Kristi Ternullo Photography Review - Pittsburgh Area

Wanted to share a review of a local photgrapher for those Pittsburgh Readers... Picture posted is from Kristi's Blog
http://www.kristiternullophotography.com/

Kristi Ternullo took photos of my son (age 7) and daughter (age 3).  The overall experience was outstanding.  A year before this photography sessionwith Kristi  we did family photos with another local photographer that has been in business for over 20 years and paid an arm and a leg for the sitting fee and photographs.  We did not receive nearly the amount of care or time with this photographer as we did with Kristi Ternullo. 

Once we scheduled the appointment with Kristi and discussed what we were looking for, Kristi went to work.  She suggested clothing colors, the appropriate outdoor location for the shots, and listened to our ideas for the photos.  She spent over thirty minutes on the phone discussing the photo shoot with me.  She is easy to talk to and since she is a mom she understands the importance of picking a time that is right for your child.  She works with your schedule and does an excellent time of meeting your needs prior to the photo shoot.   

The day of the photo shoot my family met her at a local location.  We then followed her over to the spot she picked out for our photo shoot.  It was perfect!!!  As soon as we arrived she got to work.  That was very nice to start promptly because if you are a mom you know how hard it is to get those kids to be at their best in nice clothing for an extended amount of time.  The thing that is unique about her photos is that she captures her subject in a natural way.  Thus, the finished photos are more of a story of the subject and who they are as opposed to a posed uncomfortable canned photo shoot.  She let the kids play and ended up with some adorable pictures of the kids separately and together. 

I love props and had some ideas of my own.  Kristi was courtesy and willing to work with my suggestions.  I appreciate the fact that she was willing to do exactly what I asked without any hesitation.  I had purchased two candy canes from Target for the kids to hold.  Kristi had the idea of putting the canes together to form a heart.  Those pictures came out great and became part of our Christmas card.  People of course loved it and plan to steal that idea for their cards.  She also captured some pictures that made my children’s personalities shine through.  She got this one picture of them fooling around the leaves and being silly that only a mother could love.  The kids had a blast just playing and being models for a day.

Kristi spent over an hour with us at the photo shoot.  My kids are not angels and she was professional and so patient with them.  Her calmness makes it easy to relax and just let her do the work.  She made sure we were happy with all the photo set-ups we took before she cleaned up her supplies.  My kids had a blast at the photo shoot and can’t wait to do it again.  

About three days later I got an email from Kristi that she had posted a sneak peak of some of the photos she had taken on her blog.  They were awesome and I couldn’t wait to see the rest.  I was equally pleased a few days later when I viewed all the shots online!  We loved them all so much that we opted for the option of buying the CD of all the photos so that we could do as we wish with the photos.  The CD arrived quickly after it was ordered.  I went to work on Snapfish making all sorts of Christmas presents for myself and family with the pictures she took.

I have recommended Kristi to a few friends and each one came away with rave reviews of her work.  Kristi is blessed with a great talent !  I am hooked on just reading her blog and seeing all the beautiful pictures she takes.  I am thankful that her prices are reasonable and the quality of the service she provides is over the top!!!

My Picture People Days and the days of spending literally a thousand dollars on a photo shoot and pictures are over now that I have found Kristi!!!

Pittsburgh South Hills Relay For Life

A heads up on the 2010 Peters Township Relay for Life...

Bring the family out to Peters Township Stadium for food, music, games, prizes, and more - all to support a GREAT Cause.  You don't need to have a team to join the fun! 

May 15, 2010!!!

Click Here to Learn More!

A Cookie Wedding Tradition

If you have ever been to a wedding in Western, PA then you have probably seen a cookie table at the wedding. All the weddings I have been to in this area always have a cookie table. I grew up going to many weddings in PA so I am use to the cookie table thing. However, when you tell out-of-staters about a cookie table, they look at you kind of strangely. I have been to many out of state weddings and one thing missing at all of those not in the Burgh weddings is the.... yep, cookie table. One thing is certain- the cookie table is a tasty addition to the wedding reception that is probably unique to Western Pennsylvania.

