Happy Holidays?!!

Sunday my oldest daughter turned sweet 16! We spent the day with her playing in two soccer games. We got home at about 6 pm and she headed out with her friends for dinner. Last night we had my family over for Christmas eve. We had my 3 brothers, 2 sisters, aunt and mother along with a couple spouses and 15 kids. Add that to my family of five and you can just imagine the fun! We had our annual ham, sausage and pierogi dinner and exchanged gifts. It was fun but not without a few annoying antics. We tolerate each other and for the most part get along well, but what a long night! We all love each other and are always there for each other but kind of get on each others nerves a little. This morning my hubby, kids and I woke up early and exchanged gifts and are headed out to my husband's side of the family for the day. We sure wish we could just stay home and chill! Merry Christmas!

Christmas meme (stole from catch)

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate.

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just set them under the tree? Wrapped, always!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Colored, Kids prefer them

4. Do you hang mistletoe? No, I used to but haven't in years.

5. When do you put your decorations up? Lately my kids do it. We moved into our first house in Dec with a mess and my oldest daughter was born in Dec so I always procrastinate with decorations.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish? pierogi

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Going to Grandmas and going to midnight mass.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don't remember but I tell my kids if they don't believe they don't get anything!

9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? I cook a big dinner for my family which includes 15 nieces and nephews and 2 sisters and spouses, 3 brothers, my mom, my aunt, and one sister in law. We eat and open gifts and have fun!

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? It's halfway done now with ornaments and lights.

11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Love it on the weekends and Christmas!

12. Can you ice skate? Yes! That used to be my husband and my favorite thing to do when we were dating. We got our kids started early. My son and hubby play hockey!

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Favorite ever was white figure skates from my grandma.

14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Family, Down time, Mass

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? cheesecake and cookies

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Making pierogi's from scratch and eating them up!

18. Which do you prefer: giving or receiving? Definitely giving!

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? All of them!

20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? Yuck! I buy them and have them here forever!

Oh, the weather outside is frightful.......

Can you believe that I am expected to go out into this today for soccer! My daughter has two soccer games about an hour away; one at 9:15 am and the other at 11:00. I let them know that we would not make it and got a call from the manager asking me if we could come to the 11:00 am game. Hell no! I am so nervous driving in this stuff. You would think that I would be used to it by now. Yesterday my husband, son and I were in Columbus, when the snow began falling. It took us two and a half hours to get there and five to get home so today my daughter will not be going to soccer! I, however, will be going shopping!

If I had seen this, I might have thought twice!

PARENT - Job Description

This is hysterical. If it had been presented this
way, perhaps none of us would have done it!!!!

POSITION :
Mom, Mommy, Mama, Ma
Dad, Daddy, Dada, Pa, Pop

JOB DESCRIPTION :

Long term, team players needed, for challenging
permanent work in an often chaotic environment.
Candidates must possess excellent communication
and organizational skills and be willing to work
variable hours, which will include evenings and
weekends and frequent 24 hour shifts on call.

Some overnight travel required, including trips
to primitive camping sites on rainy weekends
and endless sports tournaments in far away cities!
Travel expenses not reimbursed.

RESPONSIBILITIES :

The rest of your life.
Must be willing to be hated, at least temporarily,
until someone needs $5. Must be willing to bite
tongue repeatedly.
Also, must possess the physical stamina of a
pack mule and be able to go from zero to 60 mph
in three seconds flat in case, this time, the screams
from the backyard are not someone just crying wolf.

Must be willing to face stimulating technical
challenges, such as small gadget repair,
mysteriously sluggish toilets and stuck zippers.

Must screen phone calls, maintain calendars and
coordinate production of multiple homework
projects.
Must have ability to plan and organize social
gatherings for clients of all ages and mental outlooks.
Must be willing to be indispensable one minute, an
embarrassment the next.
Must handle assembly and product safety testing of
a half million cheap, plastic toys, and battery
operated devices.
Must always hope for the best but be prepared for
the worst.
Must assume final, complete accountability for the
quality of the end product.
Responsibilities also include floor maintenance and
janitorial work throughout the facility.

POSSIBILITY FOR ADVANCEMENT & PROMOTION :

None.
Your job is to remain in the same position for years,
without complaining, constantly retraining and
updating your skills, so that those in your charge
can ultimately surpass you.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE :

None required unfortunately.
On-the-job training offered on a continually
exhausting basis.

