Blue & Gold Banquet...

Last night James earned the rank of Wolf Cub at Scouts (which technically means he'll be a Bear next season).  The dinner was catered, in part, with Ruby Tuesday's salad bar!  I've never seen that other than in their restaurants which was pretty cool.  The evening was relaxed and fun and the boys all had a great time.

Chris even got suckered volunteered to help as an assistant den leader next year since the current den leaders are retiring and moving away.  Fortunately another dad, LTC Vido, will be the official leader and Chris will be in the wings to offer extra support.  Should be fun... or interesting to say the least! 

Weekly Roundup...

Poor Peter got a stomach bug and spent most of the week throwing up...

You'd think by this smile he was feeling better, right?  Nope.  Not five minutes later, he threw up all over the kitchen floor...

I am becoming more and more excited about getting rid of the processed junk my kids eat and am trying to slowly wean them off of it.  If you haven't seen this blog, check it out.  It's awesome (and I am so glad my sister sent it to me!)...

100 Days of REAL FOOD

I made all-natural granola yesterday.  James thinks it's just okay but has eaten several bites, Henry hasn't tried it, and Peter's eaten half of it.

I made a Glowing Green smoothie and finished it!  In fact, I had it two mornings in a row.  Chris also had a glass and liked it.  Henry did try this (surprisingly), swallowed it, said he liked it but that I could have the rest...

 It's an uphill battle, folks.  This is where I found Pete yesterday afternoon... getting a sugar fix.

I am hopeful this beautiful assortment of chairs means spring is on its way!?

My friend, Cortney, and I have been going through houses in our neighborhood because more family friends from West Point are moving here this summer!   They just put an offer on the brand-new house across the street.  It's 3000 square feet and beautiful inside...

Today is my lovely mother's birthday!  We love you!

The big boys don't have school today because of a teacher workday so a bunch of us are meeting at a local park to play.  Nicolas spent the night last night and I can hear them playing upstairs now.  Fingers crossed that everyone woke up healthy and happy and ready for a busy weekend... sunshine and warm weather would be nice too!

We did it!!

Chris and I went to the movies last night and saw Silver Linings Playbook!  I can't remember the last time we went out to the movies so it was somewhat exciting.  Ha ha.  It was totally my speed... we went to the Cameo, a local theater house in town where they serve food and drinks while you watch the movie.  I'm sure all of you have been to such places, but I don't think I ever have.  I drank a Blue Moon, ate dark chocolate covered blueberries, spent time with Chris away from the boys, and watched Bradley Cooper.  Not a bad night!

As for my "movie review," I'd probably give it a B.  It was good... not sure about Oscar-worthy, but definitely good.  But hey, if you can drink a beer, eat chocolate, and watch this guy without kiddie interruptions...

then alright, it deserves an A!

Brothers...

As usual, this morning I was trying to hurry the boys along, reminding them to get dressed and put their shoes on so we could make it to my 9:30 spin class on time.  As I was about to hang up the phone with Lauren to "encourage" them some more, I heard Henry scream "NooooOOOoooo!"  I came into the living room to find Peter crumpling up all of Henry's pre-school work he brought home yesterday.

I picked this up first...

It reads: "Joseph forgives his brothers."

Now if that's not an example of God working in mysterious ways, I don't know what is!

Pete turns 2!!

Thank you to everyone for making Peter's 2nd birthday so special!  

Who doesn't love a Carvel ice cream cake?
Totally brings me back to my own childhood birthdays...

The softest jacket from Aunt Judy and Uncle
Charlie... I'm so glad he finally opened it.
He needed it!

Pete's new car from Gigi... he loves it!!

The cutest backpack and lunch box
from his brothers...

A super cool cape from Mommy and Daddy...

Looking for snacks
to put in his new lunch box...

Ready for 2-year-old preschool next year!

Oh!  But aren't we all!?  :) 

Thank you for all of the wonderful birthday gifts I didn't get pictures of... the snuggly bunny Aunt Megan and Uncle T sent, the fun "stomp rocket" from Nico and Gabby, the clothes and toys from Aunt Barbara and Cousin Laura, the Matchbox cars from Grandma Scaggs, and the generous birthday money from Grammie Jackie!  He loved everything!!  Hugs and kisses to you all.  XOXO

The Good, The Bad, The Ugly...

THE GOOD:

1.  I made it to the ship in time!!!  I ran the entire length of the Miami airport, jumped into a cab, told the driver to drive as fast as he could, ran up the plank, and found Allison there with thumbs up waiting for me... all about 30 minutes before the cruise ship took off!!  It was close and started the trip with a bang!

2.  All of the time we got to spend together.  I honestly loved every minute.

3.  The "pub crawl" on board the first night.  We had a ridiculous amount of fun!

We went to 5 bars in about 2 hours and got a different drink at each spot... 

4.  The super cute and cool girls we befriended the first night... Natalie, Jessica, Catherine, and Alex.

THE BAD:  

1.  It rained ALL day on Saturday.  We did get into one of the hot tubs for about 30 minutes but there was zero sun-bathing to be had on this trip.

THE UGLY: 

1.  Poor Allison woke up with a stomach bug on Saturday and proceeded to throw up ALL day on Saturday and Sunday.  It was awful and I felt just terrible for her. What crummy timing, to say the least!

When I came back from running on Sunday, this is how I found her... so sad.

Fortunately the girls we met on Friday night were kind enough to invite me to join them all weekend (since Al couldn't even eat!).

On Saturday there was a dance party we went to...

Those girls LOVED taking shots!  The only difference is that the recovery period is much shorter for 26 year olds!

On Sunday the sun came out and Al was feeling a little better in the morning, so we got off and walked around Nassau...

Allison was such a trooper and tried so very hard to "will" herself to feel better.  Even though she wasn't feeling good, we still had a fantastic trip.  We laughed and laughed and talked and talked... it was just what we needed.

I love you, my sweet friend!

Dadisms...

Dadism:  Be nice to your mother.

My mom and dad would have celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary this past August.  They met in high school when they were 16 years old.  Dad was in the wrestling club and mom was writing a story about the sport for the school paper.  Dad thought she was beautiful and had big boobs.  And that was that.

They got married when they were 20 years old, bought their first home at 24, welcomed me at 25, and my sister, Megan, three years later.  They drove two Chevettes-- an orange one and a brown one and the orange one even had air conditioning and a working radio.  They were proudly living the American dream... 2 kids, 2 cars, 2 jobs, and a house of their own.

My dad always knew he was going to die young.  He just did.  As a result, it was incredibly important to him to save money and prepare for the future in case mom ever had to raise us alone.  Looking back, it was one of the kindest, most self-sacrificing things he and my mom did for all of us-- investing and saving so much, for so many years, even when times and money were tight and they had no one to turn to for help.

That's not to say he didn't like splurging on my mom.  One time my dad surprised my mom with a brand-new black Corvette, complete with a license plate that reads "TINYS" (his nickname for her since they were teenagers)!  Pretty damn cool.  She still drives it today.  He would also tell her to "Buy whatever you want, Tiny" and loved having her model the new clothes she bought.  My mom loves to find a deal though and the two of them would laugh at how much she was able to buy for next to nothing.  Stores have actually paid my mom to carry stuff home!

That's not to say my father was a saint... or easy to live with for all those years.  Then again I'm quite certain no one I've ever met is.  My mom comes closest I imagine and dad knew he won the lottery by marrying her.  What I know for sure is this... it would absolutely break his heart to know how much his absence is hurting my mom.  It would devastate him.

Although we all wish theirs had been a longer story, I am certain he is in heaven watching over my mom and all of us...