Santa

Ruthie still loves santa and Lulu is scared to death of him. Lulu will wave if she sees him, and possibly give him a high five but that is it. Thankfully daddy got in the picture this year.

I am so excited for this christmas. The girls have really gotten into the spirit of the holidays and I feel like this is going to be our year fun and excitement.

This years christmas lists are.......

Ruthie

A BLUE ipod

A handheld video game

Buzz Lightyear and Woody

Lulu

Barbie camper

barbie

barbie

barbie

Could they be any different? I hope that Jacob our elf on the shelf has given Santa a good report and that the girls get everything they want!

Snow, Snow and more Snow

Well, the snow arrived in Michigan and we said our goodbyes to green grass and seeing the cement on the street instead of packed snow until April. We had a little bit of a thaw for a day and the deer came out like crazy.

I am worried that if they don't find enough to eat they are going to think our houses are tasty.

This picture was in the middle of the day of our neighbors house. We counted 8 deer sniffing around and eating right at the edge of their house.

Yowza!

The princess formerly known as LULU

It is with great sadness I explain........

Lulu has decided she wants to be called LUCY. Her name is actually Lucy Martin named after her wonderful uncle farty Marty. (we taught the kids to call him this. And yes, it never stops being funny). We always thought we would call her Lucy. Never was the name Lulu ever in our mind. Shorty after she was born, Ruthie started calling her Lulu and it just stuck! (well oddly, Ruthie called her "hussy" for a while and when she managed "Lulu" we obviously went running with that pretty fast.)

She was called Lulu so much she claimed that as her name. She wouldn't even so much turn her head if you called her Lucy. Her doctors call her Lulu. Especially since she deemed anyone that did not call her Lulu an outsider or better yet "the people" She started telling people please don't call my Lucy, my name is Lulu. She wore that name so well. She was Lulu with the Tutu. When I went to sign her up for school, I didn't even put Lucy anywhere on the registration.

So out of nowhere a few weeks ago, she started telling us all that she wanted to be Lucy. At first we didn't pay much attention thinking this was a phase, then she started telling everyone else call me Lucy. It is crazy hard to do, let me tell you. She even cried one morning before school proclaiming..."TELL MY TEACHERS TODAY I AM LUCY"

It is something that I will struggle with forever, but luckily she will be there to correct me.

Until of course next week, when she decides to change her name again...... I hear she likes the ring of "Princess Banana Hammock" **

**that is absolutely a friends tv show reference for you non- followers.

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Two Places at One time

Last night Ruthie had her parent night at Gymnastics and award night. (You would think for a small town we would get better at the scheduling of things...) Then Lulu also had her Dance recital the same night.

Ruthie did great. The teacher told us that she is incredibly strong. (not surprised at all) And that she really has limited flexibility. Again, these are things we already knew. It is hard trying to find something for her to exert her crazy amount of energy and strength on at this early age. I am thinking with her height and athletic ability...maybe volleyball? She is going to start taking tennis lessons after the new year, and we are going to just try and expose her to as many activities as she shows an interest. Also think that she would be a PRIME candidate for the X-Games! Anyone that see her tricks on a razor scooter and her bike know that she goes 100% ALL THE TIME!

The pictures did not come out from the gymnastics gym.

Lulu had her dance recital last night. Her class has 2 numbers. And thankfully we were able to get her in a costume and she watched from backstage during her classes routines. This was considered a HUGE win! She has ALWAYS been the crazy shy one. She has been crying in class lately when they have other people come in to the room to watch them practice. She has been threatening to quit dance because she doesn't like it when "people watch her". I just wanted her to get through last night. To see what dancing on stage really was and to hopefully get her to go dance again without the pressure of the stage. Only time will tell.

Check out the only present under the tree a pink snuggie I won at a girls Christmas party. Simon insists I re gift that so watch out....who is going to be the lucky one to receive that!

Best Birthday

Best Birthday for Sure!

Started with breakfast in bed, homemade waffles, bacon and orange juice followed by a wonderful present of toasty warm boots from the girls. Going to need them this winter!

Had an awesome pizza playdate with cake with a great new but feels like old friend and her son who is is Ruthie's class.

Made some brownies for dessert.

Watched High School Musical 3. My personal favorite, but I think I am going to have to go back and watch them all again. Somehow that one is on repeat in our house.

