Happy 4th Birthday Violet!

I can't believe that she is 4! Where has the time gone? We got all dressed up and headed to Red Robin for lunch. It was the birthday girl's choice.

She went to bed last night and woke up this morning wanting to get her ears pierced. While I was combing her hair she decided to maybe wait until she was 5. Well during lunch that all changed. Before it was all smiles.



Then came the nervous look.



I was by her side before she started crying so no shots of that. Big girl that she was though had to get it done TWICE because I didn't like where the gal put the right side earring. It was too high. Our Violet is one brave girl to go through that two times.

After we got home she was fine. Heck, she was fine a minute after she had them done.



Happy Birthday to my beautiful Violetta!



Just a few more shots on flickr

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Bowling?

We don't take the girls bowling. We should but don't. They have been to a few bowling parties though so this year when we asked Violet where she wanted to have her party she chose the bowling alley. We invited a few friends, bowled a few games, ate some cake and everyone (except me) took a nap. Violet had the best time!

Last year a fairy party this year a bowling party. She is well rounded I guess.


Invitations were sent,


cake was made - do you sort of see a theme here?


and lots of fun was had!





Now on to the real birthday which is tomorrow. She is so excited to turn 4. Me on the other hand would love for her to stay 3 a little bit longer. They are growing up too fast for this mama.

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Wordful Wednesday - Favorites

Our girls each asked Santa for one thing and they all got it. As much as they wanted those items they are not the favorites. What is?

The earmuffs that Violet picked out for Piper. HUGE hit! She doesn't take them off. All.Day.Long. or All.Night.Long. That's right, she sleeps in them too.

When we were in Ohio for Thanksgiving our girls used their cousin's sleeping bags. Couldn't stop talking about them! Matt put them on our list from him and I. They have slept in them every day for nap and every night for bed. I had to tell them last night they had to sleep in their sheets again because I had to wash the sleeping bags. They LOVE them! Doesn't hurt that one is Princesses and the other Tink.



Our Ruby got this plastic toy called a Bilibo. They all fight over this one! I don't get it but it got great reviews and I will be leaving one myself :) She also got mega blocks which I haven't been able to put away. So far so good, I haven't stepped on one. Last is the donkey in the background We got it super cheap second hand and they are happily bouncing their days away on her. That is when they aren't fighting over that pink plastic thing :)



Just cause I love this shot of the girls so much it is going on my wall.



More Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and for the more chatty ones like myself there is Wordful Wednesday.
and also

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A New Hobby?

Somedays I think I should find a new hobby. Less expensive. Maybe cleaning the house. Hubs wouldn't mind if that became my passion. Unfortunately for him it is not. Taking pictures really does it for me though. Always has. Long ago I would waste rolls of film on my animals. I have albums of my dogs & cats. Now I have little people to chase after and bribe. I can take pictures of my kids all day long if they would let me. They don't. Right now it is nap time and they are ALL asleep. It is my time to get things done. What am I doing? Going over the pictures I took of our Ruby today. A sickness is what it is!

Tomorrow I will probably clean the house. Maybe. We'll see :)

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52 Weeks of ME!

That might sound boring to some people but to me it screams challenge. Cara@I Miei Due Bambini told me to think about a 52 week project rather than a 365 project b/c I was worried about failing with it again this year. Perfect. I was on Flickr and saw that some people do 365 days of ALL self portraits . While surfing I saw that there were 52 week groups as well! I loved their creativity and decided that was a challenge for me. Excited that I made a decision I emailed Cara to ask if she was going to do a 52 week project and who she was doing it with. She asked if I wanted to join her and I said yes. Every Sunday I will post my self portrait here and Cara will on her blog. Using the Mister Linky widget you can link your photo and join in on the project. You don't need a blog to participate just create an account with flickr, upload your photo there, and use that link. I love visiting other people's blogs or flickr pages and see what they came up with. It inspires me. We will start this project January 2, 2011 and continue to post our self portraits each Sunday. Cara and I will pick a theme each week for us to do and you are welcome to do the same or come up with your own. Our first theme will be TRADITIONAL PORTRAIT. I will try and have a button made by 2/2 that you can add to your post.

Happy Holidays!

