My Heart Hurts Today

I knew yesterday was going to be a little different.  You see the kids were off of school for a teacher workday and I was watching them while I teleworked.  Before Willy left for work in the morning, we had made plans for all of us to meet for lunch near his work.  Around lunch time, I called everyone together and we headed out.  As we were walking out the door, I saw a news alert on my phone that said someone had won the Boston Marathon.  I really didn't give it much thought since I'm not a runner and didn't know anyone running.  So when a few hours later I saw there had been an explosion at the finish line, I was confused.  I thought the race was over hours earlier.

 

I turned on the television and my heart just starting aching.  It just brought back all those horrible feelings from 9/11.  Living in this area, the thought crosses my mind several times a week that something like this could happen around here easily AND now it has happened in Boston.

 

This picture literally breaks my heart

 

It's just so overwhelming.  Be strong Boston.  You are in our prayers.

 

 

 

Tuesday

 

Today it's cold and when I say that I mean in my house.  When the workers left last night, they mentioned that the heating system was not working downstairs.  HOWEVER, we determined later after they had left that it wasn't working period.   The temperature in the house this morning - a balmy 54 degrees.  First thing I did was jump in the shower to get warm.  GUESS WHAT?  No hot water either.  Not a great start so far.  Good news is that when I left this morning for work they were working diligently to solve both issues.  Keep your fingers crossed.  I'm the kind of person who believes anything below 75 degrees is freezing.

 

In other news . . .

• Sir T had his first outdoor soccer practice last night.  It was tough getting him there but when he got home at 9:30 he said it went well.  He has practice tonight and then again on Thursday.   
• Sir K seems to be back to healthy status.  He was down with a stuffy nose and cough for about a week.  He is really into the t.v. series The Bible.  I love that he wants to watch it with me.  It's a special bonding moment for us (and it's good television for a change).
• Lady E is doing well.  She had Daisies yesterday and they made a picture frame.  We didn't get to bring it home yet but I did get a sneak peak and it is beautiful. 
• Lady A is awesome.  Last night as we were finishing up with the contractors, I had her downstairs coloring.  When we finally finished and I went back downstairs, Lady A had colored her face like a clown.  It was the funniest thing ever.  She was so proud of herself.  I freaked out at first, then laughed and then laughed again.  We let her parade around the house for quite awhile before I washed it off.  I couldn't help it, it made me smile.  The best part of all was it came off really easy.  She has such a funny personality.
• Willy and I are still both under the weather.  I'm hoping we just have colds.  The granite guy came this morning to measure for the counter tops.  We ended up spending a tad more but we decided to put granite on these 2 little shelves on either side of the glass shower door.  I think that will be a nice touch.

That's about it.  We are moving along nicely.  I hope you are warm wherever you are.  Remember to count your blessings and I will catch up with you soon.

 

Tuesday Is In The Books

Wow it wasn't easy finding this picture. 

If you google pigtails, it's all X-Rated pictures

GO FIGURE

We are now in the third week of the renovations and everything seems to be running smoothly.  We had an appointment early this morning with the inspector and everything went well.  After we got the inspector's blessing, the contractors started laying the floor.  They also talked to us about paint choices.  Good grief it's going fast.  Is it wrong that I haven't even thought about the paint colors yet????   The contractors are FANTASTIC and we are truly loving the experience (SO FAR).

In other news . . .
 

• Sir T is dog sitting this week.  This is his first "paying" gig.  It's for our neighbors who are out of town for a few days.  Sir T is taking it very serious.  I'm (YET AGAIN) so proud of him.

• Sir K has been feeling a little under the weather lately.  I think it's just a stuffy nose/cold at this point.  He's been a real trooper though.  During Spring Break, he is concentrating on reading for 20 minutes each night.  I'm proud of him for doing this without being prompted.  He's fallen in love with the Magic Tree House books.  I love just listening to him read to me.   

