Two in One Day....What is This?!?!?

Ok so I was in a baking mood today....I had my Girls come over and while they played cards I made Red Velvet Cake and Cheesecake....Yummy... I showed wonderful restraint and only had a small piece of RV cake....I will have a smidge of the Cheesecake....I am so totally ready to have some of that one Later!

My piece of Cake beat me!!! Red Velvet is, by the way much better with HOMEMADE frosting... the other stuff is WAY too SwEeT!!

Lovin' this time of year...

Finally We Saw The Babies!!!

Well it has been a long awaited meeting but we finally got to Memphis to see, my oldest son Nick's, twin baby brothers...
I will let you enjoy their cuteness, I have some baking to do...Merry Christmas and Have a Blessed New Year!!

This (above) is Sir Jayden...

and this is Sir Jordan...
It is a blessing that Nicholas' Dad and I have gotten past so many things to become good friends. He has and amazing wife that Nick calls Mom, for that I am blessed. I know no matter where the Army sends us I know he has a loving family and a close bond with all of his siblings.

This here is a photo of Paul and I holding the boys... This is how we would have looked if we had twins...LOL No more babies for me!! I will be Auntie Dee, the one who spoils them and sends them home...

Love and Best Wishes for you and yours this Christmas season.

The Fond Memories Of My Past, Part Due (Italian for two)

The last time I blogged about my memories it was about the passing of my Grandpa Morano.... well this time its about my other Grandparents, my Mom's parents. It has been so many years since I have celebrated a Christmas with them and but the thoughts and the memories still seem so real and so close. When the older foundation building family members have passed away many of the stories and traditions pass away with them. I am one of the last in my generation that remembers the holidays as though they were yesterday...


This year I wasnt planning on going home to NY to see my family but in a last ditch effort to get me there my niece Alyssa messaged me on Facebook and asked me to talk to Uncle Paul and please reconsider our decision and come home for a big old fashioned family Christmas. How can you say no to the pleadings of your niece... how could you tell her that you are really going to be cutting it close on your budget if you schedule this in....Ahh, Who cares....I say go for it! There are so many memories the younger generations have missed out on and it is now the responsibility of those who do remember to carry on the traditions....so here is where we are today. We are going home to NY! We, and when I say We I mean ME, will be in the cold, snowy, slushy and did I mention COLD NY for the Christmas and New Years Holiday.... I, I mean We will be subject to the harsh winter weather I have long since moved away from .....LOL Its crazy how wimpy we become when it comes to dealing with the cold. I can remember spending Christmas and playing outside throwing snowballs, building forts and seeing if the pond was frozen enough to skate around on. Hahahahaha, I am seriously laughing about the memories as I am typing, they flow from the back of the subconscience mind racing forward to slap me up side of the head and say, "Your not giving your children this experience....Your not letting them get yelled at for leaving their frozen and wet boots, mittens, scarfs, coats, and snow pants in the middle of the floor and you are depriving them of being able to build the memories with their cousins like you have with yours ....whats the matter with you?"


As I said before I am giving in, I am going to make memories and most of this is due to the pleadings of a 14year old girl and from the blog One Perfect Bite (http://oneperfectbite.blogspot.com/2011/12/santa-lucia-crown-for-feast-of-st-lucia.html)....Thank you Both you have jogged the memories laying dormant in my mind, causing me to WANT now more than ever to build memories. So this Christmas I am going to get out the bricks and mortar... I am going to build the next floor of memories.


I challenge you to do the same, call your Mother, Grandmother, Aunts, ask them what one tradition from your family is and do it. Even if it seems simple, keep it that way dont modernize it, dont make it into more than the simple thing that it was...A Family Memory!


Here is just a little memory I have of my family at Christmas...


We would leave very early in the morning on Christmas Eve and head out to my Grandma and Grandpa Ferrari's house over 2 hours away. My brothers and I would make sure we had all of our outdoor gear so we would be able to play outside when we got there. Upon falling asleep in the car we would be awakened with the stir of, "Hey guys we are here." Perking up we would pile out of the car my Mom and Dad would unload the trunk of our family car and bring in the groceries we needed to successfully make our Christmas dinner the way we wanted it to be....Memorable! Soon after arriving there would be a knock followed by the door blasting open and my cousins would barrel through the door and greet each and every one of us in the house. My mom, Grandma and Aunt Mary would talk and laugh making funny comments about memories they had from their childhood. I could almost smell the coffee.... Us kids would be dressed and out the door to do our exploring. If it was too cold we would just look at the perfectly laid snow and say to each other, "How come there are no footprints? Grandpa must go outside.... Doesn't he?" The day would be followed with an evening of watching TV and playing in the basement while the sauce simmered on the stove and the Bacalhau (Salted Cod Fish) was being prepared by my Grandpa. We always knew that our evening was going to be cut short so that my Mom, Dad and Aunt Mary & Uncle Elwood could leave with my cousins and finish the final touches to the food being prepared for Christmas Day activities... My brothers and I would sleep at Grandma and Grandpas because we always knew we would be spoiled and they would make a kickin breakfast in the morning. 


Christmas Day, it wasnt a day where we worshiped the God of TV, though we did watch football games and parades, but it was spent talking, laughing and building bonds and memories with our family that no one in the world could ever take away from us. We have been blessed with the memories and I am so glad I could share them with you...God Bless you ALL  and make every memory count this Christmas and dont forget to Wish Jesus a Happy Birthday!!! After all he is the reason we have the season....