The Khoury Family

Elliot the Elephant Comes for a Visit

2012-01-28T16:16:00.006-06:00

Friday Gabe brought home little friend from school who gets to sleepover at our house. Apparently this cute little elephant, Elliot, travels from house to house on the weekends and goes on fun adventures with each student in Gabe's class. The students have to photograph the elephants escapades and then write an entry in Elliot's travel journal.

We made waffles this morning and we found out that Elliot likes peanut butter on his waffles. He also likes milk, he even slurps it up with his trunk...quite noisy!!

After breakfast the kids played games with Elliot. He's pretty good at Sorry, but I think he cheats!

We took a little break to make a fire in the fireplace. Elliot liked that but we had to watch him because he kept getting too close to the fire. I'm pretty sure he's flammable...that could turn out pretty badly!Later we had a photo shoot. As you can tell from above, Elliot is pretty photogenic. We think he should check out modeling for Build-a-Bear after his stint as a traveler blogger.

Speaking of photo shoots, the kids and I worked on their Valentine cards. Gabe and I did a similar idea last year, but this year we did the updated version that is more fitting for a big time Kindergartner.

He did a terrific job posing and was really into this idea. It was a fun time. He wanted more than one pose to hand out, so we came up with these two similar but different cards.Grace opted for the original pose we used last year. More girlie and respectable. But after she saw Gabe's she decided to get silly too.How funny. They can't wait to hand them out...we only have to wait 2 weeks...ha! You never know sometimes these things take forever to get right and other times they work straight out of the gate...lucky for me it was the latter this time!

Pillows and More

2012-01-24T14:11:00.004-06:00

Last week a friend of mine asked me to help her freshen up and redesign her formal living room, entryway, and dining room. Together we made a few trips to Home Depot, Ikea, Home Goods, Target, Joann Fabric, TJMaxx, West Elm, and more to pick up a few things and do a lot of "window shopping."

When I was out on my own I kept my camera handy and took pictures of things that would look nice in the room and showed them to her later and then she made the final purchases. It has been a lot of work but a very fun collaborative effort. I'll have pictures soon, but for now I'll share a few of the projects we've worked on for her house.

We picked out fabric at Joann Fabric and I made four of these black and white pillows for the room. We also picked out a nicely textured black fabric for an additional 3 pillows. And we chose a soft pink for an accent color-I still have to sew those though.She had this coffee table in her basement, but it was damaged and needed some work. I used my new orbital sander, a Christmas gift from my mom, and I sanded it completely down and restained it, distressed it with nails, screws, and a hammer, and then finished it off with a protective coat of poly.Grace even got into the fun and helped me stain and paint a few accessories we picked out. More on those later!I even freshened up our couches with some fabric we had that was not going to be used. I was able to make two large pillows and a small little accent pillow with the salvage leftover from my friends' house project.

We still have a little more work to do on her house, but the most time consuming part is finished, now we just have to finish the art/photos for the walls and place all of the accessories in the room. I'll try to take a few pictures this week or next week to share with you.

Playing in the Snow

2012-01-20T16:27:00.004-06:00

We are getting hit by a ton of snow today and the kids are loving it. Grace and I went out earlier today to play for a little bit and then we went out after school with Gabe.

He really wanted to shovel the driveway, make a fort, and throw snowballs. The snow isn't quite right for a fort, so we made snow angels and I buried him in the snow instead. After we were good and cold we came inside for a cup of hot chocolate.
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Ice Skating

2012-01-14T19:42:00.003-06:00

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Today we took a quick trip to the ice rink for some open skate time. Gabe warmed up to skating pretty quickly and wanted to do it all by himself. He took quite a few spills, but said he didn't mind falling, so it was fun to watch him. Unfortunately he ended the afternoon on a bad fall, but he progressed pretty quickly today. Grace took turns skating with Joseph and then me since she's still pretty unstable on her blades. We grabbed an ice cream on the way home...a good way to end any day, right?

Sledding!

2012-01-13T14:56:00.003-06:00

This morning we headed to the sled hill and we all had a blast. I was surprised by how well Grace did climbing up the hill time and time again. She even wanted to go down the hill all by herself...that sure made it easy for me! We happened to meet up with a few friends at the hill and had lunch with them afterwards...what a fun way to spend a day with no school!

Snow!

2012-01-12T20:17:00.003-06:00

This morning we finally got our first decent snowfall of the season. The kids were so happy to see snow. We had to send Gabe with snow pants, gloves, his hat, and snow boots today. Kindergarteners have to get dressed in all of their gear before heading to the cafeteria for lunch, they eat in their snowsuits, and then they head out for recess.

Grace and I had to brave the roads to make it to her soccer class and run a few errands and then we spent the rest of the afternoon outside. She helped me shovel the driveway and then she insisted on walking to school to get Gabe. He wasn't quite as thrilled about walking back in the snow as she was, but he made it. Once home we stayed inside our warm house and did a few craft projects and then we made a fire and roasted marshmallows after dinner.

The kids discovered fusion beads recently and used some gift card money to buy a set. The kit comes with special beads, boards to design on, and an idea book with all sorts of pictures and designs to replicate. They have really enjoyed creating their own designs and melting the beads together with a hot iron. Today we attached a few to their backpacks and they were delighted.

Tomorrow we have a buddy coming over for an all day playdate and I think we're going to head to the sled hill. Should be a fun time! Can't wait!!

Holiday Project Recap

2012-01-10T14:27:00.007-06:00

Here is a little recap of the projects I was able to complete over the past month or so. Most of these projects were inspired by fellow bloggers, pinterest, and a couple of them are my own creations. Some of these you will have seen already but there are a few that I have kept hidden until after Christmas.

1. Owl Pillow - I made this cute little owl with fabric scraps I had lying around. It matches the bedding in Grace's room2. Sweater Refashion - I cut an old sweater apart and made a new sweater dress for Grace.
3. Our version of the "Elf on the Shelf" - the kids were so attached to him and the game that they cried when he returned to Santa at Christmas.

4. Superman Cape - I completed 3 of these and gave them out to my superhero-loving nephews and we kept one for pretend play at home.

5. Crocheted Scarf - Grace requested this hot pink scarf.

6. Crayon Caddies - I made a total of 7 of these. We kept a couple and gave the rest as Christmas presents.

7. Curled Ribbon Hair Bows - I made a total of 17 hairs bows with the $7 worth of ribbon I bought. We've already made good use of them too. Many of the extras will be given away with birthday presents and such.

8. Market Skirt - This was fun to make and I'm excited to see it on Grace this summer.

9. Drawstring Fishy Bag - This project was super fun and I really enjoyed Grace's reaction when I gave it to her. I will be making more of these!

10. Matching dresses - Grace received one of these and her little cousin received the second one.

11. Polka Dot Apron for my friend Eva - This one was pretty straightforward, it was the only project I made this year that came from a real pattern. It was also fun to give it to my friend - she had such a great reaction!

12. Explorer Bags - I made 10 explorer bags to use as favors at Gabe's birthday this year. The kids loved that they were personalized and they were super inexpensive since I found the shoulder strap material at Goodwill for $1.

13. Quilted Christmas Stockings - I loved this project. I learned a lot and I had fun piecing the quilted sections. I'll work on personalizing them next year!

14. Cubs blanket (with matching pillow) - made for a friend's son

15. Baby blanket for my niece - I was able to piece most of it in one day and I used a lot of the leftover fabric from the dresses I made earlier in the month.

Back to School

2012-01-09T22:20:00.004-06:00

After a rather nice break for the holidays the kids headed back to school this morning. They did a pretty good job of getting back in the swing of the morning routine and heading off to school. Gabe was excited to use his new backpack from Santa to haul his homework and lunch to school and Grace was excited to try out her new ear muffs. I was happy to get back into my own workout routine and I was able to make use of my small amount of "free" time this morning.

After lunch Grace and I headed over to the nature preserve by our house and took a walk, collected sticks, and threw things into the river. We had a nice time, but it was super windy so we headed back home and drew pictures on the driveway and we played soccer in the garage. After we picked up Gabe we had a playdate with one of the girls in Gabe's class and her big brother. The kids had a good time and we barely made it home in time to make dinner. We had a fun-filled first day back to school!

Grace at Soccer

2012-01-08T19:43:00.002-06:00

Here is a little video of Grace at her very first soccer practice this week. She did a great job!

Soccer

2012-01-05T11:29:00.002-06:00

The kids both started winter soccer this week. Gabe did a great job the other night at his first game, and even scored a goal. Grace starts today and just can't wait! Doesn't she look cute in Gabe's soccer uniform?!

Hello 2012!!

2012-01-04T08:32:00.005-06:00

We had lots of fun on New Year's Eve. This was the first year that the kids stayed awake and they were sure to make the most of it. We had a nice dinner followed by lots of board games and card games. Then the kids busted out the remote control cars they got for Christmas. Later we made a fire and roasted marshmallows while playing a traditional Arab New Year guessing game. Then we celebrated with the East Coast and we watched the ball drop at 11pm our time. Afterwards the kids wanted to have a dance party...somehow Grace ended up in her bathing suit dancing the night away?!? We all celebrated again at midnight central time and kept dancing until 12:30am and then we finally headed up to bed.

Drawstring Fishy Bag

2011-12-31T11:06:00.004-06:00

I spotted a tutorial at Make It and Love It, one of my favorite sewing blogs, on how to make this cute fishy bag and I just had to make it for Grace. She loves purses and I knew she would love this little fishy bag. I also knew it was the perfect project for a lazy day since it uses very little fabric and I knew it would help me use up a bunch of fabric scraps that I had laying around from old projects. I actually had the blue lining fabric for the underside of the scales and inside of the purse leftover from a Halloween costume I made for my husband in 2003!

It turned out so cute and it works like a charm. It has a strap so Grace can carry it around like a purse and it also has a drawstring closure so she can keep all of her treasures locked up safe and sound.I like that it is sturdy and I lined it with a thick interfacing so it keeps its' shape even when it is empty.

Check out the tutorial here in case you would like to make one for a little girl in your life, or add another strap and turn it into a backpack for a little boy you know. I even used a few extra scraps to make a little matching zippered coin purse for her. Check out a how to here if you are interested in making one as well.

Merry Christmas

2011-12-28T22:01:00.002-06:00

We had a wonderful Christmas morning at home this year. The kids were all starry-eyed and truly excited about each and every gift they opened. It was so fun to watch them tear into the packages and see the joy that emanated from them. I especially liked seeing them hand out the gifts they made at school for us and the gifts Gabe got to pick out for each of us at his school Christmas sale. It was such a precious moment. After we finished unwrapping the packages we ate a late breakfast and then we spent a few hours assembling and playing with everything before packing up and heading to Michigan for a few days. It couldn't have been a better day.

DIY Curled Ribbon Hairbows

2011-12-23T12:02:00.003-06:00

These hairbows are cute, easy to make, and much cheaper than the ones you can find in the shops at the mall. I grabbed a few rolls of ribbon for $1 each and for a total of $7 I was able to make these 8 hairbows and there is over half of the ribbon left over to make more for friends or save for another craft project.
I chose colors that would coordinate with Grace's current wardrobe and then I made a special green and gold set to match her soccer uniform...that she will wear on January 2nd.

