I love the book "Little Women." It is one of my all-time favorites. I love all of the movies too. I own each one, but my favorite is the most recent one with Winona Ryder in it. In case you do not not know, the story takes place in Connecticut during the Civil War. There is a scene in the movie where Jo is talking to her sisters about how it is not fair that she cannot go and fight the injustice alongside her father and other men. She had to stay home. And then one of her sisters reminds her that that is what their Marmie does in her own way. She fought by loving and serving those around her, for standing up for what she believed in.

I am bringing this up because I feel like that is how this past weekend was for me, my sister Jenn, and my friend Sheena. Our husbands, Dan, Philip, and Anthony were in DC with almost 200 teens from our Catholic high school at the March for Life. They were gone fighting the injustice of abortion and praying for all of the unborn babies and for their mothers. I wished we could have gone as well and added to the numbers that were marching. While they were gone, we all retreated to my parents house and together, with the help of my parents, we took care of the 7 children (including Jenn's little one in the womb). It was such a blessing to be able to spend time with them, to laugh through the crying and spills, and to pray for those who were out marching. We were fighting our own battles at home and offering it up for those out in the snow and cold in DC.

Thank you, Jesus, for the gift of life.

Today the whole fam took a trip to Target with one goal. That goal was to find a little red wagon. Every year Emma's preschool puts on a Mardi Gras parade for the rest of the school. We have heard that this is a pretty big deal and that each preschooler has to decorate a wagon for them to ride in and throw candy and beads to all of the older kids.
Emma is beyond excited about this parade. And Dan and I are beyond excited to build her a float!
Anyway- back to Target...of course we went for one thing but returned home with a few extra things, like shoes.
Kolbe did need a pair of tennis shoes and well Emma thought she needed these purple shoes...but they were on clearance, so we gave in.
We finally made it to the checkout with two carts, three kids, one wagon and our random items. While loading everyone and everything into the van, Dan realized that we stole a few items- yep, we shoplifted a few pairs of boxer briefs. So Dan, with a slight embarrassed grin, walked back into the store to pay for his underwear.
Then home we went to make dinner and build a wagon.



While making Ana's spaghetti and meatball recipe, I heard my poor baby gagging on a receipt that fell on the floor. ..But dinner was success, Kolbe's THREE helpings are a testament to that.




Then it was time for the three kiddos to get a bath and time for Dan to head to the gym to play ball. While I was getting the clean little one dressed, the older two decided to make a tidal wave which left standing water all over the floor. Fighting off the angry mommy rampage, I sternly sent off to get dressed while I started to clean the mess. A still naked little Kolbe walked in the room with a look of panic. I knew the look. I quickly ran to him to take him to the potty, but it was too late. Right as I picked him up, plop went the poop on the floor. Potty training is the best. So is Lysol.
Kolbe:" You don't like us mommy??" (Asked after our drama filled evening)
Me: "Yes!!! of course I like you- I love you so much!
Kolbe: (with a very excited voice) "She does like us Emma!!"
And now it is 6:30. Only 6:30. So I decided it was time for a little mommy time-out for blogging. While holding two crying children who simultaneously got hurt. And also time for a special treat:

I have wonderful memories of making chocolate chip cookies with my mom and sister growing up. Mom was always so good about letting us help her, which I am now learning requires a lot of patience! Every time Kolbe hears me turn on the mixer, he comes running and cries out, "I want to help!" Which is of course so cute...but it ultimately means there will be twice the mess...

Now to all of you college girls who have ever heard one of my chastity talks, I went on about how my modesty, femininity, and silly personality are the reasons Dan fell for me...but in reality it was my delicious chocolate chip cookies. I am about to share with you my secret weapon. When I was in college I was known as the cookie girl. One time my girlfriends helped me bake these cookies for our guy friends. We made 42 cookies and I didn't let my friends even eat one. All 42 went to the boys. They still tease me about that to this day.

But all of that practice was so worth it because in the end, this particular recipe is what stole my future husband's heart.

Before Dan and I were dating (but when I already knew I was going to marry him) I mailed him a batch of these cookies for his birthday. He called me that night and I knew by the sound of his voice that I had him. A few weeks later he was mine.

