Where Have I Been Lately?

My Girls on Concert & Science Fair Night!

Life has been pretty darn busy.  When we moved from NY to NH, and I went from working 35 hours a week outside of the house (and spending an additional hour commuting) to working 20 hours a week IN the home, I thought, "Oh hooray, I'll have more time to write on my blog!"  Yeah, right...  We've been here for almost 5 years now, and in the beginning, I volunteered for a lot of things because a) I was more of a stay-at-home mom now and when I worked away from home I missed out on helping at school, and b) it was a good way to meet people and make connections in our new town where we knew absolutely no one!  Those things kept me busy, got me involved in the community and most importantly in my kiddos lives!  And so, my blog was one of the things that got put on the back burner.  

Fast forward to this past week, when my girls and I were eating dinner together two nights in a row while my husband had to work late, and my eldest pulled up my blog on her phone and started entertaining us with stories of when they were younger!  We laughed so hard at some of the stories - my 11-year-old briefly reverted back to a 2-year-old for 24 hours, repeating some of the cute things that she had heard that she had said 9 years prior...  But mostly we just really enjoyed having that record of our family.  The girls both told me that I should write the blog again and I said they should make a list of things they want me to catch up on and I will do my best!  If for no one else's entertainment than theirs -- and my mom who always read my blog posts!  (Love you, Mom!)

This reinvigoration for my blog is coming during one of my busiest times of the year - Pops Concert Raffle Time!  To catch up on what I / we are up to these days, I have an 11-year-old who is in middle school and is in band, jazz band and drama club.  I have a 17-year-old who is in high school and is in too many bands to name (I believe it's 5 at school and 1 community band in a neighboring town).  This year I have opted to drive them to school, instead of having them take the bus that arrives at 6:25am (if I drive we leave the house at 7!) and because they have so many after-school activities, I pick them up every day.  Our schools are about 7 minutes from our house and I am happy to be able to do this - it is a little extra time with them each day, an opportunity to make sure we all know the afternoon pick up schedule on the way to school, and an opportunity to hear about their days a little before we get home and have homework to do.  I still work from home, but I have a new job that I love - back in human services which is my favorite type of work!  In addition, I still work a few hours a week for my other virtual job, which helps them and also helps support all of the extra activities, lessons, school trips, proms...  I also (from year 1 here) still teach Sunday school at church during the year -- I am excited for next year when I will be back helping with my youngest daughter's class!  And I volunteer for End 68 Hours a couple of times a month and as I mentioned - it's Pops Concert Raffle Time - I am the committee of one for the big year-end raffle at the high school's end of year concert.  

I am super busy these days, but through all of this I get to spend a lot of time with my girls, I know a lot of their friends, their friends' parents, their teachers, and I definitely feel involved in our adopted community -- and I wouldn't change any of that!  (Although if anyone wants to help me make calls for raffle prize donations or help with writing Thank You cards at the end of May, let me know!  ;)

Out of Hibernation - Welcome, Spring!

My pretty girls at the big party!

I see looking back at my January posts that I have been failing my 2015 New Year's Resolutions...  Diet was going GREAT for a month, as was the writing on my blog!  Then things kind of fell by the wayside...  We are all thawed out here from a particularly long, cold, hard winter -- one TINY little pile of snow left (about 1 foot by 1 foot) and LOTS of yard clean-up to do!  Winter was chugging along just fine and then my husband had an accident which was very traumatic for our little family, BUT, thank God he made it out virtually unscathed!  We were so blessed and are so thankful, but it took us a while to shake that off and get back to normal.  We are happy to say adios to the snow for this year, that is for sure!!

