Cupcakes anyone???

My friend Jenee is so much fun. She is the host of the monthly scrapbook get together that I attend. Sometimes I scrap, sometimes I just chat and I almost always have a nice drink when I am there too! Ahh, but that is another story.

Jenee loves to plan events of sorts. She is the one who organizes the bi-annual scrapbook weekend that I go on. She was also the host (along with her husband Peter) of the infamous Meatball Cook-off and a great Memorial Day party last year. (I am secretly hoping that they are going to have another one this year!)

Instead of her annual cookie swap, Jenee decided to host a cupcake swap this past Friday. She kindly opened her home to 6 other friends and we were each asked to make and bring a different cupcake. Not only did she open up her house, but as usual, she went above and beyond in making the night special. When we arrived, we were treated to a cupcake martini. Yummy!

And, at each of our spots, she had left us her recipe in scrapbook form and made us each these adorable cupcakes out of socks! Aren't they cute?

Here is the group of lucky ladies that participated in the Swap. I am fortunate to be headed away to the Cape for the weekend with this group in March to scrapbook for almost 3 days. I can't wait!

Thanks Jenee for yet another wonderful night! You're the best!

Time to Catch Up a Bit

Well it seems that we are finally settling back into a routine. Even so, it has been a crazy busy week in our house. Between CCD, Hockey, Dance and a Book Club meeting at our house this week, things have been a little hectic, but still enjoyable.

Here area few quick snapshots our our week....

I know it is hard to believe but Andrew has started to shave. Ok, in truth he got his own Transformers' shaving kit from Santa and he loves shaving in the shower. When he is done he always asks if he did a good job. He cracks me up!

Only three weeks left of the hockey season. Even though it started in October, it seems to have flown by. It is amazing to see how much Andrew has learned this season. He really loves it. I know he will be sad when it ends.

He is very excited about his hockey schedule this weekend. Not only does he have a regularly scheduled game at the local rink, but his team is skating in between periods at the Providence Bruins in Rhode Island on Sunday. He has been counting down the days for about a week now. We are happy that we will be joined by one of Brenna's friends and his family. He is in 2nd Grade and has been skating for awhile and loves the Bruins. So, this seemed like the perfect outing to do together,

And here is our little fashionista. She loves to accessorize her outfits these days.

I hosted our Book Club meeting this week. Todd was kind enough to come home from work early and cook dinner for 11 ladies. Brenna had wanted to help out in some way so she made the Menu so everyone would know what they were having.

We read "The Help". It was a wonderful story about hired help in the deep South in the 60's. If you get a chance, pick it up. It was a great read.

Some more snow...

Well we got a bunch of snow this past weekend. Not as much as before. And luckily most of that had melted before we got his last batch. But, it was enough to make for some good sledding.

The lot next to us was recently cleared and partially graded. I say partially because there is a huge slope off the back of what was cleared. After Todd shoveled the driveway he took the kids out to play. I have to admit that I was kind of surprised when Brenna ran into the house tell me that they were sledding down the back of the lot. They had a blast, even though they ended up in some underbrush a lot of the time.

Good times with Daddy!

Project 365

I have always wanted to try this. What is it you ask? Well it is a plan where you take a picture a day for an entire year. I have tried this before for only a month and have not succeeded, but I thought I would give it a try again. In order to keep a cohesive record of the pictures I have set up a separate blog. You can find it here.... let me know what you think....

The Annual Workman New Years Visit!!!

The Workman Family arrived after an uneventful flight on the evening of December 30th. The kids were going crazy all day waiting for their arrival. Luckily, they had been invited for a playdate in the afternoon, otherwise I do not know how they would have survived!

After a quick bite to eat, Todd and Todd took the kids up to Jungle Plex to play for awhile. Todd had a soccer game and the kids all decided to go so they could play in Jungle Land. Jenn and I got to sit at home and catch up by ourselves for a bit which was very nice.

After they returned, the kids exchanged their Christmas gifts and quickly ran off to play. As usual, it was as if they had seen each other just yesterday. I love how they fall back into a routine so easily with each other. It is so nice.

Bennett and Astor loved all of the attention that they got during the visit!

On New Years Day we had chocolate fondue for dessert. As you can see, the kids really enjoyed it. And they even shared a bit with the adults.

