Not-so-Black Friday

Today, we went hiking in Hacklebarney State Park. It was so much fun because there was a creek with a few small waterfalls.

After hiking along the creek, we stopped by a river that the creek fed into and had lunch. We ate turkey sandwiches, animal crackers, pumpkin pie, and hot chocolate.

There were a bunch of different trails, so we decided to take a different trail back to the parking lot, especially since it went past a playground. When we were about halfway to the playground, the trail split. Michael wanted to take the trail that went away from the playground (he wanted to hike some more) and I wanted to head toward the playground and the parking lot. So we compromised. Michael did more hiking with Katie, Jonathon, and Nathaniel and I went to the playground with Timmy, Eliza, and Christian. We played for about 15 minutes and Michael and the rest of the kids joined us. We played Mom Chase and Dad Chase. That game has been a favorite ever since Jonathon was little. Michael or I are the chasers (sometimes at the same time) and if we catch any of the kids, they get tickled. Of course, when Michael is the chaser, they get tackled, then tickled. They love it!

On the way home, we saw a farmer's market and stopped to see what they had in the way of food. Wow, was it expensive! We just got some solid gold cider doughnuts and water. They were pretty good, but I think the ones from Terhune Farms are better. Not only are they cheaper, but they seem more fresh, tastier, and are softer.

All in all, it was a really fun, family day!

Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving Day was so nice. Not because all of our relatives were elsewhere and we had the day to ourselves. Okay, maybe just a little. But only because that meant that we got a truly relaxing day that I didn't have to clean or entertain or even cook. We ordered dinner from Boston Market and had a delicious meal that I didn't have to do anything to make. Actually, we had a vote at our Family Home Evening. Everyone (except Timmy and Katie) got a say in what we did for dinner. The options were: cook dinner ourselves; get Boston Market but still make pies; or go out to a restaurant. Instead of them voting for their favorite, we had them vote for their least favorite. I'm glad that enough of them didn't want me to cook all day (that was how I said it - maybe I was leading the voters?)

Michael took Jonathon, Christian, and Eliza to see "Bolt." They said it was really funny. Nathaniel didn't want to go because he doesn't like how loud the noise is in the theaters and he wanted to help make pies. Michael called me after it was over and said that he needed me to come and unlock his car. He couldn't find his keys when he left, so he took the spare keys. We have a key to his ignition, but not to the car door on the key ring. So I helped Timmy finish getting dressed, we all got coats and shoes on, got in the car and left to help him out. As I was leaving, I rolled down the window (who knows why now!) and I couldn't get the window to go back up! I drove for about 5 minutes trying to roll it up, meanwhile it was getting pretty cold in the car. I guess Nathaniel should've put on a coat! About that time, Michael called me and said that he remembered he had a spare key in his wallet, for just such an occasion. Thank goodness for cell phones! Too bad he remembered after we left, but I'm glad he remembered before we had gone any farther. It was pretty easy to turn around still. I wasn't even upset. I was more mad about the window!!

So when we got back home, Nathaniel and I made the pumpkin pie filling. As I was rolling out the pie crust, Michael called me and told me not to worry about making a pumpkin pie. Too late. The meals from Boston Market come with a pie and they only had pumpkin left. It's a good thing we like pumpkin pies! I didn't want 5 pies in the house (our plan was to make a pumpkin, blueberry crumb, and apple pie), so we only made the pumpkin pie. We ate as soon as they got home. It was soooooo good! Michael told me that he got two meals, then had to go back in and buy chicken since the turkey doesn't come with legs and that's what Christian wanted.

What was left of the day was very relaxing. The kids watched "Wall-E" while Michael, Timmy, Katie, and I took a nap. Later that evening we played "Apples to Apples" with the kids. The kids were excited because we let them sleep in the living room for the second night in a row.

Just a few of the things we are grateful for: our family, our warm home, our cars, good food, cell phones, coats, movies, naps

Happy Birthday, Eliza!

Yesterday, Eliza took cupcakes to school since her class is having a Thanksgiving party today. It was a pretty crazy morning because I forgot to make the cupcakes the night before. Luckily, I was up by six and started them right away. I didn't have any frosting, so I had to make my own. Yum! I was frosting the last cupcake just seconds before Nathaniel and Eliza walked out the door to go to school.

