Breakfast with Santa

I took the boys to have "Breakfast with Santa" at Sherwood Forest on Saturday. Oksana was at her mother's for the weekend. We got their early and were first in line to get pictures of them with Santa and Mrs. Claus. The local paper was covering the even and a photographer asked if he could take a picture of the boys for the paper. This picture appeared on the front page a few days later.

Parade of Stars

Oksana and Philip were in the Sherwood Christmas Parade for the first time. Philip road in a the back of a decorated truck with his Cub Scout troop and had blast throwing candy to the crowd. Oksana's Girl Scout troop was one of the last groups to sign up, so they were right in front of Santa Claus, who ends the parade each year. She was dressed as a giant Christmas Present. I made each of the girls gift tags to place on their box wit their names and "From: Santa." They had to walk, but she survived. Nico sat with us along the parade route, collecting enough candy to share with his brother and sister. When Santa drove by, Nico ran out to greet him. He told him "I finally get to meet you Santa"--and started telling him some things on his list. Too cute.

Thanksgiving

We enjoyed our first Thanksgiving in our new home. We still need to buy a dining room set, so luckily we were able to borrow some tables and chairs from a friend. My mother-in-law and father-in-law came and a friend and her daughter joined us later for dinner. Christine.David and the kids ate at David's parents' and came to our house for dessert.There was plenty of food and the house smelled wonderful.

Pack Meeting Awards

Philip had a Cub Scout pack meeting tonight. He received 5 beeds and a baseball belt loop. He's really enjoying scouts.

Happy Anniversary Maria & Jeff

Happy 19th Anniversary! I can't believe it's been 19 years already since I got to wear that green mermaid bridesmaid dress--LOL! Hope you enjoy the day!

Happy Birthday Dad Z!

Happy Birthday Dad! We had so much to do on the 17th with the house closing and Philip's cub scout pack meeting at night, we went out to dinner on Monday to celebrate.

Two Cents for a House

We finally closed on our house on November 17. We were told to bring just under $200 to closing to cover fees not covered by the seller or loan. When we got there, we were told they did some recalculating and we only needed to pay 2 cents! You never saw me find 2 pennies in my wallet so fast. So after living there for two months, it's offically ours.

Freecycle.org

Our dryer quit on us the other day. I decided to try freecycle to see if anyone had a dryer to offer they no longer needed. We got really lucky and a lovely woman had one to offer. It's a larger capacity than our old one and works so much better!

What is Freecycle? It's a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It's all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer Membership is free. To sign up, create a yahoo account (if you don't already have one) and join your local group. Search by state, than by city. To get started, go to www.freecycle.org. It's a great way to unclutter the house and give items away to someone who can use them instead of just throwing them away.

Happy Birthday Lisa

Happy Birthday sis! Just remember, I'll always be seven years younger than you-- ok 6 1/2 if it makes you feel better! Hope you get to do something really special this year. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday Kyle!

Happy Birthday Kyle. I still can't belive my "little" nephew is 18! I just came across a piture of me holding you a few days after you were born and I was 19. Now I feel old. Hope you have great day.

Now, It's Home

That's what a banner read at Yankee stadium tonight after the Yankees won their 27th World Series. Their first World Series in the house that, well-- Jeter built? Though I'm a big fan of Mo too. Congrats to MVP Matsui. I think it's great for Girardi to have his first win (and hopefully the first of many) as a Manager. Somebody in NJ-- get me a shirt for Christmas! A copy of tomorrow's NY Daily News or NY Post would be great too! Hopefully after our ADDI inspection tomorrow, we will be able to finally complete the closing on this house so we too, can say, Now, It's Home.

The Genie, the Trophy and the Frog

Oksana as a Genie on a magic carpet.



Philip had no problem striking a pose as a baseball trophy



Nico loved being a frog, complete with lilypad.



My nephews came over to show off their cotumes: Alex was Derek Jeter and Nicholas was a Black Ninja. My kids collected enough candy to last til next Halloween--even if Mom & Dad raid their stash!

Golden Anniversary

In fifty years together
You've shared so many things
That's why this very special
Anniversary brings
To you, a wish that love,
Laughter, joy, contentment too
Will be yours to share throughout
The years ahead of you!

Happy Golden Anniversary

Happy Birthday Christine

Happy birthday to my sister-in-law Christine. Hope it's a good one!

Myley Cyrus Concert

Oksana and I went to the Myley Cyrus concert. We were guests of her friend Hannah and her mom, Lisa. We had great seats- 6th row on the side of the stage. I think the girls had a great time.

Happy 4th Birthday Nico

I can't believe you are 4 today! It seems like only yesterday you were a tiny baby in my arms. We took him to Shorty Small's for dinner and were joined by Grammy & Pop Pop. Before we could go out to dinner, we had one other stop.

We went to the cemetary. I joked that I would get Mother of the Year today because I took my 4 year old to the cemetary on his birthday. Oksana and Philip had to go to "Tales from the Crypt" in Little Rock to earn badges for scouts. It was actually pretty cool. Students from Parkview High School stood at the headstone of a deseased Arkansan, dressed in clothing the person would have worn before they died in the 1800's and gave a 3 minute speech about their life. It was really interesting.

Nico's B-day Party

Nico had a fishing birthday party this year. Before the party, I took him to the pet store to pick out a Beta fish, which he had begged for. He picked out a red male and I chose a small aquarium for it. While we were in line to pay for it, I asked him what he was going to call it. He said, "Reddy--you know mom, like he's ready to go home for us and he's red." Hello, is this child 4?

