Great day!

What a fun day we had today! We took the kids to the Pet Fair at the Orlando Science Center, and it was really entertaining! Lots of doggies milling about, but they also had a "Super Dogs" agility course show, which was quite fun to watch, an Arabian Night's show with horses, a bounce house area, AND we were able to go into the Science center and check things out in there. Of course we took some pictures...

Aiden getting a kiss from a SeaWorld friend...


Anna petting a sloth!


Anna and me


Aiden & Anna on a little merry go round..


In a ball pit...


Tired from the day


Look at Anna go!!!!!


Pilots at work!


Anna digging for fossils!

I am proud of myself because even though we ate "fair" food today, I was able to stay within my weight watcher points... I even have a couple to spare. After the kids went to bed, I went right downstairs and did my Winsor Pilates :) Weigh in is this Tuesday... we'll see if there are good results from just over a week of being "on program" as they say.

Just finished watching the L Word, and now going to sleep! Tomorrow we are off to WHERE ELSE?? Kindermusik of course! :) It's "watching day" at Anna's dance class also, so I'll try to snap a picture through the glass window if I can. Have a GREAT week everyone, and I'll of course post the happenings around here.

Love, Holly

Gotta love the weekend...

Hello! I'm finally getting a chance to blog again after a few busy days... well, okay, when am I NOT busy?? Thursday's classes were great this week... and the Weight watchers continues to go well. I made a really yummy dinner on Thursday night and actually took a picture of it! I wanted to show how satisfying a meal can be, even on a budget of 21 food points a day! I made cilantro grilled chicken (yummm...) and also grilled up some onions and peppers... I measured out 1 oz of Stacey's pita chips (have you tried them yet?? if not, they are SOOO good,but SOOOO addictive!), and then I broiled some asparagus (one layer on a cookie sheet, spray with cooking spray, sprinkle with a little salt, and broil until crispy - so good!)... It was so yummy and only used up 6 points! For my weight watchers friends, you know that you can't beat that for a dinner!!!!

Here's the picture... but of course I'm not a photographer, so it really doesn't look as good as it did in person...but you get the gist!


Okay, so let's see what else.. oh! good news, I got my biopsy results back on my freckles and all is fine. (thank God).

On Friday, Anna had to bring in a show and tell representing the letter U. Not an easy one... but we came up with "unicorn". Will and Anna both told me that we didn't have any Unicorns, but I said, "AHA! Hold on"... and I came back with my childhood music box plush Unicorn. Anna took it to school and proudly told the teacher that it was her "mommy's when she was a little girl". How sweet is that???? Anna loves that it plays "Somewhere over the Rainbow", and I just love that Anna likes it so much.



Anna came home that same day with the cutest project. I guess they were celebrating the birthday of Dr. Seuss(?). Well Aiden LOVED it!


Today I worked another Kindermusik party... while Anna was at our friends Dave and Hope's daughter Samantha's b-day party. Well, apparently this party was a HIT. Anna had the BEST time... it was a princess party. Anna dressed up, got her nails done, decorated a tiara, got dancing lessons, learned to curtsy, and much more! Will was extra proud of Anna because she was very social and outgoing...which for Anna is a new thing. She has always been that cautious, tentative, shy little girl...but this year she has certainly blossomed. We are so proud of her. Here are some pictures that Will got from that event!

Anna all dressed up!


She was happy to pair off with someone and learn a new dance.


Anna curtsied in front of everyone when it was her turn.


Anna received her official princess certificate


Oh, and Aiden went along for the ride (but was apparently very intrigued by the events!


We had a mellow evening at home. Elizabeth and hubby Richard came over, so i could go over some KM stuff with her, and then we just had wine and chatted. Lovely relaxing time..

Tomorrow is going to be SO much fun... We are taking the kids to a Pet Fair at the Orlando Science Center. Will went last year, and said how much fun it was. I think the kids will love it! Should be a nice family day.

Hope everyone has a nice restful rest of the weekend...

Love, Holly

Blogging withdrawl!

wow, 4 whole days without blogging. I missed it!! Life has been so busy this week. All good, but wow! We started one more class of the Kindermusik session today, so lots of preparation for that. Everyone is doing good... I have to share this amusing thing. Anna's #1 requested song in the car right now is - yes, you guessed it JOHN MAYER. She loves "Heart of Life". Have you heard it? Beautiful song, and I have to say, my girl Anna has GREAT taste. Ok, so that's not all, then there's Aiden. If you listen, you'll hear Aiden singing right along to the lyrics. Especially to "Neon". It's pretty funny! Am I brainwashing them? Maybe, but hey, it's better than the Wiggles so who cares! LOL!!!

Let's see... to update the happenings around here... we took the kids to Chuck e cheese this past Sunday, to let them blow off some steam. ummm.. YES, we are crazy! Chuck e cheese on a weekend is like voluntarily torture! But they had fun, and we had a headache. haha.

First we ate lunch at Panera... here's Anna giving her little bro ZERBERTS. Anyone remember what those are??


Then a little stroll to Chuck e cheese...


Aiden trying to touch my hands...


awwww....


