Natale Times

2009-09-01T21:19:00.001-04:00

9/1/09 7:09 PM CST.www.MiekeNatale.comis Officially Open!

2009-08-19T09:14:00.002-04:00

Max: K, Jimmy: 5 th, Alex: 6 th!

Alex is really turning into quite the pre-teen. Jimmy is getting so tall. Max looks like such a big boy!

During the picture taking process, they found a little Leopard Gecko. Isn't it cute?

Its just Katie Grace and Moses home with me now! My house really is so quiet!

2009-06-29T11:50:00.001-04:00

Summer already!

2009-06-25T15:54:00.003-04:00

I can't believe it has been 6 months since the blog updates. I have been using facebook for daily updates, as it is a much easier form of communication, but as my Mom pointed out today, there are some people who still don't have facebook pages yet. Come on now Ma, even Claudia my Mother-inlaw has one! But, since I am laid up today with a back spasm from moving boxes. I'll indulge!

So for those unfacebookers, here are some quick updates.

Katie Grace has her dance recital this weekend, dress rehearsal on Sat. program on Sun. She is doing "Prancing poodle" and "splish splash". I will post pictures (sooner or later) after. She has overcome her fear of "drown-in" in the pool, and now floats in her floatie everywhere "by herselfS"!

Max finished up his first year of T-ball (Wee-ball, as they call it here). He loved it, my super competitive boy! He looked so cute in his uniform! They will have the same team next year. And he can't wait to play Soccer this fall! Yay! Go Max!

Jimmy is enjoying all of the weird (and HUGE) LA bugs, and is growing cantaloupes in his garden. The pumpkin that he and Alex grew is about 120lbs!!! Too bad that it won't last till Halloween!

Alex tried out, and made the Division 1 U12 Girls Calcasieu Parish Competitive Soccer team, along with her 2 best friends from her old team (I call them the "Goonies"). Exactly where we were hoping that she would be. She is very excited about playing, and this next year should be awesome for her and her team!

It's been a pretty chill and relaxing Summer since we have gotten home from our trip up to MA. Pooling, relaxing, playing, cooking, lovin life :)

I am in the process of starting up my Business again (have already been in contact with a local shop to sell my products). And have people already lined up to try out the new lines that I am coming up with!

There ya have it. That's the scoop. :) Hopefully it won't be another 6 months before I update again!

Christmas Pictures 2008

2008-12-22T09:46:00.002-05:00

It takes a great amount of effort to get everyone all clean, dressed, kept clean, all together, smiling and looking in the right direction.
Here is a slideshow of this years attempts. I think we did pretty well this year. I love the pictures of Katie Grace and Daddy, and the ones of Katie Grace and Max in front of the door. Hope everyone is doing well. I'll update more later. For now enjoy the show!

Snow?!?!

2008-12-11T08:43:00.004-05:00

Yup! Bright and early this morning I woke to Katie Grace shaking me:

KG "Momma its Kissmass!"
Me "No baby its not Christmas yet, go back to bed,"
KG "Nooooo Momma its KISSMASS!"
Me "Honey, its 5:30, its not time to get up yet, go back to bed."
KG "Noooooo Momma!!! ITS KISSMASS! You know that white stuff?"
Me "Snow?"
KG "Yeah its raining snow!"

At this point Jim comes in to alert me to the fact that yes it was indeed snowing. He had already taken pictures and made little snowmen on the patio table.

He had to wake the kids up, so at 6am this morning my children were outside with socks on their hands (because all the snow gear is packed up)making snowmen in the front yard. They had to show their Louisiana friends how we kick it New England style!

Happy Thanksgiving from Natale South

2008-11-27T14:59:00.000-05:00

Halloween 08

2008-11-05T12:41:00.000-05:00

Almost over

2008-10-28T10:19:00.005-04:00

October is the best month of the year, and also the most busy.

Since my last post we have celebrated Max's, Katie Graces and Moms Birthdays. Katie Grace and I were in the Cal-Cam parade with her dance school, Jim went on a business trip to Brazil...and on and on and on. I am so glad that this crazy month is almost over and I can start obsessing about my Thanksgiving day menu, and making my Christmas lists.

Anyway, I had planned to post some pictures of Max's and Katie Graces Birthdays last week. Jim took the pictures on his work camera (much better than our old clunker) and dutifully downloaded them onto the laptop for me to post while he was in Brazil. The only problem with that was that at the last minute before his trip, he decided to take the laptop along!

So without further waiting.... pictures!

Katie Graces Birthday: (her favorite was the Zoe ballerina doll from Auntie Beth, Uncle Chris, Dana and Logan)

The look of a big sister watching her little sister open her presents. Pure Joy!