The trick to curling the ribbon is that you actually bake it in a warm oven!

First you wind the ribbon around a small dowel that I cut in 5 inch pieces. I clipped the ends with clothespins that I already had, I found it took about 13 inches of ribbon. Once they were all secured, I put them on a sheetpan and baked them in the oven for 10 minutes or so at 225 degrees. (I was not careful at all as I did these while cleaning the house and doing 6 loads of laundry so some baked for 30 minutes while others were in there for 9-10 and they were all perfect. Great project to do while you are busy!!) Next I finished the edges of each ribbon by melting the edges with a lighter. I glued a small piece of ribbon to a hairclip to cover it.

Next I stacked the ribbons, I found 8-10 ribbons worked the best and then I sewed them to a small round piece of felt I had cut out. I finished them off by hot-glueing them to the prepared hairclip. Done!

Quilted Christmas Stockings

2011-12-16T10:58:00.003-06:00

Have you checked out pinterest? It is a completely awesome site filled with tons and tons of ideas, pictures, fashion tips, cute food pictures, crafts and more. You can create your own board of pins which automatically stores all of your favorite pictures and links from the web so you can keep them accessible, share them with friends, and keep them organized. Hop on over there and take a peek, but beware you'll need to set aside a chunk of time to take it all in.

I found these completely adorable quilted stockings and I couldn't get them out of my head. So I started quilting my own stockings. I wanted them to fit in with my Christmas decor though, so I picked out more traditional fabric colors. I just love the zig-zag one!! I have these two finished and the other two are progressing rapidly, so I will hopefully be able to finish them all and have them hung and ready to be filled with goodies!

Gabe's 1st Story

2011-12-14T01:06:00.002-06:00

Today I found this in Gabe's backpack...it is the first paragraph and real story that he wrote totally on his own in his own phonetic spelling. I think it is an awesome story and he was pretty proud of it. If you can't make it out is says;

Gabe's Fairy Tale

Once upon a time there was a land made out of candy, but it was mostly made out of chocolate. But sadly, it became hot and the chocolate melted. Happily, a cold machine came and made it cold and the chocolate came back. Finally, they were happy. The End.

I think that is quite a bit of writing for a kindergartener. He must have been on a roll, because tonight he got a notebook out and wrote down all of the kids that came to his birthday party and what they gave him. Then he wrote a letter to his friend Cooper. It was really cute and he kept himself busy for an hour or so writing!

Preschool Christmas Program 2011

2011-12-12T00:28:00.003-06:00

Over the weekend Grace had her Preschool Christmas Program. Her class was dressed as Angels. They all looked so adorable as they walked into the chapel with their hands folded. Grace did such a great job, we were really impressed. She sang and did all of the motions for each of the songs that were performed. She did look for us a few times and gave us a great big smile and wave each time she spotted us. I don't know why, but seeing my baby up on stage alone-in a way- makes me a little emotional. She looked so small, but so very grown up at the same time.

Gingerbread House

2011-12-10T15:10:00.006-06:00

Last night we started working on a gingerbread house. This year we decided to build it from scratch so that we could make it as big as we wanted to. We made a double batch of dough and cut out all of the pieces for the house and then used the extra to cut out Christmas trees, gingerbread girls, snowmen, and more. We baked it and left it out to cool and harden over night.
This morning I made a large batch of royal icing and separated it into three piping bags with different tips. Next we set up all of the candy and began decorating and assembling. It took us a few hours to get everything together...but the kids had a lot of fun thinking of how they wanted to decorate the house and what they could add to the yard. We finished it off by sprinkling coconut around it to look like snow and then we placed a small candle inside the house. We lit it and took a few pictures. The kids had a good time, Teta had a good time, and I was really happy with how cute the finished project looked. Definitely more work than the store-bought version, but tons more fun and much more creative.

Gabe's 6th Birthday Bash

2011-12-09T10:18:00.006-06:00

Make a video - it's fun, easy and free!
www.onetruemedia.com

Gabe had quite the birthday bash this year...only fitting since it was his "Golden Birthday." A little known milestone when your age is the same as the day you were born...December 6th = 6 years old. This year we had a small birthday party with his closest friends. It was terrific since the kids are old enough to be dropped off now and it felt much more casual than years past. Joseph and I took the kids out in the garage and I had all sorts of games set up and we had a lot of fun being silly with them. Gabe opted for an Ice Cream Sundae bar instead of a cake for the party. It turned out to be a huge hit...his friends loved it and were still talking about it 3 days later when we saw them on our way to school. We ended the evening by opening gifts, hitting his pinata, and playing balloon darts with the neighbors. It was a lot of fun.
Then on Tuesday, his real birthday, we took Gabe to the movies and picked up Chinese food - his absolute favorite. I surprised him with a robot cake I had made and a few Angry Bird cupcakes I made from the extras. Gabe was thrilled with all his birthday fun and I was so glad he enjoyed his birthday and loved every present he received. He hypes it up all year long and dreams up things for months and months, so I wanted to make it special for him. It feels like he won't be little for much longer so I want to make the most of it!

6 Years Old!!

2011-12-06T11:41:00.002-06:00

We have a new 6 year old in the house!! Gabe woke up this morning super excited to head off to school and see all of his friends and let them know he's 6 today.
We made him a special pancake breakfast, I let him open a new chapter book that I got, I packed him a special lunch, and then we dropped him off at school. We can't wait to pick him up later and celebrate with him!!

Awesome Christmas Lights!!

2011-12-05T10:46:00.002-06:00

There is an awesome house one street away from us with a Christmas light display set to music. When you drive up to their house they have a sign on their garage with a FM radio station that you can tune to in your car and then you sit and watch the lights blink to the music. It is crazy cool and we will be driving by as often as we can in the next few weeks!!! So neat!!

The Magic Elf and a Closet Makeover

2011-12-01T11:08:00.004-06:00

This morning we were able to start counting down the days until Christmas. The kids opened their first envelope from the advent calendar and it said "Your Elf has arrived. Look for a special package from the North Pole." So the kids ran around and found a special package under the Christmas Tree. First they opened the letter which stated that Santa sent them a special Magic Elf that will be watching over them this month and checking to see if they are being naughty or nice. The Elf will then report to Santa and tell him his findings. Each day the Elf hides in a different spot to watch the kids. They were super excited and had lots of questions. They even gave him a name...Runnie, because he runs all around the house watching them. It should be a fun tradition...they will definitely look forward to spotting him each morning...and they will be on their best behavior throughout the day!! (If you are interested in making your own elf, check out this website for a full tutorial.)

The other thing I have to share this morning is a little closet makeover I did yesterday. I have an extra coat closet in the laundry room that was underused and poorly setup. So I sketched a layout of what I would like it to look like and then I took measurements. Once I had that I headed out to Home Depot and had a piece of MDF cut to my specifications. Then I took out the old wire rack that was in there and replaced it with four good sized shelves, a compartment for the brooms, mops, etc. and an overhead shelf just deep enough to store all of the extra cleaning supplies. I think the entire project took about 2 hours, and now the closet has so much more storage space. Later I plan on painting the shelves, but I'll wait until after the holidays to tackle that part of the project.

Schoolwork

2011-11-29T15:51:00.005-06:00

Gabe's reading and writing has certainly taken off this year. He is doing a great job and it is fun, interesting, and exciting to see what kinds of things he brings home in his backpack. He has gone from being able to write a few words to putting things together and writing sentences. His reading is getting much better and he is so proud of himself for figuring words out and making connections while he's reading.

Today he brought home a book to read and then he had a sheet of homework to go along with it. He had to answer a few questions after reading it aloud to us. He seems to like having homework so far, but I think he wishes it was all math homework. He really shines in math and his teacher even made him a special folder with challenge work in it since the kindergarten math is pretty easy and he finishes it quickly.

Quick and Easy Advent Calendar

2011-11-29T11:03:00.006-06:00

This year I thought it would be fun to start a new tradition by making an advent calendar with an envelope for each day leading up to Christmas. Each day the kids will get to open one envelope that contains a game or activity to do. It is a fun way to countdown the days until Christmas and it keeps the kids from asking, "How many more days until Christmas?" ten times a day! Now they can count the envelopes all by themselves. Plus, it gives us a fun little activity to do each day. I wrote 25 ideas on colored paper, here are a few:

Make a Christmas ornament with popsicle sticks

Decorate sugar cookies

Go ice skating

Make a fire in the fireplace

Write a letter to Santa

Play Christmas pictionary

Watch a Christmas movie

Make a Gingerbread house

Talk about Jesus' birth

Wrap a present

Then I made tiny envelopes out of scrapbook paper I had and hung them on string with tiny clothes pins. I simply cut a 6x6 square and then folded the corners in to look like an envelope and secured them with tape from the inside. Don't worry if you missed the first few days of the month, you can always countdown the last 10 or 20 days until Christmas. Your children will still love it!!

Christmas Decorations

2011-11-28T21:50:00.002-06:00

Grace and I picked up a few candy canes and added the final touches to the Christmas tree today. She was excited to have it done and said she thought it was so pretty. After I took a few pictures of the tree she told me to take a few pictures of her doing her tae kwon do moves. She wanted me to share them with you so here are a few of the moves she showed me today. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Dinner

2011-11-26T10:30:00.002-06:00

We had a Happy Thanksgiving this year...Thursday we celebrated with Kareem, Dina, Mena, Sophia, Jalal, Mary, and Abbie. We had a very traditional dinner and then we had lots of desserts. After cleaning up we all went downstairs and played a few crazy games of ping pong. It was a lot of fun and everybody seemed to have a good time.
Friday we picked up our Christmas tree and got it ready to decorate. Then Joseph's parents came from Michigan and everybody else came over to greet them and we had lots of appetizers, turkey paninis, and more desserts while we decorated the tree. It was a fun night. Saturday we drove down to Timothy and Grace's house to attend Miles' baptism. It was a fun afternoon...we played a lot of Uno!! The kids had fun in the car on the way down. They were pretty silly! They also had fun playing with the other kids at the house before and after the church service.
Sunday morning everybody slept past 9am-which never happens. I guess we were all tired! Then we spent the day putting up the Christmas lights outside and decorating inside. Jalal, Mary, Abbie, and Sido stopped by for a couple hours too. They had a present for Gabe and I even had some cupcakes so we sang an early Happy Birthday song to Gabe and he got to open up his present which turned out to be a microscope. Then he spent a couple of hours finding things to look at in the slides. We ended the night with a picnic dinner in the kiddie tent watching a movie. It was a super fun-filled break! Back to school tomorrow!!
Here is a little video of the car ride yesterday.

Turkey Trot 2011

2011-11-26T10:20:00.002-06:00

Joseph and I started our Thanksgiving morning with a brisk 5K...the Naperville Turkey Trot 5K. It was a chilly, but fun morning! We were both excited and ready to get a run in before cooking and eating our Thanksgiving meal. I did pretty well and actually got 17th place out of 389 women in my age division with an under 8 minute a mile pace and Joseph got 71st out of 265 men in his age division. He came in just after me by less than half a minute but the men's group must be pretty fast. This might just become an annual tradition for us!!

