Sunday, December 28, 2008

Christmas 2008

2008 is almost at an end and I know I didn't post as much this year as I did last year, but who knew kids would make you so busy :)

Christmas Eve was spent with Rich's family as usual, and as usual, there were way too many presents for the kids to all bring home :) Christmas Day was my parents, and brothers, and my sister and brother-in-law (although they ditched us before dinner this year :) )

The kids pretty much got a lot of what they wanted (Sammy's list was 3 pages (He'll say it was 2 and a half) long!) But they loved everything they got, it was all open before dinner even started, and they were bored with before my parents even left :)

But here is a quick video of the two days.



By the way, I do have more photos of the first snowstorm as well as a visit with my best friends from college that will go up soon :)

Monday, December 15, 2008

Survived the storm

Yes, we did survive the storm, however, our basement didn't fare as well.

At about 4:10 Tim woke us up to tell us he had a bad dream. As he was heading back to bed, the power flickered. We went back to sleep until about 4:45 when we woke up to the sump pump alarm going off. And Tim was back in our room because he was scared that the power was out.

Well, Rich went down to find an inch of water already in the workshop room and coming down the hallway towards the finished part. So he woke me up and we started getting everything off the floor that we could. Only the furniture, entertainment center, and foosball table remained. And Rich was one of the first in line at 6 am at Home Depot to get a generator.

By the time he got back at 6:30, if you walked in the finished part of the room you could feel the buoyancy of the floor tiles. Now, the floor we used is dri-core with carpet tiles on top. Needless to say, the generator got the sump pump caught up to the water, but the damage was pretty much done. :( He spent most of the weekend ripping it up so we could dry it out. Still waiting to hear back from the insurance company.

The rest of the day was mostly spent entertaining bored children. I did get to go to lunch with my work group though while Rich took them to lunch for a while. We were just about to light a fire as the sun was going down when I noticed that the neighborhood up the hill had power. And in about 15 minutes, ours was back on too. So, all in all, we were one of the lucky ones. My sister-in-law is still without power in Oxford, and one of the daycare families was told it will be 2 weeks before they get theirs.

Hope everyone else is wel!

Friday, December 12, 2008

O, Christmas Tree

So, this is late...

We trimmed our tree last weekend. As usual the boys had fun, but it wasn't without its drama. Max broke an ornament, I had one string of lights that only half worked, but we had fun.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

He knows how to get himself out of trouble...

My children say some of the funniest things :)

Tonight, I asked my kids what they were going to get me for Christmas. Tim said, earrings and a necklace, Max said, Nothing and Sammy said, a robotic boyfriend. Where on earth he got that, I have no idea :)

But then tonight as Max was kissing me goodnight he said, "you're the prettiest mommy in the world."

Ok, he doesn't have to get me anything for christmas as long as he says things like that for a long, long time.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am very thankful for many things, probably too many to list here, so I'll leave you with this...

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Snack with the pilgrims

This morning Rich and I had snack with the Pilgrims.

This is an annual tradition that the first grade teacher puts on. They have completed their curriculum regarding thanksgiving and that part of our history. She makes pilgrim hats and bonnets for the children and they put a little play, answer questions about that time, and then serve snacks to the parents.

It is all absolutely adorable. Here are some pics:




Monday, November 17, 2008

You should see the other guy...



Now, his facial expression makes this look a little worse than it was :)

Saturday morning, I took all three boys to Timmy's first basketball practice. We were there pretty early, so Max and Sam also played around. Well, Max spotted the water fountain sticking out of the wall and decided to get a drink. When he was done, he bent down to pick up the ball between his feet and smacked his eye on the fountain.

I of course picked him up, but he only cried for about 30 seconds, I distracted him by getting him to pick up the ball upside down and off he went to play. Until I looked at him, and there was already a big lump, bruise, and bleeding. So I left the 2 older boys with other moms to wait for Rich and brought Max to the ER.

You would not have know this child was hurt because he climbed on anything and everything while we waited for the doctor. In the end, they glued the 1/4 inch cut above his eye. He still slept at my mother's that night, but he earned the nickname, "Pirate Pete" because he squinted all day long.. He was fine about sleeping on it though!

Now, if you ask him what happened, he'll tell you, "You should see the other guy!"

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

Legos and saving your money

Hmmm, not sure what is going on with us lately, since other than Rich and I being in school, we don't have much else to run around to :)

The boys are their typical selves. Although this past weekend, the older two got into Legos (the small ones that build really cool things) big time. Tim spent most of the weekend in his room building the legos quietly. Not watching TV or playing video games! I absolutely love that he is getting into this, but then I saw the price tag of these sets!!! some can get up to $40, $50, or $60. I told him to put them on his Xmas list and I'll tell his relatives.

IN either case, they still convinced me to take them to the offical lego store at the Natick Mall. They loved being in there and picking out which sets they want. And then convinced me to buy each of them one ($13 and $20) for which they each have to pay me back. IN fact, I am making them do an extra chore each day to make sure that they are working off their money.

I think that I may steal an idea from Rich for all of us. He is saving up for something specific and is making a big deal out of it by putting money in an envelope specifically for that. Well, I think maybe we should all do that. Pick something that we want and put a portion of the money that we get into that fund. Maybe they'll start to understand a little better. We'll see.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

post-halloween

I'm sorry I haven't posted halloween pictures yet. In fact, I really don't have that many. They didn't want their pictures taken! But here is what I have...

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Christmas Lists

The boys are starting early (which is good) in writing their Christmas lists. And I have to say that fulfilling them is definitely going to be a challenge this year... for different reasons for each kid!

Tim is really hard right now. We had a discussion last night about how he wants an iPod Nano, not the shuffle. And I told him that Santa only spends $200 on each kid (Ok, maybe a bad mommy move) and that if he got an iPod that he wouldn’t get a ton of other stuff. So he got sad about that. I had to tell him that as you get older you get more expensive gifts, but fewer of them. And I don’t think he liked that much.

My other problem is that I have to get Sam the same thing that I get Tim. sO now I am searching ebay to try and find deals on nanos (or deals on the other stuff that I am getting them!)

And Sam has some crazy stuff on his list, that is not likely to happen. For example, there are these silly necklaces that he gets out of vending machines for 50 cents. His list includes 200 of those. It also includes 120 basketball cards (more doable) and 35 DS games (which run at $20-$40 a piece). He also wants multiple wallets so that he can have one for buying Celtics stuff, one for buying other stuff and one for saving. (creative idea i guess, at least he is thinking about partitioning his money out some).

And Max is just tough because there aren't a ton of toys that I think he'll really play with consistently. We have so many toys in our house that really just cause clutter.

Oh well, I'm sure Santa will figure it out for me, right?

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Weekend recap

Well, the weekend isn't quite over, but I'm procrastinating from doing homework!

