One More For Good Measure...

Ellie's "serious" face...LOVE her!
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Ellie

I'm not going to waste time blabbing today (lucky you!)...I'll just let you look and enjoy :)
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More to come...
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She's FINALLY Here!

I am officially a Great Aunt.....as opposed to just the "great" aunt that I was before :)
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"Ellie" (a name for the sake of my blog) was born this morning...weighing a whopping 8 lbs. 10 oz. - the same as Iz :)
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I can't WAIT to meet her and will post lots of pictures SOON!
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What? STILL NO BABY?!?!?

Yes, you read that right...SnL's itty bitty baby girl is still hanging out in her Momma's belly.
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Sheesh! D-Day was TWO days ago! I'm getting so restless I can barely stand it and I KNOW that Auntie D is getting super-excited to meet her little grandbaby :) SERIOUSLY! Enough is enough! We are DONE waiting!
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I'm sure SnL are done waiting too!
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Hurry up and make your grand entrance little girl!

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***Waiting for this baby has made me so much more appreciative of the fact that Iz came 12 days early...none of this silly waiting for D-Day...and beyond!!! Thanks Iz :)

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Need MORE Tissues!

Ahhh...Grey's Anatomy.... *sigh*
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I loved the premiere of the new season.
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I cried for almost the entire 2 hours. The whole "George thing" is a real tough one, but it was made a lot easier by the fact that Mer-Der were getting "cozy" everywhere and every chance they got :) and the whole Yang-Hunt thing....H.O.T. Loved him in the HBO series Rome and LOVE LOVE LOVE him on Grey's :)
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I'm still behind on my shows though. I haven't watched this week's Survivor and I also want to check out the new shows Mercy and Eastwick. If only I didn't need to sleep....then I would have all the time in the world. Instead I'll continue to try and fit them in first thing in the morning and last thing at night when Iz doesn't have control of the remote :)
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Even though I don' t work a traditional "job"....TGIF!!!
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Whew!!! I Did It!

Last Tuesday, the 15th, I HAD to buy this after Iz and I went to the movies... *
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24 episodes...1080 minutes...9 days....but I did it! I watched the ENTIRE season :) and I loved it even more than the first time I watched it!
(the lack of commercials DEFINITELY speeds up the watching time!!!)
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The new season starts in 2 hours!!!! Have I mentioned how excited I am???
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* image courtesy of amazon.com
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Playdate ... and my NEW Camera!!!

My new camera works GREAT! Here's a couple quick snapshots I took Monday night after Iz & I got home.
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The best part? It takes VIDEO.......WITH SOUND!!!!

(my old camera did video but without sound...who wants a video without sound? Seriously?)
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It was a little dark in the house when I took this, but it's still pretty darn cute!

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Yesterday, we headed over for a play date with Mel & the boys where my NEW :) camera got quite the workout! I was trying to kill the batteries (online reviews claim it's a battery eater!) so I took FIFTY pictures and EIGHT videos....guess what? My power bar didn't even drop a line. I'm thinking it's just fine with batteries!

We played inside for a while...

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Then headed for a quick hike in the woods to the brook.

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Back to the house to play some more...these two are quite the matched pair :)

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Mel's cutie, Otis...always have to try and snap a pic of him!

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A little more playing...then we headed home!

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Mel gave me the sweetest card and a small gift (tulip bulbs! yay!) in appreciation of our friendship. So nice of her! We met almost 3 years ago through a playgroup that had just begun in the area and I am SO glad that we did. She is the friend that I can be completely honest with, that shares my views of the world and parenting and marriage, someone that I can laugh with, someone I can be serious with, someone I can tell my hopes and fears to...
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Thanks, Mel....for being a wonderful friend :)
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Today, Iz and I went to story time at the library (as usual) and then made a "quick" stop at Nannie and Papa's to say hello. Only...our quick stop lasted 5 hours!!! My Auntie M was there helping Nannie do some cleaning/purging/sorting and I stayed to help. My mom is trying to downsize things, clear some things out and sell some things in a yard sale at some point so they can travel in the motor home this winter and maybe, someday, even sell their house!!! It's a BIG job...we're headed back Saturday afternoon to help some more.
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One more day 'til Grey's Anatomy!!! I'm so excited!!!!
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A Big Deal!