• Lady E is doing great.  When I went up to tuck her in last night she was asking me lots of questions about boys (God help poor Willy in a few years).  I absolutely loved our conversation.  She was asking me about the first boy I ever liked, what was his name, was he nice to me, why didn't I marry him?????  I answered all her questions honestly except for the marrying one.  I skirted around that one because in truth I didn't marry Randy my first boyfriend because he had 6 toes on one foot.  Hey, I was 11 and it seemed gross at the time. 

• Lady A is also on Spring Break.  We decided to keep her home too so she could hang out with her brothers and sister.  She is loving it.  Her latest thing is having me put her hair up in ponytails (hence the picture above) so she can crawl around like a puppy.  She calls them her dog ears.  It's SO cute.  Should I be worried?

• Willy and I watched Argo the other day.  I had heard a few people say it was slow but we really loved it.  I'm not even a Ben Affleck fan and it still was good for me.  We are taking the kids over to grandpa and grandma's house tonight for a sleepover.  They are so excited.  Is it wrong when Willy asked me what I would like to do with our free night I replied SLEEP.

I hope your week is pleasant.  Remember to count your blessings and I will catch up with you later.  Until then . . .  

Status Check

 

 

Considering all the "things" going on at the ToddlerTown this week, we are doing fairly well.  I must say though I am starting to see tiny cracks in the armor.  It's definitely NOT as bad as I thought it would be 2 1/2 weeks into a massive home improvement project but it's definitely wearing all of us (maybe just me) down a bit.

 

In other news . . .

• Willy attended a funeral a week or so ago for a childhood friend.  I didn't know the young man but apparently he was Willy's neighbor growing up and they played a lot as children.  So young - such a tragedy.  Funerals are hard enough but when it's someone your own age, UGH.  Unfortunately, just a few short days later, we both attended a funeral for our friend's father that passed from cancer.  I sure hope that's it on the funerals for a long time.

 

• Sir T finished up basketball and indoor soccer this past week but moved quickly to outdoor soccer (no break - great).  He had a tournament and the whole team did fantastic.  They ended the tournament 1-2-1 (they played much better than the scores reflect).  Sir T even scored a goal in the second game.  I am so happy and proud of him.  I love watching him do well.  It warms my heart.

• Sir K is still reeling from his birthday laser tag party last weekend.  I will say it was a great party and all the kids seemed to really have a good time. 

• Lady E had a fantastic time with daddy on her last field trip of the school year. 

 

• Lady A is thoroughly enjoying the snow.  She sure is a happy little lady.

• My workload at the office has calmed down A LOT which makes home-life better and the first day of Spring Break was low key but enjoyable.

How's your week going so far?  
 

Keep In Your Prayers

 

Today would have been Jack Donaldson's 14th birthday.    Keep him and his family in your prayers today.  He IS a remarkable boy doing remarkable things in this world.  I think about him EVERYDAY.

 

 

Happy Birthday My Little Leprechaun

Today is a very special day here at the ToddlerTown.  Our little Sir K is turning 8.  Where did the time go?  It's basically 8 years ago to the minute that I held him in my arms for the first time. 
  

Willy ran to the store this morning for our special breakfast consisting of green donuts, juice, balloons, and a couple of gifts.  We will spend the day at a couple of Sir T's soccer games and then off to Sir K's laser tag party.  I'm so proud of my little man.  He is EVERYthing I could possibly want in a son.  Here is the blurb I wrote about him when I started this blog and it still holds true . . .

SIR K

Sir K is number two on the hit parade. Weighing in at 8 lbs 2 ounces, he entered this world kickin’-and-a-screamin’. He wanted no part of the whole baby process. He wanted to be up and running from day one (gave us quite a run for our money - but oh so worth it). Once he was up (at about 6 ½ months), he was gone. He loves running around the house in his boxers (it's too cute); he loves swimming (he’s like a fish); and he loves anything Star Wars (almost to a fault). Our nickname for him is Grabby (when he was a baby, Sir T said he was always grabbing his toys away and I love that the nickname stuck). He is by far the nicest guy in the house. He will give you the shirt off his back (and I’ve seen him do it); he always thinks of his sisters and brother first; and his hugs can transcend you to a better place. He has the darkest brown eyes I’ve ever seen (they are almost black) but when you look at them, you see a gentle boy who loves life. His kindness makes me a better mom.

