Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Pictures

Catching up after some busy days!

Last Friday I took Marcy to an appointment. Since the appointment was going to take about 2 hours, Paityn and I headed to the Mall for some fun. What do you do at the Mall?? Eat, of course!!

Paityn enjoys her burger!

What's next, Nana?
She wanted a ride.
We looked at the rides in the food court.....
they just wouldn't do
so we headed upstairs.

Paityn settled on this Roller Coaster ride.

Nana thought it was quite over-rated on the
fun scale for kids....


....but Paityn seemed to enjoy it!

We went to the Dollar Store next to the rides. Paityn picked out a book to buy and Nana got some things for Ellen.
Then, before we knew it, it was time to go pick up Mommy.
I took them home then headed to Aidan and Zoe's house. The plan was for me to take them home with me so Mommy could rest. But when I got there, they were sleeping! So I washed some dishes, loaded and started the dishwasher, folded laundry...then quietly watched some TV coverage of the approaching storm till Zoe woke up. She was hungry. I found some yogurt for her.

Zoe loves yogurt
and she loves to do it herself!

I'm a Big Girl,
yes I am!

What a cutie!
She makes a mess but gets the job done!




Today I'm having lunch with two gals who had worked in my department at the nursing home. I see Ruth once in a while at the grocery store but only see Connie when I go to the nursing home when I sing on a Sunday Morning.....only twice in the last year. We are going to the Jigger Shop in historic Mt. Gretna. I have never eaten there and am really looking forward to it. I'll take my camera!

Have a great day, my friends!

Monday, August 29, 2011

Oh what a week-end!

Saturday - Ellen's 17th birthday!
Ellen had her cheering activity Saturday morning. I was away all day Friday and had so much to do to prepare for her birthday on Saturday. So Hubs took Ellen to cheering and I stayed home to clean and decorate.


Looks like it's someone is having a Birthday!

Ellen came home and wanted to open her gift right away!

A new back pack!

She loves to write in composition books
and gets a new one....
fancy cover =)

I told her to look in the outside pocket of her backpack....
she found money =)
$17, of course!

We soon left to pick up 2 of her friends and headed to the Elizabethtown Fare.

Ellen, Brittany and Ashley
We all had a milkshake.
Hubs, Ashley and I shared a fried onion....YUM!!
There wasn't much to do or look at and Irene was looming
so we didn't stay long.
Next we headed to Lancaster to Carvel where Ellen picked out an Ice Cream Cake.

17 candles, a happy 17 year old
and 2 good friends!



Happy Birthday to you, Ellen!

Relaxing while watching a movie....
High School Musical 3

Ashley and Ellen love to dance
and dance they did
for the final song of the movie

It was so much fun to watch them!

This fella brought some cheers =)



All smiles!
We are on our way to American Music Theatre
to see....
(yes, it's raining! Irene is showing up!)


Dance Explosion!

What an AWESOME show!
The girls really enjoyed it.
Ellen and Ashley clapped and cheered and did some (seated!) dance moves too!
After it was over, the people sitting behind us said they enjoyed watching the girls enjoying themselves =)
They thought maybe we knew someone in the show....no, we just have an excited teen with excited friends!

When we left AMT, it was raining harder and the wind was picking up too.
When we arrived at our home, Ellen found more gifts!

Cute PJ's and

A Phillies Phanatic pillow pet
from Greta!



Sunday -  A blustery beginning!
We awoke to blinking clocks which meant the power must have blinked off sometime during the night. But we did have electricity and that was good! Some small branches were down and lots of leaves and twigs littered the lawn. All was well here. (we found out later that trees were down at several locations near us) Dale made coffee, we sat down to enjoy it. He just turned on the news and I picked up my computer to check out email and such.....the TV went fuzzy and the Internet was down too! What??? OK....we could live without our connections, I think. When the lights blinked off again, I decided I had better get my shower just in case the power goes off . I was just finished getting ready for church when we received the call that our church was canceled due to no power! We relaxed at home. I made pancakes and bacon, I read a book on my Kindle, we napped. We had a birthday party to attend in the afternoon at Dale's sister and Mother's home. Dale's other sister (Norma) and her hubby (Stan) both turned 60 this summer and their kids were hosting a party for them. When we arrived to the party, a generator was running outside the garage of Nancy's home.....no power in their neighborhood! They have a big generator that covers the entire house so all was good. They didn't run any air conditioners but it was cooler and wasn't necessary. We had a good time visiting with family and some of Norma and Stan's friends that we don't see very often.  When we arrived home, our Internet and cable was working again!

