Mia Bella Vida.....My Beautiful Life

Stop, Drop and Roll

2012-02-14T14:17:00.000-08:00

Want to know what my hell looks like when it all breaks loose?

Picture this. It's 4:47 in the late afternoon, and I'm trying to get dinner going. Bella, like every day after school, is spinning around all revved up like she's just downed a Mountain Dew Big Gulp. She's literally running around the house, talking nonstop to herself, occasionally looking up to me to ask a question, which for the life of me I can't quite understand because DAMMIT CHILD I DO NOT SPEAK AUCTIONEER!

From another room Mia is moaning. And grunting. And then the grunt turns into a sort of whine-yelp. She begins flaling her body on any surface that will hold her up. And proceeds to bitch out loud about the fact that her "glass slippers" are not making the right noise when she walks.

No shit Mia. They're rain boots.

But I can't say that. Oh no. I have to play her little game, it's like an unwritten rule of motherhood--agree, agree, support their creativity, agree. And so I suggest an alternative pair of glass slippers, such as the light-up Sketchers over there, the ones that I just tripped on because Bella kicked them off mid-spin.

I'm sweet right? Almost helpful even. Well, based on her response it was the most ridiculous idea ever because Princess Olivia "does not and would never wear shoes that light up." And then Bella hears that I have offered her shoes to Mia and so of course she non-chalantly spins right back to her spot and swoops up the shoes so that Mia has no chance to even consider them. Mia loses it.

And then Chance starts banging his head on the floor.

I peel him up and notice he's smiling and it occurs to me that his head banging may just be an elaborate plot to get picked up. Genius, that one. So I hold him for a moment. But only a moment because the timer has gone off on the oven. So I put Chance down, ignoring the wailing that begins. I take out the hot food, step over the depressed princess and toss it on the counter.

Then my dog starts to whine. And then another whine. And then a bark. And then a look that says,

I'll piss on the princess if you don't take me out. So I do.

When I come back into the house, every child is losing their mind. I desperately look around and all I see are hungry and tired and crying little people everywhere. Its enough to make me want to hop in my car and just drive.

But instead, I throw my arms up in surrender mode and go straight to the family room and lay on the floor.

Just lay on the floor.

Because I know that this simple act changes everything. It's my parental trump card. It's my ancient chinese secret. My check-mate move.

I lay on the floor face down and after 5 seconds pass, the crying stops. Which is followed by 3 seconds of silence as they ponder how strange it is to see their mom on the floor. Free range? Free range!

I hear the giggles and the sound of feet scampering. And before I know it I've got 3 kids jumping and crawling all over me.

Rolling around. Tumbling over each other. Laughing.

Every time I do the lay-on-the-floor-trick I'm reminded of how much I enjoy these few minutes of happiness among our chaotic daily routine.

Pure and simple, mother and child.

I spend most days towering over them, telling them what they can and can't do. Being the enforcer or the referee. But coming down to their level? I don't do it enough. And I should because it's a game changer. Heck, this isn't just about coming down to their level, it's about getting below it, changing your viewpoint. See I want my kids to know that they can lean on me, literally and figuratively. I want them to be so comfortable with me that we can all laugh at mommy's accidental undie grundie. True story.

Sometimes we parents get caught up and forget some of the most simple of acts.

So I challege you, take 5 minutes today to stop, drop and roll. Feel the innocence and the excitement. Ignore the occasional knee jab to the eye and enjoy your kids.

And then proceed to reheat the dinner that got cold.

A Wet Winter Getaway

2012-02-03T12:22:00.000-08:00

They sounded like a herd of baby elephants as they trampled down the hall in search of their suitcases--giddy and excited at the mere mention of a family road trip. After getting some great report cards and generally feeling the need for some family bonding, we decided to take the kids to the Wisconsin Dells for a weekend.

Telling them on a Monday had its ups and downs, on one hand it made the week ridiculously long, yet all of us were riding cloud 9 in anticipation of the getaway. They'd wake up and talk about it. We'd go to bed counting down the days. We'd even sing about it. Shocker (years ago on a random roadtrip I came up with a goofy travel song that verses can easily be changed around and it has strangely become our anthem.)

See?

And before I knew it, we were packed up, car loaded and heading north--not looking back. Road trip snacks? Yup. Twizzlers? Check. M&M's? Check. Clementines? Check, check. We turned the volume up and shouted Baby Baby at the top of our lungs (like true Beliebers.) And it occurred to me that these moments with my family when we're free and adventurous--are my absolute favorite. I let go. I let loose. A different me, dare I say an even better one. Something about getting out of my own house, my safety net, and throwing structure and expectations out the window is so envigorating for me. All of us, actually. Even little Chance was riding the thrill of a new environment. A new hotel? Hells ya! The kids spent a good 30 minutes exploring EVERY single nook of our room.

Why are hotel phones the COOLEST toys around?

Taking his Trunkie for a ride

Now, if you're not already aware, the Wisconsin Dells is the waterpark capital of the world. Waterpark after waterpark after waterpark, each trying hard to outdo the other. The greatest part of some of these waterparks? INDOOR WATERPARKS! What could be better than packing a swimsuit and going tubing in the middle of January? Not much. It wasn't long before the swimsuits were on and we were hitting up the late-night waterpark in our hotel.

Fun times getting wet inside, while the snow was falling outside.

This was their first time at a water park--and OH MY GOD they LOVED it. They were a bit nervous at first but once we took them down the slides with us, they were ready to do it on their own.

Mia had made a family annnouncement that "in the water area she would like to be called Mermaid Mia"--but only in the water area (because god forbid you make the mistake of calling her that when tucking her in to bed later that night.)

Sista's got a mean set of standards.

He's becoming a little boy right in front of me these days.

Chance loved walking around the 9 inches of water that filled the area like a true champ.

Lap after lap. Little man was tired!

And they loved their new bed, if only for 2 nights.

We spent the next two days at a larger waterpark, Chula Vista. Which meant that us adults got to have a few thrill seeking rides on their three story waterslides. Holy crap, it was fun! As soon as I pushed off, that familiar 7th grade feeling of slipping and sliding down the tubes all came rushing back to me.

It was a perfect little getaway. Time and time again we are convinced that even 48 hours someplace different, is enough to make a lasting impression.

Chance HATED it when we took him out of the water to leave.

And Bella and Mia enjoyed EVERY second of their water play.

They're already asking us when they could go back again.

And I'm already trying to plan for the next getaway.

But until then, we've got a cute little family movie to remind us:

Surely, she's Shirley.

2012-01-25T20:36:00.000-08:00

You guys, help!

I'm smackdab in the midst of a widespread foam curler epidemic.

And it's all because of her.

Well, to be exact, it's actually all because of HER:

Shirley Temple. The girl, not the drink.

You see, Fridays are family movie nights around here and this past Friday it was my choice. So I chose an oldie but goodie, Heidi starring Shirley Temple.

Forget about BlueRay and HD, we got all retro up in here cuz the movie was black and white.

Which annoyed the heck out of Bella.

But mom, her face is gray!

And look mom, the grass is dark gray. Why is the grass gray mom?

And the sky is kinda awkward, because it's like a lightish gray mommmm!!!

I was 'this close' to turning it off cuz I couldn't handle any more of her monochromatic sarcasm, when Shirley Temple entered the screen and all traces of dissapproval were vanished the moment she started singing.

Bella was enthralled. But Mia? Holy shit ya'll, Mia was obsessed.

Like, freaky-bulgy "I wanna be you and I wanna dress like you and I wanna dance like you and I wanna have curly hair like you and I wanna sing like you" eyes.

I've seen this look before--like her Rapunzel phase or her Cinderella phase or her Pippi Longstocking phase or her most recent Cindy Lou Who phase.

And I knew what was to come.

First it was the hair. She wanted curly hair. So, like any good mother would, we put some foam curlers in her hair (leftover from Bella's Little Orphan Annie phase) and sent her to bed.

When we took the curlers out of her hair Saturday morning, Mia almost fell over with excitement.

And would henceforth be known as Shirley. Shirley Temple.

So, of course, we proceeded to spend Saturday looking at YouTube videos of Shirley Temple, ya know, adding fuel to the fire.

And then both Bella and Mia couldn't stop singing some of the songs. So, of course, I bought some songs from iTunes.

Dude, it was like a bonfire now.

Someone please throw me a life raft because I have been stuck on this GOD FORSAKEN GOODSHIP LOLLIPOP FOR DAYS!

And Monday night sure enough "Shirley" asked if she could go to school as Shirley.

How could I refuse?

Listening to Nothing

2012-01-20T14:33:00.000-08:00

It's snowing. And it's cold.

But as much as I complain--I do love being out in the snow, especially during a snow storm. It's the month old grayish brown snow that makes me want to pull my hair out. But a snowfall--that's something to winess. It's not the same looking out from a window. No, you gotta be in it to get it. So much going on around you, it's like falling chaos. Yet, the silence is deafening. I'm telling ya, there's nothing like the silence of a snowfall.

I pointed this out to Bella as we stood by the side of the road when her bus pulled away. And of course, she requested the definition of chaos. And she understood.

And we stopped to listen to nothing.

And we ate some falling snow.

And made our way back into the warmth of our home.

TGIFFMN!!

Thank God It's Friday Family Movie Night!

January 18, 2012

2012-01-19T20:03:00.000-08:00

I untangled my headphones, stepped on the treadmill and began pressing every button trying to figure out how to make the damn thing start. After tinkering for awhile, it asked me to enter my age. I smiled. Which believe me, isn't my usual response when someone asks my age. But today was different, today was my birthday. And there's something about this particular birthday that has me smiling from ear-to-ear.

I'm happy, that's why.

I'm happy that I've lived 37 pretty awesome years. I'm happy that each one of those years has been filled with mistakes that I've learned from, experiences that I've gained and memories that I'll cherish. I've been doing that a lot lately, really looking back at the past. And while most of it can be described as one big Larry David-esque embarassment--I'm happy. Like, really happy.

For one, the love that Eugene and I have for eachother is the single most precious thing I own. I mean, yeah, my kids are great and all but dude, you should see our love. It's storybook. We dream together. We live for what's in store and have such a strong vision for our future together. And even though his work has him traveling all the time, there is no place that I'd rather be than with him. Still.