We had an overnight guest Saturday night...SK's little one (often referred to as "The Bear") came and slept-over....VERY exciting for Iz who couldn't wait for her little friend to get here so they could PLAY!!!
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Iz dragged out all her Little People to play with once we were inside.
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After dinner, the girls settled on the couch to watch a movie...the vote was unanimous for "The Little Mermaid" :)
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Then it was time for some ICE CREAM!
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YUM!
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Hubby read the bedtime stories...so cute!
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It took a while but they both eventually fell asleep...the Bear looks so teeny tiny...which she is :) and how she slept through Iz's snoring is beyond me!
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Breakfast time!

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Definitely a fun weekend!

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On another note....Hubby came home last night with a new camera for me! I've been snapping pictures and shooting videos like a crazy person trying to decide if I want to keep it. The batteries are holding up well and it's pretty quick which is important when 99% of the pictures you take are of a kid who's always on the go! I'm downloading the pictures onto the laptop tonight to see how they are quality-wise and then I'll decide whether to keep it or not.

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My Digital Camera...

...is on it's way to camera heaven :(
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This is a HUGE problem for me....one that I hope to remedy within the next day or two. I've been having problems with mine for a while that I attributed to other things (like cheap batteries) but yesterday was the end of the line. Brand new batteries...no dice. Freshly charged re-chargeable batteries...no dice. No matter what I did I couldn't get it to work.
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So, I'm on the hunt for a new one. There are a couple on sale this week that I'm going to check out either today or tomorrow so, hopefully, I'll find one that I like. I've been using Hubby's this weekend and now need to figure the easiest way to get them onto my laptop. I'm hoping the pictures I took this weekend came out nice since we had a BIG event here and I want to share it!!!
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UGH! Camera shopping! NOT what I wanted to do this week!!!!
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Playing Catch-Up...Again!

Here's the re-cap of our week, since I just couldn't possibly get my act together and do this daily...now I'm playing catch-up...again...or, maybe, as usual :)
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Tuesday we went to the movies! For FREE! We saw a movie we have at home that we've seen a million times but seeing it up on the big screen made it even better!
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Imagine my surprise when there were people I knew at the movies too! That's what happens when you post what you're doing and where you're doing it on FB...you never know who will show up! But it was great. We saw someone I used to work with, his wife and their little girl (who's almost exactly a year younger than Iz.) We headed to a local playground after the movie so the kiddos could stretch their legs and the adults could chit chat - you KNOW how good I am at that!
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Thanks JP for snapping some pics of the girls! AND posting them on FB for me to swipe :)

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Wednesday was our usual: story time at the library, then a visit with Aunt J & Uncle P (where, Iz claimed, you don't have to pay money for food!!!! :) ), then coffee with Auntie D. PLUS, Jimmy was here Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday. Whew!

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As if that wasn't enough for the week, Thursday morning Iz & I packed ourselves up and headed 2-1/2 hours away to visit Liss & her hubby and to pick up FOUR garbage bags of hand-me-down clothes! We had a GREAT visit! Iz did a little driving and...

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...we walked across the field to see the horses :)
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Iz did get a little nibble but that was only a 5 minute breakdown and then all was well :)
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Thanks Liss & T for the clothes and the visit! We had a GREAT time!

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I've spent ALL DAY today cleaning (both bathrooms, Iz's room, Kitchen, Living Room & Master Bedroom) in anticipation of the weekend...but...
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Just to prove that things around here aren't ALWAYS so hectic:

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We've got BIG plans for this weekend ... dancing and sleepovers and

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FUN! FUN! FUN!
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Where Do I Begin?