Monday - First day of school for Ellen!
So now it's Monday and a new week begins. Ellen woke up at 6. I didn't wake up till about 6:20. Good grief, I was glad she was already up and dressed! Maybe I will need to set an alarm. (haven't done that in years....not even while I was employed) We got her on the bus. I pray she is having a good day. She was really nervous about it.

I don't have my Littles today. Christy is keeping them with her at home. That will be good for the children and Mommy. Christy continues to slowly improve. Not overdoing it is key to improvement....a hard reality for a Mom!

And now I must get something accomplished! I did start a load of towels in the washer. But there are dishes to wash, coupons to clip, stuff to be put away.......lots to do. Just cannot believe that summer is over and school is back in session!

Have a wonderful Monday!

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Happy Birthday to Ellen!

17 years ago I gave birth to our youngest daughter, Ellen. She was our surprise baby =) and a very loved little girl who is now growing up to be a lovely young lady.




Ellen has her cheering this morning then, if the weather cooperates, we will pick up her friend Ashley and head to the E-town fare. If [Irene] prevents it, all will be well.....we have tickets to American Music Theatre to see Dance Explosion tonight. Ellen and Ashley both love to dance. I'm sure they will love this show!

It will be a good day =)

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Last week of Summer

The last week of summer is going fast.....way too fast.

Ellen starts back to school on Monday. Her Life Skills classroom is located at our High School this year. The last time she was in our school district was in 4th grade. On Tuesday evening we were able to go to the High School to see her classroom and meet her teacher. I am proud of MC.....they gave this class a very nice room with a very nice bathroom and a computer lab room attached. (her middle school room in another district was an old industrial arts space that got divided into 2 classrooms after the year started. What was to be a lot of space ended up being small and you could hear some noises from the other classroom too....not ideal at all) Her teacher is younger and has been teaching LS. I think Ellen will like her. The helper teacher said she would be at the front of the school to help the kids to the classroom the first day. Ellen will be ok.....although  she said she is nervous.

Yesterday Ellen and I got our hair cut. I feel like I got a mop removed from my head. It was feeling unruly! Ellen went a little shorter with long side bangs. When we were leaving, Ellen noticed some cute head bands Jess was selling. They had flowers on them made out of decorative Duct Tape! I bought her one. Sooooo cute!



The head band is covered with a black and white print and the flower is white.
She chose this one so she can wear it with anything.

After our hair appointment we went to Macaroni Grill for lunch. Ellen had never been there but loves Italian food so I knew she would find something she liked. She loved seeing the open kitchen. She ordered Spaghetti with bolognese sauce, I had a salad with pickled onions, walnuts, french fried onions and other things on it that I can't remember now....with a ranch and blue cheese dressing. It was so good!

After lunch we headed to the mall to get her glasses adjusted. Then it was to the Health Campus just down the street to the Eye Doctor. Ellen had her yearly eye check up. Dr. Klombers has been her eye Dr. since Ellen was a toddler. He is awesome. He thought Ellen has really grown up since he saw her last year. He continues to be so pleased with her eye alignment....he did surgery on her eyes twice.

Then it was back to the mall to hunt for a few clothing items for school. We found a cute pair of longer plaid shorts and a skort. Both on clearance....nice. She tried some tee shirts but none were a good fit.

Today is a day to do some things at home. Christy's parents are keeping Aidan and Zoe again today. We already had a small thunderstorm this morning. A good day to stay home.

We hope to take Ellen and a friend to the Etown fair on Saturday for her birthday.....that is if the hurricane doesn't bring rain in our neck of the woods! Ellen went there on her birthday last year and really wants to go again. I will have to think of a plan B just in case!

How can summer be coming to an end already? I went to the grocery store last evening. The summer flowers that were being sold on the porch are now replaced with pots of colorful mums. Bags of cinnamon scented pine cones are in the foyer........am I ready for fall? NO! Summer went too fast. But, I can't stop it from happening so I may as well embrace it =)

Oh dear....I just realized that Sunday is the last Sunday of the month.....I need to write the September newsletter for our Women! Didn't I just do the August one???? Yeah, I know. Time flies when you......

Off for some fun! Have a good one!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

I felt it!

I was sitting at my favorite end of our reclining sofa, checking out some stuff on my little computer. Aidan and Zoe were in the next room playing, Ellen was in the computer room.

The sofa moved....felt like it was lifting up off the ground! My first thought was...

What the heck is under my sofa?!!!

(felt like an animal was under it and wanted to stand up)

Realized it must have been an earthquake. Asked Ellen if she felt anything....she didn't.

Now it's all over the news......It was an earthquake in VA. 

That was exciting  =))

* Just a note to those who commented about being ok......this was very mild here. We do feel the earth shake from time to time where we live. In fact, there was one during the winter at night that had a rumbling sound with it. This one just shook. Nothing damaged, just unsettles the nerves a bit!

