The New Year~

WOW!!! It's almost 2010!I just can't believe that.
I'm not going to make any resolutions this year but I am making some "promises" to myself.(sounds a little better in my mind)
I am hoping to be able to lose some stress/comfort eating weight that I've been carrying around now for about 5 years.
I also want to start exercising.I know I can't do much at first but that's ok.I have a treadmill that's taking up space in the garage so I'm going to bring that inside and actually USE it.
I'm 2 days in to my new "eating/lifestyle" change and so far so good.
I'm not going to deprive myself but I am going to eat less andf try to make more sensible choices.
This year has not been the easiest and I'm feeling much stonger and more confident for the upcoming year ahead. I've come to learn that life is really what we make of it so this year I'm going to do everything I can to make it better for all of us!

Italian egg rolls c/o Gooseberry Patch YUMMY!

I got this recipe directly off of the Gooseberry Patch Facebook page and had to post it.These sound so good!
I think I'm going to make these for my 2 boys on their birthday this Friday.
You can pretty much never go wrong with a Goosberry Patch recipe!









These Italian Egg Rolls are perfect finger foods for your New Year's Eve get-together, and a tasty way to get your kids to eat spinach! From 101 Easy Entertaining Recipes cookbook, submitted by Carolyn Scilanbro of Hampton, VA.

Italian Egg Rolls
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1/2 c. green pepper, chopped
2 t. oil
1 lb. ground sweet or hot Italian pork sausage
2 10-oz. pkgs. frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese
3 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 t. garlic powder
14-oz. pkg. egg roll wrappers
olive oil for deep frying
Garnish: pizza sauce, warmed

In a skillet over medium heat, saute onion and green pepper in oil. Remove to a medium bowl and set aside. Brown sausage in skillet; drain and combine with onion mixture. Add spinach, cheese and garlic powder; mix well. Top each egg roll wrappper with 3 tablespoons of mixture; roll up, following directions on egg roll package. Heat 3 to 4 inches oil in a deep fryer. Add egg rolls a few at a time, frying until golden. Drain on paper towels. Serve warm with pizza sauce for dipping. Makes 8.

Take a peek inside 101 Easy Entertaining Recipes and find another FREE recipe at: http://bit.ly/101EasyEntertainingRecipes

We should all take lessons from this precious little boy

This really touched me.I am praying for his family.

I'm sure little Danny is "In The Arms of the Angels"

In Death, Little Boy Teaches Others How to Live



CHICAGO (Dec. 26) -- The disarming smile of a 4-year-old boy with a buzz cut brightens an otherwise drab newspaper page, where whole lives are summed up in 3 inches of tiny newsprint.Danny Stanton's death notice first makes you wonder how he died. But the eight haunting, final words make you want to know how he lived: "Please go and enjoy your life. Danny did."A preschooler wise beyond his years, Danny was a pint-sized neighborhood ambassador. He high-fived elderly strangers, made small talk with a lonely relative, befriended shy kids and impressed boys twice his size on the baseball field.
Danny Stanton's Legacy






