My cousins and I have had a special tradition of getting together at our Grandfather's house every summer since we were little. Now we come with our families and the tradition will live on for the great-grandchildren.
This year there were 17 of us that came. Ten adults and seven children. My boys are the oldest at 7 and 3. The other 5 including my daughter are under 3. My daughter is the only girl so far. I know she will totally take advantage of that when she is older!
Granddad always gets a few cool toys before all of us come to visit. My oldest son is in that ball! It is essentially an adult size inflatable hamster wheel. You can find one here. My youngest son went down the hill in the ball. They both had a blast. You could hear them laughing all the way down until they went together. Then my son cried all the way down because his brother kneed him in the head. Apparently you have no real control of your body when spinning at high speeds down a hill.
We swam a lot and the boys went fishing in the pond. You can dive off of the boat house as well but the pond is kind of GROSS. My son fell out of the hamster wheel and had some black something or other on him, eewww.
Here is the back patio where we have appetizers and cocktails before dinner every night. It is so relaxing, I think it is one of my favorite places at this house.
My son's main request for this trip was to see a dinosaur. So we went to the Museum of Natural History.
It must have been nap time when we went to the Bronx Zoo. Here is a napping polar bear, tiger and red panda.
Oh, and this guy was not sleeping but he decided to show off his derrière!
We ate in the screened in dining room every night. The weather was just right. I have always loved these chairs. They bring back many memories of family dinners.
And of course I cannot end this post without showing you a bit of the awesome kitchen storage. This is just a small section it goes down a little hall and around the corner. I just love those drawers and glass cabinets!
Five days really went by too fast, but we had so much fun. I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked but I am always being pulled in one direction or another! It is fun watching my kids experience the same type of things I did as a child and seeing it through their eyes. Maybe next year we can get a family picture of all of us. Good luck there!
Our New York Trip
Likes And Dislikes Of Flying
Thought I would share a few of my observations from our recent flight. Enjoy! Feel free to agree or gripe in the comment section.
1. LIKE the youngest one falling asleep upon take off.
2. LIKE DVD players and headphones for the other two.
3. LIKE flying through clouds.
4. DISLIKE turbulence and sudden declines.
5. LIKE traveling with five and only needing one suitcase and two carry ons. (will like it even more when we don't need to bring car seats)
6. DISLIKE the idea of paying $15 + for checked baggage to make up for the rising cost of fuel. (we didn't have to this time because we bought our tickets before American implemented this)
7. DISLIKE being 10th in line to take off and wasting all of that fuel on the runway. (really isn't there a better solution?)
8. LIKE getting my "complimentary" soda but what happened to my "complimentary" peanuts? (guess what that "free" drink is going to be $2 soon.
Hmmmm. I wonder what flying will be like 5-10 years from now. Gas prices aren't going to get any lower.
We're Back!
We arrived back home safe and sound yesterday and completely exhausted. It was so nice to get away and leave the computer behind. Today I spent the day doing laundry, checking email, and going through the mail. I love getting email but for this paper loving girl there is nothing better than coming home to a stack of mail waiting for me. (especially when there is birthday cards and not bills)
Of course I diligently made a pile for myself and one for hubby and trashed the junk. And what is a big pile of mail without a nice little package? Oh, I love packages! But, I am sorry you will have to wait until tomorrow to find out what was in the package. My daughter took off with my camera cord and I am too tired to go hunting for it now. I cannot download the pictures and this must have pictures!
However for your viewing pleasure and to attempt to make this post not seem completely boring, I will share a picture with you from our vacation...
Ahh, taking a rest on a nice cool rock. That is what I looked like when I came home yesterday. :)
I will share more pictures later as I gather my thoughts and remember everything we did. (I feel a list of some sort coming on) I wish I would have taken more pictures but the camera never seemed to be around during those "kodak moments."
Make sure to stop by tomorrow to see what was in the package!
