelf.com
You can buy it at speciality toy stores or at Barnes and Nobles

Guess what we did this weekend???

I bought this for Todd during the first year of dating....1998. A long time ago:)







Yup...you guessed it!! We decorated for Christmas on November 15th. I really felt ridiculous, seeing that it was 65 degrees outside. I seriously don't know how people in the southern states decorate at all. To me, it has to be snowing in order for it all to feel right. However, I have a 3 year old that cannot WAIT for Christmas to come, it IS my favorite time of year and I would celebrate it 365 days if I could, AND we are leaving for Syracuse for Thanksgiving in less than 2 weeks and I won't have the energy when I get back to do it. Also, I like it all down and gone by time time we leave for Christmas vacation. I am one of those that believes Christmas is over once the presents have been unwrapped. I know that many people like leaving their decorations up until January but, in my opinion, it's like celebrating your birthday a few weeks after it has happened. When it's done, it's done.

A bike-riding hurdle

Looking to the right.....
Looking to the left.....
The right again.....
and again....

Isabella can finally use the brakes on her bike. Unfortunately, it is all or nothing thing. She is either pedaling at break-neck speed down a hill or completely STOPPED. Those breaks go on and she almost flies over the handlebars. If she could just learn how to break just a little AND focus her eyes on what is coming up, we would be good.

Got rice??

After ice skating every Wednesday, we usually go to the HUB at Penn State for dinner at the Panda Express. Isabella always gets mandarin chicken and always eats it WITH chopsticks. She usually has rice or lo mien. Tonight, she decided to hold off on the rice until she got to the garbage. You heard me...THE GARBAGE. The kid got down from the table and started running ahead of us. As always, I pictured her being taken by someone when I looked the other way so I ran after her. Not quick enough, though. In slow motion, I see her HANGING HER HEAD IN THE GARBAGE CAN (which she could only do by putting her hands on the edge and hoisting her little body up), and then the unthinkable happened. She ate rice. Not OUR rice....THE FRICKIN' RICE THAT WAS STUCK TO THE SIDE OF THE GARBAGE CAN. O M G. I feel like up-chucking just thinking about it. I screamed so loud that I think the entire table of college kids all peed their pants. I don't think I need to say anymore except that my sweet, lovable daughter is a rice-picking-garbage-eater. She didn't learn THAT from me.

New Do....

Ask me tomorrow if it still looks like this:)

She is going to be the end of me....

The QUESTIONS are going to KILL me. Seriously. They are never ending. Why, oh why, did I want her to speak????? I remember the babysitter saying to me, when Bella was 18 months old, that she was worried Bella would never talk. HUH?????? The 3 of us know to never bring up a topic unless we want 100 questions asked about it. Heaven forbid we see something outside of the car like a dog or a dump truck and make a comment.....

"What is that?? Why is it there?? What is it doing?? Why?? Where is it going? WHY?? Why did it do that?? WHY??? When is it coming back?? Why can't I see it?? Where is it? Who made it?? Why can't it come back?? Why is it going away??

And nothing shuts her up. I make things up to shut her up and that just gets me in more trouble. The questions double.

Today I dropped her off at preschool. I took my glasses off to give her a butterfly kiss. Wrong thing to do.

I: "Your eyes are green! Why are your eyes green?? What happened to them?"
ME: "God made them that way."
I: "But they are green. Why did God do that??"
ME: "Because He is God and He wanted them green."
I: "Why did He want them green??"
ME: "He made mine green and yours brown." (WRONG THING TO SAY!)
I: "Why are mine brown?? How did that happen?? Why are yours green? Why did God do that?"
ME: "We will talk about this when we get home." (I am now extremely late for work.)
I: "Why are we going to talk about this when we get home? Why are your eyes green?"
ME: "Bye, Isabella. I love you. Wave at the window!"

THROUGH THE FRICKIN' PLATE GLASS WINDOW, when she should have been blowing me kisses, SHE YELLS, "WHY ARE YOUR EYES GREEN???????" I yell back, "Go see what color Ellie's eyes are!!" and off she ran! Hey, teachers, it's your turn!!!

More ice skating...

We went ice skating on Saturday night after church and again on Sunday. Isabella LOVES it. She looks like she is skating on 2 broken legs, at times, but she is upright more than she is on the ice now. She skates like she rides her bike - not bothering to watch where she is going and going as fast as she can. The whole time she is on her bike, she is yelling, "I'm focused! I'm focused!" and then she veers off into the grass or turns too quickly and ends up on the cement. I'm too old for this.

Failure

Isabella and Elisabeth decorated a haunted house a few weeks after Halloween because mom spent 9.99 on it at Wal-Mart when dad said they kids didn't need it.And when it gets too boring to decorate the house, then we decorate our faces:)





Yes, I am a picture-taking failure. Isabella has been in 3 different outfits and I failed to take pictures. Bad me. I'll start up again tomorrow, I promise!! I did find time, though, to change my blog background. I must get a 'yeah' for that! Can you tell I want it to snow??? Isabella can't wait for Christmas. She went around the house today and started handing me the Halloween decorations while saying, "Put these away. It's CHRISTMAS TIME!!!". I swore I wasn't going to take all the Halloween decorations down until I was ready to put the Christmas ones up. It might come sooner that I thought!!!

Some kind of cooking/cleaning bug has hit Elisabeth. Twice in a row she has emptied the dishwasher WITHOUT BEING ASKED. Unreal. AND, today while I was sleeping in, she backed a cookie cake with Isabella and CLEANED UP!!!! I think someone has come into my house and invaded my older child!! I think it may be called 'maturity' and I am loving it:)

Making hot chocolate...

her favorite all time drink:)

Number 1 Outfit

Purchased at Gymboree last year. It SHOULD have hot pink shoes with it but someone's daddy must have been talked him into putting on tied sneakers. THE HORROR!!! I am seriously going to have nightmares about that part of the outfit all day. Tights and sneaks??!???!!!??? Todd, sweetie, WHAT were you thinking???

A fun, new way of sprucing up my day....

I always wonder if Isabella has too many clothes. According to my mother, she only needs about 5 outfits seeing that I have a washer and dryer to keep them clean. I, on the other hand, know that this is probably my last little girl to dress and Gymboree is the main reason I work. That store calms me down like nothing else. Few things make me happier. I actually celebrate when their new lines come out. I got giggly when they handed me their Christmas wrap tonight. Which must have meant that I went shopping AND bought something:) I did...the CUTEST Christmas pajamas for Liam, Lucy, and Bella.
Did I mention the gift boxes are just as cute??? Anyway...I digress. I came up with this BRILLIANT idea! I decided to put Bella in a different outfit every day until she wears all the clothes in her closet and drawers. AND, I am going to post the pictures on my blog!

Any guesses as to how many days that will be??? There might be a prize involved for the one who is the closest. And it just might be from Gymboree:) :) :)

The next Kristi Yamaguchi

I think the video speaks for itself....no need to explain just how incredible my darling angel is skating. I think we need to start talking to the professionals:)

Another kitty visit...

We made another visit to Patty's house to check on the kittens. They are almost ready to be adopted and we wanted to check in on them one more time. Isabella, who doesn't quite get the adoption process, thinks we will keep going back to see them - thank goodness for short term memory. I think, if given the choice, the kittens would rather be put back out on the streets before spending any more time with Isabella. They were more than happy to be taken back to their mother after our visit.