Organized Chaos...

Rites of Summer...

2010-07-19T11:25:00.006-04:00

We have many rites of Summer, such as making a trip to the water park, attending a fireworks show, making s'mores, attending a baseball game, going to a carnival, etc. etc. etc.

One of my favorite rites as a child is now enjoyed by all my children. And, I love to watch them having so much fun jumping off the lifeguard chair once they are gone for the evening.

Can you see what he sees?

2010-07-16T07:00:00.000-04:00

Tank borrowed Uncle Kev's sunglasses.

Click on the pic: From his right lens, I see me taking his pic and our beach cart.

I'm then blinded by his dimples and handsomeness!

Summer Cut for the Banana...

2010-07-15T15:00:00.000-04:00

Before:

After:

Summer Cut for the Monkey...

2010-07-15T13:01:00.000-04:00

Before:

After:

How cute is she???

American Girls and the Lovely Urkel Impression!

2010-07-14T21:40:00.004-04:00

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T14:45:00.004-04:00

We are celebrating Easter today with lots of smiles and sunshine! After an early rise hunt for Easter baskets and a glorious Easter Mass, we are spending the day outside with friends. The ice cream truck even came by too! We're looking forward to our last egg hunt of the season and dinner with the extended family later today.

Below is our Easter dessert from two years ago. Our friends at Touche Touchet have been making our Easter desserts for the past four years. We will miss them this year, but hope they are having a restful visit to the beach.

Happy Easter, All...Enjoy your cake and your goodies!!!

Character Greetings...

2010-04-01T21:13:00.008-04:00

The kids always love the character greetings when we go to Disney World...what kid doesn't??? This year they were prepared and brought autograph books with them.

Tomorrow we are visiting another theme park. Because the only theme park they know is Disney, they think they are going to see Mickey, Minnie, Power Rangers, Toy Story, Cinderella, Snow White, etc.

I can't wait to see their reactions when they run into these characters...

We will be celebrating Springtime at the Park in Hershey, PA. Last year I had planned to take the kids there by myself since Mr. O was out of town the whole week they were off from school. I ended up canceling our plans because the forecast called for LOTS of rain. This year, you couldn't ask for better weather. Tomorrow's forecast calls for LOTS of SUN with a high of 83 degrees. SWEET!!!

Can you tell how much I'm anticipating all that chocolate???

The Hunt is On...

2010-03-31T14:40:00.010-04:00

Today we attended our first community egg hunt for this Easter season. I love watching all the kids line up in anticipation of what treasures their eggs will hold.

The Hunt was organized by age group. The 2yo and 3yo kids went off at 10:15. The 4yo and 5yo kids went off at 10:45; My monkey and her favorite cousin were in this group. Here they are showing off their loot...

Banana and Tank's hunt started at 11:15.

Today's eggstravaganza was held at Claude Moore Park. Of historical importance, Vestal's Gap Road runs through this park.

George Washington documented many trips on this road in his journals. As a young surveyor, just 17 years old, he became very familiar with the wilderness here. This experience made him Governor Dinwiddie’s choice to carry a letter of protest to the contested French settlements in 1753. His subsequent trips in 1754 and 1755 underscore the important role this road played in the French and Indian War. Approximately 1,000 British Red Coats and Colonial soldiers from Virginia and North Carolina marched down this road.

When my kids start learning about American history in school, I really am going to enjoy taking them to many historical sites in our area.

Crazy Kid....

2010-03-28T17:23:00.009-04:00

These were taken just after bath time last night...HILARIOUS!!! Tank can be such a crack-up!!!

♥ God, I love this kid...and my girls so much. ♥

Signs

2010-02-20T22:15:00.004-05:00

Do you believe in signs, signals or messages from above? I DO...I believe I received one late this afternoon.

We were getting ready to eat dinner around 5:30p. It wasn't quite dark out...Tank and the Monkey were home, but Banana was playing at a friend's home two doors down from us. I walked out the front door, and heard a lot of fluttering...so much that I jumped over to the driveway from the front landing.

There were two plump birds flying and sputtering in Ned & Nora's tree.

[Ned & Nora's tree is a VA dogwood that was given to us after they died from my colleagues at work. We had it planted in our backyard at our townhouse, where it thrived. When we put the townhouse on the market, we stipulated that the tree was coming with us. It was transplanted beside our front door, and it continues to THRIVE.]

Anyway, these two plump birds flew from that tree to another tree in our front yard, and watched me walk down to check on Banana. I so wish I had my camera or iPhone on me to snap a picture. They were so beautiful!!!

When I walked back, there was no sign of the birds. I promptly went inside, got a lot of bread, and spread it over the front lawn. I hope they come back!!!

Happy Eighth Birthday, Ned & Nora! Banana, Tank & the Monkey enjoyed your birthday cake tonight...

Love, Mom.

02.20.02

2010-02-20T05:15:00.003-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NED & NORA!!!

222 is still my favorite number as it was 20 years ago. It's ironic that my firstborns, Ned and Nora, were born on 02.20.02. Unfortunately, they were born prematurely at 24w, and lived only 10 and 15 hours, respectively. A morning has not gone by in the last eight years upon wakening without praying to them to watch over us.

Today, they will celebrate their 8th birthday in heaven! And, I KNOW our great friend, Meg, will CRASH their party!!! Meg passed on this past week after fighting a courageous battle with brain cancer for the last 7 years. We will miss her dearly as we do Ned and Nora.

Laugh with all the angels and saints today, Ned and Nora!!! We love you!!!

Surprise Visitors!!!

2010-02-13T23:04:00.007-05:00

On Wednesday (02.10) we spent the morning and early afternoon at Magic Kingdom in Disney World...our first bonus day courtesy of the DC Snowmeggadon.

We drove back to our rental for some down time. Even though the weather was in the 50s (that was the high), the kids had a blast in the HEATED pool...there was NO way Mr. O and I were going to take a dip though!

We cooked dinner at "home" early that afternoon, and since everyone was in high form, we decided to head back to the Magic Kingdom for the SpectroMagic parade (7p) and Wishes fireworks (8p). We got the kids all bundled up, then shooed them out the door to get strapped in the car. They took 2 steps out, then tumbled over each other to get back inside. WHY?

They were being attacked by Ospreys! I didn't know what they were then; I had to send a picture of them to my aunt.

T

Out of the mouths of Babes...

2010-02-12T21:01:00.003-05:00

This past Tuesday, we spent the day at Disney's Hollywood Studios. We were situated at our preferred spot for the 3pm afternoon parade by 2:30p. Once Mr. O and the kids were settled, I set off to get ice cream for the kids. This look from them made me RUN!

When I got back, the kids were happily ensconced in their seats slopping away at their ice creams. Within minutes, Mr. O jumped up! An elderly man was having some sort of attack behind us. Mr. O went to help him...I ran to a Cast Member to call 911, then back to help Mr. O and another lady lay him gently on the ground. We're not sure what happened to him, but we think it was a stroke or a mini-stroke.

The kids were never more than 5 feet from us...and they watched it all. Tank & Banana seemed to be okay with our explanations that the man was ill and needed to be checked out by the doctors at the hospital. Our Monkey was all out of sorts. She had more questions than any answers we can give her. I told her, "Let's pray for him that he gets well."

Monkey: Will you help me pray?

Me: Sure! Dear God....

Monkey: No, I don't do God!

Me: What??? What do you mean you don't do God???

Monkey: (proceeding to bow her head and fold her hands) "Dear, Lord, Thank you for watching over me and my family and PLEASE take care of THAT man!"

How endearing is that prayer from a 4.5yo...It made my heart swell!!!

Snowmeggadon extended our Disney Vacation!!!

2010-02-11T21:02:00.014-05:00

Last Thursday, we were back home in Northern VA. I recall sitting down to write a note to Banana & Tank's Kindergarten teacher & aide that they would be absent Friday, Monday and Tuesday as we were going away for a long weekend. I didn't tell them WHERE, but I'm sure the kids told them. :) I felt awkward that I was taking them out of school to have a fun family getaway.

As I was packing up for our trip, which was difficult for me as I've never flown with children, I received an email from the County that school was closed on Friday because of the impending snowstorm. I was pumped up since that was one less "unexcused" absence.

We left early Friday morning...well before the Storm started. It snowed Friday through Saturday.

THIS is the aftermath on Sunday!!! This is our Acura parked in front of our house.

32.4" of snow fell at our local INTERNATIONAL airport.

Mr. O and I saw this picture and knew there was not going to be any school on Monday and Tuesday...what a relief!!!

