Just The Two Of Us

I know, it's been a long time.  Sometimes, life keeps you busy.

Easter came and went.  It was the perfect weather, all of Joe's side of the family were able to come and visit and fun was had by all.  I couldn't be more thankful.

After Easter, I had planned on visiting my family down in Florida.  Originally, it was just going to be me, but after talking with my sister I figured it would be a good idea to bring one of my kids with me to visit their cousin Ben since they missed each other at Christmas.  I decided bringing Anne with me would be fun.  Just the idea of having one child with me on a plane to Florida just thrilled be beyond belief.  Just one!  I'm so used to 5.  Also, the idea of having some one on one time with her just made me happy.  When I told her that she was coming with me she was just as excited.

The night before we were to leave for Florida, I spent an hour of it on the bathroom floor feeling very sick to my stomach.  The nasty stomach virus had come to our house.  Luckily, I didn't throw up and was feeling somewhat better the next day.  Thank God Anne didn't get the bug.  However, after landing in Florida, I get a text that Bernadette had starting throwing up.  Poor thing.

My sister came to pick us up at the airport and brought us immediately to see my Mom at Utopia, a facility where she receives treatments.  We got to meet the people who treat her and the other patients that have become friends.  We spent the rest of the day just relaxing at Joys house and resting up for the next day - Legoland!

What a fun place this was!  It was a great weather day.  I didn't think it was too hot.  The crowds were very reasonable too!  Legoland is a new attraction in Florida somewhere in between Tampa and Orlando.  Again, just having to look after one child was just amazing.  Anne is such a good kid, it was just like going with my best buddy.  Fun!  Of course, the whole time I kept thinking of how much fun my other kids would of had if they were here.  I kept taking pictures of the things I knew they would have loved.

As soon as we got there, I knew I had to go buy some sunglasses for Anne because it was so bright.

We also needed to find out what rides she could get on.

She measured at exactly 48 inches which was the height she needed to be to ride most of the rides at the park.  That made her happy.  We walked around for a while and she saw her first roller coaster that she was excited to try.  It was called The Dragon.  Joy and Ben decided to pass and we would meet them after it was over.  While we were in line Anne was very quiet.  Quiet in the way that worried me a little.  I thought she may have been feeling sick and I asked her if she was feeling ok (thinking that nasty virus had got her!) and she said she was fine.  She had lost her chattiness all of a sudden and the wait in line was sort of quiet.  As soon as we approached the ride she started getting anxious.  It finally dawned on me that she gets very quiet when she's nervous!  We got on the ride and it started slow but then the big hill approached and then off we went!  Anne started screaming, "Help me!  I want to get off!  Ahhhhh...."  I stopped screaming and assured her she would be fine and that it was almost over.  I think she was glad that she tried the roller coaster, but had decided that she wasn't very fond of them.  That was the last roller coaster of the day.  I am totally proud of her!  I was too chicken when I was her age.

There was another area of the park called the Imagination Zone.  Here, we were able to build a car made out of legos and then test them on their various race tracks.  You can return and modify your car until it works to your satisfaction!  Anne and Ben went to work.  Anne was very focused when building her car.  She spent a lot of time on it.  She finally lifted her head up with a look of satisfaction and pride and said, "I'm done!"  Ready to test her car out on one of the race courses, she turns and immediately runs into a woman that causes her car to fall onto the floor.  It falls apart.  I look at Anne and she just starts to cry.  I felt so bad for her.  Poor thing!  I pick up all the pieces since she is stuck in the depths of despair!  The woman who ran into her helped me pick the pieces up, but looked at Anne and said, "They're just legos!"  Geesh, thanks.  I'm sure that made her feel much better.  Luckily, she got the car back together and was able to test it.  It turns out that her car was not very fast and it veered to the left or to the right.

Also at the Imagination Zone, the face of Albert Einstein made out of legos!  Amazing!  They had a ton of things made of legos, obviously!  I took too many pictures of that sort of stuff.  They had a place in the park called Miniland where they made real cities made of legos.  It was really cool.

They had parts of Florida, Kennedy Space Center, California, New York, Las Vegas and my favorite, Washington, DC.

They were all made with such great detail!  They had a few areas in the park where they had videos showing the makings of various lego structures.  I know there are computer lego applications that aid these builders!  There must be!

