Please go to your children and hug them and tell them that you love them. No reason, just because. There are things in your life and in this world that will make you feel powerless. Unfortunately, we cannot solve all the problems. But we can be powerful when it comes to our children and to our family. We can show our kids the power of love and the power of prayer.
I will ask a favor of you now dear friends and readers. Please pray for a little boy who may be very sick. His parents will not know until his test results come back. Please pray for his parents to have the strength and courage both in themselves and in God.
Now, this child is not one of my four, but a child my family knows. His story I heard this morning and his story is not mine to tell. But I believe in prayer, and the power of prayer. I am fortunate to have readers in almost 50 different countries....that is a lot of prayers that we can get answered!
Many thanks.....
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Monday, September 17, 2012
Multiples Monday
It is Multiples Monday on: http://www.multiples-mom.com/
Please be sure to stop by and check out all the wonderful blogs by fellow mom's of multiples! Also, if you haven't already done so, read Theresa's story. She is the founder of this group and has had an amazing journey to becoming a mom to her Capri+3.
Have a great day!!
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Snack Attack!
My kids are snackers. When we have "good" snacks in the house, they have been known to go through several boxes in one day. Their definition of "good snacks" equals primarily name brand snacks (I buy a lot of store brand items!), cookies, especially Oreos and potato chips. We do buy in bulk, but often end up throwing out that ginormous bag of veggie straws half way through because it has gone stale and the kids are sick of them. I have also bough the individual bags of snacks, but really do feel like you end up paying more for the packaging. We do keep plenty of healthy snacks on hand too. These are always at easy to reach spots for them: goldfish, cheerios, carrot sticks, apple slices, etc. We recently purchased a hot air popcorn popper. Did you know that one cup of freshly popped popcorn (when using this type of machine) only has 20 calories per cup?! We use the popper several times a week and the kids are having fun experimenting with toppings. The other morning I was so happy to see one of my twins get a plastic cup out, then go to the fridge and fill it with baby carrots. He did this all by himself, too! (I was watching from around the corner!) Independence and smart choices!
On Friday afternoon the twins and I made homemade oatmeal raisin cookies. I was trying to accomplish a few things:
-surprise our big kids when they got off the bus with baked goods
-have something somewhat healthy for a snack
-come up with a breakfast cookie recipe that my oldest could have on mornings when we are running late for the bus
I found a recipe on the back of the Old Wessex Ltd. Irish-Style Oatmeal carton and adapted it. This is what I made on Friday. It was very easy and the twins were able to do most of the work! (with assistance of course!)
Ingredients:
3 cups uncooked Irish Oatmeal
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup agave nectar
3/4 cup softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/2 cup raisins
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine dry ingredients in one bowl, set aside. Mix agave nectar, vanilla and butter until smooth. Add egg. Blend dry & wet ingredients. Once mixed add in raisins. Place on greased cookie sheet, bake for 10 minutes. Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies.
The cookies were okay. They were very dense. My taste test group was split - I had 6 kids try them. My four, plus two neighborhood kids. Half the group thought they were not sweet enough/crunchy enough. The other half said they were fine. Not great. When I make these again, I am going to try adding in the following ingredients: dried cranberries, Cinnamon, replacing the agave nectar with honey and replacing the flour with whole wheat flour and reducing to 3/4 cup. You could also add in nuts. We are nut free since we have a "peanut allergy kid".
I would love to hear from you! Please share what works in your house for snacks. How do you keep the kids happy without spending a fortune! Also, if you have any easy "healthy" cookie recipes you would like to share, we would love to see them!
Thanks & enjoy the rest of your weekend!
On Friday afternoon the twins and I made homemade oatmeal raisin cookies. I was trying to accomplish a few things:
-surprise our big kids when they got off the bus with baked goods
-have something somewhat healthy for a snack
-come up with a breakfast cookie recipe that my oldest could have on mornings when we are running late for the bus
I found a recipe on the back of the Old Wessex Ltd. Irish-Style Oatmeal carton and adapted it. This is what I made on Friday. It was very easy and the twins were able to do most of the work! (with assistance of course!)
Ingredients:
3 cups uncooked Irish Oatmeal
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup agave nectar
3/4 cup softened butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1/2 cup raisins
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Combine dry ingredients in one bowl, set aside. Mix agave nectar, vanilla and butter until smooth. Add egg. Blend dry & wet ingredients. Once mixed add in raisins. Place on greased cookie sheet, bake for 10 minutes. Makes approximately 4 dozen cookies.
The cookies were okay. They were very dense. My taste test group was split - I had 6 kids try them. My four, plus two neighborhood kids. Half the group thought they were not sweet enough/crunchy enough. The other half said they were fine. Not great. When I make these again, I am going to try adding in the following ingredients: dried cranberries, Cinnamon, replacing the agave nectar with honey and replacing the flour with whole wheat flour and reducing to 3/4 cup. You could also add in nuts. We are nut free since we have a "peanut allergy kid".