The weather for the party was nice--65 and sunny. A big change from all of the rain we've been having. We didn't catch much, but everyone seemed to have fun. We ate pizza under a gazebo and the kids played on the playground. He got a lot of great presents and blew out the candle on his fish cake.

Kylie, his "girlfriend" from daycare came to the party. They hadn't seen each other in a few months, so they were inseparable at the party. Kylie's mom told me Kylie is just as crazy for Nico and even asked for a wedding dress so she can marry Nico!

He told me at the end, "Mommy you're the best. This was the best birthday party ever!" For me, that was the best present.

Girl Scouting

Oksana and I went to a Fall Carnival to meet and greet local girl scout troops. We picked a troop that meets the second and forth Monday of the month, since we were packed Tuesday's with Philp's cub scout meeting and religion classes on Wednesday. Of course the first day, we were given candy, nuts and magazines to sell. January we will begin the cookie sales.

Happy "Sweet" 16 Kelsey

My goddaughter Kelsey just turned Sweet 16--and i'm not sure what's harder to believe--the "Sweet" part of the "16" part! Just kidding Kels--. I just remember holding you as a baby and loved that I was chosen to be one of your godparents. Have fun in Florida. Love you & miss ya.

Happy Birthday Maria

Happy Birthday sis! Hope you get to relax and enjoy your day!
Love you and miss you!

September Happies

The move and settling in kept me from keeping up with the blog for awhile.
So here our some belated online greetings:

(9/8) Happy 36th Anniersary Mom & Dad Z
(9/15)Happy 8th Anniversary to me and Phil
(9/17)Happy Birthday David
(9/30)Happy Birthday Debbie

Cub Scout Awards

Philip joined the Cub scouts this year as a Tiger cub. On September 29th, he got his first badge, the Bobcat badge. He looked so cute in his new uniform. We're so proud of our little tiger cub. Thanks Mom Z for sewing his patches to his uniform--we all know my favorite way of attaching things is hot glue!

Becoming an Outdoors Woman

AGFC offers a course called BOW- Becoming an Outdoors Woman. We stayed at the 4H center and Friday-Sunday. I took four courses: Turkey Hunting 101, Beginner's Fishing, ATV riding and Shotgunning. It was a lot of fun. The most cahllenging was ATV riding, since I've never been on one where I was the driver. I learned to go up a big hill and do figure eights and an obstacle course. I took home a turkey call, a new tackle box and fishing pole and a lot of fun memories. Hope to go back next year and take some new courses.

We Moved!

We started moving into the new house on September 11th and spent our first night on the 13th. Closing on the house officially has been delayed, but we were able to take early occupancy. The house is great and neighbors are friendly. If you don't receive a Change of Address card from us in the mail, email me (ScrapGenie@gmail.com)with your address and I'll send you one.

Daisy, a Risk?

We did a house inspection last week and were told we are buying a great property. There are just minor things that need to be fixed. In choosing a company for our homeowners insurance, we found out that our Siberian Husky, Daisy is a "risk factor". One insurance company didn't care that we own a ball python, but apparently Siberian Huskies are classified under the top 11 dogs that disqualify homeowners from getting a policy or raise their rates. Who knew? Look at this face--her biggest risk is that she will lick you to death.

Close to Home

We made an offer on a new home and it was accepted. If all goes well, we will close on August 28.

These are pictures of the front and side of the house.







It has a one car garage, and 4 parking pads.









It is in the middle of a circle (drive) and has a large side yard.













Come take a tour inside:

This is the living room as you enter the front door. It has a nice fireplace, new carpeting and the whole house has been freshly painted.




















Here is the kitchen. All new appliances in the last couple of years, brand new ceramic tile floor. Dining area has a built in wood cabinet on the wall.



































At the end of the kitchen is a large laundry room complete with it's own sink, lots of cabinets and a hanging bar.











Family bathroom, newly remodeled.









All 3 bedrooms are a good size, have new carpeting with large double closets. The master bedroom is nice with a half-bath and view of back yard. All rooms have ceiling fans.





Let's continue outside to the backyard.






This is really the only place we need some work on. It has a patio, storage shed and a cute picket fence. We'll put up a privacy fence and extend it into the side yard to gain a larger area for the kids and dogs to play.

This concludes your tour of 117 Pecan Valley Drive. Feel free to come visit-- we could use the help moving in a few weeks--LOL!

Happy 75th Birthday Mom!

Wish we could be there to help you celebrate your birthday today! Hope you enjoy your day. And you know me, your gift is going in the mail today!
Love you!

Philip's Spongebob's Birthday Party

Saturday we did Philip's kid birthday party at my in-laws pool. He had a few friends and his cousins over for some Krabby Patties, Squidward dogs and Spongebob cake. They played pin the jellyfish on Spongebob's net, dove for gold coins and got their chance at wacking a Spongebop pinata. The day couldn't have been more perfect. It was actually only 88 degrees, which was almost a cold front this time of year in Arkansas. The kids stayed swam all day and got a long great. They didn't get out of the pool until after 9pm. It was such a nice night. Philip got a lot of nice presents and had a great time. All of the kids went home with Pineapple cups with straws for favors (who lives in a pineapple, under the sea? Spongebob Squarepants). Funny thing about having his party that day, is it was Spongebob's 10th birthday and they had a Spongebob marthon on tv. Oh--if you noticed Philip's close hair cut-- he started to give himself a haircut at Grammy's the other day, so Phil had to shave it.

This picture is Nico, after eating a sour candy from the pinata.