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Jack - 2010

When did an elf become so popular. We were talking to a friend yesterday and his daughter had a play date with another little girl last week. The little girl came in the house and started looking all around. I asked our friend if his house had a lot of decorations and he said "No, she was looking for an elf". Are parents putting the fear of being good in the hands of a stuffed elf? Our elf is an antique given to us by the girls grandparents. They do not know where he came from and for now think he just appears when we get back from Thanksgiving in Ohio. Jack is more fun for them to hunt than a direct line to the big guy. They enjoy seeing where he is hiding each morning but other than that they don't really behave any better because he is around. So when they are misbehaving we tell them
"Remember girls, Jack can talk to Santa"
"Really? How?"
"Umm, magic?"
"Is he real?"
"You mean a real elf?"
"No, like us real?"
"Well, umm, he isn't exactly like us real. Umm, but (repeat) he can talk to Santa!"
They might only be 3 & 5 but they seem to know better. I have even tried the "Santa is watching and he won't bring you anything" but is that really true? I am not quick enough on my feet to out smart the under 4' crowd lol :)

Jack may reappear a few more years at Casa Lucas but after that I think he will hang up his stripped stockings and live happily ever after as a tree ornament. At least then we won't have to worry at 3am that he is still in the same spot as the day before :)

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A Day at the Spa

By spa I mean a friend's house and a day actually only being an afternoon but still a welcomed mama day. The kids played, the moms talked. I also chased a baby who thought the stairs were big fun. I guess I got a workout too - chasing kiddos counts right? We ate yummy cookies and best of all us girls left with manicures! I have not had polish on my nails in probably 8 years. Seriously. Now that I am looking at my beautiful nails I want them to look pretty more often. The inspiration for our Christmas manicure was Kisten@Polish Pauper.

Check us out! Even the smallest zoo girl got in on the act although since her hands still find their way to her mouth more than I would like she did not get a mani. Next year.

In the summer I do our toes but will I keep up my hands ever in the winter? That is the question of the hour. Maybe. Kisten inspires me though.

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Wordful Wednesday - Christmas Bokeh

Lights are twinkling on the the Christmas tree

Antique reindeer proudly taking their place.



All of my little birds waiting impatiently for Saturday to get here.



Our smallest cheese ball is going to have so.much.fun. She just doesn't know it yet.



Last night I got on my tippy toes on the edge of our 5 foot retaining wall to try and get a shot of the beautiful lights that my husband hung on our garage. He does such a great job with them every year.



More Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and for the more chatty ones like myself there is Wordful Wednesday.
and also

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Today

I woke up at 4:13 am coughing. I realized that it was probably caused by my stuffy nose which I should blow. My Ruby was snuggled so tightly next to me if I were to try and get up she would wake up as well. I laid there trying not to sniffle. I tell my girls "Don't sniffle it will make you sicker". It only works on Piper. My phone was randomly alerting me to new email messages. I know it is all junk mail at this hour of the morning. Why am I getting so much junk mail?
4:30 am Note to self, unsubscribe to everything that is coming through at 4:20 am.
4:33 am realizing I was really awake I caved and looked at my emails. A message came through telling me my $100 gift code to Amazon was waiting for me. I started thinking of what I would like to get with it. My thoughts went from practical to "Really, why would you buy THAT?".
5:05 am I really need to blow my nose!
5:15 am Ruby stirs so I nurse her back to sleep. At that moment I am really done with nursing. She is at an age when I want to have my body back. She nurses for comfort only and lately she has been uncomfortable A LOT!
5:25 am Start making a plan on how to wean the baby. Should I do it before Christmas? Should I wait until the new year?
5:30 am Realize that I am not ready to wean Ruby quite yet.
5:31 am After all this talk in my head about nursing I think about the m/c.
5:32 am Quickly push those thoughts out of my head b/c I don't want to cry again today.
5:35 am Go over Christmas list in my head. Do we have everything? Are we set? I think so! Woot!
5:45 am I might as well get up and make some coffee.
Hello Day!

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Knock! Knock!

Who's there?
Banana.
Banana who?

Knock! Knock!
Who's there?
Banana.
Banana who?

Knock! Knock!
Who's there?
Banana.
Banana who?

Knock! Knock!
Who's there?

Orange you glad I didn't say banana again?

