A Yummy Winter Activity

My sister sent the girls this super cool cake-pop maker for Christmas. They've been begging almost every day to use it since the day they opened the package.

We try to limit their sweets so I wasn't going to break it open until all the Christmas goodies were out of the house.

FINALLY, last week I surprised them and told them the day had come that we could use the machine. I can't even tell you how much fun this thing was!

They especially loved the chocolate dipping part. Can you blame them? We tried white chocolate but it never really melted, so we had to stick with the milk chocolate. No big sacrifice there!

If you look closely, you can see the chocolate on her lips!

Then we got out all the sprinkles we had in the house and I let them decorate.

The  finished product

Yum-O

They turned out so cute we brought some to our little neighbor friends for an after school snack. The little boy kept saying "Wow, you really made these?".

We plan to make them again for Valentine's Day (a HUGE event in our house).
A nice way to spend a winter afternoon.

The Best Way to Ring in the New Year

This year we tried something a little different for New Year's Eve.
We started out the day by going to Navy Pier in Chicago for our annual trip to Winter Wonder Fest. We go every year, but usually before Christmas. Boy have we been doing it all wrong! Going after Christmas meant no lines, no crowds, no waiting! It was our best year yet. We went on ALL the rides at least once before lunch.
The best quote of the day was from Tia who said...
"My three favorite places to go are Disney World, Winter Wonder Fest, and Nonna's house". I'm pretty sure that means she had a good time!

And here's a little video clip of the kids and D.R. on the Tilt a Whirl. It was while taking this video that I realized how easily I get motion sick!

After spending the better part of the day there, and doing everything there was to do, we headed for home. We were shocked to find there was NO TRAFFIC. How can that be? We've been stuck in rush hour traffic at 2pm. on a Sunday before, so this was such a nice surprise.

Once home we started our new family tradition of having a sushi making party. The kids love to make sushi rice and help Daddy with all the preparations...

The expert

The apprentices

After eating way too much fish and sushi, we all got in our pajamas and had a camp out on the family room floor. We had done that last year and they both remembered it, so of course we had to do it again this year!

OK, I have to admit I wimped out and went up to my own bed just before midnight. I'm the only one in my family who can not sleep on the floor!

So this is how our family does New Year's Eve.
We hope you had a safe and healthy holiday.

Happy New Year!

How Lucky I am!

I know I have a wonderful life, and consider myself a lucky lady. I am married to a great husband and we have 2 amazing kids. Nothing new there.

However, on Christmas day I was struck by just how lucky I am that my kids are who they are. You see, we've made it a point NOT to spoil our kids with material things over the years. Believe me, they're  not deprived at all, or lacking in the toy department, but we try our best to keep it to a minimum. We set limits.

So when it came time to start talking about Christmas wish lists, here's what both girls came up with (for some reason they both wanted the same things).

1. A sleeping Beauty baby doll
2. A sleeping bag 
3. Ear muffs.

That's it. Not a list as long as my arm full of toy after toy. In fact, that list only consists of ONE toy. They're 4 and 6, how can that be?!
Well, I must admit we got them all 3 things on their list, as well as some books, clothes, pajamas and slippers.
When we were done opening presents, my 4 year old said

"Santa was really listening. We got just what we wanted!"

And do you know what my 6 year old said to me today?

"Mom, we got SO MANY presents this year!".

This child got ONE toy and thinks she hit the jack pot. That makes me proud as a mom.

Look how happy Tia is when she realizes what's in the box

Nothing like a sleeping bag for movie time!

The much anticipated ear muffs

I view this as proof that you can have happy, well adjusted kids without showering them with thousands of dollars worth of gifts and gadgets.

Spoil your kids with hugs and kisses, and give them the gift of a college fund!

Merry Christmas.

Remembering Mema

Even though my Mom passed away more than 2 years ago, I'm proud to say that my kids still talk about her all the time. I make an effort to keep her memory alive in our house, especially around the holidays.

While decorating our Christmas tree, we used so many ornaments that were made by my Mom. We talked about her a lot that day.

Yesterday we made Christmas cookies and so many of our cookie cutters belonged to my Mom. I showed the girls all the ones that were Mema's, and they wanted to use them all.
My Mom had a pig cookie cutter, since at one time she collected pigs. We decided to make one piggy cookie in honor of Mema. We even colored it orange, her favorite color...

