In the kitchen with Tyler...

Yesterday Tyler and I did all of our Christmas baking. Tyler wanted to make some cookies, too, and when I asked him what kind he said "with sprinkles!". We rolled out the dough, found the cookie cutters, and went to business!

"Cheese! I think I want to make the Santa cookie shape!"

"Can I lick this spatula? I want to eat this frosting. Is there more for me to eat?"

Getting ready for the sprinkles! Tyler picked out mini green and red Christmas trees to put on top of his cookies. I am not sure where most of them landed, on the cookies, or on the floor!

Almost done!

The finished product! (Tyler is reaching for his first one of the day) When I put them in the container, there were Christmas tree sprinkles all over the place! On the counter, stool, and the floor! Tyler ate as many as he could before I wiped them up! When Frank got home from his game, Tyler was so proud to show him what he made!

Dear Santa....

Dear Santa,

I want a Hot Wheel Fire Ball. I have been a good boy this year. How are you reindeer? Rudolph is my favorite. I love you Santa.

Love,

Tyler Genovese


(Tyler on his way to go and see Santa at the mall.)

A little flaky....

This past weekend we finally got our first snowfall of the year! On Sunday when Tyler came into our room, we told him to look out the window! He was so excited! It was not very much, about an inch (which was fine by me!), and enough to cover the ground and melt off the roads and driveway. (Frank will have to wait a few more weeks to fire up the new snow blower!) After we returned home from hockey practice, everyone changed into their snow gear and outside we headed!
Seeing that it was a Sunday in December, Frank grabbed the football on his way outside. He and Tyler practiced a few plays and after awhile I had to join in. After all, someone had to help the little guy!

Tyler-- running his heart out! He has that ball tucked under his arm like a real pro, though! Where are those scouts when you need them?

"Don't you have enough pictures, mommy? Can't I go play now?"

Tyler tackled Frank right to the ground! I bet Frank was wishing there was a bit more snow to soften the fall!

Making snow angels!

Christmas Spirit!

In all the chaos that is called the holidays, we did find time to decorate the house for Christmas! I am shocked to report that we did it the weekend before Thanksgiving! We knew that once we returned from New York we would be too exhausted to want to do it. So on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, we dragged all the boxes, bins, and bags from the attic and went to town! We even braved the single-digit wind chills outside to make sure that the lights and wreaths went up as well!
Tyler got to choose the first ornament to put on the tree. his choice? A New York Islander one, of course!

Frank and Tyler made several attempts to put the angel on the top. After almost knocking the tree over several times, we had to resort to the old-fashioned way-- a ladder! the angel that Tyler is holding is the same one that topped my Christmas tree when I was younger. I think after 25 years, things are considered antiques, right?

Last year Tyler had so much fun looking at each of the ornaments. He loves finding his favorites. There are a few on the tree that we given to us at special times-- our wedding, moving into out first house and then this one, and baby ornaments. One of them even features his picture inside. It is the photo that was taken in the hospital right after he was born. He simply loves to look at himself as a baby. The ornament he is studying here is of Madeline.

Even Puck got into the Christmas spirit! While the tree is up, if ever the cat is missing, simply look under the tree and I will guarantee that you will find her hanging out!

My little guy, waiting anxiously to see what Santa will bring him this year! only a few more weeks, bud!

Happy 40th Birthday Uncle Jim!

Dear Uncle Jim,

Happy birthday Uncle Jim! We wish you all the best in your 40th year on earth!

May your heart be light and happy!

May your smile be big and wide!

And may your pockets always have a coin or two inside!

Love,

Tyler, Frank, & Jen

Thanksgiving Weekend

Needless to say, it is Wednesday and we are still wiped out from our holiday weekend. We had so much fun in New York, but trying to catch up and go back to work on Monday it NOT FUN! We hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and had happy bellies! I know we did! Here is my quick synopsis of the weekend...

Getting 3 rambunctious kids all showered, dressed, and prepped for the afternoon turned out to be an pretty easy task. Even taking a few shots was not a chore. What made the whole thing great was Laurette and I realizing that Tyler and Conor were in very similar outfits, on accident!

The toy room took a beating throughout the day. Here are all the kids chilling and horsing around with each other. Skylar will never miss a chance to be the life of the party! Such a great girl!

