WOW! That's some car!

Allie and I were walking home from the gym today and strolled/stopped in ah of this vehicle. Lucky for me, I don't leave home with out my camera. Because lets face it, no words can truly capture this car like pictures can.

WOW!

This hood reminded me of an Eye Spy photo.

Don't worry Jake, this isn't what I was thinking when I said I want to get a new car.

Stock Tip-Invest in BAND-AIDS

Growing up, I LOVED BAND-AIDS! I would always put them on my ouches. However, my son can't stand them. He would rather bleed all over the place and risk infection then put on one small adhesive. I've even bought Star Wars, Scooby Doo and Toy Story ones. Then along comes Allie. They are seriously "yin and yang" to each other. She LOVES band-aids! She even will go so far as to invent injuries in order to put on a Barbie, Littlest Pet Shop or Dora bandage. If she does fall and receive a legit scratch, as soon as the that little cover up the tears are gone!

exhibit A

In exhibit A, Allison has decided that this is the ONLY way to deal with slightly dry lips. (Reminds me of Silence of the Lambs!)

exhibit B

Here we have exhibit B. She claims that bugs like to bite her on her arm. So as a preventative measure, she has placed band-aids all the way around her arm. (I guess it's better to have them and not need them, then to need them and not have them!)

So as you can see, this is really an excellent stock tip. Invest in Band-Aids! We do.

Arnett's Arctic Adventure

My eskimos waiting for the T.

Before kids, Jake and I would always refer to us bundling up and going out an "Arnett Arctic Adventure". Now the same term has a slight different meaning. After a wonder, relaxing 3 days with daddy at home he had to return to a 24 call today. So the kids and I bundled up and went on our arctic adventure. It started with me taking the kids by the Children's Hospital to drop off some things that daddy needed. I found my way there and back WITHOUT looking at the map or getting lost! This is a good start to our day. Then we park the car at home and catch the T to the Museum of Fine Arts. There is this new 3 story wing on American Art. I got to get the cliff-note version of 2 of those floors. We had fun! We are truly blessed to be in a town with so much culture at our finger tips. After the museum we went to eat lunch at McDonald's. This might not sound very exciting, but it has been almost a month since we last ate there. Once our food was gone, we crossed the street to Frog Pond. There is ice skating there now. (We are already planning to return next Sunday for daddy's birthday.) We played at the Tadpole Playground and then caught the T to head home. We talk about how much we miss home almost daily, but I know that we will miss Boston when it's time to leave.

All You Need Is Love

Today is Thanksgiving and I have no idea where to begin on what I am thankful for. I started by asking my kids what they were thankful for.

Owen- "I'm thankful for the Pilgrims. If they hadn't come to America, there wouldn't be this day to stop and be thankful for." (Some one's been paying attention in school!)

Allison- "Um, a rainbow. Because their pretty!" (Pretty things make everything better.)

Then I stop and think... my kids are brilliant! They think of the simple things. Not the things we can touch (people, toys, food). But the little things that impact us.

This is THE FIRST Thanksgiving where I wasn't busy. Cooking, cleaning, entertaining, driving, planning, visiting, eating... I'm normally the hostess. I'm trying to make everyone have the best holiday. I take a ton of pictures to capture each Kodak moment. Then promptly send them to all the family members. I make sure that all traveling relatives have a bag of leftovers ready for them before their coats are on. I love every moment of it, but I'm usually tired/happy by the end of the day.

We have just spent the day hanging out. We didn't get dressed until lunch time. The apartment isn't spotless. I'm thinking of heating a frozen cheese pizza for the kids to eat for dinner. It's just the four of us. No agenda. Just each other. My thankful list is going to be inspired by my kids.

Faith, Hope, Love... but the greatest of these is love.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

This afternoon the kids and I made Christmas decorations. If you've ever been to our house this time of the year, we tend to have fun and at times get carried away. (Christmas Tree fiasco last year!!!) This year it will be more of the minimalist approach. We turned on our laptop to play my Bing Crosby, White Christmas playlist. It took us about a whole hour to make and display our decorations. The kids commented the whole time how we were missing the garland, the big tree, our nativity scene and some of our favorite musical toys. But somehow, I feel that this might just be the year we truly feel the Christmas Spirit. We might not have everything we want, but we have EVERYTHING we need.

