Tartaglia's in Atlanta

Emily packed a lunch for me...

2009-09-17T21:31:00.003-05:00

Wendy made grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner and there was half of a sandwich left over. Just before Emily went to bed she said she had packed my lunch and was going to put it in the fridge for me. After the kids were in bed, I went to look at what she had done and this is what I found. The best is the note and the fact she signed it from Avery as well. Love the Life-Saver mint taped to it. This kid rocks.

Free at last...

2009-09-04T00:48:00.004-05:00

The wait is finally over. Well it's been a few weeks now but after living in this country for just over 34 years all of the paperwork cleared and I was sworn in as a citizen of the United States of America. It was a very short ceremony but a great learning experience for the kids. Wendy's first question following the ceremony was "Where are we going to go now that we can leave the country?" Maybe a short trip to Canada. That seems safe.

Feeding the Spider Monkeys at the Adirondack Animal Land

2009-07-13T23:40:00.002-05:00

The best thing about the wild animal park was feeding Fruit-loops to the spider monkeys. Emily can be heard in the video to say that the monkeys hands are "hard, not all lotiony." They were also quite good as using their prehensil tails to grab on to the food as well.

Northville 4th of July Parade

2009-07-13T23:16:00.004-05:00

The kids had alot of fun at the parade in town. The parade route was a short walk from the house into town. They had a very nice parade and it looked like all the surrounding towns and villages participated. There were fire trucks and rescue vehicles (even a small hovercraft) and lots of classic cars. They had a drum and bagpipe regiment as well. Of course the kids loved all the candy they got. If you listen carefully to the video, that is what Avery is repeating to himself halfway through the video. CANDY!!!

Emily and Avery Fishing with Dad and Grandpa T

2009-07-13T22:52:00.006-05:00

The fishing was great. Grandpa T bought a bunch of worms and the kids had a blast. As you can see it didn't matter how big those fish were, they were just so excited to be fishing. They are still too young to bait the hook and unhook the fish once it's caught but isn't that what Dads are for?

Fourth of July in New York

2009-07-13T22:33:00.002-05:00

We were able to spend the Fourth of July in upstate New York with part of the Tartaglia clan. They have a small house on a lake in a small town, village really, called Northville. We all had a great time. We flew in to NYC on a Wednesday and stayed in the city that night. It was great to see Aunt Mary and Amy and Ivan and Alex. Emily and Avery were so excited to see their cousin Alex. He is 8 now and came with us on the drive up to the house the next day. Grannie Annie and Grandpa T were already there waiting for us. The kids had a great time fishing for the first time and riding on the paddle-boats. We tried to swim but the water is still very cold even though it was 75 degrees the entire time we were there.

Fathers and Sons Campout 2009

2009-05-18T11:39:00.006-05:00

Avery went camping with Dad and Paka this weekend. After a leasurely fish fry dinner at the Cracker Barrel on the way up, he helped get camp set up at the Pine Log Wilderness Mountain Area near White, GA. It was wet but he had a blast. A heavy thunderstorm Friday night didn't even put a dent in his enthusiasm. He had his headlamp and a saftety wistle (with a thermometer, compass and magnifying glass on it) and his sleeping bag which is apparently all he needs. As the wind and rain pelted the tent he read his picture books (by the light of his headlamp) and commented on how cool and awesome camping was. There were lots of other fathers and sons from our Stake but none of his more immediate friends were able to be there. Fortunately there was a small stream nearby that kept him busy most of the evening on Friday. Who knew throwing rocks into a stream could be so entertaining! After eating pancakes early Saturday morning and throwing a few more rocks into the stream for good measure, Avery fell asleep on the ride home. It was a short campout but he remained enthusiatic throughout which by any measure makes it a great success.

Kid kissing pig

2009-03-13T09:52:00.001-05:00

He wants what?

2009-03-13T09:33:00.004-05:00

This morning Avery comes in my room and says to me, "Mom, when can we get a pig?" What??

Most kids want a dog, cat, fish, etc. but my kid wants a pig because pigs are so "cute" he says. Wow. It's actually not a bad idea--if you live on a farm. I'll get right on that.

Avery's Room

2009-01-11T21:39:00.003-05:00

Over Christmas break we decided it was time to do Avery's room. The poor kid hasn't even had his own blanket since he was a baby. Santa brought him a new bed set and lamp so we painted it to match. We added a few things after this picture was taken but I thought it turned out pretty good. Thanks for the idea, Bridget!

