Wonderful Mother's Day!

Well, I had a wonderful Mother's Day! I got the most beautiful cards from my husband and children, and then we all went to spend the day with my Mom. We went to mass and had lunch and then went window blind shopping for my Mom's new apartment.

I got chauffeured back and forth by my husband, and he changed all the poopy diapers, served my dinner, picked up the toys, emptied the dishwasher, got the kids ready for bed, and rubbed my feet. I don't think it gets any better than that!

Thank you Sweetheart for a wonderful day!

My Boo is Five Years Old Today

The fire engine cake I planned to make for my son for his birthday.

My failed attempt at the fire engine cake...the poor thing disintegrated and collapsed. :(

My son turned five years old today, and we had a great day. My husband and I woke him up by singing happy birthday, and he loved it. I baked cupcakes for his friends in school, and he was so excited by them! There have been so many times when he didn't pay any attention to gifts or birthdays or Christmas or any other holiday, so the fact that he was excited by the cupcakes is a huge deal! He even counted the M&M's on the cupcakes...there were three on each one. He was adorable. Then when he came home from school, there were a couple of cupcakes left over, and he wanted one!!! So, he and his sister had cupcakes for snack. He didn't eat it, but he did lick the frosting, which is also a big deal!

I had planned on making him a fire engine cake, and found what I thought would be an easy one to make by Betty Crocker. However, it was not easy, and my cake disintegrated into crumbs until it collapsed. So, I called my husband and asked him to pick up a cake on the way home, and we had ice cream cake instead.

My son wasn't feeling very well because he has a cold, and in fact, we all have colds. My husband feels worse than any of us, poor guy. So, we didn't have the neighbors over for cake like we planned, but I did bring them over a few pieces.

My son loves having happy birthday sung to him, and he tried really hard to blow out his candles. He even opened up his birthday card and present...which he also never does. So, we were so happy! He loved listening to his happy birthday song message from my mother, and Then my brother called to wish him a happy birthday, and he said, "Hello Uncle R..." and thank you. Wow. It was a great night. :) What a great birthday for my Boo.

Happy Birthday sweet boy. Mommy loves you.

Back!

It's hard to go down a snowy slide... My daughter enjoyed opening gifts, but my son was too busy playing his guitar...

The stockings were hung...

The presents were under the tree...three for each child, just like baby Jesus...

My son playing his guitar later on looking all handsome in his shirt and tie...

Our New Year's Eve decorations...

Happy New Year!Celebrating with party hats and balloons...

My son yesterday wearing a very nice hat, which I'm very sorry to say, he somehow later destroyed...

Here are some pictures to catch you up on what we've been up to.

Thank you to everyone who kept dropping cards, posting comments, and reading my blog while I was on hiatus. Both kids have a cold right now, but that's normal in our home. It's nice to be back to some sort of normalcy.

Thanks again!

Sorry for Not Posting

My son has had one virus on top of another with just a few days in between, and I've been consumed with taking care of him and still trying to get everything else done that needs to be done. So, I hope he'll be feeling better soon so that I can get back to blogging.

Adventskalender

The Adventskalender I made for my son

This is what's inside all those packages...except for the scissors and tape, of course. ;)

These are the Adventskalenders my cousin made for her daughter (on top) and her husband made for her (on bottom). Since her husband travels so much, she made one for him with their pictures behind 24 little windows she made in the paper.

This is the Adventskalender my aunt made for my other cousin before she hung the gifts on.

Here it is with the gifts on.

Advent, for those who may not know, is the four weeks prior to Christmas during which Christians spiritually prepare for the coming of Jesus. It's also a time for counting down and waiting and anticipating. While I was growing up, my Grandmother (who was originally from Germany) used to get me Advent Calendars. They were pictures with little doors all over them. Each little door had a number from 1-24 or 1-25. I'd open a door each day to find a little picture and bible quote, and I did this every day until Christmas Day.

