Catching Up!

Well hello everyone! Did you miss me and the rest of the Raz Report Crew? I took a little blog break because 1) I kept forgetting to blog; 2) My Internet connection has been very wonky and I keep getting tossed off; 3) I use my iPad most of the time now and there aren't any photos on it worth posting; 4) I kept forgetting to blog ;)

So here's what we've been up to for the last several weeks.

I am happy to report that I have avoided sickness. Rob and the girls, though, kept me busy with their sniffles and belly-aching. Rob had the worst of it and was in bed for several days. Lizzie complained for several days, but only missed one day of school. Hannah was just sick on a Saturday for about 15 minutes. We don't get flu shots and I think only Rob actually had the flu, which means he needs to get one next year. I got one last year since I started volunteering for hospice and felt sick for about three days after the shot, which I was told was normal as your immune system builds up. However, the previous 52 years I was sick for ZERO days with flu like symptoms, so I decided to skip the shot this year.

I also cut the girls' hair. Hannah wanted something dramatic that everyone would notice, so I chopped off a good six inches. Lizzie wanted only a tiny bit cut so that she could complain when NO ONE noticed her hair cut.

Here's Hannah before...

And after...

We've also been busy with girl scouts. It's cookie time and we've been trying to reach our goal. Last year the four of us (Rob sells them at work) sold more than 200 boxes. This year we hope to sell 150 with the increase in price. My troop decided they want to take a little trip with the money they earn (actually they want to either go on a cruise OR to Great Wolf Lodge, but we'd have to sell about a million boxes...) and we are thinking about doing an ovenight at the Philadelphia Zoo.
Here are Hannah and Liz selling cookies at a local convenience store. It was about 30 degrees outside, which is not that cold for the first hour. For the second hour 30 degrees is VERY cold. Luckily some people took pity on the girls and bought lots of cookies. One guy bought 12 boxes and another guy bought a couple boxes and then went into the store and came out with a hot chocolate for each girl. Oh, and we collected nearly $20 in direct donations, too!

We've also had playdates. I really like the girls' friends and never mind it when they visit. Here's Hannah and Phoebe and in the background you can see Sami and Lizzie (who is on the ground --I'm not sure why...) They made silly putty and perfume and ate lots of snacks. Oh, and they also watched a couple of episodes of "House of Anubis" a favorite show of 4th graders.

Let's see what else? I've been getting my new business off the ground. It's called Happy Medium Intuitive Life Coaching and I try to book sessions every week. This week I had zero, but next week I've got three, so I hope it all evens out. I've also been forced asked to be the Talent Show Coordinator for the elementary school talent show. Hannah's going to debut "On My Own" from Les Miz and Lizzie decided she doesn't like people looking at her, so she's not going to do anything.

Oh, and this past weekend has been all about Valentine's Day. The girls had to make a box for their Valentine's at school, as well as sign or make one for each kid in the class. Lizzie made hers and Hannah used store bought cards.

Rob's been busy, too, as his mom has been dealing with some medical issues (prayers for Connie are always appreciated!). We are ALL looking forward to warm weather, too, so we don't have to spend so much time in the house yelling and fighting with each other. :)

I've got a couple of Way Back's ready to go, so keep an eye out for them.

Simple Woman's Daybook

For January 17, 2013

Outside my window... The sun, the sun, the sun!! Finally after a drippy, drizzly, soggy, can understand why everyone in Seattle is depressed few weeks here, the SUN finally came out. It's cold -- about 34 when I was running errands -- but the sun was out today. YAY!

I am thinking... how lucky I am to have blog readers who check in about my health and well-being when I haven't blogged in a while. Trust me, if there was anything wrong I'd TOTALLY blog about it!

I am thankful ... for my children who keep me laughing even when they are driving me crazy. After a particularly stressful day Lizzie (who spent much of the afternoon in her room writing essays about why you should not call your sister mean names) told me that she was no longer going to refer to her life as her life. She was going to forevermore refer to her existence as "my sorrow." Luckily she snapped out of her bad behavior the next morning, although there are always things to complain about in the Lizzie world.

From the kitchen... Chicken rigatoni and pesto sauce (store bought) for dinner. I made some cranberry bread yesterday and it's still sitting there (well half of it is -- girls took it to school today for snack). I know it's out of season, but the store had the whole berry cranberry sauce on sale and I bought a ton of it.

I am wearing... pink shirt, black leggings, ripped up shoes, fake suede big shirt.

I am creating... a story about Miranda Lambert for the Eagle and a brochure for my new business.

I am going ... to begin the new business (Happy Medium Life Coaching) in earnest in the coming weeks. I've already got sessions scheduled and now that Dear Abby has died I'm sure that there will be more people wanting advice! ;)

I am reading... The River Witch...I started it this weekend and am intrigued, but haven't found time to finish it yet.

I am hoping... for a great outcome for my mother-in-law's surgery on Tuesday. Can you keep her in your prayers please? Thanks!

I am hearing... Lizzie is coloring loudly (in fact she just apologized for coloring so loudly -- lots of paper shaking and banging) and Hannah is laughing occasionally at the movie she's watching on computer. She's got earphones on so I have no idea what the joke is but I expect it involves some bodily function. Hannah likes very broad comedy.

