Halloween 2014

Last year, my kids decided to do Star Wars.  They dressed up as Jedi.  This year, they wanted to do Star Wars again, but this time they wanted to play characters from the Dark Side.

They all didn't do Star Wars - I had a little giraffe and a princess fairy in there, too.

I never knew all the characters till I had kids.  I hadn't even heard of some of them.

So, here is this year's cast:

Anne is Boba Fett.  He was the most feared bounty hunter in the galaxy!!  Son of Jango Fett.

Tommy was Captain Rex - I don't think he was part of the Dark Side.  He fought for the Republic.  He isn't evil?  He was a clone, right?  I'm confused.  This character is from the Clone Wars (Cartoon).

Patrick was Darth Vader.  I know this guy - definitely a bad guy.

Eddie was a storm trooper.  Clone trooper, storm trooper, battle droids...they are all the same in my head!  These guys worked for the Galactic Empire under Emperor Palpatine.  We should have had someone go as that guy with the burnt face!

Bernadette as a princess fairy.  Anne wore this same costume around the same age, I think.  Bernadette thought she would accessorize a bit with the necklace she put on.  It had a bunch of four legged animals on them.  We put a little make-up on and curled her hair.  The curls didn't last 10 minutes.  She decided to curtsy for her picture.

Max was a giraffe.  Max kicked and screamed as I put this costume on him.  I'm not sure if it's because he knew it was a costume or if he just didn't want to put on another layer of clothes.  He screams the same way when I put on his jacket or sweatshirt.  After he saw me dump all the Halloween candy into our bucket to pass out, he started getting interested in what was going on.  He was all into trick-or-treating.  In one evening, he perfected the words, "trick-or-treat", "thank you", "pumpkin".  He started off strong and ran out of steam after the second block.  I think this boy has the sweetest tooth ever!  Loves sweets.

Overall, a good evening.  Tommy was wondering if he could trick-or-treat with some friends next year.  It made me sad to think that we won't do this as a group much longer.  It would be fun to trick-or-treat with friends - sigh.

Anne carved the Darth Vader pumpkin!  She did a good job!  Bernadette carved her first pumpkin this year - she's the one on the far left.

I chose this stencil this year.

Hope you all had a great Halloween!

Football Birthday Fun

My birthday always fell right at the start of the new school year and I always felt that it got lost in the start of the school year hoopla!  When I married my husband, he happened to be a teacher and a football coach so my birthday would coincide in some way to the first game of the year which is a big deal!  It all worked out, of course!

This year, SJC (St. John's College  HS) was traveling to Bradenton, FL to play against IMG Academy, the Ascenders.  I had never heard of IMG until last year.  They are a private school dedicated to pairing elite academics with state of the art athletics.  To say the least, I've only heard the best of the best athletes come out of this school.  It's what they do!

This would be the first time our players would ever fly to a game.  This was going to be really exciting for everyone involved.  Joe wanted me to come to this game with the team.  I was worried about the timing of it all, being the first week of school, but it all worked out.

I always enjoy coming along on football trips and watching the players and coaches prepare and execute!  I remember the excitement when I was in high school traveling to competitions and such.  There were a lot of great memories for these kids being made.  The team traveled on Jet Blue from Ronald Regan Airport to Tampa.  We took a bus and traveled to Bradenton, which is really near Sarasota.  We settled in, had dinner and then got ready for an evening practice at the IMG Stadium.

My job was to take pictures.  There were thunderstorms that interrupted practice.  We were wondering if the weather would do the same during the game.

That evening the team got ready for bed and the coaches were busy making sure things were winding down in the hotel while I relaxed in my hotel room!  Ahhhh....

My father and sister live in Florida and were going to come and watch the game.  So, the next day, game day, I said goodbye to the team during the day and would return for the game that evening.  I met up with my dad in the morning and headed to St. Armands Circle in Sarasota to walk around and have some lunch.  My sister was working and was to join us later.

We were just walking around popping into stores here and there.  My dad bought me a new pair of shoes.  Just having the time to shop for a pair of shoes that I really like is tough at home, so when I found a pair of shoes I liked, he bought them for my birthday.  I remember my mom always liked to buy me a good pair of shoes I might not ordinarily buy for myself - I thought of my Mom.

Then we entered into an organic juice place and got some lemonade with blueberries and strawberries smashed into them.  We sat there and chatted, caught up, perused Facebook together and took pictures of each other.