Tim's last football game was yesterday!! Yay, we get part of our lives back now. We won't be running around crazy every evening! So this was the Mitey-Mite bowl that they were playing in, sort of like a super-bowl for them. I got there late since we had soccer for Sammy.

When I got there, there was no score, but it seemed like the team was playing well. Tim seemed to always know where the ball was going because whenever it came to his side, he was involved in the tackle that brought the other team down. When they got the ball back, he was blocking all over the place and even had a couple of really good runs.

We scored on a really good run, they also scored when this one really fast kid ran it in, and then we had a 30 yard run to take the lead. The last play of the game, the other team had the ball, they threw the pass and Tim intercepted it. That ended the game and he was so excited that he was nearly in tears. He was amazing and did all the things that we had been telling him he should be doing to be playing like a team. We are very proud of him (and excited that we don't have to take him to practice for a long time... well, at least until basketball starts.)

Now wer are off to Target to buy our Halloween candy! There is a reason I don't buy it until it is almost here!

Friday, October 24, 2008

Just a quick catch up...

Max:
Most of the time my kids don't just do chores without being asked. But recently Max has done a really good job of noticing when Lucy needs food or water. Yesterday morning he was getting water from the cooler and I thought he was just getting a drink... butt then he went and got more. Well, come to find out, Lucy needed water and he just kept filling the bowl all the way to the top. This dog will now have Poland spring water until sometime next week!

Sammy:
For some reason Sammy has been complaining about not being comfortable when he is sleeping. He complains that his back or waist hurts, then crawls into our bed and goes back to sleep. Last night was a particularly restless night (for both of us). We bought him a new mattress and everything, so we aren't sure what is going on here.

Timmy:
Tim has started to become more responsible lately. Rich and I closed the pool this weekend and needed an extra hand, well, Tim came out without complaint, helped us out, and went back to what he was doing (usually Tim isn't up for helping out!) Oh and this is what he brought home from school last night:



Addendum... Just for reference, that is Tim lying on the ground in his football uniform (he is number 13 and has his helmet on) and Rich is taking care of him.

Sunday, October 19, 2008

PumpkinFest and leaves

This weekend was a busy one. Soccer and football practice and then we still made it out to PumpkinFest. But before I get to that, I have to tell one story about soccer. It is coed and one of Sammy's friends is on our team. They were playing together and she shot the ball on him. Well, she shot it right in his private parts. Which he laughed off at first, but then turned to tears. Her response to me was, "You should just put some ice on it." Then told me that her mom tells her to just shake it off when she gets hurt. I told her that he'd shake it off, it might just take a little longer!

So Pumpkinfest... This is Hudson's fall festival with games, prizes, food, Pumpkins and other activities. This is where there is a big jack o'lantern contest, although we never stay late enough to see them lit.

The boys did great in all the games and came home with lots of prizes. There was also some big blow up slides and a lazertag game. They had a ton of fun there!!

On Sunday, we had Tim's football game in the morning and then Sam's friend Jaxon came over for a playdate. While he was here, I decided to go out and rake the leaves, and surprisingly, all the boys were more than happy to help out, as long as they got to jump in the leaves when we were done.

Here is our weekend:

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Open house at the firehouse

This past weekend, as an end to fire safety week, Marlborough had an open house at the fire station. In addition to the giveaways, popcorn and pizza, the kids also had the chance to see the trucks, spray some hoses, see a car being opened with jaws of life, and to experience the smoke house. The smoke house is basically a trailer setup like a home where they can close the doors, pump it with fake smoke (still looks like smoke, but doesn't hurt you) and you can practice getting out the right way.

We didn't get to see the jaws of life since we had to go to football practice, but they had fun spraying the hoses from the little hummer that they use for forest fires.



And I have to say I am so proud of all three of them for how they answered the fire fighters questions when they were learning what to do in case of an emergency. Prior to pumping the smoke house with smoke, the firefighter sat with the kids (my three and 1 other boy) and talked about what to do in an emergency and how to call 911.

Now, at daycare, my provider practices the kids addresses with them every day. And this week, she did an entire theme for fire safety week. When the firefighter asked the kids what number to call in an emergency, you can bet my 3 year old piped up quickly with 9-1-1. And then each kid got to call 911 and give their name, their address, and their emergency (even Max). Although shy, they all did it perfectly.

Then they went upstairs to "be in the bedroom" when the smoke alarms went off and the smoke came in. Well, the smoke alarm scared Max so he came outside before the smoke. But the other 2 learned that they should check the door to be sure it isn't hot and to crawl backwards down the stairs and to crawl out to stay below the smoke. They did great and I think having that experience will be invaluable if something ever happened in our house.



So, Thanks to the Marlborough Fire Department for their open house!

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Coloring

This morning Max said that he wanted to color. I was psyched, it is not often that Max asks to do something quiet. He doesn't sit still!!!

But then he walked into the living...



Thank god that I am smart enough to buy the washable markers. I put him right in the tub and all was well.

So, right now he is at my parents house... which I should remind my parents to watch him... (he is my kid and I carved the word weeds into one of their dining room chairs when I was a kid).

Then we came home and I put the dog out and not only did that child color himself (and my dining room table), but he also drew a line right down the middle of the dog's back!

This kid is definitely a challenge... but he's so darn cute!!!

Thursday, October 9, 2008

Question of the day

Every day at the after school program, they ask a question and have everyone give an answer. Some recent questions have been things like, "What is your favorite number?" or "Who is your favorite athlete?" "what is your favorite sound?"

Yesterday it was, "Who would you be if you could be someone else for 1 day?" My children's answers?

Tim - My dad
Sam, Dave, the guitar teacher

So, now I'm thinking about who I would want to be for 1 day... and I'm not really sure who I would want to be... probably someone on the women's world cup soccer team.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

"Mom, what does gay mean?"

So, I'm in the bathroom this morning when Sam knocks on the door (this is progress, they don't just walk in anymore!) and says, "Mom what does gay mean? Cuz Time keeps calling me gay."

I said, "we'll have this conversation when I get out of the shower."

So while we are all in the kitchen getting ready to walk out the door I ask Tim what he thinks gay means, and as I figured, he didn't know.

So I said, "Well, it has two meanings, first it means, really happy. And second, you know how Mommy loves Daddy and I'm a girl and he's a boy. Well, sometimes, boys can love boys and girls can love girls and sometimes you can't pick who you love. So they use the word gay to describe that."

Then I was telling this story to my daycare provider and another mom, and they both sort of balked at the fact that I told them the truth. They thought I should have just said it meant happy and that we don't call people that.

And I sort of realized that I want to be the kind of parent that is honest and upfront about difficult conversations. So I feel a little bad, but not too bad.

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Funny Max story...

So in the midst of all of our activities this weekend, we were in the car a lot. Which meant I tried very hard to make sure that the boys went to the bathroom before we left to go anywhere.

