For those of you who DON'T read your Christmas cards (I say that laughingly!) or who aren't in my address book, I am PREGNANT! Woo hoo!

This scan was taken at 8 weeks. I had another appointment today at 12 weeks and heard a reassuringly strong heartbeat, so baby is still baking away in there. My due date is around mid July.

We are THRILLED with this news, of course!!! We were pretty anxious and held off on sharing the news at first, but things have been going so well that we're starting to believe this is really going to happen. :)

I had sooo many cute pics of Christmas projects we did that I wanted to post, but time got away from me. I can't believe tomorrow's Monday and we're back to the grind! Oh well...2009 will be an exciting year and hopefully I'll do a better job updating this blog. No promises, though. :)

We were lucky to be able to head back to Texas for the holidays. The trip was too short but fun. We can't wait to go back in June!!

We had pictures taken last Sunday and I'm very happy with the way they came out. Now I have to buy more frames! :)

Last Monday I spent 4 1/2 hours knocking on the doors of over 100 registered Democrats in my area, reminding them to vote for Barack Obama on Tuesday. It was soooo worth it! Thank you, America, for helping to elect Obama!

His campaign was so organized and well run. I was EXTREMELY impressed when I checked in to our local office to volunteer. The place was packed with volunteers of all ages, races, and genders. Everyone was smiling, enthusistic, and ready to work. The plan for the day was well thought out and explained to us. If Obama can bring the same spirit his campaign had to the rest of our country, then we are in for an incredible four years.

Do you want a free Obama sticker to celebrate our victory? It's designed by Shepard Fairey, the artist who created the iconic HOPE poster. And MoveOn's giving them away totally free--even the shipping's free.

I just got mine. Click this link to get your free Obama sticker:

http://pol.moveon.org/shepstickers/?id=-14361110-.QJHCCx

Enjoy!

Happy Halloween from our family to yours!

It snowed here yesterday. In October. I am not making this up! We were all shocked by it as no one expected it. Christian asked if Santa was coming, and wanted to know why we hadn't put our tree up. I told him that it wasn't even Halloween yet, and the snow just came way too early! I hope this isn't an indication of what we're to expect this winter!

Apples anyone?

We had such a great time picking apples last week. Dominic loved climbing up the trees to get the apples on top, and Christian had fun duckin under low hanging branches to pick the perfect apple. We came home with over 20 pounds of apples! They are so good, especially when you eat them right after they've been picked. Yummy!

One thing we did with all the apples was to make apple turnovers. I diced the apples and then the kids added sugar and cinnamon. Next, we opened a can of crescent rolls, rolled them to make a square, and put some of the filling in the middle. Then the kids folded the dough over and pinched the edges closed. They baked for about 10-12 minutes, and then we got to enjoy them. I think we'll have to make some more tonight! :)

Last Sunday we hosted the boys' birthday party. Dominic turned 6 on September 20th, and Christian will be 4 on October 21st. We had a small shindig in our backyard. It was exhausting but fun.

I started out by having the kids decorate their goody bags using foam Halloween stickers. Then we moved on to making slime, using glue, food coloring, and liquid starch. This activity was a big hit, and even as the kids yelled "gross!" they were having fun poking at the slimy concoction. After that we had an eyeball relay (after which the kids got to eat their (chocolate) eyeball) and a mummy race. Finally, the kids got to do what they'd been eagerly awaiting: cracking open the pinata!! We had made a pinata (I'll share that later) but went with a larger store bought version that was a cool green dragon.

It was a lot of fun. Wish you could have been here!

Yesterday I had the priviledge of hearing Barack Obama speak in Abington, PA, which is not far from where we live. My friend, Kristy, and I decided that it was too awesome an opportunity to pass up so we braved the long lines with our two preschoolers. Dominic was in school, so he missed out this time, but I hope to include him next time.

Obama is a phenomenal speaker. I have been stressed out about the state of our economy and the direction America has been headed in, and I left the speech feeling inspired and hopeful about the future of our nation. My favorite part was near the end of the speech, when he talked about being our brother's and sister's keeper and how we would get through this crisis together as Americans. You can hear that part of the speech here at my youtube account.

Here are some pics from the day. Enjoy! And please tell everyone you know to register to vote and to remember to vote! Even if you're voting for that other guy, it's important that all Americans go out and make their voices heard this Election Day!