I would love to hear from you! Please share what works in your house for snacks. How do you keep the kids happy without spending a fortune! Also, if you have any easy "healthy" cookie recipes you would like to share, we would love to see them!
Thanks & enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Friday, September 14, 2012
Rock YOUR Vote
We still have about six weeks left (give or take a few days!) to election day. I am tired of the endless ads by both parties being shown on every channel. I am at the point where I turn off the TV, I really don't need my children asking me during breakfast what birth control is and why that lady can't afford it. Seriously, I just want to see the weather! I am tired of the endless phone calls we are receiving telling us about various candidates and rallies to attend. I am annoyed by the people who knock on my door and leave fliers for their candidates. I was really annoyed by being stopped four times on my way into back to school night and offered fliers for candidates. Twice by each party. Really it was back to school night, a night about our kids. NOT the president. Sometimes I do get a chuckle on the Facebook banter, but even that is turning in to too much and getting ugly!(I rarely chime in on friends' political comments on their wall. I have done this twice now, both times in jest and someone with way opposite views then mine who was a friend of a friend of a friend took it way too seriously!)
Living in a swing state I can only imagine that this is going to get much worse in the weeks to come. I have stopped answering my phone, turned off the TV, am spending less time on Facebook and only opening the door if it is someone I know. I don't think any of these are necessarily bad things!
But, I will vote and you should too. I don't care who you are voting for. Who I vote for is none of your business. Just go vote. Someone said to me the other day, my vote doesn't count, it is decided by the electoral college. Well, your vote does count. Also, there are other elections going on besides the Presidential one. Your local ballot will most likely also contain senate seats, maybe a congressional spot and questions that do affect you and your community. Like bond referendums. Like funding for schools.
Do your homework. Learn the facts. Go Vote!
Have a great weekend!
Living in a swing state I can only imagine that this is going to get much worse in the weeks to come. I have stopped answering my phone, turned off the TV, am spending less time on Facebook and only opening the door if it is someone I know. I don't think any of these are necessarily bad things!
But, I will vote and you should too. I don't care who you are voting for. Who I vote for is none of your business. Just go vote. Someone said to me the other day, my vote doesn't count, it is decided by the electoral college. Well, your vote does count. Also, there are other elections going on besides the Presidential one. Your local ballot will most likely also contain senate seats, maybe a congressional spot and questions that do affect you and your community. Like bond referendums. Like funding for schools.
Do your homework. Learn the facts. Go Vote!
Have a great weekend!
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
In Memory
In Memory Of
Joseph Tirella
Died September 11, 1981
Loving Father, Husband, Brother, Son & Friend
WWII Veteran - Purple Heart Recipient
mio padre รจ nel mio cuore
Friday, September 7, 2012
A regular day
Before September 11th became 9/11/01 or "September 11th" it was just an ordinary day. It was a day when babies were born, when toddlers took their first steps and when loved ones took their last breaths.
I vividly remember September 11, 2001. It was a perfect fall morning in Washington, DC. Not too hot, not too cold and the sun was shining. At the time, I was living in Arlington, VA, just off Columbia Pike, walking distance from the Pentagon. I was working in downtown Washington DC, across the street from the White House and if running late for work (as I usually was) would cut through the parking lot at the Pentagon. On September 11, 2001, I was up early with the dogs, got my workout in and headed to work - early for a change. I remember hearing on the car radio the horrors in NY and my goal was to get to the office and call family and friends to make sure loved ones were safe. I grew up in NJ and knew many people living and working in NYC. The World Trade Center was a place that we would visit on school and church trips. Enjoying time on the observation deck. Shortly after I hung up the phone that morning, the building where I worked was evacuated. I remember calling a co-worker to let him know not to come in and he told me of the explosion and ground shaking he felt in Arlington, and the rest, as they say is history. This is a history that I pray never repeats itself for our Nation. It is a history that I pray my children and my grandchildren never have to experience first hand. Recently, there was a clip on the news of one of the planes hitting the towers, my son innocently asked if that was a commercial for a new action movie. I had hoped to wait until he was a little older, to shelter him a little longer from the evil and ugliness of our world.
Tuesday will mark the eleventh anniversary of the September 11th attacks. May we never forget the extraordinary heroics of our first responders and emergency personnel. May we always remember those who lost their lives on that day.
For my children, I will try to make this Tuesday an ordinary day. We will keep the TVs off, we will go to school, we will bake cupcakes for a friend's birthday, we will say a prayer for the loved ones we have lost.
