Around our House...

Christmas is not only my favorite holiday/time of year but I think the person who designed our house 80 years ago did so just for this holiday! I've been having so much fun decorating and making our little house a Christmas wonderland... here are a few pics around the house:

Our Tree

"The Stockings were hung by the chimney with care...."

My little tree I made for my nightstand.

The garland that wraps around the entire dining room...

It has little secret family tokens hidden all throughout... doggies, ballerinas and music notes!

I'll put up some more later as the season goes on!

Thanksgiving... I did it!

I did it! After much planning and preparation, I hosted my very first Thanksgiving! We had my parents (my brother is away at school in Cali and stayed up there with my mom's sister and her family) Ben's parents and Ben's sisters. The food was great, the house smelled amazing and the time spent together was wonderful! I wish I'd taken more pictures, but here are a few moments I managed to capture:

My table =)

Place settings

Basting Turkey McGee (I basted that sucker every 30 minutes on the dot for over 4 hours!)

My Great-Grandma's Gravy... it brought tears to my Mom's eyes... she said she hasn't tasted it since the last time her Grams made it =)

My Dad and Ben carving McGee.

And of course a family snuggle to finish the evening!

Any Ideas?

So we- as in Ben and I- are hosting Thanksgiving for my parents, Ben's parents and Ben's two sisters (my brother is staying in Cali). While I think I'm a pretty good cook (when I try), I don't really do it that often.
We are making the main dishes: turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes (Ben's specialty) and the gravy. I love traditional mid-west cooking so my ask is: anyone have any good, classic recipes for those dishes? Lemme know!

Where we've been!

Sorry I've been MIA, all 3 of you that read this =) It was off to Orlando to get this fabulous lady married and then Ben and I spent a few days in Disney! We're going back with my company in January so it was just a taste, but what a whirlwind long weekend it was!

After marrying off my dear friend (and fellow Princess) Jenna, Ben and I spent two days at the wonderful WDW.

The lovely Bride (her dress was, of course, amazing)

Mr. & Mrs. Jenna and Bryan Hamel

Our bridesmaid dresses were these chic tea-length pencil dresses from Banana Republic that we wore with black belts and sweet jewelry. We were hot. Jenna was hotter.

After the wedding it was off to my happy place! And yes, I did wear a tiara all day at the Magic Kingdom, thankyouverymuch.

We thought we were so cool.

His hair looked awesome after riding Rockin' Rollercoaster.

While it should be noted that Anna can NEVER have too much Disney, it may have been that Disney had too much Anna and simply knocked her out. Ah well. See you in January!

You have no idea what you'd miss...

I am blog cheating tonight.

More like blog-stealing.

I've just rarely been so moved, so captivated by a post from a blog; this one from one of my favorite blogs to stalk... err... follow by a women named Angie Smith. Angie lost her beautiful daughter Audrey just a few short hours after she was born, and her blog is the story of their family's legacy and every day life. It is beautiful and uplifting and just plain wonderful.

I read this post tonight and was just so captivated and moved that I wanted to share at least part of it with you. Go here to read the whole post, or simply read the snippet below about one of her twins, Ellie, as she embarks on a "scary" fair ride thing (totally out of her character), and the reward for facing what we fear most.

Much love,
Anna


"Which brings me back to my sweet Ellie. She did cry a little, but she was determined to give it a try. They put the buckles on her and she almost reconsidered. She looked like she was about to back out of it, but before I could scream, "Refund," I saw a look of determination come across her face. It is probably not dissimilar to the expression that came across my face, years ago, as I told Him that I would believe.


I could tell you in words what happened next, but it just wouldn't be the same.
I have seen this image in my mind so many times in the past few months, and I want to share it with you tonight. I hope it encourages you the way it has me.
It will forever be engraved in my mind as the moment when God whispered, "You have no idea what you would miss if you let this pass you by..."
Thank you, Jesus. We are no longer captives...

Blessings to you, friends. And peace be with you wherever you are tonight...
Angie"

Not ME! Monday

Sorry I didn't do a post last week... I definitely was NOT just in a lazy mood. I was... busy. Yes, busy.

