Happiness is....

One would think that as children age it would be easier to take a picture together......apparently these adorable almost 3, 4.5 and 6 year old didn't get the memo.... :)

Growing Up

My oh my how they grow.......

There's No Place Like Home!

Hello 2011!

Before I begin my 2011 "New Year, New Goals" posts, I must recap Christmas!

I am SO FAR BEHIND when it comes to blogging!

I went home for a week for Christmas and it was glorious! I was so glad to be home and after a very hectic November and December, it was so nice to not wake up, shower, eat and work for 14 hours a day, 6 days a week, rise and repeat. I literally stayed in my pjs for 12+ hours one day watching a NCIS marathon, eating cheese balls and Christmas cookies with not a care in the world and I felt like a new person.

Anyway, it started snowing Christmas Day before dinner/after lunch and by Sunday, it was intense! I was getting a bit stir crazy being in the house for almost a full day so I went outside to join mother in the snow removal process! Doesn't she look thrilled?!?

We realized that I was not properly equipped for snow removal as I do not own any snowy weather head gear...aka a beanie. So, I threw on a fashionable baseball hat and my jacket hood wouldn't stay on...it was a mess, but made for a great laugh!

Mother and I took a break from the snow....I mean really, it just kept snowing! It was so pretty! I decided we needed to get out of the house and that a declared "State of Emergency" wasn't going to stop us.


Since I hadn't seen the kiddos in almost an entire day (which is unheard of when I'm home because I usually spend breakfast to afternoon nap time at their house or after nap to dinner) we loaded up the kids gifts from Mom, put them in trash bags so they wouldn't get snowy/wet and walked through our development, down a "main" road and through the next development to get to the kiddos house. It was quite the trek!

Here's mom holding the goods....

And my bag of goods.
But it was worth it!

The kiddos (including the 3 neighbor kids) LOVED Lite Brite...but really, can you blame them? I LOVED Lite Brite! We hung out for a bit and then decided to be rebels and the kiddos dad drove us home in his "manly I can drive through anything" truck.

More to come.....

Wordless Wednesday :)

HOME is where the HEART is

Yesterday, I left work around lunchtime, headed to the airport and flew HOME!!!!

I'm home for a super quick trip, hence the flying not driving.

I left Charlotte, flew to Cleveland, Ohio since I was unable to find a direct flight (I only booked my ticket early Tuesday morning) had a 37 minute layover (which looking back was a bit crazy since I had to switch planes and gates but luckily we landed 15 minutes early so it all worked out) and was off to the Philadelphia airport.

It's only about an hour and a half from the Philly airport to my Mom's house, so really, with all of the flying and driving I still made it home quicker by air!

However, the BEST part of the trip was landing in Philly and walking to meet my Mom. We were on the phone trying to find one another since I wasn't exactly sure where she was and I was just following the massive group of people assuming they were all headed to the parking lot. I thought she was alone because based on our calls/texts throughout the day, she was alone.

But....

I was wrong! She brought T, K and their Mom, C!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As you can see in the first picture, I was VERY excited/surprised/happy!

After we rode on the "moving sidewalk" and found the car, we headed to a super fancy dinner at Applebees.

We happened to sit in a large round booth and we were talking about all of the pictures by us. T was really excited about the Superman photo to the right of my head.

After much discussing, T decided he wanted to MEET Superman. So we looked up his address because it was VERY important to know where Superman lives.

As of 9:00 this morning, T has already written his letter to Superman. We are going to put it in the mail and hope that Superman writes back! They are coming over to swim in a little bit (with little J who is only 21 months old and just a bit too little for the airport craziness) and it's off to mail that letter to Superman!

Hope everyone has a GREAT Friday!!! I know I will!!!!!

E-I-E-I-O......

When I went "home" a few weeks ago, we just had to go to the Farmer's Market!

I have always been a big fan of the Farmer's Market.

At home home in DE, we had a cool Farmer's Market that was in town and they had an Italian Water Ice stand that was probably my favorite. Well, that and the sunflowers that you could buy for a quarter!!!!

The "home" Farmer's Market is right down the street from where I lived when I watched Squirt for his first 9 months of life. I loved that within a 5 minute car ride we were there! I could put Squirt in the stroller and just walk around. It was a great way to pass the time after he took an afternoon nap.

So, Squirt, his mom and I headed to the Farmer's Market to get some veggies for dinner!

Can't wait to go back! It just makes me happy!

A picture is worth 1,000....

...hugs...tears...smiles...laughs....

wednesday

oh how i miss them desperately!

life

if only life could be this easy....

...just wear a seersucker dress and ride a fancy bike with colorful flowers from the garden placed in the basket!

this photo was taken when i went home a few weeks ago. i went to go visit the kids and the neighbors were also outside with their kiddos so it was so cute to see everyone! 6 kids sitting on a blanket under an easy up tent having a picnic lunch with their parents! E, the neighbor mom had just purchased a fancy bike with a basket so naturally i had to look like a southern belle and "ride" it. E's parents and siblings live 15 mins from me in the QC.

