Does this look painful to you?

Here is Allison's attemp to put on her underwear by herself. She was so proud of herself that I didn't have the heart to fix them. So they looked super uncomfortable - she didn't seem to mind! I am just happy that she's finally interested in dressing herself. I am realizing that I do FAR too much for my girls. Come on, a seven year old can't get a drink by herself?? It's time to make some changes around here. They are old enough now to start doing some simple chores and tasks on their own, even if it does mean they have to walk around with a nasty frontal wedgie all day!

The "lucky" tooth has fallen out

Well, the "lucky" tooth is no more! Juliet's crooked, yellowed tooth has fallen out and she is happy, though I think I'm even more thrilled about it! She's had the crooked tooth since she was two years old and decided to do a not-so-graceful ballerina spin at my mom's house in her socks and landed straight onto the hardword floor, face first. Her tooth actually chipped the floor and she didn't have time to break her fall with her hands. The worst part was that I watched the whole thing but wasn't able to do anything about it in time. There was blood everywhere and thank goodness Chris was there because I just lost my mind and any logic that was supposed to go with it!

Anyway, she's called it her "lucky" tooth since that time. That name comes from the movie Finding Nemo because Nemo has the messed up fin that he calls his "lucky fin". Hey, whatever works! Though I'm not sure how "lucky" it really was because the tooth fairy still only left her a buck! Cheapskate!

Fenway the hot dog

My Boys!

Some of you may not have "met" the new addition to our family yet. He is a 1/2 Dachshund 1/2 Carin Terrier mix. I got him this past Mother's Day when he was 7 weeks old. Trooper and him are good buddies and are working out great. He is a pretty cool little guy and just lives to have his belly rubbed and for food in any form he can get his paws on. He is a little mischievous little booger. If something goes missing I know longer automatically blame Allison - I know Fenway probably had something to do with it!

First Day of 2nd Grade!

There she goes!

Juliet is officially a 2nd grader now! She got off to school with a no tears and a smile on her face - what more could you ask for? She's not home yet and I can't wait to hear how her day went!

Check out Allison's face in the background! Too funny!

Gus is Rescued!

Gus safely back home

After two very thorough searches throughout my entire house, I had almost decided to give up looking for Gus. This is gross, but I figured worse case scenario I would be able to sniff him out in a few days and put his little body to his final resting place (a.k.a. a shoe box buried in our backyard). I tried everything I knew how to find this little guy. I even put Trooper on a leash and thought he'd magically have the capabilities of a police dog and sniff him out. But much to our dismay, we discovered that Trooper does not have a future as a K-9 cop.

However, since the girls kept insisting that we just had to find him, I thought we'd search one last time. This time I decided to look behind our washer and dryer all the way down stairs. At first, all I saw was a giant lint ball but then it moved! There was fluffy old Gus, hanging out behind our dryer. I estimate he could have been there for up to 3 entire days, based on my investigation with the kids as to "Who done it". Juliet admitted that on Tuesday when her friends were over, perhaps she didn't quite close his cage all the way.

But what I can't believe is that little dude fell from his cage about 4 feet, went all the way down stairs, and into the farthest room possible in my house, behind the dryer no less. And yet, he didn't break any bones (um, I think), starve to death, or get eaten by a dog on his journey. All I know is this hamster must have 9 lives.

Hartford Half Marathon

Well, I'm finally going to do it! I have not run a single race since cross country in high school, when I actually swore that I would never run again. Running was always a love-hate relationship with me. But now since running is sometimes the only chance I get to get a break from working and being a mom and wife, I am now in love. It is such an awesome, constructive outlet for me. So I decided to do a half marathon (aka 13.1 miles) and my eldest sister, Lisa, will join me. And we've actually been good about training. So I may be crazy, but I'm going for it on October 11th!

The Case of the Missing Hamster

Oh crap, Gus is mia again! Unfortunately the girls know about it and they are freaking out because they adore this darn hamster. Apparently hamsters life expectancy is only about 2 1/2 - 3 years and Gus is already 3 1/2. So he is really pushing his luck by pulling this disappearing act at such an old age. He's gone missing before but I have always successfully found him and Trooper, our Rottweiler, has always successfully NOT found him. So he's been one lucky hamster thus far but this is officially the longest he has gone without being found. I am praying I don't find a Gus carcass in a couple days - or worse a couple weeks or months! Ewww, just the thought. Oh Gus, please show your fat, fluffy self really soon!!

We Moved!

We purchased a home in Coventry and have been here for about 2 weeks now. We absolutely love it! We now have an awesome neighborhood (the kind of neighborhood where people actually indroduce themselves and welcome you to the neighborhood) and a great school system. The girls have been loving riding their scooters on our (looong) driveway to pick blackberries and discovering what the "country" has to offer. They love it, we love it, the dogs even love it. What more can you ask for?

