Happy Holidays

Hard to choose pictures to represent the holiday, so this is a rather random sampling. We had a wonderful time together, and I hope you all had fun with your loved ones as well.

Wedding Highlights

*I was hoping for a good family photo. This one isn't fabulous, but we do all look happy.

I wanted to spend a few minutes to capture some of the moments that stick out to me when I think about my SIL's wedding.

*The drive on Friday afternoon - perfectly timed to allow both boys to sleep on the way there. I love how peaceful my boys are as they sleep. It was a good thing that we started the weekend with a little sleep, because they didn't get much the rest of the weekend!

*The little boy, peacefully sleeping in his car seat during the entire Rehearsal Dinner Friday night.

*Waking up to the big boy's feet kicking my face Friday night. Not my greatest night's sleep. However, the little boy slept really well, so I felt pretty rested the next day.

*Saturday involved a lot of chasing. The big boy opened an early birthday present - a toy laptop - that proved to be extremely popular, and that helped tremendously. A portable DVD player helped a lot, too. The big boy and the flower girl snuggled up under a blanket and watched Elmo for a while, giving us all a little peace. The afternoon was a blur of baths and dressing and otherwise getting myself and the boys ready.

*Enjoying a mimosa and talking with the rest of the girls while we all got our hair done

*Pulling out a lollipop to prevent a meltdown. It took four to make it through the day.

*After the big boy got all dressed up, he went into SIL's dressing room, where everyone was "oohing" and "ahing" over her. Aaron yelled across the room, "Amber! Look at me!!!"

*The big boy sat on the floor and ate a bag of chips and drank a cup of milk as we waited for the ceremony to start. He wiped his greasy hands on his suit jacket. (Which, thankfully, you can't see in the pictures.) As he finished his chips, he said, "Amber, I'm ready for your wedding."

*A beautiful ceremony that made me cry - in a good way. I couldn't begin to capture it here, but it was perfect.

*The big boy and the flower girl again, giggling and squirming around on a couch as the toasts were being made. Very funny and sweet toasts.

*As I buckled the big boy in his car seat to bring him back to our room after the ceremony, he put his hands under my chin and said, "Mama. Your hair looks pretty."

*The kids were set up with dinner, cupcakes, videos, and a toy laptop. I introduced the big boy to the sitters, he ate a little dinner, screamed "cupcakes!", and then said, "Bye Mom! Have fun!" Which I did.

*My boys, playing in bed.

*My gorgeous sister-in-law

*I love this one. Lollipop and a crooked vest. He did a fabulous job, though, and pulled it together when he needed to. It was an awesome time.

3!

*Photo courtesy of Lindsay Shaw Photography

Has it really been three years? Words cannot capture how much I love this little man.

Winter Wedding

I attended the most beautiful wedding this weekend. My beautiful sister-in-law had a perfect event. Everything was gorgeous and fun and certainly memorable. There are tons of pictures, of course, and you can see more at Lindsay Shaw Photography. I just picked a few fun ones to include here.

*Something blue

*The kids had a good time, too!

*All photos courtesy of Lindsay Shaw Photography

A Look Back - December 2008

*Do we have enough room on our staircase for 11 stockings?!? We're going to find out!

Here's a look back at some of what I was blogging about last December:

White Lights or Colored Lights? - It's so funny how adamant people are about their choice. Including myself, of course. I am a colored-lights girl. Who now has a colored-lights little boy. I don't think my husband is getting white lights again for a while. Ha!

Holiday Tunes - Still talking about holiday music. I love it.

How Time Flies and Happy Birthday- Look for a post next week about my little boy turning 3! Unbelievable.

Christmas Decorations - Just a little glimpse into our home during the holidays. It's pretty much the same this year, except that wooden soldier and poster are now proudly displayed on our new mantle. Hooray!

I Love Boston #7: Holiday Pops - We're going in a couple weeks! Can't wait!

