Holiday Fun

Last week I went with Carmen on her class trip to the Children's Museum. It was so fun to watch her interact with the other students in her class. It was also nice to take a day off work and enjoy some special time with her. Her three teachers just absolutely love her. They adore her and it was so nice to hear all the wonderful things about her from people at school. I know how smart, creative, and beautiful she is and it is so wonderful to hear her teachers praise her as well.

Gianni just became an official cub scout member. He was able to march in his first parade and has been to a few meetings. Gianni and Abel work through the book together and enjoy their special time together every few Tuesday evenings.

Last weekend we went out to Tempe to see a Christmas production of Junie B. Jones. Carmen laughed out loud at the play and Gianni's eyes were glued to the stage the entire time. Afterwards the kids went outside by the lake. It was a beautiful night out and the kids loved the show. I think what we loved most is that it was something different. We don't ever really get down to Tempe Town Lake so it was nice to explore the area, see a show, and have dinner as a family of four.

 Carmen just had her class Christmas party this past week. She was featured in their performance of Jingle Bells. See the two links below to watch her sing. If you turn up the volume you can actually hear her voice above the others. She just loves to sing.

http://youtu.be/HqDbAqpULkQ

http://youtu.be/SoEeq4wn4xE

Not only does she love to sing but she loves to dance! This weekend she was in yet another dance recital. She looked a little tired at first but once the music got going she did a fantastic job. Her arms and legs are getting so straight when she dances. We are very proud of her progress. You can see her in the video on the far right.

http://youtu.be/QBfqx5_JcAE

http://youtu.be/0nMeVOli3uY

 

  We are looking forward to this final week of school before the winter break. Nonna will be here in 5 more days! The kids are counting down!

Let it snow!

 This year, we started our Thanksgiving Day with a little morning run. Gianni and mom ran a 5K and Carmen and daddy did the 1 mile fun run. The kids thought it was so cool to have numbers on their bellies. And....guess who showed up at the race???? NONNA!!! She finally came! She was there to cheer us on as we crossed the finish line. We spent Thanksgiving Day with my parents. On Friday, they took the kids for the evening and treated them to dinner and a movie. They bought them MP3 players so that they are prepared for the next run. My mom surprised me with a waffle maker and new crock pot (jumbo size). Still haven't used them yet. My plan is to bust them both out next weekend. On Saturday we went for pedicures with Nonna and out to the Cheesecake Factory for a final goodbye dinner. We have to wait until Christmas to have a longer visit.

 The day after Thanksgiving, our elf George showed up! The first night he was under the Christmas tree playing Candy Land with Barbie! Gianni made him a necklace and the next morning he showed his appreciation by wearing the necklace and by saying thank you.

 This weekend was not as crazy busy as weekends in the past. On Friday, I went out with some friends and then met Abel and the kids at the school for an evening of stories under the stars. On Saturday we did all of our chores (laundry, cleaning, errands, Christmas cards). We then joined Papa for dinner and a night at the Goodyear Ballpark for a Winter Festival. It had rides, games with prizes, slides, and snow! The kids had a blast and ended the night with hot chocolate and donuts!

Today we watched the Cardinals lose - AGAIN! It's getting so frustrating but we do our best to cheer them on. We ended the night with two hours of play time outside and a family movie. As I sit here tonight with a list of presents to still buy and holiday things to get done, at first I felt like there was no way I could just hang with the kids today, but looking at their cute little faces reminds me that they are what the holidays are all about. It will all get done....just not today!

Mexico and Preparing for Turkey Day

Last weekend the kids got to enjoy some time with their cousins in California and Mexico. On Saturday we bundled up the kids (yes it was cold) and we hit a parade. Carmen hung out with her favorite cousin Destiny and "Baby Jayda" is now old enough to follow the girls around too! Carmen insisted on wearing my sunglasses the entire morning!

Later on that evening, we crossed the border and went down to Mexicali, Mexico to Abel's grandmother's house. The family surprised Carmen with a birthday bash! The party had decorations, carne asada on the grill, posters, balloons, pinata, presents, cake, and plenty of kids running around.

She loved her party! The kids played with cousins that they haven't seen in a year. Down below in this picture you can see the driveway to the house is gated and secure. Things down there continue to get worse but once we are at the house I feel safe because we are totally closed in!

Carmen whacked the pinata so hard! Can't wait to see her hit a baseball in a few months!

Abel's dad came to the party. We call him Grandpa Efrain. He gave Carmen a special necklace which she loved.

This weekend it was my recovery weekend from the Mexico trip but also my "gear up and prepare for Thanksgiving" weekend. I had a gigantic list of things to do. Here was my list for Saturday and Sunday:

-clean the house

-laundry

-plan the thanksgiving meal

-shop for thankgiving

-birthday present for Gianni's friend

-birthday party

-winter coat for Gianni

-dance pictures

-dance class

-Gianni has homework

-buy the turkey

-clean the front yard

-clean the back yard

-organize the garage

-find the Christmas tree and ornament boxes

And....I did it all! We got everything done and we still were able to watch football and have a relaxing evening with the kids. Tonight we grilled chicken for fajitas. The kids made their own fajita with the toppings of their choices. We ate dinner outside by fire light. Then we played games in the backyard. It was the perfect end to a busy weekend. We are ready for Thanksgiving and Nonna!

