Family: A Recipe for Happiness

My new blog

2009-07-16T21:10:00.001-05:00

So I started a new blog for a contest and to keep track of all my great deals. Check it out at: http://daisybdeals.blogspot.com/

A haircut and a hole in the wall

2009-07-08T10:11:00.008-05:00

Well I guess it was bound to happen one of these days, I am just glad it didn't happen on my watch. Let me start at the beginning.
I recently got called to work with the Young Women at church, YAY! Well the week after I became an official YW leader it was time for Girls camp, so I loaded up the car and Enzo and I went to Girls Camp for a day. Anthony stayed home with Vincent. Enzo and I had a great day, he did so well treking through the woods.
As I was driving home Anthony called me to see how far away I was. Then the news came...he said, "Oh by the way, Vincent decided he wants a cool short summer haircut." "WHAT HAPPENED?!" I said. I knew this couldn't have been Vincent's idea. Just a few weeks ago when I was trimming his hair he told me, "Mom, don't cut it too short." (I think I already knew what happened.) Anthony continued, "Well, I was taking a nap on the couch and Vincent decided to cut his hair with the scissors you left out." (ME) "I didn't leave any scissors out, Vincent was using those to cut paper." (Anthony) "Oh, well just don't freak out when you get home."
Well when I got home I just wanted to cry. I now understand why my mother cried when my sister cut a big chunk of hair out of my bangs when I was 3. Then I got mad, how could this happen? Well I told Vincent, "we have to cut all your hair off now." Then the tears came, not mine, his. I tried to explain he would still have some hair on his head, it would just be really short. So the next day I cut off all his hair. I was so mad about the whole situation, plus Enzo was having a bad day. I think babies can sense these things. Unfortunatly my temper got the best of me and I took it out on the bathroom wall (see picture below). I now understand why little kids are so freaked out when someone changes their haircut dramatically. Several years ago when I was in beauty school I cut my hair really short for the first time. My neice was 3 at the time and didn't talk to me for a week. Thankfully Vincent is a boy and hair grows back.

I forgot to take a picture before I started cutting his hair. I had already cut a bunch off the top in this picture. But you can see how short he cut it, right to the scalp! When I was all done he was so excited to look in the mirror. He saw it and just started to cry. I had to try so hard not to cry myself, but I think he learned his lesson.

One Month Old Already?!

2009-01-11T17:52:00.010-06:00

I can't believe our little Enzo is a month old already (January 12th) and I haven't done any blogging since October. So I think it is time to get caught up, even though I should probably be sleeping.

Anthony and I took Vincent to Grandma and Grandpa Bonadio's home on December 11th. I really wanted to get some pictures of Vincent and I and Enzo (in my belly) before the big day (I am usually behind the camera). Vincent did not like this idea but I think we got a few good shots...

Anthony and I left for the hospital a little after 6am on Friday December 12th. My doctor told me I could eat breakfast so we stopped at Hardees for a big breakfast, my last meal as a pregnant woman! On the way to the hospital we were discussing names once more. We were going to name him Nicolas. This was the only name we could agree on, even though I spent hours searching name books (Anthony only spent a few minutes searching). Anthony suggested Enzo for his middle name, but the more I thought about it I really liked it so much better than Nicolas. I told Anthony that maybe we would use Enzo for his first name. He then suggested Constantine for his middle name (I said no to this name with Nicolas). I had to let go of my pride because clearly Anthony had picked the cooler name and when I saw our baby boy for the first time he didn't look like a Nicolas.

Once we got to the hospital I got all hooked up to every wire they could attach to me, oh and of course the IV for the pitocin (used to induce labor). After a few hours I got to see one of my favorite people in the hospital...the anesthesiologist! Thank goodness I had an epidural because I was in labor for almost 12 hours. I spent a lot of time resting and listening to music just waiting for little Enzo to come. He finally arrived at 6:16pm! Even though I had a long labor the delivery was quite easy after 2-3 pushes Enzo was out! He weighed 8lbs 5oz and was 21 in long.

Mmmmm Moose Poo Poo!!

2008-10-03T16:59:00.006-05:00

Sunday is such a wonderful day. We go to church, I am with my family most of the day and we all take a wonderful Sunday nap! Well this last Sunday was very memorable. Vincent woke me up and asked me if I would like some ice cream. I told him "sure". A minute later he came back in to ask me..."Mom would you like Moose poo poo ice cream". WHAT?! Okay obviously this was something Anthony has put him up to. The ice cream Vincent was referring to was Moose tracks ice cream. Vincent was eating some for the first time with Anthony a few weeks ago and discovered one of the mini peanut butter cups. Anthony told him it was moose poo poo (my husband is a comedian). So if you ever come over for ice cream don't be shocked if Vincent asks you if you would like to have some moose poo poo ice cream.

And the winner is...

