I'm such a procrastinator....

I know it's nearly New Years, but I realized I never posted Halloween pictures. Better late than never! I still have to post Thanksgiving and Christmas after this ;)

Baby's First...

Elijah as Squirt (from Finding Nemo)

Out trick-or-treating

Ethan visiting Gramma

Visiting Uncle Ron and Auntie Mary (one of Scott's sisters)
And people think Kara looks like ME!

Baby Ethan and Baby Olivia. This is sure to embarrass them
15 years from now!

A visit with Grammie Soos!

Picking the kids up from school. Halloween was so sweet! ;)

ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS...

MY TWO FRONT TEETH!!! :)

GOING...

GOING...

GONE!!!

I CAN'T even stand how cute she looks like this...too bad
one of them is already starting to pop through!

Mommy Letter to Santa...

FOR ALL YOU MOMMIES OUT THERE!
Got this from my sister...enjoy!

Dear Santa,

I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor, sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground. I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.

Here are my Christmas wishes:

I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms that don't hurt or flap in the breeze; but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candy aisle in the grocery store.

I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy. If you're hauling big ticket items this year

I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music; a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals; and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.

On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.

I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.

If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.

If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely.

It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.

Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back.

Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold. Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.

Yours Always, MOM

P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa for many years to come.

*Santa has asked that this gets passed on to all the mommies you know*

The Wiggles!

One of Elijah's favorite things in the world is The Wiggles. They were one of the first shows he would watch when he was 2. We wanted to take him last year but knew that he could NOT sit still for that long without having some sort of meltdown. Fast-forward to this year...I find out a WEEK before the show that they are coming to Manchester and there were still tickets available! Scott and I discussed it and decided he probably won't enjoy them as much next year and his birthday is coming up, soooo....Mommie and Elijah had a date this time and we had a blast!

Waiting for them to come out on stage.

Still waiting...so cute!

HERE THEY COME IN THE BIG RED CAR!!

OK, I know this photo is pathetic, but this is my attempt
to get a shot of Jeff because he is Elijah's favorite. Look how
close he was! I am so bummed that I didn't get a good shot
for Elijah :( I'm sure I was so busy trying to point him out
to Elijah that I shook the camera. UGH!

Jeff, Sam, Murray and Anthony

Leave me alone, Mom, I'm trying to watch the show.

Everyone on stage, saying goodbye :(

Show is over....still smiling!

Mommie and Elijah after the lights went back on.

One last picture in front of the stage...Elijah was SUCH a
good boy at the show and Mommie had a FANTASTIC,
FUN TIME with her little boy!! :)

Scott's Birthday

Scott's birthday is October 31st, but we celebrated the 29th. We are always too tired when we get back from trick-or-treating so we did it earlier this year and it worked out so much better!
HAPPY 39TH BIRTHDAY DADDY!!

CHEEEEESE!

MAKE A WISH!...Yeah, I know, we were 36 candles short!

Daddy opening his Planet Earth DVD.

MEGGIE!

HAPPY 8TH BIRTHDAY, MEGHAN!!
(Yes, I KNOW. Her birthday was a month ago...but Auntie loves her so she wanted to add this!)

Cute Picture...

Doesn't it make you want to go take a nap???

Sister Cousins!

Every once in awhile, I feel sad that Kara does not have a sister. We were hoping this last one was a girl, BUT, we wouldn't trade Ethan for anything! I hope Kara and I will have a special relationship, being the only girls in the house. However, Kara DOES have THREE REALLY COOL AND BEAUTIFUL girl cousins. How lucky can one gal be?! ;)
Here are Emily (left), Kara and Becky:
(Emily is Scott's sister, Sue's daughter & Becky is his sister, Laura's daughter. They are now 15 and 19)

(2006)

(2008)


And here is Kara with Meghan:
(My sister's little girl, who is Noah's age
and only 20 mos. older than Kara!)

(Summer 2006)

(2006)

(early 2008)

(Summer 2008)

(Fall 2008)

(2 weeks ago)

HUSBAND TAG

Ally did not tag me, but I thought this was a GREAT post so I'm "borrowing" it! Thanks, Ally!