And my kids, oh man, my kids. I love being a mom and always knew I was destined to do this, but being their mom? That's what feels so darn great. They are such amazing kids and they make every day worth it. Even the shitty, whiny parts of the day are only minutes away from a laugh, or a tickle or a hug reminding us all that we're unconditionally loved. My children make me insanely happy. Being their leader, their teacher, their mother--well, it's a perfect way to spend my days.

For my birthday Eugene and the girls gave me a day of complete and total escape.

Inside the sweetest card, was an excel spreadsheet of all the movies playing at our local movie theatre, the times that they were playing and the corresponding Rotten Tomatoes score for the movie. Get this, I saw four movies in a row! I literally spent the entire day at the movie theatre! From 12 in the afternoon to 12 at night, I forgot about the diapers, and the tantrums and let myself get lost in the movies. And the popcorn. And the refills.

Here was my line-up Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocal, The Descendents, We Bought a Zoo and Young Adult.

What a unique idea, huh? And while I'll always remember this birthday as the "all-day movie marathon," I can't forget the scavenger hunt that Bella made me endure to locate her homemade birthday card. Or the way Chance smiled as he tried to blow out the candles. Or when Mia woke up--her eyes barely open and with her familiar husky morning voice, serenaded me with the Happy Birthday song.

Because friends, happy it was!

Christmas in July

2012-01-09T10:36:00.000-08:00

One of my New Year's resolutions was to write more. Or at the very least finish writing about some of the important events that have happened to us in 2011.

How about I start with my son't 1st birthday, since ya know, that was kind of important and all. And it was 6 months ago. And I don't want to go down as the mom who had her shit together for the first two kids but somehow couldn't manage to document ANYTHING about her third.

July 16, 2011. Little Chance's 1st Birthday. What an especially memorable day it was. To begin I should mention that Eugene and I started a tradition 5 years ago for all our kids' first birthdays. Rather than throw an elaborate party in which they'd have no recollection of, we instead, throw a party for a group of people in need. For Bella's 1st birthday we threw a Bingo Blowout and Ice Cream Social for a local nursing home, talk about fun!

For Mia's first birthday we put together a Fun Fair for kids living in a Chicagoland homeless shelter. You can read all about it here, A Party with A Purpose. These events meant more than any birthday party could have ever felt. I'll never forget the feeling of pride I had watching my ENTIRE family working together to help those homeless kids have fun and laugh and smile.

Eugene and I hope that when our kids look back on their first birthday they'll be reminded that their lives began helping others.

And now it was Chance's turn. When I was researching organizations for Chance's birthday a friend mentioned that I check out the SOS Children's Villages of Illinois. Once I read their mission statement, I knew this was the group we should work with. SOS Children's Villages of Illinois provides a viable alternative to traditional foster care. In our country's foster care system, three in four children are separated from their siblings. Children who come to live at SOS stay with their biological brothers and sisters in a private home. "A full-time, professionally trained foster parent lives with them, and the whole village gives them support, compassion and strength." Their mission to keep the family together is so inspiring. It always broke my heart when I heard about how often siblings were split up from each other--as if they should be punished more? Uggh. It hurts to even think about.

In fact, these kids arrive at the steps of SOS with little to NOTHING at all. Extra clothes? Nope. A doll to hug at night? Nope. A pack of crayons? Not even. When I heard about this, I knew what we needed to do, a Christmas in July.

On July 16, 2011, Chance's actual birthday, my family and all Eugene's extended family from California arrived at our house and was greeted with Christmas music the moment they walked through the door. Nothing's stranger than singing Let it Snow when it's hot and sweaty and muggy! After a quick informational meeting about the SOS organization we began the festivities.

First, we caravaned over to our local Walmart, all 17 of us. After being saluted by the door greeter, we were split up into 4 teams and given a cash filled envelope. Based on a "wish" list provided by SOS, we were to buy as many gifts from the list as we could, while staying within our alotted budget. We also had additional challenges like the greeting card challenge, where each family member was to purchase an inspirational card to be written out by them and handed out to one the children of the SOS Villages.

We had exactly 1 hour to buy everything.

Team 1, consisting of my mom, Fran and Mia, decided to hit up the card challenge first.

My mom was having motherhood flashbacks as she quickly realized how difficult shopping with a 3 year old could sometimes be. They quickly put Mia to work by ~~checking~~ scribbling off the list.

Team 2, my dad, mother-in-law and Matt in a deep discussion between purchasing a football or a soccer ball---or both.

My father-in-law, accountant extraordinaire, was diligently keeping tabs on our running total. It was no fluke why I put him on my team :)

Taking a quick break from the shopping frenzy to remember just how much I love my kids

Surveying the inventory

The unstoppable Team 4, Gabrielle, Christine and Bella, the world's best bargain shoppers put us to shame with all that they were able to purchase. They were smart--they looked in the clearance isle first!

Family chicken fight!

Check out time!

Christine and Gabe's thought process was basically add it to the cart and we'll see if we can afford it when we're at the checkout. They stood nervously in the line and watched as the checker rang up item after item. Making some quick decisions, they decided they needed to remove some things since they were over budget. They explained to the cashier what we were all doing, and who we were doing it for. And what happened next reaffirms my faith in people. A random man with his son in the next aisle overheard them and without missing a beat, told the cashier that he would pay for every item that they set aside.

This random stranger paid over $30 from his own pocket.

And just like that the discarded 10-pack of white t-shirts, pink baby blankets, and thermal socks made its way back into the cart. His last words were "all kids deserve new t-shirts"

People are good.

We returned home from Walmart and with the Chrismas carols on full blast, we wrapped up the presents.

The second part of our day was a celebration at one of the SOS Villages. Deep in the city. In what my "limited suburban ego" would consider the bad part of town.
I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I was apprehensive about going. Of course I was. I knew this wasn't the safest of areas. And despite even some hesitation from my family, we rose above it. Because helping from a distance isn't the same. I want my kids to know the truth about life, the good and the bad.

Only then can we really learn.

And when we arrived there and were welcomed with the most open of arms, I felt ashamed that I had so poorly misjudged people's compassion based on where they lived.

I needed to remind myself that here, we were the strangers.

We all stood in a circle and went around the room introducing each other. Three minutes of uncomfortable get-to-know you's and a few of my dad's goofy jokes and that's all it took. We were friends.

The kids showed us around their home/facility and challenged us to a few air hockey games. It's still good to know that my bad-ass air hockey skills are still going strong!

When the pizza arrived we all sat together in their dining hall and before we ate one of the 9 year old boys said the blessing. Thanking God that our family had joined them today. Thanking God for the food that we brought. Thanking God for giving him the strength to go on despite the struggles he's endured.

I tell ya, I wanted to take that boy home with me.

I sat with my sweet birthday boy in my lap, grateful for making the choice to come here. Grateful to see my family step out of their comfort zone. Grateful that we have the ability to share with others. I noticed my five year old sitting next to one of the kids talking about Disney--no barrier between them. I watched as my brother-in-law performed magic tricks for everyone's enjoyment.

What a team we make.

After lunch, Bella and Mia passed out the presents.

For security reasons, I cannot show any of the kids faces.

And we all played.

Chance, may you always remember how good it feels to give.

And how happy we all were on this day, July 16, 2011, your 1st Birthday.

Twas 3 Days Before Christmas

2012-01-05T22:49:00.000-08:00

Still drinking your Peppermint Coffeemate creamer? Still sporting a sugar cookie bloat? I begrudgingly chose all of the above.

We arrived home from our trip to California and I was pissed to find that Dobby the Elf didn't bother to take the decorations with him when he left. That cheeky bastard.

I even made him teeny, tiny sprinkled donuts, see?!

We'll miss him though.

Our time with Dobby was so precious this year. Every single morning the kids woke with curiosity and excitement to see where he was. He definitely became a regular yuletide fixture.

This Christmas will forever go down as the "Grinch" Christmas. We introduced the kids to the movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Jim Carrey version) and to say they were hooked was an understatement. Both girls fell in love with Cindy Lou Who and would reenact her singing "Where Are You Christmas" every chance they could. No joke. They'd be in the middle of a conversation with someone and suddenly break into song while staring longingly out a fake window. They'd even go so far as to put their hand up to the fake window. Now that's commitment!

And all Mia wanted for Christmas was a Cindy Lou Who doll, Cindy Lou Who pajamas and a Cindy Lou Who music box.

Someone please explain to her that Cindy Lou Who was sooooo 2000?

But of course my mom and sister couldn't resist. My sister scored a CLW doll from Ebay and my mom (bless her heart) recreated the pajamas from the movie. Mia was in CLW heaven! See?

She's got my heart, that Mia.

Check it out, when you press a secret button on CLW's back her braids twirl around. THIS BLEW MIA'S LITTLE MIND. Literally, she almost passed out from excitement when my sister showed her.

Mid twirl.

From our very first Christmas as parents, Eugene and I decided that we wouln't go crazy with gifts for our kids. For one, they really don't need all that much to have fun. In fact I've noticed, the more they have the less they play with. Secondly, we don't want our children to feel a sense of entitlement about Christmas, which so easily happens this time of year. Commericials, catalougues, playground conversations--it's almost unavoidable, almost. For us, Christmas is about SO much more than just gifts. And thirdly, they get a ton of cool stuff from family members anyway.

Like this surprisingly spacious ready to be colored cardboard playhouse. Thanks Nana and Papa!

It was and still is a huge hit!

The night before we left for California we celebrated my mom's birthday and came home to find that Santa left a note and three gifts under the tree for our kids.

It was such an unexpected excitement for them!

SANTA?

THREE DAYS EARLY?

NOOOOOO WAY!

Bella read us the note.

And one by one, we all watched on as they took turns opening their gifts.

Now I should mention that all Bella has talked about for the past month has been an American Girl Doll named Kanani. Kanani this and Kanani that. The first night that our elf, Dobby, arrived at our house she IMMEDIATELY began writing him a letter informing him of what she wished for. She made it crystal clear:

"kanani frum water towr mall frum chikago cidy."

See she didn't want the elves from the North Pole to make the doll, oh no, she wanted Santa to buy it. From that store. In that mall.

Clever.

So here I was in our living room sitting next to my daughter as she's about to open her present. And I have to admit I'm not quite sure who was more excited, me watching or her opening.

You see, it's the first Christmas that I really "got it." Ya know, that super awesome mushy parent feeling you get when you know how happy your child is about to be opening their present.

Little did she know that's exactly how I felt right here.

But to my surprise Bella was very matter of fact about it all. Very cautious.

She began feeling the box and switched off between a huge smile and a hesitant grin---all the while turning the wrapped box over and over trying to examine it from the outside.