In spite of all of that, we have been busy with work and school and this and that!  Valentine's weekend we had all of my in-law's up to visit for the weekend -- 18 of us in all!  16 people stayed at our house, including 8 children between the ages of 1 - 14, and 4 dogs!  The weather was terrible -- snow storm, cold -- my husband had to work the day everyone arrived.  I found myself saying things like, "WHY is there a toy bird in the glass chandelier?" and arrived home from church to find the POLICE in my driveway (my sister- and brother-in-law called Animal Control because a dog had been wandering around out in the bitter cold for over an hour!).  The house was a wreck and I did take a sip or two of wine (medicinal), but we always have lots of laughs when the whole family is together and it was wonderful that they made that trip in spite of the weather!  It also was a week before my husband's accident, and so I think we were all so thankful that we had that time together, because you just never know what life will throw you -- great example of jumping at every opportunity, making the most of every moment! 

In March, we traveled to Long Island for a whirlwind weekend to attend a magnificent surprise party for my brother-in-law.  It was a wonderful party and it came about 3 weeks after my husband's accident, so it was therapeutic for everyone in his family to see him and for him to see his family.  And my sister-in-law threw an amazing party -- it was like a wedding!  Beautiful venue, dj playing great music all night, dancing, wonderful food.  So good to see everyone and my girls, as always had a fabulous time with their cousins -- dancing and chatting the night away!

My girls had a fun weekend in CT with their cousins, and then the CT cousins and one of my aunt's from NH joined us for a lovely Easter!  

Our 14-year-old went to Washington DC for her school's 8th grade trip -- she was very nervous leading up to it -- would NOT let her mother pack her any pictures of her family or any notes to read on her trip, for fear that she might cry if she saw them!  The kids were not allowed to bring any electronics, so no phones, no iPods, etc. (My cousin teased that since my girl has an old-fashioned "flip phone" surely that did not count as an "electronic" - ha, ha, ha!)  She and the other kids survived without all of that, and I as a mom survived because her school put up a website and her band director (and one of the chaperones) posted pictures of the trip every day, so I got to go on the website and catch glimpses of my girl!  I also reminded myself that back in the Dark Ages (before cell phones...)  when I was in school, I went on two band trips one to VA and one to Canada and I also went to Girl Scout camp for a week or two every summer -- all without a cell phone or any other electronic device.  And lived to tell the tale!  She was gone for a week and had a fabulous time, saw a lot of wonderful things, learned a lot, had fun with friends, took wonderful pictures and came home with lots of stories to tell us!  She's been home since Friday and has already created a DVD of pictures of her trip set to music.

We are winding down with Girl Scouts for my little one this year, and this past Sunday my girls and I had the last Sunday School class for this year (YAY!  I survived teaching the 3rd grade class!!!)  My 14-year-old is practicing for her All-State Band Concert -- we're so proud that she was picked! -- and my 8-year-old signed up to be in the elementary school talent show with a group of 20 girls performing "It's the Hard-Knock Life" from Annie, so she is attending rehearsals for that.  We have a trip to NY for my dad's birthday coming up, a Girl Scout day trip, my mom is coming up for the All-State concert and Mother's Day, and then my mother-in-law and her sister are coming out for Memorial Day (my girl is in the marching band!).  And that's just in the next 5 - 6 weeks!  Summer is starting to book up too!

In the meantime, we are looking forward to cleaning up the patio, cleaning up the gardens, and opening up the windows for some fresh air!  (We've done that off and on this week, but the past two days have felt more like fall than spring!)

How are you and your family celebrating Spring?

Starting Another New Year!

Life has been so busy lately -- gearing up for the holidays, getting through the holidays, winding down after the holidays...  My brain feels a little overwhelmed lately and not always cooperating when I want to go online and post on my beloved blog!  But it is January, the start of another new year, and I have yet to grow tired of my resolutions -- amazing!  One of my resolutions is to show my little blog more love and attention.  I just realized 2015 is the start of my 9th (!!!) year of The Fine Art of Motherhood!  How crazy is that? 