Around the house... we said goodbye to Christmas a week or so ago and the house is in pretty decent shape thanks to a cleanup and the fact that Hannah wanted me to type a paper for her and I traded the typing for her vacuuming the living room.

One of my favorite things... My Ninja blender system. It was a gift to myself from some of the Christmas money I got (I was going to buy a ring, but this is much more useful and I am LOVING it!) I can make the girls smoothies after school everyday and it does all sorts of other things (smoothies for me, too, blended in the cup you drink it from). It's fast and clean up is a breeze. I swear it's the really the most useful 99 bucks I've spent in a while.

A few plans for the week ahead... busy busy busy... I've got book club tomorrow and the girls have a birthday party on Sunday. Then there's dance and CCD and I've been forced into  asked to coordinate the elementary school talent show this year so I'll be working on that, too. The show's not until Feb. 22, but there are auditions and previews and planning sessions. Oh my. Oh, and we're planning a semi-formal for the girl scouts in May so I need to get started on that (I'm the program director for our local service unit). And, girl scout cookie time has started, so you can expect to get a call from two Junior scouts trying to convince you to part with some of your hard-earned cash!

Pictures I am sharing... I haven't been taking many pictures lately ... once in a while I like to put the camera down and watch the world with my actual eyes, but I did manage to snap a couple when the girls tried sushi for the first time. Although it doesn't look like it, Hannah LOVED sushi. This picture was taken after she ate the (cooked) shrimp, but she loved the raw salmon and tuna. She even loved the seaweed wrap and took that off to eat separately. She did not care for the wasabi. Lizzie on the other hand looks sort of like she liked the sushi, but she did NOT. She ate the rice and that was about all. However, I did not even eat the rice. I don't "get" the idea of eating something raw that tastes marginal even when cooked: So you will never see a picture of me eating sushi for the first time.

It's Christmas with the Raz Report

I have to say that as much as I like to have people over and socialize at their homes, I ALSO like staying home with just my little family. So I was very happy that this Christmas it was just Rob, Hannah, Lizzie and I. I was also very happy that NO ONE said I'M BORED for the entire day because then I would have had to put myself in a time out. I think the gifts were all a win -- even though we all discovered on Christmas morning (along with parents across the US) that a Furby doesn't have an off button. So here are a few pictures from our Christmas Day.

This was the scene right after Santa finished his (her) work. You can see some of the amazing wrapping Santa did, employing simple household items like garbage bags! Those big blue things in the front of the picture aren't body bags, by the way, they are the plasma cars that grandpa did not get financed. The big box to the left is the wine refrigerator that the girls and I got Rob. Other stuff is from very generous aunts and uncles and even a few for ME!

 

The girls also selected gifts for us from a holiday shop at their school. Rob got this hat from Hannah and a pen with a similar sentiment from Lizzie. I have to agree with both the hat and the pen!!

The Furbys were a HUGE hit, as were the mp3 players and the gumball machine. In fact, I have to say that they have played with or worn or used every single gift they've gotten. And they were so excited to get so much stuff. And I have to say that two days after Christmas, the Furbys are kind of cute. In moderation!

Lizzie was beyond thrilled when she saw this gift though! (Thanks to help from Santa Terry) I seriously thought my little I-Don't-Believe-In-Santa-Pessimist was going to burst into tears of joy when she took it out of the bag. She was dancing and laughing and hugging it. VERY VERY VERY happy with Santa (and now she's a total believer again since she knows that I would NEVER in a million years give her a dead thing...)
She's taken her mink with her everywhere. EVERYWHERE. As you can see ... even to bed:

I served prime rib for dinner and it was delicious. I'm not a big red meat eater, but once a year I cook roast beef for Rob (the #1 Dad deserves it!) and so while other families are gathering on Christmas Eve to read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas or The Polar Express, I am reading Joy of Cooking to remember how to cook the beef! Also on the menu: mashed potatoes, turnip, glop (a family recipe that basically substitutes canned asparagus for the green beans in green bean casserole), rolls and creamed onions. Here's everyone getting ready to dig in:

Then Rob (#1 Dad) cleared the table and cleaned up the kitchen while I relaxed. About an hour or so later we our dessert of cream puffs (store bought, but I dipped them in chocolate!) and pumpkin pie. We also ate some of Aunt Tina's delicious cookies!

And, because they behaved really well during dinner, Rob decided to share his dessert coffee with the Furbys:

Tomorrow (I'm writing this on Friday) the rest of the Rasmussens will visit to distribute even more gifts and eat lasagna!

Christmas Morning

Merry Christmas everyone! We have had a great day so far with lots of laughter and excitement and a delicious (if I do say so myself!) prime rib. I'll post pictures later, but for now, here's a little snippet of our Christmas morning ...