1. What is his name? Scott Edward Presby

2. Who eats more? Depends on what it is. I'd have to say we eat about the same, he eats larger portions when he's done a lot of physical labor. Although, I eat more junk that he does! He could eat it all the day long and he burns it up immediately. How is THAT fair?!

3. Who said I love you first? He did. He said it in a half-asleep stupor and I replied, half asleep myself, "No you don't".

4. Who is taller? Um...Scott: 6'4" Erica:5'4" Let's put it this way, I wore 2 1/2" heels at our wedding so we wouldn't look dumb in photos!

5. Who is smarter? When it comes to math and science and problem solving, it's DEFINITELY Scott. Grammar, spelling, languages, it's me. I'd say we balance out nicely!

6. Who is more sensitive? Scott...not surprising for those of you who truly know him.

7.Who does the laundry? Mostly me, but he carries it up the 1 or 2 flights of stairs for me ALL the time. He's good at starting and swapping over loads if asked :)

8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? If you're looking at the foot of the bed, I do.

9. Who pays the bills? I would LOVE for THAT to be his job. We are in the process of switching over the responsibility. :)

10. Who cooks more? Oh, it's me. In summer he grills a lot and that is great for me!

11. Who is more stubborn? Um, if he's very hungry, FORGET IT. Other than that, it's me.

12. Who is the first to admit they're wrong? After a long, deafening silence, it's usually him.

13. Who has more siblings? Scott...3 older, beautiful sisters...and 3 step-siblings!

14. Who wears the pants in the relationship? Well, Scott certainly doesn't wear the skirts in the family. But, seriously, I think ETHAN is the boss right now! ;)

15. What do you like to do together? Going out to dinner, watching movies or fixing up the house. Well, as long as we can agree on what needs fixing and how it is to be done ;)

16. Who eats more sweets? ME

17. Guilty pleasures? TV, Olive Garden, Pinatas...are those really THAT guilty?

18. How did you meet? Sunday, May 30, 1999. Manchester 2nd Singles' Branch.

19. Who asked who out first? Well I THOUGHT I was casually asking him to a FHE group BBQ that I told him I was calling around and inviting everyone. Which, by the way, was a total lie. Come to find out a few days later that he knew what I was up to. THANKS, PRESIDENT COTE! ;) How embarrassing...but at least it worked!

We went to Star Wars Episode I immediately after the BBQ. I was the one that asked him...in the car, while he was driving me home. This was Monday, May 31, 1999. Yes, one day after we met :)

20. Who kissed who first? He did. Took him 3 weeks. He was very slick...that's all I'll say.

21. Who proposed? Scott did.

22. His best features? Physical?--Beautiful blue/green eyes (depending on what he's wearing) and he's got great hair, even though he doesn't think so! And, I know this is going to sound strange, but I love his deep voice :)

23. What is his greatest quality? There isn't one...but some are: an EXTREMELY hard worker, great provider, he's very loving and he wants to do the right thing always...and strives for it daily.

I LOVE YOU SCOTTIE <3

I tag EVERYONE :)

TAG...

FOURTH PHOTO IN FOURTH FOLDER:
January 16, 2006-Noah-5 yrs.,
Kara-3 1/2 yrs., Elijah-11 1/2 mos.

BEAUTIFUL EARTH

Somehow I managed to snap a few good shots this Autumn.

Here are 2 of our yard during the day...


Don't ask, I don't know why, but
at the END of September, in the
middle of our BRUSH pile,
we found this treat...

We did NOT plant these!


Same area of the yard, taken
at different times of day...

Lovely Mess (REALLY!)

As promised (2 weeks ago!): I'm thankful for a basement playroom:


All of this is in the basement too!



The bathroom window...someone was bored, waiting for help with brushing their teeth :)


There were 2 other hampers upstairs in the kids' rooms and I'M SURE stuff all over the bathroom floor at this time. I didn't get any photos of the dishes piled up in both sinks but that's ok. I'm sure you've enjoyed a sink of dishes where you could NOT see your sink!

All I know is that I'm grateful for: 1)Clothes to wear, even if they are dirty 2)Dishes in the sink. It means we had food to eat. 3)Fingerprints and drawings on windows and scattered toys. It means I have CUTE little children to share life with :)