Birthday Weekend!

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26

was my actual birthday!

I went to work as I do every morning and after the lunch rush had come and gone, a gentleman walked in to deliver these:

My 3 favorite kiddos in the entire world, T, K & J sent them to me!!! :)

It was a very pleasant surprise! Aren't they pretty!!!!

I came home from work, packed up my things and headed to the somewhat old stomping grounds. Of course by "old stomping grounds" I mean where I lived before moving to the QC in September!

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27

was Jonah's 1st Birthday!

Saturday morning I woke up and went to a far away town to try on a bridesmaids dress for my friend C's wedding in July and after that I came back to the old stomping grounds and went to a birthday party for a very special little boy!

Sweet Jonah turned 1 year old Saturday! I have never gone to such an AWESOME party before in my life! I'm talking balloon animals, ring toss, pin the tail on the donkey, popcorn, cotton candy, photo booth, lollipop tree, petting zoo and this amazing cake:



Watching Janel put it together was like being front row and center for one of the Food Network Challenge Cake competitions! It was awesome!

Of course, the highlight of the party was this little guy!

I'm sure Patrice will post party pictures so it's definitely worth checking out! She did a phenomenal job planning the party and hosting the party!

After I left Jonah's Celebration of the Century, I met A & K for Birthday Dinner followed by a basketball game. It was so fun to hang out with A & K again and to also see so many people at the basketball game that I haven't seen since I moved.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28

was birthday dinner in the QC w/friends

After work I met some friends for Birthday dinner at a restaurant that I hadn't been to yet. It was yummy! As we were leaving we decided that we should get together once a month for lunch or dinner and try out all the restaurants in the area that we've never been too! I think we are on to something with this plan!

We probably won't be invited back here due to the status in which someone, ABC, left the tablecloth!

The great thing is, ABC wrote that upside down! Don't fret...it's just a thick piece of paper they put on top of the linen!

I think it's safe to say I had a great birthday filled weekend!

I am blessed with such an awesome group of friends not to mention a wonderful family!

Wordless Wednesday

*despite the children getting older, it becomes harder and harder to take a picture of the 4 of us! this one makes me laugh! I do love the outfit K picked out to wear :) *

Simple Pleasures

A few of the blogs that I read have done posts about "Simple Pleasures" so I thought I should too!

In no particular order, I find simple pleasures in the following:

1. Talking to but also listening to voice mails from these sweet faces (I get a huge smile when I hear T or K say to their mother "but she's not talkin to me" "why she not talkin to me") I love the innocence of these 3, well J doesn't really talk, he's only 16 months old but the stories they share and the things they want to tell me just make my heart melt! I'd rather be playing with them but I'm in NC and they are in DE.

(and yes this picture is from June 2009, and yes it was freezing in Delaware for some strange reason but what can I say, I don't have the January 2010 one yet :) )

2. Doing laundry! ahh i find it relaxing. sorting clothes. washing them. drying them and the amazing smell. I am a "detergent snob" and I love Tide. I think if Tide made a perfume, I'd wear it.


3. I am a firm believer that a Chick-fil-A sweet tea can cure almost anything. If you wake up and have a blah morning, this theory also works if you add a chicken biscuit. If you're having a blah afternoon, this also works if you add some chicken nuggets. However, you must always drink a sweet tea!


4. In college, if I was having a bad day, I got in the car and drove North on 85 until I got to Chapel Hill. I still find it relaxing to just walk around the campus, grab a bite to eat and just hang out and enjoy being outside and watching people. This might make me sound like a loner but I am comfortable with having "me" time!


5. Grocery shopping! I love grocery shopping. Walking up and down the aisles, essentially just for the fun of it for many aisles and finding what it is that's on the list is relaxing to me. I also feel invigorated when something is on sale and I have a coupon! I don't dred the grocery store and I hope my love for it stays around for awhile. I'm blessed I can grocery shop!

6. eating these ... raw and as soon as they come out of the oven and are all gooey and warm and amazing!


7. The beach. In September/October. I mean I love the beach during beach months but I also love walking in the sand along the water in jeans and a hoodie.

8. Clean sheets. Cozy blankets and comfy pillows!

9. The popcorn machine at Ace Hardware :)

10. Spending quality time with my grandparents/finding myself in situations where senior citizens (I'm talking 70+ on this one!) are just darling and start talking and the way things were "back in the day"...just listening to their concerns and reflections in the middle of an aisle or at a restaurant or in a lobby is just precious!

Ok...that's all I can think of for now! I am blessed :)

Almost Wordless Wednesday!

This is "Fancy Nancy" and today is her 3rd birthday!

Really, this is K, one of the 3 adorable children that I spent everyday with for a year and a half! It is so hard to believe that she is 3 years old today! I took this picture when I went home for Christmas and this is the outfit she wore to Story Hour at the Library. It was adorable! She is definitely all girl, which is fitting since she has an older and younger brother. I absolutely love her and her brothers and miss them terribly!

Happy 3rd Birthday K!!!!!