January 31

At cheer practice today.  Coach Debbie asked, who wants to do well at competition?  Jenna was not paying attention and our friend S was too busy smiling for the camera, but like the other girls, I'm sure they want to do well! :)

So sweet when they sleep!

January 30

Jenna's first time at ice hockey 

 Maddie B, Jordan, Madeline and Jenna arrive at ice hockey.

Tony took the kids to see South JV play North JV in the President's Cup.  The kids had a great time.  Will was wearing the opposing team's colors - oops!

January 29

Our girls beat ICS today away.  It was a close game, very exciting!  Madeline played a great game of defense.  The victory was even more sweet since we had already lost to this team in a scrimmage.  A great showing by both teams.  Will and Jenna went to Nana's house while Claire and I enjoyed front row seats at midcourt.

January 28

My Tiger.  This is a cheating picture because I actually took it a few days ago but I wanted to share it and since I was a bit under the weather today, here you go!  Tiger is a wonderful cat who I adopted when I lived in State College, PA, so he is my Nittany Tiger. ;)  He is not hissing in this picture, he is meowing, and I am so tempted to add one of those word bubbles to the picture!  He will be 13 years old next month.

January Collage

I made a little collage on walmart.com of all our activities this past month.  I'm printing out one for Tony to have at work and a couple of other copies for the grandparents so they can have up-to-date pictures of the grandkids (and granddog).  This was fun and easy and cheap!  I hope to do this every month this year.

January 27

 Will looks like the Michelin Tire Man!

Snow days are fun!

January 26

The fruits of my labor.

We had a mom-called early dismissal today after it was decided that our school would go for a full day.  I sent the girls to school for about an hour and then went and got them.  I just couldn't risk going out in the bad weather AGAIN with the little ones.  The weather report was calling for additional snow (no big deal) and sleet (big deal).  I'm glad I did too.  I don't understand why they didn't have an early dismissal other than short-sightedness.  I know other families either just didn't send today or went to get the kids early.

January 25

Will had a great time playing on the table while I was feeding Claire.  He sure loves his trucks!

January 24

Will "cleaned" our bathroom by emptying the contents of the medicine cabinet into the sink and adding a few of his plastic food toys.  All of this while I was on the phone for a few minutes.  He works fast!

January 23 pm

Tony took Will to see Middletown South play Brick in ice hockey.  Unfortunately for us, South lost but Will had a great time at the game.

January 23

Claire is enjoying her new-to-her highchair.  We bought it 10 years (!) ago for Madeline and the original seat cover had seen much better days.  The vinyl was ripped and stained even though the rest of the chair was still in nearly perfect condition.  I really did not want to buy another high chair!  Fortunately I found a lady through etsy who makes custom covers for discontinued high chairs.  Much cheaper than a new chair and it came out great.  Frugality!

January 22

Sunset over Charlotte Place, looking over my house westwards.

January 21

 A snow day!  Madeline is working on her Felicity Fashion Studio here.  She really enjoys this Christmas gift, I'm going to look around to see if I can find deals on the other American Girl fashion studio books.

 A chilly, sunny day with a brisk wind almost all day long.  It sure kept our flag whipping in the wind!

Maxwell Not-so-smart, in extreme close-up.  I also took some pictures of his face while he was scratching, they are so goofy that I cannot post them.  It would wound his dignity. ;)

January 20

 Today Claire and I visited Aunt Angela who is on bedrest for her pregnancy.  We were able to exchange Christmas presents before Easter - that must be a Shallooper record!  I looked at Angela's 365 album for last year (10 months of it anyway!) and I can't wait to get my own album kit started.

Sunrise over Charlotte Place, 7:24 am.

January 19

Girl Scout Wednesday - Madeline and Jenna are in the same Girl Scout troop.  It is a really active troop with excellent leaders!  We are so grateful that they've had this opportunity.  At left, Madeline and her friend J.  Below, Jenna and her friends A and F in the goodbye circle.



January 18

I got some knitting done during our "ice day" - the girls stayed home from school, I made a roast turkey and we just practiced being cozy.

