2012 Presidential Election: Electoral Map

With the election only 6 days away, I thought I would post my projection for the Electoral College map. If you go to the link, you can do your own map, too. I have my students use this webpage when we are learning about the electoral college. You can look at every election's results all the way back to George Washington. It is very interesting, and one of our favorite websites to play around with.


2012 Presidential Election: Electoral Map: This map displays Jessica's projections and does not reflect the opinions of 270toWin.

Update!

The last couple of days have been mostly uneventful (which I like) but has also led to what will mostly be a boring post.

It has been cold and gross outside, and so Vivian and Mommy have a touch of cabin fever. We got out to go grocery shopping Monday evening, and it was fun for us to be out of the house. Vivian misses her friends Gracie and Raegan and her preschool. It is pretty sad to see her lower lip puff out when she talks about them. However, I know that when January rolls around and we are back in the swing of things, she will whine about having to go when she doesn't want to get up in the morning. :)

Henry is growing like a weed. He graduated from the sink to the baby tub for his baths. He was filling up the sink so much, it caused the water to spill over. Soooooo I decided it was time for a bigger venue for his buns.

Henry also got to try out the 'big' swing yesterday afternoon. Vivian likes it because it makes noise. I had to get after her to let her know the buttons were off limits. Especially at 4pm, because that's when it's time for Neil Cavuto on Fox. (Neil is my favorite.)

Tonight, if it's not too cold, Daddy is taking Vivian trick or treating around our neighborhood. She is going to be a princess. Last year, she was Thomas the Train, which was hilarious. We are also going to carve a pumpkin to light for the evening. She is very excited.



Vivian the princess wanted to keep pressing buttons.




Look at this little chunk! He is very bouyant!- I like to call him "Hank the Tank."



He loves bathtime. Almost as much as naptime and eating time. :)

Big sister 'helped' with bathtime for little brother.

Saturday with Daddy

Weekends are the best! Saturday in the fall means one thing: Notre Dame football is on tv in our house.

Nick mowed the yard today and I worked on laundry and other mommy stuff. Vivian played outside late this afternoon for a bit and I got some good shots of her and Nick outside. Baby Henry has been a little bit fussy again today, but still a sweetheart nonetheless.

Vivian wore her new Irish sweatshirt from Grandpa and Grandma Kochmar. Even Henry wore a ND onesie for a little while (he spit up.) --- Oops!




Vivian loves having her daddy home. She fell and bumped her nose
this morning and all she wanted was her daddy.



Nick got to go to a sectional final game last night in Greenwood. The Greenwood Woodsmen are coached by Nick's good friend Mike Campbell. Mike is Andy Campbell's brother- Andy was Nick's best man in our wedding, and he is one of our closest friends. Sadly, the woodsmen lost, but the guys had a great time. I think Nick enjoyed getting to do something fun with his buddies.

Uncle David came over to hang out with me, Vivian and Henry last night since Nick was gone. I was so thankful to have him here with us. He played with Vivian and we all watched a kids movie together. She was sad when "Uncle Hammy" left. He held Henry for a little bit as well and gave me a little break.

I have been enjoying so much being here with my babies. Even though I've resumed my role as a 24-hour milkmaid, it has been such a blessing to be at home with my family. And having Nick home today and tomorrow makes it that much better. Happy Weekend!!!

Go, Irish! Nick and Henry watched kickoff together.

Playtime!

Temps are set to drop overnight- ewwww.

We have been enjoying the Indian Summer here and it has been beautiful. Vivian got to play outside and swing for a couple hours and was so happy. Papaw Maxie played outside with her yesterday and they had a good time playing on the slide and her swingset.

Grandma Michele was here too the last 2 days, and cleaned our house for us... we are so grateful! She helped me get caught up on laundry too. Yay! Anyway, she watched baby Henry for a hour or so while Vivian and I got out of the house for a little shopping.

We went to Target and found a cute baby exercise mat and 'play gym.' Vivian was a little more excited about it than Henry, but he did bat a couple of the toys around for a few minutes before scrunching up his face and crying for mommy.

Snooze.......... so not excited about this whole 'exercise' thing.

Vivster and baby brother enjoying the pretty toys.

Awww.... she loves him. (for now- mwa ha ha.)

Today Vivian and I made some spooky cookies from a cake mix. They are delicious and we sent some with Mamaw and Papaw Maxie when they left this afternoon. Nick has eaten quite a few. The cake mix cookie idea worked out really well. We had a boxed cake mix and followed the directions for cookies on the side. It was so easy, I wonder why I bake cookies the 'hard' way. Anyway, they turned out great and we frosted them with orange frosting for Halloween.