So, back to resolutions...  Here's what I have on my plate so far this year:

- The old "New Year's Resolution to Diet" -- but I'm using the "My Fitness Pal" app on my iphone which makes it super easy to count and track calories.  I've gone 10 days straight which is pretty good for a New Year's diet!  I did not clear out the cupboards of the house, I did not proclaim snacks to be hereby banished from the house -- I'm just counting calories which means portion control!  I've also used this as an opportunity to try to get my girls thinking about portion control.  Bless their hearts, these lucky girls take after their dad so far and they are tall and thin (lucky!), but it's never too soon to be aware.  There is a fine line, as many of us women know, between making your kids (especially girls, I think) aware of what they eat and trying to make healthy choices -- and giving your child a lifelong struggle with food and their body image!  We're working with the "you can eat what you want, but in moderation" and let's try to make healthy choices mentalities.

- My husband and I have resolved to go on a date once a month!  Our 8-year-old hates that idea (she's not a fan of Mommy and Daddy not being home), but we remind her that it's nice that her Mom and Dad love each other and want to spend time together -- that's a good thing for the family!  Our dates don't have to be expensive -- even just getting out and going for a walk together, going to a movie, taking a drive, going out to breakfast (all while counting my calories...).  I always think that children benefit from seeing their parents in happy, loving relationships -- hopefully we set a good example for our children to follow in their own adult lives.  I am blessed to spend a great deal of time with my girls -- I am here with them before and after school, evenings, weekends, I help out with my youngest daughter's Girl Scout troop, I teach her Sunday School class, I go to church with my girls (and Daddy when he's not working), I sit around and chat with my teenage daughter and we frequently text each other when she's not with me (school bus, friend's house...).  It's nice to also get to spend a little time with my hubby, too!  :)

- Writing on my blog!  Even if no one else ever reads another one of my blog posts, it's a great record for me and my girls of our lives and their childhood.  2014 wasn't my worst year of posting, but it certainly wasn't my best!  Let's see if I can't do better in 2015!  ;)

I think that's a pretty good start for 2015!  2014 had it's ups and downs -- mostly ups, thankfully -- I'm hoping that 2015 is even better! 

What We Did This Summer - 2013 Version

I had promised myself that I was going to do a better job of keeping up with posts on my blog this year -- and this summer pretty much went by without a single post!  :(  It has been a busy summer - one for the record books, for sure, but not with our traditional summer activities.  My eldest daughter is struggling with anxiety over having to go back to school and how quickly the summer seemed to slip by.  She has asked me twice if I would post my usual list of what we did over the summer, so hopefully this will help her out by reminding her of some of the fun things we did!

