The kids with Grandma & Grandpa's gifts!

They love these things, much to my dismay!
Lexi telling daddy all about her most recently opened gift
Opening gifts yet again
They all started lining up the gifts as they opened them!
Maddie with a big smile!
Ah yes, the dreaded clothes. Mommy loves them, Nate not so much. First he gathered them up....
...And then he took them over to a big box and dumped them with the rest of the clothes.
Lexi with some of her pretties!
The girls with their shopping carts - notice Maddie's cart has a baby and Buzz Lightyear!

Max with one of his Christmas presents (the rope NOT the peach bear!!)

Lexi being silly
Nate trying on an earring since the girls wouldn't
After the twins were asleep, Nate and daddy worked on his lego garbage truck
He LOVES his garbage truck!!

Christmas Eve 2007

As is our tradition, the kids donned their new Christmas pjs after their baths and sat for a photo. This year seems to have been the turning point and they were able to sit still for a decent pic! Here are a few...

Lexi, Nate, Maddie (with her new buddy that she refuses to put down, Buzz Lightyear)

Nate being silly
Love this one! Nate giving Maddie a kiss.
Our tree all aglow before the Big Guy showed!
My new favorite of Nate this Christmas season.

Merry Christmas!

I just wanted to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! I hope everyone has a great day and I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's Christmas photos!!

Snow Storm #5 of December

Well, for the last several years, not only haven't we had snow for Christmas but the snowfall throughout the winter has been minimal. 2007-08 winter is sure to make up for it. Last night according to the news, the entire winter of 06-07 had a total snowfall of 17" (this is for the Boston area). So far in JUST in the month of December we've had 19". You add in the 9-10 inches we've gotten since last night...you can see we're well past that already and it's not even technically winter yet. :) The kids wanted to go out and make snowballs, which just means they want to play in the snow. So after the 20 minutes it took to get everyone geared up in snow pants, snow boots, coats, hats, gloves...we finally made it outside. Here are a few more pics for you southerners who don't get this "luxury".

Maddie standing next to the pile of snow near the side door. Yes, you're seeing it correctly. It's well over her head.

Maddie
Nate in his new winter coat! He loves the snow even more now that we found his snow pants and he's not getting soaked and cold when he's playing.
Here you can see just how big the snowfakes are out there today. They're HUGE but not real heavy. So it's making LOTS of the fluffy white stuff!! Here Nate's just sitting around! Those huge mounds of snow behind him are the edges of the driveway. Those mounds are about 3-3.5 ft high already because of snowblowing the driveway! (There Joey, happy?! J/K!)
Nate and his snowball!
Nate flinging snow at me!
The girls plowing through the snow!

Walking In A
Winter Wonderland

Whew - what a snow filled few weeks we've had! We've now had 3 decent sized snow storms blow through our little town, each dropped at least 6-8 inches each time. This last storm dropped about 10-12 inches of snow and then some ice as well. BRRRR!! While I was baking (see post below), Joe took the kids outside to play for a bit. But boy was it cold!!

Lexi, Nate & Maddie ready to head out! Finally got the girls some snow pants!

Waiting for daddy to shovel a pathway for them to walk. Lexi, in the middle, waving to me!
Maddie
Lexi sticking her tongue out at me!
Pondering this whole snow business
Uh oh! Nate fell but was having a blast
Helping out with a shovel!
Maddie showing Lexi her snowball
Nate sitting around

Pure Christmas Joy

Two weeks ago, I told Joe that I didn't think I was going to do any Christmas baking. After he laughed at me and called me a liar, I realized he was probably onto something. Less than a week later, I was making out my Christmas Goodie List. I tried several new recipes this year and I'm pleased to say that I approved of all of them! I even have a new favorite. So for your viewing pleasure...

Baking Supplies: Upwards of $100
Baking Magazines for new Recipes: $10
Pure Christmas Joy: PRICELESS

Clockwise from the left: Peanut Butter Blossoms, Andes Peppermint Crunch Icebox Cookies, Gingerbread, Chocolate Chip, Plain Chocolate Fudge, Chocolate Fudge with Walnuts, Oreo Balls, Chocolate Billionaires, Peanut Butter Bon Bons. In the center on the left, Paula Deen's Creme de Menthe Frosted Brownies and Chocolate Cake Mix Cookies w/ Candy Cane Kisses.
This right here is heaven on earth, my new favorites.
Many people ask me - How can you possibly bake with 3 little ones running around? Quite simply - by ignoring housework and letting my kids watch movies all day and dragging toys up from downstairs. Here's what my typically "clean" house looks like after a couple of days of baking.

The kitchen/dining room
A closer look
And the living room where Nate watches tv and the girls are stringing yet more toys all over the floor.

A Visit From Santa & The Mrs.

On Saturday evening, the kids had special visitors! Santa and Mrs. Claus stopped by our house to check up on them to see if they were being good. When asked if they were good, Maddie said "maybe", Lexi said nothing and Nate said "yes!". It was a surprisingly great visit this year. When the awesome couple walked through the door, Lexi and Maddie were unsure. They didn't want to go near them, just wanted to watch from afar. Nate, on the other hand, wasn't shy at all! We got some great pics this year so I thought I'd share!

Here's a shot of the 3 kids before Santa came. Grandma & Grandpa brought up these great outfits last weekend and I thought they were perfect for the special occasion. Maddie's on the left, then Nate and then Lexi on the right.

Nate looking VERY handsome in his new duds!
Lexi
Santa & the Mrs. with Max
Nate didn't look very happy but don't let it fool you - he was!!
Maddie giving Santa a sideways glance
Lexi finally warmed up to the Claus'
So much so that she opened her gift while on Mrs. Claus' lap
With new toys in hand, there was no way we could get all 3 kids to look at the camera!

Lexi enjoying her candy cane from Santa

Santa & Mrs Claus listening intently to girls
A quick snapshot on Friday - Lexi
A snapshot of Maddie
A shot of me and Nate before the Claus' arrival