I'm a Hero

Not really but these two think I am.

Our knucklehead dog got stuck in some prickers in the woodsy part our neighbors yard, and was barking for me to find him. The only way to get to him was to go through the "forbidden zone" of our front yard. We have 2 areas on either side of our driveway that have a creek. One is the nicely landscaped creek and is very fun to play in. The other is swampy and yucky and poison ivy ridden, and no one goes there. Anyway, he was about 100 yards away completely stuck in a pricker bush. I got my long pants on and some old sneakers and set off to rescue him. I told the kids under no circumstance were they to follow me, and to stay on the side of the yard and wait for me. I got through the swampy mud and the poison ivy and the rest was fallen tree branches and tall weeds and grass. As I was carefully walking through the tall grass all I could think was that a snake just better not slither in my path or he would be truly sorry. I repeated over and over again "please don't let there be a snake, please don't let there be a snake". As I made my way to Gio, my kids started chanting "Go mommy go!; go mommy go!". It was hysterical. Once I reached him and untangled him, the kids started jumping up and down screaming for joy. I felt like a superstar as I dredged back through the swamp and weeds carrying our poor little poopsie to safety. It was the best. 

Here are some pictures of my obstacle course. The dog was somewhere slightly past where the sun is shining. See the basketball? It's just on the edge of the abyss, and no one will get it. It's been there for about 2 weeks. 

 Isn't that beautiful poison ivy climbing up the tree?

Why is it so easy to be a superstar to little kids? They require so little of you. Really all they crave is your presence and your love. At what age does that shift, I wonder? I don't remember when the older kids stopped thinking that everything I did or said was spectacular. It was such a gradual change that I didn't know it was happening until it was gone. When the girls were little I was so quick to want them to get older and move on to the next stage of childhood. I always thought things would be so much easier when they were older. Boy was I wrong. It's a terrible mistake to wish the time away, because you'll get that wish much quicker than you can ever anticipate. They are 15 and 17 and won't be home for much longer. I feel like I am running out of time, and I am not ready to let them go. I am trying to savor the small moments with the little kids as much as possible. I still catch myself wishing for easier days after a particularly tough one with crabby, whiney toddlers who've had no nap, but I am making an effort to enjoy these simple days, because when they are gone, they are gone for good. For now I will relish every "go Mommy go" that I can get.      

Winding Down the School Year

It's almost my favorite time of year!!! Summer break is rapidly approaching. No homework, no waking up at the crack of dawn, no lunch making duties. The only schedule we will have to worry about is an occasional practice, swimming lessons, and getting ready for vacation. Life will be good. In the meantime, May is filled with multiple activities in an effort to get it all in before summer. We started May with the Mother's Day Tea at preschool. That day also happened to be Isabella's Shining Star Day, and pretend Birthday. All the summer birthday kids have a random day in May to celebrate their birthdays at school so that they don't miss out on a party. It's very confusing to try to explain this to a 4 year old; but whatever. I just go along with what the teacher tells me to do.


Because it was Isabella's "birthday" and shining star day, I got to be the helper that day. It's a big deal to be the shining star. The kid gets to dress the weather bear, pick a science subject to talk about, feed the turtles, use the pointer during the alphabet, and hold the flag while the class says the Pledge of Allegiance. They also get to be the line leader for the entire day. It's very cool.


The last hour of class, all the moms came back, and we got to enjoy a great show of songs, and make a craft with our child and then have ice cream sundaes. The day couldn't have been more perfect.

Shea is running track again this year. I have only been to 3 meets this year. She pulled a leg muscle early on, and was out for most of the season. I thought for sure she would want to quit since she couldn't practice the running exercises, but she stuck it out. Now that she is back, her coach has her running the 100 Meter dash, the 200 M and the 4x100 relay. The 100 M is most definitely her favorite. Saturday was the conference meet for the JV team, and she took first place in the 100 M! We were so excited for her! Not too shabby for a girl who missed half the season!

(Shea is the one with the gray thick head band)

Prom was the next big event to hit our household. I remember prom being a really big deal. Just a few steps down from planning your wedding. When I was a Junior, my friend and I searched high and low for the right dress and neither of us could find what we were looking for. She (being the creative one) came up with the idea that she was going to design her dress and pay someone to make it for her. I though that was a fabulous idea and I happened to have a live-in seamstress that I just knew would want to do nothing more that to make me a prom dress. So my mom and I scoured the patterns at Jo-Ann Fabric's and found an idea that I liked and she went to work. The dress turned out spectacular, and NO ONE had a dress like mine. A week or so before prom, my boyfriend and I broke up. I begged him to take me anyway just so I could wear the dress. We went, and I had to listen to him make derogatory comments to me all night long and had a horrible time. It was a huge price to pay just to wear a dress, and definitely not worth it. But try telling that to a 17 year old. 

