Christmas gift hint...

....the pillow with the pom pons (or is it pon poms or pom poms??)....that is sooooooooooooo YOU to do those!!!  The pillow is adorable!!!  I'm sure Emma would like one too.   I remember Mom making those for our ice skates and for our clown costumes when we were in the parades with Dad's Lion's Club - what a blast from the past! 

Glad you're dishing again, Sissy....much more fun than going it alone.

Your flower arrangement is gorgeous.  If we lived in the same city, we could have the cutest little shop!!!  Flowers and gifts....

Speaking of living in the same city, let alone the same state (!), I can't believe you haven't watched the first two Parethood episodes...so good.  Tuesday's had me in tears telling Peter, "I just wish our family lived in the same city."  Not gonna happen, but I can still wish! 

Magazines...yes, a wonderful "treat."  Just cleaned out my basket in George's (!) room with great anticipation for autumn and holiday catalogs and mags!  Love nothing more than to sit down and read a magazine cover to cover...that is a great treat!  We love all the same ones, but I also love Smithsonian and National Geo....I try to read both of them every month cover to cover, feeling very well informed after I finish!  Both are GREAT magazines.

Two weeks solid of gorgeous weather...sunny and 60's perfection.  Best time of the year!

So we'll have to dish on the phone in more detail, but Emma was asked to Homecoming yesterday by a very random (but very nice) boy and said yes....not the boy she wanted to ask her (he found her later in the day and told her he was about to ask her and she said the would have said yes!), but she is just so happy to be asked....going in a group of 20 nice, nice kids.  In the meantime, she has a date on Saturday with the Johnny Come Lately (Nico).  Big smiles last night.

Let's start planning Christmas (assuming the parentals will not be making the trip...Mom???)...it will be strange but fun (we will MAKE it so) to have only the 8 of us!  We'll make it work/special!!

Keep dishing! xoxoxo, Heidi

treats o crafts

Saw this cute idea on HGTV website....cut a fake pumpkin in half for a treat bowl!

mag love

When I have a spare moment, not working, cleaning etc.... I love to read magazines. I think it stems from our parents, sister. Dad has ALWAYS had stacks of magazines nearby. Mom loves her monthly quick read as well.

I would subscribe to many, many more if I could. I can picture your giant basket in George's room, your magazine basket, chuck full of them! I think I will subscribe to a few this fall, all of mine have run out! OH NO!
love, k:)

Hold on folks.....magazine reading just got a little better....

                                                  

   

old yarn

If you have old yarn lying around..I have a great project for you. I bought a pillow cover at Ikea for $6. I had brown yarn from a previous knitting project. All you need to do is make pom poms and attach with thread.  EASY! To make the pom poms, I would go online to find a good how to guide. I took a piece of 2 inch by 1/2 inch piece of cardboard and just wrapped it around a number of times, tie it and cut it open to form the pom pom, attached with thread right to the cover and wallah! A pillow that looks custom!

fall blooms



My fall list is very similar to yours. Very similar! Football games, sweats and apple cider! Yum! We light candles all summer in the house at night, but it seems to really help in the winter most of all. I really wish I had a fireplace...that would be ideal!

I grabbed this bunch of blooms at the Farmers Market last weekend. $3, you can't beat it! It reminds me of fall. I have not bought mums or pumpkins yet, but that usually puts me in the mood! Maybe in a couple of weeks!

In the fall, I usually start cooking more. I know that sounds lame, but it is true. I don't use the oven or crock pot that much in the summer. Fall arrives, and the cool house is begging for the warmth of the oven.  I love to bake up some new recipes, or find some of the old ones. I also crave that first pot of chili out of the crock pot with corn bread...yum!

I usually make a list of fall projects. Last minute...must do's! Plastic on some of the windows will be on there, especially in Lily's room and upstairs. Old windows that do not keep the winds of winter out. I always thought that was "tacky" to put plastic on your windows. Kind of in the same category of plastic on your couches. But...if you do it so it is not visible....it is so worth it.

I actually am used to pants again, not socks though. It took me a few days to get the right feeling for the pants. Shorts have been my attire for months. I will wear flip flops until the Uggs come out.

