Plant a Seed

I'm sure there will be a lot of really interesting commercials aired during the Superbowl. Sometimes those ads can be quite entertaining. But there is one ad, in particular that seems interesting to me. It's not so much the commercial itself, although it is creatively done. And it's not about a particular product, it's about a project. This project, by Frosted Flakes Earn Your Stripes program, is a way for you or I to have a hand in helping rebuild some of America's playing fields. All you have to do is go to Frosted Flakes Plant a Seed website, and nominate one of your local ball fields that is in need of repair. Then you can take part in the voting for your favorite field. Around 50 playing fields will be renovated across the United States! So tomorrow, as you enjoy the big game, look for the "Plant a Seed" ad from Kellogg's Frosted Flakes® and then check out the website to find other ways to get involved and "plant a seed" of your own.

Tomorrow's the big day!
TTFN
~Tina

Weekend Rush

We have a busy weekend upon us. The musical that Taylor is in, opens this weekend. She is sooooooo excited! And we are excited for her. It's Alice in Wonderland, which happens to be one of her favorite books of all time! She has been having so much fun with this, and is already sad at the thought of it ending. This is expected to be one of the best shows that our local children's theater has ever put on! There are 2 shows this weekend, and two next weekend. I will, of course, post pictures of her and her friends in costume, once this whirlwind of a weekend is over.

And tomorrow, as everyone knows, is the Superbowl! And the awsome Pittsburgh Steelers are in it, so we just have to see that. Unfortunately, it conflicts with Taylor's musical, so we are hoping to at least catch the second half of the game.

I'm also planning on doing some school lesson plans and checking papers and I'm sure John will need to make a trip to Costco, and he might want to hit the gym. And we'll need to go to Mass at 9 am, in order to make it to help set up for tomorrow's performance of Alice. Wow.

Hope your weekend is full of all the things you enjoy!
TTFN
~Tina

BREAK A LEG, TAYLOR!

and GO STEELERS!

Finally!

I'm not a huge fan of winter, but I've decided to start appreciating and embracing every season as it comes. We read stories, do crafts and art projects and even sometimes bake along with the rythms of the seasons. One of the joys I've always found in winter is a good snowstorm. One that begs you to bundle up and head out to play alongside your children, and immerse yourself in the beauty of it all. We had been waiting for what seemed like a very long time this winter, to get some snow. Finally it came! A couple of days ago, we got 4 inches! It was a good amount to play in and enjoy, but not so much that it takes a week to dig out of. Here are some photos I took on our Snow Day 2009.....

Evan was so fascinated! I'm sure he doesn't remember it from last year, and we weren't able to play out in it when we were in PA at Christmastime.I'm sure Alexa and Sky remember it well!! They thoroughly enjoy it every year!Taylor's not a big fan of snow, anymore. She'd rather stay warm and cozy inside and IM her friends.....*sigh*.Until her dad recruits her to help shovel the driveway. She's so enthusiastic.Mom and Sky, smiling for the camera....Snow angel!....Snow itself is a nourishing snack? Evan thinks so.Snowman! This little guy is Skylar's creation. He has a carrot nose and Cheezit Eyes and his name is Oatmeal. :-)And this one's for you, G-ma Jo, from Skylar.......

After we went through every pair of gloves and mittens in the house, and there wasn't a dry one to be found, we headed inside for some hot chocolate. Taylor, Skylar and I had Candy Cane flavored while Alexa and Evan had regular yummy chocolate. And some of us enjoyed ours more with a little Coolwhip on top. Perfect way to warm up.

Yep, this day was long overdue!

TTFN

~Tina

Busy

So sorry I haven't been posting much lately. There is so much I want to share, but the time just hasn't been there. I hope to change that in the near future.

TTFN
~Tina

THE STEELERS ARE GOING TO THE SUPERBOWL!

Even the American Girls got into the act (thanks for the outfits, G-ma Jo!).

We may live in N. Va, but we are Steeler fans here!

TTFN

~Tina

Where's the Snow?