My good friend Nancy is nick-named the "Ball Queen" for her awesome buckeye balls she makes. She makes the best and they always look so perfect. She recently made a ton of cookies for her nieces wedding and she was kind enough to document the day with a nice blog and pictures to match. Thanks Nancy!

A Cookie Tradition

My oldest niece, Danielle got married last Saturday. It was a terrific day for all of us. She married a wonderful guy named Tom who she met on Match.com a couple years ago. He met our entire family two years ago at the wedding of her younger sister. We are not always the quietest family and there were many stories from that wedding that were extremely memorable. Let’s just say, he was a keeper if he came back after that weekend! Now, on to the tradition. If you have ever been to a wedding in western Pennsylvania you know all about the cookie table. Family and friends bake for weeks before to put out a spread for all the guests. I had one at my wedding 17 years ago, my niece Diane had one two years ago that I baked for and I did the same for Danielle this time.

My contribution this time around was about 65 dozen cookies. Iced sugar, peanut butter blossoms and peanut butter balls (aka Buckeyes)

consistency. I used teal icing in the jar from Michael’s. It was dark so I did my best to marble it with white. Teal was a really hard color to match and find. I usually use non-pariels on the peanut butter balls to match the occasion but teal ones could not be found. So I used white chocolate and some with white non-pariels. I didn’t really like either but they still taste good.

I will include the recipe for the peanut butter balls at the bottom of this. However you can go to the closest store for the recipes for the other two. Betty Crocker is the best! I use the bag mixes for all of my sugar cookies. It’s cheap, easy, and quick and best of all they taste great. For the iced sugar cookies, I use an icing made from powdered sugar and milk. Add the milk by tablespoons until it’s the right

For the peanut butter blossoms, used good old Betty again. Hershey no longer makes the mini kisses for baking but I had some left over and used them on some of the cookies. I used the chocolate disk melts for molding chocolate on the rest. I really liked how they looked. I don’t like to use full size kisses since I make my cookies more bite sized by using a smaller cookie scoop.

On the Friday before the wedding we all met at the hotel where the reception was being held. There were 9 of us including the bride, groom, their mother’s and the 7 month pregnant matron of honor. It only took us about 45 minutes to get all the cookies on trays and covered. Many hotels don’t like doing this so they charge an obscene amount of money so everyone does them on their own. Some of the cookies were bought, mostly the thumbprints, but the majority were homemade. The morning of the wedding my sister’s in law brought more cookies from Delaware and Michigan. I believe there were some more from the groom’s family as well.

After the ceremony, the reception was held at the hotel. They did a great job setting up two tables one either side of the ballroom. My sister, Micky, supplied Styrofoam containers so the guests could take some home. At the end of the evening there were still a lot left. Some guests took full trays home with them. We had about 7 large trays left when it was all over. We took them to the party room for breakfast the next morning. My 7 year old thought that was the greatest! Pop and cookies all at 7 am, every child’s dream breakfast. The remainder went to the school where Micky works on Monday morning.

It was a wonderful time for our whole family. We wish the bride and groom all the best in life!

There were a lot of things that I thought were great ideas. They may not be original but they were new to me. First off, for the bridal shower, I emailed friends and family of the bride and groom and had them send me favorite recipes. I then went to Kraft.com and made a personalized cookbook. I was able to put a picture on the cover of the couple. It was really nice. Tastebook.com also does a similar item but I’ve not looked into that site.

Instead of place cards for guests with a boring Table #12 on them, Danielle and Tom had the tables named for meaningful things in their life. Each table had a picture frame with a photo of the name of the table. For example, the Neil Young table had a photo of Neil Young on the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine. The Penn State table had a picture of the Nittany Lion and so on. It was interesting because there were things you knew about the couple and some things you didn’t.

