A busy September so far...

Well, school is under way. The girls started back up this past Tuesday and are getting into the groove. Both love it so far, so that's great news. Here at home, Adam and I are enjoying some one on one time together. We've gone shopping for a bunch of babyproofing items and finally put up a gate, some cord keepers, and a few outlet covers. Unfortunately for him (or us), the family room is the only 1/2 safe place for him in this whole house!

Right before school started, we had a flurry of last minute "summer" activities in the hopes of extending that summer feeling a little longer. Amazingly, though, the temperature has dropped dramatically as if to say, "Get over it, school is starting already". Even so, we managed a trip to Sesame place, a birthday party for Joey, 2 sleepovers at our house and an anniversary celebration at a cool restaurant with all of us in tow.

Starting next week, all our crazy activities of fall begin (although Yasmeen's Tae Kwon Do continues as it has this past month). Adam will be taking swim and music classes, and Leena will head back to jazz class. Let's hope it doesn't get the best of me :-)

Until next time...

9 days left of Summer Vacation, but whose counting???

Well, I might be a bit anxious about the first day of school, but not because the girls are starting a new year with new teachers and challenges. Well, yes, a little of that too...but mostly, I'm getting worried about having them gone all day and missing out on all the amazing help they have given me this Summer. First off, they are wonderful big sisters and help a ton with Adam. From watching him in the family room while I cook dinner, to sitting with him in my bedroom while I take a shower that doesn't involve a baby in bouncy seat and an anxious mom poking her head out every minute making peek-a-boo squeals to keep said baby happy for 10 minutes! Now, I'm not taking advantage of their offers to help...they sincerely are CRAZY about this boy and are actually willing to help! I think that for those of you out there wondering if Mohammed and I were crazy to "start over" with a baby after 7+ years...I'm here to say that it is wonderful! The age spread between the girls and Adam makes for some genuine love and affection with no competition and lots of kisses.

On another note, we are wrapping up our summer with a few more activities including a recent trip to the Jersey Shore with Titi, the girls, Adam and me. Mohammed was hard at work, and besides, wouldn't have enjoyed the water as much as we do! Speaking of which, the girls and Mohammed are actually at the Junior Firefighter Olympics as I write this. They didn't want to participate, but they were very excited to help Daddy set up for the event. I'll meet them there later with Adam...who is napping right now.

Yesterday I spent a glorious day at the NJ Scrapbook Expo and also attended an all day (and night) crop. Although I didn't get as many layouts done as I had planned on (I hardly ever do anymore these days), I had a great time with my friends going back and forth between the various vendors at the show. We stopped only to eat and check out each others amazing finds (with the occasional layout thrown in every so often). Believe it or not, a friend of mine actually surprised me with an awesome scrapbooking/laptop/diaper bag in a fabulous print by Amy Butler. Very similar to the Vera Bradley bags you see everywhere now. Can't wait to use it! Now that is my perfect day (if I had to choose something that didn't involve my family of course).

Well, this next week is the last of the lazy days of summer before a busy week.and the start of school. Besides being Labor Day weekend, we also have classroom orientation for the girls, Adam's 9th monthiversary and our 11th wedding anniversary all on the same day!!! Add to that a visit from a family friends and a party for my nephew's 21st birthday on Saturday, and the first day of school will be here before we can say "bye-bye Summer". For now, I'll leave you with these images...enjoy and have a great week!

Playing with collages...

Well, every so often the scrapbooker in me takes over and I begin thinking of ways to" scrapbook" in the few minutes I carve out here and there in the wee hours of the morning. Last night, I got on the computer to download some recent photos and started playing around with Photoshop Elements and made several collages. I just thought I'd share them since I was pretty darn proud how they came out...now if I can just find the time to scrapbook them! Below are collages from Yasmeen's last summer volleyball class, Adam hanging out at said volleyball class, a Hershey Park collage, another collage from a recent trip to the Splashground with our friends, the Yankos and a cute collage of Yasmeen posing in her TKD uniform while showing me some moves. Enjoy!

Making the most of what's left of Summer Vacation!!

