"Blue Fred...."

He's the newest member of the royal family, Blue Fred--a special elf sent by Santa Claus from the North Pole to our home, to keep an eye on our little ones and teach us more about Christmas.  We've officially adopted him and have enjoyed his presence since the day after Thanksgiving, when he arrived oh-so-casually and appeared on our piano. Unfortunately, this little guy has gone through the wringer already--and has been molested by two of the three royals. As such, he has lost his magic (thankfully restored by Santa Claus after receiving an apology and a plea from one of our twins to return Blue Fred's magic) and has visited the North Pole Hospital--but all in all--he's hanging in there! What's more, our newest family member is quite mischievous--very much like the three tiniest royals themselves. He gets into very precarious positions and we just wonder how Santa chose him for our home. He must have some very strict rules up on the North Pole, since when he's here with us--he's all about party, party, party!!!! :)

 He stole a banana from our fruit bowl....not sure why he chose that over an apple.....

We found him boozing it up and playing board games with Rudolph, Herbie, Frostie and several Star Wars PEZ friends recently as well....bad boy!!!

 In the potty with a toilet wipe....hmmmmm.....

 Hiding alongside Simon the Chipmunk and Rudolph in a light....c'mon....he could have melted! :(

And he was even ballsy enough to 'poof' one of our boys' construction vehicles to the top of our oven hood where it stuck for an entire 24 hours! On top of that, he kidnapped some gingerbread men. WHY oh WHY is he so mischievous?? We assume we'll find out on Christmas Eve. :)

To futher get into the Christmas spirit, we took the kidlets into Boston and visited the HUGE Faneuil Hall Christmas tree (see how tiny we all are in front of it?) and to do some holiday shopping and perusing around one of the most beautiful cities/waterfronts in America. Ahhhhh...we love our home!

Family photos

Thanks to Uncle Regis (www.PhotographybyRegis.net), lovely wife Laurie, and their super-fun son, R.J., we completed family photos this year--that YES, will adorn our holiday cards--so expect them in the mail this week! :)  Our family is growing up--so hard to believe that we once had three babies at once. Now, kidlets--and adorable ones at that! :)

Welcome holidays!!!!!.....

YEAH! The holiday season is finally upon us. The royals wasted NO time getting ready for the season, so the kingdom is lit to perfection inside and out, the halls are properly decked for company, and we've even added a new member to the royal family--Blue Fred (photos to come soon)   :)

 Each year, we purchase a special family ornament. The bears ornament is this year's addition to our annual collection--so chosen by the kidlets. :) Cute, hunh?

"The stockings were hung by the chimney with care...."

And the children specifically requested a BLUE tree. We have 5 trees in our home--a big one in the living room, another big one in the children's basement playroom, one each in their bedrooms and one in the foyer. That is a lot to decorate--and needless to say--this year's color of blue made it to 3 out of the 5 total trees. Wendy and Tony put their foot down and decorated the other two in reds, golds and green, since blue doesn't really show up as well on a very green tree. :( But, we succumb to the whims of our little ones as the holidays really ARE all for them. :)

 The kids decorating the living room tree with King Tony....

 Princess Abs really enjoyed doing her part this year....

 Everyone got in on the fun--as we had lots of trees to decorate--and it all needed to be done before the end of the Thanksgiving holiday! :)

 Alec took a break and had a snack, and interestingly, was wearing one of the newest creations from Auntie Wendy (www.chicboutiquecreations.com) who designed yet another fabulous holiday shirt for the kids to wear/show off. If you want something super creative that kids LOVE (personalized too), visit Chic Boutique. They are having a holiday sale now too!! Great Christmas gifts!!

 The kids and Tony head out to cut down our main Christmas tree. Tony asked, "Is this one big enough." Wendy said, 'um NO...it has to be TWICE your size. What are cathedral ceilings for anyway if not a gigantic Christmas tree?" :)  She got her wish....of course. :)

And, after a busy weekend of tree hunting, decorating, and Black Friday shopping, everyone was nestled snug in their beds....Let's see how long they stay that way! :)