Chrismas morning...

2009-01-11T20:38:00.004-05:00

In the excitement of the morning we remembered to video the kids but didn't remember to take pictures! So the following are the only two pictures to document the day.

Paka and Mimi came over to spend some time with us Christmas morning. We loved that they were able to spend some time with us because the kids were sick Christmas eve and we had to miss the party with the family.

Santa was very generous to us and we had a wonderful time.

He brought me a new professional series KitchenAid and so I had to bust it out that morning and make a cake! This is one of my favorite cakes ever!

Cranberry Cake

3/4 C Butter
1 1/2 C Sugar
3 Eggs
1 1/2 C Sour Cream
7-8oz Whole Berry Cranberry Sauce
1 1/2 tsp soda
3 C flour
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp almond/vanilla extract
3/4 C nuts

Cream butter and sugar; add egg one at a time beating after each one. Mix dry ingredients. Add alternately with sour cream. Add flavoring. Grease and flour bundt pan. Put 1/3 batter on bottom. Swirl half the cranberry sauce onto the layer and sprinkle with a few nuts. Swirl into the batter and repeat layers until used up. Bake at 350 for 1hr or until doen. Cool 5 minutes in pan. Turn on rack and cool.

Glaze

1 rounded C powdered sugar
1 1/2 TBSP warm water
3/4 tsp almond extract

Mix and drizzle over cake. Sprinkle with nuts. ( I prefer slivered almonds or pecans)

Christmas break...

2009-01-11T19:57:00.006-05:00

Over the break we had a really good time dog-sitting Popcorn and Coco for some friends of ours that went on vacation. The kids adore them (so do Andrew and I) and couldn't wait to take them outside whenever they got a chance. We also had fun decorating our gingerbread house that was made by our friend Susie Connell. Thanks Susie, we had a great time!!

Some updates...

2009-01-11T19:29:00.003-05:00

So it's been awhile again since I last posted and I'm just going to update everyone in a few different posts instead of cramming it all into one.

Below are the pies I made for Thanksgiving dinner at my parent's house. The pumpkin pie is made from our Halloween pumpkin this year. We never ended up carving it so I cooked it down and made some puree. It turned out really good, I thought.

Also, I made my mom's apple pie and that was scrum-diddly-umptious! I would include the recipe but I'm feeling lazy so if you really want it then shoot me an email.

Many of you know that I'm a Twilight fan so my friends Shauna, Bridget and I had a girl's night and enjoyed going to see it the night it opened. Of course Shauna and I had to wear our nerdy Twilight shirts from when we went to the book party for Breaking Dawn. They say "Team Edward, Cooler than a Werewolf" in case you can't read it.

The finished pumpkin pie.. I didn't take a "before" picture.

Before the oven....

The finished product!

Some thoughts... and gratitude... and my new job

2008-11-20T23:09:00.004-05:00

So I haven't posted very much lately because at the beginning of Oct my life got much busier. I started working for a family as their Jack-of-all-trades. I cook, clean, help with kids, run errands, and organize. They are so wonderful to me and I couldn't ask for a better job that provides more flexibility than I could dream of... and they are so nice to me about my cooking when I know it really wasn't something to write home about! (Although I do have to say that the pork loin I made this week was indeed quite tasty :-) Also, Avery goes with me and Bridget (who works from home) has the patience of a Saint with all his boyish ways while I'm there making things tidy. So thank you Bridget and Bill. You are a blessing in my family's and my life. I love you guys!

And to the rest of those that check this blog I hope to catch up with you guys soon! I've been choosing a little more sleep over a little more computer time.

Tomorrow is Emily's Kindergarten program. It's going to be so cute! More to come... maybe :-)

New York, Baby

2008-11-09T14:24:00.009-05:00

We had a great time in New York at the beginning of October. We went for Andrew's sister's wedding. The wedding was beautiful and we had a great time celebrating and seeing friends and family. Andrew and Emily's birthdays were that week so we celebrated those as well.

We were able to go into the city and spend some time at the Central Park Zoo, Central Park and the Museum of Natural History. We enjoyed good times and most especially good food! We had yummy Italian, Chinese and Korean food. I tried Water Lilly root, Mackerel and Anchovies for the first time. It was delicious and well worth the weight-gain :-)

We also had a chance to visit with friends that we knew in Clemson who have moved to Danbury, Ct and Pennsylvania. Thanks guys for driving over from Pennsylvania! And Megan you have a beautiful home!