WAGES AND COMPENSATION :

Get this! You pay them!
Offering frequent raises and bonuses.
A balloon payment is due when they turn 18
because of the assumption that college will help
them become financially independent.

When you die, you give them whatever is left.
The oddest thing about this reverse-salary scheme
is that you actually enjoy it and wish you could only
do more.

BENEFITS :

While no health or dental insurance, no pension,
no tuition reimbursement, no paid holidays and
no stock options are offered; this job supplies
limitless opportunities for personal growth,
unconditional love, and free hugs and kisses for
life if you play your cards right.

AND A FOOTNOTE
** THERE IS NO RETIREMENT -- EVER!!! **

If you are fortunate enough you will become Grandparents!

Let the fun begin!

We got some snow today. All you hear on the radio is how many accidents there are. I hate driving in the snow. Here in the Detroit area, even if it rains the freeway is full of uptight drivers. So many people with road rage. I don't get road rage........I cause it!

Weekend in Canada

My family spent the weekend in Canada for a hockey tournament. After driving 4 hours we arrived at the Ice arena for my son's first game. They won the game and we headed to the hotel to check in. I packed a ton of groceries for two reasons, first because our American dollar is worth less in Canada, and second because I have once again started weight watchers and I intend to stick to it this time. Needless to say, my family was not thrilled about making lunch in the hotel room! Part of the fun of tournaments is going out to eat. Anyway, we scarfed down lunch and I informed everyone to get ready so we could head downtown to Toronto. After they all complained I still insisted that we go.

We drove to the subway station and parked the car. It took about 20 minutes just to get to the station due to traffic. We then had to figure out how to use the machine in the lot to buy our parking ticket. Next we headed across the street and down the stairs. Being from the Detroit area, my kids have never experienced any type of public transportation, especially a subway. We bought our tickets and got on the subway and headed toward the city. Once we arrived at our stop, we came out of the station and practically ran to the CN Tower, which was a couple blocks away. It was raining slightly and we only had about 2 hours to see the tower and get back to the hotel so that we could make it to the next hockey game.

We got to the tower, we bought our tickets and headed on to the elevator. We took a glass elevator all the way to the Look out Level which is 1136 feet above the ground. My husband rode the elevator with his back to the window because he cannot handle heights at all. My kids thought that was hilarious! We exited the elevator and walked around that level enjoying the view of the city. It was amazing. We even went outside and walked around. After that we headed to the Glass floor which is a view directly down to the ground. The kids were jumping and laying on the glass floor and have been teasing my husband endlessly for not walking on it.

After that we headed down the elevator and back to the subway station. I was really proud of Jake for remembering the way back through the subway station. Everyone just followed him. We got to the hotel and loaded up his bag to head to the game. Once again our team won! They ended up doing very well. They won 5 games and lost in the semi finals. We got home Sunday at 7 pm which gave us a little time to relax before heading back to school and work. The trip to the tower ended up being the most fun for them. We go to interesting cities with their sports teams but never have time to enjoy it. I'm glad I insisted we go to the tower because now they can say they have been in the World's tallest building.

Summer is over!

I can't believe that summer is officially over. This Labor day weekend has been quite a bore. My kids were all in different states. Oldest in Illinois for soccer, Middle up north in Michigan with at friend, and youngest in Ohio at Cedar Point. My husband and I had a much needed break from kids. My oldest daughters soccer team has done quite well. They have won all their games and will be in the championship today at noon. Hope they win. I'll follow up later on that!

The mother lode

Well, I have once again been researching on ancestry.com along with my brother, who is also hooked. Anyway, he has hit the mother lode! He found an email address to someone that has been researching the same family as us. Well, come to find out, she is a first cousin of my father. Her mother was my grandfather's sister that was adopted! (see my post on blast from the past) My brother contacted her and she has a treasure chest full of photos of my great grandparents and their families as well as my grandfather and his family. She also has alot of information that she has shared with us. My favorite picture is the one here that shows My grandmother Virginia (who I am named after) , her mother, my dad (tall boy in the back) with his brothers and sisters that were born at the time. My grandmother died at 42 years old and they all had a tough life. This picture shows them dressed nicely and shows that they were happy with their mother. I love it. As I have said before, my dad passed away in 2001. I know he would have loved to see these photos. He nor any of his siblings have any photos like this. My uncle who lives in NJ is having a birthday party this weekend and I have forwarded all the photos that I have received to him by mail so that he can share them with his brothers and sisters. I wish I could be there to see their reaction when they see them. I know they will enjoy them as much as I have. Also, they can now get in touch with their cousin that actually has the photos and lives about 45 minutes away from them. We are happy to have found her!

