The Time of Our Lives

What the what?

2012-02-08T09:49:00.002-05:00

I haven't been here in a LONG time! We had Christmas, then New Year's, THEN Disney. For those of you who haven't heard, we took over 3,000 pictures in Disney, uploaded them to Matt's laptop while we were in FL, then his computer crashed. Yup. We lost all our pictures. Or so we thought. Matt was able to save a bunch of pics and videos and he ordered about 100 pictures from Disney's picture pass website.

Truthfully, I haven't wanted to blog since we lost the pictures. It felt too painful to write about our trip with no pictures to show. But that has changed!! So get ready for a ton of updates :)

I know I've said this before, but if you don't have google reader (which e-mails you when a blog you follows has updates), over the next couple days, you will want to hit "page down" for all the updates.

It's good to be back!

Happy Valentine's Day

2012-02-04T10:39:00.004-05:00

Since Matti was in Philly for Valentine's Day, and also because we would never spend the money to eat ON Valentine's Day, we decided to go to Shanty on the Shore the weekend before he left for a lobster dinner to celebrate Valentine's Day. So fun. So yummy. We have lobster twice a year - when we go with his family to Maine every year and again on a special occasion - either a birthday or anniversary. We. Love. Lobster.

I know some people are anti-V-Day and think it's just a greeting card holiday. But not me. I think it's a day when you tell the people you love just how much they mean to do and how you could never imagine your lives without them. At least that's how I feel on every V-Day. I think Matt and I are pretty good about telling one another how much they mean to us and telling the girls a few times (ok, a hundred times!) a day how much we love them. But let's face it - life is crazy. Everyone is busy all the time - dentist appointments, PTA, work meetings, cleaning, cooking, hosting dinner parties - sometimes in all the chaos, it's easy to forget that you really need to tell your partner how much they mean to you. And I think V-Day is the perfect day to slow down and just remind the ones you love how much they truly mean to you...

Happy Valentine's Day, baby! xoxo

Packing for Disney

2012-01-03T10:28:00.003-05:00

This took me a LONG time. I had list, after list, after list. It took way longer that I had imagined it would. I had to wash our summer clothes, pick out the right shoes for everyone because I knew Disney would involve a lot of walking, pack for the plane ride, snacks, etc. I love packing. And lists. And Disney. So I was pretty much in heaven for a solid week...

52 Weeks

2012-01-02T13:50:00.002-05:00

I'm joining in on the band wagon and doing the 52 weeks project. 52 weeks of pictures of my entire family. I'm so excited to see how the kids grow this next year in pictures!

Week 1: January 1st - This was taken after my sister and I completed the 5K Fun Run downtown

Ballet

2011-12-28T10:34:00.003-05:00

At LEAST once or twice a day, our children perform ballet for us...specifically, the Nutcracker. The love it. LOVE. And normally Emma is the prince and Acadia is the princess. I hope they never stop...

Christmas morning

2011-12-25T21:56:00.002-05:00

What a magical, amazing morning! The girls were thrilled with every gift - even the monkey trash can we got them. Yes, that's right. We got them a monkey trash can for their bathrooms. We rock. Oh, and we got them socks. Amazing. But the best thing is they really were excited about every present!

Christmas Eve at home

2011-12-24T21:28:00.007-05:00

For the second year in a row, Oma gave us Reindeer food for the girls to give Santa's reindeer. We had made cookies earlier in the afternoon, so we put some cookies and milk out for Santa and carrots out for the reindeer. The girls had a great time sprinkling the Reindeer food out in the front yard! And after that, we put the girls into their Christmas pj's and read The Night Before Christmas. Pretty much a perfect night!

Christmas with the Bouchards

2011-12-24T21:17:00.002-05:00

Have I mentioned before how much I LOVE my family?? We have so much fun together, especially at Christmas. This was our first Christmas without Grandma and while I'm sure we were all thinking of her every second of the night, it was surprisingly not a sad evening. I was dreading us all together without her for the first major holiday - the thought of it made me sad, but Auntie Becky did the most amazing job - it was so fun!!

Christmas with the Paradees

2011-12-23T20:46:00.001-05:00

Christmas this past year with my inlaws was literally one of my top 5 favorite Christmases with anyone - EVER. We had the BEST time! It was sooo relaxing, everyone was in an awesome mood, I took a nap!!, we had a bon fire and roasted marshmallows - basically the perfect day!!

Day 22 - Wear red or green

2011-12-22T21:26:00.000-05:00

This picture is about as good as it was going to get that day - the girls were crazy hyper!

Day 18 - Build a gingerbread house

2011-12-18T09:47:00.008-05:00

The kids had SO much fun doing this!!

Day 16 - Letters to Santa

2011-12-16T12:12:00.002-05:00

Emma's:

Dear Santa - I want a bike, a Ho Ho Ho, Tucker and a house.

Love, Emma

Acadia's:

Dear Santa - I love you Santa! I want a toy, a Barbie, toy candy, a toy popsicle, a toy ice cream, a gingerbread house, a Rudolph stuffed animal, a baby doll, a toy stroller, a toy Santa and rainbow candy. That's it. Thank you!