Well, at one point while we were heading to Tim's football game, Max said that he had to go to the bathroom. We were close to the field so I told him that he had to "hold it". His response to me was, "I can't!! I'm sitting on my butt." Apparently, he thought he physically had to hold it :)

Very cute!


Wednesday, September 24, 2008

New rule: No yelling

Soooooo, most people know that I am a yeller. I do feel bad about this, really. So today I decided that the rule for this evening was "no Yelling" by anyone. Rich is in school tonight so it is just me and the boys.

Well, when I got to pick up Max, he gleefully told me that he had No timeouts!! This is amazing because he averages 3 a day. Not good. SO I gave him the reward of choosing dinner. He picked the local pizza place and the other boys were thrilled. So we had dinner and ice cream and now we are home just hanging out. In fact, I haven't yelled once and really, the boys have behaved really well.

But then again, I'm just about to tell them that it is time to brush their teeth and climb in bed... let's see if anyone yells about that!

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Wedding Weekend

Whew! I know it is Tuesday, but it was a long weekend!!!

One of my best friends from high school got married this weekend. And she made a weekend out of it. We went to Newport Friday night and dropped in on the cocktail party. We didn't stay long, but it was long enough to say hi and realize that I miss hanging out with my high school friends.

Saturday they had scheduled an afternoon sailboat ride around Newport harbor. We hung out with my three of my friends most of the time, as well as one of my friends moms. Then that night all the friends of the bride and groom went to a rather interesting dinner and went back to the hotel to have ice cream from Newport Creamery :)

Then Sunday we had a beautiful brunch with Barbie, Rob, and Scott. We sat overlooking the harbor while we ate. Then we headed to the other hotel where we were staying that night for the wedding and again went out back and sat on the lawn just chatting and relaxing. I don't know when the last time I just got to hang out and relax was.

Then that night we enjoyed a beautiful wedding. Here are a couple of pics:


Wednesday, September 17, 2008

just checking in...

Hi everyone!

I know it has been a while, but it is going to be until we get to a point where things are a little bit quieter. Let me see if I can remember all the things that have happened since the last time I wrote.

I went to dinner with my sisters-in-laws. It is nice that we can all get along and talk about how they and Rich are alike and different. They are a lot of fun and it was a nice night out.

Sam had his first soccer practice with Mom as coach. It was sooooo much harder than I thought it would be. The kids are great and the head coach is really nice, but we were not very organized and I think that I will put way more planning into the next session to make it go a little more smoothly. The kids had a great time, so that is what matters right?

Tim had another football game. Since the 'quarterback' got sick from what Tim had, the coach 'punished' him by making him play quarterback some of the time... he was psyched for that punishment :) In total, he ran for a bunch of yards, had 1 touchdown and played 5 different positions in total.

Max continues to be more of a handful than the other 2 ever were, but he is so damn cute it isn't funny!

Rich and I are still plugging away at school. I am really enjoying my class, Managing organizational change. The professor is very engaging and it really makes me think about how I manage my team.

This weekend, my friend Jodi is watching the boys so Rich and I can go away to a wedding. My best girlfriend from high school is getting married in an all-weekend event. We are using this weekend as our 10 year anniversary getaway, complete with hot air balloon ride, and lots of relaxation. (Of course I am panicing about how the kids will be for Jodi and will she be able to do all of the activities that the boys need. I know she'll be fine, but I'm panicing anyway!!! So much to get ready for her before we leave.

At least my parents will take the boys for an afternoon to give her a break. Yup, that's right, they are going to go watch my cousin's football game. Tim thinks that Joe is pretty much the coolest kid ever. He loves hanging out with him. In fact they all do. :)

I'm sure they will have fun and so will I, but I'll also worry, well at least a little bit!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Sick already???

How can my kids be sick already, they haven't even been in school for a week. Well, let me back up...

Saturday Max started to be really cranky and then got a fever. he went in and out of the fever until very early Sunday morning, but passed it quickly with no other symptoms. All was well which meant he could go to daycare on Monday... where I found out a bunch of the other kids were sick.

Well, yesterday I got a call from the school nurse telling me that Sammy had a temp of 103.9 and was complaining of a headache. I picked him up, a little tylenol and he was doing well. We went to Tim's football practice where Sam started to get hot again so Rich took him home. But then at the end of practice I could see Tim was crying. I went out and found out he had a crazy headache and was getting a fever.

Well, both of them were home today with hand-foot-mouth disease, BUT they haven't had headaches all day, so they can go to school tomorrow.

In other news... if anyone wants to see some pics of TIm playing football, go here:

http://www.brianpsmith.com/jump/ayf08f


Click on Hudson, then click on Jr Mitey Mites, then the game against Leicester-Spencer... He is Number 13 in red. If you are asked for a password, it is helmet. There are a bunch of him running and a few of him tackling.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

First day of school

Well, it has come and gone. The typical chaos of the first day was all here, but of course as I stood there watching them see old friends, get excited about new teachers, and just generally look so much more grown up, I got teary eyed :) Is anyone surprised?

Here are a few pictures from the first day:

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Sorry it has been so long!!!

Really, I warned you that things were going to be chaos from now until Christmas :)

Let's recap the week and weekend...

Last week, one of the highlights was Sam's 6th birthday. Despite not having a friends party, we still celebrated that night with cake and presents. He got a guitar and lessons and a new Nintendo DS with a game. It helps that lots of people have sent him money so he can buy himself additional games. :)

Another meaningful note from last week was me seeing my allergist. My eczema was so bad last week, that I just couldn't take it anymore and he put me on a restrictive diet. Meaning that since Thursday, I have only been able to eat, beef, lamb, rice, potatoes, lettuce, and water. All of it plain, only flavored with salt. While I was excited about this on Wed, I became very disenchanted quickly. Sat. I added corn and yesterday I broke down and added diet coke/pepsi. Tonight I will add in fish. The hardest part about this is breakfast, the biggest upside is that I've lost 5 pounds.

Timmy had another football game on Sat. and of course he continues to play really really well. He ran for probably 40 yards, breaking 7 (yes he counted as he went) tackles to score his one touchdown for the game. He is loving it! I have to remember to call my grandmother and aunt to see if they would like to come out for a cookout and to see Tim's game this weekend against Lincoln, RI!

Sunday we went up to visit my Great-Aunt Betty. She lives just North of Keene, NH and it is just beautiful up there. We played in her big yard and then went over to the Surry Mtn. beach, where our list of incidents began. Luckily, none of them were with us... as we were driving in, two bicyclists were driving down the driveway ahead of us and one of them wiped out. We stopped to help and my guess is that he has a broken nose and concussion. Then as we are sitting on the beach and playing, a police car, fire truck, and truck pulling a rescue boat come roaring down the driveway. Across the lake there was someone in a kayak or canoe who was ill, vomitting and unresponsive. Then finally on our way home, we drove by a road that was blocked by police where you could see that a motorcycle accident had definitely occured. We counted that as our third incident for the day and pretty much figured we were done for the day.