Had Filet's ready for dinner but we are in the middle of a blizzard so we ordered take out Chinese.

Neighbor's brought over a carrot cake and Beer.

So much of my birthday was what the girls wanted and how they wanted to celebrate and that was fun but I am so grateful for wonderful friends who know what I really want....pizza, cake, carrot cake and beer to make it all that special!

And to top it all off possibly a snow day tomorrow. Neighbors wrote in the snow.. Happy B-day in our front yard tonight. To bad It won't come out in the picture.

Night and Day

I don't think in the history of siblings there have been more diffirent sisters than my girls.

Ruthie - Lulu

Chocolate - Vanilla

adventurous - shy

blue - pink

loud - soft spoken

all things fast - beat of their own drummer

straight hair - curly hair

The list is endless.....

I couldn't help but snap this picture which is a typical sight on a school morning....

Ruthie in her cargo pants and spiderman shirt.....Lulu in the ever present Tutu and bow.

Who cares what dinner looked like...look what I made for dessert

Some days you win, and some days....well, there is always tomorrow.

Tonight for dinner, I threw a porkloin on the grill, steamed broccoli and made noodles. Problem, it was so cold outside, I didn't allow for extra time. So the broccoli and noodles were ready when everyone was starving and the meat was still raw in the middle. In comes frozen chicken nuggets in the microwave....Seriously, have you seen me when I am hungry? Times that by a million when dealing with 2 drama queens who are "going to starve" or my favorite from Ruthie..."I am so hungry, I am going to eat my feet".

So, to make things better I whipped up this recipe for dessert....... Carmel Pecan Sundaes...

Super easy, soooo yummy! Highly recommended.....

And while I was so focused on making such a yummy dessert.....I forgot about the pork on the grill.

Tomorrow's a new day to try harder.

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Cranky Hair

Lulu had a rough couple of days and just was crying about everything. At one point she just kept sobbing and she said she didn't know why she was crying but she couldn't make it stop.

Finally she says to me...... "My hair has been really cranky, I need you to straighten it with that thing the lady used at the hair place"

Looks like the straight hair straightened out her mood. God help me.

Look at the face that made a comeback! Oh how I missed that face!

Walk in the Park

We have been enjoying this beautiful fall weather and have taken a few walks in the nature preserve near our house. We are fortunate enough to live in such a beautiful state and have really started to try and take advantage of the wonderul parks and areas it has to offer!

The girls love taking Guernsey on their walks!

10 Year Anniversary Trip

Simon and I were lucky enough to have my mom come for the weekend so we could have a night away in Chicago. We had such a relaxing time. We spent most of the time shopping, walking around the city, and eating! I don't think Simon will go in a Nordstom again any time soon, but I loved every minute of it! We spoiled ourselves on purchases we never would have bought ourselves. shoes, handbags, makeup, coats, etc...so much fun!

Much like our glorious wedding day 10 years ago, the weather was 70 degrees and sunny (In November!) and it was just perfect!

Just a couple picks!

Gotta Love that Ruthie......

Things have been totally crazy around here. Planning a HUGE event at the country club for our Junior League and it is in a couple of days....So blogging will return to normal soon......

But for now.

Ruthie and I were having a wonderful heated discussion regarding who actually was in charge and who had to listen to who when being told what to do (ie. stop pushing your sister or else...)

She looks at me, picks up her shoe and yells at me on the top of her lungs.....


"I QUIT!"

Then proceeds to throw the shoe across the room and storms out of the kitchen.

And while I was totally frustrated and ready to get even more upset...I can't help but think to myself. Gosh I bet that was so liberating for her. And I can't even begin to count the times I have SO wanted to do that!

Family Pictures

My good friend Amy came over Halloween weekend to take pictures of the girls and a family picture to use for our annual Christmas card.

I can't figure out how to download the pictures here and want to give her full credit. So if anyone wants to check out the full photo shoot look away! (Jennifer, Bridget...I thought of you guys!)

Keep in mind, most to all of you will be recieving one of these photos as a Christmas card pic so you will just have to act surprised!

http://www.amyoc.com/ then go to proofing.............then type in Bisson!



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Trick or Treat

Lulu was Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Of course she had to be a princess.