I did not eat 4 apple cider donuts at Goebbert's yesterday, even though I am doing a body/diet cleanse program. That would be crazy.

I also did not justify my binge on McDonald's fries by explaining to myself, "They are a form of potatoes, and I can eat potatoes on the cleanse." Duh.
(I also did not get a large order of fries more for the Monopoly pieces than anything else.)

I am not addicted to The Hills, Sunset Tan, Jon & Kate Plus 8, and The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team (among others). I only watch the news and educational programs that enhance my mind, body and spirit.

And finally, I did not secretly add two times the salt to our pumpkin seeds yesterday, purely because I needed a salt kick. Never mind they were to be served to 6 other people. Everyone likes salt, right? I also did not DENY my salt addition when Ben said the salt was burning his tongue and "did I maybe put too much on the seeds?" We always tell each other the 100% truth. Always.

Or not. :-)

Visit MCK Mama's blog for more denials of the best kind!

Congrats to the Brewers!

Congratulations to Rachel, Josh

and big sister Faith Brewer!!!

Joshua David II

arrived on

October 6, 2008

at 4:08am

weighing in at 8lb 6oz

and a nice 20in long!!!

(Great men are born on the 6th, you know :)

What a sweet family!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BENO!!!

To the man I adore: HAPPY 25th BIRTHDAY!!! I can't wait to spend the next 3 quarters together!!!!
(Sorry it's a day late, though... we were just too busy having birthday fun yesterday!!!)

Check out this little dare-devil; what a cutie!!!

Not me Monday... er, Thursday

Of course I haven't been lazy about posting on my blog, so much so that it's taken me until Thursday to do "Not-Me-Monday". Nope, not me.

And I certainly did not buy a pumpkin candle to simulate the smell of me cooking. I always make home-made meals that include desserts made from scratch.

I also did not take a picture of the "currently being built" Sonic in Algonquin and post it to Facebook, as well as make it my phone's home screen. Now WHY would I do that?!

And finally, I most definitely DID NOT watch as Titan circled behind the big brown chair, squatted and let the doggie poop crown before finally grabbing him to go outside.
That would be rude, and just plain gross.

No, not me.

The first of many... "Not ME!" Mondays

Ok, so this blog I read about a woman who's unborn child has a heart condition (spend a few minutes here to read about Stellan and the MCK clan) has started a WONDERFUL posting group that you all should become a part of: "Not Me!" Mondays, where we post all of the fabulous things we DID NOT (wink, wink) do the previous day, week, etc.

SOOOOOOO... drumroll, please:

Today, I most definitely DID NOT eat four Krispy Kreme donuts in one sitting while simltaneously listening New Kids on the Block.

I also DID NOT feed Titan the bread from a McChicken sandwhich because, after all, too much bread is bad for me... right, a McChicken is the picture of health.

And finally, I most certainly DID NOT sleep-in until 1pm on Sunday, put on the PJ's I had worn in the car the day before(we drove to IN for a wedding), and stay in those "clothes" all day (which, by the way, included wearing them OUT to a 10pm movie)... nope, NOT ME!

Leave a comment about your "Not me!" moment(s) or join in on your blog! You can get the sidebar button here. Enjoy!

Beautiful Baby

I FINALLY got to spend some quality time with Addie and Mandy St. Leger on Tuesday. She is GEORGEOUS... Addie, that is... well, duh, and Mandy... ok.

Mandy is such a relaxed Mom (and looks amazing after having a baby only 8 weeks ago); it rubs off on little Addie- she is so mellow! I'm so glad I finally got to spend time with them!

Just for fun, enjoy a little before and after shot of us... back in the days when lycra ruled our lives and we had no problem prancing around in next to nothing... damn I miss that body =)

Titan Goes Swimming

I realize I sound like a moron, but Titan is so darn cute. And I'm proud of myself for posting my first YouTube vid. Go me.

Wow.

I was thinking we could take Willow Dance in a new direction... maybe something like this.