So ...I say bring on fall. Winter, you can wait.

love, K:)

A U T U M N...

Sums up our gorgeous season...my favorite season...AUTUMN. 
My favorite AUTUMN THINGS....

Cool, sunny days - cool, crisp nights - pumpkins - making pumpkin soup - apple pie - going to Eppelgaarden to pick apples - mums - changing the decor in my house to oranges and rusts - Peter's fall ball activities - pumpkins all over my house - Notre Dame football games - simmering mulling spices on the stove (doing that right now!) Emma's h.s. swim meets and pasta dinners- spicey candles - caramel apples - making beef stew - making cranberry biscotti - long walks with George - collecting treasures of leaves and acorns on our walks - sweatshirts, fleece and sweaters - fires in the fire pit - gorgeous sunsets - fish fry Fridays at church - back to school - planning for the holidays ahead - dividing perennials and planning for next year's garden - the Packers (!) - lunching with girlfriends...and so much more! 

Now YOU Sissy, what's on your list??!!!  xoxoxo, Heidi

I want this...

This is perfect for me....I HATE little cell phones...I miss COMFORTABLE phones.  New, high techy gadgets are not always better....huge tv screens - UGLY....tiny phones - PAIN IN THE NECK...email on "smart phones" is the worst...we have several generations of non talkers....texters texting in public drive me crazy (including those in my family!!!).  Also, people who check their phones (or answer them...unless of utmost importance) when they are having a face to face encounter with a human being.

I LOVE getting a letter or a note (as we've discussed, thank you emails don't cut it unless it's for something someone has done for you...not given you).  I LOVE long conversations on the house phone.  I LOVE coffee or lunch with a friend and I LOVE rare evenings with no gadgets. 

I will admit, I do LOVE, however, the occasional, wonderful text from Emma or Peter telling me something sweet or great...something they just couldn't wait to tell me until they saw me....Heidi

FINALLY, a win today...my house is happy!!!

happy birthday harry!!!

a day of absolute B S....

....I am disgusted when I am being told "how things went" when I was THERE!  Political B S at it's finest today.  Political power = abuse of power... almost certainly.  Heidi

the help

                              
Finally saw The Help this weekend. I really liked it! It opened my eyes a little bit. I love how the woman would not let a black touch them, but yet they let their children be raised and loved by them. Huh... Chocolate pie anyone!
love, k

another year

Off they go! Hoping for a great year for all 4 of them! I am hoping Senior year for Emma is a breeze and fun filled! I hope Evan excels and gets a 34 on the ACT's! I hope Peter loves his classes and doesn't find a girlfriend! And for Lily...new school...fresh start!

We will never forget

There were a total of 2,996 deaths, including the 19 hijackers and 2,977 victims. The victims included 246 on the four planes (from which there were no survivors), 2,606 in New York City in the towers and on the ground, and 125 at the Pentagon. All the deaths in the attacks were civilians, except for 55 military personnel killed at the Pentagon.

Over 90% of the workers and visitors who died in the towers had been at or above the points of impact. In the North Tower 1,355 people at or above the point of impact were trapped and died of smoke inhalation, fell or jumped from the tower to escape the smoke and flames, or were killed in the building's eventual collapse. A further 107 people below the point of impact did not survive. In the South Tower, one stairwell remained intact allowing 18 people to escape from above the point of impact. 630 people died in the South Tower which was fewer than half of the number killed in the North Tower.  Casualties in the South Tower were significantly reduced by the decision of some occupants to start evacuating when the North Tower was struck.

At least 200 people fell or jumped to their deaths from the burning towers, landing on the streets and rooftops of adjacent buildings hundreds of feet below. Some occupants of each tower above the point of impact made their way upward toward the roof in hope of helicopter rescue, but the roof access doors were locked. No plan existed for helicopter rescues, and the thick smoke and intense heat would have prevented helicopters from approaching.
A total of 411 emergency workers who responded to the scene died as they tried to rescue people and fight fires. The New York City Fire Department (FDNY) lost 341 firefighters and 2 paramedics. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) lost 23 officers. The Port Authority Police Department lost 37 officers.  Eight emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics from private emergency medical services units were killed.

