JINGLE BELLS

MY CHRISTMAS SPIRIT

It is a time when many in this world are struggling to pay bills, pay a mortgage, buy simple necessities, or worse, trying to figure out how they will buy their children a Christmas present because they have no money.  I do not think I am lucky by any means, but I am blessed and that counts for more than luck.  I came home to a mailbox filled with 13 photo Christmas cards from loved ones and an unexpected envelope from the Bonnie Hunt Show.  I signed up for several contests on her website, not expecting to win.  My lucky stars, I DID ACTUALLY WIN A PRIZE!  I won a gift card for Sears and I remember signing up for that contest, but when I opened the envelope, the amount was split evenly between two gift cards.  YEAH!  How lucky am I???  I started to flip through all those photo cards of family and friends and realized how lucky we are that even though there are many of us that may have fallen on hard times, we still have the money to send cards and buy presents for our children for Christmas.  There was obviously a reason that there were two gift cards and not just one.

MY QUESTIONS....

Do you find it hard to pay your bills? 
Do you wish that you were better off?
Do you know how blessed you are when you think about someone that has....
-lost their job?
-lost their house?
-lost the ability to buy their children gifts this Christmas?

Please email me, as I would love to help another family in some small way.  The gift I have to give is a $50 gift card for Sears and has no expiration.  I know that someone out there knows of a family in need.  Let me share my luck and blessings.

RULES...

I obviously can only give it to one family, so first email gets it.  I had also hoped not to state this, but just in case...this is not intended for you to keep so you can buy extra presents.  I really want to give it to someone that has little or no means to buy any gifts.

PASS ON THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT.
THERE IS ALWAYS A WAY TO HELP OTHERS.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

I'M SO MAD, I COULD SPIT!!!

THE NOTEBOOK

I do not know how it is that I had not seen "The Notebook" before tonight; maybe it was not the right time. Tonight was perfect. All the tears that have been suppressed for so long finally came out during the last half hour. I never had a problem crying when I was younger...ask ANYONE! Somehow, I lost the ability over the years and they just stayed inside, multiplying. The ones that came out tonight were not just small drips or free flowing ones, but rather the kind that blast out from your eyes in every direction as if fueled by a monsoon. I'm talking chest heaving, head splitting, almost waking up the kids, full blown asthma attack tears. Yeah, they were THAT GREAT! With everything that I have not dealt with coming out in those tears, I can honestly say that I feel so RELIEVED now.

Could I be back on track?  It's a start.

Now, would you please excuse me while I run to the bathroom to wring out my shirt? Well, that is not an accurate inquiry, since...

1. I don't run.
2. My bathroom is 20 feet away.
3. I am 5'11".

Do the math.

UPDATE..... I was just watching Bonnie Hunt and she had Deepak Chopra on as a guest.  I admire him so much.  I have read some of his books, but obviously haven't followed all his advice :)  Anyway, he said something amazing about healing...

"The tears of laughter are chemically different from the tears of sorrow."

So amazing about the human body and the mind-body connection.  How else can you explain my AWESOME BIRTHING EXPERIENCES???
.

BONNIE HUNT

Yeah, I love her.  She is a funny lady, talented actress and a fellow Chicago Girl!  I have never met her in person, although Joey and my sister Nicole have met her several times and like to tease me about it.  A long time ago, she applied for a job at the infamous Wally's and was denied said job by my father.  THE NERVE OF DADDIO!  Joey asked her, on her recent trip back home, if she remembered being denied and she told him, "of course....tell your rat b@st@rd of a father-in-law thanks for ruining my career."  She is too funny! HA HA DADDIO!  We all had a good laugh and then Joey got mad that she didn't mention him or the fact that he threw someone out of the bar during the opening of her talk show today.  So hard to be the MAYOR and get no recognition for a job well done :(

I WISH she would bring her talk show to Chicago....
http://www.bonniehunt.com/

WE'VE BEEN IN HIDING

Actually, we have been without internet service for a full month. Today, our virtual lifeline returned. What did we do with the extra time? We got the "flute" (Nicholas' term for the flu). We taught Francesca a few new words and how to jump and most importantly, how to throw a proper temper tantrum.  Nicholas finally mastered the words to "Fly Me To The Moon". It's quite funny to hear his New York accent shine when he sings it.

We also got a hot tub for the kids...

That's about all we did for weeks. Even without the distraction of the internet, Joey and I did not once get any extra sleep. Go figure.  Hope you are glad to have us back :)

HALLOWEEN 2009

Yes, I am so enjoying my time in sewing.

Meet the Modern Stone-Age Family....

WITH LOVE,

WILMA FLINTSTONE

.