Maxwell's Birthday (There is a movie somewhere, Ill have to figure out how to edit, so I can post it)

The Cal-Cam parade and fair:

Soccer Birthday

2008-10-08T09:47:00.004-04:00

Alexandra turned 11 years old last week. Its still so hard to believe that we have a "tween" in the house. We are so proud of the young woman that she is becoming. I love the fact that even though shes "cool" now, its still "cool" to give her Momma loves. I hope it wont go out of fashion, but if it does I am savoring each moment.

Happy Birthday Alex.

Here are some pics of her Soccer Party. She has a great time. They played a soccer game in the front yard, did some crafts, played pin the ball in the goal, did a pinata and had cake and ice cream. Please pardon the "moat" as we are having pool filter issues at the moment.

Just say NO!

2008-10-02T08:31:00.002-04:00

For the love of all things truly American,

INCLUDING the CONSTITUTION!

JUST SAY NO!

They say that the deep south is backwards, but will someone then please explain to me why both Senators from LA, MS and AL all voted No on the Economic Stimulus package? Only 5 states did so. Seems to me that they are the only ones actually paying attention to what Mr. Average Joe is telling them.

Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Sen. David Vitter (LA) today issued the following statement regarding the proposed $700 billion bailout package being considered this week by Congress:“After studying the final bill carefully and talking with many people I respect, I can’t support this plan.
“First, it’s an unprecedented government bailout that will almost certainly pave the way for even more – maybe sooner rather than later.
“Second, it requires people at Treasury to make tens of thousands of judgment calls about what they buy and for how much. And these will be folks who are from Wall Street and want to go to back. That ensures bias and even corruption.
“Third, there’s been no adequate discussion of the major reforms needed. And I’m afraid this big government first step helps ensure that Congress won’t make those strong reforms – like breaking up Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and demanding real cash down for all home purchases,” said Vitter

Now, I wont claim to know more than I do, but I do know that this goes against the very thing that makes us Americans, that little piece of paper called the Constitution!

Google the words Economic Bail Out and Constitution and see what you get.

Have you read the proposal? How about this little blurb?

"Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency."

Seriously??? Does that seem wrong to anyone else? Its been a long time since my civics class, but I'm pretty sure that there is something in that piece of paper that these people swore an oath to uphold that says "Congress cannot delegate its oversight authority to a cabinet member, even in a time of turmoil."Its called nondelegation and it means that under no circumstances is Congress allowed to give the power to police itself to one of its members. That power must be held by the House and Senate.

Strike One.

How about this one. Remember how the House Failed the bill a few days ago? Somehow the Senate is voting on it? The Constitution says "All bills for raising Revenue shall originate in the House of Representatives; but the Senate may propose or concur with Amendments as on other Bills." Wanna know how they got around that one? Easy! They attached it to another bill, something about tax incentives for energy. So now they get to vote before the House!

"Huh? Did the Founding Fathers really intend that if the House votes down a revenue bill, that the Senate should just be able to turn the whole thing into an amendment and attach it to something else?" (JohnNichols )

Strike two against the Constitution.

What about you and me and our Families? This is what its sounding like to me: Its like the Government coming to your door, demanding $2,300 for each member of your family and telling you that you have absolutely no say as to what they will do with that money. Then they take that money and drive past the foreclosure signs on your neighbors house, past the run down school in need of repair, past the Mom & Pop on the corner that is closing after 75 years in business. And then you get to watch as they give your money to a man in an suit that costs more then you make in a month. He puts it in his pocket, shakes his buddies hand, gives him a wink and drives off into the sunset in his brand new luxury car. Meanwhile back at your house you struggle with the decision of whether to buy milk because you just cant afford the $6.00 a gallon, and wondering what happened to America, and when it got lost, and what you could have done to save it.

If this gets passed you wont have a say.

But you DO have a say right now! We have people that we have elected into positions to speak for us. Their sole job is to hear us and let us be heard! Sure, let your vote speak for you on election day, but right now is the time to let them know that we will not stand idly by and watch our Countries most important document be stepped over and around in order to appease a few. Let them know that you will not vote for a LIAR! They swore an oath to protect the Constitution. Remind them of what they said!

"I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God."

Please take 2 minutes to write your states officials.

www.house.gov

www.senate.gov

Writing them took me a total of 5 minutes this morning. Cost me nothing and hopefully saved me $2,300x6.

Big Girl Furniture!

2008-10-01T11:40:00.004-04:00

Sometimes furniture can mark milestones in your life. Moving from a crib to a big girl bed marks your transition from baby to toddler, from a booster seat to a regular chair: toddler to big kid. In your first apartment the hand-me downs from your parents and grandparents say you are ready to be on your own, but the mismatched pieces -the wobbly leg coffee table and bright orange chair all say you still need to get things together and figure out who you are going to be.

