Thanksgiving with Jackson,Gregory, Aunt Carolyn, and Uncle Rich

We had our Allentown,Pennsylvania relatives in for Thanksgiving week. Jackson is 6 and Gregory turned 9 during his visit. We went to Stone Mountain Christmas and had a blast. There was lights everywhere and a great Christmas laser show to end the evening. We saw a 4D Polar Express movie and now the boys love the movie. There was a cool train ride around the park and the whole family played minature golf. The barn was alot of fun for all, it's where kids can collect fruit balls and shoot them at other kids without having parents yell at them. JJ Biello is a park we visited 3 times during the Baker vacation. There is a big hill that the kids use cardboard boxed to slide down the hill. In the grass area we played soccer and football and there is 2 playgrounds for the kids. Thanksgiving dinner was delicious. We had turkey, cranberry, over the rainbow macaroni and cheese, 2 kinds of green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, and broccoli casserole. Tasha, Aisha and Remi came over for dinner also. Gregory celebrated his birthday with us, we had cake and ice cream on his birthday. Matthew and Luke had a great time playing with their cousins and they were so sad when it was time for them to leave.

Matthew, Luke and V go to Florida

I have off for the month of November so I decided to take the boys down to Ft. Lauderdale to see my mom and friends. Mark is busy with work so we traveled by ourselves, it went pretty well. There was alot of bribes being passed along to ensure good behavior. They enjoyed being on the airplane and Luke drew some pictures for the Captain. When we got to Florida it was hot and Luke wanted to get into the pool immediately. We were all wore out by 8 pm on Thursday by our eventful day, so we went to bed early. Friday, we went to Elisa's house to play with Elisa, Dante and Phoenix. We went to Hollywood beach and played in the fountain and ate pizza on the beach. That night, Grandma and Aunt Janice watched the boys while mommy and Elisa went out to dinner. Saturday the sun was shining so the boys went into the pool early. The boys played until we got ready to go home. The trip back on the plane went great. We were on the 757 that had the individual screens and they watched Spongebob and then Shrek. We might be ready to take more airplane trips.

Halloween 10/31/2008

Grandma Lamparella and Grandpa Alex came for a visit and we had a busy Halloween. I was a chaperone for Luke's kindergarten class field trip and we all went to Adairsville Pumpkin Patch. We had 3 kids in our group, Luke, Madison and Christen. The Pumpkin Patch had plenty of activities for the kids, they played a hula hoop toss, rode play horses, went thru a hay maze, pet animals and went on a hayride. Later that night we dressed as the superhero family, Luke was Batman, Matthew was Robin, I was Batgirl and Mark was Indiana Jones. We went trick or treating in our neighborhood and it was freezing that night. Grandma and Alex held down the fort and handed out candy. The kids didn't mind the cold weather, especially Matthew, he loved getting a new piece of candy at each house. Needless to say, Matthew did not end up with alot of candy in his bag because he chose to eat the candy as he received it, if he received a new lollipop he would replace the 10 minute old one. Saturday the boys and I split up. I went to Florida for Lisa's wedding and the boys spent time with Grandma and Daddy. Luke was sick Saturday morning so he didn't make it to his soccer game. The boys went to a neighbors 3rd birthday party in the park while grandma did her hair. Sunday they all went to church and Grandma made a nice dinner for everyone. My trip to Miami was fun despite my cold. Lisa and Gigi looked pretty in the Miami Botanical Japanese Gardens and I got to spend some time with old friends from high school. The reception was at a restaurant on South Beach so I got a dinner and dancing without paying for a sitter, BONUS. I also saw my Janice's place on the beach (which is right where they filmed "Something About Mary") and had a nice lunch with my friend from college Elisa. It was a quick but enjoyable visit.