Christmas Weekend

Things sure have been busy 'round here as the clock ticks toward Christmas 2012. Here are some pictures of just some of the things we've been doing:

On Friday I went into the girls' school to help out with Hannah's class Christmas (or is it holiday?) party. This is Hannah and her best friend Phoebe. These two met during kindergarten round-up (the spring before kindergarten) and have been good friends ever since:

And here is Hannah playing the "balance the ornament" game. We also did a marshmallow game and a guess how many tootsie rolls are in the jar game. Oh and there was LOTS of food.

Whenever I go into one classroom I usually try to stop by the other girls' class, too, just to say hi. When I stopped by Lizzie's classroom they were getting ready to play some pass the candy cane game (that's not the teacher explaining it, that's my friend Stacie who in real life is an Egyptologist and my card-making buddy!) Lizzie's off to the left of the photo looking very interested in the game (or the candy canes!)

 

On Saturday we went to see "Annie" with the Girl Scouts. It was the local community theater production and really quite good. We all had a great time (even though I can't find the photo I took --  but if you're on facebook you've already seen it!) But before we went to "Annie" Beanie stopped by to do some gift exchanging and share a cup of tea at the St. Peter's bakery. Oh, and to drop off some cookies that are right now sitting on a plate on my island, awaiting Santa!

 On Sunday we went to a Christmas party (didn't take pictures) and drove around looking at the lights. Lots of good displays out there and Lizzie has decided that our house is BORING and next year we are going to have lots and lots of lights. 

Christmas Eve took us to Terry's house for our annual Christmas Eve pizza get together. As you can see a great time was had by all, especially Bob who isn't pictured, but enjoyed nearly an entire pizza all by himself.

We also had crackers ... Hannah helped Shelby pull hers open:

Lizzie's crown was just a smidge too big, I think:

When we got home, it was time to feed the reindeer. And did I mention we had a couple of inches of snow? It happened mostly when the girls and I were at Mass making driving home a little dicey (icy!) but we still managed to make it to Terry's house! Here's Lizzie making sure Santa's reindeer are well taken care of!

We finished off the evening listening to Rob play "Silent Night" on the piano. Then it was off to bed for the girls, Midnight Mass for Rob and wrapping, displaying and cooking for me!

I'll post pictures of the big morning doings tomorrow sometime:

Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday

This video is from the Garrity Christmas 2010. I found it while looking for something else (and it's on this blog in 2010 if it looks familiar) and thought it would be a good video not only to wish Dad a happy ??? birthday (warning: REALLY BAD SINGING --mostly mine!) but also because it includes an appearance by Mom for those of us who miss hearing her voice (yes, even her singing voice...)

Happy Birthday Dad!!! xoxo

Snowflakes and Solace

It's hard for anyone to know the best way to handle a tragedy like the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary last week.
It's difficult for adults to wrap their brains around it all, much less a group of fourth graders. But the kids want to know what's going on in the world. They hear about it, they worry about it. And as a parent I think it's my responsibility to help them navigate it, even though I'd rather just pretend it never happened -- and never COULD happen.
But my daughters live daily with increased security measures in their school. They practice lockdown drills along with fire drills and weather drills. They can't get into the school office with the daily attendance sheet unless someone buzzes them in and then out again. They know that when a kid wanders too far from the playground everyone has to go inside until the child is found. They know doors get locked, windows stay closed and the police are there to keep them safe.
So I told Hannah and Lizzie about what had happened. And, yes, we discussed the children who died, but we spent more talking about the children -- the hundreds of children -- who lived. We talked about the people who helped them; the people who saved them. We talked about what happens in their school to keep them safe. And we talked about the Snowflake Project.
The local (and now the state) PTSA in Connecticut have asked schools and community groups to show support by making snowflakes. The school that the children are going to be using is a drab building that the PTSA hopes to brighten with hundreds of snowflakes created by children across the country. My guess is that there will be well more than hundreds make -- more like 10s of thousands.
This past Tuesday my Junior troop made 26 to send in.
As a troop we talked a little about what happened, but mostly we talked about how we could help those hundreds of students who escaped safely cope with the changes and sadness around them.
Then we made snowflakes -- one for each angel.

Here's Lizzie and her best friend Keira. It's a little hard to tell from this picture, but Lizzie's snowflake is covered in glitter glue:

And here's Hannah and a bunch of my other scouts working on their snowflakes. This table decided to color the paper before cutting out the flakes. I am always amazed at how creative the girls are AND how differently they express that creativity. I have to say that no two snowflakes were alike:

 A few of my silly scouts working on their project. They all have the best hearts and were really into this project. What might have been sad became a joyful project:

 Here are some of the snowflakes we made. I'm packaging them up and sending them off tomorrow. Nothing will ever diminish the tragedy of what happened, but I am hopeful that the avalanche of snowflakes that I know are making their way to Connecticut will serve to show that while evil cannot be stopped; neither can good.

 I've got two addresses for the Snowflake Project (several friends from Connecticut!) but the most popular seems to the Connecticut PTSA. If you want to participate send your flakes to Connecticut PTSA, 60 Connolly Parkway, Building 12, Suite 103, Hamden, CT 06514, by January 12, 2013
One of the emails I got specified that NO WORDS should be written on the snowflakes (even words of encouragement) because they are supposed to serve just as a happy, sparkly decoration.