And the winner is...

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

We had a fantastic Christmas with our families this year. Lincoln was very cute, albeit somewhat oblivious. But Griffin definitely 'got it' this year. His famous quote this year, prior to opening most of his presents was, "I wonder what it is!" Yep. It's definitely fun to have kids at Christmas.

One of my most favorite gifts to give this year was pictures of our family taken by our friend, Julie. We did a photo shoot back in the fall with her, but had to keep it secret since we planned on giving pics to our families at Christmas. She did an amazing job and we were so pleased.

Priceless.
Go here to see more of our photo shoot.

And now for the news you've been waiting for. Thanks to all of you who gave such great ideas for my Christmas list. I considered many of them and am already formulating my list for next year.

But I told you there would be a winner and I'm a girl of my word. And so, the winner is....

MEGAN!!!

My cousin Megan e-mailed me a list of some great suggestions. She's a mom of three and fighting the 'frumpy mom' syndrome with her christmas list this year...running shoes, ipod, balance ball, etc. She got me thinking about how I can do the same. Since a gym membership isn't possible at this point, and I hate aerobics, I tried to think of the next best thing to motivate me to get my move during the long cold months here in NY.

And so I asked for DDR. Yep. Dance-Dance-Revolution. That's how I'm gonna get my groooove on. And thanks to my mom for getting it for me!

I also promised that I would dedicate a post to the winner. And I'm gonna do it. But New Year's celebrations are calling. So stay tuned for my post of love sometime very soon!

Happy New Year, you guys!

three and a half months

Lincoln at three and a half months

Griffin at three and a half months


Do you think they might be brothers?

**Come back soon to find out who the grand prize winner is in my "Help me with my list" contest. I'm pretty excited about it!

help a girl out...

It's my least favorite part of Christmas and it's a dilemma I've had for years. It's not the wrapping or the baking or even the shopping. It's not writing Christmas cards (I don't) or gaining those nasty holiday pounds (I just do).

I hate making my wish list.

There. I said it. I feel better just admitting it.

The last time I remember really knowing what I wanted for Christmas was the year I asked for a real microphone, complete with mike stand. I think I was 9.

It's not that I'm Grinchy. I really love Christmas. And believe me, it's not that I don't want anything. I really do.

I just can't figure out what it is that I do want. I think I might need therapy.

Here's my list so far:
socks
clothes
Coldplay's Viva la Vida
a shower radio

Sigh. Not exactly your super exciting Christmas list.

Here's where you come in. I need to know what you think I should want for Christmas. Maybe it's something that's on your list. Or was last year. Maybe it's a book that you've read, or a kitchen gadget that has changed your life, or a piece of clothing that is a must-have. Whatever it may be, leave a comment and help a girl out!

I was trying to think of a prize to give to the winner, and I'm coming up short there too. So, if you are the lifeline that leads me to my favorite Christmas gift this year, here's what I'll do. I promise to dedicate an entire post to you--singing your praises and letting the world know why I love you.

So, get a commenting...

p.s. To be fair, I should let you all know, that I already have an early Christmas present that I absolutely loooooove. Check out these beauties from Pottery Barn:

Run a 5K. Check.

Well, not really a 5k. It was actually an 8k, but I think that works.

About a week after this post about my adventure list, my brother-in-law Tim called and asked if we wanted to come to Buffalo for Thanksgiving. And then, on a side-note, he added that if we did, he and I could run an 8k on Thanksgiving Day together.

Well, how could I say no? Afterall, I could get points for two things: getting back into an exercise routine and running a race...numbers 3 and 5 on my list.

And so I did. I started off well with the training, but toward the end, I changed my training strategy: I didn't. That way my muscles wouldn't be sore. Made sense to me.

So, on Thanksgiving morn, we joined over 10,000 people running the streets of Buffalo. We were surrounded by people in a variety of costumes, including a flock of flamingos and a 19 person turkey. And although the turkey train finished before us, I was happy with our finish time considering my aforementioned training strategy...and did I mention I just had a baby?

By the way, this is a great way to justify stuffing your face later on in the day...not that I've ever needed a reason.

Thankful

I'm thankful for a son who is thankful for this:

I'm also thankful for:

Happy Birthday, Wes.
You light up our world with your love for us.
We love you.

Kaley and your boys

sometimes a girl's gotta brag...

For those of you who are unfamiliar with my cvs obsession, you can read about it here. It's calmed down quite a bit since that post, but I still heart the deals I get there.

Just had to share my latest cvs haul with you guys. Check it out. I got all this for a whopping $2.55 plus I received $7.59 in Extra Bucks to use on my next purchase.
Yep. You counted correctly. That would be eight boxes of cereal. Muahahaha! Ahem.

If you want to find out more about the wonderful world of cvs savings (and other fine deals), I suggest you click here, here, and here. I'd be glad to help you get started as well.

Take this as your warning, though. It will change your life.

And you'll have to get a pantry.

Who's gonna join me?

haaaaappy birthday, deeeeaaaar kaley....

yesterday was my birthday and here is how i celebrated.

what does this say about me?


*in preparation for the day, i went here and signed up for every possible birthday freebie i could find.

* my chosen method of relaxation during the day was climbing into bed with a hot cup of coffee and a big stack of coupons to clip.

*scored a free magazine subscription online.

*when i opened my card from my husband, there was a cvs extrabuck inside and several cvs coupons. and this made me very happy.

*to celebrate, we went shopping at old navy where they are having great deals and i used a $10 off coupon old navy had sent me for my birthday.

*then, i headed over to bath and body works and got about $20 worth of stuff for $3.

*we finished off the evening at cold stone creamery enjoying my free birthday bowl of peanut buttery yumminess. (oh, wes has a birthday in november too, so he got a free bowl as well. we did break down and buy griffin his own bowl, however...cotton candy ice cream with gummy bears. it's a wonder he ever went to sleep last night.)

oh...and i did find a few minutes of peace and quiet for this and my current read:



sigh...it was a good day.