New Moon

So I took my little cousin Marissa to the "New Moon" movie last night (because I have been dying to go). Ladies, I tried to not read the books, I tried to not become one of the followers, and ladies I have failed. If you love an easy read that involves romance that brings you back to high school when you were swooning over your first love this series is a must. The girls at work are the ones to blame in my case. They kept pressuring me to read the series; I kept making fun of them. The Twilight series reminded me of the Harry Potter obsession which I never understood. This phenomenon with Twilight you will completely get after reading the first book.

Once I began reading it I could not put it down, I even went and bought New Moon after I finished Twilight because I could not wait to go to the office on Monday to grab it off of Jessie's desk. My husband looked at me in disbelief and has been completely annoyed that I insisted on reading every night before bed this last month. By the way my dreams have also become more adventurous since I hopped on this train. I now have finished all four books and my blood is boiling for the 5th book which should be coming soon.

Regardless, the movie was AWESOME! I am definitely Team Edward all the way. Make fun of me all you want but I am telling you if you can get over the stigma your imagination and heart will forgive you. The story line is great, the characters are unique, and the setting is beautiful.

Say what you want I don't care. If I can convince you to take the step you will be thanking me later. I may even let you come to Eclipse (the third book) when it comes out in June of 2010.

The series goes as follows: Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn. Buy it, borrow it, or download it on your Kindle. Does anyone have a Kindle? Please tell me what you think about it if you do. The thought of being able to download thousands of books and keep them in one location makes me salivate. The only problem is that I am prone to losing things as well as borrowing out books when I am done.

So now I am on the hunt for another good book to read. Granted I have 3 on my nightstand that have been collecting dust since my new obsession but I am thinking about going to get Barbara Kingsolver's new book The Lacuna: A Novel her first novel in nine years, she is the author of The Poisonwood Bible (Oprah's Book Club) (Paperback) (great book) among many others. I read it before it became an Oprah book by the way- for whatever reason it really bugs me that she puts her stamp on a book and then it is deemed good. Not sure why I have a beef with that but it BUGS ME. I am also contemplating Jeannette Walls new book Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel because her first book The Glass Castle: A Memoir was unbelievable. I tend to read mostly non-fiction books in terms of auto-biographies and biographies. That is why I had a hard time deciding to read the Twilight series because there is no way that it was factual. I like books that I can read and then try to dig into the history of them when I am finished. I also like to read in first person versus second person most of the time.

So with all that being said PLEASE share what you are reading, who are some of your favorite authors, and what are some of your favorite books? I am always up for a good read, even better if it has been recommended!

Pictures, pictures, and more pictures- December 2009...

Alex's favorite part of the cookie is my homemade  the frosting...can you really blame him?

Above are some pictures from the night of Anthony's kindergarten Christmas program. He looked so cute in his "Christmas Best".

Above is Anthony's note to Santa telling him about the things he wants to remind him and to also fill him in on a few things he forgot to tell him. Translation: DS, Dog 7 mo (months-why not sure?) old, and electronical race car (he is learning to sound out his words). Also are the treats that we laid out for Santa and the reindeer.

             

Santa came through on the DS. I love the pic of Alex checking out what Anthony got. He was so cute to watch, still more interested in boxes half the time. But got so excited for everyone else.

 

Last but not least Anthony in his new robe that he calls his new"kung-fu" robe and will not take off.

Watch out...today I am on the naughty list.

Today is one of those days that I curse myself for being crabby. I have no good reason; I really just woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Also, do you ever realize when your week is cut short you become anxious for the vacation to start and mentally start earlier? That is me today, 100%.

This weekend we did finish up our Christmas shopping, managed to get most of the gifts wrapped until I ran out of tape, and even conquered  pictures with Santa. We went to the Moorhead Center Mall vs. West Acres this year. Not only were we able to avoid the huge crowd but the cause at the MCH was awesome. Instead of spending $20 on sheets of out of focus pictures with Santa you donated a can good for each child and then they will email the photo to you (I will post when it arrives). I am pretty sure it was a family that was doing it including two teenagers (a son and daughter) dressed up as elves along with their parents. I thought that was a great symbol of Christmas right there. Anthony happily rambled off what he would like well Alex stared seriously into the camera not looking at Santa. He goes into Mr. Serious mood whenever some sort of character is live in front of him.