Another Dress and a Crayon Caddy

2011-11-17T10:38:00.004-06:00

The other day I cleaned out the storage area upstairs and I found a big box of fabrics that I have accumulated over the years from various projects and I organized the whole bin. I cleared out some space in the laundry room and I stacked all of the fabrics so I can easily see what I have. I realized I have quite a bit of fabric to play with and use for random projects, which is good because I have a big list of things to try!
Last night I was working on a few projects for Christmas and I finished up a dress for Grace. Then I picked some fabric to test out on this cute crayon caddy. It holds 16 crayons and rolls up to easily fit in a bag or purse...which is perfect for Grace and her love of purses!Grace actually helped out on this project and did all of the backstiching. It was a snap to put together and I think I will be making a few more of these as stocking stuffers and such!

Pancakes, Playdates, and Whoopie Pies

2011-11-16T22:29:00.005-06:00

The kids have been busy the past week with playdates, a trip or two to the park, crafting inside, and baking. We had one of Gabe's classmates over last week and the kids had lots of fun painting and making bracelets. Monday we had playgroup and Gabe had a pumpkin whoppie pie that he loved, so he asked the host mom for the recipe. She sent it to our e-mail that day and we made our own batch on Tuesday. We also made some chocolate whoppie pies with fluffy marshmallow filling---Joseph went bananas because he liked them so much. She said they tasted just like a Ding Dong! Ha!
Gabe loved the cookies so much that he wanted to take some to his teacher for her to taste. Apparently she made pumpkin cookies a few weeks ago and really likes them.
Here is a short video of the kids running around while the cookies were baking last night-nothing exciting...they were actually much funnier before I turned the camera on! Doesn't that always seem to be the case???

Friday night our playgroup went out to dinner and we did a little line dancing afterwards. It was a fun time especially since most had not line-danced before so we all looked a little goofy!!

Apron

2011-11-06T13:34:00.002-06:00

Friday I met up with my friend, Eva, for some shopping and dinner. Since she recently moved into her newly built house I wanted to make her a new apron to use in her new kitchen. I picked out fabrics I knew she would like since she loves polka dots and she loves purple, I knew this one would hit the mark!
I used a pattern for this apron that I actually bought a couple of years ago but had never used. It turned out nicely and I was happy with all of the serged and finished seaming that I did..it looked good on both sides!! I thought the front was a little plain so I used scraps to make a cute little fabric flower that I added to the front. It all came together pretty quickly and I was excited to give it to her the other day.

She loved it and actually put it on right then and there and drove all the way home with it on!!! That really made my day!

Free Donuts!

2011-11-04T15:04:00.003-05:00

Grace wanted to go to the park and have a picnic. On the way home after preschool she said she wanted to take a bagel with cream cheese to the park. The way she said it was so cute that I couldn't say no to her. Once we were in the bagel store she wanted to get a donut hole too...but she couldn't decide which flavor to go with so the lady behind the counter gave her a bag with a few different kinds and a big donut with sprinkles for free! She was pretty happy with all her donuts!! We stopped at the park, ate our picnic, and then played for awhile. It was a fun time!

Sweater Refashion

2011-11-04T10:08:00.004-05:00

Last year I refashioned a few of my old clothes into new skirts for Grace. Well, here we go again...I cleaned out a few of my old things and I'll be refashioning them in the next couple of weeks. The first thing I tackled was a cable knit sweater that did not fit me quite right. So, I went at it with a pair of scissors and cut it into a sweater dress for Grace. I cut the cuffs off and made short sleaves and then I modified the collar to fit Grace's body. I finished it off with a Christmas tree button and I just tied a little ribbon around which I still need to attach...Grace was at school so I couldn't fit it to her. It also needs to be washed and pressed to get the seems to lay a little flatter...but overall it came out really cute. One sleeve was caught on the hanger so it looks a little uneven at the shoulders, but it looks fine in person. I think it will be darling with some cute leggings or tights.

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T11:39:00.002-05:00

The kids had a great Halloween from morning until night. Grace had a parade first thing in the morning at school and then I went back later in the morning to help with the party. At 3:00 we went to the elementary school and watched the big kids parade around the school after their party. We came home, had a snack, and then went with friends' trick-or-treating. Grace and I made it for an hour and a half and then we came home to hand out candy. Joseph and Gabe stayed out until Gabe filled up his entire pumpkin bucket with candy! They seemed pretty happy...but barely ate any of their candy before going off to bed, although Gabe made sure I put a candy in his lunchbox before heading upstairs.

The Market Skirt

2011-10-30T11:04:00.003-05:00

A few months ago I brought my mom's serger home from Michigan to see if I could get it working. I finally had the time this week...we've been busy I guess!!! Anyways, it took awhile- sergers are tricky little monsters, but I got it working. I wanted to give it a test run, so I worked on a cute little Market Skirt (tutorial found on this terrific site) that I had in my list of projects to try. So, I sat down after the kids were in bed and got to work. The skirt itself is not hard at all, but the addition of the serged seams made it look so professional that I impressed myself! Mom may not be getting her machine back after all!! Just kidding mom!
I even went as far as adding two gathered pockets for all of Grace's treasures...and if you know Grace at all, you know she loves, loves, loves to collect and carry loads of things around with her. I also added a little detail ribbon near the hem...and just take another look at the serged seams inside...yum. I'm going to save this one and give it to her for Christmas with a few other projects I have on my to-do list.

Crazy Hair Day and More

2011-10-27T12:37:00.005-05:00

Gabe's school is promoting Red Ribbon week which is a drug awareness program and they get the kids interested by having themed days all week. They have had red day, backward day, hat day, and today is crazy hair day. Gabe was so excited about crazy hair day. All week he has been waiting for it and he really wanted his hair spiked. So I got all sorts of product and spray from upstairs and spiked his hair...he was really happy until he saw himself in the mirror and then he must have decided it was too crazy and he got a little shy! But, once he saw other kids with crazier hair than his own on the way to school he relaxed and seemed to like his spike.
He also got to take his All About Me poster and share tons of pictures and stories about his family with the class. I think he gets to be the class helper for the day too. I'm sure he is enjoying that. He was really happy with the poster we made together.
Grace woke up a little after 5 this morning a little under the weather. I think a stomach bug is going around in her preschool class, and it hit her this morning. We came downstairs and cuddled up with a movie until it was time for breakfast. Then we took Gabe to school and she seemed better...but that didn't last too long, if you know what I mean. After lunch she fell asleep in the "nest" we had made in the living room. Hopefully she will wake up feeling better...at least stomach bugs never seem to last very long and have no lingering symptoms. Let's look at the positive!!
I'll leave you with one quirky little youtube video...my guitar teacher wrote this protest song and decided to put it up on facebook. He tinkered with some software to make this video and recorded multiple tracks with the different components, voice, guitar, harmony, etc. It looks simple enough, but it is quite an involved process. I told him I'd post it to see if he could get some more views...so go ahead and click on it and listen to the message. I'm not saying who played the second guitar or sang the harmony though.

Halloween Party

2011-10-24T19:31:00.005-05:00

The kids had their Playgroup Halloween Party today. They were so happy and excited to wear their costumes. Grace loved all the accessories that completed her look and Gabe was happy showing everyone the working components on his R2. It was also cute to see all of the kids at the party in their costumes.

Grace in her entire costume. She wore a headband we acquired from friends of ours awhile ago. It matched perfectly.

I got her hair into the perfect little princess bun. The secret is using a rolled up sock. Check it out on youtube if you're interested, there are lots of tutorials.

R2D2 and More

2011-10-23T22:27:00.007-05:00

Busy weekend...we had lots of projects, cooking, playdates, and more. The kids enjoyed seeing their friends for a bit on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. I got the chance to hang out with my friend and Joseph and I even squeezed in a date on Saturday night which was a nice spur of the moment surprise.
After church I snapped a few pics of the kids while they were dressed and clean and then we spent some time working on Gabe's R2 costume a bit more since he has to wear it at a party tomorrow afternoon. We got all of the sounds and lights working, spray painted the design on, and we attached the head to the body. It definitely looks homemade...but Gabe thinks it is pretty awesome. I'm just happy we got it put together in time and that Gabe likes it.
Grace's costume is completed as well and I'll try to get some pictures of her in the entire ensemble tomorrow before the party. Can't wait to see her in the whole thing!!

A short video of R2D2 in action!

R2D2 Progress

2011-10-20T10:59:00.005-05:00

Since we have Grace's Cinderella costume finished and the accessories are almost complete, we've put some more time into Gabe's R2D2 costume. We decided to use paper mache to create a domed top for the trash can body we have. It will give it a more realistic look than the flat lid the trash can comes with. We also created forms for the robot legs and downloaded some sound effects from the movie to play on the ipod that Uncle Jalal rigged up with a portable speaker. Uncle Jalal also got Gabe some great lights and switches that we're going to install as soon as everything is dry and painted.
Also, the kids got their turn surprising the neighbors with a Phantom Ghost. We got a few Halloween treats and cookies and packaged them up and the kids snuck over in the dark and "booed" the neighbors. They had so much fun!!

The Phantom Ghost!

2011-10-16T22:16:00.004-05:00

Tonight the Phantom Ghost struck our house. The doorbell rang unexpectedly after dark and when we opened the door we saw two cute Halloween surprises waiting on our doorstep. We got the kids out of bed and let them run down and find their packages. They were delighted! Friends of ours left a present for each of the kids filled with stuff they would love. Grace got girlie princess stuff like a wand, princess socks, and candies and Gabe got a Star Wars yo-yo, candies, glow sticks, and more. They were beyond thrilled!!! They also got a note that said we get to do the same thing to two neighbors of ours tomorrow. The kids were pretty excited!!!

Cinderella Dress - Complete

2011-10-12T11:52:00.005-05:00

Grace finally settled on a Halloween Costume. After many ideas coming and going and a lot of flip-flopping, she decided on Cinderella. Since my own mom always handmade our costumes growing up, I've continued that "tradition" with my own kids...which usually means a lot of time at JoAnn Fabric and Home Depot! Earlier this week we went and got everything necessary to transform my little girl into a proper princess. I found this tutorial online and printed out a picture to take shopping with me so I could pick up everything in one trip.
Yesterday Grace and I got to work and we made the whole dress. It turned out pretty good since I was freehanding it and I was figuring most of it out as I went along. I still have to add the velcro to the back closer, but overall it is 99% finished.
She is over the moon about it and can't wait to put it on for real. I made a few of the accessories to go with it last night, but I still want to make a headband and a "purse" to store her candy while she's trick-or-treating.
Gabe wants to be R2D2...wish me luck on transforming a trash can into a robot!

A Day at the Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-08T17:17:00.007-05:00

Today we made time for a trip to the Pumpkin Farm...we went to the same farm that we visited last year. It is a cute little farm in Homer Glen called Konow's Pumpkin Farm. We had a ton of fun last year and this year was even better since they added a few big features such as the tower of straw. They piled tons of straw bales on top of each other creating a super fun place for the kids to slide, crawl, and tunnel their way through the straw. They also have a huge "pillow" to bounce on. It is more fun and challenging than it looks at first!
The kids had trikes and tractors to pedal.
They rode in the cow tractor pull. Cute, but actually a pretty dusty ride...Grace and I went on the hay ride later which uses the same path and it was super dusty and bumpy.
The kids loved the corn pit. They jumped, rolled, swam, and buried themselves in the massive amount of corn.
They even filled up their shirts with corn. I'm sure we will be finding lots of kernels in their pockets and probably in their underwear!!
A picture of the straw bales piled up to the roof. This was Gabe's favorite activity by far.
A trek through the huge corn maze. We went in a few circles before finding our way out.
The kids picked their pumpkins for Halloween out of this pumpkin house.
Checking out after a full afternoon. We had a terrific time, despite the heat, and we're looking forward to carving our pumpkins in a few weeks.