Love, Acadia

Buying gifts for each other

2011-12-16T10:44:00.000-05:00

On of my favorite traditions during the Christmas season is taking them out individually to pick out presents for their sister. I love seeing them look at all the toys in the store and taking the time to decide which present would be best for their sister.

Acadia chose Disney princess ballet barbies and a book called "My Sister And I"

Emma chose a Spiderman snow fort maker-thingy and a Spiderman figure

Miss Helen

2011-12-13T21:33:00.002-05:00

We love, LOVE our neighbor Miss Helen. And she loves our girls!! She visits at least once a week with a package of M&M's, a lollipop or some other treat for the girls. She stopped by today with fresh baked cupcakes - literally out of the oven and said point blank, Merry Christmas! This is all you're getting. This is your present. And gave me a big hug. Love her. More importantly, I love it when she looks past me to see when the girls are going to realize someone is visiting us and lifts them up into a huge hug. Love Miss Helen!

Happy birthday Mama!

2011-12-12T09:21:00.001-05:00

We had Miche, Jim, my mom and Grandma over for my mom's birthday for brunch. My mom has been looking for a warm winter coat and she loved the Burton coat I had just bought....soooo...we bought her the same one! She was thrilled!! The look on her face was priceless :)

Acadia

2011-12-11T22:09:00.002-05:00

~Mama! Wouldn't it be cool if we lived in the North Pole?
~Yes! That would be awesome. Imagine if Santa and Mrs. Claus were our parents?? That would be rad.
~You know what, Mama? I think I'd rather just be ourselves. We're pretty rad, aren't we?

Putting lights on the house

2011-12-08T09:34:00.001-05:00

Matt let Acadia helped him put lights on the house. The minute they got outside to put the lights up, it started snowing - it was so beautiful!! And Acadia had a lot of fun :)

Emma AKA The Devil

2011-12-07T21:43:00.002-05:00

JUST today:

She pooped on our floor right outside the bathroom
She pooped and peed on the bathroom floor WHILE I WAS IN THERE WATCHING HER
She used the scissors I had given her for an art project to cut her shirt off of her.

Damn kid.

Woody arrives!

2011-12-07T21:37:00.005-05:00

We have decided that our Elf, Woody, will arrive on December 7th every year, which is the anniversary my Grandpa passed. I remember a couple years ago being so sad this time of year and am now trying to remember the good memories of him. And for some reason it helped, celebrating his life by bringing some joy to this day of remembrance.

In any case...our beloved Woody made his presence today!! The girls were SO excited!!!!

2 years ago today...

2011-12-07T11:18:00.002-05:00

Our world came to a complete halt.
The center of our lives was taken from us.
The man that gave me a family. Cousins. Aunts. Uncles.
The man that helped raise me.
The man with an infectious laugh.
The man I miss every day.

I love you Pepaw...I bushel and a peck...

December 3 - Make a gingerbread house

2011-12-03T20:59:00.000-05:00

Just a little bit excited??

The best part - licking the frosting!

Assemby

Doing a little dancing in between assembling the gingerbread house!

You can't turn your back for ONE second on this kid!! We were in the SAME room as her the whole time and somehow she managed to take a bite out of one of the gingerbread pieces...

Acadia's preschool evaluation

2011-12-03T15:53:00.003-05:00

Social/Emotional Development:

Acadia is confident, caring and compassionate. She is kind to all of the children at school and is a leader in terms of "justice" in our class. I was very proud of her when she pointed out that she was sitting next to a boy and she is a girl and that we can be friends with anyone. Acadia has good play entry skills. Additionally she is able to share, take turns and suggest scenarios as well as be flexible about scenarios. Acadia is in control of herself at all times. She follows the rules and routine of our class well with one one exception. As we transition from choice time to cleanup time she may hide under the loft. Acadia has a good attention span for tasks of all times - ts may be shorter directly following circle but once she settles in she is on task. Waiting for a turn on the swings can sometimes be difficult.

Fine/Gross Motor Development:

Acadia has wonderful fine motor skills. She is able to draw and create anything she has in mind. She takes her time adding many details so that her work will be exactly shat she has in mind. Her large motor skills are equally well developed. She is able to balance on the balance beam moving forward with ease and is working on moving backwards. Acadia likes to run, swing, jump and become involved in active play on the playground.

Language Development:

Acadia enjoys expressing herself at circle or any other time. She is able to speak easily in front of the group. Acadia understands and can follow multiple step directions. Acadia can use language for the purpose of joining play, suggesting play scenarios or asking for a turn with toys. Acadia has a good vocabulary and can answer open ended questions easily. I have noticed that Acadiais practicing appropriate communication skills for her age (looking at a speaker, waiting fora turn to speak.) She is doing well at this task. As she finished working with Ania on the magna tiles she said, "Thank you for teaching me how to use the magna tiles, Ania!"

Cognitive Development (Literacy, Math and Science):

Acadia loves to read to herself or to others. I have overheard her on many occasions retelling a story as she turns the pages of a book she is looking at. Acadia is beginning to use writing to communicate ideas. One day she noticed Miss Kathleen making observations notes. She asked what it was for. After she heard the explanation of what Miss Kathleen was doing, she decided she wanted to observe what others were doing and got a clip board and began to write down letters. Acadia has good math skills. She is able to count to 12 by row with ease. Acadia is able to sort items based on one criteria then sort the same group again based on another criteria. Acadia knows her address - as some children were looking at a map, she said, "I live at 13 XXX Drive" Acadia takes time to look at and investigate the items we place at the science table.

