The Recital

Carena had her first piano recital on Sunday. She did marvelously! We were so proud of her. She had been so nervous but you could never tell by how well she played.

She played two songs, "I Am a Child of God" and "A Riddle." She went up to the piano, turned to the audience and told us her name and the song she would be playing and who the song was by. Then, she sat down at the piano, played those songs perfectly and then got back up, turned to the audience and bowed.

I wish I had some video, but I don't! Actually, I always have this conflict with taking lots of pictures and videos - sometimes I feel like I'm so focused on the picture taking and the video taking that I really miss out on the "show." So, at times, I leave the camera be and just watch first-hand my child performing without the distraction of messing with my camera.

Chris did take a few pictures however to document this monumental moment!

I Heart Mesa

Not sure if I truly heart Mesa, but I like the concept behind this blog. This is part of the bloggers profile: "We are tired of reading about festivals in Portland or the city life in New York. We live in Mesa. Arizona. This blog was created to promote local interests and activities. The grass is not always greener on the other side (figuratively). We'll take care of informing you of what's going on and you take care of enjoying Arizona, whether you’re looking to entertain yourself or 5 selves. We live in Mesa. Arizona and we love it. How about you?"



Anyway . . . clicking on that little icon will take you to the blog where you too can be entered to win a most fabulous prize!

Misunderstanding

Yesterday I was working on paying some bills. I noticed a charge of $46.19 for QT (gas station/convenient store) and I immediately got a little miffed that SOMEONE spent $46.19 at the CONVENIENT STORE. I mean, what could SOMEONE have possibly gotten there that totaled $46.19? Candy? Soda pop? Tons of beef jerky? I mean seriously . . . what else could SOMEONE have gotten there?


Oh yeah . . . gas.

Isn't It Ironic?

That the one time I make homemade soup for dinner is the same day that our air conditioning goes out (thankfully it was only out for a few hours and somehow kicked back on).

What's In A Name?

A few of you have inquired about my other children's names and why we named them what we did.

Carena

Carena was always Carena. There was never any other name for her. I came up with the name "Carena" one day while I was at work (slow day at the law office, I guess). I was doodling and thinking about girl names (I wasn't even preggers at the time). I combined my sister's name - Carrie with my name - Roccena and ta-da! Carena!! (First three letters of my sisters name and the last three letters of my name). In Italian, Carena means "dear little one." That describes her to a tee.

Her middle name is Louise. Simply, that is her paternal grandmother's middle name.

Jonathan

We have such a hard time coming up with boy names. We didn't have a name for Jonathan until he was practically born and even then we were confused on how to spell it (Jonathan vs Jonathon). Anyway - we were actually thinking of naming him "John" which is my older brother's name. For some reason, though, we were drawn to the name Jonathan. We wanted a "J" name. We also wanted his middle name to be Ashley - my older brother's middle name as well as my mother's middle name. Actually we have a long line of Ashley's (as a last name) in my family and there is a small town in Pennsylvania named Ashley - named after one of my ancestors. After we decided on Jonathan Ashley we found out that in my family tree there is actually a Jonathan Ashley. So, we named him after someone. We liked that his initials are JAG. Kinda cool - and it gives tribute to Chris's brother who loves the show JAG.

Jonathan is a long name - a mouthful, so when we decided on Jonathan, I was thinking we'd probably shorten it and call him Jon or Jonny. But, it's funny how nicknames come about. I started calling him "Little J." Pretty soon that was just shortened to "J" or "Jay." We all call him "Jay." Of course we still call him "Jonathan." But he responds to both. Well, Chris's stepdad is called "Jay" - so a little nod goes to Chris's stepdad.

And those are the reasons why my children have the names they do.

