On The Go!

Wow, were we ever busy last week, and it's going to be like this for awhile. I didn't know if I was coming or going last week. I think I spent a majority of my time in the car. I clocked 270 miles on my car for the week just going back and forth between schools and sports/dance. I already told you Em started school last week. She absolutely loves it, and she had a great first week. Tuesday was our second week of "Sporties for Shorties." Em learned some of the fundamentals of t-ball. She had a blast with Chloe. Wednesday night was ballet again. I just love watching my little girl doing her ballet steps. It's just too cute! Last Thursday Evan started flag football. He really enjoyed it and is looking forward to games that start this week. He will be having practice once a week, and then games are every Sunday for six weeks. Friday we finished off the week with some drinks and taco bar at Lou Ha's. We met our friend Brenda there, and it ended up being a great way to wind down after a busy week. Saturday Greg had to work for a little bit so the kids and I went with his mom to see Lion King in 3D. I love that movie. It was great in 3D.

Sunday, I had to pick my mom up from the Detroit airport. She had been in Turkey and Greece for two weeks. Since I didn't have to pick her up until about 5pm I decided to make an afternoon of it on that side of the state and made a stop at IKEA and to see my friend Ann (she's the one who got me started blogging and we went to high school together). Ann met me at IKEA, and we had some shopping fun. It was nice to have some peaceful shopping without kids going in every direction. We each picked up a few items, and as soon as I win my IKEA shopping spree I'll be back to pick up some wish list items. Oh, I guess there probably needs to be an IKEA shopping spree entry first. Haha. After our shopping, we went back to Ann's house for a little bit. I got to finally me her little girl Evelyn for the first time. I also got to see her other daughter Sylvia who is almost three. I had met her one time before. Both girls are adorable with the blonde hair. It was a nice afternoon. Thanks Ann for spending it with me. Then I was off to the airport to pick up my mom.

She had a great trip to Turkey and Greece. The traffic was crazy coming home, but it was nice she actually got in a little early and there weren't any flight delays. We grabbed a pizza on the way back into town before she headed home to GR. She brought us all some goodies back, and I absolutely love our gift. A little background first... Before she left she kept asking me what I wanted her to bring back. I didn't really know. Then the week before she left I was watching a new show "Step Into My Office" on the Big Ten Network. It's about Big Ten Coaches, and the debut show was about MSU's football coach Mark Dantonio. They were touring his office, and he pointed out a Spartan helmet that a grad student had brought him back from Greece. I instantly knew it was what I wanted my mom to bring back. I told her to catch the show on replay to check it out. I knew it was probably a LONG shot that she'd be able to find the Spartan helmet like Dantonio's, but hey it was worth a shot. Well folks, when she handed me the bag yesterday and I unwrapped the package, I couldn't believe it. She brought us back the Spartan helmet. It's so cool. It's absolutely perfect for this Spartan family (& the fact that Greg is Greek) it's pretty much fitting for us. Here's our Spartan helmet.


And here's Dantonio's Spartan helmet in his office. (Not the best pic since I took a pic of the t.v., but you get the point). If it's not the same exact one, it's pretty darn close!

Thanks Mom for the Spartan helmet, and all the goodies for the kids. They love their stuff! While I was gone all afternoon Sunday, the kids and Greg went to the cider mill and the kids picked apples for the first time. Unfortunately I don't think he took any pictures. Bummer. We now have apples galore! You know those reusable shopping bags? I guess the cider mill they went to, you have to buy a bag and then you go out and pick enough to fill it! I think I'm going to have to get creative with the apples. Greg made an apple crumb pie tonight that I can't wait to try tomorrow!

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread

Today is the first day of fall, and with fall comes the "pumpkin" season. Everything pumpkin sounds so good this time of year. I love foods with pumpkin, but really only eat it at this time of year. It was a busy week and a little baking therapy seemed to be perfect to finish off the week. This bread is so yummy! Our neighbor/friend Liana made us some last fall and we all loved it. Evan had been asking me if I could make some so I got the recipe from Liana, and whipped up a couple loaves today. I normally wouldn't think of pumpkin bread with chocolate chips, but once you try it you'll agree it's so yummy! Here's the recipe.

(Photo courtesy of myrecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 2 cups canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup fat-free vanilla pudding
• 4 large egg whites
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• Cooking spray

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350°.
• Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture, stirring just until moist. Stir in chocolate chips.
• Spoon batter into 2 (8 x 4-inch) loaf pans coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pans on a wire rack, and remove from pans. Cool completely on wire rack.

* Note- I made the pudding, but Liana told me she often uses the premade vanilla pudding in containers (like Hunt's or Meijer).

Emmaline's First Day of Preschool

Today was a very special day for my little girl. It was her first day of preschool. Not only that, but it was her very first day of school ever. She's been waiting for this day for a long time and she just couldn't wait to get to school. She was excited about everything from picking out an outfit to her backpack, to seeing her buddy Chloe at school and meeting new friends. I loved her enthusiasm for school. I think I told you we decided on a different preschool from where Evan went. We wanted a school that was pretty much on the same schedule as Evan as far as breaks (Winter break/ Spring break). We decided to go with this lady who teaches out of her home. She's been doing it for 20+ years and it's where Em's friend Chloe has gone for a couple of years. Em goes four days a week in the afternoon for three hours. Miss Shirley is her teacher, and Miss Sallie and Miss Gail are the assistant teachers. I think Emmaline is going to have a great school year. Here's some pics from her first day!