"Acorn" and Tinkerbell

Here is Allison decided that she is pretty much through with having her picture taken for the night! Well, after decided that pulling off the "Gabriella look" for Halloween on a three year old would be more challenging than originally thought, I was able to talk Allison into being something else. She chose an "acorn" costume as she calls it, though I'm not really sure why, and thankfully my mom was able to make it for her in record time. Of course I am partial, but I think she is the cutest little candy corn ever. And Juliet made a gorgeous Tinkerbell. The girls ended up having a great time that night!

Tinkerbell and Gabriella?

Okay, so it's that time of year again-time to figure out what the kids want to be for "Hallelujah Night"! This is a huge event we at our church on Halloween night as an alternative to the traditional Halloween, which for obvious reasons we don't really celebrate. So instead they hold a celebration at the church with different game stations where the kids can win small prizes and then at the end of the night they go home with a bag of candy. They also rent two huge bouncy things which they put in the sanctuary, then of course they have cookie decorating, face painting, so on and so fourth.

Well, so far Juliet thinks she wants to be either Hannah Montana or Tinkerbell, though she is leaning toward the latter, and Allison will be either Belle or "Gabriella", from High School Musical. Problem is, she's got it in her head that her dear old dad will be willing to stand in as "Troy Bolton"! This child is in love with High School Musical. It is a riot, especially for her being so little. She has the dolls that sing which she got for her birthday and now has a "Troy Bolton ipod."

Last year Juliet was a pirate and Allie was the cutest little Raggedy Ann ever. It'll be interesting to see what they decide, and even more interested to see how I'll pull off turning Allison into Gabriella!

Flower Girl...Sort of

I just came across some photos of Allison that I just had to share. As many of you know, Allison was supposed to be the cutest little flower girl there ever was in her Uncle's wedding the beginning of last month. She decided however, about an hour before the wedding that she wanted to remain completely naked rather than wear her beautiful flower girl dress that she originally loved so much in the store that it was hard to get off her. Well, after much coaxing, a sore bum, you name it, Allison still refused to get her dress on and now 5 minutes before the wedding was to start my shirt is what she ended up wearing for the entire day! At the reception I found her curled up in a ball looking like a homeless orphan. She never did walk down the isle but she still looked adorable that day in a way that only Allie could pull off! Now, for the next two weeks Allie continued to defy us in every way possible but I would like to report that, praise God, Allie is doing much, much better! Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for all your prayers for Allison! God is so good! And who knows, now maybe Allie will be a big sister some day after all!

My Baptism

It was over a year ago now that I was baptized and I had drafted this whole post awhile back but somehow it never got posted. Even though it's well after, I'd still like to share....

I decided to share my baptism experience on my blog because while it is very personal I decided to share it because God did not ask it to be a "private" confession - it is supposed to be a public confession! I was so blessed that night I got baptized, from start to finish.

While I was waiting in the wings for the baptisimal portion of the service to begin, I was able to pray with a woman I met that night who was also getting baptized and had unsaved family come watch, including her mother and daughter. We prayed that God would use her testimony to reach them and the holy spirit was so strong while we prayed we were both overcome. I believe that God will use that experience and prayer somehow.My baptismal experience was one of the most profound spiritual experiences I've ever had. It was long overdue, but I keep putting it off because I was afraid of being so accountable to God. How ridiculous is that?! But the whole thing was amazing! Too bad you can only do it once!This is the testimony I wrote and was read aloud to the congergation just before the dunking. Be blessed!

Bethany Groves-Telling My Story
I was raised in a Christian home and received Christ at the age of five. I remember even at such a young age that I wanted and needed Jesus in my life. Then as I hit adolescence, my family became very broken. I started making bad decisions and rebelling. I started drinking and partying to dull the pain. At the age of eighteen I became pregnant and fell into severe depression. The depression overwhelmed me. I began drinking more heavily and isolated myself; going out in the daytime was next to impossible for me. I began to injury myself and became very suicidal. I saw no way out of my self-destructive lifestyle. I felt abandonment, betrayal, hopelessness, and I no longer saw any reason to be alive. I was so frustrated that no medication, counselors, or even psychiatrists seemed to be able to help me. It even felt like God himself had forgotten and abandoned me.Then when I was at the end of my rope, God, with his perfect timing, showed me that he had never left me. He was just waiting for me to call upon Him. He showed me that my life had a purpose and that I was “fearfully and wonderfully” made by Him. God’s healing power and grace became so real to me at such a desperate time. Through it all God had a perfect plan for my life and I am now so blessed with my loving, godly husband and two beautiful girls. God has blessed me with more than I ever could have thought for myself. God continues to help me through some of my past issues and hurts, but I know my life has been forever changed by his mercy and grace. He is so faithful.

First Day of First Grade

This is Juliet's first day of first grade. And what picture that is supposed to be a special one taken of just you reaching a milestone event in your life would be complete without your pesky little sister managing to get into the background?

There were so many other things going on right up until J's first day of school (Juliet was in a wedding the day before) that I didn't even have time to get Juliet a "back to school" outfit. So the morning of I'm frantically digging in her drawer to find something that resembles a purposeful outfit. I didn't do so good but thankfully poor Juliet was too tired to notice.