I have lots of photos to post from Anthony's Christmas Concert last week. Hello- he looked like a little stud in his pinstriped vest and pants suit with a black/red striped tie. Love it! He did well for the most part; you could tell when his interest would divert because he would start putting his arms into his sleeves. They all looked so cute in their Christmas best.

Also in the near future are cookie decorating, playing outside, and some winter 2009 pictures. Pictures are my favorite part of the blogs, if I remind myself to do it in a post I feel guilty for making you all anticipate (please note the sarcasm attached to this).

Oohhh one other thing, you must go to the link to on here to Pout's blog and get the link to have Santa send a personalized email to your kids. I did it for both Anthony and Alex, I cannot wait to get home so they both can see. Technology never really ceases to amaze me!!

At what age is appropriate?

So today my girlfriend from work and I were going to register our toddlers for gymnastics. Something that has been on the radar for a while, something I thought Alex would enjoy. Yeah, $95.00 to register my child who is not even 2 yet. So poor Alex did not get registered because Erin and I decided that he and Addie can wait until the spring so our Christmas budgets can bounce back.

So this is a question that I often struggle with: When is it age appropriate to get your children involved in activities? Anthony so far has been in swimming, t-ball (which was painful to watch because he had no interest), soccer (loved it), and is now in basketball. In January he begins skating lessons, not hockey because I was too cheap (almost $300 to enroll, granted $240 is pre-paid raffle tickets but still was not ready to do it) not knowing if he was going to like it or not. I figure if we can master his skating skills and he really wants to try it next year I will agree to it.

When I was younger my mom enrolled us in swimming and skating so we could learn the basics, I loved both. I also played basketball and loved it but was not really interested in any of them until about third grade. But now it seems there is alot more pressure to get them started young so they develop into the activity at a faster pace. Let's face it nobody wants their child to be the one that feels inadequate or is a constant benchwarmer.

There is also the argument that children that are busy are more apt to not find themselves in trouble. You are showing them what responsibility and determination brings you. That you are rewarded for your efforts with scholarships, etc. But I have also been witness to people that played a sport their entire high school and college career that then digress because they felt like they never had the time to spread their wings or relax with friends and choose to do it later in life when most of us are starting our careers or families.

So please share your thoughts and opinions. Tell me what age you think children should get involved in organized activites and when you feel okay with spending the $95.00 (seriously ridiculous) to get them started. Personally I am a fan, but man it really can take a bite out of the pocket book...

Wasabi

If you live in the FM area and you like sushi you MUST go to Wasabi...it is new and delicious! Leslie has our two little boys tonight because tomorrow Stu is spending the night with us, kind of like Wife Swap but only with children. So Erik and I are going to Wasabi for "date night" and I am really excited! I think it is so important to try to have date night as often as possible. I know some couples have a day of the week or the month that they try to keep consistently opened for date night. We are not quite that regimented but when they is a window of opportunity we both get ready, jump in the car, and try to really enjoy our one on one time together without food being flung at us or someone begging for another glass of milk. By the way my gorgeous husband literally just walked in the door and  quote on quote said,"I am fricken' tired." I reply,"Honey, we don't have to go." He swiftly responds that he is hopping in the shower and will be ready in 20. So now I am looking forward to a smooth face and the smell of aftershave. Yay!

Speaking of fish I am proud to announce (mommy bragging moment) that I have another fish on my hands. We spent a lot of this week with Leslie and Stu because Chad was in Vegas and they wanted company. So Tuesday we went out to the farm for some pizza and swimming. We hop in the pool and we start taking turns with Alex passing him back and forth. He is getting irritated because he wants to swim on his own, he is not wanting to swim with Leslie or I. We decide to put him in a floater swimsuit, he is not really having that either and his wet, wiggly little body is not wanting to squeeze in the scuba suit. Leslie suggests arm floaties and the thought crossed my mind that she is crazy, Alex is not even two yet. That is not safe for my little baby. She convinces me that we are going to be right there with him, nothing could happen. So we get them on, put  Alex in the pool still holding him lightly. He is still eager to be independent so I let go. I kid you not, he swam like he has been swimming his whole little life. He kicked hid legs and cupped his little hands paddling upright all the way to the stairs. He then walks to the edge of the pool jumps in, goes under for one second, pops up and swims to the stairs again. He continues to do this 15-20 times in a row with both Leslie and I inches away from him laughing hysterically at this little boy swimming like Anthony and Stu. Yes, it may sound like I am bragging, because I am, it was AMAZING!

