Day 20: Happy Halloween!!!

The Little Devil, Frankenstein, Bell and Princess Bride getting ready to go out trick or treating around the neighborhood. Everyone had a great time and collected lots of goodies.

Day 19: Pumpkins

I carved pumpkins for Halloween today. Kayla and Anya helped a little with scooping out the seeds. Kayla hates to get dirty or sticky so every time she got the pumpkin goo on her hands she had to run and wash them off... so she wasn't much help. Anya on the other hand didn't find the task very interesting and decided to play with her doll and stroller instead. I was so excited about all the yummy pumpkin seeds I was going to have to snack on. I washed them and then placed the seeds in the oven to dry. Once they were done drying I turned the oven off... or so I thought, until I smelled something burning several minutes later. Instead of turning it off, I had accidentally turned the knob to broil instead... so much for my pumpkin seeds... they were scorched :( Oh well there is always next year.

Days 17 and 18: Keeping Warm

I missed my first day posting on my blog yesterday :( I was really busy all day and didn't get to sit down until 11pm... at which point all I wanted to do was watch some TV. We had a cold front come thru and we woke up Tuesday morning to a freezing house. So Dan turned on the heat to warm us up... the problem was the heater was blowing cold air. We had a guy come out to fix it but all he did was replace the thermostat... and its still blowing cold air. Luckily its suppose to warm up tomorrow so tonight should be the last cold night for a while. Mean while we kept warm by starting a fire in the fireplace :)

Day 16: First Cucumbers of the Season

The cucumber plants that I planted from seeds in my garden a few months ago are growing beautifully. I was so busy over the weekend that I didn't even have a chance to check on them. So when Kayla and I when into the garden this afternoon we were pleasantly surprised to see how big the cucumbers have gotten. We picked 3 to eat today...they were sweet and delicious. And there are plenty more where those came from!

Note: I pay $1.99 for one cucumber about this size at the grocery store. Total savings today $5.97 :)~

Day 15: Halloween Spooktacular at Sea World

Kayla and Anya with a Sea Princess at the Sea World Halloween Spooktacular. Kayla dressed up as Snow White...but decided she didn't want to wear her black wig because it was itchy. Anya was suppose to be a Little Devil but that didn't work out too well since she asked me to take it off about 3 minutes after I put her costume on. I'm sure I will have better luck with both their costumes for Trick or Treating on Friday.

Day 14: Afternoon at Lake Eola

We spent the afternoon at Lake Eola today. It was a beautiful day...not too hot (in the mid 80's). The girls played on the playground and then we took a walk around the the lake. We spotted some turtles and fed the ducks and swans. Daddy took the girls for the ride on the Swan Boat... followed by a yummy ice cream cone treat :) It was a great way to spent the Saturday together.

Day 13: Kayla's Art

Kayla loves to draw. She drew this picture for me today. She said its mommy and Kayla holding hands. Her drawings always make me smile and she knows how much I love them. There are several things in this picture that are a first for her... the tree, the dirt under the grass and how she colored the peoples faces and arms peach. She my little artist!

Day 12: Bromance :)

Dan and Eddie hanging out watching the baseball game. Baseball is way too boring for me, so I watched Survivor in the other room :) The girls really love it when Eddie comes over. Kayla even managed to talk him into 3 games of Candy Land! It was so cute... I wish I got a picture of that. Thanks Eddie your the best! xoxoxox

Day 11: Sushi Surprise

Dan brought home a surprise for us tonight... SUSHI my favorite!!!! Spicy tuna roll and a California roll with masago and cream cheese... yummy!!! The only thing was that I had already made dinner. Oh well, we'll just eat it tomorrow...tonight we eat Sushi :)~

Day 10: Typical Tuesday

Kayla had Dance.

Anya had a Fit.

Until she got what she wanted.

Day 9: Seeding is DONE!

BACKYARD 4 YEARS AGO

BACKYARD SEVERAL WEEKS AGO

BACKYARD TODAY

I did some more work in the backyard today. Over the weekend I spread and leveled the mounds of topsoil. And after a little more touch up work on the leveling, I was able to spread all the Bermudagrass seed this morning! I think I did a pretty awesome job if I don't say so myself :) Dan is super happy and impressed with my work as well. The backyard is really coming along nicely. I can't wait to have grass again... hopefully that should be in 18-21 days.

Day 8: Camera Thief

Looks like someone got a hold of my camera and managed to take some pictures when I wasn't looking... and I have a pretty good idea who that sneaky little someone was ;)

Day 7: Backyard News

Dan dumped the top soil out of the bags this morning. Now its my job to spread, level and seed. We'll have grass again in no time :)

With temperatures finally dipping below 90, my tomato plants are now producing fruit! It won't be long now :)

I'm still fighting my battle with the little green worms who feast on my cucumber plants...leaving them full of holes! So far all the insecticides I've tried only kill my plant and the worms are still there. So I have to carefully inspect each leaf and pick them off one by one.

Day 6: Fabulous Baked Ziti

I decided to make Baked Ziti for dinner today. So I thought I would share my recipe. The ingredients are: 1 lb. of ground turkey breast, 1 lb (16 oz.) ziti pasta, 26 oz. jar of traditional pasta sauce, 4 cloves of garlic, 2 cups of shredded six cheese Italian (but it can be any cheese you like). The cheeses in the six cheese blend include...Mozzarella, Provolone, Parmesan, Asiago, Fontina, and Romano cheese. Also I like to use sliced Provolone cheese as well for that added melted goodness...8 slices in total, salt, peeper, Italian seasoning (optional).