Another snowstorm was forecast (possible 10-20") for Wednesday. We were scheduled to fly out on Tuesday, arriving at 7p. Monday evening, we received a call that our flight was CANCELED. We also received an alert that schools were canceled for the WEEK, and would not resume until Tuesday, the 16th, since Monday was a holiday, Presidents Day.

Now, what to do? We had to be out of the place we rented on Tuesday. We found another house right down the street. We got confirmed seats on a flight for Sunday. We upgraded our Disney tickets...4 more days for the 5 of us for the grand total of $63! Awesome!!!

So, here WE are, having FUN!!!

Epcot passports for kids!!!

Epcot...
Animal Kingdom...
Magic Kingdom...
Hollywood Studios...Streets of NY...♥ We head back to DC on Sunday and hope we can dig out our Acura before Spring arrives...

We are fortunate that we were able to park in a covered garage at the airport....AND...We are THANKFUL that...

We have awesome neighbors that plowed our driveway for an easy pull-in from a long time away!!!

A Work of Art....

2010-02-04T00:01:00.000-05:00

Tank loves to draw, and many of his drawings amaze me. I think that is because whenever he hands me a drawing, I can instantly tell what it is. Take this picture for instance...

I can tell you that's a picture of Tank and his friends playing football...not bad for a kid in Kindergarten, huh? Do you notice the purple jerseys? Since his Vikings flag football team was UNDEFEATED last Fall, he is now a fan of the professional Vikings.

So, this morning Tank hands me his latest drawing...

...I had absolutely no clue what it was...I was totally stumped!!!

When he told me it was a drawing of our fireplace, I busted out laughing...

I think it's hysterical that he drew the Angel of Hope, the rubber duckie and the mouse. This drawing inspired to dress up the mantel...LOL! I mean, what is a mouse doing on the mantel???

Much better, right???

So tired...

2010-02-03T08:54:00.002-05:00

Although I love seeing my children out gallivanting in the snow, I'm really getting tired of it. Even so, I was still mesmerized when I woke up this morning and looked outside. How beautiful!!!

Read-a-thon!

2010-02-01T15:57:00.003-05:00

I started off 2009 wanting to spend more time reading and less time in front of the tube. On my blog I listed 17 books I read during the course of the year. I probably read a few more than that but never got around to listing them...So, I'm guessing I read at least 20 books or so.

In 2010, I want to do better than that!

And, so far, I'm on track to doing that. Yesterday, I started my 7th book of the year.

If you see any books listed here that you might be interested in, shoot me a note. I'll be happy to give you a review or maybe even send you my copy.

My Shooting Star...

2010-01-15T18:03:00.005-05:00

My little monkey is a crack-up...she makes everyone LAUGH...I mean LOL every day.

She's 4.5 years old.

She woke up this morning, and told me she had "THE BEST DREAM EVER!!!

Me: OK, tell me all about it!!!

Monkey: (gasping with excitement) Me, Mia and Sarah (her best friends) went to a FASHION HOUSE, and you made yummy chocolate milk for all of us!

She had me rolling with her joy...and I laughed and cuddled with her.

After we got on with our day, I had to pause and think...I get that she was hanging with her girlfriends, and they all love chocolate milk!!!

BUT what does a 4yo know about a fashion house??? And, then I laughed some more!!!

My dad has always said, "She's been 'here' before!"

How we rang the New Year in....

2010-01-11T16:46:00.008-05:00

The day of New Year's Eve was spent cleaning up the house and prepping for our annual New Year's Day Open House. We had to get a lot done so we could sit down and relax as we watched the VA Tech Hokies play the Tenn. Volunteers in the Chik-fil-A Bowl. Our plan was to watch the first half with the kids, then get them to bed during halftime (9pm). The girls went down fine, but the Tank was really upset. I let him stay up to watch the rest of the game if he was quiet and didn't let his sisters know. Check out the happy camper...

He was quite the trooper, and cheered whole-heartedly the whole game (ended at 11p). Mr. O, on the other hand, faltered...

We were THRILLED that the Hokies won the championship...37-14!!!

The game was over around 11p. Tank was ready to hit the hay...BUT...I strongly encouraged him to stay up an hour to ring/bang in the New Year. He totally didn't understand why I was doing this...and thought I was bonkers when I told him we would go outside and bang pots and pans at midnight.

He still thought I was bonkers when we first went out there...until we heard other neighbors parading around our 1/3 mile Circle.

He's still talking about those crazy neighbors. And, I love to watch his face light up when I tell him we are crazy neighbors too!!!

Happy 2010!!!

2010-01-01T21:29:00.004-05:00

This was the picture we sent out to our IRL family and friends in their Christmas cards.

We now pass it on to our world-wide friends and wish them ALL THE BEST in the year 2010!

Snow Day Fun!

2009-12-31T15:55:00.006-05:00

The DC area was hit by the shopper stopper blizzard 12 days ago. We were able to enjoy the snow for a week before the Christmas Day rain washed it all away. We did a lot of sledding and the kids got their first experience snowboarding.

Snow Angel Tank!

Fallen Monkey!

Queen of the Hill!

Here's Tank in his first attempt snowboarding!

The Shopper Stopper Storm of 2009...

2009-12-19T20:40:00.004-05:00

Oh, boy, have we been hit by a snowstorm!

Last night we lost power in our home around 9:30p. Thankfully, we have gas heat so we were all warm through the night. The power came back on around 3a. I took this picture then. Please notice the car in front of our home.

This is that car NOW 15 hours later.

And, guess what??? The trunk of that car contains many Christmas presents that need to be wrapped and placed under the tree in 5 nights.

Pickles!!! (to be explained in a later post)

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!!!

2009-12-18T15:25:00.003-05:00

We had our first significant (6") snowfall two weeks ago. It all melted within 2-3 days as we had some mild weather. Tank and Mr. O did manage to build a snowman though...They built it on Sunday; and it was gone by Wednesday.

Our area is about to be hit by another snowfall tonight and tomorrow that can put that snowfall to shame. Forecasters are predicting 12-15". Brrr!!! Not to worry, though, we are fully stocked up all the essentials. I think this will be a good weekend to make some chili, do some baking, and wrap those presents.

Wordless Wednesday

2009-12-16T16:03:00.004-05:00

Cute Hats...

2009-12-15T19:26:00.006-05:00

My Auntie just moved up to our neck of the woods last week. She's super-loving and quite creative too. A few months ago, she sent the kids hats to celebrate the Fall season. I'm looking forward to see what she has in store for us in the holidays to come!!!

Pumpkin-head Banana!!!

Strawberry Shortcake KK!!!

OKAY, she definitely didn't make this one, but it's funny nonetheless!!!

Place mats...

2009-11-20T17:15:00.002-05:00

My sister's mother-in-law bought me three of these Thanksgiving place mats last year because she thought these pilgrims looked like my children. What do you think?

Wii play...but I think I'm too old!

2009-11-19T22:24:00.001-05:00

Today was not a great day for me...

...I tried to make it fun for the kiddees.

They had a blast kicking my butt on the Wii...

but, I think I blew out my knees!!!

Pitiful, I know!

Wordless Wednesday

2009-11-18T11:03:00.002-05:00

Tooth Fairy

2009-11-17T15:02:00.004-05:00

Poor Tank and Banana!!! They are 6yo and are the 3rd & 4th oldest children in their Kindergarten class. They are also one of the last children to have lost any of their baby teeth. Every morning they both swear to me that their teeth are wiggling. Our pediatrician told us when they were babies that they would probably lose their teeth later than average because their first baby teeth didn't come in until later than average at 9mo. Banana's first tooth came in July 3rd, 2004, and Tank's first tooth came in July 5th, 2004...or was it the other way around??? (I'll have to check their baby books, but the dates are right.)

For their sakes, I sure hope each loses her/his first tooth before they turn 7. A friend of mine's 7yo just lost another tooth. The Tooth Fairy found this note last night: "You are not REAL, but here is the tooth anyway."

Well done, Vikings! Well done, Tank!

2009-11-16T21:13:00.002-05:00

Can you see what I see???

2009-11-15T13:37:00.005-05:00

No? I can't see anything either with a direct-on photo. However, here's what I saw when I walked out of our powder room.

This picture isn't doing it any justice, but I can see a self-portrait made by my sneaky Monkey. If you click on the picture, you can see it more clearly. This is what happens when a 4yo monkey takes a brown crayon and writes on brown walls.

Anyone have any good ideas on how to rub crayon markings off the wall without doing damage to the paint???

