And then there's Josephine

She just wants to go to her "sister's school".....

I dressed her in green for St. MM today!  If only she would keep her ponytail in or her barrett - that flyaway hair makes me nuts during the winter.  Can't put enough conditioner in their hair!  I think she had 3 suckers this morning but she was happy!

Rosie's Art Proudly Displayed at the Galleria Mall

Rosie's art work was picked from the entire 4th grade to be displayed with other Archdiocesan schools at the Galleria Mall.  We hustled over there after Open House & before basketball to see her awesome work!  We were so excited for her, and I know she was very happy to be chosen.  It is a map of the U.S. with a different design for each state.  Way to go Rosie!

Catholic Schools Week begins

Last week, every family was asked to make a picture of someone who shows God's love to others.  It could be a saint, a teacher, a relative, anyone...

We all agreed on Grandma Wilson!!!  My mom!!

Some of their reasons are the following:

- She attends Mass every day.

- She is so thoughtful. 

- Anna specifically remembered receiving 2 pieces of gum in the mail because Grandma did not want her to feel left out when Rosie received a special package from her.

-She said that Grandma never forgets anyone & she loves all her grandchildren so much!  I agree!

The outfit was also picked out by Anna because she remembers her wearing a nice shirt & a sweater!

I love it & I hope Grandma does too.

Today was Open House at St. Mary Magdalen, and we visited Rosie & Anna's classrooms.  Rosie has done many projects this year, but this is the latest one.  She ready a biography on Anne Frank & made a hanger about the book.  I did not know this fact, but Anne Frank collected postcards with her favorite actresses/actors at that time.  Rosie made a postcard & drew the pictures herself.  They also had to present their design on Friday to the whole class.  Good job Rosie!

Anna's classroom with her cross, letter & paper puppet proudly displayed.  Anna's class loves putting on plays, so I think we will be seeing a play on Groundhog Day very soon!

  Pete & I received letters from both Rosie & Anna on why they love St. MM.  Anna loves learning about Jesus every day, and Rosie thanked us for sacificing to send her to this school. 

I was asked to give tours of the school, and we had a BIG crowd today.  Our school looked great, and I am so proud & happy to have chosen it for our children!

Jo's Secret Hiding Place

My kids never fight or never throw fits - NOT!  Here's Jo favorite spot & sometimes Anna when they are really mad & have to be by themselves for a minute - under our dining room table! 

Happy 70th Birthday Grandma Carollo

Last week, we hosted a family party for Grandma Carollo's 70th Birthday!!  Happy Birthday Joan!  Pete outdid himself with an awesome steak, and my rosemary potatoes were a big hit.

A little blurry, but Jo & Mia with Grandma (actually she is Mia's Great-Grandma!)  Jo was showing Mia her "Candy Guy" - it's a stuffed M&M guy.

More Basketball News

Another good game yesterday morning against Annunciation.  We won 11-6 & played awesome!  Go Chargers!

GREASE is the word....

Grease was so awesome!!!  What a great musical!  Thank you Mom & Dad for a wonderful afternoon.  The kids loved it, and so did I!

Grandma, Anna, Rosie, Caty, Rachel & Grandpa (Mary & I snapped the pics)

The queens at the Fox - I'm always amazed by this beautiful theater!

Our First Loss in Basketball

Rough game last night to Mary Queen of Peace (MQP - the monster school - seriously, it is a BIG school).  We lost 22-5- ugh!  It was not pretty but our team kept trying & maintained a good attitude.  They had a super tall athletic girl that towered over everyone, and to be honest, the whole team was pretty darn good.  We hung in there but our shots were blocked, and the tall girl would stop any of our passes.  Rosie had a couple of shots & one was so close to going in!!  She hasn't scored in our three games, and she is frustrated but I'm sure it will come.  The games have been pretty low scoring (except this one), so she just keeps practicing!  Hang in there Rosie!

I will post pictures tonight when I download them onto my new laptop.  It is soooo fast & powerful - probably too powerful for me but I'll take it. 

We are off to see Grease at the Fabulous Fox - can't wait!

Weekend in Chicago

Pete & I spent this past weekend in Chicago for my work holiday party.  It was cold but FUN!  Late nights with too much drinking & food.  Needless to say, I was ready to come home by Sunday.  Pete & I had Saturday morning together & ate an awesome breakfast (Eggs Benedict, our favorite) at the Grand Lux Cafe.  It was a great view on top of being delicious!

The girls stayed at my sister's house (Aunt Mary, the great), and they were so excited to be with Caty & Adam all weekend.  Josephine was tuckered out on Sunday & slept for 4 hours after lunch.  I have to confess that I fell asleep for an hour in the afternoon as well.  I was just going to "rest my eyes" & then was out!  30 minutes can do so much - felt so much better after it. 

