The start of the holiday season is here......

Samantha had her Thanksgiving Feast at school today and we were all invited. I dressed Della & Mimi in matching outfits (i love to do that) and we had a great time listening to the music and the poems her class performed.

Here is a photo of the 3 girls together .....

My favorite photo of Sam....."Eat Ham" LOL

And last but not least, here is Sam's class singing "I will survive" a song about a turkey who is about to get axed, but then gets strong.......and survives! check out the moves on my baby girl....she has got some serious rhythm.....

Happy turkey day to all and i'll post more photos of the holiday festivities at my house!

a few ways of remembering Mema

Before Brendan was born Mema made him this beautiful blanket. Of course, she made it multi-colored because we didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl. I always put the blanket up because it is so special to me and I don't ever want to lose it or have it get ruined. So the other night, on her birthday, I took the blanket and wrapped my godson, Joey, in it. I snuggled him and smiled because it just so reminded me of her in that moment.....


And then there was my other smile of the day. Brendan came home from travel basketball with his new uniform.......#22. I nearly cried. 22 seems to be Mema' s number (she was born on 11-22-22) and lived at 22 Buttonwood for years and years. So when he came home with this, I just knew in my heart she was telling me she was here.

the only thing I don't have a photo of is the strangest thing of all. I went to go see Katie after she had joey and my foot stepped on something. I looked down and it was a big yellow rose bud. Mema and I LOVED yellow roses and we gave them to each other all the time.

So today I am smiling because I know she is looking down on me. And i love her for that.

what a week!

first of all, Brian had surgery on friday and is doing quite well. He is hopping around and on crutches and now has to go to physical therapy sometime soon to strengthen the knee back up again. Here is a photo of MiMi and Brian the day after his surgery...he is definitely on the road to recovery...

So of course what does a mama do when Daddy is recuperating? I took them bowling of course......they loved it!

Time for hair cuts!

I brought Natalie to the hair dressers today to get a trim and her hair was apparently a mess! They had to cut more than 3-4 inches off as her hair was growing in uneven and her bangs were in her eyes.....so i was so upset when they gave her a bob because she was the one with HAIR. LOL.

Della said she needed a cut too and the hairdresser agreed that she too had some dead hair going on.........

When i grow up I want to be.....either mommy or a circus clown!

Delaney went into the bathroom the other day and comes out giggling. I ask what is so funny and she tells me that she couldn't see her eyebrows.......I instantly think she shaved them off or something so I run into the room only to find her with brown eyeliner and a set of newly made eyebrows.........

And giggling little Natalie decided to turn herself into a lovely looking circus clown. Needless to say, lots of clean up time was needed but it got a good laugh for the day :)

Dora, the Diva and the Dining Room Table

This week has been a bit crazy and today things are calming down a bit more (thank goodness).......these photos were taken yesterday when 1) my dining room table had all my school books all over it, 2) Natalie was hanging out watching Diego and Dora (per usual) and (3) Della was, well, just being a diva.

I had my second nursing exam yesterday and it was hard, but it went good. So this mess you see on my dining room table is going away but not for long. I have my final exam on December 12th and then I'm off until the first week of January when I begin my LAST nursing class. I am so excited. It's been such a long time coming.....

of course, I get a good chunk of studying done at home because of Diego and Dora........LOL. Gotta love those little spaniards.........LOL. When i was at clinical the other night there was a patient that no one could speak with because she only spoke Spanish. So of course, I got by with a little help from my dora/diego knowlege (Hola! gracias......uno, dos, tres.............LOL) it wasn't much, but it helped.

last but not least, is my Della being a dressy diva........she loves dressing in boots and we don't have many pairs of those lying around so I'm off to get her a new "cool" pair on Friday.

we're off to get together with a friend for a play date and some mommy down time. I'll be back later! Hope everyone is well......

Welcome to the world, Joseph Ryan Welch

Joey has finally arrived! He was a few weeks early, but after 4 months of bed rest, he couldn't have come at a better time. On Saturday night Katie's water broke and after being in labor for 4 1/2 hours, my godson arrived at 2:23 a.m.

We went to see him yesterday and he is absolutely perfect. I love his gorgeous hair color (it's an ashy blonde) and he was so alert and was so cuddly. I didn't want to leave, but i had to go study.

So here are a few photos (I went to see him solo in the afternoon and then I brought the kids in last night). So glad that mom and baby are healthy & happy and that my little "dude" is finally here.

Welcome to the world, Joey. we love you.