Haul out the holly....

....put up the tree before my spirit falls again, fill up the stocking, I may be rushing things but...deck the halls again now...for we need alittle Christmas...right this very minute.......

Ah...the sweet words I remember singing in the chorus at St. Anthony's....one of my all time favorite Christmas songs...

The semester ended on the 12th with a final that many of my students are trying to forget about right now....and the preparation for Christmas began...

We got our Christmas tree, decorated the house, finished shopping, wrapped all the presents, spent the the past few days making Christmas cookies, pierogi and fruitcake (thanks to a nice snow day on Friday), had a visit from Santa & Mrs. Claus...and I believe we are just about ready for Christmas. The kids have thoroughly enjoyed playing in the snow the past three days. Maybe it will be a White Christmas???
Enjoy the pics.....and have a blessed Christmas...hope Santa is good to everyone!

Yes, that is a pierogi in each hand...

What an exciting month!

Since November has come and gone, we figured we'd post an update!
The weekend of November 15-16 we celebrated Gabriella and Thomas' birthday with the family. We barely got cleaned up from that party before we had Gabriella and Thomas' birthday party with friends. They made it VERY easy on me this year....they both agreed to a gymnastics party and the facility (where they both take gymnastics class) did EVERYTHING! I believe all the kids had a blast! After the party Nana and Papa stopped by and thought Christmas happened!

The kids spent the next few days playing with their new toys before we headed out to Long Island for Thanksgiving. We actually headed to NYC (Roosevelt Island) Wednesday night and crashed with my cousin. The kids went to sleep around midnight (my party animals!) and were woken up around 6:00 a.m. in order to catch the subway for a "good spot" to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Both of my children and my husband had their first ever subway ride (and no, the threat of the subway being blown up did not deter us...well it scared the crap out of me but my cousin blew it off so I figured it was "safe") We left Jen's around 7:00 and by 7:30 we found a good spot on the corner of 39th & Broadway and proceeded to wait for 2 1/2 hours for the parade to "start" at our location. Both kids for the most part were good...once the parade started, the wiggled their way up to the baracade and had front row spots! I think they high-fived EVERY clown that walked by. Besides being awed by the size of the balloons, Gabriella was beyond excited that Miley Cyrus was on a float (yes there is a picture below) I personally was excited to see Trace Adkins and David Archuleta! Once the parade ended we hopped the subway back to Jen's to get changed and head out to Long Island for Thanksgiving dinner. The time we spent at Grandma and Grandpa's was fun filled with playing Wii, trip to the playground and a dinner out for Gabriella's 7th birthday (Friday was her actual birth date). We headed home on Saturday so that I could prepare my second to last lecture and my last lab for the semester (woohoo...the end is in sight!)

Sunday (11-30) we welcomed a new member of our family....for those that don't know....Miss Heather's mother and father have kittens that need a home. I was sold immediately and after some time to "think" about it...Tom agreed to get a kitten. It was an early Christmas present to both kids from mommy and daddy. So around 1:00 on Sunday, Miss Heather and her parents arrived with their "present". I think they both were in disbelief....but have enjoyed the kitten thoroughly. She is a cute kitten and likes to cuddle with people. She also provides us with entertainment as we play with her because she will jump rather high to catch her toys. We still need a name for her so any suggestions are welcomed! Thomas' list is Licorice, Stripes, Wrinkles, Dragon and Tree. Gabriella's list is Sweetie-Pie, Cuddles, Cutie and Whiskers. Apparently we are having a hard time coming up with a "goood" name that both kids can agree on.

We hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy the next few weeks as we all prepare for Christmas. Check back soon for updates!

Fun Times

We have been keeping busy but having lots of fun!

This past Sunday, I took my girl scout troop to Great Wolf Lodge. Five girls went and we had a blast! We arrived there at 12:00 and departed at 6:00. A buffet dinner was included and was absolutely delicious! Below are some pictures of Gabriella.

By now, everyone should know who Miss. Heather is. If you don't, you obviously don't keep up to date on the blogs...

Anyway, Miss Heather's parents got tickets to the Martha Stewart Show and invited me. Once I made arrangements for pick up for both children, I happily agreed! We departed at 4:30 this morning and arrived in NYC just about 7:00. We found a Starbucks, relaxed for a few minutes before lining up for the show. We were let into the building at 8:30 or so and the fun began! We tapped one show from 10:00-11:00 and then were asked to stay to record the first segment that will be aired at a later date. Below are some pictures of my trip to see Martha Stewart...and my dad even watched it since I was there! Enjoy the pics!

Happy Halloween!

I have always viewed Halloween as the start of the "holiday season" and a special time of the year....although I must say I'm a tad disturbed that the radio station started to play Christmas songs last night!