Good news from Rosie - they beat Holy Redeemer on Saturday who she quoted as "the team that is as good as us!"  Too funny!  Last year, they tied them both times (if my memory serves me well).  May have to check my blog from last year to confirm.  They won 10-9 - I did hear later that we are better at shooting while they are better ball handlers.  Always something to work on but we'll take the W!  It sounds like Pete & I missed a good game - such a bummer!!  We won't miss another one...

Basketball Begins!

Our first game was last night at 8:30pm, and we beat St. Peters 12-9!  Good game - the girls were a little slow figuring it all out again.  They've had quite a few practices but it is always different in the game.  Rosie was tough as usual - I love to watch her play!!!

The little ones rolling the ball back & forth having a blast with Jo!

Happy Birthday Teresa!

My good friend & neighbor, Teresa, turned 40 on January 1st (I'm not far behind!)  Mike, her husband, threw a little family & friend party in the afternoon for her.  The best part was watching her open her gifts - she was so fun to watch - she cherished & laughed at every gift.  The food was awesome too - just what I needed after being up a bit too late on New Year's Eve (luckily I was not hungover as well, just tired).

Happy Birthday Teresa - you are such a good friend to me!

They are so lovey dovey - they are the sweetest couple - the cake said "Happy ?0th Birthday Sweet Girl!"

Happy New Year!

Last night, we partied at the Jones' & had a great time!  We were up WAY TOO LATE!  Jo was a party animal (she slept for 4 hours that day & was ready to go!)  She was the life of the party making a few new friends as well (I'm pretty sure she will be asking to have a play date with Emily).  Rosie & Anna were able to play with their good friends, and Pete & I had a nice time hanging with our good friends.

I asked the girls this morning how I could be a better mother & I said "don't hold back."  They said "you are a great mommy but.....  you could be less crabby sometimes."  So true!  They gave me the idea to count to 20 before I holler at them.  I did say that I will be crabby at times but I need to work on being less crabby, and they also agreed that they will work on fighting less with each other but know it won't happen all the time. 

So, I have three personal resolutions:
1.  Pray every day
2.  Count to 20 before I holler at my kids
3.  Kiss my husband more

Three funny resolutions (because I wonder if they will really happen):
1.  Keep up on laundry (I now have separate laundry baskets for the kids & they will put their clothes away)
2.  Keep up on my filing at home (organized our office this week & love it!)
3.  Get my kids to do more chores (we did figure out a chore schedule so let's see if it works longer than one week)

Happy New Year to all our family & friends.  God Bless You!

Christmas 2009

I did not take too many pictures this year (how about none) - not sure why but I do want to document our activities.

Christmas Eve:
We attended a beautiful Mass at St. Norbert's at 4pm with most of my family.  Then, we headed to my sister Joanie's, for a delicious meal & gift opening.  The cousins pick names, and we go around the circle one at a time (just to add as much suspense as possible).  Rosie got a sweatsuit from Wilson, Anna received an art set from Alison, and Josephine opened the cutest pink croc boots I've ever seen from Caty.  Then, the adults played the following game with gifts.  It was silly but fun!  We each bought a $20 gift that we want & wrap it in a black trash bag.  Joanie opened them & we tried to write down which gift belonged to each person.  Whoever had the most correct won (oh, we each put in $5 to play).  Lauren, my niece, was the winner!

Christmas:
The kids woke up at 6:30, but we made them go back to sleep until Jo woke up at 7am.  Santa was good as usual!  Rosie & Anna both received Ugg boots & an iPod & a book.  They were very HAPPY!  Jo was a really good girl and opened 2 new cars for her Thomas train and her very own white board with new markers.  She was very happy too!  The girls also got a Wii from Grandma & Grandpa Carollo.  My parents gave them American Girl items and new shoes.  They were thrilled with all their gifts. 

Pete fixed our very own special omelets, and then we played with our gifts & watched the Disney parade on TV.  Jo loved watching the parade.  We got ready to go over to Aunt Becky's house & hang with the Carollo side.  It is very relaxing & great to see Rob & Heather & Denny & Judy as well as Grandma & Grandpa.  Becky's house is so wonderful for entertaining, and the food was so good. 

It was a very Merry Christmas & to make it more perfect, it snowed on Christmas Day!  A perfect ending....

Christmas Eve Gifts

We woke up on Christmas Eve morning, and the girls were so ANXIOUS to exchange their gifts to each other!  They wrote the sweetest cards to each other (they actually picked names), but Rosie & Anna bought & made Jo gifts anyway.  Jo had Rosie, Rosie had Anna, and Anna had Jo.  They decided to spend $4 at Walgreens, so...

Jo bought Rosie computer paper with a design & peanut M&Ms

Anna bought Jo a Dora the Explorer coloring item

Rosie bought Anna gum that looked like coal & a stuffed animal.

