33

(1977)

Once upon a time there was a little girl. She had brown hair and green eyes. She had two sisters one was 13 months older and the other was 7 years older.

(1978)

Their mommy liked to dress them the same...but they were really quite different.

(1979)

I skipped a few years here, because my teeth were bad, my hair was bad...it was just BAD. Thank goodness for good friends, a great orthodontist and some common sense. I thankfully grew out of that ugly duckling phase. You know what I mean...We all went through it, it's not pretty but it's a part of life. Being a 'tween' wasn't easy then, I CAN NOT imagine how it's going to be for my girls in a few years. I'll keep my ugly ducking pictures safely hidden away. Those of you that were my friends then. THANK YOU! Those of you that still stand by my side today, THANK YOU! But time went on .....

(1994)

(1995)

I went to UNH. I found out who I was.

I found 'ME'.

(1996)

I met this really great guy and everything started to change....

(1998)

We were engaged.

(2001)

We were married.

(2004)

THINGS REALLY STARTED TO CHANGE!!!

Then when we thought things couldn't change anymore, we became a family of 5!!

(2006)

(I am missing 2007 and 2008 pictures...hey I was BUSY!!)

(2009)

A few years later I found 'ME' again, and I got her a really BAD hair cut, thankfully time goes on and hair grows.

(2009)

(2010)

So here I am. 33, My favorite number is 3, I have 3 girls and I'm 33.... That must mean this is going to be a GREAT year!

Happy Birthday 'ME' :)

Pit Stop

Update: I still love green olives but will now proceed with caution. I made my dip and while sitting down to a good movie, and munching away on the salty goodness I chomped down a pit!

I chomped down on a pit, on my new crown! It seems to be intact, I go for a cleaning in few weeks and I'll have them take a good look and make sure there are no cracks. Did I mention how much of a baby I am about my teeth? I think giving birth to TWINS was/is easier than anything I've ever had done at the dentist (cleanings included!).

Winter Wonderland

The girls and I have spent most of the last three days out side. A few hours out, a few hours in, waiting for our snow clothes to dry by the wood stove. We either recharge with hot chocolate, lunch, or a quick nap on the comfy couch in front of the fire.

We have had a great time building our menagerie of make believe snow creatures. We attempted to make a snow fort and a snowball wall but both of those took a tragic tumble....all in good snow ball fighting fun. It's funny my girls always seem to aim for my face and they have pretty good aim. I had to add 'no face' rule to snowball fights. We made these in preparation of Daddy arriving home from work. I wasn't sure whether to save them for the dog that keeps 'fouling' in our yard or for him. We chose to use them on Daddy, he caught most of the ones we threw his way and got us right back. Of course at the time of his arrival we were eating dinner dressed to the nines in our princess costumes and ballet slippers. So the scene in our driveway was rather hilarious, of course I was knee deep in the fun and did not take any pictures to document the princess snowball fight.

This is Reagan's Eunice the Unicorn, (there are 5 more of these in the front yard!)

Aubrey and Edie teamed up for a high ride on their creation.

After building all these creatures, stacking wood, and sledding I usually spend the last half hour sitting here, watching the yahoo's play and exhaust themselves. We had a great weekend full of fun.

Must Love Green Olives

You either love them or hate them.

I am a green olive lover.

I don't know what it is about green olives, but I LOVE them!! I make a cream cheese and small jar of olive dip every week. I put the ingriedients in the food processor and blend it with a bit of the brine until smooth, add some hot sauce and give it another whirl.

It's my go to snack with those flip crackers that are half pretzel and half regular cracker. SO GOOD! Try it, you'll like it...

The girls and I had a silly morning.

(I love, love, LOVE this picture of my girls! )

Monkey See and Monkey Do.

Ever growing girls. Their differences are really coming trough lately, and each day a new difference shows up. They used to like the same things, play with the same things, eat the same things.

They used to be able to wear the same clothes.

When it comes to jeans, not anymore! The Slim 5's Meme got the girls in the fall only fit one Fischer. They are all string beans, but one string bean has really big quads!! I think it's because she runs. She does not walk, she skips or runs. The 'comfy' pants have switched to a new user, granted they are on the cusp of being high waters, but they are still wearable, they will be in shorts in no time and those really don't' matter in length. These will see us through the rest of winter, and if we go out in public I will be sure that they are in dresses!

Aubrey has lost her third tooth!!! Ray has yet to lose one! I'm OK with that. She turns into a real bear right before it comes out!! It's almost unbearable to witness, but then she surprises us all and pulls it out with squeals of delight. The tooth fairy has set a pretty high bar, I'm sure she'll have to take out a small loan or sell a kidney to pay for the rest of the tiny teeth yet to loosen.

I'd like to thank my family for a wonderful early birthday celebration!

Here is my pre-33 photo.

You know dinner is going to be good when,....

....even the red peppers are happy.

.

Matthew

January has come and gone. In the blink of an eye the new year has begun. Now is when I shift my own thoughts from the cold romance of winter to that of hearts and flowers, valentines and chocolates. Thoughts of love, family, friends old and new.

There is also the tiny gleam of spring on the horizon. Severely out of reach, but it's there. The sun feels warmer even when the temps are at extreme lows. Daylight lasts just a bit longer. Giving us a few more minutes to see the sun before it hides below the horizon.

Every now and then I drive by a house with it's Christmas lights still ablaze. I used to make comments like,

'It's over people! Take them down!'.

But this year I came to an understanding.

They are not left up because the home owners are lazy.

They are not left up because they are waiting for the warm days of spring to take them down.

They are waiting for someone to come home.

My sister has been waiting for someone to come home.

She has held on to her thankfulness from Thanksgiving.

She has saved her Christmas cheer,

and she has waited to ring in the New Year.

She has neatly wrapped her joy, and holiday spirit under the tree. Tucked it safely away .

She put it all in slow motion so she can save it for her son, who was not here to celebrate.

Anxiously they waited for the end of January beginning of February to celebrate the holidays with all it's glory of love, family, laughter, smiles and memories. All these holidays and the emotion that comes with them are now put into fast forward, all to be experienced in 10 short days.

Matt just finished his recruit training at Parris Island, South Carolina.

We had the joy of having dinner with Matt last night. It was a gathering that I enjoyed and was glad to be a part of. He is here for a very short week and a half, and I felt privileged to share an evening of love, laughter and pride.

Reagan, Ethan, Aubrey, Sophia and Matt Me, Dani, Matt, and Kerry

The kids could not give enough hugs!

Reagan had a hold of his leg and was NOT letting go.

I am so very proud of my nephew! Congratulations Matt !