I knew what she was thinking. I always do. Her hesitation was because a part of her was afraid that it wouldn't be what she really, really wanted.

Which tugged a little at my heart strings.

But then her grin turned back to a smile because what if? What if it really was what she's been wishing for? And again with forced restraint she c-a-r-e-f-u-l-l-y began opening the side of the present.

And for a few milliseconds she tried to identify the box.

And then it hit her.

And I swear my eyes filled up right then and there. This is the shit I live for as a mom. This!

And suddenly Bella ripped apart that paper faster than I could even capture it.

She had her Kanani.

Life was great for this little girl.

Next up, my other little girl.

Mia, Mia. From the moment you saw The Grinch you wanted a music box just like Cindy's. One that was pink. One that had a twirling ballerina and one that played sweet little music.

But hidden secret drawers?

MAJOR bonus!

This smile. This huge precious, dimpled smile only comes out around 1 out of 200 pictures. It melts me.

This is what happiness looks like.

And then both girls noticed that Chance was having a hard time opening his present. He's in that stage where you hand him a wrapped present and he smiles so big as if to say thank you, thank you for this large red and green striped thing. The girls, impatient as they are, took it as a cue to rip it open for him. And little man got a big truck that talks and chases him. Shabang!!!!

As a child I loved Christmas. I mean, who doesn't, right? The gifts, the songs, the lights. But I never really knew how special Christmas would become as a parent. Watching age old traditions become our own. Feeling the genuine love that we all have for one another. This is what I want to remember. This is what I'll carry with me, season after season.

That night, Bella slept hugging her doll and Mia found a perfect spot for her musicbox hidden safely under her bed.

What a merry, Merry Christmas.

~2011~

City Sidewalks, Busy Sidewalks, Dressed in Holiday Style

2011-12-21T19:11:00.000-08:00

We bundled up and headed to the city to the see the twinkling lights.

And the beautiful windows.

And oohed and aahhhed at every shimmer.

And sang and danced in the streets.

And gave a little.

And huddled close.

And smiled big.

And wrote a letter.

And made a wish.

And crossed our fingers.

And cherished eachother.

And then Chance chucked a hot chocolate in mid-air and pissed on himself. But other than that, awesome night.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Around the World, A Six Course Review

2011-12-12T21:17:00.000-08:00

Okay, so when I married Eugene I knew that he was smart, ambitious, funny and extremely hard working. But what I didn't know is how amazingly talented he would become in the kitchen. This dude can cook. I mean REALLY cook. And guess what? So can my older brother. The two of them are unstoppable in the kitchen.

As evidenced by our SIX course "Christmas Around the World" dinner this past weekend. My brother's family spent the weekend with us and we all celebrated Christmas a little early. It was such a memorable weekend. I mean, it really felt like Christmas.

But the meal? OH MY GOD. Yes, the food was impeccable, but the kicker? We had a professional sommelier pair 2 wines with every course. Talk about fancy!

We watched our family's cheeks grow flusher by the course. And the laughs, oh the laughs!

So course by course, and drink by drink, here's the menu.

FIRST COURSE

International cheese tray with mixed nuts, salami and fruit. Cheeses include Manchego (Spain), Queso de Cabra (Spain), Iberico (Spain), Wensleydale Aged Cheddar with Cranberries (England), Dorset Smoked Cheddar (England), Cheddar with Port (England), and Traditional Farmhouse Cheddar (England).

Paired with...

Mionetto Prosseco (Italy). The aroma is fruity, reminiscent of pear and citrus with a slightly floral bouquet. The wine is fresh and crisp with apparent apple and peach flavors.

Oyster Bay Pinot Noir (New Zealand). From Marlborough in New Zealand's South island. Fresh cherry flavors burst forth on the palate and on the nose augmented by subtle earthy notes. Duh.

And the winner on the cheese plate, was the Wensleydale Aged English Cheddar with Cranberries, by a unanimous vote. Creamy and delicious and bought from Costco, so get some!

Like the dry erase marker to label the cheeses? Isn't that genius? My brother gets all the cred!

It was the perfect start to our feast.

SECOND COURSE

Shrimp Ceviche (Mexico). Traditional Mexican appetizer featuring shrimp, fresh tomatoes, avocado and citrus hints. Accompanied by a spicy avocado sauce.

Paired with...

Pewsey Vale Riesling (Australia) A pale straw with green hues, the wine shows intense fruit aromas of talcum, crushed stone and lemon lime fruit, with a hint of overlying dried herb, but of course.

Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand). Deriving from the French word sauvage (wild) and blanc (white) ours is a crisp and powerful, well balanced wine with intense aromas of gooseberry, passion fruit and citrus flavors.

Guys, this ceviche was SO delicious! And the Kim Crawford wine was awesome on its own but the riesling was a surprisingly great pairing with the ceviche.

At this point we were all feeling a lil' bit loosey-goosey, so

my brother began to chug the table-top dump bucket.

Just kidding. That was staged. But this adorable picture of my sister-in-law was not.

I wish she was more in focus, but it adds to the artsy value. She is our resident wine expert and was responsible for getting our wine pairings professionally assessed.

So, right about now you might be thinking, six course meal? Where the heck were the kids? Well for one, they were barracaded out of the dining room. Need proof?

Exhibit A:

We were able to ignore the whiny little voices coming from behind the fence for about 4 courses. I mean it was 10 adults drinking glass after glass of wine--did they think we were going to pick them up or actually listen to them? Hell no. The moment they walked up to the fence they'd get heckled so badly they had no choice but to turn back.

Okay, the truth? We may or may not have left an entire bag of Holiday Oreos just within reach.

Win-win.

THIRD COURSE

Lobster fra Diavolo with Bruschetta. New England lobster tail sauteed in a garlic white wine sauce, served on bruschetta bread. Accompanied with Linguine alla' Aragosta. Homemade marinara with fresh tomatoes, lobster and pepperoncini.

Paired with...

Mer Soleil Silver Unoaked Chardonnay (California). Cement tank fermentation. Soft and round entry with an acid backbone, ripe fruits such as lemons, gooseberry and grapefruit. Finishes dry.

Clos du Bois Chardonnay (California). As fragrant as a stroll through a summertime farmers' market (this description had us all rolling) our bright and juicy Chardonnay beckons with aromas of apple blossom, ripe pear, peach and sweet lemon drop.

So good. So, so good.

And the unoaked Chardonnay was a hit. And their bottle is awesome. Here it is, a cement bottle just like the tanks it was created in. Talk about keeper.

FOURTH COURSE

Lemon Zest Sorbet (Italy).

FIFTH COURSE

(When you read the description, try to imagine it being said with a hilarious french accent. Which is exactly how Chris read it to us)

Bacon wrapped Roast of Filet Mignon (France). Trimmed, center-cut filet of beef tenderloin lightly seasoned and dressed with a winter coat of gently smoked bacon. Accompanied with reduced burgundy mushroom sauce, crispy hash browns and seasonal roasted crowns of broccoli and cauliflower with sweet baby cherry tomatoes.

Paired with....

Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon (California). Combines a complex mix of firm yet ripe and supple currant, spice, mint and cedary oak with good length, but also tannic muscle. Hubbawhat? Tannic muscle? Um, okay.

Bogle Petite Sirah (California). Voluptuous and full-bodied on the entry, the heady aromas of black currants and plums awaken the senses. Lusciously jammy and inky in appearance with tones of pipe tobacco, leather and cocoa, to mesmerize the palate.

Okay at this point I should not have operated machinery let alone a camera. Which is why I do not have a picture of our steak course. But...I do have a picture of the tenderloin before it was cooked. Check. This. Out!

It was delicious. My brother knocked it out of the park with this one.

SIXTH COURSE

Inspired by a traditional yule log, this classic holiday cake with layers of rich chocolate.

Paired with...

Fonseca Porto (Portugal). Blended from reserve wines selected for their superb fruit character and depth of color, it's well-knit structure, rich, velvety full body and luscious blackcurrant and cherry floavors, also dominant in the bouquet, finish on an intense, lingering note.

7 Deadly Zins Zinfandel (California). Sexy and endearing, it offers a deep ruby/purple color, full-bodied, corpulent flavors and abundant berry fruit, pepper and spice notes.

A night with all of my family is always something to remember. But this night and this meal was one we'll never forget. Thank you Rich and Eugene for a five star memory.

"Life is so brief that we should not glance either too far backwards or forwards...therefore study how to fix our happiness in our glass and in our plate."

- Grimod de la Reyniere

Chocolate Chip Cookies to die for!

2011-12-09T13:54:00.000-08:00

HOLY MOLY I JUST MADE A BATCH OF THE BEST TASTING CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES EVER.

While browsing Pinterest, I noticed this recipe which the New York Times deemed their favorite chocolate chip cookie. And they were oh so right people. Maybe it's the combo of 2 different flours or maybe it's the sea salt. Yes, definitely the sea salt. Either way, AH-MAZING!

Preheat your oven now. I'll wait.

They're that good.

The recipe is below. Or you can get it here. C'mon, it's the Holidays, who doesn't want a warm, chewy, chocolatey cookie. You can bet these will be the ones we leave out for Santa! Enjoy!

The New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

from The New York Times

2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour

1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour

1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt

2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter

1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 1/4 pounds chocolate chips

Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl and set aside.

Using a mixer with a paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy – about 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time. Stir in vanilla. Reduce to low speed and add dry ingredients slowly, mixing until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Refrigerate dough for 24-36 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350.

Drop spoonfuls of dough onto baking sheet and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Elf Mania!

2011-12-02T21:53:00.000-08:00

Personally I think that Carol V. Aebersold and Chanda A. Bell, creators of The Elf on the Shelf deserve a Nobel prize. Seriously guys, the concept is genius and it seems like EVERY parent I know now has one. That's sayin' something. And why wouldn't they? The idea of a non-speaking, shelf sittin' disciplinarian is a parents dream. Or mine at least.

Did I mention he works for free?

We got our Elf as a gift and I was so excited to do it last year that I never even read the book that came with it. Oops. Which meant that we bypassed all the rules and regulations. But not this year.

I had a grand entrance planned for our Elf's arrival complete with a packaged UPS box from the North Pole. But it ended up neither grand nor an entrance. Why? Because my daughters suck, that's why. I took the box out of storage and moved it under my bed as a temporary holding place before the big show. The box was out of storage for TEN MINUTES. TEN MINUTES PEOPLE. I HAD MY DAMN ELF HIDDEN UNDER THE BED FOR TEN MINUTES AND THEY STILL FOUND IT.