I must tell you about an earthquake that happened on an Easter Sunday evening many years ago. The church we were going to at the time was in charge of the Sunday evening service at my Dad's church. Our pastor was giving the message about Jesus rising from the dead......and the church shook! Everyone just sorta sat there, the pastor stopped preaching for a while till we all realized what happened! Talk about a live presentation!!

Monday, August 22, 2011

Wonderful Week-end!

Our Wonderful Week-end -
  • Ellen started UDS (united disability services) cheering again! That took all of Saturday morning
  • After stopping at the grocery store, I came home to clean our messy and dirty nest =)
  • My sister Mary Ellen stopped for a short visit Saturday evening - nice!
  • Went to church Sunday morning - the best!
  • Out for lunch to Five Guys because my day was too full on Saturday to prepare a meal for Sunday. Burgers and fries are so yummy at Five Guys!!
  • Ate lunch with Marcy, Scott, Paityn, Greta, Lynn and Lynn's Mom Sue.
  • Back home for some relaxing with the fam
  • Corey, Christy and family spent their day at home. Missed them but they needed a quieter day
  • Kim and Andrew came later. Kim had to work till five
  • Chatted with Gina by text and a phone call. She had to work on Sunday too.
  • Pops grilled hot dogs and I made beef BBQ for dinner. We ate chips and salsa and had ice cream and cup cakes too...and honey buns and Oreo brownies (Scott and Lynn went to the store by themselves, hehe)
It was a good, good week-end. But I didn't get my camera out....not even once!

Now I must get myself moving....I have 2 little ones who will spend their day with Nana again. Gotta go pick them up.

Have a great Monday!

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Love being a Nana!

Who couldn't love this?


They are so stinkin cute =)

Zoe says 'Bye'....she's off for another adventure!

There she goes!


Last week while on vacation and Zoe had a captive audience, she would do this when asked to make a serious face.......

It is soooooo funny!
She will even do it with her Nuk in her mouth!
I had a hard time getting a good picture of it because.......

....she immediately laughs after making it!
A product of that captive audience for sure.
We all cracked up!
I still do every time =)


Christy went to the Doctor again on Thursday. This time a different Dr. diagnosed her with mono. It did seem like that's what it was but she had it in High School and was told you don't get it twice. Well, she did! We hope and pray that she will be able to kick this out the door really soon! The med that she's now on has really helped her throat. I could tell a big difference yesterday when I went to pick up the kids.

Yesterday was Corey and Christy's 5th wedding anniversary. What a way to celebrate that!


  Aren't they a good looking bunch!

Corey brought some pizzas to our house for dinner (after stopping at his house with flowers for his wife) to give me a break from cooking. How nice of him! Christy is eating smoothies, mashed potatoes, milkshakes and some soup....anything that doesn't hurt too much. 

I will help out with the kids again next week.

My house is in need of a good cleaning. I seem to be able to manage cooking and laundry while they are here, but cleaning??? How did I manage that when my kids were little? Then again, when you are in charge of this sweet face...... 

Who wants to clean anyway?

Have a great week-end!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Wedding Dress Shopping and a cute Zoe too!

On Monday Greta along with 3 sisters (Kim, Marcy and Ellen), a friend (Julissa) and her Mom (me), went to David's Bridal in York to begin the hunt for 'The One'. She tried on a lot of dresses. Some were so pretty, some were nice, some were OK, but none of them was 'The One'.

I really liked this dress.
She looked great in it....
but it isn't 'The One'!
(I am intentional in not showing you the front....just in case it becomes 'The One'!
She will make another appointment.




This morning I went to Corey and Christy's home to get the children. Christy is still sick even though she is on 2 antibiotics! She hope to get an appointment at the Dr again today. Zoe was being her cute self before I got her dressed and Aidan got up. Enjoy some pictures.....

Zoe found Aidan's hat and put it on her head!

OK, now how do I get into this thing?

I'm in but I think I'm losing the hat!

Ahhh, maybe I'll rest awhile......

Or maybe I'll play peek-a-boo....
I see you!


She is just so cute! She is taking more steps although is still very cautious. But if she needs to get somewhere fast, it's to the floor on all fours and away she crawls at lighting speed =)

Have a wonderful Thursday!

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Chocolate Pudding Pizza

In a previous post I mentioned a favorite dessert in our family - Pudding Pizza. I have been making it for years. Christy is especially fond of it. In fact when Corey and Christy were dating and broke up for a time, I deliberately did not make it till they got back together again!

I will post the recipe as it is published in Taste of Home.