Afterwards, we headed over to the Old Salty Dog for lunch.  Yah, doesn't sound so appetizing, but it was one of those casual seafood restaurants on the water.  We had a great lunch that was delicious!  I had my favorite of course, raw oysters!!

What's a good time without oysters, right?  Yum.

Afterwards, we went to Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium.  My dad has had meetings here regarding Reef Buds but never really looked around the aquarium part.  We decided to hang out there till Joy arrived.  Usually, if there is an aquarium in the schedule my kids are around, but this time I was the child with my dad!  It was fun just walking around casually and enjoying all the animals.

We headed back to my hotel and met up with Joy and headed to another yummy Thai food restaurant near Sarasota.  We caught up, ate another meal and then headed over to the football game.  There we caught up with Joy's fiance', DJay.  I headed to the sidelines to take pictures of the game.

As the game began, they were introducing some of their players on their jumbo tron thingy.  The players looked huge and their reputation were intimidating.  It was really exciting it being the first game of the year, being in Florida and playing a really competitive team!

The game began and right away we score a touchdown!  Then we scored again and then again.  By the second quarter, I was pretty sure we were going to win this game.  I was sort of shocked that the score wasn't closer together.  We were playing really well and they weren't.  That's my game analysis for you.

Under Armour is closely linked to our school because the owner, Kevin Plank is an alum.  He not only dresses our athletes with cool clothes, he gives a lot of support to our school and to the football program.  Not only monetary support but with his words and actions.  We are very thankful for all he does for us.  So, it was a big deal that he flew into Sarasota just to see our game.   I wanted to make sure I found him to give him our thanks in person.  Kevin is a busy man with celebrity-like status, so I always feel a bit intimidated approaching him especially when he has his "people" all around him.  We normally get invited to his Preakness party and sometimes get a glimpse of him there or get to wave at him, but my chances were better at a high school football game.

I found him walking back to the private box on the top of the stadium.  I approached him and I honestly don't know exactly what came out of my mouth, but I do remember saying my thank yous for coming to the game and for all his support, blah, blah, blah...mission accomplished.  He was very sweet and invited me to walk with him up to his private box and watch the game from there.  On the way up, I was getting to know his son, traveling with him too,  and asking him questions.  He also introduced me to some of his "people".  All I know, is that when I'm nervous, my words come out really jumbled and I sound and feel like an idiot.  Have you ever watched Bridget Jones before?  When Bridget is talking in front of a lot of people?  Yes, just like that.  Anyway, Kevin was just kind and sweet.  I didn't stay long because my family was waiting for me in the stands, but before I left I made sure to get a picture.

Thanks for the picture, Kevin!

I got back to the stands and watched the rest of the game.  We won, 35-2!  The players and the coaches were on cloud nine the rest of the night!  What a great win for them.  It was a perfect trip.  Great memories for those boys.

Kevin Plank came down from his box and gave the kids a talk after the game which was really positive.  They all gathered around him and sang the school anthem.  I didn't see him, but Joe said Kevin seemed to really enjoy the players!

Anyway, I went out with my family and had some more food!  We had drinks and dessert!  Had to celebrate.

We were also out to celebrate my upcoming 40th birthday.  Thanks Joy!!

I miss my mom.

This is DJay, Joy's fiance'.  They will be getting married before the year is up.

The evening ended and I went back to my hotel and waited for Joe to discuss the game his take on the evening.  The next morning, we all left on an early afternoon flight back to DC.  It was great to be home again after a great weekend.

School Begins

So the summer is over and the new school year is starting!  I think I was as excited as they were to start school again!  I think it's funny how they were counting the days till school was over in June and then they started counting the days till school started again.  I hope the excitement continues throughout the year!

In case you can't read the signs they are holding:
Anne 6th grade
Tommy 4th grade
Patrick 3rd grade
Eddie 1st grade
Bernadette Pre-K

Getting ready for school was a lot of work!  All those forms to fill out!  It gets a little crazy and frustrating when I keep writing a lot of the same information over and over again.  Then all the school supplies to buy (for 5 kids!), the sorting and packing and then hauling to school.  Luckily, uniforms were pretty easy this year.  Anne got the middle school uniform this year and the boys just kept what they had last year.

The kids have been sleeping in all summer but today they all jumped out of bed ready to go.  I found myself pretty chipper when I woke up but slowly started to remember the craziness of the morning routine and then started frowning and getting short tempered when I was packing snacks for the older kids (half day for them)  and a lunch for Bernie.  I was getting very discouraged when I thought about having to pack 5 lunches the next day, plus snacks.  I think I want to cry now.  This gives me the challenge of being extra efficient in the morning, yah right!  Here's hoping...