They should be protecting our country yo.

But I can't be too bitter because the way they found it was so cute. They were playing "Christmas" in which Bella (the mom) delivers boxes of presents (a remote control, a pony tail holder, pencil top eraser and a plastic tea plate) to Mia (the daughter). As Mia sat on the floor of my room opening presents that her "mom" had given her, she saw another box that she innocently opened. And oh my holy night I think she shit her tights. Not joking. She started screaming and then Bella started screaming then they came running to me barely able to breathe, their eyes bulging wide and mouth open and head shaking and finger pointing before Bella could actually get the words out.

"Our"

stutter. stutter.

"Elf"

stutter. stutter.

"Is here.

OH MY GOD MOM. YOU WON'T BELIEVE IT. HE'S HERE. HE FLEW THROUGH THE WINDOW AND UNDER YOUR BED"

Trying not to break a smile, I grabbed my phone and clicked record

They were SO excited!

So here's the rules:

1) no touching the Elf because it will lose it's magical power (oops)

2) Name your elf

3) Be good because the Elf is watching and he reports to Santa every night

Easy, right? Wrongo. Naming the Elf was SO frustrating. Those girls can't agree for the life of 'em. After spitting out several made up names Bella says "Dobby."

I stopped what I was doing. Did I hear right? Did my daughter who has no knowledge of the Harry Potter world (yet) just name the GREATEST ELF WHO EVER LIVED? You go Bella. You're damn right we're going to name him Dobby. Dobby is a free elf. Dobby is a good elf. Dobby loves Harry Potter.

But it wasn't done yet because Mia needed to add her two cents, rightfully so. They went to bed and at the breakfast table the next morning, Mia told us that his middle name is Abika.

Dobby Abika.

Snazzy and elfish, huh?

So every night we have to move Dobby into different locations and the kids get all kinds of excited to see where the elf will be each morning.

This morning Dobby was found under the table. With a letter. And a gift.

And the kids unwrapped the book How the Grinch Stole Christmas (their current FAVE movie ever since our Dr. Seuss halloween).

Christmas is so fun.

Why do we have to wait a whole year to feel such excitement?

Can't we redefine the Fourth of July or something? Groundhog Day, perhaps?

It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas crafts!

2011-11-30T13:04:00.000-08:00

Someone really oughta tame my Yuletide fever, it's not even December yet.

Nah, scratch that, I'm gonna wave my festive freak flag and wave it high.

Grab your green pipe cleaners and red cotton poofballs people, it's Christmas Craft Time!

I'm the kind of mom that saves every piece of artwork, every scribbled-on napkin, anything that my kids have created you can bet makes its way into their art bin. I'm a sucker for crafts that can take a small snapshot of where the kids are at on this journey of theirs. Which is why, when I stumbled upon paperbag minibooks, I knew it would be awesome.

The end result is a super easy, totally adorable Christmas minibook made out of paper lunch bags and some Christmas crafts.

To make one minibook all you need is 2 paper lunch bags, Christmas embellishments (stickers, decals, stamps and festive ribbons) photos, paint, markers and some modge podge to seal all of it. In fact, I made a point to save all the Holiday cards we received last year and repurposed them for this craft. You can get so many cute labels and embellishments from leftover cards!

To make the book structure, I followed all the instructions from this website. Next I gathered some of our best Christmas photos, shrunk them to about 1-2 inches and printed them out. I didn't even need to print on glossy photo paper because you'll ultimately add a layer of glossy Mod Podge, so it didn't matter.

Then we proceeded to make a huge mess all over the table as we cut the pictures and stickers and began gluing all over the pages.

I ended up having to do this project in stages, mainly because I don't have that much patience.

Did you see that mess?

Sooooo, after a short sanity break, we painted around the pictures.

The final stage was having the girls write down what the pictures made them feel.

I adore that Bella wrote comfy. See that above picture with the sweaters? In that moment they were singing the Old Navy jingle "I love my comfy sweaters" from 2 seasons ago :)

Since there are two bags for each book, there are 2 little pockets that are perfect for a little surprise. Here I have a little string with the letters J-O-Y taped on the inside that can get tucked back in. Cute huh? You could put anything in there, a little note, another picture. So many possibilities.

For added durability I painted glossy ModPodge all over the pages. They are perfect coffee table books for this season and for many more to come!

Happy Holidays!

Yo Gobble Gobble!!

2011-11-27T21:20:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving Jeopardy ya'll, here we go:

Turkey noodle soup, turkey adobo, turkey wraps, fried turkey and potato pancakes.

hmmmmm.....

What is 'all the mother lovin leftover food that I have consumed in the past 72 hours' for 1000 please?

DING! DING! DING!

Thanksgiving was pretty great this year. My mom cooked another fantastic meal, as always. The prep work began early morning when she taught the kids how to "dress the bird."

They look forward to this part every year.

Chance was having a ball. A butterball.

And of course it wouldn't be complete without a Thanksgiving Day serenade and a turkey smackdown. I swear watching the kids touch the turkey makes me want to twitch.

I have vivid memories of "dressing the bird" with my Great Aunt Nor when I was as a wee one. These simple family traditions have such deep meanings for me. I am so grateful that we still carry them on.

Another Thanksgiving tradition was when me and my siblings would get out of my mom's way and hit up our local movie theatre for a two hour getaway. Last year we took the girls to see Tangled and this year we ALL saw The Muppets Movie. I say "all" because we were so excited to take Chance to his first movie. He had so much fun!

It's quite possible that the popcorn was all gone by the time the movie started. Previews in a PG movie are RIDICULOUS! There's like 9 of them.

By the time the movie was over, the bird was on the table waiting for us.

And as we went around the table sharing what it is that we were thankful for, I realized just how much I love my family. The one I grew up with, the one I joined and the one I've helped create.

Life is good.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011

Decking My Halls

2011-11-23T13:20:00.000-08:00

Before Thanksgiving? You bet! Although when I pulled the Christmas tree out last weekend to get things organized Eugene made me promise to close all the blinds so that the neighbors can't see what kind of Christmas whack-job lives here. I can't help it.

I LOVE THIS TIME OF YEAR!

Cue the choir.

From the moment we wake up, the Christmas songs are playing. And they're playing seconds after we've walked through the door and they're playing for our pre-bedtime dance party. ALL DAY LONG. And I gotta admit Christmas Pandora is pretty good, although they don't play nearly enough Johnny Mathis.

For me, Christmas isn't Christmas without A Yuletide Johnny.

This album was my childhood and that's TOTALLY fake snow. But you sure do rock the ascot!

There's also a ton of Christmas crafts that I've browsed on Pinterest that I'm excited to do. From cookies to homemade ornaments, I'm all game this year! And I'll even take pictures to prove it.

But the best part? The very, very best part of our Chrismtas excitement?

Our little Filipino Elf on the Shelf!

I have been waiting patiently these last 11 months to unpack my handy sidekick. This little guy works wonders! Bribery at its finest. I've haven't layed out the details of his entrance yet, but it will be grand. Oh yes, it will be grand. My kids are SUCH suckers. What a bummer it'll be when they figure it out one day.

Happy Holidays!

Blackboards, memba' those?

2011-11-11T13:30:00.000-08:00

Seriously guys, I love chalkboard paint. Like love it. I just bought a quart of it
for a simple project and now I want to lather everything I own in it.

Here's the closet to my kids' room before:

And here's the closet after a $9 quart of chalkboard paint

Isn't that fun? The kids are already having a blast with it.

Bella and Mia took turns drawing pictures of Cindy Lou Who and The Grinch. And then Chance blew me away with his artistic skills as he scratched some white lines over and over again :)

But for my section I figured a calendar (that we can mark off the days) would be a perfect

little daily activity for them.

The darn blue painters tape didn't stick as well as I would have liked in the upper left corner, so I'll have to go over it with some white paint to fix up the edges.

All in all, a cute inexpensive project huh? But if they learn to scratch their nails down it,

then it's all over. Mark my words.

I just got chills thinking about it.

Look at some of these great chalkboard paint ideas:

I love that it's in a bathroom. I think that's so unique.

Love the paint on the dresser!

My next project? THIS!

So smart. So smart.

Best $18 EVER!

2011-11-06T20:03:00.000-08:00

So this past week I decided to pop into a second hand store in the area. I'm on the hunt for a large framed canvas painting that I could upcycle into something new. Damn you Nate Berkus.

Anyhoo, I didn't find what I was looking for but when I turned the corner and saw this my heart started racing. Suddenly I was taken back in time to Mrs. Hoekstra's 4th grade class on the fateful day when a classmate was out sick and I asked the teacher if I could sit at her desk. You see, in our world there were two types of school desks, those that you put things in and those that you get to lift up. Take it from me, the lift top desks ruled. However, the sad fact is that I NEVER and I mean NEVER got assigned a lift top desk. It was heartbreaking. Every year, total devastation. But that one day, I'll never forget that one day that I first sat in Sharon's lift-top desk. I obsessively opened and closed that desk ALL DAY LONG. I kept trying to find reasons to open it. Like getting an eraser, or a new pencil, or sometimes for no reason at all other than to stick my head in there and smile. I know, major dork. The best part? Sharon had mono. Awwwww yeah baby! I sat there for 4 days!!! But when she returned it was like some bad break up. Ugggh, the agony. She sat two rows in front of me and I'd catch myself just staring at the desk. And when she'd it lift it up it was like pouring salt into my wound.

But......snap back to reality and what stands in front of me? A lift-top desk! A LIFT-TOP DESK PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was so excited I started jumping up and down and threw myself on the desk for fear that someone in the store might want it too. For real, Gina? Holy crap, I knew my kids would love it as much as I did. I envisioned them sitting there and reading or doing homework or playing school.

There was no way in hell that I was passing this up. No way. And with a swipe of my card I was the proud owner of a graffitti'd up 1980's-ish lift top desk!

Eugene, on the other hand, doesn't see it the same way I do. He doesn't think a school desk belongs in a family room. Whatever! It totally does. And the kids LOVE it. Even Chance. I mean look at this?

Money well spent.

