He's Baaaaaaaaaaack!

Look who's back! Fred our Elf on the Shelf showed up today!

Picture Perfect Holiday

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hope you are all having a wonderful Thanksgiving with friends, family and plenty of FOOD. Today is especially wonderful because this hot guy has the day off from the hospital AND its the 11-year-anniversary of our first date! I am so thankful and blessed to have him in my life and that he loves me the way that he does. We have grown closer than ever this year and I don't take that for granted. There is always something to be thankful for, and I will always be thankful for him.

I Can't Put My Arms Down!

I took this photo today and I couldn't help but think of Ralphie's little brother in "A Christmas Story." It took me almost 30 minutes to dress them in all of these layers. I am pretty sure they spent about 5 minutes outside before coming back in. Kensley would have stayed out there forever, but Rowan had enough. He tripped and fell down and sat most of the time. After they came in and had hot chocolate and warmed up, K informed me she was ready to go back out. Maybe tomorrow sweet girl!

Epic Date Day

It's been a crazy, crazy month with the move and getting settled into a new routine. So it was perfect timing that Dave and I had a chance to spend the entire day together ending with the Third Eye Blind concert. It started with us waking up at 6:45 to get ready for Christmas pictures. If anyone knows me you will know that I am NOT a morning person and I am never up before 7:30. For some lame reason when you wait till the last minute to schedule pictures this is the time they give you to be at the studio.

How Rude.

Surprisingly, we all got up and dressed and out the door on time. The pictures turned out really well. We dropped the kids off at grandma's and started on the hour long drive to Cleveland. Until half way there, we realized we forgot our concert tickets. Please tell me I'm not the only one who is so forgetful. We were so worried about the kids and having everything we needed for them that we totally forgot the two most important things of the day. So we turned around and headed back home.

Before we started back to Cleveland we made a quick stop to see this-


Have you heard of it? It's a small independent film. It might catch on.

After the movie we headed to Cleveland and made the terrible decision to forgo our coats because we didn't want to have to hold them through the concert. Within 5 seconds of stepping out of the car I regretted my decision. I had on a paper-thin cardigan sweater and I could feel my skin slowly freezing. Then the doors we thought would be open were closed and we had to walk around to the other side of the building. We stopped in a store real quick to warm up, but they didn't have any heat and the workers were standing in front of a heater wearing winter jackets, scarves and hats. I debated buying a hoodie in the store just to warm up a little but decided against it. We finally made it to the House of Blues only to find the doors locked because they weren't open. So we stood in the door way snuggled till they opened. I risked hypothermia but it was worth it to sit and get to stare at this guy...



After we ate we went to stand in line in the "skip the line" section. Which happens to be in a back alleyway. Which had no heat. Which was FAH_REEZING. So my sweet hubby went back to the store and bought me this...



The warmth I felt was amazing. After a lot of standing in line, nearly falling asleep standing up I was so tired and feeling nauseous from standing in the heat after working hours to stay warm, we were rewarded with a really awesome concert. Every time I see them is better than the last.





Truly though, the best part of the day was spending time with Dave. It's far and few between that we get time together but when we do it's so worth it. Just remind me to bring my coat.

Morning Snuggles With Daddy

What K is Thankful for This Year

Bless.Her.Heart.

When Life Gives You Marshmallows...

Making the Best of a Situation

We moved into the house on Thursday and we won't have heat (thanks gas company) till Tuesday. I have been struggling with my anger about the whole situation but we are making the most of it. Thankfully we have a woodburner in this house and one of my dad's friends was so generous and donated a bunch of wood to the "Keep The Barb's From Turning To Popsicles" fund. We also have been blessed with a little warmer weather this weekend. Very thankful for that. This morning I woke up to this...



Everything I love most in this whole world is right here with me in this room. Things could be so much worse and I took a moment to realize that this is a temporary inconvenience and that some people deal with no heat on a daily basis. My family is healthy and very much happy (the kids treated this as a camping experience) and that is all that matters right now.

In some positive news, Dave met our new neighbors and they seem wonderful. They even let Dave borrow their riding lawnmower to mow the lawn as we don't even own one yet.



So sweet of them.

First Fire in the New House!

I'm Dreaming of a White...Thanksgiving?!

Woke up this morning to our first snow fall this year. Nothing makes you panic about moving into a new home like knowing that you might have to move in the middle of a snow storm. Luckily, this should all be melted by then. So for now I'm going to make a hot cup of cocoa, curl up in bed with a good book, and enjoy this.

I HATE KISSES!!!

A few weeks ago when the kids were getting ready for bed they came downstairs to give me hugs and kisses. A nightly tradition that I cherish and I'm sure they do as well if only for the fact that it allows them a few extra minutes outside of their covers. This night in particular, when they gave me kisses I pretended to HATE them and wipe them off. The kids thought this was hilarious and started smothering me in kisses and kissed me even more! Reverse psychology at its finest. The best part of my whole day!

Late Night Boredom Selfie