BOUDOIR

I am always complaining about our lack of space and then I go ahead and obsess over cozy bed nooks.

JUST TOO DARN CUTE

MY PUDGY PEPPER

So, we don't grocery shop at just one store.  We usually frequent several independent stores, delis, bakeries and of course, our Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and on occasion, Dominick's and Jewel.  Add to that list all the other various stores that Francesca and I have visited over the last year and you can only imagine how many shopping carts she has ridden in.  I am not kidding when I tell you that within 50 miles of my house, there are not many mothers that actually use the seat buckles in shopping carts.  There have been times when I have gone through 10 carts looking for a buckle that wasn't broke and every single time I get a cart with a functioning buckle, the strap is stretched to the max and has to be tightened so that my dear Pepper does not fall out.  I find it hard to believe that all those kids that could have been in the carts before her were large enough to not need the strap tightened.  This leads me to believe that there are many moms out there that don't take the time to make sure their kids are secure in the carts.  I have witnessed, more times than I would have wanted, kids not strapped in and trying to stand up and actually standing up and/or on the verge of falling out and the mom completely oblivious.  This makes me so angry!!!  Do they realize what would happen if their kid fell?  I know what it is like to be in a hurry and be distracted, but I would never be so busy that I didn't have time to strap my kid in. 

My point?
I know my shopping carts.

Tonight, it was another trip to Dominick's, but this one happened to be on the North Shore.  In fact, we had a lot of errands to accomplish and although this is not the norm, Pepper spent the better half of the day in shopping carts (6 to be exact).  Like I said, I always have to tighten the strap.  Tonight, at Dominick's, I didn't.

My point?
Pepper is already too pudgy for the North Shore :(

I guess this will be the first and last time she will ever be in a bikini!

P.S.....to all those who think that I am serious and upset about her being too pudgy, I'm just kidding.  I am not upset, just think it's funny that it was the first time she didn't fit and it just happened to be on the North Shore!  Also, I guess she does finally resemble me...from the tummy, down!!!!!

OH. MY. GLEE.

First I fell in love with the gum.

Then I fell in love with the show.

Next, I thought they should cross-market.

A few weeks later, this is what I saw...

I always have epiphanies at Whole Foods.

I'm also so very smart.

P.S...Is it sad that I was singing along when they sang "I Wanna Sex You Up"?  Oh, yeah, Color Me Bad rocked like no other 90's one-hit wonder band...
so what of it?

TIS THE SEASON

OH FALL, HOW DO WE LOVE THEE???

* finally having (free) air conditioning in the car
* cool air putting us to sleep
* no hot sun waking us up
* Bears football
* the promise of Wisconsin
* the crunch of the leaves
* a new look for the arboretum
* Pepper making her 1st "Francesca Tree"
* (honeycrisp) apple picking...
* resulting in homemade (honeycrisp) apple cider donuts
* dresses over tights
* a new monkey sweatshirt
* a girlified Rolling Stones jacket
* eating honeycrisp apples at every meal
* warm vanilla sugar body lotion
* our favorite month of the year
* making our own halloween costumes
* did we mention honeycrisp apples???

I HEART BABY DANCING

This is obviously not Monkey or Pepper, but it still makes me laugh!

THE GREAT NEWS...

Is that Monkey is now officially
A PRESCHOOLER!

He was so excited, he did a hip shake, puckered his lips, and gave me his

best Elvis impersonation!

What can I say? 

The kid knows great music!

Someone, please tell me where the last

3 1/2 years went, because I'm not sure, but at least I know that it has been time well spent!

GREEN SMOOTHIE

So, I have been making smoothies for a long time, but mostly blueberry based ones. One of my newest obsessions is the Vita-Mix Blender. I realize that with the price tag, I won't be buying one anytime soon. I am stuck using my boring old blender that is so slow, you could blend faster by using a hand blade! Needless to say, it does get the job done...within an hour (haha)!!!  Today, I decided to start our journey to a healthier smoothie by making it green (as in spinach-green)!  Here is the original recipe and some notes.

TROPICAL GREEN SMOOTHIE

*1 c. green grapes
*1 c. baby spinach leaves
*6 oz. vanilla yogurt
*1 frozen banana, cut in chunks
*1/2 c. frozen pineapple chunks

Place frozen fruit in blender first.
Add other ingredients.
Blend until smooth.
Enjoy!

NOTES...

*I used organic grapes and spinach, as they are on the top ten list of fruits and veggies that contain the most pesticides.
*I used organic yogurt because, besides being better, it also tastes better!
*I washed the spinch and squeezed the water out, but if you see green, then stop because you are also squeezing the vitamins out!
*I added flax seeds, but it's up to you!
*I don't measure anymore. I go with the flow and taste as I go.
*Make your own adjustments!

