New photos!

New (and some not so new) photos are posted on our digital photo album.  I'm almost caught up with the new stuff, and am hoping to work backwards on some of the "nostalgic" photo sets I came across.  Keep an eye on pix.tazman.net !

Bridal Shower

I spent much of the first full week of the new year preparing for a bridal shower for my friend Jen. It was such fun to run all around town ordering the cake, buying and preparing all the food, and decorating my mom's house with the balloons and flowers. It had been about six months since I'd hosted a shower, so I was really looking forward to seeing how everything pulled together.

We had originally planned to have the shower at my house, but changed it to my parent's place, mostly to accommodate Matthew and Nicholas' nap schedule. Since we had to do it at 2pm, and that's in the middle of nap time, a change of venue was necessary! It worked out beautifully to go there, because my parent's house lends itself so well to a party.

I'm trying to get better about taking pictures, especially at important events like bridal showers, and I was successful at capturing a few images this afternoon. I'm particularly proud of the food table, especially after all of the compliments I received on how wonderful everything tasted. I was even asked by more than one person about whether or not I wanted to go into the party business/catering business. What a boost to the ego! :-)

Cake and Cupcake Table

Baked Brie (home made!) - left, and Sunshine Punch - Right

Handmade Fruit Kabobs

Pillsbury Savorings - a Godsend!

All of the shower guests

Jen, our blushing bride

Happy New Year!

Dan and I had the privilege to hang out with Anne and Jason on New Year's Eve. The four of us decided that rather than go out and spend a ton of money on fondue, we'd just stay in and enjoy it at our house.

Both couples had plans after the dinner hour, so I did a little mix & match with the place settings. Yes, we used paper plates and napkins (easy clean up, since we were having ooey, gooey cheese!), mixed with glasses and real silverware (easy clean up-straight into the dishwasher!), and added a splash a crystal (handwash only) to round out the table.

Our dinner was amazing. Anne made the cheese portion of the meal, and we dunked bread, apples and sausage in it. I took care of the chocolate portion of dinner, and we dunked fruit, marshmallows, graham crackers and cheesecake. I'm surprised to say that we had leftovers of the chocolate!

New Year's Eve starting out with Anne and Jason was a wonderful way to end 2008. What more can you ask for than to have good friends over, sharing a good meal in our new home. We toasted to that with a little Martinelli's (thanks to Grace) and then headed out to our repsective parties.


I pray that your 2008 was a filled with many friends, many happy memories, family to love and cherish, and hope for the coming year. May your 2009 be blessed beyond measure.

Happy New Year!

Osbourne Family Lights

Dan, Matthew, Nicholas and I went with my parents to take in the Osbourne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights over the Christmas holiday. The boys absolutely loved all the lights, and especially loved the music.

Herding Cats?

Ever wonder what it's like taking a picture of twins? What about taking a picture of many, many twins (& some triplets too!)? Your picture will probably turn out a bit like this...

GOMOTT Christmas Party 2008

On second thought, this picture isn't too bad! Maybe I should post the other one, taken just seconds prior to this one. :-)

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Two years!

Two years ago today, Dan and I took the plunge and decided to adopt!

I can't believe it's been two years already! Wow!!!