Once it was frosted it didn't look much like a pig any more, but we all know what it is and who it's for.

Since today is Christmas Eve, the girls got to see what kinds of goodies were waiting in their stockings. My Mom made those stockings by hand. She made one for everyone in our family. Each little bead and sequin was sewed on by her little arthritic hands. I make sure to tell the kids about all the hard work and love that went into making those stockings. They love them as much as I do.

We miss Mema every day, but her memory is still alive in our home.

Merry Christmas!

What to do While Waiting for the Grandfolks to Arrive

Yesterday was a day of waiting for the grandparents to arrive. I knew there would be lots of questions like "how much longer" and "Are they coming NOW?". So I tackled the day with a plan.

In the morning we went to the library for a holiday music program. Then we headed to the gym, the kids to the play room, me to exercise.
After that we went out to lunch at the kids favorite restaurant which I think was a big mistake. Their cook went home sick and it took us 45 minutes to get pancakes. Then the questions went from "How long until they get here" to "Where is our food?". Oh the best laid plans!

Then the insane person in my head thought it would be a good idea to get some last minute grocery shopping done. Yeah, 2 kids in a busy grocery store. That was a great idea.

After all that and some much needed rest time (for me, not them), I pulled out the big guns.
I had picked up these giant gingerbread men at Trader Joe's and this was just the perfect occasion to keep them busy, making a big mess, while waiting...

Hard at work

so careful!

Tia's finished girl

Gia's finished boy

The kits were .99 each and I can say I think that was a well spent $2. It kept them busy for about an hour.
I'll have to keep this in mind for next time we're waiting for folks to arrive.

By the way, everyone arrived safely, and on time.

Have a wonderful Christmas!

The Christmas Pageant

Yesterday was the annual Christmas Pageant at Gia's preschool. There's nothing more precious than watching a room full of 4 year olds singing at the top of their lungs about the birth of baby Jesus.

I'm a little sad that this is the last year my kids will be able to do this. Next year it's on to public school where such things are no longer allowed.
For now though, we thoroughly enjoyed the show.

Before the show

Happy Birthday Dear Jesus!

A job well done

And for your viewing pleasure, here's a little clip of the show...

http://youtu.be/xkwMTnKh7uc

I hope you're all enjoying the Christmas season!

Holiday Fun

Every year we look forward to the Holiday Open House at our local library. It's so much fun for the kids. They have face painting, crafts, games, Santa is there, and best of all we all get free books!

A Wreath Please!

Tia chose to have hers on her hand

Gia's first time with Santa!

They're brave with each other

The girls both won lots of prizes including free meals at local restaurants. We'll be cashing those in over the Christmas break.
Santa's helpers gave each child a new, wrapped book which of course they love. Mommy and Daddy got to choose books too (ours weren't wrapped).

It was a fun night of wholesome family fun. We feel so fortunate to live in such a family friendly town. A great time was had by all!

Do you visit your local library?

Trying to do Better

Yesterday I watched the documentary "Food Matters". My nephew recommended it a while ago and I just got around to it.
He was right, it was profound and definitely got me thinking.

If you haven't already seen it, I suggest you give it a shot. There's A LOT of information to digest, but most of it good, easy to understand basic stuff.

The main thing I took away from the documentary is how the cancer rates in the U.S. are so much higher than other nations. Think about it, we eat a lot of junk. I'm not just talking about fast food, but all the pre-packaged convenience foods that claim to be healthy but have a list of 40 ingredients you've never heard of. We put a lot of chemicals in our bodies every day.

We had already made some changes before I watched the documentary. For example, a couple years ago we made a decision for our family to get all the High Fructose Corn Syrup out of our diet at home. Once we started reading labels, we realized it's in just about everything. We did our home work and found brands we like, and now it's second nature to us. I know my kids will get corn syrup in their diet when they go places (parties, play dates, school, etc.) but we choose not to have it in our home. It was an easy transition for us.

How about going even further? Could I do better? I gave it a lot of thought last night and decided to do some shopping today, to see what changes I could make in our diets, especially for the kids.

