Gracie Turns 5

This year we celebrated Gracie's birthday at Friendlys (Camp Hill, PA). We invited some neighborhood friends and a few friends from her daycare center. The morning of the party I got up and made cupcakes for all the kids. Gracie got lots of presents - it was like Christmas all over again - she was so happy because this day was all about her. Her actual birthday is June 2nd, but we planned it a bit earlier due to school ending and summer vacations beginning. I am starting to run out of places to have the kids birthday parties. We have done the bowling alley, chucky cheeses, Mcdonalds....I think next year we will have it at Build a Bear - I know that's one of her favorite places to go.

The Circus Comes to Town

I took Jake and Gracie to the Ringling Brothers Barnamum Baily Circus (5/22/09) at the Giant Center in Hershey. It was a spectacular show - me and the kids had a wonderful time. I have never been to a "real" circus before so I think I was more excited than the kids were. We got to see the elephants, horses and tigers before the show and we went to the preshow (which started about one hour before the actual event). During the preshow we got to go down on the floor and see the clowns and watch some of the acts. I must admit those elephants were just amazing. If the Ringling Brothers circus comes to town again I will most certainly recommend going to see the show.

Jacob's First Holy Communion

Jacob received his First Holy Communion on May 9, 2009 at Our Lady of Lourdes Church, Enola, Pennsylvania and we had a beautiful day for the celebration. Guest that attended were Jacob's Godparents (Uncle Marc and Aunt Sue), Uncle Mike, Aunt Nikki (with cousins Noah and Andrew) and our dear friend Pat. I must say...my little man looked so handsome. After the ceremony we all headed back to our house for some lunch and cake and the kids got to go outside and play with their cousins and friends. George and I got to spend some long, overdue, quality time with our family.

Jacob's Gets Promoted From White to Orange Belt

Jacob has been taking karate at The School of Martial Arts in Enola, Pennsylvania for about four months now. This month he was promoted from white belt to orange belt. Jacob has been looking forward to this moment a quite some time now and I must say, George and I were very proud of him.


Attached are some pictures of Jacob with his very first belt (white), some more pictures with him and his new orange belt and also included is a photo of Jacob with his instructor (Master Null).

Georgie's Junior Prom

Wow...my little boy is not such a little boy anymore. This past weekend Georgie attended his junior prom and was accompanied by a lovely girl(friend) by the name of Marissa. Very pretty girl I might add. The prom took place at the Raddison Hotel and there was an after party over at one of Lil' George's friends house (adult supervised - of course). Needlesstosay, I did not see Lil' George until late Sunday afternoon. I was so proud of Georgie because he bought his own prom tickets, rented his own tux and (bought a new tie to match his date's gown), ordered the corsage etc... he not only took care of everything on his own but he worked and paid for the entire prom. That's my boy!

Easter at the Clappers

Unfortunately, we were unable to make it home to visit the family back in Buckhorn, PA this year but we did manage to make the best of the holiday even though we were able to spend it with our loved ones. The night before Easter we colored Easter eggs and we had all intentions of going to Easter Vigil at our church, but opted to go on Easter morning instead - boy was that a mistake, the church was packed. Easter morning Jake and Gracie were up rather early (there's a shock) venturing downstairs to see what all the Easter bunny got them this year. To their surprise, they each got a basket of all sorts of goodies to eat and to some things to play with as well. I was rather surprised that Lil' George made it out of bed, without an attitude, to see what the Easter bunny got him too. After church we came home and I cooked a nice ham dinner and we all spent most of the day eating and watching TV. It was a very long-overdue relaxing day. (Pic below is Jake/Grace before heading out to church).

Motley Crue/Hinder/Theory of a Deadman Concert

Anyone who knows me knows I was a die hard Motley Crue fan back in the day (way back in the day). The last time I got to see them in concert was about 20 years ago (1990) years ago when I was in the Navy down in Jacksonville, Florida. I recently found a concert ticket in my memory box to a Motley Crue concert that was dated back to 1987. This past weekend my friend Shannon and I went to see them at the Giant Center in Hershey along with Hinder and Theory of a Deadman. I don't particularly care for Hinder, but they put on a pretty decent show. As for Theory of a Deadman I never heard of them, nor their music. So..I was pretty much their to see Motley Crue and I must say they put on a good show - I just wish I was a bit closer to the stage. I got free tickets through the firm I work for and the suite is just too far from the stage so you really can't even make out who is who on stage unless you really know the band members. All in all, I had a wonderful time.

