No School!

School was cancelled today due to the crazy snow we got last night. Yes, we got the call at 5:30 AM this morning telling us that school was cancelled. (5:30!!!! and Jordan is in afternoon Kindergarden. Got-to-Love that!) So, we are in the house today to enjoy each other. I do have to say that the snow is very pretty here in northeast Ohio. Patrick and I were talking the other day and we have decided that SNOW is one of God's ways of slowing us down. The picture below is one I took this afternoon from my kitchen window (for those of you in Texas who may not believe me when I say there is a lot of snow here. HAHA) If you look below the tree on the right you can kind of see the small corner of a concrete bench that sits in front of the tree. That may give you an idea of how much snow there is on the ground. The swing set is behind the trees and the swings are actually covered by the snow also. I got Sydney down for a nap and Jordan, Isaac and I went out to play in the snow. Actually I shoveled part of the driveway while the kids played. (I think they just pushed the snow back down onto the driveway as fast as they could.) I only got about 25% of it shoveled but we will see if I get any more done today.
I will title this picture "Fun in the Snow Together!!!"

This is a picture of Isaac trying to follow Jordan everywhere she goes. He was climbing a snow mound. The snow went past his knees when he was standing in it.

And Jordan stopped for a quick second so I could snap this one of her. She has a lot of fun out in the snow also. Well, that is all for now. We hope everyone is staying warm and I will post again soon.

Love ya and God Bless, Tara G.

We are a Nut-Free House!!!

As some of you may know, we are a nut-free house. No, No, No, you don't have to worry about anyone getting kicked out of our family, we are just Peanut-free. In early October it was confirmed that Isaac does have allergies. We were pretty sure he was allergic to a few things. His allergist narrowed it down to Dogs, Cats, Peanuts and Milk. The one that surprised us the most was milk. I think it has been the trickiest thus far to cook around. I found a muffin mix at a special foods store this afternoon that was milk and nut-free. So, tonight we made it. The following picture was one I took of the kids after a chocolate chip muffin, bath, and a few stories with dad. (This was the End of the evening.) And No, Sydney didn't get a muffin but she did get a bath and a few stories. Plus a chance to move around on the floor. (Which by the way is NOT happening.)
The following is a picture of Patrick and the kids enjoying the dairy/peanut-free chocolate chip muffins. I know they don't sound that great but they weren't half bad. And Isaac hasn't had anything chocolate since October so he was very excited. (He actually ate half of Jordan's muffin.)

I also found dairy-free chocolate chips at the specialty store and he was very excited about them. He wanted to hold the bag and everything. The bad part about them was that they are $6.00 a bag. Yes, $6. I couldn't believe it. But he liked them.

And during all the excitement of the muffins Sydney fell fast asleep on the living room floor. Yes, again we were trying to get some practice crawling in but no movement was to be had. (That's okay, I guess we shouldn't rush her too much!)

So, if any of you out there want to try a dairy/peanut-free chocolate chip muffin you now know where to get one. They were pretty good! (Just ask Isaac. HAHA)

God Bless, Tara G.

A night Out!

We have designated the year of 2009 as the "Year of the Family." Patrick and I decided to make a stronger effort this year to spend special time with the kids and with each other. So, last night Patrick and Isaac had "Boys Night Out" and Jordan, Sydney and I had "Girls Night In." Patrick and Isaac went to the gym, swam and played. (Obviously we didn't tell Jordan where they were going before they left!) And us girls stayed home and made cookies, painted finger nails, and read books. I think we all had a really good time.

The following picture is one of Patrick and Isaac when they got back from the pool. They really had a fun. And the following picture is one of Jordan and I's finger nails. I painted Jordan's and she painted mine. Yes, she painted mine! I may have paint from my nail to my first knuckle but that is fine. It should wear off eventually (I hope).
And I couldn't help but catch this picture of Jordan as she was scarfing down one of our freshly made cookies! (And by the word FRESH I mean - brought out of the freezer and placed on a cookie sheet fresh. HAHA) She was almost too into the cookies to even look up for a picture.

And somehow I figured out the timer on our camera and caught this picture of Jordan, Sydney and I. I thought it turned out pretty cute. I had to get a picture of Sydney in there for Girl's night! She had a good time listening to all the books and watching us paint our nails. Pretty soon she will be in the middle of all the painting and cooking.

And we just couldn't let the fun end so we continued on this afternoon. We made a special trip to the bookstore, picked up some new books and even stopped by Chuck E Cheese for a very delicious and non nutritious lunch of pizza and games. This was Isaac's first trip to Chuck E Cheese and I think the first that Jordan really remembers. I have to say that they had a really good time.
And for Patrick and I, we are taking a ballroom dancing class, just the two of us. It has been really fun. I will have to post pictures of that soon. We have only had one class so far but watch out, we are GOOD!!!!

I will continue to keep everyone posted on our Family. Love ya and God Bless, Tara G

Helicopter Fun!