A Perfect Day

 

Snowed in with the family.  Safe and warm.  I'm loving it. 

 

Enjoy and be safe.

Change Is Good, Right?

This past Sunday was the passing of an era.   As you know, we are getting ready to start our BIG renovation project on the bathrooms.  Albeit exciting, there is A LOT to get done in terms of shifting, purging and moving.  For instance, I think we have decided to live in the basement.  Since we are basically moving every wall on the top level, it just makes sense to stay in the basement.  Doesn't sound that bad, right?  Well, take into consideration there is no bedroom or bathroom in the basement and as you may recall, WE HAVE FOUR KIDS.  Should make for some FUN (and interesting) times.

 

Back to the "passing of the era" part.  With the cleaning out phase taking place right now, it was time to say good-bye to our beloved crib.  The crib that has SO safely held our four beautiful children.  The crib that has marked my days as a mother of small children.  The crib that has been a member of this family for over 10 years now.  The good news is we gave it to a beautiful young Polish family.  They are expecting their first child in the Spring and I couldn't be happier for them and their new journey.  

 

I sat for a bit and just remembered that beautiful feeling when our crib first arrived.  The memory of putting together the nursery for our sweet first child.  Oh how I sat and counted my blessings.

 

 

Happy Valentine's Day

It's a tradition here at the ToddlerTown to start off every holiday with a Dunk'n Donuts breakfast.  I always pick up a cute plate/napkin/cup ensemble to match the holiday, Prince Willy runs to the donut shop before anyone wakes up and then we all share a donut and a smile before starting our day.   Lady A was so excited to receive her box of chocolates this morning.  I guess since I said it was a gift, she thought it was her birthday all day today.  There is no convincing her otherwise so -- happy birthday my sweet girl (even though her birthday isn't until October).

 

This afternoon while waiting for the kids to get off the bus, I received a nice little red box full of chocolate covered strawberries from Willy.  The card read "I will love you forever".  Beautiful.   I love it.

I hope everyone is enjoying a SWEET day. The kids are on a sugar high from all the candy today and as crazy as it sounds, I LOVE IT.

 

Happy Valentine's Day to all.  Today always reminds me of one of my favorite verses, John 3:16:

 

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 

 

 

 

 

Happy Wednesday

 

 

I hope everyone is having a great start to this Wednesday.  Thus far we are running smoothly. 

 

Our Wednesday started off with Sir T's carpool picking him up for before school Sports Camp.   I think I have mentioned a few times before how Sir K is the NICEST GUY IN THE HOUSE and this morning just proved it AGAIN.  Sir K was coming down the stairs this morning as Sir T was leaving.  As he watched him get into the car, I heard him softly say "Good-bye my brother.  Have a great day.  I'll see you tonight."  Awwww, I SO love this boy. 

 

Lady E has cheerleading practice after school today.  This is a BIG practice.  As I mentioned before, her squad is performing at the local high school's girl's varsity basketball game on Friday night so today is their last practice before the BIG game.  

 

Lady A had an interesting night.  I don't think I have mentioned this but she is a clothes diva.  She changes several times a day and seems to be able to coordinate outfits (at times).  Anyway, about 3 am this morning I awoke to her screaming.  I ran into her room and found all her clothes laying on the ground.  She was standing there with just pajama bottoms on crying "I can't find anything to match this".  I immediately grabbed a shirt and put it on her.  She smiled and feel asleep right away.  Not sure what this means down the road.

