Day 28 (1/27/09)

Haley had her dentist appointment today. She is amazing when it comes to things that are typically scary to many adults. NO FEAR! She had zero cavities, was reassured that her teeth cannot be pulled out when flossing because they are like trees, and had her first x-rays. Doesn't she have beautiful teeth, Princess teeth I was told.

Day 27 (1/28/09)

Matthew is crazy about books, especially books with animals, Thomas the Train (whom he calls Tom), and Curious George ("ooo ooo Aaahhh Aaahhh", says Matthew) He gives us books all the time. He has also learned the sounds of the animals and can repeat them, not the names, just the sounds. He will sit and listen for hours and turn the pages right on cue. Such a smarty pants.

Day 26 (1/25/09)

Matthew loves running around with these glasses on. We call him Mr. Potato Head. He yells "Eyes, Eyes" until we agree that they are, in fact, Eyes. Can you say "Class Clown"? I am sure his teachers will be able to.

Day 25 (1/24/09)

I.AM.NOT.ADDICTED!

I'm not, really!

Don't they say the first stage of addiction is denial? Okay, well I used to be addicted before I decided to stay home with the kids. Now, I enjoy a beautiful, delicious Venti Caramel Macchiato only once a day, I mean month, really! Okay, two or three times a month. But that is usally it.

Haley took this picture of me in the car. You should see the one she took of me kissing the cup.

Day 24 (1/23/09)

Today was car wash day. We had to go through the car wash twice because our car was so dirty from all the salt and slush on the roads. Haley loves the car wash, but Matthew requires a great deal of reassurance. This usually manifests itself into loud songs to cover the sound of the noisy car wash and round of Patty-Cake.

Day 23 (1/22/09)

Haley got home from school today and immediately went into the backyard to sled down the hill. After losing her sled down the hill numerous times, she realized that it was just as fun to slide town on her toosh. Dang she is cute!

Day 22 (1/21/09)

This picture does not do my injury justice, just so you know. I slammed it into the car door as I was walking away from the car. I had to unlock the car and open the door to get it out. It was clearly dislocated, ugghhh! The people at urgent care were awful, awful, awful. It is amazing how much you realize you need that finger until you do not have it. Typing takes F.O.R.E.V.E.R!

Day 21 (1/20/09)

Today was the Inauguration of our 44th President, Barack Obama. I will refrain from my political views and just say that this picture sums up some of my non-political feelings. Today was a celebration of democracy, despite political views, for our great country. I was struck by how many people showed up for the inauguration at very early hours in the morning (2 am). This picture was amazing and yet it only captured a fraction of the 2 million people that descended upon the National Mall.

Day 20 (1/19/09)

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I wish I could say that we did something profound today or taught our children what the day is all about, but I can't say that. Instead we watched the Jon and Kate Plus 8 Marathon. Haley and I did. Greg just complained the whole time. :)

Day 19 (1/18/09)

I decided to take a walk all by myself today. I took my camera with me to capture some of the beautiful pictures of what God has created in our little neighborhood. We has several inches of snow and it made everything look even more beautiful than it usually does.

Day 18 (1/17/09)

 

This is the sight we awoke to this morning. Matthew was a little sick yesterday with a cough, runny nose and goopy red eyes. This morning one of his eyes is so swollen that it only opens about half way. We are loading him up with eye drops. Hopefully that will work.

Day 17 (1/16/09)

Today was the coldest day on record in 15 years in my beloved Pittsburgh. Brrrrrr, was it cold. I don't have one of those cars that shows the current temperature so I just took a picture of it off the Internet. It was much warmer that way. I did, however, send my beautiful 5 year old off to swim with some neighbors. School was closed but the Y was open. They swam for several hours and she came home brutally exhausted.

Day 16 (1/15/09)

This is what my kitchen drawers look like multiple times a day. Seems I have a little boy that likes to open all of my drawers. Funny thing is, he hates it when doors are left open. He runs around closing all of the doors but leaving the drawers wide open.