The highlight of Legoland was the Ford Driving School where kids can obtain a driver's license.  While they wait in line, a photographer takes their picture which they will later put on a very official looking piece of plastic and sell for $14.99.  They put all the kids in a room to watch a video on how to observe traffic rules (red light, green light, yellow light, stop, etc...) and then they separate the parents and the kids.  The kids go grab a car while the parents go to the viewing area to watch their kids put what they've learned into practice.  There is a reason kids do not operate motor vehicles.  It was so very entertaining to watch especially when traffic jams occurred and the looks on the faces of the kids stuck in it! 

Anne was a very good driver!  I told Anne at the beginning of the day that she was allowed to get one souvenir at the park.  She chose to get her $14.99 driver's license.  She didn't ask for anything for the rest of the day.  She really loved it!

The rest of the trip was spending time with my nephew Benjamin and with my parents.  My mom is doing so much better from where she was during Thanksgiving.  My parents are living with my sister while she is receiving treatments nearby.  She is now breathing on her own, eating well and is beginning to regain more mobility.  Her main goal now is to get back to walking.  I got to see her rigorous daily routines and two of her physical therapy sessions.  I really admire my mother for all that she is doing.  She's working hard.  My father, another example of love, dedication and hard work.

Spending time with my nephew was fun too.  We would sleep into the late morning, go to the pool in the afternoon and spend hours there.  Anne absolutely loved this since we rarely go here at home.  She improved so much in her swimming (never had lessons) that I think it's only going to be a matter of time now until she can say, "Yes, I can swim". 

They played video games!  We went to the mall and did some fun shopping, had lunch, and got treats.  At night, we all just hung out.  One night we went to the Fair that was happening at the mall.  There was a Ferris Wheel that I wanted to go on with Anne.  Once she took a look at it from the bottom and saw how the cars on the Ferris Wheel wobbled a lot while rotating, she didn't want to go on it.  Sigh...oh well.  We had a lot of cotton candy, fried oreos and fried dough to eat.  We went on other fun rides and played a lot of games in which they won many little toys!  It was a lot of fun for those kids.

On the day we were going to leave we went to the Farmer's Market downtown St. Petersburg.  I love going to them.  Even if I don't buy anything, I just like walking around. 

Here's my sister with a couple of coconuts.

Anne eating some pizza baked in a wood fire oven.  It was so delicious!  Yummy.

We all shared.  This is Pad Thai - yummy too!

It was sort of hot day.  Anne was resting in some custom made expensive chairs.

Anne was looking at the bees that produced the honey being sold.

This I haven't seen before.  A pickle bar!  Oh yum.  I bought some of the garlic marinated ones.

This is my mom out and about.  She was having a good time.

This is my nephew Ben and Anne.  They are one month apart in age.  I'm so happy I was able to take this trip with Anne and to spend time with my family.  Thanks to my Dad and Mom for helping us get to Florida, thank you Joy for bringing us to Legoland and taking us in!  Thanks Ben for letting us spend time with you and letting play with all your fun toys/games.  Thanks to Joe for watching all the kids while I was gone.  Love you all!  See you this Summer.

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Joepa!

Going to have lunch together today and then have a family dinner party tonight!

The Simple Joys

It's the Lenten season and we, as a family (minus the two youngest), gave up sweets and television.  So when Sunday comes around we get all our sweet treats in.  The kids decided they wanted ice cream sundaes with numerous toppings.  I was getting full just thinking of everything they wanted on top.

Eventually, this particular sundae also received some leftover valentine sprinkles, whipped cream and skittles (yuck).  I guess it looked impressive, but after a few bites Patrick decided that it was a little too much for him and started scooping certain parts out.  The skittles got a little rock hard rather than chewy - a little less desirable.  Ughh...

After scooping parts and parts out, we ended up giving him a fresh bowl of plain vanilla ice cream!

Since Spring is almost officially here and the weather is the perfect temperature, and there aren't any mosquitoes out yet, we've been spending time outside.  Sometimes, after school we all go to the park - even Dad.

We all have a lot of fun!

This is Patrick testing out his strength with Dad.