Thanksgiving means one thing in New York. The Annual Fagan Family House Lighting Ceremony! Other than the food, it is truly our favorite reason for being on long Island. My brother-in-law, Jim, strives to be Clark Griswald himself! Tyler and I took a moment to capture a shot under one of many blow-ups!

The complete view of the Fagan homestead. It is fantastic to watch the cars creep by and take a peek every night! I only thank goodness it is Jim doing this, and not myself. I am not really sure I want to see the electric bill!

As if Uncle Jim's display wasn't enough... On Friday night, Grandma and Papa took all three of the kids. Overnight. The entire night. And morning. And bedtime. Catch my drift? The kids helped them decorate their Christmas tree and then on Saturday they helped put out all the lawn decorations.

After the tree was done and the yard looked festive, Tyler moved inside Grandmas and Papa's to do some touching up to Grandma's Christmas village.... I guess he thought that the town looked naked without some Great White Sharks added to the display!

The boys, Grandma, and myself took the time to play some board games. Conor, Grandma and I all played Clue Jr. and tried to figure out who ate the chocolate cake, when, and with what drink. While Tyler made up games of his own. It had been a long time since I played Clue!

"It was Mrs. Scarlet, drinking chocolate milk, at 5:00PM!"

Tyler opted for a game of Candyland. In true Tyler fashion, the game pieces were body checking against the imaginary boards before to long!

Left to their own devices, these kids can entertain themselves for a loooong time. At one point on Saturday night, all the adults were sitting around, talking. We realized that it was a bit toooooo quiet in the toy room. So I went in to investigate. These kids were so caught up in their game of "school" that they didn't even look my way when I walked in! Of course I interrupted Mr. Conor's counting lesson to snap a few pictures!

His pupils-- listening intently. I watched them for awhile to see what they were being taught. Conor had drawn some dots on the board and was asking them to count them and throwing in some addition here and there. Tyler and Skylar even were raising their hands and staying in their seats until he called on them. Now why won't Tyler listen to his mom and dad that well? Hmmmmm.....

Ahhhhh.... the car ride home from Long Island. Let me tell you how different it was from the ride there. On our way there on Wednesday, we weren't even out of Wilbraham yet when Tyler asked "Are we almost there?" Ye gads! He did not stop talking the entire way to New York! On the way home it was another story...

Now granted I wished I was able to move like this following a holiday weekend, I couldn't. So I grabbed the camera and let the little guys show off their moves and all their pent-up energy (what? they had some left???!?!?!?!) here in this clip from Saturday night. if you watch all the way to the end, you will see my little guy busting a pretty good gymnast moves!

Just in case the previous picture just wasn't enough, here is a video with the sound effects... Over the rain, radio, and cars whizzing by, this is what we heard from the backseat:

Me, A to Z

Kelly tagged me to go a meme, so here goes!

A- Attached or Single: Attached

B- Best Friend: My husband, of course!

C- Cake or Pie: Does cheesecake count?

D-Day of Choice: Saturday

E-Essential Item: Coffee

F-Favorite Color: Red

G-Greatest Accomplishment: Becoming a mommy :-) However, this year it was pulling up my big girl panties and leaving the place I called a job.

H-Hometown: Wilbraham, MA

I-Indulgences: Chinese Food!

J-January or July: July (with air conditioning!) and January (with a frech coating of snow, fire in the fireplace, and a snowday)

K-Kids: Tyler, I wouldn't trade him for the world!

L-Life is incomplete without: My family

M-Marriage: A life-long rollercoaster ride that I can't live without!

N-Number of Siblings: 1 sister

O-Oranges or Apples: Red Delicious apples

P-Phobias or fears: spiders and heights

Q-Quotes: To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing. Elbert Hubbard

R-Reason to Smile: Family, life, health

S-Season: Fall

T-Tag Friends: Lisa

U-Unknown facts about me: My sheets and pillow cases always have to match.

V-Very favorite store(s): Target, Gap

W-Worst habit: Belching

X-X-ray or Ultra Sound: Ultrasound

Y-Your favorite food: Chinese food

Z-Zodiac: Leo

Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving! As the holiday season has officially arrived, we have taken the time here to reflect on the great life we have been blessed with and to help those that are in need this holiday season (and the rest of the year). This past Saturday, Tyler and I bagged up some food items to delivery to a food drive that the Longmeadow Rotary Club was hosting on behalf of Open Door Social Services, the agency that helps run the Food Bank in Springfield. Tyler was very excited about helping those people who can not afford to buy their food. In fact, he referred to our donation as "feeding the people in the village". I guess it may take a village to raise a child, but it also takes a village to feed a village!