Monday, we visited our friends Jeff and Kirsten in their new house. It is a gorgeous house with a big backyard. The boys all had fun playing and I even enjoyed my steak that day because it was actually just off the grill instead of re-heated for once!

And now we're back to the grind. Tomorrow is the first day of school and the boys are totally ready to be there! Pictures of the first day will be posted tomorrow night :)

Sunday, August 24, 2008

WOW... all I can say is, Wow!

We just got back from Tim's first full football game. Last week was a shortened game on half a field and each team had equal offense and defensive time with the ball. This week was a real game.

Tim again played every play on offense and defense. The very first play of the game we were on offense, and they hand the ball to Tim who runs it for over 10 yards. They didn't get very far with that possession and the other team had this one kid who was amazing, so we went down 14-0.

Then on another possession we drove the ball down to the 5 yard line, it was the fourth down and they gave the ball to Tim who ran it in for the touchdown! I was jumping up and down, it was awesome. Then later in the game, they again gave the ball to Tim and he then proceeded to break a couple of tackles and run 50 yards in for the touchdown!! It was crazy!

Our defense is still learning and really struggled with the other teams star player, but Tim had a couple of good tackles on Defense. Then our third touchdown happened when our other strong runner was given the ball and started his run, Tim ran over had a HUGE block for the kid who ran it in. If Tim hadn't blocked him, he would have gotten Dayshaun.

At the end of the game, the coach called out that Tim and Dayshaun were the two stars for the game. Of course, I'm still not allowed to talk to him about it because I talk too much. And instead of being happy about the game, he ended up angry cuz 3 of his teammates got hurt and he thinks that the other team did it on purpose. Trying to reason with him after a football game is not fun :)

Another game next week!! Oh, and I realized I probably won't post too much video, because I start taping a play and then because I am watching the game, the camera ends up pointed at the crowd, the ground, or the sky and all you hear is me yelling :( I'll try better next time :)

Friday, August 22, 2008

Wow, I really am MIA huh?

Like I said before, things are just crazy right now. The weekends are the down time and even those are a little busy :) Here's a quick update on what everyone is doing...

Max: is his crazy little, skinny self. We rearranged the boys rooms, first Timmy's a couple weekends ago and then Sam and Max's because Sam needed a change. So we separated the bunk beds and they are both on the floor now. Well, Max has figured out how to jump from his bed, to a toybox, and then over on to Sammy's bed. I'm just waiting for a broken arm.

Sammy: Has gotten into a little trouble lately, Ok a lot of trouble. To the point where I have had to be a good, all-be-it mean mom and have canceled his birthday party. Even after sending invitations, I have had to go back and contact all the kids and tell them the party is off. He better learn his darn lesson because this is one of the hardest things that I think I have ever done.

Timmy: Is absolutely loving playing football and he is even pretty good at it. He has a game every weekend and practices a few times a week. I think that he is ready to go back to school though because he needs some time away from his brother! THey don't go back until Sept. 3 though!

Rich: is in full-fledged training mode for the next bike season. Which is good because he loves it, but is bad for me because he is eating all the time and that is hard for me as I try to get back on weight watchers :) But he is good about trying to help me out.

Me: still working, driving kids around, and playing soccer. Pretty soon Rich and I will be going back to school. Both of us have this semester and next and then we are finally done, Rich with his MBA, me with my Masters. We can't wait to be done.

Well, I better get back to work and earn my paycheck!

Saturday, August 16, 2008

sorry I've been MIA...

Things have been crazy around here lately...

Work is actually moving along at a reasonable pace, but the after work stuff is a little overwhelming right now.

Timmy is into his second week of football, but this is the first week that they have worn pads and he absolutely loves it. On Tuesday he watched the clouds roll in and was really hoping that it didn't storm because, "he really wanted to tackle somebody". And today was his first scrimmage. He played in every play, both offense and defense and even had to play go to him a couple of times. He played really well.

Just as a heads up to the family... Timmy has a home game on Sept. 7 at 4:00 pm against... wait for it... Lincoln, RI. So, I'll have a small cookout for anyone that wants to come out and then we can go over and watch Tim play against Joey's hometown :)

Again, I've got some video, I just haven't put it up yet.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Weekend Recap...

Let's just say that it has been a long weekend. Rich has been away for his 24 hour mountain bike ride and I have had the kids virtually alone since Friday morning. I did take the kids to my parents on Saturday and that was helpful.

My parents and brothers are always good about taking the boys and playing with them to give me a break. We brought them out to lunch and in the pool and each one got to take a turn on "helping" grandpa mow the lawn. The funny thing was, Tim and Max were happy to help drive the mower, while Sam just rode along sticking his fingers in his ears because it was too loud ;)

One of the funnier Max moments was when I let the boys try the games I had on my iPhone. I have a scribble app where you just draw with your fingers. The first time that Max drew with his finger, he took his finger off the phone and looked at it trying to figure out how the color came out of his finger and got on the screen. It was totally cute :)

Now, I'm wondering why I'm not in bed... especially because tomorrow brings Rich back to me.

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Game 1 down...

Well, like I said, this week is pure chaos. Football four nights this week and baseball three nights. Luckily, football is not nearly as time consuming and exhausting as we thought it would be. But he is loving it. And he found out that his first scrimmage is Aug 16. and he got his position assignment... Cornerback... according to Rich this is the same position as my cousin.

But then we went to his baseball game where he played catcher for the first two innings. He came over to me, my sister, and parents prior to his ups to tell them to come stand behind the backstop because we could see him bat better. He walked his first at-bat, but then his second at bat he hit a double... which is a big deal in this league because since the kids pitch, there are a lot of walks and very few hits. If I can get any of the video from the last game posted, I will.

Tomorrow is more of the same, football right after work and then another baseball game at 7:45!

Sunday, August 3, 2008

One of those moments...

Have you ever read a story about how a child something and you think, "where on earth were this kids parents?" Well, I can answer that...

Today we went to watch Tim's baseball game and since it rained on and off, we backed the minivan up to the fence, opened the tailgate and sat on the back of the car to watch the game. It was working pretty well. Sam and Max were inside the car watching a video and Rich and I sat on the back.

And then the car started... yes, Max had climbed into the drivers' seat and turned the key. Rich and I had a brief second where we looked at each other and I ran for the front seat and grabbed the keys. That child would be the one to do something like that!!!

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Have I mentioned I love my company???

So most of you know that my company is great. But it only gets better...

we had our quarterly meeting today and not only did an astronaut come to talk about how they use our software in a lot of aspects of getting up into space, but we also got told about our 25th anniversary.

So you might remember that for the 15th we went to the Bahamas and for the 20th we went to Disney... well, for our 25th they are taking over a cruise ship and sending us on a cruise for 4 days. We leave from Miami on Feb. 5 and sail to Cozumel and back!

