Yes, I am Alive!

I am back from my very long hiatus. Did you miss me like crazy?? I am not really sure why I stopped writing. I think I was sick of winter, sick of trying to write something witty every few days, and feeling a little overwhelmed with this family of mine. Not to mention, Taylor was in the thick of her competition cheerleading team, and apparently when your kid decides to become a competitive cheerleader, you, as a mother, do as well. (More on that subject later.)

Hopefully you like the new look of my blog. My very kind, very smart friend Sarah from Clover Lane has helped me every step of this makeover, because I am a little slow in the computer literacy category. I am still working on it, and may add a few things, but it's good enough for now, I suppose.

So many things have happened in our busy little family and I will proceed to bore you with all the details that you probably don't care about, but I feel the need to at least document everything so that in 20 years when I read this blog it doesn't appear that my life stood still since Taylor turned 16.

I am going to try to list everything in order as they occurred.

Way back in March, Taylor and I spent 2 long, grueling days downtown at the convention center for the Northeast's largest cheerleading competition. It is endorsed by The Hard Rock. The girls won the championship in their division, and were also awarded Grand National Champions. What does that mean? I guess it means they get to tote are around a banner and they get to put an autographed guitar in the trophy case at school. Apparently they had the highest score of all the teams  that competed at the competition. I think there were about 80 or 90 total. So I guess it was a pretty big deal. I was really proud of Taylor, and she worked really hard.

In April, Nick turned 33 (Yes, I said 33)

This absoluely adorable ball of fluff became a member of our family in May. His name is Giovanni, but we call him Gio.

Isabella finished her first year of preschool.

I turned 40 (Yes there are 7 years between Nick and me....My sister calls me a cougar)

Shea graduated from 8th grade and will be headed to High School shortly.

Isabella turned 4 this month

Taylor got her driver's license, got a job, and got a car all in a week. (More on the car later)

Isabella learned how to do the Airplane Float in swimming lessons (HUGE, HUGE deal!!) I signed her up for a group lesson at the beginning of summer and quickly realized that she was way behind all the other kids. She proceeds with caution on pretty much everything she does, so I wasn't surprised when she outright refused to put her face under water. The class was 2 weeks long, everyday for 30 minutes, 5 days a week. By day 3, all the kids but 2 were floating on their own in the big pool. And by day 9, all the kids were practicing the crawl basics on their own from their mother's arms 5 or 6 feet to the side of the pool. Meanwhile, Isabella and another girl were in the baby pool trying to work up the courage to put their faces in the water for more than 2 or 3 seconds. It is very important to me that my kids learn how to swim, and to swim well. It's not a competetive thing; it's a safety thing. So we decided to continue lessons with a private instructor and started going 2 days a week since the beginning of July. Isabella negotiated, argued and downright refused at times to let he teacher let go of her in the baby pool so that she would float on her own. Until one day last week, she started at the edge of the pool and just did it on her own like she had known for a long time. And I happened to have my camera in my bag. I was jumping for joy and her very patient, college-aged instructor looked at me with a huge grin on her face. It was a great day at the pool. She is now practicing the crawl to her instructor in the big pool from the steps and goes about 3 feet on her own all the while insisting that she can't do it.

That about sums it up. I will try to be more diligent in my documentation of our lives from here on in. If these darn kids would stop getting involved in so many activites I would have more leisure time to play on the computer. What do they think I am?? A mother???

16 Years Old

Clear the roadways, Taylor will be on them shortly and I won't be in the passenger seat hitting the imaginary break pedal under my feet.

Sixteen?? Seriously? How did it happen that I have a sixteen year old? I vividly remember being sixteen and it doesn't seem that long ago. I got my driver's license shortly after my birthday, and I decided to drive my friend to the movies to celebrate. I was obviously not an experienced driver at night because I was on the opposite side of the road and had no idea. My friend calmly said "Sandy, you might want to get back over in your lane". Somehow we made it to and from the movie theater that night and neither I nor she ever thought it was that big of a deal that I was driving on the wrong side of the road. Those are the kind of things that can bring a mother to her knees.

I suppose there are several milestone birthdays in a child's life that are marked with more importance than the rest. To me, this is the biggest one yet. This is what it's all about. All those years of teaching and guiding come down to this day. Have I taught her well enough to make good decisions and be resposible for herself and whom ever else should happen to be in that car with her? I think I have.

