The Official Saratoga Lip Dub

Home to the Historic Saratoga Race Course and the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, the summer host to the NYC Ballet and the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce and Modern Mix Marketing is proud to present the "Saratoga Lip Dub". Saratoga Springs is the only community in New York State, and one of just a handful in the US, to involve hundreds of local organizations and thousands of local people to create a Lip Dub -- a music video featuring participants lip synching to a chosen song which is then dubbed over with the original audio. The Saratoga Lip Dub features a medley of songs by the band Train, whose drummer Scott Underwood is a native of Saratoga Springs.

Ellie's Kindergarten Picture

Isn't this awesome? As a mom its hard to believe without me there to push the hair back or say something funny to make her smile that the picture will actually come out ... but lo and behold, this gorgeous picture is Ellie's kindergarten picture!

A full day of shopping!

Ellie and I hit Peoria on Saturday and left our mark! The Northwoods Mall has a Gymboree and that good enough for us to make that our destination. We took our list and coupons in hand and secured lots of treasures for Ellie! Including our find of the day $5.49 jeans at Gap Kids! Two pair! Size 7 for those of you wondering. Her legs are SO long! The 7's are roomy in the waist but the perfect length. A few more stops at Target, CVS and even a haircut at Super Cuts for $6.99 and we were exhausted.

Here's a picture from our re-fueling stop, one of Ellie's favorites, Five Guys!

Joining the Wordle Excitement

This is a Wordle.

Click on the image to see if full size.

No matter how I tried, I couldn't make it look bigger!

Amazing!

Dad,

You have to listen to this! She has an amazing voice!

love, Jude

Happy Half Birthday Ellie

Ellie is 5 1/2 today!

We celebrated tonight with half sandwiches from Jimmy John's and a half birthday cake . Butter Pecan cake with Chocolate Buttercream and crunchy nut center.

Jeter Jersey Day

Ellie and Bill both had "Jersey Day" on the same day! Who'd have thought?

Notice Ellie's t-shirt is Cardinals under that Jeter jersey! And Bill's 3K t-shirt under his jersey. Two peas in a pod, these two are!

Ellerina Ballerina

Ellie loved her first ballet class! There are 15 children in the class. 13 girls and 2 boys. As they prepare for the Christmas show they will learn the basics of ballet - feet and hand positions, movements as well as ettiquite! She also practices balance with a beanbag and stretching with a hula hoop!

Me & My Girl

Today we shared time in the kitchen, my girl and I. We made potato pancakes with applesauce for breakfast, and French Onion Soup with crusty bread and melty cheese on top - done under the broiler for dinner!

After dinner Ellie said, "Mommy, thank you for dinner! It was just delicious!" Not only is she a great eater, she makes sure she tells me that she loves it! Who could ask for more!!

The Great Pumpkin Patch

Today was the day. We'd heard about this amazing "200 Acres" with a pumpkin patch, corm maze, farm animals, bakery and knew we'd need to schedule it. When we got up today we saw it was going to be a perfect sunny fall day .. and thought 'today is the day!'

As you can see from the photos, it was an amazing day. Ellie loved the 3 little pigs, the noisy turkey and all the hens and roosters! I loved the pumpkin trees, the tractor ride and the warm sunshine. Bill was happy to find a wagon to load the pumpkins in, a great view from the top of the corn tower and having a happy family day!

We have so much fun here ...

9/11 Remembering and Rejoicing

Most of you know my 9/11 story, so I won't repeat it here. Know that today I watched the tributes on TV remembering my story and how it fits in to the one being told. It's the one I'll tell Ellie when she's old enough to understand. It's a day in our nation that changed our world, and a day that changed the trajectory of my life. I'm happy today to share my hero with Ellie - as the best dad in the world!

The heat has returned and Ellie wanted to play with the hose. She made her own sprinkler of sorts. Doesn't matter I always tell her, 'you won't melt in the rain, you're not made of sugar.' So the same applies here. It made us smile on a day of remembering.....

Girl Scout Open House

Ellie and I had a terrific day today! We did our errands in the morning, helped Bill get prepped and ready to tile the backsplash .. and then went to the Girl Scout Open House! They are still forming troops and Ellie will be in one formed out of Grove.

She got a tatoo on her hand, her face painted, played corn hole and ring toss! What an afternoon! I'm exhausted :)

St Louis - Labor Day Weekend

We had a wonderful weekend in St. Louis. We began at the Anheuser Busch with a tour featuring clydesdales and a tasting! Our tour guide was Elizabeth, which kept Ellie engaged the whole time. We moved from building to building learning about the process and the history.

From there we checked in our hotel The Hilton at the Ballpark which over looked Busch Stadium. Our room directly overlooked the ball park. Amazing. After a quick walk across the parking lot, we were at the stadium. In 90-plus degree weather we found our seats and enjoyed nearly the whole game. Ellie lasted until the 7th inning stretch! She sang "take me out to the ballgame" and then we made our way back to the hotel.

Saturday night we cabbed it to The Hill to find real Italian food. We tried Cuneto's, which came highly recommended, but ended up at Lou Boccardi's. Ellie ate a wonderful plate of pasta and Bill and I enjoyed veal piccata and eggplant parmesan.

Sunday the weather was much milder so we enjoyed our time at the St. Louis Zoo. Ellie loved the penguins, the giraffes and petting the stingrays! We spent a wonderful morning walking around visiting as much as we could. For lunch we spent time at The Hard Rock Cafe at Union Station. By then it was nap time for everyone! By evening we went to the top of our hotel at the 360 Lounge with views of the whole city. We watched the end of the Cards v. Reds game and enjoyed the views! From there we went to dinner in the section of town called The Loop. We dined at Blueberry Hill .. famous for their burger and Chuck Berry music.

Monday morning we visited the Arch. What a wonderful museum and shops underneath the arch run by the Forestry Service. Just looking up the arch was awesome! We had a terrific weekend, and left plenty to come back and see next time!!

Friends...

from the Happiness Project:
These are the qualities a person wants to see in a spouse and in co-workers. They’re important in all kinds of circumstances.

According to these authors, the essential friendship skills are:

The enjoyment of the company of others
A capacity for reciprocity, turn taking, cooperation, and sharing
Empathy
Realistic, generally positive expectations that allow you to approach the world with confidence
Problem-solving ability
The ability to regulate aggressive impulses and other emotions
The ability to read emotions, especially subtle and mixed emotions
The ability to tolerate frustraton
The ability to “hold others in mind” [to think lovingly about absent friends]
Trust that others can and will hold you in mind
Self-disclosure—the willingness and ability to show vulnerability

I've had a good 'friend' week.
Talked to an old friend today who always makes me laugh and feel smart
Received a call from a mentor in VA who told me how proud of me she is
Had happy hour with two new IL friends
Building new friendships with new folks willing to give me a chance ...