Nothing really exciting happened for her birthday until this evening. Eliza helped me make her birthday cake. We made Choco-Nutter Cake. It's a chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. I got the recipe from Joann Davidson. Yummy!!

The kids were all excited when daddy got home, especially since he had pizzas for dinner. After dinner, we cleaned up and played some games. The kids played musical chairs and Hokey Pokey. Then we had the cake and ice cream.

Then Eliza opened her presents. She got a High School Musical mini-keyboard that plays "What Time is It?" and a musical game that plays the songs from High School Musical 3.

She got a unicorn sticker book and a storybook called "Unicorn Races."

She also got a new dalmatian 'Lilkinz Webkinz toy. She was the most excited about that!

We read her new book and played with the toys for a while, then went to bed.

A Few of Our Favorite Things

In my family (my parents, brothers, & sisters), we usually exchange couples names and kids' names since my parents have 7 children and 13 grandchildren. So, it seems like every year around Christmas time, I get an e-mail asking what Michael and I and the kids want for Christmas. I usually give sizes of clothes, shoes, and what each child likes and might want. I've noticed that some things stay the same and other things change as they get older (sizes mostly). I thought that I would just post it on our blog this year so that my family can all see it and then my kids can look back and see the things they were interested in this year. I kind of see it as a mini-spotlight for everyone.

Michael
Favorite color: navy
Likes: his guitar, music, playing games with his family

Mandy
Favorite color: green
Likes: playing games with my family, chick flicks, clean romance novels, cooking, baking, the computer, making my family happy, making cards

Jonathon
Favorite color: green
Clothing size: 12 to 14
Shoe size: 6 1/2
Likes: jogging, roller blading, playing on the computer, watching TV, building things, animals, my Nintendo DS

Christian
Favorite color: red
Clothing size: 12 to 14
Shoe size: 6
Likes: roadrunners, dragons, chicken pot pie, resting, watching TV, playing on the computer, my Nintendo DS

Nathaniel
Favorite color: blue, red, yellow, orange, green (mostly blue, I think)
Clothing size: 10
Shoe size: 3 1/2
Likes: music, drawing, coloring, singing, writing, reading, Webkinz, riding my bike

Eliza
Favorite color: all (she seems to really like purple, even though she said "all")
Clothing size: 7
Shoe size: 13
Likes: coloring, drawing, singing, dancing, music, stuffed animals, Webkinz, unicorns, dogs, animals

Timmy
Favorite color: ??
Clothing size: 4T
Shoe size: 7
Likes: cars, trucks, trains, airplanes, GeoTrax, Lightning McQueen, Mater

Katie
Favorite color: ??
Clothing size: 12 months
Shoe size: 1 or 2? (she doesn't usually wear shoes)
Likes: playing, smiling, laughing, eating, rattles, Dad, Mom, Jonathon, Christian, Nathaniel, Eliza, Timmy

Starring Timmy and Katie

Timmy loves Katie...and the camera.

Katie loves Timmy...and the limelight.


Hi, Kayteen! from Amanda Maldonado on Vimeo.

Auto Blessings

A couple of weeks ago I was on my way to Wal-Mart, when my brakes started grinding. Luckily, I was going to the gas station first, which also put me on the way to Midas. I stopped at Midas and had them check out the brakes. Sure enough, they were shot. Luckily, since I was so close to Midas when they started grinding, I didn't do any damage to the rotors. They changed the brakes and I was in and out in less than 2 hours. It wasn't the easiest thing to keep 2 kids happy for that long, but the man behind the counter gave Timmy a few m&m's and a drink of milk and Katie is happy as long as she's not hungry. The man also gave me the remote for the TV so that I could put something on that Timmy would like. He was pretty good the whole time and I still had time to go to Wal-Mart and get some shirts for our family photos that night, too. I am so glad that we didn't have brake problems later that night when we were on our way to the photography studio at Bridgewater Commons Mall. That would have been terrible since the studio was 30 minutes away and we had to drive on some major roads and highways to get there. I think the Lord was looking out for us yet again!

Speaking of car issues and the Lord watching over us, I'd like to take a short walk down memory lane. Michael and I have had more than one blessing when it comes to our cars.