Everyone was determined to make it till midnight. All of the kids except Andrew had plenty of energy. He only stayed up because the other kids were. So, we broke out the bubbly shortly before midnight (and the sparkling cider for the kids) and counted down until the ball dropped. As soon as that happened, Andrew got his second wind. The kids were very into posing for goofy pictures!

Here are a few shots of the rest of the night.

New Years day was spent relaxing. The kids played and the adults even got to watch a movie. (The Hangover and it was hysterical! Watch it if you can!)

Andrew received a bunch of Lego sets from the Workmans for Christmas and Uncle Todd patiently put them all together with Andrew. Andrew was in heaven! (And I am pretty sure that Todd liked it too!)

Andrew and Kaylee.

On Saturday we woke up to snow! We could not believe it. They were scheduled to fly out that night around 8 PM. The weather forecasters had not been calling for anything other than a dusting, but suddenly the storm had shifted and we were getting a few inches. Poor Todd and Jenn had suffered last year on their way up for New Years because of the weather. (Details here.) So, we were convinced that this could not happen again. Todd spent the day watching the weather conditions and Logan and checking the flights to see what was being cancelled.

Andrew had a hockey game that morning and was very happy to have an audience to watch him. He had asked his Coaches the other day if he could play goalie again so he suited up for about half the game as goalie. He still has a bit of difficultly moving around in all that goalie gear, but he loves playing that position. About half way though, he got out of the gear and got a chance to skate for the rest of the game.

It is amazing to me how much better he has gotten this season. We have noticed a significant improvement since he got his new skates. (Seems the old skates were too small but the poor kid never complained once!) The biggest news of the day was that he scored his FIRST GOAL in a game!!! He was so excited! I was so thrilled for him. I actually teared up! It was extra special to have the Workman family there to see it too!

Every New Years we try and get a group picture. Since we were all a bit fried at midnight on New Years Eve, we decided to wait until we were all a little more "together" to take it.

And of course, the kids insisted that we do a goofy one as well....

After taking this shot, the Workman family had to pack up and head to the airport. I always feel so bad for Brenna when our visitors leave. She still has such a hard time and this was no exception. After about 20 mins, I was able to calm her down and then Andrew burst into tears! I kept having to reassure them and tell them that we would all be together again soon!

After rushing to get out of the house (and even leaving an entire suitcase in the process) when Todd, Jenn and the girls got to the airport, the flight had been delayed quite a bit. It was now scheduled to depart at 10:40 PM. Luckily, they found a play area in another terminal and the kids could burn up some energy.

It truly was a wonderful visit and we are so very glad to have been able to spend New Years again with Todd, Jenn, Kaylee and Emma. Thanks so much for making the trek north! We miss you dearly already and can not wait to see you all again soon!

What a Wonderful Christmas!

It is hard to believe that Christmas was only a week ago... We have been so busy enjoying our family time. I am truly thankful for the time that we had together. Even though it was just the four of us this year, we were joined by our friends from Plymouth and we were with our families in spirit. Here is a brief recap of the highlights of our Christmas celebration.

We started the tradition of Christmas pajamas for the kids a few years ago. I knew of a few families who did it, and I liked the idea of adding a new tradition to our holidays. So, after our guests left Christmas Eve, we broke our the new PJs for Brenna and Andrew.

Then, of course, we had to set out our plate for Santa and the reindeer. As usual, there were cookies, milk, and carrots (for the reindeer), but this year Brenna wanted to make sure to leave a bowl of water for the reindeer too. After all, they must get thirsty flying all over the world in one night.

Right before bed, the kids went outside and spread some reindeer food onto the front lawn just in case they needed some extra incentive to visit the house! And then, they were off to bed.

Surprisingly, the kids actually slept in a bit. We had told them that they both had to be up so we could open presents and that they could not wake the other up in the morning. Brenna (who is not a morning person) got up first and came down to our room. Since the tree was outside our bedroom, she could not help but see a few of the unwrapped gifts under the tree. She was forced to wait in our room for Andrew to wake up. Finally, around 7:45, she went up to her room and heard Andrew waking up. (Or at least that is what she says happened!) Shortly thereafter, they were both downstairs, ready to see what Santa had brought.

