A little photo shoot......

Just thought you all would like to see the results of an impromptu photo session with Tony. Ally was great to take pictures of. I think Tony had over 15 in a short period of time. Bella on the other hand was not so easy. She did not want her hair brushed and I think Tony was able to take 6 or 7 pictures and maybe 3 of them were even close to being usable. Anyway I think Tony is doing a great job with his photography. I am so proud of him.

Busy just got busier.....

Just when I thought things couldn't get any busier! Last week I made a bone head move and broke my toe and possibly ruptured my tendon. So now I am hopping around on crutches sporting a stylish new shoe. Well anyway you know that mommies can't get sick or hurt (right).

About a month ago the girls and I ran into Alexandra's old dance teacher. A couple of days later we received a phone call. Well Alexandra was asked to come back and perform in the Nutcracker with her old dance ensemble. Now we (I) run her to practice on Monday and Saturday. She is in 3 numbers and having a blast. All she does is dance around the house. Of course Bella and Ally still have gymnastics three days a week. Yet with all this going on Ally is still getting "A's" and doing well in her gifted classes. We are so proud of her.

This Friday I have to take Gabriella to the orthopedic doctor to have her hips checked out. You all know that she has been walking with her feet turned in since she could walk. Well we finally had her evaluated and now have an appointment with the orthopedic to see where we will go from here. Lets pray it is nothing major needs to be done.

Tony has been working so hard on his classes that I think all he does is eat, sleep, and breath art. If anyone is interested you can view some of Tony's photography projects on www.flickr.com/ducklira Some of his assignments are pretty cool. Anyway he is still doing great with his classes. Right now the big project is portrait photography. If all goes well maybe we will have some new and updated photos of the girls. This is exciting considering that the picture mom has in her frame of Bella is from her first birthday.

Even though things are crazy and busy, I don't think I would know what to do if I had time to sit down, watch a movie and do nothing. I actually think it would be so boring. Well I hope everyone is doing well. All my love....Tina

A couple of busy weeks!!!

So it has been a while since I have had the time to post. We have been running like crazy. Where should I begin.......

Well Tony just finished his first quarter at The Illinois Institute of Art. It was a busy quarter, but totally worth it. Tony received straight A's and has a 4.0 grade point average. Lets pray he does that well this quarter. I am so proud of him. So anyway the following week we had a combined birthday party for Ally and Bella. It was a lot of work!! Everyone seemed to have a good time. Ally had a survivor theme party. We divided the kids into two tribes, with buffs and everything (thanks Auntie Judy), and even competed in challenges. Now, surprise, Bella had a Princess theme. She invited 2 friends over and they wore princess dresses. We had activities for them as well. First the little princesses made magic flower wands, then we played a rousing game of pin the tiara on the princess (Ally made this game for Bella), last but not least the princesses had a castle pinata to crack open. Again everyone had a blast. So you can probably tell that was one jammed packed week of work and fun.

Sunday Bella and Ally had their first tumbling meet of the season. It was Bella's first meet ever!! The girls did an awesome job. Bella placed 3rd in her group of 4-6 year olds. Okay there were only three girls (Bella was the only 4 year old and the other two girls were 6), but she only lost second by .1 and first by .3 so not to bad for her first time. Ally finished 4th!! She had 7 girls in her group. The scores were really close in her group as well. She only finished .8 behind the first place girl. Way to go Lira girls!!! Tony and I are so proud of Ally and Bella.

Monday.... Bella turned 4 YEA!!!!!! We had a nice dinner out with Nana and Papa. Bella chose Red Robin for her dinner because she likes the ice cream with sprinkles that you get on your birthday there. She had the biggest smile on her face while the staff was singing to her. It was a great day for her.

Wow! There is so much to write when you haven't been on in weeks. I guess I learned my lesson. Don't wait too long between posts. Hope you all enjoyed our little life's happenings. Have a great day!!

Crunch Time....

So it is crunch time in the Lira house. Tony has finals this week. That means that he is a nervous wreck trying to get all of his projects done as well as study for finals. I included a picture of his latest project. He had to pick an Icon and of course knowing Tony it was a no brainier "Frank" was his only choice. I also hope to post a picture of Tony's dream room project soon. This "dream room" is the project that is driving him crazy. Lots of sleepless nights and stress over that one, but when it is done it is going to be beautiful.



Anyway Tony is not the only one feeling the stress of crunch time. As most of you know it is 4 days and counting until the birthday bash 2008. Most of you can also guess I have my work cut out for me. With Tony working on school, Ally feeling like house work is beyond her, and the little princess making a mess in whichever room I am not working in I have been a crazy woman. I have house to clean, yard work to do, party supply shopping, food shopping, cakes to bake, and of course several trips to the gym to make. I can't wait for Saturday to get here. Trust me it will all be worth it when my precious girls are enjoying their party. I will go to the ends of the earth for them (and Tony too). Well enough about our crazy lives. Next week we will all look back on this and forget all the craziness

One giant step!!

Well here we go!!! I have been saying that I was going to start a blog so Tony and I can keep in touch with everyone, but it took a little longer than I thought. Better late than never. Where do I start? Most of you know that Tony has gone back to school. He attends The Illinois Institute of Art in Schaumburg. I couldn't be more proud of him. He is going to get his bachelors degree in Graphic Design. At this point Tony is almost done with his first quarter and getting great grades on all of his projects. Tony is in school 4 nights a week so I have been adjusting to playing the roll of single mommy, and let me tell you it has been crazy. Ally just turned 9, but acts like she is 15 and Bella is going to be 4 in just a few weeks. Both girls are in gymnastics so most of my time is spent running them to the gym. On October 5th they will be competing in their first tumbling meet of the season. It is in Carol Stream so if anyone is interested just let me know and I will give you the details. This is Bella's first year competing and we are not sure just what to expect from her, but we are very proud of her. This is going to be Ally's 3rd year competing and she is very excited to start. Well I am going to try to keep this up to date. We will see how it goes.