Ch-ch-changes!

It's been a very busy week here, and it's only Wednesday! First off, we moved! We're almost all settled in our new house and are very happy. It's great to have so much space again. We liked our townhouse, but we were very on top of each other there. Here we have much more space to spread out, and Charlie and Lily even have their own playroom, which they love.
The actual move itself was relatively painless, especially because I had so much help packing and unpacking.
And once again, none of this would have been possible without our wonderful family. Thank you to Pop-Pop and Uncle John for helping Joe move dresser drawers and closets full of clothes and set up our new television. Thank you to Crackers and Nana for babysitting Charlie and Lily all day long while we moved (it was Charlie and Lily's first time being at someone's house without Joe or I and they did awesome!) and to Mom-Mom for amusing them the next day while we unpacked, and the day before we moved while we packed. So family, thank you, and I'd like to promise that this is the last time we'll be moving again for a LONG time, but you've all heard that before ;)

The other big news is about me - I got a new job and I'm so excited! Starting Monday I will be the Family Team Specialist for the New Jersey March of Dimes. I can't even tell you how wonderful it feels to know I'll be working for an organization so close to my heart. I've been volunteering with the March of Dimes for awhile now, but I love that I'll now be able to support them in a professional capacity as well. The job is part-time, just 17 1/2 hours a week, so I'll still be able to continue being a stay-at-home mom to Charlie and Lily as well, which is incredibly important to me and Joe. But I'm eager for this new chapter in my life to start.

(This is also a good point to mention that Team Three Cheers for Babies is back in action for the 2012 March for Babies! CLICK HERE to visit our team web page and join our team! If you aren't local or can't walk with us, please consider making a donation to our team to support the March of Dimes. Thank you!)

And now, even though it happened last week, I have to share a few pics from Valentine's Day. We decorated Valentine's Day cupcakes for a special treat. Charlie and Lily are becoming expert dessert decorators and managed to use 3 full containers of sprinkles in their efforts.
As usual, Daddy spoiled his girls. Early Valentine's Day morning Lily and I both received a delivery - a dozen red roses for me and a single pink rose, heart balloon and stuffed kitty cat for Lily. She was so happy.
Charlie was my valentine, and I treated him to an Emily train (from Thomas the Tank Engine - he's obsessed and loves Emily), a Thomas and Friends t-shirt and a Thomas DVD. I also got a treat from Charlie! Joe took him to the chocolate shop and let him pick anything he wanted for me. He chose a chocolate truck. I think its an excellent choice ;)

What's New

I know, I know, I promised to do a better job of updating the blog. And I'm trying - really, I am! Things have just been kind of hectic around here. First, as I discussed in my last post, we were taken down by the horrible stomach virus, Charlie had a sinus infection and then both kids needed nebulizer treatments three times a day, which seriously cut into my computer time :P And we're moving. In 8 days. Eeek. So there's been a lot of packing going on. Charlie and Lily like to "help" me with this, and Lily especially loves "labeling" the boxes after I seal them up. Reminder to self: toddlers and Sharpies are not a good a mix. On top of that we've had music class, visits to the gym kids' club, trips to Dunkin Donuts and a fantastic family team kick-off party for the March of Dimes March for Babies (I have a separate post planned for that, but Team Three Cheers for Babies will be back in action this April!).

So we've been busy. And Charlie and Lily have been awesome. Seriously, they are growing up so fast. They are both constantly singing and talking and making us laugh. Every day when Joe gets home from work Lily gives him an entire detailed summary of her day. It usually goes something like this: "I wake up and have milk and Mommy have coffee and we watch Sesame Street. Then I go to gym and then we go to Target! Then Charlie pooped and Mommy change his diaper. I have peanut butter and jelly and then I take nap. I close my eyes and be quiet. Then I wake up and see Daddy." And Charlie loves to sing. He'll randomly bust out with the lyrics from music class songs or songs he heard on the radio. I love watching him push around his toy cars while singing, "Give Me Everything" and "Good Feeling." There's not a lot of quiet here anymore ;)

We have been trying to squeeze in some things to celebrate Valentine's Day. I love holidays! On one of our recent trips to Target (we may have a little bit of a Target addiction here...) we picked up a little foam heart craft kit. Charlie and Lily enjoyed assembling the hearts the other morning. Well, Lily enjoyed it. Charlie lost interest after about 30 seconds and went off to be with his true loves - the trains from Thomas and Friends.
Lily helped me make a lot of hearts though, and then we hung them to admire.
Our Target purchases also included a bag of candy conversation hearts. I gave them to Charlie and Lily with a bunch of bowls, spoons and scoops and let them go to town. Those little hearts kept them busy for over 45 minutes, and then for almost the same length of time the next day. They got a kick out of dumping the hearts from one container to another and loading up the toy trucks with the candies.And then they put the buckets on their heads, because Joe taught them that it's always funny to put things on your head.
Tomorrow we plan to make pink Valentine's Day cupcakes to round out our holiday fun. Then it's back to packing, packing, packing!