- One of the last days of school, early in the summer, Daddy picked the girls up from school and took them to the zoo
- We had our end-of-year Girl Scout ceremony, bridging the Daisy troop to become Brownies
- We had a fun Lalaloopsy birthday pool party for our new 7-year-old (my youngest)
- We went on a vacation to New Hampshire to visit with our family
- While in NH we went to Newfound Lake, one of our favorite places to spend the day at the beach, and we had a picnic lunch with the family, spent the day in the water, and made sand castles
- Also while in NH I went to my favorite country store with my aunts and brought my two girls shopping with the ladies for the first time
- We went to Hampton Beach, NH and enjoyed a day at the beach, swimming in the ocean
- During our trip to Hampton, we went to Brown's our favorite seafood place and the girls tried lobster
- We went to Funspot "the world's largest arcade" in NH and played skee ball, air hockey, video games and then mini golf outside (and my little one desperately wanted to try ZIP LINING.... (daredevil!) but settled on swinging on a swingset until she fell off and scraped her knees big time!  (Barely a tear though, bless her brave little heart!)
- We went out for another seafood dinner with the whole family to the Weathervane in Weirs Beach, NH and then walked on the boardwalk, went into an old-time arcade, and got an ice cream
- We enjoyed time with family and I got to see a cousin that I haven't seen in years and the girls got to meet her daughter who is around their age - my girls always love adding new cousins to the fold!
- We went to the Genesee Country Village with Daddy one day for my 12-year-old to have a fitting for her costume for the Independence Day celebration on the 4th of July
- We volunteered as a family at the Lifetime Assistance Airport 5k - a charitable event that the agency I work for holds every year.  We all had fun and we got to see special guest, Abby Wambach speak right after she broke her world record for most goals scored!
- The girls and I went to the Genesee Country Village Independence Day celebration and my eldest once again represented Rhode Island (tallest girl, smallest state - go figure!) as a maiden for the day, walking in the parade and being at all of the special events
- The girls and I went back to Genesee Country Village in August and enjoyed Laura Ingalls Wilder Day - we have gone every year since it first began (5 or 6 years ago?).  The girls went in costume (of course!) and this year's special guest was Allison Arngrim, who played Nellie Oleson on the tv show. She is so funny and entertaining -- we had a great time as always!
- For my birthday we went out on Grandpa & Gramby's sailboat, sailed around the bay and then over to an Italian restaurant on the bay for a lovely birthday dinner!
- We also had a special birthday dinner for my 7-year-old and Gramby who share the same birthday!
- The girls spent a lot of time with Grandpa, who watched them in the afternoons while Daddy and I were working - lots of lunches out, some visits to Great Gram, and at least one trip on the sailboat with Grandpa & Gramby
- My littlest girlie spent one week at Princess Dance Camp this summer (her 3rd year, I believe) and she had a great time and we all enjoyed her recital at the end of the week!
- She also spent two weeks at the yacht club taking swimming lessons -- she did great this year!  Next year, level 4!
- My eldest had a fun day with a friend that started as a "couple of hour visit" and turned into an all-day, stay for dinner affair!
- My little went to 2 birthday parties for 2 different friends
- Nana came to visit last week from Monday to Sunday and the girls enjoyed getting to spend every day with her!
- Shopping sprees for school
- Dinners out on a few different occasions - Red Robin, Shogun Palace, our favorite diner, Applebees
- A couple of visits to local playgrounds
- A fun trip to the zoo with a friend and her mom
- A fun afternoon with Gramby - lunch, playground, and creating beautiful pottery pieces at Color Me Mine!
- Probably some more things I'm forgetting...  like swimming in our pool!

Pretty long list, lots of stuff going on!  And that isn't even the half of it -- the biggest thing we did this summer was Daddy went on a couple of interviews for a new job in New Hampshire, which he got, and we decided to take it and move our family to New Hampshire!  Yeah, that was pretty big...  We're actually still in the process of that "activity" right now -- getting the house ready to put it on the market and now keeping it spotless for unexpected walk throughs by our realtor and potential home buyers is keeping us pretty busy!  More info on that to come!

Hope you enjoyed your summer and best wishes for a great new school year!

New Year's Resolutions - 2013

We had a quiet New Year's Eve last night -- just the 4, I mean 5, of us home for the evening!  Usually my husband and I feed the girls their dinner early, and then we try to have a romantic dinner in the dining room by the fireplace.  Last night we just had dinner together.  We watched the tribute to Dick Clark, and because my little one took a nap yesterday afternoon, we let the girls stay up to see the ball drop at midnight.  This was the most exciting part of the evening, but that's ok, because to us, New Year's has become less about parties and more about ringing in the new year with the ones we love!  My nearly 12-year-old had the idea to video tape our New Year's resolutions, so we all took a turn.  She and her sister had a few, mostly to get along better with each other.  My husband is resolving to find a new job in 2013, and I made a couple about getting in shape physically, and financially.  I actually have a whole slew of them to enhance my life and the lives of my family, hopefully!  Here goes (in no particular order) -

1)  Take better care of myself - not a diet, but an overall emphasis on caring for myself - eating better, getting more rest, keeping up on dr's appointments, going for walks with our new puppy and also using the treadmill for it's actual purpose - not to hang clothes on...  Pampering myself is also going to fall into this category!  For starters, when I took my youngest for a haircut the other day I decided that I was going to treat myself to a long overdue eyebrow wax!