So my guess is while I am eating some fish tonight, my little buddies will be swimming like fish.

Pay it forward...

So the holidays are here. I am freaking out on a daily basis because I am scared I about the expense, I am worried that I will not have the perfect gifts for my family and friends. I have been reading Ria's blog about the children of Uganda. Yep, pretty sure they are not concerned about bills, Nintendo DS's, or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. They are more concerned about eating, safety, and education. They are not worried about what they will be getting but more likely who they can give back to. So it was decided that we are going to sponsor a child. We are very premature in the process-I literally just commented that we want to move forward with this. After all if I want to be the change I want to see in the world I better start with ours.

http://rialeephotography.com/blog/ I encourage you all to join in the effort....

On a seperate note here is the official 2010 Tortorice Christmas card:

What do you think? I am pretty happy with it and I got a smoking deal on it!

xo-Melissa

Please vote for Anthony's picture...xoxo

I submitted one of Anthony's pictures to one of my favorite blogs for a photo contest. It starts on December 4th (tomorrow), originally it was the 9th but I believe that is changing. So, regardless if you could click on http://iammommy.typepad.com/my_weblog/ tomorrow and vote for his picture that ironically is in my header right now but I will upload again so you remember exactly who you are voting for. I am sure it is going to be VERY hard to not be persuaded to vote for some of the other kiddos.

I submitted this on a nostalgic whim yesterday because after the white dusting yesterday it really is beginning to look alot like Christmas! XOXO Thanks for the support~ Melissa

Alex

So my little Alex is a going to be two in January and I CANNOT believe it. I was watching and listening to him tonight and I realized that I needed to post about him since this blog is his baby book the most information we have documented on our little ball of fire.

Alex is very physical and you can tell he is going to love playing sports. He loves to play with any type of ball and naturally stops the ball to give it a solid squared off kick. He is not scared of jumping right into a pool without flinching. If you let him go under the water his little legs start kicking to get to the top. Erik and my dad love watching sports with him because he gets really into like he knows what is happening. Cheering, booing, you name it. Both of his arms go straight in the air with a loud yay!

He is just getting into coloring. If there happens to be a random pen lying around he wants to "lalo". Tractors and cars are also a new favorite. On Saturday he was chasing Erik around the kitchen and was successful in catching his toes a couple of times. Love, loves, loves books. I read three per night my limit and if I am in the right mood they can turn into a dozen.

We just figured out last night that all this pop he has been requesting was popsicles. He rarely gets pop and all he kept asking for the last couple of weeks was pop. We were completely baffled? Right now he is also figuring out he is not sure about vegetables which is frustrating because I have never had that battle with Anthony.

Alex still wants to be Anthony's shadow. I never realized before I had Anthony how close those two would be. Sometimes I swear they speak some brother language I don't understand. There will be times when I cannot figure out what Alex wants and Anthony will tell me nonchalantly what it is and is usually right on.

Alex has been obsessed with daddy the last couple of weeks. Erik leaves a room, Alex automatically follows behind. "Mommy, where daddy?" Is the question I get when we wake up if Erik is gone or if I pick them up from daycare. Once we get home he waits with anticipation and takes off for the door when he hears it open. It stings a little but I also love it that he loves his daddy as much as I do.

So little man even though you are becoming a big boy just know that you will always be my snuggley, laid back baby boy. Our life would just not be as bright without you and way too quiet.

Who is yours?

David Beckham is my guilty pleasure. Sandra Bullock is my husbands. I think it is perfectly normal to have a celebrity crush. Tell me who is yours?

What does social solidarity mean to you?

