NYE

A quick overview of the last decade of my life..

2000..I turned 16, but didn't get my license. (Tyler was born)
2001..I worked at a local farmer's market and finished my Junior year of High school, 9/11

2002..May: I graduated High school, July: bought my first car, August: went to college for a semester, December: moved to NYC

2003..February: Came back from NYC, got a job in a deli, May: started dating my future husband, July: nannied in Los Angeles for 1.5 months, August, back to college, November: got engaged.



2004

..School for spring semester, Married in July, Started new job, Pregnant in October




2005

..August: my precious Asa is born!!! My life is forever different!!! back to work a few weeks later..

2006

..January: able to be a full time stay at home mommy, Mark begins school at Eastern to finish degree.



2007..pregnant again in August, trade in my first car for an SUV(in July--must've known!)


2008

..My dear little Evie is born, December: mark totals his car




2009

..April, buy car for Mark who graduates from Eastern with a Bachelors in something IT related..



Have a happy safe New Year!! I hope this new decade will be a wonderful one :)

Oh and I found out that Evie can say, "One, Two, Three" amazing to me!!! Evie is also sleeping in her big girl bed and 95% potty trained!!! She is growing up WAY too fast!

Merry Christmas!

It's Christmastime! I would have some pics of the kids all dressed up in front of the tree....if Asa didn't lost my memory card. Of course if I hadn't stopped to play Fishville on Facebook maybe I would've noticed him playing with it. OH WELL! I really hope we find it! We are in the middle of our Christmas Parade. First we have our own Christmas with just Mark and I and the kids, next we travel over to my In-Laws and have brunch and spend time there, we will be coming home after-wards to put Evie down for a nap and get food prepped for our final stop: my parents. Christmas is always a fun and exciting day, though very busy!!!

Evie is just about fully potty trained. I am hoping that with the busy-ness of today she will be OK. After the last post where I said she was trying out the potty, IT WAS FOR REAL! She never went back--granted there have been accidents, but the majority make it to the right spot!!! Very happy about this.

I am very excited about our Yankee Swap with extended family at my parents tonight because I am bringing some really neat-o (Hopefully I am not the only one who thinks so) gifts!!
I would say what they were but I will have to wait till after the swap.

I need to finish getting ready. I am contemplating dressing the kids up fancy. They have Christmas outfits I bought for Church, but we missed it because of the snowstorm last week. Maybe I'll pack a few outfits--nothing like making things more complicated!! Hopefully someone will have a camera and pass some pics along to me, that I might post them on here! I am using a lot of exclamation points today..good thing? or annoying....

One thing I want to brag about it the lovely perfume I got from my hubby. It's called Very Hollywood by Michael Kors...just awesome stuff!

Evie got a few babies and is very happy about that, Tyler and Asa were happy with what they got, Asa got a frog tank with star wars details and Tyler got a solar powered grasshopper thing he has to build. Tyler also spent a lot of his own money and bought us all presents and brought them here this weekend. So precious and thoughtful :)

I must get going, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Sufjan Steven's rendition of Once in Royal David's City is absolutely amazing I recommend listening to it before the day is over.

how firm a foundation

My hymn of the month, written by John Rippon in 1787. Sung at the funerals of Presidents: Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson and Andrew Jackson, how cool is that?

I love how beautifully strengthening it is..of course the tune is gorgeous too..

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said,
You, who unto Jesus for refuge have fled?

In every condition, in sickness, in health;
In poverty’s vale, or abounding in wealth;
At home and abroad, on the land, on the sea,
As thy days may demand, shall thy strength ever be.

Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,
For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand
Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of woe shall not thee overflow;
For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie,
My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.

Even down to old age all My people shall prove
My sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love;
And when hoary hairs shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in My bosom be borne.

The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,
I will not, I will not desert to its foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake.


My second in light of Christmas would definitely be: Come Thou Long Expected Jesus.

I have been listening to newer renditions of hymns with the kids hoping to spark some interest in the oldies, but goodies :)

humble holiday

This Thanksgiving was my first holiday where I hosted. I even cooked my first turkey and was more than impressed with how it turned out! Having a mom who is an amazing cook definitely comes in handy when I need pointers! It was a humble group of 11 and perfect for my first time! We started the day with a big breakfast while the Philly Thanksgiving Day parade was on TV. I love watching that, or at least the idea of watching it. I have to catch a glimpse of it every year. Sadly this year was the last year for one of the hosts, Dave Roberts--who I remember hosting from when I was a little one.

We actually had a very smooth and happy day getting ready for the company, somehow I planned and cooked very efficiently and it turned out well. The only thing I regret though is that I made people move so I could take pictures of the tables. I know already that when I want to remember my first thanksgiving I will rather see the people than the tables, and now only have the backs of people's heads to remember them by!! Lesson learned.

Today Evie, as usual, took off her pants and diaper. She likes to sit on the potty and pretend to use it. I am used to this and think it's actually funny. This interest has come solely because of her own desire, I still feel she is too young to really try her on the potty. HOWEVER, she was standing on the dining room chair, diaper-less, when she looked at me with startled eyes. I asked he if she wanted to use the potty and she nodded a very large YES. So i brought her over to the big potty and sat her on it: low and behold, it wasn't pretend this time. As I was on the phone with Mark exclaiming the good news, she actually came over to her training potty right next to me, sat on it and went on it again, by herself!!!! So proud!!- but am wondering if she is truly interested for good, or if it's only temporary(as her brother was when he was her age). She is in her crib now wearing underpants...yes, this is wishful thinking.

Something green: I wanted to mention three products I use that I LOVE, that I get at the local food or home improvement store and which are good for the family and good for environment.
The first is my laundry detergent, it's the only kind I like to use and I usually pay about $3 for a 32load container. You probably see it every time you shop: Purex Natural Elements. It's base is made from plants vs the normal petroleum. If anything else, the more people buy products which a made from renewable plant surfactants the less dependency we will have on oil, which is a great thing! Also the detergent is hypoallergenic, but it has fragrance! I first started using it because of this reason alone, most other hypoallergenic detergents are fragrance free, but this uses essential oils...just delightful!! They also have fabric softeners, but I haven't tried them.

Next would be Seventh Generation Dish Soap. This stuff works GREAT! My hands are never dried out, it's a clear hypoallergenic formula with a light fragrance from, again, essential oils. Same thing goes for this soap with the plant bases. I love love love this stuff, I get a container of it for $2.50 but they offer coupons online and often from the store I buy it at. It's worth paying a bit more for in my opinion. We have public water and sewer but these soaps are an even better idea for someone with a septic system because they actually break down. I also use their all purpose cleaner, and love having no fumes.

The last thing I will say(which I may have mentioned before) is when you are painting a room, consider buying Olympic paint(at Lowes). The times I have used it, I have always had great coverage. I used Lowe's Valspar (whichever kind is the best grade of it) and it paled in comparison to the "cheapo" Olympic. It's very inexpensive and ODERLESS. You can paint with the windows and doors closed--so convenient and good for the family

The tree is up...magenta, purple and lime sparkles, have I lost my mind? No, it does look pretty cool, though it probably wasn't necessary to buy new ornaments...

I'll post a pic when I upload them!