Party Girls!!!

Join us for a makeover slumber party....bring you favorite dress-up clothes, sleeping bag and pillow and come ready to party at 4 p.m.!!! That was the invite that 8 girls received from Alyssa & McKenna to celebrate their birthday last Saturday...and party we DID!!!

The birthday girls waiting for guests to arrive
A HUGE THANK YOU to my mom, Kerry, Melissa and my hubby for helping me pull off their best party ever. Seriously we had fun :-) We played musical chairs (Jayci won), "Spa" Bingo that I created online (Alex won) and Twister....gosh it's been years and years since I watched or played a game of Twister....this time I chose to watch and it was very entertaining!!

Playing musical chairs

Jayci going in for the win!

I set-up "stations" ... one for hair, one for nails and one for make-up.


My mom was the make-up artist, Melissa did hair and Kerry & I did nails. Each girl rotated between the 3 stations until they were completely glamorous! They completed their look with a fancy outfit and then I took pictures of them individually and as a group.

The group before their makeovers

Once everyone was amazingly beautiful we had pizza, ice cream cake and then watched the twins open their gifts. They got a lot of really nice stuff.

After the makeover - what a gorgeous group of girls!

My beautiful daughter - McKenna

My gorgeous DIVA - Alyssa

Tasty ice cream cake!

Back to the basement the little Divas went for another game of Twister and some serious DANCING :-) We did the Cha Cha slide, freeze dancing (kinda like musical chairs, but when the song gets turned down you freeze - so funny!) and I even joined in on the fun - jumping around and dancing like a fool. They LOVED IT! We finished the night off with more popcorn than a movie theater (he he), soda, water and the movie Open Season 2. Finally....finally....at midnight (ish) all, but 3 of the girls went to bed. The last 3 eventually crashed around 2 a.m. Yes, 2 a.m.!! David and I were snoring by then :-)

McKenna playing Twister

Dancing queens

The next morning started at 8 a.m. with donuts, chocolate chip mini muffins and juice. Yea I know- not the most nutritional b'fast - but it works for 7 and 8 year olds. The girls played cops and robbers until everyone left around 11 a.m. with a goodie bag in hand.

Megan & Alyssa the next morning

I had more fun planning this party than any other party they've ever had. I know they had just as much fun...and it warmed my heart to hear their friends say "this is the most fun I've EVER had at a bday party"! Thanks girls...after a fun, but extremely exhausting time, it was so nice to hear that :-)

The Twins Turn EIGHT!!!

Somehow I blinked and my "baby" girls turned 8 today...I can't believe it. It seems like just yesterday I was sitting in Dr. Aron's office (my OB/GYN) listening to him say "yes it's twins" and watching Kerry scream with delight - delight cuz it was ME who was expecting twins :-) I was so scared of having 2 babies at the same time...how would we afford it? How would we handle it? Did we know how to take care of 2 babies ... at the same time? Well...here we are 8 years later and we have 2 beautiful, smart, thriving daughters so I guess everything always works out in the end!

Alyssa was born first and she is the typical "first born".

She is a miniature version of me....and that's good and bad! She's a very strong-willed girl with a very social and outgoing personality. She loves to make friends and can talk to anyone who will listen. She is an excellent older sister to Brennan and absolutely adores him. Like me, she has a thing for babies. She just loves her baby cousins in FL and does such a good job "taking care" of them when we visit. Over the past several months she has become obsessed with dancing. She takes tap and jazz, but also spends her entire weekend making up dances to songs in our basement and then "performing" them for us! She's an excellent reader and excels in school. She's a very inquisitive child (this translates to LOTS of questions!!!) and often wants to help around the house with cleaning, cooking, etc. I wonder how long that will last!!! She's much girlier than McKenna and in the near future I suspect she'll be my shopping buddy :-) She's an amazing child and David & I love her dearly.


McKenna came 2 minutes after Alyssa ... she's our little peanut!