Ballerina Bun

2011-10-05T15:01:00.003-05:00

Grace had the chance to dress up for chapel at preschool today and she chose the new dress that we made last week. I thought it would be fun to do her hair up...really I wanted an excuse to try out this bun style I've seen a few times. I'll have to do a tutorial sometime because it is really interesting and you hide an odd item in the hair to get the perfect bun shape. Curious, well, I'm going to leave you guessing!!!

I added a little satin ribbon to finish it off and was kind of impressed with something that only took about 5 minutes to pull together. I'll have to work at it a few more times to perfect it, but this is a really cute style on her.

Grace's Cute Single Crochet Scarf

2011-10-04T15:17:00.004-05:00

This simple little scarf only takes one skein of yarn and about 2 hours - which can be spent in front of the tv...preferably watching a show like Biggest Loser like I did. We've watched so many seasons of that show that I know the format and really don't have to pay attention to know what is going on. So it was actually nice to have a little distraction during the challenges and weigh ins.

This is a simple little one-stitch project. I did 14 stitches across and repeated each row and only single crocheted in the back loop of each stitch to create a ripple effect...like what you would see on the band of a sweater. I added a few tassels at the bottom to finish it off. When I handed it over to Grace the next morning she squealed with delight and insisted on wearing it to preschool even though it was nearly 70 degrees outside. I must say that doing projects for Grace is really quite rewarding since she has such great reactions.

To make the tassels:

Wrapped enough yarn around your hand for one tassel, roughly 12-14 times. Next, cut the yarn at the bottom of the loop.
Use a crochet hook to pull the middle of the tassel through your scarf. Take care to keep all of the yarn together and hold securely as you pull the tassel through.

Next pull the yarn through the loop of yarn you made in the previous step. Pull on the yarn with your fingers to tighten it and finish it off by trimming the end of the tassel with a pair of scissors. Repeat as many times as necessary.

Soccer and Sunday

2011-10-02T22:48:00.005-05:00

Saturday Gabe had his first soccer game. The kids got to pick their team name and they all agreed on "Fireballs." Well, they certainly were fireballs and did a really great job. Everybody was hustling and they scored a few goals and I'm pretty sure they won even though we didn't keep score. Gabe got to be the goalie twice and he was pretty thrilled, although not too thrilled when he had to play a different position later on! He really loved wearing the goalie gloves and jersey.Today we spent the better part of the day in the backyard cleaning out the garden and trimming the raspberries and mint back for the winter. We found a few zucchini that had been hiding and had gone all super-sized on us. We brought everything inside and ended up making a fresh tomato salad, oven-baked zucchini sticks with marinara, and mini pizzas for dinner.
After dinner Gabe and I made 3 huge batches of pesto with all of the basil we had and we froze it "for the winter." We also dried a humongous batch of mint so that we can have it for tea "all winter long." I think Gabe thought we were farmers by the way he was talking today. It was too funny to listen to him as we worked. He kept saying "we'll have plenty of food this winter...it's a good thing we grew all these things in the garden, Mom."

Lunch with Gabe and Movies with Grace

2011-09-30T17:44:00.002-05:00

This week was a fun, normal week...I feel good again and I'm glad because I didn't want to miss out on the fun things going on this week. Wednesday I got to go to Gabe's classroom and help out with Math Centers first thing in the morning. This will be a reoccurring thing each Wednesday. I am happy to see his classroom in action and I get a chance to meet all of the kids and see how his teacher does things. It was a fun morning and I look forward to going in the coming weeks. Thursday Grace and I had a special movie date. We went to see The Lion King in the theater...it was fun to share some popcorn and she sat on my lap most of the movie and asked a million questions. It was cute.

Today all of the kindergarten parents were invited to a lunch date with their child. I packed my lunch with Gabe's and he took it to school. Later I met him outside the school for a picnic lunch. It was nice to sit with him in the middle of the day and share a lunch. After we finished eating the kids got to have recess and Gabe wanted to play with me. I pushed him on the swing and we played tag with a few of his friends. He kept coming up and saying things like "I love having you eat lunch with me, Mommy." "Mommy, I love the lunches you pack for me." "Mommy I love making surprises for you." It was fun, but he was a little sad when I had to leave for home. Hopefully the school will have a few more lunch dates because it was pretty cute.

Polka Dot Dress

2011-09-27T11:45:00.006-05:00

Today Grace sat on my lap and helped make this cute brown Polka Dot Dress. She wanted to do it all, but after a few minutes she busied herself with the thread, bobbins, and ribbon in the sewing drawer. She was excited about this dress, she helped pick out the fabric awhile ago and was happy to see it being used. I was excited to cover some buttons and use them on the shoulder straps. I think it added a cute hint of color at the top.

It took less than two hours from start to finish...which is a loooooong time for a 3 year old, but really not too long when you think of all that goes into a little dress like this. But it was ready before she lost interest and she excitedly tried it on and gave it a whirl - literally. I used the same pattern for this as the Owl Dress...it is Simplicity 5489. I went down a size this time...they seem to be a little big so a 3 was still generous on Grace. I should be able to use this pattern for years to come! Wouldn't a Halloween or Christmas dress look cute??

Owl Dress

2011-09-26T09:16:00.007-05:00

I'm finally starting to feel a little better. Less coughing, less laying down, still less energy though. I have a hard sitting being down for so long, I can only watch so much PBS before it gets to me. I know that I need the rest though, so I worked on something low key last night. Something I had to sit down to do...sewing is a good activity to do when you need to take it easy. I focused all of my energy and put it into this little dress for Grace. My mom would be proud of this dress...I finished it off nicely. My mom taught me how to sew when I was growing up. We used to sit in the laundry room at night where she had her sewing table set up and we used to work on projects. Things for me, for her, for the house, for somebody's baby, it didn't matter, we did lots of projects together. We still help each other with some projects here and there, but she has to see them here on the blog rather than in person. But, it feels good to make something and know that my mom taught me how to and to know that I'll be able to share ~~my skill~~ my mom's skill with Grace someday.
Anyways, it is a cute little dress and it was pretty straightforward to make. I used a pattern this time which made things easier. I enjoyed the whole process and look forward to making another one already. It will definitely be cute with a little coordintaing shirt underneath and some cute tights and shoes. I'm looking forward to putting it on her.

Straight vs. Curly

2011-09-23T14:12:00.003-05:00

Ugh...I have been so sick this week. All I have managed to do is get up to take the kids to school and pick them up after school. No cooking, no cleaning, no crafting, just a visit to the doctor and a lot of time in bed or on the couch.

I did get up once to answer the door yesterday and it was the UPS guy with a new flat iron for my hair. My old one was cheap and bad, it pulled my hair and wasn't easy to use. So, I was anxious to see how well the new one would work, but in no position to try it on myself, so when Grace volunteered I thought "why not?" So, she sat quietly in front of me and I slowly straightened her hair. Even on a lower heat setting I was so surprised at the end result...Grace's hair was so smooth and straight.

Don't get me wrong, I like her curls...I never thought my daughter would have curls, but I do love them. I just know how to deal with straight hair so much better! Ha! Maybe I'll have to keep the flat iron in my back pocket for Grace's "bad hair" days.

Fabric Flowers

2011-09-21T14:32:00.005-05:00

The other day I tried out this tutorial for fabric flowers that I have had on my to-do list for awhile now. I went through my scrap fabric and found a few remnants that would work well with some of Grace's school clothes. I took my scissors and fabric with me to Grace's gymnastics class and cut out all of the circles while I waited. I have 4 completed, and plans for a few more to coordinate with her dresses and skirts.
Grace was thrilled with them and wanted to wear one to school this morning.

Surprise Mail

2011-09-16T14:43:00.003-05:00

The other day we got a surprise in the mail from Spain. Sylvia sent us a handmade present. We were excited to get something all the way from Spain and a hand-painted picture made it even more special. We found a nice place to display it and we already got a package ready to send out to Spain. Sylvia will like what we are sending to her.

Today I had some extra time on my hands while Grace napped so I got to work and made her a cute little skirt. I also took an old plain pink shirt she had in her closet and I added a little detail to make it a little more special. I even made a matching hair tie to go with the whole outfit. I bet she'll be excited to wear it next week.

Teta was here over the weekend and the beginning of the week. We also got to work and made some fresh yogurt and then I took half of the yogurt and made a batch of labne. It turned out yummy and we enjoyed it for breakfast this morning with some bread.

School Binders

2011-09-12T17:55:00.001-05:00

The other day I decided to take some advise from a fellow blogger friend and get my paperwork organized. Now that my kids are in school they are bringing home projects and paperwork daily and I was getting overwhelmed dealing with it. They don't want to throw anything away and I was running out of places to put it all, so I went to Target and got a couple of large binders. I decorated the binders, labeled them, and then I assembled everything. On the spine I put a "P" for Grace's preschool and a "K" for Gabe's kindergarten. This way I can add a binder each year and label each one by grade. I put tabs for each month of the school year and then I added a few plastic page protectors for projects that can't be put in the 3-hole punch. I also put all of their school information in the front of the binder so I can quickly look up a phone number, date, or school meeting quickly.Now I can quickly hole punch everything, place it in the binders, and keep everything handy. I also like this method because the kids can show visitors their papers easily and things don't get lost, shoved in drawers, or end up in a pile on the counter afterwards.

Half Marathon

2011-09-11T20:31:00.004-05:00

Today Joseph and I headed into Chicago early in the morning for my 7:00am race. This was my third time running in the Chicago Half Marathon...and the third time that it has been a perfect day weather-wise for running. It was cool in the morning and heated up slightly during the race. I didn't get in a lot of long runs this summer, just a lot of shorter ones, so I wasn't sure how I would do. I was just set on finishing and bringing a medal home for the kids...they like seeing all the medals I've collected.
The highlights before the race were seeing the firetruck that was at Ground Zero during the 9/11 attacks and knowing that Apolo Ohno was running his first half marathon with all of us (and he only finished 10 minutes before me). The highlights of the actual race were seeing a guy beside me in a head-to-toe purple spandex suit...it even covered his eyes and mouth, not hitting a wall at mile 7 like I normally do, not getting any side cramps, and finishing strong. This was the best I've felt during an entire race and I enjoyed having Joseph there at the finish to celebrate with. I'm happy with my race and I'm happy that it's over with and I can move on to the next goal!

Grace's First Day of School

2011-09-07T23:11:00.004-05:00

Grace had her first day of school today. First we made a special breakfast for her. She really liked the waffles!! Who wouldn't?? Then she got dressed and got her backpack.She was really excited to go all by herself. Gabe and I dropped her off bright and early. We walked her to her classroom, she found her cubby for her backpack, and then we said goodbye. She was so cute!

