Strange Science Picture

I have no idea what you call this kind of caterpillar ... but I will say it's strange looking! Abby and Dennis found him out back, and just HAD to bring him in for a picture. Abby said he looked like he had a skeleton face...

We're Thankful for ... Sea World!

What fun we had at Sea World the weekend after Thanksgiving. Abby and Tyler got a kick out of seeing Shamu dressed up like Santa! But even more monumental was Tyler meeting the height requirement to ride the Shamu Express. That doesn't happen very often to our "little guy!" But he was VERY proud. Now, if only we could convince Ikea that Tyler is actually 38 inches ... he would be able to play in the kids area while I shop. We've been turned away twice - try explaining that to a very pumped-up child!Back to the roller coaster. Tyler was very excited when he got on to ride ... ... but his bravery only lasted for a short time. Don't you just love the big sister? "Look Mommy - Tyler's crying!" Fortunately, he was able to dry off the tears when we met Santa at "The North Pole" within the Polar Express Experience. No surprise - Tyler isn't tall enough to do the motion simulation part of the ride, so we arrived at the North Pole before Dennis and Abby. This was Tyler's second time telling Santa that he wanted "a big pirate ship and a toy blimp" for Christmas. Dennis got to ride Manta that evening, before we took in the Sea World holiday show and fireworks. I snapped this shot off the preview screen - look at Dennis in the front row (far left). Front row seats at the fireworks show too. Tyler just cracks us up with his sensitive ears. But he's come a long way since July ... I think he enjoyed the display more this time. Who wouldn't? It was beautiful!
Thanks Dad for getting us into Sea World ... again! We love that perk!

Happy Turkey Day!

Well, I tell 'ya ... these little turkeys had a very happy Thanksgiving! We ventured down to Tampa on Wednesday afternoon, looking forward to spending the holiday at Uncle Aaron's loft. On Thursday morning, the Orlando crew (Grammy, Grandan and Nanny) drove over, and all of us joined Aaron's Beef 'O' Brady's staff and favorite customers for a Thanksgiving breakfast at the store. Since it was officially closed, this was super fun. We had the Macy's parade on and could play as many video games as we liked ... a big hit with our turkeys!But, when Tyler started getting a bit antsy before brunch was served, Grammy got restaurant-supply creative. Has anyone else ever fingerpainted with ketchup and mustard on paper towels!?! We also made everyone in the family try on Abby and Tyler's Thanksgiving headwear from previous years. Ms. Tami would also be happy to know that Tyler wore his Native American "story shirt" (pictures to come) all afternoon long. That boy takes after his uncle ... loves a good costume! Joking aside, we were actually so proud of Aaron ... he pulled together a great group of employees and favorite customers (all of whom couldn't stop telling us what a great guy Aaron is ... maybe he paid them off!) for a very laid-back Thanksgiving breakfast. Complete with bloody marys and mimosas ... this was a great idea!

Then, last night, we gathered again (just our family!) for dinner at Aaron's loft. This was Aaron's first Thanksgiving hosting experience, but remember, we also did Easter here ... so he's a pro now. He even broke out the "Carricatos" glasses. "Watch out Mommy, they're REAL glass," Tyler said!Abby was in charge of placecards. She wrote everyone's name and how she is thankful for that person. I hesitate to post this picture, but it is priceless (Abby will kill me someday for sharing) to see what she said about Tyler. Classy girl we're raising, huh?I must admit, the turkey made us all a bit loopy! But it wouldn't have been a Schnittker-Carricato-Taylor holiday otherwise. We have so much to be thankful for! Hope all of our relatives and family friends near and far had a wonderful day as well!

The Tree is Back!

Well, what do you know? Another Thankful Tree grew in our breakfast room just in time for us to celebrate Thanksgiving 2009. Seriously! The kids wouldn't let me get away with not doing it again this year ... it is pretty fun! But, check out the new, improved glitter letters this year! The were somewhat damaged in storage all summer long, and I wasn't about to cut out new ones. So, we jazzed them up and they worked just fine. It is so fun to read the leaves out loud. Every night at dinner we cracked up over our thankful sentiments from previous years. A favorite? Tyler from 2006. "I'm thankful that it's acceptable to put your feet up on the Thanksgiving table!" He was only one-year old, so we wrote that for him that year! This year, Ty signed his own name to the leaf. Can't wait to see how dated that signature will look next Thanksgiving. Oh wait! Yes I can. Both of them can wait to grow up!

For REAL!

Abby, Grammy and Grandan and I went on a date this past weekend to "The Velveteen Rabbit," which was playing as a musical at the FSU School of Theatre. This book is one of my favorites from my childhood, and it holds a special place in my heart. Soon after I graduated from college, my parents gave me a new copy of the book with a beautiful inscription. Here's an excerpt of what the wrote:

"Now that you are an adult, we want to thank you for sharing your childhood with us and allowing us to become Real. As the Skin Horse said, 'Real isn't how you are made ... it's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.' Hopefully you will soon begin a new phase of your life and you too will experience the joy and happiness of become Real."

