Merry Christmas!!!

What a fun day we had with family. Mom, Uncle Scott and Nana were up before Samantha - I actually had to wake her at 9:00 since we needed to be at my Aunt's house for 10:30 brunch. We were a tad late... After brunch we came back home and played with a few of Sam's gifts then it was off to my cousin's house for games and a late dinner.... What an fun and tiring day! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday. Merry Christmas!

Preparing for Santa

Samantha was all excited for Santa. She insisted she pick out the cookies for him and, of course, we couldn't forget the reindeer :)

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve we went to Mass with Sue and Allison Hogan.

Patriots game

We went to the Patriots game today in the SNOW STORM! We had a great time! Snowball wars kept us laughing and hot adult beverages kept us warm.

Happy Birthday Jenn Trujillo!

Happy Birthday Jenn! Hope you have a great day!

Here we go a shoveling....

Well about 9 inches of snow landed in my yard with the promise of more tomorrow...is that better than leaves falling??? Sam looked out the window when I asked her if she wanted to go outside and she said "Mmmm, looks mighty cold out there, can I watch a video instead?" John came to pick up Samantha and lent a helping hand (or should I say shovel) and cleared the driveway - it is nice having him live close by...

A big thank you to my neighbors who cleared my sidewalk with the snow plow...

Once Samantha was outside she thought a snowball fight would be great, of course, I ended up looking like a snowman - oh the things parents do for a giggle. I have to say she did not leave the scene unscathed!

She doesn't know I'm right behind her..... with a snowball!

A cute pic of Sam with her Daddy - Thanks for your help John!!

Welcome Winter!

More announcements...

Congratulations to Joanne Ciccone and Amy Wjada who are expecting babies!!! I seriously think almost everyone I know has had a sip of water now :)

Holiday Festivities

Nothing like a good holiday decoration swap to get the season started. Thanks for drinking, eating and swapping the day away with me. It was great to visit with everyone! Samantha asked after everyone left "why did they leave so early?" She just loves to socialize...more red flags for the future?

Holly and Cindy

Roseann, Megan and Katy

Jenn, Jane and Dawn

Sue and Ellen....

O Christmas Tree

Samantha and I zipped up our jackets and headed out with Auntie Katy to pick up Christmas trees (we thought we might be able to get a deal, like, two for one...no such luck!). We hauled Katy's tree into her apartment and put it in the stand and watched Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer while eating yummy pizza and wine. We got home pretty late, but that didn't stop Samantha from asking me to put up our tree so we could put on a few ornaments...so I guess I will have the tree up for our party on Sunday even though it will take up the space of one or two people.......

I think Christmas is going to be very fun with her this year!

Happy Birthday Sue!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful and dear friend Sue! Wishes for a wonderful year of fun memories! I'm so glad we can call each other neighbor :)

Gooble Gooble!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!

Good luck to those who are shopping in the early morning hours!!!

Happy Birthday Little Brother!

Happy Birthday Scott! Looking forward to celebrating with you this evening! Love you!

Congratualtions!

Congratulations to Jenn Trujillo and Jenn Bryson who are expecting again! This brings the tally up to 10 for babies on their way.......... Love it!

Samantha's Favorite Thanksgiving Song

Last year Sam learned a Thanksgiving song at school and it was so fun listening to her trying to pronounce "Albuquerque" clearly and correctly. She sings it perfectly this year..... sigh.... Yesterday she brought home the words and I thought I would share in case you want to entertain your guests on Thanksgiving Day, a pre-feast show.... sort of.

Albuquerque Turkey
(Sung to Oh My Darlin')

Albuquerque was a turkey
And he's feathered
And he's fine

And he wobbles
And he gobbles
And he's absolutely mine!

He's the best pet
You can get yet
Better than a dog or cat

He's my Albuquerque turkey
And I'm very proud of that!

(feel free to use hand motions - makes the song even better)

Watch out! It's a catchy little diddy and I find myself humming the silly song while driving Sam to school....

Have a great day!

Rainy Weekend

This weekend was wet, but we made the best of it! Friday night, Samantha was invited to the Hogans for a movie night - big doings - I was able to enjoy an adult beverage and catch up with friends while Samantha and friends enjoyed........Barbie Christmas.....

Saturday was really warm 72 degrees, but again wet..... Auntie Megzie and Auntie Katy came over for another movie night. Samantha saw The Wizard of Oz for the first time. She loved it! Funny how you look at things through adult eyes. I remember anticipating the appearance of the cowardly lion and being nervous. I also remember thinking the monkeys were scary looking and I still do......

Sunday was a day to rake the leaves in the back yard - 35 bags to date! I'm done - I don't care that the neighbor's leaves are making their way onto my lawn...... Did I mention that I don't have any trees in my yard....

Bed Songs and Bed Stories

The local library hosted a "Bed Songs and Bed Stories" evening for children. We jumped into our comfy pjs and met up with the Hogans for an hour of storytelling and silly songs. What a fun evening!

Babies, babies everywhere!

Funny, I mentioned to Julie that I missed seeing little babies around....... wha lah! Someone drank the water... Congratulations to Andrea, Gina, Mindy, Michele, Antoinette, Carrie and NOW Julie! I can't wait to meet the little ones!!!!

Fall Fun in the Leaves!

It's that time of year again.... I wonder how many more bags of leaves I'll have to rake once the sugar maple leaves from my neighbor's yard fall.... I've already raked about 10.... so much for having a small easy-to-maintain yard....

Happy Birthday Nana/Mom!

Happy Birthday to my wonderful Mom! We love you so much!

Happy Halloween!

Fancy Nancy Goes Trick or Treating

After a long thought process (2 hours before trick or treating) Samantha decided to be Fancy Nancy. We went to a pre-trick or treating party at our neighbor's house and had a great time going around with the neighborhood kids.

Pumpkin Carving Fun...

Although a bit squeamish at first Samantha helped Nana carve a pumpkin in preparation for the evening festivities...