Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Signing off for the next 2 weeks or so. Dan is home for 10 days and we are going to have a great time together. I'm looking forward to the holidays. I've been doing my 30 day of gratefulness and through it all, it has helped me to look at the little things to be grateful for. Today I'm grateful for this time to reflect and appreciate the life I have. As for the rest of the days I have left-3 I think, I'm grateful for these holidays spent with family.

Here's to you and yours!

What to get a 13 year old girl?

So tomorrow night Dan and I are getting all dolled-up and heading to a Bat Mitzvah reception at the S.C. Aquarium downtown. It should be quite the soiree'-the theme is Hollywood and there's going to be a "pink" carpet. How cute is that? Now, I've never been to a Bat Mitzvah reception before, so I'm very excited...and as a mom of 3 little boys, I have NO IDEA what to get a 13 year old girl as a gift, any suggestions? Please help!

I'm also excited because I am able to wear a "vintage" (umm, 10 year old dress, does it count as vintage?) Ann Taylor Christmas Red silk strapless dress, size 2!!! dress that I wore before I birthed any babies...now, don't get me wrong my Spanx power panty will be going under that bad boy...but I'm SO EXCITED nonetheless. I've been working my booty off this month, so I'm glad to see that it fits. However, some neighbors asked us to go out for Mexican tonight, and I have such a weakness for it, that I may wear the black J Crew velvet and taffeta strapless dress I wore to Dan's office party-you know the one that makes me look pregnant. We'll see. So of course, today I'm grateful that the red dress fits, we'll just see if it fits tomorrow!

Cookies! Cookies! Cookies! and a shout-out

So last night was the cookie exchange...it was fun, but I've been left with A LOT of cookies. Thank goodness Dan took a huge tray of them to work. Everyone had beautiful and of course, yummy cookies. My favorite were my friend B's Buckeye Balls. Chocolate and peanut butter together...need I say more? I ended up doing the Nutella Kisses that my friend Slacker Mama made, as well as the Cranberry, Chocolate and Oat bars from the Kraft Food & Family Magazine. (If you don't get that magazine, it's free and they always have great recipes. Just go on their website and sign up) They were really good-thanks K, for the recipe! Also, huge thanks to my friend J, over at Sweet Peas and Pumpkins for the hot chocolate recipe. I ended up making it in the crockpot and used a package of Ghiradelli milk chocolate chips and they melted just fine. It simmered for a couple of hours before guests arrived which gave it time to get to the ideal consistency and temperature. It was oh so creamy! Can't you just taste it now with that description? Ha! Ha! A couple of the women loved it so much that they are going to make it on Christmas morning for their families. Of course, adding the Bailey's Irish Cream is a good treat for the adults!

Oh, and today I'm grateful for sweet neighbors. I'm so happy that we finally live in a neighborhood where the neighbors actually like to socialize and are friendly. You know in an instant if you needed anything they would be right there for you. What a refreshing feeling!

You better watch out...

I don't know what I'm going to do after Christmas when we put the Elf on the Shelf away-he's been quite the little helper in reminding Harrison to be on his best behavior! Harrison named him Kris-after "Kris Cross Applesauce"-something they say at school. I guess because it looks like he is sitting that way. He creeps Dan out, but I think he's oh so cute. Maybe we'll leave him up all year-just kidding Dan! Now if only we can figure out who sent him to us...

I'm hosting a cookie exchange with the neighborhood women tonight, so it should be fun. Once again, I'm grateful for my wonderful husband who puts up with oh so much and is so supportive. I love you sweetheart!

Preschool Christmas Party

Harrison had his preschool Christmas party today...and YES, I can call it a Christmas party because it's at a Catholic preschool. The twins had fun and a special guest made an appearance. Today I'm grateful for the twins and their laid back attitudes about missing naps, getting off schedule, etc....I would have never dreamed of having Harrison miss naps when he was their age...but with 3 children someone's always getting off schedule. They just seem to roll with things and go with the flow!

All Aboard the Gingerbread Train...

Here are pics of the gingerbread train we made on Saturday. Today I'm grateful for girls night out. Tonight is our MOMS club ornament exchange. My friend who is hosting has advertised spiked egg-nog on the evite....I'll be there!

