Santa! I know him!

Nori: "I would like a green bicki and a green dog"
Santa: "Uh what? Um....okay", rolling eyes

a dog! if only it were green!

That evergreen literacy program really works

she has my eyes...and heart

twinsies

my red eye remover must be broken?

Hollidizzle y'all

A very turtle Christmas

Not pictured: 10lb weights on tree stand

There's our tree! Ain't she a beaut? No matter the different varieties we choose, it always ends up looking exactly the same. As in always awesome...until it tips!

Did you see the newest episode of What Not To Wear with the crazy turtle lady from Saint Paul? Okay, so when I took Nori to her first ever ballet/tap lesson (which she loved) guess who was there? Crazy turtle lady's husband and her son! My daughter danced with turtle boy! I knew that someday somehow we would meet someone famous. Turtle dad told me he was not a fan of the transformation and yes, CTL is back to wearing her turtle duds. I should email Perez.



What else? We got our ho ho ho on this weekend. Put our tree up, stockings hung by the chimney with 3M hooks, gingerbread house decorated, and dinner party with Missy, KennaBear, Lo, & Andy (Ho Ho Ho & Ho). I tried my hand at homemade Alfredo sauce and they brought cookie dough. To eat raw! I love it when people get me. Good thing we all wore sweatpants.

reading the Nanny Log to see who was naughty and nice

for every ornament on the tree, three others have been swiped and hidden

3 Princesses and a Bowl of Chex Mix - coming to theaters near you in 2012

Daughter #1

Daughter #2

Lazy Sunday

Gingerbread creations with Papa Bill

"One for the house, one for me"

Ta da! Norelle (on the left) Henley (on the right)

You guessed it. The snow-only diet returns.

Finally, a video moment...

Winona weekend

Going to Winona is like going to Disneyland for Nori. Grandpa is Mickey Mouse, Grandma is Minnie, the hot tub is probably Space Mountain and going over to Gramsie's is like Epcot Center, (more fun than you expect). We ate, visited, did not nap, and cut down our own Christmas tree in Witoka or "up on the ridge" as they say. That ridge is responsible for many a Snow Day. Mickey helped me with my PT and I have now recommitted myself to my transverse abdominus strength program in an effort to get rid of this awesome pelvic pain/back pain. Oh, and groin pain, did I mention the groin pain?

We also caught up with my high school friends both Friday and Saturday night for my 15 year class reunion. I know what you are thinking "Wait, don't you mean 30 years?". On Friday night we got to see everyone's kids for a lasagna supper and Saturday was adults only official reunion. The turn out wasn't stellar but it was cool to see everyone who was there and tell them all about my upcoming reality TV show which will be a combination of Duggars and the Kardashians, wholesome glamour. Perhaps the most telling part of the reunion was the warm reception Jake got from everyone, "Jake Seltz!!" followed by bear hugs and recaps of the glory of days while I stood politely by. He graduated a year before me but I he still knew more people than I did.

Time to go retrain my kids to sleep, make turkey pot pies with the holiday leftovers, and watch my husband hang icicle lights from inside by the fire.

ready to destroy another ecosystem!

her very first hacksaw

riding Minnie

6 months old today!

Visiting Great Grandma Sylvia

Grateful

chicken noodle soup, chicken noodle soup

almost a swimmer (not really)

I look so horrendously bad right now! I am wearing leopard print Cuddle Duds, a Christmas gift from my mom. We had an outdoor event tonight so I wore this ensemble under my clothes but I had to de-layer once in the house. Head to toe leopard Lycra. I am making leopards everywhere cringe.

Oh, what a week! People always complain about how blogs make life seem all rosy (well, probably not my blog since I whine more than the average person). But I will tell you this week was not rosy, rather it was like an episode of Springer. BTB, I met Jerry Springer in Cancun and was in a commercial with him for MTV's Spring Break 1999 . That's all I'll say about that.

