The Absent-Minded Blogger

From the looks of it, I've abandoned this blog. Say it ain't so!

Several things have just been consuming me and every ounce of my time lately, and not just the 3 little charmers in my life (ok, the big charmer, too;).
More on that to come.

For now, I want to post the big "catch-ups", the highlights from the last month that I've failed to post, capture, and later on treasure. Why else blog? ;)

Let's see, I'll start with:

Pinewood Derby! 

Aidan's 2nd year in Scouts, 2nd race. He really dedicated himself to making his Star Wars-designed car, and we are so proud of him. On top of it all, he won 2nd place prize for design for his den! 

 Aidan with his big trophy

 Next up: Brennan!

Brennan has been doing very well in preschool. He is well-behaved in class, and his fine motor skills are developing nicely. The boy can color very well! Here are some pictures to share his preschool fun.
Groundhog Day hat

 Valentine's Day 

 I adore this picture. It's so Brennan.

More Scouts: the Blue & Gold Banquet 

Cillian!
My sweet baby moved into his new convertible car seat. He's loving it, and I don't miss luggin' around that baby carrier, either. I do wish they didn't have to be rear-facing (my older 2 were forward facing after age 1). But hey, he has 2 brothers to keep him company back there.

 Speaking of Cillian,
he had his FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!

 Already. How on earth did he turn 1 last Saturday?! It went by way too fast. 

 He sure loved his cake.

 And we sure love him.

 He also experienced his first Spaghetti Dinner at our church. It's a big tradition in our parish, and they make over 5,000 meatballs for it. Cillian enjoyed himself.

 Here he is enjoying one of his birthday presents, almost walking completely on his own

 Loving another birthday gift, wrestling with Brobee

So yeah, 22 pictures later (are you actually still here?!), I'm almost caught up.  Life is busy busy busy, but good. My boys are growing up before my eyes, way too fast.

I have many reasons to be more present in the blog world, and hope to do so starting with this post.

Happy Groundhog Day!!!

Guess what?!
Punxsutawney Phil did NOT see his shadow! Spring is on its way!

****party dance***

Now rumor has it that other local groundhogs across the nation are seeing their shadows.
It's my opinion that only the original groundhog's prediction matters. The rest are poser-groundhogs.
It's all about what happens in Punxsutawney, at Gobbler's Knob. You know, like in the movie.

(btw. Encore movie channel is showing this all day, I believe)

So thanks for the show, you other groundhogs. PHIL is the real deal! 

And HE says spring is on its way. :)

February Says, "Take That!" (in w/ a bang)

It's the 1st of February, and boy is it letting us know it's the final full month of winter.

Last night we got some ice & about 5 inches of snow. That's not the storm, though.

Later this afternoon & thru tomorrow we're supposed to get up to 15 more inches of snow, ice mixing in.

School was canceled today, & I'm sure tomorrow will be no different. 

February is usually one of my favorite months.

I get overly-excited over Groundhog Day. I like the movie, and I had fun w/ Groundhog Day when I was a teacher. It made it fun. :)

There is also Valentine's Day, of course. 

President's Day, offering some fun activities to do with kids.

A long weekend from school & work.

February also holds birthdays for 2 nephews and my good friend Bethany.

And HELLO! It's FINALLY the month I'm due!

This baby is considered full term, and I'm hoping in 2 weeks we'll be meeting him face to face. What we're going to call him, still not 100% sure.

Ah, I am so ready to have my body back. To go longer in between bathroom visits. To bend over peacefully. To tie my own shoes. To gain my lap back for my boys.

My parents will be coming up in about 2 weeks. The boys are so excited to see them.

And...we should file & receive our tax return. God knows we need it!

I hope February will be a good month. 

Anything you're looking forward to this month?

100 Days Ago

                                            

100 days ago, my oldest started school full-time for the first time. KINDERGARTEN.

I was an emotional wreck the week leading up to his first day. I definitely felt the growing pains more than he did.

He loves school. He loves homework (usually), loves that he can read, loves his jobs in the classroom. He enjoys interacting with the other kids, seeing classmates at Mass on Sundays, recess, and his specials (gym, music, spanish, library, computers).

He has grown so much these past 100 days. He is more than halfway to 1st grade now!

Today they had the student go in through a different entrance. As we walked in, the teachers & principal were there, and in the walkway was a gigantic cut out of "100". Each student walked through the middle "0", and as they did, the staff counted each student. It was pretty cool. I wish I had my camera with me.

