more pics because now I can!

Nora cut lots of cheese for everyone, lots and lots and lots...we don't have any cheese left.

Avery in her Christmas dress! (her choice, no dress-forcing in this house!)

GB seems to like the race cars Santa brought!

Naptime on the living room floor in new sleeping bags!

  

new camera! woohoo!

Avery LOVES the snow this year!

Nora still hates the snow and the cold!

My girls, sharing...I have proof!

Merry Christmas!

So, last year, my Avery, who was 2, asked if Santa was real.  This year, I think she just played along for our sakes!  She was totally skeptical but her eye twinkled when the cookies and carrots were gone!  Nora, on the other hand, woke right up and remembered it was Christmas and came downstairs looking for Santa.  She was displeased when we said he couldn't stay and had lots of kids to bring presents to.  

Nora didn't want to open presents until there were only a few left, mostly to other family members.  Then she dove right in, there may be some re-wraps!  Avery picked out a baby doll for her sister.  I probably should have been more worried when she told me about it and said "Nora will share her with me" because they spent most of the day fighting over that one doll.  You would have thought that was the only gift for both of them!  

Marc got me a new camera!  Digital!  If I can make it work I'll put some new pictures up.  

it's a Charlie Brown Christmas here

So, because this is more than likely our last Christmas in this house, we got a little sentimental (or crazy, maybe!) and decided to cut down our Christmas tree from our own property! Here is the result!

It was definitely a better idea than reality! We dressed the girls up and trekked out into the woods. Of course, it was after the ice storm, so every tree was covered by about 1/4 inch of ice. Nora finds the woods too difficult to walk in and demands to be carried. Oh, and did you know how not like Christmas trees real trees are? We have a LOT of trees back there and this was the best we could do. Somewhere along the way, Addie disappeared. Once we had the tree cut down, we had to get it back to the house, which was just silly. Nora still didn't want to walk and she's getting a bit large and heavy, and add a snowsuit to that and she's not easy to carry. So, Marc carried Nora AND the tree back to the house!

When we got the tree in, Avery had a blast decorating and Nora didn't seem to notice that there even was a tree in the house! Different in every way! It's going to be a Merry Christmas!

house hunting and stuff

So, we suddenly decided that we can get more house for our money now than if we wait until we can get what we owe on ours. We just made our third trip of a full day. We got up a little early this time because of the lovely ice storm. The alarm went off at 3:30 a.m. Thankfully, my lovely sister took the girls for a day of fun. We drove all over NH, almost getting stuck on the ice and hit by trees and dodging power lines. That really makes for an interesting, adventuresome day! And on top of it all, most of NH didn't have power and it was COLD, therefore all the houses were also COLD and dark! Overall, there were actually 4 that we like enough to contemplate, 2 that we couldn't get to because of closed roads, one broken lock, and zero cups of coffee (poor Marc!).

So, it was a CRAZY day. But what made up for any moments of suckiness was how incredibly beautiful the storm left everything. We saw the ice glistening in the moonlight as we left our house. We saw the sun rise above the frozen trees. All day we saw the sun sparkling through. Ah, what a day!

couple good sites

http://www.wecansolveit.org
another green site

http://www.novica.com/
really cool shopping site associated with national geographic. they bring together 'crafters' from all over the world. i just bought 2 cool...different rings. the prices were great. the shipping was a little slow on one but i also got a hand-written note from one of the makers. pretty cool!

http://www.arborday.org/
I joined for $15 and am getting 10 trees for free...they're only going to be 6-12" tall, but still neat! ANd you can have them sent to your school or church if you want. And they send me more info and more "free gift if you pledge___". The 'gifts' are nice if you like plants and who doesn't like trees?

www.aveda.com
High quality natural (or mostly natural) products. They work great and they seem to actually be trying to save the environment too. They're a little expensive compared to drugstore but work better, so...

aaahhhhhhh Acadia

I just love it there. We just went up last week. The weather wasn't great but certainly could have been worse. We stayed in a beautiful hotel right on the water. I think we did most of those things we hadn't gotten to in our other trips. We even brought our bikes and found a nice trail (a little too much hill for these thighs, but beautiful).

My parents came too. They've been talking about Acadia since we moved to Maine! I think they liked it, even though they were constantly hearing "Up please". They got a better workout than us I think! And it was SO nice to have a distraction for the girls from how tired they were. What a week!

Here are some pics. There are a lot, sorry, I had 5 rolls so, really, I've spared you!

All of us

Marc & Avery checking out Cadillac Mt

Memere Pepere & Nora on top of Cadillac Mt

holy windy!

Just pretty!

Sand Beach, pretty

Marc & Avery exploring

Bike ride around Eagle Lake

Aren't they cute?!