Monday... Anna went to school. Aiden and I went to watch Elizabeth teach Kindermusik. Then Anna had dance class. busy day!

Tuesday was torture day for me! Well, not all of it... while Anna was in school, I took Aiden to My Gym. He jumped on the trampoline for the first time. Meaning... both feet were actually off the surface at the same time. GO AIDEN!! He was very adventurous this week and climbed all over the place. I was really proud of him. After all that, I took myself for my bi-annual visit to the dermotologist. I decided about a year a half ago, after seeing a scary story on the Today Show... to get a full body mole/freckle check. To my surprise (NOT), I was told I'm in the top percent of most freckly people. Whoopie! So, every 6 months I go get biopsied just to be on the safe side. So far, all has been clear, but each time I leave with more boo-boos and a little worry. But I feel so good knowing that I am being PRO-active! So, lesson to you all out there... if you have any moles or freckles that you have been thinking "hmmm... where did that come from?" GO GET CHECKED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Then to torture myself some more, I finally took myself back to Weight Watchers, and stepped on that scale. I decided it was time to face the music. I'm ready to be thin Holly again! It actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be... but I have some lbs to lose, and now that I'm paying to step on that scale each week, I WILL do it! GO me! So say goodbye to that last bit of Aiden weight that is still left on me, cause it's unwelcome here!!!! ;)

My mom came by also that night to see the kids, and drop something off for Will, so I got a cute pic of her and Aiden:


Before the kids went up to bed, Anna and I had a little jam session at the piano... (with her ABC's book, she loves it!)


Today was very busy, lots of Kindermusik today... and I'm sleeeeeeepy!

Tomorrow I teach 2 classes, and then ... a break? NOT! Rachael and I are doing a KM birthday party on Saturday. Good times!!! Life is good.

Nighty nite!
Love, Holly

You can never have too much fondue!

For Carrie and Chris' last night, we ate at Colorado Fondue. Yes, we JUST ate there for Valentine's day, but hey, it's one of our favorite places, and we wanted to share it with our friends who are from New York (and you know those New Yorkers, they think you can't get ANY good food anywhere but in NEW YORK!). Well we proved them wrong, and had a yummy dinner last night. :) Of course we had to get a picture under the moosehead!


On the way home we stopped at a convenience store and I was alone in the car with the camera, and was bored, so I snapped these... heehee...





Carrie came back in the car, and she got in one too!


Today Rachael and I taught our Saturday class and then had our 2nd ever Music Exploration Free Play. It's a little perk we now offer to all our registered families. A little free time to just come and play and have fun. Well we had an AMAZING turnout. What a fun morning.. here's just one pic...

Tonight we have some friends coming over. Should be a nice mellow night of sushi, wine and games, and well, as you know me by now, I will of course take some pics!!! :)

Stay tuned....

Lyrics to "Stop this Train"

Stop This Train
by John Mayer

No, I'm not colorblind
I know the world is black and white
Try to keep an open mind,
but I just cant sleep on this tonight

Stop this train
I wanna get off and go home again
I can't take the speed it's movin in
I know I can't
But honestly wont someone stop this train

Don't know how else to say it
Don't wanna see my parents go
One generations length away
from Fighting life out on my own

Stop this train
I wanna get off and go home again
I can't take the speed it's movin in
I know I can't
But honestly wont someone
Stop this train

So scared of gettin older
I'm only good at being young
So I play the numbers game
to find a way to say that Life has just begun

Had a talk with my old man
Said help me understand
He said turn 68
You'll renegotiate
Don't stop this train
Don't for a minute change the place you're in
Dont think I couldn't ever understand
I tried my hand
John, honestly
We'll never stop this train

Once in awhile
When it's good
It will feel like it should
And they're all Still around
And you're still safe and sound
And you don't miss a thing
Til you cry when you're driving away in the dark

Singing Stop this train
I wanna get off and go home again
I can't take the speed it's movin in
I know that I cant
cuz now I see
I'll never stop this train

Couldn't have said it better myself!

Love, Holly

Long but funfilled week

wow, it's been a few days... I've been trying so hard to keep up, but it's been a really busy week! On Tuesday, we went to Animal Kingdom with Carrie and Chris. I earned some Disney tickets from singing at Epcot this past Christmas season, so what better time to use them! Lots of fun, but very crowded.

Here are some fun pics from that day...

Self portrait on the dinosaur ride


Will and Anna on the dinosaur ride...

Me and Carrie

Me and Anna

Anna in her minnie mouse ears with Will in front of the tree of life...

Carrie and Chris

On Wednesday, Carrie and Chris ventured out by themselves to Universal while the rest of us went on business as usual. I taught my Sign and Sing class, took Aiden to his Kindermusik class, and then went back later on in the afternoon and taught our Family Kindermusik class. Busy day...

Today, Carrie joined me at Kindermusik to check out what I do. It was really fun having her there to sing and play, and I think she had a great time with all the babies and toddlers! Then later on in the day, my sis and mom came by to see Carrie...

Here's a pic of Carrie with my mom and Brandon...