Gabe and I came home and then we took our bikes to school. Gabe took quite a fall off of his bike this morning. I ended up carrying him all the way to school and took him right to the nurse's office. She cleaned him up and then we went to his classroom. He was crying quite a bit, but he tried to be strong. I felt really bad leaving him at school like that...but I had to.

Later I picked Grace up and took her to the library and then we went to the park and had a picnic lunch. We picked up some books and movies for Gabe while we were at the library and we surprised him after school. He said "I can't even feel my nose anymore because you guys made me so happy with all this stuff." It was cute and it made all of us feel better after a long day. After we finished homework (they both had some!) we relaxed the rest of the day and everybody was happy about that!

My Little Helper

2011-09-03T23:29:00.005-05:00

Gabe has "surprised" me twice in the past week by making breakfast for Grace, himself, and me. After I wake him up and he gets dressed he sneaks downstairs while I'm getting ready and gets out all of his "ingredients." The first day was a total surprise...he had the whole sandwich made and cut into three pieces. The second day I came down too fast and caught him in mid-sandwich making mode. He asked me to help him spread the jelly and then he told me to go back upstairs and come down and act surprised. It was pretty funny! He feels like such a big kid by making his own breakfast and he tells me he likes doing it so that I don't have to do so much in the morning. How funny!!Grace and I have found our groove this week. We had a great week taking Gabe to school and getting some stuff checked off our to-do list. I managed to give the treadmill quite the workout earlier in the week during a training run...it was pretty satisfying to see the calorie counter flip from 999 to 0 and start over again. That doesn't happen very often-too bad I think it is off a bit!!

Another Fun Day

2011-08-31T21:54:00.006-05:00

After school Grace took a long nap and I was finally able to get an accent pillow made for the formal living room. It only took me about 15 minutes and it turned out perfect. Yay me! I'm glad that room is finally shaping up. I have never ever liked that room and I feel like it is finally a nice place to hang out. I sit in there and practice guitar all the time now.
After school the kids wanted to go on another bike ride since Gabe missed the horses yesterday morning. I packed a snack and we went for an hour and a half. We skipped more rocks and went to see the horses again. They weren't quite as interactive today...but we picked flowers on the way back and that made up for it.Gabe got pretty hot on the way back and wanted to ride in the trailor. I had to put the front tire of his bike in the back of the trailor and haul it all the way home...quite a heavy load for this momma! We made it back and then we made breakfast for dinner....yum!

Meet and Greet

2011-08-31T12:47:00.006-05:00

Today Grace got to go to her own school and meet her teacher and see her classroom. She was pretty thrilled to have her own day at school with me just like Gabe had last week.
When she woke up I told her she was going to school today and she said "Today I'm big enough?" after I said yes she ran to Gabe's room and told him "Gabe! I'm a big girl today. I'm going to school like you." The she said she wanted to wear her "pretty dress" and headband and she wanted to take her backpack with her to show her teacher. It was cute.
She has two teachers and a nice classroom full of things to look at and play with. Her teachers were really nice and welcoming and Grace ran off to play with puzzles as soon as we got in the door. After we did a checklist of things and filled out some forms we headed upstairs to have milk and cookies with our friends. It was a fun morning.

Nice Morning

2011-08-30T11:33:00.003-05:00

After a week of watching other kids zip by on their bikes, Gabe wanted to ride his own bike to school today. So I loaded Grace into the bike trailor and we followed him to school. He was excited to put his bike in the rack with all the other kids. Once he was in the school Grace and I went for a nice long bike ride.We stopped to throw some rocks in the river and then we went to see the horses that live nearby. One came up to the fence and we fed it some grass and it even let us pet it. Grace loved that! We also stopped and picked one of every type of wildflower we saw on the way back home. We had quite a bouquet by the time we were done..you only see the first few in this picture though! It got much much bigger! What a beautiful morning!

First Week and Lake House Fun

2011-08-28T09:35:00.009-05:00

We had a great first week of school. Gabe likes his school, his teacher, the walk to school, he's been eating his lunch really well, and he likes gym class already. I'm happy and relieved that things are going so well this week.

Grace and I even managed to get out and have fun during the week too. We went to the zoo, had a lunch playdate with Mena, Grace started gymnastics, and we ran a bunch of errands.

After our first week of school we celebrated by heading to our friends' lakehouse with all of our playgroup. After a few hours in the car, we had a blast from the time we arrived until the time we left.

The kids were in the lake paddling around as soon as we got out of the car. We ate lunch and then everybody took turns going out on the boat for some tubing.

The kids liked it, but were a little timid and didn't want to go too fast. After everyone else had their turn Joseph and I hopped on together and we went for numerous rides. Joseph kept saying we wanted to go faster and it didn't take long before we were flipped into the lake. Three more times in fact!!! I had more water go up my nose than ever before...but we had such a ball.

After all of the fun we went back to the house, dried off and had dinner and watched the kids play. It was such a nice easy day and all 15 kids were terrific.
At dusk we got in the car and headed home. Grace dozed off right away and Gabe held out just long enough to get an ice cream and onion rings at DQ. We got home and carried the kids up to bed...I bet they were dreaming of being on the boat!
Going...

Going...

Gone!!!

Joseph's Birthday

2011-08-24T12:45:00.005-05:00

Yesterday was a big day. Gabe had his first full day of school and it was Joseph's birthday. Joseph came home a little early so that he could help pick Gabe up from school and walk home with him. Gabe was excited and thrilled to tell us all about his day. Grace was excited to give him a surprise...we rented a movie for him and took it to his school wrapped like a present. Gabe decorated a sign for Joseph before school.
After we got home everybody watched the movie while I made Joseph's birthday dinner and then Dina, Kareem, and the kids came over. We had a nice dinner and then we played games in the basement. Sophia even got to play dress up with Grace.

We ended the night with Joseph's cakes...he wanted an ice cream cake and the kids wanted to decorate a cake for him. It was a fun night.Look at all of those candles!!

Gabe's 1st full day and Gymnastics

2011-08-23T10:58:00.003-05:00

Today Gabe has his first full day of kindergarten all by himself. We got up early and had a nice breakfast. We put his lunch and snack and homework in his backpack and we got dressed. Then we met our friends and we all walked to school together. Peyton helped Gabe walk through the back door of school and hopefully they found his classroom alright.

We will be excited to get him at the end of the day and hear all about his day. He has gym class today so I'm sure he will have lots to talk about.

Here are a few clips from yesterday. Grace had her first gymnastics class...she loved it.

First Day of Kindergarten!!

2011-08-22T11:59:00.005-05:00

Gabe had his first day of school today...it was a short day with parents in attendance...but it was perfect. The class was split up into three groups and we each attended at different times. We were in group two and there was only one other boy in our group, but the class is made up of 10 boys and 10 girls.
We took a little present we made for the teacher and we unpacked all of Gabe's school supplies. Then the kids did a coloring page while the teacher talked to the parents. Afterwards she read a story to the kids and then they got to play with the Smartboard in their room. Gabe loved the big computer screen and wasn't ready to go when our time was up. He is already excited about going tomorrow. He will be gone for 6 hours...eeekkk!
Using the Smartboard - his favorite activity
Working on a coloring page
Ready to walk to school

Park Playdate

2011-08-18T14:32:00.004-05:00

We have had a very busy week...our last week before Gabe starts kindergarten full time. We have been swimming twice, celebrated our anniversary, had friends over, went to our friends' houses, had playgroup, had kindergarten preview and a meet and greet with Gabe's new teacher, Mrs. Clawson, and today we met up with Aunt Dina, Mena, and Sophia for a relaxing afternoon at the park. We packed our lunches and ate there and the kids played a lot. They really liked one particular swing and took turns in it for a long time.
Gabe is excited about school, but he is a little sad about being gone all day. I think he is mostly excited about seeing his older friends in first grade at lunch and on the playground. He is also really excited about walking to school and back...I think he is happy to be a part of that. He has watched the kids walk by everyday after school for years and now it is finally his turn.

Hail

2011-08-13T17:35:00.006-05:00

Last night we went to another Cougar game...it was as much fun as the first time. We had lots of treats off of the grill, including corn on the cob! I also got cotton candy for the kids...they loved it and gobbled it down in seconds! Too bad our team didn't win. Today we hung out at home and enjoyed these cute pancakes and the major hail storm that passed by our house. The kids thought it was great fun and they even collected hail from outside.

Just an Inch

2011-08-12T15:19:00.003-05:00

For the longest time (over a year) Grace has been really opposed to getting her hair cut. Then a week or so ago she finally gave in and said she wanted to get a haircut. She said she wanted "one inch" cut off, then she asked us "how much is one inch?" We held our thumb and forefinger as far apart as they would go and said that was an inch. So when we asked her how much she wanted cut off she held her fingers far apart and said "one inch." It was cute. I'm sure we'll be able to correct the inch thing down the road. Ha.

Anyways, I thought I better take her to get a haircut before she changed her mind. She did a terrific job and sat completely still the entire time, having three lollipops during the process helped! So, now her hair is a little bit shorter, but healthier and a *little* easier to manage.

Mock Mud Room Project

2011-08-09T17:15:00.005-05:00

I've been thinking about doing something in the garage for awhile now and I finally had time to work on it today. I had almost everything I needed for the makeover so I was able to finish it all at once. I decided to paint the wall with chalkboard paint, add a little trim, hooks, and I placed two benches that I already had below the cupboards. Now we all have our own space and we can unload a lot of things before even step foot in the house. I also reused some stencils and put the house number on the door into the house...it just added a little something. When everything was finished I labeled each of our spaces with chalk and added a few of our belongings. The kids can reach their own hooks and like having a place for their shoes. This will be even more valuable to me in the wintertime when we have wet coats and boots.
Here is one quick before and after.

Canadian Adventure

2011-08-06T19:28:00.005-05:00

We're back from our Canadian Adventure and we're happy to say we had a terrific time once again. We started the trip out by meeting my parents in St. Ignace. We had a fun little dinner with them at a quaint place and then we stayed in a less than terrific motel...but Joseph and Dad won some money at the casino...so it all turned out quite well! We caught the ferry to Mackinac Island early the next morning and rented bikes straight away for the island tour. We made it all the way around with a few stops peppered in there for fun. We climbed the big rock, threw lots of stones in the lake, stacked up some stones, raced, and more. It always makes me feel like I am in the Sound of Music when we ride in a pack like that. The kids had fun, this year Grace upgraded to the tag-along type bike. It was cute and she tried her best to pedal too. We spent the afternoon driving the rest of the way to Canada and then we hopped on the float plane. Gabe got to drive the plane again, always thrilling for everyone!! Once we got to the lodge we ate dinner and got in our boats for some fishing. We saw lots of wildlife while we were up there such as eagles, loons, and there was a bear in camp the day before we arrived.We spent the next few days sleeping, eating, and fishing. We cooked our fresh fish over the fire.We also played on the little beach, had shore lunches complete with bonfires, made ice cream the old fashioned way, ate fish, fish, and more fish, and played lots of cards. The kids had a great time and we all felt relaxed and rejuvenated. They loved exploring and playing with all of the frogs, insects, and minnows they could find.