Four-year-old Danny Stanton died in his sleep of a seizure 14 days before Christmas. Known as a boy who lived life to the fullest, Danny touched the hearts of those who knew him. "Danny Did," a foundation that will offer information and counseling to parents whose children have nighttime seizures, has been established in his memory.
Danny Stanton's Legacy
Four-year-old Danny Stanton died in his sleep of a seizure 14 days before Christmas. Known as a boy who lived life to the fullest, Danny touched the hearts of those who knew him. "Danny Did," a foundation that will offer information and counseling to parents whose children have nighttime seizures, has been established in his memory.
Most of all, says his grief-stricken dad, Mike Stanton, Danny was always giving hugs, and never hesitated to ask for one in return."That's just how he expressed his life, and how he gave it. How he just let you in was so beautiful," Stanton said.So when Danny died of a seizure 14 days before Christmas -- after frantic attempts by his parents, neighbors, paramedics and doctors to revive him, after all the medical tubes were disconnected -- Danny's dad lay down on the hospital bed. And he tightly hugged his little boy in return, as his body grew colder and colder."I kind of lost track of time," Stanton said. "I could have laid there with him forever."Gray-haired priests and policemen dabbed their eyes, and children wept along with adults at Danny's standing-room only funeral, where more than 300 people crowded into the same Roman Catholic church where he was baptized. They all gathered to honor a little boy who in four brief years seemed to instinctively know the essence of a life well-lived."There was this otherness about him," said Julie Marske, his preschool teacher. "It's like he knows something that we don't."___Every neighborhood has a house where all the kids gather. The Stanton's two-story brick house in Chicago's northwest corner is that one. With a basketball hoop out front, a wooden swing set in the back, there's always something going on at the Stanton's.Family friend Mary Duffy says it's a place where they raise kids, not grass. The Stantons had four, ranging from age 8 to almost 2, all cherished in their own way, but none quite like their second youngest, Danny.Danny loved sports -- soccer, kickball, football -- but was stunning at baseball. He was too young to join a league but eagerly filled in playing fast-pitch with 7-year-olds when they were down a man, and the big kids always welcomed him into their games.Watching the smallest boy on the field hit and run the bases in a winning championship game this past summer, parents were awed by Danny's talent, which was advanced beyond his age. "Everyone just sat there thinking, what is going to become of this little boy?" Duffy said.Danny was buddies with Mary's son, Charlie, the same age but extremely shy. During one of the regular kickball games outside the Stanton's home, Danny noticed Charlie on the sidelines, grabbed him by the hand and brought him into the house."Danny thought, 'Well, he doesn't want to play sports, here's all my action figures,' and laid them all out in front of him," Duffy recalled. "Danny created that environment for him. Danny figured it out."His charity didn't end once he left the ball field, or a neighbor's yard. He seemed to sense when people around him needed a hand, even the grown-ups. Danny loved to help next-door neighbor Betty Lazzara carry in her groceries."I'd always try to give him a light bag," Betty said, "but Danny would say, 'I can carry that gallon of milk'" and would lug it into her house. He knew a treat from Lazzara's snack drawer would be waiting -- fruit roll-ups or Gushers were his favorites -- and Danny always asked to take home enough for his brothers and older sister, too.He remembered details about the lives of people he met. He'd call out to the older neighbor across the street, "Hey Jim, are you going golfing today?" And when he'd see older men at the local YMCA, Danny would give them a smile and a high-five."You were good to go when he smiled at you," Lazzara said.On his first day of preschool this fall, Danny folded his hands and told his teachers, "I just want to learn."Preschool's most important lesson is how to socialize. Danny already had that down cold. He got along with all the kids and seemed to make the most of every day."You never had to entertain Danny. He was content being by himself, or with people," Marske said.The preschoolers keep journals, dictating to the teachers about the topic of the day. Danny's last entry was about what he was thankful for at Thanksgiving. Other kids said, "food," or "Happy Meals." Danny talked about his family."I'm thankful for Mom, Dad, Tommy, John, Mary Grace. I'm thankful for my toys. My mom and dad help me when my brother tackles me."___The Friday night before Danny's fatal seizure, the Duffys were over with their two boys to watch a Christmas special on TV. Mary brought a big chocolate castle cake, and Danny and the other kids playfully tore off the towers to eat first, then ditched the TV special and clamored downstairs to build a fort in the basement.There, they discovered a hidden bag full of unwrapped Christmas presents, including the one Danny wanted most of all.Danny came upstairs, and with a twinkle in his eyes, playfully announced, "Hey Dad, I'm glad I'm getting that remote control car for Christmas."The next morning, Danny was gone. His parents found him in bed, his lips already blue.He'd had occasional seizures for two years, always at night, always while sleeping, always frightening. After the first one, he slept in his parents' bed for six months. Doctors did tests, put him on medication, found nothing else wrong and said he might outgrow the problem.Seizures, electrical disturbances in the brain, affect roughly 1 percent of all children. Dr. Douglas Nordli, an epilepsy specialist at Chicago's Children's Memorial Hospital, said most otherwise healthy young children do outgrow them; deaths are extremely rare. Causes of these sudden, unexpected deaths are uncertain; it may be that brain signals for proper breathing get short-circuited, or the heart rate becomes too faint to get blood to vital organs."Danny's day-to-day behavior gave no indication of anything wrong with him," Mike Stanton said. "How many seizures did he have that we did not know about? We checked in on him thousands of times while he was sleeping."___Danny's death hit his little storefront preschool hard.Each day, the teachers ask the class which students aren't there. "Danny Stanton," one student said. The teachers nodded, and added that Danny wouldn't be coming back.That got the children's attention. Then came the words, "Danny died." As young brains struggled to process this news, one little girl said, "My cat died." Others asked, "Why?""We said because his heart stopped working," said teacher Deb Phillips.His teachers asked each child to tell what was special about Danny. Some said they'd liked playing with him. Some said they liked to eat snacks with him. One child said, "I loved him."Everyone's thoughts turned to the garden, a once trash-strewn vacant lot nearby that the school has been planning for a few years. It will be a place where the preschoolers can plant herbs and vegetables for homeless shelters; the first seeds are to be sown this spring. Now, plans are in the works for a big sign to post above the garden gate. The exact words aren't set yet, but Marske says perhaps it will read simply, "Danny's Garden.""It will be this living place, where everyone can see" and remember Danny, Marske said.There will be a place at the Stanton's Christmas table for Danny. And his family plans to start a foundation offering guidance for parents of children with night seizures. Its name will be "Danny Did."It was his father who wrote those words on Danny's newspaper epitaph."It just came to me," Stanton said. "That says it all."At their son's funeral, Mariann Stanton stood at the altar with her husband, a few feet from the small white casket. His friends left a soccer ball, football, baseball mitt and drawings in his honor. With haunting, palpable grief etched in her delicate face, she spoke to Danny through sobs, asking how she's supposed to get up in the morning when he isn't there anymore.Father Kurt Boras told mourners there are no answers; "All we can do is hold onto each other," he said. Boras also said he's never been much of a hugger. But there he was after Mass, embracing people leaving the church."Danny got it right," the Rev. Gregory Sakowicz said in a eulogy. "He taught us how to live."