I think we like sweets and baked goods in our house. :) 

Rainy Day + Fussy Baby = Apple Pie

It rained waaaaaaay to much today in Muncie. Vivian was upset the rain was blowing the last of the leaves on our front tree away. She checks the tree each morning to see if there are any leaves left.

We enjoyed watching the debate last evening. It seemed that Romney was the president and Obama the challenger. I especially enjoyed when Mitt asked the president about why he did not visit Israel in his first term. Go, Mitt!
Isn't everyone excited to have a real president by this time 2 weeks from now? I am looking forward to voting and helping our country get back on track.




Vivian was cheering for the "real president."  :)

Anyway, since it was so gloomy out today, we didn't go for a walk like we had planned. So instead, Vivian and I made some yummy lasagna and an apple pie.

The lasagna turned out really great- even Nick, the Italian cuisine snob ate two helpings and said it was excellent. I later told him there was turkey in it... hahahahahaha! I did half ground beef and half ground turkey, lowfat cottage cheese and ricotta, and a jar of spaghetti sauce. It's topped with plain lowfat mozzarella. Lasagna is not something I prepare very often, so I guess it worked out well.
 

mmmmmmmmmm... cheesy!

Later, while the lasagna was baking, I started working on an apple pie. When you make something salty, you HAVE to have something sweet to go after, and I had a bag of granny smith apples just staring at me all lonely-like from the fridge.  The only thing I was concerned about was making a pie crust.

Mom is really good at pie crust. I am not. Nor am I experienced or talented at making those little crimped edges either. *sigh* But, I think like every other pie attempted in this house, it will taste good, even if it does look a little shady. :)

Mama Bear in Berenstein Bears always said you can't judge an apple by its looks.
Little did she know that also applies to my pies.

Henry has been a little bit fussy today. However, he has also been super cute- he has been making those sweet unimitatable baby coo noises. I just melt when he does it. He was getting a diaper change this afternoon and he scrunched up his face, and I thought for sure he was about to let loose bawling, but instead he just relaxed and did this big 'ahhhh' sound. Possibly the sweetest sounds I've ever heard are the sweet noises my children have made as infants. Little coos and sighs. Sounds like heaven to me!

"He will take your daughters to be perfumers

and cooks and bakers."  1 Samuel 8:13

God Bless Henry... and Vivian too!

 “We prayed for this child and the Lord has granted us what we asked of Him.” – I Samuel 1:27


Henry Phillip was baptized today by Pastor David Smith at the First Presbyterian Church in Hartford City, IN.


We started our day off right with some major coffee--- I drank a little yesterday and today both, and so far, no complaints from the little one in the milk production department. :)
Nick had the news on and he and Henry snuggled up and flipped between that and Sportscenter while Vivian and I got ready for church. Vivian was excited to wear her butterfly dress. We picked it out the other day and she laid everything out last night to be ready. She enjoys going to the HC church because they have a huge kids care room with toys. She calls First Pres "kid church." (She has not been as fond of Grace Evangelical Lutheran where we go in Muncie since they don't offer that during the service as children are encouraged to stay in the sanctuary with their parents.) So going to HC was a huge treat for her.

Henry wore a beautiful christening outfit. Mom found it in a new kids store in Frankfort and Grandma and Grandpa Oyler are the ones who gifted him with it. It is soft and warm and he was very comfortable all day. (Although he changed around 3pm for a nap.)

All our old friends and church family members were so gracious and warm to us. It was our decision to ask David if he would baptize Henry, for two reasons: one, because he has performed every other important ceremony in our lives: marriage and Vivian's baptism; and two, because we haven't been attending the Lutheran church long enough to feel like it is our new home. We wanted that homey feeling when Henry was baptized, and we had it. Thank you, Pastor David!

After church, our whole family drove back to Muncie and went to Red Lobster (YUM!). Nick wanted RL because of the shrimp linguine alfredo, and lucky him, it was ENDLESS SHRIMP promotion time!

We got a cake in honor of the occasion for dessert (any excuse to have a cake...) and it was delicious. I even had a coupon for $2 off the cake when I bought it. (Woot woot!)

Those present today: Nick, Jessica, Vivian and Henry Papandria, John Deboy and Kaitlyn French, David Deboy, Mamaw and Papaw Millie (DEBOY) and Mamaw and Papaw Maxie (PAPANDRIA), and Old Mamaw and Papaw Kochmar (Bob and Ruth.)

Nick and I are insanely jealous of both my parents and Bob and Ruth as they are on their way to Florida. We are hoping to go down for Spring Break time to enjoy some beach weather. Vivian can't wait to 'show baby brudder the ocean.'

What a glorious day! :) 





Hamster Placed in Protective Custody... Really?