Guess what? Norelle is no longer a Jellyfish, she graduated into the Sunfish class! Go Community Ed swim lessons. My office had a wonderful party to welcome Baby Henley, complete with Cafe Latte cupcakes. We have a full on epidemic in our house, Mucus Infestation 2011... send Kleenex! On Friday, we visited Great Grandpa Dick & Great Grandma Rosie in Austin. We purposely time our visits to coincide with breakfast. On Saturday, Grandma Liz & Grandpa Steve babysat overnight so Jake I could have a real date. Our date was at MoA where we had the most delicious pasta in quantities I won't admit to followed by a night in a hotel, courtesy of Uncle Randy's discount. We slept 12 hours straight, 9-9! In case you are wondering, no our baby does not sleep through the night unless you count waking up at 12,2,4 and 6 as through the night. Tonight we participated in the Purple Light Vigil in honor of my dad and all those with pancreatic cancer. Someone was not a fan of the cold and cried at the top of her lungs to go home the whole time...Jake.

Happy early Thanksgiving!

Nori "jumps" off the diving board

Dick & Henny

post pancake photo op

Jake says we buy too much corn too...

knee-deep in carbs, our idea of romance

Dad, your reflective hat is blinding me!

The Capitol a.k.a. "the castle"

prepare to be bored

super sisters!

Chicken tortilla. Thanks for asking! Has this ever happened to you? You are sitting down for supper when your financial analyst husband issues a stern warning to his activist sister to"never join the Occupy Wall Street movement", then she sheepishly looks away while quietly informing him she already has. These are the cringe worthy moments I live for! Of course, the only reason I even knew what this was was not from the NY Times but rather from DListed's bold coverage of Jay-Z's t-shirt controversy

Guess who had some whole grain rice cereal? Henny! She only ate a few spoonfuls but it's just another milestone on her journey to never needing me again. Call my therapist! I don't have one but I should. Also, call my personal trainer, as I need me a pair of Spanx. Despite the side effects, babies are heaven! I kinda want to do it again, someday. Call my acupuncturist!

It was an emotional, tear-filled, tantrumesque, "oh child" weekend for someone who is almost four due to nap aversion mixed with early wake-ups. She has enjoyed going on night walks with Daddy before bedtime. She takes her red laser pointer and they look for prey. Yes, prey.

That's it, I really have nothing to say. Air kisses!

love in my tummy

Nor will do anything for a squinkie

Henny Henny puddin' pie

just hatched

Why didn't I think of this?

Like my teeth?

celebrating Greta's 3rd birthday at Day By Day

happy one minute

The Hulk the next

an extra hour

fall back

Some people get an extra hour of sleep. Some people just get an extra hour. No matter, it was a great morning for a hike which is what we had planned. By hike I mean a normal walk near nature. However, we could not get our act together so instead of finding a nature preserve we just walked around the neighborhood like we do everyday. Only Nori told people we passed "we are on a hike!". City girl. We were going to devote the whole day to our dog: Dorothy's Special Day! But, we kinda let that slip by. So next week Dorothy with have her special day complete with dog park visit, dress up, and homemade dog biscuits...if we remember.

Twins (the strollers I mean)

Ajana & Baby Adira came to visit this weekend! Adira is just like Ajana, she wants to be moving and entertained all the time. It was fun to finally get the babies together and catch up with Jana. Adira, like Henley, is just learning to soothe herself to sleep but unlike Henley, she already gets to eat pureed spinach. I realized just how chill my baby is and I am grateful she is so easy. My dad also stopped by after chemo for his weekly visit with the girls. The one good thing about cancer is that it brings him into my neighborhood much more often. The one bad thing is it's cancer.

snuggle buns

Norelle continues to be the most nurturing, loving big sister. Every morning when I bring the baby in to her room she says "Oh, it's the Foosemeister!" in a high squeaky voice, followed by hugs and kisses. When we meet new people she brags, "This is my baby, look at her cute little foot". Henley loves her back with lots of smiles. In fact, we can not make her stop smiling...it's her favorite. They love to cuddle although sometimes big sister gets a little rough, straddling the baby and tickling her can lead to an elbow to the head. Good thing I am so busy on Pinterest I don't even notice. 90% of the time my kids are amazing, the other 10% I try to repress.

all good in the hood

Finally, Jake survived earnings season yet again but has not been feeling to well for months in the tummy region so he heads to the doctor this week. I think I scared him into going, never Google symptoms. We are happy to have him back from the grips of Wall Street. We are looking forward to many fun events in November from hosting Thanksgiving, family photos, Purple Light Vigil, visiting Austin and Winona, but best of all we can't wait for one solid night sleep at a hotel while G & G Seltz babysit.