It's a treat to ride in Daddy's small Toyota Carolla.  When it's time to go home, they all want to ride with Daddy.  Bernadette still wants to go with Mommy - yeh!  Just the two of us.  I'm sure that will change eventually.

We like to try different parks out or change them up some.  On another day after school, we did another park closer to their grandparent's house.  After the kids played for a while we took a family walk around the lake to explore and throw things into the lake - of course! 

I somehow get a little behind when we're walking, perhaps trying to get a photo or something like that, and on my way back to my family I see them from a distance, all together, and it warms my heart that they all belong to me.  It makes me happy - I feel so blessed.  Sometimes, I just follow so I can watch.

I'm not too sure why I like this shot so much.  The people are blurry, but they look like they are enjoying themselves.  Perhaps, it looks dreamy?  It's like watching from the outside and looking in.  Do I know what I'm talking about?  The road looks really good in black in white.  Artsy, I guess.  I like it.

I made them hold hands and do this.  Do it, do it now! 

My sweet little girl.

This is Bernadette hugging a friend that lives near by.  What a great hug!  I want one, too.

I love that golden sun. 

Enjoy these days out before the mosquitoes come and ruin them.

Early Spring

It's so sad we only saw a little snow this Winter.

We got a handful and that's it.  I am going to move on and embrace the warmer days to come.

We had 70+ degree weather yesterday and I wanted the two younger one's to run around outside.  I decided to bring them to Brookside Gardens.  It's just a fun place to do that sort of stuff and enjoy the gardens.  My mom used to take me there as a child all the time.

One of my kids favorite things to do there is the Labyrinth.

My kids call it a maze and Eddie is so into them right now. I didn't even bother trying to tell them it's supposed to be meditative and that there is no challenge to it. 

Nonetheless, it still had it's calming effects.

Though it felt like Spring, the flowers hadn't bloomed yet, the buds on the trees were emerging, the bulbs still under the dirt and the water fountains not turned on yet.  Couldn't find a single goose to chase or a turtle to marvel at.

Eddie, where are the flowers, turtles and geese?

"I don't know, can we go home now?"  Yikes, we just got here.  This is supposed to be fun!

We did go to the greenhouse and found some flowers and some little bridges they liked to run across a billion times.

These reminded me of rosary beads hanging off a plant or little skinny bunches of grapes. 

Almost towards the end of our visit.  We decided to take the path that led us towards a little lake and some benches to sit on.

This is Bernadette's new haircut!  I've never given bangs to my girls before, but she seems to do well with it.  It certainly served it's purpose as maintenance free.  Her hair is always in place now! 

Bernadette would not cooperate with me when I tried to get pictures of her.  She was purposely ignoring me!  So, I snapped when I could.

Once at the lake, Eddie started throwing wood chips into the lake.  Bernadette copied her big brother and started throwing wood chips, too.  They could do this for hours.

I was watching Eddie throw these wood chips into the water.  Each time he would try to throw them further and further away.  He tried so hard that the wood chip flew backwards and he was wondering where it went!  He was throwing the wood chips like a softball pitch.  He released too late.

Now, when I said it was time to go home - they didn't want to leave.  I had to leave some wood chips on the trail before they filled up the lake.

Awww...it looks so picture perfect.  As Bernadette is developing a mind of her own these days and hasn't learned the repercussions of not listening to me when I say, "It's time to leave, let's go!" for the third time!  I had Eddie grab her hand and start walking towards the car while I was patiently waiting for this picture.  Eddie had to use some force to get her to follow.  On the other side of her head could be a big pouty face.

Afterwards, we stopped by Micky D's to get some lunch and then went home.  Daddy came home early that day and he picked the other three kids up from school and we met at the park for some more outside fun.

Crafty Valentines

I know it's not Valentine's Day, but as my husband and I always say, "Everyday is Valentine's Day".

Last year, Anne & I did some homemade valentine cards and they seemed rather simple, but it turned out to be a bit time consuming with all the cutting!  This year, I brought her over to the computer so she could get some simpler ideas on what she would like to do for cards.  She ended up wanting to use her own creativity and make her own.  Hm...I should be encouraging this!  But, once I starting watching what she was doing, I started to make all these comments that just discouraged her.  I was getting hung up on all the cutting, how complicated each card was, how things weren't a certain way...After seeing her looking so sad, I couldn't believe what I was saying!  Who is this Mommy?  What's wrong with me?  Why couldn't I just say, "Good job, it's beautiful?"  I apologized and eventually told her I would shut my mouth and let her continue her cards in peace.  I just reminded her that she had to make 22 of them!  I didn't take a picture of her cards, but they turned out beautifully.  I learned a lesson.