Andrew was very excited to receive Lego Rock Band and a set of drums to play on the Wii.

Brenna was thrilled (can you tell?) to receive her Bella ( Twilight) doll. That was tops on her list, along with Edward of course!

The kids were super excited about the gifts that they got each other this year. Andrew actually insisted that Brenna open his gift almost right away. He had picked out a kids sewing machine for her and could not wait for her to open it. Brenna got him a remote control R2D2 which he thought was super cool. I was very impressed by how thoughtful they both were when picking out the other's gifts. It truly was one of those very nice family moments.

This year, we were fortunate to receive many handmade gifts from the kids. In addition to some new adorable ornaments for the tree (which we will treasure forever), Todd received this hat from Andrew. It had hearts on it and says ,"I Love DAD". What could be better?

Brenna wrote me a super sweet note which made me cry (the "good" cry as I often tell the kids), a beautiful card and snowflake. They will be tucked away in a very special place.

One of Brenna's other favorite gifts were her American Girl uniforms. She got one from Sacred Heart, where she goes now, and one from Gerstell, her school back in Maryland. She had wanted the Sacred Heart one for a few years now and was very pleased to finally get it.

After a nice Christmas breakfast we started assembling toys and games. Andrew (seen here in his new Indiana Jones costume) could not wait to try out Lego Rock band. He has enjoyed Guitar Hero for some time now, and was very interested in having a drum set to play too. He dove right in after we set it up and has been learning all sorts of new songs. Even when he is not playing it, I often find him singing some of them. Some of his new favorites include "Ghostbusters", "Let's Dance" and "We Will Rock You". It really is a riot to watch!

We are all truly thankful for the wonderful Christmas that we had. While we missed many of our friends and family, you were all in our thoughts and prayers during this special time!

Merry Christmas!!!

What a great 2 days we have had! It truly has been a wonderful Christmas. As I am typing this at 9:20 PM, I am still in my PJs. I love PJ days and we all enjoyed one today.

We continued with our annual Colvin Christmas Eve get together last night. Ever since I met Todd, his family has hosted a party on Christmas Eve. I remember being so impressed the first time that I attended. It was the Christmas of 1993 and Todd and I had been dating for only 6 months. As always, Kathy had invited all of her family, friends and neighbors to their house to be a part of their Christmas Eve. The party always included Christmas carols. Much to my surprise (and that of my parents and sister), we learned that first year that everyone was assigned a specific part in the Twelve Days of Christmas. It was quite a way to be indoctrinated into one of the many Colvin family traditions!

I don't have any pictures of that party in 1993, but I do have a few from the next few years; 1994 in Kathy & Ralph's temporary apartment

and 1995, the first Christmas in Hampstead.

Singing the Twelve Days of Christmas!

Kathy always knew how to put on a great party! And she taught Todd well.

Todd and I took over hosting the annual celebration shortly after we moved into our first house in Owings Mills. While we eventually dropped the Christmas carols (and some day should bring it back for the kids), we tried to keep almost everything else. We were joined by the Colvin/ Wests and whichever O'Hara family members were in town for the holidays, along with our friends.

Well moving to Massachusetts certainly had an impact on our Christmas Eve festivities. For our 1st Christmas, we were fortunate to have both my parents and Laura and Chuck here. We were also joined that year by our 1st set of Plymouth friends, the Parmas, for our celebration. In 2008, we were lucky enough to have my parents come again for a week in December.

This year, we had to share them with the O'Haras in Colorado, so it was our first Christmas with no guests. Even so we continued with our tradition, and had the Parmas over again and we invited our neighbors, the Watkins as well. They have 2 boys, 1st and 2nd graders, and are a really great family. Brenna always gets a new dress for Christmas Eve. These days, she really does not want to put on a dress very often so I was glad that she wanted to continue with this tradition. Andrew even asked to wear a tie! They were quite cute together!

After an enjoyable party with great food (Thanks Todd), lots of sweets, and some gifts for the kids, everyone headed off on their way so Santa could make his visit. When I last checked before bedtime, he was on his way to North America, and this was enough to make the kids go to bed quite easily.

In all, it was a wonderful Christmas Eve with our friends. Even though we miss everyone terribly back home, it is nice to be able to find the kind of people here that enjoy sharing in some of our family traditions.