2008-08-17T11:24:00.003-05:00

ANTHONY!

We were playing with Vincent one night and Anthony was stacking the cars to see how high he could stack them. I decided to start a little competition to see if I could beat him and stack more. Unfortunately he beat me.

Bath Time?

2008-08-17T11:14:00.003-05:00

These are some pictures from February I found as I was organizing some of my photos on the computer.

Anthony was working on our water heater and Vincent and I decided to go watch for a while. Anthony decided it would be funny to put Vincent in the washing machine. Vincent got a real kick out of it and thought it was the funniest thing! Note to self... Don't ask Anthony to give Vincent a bath.

Oh Boy!

2008-07-30T20:46:00.003-05:00

I had my ultrasound yesterday and we found out we are having a BOY! I am very excited, I guess this worked out really well because I have everything I need. Vincent and his brother will be almost exactly 4 years apart. Vincent was born on December 17 and my due date this time is December 20. The only thing we are not sure about is a name for this little boy. We had a girl's name picked out (of course). So the search is on for the perfect name.

This is a shot of the baby's body.

This is the baby's arm and hand.

This is the baby's leg and foot.

Pickles and Ice Cream

2008-07-05T15:36:00.006-05:00

So I have heard that pregnant women like to eat pickles and ice cream. This is so true. I have been eating a lot of pickles. I know this may sound strange to some people but not all pickles are created equally. I guess this must be my mothers fault because I remember her comments about how Claussen pickles were the best. Well it is the truth. There is nothing better that a cold crisp Claussen pickle. I have really been enjoying the mini ones. I think I buy a new jar every week or 2. Yummy!

Now let me say something about Ice Cream. If you ever make you way to Michigan you must try Homemade brand Ice cream. My all time favorite is the Peanut Butter and Chip flavor (The Cherry Cordial is really good too). It is the best peanut butter ice cream I have ever tasted. It is vanilla ice cream with real peanut butter swirls and chocolate shavings. A peanut butter lovers dream! I have been trying to find something here in Missouri I like just as well but have been unsucessfull in my search. A close second is chocolate with real peanut butter swirls. I am going to Michigan in a few days so I will get to enjoy some soon! Can you tell I am feeling better? I think I am finally done spending all my time with my head over the toilet. I am 15 weeks now and I am very excited to find out what we are having. I will let you all know as soon as I know. Now go get yourself some pickles and ice cream (but not at the same time that would just be gross).

Too Much Butter

2008-07-01T10:17:00.002-05:00

Sunday night for dinner I decided it would be really yummy to make some breadsticks to go with our leftover spaghetti. I am really enjoying carbs right now (it helps settle my stomach). I melted some butter and added garlic powder and Italian seasoning. I brushed the butter on the dough and then sprinkled Parmesan cheese on top, YUM. Vincent and I were in the living room when I smelled something burning in the kitchen. I knew the butter had run off the stone and was burning in the bottom of the oven. What happened next scared me....I saw very large flames in the oven. There was a grease fire in the oven. I called Anthony in a panic and asked him what I should do. He told me to throw water on it. I remember hearing that water on a grease fire can be dangerous. So I turned the oven off and miraculously the fire went out. Poor Vincent and Ginger were so scared. Ginger was actually shaking, it's amazing that dogs can sense when something is wrong. Maybe it was all the smoke that scared her. I said a prayer right away, luckily nothing was damaged, just a big greasy mess to clean up in the oven. Lesson learned...Always have a fire extinguisher available in the house and use a pan with sides for greasy foods.

Unwelcome Guest

2008-06-11T19:14:00.000-05:00

We have a new tradition every morning with Vincent. When he wakes up he comes in our bedroom and says, "Good Morning". He usually will snuggle in bed with us till we are awake enough to actually get out of bed. This is something we all enjoy very much, it is so much nicer to wake up to his sweet voice instead of the blaring alarm clock. A few weeks ago we had a rude awakening. It was the day after Memorial Day. We went to our ward picnic for memorial day, (I am hoping this is where our unwelcome guest came from). I was scratching the back of Vincent's neck and then moved my way up into his hair. I noticed a bump on the back of his head. I almost screamed when I saw what was attached to his head. A darn TICK! I felt my blood pressure go up immediately and told Anthony he would need to take care of it. I am terrified of bugs. I tried very hard to stay calm for Vincent so he would not get scared. Anthony successfully removed the tick with a pair of tweezers. A piece of Vincent's skin was attached to the ticks oh so tiny head. I put the tick in a zip-loc bag just in case the doctor would need to see it. After looking on the Internet at different types of ticks we decided it wasn't a deer tick (the one that carries Lyme disease). I called the doctor anyway just to be safe and was told to watch for a rash and a fever. Luckily no problems thus far. I kept that darn tick in the bag for almost a week before I squashed him with the bottom of a glass. I was amazed the tick survived for so long in a zip-loc bag. As much as I did not enjoy this experience I am thankful it was not lice.....EWWWW.

