Who needs "Merry Maids"

She does dishes!

She cleans & cooks!!!

She vacumes and does laundry!!

I have been tempted to give "Merry Maid" a call. But I instead have put my child to work. The high spots are missed but hey it free!! I found her today cleaning the toilet without being asked. Hmmm, what would child labor laws say? Unfortunately her cleaning moods are sporadic, like her mothers. I'll take what It can get. She is a good mommies helper.

Merry Christmas

I am so proud of my christmas card. A friend of Joe's took some great pictures of Miranda and I just had to use it for our card this year. Especially since she has gone anti photos this past month. Happy Holidays to you all. We love and miss you and have fond memories of our faraway friends.

Exercise Dreams

I just ordered this cool new heart moniter/watch. I am excited to get it and start using it while I exercise. I have slacked off with my exercise program but I am looking forward to getting back into the swing of things and get my tendonitis undercontrol. I am setting a goal to exercise 3-5 days a week. wish me luck.

Fun Hairstyles

One of my favorite things about having a girl is doing her hair. We recently discovered some blogs with creative hairdos. This was one of the fun ones. Its cute to see her in the salon chair and ask "Do I look Fabulous?" .

Officialy a "Mean Mommy"

Today is the day that I can now be labeled as a "Mean Mommy". I have been struggling with Miranda's back talk and defiance in everything I say to her. It has been heavy on my mind and I have been more strict with timeouts when she acts this way lately. Today it hit the fan. We were on our way to dance class. No prior infractions before we left. I asked her which"short cut" should we take. It is a lil game we play when there is more than one route to our destination. So I turn down the road and she begins to scream at me and cry while telling me I must turn around and go the other direction. I am not happy with her communication skills and tell her we can take that way home. She still not being happy starts spitting at me and yelling and thrashing in her seat. ( I am waiting for her head to spin and have pea soup spewed out of her mouth) At this point I pull the car over and tell her we can go home or go to dance but I am not moving the car until she stops throwing her fit. We start on our way again after a few minutes. She is still upset and complaining but more calm. When we get to the dance studio I let he know we need to take 5. She does ok for the first few minutes but then starts carrying on. It continues to escalate so I tell her. "Ok, lets go home. Your not behaving and we are not going to dance with this attitude" I pull out of the parking lot, much to her dismay. As we pull out I see my friend and her daughter and let them know we are going home. So on the road we go (its a 20 min drive home). Miranda flips and takes her seat belt off. I pull over. take her out of the car and tell her she can get in the car if she stops yelling and puts her seat belt on. still crying to go back to dance we get buckled in and on the road again. The drama continues, the crying escalates to yells. we pull over again, I get her out of the car. (her car seat come out to since she has a death grip on it.) I tell her she cant ride in the car if she is yelling, mommy will get in an accident. She gets back in the car. We wait till she can stop crying and telling me we MUST go back to dance. 5 min later we head for home. We eventually make it home. Was it worth the fight? YOU BET IT WAS!!! We sit on the couch and cuddle. She tells me she is ready to talk about it and with out any tears we talk about how its not ok to yell at mommy and If mommy says no it means no. She gives be a big hug and a kiss, and tells me she is sorry. I asked her later on if we are supposed to yell at mommy and she said very sternly "Oh no".

Garage Sale Land

How much garage sale stuff does one women need?

The other day I was sorting through Mirandas room and Joe peaked in. It was then that he realized he got "carried away" with his garage sale finds. my only response from beneath the pile of "polly pockets" was "Ya Think".

I am now sorting through the basement, its pretty scary. If I dont surface in a few days come looking for me. I got lost in garage sell land.

upstairs finished

The upstairs room was a mess when we started. The renters had it painted HOT pink and had ruined a built in set of drawers. Joe ripped up the old carpet and put down new carpets all the through. he covered the hole from the built in and we painted the up primed and painted the walls (thanks Dan and his friend Joe).

The stairs carpets was replaced. (they used to be carpeted with muli colored with remenants.)

Getting ready to sell.

We have been working on our rental house to get it up to par so it will sell. Joe took out the cabinets and made the wall between the two rooms a half wall. We repainted all of the rooms in the house. (some even twice).

The Living room had carpets. Joe tore them up and after we pulled all the tack strips and staples up. (thanks Mom & Dad) our friend Gerry finished the hard wood floors.

My "Son"

I usually get questions when I start talking about my "son" Anthony. Yes, he is my step son but he is the only "son" I have. He is an amazing person. As you can see Miranda has a place in her heart for him too. We are lucky enough to get visits every few months. He lives in NYC. He would be embarrassed if he knew I was gushing about him but we just adore him. Even when he has stayed with us for extended periods of time he has never been one to be rude or hurtful. He has amazing friends and someday a lucky girl will snag him. Hint hint. I am excited to see him for Thanksgiving. He completes our family and we miss him terribly when he is gone. We love you Anthony.

Mommy's Girl

Vicky Jo was practicing her phto skills. I think she did pretty good. We went to Monacacy Creek and found some good backdrops. I hope to get a family picture done at Thanksgiving with Anthony and Joe.

Miranda & Trinity

Girlfriends!!!

Miranda & Leah

Leah is one of Miranda's closest friends.

Queen of the Parade

Halloween 2009

It was so much fun watching Miranda in her first costume parade. you would have thought she was the queen of the whole event. I would have thought she would hate the scratchy wig. But no she thinks she should have red hair on a daily basis. She also asked why she couldn't wear her costume to school for a parade today as well.

beach buddies

It was so much fun having Conor, Miranda, & Tucker pal around together. Memories to last foever.

mermaid page

We were fixing mirandas costume and she had to try it on so on goes the wig, and the makeup. she sits on the couch and says "this is how a mermaid poses". I dont know where she gets it from. I had too much fun scrapin it. the waves are from our trip to outerbanks.

happy "4th" birthday Aug 21 2008

What a smile, the funny thing is she had to go pee realy bad. What a girl.

birthday pictures

I was tired of paying someone else to take pictures that I had to pose her for any way. So we dressed her up, did the hair (which she loves getting done), and went down town to have a mommy photo shoot. I think they turned out cute. But hey I have a cute girl who loves to pose. She came up with this pose herself.

outer banks 2008

Super model in the making. I dont know where she gets it from. But all you have to do is say miranda say "cheese" and the poses start. I take alot of pictures but she wants more even when the camera is put away.

outerbaks 2008

One of our favorite things was walking on the beach. The water was cold. But the waves were beautiful. I don't know what it is about standing on the beach watching the waves that is so relaxing and energizing at the same time.

The most beautiful moment in my life was when Miranda was placed in my arms. I am forever grateful for her little life being forever a part of mine.