McKenna is a mini-David. She's very quiet and an introvert. She often does her own thing and doesn't really require much from people. Her friends are limited, but the ones she has are important to her. She's got an artisitic ability that amazes me and also excels in school. Soccer is her favorite sport and I must say, she's pretty darn good at it! She's a very caring child and always thinks about others. We're often faced with questions from McKenna that we can't answer (!!!) - she's been classified as a "deep thinker" by her teachers and it's certainly a great way to describe her! She's definitely much more shy than her sister and pretty independent. She loves to cook, read and ride her bike....and she never gives up until she's perfected something. She's a hunter and a dancer....my tomboy who can be girlie when needed....the best of both worlds I guess! She brings joy to our lives and David & I love her to pieces! EIGHT YEARS.....in 8 more years they'll be driving...how scary is that?!!!

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY ALYSSA & MCKENNA....
we love you and are so proud to call you our daughters!!!

Time for a change...

In the spirit of the girls upcoming spa makeover birthday party, I decided it was time for the blog to get a makeover too! SO here's my new look....do you like it?!

TAGGED - 6 Random Things

THE RULES:
1- Post the rules on your blog
2- List 6 random things about yourself.
3- Tag 6 people at the end of your post.
4- Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog.
5- Let the tagger know when your entry is up.


1. I have had 5 surgeries in 5 years. And I hope I'm done. This includes c-sections, back surgery and some personal alterations!!

2. I love reality TV. Biggest Loser. American Idol. The Bachelor. True Beauty. I love them all!! It's my "brain dead"time at night :-)

3. I suck at cardio. I go to the gym consistently. I try new activities on a regular basis. But in the end, my cardio abilities suck and I hate it.

4. I am addicted to Facebook. If you're on there you understand. If you haven't tried it you should. Sure it's addicting and steals hours before you realize it, but it's FUN!

5. I manage my daughter's Destination Imagination team. They needed a manager/coach or else McKenna couldn't do it.....so I got suckered into it along with my friend Michelle. Neither of us have a clue what we're doing and at this point, we can't wait for it to end...MARCH 14th :-)

6. I love to eat out. I could eat out 4-5 times a week. Eventually I do want a home cooked meal, but I really love to eat out. Mexican, Seafood, Italian, Subs....it's just one of my fave things to do. Too bad it's expensive and typically fattening!

OK! I tag:
Jenn
Krissy
Ruhiyyih

Sadly enough, I only have 3 people I can tag! O'well - it was still fun :-)

Happy Valentines Day

So I've been MIA for over a month now and I must confess....Facebook is to blame :-) So I thought I'd take a few minutes to share about my Valentine's Day weekend.

The celebration started on Friday with the kids parties at school....and grandparents day for the girls. Maw Maw Barbara attended the party (Maw Maw Linda was skiing so she had to miss it) and the kids had a blast. They got to exchange Valentine's with all their friends and enjoy lots of goodies at school!

Ready for school

Celebrating with Maw Maw Barbara

Friday night David & I went to dinner while Katie babysat for us. We went to Docksides in Colonial Beach, VA for a nice, quiet dinner. It was delish!! David had steak (what a surprise!) and I had crabcakes that were soooo yummy. After dinner we spent some time shopping in Target....I know, romantic huh?! ha ha

Today I took McKenna & Brennan ice skating with Kerry, Jayci & Connor while David & Alyssa hung out at home...it was her choice!

Getting ready to skate

We had a great time skating although Brennan wasn't too graceful on the ice :-) He spent quite a bit of time falling, but was pretty good about it....until him and I tried to go around the ice together - me holding his hand - he got wobbly, then I did and BOOM down I went. O M G did that hurt! I was holding his hand on my right side so I fell to the left to try and avoid crushing him....I thought I did ok until I heard him sobbing. At first I thought he was crying b/c I was hurt, but no, he hit his head on the ice. Ugh! He's ok...and so am I....except for my arm which is going to be badly bruised I'm sure. We took a break and had some Chick Fil A before heading back out. He was much more timid after that ... but then again, so was I :-)

Before the fall!!

