Kolaczki's

We took a trip in mid December and went to Griffith to make our annual Kolaczkis! It is a cookie that Bucia's family used to make and is Polish. They are good, but they are definitely hard work! Here are a few pictures of the cookies we made.

Step, Step, Away....

For Christmas I got a pedometer. I have wanted one to know just how many steps I am taking during the day, and now I have the chance. After doing some research I found that you should be walking 10,000 steps a day for good exercise. Mr. Magoo and I put in our guesses on what our number would be and away I went. Apparently I didn't go too far. Sadly, I was WAY below the 10,000. Okay, so for those of you who know me this is not a really big surprise, but now I can actually see just how inactive I had become. The day after Christmas I logged a sad but true 2500 steps! Whoops! On average if you are considered inactive you have below 5000 steps.
Nice- so the day after Christmas I was below the "below average." For the first week I wanted to just see how many I got with what I typically do. Then I will take a little action to get the 10,000. Yesterday however I wasn't feeling well, BUT neither were the kids. So without trying, I logged my personal best... 10,217 steps. I've got it back on again today, and it's 10am, and I'm at 1540. I do like the stats of knowing approximately how far I walked in that day. Mr. Magoo was more shocked that I was, mostly because this meant that he too was logging around 2500 steps a day.

If you don't have a pedometer you should get one. I have a feeling that people have no idea (good or bad) how far they walk in a day. Hopefully I can reach the 10,000 again today. I think I have a chance since today we are taking down the rest of the Christmas stuff and getting my craft room organized.

PS Stacey, if you are reading this, I know, I should be exercising! :P

We're Back!

After our tour of Indiana, we are back safely, but not healthy! I will start posting pictures of the things we have been doing over the last few weeks with Christmas and family. It will take me a while to get them downloaded and sorted, so I will do it in spurts I'm sure.

Yesterday we decided to come home from Griffith.Chicky Magoo 1 had a fever and Chicky Magoo 2 seemed to be fine. When we got home the kids had fun going over their Christmas gifts again, and played for quite a while.Chicky Magoo 1 's fever broke and she looked better than she had for a while. Then Chicky Magoo 2 came up to Mr. Magoo at 6pm and said "I want my pjs on." This was not a good sign, so we checked her fever. Yep- she had it too! Great! This is also a belly thing too, so we were up quite some time last night dealing with that. Nice!! She keeps saying her tummy hurts, so I'm not sure we are done with that part. Oh well- at least it looks like Chicky Magoo 1 is. So far this morning it is 9am and Chicky Magoo 1 is still sleeping. Chicky Magoo 2 has been up for at least an hour and is chatting away!

Well- off to try and get Christmas stuff gathered and put away!

Christmas Party

Chicky Magoo 1 and Chicky Magoo 2 went to a party at their friends' house on Thursday night. They had a gift exchange and then Mike the Magician came and did a performance. They really LOVED it. Chicky Magoo 1 got so into it the magic act that she couldn't even sit still and was jumping up and down. Hailey thought it was all fun and games until he had a trick with a white board. He drew Santa and then the eyes started moving on their own. She wasn't too into it after that. Then he drew a mouth for Santa and it started talking. That was all she could take. She was in my arms and away from Mike the Magician the rest of the time!

After the magic show he did balloons for all of the kids. They got to pick out what they wanted him to construct out of balloons. Chicky Magoo 1 chose a pirate, complete with a parrot.Chicky Magoo 2 chose a candy cane and candy cane hat.

It was such a fun party! The magician really got the kids involved and they were each able to help with a trick. Chicky Magoo 1 was one of the first to volunteer of course! Chicky Magoo 2 didn't want to, mostly because of the "white board trick." The first one she and Mike did, he dressed her up in a "bakers costume" so she could help him make a snowman. They poured in water and "snow seeds" and out came a snowman.

Chicky Magoo 1 wanted to do another trick with the magician, so she went up again and helped with a bunny trick. The funny thing was that even though she was helping, she was just as amazed as she was while in the audience. Check out her face!

Houses- A Magoo Tradition

It is a Magoo Family Tradition to put up these houses, and this year we were able to put them out at our house! Check out the pictures of the houses that Mr. Magoo's Grandpa made! The house and barn are 42 years old, and Papa and Bucia got them for their first Christmas together. The Church was made a few years later.

As the Magoo Tradition goes, the kids got to put out the people in the "scene." They had a really fun time putting all of the people and animals out, and as you can see, they thought everyone should be ice skating! :) It is fun to have them up at our house and pass the tradition on to the kids. I think it is something they will enjoy year after year. Mr. Magoo says he remembers all of the times he put them up as a kid, and how it was a big deal to him to place the people and animals around the houses.

The pictures are a little dark, but that room doesn't have a ton of light, so it was the best I could do.

Hello Santa!

We went to my Aunt and Uncle's house this weekend for their family Christmas party. To our surprise (wink, wink!) Santa showed up at the party! The kids were SO excited to see him. Chicky Magoo 1 had this look of surprise, and Chicky Magoo 2 just kept saying "NO! NO!". I guess she thought I was just sending her home with him.

