birthday wishes

Happy birthday to my little brother! Crazy how the years have flown by, isn't it? Seems like just yesterday I was beating the crap out of you - HAHA.

Trevor is married and has a lovely little family, with one more on the way. He is a personal trainer and owns his own business . He keeps busy with all kinds of physical activity, not an ounce of fat on this boy...it's making me tired and reaching for the M&M's just thinking about it. Trevor works hard and plays hard. He has done well for himself. I am proud of you little bro, even if you are a pain in the butt sometimes! Have a great b-day! love you -h

Trevor doing one of he many things he does so well !

bad auntie

Happy belated birthday to my sweet little niece, Sophia. She just turned 2, I thought today, yesterday. Hope your day was extra good little girl. Can't wait to see you!!!

uss freedom

that's Gabe in the front row with his arms up in the air...nice

I desperately tried to discourage Gabe from joining Cub Scouts. Why? Because it requires a ton of parent involvement, which frankly I was not sure I could handle. I've come to accept my "bad mom" status when it comes to activities. Running every night and weekend is something we've tried to avoid with the "one activity" rule. With any luck, that activity will not put me in the concession stand or working a carnival booth. When Gabe said no to every other activity offered as a Cub Scout alternative, we sucked it up and committed ourselves to weekly pack/den meetings and an onslaught of activities on top of that. I begrudgingly signed up as "secretary" to avoid being chief popcorn sales girl, pine derby officiant and all star decorator at the plethora of awards banquets. You see, secretary gets you off the hook for all other volunteer duties. As it should be, since I've spent hours making spreadsheets and emailing people about dues and forms. That said, the "bad" part hasn't been that bad.

Now for the good. My little boy is really quite good at walking up to strangers doors and requesting a contribution to his pack by way of buying overpriced popcorn (note, he only got 3 "no thank you's"). He politely requested we stay in the car on delivery day, "I can handle it". When duty calls, aka there's a meeting, he proudly and quickly (which is impressive for Gabe) dons his uniform, "ready to go". Last night at 5:15 I got a voice mail message (I don't check my voice mail much) that if I could get Gabe into town by 6:00, in uniform, he could tour the USS Freedom The ship is not doing public tours while docked here, so what a great opportunity. He loved it! Especially when he got to announce to the entire ship, "Commander, please dial 3003". HA!

Moral of the story perhaps, don't knock it until you try it? More importantly, lessons learned... appreciate the little things and learn to laugh more and complain less. That can help make life oh so good :) Happy Monday!!!

fancy footwork

Today Ava attended a b-day party for her friend, Kasey and Kasey's sister, Charlotte. I invited myself to stay and take pictures. Too many came out fuzzy :( I did manage to come up with a couple keepers. The party was at a local dance studio...so creative and so fun. I believe the girls had a rockin' birthday! Happy Birthday Kasey and Charlotte! Thanks for having us!!!

check out this sweet cake Carla made!

Kasey

Charlotte

Kasey and Ava...the drama queens...they are quite the pair


yes, her hair is real

party's over...36 tired feet tromp home...

cold weather recipe

Amy asked me to forward her my recipe for chicken noodle soup , so why not blog it? Then I only have to type it once! It is delicious, if I do say so myself. I stole it off the back of a bag of noodles many years ago.

Chicken & Kluski Noodle Soup
(what is Kluski you ask...a generic Polish name for all kinds of dumplings without a filling...I learn something every day)

4 C cubed cooked chicken or turkey
1.5 C chopped celery
1.5 C chopped onion
3 T margarine or butter
12 C water
1.4 C diced carrots
.5 t pepper
3 - 4 T chicken - flavor instant bouillon
1 t dried basil or marjoram leaves
12 oz package of Creamette Kluski Egg Noodles (uncooked)*

In 6 quart Dutch oven or large kettle, over medium heat, cook celery and onion in butter until tender; add water, chicken, carrots, pepper, bouillon, and marjoram. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat; reduce heat to medium and cook covered 15 minutes. Add noodles: cook 15 minutes longer or until noodles are tender.

*Note - I do not use the Creamette brand, but a local brand, Alberto's, of noodles that comes in a clear bag with green and red writing. They are wonderful!

It's going to be a cold weekend! Make some soup and bundle up!

taking pictures

I have been messing around with photography for about 8 years now. Joe bought me my first Nikon SLR (film) camera. I took some classes, got in the dark room, then got pregnant and set the thing down, reaching for the digital point and shoot instead. Since then I've upgraded to digital SLR and tried to refresh my knowledge of general concepts of photography, exposure, etc. I'm proud to say I'm back in the "M" mode on my camera. I so want to be good at taking pictures! It's not easy, but if you take enough pictures, you're bound to get one or two good ones. At least in theory.