Soon enough, we were outside getting ready for pictures.  I start raising my voice to get everyone organized and then wondered if my neighbors could hear me screaming!  Joggers were  passing by witnessing my outdoor spectacle.  

This year, Bernadette is going to Pre-K!

She kept asking me all summer how many days till the first day of school.  Even after I counted the down the days visually on a calendar, she didn't have the concept of time before school starts.  I dropped her off this morning into her classroom.  She settled in right away just waiting for the experience!  She had no anxiety about me leaving her there.  I can't wait to hear how her day went.  She is there for the whole day - I can only imagine how tired she'll be.

After trying to get some good family photos this past summer, none of which Eddie had a great smile, he smiles perfectly here!  It's a beautiful one, isn't it?  With his oral apraxia - I'm hoping he'll keep progressing like he has been!  He gets homework this year.

Patrick will be getting a teacher that actually taught Joe when he was in 3rd grade!  She was also Anne's 3rd grade teacher.

Tommy is looking so much older.  He'll be turning 10 this year.  As I dropped them off in the packed gym this morning, I had to run after him because he forgot something.  I saw him in the 4th grade line right next to the tallest person in his class!  He looked so tiny!  I found it quite funny.  To me he is growing up, but next to his classmates he's my little boy again.

Anne has had a growth spurt this past year.  On her last birthday in May we measured her and she had grown 4 inches!  We talked about this spurt and this now makes her the second to last shortest girl in her class.

This girl was excited about the first day of school!  She kept talking about how many school supplies she had, how heavy they were, and if she would be able to haul it all the way to her classroom.  She is also excited about the changes that come when entering middle school.  She's hoping to be challenged academically, but is a bit nervous about by how much.  I don't think she'll have a problem.

The excitement was high this morning and it all came out in the form of noise in my already clouded head.  In the moment it feels overwhelming, but once I finished, what felt like a whirlwind of activity crushed into a few hours, I got home with my sweet boy and sighed a breath of relief that the kids are in school and I'm at home.  I may complain, but I also appreciate the routine it gives me and feel blessed to be able get my kids ready and off to school.  Hopefully, I can do it with more grace tomorrow =-p

Here's to a fantastic year!!

Mystic, CT

This summer we decided to head north towards Maine and check out parts of the Northeast since none of us have really been there or remember any of it.  After seeing so many pretty parts of the country last summer on our cross country trip (which I really never finished blogging about) I was looking forward to seeing the northeast.  We decided to take our time up and down and see places along the way.  A lot of those places were suggestions from friends and family.  Our trip was going to be a lot shorter than last year since Joe got jury duty this month and had to be around.

We started north on 95 - what a busy interstate!  We got stuck in traffic in New York but made it to Connecticut to stay the night.  We woke up and went to Mass.  We were so close to Yale University, we stopped by the campus for a quick campus tour so our kids could get familiar with what could possibly be their future :-p  No, we were just so close - had to take a looksie.

We then headed towards the Submarine Museum in Groton, CT.

I've never been in a submarine nor do really know much about them except from what I see in the movies - I've seen a few of them.

For a free museum, I found this place to be very hands on for the kids and very informative!  Although, I wish I had more time to read all the information, I was to distracted with keeping track of the kids.  To be placed in a submarine, with such small spaces and control panels that look like this, seems very overwhelming to me.  However, the kids had fun with all the buttons to press.

After exploring inside the building, we headed outside to check out a real submarine - The Nautilus, the first nuclear powered submarine.

Talk about tight spaces!  I'm not claustrophobic, but imagining being submerged in water and confined to those spaces, I might as well be.  We took a self-guided tour, each of us with a gidgy-gadget to guide us through the submarine.  It didn't take long to get through it all.

We were able to see our car!

Just some railroad tracks on the way out of the Submarine Museum.

 Near Groton, is Mystic, CT.  I've heard about this place from my cousins growing up and was looking forward to visiting.  I've also heard much about the famous Mystic Pizza made popular from the movie, same title.  Which came first?  I don't really know.  I watched the movie not too long ago - not a big fan of the movie, but the pizza...

was soooo good.  I didn't have high expectations, so I was pleasantly surprised.  Our family likes good pizza!!