Taylor tried this dress on 4 times before she finally decided on it. Every time someone would tell her that they liked the other dress better, her face would drop. On our 4th time, we had 1 hour to spend at the mall. I told her to take this dress off so that we could go try on the other one at a different store. She wouldn't take the dress off! She kept staring at herself in the mirror and swaying her dress back and forth. I said, "This is ridiculous! You love this dress. Your decision is made - just buy the dress!" So she did, and she was ecstatic. Isn't she stunning?
 

Taylor has 4 1/2 inch heels on, and she's not that short. Her boyfriend is just really tall! I feel like a shrimp next to him!

The day after prom was Mother's Day. We had our annual brunch at a really cool place downtown with my family. As always, it was fantastic!

Later that afternoon, we went to my In-Laws for dinner. This is the only picture I have of the day, because my Mother-in-law has an aversion to photographs lately, so I honored her wishes being Mother's Day and all.

Just a few more events before it's officially summer, and it can't come soon enough! This summer is chock full of fun activities, and I can't wait to get started!

I Love the Carnival!

The town we live in is well known for it's maple syrup making. Every spring, most of the houses in the center of town and metal buckets tapped to their trees. I'm not sure what they do with the sap once the buckets are full. They must sell it to the syrup makers. The pancake breakfasts that various groups put on in the area must offer REAL maple syrup. No Aunt Jamima for this town. To kick off the maple syrup making, our town has a small carnival in the square and call it the Maple Festival. It's usually held at the end of April, which means it could be 80 degrees, or it could be 30 and snowing. This year, it was 50's and rain. (As is the trend lately) There was one day that it didn't rain, so that was the day that the entire town decided to go. It was packed, and there was mud every where, but the kids had so much fun. I have come to discover that there are kids who love rides and and there are kids who don't. Isabella loved every ride and wanted to go on the big kid rides. Nicholas was happy to ride the cars all evening. The merry-go-round was too fast, and if the ride went up in the air, forget it. The older girls don't like anything about the carnival, and they don't ever want to go with us. They don't like the rides and (gasp!!) they don't like the food. They can't be my children, because I live for fair food! It is my favorite thing to eat. I usually map out what I am going to eat prior to arriving, and I scope out the best french fry place and the best elephant ear place.

I am patiently waiting in line for another elephant ear before the parade started. 

The last day of the festival they have a parade, which is my second favorite thing to do. It's really small and has all the local teams, and fire departments, and the marching band.

Shea is the snare drummer with the smile on her face. Don't be fooled. She's not enjoying herself because she's marching in the parade. She is smiling from embarrassment because her friends were screaming her name a few people down from us. She's not a big fan of publicly showing off her drumming skills, and frequently changes her mind about whether she wants to join marching band next year or not. I'm really hoping she sticks it out.  

No parade would be complete in the whole county with out these old guys. I think they are part of the American Legion. Every parade we've been to around here, these fellows are in it. They race around in their little motorcycles and their mini cars and scare the heck out of little kids as they whip by, inches away from our feet. 

This is my kind of 4H group! A dog group?? This is so me! I wish I could join as an adult. I can just imagine my little Gigi-baby and me winning blue ribbon after blue ribbon for his total cuteness. We could walk in the parade and have a booth at the county fair!   

What a great way to kick off the spring and summer line up of carnivals, festivals, and fairs. I plan to drag my family to every last one, and eat my way through all of them!

Easter 2011

I have been having Easter dinner at my house for about the last 10 years. I really enjoy having it, but every year, I get myself completely freaked out about the cleaning, shopping, egg hunt and basket preparations. It always works out, but the week before, I am stressed out and snippy to everyone in the house. I consider myself to be a relatively laid back person. I don't tend to get overly worked up about too many situations. But when I am entertaining - I turn into a blubbering idiot a few days before the event. I scurry around the house and try to get everything done at top speed. And usually while I am in one room cleaning, my children are in another wreaking total havoc. Taylor and Shea were both in Florida for the whole week. Taylor had a National Championship cheer leading competition in Orlando, so her Dad went and took Shea along, so that they could combine it with a vacation. I really missed them and wished they were here for Easter, but it did make my life a little easier with 2 less kids leaving their stuff all over the house.

Somehow, by Sunday, moments before everyone was due to arrive, everything was done. The kids were even clean, which is always a plus.

We have so much candy it's ridiculous. I have been eating snickers and Reese's eggs like a fiend, which is great because we are going to Hilton Head in 2 months and I want to be as fat as possible when I get there. And don't even get me started on Easter grass. The stuff should be outlawed. 

              Isabella's Easter party at preschool

We also celebrated Nick's birthday on Easter, and he was so excited that he got to open presents! He took it like a champ and didn't look completely mortified. He only had 2 gifts to open since his parents and my parents had given him his presents prior to the party.  

Incidentally, Taylor's cheer leading team won the National Championship for both their tumbling and non-tumbling routines. I don't have any pictures yet since I wasn't there, but I will post some when I get them. I'm so proud of these girls. They have worked really, really hard all year long. And I am DONE with cheer leading for the year! No more meetings, fundraisers, or competitions at 7 AM on Sundays, and no more treasurer duties! Yippee!! (Until next year)