Ruthie was a pirate but then asked if she could wear makeup since it is Halloween. The eyelashes are a bit scary. I guarantee while they look fake they are 100% real and a bit of a concern for when she is a teenager.

Our neighbors had people over so Simon and I were Danny and Sandy. A HUGE Thanks to Kristen my dear friend who made me the poodle skirt!

It was a freezing night and we managed to trick or treat most of the neighborhood but then had to warm up inside.

Also wanted to show a picture of our friend/babysitter Andrea who is an "Office" nut. She went as Dwight!

10 Year Anniversary

picture taken with timer

Yesterday we celebrated our 10th Wedding Anniversary. We told the girls that this is the Anniversary of when Team Bisson was formed and that it really is a celebration for our whole family. That being said, we love a good theme party! We decided to include the girls and let them help plan the festivities.

We made a funfetti cake and frosted it and decorated it. I wrote "Team Bisson" on the top. While we were making the cake I told the girls that sometimes wedding cakes had statues of a bride and a groom on top. So they each picked out a statue for the top of the cake. I love that Lulu picked a beautiful princess that so resembles me. Ruthie was happy to pick out this guy she got out of a happy meal...(yes, when you get a happy meal they ask.."for a boy or a girl" I don't think I even need to tell you which one Ruthie requests...The boy toys are so much better she says). These cake toppers would be even more hysterical if it was a shot gun wedding.

Then the girls picked out dresses to wear for the big night. Ruthie's request for dinner was "Pasta Bisson" which many friends would recognize as Pasta Vodka that has been renamed so that our daughter doesn't walk around saying her favorite meal is pasta vodka. Very fitting to the theme.

Then the night was finished off with a trip to our neighbors who still have a VHS so that we could watch a video of our wedding. We couldn't find our video we remember watching that Simon's dad made but were able to see clips of our wedding. And we also threw in some other great family video's from our collection and then some of our neighbor's too! Ruthie later told me she really liked it but Lulu was having too much fun playing with Andrea. Maybe another year for her to get into it!

To see some pictures and older posts of our Anniversary click on these links below.

Nine Year anniversary post..





Eight Year anniversary post.. Yikes there were Two Posts

Halloween is coming!!!

We are really excited for Halloween. The house almost did not make it, thankfully packaging tape can solve all the worlds problems!

We carved pumpkins tonight at I was the only one in the family that would do it as the inside was too gross for everyone! Wimps.

Last but not least. Our neighborhood does this "Boo" activity where a neighbor leaves this witty poem and a treat for you and you have to put a sign in your window and pass on the love to another neighbor at dusk. Well we got booed and shared the love with some neighbors with a little one down the street. But the whole activity got me to thinking..... Halloween really needs to have more activities for adults so I have a new take on it. I am trying to patent as we speak so don't be stealing my idea.


I "Brewed" my neighbor Mike. I re-wrote the witty poem about beer and left a 6 pack and a new ghost picture for the occasion. I really hope it takes our neighborhood by storm!

Fall Fun

The girls and I had a wonderful afternoon in the leaves. We played for a while and laughed and laughed. They were so happy to be outside in warm weather and enjoying our favorite season!

Ruthie

Ruthie is doing so well. She is almost back to 100% since her surgery and she amazes us everyday how well she bounced back. We are still being careful with her as I am sure she is still going to pick things up quickly.

She is such an amazing little girl. She is SO helpful everyday. She loves to get up and make her bed every morning. Loves to set the table at night and is extremely helpful with Lulu. Helps her get her coat on and her shoes. (Lulu may be milking that)

Ruthie feels and expresses every emotion and these pictures sum it up. When she is enjoying something she lights up the room and you can feel her concern when she is deep in thought.

Lulu

Lulu was struck down with flu, then bronchitis and they were preparing for pnemonia (which is her usual course when she gets sick). They hit her hard with antibiotics and hopefully have wiped her bad germs out. We have really been getting tired of all this being home and were grateful for a wonderful afternoon in the leaves.

She is doing so well with school and has really started to come into her own with dance and gymnastics. (Although we have literally missed the entire month of October). She even gave up the Paci cold turkey during our quarantine of Ruthie and her tonsils. She literally walked into the room and announced she was done and has thrown her paci's (which she used at bedtime) and that was the complete end of it. Can you say striving for some attention.

I was so excited to get her hamming it up for the camera since she won't let us get pictures of her.