The first prince

Before there were obsessions over Prince Edward, Flynn Rider, or even Prince Eric... there was Buzz Lightyear! It's funny to think back and remember that that was Maddie's 1st 'boy' friend that she loved so much. When she was just 23 months old on her 2nd Christmas, she got a Buzz Lightyear and an Ariel doll. They were her 'big ticket' items that year, but boy was she enthralled with her Buzz. She took him everywhere. She even had a Buzz Lightyear cake for her 2nd birthday!

These girls are 'Toy Story 3' obsessed these days. Santa brought them that movie, and they want to watch it all the time. The Buzz Lightyear love is coming back in full force, so much so that Maddie even mentioned changing her birthday party theme to a 'Star Command' theme;) We will see.

Christmas Day synopsis

Our Christmas Day morning started to take a turn for the worst when Faith woke up very quietly. She burst into tears when I asked her if she was OK, and she said her left ear hurt so badly. She is the toughest of my ladies when it comes to pain, so I knew this couldn't be good.

We spent the morning and better part of the afternoon trying to find a pharmacy/store/gas station that was open so we could get Children's Tylenol for her ear pain. Aside from the unrelenting ear pain, she was also running fevers of 103.3 all morning/afternoon. Our sweet neighbor was finally able to find a Sunoco in Douglassville where he was able to get children's chewables.

She had to go to the doctor on the 26th, and of course had an ear infection. This is the FIRST ever ear infection in the history of my girls. Her fevers continued on until yesterday, and now she's definitely on the upswing. I am so relieved. (** Note: as I write this, my poor Flop fell down the entire flight of stairs tonight before bedtime, and bit her lip in two spots. Needless to say, she's got a horribly swollen lip to go with her ear infection. Ay, ay, ay! **).

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Christmas was wonderful though for our family. Dan and I are always just as excited as the girlies. I just love seeing the looks on their faces. I was sad when I saw how poorly Faith felt that morning, but- bless her little heart- she went off of Christmas adrenaline or something and was so excited to open each present. She spent the rest of that day on the couch, but boy was she excited to see everything that morning. Maddie's reactions are always classic-- she screeches with delight about everything. And, Abrielle was just precious this Christmas. Last year she had only just turned 8 months old, and this year she had the time of her life! She just loved EVERYTHING!

It's been so much fun watching the three of them all play together. They play with each of their presents all together. They've had some of the most fun playing all together with Abrie's Weeble, Wobble treehouse (a $2 gift from us that we found at Goodwill!). Santa may as well not have even put a nametag on any of the gifts, because they've shared everything with each other so nicely. It's really neat. I think though that the individual favorites were: Maddie- baby Rapunzel doll, Faith- toddler Rapunzel doll, and Abrie- her car.

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My little Show Show and one of her favorite pastimes: dress-up!! Is it obvious that the girl has two big sisters?! She got a Minnie dress from Santa to add to her Ariel dress. And, she's always busy borrowing her big sissy's dresses.

Create-your-own house

Christmas is always our time to stock up on fun crafts and projects to get us through the lovely PA winters.

This year wasn't any different, and girlies got a lot of fun stuff to keep them busy this winter. Aunt Lisi, Uncle Nate, and cousins got them a really cool create-your-own house that the three of them just love. Ironically, our first winter snowstorm set in the day after Christmas, and we busted out the house to keep busy. Faith was napping through her sickness (she never naps), so Maddie and I painted some parts of the house. And, the three of them have had so much fun coloring it with markers and crayons since then. Abrie is so much like Maddie when Maddie was her age: she is always wanting to color. So, this project has been perfect for her. It's fun to watch the three of them sitting there coloring their "mural." They've made some of their own designs on it too, and written their names and ages so I'm going to have to keep it forever now.

1st Snow of winter '10-'11

Oh, joy.... snow! And, not just snow... frigid temperatures with some of the nastiest winds ever. Girlies and I joke that we're in the Arctic with the polar bears.

Eagles game was even cancelled from Sunday night to tonight, and that's where Dan is at the moment... freezing his butt off I am sure.

