TGIF

Yay! Tomorrow starts our basement refinishing project. I cannot tell you how excited I am! This has been something Vince and I have talked about since moving into our house and 4 years later, it is finally happening! Half of the finished portion will become an office and the other half will be a second livingroom/playroom. It is perfect timing as our main living space has been taken over by Olivia's toys and poor Vince has been using the desk in Olivia's bedroom for his office.

Vince and two other guys will start (and hopefully finish) the framing tomorrow. There are many other steps involved but we are hoping the entire project will be completed by the end of December... at least that is what we are shooting for..

Anyway, here's the 'before' picture. Don't mind the mess.... I will try to post some more pictures as the project progresses.

I'll be taking the girls out of the house tomorrow while the work is being done. We'll be meeting up with Auntie Ari and Q to see Santa who will be arriving by helicopter at Patriot's Square in Dennis. I told Olivia that Santa was coming in a helicopter and she goes... 'mama, what happened to Santa's sleigh?' She was very concerned. It was cute.

Happy Weekend!

Silly Boy...

We drove up to Boston yesterday and met Pat and Jamie for a few drinks and a late lunch before they headed back to Chicago. While we were looking for a place to eat, we got cornered by a clown making things out of balloons.

like hats...

and I am not really sure....

Okay, so clowns just freak me out a little but I didn't want Olivia to see that so we went along with him. It is kind of funny because I was a clown for Halloween for about 5 years in a row when I was little (you might remember that red and white polka dotted clown suit I couldn't get enough of- not to mention the red hairspray for my fro??). What was I thinking?

Anyway, poor Olivia didn't want to let go of her new 'toys' for the rest of the afternoon so we were quite a site at the restaurant.

TDay

Thanksgiving day started off with a 8am turkey trot with Ari, Lea, and Vanessa. You pay $5 and donate a bag of groceries which goes to the Sandwich food pantry. The run is 3.1 miles and loops through the historic streets of Sandwich. The weather was absolutely beautiful and about 1500 other people participated in the race. No, we weren't even close to the front of the pack but it was a great way to start off the day! It is a great thing to do-- burn some of those mashed potato calories while helping those in need. I think I just might try to do this every year!

I wanted to get a picture of us at the race but forgot. Here is one 0f us 'trotters' later in the day.


We spent the rest of the day at my parents visiting with family and eating way too much food as usual. It was nice and relaxing.

Olivia....

Vince and Kevin frying up the turkey....

Baba and Sophia hanging out...

Happy Thanksgiving!

Check out the below link. I stole this idea from Boo. OMG, I just find it so funny and can't stop laughing. Olivia just told me that 'it really cracks her up'.

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9565039253

I just went to the store to get a few items that we will be bringing down to the Cape for Thanksgiving. The store was packed at 8am. I guess everyone is trying to beat the rush. I just can't believe Thanksgiving is already here. Tomorrow morning, Ari, Lea, Vun, and I are running a little 5k race down in Chatham. It should be interesting considering I haven't run in ages but I think it will be a fun way to start off the day. I will definitely have to post some pictures of the run (or should I say the walk)?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tag, I'm it!

As promised Sab and LB, here goes.

1. Name: Laura Anna
2. Birthday: 01/12
3. Birthplace: Hyannis, Cape Cod, MA
4. Eye Color: Blue
5. Hair Color: I would love to say blond but I think I haven't been blond since the age of 5. It's probably brown if I didn't highlight it.
6. Height: somewhere around 5'7
7. Ethnicity: Caucasian
8. Weakness: sweets, sweets, and more sweets, and of course my two little girls
9. Most missed memory: Playing outside for hours as a child with no cares or worries...coming inside with black feet from running around barefoot on the driveway.
10. Thoughts first waking up: Is it really morning already?
11. Last time you cried: Last week to Boo on the phone. Thanks Boo for being such a great sis. 12. Song title that currently says how you feel: Let me get back to you on this one.
13. What is the perfect day for you: Waking up on a summer day to sun, blue skies and warm weather... then rollerblading or biking on the canal and then showering before heading to a Cape Cod beach... Hanging out on the beach with friends and/or family with food, cocktails, and a good magazine until the early afternoon. Enjoying a nice dinner either home or out and then going to bed early!
14. Ever been asked for an autograph? That's a funny one, no! Although, my sisters will remember that I loved to practice my autograph as a teenager--- Laura A. Staff, Laura Staff, Laura Anna Staff. Ha ha.
15. How do you vent anger? I usually hold my anger in until I can't take it anymore and then blow up. I know, probably not the best.
16. Who do you talk to most on the phone? Vince, my mom, and Boo
17. As a kid, were you a lego builder? I don't think so.
18. Do you chew on your straws? All the time. I always know which drink is mine because the straw is gnawed on.
19. Do you sing in the shower? Nah...
20. Who's the last person you stayed up late talking to on the phone to? Hmmm, probably Mom or Boo.
21. The last place you went to in a plane? Colorado last November. Although, we are heading to Florida right after Christmas for Vince's cousin's wedding. YAY! Vacation!
22. Do you cry at weddings? All the time, especially after I got married.
23. Are you afraid of the dark? Only if I am by myself.
24. What are you addicted to? My hubby and two little girls.
25. Crunchy or creamy peanut butter? Either as long as it is the natural kind.
26. Who do you fight with the most? Vince... but usually about stupid stuff like who's going to change a stinky diaper.
27. Who can you tell anything to? Vince
28. Who can't you get enough of? Vince, Olivia, and Sophia and the rest of my family
29. Who makes you laugh the most? Olivia... she is the funniest person. She just cracks me up all day long with some of the stuff she comes up with.
30. What is the worst feeling ever? The thought of losing someone close, someone you love being hurt or sick
31. How many pillows do you sleep with? Just one under my head
32. How many rings before you answer your phone? Maybe one or two... although, a lot of times I miss the call completely and it goes to voicemail.
33. How many times do you press the "snooze" button? Never... I don't use an alarm clock. I think I am one of those weirdos that has some internal alarm clock and can wake up to whatever time I set in my head.
34. How do you sleep? Lightly-- in case either Olivia or Sophia wakes up.
35. Last time you laughed: Driving home from the store today... We were listening to a Sesame Street CD and I was singing one of the songs. Olivia says... 'Mama, don't sing." So I asked her why and she goes "cause it makes me sick." Now, this is not something Olivia would normally say. I don't know where she heard this or if she even understands what that means but I just found it so funny because my singing is pretty bad!
36. Ever looked at someone ugly and said "EWWW"? Ohhh, that is so mean... Never to anyone's face.
37. What is your favorite color? Pink... and maybe light blue.
38. What is your favorite state? I have to go with Massachusetts. I love the fact that we are close to the ocean, can drive to the mountains, and get all the seasons. Plus, we are in driving distance to both families.