I am immensely proud of Taylor and all that she has accomplished. She has been (and still is) my greatest challenge in life. She is strong-willed, quick-witted and has an argument for everything. All the attributes that make her a tough child to raise, but will eventually make her a successful, independent, powerful woman. God help me to get her to that point!!

I love you Taylor! Have a very happy 16th birthday!!!

No More Babies in This House

It's official, my little baby boy is now a kid. That always seemed to be the turning point for my kids. Once they were two, they just appeared to grow up. How is this possible that 2 years have already gone by since Dr. Rao said those mind numbing words...."It's a boy!" And I said "Hmm, I don't think I've ever heard of one of those."

I have learned a lot from this kid in the last 2 years about boys. Some things I had heard about from other mothers; but the rest was best left to discover on my own, because, one, I wouldn't have believed it, and, two, I would have been horrified.

Here are some of the things that I have learned about boys:

1. They have no fear. They don't think before they act. They don't weigh the pros and cons in their little minds. They just go for it.

2. They love to jump from very high places.

3. They love to throw food and think it's wildly hilarious when the food hits their mothers.

4. They really can pee on demand and do so the moment their diaper comes off.

5. They are adorably loving and super cuddly, and I love my little boy so much it hurts.

Happy Birthday Nicholas, your family loves you so much!!

Payday Came

If you will recall, I stupidly made a bet with Nick last month and my overly confident self lost. Big. My part of the bet was that I had to cut my hair to my chin.

These are two of the pictures that I showed to my hair dresser.

Stop smirking. I didn't really think that she would be able to transform me into Julia, but I liked the style and the length. My hairdresser has hair exactly like mine, and I have been going to her for about 8 years. She's very tactful, but reasonably blunt. She kept using words and phrases like "big" and "a lot of hair". I was getting really nervous, but I told her to work her magic and make me look like Julia.

This is what I looked like when I came home from the Salon. (I always get it straightened when I get my haircut, because for me to straighten it myself would take at least an hour.)

And here I am "au natural". I don't love it, but I guess I don't hate it either. I am certain that I will never cut my hair this short again. It's just not me. The next bet I make with that man I married, the wager is going to be so low down and dirty, he won't be able to leave the house for weeks. Can you hear me cackling with glee?

Happy Birthday Shea!

Top Ten Reasons Why Shea is a Great Kid

1. She is honest (Sometimes brutally so)

2. She is faithful to what she believes in

3. She is smart

4. She is fascinating to talk with and has a very interesting view on many subjects

5. She loves to read

6. She loves her little brother and sister very much and tells them often

7. She is a great friend

8. She is not interested in all the latest and greatest fashion trends (She received a pair of Ugg boots for Christmas and returned them because she couldn't justify wearing a pair of $150 boots. Who does that???)

9. She is an incredible athlete

10. She is beautiful

Happy Birthday Shea! We love you so much!

The Kickoff

The birthday season is upon us, with the kickoff celebration starting with Miss Paige, my lovely young niece, who had the first celebration of the new year. She is technically the second of the year, after Shea, but we celebrated her birthday 2 weeks early. Paige will turn 12 on the 21st.

In our family, we have at least one birthday (usually 2 or more) every month of the year except for December. In our household, we have a birthday every month from now until May. Shea's is in January, Nicholas' is in February, Taylor's is in March, Nick's is in April and mine is in May. It's pure craziness. Poor Isabella has to watch us all have a party one by one and she has to wait an eternity until August for her party.

I am not sure what other families do, but we always invite the whole family over to celebrate each of our days. In addition, I have always let the kids have a "kid party". Shea's birthday is this Friday, so we are having the family over on Sunday. Planning is in full swing. I'm making lists, planning the meal, shopping and cleaning. I also let the kids pick their special meal on their actual birthday, and bake a cake for dessert. Then, because I thrive on absolute and utter chaos, I bake cookies or brownies for the kids to take to school to share at the lunch table with their friends. Thankfully, Shea was gracious enough not to request her kid party this weekend. I think we're going to try to squeeze it in at the end of the month, before I start the plans for the upcoming 2 year old of the house. (Small sob at the thought of him turning 2.)

