Thursday, February 26

{57/365} Today was Girl Scout Cookie day! This was our first attempt and we managed to sell 55 boxes. When I got the boxes home, the excitement was beyond belief! Emily had the best time sorting out the cookies, waiting patiently to rip open a couple of boxes. Eventually she couldn't wait any longer and dove into the Thin Mints. Apparently Thin Mints rank at number one followed by Lemonades and Thanks-A-Lot (neither of which I had heard of before). I do admit that Girl Scout Cookies are really yummy! That said...and not like I'm the poster child for good health...but the saturated fat...WHOA! Oh well, I guess everything in moderation (yep, way easier said than done)! (Oh, this photo was taken under my dining room table. Why? I have no idea but that's what she wanted. LOL)

Wednesday, February 25

{56/365} As I watched the season finale of Top Chef tonight I realized something. I watch A LOT of food reality shows! I've always watched Top Chef but I also watch...The Next Food Network Star, Ultimate Recipe Showdown, Chopped, Iron Chef, Hell's Kitchen and all of the Food Network challenges ( I actually think I'm missing one somewhere). What's up with THAT? It's not like I can actually taste the food. Hmmm. Anyway, tonight Carla should have won...but she didn't. Oh well, it was a fun season and I can't wait for the next!

Tuesday, February 24

{55/365} I always find the sweetest time of the day is that last bottle of the night. It's just Liam and myself and it's quiet...he looks up at me with those "I love you mommy" eyes and I just melt. Each night we both snuggle under a blanket and I give him his bottle (yes, he still enjoys a bottle). When he's finished he strikes this pose where he puts both hands behind his head! He does it every single time! I think it's adorable and since we are usually alone, I could never get a photo. It's not the best quality but tonight I had my camera phone near the couch. I'm thrilled I was able to capture this tiny moment in time. :)

Monday, February 23

{54/365} I never realized how many projects kids have to do for school. I also know I haven't seen anything yet! The latest was Emily's "Read Across America" project. The first graders had to pick their favorite book and decorate a "mock" book based on their favorite. They also had to color a Cat In The Hat lable and add that as well. Emily fell in love with Dr. Seuss books last year and seriously brought one home from the library every single week. For this project she chose the book "One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish". Personally I don't think it's her favorite BUT I think she felt like drawing the fish!

Sunday, February 22

{53/365} Liam is fascinated with computers. He loves to bang on the keyboard and see what happens. Many years ago Emily received this princess "computer" for her birthday. She loved it and has used it a lot over the years. Recently Liam discovered that if you hit the blue button, it will sing the alphabet song and display all of the letters. He is obsessed! Needless to say, we hear the alphabet song all day long and we spend the majority of the day opening the thing when he closes it. It doesn't bother me a bit, just seeing the huge smile on his face is worth every minute. :)

Saturday, February 21

{52/365} We adopted Riley when she was just 7 weeks old. There were a bunch of dogs to choose from and she was the crazy one of the bunch. I went to pick out my dog with my parents, both wanted a dog without the hassle of actually owning one. It certainly worked out well for them! My Mom had her eye on the sweet, calm Lab...my Dad and I couldn't resist the sweet, hyper Golden. ;) Guess which I chose?? In June of 2000 I brought home my first *child*. Coming up with a name was difficult. I didn't want anything too obvious or strange or silly. Something simple. I started looking up favorite films and characters and came upon Blazing Saddles. Blaze?? Nah...hmm. One of the crew members had the name "Riley". I liked it and didn't even care that she was a girl!! Little did I know that almost 9 years later I would take this photo of my less hyper *adult* dog. Her name is perfect...she definitely leads the Life of Riley. ;)

Friday, February 20
{51/365} I've been to three Creating Keepsakes Conventions in Valley Forge, PA. My Mom I take the 2 1/2 hour drive and sign up for at least 10 classes. I usually love the projects but there's always a problem...I NEVER finish! I have an embarrasing amount of terrific, yet unfinished CKC projects in a box waiting to be completed. As I mentioned on day 47, my friend Kim has inspired me to get working and display some finished products! In 2007 I took the Quick Quotes 10x20 canvas class. Only half of the canvas was completed so I grabbed my fluid chalk and some alternate ribbon (better colors for me) and surprise...one down, many, many to go!

