I've been meaning to blog more regularly...  but I've been finding myself busy...  

busy doing not much of anything...  

but it's been pretty great so far.

Need I say more?

Happy Father's Day, Jay!

Thank you for taking care of us.  You work so hard to provide for your family.  

And you also have fun with us, cook for us, play with us and take us places!

Thank you for being Abby's soccer-dad.  Thank you for cooking us such delicious dinners.  Thank you for getting us on the the "Fitness Train"!  Thank you for dancing with us.  Thank you for going in the pool with us.  Thank you for keeping our yard & pool so beautiful.  Thank you for making us laugh with your games, songs and tickles!

Thank you for being the best husband, friend, daddy and man I know.

-EAL

Thank you for making waves in the pool for me yesterday!

-AJL

Thank you for the day!

-WJL

I love you so much, thank you for making me your baby!

-AJL

I like Daddy!

-WJL

 

First Day of School 2009

 

Last Day of School 2010

 

Thank you Mrs. Monarca & Mrs. Casey!!!

Today was the last day of school for my girl.  She finished one year of Pre-K and will have one more before she officially begins Kindergarten.  Such is the tale of the January-born kid.
She loved school and while I don't think it has entirely sunk in yet that it's over, I would be suprised if she's really broken up over it being over.
The girl loves the beach, the mall and general laziness almost as much as her mother.


Today was also the last day of my babysitting gig for Q & K.  Two school years of being with those kids daily and a lot has happened.  When we started, Wyatt was less than a year old & Abby was barely 3.  Quinnie went from an innocent 11 year old to a hormonal almost-13 year old.  Kieran went from a little boy at Gilead Hill to a tiny man at Hebron El.
I've said it all before and you've read it here.
It's been an amazing two years.  I have learned so much about and from these kids and I can only hope that I have left a positive and loving mark on their lives, as well.
I know my friendship with the family will last our lifetimes and I am grateful for having these years to bond with and secure that with the kids.
I was never "just a babysitter" to them, and they were never " a job" for me.

Did you miss me?
Ok, did you even try to visit me while I took the site down for a few days?  No, right?
Well, I missed you.

I wanted to "close the road" while I was "under construction".

Now, I am back - with my new "Summer Look", compliments of Gini.  Because I didn't think she had enough on her plate - what with her moving across the country, moving again (down the street), getting 3 kids acclimated to new schools in the middle of the school year, starting her own business and managing her own personal life and blog - I figured she could help me with some HTML and design ideas.
She was clearly not doing enough with her days, right?

So, Gini, sister of one of my very best friends, Kimmie, helped me rebuild The Raft and I am eternally grateful.
I will also use this ass-kissing blog entry to mention that I may want her help again when the season changes...  each time the season changes...  no big deal, right?  You have time, right, Gini!?

Now, go take a look at Gini's blog.  Her creativity, honestly and humor will entertain you, I have no doubt.

I really love this commercial.

And this one.

Oh, and I really cried the first few times I saw this one.

I was really touched by my friend Kim's blog a few weeks ago.  I think she sums up what it is to be "mom" very well.  It's really no wonder we adore each other so... 

I was thinking about it today when I was cleaning up puke, then some poop, more puke (different puker), orange juice all over me in public, wet dogs in my car - all the while preparing and then maintaining the house for a showing for all the local Realtors.

I love being mommy so much.

I have loved it since they put my girl in my arms almost 4 and a half years ago.

But it's only been this last year or so that I really feel like I've gotten myself back.

I have retrieved what I have always loved so much about myself {in addition to improving a few things that were irritating me}.
Maybe at first I thought I had to be something different to be a good mom.
Maybe I was trying to act a part.

Whatever the case may be, I am feeling so good lately. 
And I know this blog plays a role in that, so thank you for reading me.  It is such a great outlet, such a terrific way to journal and express myself.

Memory Monday

I didn't start doing Memory Monday in hopes of proving anything to anyone or honoring everyone I love with something special each week.  I started it because it's fun to feature someone that I have a great story about.

As I have been thinking about who to write about next, though, I am finding more and more of my stories revolve around things that I don't necessarily feel like celebrating anymore as I am in my thirties, a wife and mother!  Ha!
But, I have a few PG-13 stories up my sleeve, still and this one involves my best friend from Elementary School, Shannon.

She's been on my mind because she has her new baby occupying her time and as I see the pictures and hear the great stories on Facebook, I am reminded not only of those scary, fun and sleep-deprived early days of Baby #1, but of my friend who I haven't seen in 15 years and how, if we sat down for a cup of coffee right now, it would feel like 15 minutes.