Lurking in the back of my mind is Taylor's 16th birthday in March. I can't just treat it like any old birthday. Aren't 16th birthdays a big deal? I don't have the slightest idea on what to do to make it more special and a little more grand. I have two very different personalities to contend with. Taylor has the more-is-always-more mentality. Let's rent the Rock Hall and invite the entire 10th Grade class, while I pull up to the red carpet driving my new pink Porshe Boxter. Then there is my ultra conservative, money conscious, super responsible, never impulsive husband. I am not being sarcastic, by the way. These are truly some of his best attributes, and I am very grateful that he is the way he is. His stand on the party will go something like this - Let's have the same party that we always do. Just because she is turning 16 doesn't mean that we need to spend more, do more, have more. The budget, the budget, the budget......It's going to be so much fun in this house over the next few months I can hardly wait. I may check into the local loony-bin for some extra special fun.

You think my posts are few and far between now? Hopefully I don't let an entire 5 or 6 month span go by before I write something. Until then, wish me luck with all my party planning.

Guess Who Got a Haircut

Doesn't he look like a deer in the headlights? Notice the sucker in his hand, untouched. There was no crying, the nappy afro is gone, and the curls are still in place. Exactly what I was going for.

I Love a Good Bet

Nick and I are always betting on something. They are usually simple little bets like how much money is in the coin jar, or what type of breed a dog was at the park, or how old Angelina Jolie is. Sometimes there's a wager, but more times than not, it's just for fun. I'd like to think that I win more than I lose, but I am sure Nick will beg to differ. I am sorry to say that when I do win, I am not very gracious about it. I tend to rub it in a little by doing the I'm-a-winner-you're-a-big-fat-loser dance round and round his body.

Last night we went to Champp's for dinner. Nick ordered a Patty Melt and as an after thought, asked her to put mushrooms on it. The waitress did not write it down, and then went to 2 more tables after ours. I bet him that there would not be mushrooms on the patty melt, and he said there would be. (Yes this is the level of excitement that our life has become) The wager was, if there were no mushrooms on the sandwich, Nick had to wear his hair slicked back like a sleazy Italian for 3 days this week to work PLUS (this is a big one), I could purchase a new pair of Ugg boots that I have been eyeing. If there were mushrooms, I had to choose between cutting my hair to my chin, or tattooing Nick's name on my butt. (I know what you're thinking; I married a sicko) I think my hair will look like a coiffed poodle if I cut my hair that short, so I almost agreed to the tattoo. After all, what's 4 tiny little letters on a place where no one will see. That was until he informed me that it had to be his full name. First, Middle, Last and the suffix, Sr. That's 28 letters. Uh-uh fool, I went with the haircut. After all, hair grows back eventually, right? And he's the one that will have to look at me day after day until it does. So we shook on it. It was stupid, but all I could envision was how nice my new boots were going to look, and how funny it would be to watch him walk out of the house all week looking like Tony Soprano.

I underestimated the talents of our fine waitress, because sure as heck, there were mushrooms covering the entire top of that stupid sandwich. I LOST! And of course, I, being the mature person that I am, wished that he choked on one of those dumb things for the rest of our meal.

When we got home, Nick proudly got the laptop and started scouring the Internet for short curly hair cuts. Of course there aren't any because everyone knows you can't have short curly hair unless you look like Meg Ryan, WHICH I DON'T!! You can be certain that I will be looking for some other bet to wager with my darling husband where I don't have to cut my hair if I win.

So long Ugg's, I will visit you at Nordstrom soon. I promise!

I Am Just About Ready, and With 1 Day to Spare

The shopping is done (except for the food), the gifts are wrapped, and my house is trashed.

On the agenda today is: Clean house, finish laundry, grocery shop, find Shea something to wear for Christmas Eve, and help Shea make her friend's Christmas present.

I promised everyone some pictures of our decorated house, so I thought with it being 1 day before Christmas Eve, I should get on it, since no one will care how my house was decorated the day after Christmas.



I bought this Advent Calendar when Taylor and Shea were really little and it is the best one I've seen for little kids. It's by Play Mobil. Nicholas and Isabella have been single handedly ripping the boxes apart to get the toy on the inside. Some major surgery is needed on a few of them.

Don't you love these handmade gifts that the kids bring home from school? They are my all time favorite. Taylor made this in the 1st Grade.