Thursday, February 19

{50/365} Today at Daisy's we celebrated "World Thinking Day". The idea behind the day is to honor sister Girl Scouts in other countries. Each troop celebrates in a different way...we decided to do something really interesting. I put together little booklets that described different birthday traditions in different countries. I brought my giant map so I could point the countries out to the girls. For our snack we made ice cream sundaes with different toppings from 16 countries! In addition to the whipped cream, chocolate chips and maraschino cherries, the girls had a blast trying unique items such as toffee, kiwi and maple syrup!

Wednesday, February 18
{49/365} Emily should have been in school today but instead we spent an hour and a half at the ENT specialist. She has this crazy, HUGE tonsil that will soon grow feet and walk out of her mouth! The poor kid had strep 7 times last year and although she has been OK this year, that tonsil is a constant reminder. ;) So the question is, to take out or not to take out. I'm opting out for now and trying to find an alternate solution. In the meantime, Liam had his ears checked by the audiologist AFTER we waited 45 minutes to be seen. Needless to say, it was a disaster and we will be going back next week. The only upside to this experience? They had a great kids waiting room with a table, toys and TV!

Tuesday, February 17

{48/365} Yo Gabba Gabba. A show that didn't exist when Emily was little but is on at least once a day in our house. At 18 months old Emily watched Blue's Clues, Barney and The Wiggles...with Liam, it's all about YGG! It's a strange shows with a "DJ" that wears all orange and 5 creatures who sing and dance. Although it's difficult to explain, I will admit the songs are catchy (some may call them annoying) and they do teach all different lessons. Emily is also on the Gabba bandwagon and has Tivo'd many episodes. The two of them love the episode "Eat" where the lesson is to try food because you may like it and it includes a song called "There's A Party In My Tummy". Personally, it cracks me up!! Go Yo Gabba Gabba! (Yes, Liam is STILL in his laundry basket-LOL)

Monday, February 16

{47/365} (I'm biting the bullet today and actually posting a photo of myself. I figured I should once in a while, although I would rather avoid it). :) Emily and I had a great day today. We went to visit my "scrap friend" Kim and her daughter Meg (who is the same age as Emily). Kim and I "met" on the CK message boards over three years ago. We started e-mailing and realized we had a lot in common and we lived about an hour away from each other! In July, we will meet at the Creating Keepsakes convention (in Valley Forge) for the fourth time...it's hard to believe that time can fly so fast. Meg and Kim came to our house this summer and this time we visited them. The girls spent the day scrapping and I spent the day looking at all of Kim's fantastic projects! We also made sure to take photos...Kim took this one for my 365 and I took one for hers (too bad we couldn't get one with the four of us together). As we drove home, Em made me promise that we could all meet again soon....we definitely will :)

Sunday, February 15

{46/365}. I think I could look at this photo forever...my sweet boys. It's a rare moment that Liam sits still long enough to look at a book. While he will sit and look at one on his own, he doesn't enjoy being read to (which is unfortunate). He's also unable to point to objects in books just yet (also unfortunate). All of that said, for some reason he allowed Frank to read to him for a few moments. I'm so glad I was able to snap this photo...15 seconds later he was off and running again!

Saturday, February 14

{45/365} It's Valentine's Day! This morning Emily had her annual heart pancakes with red decorating gel (I have no idea why she likes that stuff)! She also made sure to wear all pink and make a heart decoration for the wall. After opening her gift from her Daddy (of course I buy it but it's ALWAYS from him), we watched "Space Buddies" and then enjoyed Disney DVD Bingo and a really long game of Star Wars Monopoly. We had so much fun being together! Valentine's Day has always been a family holiday for me, I'll go out with my husband and get flowers for our anniversary. :)

Friday, February 13

{44/365} Friday the 13th wasn't too bad for Emily! They celebrated "100 Days" in school and spent the afternoon celebrating Valentine's Day. When she got home, Emily had a ball reading her cards and checking out all of her goodies. She was also very proud of her Valentine's box which was covered in Target's "dollar spot" paper and full of stickers and drawings. I just hope the "sugar high" doesn't last too long! :)