Pie Crust Table
For the most part I am not an antique person. I always say I want to check out some of the local antique shops but never quite make it there. Subconsciously I know I would be tempted to buy and really I just don't need anything especially when we are trying to downsize.
This weekend my grandparents had us over to celebrate mine and hubby's birthday. My grandfather asked me to come check out this table and see if I wanted it. Initially I thought, oh boy more furniture. (Sometimes it's just hard to say no to a grandparent) I have been known to decline a piece if I know it will not fit our decor or we do not have room for it.
First I saw the table my mom was taking and I thought "whew" when I found out it was spoken for. It was much bulkier and not my "style" but she does have room for it and it will look rather nice. Then my eyes fixated on the pie crust table. Oh, how exciting! It is in beautiful condition and matches our other mahogany furniture. Hubby and I talked it over and agreed it would go in our daughter's room for now. I would love to see it in a corner next to a wingback chair one day. A little reading nook for myself.
I am researching this table now to find out more. As an organizer I love the fact that the table top tilts up and the table could be set closer to the wall if needed or displayed. The details on the legs are beautiful. I was trying to see if there are any markings of who made the table, but no luck.
So for all of my antique loving readers out there... What can you tell me about this table? If you have posted about your pie crust table before please share the link, I would love to check it out.
Using Instant Messenger For The Little Details
Can I just say if it weren't for instant messenger I don't know how my husband and I would ever be able to communicate all of those little thoughts during the day. Most mornings we go back and forth a couple of times. Today we chatted about what I needed to pick up before our trip next week and what we wanted for our birthday. He wakes up at 4 am in the morning so he is out the door before I roll myself out of bed. When he gets home in the evening we are both on kid detail until they go to bed and then the last thing we want to talk about is all of the little mundane tasks of the day.
Having three kids in the background I hardly ever call him with questions, for one thing he is busy and if I do call him all three kids line up squealing for their turn on the phone. Not a pretty sight. At least with instant messaging I can see when he is away and I don't bother him when he is busy. We haven't joined the text messaging bandwagon yet. I am sure we will graduate to that one day.
Here is how the conversation went this morning when he asked me what I wanted for my birthday...
Hubby says:Hmm, that GPS does sound pretty good. Anyone have a portable GPS you would recommend?
is there anything you want for your B-day besides diamonds
Tanna says:
no don't worry about it
Hubby says:
don't worry about it what type of answer is that
Tanna says:
Oh, I don't know you don't have to get anything I'm fine
maybe we can treat ourselves to something in NY
I don't know what I want, I don't know what to get you either
Hubby says:
a year subscription to consumer reports .org $27
Hubby says:
We could always get one of those GPS navigation things for the both of us if you wanted
Tanna says:
oooohhhh that would have been nice last night
Hubby says:
however that is terribly practical
Tanna says:
I circled around Nashville twice I think
Hubby says:
Give you some direction for your 30th
Tanna says:
I told (my client) last night my husband designs roads and I have no sense of direction, we are the perfect couple
Hubby says:
I think it's something that is more neat to have but I'd probably never NEED one
Tanna says:
You wouldn't need it
Hubby says:
You'd actually use it more then I probably would
Tanna says:
you would test it's knowledge lol
Hubby says:
but techy stuff is always cool well it's something to think about I guess
Tanna says:
I could put it on my Christmas list
Hubby says:
Just a thought
Hubby says:
That list keeps getting longer and longer
Find Fun Ways To Get The Kids Cleaning
Curb summertime boredom by finding fun ways to get the kids cleaning. Don't seek perfection. Let them try their own way of doing things and you may be pleasantly surprised.
Letting my son swiffer while riding his motorcycle works for me! It's not perfect but he is finding enjoyment in cleaning. (I wish I had one to ride while mopping floors.)
*Update (later in the day)
I just remembered these pictures of my daughter helping unload the dishwasher. One of her favorite things to do. Yes she is holding a knife in one of the pictures. (It's only a butter knife!) Now I remember once upon a time with my first child, there would have been no way this overly cautious mother would have let that boy go near a knife. He might have poked his eye out! Now as long as my daughter, my sweet third child, is not trying to burn the house down it's all good.