Abrielle's hatred for all things cold has not changed since last year. Not even in the slightest bit. I'd love to sit here and write that she has so much fun sledding with her sisters this year, and that she was so excited to see her first snow of the year these past few days. But, I can't write it... because she HATES it. All of it. The cold, the snow, the winds. I don't blame my girl! The pictures that I have where she is smiling were this afternoon when I took the three of them out to play for a little bit. Faith and Maddie were making her laugh so hard when they would come down the hill on their pathetic sled and come to a stop due to the lack of "umph" in their sled;) It was funny! But, other than those giggles, she hates it.

Big girls love the snow though, and Maddie especially. She and I went for a "snow walk" on Sunday when it had first started. Maddie had been looking forward to snow for the longest time! She loves everything about it-- snow angels, sledding, tubing, snowmen, etc. She was so funny too and wrote "I love U Mom" in the snow. Of course, I needed a picture of that.

"Merry Christmas Eve, Eve!"

Had a nice Christmas Eve, and am now very much looking forward to tomorrow morning.

Dan left for work a little bit ago, and so I'll keep my girlies confined to the upstairs tomorrow morning until Dan gets home. And then, we'll watch our little girls' faces light up with excitement-- that is my favorite part!

Spent so much time making cookies for Maddie's cookie exchange at school this week, that I failed to prepare cookies for Santa. We cheated and used Megan's cookies, but girlies were still excited. They had made their cards for Santa earlier this week, so they were excited to put them out for him to read. Faith's reads: "Dear Santa, I love you because you are the best Santa in the world. Love, Faith Josephine Constein" (* I love that she wanted to write out her entire name*). And, Maddie's card to Santa reads, "Dear Santa, have a Ho Ho night!" and her card to the reindeer reads, "Dear Reindeer, have a carrot night!" They're too funny.


They had a wonderful time visiting with Grammy and PaPa today, and then at Nene's house with everybody. Nene spoils them with too many gifts (Maddie calls it "Nene overboard!") and Aunt Lisi, Uncle Nate, and cousins got them an awesome house/cottage that they can decorate themselves. That will be lots of fun!

I'm so proud too because in all of the Christmas hoopla, it hasn't been forgotten what the true meaning of Christmas is all about. They've been counting down the days until Jesus' birthday, so I think that's neat.

An early Christmas gift for my big girl

Poor Cran's got walking pneumonia AGAIN.

I got out of work yesterday afternoon, took one listen to her incessant coughing and called the doctor to schedule an appointment. He told us right away that she had it yet again. I'm just glad we went when she did and was able to start the antibiotics last night. I don't think it would go over very well with my little ladies if they had to miss Christmas Eve at Nene's with all of their family.

Maddie is a trooper, and slept well last night despite a high fever and chest pain. I'm hoping she starts to turn the corner today. I felt so bad for her when the doctor had to deny her being able to go to pajama day at school today. She had really been looking forward to wearing her pajamas and having her cookie exchange. We made Christmas cookies on Tuesday, and she took them in yesterday. I promised her a day of lounging in pajamas here at home.

Hoping this is just a footnote to our holidays!

It's all about the..

... little things.

Abrie was making us smile the other day at WalMart. I hate going to WalMart, but had to pick up some pictures. So, the girlies were in the Disney princess aisle. Abrie is drawn to the Disney baby princess dolls (in my eyes, they are a little freaky looking with no hair on their heads besides the plastic hair) and just loves them. She sat there for a good 30 minutes re-arranging them in a circle around her. It was so funny. She would crawl onto the shelf to pick through the doubles of the dolls that she already had for her circle, and she'd emerge with a proud face if she found one toward the back of the shelf that she knew she didn't already have. She is so funny. She finished with exactly one each of Belle, Snow White, Cinderella, Tiana, Aurora, and Ariel. And, she had arranged them HERSELF in a little circle around her. I took a picture with Dan's cell phone and hopefully I can figure out a way to upload it.

