10 things as I turn 28...

1) Loving the power I have over my bad habits.... this one is hard but I am learning that I am in control of my habits. They are choices as long as I recognize them to be that and make a better choice.

2)I am officially a soccer mom and a mama that has to get up early and send a kid off to school. It seems simple but I feel like I have grown older in the "mama world". More like a promotion.

3)I am so in love with my hubby! We really don't have much time together but the time we spend together I LOVE and think about when we are apart during the day.

4)Still trying to keep my sense of style.... I think when each of my babies turned 6 months or so I have gone out to buy a new wardrobe and reinvent myself... this time I am trying to avoid the reinvention and just be me.

5)I have been organizing my home since it is getting chillier outside and we are spending more days inside.

6)I am dreaming of ways to invest in the lives of some people that need encouragement, love and grace in this period of their life. Just haven't figured how to do that yet.

7)Loving to play with my children... since I have been about 8 months pregnant I have lost the daily routine of playing with my kids... yeah we have fun as we perform our daily duties but I really want to LOVE rolling on the floor and playing on their level.

8)I need to make two strategies: #1 How to survive this winter since last winter just about killed me except I had beautiful baby half way through and that kept me going- this winter, no baby! #2 How I am going to be a better gardener next summer since I sort of planted the garden and then ignored it the rest of the summer since the slugs and blite got to it.

9)I want to get back to the basics of cooking... homemade bread, homemade sauce and meatballs, etc.

10)I want to preserve memories in many different ways... photographs, scrapbooks, and making some home movies!

Carter started Nursery School!

The morning was kinda chilly and to early for my liking but we were all up and at em' to send this sweet boy off to school for the first day ever! Daisy was kinda upset and just sad to see him go! As we talked about it all week she said we needed to find a "kitty backpack" so she could go too! I just love this picture of her saying good-bye!He is going to the Nursery School program at Whachusett High School where Kevin went to high school and Kevin's dad works as a maintenance guy on the evening shift. We refer to WRHS as Papa's school. The kids are sort of familiar with going there with Papa for security on the weekends and helping in the shelter during the ice storm. Anyway Carter himself was not nervous at all! He was very excited to meet new friends and see his friend Maddie from church who goes there also. We quickly found his cubby and his friend Maddie greeted him and helped him find his name.... so sweet. And then he just fit right in giving us one little wave good-bye. He is getting so big and strong. I just can't even believe it! No tears were shed though, I did keep it all together and enjoyed my girls the rest of the morning. Oh boy are we going to have fun together w/o buddy around... tea parties here I come! And when we picked him up he had lots to say and tried to sing some new songs for us! He really hasn't been much of a singer up to this point so hopefully he'll grow in that area this year. Here are a couple thing he made:

His correspondence tube for Mama and the teacher to send notes in!

And spinnies (as he called them). Thursday was a harder day for me 'cause Kevin wasn't here and I have strep throat but we made it just in time.

kissing cousins...

a passionate kiss from Carter to Guiliana...and the most priceless reaction ever!
they'll hate me for this in a couple years

Inspired by Time...

Have you all seen the Time magazine featuring Ted Kennedy? It is beautiful in the sense that the pictures are gorgeous (no I didn't actually read that much of it) but I read the pictures (of course and loved it)... It inspired me to take even better pictures of my children doing everyday things around our house... Soon they will be out of our house and I will want to remember them and the moments they spent here... So here is a small impromptu "photo shoot" of Carter doing one of his favorite things... reading the Sunday comics (just like his daddy) but like me he likes his Mama to read the strip out loud to him... see the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree now does it? And maybe if he becomes a famous politician I will have beautiful pictures to share with the world!

keeping me busy!

Cora is now crawling (well has been for a couple weeks).... this makes for interesting times at home! She goes all over the place and fast now! She is hard to coral anywhere and even hold. It seems like she just won't sit still! This is making it hard for me to get anything done!