Now obviously, she can't even see over the drawer to get the utensils in the right place, but they are making it to the drawer which means one less step for me!
100th Post - 100 Things About Me And My Family
Actually this is my 113th post. It seems that my 100th came and went but here I am sharing 100 things about me and my family with you all. I love this little blog tradition so I thought I would use this chance to share. I hope you enjoy!
1. I love the Lord.
2. I love my husband
3. And my children
4. I met my husband on match.com.
5. We married 7 months later
6. on the beach in Florida.
7. My husband is my rock and my saving grace.
8. He is a true gift from God.
9. He is everything I ever wanted in a husband (and then some).
10. I have 3 children.
11. The first two are boys.
12. The LAST one is a girl.
13. She thinks she is the boss.
14. I was scared to have a girl
15. but, now I think she is awesome. (I would have missed out on a lot without her)
16. I sort my M&M’s by color,
17. then eat them one color at a time
18. I love to organize,
19. especially for other people.
20. I love to see the look on their faces when the project is done and they realize they don’t have to live with chaos forever.
21. My oldest son is on a swim team.
22. He will be going into 2nd grade this year.
23. He has terrible handwriting at the moment,
24. but is in love with history and reading. (too busy to make his writing look nice!)
25. My second son is 3 going on 20.
26. He is very mature for his age.
27. He still whines when he doesn’t get his way.
28. It drives me crazy.
29. My daughter is 19 months old.
30. She is making herself as independent as possible.
31. No more crib, baby gates or crawling up stairs.
32. She wants to do everything herself.
33. She takes good care of her big brothers.
34. I am an only child (and a little spoiled).
35. I love the happy balance of having 3 children. (for now anyways)
36. We have a fish named Fred.
37. I have odd luck with fish living forever.
38. I won’t get a fish again.
39. We are trying to sell our house.
40. We want to downsize and have a bigger yard.
41. We will move closer to my husband’s work.
42. Then maybe get a Great Dane.
43. I’ve never been out of the country.
44. When I do make it out of the country I want to go to Australia first.
45. Then France and China.
46. I am afraid of heights.
47. I love roller coasters.
48. I hate to clean (but I do it anyways).
49. I never really learned how to cook.
50. My husband is the cook of the family.
51. And I do the dishes.
52. It is the one thing I can do and have no one bother me.
53. My husband is an engineer.
54. He prefers cookies over cake.
55. And I prefer cake over cookies.
56. I have found a new love for dark chocolate.
57. It is hard to go back to milk chocolate.
58. I wake up at 5 am.
59. I am trying to make a new habit of walking on the treadmill for 30 min. before the kids wake up.
60. I also take my shower before they wake up so I can shower in peace.
61. After 7 years of having children I think I just recently started sleeping through the night.
62. Both of my sons woke up in the middle of the night when they were young. (the 3 year old still does)
63. My daughter usually sleeps like a log.
64. Just like her Daddy.
65. I work in the nursery at my church.
66. I love children.
67. I loved being pregnant.
68. I would have a million babies if I could.
69. Then I have to remind myself they grow up and get expensive.
70. I am ready to be back out in the adult world too.
71. I want to grow my business and watch it flourish.
72. I am living my dream jobs... mommy and professional organizer.
73. I think my husband would make a great organizer as well.
74. His dream is to have his own pizzeria.
75. My favorite food is pizza, so I would be fine with that.
76. I turn 30 in 9 days.
77. My husband turns 31 in 9 days.
78. The first gift my husband gave me was a monopoly thimble on a chain. (remember the story of peter pan?)
79. I thought that was the coolest thing ever.
80. We gave all of our guests at our wedding a thimble in a box.
81. My nickname has been Tinker Bell since I was a little girl.
82. My closest family members still call me Tink.
83. I want to have a paperless office,
84. The only problem is, I love paper.
85. I despised mini vans until I became a mom of three.
86. Now, I love my Mazda MPV.