The O Line!

2009-11-14T17:51:00.004-05:00

One of the greatest perks in living close to our nation's capital city is The National Zoo. And, the best thing about Our Country's Zoo, admittance is free!!!

Tomorrow will be the 15th of November, and our forecast calls for a SUNNY (we haven't seen the sun in a while) and a WARM (70 degrees) day. I think we are going to head to the Zoo for the 4th time this year.

We've made many trips to our Zoo since we've had kids. Our last trip was the first time we actually saw the Orangutans on the O-Line. We saw this O scamping above us...If he fell, he would have landed 15 feet from our picnic blanket.

Can you see what I see???

2009-11-13T14:59:00.005-05:00

Yep, another sure sign that football season is over for the neighborhood kids!!!

Kindergarten...

2009-11-12T16:03:00.010-05:00

Banana & Tank started Kindergarten this year. Our county's policy is very multiple-friendly. They will typically separate multiples unless requested by the parents to keep them together. When I registered them back in May, I requested that they be placed in the same class. I was very surprised when the official doing their paperwork balked at my request. I finally had to say, "Listen to me, I'm the mom, and here is how it's going to go." A week later I had the opportunity to speak with the principal. He was bothered I was given a hard time, and mentioned that keeping multiples in the classroom at the younger grades was more the norm at our school, as long as each child thrives and as long as they are not competing with each other.

So...Banana & Tank started Kindergarten this year placed in the same class. Here they are on the first day of school.

...waiting for the bus.

They never looked back...

Oh, how I cried that morning after they left!!! Where did my babies go?

The just LOVE Kindergarten, and they are EXCITED about school even now in November. I hear it each morning when they ask me how much longer will the bus be here at least 20 times. (They are in PM Kindergarten...the bus picks them up at 11:20a.) They are THRIVING. I see it by how much they are learning and reading. While in the same class, they are on different teams. They support each other when needed. Yes, they fight often like siblings do at home, but never at school. The feedback I've received from their teachers at their parent-teacher conference was amazing. I wasn't so sure they were talking about my children.

Yesterday, the kids brought home their very first report cards. I see it there as well; they exceed or meet every standard evaluated as of 1st quarter, Kindergarten.

I also see it upfront when I volunteer in the classroom. Today was my second time volunteering. The first time I met each student one-on-one outside the classroom testing them on patterns and coin recognition. Today, I worked inside the classroom putting workbooks together for the teachers. I got to sit there doing mundane, but important, work for the kids all while observing my children interact with their classmates. They forgot I was there after 5 minutes (...until I interrupted them to take their pictures).

Volunteering is awesome!!! I can't wait to get back there again. Much thanks to my sister for watching my little Monkey so I can get this special class time.

Veterans Day

2009-11-11T13:42:00.002-05:00

To all our service men and women today and yesterday, THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE!!!

I remember the Fear...

2009-11-10T20:24:00.001-05:00

In October 2002, John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo terrorized the Washington DC area...21 days of sheer terror!!! Nine people were shot dead, some, just innocently pumping gas at a gas station.

I remember purposefully NOT going out and running errands/shopping and only stopping to get gas when I absolutely had to. I remember sitting in gridlock on the beltway when law enforcement shut it down after a shooting. I remember the fear.

Tonight, John Allen Muhammad is being executed for all those sad and senseless killings.

I hope some justice is now brought to the families of all the victims. Please say a prayer for all those who were murdered and their families who have gone on without them.

Spotlight on Banana

2009-11-09T14:28:00.005-05:00

Tonight we are going to a pizza party at a local restaurant to celebrate Banana and her Super Stars soccer teammates. They had a good season, and it was great to see how much Banana improved and how much she loves playing! This is Banana's fifth season playing, and it's been her BREAKOUT season. She always has the love and support of her family & friends cheering her on, but she finally got a coach that she totally clicked with.

Congrats Super Stars!!! We're looking forward to the celebration tonight and to your final game on Saturday.

We ARE....

2009-11-08T21:22:00.002-05:00

...the Fall 2009 CHAMPS!!!

Congrats to the Vikings and my main man, Tank!!!

The game was a nailbiter. We were down 6-0 at halftime, then tied up at 12-12. The amazing Eagles won the OT coin toss, and were finally stopped at the 10-yard line. Somehow, our amazing team managed to get the win. I wish I had my video camera trained on Tank after all the game-ending formalities. He ran, CRYING tears and all, across the field into his dad's arms, screaming, "We won, we won, we won."

Tank and the Vikings advance to the Semis...

2009-11-07T17:32:00.005-05:00

Do you think we are excited about our Vikings team advancing to the semi-finals tomorrow morning???

The whole team played exceptionally well this morning. And, Tank scored on a 90-yard touchdown!!! Check him out...I cringed around the 50-yard line when I saw this HUGE kid try to mow down my boy.

Tank outran them all!!!

Fall Season is almost over!!!

2009-11-06T15:12:00.005-05:00

Saturdays used to be spent running errands with the kids under tow...Now our Saturdays are spent schlepping all 3 children to each of her/his soccer games and also to Tank's flag football game. My kids have been playing soccer for two years already, but flag football is the new sport this Fall....And, Tank loves it! We lucked out that we didn't have many conflicts between his soccer and football games...but we had many conflicts where two children were playing at the same time and in different places. Mr. O and I just had to split up.

Tank's team is the Vikings, and they finished the season UNDEFEATED!!! Tank scored two touchdowns and also proved to be a worthy defensive player...Way to go, Tank!

This weekend is the championship tournament. They play one game tomorrow, and hopefully, two games on Sunday. No matter how it turns out, it will be a fun weekend!

Go Vikings....and Go Tank!

New House, Same Destiny!

2009-11-05T11:27:00.005-05:00

The New York Yankees are the 2009 World Series champions. The new Yankee Stadium was officially christened last night with its 27th World Series Title 86 years after Babe Ruth and company won the first of 26 championships in the old Yankee Stadium. A sign in the stands read "New Home, Same Destiny". How fitting!!!

Congratulations to the 2009 New York Yankees and to all Yankee fans everywhere!

P.S. I really ♥ Derek Jeter!!! :)

Photography: 201

2009-11-04T11:47:00.007-05:00

Back in April, I wrote about what happens when you give a monkey a camera. Please note that I did not give her MY camera...she stole it. Well, anyway, her skills have certainly improved in 6 months.

A lovely self-portrait!!!

Her princess snowglobe!

Her brother's K'Nex tractor!

And all the baskets of CLEAN laundry that still needs to be folded...Thanks, little monkey!!!

It's starting to look like Christmas...Part II

2009-11-03T18:01:00.006-05:00

My children love to draw...They also love to display their art. While I am thrilled to showcase some of their artwork in our kitchen, they would prefer to showcase almost all of it. For instance, just check out the door to Banana & Tank's bedroom...

Yesterday I wrote how my little monkey is enamored by all the holiday catalogs/circulars coming in the mail and daily newspaper. Well, today, when I went to put get some clothes from her room, I noticed that most of her artwork was down from her door. In place, I found this...

If you zoom in, here's what you'll see...

Do you think she is trying to tell me something? My monkey is only FOUR...I swear she's been here before!!!

It's starting to look like Christmas!!!

2009-11-02T19:26:00.003-05:00

The catalogs are pouring in. Today, my little monkey spent almost an hour enamored by this weeks ToyRUs circular. :) I remember my older brother and I doing the same thing when we were younger...only then, the JCPenney catalog was as large as a dictionary!

Halloween Parade

2009-11-01T20:42:00.006-05:00

Our neighborhood Circle (1/3 mile around) hosts an annual Halloween parade and Chili cook-off the Sunday before Halloween. The parade is led by the local Fire Department. :)

My monkey dressed as a HSM cheerleader. :)

Banana was Superwoman. :)

and Tank was a Star Wars Clone Trooper. :)

Happy Birthday to my Best Sister!!!

2009-09-04T00:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Birthday, baby sister...now we're only 4 years apart!!! :)

I am blessed and fortunate that my sister is also one of my closest friends. She's always there for me, at the lowest of lows and all they joys as well. We are blessed that our children are close cousins and friends.

This is CoCo with my Banana, her goddaughter!

Fun at the local water park!!!

2009-08-25T22:51:00.005-04:00

Here's Tank and KK sitting patiently in the pool.

Why, oh why, are they just sitting there???

LOL! I can barely make them out!!!

I Spy....

2009-08-23T21:31:00.003-04:00

I spy a shark.

