Pics From the Daddy-Daughter Dance Feb 2011

So, since i was on a long posting hiatus.. i did miss writing about a really precious 'first' for one of my girls ... and my guy, too ;) This year, around Valentine's Day, Brandon took Sophia to her first Daddy-Daughter Dance. It was SO adorable. It makes my heart swell to think about the special bond between a little girl and her daddy. I have a daddy of my own, so of course I know all about that special 'my dad is my hero he is better than your dad' thing that goes on.

Without further ado...

long overdue

You know when life is going so fast you can barely remember the last 3 months? Thats how 2011 has started for us. We have moved, we have re-arranged EVERYTHING about my husband's business, we have had birthdays and parties and anniversaries and ... okay you get the picture, we've been on the go! I haven't taken the time to blog or post pictures in a very long time, and that makes me sad because i really like to keep up with this. It makes ME feel good to do this.

The girls are outside right now as i watch them through the open patio doors. They are getting their fill of SPRINGTIME! They are prancing around in rain boots picking up bugs and getting filthy and taking a long-desired respite from the winter that has dragged on bitterly.

Last Saturday we celebrated Bella's 3rd birthday! CAN NOT BELIEVE my baby is 3 now!! I still call her 'the baby' too, like i am in denial that she isn't a full blown toddler, nearly a pre-schooler.

Example:

"Honey, will you get the baby?" or when she is in trouble "She doesn't understand what you are saying, she's just a baby!!" So... trying to get over that, but its hard to swallow, ya know. Your kids growing up too quickly right before your eyes is a large, bitter pill.... its slowly going down, but im really struggling with it. *sigh. Bittersweet i should say, because there are lots of perks of children that are a little more independent. Like, on a positive note, we can all go to the movie theater and sit through a movie together, and even the baby is good! ;)

On the tech-side of things... i jumped off the BlackBerry train and hopped on the iPhone bandwagon. Only had it for a few days, I really LOVE it so far, but to be fair I will write my full review after 30 days.

Teacher, Teacher...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110216/ap_on_hi_te/us_teacher_suspended_blog

This is the link to the popular news story that came out today about the PA High School teacher who was suspended (which is a nice way of saying 'we plan on firing you') for making some school related criticisms on her personal blog. I thought this was such a great, controversial topic so I really wanted to put my two cents in! ;)

As a mother, a former student, a fellow blogger and PERSON... I relate to many sides of this story. I can see both sides have a very strong case.

I think most people could agree with this teacher, there are SO many teenagers now who are disrespectful and refuse to even resemble a responsible young adult. That must be very hard for a teacher to see day in and day out. Kids coming in, being disrespectful to the teachers and fellow students. She mentioned some talking loudly about drugs and alcohol, all the while refusing to take school seriously.

The most excellent point I think she made was that so many parents today are too busy trying to be friends with their kids, that they aren't being good parents. My mother has told me my whole life, "We will never be friends. I am your MOM." While that may sound harsh to some people, I feel 100% like that is the way the parent-child relationship should work. Parents tip-toe around their child's feelings so often nowadays, not wanting to push them away or be viewed as not being as cool as 'so and so's' mom or dad. Get over yourself and your pride and be a parent! Your kid is mad or thinks your are 'uncool'? WHO CARES. Parents rely way too heavily on school to teach their kids values, respect, discipline and responsibility. Guess what, my fellow parents... thats OUR job. School is for educating them, for helping prepare them for life by arming them with knowledge, for preparing them for college or work by helping them refine skills that they will need. It is NOT our children's teachers job to teach kids manners and respect. Its OUR job. If my kid is bratty and disruptive in class, I dont get to blame the teacher. I have to realize my child is out of control, and figure out what im going to do about it. So... in this light, I can see why teachers feel frustrated. Parents dont step in enough anymore. Period.

That being said.. I have read some of the things she posted about the kids, and her defense of those comments, and I do feel she was out of line. Let me be clear... I dont think that the things she FELT were out of line, I think the things she wrote down in a blog open to the public were out of line. First of all, these students now have seen these comments, and as a former student myself, I can see how they would carry a bit of a grudge. No one wants to feel like they are being looked down upon, and though her blog was written as a personal outlet for her feelings, it doesnt change the fact that it HAS been seen by her students, and it HAS offended, angered, and hurt some of them and their parents. I am guessing even if she is allowed to keep her job, she wouldnt be very welcomed there. Who knows, though? Like I said, she has a right to her 'freedom of speech' just as we all do. However, at what point do the things teachers say and feel interfere with their ability to teach our children without prejudice? I dont know the answer to that.

Well, thats it.. although that may be more like 10 cents instead of 2 ;)
Let me know what YOU think!

http://www.goodreads.com/

Since getting my Nook for Christmas, I have been doing a lot of reading. This is a site where you have join up with friends and read their book reviews, and write your own. Its a great place to find out about books you may (or may not) like.

Winter has really slowed me down with photography and blogging both. Hope to be back in action soon.... stay tuned.

Tis the Season

Tis the season... 3 little words that could possibly lead into so many things.

Tis the season.. to be jolly? To be cranky, to spend money, to make candies, to wear comfy socks, to send Christmas Cards, to attend parties, to go overboard, to over-indulge, to be cold, to drink hot chocolate, to sleep in :) ?!? I could go on, of course. But today, the tune is: Tis the season to make a big steaming pot of White Chili.

Last night we had the first of our Christmas Celebrations with my husbands extended family coming over to celebrate. It was a lot of fun, the girls got to get the feel of opening a couple presents, which they seemed to be fond of. ;)

Now we are watching some Nickelodeon and waiting while the chili simmers... smells great!

Im not a 'crafty' mommy by nature. But i was pretty darn proud of the tutus that I made for the girls last week. I mean, for watching a short Youtube How-To video, I cranked out a couple of cute tutus in no time! Its fun to amaze everyone, including yourself, when you make something adorable.