I recently was emailing my cousin and Aunt in Germany, and we were talking about Advent Calendars, and they were describing how they made Advent Calendars (Adventskalender in German) for their children and grandchildren. I thought it was so interesting and asked how they made them, and they described them to me.

They have a little trinket that they wrap and number and tie onto something. My cousin uses a garland as well as a piece of cloth with loops sewn onto it. Onto each loop a package is attached. there are 24 loops. My Aunt made these for my cousins when they were children, and still makes them for them. She surprised her son by hanging it in his house while he was out so that he could find it when he came home.

I thought that was such a nice custom, and I decided that we would start the same custom. So, I went to the Christmas Tree Shop, which I call the $2 instead of the $1 store because their things are slightly nicer and only slightly more expensive. I bought 24 gifts, the most expensive one costing $2. I also got a little garland to tie the gifts to. I wrapped the gifts, numbered the gifts, and put them onto the garland. It looked so nice. Then I had to figure out where to hang it. So, I found a blank wall and put up two nails to support the thing, and swagged the Adventskalander over the nails.

I was hoping my son would understand and like it. I put it up while he was at school, and told him when he got home that I had a surprise for him. I brought him over to see, and he looked and said, "Oooooooooo". I was so happy!

And he seems to understand that we can only open one gift every day, and he looks forward to it.
First we have dinner at the table, then I light a candle on the Advent Wreath and read a portion of the Christmas story from the Bible, then we sing happy birthday to baby Jesus, then we (well, I really) blow out the candle, and THEN it's time to open the day's gift.

The first day I got him gel clings that he had a lot of fun putting on the window and then ripping to pieces. The second day he devoured a candy cane. The third day he got a harmonica that I hope (along with blowing out the candles) will help him to learn to blow since he can't do that yet. Today he got a little froggy that lights up when you touch the two prongs on its bottom or when you put it into water. When he opened the present (which he did mostly by himself, which is a completely new skill), he said, "Ooooo a frog!" I could hardly believe it! This is wonderful stuff!

So we sang Five Green and Speckled Frogs and then dinnertime was over.

It was a nice night, and a nice new tradition.

Happy Advent!

Cutting Down Our First Christmas Tree

We have always wanted to cut down our own Christmas tree, but we just never did it. Then when my son came along, we didn't want to bring a baby along, and then he had so many health and behavioral issues that we were afraid to get a real tree. This year, we decided to go for it.
While driving to the Dutchess County Fair, we passed a huge Christmas Tree farm, and my son became very excited yelling, "Wima Pwee! Wima Pwee!" This to the trained ear translates to, "Christmas trees! Christmas trees!" I promised him we would cut down our own tree this year, and so we did.

Having moved upstate from the "city" (everyone upstate considers any of the boroughs and even Long Island to be "the city", and folks who live in the boroughs and LI consider Manhattan to be the city), we have tried very hard to listen to all advice from folks about living in the northern country so that we are not "cidiots" (idiots from the city who think anything involving mother nature is simple because they're savvy and worldly).

So, I looked to my cousin for advice knowing that she and my other cousin and uncle have been cutting down trees for years. She posted a wonderful post full of advice for those who have never cut down a tree before, which you can read here. She also directed me to a nearby farm where we wouldn't have to worry too much about the possible pitfalls of u-cut trees.

Our trip was very successful. It did involve tantrums, but most things do, so we might as well listen to a tantrum while cutting down a tree and starting a family tradition.

The farm was beautiful, with different types of trees and sizes of trees all mixed together. They did have one section that was completely devoted to baby trees, and they were so cute. The rows were straight, there were no big holes, and the ground was very level. This made it possible to put the kids in the double stroller so that we would be able to cut down the tree without having to worry about the kids' safety. We figured we didn't want to be too picky with two small children in tow, but we really didn't have to be. There were so many beautiful trees, I don't think we could have gone wrong. So we chose a tree that was an appropriate size, and my husband got out the bow saw that we had borrowed from my cousin. He sawed while I pulled the tree away from him. In a very short time, the tree was down, and my husband carried it over to the baler. The baler is a device that compacts the branches and wraps the tree in a netting to make it easier to transport and put up. The man who baled the tree then carried the tree to our car and tied it to the roof rack. This all took less than 20 minutes. We spent the rest of the time at the farm visiting the horse, sheep, bunnies, chickens, and alpaca, and looking for a nice wreath for the front door.