For instance, when my brother, Aaron, got off his mission, I drove up to Newark with my two kids to see him. At that time, Jonathon was 3, Christian was 2, and I was about 7 months pregnant with Nathaniel. The three of us met Michael, my parents, and my siblings at the airport. Once we had reunited with Aaron, we decided to go to IKEA to get some dinner from their cafeteria. On the way, I got lost and drove around Elizabeth (SCARY) for about half an hour (luckily my brother, Scott, was with me and the kids) before we finally found it. After we had eaten a little (the cafeteria had closed), I left Newark, alone with the two kids, and drove down Route 1 South through Linden and some other not-so-great towns on my way home instead of just taking the Turnpike. When I was about 2 miles from my house, the car suddenly lost power. I had no clue what was going on, but I realized that I was really close to Bishop Pearson's home. I drove down what I thought was their street (unfortunately I turned one street too soon). When I realized I was on the wrong road, I tried to pull over to the side (coasting all the while), but my power-steering didn't work, nor did my power brakes! However, I managed to pull over and stop. I got out of the car and thankfully had my double stroller in the trunk. As I was putting the sleeping kids in the stroller, it started to rain...yeah. So I walked very fast (okay, sort of ran) through a connecting street and found the Pearson's house. You can imagine how surprised Julie was to see a pregnant woman on foot with two sleeping kids in a stroller at 10:30 p.m. on her front step. I find it very interesting to know that they had just gotten home 10 minutes before I got there. Hmmmm... Coincidence you say?? I choose to not think so. Anyway, she took me and the kids home and Michael was able to get the car fixed. Please remember that this was BEFORE we had cell phones and Michael had gotten home before us and was waiting patiently for us to arrive. I am so glad I didn't get stuck in Elizabeth or Linden!!

Some of our car issues are kind of funny. When Nathaniel was two, he loved to play with car keys. What child doesn't? Whenever we would visit my mom, he could always find my mom's car keys. One time, he was walking around with them in the living room and then found his way outside and into her car. He locked the doors and put them in the ignition. Smart kid! He wouldn't open the doors for anything; no matter how we pleaded, threatened, or bribed with m&m's. We had just given up and were going to get the spare, when he put the car in neutral. My mom's driveway is on a hill. Luckily, the hill doesn't go toward the busy street, but toward her detached garage. Unfortunately it's a steep hill. Needless to say, we panicked. The car would've hit the garage pretty hard if it hadn't run over a garbage can that helped to slow it down. He was fine and did open the door after that. How do you tell the insurance company that your car was in an accident with a two-year-old at the wheel? It's kind of interesting that not only did the insurance company give my parents enough money to fix the hole in the garage, but enough so they could fix the electricity that had been broken for quite some time!

The same week that that happened, Michael was borrowing his mom's car, when he got in an accident that totaled her car. He was fine and luckily it wasn't his fault, but his mom wasn't too happy since she didn't have a car anymore. Well, the insurance company came through and gave them enough so that his dad could get the pickup truck he'd been wanting!

All I can say is that I'm glad for the blessings that we have been given whether it looks like a blessing at first or not. Especially since the last TWO helped us not feel guilty.

Excited about Christmas!

A couple of weeks ago, I was talking to my mother-in-law on the phone. Michael and I really wanted to go to Puerto Rico for Christmas this year, but as we looked at finances, we decided it would be too expensive to buy seven airplane tickets when they are the most expensive (everyone wants to get away from the cold and I can't say I blame them!)

So I told Mom that, unfortunately, we wouldn't be able to come. Then I had an epiphany. THEY could come up HERE! I know how much they love to FREEZE. Actually, I was almost hesitant to ask, because Mom suffers a lot from the cold and Dad hates it. However, Mom was excited and Dad was resigned to come. The kids are really excited and so am I. We normally don't have guests for Christmas. It will be great because not only do the kids have the week between Christmas and New Year's off, but Michael's company shuts down during that time, too! We are going to have a fabulous time, even if we can't get away from the cold and go on vacation. We are all looking forward to having you here, Mom and Dad!

The picture is of Michael's mom August 2007 when they came up for Nathaniel's baptism. She doesn't care to have her picture taken, so out of respect for that, I posted this online, but at least I kept it small! Love you, Mom!