After some picture sessions yesterday I took the girlies over to the field to play for a little bit. (How was I to know the Eaglets would put on one monumental comeback while I was gone?!.. we did get back just in time to see the tying and winning touchdowns!) The temperatures weren't unbearable, and we actually lasted for almost an hour! We played in the little daycare, but the three of them were more entertained with a patch of ice that was in the middle of the field. They had a ball pretending to ice skate! I held Abrie's hands, and she got such a kick out of it too. Maddie and Faith now say they want to take ice skating lessons;) It was nice to be outside!

Wonderful day

Baby girl... her ears, they were ringing!!!

She was a sweetheart today! That's how it always seems to go-- she makes a liar of me;)

Kept Maddie home from school today, because I honestly think we needed the break. And, boy was it nice. I didn't have to go in to work until 3pm, so the three of them set up 'Tiana's restaurant' out of blocks and figures and played as happy as could be for almost the entire morning. Abrie watched her two sissys on the computer for a little bit, and big girls helped me roll sausages into their 'blankies' (crescents) for dinner while she took a nap.

We needed this mellow day.

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On a totally different note, it is so cold outside it makes my lips and teeth feel frozen. It is the coldest December that I can remember. I make an honest effort to get outside so long as it's not raining, but even this is just TOO cold. Not to mention, Abrie is meant for Florida/California sun, and her hatred for the cold weather has not changed whatsoever since last year. I thought it would be different this year with her not having to be contained in the wretched snowsuit, but it hasn't changed at all. I don't blame her! I hate the winters here!

Uncensored ramblings

I thrive upon the everyday moments, the little things that make the biggest impact on my days:

* Maddie told us the other day (in secret) after eating dinner with Nene, Grampa, and our beloved cousins: "You can always decorate your hearts with love." I love the priceless sayings that are spoken by my sweet girls.

* My three girlies played blocks the other night after a bath. They were having so much fun, it was awesome watching them. Abrie is so good at building towers with blocks, and I am amazed at how well she builds and designs. And, I am always amazed at the patience that my big girls have with their baby sissy. She can be a tough cookie, and they are just awesome with her. She just adores them as well, and goes up to them and gives them unsolicited hugs and kisses throughout the day.

* They love dancing all together. I've brought in our car collection of CD's, and they just love having their favorite music selections.

* Abrielle loves playing dress-up at the ripe age of 19 1/2 months. She loves "looking pretty," and was so happy to pose in her Ariel dress for me the other day. She has a new smile/'cheese' face these days that consists of looking up and doing a sneaky smile.

* I want to tape record everything that comes out of Faith's mouth. Her voice is so precious to me. I wish it would never change. When she says the prayers at dinner time, your heart melts at the sweet things that she says. It always consists of "thank you God for my birthday. That I had the best day of my life with my family. That I always love you."

* Crafting is still one our favorite pastimes. That, and baking/cooking. Maddie's already whipping out ideas for her 6th (I feel the sands of time moving so quickly in my life it seems..) birthday party, and says she wants to be an illustrator when she gets bigger. She is anxious to "illustrate" some decorations for her party. The other day we made little Christmas carolers with our sweet cousins out of toilet paper rolls, and using old socks for hats. They loved them, and have been putting them on their hands as puppets!

* Dan does everything that his girls want. He is quite funny. I get so irritated some times because he doesn't know how to say 'no' to these girls (of course, there are times that he does) and he got Maddie this computer game that she wanted (granted, the thing only cost $2) that I so desperately did not want. I am not into computer usage at this age, and the only time they ever use computers is when we go to the library. But, Maddie loves this game "Mille's Math House" that they play in computer class at school. Well, they just love it. It's not just Maddie and Faith that love it, it's Abrie as well. She likes to sit there too and click the mouse, and she bops her head along to the music. Maddie and Faith are on the advanced level for all of the games that it has, but it is good repetition for them. I might have to look into borrowing other computer games from the library from time to time.

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I do NOT thrive on this crazy schedule of ours. It's been really getting to me recently.