What I remember...

 

                          

 

 

I remember watching the Today show, Lily was up playing, Evan was at school and Steve was in the shower getting ready for work. 

The first video they showed was right after the first tower was hit. I was watching and listening as no one knew at that point what had happened. I yelled to Steve trying to explain it. While watching, the 2nd tower was hit.

It was terrifying, surreal.

 

We watched it until the towers fell. I remember crying and feeling very worried. All I could think was that I wanted to make sure my family was safe. Nativity did not want to worry the kids, so they kept them at school all day. I knew Evan would be ok.

I watched coverage on it all day, but tried not to let Evan worry to much and kept it off when he was around.    

It changed everything that day. It changed me. I still can't talk about it or see stories on it without crying. 

We cheered at our house when Bin Laden was killed. May he rot in hell for what he did to our great nation....our people.  

love, K

Father Mike

We just got back from church where Father Mike Burke, our wonderful priest, talked about forgiveness and hope.  I didn't want to hear the word "forgiveness" but Father Mike explained that forgiveness does not absolve those who did wrong.  He talked about justice.  He talked about how, when he was reading the paper this morning, he was sad, then mad again.  Father Mike said when he feels like that he remembers the last words Jesus spoke from the cross, "Forgive them Father because they do not know what they do." 

Father Mike talked about this day, ten years ago, and he had the same memories I did...the incredible amount of people streaming into the church all day long...he said it was basically standing room only at times.  That is because of FAITH.

Heidi

September 11, 2001

  I was on the phone with Dad when we saw this happen live on t.v...we had been "kibitzing" on the phone and discussing how a plane could have flown into the WTC on such a clear day...everyone's world changed the moment this second plane hit.  I remember Dad saying "we're being attacked."  It was impossible to tear away from the television or the phone (for weeks/months, actually).  I was grateful that Dad was a retired Captain...and that we weren't wondering where he was in the air, but we were worried about pilot friends and my brother in law, Mark who was in Congress and in the Capitol that morning.

Looking back, immediately I think my thoughts were of Chris and the kids and family...was everyone going to be safe?  Peter had just started kindergarten and Emma was in 2nd grade...I couldn't wait to pick them up.  At some point in the morning, my friend, Kate, came over because we both just needed to be with someone.  It was like being in a dream.

When I picked up Peter at noon, the first person I saw was Anne Phelan (whose son, Michael, would soon become Peter's best friend to this day)...she was nervous because so much of her family is on the East coast and many working in NYC.  Driving was surreal...people were driving slowly and were not in a hurry.  Almost immediately, American flags started appearing...we always have ours displayed on our house, but I remember seeing them everywhere.

Peter was so little, but he knew something was up and he was scared.  For many months, he was worried that Osama Bin Laden would break into our house.  He told us he would "shoot him with his pee pee gun!"  I think the terrorist attacks on 9.11 greatly shaped Peter...he is very patriotic, very American and very loyal to his country.  I think his passion for the military is mainly due to the climate he has grown up in...we've been at war and our country has forever changed.

At some point on 9.11, our church (right across the street), St. Maria Goretti, became a place to gather.  I witnessed people walking into church all afternoon...many dressed in red, white and/or blue.  I think I took pictures or video of this, and I must find that.  I remember calling Chris to tell him what I was seeing on our street...it was incredible and also so sad.

Watching the towers fall was the most awful thing I've ever seen.  Again, Dad and I were still on the phone, or back on the phone, when this happened.  Everyone watching KNEW those towers still had hundreds of people in them.  It was horrible.  I still cry every time I see that footage.  We all felt anger and quickly turned to our leaders...I am so grateful for Mayor Rudy Guiliani and President George Bush...exceptional leadership through such an incredibly dark time.

Not sure how we will observe this 10th year since the attacks.  I can't call it an anniversary because that would somehow mean a celebration, but in a way we will celebrate.  We will celebrate the fact that the terrorists did not defeat us and that they never will.  We will celebrate by living our lives as we should...free and without fear.  Heidi

where are you, Krissy???

it's been weeks and weeks since you've blogged...we are not dishing if you're not on!!  Heidi