Born on the 4th of July

Yup, yesterday was my birthday. I can't believe I am 42!! My sister in law says I am now at the age where I can just say it backwards, so I am 24! We went to my in-laws house on Tuesday night and spent the night so that we could spend the 4th at their place. They live in the country on a beautiful lot that they made even more beautiful. They have a little path that goes through the woods with flowers and birdhouses, rasberry bushes, a pond with lily pads and tons of frogs. It is nice to spend the day there and we don't get to go as often with our work schedules and kids activities. My mother in law made a nice dinner and she always gets my birthday cake. It was fun. We took our dog and she had a blast. She is a nine year old chocolate lab. When she is there she acts like a puppy again. She runs and swims in the pond and just loves it. She along with the rest of the family will probably sleep all day today to make up for it. I, on the other hand, have to go to work now!

My Girl is Growing Up

My oldest daughter is 15. She will be 16 in December. Now all of the sudden there's a boy. I call him "9:30". The reason I call him "9:30" is because that is when he likes to show up here. She says he has hockey and baseball and works. I say that is too late to be showing up. She says it is summertime. I say I have to work for a living and that's too late! He is going into 11th grade and she is going in 10th. He drives. I have heard they're "going out". I am having a hard time with all of this. It's so hard when they grow up. It's very scary as a parent. There is so much going on out there these days and I am hoping that I have taught her well. To top it off, my next daughter is 14 so all this fun will be happening with her soon, too. Wish me luck getting through this!

Blast From the Past

I took advantage of an offering on ancestry.com and was able to do some free research on my father's side of the family. I really enjoyed investigating things. My father passed away in 2001 and it hurts to realize that there were so many things that we did not know about him and his family. We were told that his father was an orphan so it would be hard to find out things.
Well, I found that his father's parents came from Germany. My great grandfather Martin came alone, and his soon to be wife, Anna came with her father and 2 sisters, Marie and Martha. Martin and Anna married in New York on June 7, 1906 (need to confirm). They lived in Kings county NY accoding to the 1910 cencus and had 4 children Martin, Frederick, William, and Louise. Anna died July 22, 1918. Jumping ahead to the 1920 census, I can see that Martin, Frederick, and William were living in the New York Juvenile Asylum as "inmates" They were 12, 11, and 9 years old. I found their sister was adopted by a family in NJ which come to find out was Anna's sister, Marie's family. I am having a difficult time finding out what happend to their father, Martin, but I do have his World War I draft card which was filled out in 1918 and he listed Marie as his nearest relative. Later in 1930, I can see that the boys Martin, Frederick and William were living with Marie's family in NJ as well. At that time they were 23, 21, and 19 years old. William who was my grandfather married Virginia and they had 9 children. My father was the oldest of them. Virginia died May 18, 1965 and William died May 15, 1973. My father, William Jr. of course, married my mother and they had 6 children.
My research on the rest of the family is still ongoing. It is alot of fun learning about the family and trying to put all the pieces together. One family member who is, I believe, my genereation has listed herself as a contact in one of the ancestry databases. I am going to try and contact her to see if she has any more pieces of the the puzzle. I have learned alot and there is alot more I want to know.

Growing Kids

My son has been gone all week at 5th grade camp. It has been very hard on me. I miss him alot. He is the last one to go. When my daughters went it was very hard on me as well. Sure it has been quiet around here but the quiet times will come soon enough. I am really going to work on savoring and enjoying the next few years with my children. Chelsea is 15 and she is very independent. At that age friends are all that matter. Amanda is 14 and very active. She is a little more of a home person. She needs her down time. Jake is 11 and he'll be getting to the point where he won't let me hug him as much. Time goes by too quickly.

Brrrrrrr, It's cold!

