No pictures - Booo!

So, our camera is on the fritz, mostly because Lou SAT ON IT at my sister's wedding a month ago, which would explain why I haven't posted in so long. I feel that all posts should have pictures, though I don't know why.

Anyhow, this post is the result of something that has been on my mind the past couple of days, and that is the fact that I have really come to appreciate "little kid talk". I love it all, the mispronunciations, the speech impediments, that sentences that make no sense - it's great! Here are a few of my favorites of Josephines right now:

-Jefus Christ (instead of Jesus)
-wif (as in "I want to go wif you!")
-fwee (as in the number 3)
-dat (instead of "that")
-dose (instead of "those")
-pwease (instead of "please")
-Fodder (instead of "father". "Where's my fodder?" - too cute)
-Bizmiss (instead of "business", as in "Mind your own BIZMISS Maria!")
-Her new habit of saying "seriously" with everything (except she says it like "sewiouswy"). For example, today she told me "I wike (like) cows, Mommy. Sewiouswy, I weally (really) do wike dem (them). Sewiouswy." She cracks me up

There are so many more, but I can't think of them off hand, and anyways, you get the point. I love her little kid talk - one of my little pleasures as a Mom... :)

Creations

I think this is really old news, but some of you did request pictures of the homemade gifts I made at our Relief Society Enrichment activity in November. There were lots of options, but I made the decorative mirrors. They looked really easy, but they are not as simple as they appear. They are made using a stencil and spraypaint, and the paint is actually kind of fussy to put on (and make it look good, that is.). I made six altogether, but only photograhed two, since the rest are repeats.


It's actually really hard to photograph a mirror! But I hope you can get the idea of what they look like.


This was one of my favorites - it's the Washington D.C. temple, where Lou and I were sealed (all the funny lines you see are just weird reflections of sunlight bouncing off the walls). I made one for us, and one for my parents (it's where they were sealed, too). I also made one of the Salt Lake City temple.

I took a cake decorating class in January! I decorated three cakes throughout the class, and this one is my second one! It was a lot of fun. Oh yeah, and if you look carefully, you'll notice a chunk missing on the far side. Thank you, Lou...

Here is a close-up of the side. My border on top isn't as nice as the one on bottom - I got better as I went along, I guess...

Here is a close-up of some of the flowers I learned (besides the VERY difficult rose...).

My third cake was way nicer, but Lou sat on our camera recently (and broke it, of course), so alas, we now have no camera. My sister took pictures on her phone, but who knows when, or if I will ever get them.

Anyways, with my newfound skills, I am now looking for any excuse to make a cake!! Any requests? :)

Happy Anniversary to us!

Lou and I celebrate our 10-year wedding anniversary today! Sometimes it feels as though we have always been together, yet somehow, at the same time it is hard to believe that it has already been 10 years! It has been an adventurous 10 years, I will say that, with our fair share of ups and down. As you all know, Lou and I both have VERY strong personalities, and so I tend to think that lasting 10 years together is quite an accomplishment for us! I will not say that it has been easy, but I will say that I glad that we have never given up. Over the years, we have laughed together, cried together, and experienced every emotion in between. Through it all, though our differences are many, our one grand thing is common is that we love each other beyond reason. He may irritate me at times (okay, a lot of times) and embarass the heck out of me at others, but I do love my big, crazy, loudmouth Italian... :)


Here are some wedding photos for your viewing pleasure:

Louis and Robyn DeGaetano

January 16, 1999-January 16, 2009

10 years together...

Happy Anniversary, Lou!

Merry Christmas...really, really late.

This was supposed to be posted on Christmas night, but I had some issues uploading the pictures because of their size, so I had to send them over to my computer saavy sister and have her resize them. So anyways, here's the post that was meant for the Christmas season:

Tis the season to see all kinds of cute family photos enclosed in Christmas cards - smiling, cute children and their proud, happy parents. Well, unfortunately, our family seems to be completely incapable of producing such a picture. There is always at least ONE of us who looks weird in some way...
The Sunday before Christmas we tried, in vain of course, to get a nice family photo. The pictures that we ended up with were, well, at least entertaining, but not exactly Christmas card material. :) So, without further ado, I invite you to look at our blooper photos and have a good laugh!