January 17

7:15 this morning, view from my living room window

January 16

Our Max.  Boy is he a pain!  But we love him anyway.  He always has to be in the mix.  I don't think he quite understands that he is a DOG.  I think he views himself more as the least favorite child and is always wondering why the others get to go places, wear clothes, go to the bathroom in the house, eat off the table, etc.  This cold and sunny Sunday saw Max trying to get into whatever everyone else was doing - reading books, playing on the computer, cooking, cleaning, etc.  I think he likes it best when we are all home - his whole pack is there. <3

January 15

Not a great picture technically, but this is the best one I have of Madeline taking her first foul shot in a game.  Unfortunately she missed both shots she was given but that's okay.  It is unbelieveable to me how far she has come in about half of one season of basketball.  After her first practice, I had asked her what position she was going to play.  She uncertainly said, "um, seeker?"  Seeker is from Quidditch in Harry Potter, NOT basketball.  Now she not only knows the positions but the plays.

January 14

Our girls scrimmaged against the BB girls recreation team and won 24-22.  Both teams played well and should be proud.  You can see Madeline near her coach, drinking from her silver water bottle.  Isn't she a peanut?  She plays with a lot of heart though and LOVES basketball.

January 13

Thursdays are choir practice for Madeline and Jenna at St. Joseph's Church.  A pretty uninspiring edifice if ever there was one, my great-grandmother (a long-term St. Joe's parishioner) deemed it the "ski lodge" back when it was built in the 1960s.

January 12

 

The kids and Tony had off from school today because we got about 10 inches of snow.  It was a nice day nonetheless.  Madeline, Jenna and William played outside - even Max got in a bit of frolicking!  Then Tony took the kids to Colonial Park for some sledding.  Too bad it is back to school tomorrow!

January 11

 Will's cheesy grin.

Beautiful skies at 2 pm, hard to believe a snowstorm is on the way!

January 10

Jenna rolling out the mats at cheer practice.

January 9

The big North/South game at the Prudential Center in Newark.  South won!

January 8

Game Day!

January 7

Snow falling softly in the backyard.  Early dismissal today.

January 6

People say to me all the time, how do you feed your growing family on such a tight budget?  I currently budget $125 for food and extras every week - and most weeks I stick to it!  Well, here is one cheapo meal that my family loves.  Pasta Fagioli!  Cook pasta according to directions.  Meanwhile in a skillet, heat some oil and garlic, add one can of tomato sauce and one can of water.  Add one can of cannellini beans and heat through.  Blend everything together and serve with hot pepper flakes and some parmesan cheese.  I believe my girls can eat their own weight in pasta fagioli.

And for the people who couldn't care less about cheapskate suburban recipes, here is a gratuitous cute baby picture from this morning.

January 5

Routine.  Many nights, Tony and I like to watch a little TV on hulu before going to bed.  I usually knit something to keep from snacking.  Right now I'm working on a little pink scarf for one of the girls.

January 4

Here's a picture of Will and my grandmother as I was leaving to take Claire to her neurologist appointment.  Will loves his Nana and I'm very lucky to have her to watch him when I need it.  My parents are also usually around to help out.  I'm very thankful for family living nearby!

January 3

The scene from my kitchen counter this morning.  Lunch boxes packed and ready to go for the first day of school for 2011.  Bittersweet.  I know the girls were excited to return to school, to see their friends and get off to a fresh start.  I miss them though.  I miss their energy, liveliness and constant chatter.  Will is wandering around the house, a little lost without his big sisters.  I'm a bit lost myself. :)

January 2

We cut some forsythia branches from my grandmother's yard the first week of December, put them in a vase with water in a sunny spot and then waited.  It took about 3 weeks for them to bloom.  Over the last week, little yellow blossoms have been coming out, a couple each day.  It is so nice to have a little bit of springtime inside the house, even when you can see the snow outside.

January 1

Day one of the 365 Day Challenge and I already failed.  A new record, even for me.  I spent January 1 sick in bed except for brief intervals where I rushed to the bathroom to vomit.  So luckily enough I took some pictures on December 31 which will have to count for my Day 1 entry. 

Our New Year's Eve tradition is to make sushi.  I do ALL the prep work, from shopping for everything to cooking the rice to chopping everything.  Then Tony swoops in and makes the rolls.  And gets the glory.  The kids LOVE sushi.  They look forward to it every year.  In the picture, Will is stuffing himself silly with California rolls.