We always love this vacation and look forward to it each year. This was the easiest year to date, which made it even more enjoyable. The kids are both big enough to sit on the boat safely and I can relax without worrying about them falling out. They also found lots to keep themselves busy so we could stay out for hours and hours.Gabe enjoying some yummy grilled corn that we cooked on the beach. Just a few of the fish we caught. Mom and Dad caught tons of fish since they always went out early in the morning while we were still sleeping.

"Hiking" near the waterfall.

Mom helped Grace catch this frog. It never moved while Grace held its legs. The kids thought it was pretty funny.

The waterfall...which is always so pretty. We caught tons of fish here!

Cougar Baseball

2011-07-28T23:45:00.003-05:00

Tonight we braved the heat and humidity and went with dear friends of ours to a Kane County Cougar Game. The Cougars are a Class A team with a great little stadium. We had great seats...you really can't have bad ones, and they have lots of food to choose from, and lots of entertainment.

They were tossing prizes into the stadium constantly, dancing between plays, there were lots of mascots out and about, and fireworks to end the night. Not to mention it only cost us $12 with the coupons that we had.
It was a great night with some great friends! We are off to our favorite vacation desination tomorrow...Canada! See you in a week!

Just Like Chuck E Cheese!

2011-07-28T14:59:00.003-05:00

I made two little kiddos very happy today...I felt like super mom driving the kids home from a moving sale with an air hockey table and then we went back between rainclouds and picked up our new ping pong table. I got a terrific deal on these two game tables and now the basement is a super fun place to hang out...maybe not as pretty, but definitely more fun! I was able to get the air hockey table all set up by myself. I had to call some neighbor boys and their muscles to help me set up the heavy ping pong table though. But, we got it all set up in about 15 minutes and Gabe and I were playing like pros within minutes...okay maybe not pros.
Gabe was so thrilled. He said our house was just like Chuck E Cheese because of the air hockey table. He also said he wanted to invite all of his friends over for his birthday (in December?!) to play all the games in the basement. It was cute to see him so over the top thrilled.

The air hockey table came with six different shaped pucks...the kids decided to play with all of them at once. They were fast scoring games...definitely exciting.

Silvia's Last Few Days

2011-07-27T15:16:00.007-05:00

Monday Silvia had an outing to Navy Pier and then the group went to a nearby beach...the kids and I took time running some errands first thing in the morning and then we went to playgroup. The kids had fun playing with all of the sprinklers and baby pools that were set up and we had a nice lunch outside. Later we picked up Silvia and made a late dinner. I had her pick out things that she wanted to try from a Barefoot Contessa book she bought for her mother. She picked Chicken Parmesan, Lasagna, Salad, and Parmesan Tomatoes. She liked everything especially the chicken. After dinner we made s'mores in the oven...she loved them! Who doesn't, right??? She seemed shocked when her marshmallow caught fire!!! After dinner we set up the tent and I slept with the kids in the basement. They were pretty excited about it! It actually wasn't too bad. Tuesday was her last full day with us and we had to run to Target to get a few last minute gifts. She wanted to take measuring cups and spoons, frosting, marshmallows, graham crackers, a rubix cube, and a few other things. After we got home we relaxed a little bit. I had a few birthday gifts to wrap and offered to help Silvia wrap her gifts to take home to her family. She was really surprised to see how we wrap gifts and use curling ribbon. It was cute and she had fun wrapping all of her things. Afterwards we cleaned up and decided to make a really big going away dinner. We did a cheese fondue with tons of things to dip. It looked like a huge amount of food because we also made polenta and ants on a log to go with it. Much to my surprise, there was nothing left except a few pieces of celery when I cleaned up! We ate in the basement and watched a movie while dipping and munching away.Everyone seemed to like their dinner. After the movie we made cream puffs and sang a goodbye song to Silvia with candles and everything. We had to relight them 3 times so everybody got a chance to blow out all of the candles! This morning we dropped Gabe off for a playdate, picked him up a few hours later, stopped at Costco to pick up pictures for Silvia to take home with her, dropped her off at the bus, and dropped Gabe off at a birthday party on our way home. It has been an action-packed adventure-filled month. We are so glad that we hosted Silvia this month. Having a teenager is a new experince for us, and I think we did ok...mostly due to the fact that she was a joy to have around and a really good kid. We were definitely sad to see her go and not sure the kids grasp the idea that she's really gone. With a little luck, maybe we will get to see her again someday. We shall see.

Early Going Away Party

2011-07-25T00:13:00.004-05:00

Today we had an early going away party to attend for all of the exchange students. This was our last weekend with Silvia...she leaves for Spain on Wednesday. We made the most of it and stayed longer than pretty much everybody else because we were all having a good time. The kids loved the pool and hot tub, and spent the majority of their time horsing around in the water. There were a bunch of girls in the water and they all loved Grace and carried her around and gave her rides on the floating chair thingy. She was a little nervous at first, but ended up having a terrific time. Gabe practiced swimming across the pool...I rewarded him with twizzlers...that made him pretty happy! Once we finally got them dried off we went in the house for some dancing, foosball, and ping pong. It was a really fun time.

Peter Pan

2011-07-23T11:06:00.007-05:00

Yesterday we took the train to the city for the afternoon. The kids were happy about taking the train and I was happy to skip the drive through Friday traffic into the city. We got into Chicago around 3:30 or so and walked to Joseph's office. We checked out his new space, complete with an awesome gym, cafeteria, and tons of computer screens.
We hung out for a little while and then we met friends for a quick/kid-friendly dinner at Portillos. After dinner we split up and the moms took the big kids to the theater and the dads took the little kids and headed home. We went to a production of Peter Pan in a 360 degree tent-type theater. It was pretty cool, they have a stage in the middle with seating all around and then scenery is projected all around the tent. When Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, and all the kids are flying the projections act like a movie screen and make it look like they are flying all over, fast, slow, through the ocean, etc. The kids were mesmerized the entire 3 hours...not bad for 5 year olds!We all had a really good time, and they all zonked out on the drive home!

Weekend Fun and Science and Industry Museum

2011-07-19T17:19:00.004-05:00

Sunday evening Uncle Timothy, Aunt Grace, and Miles stopped by for a visit and dinner. We had fun with them...Tim brought his Spanish (Classical) guitar with him for Silvia to borrow. It was cute listening to them play and fiddle with a few songs.
Monday the kids and I went into Chicago and spent most of the day at the Science and Industry Museum. It was fun and a great day since the day started out rainy and humid. After we did everything there was to do at the museum we drove into the city and picked Joseph up from work. We took the kids to Millenium Park and let them run wild in the huge fountain. We stopped by the bean and then we walked to Italian Village for dinner. We got a "special" booth in the back...it was like our own little room. We must have looked a little rowdy or something! Ha

Banking with the Kids

2011-07-17T00:54:00.005-05:00

Last week the kids and I took all of their money from their piggy banks and deposited it in their savings account. They were excited to see how much money they had saved...for the rest of the day they were trying to figure out how they could make even more money to put in the bank. I think the fact that they get a lollipop from the bank teller makes them more apt to deposit money frequently!!
Friday evening Joseph's parents came to Naperville. We had dinner with them at Kareem and Dina's house and then they came over today. We all went to the park down the road and played beach volleyball, frisbee, golf, etc. Everyone had a fun time...it was a very hot day though! I had to take a second shower before going to our friends' open house.
When we got home from the party, we decorated cupcakes with the kids and Silvia. She had never seen cupcakes before, so it was cute to see her get excited about decorating them. We tried a few variations with all of the sprinkles and decorations I have leftover from birthdays and such.

Meringues and Hopscotch

2011-07-13T22:41:00.007-05:00

Today Gabe had a buddy come over and we went to the park for a picnic. The boys had their hearts set on playing a video game in the basement, but it was so beautiful outside that I refused to let them stay inside. So, they sulked at the park...until I started playing relay games and raced with them. We lined up between two trees and raced back and forth. We skipped, ran backwards, hopped, and more. We looked ridiculous, but the boys had a ball. I knew I could break them!

When we got home they begged to go in...but Silvia got them to play hopscotch with her and they could barely stop themselves from having a great time. It was a lot more fun than even I had anticipated!
Later we put Grace down for a nap and Silvia, Gabe, and I made lentil soup together. Then we made meringues and raspberry sauce for dessert. Once Grace woke up, she and I made a treasure hunt for the other two. We hid clues around the house and then hid a box of "treasures" for them to find. It was a lot of fun and kept us busy until dinner. It was a another fun day!

Weekend Fun and Rainy Day Fun

2011-07-11T22:55:00.008-05:00

Mega post with lots of pictures from the past 4 days. Prepare yourselves!

Last Friday I took the kids to play Putt Putt Golf and then we went out for burgers. We had a really fun time, especially since it was so hot outside. We played more than our fair share of golf...I'm not quite sure how, but we ended up playing more holes than our score card listed. I'm pretty sure we backtracked and repeated a few but Gabe insisted we hadn't done them yet. Oh well, we didn't get caught and we had lots of fun...it almost seemed like it would never end!!! Ha!
Lunch was fun, we went to Red Robin. While we waited I found some wiki-sticks in my purse and we made all sorts of things. My favorite was a pair of glasses for Grace and then Gabe made his own. They were too small which made them really funny looking!
Camping with Daddy in Utica

Saturday Joseph took the kids camping and Silvia and I went shopping, out to lunch, and out to the movies. Let me tell you, that girl can down a large popcorn in no time! We watched Monte Carlo...more fitting for her age group...but quite a cute movie so I enjoyed myself too. We made banana splits for dinner...I'm cool like that...and she loved them. She had never had one before and I found out she does not like marashino cherries...more for me! Silvia loves raspberries...she came at a good time, our bushes are really producing this year! We bought some for jam though...an entire flat of berries. She couldn't believe her eyes!
Sunday we continued shopping (her sister wants a specific pair of converse shoes so we had to go to every shoe store in town...still no luck) and we made raspberry jam. Sunday night we made Paella (her mother sent us the recipe...all in Spanish) and she made a Nutella Cake and we invited the neighbors over for dinner. We had a good time and we had fun cooking together and taking pictures of our creations. We also had a little fun goofing around with some extra cake after everyone left. (Her cake recipe was a little off...and it ended up making three chocolate cakes! We ate one after dinner, sent one with the neighbors, and we still have one large on left!)
Today was such a raining horrible day in the morning that we couldn't go outside. So we made crafts inside. We spent a lot of the day in our pajamas crafting. The kids made creations out of noodles, popsicle sticks, toothpicks, marshmallows, hot glue, and paint. They had tons of fun and made many things. Gabe wanted us to vote and give out awards so we blindly labeled them, came up with 5 categories, and everyone cast votes. Everybody won a prize (or two) and enjoyed picking out a candy to enjoy after dinner. Fun, fun times!

Guest Post at Kuzak's Closet

2011-07-08T10:23:00.004-05:00

Today I am guest posting over at one of my favorite blogs, Kuzak's Closet. Mandy has a great blog with lots of tips on organizing your home, recipes for the kitchen, and personal styling tips. I also love reading her blog because I know most of the people in the pictures she posts since we grew up in the same town. Love it!