Click on the picture to see if you can too!

P.S. CoCo, you can comment but cannot participate!

Crazy Hair Day

2009-07-30T23:07:00.006-04:00

Yesterday was "Crazy Hair" day at church camp.

Banana...

KK...

Tank's hair is too short...so we spiked the front. I offered to spray-paint it...he wanted no part of that.

Enjoying the beach...and a sandy self-portrait...

2009-07-21T14:10:00.007-04:00

Wow, it's hard to believe it's only been a month since I posted here...It honestly feels much longer than that. Well, we've been at the beach for 3 weeks now, and the kids are certifiably beach bums. Do you think they are excited about hitting the surf?

Banana quickly drew a picture yesterday in a race against the surf. I managed to run to our blanket, grab the camera and snap a couple of pictures before the surf won.

I asked Banana if that was a self-portrait. She said, "No, Mama! That's me!!!" I, of course, busted out laughing. Can you see her dress has polka dots?

Kids Workshops at Home Depot

2009-06-22T18:14:00.009-04:00

We recently discovered that all of the Home Depots host Kids Workshops the first Saturday of the month. Mr. O and I took the kids there for the June workshop. The kids each received their own Home Depot smock as well as a pin depicting their workshop project. This month the project was a tool organizing kit for Dad for Father's Day. The kids get to keep the smock, and every time they go back for workshops, they add a pin to their smocks.

At first, Tank thought he should put his kit together with wood glue...that didn't work out so well. He looks cute though, huh?

Here's Banana showing off her decorated kit...

KK was happy observing and letting Daddy do all work (as you can see in the picture of Tank above)...

We were the neophytes there...It was great to be welcomed by families who have been do this with their children for a few years already. One little boy had almost 30 pins on his smock...impressive!!! Here's a closeup of the pin each of the kids received upon completion of their projects...
Upcoming projects for the kids are picnic caddies (July) and a message board (August). We'll be at the beach then, but if the weather is crappy, we are sure going to find a local Home Depot to pass some time by constructively.

P.S. I've since learned that Lowe's also hosts Build and Grow Clinics for kids every other Saturdya. You do need to reserve a spot though.

Best Family Pets...

2009-06-19T00:35:00.001-04:00

When I was growing up, we didn't have any pets. If any one of us (siblings) asked for one, my dad would say, "Here, pet your dog/cat/hamster Ghost," and he would pretend to pat a ghost pet. You can imagine my surprise when my folks finally brought a loving brown lab into the family once most of the children (4 of 5) graduated from high school and college. When Hokie graced our presence, the baby of our family was 9yo. Hokie was Baby Brother's dog from the beginning, but very quickly, became everyone's pet.

When I was pregnant with Banana and Tank, I was on bedrest for 19w. Most of the last 5w of my pregnancy was spent at my parents' home "in case" I was to go into labor while Mr. O was at work. I know Hokie sensed how carefully everyone treaded around me. And, once he finally saw me on my feet and pacing with two mewling or howling infants, he pretty much stayed out of the way. However, if any of the babies' caretakers (trust me, there were many between me, Mr. O, Mim, Pop, CoCo and whoever was in the house) walked more than 10 feet away, he would sidle up and stand guard. Here's a picture of Hokie in his last days guarding Tank in late 2003/early 2004.

In Spring 2004, my sis and the Toad bought a home close by to ours. They had and still have a beautiful Bighon Frise named Bailey. Since I was home taking care of the twinkers, my sister dropped Bailey off each morning and either she or the Toad would pick him up at the end of the day. What a great arrangement...my family got to experience having a pet without all the expenses of "having" a pet. Here's a picture of Bailey checking out Banana...
Now, let's talk about the pets in my own household. I saw no reason for us to get any because we have pets in the family that we can adopt for a day or two, or even a week. We'll take them longer if we have to...but, shhh!

So, what's(re) the perfect pet(s) for young children? I think we found them!!! Banana & Tank are 5.5 and KK is 4. Just last month their Mim (my Mom) bought them their first fish tank. :)

All you have to feed these fish are 2 drops of dish soap in "clean" water. ;) Here's what happens if you don't refresh the water and feed the fish regularly. Instead of just floating, they sink to the bottom. That's my first clue that I need to clean out the "tank."

So, I clean out the tank. Instead of flushing the fish down the toilet, I wash them. :) I plop them back into the tank with 2 drops of Palmolive, and all is right in the world again!

Chicken Cacciatore

2009-06-16T15:27:00.001-04:00

Here's a great and super-uber easy recipe for Chicken Cacciatore. I found this on Food Network, courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis. This has become my go-to recipe when I volunteer to make food for other families. Every time I have made this dish I have doubled or tripled the recipe; it's so good!!! I've also only used boneless chicken thighs and added sliced mushrooms. I wanted to show a picture, but it appears to have been deleted from my camera...That's what happens when my baby confiscates the camera.

4 chicken thighs
2 chicken breasts with skin and backbone, halved crosswise
2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1/2 cup all purpose flour, for dredging
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 ( 28-ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice
3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons drained capers
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano leaves
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves

Directions

Sprinkle the chicken pieces with 1 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken pieces in the flour to coat lightly.

In a large heavy saute pan, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the chicken pieces to the pan and saute just until brown, about 5 minutes per side. If all the chicken does not fit in the pan, saute it in 2 batches. Transfer the chicken to a plate and set aside. Add the bell pepper, onion and garlic to the same pan and saute over medium heat until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice, broth, capers and oregano. Return the chicken pieces to the pan and turn them to coat in the sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer. Continue simmering over medium-low heat until the chicken is just cooked through, about 30 minutes for the breast pieces, and 20 minutes for the thighs.

Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a platter. If necessary, boil the sauce until it thickens slightly, about 3 minutes. Spoon off any excess fat from atop the sauce. Spoon the sauce over the chicken, then sprinkle with the basil and serve.

She's getting it...slowly, but surely!!!

2009-06-06T11:36:00.006-04:00

I asked KK if she knew how to wink. Here's her response...

Ta Da!!!!

I really should get this on video!!!

Am I 50 yet?

2009-05-27T23:27:00.005-04:00

How is it that in a 4-day span I can be asked if I'm 50 yet and then be carded for the first time for buying wine at a store I frequent often?

Oh, BTW, it was my hairdresser who asked me the offended question!!! And, I'm in love with the young man who carded me!!!

Birthday Blooper

2009-05-20T19:41:00.000-04:00

Mr. O and I are very fortunate to be friends with professional bakers. Over the past few years, they have made many birthday and holiday cakes for my family.

Last year for Easter they made us this cake...

For the twinkers birthdays last October, they made this cake for Tank, because he was into Batman then...

and for Banana, they made this...

...and, because, they didn't want KK to feel left out, they made a mini-cake for her...

Our friends our so meticulous in making, delivering and serving their cakes to us, so nothing EVER goes wrong...

Until...

They make the cakes, deliver them to us, but can't be around for the party. Casa de Chaos has to improvise for KK's 4th birthday. The buffet table withstood the appetizers, the entrees, and finally, the cakes!!!

Here's KK's princess cake...

...and Banana and Tank's cakes...

KK blew out the candles...

THEN the table COLLAPSED!!!

Thank goodness, CoCo was able to catch Banana's cake. Can you believe that all 3 cakes remained intact?

They were delicious!!!

My baby is 4!!!

2009-05-16T08:42:00.008-04:00

On this day 4 years ago, KK was born. She was "Andre the Giant" of the NICU.

Here she is at age 1.

Age 2...

Age 3...

Here is today's Birthday Girl!!!

Happy Birthday, Baby Girl! I hope you laugh even more than you did the past year. I love you, darling!!!

Banana's First Boyfriend

2009-04-24T10:41:00.004-04:00

Of course, Banana's first boyfriend is her daddy.

A few nights ago, Aunt C asked Banana if Daddy was still her boyfriend...

Banana: Yes, I love him.

Aunt C: Are you going to marry him?

Banana: No, Silly!!! It's ACROSS the law.

Me: LMAO

Also, at least right now, Banana's twin Tank still wants to marry me!!!

White House Egg Roll

2009-04-21T15:16:00.009-04:00

The White House Easter Egg Roll is an annual family event to race Easter Eggs on the South Lawn while enjoying storytelling and a visit with the Easter Bunny. This holiday tradition has a long history dating back to 1878 when President Rutherford B. Hayes officially opened the White House grounds to local children for egg rolling on Easter Monday. Successive Presidents have continued the tradition of inviting children to the White House Lawn for egg rolling and other activities and entertainment. This year our family was very fortunate to participate in the Egg Roll.

