thanks

after a very trying last couple of months, i am reminded that we have much to be thankful for. our family is happy, healthy, beautiful and growing! this is our newest addition nephew luke. handsome and inquisitive.
i am also thankful that we have a home when so many families have lost their homes in this economic crisis.
i am thankful that i have a family of friends who love and support me.
i am thankful for everything i learned from my dad, and for all the things about him that will always live on in me.
i am thankful for my loving husband and brilliant daughters.
i am thankful for strength, encouragement and support i get from my husband. he makes anything possible.
i am thankful for my health and well-being.
i am thankful for wet dog noses, fuzzy blankets and silver linings.

say cheeeeese!

we took rhiannon to our new local chuck-e-cheese pizza parlor for her birthday. i was pretty excited because i grew up in san jose, where we had the greatest pizza parlor on the planet - chuck-e-cheese. it had a fun house, characters that wandered around, a real stage with performances, a water show, some video games and things, and the best pizza ever. even grown-ups liked to go there because the booths were plush and there was a real stage with real performers. now that we have franchised america, chuck-e's is a disappointment. it is more like a cafeteria that has styrofoam pizza and an arcade! i am sure the kids had a blast, the photos are evidence of that, but they haven't asked to go back yet...

take your daughter to work day

i know, it isn't officially "take your daughter to work day," but i took baby g with me to work today. we weren't there too long before it was time to take her to school, but i don't think she could have handled much more! i had discussed with her earlier the importance of bringing things to do, as we had an urgent deadline and i would be very busy. inevitably, she was happy for about half an hour. she drew several pictures, ate her snacks and... well that was it. she urgently needed to be entertained at the same moment when the computer decided to crash!

ikea schmia...

i am sure i must've mentioned that the kids got me a sewing machine for mother's day last year. i was so excited! i really didn't know how to use it, but was anxious to find out. i have since tried my hand at mending clothes (i replaced a zipper in my favorite jeans), crafting - i have been making purses from old pants pockets, and now i have made a slipcover for this (although adorable, still non-coordinating) footstool from ikea.

snow angels

exhausted after an afternoon of playing in the snow. we measured 7 inches of accumulation at our house. it is amazing. the most snow i have seen in springfield since i was in first grade! we had so much fun playing in the snow yesterday, i can hardly wait to take buckets and shovels out to build a snow castle today!

girls just wanna have fun

here are some of the girls and i at the costume party we went to last weekend. we have a cowgirl, beth the bounty hunter, a model from deal or no deal, and me. after tomorrow i can post photos of the kids trick-or-treating!

what are you going to be?

as we approach all hallow's eve, i am again this year trying to convince the kids to be something fantastic. little hands always wants to be pink power ranger, and baby g always wants to be a witch. that is not entirely true, last year little hands wanted to be a geisha, but dad vetoed that- he thought it was entirely inappropriate for a second grader. so i got her a geisha costume for her build-a-bear. i got baby g a witch costume for her bear, in the hopes that she might choose to be something else for a change, to no avail. this year norm and i are going to a costume party (i have always wanted to go to a costume event) we will either be red riding hood and the big bad wolf- or an asian bride and a ww2 soldier. norm got me a great asian dress while we were in vegas and i don't really know when i will have another chance to wear it.