The couple chose not to have favors at the reception. Instead they made a donation to the Eye and Ear Institute of Pittsburgh. Several years ago, before the couple met, Tom had been in a very serious bicycle accident. Even though he was wearing a helmet, he suffered a severe head and eye injury. He was in a coma for a time as well. Fortunately he recovered and is doing well now. This was their way of saying thank you.

Danielle and Tom had an awesome photographer. Her name is Randi Voss. http://www.randivoss.com/. At the reception, she had a laptop with pictures of the ceremony on a slide show. With in the week many pictures were on her blog under Danielle and Tom’s name. They are gorgeous and we’ve spent a lot of time looking at this wedding and some others.

Peanut Butter Balls (AKA Buckeyes)
Ingredients:
1 # powdered sugar
18 oz jar creamy peanut butter
3 TBSP milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 stick melted butter
1 pkg. semisweet chocolate morsels(12 oz)
1/4 of one cake of Gulf Wax
Preparation
In a double boiler, melt the chocolate chips and wax until smooth.Mix together powdered sugar, peanut butter, milk and vanilla. Shape into 1" balls. Dip into chocolate 1 at time. Place on wax paper covered cookie sheets. Decorate with non-pariels. Refrigerate until firm. Can be frozen.
Notes
Gulf wax can be purchased in the baking aisle.Dipping tool is available at Michaels.

I Swam With Stanley...

I woke up this AM to an email from my husband with this picture. It is from our pool party on Saturday. We all were having fun swimming with Stanley... The cup floats well.

Anyhow, I had to change the original picture my husband sent because he forgot to include.... ME in the picture. You see my Dad (sunglasses on), My Unkie (In the kids life vest), my husband (touching the cup), and my brother... He forgot to add me so I added myself in the picture.

Man, if I had to put up with him over the playoffs, you think he could have at least let me swim with Stanley too. MEN!

:)

Yes We Can and Yes We Did!!!

91, 92, and 2009 Stanley Cup Champs! Yes we did... And yes, this was the year...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OnEY-4Ot6Ds

For more Pens fun, check out the Pens Blog!!!

http://www.thepensblog.bloguin.com/

Go Penguins!

I am not much of a sports fan. However, if you force me to pick a sport to watch, I would pick Hockey. Pittsburgh Penguins, of course!!! I will admit I tend to actually pay attention to the games during playoffs. The rest of the year, I attend a game here or there and go downstairs to the other TV while my hubby (world's biggest Pens fan) watches the game. I jump quickly on the bandwagon when they are in the playoffs. I want them to win not only for my town, but also so my hubby will be happy and in a good mood. Maybe I can get a new kitchen table out of him if I ask him for it right after Crosby skates around with that cup! Hmmm, may have to plan that out!



In 91 and 92 (click here to remember those days) I was partying hard as the Pens won the cup. Of course fun memories... Skipping high school to go to the Point with a few friends! One of the great thing about Pittsburgh is their love of their teams. It like a high! I was always happy to hop on to that high! I would be happy to hop on it Thursday night when they win the cup.

Anyhow, this is my attempt to blog about a sport and to cheer on my hubby's Pens! I would hate to see Detroit win again on our home ice. That just is not cool. Come on Pens, get your head in the game and tie it up... On Thurs. you can show Detroit how it feels to have the opposing team carry around the cup on your ice.

FUN PENGUINS STUFF

Click here for Kids Penguins Activity Sheets

Click here to print cheer cards

NHL maze to print!

Hockey Players Coloring Page - Click Here

Hockey Word Search - Click Here

Here is a memory game I made for my kids.
Just print and cut the cards and you can play too. Played like memory.
Just place cards face down and take turns trying to make a match!

Click Here to Print Penguins Memory Game!

Pittsburgh - A Little Girl's Dream Play Place

Did you hear????