I am definately not looking forward to my gas bill! The last few days we have had a blast of cold, cold weather. It is -2 degrees and it is frigid. We have been spoiled so far this winter so I guess I shouldn't complain too much. The schools have been closed for 2 days because of the cold. Of course, the kids love that! We did go to our favorite Japanese Ramen shop for dinner Saturday. My son was brave enough to try the squid this time and loved it. The shop we go to is very authentic. There are only about 8 or 9 tables, A shelf with Japanese books and magazines, and the counter stacked with bowls where the cook prepares the ramen-delicious ramen! What a great way to warm up for awhile.

My journey continues

I made it to the gym 3 days in a row and on Thursday I decided to take the family so that they could all get their id cards and see what my excitement was about. Getting everyone in the car was a production in itself. Once we arrived, they all got their cards and we headed to the gym. My hubby decided to forgo the orientation saying "Ginny, I have been in a gym before." My girls just went around checking everything out. Since my son is only 10 he was not allowed in the gym. I started to do my workout and noticed that my husband was going to different machines not appearing to have a clue. My 3 kids started to run the track. They ran a mile and that kept them busy......... for about 7 minutes. After that they were back in the gym like flies on sh**. It was driving me crazy. I finally let my son come in since he looked so bored. I thought I would let him try a few machines. As we headed over towards the free weights I spotted my husband trying to bench press. He was laying on the bench with the weight bar across his chest just about trapped. I stepped over to help him get the bar up and I was like "What the hell are you doing?!!" He said "I used to be able to lift that much weight." To which my reply was "Yeah, 20 years ago!" During that hour and half visit I think I exercised for 10 minutes. I do believe that will be the last time I allow them into my new world! If they want to go again, it will not be with me!

A journey of a thousand miles.....

Well, it's official. I have begun my journey to get my body back. I have to get rid of this baby fat. Especially since my baby is 10! I have joined a gym and have gone 2 days in a row and I feel great. The last straw came when I tried to zip my winter coat and it is way too tight. I have been walking around with it open and darn it it's cold! Also, after yet another weekend of chief cook, bottle washer, laundery clerk, chauffer, and personal shopper, I have let my family know that I quit! It is all about me for awhile! I have pulled out my Weight Watcher and lowfat Cookbooks an I am fired up! Let me know if you have any good recipes to share.
Here is my motivator:

"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step" -Lao TSu

Well, My busy weekends have paid off....

I have won a trip to Virginia for a national indoor soccer tournament! The location of this tournament is about 27 miles from Washington. Maybe I will finally get to do something fun and go see the sights. Our last tournament was in the suburbs of Chicago and with the schedule, we did not even get to make it into the city. The idea for this trip is to plan an extra day for sightseeing. The bad news is that it is in February. I will have to pray for good weather!

Busy Weekend

Well, another busy weekend. Last night we had an 8 pm soccer game. Today it was hockey at 8:40, basketball at 12:15, Hockey game at 8 pm, soccer game at 9 pm and another soccer game at 11 pm. All of these activities are at a minimum a 30 minute drive from our house. Now I know why my blog is uninteresting-I do not have a life! Hopefully I can work on finding things that interest me and start writing about them.
This weekend is also the Detroit Auto Show. I have no intention of going this year because I have lost all interest in cars. They cost too much and frankly I am tired of hearing people I know that work for the auto companies tell how little they do at work. No wonder the auto companies are int he shape they are in. I work in automotive so my employer is feeling the effects, too. The whole problem is that everyone has taken so much for so long it is finally catching up. Hopefully they will get things back on track before it is too late!

Our first sports injury

Considering that I have 3 kids in very competitive sports, I suppose I am lucky that this was our first injury. My Amanda got tangled up and fell to the floor face first in a basketball game. She kind of stumbled when she got up and once they got her back to the bench she looked quite stunned. I went over and her lip was huge. Then we noticed her eye had a cut right on the brow bone. She was complaining about her tooth and the coach said "Take a look Mom". I was like nope! I do not do blood and guts so he had to check it out. Where is my hubby when I need him! Anyway I ended up taking her to the ER for stitches. I think it upset me more than it did her. She was laughing that I was holding her hand while the doctor was stitching her up. Oh well, with my son playing hockey and checking starting in the spring, I am sure this is just the beginning!