Well, Mom and Dad ... I believe I have. Sitting there in the theater watching my beautiful Abby (who coincidentally is six-years old, just like the character in the book/musical) bubble with excitement about the story that I have always loved, was just perfect! Parenthood is a roller coaster, but I wouldn't trade this REAL adventure in for anything. Dennis and I both believe becoming parents has made us better people. And fortunatelywe have great role models to follow!

We are thankful...

How adorable are Tyler and his little friends? You just can't beat 3- and 4-year olds praying, and feasting while wearing handmade Indian vests!

That afternoon, following Tyler's feast, he entertained two of his "lady friends" - Hayden and Avery. Quite the cool dude, huh?

Last Home Game

I had to pull some pictures from the camera for Dennis ... and in the process, I found a few cute ones. Minus Grammy (who had the shopping bug on Saturday and ditched us for the "cute little shops" in Tallahassee), we all had a great time at the game this past weekend. It was Mickey Andrews' final home game as Defensive Coordinator. And even though the recent showing by the Noles' defense hasn't been great, we still wanted to recognize Mickey for the good things he has done for FSU over the years. I loved when he got to plant the spear on the Seminole head ... Tyler says he wants to do this some day! The kids were actually very good football watchers this time around. Dennis, Grandan and I took turns tickling them and keeping them involved in the game.
Fortunately, Daddy was there to spring for ice cream when the sugar levels got low. I love the expressions on Abby and Tyler's faces here.

The game came down to the wire. Dad and I were actually on our way out when the Noles came back to win it in the final minute! We jumped back up in the stands in the student section, where I got this great shot of everyone doing "the chop!"
Dad, ever the PC HR guy, won't chop ... but he REALLY wanted to!We'll root for the Noles one more time this coming weekend when they take on the Gators in the Swamp. Who knows ... we could be surprised!

Yes we CAN!

Some cool pictures of a recycling event I helped with ... for Coke. I love the "Coca-Cola Cares" shirts we bought for all of the volunteers. Isn't it amazing how many cans were collected by Tallahassee residents!?! Make sure you are recycling your cans and bottles at home! :)

Scarecrow-Making 101

Tyler makes a mighty cute scarecrow, but I think we could have used a bit of instruction on how to make a true scarecrow. We stuffed Dennis' lawnmowing jeans with newspaper...
Then topped the guy off with a leftover Halloween pumpkin, and set him on a couple bales of pinestraw. Hey! What do you expect from a Florida gal? Don't I get an E for effort? Too bad it rained VERY heavily a couple weeks later, and the whole thing got soggy! New plan next year...

Fall Craft Day

Way back in September, Abby and I talked about having a few of her friends over for a Halloween Craft "Party," but October was WAY too busy! So, we tabled it until this month, and billed it as a Fall Craft Day. You'll see below, fun was had by all (well, maybe except for me at certain times ... when the SIX children in my charge were driving me crazy!) Truthfully, we did have a good time experimenting with food and paper crafts ... and playing outside in the beautiful fall weather! Next week, we're entertaining a couple of Tyler's friends (one-on-0ne this time!) - maybe we'll get the scarecrow assembled then. We didn't quite get to it today. For snack, we made (and ate parts of) a Thanksgiving "Blessing" Snack Mix. I'll post pictures of the mix, as well as the recipe ... and the cute cornucopia holders later. But, here are the kids making their "Native American" (Mary Leah corrected me on this one when I said they were Indian) headbands. See Grammy - those fall leave stickers you gave us came in handy! Oh, and so did your glasses from the 90s ... AGAIN! I mean it, they are one of the favorite dress-up items around here. When the girls put together a fashion show, Nya's theme was entertaining. She cracked us all up - especially when she tried to walk around in the bug-eyed prescription glasses!
Lucy found the remnants of last week's "Swine Flu" Halloween costume. Unfortunately, Lucy twisted her ankle on the trampoline and had to leave our fall playdate slightly early (but don't worry - she's doing better!)
Mary Leah is a hoot. I'm not sure what look she was trying to pull off. Oh Anabelle! That girl can pull off the pink rockstar look better than anyone I know!
Abby, the fairy ballerina.
And, the whole crew (notice Tyler, the super-pirate down in the bottom right hand corner ... he was SO patient with the girls today!) posing at the end of their fashion show. You can just picture the energy in the room, so after this ... we headed outside!
They jumped themselves silly on the trampoline, then we made Turkey Cupcakes (they LOOK like turkeys ... not taste like them!)
After the playdate was over, Abby and Tyler were just coated in dirt (or is that chocolate on their faces), but they modeled their Native American headbands for me before they hit the bath!Happy Fall Y'All!