Maddie decided she could skate the other day

Thanksgiving 2011

For Thanksgiving we did the same thing we did the last few years which was Chris's brother's house most of the day for dinner then I take the kids to my Aunt's house where my cousins and their kids are.  Above are cousins Alyssa and Sophie born 6 days apart.

All the girl cousins

All 6 cousins.  Jackson was MISERABLE because we made him come upstairs from playing xbox to take a picture.  I think Madison was trying to get him to smile.  Madison's dress was a hand me down from our friend Olivia and Jackson was dressed like daddy.

I believe some sort of bribe was offered for this smile on Jackson

They spent a lot of time running around the house.  It was so warm that day!

Nana Fitzy reading to 6 month old Nick

Raphael at 12 years old

He thought he died and went to heaven.  This trifle was massive!  

After eating a yummy dinner I took the kids to my Aunt's in Salem.  My parents were there and my cousin's kids Ben and Jack.  It was so warm out that the kids actually played outside in the yard in the dark!  They all play really well together and have a lot of fun.  They eventually came in for a drink.

I was just recalling thanksgiving at my Aunt's house two years ago so I decided to pull up the post.  It's amazing how much easier they are now and I forgot how emotional that day was.

Continued...

Aunt Judy's 70th birthday party

Last month we celebrated my Aunt Judy's 70th birthday at my parents' house.  The kids and I went over early to help get ready although there wasn't much to do.  Basically we listened to Jackson ask when he could have a cupcake for 7 hours.

That's Judy's 92 year old mother (my grandma) in the middle

It was a surprise party so here she is greeting the kiddos

My cousin's sons were there too.  Jack is 7 and was reading a book out loud and Madison and Jackson stood there and listened to him for a very long time.  How cute is that?

FINALLY it was time for cupcakes!!

Kaz/Vicks sponsored event

I was so lucky to be invited to a media event sponsored by Kaz who is the producer of all things Vicks.  It was held at Finale in Boston.  We were treated to yummy sandwiches and amazing desserts.  I'm kicking myself now for not having any hot chocolate since every other review of the event I've read said that it was the best they had ever had.


I think what I was most excited about was to meet Dr. Meg Meeker (linking to her spot on the Today show) and hear her speak to us about some steps we can take to avoid getting sick and also about how to be a more relaxed mother.  I think I nodded my head in agreement through her entire speech.

She is also an author.  One of her books The 10 habits of Happy Mothers was in our amazing goodie bag (along with lots of Vicks products including the behind the ear thermometer and our choice of humidifier!  I picked the one that projects stars on the ceiling!!  I can't wait to get it in the mail!) I can't wait to read it.  Her other books sound fantastic as well and I will most likely be picking them up.  She and I are definitely on the same page in our approach to parenting.  I got to speak to her directly for a while too and she is SOOOOO nice.  She even offered her email in case I ever had any questions for her.  So generous.

As Dr. Meg was speaking you could look around the room and absolutely everyone was on their phone tweeting everything she was saying.  I got a chuckle out of that.  At first I worried that she would think they were being rude but after reading everyone else's in depth blog posts about what she said I realize they were actually being very attentive.  They were able to recall 90% more than I did.

I think one of the most interesting things she had to say was the importance of the humidity level in your home.  I really never gave it much thought beyond having dry skin.  Apparently viruses have a harder time living when the humidity is between 40 and 60%.  We also got a humidity monitor and I can't wait to see what it has to say.



On top of this I got to mingle with my fellow bloggers.  People who know me never believe this but I am VERY shy when it comes to groups of people so in the end I never end up talking to or meeting as many people as I would like.  I'm one of those that needs people to approach me.  At 38 you'd think I'd get over it but it hasn't happened yet.  So I'm thankful for those who do go out of their way to talk to me!



I have the rest of the photos I took that day in a flickr album in case anyone is interested in seeing them.  If you're interested in seeing specifically what Dr. Meg had to say you may want to read someone else's blog.  HAHA.  At the bottom of this post (which features my pictures) is a link to a bunch of different "reviews" of the event.

Bruins extra

We even made it up on the jumbo tron (sort of). Chris got the most of his face on it and although the boy above the words "Aspen Dental" looks like Jackson, it's not. We were REALLY high up and seriously I think it was the best place to view the game. There was one un called for hit on the other teams goalie which started a mini fight and was a definite penalty.

Bruins 2011

One of the coaches of the kids soccer team happened to own a couple of Dunkin Donuts. He was crazy nice enough to share his kid zone tickets with the soccer team! I have to be honest we are not hockey fans. At all. But we are sports fans and after watching the Bruins win the Stanley Cup in the spring we were definitely excited to go. The cheapest seats you can get at the Garden are $85 so this was an extremely generous gift that we appreciated so much. We took the train in and got into our seats just about at bedtime :-) They did pretty well although Madison was in a horrible mood for the first period. After scoring 6 or 7 goals the game was over. We bought them each a little souvenir. Madison picked out a Stanley Cup small bear and Jackson got a Bruins match box car. They are still some of their favorite toys. The train home wasn't until 10:30 but they really held up very well.
We were so grateful for such a fabulous event.

Holiday card photo shoot 2011

Once that weird snow storm came through the weather here has been downright amazing. Unseasonably warm for long stretches of time. Just this last week it has started to cool down. It's been a HUGE help with our heating costs. We've barley had to have the heat on up until a couple weeks ago. So I dragged the kids to Brooksby Farm where I had been doing a lot of sessions for clients. I took them to a different area though and it worked out really well. I'll have to remember it for future clients! Overall they were fantastic! They were a little wild though and not cooperating exactly how I would have wanted them to. Thinking back to past years though this year was a breeze and it shows in the massive amounts of usable images for my card (in my header). I had a really hard time designing a card but in the end I splurged on a double sided, shaped, linen texture card. Now that it's out in the mail I can share here. It's been a big hit. :-)

Halloween take 2

Halloween was rescheduled to the following week due to that crazy snow storm. All the cousins met at Nana's house to trick or treat (again). This picture was taking in Nana's kitchen which is undergoing a pretty major renovation including an addition above the garage for Nana Fitzy to move into during the winter.

Sophia (Chris's sister's daughter), Alyssa (Chris's brother's daughter), Madison, and Jackson. Nickolas (Sophie's brother) slept in the stroller most of the night and Raffe (Alyssa's older brother) stayed at home in his own neighborhood with friends.