 

That's about it for now.  I have "pick up" duty today so I have to scoot out early from work.  I DEFINITELY have to take Sir T to the store for new sneakers tonight AND at some point here I will have to come up with something for dinner.

 

Enjoy the rest of your day, stay safe, and ALWAYS remember to count your blessings.

 

Until next time . . .    

I've Fallen Asleep and I Can't Get Up!!!!

 

Maybe it's the weather -- maybe it's the time of year -- I don't know but I can't get up in the morning lately.  Are you having that same problem?  That doesn't jive real well when the ToddlerTown has a packed schedule.

 

We started off the week with a Super Bowl get together Sunday night at a friend's house.  I think we stayed TOO late though and that was my fault.  See, Willy started giving me the sign about 9:00 but it wasn't until about 10:00 that I realized "hey, we got to go to school and work tomorrow".  Oh well, the entire family had a great time so it was worth it.

 

Willy and I spent 3 hours yesterday at the tile shop.  Boy, putting together 3 bathrooms is A LOT of work.  We have almost finished the floor plan, we picked out all the fixtures and we are very close to finishing up the tile.  The only task outstanding is granite selections.

 

In the world of kids, tonight we have religious education for Sir K and Lady E while Sir T has basketball roughly at the same.  Tomorrow Sir T has intermural play in the morning before school while Lady E has cheerleading after school.  We have a new event on our schedule (yippee for me, right?).  Sir T is taking a video design course on Thursdays now.  His first class was last week and he LOVED IT.  So Thursday is 3-D class for Sir T in the morning, a workshop for Sir K's first communion on Thursday night and at the same time as first communion class, Sir T has soccer practice. 

 

We do have a very special Friday night planned.  Lady E will be performing a cheerleading routine at the local high school girl's varsity basketball game.  She is too excited about performing in front of a crowd.  We have the grandparents coming and I'm sure after the performance, we will all go out and celebrate with a nice dinner.    

That's about it for the week's activities (isn't that enough?).  Somewhere in this crazy week, I have to do laundry, clean, cook and run a few errands for myself.  It's a fast-paced life but I love it.  Have a fantastic rest of the week everyone.  Stay safe, warm and count your blessings. 

Until next time . . .  

 

 

 

We Are NOT Floored by the Floor Plan

As you may know, the ToddlerTown is in the design stage of remodelling our upstairs area.  Here is a look at the current floor plan:

 

We currently have 4 bedrooms, a sitting room and two bathrooms.  Our main objectives for the renovation are to create an en suite bathroom for the girl's room using the existing hall bathroom; take the existing master bathroom and make that a hallway bathroom; and create a new master suite bathroom with a walk-in closet.

 

We got the drawings from the architect several days ago and we just can't seem to get happy with it.  

 

Here is Option No. 1:

 

 

Here are my issues:  I feel like the bathroom connected to the girl's room is TOO big for the room.  It's bigger than the master bathroom almost.  I love the closet space in the girl's room but it also seems out of proportion to the room size.  The bedroom to the left of the stairs has now been reduced to a size that seems not useable.  Finally, I feel like the hallway is too choppy.

 

Here is Option 2:

 

My concerns with this option is the closet in the girl's bathroom is way TOO small and I'm still not comfortable with the size of the bathroom to the bedroom.

 

My plans are to have the girls share a room as long as I can (into their teens I'm hoping).  If I know anything, I know this means I need closet space.  It would be nice to have 2 sinks in the girl's bathroom but I'm not sure it's necessary.  Remember, this will also double as a guest room. 

 

Anyway, if you have any thoughts/comments/suggestions, I'm listening.

  

 

Finally Friday Forum

 

It's Friday - Yahoo.   I hope everyone had a wonderful week and your weekend plans are full of family and friends. 

 

The ToddlerTown has been moderately busy this week.  Sir T had basketball and soccer practice; Sir K and Lady E had their Tuesday night RE class; and Lady A had a pajama party at school yesterday and she had a blast.