2) Take better care of our finances - we have not always been fabulous with our finances and little by little we are improving that.  We are considerably better than we used to be, and barring any unforeseen circumstance, I think 2013 will be an even better year!

3) Write on my blog more often!!  I was just dreadfully neglectful of my blog in 2012, and since it is partly my record of what is going on with my children, I intend to be much better in 2013!  I have to look at this as fitting into the "pampering myself" category, because it is something I enjoy doing for myself!  And look at that, Day 1 of 2013 and I have posted my first blog post of the year -- not a bad start!!

What resolutions have you made for 2013?

Thanksgiving Name Tag / Napkin Ring Craft

I miss you, dear blog -- Girl Scout cookie season seems to have taken over my life... It's coming to a close, and then I can hopefully get back in the swing of things! In the meantime, we had a lovely Thanksgiving with my mother-in-law (Grammy) and her sister (Cici) coming out to visit us for the long weekend. We had a great holiday with them, Grandpa & Gramby and my grandmother who recently turned 90.

The girls dressed in their little pioneer outfits (pioneer, pilgrim -- close enough to them, apparently!), everyone said the food was delicious, and the company was wonderful! We tried to make a turkey centerpiece craft with the girls but I was missing an essential item -- we'll work on finishing that up and then I'll post it in case anyone else is interested for next year. And hey, I'll have mine all ready to go for next year, myself! I did put the girls in charge of name tags which were very simple, but very cute. Just squares of construction paper with each person's name printed on them and cute foam Thanksgiving stickers stuck on each. We punched a hole in each, slipped a piece of twine through the hole and then tied it with bow around each person's napkin. Very simple, very cute, very festive!

I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving -- it really is my favorite holiday -- all about family togetherness, the calm before the Christmas rush!

5th Birthday Frenzy

Where have I been lately, you may be asking? Well, here... Just not here on my poor, neglected blog! The past few weeks have been a blur of the end of 4th grade for my eldest, the start of summer, my busiest time of the year at work (which has involved bringing home work to do after the kids are in bed), trying to get the yard in shape, getting ready for visits from family this summer (which we love!) -- you name it! I've been feeling so frazzled the past few weeks that the invitation to my youngest's family birthday party was an e-mail sent out 7 days before the party (which is happening this Sunday...)!! Mother of the year... I guess I should be glad that I remembered to send a note out at all! We are having a family party on the 10th and her first "friends" party on the 30th -- spreading it out a little. (Better than 2 parties in one day, which was my initial idea -- what was I thinking?) My littlest one has also been to two birthday parties for friends from preschool, with two more coming up in the next week and a half! It's an exciting time for her, and we are looking forward to reciprocating with a birthday pool party (her choice) with a Disney's Tangled theme. I'm still working out the details -- like getting to the party store to find Tangled invitations! But, we're plugging along on the yard work, we had to get a new pool liner so the pool is looking party perfect, and her party will be followed by a visit from Nana and the New Hampshire relatives to celebrate my own 40th (yikes...) -- so we'll kind of kill two birds with one stone (that's a terrible expression) with the party prep! I have a long, long to-do list -- wish me luck!

Trying Something New...

So, I'm trying something new on the blog -- let me know what you think! I'm still deciding, but I like to decorate my home and frankly, the blog was feeling like it needed a little sprucing up, too!

Keeping Your Chin Up!

My friend Christine wrote a great post on her blog the other day, where she describes her daughter telling her she's the "worst mommy ever" simply because Christine would not buy her cotton candy at the grocery store.