Catching up with friends, saying goodbye to neighbors

I came back from a 3 day trip Saturday morning. Our itinerary included Luke's soccer game 9am, put Matthew down for a nap at 10:30am, visit with the Krohn family in Midtown at 2:30pm, attend send off party for neighbor Jenn Elliott (going to Iraq for 1 year) and finally watch Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays in World Series. My trip was delayed and unfortunately, I missed Luke's soccer game. Mark said Luke started off slow but picked up and scored 2 goals and had some shining moments during the game. His best moment was when a kid on the other team was pushing Luke and he stuck with the ball. Mark was really proud of Luke and saw a soccer player out there on the field. When the boys arrived home I got them both a snack and then Matthew took his nap so he could rest for the long day ahead. We hadn't seen Kara, Chad and Max since Luke's 5th birthday party so we were looking forward to our visit. Their neighborhood was having a Fall Festival, it was a gorgeous fall day, there was face painting, a big bouncey thing for the kids and some time for the adults to catch up. The kids had a good time playing and we had a good time talking so we decided to stay for dinner. 2 pizzas, 1 bottle of wine, 3 dirty diapers (2 for Max and 1 for Matthew) and 5 hours later the Lamparellas headed back home to Acworth, fun was had by all. I met up with Tyra, made vodka drinks and we headed to Jen's going away party. Mark stayed home with the boys. They were both begging to be put to bed on the way home from Kara's. When we walked into Jen and Doug's house it was a much more subdued and sober atmosphere than their parties normal Elliott party. But was fun had all the same. There was good food and conversation. We wished Jen all the best and asked her to email us with news and photos from Iraq. I got into home and Mark was still up watching the World Series. By the time I washed my face and hoped into bed, the Phillies had won the game. It was a great family day.

It grows back

Don't be mad. Both the boys went to Tom the hairdresser last Friday and buzzed off their hair. They look real handsome. Some ladies at Mark's sale are mad at me, they like Matthew's curls. I'm sure I'll hear more about it as others see it. Big weekend ahead. Mark is still out of town. I work a 2 day trip on Friday and return on Saturday afternoon so this will be the first soccer game of Luke's I will have to miss. Sunday we have church and Jesus class and then Luke will go to a Birthday party of a classmate. He has been doing well in school. His teacher gives him a little homework mon-thurs., only lasting about 5 to 10 a night. We are looking forward to our family visits in November and the end of this month. Time to get the boys ready for bed. I hope you like the new pics. PS The soccer photos came out great. Ask for your photo.

Happy 39 to me!!

Last Friday I went to Marlow's with Peggy, Lillian and Shane for Birthday drinks and dinner. We had a fun night. The pomegranate martinis were delicious and the food was pretty good as well. I stepped out of my box because I would usually opt for my favorite bars, sidelines or taco mac. The waiter bought me a birthday shot and Shane and Lillian decided to do a pinepple upside down cake with me (the name of the shot) and it was just as sweet as it sounds. We had nice conversation and I actually stayed out til 11:30. We all had things to do Sat am so we made it an early evening but it was nice to have a ladies night. The good thing was this restaurant was close to home. Saturday as Mark noted Luke scored his 1st goal. Saturday night was my actual birthday so Mark and I had a date night so we went to see Burn after Reading. It was pretty good. I laughed alot. Brad Pitt was pretty funny and the characters in this movie were entertaining. We planned to eat dinner at an Italian restaurant in Acworth but it was closed for a private party so we went to another restaurant that turned out to be delicious. The Lasagne was really good. I didn't order dessert because my mother bought my favorite pepperidge farm cake and I bake cupcakes for my birthday and I ate most of them myself. I had my mother in town and my family was over so it was a really good birthday.

Luke's 1st Goal

Written by Mark: Luke scored his first goal today in a game. He said he wanted to score a goal for his Mommy because it was her birthday. Grandma DaCosta, Aunt Tasha, Aisha and Sasha came to see him play today. This was his 5th game and he has really improved! As expected, he was a little timid at first but now that he feels "the rush" of doing well and getting cheered on he is really in to it. I am also teaching him to "attack the ball" and be more aggressive when the other team has it. During the practices I have been lending a hand and during the games I give Luke and his teammates positive reinforcement. Perhaps I will coach the boys one day. Time will tell.

Happy Birthday to V!!!!!