Favorite Activities and Friends:

Acadia is missing her friend Myra from last year. She is able to play with and does play with many different people but she still has not attached herself to any particular person. Recently I have seen her play with Katelyn on several occasions over a period of a few weeks. Acadia enjoys all aspects of the program. She likes sociodramatic play, constructive play, art projects, science investigations and playing with small manipulatives or babies.

Goals for the Preschool Year:

Begin to use invited spelling to communicate ideas
Come in 1st circle upon hearing bell
Come for clean up job assignment upon hearing clean up bell
Continue positive development in taking turns/waiting for a turn

Parent Goals from Intake Form:

Wait her turn
Not always be a "leader"
Listen to directions

After the Advent calendars...

2011-12-01T21:28:00.004-05:00

Once we explained that the reason we were giving them the Advent calendars was because it's almost Christmastime, this was her reaction...

Day 1 - Enjoying our Advent calendars

2011-12-01T21:13:00.004-05:00

Matt stopped by the market and picked up Advent calendars. When he got home from work, he told them he had a surprise for them...

Oh, Christmas Tree! Part Two...

2011-12-01T12:57:00.004-05:00

After we picked out our tree, we went into White's to get hot cocoa and candy canes. Then we enjoyed them on Santa's sleigh!

Mama, look! I'm a snowboarder!

2011-12-01T12:49:00.001-05:00

Christmas tree picnic

2011-12-01T01:56:00.000-05:00

The night we decorated our Christmas tree, we decided to have a family date night. We have these about once a month, but this night was particularly special because the girls decided they wanted to have a Christmas picnic. They set up our table clothes and put our plates, napkins, silverware on the table clothes.

We ordered Tiny Thai and for the first time ordered dishes for the girls instead of putting them to bed and having a date night with Tiny Thai. And the girls loved it!! They enjoyed the Pad Thai which was adorable. We had an amazing evening...

First snowfall

2011-11-30T22:39:00.005-05:00

We just recently have our first snowfall, and I'm not sure who was more excited - the girls or me!! We had an amazing day play outside in the snow!

Oh, Christmas Tree!

2011-11-30T18:36:00.000-05:00

We picked out our Christmas tree this past weekend at White's, which is where we go every year. We had SO much fun! It was super warm and we found our tree right away. The girls had a blast and we loved seeing the joy in their eyes when they found the perfect tree!

And as all you parents know, a perfect day isn't a perfect day without a little drama! Poor Emma's balloon flew out the window and she was quite upset about it!

Paradee Family Advent Activity Calendar

2011-11-30T00:19:00.001-05:00

For the second year in a row, we are doing an activity advent calendar. Here is it!

Dec 1 - Start enjoying our chocolate Advent calendars
Dec 2 - Watch a Christmas movie
Dec 3 - Make a gingerbread house
Dec 4 - Have hot cocoa in front of a bon fire
Dec 5 - Buy some toys for children less fortunate
Dec 6 - Do something nice for someone
Dec 7 - Go to a tree lighting
Dec 8 - Visit Santa
Dec 9 - Take Emma out to buy a present for Acadia
Dec 10 - Go to breakfast with Santa
Dec 11 - Buy an ornament for the tree/go to Polar Express
Dec 12 - Make Christmas cookies and surprise someone at work with them
Dec 13 - Make a Christmas craft
Dec 14 - Make a Christmas card for someone
Dec 15 - Make a paper chain to count down the days until Christmas
Dec 16 - Write a letter to Santa
Dec 17 - Go to the Nutcracker with Acadia, out to dinner, then have her pick out a present for Emma
Dec 18 - Family game night
Dec 19 - Go see Christmas lights
Dec 20 - Read a Christmas book
Dec 21 - Listen to Christmas music
Dec 22 - Wear red or green
Dec 23 - Take a family picture in front of the tree
Dec 24 - Make cookies for Santa and read 'Twas The Night Before Christmas

Our first visit to Santa

2011-11-29T17:36:00.004-05:00

After the parade, we visited Santa and the girls told them what they wanted for Christmas. Apparently Acadia didn't have enough time to tell Santa what she wanted...she said afterwards, Mama! All I had time to tell him was that I wanted a baby doll! LOL!

Santa's Parade

2011-11-29T16:36:00.004-05:00

This was the girls' first time being in a parade. Acadia LOVED it! Emma? Not so much. She saw Yellow Grandma and was upset when Daddy walked right by her. Take a look at the picture of her below - NOT a happy camper! The parade lasted all of 5 minutes, and it was the cutest thing I've ever seen!! I loved seeing the look on Acadia's face :)

Downtown parade

2011-11-25T10:25:00.001-05:00

Starting about 3 years ago my Aunt, mom, sister and I have gone to the Church Street Tavern the day after Thanksgiving for lunch. We sit by the window and watch the shoppers and the Christmas parade. And every year I ask Matt if he wants to go with us and take the girls to the parade. This year is the first year that he brought the girls to the parade and they LOVED it!! The parade literally lasts 5 minutes, but Santa leads the way, followed by Frosty the Snowman, Mickey and all the children (any who want to join the parade) - it's the cutest thing ever! And it was great to see the kids in the parade!