Jordan Pond trail

nora and her colds

So, Nora came down with her first cold since spring. It had been about two weeks of a crazy runny nose and a slightly over-grouchy little girl. And it's probably my fault because I actually said a couple of times that Nora made it through her first cold that was just a cold, but yesterday she started wheezing. I put her to bed and hoped it wouldn't be worse when she woke up. We called the dr and they the lovely weekend clinic said they could see her today at 2. We dislike the dr that was on-call and she had gotten so much worse through the course of the day we decided to go to the emergency room.

We got there around 5:30, yes, all 4 of us...woops. We were called in about 5 mins before we gave-in for sleep. They gave her a nebulizer treatment while we were there, then a steroid and an antibiotic. We got home around 9:30. Bedtime is 7ish so they were crazy tired. Litterally actually, Nora couldn't stop talking even though we couldn't understand her half the time!

So we were at the emergency room but it wasn't really an emergency. We just didn't want it to get worse. She's better today, still a but wheezy and has a harsh cough, but...we've made it through another. They've diagnosed her with RSV which is common in babies born early. She may grow out of it but until then, we just need to try to catch it earlier, I think. I'm going to take her to see our dr this week and will hopefully have some kind of treatment to avoid this extreme next time.

But, she is good. She's still silly. She's still running, even though she's not supposed to. She's ok. Phew

family update

So, we've made it through Avery's third week at school. She seems happy. One of her new friends is having a birthday party today...her 5th! That's my girl!

Last week, Avery decided she wanted to cut her hair like Dora. Today was the day!

AND, the pony tail is long enough to donate to Locks of Love! Pretty cool. And adorable!

Nora's still adjusting to missing her sister. While she's playing with both babies and anything else she wants, she says "I miss Avery". Then we get her sister and she wants a baby too and Nora hasn't had to share and freaks out. It's very interesting!

Marc's work is going well. He just completed one state project and has tentatively heard that the next will take him into 2010. His rootbeer is also progressing nicely after a brief set-back!

As for me, school is interesting...I'm still not sure what to expect and I'm more disappointed that it's not landscaping, but what can you do? My vein surgery went well and my checkup is Monday. Hopefully I can schedule the other leg then!

Acadia's coming! We're going the first week of Oct for 3 nights! I just hope the weather is decent. We've already had our first frost and my plants are not particulary happy about it but are hanging in.

i don't like it mom

Nora wasn't so excited

Uh oh.

So, we got Avery up Thusday morning. She was SO excited she was ready to leave when her feet hit the floor! Nora however, was not so excited that her sister was going somewhere without her. "I come with you?" followed by tears and a horribly sad "why?" She recovered nicely though!

So, we ran some errands and went to pick Avery up. She was playing outside and looked like she was having fun. On the way home, she was saying it was fun but had no details for me. When she got home she called her dad and told him about her day.

Then, out of the blue, at dinner, she said "I don't really like my school that much". And we were silent for just a moment, trying to figure out the correct response. That went on for a bit but by bedtime, she didn't understand why she could only go 2 days and not 5.

We had no idea what to expect today. Marc dropped her off. He said she seemed ok when he left. Nora and I picked her up. She was hanging out with her teacher. She was grinning. She had a great day! WHEW!

She was much happier. She made another new 'friend' but she can't remember her name. She's already feeling more comfortable. And when the other kids went in to eat she asked why she didn't get to stay with them. Whew whew whew.

And the teachers said she had a great day. So, I guess, fingers crossed for next week.

my baby's going to school!

Holy crap.

My sweet little thing is going out into the big mean world without me. I've barely spent a day without her. I've been there for most of her experiences. Now, she'll talk about things that I know nothing about. (which is really difficult because you only get bits of the necessary info!)

Marc went to Parent's Night last week and came home pretty excited. I think we found the right place, at least for preschool. We'll see what happens next. And yes, I know she's only 3 and doesn't NEED to go to school. AND I totally agree, BUT she's ready. And she needs more opportunities than I can give her right now. (Nora takes a lot of attention) And it's only 2 half days.

She's been excited since we went to the open house in Feb! Now that we're down to days, she's beside herself. Thursday will be interesting when Marc leaves her. I hope she'll be fine. Nora will be traumatized watching her Avery go somewhere without her. I'll have to come up with something special to distract her. : )

xrays back~all normal

So, we still don't know why she keeps getting pnuemonia but that test was normal. My doctor will be back next week so I'll find out more then; if they do more tests or wait and see. Whew (for now anyway)

sorry to be dramatic

Nora was just diagnosed with her 3rd pneumonia of the year. I caught this one early and got her her drugs before it got bad but, man. She's now on the way to get a chest x-ray. I'm actually a little scared and just needed to get it out somehow. Please please just let everything be ok

bike bike bike

I am SO excited! I've been wanting one since we moved here, where it's mostly safe to ride but of course we couldn't agree on what kind of bike...I wanted cheap, just in case it doesn't actually get used as much as it should and my last bike was purple and the kind where back-pedaling was your brake! And Marc wanted to get REAL bikes because you apparently just can't ride a cheap one. So we had yet another DISCUSSION because someday, spring might actually come. We wound up in the same place we always do

When Marc came home, he had a BIKE! It's so pretty! It has lots of things on it that I don't actually know how to use and I can't reach the floor (which I have been told is correct) so I'm a little scared but I can't wait! COME ON SNOW, IT'S TIME TO MELT!

web cam fun!