Lazy Sunday

We had no plans today, just a great lazy Sunday. We did some grocery shopping and later on I made peppermint bark-YUM! I'm hosting a cookie exchange on Wednesday night, so I'll be serving that up. I'm thinking about making these as well. They look pretty good to me. Oh, and I'll be making the hot chocolate recipe from my good friend over here. It sounds heavenly. Today I'm grateful for lazy Sundays. The weather was quite frightful (with the wind), so it was nice to stay in!

Holiday Fun

We had so much fun as a family today. We had no plans so it made it even that much better. While the boys napped, Daddy, Harrison and I made a "gingerbread train". I think Daddy really got into it, but has referred to it as the "70's train"-it's very colorful. I'll post pictures soon. Harrison keeps asking when we will eat it.

Afterwards, when the boys woke up we loaded everyone in the car and headed to one our favorite pizza spots, Andolini's, but in another town (closer to the Festival of Lights). All 3 boys were great and we didn't make too much of a mess!

Then we went to see the lights. Harrison loved it-he kept pointing out all the different things he saw-it was really neat to see them through his eyes. They are spectacular, but when you see them through the eyes of a 3 year old-EVEN better. Today I'm grateful for my wonderful family and the great day we had!

'Tis the Season....

Today I'm grateful that I'm done with my Christmas shopping. The gifts have been sent to loved ones far away, the cards have all been sent out...now it's time to enjoy the rest of the Christmas season. We have a lot going on until then and I'm loving every minute of it. Tomorrow we are going to make a Gingerbread Train with Harrison. He saw the kit a couple of days ago and has been eagerly awaiting this activity. I'll be sure to post pictures later. If the weather holds up we are also going to see the "Festival of Lights" , which is always so fun. I can't wait to see Harrison's eyes when he sees it this year.

Supper Club and Ornament Exchange

Last night I hosted the ladies for supper club at my house. We had so much fun...and even sat down to eat in the dining room. I made a fig and blue cheese stuffed pork tenderloin that was super easy and I thought was good. Everyone else brought appetizers, salad, sides, dessert and wine. I must say we have some very good cooks in the group! I made a super easy "Christmas cocktail" with cranberry juice, pear nectar and sparking wine...so yummy! We also did an ornament exchange which I say went far better than the one I went to last week with the ladies in my neighborhood...this time we didn't do the white elephant switch, so there was no stealing and re-stealing of ornaments. I scored a very cute pink and green glass ball ornament with the palmetto tree and crescent moon...so cute! Today I'm grateful for friends...old and new!

Baby, It's Cold Outside...NOT!

I feel really bad for the people in the midwest and northeast suffering with all of that cold, icy, snowy weather....really I do. I was always so terrified to drive in that stuff when we lived in the D.C. area (and we didn't get it too much). Meanwhile, it's a balmy 82 degrees here today...I wish I could shave some degrees off and send them to the cold areas. So, in order to stay cool in mid-December I've discovered a new favorite thing. I first heard about this company on The Apprentice a few years ago and then Oprah had it on her favorite things list this year....Ciao Bella Blood Orange sorbetto is absolutely delightful and it's 98 calories and 0 fat grams in a 1/2 cup serving. I'm loving this stuff and I feel refreshed eating it. If you haven't tried Blood Oranges, they are the bomb. So, until the mercury goes down a little, I'll be enjoying my sorbetto in December. My husband told me the high is supposed to be 56 on Monday-I say bring it on. I guess today I'm grateful that it is warm here and not icy or snowy. Because Charleston is actually on a peninsula, we have tons of bridges here-that would not be a good situation with ice and snow.

Back to Normal?

Well, I finally did it-I've reached my pre-pregnancy weight minus 2 lbs. Why 2lbs you say? Because it's just a numbers thing. I want the scale to say a certain number....You would think that I'd be excited? Well I am and I have worked hard...but I am just not the same. You see, when you have 2 babies growing inside of you for 8 or so months (they were born a month early), something happens to your....ummm...skin. Now I'd like to lose some more (let's say about 5 lbs and then I'll stop there-I promise) in hopes that something will magically happen to that excess skin. So, although my body is not the same as it used to be, I look at that excess skin and smile knowing that it is the result of my 3 beautiful boys! That is what I'm grateful for today...Of course, a neighbor brought over some homemade fudge yesterday and it is sooooo good, so I'm grateful for that too.