87. I was born in Nashville Tennessee. (wow, I'm starting to rhyme)
88. I moved away when I was 12 and drug my husband here 15 years later.
89. I wanted to be closer to my Grandparents. (my mom’s parents)
90. Family is sooo important to me.
91. I want my kids to have that too, and know who everyone is. (not just a face in a picture)
92. My paternal grandmother died too soon.
93. I wish she were here to meet my youngest two children.
94. I know she is watching over us all.
95. My paternal grandfather is the most giving man I know.
96. I prefer fall over the other seasons.
97. I love watching the leaves change colors.
98. I have a new found love for blogging.
99. I love sharing my ideas with everyone.
100. I look forward to my next 100 posts.
It almost took me a year to make it to 100 posts, but rest assured I have some great things coming your way and will be blogging more frequently as my little ones grow.
Happy Organizing and God Bless!
A Blockbuster Event
Every Friday my mom takes the kids for the night so hubby and I can have date night. Taking the kids was her idea. She has done this ritually for the last 7 years unless we want to keep one or three of them to ourselves on a particular Friday night. We are so very grateful for having the opportunity to have a night to unwind.
So what do we do with our Fridays? Sometimes we do dinner alone or go out with friends. Maybe a shopping night out for the two of us. Perhaps grocery shopping... yes I know, how romantic. But sometimes you just want to do things like this without kids attached. We have fun and we are spending time together and that is what is important.
We used to catch the occasional movie but quite frankly it got too expensive. For tickets and goodies like nachos & cheese (yum) it is close to $50 for us to go see a movie. Crazy! This past Christmas my Mom bought us a gift subscription to Blockbuster Online, which is the mail order movie rental version of Blockbuster. Another option is Netflix. I love this! Most Fridays we just hang out and watch a movie and relax.
With our subscription we can rent two movies at a time, so I usually get one for us and one for the kids. This way they can see some of their favorites without us having to buy them. Once they get bored with the movie we move on to the next. If the really love a particular movie we can add it to the birthday or Christmas wish list.
Best of all no more rental store trips. The movie is delivered to our door and when you are done all you have to do is walk out to the mail box. The turn around time is great. I send a movie back on Monday and usually get the next one on my list by Wednesday. Our rental store is pretty close but we have construction traffic that sometimes makes the trip there and back take 40 minutes. No thanks, I'll save the gas.
To date we have rented 21 movies in the last 6 months. Even if we didn't buy the goodies at the movies 21 movies in the last 6 months would have cost us $346. A 6 month subscription to Blockbuster saves us $240!
Works for me!
Post-It Note Mayhem
After an exhausting morning one day last week, I went into the office to check email and baby girl came in and snagged a stack of post-its. Apparently she went into the TV room and passed out but I never figured out who took apart all of the post-its. That cute little boy looks awfully guilty. But of course blame it on the sleeping one!
Weekend Getaway
It seems like this year is just a big year for birthday celebrations. A couple of months ago we went to Denver for my uncle's 50th and this past weekend we went to Indiana for my great uncle's 80th. Once again hubby and I headed out for a kid free weekend.
On Friday we landed in Chicago and my husband treated me to a little shopping excursion on Michigan Avenue for Mother's Day. It was a little chilly but well worth it. We stopped off for a bite to eat at Uno Pizza which serves excellent deep dish pizza. So yummy!
My uncle is an avid fisherman and this cake was perfect for him. I bet is tasted as good as it looked but I went for the "Chocolate Devotion" ice cream.
The theme of the party was "Around the World in 80 Years" and they had hot air balloon rides! Unfortunately it got a little windy so we couldn't go up far. The balloon was tied down but they allowed us to go up about 20 feet.
Here is my cousin... she has jumped out of a plane before but a balloon makes her nervous. Go figure! 