2 Thumbs Up!

2011-11-02T22:33:00.000-07:00

Looking back I realize that I've always really wanted to be a mom. I'm sure it could be traced back to my Cabbage Patch Kids and Pound Puppy days. Sidenote-my first Cabbage Patch was named Jacenth Mitzy. Jacenth? WTH? That name sucked! It ruined my Christmas when I had to explain to every family member that no, her name was not JASON it was JACENTH. Whatev, I gave up. By New Year's her new name was Mitzy and I hid the damn birth certificate.

But, I digress.

I've been collecting experiences and mistakes and memories and ideas and I've put them all in a little box in my head called motherhood. When we found out we were pregnant, I was ready and EXCITED! And then our first child was born. And it was my turn up to bat and I was scared shitless but I looked deep into my little box and knew I could do it.

But what no book or magazine or advice could teach me was the type of impression my child was going to have on me. I didn't prepare myself for that. In fact, I'm still preparing myself for it because every day that passes my children impress me in new ways. For fairness sake, I should probably add that my kids also piss the shit outta me on a daily basis but for the most part I end the day impressed.

Especially on this particular day. I opened Bella's folder and found that it was her turn to write a book report for the school hallway. A book report? In Kindergarten? Game on.

Her mission was to write a few sentences about her favorite book. With a grocery list a mile long, I put my husband in charge of her homework assignment and I took off. Eugene busted out his iphone and interviewed Bella about her favorite book. Then they sat at the computer together and transcribed her words into a report. Genius idea, huh?

In her own words....

"The Giving Tree"

It's about a little boy and a tree who were friends because they did everything together.

The boy grew older and the tree was all alone.

The boy cut down everything from the tree.

She was an old stump and said "come boy and sit down and rest."

I liked this book because it taught me that as friendships get older they only need one thing: "sitting down and resting."

And in "The Giving Tree" at the end, it was just the stump and

you can sit down with her if you relax.

This little girl makes mothering easy.

And fun.

Which no doll could have prepared me for.

Happy Halloween by Dr. Seuss

2011-11-01T22:13:00.000-07:00

I think my excitement for Halloween is borderline whack-job. For realz.

I totally take it too seriously and plan about a month (or two) in advance but jacknabbit

IT MAKES ME HAPPY.

But high-fives for me since I was still able to convince all family members to participate in a team costume this year. I didn't think we could top last year's but we sure tried. Whom I kidding, I know damn well that in about 5 years Mia would rather eat rocks than dress up with me soooooo, I'm milkin' it for as long as I can.

In an ode to Dr. Seuss, here's The Grinch, Cindy Lou Who, Thing 1 and Thing 2, The Cat in the Hat and a Green Egg.

Didn't Bella's hair turn out great? Wires. Which is exactly what she told everyone who's door she knocked on. Even if they didn't ask. She would just blurt out "wires" and point to her hair. It was hilarious. She was so proud.

My sister, Thing 2, is so talented! She did all the makeup and hair!

We ended up pulling our kids in the wagon to each house. They're such pansies about walking!

The weather turned out to be perfect and the kids loved trick or treating. Especially Chance who proceeded to dig his grubby little hands into every neighbor's candy bowl. It was cute.

It was his first taste of candy and the boy went nuts. And then Mia shared her Fun Dip stick with him. Um yeeeeah....there's candy and then there's Fun Dip. Which is basically a sugar stick that you dip in more sugar. A mother's dream.

Happy Halloween!

Trick or Treat

2011-10-31T10:09:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween!

I've just smeared nutella all over my keyboard because...

2011-10-26T11:54:00.000-07:00

= HEAVEN!!

My Must Have Fall Accessory

2011-10-18T10:30:00.000-07:00

Forget knitted cowls and leather riding boots, this is my must have fall accessory!

That's right. Coffee-mate's newest addition to their winter line up is

Warm Cinnamon Sugar Cookie creamer.

Aaaahhh. Doesn't that just make you tingle?

By the time I got to the A in cinnamon my sweet tooth was already reaching in to grab one. The name says it all. In fact let's examine the name for a second. Take away the 'warm' and it's just a Cinnamon Sugar Cookie creamer. Not that appealing huh?

I say they were geniuses to add the warm. Give that person a promotion Coffee Mate!!!

So how does it taste? Delish. It's the perfect touch to my coffee and I was pleasantly surprised at how good it tasted in tea!

Our very own harvest hoedown!

2011-10-17T14:45:00.000-07:00

You guys, we had such a fun weekend. We threw a harvest party sleepover and I'm not sure who had more fun, all the kids running around or all the adults sitting, talking, drinking and eating.

From the moment Tanya and Camille arrived they found themselves hip hopping to Superbass and assisting Eugene in the kitchen as he whipped up his own fresh batch of pasta.

Now, that's fresh.

Then the Olsen's arrived along with a buffalo ranch dip, fudge brownies, and a tray of rice krispie treats. Oh how the indulgence began. So did the laughter.

About two bottles of wine later we headed up to the Children's Farm for some country fun.

I reckon I oughta get me some hay piles for the backyard since them there kids loved it so much!

Isn't this such a great picture!

Why does she always go for the pole?

Please don't answer! :)

Here Piggy, Piggy

Camille, the Baby Whisperer

Isn't Kallan the cutest?

Wanna pet my bunny?

That same caption is much creepier when next to this picture

And for their final destination, the children frolicked as they swam in a vat of cork kernels.

Confused, Mia?

The farm was a perfect getaway. The kids had a blast and our mission to tire them out early was a success. When we arrived home we feasted on another amazing meal by Eugene and proceeded to sit outside by the bonfire laughing for hours. P.S. Tiffany Olsen is the perfect party accessory. She had us all rolling!! And with so many speech alums around we convinced Camille to perform some late night speeches. She's awesome!

We all woke a little dazed the next morning, but perked up when 1) had a cup of coffee and 2) smelled what Eugene had brewing.

Yeah, see that avocado and carne asada breakfast skillet? It was awesome!

Thank you family and friends for making it such a memorable weekend. Until next time!!

Apple Mouthed Girls

2011-10-14T12:01:00.000-07:00

Gina and sitting in a tree.

K-I-S-S-I-N-G.

I'm telling you I've got some serious co-dependency issues with this website. My newest find also happens to be the greatest tasting snack ever! At first glance I thought my kids would totally love this because of how funny it looked. And boy did they!

Low and behold, the apple mouths.

But after the second day of making this as a snack I decided to actually taste it. Holy mother of pearl. These flavor combinations are awesome! There's something about the way the marshmallows and peanut butter react together and I'm telling ya, it's better than a caramel apple!

A sure hit! See?

Okay, so clearly my apple mouths turned out looking like some hillbilly apple mouths,
but you get the jist.

Ahoy Christoforo Colombo!

2011-10-12T14:53:00.000-07:00

I heard the sound of an old car alarm going off somewhere in the distance. I slightly opened my eyes, registered the amount of darkness outside and slammed my head back on the pillow. Surely, I have a solid three more hours of sleep. But that car alarm....it's just so annoying. Uh-oh. All of this thinking is beginning to wake me up. Stop thinking Gina. Stop. Go back to sleep. It must be 3AM.

And then, in a moment of hazy clarity it occurred to me that it's not a car alarm that I'm hearing, IT'S MY DAUGHTER.

Crapper.

Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom is all I could hear over the monitor. Then the fast foot steps down the hall. Before I had the chance to lock the door (j/k) she came barreling through

"Moooooom, I'm so excited for school. I'm so excited. SOOOOO EXCITED."

But child, I thought, it's dark. And really early. And why the hell are they giving you sugar cubes in your milk at snack time because this is clearly an unhealthy level of excitement.

Crap, crapper. I realized that I had to break the news that she didn't have school today because it was Christopher Columbus Day.

"Whaaaaaaat? No schoooool? But, I HAVE to go to school Mom. And who is Columbus?"

OH, FOR THE LOVE. IT'S TOO DAMN EARLY FOR A HISTORY LESSON. IN FACT NO TIME IS GOOD FOR A HISTORY LESSON, THAT'S WHY WE SEND YOU TO SCHOOL. BUT JACK NABBIT THERE'S NO SCHOOL TODAY!

I stretch. I yawn. "He discovered America. Well, sort of. He was an explorer from Italy or Spain, I dunno, one of the two, and came here with three boats, The Nina, The Pinta and The Santa Maria."

Bella thought for a moment then spoke very confidently, "I think you mean the Pinto."

Oh lord. Here we go.

Before I could even get a cup of coffee the argument over The Pinto vs. The Pinta went on for several minutes. My two other kids began to chime in and all of a sudden it was a history smackdown with a 5 year old, 3 year old and a 1 year old.

The only way I could make all the sound go away was to yell,

"Zoo? Who wants to go to the zoo?"

And there we were on our way to the Brookfield Zoo, along with every other parent in the Chicagoland area. But that's what I love about the zoo membership, I can go for two hours and leave a happy, tantrum free family. We usually pick about three different animals that we want to see and then leave for nap time, a perfect morning getaway. But on this particular day we accidentally spent all three hours in the Hamill Family Play Zoo. The weather was perfect!!!

We had our lunch on the bench

And played

I'm loving the bond that's growing between these two

Not kidding when I say we spent a good 25 minutes in this undiscovered corner

Face paint = make up to Mia!!!

And after some crafts and a little more exploring we, much like Christopher Columbus, packed up and headed west in our Santa Honda Mother Ship to rediscover our home territory. And nap. All of us.

Happy Columbus Day!

Excuses, Excuses

2011-10-10T20:29:00.000-07:00

Okay, let's just get right to it, shall we. There's a reason why I haven't blogged in awhile. Actually, ten of them. So, I present to you, my 3 faithful followers, the top ten reasons why I'm a lazy ass blogger:

10. I've been too busy eating these to blog. Which would almost always prompt a tooth ache. Which would eventually make me emotionally eat another handful. Vicious cycle candy corn is.

9. I was on the edge of my seat (on the couch, or the bed, or in the car) as I read this. Loved every single word of it. And it was on the last page that I realized it wasn't a stand alone book--oh no, there were three of them.

8. Which meant that I proceeded to spend as much time as I could find to finish reading the second book in her series. Which was very, very good. Not as good as the first but still really good.

Her third book is on hold at the library and I am chomping at the bits to get my hands on it. Thank you Tanya for recommending these.....it's put the fun back in fiction. Cuz seriously folks, I couldn't bear to read another page of Sarah's Key. It's just so SAD. I know I have to finish it, but these books were a nice distraction.