Girls Night Out - Hershey Bears Hockey Game

On Sunday, March 1st me and a few of my friends went to see a Hershey Bears hockey game. I normally take the kids along with me, but this time it was an all girls get together and it was a nice time. After the game we all went to Red Robin for dinner. Life becomes so consumed with work and the kids and I tend to forget to make time for myself. So, me and the girls hit the hockey and a good game it was - the Bears won. Below is a picture of Deb, Amy, me and Audra.

Valentine's Day Blues

George and I do not celebrate Valentine's Day - to me it's an excuse to spend unnecessary money (jeez, we are still trying to recuperate from Christmas). I recently lost my wedding band and engagement ring and I thought that maybe George found it and was teaching me a lesson for taking it off and leaving them somewhere or maybe he was getting the rings cleaned and giving them to me on Valentine's Day, but I was wrong. Valentine's Day has come and gone and no rings. I am so devastated about losing them - I have looked everywhere and I cannot find them. I can only hope they eventually appear. Anyhow, my dad has always recognized Valentine's Day and always sends me a dozen roses and a huge box of chocolates and he even got Gracie a box of chocolates this year - so that put a smile on my face.

Future Rock Stars!!

Can I tell you - watching my kids play rock band is so hilarious. They kids are always playing some game or another but what really got my attention was my son's friend (Tom) belting out some tunes from the Eagles (Hotel California) on the mic. It was so funny and the kids all seemed like they were having fun.


My husband and I definitely got a kick out of it so I had to post some pictures.

My Buddy Turns 30

My friend Kori recently turned 30 and her sister had a birthday "surprise" party for her so me and my buddy Audie decided it would be nice to attend and I am glad we did -I had a wonderful time and it was the very first time I played Wii - I scored a 198 in bowling WAHOOO! I also got a kick out of watching Kori and her boxing moves (I still chuckle whenever I think about it).


I included a photo of Audie, Kori and myself. I figured it was time we had a group picture taken of us. We don't get together too often due to work and family life, but we do make sure we get together for our Friday luncheon dates - which is always a good time. It's nice to have good friends.

Spa Time for Mommy (NOT!)

I decided it was time for a little alone time and to treat myself to an at home spa treatment which consisted of a yogurt facial along with some nice soothing cucumbers on the eyes.
Well as you can see from the photos, my daughter is the one that enjoyed the spa treatment.

Christmas 2008

Preparing for the holiday is always fun but it always amazes me how fast it comes and goes though. Santa treated the kids great this year. We all went out for dinner on Christmas Eve and when we got home the kids opened their stocking stuffers and George read "The Night Before Christmas" to them (a tradition we started years ago when Georgie was little). Christmas morning, around 6:30 a.m., Jake went downstairs to take a peak and see if Santa did in fact come to our house. He became about jumped out of his pants when he turned on the light switch and the musical lights started to play. In a panic he ran to shut the music off - it was hysterical because he had no idea I was standing at the top of the steps watching him. I was like "busted" Jacob! I had to literally wake the princess (that would be Gracie) up because she did not want to be bothered until I said the word "presents" and she jumped up with a quickness. Georgie managed to crawl out of bed and join us for the opening of the gifts. He was very helpful with Jacob and Gracies toys and putting stuff together. The day after Christmas Adam, Missy, Annie and James came down from Cresson to visit us for the weekend. The kids all had a blast. It's not too often that they get to see each other so when they do it is always a good time - I know Jacob and Gracie did not want them to leave. I attached a photo of the cousins (starting from the left: Annie, James, Georgie, Gracie & Jacob).

Seasons Greetings to our Family and Friends

This past weekend was a lazy weekend on the home front. It was too cold to do much outdoors so we stayed in the majority of the weekend and just watched movies (oh...and lets not forget football). Thank God the Steelers beat the Cowboys or else my husband would have gone into cardiac arrest. The entire neighborhood knew not only when the Steelers scored a touchdown but also heard the roar of my husband when they won the game. I wrote out some Christmas cards and took a few Christmas pictures of the kids and Moosie to send out with the cards. We hope our family and friends have a wonderful Christmas and a blessed new year.

Gracie Gets Bangs!

I finally did it - Yup...I took Gracie to get her hair trimmed and decided on "bangs" this time. I loved her hair all one length, but it was constantly in her face. I was very hesitant to get her bangs because I thought she would look "geeky" - but I think she looks pretty adorable!