Social solidarity refers to the integration, and degree and type of integration, shown by a society or group with people and their neighbors. It refers to the ties in a society - social relations - that bind people to one another according to Wikipedia.

In life we never intentionally set out to hurt others or make them feel bad. I think most people are rational, decent human beings who strive to do the good thing. To not be righteous but just overall good examples to our children and peers. To be honest in tough situations, to not turn a blind eye when we feel uneasy, and to do right by others.

Then can anyone fill me in why I am so frustrated with my husband for not filling me on that fact that he has been chewing tobacco the last 6 months without my knowledge? This may sound trivial to you but this is how the story goes.

So we are at a housewarming party on Saturday night. My husband and a close friend who by the way are very mature start to wrestle. I begin to take the wife stance- okay boys how old are we? I look over and see something round in my husband’s sock? I take off like a gazelle (we all know I am naturally graceful) because I have seen that shape before. It was the shape in my husband’s jeans when he chewed BEFORE we were married 8 years ago. He quit for my wedding present.

I think Erik's heart may have fallen out of his chest when he turned around and saw me with it in my hand. His buddies were all trying to help him out and confirm to me that they know this has not been a habit for long time. Erik told me he started again when he transitioned jobs. So his friends were definitely his "social solidarity" for the evening but his wife felt cheated by many in the society who knew before her that her husband had picked up an ugly habit that she didn't know about.

Needless to say my dear husband must feel like he is in solitary confinement with a wife that will not quit second guessing him and I can GUARANTEE this will not happen again. Fool me once shame on me, fool me twice kind sir and shame on you!

No BS...

So I am not always "appropriate" in my posts. I certainly would not classify my posts as raunchy but you will always find the good, the bad, and the ugly here. Blogs that suck me in have an edge to them. A sense of off the cuff honesty. There is no primping, no concern that what they maybe posting could be offensive to others (truly I do not like posts that are crude or obnoxious though). You may find a banana hammock in one of my posts but you are going to also find pictures of my kids, events of our everyday life, and the many reasons I either love or hate my husband depending on the day. The good usually always outweighs the bad.

I think blogging is a direct representation of free speech in its finest form today. You now have access to a channel that others before us have not had. Many mothers, wives, and daughters only shared their secrets with their personal diaries. They most certainly would not by any means share their stories to a mass audience. It can be a double edged sword, especially if you are one of us that shares it all. I think when you have a blog we all struggle with what is deemed appropriate and what is too much information. I tend to lean to too much information.

Do we tell about how we wanted to kick our husbands a** today or how he cooked an amazing dinner? Do we speak about how we felt bad for our son because he was home sick from school today or how we hoped he might just be able to shake it off because there only is two days of school this week? Do we talk about how we are freaking out over the expense of Christmas or do we just talk about how we cannot believe how Christmas has came up so fast this year?

In any situation there always the debate on whether the glass is half full or empty. I naturally go towards the half full but if I feel the need to share why the glass is looking pretty empty one day I should not feel guilty. Since we do have this channel available to us it is our responsibility to use it as we see fit.

People clearly blog for different reasons. Whether it is for sanity, there dedication to the Lord, or a child that is sick. Whether it is to give shopping tips, a portal for you to recover from an accident, a place to record all of your childrens milestones. Whatever your reason is for blogging really doesn't matter, just keep doing it if it feels right. Share what you want, keep private what you want. Just know that I am here to support you no matter what you want to share. Banana hammocks and all...

Anthony's First Day of Basketball

So today is Anthony's first day of basketball at the YMCA. Basketball is personally my favorite sport. Some of my favorite memories growing up were playing hours of ball with my dad outside of our rust colored house. I am talking HOURS! I played point guard and believe it or not usually always started. I played until 8th grade. My last year was in junior high at Perham. Once we moved to Moorhead I realized I was out of my league at try outs and quit, the girls were a lot bigger and more competitive. Unfortunately I was able to find other extra-curricular activities to stay busy with. But I have always regretted not trying a little harder and playing at Moorhead because the love of basketball has never left me. It seems to be a sport that Anthony is really into too and that makes me really happy. I think that my dad takes a little pride in that too. He was a basketball player through high school and is a ref still. It drove me nuts when he was the ref at my games.