Peppermint Dip

If you're like me this time of year....things get a little busy. I love this peppermint dip, it's an old Southern Living recipe from 2000. It's so simple, yet everyone raves about it. All you do is take a 12 oz tub of Cool-Whip-I use lite or fat free and crush about 50 peppermints and mix together. Voila-it's great with these bad boys dipped in...
Oh, and yeah...today I'm grateful for tried and true and SIMPLE recipes like this that make my life easier. I'm taking this to my MOMS Club moms-night-out ornament exchange next week...so yummy!

All he wants for Christmas....

is a candy cane. The other day Harrison and I were talking about Christmas. I asked him what he wanted and he said a candy cane. Today I'm grateful for the simplicity of being 3. I know in a couple of years all he's going to want are big ticket items. I think we can handle the candy cane from Santa...maybe even a few more things!

100th post and a Santa Spotting

Today Santa came to our neighborhood clubhouse. I'm grateful today that we have such a child-friendly neighborhood and didn't have to wait in long lines to see Santa and buy a picture that we may or may not like. With this Santa, you take your own picture! I'm also grateful that it's my 100th post...who would've thought? I'm loving this blog and sharing my life with friends and family and other bloggers. It keeps me fresh with computer skills and one day the boys will get to read all about it!

TGIF

Today I'm grateful that we have no plans tonight! Don't get me wrong...I love being busy with activities, but this week I've had Book Club, went to a "soft opening" for a new restaurant with a girlfriend (very fun and FREE dinner) and had an ornament exchange with the neighborhood women...all very fun, but tonight we don't have any plans and I'm actually excited. We have a party tomorrow night as well as flag football in the morning and Santa comes to our neighborhood tomorrow before the party...YIKES. Sunday we are attending a joint birthday party at My Gym for playgroup friends and Sunday night is the Mt Pleasant Christmas parade....So tonight we are hanging in, drinking a glass of spiked nog and watching a movie.

Happy 1st House-iversary!

A year ago we moved into our new house. Not only did we move into a new house, we moved to a new state, new town and I was 25 weeks pregnant with twins when we moved in. It really amazes me to think all that has happened in one year...Harrison went from a crib to a big boy bed, he finally got some hair (and now has lots of it), the twins were born (our family went from 3 people to 5 people), we moved from Northern VA D.C. area to Charleston, SC (huge culture change), Bailey was diagnosed and cured of bone cancer, Harrison was potty trained and the twins will be 10 months old next week and are crawling and cruising (well at least Jack is cruising) everywhere. It has been a jam-packed year and that is what I'm grateful for today. I'm so very grateful that we moved to the D.C. area not knowing anyone but each other because we made so many friends and memories, I think it was great for our relationship. I still miss some aspects...but I'm grateful for moving here and looking back on our very busy and fulfilling year! Here's to many more...

our house in VA

our house in SC

Move over Peyton Manning...

Harrison started flag football this past Saturday. His team is for 3-4 year olds. I must say it is hilarious watching them all run down the field. The name of his team is the "Green Crush". The kids had so much fun. We are looking forward to our game this Saturday morning. Thank goodness it doesn't start at 8:15 a.m. like last weeks game. Here are some pics from this past Saturday.

Today I'm grateful for nice people. Three people held the door for me 3 different times when they saw me coming with my boys in the double stroller. 'Tis the season...

Deck the Halls...

Here's a little sneak-peak at our house decorated for Christmas! Today I'm grateful for the Holidays and spending time with family. It's a great time to slow down and remember why we celebrate Christmas. Sometimes we get so busy and stressed, that it's good to just slow down and be...

Without further "a-do"

before

after

here's my new do! So here it is...sorry this is a *BAD* picture, but I took it myself. I decided to go for it and cut it all off. It looks kinda bad today because it's 75 and humid here-YUCK! Today I'm grateful for my flat-iron, because without it I would be a big ball of frizz. It looks longer than it is in the picture, but it stops at my chin.

Party Like It's 1999...

