Aunt Ashley's visit

During her early years, my little sister Ashley was about the girliest-girl you could imagine. She constantly had a doll in hand, was often wearing a tutu, and loved to prance around the house doing some made up dance move. She also loved to wear her hair in pigtails, but insisted that they be called "pinktails" because it just sounded prettier.

She is no longer that little girl. She is now my soon to be 21 year old sister who is full of energy and spunk and can always make me laugh (especially during a family prayer). She recently came to stay with us for the week and our family loved every minute of it. The best part was that she and I were able to run in the DC RunAmuck Race. This is a 5K course which goes through water, obstacles and a 50 yard long mud-pit. To add to the fun, the weather was perfect and they had really good live music. I seriously haven't felt that young in years!

Lucky for us, my good friend Erica was running in the next race so she was able to take some pictures of us crossing the finish line!





Thanks for such a wonderful week Ashley! Thank you for not complaining that my kids woke you up at 6 am everyday...for not being annoyed that they gave you Pink Eye...and for not being disgusted that Luke can't aim and always pees on the toilet seat! We love you girl!

(Now quit screaming that I posted this picture of you! You should be thanking me for Photoshoping the food you were showing me off of your tongue!)

Birthday/Mother's Day

If I didn't have the best mother, mother-in-law, and kids, I might begrudge having my my birthday fall on Mother's Day this year. But, sharing my birthday with this holiday allowed me to focus on what an amazing family I have been given. Both Andrew and I hit the jackpot when it comes to our mothers. Both are incredibly loving, talented, and wonderful examples. We feel blessed to not only have them as our mothers, but as our friends as well. I also feel like we hit the jackpot with our children. I can't even begin to express how much I love being the mother of those crazy kids.

We celebrated this special "me" weekend in Cape May with my family. All I have to say is that I was spoiled rotten. My whole family was spoiled rotten for that matter. Andrew and I even got to go out on the town one night- added bonus! 3 of my siblings were home, so it was fun to pal around with them too. It was a fantastic way to welcome life as a 28 year old!

And with that, I leave you with some pictures of our weekend and my "Top 6 Self-Discoveries" during this past year...

1. Makeup is required. Makeup used to be optional, but after catching some non-makeup glances of myself in the mirror this past year, makeup has become mandatory. I'm slightly bitter that I have to wear concealer and foundation while my mother still wears neither. So much for genetics.
   


2. Comfort over fashion. Even though I wear makeup daily, a t-shirt and jeans are still my daily staples. I have, however, given the heave-hoe to any footwear with a heal. Its flats, flips-flops, ugg boot or sneakers for me. I've got kids to get to school, not a fashion show to attend!
   


3. I love reading "Teen Sci-Fi" books. I'm still not sure how this happened, but I know that I loved the Harry Potter Series, The Hunger Games, and all of Shannon Hale's books. Yikes.


4. I hate country music. I find that my previously favorite genre of music grates on my nerves and is extremely cheesy. This is amazing to me because I used to LOVE it.


5. I love my husband more than ever. I know, I know, I've been saying this a lot lately, but it still surprises me how much being around Andrew never gets old!


6. I am amazed at how much I love being a mom. If I had the choice to do anything in this world, I don't think I could find anything that would bring me as much happiness as being a mom...even on the days when I want to rip all of my hair out.

Standing in front of the banner that is made for every family member for every birthday

The kids with Grandma and all of her Mother's Day spoils

And finally, a picture of Andrew STILL eating while we are trying to clean up and clear the dinner table

Goodbye Ugly!

In case you didn't know it, 1970s-yellow is no longer considered a pleasing color... especially when it is the dominant color used in a bathroom. The problem is when you live in a 40-year-old house, "fixing ugliness" seldom tops the priority list for home projects. But, as luck would have it, the sinks from our upstairs bathroom started leaking onto our kitchen ceiling, which provided us with the perfect excuse to 'update' our bathroom.

We initially only intended to replace the vanity top and leaking sinks, but one thing led to another, and well, we basically ended up redoing the whole thing. The vanity top and sinks were installed by a repairmen (with Andrew's help), and it took us (mostly me, done while Andrew was traveling on business) nearly 3 weeks to do everything else. It really was a lot of fun to do and now I'm looking forward to redoing our master bathroom- which is currently a 1970s-pink. The hardest part of the whole process was overcoming my fear of the tile cuter shown below. After a few tries though I discovered that it was pretty easy to use.

Andrew may feel like his manhood is threatened, but I must say that I really enjoy fixing things up around the house.

The end result...

Happy Birthday Andrew

10 Random Facts About Andrew

Fact 1: Andrew LOVES when I take his picture. LOVES. IT.

Fact 2: He is obsessed with cereal. Seriously. He would eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner and be completely content.

Fact 3: He never complains about anyone. I love him for this.

Fact 4: He gets really excited when he can bike to work.

Fact 5: He sometimes forgets that he is only in his early 30's and uses words like "folk". (context: "They really are good folk.")

Fact 6: He always sings in the shower. Someday I will record this.

Fact 7: I think he secretly fantasizes that he is Bear Grylls from "Man vs. Wild".

Fact 8: He tells the best "Dad, Sam and Luke" adventure stories each night to the boys.

Fact 9: Some of his family and some of my friends refer to him as "Drewski". This nickname was started by our sister-in-law and I think it is hilarious that it has stuck.

Fact 10: We love him dearly and could never ask for a better father and husband for our family.

"Baseball, that's my game."

In the above picture (taken from the first day of school) you will see Sam wearing a shirt which says "Soccer- That's My Game".

Never was a falser statement claimed.

Not only is soccer NOT Sam's game, but he openly dislikes it. I signed him up for a soccer class this past fall and it was a complete disaster. Between mid-practice walk offs, and then outright refusals to go to his practices, it became apparent that I should have consulted Sam before signing him up.

So color me surprised when Sam expressed an interest in playing baseball this spring. This time however, before signing him up, I made him promise (in blood) that he actually wanted to play baseball and would not quit. He assured me that he really wanted to play, even informing me that "baseball, not soccer", was his game.

So far Sam seems to be true to his word. He really enjoys his practices, and even had his first game this past Tuesday. Most importantly, he is really having fun. Maybe baseball is his game after all.

RMM- 2010 Spring Break Edition

Does the Easter Bunny still freak me out? Yes.

Did I eat too much Easter candy? Yes.

Are the Cherry Blossoms still my favorite thing about DC? Yes.

Should you mark your calenders next year to visit us during the Cherry Blossoms? Yes.

Did we love seeing our North Carolina family members who came up for a visit? YES!

The boys and their cousin Anika

Saying goodbye to the cousins

The True Meaning of Spring

Last Saturday Andrew was working in the yard and found a worm. He called Luke over, who upon seeing the worm declared, "Awwww! He is so cute!" Luke then opened his hand and added Andrew's worm to the three he was already holding.

Then on the way to school this morning Luke stopped and picked up a dead worm. I yelled, "No! Don't pick up dead worms!" Luke responded with a laugh and said, "Why? Look how cute he is!"

Precious, right?

Thanks to Luke I no longer think of spring as the season of my birth, but rather the season of worms, mud, sticks and rocks. This is because he snuggles up with every worm in our yard, rolls around in the mud the moment he walks outside, and has to be holding a rock or stick at all times.

Honestly though, I can deal with the worms, I can deal with the rocks and sticks deposited throughout my entire house and minivan, but the mud? The mud is starting to get to me. After repeatedly washing my kids shoes last week and this week, I've decided that they can now play outside in their bare-feet.