So here it, the recipe that my mother taught me and that I will one day teach my children...

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt

1/2 cup Unsalted butter (1 stick)- softened
1/2 cup Crisco shortening
1 cup light brown sugar(packed)
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 cups Semi-sweet chocolate chips (or one 16 oz bag)

*Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

1. Stir together the first three ingredients in a separate bowl (I do not always do this, if I am short on time or if I have little hands helping me, but this extra step does make a difference, I think.)

2. In a mixing bowl, beat the butter and shortening, until it is creamy with no lumps.

3. Beat in the brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, and then vanilla extract.

4. Slowly mix in the dry ingredients.

5. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Then use a spoon to put the cookie dough on the baking pan.

Bake at 375 for 10 minutes, or until they are starting to brown a little bit.

As you can see, he still loves them:

And so does this little guy:

And, well...

Last Saturday I turned 28. Over the past few days I have been reflecting on how much I have accomplished during my life so far and I am really just so grateful. God has blessed me abundantly. It was awesome to have a birthday on a Saturday because Dan was home and we were able to have a family day. What did that family day entail?? Well, doing nothing all morning but sit on the couch and watch t.v. and play with the kids. Then in the afternoon Dan helped me straighten up around the house- which was the best gift ever. And to top it all off, he took me out to dinner while my parents watched the kids. Because it was my birthday and Dan was home, I took my time showering, drying my hair, painting my nails and so on...it was wonderful. I felt awesome...with no picture to document, oh well.

I am also thankful for all of the sweet birthday messages from my family and friends. I am amazed at the wonderful people that I have in my life!!

Joshua has had a big week so far! He is now able to get up on all fours and is trying with all of his might to crawl. He rocks and moves backwards and flops on the floor. He has his first little tooth coming (which makes for a fussy baby). He also tried sweet potatoes for the first time and I think he was a fan:

I have been trying to give Kolbe some extra attention this week. While Emma is a school I tend to go into cleaning or errand mode because I want to get done whatever I can with only two kids in tow. But because of that I realized that Kolbe wasn't getting enough one on one time with me. So yesterday I looked up a few ideas on pinterest and we ended up making a road all over his room with tape and raced each other.

It lasted for about ten minutes until Joshua made his way over to some of the tape and started to eat/play with it.

Then we moved on to play-doh. Kolbe asked me to once again build a road and cars to ride on it. Once again, this lasted about ten minutes until Joshua(who was in my lap) grabbed on of the cars and smashed it in his hands.

Yesterday I also ran a few errands before getting Emma. One of the said errands was picking up Chick-fil-a. This is Kolbe's favorite treat ever and he was so excited that once he was clutching his kids meal, he fell asleep. So with both boys asleep in the van, Emma and I had a lunch date in the front seat.

*I was writing this post at 6:30 this morning, while everyone was still sleeping (except Joshua). I lost track of time and then suddenly it was 7:30 and time to get going with:
breakfast making
pants ironing
diaper changing
snot blowing
snack packing
little girl fighting
hair combing
baby crying
toddler eating
and mom screaming...for more coffee.

It is now 8:15. Good morning, America!

Whew! Its Wednesday, but it definitely feels like a Friday. Do you like my new blog header? My dear friend Sheena designed it for me. Unlike my husband, I am awful with computers. So Sheena came to the rescue.

Last Friday, Joshua was diagnosed with a double ear infection. This morning he had another little fever so I decided to take him back to the doctor to make sure his ears were getting better and that the antibiotics were working. I dropped Kolbe off with my sister and after two hours of waiting to see the doctor, we were sent home with a "he is teething" diagnosis. I am so thankful that he is healthy and that his ears are good, but I sure would love those two hours back!

After picking up Kolbe, we went out to lunch and met up with Dan, Emma, a priest friend our ours, and a seminarian. I think having our rowdy crew there helped to confirm this seminarian's vocation. I am just teasing, but Fr. Wall was concerned about me and how often I had to get up throughout the meal. He asked me if I ever get to eat a meal uninterrupted...not really, but if it's my path to Heaven, I will take it, indigestion and all.