It doesn't take more than a minute in the grocery store to see why people are reluctant to go organic. Organic food is expensive. VERY expensive. How can I justify paying $4/pound for grapes when I know I can get them for $1/pound? You know I'm cheap...REALLY cheap. So for me the shopping trip today was an agonizing experience.

However, here's what I did...

Tia takes apple sauce in her lunch every day. It's her favorite thing in the world to eat. I figured that was the best place to start. Although I always buy natural/no sugar added apple sauce, I decided to go a step further and give organic a try.

Do you know how much it killed me to pay the same price for this 4 pack that I normally pay for a 6 pack?! I'm trying real hard to think of the long term benefits of eliminating the chemicals in our food. (inhale...exhale).

And since we use a lot of apple sauce at home with dinner, and we use it to bake with (instead of oil), I had to get a jar...

The organic jar is half the size as the regular jar, but cost the same. Ugh! Deep breath. I can do this.

However, I have to tell you that when Gia tasted it she asked "Mom, did you make apple sauce today?". I told her no, I bought it at the grocery store just like always, and her response (as she was shoveling it in her mouth) was "Well, it's DELICIOUS!". I didn't taste it, I'm just taking her word for it. Looks like I'll be buying more.

So, what did I do about the grapes? Well, I just couldn't do it. If I paid $4 a pound for grapes, I'm sure I'd break out in some sort of hives. Have I mentioned that I'm cheap?

Instead, I bought the $1/pound grapes and washed them to death. I put them in a strainer in the sink and washed them about 4 times. In fact, every time I walked by the sink I'd spray them again and move them around. THEN, before I put them in the containers, I washed them AGAIN.
Now, I know the washing didn't do anything for the contaminated soil they were grown in, but at least I tried my best to get the pesticides off the skin.

Hey, you gotta' start somewhere, right?

Baby steps. This week it's apple sauce, maybe next week will be grapes.

How do you feed your kids?

Breakfast, Not With Santa

Our local school district puts on a big "Breakfast with Santa" event every year. I've heard from lots of friends that it's a great time, and I should bring the kids. I had to work but bought the tickets and had hubby bring them.

Well, let's just say they were excited to be there, just not about the big guy in the red suit. They're ages 4 1/2 and 6, and still afraid of Santa.

They did enjoy a muffin and a bunch of activities, and proclaimed a good time was had by all. Just no visit with Santa.

Ornament making

Face painting

Happy Thanksgiving

I have to say this year, Thanksgiving was a bit unusual, to say the least. The in laws came in like they always do. However, since we'll be moving from the Chicago area this summer, they wanted to do something they haven't done since we've lived here. Their choice was going to the top of the Se@rs Tower observation deck. The only day we had free to to that was on Thanksgiving , and since the tower is open every day of the year, no problem.

MIL, and I got a lot of the dinner prepped the day before, and cooked the turkey breast for 2 hours, since it takes about 3 hours to cook fully.

We headed out first thing in the morning to hop the train to the city. We get all the way down there (more than an hour by train) only to find out that it's so foggy and cloudy, visibility from the deck is ZERO! We went across the street for a cup of coffee, and snacks for the kids, to try to wait it out. After an hour we checked back in. No change. 

We decided it wasn't worth the $100 it would cost for all of us to get up there and see nothing, so we headed back home (another hour long train ride!).

Of course I had the camera with me. This is the only 'sight seeing' we got to do, in the train station...

Holiday display at the Metra station

Once home we started right away on getting dinner ready. We popped that bird back in the oven for its last hour while we made the potatoes and stuffing. The kiddos set the table.

We all sit down while hubby begins carving the bird and it was still raw in the middle! 

Sometimes even the best laid plans don't work out. Thankfully the in laws aren't formal people and we all took it in stride, laughing at all our mishaps of the day.

Nobody went hungry, and we did eventually get to eat some turkey, just not at the same time as the rest of the food! I declared dessert the best part of the meal.

We were all together, so that's the important part, right?

The next day we headed out to the circus. When we checked our tickets, we noticed we were one short. I somehow mis-counted and didn't buy enough tickets. How does this stuff happen to me, all the time?!

Thankfully, we were able to get in by having one of the kiddos sit on Daddy's lap. Phew.

Here's my brave girl Gia with the clowns during the pre-show.

Tia wanted nothing to do with the clowns, preferring to stay close to Daddy.

After the circus we went out for dinner since nobody even wanted to think about that turkey again!