100 days. Already.

~~~~~~~~~~~

On a different note, HAPPY GROUNDHOG DAY!!
Phil saw his shadow over in PA, but here in Ohio our local groundhog did NOT. So we may get an early spring here. (though my bets are on the more experienced Phil)

Happy Groundhog Day! Happy 100th day of school!

It's COMING!!

GROUNDHOG DAY!

February 2, which means 3 days! 

I didn't realize this until this morning. 

I love groundhog day. I don't know why, but I do. Ever since I did my student teaching.

It was fun.

It was fun to take an ordinary, freezing cold day and turn it into a silly event. 

The night before we make our predictions--will he or won't he see his shadow? 

Make a graph and chart the answers (math).

Then go all crazy, and grab some popsicle craft sticks, a picture to color of a groundhog, and a paper lunch bag. 

Cut a hole in the bottom of the bag, glue the groundhog cutout to the craft stick, and pop him in & out of the hole to see is he sees his shadow. (Science)

Ready for more fun? 

Grab some flashlights and play shadow search. Seriously. It's fun. 

I may sound like a 5 year old here, but I'm really just a groundhog day enthusiast. :)

ONE DAY, I WILL go to Punxsutaney, PA, and join in the festivities. 

It will be cold, fun, and include a lot of chocolate and hot chocolate. (uh, Social Studies + Geography)

So what do ya think?

Will he see his shadow? Will we have the worst of winter still to come, or hear birds chirping sooner than we think? (If he sees his shadow, we're in for more winter. If he doesn't, spring is on its way!)

I'll share a quick tid-bit from the site:

"Punxsutawney held its first Groundhog Day in the 1800’s. The first official trek to Gobbler’s Knob made on February 2nd, 1887. In 2008 it will be the 122nd prediction."  (making this year the 124th!)

GROUNDHOG DAY! Be there or be square. 

The Beginning of a Good Month

Or so I hope. :)

February is one of my favorite months, excluding the weather.
It started on as one of my favorites when I was in college and student teaching.

There are so many little holidays in February, it's a short month, and thankfully, the last full month of winter (at least officially. In Ohio we have wintery weather usually until April).

February kicks off with the Super Bowl. (like my pun?:) GO STEELERS!!!
I still love the city of Pittsburgh and can't wait to go back.

Tomorrow is Groundhog Day. I don't know why, but I love Groundhog Day. We always did fun things with it when I was teaching, like making our predictions, shadow-searching...it just set a positive mood that carried with me. Plus you get all day of the movie Groundhog Day. Bill Murray is pretty funny.

It's my nephew Ryan's birthday on the 5th, which is always a nice opportunity to see my side of the family.

Valentine's Day~Pat and I have never gotten into Valentine's Day. I think it's nice for those who do, but it's not a big deal for us. I don't expect a gift from him, or even flowers. Pretty much just bring me home a Hershey bar and it's all good. Most Valentines Days one of us has worked.
I am excited for Aidan since he has a party at school, and this is his first year doing official Valentines. :) They're already bought, of course, and to no surprise, they are Batman.

Probably the most festive day in February is the 24th this year-
Fat Tuesday
Mardi Gras
Paczki Day
Many different names, all with one similar trait-EATING! It's the day before Lent begins, so people pig out. We mostly stick with donuts or paczkis for breakfast. Dessert (consisting of chocolate, of course). I would love to make a King Cake one year. Maybe I'll try it this year, who knows. I know of at least 3 different people who could give me a recipe, and they're from New Orleans so it's accurate. ;)

I don't enjoy Lent, but it's nice to reach that point in the year, anticipating Easter, Spring, and it also means my boys' birthdays. This year Aidan's birthday is actually on Easter Sunday. Brace yourselves for future posts where I melt down in disbelief over having a 5 year old, who is about to start kindergarten!

The month ends with my sister-in-law, Kely, due with her 3rd baby. She's having another boy. I am excited to see the new little one, watching their family transition into a family of 5.

There are the extra things in February, like Lincoln's birthday, Presidents Day, Washington's birthday...I also had fun planning for those lessons when I was teaching. We'd make our Abe Lincoln hats, imagine ourselves in a log cabin, teaching ourselves to read.
I look forward to utilizing that experience with Aidan and Brennan.

The beginning of a good month. Or so I hope.
How about you? Does a good month lie ahead?

Happy Groundhog Day!

I love this day like a fool. My hubby is great about humoring me, too. When I first came downstairs this morning, he was playing I've Got You Babe by Sonny & Cher (like in the movie Groundhog Day). Ha! I loved it. :)

Unfortunately Punxsutawney Phil did see his shadow, which means 6 more weeks of winter. (bla!) One of these days I'm going to drive my booty to Pennsylvania for the Groundhog Day festivities. THEN, I just know, Phil will not see his shadow, and spring will come early. (See people? It's all dependent on me getting to PA for spring to come early;)

We checked for our shadows inside the house this morning (sure enough they were there), and later the hubs & I are going to watch Groundhog Day. Have you seen that movie? I like the insurance guy that steps in the curb puddle each time. He's so dorky looking.

Alright. If you're interested in kid-related Groundhog activities, here are some, as well as here.

Happy Groundhog Day! Keep those hats, gloves & scarves out. Winter's here a little longer!