I think we've all been there -- feeling under-appreciated -- this weekend my cotton candy moment was with my 9-year-old who never once said thank you for the hours of help I gave her with her first big school project. My husband and I went to the store and bought her supplies on Friday while she was in school -- everything on her list. Then Saturday she certainly did not appreciate my gently (at first) suggesting that she finish her essay so that she could enjoy the rest of her day. We got through that with some struggles and then Sunday there was a large display to make. The supplies that we purchased just were not going to work out. She was definitely not fond of me at this point of the day -- there was a definite breakdown...of communication... She did not come out and call me the worst mommy ever, but there was a vibe that I was getting. Anyway, we regrouped and I put the kids in the car and off we went to the store to buy more supplies. Then lots of technical help and consultation on the construction of a farmhouse, barn & silo and voila, the project is finished and where did the day go? She took the project to school yesterday (a day early) and got to be the first to do her presentation. She told me that she'd had the best day -- the presentation went great and everyone loved her display. No "thank you", but I was happy that she was happy and proud of the work she did.

I think one of the frustrating things about motherhood is that it takes SO long for our children to understand and appreciate what we do for them -- possibly until they have children themselves! (I'm sure our parents feel our pain -- or at least are pointing and laughing like, "see what you put me through?") You just do the best that you can and you enjoy every single sweet moment that comes along -- and they do, all the time! The other night, I came home to a glass of water with 3 buttercups floating in it -- a "bouquet" from my sweet little 3-year-old. Our children love us and appreciate us, just in their own quiet ways sometimes! And that's ok -- they'll realize what good parents we are -- when they have their own children! ;)

Miss Me?

I miss you! I'm still here -- bad blogger... The day after Movie Night, we had 13 of our wonderful family members (15, if you include 2 of the canine persuasion!) come to visit for four days! My mother-in-law (Grammy) and her sister (Cici) were wise, and opted to stay at the hotel around the corner. That left 15 of us (and 2 visiting dogs... and our 1, irritated cat) staying at our house! WHEW! We had a great time, although I finally succumbed to a cold on their second day here, and my littlest one had been battling a cold for a few days before their arrival. My 9-year-old was in her glory, having her cousins here, in particular, her "twin" cousin and "BFF" who will be turning 9 in a couple of weeks. We did not venture out too much -- the kids enjoyed playing outside in the snow, we took everyone on a tour of Grandpa and Gramby's new house which is in the process of being built, we did go sledding at the golf course up the road and that was one of the highlights, for sure! Several trips to the grocery store, Target, church, a belated Christmas celebration, a slightly belated birthday celebration for my husband, lots of game playing, lots of Olympic watching, and LOTS of talking and laughter! I have some cute pictures to share (although apparently, I have not yet uploaded them off my camera, so I will share them later...)! We certainly enjoyed our February recess with our family -- I hope you enjoyed yours as well!

Bad Blogger...

I am a very bad blogger...  I have been so busy the past couple of weeks, that I have neglected my beloved blog...  I'm still here and I have lots to share and I promise to post more regularly (so that Catherine has something to read on lunch...)!

Where Does the Time Go?

Tonight we went to my daughter's end of the season sailing banquet -- and I realized that summer is flying by! Ok, well, this wasn't a new revelation -- almost every day I marvel at how quickly this summer is moving along! But tonight I also thought that I am a bad, bad blogger... I have been very neglectful of my little blog (and my faithful reader -- sorry, Cath!) :) forgive me -- it's been a busy summer! I really have so much to share -- "What we would not do again travelling to Disney" (that was from May... Bad blogger!), the "deets" on the princess themed 3rd birthday party (ok, that was just last month -- July!), 2nd annual "Laura Ingalls Wilder Day" (getting better -- that was on Sunday!), getting ready to go back to school (for my 8 year old) and getting ready for preschool (my BABY in preschool -- say it isn't so!!). We have one last trip for the summer -- heading up to visit relatives in New Hampshire -- so we are very excited about that but also busy with trip prep! Tomorrow we are off to tackle school clothes shopping and school supply shopping -- we'll see how that goes... My 8-year-old is already as opinionated as a teenager about her clothing! "Just get all of my clothes at Justice, Mom!" Yeah, $27 for a pair of jeans for an 8 year old... Um, I don't think so! Wish me luck!

