The Pizza Hut BOOK IT! Program

I can remember when I was a little girl in grade school, I participated in the Pizza Hut BOOK IT! Program.  It was a cute little button that looked like the one pictured below.  After you read five books and filled up your pin, you got to go to Pizza Hut and get a PIZZA!  And I always looked forward to that PIZZA!  Who doesn't love pizza, right?!!

Fast forward 30 years, and wouldn't you know they still have that program in the schools for the children?  It is a little different from when I was growing up.  For example, the children no longer receive a button, instead, they receive a paper calendar and have to color in the days that they read.  It also differs by grade level.  Giselle is in kindergarten, so her monthly reading goal is to read for 20 days out of the month for 20 minutes.  Isabella is in 2nd grade, and she is required to read the entire month, each day for 20 minutes.  Once they turn in their monthly calendars, they receive a coupon for a free personal pan pizza! 

The girls really enjoy this program and why wouldn't they?  Statistically, the single most important activity for building the knowledge required for eventual success in reading is reading aloud to children.  Yesterday, I took them to redeem their certificate for reading for the month of October.  Their cheese pizzas were gone in about 5 minutes! 

Keep reading girls!!

Is it NOVEMBER? Already?

October FLEW by us like a G6!  Where should I start?  We had so many firsts in October!  For starters, Bob took us to Kentucky for a weekend, where he went to college and showed us around.  Isabella and Giselle got to see where daddy went to college, where he lived and even his favorite places to eat.  We spent Friday at Keeneland where the girls got to learn about 80 years of the action and excitement of thoroughbred racing – their first time at a track.  It was a beautiful SUNSHINY kind of day and we took it ALL IN!  Isabella and Giselle got to touch a few horses up close and they were very excited to cheer for their favorite horse during the races!

On Saturday, we woke up early and went to the store to get some apparel for the football game – GO KENTUCKY WILDCATS!!  After that, we met up with Kevin, whom Bob went to college with.  We tailgated in the parking lot before the game where we enjoyed playing bags and having snacks.  Another SUNSHINY day – the girls were cheering for the Wildcats, and THEY WON.  We had such a fun, relaxing weekend and the girls learned a lot about racing, horses, football, and where daddy went to college!

Isabella and Giselle also got to go to their very FIRST Chicago Blackhawks hockey game.  And guess where they got to sit for their first game?  In a SUITE, up high, where they could see all the action!  Bob received four tickets from a client at work, so I scooped up the girls from school and we met him downtown.  Isabella was glued to the hockey game the entire time and asking lots of questions.  What was Giselle doing?  Plugging her ears and smiling.  She doesn’t like loud noises so much and you know every time they score a goalie, the horns sound off. Woot Woot!!

Both girls wrapped up their 12 week gymnastics class in October as well.  They attended a 12-week program for one hour a week and it really helped them to develop hand-eye coordination, and enhanced their physical abilities.  Giselle REALLY enjoyed the program.  You should see her flipping over those bars like it’s nobody’s business.  Isabella liked gymnastics, however I think she would rather be playing chess.  Both girls received high scores on their progress note at the end of the sessions.  I asked them if they would like to continue with gymnastics and Giselle said YES and Isabella said NO.  We plan to sign up Giselle for gymnastics after the holidays.

BIG NEWS!!!  Isabella got her expander out of her mouth, as it has been in since April 23^rd.  You should see her MILLION-dollar SMILE and the confidence that came with getting that out of her mouth.  She does need to get more braces put in her mouth, however not until December.  I am unbelievably proud of her for being so BRAVE throughout this entire experience, as I know it has been painful and not easy for her.

Lastly, for Halloween, Isabella was a witch and Giselle was a mermaid princess.  It was probably the NICEST Halloween that I can remember having in the last five years!  It is ALWAYS raining or snowing or crazy cold for the kids and this year the sun was shining and it was almost 70 degrees!  Bob and I attended their parades at school and then afterwards we took them trick or treating for a few hours.  I love seeing their excitement as they RACE from door to door.  You should see all the candy we have!!

And that my friends, was October.  For now, both girls are actively involved in their Girl Scouts meetings and activities and are enrolled in a 12-week chess program (which they both love)!  They place chess together at home and it’s priceless. 

What will November bring?  We shall see!

GO CUBS GO

I know two little girls who want the CUBS to win the World Series!  Isabella and Giselle were waving the W flag proudly this morning and singing the song, GO CUBS GO!  We are excited to watch the game TONIGHT and HOPE THEY WIN!!

The Cubs won back-to-back World Series championships in 1907 and 1908, becoming the first Major League team to play in three consecutive World Series, and the first to win it twice. The team has appeared in a total of eleven World Series, most recently in 2016. The Cubs have not won the World Series in 108 years, and they had not won the National League pennant in 71 years until finally winning it in 2016, both of which are record "droughts" in Major League Baseball. Since the start of divisional play in 1969, the Cubs have appeared in the postseason eight times. This included five trips to the League Championship Series—in 1984, 1989, 2003, 2015, and 2016 which they won.

I hope you all will be watching the game tonight and CHEERING GO CUBS GO!  We want Chicago to WIN this WORLD SERIES!  108 years is too long!  Here is to making HISTORY Isabella and Giselle : )

Pumpkin Patch AND Our Annual Pumpkin Painting/Carving Contest

A few weeks ago, Bob and I took the girls down the street from our house where a family grows pumpkins in their front yard!  They are a small, family farm with about 2 acres and have been growing pumpkins for about 9 years.  The girls picked out the biggest pumpkins they could find!  Just look at those SMILES......