Our tickets had a timed entrance/exit period of 1:15p-3:15p. You had to be at the staging area an hour prior to your entrance. The plan was for me to drive the kids to Mr. O's office where we would park the car (He works 5 minutes from the White House). It was noon when we had parked the car and headed to the staging area. Mr. O asked if I had the tickets.

Me: NOPE, I thought you had them. I started laughing, because the situation was incredulous.

Mr. O: C'mon, stop joking. Do you have them or not?

M: Really, Mr. O...I really don't have them.

The kids were about to cry when they realized we couldn't get in without the tickets. I told Mr. O to take them to lunch, and I would drive 32 miles home to get the tickets.

I got back to his office at 1:20. We got to the ellipse at 1:30, and I was feeling doubtful that we would be admitted since our group staging area was empty. Fortunately, though, we caught the end of our group and just barely made it through.

The South Lawn was crazily packed with people. It was neat to be so close to the President's home though.

I especially enjoyed watching our children participate in their first Egg Roll Race. Each race had 12 participants...Not that anyone was counting, but Tank came in first, Banana finished in the middle, and KK brought up the rear. :)

Fun was had by all!!! I'd like to attend the Easter Egg Roll again with my family, but I would wait until they were a few years older. Many of the events were geared for young children. It was just too crowded, and I was afraid we'd lose one or more of the kids.

Happy Birthday, Mr O!!!

2009-04-19T23:04:00.004-04:00

We started the day with a home-cooked breakfast made by the Birthday Boy, and ended it by joining him for dinner at the clubhouse after his round of golf. :) Happy Birthday, Mr. O!!!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Cousin B!!!

2009-04-18T17:58:00.004-04:00

It's great that you and your sidekick cousin, KK, share the same age for a month. :)

Happy Birthday, B!!! We look forward to many, many, many playtimes with you.

Desserts

2009-04-16T19:36:00.024-04:00

We all love desserts...I especially love all the desserts that come around holiday times.

Just before Christmas, a good friend gave me an extra gingerbread house kit she had. I thought I'd have the opportunity to build and decorate it with my kids before Christmas. With all the craziness in the days before then, we never got around to it. I felt so bad that we didn't use it...I even told her. Her reaction: no big deal, just get some Valentine's candies and make a Valentine home. We never got to do that either. As Irish as I am, I was sure that we'd make a refuge for all the leprechauns in March. Surprise, that didn't happen!!!

The kids were off the week before Easter. On our first "official" day of vacation, we built a "bunny" house instead. We used pastel M&Ms, jelly beans and Easter cake decorations. Next Fall, I think I'm going to buy 2-3 of the gingerbread house kits. You can use them for any holiday.

On Easter Sunday, our close friends, who own and operate a bakery just South of Baltimore provided many goodies for all that came to our family feast. My sister provided the centerpiece.

Here's the centerpiece...

And, here are all the scrumptious desserts from Touche Touchet!!!

And, here are our good friends with our eldest by one minute, Banana!!!

From Easter Lamb to Shepherd's Pie

2009-04-15T16:42:00.009-04:00

We traditionally host Easter dinner for our family and friends. Our traditional faire includes leg of lamb, mashed potatoes, harticort verts (Do you like that, CoCo?).

This year we did something different...We had Easter Lamb on a spit.

Our close neighbors are from Greece and frequently roast lambs on a spit when they have family gatherings. Since their Easter is not celebrated until next Sunday (the 19th), we asked them if they'd cook an Easter Lamb for us. We're so glad they did!!!

We only had 25 people, so there were plenty of leftovers. Oh, what to do?!?!?

Today I prepared Shepherd's Pie for our immediate family and for my parents and baby bro.

It's heating up in the oven right now and it smells so good!!!

The recipe comes from The Sunday News Family Cook Book.

This cookbook was published in 1962, and was, most likely, a wedding present to my parents when they married in 1964. The only recipe I know that my Ma ever cooked from this cookbook was Shepherd's Pie. Growing up, she made leg of lamb on my birthday. A few days later we had Shepherd's Pie. Every weekend I came home from college, she made leg of lamb on Saturday night. Sunday morning she would make mini-Shepherd pies for me to take back to school. Now that I'm living in the "real" world, she still makes leg of lamb for me on my birthday...but she gives me the leftovers for me to make the pie myself. :)

If you like lamb, and have leftovers, try this recipe!!!

Shepherd's Pie

Two tablespoons fat
1/4 cup chopped onion
Cooking time: 3 minutes
Two tablespoons flour
One teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon marjoram
Two bouillon cubes dissolved in Two cups boiling water
[I didn't do the cubes in water...I just boiled 2 cups of Beef stock.]
One cup cooked or canned peas
One cup cooked diced celery
One tablespoon capers
Simmering time: 5 minutes
Two cups hot mashed potatoes
Oven temperature: 375 degrees
Baking time: 30 minutes
Serves: Four

Melt the fat in a heavy skillet. Add the onion; cook until straw-colored. Blend in the flour and seasonings. Add the dissolved bouillon cubes, meat, peas, celery and capers; simmer. Pour into a baking dish (2 qts.). Place spoonfuls of potatoes around the edge of the meat mixture. Bake in a moderately hot oven until potatoes are brown. Remove. Serve immediately.

Since I prepped this earlier today and has been chilled, this casserole will be in the oven for 45-minutes-60 minutes.

A Baby is Born and the Spring Swap!!!

2009-04-14T14:56:00.012-04:00

Our family was blessed with the eighth grandchild on my side of the family. Uncle P and Aunt K were married last June 14th in North Carolina. Here they are with my parents on their wedding day.

Just 10 months later on April 13th, Baby Evie has graced our family...Here she is with my oldest brother and the proud papa!!! I love that the first time Evie met her Daddy, he was wearing a NY Yankees shirt. :)

God Bless Baby Evie and her wonderful parents!!!
______________________________________________

Semi-Slacker Mom hosted a Spring Swap. I was hesitant to join in as I haven't had the best experience in some previous swaps. I'm glad I joined in as I was paired with the fabulous Soccer Mom. Soccer Mom and I didn't have many exchanges back and forth, but it turned out we were the perfect swap partners for each other. We share a LOVE for Derek Jeter (p.s., Soccer Mom, I was trying to find you a pink Jeter shirt) and many similar interests. Our gifts for each other were quite similar too!!! Here's what I received...

A blue and green tote bag...I'm a lover of tote bags and can never have enough!

Self-tanners for the body and face by Mark, Dove hydrating lotion, a body sponge and the Nivea travel kit...I'm going to wait until it gets warmer before I try the self-tanners; I like the grapefruit and lemongrass scent of the lotion, and I hope to use the Nivea travel kit when I venture down South to meet Baby Evie (I'm hoping in 2 weeks).

Eco-friendly stationery, floral notepad and a book by Debbie Macomber...With Earth Day coming up, I'm going to purposely use this stationery to write the remainder of my thank you notes to friends and family that are sponsoring me in the March for Babies this upcoming Sunday. The floral notepad is right next to my laptop and phone...I'm never searching for jot-notes anymore. As reading more in 2009 has been one of my more successful New Year's goals, it won't be long before I start reading The Matchmakers.

Archer Farms Organic Fruit Sangria loose leaf herbal tea...I haven't tried it yet, but will let you know when I do. I'm waiting until I hook up with my bestie in NY. She's the greatest tea lover I know, and I can't wait to share it with her.

And last, but not least, a BEAUTIFUL necklace that was made by a very close friend of hers...Don't you love it? I do...I've worn it a few times already, and my young daughters are always begging to wear it.

Thank you, Soccer Mom, for all the wonderful gifts. I love them all!!!

Photography: 101

2009-04-01T16:38:00.008-04:00

We love the If You Give a Mouse a Cookie-type books. Very early on in life, we started calling KK our Monkey. She's cute, isn't she???

Here's what happens if ~~you give a Monkey~~ your 3yo steals your camera....

The baby gets smothered while your 3yo...

...watches Spongebob!

You also get at least 20 pics like this...

There, you have it!!!

Toy Room

2009-03-29T12:12:00.004-04:00

See this???

This is how the kids' toy room looks today....and how it looked 2 weeks ago.

Now, check this out!!! Look what happened in a 20-minute span while I was upstairs prepping dinner.

Yea, it's been great fun cleaning this mess...it's exactly what I would choose to do with my free time the last few weeks!!! Oh well, I did get to throw out 3 bags of crap. I also gave 2 boxes of baby toys away. Now, I just need to methodically go through each box and bag each toy set to sell at our next MOMs sale.