Connor, Brennan, Jayci & McKenna

From there we met up with David and took the kids to Toys R Us. They had some gift cards left over from Cmas that they wanted to spend. We finished up the day at Jerry's Subs for dinner.

David & I got new Blackberry Storm phones for Valentine's Day and the kids got candy, bean bags, movies, Pixos and a Webkinz from my mom. Almost sounds like Cmas huh?!

David with the kids and their new bean bags

Hope everyone had a great Valentines Day!

Happy Birthday DAD

Believe it or not, my parents bdays are only 5 days apart...and they're the same age (although my Dad will remind you that he's younger!!!). So now it's my Dad's turn to celebrate another year of life.

Although my parents have been separated since I was 3 and divorced since I was 6, my Dad has always been a HUGE part of my life. He gave me a baby sister when I was 8 years old

Me, my Dad & my "baby" sister Jenn

and later brought Lisa into my life (an amazing stepmom) along with her son Jeremy who is now like a brother to me. Like most dad's, he's a strong and loving man with a passion for success. He's a hard worker and a devoted family man. Growing up, some of my fondest memories are spending weekends with him at the racetrack watching him race. I also remember, and treasure, the time we spent with his brothers, parents and extended family on a regular basis. My cousins became like brothers to me and we had such good times eating crabs in the summer and spending Christmas together.

When I was in highschool he "adopted" my best friend Laurie after her mom died and helped her (and I) through some difficult times. If it wasn't for him, Laurie & I wouldn't be friends today!! He's always been there for me when I need advice and has often made me realize things that I wasn't seeing on my own. He taught me to drive a stick shift and was there in the hospital the day I was in a car wreck (b/c my mom was on a dinner cruise). He's tough, but he's tender and as I've grown and had kids of my own, he's become an incredible friend.

He moved to FL when I was 21 and I was crushed! In the end, it was the best move he made and he's been happier ever since. He's a fantastic Pop Pop and my kids enjoy spending time with him & Lisa whenever they can.

Pop Pop & Lisa with Alyssa, McKenna & Brennan

Happy Birthday Dad - WE love you!

Happy Birthday MOM

(I actually wrote this post on January 3rd in anticipation of her bday on Jan. 6th, but completely forgot to post it! Better late than never I guess.)

Tuesday was my mom's birthday and I thought I'd take a minute to talk about what a wonderfully amazing mom and woman she is!! She is my best friend and I'm not sure what I would do without her. She's always there when I need her whether it's just to listen, lend a hand or tell me that everything will be ok. Her entire life has been devoted to me and her friends and she's always the first one willing to pitch in and give a helping hand. She's the most soft-hearted, kind person I know and I hope and pray that when my daughters (and son too!) are grown they have the same relationship with me that I have with my mom. No doubt about it, shopping is our favorite thing to do together, but we also find time to support each other at the gym, go out to eat, attend Redskins games and spend time with my kids. She's a dedicated volunteer (who sometimes doesn't know how to say NO!), a devoted friend and a woman with a huge heart. Anyone who meets her likes her.

My mom and I on Christmas Day

Maw-Maw - as she's known to my kids - is AMAZING. She's the best grandma a child could ask for and my kids adore her. She's always there to see them play sports, sing at school or help us shutle them around as needed. She loves spending time with them and certainly does a great job at spoiling them - hey that's what Maw-Maw's are for right?!! I strive to teach my kids many of the same lessons she taught me and I can only hope that my kids turn out like I did!!! I know -that sounds conceited - but seriously I could've been way worse!

Maw Maw Linda with Alyssa, McKenna & Brennan

Happy Birthday Mom - you're the best and I love you with all my heart.