Amy's been talking about it since she was leaving and talked Marc into getting one, which, of course didn't require many words. He decided to have it ready for Avery's birthday and managed to set it up without her really noticing. When he called her in the room and Amy was there on the screen, her whole face just lit up! It was just fantastic!

Then we discovered that Uncle Scott, Aunt Loni and Jackson also have one. Well, now we call them all every day (sorry guys!) and stare at them because really, there just isn't that much happening! And the girls sort of freeze, maybe just amazed by the whole thing?

Last night, Marc got the computer out. Before he even had the camera out Nora started yelling at it "Jackson! Are you?" She was very upset when they didn't answer. So they called several times, just to make sure...sorry Loni! (you should see how angry Nora gets when the moon isn't out) And then, Amy wasn't there either! Oh, it was tough!

It's just so incredible that even though we don't see these people often enough, the girls are really getting to know them! It's pretty fantastic in a sappy sort of way! Maybe someday soon Avery will even talk to Scott or Adam! Sorry guys, she just doesn't trust men...what can I say, she's very smart!

so long

I don't know if anyone's still even looking at this it's been so long since I've written anything. See, I've discovered power napping and whenever the girls sleep, which is my only real down time, I've been trying to catch a little extra energy.

It snowed here again today. I don't think I can take much more. I'm so sick of being excited when it hits 40. I miss sandals and grass and being able to go outside without 10 minutes of preparation. And only to begin the unlayering process in 5. And our routine has become so set that I want to jump out of my skin

We've been invited to several 'play dates' lately. Man, that is SO not my thing. I want to do what I want, when I want. I don't want to have stupid, meaningless small-talk with people who will probably talk trash about me later. I like having my own thing. I don't mind going to all the stupid classes so the kids can play with other kids but really, that's more than enough for me! I need to get better at lying or even just saying no!

Nora's art project

At dinner Nora had an apple. She also had ketchup and blue cheese dressing. She discovered how to stamp with an apple all by herself! Then she told us she was drawing. She drew an owl and a Kobe. It was lovely!

my 3 year old baby

Today was Avery's 3rd birthday. Holy crap. I think that's really all I can say :)

possible career??

Adam gave me a landscape design book for Christmas. I've been thinking about it for awhile now, this is actually my longest sticking career possibility since I left school with no idea of what to do! This book made me so excited I bought a bunch more and decided to give it a try this spring with my own yard. If I HATE it...I'll know not to spend time, energy and money on school for it! If not, maybe I'll finally have found something I can enjoy doing for at least a few years! RIGHT??!!!

Marc helped me measure the entire house and yard so I can make a (sort of) real plan! I'm just so excited! I'm a little worried about going too crazy though, and since Marc knows how excited I am, I don't think he'll be keeping me down to earth. That'll be a bummer to our savings! You know, we really need a pond in our garden!

I just love the idea of it. It's creative. I can help save the world...green and natual. I can help make people's houses homes. All right. That's a little too cheesy and optimistic, I know. I'm pretty sure my head will come back down as soon as my feet hit the mud! I'm too much of a pessimist anyway. It feels good right now to be silly-naive! Now, start thinking of melting snow!

a silly Nora day

Nora's personality has been coming out more every day. It's so fantastic to be there to watch it! Sorry, that wasn't what I meant to write about! Anyway, we had another snowy day here (another 10 inches!) so Marc was home when the girls got up from nap. Usually, when Dad pulls into the driveway we start jumping around singing "dad's home! dad's home!" So, I brought Nora downstairs and her face lit up when she saw her dad and she said "hi Dad's Home!" And over the last few days she's called him Dad's Home several times. Hmm, maybe that's not so much funny as sad! Not really, anyone who knows anything about us knows Marc's at least as busy with the kids as he is with work.

Another one...girls getting out of bath and having some run-around-crazy-naked time. Who doesn't need some of that?! Avery had created a new game and Nora was trying to follow. All of a sudden she peed. And that was sort of expected even though she had just been on the toilet, that's really just another way to be like her sister...there's still no control. Then she said, "uh oh, drop...drop pee" as she went to get a towel to wipe it up! I cried I laughed so hard.

Hope these make you laugh too!

happy new year!