Hey there.

We lovingly call this Maria's "Chandler face". Those of you who ever watched the show Friends will get the reference.

Seriously, why does her on-camera smile look like a grimace?


I thought this one was decent, until I saw the strategic placement of Josephine's fingers...

Again, Josephine, so charming.

Here is me trying to "make" Maria smile. It didn't work, by the way. And is Josephine conducting a choir or something?

Here is the Chandler smile again, and now Josephine is conducting with her eyes closed - impressive.

Aahhhh, there are no words...

It's official - now we ALL look like freaks. And by the way, did Lou become Amish when I wasn't looking?

Josephine is getting away!

So next time you think it's hard to get your kids to be cute for a picture, just think of the DeGaetanos, and you'll realize it could always be worse...

Let it Snow!

All of you who are living in warmer climates and bragging about your 60's and 70's degree weather...you can have it! I am 28 years old, and I still get excited everytime it starts snowing! It just all looks so magical and peaceful and beautiful. I wouldn't trade it for a sunny day down south if you paid me!

And hey, without snow, Lou and I wouldn't have been able to go sledding this past weekend with some friends - talk about fun!

Seriously, when is the last time you went sledding - it is AWESOME! We went down the hills over and over and over...


Oh yeah! You can't get these kinds of good times on the beach!! (although I will say, that, as you can see in this picture, going down face first is a good way to get a face full of snow, which can get quite cold...)

Isn't this a beautiful view? I love this place!

You just never get too old for this stuff! I happen to think that Lou looks pretty cute all decked out in his snow gear.

Lou and the other guys (Dave Hart, Ryan Gleed and Scott Johnson) reminded me of a bunch of overgrown kids, all trying to outdo each other with their crazy ways of going down the hill (standing on sleds, using two sleds at once, etc.)

What a great date night! I am thoroughly convinced that going sledding is a great way to stay young! The ride down is so much fun, and the walks back up the hill are GREAT exercise. Thanks again Johnsons, for inviting us out!

HOORAY SNOW!

Flashback!

I am going my 10-year high school reunion tomorrow night, and in honor of the occasion, I thought I would give you all a glimpse of what I looked like 10 years ago, at my senior prom. Yes, that is Lou there with me!

Okay, I promise that my hair started out the night looking really good. You see, the thing is, it was raining that night - pouring, in fact, and the rain, humidity, and all of that lovely hairspray in my hair did NOT mix well. What you see in this picture was the result...

Hey, at least my dress looked good!

I'm Domestic!

Years ago I was sitting on the beach with some fellow Moms during playgroup. They were all discussing all of their recent homemaking accomplishments, from making bags to finding a new wheat bread recipe to making their own hummus. I remember thinking - "are these women for real?", almost mockingly. I was still in school, and was too busy to even make dinner half the time (the only reason I was even at playgroup was because it was summertime, inbetween semesters). I felt like I couldn't relate to these women at all - these silly susy homemakers. Well, I think what I was really feeling was jealousy. I felt like I could never be the Mom who could sew and knead bread and can jellies, etc.


Well, I am eating my words today (no pun intended - hee hee), and am proud of it! Here are my latest feats:


I made curtains for the girl's room. Okay, okay, so my Mom had to walk me through the whole thing, but I did all the sewing, cutting, etc., myself!


Here they are closed (you have to get the full effect, of course!)

And here is a close-up shot so that you can see what the fabric looks like, and also the cute tie-backs I made. I even got this fabric on clearance since it is technically an Easter print. I am so proud of these!

Here is my latest culinary effort - Pumpkin Cheesecake with a gingernsap crust. I had this at a restaurant years ago and fell in love with it, and finally had the chance to make one myself!

I made jelly for the first time! This is grape jelly (my favorite kind), made with concord grapes from the local farmer's market. My Mom's best friend Annie was gracious enough to come over and teach me how, and it turned out delicious!! I was so proud that I had to take a picture, as you can see...

Oh Mr. Jelly Jar, you are a cute one!