June 21

June 21 marks the first official day of summer, the longest day of the year.

For Patrick & I, today also marks 7 years of marriage. :)
Today is our anniversary, and looking back, it's hard to believe we're starting our 8th year as husband & wife.

I've heard of the 7-year-itch. I can honestly say I'm not "itchy". Don't want to scratch.
We've been though a lot in our 7 years so far, but I feel confident that many many good things are waiting for us.
We've conquered financial difficulty, job uncertainty, and I strongly feel that our best financial future lies ahead. In the last year alone, we've paid off our car and all credit card debt. We're frugal in wiser ways now, and just starting our 30's.
I can still see signs of the guy I started dating back in 2000, and I love that person still. I also see the incredible man my husband has become, and will become, and I love him for that person, too.

I love our life right now. Sure, I wish we had more time to actually see each other. But the time we have is good.
We live in a town we love, a house we can afford, safe area, and together we're establishing our home.
We love our church and Aidan's school.

We still enjoy playing silly games, playing 500 Rummy, and watching movies together.
We look forward to the trips that lie ahead, both alone and family-vacation style.

The 1st 7 years have been very eventful, busy, and full of changes. The first 7 have been good.
Here is to more great times ahead!

Sha-ZAM!

Woot!
Let's just say I'm a little excited & wound up right now.

I had yet to weigh-in for the month of June (for Weight Watchers), so I went today knowing I would NOT want to go after vacation.
I expected a slight gain, considering I ate 6 peces of pizza yesterday, Doritos today, and drank pop. (hello water retention!).
I had a very pleasant surprise-down 3 pounds! Holy smokes, is their scale wrong!? I weigh less now than I did the day of my wedding.
I guess it pays off, the activity points I've earned. Speaking of which, Sunday I broke my personal record, earning SEVEN activity points in that one day alone. I was sore & exhausted the next day, but it felt great.

I'm also excited because....check out what I just found on Netflix:

I'm stoked! My boys are going to get to watch REAL cartoons. I also added:

AND

Seriously. Am I a cool mom or what?

Good ending to the day.

Does anyone wanna come over & celebrate with me? Ice cream?

ONE Week!

One week from today Pat will be taking his final exam for his 1st summer course, then immediately following we're hitting the road for South Carolina!

This is going to be a busy week.

Pat studying, summer rec for Aidan, packing, checklists, cleaning out the fridge, and finishing some thing from up here for my parents' party. 

It's worth it! In one week's time, I'll get to see my family, the boys will love seeing their cousins, I'll get to meet the newest addition to our family- Seraphina.

Hopefully my sisters & I will take my mom out for some girl time. 

I hope to see my friend Jenny. 

And THEN...the party! Then a week in Gatlinburg!

In Gatlinburg we're supposed to go see Eclipse. The real reason I'm going is to check out Jacob. 

I admit it!

I have much to look forward to over the next week & a half, despite the 12 hour drive to SC. 

One week!

Play Ball!

It's tee-ball time!
One of the things I love about our town is their Summer Rec program. They offer a lot for the kids, and it's all very reasonably priced. Not to mention less than a mile away! :)

Aidan is trying tee-ball again this summer (he played when he was 4). His BFF from school is playing on the same team. Fun!
The only semi-annoying thing is that the games are Mondays & Thursdays, 8:30-9:30 in the morning.
Now yes, my boys are always up hours before then, but being awake & being up and ready to be out are two different things.
But hey, it beats playing in the miserable sun & heat like we did last summer for Soccer Basics.

It's very informal (tee-ball). In fact, they don't even have practice-it was one day (field clinic), and games twice a week. The final game is the evening game "Under the Lights". Phew!
As long as he is having fun, it's all good. :)

Here is to another busy summer!

At bat...he hit the ball first try each time

Aidan in the outfield

Aidan with his best friend, post game

Menu Plan Monday--June 14, 2010

Monday: Spaghetti marinara, bread rolls
Tuesday: Crock Pot Sour Cream Salsa Chicken, Rice, corn & peas
Wednesday: Boys Decide
Thursday: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, yogurt
Friday: Easy Fried Rice, fruit on the side

Tomorrow morning is Aidan's first tee-ball game. I hope it goes well!
Because the game is first thing in the morning, I'm posting my menu Monday tonight (Sunday evening).
Have a great week!

Congrats on 50 YEARS!

I'm late getting this published, darn it.