We had a great time at the party last night. The fried green tomatoes and the mini-lamb chops were amazing. I think I had one too many Cosmo's (open bar, cheesy drink I know, but with the choices of liquors and mixers, it was all I could think of)...but that is either here nor there. They also had a banana's foster and creme brulee station-which was AH-MAZING! They gave out door prizes and we won a wireless mouse, which was nice. (Wish I would've won the massage from Urban Nirvana...)

Afterwards, several people went to a bar to dance...umm, it was fun until...well, I'll get to that later. The wives all danced to cheesy 90's music, think Radiohead, Counting Crows...while the husbands stood around and chatted. Anyway, it was about time to go and we were saying our good-byes when all of a sudden I got groped by a 60 year old (think former stripper looking) woman-yes GROPED and yes WOMAN....it was definitely time to go!

It was fun to get dressed up and go out, but today I'm grateful for being married and NOT having to work the scene at clubs...glad those days are long over!

Oh and I did go for the plunge with the hair....I'll post pics tomorrow!

My Loyal Dog

Bailey's 1st Christmas

Today I am grateful for my sweet loyal dog Bailey! She is such a sweet girl and actually helps me clean the house sometimes. She is loving the fact that we now have two babies that drop cheerios on the floor for her to eat...I mean clean up. She is 7 years old now and I may be biased but I think she's the sweetest Golden Retriever I've ever met. She was the runt of 11 puppies and I instantly fell in love with her the first time I saw her when she was 6 weeks old. She is so great with the kids. There isn't a mean bone in her body. Last year, right before the twins were born we found out that she had bone cancer and actually thought we were going to lose her. It seems as though they caught it in time and were able to remove all of the cancerous tissue, which meant removing 5 teeth and part of her upper jaw. It's funny when we first got her I don't think Dan and I ever thought we'd spend several thousand dollars if something happened to her, but the fact that it was treatable-we both felt we had to. And now almost a year later, she seems to be thriving and full of energy. I never knew I could love an animal so much, but she almost seems like a person to me. I love you Bailey-girl and I am so grateful that you are part of our family!

Thanks Mom and Dad!

My parents are on their way this very minute to stay with us for the weekend. Today I'm grateful for them-they are wonderful grandparents and are going to brave it tomorrow evening and watch the kiddos while we go to Dan's company Christmas party. We are so glad that we moved to be closer to family...it's been nice for Harrison to know his grandparents so much more and for Brady and Jack too! Thanks Mom and Dad. There will be Sweet Corn Bisque with Crab waiting when you get here!

Grateful Day 4

Today I am grateful for the wonderful healthcare policy that Dan has through his company. We recently found out that Brady's surgery was $18,000 and we didn't pay a dime for it. We only paid $150 for delivery of Harrison as well as the twins. It also covered 100% of the fertility treatments we went through including IUI's (6 of those), IVF (1 of those) and all ultrasounds, testing, monitoring, injectible meds, not to mention the injectibles I was on during pregnancy which cost about $700 a month-for 9 months...I am so grateful that we have really great healthcare because I know there are people that don't have any at all. I think it's a travesty...but that's a discussion for another day.

Beautiful City

Today I'm grateful for the beautiful city I live in. It's full of history and southern charm. Everytime I'm downtown I feel so happy that we moved here. It really is wonderful here....

Grateful Challenge Day 2

Today I am grateful for my health. I ran 3 miles this morning and could have gone more...I am grateful that I try to take good care of myself to be a good role model for my children. That's it...short and sweet!

Christmas Music...anyone?

I LOVE me some Christmas music. For those of you who have XM, they are playing 4 stations with Christmas music....there's a classical station, traditional station, jazzy station and somewhat country one. I'm in Heaven everytime I get into the car. The music just puts me in the best mood.

Our house is almost decorated. The tree is up with lights, just not decorated yet. For some reason, it makes me not want to leave the house when it's all decorated. I'm such a nester though. I do, however keep looking for areas to decorate...hmmm.

Quite a busy week here. This morning I took the twins for their second flu shot-they were great. We headed to Target for lighted garland, of course all was sold.

This Saturday night we have Dan's work party at The Francis Marion Hotel downtown. I'm so excited for a night out of dinner and dancing. I love an excuse to dress up. I am wearing this dress in black.