Can't wait... although this is pretty much the same cruise that I was just on in May :)

Someday he'll make 70 mil...

So, I can only tell this story second hand, but it is amazing...

We've been really busy this summer and part of that is Timmy playing summer baseball. Which he loves and we love to watch. Although sometimes it is hard because it is the first level where the kids pitch, so you can imagine that the accuracy is pretty bad and we end up watching the kids walk a lot.

Well, after I left his game the other night (Sam and Max were driving me crazy) Tim's friend Evan got up to pitch. Well, this kid had great accuracy so was throwing strikes, but he didn't have much speed so the kids were able to hit him. This really made it a game. Now Tim tends to catch a lot (which is important with all the balls that fly in from the pitcher), but this time he was playing outfield.

Well a kid cracked a hit right out to him in right field. He bobbled it a little and it got past him slightly, so the batter was waved on to go to second... well Tim hussled after the ball threw it all the way in to the 2nd baseman where he had plenty of time to tag the kid out. Apparently our whole team went crazy and the mom's that also weren't there and that I've seen since were even talking to me about it.

So sad I missed it...

I will also warn you that next week is going to be even worse time wise for us. Tim starts football practice 4 nights a week, and it is also the last week of baseball, so this poor kid will have football from 5:30-7:30 and then go straight to his night games under the lights at 7:45. The games won't even be over until 9:30 or so. Luckily baseball is only 3 nights!!!

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Party...

and !

That's a big sigh as I sit down on the couch and put my feet up... I'm trying to figure out what I need to do to convince Rich that he wants to rub my feet ;)

Today I threw a party for my whole Usability group. Meaning everyone that reports to my boss was invited... that's 42 people (and their families). Luckily only about 12 or so were able to come, so we had about 28 adults and a dozen kids (perfect size).

The party was really fun, even though I didn't get to socialize as much as I would have liked since I was running around being hostess. Almost all of the kids were in the range of 3-7 and they were really good together.

Thank God for my sister... despite having her car smashed in from a hit and run last night, she still took her husband's car and went out to my parents today... taking Max with her. I'm really not sure if I could have gotten ready for this party with him around. Thanks, Les!

Ok, as I type this, Rich is rubbing and I didn't even have to offer him anything. He loves me.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Holy Hotness, Batman...

There is a reason that I don't like to cook when its really hot. (Ok, fine I don't like to cook at all, but being really hot gives me just another excuse to get take-out.) But today I remembered why it really is true when its hot. I baked chicken this evening since we have been eating out too much, well, it was so hot that Rich had to even leave the table to cool off during dinner.

This prompted him to put in the air conditioners. So it is starting to get really nice in here... the one problem is that the boys still just have window fans and there is a storm on its way.... Hopefully we'll hear the storm (or the boys crying from the sound :( )

BTW, I'm finally back to work for a full week starting tomorrow.

Saturday, July 19, 2008

July 18, 1998

Here are a couple of pictures from July 18, 1998...


Friday, July 18, 2008

Happy Anniversary to us...

Today is our tenth anniversary! It sometimes boggles my mind that we have been married for 10 years and we're both still so young... it is unusual now!

13 years ago today, I met Rich on a blind date. One of his best friends was dating one of my sorority sisters and she hooked us up... and despite his friends' first impression of me (he thought to himself, "This is never gonna work!" the second he saw me.) here we are today.

It was within a couple of months that we first said I love you and then it was 11 years ago today that he proposed. And let me tell you, he's lucky that he proposed that night because he was really pissing me off leading up to it... but he knew that and it was on purpose :)

And 10 years ago today was a beautiful fun wedding, though one of the reasons that he'll never forget it, is that he made a huge running faux pas when someone asked how many meters were in a mile.

And here we are today, I spent my morning at Chuck E Cheese's, my afternoon in the pool with the boys, my evening playing soccer and the night folding laundry and getting a shoulder massage from him :)

And really I love him more everyday.

Tomorrow, we'll be romantic and get some quiet adult time dinner! (If I remember and have time tomorrow I'll scan and post a wedding picture.)

vacation pictures

So, We did a lot on vacation...

First we went up on Thursday and just hung out... in fact, my dad, gram, and brother took the boys to Chocorua lake to swim.

Then on Friday we went to White lake where the boys swam and then my dad and Rich split turns in taking the boys kayaking. They loved it.

On saturday we went to the water park, which we all absolutely loved.

Sunday was story land, and monday was cannon mountain, mini golfing, and a campfire with smores.

Here are the pics:

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

We're baaaacckk!!

Well, it was fun and exhausting at the same time. I have a lot of great photos that I will share, but for tonight, i am sitting and chilling in my own bed ;)

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

headed for vaca...

Well, today was technically the first day of vacation and a day home running around with kids is NOT a vacation!!! Thank god they are in bed now (I'm sure you all heard me sigh when I finally sat down.)

The boys and I went out for breakfast, cleaned my car, packed, grabbed a few things at Target, went swimming in the afternoon while Lilly watched, dropped the dog at the kennel, packed, had dinner, went to Tim's practice (which was then canceled due to a t-storm), packed, went swimming again, and finally went to bed.

But now, I'll finish my beer and go pack (and clean) some more :(

Can't wait to be up in Tamworth tomorrow!

Monday, July 7, 2008

Summer days...

I have to say that over the past couple of weekends, I have taken the boys out to my parents to swim and other than Tim having an attitude, it has been a blast. This time I actually remembered the camera... Enjoy!

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

The Cardiologist and my B.P.

Yesterday was not the kind of day that you should have when visiting the cardiologist. Everything I had said my appt. was at 1... but when I walked in they said it was at 3... OK, no big deal these things happen, so they still took me in to do my BP and my ekg and said they would try to get me in sooner... (B.P. was 142/90)

So I waited and waited and finally at 2 told them I was running back to work to get my laptop because I might as well get some work done while sitting there. Got back and found out there is no wireless in the office so I couldn't really do any work!

So I played games on the computer and at 3:30 (yes, 30 minutes after my appt. was supposed to happen), I shut my computer. At 3:50 someone who works there was walking through the waiting room and said, "You're still here? How long have you been waiting?" I said, well, my appt. was at 3, but due to a mistake, I've been here since 1. So she went over to the receptionist and they got me in within 5 minutes.

So, by the end of it, the verdict is... All of my tests were normal, so there is no extraordinary reason for my B.P. to be on the high side. I can go back on Birth Control... and she put me on a Calcium blocker and we'll see how that goes.

Monday, June 30, 2008

What a great day yesterday...

Yesterday, the boys and I headed out to my parents to hang out and play in the pool. I really wish I had brought my camera. For the first time since having three children, I actually swam in a pool at the same time as all of them and not a single one was holding on to me.

Tim is a full-fledged fish... he was practicing spin jumps and dives off the deck and progressively practiced swimming further and further across the pool without stopping. He even started trying to swim under water! He was amazing.

