Getting psyched for turkey

marthastewart.com

We are hosting my parents (and anyone else who would like to join us!) for Thanksgiving. I'm going to make the cranberry turkey again. I've made it two previous times and it is so good. Thanks Martha!

Giants Parade

We were so lucky to go to the Giants World Series Parade today in San Francisco. We got there later than we wanted so our spot was about four rows behind the barricade so it was kind of hard to see a lot. But I got a good luck at Buster Posey and Aubrey Huff. Before it started, I told Steve that Aubrey was going to look right at me. (He is my favorite!)  His cable car stopped right in front of us and he was on our side of the street taking his rally thong off around his neck! It was so fun! The battery on our camera was dead so here are a few phone pics.

We got there around 10 a.m. and it didn't really start till closer till 11:30 so the girls had to wait a long time and Anna was starting to lose it towards the end but they made it through! True fans!! It was so fun to be around so many fans. It was like a holiday. I mean who seriously went to work or school today, ha!

I love The New Evangelization

This is such a great idea! How cool would it be if it was here in the States too! I hope to visit it one day...

Faith of a child

Luke 18:17
Assuredly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will by no means enter it.

I was reminded of this verse last night at Mass. When we went up to receive communion, Fr. Rick gave Eden a blessing and she hopped with excitement and clapped her hands. Fr. Rick was cracking up. It was pretty darn cute. We really needed some comic relief because I think once again we are the only people that EVER bring their kids to Mass. We had to take Anna out three times and Eden had a little accident in the potty. After Mass, we were able to go the Country Fair and have a margarita while Eden decorated a pumpkin. Good times!

For Sale

It is with great sadness that I'm selling this beautiful car. We've had a lot of good times together but it just doesn't fit our family anymore.

Check this out for more information:

Eden's Prayer

This is a picture from back in April at Anna's baptism. Everyone just cracks up at Eden "talking" to St. Bernadette. But for us it is normal. Almost every Sunday she heads straight to St. Bernadette and gives her a hug and a prayer. So sweet!
She is almost reciting our nightly prayers with us. If we forget one, she'll say, "I want Mary" or "I want Francis" for the Hail Mary and Prayer to St. Francis.

Four Years

Happy Anniversary to us!!

Influence

Saw this cute video on another blog:

Weird shopping

Yesterday for some bizarre reason, I thought let's go shop at Wal-Mart which is about 20 miles away. Eden had a meltdown of epic proportions about sitting in the shopping cart. The only thing that made the trip worthwhile was seeing an actual People of WalMart. If Eden was having the meltdowns of all meltdowns, I totally would have taken this guy's picture.
He was about sixty and 110 pounds. He had a old military helmet on, a cargo vest and some kind of wrap-around pants. I was laughing so much which made it easier to deal with Eden. I'm sure someone wanted to take her picture for the worst tantrum at WalMart category, ha! I only thought these people existed on the internet.....

Photo Booth Fun

Eden loves to watch herself on Photo Booth. I had some fun with the different effects today.

Musical Daughter

Eden picked this book at total random today at the library. I tried to give her several choices and just as we were about to go she picked this one and sat at the little toddler table to read it. She named all the instruments except for the French Horn. In the big orchestra picture, she pointed out the cymbals. I had no idea she knew what an oboe and a bassoon were! It was very cute. Looks like she learned a lot a couple of weeks ago when we sent her to a music camp at her preschool. Or maybe she learned from her favorite show, Little Einsteins

Photo Booth ABC

Eden's dramatic rendition:

One of our favorite Sesame songs:

Some Garden Pics

The new garden at the house is coming along great. We ate a lot of sweet peas and Eden loved to pick them off and eat.
But it seems a little slower this year. We were just commenting how Steve was crazily canning peaches and apricots about this time last year. But they are still growing on my Dad's tree and our tomatoes our still pretty green but Eden is finding the red ones.....

Prosperity

Steve has been working a ton lately and we are so grateful. If you know about freelancing, you gotta take the work while it's there because it could be gone again soon.
We are so thankful for the work since we know so many are struggling.
Eden has been on break from school for a couple of weeks but she is finding other ways to be crafty and I'm getting a home school kit for her this week to keep her busy. She said the best thing the other night when I turned on the TV after dinner, "I wanna watch baseball!" She knows how to make Mommy happy!
Anna is still crawling around and she pulls up a lot and cruises a little. She is doing this cute little catcher's squat too.

Summer time pics....

Three years and nine months

Last week, Eden and Anna both saw the doctor for their well care checks.
Eden did really good. It was kind of hard to get her to stand on the scale and for her measurement but the nurse was still able to get them. She also had her blood pressure checked and when it was over she said "I did it!"

Anna is growing "perfect". He said she is a little anemic but that is normal for her rate of growth. She is going to start to eat more finger foods soon.

We were lucky that our Dr. was able to see both of them at the same time. Dr. Mellema is retiring this month. :(
He was my pediatrician growing up and he even saw Ross when he was a resident at Stanford. He worked in Los Gatos since 1971. Thanks for taking care our family the past 40 years Dr. M!

Sunday thoughts

Sunday reflections

I was thinking about Sunday all day yesterday since it was well… Sunday!