If I wanted to clean mess off the floor I would have got a dog

Matthew has been working on his potty training for awhile now and he does a good job for the most part but we took a step back tonight. He is very resistent to doing no. 2 on the potty so he decided to go on the floor. He gets stickers for going potty at school and his teachers think that when he goes to the 3 year old room it will click and he will get it. It took Luke a few days of seeing the kids in this class go potty and he started didn't have the accidents anymore so we hope it's the same for Matthew. We have had great weather here despite having only 6 days of rain all of September. Wednesday night the whole family went to Luke's soccer practice and we all had a great time. Mark got to play with the kids and I helped out by throwing the new balls back in and Matthew played with the coach's older daughter Lexy. Luke is growing more confident with every practice and game. When the boys returned home from school today they played with William, Andrew and Ethan. They had alot of fun. Nobody wanted to go in when it was time for dinner.

Boys of Summer (Fall)

We stretched the weekend as far as it could go last night. We had Luke's friends over, Gavin and Xavier and their mom Chante,' for some backyard fun. They also played with our neighbors nextdoor, Andrew and William. They started with soccer and then played t ball, they had a blast playing outside. We had hotdogs and chips. We finally had to say goodnight to the boys at 7:30pm. Luke's first Picture day at Kindergarten is today. I have off from work this week so Matthew will stay home with me a couple of days to work on his potty skills. We still aren't that great with the potty, he has his moments but he prefers to go in his pants.

Weekend at home with the BOYS

Well, Delta dropped my reserve days so I got to spend my weekend home with the boys. Saturday we went to Luke's soccer game and he does enjoy playing and he is having fun but he is still learning which translates to he still isn't that great even though he does try very hard. The girls took the boys to school this week. The coach's daughter, Ally and another girl on the team Mckenzie were our top scorers of the game. Since I usually go to sleep early on my trips I turned in early on Saturday night while Mark put the boys to bed. Sunday morning on our drive to church we saw 2 gas stations that were open with gas. You can't imagine how weird it is to drive around and only see 2 stations out of the 20 you pass available to dispense gas. Mark and I tanks are both at 3/4 full so we pprobably won't have to hunt for gas til wednesday. We went to 8:30 am mass and then Luke went to his Jesus class (where he learns about fall and Jesus) at 9:45am. We have had gorgeous weather here despite the lack of rain. Getting the front of the house ready with the fall decorations and some Halloween stuff. Mark took care of cutting the lawn yesterday. Well check out pics from Copenhagen and that's all from Red Oak aka Wisteria.

He scored THREE

We had fun at soccer practice last night. The whole family went to Luke's soccer practice and Luke was so proud to have scored 3 goals. He is still a little timid to play defense and take the ball away but when he breaks away with the soccer ball he likes to score the goals. Matthew has gotten used to the fact that he is not able to play on the field yet. He played in the net with a little friend and he stays occupied. The practice lasts 45 minutes and Luke has begun to really enjoy the game. Hopefully, Luke will continue to enjoy soccer and this is just the beginning of his sports career whichever sport he pulls towards. I got rid of my reserve days so I get to spend the weekend with the boys. (the first weekend all month) We won't be going to far since here in GA we are hoarding our gas. Most of our gas stations are empty and the ones that have gas have lines and gas is $4.30. I have vacation next week but it will be what we call at Delta a Staycation because we won't be going anywhere.

Yea DANCING WITH THE STARS

With the awful economy. The ruthless presidential race I am so happy for mindless diversions like Dancing with the Stars. Yea for Cloris!!! She is hysterical. I do like Lacey and Lance. and Thank goodness for Maks and his A--.(His partner Misty May is doing a great job) Brooke Burke is doing a great job. I love watching the View, Whoopi and Joy are great! After the debates I plan on watching Fox News to hear their take on it. Watch the debates on Friday.