Getting your shooting done in the right light is huge. If you wait until it's warm out and catch the noon sun, you are screwed. So I forced my kids to shower on a Saturday morning, change into clothes they didn't pick themselves (this is just asking for a meltdown), and trek out to the middle of a field across the road from us. Camera, lenses, tripod, blanket in hand out the door into the 45 degree morning we went. I was so disappointed when the golf cart (yes, we have a golf cart) wouldn't start...cold hands, runny noses, 2 hours and 200 shots later we were done. They were actually great sports. Taking pictures of your kids isn't always easy because you get frustrated with them a lot easier than any other subject. For example, "put the stick down, Gabe, put the stick down, PUT THE G#@D#@# STICK DOWN!" Yeah, it's super fun going out shooting with Mommy! Anyway, here's a sample of what I came up with.

The expressions just crack me up on this one. How did he know what her face looked like?

Here's what happens if you don't get the "good light". Nothing you can do to get rid of the tree shadows.

No passing zone

And check out all the pumpkins!

wow i'm old

Yesterday I turned 37. Wow, that is frighteningly close to 40. My mom must feel really old! I did have a great day though, aside from working that is. I got an early happy birthday call (song included) from my friend Robin, followed by a special floral delivery (thanks Robin!!!). A beautiful bouquet from Tara and delicious lunch at Hacienda to boot (so much for my noon workout...please pass the chips and salsa!) Joe got me a new lens for my camera. I sort of "helped" him pick it out, and it conveniently arrived right on my birthday. Thanks babe! My kids made lovely cards and gave me extra hugs and kisses! Trevor caught me with a quick call before I headed out the door to dinner that Joe arranged (with maybe a little help from Tara?) with Tara and Charlie at the Scenic. Oh so yummy! Not to mention some sweet gifts from my mom (thank you!!!) and Tara (love everything!) Another year older and maybe a tad wiser? I would like to think so. I appreciate the little things more each day and try to not take them for granted. Great friends & family, good food & wine, some pretty flowers...those things make me happy. Thanks again everyone for making my day special.

family fun

Joe's sister, Jolie, her husband, Roger, our nieces, Heidi and Haley and nephew, Roger Jr., stayed with us this weekend. Haley was on a mission to get her first deer of the season. The mission would have been more easily accomplished if you kept your eyes open Haley!

Hunting = shopping in my book. Luckily Jolie follows the same rules. We had a great day at the mall. Ava and Heidi were troopers and kept up the whole day. We even managed a quick stop at the park. Meanwhile Gabe and Roger Jr. rode dirt bikes until they could ride no more.

Thanks for coming guys!

Heidi and Ava posing by the river

another weekend...

What a great weekend! Many of our friends and family spent the day on Saturday celebrating Miss Ava's birthday. We had a great time (mojito anyone?), and what a gorgeous day. Thank you everyone for coming, and extra thanks to all those who helped us pull off another party. My brother and his family along with my parents spent the entire weekend. It was great to catch up and kick back. If only weekends could be longer. Thanks for coming guys! Looking forward to seeing you all in November!

Ava had a fashion themed birthday party. Check out this sweet purse cake!

She got no less than 25 new dress up outfits for her birthday this year - yeah eBay! Anyone who has been to our house and seen Ava in action knows exactly what she is doing in this picture. She's looking at the fireplace and checking out her reflection . She's been doing it since she could stand, I swear. Looking good, Ava!

Don't forget the hat!!!

Last, but not least, my sweet niece Sophia. What a cutie pie!

my baby is turning 5

Five years ago today I was on my way to work and called Joe to tell him that I was pretty sure the contractions I was having were real. I came into work and let my boss know "I think I'm in labor, but I've got an appointment at 9:00, so we'll see." Saw the doctor at 9. Yes, the contractions are real, dilated to a 2, "can I go back to work to finish a few things up?", NO. By around 3:30 (no, I don't remember the exact time, that happens with kid #2) little Miss Ava Catherine was born. Now I'm the proud mommy of an adorable, sweet, ambitious, fun-loving, dramatic little princess. I wonder on a regular basis what happened to my baby? Could she stay little just a little bit longer? She reminds me regularly though, "I'll always be your baby, Mom". I love you so much, sweet Ava. Have a wonderful Birthday! ~mommy