The Unthinkable

Just like most of you the past couple of week have been crazy here in our house. My first post back from "Christmas" was going to be all about how much fun we had, the hysterical pictures of Stella throwing a tantrum while I was trying to take pictures of her and Madison all dolled up and how we found an adorable kitten 2 days before Christmas and were able to make one little boy very happy by giving it to his family on Christmas day. Life had different plans though.

Two days after Christmas we were visiting some family members when one of my greatest fears happened. A dog owned by someone in my husband's family was allowed near Madison and it bit her. At this time I am not up for sharing all of the exact details of the incident but what I can share is that her nose was badly bitten but thankfully able to be stitched back together by a plastic surgeon.

Right now the biggest concern is that the wound may get infected. So far it is doing well but the risk is still there. If this were to happen the sutures in Madison's nose would have to be removed. The nose would have to heal on its own and she would most certainly require reconstructive surgery later on. If the wound stays healthy we are hoping scarring will be at a minimum and no future surgery will be required.

Madison is doing great. Other than being a little more sleepy than usual she is playing and acting like her normal bubbly self. Keeping her low key and protecting her nose from being bumped by Stella has proven to be a challenge but one that we are thankfully willing to take on. For as bad as the situation is Justin and I are all too aware of how much worse this could have been.

If you could please pray that our little girl's nose and spirit (which includes and absolute adoration for all critters )heal and stay healthy we would really appreciate it. Thanks so much!

An Email From Santa

At this time a year children all over the world are writing letters to Santa. Some will even receive a letter back. This is something Madison has been hoping and checking the mail for every day for a week. This year she won't be getting a letter though because she will be getting this email Madison's email from Santa!
Portable North Pole can help parents help Santa create this awesome message from him complete with their name, detail about them and a picture! Best yet it is for FREE! For those looking to tease an adult in their life you can also send a Naughty List message with more adult type material in it. For example I sent one to my brother saying that he has been naughty this year and really needs to stop cursing and listen to his wife more often! So much fun!

How Many More Days 'TIl Christmas?

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Christmas Checklist

It is December 9th. Some how over a month has gone by since my last blog. More on reasons for that at another time. My current checklist looks something like this....

• Put lights on the house
• Cut down and decorate tree
• order Christmas cards
• Shop for Christmas Presents
• Play outside with no jackets on in 65 F weather

Yep that's correct it is spring like weather here in NJ just 2 1/2 weeks shy of Christmas. Not that I am complaining or anything (well maybe a little since it was too warm to kill off any bugs in our Christmas tree and now I am convinced we need to fumigate the house). I mean seriously how often do you get to have fun like this in NJ this close the Christmas?

Looks like we'll just have to save Christmas cookie baking for another day!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Just a few pictures from our Halloween. The weather was unseasonably warm but super windy. We trick-or-treated over my Justin's grandparent's house so that they could see the girls. Madison had a blast and Stella had no clue what was go on but went with the flow anyway.

Stella loved her first lollipop and when it got down to the stick she was not very willing to give it up!

The smile on Madiosn's face pretty much sums up the sugar high she was on!

DVD Winner!

Congrats to Cindy for winning my dvd giveaway!

Great Deal From Fisher Price!

Stella was recently the lucky recipient of two awesome toys from Fischer Price. She got to check out the Go Baby Go!™ Stride-to-Ride® Lion. She absolutely loves to push the lion's nose and dance along to the music. It was amazing to see how quickly she figured out what needed to be done in order to make him sing. I've been trying for a week now to catch it on video but as most of you moms with toddlers know nothing ever seems to happen when the camera is rolling! I love that this toy can convert from walker to ride on because it will last that much longer. Right now she mostly pushes/pulls the lion through the house. She occasionally tries to ride on it like her silly big sister but her legs need to be just a little longer.

The second toy that we received was the Laugh & Learn™ Learning Farm . I have to admit that I haven't taken it out yet because we are in the midst of painting just about every room in our house so a new, large toy needs to be held onto for a bit. I know this will be a toy in our home for years to come though because we still have the Laugh & Learn™ Learning Home from when Madison was a baby. These toys have so many different activities that they keep babies entertained for longer than many of the other toys scattered around our home. The Laugh & Learn™ Learning House is still in such great shape after 4 years of use that I will be donating it to a local daycare where the children there can continue to enjoy it. The age range for both the Laugh & Learn™ Learning Farm and Laugh & Learn™ Learning House is 6-36 months but now even at 4 1/2 I catch Madison playing with the house with Stella. If you are willing to spend a little extra to get a toy that will last these

definately check out the Laugh and Learn Learnign Farm and House from Fischer Price.

For a limited time Fisher Price is offering my readers a coupon $20 off a $100 purchase of Fisher-Price Laugh & Learn™ and/or Go Baby Go!™ Infant Toys on their website. Here is the link for the coupon http://clk.atdmt.com/ECH/go/178001898/direct/01/ . Be sure and act quickly though because I've heard that the coupon code has almost reached its limit and will not be availabe much longer. Happy shopping!