Then we came home and my husband put the tree into the tree stand and we gave it some nice warm water to help keep the sap from solidifying so the tree would be able to drink as much as possible to stay fresh as long as possible. It's a beautiful tree, it smells lovely, and my son is so excited.

He just loves having a tree in the house, and I put the lights on yesterday while he was at school to surprise him when he came home. He came through the door to the sound of Christmas music and the vision of a tree full of lights. He was in awe. That made me very happy.

Tonight we'll be making gingerbread men and decorating the tree. I'm looking forward to it!

Trick or Treating Parade!

These are just pictures from ads, but this was my son's costume...He was James, a friend of Thomas the Tank Engine and this was my daughter's pink unicorn costume.

Our front door

Every year for the past three years, we've been going to a local Halloween Parade for children. It's organized by our Fire Department, and the community participates. The fire department closes off the local streets, and folks on the roads where the parade goes through decorate to the nines and get dressed up in costumes to give out treats to the kids in the parade. It's great.

This year, the weather was misty, but warm. There were a LOT of children participating! Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time. I know we did.

This is the first year my son actually participated in Trick or Treat. Every other year, he melted into a tantrum at the first house. Last year he was at least interested in the fire engines so we could finish the parade. However, this year, he had a wonderful, wonderful time.

The parade started by the fire house, and there are fire trucks at the beginning and the end of the parade. The children stopped by each house along the way, and get their treats. One house was all spookily decorated with tombstones and webs and spiders and fog. Another house gave out whole Nestle bars. Our favorite house was guarded by Pinkbeard, the Pirate. He invited us to share in his treasure. He admired my daughter's costume because it was his favorite color, pink.

At the end of the parade, the firemen gave out doughnuts and apple cider. It really was a lot of fun.

Before we went to the parade, we went trick or treating in our building, and my son had fun knocking on the door and saying Trick or Treat...or "buh oh bee" and thank you. He did terrific. My daughter enjoyed it too. Both kids ate several lollipops, and my daughter also had a doughnut, some cider, and a Tootsie Roll. They were both literally bouncing by the end of the night. I was so happy we finally had our first "normal" Halloween.

The only disappointing thing was that we only had two trick or treaters. That was so sad. For decorations, we had our jack-o-lanters lit up outside on our terrace, and we had a beautiful group of pumpkins and a lovely apple that my son made at school. We also had a big, black, hairy spider that would go down on its web whenever there was a noise. I also had lots of stickers and tattoos to give out. Now I still have a bunch of stickers and tattoos...

How was everyone else's Halloween?

Happy Mother's Day!

A very Happy Mother's Day to everyone! I had a lovely day. I got to sleep in until after 7, and then my husband and son brought in my Mother's Day cards, complete with original artwork! They also brought me breakfast in bed. My son helped by pushing down the button for the toast. Whole grain toast with natural peanut butter and a cup of coffee with Equal and light creamer is my favorite breakfast. Then we all got ready to go down to visit my Mom. We went to mass together and had a nice lunch. Then we took a ride over to a condo my Mom is thinking of buying, and it's very nice! Then we went back to my Mom's and my husband played with my son, my daughter slept, and I got to play a game of Scrabble with my Mom. We had gotten my Mom Omaha Steaks and lots of other stuff like stuffed fillet of sole and stuffed baked potatoes, and my son and daughter made a little foam sticker sign that said, "We love you Grandma!" They also made some little presents for some adopted "Mothers" we still have down in Queens. I painted my son's hand and my daughter's feet, and the prints became a hand flower and feet leaves. Then we ordered in Chinese so nobody had to cook or clean, and then came back home. It was a little sad because it was the first Mother's Day without my father, but it was still a very nice day. I hope everyone else had a nice day too!