First cook the ziti pasta according to the directions on the box. While pasta is cooking prepare the ground turkey breast, slowly cooking it over medium heat until all the pink color is gone.

Add one jar of the traditional pasts sauce, 4 chopped/crushed cloves of garlic and heat another 3-4 minutes.

Add salt, pepper and Italian seasoning to taste.

Drain the cooked pasta and add the turkey. Mix well.

Place 1/2 of the Ziti in a 9x13 glass backing dish. Top with shredded cheese and 4 Provolone slices. Add the remainder of the ziti and top with cheese again. Cover with aluminum foil. Set oven to 350 and bake for 25 minutes until cheese is melted. Enjoy!

Note: For a spicy kick I like to drizzle a little Buffalo Style Chicken Wing BBQ Sauce on my portion....MMMMmmmmmmm good :)~

Day 5: Anya's Hubba

Meet Hubba. This raggedy bunny rabbit is my little Anya's most favorite object in the whole world. She takes Hubba everywhere she goes and nothing can take his place. I used this little bunny to prop up her bottles when she was a baby and wasn't able to hold them on her own yet. Thats how Anya and Hubba became inseparable. Dan and I always said that we don't know what we would do if Hubba ever got lost... and then of course one day it happened.

It was during a trip to Bush Gardens in Tampa. I realized Hubba was missing at the end of our day at the park. Anya must have thrown him out of her stroller somewhere along the way without me noticing. I had no choice but to backtrack thru the park and try to find Hubba. As I retraced my steps, I stopped along the way at stores and stands to ask if anyone had turned in a white stuffed bunny rabbit... no one had. I searched thru half the park up to the point where I knew she had him last and didn't find Hubba anywhere. It was getting close to closing time so I made my way to the lost and found at the entrance... hoping that someone had turned the bunny in... again no luck. I filled out a card with my information and the description of the lost item and had no choice but to head home. During the 2 hour drive back to Orlando I felt horrible leaving Hubba behind. Anya was asking for him and I tried to explain to her that Hubba was lost. She seemed to understand. When we got home my husband (who wasn't at the park with us) had a replacement bunny waiting for her... it wasn't the same, but after searching several stores it was the closest he could find. But Anya wasn't fooled, she wanted nothing to do with the impostor. She asked for Hubba several times that evening before falling asleep and there was nothing I wanted more than for her to have her bunny. I couldn't help thinking about Hubba being in some dark dirty trashcan at that very moment when he should be tucked in snugly under Anya's arm...it brought me to tears. I know my reaction might seem crazy, but there aren't many things that a 2 year old treasures and Hubba was that one special thing to Anya... her prized possession. That night my husband and I decided that he would call the Bush Garden's Lost and Found in the morning and offer a reward for the return of Anya's bunny. I knew that if anyone could get the bunny back it was my husband... he just has a way with words.

So when my phone rang the next afternoon and it was a number I didn't recognize my heart started to fill with hope.... could it be? The person on the other end was Janel from Bush Gardens, she was calling to let me know that they found the bunny and she will put him in the mail for me asap. I couldn't believe it! Hubba was coming HOME! I guess Janel was very touched by my husbands urgency in finding his little girls bunny (she also remembered me from the previous day) and I don't know exactly how she did it but within minutes Hubba was found. I am so very grateful for the outstanding customer service that Janel provided to us... she went out of her way to locate and return a raggedy old bunny... that could very easily have been tossed away. The look on Anya's face when Hubba came in the mail the next day was absolutely Priceless... and so is Hubba.

Day 4: Tinkerbell

Up past her bedtime as usual...Kayla dressed up as Tinkerbell tonight. Dressing up is her most favorite thing to do. She loves having her picture taken and struck pose after pose for the camera to show off her fairy look :)

Day 3: Finally!!!

I am so excited! I just found out the best news...we are pregnant again!!! Baby #3 is on the way :) The estimated due date is June 23, 2009. Wow!!!! It was definitely a lot harder getting pregnant the third time around. Kayla and Anya were both conceived on the very first try, so we were concerned after 9 months of trying that something was wrong. We even went to the doctor a few days ago and discussed what might be the problem...little did we know we were already pregnant! I will be calling my doctor with the great news in the morning :)

Day 2: The Sea of Soil

This is what 240 bags of topsoil look like. Since our grass died about 6 months ago due to a faulty sprinkler system, we've been slowly working on clearing out the entire 1800 sq foot area in order to grow a new beautifully lush green lawn. The end is finally in sight and then we sit back and watch the grass grow! But in the meantime, Kayla and Anya had a blast playing "naked lily pad jumping" in the backyard :)

Day 1: Welcome to My Project 365!!!

So I guess today is as good a day as any to start my Project 365. I think this is going to be a fun way to document a year in the lives of my family...which consists of me...Patricia, my wonderful husband Dan, our two beautiful daughters Kayla (4) and Anya (2) and last but not least our two Tonkinese kitties...Sasha and Lexie. I am very lucky to be able to stay home with my girls. And although they keep me very busy I wouldn't trade this "job" for anything!

So welcome to our home :) Although you can't tell from the picture I live in sunny Orlando Florida. Most of the time I love this place...but there are some things I could definitely live without (which I'm sure I will get into later). As you can see there is some grass missing by the curb...this would be one of my current projects...restoring the front lawn to its original beauty! I've been raking and pulling weeds for about a week now and I'm about ready to put down the fertilizer, lime and seed. Hopefully the two giant oak trees in our front yard don't dump another ton of leaves on my grass by tomorrow and I can get the seeding done. Keeping my fingers crossed!