Go over and check out her blog and my post on Keys to a Successful Kid's Party! You can also find the recipe for the flag cake here.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-07-07T16:43:00.003-05:00

Nothing is much more American than making chocolate chip cookies. So, Silvia and I made a batch of them yesterday.I think she was pretty excited, and I think it is safe to say that she really likes them and the batter! She helped lick the bowl clean! We all enjoyed cookies before and after dinner last night and it was fun to cook with her!

Today she is on an outing to Chicago and a White Sox game...I packed some of these cookies with her lunch!

Fourth of July Weekend

2011-07-05T22:40:00.008-05:00

We had a fun-filled and very busy holiday weekend. Friday the kids and I spend the day at the park and the library. We also went out for ice cream before heading out to a Welcome Party with all of the other host families and exchange students. It was a fun evening and the kids had fun playing with all of the kids there. Gabe is the one being held upside down in the picture above and Grace is being trapped in the humongous bucket!
Saturday morning we took a road trip to Michigan. It was a good time for all of us to really bond since we were stuck in the car for so long. We taught Silvia some fun road trip games to play, we watched movies, tried to do some crossword puzzles, goofed around and more. We stopped in Bay City in the evening and we went to a festival, went on rides, and then met my family for the fireworks. It was lots of fun.
Sunday morning we showed Silvia around my parents' house. We also taught her how to fish and she touched a live fish for the first time. She also rode the 4-wheeler and saw her first deer. It was cute!
After breakfast we went to Caseville and hung out at our friends' house for the entire day. They have a great place on the lake and the kids played at the beach the entire day. The adults also had a lot of fun cooking, eating, and playing volleyball. (My team was great!)

Monday we visited with family and then got back in the car to drive home. We made a few stops and got produce to bring home from a few farmstands. Once we were home we had a wii game-night with Gabe and Silvia. It was a lot of fun and there was lots of shouting and craziness as Gabe tried to get everyone to play by his rules.

This morning we all got to go into Naperville and meet the mayor. Silvia and the rest of the students became "honorary Naperville residents." Gabe and Grace were not too sure about Mayor Pradel...they both clammed up and got super shy as soon as we got near him! He is such a genuinely nice guy though, he talked to them and tried to get the to relax. He must be used to people getting nervous around him!Then we got free passes to go to Centennial Beach for the day. The kids and I hung out at the beach all day. Gabe made an awesome castle with a moat and then swam in the water forever. We finished the day out with a t-ball game and then we made dinner at home. It was a super fun weekend!

Meet Silvia

2011-07-01T00:53:00.003-05:00

Today was our first day as a family of 5! The kids were so thrilled to meet Silvia at the airport yesterday. They wanted to show her so many things last night. They took her around the house and gave her a full tour. They played with her for hours and then we made pizzas for dinner. She was pretty tired by the end so we all went to bed early. Today we woke up early, made waffles for breakfast, and then we took her on a bike ride. We threw rocks in the river, went to a kids' activity at the Farmers' Market, bought some lollipops and then came home for lunch.

She and Gabe have really connected. They have already played tic-tac-toe for hours and he no longer wants to sit by me, he prefers to sit next to her. They played frisbee, basketball, video games, and I think they even had a pillow fight. It is so cute! Grace also loves her to pieces and it is so cute to see them together.

Later in the day we went to a birthday party at the pool, made a flag cake, and then we went to Gabe's t-ball game. We finished the night with dinner out, which was nice after such a hectic day.

Hosting

2011-06-28T11:19:00.002-05:00

A month or so ago we offered to be host parents for the summer. We having been waiting and waiting and tomorrow we are finally going to meet our exchange student from Spain. She will be living with us for a month. The kids have been super excited about having a big sister to play with. They want her to teach them some Spanish, sing them bedtime songs, and they want to teach her everything about America. We are all excited and we even decorated the guest bedroom for her and got her a little present. We also made a big sign to take to the airport tomorrow to pick her up. More pictures with Silvia will be coming soon!

In other news, we had a little visitor last week. This baby bunny hopped into the garage when we were getting ready for the garage sale. The kids and I managed to get him corralled into a lampshade and we left him there with a snack while we were out for a little while. (They wanted to show Joseph the bunny before letting him go.) Later in the day we came home and noticed it had hopped out of the lampshade. We searched for a few minutes before discovering not one but two little bunnies! They sure do multiply quickly!! We got them into a box and fed them some lettuce. An hour or two later Joseph came home and the kids were thrilled to share their new friends with him. When we let them go Grace was really sad. I guess she wanted to keep them forever.

Garage Sale

2011-06-24T22:11:00.005-05:00

Today and tomorrow our subdivision is holding a community garage sale and we decided to participate. We had quite a few things that we wanted to sell and we worked hard to get everything organized and priced for the event.
Gabe came up with the idea of having a lemonade stand during the sale. He thought it through and commented that people would already have money with them and they might be thirsty while shopping so it would be easier than waving down cars like last year. A few days ago we got some supplies...he wanted pink lemonade, napkins, cups, and candy to sell for 25 cents.
Last night while we were eating dinner and talking about the garage sale it hit him that we would be out there at 8 in the morning and we might need to sell breakfast items. We stopped and grabbed a gallon of orange juice and a few donuts and then we made banana muffins when we got home.
His plan really paid off. Everybody that stopped by in the morning grabbed a cup of juice and a muffin or two. One guy even bought a whole bag of the muffins and took them to his family in the car. Around 11am Gabe switched things out to pink lemonade, granola bars, and his candy. The granola bars were a hit as well. He ended up making over $20 today. He actually had more paying customers than I did. It was great to see him interacting with the "customers," making change for people, and thinking through his business plan. One lady actually paid him to stop shouting "Come and get your lemonade!" But most people got a good chuckle out of seeing such an enthusiastic lemonade seller.

Sushi and Shrinky Dinks

2011-06-23T23:39:00.004-05:00

Yesterday I told Gabe he could pick out whatever he wanted for lunch and he picked his favorite exotic food, sushi. Grace also got to pick and she went for hotdogs! I thought that was a pretty funny combination. So we went home from the store with their favorite foods and then we all sat at the kitchen counter and shared our lunches. They both ate with chopsticks. Gabe tried a few new types of rolls and liked them all and Grace even ate a couple pieces and rubbed her tummy and said "yum."
After lunch we opened up one of the gifts Grace got for her birthday. It was a package of "Shrinky Dinks." The kids had fun coloring the plastic pictures, cutting them out, and baking them. The pictures melt and shrink in the oven and create tiny charms that you can make into bracelets. They loved it and they each had their own to wear.

The best part is sitting by the oven and watching the pieces curl and shrink right before your eyes!

Father's Day 2011

2011-06-20T17:56:00.004-05:00

We had a nice Father's Day weekend. We had dinner with Joseph's Family on Saturday night. The kids had fun playing outside together and all of the cousins were together, which is always fun.Sunday morning the kids and I got up and snuck downstairs. We made banana muffins and cards for the dad's in the house...Joseph was sleeping and Uncle Timothy was upstairs sleeping too. The kids also made cards for them, which are always cute. We took the trays upstairs and surprised everybody. We had a picnic in our room and Uncle Timothy, Aunt Grace, and Miles had a private breakfast in their room. It was cute.
Later we made doughnuts and a big breakfast buffet for the whole family. Everybody ate, played, and just hung out. It was a fun time...at least until Teta and Sido discovered they had a flat tire on their car and they had to wait for the tire to get fixed. So, they ended up leaving later than they wanted to, but they got to play with the kids and have lunch before leaving so it all worked out.

Homemade Chalkboards

2011-06-17T14:34:00.006-05:00

The kids and I made our own chalkboards last week. I wanted a huge custom one for the dining room to use as a chalkboard menu and I let the kids make a small one with the extra wood. We primed our boards and added multiple coats of chalkboard paint last week.
Then we spent a couple days creating the frame. We had to cut the wood, sand it, stain it, and finish it off with a poly.

Once it was complete we hung it in the dining room and I wrote a mock menu on it like you see at restuarants. I figure I'll be able to change it up for special occasions, holidays, etc. It was a fun project and it turned out really well.
The kids board was much easier and we hung it in the garage so they can play with it and not have to worry about making a mess inside. They colored on it for over an hour today and I bet they will be excited to show Joseph when he gets home. Everybody ended up pretty happy with their projects!

Summer Reading Program

2011-06-16T14:26:00.004-05:00

The kids signed up for the library's Summer Reading Program last week and today they got their first prize for reading everyday. They each got a coupon to go to the Children's Museum, a free kids meal at a local burger place, and a prize from the prize bin. Grace got a rubber ducky and Gabe got a realistic looking bug.The kids also picked out new books to bring home and played on the computers for a little bit. Fun times!!

The Tooth Fairy is on Her Way

2011-06-16T13:17:00.002-05:00

The tooth fairy is coming to our house again, except this time it is for my wisdom tooth! My wisdom teeth never formed when I was little, but one eventually grew in as an adult. At my last dental checkup they suggested I have it removed since it had grown in completely and there wasn't much room for it. So, today I went in and had it taken out...not bad surprisingly. I've never feared dentists, but I'm not going to lie - I was nervous! But, we go to a really great practice and the dentist did a great job and added humor to the situation which put me at ease. Now, I'm excited to see what the tooth fairy puts under my pillow tonight!!

Naperville Triathlon 2011

2011-06-13T16:40:00.005-05:00

This weekend was so fun. Saturday morning my mom and her friend came into town to watch me race. We went downtown and picked up my race packet, goodie bag, and got my body "marked" as soon as they got here. Then we did some shopping in downtown Naperville (found some cute things!!) and then we all went out to eat. That night I had a guitar jam and then Joseph and I worked until nearly midnight getting everything ready for my race. I can never ever go to bed early on the night before a race because I am too excited so I just stay up prepping all of my stuff. Mom and I got up super early and headed into Naperville. I got my bike into the transition area and set up my area with all the necessities. Then mom and I hung out on the beach until it was my turn to race. Joseph brought the kids just in time to give me kisses and hugs before they led us out into the water for the first leg of the race. The weather was so perfect and the water was about 74 degrees which actually felt pretty good. I lined up right at the front of the pack and swam hard the whole distance. I was pretty excited to finish the swim portion and get on my bike.
I loved the bike portion since it was so quiet out on the road and I really had time to get my head together. I pushed hard and loved the fact that I had a little speedometer on my bike so I could gauge how I was doing. It definitely made me push a little harder. The last leg of the race is the 5K portion. I enjoyed it as well even though it took my legs a few seconds to transition...they didn't want to stop pedaling! I had to focus to get my muscles to work properly! But, once I got it together I felt good all the way to the finish. I loved seeing my family cheering me on...it was pretty awesome seeing them 6 times throughout the race. They moved around the course really well and there were enough of them that I always spotted them early enough to wave and see them cheering.
After the race we went out to lunch and then we headed home. It was such a nice, nice day. I really enjoyed and appreciated all the support from my family and couldn't have been happier with how everything turned out. I ended up finishing in the top 25%...362 out of 1469. My finish time was 1 hour and 36 minutes.

T-ball : Game 2

2011-06-07T21:37:00.004-05:00

Today was a scorcher. We spent some time outside in the shade of the trees in the backyard. The kids had fun with the hose and kiddie pool. Tomorrow is supposed to be pretty hot too, so we might be spending it at the pool or do a repeat of today.