Another Giveaway

2009-03-22T13:31:00.003-04:00

Go check out Mrs. Southern Belle. She's hosting her first giveaway. You have the chance to win one of her handpainted signs.

I can easily picture this hanging in our sunroom or family room. Mrs. Southern Belle will announce her winner tomorrow so get over there quickly and enter.

Ahhhhhhhh....

2009-03-22T11:05:00.002-04:00

Mr. O arrived home last night around 11p. It was great watching the kids' reactions this morning when they realized he was home. After much snuggling and tickling, Mr. O and the kids headed downstairs for breakfast. I noticed it was 8:37am.

Next thing I know I wake up and it's 9:22a. I hear lots of laughter and running around downstairs. I have a smile on my face and am thankful for my power-snooze. I am ready to take on the day.

No Sweet 16 for Mr. O...

2009-03-21T10:17:00.002-04:00

Mr. O made it to the 2nd round of his Vegas blackjack tournament, but unfortunately he did not advance to the 3rd round. Oh well, it was nice to hope for some kind of payout.

On the flip side, I'm happy that he is coming home today. I've told the kids that he is coming home tomorrow as his flight does not get in until 10:30p. They are going to be thrilled to see their dad when they wake up in the morning. I'm thrilled that I get to sleep in and then enjoy a nice home-cooked breakfast made by my gourmet husband.

Have a good weekend!!!

Diamonds are a girl's best friend...

2009-03-19T12:01:00.001-04:00

Scary Mommy is giving away diamond earrings she received from her husband on Valentine's Day.

Check out her site for your chance(s) to win!!! You will have to subscribe to her blog. You won't regret it though, because she is hilarious.

March Madness

2009-03-18T17:55:00.002-04:00

I look forward to the NCAA tournament every year, and love watching the games with Mr. O after the kids are all ensconced in bed. Unfortunately, this year I'll be watching them all by my lonesome. :( Mr. O will be having a blast, though. He's in Vegas...I can just imagine all the different bets he can make on the games. I hope he comes home with more money than he left with.

Mr. O, my brothers and my dad traditionally go to Vegas every year on Super Bowl weekend. This year when they went Mr. O entered a promotional Black Jack tournament. The qualifying rounds for the tournament was spread over a 3 week period. No, Mr. O wasn't there that long...he was just there for the 3-day weekend. All the contestants had to do was play one 30-minute round. At the end of the qualifying rounds, the top 64 contestants were invited back for the March Madness Blackjack Tournament this weekend where each of them will vie for the $250K payout to the top winner.

Please, please, please God let Mr. O be the Blackjack King this weekend. I can only hope, right?!?!?

Slainte

2009-03-17T23:09:00.005-04:00

Simple Breakfast

2009-03-05T08:02:00.008-05:00

My kids have always been big breakfast eaters; Me, not so much! When Tank asked me to make pancakes today, I was happy to join in. I just couldn't resist a pancake with fresh raspberries and blueberries...it was so yummy!!!

P.S. Did you notice the girls are wearing their princess dresses? The first thing they do every morning is shed their PJs for their costumes.

Spring Swap

2009-03-04T17:45:00.002-05:00

Semi-slacker Mom is hosting a Spring Swap!

I've been reluctant to join another swap since I got shafted in the last one I participated in. Apparently, the same thing happened to Semi-slacker. I have to give her credit for wanting to organize one though. Now that the February blahs are over, I'm truly looking forward to Spring...If only this snow would melt and the weather would warm up!!!

For the Spring Swap details, click here!

Snow Play....

2009-03-02T17:41:00.006-05:00

3 posts in one day...that happens on a snow day!!!

The kids finally decided they wanted to get all decked out to play.

Here are some snow angels in the making...

Banana was more interested in building a fort...

She got this far...

...then quit!!! :)

DON'T you DARE think about throwing that at me, Tank?

Super Mom

2009-03-02T14:22:00.013-05:00

Everyone in our neighborhood has their satellite dish on his/her roof. Not us!!! We were satellite virgins when we moved into our house 5.5 years ago. When the DTV installer came to our house, I INSISTED that our dish be placed off our deck. Mr. O wanted to be like the Joneses and put it on the roof. I told him we WERE the Joneses. And, good thing I did!!!

I wrote earlier about getting the kids out to make snow angels. When I opened the door to do a quick shovel of the front steps, they wanted to stay in!!! It was too cold and windy for them. God, I love them...they are sooo smart! They decided to play dress-up instead...

They also wanted to watch a Sponge Bob movie in their play room! Great...that would give me time to get the kitchen cleaned up. In the midst of straightening up, I hear the kids screaming, all upset!!! It turned out we lost our satellite connections.

I looked out our dining room window, and saw this...

Okay, it was Super Mom to the rescue!!!

First, I had to dig out...

...then, I had to carefully sweep the snow off the dish, praying that I didn't move it from its position.

I walked into the house to kisses, hugs, and "Thank you Mama."

I knew that decision to put the dish on the deck would pay off some day. Do you think this Super Mom would climb on the roof to please her children??? Ha!

There's no day like a snow day!!!

2009-03-02T08:56:00.007-05:00

After eating a big breakfast(pancakes, bacon, fruit salad), we will soon be out making snowmen and snow angels. Unfortunately, we left our sleds at Mim & Pop's house after our last ice storm. Later in the day, we may ride over there to get them. What fun we will have today!!!

In my last post about the kids' caricatures, I thought my youngest looked more "made-up" than my oldest. I'm not going to write out her name as I don't want the unnecessary hits on my blog; my immediate thought was she looked like a child model with the initials JBR. I don't thinks so much anymore, but that was my first gut reaction. What do you think?

Caricatures...

2009-02-24T20:06:00.008-05:00

This was taken at Disney World in January. I don't think this artist quite captured them, especially the girls. They still look cute, however!

Please tell me...does my youngest remind you of anyone?

A Lilly Giveaway

2009-02-24T08:44:00.002-05:00

The Preppy Princess is hosting another great Lilly giveaway.

She's giving away two items from the new line, both in the Cabanarama pattern. Her giveaway includes one of the Latte Da! mugs and the Take Note Mouse Pad. The Take Note Mouse pad consists of a standard-size mouse pad topped by a pad of Lilly note paper. Go check out her blog post for your chance to win…you can enter up to 5x.

20 February--

2009-02-20T05:12:00.001-05:00

Happy Birthday, Ned and Nora! Your sisters and brother will be blowing out some candles for you tonight.

Ned and Nora were born 7 years ago today (02.20.02 at 05:12 and 05:13). Ned lived almost 10 hours and Nora, 15 hours. It’s been a heck of journey since their births and our loss. But, if this was the only way I could have met them, I would do it all over again. They impacted my life so deeply, irrevocably changing it for the better.

In those first days and months after their passing, though, I never believed that life would be OK or better!

It is better!!! Ned and Nora have me the gift of HOPE. I’m an earthly mom now as well as a “’heavenly” mom. After 5 months of bedrest, Banana & Tank were born in October ’03. KK, (“the Trip”) was born in May ‘05>

Time has a way of making you better, no matter how much you need to laugh, cry, grieve, etc. Thankfully, it does not have the power to make you forget. I will never forget my Ns.

Summer Loving!!!

2009-02-17T17:56:00.008-05:00

I'm patiently waiting for Spring to arrive. I'm tired of seeing the bare trees and brown grasses. I'm looking forward to scooting around on our Razors and teaching the kids to ride bicycles. The twins and KK got their first bikes with training wheels back in October. Unfortunately, we have not had much riding time.

On this cold blah day in February, I received some much welcomed mail, so much so that I want to wish Spring away (not really, but close). It was our lease agreement for a beach home in the Hamptons this Summer. I wish we could stay the whole Summer, but I'm thrilled that we are staying a little longer than normal.

I grew up in NYC and from the time I was 10yo, my family spent the whole Summer in the Hamptons. We even made the 1.5 hour trip every weekend throughout the school year. That was actually a drag when I was in high school. My parents still have their place there, but unfortunately our family of 5 has outgrown it. We've been fortunate, though, to find reasonable rentals within 5 miles of their home.

So, this is what I'm looking forward to!!!

So Sleepy...

2009-02-15T09:35:00.002-05:00

Happy belated Valentine's!!! I hope everyone got struck hard by Cupid.