Here are the girls arriving downtown and seeing Micky and Frosty...

Our "old house"

2011-11-21T22:53:00.002-05:00

~Mama? I miss our old house :(

~Really? What do you miss about it? Don't you love our new house?

~I like our new house but I really want to go back to our old house. I think it misses us.

~Ok, well we can go back to our old house, but first you have to say good bye to the Moyers and to Sophie, Drew and Zach. Because they didn't live in our old neighborhood. And you won't be able to play with them as much if we don't live in their neighborhood.

~No, Mama!! I "sink" our old house is fine without us. I looooove our new house! ((Goes to hug a wall))

Damn kid.

2011-11-20T11:52:00.002-05:00

So I thought she had gotten into my nail polish. My BLACK nail polish.

I called our pediatrician and told them what happened...after a minute or two she suggested I call poison control.

Called poison control and told them what happened...after a minute of silence, I hear uncontrollable laughter! "Did you take black mail pictures??" After I explained that the first thing I did was to take pictures to show her boyfriend on her first day, I heard more laughter and the lady told me, "Sorry honey - nail polish remover is way more harmful than nail polish. Just leave it. It will fall off after a few days."

Which is when I started laughing uncontrollably! Serves her right...

Mama!

2011-11-20T11:19:00.004-05:00

I "tolored" my toes! Don't they look bewtiful??

Yup - highlighter on one foot and pen on the other....TROUBLE.

Trouble sleeping

2011-11-18T15:25:00.002-05:00

The girls have been having a hard time getting and staying asleep since we've moved to our new house. I think they're so excited to be sharing a room that they talk to much at night and don't go to bed right away. We thought sharing a room would get old and they would settle down but no such luck yet.

We've decided to separate them at night time - put Emma down in their room and Acadia down in ours, then transfer Acadia when she falls asleep. It worked for a few nights, but last night was a bad night. Not only did it take forever to get them to sleep, but they woke up from about midnight until 1:30 crying, trying to get out of bed, talking, etc.

At one point, Matt and I were laying in bed listening to the girls cry and I felt overwhelmed with love for him. In an instant I saw us as 21 and 23 year olds, first falling in love and doing whatever we wanted, whenever we wanted. I held his hand and said through tears that I felt like God had put us together. That I couldn't imagine doing this - raising a family and all the hard work that comes along with it - with anyone else but him. That he was my soul mate.

I love him. I love this life we've created together, as hard as it may be on some days. I wouldn't choose anyone else to do this with. I feel so lucky to be with him...

Here is what Emma has done in the past week

2011-11-17T19:10:00.000-05:00

Pooped and peed on our floor - on purpose.

Pooped in her room, in the closet - on purpose.

Pooped in her pants and taken them off and thrown them.

Stood on our table naked and peed then danced in it.

Taken the milk out of the fridge, opened it up and poored the ENTIERE bottle onto the floor.

Colored on the TV.

Colored on her nose and feet.

And lastly - pooped, put it in the dryer without me knowing and I DRIED ALL THE CLOTHES!! I literally poured myself a glass of wine and ignored that last problem. Matt is downstairs right now soaking all the clothes. They might just be ruined. Yikes.

BTW

2011-11-16T12:43:00.000-05:00

Hit "page down" for the updated posts...

YES!

2011-11-16T11:01:00.002-05:00

I'm back!! I had some technical difficulties with this blog and haven't had a chance to figure out what was wrong. I guess I used up all my memory and Smart Matty figured out how to fix it last night. Love him.

So get ready for lots of posts - I've missed blogging! And a lot has happened in the last couple months. Once the girls are down for naps today , I'll be blogging away! :)

Trick or Treating 2011

2011-10-31T18:18:00.001-04:00

This was the first year that we only TOT'd in our neighborhood. We went with the Moyers and the girls had so much fun!! Acadia was racing from house to house with Emma trailing behind her. I love these ages - everything is so magical and fun for them - I love seeing the holidays through their eyes!

UVM's Haunted Barn

2011-10-23T17:33:00.000-04:00

This was our first year going to the Haunted Barn and we will definitely be going again!! The girls LOVED it, and the horses were soooooo cute!!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-21T16:57:00.000-04:00

Our best friends told us that they were going away for a week and they were going during Halloween. Halloween is their daughters favorite holiday, EVER. And they were sad that she wasn't going to be able to trick or treat. So we hosted a Halloween party and talked with our neighbors explaining the situation and giving them candy. We asked if we could "trick or treat" at their houses - our girls are still so young, they didn't realize it wasn't really Halloween! They had SO much fun!! And I think our neighbors did, too. They loved seeing the girls dressed up :)

Our first house - please tell me who looks happier - the kids...or ME??

1st Annual Halloween Party

2011-10-21T15:58:00.000-04:00

We had a BLAST! Can't wait until next year...