Mother's Day Present!!!

Well, when I went to pick up my son from the bus this afternoon, he had this for me that he made!!! How awesome is that? He was so proud of himself, and I just absolutely love what he made. He's napping right now, but when he gets up, we'll put the impatiens out on the terrace and water them...then we can take care of them together.

We had a wonderful time this afternoon at the playground swinging and sliding in the shade of the now leafy trees.
I'm marinading some beef to grill for dinner. I'm very excited to use the new grill. It's been raining all week, and it's an electric grill, so I haven't used it yet.

Happy Mother's Day to everyone!

Egg Hunt Today!

Today, our complex had an egg hunt for the kids as well as face painting, a visit from the Easter Bunny, and games. The person who coordinates all the events isn't the most organized person, and the egg hunt was supposed to start at 1, but it didn't start until 2. It was very difficult keeping the kids away from the eggs all that time! But, it was still nice, and the kids had a great time.

The hunt was held in the huge grassy and wooded area right behind our apartment, so we didn't need to go far. The eggs for the very young children were all hidden on the little playground. Of course, the little kids all wanted to play there, and they were all picking up the eggs. Oh well. It couldn't be helped. All the parents just kept putting back the eggs the best we could.

When it was finally time for the hunt, off everyone ran, hunting those eggs. My son was no longer interested in hunting eggs by this time, and was content to just play on the playground. I helped my daughter find an egg and dig it out of the mulch.

It's always interesting to see other parents, and how they are with their kids. One man was picking up eggs like crazy in the baby area, dragging his little girl along. He didn't let her pick up a single egg, and took all those eggs away from all the other little kids hunting eggs. Another little girl's mother left her alone there to hunt eggs, and went off with her older kids way across the field, so the little girl was left calling her mom who was so far away, we couldn't even see her. I brought the little girl over to the main table, and her mom finally came back. The girl couldn't' have been more than 2 or 3. Another couple let their 18 month old do whatever he wanted, as they were too busy talking with friends. I saw him put a round piece of rubber in his mouth, and brought his parents' attention to it, and they said, "Oh, he's always eating stuff...nickels, dimes, quarters..." as if to say that it's okay, and that there's no risk of him choking. Otherwise, the parents and kids were very nice.

Overall, it was a great day, and the weather was absolutely beautiful. We couldn't have asked for a nicer day.

Egg Hunt and Spring Break ADHD Style

Tomorrow the complex we live in is having an egg hunt! I'm so excited. There's just something about finding an egg peeking out of a hiding spot. It's like secrets everywhere winking at you.

It's so wonderful to see the holidays through children's eyes, and I hope my son really enjoys himself! I'm just glad that the hunt is tomorrow, and not today, because today was cold and windy.

My son is off from school all next week, and of course, it's going to be cold and rainy. There's nothing like being stuck in the house with an ADHD kid for a whole week with an infant to take care of besides. Even if I took him to a museum or something, I don't know if he'd really enjoy it because I wouldn't be able to let him run around because I'd be all by myself with him and a six month old. Any suggestions?

Happy April Fools!

This is not an April Fools joke, although it will sound like one!

I got up at 5:30 this morning and went to the gym. The gym is really nice. It's a shame I didn't haul my rear end then earlier, but the very early morning is the only time I can go, and I am NOT a morning person. So, I'm going to try to go every day...that way I'll get there at least most days. Although I've been walking with running jaunts, it's not enough. So, I did the treadmill, weight machines, and free weights. It was a good feeling to come home at 6:15 am and know that I don't have to worry about exercising for the rest of the day...I'm all done. When I came home, my husband went to the gym too. I really have to get up at 5 so that he can go earlier and leave early for work.

