Happiness is...

Well, its no secret that Thanksgiving does not rank among my favorite holidays. No offense to the well meaning passengers of the Mayflower, I whole-heartedly appreciate their efforts. Of course, they did travel in the time before travel climates were assigned colors. I ask you, what's a little scurvy if you can bypass security lines?

Still, now that I am a mom, I can no longer escape the harvestfest with macaroni and cheese and beer. So I in the past few years, I have been working to re-frame the holiday in terms of thanks and happiness rather than tense dinners and a root vegetable soup.

This year, my very smart husband suggested we escape to our favorite vacation spot in the Berkshires where we spent a week doing our best to relax. Turns out, there is no real relaxation for parents of two, but we did our best. To our delight, my younger brothers and mother joined us as well so CPea was in the kind of heaven that one can only get to when one is adored by "Uncles."

So in the spirit of happiness-I present to you my happy thanksgiving.

happiness is...

finding magic in a sofabed

a play in the first snow of winter with daddy

love from the uncles

one on one with Uncle Mark

being ready to ski-just as soon as she stops swinging

coooing with Dee Dee

standing at the foot of a mountain

playing with my girls (and dressing them alike)

reading with a very attentive audience

super family fun time

brothers on a winter adventure

happiness is being thankful for what I have, and being grateful for all of you.

thankful

Happy Thanksgiving!

from our little turkeys...

to yours!

All Aboard! Trains and Training

We spent last Sunday at Day Out with Thomas at the Essex Steam Train Station. It was a beautiful day and we had a great time wallowing in the blatant commericalism that is this little blue train phenom. Luckily, not a lead painted train in sight.

CPea was especially enthralled with everything Thomas, riding the train..

LPea was pleased to become a train conductor, now she wants to drive our cars!

Love is, an inflatable Percy


Standing in front of the cultural icon that is Thomas



CPea also rode in her first ride all by herself! And had her face painted!

And we went on the merry-go-round, CPea did not want to ride on a horse


A blissful day for a three year old.


And, for those interested parties, I am happy to report that CPea is officially potty trained! This is a significant milestone in parenting and a lovely relief from being that woman buying two sizes of diapers. It is satisfaction at its best.

A Ghostly Halloween

Ever since last Halloween, CPea planned to be a Scary Ghost, with purple. Mind you, this is not the kind of costume that can be found in stores. So it fell to me, the mother, to create this costume. Which I did, with the help of my friend Amanda.

Here's the highlights of our Halloween extraganza, which consisted of two parades, one contest, and many bags of candy!





Never one to be left out of the loop, LPea did her best to be a little ghost


Everyone knows you can't be a preppy ghost without a monogram...




At the Halloween Parade in Niantic



CPea's costume contest debut...


CPea and I at the Academy's halloween parade




LPea found all of the Halloween preparations just a little exhausting


But once she had her cozy tiger suit on...she perked right up!






Trick or treat...ready to roll!




All and all, a great time for all us!

More photos are on our flikr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8140485@N08/sets/72157602846371024/