Chocolate Pudding Pizza
12 Servings
    Prep: 35 min. + chilling
    20 15 3Ingredients
    • 1 package (17-1/2 ounces) peanut butter cookie mix
    • 1 carton (12 ounces) softened PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese (softened or cubed)
    • 1-3/4 cups cold milk
    • 1 package (3.9 ounces) instant chocolate pudding mix
    • 1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed
    • 1/4 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

    Directions

    • Prepare cookie mix dough according to package directions. Press into a greased 12-in. pizza pan. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until set; cool.
    • In a bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Spread over crust. In another bowl, beat milk and pudding mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Spread over the cream cheese layer. Refrigerate for 20 minutes or until set. Spread with whipped topping. Sprinkle with chips. Chill for 1-2 hours. Yield: 12 servings.
    This is how I do it:
    • I buy a roll of already prepared cookie mix - 1 chocolate chip and 1 peanut butter (I always make 2!)
    • I never beat the cream cheese. I let the brick of cream cheese soften a bit then spread it on the cooled cookie crust. (or you can buy a tub of cream cheese that is already soft and easily spreadable)
    • Because I always make 2 pans, I use 1 chocolate and 1 vanilla pudding mix. Put them together in a bowl and double the amount of milk that's listed.
    • I like the mini choc. chips....I don't measure them, I just use a generous amount!
    It's such a simple dessert and I really don't know why it's a favorite around here. (I can take it or leave it)  But it is. I'm thankful there are some simple things that please the Fahnestock bunch!

    Have a great day!

    Tuesday, August 16, 2011

    Beach Vacation - Part 3

    We celebrated a Birthday!

    Grandson Andrew turned the Big 16 on the 10Th!

    Lighting 16 candles!

    Blow out those candles
    then Let's Eat!
    (even though we just stuffed ourselves at Bethany Blues!)


     All too soon it was time to pack up and go Home =/

    Packing up all our things from the frig and cupboards.
    Kim says, who does this belong too?
    We had the biggest cooler so I have lots of yummy left overs in my frig at home!


    Scott checks the stuff on top of the car
    while Marcy waits to get in.
    It was a cloudy, drizzly day.
    That made it easier to leave the beach!


    Corey and Christy decided to drive to Baltimore to the Aquarium
    instead of going straight home.

    Greta and Lyn waiting to leave.

    We stopped at Grotto's Pizza (in Dewey)  - a tradition!

    Lynn shows Paityn a game on his phone.

    Waiting.....

    and waiting......

    and waiting!

    Yes! Pizza!
    We ordered 5 -
    cheese, meat lovers, margarita, buffalo chicken, and another one
    that I can't recall the name of.....it was yummy and had lots and lots of cheese on it =)
    Grotto's Pizza is soooooo good!



    We had a few 'oh no' or 'oh, OK' stuff.....
    • Just before we left, Joe's Grandmother was admitted to the hospital. Gina and Joe were planning to ride along with us to Bethany Beach. Because of the uncertainty of his Grandmother's well being, he decided to drive just in case he was needed back in PA during the week. (Thank God she is doing well)
    • We were on our way to the beach when I got a call. Kim was at Corey and Christy's house loading up her van with their stuff. They planned to travel together. Corey noticed a leak from Kim's van! So they were unloading Corey and Christy's stuff into their car (all that would fit) and Kim was going to go home to get her Hubby's pick up truck! I could not imagine Kim driving that big truck all the way to DE. So I suggested they go to our house to get my car. Which they did. She had to go get the spare keys out of a dresser drawer in our bedroom. Christy drove my car to Kim's house where they unloaded Kim and Andrew's stuff from the van into my car! And THEN they were finally on their way to the beach!! (Kim said she was ready for a stong drink when she arrived!!) hehe
    • Christy got sick at the beach =(  She spent all day Wednesday and most of Thursday in bed. She is still not OK. Went to the Dr yesterday and we hope and pray for good health very soon!
    • I lost my glasses! My Modern Eyes glasses! The ones with the bifocals that I wear with my contacts. We looked EVERYWHERE for them. I think they are probably lying on the beach in DE. How could I have been so careless.....I now am wearing an old pair of readers to read. Hate it......
    In spite of it all, we had a wonderful time. I do love my kids so much, the people they have chosen for their life partners and the grandchildren they have blessed us with! I am greatly blessed!

    Just a note to those who are wondering what Pudding Pizza is. I will post the recipe soon. And I will let you all know how the wedding dress hunt is going. Maybe I will post a picture, but you will not see THE ONE till the day she says 'I DO'!

    The weather in PA is wonderful. We had rain while we were gone, in fact a lot of rain the day we came home too. Everything is so green again!

    Andrew started HS football practice yesterday and his picture was on the front page of the newspaper today! You go, Andrew! Can't wait to see you play =) ..... even though this Nana doesn't understand the game! At all!

    Have a wonderful Tuesday!