People are knocking down old houses in my in-laws neighborhood and building what my MIL calls "Palazzo's". I had to get a pic of what they look like. Really ridiculous and out of place compared to what is all around.

Museum of Natural History

My in-laws favorite Italian restaurant in Clintonville

Cousin Alex and Emily

Wendy, Jenny and Megan (friends from college)
Andrew, Matt and Ben (friends from college)
Avery couldn't handle all the partying at the reception
Emily and new cousin-in-law

The coy pond in the reception hall. It was beautiful.

Amelia, Ivan and their son Alex. Amelia's brother Anthony.

Hangin' out at Central Park

Sleeping on the subway after a long day of playing

At the Zoo

Chasing pigeons in Central Park

Emily's surprise cake!

Labor Day

2008-10-05T09:56:00.002-05:00

For Labor Day we got together with some friends we haven't seen in quite awhile. We had a great time talking and playing games. Some of us got a good nap! Here's Stacy's husband, Barry giving us a great example :-) Thanks for a great time guys!

Cleanin' the bathroom

2008-10-05T09:50:00.004-05:00

I always love it when the kids help me around the house so I have to document it 'cause I know it's not going to last as long as I'd like it to!

Avery did a great job on the bathroom!

Fun pix while waiting for Emily to get off the bus

2008-10-05T08:31:00.002-05:00

More fun pix by our "in house" artist

2008-09-26T08:56:00.002-05:00

Tartaglia Family Portrait

2008-09-26T08:51:00.004-05:00

by commissioned artist "Emily"

I have a Kindergartener!

2008-08-12T20:32:00.004-05:00

It was Emily's first day and not a single tear was shed (by her or the mom!) Here are a few moments from the bus stop.... I'm not old enough to have a kid going to school, right? I think Avery will miss her!

Breaking Dawn Par-tay!

2008-08-12T19:41:00.006-05:00

So last weekend I took a little road trip up to SC with my friends Shauna and Stephanie for the release party of Breaking Dawn, the fourth book in the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. Steph flew in from Kansas to go with us (thanks Mark for giving her up for the weekend!) and we picked her up and headed to do some shopping at the outlets on the way.

We made it to my friend Gabby's house and picked her up and headed up to Easley to the party which was at this little independent bookstore called Poor Richard's Booksellers. It was so much fun! Laura, who runs the store, had so many fun things set up around the store that had to do with the book. We had a great time playing games, talking, getting hardly any sleep and engrossing ourselves in the book! Thanks Gabby for hosting us! Thanks gals for an awesome weekend!

Shauna looking Hawt! (or perhaps sleepy?)
Steph trying to draw so we can guess the clue
Gabby and I with our pretty smiles
Shauna as one of the Volturi
Our gang with a few people posing as characters from the book (Alice and Jasper)

Gabby, myself, Laura, Steph, Shauna
Steph and Shauna providing entertainment for the evening
Myself, Shauna, Steph, Jana, Kristi

Bling it, Baby!

2008-07-14T21:31:00.003-05:00

So we finally finished painting Emily's room and "blingin" it out! She had a blast helping me paint and then we finished it off by putting the jewels on the flowers with hot glue.

Thanks to our friends Shauna and Fiona for helping! She loves her room!

This picture is a painting I got on my mission from an artist that lived in our complex at the time. I thought it was time to put it to use.

4th of July!

2008-07-10T15:50:00.008-05:00

So for the 4th we decided to join the rest of the state of GA at Stone Mountain. My new sister-in-law has never been there so most of our gang treked down there for the experience. And boy was it an experience.

We had a fabulous time with everyone with the exception of the 4 hours we spent in traffic getting in and out of the park. Joy. Other than that, we really enjoyed each other's company and had a fun memorable experience-- and most of us got a little more work done on our tans (or lack thereof in my case).

Avery fell asleep during the fireworks

This is how dad spent the 4th-- on a blanket catching a few zzzzzz's

Emily, Pierce and Avery

Trying to work the paddle balls

Steele enjoying watermelon

Tooth Fairy.... Finally!

2008-07-10T08:00:00.005-05:00

So we've been waiting and waiting for Emily's tooth to fall out and last night she got tired of waiting and wiggled it until it finally came out! Can you see her little tooth in her hand?

She was elated when she woke up and saw what the "Tooth Fairy" and given her. A gold $1 coin!! (Man, I only got a quarter when I was little!)