Jacob and Gracie - Getting Along???

Believe it or not Jacob and Grace managed to get along long enough to do a few puzzles without screaming and fighting with one another. I tried to keep the kids busy over the holiday weekend. It was too cold and wet outside so they were indoors for four days and GRACIE required 100% of my attention. Needlesstosay, I did not relax very much on my four days off from work!

Getting Ready For Christmas

The day after Thanksgiving we break out all the Christmas decorations and get the house ready for Santa's arrival. The kids had a blast listening to Christmas music and decorating the tree with all the beautiful ornaments we have collected through the years. We have ornaments on the tree (that are George's) that date all the way back to 1983. I treasure our Christmas ornaments and I plan on passing them down to the kids when they are grown up and out of the house and starting their own families. Gracie got to put the angel on the tree this year. That ended up being one big fiasco because Jacob wanted to do it (Need I say more? Yes, total meltdown), but he got over it. It took about four hours to get the decorations up and the house back in order - but it looks fabulous!

Thanksgiving 2008 - What a Nightmare

Doesn't that turkey look scrumptious!

Well...it was absolutely horrible. I never had turkey that tasted as bad as the turkey I made for Thanksgiving this year. It was like rubber and tasted freezer burned. What a disaster. I thought maybe it would taste better when I ate some leftovers - WRONG! The dog wouldn't even eat it. It looked pretty though!

Moosie Baby

Our family is not complete without some updated photos of our Moosie Baby!

Weekend Baking

The past few weekends Gracie and I have been baking (brownies, cookies, cakes, etc). No, not from scratch, never from scratch! Straight out of the box! My motto is..."If I cooked it in my oven - it's HOMEMADE".

George - Halloween 2008

George and I were invited to a Halloween Party at his buddy's house which was an 80s themed party. I went out and bought a Madonna costume and George decided to go as "Michael" from the movie "Halloween". Long story short, we blew all that money on costumes and never went to the party.

Halloween 2008

This year Gracie and Jacob were all excited about Halloween (just like every other year). Jacob was Ironman and Gracie was a Barbie Fairy. I had their costumes for about a month or two and did not let them see them until about a week prior to Halloween because I knew once I pulled the costumes out they would want to try them on. Well, I pulled them out and what did they beg me to do? Yes, try them on. Gracie must have spent two hours prancing around the house in her costume switching out various different colors of princess high heel shoes and admiring herself in the mirror. Jacob tried his costume on briefly but he took it off and put it away so it would not get damaged before Halloween. Trick-or-treating is always the Thursday before Halloween in our neighborhood. I left work a few minutes early and went home to get them ready for their big night out. I stayed home and George (my husband) took the kids around the neighborhood and wouldn't you know they were back within one hour. I recall way back when trick-or-treating was an all day event and going home was not even a thought in my mind. That's the norm for my kids though. After about one hour of running from house to house they are all but done and ready to go back home and sort through their candy. I only had four trick-or-treaters come to the house this year - I was so disappointed. All in all, Halloween was a good time and now we are looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas. Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday because I have four days off from work and all I have to do is cook on Thanksgiving and relax the rest of the day. We normally just eat, watch TV and sleep on Thanksgiving. During the rest of my time off I am normally packing up Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations and breaking out the Christmas decor.

Breast Cancer 3-Day Walk - October 2008

How blessed was I to be part of something so wonderful? The Breast Cancer 3-Day/60 Mile Walk (in Philadelphia, PA) has come and gone and it was overall a pretty awesome event. It had its ups and downs, but for the most part, I can't say I have ever been a part of something so incredible and I owe a big thanks to family, friends and even strangers that contributed to the cause and allowed me to be part of something pretty incredible. I have posted some pictures to share. No, not all of them - I took over 150 pictures so I just posted a few. The majority of the walk I was with my buddy Amy - we did it together and my other teammates (Jen and Linda) walked ahead of us and on their own. The two nights we spent in the tent were cold and I must say "I HATED IT" - it was my very first time ever sleeping outdoors in a tent and it was everything I EXPECTED - nothing like waking up in the morning to 37 degrees of nothing but COLD smacking you in the face. It was a long journey just getting to the big event between fundraising and training and I must say, it was all worth it. Over 8 million dollars was raised and over $13,000 of it was raised by The Harrisburg Hikers - a wonderful accomplishment. Would I do it again? Yes, if I could stay in a hotel rather than sleep in a tent!