Or not.
(Check out the dude's dance solo at 1:54. Genius).

We are not pregnant...

... but this was just too funny not to share:

Ben and I were snuggling in bed with Titan discussing how damn cute he is. Ben has said in the past (my Mom can testify) he doesn't know if he'll ever see anything cuter than T, to which we always said, "Just wait until you have kids." He remained unconvinced...

So tonight, while we're discussing Titan's adorableness, I touch on that fact:
"Ben, we think Titan is cute, imagine how we'll feel when we look at something WE made."

He pauses, smiles knowingly and says:
"That's how I feel every time I poop."

Yeah, I think we'll wait on the kids for a bit longer.

Housewarming/Puppy Party!!!

Thank you to all who came to our Housewarming/Puppy Party!!! It was such a success, and we are so blessed to have friends who support us (and our obsession with our dog=).

Titan had a blast as our yard turned into a dog park. Pictured below (Jodi Walle and Lucy, Louise Briggs and Annie, Mark and Kelly Skiles and Titan's Girlfriend, Chili, and Sonny Kerrigan)
We loved seeing everyone use our WHOLE house for their enjoyment- that's our dream! Below (watching High School Musical 2, I might add): Anna's Uncle Roger, Kara (Anna's cousin's daughter), Ben's Dad Tom, Ben's sister Lauren and her boyfriend Nick Renegade (just kidding, his last name is Rebel. So cool.)Titan was pooped, and this was only an hour into the party! He plopped down on the Dorothy door, but kept sliding as it's on an angle. It was pretty cute.
We are creating a band with the Novelli boys and Jack Sundstedt. Angelo Novelli is an amazing drummer (and we fully support him and his budding career), so Ben brought down one of his real drums and cymbals for Angelo to play on. Notice he is also using "Big Boy" sticks.
The band thus far: Enzo on guitar, Carter on keys and Angelo on drums (Mr. Manager Titan looks on):
*My cousin's son Nathan joined the group for their rehearsal session at the party.

Working hard on their first album, release date TBA:
I wish I'd caught more shots of everyone around the house, but I was just so busy mingling and being a hostess. =)

Thank you again for making our party so fun! (And those of you who couldn't make it, we missed you!)

Congratulations Brett and Liz!!!

Last weekend two good friends, Brett and Liz, were married at Randall Oaks Golf Course! We had so much fun celebrating with friends:

The New Mr. & Mrs. Pentecost!

The ladies (Kylie, Melissa, Hannah, Anna, Jen, Jocelyn):
Mr. & Mrs. Greeno!!!
With the happy couple:
Some of my favorite guys (Ryan, Craig, Ben):

Our rings (I learned how to use the macro feature on my camera, so I got distracted taking cool ring pictures during dinner =):What a fun night and what a great couple! We love you Brett and Liz!

Happy Birthday Titan!

What a sweet little man! He was so good wearing his hat for a picture...We decided for a special birthday treat, he would get a McDonald's cheeseburger; someone suggested a Big Mac but I couldn't bring myself to do that to one so small. =)

As soon as he realized a cheeseburger was involved, he totally forgot about the dumb hat!!!

He took such proper bites, it was so funny!!!

He'd put his whole mouth around it but then only take a little bit out at a time.

(So unlike his late Uncle Skooge who would have devoured the entire burger in one bite.)

And to think just one year ago (well, 10 months ago as we got him @ 8 weeks old) he was such a little guy...
Who could resist a face like that???

We love our little Titan Spartacus!!!

House Pics!

Yea!
It's about time, I know...

So the first door in the front actually leads you into the screen porch...

This is the view from the front door:

Living room from the dining room:

Dining room from the living room:

Kitchen from the dining room:

Hallway to bedrooms (dining room is to your left, basement door is just past the fridge):

Bedroom "foyer":

Our bedroom from the doorway:

Opposite view of our room:

Bathroom (entry door is to the left, toilet is behind =):

I had to do at least one before and after... this is the office, still in progress... check back soon for the after pic!