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!

My Girly Girl

We visited baby Alexander - the latest addition to my girlfriend Maria's family. Gracie has really never been around or held a little baby so this was the highlight of her visit when she got to hold baby Alex all by herself (well...with a little help from mommy that is). Gracie has always been a girly girl. She is constantly playing with her babies, dressing them, feeding them, lecturing them all while she is sporting her princess high heals and some sort of princess ensemble. I always thought if I had a little girl she would be a tom-boy, but that's not the case with Gracie Girl!

Moosie Baby

Well...I think it's only fair that I post one member of our family who does not get the recognition he rightfully so deserves. That member would be our dog Moose (AKA "Moosie Baby"). He is such a good little Yorkie. Gracie plays dolls and tea party with him and the dog just goes along with it (believe it or not). She did try to put her baby clothes on him one time and I had to stop her - she was a little too determined to get his legs in the arm openings of one of the baby doll tops (need I say more?). George, my husband, hates the dog with a passion - that's why he got bit by the dog the other night (he sooooo deserved it to). The dog is so kind and gentle, but George went to hit him because he took off out of the yard and the dog snapped at him out of fear and George got a nice gash in his fingers (probably could have used stitches). Needlesstosay, George is still nursing the cut. I have attached some pictures of Moosie for you all to view. I am probably the only person at home who really pays any mind to him, he is like my little side kick. When I get home from work he is the first to greet me, he sleeps with me at night (as you can see from one of the pictures it's not only Moosie who sleeps in my bed! Moosie also goes for drives with me on the weekends - he loves having the windows down so the wind blows through his hair!

New Beginnings

It's new beginnings for all three of my babies. Georgie started 11th grade this year, Jacob 2nd grade and Gracie has been moved up from the "Bears" room to the "Lions" room at the Child Development Center which will prepare her for kindergarten next year. All in all, the first morning of school went much smoother than I thought it would go. I made sure to be up bright and early just in case I had any temper-tantrums to deal with. Georgie is perfectly capable of getting himself up, ready and out the door in the mornings, but it's the mother in me that feels she needs to check on him and make sure he is awake and ready for his "first day of school morning pictures" - Yes, I have this thing with preserving moments and the first day of school is always a very big deal "for me". Georgie is a trooper and never complains about the picture taking though. Jake was up early eating his huge bowl of cereal, getting dressed, brushing his teeth and moaning and groaning "do I have to go to school". "Yes, Jacob, it's the law - you have to go to school". Now for Gracie - never a dull moment in the house when it comes to Gracie because she wants to sleep in, watch Curious George and Clifford and then wants "me" to get her dressed at her leisure. Just her being lazy of course, so I assist her with getting dressed as long as she does not give me attitude when it comes to brushing her teeth and doing her hair. She is very stubborn, I am not quite sure where she gets that from (hee hee). Georgie left rather early for school and I walked Jacob to the bus stop for picture taking with the "bus stop crowd" - I watched him get on the bus, sit down, look out the window with his beautiful blue eyes as he waved to me and worded "I love you" to me as the bus drove away. God, I love being a mom!

Another Successful Fundraiser

We had another fundraiser at Friendly's this month which was very successful thanks to my family, friends and co-workers that came out to support the Harrisburg Hikers. I attached a picture of my buddy Laurraine and her husband David who came out and surprised me. I don't get to see Laurraine too often so when I do get to see her it puts an instant smile on my face. I also had to include a photo of me and my babies (Jacob and Gracie).

The Start of Another School Year

It's hard to believe that summer is just about over and the boys are both starting school back up next week. Georgie will be in 11th grade and Jake is going into 2nd grade and lets not forget about Miss Gracie who has moved up from the "Bears" room to the "Lions" room at daycare which will be getting her ready for kindergarten next year. I plan on taking the kids to Hershey Park on Labor Day (it's going to be mobbed). I promised Jacob if he completed his summer reading program that I would treat him to a day at Hershey Park (a little incentive) and he read over and beyond the amount of books he was suppose to read. I am happy I kept on top of his reading over the summer.
I find that even though summer is short, it's a struggle the first two months of school to not only get the kids back in a routine but to get them back into the groove of learning things that they struggled with the year before. I had Jake attend reading camp at the local library and when reading camp was over he continued to read daily at home. Jake is good and ready to start school back up and he will be where he needs to be with his reading - I am confident he will do just fine. Gracie starts her dancing classes back up next month and I am also checking into swimming for both Gracie and Jake for the fall. There is not too much else to report on. George (my husband) has been hitting the treadmill these days and I am still training for the Breast Cancer Walk which is fast approaching. Life is good, no complaints. (The pictures included in this post are pictures taken at a family wedding we recently attended back home in Altoona, PA - they are the most recent pictures of my three kids).

