Happy Halloween: The finale

This is how it looks when you trick or treat with 2- 3.5yr olds, 3- 2 year olds, 1- 1 yr old, and 2 infants! It is a blast and it is busy! We spent our Halloween out with friends, having a pizza party post 'trick-or-treating' and enjoying the evening!

Here's my doggie & giraffe - we're working on smiling for pictures but it just didn't happen on Halloween when their attention is divided!

Look at this busy bee and flower princess!

Isn't this pretty pink princess just adorable?

Happy Halloween!

Pre-Halloween

We had fun painting pumpkins with friends the night before Halloween! Our friends H & D are super party hosts with yummy pumpkin pie, spinach dip and the MOST amazing fall drink recipe (champagne, apple cider, frozen cranberries & something else I can't remember... H - help me out!). H has a great new blog on fashion tips and trends (find it here)

The girls had fun jumping and bouncing on H&D's daybed - amazing hosts to allow my double trouble to jump around! L & S love to play with D - and he is fun and silly with them and they enjoy it!

Signe painted the rainbow on her pumpkin, Linnea did a little of everything (snake, worm, cat, rainbow, ...), I did a cat and a haunted cemetery, H did a pumpkin and spider!

Happy Halloween: Part 2 The weekend

Happy Halloween Weekend from L & S!

On a side note, the girls want to wear these shirts to bed because the glow in the dark, to church to show their teachers whom the love, and to the pumpkin carving/painting party tomorrow... and every moment in between! Not sure how much life these Black Cat t's are going to have after the next couple days. And if you see my kids in them for the next long while - no comments please. This is one battle not worth fighting. It's WAY more fun for them to enjoy the t's to the fullest!

Enjoy your weekend!

Giraffe & Doggie go to school!

Today I sent a giraffe and a doggie to preschool. Both wagging their tails. One barking. One stretching its neck as tall as can be. Giggling and prancing they made their merry way into preschool for the halloween festivities!

At 3.5 yrs - L & S LOVE the 'wear a costume get candy' routine!

So Happy early Halloween!

The Confessional Post

Hello. My name is Caitlyn. And I am a binge eater of all things chocolate-ly, candy, cookies, muffins, cake, frosting... you name it and I've eaten it (that is without nuts since I'm allergic and all). Often I eat those things for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Then there is snack time and dessert time. That old saying that "Dessert is spelled with 2 's' because you always want seconds" - or however it goes - well that saying just doesn't quite cover it. So in an effort to control my serious over eating of all things yummy, I have gone NO SUGAR for 3 days now.

3 days without sugar treats is like torture. Monday was pretty much withdrawal day. Seriously I needed, craved, lusted after chocolate. Commercials of sweets was torture. Pure torture. By Tuesday even having honey in my tea felt like I was cheating because it tasted SO GOOD! And today - I actually feel a little bit of control. Granted I still want chocolate... there was a commercial for cake mix on t.v. and well - I nearly went to the kitchen to make one! But I did well today. And I'm kinda proud that I've gone 3 days without sweets.

3 days without sweets and I've even been cutting back on my carbs. By carbs I mean all things bread and pasta. If there was a fresh loaf of bread in my house (which there will be at holiday time) I would eat the entire thing. In one sitting. And not even feel bad that I didn't share. Well, okay I share. But the girls and hubby get a slice or two and I devour the rest. So it has been 3 days of no sweets and cutting carbs.

I am by no means dieting. Nor am I encouraging anyone to do this with me. My dear sweet friend tried. She was wonderful enough to txt me half way through her first day and tell me she fell off the bandwagon but was getting back on by eating a carrot! Oh and today, she calls to see how I'm doing and she was eating Bon-Bons at the same time!! The horrors!!! But I am persevering and I'm determined to make it through until Halloween. That will be one week with out sweets. Truthfully I feel like this was crazy and slightly delusional to try before Halloween. Today the twinners did the costume for candy thing at MOPS and tomorrow they do it at Preschool! So far though I have not given in to the sweetness of the Kit-Kat bars in their bags from today.

So there it is friends. I am addicted to all things yummy, sweet and good. And I'm taking control and eating vegetables! Seriously I added a salad to every day for the last 4 days (and believe me that does NOT do a good job of substituting for my sugar cravings) and I'm trying to do all the servings of fruit and vegetables. Tonight we had....BROUSSEL SPROUTS! Yuck. Maybe I'll like them eventually. But it is not today.

