We got Elfed!

The St. Lawrence Family GOT ELFED! (Click on the Link)

My sister Jessica sent this to us! THANKS--the kids thought it was funny!
Check her, Nick, Cole and Carter ELFED too! :)
The Mansfield ELF's (Click on the Link)

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like?

Your Christmas is Most Like: A Charlie Brown Christmas

Each year, you really get into the spirit of Christmas. Which is much more important to you than nifty presents.

What Movie Is Your Christmas Most Like?

Our Annual St. Lawrence Tree Trek.

Every year a day or two after Thanksgiving we trek out to Dzen Tree Farm in South Windsor and cut down our Christmas Tree. This year Memere was visiting from New Hampshire and had the opportunity to come with us and help us find the perfect tree. Christopher was funny and he said that when we get lost that is where we find the tree. So off we went into the woods in search of a perfect tree...and we found one after only a few minutes! Thanks for coming Memere! :)

A Thanksgiving Night Visit from the TOOTH FAIRY!

Christopher's second tooth came out on Thanksgiving! He was so excited and he slept over Meme and Pepe's house so we could go shopping early and the ToothFairy came and brought more GOLD! :) He looks silly with a big whole in his mouth! :)

Thanksgiving in Connecticut!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving! As mentioned in the previous post, Cole, Carter, Aunty Jessica and Uncle Nick were in town. Christopher went with them on Wednesday to pick up Aunty Valerie and Johann in Boston so they could be home for Thanksgiving. Then Wednesday evening Memere (Shaun's mother) came to spend Thanksgiving with us. We all gathered together at Meme & Pepe's house and Pepe cooked us a YUMMMMMMY traditional Thanksgiving Feast and I made the pies! After dinner we all sat around the table and read all the Black Friday Sale Fliers. We researched all the items we thought were deals and we all made our decisions where we were going to shop. Shaun, his mom and I decided that we were going to Staples. We drove by there at about 9:30pm and saw that there were about 5 cars in the lot--we then decided to go home and get some sleep. At 2am we got dressed and drove over to Staples to get in line for our GPS, external hard drive and memory stick. We were able to stay in our warm comfy car until about an hour and a half before the store opened at 6. By 6:30am we had all our desires and were on our way to the next store! Sadly it didn't end that way for everyone. Poor Val and Johann sat outside Circut City from 10:30pm until the store opened. They were trying to get two different computers. They were 60th in line and they didn't get the computers! UGH!! It was definately an experience for them! :)

It was a super fun weekend with family! :)

Cole & Carter's Thanksgiving Visit

Cole, Carter, Aunty Jess and Uncle Nick came to visit us here in Connecticut the week before Thanksgiving. They arrived on the Saturday before Thanksgiving and stayed a whole week. On Tuesday we all went to the Children's Museum in West Hartford. It was a fun day with our cousins!

Today we went to Gnazzo's

Today I had the opportunity to accompany Christopher's Kindergarten Class to GNAZZO's Food Center. Shaun came home to watch Anneli so I could go. Thanks Shaun!! You are definately the best! It was fun because during my last year and a half of High School and during College I worked at GNAZZO's as a Head Cashier, so I was looking forward to going and seeing the store I used to work at. The kids were pretty excited because Jackie took us around to all the "Behind the Scenes" places like the freezers, produce prep room, the refrigerators etc. Everyone seemed to have a great time! Here are some pics.

Oh How they Grow...

My oh my. It's hard to imagine that Christopher is going to be 5 soon and Anneli is 2 1/2 years old already. It seems like yesterday that it was just Shaun and I. It feels that every second of my day I am running with one of them to gymnastics, swimming, Kids-R-Size, toddle time, playgroup, getting Christopher on the bus, helping with homework, refereeing sibling arguments, volunteering for something, reading them a story, dancing around the house, or making them breakfast, lunch, dinner or a snack!! As I am running around and playing with the kids, some things get neglected like the house. The house isn't that bad, but you'd surely be able to tell that kids live here! The toys, decorations, alphabet and drawings are all around--very kid friendly I guess. It can get a bit depressing at times for both Shaun and I, but I came across a cute poem awhile back that I really like.