Some Christmas thoughts and pics~

I must admit that I'm not as excited about Christmas this year as I usually am,not to be a downer but there have been so many trials this past year that I guess maybe I just feel a bit worn down.
I've been reading my bible alot lately,especially in the mornings.It's comforting and brings me some peace in this crazy thing that is my life.
I truly love Christmas and I'm trying to be festive,really I am!I know the kids are super excited and putting up the tree,decorating it and making the cookies have been so much fun.
My youngest is almost 4 so needless to say he is really into it this year and even got into the cookie making.
I am blessed and I know it,even through the hardest times I know things could be so much worse.
I'm going to brave some stores and try to get the last of my shopping done today,I think that entails a trip to Starbucks for that yummy peppermint mocha!
Here are some pics I've taken over the last week or so,putting up the tree,making cookies,etc~

2 little ones helping put the tree up





5 of my kids in front of the tree(and Bella)

My middle son

My youngest girlie The tree
The tree and mantle,I arranged it nicely but the kids keep "rearranging" it!
My youngest rolling cookie dough(all that rolling play do came in handy!)

making cookies My middle daughter and Bella

Christmas Questions~

I saw this survey on another blog and thought it was fun!

About the TREE....
1.When do you put up the Christmas tree?
This year it was after Thanksgiving but usually before.
2. Real or fake?
I think fake for now,real is so much work
3. Lights? What color?
clear/white
4. Garland?
no
5. Theme or no theme?
It started victorian but now it's just a mish mosh of kids ornaments etc which I love!
6. What kind of topper?
An angel that my husband gave me the Xmas after our 1st child was born
7. What's your favorite ornament?
A big pink victorian ball,another husband gift when we were going thru a very hard time
8. What does your tree skirt look like?
I have a few but this year it's burgundy/green
9. Where do you put your tree?
this year it's in the family room
10. Who decorates the tree? .
everyone
11.What's "under" the tree?
nothing yet
12. Do you put candy canes on your tree?
No
About the FOODS....
1. What's your favorite Christmas cookie?
I think just a plain old suger cookie
2. Do you bake cookies and give them away?
I have in the past and might this year
3. Any "special" foods or candy that you only have at Christmas time?
fudge!
4. What do you eat Christmas EVE?
We have the traditional dinner with turkey stuffing etc
5. What do you eat on Christmas day?
usually leftovers from the night before unless I'm doing dinner for the inlaws then it's more
6. Do you like Eggnog??
yes!
7. Do you like candy canes?
not so much but the kids do
1. Where do you hang your stockings?
mantel
2. Do you put lights on your house?
usually
3. Got any outside lawn decorations?
not this year
4. Do you put up a nativity (crèche)?
I have 2 in the house
5. Do you hang mistletoe over the door?
No
6. Got a wreath on your front door?
yes
7. How long does it take you to decorate?
I usually start after Halloween .p
About the movies/show
1 . Favorite Children's Xmas TV show/cartoon?
I love them all but Rudolph and Charlie Brown are the ones that bring back so many memories of my childhood
2. Wonderful Life/Miracle on 34th St/A ChristmasCarol (Scrooge)
A Christma sCarol
Favorite Christmas movie??
The Christmas Box
4. Have you ever seen the Nutcracker Suite Ballet live?
No,but always wanted to
5. Ever been to the Radio City Music Hall Christmasshow?? No.
6. Ever gone to the movies on Xmas Day? No

Other Christmas things....
1. Favorite Christmas book or story?
The night before Christmas,we read it every year
2. Do you stuff your stockings with any types of food?
No
3. Do you go to church on Christmas or Christmas Eve?
No
4. Have you ever gone Caroling?
No
5. Favorite Christmas Carol? "
O Holy Night
6. Do you believe in Santa? Yes
7. Do you leave Santa cookies?
Yes,and carrots for the reindeer
8. What about Rudolph...
a few years ago we started putting "Magic Reindeer food" out on the lawn before we go to bed
9. What was your best Christmas gift
I've had many
10. What was the worst/most odd gift?
ummm,no comment
11. Do you go to a "work" Christmas party?
no
12. Do you hate going?
13. Do you send Christmas cards?
yes
14. Do you make a "list"?
sometimes
15. Do you check it twice? & thrice & etc...
yes
16.When do you start shopping?
It depends,I used to start early but it's gotten later and later
17.Do you shop on Black Friday?
I don't enjoy it but this year I did
20. ARE YOU READY FOR CHRISTMAS?
I love Christmas but this year I'm not very motivated.
I'm looking forward to the kids enjoying it tho,they are super excited