At the time this picture was taken, our tree had no ornaments on it. There was an entire week where Taylor had something going on every evening. Decorating the tree is usually a family tradition where we all do it together. Taylor is very into traditions and not straying from them. Therefore, I waited a week until she was home so that she could be a part of the festivities. It ended up being just her and I and the little kids. So much for traditions.

Once the ornaments were hung, Nicholas started systematically removing the glass balls pulling the little metal thingy out and smashing the balls on our slate floors. It was tons of fun. The bottom half of our tree has no ornaments so it looks a little goofy.

Taylor and Shea are leaving for their dad's in the afternoon of Christmas day. The very next day, the tree will be down and out of our house. Nicholas will have to find something else to destroy.

This wreath is my pride and joy of all Christmas decorations. We really needed something large for the fireplace so that it wouldn't look lost, but most of the wreaths that we found were either too small or too expensive. We bought a bare wreath at Michael's, and then I bought pine cones, berries, and fruit and glue-gunned everything to the wreath. Because I am as creatively talented as a Chimpanzee, we bought the bow at Michael's. When the woman rang us up at the register, the bow itself was $30. Nick almost had a heart attack. So much for our homemade, bargain wreath. But I think it looks awesome, and I usually lie and say that I made the bow too.

After Isabella was born, I had pretty much decided that I was done having children. Hence the PEACE stocking holders. Nicholas gets the star since he is the littlest star of the family. Maybe he will get a stocking. I haven't decided yet. (Relax, he has a stocking. It just wasn't hung when this picture was taken.)

Merry Christmas everyone! Enjoy the day!

I Know, I Know....It's Been Weeks!

No I haven't fallen off the face of the planet. I'm busy! And unmotivated to write.

I will post some pics of Christmas decorations soon. In the meantime, here is a picture of my favorite animal at the zoo. I have nicknamed him Skeeterific. He reminds me of Skeet, our Golden Retriever (Whom we no longer have). Someday when I am feeling really sorry for myself, and want to bring myself down even further, I will tell you all about him and his brother, Hunter.

Oops...

Never sit on your mom's lap while she's eating a big sub from Jersey's Mikes.

Nature Hike (In Our Backyard)

On Friday, the weather was really nice, so I took the kids outside in the woods. We pretended we were explorers searching for treasures.

As you can see, neither kid has their "woods legs" yet. Isabella is much more cautious, by nature, so as soon as she would start slipping, she would sit down. Nicholas was running down the hills, and would do a full slip-on-a-banana-peel fall, roll over, get up, and start running again.

This is Taylor and Shea's fort that they made with friends the first summer that we moved in. (4 1/2 years ago) Still intact and quite impressive. It's a little tight inside, but I am sure Nicholas and Isabella will be able to continue building it sometime in the future to enlarge it and make it usable.

Here they are very impressed that they are capable of shaking a tree so hard that the entire thing moves. It was about an inch in diameter.

This is my favorite tree in our entire back yard. I know it's just a stump, but it was once a really huge tree. The tree was cut down a really really long time ago because the remains of the stump are very brittle and soft. I'd like to imagine that this tree was cut down maybe 100 years ago. And if the tree was that big 100 years ago, how long before that was it planted? Our development is new as of about 10 years ago, so why was this big tree cut down? I would love to find out the history of who lived on this land way back when.

This is in the side of our yard, and I am not even sure if this is our property or not, but the kids love to throw rocks and sticks in this creek and see how big of a splash they can make.

This was Isabella's first attempt at photography. Not too bad. She managed to get my entire body centered perfectly in the next picture. These don't look too different than the pictures I take. Is she that good, or do I take photos like a 3 year old?

After so many pictures, they were no longer willing to smile. They tried to give me their scariest faces.

And the winner is.......

New Favorite Purchase

Nick has been bugging me for weeks to buy flannel sheets for our bed. Our regular cotton sheets are just too harsh on his delicate skin apparently....So anyway....I found these great holiday sheets at Target over the weekend for $15 on any size! And they are really, really soft.

Of course, where ever I am, Tweedle-Dee and Tweedle-Dum are never far behind. The moment I had the bed made, it became playground central. Why is it so fun to jump on parent's beds? Even Taylor and Shea take running dives from the doorway of our bedroom onto our bed. No matter how much we yell at them, for some crazy reason, it's always worth the tongue lashing.