I also have an appointment to get my haircut on Saturday. I'm REALLY thinking of going bold this time. I'm so tired of my same hairstyle. I was thinking of growing it out for "Locks for Love", but the length is already bothering me. I know I've said I was going to do it before...but this time I might really do it. Everytime I see a picture of "the Katie Holmes do" I say to myself, that's how I want it. I'm really inspired by this picture.

On the otherhand, I do have red hair and I can visualize myself with LONG, RED hair. Think Julianne Moore...in this picture.

Oh the things we women go through...I know, I know, cut it-it's only hair...but then again it's MY hair. Thoughts?

Thanksgiving Recap and Grateful Challenge

Today begins my "30 days of Gratefulness"....First of all, Thanksgiving was wonderful, of course I ate way too much and my sweet Harrison hardly ate anything...except for a piece of pumpkin cheesecake. The picky eater is even pickier these days...I'm about to pull my hair out. Go figure that he loves dill havarti cheese. Found that out yesterday...maybe he's got a sophisticated palate.

The race was great! There were over 4,000 runners. It was a cool and crisp morning and a very spirited crowd. Finished my best time ever, just over 26 minutes. Not stellar, but my best time for a 5K. Had to rush home afterwards, shower and make it to my sister's for the Thanksgiving feast.

We watched the big game, Clemson vs. Carolina, on Saturday night and I made the Spaghetti Bolognese from the Williams-Sonoma catalog. It was pretty good-my niece had 2 helpings, my picky eater ate none....It was definitely a nail-biter of a game, but thank goodness we pulled it through and got the bragging rights back yet AGAIN!

So, here's to Day 1 of my Grateful Challenge...Of course I am so very grateful for my beautiful family. I honestly never could have dreamed that I would be a mother of 3 little adorable boys. My cup is overflowing with blessings. I am so grateful that I have 3 healthy children and an amazing, supportive husband.

Gobble Wobble 2007

Tomorrow morning I'm running the 2007 Turkey Day Run or "Gobble Wobble" downtown. I love turkey trots, they are always so fun! After that we are headed to my sister's for our Thanksgiving feast. My contributions are Pecan Cheesecake Pie (from this month's Southern Living), sweet potato casserole, scalloped corn and cranberry-pear bellini's. Here's wishing everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving Day!

I guess I'm a ROCK STAR!

Last week my sweet husband was in San Diego for 4 whole days...(he doesn't like me to announce that he's gone until he's back at home). My mom came for the first night, but the rest of the week I was on my own with the children...all 3 of them. I never, ever thought I'd be able to handle it on my own, but I survived! However, by Friday night I was officially done. Dan could not have gotten home fast enough. It made me realize what a great helper he is around the house and we definitely missed him. I am so grateful for my sweet husband and wonderful family. Thanks for all you do Dan-and thanks Mom for coming over and helping out so I could take Brady to the doctor.

Starting on Thanksgiving, I'm going to start my "Grateful Challenge" until Christmas. I saw the idea on another blog. So between Thanksgiving and Christmas I will be expressing everything that I'm grateful for, even the small things...

I love girl time!

Last night was our first official Supper Club-it was so much fun! I must admit I love girl time and it was definitely much needed...Last night the hostess served a breaded chicken breast with a mushroom and apricot glaze-it was delicious. Everyone else provided appetizers, sides, dessert and beverages. There are 12 of us in the group, so each person hosts once a year. How nice is that? The food and conversation were wonderful, too. This supper club is women only, but I know that Dan would love for us to start up a couples one like we had in VA-I miss it so much!!!

Next month I'm hosting Supper Club and am contemplating a Fig and Blue-Cheese stuffed pork tenderloin...along with Merry Margaritas (from Southern Living Nov 2004) or Peppermint Martinis-I can taste it already!

Going down memory lane...

Just looking back in time a little (9 months ago)...it really can't get any sweeter than this for me.

I feel one step ahead of the game...

We have had so much going on around here that I decided the day after Halloween to order our Christmas cards. Last year around this time, we were packing up our house, moving to Charleston, I was 25 weeks pregnant with twins and had completely forgotten about the cards until mid-December when we were not even really settled-GASP! So this year, I've decided, even though my plate is overflowing with three small (but beautiful) boys, that I will stay ahead of the game. I ordered the cutest, sweetest cards from Tiny Prints.com, googled a code for them, found one and got them on sale with free shipping. The ones I got are above...how sweet are they? My friend took some photos of us this fall...so those are the ones I'm using. It also allows space for 2 more pictures when you open the card. I figured using those pics would be the easiest thing, and there's even one of all 5 of us smiling and looking at the camera. Believe me, that doesn't happen very often.