"Treasure hunt" for candy in the back yard for the big kids

Treasure hunt for the little kids in the front yard

Group shot of the kids

Coloring Daddy's nose for his scarecrow costume

Acadia has bangs!!

2011-10-16T19:00:00.001-04:00

I decided to chop her hair! And she now has bangs for the first time. I love them!

Apple tree crafts

2011-10-09T19:03:00.000-04:00

Housewarming party

2011-10-07T15:49:00.000-04:00

We had the most amazing and fun housewarming party!! There is nothing like having all of your friends and family - everyone you love the most in the world - in one home. We feel so blessed to have such amazing friends and family!

Painting with pumpkins!

2011-10-05T15:44:00.000-04:00

Trip to Mazza's

2011-10-02T15:01:00.000-04:00

Pumpkin at Mazza's is a yearly tradition for most Vermonters. I know it is for us! Our girls love picking pumpkins there, especially with Acadia's preschool class. This year was no different!

Spa day

2011-10-01T14:48:00.000-04:00

We invited some friends over for spa day...the girls had so much fun!

Grandma B.

2011-09-24T11:25:00.000-04:00

My Grandma was an amazing woman. Strong. Loyal. Funny. Easy going. She was our rock. She held our family together. She raised 4 amazing children and helped raise my cousins and I.

Every year since I was a child, my sister and I would spend Christmas Eve at my Grandma's house. We'd wake up on Christmas morning with my Grandparents, Aunt and father and Miche and I would just stare at all the presents in front of the tree. Just begging to open them. Just one or two?? Pllleassee?? My Grandma would always let us open our stockings right away and we'd wait for the rest of the family to arrive before opening the presents. I seriously had the best
Christmas mornings growing up.

The other day I was listening to old messages on my phone, deleting them and saving the ones I needed. All of a sudden I heard, Hello, love. It's Grandma. I'd like to have your new address. And...can you get it to me....today or tomorrow? I, ah...I don't know it, you see. Ok, love. Bye bye.

I will save this message forever. I loved hearing her voice, as shocked as I was to hear it at first. I played it about 5 times and smiled the whole time.

I love you, Grandma. The whole wide world and a big, big penny...

Our new favorite pizza place

2011-09-11T12:59:00.001-04:00

I am just bursting with happiness at our new move!! We LOVE Essex Junction. We LOVE our neighbors. We LOVE that we can walk or ride our bikes anywhere. And - we now LOVE Rocky's! Our new favorite hangout. We've already been there several times for creemees and pizza. And I see a lot more visits in our future!

Group shots!

2011-09-10T14:26:00.000-04:00

Camping!

2011-09-09T14:01:00.000-04:00

We went camping with 4 other couples at Little River and it was so much fun!! We have already booked our site for next year :) It's crazy fun having so many kids running around. I love it!

Damn kid

2011-09-09T12:52:00.000-04:00

I have to watch this one. All. The. Time. She doesn't care about rules. She doesn't care about time out. She doesn't care about wrong or right. She does something naughty (like get into my make up!!) and just gives me her best silly smile and thinks that all is forgiven. It's a good thing she's cute!

Then, of course Acadia needed her pictures taken!

1st bike ride with the kids!

2011-09-08T12:29:00.000-04:00

I got Matt this bike trailer for his birthday. I don't know who was more excited to use it for the first time - him or the kids!! We love it :)

Acadia's 1st day of school!

2011-09-07T13:34:00.000-04:00

Crafts with neighbors

2011-09-07T12:44:00.001-04:00

First time Matt mows the lawn :)

2011-09-07T12:24:00.000-04:00

I'm sure you, along with my husband, think I'm crazy for taking pictures of all the "firsts" we do here, but I just can't help it! Yes - it may seem boring to take pictures of the first time Matt is mowing the lawn here, but since this is our forever house, it will be cute to look back at him young and trim mowing the lawn when we're 80 years old and in wheel chairs together :) LOL!

1st day of preschool, part 2

2011-09-06T13:40:00.000-04:00

Acadia loves her school and Emma absolutely LOVES going to her school! She has as much fun as Acadia does :)

Preschool orientation

2011-09-06T13:10:00.000-04:00

This is Acadia's second year at her preschool and she LOVES it!! She goes Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8:30 - 12:00. Her best buddy Myra from last year moved and so Acadia is a bit sad that she won't get to see her 3 days a week. But she was thrilled to see Miss Dawn after an entire summer away from her. She had a great time at orientation!

Ugly cake contest

2011-09-06T12:40:00.001-04:00

Our neighbors took part in an "ugly cake contest" at the fair this year. The best part for my girls is that they were asked to share the end result! :)

Sometimes your bed just isn't good enough for nap time...

2011-09-06T02:21:00.000-04:00

Reading in her "fort"

2011-09-05T12:36:00.000-04:00

My little photographer

2011-09-05T02:15:00.001-04:00

This is what happens when Acadia gets ahold of my camera...

What's better than a fashion show??

2011-09-04T12:30:00.000-04:00

First bath in the new house!

2011-09-04T12:10:00.001-04:00

I love her....