Sammy is still building his confidence and so we had him try using swimmies, but at first I pushed him too hard. I kept trying to get him to practice swimming and he clung to me. But then, I told him, we were done, no more teaching and that he could just have fun and he went over to the side of the pool and practiced by himself... letting go and counting how long he could do it... once he reached 18 I told him that was like swimming halfway across the pool and off he went. He never looked back he was all over the pool by himself, swimming or just floating.

And Max... my little shark :) I bought a bathing suit that has the floaties inside and also handed him the barbell... he practiced for a few minutes and then realized with both combined, he could swim all over the pool by himself.. He kept yelling, "I'm doing it myself! I'm doing it myself!" Of course I followed him around the pool, but he loved it!

Of course, by the end of the day they were exhausted... but as usual, Tim fell asleep in the car and the other two were awake the whole way home!

Saturday, June 28, 2008

3 haircuts, a birthday gift, and a birthday party...

That pretty much sums up our day. Rich was running a race this morning, so I took the boys to get haircuts and then we picked up a birthday gift for Josh. We headed home where the boys terrorized each other and then we headed to the birthday party, where Timmy got annoyed that 3 year olds don't understand nor follow the rules of games such as duck, duck , goose... (every kid got up to run when someone said goose), or read light green light, no one actually listened. No, Timmy isn't competitive or anything!

Tomorrow, we are headed to my parents to hang out and swim... it should be fun as long as the weather holds out!

Monday, June 23, 2008

My football player...



Watch out, Joe!

Weekend Recap...

So another weekend has flown by...

Friday night I went to have a drink with my next door neighbor. We both sort of needed to just get out for a little while.

Saturday we spent the morning bathing the children and trying to keep them clean before going to get their pictures taken at Sears. Of course, this time, Max was the well-behaved one while Sam had a hard time listening and doing what the photographer asked. Afterwards, we went home and they dropped me off so I could go for a run and they went to pick up Rich's bike at the Bike shop. Then we just played outside, had dinner and chilled.

Sunday we went to cheer daddy on at his bike race. The boys love being the loudest people at a race. In fact, another guy that Rich knows was cheering him on and Rich never heard him because of our children :) After that they dropped me off to have lunch with my sister and my best friend from high school.

We had a ton of fun reminiscing and hearing about all the plans for her wedding. It was nice to just hang out for a little while on a weekend. Of course it was short-lived though because Sammy had a birthday party to go to. Rich had to wrangle Tim and Max while we were there and we were both pretty much exhausted by the time we put them to bed :)

Only 2 weeks until vacation! We should have a ton of fun at Tamworth this year, the boys are really looking forward to it!

btw... Timmy picked up all of his football equipment recently, so we had him try it all on. I'll upload the picture soon!

Friday, June 20, 2008

Thoughts about My Dad... since I neglected to send a card...

So quickly, some thoughts about my dad...

There is no one that I am more gullible with... I will really pretty much believe anything that he says... "upside down H", and "ten Q" (stupid math problems).

There is no one more patient than my dad... he was the kind of dad that was so patient, but when he exploded, you were better off far, far, away...

My dad is not openly affectionate... it is sort of the way he was raised, that's how my Grand-dad was, but I do remember 3 specific times of hugging my dad... once was when my high school basketball team lost in the tournament, and the other was at my grandparents' funerals.

My dad (and I) have both inherited the crying gene from my Nana... I am a sap.. but so is he, when he watches my boys playing in Tamworth in the same place that he played as a boy, he tears up... it is so endearing to me!

There is no one else that I would go to for financial advice and no one else that I know that is truly reasonable about any situation.

Things I remember about my dad...

* racing to the green "pole" (cable box) outside our house
* Him spinning us around in tubes in the pool with my Grampy
* Him shutting off the music in the car while I was singing just to see if I would keep singing.
* And watching him play with my boys... especially in Tamworth.
* Him making me cry while dancing at my wedding

My dad is such a good person inside, that I am so proud of him and what I have inherited from him (and my mom).

Sorry, I didn't send the card out sooner, Dad! I do love you a ton!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Late on Father's Day...

A few days late...

BTW, Dad, I have a card, it's just still sitting here... But I love you tons and couldn't have asked for a better dad!

But here is a cute picture from Father's Day morning...



The boys thought that learning how to make Daddy coffee was awesome. They also loved bringing him breakfast (doughnuts and bagels) in bed. They then climbed in bed with him to eat their doughnuts and informed me that... Sunday was actually, Father's and Sons, mom is a servant day.

Yeah, I let them believe that for about 30 seconds before I burst their bubbles.

Friday, June 13, 2008

some Max stories...

1) Don't let young children watch the movie, Zathura!!! This is a Jumanji type movie, but in one part, the older boy "gets" a robot. He then commands the robot, "Get me a juicebox, beeyotch!" Well out of nowhere at Timmy's baseball practice yesterday, this is what came out of Max's mouth. The boys didn't know what it meant, but when I told them, they were understood why I was upset!

2) Max went into the bathroom the other day while Rich was in the shower. When Rich got out, Max was still there and with a very incredulous look on his face asked Rich, "YOU have a penis????" To which Rich answered, "yes, all boys have a penis." Max then says, "Mommy has... ... ... not a penis"

Yes, right now he is all about his male anatomy!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Kindergarten recognition

So, here is a quick montage from recognition. Sammy was absolutely adorable. He reads so well that he was chosen as one of the readers. I video'd it, but I am having trouble getting it uploaded.

I'm going to skip the weekend update since it was basically hot, we went to the kids baseball games, and ran in the sprinkler :)

But here are the pics!

sorry for lacking...

Coming soon will be an update on the weekend and Sammy's kindergarten graduation. (yes I have tears in my eyes just typing that... I can't believe how quickly they are growing up!)

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Daddy drove where?

This morning in the car Max was asking me to play catch. I told him that I couldn't play while driving, it wasn't safe. He then began to tell me how the boys were playing baseball in the car once and Daddy drove up on the wall.

I was in shock for a minute, thinking Rich never told me about a time where the boys distracted him to the point that he drove off the road towards a wall... I was thinking maybe a curb... but why didn't he tell me about this.

Well, Max kept saying that Daddy drove up on the wall... until I realized that what he was actually trying to say was that the boys were playing ball and "it drove Daddy up a wall"! I started laughing and then later something kept banging in the car and I said that it was driving me crazy... Max asked if I was driving on the wall.

Too cute!

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

True conversations...

... heard in my house in the past 24 hours...

Scene: Last night, Sam lying on the floor with all black on... me painting bones on him to create an x-ray costume

Sam says: "Mom I learned 2 new swear words today! Ryan taught me one... a-s-s."

Me: "Sam, I don't want to hear it."

Sam: "Mom, that's ass!! Timmy taught me the other one!"