Up till now we have used a table we got on clearance after our wedding, an old chair from Auntie Carol, 4 chairs that Jim tried to match with the table (only slightly unsuccessfully, because the arms didn't fit under the skirt of the table) and last but not least a folding chair from my Mom . Yes, you counted 6, once Katie Grace graduated out of her highchair, we realized it might be time for a new dining room set, -we had to pull a stool over from the counter so that we could all eat at the same time. Yes, it was time to talk grownup furniture! And now, I can finally announce that Jim and I are real life grown-ups with real life grown-up furniture! I know it might sound silly, and I know that its all a state of mind, but now the outside matches the insides.

And to answer your questions.

Yes, the cushions are white. No, I am not high.

Yes, we plan to eat dinner here every night. Yes, I am buying stock in upholstery cleaner and stain out. :)

Look! Wedding China & Crystal! Its either been packed or sitting in a kitchen cabinet for almost 12 years!!!

On a sentimental note: The story from My Mom goes: When My Oma got her first fancy China Cabinet, she begged and begged My Opa to get her some pretties to go inside of it. She ended up getting these Aynsley tea cups. It is fitting that they went to my Mom and now me to display in my first China Cabinet. And someday they will go to Alex when she gets hers...

Slacker...

2008-09-26T08:06:00.008-04:00

But with good reasons!!!

We have been super busy here! Hardly a night goes by without some sort of practice or dance class or game.

Alex is is doing 2 soccer teams again this fall. It actually happened by chance. Jimmy's football Coaches Wife coaches a U12 Tournament League and we got to talking.... yadda yadda yadda Alex is playing in her first Tournament this weekend!

Here are some pics of her first game for the T.L.

The T.L. is 2-0 and her rec league which has some ladies that have never played before is 0-1-1.

I may be just a overly proud Momma, but doesn't she look awesome! Can you believe that she will be 11 years old this coming Thursday?

Jimmy is LOVING his first season playing football, its actually Flag Football. He is playing defence, he rushes the QB.

Max is patiently awaiting next year so he can start soccer. But for now he is happy to kick the ball around the sidelines.

He has found a new Best Friend in Moses. They are always cuddling together. Moses usually has his head down on Max's chest but when I came around the corner with the camera he perked his head up as if to say "whatcha doin Ma?"

Katie Grace... is a grumpy gus this morning. But here is proof that she actually does smile once and awhile, and can stop screaming and whining for more than a minute at a time....

She does look pretty in her Pats' gear.

Still here

2008-09-13T12:05:00.004-04:00

We survived the night here at home. The power went out briefly at around midnight, but then came right back on. We had all 4 kids camped out in our bedroom on the floor, just in case anything happened. No damage here or in the neighborhood just lots of wind since about 6 pm yesterday. I would say that the sustained winds have been about 40 with gusts up around 60-70 mph. Lake Charles had a lot of flooding around the actual lake, but we are on the other side of the lake and further inland, so flooding isn't really an issue. Its just the wind. Its been blowing and whipping around since about 6 pm yesterday. Jim took these pictures and movie this morning.

My poor key lime tree...

guess who is having margaritas and key lime pie later?

Here we go....again...

2008-09-11T10:42:00.004-04:00

We have been keeping a close eye on Ike as he has moved into the gulf. Forecast models show him moving towards the TX coast. We will be on the bad side, east: meaning that we should experience lots of rain and wind from Friday night into Saturday.
There is no main mandatory evacuation, only those who have special needs and live in trailers are being told to leave at this time.
They closed the schools again, no school today or tomorrow (they were supposed to have Friday off anyway for teachers in-service day).
Last week when the potential for Ike to come into the gulf presented itself, we made arrangements to evacuate to San Antonio, but more than likely we will remain here because that seems to be where all of the people from Texas who have mandatory evacs are going.
The weather channel is forecasting that Ike will be very similar to Rita which is causing a lot of people around here to be very cautious. Rita did a lot of damage here, lots of downed trees and power outages. We have our generator, gas, bottled water and emergency food prepared from last time.
Right now as I write this at 10 AM Thursday morning, the sun is shinning, not a cloud in the sky and a beautiful 85 degrees.
I will keep everyone updated...

2008-09-11T10:42:00.001-04:00

Home again

2008-09-03T11:14:00.003-04:00

We are home safe and sound. Our Parish has a system in place where you can sign up your phone/text/cell numbers and an automated message will alert you to any new information. The text message came in at 9am yesterday. We had planned on going to the zoo, but once we got news that the mandatory evacuation was lifted, we packed up and headed out. We got home around 11 or so last night. OK city is a loooooooong drive. It took us about 12 hours to get home between the stops and the traffic. At one point on rt. 10 in Texas Jim noticed that about 80% of the cars were from Louisiana. Everyone was going home.