Thursday, February 12

{43/365} Today, instead of taking a current photo I wanted to pay tribute to my Nanny Bea. My (maternal) grandma passed away in 1991 from lung cancer. Although she lived in Florida for a large part of my childhood (we were in NY), we spent a good amount of time together. She was beautiful and always called me "Sweet Face". She taught me cool card games and ALWAYS carried Pep-O-Mints in her pocket. She collected Swarovski crystal, loved owls/birds and loved pottery (she made some great pieces). She was adorable and funny and I still miss her so much...I just wish my kids could have known her. Today would have been her birthday and I still find the day so significant. I don't want to mourn each year on the day of her death...I would rather celebrate her life on the day of her birth!

Wednesday, February 11

{42/365} Valentine's Day is almost here and that means it's card time! This year Emily decided to give out boxes of those "conversation hearts". She drew a picture that we pasted on each box (Becky Higgins did something similar) and then she wrote the name of each child. Normally as Class Mom I would be running the party at school but my mother is away and I have no one to watch Liam. I guess I'll just have to wait until she gets home and she can show off all of her goodies! She can't wait!

Tuesday, February 10

{41/365} When Liam was 9 1/2 months old we went in for some routine vaccinations. Later that afternoon he had a seizure and things have never been the same. Luckily his MRI and EEG were fine, but something definitely happened. He started talking at an early age and lost all of his words. His "normal" development seemed to have halted and suddenly we were taking two steps back. Could it be Autism or simply a developmental delay? I needed to help him and decided to get started on early intervention at the end of November. Since then I've been playing the waiting game and drowning in a sea of paperwork. Tomorrow we finally have the last evaluation and we'll be told when the therapy will officially begin. My head is ready...I know this is the right thing to do and in the long run it will benefit my son. My heart on the other hand is breaking ever so slightly worrying about what is to come. I know he will be OK but I'm sad that he has to go through what could be a long and challenging process.

Monday, February 9

{40/365} Riley likes to lick dirty dishes. It isn't pretty but it's true...and it drives my husband CRAZY! Loading up the dishwasher is always a challenge and although I'm a bit more patient, the process inevitably ends with me yelling "RILEY...NO!!" So now the pooch has a partner in crime. Liam has discovered the joys of the dishwasher, always going for the bottles on the top. My first instinct today was to chase them both away...but I grabbed the camera instead!

Sunday, February 8

{39/365} Yes, that's Chinese food...a lot of Chinese food. I must admit, it's my guilty pleasure! I can't take all of the blame. As a Jewish girl it was practically tradition that you ate Chinese food on Sunday nights. I'm not sure where or when that started...but other Jewish people know what I'm talking about! ;) As a kid in elementary school I would bring a cold egg roll in for lunch on Mondays. It may sound gross to some but I know the kids wanted that egg roll (and I still love cold egg rolls to this day)! My Catholic husband jumped right on the bandwagon years ago. He's so used to it now. Tonight I asked "Should we order Chinese?" His response? "Of course we should...it's Sunday!" ;)

Saturday, February 7
{38/365} Each year at Emily's school they celebrate the "100th day". This year they asked the first graders to cut out 100 words and paste them to a piece of paper. Of course we couldn't use any old square piece...we cut out a large 1-0-0 and pasted them there! Emily worked on her project this afternoon and was so proud of herself when she was done. She asked if she could pose with it for my photo of the day! How could I say "no"?

Friday, February 6

{37/365} When we found out I was pregnant (with Liam) we decided to add a "master suite" onto the house. We have a split level so we built up. Each morning when I wake up, this is the view I have from the bathroom. It's nothing fantastic BUT, I never had a view before! I'm usually up about 10 minutes after the sun rises but once in a while I catch it. I always think "this would make a great photo!". This morning I was up about 10 minutes early and saw an amazing pink sky! Believe it or not, in the time it took me to get my camera downstairs, the pinkness started to fade. Although it's not as dramatic as I hoped it would be, I still think it's a pretty picture and something I won't see as clearly when the leaves return to the trees.

