Hilarious!!

I found this web cite yesterday and it is the funniest thing I have seen in a long time... it is especially good for those of you who have recently had babies and struggled with naming them. The web site is actual postings of names people are planning to name their infants. Most people are looking for feedback for horrible, horrible names that are "different" and have a unique spelling- preferably with lots of the letters "k" and "y" in the weirdest places. The funniest part is that the woman who compiled all the postings also comments on the names and she is a riot.
I know this site is true because I ran across some of these kinds of webpostings when I was pregnant for Michaela. Interestingly enough, Dan and I chose the "Michael" spelling of Michaela thinking it would be easier to tell people "it's spelled like Michael with an a at the end"...rather than Mykayla or Makayla etc... and we have come to find out that many people don't know how to spell Michael. For Jenna we chose something easier and shorter. It was the first name Dan and I liked when we got engaged and started naming hypothetical children.
I would love to hear any stories behind how you named your babies... you can always post a comment or email me directly.

Here is the link:
http://www.notwithoutmyhandbag.com/babynames/index.html

Enjoy!

Good news... and not very bad news

The not very bad news first: I may have hit my limit of how many pictures I can post , so unfortunately, I can post no more pictures until I figure out a new way. Based on the amount of time I actually get to fool around on the computer, this could take awhile!!

The good news: Dan and I went to Michaela's first parent-teacher conference of her elementary school career and it went very well! Her teacher, Mrs. Gentile, said she is a hard worker, a good listener, and a pleasure to have in class. We were so proud of her that we told her she could choose a new toy and choose a place to go out to dinner. She decided that the four Build-A Bears she has just aren't enough, so now we are the proud parents of Reeda, a purple and pink sparkly bear. Michaela wanted to go to "Pizzarina Uno's" for dinner, so we had a great pizza dinner and then hit the candy store for mints and "Tooksie Rolls." What a joy it is to out to dinner now that the girls are a little older... I didn't have to nurse Jenna at the table, no one cried or carried on, and we were able to eat while the food was hot. Such luxury!

Weekend Fun

Busy weekend for the Libutti family... We had a nice visit with Paga and Ann on Saturday, then church and a birthday party on Sunday. Dan and I got head colds on Friday so everything seemed more difficult than it actually was... like we were moving in slow motion. The birthday party was for one of Michaela's friends from preschool and was held at Libby Lu, a store at the mall that caters to 6-12 year old girls: lots of glitter, sparkles, makeup, jewelry, hair accessories, stuffed animals, etc. When you have a party there, you get your hair done (complete with a fake hair clip), nails painted and makeup put on. We took pictures of Michaela when we got home. (I'll have to post them another time... something's not working on Blogspot.) She declared yesterday as "the best day of my life", which was quite a turnaround considering that earlier in the day she was angry at us for something and stated to us that it was "the worst day of my life". Hyperbole is par for the course when you have a five year old.
This morning at about 5:30am, Michaela crept into our room, came to my side of the bed and said, "Mom... where is my hair clip?" Why she needed to have a clip of fushia and black fake hair at 5:30 in the morning, I'll never know. I mumbled that I had no idea and to go back to bed while Dan was a bit more helpful and told her it was where she left it on the living room coffee table. God bless Daddy.

We saw my cousin Eric at church (he was on nursery duty) and he was kind enough to offer his assistance for some home improvements we have planned. I was telling Dan after church that "Eric was all over helping us with our demolition" and Michaela, who somewhat reluctantly kisses Eric when he asks, chimed in, "Uncle Eric was all over me, too- with kisses!" We got a huge kick out of this and I thought it was a blog-worthy story.

Hope you all had a great weekend!
Congrats to the cast of The Office who won the Screen Actors' Guild Award for an Ensemble Cast-Comedy. Watch The Office on Thursdays at 8:30pm!!!

I managed to get some decent pictures of the girls with their new haircuts... Jenna is modeling her Dora hat and the yellow object in Michaela's mouth is a big hunk of gum, which she loves. It was her treat for being so good at the grocery store. She prefers to chew several pieces at a time so she tends to blow through a pack in about 36 hours.

Cute story of the day: It was time to take a bath this morning and I was calling both girls away from the tv to go into the bathroom. I was saying, "Michaela... bath!" when Jenna joined in by yelling in the exact same tone, "MeeMee... baa!" We all thought this was funny and Jenna noticed the attention it got her so tonight she was walking around the house saying, "MeeMee... baa!" and cracking herself up. It makes us burst with happiness that she is vocalizing more and seems so much more relaxed and playful.

A Day of Beauty

It was a day of beauty here at the Libutti house on Monday... we did the girls' nails (cut and polish) in the morning and we all got our hair cut in the evening. We all look fresh and neat. I tried getting a picture of the girls but they weren't cooperating. I'll try again this week. Jenna looks so grown up... it's incredible.

Last night, while I was giving the girls their bath, the water was running and they were having a blast splashing each other. Totally out of the blue, Michaela looked at me and said, "Mommy, Jenna and I used to be just sisters... but now we're sisters AND best friends!" I almost cried! I managed to choke out something about how they will always be together and how special that is. Moments like that make all the time, energy, love, worry, sleepless nights, etc. all worth it. Well, almost worth it... I would like to get some more sleep... (just kidding!)