Moses did fantastic in the hotel room and in the car, he really is such a good dog.

There wasn't any damage on the house, lots of leaves and debris in the pool, some yard pick up to do. But we got really lucky with the path that Gustav took.

Jim went back to work today to help restart the plant.

For me today is all about unpacking, laundry, cleaning up, and putting everything back together.
FUN TIMES!!!@@

Arrived in OK City

2008-09-01T10:59:00.002-04:00

We are all safe and sound at the La Quinta Inn & Suites in OK City. We got here about 11pm last night, a looooooong day of driving. We are all pretty spent this morning.
We are still glued to the weather on TV.
You can check out our local TV station in Lake Charles on kplctv.com, they are estimating that we have already gotten about 5 inches of rain, with more to come. We will keep watching today and hope to hear news from Neighbors that are scattered around Texas, Arkansas, Northern LA, Mississippi and Alabama.
Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts.
We will continue to update that blog as news comes in.

Leaving

2008-08-30T16:12:00.003-04:00

We are leaving tomorrow in the morning sometime. It was really hard finding hotels, as everyone is heading away from the coasts. Not to mention the fact that we need two rooms and the hotel must be large dog friendly. We had to go as far away as Oklahoma City to find one. 536 miles away! Good thing the kids are used to long car trips.

I'm off to finish laundry and start packing...

Keep us in your prayers.

Will update from OKC tomorrow.

Gustav

2008-08-29T20:59:00.002-04:00

Worried? Sure!
Its the hot topic down here. Everyone is talking about it. It's so different from a Nor'easter that we are used to. Forecasters give you all the hype, blah blah blah 12-24 inches of snow, you snuggle in and wake up in the morning to the sound of plows coming through. True sometimes it would take a few hours to shovel the driveway, but within a day we were back to normal.

This is different. There is so much time. We have been watching the weather channel for 3 days straight. Louisiana declared a state of emergency yesterday, and Pres. Bush declared us one today. The school systems have decided to close not only for the Holiday but Tuesday and Wednesday just in case.

When even the old timers, the ones that have grown up here and have gone through Rita, start talking about leaving, yes maybe its time to talk hotels.

Speaking of hotels, there is nothing available in Northern LA, seems we might have to go further North to find something. Everyone seems to be having the same idea. "Get out of Dodge and fast!"

Some people made reservations as early as a week ago, some are waiting till Sunday to see what happens.

My Neighbor lady told me that it took her about 2 hours to get what usually is a 10 minute drive during the evac of Rita. Hopefully we will make a decision to either stay or go before anything mandatory goes into effect.

Someone at Dance School said today that they had to go to five gas stations to fill up their car.

There isn't a D battery left on the store shelves. We looked. So much for the great idea of getting all of the kids their own flashlights in case we decide to stay. We have 5 brand new empty flashlights sitting on the counter.

We made a trip to Walmart last night to make our Hurricane supply kit. 10 gallons of water, lots of soup, comfort (read: junk) food. A wind up lantern/cell phone charger/radio.

As I write this Jim is outside cutting plywood for the windows.

I'll keep everyone posted through the blog. And update when we have reached a decision whether to ride it out here or head north.

Keep us in your prayers.

"I go to Dance School wit Eden."

2008-08-27T18:28:00.002-04:00

Katie Grace had her first ballet/tap lesson on Friday. She signed up with her new BFF Eden from the Neighborhood.

I'm not sure how much actual dancing there was, its mostly just a chance for the Moms to dress up their little girls and watch as they pretend to be pretty pretty princesses.

Isn't she adorable!?!

Pretty Ballerina

2008-08-27T11:08:00.001-04:00

No other reason...

2008-08-21T09:53:00.004-04:00

With no other reason, except that it was a Wednesday afternoon and that my sweet Husband was thinking of me, he sent me a dozen red roses. Don't you love it when they do something so sweet and unexpected like this. Say it with me "awwwwwww". We've been married for almost 12 years and have known each other for 16 and he's still wooing me. :)

Thank You Jim,

I love you too.

Back to School!

2008-08-18T13:11:00.003-04:00

Yay! Its that time of year already! Even though Schools in MA wont start for another 2 weeks, down here they started Friday. We had a meet and greet on Thursday afternoon (an awesome idea). Jim and I took Alex and Jimmy down to the school, dropped off all of their supplies, met their teachers, took a tour of the building and just got to get a general lay of the land. Made going to bed on Thurs. night much easier as most of their nerves were settled. (read: theirs not mine lol).

The bus will be picking them up at 6:45 each day and they didn't get home until 3:50 on Friday, we will see if that is just a first day getting the bugs out of the system thing or if that really is going to be the time that they get home each day.