Wildfire lost but LUCKILY we weren't keeping score

Luke's under 6 soccer team played on Saturday and his team had a rough go of it. They were all daydreaming and watching butterflies because the other team was bending it like Becks and Pele. Last week Luke wanted to go home after the first 20 minutes so at least this Saturday he finished out the game without asking to go home. He did enjoy being out there more this Saturday, especially when he broke away from everyone and almost scored a goal. I left the boys in the afternoon to head to Copenhagen Denmark,a very beautiful city. They ride their bikes like we use our cars, I almost got run over a few times by people on bicycles. My crew was cool and it was a nice trip. I had visited Copenhagen before so after napping for a few hours a went walking for a couple of hours and I remembered my way around. The sun was out and the weather was 65 degrees perfect for walking. While I was away the boys had a good time with Chris O Neil. They all went to Chuck E Cheese. The boys had a fun time and then they went to Mc
Donalds and then they got batman toys. Sunday, Luke went to sunday school and out our church. Monday I got back from Copenhagen and picked the boys up from school. Today I picked up the boys from school and Olivia came over to play. We received a picture from cousin Marisa today. She started preschool recently in Bethlehem Pennsylvania.

LAST WEEKEND WENT LIKE THIS...

I picked up Luke's friends Gavin and Xavier and brought them home from school for a 2 hour play date. The kids played matching game and colored and made ninja turtle headbands and ate pizza. Matthew was the evil bad guy that they had to run away from. Luke played his first soccer game on Saturday. He did great his first 25 minutes the last 30 minutes he was mostly interested in leaving the field and playing with his friend Olivia. We had to stay and be good sportsman and say good game to the other team. Sunday, the boys went to an Ice Cream Social at our subdivision pool. The boys love swimming in the pool and Luke no longer uses his floatees. Matthew decided to jumped in without his floatees and Mark had to dive in and save him. Luke thought it was supercool. Gavin told Mark he wasn't supposed to dive into the pool like that. While the boys were home by themselves I was off on a 3 day trip, first night in Orlando and 2nd night in Baltimore. Four of us on the crew went out in Baltimore to a Irish bar/restaurant, Tir Na Nog. It's better scenery and greener to go out in Ireland but my burger and beer was cheaper here in the states. This trip helped me get ready for this week. The boys already have fall break and have the week off from cherokee county schools. It's a good thing I have off during the week, they have already had almost 10 days off. Matthew's naked cat picture with Puddy cat, she was put to sleep last weekend. She was 19 years old, Aunt Thalia is still very upset.

I do love O Reilly

No, this is not a post from my Republican husband. I know that me being an Obama fan you wouldn't think these words would be coming out of my mouth but I watched OReilly last night (he was interviewing Obama) and he called Elisabeth Hasselbeck a pinhead. I love the ladies on the view, Whoopi, Joy and Sherri but Elisabeth just drives me crazy. I love it when even a Republican conservative agrees that she is a pinhead.

Luke puked on Matthew

That's how our hectic weekend started. Luke picked up some bug and Friday morning he hopped into bed with me and Matthew noticed Luke was missing so he joined us and yuck!!! Luke puked all over the bed and Matthew. I kept the boys separated and kept them home from school. Of course by 10 am Luke stopped vomitting and asked to go to school and play with other kids. Needless to say my day was spent doing loads of laundry and getting the pukey smell out of everything. Matthew's teacher was going to a new job so we had to say goodbye to her. Mark came back from a sale in Kentucky. He had to fire one of his guys so in the height of his busy season he is interviewing. Luke got sick again Saturday morning so he missed his first soccer game. I went to Santiago Chile Saturday night. I had a cool flight crew, it was a real international group there was a russian girl, a hebrew speaker, aggressive guy, very nice flight leaders, Janet who I worked with before and Romie, dominique who looks latin and speaks spanish and jeff who doesnt look latin at all and speaks spanish both very cool guys. Trips like this help me recharge my batteries, I don't do much but I get to rest and watch movies. I watched In Bruges and Revolver which I do not recommend. And I watched Ratatouille and Becoming Jane Austen, these 2 were good. Time to get the boys and clean the bathrooms.

