*classic* christmas toys

so, a friend of mine just posted something on her blog about how christmas toys keep getting fancier and fancier as the years go by, and in turn, a lot more expensive than what they used to be. she asked everyone to post their own blog with their CLASSIC christmas toy picks. You know, those *simple* toys that you can play with for hours and hours and they never get old...the ones that make you reminisce about playing with your sister/brother back in the day...the ones that you want your kids to grow up playing with...or the ones you already bought your kids and love to play with them to this day!.

here are a couple of my picks:

my sister and i got a mr. and mrs. potato head when we were about 10 years old or so, and i still have the original set with all the "accessories". we keep them in the kids' room along with the other extra things i bought for them and we all love to play with the potato heads together!




again, my sister and i got hooked on playing legos when we were about 6 or 7 years old, and AGAIN, i still have our box of legos from those days (although its' missing a zillion pieces ever since my little brother got a hold of them years ago...). we keep them at my mom and dad's house and one day my kids discovered the box, and well, the rest is history... i ended up buying a little set for our house and there should be more to come, come christmas day ;) for those of you who don't know this little fact about me already, LEGOS are my absolute favorite toy EVER. i can STILL sit and play with these things for hours. and when my kids hand me some pieces and say, mom, can you make me a house or mom, can you make me a car... i just light up thinking of all the possibilities!


so what's YOUR favorite classic toy? feel free to comment here or post it on your blog...

and happy classic christmas shopping this year ;)

***

on another note, we are headed to virginia tomorrow to visit russell's sister, susan and the gang for thanksgiving. this trip has been planned for quite some time and we can't believe it's finally here! we can't wait to get there - but first we have a 10 hour drive ahead of us! wish us luck and please pray for our safety and SANITY!

happy thanksgiving everyone!!!

weeeee!

having some fun in the backyard today.

(have i mentioned how much i love this cooler weather!?)

a wedding to remember

What a beautiful wedding -- and a beautiful couple.

Congratulations to our good friends Emily and Charlie!

we had so much fun drinking and dancing the night away... when all was said and done, we had spent 8 whole hours away from home that night! now THAT is what you call a good time :)

* slideshow from the parade *

happy veteran's day

heather and tara convinced me to head out to the veteran's day parade downtown this afternoon. i was very reluctant about having to handle both kids by myself at an event like that, especially since russell has been very "moody" lately, but i am so glad we went!! it was a beautiful day, the kids were great, everyone had fun, and we were able to appreciate the true meaning of this holiday. watching those veterans ride through the parade and seeing all of the other people who are still serving or supporting our country moved me deeply and i am *FOREVER GRATEFUL* to them all!

may GOD BLESS AMERICA always!

here is a video of the kids marching and dancing to the music of the parade:
(you might want to scroll down and mute the music before playing)

*** more pictures to come ***

weekend update.

it was one thing after another this past weekend -- more so than usual!

on saturday we participated in our neighborhood garage sale. no one likes to do garage sales, myself included...but i had been meaning to get rid of a lot of things and this was the perfect opportunity. our hard work (setting up the night before, waking up at the crack of dawn to set up even more, and spending half of our day talking to strangers) paid off - and we made well over $100! so i rewarded myself with a new bag i had been wanting for quite some time ;) among many other needed items...Later in the day, in between everything else, Russell washed the car and I went shopping with Natalie.

On Sunday we woke up extra early to attend 8:00 mass since we were driving 3 hours southwest to visit our old family friends, Iris and John. My mom and Iris were both pregnant (with Celena, not me) at the same time back in New York and our families have remained in touch since. Iris's daughter, Yvette, is now married with 2 kids of her own and they were visiting Florida for vacation this week so we were able meet her family for the first time. It had been about 10+ years or so since we had seen Yvette as well. We had such a wonderful time and it was certainly worth the trip! Her family is just so precious and I feel incredibly touched how we are able to share in each other's adult lives -- what a beautiful thing!

Thank you for having us over guys! xoxo

me, yve and celena posing together for the first time in YEARS!!!

This message is long overdue but it's been on my mind for quite sometime...

Congratulations on the marriages of my beautiful cousins:

Marisa & Edgar in New York

November 1, 2008

***

Matt & Emily in Austin, Texas

August 15, 2008

I know I was one of the few family members who couldn't attend, and I am so sorry I wasn't able to join in your celebration, but please know I was there in spirit.

I wish the very best for you both. Cheers to sharing the future with your best friends!

All my love,
Katrina

Love is the condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own.

~Robert Heinlein

crazy kids

while russ and i were trying to survive the [election] night, the kids were having the time of their lives running (and even crawling) around the house together, laughing and screaming the entire time. i decided to grab my camera to capture these fun moments.