Halloween and Fun Fall Food

My husband is the expert pumpkin carver! He goes all out and unfortunately for him, he ends up doing most of the work. While the kids were carving pumpkins I made an apple tart that was so yummy and Gianni could not stop eating it! It was a simple recipe straight out of this month's Food Network mag from the Barefoot Contessa. Butter butter butter!

The apple tart was just dessert and they had to eat their supper first! In honor of pumpkin carving I made Stuffed Shells with  Cheddar Pumpkin Sauce. The shells were stuffed with ground turkey, onion, and spinach. The sauce was a basic cream sauce made with milk and flour. To that I added canned pumpkin, cheddar cheese, and ground nutmeg. I thought that the kids would see the green spinach and onion inside and freak out but they ate it up!

Trick or treating with Sydney Joy! The kids lined up for their normal shot at the end of the driveway. This year my two were Dorothy and Mario.

Papa took part in his first ever Halloween. He handed out candy while we took the kids around.

Abel went to Vegas the next morning so I ended my week on my own and the kids were fantastic!

Carmen Quote of the Week:

We go around the dinner table and say the best part of our day every night.

Mom: "The best part of my day was that I prayed that you kids would get up and get dressed quickly today since dad is out of town and I am by myself. You guys did it! You were perfect kids!"

Carmen: "Mom....you should pray more often and then we will always be good!"

Gianni Quote of the Week:

As we are walking into Target to buy new sneakers for him.

Gianni: "Uhhhh mom...is it okay that I have no underwear on?" 

Mom: "Gianni, what do you mean you have no underwear on????"

Gianni: "Well, when you sent me to my room to get dressed, I guess I took them off and put shorts on. I'm not sure what I was thinking."

This would be an Uncle Justin moment.

Fun at the Patch

This weekend we went to the Pumpkin Patch to have some fun with the Morales Family. The patch has a petting zoo, lots of jumpers, corn maze, train ride, cars to drive, and a tomato launch. The kids got nice and dirty and sweaty! Still pretty warm out here for October. 

 Fall is one of my most favorite times of year because it is so nice outside. We had so much fun and then grabbed dinner with our friends. 

Our Sunday has been nice and relaxed today. We hit the golf course and played a round of golf with Papa. Carmen played her first round of 9 holes and played the entire thing! She did so great. I was totally impressed with her skills and stamina! 

Back to work tomorrow.  Gianni is still playing baseball and practices on Monday and Thursday. Carmen's tennis lessons start back up in a week or so and that is Wednesday and Friday. I seriously have no idea how my family will ever eat dinner at home again. It is hard to keep up with these two but I love that they want to stay active and healthy!

PS......We REALLY REALLY REALLY miss Nonna. 

Our End to Fall Break and The Princess Turns 5

 This week we surprised Papa at the airport. The kids hid behind a trash can and waited and waited. It was so funny because they thought they saw him coming 15 times. Pretty much anybody that had a hat on and was a man they thought was Papa. Once her arrived Gianni hugged him so hard and Carmen gave him a picture that she made for him!

After his arrival and a little breakfast at McDonalds, we headed to the Natural History Museum. The kids have only been here once and Carmen was 2 years old. The museum has all kinds of old things and lots of hands on stuff for the little ones. The kids explored, did puzzles, looked at bones, panned for gold, and learned about ancient civilizations.

Look at these two cutties! They can be so sweet at times, of course this is when someone is not saying, "he is looking at me" or "she won't stop touching me". 

Today was Saturday and man was it a busy Saturday. It started off with dance class for Carmen and Sophia. These two are just so cute together. Next session they are moving up to the next class. There are a lot of little ones in with them and it is time to learn a few new moves!

After dance it was over to Gianni's baseball game which had already started. He is playing so well. It makes me so proud when I show up and parents tell me, "wow, Gianni made some great plays and has been hitting the ball way into the outfield!" He is ALL sports right now. The child will not play with toys at all. I asked him the other day, "Gianni why won't you play with legos or transformers or wrestling guys?" He looked at me and said, "mom, I'm growing up you know!" Cartoons are totally out. This kid is addicted to ESPN and Sports Center.

After the baseball game, it was home for a shower, a little lunch, and then off to Carmen's Birthday party at Michael's craft store. My little princess turns 5 on Monday and today was her special day! She had a Tangled birthday theme filled with crafts, friends, and fun!

For the first time ever Carmen wanted a girls ONLY party. Gianni was the only boy allowed and even he had to do a boy craft. Once her friends arrived the kids painted jewelry boxes and made jewelry to go inside. Then it was cake, gifts, and face painting. Each child got to take home their crafts and a balloon. The face painting took a while but it seemed to be a big hit. Tonight we had tears when it had to come off int he shower. 

I had so much fun with her today. As my second child, the focus is not always on her as much as it sometime has been on him. Today was so special for her. In the past we picked the guest list and the party but today this was all her. She had 6 girls attend which was perfect. She loved the pink, the crafts, the balloons, and she was glowing the entire time. She is so beautiful and smart and I am so proud to be her mom! She has the best friends in the world and they all got her the most perfect gifts. She received purses, art supplies, LiteBrite, Barbie Ballerina, a tea party set to paint, dry erase boards, and Cinderella toys. Tonight she had no idea where to start because she wanted to open everything and do everything tonight. Then after the party Papa took her to by her very first BIG GIRL bike. She is riding all over with no training wheels. What did she pick??? A pink Pinkalicious bike with a horn! What a perfect way to celebrate turning 5!

HAPPY 5th BIRTHDAY CARMEN! We love you so much munchkin!