Teaching Heart Mom has been nominated for Best Pittsburgh Parent Blog in Nickelodeon's Parents' Picks Awards! We need your help to win! You can vote for us once a day, every day, from now until July 15 at
http://gocitykids.parentsconnect.com/parents-picks/pittsburgh-pa-usa/best-pittsburgh-local-blog



Truthfully, I was a bit surprised to be nominated as a "Pittsburgh Parent Blog", since the majority of my posts don't mention Pittsburgh life or attractions... Still it is an honor and I do hope to win. Looks like it will be a tough go as Burgh Baby seems to be getting the majority of the votes without even having a button or announcement on their blog??? Still if Teaching Heart Mom wins you will see a week of free printables for you to download daily... So ya better vote if you like free educational printables!!!



So, for those who landed here looking for Pittsburgh Family Fun News, you are in luck! I have two things to share that are great family fun. One is the Peters Relay for Life in McMurray, PA at Peters Township high school Stadium on May 30, 2009. Start a team or make a donation to Relay For Life. You do not have to be registered to walk the track on Relay Day. There will be live bands, DJ's, games for the kids, food, auction baskets, and lots more. It is a family fun event with a festival feel. Just bring a few dollars to spend for a good cause! It is a fun day for all ages!
For more details, click here!





The title of this post is, "A Little Girl's Dream Play Place!" I am a little hesitant to tell you about this great find... It isn't over crowded yet and I really LOVE this place and so does my three year old! I wish I could have spent hours playing at a Lilliput Play area when I was a kiddo. Now your kiddos can play from 10 till 3, Mondays - Fridays at the McMurray, PA Lilliput Town Center!!! $8.00 a child is a little pricey, but a nice treat. It is adorable and if you child likes make believe, this is their heaven! A town of fun play rooms. There is an ice cream parlor, post office, doctor's office, beauty shop, grocery store, gas station, and fire station. Each area is complete with accessories to match. My daughter had a blast scooping play ice cream cones and playing beauty shop with the pretend hair dryer and make up.


The lady who was working when we were there said ages up o ten were welcome. I suggest to age seven max. Perhaps older girls would enjoy it... but my son would probably get bored and cause trouble after about 20 minutes.


There is a nice seating area for mommy too. Coffee comes with mom's stay. Also they have wireless access and magazines for you to read. It is genius!!! My thumbs up for rainy day fun!

Below is a video of the play area.

Go Pens!!!

Upward Basketball Review

I have to give a shout out for a program that my son just finishing participating in. At South Hill Bible Chapel in McMurray, PA my son participated in Upward basketball. Upward is a fun, reliable, passionate and encouraging sports experience for boys and girls, in K5 through sixth grade. Upward provides first class, organized and detailed sports programming in basketball and other sports (cheerleaders too) at a very reasonably price for what you get in return! It was a privilege to be part of this program. My son learned about friendship, sportsmanship and of course basketball- all while getting a chance to learn about God. Through Upward, my son was exposed to quality coaching and sport development.

Upward emphasizes character and integrity. In fact, in order to build self-esteem and team spirit, each participant is awarded a star after each practice and game. The stars are colored and stand for different things: Christlikeness, best effort, best sportsmanship, best offense, best defense, and Scripture learning! My son was thrilled to get the stars and really worked to do his best. He was awarded the Christlikeness Star twice and seemed most excited about that star! We were too - bragging a bit!

The green star is for learning the scripture that is handed out after each weekly hour long practice. The scriptures come on colorful cards that the kids enjoy getting.

The weekly games were so cute. Each child had a nickname and an announcer would yell out their names as they ran through the Upward tunnel and onto the court! So sweet!!! There are also Upward Cheerleaders that cheer at the events -- very cute. You could see how each teammate made progress in sports skills throughout the program.

The program at South Hills Bible Chapel was so organized and ran so smoothly! I was very impressed and recommend it to all! Only good things to say! I am catholic and attend another church, so I am not biased in any way! (PS. Their summer camp is also OUTSTANDING!!!)