Some people love snow, some hate it. I'm in between. I don't love it to the point of wanting it constantly, all winter long. But geesh! I would love just one, good, significant snowfall a year.....just one, and I'd be happy. Last week, as we were doing school, I noticed some flakes falling. The kids got all excited! But I knew they weren't calling for snow, so the chances that this would amount to anything were very, very slim. After all 7 snowflakes fell, and the children gave a collective "Awwwww", we went on with our day.

I'm still holding out hope. There's a good bit of winter left, so maybe a snowstorm is still in our future. Maybe?

TTFN
~Tina

Christmas Season Photo Album

As this Christmas season comes to an end, I thought I would share some photo highlights with you.....

All dressed up for Christmas Eve Mass

After Mass, we always drive around for a little while looking at Christmas lights. It's so fun! We try to find Christmas music on the radio to complement the light displays we see. We've come to know where some of the most festive houses are around here, but we are always on the hunt for new ones.

At home, we have our traditional Christmas Eve dinner of breaded shrimp, crescent rolls, fries, and corn. We are usually rushed for time (either due to hungry children or having to get to Mass, depending on how things go that day), so it's good to have these convenient yet traditional favorites. And of course we have Oplatek.

We have started the tradition, a few years ago, of exchanging gifts that the children have for us and each other on Christmas Eve, after Mass. In the flurry of excitement on Christmas morning, it's easy for the children to forget to say "thank you" to a sibling for a well thought out or handmade gift. I find that if we take our time on Christmas Eve, for the children to open gifts from each other, they show their appreciation more. They've really come to look forward to this time. They enjoy watching as their sibling opens a gift that they worked so hard on. And I give them each one handmade gift from John and I, too.

How adorable is this duck that Taylor made for Evan?!!
And this snowman that she made for Skylar?! Sky loves him! He's soooo soft!
Evan seemed to enjoy his homemade dressup box from mommy and daddy......

and his family photo album from Alexa. He loves looking at the photos of people who love him.
Alexa was OVERJOYED with her felt food! I still need to make her the pizza and breakfast tray. She was especially happy with the Teatime tray.I found this cute large photo storage box for her to keep her felt goodies in. It slides under her bed (away from the exploring and sometimes destroying hands of Evan). All of the girls enjoyed some time under the cozy fleece blanket that I made for Skylar.Taylor received this adorable card/book from Alexa. She used Alice in Wonderland stickers, crayons, and her imagination to describe why she loves her sister. It really touched Taylor's heart. Alexa made another book for Sky, filled with Skylar's favorite things...
Skylar chose this Tinkerbell "magic cloth" for Alexa.....
and a Little Einstein's coloring book for Evan....
And these delightful earrings for Taylor.....

I can't seem to find photos of it, but Taylor made a messenger type, dark pink, patterned bag for Alexa to carry all of her goodies in! It even has clever pockets on the front that suit the kinds of toys Alexa likes to have with her. (You can see the pink strap of the bag over Alexa's shoulder).

I painted and designed for Taylor, a small wooden box with The Cheshire Cat on the top. She seemed to like it. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find photos of it, either.

Some scenes from around our home on Christmas Eve....

Our Family Altar Above the fireplace.

I'll have to stop here, for now. I'll continue sharing our Christmas photo highlights with you as soon as I can. Hope you enjoy your weekend!

TTFN

~Tina

A Sweet Deal

Candy Cane Hot Cocoa Mix at Supertarget

39 cents on clearance!

Found it on an endcap in the food section.

Yummy!

TTFN

~Tina

Good Morning

I'm sitting here on this cold, very wet Wednesday morning eating my breakfast at the computer. My two blond earlybirds are eating cinnamon toast mini waffles as they watch "Sid the Science Kid" on PBS. It's dark in the house due to the overcast skies outside. I can hear the garbages being picked up by the trash collectors right now. Poor guys, having to be out in such a downpour of cold rain.