This evening Gabe had his second baseball game. He did a great job. They batted in backwards order, so he got to be the third one up this time. He had a couple of nice hits and got to run the bases all the way around this time. He also got to be the "pitcher" for an inning. That happens to be the most important position in t-ball since all of the hits are pretty short and the pitcher gets 90% of them and he decides where to get the out. He tagged somebody on their way to home which was an impressive play for a 5 year old.

T-ball and a trip

2011-06-06T08:18:00.004-05:00

Last Thursday night Gabe had his first t-ball game.

He looked pretty cute in his over-sized uniform. He got up to bat twice and had a couple of good hits, but he was the last batter for the inning so he didn't get to run the bases...maybe next time.

We spent the weekend in Ohio with our friends Robert and Geoff and their families. They both have babies under a year old, so it was fun to see them again and the kids had a good time playing with the babies. Saturday we went to a big pool with the kids. The guys had fun trying out the waterslides and Gabe even got to try it out. Later we cleaned up and went out for sushi. It was fun and everybody had a good time hanging out.

First Pool Day

2011-06-01T20:49:00.005-05:00

The pool opened over the weekend, but today was our first opportunity to visit for the season. The kids were so happy. They have missed the pool so much. Gabe spent a lot of time in the sand box. He and some other boys made this little lake. After they left Gabe decided to "swim" in the lake. Kinda funny!

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-06-01T00:26:00.010-05:00

Saturday we headed to Michigan for the long weekend. We had a terrific time visiting with family.
Sunday morning we went bluegill fishing in the pond with Grandma and Grandpa. The kids had fun and couldn't reel them in fast enough. Grace was really quite good after a few tips from Grandma and Grandpa.

She even threw them back in the water all by herself.Later we celebrated Grace's birthday with great-grandma, AnnaLee, Richard, as well as my brothers and their families. It was fun hanging out with everyone and the kids seemed to have a lot of fun. Grace enjoyed all of the attention, the hot dogs, the cupcakes, the ice cream, and the presents. She was so happy, and I was happy just watching her.Monday we had our annual family reunion. It was the best one I can remember, with the biggest turnout. We had lots of yummy food and desserts. We also had a hay ride, baby chicks, a farm tour, and a huge water balloon fight where I was a major target and somehow managed to escape getting wet!! We stayed way later than we intended, but it was worth it. Everyone had a good time! Too bad my camera battery died and I lost my back-up and camera case at church of all places!

Grace's 3rd Birthday

2011-05-29T10:16:00.004-05:00

Friday Grace turned 3 years old! She is such a big girl...and she knows it! She has been talking about her birthday for about 2 months. She kept asking for a princess/Cinderella cake and she wanted her friends to come over. So, I tried to do my best to make it happen for her. We started the morning with a doughnut run-her favorite breakfast treat!! She got to pick out her own doughnut and then we ate it at home. Then we got ready and met Dina, my friend Eva, and their kids at the mall for lunch. Since they couldn't make it to the party that evening, we decided to have a little party at Build-a-Bear. Everybody picked out their own bear to make and name. They stuffed their bears, put little hearts inside, gave them baths, and then made birth certificates for them.They all seemed to have a really good time and both Gabe and Grace said they loved it. Later that evening some of our friends and neighbors came over for Grace's party. It was such a nice party, we had three other couples and their 6 kids. We set up an obstacle course in the backyard with a rope swing, balance beam, batting station, soccer station, and more. The kids even started their own game of "freeze dance" on the deck. It was so cute and so casual.

The cake was the big surprise moment. I had kept it hidden and when I finally brought it out the kids were in awe. It was so so cute...Grace loved it and my friend's daughter, Lucy, had the best reaction. Her jaw just dropped and her face lit right up.

We ended the night with presents and after everyone went home we had a little bowl of ice cream with Gabe and Grace and talked about the day. It was sweet and it was such a wonderful day.

Cosley Zoo and more

2011-05-20T17:36:00.004-05:00

Today we went to Cosley Zoo in Wheaton with Aunt Dina, Mena, and Sophia. The kids were good and had fun looking at the animals, eating lunch, and running around in the grass. We taught Mena how to play "Simon Says"...it was pretty cute. The kids also practiced making silly faces after lunch. Later we went to Aunt Dina's and played on their swingset and ran around until the kids were tired. When we got home the kids crashed and I worked outside and in.I got to work on some stuff for Grace's little birthday party on Friday We're having a small party with the neighbor kids on Friday night and then we are heading back to Michigan to see the grandparents and all of the cousins over the long weekend. We'll celebrate her birthday with all of them on Saturday.She wants a super girlie birthday party with lots of pink stuff. So, I'm doing my best to make it happen. I picked up a little table and chairs at Goodwill for about $7. They had seen better days, so they were perfect for a diy project. I spray painted the chair legs with an antique white paint and then covered the seats with a little batting and a cute fabric.

I covered the whole table in pink gingham fabric and tied a bow around the base to keep the aluminum legs hidden. Then I made cute little tissue paper pom poms for the napkins. I have a few more decorations to put together...but it's looking good so far!

Dance Moves

2011-05-15T20:41:00.004-05:00

The kids had the arabic music on tonight and Gabe told Grace he wanted to dance with her. It was pretty cute to see him try to spin her! He also told me to make a movie and show it to Teta and Sido because they would like it. So here you go!!

It's Hot!

2011-05-10T15:40:00.004-05:00

The weather is crazy...yesterday we needed sweatshirts and today we were in swimsuits. We went out to water the flowers and we were so warm that we pulled out the kiddie pool and beach towels. The kids had hours of fun splashing and "swimming." I'm excited to have the kids eat outside. Every meal we eat al fresco means less work all around. They can be messier and I can just sweep off the deck afterwards...win, win!Grace was pretty beat from all the time in the sun and heat. After a shower, I tucked her in bed for a nap. A few minutes later I went to check on her and I found her snuggled up in her closet. Cozy!!

Mother's Day, Garden Beds, and a Party

2011-05-09T15:36:00.006-05:00

Saturday the kids had a birthday party to attend for two girls from our playgroup. They had a blast playing at the gym-style party. There was plenty of dancing, sliding, jumping, bubbles, tumbling, swinging, zip cording, and more. Later in the day Uncle Timothy and Aunt Grace stopped by with their new baby, Miles. They stayed for dinner and brought along a really delicious pie to share. It was fun to see them and we were happy they came for a visit.
That night Gabe begged to sleep in the basement and he wanted me to come along. So I set up his little tent with sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows. The two of us slept down there all night and then Daddy, Grace, and Gabe brought breakfast down to enjoy. Later we went to the park and had a fun picnic.Everyone had fun fishing, playing baseball, and even wading in the river.We also got lots of work done on the garden and in the yard. We got the garden beds complete and we planted the remaining vegetable plants. We have peppers, tomatoes, zuchinni, basil, cucumbers, beans, and more. We also left the back section of one bed for the kids. We filled it with sand so that they can dig all summer, since they seem to enjoy it so much.

This morning the kids and I went to pick up a few flowers. We came home with this pretty hanging basket for the front porch. We also got a few more flowers for the pots near the front door. It makes it feel so much more like spring and that much closer to summer once the flowers are planted!!

Garden Bed #2

2011-05-02T15:51:00.006-05:00

Over the weekend we got a second bed complete. We transplanted the strawberries and some herbs into the first one. Then we laid the second one, filled it with soil, and transplanted the rest of the plants into it. We have lettuce, onions, radishes, broccoli, cabbage, squash, and a few flower seeds in the ground. I can't wait to see how much better our little plants will grow with the extra space and the improved soil. Gabe and I built the other two frames and set them out in the garden. We have about one more day of work until it is complete, which will work out perfectly since we are spending most of the day on Sunday planting flowers around the house so we'll be able to plant the rest of the seeds at that time.

Sox Game

2011-05-01T19:13:00.003-05:00

This morning we decided to relax a bit and go to a White Sox game. We didn't have tickets, but it was such a perfect day for a ball game that we figured we would just see what we could get. The weather was great. We started out with t-shirts and near the end of the game it cooled down a bit and we put our jackets on. It was so much nicer than sitting through all the summer heat later in the season.We ended up with the best seats, we were in the 6th row right off of first base. The kids were excited to be so close to the field and there was lots of action at first base. Grace was totally into the food and wanted everything that passed by. We had peanuts, licorice, popcorn, and cotton candy. She was thrilled with all the goodies. Gabe was really into the game and asked a lot of questions. He learned a lot about the game and even got into keeping track of the innings and the score. He was clapping and chanting with the crowd for Paul Konerko..."Paulie!! Paulie!! Paulie!!" He loved the home runs and the fireworks that followed.
He tried to get a ball for much of the game, and finally at the bottom of the 8th inning, one of the Orioles tossed him a ball as he was coming off the field.Gabe was so excited, I kinda choked up just watching his dream come true. It was such a wonderful day, even more so since it was so spur of the moment and things all came together so well. We couldn't have had a better time at a baseball game.
They tucked themselves in on the way home, shared the rest of their licorice, and then they both fell asleep. It was pretty cute!!

Easter Sunday

2011-04-24T21:00:00.006-05:00

Last night Teta and Sido came to visit with cousin Jameel and his parents. We had a nice dinner and then we had fun dancing to music, playing the drum, and getting ready for Easter morning. The kids were excited to sleep in our room last night since we made them each their own little "nest" on the floor. After Gabe asked me 100 questions about the Easter Bunny they went right to sleep.In the morning they came downstairs and had tons of eggs to collect inside the house and even more outside of the house.

I think Teta and Sido had a lot of fun helping them with their eggs! They had so much fun opening the eggs and later we cracked the hard boiled eggs out on the deck.

Gabe kept winning, which made him pretty happy!
Later we got ready for church and had a nice Easter service. Gabe was an alter boy and he did a good job. We ate lunch at church and then they had a candy/egg hunt for the little kids. We came home and changed into our work clothes and spent the rest of the day in the yard. We started building raised beds to replace the existing garden. We saw a tutorial the other day and decided that this looked a good idea. It is more organized, we can control the soil more, it is less strain on the back, and more accessible overall. We started with one today, but we have three more coming. It is a lot of work since we have to build the frame, dig out the sod, and replace the soil with a mixture of black dirt, compost, and some sand to lighten it up. Now I have to transplant the strawberries into this frame. Hopefully I can get that done tomorrow.

We also managed to plant some of our containers with herbs and tomato plants. I like to have them on the deck since I use the herbs in the kitchen almost daily.

And that is how we spent our Easter Sunday! It was a pretty joyous and productive day!

Annual Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-23T12:48:00.004-05:00

This morning we went to the annual Easter egg hunt near our house. They divide 15,000 eggs (no joke!) between four baseball fields. The fields are divided by age groups and hundreds and hundreds of people take part in this crazy 3 minute event. This year we split up and Joseph and Gabe went to the 5-6 year old field and Grace and I went to the 1-2 year old field. Grace was pretty excited. The field was wet and mushy, so it was a good call to put her in rain boots. She was able to walk along the fence line in the puddles to get the eggs that nobody else could get. It was too funny. She collected more eggs than anybody else that I saw. Gabe definitely got his share and they both got in the car as happy as could be.