On Saturday afternoon, we set off to deliver our food to "the man in the parking lot with the big truck". As we pulled up to the delivery sight, I asked Tyler if he wanted to help carry a bag. Of course he said yes. We got out of the car and I handed him a bag. It was slightly heavy, but he mustered all of his pride and handled it very well. As we got closer to the men collecting the goods, they all started clapping for my little guy. He was so proud! He handed the men their bags, shook hands with a few volunteers, and beamed from ear to ear. When we got back to the car and I was buckling him in, he said: "My daddy is going to be so proud of me!". Melt. My. Heart.

On Tuesday morning, I asked him what he is thankful for. I honestly had no idea where this was going to get me and I was a bit scared of the responses! Here is what Tyler said (in this order!):

My cat, Puck

Duffy (Grandma Perry's dog)

Mommy and Daddy

Grandma's and Grandpa's, Conor and Skylar, and Aunt Laurette and Uncle Jim

The sun in Florida

The moon

After hearing these responses, I had a smile on my face all day. We are so thankful that we have such a wonderful young boy as our son and that is all I could ask for.

I hope that each of you find small things today to be thankful for as well and we wish you a fabulous holiday!

Muscles Marinara

Meet "Muscles Marinara", the newest WWE personality... He has a huge personality and thanks to his special medicine (ketchup), taken at every meal, he has the huge "guns" to match!

How many eye bolts do YOU have?

The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake, EVER!

Tonight I got to make the "Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever", a recipe off the Pioneer Woman Cooks website. Let me tell you, it was delish! Tyler was a great help- he helped me mix and kept me on top of what I was doing. Best of all, he helped me clean up....
Of course that meant I had to clean him up when he was done!

Lovin' Cousins!

This weekend, Grandma and Papa Genovese came for a visit and brought cousin Skylar with them. Tyler and Skylar always have a great time playing together, but often times, Skylar gets pushed to the side when cousin Conor is around-- after all, what girl wants to play Star Wars? But I guess "boys will be boys" as the saying goes! Grandma mentioned last week about bringing Skylar with them and we jumped at the idea. We ran it past Tyler, and he immediately wanted to call Skylar, Aunt Laurette, and Uncle Jim and ask if "Skylar could come for a play date this weekend"!

Saturday was a long way off, but when it finally arrived, Tyler was so excited! He waited by the door for when they pulled in the driveway and as soon as they did, these kids were off and running! The played upstairs, downstairs, inside, and outside! The ran, they walked, they even sat (just for a second!). I love to see how they play together, especially now that their imaginations are just forming and story lines are being formed. Once, Skylar said to Tyler "I'll be the mommy and you can be the kid." To which Tyler responded "No, I'll be the dad."!

They wasted no time in heading for the garage and the jeep-- Skylar wanted to drive and Tyler gave no complaints! Thank goodness for another mild, Fall weekend!

Back inside they made tracks to the basement and played their own version of Spiderman cards. As soon as I started snapping shots, they started hamming it up and this shot turned into this:

All full of giggles!

The adults relaxed for a few minutes before we left for dinner. Tyler kept saying that they were feeding Spike the dinosaur. I didn't realized that it meant they had strewn all the play food across the room!

I really don't know a more adorable sight. Not only is Skylar the apple of Tyler's eye, but she is only 3 1/2 months older than him, and my Goddaughter. It was great to have someone to share the pregnancy highs and lows with (my sister-in-law, Laurette) and someone to be up with in the middle of the night when we were all together. I remember the first time all the kids were together. Tyler was 1 week old and Skylar was 4 months old. Conor was 28 months. We sat all the kids on the couch and snapped pictures of them all. Tyler was a peanut (7 pounds) and Skylar was huge compared to him! Now they are almost identical in size.

Band Practice

Time: 8 a.m.

Place: Living room, at the bottom of the stairs

Who: Tyler on drums and Skylar on tambourine
Result: Everyone awake!

Not a minute went by without these two doing something together. Even as everyone was preparing to leave on Sunday afternoon, they busied themselves with chalk drawings on the driveway!

Come visit again, Sky! Tyler already misses you!