I really feel my son gained many sports skills as well as skills in faith and character. Upward is a national program and a local church in your area may have it. I highly recommend it!!!

Pittsburgh South Hills Favorite Lights!!!

I have to Thank all the houses out there that put out a million lights over the holiday season. You make my kids so happy. They love driving around seeing the big blown up characters, the houses that go crazy with millions of lights, and the plastic lawn characters. Below are our two favorite houses around the South Hills... If you have a fave around the South Hills of Pittsburgh, I will add it. Just send me a picture of it and the name of the street it is found on!!!


The first is on Willow Glen Drive in Bethel Park PA:
This house has Frosty, The Grinch, and various Santa Claus decorations.... My kids love this! It is a hidden one you may never see unless you go down Willow Glen Road off of Irish Town. Willow Glen is a Dead End Road, so you can't miss this house. You can tell someone puts a lot of love into this!!!

Our Second Favorite is on Bunker Hill Road Off of Bower Hill Road. This House is also done at Halloween with millions of lights. This one looks professionally done.

The golden Anchor: Great Romantic Get Away For Those in PA!

My friend Nancy is one of those people that always knows the best places to go and see around our area. She is always up on what shop is coming in or what a certain place is like. I really respect her opinion on things and she always has one! I asked her to write a blog about a getaway she had with her husband because it sounded so great. After reading what she had to say and looking over the website, I was ready to pack and head out to The Golden Anchor with or without my hubby!

FROM NANCY:

Recently my husband and I went on a weekend trip to the mountains of West Virginia. Bob had spent the past 3+ years working and living in Maryland and now is working much closer. My 6 year old daughter and I lived in our home outside of Pittsburgh. We usually saw him on weekends but many times several weeks would go by with him working. But that’s a whole other post. We’ve been married 16 years and really never traveled for fun much. Anyhow, my sister and parents generously agreed to take care of Carly and our dog for the weekend. We found a cabin we liked on the internet. I was a bit worried because what you see isn’t always what you get. But we were both thrilled with the cabin. The owners and staff were very welcoming.

You can see pictures at http://www.goldenanchorcabins.com/. Ours was Pondview which slept six. There is a Honeymoon cabin which was already booked when we called. When we arrived at the cabin, the table was set and soft music was playing. It was a gorgeous place with a gas fireplace, huge satellite TV, fully and beautifully furnished with a hot tub and fabulous view. We also had dinner at the Golden Anchor Restaurant which we both enjoyed.

We spent a rainy Saturday at Blackwater Falls State Park. (http://www.blackwaterfalls.com/) Even in the rain it was a great place to hike and take pictures. We heard that the biking trails and ski areas are also great there. We’d missed the peak fall colors by a couple weeks but it still was a stunning view. This area is also considered New Canaan Valley. (http://www.canaanresort.com/) Bob is a hunter and we enjoyed driving around and watching the deer. Later we spent some time in the hot tub which was rather romantic and very unusual for us. It wasn’t a totally secluded deck but it was still private. We had a wonderfully relaxing time together, reconnecting in a beautiful, scenic area. We would absolutely recommend a weekend here for anyone. We hope to go back again next year when the colors are at their peak.

By Nancy

(Thanks Nancy!!!!)

Birthday Parties In South Hills Pittsburgh Area

My friend Nancy came up with a great list of local birthday parties. I thought I would post it here in hopes it may help some one in the blogging world. Thanks Nancy for all your work on this!!!

Local venues for kid birthdays

Iceoplex 724-745-6666 jchapman@iceoplex.net
2 packages to chose from- 1 hour public skate or 1 hour court- includes beverages, treat bags and hostess. Private room for hour 15 min. Includes 9 guests and birthday child. Prices- court $323(Pizza) or $303(hotdogs) skate- $210 (Pizza) $190 (hotdog)


Trax Farms 412-835-3246x113

Ages 3-7. 3 packages to choose from included in all-reserved tables, cups, napkins, utensils, placemats and balloons. Crafts to choose from are bug box, backyard nature craft, garden party craft, seed buddy craft or tea party craft. Seasonal crafts also available. Party area may NOT be peanut free. 12 child minimum. Packages are $9.99, $11.99 and 12.99 per child.

