still here!

yep, still here working on the potty training. right now it feels like this will take forever!! connor has actually done pretty good. he's gone 4 times in the potty and was so proud of himself. he gets a star sticker each time he goes in the potty. when he gets 5, he'll get a new hot wheel. bribery works, doesn't it? :)

is it too soon?

i'm thinking about taking down the christmas tree. not sure if i want to take that on yet. it seems as if we haven't stopped cleaning up around here all week. maybe tomorrow...

merry christmas!

even if i'm late! i've finally got some time to put a few pictures up. we were all spoiled on christmas and we're still unpackaging the toys for the kids. 

here's  the big gifts from santa before the kids opened them. kaleigh got her littlest petshop fitness center, shouting with excitement as she opened it; connor got a new big boy bike and a super deluxe hot wheels race track, which he couldn't wait to open!

here's val before he opened my present to him. i couldn't believe i kept it a secret from him...it was really hard! i got him tickets to a redsox game in boston! my parents gave us the airfare as an awesome present and christa helped with one of the nights at a hotel. i don't know who's more excited, me or him?! 

we spent the afternoon and evening at christa and mark's house. we celebrated christmas in a non-traditional way--mexican style. we had a ton of delicious mexican food: tamales, fajitas, quesadillas, tacos, spanish rice, chips & salsa, and plenty of guacamole! oh my! it was soooo yummy! the kids even had a pinata to end the night. it was fun to watch them take a few whacks at it.

on top of all the yummy mexican food for dinner, there was also a ton of delicious desserts to choose from. most importantly...chocolate! kaleigh and connor decorated some sugar cookies that i made and brought with us.

everyone was entertained by playing guitar hero or watching others play it. kaleigh couldn't pull herself away from it. rock on!!

christmas eve is finally here

today was spent visiting great-grandma, wrapping val's gifts (i can't wait 'til he opens his!!), seeing all the grandparents, and tracking santa on the internet. kaleigh was so excited when we checked santa's whereabouts early this afternoon. each time we checked, her excitement grew; she even got connor interested in checking up on santa. well, the kids are in bed, milk and cookies are waiting, and val is being santa's helper in the garage...i can't wait until the morning!! :)

who doesn't love pizza?!

when we go to costco, connor can't leave without getting a slice of yummy cheese pizza. the slice is almost bigger than him! but he's been known to devour the whole thing. mmm!

the house that we built...

would definitely not be suitable for a gingerbreadman to live in! i was having great difficulty with the frosting getting too thick, one of the sides kept falling in, and the 2 roof pieces kept sliding. the kids still had fun decorating it, even if mommy was frustrated with the frosting! :)

2 days left!

with only 2 days left 'til christmas there's still so much to do. i finished cleaning the rest of the house, finally finished the laundry, took kaleigh to the eye doctor (she's getting glasses for using at certain times in the classroom), went to costco (crazy!!), made a gingerbread house with the kids, mopped the floors, and made table runner for the coffee table. all in a days work! ha!! i didn't even mention that i still have a lot of presents to wrap. aagghhh!!

countdown to christmas

3 days left until christmas! what a busy day i've had. i spent most of the day cleaning and baking. i cleaned half the house (the rest will get done tomorrow...maybe) and when i wasn't cleaning, i was baking goodies. kaleigh and i were making some treats for val to take to his office tuesday and wednesday. oh, did i mention that i'm still working with connor on the pottytraining!?! what a day!! :)

baby, it's cold outside...

way cold!! we went with the culcasi's to gilroy gardens for their holiday lights. we knew it was going to be cold, but man, it was COLD!! we were all bundled up for an evening of fun. the kids had a blast going on rides, playing games, and drinking hot chocolate. our evening ended with a long, warm car ride home with the heater on high! :) 

it's time...

to potty! party? potty! it's all good. connor has been fighting us forever on the whole potty training thing. he picked out a brand new potty chair weeks ago but that didn't work. well, christmas vacation has started and that means more time to work on the potty training. after doing some christmas shopping today, this is what i came home to...

do you notice the cookie in his hand? at this point, whatever is going to work, we'll try it. he did do a little (very little) business in the potty! we made a big deal out of it and he was so pleased with himself. yeah connor!

are you kidding???

kaleigh got her first credit card application in the mail today! an american express gold card, no less! what the heck! i can't believe that a 7 year old was given this. a week or two ago american express was asking the government for their own bailout, so this is the solution??? after val and i had a good laugh the papers were torn to bits and put in the trash. she won't have to deal with credit issues for years to come...i hope. :)


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