Three Beautiful Things....about snowstorms - Gotta focus on the positives.

Holiday Menus and Desserts - The menu is looking pretty similar this year. Why mess with a good thing? Perhaps lobster mac 'n cheese will become our Christmas Eve tradition. I am certainly okay with that.

*This is gorgeous Symphony Hall in Boston. We'll be attending the Holiday Pops this year, after getting snowed out of last year's performance.

Natalie

*Image from Marie Claire via Coco & Kelley

Natalie Portman is gorgeous. She's also immensely talented and smart. I'm a fan. I like her even more since my husband said I look like her. To this, I say "puh-huh!" but I take the enormous compliment and smile. I adore these new pictures of her, and I love the dress too.

St. Nicholas Day, Brothers, and Paper Chains

*I mean seriously, how cute is he?!? I fall more and more in love with him every day.

I am thinking I should write my "Three Beautiful Things" posts on Mondays, because really, Mondays can sometimes kinda blow and that's the time that it's best to focus on the positives. Right?

This week's Three Beautiful Things:

1. Waking up on Saint Nicholas Day (12/6, for those of you who don't know) with pretty white snow covering the ground and the trees. Not so much to mean hours of digging out the cars. Just enough to make a winter wonderland.  Aaron was psyched to run downstairs to see what St. Nicholas left in his shoes.

2. Aaron gave Nathan a hug good-bye at day care, and whispered "I love you" in his ear. It was so sweet I almost cried.

3. When I was little, I loved making paper chains for our Christmas tree. It was so much fun to share this tradition with Aaron this year. He cut strips of paper and helped glue them into circles so I could assemble. 

*I chose this picture, because Aaron is inadvertently blocking his still-bruised nose with the paper chain. Trust me, you don't want to see that.

*He did a great job helping to decorate the tree, including many many comments about loving the colored lights. I'm afraid Kevin may not get to have white lights again for many many years. :-)

I Admit It: I Need Help

*Image from here

You may or may not remember this post, but in it I went on and on about how I didn't want to hire a cleaning service. Our house stayed somewhat tidy, but it was rarely, if ever, clean. I could kind of keep up with dishes and laundry, and I could sweep the floor and clean a toilet on occasion. Maybe dust some pictures as I walk by. Well, now with two kids and a full-time job, I'm barely keeping up with dishes and laundry. There's no way I'd find time to clean the toilets. So we bit the bullet and hired a cleaning service.

And I know you're all thinking...it's about time! You can't do everything yourself! You're absolutely right. You can't. I can't. So I raised my hand and got some help, and I must admit, it feels good. I'm still getting used to having someone else come in and clean my house. It's a little strange, and I get annoyed when things aren't done as I would do them. That said, it is so nice to come home to a house that's so clean it even smells clean. They not only clean the obvious stuff like toilets and floors, but the things that I never had time for, including the crumbs out of the toaster oven and the front of the fridge. My husband says it's worth it for the kitchen alone, and I agree.

So my lesson learned....it's okay to ask for help. It's not only okay, it's good. There are a lot of things competing for my time, and I want to focus on the important ones - my little boys, my husband, my friends, my job... Oh, and MYSELF! I'm not doing too great on that last one, but at least it's not because I'm trying to find time to clean the shower.

Office - Before and After

Well, I can't find the true "before" shots, but these will do. This one is from the first showing, so this is how the previous owners used this little downstairs room. That tiny little wall light was the only light in the room, and there was no switch for it. The nasty stained carpet covered a lead-painted floor. The walls were dirty and in desperate need of plaster.

All we did was put our big desk and shelves in the room, and it ended up being a space where stuff tended to pile up.

And voila! Here's how this room looks today. Newly-plastered and painted walls, a new window and blinds, a full wall of built-in shelves and desk (check out our new Mac too!!!), a rug on the floor... This room needs some finishing touches as well, but I already love working in my new office!