This is by far the girls all time favorite joke :) But NO JOKE I was the runner up in the Invisalign Teen Smile Photo Contest on Parenting By Dummies. Yay me!! Thank you Dumb Mom!! Muwah ♥

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Team Up Thursday - December

Where has the year gone? 9 days until Christmas, 15 until Violet's birthday, and then it all starts again. Every December we get out our tiny but well loved Christmas tree. I long for a real one but honestly I would probably end up forgetting to water it and it would be a disaster. Ruby is the 3rd baby to pick the ornaments off our little tree. I have learned to put all of the unbreakable ones low so that when she does grab them it isn't a big deal. I try to get a picture of our tree every year and this year when I went to get it she was off course picking something off. Someday when I have my perfect tree back I am going to miss this.

What a beautiful cross that Angie has captured. I can't wait to read the story behind it on her blog :)

More Team Up Thursdays at Melody's and Megan's.

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Only 3 More Days!!

I don't believe that I have blogged lately about how much I miss my Piper while she is in school. There are so many times during the day that I would want to tell her something and she isn't here :( She is a child who enjoys school and loves to spread her wings. Just last Friday she went to her 1st sleepover. What? When did my baby get old enough to sleep over at a friend's house? Friday afternoon when the bus drops her off at our house she will be home with me for 2 WHOLE WEEKS! That's right, I will have my baby with me again :) Saturday morning when her and Violet wake up fighting I might change my mind but right now I couldn't be more happy!

What makes me happy when my oldest is gone? The other 2! Seriously I can't help but laugh at my goofy Violet and Ruby never ceases to make me have a good ole' belly laugh at least once a day (normally more b/c she is comical). Don't these 2 make you want to smile too?

Wouldn't a picture of them together have been nice? Not these 2, nope. They might make me smile but they don't normally make each other smile lol :) Ruby & Violet butt heads all.day.long! Makes for a lively house!

So my post today is actually my entry in a giveaway over at Parenting By Dummies. It is the Invisalign Teen Bright Smiles Holiday Photo Contest. The prize is a $250 Amazon Gift Card (!!!) from Invisalign. How seriously cool is that? I am getting my entry in under the wire too b/c this all comes to an end tomorrow! Got a photo that makes you smile you can enter too!

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It's A Double Rainbow!

We were just hanging out and it started pouring out our back door but nothing out our front. Matt started to hunt for the rainbow right away. After we found it I grabbed my camera but Matt grabbed the Flip. I was snapping pictures while he was "Oooh"ing and "Aaah"ing over the double rainbow. Huh?

Obviously I was not one of the 1,000,000 people that viewed the double rainbow guy's youtube video. If you haven't either here it is. He swears he wasn't on anything lol :)



What did I get? It was a full double rainbow. Could it be almost a triple? lol :) These are the days I long for a view of a field or more of the lake. Heck, anything but neighbors. It was so bright! My shots don't do it justice.

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$100 Holiday Gift from Novica

Sweet giveaway from Grosgrain this weekend only!

$100 Holiday Gift from Novica

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Flip Friday!

I am going to use that Flip I have more often. I carry it with me all the time but seldom get it out of my bag, why? Today I got our little ballerinas doing their thing. Ruby has learned all the older girls favorite moves and copies them. She is also a little twirler which makes her very dizzy. She did that move after the camera was off and fell on their play vacuum cleaner. Yes a few tears were shed but she got done and started twirling again.

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Team Up Thursday - Words

It was nice to participate in a TUT challenge again. Hope. My heart is beginning to heal. A little. The other night my husband and I talked about our family. Nothing major, just talking. Neither of us know what to do at this point. I wish I had more time to decide but my age is against us. Although I am filled with emotion looking at the picture I took Angie's makes me smile and look forward to Christmas a little more. Her lighting is beautiful. We are a colored light family but some years I think about getting white JUST to photograph our tree. I still can't believe how similar our shots are - we never do that lol :)

More Team Up Thursdays at Melody's and Megan's.

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WW - It's just a picture a day

That sounds easy doesn't it? I tried to do a picture a day last year but failed. Life got busy and I didn't really give it the time that it needed. I have been trying to think of something to do next year and my mind keeps going back to that 365 project. I just don't like starting something and not finishing it - that bugs me. My mind says to get out my craft stuff and sewing machine but the reality is a busy little girl who likes to have her hands in everything will make crafting a nightmare. Check out our hot mess today. She won't keep a hair thingie in, snot nosed b/c she refuses to let me wipe, still has some crud from lunch by her mouth. Sheesh!