April 20th - It's my lucky day!!!

2008-04-29T16:04:00.003-05:00

I found out last Sunday (April 20th) that I am pregnant again!! We are so excited. I went to write in my journal and looked back to see what I wrote about when I was pregnant with Vincent. I could not believe what the date was for my first entry (April 20th, 2004). I think it is very crazy that 4 years ago on April 20th I found out that I was pregnant with Vincent. I go to the doctor this Thursday to find out my due date for sure but I am guessing I will be due within a week of Vincent's 4th birthday. I have felt for a while that my second child would be a girl but I will have to wait serveral more weeks to know for sure. If I have a boy he will be all set for clothing. Over the weekend I started getting morning sickness (24/7). It should be called all day sickness. Today I went to Walgreens and got some "seabands" to wear on my wrist to help with my nausea. I look like a dork from the 80's but they are helping a little. Vincent is not sure how he feels about it. When I told him that I was going to have a baby he said, " NO! I told you that you can't have a baby." I think he is warming up to the idea though. I showed him some pictures when he was in my big belly and the day he was born. The other day he told me he wants the baby to come out so he can play with it. He will be a good big brother.

Chuck E Cheese (aka Charles Queso)

2008-04-13T16:52:00.010-05:00

Yes, Charles Queso is Chuck E Cheese. I am impressed that everyone understood Anthony's humor. When we got home Anthony asked Vincent where Charles Queso was, he did not know who Anthony was talking about. The next day Vincent said our prayer for dinner and asked Heavenly Father to bless Charles Queso, it was really cute. Charles was nice enough to pose so I could take his picture!

We took Vincent to Chuck E Cheese as a reward for using the potty. He has seen the commercial too many times and has been asking to go. Plus I have been wanting to get some really good pizza (haha). Actually the pizza is not that bad.

Anthony and Vincent had some fun playing the racing games. I played a little skee-ball, I need some more practice though. I only got 1 ball into the 50,000 point slot out of the 5 games I played.

Vincent was very excited to say hello to Charles, he was a little star struck.

This is one of the prizes Vincent got with his tickets ( he picked all candy prizes). I remember eating these Willy Wonka Fun Dips when I was a little girl. Vincent was very resourceful and used his finger to dip in the sugar after he ate all his candy stick. Check out his green finger, it stayed like that for a few days!

Vincent thought it was so funny to watch himself on the camera screen while I was taking his picture. I get some really good shots this way, he gets very silly.

Here are a couple videos of Vincent having fun on the rides. Well I think he had fun on the monster truck but he looks a little bored on the clock ride.

EEEWWW!

2008-04-13T16:02:00.003-05:00

This morning in church I asked Vincent to hold still so I could get an eye booger out for him. He told me he didn't have an eye booger. After I removed it for him he asked to see it. He looked at me and then asked, "can I taste it?" I just looked at him and said, "eeewww." Needless to say, Anthony and I had a good laugh!

Who is Charles Queso?

2008-04-07T13:03:00.002-05:00

I am curious to see if anyone can guess who CHARLES QUESO is. I would love to hear everyones guess! I will be impressed if you can figure it out. Good luck!

Bubble Wrap Portraits

2008-04-04T21:14:00.006-05:00

These are some more pictures I took for my photography class. Our teacher wanted us to take the picture inside with natural light. I pushed our dinning room table up to our sliding glass door and gave Vincent some bubble wrap to play with. He was very patient with me, I used him for my model almost every week. Vincent had so much fun playing with the bubble wrap, and it actually looks really cool in the picture. These are my favorite!

Trucks and Trains

2008-04-04T20:35:00.003-05:00

I took these pictures for my photography class that I attended last fall. Our assignment was to take a portrait of someone with things that describe them. Vincent loves to go in our back yard and dig in the dirt with his trucks. We have a very large dirt circle in our back yard where there used to be a pool, he loves to go and dig in the dirt. The other pictures are from Old Town St Charles. There is an old train track with some really cool trains. Vincent loves trains.

Halloween 2007

2008-04-03T20:35:00.004-05:00

Vincent actually enjoyed halloween this time around (once I was able to convince him to put his costume on). He was Buzz Lightyear and Ginger was Woody from Toy Story. We had alot of fun going to all the houses, Vincent got lots of candy and Ginger got a few dog treats! We went to visit our friends the Dahle's and Vincent's friend Lincoln was Buzz too! They thought that was pretty cool. (Notice Ginger looking at the treat I used to get her to hold still for the picture, she loves her treats!)

I don't want to go!!