Timmy: "Yeah, if you take shut and change the u to an i..."

Sammy: "Mom, that's shit!"

Mom: "I don't want to hear those words from you again!"

Now, all the while he is telling me this, he has this big grin on, like he's been let into some secret club!

Next Scene: This morning as Max is sitting on the potty...

Mom: "Max, what happened to your toes?"

Max: "I wanted them to be pretty like Cady's!"

Mom: "When did you do this?"

Max: "In my bed!"

Apparently, this is what he id doing when he won't go to sleep at night!

Sunday, June 1, 2008

Weekend Recap...

This was a fairly quiet weekend despite a couple of parties :)

Saturday, me and the boys got up early to head to Timmy's 8 am baseball game. It was a good game until the thunder and rain rolled in. Rich also left to go do a 6 hour mountain bike ride.

After the game we hit target and then came home to play before shopping, hanging out with my parents and then going to the 2 parties that we had Saturday night. The first party was a graduation party for my cousin, Julie. And the second was a get together with a bunch of people that I work with. These get-togethers are always a TON of fun. However, we didn't even put the boys in the car until about 10:15. Where Tim and Sam quickly fell asleep, while Max stayed up and talked to me until we got home!!!

Today, I helped the boys clean their rooms... I mean REALLY clean their rooms... I made Tim crawl under his bed to get everything out! I also bought Tim and Sam new comforters and sheets so that they were using Nemo and Bob the Builder (They're too old for that!!) So we washed those and put them on the bed.

After lunch, the boys went to Sammy's game while I got my nails done. I had actually hoped that they would move fast enough for me to get to the game, but I got someone who must have been new to doing nails because she took forever! I was sad :(

Then we went grocery shopping, made dinner and went to the local ice cream shop after dinner. Now we are ready for another week of school!! Only 2 more left.

Friday, May 30, 2008

she has returned!

Well, Rich and I took turns snoozing on the couch in the living room in hopes that she would come to the door... no such luck!

Well, I packed up the boys and left for school while Lucy continued to roam the neighborhood. Well, I got a message from him that she fell asleep in the front yard and eventually he was able to grab her.

I really don't know what we are going to do wit her...

As I sit here...

at 12:18 am, my dog is running somewhere around our neighborhood. I think it is time to invest in an electric fence!

So, I had a late game tonight (we won AND I scored 2 goals) when I get a text from Rich that Lucy got out! Ugh! So instead of hanging out at the bar with the team, I came home. The thing about late games is that I can't just come home and go to bed, I'm not tired!

But Rich is exhausted, so I sent him to bed while I sit up waiting for the dog to decide that she should come back into the fenced-in yard.

I hate to say it, but I think i realized from the time we got her, that I'm not a dog person. Love the cat, but the dog is just too much work and too much aggravation (sorry Lucy). So once she goes, we will not be getting another dog.

At least tomorrow (ok, today) is Friday!

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

here is what I promised..

Finally, here are the cruise pictures. Essentially, my trip started with my friends Tara and Shelley in South Beach, Miami, where we laid by the pool and had dinner st Danny Devito's restaurant.

Then we boarded the ship and set sail for Key West. We hit Key West on Friday morning and spent our time there walking down the main drag stopping in stores and heading to see Hemingway's house. You will see pictures of his house as well as a beautiful church we went into along the way. You'll also see pictures of us in some of the bars that were open at 9 in the morning.

Then we set sail for Cozumel Mexico. We spent most of the afternoon and evening in Cozumel shopping and hitting some of the bars there. I had to have my picture taken with the birds because they were so sweet.

Then we spend a day at sea, mostly laying by the pool, playing bingo and reading :) We had a total blast and I came home with a great tan. Rich even survived :)

Friday, May 23, 2008

welcome back to reality...

Mornings are usually fairly hectic with getting myself and all three kids ready, fed, and lunches packed to get out the oor. But this morning as I'm reading Tim's teacher daily letter, I realized that he had a lesson today where he needed 3 boxes of bandaids (of fcourse Ididn't have them in the house...

So I hurried them out of the house as quickly as possible to run to CVS. Well, the CVS closest to school doesn't open until 8. Ok, over to RiteAid, they open at 9. Back to Hannaford's, where we successfully have the bandaids and will still make it to school on time...

When Sammy says, "We didn't eat breakfast." What? I made breakfast, but now it seems that it is still sitting on the kitchen counter... so drivethru at Dunkin's is totally backed up, so I pull in a space and send Timmy in for 3 donuts. There was no one in line, so out he comes, and off to school we go. We made it on time, all three kids were still fed, and we had our bandaids...

Can I go back to laying in the sun now?

p.s. I still owe you crusie pictures, I just haven't had the time yet... will tonight.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

I'm back...

Holy Cow, it's been a long week and the cruise was a ton of fun, but I'm just too tired from coming back to real life to post too many details :) Once I download the pictures, I'll post them and some stories.

My first kid story of coming back is that I walked in to drawings about my trip on the door. While they were all very cute, Tim drew me crying with a tissue and a talking bubble which said, "I miss Daddy, Tim, Sam, and Max. i want to go home". How funny...

The second story was tonight... at the end of Tim's baseball game Sam and Max weren't behaving very well. So I reprimanded them and made them sit for a while. Well, Max then walked over and threw his hat on the chair. I said, "wow, you must be angry" and he said, yes. When I asked how come, he told me, "You Lelled at me and called me poopy". there are no typos in that line... he can't say 'yelled' yet and he actually told me that I called him poopy (which I of course did not).

I really did miss them!

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Happy Mother's Day...

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there! I hope that you all enjoyed the beautiful weather and got to do something for yourselves!

I have to say that every once in a while, someone tells me that they "don't know how I do it." Raise three kids, work full-time, go to school, and run around doing all the kids activities... yes, its a lot, but I don't think that I would change anything about it. I think that every mom does what she can to get done, what needs to get done. We all have our different ways of handling things and we find what works for us. I by no means do everything right and probably do a lot of things wrong, but I'm doing as best I can. And for the most part, I think I do OK. My boys are pretty darn good kids and I haven't tried to sell any of them yet!

I got some time to myself this afternoon which was really nice. And it helped me get ready for my cruise on Wed.... oh, and that being said, I'll be gone for 6 days, so pray for Rich because I'm fairly certain he'll be pulling his hair out by Sunday. Thankfully, my sister is taking Max for an overnight on Sat., so that should give him a small break.

Ok, I think I'm going to try and chill out before bed.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Mother's Day in First grade

As I promised, here is the full story and few pictures from the Mother's Day event with the first grade. Beware of a long post...

Like I said, this is a tradition that goes back almost the 30 years that Mrs. D has been teaching. Now granted, we as well as the kids were asked to wear our finest... which is how Tim ended up in a suit :) When we arrived we were asked to stand in the hallway until we were called. The door opened up and each child was standing there with a beautiful rose. (Ok, yes, this is when I started to cry and I didn't really stop most of the time).