Well, with the summer winding down quickly, I feel this need to get out there and do as much as possible with the girls and Adam before they head back to school and school-year activities. We've taken advantage of a few nice days here in NJ and have gone to a few local parks with friends and even to Hershey for a weekend. The girls have become quite the dare-devils...joining their Dad on every roller coaster ride he suggests. Thankfully, I have Adam to use as an excuse, I mean, er, to take care of, so they leave me alone pretty much. After all, who would take all these great pictures if I was up on the rides all the time? By the way, Mohammed takes great pictures too...he actually caught us on one of the few rides I did go on with the girls-the Roller Soaker, which didn't seem worth the 1.5 hour wait! Seeing as we've caught the Amusement park fever, Mohammed is taking off from work this Monday so we can (barring rain) go to Six Flags here in Jackson. Unfortunately for them, the world's biggest roller coaster that happens to be at Six Flags is temporarily closed, so they will miss out on that one (sigh of releif from me, since I don't much care to send my babies off on a ride where they seem to be risking their lives). I guess there's plenty else to do there, though, so they won't be that upset.
On another note, Leena has decided to sign up for Jazz dance classes again in the fall, and well, Yasmeen is doing great with volleyball this summer. And although she wanted to continue into the fall, the academy is far from us and they require multiple classes a week, so that wasn't going to jive too good with Adam being so young...maybe next year. In the meanwhile, we just started Tai Kwon Do classes here in town. She's going between 2-3 times per week and she seems to enjoy it so far (lots of kicking and punching, which she LOVES to do :-) ). If she continues to enjoy it, we'll most likely sign her up through the upcoming year...we'll see where that goes.
Well, luckily for me, back to school supply shopping is completely done except for a pack of glue sticks and new backpacks (which Titi has offered to buy for the girls--thanks, Titi!!). We've even gotten a few new 1st week of school outfits and Yasmeen is excited to go. Leena on the other hand, not too excited...she enjoys being at home with all of us...Me? Well, I've got to say I'm torn about school starting again...I hate the tight scheduling of the fall, and boy, will Adam and me miss having the girls around (how do you think I get to update this blog every so often??). I guess the good news is that next summer is less than a year away!
Enjoy the rest of your August...see you soon!

Finally...no more RAIN!

Well, it has been a really wet couple of months, but seems like July has finally brought with it a little sunshine. We still aren't very hot here in NJ...and I guess that's good, but it sure doesn't make me want to take the kids anywhere near water. The few times we've gone to a pool or the sprayground, the girls' teeth have chattered, and I didn't even dare dip Adam in the frigid waters. Of course the weather never stops a child, but it sure does stop their Mama! Perhaps we'll get to Sesame Place sometime this month if the weather heats up...after all, we go there mostly for the WATER!!

So far this month, we've spent a lot of time outside riding bikes, having the girls' friends over for playdates, we've gone to a local "sprayground", a friend's pool, and Adam has experienced his first "self-feeding"--accidentally of course--I turned around for a second to get his bottle and he grabbed his bowl right off his high chair. He has also had his first "altercation" with a friend of the opposite sex...she tried to grab his pacifer and he didn't know what to make of it!! And as for me, I've discovered a new use for Yasmeen's old bean bag chair that I was getting ready to throw out...it seems that Adam sinks perfectly into it and it has become very useful for his naps. It's like his own personal Tempur pedic mattress!

On another note, I've finally bitten the bullet and started studying for my recertification exam later this year. It's amazing what being out of practice (both figuratively and literally) have caused me to forget. Now that I'm re-learning about all those diseases out there, I'm really agitated that so much misery exists in the medical world. No wonder I never "loved" my job...it was so depressing! What I do love, though, is scrapbooking...and to reward my efforts in studying, I've signed up for 2 upcoming crops and can't wait to catch up on some of the great pictures from the summer. Take a look at these until we catch up again!!

Happy July!!!