So far they seem to like it well enough. Their Teachers were really nice and welcoming.

So far...

Likes: Teachers, Art Room, Lockers, Library, Computer Lab. No music.

Dislikes: Having to sit in the first 4 seats on the bus due to the fact that there are also High Schoolers being dropped off at different schools. (You remember bus hierarchy). School Hamburgs (the lunch on Friday), weird bathrooms, no snack, short recesses.

Alex, having gotten somewhat used to the fact that she would need to wear a uniform only made some noises about them not being "her", but did the grown up thing of reminding herself "that it wasn't so bad, and that everyone else was going to be wearing them."

I thought that they looked rather smart.

Our day back here at home has been very quiet. As I write this, Max is playing with his GeoTrax here in the playroom and Katie Grace is napping. Ahhhhhhhh its nice.

Beach bums

2008-07-29T11:27:00.004-04:00

Sunday we drove the 45 minutes down to the Gulf and spent a few hours at the beach. Its quite a bit different than The Cape or Maine beaches, but sand, sun and water are always fun no matter where you are. It was amazing that there were hardly any people there. You just pull up to the side of the road and park. That's about it! The kids played in the surf, hunted for beach treasures, made friends with the people near us who were fishing and crabbing. Moses was afraid of the waves. Katie Grace and Maxwell enjoyed the warm water and the small waves. Here are some pictures.

Dolly

2008-07-23T16:02:00.003-04:00

For those of you concerned about us and Hurricane Dolly, please do not worry, the most we have gotten is cooler weather and some afternoon showers. Nothing to worry about as it is well south of us.

Updates and tidbits

2008-07-23T09:52:00.009-04:00

Life is good. We are all so happy here. Its the Family routines that I missed the most, just the little things that used to happen every night. Now we are finding new ones and we are all just so happy in them. After Dinner Jim works in the yard, the kids ride their bikes and I walk with the neighbor ladies (really they power walk and I huff and puff and try to keep up.) We are loving it.

Here are Alex and Jimmy on their bikes:

Katie Grace is still amazed every night when Jim walks through the door, she says to him "Daddy you come home!"

Here is a shot of Katie and Max in their Monkey Jammie's from Gymbo. Aw sometimes they DO love each other!:

Moses the dawg is getting so big, we think he is somewhere around 50-55 lbs now. He is learning to walk nice on his leash, sit, leave it and to play soccer (he loves it, as any true Natale does :)

Jim got me a house warming gift: How do I spell domestic tranquility?D.Y.S.O.N House work is so much more enjoyable when you have the best tools for the job. Its so satisfying.

Finding

2008-07-16T10:56:00.005-04:00

We are slowly finding ourselves here in Sulphur. Finding the school the kids will go to, finding the Vet for the dog, finding the grocery store, the post office and the local Walmart. We are all also finding other things, Mom found a church, the kids have all found new friends, (Alex has even gone to a neighbor girls Birthday Party), I have found the neighbor ladies to be very welcoming and even join them nightly for a few laps around the block. And Jimmy would not be our Jimmy if he didn't find the local critters.

Crawfish aka Mud Bugs. He caught about 40 of them right after a huge thunder storm that dumped about 5 inches on us in the matter of hours.

The Jansen Family.

2008-07-03T18:18:00.006-04:00

My Oma had 5 children those five children gave her 17 grandchildren, and those grandchildren are working on the next generation.

Family portrait, Oma & Opa and their children. Uncle Ben, Nel, Uncle Bruce, Uncle Dennis and Uncle Brian.

Oma, Me and Alex and my Mom Nel.

A few days ago, my cousin Nora gave birth to her first child Kate Elizabeth S., the first grandchild of Uncle Dennis and Aunt Susan, and the 10th? great grandchild to our Oma. I wish she could be here to share in the joy of the growth of her family, and to know that even though we are spread out all over the Country, that we still keep in touch. Emily, Nora's younger sister, hostessed a fine BBQ for us as we passed through MD on our way down, where we had the chance to see their brothers Peter and Brett, Aunt Nikki and her oldest, Eric and his wife Rhonda. Not to mention my Brother Luke, his wife Rosanna and their new baby Kayla. (check out Em's blog for pictures of the BBQ)

We are also in contact with the Jansen's from Colorado, Uncle Bruce, Aunt Barb and their children -my cousins, Cara, Mark and Brad as well as their wives and husband. I enjoy learning all about Cara's Children Payton and Brady, and Mark's Son Nolan.

And last but certainly not least to join this blogging craze are my Uncle Brian and Aunt Denise.

What a blessed Family we have, as Nora quoted beautifully in her latest post.