Excuse This Home

Some homes try to hide the fact
That children shelter there.

Ours boasts of it quite openly,
The signs are everywhere.

For smears are on the windows,
Little smudges on the door.

I should apologize I guess,
For the toys strewn on the floor.

But I sat down with the children;
We played and laughed and read.

And if the doorbell doesn’t shine,
Their eyes will shine instead

For when at times I’m forced to choose
The one job or the other.

I want to be a homemaker
But first I’ll be a mother.

It is true though. The kids will remember the time that I spend with them and I am lucky to be able to be home with them, teaching them, playing with them and making special memories with them. There is a quote I also like by Jaqueline Kennedy Onasis that I think is true--"If you bungle raising your children, I don't think whatever else you do well matters very much."

HUGS and Family

Here are some pictures of our family during our trip to NY to visit with Soup Mem, Ray, Aunt Sue, Aunt Donna and Uncle Jim. We Love you! :)

Our Visit with Family in NY

This weekend we went to visit "Soup" Mem and Ray in Richfield Springs, NY with my parents. Mem's sister Aunt Sue (or Shirley for the Family Tree) was visiting from Cathedral City, California. It had been years since we saw her last...maybe four or five years. I'm not too sure. Anyway we drove up there and the kids were so excited because there was ***SNOW*** on the ground. Not much but it was the first **SNOW** of the season that they had seen! Here are some pictures from our weekend. We visited with Aunt Donna and Uncle Jim too since they were up at their cabin about an hour or so away from where Mem and Ray live. The kids had fun and can't wait to see them again next weekend! :)

Tooth Fairy Update...

On Friday night the Tooth Fairy came to the St. Lawrence Household. It was exciting! We put Christopher's little tooth in an envelope and put it under his pillow. When he awoke in the morning he found a little red pouch under his pillow. He was soooo excited he came running down stairs to find Shaun and I and to open the little red pouch. Inside the red pouch the Tooth Fairy left "Two Gold Coins". He was pretty excited! One coin was a Sacagawea Golden Dollar and the other was a Canadian Golden Dollar. Now he can't wait for his next tooth to fall out and the next visit from the Tooth Fairy!

The Day of the Lost Tooth

Today my loose tooth fell out and tonight I am going to get some money. I think I'll get $150 Bucks! It hurt and there was blood on my teeth. It fell out before school so I got to show all my friends. I can't eat corn on the cob with a gone tooth. Look at the pictures of me. I sure am the coolest man in the world! Love, Christopher

He sure is funny! I asked him to tell me about his tooth and the above paragraph is what he told me to type. I hope the Tooth Fairy doesn't disappoint him too much! :) He looks so grown up with a missing tooth. It's amazing to think he'll be 5 years old soon!! Oh how time flies...

"I look like Aunty Jessie!"

The other day we had the chance to talk and see Aunty Jessica, Cole, Carter and Meme on our WebCam on the computer. Jessica had TMJ/Jaw surgery last week and has her mouth sort of tied up with elastics. I didn't think anything of it until Anneli came over to me later that evening holding a piece of yellow paper in her mouth and saying, "Look Mommy Look. I look like Aunty Jessie." She was so proud of herself! So here's a picture of Aunt Jess (sorry Jess!) and a picture of her wannabe Anneli!

Fall Colors in New England for Jess!

One of my favorite seasons would have to be fall. The temperature is perfect and the trees are gorgeous until the leaves fall and litter the ground. As we were driving today home from Norwalk on Route 8 I thought of Jessica who asked me about the leaves a few weeks ago and I thought I'd talk a few pics for her and post them here. So here are some foliage pictures from the Naugatuck Valley--Nicks old stomping ground. ENJOY!