Young Chefs Academy-724-941-6672 http://www.youngchefsacademy.com/

Ages 4 and up. Several packages available. Includes 1 ½ hour, invites, drinks, paper goods and balloons. Contact for more information. Prices per child are $20, $25 and $30.


The Little Gym 724-942-0100 http://www.tlgpittburghsouthhillspa.com/
All ages. Includes 1 hour gym with instructors, ½ hour party room, invites, paper goods and drinks. $280 non- members, $250 for members. 15 kids $9 per child after. Maximum 20 children.

Fired Up 724-941-0302 http://www.firedup.com/
2 hours of time in studio, use of all paints, stencils etc. Selection of ready-to-paint bisque items. $12 per child.

Cool Springs Golf- 412-831-5080 http://www.coolspringsgolfcenter.com/
All ages. Private party area for 3 hours. Indoor party room or outside tent with picnic table. (Specify when booking.) $25 Mini-golf prices $4.00 per person, batting cages 45 pitches $4.00. All food extra.

Oogles and Googles 724-222-kidz http://www.ooglesngoogles.com/
Prices are for 12 children. Three packages to chose from, all include themed costumes for each child during party, face painting, make-up for girls, tattoos. This is $200, $5.00 add. Child. Packages 2 & 3 include themed invites and thank yous, paper products, juice and souvenir photo of every child. $285. $10 add. Child. Package 3 is 2 hours of entertainment, themed party favors, cake and 2 extra large pizzas. $365. $15 per add child.

South Fayette Pool- 412-221-4542x230 www.southfayette.org/aquatics/index.html

If you are interested in renting the pool for a private party, details follow: A non-refundable deposit of $60.00 is needed to schedule party times/dates.
Less than 15 swimmers = $45.00 upon arrival
16-25 swimmers = $4.00/swimmer upon arrival
26 or more swimmers = $3.00/swimmer + additional guard fee of $30
This price covers the cost of lifeguards and use of the facility for 2 hours. You are permitted to arrive 20 minutes prior to the party for set up. Food and drinks are permitted. Parties will be held on Saturdays from 2:00-4:00 and 4:30-6:30. Due to scheduling restraints, parties must be cleared 15 minutes after the ending time or a $25.00 additional fee will be charged

Other area places for birthdays

Trolley Museum 724-228-9256 http://www.pa-trolley.org/

Mt. Lebanon Ice/ Swim Center 412-561-4363 www. Mtlebanon.org

Scrap booker’s Dream 724-942-8951 http://www.scrapbookers-dream.com/

The Art Shoppe-724-941-1688 http://www.theartsshoppegallery.com/

Little Lake Theater- 724-745-6300 http://www.littlelaketheatre.org/

Destinta - 412-914-0995 www.destinta.com/t1.php

Route 19 Bowling Center -724-225-4800

Build-A Bear - (412) 851-9033 http://www.buildabear.com/

Chuck E. Cheese- 412) 257-2570- http://www.chuckecheese.com/


Helpful websites

http://www.coolest-kid-birthday-parties.com/index.html

http://www.birthdayswithoutpressure.org/

http://www.dltk-kids.com/crafts/birthday/index.html

http://www.party411.com/kids.html

www.amazingmoms.com/htm/KidsBirthdayParties.htm

http://www.alphamom.com/buzzoff/2008/04/best_ideas-for-kids_birthday_parties.php

http://familyfun.go.com/

www.partyideaskids.com/birthday.html

http://www.birthdaydirect.com/

http://www.celebrateexpress.com/

http://www.orientaltrading.com/

http://www.birthdaypartyideas.com/

http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1581036,00.html