And what is a party without Marilyn Monroe? She stopped in to sing to the birthday boy. Here is my grandfather trying to get a piece of the action. :) Isn't he just the cutest thing!
Chocolate is the Way to this Girl's Heart
Awwwww how sweet!
Blue Angels
It was cold, wet and extremely windy today but we made it out to see the Blue Angels fly at The Great Tennessee Air Show. My son loves anything military related and would like to enlist one day. He is undecided whether it will be Army or Navy. He is only 7 so I think he has plenty of time to decide. He was able to sit in a couple of helicopters and check out some jeeps and he was quite impressed.
As we watched the "Angels" in flight today I thought of all of the service men and women who risk their lives every day for our country. Thank you for your sacrifices and dedication.
For he will command his angels
concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.
Psalm 91:11
Helping Hands
This weekend my husband has been out beautifying the back yard. I absolutely adore my husband. He is very handy and that is just one out of a long list of amazing qualities he has. When he is outside building (or trying to get the grass to grow) the boys are usually under foot. He has amazing patience with the kids and lets them help with anything they are able.
Yesterday they were building a flower box at the bottom of the deck. My son was doing quite well with the shovel. This is what he was singing. "What's going to work? Team work!" from the Wonder Pets.
My husband was sure this post would be about his hoarding the leftover wood from last years deck rebuild. No, I have learned that scrap wood can come in handy. Sometimes the kids even drug it out form under the deck to make forts. Give a kid a couple of blocks of wood and watch their imaginations run wild!
** Update - Here is the finished flower bed. Isn't it lovely!
House Selling Update
I thought it was time to give you a little update on the selling of our house. There hasn't been a lot going on, we had maybe 7 people look at it until our contract with our realtor expired in January. We decided to interview other Realtors because we weren't terribly happy with the last one. (I guess I was looking for someone a little more organized?) We narrowed it down to two wonderful Realtors and ended up hiring one for selling and one for purchasing. We re-listed our house in February and so we wait.
We have gone back and forth on whether we want to build or buy existing. Overall, I think we are ready for a project to take on so we are going to buy existing and have a little fun making it our own. The house on 11 acres we checked out had foundation issues so we passed. We have to sell our house first anyways so we continue to look. We've also agreed 11 acres may be a little much. So we are trying to stay at 1/2 acre - 2 acres. We are on a postage stamp size lot right now and want more room for the kids to run not necessarily get lost.
The main purpose of this move is to downsize and live a little more simple. I plan on sharing the whole process with my readers and hopefully we can all share some advice on the subject.
I look forward to all the fun we can have in our new home. The best part is that the size will not be too overwhelming for decorating. I'm ready to step out of the box and try some new things.
I Found The Key!
Laura's post about the carabiner clip for her keys reminded me that I had not updated you all on my lost key issue. One of my very first posts was about key storage and how my middle child previously lost one of my keys. Later on I posted about my daughter finding my other van key while I was working in my office. She took off with it and I thought it was lost forever. While searching (on my knees) for the key my daughter lost I found the one my son lost a few years before.
Well, my daughter finally fessed up about where she hid my key. A couple of months later we were sitting in my office and she was playing with my key. I said "Oh no you don't" and took it away. Then I realized it was the lost key because the key I was using was hanging where it should be.
This is where my daughter hid the key....
Yes, that is my office chair. It just happens to have a nice little spot for her to stash stuff while I am diligently working away.
We all have our days. No, my keys don't always end up in their home, but I am working on it!
The Kids Fit Perfect In Here!
I find an empty cabinet in the house and just look what happens!
Then brother has to join in on the fun...
It's a double decker!
Mommy's little organizers.
Getting Ready for Valentine's Day
My oldest son is in first grade and this year like last, the school has requested that Valentine cards are to only list who it is From and not who it is TO. It's been a while since I have been in first grade but that was one of the most exciting parts of Valentine's Day, seeing your name on the card. It made it more personal. Are they doing this everywhere?