Before we know it, it will be Thomas' birthday followed by Thanksgiving then Gabriella's birthday. Then, just a few short weeks after all of that excitement is Christmas and the New Year. I have always enjoyed the fall and winter but since having children, I find myself delighting in these months even more so than when I was a child (except when it snows in October, like this past Tuesday!). I find that with each passing year Gabriella and Thomas show more interest and enjoyment in the special activities that can only be done at this time of year. The pumpkin patch is the same year after year for me but with each passing year, there is a new discovery for both my children. Carving pumpkins is carving pumpkins with the same pattern since 2001 but it's thrilling for my children as they are allowed to finally "cut" their own pumpkins. It's these moments that make me take a step back and think how wonderful it is to be a parent, how exciting it is to watch them grow and develop and truly enjoy the simplest things in life.

The day started off at o'dark early as we bagged Gabriella's treats for her party at school. At 9:15 we found ourselves standing along Main St. surrounded by tons of other parents anxious to watch our children march in their annual Halloween parade. Gabriella came out with a great big smile, singing her Halloween songs she has learned and so diligently practiced the past several weeks (let's say nightly at dinner where both children try to out-sing each other). At 9:30 we took the stroll down a few blocks to Thomas' Pre-K where his singing and parade began promptly at 9:45. After the parades, both children headed into their schools where they had a Halloween party until it was time to be dismissed.

Gabriella was dismissed at 12:30 today. Upon arriving home, the pumpkins were placed on the table, the patterns were chosen and we all began the annual pumpkin carving. When the sun totally set, we headed out for some trick or treating!

I find it rather comical that upon entering school, Thomas informed his teacher that he went to the gym last night and worked out to get his muscles....oh the things kids say!

Gabriella finished up her soccer season this past weekend. She played in 2 games this past Sunday. Needless to say, she was exhausted from all the running when we returned home. Her coach did a wonderful job this season and a great example of a coach that cares about the child having fun and learning some skills.

Enjoy the pictures and look back for more updates!

What is October really?

Breast Cancer Awareness Month? Fire Safety Prevention Month?

No, no, you are wrong. Apparently it's National Dessert Month! Since my children are deprived and only get dessert on Thursday when Miss. Heather is around, I was informed by my parents that October is National Dessert Month and I should feed my children dessert nightly. Knowing I wouldn't, my children received a package in the mail with a cookie pie in it! Needless to say they were thrilled and enjoyed every bite!

At school this past week, Thomas learned the letter "H". On Friday, it was "Hiliarious Hair Day" at school and Thomas opted for spikes! I'm glad we didn't get his hair cut yet!

With the beautiful weather today and the colorful leaves, we headed out to Quiet Valley Historical Living Farm in Stroudsburg for their annual Fall Harvest Festival. We arrived there at 10:00 and returned home at 5:00. The kids are exhuasted but they had a blast. Some of the highlights include: making butter, making ice cream, watching pottery being made, watching quilts being made, watching an old fashioned apple cider press, watching rye straw get braided to make a hat, watching candles being dipped and the list goes on. Additionally, we took a wagon ride pulled by 2 draft horses. My Long Island came out in me as I sat with utmost fear about 2 horses pulling a wagon full of people DOWN hills! Not to mention the nice edge of the path we were on! I'm too use to wagon rides on FLAT land! Gabriella and Thomas had two favorites today! The first was the one room schoolhouse. The teacher was very good in her role and both kids were a bit taken back by the rules and expectations! It was very funny to see their faces when they were corrected on their seating posture at their desk! We even had a history/geography quiz in which Gabriella answered the question of "Which river in PA flows in the Chesapeake?" (Answer: Susquehanna). Thomas answered a question correct too. His was "How many states are there in The United States?" (Please remember we are in the early 1900's so his answer of 44 was correct!) Their other favorite was the children's games. There were lots of "parlor toys/games" in addition to group games that were played on the farm. Life was so much simplier back in the day....

The guy in this video owns a bee farm and was fantastic at involving the audience to act how a bee hive works. Gabriella, Thomas and Tom were bees that went out to get the pollen. It was very cute...hope you enjoy it!

Tom & Tommy

Here's a brief update on the boys...

Tommy finished up his soccer season yesterday (October 4th). He received his trophy and was beyond thrilled! Here's a picture and a brief video of him with his trophy.

Onto Tom....

He has been working very hard on the deck. It's coming along and both the kids and myself are enjoying the fact that we can sit on it! We'll probably finish this deck up within the next few weeks and start the pool deck (which will come off of this deck) in the early spring. All we need now is some furniture...as my children ask almost daily "Can we eat outside on the deck?".

Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the fall.