2011-09-03T14:46:00.001-04:00

Our first dinner party

2011-09-03T14:37:00.003-04:00

We love our house. Have I said how much we love our new house? Because we LOVE our new house!! And from the moment this house was brought to our attention by a friend, I wished that I could have asked my Grandpa for advice. I wish I could have brought him here to ask for his opinion. He was so proud of us when we bought our last house and I felt weird doing something - making such a big decision, without his advice.

So it was very important to me to have my Grandma and mom over for our very first dinner party. It felt symbolic in some way to me. Grandpa's rocking chair is in our dining room and I look at it every night. It was awesome having Grandma and mom over for dinner - we had a great time!!

We asked Acadia to take a picture of the group :)

And here's one of them!

Look who's potty training!

2011-09-03T14:33:00.001-04:00

New neighborhood

2011-09-03T13:13:00.004-04:00

We LOVE it here. Love it. We've only been here a month and know everyone on the street, with the exception of a few houses. The kids go in and out of each other's houses, which is awesome and the parents are amazing!! We love everyone here :) We had some neighbors over for coffee the other day - Matt and I say daily how happy we are with our move - we feel so lucky!!

Biking

2011-09-03T13:05:00.003-04:00

Now that we're in EJ, we can walk/ride pretty much anywhere we want - parks, grocery stores, bakeries. We've never had bikes before (or at least never used them) so we went out last week and bought me a bike. Matt's birthday was on Friday and both our families went in on GC's to Dick's so he could by a bike too. He got an awesome bike, too!! Thanks guys!! He loves it!

We didn't have the kids for Matt's birthday weekend so we went on a bike ride to test our new bikes out. So fun!!

BBQs

2011-09-03T11:18:00.001-04:00

This summer and fall were filled with LOTS of BBQs! One of our favorites was at Beth and Jim's house. We are so lucky to have such amazing friends.

Mommy's Advice

2011-09-02T09:23:00.006-04:00

God forbid something ever happen to me before you're too old to really remember me, here is some advice for you. Now I can sleep easy at night...

Acadia and Emma ~

Respect your elders and help them when you can.

Do something nice for someone, just because. Even if it's just as simple as bringing them flowers or making them a meal. It will make their entire day.

Don't wear too much make up, spend too much time on Facebook or wear your skirts too short.

Don't let any boys take advantage of you. Or girls for that matter.

Be kind to your friends. It's not "cool" to make fun of people so avoid people that make fun of their friends at all costs. And never make fun of your friends. They are someone's son or daughter.

Do your homework on time and listen to your teachers.

Don't drink (a lot) before your 21. In fact, don't drink a lot period.

Never. Ever. Ever. Get into a car with someone who has been drinking. I don't care how late it is or how much trouble you *think* you will get into - call Daddy for a ride. He won't be upset - he just wants you safely at home.

Remember how important family is.

Love each other. Be kind to one another. Stay best friends with one another.

Don't do things to fit in that you wouldn't do in front of Daddy - that includes smoking and drinking. If you don't feel comfortable doing it, DON'T.

Call your Grandparents often. They love you almost as much as Daddy and I do.

Read a lot - education is important.

Do something you love - happiness is more important than money.

Travel.

Try something new - knitting, learning a new language, sewing, running - you will feel good about yourself after your accomplishments.

Do something at least once in your life that scares you - sky diving, rock climbing, etc.

Be good to your body and be careful about what you put into it. It's the only body you have.

Don't walk alone at night

Have fun at your prom but don't drink

Don't put your drink down at a bar and don't do shots. And don't go to any after parties at strangers houses.

Pay attention when you drive - never text and drive. Never, ever drink and drive.

Marry someone just like Daddy

Be good to Daddy. He loves you more than any man I've ever seen love his kids...

Be a good person. Hold doors open for people, say please and thank you, talk to the clerk at the grocery store and the maids at hotels. You are not better than them - they are someone's Mother and they are working hard. Don't look down on anyone.

Talk to Sissy if you need advice on anything female related

Have Daddy teach you how to change a tire, how to mow the lawn and how to start a grill. You don't need a man. You can do everything for yourself.

But. When you do meet a man. And I know he'll be good to you (he'd better be good to you or Daddy will hurt him) - be good to him too. Love him. Have fun with him. Laugh with him. Raise babies with him. Enjoy your life with him.

Lastly - read this blog. See how I loved you. Read about all the adventures we went on. All the dance parties we had in our kitchen. All the birthday parties, bike rides, picnics, dinners, movie nights and amazing memories we had together as a family. Don't forget about me, but don't be sad I'm gone. Watch the videos of us together when you miss me. Know that I did everything for you - put you first - every single day of my life. That I loved you more than I've ever loved anyone in my entire life. Know that you two were the best things that have ever, ever happened to me. I love you both.

Love,
Mommy

Death, dying and other fun topics

2011-09-01T15:21:00.002-04:00

I had a dream last night. Or a nightmare? Yes, I would say this should be classified as a nightmare. That I had a heart attack. Yikes. Random, I know. It felt SO real. And I woke up with my heart beating out of my chest, in tears. I went into check on you two - to watch you sleep and hear you breath. And I stayed up for the next 3 hours thinking of all the things I haven't told you, God forbid something happen to me when you're young.

So the next couple posts, bear with me, are going to be perhaps a bit morbid?? But I know I'll sleep better knowing I've said these things to you.