2008-03-22T22:22:00.002-05:00

This week has been a very busy one for Vincent and I. We have been running lots of errands and going to lots of playdates. Well I think he is a bit worn out because this was my conversation with him tonight...
(Tracy) Do you know what tomorrow is?
(Vincent) I don't want to go to the park.
(Tracy) We are not going to the park tomorrow.
(Vincent) I don't want to go to the beach. (told him about vacation plans before bed)
(Tracy) We are not going to the beach tomorrow. Tomorrow is Easter!
(Vincent) I don't want to go to Easter.
(Tracy) Easter is when the Easter Bunny comes to our house and brings you a basket full of toys and candy.
(Vincent) I want to do that!
I love how his little mind works!

Visit to the St Louis Temple

2008-02-26T22:17:00.003-06:00

We thought it would be fun to take Vincent to go see the temple one day. Although it was really hot we had a nice time. I tried to get a good picture of what I think is a hawk. Vincent really liked the water fountain. I think it is really funny in the pictures cause he looks like he is trying to control the water with his hands. We had a scary ride home. Vincent was in the back seat enjoying his raisins. We had to pull over fast because he decided it would be a good idea to put a raisin up his nose. It is very difficult to try and tell a screaming toddler to just blow his nose to get the raisin out. I thought we might have to take him to the emergency room. Well we finally got him to blow his nose and the raisin came right out. Needless to say, Vincent has not forgotten that and is no longer putting things in his nose.

They're Magically Delicious

2008-02-23T11:00:00.000-06:00

Vincent loves to eat cereal and he loves marshmallows, so Lucky Charms cereal is one of his favorites. The other morning he told me he wanted to eat his cereal dry on the couch (he has to sit at the table if there is milk on it). I was busy doing some things around the house while he enjoyed his cereal on the couch. I went to check on him after a while and he was eating all the marshmallows and none of the cereal. I told him he was going to get sick if he just ate the marshmallows. He told me, "NO MOM! The marshmallows make me happy not sick". Hopefully the marshmallows have some vitamins and minerals too.

Costume trouble

2008-01-21T00:48:00.000-06:00

Vincent loves Buzz Lightyear so I decided it would be fun for him to be Buzz for halloween. Vincent did not think so. Anthony thought it would help Vincent feel more comfortable if he put on the boots to the costume. It didn't help at all and when I tried to take them off they were stuck on his big feet. Of course I had to grab my camera and take pics. I did finally get the costume on Vincent but as you can see he was not very excited about the whole costume thing.

All in stiches

2008-01-21T00:30:00.000-06:00

While I was at the Cards game with my Dad Anthony took Vincent to the playground at the school right by our house. Vincent tripped while climbing the stairs to the slide and his chin caught his fall. Anthony had to take him to the emergency room to get stitches in is chin. My mom went with them and kept Vincent entertained by blowing up the plastic medical gloves, thanks Mom. I have heard that chin stitches are pretty common for little kids, but I am so glad it happened while Anthony was around cause I would have been a nervous wreck. Vincent had fun telling everyone about what happened to his chin and was a real trooper through the whole thing.

Date with Dad

2008-01-21T00:18:00.000-06:00

My parents came to visit us in September. I took my Dad to a Cardinals game for an early birthday present. We had a great time even though they lost.

Cardinals Game

2007-11-25T21:49:00.000-06:00

This was Vincent's first Cardinals game. We had a lot of fun till we got rained on. Vincent had fun taking pictures of Anthony and I. Yes I had purple hair, it was fun for a while but too much maintenance. When the rain came and we were running to get back on the train Anthony and Vincent had to jump in the puddles. Vincent loves to ride on the train, I think that was more fun for him than the baseball game.

Slurpee Time

2007-11-25T20:51:00.000-06:00

Vincent and I were in Virginia taking care of my sister after she had surgery. My nephew wanted to get some slurpees. Vincent would not let go of mine after one taste, he loved it. I think the cup was about as big as his head.

I won an award!

2007-11-25T20:10:00.000-06:00

Awarded by
Hannah
to Tracy

Okay, so my niece Hannah sent this award to me. Thanks Hannah!

Ruby Red Slippers

2007-09-25T20:45:00.000-05:00

We were having a hard time keeping Ginger from "tap dancing" on our wood floors, so I decided to get some dog slippers for her. It is much more quiet around here now. She is really good about keeping them on, but she looks like she is walking on hot coals when she wears them (it's really funny!).

Got Pretzels?

2007-08-14T22:15:00.000-05:00

Vincent is always very handy around the house. He is learning very quickly how to work with tools. He is also very creative when he is playing. I had a good laugh watching him hammer this pretzel into the wall.

Best Buddies

2007-08-14T21:52:00.000-05:00

Sunday Best

2007-08-14T21:37:00.000-05:00

Joining the fun

2007-08-11T22:22:00.000-05:00

Well I am finally going to try and figure out this whole blog thing. I have had so much fun looking at all my friends blogs I figured it was time for me to join in the fun. Stay tuned!