The kids each devoured 2 cups and are you wondering about me?
Me? The spinach LOVER? Well, it didn't taste right, but to be fair, nothing tasted right today because I am coming down with a cold.

GOOD THINGS HAPPEN IN 3'S

I JUST GOT A PHONE CALL WITH GREAT NEWS!  MORE DETAILS TO FOLLOW...
I WAS SO EXCITED, I BRUSHED MY TEETH SO THEY WOULD MATCH MY BRIGHT SMILE!
WHILE I WAS WALKING OUT OF THE BATHROOM, THE PHONE RANG AGAIN WITH MORE GOOD NEWS!
MAYBE IF I BRUSH MY TEETH AGAIN, THE PHONE WILL RING AGAIN...

THIRD TIME'S A CHARM?

OR AM I ASKING FOR TOO MUCH?

IN SOMEONE ELSE'S WORLD...

...the following would not be odd to hear, but in my world, if the following events happened in ONE day...

* Monkey & Pepper both woke up after
   12 hours of sleep
* the t.v. was on for more than an hour
* we have not left the house for any reason
* it is 3:30 and we are still in jammies
* I didn't have to yell!
* the word silence was mentioned
   a few times
* I am on the computer before 11pm
* the kids napped SIMULTANEOUSLY
   FOR 2 HOURS
* I got to nap, NO, REALLY NAP,
   LIKE FOR REAL
* the 1st pot of Autumn Vegetable Soup
   was made for lunch

....then you know the kids are sick!

WHY WE LOVE TRADER JOE'S

There are many reasons why we heart

Some goofy guy hearts them even more. 

He made a corny video of his reasons!

It makes me smile every time I watch!

SAD ANNIVERSARY

I PRAY FOR EVERYONE..

...affected by the tragic events that happened eight years ago today. I will never forget being in that store. Time moved so slow. A saleswoman said that a plane crashed in New York. You would think that it was sad, but it could happen. I KNEW something else was going on. I explained that I worked for United and asked to use the phone to call over to the airport to get more info. By now, the entire store was waiting on my next move.

I called one desk; no answer.
"The line is busy." I lied.
I called the next desk over; no answer.
"That line is busy too." Another lie.

I pretended to call desk after desk with no luck, each time trying to reassure the worried faces around me.

"The lines are all busy because the employees are probably trying to rebook passengers."

By my fifth or so phone call, I knew they were starting to question my lies. I couldn't tell them that the reason the phones had gone unanswered was because they were evacuating the airport.

"You shouldn't worry." Another lie.

I somehow managed to keep it together until I left the store and got into my car where I promptly fell apart. I don't know how long I cried; what was being said on the radio; or how I got home. I called the manpower office at work. I was told that if I did not show up for my shift later that afternoon, I would be written up.

Thank you, United, for your compassion.

I chose to stay home and be with my family, uncertain of what was going to happen to our world in the coming hours, days, years. It hasn't been good.

I PRAY FOR THE FUTURE...

ANOTHER GREAT WEEKEND...

It was another not so quiet weekend.  Do we ever have a day planned that includes only ONE activity?  Not usually...just ask Joanne!  Keeping busy has kept us out of the house, which is always a good thing! 

SATURDAY...Our annual trip to the
Bristol Renaissance Faire!

I stayed up until 4am the night before finishing our Ren crafts. 

Francesca wore her wench flower wreath for all of 38 seconds...

...so I enjoyed it for the rest of the fest!

Nicholas and his silver sword with hand picked "jems" protected his Princess Maile, without fail, except for when he was busy eating!

Joey hates crowds, heat, dirt

and over-priced food.

I give him credit; he made the best of it!

We saw beautiful forest fairies.

And angry, bad knights.

Our only regret was that we were running so late, we spent more time looking for

J x 3 + G = The Lisy Family :) than we did hanging out with them!

We had a long day, but well worth it. 

We knew it was time to leave when Monkey and Pepper turned into...

Just kidding. They aren't giants....

*************************************************

SUNDAY...And we're off...to Arlington!

What a great afternoon!  It was nice to relax and enjoy a laid-back sunny day and actually win some money!  We have some goofy pics since we were attempting to

get back to 35mm film.

We have a LOT of pictures of birds. 

Thank you Donald!

Here are the winning horses we picked...

Joey - The Elevator

Deanna - Si Si Mon Amie

Nicholas - Wild Comedy

It seems as if our theory of (somewhat) choosing a horse based on a name that means something to us,

works every time!