So I hope Anthony has a great first day and is ready to play ball with his mom when gets home.

No judging!

So last night the girls from work dragged me kicking and screaming to an amateur night of the male review at a gentleman's club in town. I have not laughed that hard in a long time. My favorite of the evening was in tribute to the guy from Juno. One of my  favorite movies. It really was harmless fun because they do not show anything and there was only one banana hammock. My expectations were very low going into it because let’s face it we are talking guys from the FM area. Slim pickings! But it turns out that I clearly have not been in the single mode because I was impressed by the guys. They were creative and only one or two I would classify as sleazy. I kid you not there was one guy performing ballet, who by the way was covered in hair. Pirouettes and all!


I was a good girl and was home early. By ten I had about as much as I could take. But it was definitely a memorable night and a great experience to have with my female co-workers. The guys have been probing us all morning with questions because I think they secretly fantasize about doing high kicks with a crowd of screaming, crazy ladies throwing dollars at them.

The sweet smell of bleach...

So yesterday I got home, opened the front door, and was greeted by the sweet smell of bleach. Bleach that I had not opened. I stepped on a clean rug that I had not vacuumed. I walked up the stairs and smelled a dinner being cooked that I was not cooking. I was greeted by a happy toddler who I did not have to pick up from daycare. I was greeted by a 5 year old doing his homework who I had not directed. I literally could have probably eaten my husband I was so grateful.

Erik was done with work early yesterday so he proceeded to clean out our entry way closet which is an accomplishment in itself. I am amazed we have not lost on of our children in that thing. Put all our shoes on a shoe rack. Hung up all of our 50+ coats. Organized all of the winter gear that we are slowly starting to wear and lose on a regular basis. Scrubbed the floor and vacuumed the rug.
So yesterday was a good day.

Suggestions

Alright ladies, I have decided that the blog templates are fine. They do have some cute ones that are available for free. Let’s face it the cheaper the better but since I have also found that I am starting to have a love for graphic design (p.s. who would have ever thought that one was going to happen) I want to change my blog to match my personality. So I have googled blog background builders etc but have no idea who is actually reputable or full of bs. Basically what I am looking for is to have the ability to upload whatever content I want-preferably a 3 column blog, make all my pictures look like Ria's (btw I wish), and have it look visually appealing at a minimal cost. So who do you know? What programs do you know of or use? What blogs do you read that are informative? I am an information seeking blogger. Got any?

Scars

This morning Anthony came crawling in at 5:30 or so because he was seeing scary monster faces in his room and he was scared. The scary monster faces has been the latest ploy to come crawl in with us. I am not the mom that insists they go back to there bed right now. Because I secretly love it when he crawls in with us. Granted I may not when he is 16 but right now at 5 I do like it most of the time. So we fall back asleep for an hour until Erik's alarm clock annoyingly wakes us up, well at least me.

Anthony and I were spooning so his back was to me. Anthony is a very warm sleeper so by morning he has usually peeled off his pajamas (if he even started with any) and sleeps in his little boxer briefs. Which by the way may just be the cutest invention in little boy clothing. The whole point of this is that I because of all this I saw his bee sting scar on his back. His little perfect round pink scar. It got me thinking about scars. How on our children when we look at them it is almost a road map of life's events. That we know every story behind each scar. That even after our children have moved on from it we can tell the story of how it happened from beginning to end.

Then it got me really thinking about the scars that we don't get to see because they are internalized. The yucky emotional, quiet suffering, scars that we all keep to ourselves on some level. You wish for your children that they never feel any pain and hope you are able to protect them on every level. Unfortunately this is simply not realistic.

Our job as parents is to encourage our children, teach our children, and help heal the scars they decide to share with us. To kiss their bee stings, bandage their knees, and let them cry it out. To be their sounding board and to tell them sometimes you have to just shake it off. In doing that we also have to lead by example. Prove that we can overcome our fears and anger. Show them that we are able to add new scars to our road map without it having lifelong effects.

After all the goal is to be the change you wish to see in the world, starting with our own.

Candidate Connection

If you have not already, please become a fan of Candidate Connection on Facebook today. The badge is on this page so click on it and become a fan. The 100th person gets a resume put together by a professional recruiter for FREE!

