Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Tyler's birthday

It's so hard to believe my second child is turning 1-years-old tomorrow! It just seems like I gave birth and now he's already climbing our basement stairs. We're holding a family birthday party this Sunday. I found a bakery that will put Linus (from the Peanuts) on his cake because Tyler is our little Linus. He's always sucked his thumb and requires a blankie for bedtime. The bakery is charging us an arm and a leg for it, though. Oh well...we'll have pictures for posterity, I'm sure! :)

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Evan...the "Artiste"...

Evan decided to become quite the artiste. He recently colored the TV, front living room window and wall above the couch in orange crayon. Luckily it's removable. I do wonder if some of this is my fault because I got him so excited about the "Clean Up" song from Barney. He seems to be into making messes now just so that we can sing the "Clean Up" song together. LOL ;)

Monday, August 10, 2009

Back to Work

Back to work after my one-week vacation with my family. I wonder if my boys miss me. MIL is watching them today. Not as slammed as I thought I would be. It helped to check my e-mail from home a couple of times, although hubby reprimanded me for doing "work".

I got to work out at the Y this afternoon. 30 minutes on the treadmill with headset on watching the news. Probably shouldn't have been watching the news during my workout b/c they were talking about the L.A. Fitness massacre. Apparently that George Sodini carried what appeared to be a grenade onto a bus the previous week. I rode that bus a couple of times before. Crazy to think that this guy could've been on the bus at that time. But, I digress...The workout felt great! Hopefully I can get back into a regular workout schedule soon.

Sunday, August 9, 2009

Impromptu Picnic

I love impromptu picnics! We had one with my in-laws at our house today in our sun porch. Corn on the cob, watermelon, h0t dogs & hamburgers, chips & cheese...mmm....tasty!

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Stamped Paper Folded Box





I am so proud of myself! I made my first stamped paper folded box. I can't wait to make more of them. This is just the beginning!

Friday, August 7, 2009

Beautiful day in PA

I enjoyed a beautiful vacation day with my family today. First we went to The Living Treasures Animal Park in Donegal, PA. It was a neat petting/exotic animal zoo. It has everything from chickens, ducks and ponies to llamas, camels and lemurs! Evan became more interested in playing in the gravel, though, near the end of our self-directed tour. He kept throwing the rocks up in the air saying "popcorn!". LOL...

Then, we visited Grandma at church camp in Rockwood, PA (near Seven Springs). She was pleasantly surprised to see us as we came unannounced. She gave us the "grand tour" of the facilities, inlcuding where she cooks all the great camp food (can we say...homemade mac 'n' cheese?!) and where she sleeps (all the ladies in one big room...one guy in his own separate room). She introduced us to her "WV hubby" (Chuck) who we already previously met at John's grandmother's funeral viewing. She thought it was funny that Tyler was wearing a bib with the word "Friday" on it because apparently Chuck's last name is Friday. She said he's part of the clan, too (not so much).

Dad and Evan played hoops for a little while on the b-ball court while Grandma and I talked and I held Tyler. We discussed the recent massacre at the L.A. Fitness Gym in Bridgeville. She said that my sister-in-law who was there at the time was contacted by L.A. Fitness for counseling if she (or her friend, Andrea, who was there with her) needed it.

Finally, we went swimming at the beach at Laurel Hill State Park, not more than a mile from the church camp. It was a beautiful day. We found a cozy spot near the back of the beach under a shady tree to keep Tyler out of the sun while he rolled around on the beach blanket. Evan loved playing in the sand. He did venture into the shallow end of the lake a little. We had fun splashing each other.

We rounded the night off with some tasty pizza and rigatoni from the local pizza joint (one of many!). Tyler got "tubby time". Of course, Evan helped give Tyler his bath by trying to pour water on Tyler. I had to be sure he didn't pour it directly on Tyler's head. It's so adorable seeing Evan and Tyler beginning to interact more and more. Evan is 2 years and 4 months old whereas Tyler is 8 months old. Evan gets a kick out of making Tyler laugh while riding in their car seats in the back of our 2-door cavalier.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

The rat race

It's depressing to think that during weekdays I only see my sons for 2 - 3 hours max due to my work schedule. How do you break free from this rat race? I've tried to wrap my head around this question from so many different angles...spiritual, emotional, financial and, of course, practical.

Love my boys!

It's so hard to believe how fast time has gone by. Evan is already heading for 2 1/2 years old. Tyler is now 7 months. I hold Tyler now with the knowledge that it won't be long before he won't allow me to hold him anymore. Evan didn't take long to show his independent streak.