How has your summer been going? Are you all ready working on the back-to-school preparation, or still enjoying the "lazy days of summer"? Let me know what you've been up to -- I'd love to hear from you!

Update to Sobbing...

Hooray! As you can see, I have a new keyboard, so I am back in business! And, in addition to the new keyboard, we have some new (well not NEW, but newly reinforced!) rules for the computer desk -- no food, no drinks!! It was my girl's cup of water, but we all suffered together -- I could not get onto my blog or check my budget, and she could not get into Webkinz! $15 later at Staples, and we have a new (albeit Barbie-sized) Logitech keyboard. But we had not desire to spend a lot for a fancy keyboard -- just in case we forget the rules again...

Can You Feel the Blog Love?

I am proud to say that Christine at "Living Beautifully, Frugally" has awarded me this lovely blog award, which I feel is justly deserved! (Ok, she's my best friend, but really, this is a nice blog!) If you haven't checked out Christine's blog yet, be sure to check her out -- she is currently a stay at home mom who chose to take a break from her career in exchange for valuable time with her daughter before she begins elementary school. Christine has a thoughtful and witty way of sharing her ideas for being frugal, while still enjoying life.

The rules for this award are to list 5 of your addictions and 5 Blogs you would like to recommend for this award!

First, my "addictions" (these are in no particular order...):

1) Wegmans -- our fabulous local grocery store -- unfortunately for my checkbook and my waistline, I am always enticed by their beautiful displays and their fantastic marketing -- I walk in for 2 things, and walk out with 5 bags!

2) Holiday Decorations -- for any holiday -- no discriminating over here! I have an abundance of Christmas, Halloween, Easter, and 4th of July decorations in particular, but I don't want the other holidays to feel left out, and I am trying to show them the love as well! Truth be told, I say that I am decorating for the kids, but I enjoy it as much as they do!

3) Blogs -- before Christine started blogging, I didn't even know what a blog was! Now, I have my favorites that I check almost everyday!

4) "Home-Making" -- I love trying to make my home more inviting for my family, in particular, and our friends who visit. Whether it's trying to keep up with my little mess-makers, or working on decorating this room or that (I'm talking home decor now, not holiday...) -- I love making my house feel like a home!

5) Toile! -- And in keeping with the home-making theme that I just mentioned -- I am currently WILD about toile! Love it! I have managed to work toile into my upstairs bathroom, my dining room, and hopefully this week my guest room and downstairs bathroom! If I could find toile Christmas ornaments -- I would be in heaven! I promised my husband I would lay off his office though -- no toile is allowed to pass through that door...

And now, on to the blogs that I frequent (not including Christine's, who I read daily!):

Cherry Hill Cottage
Tina from Cherry Hill Cottage shares wonderful recipes and her beautiful cottage home decorating ideas.

A Soft Place to Land
Kimba from A Soft Place to Land shares her great home decorating and craft ideas and she loves making home a haven for her family. Also, this woman is not afraid of paint, and I love her for that!

Stretch Marks (aka Really Bad Hair Day)
I just love reading Melissa Lee's blog about her life with her husband "Attorney General" and their 2 beautiful children. She will have you laughing out loud -- just ask my officemate who reads her blog on lunch!

Nesting Place
The Nester is amazing! What that woman can do with some feathers and some rags -- unbelieveable! She has me hooked on tassles (more home decor -- don't get fresh!) and rag garlands. She is all about "Mis-treatments" as she calls them -- beautiful window and home decor treatments with the fuss and muss of sewing -- her trusty assistant? Her glue gun!

The Painted House
I love to read Angela's blog about life with her husband and their 3 children. Her husband successfully battled cancer this past year and to help him out with that the whole family went vegan -- she has lots of recipes on there, and I have to say, everything looks delicious! She is also a talented artist and I love to see her home decorating ideas!

So, while you are on your blogging travels -- check out some of these amazing women! And thanks again, Christine!