Kids got a cheese pizza, Joe & I got a jalapeno, onion and anchovy pizza - mmmmm...

The town of Mystic was so charming.  One of those picturesque seaside towns bustling with people enjoying the beautiful weather popping in and out of shops, getting ice cream or just taking a nice long walk.  I couldn't take any pictures that really captured this cute place.

We took a walk around town and down near the water.  We were lucky enough to catch the bridge go up to let the sailboats through.  The kids liked that.  On the way back to the car, I noticed a cute coffee shop and wanted to get some espresso.  Sort of get something non-commercial, get something local and get a little caffeine in me!  I was surprised when Joe asked me to get him a double espresso.

This is Joe waiting for his espresso with the kids.  A cute place - and it was very good!

We headed to our car and headed over to Dubois Beach.  This was a public beach area where we spent the end of the day.

Some of that rocky shoreline.

Kids enjoying the beach.

Bernadette wore the goggles but never went in the water - so funny, that girl!

Anne was exploring the beach.

Found some crabs that didn't look like the blue crabs I'm used to seeing at home.  All I could think of was, can I eat these?

Tommy is burying himself into the sand.

Max doesn't remember the beach, it was like his first time!

I often find Anne standing like this - this is her stance.  She's growing up!!

We went back to our hotel and went swimming.  Called it a night and were heading to Gillette Castle the next day.

Mother's Day and Pneumonia

I've noticed Max has this face, every once in a while, when his tongue is sticking out just a bit between his lips.  He's usually staring at something or perhaps, just thinking about something.  I caught this picture during Easter while he was out and about looking for Easter eggs.  I had to take a shot.

I don't notice it as much anymore, however when I see it I think it's the cutest thing ever!  If he's still doing that when he's a bit older will I still think it's cute?

Max is doing really well!  He's at that stage where he's getting into everything and is very strong-willed when it comes to what he wants.  I might say he's my  most strong-willed kid I've had, but I might also say that about any of my kids in the middle of this stage of childhood!  He's very athletic, too!  He's very coordinated with a ball and just gets excited every time he sees one.  He throws everything - balls, spoons, cars, trains, etc...  Watch out!  Right now, he's throwing a balloon at me and it lands on my keyboard.  I hit it back into his direction and he's chuckling.  He does it again... sigh...

He was in the hospital for pneumonia during Mother's Day weekend.

He sort of had a leftover cough from a previous cold.  I thought it was getting better but all of a sudden he started to have that forced cough sound and then wheezing the next day (Saturday).  I called our doctor and she said to be safe, take him to the ER. I thought we'd spend a few hours there, but it turned out to be three days!  The x-rays revealed it mostly in his left lung.  He was in a good mood considering, however that evening he started his temperature and his worse labored breathing - so sad to watch your baby suffer.  Thank goodness, the antibiotics started to make him better.  Slowly, but surely.  I really had to practice patience to watch every bit of progress he made in three days.  I wanted it to be immediately!

God is really good.  My children all came by the hospital to visit their little brother - they all love him very much.  They also came by with Mother's Day gifts made in school and little treats!  As I sat in the hospital that day, I smiled at the thought of my time in the hospital being a mother to my baby.  I truly didn't want to be any where else but by Max's side as he got better.  I was being a mother, what better way to celebrate?

I think it's remarkable how you could see the turning point when someone gets better.  All of a sudden, just feeling Max in my arms, you could feel him get better.  His body temperature changed, his playfulness and curiosity returned and he slept peacefully without his fever returning.  By Tuesday morning, we were released.  Thank you Lord for this blessing of being back to good health.  I also thank God for giving me the sense to bring his blanky and binky with me to the hospital!  I am also thankful for God making it possible that my husband was around that weekend and my in-laws around to help out before they left for vacation that week!

Cambridge, MD

My mother-in-law offered Joe & I a chance to get a way, just the two of us, for a short break.  As you may or may not know, our travel usually revolves around football somehow.  I can see the benefit of making the best of these trips even if they have to be work related, but a bit of me resents it because it isn't just about us, as a family.  My  mother-in-law said she'd watch the kids on one condition - it has nothing to do with football.  A little party was going on inside of me - weehooo!

As soon as football season was over, we entered into football clinic season and our family did our travels.  The weekends began to fill up and the chances to have a get-a-way weekend were almost gone.  I was beginning to wonder if there would be any time at all!  Joe's mind seems occupied when it comes to his goals and work.  I could tell if I wanted this time away I'd have to plan this myself.  I seem to shy away from taking the initiative on these sort of things.  I like working on it and getting excited about it together, but I realized that wasn't going to happen.