My little preschool girl
She couldn't wait to get out the door with her backpack!
Emme and her best friend Chloe when they got to Miss Shirley's!
Checking things out at school.
Too much fun at school today makes for a tired little girl!

Sporties For Shorties

Recently I was looking through the East Lansing Community Activity Guide and ran across a sports camp this fall I thought would be good for Emme. The camp is for 3-5 year olds and focuses on learning various sports. I mentioned it to my friend Wesley on Saturday to see if she would be interested in enrolling Chloe. The class was to start this past Tuesday. She thought she probably would and said she'd look into it and let me know. She had mentioned that Chloe had done a similar class last year. Then on Monday she emailed me some info about "Sporties for Shorties" which is the class that Chloe was in last year. It's through Meridian Township Parks and Rec instead of E. Lansing. It was fairly similar in that the kids learn to play various sports. I think one of the sports was different, but no big deal. She said the coach was really awesome and Chloe had a lot of fun in the class. She wanted to know if I'd be willing to sign Emme up for that one instead of the E. Lansing class. I was fine with it, no big deal. Emme and Chloe could be in the same class. So Monday afternoon I went and signed her up and the class started on Tuesday. It's a four week class, that's once a week, and each week they focus on learning a different sport.

Emme was so excited to start the class, and kept asking me over and over if it was time to go to "Sporties for Shorties." The class is Tuesday mornings for an hour. The first class went well, and Emme had a blast. She loved every minute of it, and she participated the whole time. The kids learned to play soccer. It was so cute seeing the 3-5 year olds running around kicking the balls. Em had a lot of fun with Chloe too. Here's a few photos from her morning at "Sporties for Shorties"

All set and ready to start "Sporties for Shorties"

Listening to Coach Mike explain the rules

Practicing kicking and stopping the ball

Practicing kicking a goal!

It was a great class, and I'm so glad I signed Emme up for it. She had a blast and can't wait to go back next week!

A Spartan Day For A Spartan Family

Last week was a short week with the holiday, but seemed to drag on and take forever. We made it through the first week of 1st grade with Evan, and on Wednesday Emmaline started ballet again. By the time Saturday rolled around, I was definitely ready for some Spartan football. I signed the kids up again this year for the Junior Spartan Club. It's really a great deal for the kids, especially if you want to take your family to a football game sometime during the season. We did this last year, and I probably told you about it, but here's a little recap. Each membership is $25, and each child gets a ticket to a Spartan football game along with tickets for their parents. So for $50 all four of us got to go to the football game on Saturday. One ticket is usually $49 so all four of us went for the price of one! Plus there is a tailgate for families at Munn Arena before the game. My friend Jess signed her kids up too so we all went together. The membership also includes various sporting events throughout the MSU "school" year that the kids get in free. It's really a great program for Spartan families. Here's some pictures from our Spartan Day on campus.

Emme couldn't wait to get her picture!

Evan playing a little bean bag toss at the tailgate festivities.

Ready for some Spartan football!!!

We had a great afternoon as a Spartan family! It was a little hot at the game, but much better than sitting in rain. Both the tailgate and game were fun. The Spartans won so that was great! Now this weekend the Spartans are on the road at Notre Dame, and Greg and I are going to the game! Looking forward to it.

9/11- A Day To Remember

Ten years ago today the world changed forever. I remember that moment like it was yesterday. I'm sure you all remember where you were and more than likely what you were doing on that horrific day. Greg and I were newly married, almost three months. He was off to work which he had recently began at Michigan State. I was sitting in our apartment watching the Today Show like any other day. It was a beautiful day. The Today Show was about over, and I would soon be going about my day, and then it happened and Matt Lauer said, "We wanna go live and show you a picture of the World Trade Center." I sat staring at the t.v. in disbelief. I was all alone in our apartment, and I remember saying to myself, "What the hell is going on?" I was crying, I felt helpless, I wanted my family with me, and after the second plane hit, and it was certain that it was far worse than "we" knew, I was angry. A little while later the Pentagon was hit, and the plane in Shanksville, PA went down. That beautiful day quickly became very "dark." Flights were grounded soon after and the world seemed so "quiet." Once planes began to fly again, I remember looking cautiously at every plane that passed overhead for days. From that day on, our world would never be the same....

I did not personally know anyone who was lost or injured in 9/11, but as an American I feel like I lost "family." My kids are too little to understand the magnitude of what happened, but as we sat this morning watching some of the tribute on t.v. and the CBS special tonight, I think they understood a little of it. I hope they never have to tell their kids about such a horrific day happening in their lifetime.

So today we remember the victims of that tragedy as well as the heroes. Take a moment to say a prayer for the families who lost loved ones. Cherish the moments with your loved ones. Be proud to be an American, and God Bless this great country of ours.

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Evan's First Day Of First Grade

Well, summer is really over. School started today and that means, it's first grade, full days for Evan. This is going to be a big switch for the both of us! I'm so used to picking him up after a half day of school. Today actually went by fast, but I really missed having my little guy at home. Emme doesn't start school until the 19th though so at least I still had her home. Here's a few pictures I wanted to share from Evan's first day as a first grader.

I love this pic. Emmaline told Evan she was going to miss him while he was at school.

She wanted a kiss, but he was trying to get out of it. Em won! :)

How is my little boy in first grade already?

This is when I started getting a little emotional...