Over the weekend, we had our 12th annual pumpkin painting/carving contest, a tradition Bob and I started together when we were dating.  Years later, it has now become a family event with nieces, nephews and cousins! 

We were lucky that the weather was nice on Sunday and we were able to enjoy the outdoors while crafting with our pumpkins.  Baxie loved it too!  Bob grilled chicken, I made mini pumpkin pies, Aunt Jenn brought some goodies and Lynn brought a nacho machine!  YUMMY!!  We had a great afternoon adventure together!!  PICK or VOTE for your favorite pumpkin today!  All votes matter!  Until next year.......

Mustang Color Run - 5K

On Sunday, October 23rd, the students, staff, family & community members came out to participate in the 5K Mustang Color Run!  Funds raised from this event go directly back to the students in the form of classroom supplies, assemblies, technology needs and school improvements.

What a beautiful, fall morning to run with my family!  And all proceeds go back to the school to benefit the students?  WHY NOT!  Isabella and Giselle enjoyed running a little over three miles where at each mile marker, they got sprayed with colorful powder.  Along the running path, they even met up with some of their friends and played while they ran.

Isabella is one fast runner!  Or maybe I am out of shape?  Lots of laughs!  Little Giselle needed some encouragement along the way to keep running however she kept going and finished!  This morning, she woke up and said, "Mommy, my legs hurt!"  I imagine for her little legs, running three miles is probably equivalent to running 10 miles?

All in all, it was a great way to start our Sunday, and for a great cause.  The girls had fun with all of the color blasting, their teachers and classmates.  I think it will only take all of us about 5 more showers until we get the color dye out of our skin and hair!  A big THANK YOU to everyone who sponsored this event!!

Isabella Marie turns 8 years old!!

Isabella turned 8!  They say time flies when you are having FUN and I am enjoying watching Isabella grow into a beautiful young lady!  On her birthday she woke up at 5:30 a.m. super excited to celebrate her day. 

I remember when I was a little girl, my mother always made our birthdays special.  She would always make a homemade cake that was beautifully decorated.  She must have spent hours decorating our cakes.  They were show stoppers.  Like the kind you would walk into a bakery and buy.  I always looked forward to her cakes and they always made my eyes light up.  And my favorite was, she would always ask what WE wanted for dinner on our birthday.  Nothing makes a girl feel more special than when she gets to pick what her meal is on her birthday.  I always chose spaghetti or meatloaf.  Those were my favorite home cooked meals that mom made.

I would like to say that I am carrying on my mother’s birthday tradition….however let’s be honest here, I don’t have the patience to decorate a cake for hours.  Nor do I want to.  For years, I have been buying Isabella’s birthday cake at a bakery.  Well this year, she put a stop to that.  I asked her what kind of cake she wanted and she said, “Mommy, I want to make my own cake!”  Because when you buy them at the bakery, the cake has strawberries inside and I don’t like that!  I took Isabella to the store and she picked out a yellow cake with pink frosting.  Giselle, Isabella and I baked her cake in the kitchen together and she LOVED every minute of it.  I have carried on the dinner tradition and this year Isabella wanted cheese pizza.  I guess I got off easy this year because I didn’t bake the cake nor did I cook dinner!

All in all, Isabella had a grand birthday complete with Dunkin Donuts for breakfast, cheese pizza for dinner and pink cake!  The day before her birthday, I took her to the store and let her pick out an entire outfit complete with shoes so she could feel super special on her birthday.  She also wanted to paint her nails, so we did that together.  She got lots of goodies for her birthday that included new clothes, a chess set, lots of Lego's and crafts, her favorite!  She was most excited about her new basketball hoop in which Grandpa Dale and Bob put together for her.  Isabella and Giselle have been playing basketball in the driveway non-stop since it was put together!  Over the weekend, we had a celebration with her Grandma’s and Grandpa’s and Aunt Jen, Uncle Mike and Tristan! For the weekend celebration, Isabella baked white cupcakes with white rainbow frosting!

Here are some pictures from her birthday celebrations!

 Here are some of my favorite photos of Isabella Marie over the course of time....

Baby girl, KEEP being YOU!  I love your free spirit.  Your effervescence for life!  Your compassion towards others.  Your love for crafts and making things with your hands.  How you always look out for your little sister Giselle.  Your LOVE.  Your beautiful SMILES.  How you love math and chess and Lego's! 

I LOVE YOU Isabella Marie.  KEEP BEING YOU! 

 Love Mom

September 1, 2016

September is starting out to be a GREAT month!  It was the morning of September 1^st around 8:30 a.m. and I had just finished washing and vacuuming my car.  As I was getting ready to get back in my car, I noticed a penny, HEADS side up!  It made MY DAY.  At that moment in time, I thought, it’s going to be a great day!  A great month! 

Finding a penny is considered good luck!  So what did I do?  I passed that penny along to someone else the same day to share the good luck.  And would you believe later that day, as Isabella was walking home from the school bus, she found a penny heads side up to!  And without even knowing about the luck of the penny, I heard her give it to her sister in the back seat of the car.  GOLDEN!

The sky was so beautiful and magical on September 1^st.  When the girls got off the bus from school, I said LET’s GO TO THE PARK.  Once we were there and playing for quite some time, it started getting really windy.  And then it dawned on me.  I have KITES in the back of my car!  They had only been sitting in the back for about 4 months.  So WHY NOT?  What had I been waiting for?  A windy day??!!  The girls and I had a magical afternoon.  Between finding pennies.  The beautiful weather.  The park after school.  And then flying kites!  What really made September 1^st was the RAINBOW we saw in the sky on the way home from the park.  MAGICAL I say.  Just MAGICAL!