I am feeling as though I am just not cut out for this business of being anywhere but home. Financially, we need this extra income (and, it helps obviously when wanting to plan fun things for our girlies) and I do like the library, aside from some patrons that I could do without. But, my heart is always here at home. I feel as though I don't have room to complain because there are so many mothers out there that work full time and want to stay at home. And yet these girls are what are on my mind when I am not here, and what I want to be doing.

Not to mention, I see homeschoolers come into the library and check out materials, and I can't help but feel pangs of jealousy. That is what I want to do. I know that my girls are constantly learning because of Dan and I, and through Dan and I even though we may not be their school "teacher," but yet I still can't help but yearn to play both roles. Maddie is full blown reading now, and it's so neat to see her walking around the neighborhood now reading every sign and uncovering a whole new world of being able to read what is in your daily life. I love that feeling of watching them discover new things. And, selfishly, I feel sad that I can't take credit for this new accomplishment. She has found a confidence there in school for reading that she didn't really have with me.

And, selfishly, it also would make it so much simpler to just do schooling here at home without having to worry about getting everyone ready to take Maddie to school, and the to pick her up in the afternoon.

Abrie had a wonderful week last week, and has had a miserable start to her week today. I am at a loss as to how to explain her episodes that she can have sometimes several times a day. Dinner time has been a nightmare. She doesn't eat a thing and stands there in her highchair screaming. And, I don't even know what sets her off in the first place. That is what is the worst.. to not even know what has triggered this flood of unrelenting emotions. We've been putting her upstairs in her room for a time-out and though it has worked (after about 5 minutes of screaming), I just end up crying. I feel as though I am no better off than our next door neighbors who are horrible to their children (listening to them through our walls is sheer torture sometimes, and I have to tell Maddie and Faith to go to another room so that they don't have to hear the swear words that are coming out of their mouths), and yet I do everything possible to HELP my child and understand my child. It is not a good feeling. Here I am trying to do everything possible to do right by my sweet girl, and yet her screams drown out what you could imagine would be the worst screams of any other child.


Maybe she is over- tired too?!

Aside from my rants, I love my life. I am in love with my man and my girls. I intend to relax and enjoy my family this week.

CBOMC

Christmas this year is going to be a lot of books.

I am so excited! For the third time now since Maddie was born, I've enrolled with the CBOMC (Children's Book of the Month Club www.cbomc.com). Their enrollment is getting better and better, and it's definitely worth canceling the membership and then enrolling again.

It's funny because I mentioned it to Aunt Lisi, and it turns out she had already enrolled again too and picked almost the exact same books!!! Great minds think alike; it was so funny! Anyway, it was a wonderful deal and Dan and I got the girlies 19 books (almost all of them hardback, and a lot of them in sets) for $12.61. And, this time we only have to order 2 more in the next year to fulfill the membership commitment.

These girls would sit and read all day; I love it. It's nice to have a full rotation of the city libraries on my schedule (and of course our trips to the Exeter library) as they have a vast collection of books at their hands constantly. We are quite addicted to books. Abrie is so enthralled with the Thumper books these days, and it's cute because Faith was obsessed with Thumper at this age also. And, Maddie and Faith were beyond excited (and, admittedly, I was too!) to learn that 'Silverlicious' (an extension of the 'Pinkalicious/Purplicious/Goldalicious' fame) is due to come out in February.

Mickey's Magic Show

Girlies had been looking forward to today, and had been counting down the days until Mickey's Magic Show!

The show was wonderful. Maddie and Faith loved it, and Abrie sat mesmerized for the entire 1st half. She clapped and cheered, and blew kisses! She just wanted to roam around during the 2nd half, so I took her out to the lobby and she had a blast with the Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy stand. She kept going up to it and standing in front of them and smiling. She was playing "peek-a-boo" with them too.

I could have done without the 2 guys that had their own "act" in between the Disney acts, but Maddie and Faith thought everything was hilarious. It was a good time!

And, to top off a great afternoon-- my # came up in line for 'Toy Story 3' at the library, and I was able to check it out today! Needless to say, it was our movie tonight for 'movie night,' and quite a classic (although there were parts that needed fast forwarding).