Francesca wasn't feelin it.  She absolutely refused to touch the program every time we tried to get her to pick!

A little snack for the boys. 

Thank you, Zio!

The boys also enjoyed riding around the track on Sammie...

Francesca and Valentina were both a bit overwhelmed and mostly watched and slept.  Maybe next year, girls!

Joey could have been an actor in (insert your favorite mob movie title here) with his classic look and favorite shirt!

All in all, we had a very nice afternoon with family and friends and a very nice dinner afterwards!


MONDAY...BBQ...NUFF SAID

DEANNA IS A LOSER

Sadly, I did not win my MADSEN bike that
I have been drooling over. 
They are giving away one bike per week, so I still have another chance!

I get an entry for each click on the pic,
so....let your fingers do the walking!

If I win, I will personally ride to your house and deliver to you a delicious loaf of multigrain bread that's homemade from our favorite local bakery.

HAPPY HALF BDAY NICHOLAS!

Five little monkeys jumping on the bed

One fell off and bumped his head

Mamma called the doctor and the doctor said...

No more jumping; it's time for bed!

...11 MINUTES...

I had the pleasure of being allowed exactly 11 minutes (quite typical) to myself today, courtesy of Boss #1 and Boss #2.  At countdown + 1 minute, I attempted to get comfortable on the couch for a nap.  Stupid me, I had the window open for some fresh air.  I get zero breeze on most days, save for the times when the renters next door start to chain smoke.  I was lucky enough to only breathe in 4 cigarettes, which is the limit over here for air to be considered "fresh".  If those guys had lit the 5th one, I would have shut the window.  They went inside and then the kids in the neighborhood came home screaming from school.  I am really surprised I haven't learned Polish yet.  Does "coorva" count?  I do tend to waste time on things that do not matter (i.e. naps).  If you are ever in a similar situation and you have 11 minutes to spare, let me offer a few alternatives which would be a better use of your time...


* take a nice bathroom break


* take a phone call with 100 ?'s to qualify you for a survey that will have your quota filled after all those questions are answered


* try to write a blog entry; get stuck; swear at the cat out of anger


* pet the cat and apologize (you would have to do this on an alternative break)


* delete your unwatched tivo

* make a to-do list with pretty cursive so it looks nice on your fridge (because it will stay there so long, it will become a piece of fridge art)


Hope these suggestions help!  If you find that they take longer than 11 minutes, you move slower than I do, which I highly doubt is possible :)


GOTTA GO.....MY BOSSES ARE SCREAMING AT ME TO GET BACK TO WORK!

THANKFUL FOR A LOVELY WEEKEND

We had a great and (not at all) quiet weekend! 

Here are a few things we are grateful for...

Joey working late on Friday nights, so we have a chance to MISS him!

Thank you Joey/Daddy!

Getting lost in nature!  Thank you God and our favorite hideaway!

Deanna having the best laugh of her life after seeing "The Bubblebath"!

Thank you Grandma Jan!

Our new favorite vegetarian dish...

The Sweet Ass Texan Bean Salad!

Thank you Auntie Pam!

An absolutely fabulous sushi dinner from TANK!  Thank you so much Franco!

Devouring Red Octopus Martinis! 
They go down too smooth!

Thank you Pasquale!

An honest to goodness full night's sleep
(9 1/2 hours to be exact)

Thank you mom and dad!

Great laughs; great times; great company; great memories!

Thank you for it all, Kiddieland!

A great friend who also happens to be a great photographer! 

Thank you Janet!

 p.s..this is my new fav pic of myself :)

Hope y'all were also able to enjoy these last beautiful days of summer!

DEANNA'S CURRENT OBSESSION

I have been OBSESSING over this MADSEN for several months now!

Many of you know of our horrible car troubles, hence the need for new transportation.

I first spied this dream while reading NIENIE'S BLOG.

Through all of my struggles over this last year, she has been such an inspiration. She is the greatest example of staying strong and having faith while in the midst of a horrible tragedy. While my problems come nowhere near what she and her family has endured, they still affect me every moment and all I can do is
HAVE FAITH.

HAPPY 1ST BDAY FRANCESCA!

A year ago, a little earlier than expected, you and I finally got to meet face to face.  You move slower than me (34 1/2 hours to be exact). You were worth the wait!

Today, you drive me crazy because you never want to leave my side, but I wouldn't want it any other way!

Happy Birthday, my Lil Pepper!

Don't ever stop smiling!

HE LOVES ME....HE LOVES ME NOT!!!

He loves me....

He loves me not...

He loves me...

He loves me not...

OH YEAH...              HE LOVES ME!