Now this one makes me want to take 365 days of pictures - all of my kids. How boring but seriously I love taking their pictures so much. Violet asked me today if I was going to take her picture. Of course her ulterior motive was gum. Regardless she is a wonderful little model so she can have the gum for 10 frames.



More Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and for the more chatty ones like myself there is Wordful Wednesday.
and also

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Done Shopping?

I say I am done every year at this time but then have to run out at the last minute to exchange or buy something. If you do have some gifts left to buy you really should visit CSN Stores for some easy internet holiday shopping. With everything from a fabulousbarstool to that special baby doll you are bound to find everything on your shopping list. CSN Stores has over 200 stores for you to browse through in the comfort of your own home. How great is that?

What do I love?

I have been pretty good this year Santa (hint hint).



Shipping is quick and most of the time free. Customer service is exceptional and returns are completely hassle free! I couldn't be more happy with the purchases that I have made from CSN Stores

I will have the pleasure of reviewing an item from CSN - I can't wait to browse and choose something. It will almost be like my own little Christmas present to me :)

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I heart faces - Self Portrait

You know I still feel like I am in my REALLY early 30's. Maybe younger even. Sure some days my body reminds me that I am not but most of the time I feel great. Especially after seeing my chiropractor who I might have once said was a fake but no more. Anywho, want a reality check of your age try doing iheartfaces photo challenge this week :) I set up the tripod and sat on a kids chair with my remote. My husband was outside on the roof hanging lights and if you look hard enough you might just see him reflected in my eyes. Why was I inside? A poor little sick Ruby :( She finally got the crud we have been passing around our house. Her and I set up our fabulous (insert sarcasm here) fake Christmas tree. Hubs won't let me get a real one. Pity party? Yes, definitely and please bring the wine.

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Spare time

Who has that? Not this mama but I still decided over a month ago to participate in a little hair thingie swap put together by the super duper crafty mama Marigold at Hideous Dreadful Stinky. My sewing machine has not made a single appearance this year and my craft supplies are piling up. It was time and this sounded fun. I had finished all of the flower hairpins pretty early on but still had to do the felt hair flower clippies for the little ones on my list. They were all shipped out right under the wire this afternoon :) Here is what my fellow swappers will receive. I hope they like them!

What did I get? I am not the only "under the wire" participant :) When I get all of the hair things I will make one post about them. Until then...

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Vacation for the mind

Last week we went to Ohio for Thanksgiving. We go every year so that we can be here for Christmas. I did not want to go and Matt knew this. He told me that it would be good for me and reminded me how much the girls loved seeing their cousins and grandparents. We were to leave at 1 pm on Tuesday. I hadn't even begun to pack at 1 pm. There was not a part of me that wanted to climb in that car but for my family I did. I imagined the week we were to be gone as lonely. Lonely like I am here in my own home surrounded by my thoughts of what could have been. What should have been. We arrived very late Tuesday night and from the minute we got there to the minute we left it was a blur of visiting everyone's houses, playing, sleeping, and eating. There was no time for me to stop and think about what happened. It was the ride home that hit me hard. A lady in an Expedition paid for one of our tolls and just the fact that there are such nice people out there like that made me cry. I continued to cry though b/c my heart is still broken. When I think about my baby it breaks all over again each time. Finally on Sunday my m/c ended, a full 2 weeks to the day that it began. I am so glad to have Matt home to lean on for support and to help me with the girls. How can I not be forever thankful to my wonderful friends, in NC, WI, IN and online, who are a constant support system to me. I am blessed to have each one of you. My little mind vacation is over and life is back to normal for our family. This weekend we will put up our Christmas tree, lights, blow up Frosty, and lighted moose. The girls have talked nonstop about seeing the singing (mechanical) bears near our home. Piper earns her Daisy pin tonight at her Investiture ceremony. There is so much to look forward to I can't help but be optimistic this will be a nice holiday. I still cry, a lot more than I would like but after reading all of the heartfelt notes from my beautiful friends I know it is normal. Time heals but when you are going through it you just wish it would happen quicker.

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