 

More importantly, we got great news this week.  Sir K who has been participating in a reading program before school each morning got cleared to be dismissed from the program.  This means that he is finally up to passing levels on his reading skills.  He has REALLY been working hard and Willy and I are so proud of him.  I'm kind of sad he's leaving the program because the teacher has been magnificent with him.  She has really opened up Sir K's eyes to how exciting reading can be.  God bless our school and the teachers.  We really do have the best school system in the country.  We are planning to take the family out for dinner on Saturday to celebrate Sir K's big accomplishment.

 

In other news, Willy did a great thing the other day.  A group of neighborhood dads got together to help our neighbors in need.  These are the neighbors where the father was just diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  They met last Saturday morning to take down all their Christmas decorations (inside and out) and get them back in the attic for them.  I know it's a small gesture but both Willy and I are committed to helping this family in anyway that we can.  I'm still so sad over their situation but continue to pray for healing and strength for them all.  It's definitely a tough situation.

 

That's about it.  Willy just called me here at work to tell me he rented the new Bourne movie from Redbox (I love Jeremy Renner) and it's Papa John's pizza night at the ToddlerTown (double yahoo).

 

Stay safe everyone and have a terrific weekend.  Remember to count your blessings and I will catch up with you soon.  Oh yeah I forgot to mention that we had a really successful meeting with the architect, builder and designer yesterday and I'm excited to see the drawn up plans in a week or so. 

 

   

Love This

You will never have this day with your children again.

Today is a gift.

Breathe and notice.

Study their little faces and feet.

Relish the charms of the present.

Enjoy today mama, it will be gone before you know it.

- Jan Hatmaker

Happy New Year

 

Happy New Year Everyone!  I hope you had a blessed Holiday Season and are ringing in the New Year with health and happiness.

I just took a look back at my January 6, 2012 post and my New Year's Resolution was "LIVE IN THE MOMENT. LIVE IN THE NOW. HELL JUST LIVE and do it with joy and happiness."    How did I do? 

I think I did pretty well this year.  I seized EVERY possible moment I could to hug more, love more, have fun more and enjoy the moments that are MY LIFE.  Sure I got down a few times (now it seems about stupid stuff but as it was happening . . . well you know).  Willy and I watched all four of our children grow physically, emotionally and academically.  Willy's parents and my side of the family are all doing well mentally and physically and are a blessing to us on a daily basis.  Both our jobs are secure (for now) and although we are not the riches people on earth (or even close to it) we are able to provide everything we need for our family (and then some).

So all in all it was a great year for us.  What's my New Year's Resolution for 2013?  I really want to work on my marriage.  Relax - we are not in any trouble but let's face it, it's been about the kids for 11 years now (REALLY ABOUT THE KIDS).  So now that they are all in a good place (no one's in diapers anymore), we can spend more time getting to know each other again.  I DO realize with all my heart that he is one of the good ones.  He comes home every night, loves his kids without reserve and is an excellent provider for all of us.  We live in a beautiful home, have 4 AWESOME children and the bottom line is we are happy.

WHAT MORE COULD YOU ASK FOR?????  Well maybe if I could shed a few pounds that would be nice.  I'm just saying . . . .

 

I saw this and wanted to share....

This morning was awful dropping the children off at school.  I got scared, my heart started breaking (again) and tears started flowing when I saw the police officers in the drop off area.  I saw this poem and it helped (a bit).

 

Twas' 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38
when 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven's gate.
their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air.
they could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.
they were filled with such joy, they didn't know what to say.
they remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.
"where are we?" asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.
"this is heaven." declared a small boy. "we're spending Christmas at God's house."
when what to their wondering eyes did appear,
but Jesus, their savior, the children gathered near.
He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same.
then He opened His arms and He called them by name.
and in that moment was joy, that only heaven can bring
those children all flew into the arms of their King
and as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,
one small girl turned and looked at Jesus' face.
and as if He could read all the questions she had
He gently whispered to her, "I'll take care of mom and dad."
then He looked down on earth, the world far below
He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe
then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,
"Let My power and presence re-enter this land!"
"may this country be delivered from the hands of fools"
"I'm taking back my nation. I'm taking back my schools!"
then He and the children stood up without a sound.
"come now my children, let me show you around."
excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran.
all displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.
and i heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,
"in the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT."

