37. Love is in the cookie!

Today, I baked some sugar cookies in the shape of hearts. With Valentine's day only one week away, I thought it would be fun for the kids to decorate the cookies! So when they came home from school, after doing their homework, they set out to decorate them. Christina spent a lot of time writing cute sayings on her cookies. Like: "Be Mine" or "Marry Me". Anthony decorated his in "abstract" patterns! Their weren't that many cookies to decorate, so it only took about 20 minutes, but it was fun.

36. Lost Boy

This weekend, Christina was performing in Peter Pan, an "Escape Theatre" production. 

She was part of the ensemble cast who all played "Lost Boys" 

and she was also "Nana" the dog. 

Since we had to "make" her "Lost Boy" costume, I was able to take photos. 

But her "Nana" costume was provided by Escape. 

I looked at the pictures taken by the professional photographer 

and since her costume included a mouth piece that covered both her mouth and her nose, 

she was barely recognizable. 

So I didn't buy any photos. 

Here are my favorites from my mini session this morning:

35. Wow!

Technically, I am late with this post... Yesterday was a little hectic with Anthony's birthday party followed immediately after with Christina's performance in Peter Pan! So, this is a photo I took after I dropped off Christina at College of the Canyons to get ready for the play, while waiting for everybody else to arrive.

It was a beautiful sky! And this picture taken with the Hipstamatic App. on my iphone does not do it justice. Anyways, Anthony had a blast with his friends and Christina had a great performance!

34. Happy Birthday Anthony!

Today is Anthony's 12th birthday! 

We had our family celebration at dinner today; tomorrow is his birthday party with his friends. 

Our family tradition: On the actual day of their birthday, I try and prepare their favorite meal and bake their favorite cake. 

Antony's favorite meal this year: lasagna.

 His favorite cake: chocolate cake with chocolate icing.

Home made lasagna and cake you ask?

Everything is made at home with love (with a few short cuts, thanks to Prego and Betty Crocker).

33. Lost Hat

Last night, Christina had dressed rehearsal for Peter Pan; She has been rehearsing all week but yesterday, for the first time, she got to wear her Nana costume (which the theater company provides). She is also playing a "Lost Boy" as part of the Ensemble cast and has a different costume (that we provide) for this part.
I dropped her off with her "Lost Boy" costume in hand and wished her luck. That was at 5:30 PM. They were finally let out of the theater at 10:25 PM! Immediately, I could tell that she had been crying: Her mascara was all smudged. When I asked her how it went, she teared up and said "it was not a very good night for me". Apparently, her Nana costume includes a mouth piece which covers her mouth and her nose and is made of fur. She said that it was too tight and she couldn't breath with it. She was also very disappointed that she didn't get a microphone. I guess they expect her to bark loud enough for everyone to hear! And to top it all off, she lost her Lost Boy hat and one of her sock! I sent her to bed ( by then it was 11:00 PM) and told her not to worry. This is why we have dressed rehearsal; So they can fix any "wardrobe malfunction". The socks are easily replaceable. As for the lost hat, we went back to the theater today and found it. Now all she needs is a good night sleep so she can have a good performance tomorrow morning!

32. Comfort Food

Today was a VERY windy day and cold! I am not complaining... It was still sunny with no rain in sight. So I guess, compared to the other part of the Country where it has been snowing a lot lately, it was a pretty nice day. In any case, I was in the mood for something warm but that could be prepared ahead of time: Turkey Chili.
I remember the first time that I served Chili for dinner; Nicholas saw the beans and started to cry! Back then, he didn't like beans (or didn't like what they looked like). So I had to take all the beans out of his bowl for him to even try it. Fast forward to today, and Nicholas telling me that he loves my Turkey Chili! What has changed? I don't know exactly. But my oldest son is now more adventurous about what he eats. He is still picky... But I guess his taste buds are improving as he gets older!

31. Paperwork

February... A new month means paperwork. I love my job as an Occupational Therapist. Working with young children with disabilities and knowing that I can help improve their lives means a lot. But I hate the other part of my work which is writing progress notes and reports. Thankfully, in the community, as a contractor,  it requires less paperwork than working in a hospital. Still... The ideal job would be one without paperwork!