“My soul magnifies the Lord,and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant.For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed;for he who is mighty has done great things for me,and holy is his name.And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.He has shown strength with his arm;he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts;he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate;he has filled the hungry with good things,and the rich he has sent away empty.He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, as he spoke to our fathers,to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”Luke 1:46-55

I know... I know...

2008-07-02T14:36:00.009-04:00

I promised you all pics and details would be up alot sooner than now, but with a house and yard that look like this, would you be inside playing on the computer?

We are LOVING IT!!!

Some quick details. The trip down went well. The kids did surprisingly well for the long 2 days at the end. We are pretty much all unpacked, now its just finding homes for everything, and trying to remember where you put them. I still forget where my bread drawer is and end up opening the wrong drawer every time. Jim went back to work on Monday, this is his short week, 4 days only till 4pm and his commute is only 15 minutes. The kids are loving the house and the pool, daily swimming, riding bikes on the super safe street around the block, meeting neighbor kids, playing with neighbor kids, having neighbor kids over, going over there ect. We have already met 4 of the neighbors around us. Two of those have even stopped by with cookies to welcome us here! Its amazing, everyone has been so nice. There are 2 boys across the street, a boy and an older girl next door, 2 girls and 2 boys three houses down, and more that live on the other side of the circle that we have not had the chance to meet yet. As for me, I am loving the house and garden, I love gardening, and after my initial feelings of being overwhelmed by all of the new flowers and trees and shrubs, I am diving head first into being a southern gardener. All of my Gardening books have really come in handy so far. Alex and Jimmy will even have their own veggie gardens. The fruit trees are coming along well. We have Lemons, Key Limes, Grapefruits, Navel Oranges and Mandarin Oranges. YUMMY!!!

As for the dog. Meet Moses!

He was born on 3/31. He is fitting in really well with our family. Doing pretty good potty training (the only accidents happen when we don't let him out in time) And he is doing great with the crate training. He is leaning his sit, stay, down and leave it commands, he is doing pretty good with those. He loves pig ears and playing soccer with the kids. Not sure how much he weighs yet, but its got to be over 35lbs!

He is a LAZY DAWG. Most of the time he is lounging on the carpet in the living room, on the kitchen rug or the back doormat. Here are some pictures of him.

I promise I'll post more often now. It gets pretty hot here in the afternoons. Our days usually are taking the dawg for a walk and swimming between breakfast and lunch, then after lunch we are going to be inside people, because even with the pool, our tender New England white skin will quickly burn in this hot Louisiana sun.

Saying Goodbye- Rolling on

2008-06-16T19:38:00.005-04:00

I love this house. I have always loved this house. When we first had it built, we picked out the floor plan, the paint colors, the color of the rugs, the floors, the counters, the siding, the shutters... then as our Family grew we were able to expand the house, adding on a huge addition. Again we designed it and picked out the colors. All of the landscaping was done by our hands. Iris' from our Neighbors house growing up on Stoddard St. that went from Northampton to Gaithersburg with my Oma when she came to visit, then made their way back up here after we went to visit her one Easter. We now call them Oma Iris' and they have taken over every place that they have been planted. (If you knew my Oma, you would understand.)

10 years is a long time to live somewhere. A lot has happened here. We were building it when our first child was born, she spent her first Christmas here. The rest of our kids were all brought home to this house. They learned to walk on these floors, they learned to ride bikes in the driveway and catch frogs in the yard. I know every little creak that this house makes, I can tell you who is running around upstairs based on their footsteps. All of the stories, the parties, the birthdays, holidays and the firsts for our kids took place here.

How can you say good-bye to someplace that has been so good to you and your family? Every crayon mark on the wall and every stain on the carpet tells a story about my kids. How can we say goodbye especially knowing that once we leave, it will be empty. Its almost like we are abandoning it, no new owners, no new memories. It will sit here until the company can sell it, and who knows when that will be.

I am sad to leave this place. My house, our home. I think its finally started to sink in that we really are moving. The movers came today with their huge truck to scope the place out. They will be here bright and early tomorrow morning.

I told myself that I am not going to cry, but who am I kidding? I'll cry like I did the time I put Alex on the school bus for her first day of Kindergarten. And once I am done crying, then maybe after crying some more, I will finally be 100% ready to start the new chapter in our lives. New house, new home, new memories, new stories, new friends, new parties.... I think I am ready. As Jim says. This is what we do, we blaze trails. First to get married, first to have babies, first to buy a house, and now first to move their family away. And as he puts it... "this is how we roll.' Roll on and on. Rolling on.

Change of Plans

2008-06-09T15:02:00.002-04:00

The movers have finally gotten back to us, and it will only take them 4 days to get everything down there. Initially we thought that it would take 5 or 6 allowing us to take our time driving down. Not any more!