June 11, 2010: the 50th wedding anniversary of my parents.
50 Y-E-A-R-S.
Same woman with the same man for her entire life. (since she was around 15)
It CAN be done.
And they have proven that.

I feel so much excitement and joy for my parents.

It's not been an easy road all of the time.
My dad was in school working on his PhD right after they got married, they lived away from family, and with her first pregnancy, my mom was horribly sick.

Their marriage has survived a stillborn-their 2nd child, my first sister, Karen Phyllis.
I can only imagine how hard that must have been. I know how hard our 2 miscarriages have been on us, and a stillborn is so much harder. Not to mention my parents also survived 4 miscarriages, too.
(Yup, my mom was pregnant 13 times).

They grew & strengthened their relationship moving around several times, having lived in MD, PA, OH, NY, CT, MI, and (currently) SC.
They have faced ridicule and criticism, from the choices they made in regards to family size, to my mom being a homemaker/SAHM/whatever you want to call it these days. (I recently read the term "SAHM" is not politically correct...)

My mom & dad are INSPIRING. If they can do it, I think the rest of us can.
If they can save sex for marriage, so can today's couples.
If they can remain faithful to just ONE person, then so can today's couples.
If they can last without hired help, a nanny, or two incomes, so can today's couples.
If they can do it without a lot of money, why can't we?
If they can live by putting God first, so can today's couples.

It may not always have been fun, or happy, but the end result...the sticking through it...is worth it.
Hearing my mom on the phone, her excitement, her pure love for my dad still...it is simply inspiring.

Happy Anniversary, Mom & Dad!
Congratulations on this incredible milestone, on proving society wrong, and being an inspiration.
We are thrilled for you, and may God bless you (and us!) with many more years of you & dad together!

Chuck E Cheese

I normally despise the germ-infested place, but Friday we ventured there for an end-of-kindergarten celebration.
We arrived at a good time, meaning it was not crowded or overrun yet.
I must say, I like the safety procedures at Chuck E Cheese. The hand-stamp matching for kids & parents...I felt good about that.

Aidan loved playing the games & winning tickets, and once Brennan got over the fear of how high the playset was, he loved going through it.
Our boys slept well Friday night. :)
And once they were asleep, Patrick & I enjoyed some Bud Select (channeling my inner-redneck), and me beating him in 500 Rummy. (even if he says he won, it was really him trying to catch up the number of wins I've had over him)

Some shots of their fun:

Giddyup!

Brennan loved this little ride. I still don't quite know what the heck Teletubbies are.

Playing the water squirt game. Plenty of fun.

Brennan way up near the ceiling in the playset. He'd always stop to yell "Hi MOM!!!"

Aidan in a monster truck

Another ride Brennan was just smitten with. Who doesn't love Barney? (though he doesn't watch it)

Menu Plan Monday--June 7, 2010

Monday: Cauliflower Fritters (didn't get to this one last week)
Tuesday: TBD
Wednesday: Southwest Vegetarian Bake
Thursday: Baked Ziti Casserole
Friday: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Pancakes (tweaking original recipe to add chocolate)

I Felt This Way This Morning

Not most mornings, but today, yes.

Last night we had several bouts of bad weather. Around 2:30 in the morning the tornado sirens went off.  Minutes before Pat's cell phone made noise, receiving a text message about the weather.

We watched the tv to determine if we needed to get the boys out of their cozy beds and huddle into the bathroom. 

Fortunately we did NOT, and I do know we're fortunate. Several areas around us have had severe damage, including fatalities. 

This is a picture from some area damage:

and another:

This wasn't in our town, but not too far away.

I am exhausted this morning, but thankful we didn't need to hide in our bathroom (we have no basement), and that our boys didn't wake to the sound of the siren going off.
Once the alarm went off, I had trouble going back to sleep.  I worried I'd not hear it if it went off again, and then who would get my boys to the safest part of the house?!

So yes, this comic strip hits the spot this morning.

Killing Time Waiting on my Chili Cheese Burrito

(Stacey, this post is dedicated to YOU;)

So some would say drunk blogging is fun.
I don't know about THAT, but I've had more than a tad & I'm having lots of fun, so perhaps those "some" are correct. ;)

I'm killing time waiting on Patrick to bring me my chili cheese burrito from Taco Smell...