Sweet Little Brady

Brady is doing really well despite being in surgery for 2.5 hours on Friday. He is really a trooper! I know if an adult had this surgery, they would be laid up for days. Babies are really resilient little people. I feel relieved that we have this behind us and can recover from here. Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers....it meant a lot!

How could he NOT like Clemson?

All of his life, Harrison has lived and breathed Clemson Tigers. He can recognize a Tiger Paw a mile away. Every Saturday the entire Magnolia family dons their Clemson wear. Last Saturday Harrison put on his Clemson sweatshirt and decided that he didn't want to wear it and wear his non-Clemson blue shirt instead. He was whining and whining about how he didn't want to wear it....blah, blah, blah....then we heard him say, "I don't like the Clemson Tigers." Dan and I both looked at each other devastated and told him "we do not say things like that in this house". It got me thinking....what if he decides that one day he does not want to go to Clemson....oh my, I never thought of that and to make it worse, what if he decides that one day he wants to go to the University of South Carolina???? What ever would we do?..... :)

Love at first sip...

Hot chocolate at home really doesn't get better than this. I drank some of this the other night and was in chocolate heaven. It's definitely on my list of favorite cold weather things...

where have I been?

We've been pretty busy here at the magnolia household...one of the twins, Brady, is having minor surgery this week....he's fine-it's something that has to be repaired (we knew since he was born that it was going to happen and it does involve his male part). Still, I find myself worrying about the fact that my 9 month old is about to undergo surgery.

It seems like we've all had various appointments lately....dentist, flu shots, Brady's consultations, pre-op appts...when you have 3 kids and a dog, someone is always going to the doctor or vet.

We went to an oyster roast at Bowen's Island this weekend sponsored by the Jr Woman's Club, which I am a member of. It was a beautiful day and all for a great cause. I enjoy volunteering and being involved with the community and feel that it makes me a better mom.

Not much else going on. Maybe I'll get inspired later. I'm just finding myself preoccupied with Brady's surgery. Everyone please keep my little one in your thoughts this week...his surgery is this Friday.

Too smock or not?

I love the look of smocked clothing on little babies. The twins are wearing a similar outfit like this for Christmas. When we lived in Northern VA, you rarely saw babies wearing smocked outfits. I think it's a southern thing. I think it's so adorable on a baby though. We have a rule in our house (because Dan thinks they look feminine) that absolutely no smocking after age 1...well I don't have much time left. They'll be 9 months old in a few days...so giddy-up and wear out the smocking while I can. They're only little babies once!

Can you survive on pumpkin bars?

A couple of days ago I wrote about the pumpkin bars I made. Well, you can find the recipe for them here. They're from the Penzey's Spice Catalog, which is one of my favorite places to get spices. I could seriously live on those things. My husband thinks the Brown Butter Icing is too sweet, but I.love.it!!

The boys had a great time last night trick or treating. Jack fell asleep in the stroller while Dan took Harrison trick or treating and Brady just took in the sights. It was the cutest thing...Dan and I agreed it was the best Halloween yet because we finally live in a COOL neighborhood where the parents get involved too! We only had about 15 or so pieces of candy left, so that was great! The caramel appletini's were yummy too-I definitely recommend them. They would be good for a Thanksgiving or Christmas cocktail.

Happy Halloween!

Trick or Treat! Last night we decorated our pumpkin. See pictures below. Based on my kids' costumes, can you guess who we pull for? Today we have Harrison's party at his preschool. Should be fun! I have a big pot of chili (thanks sweet pea chef) in the crockpot right now for dinner and tonight we have some neighbors coming over for a cocktail. Several of us on the street are going to have treats for the adults as well as the kids. I'm making this drink-Caramel Appletini's for the adults-should be yummy! I love Halloween so much, especially now that I'm a mommy and can experience it through my children's eyes! It should be fun on our street with so many kids-I just hope I don't run out of candy!