Tonight was a Mom's Night out, so Carrie and I joined the girls at the movies, and saw - Music and Lyrics (with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore). It was surprisingly good!!!!!! I loved it! We captured a pic before we left...


Now I'm SO tired and want to go to bed... (I just couldn't let myself get through another day without blogging..it's addictive!)

Love, Holly

Some major bonding going on!

We just couldn't get enough of the Diamonds this weekend! haha! Kayla wanted to come over to play, so it ended up being a fun visit with them on Sunday afternoon evening.

The boys bonded together for really the first time.

The girls played a lot, and then enjoyed some popcorn and a movie!

We all had spaghetti for dinner....

and then it was time to get ready for Carrie and Chris's visit! They got in very late last night, so the kids didn't even get to see them until this morning.

It didn't take long before Carrie was invited into a fun game of Princess Wishes...

We had a nice day down at Lake Eola today... The weather was gorgous...

Here's Me and Carrie....

Here's Aiden!

Me and Anna....

Tomorrow we are off to Animal Kingdom. Should be lots of fun! Stayed tuned for more pics!

Nighty night,

Holly

Hitting the stores!

The last couple days have been fun! Yesterday Aiden and I met up with Rachael and Seth to look for some things at Old Navy. Even though to most, this wouldn't seem like such a big deal... Rachael and I find ourselves so busy with our Kindermusik business, that most of the time when we see each other lately, or talk on the phone, it's Grow and Sing Studios related. It was SO nice to just get together with my FRIEND and have a shopping trip. It was quite a successful shopping trip actually, we found some really cute stuff, and I even remembered to snap a picture!

Rachael and Seth in the dressing room

As most of you know, between my Kindermusik birthday party business and Will's event video business, we don't see each other a whole lot on Saturdays. Today was no exception. Will is out shooting a wedding... so the kids and I met up with the Diamonds at Lakeshore learning for their craft day. It was very sweet. Anna, Aiden and Kayla got really into making their chickens.

Aiden working hard...

Kayla and Anna concentrating....

What a fun Saturday activity!

and here are the finished products!

Aiden showing off his work of art...

Here's Anna and Kayla's beauties....

Well, as we head into Saturday evening and Sunday, we are excited and eagerly anticipating the arrival of one of my best friends, Carrie and her new hubby Chris. They are arriving late Sunday night and staying for a week. Carrie was one of my roommates at FSU, and we have been friends for a Loooooooong time. I was just a bridesmaid at her wedding in New York. I can't wait for some great quality time that we'll get this week and also getting to know Chris better as well.

Okay, I'm off to play games with my beautiful Anna, while Aiden takes his nap... I'm sure there will be more to post soon!

Love, Holly

Valentine's Day II

The day started out without a hitch. It was the first day in a LONG while where I didn't have to get up early to teach Kindermusik, and BOTH kids were going to A Kid's Gym for the morning. Will took them while I leisurely pulled it together, and when Will got home, we had a chance to *clears throat* ummm.....work! LOL. But then, as I was about to process a contract for IFM, the phone rings. It was the very first time we got a call from Anna's school. Apparently Anna's throat hurt and she was having a hard time, so I ran to get her, took her to the doctor, ran back to pick Aiden up, and finally got home. Goodness!

My mom came over to bring the kids some Valentine's Day goodies. The kids were thrilled to see her, and of course to rake in on some gifts!

Here's a sweet pic.


Of course, all I could think about ALL DAY was my dinner out with Will! It was SO yummy, and the conversation was pretty good too ;) .

Here are a couple pics from the evening...

Off to watch Ugly Betty on the DVR. Nighty night all. Wish me luck falling asleep!

Love, Holly

Sleepless in Orlando

Today was lovely, but I was so tired. For whatever reason, last night I just couldn't fall asleep. So I layed in bed watching old 80s movies until about 3am at which time I finally got some zzzzz's. But that made for a very drousy mama Holly today. However, despite that, much was accomplished. I had a lovely meeting with Rachael and Elizabeth in preparation for the next couple weeks of Kindermusik classes. Lots of fun stuff coming up! Then I had a lovely lunch with Rachael at Tropical Smoothie Cafe. I wouldn't normally mention where I eat (well I guess that's not true, I linked to Colorado Fondue a few posts ago. LOL), but there is finally a smoothie place that also has FOOD! It's really yummy and so if you live near one, check it out! Anyway, then I picked up my 5 year old Valentine from school and took the kids over to the park to meet up with my sis, niece and nephew. It was a very windy day, but felt GREAT. Lots of Valentines goodies were exchanged:

We of course snapped some pics....

Tired me with sis Dori and Nephew Brandon (who was lovingly gazing up at me... )



Kayla and Anna. Anna LOVES her new green M& M doll!!

Windy day at the park....Anna, Kayla and Aiden

I was able to work in a nice nap when I got home (THANK YOU WILL!!!!)... and apparantly there was some silliness going on!! Anna made a cute hat at school and here is Aiden wearing it...


Hope everyone had a lovely day and felt the love that surrounds you! Will, can't wait for our romantic fondue dinner tomorrow night! Love you!!!

"If you love the life you live, you will live a life of love" (Unknown)

Love, Holly

Valentine Wish...

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