The girls loved talking to him.Chicky Magoo 1 had her list ready to go, and told him exactly what she wanted.Chicky Magoo 2 wasn't really sure about it, until he said "Dora? Would you like a Dora?" Then he was great to talk to she thought. She sat on his lap and smiled the whole time. I think it was her own "ah ha!" moment, when she realized what Santa does!! She also liked that he had a present for them that day too! They loved the princess stuff! Santa DOES know what they like!!

Here are some pictures of our visit with Santa. We had a great time and Chicky Magoo 1 hasn't stopped talking about how fun it was! I have so many good pictures of everyone at the party, I wish I could post all of them!!!

Decorating Cookies- Well Okay, Eating Icing

Chicky Magoo 1's friend invited us over to decorate cookies on Monday. The kids had a great time, and LOVED all of the icing they got to eat. They had it in their hair, on their clothes and Ms. Kim had quite a mess to deal with afterwards! (her poor kitchen!)

I have never seen two kids who get along as well, and are as alike as these two. They really have a good time together, and love it that they get to have lots of playdates.Chicky Magoo 1 asked me as we were buckling up to head home after cookie decorating "When can she come over?"

Her brother and Chicky Magoo 2 get along really well too. They all four play nicely and enjoy each other's company. I think the two younger ones enjoyed the icing more than anyone (and it is hard to top my enjoyment of icing!)

Here are our beautiful cookies.Chicky Magoo 2 liked piling up icing on the cookie, and Chicky Magoo 1 liked to see what colors she could make by mixing icing colors.

Chicky Magoo 1 Reads at Church

Chicky Magoo 1 got to read during the Mass today! She did a wonderful job, and of course "the press" was there to capture the whole thing. The Mass was for the Feast of the "Immaculate Connection" as Chicky Magoo 1 put it. Actually- I told Father yesterday that Chicky Magoo 1 called it this, and he thought it was great. He used her phrase for the Homily, which was fun. He said we are all connected to Mary, which is why we have the Feast. Since it was a Holy Day of Obligation, there were quite a few people there, which didn't seem to phase Chicky Magoo 1 at all!

Ballerina Chicky Magoo 2

On Tuesday, Chicky Magoo 2 took her first dance class. She was so excited to be a ballerina and look "Like Chicky Magoo 1" that she couldn't wait to get there. She gets to be in the recital in June, so you can all mark your calendars!!

It took a while for her to warm up to what was going on in the class, but once she got the hang of it, she was excited to be dancing with the girls. Here are a few pictures of her dancing with Ms. Karen and the crew!

We're Done!

Saturday was the big Breakfast with Santa that our sorority put on. It was a lot of fun, and we raised about $2500 at the event. Not bad for our first try. I'm just glad that it is over, and we don't have to think about it for another 9 months or so. It took so much work, and I'm glad to have it behind us.

Today I am volunteering at Chicky Magoo 1's school most of the day.

A Strange Family Trait

Have you ever been to a restaurant and been forgotten? I'm not talking about your whole table. I'm talking about just you. Unless you are my Aunt, I'm guessing the answer is most likely that it doesn't happen to you that often. I would say that at least 70% of the time that I go out to eat, I am in some way forgotten.

Here are examples I'm talking about:
1) Everyone Orders, They Pass Me Over, Or Forget Me At the End
2) Everyone Gets a Refill Except Me
3) Drinks are Served, and Somehow I'm the Only One Without One
4) When They Bring Food to Everyone Else I'm Asked "What did you get?"

Now this seems like something that you would say "Oh you are just complaining, this happens to everyone once in a while." Well- you would think, but Mr. Magoo has said on numerous occasions that he would have to agree. It happens more than would seem to be by chance. He has never seen anyone get skipped as much as I am.

I thought this WAS just me, but after bringing it up over breakfast one morning while in Evansville, I find out that my Aunt Mary also has a huge chance of not getting any food when she orders either. My Dad said that on one particular trip to Florida she didn't get food about 80% of the time. Now, I'm not sure when this trait got passed on to me, but I'm here to tell my Aunt she can have it back! LOL!

Cookies

Here are some pictures of the girls making their cookies. We made chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin, and of course sugar cookies. I think there was plenty more sugar than their were cookies. The girls wouldn't hear of sprinkling on the sugar, instead they poured on the sugar with spoons. One cookie was piled about an inch and a half high. Check out the cookie closest to Chicky Magoo 1. It looks like a green blob, but she LOVED it!

After cookies, we had a good meal on the grill. Since it was 70 degrees we sat outside in the warmth. It was a little strange to make Christmas cookies and then go outside and not have to have hot chocolate afterwards. Great Grandpa came over to sample the cookies too. I think he approved!

The Christmas Season is Here

While we were at my parent's house we decorated trees and made Christmas cookies. We had a lot of fun getting their house ready for the holidays. I think the kids LOVED making cookies. Chicky Magoo 1 took some to school for her teachers yesterday.