Never again will I brag about looking forward to sleeping in!!! I haven't had a decent night's sleep since I wrote that post on Wednesday. First, Tank got sick. He was better by Friday when KK started with the high fevers and vomiting. Then, yesterday afternoon Banana started feeling hot. Great...just great!!!

Another Fun Giveaway

2009-02-12T16:40:00.003-05:00

Semi-Slacker Mom at Confessions of a Semi-"Slacker" Mom loves to play bunko. For the past 5 years, she's been playing with a group of 12 women that meet monthly. Not only do they get together for a fun game and cocktails, they also host fundraisers and adopt one or two families at Christmas-time. There's nothing semi-slacker there!!!

If you like to read, she's giving away a copy of The Bunko Babes, a story about friendship among a group of women of varying ages facing life's challenges and triumphs. Go leave a comment if you want a chance to win.

My neighborhood circle has a monthly bunco game. It's fun to get out without the kids and the husband and just DISH about anything and everything.

Weekend Preview

2009-02-11T16:55:00.005-05:00

I'm really looking forward to the 3-day weekend coming up. Let me count the ways...

1. I get to sleep in 3 mornings in a row. Granted, that usually means I'm lucky if I'm still in bed an hour after the kids get up. But, an hour is an hour...

2. For the first time in 6 years, Mr. O and I have a date on Valentine's Day. We were damn lucky to get reservations anywhere. We waited until last week to place them. Most places we could be seated only before 3p or after 9p. Uh, I don't think so. We finally landed a primo reservation (6:15p) at McCormick & Schmick's...not too shabby!!!

3. We are going to see Mickey Mouse again. No, we are not heading back to Disney World; that would be nice, though. We are going to see...

...at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC on Sunday. The kids are PUMPED. Do you notice the mad teacups in the photo? I can't tell how many times I was spinning in a teacup. Tank is excited to see that the Incredibles are featured in this show...I think he's getting tired of being outnumbered by princesses.

After the show, we're going out for dinner someplace nice but kid-friendly!!!

4. No matter how late we're out on Saturday and Sunday, I get to sleep in the next morning. I already addressed this in this post, but the more I keep repeating it to myself, the more I'm smiling. :)

Awesome Giveaway

2009-02-11T10:19:00.002-05:00

My sister at Mom Times Two is hosting a great giveaway. Go check out her blog and leave a comment for a chance to win either Ina Garten's back to basics cookbook or Bunny Williams' Affair with a House.

Mags needs....

2009-02-10T07:00:00.001-05:00

This post is inspired by Sue at As Cape Cod Turns.

Go to google and put in 'your name' and 'needs' in the search button.

It doesn't bode well for me...Here's what I need!

1. Maggie needs an Alibi! LOL...

2. Maggie needs a Home.

3. Maggie needs to be near Mom. LOL!!!

4. Maggie needs help.

5. Maggie needs your prayers.

6. Maggie needs some food.

7. Maggie needs new shoes.

Power Rangers...

2009-02-09T14:42:00.012-05:00

One of the highlights for Tank on our recent trip to Disneyworld was meeting the Power Rangers at Hollywood Studios.

Whenever I take his picture nowadays, he always assumes a Power Ranger stance.

His sisters are even getting in the act...

The Blahs...

2009-02-06T21:21:00.002-05:00

The February blahs suck!!!

I thought this year might be different. Between the excitement of the Christmas holidays and our New Year's Day party, then getting ready for our magical trip to Disney World, then spending 7 wonderful (but cold) days in the land of Mickey, I thought the euphoria of it all would carry us into March.

Nope, it didn't happen!

February is a hard month.

So, I'm working hard to make it better for me as well as the family. I made it to the gym twice this week...I plan to go once this weekend and 3 days next week. Mr. O and I are going out for dinner by ourselves on Valentine's Day. The next day we are taking the kids to see Disney on Ice in Washington, DC. We'll have a family dinner in the city afterward.

I've done something special on the 20th for my children since they've been born in honor of my firstborn babes...I have no idea what to do this year.

I'm looking forward to the end of the month when my mom, sister and I are hosting a couples' baby shower for my big bro and SIL. What better way to end a blah-month with a PARTY!!!

P.S. The baby sitter is already lined up!!!

I'm in Trouble...

2009-01-28T11:17:00.006-05:00

My baby is a sweetie most of the time, but when she gets mad, watch out!!!

Yesterday, KK got upset with me for putting her in timeout. She screamed at me, "NO, I WILL NOT GO IN TIMEOUT." She then looked at me like this...

She looked down on the floor. She looked back at me and smirked.

She then peed in her pants! ARGH!!!

I have a feeling she will be the cause of many of my gray hairs. If she's like this at 3, what is she going to be like when she's a teenager???

25 Random Things About Me

2009-01-26T21:51:00.003-05:00

I was tagged on Facebook for 25 random things about me. Since I spent all that time doing it for FB, I thought I'd share with you.

1. My name is Margaret, and wouldn’t let anyone call me anything but Margaret when I lived in NY. Any time my parents would try to call me Maggie, I’d yell at them. When I moved to VA as a junior in high school I introduced myself to everyone as Maggie. Different state…different persona!!! You can call me either…or Mags, Magnanimous, Magnificent, etc.

2. I am 102 years old. LOL! My kids told me that when you turn 100, you die. So, a few months ago, when they asked me how old I was, I said , “101.” I celebrated my birthday last week. They told EVERYONE I was 102. Better to be 102 than 52 right now, right?!?!?

3. I love my last name, but I always thought I would change it when I got married. That said, I always said I could never marry a Smith or a Jones. In college, I dated a Bob Jones for 9 months. After college, I dated a Tom Smith for almost two years. I ended up marrying a Jones; not Bob, definitely Owen. So far, I’ve kept my last name…but, I am thinking of changing it almost 10 years later.

4. I love the Hokies!!! I haven’t been able to get to any regular season game since having kids, but I’ve been to every ACC championship game Tech’s been in (2 in Jacksonville, one in Tampa). Tech’s record in the championship is 2-1.

5. Even if VT isn’t playing, I love watching college football. I love watching the NY Giants playing. Any other NFL team?...meh! BTW, I cried when the Giants won the Superbowl last year…and I was bummed when they lost in the playoffs this season.

6. I love watching baseball; it doesn’t matter what level of play (Little League, Babe Ruth, minors, Majors, etc. My favorite team is the NY Yankees. When I pitched softball in high school, my teammates called me Goose (Gossage). I remember when Thurmon Munson died in 1979…I was in San Francisco. I like following the Mets too. My favorite all-time Mets player is Tom Seaver. I hope my children become Nationals fans though. They are their local team.

7. I have 3 brothers and 1 sister. They range in age from 25 to 43. The “baby” is a “Southerner”, having been born in VA 3 weeks after our family moved there from the Bronx. At least, he was conceived in NY, right?!?! LOL

8. When I was 10, my parents built a beach home in East Quogue, NY. Since my mom worked in education, we were able to spend the whole Summer at the beach. I’ve visited many beaches all over the country…nothing beats the beaches on Long Island.

9. I love that we have been able to rent a place near my folks’ beach home for a month each July. It’s great catching up with my NY peeps and extended family. It would be cool if we can get a Pelham Bay reunion going in the near future. It’s been great catching up with everyone through FB.

10. My favorite number is 222. It’s based on a drinking game my friends made up in college. The game is based on quarters but everyone drinks. The game was named 222 because that was the hotel room we were in when we came up with the rules.

11. Back in the late 80s, many of us said we should celebrate a holiday reunion on 02.20.02. On that day, though, I was 24 weeks pregnant with my firstborn twins, Ned and Nora. Unfortunately, they were born and died that day. Ned lived 10 hours, and Nora, almost 15.

12. 222 is still my favorite number. When I see 2:22 come up on the clock I think of my sweet babes. Although I couldn’t get it at first, Ned and Nora gave me the gift of hope. I now have 3 earth angels to cherish: Banana & Tank(b. 10.03) and KK(b. 05.05).

13. Since then, I have participated in the March of Dimes March for Babies every year in their honor. This year our March is on Owen’s birthday, April 19th. If you can support me, I’d greatly appreciate it. You can find my personal page at http://www.marchforbabies.org/hokiehi.

14. I love to read; I’m on my fourth book this year. For 2009, I thought I’d give a review of all the books I’ve finished on my blog. I got spooked when I saw that one of my reviews was visited by someone in the same town as the author and where the story takes place. So far, I’ve read The Eight, by Katherine Neville (awesome); The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright (okay); Twilight , by Stephanie Meyers (okay). Now I’m reading Extreme Measures by Vince Flynn. If you like Baldacci, you’ll like Flynn.