Memories of Sunday as a child/teenager:

We would go to church every Sunday and my Dad taught a Bible Study at 9 a.m. then I would go to Sunday School filled with songs and fun. Later, I was an acolyte. I liked all those activities.

After church, we would usually make a snack plate of cheese, apples and salami and watch sports. I’m sure my Mom made a big dinner those days too but I remember the snack plate more. A big Sunday dinner was important to my Dad since he had that growing up.

Memories of Sunday as a college student:

Ack, I don’t actually remember a lot of them….. especially during football season. I think some were also spent watching the rugby team play.

But I do remember my last year living with Sarah, we did the exact same things every Sunday…. Mass, Huddle House, come home and watch Scottish Claymore football, clean up apartment and then study.

Memories of Sunday as a young adult in Florida:

Sundays were great in Florida! There was one summer when I would go to Mass with a t-shirt dress over my bikini and then head straight to the beach and listen to the radio. I remember distinctly listening to the draft when Eli was drafted. Also, when I had MLB Extra Innings, I spent several Sundays on the couch immersed in watching every baseball game. Good times. My friend Mary and I were really conscious of making Sunday a day of rest and not patronizing business and shopping.

We ended up doing a lot of household chores yesterday since we played at the Oakland Zoo on Saturday for Eden's third birthday. It seemed strange but I guess it is all about trade-off.

Here are some zoo pics:

Let's Go Giants

For a belated Mother's Day celebration (since the Giants were out of town for the actual Mother's Day) we were able to watch the Giants beat the Astros 4-3 yesterday. It was Anna's first game! I taught Eden all month to chant "Let's go Giants!" She did a great job and we were able to stay the whole game!
In other big news, on the way back from the game Eden told us she had to sit on the potty so we pulled over in a mad rush somewhere around Daly City and Steve rushed her into a Round Table pizza and she did it! Major progress!!

Hoping the streak continues.....

I hope this doesn't jinx anything but......

I drove by a huge pediatrician office today and was amazed that Eden has only been to visit hers for well checks in the past three years. Her Uncle Ross saw more doctors than any twelve year old should ever see. Thank you God for healthy babies, I'm beyond grateful.

Sisters

Eden has been interacting a lot more with Anna lately. Maybe it is because Anna is on the move and getting into her stuff..
It is really sweet and Anna is LOVING the attention from her big sister!

Goals update

Here is an update to the ten goals I posted at the beginning of this month:

1. We had a great Easter. We got to Mass early, even before the one before let out. We were able to get good seats and the girls were good. It was really cold and rainy that day but my parents came over and Steve made a great dinner. Ham, twice-baked potatoes, asparagus, spinach salad and chocolate cream puffs. Yumm!

2. I prayed the Chaplet everyday but didn't always include each daily prayer. This prayer has brought so much unexpected peace in my life, so grateful for God's mercy and St. Faustina.

3. We had SO much fun with Maria. She is such a great friend. 

4. Anna's baptism was a true blessing. Here is a picture with her godparents, Koz and Laura....

5. I've been studying like crazy for the Series 66. The class in San Francisco helped a lot. It also didn't hurt sitting next to this guy....

Oh and even though I wanted to see this guy who was in town that day for his tour-

I ended up seeing this guy walking down Market St. Funny!!

6. Ugh, I got sick this week so I postponed the test until next week, still studying......

7. Woo-hoo, the Subaru is PAID!

8. Wow, I surpassed my Swagbucks goal of 360 with 1937! If you do a lot of online searching, join with me and earn great prizes.

9. With all the studying, I didn't get much time to ChaCha. I only earned $4.

10. I'm not sure how great I did on the meal planning but one meal that I would like to pass along is Trader Joe's Steamed Clams with linguine. It was yummy!

Eight months old and on the move!

Anna is eight months old today and she has been "crawling" for a couple of weeks. I call it the injured animal crawl. She props one foot up and drags the other leg. Funny....

Anna's Baptism

Yay, Anna is officially a Catholic now. She was the only one that didn't cry, she loved it!

Godmother and SF Fun

Yay! Maria has been visiting from Florida this past week. It has been so much fun!

Easter Cuties

We only took pictures at home because it was FREEZING when we left church. Sad, no family portrait.

April Goals

Wow, April is going to be a busy but super exciting month. Below is a list of things to accomplish. I hope by writing them out, it will be a way of staying on track. These are not listed in any particular order:

1. Celebrate the Risen Lord
2. Begin the Divine Mercy Chaplet on Good Friday, ending on Divine Mercy Sunday
3. Have fun while Maria is visiting
4. Anna's baptism
5. Study for the Series 66, including a two-day class in San Francisco
6. PASS the Series 66!!!!!!!!!!!!
7. Pay off Steve's Subaru
8. Earn 360 Swagbucks (starting amount: 976)
9. Earn $50 from ChaCha (starting amount: $53.99)
10. Meal plan for two meals a week

I said this was in no particular order but number six is VERY important. Please keep me in your prayers.....

Updated Family photo and matching PJ

Hipstamtic Crazy

Got a new Iphone app, Hispstamtic, and I can't stop using it. Still trying to figure out the best settings, but here are some pics:

Spring is here!!

We are enjoying nice weather. Here are some pics from my parents house.