Fall in Baudette...

Love this picture of Anthony with his cousins.







Red Rover, Red Rover, send Roscoe over!



Above and below my dad with my boys. A sight I never get tired of seeing.



P.S. My dad grew a beard for hunting season-too bad he doesn't actually hunt.

Skateland-talk about nostalgia.

Anthony and I attended our first St. Joe's Skateland party. I LOVED going to Skateland parties when I was his age. He asked me if I was going to skate and I replied,"Absolutely, mom would never go to Skateland and not skate." To me that would borderline on a small crime. Anyways, we arrived a little after six. The place has barely changed, maybe some new retro carpet and a fresh coat of paint but otherwise it was exactly as I remembered it. I let Anthony show me the ropes on getting the skates, where to change them out, etc. He was very proud he knew where to go. Even though I have never been there with Anthony he has been there for after school programs, birthday parties, etc.

So we get our skates on and we hop onto the shiny wood floor. The attendance is pretty low because we had no school yesterday due to conferences but you can tell that the people that made it are ready to rock and roll. Anthony to my surprise is a pretty good roller skater. He fell a few times but popped right up. He also was very helpful with Allie one of his little classmates who was just learning to skate. I tried to snap a picture of them holding hands but my camera phone was not functioning in the disco lights. I think Allie's mom was successful. That also brought me back to the little boys I use to roller skate with on the slow songs in 5Th and 6Th grade. So innocent, but still nervous, and brought me back to Tiffany, Debbie Gibson, and any other 80's female slow song. By the way Anthony is not even close to 5Th grade rollerskating, still kindergarten where they hold each others hands purely to balance.

So we did a little bit of Hokey Pokey, skated to the new Skateland music of Lady Gaga, Black Eyed Peas, and had a great time. I was saddened in the fact that Anthony will probably not hold my hand again while we skate because he was already very hesitant whenever I would ask but the point is he still did. It is important to just make memories with your kids and hope they remain with them like the smell of Skateland remains with me.

Ewwww!!!

I cannot handle this guy any longer, this picture literally gives me the creeps...go away Jon, go home and take care of your children, and get out of the celebrity limelight NOW!

Christmas panic setting in!!

Today I am starting to feel the Christmas panic set in. I have no idea what to get everyone this year, well except for Anthony who only wants a computer, and Ipod, and a DS. All very reasonable requests don't you think? Alex I am guessing will be satisfied with a dancing Elmo and some small trinkets. The whole point of this post is I am hoping to get some ideas from my blog buddies. So these are the people I am buying for this year.

• Anthony
• Alex
• My Dad
• My Mom- Ironic thing is we drew names this year in my immediate family and Erik got my mom, I got my dad. The #1 rule is the person that got your name must go shopping and pick out the gift. Your spouses are not allowed to do it for you. I am sure Erik would still appreciate ideas though.
• My Father-In-Law
• My Mother-In-Law
• Erik

So there is the short, long list. Any and all ideas are appreciated. Trendy, trinkets, amazing, homemade. You name it and I just may have to buy it and/or make it. Obviously I associate a budget with each but if you think of something that will knock one of these special peoples socks off that may not matter. Thanks BB!!

Great weekend...Halloween, drag queen shows, and football all with great friends!

This is Emma- AJ's niece, she was so laid back and sweet. She can come visit us anytime!



Anthony was thrilled to be a skeleton. Alex was originally suppose to be a giraffe but after we brought out his Elmo candy bucket on Thursday and he freaked with excitement I was on a mission to find him a "melmo" costume. He loved it! He kept looking at himself in the mirror and giving himself kisses.



Can't have Halloween without a glow necklace.



Or chocolate smeared all over your face.



Anthony counting the goods.



Looks like he found fangs...and Cece the sweetest Barbie Cheerleader I have ever seen. Can you tell they both have a huge wad of gum in their mouths?



I will fill you in on the rest tomorrow. Too tired from the football game-Go Vikings!

First week of school...two months later-oops!

If there's a monkey on your back...

You better just love it as much as Alex does. He loves, loves, LOVES his new monkey backpack from Pout and looks dang cute with it on.