Shannon lived down the road from me when we were kids.  It was actually pretty far by today's standards (almost 2 miles, give or take) but we rode our bikes or walked back and forth, parent-free, every day.  These days, kids get driven if it's more than 5 houses!
Sometimes we would pack a snack and stop our bike ride halfway (just about at Pizzorusso's house) for some peanuts and to catch our breath from whatever we were laughing so hard about.  Shannon's house always had peanuts, in the shell.  I don't know why but I always thought that was so cool.  And if we weren't riding together, I can remember riding home from her house as fast as I possibly could, knowing that I was dead meat if I was late and possibly even dead-er meat if it was getting dark and something got me!

Shannon's was the first house I had a sleepover (besides Auntie Eleanor's!).
We played Little League together.  We swam in the lake.  We rode the bus to and from school together every day.  We played Barbies and Movie Stars and talked endlessly about boys.  We sang together, made up songs and performed them.  We played Volleyball together, later in school.  We were in "The Brewster Dozen" and Select Chorus together.  We ate, watched movies and just did nothing together.  Constantly.

Like so many innocent, childhood friendships we went our separate ways as middle school and high school pressures slipped into our day-to-day activities.   But even though we had very different social circles, we stayed friends.  And today, in our thirties, we are both wives and mothers.  And I still cherish our memories of riding our bikes and singing about Miss Liberty.

I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch, but Wyatt has been going on the potty like a pro.
We decided that Memorial Weekend was his weekend.  He could be naked at home for 3 straight days and if you've ever potty trained a kid, you know that naked time is essential.  He loves going on the potty.  He loves to wear his big boy undies and he loves to be like his big sister.  So, the planets aligned this weekend and away we went!
Today is Thursday and he is diaper-free and happy to announce his needs.  We'll see how he does as the day wears on and he eventually has to go poop.  But, I'm pretty optimistic.  He's already pooped on the potty a few times without me forcing the issue.  It's just a matter of staying on top of him an reminding him.

I am not going to make my weight goal by my birthday as I had planned back in April.  I was hoping to lose about 10 more pounds than I actually did.  And I won't be losing 10 pounds in less than 2 weeks.  So, I have to take solace in that, even though my lbs are not melting off as quickly as I wish they would, my body is definitely getting slimmer.  I need to shop, I can't wear most of my clothes and I have started giving them away.  I'm all about drawstrings and babydoll dresses right now.  Sort of ironic.  The clothes I wore to mask early pregnancy are the same type I need right now.
I may make my new goals more fitness oriented and less lb oriented.  Although I won't be forgetting all about the scale (wish I could but it's not that simple) I am going to simplify my weight goals and amp up my fitness goals.
I am in the process of making a workout that suits my time frame and my needs.  Based on what I like to do and what I need to do per my personal trainer.  My sessions with him are over but I need to take what I learned with me so it wasn't a waste of money.
When that's done, I will post that here and update it as I improve.
With Fridays as my new weigh-in day, I will set my new goals next week, giving me time to set up my routine etc.

We gave up eating meat recently.  I don't cook it at home although I do still order it when we eat out and I still make hot dogs and chicken nuggets occasionally for lunch for the kids.
We eat a lot of fish, a lot of pasta and a lot of vegetables.  We use the Morningstar and Boca meat alternatives and have found the ones that are really good (veggie burgers, crumbles for sauce and tacos) and the ones that are absolutely disgusting (breakfast sausage, hot dogs).
I am having my iron tested tomorrow, though, because I am absolutely exhausted and had a sudden realization that I may not be getting enough iron without the red meat portion of my diet.  I'm sure I don't eat enough leafy greens and beans to make up for it.  But I am not sure enough to start popping iron supplements, so we'll wait and see.
But seriously, as I type this at 2 in the afternoon, I could fall asleep on the couch.  And that is how I feel every day.  And at 2:00, my day is only about half over.  I still have the "after school" portion, dinner, bedtime and "me" time.  I have laundry to fold and dinner to cook but absolutely no energy.  I am hungry but too lazy to go get something.  What a conundrum.

We are going house hunting  on Saturday.  I cannot wait.  We are finally going to see the inside of the house we have been dying to have.  We are about 2 seconds from buying this house sight unseen so it's probably a good idea to go check it out.  I can only hope that someone else is thinking the same thing about our house right now.