Christmas Creations

We did a lot of decorating this year:  gingerbread men, gingerbread houses & a Christmas tree!  They made wonderful centerpieces for my table.  Jo was so proud of her house - not sure if she is ever going to let me "take it down." 

St. MM Christmas Parties

The next day was a 1/2 day of school with the Christmas parties ending the day.  We had the 1st grade decorate Christmas trees (made out of an ice cream cone), and it was a huge hit!  The 4th grade made a very cool ornament & then played Rob Your Neighbor (I heard it was very fun). 

Just a few candy items were eaten....

Rosie's class won PJ day, so they were very happy not wear their uniform for one day!

St. Mary Magdalen Christmas Program

Monday, December 21st was the St. Mary Magdalen School Christmas Program.  There are special songs sung by the lower grades, and the upper grades perform a very entertaining play (8th graders have the leads & the other grades are the chorus).  The play is always focused on the birth of Jesus with funny & current references to add some humor to the program.  They are always so GOOD!

Our three girls - so beautiful!  Jo insisted on getting dressed up - she wanted to be up on stage all night long.

Christmas Piano Recital

The Christmas recital was on Sunday, December 13th, and it was wonderful.  The family who hosted the recital have a beautiful home in Webster Groves - very traditional with a large open room for the recital.  It was really lovely & so calming to listen to the Christmas songs from the very talented children.  Rosie played Up On the Housetop & Silent Night.  It sounded perfect to me!!  We are so proud of her dedication to piano.

GO BLUES!

The evening of Friday, December 11th was Rosie's official birthday party!  We surprised her with Blues tickets, and she was so EXCITED!  As you can see, she brought a few friends (Megan, Caty, Sarah, Gabby & Cara).  Not sure what the three gang members on the end are doing....  they are goofballs.

I could tell who was a bit worn out from Prairie Days - Rosie & Megan - they calmly watched the game while Gabby & Sarah & Cara danced & hooted & hollered at everything.  Caty was perfect as usual!  It was fun to watch them though - they make me laugh so much. 

The best part was getting on the overhead TV - it was so cool!!!  The camera came around & there we were -screaming our heads off!  They were so happy!!!  The most amazing thing was my brother was at the game & saw us - I didn't know he was going & he didn't know we were going to the game.  But then he saw us on the big screen!  Too funny!

Back to our house for a spendover!  A perfect birthday for my 10 year old!  We all love the St. Louis Blues, and now Rosie & Anna have real jerseys to cheer them on.  Unfortunately, they lost that night 5-3 (& yes, they were winning 3-0 - they lose at home for some unknown reason - I won't mention how mad Pete was with the game). 

Prairie Days

Friday, December 11th was Prairie Days - the culmination of so much learning for the 4th Grade.  Mrs. Jorcke is famous for an amazing day called Prairie Days.  Most parents participated in the day as well, and it was so rewarding for all of us.  Rosie & Megan (& Carrie & I) made bread (with a breadmaker due to time constraints!)  We were in the St. MM gym and the kids were divided by station for Activity One - Get the Food Going so we can eat at 2pm!

The kids dressed up as well (and some parents - I'm a dud as usual with no costume).

Measuring the ingredients for the bread!

Full length shot of Rosie & Megan - everyone looked so awesome - amazing outfits!

Activity Two - Tin Smithing - how the frontier folks decorated - pretty cool!

Activity Three - after lunch & Spanish class, the kids put on four plays & they were so cute.  Rosie was Laura Ingalls in her play - she spoke very clearly & loudly for all to hear!

Activity Four - the feast which consisted of apple butter, regular butter, bread, gingerbread cake, ice cream & lemonade.  All made by the 4th graders, and it was delicious!  We even have the recipes to make them again.  Amazing what few ingredients can make!  That's Jo in her pajamas (PJ day at her school) eating away.  I had to pick her up after bread making so she could watch Rosie in her play.

Jo & Anna both watched Rosie "perform."  Everyone loves Jo Jo at her school - she always has a million kids around her.  It is so darn cute.

The Real Truth to our Christmas Picture

Take One of our Christmas card photo was over Thanksgiving, as usual.  Unfortunately, our family ones did not turn out on Pete's camera which bummed us out.  Typical Carollo good times!  Anyway, we quickly took more pics the following weekend which put me a bit behind on my cards this year.  As my sister Mary put it "isn't Christmas all about running around?"  So true.

Take Two - if you notice, Jo has two different shirts on because she got a few spots on the green one.  Typical Jo Jo! 

Using our tripod - we finally had Jo stand behind us because she thought waiting 10 seconds was hilarious & kept jumping around!

These pictures make me laugh because it was FREEZING!  We took them in 10 minutes, and then hustled to dinner!  Brrrr....  Anything for a picture....