Its been pretty hard to keep Bella out of the Christmas presents, but so far she has only opened one (which was mine) and hasn't tried since. Cant wait to see her cute little face on Christmas. She will love, not just the presents, but also being with family all day. And also the presents... I mean, she is a kid! :)

Tis the Season... to be sincerely yours,

Mommy

Glad Tidings of Great Joy

Ive been thinking a lot about an article i read today. The article's focus was about how even Christians are so caught up in the commercial side of the season that we have completely forgotten what Christmas is all about.

Now, as a mother, of course I couldn't bear to deny myself of seeing the joy that opening a few presents brings to my daughters. But this year, I have been trying to emphasize the TRUE meaning of Christmas and the reason for the Celebration and gifts. Anyway, I was reading this article about how UN-Christian all the gift giving and recieving is. Of course, this guy is an extremist.... but I do kind of get what he is saying. We are so focused on giving gifts and spending money on extravagant presents, foods, decorations, etc that we barely even take the time to remember what Christmas is all about anymore. I mean, how many of us even read the Christmas story about the baby born of a Virgin and take time to reflect on this Miracle? How many of us go out of our way to say thank you to someone for a fruit cake or a bottle of wine, yet never take the time to thank God for sending his Son to us? Modern conveniences and technologies seem to be putting a wedge between us and the true meaning of Christmas.


I can honestly say, that even though my parents bought us TONS of awesome presents when I was growing up, Im at a loss to remember most of the gifts. What I DO remember is the traditions we had... the singing Christmas carols in the car, the one present we got to open on Christmas Eve, waiting up with the window cracked to hear Santa... my dad reading the Night Before Christmas and the Actual Christmas story from the Bible right before we went to bed. I remember this vividly. As i sit here on a bitterly cold December night, with my feet still freezing from driving around a couple hours ago looking at Christmas lights with the kids.... i realize those are the kind of memories I want my kids to have. Not gifts, but LOVE. Family traditions stemming from the love I have for Christ and for my family. So, even if there are moments i waiver in my Christmas cheer, Im going to smile and sing a Christmas tune, because I am making a commitment to making warm, fuzzy wonderful CHRISTmas memories with my kids. :)

May your home be filled with wonderful traditions and memories,
Merry Christmas



(photo by Matthew Killian)

Thanksgiving Weekend, etc.

Thanksgiving Weekend:

Thursday:
On Thanksgiving Day, we packed up the van and headed south to my parents' house. There we had dinner with my family. Of course, the feast was large. Large enough for us all to gorge ourselves then still go back for pie. To say I LOVE the tradtional Thanksgiving Day cuisine would be like saying I love the beach. I dont just LOVE the beach.... i ADORE the beach.... i dream about it. I basque in thoughts of waves crashing onto the sand, walking along the shoreline at night barefoot while the ocean breeze lifts me to new levels of happiness and pleasure that I never knew existed... So i dont just love the beach, you see. Its my 'happy place.' And Thanksgiving food... its my 'happy food.' Even though i had lost about 4 pounds the week before Thanksgiving and would have loved to keep that off, nothing was going to stop me from cramming myself full of that delicious, calorie-ridden goodness. So i ate, and ate... and ate. Then I had dessert.

After the schmorgusboard we visited for a while, then made our journey back home. And guess what happened on our way home? It started to snow! Now, we were feeling a little Christmas Spirit by this point, with full bellies and our first snow making our hearts content.... so we stopped off for a Christmas Tree. We got the tree inside and in the tree stand, but were too tired by that point to put on any decorations. Especially considering I had to be up at 10:50 and make my way to Wal-Mart to get in line for a few Black Friday Bargains I was certain I needed to get for the girls.

Friday:

I rang in Friday just like hundreds of other people did, hovering over a pallet of Childrens toys so that when the clock struck midnight we could rip the wrap of that pallet and grab that toy that our child would enjoy SO much that we felt the need to lose sleep over it. I got what i wanted and probably did save about 70 dollars or so. I always say 'Ill never do that again,' but I think we all know I probably will.

After going home and sleeping a few more hours, I had to get up. This was the day we were hosting my husband's family for Thanksgiving. So we cleaned for the better part of the day, and we had a lovely evening when they all came over. Since my stomach was still stretched to the size of basketball from the first Thanksgiving Meal we had, I had no problem scarfing down two huge plates.

Saturday:
My husband's great uncle had passed away earlier in the week. I had met him a few times, and though I cant recall ever talking to him much, I was still sad for the family. A family death is always terrible. I would have accompanied my husband, but it was an outdoor service and I didnt have a babysitter for the girls. So we let daddy go with his family and we stayed home. To make the most of a little Saturday 'mommy and me' time I decided we would make some Christmas ornaments to put on the Tree later that night. So we glued and glittered and bejeweled 26 ornaments. We had a good ole time! Thinking ahead (and knowing Bella's affinity for making messes that would make someone cry) I put down a disposable table cloth to make the ornaments on, so when the masterpieces were finished I put up the supplies and rolled away the disaster that was left behind and tossed it in the trash. So, 25 seconds clean-up time made the project all that more fun.

When daddy got home, we were just getting up from a small nap. We got up and around and met my husbands mom and sister at the movie theater to watch "Tangled." It was adorable. I dont know who liked it more, the kids or me. But I suspect I probably did.

Then, it was home for leftovers (duh) and finally getting to decorate that tree and the rest of the house for Christmas. And what Christmas decoration party would be complete without a Christmas movie and some hot chocolate afterwards?

Sunday:

Relaxing. Thats it. A few odds and ends with cleaning and laundry. But mostly... just spending whats left of this long weekend... relaxing.