Some thoughts:
I'm a month into my 30's. Here is what I've concluded:
-Sometimes automatic spellcheck is a real *itch. Fo-sho'
-During this decade of my life, I really want to train in martial arts and become a black belt. BADLY.
If I ever go back to school, it won't be for teaching. Though I loved teaching, I think I'd go for nutrition. I'd love to be a nutritionist.

But the BLACK BELT is my most exciting revelation.
Self defense is huge for me, and the confidence that would come with it...
As soon as Pat is done with school, I think I'll enroll to start my training in martial arts.

Then you blog readers betta WATCH OUT! As Ross from FRIENDS would say, "Kara-te!". I can ninja you all to another sphere-wordpress, maybe?

**Edited to add: This still remains & forever will one of my favorites: "Last night I dreamt I was a muffler, and I woke up exhausted!" .
Tell me, how is that NOT genius?!

I Officially...

have a FIRST GRADER!!

(Aidan with his teacher, yesterday, the last day in school uniform)

Cliche sounding it may be, but it really truly went by so fast! It honestly feels like it JUST started. The only time it felt like it was dragging on was over Christmas break-January. ;) But that was more due to our wintery weather.

Aidan did very well in kindergarten. He is reading. His handwriting is very good. He never cried or wanted to stay home. I (thank God) never had to go pick him up from school unexpectedly. 

He loved kindergarten. We love our school. 

The past week has been filled with fun events, like the farm field trip and another outing to a park on Tuesday. Aidan was head-to-toe filthy: all boy.

And he loved every minute of it.

His school holds the tradition of the last day of school being "Party in the Parking Lot", which is like a festival for the kids. It far exceeded my expectations! There was a DJ with fun music being played (Love Shack, Thriller, Twist & Shout, some Beach Boys...good stuff), a magician, tug-of-war, duck pond game, and many others. It was a blast. I worked 2 hours of the duck pond game, loving the chance to watch Aidan &his classmates. 

There was no kindergarten graduation (which I was fine with) but I still wanted to do something to make it exciting & special. After all, Aidan is done with his first full year of school! And he did it in great stride. 

So Brennan & I did some mild decorating as a surprise for Aidan. Hey, spending a year working hard in school? You deserve some balloons! 

Aidan was pleasantly surprised & loved it. He also loved the tattoo he got at school today-at least it's patriotic. ;)

I no longer have a kindergartner. Aidan is now my first grader. *gulp*

Here is to a great summer! 

His Current Hobby

My not-so-little builder.

Some of his work

Aidan has really gotten into Legos lately, especially the sets like pictured above--they come with directions to build the car 3 different ways. Very cool.

Aidan built the above on his own, using only the directions that came with the Legos.
Pretty cool, if you ask me. ;)
I love that he's into Legos right now, and I admit-I am impressed.

I have the boys take a Quiet Time each day, and we'll be getting some more sets of Legos like this for Aidan. It's perfect for his Quiet Times.

He's fun. Having Aidan for a son is fun.

Memorial Day Weekend 2010

The scene: 2 kiddie pools plus the sprinkler next to them. Water toys. Buckets. 

And in our not-typical heat of 90+ degrees & high humidity, good ol' Patrick put the canopy shade over the bigger pool. (fair skinned kids=need for shade!)

Big pools are fun, yes, (ya know, the kind that require chlorine;), but these pools are so much fun, too. Every kid needs them in their childhood.

Plus it allows us parents to snatch those picture moments that would look dorky in years to come:

Hee-hee. I can't help but laugh when I look at this. 

Not just because he was wearing goggles in 1.5 feet of water. But, well, LOOK at it! He looks hilariously dorky! I love him. :)

Brennan loved the water, too, especially pouring it all out of the pools. WHY do kids love to pour it out of the pool?!

It was really nice on Saturday night, when the pools were first set up. The boys were playing well, it was a little shady in the backyard, and Pat & I each had an adult beverage to enjoy while sitting and watching the boys. It was one of those moments where you feel "yeah, my life isn't so bad".  It was good.

Yesterday (actual Memorial Day) we went to our little downtown's parade. The boys always love it. I'm not sure which they enjoy more--having candy thrown at them, or seeing the firetrucks at the end.

Goofing off before the parade, sporting our patriotic colors

Aidan proudly waving his flag

Brennan too

Rightfully so, everyone applauded as the military passed by. Always puts a lump in my throat.

Good thing we got out early! This was our weather shortly after the parade ended.

Memorial Day 2010. It was nice & fun with just our little family. I hope yours was, too!