So far J is doing OK with school but she desperately wishes she could be home schooled so she can be with me all the time. She been going through a lot of separation anxiety with me lately. She's even got it all figured out - "Mom, for art class we could do a craft and for gym we could just go outside and play on the swing set." But unless God shows me otherwise, I have no interest or desire in home schooling. Sorry kid!

New York City

This was on a billboard in Times Square. We saw it and both thought of Allie immediately! I thought I left her at home....?

Juliet and I in front of "Ripley's Believe It or Not" museum. The bearded wax, fat lady and dude were singing Black Eyed Peas "My Humps." J and I thought it was hilarious!

In front of our hotel on some Irish Hunger Memorial thing.

Ok, so apparenly there are a few people left in this world who have not given up on me completely and still have hopes that I will someday update my blog (come on people, it's been like 7 months!) Nonetheless your unfaltering faith in me has restored something within me so here goes nothing. I'll start my amazing comeback with NYC because it rocks, of course, and then as usual I'll post by jumping all over the place in no real particular order.

Chris had orientation with his new job in NYC for a couple days so I thought it would be fun for Juliet and I to tag along. We had an absolute blast. We had an awesome hotel in the financial district with a view of the Hudson river and Statue of Liberty, right in front of Battery park and next to Ground Zero The first day we walked along 5th Ave. and hung out around Union Square and the following day we hit Times Square of course. Who can ever tire of Times Square?! We went to M&M world, which smelled wonderful and had everything M&M from underwear to playing cards and checked out Hershey's world too. The whole time though I was so proud of Juliet who wasn't so much as fazed by the crowds and scurrying to get on and off the subway. She was like a regular little New Yorker!

Juliet Turns Six!

Juliet turned six on January 24th. She requested a "snow" party so we had snowman cupcakes instead of cake, homemade snowflake garland, pin-the-nose-on-the-snowman, "cold snowflake" instead of "hot potato" game, and pillow stuffing everywhere for snow. She only wanted her three closest girlfriends at her party and her cousins, of course. Her best friend from school is Victoria, far left, then from left to right is Julia, sissy Allison, cousin Madison, Madigan, and birthday girl Juliet. We all had such a blast. How is it possible she's already six?!

Return of the Smurf

Hmm, so this is non-toxic and yet is says "keep away from children"? Interesting.... perhaps I am not the first mom with a mischievous child to have this happen to. Darn Canadians. Just kidding - love you, honey!

I left this child playing very nicely with Polly Pockets when I went to take a shower and THIS is what I returned to! What was she thinking? And how does she find this stuff to paint her body with?! Well, it is day 2 and she still is looking very blue. We get looks and giggles everywhere we go. Yes, it's hilarious I suppose-If you're not the mom of this child!

Let it Snow!

In light of the fact that it is now the middle of January, in New England, and there has still been no snow, I have now resorted to making paper snowflakes just so I can pretend that all this stinkin cold is okay because at least the "snow" is pretty. Lame and childish I know, but I found a cool website that will have anyone loving it - snow covered and snowless people alike - http://snowflakes.barkleyus.com

Cruising in 2006

Enjoying the beach in Cozumel

Chris and I went on a cruise with another couple, Andrew and another Bethany (as if one isn't enough!) shortly before Christmas. We sailed out of New Orleans (which was freezing!) and stopped in Grand Cayman island, Costa Maya, and Cozumel. In Costa Maya we rented wave runners, relaxed on the beach and also had a nice, 10 mile walk back to the ship on a crummy old highway. Long, stupid story. Our best day was Cozumel where we rented dune buggies and relaxed on a private beach and had an authentic Mexican lunch. We got a little wet on the way back to the ship (look at those storm clouds!) but it didn't matter.

Priceless

A box of Reynolds aluminum foil: $6
A pair of underwear: $ 2
A small baby doll: $10

Using that box of foils as a bed and blanket for your doll while wearing your sister's dirty underwear on your head: PRICELESS

I love how kids can take things that are so simple and everyday, sometimes even completely useless, and rarely resembling an actual toy, and turn them into something that is suddenly incredibly entertaining. When Allison put Juliet's underwear on her head she was so proud and said "Nice hat!" Then she proceeded to make her doll at home in a box of foils I actually use to do highlights and even used one piece of foil as a blanket. As adults, along with losing our innocence, we lose so much of that ingenious creativity. No longer are we satisfied with such simplicity. Suddenly we need the latest and greatest gadgets, extravagant vacations, and engaging activities. Would an adult be able to turn a comb, an old sock, and an empty box of cereal into an interesting and exciting game of adventure, mystery, and discovery? I think not, but I know for a fact that my two year old can!

Happy Hands Club

I think Napoleon Dynamite is probably like the best movie ever made. Juliet loves the movie and understands the humor in it so the two of us go back and forth quoting lines and cracking each other up like a couple of junior highers. It is the most quotable movie ever so if you've never seen it then your missing out! Gosh!