7. I've found myself chasing this little dude ALL OVER THE HOUSE. I should be more specific, because that almost sounds cute, as if it were all just a game of cat and mouse. Oh no, this dude causes major destruction. I swear to god, if Chance dumps the dog bowl out one more time or if I find one more random shoe swimming in the toilet I'm liable to handcuff him. Not really of course. But I just laughed at the thought of it. You have the right to remain...absolutely useless without your hands!!! Take that, sucka!

6. Another big blogging distraction? Mother Effing PINTEREST!!!

I am in love with this god forsaken time sucker. I could spend HOURS on this website just losing myself in pictures of food, crafts, fashion, architecture, even pot holders look exciting on this site. I love it, I love it, I love it. And to boot, my kids reap the benefits. Just the other night they were greeted at dinner with some spooky ooky mummy dogs. Here's the picture from Pinterest:

And here's mine:

Pretty neat way to eat a hot dog and a bun, right? And this next one? I mean, come on!!! Who wouldn't appreciate a piece of greasy bacon surrounded by a fluffy little pancake. DELICIOUS and CREATIVE!!

But this next one takes the cake! GENIUS, I SAY!

Why didn't I think of this before we connected 45 different plugs into our monster outlet that could potentially wipe out all the power on our block? This is an awesome idea. Now all I have to do is consume about 5 loaves of bread to acquire it.

6. We're in a Halloween frenzy over here. Decorating pumpkins, and ghosts and making some fun banners.

5. I've been glued to the TV, thanks to The X Factor. Seriously, I have a whole new love for TV again. And singing competitions. And TALENTED people with great stories. It's like the 5th season of Idol all over again. And Simon? I've actually missed you. This is going to be a good ride.

4. I've also spent a ton of time just keeping up with the pressures of kindergarten. For real. And she only goes half day. I'm totally screwed next year. This was taken on her picture day--HOURS before she actually smiled for the camera. I guarantee her school picture will not look nearly as cute. After ya know, sweaty recess and all.

3. I've also been busy being sad and lonely without Mia around. This is her first time in preschool and we decided to send her to school 5 days a week. I miss her. But I know this is a good experience. The other day the local fire department and ambulance stopped by her school to give the kids a tour. How cute, huh? I've never really touched on safety prevention with the kiddos (I always meant to), so I'm kinda glad they've got that covered.

She's "officially" a Junior Firewoman

2. Rather than spending quality time on the computer, I could also be found making out with this little guy. He is so kissable and so affectionate and so squishy. I just know this phase will pass so I'm milkin' it for all I can. I know, borderline inappropriate. Borderline.

1. With my favorite season of all upon us and AMAZING 75 degree weather, it's no wonder I'd rather be playing with leaves than blogging about it.

But excuses, schmexcuses. I'm back!!

Metamorphosis Part 1

2011-09-15T14:35:00.000-07:00

It was a hot and rather humid June day when we were driving around singing one of our signature car songs when at a red light, Bella noticed a butterfly in a bush along the roadside. Her singing stopped. I kept on.

If you're happy and you know it, snort like a pig. Oink, Oink.

"Mom? Mooooom?"

If you're happy and you know it, count to five.

"MOM!!! Didn't Santa bring us a butterfly and ladybug thingy for Christmas?"

If you're happy and you know it......oh crap! She's right. Gulp. That was SIX months ago.

Where the hell did I put that?

A few hours later no thanks to that damn roadside butterfly, I dusted off the Butterfly Garden and Ladybug Land and with a few keystrokes ordered us some live caterpillars and ladybug larvae.

A week or so later when they arrived, I shared in my daughters childish excitement. I mean it WAS exciting. How often do you get live animals delivered to your mailbox?

Forget my Ballards Design catalogue---these were awesome!

The caterpillars arrived in a little cup and the ladybug larvae arrived in a long tube which was to be dumped, gently, into the cute little Ladybug dome. Mia's definition of gentle is much different than the lovely folks at Insect Lore. But, alas, they made it into their dome.

Which sat at our table.

Where we eat.

The ladybug larvae looked like little teeny tiny alligators. Actually, like this:

And then, per the instructions, we waited.

And waited.

And waited a little bit more until one afternoon in a matter of minutes several caterpillars went from cute and fuzzy little tickle worms to a group of creepy ass Sigourney-esque alien pods.

Maybe it's me but something about this doesn't quite say, hey pull up a chair, let's have a bite to eat.

And before I knew it I had to remove them! I'm sorry, let me be more specific, I HAD TO CUT THE WEB OF FECES and silk that enveloped all around them.

Damn, you Santa.

And here they are, pinned to their mesh habitat, that took up almost half the table.

But hey Gina, how's those ladybug larvae doing over there in their swanked out super dome, you ask?

Well, they too are going through a big change. In fact, they have all assumed their spot on the inside of the dome where they will begin to shake, almost spasm if you will, turn a pale shade of white, create an outer covering and become pupas.

Biscuits, anyone?

But why take my word for it? Here's Bella and Mia's version:

5 days passed and sure enough, look who greeted us for breakfast, our very first adult ladybug!

And about 5 days after that, I shrieked in horror at what looked to me like a blood splattered episode of Dexter. Oh no! I thought for sure I killed them somehow.

But then I looked a little closer.

And sure enough, our first butterfly! And to my relief, after reading the instructions with a little more detail I learned that the red liquid was actually their meconium, their left-over color and unneeded tissues.

Pfew.

It was beautiful, actually.

Watching through my kids eyes, I saw how really amazing the whole process was. These were their butterflies. Their ladybugs, that they fed, that they sang to, that they cared for every day. I could see the sense of responsibility and pride that Bella and Mia had. Perfect little caregivers. But of course, that all went to shit when they started fighting over who gets the butterfly with the special pretty dots and who gets to be the mom of the funniest and super fastest ladybug in the bunch.

And that's exactly when I knew it was time.

Time to let go. Literally.

We packed up our little friends and headed off to a local nature conservatory. The girls found the prettiest patch of flowers and actually agreed (for a change) on a new home for their ladybugs.

So long little ladybugs! Dude, it felt like I was in an episode of The Wonder Pets.

We walked around the conservatory a bit...and they chose the butterfly garden as a perfect place to let their butterflies go.

I grow em' smart over here :)

It was precisely at this moment when I watched Bella unzip the butterfly habitat that I got a little emotional. I can't deny it. Nothing too dramatic really, just a small realization that one day these girls of mine will be mothers too. And have to care for and feed and nurture their own children.

What a treat that will be to watch.

Quickly, my moment was interrupted by four fluttering butterflies overhead. Although, the last butterfly seemed to have a little separation anxiety and spent several seconds on Bella before it finally flew away.

We all watched as they took off. Mia started into her goodbyes, very loud and for a very long time. I swear those butterflies were already in Wisconsin by the time she was done.

What an adventure.

"If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies."

Author Unknown

Bus stop envy

2011-09-06T14:25:00.000-07:00

So on Bella's second day of Kindergarten, Mia decided she wanted to dress "fancy" to wait with Bella for her bus to come. Oh, my sweet little middle child. This past week has been torture for her watching Bella use her backpack and get dressed for school and get her pictures taken and well, you get the point.

So when she chose her fancy bus stop outfit and actually asked her dad to take pictures, I couldn't help but smile. Her turn is tomorrow, and I am just as excited for her as I was for Bella. Even more so. This is her first time in school. Agghhh.

On a side note, I think I gave birth to the world's biggest three year old diva!

Top Chef

2011-08-31T13:45:00.000-07:00

So, in an effort to 1) teach her some cooking skills and 2) encourage her to use her newly healed arm (Bella broke her arm a month ago--yeeeaaahh...I'll blog about it some time next year) we busted out our Paula Deen's childrens cookbook and Bella decided she was going to cook Porcupine Balls for dinner.

Yes, Porcupine Balls. Doesn't sound appealing, now does it? Actually, this meal was really good. Like surprisingly good. It was also a sinch to make and our kids loved seeing what happened to the meatballs. A definite recommendation if you've got kids intrested in cooking. But the best part? It's the only Paula Deen recipe that doesn't include a stick of butter!

Here's the 411....

Ingredients:

1 lb. of lean ground beef
1 1/4 cups of uncooked white rice
1 tsp dried onion
1 tsp seasoned salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes with juice
1 10.5 oz. can of beef broth
_______________________________________

1. Turn the oven to 350 degrees

2. Put the ground beef in the mixing bowl. Measure 1/2 cup of the rice and put it in with the meat. Add the dried onion, seasoned salt, and Italian seasoning. Mix it all together with your CLEAN hands. Roll it into 8 or 9 golfball size balls of meat. NOTE: Bella wanted to instead make 20 smaller ones. Whatev!

3. Put the rest of the rice in the bottom of the baking dish. Pour in the tomatoes and the beef broth and stir with a spoon. Put the meat balls on top. Cover the dish tightly with foil.

4. Bake for about an hour. When you carefully remove the dish you'll see that the rice in the meatballs will have puffed up all around the meat looking like little porcupines!

And the result?

Bon Appetit!

Well, at least she has confidence!

2011-08-17T08:46:00.000-07:00

So one day I overheard Bella singing and the coach in me mentioned to her, "ya know Bella, the best singers sing with heart." She asked me what that meant and I replied, "to sing the words like you really mean it, to take your time and have control." Bella nodded her head and I could tell she was seriously thinking about the advice I bestowed on her.

And now, this is how she sings. Every single time.

Is that not the funniest thing you've ever heard? I'm telling you--it's the miracle cure. When I'm pissy or frustrated, I make her sing and all is well with the world--I can't help but laugh. Guffaw even. But of course, as silently as I can :)

And bless her heart, she tries to calm Chance down with her "amazing singing" all day long.

To top it off, she's now giving Mia singing lessons.

Lord help me.

Hiatus of Sorts

2011-08-16T13:14:00.000-07:00

Hey there, long lost friends. It's been awhile to say the least. More like the whole summer, huh? We've been housing a total of 13 different visitors since the beginning of July and while it's been extremely difficult to blog, we've been having an amazing time over here.

I have so many stories and so many pictures to share so hang tight. We are going out of town this weekend, but after that I will have more time on my hands. Bella starts kindergarten next week.....AAGGGH. Do you think I'll be that mom who chases after the school bus once it pulls away? I think I might.

And little Mia starts preschool in 2 weeks. We're all so excited for her and her new school. And Chance-oh my goodness-this guy is walking everywhere and getting into everything!

I promise I'll be back!

Happy 1st Birthday Chance!