Last year I printed cards out from a template I found online. Not very exciting. I wish I could say I was one of those Mom's that get out the scrapbooking supplies to help my son make little creations for each of his schoolmates. However, I'm not and thats ok. This year I did decided to make candies instead.
Since we can't put TO on the cards I printed out labels using a 20 label per sheet Avery template that says "Happy Valentine's Day, From Samuel.
To make the candies: I bought a few candy molds at Jo-Ann Fabrics. I had only one heart candy mold and didn't feel like taking all day so I bought a couple of different shapes like stars and circles. (Because of course all of the Easter stuff is already displayed and the heart molds were sold out) I melted vanilla flavored Almond Bark and drizzled it into the little molds.
Plus add one helper to make things all the more exciting. Then you shove the bark filled molds into the refrigerator and in a couple of minutes out comes cute little candies.
I wrapped the candies in red cellophane wrap (left over from Christmas) and tied the labels on with ribbon that says Happy Valnetine's Day.
Now 20 or so more to go. This is a quick and easy project to do. The most time consuming part is wrapping the candies up. I'm always looking for new ideas for treats like this to send to school for the holidays. By the time the youngest is in school I hope to be a pro at quick and easy holiday treats.
Oh, and melting stuff is as good as it gets when it comes to talking about cooking on this blog. Is it even considered cooking? Anyone up for fondue?
Kid Free Weekend
Having two nights to ourselves is a rare occasion with three kids but hubby and I managed to get out of town this past weekend with no kids in tow. We had a wonderful weekend in Denver and the weather was amazing. I expected lots of snow and and I am not a snow person so I was pleasantly surprised.
We went to Denver for my Uncle's 50th Birthday party. Friday night we went out to dinner with family and Saturday night was the actual party. We had so much fun! Apparently my Uncle likes the Sopranos. As a surprise my Grandfather invited 5 of the actors from the Sopranos to the party! It was an interesting evening to say the least. So , here is the rundown of who was there.
- John Ventimiglia who plays Artie Bucco (pictured above left)
- Kathrine Narducci who plays Charmaine Bucco
- Steven Schirripa who plays Robert Baccalieri (pictured above right)
- Vincent Pastore who plays Salvatore Bonpensiero
- Denise Borino who plays Ginny Sacrimoni
I can honestly say I don't think I have ever watched a whole episode of The Sopranos. Come to think of it, I haven't had HBO in quite some time so I may have never watched it. Now that I know a little more about the actors I might have to go out and rent the first season to see what it is all about.
We were all given a copy of the cookbook Shut Up and Eat! and had a chance for everyone to sign it. Italian food is my favorite so I will look forward to trying out some of the recipes. (I mean trying them as in eating the meal after hubby makes it. He likes to cook, I like to eat. It works for us!)
I love parties and sitting back and watching how the event plays out. Since my wedding I have always had a bit of a party planning bug. You get to meet a lot of interesting people and it is so amazing to see the happy faces when all goes well. This party was great. There are some things I would have done differently if I put it together but the main question I have is who do you have to know to get the Sopranos to a party and Grandad if you are reading this my favorite actor is Johnny Depp! :)We had a great time this weekend visiting with family and making new friends. We had a chance to relax and the best part of all was coming home to three smiling faces (and one exhausted Grandma). Thanks Mom!
The Little Things That Make Kids Happy
This is my son trying to put out a fire in the kitchen afterMy Grandfather sent us steaks from Allen Brothers (YUM!) for Christmas and they are packed in dry ice. We put the ice in the sink and my son ran water over it to make it get all foggy. He spent 20 minutes doing this and he thought it was so cool. It is awesome to see kids get so much enjoyment out of the simplest things. Give my daughter a box and some paper and she is amused for hours. If I would have known all I had to buy was dry ice and card board boxes to keep the kids happy I could have saved myself some money this Christmas!
Posts