In with the Big Boy Bed

Bye Bye Thomas Train Bed that arrived in January of this year that Matthew never slept in. Matthew now sleeps in his Big Boy bed in his room as of last weekend. Yea!!! Because since January he has been in our bed. Mark brought home the bed Saturday and he came into our room around 2am. Every night after that Matthew and Luke have slept in his new big boy bed and he is so proud. (S0 are Mark and I) Luke had a visit from the tooth fairy Sunday night. Now all he wants for Christmas is his 2 front teeth, transformers, star wars clone wars, and dinosaurs. Luke had is first soccer practice yesterday. It was alot of fun. He had alot of stamina as he chased the ball up and down the field. I don't think he will be following in his Dad's footsteps as the goalee, it looks like he had too much fun on the field. His team was made up of boys and girls under 6.

WOW I didn't see that coming!!!

How about McCain pulling that one out of his butt?! I must say I don't know much about her but I am pretty excited about being an American right now and about this election race. Talk about an historical 24 Hours. Obama accepts the nomination on the anniversary of Martin Luther's great speech and Wam Bam here comes McCain with the announcement. Wow, my jaw is on the floor. I spent the morning listing/watching cnn trying to learn more about Palin. All this said my vote is still for Obama/Biden but I am excited about this race. About my boys, Luke's snaggle tooth is still hanging on. It has threatened to fall out for the past week but it is a fighter and is camped out in the middle/top of his mouth. I think he is being really careful with it so it doesn't bleed I will keep you updated as to when the tooth falls out and the tooth fairy delivers the cash. Matthew is still very adamant on going doodoo in his pants. He does pretty well with going pee pee on the potty but he thinks adults should clean up the doo doo out of his pants. He goes back and forth between pullups and big boy pants and he doo doos in both. I spend alot of time trying to get my bathroom to stop smelling like a NY subway since Matthew has been spraying it down. We stay supportive and offer bribes of cookies and skittles when he is successful.

big birthday weekend

The boys went to 2 birthday parties this weekend. Ethan's Transformer party on Saturday and Sasha's roller skate party on Sunday. Luke tried hard to skate. He held on tight to the edge around the whole rink. Matthew kept occupied in a big play area. We spent 3 hours at the skating rink. We had a lot of rain yesterday and today, we need it, so no one is complaining. It could put a damper on Luke's first soccer practice which is supposed to be tomorrow evening. I returned from Paris Saturday evening. I must have brought the rain back with me because it rained while I was in Paris as well. I made the best of it however because I spent my day at the Louvre. It was a wonderful experience. I saw the infamous Mona Lisa. I took the trains in Paris and I only got turned around one time, I found my way around pretty easily. I did get stabbed in the foot by an umbrella by a french woman. Mark is still working hard and we are still juggling our schedules. I work on the weekends but I will be able to see most of Luke's soccer games on Saturday mornings. I am still working on getting some photos up.

New site will try to post weekly Aug 20 2008

Hi welcome to the Lamparella blog. Mark and I travel weekly and both Matthew and Luke are in school so we are a busy family but we will try to update you regularly. Please visit here to see what we are up to. I will try to put up pictures but bear with me because I am new to the computer world and find it challenging to download and upload. I go to Paris France tomorrow for the 3rd time tomorrow. I have fallen in love with Paris this summer. The people have not spit on me and have not been rude to me but I am a pretty independent tourist and am pretty good with a mapbut everyone I have come in contact with has been hospitible. Mark has had a pretty busy summer and starting a busy fall. He has lost a few employees which means he is taken on more responsibility than he already does which mean he is taken on 130 % of workload instead of his usual 110%. Luke and Matthew are doing well at school. Luke started kindergarten Aug 4th. He has had homework, and classwork and is doing very well. He will start one extra activity which will be soccer. He has some good friend in the neighborhood Gavin and Xavier (twins), he slept at their home two weeks ago and they stayed over last weekend. We decided that to have a kindergarten boys night last friday so we had another boy, Ethan and the twins over with some pizza and costumes and had a night of it. Matthew even had a great time. Matthew is potty training which is code for pissing up all the bathrooms. Kidding. He is doing pretty well, we bribe him with skittles so you know he is anxious to get on the potty often. Well I'll get back to you soon with some photos.