While we were putting up the Christmas tree, Chicky Magoo 2 decided that the best place to put all of the ornaments she had was in the same cluster on the left of the tree. Since my brother also did this at her age, we had to take a picture to show him her design. Enjoy Uncle Magoo 2!

Patti's

This weekend we went to Kentucky to a place called Patti's, in Grand Rivers. It is a terrific lunch/dinner place, with 2" thick pork chops! The whole place is decorated for Christmas, and is just fun to walk around! The weather was beautiful, so we were outside for most of the time. I think we were into the 70s, which is strange since it is the end of November, but we will take it!!

This is a dry county, so you can't buy any alcohol at Patti's or anywhere else for that matter. BUT- you can bring it into the restaurant and drink it...ONLY if you make it discrete, and it can't be in coolers. So basically, you can only put your beverages in brown paper bags. There is something about this that just makes me laugh.

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving! Tons of food, lots of family, and of course Christmas Vacation. For those of you who don't know of our tradition, we watch Christmas Vacation on Thanksgiving evening each year. It is our family's favorite movie, and one that we quote almost daily throughout the year! If for some crazy reason you haven't seen this movie, go right now to Blockbuster and rent it. It is my favorite comedy of all time!

Here is a picture of another family favorite...Potatoes! I think between my cousin Nate, Mr. Magoo, and me, we could polish off almost any amount of potatoes. So- my Dad is always sure to make a ton, so that we don't run out. Check out that pot! Yes- it is almost completely full of mashed potatoes. His arm was about ready to fall off after all of that mashing, but it was worth it! YUM!! Thanks Dad!

The kids got to do the wishbone. We thought it was going well, and then Chicky Magoo 1 won the break. She got very upset that now Chicky Magoo 2's wish wasn't going to come true. After some convincing that a wishing star that night could take care of that problem, she was better. Chicky Magoo 2 didn't seem to mind at all though, and was quite happy that it broke at all, and that because it broke we were all cheering. I don't think she understood what was going on. This picture was right before she realized that Chicky Magoo 2's wish wouldn't come true.

Poll

I've got another poll up on the right side of the blog. I'm not sure about the colors of it though. I wish they had poll skins for holidays. It seems to be harder to see than the last one I did.

Chicky Magoo 1's New Do

Chicky Magoo 1 has been talking about getting her haircut for about a month now. She has had her eye on this style, and always talks about how she likes it. I was thinking we were going to just get her hair trimmed, and that surely she wouldn't cut her hair this short. We discussed all of the princess things, such as no more braids, no more ponytails, no more much of anything with hair this short. I couldn't seem to convince her though. She REALLY wanted this haircut. So- while she started getting almost 8-9 inches cut off Anne told her that "I think Mommy might need a paper bag. She seems to be hyperventilating!" I was watching it fall to the floor and thinking of how she loves long hair, and how she looked a lot older now. So- maybe I did need a paper bag. But- of course, I should know to listen to Chicky Magoo 1 when it comes to style and fashion. She looks so cute, and she is so proud to have her hair short now. She got about 10 compliments on her hair just in the salon. One lady said "She looks like she just stepped out of Vogue for Kids!" Once we explained what that was to her, Chicky Magoo 1 was beaming! :) I LOVE it too, even if she does look like she is 7 years old!

Haircuts and other Thanksgiving Traditions

The whole family has haircuts scheduled this week. I think most of the time for us, it takes a major holiday for us to realize that we need to get our haircut! ha ha! Here are a few pictures of Chicky Magoo 2 getting her "hair did" yesterday. She was so proud of herself for sitting still. I was proud, but more in shock than anything else. She just got a trim, for all of you worried Grandparents who think I might have chopped off her hair.

I however got a decent amount cut off and my hair is now above shoulder length.

Chicky Magoo 1 is scheduled to go in today, so I'll post up pictures of her tomorrow.

Moving Days are Always Exciting

Here are some shots of us moving all of this stuff in the house. I thought this one was particularly funny, since it looks like this guy has bionic arms and is able to hold the cabinet with one hand.

Below is the picture of the two guys who made it all work! Dale (the one with the vacuum) is the one with the decorating eye. He does amazing things! Check out his new website! Dale says he "doesn't have the patience to hang pictures or the strength to lift a thing", so he brings Terry along! They are both crack-ups. If you want to decorate your house, and have a fun time doing it, I would definitely recommend these guys. I can't tell you the number of times we were all rolling during this project. Mostly because Dale (who has a southern accent) likes to say "Lord Jesus, Help Me!" I wish I had a sound clip. I just can't do this justice in writing.

Good For A Laugh...

Aren't the outfits just super flattering? Behind me is my fencing coach, Tim. He helped me line up for the first picture, so that it looked like "the classic fencing pose"!

Furniture...Finally

Okay, Okay, so we have had a barrage of calls and emails about getting these pictures up. After some network delays....here they are!!

Great Room:



Basement:


Mr. Magoo's Office:



My Office: