Project 365 - Day 335

Christmas time is here
Happiness and cheer
Fun for all that children call
Their favorite time of the year

Project 365 - Day 334

First Christmas card of the season!

Project 365 - Day 333

Some Christmas bokeh and a new haircut!

Project 365 - Day 332

The second annual glowing Christmas Tree picture!  And yes, I plan to do this every year until they move out of my house, and probably even then too!!  Someday they will appreciate all this (or at least they better humor their mother if they don't!).

Project 365 - Day 331

The most wonderful time of the year! I love seeing all the lights this time of year. It makes the fact that it gets so dark so early now that much easier to take!

Project 365 - Day 330

Braving the cold (and wind!) today to watch the Salem Christmas Parade!  The boys were good sports, it was cold, my feet were numb by the end.  But they had fun and loved seeing Santa and the little cars that the Shriners drive.

Project 365 - Day 329

Trim up the tree...

Thanksgiving 2012

Another successful mixed family Thanksgiving to go down in the memory books!  The food was fabulous and the company even better.  I had a some experience under my belt and was even more prepared than last year.  I know next year will be even better!  I hope that you all had as wonderful a holiday as I did.  I'm truly thankful to have such a wonderful family to celebrate with!

25lb brined, herb crusted turkey stuffed with aromatics 


The spread, turkey, ham, squash, oven roasted brussel sprouts, green beans with garlic and bacon, sausage stuffing, and cranberry sauce.


The kids table








The whole family!




The cousins!


David enjoys some dessert, ice cream and cookie dough truffles and various pies!

Project 365 - Day 328

Letter to Santa!

Project 365 - Day 327

Perfection!

Project 365 - Day 326

Thankful for this life!

Project 365 - Day 325

Thankful, that after 6 (LONG!) years, I can FINALLY see the light at the end of the diaper changing tunnel!  I'm normally not one for posting pictures of my kids on the potty but this one deserves special attention since this moment might just mark the end of diapers as we know it in our household!  And that is something to CHEER about!

On a side note, potty training is pretty much the worst parenting job ever.  I am not sure if this will stick, but I'm going with it, he's motivated!  After a couple months of him just sitting on the potty now and then, and not doing anything, he finally went this past Saturday and has been willing to keep it up.  He still won't tell me when he needs to go but he doesn't fight me when I tell him it's time to go.  We shall see.  Right now he's enjoying his candy reward (yay for still having Halloween candy left!) and I'm thinking I may need to stock up on some M&M's.

Project 365 - Day 324

Thankful for amazing teachers! More parent/teacher conferences tonight and to thank them for being so awesome I sent in the very famous Chicken Crack Pie for the PTA sponsored teacher appreciation dinner!

Project 365 - Day 323

Thankful for my boys, especially when they are sleeping! Shhhh!!!!!
 

Project 365 - Day 322

Thankful for my mom, the one who taught me the importance of family and what it means to be a mother.  Now, if only I could get her to stop spoiling my children with junk food!    

 

Project 365 - Day 321

Thankful for Miss Karen and the NH Swim School. Not only do my boys have a really fun year round activity that they love, but they are learning a very important life skill as well!

 

Project 365 - Day 320

Thankful for the Doc, my best friend, love of my life, my lobster, he's simply the best. man. ever!  Nothing melts my heart more than watching him with our boys.

Project 365 - Day 319

Thankful for my MIL, who is always there to help me with the boys and to clean my house! I'm very lucky to have her in my life, I won the MIL jackpot for sure!

 

Project 365 - Day 318

Thankful for my little ray of sunshine! He can light up a room with his smile and I never get tired of hearing him tell me that "I'm the best mom EVER!"

 

Project 365 - Day 317

Thankful for unseasonably warm weather and a hanging with some old friends!
 

Project 365 - Day 316

Thankful for my longtime friends, and seeing those friendships continue into the next generation.

 

Project 365 - Day 315

Thankful for the opportunity to learn and get some knowledge, and for my sister for watching the boys so they could play with their cousins!

Today I spent the day at The Sopha learning the art of studio lighting!  It was SO FUN!  We learned how to set up a standard 4 light portrait and then after lunch we were given a magazine image and a model (the lovely Mara seen below!).  Then we were sent to a specific backdrop with the task of  recreating the magazine image!

This image was shot using a beauty dish straight up above the model about 3ft and the best part was that my partner and I did this all on our own! 

 

Project 365 - Day 314

Thankful for my first born, the one who made me a mommy.  His thirst for knowledge and brilliant smile warms my heart and I love that he will willingly choose to wear his "handsome" clothes to school.  Long live the sweater vest!

