i would make an awful hockey mom…..

we have been at the rink all week,

and i have been freezing!

they seem to be having fun…all smiles from Caroline!!!

she got moved up to a higher group….with a gaggle of fast skating hockey boys….

she skated her heart out…

 

Coop was finally old enough to take lessons and skated on 1 blade for the first time!!! He got moved up to a higher group and was DETERMINED to keep up with the big kids….he was very focused!!

they glided, learned to stop, skated backwards, and raced….

   while their momma cheered them on…..

and drank horrible hot chocolate in an attempt to keep warm.

Christmas 2011 wrap-up

Polar Express

ccbell the elf

Christmas village

decorating the house

cookies! cookies! cookies!

Nutcracker..a clown and a reindeer!

  

Breakfast with Santa

Christmas Carol with James Taylor!

a green Christmas..no snow!

wrapping party with friends

Christmas books, books, books.

shopping for the perfect gifts

Santa letters

Cooper wanting to be on the “naughty list” so that he will get coal.

Caroline asking for pencils and erasers.

Santa’s village with friends

singing Christmas songs…Silent Night and Rudolph the favorites

FAMILY

town tree lighting

Christmas Eve party!

gumdrop tower competition

cousins

Christmas pjs

reindeer dust

tree!

Christmas morning sleepy heads waiting at the stairs

new toys and pink bunny slippers

why hubby dislikes Pinterest

because i find beautiful things…

and i think to myself, “ wouldn’t that be great in our foyer!!”

so…one week before Christmas….

hubby’s “to do” list has a new project on it!!

so…on top of his 2 jobs, running the biddy ball basketball program, getting sick, and the usual Holiday drama…..he built this amazing coat rack!!!!

all set for our Holiday parties!!!

Polar Express

pajamas…check!

golden tickets…check!!!

 

a few pictures before the train arrived…..

more waiting in the train station….

finally…next stop…The North Pole!!!

the kids were so excited!!!!  but still argued about which seat they wanted! and bickered about who was going to sit with who!!!

 

and this year it was weird…no Santa at the North Pole…so we didn’t know what the heck was going on….

so we got back on the train…..

 

and Santa hopped on too!!!  Thank goodness!!!  This year…Cooper is not afraid of Santa and will actually chat and chat….Caroline on the other hand has become very hesitant.

Nutcracker 2011

here are the kiddos with Gramma right before the show….

we went from church, to basketball, to Nutcracker!!!

Cooper was a reindeer this year, just like last year.

he absolutely LOVES pulling the sleigh, and all he kept saying was that’s all he wants to be is “a reindeer pulling the real sleigh!”

until i went backstage to get him after the show….and he was so excited… “i want to be ALL the parts  now momma!!”

Caroline was a clown this year!! And I don’t know what she was more happy about…being a clown or being partnered with her great friend Gianna!!! They had so much fun together!!!

the count down begins!!!

we are in full swing…Christmas!!!

counting down the days with chocolate advent calenders, paper chains, Santa beards, candle advent wreathes…and this year we added a Christmas List!

*Thank you so much for all of your sweet comments, thoughts and prayers for Bella! After a very long day of waiting I was able to bring Bella home…oh the look on Caroline’s face when she got off the bus!!! The vet is not sure what is going on…we have antibiotics for infection and pain medicine to keep her comfortable…and now we wait some more to see if she recovers from all the trauma.  

life is hard sometimes….

i am sitting here waiting for the vet to call, we dropped bella off first thing this morning after a very rough weekend.

after 14 years, Bella took a turn for the worst.

I think what was the hardest part was sending the kids off to school, not knowing if Bella would be here when they get home.

Caroline and Bella have a special connection….when Caroline is having a rough day, Bella knows. She’ll cuddle up to Caroline and stay with her until she feels better.

she is able to soothe her, even when i can’t.

unconditional love. caroline wanted another picture of Bella…and all i see is the face of a brave little girl trying to comfort her favorite little friend.

as i wait, my heart is heavy….but still trying to stay hopeful. Wondering if its something they can fix without too much trauma.

i wait.

Hello December!!

 

we can forget about saving for college,

we are going to have to pay for therapy.

this is what happened this morning when the elf surprised us at breakfast………….

coop is completely scared of the elf.

crazy fall

the snow has finally melted here….we were VERY lucky.

towns close by were out of power for over a week, the damage was devastating, kids out of school for a week, Halloween cancelled….after our crazy summer of crazy weather (tornados, earthquake and hurricane Irene)…we were ready for the worst….and came out of the storm with only 2 feet of snow.

we have been feeling lucky for every warm sunny afternoon i can send the kids out to play….       

Cooper cracks me up EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. he does hopscotch!

tongue out, jumpy legs, crazy arms…full body motion!

so in addition to the crazy weather, back to school, hubby working his 2nd job as a college professor at night……i went on an interview…..and after 7 amazing years of being lucky enough to be a stay at home mom…..i am now back to work.

after the initial shock of it all…because it really happened so fast…one minute i’m working on my resume, the next minute i was looking for an interview outfit….and then 2 hours after i interviewed i was accepting the position….i woke up the next morning thinking….this is the next chapter of my life….bitter sweet….having both kids in school was a BIG adjustment for me…and now i’m no longer a stay at home mom.

and because i am not very good at handling change….i have lost a LOT of sleep.

but what has gotten me through it all…..this wonderful proud feeling…that i have for myself, that my hubby has complete confidence in me, and how EXCITED the kids are for me….

my cup runneth over.

i am starting to feel less overwhelmed….and more excited.

counting my blessings that things seem to be falling into place.

the other day, as i was sitting in my office….which just happens to be in my kiddos’ school (how LUCKY am i!!!)……i felt so content.

no matter how crazy…change is good.