Day 15 (1/14/09)

So not a great picture but I have been told is important to take a few pictures of yourself throughout this process. I was trying to catch snow and be a little goofy. This amount of snow pales in comparison to what we actually got later that night. I LOVE THE SNOW!!!

Day 14 (1/13/09)

Can I even put this on here? Matthew had such a great time running around "nakey" for a little while today. He had a little diaper rash and I wanted it to dry up a little (doctors suggestion). He didn't have a single accident. I love baby buns. They are just so perfect. Check out the cute leg rolls.

Day 13 (1/12/09)

IT'S COMING!!! My kit is OUT FOR DELIVERY. I hope I don't scare the delivery man when he shows up. I still can't believe I got one. How crazy is that.

Day 12 (1/11/09)

Since moving to Pittsburgh we have become Steeler fans, much to my mom's sadness. This was the playoff game. We WON!!! and are now in the AFC championship game against the Ravens. GO STEELERS!!!

Day 11 (1/10/09)

Gotta love the snow! This is our first real snow storm this season. We are all so excited. Haley couldn't wait to get into the snow and make snow angels, sled, and play. As I predicted, everyone is much much happier today.

Day 10 (1/9/09)

Today was a VERY ROUGH DAY! Matthew pretty much cried all day long, minus nap time. Haley did the same this afternoon and evening. I felt the same way they did all day and just wanted to cry. We are never like this. Matthew and Haley are two of the happiest children I have ever known, and I am not just saying that because I am their mother. I have decided this was all due to the big snow storm that came in later this evening. Tomorrow will be better.

Day 9 (1/8/09)

Once a month, 7 ladies and myself gather together for dinner at someones house and to plan the next month of MOPS meetings. This is what it typically looks like at one of these meetings. They tend to last until midnight, depending on how much work we need to take care of. We have a great time with each other.

Days 7 and 8

My Maternal Grandmother made these crosstich soldiers 50 years ago. My Mom has given them to me since I LOVE ALL things American. My kitchen is all Americana so these are on the largest wall in our kitchen/dining room area. I had planned on buying those vinyl letters that you can put up but it is too expensive. Instead I used chipboard, chalked it and stuck it up there. I love the finish product, simple but profound.

Haley came home from school today and walked through the basement. She hit the floor, but in the air and started smelling the carpet and saying "AAAHHHH!". She then realized the lovely smell was coming from the hockey bag that I had just sprayed with Febreeze and she began smelling every inch of it. This kid watches too much t.v.

Day 6

This is Matthew's new expression everytime I pull out the camera. I have at least a hundred of pictures with this exact same expression. So cute!

Day 5

Today was a day of haircutting. We all needed a haircut but it is very costly for a family of four to get a haircut all at once. Why pay for someone to do it when you can do it at home. Matthew had his very first haircut. It was time for the curls to go. It was definitely bittersweet. After cutting everyone else's hair, it was my turn. I let Haley cut 7 inches off while Greg screamed "Oh Good God!" because she was cutting at an upwards angle. It all worked out okay and Greg made it look good.

Day 4

Today we took Greg to the hospital for pneumonia. He has been sick for a month now and has been on two round of antibiotics - "the big guns". Secretly, I enjoyed being at the E.R. because a wonderful friend took the kids to her house and Greg and I had time to just talk with minimal interuptions.

Day 3

Haley and Matthew love "wrestling" in the living room. Matthew's favorite thing when anyone sits on the floor is to push them over and pounce on them. He laughs hysterically and makes everyone laugh as well. It is such a fun thing to watch them play and it is pretty fun to participate in.

January 1st, 2009

I have had a serious crafting bug lately. Luckily, Haley has joined in a little and got up at 8a.m. to help me paint. I love that she is painting the word "Dream". This will go in her room on the new pink shelf we just finished painting.

December 31st, 2008

Matthew didn't wake up until 1 in the afternoon today. When I pulled him out of his crib and opened the blinds, he was overjoyed to see the snow falling. He started pointing and yelling "Dat, Dat?" We are still working on the word "Snow". He and Haley stood and watched the snow from his bedroom window.