Allie's tree

Owen's tree

Our festive fireplace.

Mystic, CT-just like I promised!

On Sunday, we took a day trip to visit the Mystic Aquarium. It was AWESOME! They had several exhibits outside and a huge inside exhibit hall. We've been to Sea World in San Diego, but this was our first aquarium visit. We are waiting for the bad weather to visit Boston's, but we will!

LOVED the Sea Lions.

Beluga Whales, they looked like they were smiling at us.

Want to pet a shark?

My favorite, the jellyfish!

Hundreds of Nemos.

Touching the Sting Rays.

And just as I was promised last time, we ate lunch at Mystic Pizza!

This was a wonderful day trip.

Our ZEN place

We have found our heaven on Earth! It's the Arnold Arboretum. We went there last weekend and liked it so much we went back today. We explored an area we never went to before. The kids had so much fun! (All 4 of us)

Just look at this face!

We took this trail.

Then this one.

My little explorers.

We even climbed to the top of this area.

The outdoors is definitely where we feel happy and ALWAYS have fun. Next year I am going to try to plan an outdoor/camping trip for the 4 of us. I can't wait!!!

Parent Observation Day

Or as Allie calls it, "Parent Operation Day" at her dance class. They were so cute! Just see for yourself.

This was the "Goodbye Dance". They take turns dancing to the door.

Harvard Man

This is my little man. He's not that little anymore. Since we've moved to Boston, he's really grown up. He lost his FIRST and second tooth. He's been on a train. Visited New York City. Can ride the T like a pro. He doesn't complain about walking 3+ miles. He sleeps ALL NIGHT in his own bed. Accepting a variety of cultures. (To quote him, "Mommy, there are people from ALL OVER THE WORLD here in Boston!") Learning to deal with change and being the "new kid". Reading books all by HIMSELF. Mastering the DSi. (He will play a game until it is FINISHED!) Sampling new foods. Growing like a weed. And he's still considerate and sweet to both his sister and mommy.

OK ladies, all those interested interview with his mommy. This one's a keeper!

Fancy Girl

I love my daughter's perspective on beauty. It's such a relief, compared to mine. When I was growing up, I had to get glasses in the 3rd grade. I still remember the first day I wore them to school. Kelly Campbell called me "4-eyes". I was hurt, but didn't let him know it. I wore them, but as soon as I could get contacts... I DID!

Now that I am older/lazier, I wear my glasses more often. She looks at me as a role model. Because of this, I make a point to talk about how beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Being healthy, smart, confident and strong are just as important as beauty. About 3 months ago we started making our "Christmas Wish Lists". Allison added glasses to hers. I asked her why. She said, "Because I'm smart AND beautiful." Can't argue with that. So since then, I have visited Claire's Boutique and bought her a few pairs of glasses to play with.

You talking to me?

I love being a "fancy girl".

Just like my mommy!

Arnold Arboretum

As my dad will say, "A picture is worth a thousand words." So this blog will mainly be photos of our FIRST trip to the Arnold Arboretum today.

Aim, Ready...

FIRE!!!

King-Of-All-Leaf-Piles

"King" of the pile

Making friends

Looking down at Jake from the top

Looking up from the bottom

My boys

This is MY family tree

This place is AWESOME!

Allie slipped and fell.

"I'm OK!"

Owen climbing up Peter's Hill.

Allie and Daddy bringing up the rear.

Owen wanted me to take this one.

The kids and I at the top of Peter's Hill.

The view from the top.

Going down is much easier.

We only covered about a fifth of this entire park. We WILL be going back to explore more parts!

Franklin Park Zoo

Next summer, a movie is coming out called "Zoo Keeper". It was filmed and is set in Franklin Park Zoo. Since the weather was BEAUTIFUL, we took a trip to check it out. It was wonderful!

The sign at the entrance we took.

They LOVE zoos!

This lion loved to show off!

So did she!

This tower (folly) was part of the original castle that was on the grounds before the zoo was built.

I had to take a pic of the two of us.

This statue was outside the rain forest. Inside, we saw a week old baby gorilla hanging on it's mommy. SO CUTE!!!

Owen posing on the playground.

Owen and Allie playing with each other on the playground.

The kids riding a caterpillar statue.

The kids and I outside the gates as we left.