My Most Beautiful Kathleen :-)

Twas the Day Before Christmas

Twas the day before Christmas and all through the mall, the shoppers were freaking, the big and the small.

One day's not enough time to buy all that I need, so I'll drive with reckless abandon, I'll curse, and I'll speed.

I don't care if this is the season for giving... it's the "all about ME and MY family's life", that I'M living.

But this thing we call Christmas is more than gifts, food, and a tree.  It's about the birth of a most special and blessed baby.

This Jesus the Christ, this King of all Kings, is the best of all reasons to eat, laugh, and sing.

He was sent here from Heaven to show us the way -  live life with hope, love, joy and peace, every and I mean EVERY day.

So be kind to your neighbor when waiting in line at the store, and if you say prayers for others, then say 10 prayers more.

If you go to Church tonight or tomorrow morn, move down the pew for others and hold back the scorn.

Drive with caution and patience and cheer, and keep look out for bad drivers, grannies, and deer.

Take time to be thankful for family and friends, and for a Jesus that came to show us that life never ends.

Merry Christmas to all my family and friends!!

Don't play with your food - eat it!

My kids are apparently playing with their "Finding Nemo" gummies.  I just heard Brian say to Kate, "Well, I have 4 children.  Can you babysit them?  Here is a list of food.  If they get hungry give them seaweed.  If they want to play just give them a car to drive."  Kate, "Okay."  Brian, "I have to go to my meeting now.  Stay out of the deep water.  My darlings like the coral reef and that's where they should play, and if you see a mean jelly fish just STING him!!"  Kate, "okay".  Kate seems highly invested in this game.  She's probably thinking what I would be thinking, "Why aren't we eating these?!"

Brian is writing!

I decided to see what Brian is capable of so I told him a few things to write (with no help from Mommy) and I think he did an amazing job!  The first picture reads, "Hi Nonni, I love you.  I love you too, B" and the second one reads, "My name is Brian."  Good boy Brian!!  Oh, and keep in mind, he's in preschool. :-)

A comment worthy of a blog entry

When I was getting the kids ready for school today I realized that there was no hope for my hair.  It needed to be washed and there was no way I was going to get it looking good before dropping the kids off.  I went searching for my pink Red Sox cap but couldn't find it, so on went one of Jeff's ski hats.  I got the kids in the car and as I started to pull out of the driveway Kate said, "Mom why do you have that funny looking hat on your head?"  Brian then chimed in and scolded Kate by saying, "Kate, you're only supposed to talk about MOM, NOT about the funny things that she is wearing!" 
Awesome!  I wonder how often Brian refrains from saying something about me because of this "rule" he seems to have made up!

Oh She's HILARIOUS alright!

Many of you have expressed how cute and funny you find Kelly to be.  Kelly is VERY VERY funny and VERY VERY cute, when all the stars are aligned (which seems to happen about 3 times a week).  However, the rest of the time she's a beautiful, sweet, challenging  and extremely strong willed toddler.  I wouldn't want to change Kelly for the world and it is my hope that she does amazing things with her personality as she gets older.  But at this stage in her life I can tell you that I'm pretty much at the end of my rope with the screaming and incessant asking (I pray A LOT for patience).  I thought I would share with all of you my car ride experience to and from the grocery store this morning, with Kelly. 

Kelly:  "Want muffin want muffin want muffin want muffin want muffin want muffin want muffin want muffin want muffin want cookie want cookie want cookie want cookie want cookie want cookie want cookie want cookie want cookie want cookie want cookie want cookie want cookie (oh and fyi, I'm saying "yes Kelly" intermittently while all of this is being said...let's continue shall we?)  see a bird see a bird I see a bird mama see a bird see a bird see a bird see a bird see a bird see a bird mama want purple fa (pacifier) want fa want fa want fa want fa want purple fa want purple fa down there!!!!!!!!!!!!"  Then as I'm parking, "want to walk want to walk want to walk want to walk want to walk want to walk want to walk want to walk want to walk want sit in big part want sit in big part want sit in big part want sit in big part want sit in big part."  She was surprisingly quiet in the store, which was nice.  And then on the way home, "want go home want go home want go home want go home want go home want go home want go home go fast mama go fast mama go fast mama go faster! go fast mama want go home want go home want go home."  When we parked in the driveway, "want get out want get out want get out want more cookie want get out want get out want get out want more cookie want more cookie!!!!!!!!!  want get out!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

I decided to give myself a verbal and mental break today and I only responded to her a few times because you  know what?  It doesn't matter if I respond or not, it doesn't stop...she'll keep saying what she's saying!  My guess on Kelly?  She going to be in the Olympics or she'll be our first woman president....provided she makes it past toddlerhood!  Go Kelly!

Oh, and she really IS funny too. :-)  This was Kelly painting with her sunglasses upside down, at night the other night.

Happy (early) Birthday, Kelly!

Kelly will be 2 on the 22nd, but we had her "mini-party" today.  It was Jeff, Brian, Kate, Nana and Nonni.  It was a small but very sweet group.  Kelly told me she wanted a princess on her cake and blue frosting...so that's what she got. :-)