Well, I have a date with Michaela to watch American Idol so I better go.
Hope you all had a great weekend!

Our snow angels

Finally we have a little snow in the Northeast... really it's just a snowshower but enough for the girls to want to go outside and play. So at about 8:46am Michaela was in her snowpants, jacket, and boots making snowangels out on our driveway. Jenna soon followed suit. For some reason, Michaela doesn't like to wear any clothes under her snowpants and jacket when she plays outside (despite our multiple attempts to tell her otherwise) so she strips down to her undies and puts on the snow gear. It's a quirk of a five year old, I guess.

In other Michaela news, she had to build a boat for school yesterday out of everyday objects- part of their sink/float unit. She created the "SS Snowflake": a tissue box covered in tin foil with pictures of a snowflake, a snowman, and a fish drawn on blue construction paper to decorate it. We also made a blue sail sticking out the top. I tried to get a picture to post here but we had gone out to the store and she had to get on the bus as soon as we got home. I'll try to get a picture when she brings it home. She did a great job and we were proud of her.

Missing the bus... and the point

Michaela sometimes is a bit pokey and drives us crazy with her last-minute rushing. Getting her ready on time for school is a bit of a process: we start about 90 minutes before her bus picks her up with getting ready, eating lunch, gathering items to bring in to school, etc. and all the while I am giving her reminders and time warnings of how long she has until the bus comes. She was up to her usual tricks yesterday, getting "just one more thing" to put in to her backpack for school, and ended up missing her bus. I was furious because neither Jenna nor I were dressed so we had to throw on clothes, get into the car, drive to school, get everyone out of the car, walk Michaela into school and sign her in. I really laid into her about getting ready on time and how this will not happen again. She apologized quite earnestly multiple times and I just kept saying, "Well, let's just not have it happen again." Apparently this wasn't the response she was looking for because a little while later, as we were pulling up to the school, she said to me in a condescending voice, "Aren't you going to apologize to ME for yelling?" So I smiled and said,"No, I'm not because it's my job as a mom to keep you in line." And that seemed to satisfy her.

Great friends, great visit

It was an icy Martin Luther King Jr holiday... Dan got a day off but went in for a half day anyway. Us Libutti girls ventured out in the afternoon for a visit at the Strauss House. What a blast we had! The kids played pirate, Superman, Cars, Thomas the Tank Engine, Peter Pan, etc... their imaginations never stop. There was also some jumping on and off the couch... Judy and I got to talk and shared in the excitement of their new washer and dryer and our new furnace. Who knew appliances could be so much fun?:) As soon as we left, Michaela was asking when our next visit will be. Here are some pictures of the activities this afternoon.

Good luck to the Office and Steve Carrell tonight at the Golden Globes!!

My Little Chocoholic

Jenna was helping me make brownies this weekend and I let her lick the spoon... this was the result! The apple does not fall far from the tree...

Good Times

Michael and Jaime came up for a visit this weekend and we had a great visit with them. We got to hear many wedding planning details and I drooled over their honeymoon options. It is so fun to be part of this big event... we are so happy for them and excited for the many fun adventures they have ahead of them in life. Mikey and I had a great talk about how we will help each other get rich in the world of finance and real estate investing...it is so fun to dream. JuJu and Uncle Dick were also part of the fun and we all shared great meals together. Michaela entertained us all, especially at our early dinner today, at which she told everyone with glee that various parts of their bodies were "on fire!" and we all reacted with the appropriate amount of panic that made her howl with laughter. Life is so simple when you are five!

We showed Mikey and Jaime Brian and Beth's blog and they, too, were struck with wicked Blog Envy (the post with the vacation video BLEW US AWAY!). I wouldn't be surprised if they have a blog up by week's end. :)

Shushi!!

Paga came for a visit last Saturday and brought sushi, which Michaela calls "shushi". Both girls love eating it and it is a riot watching them. I was drinking a glass of pinot noir with my sushi and Jenna reached for a sip while eating a vegetable roll. What other 19 month do you know that enjoys a glass of strong red wine with her sushi? She then grabbed the chopsticks and tried use them, so I just stuck the sticks inside the rice. At that point I got out our camera... it was priceless. Have a great weekend!

Getting the hang of everything

We are still learning how to manage our pictures, captions, etc. so bear with us as we use trial and error...Here are our pictures of Michaela and Jenna and TD and Traveling Dog meeting the rest of Michaela's menagerie of stuffed animals. I will be posting some more pics soon!

Blog Envy

Brian and Beth's blog was so cute and fun to look at, I had to see if it was something I could do, too- even if only our families look at it. So here goes!
Michaela had Travelling Dog (TD) yesterday- he is the dog that goes home with a kid in the class for a night- so we had to come up with something exciting to write and illustrate. Such pressure! Here are some pictures we took with TD- meeting all the rest of Michaela's stuffed animals.