I decided the boys would use store bought cards, but the week escaped me and had a small window of time to get their cards at the store.  I didn't like the selection at all!  I decided to make it a simple homemade card with cardstock, pixie sticks and Pixar Cars stickers.  Each had a Valentine greeting on it thanks to mailing labels - you could just stick it on!  The boys and I sat down and started assembling the cards.  It took us perhaps an hour to assemble and finish - Mommy helped a bit.  Again, I didn't take any pictures!

Anyway, I volunteered in Tommy's class for their Valentine's Day party.  I noticed a lot of the cards were homemade and rather simple, but cute.  I don't think I'll ever buy cards again.  I recognized a lot of the homemade cards from Pinterest!  I thought it was funny.  When the kids come home from school, I ask them if I can read all their cards.  I love doing that...they are so cute.

I know, I always wanted to be one of those parents who had a little Valentines gift for my kids in the mornings and I have done that in the past, but as the kids start school they bring home so much candy after being filled with sugar from their school parties that I really didn't want to add to that anymore.  And I know from years past that the candy collects in our candy box to the point where I have to throw it away because no one eats it.  So, we've stuck to making sugar cookie hearts with lots of sprinkles every year.  I know those will be eaten, if not by the kids, by Mommy.  Oh yeah...

So, after making the cookies, I whipped out some strawberries and melted some chocolate to make these.

I had some help making them.

The kids aren't really into chocolate covered strawberries, but were wondering who they were for.  I said it was dessert for Mommy & Daddy. 

Joe & I love lobster and we find it cheaper to buy it from the grocery and bring it home and have a nice dinner instead of finding a babysitter and paying for an expensive meal.  So, maybe once a month or on special days, like Valentines Day, we'll serve the kids dinner and then eat after they go to sleep.  The kids call it our "secret dinner". 

After our secret dinner, we had those yummy chocolate strawberries.


 
Bernadette playing peek a boo behind our curtains.  Looks like I might have given her some chocolate, too.  Before I had kids, I noticed little kids with messy faces out and about.  I always wondered how their parents would let them walk around like that.  Well, I always notice in the mornings after breakfast when I'm rushing out the door to get my kids to school that Bernadette's face (sometimes her siblings, too) has food all around it.  I am one of those moms.

Houston, We Have Landed...

It is that time of year where Joe & I choose a place to attend a football clinic.  Joe attends the clinic and furthers his knowledge of the game while I tag a long and get some "me" time.  Thankfully, I have the most wonderful in-laws to take care of my kids.  The kids are happy to see us go because they look forward to their grandparents so much.

This year, we chose Houston, TX!  We have never been there before and we have friends that live there - bonus!  As I was researching Houston, I wasn't too excited about anything around the area.  It made me wonder, what is it you look for when you visit a city?  I found myself relating to my kids because I was interested in seeing the Zoo or the Space Center.  I even got a little excited about the Children's Museum and Aquarium, but I couldn't possibly go there without my kids!  So what was left? 

Once we landed, we quickly got our rental car and we were off to our hotel which was about 30 minutes away.  Joe was pretty excited about our premium car rental, a Lincoln Town car.

 
I was hoping for something a bit more exciting, but it was fine.  It was big, wide, spacious and drove well.  I mainly appreciate that new car smell over my regular minivan-that-seats-my-five-kids smell.  I don't know what I was expecting when I got to Houston - yes, I do...desert and a city.  The first thing I noticed were the highways.

They had roads going everywhere and in every direction.  They would elevate and criss-cross like a roller coaster.  They had roads that were so wide, I stopped counting the number of lanes after seven (that is going one way) and assumed the other side was just as wide.  I thought DC had some intimidating roads.