Project 365 - Day 313

Thankful for seasons!  Fall is definitely my favorite, but I'm so happy to live in a region where we have all four seasons!  In fact, I'm much happier in the cold than in the dead heat of summer.  Shaun and Evan play in the first snow fall before school this morning.

Project 365 - Day 312

Thankful for electronic devices and educational apps so that I can help out at the boys school!

Project 365 - Day 311

Thankful for democracy! Today we took the boys over to the polls with us to vote. I love taking the boys so they can see the process that we talk so much about in action.

No matter how hard they try to make it for you to vote, no matter how long the lines, your country needs you to vote. Whatever your party, whoever you're voting for, your country needs you to vote.  ~Rachel Maddow

Project 365 - Day 310

Thankful for the right to vote!  David, Shaun and Evan remind you to Rock the Vote tomorrow!!

 

The NH Obama Rally

What an unforgettable and amazing day today! It started last night when we went out to dinner downtown (something we have never done with the kids before!) When we parked the car we saw the road blocks and a bunch of lights. I thought maybe there was something taking place later that night (it was about 5:20 when we got to the restaurant). I saw a couple walking out with Obama stickers and I asked them if there was a rally across the street and they said it was on Sunday (today!). Then the hostess told us that tickets were still available.

When we got home, I started looking around online and found the website. Sure enough, not only was President Obama going to be speaking in my city, but former President Bill Clinton would be with him! I wasn't sure how it would be possible to go with the boys and it being so last minute. Doors were going to open at 7am and your ticket didn't necessarily guarantee your entrance. The thought of all that waiting around with 3 younglings and then maybe not even get to see anything wasn't all that appealing to us.

I was posting online and I happened to mention it on my message board, the one I have been a part of now for almost 7 years at the end of this month. So imagine my surprise when I got a message from my friend saying that she was going to see if her husband (who has many politically connections through his work!) could do anything for us. So he sent some emails and at 11:50pm last night I got the phone call that 5 VIP tickets would be waiting for us. WHAT?! I was so excited - told her that if she ever needed an ultrasound of her heart that I would fly Charlie down to do it! She sent me the confirmation email and we set our alarms bright and early! It's not every day that you get the opportunity to see a former President and current President side by side like that!

 When the boys woke up (ironically at 5:30 thanks to DST) we got them dressed packed them into the car, bundled them up, grabbed all smart phones and tablet and headed over to the event parking to wait for the bus to shuttle us over. There was already a line when we got there, but they had a ton of buses and we didn't have to wait long.

Waiting for the bus!

Evan on the bus, ready to see the President!

David, Shaun and Daddy ready to ride the bus!

We got dropped off a ways from where we needed to be so we started walking, asking around for any other place we could go to find our tickets.  We ended up at the wrong table but she took my email and gave us the super special BLUE tickets, which was nice because it saved us from having to walk a couple more blocks.  We headed over to the security line and got right through!  It was so cool not having to wait in the long lines!  We headed to the VIP section.  My jaw dropped when I saw just how close we would be to the podium.  Insane!  Now for the hard part.  It was 7:30 and the first speaker wasn't going to start until 9:45.  Let the waiting begin.  Everyone around us was so nice and friendly we chatted, the boys played their games.  We ran into some friends, who were 2 rows of people in front of us (small world!).  The sun was shining and so it didn't feel too cold.

Charlie and me at the Rally!

David holding up his sign and cheering with the crowds....Fired Up! Ready to Go!

I'm not quite sure I remember exactly the timing of everything but the Dartmouth Aires came out and sang a couple songs then there was a speech given by a college student and then the Pledge of Allegiance  Benediction, National Anthem (also sung by the Dartmouth Aires) and then Senator Jeanne Shaheen came out!

Senator Jeanne Shaheen

After Jeanne Shaheen spoke, we heard from Governor John Lynch.  My favorite line for him was asking us which was more exciting seeing Kid Rock or getting to see the Comeback Kid!

Governor John Lynch and his wife Dr. Susan Lynch

And now for the big moment, which was good timing since both smart phones had been drained of all battery life and all that was left between 3 boys was the tablet.  Also at this point, Evan was getting so tired.  He wanted to be held and by ME only, so that was fun.  My back is still feeling the pain right now!  So most of my pictures during President Clinton's speech were taken one handed while Evan dozed on my shoulder.  His speech was awesome.  The crowd was fired up!  It was just awesome!

President Bill Clinton

Introducing President Barack Obama

It can't say enough how amazing these speeches were!  And to be as close as we were made even that much more amazing!

President Barack Obama and the crowd using the wide angle!

This is at 50mm, so about what our eyes would see.  This is the best image to show our actual view from where we were standing!

President Barack Obama and NH Governor John Lynch

Four More Years!

Evan's ready to vote!