2011-07-30T07:59:00.000-07:00

It's important to note that for the past 6 months the only thing that would stop Chance from crying would be either Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours" or the birthday song. And since the birthday song is a heckofa lot easier to sing we have sang the birthday song for Chance pretty much every day since February.....and today we actually meant it.

First of all, oh my god I've got a son (it still shocks me). And secondly, my son is ONE! It was a preciously perfect day for our little guy.

But before I get to that let's review shall we?

A year ago this little guy joined our family.

Hmmm, for some reason I can't seem to find his 7 month pictures? Maybe on some other SD card that is probably hidden somewhere in the dollhouse. I'll substitute a picture from that month:

and drumroll please.....

Oh my sweet, sweet sweet boy. Man I love this little dude.

Although, he is going to KILL me for the birthday hat below. I'm already kicking myself over it.

Check it, he looks like a birthday elf!

After removing the hat and pelting it across the room,

we decided to let him take out his frustration on something edible.

His first cake.

In hindsight, chocolate would have been a better wow factor for pictures.

I'm not actually sure he ate any of it. Mostly spreading it EVERYWHERE he could.

We ended the day singing him to sleep after the sugar high wore off.

Happy Happy Birthday little buddy!

Chance at 11 months

2011-07-20T14:47:00.000-07:00

Okay. Wow. I've actually found some time to sit down and write while there's still daylight out. That's a shocker. We've had quite the busy house in the past week or so. For starters Chance had his first birthday. Yay! And we also had him baptized as well. It's been a jam packed week. I have plenty of pictures to bore you with but before I get to that, I must, must, must post his 11 month pictures. I can't break the cycle now with only one month left.

So here goes.....

Banana Cinnasicles

2011-07-14T08:07:00.000-07:00

Hey there friends! So how's everybody enjoying their summer? We just recently went to an art fair in the city and I bought the girls a chocolate covered frozen banana and it brought back so many memories of making these as a child. I tweaked it a bit because I was too lazy to melt chocolate and frankly I wanted to save some calories as well. But, in the end they were a HUGE HIT!

All you need is a banana and a popsicle stick. First, I cut the bananas in half for each stick. Secondly, for added flavor we sprinkled some cinnamon and sugar all over it and popped it in the freezer.

Delicious!!!

Got any other great summer treat ideas? Please share!

My Country, Tis of Thee

2011-07-07T14:28:00.000-07:00

We had such a great 4th of July weekend this year. Well, did I expect anything less? My college roommate Tanya and friend Melody came to visit and the whole weekend was picture perfect. See?

Mia scored with a super cool birthday gift from Aunt Tanya, a Dora the Explorer snow cone maker. Which they LOVED! Thanks!

And about ten minutes after the kids were asleep we found ourselves laughing and reminiscing of days gone by. We threw calorie counting to the wind and truly lived from meal to meal, thanks to Eugene. I would have taken more pictures but I was too busy EATING to pick up the camera. Although, I did manage to snap this pic of Eugene's seafood paella.

Seriously, this is the kind of food he just "whips" up. If you ever plan to visit--make sure it's when Eugene is in town cuz all I can "whip" up is a PB&J! For realz.

We did manage to sneak out for an adult lunch where we gorged on Japanese beer and sushi rolls.

Scoring some major points with my kids, Tanya and Melody donned their aprons and they all baked a birthday cake for the United States of America.

And yes, they sang happy birthday. Not with this particular cake but at the red, white and blue waffles we had the next morning. Like I said, we ate a lot!

But the best part? The best part was when we got to watch Jerry McGuire. This was our movie. We knew every word in every scene and like no time had passed, we recited it yet again.

I looooove black people. Show me the money!!!

It's on instant Netflix, so go watch it now. It's just as good today as it was in 96'.

We also hit up our local 4th of July fest. Where the kids HAD to ride a train that went about 2 mph. They also HAD to jump in the bouncy and they most definitely HAD to ride the ponies.

It was great to be together again.

After a shared smoothie,

and an akward photo op with Max the clown,

they had their face painted.

Or in Bella's case her arm. It's a personal space thing.

Not only was it great spending some much needed adult time together but Tanya and Melody, you treated our kids as if they were a part of your family. And for that, we're so grateful.

It only took about 3 minutes of sizing Melody up on my care taker compatibility chart to know that she's a rockstar with kids. I mean look at this. Kid magnet!

Thanks girls for making it such a great weekend and of course

Happy Birthday to You. S.A.!

Planetary Talk

2011-06-27T20:41:00.000-07:00

ACT 1

SCENE 1

(A young, happy girl skips down the hall towards her bedroom. In another room her mother sits motionless and stares at computer. Displays amazing parenting skills while the other 2 children play on the floor around her. The skipping girl freezes the moment she enters her room and sees it.)

BELLA

Mom! Mom! Come quick!

MOTHER

(Enthralled with computer mother doesn't hear child. Child screams louder.)

BELLA

Mommmmmm! Uranus is on the floor! Oh no!

MOTHER

(Snapping out of coma mother stares into space and tilts her head as she questions what she thought she heard. Child yells louder.)

BELLA

It's real bad Mom! Uranus is broken!!!! Oh mom, come here now, I can only find half of Uranus.

MOTHER

(Laughs out loud and rushes toward the bedroom.)

BELLA

(Child drops to knees. Starts crying out.)

Uranus! Uranus! Mom, Uranus split in half!

MOTHER

(Mother looks for hidden camera. She studies

grief stricken child. Decides to comfort her.)

Bella, it may be difficult, but I think we can fix Uranus.

BELLA

(Smiles. Obviously thrilled with the news. Begins to speak.)

Can we glue Uranus back together?

MOTHER

(Guffaws.)

Why, yes Bella, I think that'll do the trick.

(Blackout.)

10 months of Chance

2011-06-19T16:48:00.000-07:00

Look at this growth spurt!

The dude is growing like crazy.

And as you can see from these pics, he does NOT want to sit still.

And he's always on the run.

Except of course, when he gets stopped by headlights.

POTTY WEEK!

2011-06-14T21:58:00.000-07:00

Of all the parental mistakes I have made in the past 5 years pushing Bella to potty train at the age of 2 was my biggest. Like a true jackass, I ignored her pediatrician's repeated suggestions that I should wait till she was 3. "No way Doc, my child's TOTALLY ready and I REALLY don't want to have 2 children in diapers and I'm CERTAIN that she won't regress when Mia's born."

Yadda, yadda, gag me yadda.

What a superficial idiot I was. I pushed her too hard. And she pushed me back by wizzing on the couch :) and we both ended up frustrated. As a first time parent I had way too high of expectations. But in the end, I figured it out. Grasping the concept that humans pee in a toilet is completely different than having control over your body. But somehow I blurred that line and I promised myself to do it differently the next time around.

For the past 4 months Mia has been randomly going #1 and #2 in a toilet. Great. But it didn't mean that she was ready, it just meant that she was understanding the concept. In fact, I've actually been putting off potty training with her because for the life of me I couldn't seem to get my shit together enough with 3 kids to maintain any kind of consistency with her. For the parent, it's not easy folks. It takes constant reminding, tactical planning when you're out of the house and a ton of patience. All of which I haven't possessed since Chance was born.

So I planned a strategy, I knew that when the time would come I would probably need more motivation than she would so I figured a big production would benefit us both. For the past couple months I've been hyping Mia up for "Potty Week" a week-long celebration marking her new big girl status. We talked about the big girl underpants we'd shop for, we talked about the balloons we'd get and the big "potty party" at the end of the week. Complete with big girl cupcakes. She got so excited, but I told her that she wasn't ready yet but that she was soooo close. I persuasively convinced her that she would know when she was ready.

Last week, she woke up with a dry pull-up and told me she was ready for Potty Week.

No turning back Gina, seize it, embrace it-she's come to you!

I took a deep breath and knew it meant that I needed to get my act together fast. And several hours later, there we were in Target picking out every licensed panty on the shelves. Rapunzel being the most coveted of course. We went out to lunch and talked about what it meant to be a big girl. And somehow, she managed to mature right there in front of me.

We told everyone we met that it was Potty Week and she was congratulated by the local librarian all the way to the manager of Noodles and Company. She felt so confident and was on cloud nine ALL WEEK!

I was doing pretty good too. Granted, for the first couple days I needed to set a timer to remind myself to take her regularly. But towards the end of the week I too was settling into our new routine. Although the huge whopping banner I made kept me on track too!

I'd encourage Bella to take her as well and would toss a couple M&M's their way when they were done. We made crafts in honor of her new status.

We'd sing our "big girls pee-pee in the potty" song to the tune of "Big Girls Don't Cry"

every time she was done.

And as promised, we decorated with balloons.

My parents came over every day after work to congratulate her and gave the kids little gifts as rewards. We'd celebrate with ice cream or by going to her favorite park.

Anything to make her feel proud of herself.

And you know what happened, I witnessed fewer tantrums. She was less aggressive with Chance, in fact even took on more of a "big sister" role with him. She talked things out with me instead of flying off the handle. She grew up--- all because we gave her the opportunity to do so. Treat a child like a child and they'll act like one. Give a child a chance to shine and grow and they'll do just that.

I'm happy to report that she's doing AWESOME. Just when I think a new challenge comes up and she can't handle it- I stop, I take a breath and I give her that chance to succeed, and she has.

Except when she randomly flashes her new panties, yeah, still working on that one.

A day with Thor

2011-06-06T19:36:00.000-07:00

It's about that time again. That time when I get so fed up with my own hair that the only option I see is to cut the heck out of it. I always get to this point and crumble. Why? WHY? Why can't I embrace my long-ish locks and make it look like a decent head of hair? Why does my hair have to be as thin as tooth floss? Why am I like 80% gray, already????

TIME FOR A CHANGE!!!

This weekend, I have an appointment at a fancy-schmancy salon in Chicago. Like, they have valet parking! My sister, who has faithfully cut and colored my hair for the past 8 years thought I would really enjoy getting pampered in a salon for once. And I agreed. And I'm sooooo excited.

While browsing the list of stylists to chose from I was bombarded with bios and photos and I ended up making my decision based on one thing and one thing only, his trademark is a 10 minute head massage at the end. Um, yeah! I don't know about you but that sounds to me like a coupon! What, what!!

His name is Thor, people, which I assume means he's pretty serious. In fact, here's Thor now

Does he look like the kind of stylist that I want to strike up a semi-meaningless conversation knowing that I'll probably never step foot in the salon again? Or do I shut up and give him the space he needs to creatively work his magic? Hmmm....