So we were escorted to our miniature seats and all the kids ended up on the floor. At our seats were "placemats" which were portraits of us done on the computer. There was also a small candle rose, a 3x5 picture of the each kid, and a flower pot with three pieces of rolled up paper in them. Later we opened those to find sweet things written on them for us :)

The children then sang us a song and Mrs.D read us a couple of poems, one called "when you thought I wasn't looking" (Yes, more tears)

Then they put on a video montage of still pictures of each kid from baby to now. Of course, the pictures by themselves are just cute, but set to sweet music was even better. For people who want to see it, I'll show it the next time you come over :)

Then finally, each kid had written up some things about their moms. Here is what Tim wrote about me. It is titled... "My Mom":

"My mom is helpful and has a kind heart. My mom is a great friend. She has blue eyes and brown hair. She is a gentle person because she does not yell at us. She actually doesn't. My mother was sent to me by God. She likes reading with me at night. She has one sister and two brothers. She married my dad because she really likes tall people. She actually told me that! She does not like to wear earrings. My mummy likes to have quiet time because sometimes my brother and I can get a little loud. She is busy with my two brothers and me! The moments I like most with my mom are when mom tucks me into my bed and kisses me goodnight. My mom is thirty-one years old and she works on a computer for her job. She works at M*thworks. Oh, one more thing. My mom does not like it when Mrs. D sends homework! Too bad! I love you, Mom!"

He was totally prepping me for osme of this in the car on the way there. He said, "You don't yell at us, Mom... you scream at us."

Just as a quick aside... the photo of a drawn picture is Timmy's portrait of me. And the funny thing is he put 3 dangling blue "jewels" on me. Well that day I DID wear earrings it was the three dangling sapphires I have previously gotten for Mother's day!

Finally, they served us juice and home-baked breads. It was an amazing morning with Tim and as much as I cried, I can't wait to do it again next year with Sam!

Random pics...

Here a just a couple of random pics that were too cute not to post...

This one is of Max in his new pj's. He absolutely loves to fly around the house in them.



This is one of all my boys hanging out... The boys will typically line up at the end of my bed to watch TV to relax in the evening. This particular night Rich went in to join them... not sure he really enjoyed watching Drake and Josh on Nickelodeon, but he enjoyed chilling with the boys. I even felt left out and went in to join them.

Friday, May 9, 2008

just a taste...

It is tradition in the 1st grade to have a Mother's Day Authors Tea to honor the moms. I won't get into details, I'll just show you a couple of pictures that I took before we left for school this morning...




And, yes...those are Sam's legs upside down in the background...

Sunday, May 4, 2008

sassing...

One other quick story...

Sam has totally become a smart ass...

Yesterday, we were driving in the car, and he and Tim were totally messing around and I had about had it... so I sort of started watching them and said, "I saw that".

Sam's response... "It's not like you don't have eyes."

Ugh!

Max's birthday party...

Today, we had Max's first friend party... he had three of his friends, plus his cousins over for a birthday party and he absolutely loved being the center of attention :) I do have explain the first picture of the bunch though...

Prior to the party, Max was learning how to do somersaults... but he didn't understand what they were called and kept claiming to do marble sauce.

Friday, May 2, 2008

Service Award

This morning was our company's quarterly meeting. They go over how the company has done financially for the last 3 months as well as other things that the entire company would care about. At the end of these meetings, the CEO introduces all of the new people (hired in the last 3 months) by flashing up their picture and announcing their name and group. (This morning there were 99 names).

Then he calls everyone up for their service awards, so anyone who has been at the company for 5, 10, 15, or 20 years (our 25th anniversary as a company is next year!). Well, I got called up for my 10th anniversary and received my award which is essentially $1250. I can buy almost whatever I want and then get reimbursed. Fun, shopping!!

But it was all put in perspective by my friends Len and Olga. I have been getting congratulations from a bunch of people today and he called to congratulate me as well. And said, "Congratulations! 10 years at The Mathworks, that's a third of your life..." Holy cow, it is very weird to think of it that way. But its true. If I stay for another 10 half of my life will be spent here. Rare nowadays!

My friend Olga's comment was funny as well, "10 years and you are still very positive... that's good!" Luckily, it is my group that makes it so easy to stay positive and to enjoy my job :)

Plus, we just got free ice cream!

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

nothing exciting...

Not too much exciting going on right now with us. Still busy most nights with projects or baseball, but both of the boys are doing so well. Sammy is really doing well with his team, and Timmy got one of the game balls from his last game. Basically, the coach gives out a game ball after each game and this past saturday, he couldn't decide, so he gave one to a boy who had a great hitting game and then gave one to Tim and commented that he "was going to be some kind of ball player". It was really cool because Tim has made an impression on the coaches by doing whatever is asked of him.

Max was home yesterday with pink eye but has been a trouper about putting the medicine in his eyes. All is well now.

I think that is about it for now. This weekend is the school talent show in which Tim is doing something with his class. And the Mega Raffle is also happening this weekend. Other than that, we will be having Max's first friends birthday party. Should be fun!

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Is it cruise time yet???

Ok, Let me just start by saying, I am so ready for my cruise. I know I'll miss all four of my guys terribly (and I know that Rich will be tearing his hair out with all of the activities that he'll have to handle himself), but I really need this break!

Ok, vent over...

my story for this morning is that Max has struck again!! As I was showering this morning, Max came in, said something and left. Well, when I came out to tell them to get dressed, I see Max sitting on my good couch, with a big wet spot between his legs and his head soaking wet and dripping... Anyone want to venture a guess as to why???

Let me tell you... it is because he got a hold of the spray sunscreen (clear mist) and decided to drench his head in it. It is now dripping across his forehead, so I grab him and throw him in the tub because I don't want him to get sick or get it in his eyes. As I put Max in, Sammy comes in saying that Max sprayed his head too and that he doesn't want to get sick. So I throw them both in the tub (at exactly the time we should be driving out of the driveway for karate). Luckily, it washed out of their hair easily, but the spot on my couch has pretty much just crusted over. Ugh!!!

Monday, April 21, 2008

some stories

So today was supposed to be our annual trip to watch the marathon, but Rich managed to gets 4 tickets to the Red Sox game, so he took his dad and the older 2 boys. That left me with Max for the day. He was behaving well for the most part, but he did come out of his room buck naked saying, "there's poop in my underwear." Well, as I'm getting up, he decides to sit down, on my nice furniture... so after cleaning him up, I got to clean up my chair.

Then later after the boys got home they were all playing nicely in the backyard. Then I realized that I couldn't see any of them which typically means that they are behind the shed. Well, out come the first 2, followed by Max with his pants unbuttoned... well, they taught Max how to pee behind the shed. He was very proud of himself... his comment was a very enthusiastic, "I pee'd on the ground!" Someday we are going to get arrested!