Pirates, Stars, and a Trip to China

Where have I been? Well, January has proven to be a pretty tough month for us. We have a brand new schedule to get adjusted to because of football and baseball. Here is what a typical week looks like for us. We are out of the house usually by 6:55am and sometimes we don't get home until late. 

Monday- mom works late, we meet for dinner, Gianni has football practice from 5:45 - 7:30

Tuesday - we eat at home, boys go to cub scouts, Carmen takes a shower, mom drives Carmen to cub scouts and puts her in the car with daddy as they leave so that I can go to kickboxing at 7:45.

Wednesday - I bring dinner from home to my office, we eat together in my office, boys go to football from 5:45-7:30, girls go to baseball practice for Carmen.

Thursday - we eat at home, mom goes to boxing at 6:15. This night is the easiest!

Friday - we come home, get into PJ's, order pizza, and watch a movie on the couch as we all fall asleep tired from our week. 

Saturday - dance class, baseball game, football game

Sunday - recover, shop, clean, laundry

I'm sure everyone else is just as busy so I am not trying to say that I am the only person that leads a life like this but I am trying to show (especially to my father who has been asking for pictures) why it has been so long since I last posted on the blog. HaHa.

So, Gianni is a Pirate and Carmen is a Star. These are the names of the teams that they play for this season. Team sports are new to Carmen.

http://youtu.be/9PSaOTGVa0E

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Here is a video of miss Carmen at her first baseball game.She is the only girl on the team and the coach is trying to get her to see that she really needs to run faster to get to first base. 

Our supper club took a trip to China last night. The table was fully decorated, chopsticks were used by our guests and the forks were hidden. Chopsticks only. I put down a read Chinese character printed table cloth, zodiac place mats, printed plates and napkins, fans, to go boxes were used to designate where everyone sat, and we even ordered fortune cookies with a thank you message inside.

We were all having such a great time and I only snapped a few pictures. I should have really payed more attention to the photos because my flash was not going off and I had hard time editing these for some reason but I think you can get the basics. It was YUMMO! We had one cocktail, three appetizers, the main dish with a yummy fried treat, then dessert with Chinese tea. I can't even say what the best dish was because they were all so good.

Red Lotus Cocktail - vodka, Lichido Liquer, and cranberry juice

Mu Shu Pork Pizza

Asian Glazed Wings

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Hong Kong Noodles with Chicken and Vegetables
Fried Bok Choy Ravioli with a Honey Soy Dipping Sauce

Rice Fritters with Sesame Caramel Sauce

In between these awesome dishes, we played a chopsticks game where the wives faced off against the husbands. We then had the finals and it came down to Jenni versus Abel. Abel was crowned the chopstick champion. Of course. Because he is super lucky and always wins stuff!

The competition was intense at times. We also had fun reading our zodiac signs. Some were dead on while others could not have been more wrong.

The last game of the evening was an origami contest. This was played with your spouse. Jenni and Chad rocked this one.

It was a perfect evening with good friends, good food, and very interesting music!

And a Happy New Year!

 

 Abel and I recently attended a school Christmas party together. We had a long and crazy night out with friends from work. Haven't stayed up that late in a long time. It was fun to go out but it reminded me that I am 34 years old, and cozy nights in with the family are probably more my thing now!

Lots of things were going on right up until the winter break. The kids were busy with all sorts of activities at school. Gianni presented a project to his class on Christmas in the country of Brazil. Carmen was selected by her teacher for Student of the Month. She was presented with a certificate at the school assembly. She looked so scared up there in front of the entire school.

 Carmen also sang with her group from her after school care program in a Christmas Show. The entire class dressed in PJ's. It was very cute and she was very brave.

For Christmas Eve the kids got dressed up in preparation for our regular gathering at Aunt Helen's house. They went out into the front yard and dumped their reindeer food for the hard working reindeer carrying Santa.

After reindeer food, we went up to Nonna and Papa's house where the kids were able to open a few gifts ahead of time to take to our Christmas Eve event. We always do this because it keeps them occupied at the party. Nonna and Papa always read them a story before we get into the car to go to Aunt Helen's house.

 The kids did such a nice job at Aunt Helen's house. The food was amazing as usual and it is always good to see my grandfather's sister and her family. On the way home the kids were in their PJ's and Carmen was looking out the window for Santa. She saw him a bunch of times and reported on his location. Gianni then announced that there was an APP on the phone called Santa Tracker that tracks Santa. I pulled it up and sure enough, he was in Mexico! The next thing I knew, Carmen was asleep in the car. She gave up on looking because the tracker said he was in Mexico. Gianni watched the tracker on my phone the hole way home.

Christmas morning was at our house. We had breakfast with my mom and dad and the kids opened their presents from us and of course their gifts from Santa. Then later in the day it was off to Nonna's house to open presents from Nonna and Papa. They got so many nice things. Nonna made an amazing lobster dinner. It was delicious!

The Friday after Christmas we decided to drive to Flagstaff to find some snow. We found the snow, and bumped into our friends Sophia and Jonah! So weird that we drove three hours the exact same day and time that they did. It wasn't even planned.

The kids had so much fun going down in the sled. Climbing up the hill was not Carmen's most favorite part. Gianni had a permanent smile on his face the whole time. 

This week the kids and I have slowed down a bit. Afternoon movies and family board games in bed have become tradition these last few days. The other day I was unloading the dishwasher and it was so quiet upstairs. I came up and found the two of them laying together watching a movie. Carmen plops her legs all over her brother and he doesn't seem to mind one bit.

My kids are not perfect. They throw their fair share of tantrums and need lots of reminding, but I do love their sweet little faces to pieces.

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.