Home schooling

2011-08-25T12:56:00.003-04:00

My friend Cindy kicked my butt into home schooling again! Although not on purpose - I read her blog and realize that it's been WAY too long since I've planned art/learning projects for my kids. This month's topics are "Daddy's birthday" and "back to school"! We started out by making school buses...

Our first BBQ

2011-08-25T12:29:00.004-04:00

We had our first BBQ the other night and we had so much fun!! I love our backyard and the girls had a great time eating outside. Can't wait to do this again!

Sometimes...

2011-08-25T12:17:00.001-04:00

Fairy princesses just want to color...

New room!

2011-08-25T11:45:00.005-04:00

We recently showed the girls their new room! Not only did we decide to go from individual rooms to sharing a room, but we took down Emma's crib and put her in a "big girl bed" along with Acadia's new bed. So far, it's hit or miss as far as if they actually fall asleep when we put them in bed. They are both getting up several times a night for one more hug, a kiss, one more glass of water, etc. But I love hearing them giggle and talk in their rooms at night :)

What have we been doing all summer??

2011-08-11T21:27:00.000-04:00

Hanging with our BFF's the Peters!

New home

2011-08-07T22:40:00.006-04:00

This is what we've been waiting for! The first time you saw our new home :) Everything we've been working for these past few months paid off when Acadia saw the house. She was thrilled!! Way more than I thought she would be!

Pulling up to the house with Melissa

First picture with Mommy!

Walking in as a family for the first time :)

Emma's sleeping the entire time!

Acadia's housewarming present - Spider Man toy!

Emma's still sleeping!

Seeing the office

Emma and Acadia's room

The play room

Emma's still sleeping!

Our last night

2011-08-07T22:34:00.002-04:00

This is us. After me sobbing for 20 minutes straight (puffy eyes much??) and Matt sweating through 2 t-shirts moving us. Our last picture in our home.

We look several years older than we did when we first moved in. We have a lot of memories in this home. I'm planning on going room to room giving my girls stories about the memories we have that they won't remember.

But what I do know is that this home began and ended with this man beside me. The love of my life. The rock of our family. And I thank God every day that I get to live this amazing life with him. My girls and I are so lucky....

Home

2011-07-28T11:14:00.007-04:00

We're moving. Like, really, really moving. I've been talking about it for so long and now that moving day is actually here, it feels surreal.

What makes a home a home? Why am I so sad to leave this home? I tell people how sad I am and how much I want you girls to have a smooth transition and they tell me that I'm lucky you girls are so young. You won't even remember this home. And I smile at them, blinking back tears, saying, You're right! We're pretty lucky that they're so young and won't remember it here - we should have no problem with the move. But what I'm thinking is, You're right. They won't even remember this home.

This home. We came into this home as Matt and Jen. Two newlyweds in love, expecting their first baby. We're leaving this home as a family. We're leaving this home as "The Paradees". We were perfectly happy when we bought this house. Little did we know what we were missing in our lives. Acadia June. Emma Joy. Laughter. Bubbles. Sprinklers. Snowball fights. Rocking you to sleep. Reading to you. Nursing you. First birthdays. Sleepovers. Play dates.

You have completed us. You have completed this family. And although I sit here and look at all the boxes that need to be packed away into the moving van. And although I could cry at any given moment thinking about saying good bye to this house. What I have come to realize during this process is that these 4 walls we have been living in doesn't make a home. We make a home. Wherever we are is our home. As long as the four of us are together, I feel like I'm at home.

We love you girls more than words can say. More than I could ever show you. We bought this new house for you - to have neighbors your age, to have your new school right down the street, to have parks in walking distance. Every. Single. Decision. We make is to benefit you girls. Our goal in life is to make you happy, healthy, safe and loved.

And we can't wait to start new memories in our new home.

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Bath time

2011-07-21T15:19:00.005-04:00

This girl loves her boots. I literally can't take them off of her. So when it comes to bath time, obviously she needs to wear them and splash about!!

The things we do for our kids...

2011-07-19T18:13:00.008-04:00

Mama? Will you please be a beautiful and shiny ballerina and I will take pictures of you??
~Acadia June Paradee

Champagne Friday's

2011-07-19T15:40:00.003-04:00

That's right. Mom of the year here! I started Champagne Friday a couple weeks ago. There is a group of 10 moms that we go to the beach with and two Fridays ago I announced Champagne Friday. I brought 2 bottles of champagne for all of us to share. It. Was. Amazing. We each got about a glass total and it was SO relaxing!! Hanging on the beach with girlfriends, watching the kids all play and swim together and sipping on champagne. Nothing better!

Stowe 8 Miler 2011

2011-07-18T20:32:00.007-04:00

There they go! (Daddy is in the yellow shirt to the right)

There's Uncle Jimmy in the yellow shirt behind Daddy!

Here comes Daddy!! He shaved 10 minutes off last year's race!

Uncle Jimmy!!

Daddy's 2nd Stowe 8 Miler

2011-07-18T20:26:00.001-04:00

We're so proud of you!! Not only did you do the Stowe 8 Miler for the second year in a row, but you beat your time by 10 minutes!! YAY Daddy!! We love you!