Today I have gone 3 days without sweets.

A very very...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MORMOR!

The girls were so happy to color and create a birthday message for one of their favorite people - Mormor! Wishing we were there to celebrate. L & S really didn't get the reason behind NOT being able to send MorMor a cake in the mail.

So instead its a photo message!

We love you Mormor - L & S! I love you Mom! Wishing you the very best day and the happiest birthday! We can't wait to be with you again!

The ramblings and prayer of a cop's wife

Often I am asked how I do it. Be a cop's wife. Do I worry? Panic? Have fear or wait by the phone every night. And the truth is I turned all of that over to God when I married D. There are certain things I do NOT do... such as watch the local news or read the reports. If friends ask if I've seen an article about this or that related to the police, I say no. I do not hurry to read it. I trust D to tell me what I need to know to understand and appreciate his job. But so far I have chosen to not know it all.

In some ways this is avoidance, I guess. But truthfully I feel that I trust my husband to do his job and trust his confidence in his ability to do the job. I trust the Lord to be with and protect him and his partner. And to grant them the wisdom to respond appropriately to what comes before them on the job.

Today is D's first day back to work after 7+ weeks off from an injury. It has been wonderful to have him home. He'll tell you I pretty much kicked him out the door and said 'You're going back.' Which is true. I felt ready. We've been married 5+ years and never have we seen each other as much as we have in the last 7+ weeks. So I am a bit ready to get back to the routine of 'real life' schedules and enjoy a little bit of my alone time that I've been seriously without for these last weeks.

About an hour ago or so (D's been at work for a bunch of hours now), I felt alone. Not in the 'phew - finally got my alone time' kind of way, but more in the 'wow - he's back to work and I'm back to being solo again for much of the day.' Don't get me wrong, I LOVE and am CRAZY about my toddlers. They just can't carry a conversation.

These last few weeks have been a blessing. We've had a lot of time to talk and drive each other slightly crazy. We had the time to do a quick road trip together. Parent together. Get on the same page of life. And enjoy some really wonderful times with our kids with out the rush of needing to be somewhere.

I'm thankful he is healed. I'm thankful he is returning to work, for a lot of reasons.

But I am also feeling just a little alone right now. And praying that the Lord with watch over my husband as he returns to the work of being a cop. A job that requires the strength, bravery, and wisdom that my husband has. . . and then asks for more from him. I'm praying for the Lord to watch over our marriage as we return to his crazy hours and crazy court hours. The irregular trying to blend with a regular schedule for the girls and myself. And I am praising the Lord for granting us some special moments in the last weeks and thanking him for being with us always. Thank you for our health and our home. And our crazy, wonderful (not asleep yet playing like crazy monkeys in their beds) children.

A Wedding

Congratulations Katie & Andrew!

On our quick fall trip to the East Coast we attended the wedding of my good friend, Katie. We've been friends since we were 3 years old. Her mom can tell you about the time I instructed her on folding her laundry when I was 5 yrs. Anyway I have a million memories that include Katie from my childhood and so on! It was wonderful to be at her wedding. And I'm so thankful my hubby was willing to help me make the drive with toddlers in tow out there.

Here's a peek at how stunning Katie was, how in love they are and what fun we had at the wedding! It was also a chance for me to meet up with some great friends from high school and dance like we WERE in high school!

Zoo trip

Mommy Moment: Something I really appreciate about my family is their interest in doing things, getting outside and being active! I hope that we can encourage our children to be involved in things, enjoy new things and stay active! Also, my family taught us to LOVE spending time together. We always attended each other's events (sports, ballet, music performances)... and I pray we can instill the same interest and care towards one another in our girls!

Back to the ZOO TRIP!

We had a quick trip out east to visit family and attend a wedding (next post). While with my mom we had a fun trip to the Zoo in Springfield, MA. It is small and if allowed my girls could do the whole thing in less than 5 minutes. We tried to slow them down.

Doubly excited because we had Aunt Mimi and cousin Micah to enjoy the day with us! Micah was quite taken with Dan and wanted to be held, carried or with him most of the time. It was cute. Micah is a doll and calls me "KK" - a nickname I carried for a short while as a child.