I first made sure we found a weekend.  Thank God - there was one weekend left.  I, then had to find a place to go.  I didn't want to fly some where.  I wanted to drive some where close.  There are tons of places to just have a nice weekend, I just had to find them.  I chose to find something in Maryland.  My parents used to talk about how they found some really great places near Annapolis or out that way!  So, I went onto the Internet and found Dorchester County, MD.  I looked at all the places around there and thought Cambridge, MD sounded great.  They had a lot of history in their little town.  The houses dated back to the 1700's and they sat along the Eastern Shore.  Downtown Cambridge had a lot of cute shops and restaurants that feature fresh caught seafood and microbreweries.  It sounded perfect since Joe & I love seafood and beer (Joe).  I sort of pictured it in my head like a little Charleston, SC.  I also found a place not too far away called the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge to do some hiking/jogging on their trails while looking at the wildlife, mostly birds.

So, our weekend finally came.  It was the weekend right after Easter.  I would tell Joe about the places I found and the places I wanted to eat.  Joe was really excited about getting away.  We ended up staying at a Comfort Inn.  There was a really fancy-shmancy Hyatt Resort right near our hotel, but I chose the affordable option just because we were enjoying the town and not the resort, right?  Sigh...I like fancy-schmancy.

As soon as we arrived at the hotel, I couldn't even imagine what Cambridge would look like.  It didn't seem like there was a cute little downtown anywhere.  We drove to the first restaurant I wanted to try called the High Spot.  It was located in downtown on High Street.  As soon as I saw downtown, I was disappointed because it didn't look like I thought it would.  Not that it was a horrible looking street, but not as cute as I saw on the Internet.  The restaurant, however rocked!  The food was fabulous and I was very pleased with everything I got!  I had the broiled Rockfish over Dirty Arborio Rrice with Buffalo Fried Oysters as an appetizer.

After dinner it started to rain.  We decided to drive around to see if we could see the "happening" part of town.  It wasn't easy to find!  We still didn't see it.  We ended up walking to the Pier and taking a walk in the rain.

It was cold!  We went back to our hotel and enjoyed the rest of our evening.

The next day, I planned to visit the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.  We got our jogging clothes on and went to the Refuge.  Some of the trails were very muddy so we hit the paved trails.  It was absolutely beautiful place with perfect weather.  We set our RunKeeper app onto our iPhones and started running.  Have you ever heard of a fox squirrel?  They are like regular squirrels except extra large!  We saw one run across the trail.  We also some bald eagles which the website said we'd see.

There is something about jogging in a new place where you're not to sure where you're going.  You jog a lot longer and further than usual - it's all mental!  I jogged 4.5 miles according to runkeeper, not to mention all the walking that wasn't recorded.  Yeah!  Joe of course did two extra miles.  I took this picture while waiting for him.

Before we left, we spotted a couple of bald eagles.

They were hanging out with each other!

Before going back to the hotel, I got some pastries from a little bakery shop across the street.  I had read about it on the Internet.  I saved them for later!  We went swimming at the hotel and then got ready for a late lunch at Jimmie & Sooks.  Hopefully, we'd find the pretty part of Downtown Cambridge.  I got my raw oysters, some ceviche and a big chunky crab cake!

We found it!  Apparently, Poplar Street seemed to be where all the happening things happen.

Here's another view of Downtown.  I found all the cute shops and restaurants.  We walked all around downtown and saw some of the houses that date back to the 1700's.  They were really beautiful and in great shape.

Not to say there aren't any other beautiful parts of Cambridge, there are!  For instance, the Marina.

We walked around a while looking at the names of the boats.

Right next to the Marina were a lot of neighborhoods with beautiful homes.  I could see how peaceful it would be to live near the water in a cute historical town.  I think I would be fishing for seafood every chance I could get!

I found this really fun place called Reale Brew.  They offered four of their own brews and then 6 other beers of their choice.  We sat and had a drink.  I got an apple cider beer.  It was really good.

After this, we went and ordered a pizza and headed back to our hotel and relaxed the rest of the evening.  We had done a lot of walking/jogging that day.  We enjoyed a great day enjoying our time together.  After pizza I had my pastries - yummy!  Weekend was a success!  Thank you God for a great time together and for the opportunity (thanks Gran/Bips!).