Valentine's Day, Pt. 2

I am on a little roll here...blogging everyday this week! Wow! (I don't know, is that good or pathetic?)

We had a really nice Valentine's Day yesterday. We have never gone out on Valentine's Day...too crowded...and we never used to have a sitter....or the $. We used to feed the kids and put them to bed a little early...then have a nice dinner with just B & I. Well, now that we have "older kids"...the problem is that they don't go to bed! Half of the time we fall asleep before them....it is pretty sad.

The kids used to just eat mac & cheese or chicken nuggets, but this year we made them a nice dinner too. (Shrimp cocktail, London Broil, baked potatoes, mushrooms, salad & heart shaped sugar cookies for dessert!) It was kind of cute...the 3 kids sitting there having a candlelit dinner. B & I were the waiters, I think they liked that part the most. After they finished, we always do a Scavenger Hunt for them....I don't remember how it started...we've been doing it so long, but basically we make up a series of clues that they have to follow and at the end they get a little present. Then they all went up and Veruka put Mike to bed (she's the best!) and she and Charlie hung out in her room while B & I had our romantic dinner. (That's a serious run on sentence....sorry!) After dinner, we watched LOST. Not very romantic....but hey, we both wanted to watch it...we've been waiting a long time for LOST to come back on... we didn't want to miss one episode! (It was well worth it too, I mean come on, Saiid working for Ben after they get rescued!!! Wow!)

B always gets me roses, one for each year we've been Valentines. You won't believe it, but this year was our 25th Valentine's Day together!!! I know it sounds like a lot, doesn't it? (A quarter of a century!) I used to cringe at the thought of the $, but it's once a year, he likes to do it, and I think it's sweet. The past couple of years, he's been getting Veruka flowers too...(just a half dozen for her.) I heard a really sweet story about roses this week....if I can find it online, I'll post it.

The other cool thing we do is with our cards. Four years ago, B & I actually bought each other the same card....(I know...it is sweet, isn't it???) I saved the cards and each year on Valentine's Day we sign them again. One day, those 2 cards will be completely covered in messages to each other. (It also saves us from having to buy a new card each year...it can be tough to find that perfect card!)

Hopefully, all 3 of our kids are learning how to treat and be treated by their future spouses. Nothing would make me happier than to one day have grown sons who love and respect their wives and a daughter who loves and is loved by her husband.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

The kids went back to school today! Yea! I love a day off here and there just as much as the kids...sleeping in....playing games....watching movies.... however, I sure was glad that they got to go back today. I had one kid home half the day Mon and all 3 home Tues because of 'Primary' Election Day & all 3 home Wed because of the ice. I'm going to have to be a lot more organized this Summer, or it's going to be a long couple of months!

I was a little sad this year, because only ONE of my kids got to bring Valentine's cards to school. They are growing up so quickly!

I've been messing around with my layout. What do you think of my new look??

Cute Prayer

Monday night I was at a meeting and B put the kids to bed. Our Little Buddy was saying his prayers and he asked God to let him have a good Primary Election Day.

B said he was totally serious too.....not just day off school, or Election day, but PRIMARY Election Day!

Future politician??? Hmmm.

Real things my kids have said to me.

I love you.

You're the best Mommy in the whole wide world!

You're mean.

You're the meanest Mom in the world.

I bet all the other Mom's are nicer than you. (Yes, I'm sure they are.)

You're lucky because you got to have Grandma for a Mom and she's way nicer than you. (Hee hee, that one always makes me smile. This has been said about BOTH Grandmas!)

You never let me do anything.

I should be allowed to go to the party because ________ is going and her parents are strict like you guys.

Just drop me off and when you pick me up, don't talk.

My friends all think you are cool, but they don't know you.

Why do we have to get another minivan? I want a convertible Mustang. (Oh wait, sorry, that was me.)

Mom, don't let Dad do or say anything that would embarrass me. (As if I can control him!)

You never let me drink soda. When I turn 21 I am going to drink nothing but soda, soda, soda. (I should have gotten that one in writing!)

Actually, I'm glad you are my Mom.

I love you.

Brrrrrrr!

I have two words for you.....

FOURTEEN DEGREES!!!!

That is how cold it was this morning when we woke up!  Yes, that's right, 6 days ago it was 74 degrees and this morning it was 14 degrees!!!

Have I told you that I hate Winter????

It's the Bahamas, Baby!

I thought I'd post some pictures from mine & B's long weekend in the Bahamas.  (He was there all week with work and I flew down to join him Thurs-Sun.)  A little sunshine is always good for the soul. I love, love, love spending time alone with B, without the kids. We always have a great time. It's kind of like a little sneak preview of our future!

Roto Rooter has been very good to us. (Thanks M & D too, for watching our gang.)

I thought this would be a nice pick me up for some of you, but...... it was 74 degrees here yesterday! It's February and my kids wore shorts to school!!! Crazy! (Sorry, to those of you suffering in the cold...I don't mean to rub it in.) The Weather Channel is saying we might get snow here on Saturday night. You gotta love this unpredictable East Coast weather!

My Baby is 8!!!!

I cannot believe it, but my baby is 8!!!! It is just amazing how quickly these past 5 years have flown by since we moved back to Maryland. It seems as if someone has hit the fast forward button on my life, and as hard as I may try, I can't stop it. Does anyone else feel this way?


Why is it that when your kids are babies and toddlers, the time seems to move EXCRUCIATINGLY slow, but just when they get a little older and things finally seem to get a little easier, the time flies by at the speed of light??

I mean, for Pete's sake, in 3 1/2 years we will have a kid in COLLEGE! I digress, this post isn't about her, it's about my baby, my Little Buddy. So let me get myself back on track. (We've called him "Little Buddy", since he was born. It's always "The Big Kids" and "Little Buddy." He'll probably be a 6 foot tall, 30 year old, married man....but he'll still be my "Little Buddy!")

All right, now I'm really going to get back on track. This year he really wanted to have a sleepover. We tried and tried to convince him to do something else. I tried to push the laser tag party on him, but he wasn't interested. Finally, B & I sat down and talked about it. Why were we trying to convince him to go somewhere for his party? We'd end up spending $250-$300 for a party, and it wouldn't have been what he really wanted!! So, with fear and trembling, we decided to let him have the sleepover.

Because he has an early January birthday, we usually wait a few weeks to have his party. It turned out that we are so dag on busy time(isn't this supposed to be our easy time of year?) that the only time available was on a Sun to Mon when the kids had off school for MLK's Bday. That was fine, but Bri had to leave first thing in the AM to head to a meeting in the Bahamas. I'd be on my own for breakfast and the boys departure. Yikes!

Actually, the party was great!

He had invited 9 friends, but one couldn't make it. So it ended up being 9 boys total, including him. They did a cool Amazing Race type scavenger hunt. The boys were divided into 2 teams and they were given a clue to lead them somewhere in the house. When they got there they had to complete a task and then they'd get their next clue, etc, etc, until they were finished the race. Both teams got prizes. (I have learned something over the years and years of parties!) Thank goodness for the big kids. They were both great helpers! Then, they played lots and lots of football, the two teams were supervised by B.....just to make sure there wasn't any rough tackling going on! We did gifts and cake. The boys played video games and watched 2 movies. Then, they all went to sleep....well, all but one. The last kid stayed awake until after 4AM! (Thankfully, it was my nephew!) Most of them were asleep by 12:30AM. They had a blast.

Here are some pictures. The first one is from his real Bday. His gift from us was a BMX bike. Now he's just like his Big Bro!

Check out the pix of B's Kick-off by finger. Funny!