Written by Cameo Smith, Mt. Wolf, PA

Holiday Management 101

 

I was thinking today while running around to 3 different local malls and a handful of specialty stores that there should be a required course in college called "Holiday Management 101". 

 

HM101 would only be available  to women for obvious reasons.  The professor would teach multitasking skills like how to bake 10 different types of cookies while doing laundry, cleaning, shopping, wrapping, hiding, more shopping, more wrapping, more hiding, more cleaning, more laundry and repeat (CONSTANTLY).  The class would also teach how to do hair and make up to look great while in the middle of a nervous breakdown (or as I like to refer to it "Holiday Hysteria").

 

There would be wine served during each class.  Who's in???

Hip Hip Hooray

 

 

Today started out a little hectic but we're all back on track.  As you can imagine, the kids are all gooned up for the holidays and our upcoming annual trip to Hershey Park.  I'm not going to lie, this trip is the REAL start of the holiday season for me.  We have been doing this trip for probably 5 years now.  It's a wonderful quick getaway for our family.  I'm a little sad that the grandparents aren't joining us this year though.  You know, it's only a one night stay and it is jammed backed with activities so I think it's just a little too much for them. 

 

We have a ton of stuff planned.  We will enjoy the pool (great me in a bathing suit again - UGH), have breakfast with Santa, tour the Hershey Museum and drive through the Sweet Lights display.  Last year, Lady A was scared of Santa but we all have been prepping her and I think she will be happy to talk to Santa.  She has a VERY big wish list.

 

In other news, Lady E is participating in a cheerleading presentation this afternoon.  She is TOO excited to show us all her routines.  The whole family is going including the grandparents.  It should be a wonderful time.  I've got the video recorder and camera ready to go.

 

I'm out the door to do a little Christmas shopping.  As you can probably figure out, I'm off work today but have a ton of stuff to knock out. 

 

Stay safe everyone.  Enjoy your families and have a magical day.  

Keepin' It Simple

 

One of my all-time favorite Christmas albums

 

PARTYING AT:  Wow Us Wednesday; Between Naps on the Porch

Here is a picture of the ToddlerTown Christmas front door.  This is our first year with the portico so I was so excited to decorate.  My thought process was I wanted to keep it simple, traditional and elegant.  In the past, we have done lights on all the shrubbery and lights across the roof line but as I said I wanted to be simple.  I continued with the candle in each window centered by a wreath. 

 

I absolutely love it.   What do you think?

 

Sorry the quality of the picture is poor. 

I took it with my phone

 

I hope you have a wonderful weekend.  We are headed out the door to Sperryville, Virginia to pick out the perfect tree.  I'm so excited and of course the kids are gooned up out of their minds.  I love it. 

A Punch Right to the Stomach

 

 

I hope everyone had a nice weekend.  Mine sucked.  At Sir T's basketball game on Saturday morning, a friend of ours told me that our neighbor was just diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.  My heart is broken.  Our neighbor, Jay (I'll call him), is a very handsome 49 year old father of two brilliant beautiful children and married to an absolutely gorgeous and friendly woman.  They are the PERFECT American family. 

 

Why is this happening to him?  His family?  His friends?  His parents?

 

As you can imagine, the diagnosis is not good.  6 months to a year.  I can usually find something positive in everything but this one -- NOTHING.  My thoughts are all over the page.  I haven't slept in two nights and I am in a funk.  THIS MAKES NO SENSE.   I'm heartbroken.