Dana Daily

Nine Pittsburgh area museums were offering free admission in February, if you had a membership to at least one of them. With our zoo passes from yesterday in hand, we were able to visit the aviary for free today. Sarah was really impressed by the rhinoceros hornbill, mainly because it was interested in conversing with everyone who passed by the enclosure. I don't know what sort of noise I expected from a bird like this, but it honks and it's LOUD. I wasn't able to get a very good picture of it myself, so this image is from the aviary's website. Emmy was most interested in seeing the baby owl in the aviary hospital, but I don't know how impressed she was when we finally found it. It wasn't cute, and with the exception of it's beak, it was unidentifiable as an owl. We spent quite a bit of time watching the flamingos. Both are about as tall as an Andean variety, as you can see in these pictures. This wasn't our first trip to the aviary. Sal and ...

After a botched trip to Phipps Conservatory, we decided to visit the zoo. Then we decided to buy a family membership for the year. We live so close that it will be an easy distraction for Sarah and Emmy this summer, and throughout the year. While the sun was shining, the wind was chilly so we spent more time at some of the indoor exhibits than we might during warmer weather.  a rare shot of me in glasses The elephant care center is always a hit. One in particular was not happy about being moved from one area to another and barked to let everyone know its opinion. I didn't know elephants made barking noises. We also visited the aquarium, but for the first time that I've ever noticed not a single penguin was in the water. The glass runs floor to ceiling and it's neat to see them underwater, but that wasn't happening. I was also looking forward to seeing the polar bears swimming when we walked through their tunnel, but that was another bust. We didn't e...

This picture won't launch us too far back in time, but it does take us to summer weather and good times. Here is a family picture from Kennywood in May 2013. Sal took his choir kids for the day and the girls and I met them there. The kids basically have free reign of the park, but check in every few hours at a designated restaurant. We started the day off in Kiddyland, but it quickly became apparent that Sarah and Emmy were ready for a lot more excitement. We rode my favorite rollercoaster, The Racers, several times. Sarah was in line for the Phantom's Revenge, but was just a bit too short. If she's still interested this year I'm sure she'll be tall enough. The Pittsburgh Plunge was also a big hit. I chose not to ride since I didn't want to get soaked, but Sal took the girls and they loved it. I think they may have gone on it twice in a row actually. The day was warm enough that they dried out pretty quickly.

It was finally nice enough to take a long walk outside. Sunny, and close to 45 degrees, the girls and I enjoyed the little break. Emmy pointed out how tall her shadow was; hence the idea for this picture. I told the girls to do something fun with their arms. Sarah immediately threw hers open wide. Emmy flat out refused and stood with them firmly by her side. I'm in the middle.

We began the day with a 2 hour delay, but it didn't take long for Hampton School District, and thus St. Ursula's, to close. With Sal at school, the girls and I had a fun day at home. Once the snow ended, we took advantage of light traffic on McKnight Road and ran a few errands. Then I set them up with a project to give Great-Grandma on her 96th birthday next month. I found this bouquet on Pinterest. First we painted a 9x12 canvas a pretty bright blue and set it aside to dry. Then, I cut up a paper egg carton and the girls painted half of them pink and half of them purple. (Since we recycle regularly we didn't have any paper to use as a drop cloth so we used old towels) We let them dry a little and I put a dab of glue in the bottom of each "cup." The girls put a pink button inside the purple flowers and a purple button inside the pink flowers. When I pulled out the pipe cleaners to make the flower stems, the girls thought making pipe cleaner jewelry...

How cute are the girls in their "Frozen" jammies from the Disney store at Times Square? These are a size 8, and looking at them on the hanger I thought for sure the pants (at least) would be way too big. I was wrong.  Sal and I also got them these Valentine's Day treats at Carlo's Bakery in Hoboken, New Jersey. They've never seen Cake Boss  and they didn't love the icing, but they are pretty cookies in their favorite colors.

For Christmas, Sal bought us tickets to see "Rock of Ages" on Broadway. This is my favorite musical and the third time I would see it, the second time to see it on Broadway. We planned to make a full weekend of it. Each of us requested Friday, February 14 off from work and with threats of (another) major snowstorm heading toward New York City, we hit the road about 1pm. Originally, our plan was to travel the southern route across Pennsylvania, the turnpike, and visit Valley Forge. However, a Nor'easter slammed the Philadelphia area, and all of the east coast actually, earlier in the week. We wisely changed our plans of traveling the turnpike to taking I-80 across the state. We made it without any problems to Fairfield, New Jersey, where we spent the night in a Comfort Inn. We enjoyed our unofficial Valentine's Day dinner at a crowded Chili's Restaurant. Saturday, February 15 After a very restless night (for me), we got up early and drove into Hoboken to vi...

I thought maybe we'd make it through the winter without the scourge of a tummy bug, but the first one for us hit Emmy hard Sunday night into Monday morning. The poor thing rarely gets sick, and had no idea what was happening. After 12 hours she was more like herself, but it took her 24 to fully recover. In the meantime, Sarah was feeling fine and looking forward to going to school. I snapped this picture while she was waiting for her ride.

Sarah insisted that she needed to take a box for valentines into school with her on Monday so we spent today creating one with odds and ends I had laying around the house. She was "tickled pink" with our creation and said it would be the most beautiful box in her classroom. I'm glad she loves it. Emmy was not to be left out, and we used a tissue box for hers. Such a fun project.

Something happens and in that instant you know a "moment" just happened, and that you'll remember it forever. I had a "moment" this morning. I dropped the girls off in front of their school in the bus lane, as it was the only space free from snow. Before they hopped out of the car I explained that I wouldn't be able to walk them into school because of where I was parked. I got out of the car, handed Sarah her backpack, gave her a hug and a kiss and she ran up the steps and into school. In the meantime, I told Emmy I loved her, gave her a hug and kiss, and stood and watched as she ran up the steps as well. As she started to pull open the door to go into school, she turned around, pig tails flying, big smile on her face, waved excitedly at me and said, "I love you, Mommy." Then she walked inside and I was left looking after her. Oh my heart. She was the embodiment of sweetness, innocence, and love.