All in all, we had a nice holiday even with all the mishaps and mayhem. I'm sure we'll look back on all this and laugh.

We're together, happy and healthy. For that I am thankful.

We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

The Voice of Reason

I've been having some pretty cool conversations with my kids lately and they remind me that they're growing up. It's cute and scary all at the same time.

Here's one of my favorites...

Tia told me that Daddy told her when she gets older, someone might try to offer her a cigarette, and how she should handle that situation.
Of course me being a crazy animated mom, I said "Oh, if someone tries to give you a cigarette you say 'Eww, gross, are you crazy?! I don't smoke, that's disgusting!'"

Tia remained calm and looked at me with her wise eyes and responded "Or, I could just say 'no thanks', and walk away".


Simple, yet effective.  She's wise beyond her years.

Happy Halloween!

The kiddos had a fantastic time this year trick or treating.  Well, except for the part where the neighbors dog came bounding out of the house and scared the daylights out of them. Aside from that, they had a great time!

I lucked out big time this year since both girls just wanted to wear dress-up clothes that we already had. Bonus! I didn't have to buy costumes.

Let me introduce you to Alice (in Wonderland) and Barbie from the "Barbie in Paris" movie...

Ready for the masses

In years past we've just gone to maybe 6 houses and then headed home. This year they were really into it and we circled the whole block. Unfortunately that meant we weren't home to greet the big crowds and now we have too much candy left over but hey, they had fun.

Have you noticed more people choosing to give away non-edible items this year?  That made me happy. We got stickers, play dough, pencils,  Beanie Babies, and even a tooth brush!
I won't be giving away Beanie Babies next year but I can promise you one thing. I'm not giving candy. There's too much of it and who lets their kids eat all that crap anyway?
I promise not to be the creepy lady who gives out apples or popcorn balls, but I will be finding something cool to give away besides sugar.

Happy Halloween!

What We do on Cold and Rainy Days

When the temperature can drop by 20 degrees in one day, you have to be good at coming up with things to do indoors.  I have to say the kids have gotten pretty good at that.

Here's what they came up with when Tia was sick last week and we couldn't go outside...

Crazy tea party

Sure, the family room was a total mess, but they kept themselves busy and entertained.  Best of all, I didn't have to hear the words "I'm bored".

Then there was this...

Our first time carving a pumpkin!

And when Tia has school, but Gia does not we usually go to the Parent-Tot center and do stuff like this...

With our friend Zara

Halloween crafts

The winters here are long and hard. Indoor activities are a must. I think we handle it pretty well.
Bring it on!

A Healthy Treat

About twice a week at least one of the kids asks me to make them a yogurt smoothie.  I'm happy to oblige because it's full of protein and they get in a serving or two of fruit. However, there's usually too much for them to have in one sitting.  I can't stand waste so it bothered me to pour the left overs down the drain.  And, I didn't want to get into the bad habit of finishing their food when they're done (I get in enough calories of my own, I don't need extra help).
Then I got this great idea.  Believe me, I'm not usually the mom with the Suzie Homemaker ideas, so this is big news, OK?

I had this super cool ice cube tray which makes flower shaped ice, purchased from IKEA ages ago. I filled it with the left over smoothie and stuck in cut up straws for a little handle. I started to use tooth pics but quickly realized the straws looked way cuter, and are probably safer for little ones.

They turned out perfect and the kids think they're great. They're so tiny, just the right size for the kiddos.  So now when Tia comes home from school every day asking for a popsicle, I can say yes without any guilt, or fear of ruining her dinner.

A big Hooray for all natural!

Happy Sweetest Day

It's that time of year again.  The girls look forward to this and talk about it for months leading up to it.

The Daddy-Daughter Dance!

They got all dressed up in their new fancy dresses, thanks to Nonna who is always on top of such things, and hit the town (or the local gym) for a night of dancing with their Daddy.

I've heard that this was this was the best year yet, and a blast was had by all.  As usual, I was told I wasn't allowed to attend because "It's only for Dads and daughters".  I offered to wear a disguise and slip in the back door, but no-go on that one!

Here are a couple pictures I took at the house before they left.  Too bad I wasn't not allowed in or I could have gotten some good ones on the dance floor.

Precious moments, special memories in the making.