15. I just slurped spaghetti sauce all over my shirt. Thank God it’s not white!!!

16. I live less than 30 minutes from Washington, DC. I worked there, I meet friends there, I get my hair done there, but I never sightsee. I want to start taking my kids there once a month or so to take in the sights and visit the museums. There’s no reason for us to not take advantage of all the nation’s capital has to offer.

17. When I was growing up, golf was always on TV at my Nan’s house on Sunday afternoons. I remember being quite bored when we showed up for Sunday dinner. The Lawrence Welk show came on after golf. Double yawn!!! I took up golf when I was in law school. I love watching golf on Sundays now. My kids hate it…Ha!

18. I met Owen at a restaurant named, “That’s Amore.” Enough said!!! We’ve been married for 9 years and together for 14years (is that a double itch?).

19. I can cry at the drop of a hat. Happy tears, sad tears, nervous tears…it happens frequently and it’s embarrassing. I don’t have a pretty cry.

20. I am hearing impaired. Many people are surprised when they find out as I can read lips well.

21. I was on the moot court team in law school. When one of my co-workers told her husband I was going to Colorado for a moot court team meeting, he told her, “She’s not moot (mute); she’s deaf.” LOL

22. My favorite color is purple, also the color of hope.

23. I’m a chocoholic. My favorite candy is the Cadbury mini-eggs that come out at Easter time only. I used to buy enough bags to last me a year. I was thrilled when they came out with the Xmas mini-eggs a few years ago.

24. When Banana & Tank were babies, I drove around with them in a Chevy Trailblazer, a very nice suburban mom’s SUV. Since KK was born, I drive around with them in a Chevy Suburban, a very “Don’t Fuck with Mama” SUV.

25. My family is my life…I want them all to be happy, healthy and safe!!!

Vacations!!!

2009-01-14T18:35:00.002-05:00

I love ~~going on vacations~~ getting away with my family. Damn, though, packing is a bitch no matter where we go!!!

We're heading to Disney World for a week on Friday. How do you pack for Orlando in January? Based on the 10-day forecast, we're expecting highs in the mid-60s and lows in the high 30s/low 40s. Only in our last two days are the forecasters predicting weather in the 70s.

Help me out if you can!!! I'm leaning real close to just packing their whole wardrobe...talk about Chaos!!!

Another Book Review...

2009-01-14T17:33:00.003-05:00

My next book was a very quick read!!! The Wednesday Letters was written by Jason F. Wright and was a New York Times bestseller. The Wednesday Letters tells the story of a family whose grown children learn more about their parents’ marriage after discovering letters their father wrote to their mother every Wednesday. It’s a good story with morals that I agree with. The story was good, but the writing was mediocre.

With that said, I love the idea of one spouse writing a weekly letter to the other. I would like to do that myself, but know I'd just be setting myself up for disappointment for not following through. My short notes on Mr. O's brown bag napkins will have to do for now.

I'm jumping on the Twilight bandwagon. I'm a couple hundred pages into it, and am enjoying it so far. I'll let you know how I like it.

Book Review

2009-01-11T16:15:00.002-05:00

I finished my first book for 2009, and at 598 pages in length, it's no wonder I am a bit behind on folding laundry. If you are looking for a good mystery and loved The DaVinci Code, pick up The Eight by Katherine Neville. It was first published 20 years ago.

Synopsis: The Montglane Service, an ornate, jeweled chess set given to Charlemagne by the Moors, is said to hold a code which when deciphered will bring great power. Nations and individuals have schemed to possess all the pieces. As the set is dispersed during the French Revolution, a young novice risks her life to safeguard it. Alternating with her story are the present-day efforts of a U.S. computer expert and a Russian chess master to assemble the set and solve its mystery. Studying the code involves musical notation, chess strategy, Fibonacci numbers, and mysticism.

I really enjoyed this book, and plan on reading the sequel, The Fire, very soon. The sequel was released just a few months ago. This afternoon I headed to Borders to purchase it, but then saw it will be released in paperback in April. I can wait until then.

My next book is The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright.

Root and Foot Day

2009-01-09T21:51:00.004-05:00

Tomorrow is my Root Day. I stole this name from Abnormally Normal and I love her description. My appointment is mid-morning.

Late afternoon, I have an appointment for a pedicure!

Mr. O will never ever interfere with any of those appointments. :)

Maybe, I should shoot for a Root, Back and Foot Day! I might be able to get away with it semi-annually, but not monthly...bummer.

2009-01-07T22:45:00.003-05:00

I received my first blog award From Stilettos to Sneakers. She made my day today!!! I started following her blog because she's a fellow twin mom, and seems to have a close and crazy family like mine. I also like following her sister's blog, Life in a Hampton Zoo, because she lives in one of my favorite places. My family vacations in East Quogue and Hampton Bays every Summer, and she doesn't live too far from there.

There were no rules to follow with this award, and I'm happy to pass it on to a few more beautiful bloggers:

Mom Times Two, because she has a great blog and she's my favorite sister!

I Need a Martini Mom, because she cracks me up all the time!

the hyper homemaker, because she's coaching me to make my organized chaos less chaotic!

Boo and Hooties Mom, because I love the way she showcases her children's projects.

One Fabulous Mom, because she's just fabulous!!!

Thanks, Stilettos, for this nice award.

Countdown

2009-01-06T17:01:00.002-05:00

10 days and counting until we leave for a week's stay at Disney World!!!

Of course, the kids are all excited, but I think I'm more excited than the lot of them. I've never been there myself, although I've made many trips to Disney Land. I think the World is going to be like Disney Land on cack!!!

I just have to get through the next 10 days....

We brought our truck into the dealer for a service checkup. I wanted to make sure all was square before making the drive from the DC area to Orlando. It turns out we need a new transmission. Great!!! Thank goodness the truck is still under warranty, so we're not out of any big bucks that can be spent at Disney.

I have to go through storage to find the kids' Summer clothes this week. Mr. O and I did not do any planning on this trip. We discussed it and made up our minds within 20 minutes. Unfortunately, I packed up our Summer wardrobe the week before. Mr. O will be working in the Midwest next week and comes home late the eve of our departure. Good planning, Mr. O for any (nada) help getting packed.

Oh, and Aunt Flo better arrive soon!!! I'll be ticked if she arrives in Orlando.

2009

2009-01-02T12:00:00.002-05:00

I wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2009!!!

Mr. O and I hosted our annual New Year's Day Open House yesterday. Every year as we are preparing for the party, I am stressed because I have no idea how many people are coming. I always worry if there is going to be enough food, drinks, etc. Actually, I don't have to stress about the drinks...there's always plenty!

The party was a success, as always! Because I was so busy socializing and having fun, I didn't take any pictures. Fortunately, we had a surprise guest from Germany; she took many pictures and promised to email them to me when she gets the chance.

And, thankfully, we had enough food. We served chili, chicken stew (Thanks, Mo!), beef tenderloin, and a penne salad with mozzarella & grape tomatoes. My mom also made her delicious potato salad and cole slaw; both of those dishes went quick. Thanks, Mom!

I love hosting this party every year. It's great having most of my family and many of our old and 'new' friends together. I hate the idea of making this informal get-together formal, but I think it will make the party-planning process much easier if we start sending out invites. The only problem I have is that we're always inviting people up to the day of the party. After all, it is an Open House. Do you think it will be okay to continue doing this?

Facebook

2008-12-29T22:04:00.002-05:00

How did I not get this???

I'm frigging addicted now...it's just what I need, another time-suck!!!

Upstate NY after Christmas

2008-12-28T21:35:00.009-05:00

We traveled from VA to up-state NY the day after Christmas to visit the outlaws (that requires another post). The kids reveled in the snow...

Tres amigos!!!

I love these action photos...

Let's gang up on Daddy!

Christmas Eve

2008-12-24T09:19:00.004-05:00

The stockings are hung, and most of the gifts have been wrapped. All we need is for Santa to arrive!!! As I am writing this post, Santa is in Fuji, Japan. We've been tracking Santa since we woke up this morning. We've seen footage of him in New Zealand, Australia and Japan.

Oh, the excitement is in the air in the Jones' house this morning!!! The kids have been playing in the living room all morning. They are constantly resorting everyone's presents. Tank reminds me of my older brother when he was a kid. He's bouncing off the walls.

We wish everyone a very Merry Christmas...May visions of sugar plums dance in your heads!

Santa is in Tokyo now!!!