Lions Tigers & Bears "Oh My"

We recently attended the "End of the Summer Bash" at Gracie's daycare center (Child Development Center). It was a farewell to Ms. Gina, who was with the center directorfor eight years and is moving on to another position out of state. Jacob along with Gracie and her friends from various different rooms at the center (Lions, Tigers, Bears, Kittens, Racoons etc.) all seemed to have a blast eating all the delicious home-made food and desserts, playing in the sandbox and on the swings, dancing and just having a wonderful time with each other. Gracie recently graduated from the "Bears" room to the "Lions" room which will prepare her for kindergarten next year. I cannot believe that this time next year my baby girl will be in kindergarten but most of all I cannot believe I will NO LONGER HAVE TO MAKE DAYCARE PAYMENTS FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE - WAHOOOOOO.

Bears Room Buddies

This past Sunday we went to a birthday party at Red Robin and Gracie ran into one of her daycare buddies (Hallie). The girls spend a lot of time together in the "Bears Room" (their assigned class). This will be their last year together since both girls start kindergarten next year. Wahooo....no more daycare payments!

Early Mornings

I have been getting up at 5:15 a.m. these days to get some training in for the 3-Day Breast Cancer Walk. I go over to the local park (Adams Ricci) and I am normally there when it is still dark, but I get to watch the sun rise and what a beautiful view it is. I really enjoy having that time to myself and it's a wonderful way to start of the day.

Wii Wee

I finally decided to go and purchase a Wii this weekend for Jacob. With an accumulation of his birthday money and money from mommy and daddy - Jacob now has his own brand new Wii. What a nightmare that purchase has turned out to be! Jacob and Grace don't get along as it is - can you even imagine the two of them playing with the Wii together? All I hear from my bedroom is yelling, screaming, crying etc. Even when Jacob is playing by himself he is crying and screaming because apparently the "game system" is cheating??? Huh? I finally had to tell my husband to shut the Wii down last night because it was just out of control in the house. I know it upset my husband because he is just as hooked to that game system as the kids are. Hmm...not sure if this was such a smart purchase afterall.

Live, Collective Soul, Blue's Travelers Concert

Well I went to the Live, Collective Soul and Blue's Travlers concert on Friday (August 1) night. My friend (Amy) and I first went to dinner at Applebees, which was horrible, and we headed to the Giant Center around 6:00 p.m. The concert started at 6:30 p.m. with the Blue's Travelers opening the concert. Well, I only knew two of their songs, each song they did play was an average of 15 minutes long (just shoot me, ok). Next was Collective Soul - wait wait....and yes, that's what we did was wait about an hour for the band to make their grand appearance. Apparently they had a tire blow out on their way to the Giant Center. Unfortunately, they did not do a sounds check because although the songs were good songs they sounded all muffled and distored. Now for the grand finale - I own about ONE Live CD so I know like a whole FOUR songs that the band sings with my favorite being "Lightening Crashes". Well Live played an ungodly amout of songs - at least 10 to 12 and then they said goodnight and left the stage. Dahh...I knew they were coming back out - they still did not play their all time number one hit "Lightening Crashes". Well....they come out and played on and on and on again - I was fuming!!! So I finally lost my patience (around 11:00 p.m.) and told Amy we were out of there. So...no, I did not even hear the one song I was dying to hear. Needlesstosay, I was at the Giant Center 5 hours for a concert that was all but sad and the attendance was just pitiful. Hey, the tickets were free - thank GOD. If Amy and I did not have to get up at 5:30 and walk 14 miles I might have stuck it out until the bitter end. Fortunately we had good company and we got to spend some time with some friends/co-workers (Lori, Doug, Deb and Don).

A Weekend of Tranquility

This weekend George and the kids were in Altoona and I had the entire weekend all to myself. I vegged out ALL day Saturday until late afternoon and then attempted to get some walking in at the local park. It was too stinking hot out so I ventured off back home to my bed and watched a movie. Sunday was a day of house cleaning, laundry, shopping and I even managed to get 11 miles of walking in on the treadmill as I watched one of my favorite movies "Steel Magnolias" and a few reruns of 48 Hours Mystery. Today the family is due back home. While the time to myself was long overdue, I sure did miss my kids and all the the noise, the chaos, the constant fighting, bickering, "mommy" this and "mommy" that - Yes, believe it or not I was missing it all - the house is not the same without them all there.

My Little Man Turns Lucky Number 7

My baby boy is 7 years old today (July 24th). We had a birthday party for him this past weekend at Trindle Bowl (local bowling alley) with family and friends and we had a fabulous time bowling, eating pizza/cake and spending time together. It was especially nice because family drove in from Altoona for the celebration (Grandma, Uncle Marc (Jakes Godfather), Uncle Adam, Aunt Missy and his counsins Annie and James).

Buckle Up

Every morning before we head to daycare Gracie must rummage through all her babies (and there are a lot of babies - let me tell you that much) and she picks out just the right baby to take to daycare with her that day. Her latest routine is putting a seat buckle on her baby. It's cute, but not when you are running late and she is insistent on putting the seatbelt on the baby all by herself.