I have to share what I'm eating for breakfast with you........it's leftover gingerbread cake with vanilla icing drizzled on top. And I'm enjoying my coffee with Chocolate Eclair Creamer.....yummy. I realize this is not a healthy choice for breakfast, but once in a while things like this do for the spirit what they don't do for the body. I'll eat a healthy lunch and dinner. Rats! I forgot to thaw the chicken for tonight's dinner. BRB. Speaking of tonight's dinner......I'm making a southwest salad. I will prepare strips of boneless chicken breast in taco seasoning on the stove. Then add them to a salad of lettuce, broccoli, onion and possibly corn. We purchased Newman's Own Southwest Dressing (haven't tried it yet, but it looks yummy). It's not advertised as "low fat", but it only has 8 grams per two tblsp. so that's actually not too bad. And we'll top this with bits of tortilla chips. Taylor and I can't wait. Ooooooh! I wonder if corn bread would go well on the side? I have a mix in the pantry I have yet to use. Hmmm. I'll have to ask Taylor her opinion on that one. My girls and Evan aren't big on salads so I'll serve their chicken with salsa and melted cheese and rice on the side.

That leftover gingerbread cake, I should mention, is from our Teatime for the Epiphany last night. It was such a basic Teatime, due to my lack of time. But it was nice. I'll try to share the highlights and some pictures later.

Oh, as I was setting up for the teatime, I put Evan in his chair so he couldn't grab the statues and candles. He was keeping himself busy with his plate, fork and napkin. (I'll be typing slower now, as my little man just climbed into my lap~he's so cute and so cozy to hold). Then, Alexa mentioned that Evan was sticking his finger up his nose. I didn't pay much attention, just told him to stop. Then he said,"somethin' in there". I assumed he meant the gross, natural stuff that is in there, but figured he might need help getting it out. So I took and look and low and behold the boy had shoved a wad of wet napkin up into his nostril. I could see it, and tell what it was, but no way could I reach it. Anyone who tried to reach it, including Evan, would only shove it up in there further. I was concerned but not panicked. I did give a thought to how I might be ending up at the emergency room for my very first "child shoved object up his nose" visit. I never had this problem with my girls. 3 girls.......nothing up the nose. One boy.......and it's happened at only 2 and 1/2 yrs. old. Is this a boy thing?!

Anyhoo, back to the story. So I got the tweezers. As I carried them down the stairs, I noticed how sharp they looked and worried about "what if he moves?". I was so afraid I might hurt him. But I just kept going, said a prayer, and went for it. I told Evan what I was going to do and he stayed very still. It took me 3 tries. Then it all came out in one piece. Whew! Huge sigh of relief. So happy that was over and that it went so well. Then it was a prayer of thanks to God and on with our teatime.

I'm off to get the brunette's up. Those girls can sleep! Actually, I could too, if I wasn't awakened by my little blond alarm clock every day.

Hope your day is a special one!
TTFN
~Tina

To Our Nephew

Happy 20th Birthday, Ryan!
We love and miss you!

Love,
Uncle John, Aunt Tina, Taylor, Skylar, Alexa and Evan

We're Back!

We had a wonderful trip up north to visit our families. My mother and father-in-law graciously let us stay with them and we had such a good time. We were constantly on the go as we attended parties and got to see so many people that we love, and yet don't get to see nearly enough throughout the year. I have soooooooo many pictures to share with you.

As you can imagine, there is plenty to do around here now, after being gone for a week. I'm working on it. I'm just trying to pace myself, because at first it was quite overwhelming. I think things are coming along nicely.

And I have to say, as much as we love being surrounded by family, there is just no place like home. It is good to be back.

And I'll get back to more regular blogging soon, but for now, I've got to get caught up around here. Hope you all had a blessed Christmas season.

(And to our families.......We miss you already! xoxoxoxo)

TTFN
~Tina

One Day Late on this Birthday Message

Happy Birthday, Andrew!
(I can't believe you're 14 already!)

I know we were fortunate enough to still be in town for your party, but I still wanted to post a happy birthday wish to you.

We love you!
~Uncle John, Aunt Tina, Taylor, Skylar, Alexa and Evan