I vividly remember September 11, 2001. It was a perfect fall morning in Washington, DC. Not too hot, not too cold and the sun was shining. At the time, I was living in Arlington, VA, just off Columbia Pike, walking distance from the Pentagon. I was working in downtown Washington DC, across the street from the White House and if running late for work (as I usually was) would cut through the parking lot at the Pentagon. On September 11, 2001, I was up early with the dogs, got my workout in and headed to work - early for a change. I remember hearing on the car radio the horrors in NY and my goal was to get to the office and call family and friends to make sure loved ones were safe. I grew up in NJ and knew many people living and working in NYC. The World Trade Center was a place that we would visit on school and church trips. Enjoying time on the observation deck. Shortly after I hung up the phone that morning, the building where I worked was evacuated. I remember calling a co-worker to let him know not to come in and he told me of the explosion and ground shaking he felt in Arlington, and the rest, as they say is history. This is a history that I pray never repeats itself for our Nation. It is a history that I pray my children and my grandchildren never have to experience first hand. Recently, there was a clip on the news of one of the planes hitting the towers, my son innocently asked if that was a commercial for a new action movie. I had hoped to wait until he was a little older, to shelter him a little longer from the evil and ugliness of our world.
Tuesday will mark the eleventh anniversary of the September 11th attacks. May we never forget the extraordinary heroics of our first responders and emergency personnel. May we always remember those who lost their lives on that day.
For my children, I will try to make this Tuesday an ordinary day. We will keep the TVs off, we will go to school, we will bake cupcakes for a friend's birthday, we will say a prayer for the loved ones we have lost.
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
The Art of the Play Date
Now that school is back in, my kids are coming home pretty much everyday and asking to have a play date with a friend. Play dates are great. It is fantastic for the children to make friends and interact with other children. I have a love -hate thing going on with play dates. There was a time not that long ago when I simply could not host play dates. When my twins were babies, they were either always eating, sleeping or having their diapers changed. I could barely keep an eye on my own kids, let alone someone else's! My goals were getting through the day and protecting nap times. I am very fortunate that I have fantastic friends and live in a great neighborhood. They welcomed my older children into their homes and I never felt like they were "keeping count"! I am also fortunate that with four kids in our family, my kids have built in play dates! Now that the twins are older, age 3 1/2, they want to have play dates of their own and I have new challenges. Do I invite a friend over for each twin, do I just invite one friend over and have all three kids play together? But, three usually never works out! What about the older kids, they need to have their friends over too. This is new territory that I am navigating here. I am learning that for my 5 year old, it is best to have play dates in the morning before school. She has afternoon kindergarten and is up by 7am. It is a long stretch of time until the bus comes for her at 11:24am! Even better is to plan something on the mornings the twins are at school. This way no one "bothers" her. I do need to say that she and her friends are great sports and are always quick to include the twins in a game of hide and seek or Barbies! For my twins, I think it would be best if they had their play dates when both of my older children are at school. For my oldest, he is really limited to just after school and he is very good about playing XBox in basement, riding scooters outside or Lego's in his room - activities that my little ones have no interest in.
What about play date etiquette? Is it up to you to correct someone else's child? I really think that is a case by case situation. If it is a "toy dumper", I usually let that go if it is age appropriate. A two year old dumping out every toy bin in your house is much different than a 13 year old! Obviously, if the child is exhibiting inappropriate behavior (hitting, breaking legs off a barbie,etc.) and someone could get hut (feelings or physically), definitely step in. It is your house and you are the parent! But if it is a case of toy squabbling, I usually let the kids work that out themselves. Here are some tips that work for us in our house to help us prepare for the play date:
-Put away any toys that your child does not want to share. If your child has a special toy or lovey and will freak out if another kids looks at it, let alone tries to play with it, put it away. The blankie or American Girl Doll can survive for an hour or two on the closet shelf!
-Plan snack ahead of time and let your child be involved. Also, check with the parent of the other children about any food allergies.
-Set a start time and end time. Believe me, you may just be happy to know that the end time is coming! If things are going well, give the other mom a call and you can always extend the play date. We have done that and I always laugh when the mom is surprised that her kid is doing so well!
I would love to hear from you on what works for your family, I would also love to hear how you handle play dates with multiples. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!
What about play date etiquette? Is it up to you to correct someone else's child? I really think that is a case by case situation. If it is a "toy dumper", I usually let that go if it is age appropriate. A two year old dumping out every toy bin in your house is much different than a 13 year old! Obviously, if the child is exhibiting inappropriate behavior (hitting, breaking legs off a barbie,etc.) and someone could get hut (feelings or physically), definitely step in. It is your house and you are the parent! But if it is a case of toy squabbling, I usually let the kids work that out themselves. Here are some tips that work for us in our house to help us prepare for the play date:
-Put away any toys that your child does not want to share. If your child has a special toy or lovey and will freak out if another kids looks at it, let alone tries to play with it, put it away. The blankie or American Girl Doll can survive for an hour or two on the closet shelf!
-Plan snack ahead of time and let your child be involved. Also, check with the parent of the other children about any food allergies.
-Set a start time and end time. Believe me, you may just be happy to know that the end time is coming! If things are going well, give the other mom a call and you can always extend the play date. We have done that and I always laugh when the mom is surprised that her kid is doing so well!
I would love to hear from you on what works for your family, I would also love to hear how you handle play dates with multiples. Thanks for stopping by and have a great day!!
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