I've updated our playroom. I've been wanting to go with a vintage theme for a while and have been slowly working on different projects. Partly because of (lack of a) budget and partly to help with recycling, I tried to make everything from second hand items, and it's been fun to scour thrift stores for things that will fit in or that I can repaint to make them work in the room. The shadow boxes were fun to make, and I love those pics of the boys, taken last year. I've set the room up like a classroom, with an art center, building center, etc., which works nicely since I'm teaching at home now. Here it is:

Today was my due date. I found this poem online and could really relate to it:

A Part Of Me

As I sit and remember
When you were still a part of me
I try to forget...
Your life was never meant to be.
You were given a life, a soul, a name
But now things will never be the same.
You were mine to give life to
Though only for a while
Things had changed...
I will never see your smile.
Yet my love for you
Will never disappear
Though your voice, your laugh,
I will never get to hear.
You will always be my baby
Though I've never seen your face.
Not a thing in this world
Can ever take your place.


(c) Felicia Glik All Rights Reserved

This is the best $1 I ever spent! I had read about Toobers and Zots in a parenting magazine once but never seen them in stores. When I was at a local resale shop last week I found a bag full of them, and it was only a buck! The boys and I had so much fun building a dog, a robot, a dinosaur, making crowns and masks. They are such a cool creation and such a fun way to use your imagination and problem solve!

Dominic is six now! AND he lost his second tooth! No doubt about it, he's growing up!

He still loves kindergarten and is looking forward to Christian & his birthday party in two weeks (see invites above).

Happy birthday to my sweet boy!

Christian started school last week as well. I am doing a preschool cooperative with a wonderful friend I've made here, so he gets his academic stuff at home but his extracurriculars elsewhere. He has started soccer at an indoor soccer complex and having a blast. He really likes having a uniform! He also attends a class at a local comunity conservatory where he gets a taste of music, art, and drama. He is so proud to be a "big boy" and going to school like Dominic!

Analysis: McCain's claims skirt facts, test voters

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080911/...hing_the_truth

I really want to get this info out there, especially for the undecided voters out there. McCains campaign has been flat out lying, and people are getting duped. It's one of those sad facts that if people keep hearing a mistruth again & again they begin to think it's fact.

The biggest one is this:


Quote:
Surveys already show that most people believe Obama would raise their taxes — a regular McCain claim — even though independent groups such as the Tax Policy Center concluded that four out of five U.S. households would receive tax cuts under his proposals.


HELLO!!!

Here's another:

Quote:
McCain and his running mate Palin, the Alaska governor, were defiant this week in the face of fact-checking news reports. Day after day she said she had told Congress "no thanks" to the so-called Bridge to Nowhere, a rural Alaska project that was abandoned when critics challenged its costs and usefulness. For nearly a week, major news outlets had documented that Palin supported the bridge when running for governor in 2006, and she turned against it only after it became an embarrassment to the state and a symbol in Congress of out-of-control earmarking.



PLEASE consider this info when making your decision on who will receive your vote!! We already have a president in office who knowingly LIED to us about "weapons of mass destruction" to dupe us into a war with Iraq. Do we need another administration that is already boldly lying right to our faces, even before they are elected to office??

Where did summer fly to????

I guess we stayed so busy that the days just zoomed by. I need to go back and post about Sesame Place, Duthc Wonderland, our heavenly labor day weekend in Ocean City...but first things first: Dominic is a kindergartner!

He started school on Wednesday and loves it. His favorite part of school is recess. Go figure!

I decided to plant a garden in place of our flowerbed this year, and it's turned out to be a fun project. The boys and I picked out plants & seeds in the spring to plant. We went with zucchini, tomato, basil and strawberry plants, and later planted some pumpkin seeds. You can see the before & after pictures here. Actually, the "after" picture is 3 weeks old...the pumpkin plant is MUCH bigger now and has three pumpkins thus far. The boys really enjoy taking care of their garden and LOVE picking the goodies and, in the case of the strawberries, eating them ASAP. I'm glad they're enjoying gardening so much!

I created this image to show my hopes that peace can be restored in the Republic of Georgia. If anyone is interested, the image is on products being sold here: http://www.cafepress.com/forthischild 100% of the profits benefit humanitarian projects in the orphanages in Georgia and Armenia. Please spread the word!

Our big boy.

Last Monday Dominic lost his first tooth. He was thrilled!

The week before that we attended his preschool graduation ceremony. He was surprised and delighted at the festivities and to receive a diploma.

Yesterday, what I thought was a minor injury turned into emergency surgery for my sweet little boy. Thankfully, he is doing wonderfully today and, in typical Dominic fashion, acting as if nothing ever happened. He had the nerve to ask my if he could climb a tree tonight! I reminded him of his stitches and the fact that he has to take it easy for two weeks. That will be nearly impossible!

What a week! With the graduation and the lost tooth, I worried that my baby was growing up too fast. Yesterday I was reminded that he is still my baby, and probably always will be.