Here is the new itinerary:
17: Movers here
20: Movers take off, we head out. Arrive in DC late.
21: Spend the day in DC visiting my Family.
22: Drive from DC to Chattanooga TN (halfway between DC and Sulphur) 604 miles.
23: Drive from Chattanooga to the new house! 687 miles.
24: Be at the house bright and early to let the Movers in!

It will be a couple of really long days. We are talking at least 12 hours in the car for the last 2 legs. But the kids are pretty good travelers when it comes to car trips. I think we will be pushing the limit when it comes to time spent traveling. So wish us luck! We are going to need it!

Science Rules!

2008-06-06T09:10:00.005-04:00

Its Saturday afternoon, Daddy is in Louisiana, and I have heard "Mooooooom I'm soooooo bored!" about a zillion times. But, before they start in on their favorite last resort pastime of taking turns seeing who can make me scream first, I slip quietly into the bathroom and dawn my Crafty Mom cape and apron: they are pink and I made them with a shower curtain, the hot glue gun and enough sequence and glitter glue to make me visible from space. (okay not really but I have actually made whole Halloween outfits with some fabric and the hot glue gun, more on my love affair with my glue gun later, we are talking Science here!)

Alex had been reading her Kitchen Science book, it has some pretty neat experiments in it. She picks one that she likes, hmmm baking soda and vinegar?, that will last about what 5 minutes, with a clean up time of what 20? Not good enough. I always try to judge my kids crafts in the ratio of time spent doing vs. time spent cleaning up after it. If the spent doing is less than the spent cleaning up, its just not worth it here.

With the Baking Soda/ Vinegar experiment in mind, I decided we would also make a volcano. (click link to see the experiment)

3 Days of Crafty Science Fun! Wouldn't Bill Nye be proud? Say it with me! "Science Rules!"

Saturday: Alex and I made the base, and paper mached the outside.

Sunday: after drying overnight, all 4 kids helped to paint and decorate it.

Monday: After school with their friends over, we let 'er rip. It was pretty darn cool.

Here are some pictures.

Getting ready for the main event:

Its ALIVE!!!

(I really don't have a Crafty Mom Cape and Apron, but isnt that a good idea? Maybe next craft time we can make one!)

Its official! Its ours!

2008-06-01T10:08:00.004-04:00

As of Friday we now own the house in Louisiana! Jim borrowed an emergency roll a way bed from work, went to Walmart and got himself some necessities and is now living in this huge house all by himself! Never fear though, the honey-do list has followed him down there. He is setting up to paint the rooms before we get down there and have to move all of the furniture in. (Katie Graces room is sports themed, and the boys room is yellow with a wisteria stenciled border) I know, just switch them around right? Nope, Katie Graces room is downstairs near us, and the boys room is upstairs and the biggest for sharing.

We have Lemon, Grapefruit, Orange and Lime trees!

Don't you just want to jump in?

One of the necessities he got at Walmart was a basketball.

Old Friends and New Friends

2008-05-29T19:20:00.004-04:00

Yesterday we had a visit from one of my best buds from High School, Heather and her beautiful daughter Lily. Next time we see them, they will be visiting us in Louisiana!

Heather and I have been friends since we were paired as Science lab partners in our 9th grade Science class. Its hard to believe that its been almost 19 years since then!!! Nineteen years????? NINETEEN YEARS!! Okay now I feel old.

Here we are:

Max instantly fell in love with Lily. He was heart broken when she told him he couldn't go to her Birthday Party. Lily is about 8 months younger than Max, but taller!Lily was more interested in Jimmy. He impressed her with his hunting skills. The catch of the day? Big Fat Frog. I hope that they have frogs like this in Louisiana!

Here is our whole crew:

I'll Miss you Lady!

Natale Family Picnic

2008-05-28T11:59:00.005-04:00

Every year on Memorial Day, the whole regular crew meets up for the annual Natale Family Picnic. This was my 15 one!

We love this picnic. It will be so sad to miss it next year. The food is always plentiful and amazingly good. Jim runs the grill (insert manly Tim Allen noises here). The Moms go to the playground with the kiddos (where unfortunately Jimmy fell off of the monkey bars, chipped his front tooth and split his lip open). The parents play cards, our generation plays poker and there is the ever famous Natale v. Saltis softball game. (The Natales always win!)

Jim multitasking. Eating chips and flipping the BBQ.

Here are some pictures sent to me by Aunt Karen and Uncle Bob (Because our camera had dead batteries) We always take Generation pictures. Its sad to see the older generation growing smaller, but the newest generation fills me with great hope for the future. Nana and Aunt Vi
The Parents. MIL and FIL are in the Center.
Our Generation. 5 of them are Jims Brothers and Sisters!
The Kiddos. And the Moms of the newest Natale Family Babies.

From left to right top to bottom.