Reading the news this morning on various web pages... found this hilarious story. Enjoy!


Hamster placed in protective custody after owner arrested on DUI charges

Frighteningly Good Finger Painting

Since I'm on maternity leave, Vivian is obviously not going to preschool. Hartford City is 30 minutes away, and we are not paying for gas to drive her there and back each week. So, we have had to get creative around here to keep her occupied and involved.

Today I branched out into unknown territory: Finger Paints. The phrase scares me, but then I thought about it a little more, and figured our house is pretty much destroyed half the time anyway, so what more is some paint?

I remember being a little girl and staying at Grandma Oyler's over the summer, and finger painting was one of the fun things we did together. She is a crafty lady and I always liked to do that sort of thing with her.

I looked around on the internet to find a recipe for homemade finger paint, since I don't keep those types of items just lying around. Here is what we found:

Homemade Finger Paint


1 cup cornstarch

4 tablespoons sugar

4 cups cold water

1/2 cup clear liquid dish soap

food coloring

plastic containers with lids

In a saucepan, whisk together the cornstarch, sugar, and cold water. Over medium low heat, cook and stir until thickened and slightly bubbly.

Remove from heat and stir in dish soap.

Let cool 30 minutes.

Divide paint into plastic containers and add food coloring to each container as desired.


So far so good with the recipe. At first I was like, "Dish soap? What?" but I guess it's good to make it easy to clean up. Whatever. Vivian pulled a chair up next to me by the stove while I made the paint. I had to stir it pretty much constantly for a good 10 minutes to make sure it thickened up correctly. Viv had her own saucepan and whisk to 'pretend' stir her own mixture.

Anyway, the finger paints turned out ok. They looked like frosting for sugar cookies to me, however, the dish soap ingredient served as a deterrent so I wouldn't eat them. :)

We made painted a spooky house and a big jack-o-lantern. Vivian seemed to really enjoy herself. We put lids on the leftover paint and stuck it in the fridge. I guess it keeps for about 3 weeks, so we will be painting again here soon.

Lt. Col. Henry P. Fussybritches & Scotcharoos

No, I won't have a sugar rush later!

Well yesterday and today have been quite eventful. At least, eventful for a mommy and two little ones. Yesterday Vivian and I made yummy scotcharoos - Daddy's favorite - and Vivian's as well, since she gets to lick the chocolate spoons.

The scotcharoos were a replacement batch after the first was mysteriously eaten during the 2nd Presidential debate by someone...

Today, Mamaw Millie came over again today to help out. Vivian was excited to see someone other than Mommy for the day. Mommy was excited to see another adult. :)

Henry has been quite the little fussybritches today and last night. I think it was due to some tasty meatloaf with onion powder and lots of ketchup. Maybe that didn't sit well with him? I thought it was great (at the time!)

Henry will be baptized this Sunday. We are happy to have Pastor David of First Presbyterian agree to perform the service. Dave has served as the pastor for our wedding and baptized Vivian as well.

Mamaw Millie and her two best grandbabies.

 Tonight we are having fun watching Big Bang Theory with Daddy, and are looking forward to watching Notre Dame play BYU this Saturday.

Must be careful about rooting against BYU... that's where Mitt Romney went for his undergrad. :)


Lt. Col. Henry P. Fussybritches




Vivian Jane (She was pretending to be Sleeping Beauty today.)

Welcome Henry Phillip

Our newest addition was born September 12, 2012 at 7:34 am at Ball Hospital in Muncie. Henry Phillip Papandria weighed 7lbs 14 oz. and was 20 inches long. He is beautiful and we couldn't be more proud. Vivian is so excited to have a new baby brother, or as she says, "baby brudder." 


Henry Phillip Papandria ~ 9/12/12

 Henry came home with us on September 13, and we are adjusting to our new family. He has gained weight- he is now 10.5 lbs!
Vivian has been a big help, and at this point, still gets excited when it is time to change a diaper. She wants to 'help' get out the wipes and even volunteers to throw away the stinky diapers.
Mamaw Millie has been at our house quite a bit since Henry was born, and we are so thankful for her help in keeping us fed and our laundry somewhat done.
I'm taking 12 weeks off from school, and enjoying every moment. Nick was able to be home for a week with us but has now returned to work.
Henry and Vivian are our gifts from God.
"Children are a reward from Him..." ~ Psalm 127:3

Pumpkin Patch 2012

Our family visited a local farm on Saturday to pick out pumpkins to carve for Halloween. Vivian especially enjoyed riding in the wagon, and looking at the spooky ghosts, or as she called them, "goats." We have a great time and made it home just in time to watch Notre Dame escape with a win over Stanford!