Patrick got this helicopter for Christmas in 2007. Yes, and it still functions. The kids love to play with it so they got it out this evening. As you can see by these pictures they had a lot of fun.
It isn't a huge helicopter but you can see it in the pictures if you look close.

I had to put one of Patrick and the kids in there. I think in this picture he is explaining how it works. The kids were ready for him to just fly it I think. HAHA

And I surprised myself with this picture. I somehow got a closeup of the helicopter and Isaac together. I think Isaac was trying to catch it. I have to admit that this has been a good way for the kids to burn some energy right before bedtime! Whatever works!!! With the cold weather outside we will take any energy burning ideas we can take.

And Sydney is doing well also. She isn't quite big enough chase the helicopter yet but she does enjoy watching everyone fly it. So, here's to burning energy with helicopters after dinner.

Love ya and God Bless, Tara G.

We are surviving the Cold!

Things here in Ohio are going well. It has been cold but we are managing through it. School was canceled last Friday because the school system thought it was too cold for the kids to stand out for the bus. It was -15 and I think we may have gotten up to 0 degrees by the afternoon. It was fine over all. We just stayed inside and played a lot. The kids are enjoying the snow and if I had been thinking I would have taken the camera out and taken pictures last time we played in the snow. O'well, at least I didn't forget a kid out in the snow.

The following picture was taken the other night right before Patrick and I went to bed. Isaac loves to wear his superman pj's. I thought it was cute how his cape was stretched out while he was sleeping. Our sleeping Super Hero! And Sydney is doing great. In this picture we were trying to practice crawling. As you can see by the picture she is not quite on the move yet. Actually I think she could care less about crawling. It is probably safer for her if she isn't too mobile!
We had the chance to go sledding again last weekend and the kids really had a good time. It was packed at the hills but they still had a good time. Even Isaac went down a lot and he is the one who usually just goes once or twice and calls it a day. The following two pictures are POST sledding pictures.

Jordan is really loving the new sled she got for Christmas! Patrick has to bribe her off the hills with hot chocolate or something like that usually.

And last but not least I thought this final picture was a good one of the girls. Jordan still loves to hold Sydney and I think Sydney enjoys it too. They are both getting so big! I can hardly believe it. Today Sydney is actually 9 months old.

Well, as you can see, we are doing well. We try not to let the cold weather keep us too closed in but sometimes you can't help it. We will post more soon. Love ya and God Bless, Tara G.

New Doo's!!!

Jordan and Isaac got hair cuts this afternoon. It was the first time Jordan has ever had her hair cut by someone other than me. She was very excited to go OUT and have her hair cut. I can't blame her. It was very fun to see her so excited.
And Isaac, well mot of you have seen what happens when i cut his hair, so we have decided that from now on we will pay to get his cut. (Needless to say, I do not do as good of a job on his cut as I do on Jordan's.)

i caught this picture of Jordan and Sydney and thought it was a cute one.

We will continue to keep everyone posted on any new happenings in the fam. Love ya and God Bless, Tara G.

Crazy Hair and Talents!

We took baths tonight and the kids wanted CRAZY hair when they got out. Well, this is what we got! I thought these were pretty funny pictures myself. They get their Crazy Hair from their Father. (HAHA)Jordan actually wanted hers to stand strait up just like Isaac's but this was good enough for her!
And Isaac's hair is getting quite long and it actually did stand up pretty good. He was excited and liked the new hair style! However, he was kind of upset when I combed it down before going to bed.


And this is a video of one of Sydney's many talents. Jordan and Isaac were never able to rock themselves, but Sydney, well she has been able to do this for the last three or four months. It is pretty cute. I don't know if it means she spends entirely too much time in her car seat or what but I am going with the idea that she is just very talented! (If you listen closely, when I ask her "who taught her how to rock" she answers with "Dada".)
We hope everyone is having a great New Year. Love ya and God Bless, Tara G.

No place Like Home

The kids got a little house for Christmas that you color and a parent (parent is the key word in this sentance) puts together when they are done. And this evening I put it together. Surprisingly enough it was big enough for Jordan Isaac and I to fit in. I don't know if I should have gotten in but they wanted me to so I figured why not! It is a very cute little house it has windows and doors so that made it even more real. (And the doors made it easier for me to get out!) It was fun for everyone. Even Sydney enjoyed watching them play in it. I wasn't quite brave enough to let her get in with them.

So i just put Sydney in front of it and that was good enough for her. She really liked the windows. Here is a close-up that Patrick caught of us through the door. Definitely a tight squeeze but fun none the less.

And this was the first picture I took of the kids after they got in the house. Wow, what fun it is to play with crayons, markers and a cardboard box. A huge Thank You to David and Loree for the gift, the kids love it. And I have to say that is was kind of fun being in there with them.

We hope everyone is starting the new year off with a bang. For us we had a great January 1st. We hope the best for all of you. Love ya and God Bless, Tara G.