And what to wear? Really, I can't go in there looking like a Kohls/Old Navy MOM. Those city slicksters will point and laugh. Such decisions. But the most important decision I'm dealing with is--what to do with my hair?

I'm thinking about Chelsea Kane's cute little hairstyle? What do you think?

Isn't it cute and sassy?

Here's what I assume is the only other way to wear this cut, with a bit of a feathered curl.

I'm also getting my hair colored. Again, not sure what I'm going to choose. I tend to go lighter in the summer because it makes dying my grays easier, a lot easier.

Okay, enough with the self righteous post already, but honestly friends, what should I do?

Graduation Day

2011-06-03T07:05:00.000-07:00

Daaang, preschools are pretty hard core!

Not sure if they've always been that way since this is my first time experiencing it but I tend to think so since recently Bella graduated from Pre-K. Like a real graduation ceremony. With caps and gowns and all! Sure it was a mens dress shirt worn backwards but the point is still the same--the idea that they've successfully completed a stage and are moving on to a better, more challenging one.

It was actually sweet. I really think the children understood the concept and the importance of it. I remember last year when I was SUPER preggers and crying at all the pre-k graduates at Bella's 2010 end of the year celebration, thinking that will be my Bella next year, sniffle sniffle.

Well, here she is. A graduate.

It seems silly at such a young age but think about it, if she plays her cards right, she will experience 4, maybe 5 graduation ceremonies in her lifetime. That's not a lot. And each one will have such a different meaning to her.

She'll be a different Bella at every one.

But today? Today Bella was full of poise and excitement to be standing up there with her classmates. Each student received a character award and Bella received the "confident and attentive" award. Awe, so proud! Then the teacher announced what she wanted to be when she grew up. And to our surprise Bella wanted to be a doctor. Score! Parent win for sure.

But believe me, I started sweatin' a bit thinking she might say Ke$ha.

My favorite answer was a boy in her class who wanted to be a stay-at-home-dad. Another parent win! As I watched the kids on the stage I recounted some of my favorite memories from the past 2 years. Memories of her first day of school when her backpack was too heavy for her to hold.

Or when I could barely recognize her as the goat whisperer during her live nativity,

or when her preschool class put on a performance for Grandparents Day.

or when Bella's Lolo (Grandpa) from California got to be the guest speaker for her class!

Such happy memories.

Her teachers have been awesome too. Let's see, her first year she had Miss Brenda

and Miss Veronica

and her second year she had Miss Carrie

and Miss Marianne.

A huge thanks goes out to all four of these amazing ladies

for their patience and leadership over the years!

Here are a few of the highlights from her graduation ceremony.

On our way home we talked about her wanting to be a doctor and she told us that she wanted to be a doctor who works in the Winter and Spring but stays home during the Fall and Summer. We couldn't help but smile. Because, really? How GREAT would that life be!

Congratulations Bella!

And Summer begins

2011-05-30T23:15:00.000-07:00

This Memorial Day weekend didn't turn out as bad as we thought it would. Sure, we were on a house lock-down from severe thunderstorms ALL weekend. But not today. Today was 91 degrees and sunny. Yes, sunny. It seemed that no matter what time it was it looked like 9PM for three days straight, so the thought of a hot and sunny day was perfect.

To start our summer off right, we hit up a Chicago area beach. Bella and Mia were so excited. Since Chance was born smack dab in the middle of the summer last year they only went to the beach once. And I've felt bad about that ever since so I'm trying this summer to make it up to them.

They played....

and played

and played.

Running back and forth carrying teeny tiny little buckets of water. Come to think of it, I might want to splurge next time and buy them a decent size sand bucket not ones the size of urine cups. But hey, they didn't mind. Well, at least for the first hour.

Even Chance had a ball. This pic was taken about three seconds before he grabbed a handful of sand and ate it.

Good times. Good times.

Speaking of good times, can you see the amount of sand covering Bella's skin? Every single sand particle that you see can currently be found on the floor of our car.

Like I said, good times.

We capped off our afternoon with a Dora ice cream cone that melted before Mia even had a chance to say gracias.

FINALLY, summer is here!

Mia's Day

2011-05-27T22:19:00.000-07:00

This year, Mia's birthday fell on Mother's Day and truthfully, I couldn't think of a better way to spend my day than celebrating 3 years of her precious life.

The kids woke up rather early so I stumbled into their room, snuggled under the covers in Mia's bed and watched as all three of them played happily. It started with a wardrobe change of course, then a game of "restaurant" where Mia was so proud of her cupcake idea.

Look- it's literally a cup cake, get it? It took me awhile too--I mean I was half asleep. Then the birthday girl demanded that Chance order her cupcake from the imaginary menu that she handed him. But he was too focused on his plastic toast at the time.

The next course was a vegetable soup, duh?!

I love watching them play. I wish I did it more often--actually watching instead of taking my eyes off of whatever I'm doing and glance-up to confirm that they're both alive and well. I thought about that as I laid in the bed that morning. This is their prime time--I've got to soak it up before it's too late.

Our simple little play food set has seen so many memories over the past 5 years. What other toy has the ability to withstand DAILY play and still maintain interest after FIVE YEARS?

We scored on that one.

But of course, "restaurant" got boring. So they moved on to the world's largest slinky.

Which is a prized possession of theirs because their Dad "the hero" won it for them

in a rest stop crane game. He's such a sucker for the crane game--and truthfully, has a pretty good track record with it. What gives?

I crawled out of Mia's bed, yawned and stretched and headed to the kitchen for some breakfast. A birthday wouldn't be a birthday without our famous pancakes. Which, btw here's my secret, add a bit of almond extract into your pancake batter--you'll love it!

Mia was so excited. Mark my words, a 3rd birthday is a big one. It really means something to them. Not that her 2nd bday didn't---but there's a difference here. A sense of self recognition and self confidence occurs. It's so sweet. It was the same with Bella too.

It took about three minutes after breakfast for Mia to get dressed up for her big day.

For her birthday menu Mia had 2 requests, ham and cheese sandwiches and churros. Not just any churros--Costco churros.

How hilarious and random is that?

Funny story there because we all thought for about 10 minutes that she wanted Cheerios. Costco cheerios. But I was thrown back since I have never bought Cheerios from Costco. She was so frustrated and then like a light in my head it dawned on me that she said CHURROS. You should have seen her excitement when she was understood.

Just to be understood.

So Top Chef Eugene took her culinary requests as a challenge and proceeded to prepare 3 courses all of which had ham and cheese. First up, ham and gouda paninis. Second course was a tortellini with pancetta and cream. And finally, honey baked ham and potatoes au gratin. Yum, yum and more yum. Granted, a tad heavy for a 3 year old party but that's Eugene for ya.

Not surprisingly, she barely ate. Maybe it was the thought of her cake looming over her head. Mia made it very clear that she wanted a princess cake this year and since our resident cake boss Gabe was in Jamaica at the time, we relied on Walmart.

And--omg---they make some AWESOME cakes. Just look at this!

The castle and figurines are non-edible which means she scored a little present too.

Look at shifty little Bella in the bottom left hand corner. Busted.

I couldn't light the darn thing fast enough--check out the amount of frosting on her face and grubby little fingers prior to blow-out.

And not surprising Bella couldn't hold out much longer--she jumped in on the action too.

Oh my frosted-toothed little 3 year old. This is a framer. One to show your prom date for sure.

Mia opened her presents and loved the bicycle we got her. But really Uncle CW got the award for best gift since she spent the rest of her birthday flipping away the new hair from her Rapunzel wig.

Dude, this wig sheds more than my dog!

After a long day, Eugene and I tucked in an exhausted little 3 year old with a hug,

a kiss and an I love you.

Happy 3rd Birthday, my sweet and sassy and smart little Mia!

Holy crap Chance is 10 months old

2011-05-25T22:18:00.000-07:00

But this is not his 10 month anniversary picture--nope-- haven't taken those pics yet. I'm thinking I'll get to it somewhere around his first birthday, cuz I'm really organized like that.

This is his 9 month anniversary, on our first day in Paris.

You guys, I know a lot of parents say this about their kid but I'm serious this little guy is an angel. A perfect angel--always has been. I know someday the tides are going to turn but for now

I'm basking in all his glory.

His sweet three toothed glory.

Holding this little guy feels so good. The moment I lift him up and put my arms around him I feel something change inside me--a feeling deep inside--pure endearment, I think.

Every single time.

His smell. His skin. His hair.

I'm so in love.

MOH

2011-05-23T08:29:00.000-07:00

For my sister Christine's wedding I was honored when she asked me to be her Maid of Honor. Technically, Matron of Honor because I'm married but that just sounded...oh I dunno...old!

So instead, I settled on "MOH" for short. Ahh, much better.

What an exciting journey it's been, from the bachelorette party to the big day, I am filled with memories that I'll always cherish. I even think our friendship grew stronger and for that I'm so grateful. For the past year I've watched as you tirelessly organized your European wedding down to the last detail. You worked so hard to make sure that EVERY single person attending would feel special. And everyone did Christine! It's not easy planning an Italian wedding, but you did it effortlessly.

Some of my unforgettable moments are....

Watching the royal wedding while we got ready for your royal wedding.

Laughing and mumbling curse words under our breaths as we smiled OVER and OVER again as Eugene took the pictures. We may look sweet in this picture but don't be fooled!

Walking you through the rain to the church, trying to keep you as dry as possible and trying my damndest not to monopolize the umbrella.

Spending those last few precious moments with you.
You were so calm and looked so beautiful.

A perfect bride.

Thank you Christine for including me in your celebration and thank you for including my daughters.

They loved being a part of it.

Even Mia, despite her resistance.

Your wedding was magical. But what stood out the most, was the honesty that you and Chris share.

I adore you both, and the love you have for each other is infectious!

I foresee a lifetime of laughter and love in your future--the perfect combination.

Christine, my loyalty to you doesn't end just because the wedding did. No, in fact, it's only just begun. Many new and challenging experiences lie ahead for your new family and

I'll be there at your side every step.

I can't wait to watch what's in store for you two.

And please, never forget how truly blessed you are!

In lieu of giving a toast at the wedding I decided to go a different route,

I created a little movie of their story. A puppet show of sorts.

And here it is. I hope you enjoy but fyi-- it's an 8 minute commitment.

And if you've got a glass nearby, raise it up and let's all toast to the happy couple!

Congratulations Christine and Christopher Nolan