The White House

Scott and I were able to tour The White House this Christmas.

Halloween

Abbie and Liz had a great time on Halloween! Abbie's whole school went on the field and paraded in their costumes. Then they went up to class for a party. Abbie was dressed up as a bride. Elizabeth's preschool had a little parade in the parking lot and then to the classroom for a party. Scott and I had to run across town from the one parade to the next! Liz was dressed up as Tinkerbell. They went Trick or Treating around our neighborhood. Later Abbie's friend, Talia, came over and they did some more Trick or Treating. Elizabeth had enough at that point. Abbie and Liz loved having a huge bowl of candy at the end of the night. We still have candy left from Halloween!

Abbie's Princess Room

Abbie loves Disney Princesses -- so I decorated her room in the theme of Disney Princesses. I found a lot of cute plaques made by a lady on eBay. I found a full-sized quilt and matching shams at Sears last year. We didn't have to paint the room, as the previous owner had already painted the walls a light purple and it works really well with everything I bought.

Abbie loves her room. She says now all she needs is a T.V. and a DVD player in her room, which is NEVER going to happen! Those who really know us, know that we have a small T.V. in the family room with no cable -- so we get about five channels using the "bunny ears". We try very hard not to watch T.V.

Flower Girl

Abbie was the flower girl in her Aunt Kim's wedding this past August. I think it was the highlight of her summer! She loved wearing her pretty new dress and shoes. She did a great job walking down the aisle slowly and smiling the whole way -- we were very proud of her!

We had considered having Elizabeth walk down the aisle with Abbie, but as the wedding came closer we realized that she just wasn't ready. It most likely would have been a disaster. Still, she got a pretty new dress and shoes. She sat with me at the start of the wedding and then started to fuss, so I took her to a nursery area near the sanctuary. Luckily we had forseen this and had a babysitter waiting in the nursery area. I was still able to watch the wedding while the babysitter entertained Elizabeth.

Elizabeth Ann

It's hard to believe my baby is now three years old! She turned three September 19th. When I call Elizabeth "my baby," she says very loudly, "I'm not a baby! I'm a little girl!" She's growing up before my very eyes and much, much too fast!

We've tried all kinds of nicknames for Elizabeth -- "Beth," which Scott didn't like; "Ellie," which never seemed to stick; and now "Liz" or "Lizzie" -- but to all of them she says, "I'm Elizabeth!" Somehow her big sister, Abbie, gets away with "Eliz," but God forbid anyone else try to give her a nickname. Pappy Artley still calls her "Ellie" to which she has a fit and lets him know, "I'm Elizabeth!" She's such a character!

Elizabeth goes to preschool on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday afternoons. She loves it! Her teacher, Mrs. Wiegand, is fabulous, wonderful, a fire-ball of energy! How could Elizabeth NOT love preschool! They play outside on a cool playground with a wooden train, do neat crafts, sing, dance, play with playdough, etc. On Tuesdays and Thursdays she complains that she doesn't get to go to preschool. It wasn't always like that -- the first week or so she cried terribly when I took her. The second time she started screaming as soon as I pulled in the parking lot (she knew we were at preschool). She would beg me, "Mommy, take me home!" Luckily that lasted less than two weeks. Now she loves it and is making friends and learning so much!

Elizabeth loves to play, mostly with dolls, which she makes conversations for. It's hilarious to listen to. She loves playing with Polly Pockets, My Little Ponies, Little People, and Sweet Streets. She spends most of her day in our sunroom, which we painted pink and turned into a playroom for the girls.

Our Dining Room

Someone before us put up this wallpaper -- we go back and forth as to whether we like it or not. I've gotten used to it, but when I first saw it, I thought it was too busy, too ornate, too much! What do you think? Scott likes it and wants it to stay. I go back and forth. With all the other things I want to do to the house, this would probably be the very last project to do.

Our House

We purchased our first house this past May 2005. We are now living in Southern New Jersey. Scott is working at The University of Pennsylvania. I plan on living here forever! I love this town. The girls can walk to school. We can walk to the grocery store, library, post office, downtown, etc. Scott walks to the train and takes it into Philadelphia for work. This is a great town!

It's 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, 2-car garage, swimming pool, on .26 acres. It's great to have the extra bedroom for a guest room/office space. We're slowly getting things done -- I have plans to paint/redecorate most every room. I have plans to paint the livingroom, the guest room, and the master bedroom. I have wallpaper to strip in the downstairs powder room and the upstairs bathroom. I have to strip the wallpaper in Elizabeth's room. Lots of work to do! Scott's already replaced the thermostats with programmable ones and wants to split zones so that we can turn the heat off upstairs during the day. We've also replaced four old/original windows with new ones. Scott put in ceiling fans in Abigail's and Elizabeth's rooms. This house was built in the 1920's with a two-story addition added in the 60's. I love this house!