Thursday, February 5
{36/365} Every other week my Mom stays with Liam while I take Emily to Daisey's. It's so helpful since bringing a 17-month old to a meeting would definitely be distracting! Today, when we got home, she hung out for a little while. She's going to Florida for a week and wanted to spend a little time with the kids before she left. She decided to introduce Liam to the joys of "Ring Around the Rosie!" I'm not sure why I haven't done that with him...but leave it to my Mom. This woman has an amazing amount of energy and can "fall down" with the best of them! The three of them laughed and laughed and I knew I had to capture those goofballs for my picture of the day!

Wednesday, February 4
{35/365} Liam and I went to IKEA today. I LOVE that store but when I go anywhere with Liam, the experience can be hit or miss. I admit that he has been really good lately but I did go with a plan. They have a great semi-enclosed play space in the food area. If you stand in the entrance, the chance of escape is minimal! They have all sorts of fun games on the walls and a ton of those bead type toys that are perfect for toddlers. My mission...let Liam run around until he is too pooped to keep his eye's open! Little did I know that it would take just minutes before he collapsed with a yawn. About 10 minutes later my little angel was fast asleep and I shopped in peace and quiet. Maybe that was a bad thing...I had too much fun and will have to pay for it at the end of the month. ;)

Tuesday, February 3

{34/365} My close friend Tracy has three beautiful children... Maeve (almost 7), Myles (almost 5) and Eamon. Today is Eamon's 2nd birthday and a day for celebration. Tracy and her husband were given was a "near-fatal" diagnosis at her 20 month ultrasound. She was told that her son had a congenital brain abnormality. They were told that their child would most likely not make it to term or he would not live for very long. They were given no hope....but the doctors had no idea who they were dealing with. These are NOT parents who give up easily! Through the support of their family, friends and their faith they made it through the pregnancy. On February 3rd, 2007, the boy that wasn't supposed to make it...the boy that should have been significantly under weight...was born weighing 5.85 lbs! Eamon is a miracle...a real miracle...and the sweetest little guy. Although I wasn't with him today, I took a photo of Tracy's blog. I wanted to remember this day and his smile and celebrate in my own way. Happy Birthday Eamon!

Monday, February 2

{33/365} The Tooth Fairy has visited our house four times so far. Each time she has given Emily some money wrapped up with a pretty ribbon and has sprinkled four different colors of glitter (fairy dust) on the inside of the tooth holder. Tooth #5 had been hanging out for a couple of weeks now. Although Emily always hopes her teeth will fall out in school (they get a toothbrush or something), they always fall out at night, right before bed. Tonight was no exception. It was 9:30 and wouldn't you know it...see ya tooth! As usual Emily insisted on writing a note..." Dear Tooth Fary (her typo, not mine), I know that I got good teeth (Huh?? I swear she is is a great student but what's with THAT sentence? ). Can I have the color yellow or red (referring to the glitter). Thak you." She got red. :)

Sunday, February 1
{32/365} I don't like sports...not one, single sport. People may find that hard to believe but I've NEVER liked sports, even as a kid. So, today it was superbowl Sunday. While the country was caught up in the frenzy, we watched the "puppy bowl" on Animal Planet! Two hours of puppies running around a small football field. I'm not ashamed...it always makes me smile! This is our third year and Emily loves to celebrate the day. She makes little place cards and this year added a bag for "chocolates, lolly's and candy" (spelled colit's, lole's and candey-she tries)! It's not a big spread but to her it's a feast! It's a fun little tradition and as long as it's on, we will tune in each year. Oh, we did watch the haftime show and the last quarter. Although my husband isn't a big football fan, there was no way he was going to work tomorrow to discuss the puppy bowl!! ;)

Saturday, January 31
{31/365} Liam is STILL hanging out in the laundry basket! He has an Elmo chair and a Diego chair...he has an entire living room but he's still hanging out in this basket. I'm torn. On the one hand, I know I can just put the darn thing in the laundry room and he'll forget about it. On the other hand, he loves it in there and is having so much fun! It really doesn't add to the decor (although it is a Martha Stewart basket-LOL) but I don't have the heart to remove it just yet. Today he crawled in there, blankie, bottle and all and got so comfy. He's such a silly boy!!