Jimmy, Katie Grace, Dana, Maxwell, Nat & Sam, Kara & Kaelyn

Matty Jr., Alex, Logan

Notice how my kids are all hugging someone? Isn't that cute?

Of course I have to include the proud New Grand Mothers.

Aunt Karen with Kaelyn and Diane with Sam.

Crazy Enough?

2008-05-21T15:00:00.004-04:00

As if packing everything up and moving 1700 miles away wasn't crazy enough. We (well really me and the kids, but we know that Daddy really wants a new dog too, even through he is playing the toughy) have decided to add a new ingredient to the mix!

Meet the newest member of the Family!

We will pick him up once we get down to Louisiana. Right now is name is Tiger, but we will change it once we get to know him. He is a Reverse Brindle English Mastiff. Hes gonna be a BIG BOY! Breed standard is about 200 lbs and 30 inches at the shoulders! But we do have 4 kids, so if you divide that 4 ways, that's 50 lbs per kid! Plenty of dog to go around!

I have always wanted to get a big Dawg* not just a dog but a Dawg! A big mellow slobbering snoring moose of a dog that the kids can just about ride. And especially since our Angus died of Addison's disease, I have always told Alex and Jimmy that once Katie was 2 we would look into another dog. So, I figure since we are moving it is the best time to actually get a dog, new house, new place, new routines, new chores. Get things going from day 1 before they slip into old habits. That goes for me as well.

In preparation for the new puppy we have written up a Puppy Care and Responsibility Contract and it was signed by all 4 kids. Stating things like if they don't want to have the stuffed animal/shoe/barbie/car massacre of '08 that they will keep their things in safe places, they will feed and walk the dog when told, that Jimmy in his 9 year old boy glory will be the Popper scooper. (what is it with boys and bodily functions/excretions?) And of course last but not least the repercussions if they fail to live up to their contract. Its signed and will stay on the fridge so that they don't forget their ends of the bargin.

My good friend Tanya has been so helpful with aiding us in preperations as well. She has 2 dogs that are her kids and has done all the research on foods and toys and treats and everything that has anything to do with owning a dog. I feel really greatful to have her experience available just an email away. Thanks lady! :)

2008-05-14T20:51:00.004-04:00

Who ever said home is where the heart is, was right!!!

Our hearts will be here in 34 days and counting!

Just a sneak peek of what is in store for the Natale Family.

Look Palm Trees!!!

We are going to have our very own PALM TREES!

I know...no big deal to some,

but to us its only something we see when we go on some tropical vacation!

Our home will be our very own resort!

Can you tell I am a little excited?

From MA to LA

2008-05-13T20:03:00.006-04:00

According to our Rand McNally Trip Planner, the trip from Mass to Louisiana will take us 1888 miles and time of 32 hours!
We will break the trip into days, and try to do about 400 miles a day. We already know our first stop is to DC to see Mieke's brother Luke, and of course to do the sights. Here is how the days look so far. MA, DC, Charleston WV, Nashville TN, Jackson MS and Sulphur LA!
We are old pros at road trips. Back when we were still able to all fit into the Mercury Sable we drove from Portland Oregon to Barre MA! And last year for Jim's Sabbatical we drove to TN and SC then back up again.
All I can say is thank goodness for Dodge Grand Caravans with DVD players, wet wipes and our trusty TomTom.

Here we are!

2008-05-13T07:51:00.014-04:00

We have joined the blog craze!

Look out!!!

My hopes for this blog are the chronicle the adventures that we will have in the up coming months, the move, the new house, new friends and general adventures of living in the Deep South.

This past year has been challenging for us. Jim stated working in Louisiana on Oct. 1. The rest of us (Oma included) have been here in Mass trying to sell our house. The market is so bad here that we have only had 2 showings in 7 months! Poor Jim has been living in a hotel all this time and flying home about every 2 weeks for a short weekend. Its been a trying time for us, but we are so looking forward to finally moving to our new home and being a complete family again!

Here are the dates that we have so far!

May 30: Close on the NEW HOUSE! YAY!!!

June 17: My Birthday (Had to sneak that one in there) And the Movers here!

June 18: Last day of school for the kiddos. (I am glad that they were able to finish up the year)

June 21: The first day of our trip! Headed to the DC area!

Looks like we will be in the DC area the night of the 21, and stay for 2 or 3 days. I really want the kiddos to see sights. Most of the time will be touristy, but Family and Friends are all welcome to join us! I mean really, when was the last time you MDers actually did DC?

Ya'll come see us! (how was that?)

Kiddos:

Alex*- 10.5

Jimmy-9

Max- 4.5

Katie Grace- 2.5

For the record. Alex is short for Alexandra, but its ALEX! A.L.E.X!!! Just ALEX, Mom!