Colt's Name

We picked the name Colt for a few reasons. First, we liked the name. Then, in my family line, there is a Colton (cool name, but we liked just "Colt") - so there is the familial reference in his name. Another good reason to name him Colt was because I am a horse-lover. I had a horse when I was younger and most of my days and evenings were spent at the barn. Before Colt was born, he was constantly kicking me - just like a little horse would. And then there was another reason we kinda like the name. It has to do with Chris's occupation. Chris is a firearms examiner for a crime lab. In Chris's line of work he comes across Colts (revolvers, 45s) from time to time. The Colt Manufacturing Company "is a United States firearms manufacturer founded in 1847. It is best known for the engineering, production, and marketing of dozens of different firearms over the later half of the 19th and the 20th century. It has made many civilian and military designs used in the United States, as well was many other countries." Samuel Colt was the founder.

So, Colt was named Colt for these reasons:

1. We liked the name.
2. It incorporated a family name.
3. It alludes to my love of horses.
4. It alludes to Chris's occupation and interests.

We did not name him Colt solely based on my interest in horses. Nor did we name him Colt solely based on Chris's occupation. The name just fit for many reasons.

Anyway . . . about 2 years ago Colt was practicing writing his name and this is how he wrote it:


Pretty nice, right? Well, Chris was looking at this and thought it looked quite familiar. This is what he realized:





That's the Colt (gun) logo. So, maybe there's a predisposition there. Too bad it's not for horses though. :(

Remember When? Jonathan's Turn!

Family Traditions

Growing up, we had a few family traditions - outside of holiday traditions. Each Sunday, my dad would make pancakes for breakfast. My siblings and I would see who could eat the most. My personal best was 21. I am proud of that. Another tradition was that each Saturday that my mother did the grocery shopping, my dad would bring donuts home for breakfast. That began my love (obsessive love?) of donuts. Yet another - my mom would take each of us children out separately for a "special time" - just mom and me. My favorite things to do with her were 1. go to the mall to play with the puppies at the pet store, and 2. go out for Chinese.

I try to incorporate some simple family traditions as well. Although I don't make pancakes for breakfast on Sunday, I do usually make them for dinner. Ok, sometimes I make waffles or french toast. Be prepared for pancakes or breakfast for dinner if you get an invite to dinner on Sundays!

A few months ago we started a Netflix subscription. LOVE IT! And with that subscription a new family tradition was born. Each week Chris and I each pick out a movie (we alternate) - one a family friendly movie and one a date night movie. On Friday night, the children and Chris and I snuggle up on the couch and watch a movie. We totally junk-food it out, too. Brownies, cookies, Rice Krispie treats, Jell-O - all staples for movie night! I look forward to Fridays all week long!

Saturdays are our date nights. We tuck the children in bed and then pull out the movie. While I'm setting up the movie, Chris is usually at the corner store stocking up on . . . beef jerky and Coke. Seriously. He gets these huge pieces of jerky and big cups of Coke. Sometimes he'll surprise me with a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. So, with our treats in hand, we watch our movie. The house is quiet, the children are sleeping. All is good.

So, what are your family traditions?

Remember When? Spotlight on Colt

Colt's first birthday



Colt's first steps. I remember this so vividly! (16 1/2 months)



Colt's a dancin' man! (3 yrs old)



Colt's first sled ride (18 months)

Countdown to Christmas

There are approximately 113 days left until Christmas - a little over 3 months. It is about now that I start thinking about Christmas. Crazy, huh? But, I like to be prepared. I need to know what I'm getting my kids. I want to take advantage of any sales that might crop up.

I have a friend who has sworn off getting toys for her children lately. For their birthdays this year they got luggage. I think that is so totally cool. I'm on board with her. I just cleaned out my kids' rooms and they have so much STUFF - too much STUFF - STUFF that was fun for a few minutes but is now forgotten. I like gifts that keep on giving - that the kids have fun with over and over again and that encourage creativity. I also like practical gifts (like the luggage - but only practical if you use it!).

So, I'm opening this blog entry up to any suggestions for non-toy gift ideas. Here are some ideas that I've come up with (some of this stuff they already have from previous gifts).

• Luggage
• Sleeping bags
• Microscope
• Books
• Board Games (does this count as toys?)

What can you come up with? Give me some more ideas!!

Oh, and Merry Christmas!