All three kiddos fell asleep on the way home, so instead of trying to move them all inside with the hopes of them staying asleep, I just sat in the car, parked in our driveway. I do this a lot. I am sure the neighbors think I am crazy, just sitting in the driveway, staring at my phone...or just staring off into the distance.


A few quotes from my older two:

Kolbe climbed into his high chair and announced: "I will have french fries and ketchup and my truck will have apple juice."

Kolbe was standing on the front porch last night and said, "Oh no!!! Where did the pumpkins go??" (they have been gone since Nov.)

Emma was in her own imaginary world and I overheard her say, "I am in the castle with Ariel because she has SO many children, she didn't know what to do, that is why she called prince Eric." Good call. I always call my prince too. :)

Well, Christmas is now officially over. All of the decorations were put away last night and now it is time to reorganize my life. Sigh. It's a now a new year and I thought it was was time to make up some resolutions.

1. Shower every day. You might think I am kidding, but I am not. For example, as I was making dinner yesterday, it dawned me that I never showered. And then I started to smell roses. Emma had gotten a hold of a perfume and sprayed every room in the house. I am convinced it is because of me. Whatever the reason, Dan and I gagged the rest of the evening as we went from room to room.


2.Exercise. I know, this is an oh so boring and so typical resolution. But I am not saying that I need to exercise more, but that I really need to start exercising in general. As much as I would like for shopping at the grocery store with three kids or nursing a baby while eating a cookie to be considered exercise...it just doesn't cut it.

3. Pursue Emma's dreams of being BRAVE. She wanted to take this bow to school today. I told her that it I don,t think they would appreciate having a pretend weapon. She then responded, "I will tell them it is my harp." I think we are headed for trouble with this one. She is tricky.

4. Cut back on my coffee intake...Ha!

5. Watch less tv...

6. Have Dan teach Joshua how to play the guitar. At 7 months old. Put it on youtube and We will be famous!

7. Potty train the almost three year old. It is time.

8. This one is not a resolution, but more of a concern. I found Emma lining up all of her princess figurines. The five princes that she has were lined up as well. I asked her what she was playing and she responded, "Well, the princesses are in a line and the prince has to pick out the prettiest one." Apparently we have our own season of The Bachelor going on at our house. Hooray...


9. Have the house clean, laundry done and put away, dinner made, and kids happily playing when Dan comes home every day...Ha! Yeah right, but a mom can dream, right?!
(obviously don't have a picture of this one...)

10. Pray more and keep striving for holiness.

So there you have it. Happy New Year!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Today is the last day of Dan's vacation. We had 10 wonderful days with Daddy home and I am not ready to let that go! All I can say to sum up the past week, is that I am so blessed and I am so grateful.

The kids got all dressed up for Christmas Mass. Emma was very proud in her pretty dress and was so excited to wear it. At the end of Mass, Emma went and sat in Dan's lap and said to him very seriously, "Daddy, I am prettier than all of the other girls here." How do you respond to that one?! Needless to say, she is a very confidant little girl.

We go the kids in bed around 7:30, Emma fell asleep a little before 10. I think she was just a tad bit excited.

We had a wonderful morning at our house, then headed over to my parents for lunch.
Happy Birthday dear Jesus!

I think these pics pretty much sum up how we all felt at the end of the day:

One thing that we have been trying to do this year is to find fun ways to celebrate the entire 12 days of Christmas. One surprise trip we made was to go visit some dear friends at their new home in Mississippi. We had a wonderful time. Jess was the first friend I made when we moved to Mobile. We would go out shopping to Target with Emma and her oldest, Stephen, and now, well, that isn't so easy to do anymore:

Their second oldest, Abby, is our beautiful goddaughter.

With Stephen now in Kindergarten and Emma in Pre-school, it is hard to find time to visit them. Before our visit to their home, I caught Emma staring at their Christmas card. She said in a sweet, but pathetic voice, "Stephen looks so different. He looks older...he is going away to college and I will never see him again..." Oh the woes of a 4 and a half year old who has spent most of her life hanging out with teenagers. ;)

Ok, my computer battery is almost gone and my baby is crying for my attention..Happy new year!