The first day in Houston, I slept in.  Ahhhh....Then I went and visited the gym and jogged for an hour on a treadmill while listening to my iPod and watching ESPN sports (don't regularly follow sports, but it was something to stare at).  I met Joe for a lunch and then afterwards I decided to get into the big Lincoln Town car and tootle around towards the mall to look for a jacket.  It was cold in Houston, unfortunately. 

That evening, after Joe was done with his clinics, we were able to visit with our friends, go out to dinner and then dessert.  It has been a long time since I've had an evening out with adult friends.  It was fun catching up!  It's fun seeing Houston with people who live there and know where to take you!  At the end of the night, we went back to our car to find out it had been towed away.  Thankfully, we were able to get our car back.

The next day, we slept in again, and went jogging at Bear Creek Park.  Then, we headed off to downtown Houston to have some lunch.

We skipped breakfast so we had a pretty large lunch.  I never eat ribs, so that was a treat.  They also had fried okra - I love that stuff, mmmmm.

After lunch, we headed off to Hermann Park to walk around and see the sights.

 

I read about Hermann Park and thought it was a good place to walk around and hangout for the afternoon and our friends also recommended it.

On the way to the other side of the Reflection Pool we saw some cute ducks that gave me some laughs.

I really couldn't resist taking this shot.  There were so many different kinds of birds all over the place.  I was taking shots of all of them, but none really turned out well.  Here's a type of duck I found really pretty.  I have no idea what type it is.

Joe & I went by the Garden Center, but didn't really find many of the flowers in bloom.  In the rose garden, I found just a few blooms.

We headed over to the Japanese Garden which was my favorite part of the park.  It was very peaceful.  We found a couple who wanted their picture taken and in turn took a picture of us.  I don't think Joe & I get enough pictures together.

All over the park were live oak trees that were really old.  They were lined up next to the trail that made it so inviting to walk along.  I may have mentioned before how I would love a driveway with beautiful trees lined up on both sides.

Not sure what it was, perhaps the winding trail, but I wanted to take a picture. 

After Hermann Park we had planned to go to the vigil Mass at Holy Rosary Catholic Church.  We got their early enough to pray and say the rosary.  The Mass was lovely. 

We went to dinner afterwards at the Steamboat House, supposedly the tenth best steakhouse in the country according to...I don't know who.  It was a nice restaurant that gave tribute to Sam Houston and Texas Heroes.  It was decorated with different pieces of history and art.

I always have to take a picture of my food.  We had an appetizer that I've never heard of before.  It was called Salmon Tar Tare (I've had steak tar tare before).  It was raw salmon mixed with avocado and some jalapenos.  It was very good, however tasted much better with lemon on top of each bite.  Joe had the bison burger while I had a 10 oz ribeye, yummy!

Right near our restaurant was our next destination, the Sam Houston Race Track.  I was researching Houston and thought it would be fun to do together.  I've never been to a car, dog or horse race before.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but knew I would be betting on horses.  When we got there, I noticed the seating wasn't like a football stadium - all the way around, but just on one side.  They had 10 races an evening.  Before each race they had an area where you could see them.  I was amazed at the Jockeys.  They were all so short and skinny.  It makes sense for racing, but when and how do you decide you will become a Jockey?  If you are short and skinny, does it cross your mind? 

Then there was a program with all the races listed and the horses' stats in them so you could make your bets accordingly.  Once I saw the program with all those tiny numbers, I just decided against that and decided to bet on the horse with the name I liked best.  I don't like numbers.  Well, I looked at the horses, too and maybe a few of the numbers in the program, but to have to take into account the horses' parents, the jockey, it's age, etc...too much.

We went inside and went to one of these computer thingys and placed our bets then went outside to the track to watch the race.  Joe was explaining all the numbers on the board.  I think we watched about 5 races and I lost every single one.  Some of my horses started strong but all lost their endurance at the end of their race.  Joe won one race.  I didn't take many pictures because it was dark and all my pics were getting blurry.

We watched some races on ground level, but eventually went inside to join everyone else.  Even though the race only lasted a minute or two, it got very exciting for a lot of people who were making money!  It was a fun night, but I got so tired.  I'm not used to being out that late.  I fell asleep on the way back to the hotel.

Overall, I liked Houston (the little of it I saw).  I would like to explore more of Texas because I'm sure there is a lot more to see.  Till next time...