Who wouldn't love her??

2011-06-09T19:45:00.001-04:00

Acadia - "Mama? Does everyone love me?"
Me - "Yes, baby - everyone loves you!"
Acadia - "But what about the people who don't know me?"
Me - "Well...I guess if they don't know you then..."
Acadia - "Mama! I'd better to go their houses so that they can meet me then love me!"

I suck.

2011-06-09T18:42:00.002-04:00

I have been horrible lately about updating my blog!! Horrible. The last few months have been nuts and the blog has been the last thing on my mind. Every time I sit down to write or post pictures, there is a mental list running in my head of all the hundreds of other things I should be doing instead.

But no more! Honestly - I am going to do a much better job at updating. I've done this before, but I'll have to pre-date some of my postings (ie. stuff from early May, etc - so it will post "after" this post - further down, if that makes sense.) People who have google reader won't need to worry about this, but to my family and friends that don't have google reader, hit the "page down" button if you want to view new posts :)

We're moving!

2011-05-25T20:39:00.002-04:00

It's true! We're actually moving!

We found a house in the exact town and neighborhood that we've been wanting to be in for about a year. Two of our friends told us how much they love, love, love their street - children riding their bikes up and down the street, block parties, New Year's Eve parties, coffee in the mornings before play dates, kids running in and out of each other's houses, walking distance to the school and 5 local parks. We SO want that. We love our neighborhood but we just don't have that neighborhood feel. We like this neighborhood - everyone is very friendly, but we don't hang out with each other which is something we've always wanted.

While I'm very excited to move to this new house - it's a dream come true, really - it's also very bittersweet. My children were born here. We brought them home from the hospital to this home. We went sledding in our back yard with them. Roasted s'mores on the bon fire. Acadia learned how to ride her bike in the front of our house. Matt and I have had many date nights on our back deck. Drinking wine while talking for hours about our lives, our children, our future. We have hosted many parties - birthday, retirement, Christmas, winter, NYE - all memories that while I know we'll take with us, still makes me sad to leave the place where they were created.

But as Matti and I have been saying lately during our late night talks...our home is not the four walls that surround us...our home is where we are. We will create a home wherever we go...we will create amazing memories for our children in the next home, just as we have here. So although I'm sad to be leaving the home we've known for the past 4 1/2 years, I'm looking forward to our next adventure. And I know that as long as I have my husband and children with me, our next adventure will be completely amazing...

Smarty Pants

2011-05-24T20:27:00.005-04:00

My sister just graduated from Champlain College!! We are so proud of her - she's worked so hard these last few years - working full time, going to school, cooking, cleaning, doing the grocery shopping - she's amazing!! Not only did she graduate, but she graduated cum laude!! :) She's real smart. She definitely got the brains of the family!

Holding back tears when I saw her - I wanted to jump out and give her a big hug...but not wanting to embarrass her kept me from doing so. Instead I just jumped up and down, waving, Hi sissy!! Much better.

Where's Sissy??

Have you ever seen anyone so beautiful??

WAY TO GO SISSY!!!! We're sooooo proud of you!

What's that??

2011-05-24T19:09:00.001-04:00

Matt and I found out recently that we have mint in our back yard! You'd think we'd found gold! Since then, my bartender husband has been making us Mojitos a few times a week. We've been sitting on the back deck playing games and having this yummy summer drink after the kids go to bed. YUM!

If the weather hands you lemons...

2011-05-23T12:59:00.003-04:00

make lemonade!

The Haggerty's

2011-05-23T06:49:00.001-04:00

We've known Jon since we were children and now our children are friends! We love, love hanging out with them and love even more seeing all four kids play so well together :) We had them over recently for a BBQ and, of course, the couch boat! :)

The Royal Wedding

2011-04-29T09:11:00.002-04:00

I was watching clips of the royal wedding this morning and here is what Acadia had to say:

"Mama? Are they just acting?
"No, baby - that's a real prince and princess!"
"So she's going to live in that dress and wear it forever?"
"No, honey - this is her wedding day so she's wearing that beautiful dress, just like when Mommy and Daddy got married! See? Here is a picture of Mommy and Daddy getting married - see how I'm wearing a white dress and tiara? That's what you wear on your wedding day."
"Mama? I really, really wish I get to marry Daddy when I grow up!"

Breakfast

2011-04-21T01:45:00.000-04:00

It's funny how, as a parent, you tend to take pictures of the "big moments" - trips to the fair, the first steps, apple picking. But I sometimes forget to take pictures of the day to day life. The mundane won't seem mundane 10 years from now. I'll cherish these quiet moments years later - just having a simple breakfast. One that they wanted to dress up for, no less. They are best friends right now. I hope that will always be the case...

Acadia's drawing

2011-04-20T08:47:00.002-04:00

Look, Mommy! It's a funny monster!

Her new room

2011-04-19T09:15:00.002-04:00

I'll have to post pictures of her room soon, but her reaction was PRICELESS!!

Beach day

2011-04-18T09:00:00.000-04:00

Acadia had beach day at school - she was so excited!! They cranked up the heat and all the kids wore shorts and t-shirts. She even got to wear "fwip fwops" which she was really excited about!