Yesterday I walked two miles pushing my monstrosity of a double stroller with both kids (including an infant car seat) in it. We have a huge...HUGE hill that goes up to our building, and I pushed that carriage up that hill...and it was really HARD. So, I figured since it was so hard, it must be good exercise.

So, no April Fools! Better health, here I come!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had a wonderful Valentine's Day that started with my husband and son bringing me my very favorite breakfast in bed, whole wheat toast with a tablespoon of peanutbutter, and a cup of coffee, light with two nutrasweet packets. Yummy! My son just loves to help make toast.

Then my husband was off to work, and I spent the day with my two love bugs, and we had a nice day. This evening, we all went out to a local Italian restaurant for dinner, and exchanged mushy cards.

For dinner, I had grilled salmon with steamed vegetables, sun dried tomatoes, calamata olives, and artichoke hearts. It was sooo delicious. I also had a piece of bread dipped in some wonderful extra virgin olive oil with garlic, sun dried tomatoes, calamata olives, and basil. Mmmmmm. Both kids behaved beautifully. For dessert we came home, and I had three pieces of my very favorite chocolate, Merci. I had Merci chocolates for the first time when my family from Germany brought some over during a visit, and I've seen them in Hannaford's and Target. I got my husband some dark chocolate covered strawberries and dark chocolate non-pariels from the kids, which he was too full to eat after a huge steak, mashed potatoes, stuffed artichoke hearts (I had a half artichoke heart with about a tablespoon of the stuffing...very good), and I'm not sure exactly how many pieces of bread.

Surprisingly and thankfully, the kids both went to sleep soon after we got home, so we got the opportunity to spend some much needed alone time together. That was the best present of all.

Christmas and the Dobosh Torte

Every year at Christmastime while I was growing up, my family would gather at my Grandmother's house with the "the folks from upstate". My Grandmother would make a wonderful dinner (except for the peas and carrots, which my cousin and I would smoosh one at a time before putting them in our mouths to try to make the best of them), and we would exchange gifts and have a fabulous time. These folks were, and continue to be, my very favorite extended family members, because we always laughed and had so much fun. Best of all, I got to see my cousin, and we had the most wonderful times together. We never needed expensive games or toys, just paper and pens. We made up fun and imaginative games all by ourselves. One of my favorite parts of the family Christmas celebration was dessert. Every year my Grandmother would order a Dobosh Torte from a specialty food catalog called the Swiss Colony. A Dobosh Torte is a multi-layered cake with very rich chocolate frosting between each layer. The bakers at the Swiss Colony then pour chocolate over the entire confection, and place a thin decorative line of green coconut along the top. It is quite simply the most delicious cake there is. After my Grandmother passed away, I continued the tradition of ordering the torte for the annual gathering. One year, being particularly strapped financially, I thought I would make the cake myself. In searching for a recipe, I discovered that the true Dobosh Torte was a bit different from what I was used to eating, and had an interesting history. According to Wikipedia, "Dobos Cake (/'doboʃ/, Hungarian: dobostorta) is a famous Hungarian cake, invented by and named after a well-known Hungarian confectioner, József C. Dobos (1847-1924) in 1884. It is a five-layer sponge cake, layered with chocolate buttercream and topped with thin caramel slices. Dobosh or Dobos Torte (type of cake) was first introduced at the National General Exhibition of Budapest in 1885; Franz Joseph I and his Empress Elisabeth were among the first to taste it. " As I am Hungarian (in addition to a few other things), I was impressed to learn that this is a recipe of my heritage. I tried to find the most authentic recipe I could, and found that the recipe was time consuming and required a tremendous amount of work. If you're interested, here is a link to the recipe. http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/viennese-dobos-torte.

This weekend, my husband and I are hosting the annual family get together, and I have ordered the traditional Swiss Colony Dobosh Torte. I'm very much looking forward to celebrating Christmas with my favorite extended family members, and having a piece of this wonderful cake.