LOTS of pics...

Linnea LOVES feeding the animals!

And Mommy had fun enjoying the experience with her!

Of course, Linnea enjoyed that after she recovered from a frightful experience with this camel... Daddy held her up at the fence and didn't take her down even when the camel was right in her face. Needless to say she hated that and screamed/cried for a while. Got over it and fed all the goats! She does love animals... just not when they charge!

Signe LOVES her some Mormor time! Aren't the sweet together? I love how much my girls and my mom love each other! Its pretty special I must say!

Pretty sure these emu wanted to nibble on Micah's fingers... he was very willing to stick them in the fence! And his mommy was very quick to keep them out!

MONKEY Linnea & LEOPARD Signe!

Isn't he just the cutest? And my sister is gorgeous! What a mom she is!

If you look low, you see Micah through the fence. And the girls on the rail were attempting to call a painted turtle in a little pond to them... he actually listened. Probably thought he'd be fed!

Mormor and her little bud, Micah!

Micah and another animal friend!

We had a blast and loved our time with family!

SHOES... glorious SHOES!

SHOES!

Signe has a love affair with being girly! Usually it is Linnea strolling the house in the one pair of high heel dress up shoes the girls had... but after a surprise from Daddy the girls gained 4 MORE pairs! Just what a girl needs... MORE SHOES! Clearly Daddy hasn't realized what he is starting here - but who am I to change that?

It is even more Signe behavior in this picture as she is carefully lining them up! Each shoe on display. And they must ALL be carried in the bag together. Its a big deal if one goes missing!

Girly is just usually Signe's thing though... the shoes, the jewelry, carrying a purse, talking on a cell phone, hand on a hip, total drama queen... AND WE LOVE HER!

Chicken Parm - Cooking Light Style

Ladies, Moms, wives, friends... whomever you are that likes cooking!

This recipe is AMAZING! And SOOO quick and easy! Cooking Light: Oven Fried Chicken Parmesan... you can google it but this link should work!

http://www.cookinglight.com/food/everyday-menus/quick-easy-chicken-recipes-00400000057014/page3.html

I make this often, wing it when I need to and enjoy it with pasta instead of polenta! The salad they also show on this page is equally amazing!

So get cooking - or print this out and save it for a night when you need something to make.

Sorry I didn't get a picture of it after I made it... we ate it to fast to snap a pic!

Happy eatings to you!

Got APPLES? Must bake.

WHAT TO DO WITH DEM APPLES!

Doesn't this look amazing? And it did! Thanks to Cooking Light: Quick Baking from November 5th, 2010. This is their Apple-Cinnamon Coffee Cake - and it seriously delicious warm out of the oven! Easy to make - about 15min of prep (or less if you don't have a 'helper' that is 3.5yrs) and it bakes for 45min. SUPER easy!

Are you hungry yet?

Recipe taken from Cooking Light, Quick Baking, November 5th, 2010

dry:

6.75 oz all purpose flour (about 1.5 cups)

1 cup sugar

1.5 tsp baking powder

1.5tsp grnd cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

wet:

3/4 c 1% milk

2 TB butter melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 large egg, slightly beaten

1 cup diced apples (baking/tart apples)

cooking spray for the 8x8 dish

streusel:

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

2 TB all purpose flour

1/2 tsp grnd cinnamon

2 TB chilled butter, cut into small pieces

1.Preheat to 350 degrees.

2. combine wet into dry until just moist

3. fold in apples

4. pour into pan

5. top with streusel

6. bake 45min at 350 or until a tooth pick comes out clean

L & S lead the way...

To the ZOO: by Linnea & Signe

HOLD ON ... let me check the map!

Just let me find....

The FLAMINGOs!

No mommy, they are not purple.

They are PINK! Silly Mommy!

Next up... a PUMA!

What do you mean its not a PUMA mommy? It's a leopard? Okay!

LOOK! I see a giraffe! I think he sees me too!

These animals look like MICE!

HEY! It's a little HIPPO!

Think he can take me for a ride?

TA DA!

Hope you enjoyed our story!

THE END!

Love, Linnea & Signe

(words by mommy, super cuteness by L & S)