You're probably asking...where have I been???
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Busy! Busy! Busy! As usual. Plus, I haven't been downloading my pictures daily so I have nothing to show for our week.
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Thankfully, tomorrow is another day :) and I will post then. It will probably be long and full of pictures, but, hey! that's life...and I haven't seen (or heard) and complaints yet!!!
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P.S. Survivor starts tonight. Can't WAIT to check it out!
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P.P.S. Grey's Anatomy starts in ONE WEEK!!!!
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P.P.P.S (last one, I swear!) The winner of America's Got Talent? Yeah...I wasn't down with that but, then again, I didn't vote so I can't really say much. One thing though - LOVE LOVE LOVE Recycled Percussion!!!
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The Weekend...well, just Saturday :)

The only day worth talking about this weekend is Saturday...Sunday we just hung out at home and puttered around...but Saturday...SATURDAY...that was the good day :)
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Iz started something she's been looking forward to for weeks...can you guess what it was?
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Yeppers...Ballet Class! It was the first one...and Iz was the only kid there (boo!) but she still had fun. We'll give it a couple weeks and see if any other little ones show up. If they don't we'll look to switch to a class on Friday mornings at a different location but with the same dance company. I really want it to be a good experience for Iz with other kids...she gets all the one-on-one attention she needs...too much, in fact...I really want her to be in a class with other kids so she can learn to take turns and share the "spotlight" - skills she'll need next year when she goes to preschool.
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The minute we pulled into the driveway after class the heavens opened and it rained the rest of the day. After lunch I was a bundle of energy - SURPRISE! SURPRISE! - so I sent her out to splash around in the puddles.
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Who says you need SUN to have FUN ?!?

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On a side note...the NFL season started this past Thursday...but, for ME, it really starts TONIGHT -
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GO PATS!

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A New Discovery

So, my friend SK & I have been trying to get together at a park near her house ALL.SUMMER.LONG but it just hasn't worked out...until today :)
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Imagine my surprise when I received directions from her via email and discovered that the park is right smack in between the grocery store I shop at & the WallyWorld we stop in when needed! I have driven by the entrance several times but never really paid any attention. It's a HUGE parcel of land covered in baseball, soccer & football fields but WAY in the back, all fenced in and restricted to kids under age 9 :) was this GEM:
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HUGE wooden structures including a big train, a little train, a pirate ship & a castle...along with a sandbox, swings and monkey bars. We were there about 3 hours and had a BLAST! I foresee many stops in the future while out and about running errands!

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Thanks SK for showing us a great NEW place to play! We'll meet again soon when the A-man is back in town for even MORE good times :)
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More From Santa's Village

After lunch (when it was warm enough for short sleeves!) we had Iz chauffeur us around in Antique Cars a couple times.
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This was Iz's FAVORITE ride because it was the one she could ride ALL.BY.HERSELF without one of us...like a big girl :)
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We stopped at the sweetshop to decorate a gingerbread girl...it was YUMMY!
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This was MY favorite part...feeding the reindeer...they were so sweet and friendly!
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Of course, we had to see how Iz "Measured Up"... about 39" ... she is getting SO tall!
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Another favorite of Iz's was the Elf House...everything was just her size :)
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No trip to Santa's Village would be complete without a visit with the big man himself!

He gave her TWO candy canes which, we were informed, meant she is on his NICE list...hmmmmm...maybe he had her mixed up with another IzzyB :)
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After almost 6 hours there we decided it was time to head home. We said goodbye to Rudy (the talking reindeer at the entrance) and Iz kicked her shoes off the minute she was strapped in her car seat.

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5 miles from Santa's Village...this is what I saw:
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She slept most of the ride home and was back in bed early Monday night. We had a great time! Can't wait to go again next year!!!

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