Looks like since I missed the boat getting this out for the 4th of July, let's just say I'd like to wish everyone a happy July as a whole. We celebrated the 4th here at home by finally lighting a fire outside in our fire pit and roasting marshmallows and making s'mores. We also enjoyed a dip in the hot tub(well at least Titi, the girls, and I did--Mohammed graciously agreed to watch Adam while he slept).
The girls are finally out of school and the weather has finally dried up (at least for now). We recently got back from a visit to NC to visit the grandparents and take a walk down memory lane. Mohammed, the girls, Adam and I went to Duke and UNC-CH and reminisced about how things were and how much has and hasn't changed since we'd gone there. We even bought a license plate letting everyone know we are a "house divided" between the 2 schools. The girls made their comparisons and if you ask me, I think they decided that Duke was much more up their alley for future attendance than that other school :-) While down in NC, we also stopped over at a friend's house in Charlotte and spent the night with her and her family. We really enjoyed our time there and if you're reading this, Gladys...thanks so much for hosting us...all five of us!!

During our stay in NC, Mohammed celebrated his 38th birthday. We took him to a place called Rush Hour for what I hope was something he thoroughly enjoyed...go cart racing. He looked like a pro all decked out in his helmet and won 2 out of 3 races...so I've gotta say, he's got the need for speed.

Adam actually had his first swim in NC too! We know that he just loves his bath, but boy did he enjoy the pool. Thanks again to Gladys for taking us to her local YMCA (which by the way folks, is absolutely gorgeous and very kid friendly) and letting us swim in the outdoor pools as her guests.

Well, Adam turned 7 months a couple of days ago and he is just so adorable (trust me, I'm not biased, but he really is a charmer). He can roll around the floor now in record speed and is working on sitting up on his own. He recently started dragging himself around in a circle when we lie him on his tummy...I guess it's just too much work to roll over to get where he wants to go. His eczema is doing much better, but my dietary restrictions are killing me! What I wouldn't give for a cheesy slice of pizza!!!

The girls start their Summer Enrichment classes tomorrow that the township schools put on each year and they are excited. They attend every morning for 2 weeks and will be learning all about how to make ecologically friendly art (Leena), Mars (Yasmeen), Silly Summer Fun (Leena) and last but not least...MATH (Yasmeen). They enjoyed it so much last year, that we decided to let them go for 2 weeks this year, so looks like they'll be busy for a while. Yasmeen will also be starting volleyball lessons this week and Leena will take her first official drawing class as well on Friday. At this pace, I just know the summer will fly by...let's just hope we get some time to visit Sesame Place and maybe enjoy a few lazy days of summer!

Until next time...

Spring has Sprung!!!

Well, it's definitely feeling like spring around here these days...we've officially spruced up and cleaned out the garage, deck area, and hot tub in preparation for some fun outdoor activities. Today was the first day the girls got to jump into our much cooled down hot tub (more like a warm pool) and enjoyed splashing around in the warm water. Just a few days ago, they also made their first run through the sprinklers outside and can't wait for the last day of school so that Summer can officially begin!

This month also marked the 1st ever time I took the girls camping for Girl Scouts. We went to a very scenic and wonderful camp out in Canadensis, Pennsylvania. Although we haven't been camping with the GS before, according to other, seasoned pros, this was the Ritz Carlton of camping. The girls loved all the planned activities and really seemed to take to the outdoors. In just one day, they participated in rock wall climbing, boating, hiking, archery, gymnastics and a really fun low ropes course. I'm sure we'll be back again next year!

On another note, Adam is doing great! His horrific eczema breakout of the past few months has finally cleared up. Of course, I'm now on strict dairy restriction until he weans. That means no milk, cheese, butter, ice cream, creamer (for my beloved coffee), or yogurt. I've also been told to steer clear of other highly allergic foods in my diet as well. So, if it wasn't bad enough not to be able to drink coffee, eat cereal or have pizza, I'm also not allowed to have eggs, nuts, seafood or soy products. Apparently, the pediatrician informed me that there is a 40% chance of an allergic response to soy in kids with milk protein allergies. On the bright side, Adam is looking gorgeous, and he's actually sleeping better now that he's not beating his belly and scratching himself silly at night.

Well, soon the madness of end of school year activities will be upon us and I'm not sure when I'll be able to post again...but rest assured, I'll try to get some pictures of the girls at their recital up on the website as soon as I can. Hope all you mothers out there had a great Mother's Day. Here's wishing you all a great Spring. Enjoy these recent pictures of our family...

Edited to add: recital pictures