It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year?

Well, some of us think so anyway... With a mere 13 days until Christmas, the Mothers Goose has been very busy with flock festivities. Mama Mer and Mimi braved the mall crowds to take the girls to meet the man with the bag and some had more fun than others. While Carmen was busy screaming bloody murder, Lucia managed to squeeze in some very specific gift requests for Santa - "a pink backpack, a Dorothy doll and a suitcase with a handle." What can I say, the girl knows what she wants.
The festivities continued with our second annual trip to see the Boston Pops with Luce's BFF (she told him so today) Owen. We all had a wonderful time singing along with Santa and the symphony, and if any of you (Nonne) are interested in a fantastic arrangement of the 12 Days of Christmas, I highly suggest this download. Speaking of three French hens... here's Carmen eating some chicken. Enjoy.

It's the Magic Number...

With the dawn of Lucia's third (3rd!!!!) birthday I have been singing Sunrise, Sunset all_week_long. Perhaps a little premature, but I don't remember growing older - when did she? So yes, Lucia turned 3 on the 19th and we've been on a birthday bender ever since. On her actual birthday, Ellen was kind enough to send home the rest of the cake she made so of course we recycled. And Lucia got to open some presents, including some really cool stuff from her Jersey boy Luke. This was all prep for the big birthday event - SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY! Lucia had a loosely themed party ("her favorite things") which involved lots of costumes, the Wizard of Oz, Papa's sauce, eggrolls and pancakes. I believe a good time was had by all and once again we couldn't have pulled it off without the help of our family and friends (Nonne, Mimi, Auntie Ashlee - - thank you!!). This morning Lucia woke up and said, "I had a really fun party... now I want my 4 year old party." I told her she'd have to wait a bit for that one.

Don't Fall On Me...

What is it up in the air for? Well Halloween came and went and to the amazement of *no one* our children went through a few costume changes. Despite the big lead up to being Tinkerbell for Halloween, when it came down to the actual Halloween day itself Lucia decided she couldn't leave her alter ego behind. It was such a nice weekend for trick or treating, even the Mothers Goose got in on the act. Now will someone please come and take our leftover candy? PLEASE??

Give Peas A Chance...

As you can see, Carmen is fast following in her sister's foodie footsteps. Avacado, turkey, banana and rice are at the top of her list so far... we gave her one of Lucia's first foods, but she didn't devour quite the way Luce did back in the day. And speaking of treats, the girls got a visit from Nonne complete with fairs, face painting and my all time fall favorite. We all had a blast and Nonne, being the super trooper that she is, even came to watch my football game in the pouring rain/snow... I'm sure her feet will thaw sometime in the spring.

We Really, Really Love Fall...

Let's see, where were we... oh right, updating the blog. Ok, so my time out on "baby bonding" leave has been a bit hectic so sue me (I double dog dare you). Well much has happened since last I wrote: Lucia and Carmen have a brand new cousin, Jackson McDevitt Leary [insert link to Jackson's blog here - hint, hint Uncle Sean], Carmen has sprouted 2 bottom teeth and I have officially entered my "late 30s" - blargh. Luckily my birthday blues were mitigated by a lovely weekend up in Maine with my family. Mama Mer continued her exploration of unique recreational activities, Lucia enjoyed sampling the wares at the farmer's market, and Carmen was along for the ride. Lucia and Carmen also enjoyed spending quality time with their cousins. That is until Lucia thew a diva sized fit and the Mothers Goose had to cut their trip short (I think Nonne and Papa are still recovering). Speaking of the diva, she has had *a lot* to say lately. Things like: "I used to be afraid of owls, but now I'm brave of them" (makes sense right?) and "Last day we went to the zoo" (I assume that's a mix of last night and yesterday?) or the name of her latest persona "Princess Semi-Circle" (????). Anyway, when she comes out with zingers like these it's hard to stay mad at her for cutting my weekend short - - but she'd better keep them coming. And as for Carmen, well now that the teeth are through she's back to her smiley, happy self again. She decided to pull herself up to a stand this weekend so now it's only a matter of time before all hell breaks loose...

Staycation All I Ever Wanted...

Staycation no need to get away. So as we mentioned, the Mothers Goose decided to camp it at home during Labor Day weekend - literally. We took advantage of the great weather and embarked on various adventures in this city they call Boston. For one trip, we walked along the water to Castle Island where we enjoyed a picnic by the lovely scenery and partook in other recreational activities. This trip was also noteworthy for the fact that Lucia was asked to be in a music video. No joke. We happened to run into a friend of ours who was there with her work filming a music video. Just so happens they were also scouting the location for a young starlet to play a pivotal role (she handed the singer a love note). Needless to say Lucia adored the spotlight and nailed it take after take. I'll keep you posted if it winds up on MTV anytime soon!
The next day we took the ferry out to Georges Island where we got to do a lot of running around and reenact scenes from Taps (ok, so that was just me).
While we were sad to say goodbye to the last days of summer, the beginning of fall brought some significant firsts - solid foods, football and haircuts.

Hold On To Your Hats...

Despite a slllllow start the Mothers Goose is winding the summer up with a bang. Last weekend our big haired friends from Jersey showed up to cure our summertime blues. Lucia, Luke and Carmen had a blast playing together and apparently so did we. Friends are fun. And speaking of fun - did someone say carousel?! We decided to park it at home for this three day weekend and ventured out into the city for some urban fun. Kennedy carousels, sea dogs and lunch at an Irish bar - sounds like a perfect Friday in Boston to me.