I TAG LEA, BOO, DAD, and ARI (you can do this as soon as your blogs are up and running!) :)

Nothing Special...

Just a few pictures from the day.... We didn't do anything special since it rained most of the day. I am going to try to take the girls out for dinner shortly since Vince is not going to be around. We'll see how that goes. Anyway, have a great night!

Notice Olivia's new way of smiling in all the pictures. She really does crack me up. Oh, and she did her hair all by herself today!

Elvis

My sister Sonja's 30th birthday is approaching and my brother-in-law Dave came up with the great idea of getting an Elvis impersonator to perform at her surprise birthday party. If you know Sonja, you know that she is Elvis' BIGGEST fan and would absolutely die if we could pull this off. So I started to look online to see what we could come up with. I entered my information on a website that books Elvis impersonators and waited for the bids to come rolling in.... Okay, so here is the only Elvis we received a bid from so far. In all fairness, he seemed really, really nice in his email to me, just not the Elvis I was envisioning! :) What do you think?

The Babes

I stole this picture off of Laura's blog and had to post it here (hope you don't mind, La!) :) This is the first picture of Sophia and Payson Jayne together. Laura and Rob's precious baby girl was born on October 12th (same day as Mom and Dad L's 50th wedding anniversary ) so she and Sophia are about 3 months apart. I can't wait to watch them grow up together.

I am sure that this is going to be the first of many pictures together, Sophia and Payson!

Uncle Edwin

We received some sad news that my Uncle Edwin passed away early yesterday morning. He was my mother's only sibling, older by 14 years. He recently fell sick with pneumonia and was in the hospital where he passed away. Although I was not able to spend much time with him in the last couple of years, I have fond memories of trips on his boat to Monomoy Island to see the seals, times in Chatham, and his crystal blue Jepsen eyes. You will be missed Uncle Edwin. May you rest in peace.

Noel

Noel has come and gone. We lost power yesterday afternoon around 4 o'clock or so. It is crazy how much I take having electricity for granted. No lights, no computer, no TV... what were we to do? :) So we broke out the candles and flashlights and waited for the power to come back on. Around 7, still no power, so we packed the girls in the car and braved the storm to get something to eat. We arrived at a place called Red Robin- a supposedly family friendly place that serves burgers. Vince, looking forward to sitting down and having a burger and a beer, was pretty disappointed when both girls were dead asleep when we arrived. Olivia wouldn't even budge ...so we got back in the car and headed across the street to Moe's. So much for beer and dining in a restaurant!... We ended up dining on burritos in the car under a parking lot light- while both girls slept soundly in the back seat. What a night!


We arrived home to still no power so we bundled up the girls, packed our perishables in some coolers with ice and climbed into our king size bed to go to sleep. Not sure what time the power came back on, but it was on when I got up around 6. We lost one big limb from the oak tree out front, but other than that, there wasn't any real damage that I can see. Thank goodness!

Ahhh, it's the weekend!

We all slept in until 8am this morning. I can't remember the last time I have slept past 7am so what a nice treat after a very busy week. Olivia had her dance class this morning and because it was the first week of the month, the parents got to watch. Olivia has really come along and is taking direction from the teachers very well! I am so proud of her.

Anyway, we are home now and don't think we will be going anywhere else today. The forecast predicts 3-4 inches of rain with gusts of wind up to 60mph due to hurricane Noel off the coast. It will be nice to have a nice relaxing day with the fam...

Livie ready for dance class... leotard and all.

Happy Halloween!!

We went 'trick or treating' up in Brookline again this year and like my mom always says... 'it's like a scene out of a movie'. The streets were filled with people and almost every home had a line of kids leading up to the front door. I overheard one homeowner saying that he purchased 600 pieces of candy this year and was hoping he wasn't going to run out!

Olivia wasn't so sure about trick or treating at first but once she got her first piece of candy there was no stopping her. She ran from door to door with such excitement. Sophia slept for most of the night but she woke up towards the end for some pictures.

It was so much fun to be out with everyone... Here are some pictures from the night.

Olivia the princess-- happy as can be with all her treats.




















A pic of the street....















Poor Sophia missing all the excitement...

















Miss Liv waiting patiently in line for a treat...















Family pic...



















The Dags....
















Mom and Sonja with the baby chicks...















Hope you all had a fun night too!