Splish Splash!

Summer is a wonderful, relaxing and free time. But the fun and carefree feeling can fade fast if you or someone you know is not comfortable in or around water. Water safety is a HUGE part of summer, whether you are at the pool, on a boat or visiting the beach. This year I decided to sign Tommy and Annaleah up for Swim Classes. However this does not prevent accidents from occurring, but it gives them a better understanding of how to be safe in and around water. They started by practicing blowing bubbles, most small children hold their nose and take a deep breath, they often end up sucking in water instead of blowing out air. They also have learned to be comfortable in the water, if you are a wiggly worm you will not float. They are also learning how to swim, they are learning big arms, and gliding on the surface, retrieving objects and floating on their backs and back stroke, etc... I know they will be stronger swimmers than I am in no time, and with their knowledge of water safety and their confidence in the water I can watch from arms length rather than be afraid to let them go without me in the water. Make sure you are caught up on water safety and CPR this summer!!! Hope everyone is having a fun and safe Summer!

A Yankee Doodle Dandy Day!

Independence Day is a day for parades, BBQ's, picnics, home made ice cream, family reunions, political speeches and of course fireworks. It is a day of celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States.

"During the American Revolution, the legal separation of the Thirteen Colonies from Great Britain occurred on July 2, 1776, when the Second Continental Congress voted to approve a resolution of independence that had been proposed in June. After voting for independence, Congress turned its attention to the Declaration of Independence, a statement explaining this decision, which had been prepared by a Committee of Five, with Thomas Jefferson as its principal author. Congress debated and revised the Declaration, finally approving it on July 4 1776."

"In a remarkable coincidence, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson, the only signers of the Declaration of Independence later to serve as Presidents of the United States, died on the same day: July 4, 1826, which was the 50th anniversary of the Declaration. Although not a signer of the Declaration of Independence, James Monroe, the Fifth President of the United States, died on July 4, 1831. Calvin Coolidge, the Thirtieth President, was born on July 4, 1872, and, so far, was the only President to be born on Independence Day."



Tommy, Annaleah and I celebrated the day with dressing in our festive Red White and Blue and headed up to Oma's House, although my mom and dad were out of town- we visited Patsy, David and Jonathan and my friend Megan came over to enjoy swimming, pasta salad, independence day jello, corn on the cob, all American hamburgers and hotdogs and home made ice cream. Tommy and Annaleah helped putting the salt and ice over the can of ice cream to keep it cold as it turned the smooth cream into delicious ice cream. We wore our festive swim suits and jumped into the pool and splashed away the afternoon, and we took a nap in the sunshine and worked on our tans-however, I am still ghost white, maybe if I wear shorts the rest of the summer I might get a little bit of color. Plus, Sandy and Robert stopped by to say Hello. Last but not least, I love seeing the fire work display that sparkle and light up the night sky. What a wonderful celebration!



Many classic films played on television in honor of the day: Yankee Doodle Dandy, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Independence Day, 1776, Born on the Fourth of July, The Patriot, The Music Man(1962 version), Stars and Stripes Forever, To Kill a Mockingbird... the list goes on and on!

I love seeing all of the United states flags waving with pride, the 50 Stars that represent the states that sit in the blue rectangle that represents the Union, the 13 stripes that represent the thirteen original colonies that rebelled from the British Monarchy. Wave Old Glory Proud!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Day and I hope everyone enjoyed the festivities and was able to reflect on the history of the day and everything our country and founding fathers went through to get us to where we are today!

I hope everyone had a happy and safe Independence Day!

God Bless America!!!

The Simple Things in Life Make All the Difference

Breakfast on the patio, listening to the birds sing their morning song. Lazy days laying in the warm glow from the sun as a soft breeze passes over you. Sipping freshly brewed iced tea, and having a picnic at the park with sequels of joy fill the air as my children play merrily in the green grass. Making home-made popsicles from fresh juice or constructing an "ants on a log" snack with my little architect; "mommy, how about 3 black ants and 4 red ones". Trips to the museum, aquarium, the zoo, and to amusement parks. Splashing in the pool, running through the sprinklers and pretending to be mermaids, sharks, queens and kings. The smell of sunblock. Frozen grapes, fresh strawberries and the biggest watermelon you every laid eyes on. Corn on the cob, a juicy steak, and the smell of warm apple pie to share with great friends and family at a BBQ. Grabbing the camping gear, and taking a car trip to the great outdoors for a hike, to explore, and to rough it. To engage in campfire songs, scary ghost stories, and roasting marshmallows over a friendly fire and making sure not to burn them so your s'more comes out delicious and you want seconds, thirds. And opting not to sleep in the tent, rather under a star-filled sky and pointing out the constellations until you drift to sleep as if you are on cloud 9. To have watched the world through the viewfinder and collected moments of these times and preserving them forever.

Milestones...

Life. Life is a crazy thing, everything is measured. How tall are you? How old are you? How many years have you been in school? What time is it? How many miles apart are your friends houses?
Everything has a measurement: there are two semesters in a year of college, there are four quarters in a football game, seven continents, 12 inches in a foot, the alphabet has 26 letters, Fifty nifty United States, sixty minutes in an hour, and an infinite number of stars in the universe.
We can measure light, sound, height, weight, blood pressure, time, we measure everything in its own unique way.
During all of the chaos of numbers, symbols, and measurements we can get lost and go crazy so what do we do... we make milestones.
Tommy's kindergarten class has a fancy way of counting it starts off normal: 1, 2, 3, 4, and then they clap at number 5, normal again for 6, 7, 8, 9, and then out of nowhere all of the kindergarteners throw their hands in the air and say YAY! for number 10. The cycle repeats and every "5" (i.e. 5, 15, 25...) they clap and every "10" (i.e. 10, 20, 30...) they celebrate!
I feel that life is much like Tommy's kindergarten counting method. We go through our daily lives and "clap" for a milestone-winning a game or getting an award from school. Then we "YAY" with our hands in the air for grand milestones- Graduating High School/College, getting Married, having a baby and such.
Well today was a "Grand Milestone", Tommy lost tooth number 4... now I know that may not be very "grand" to most people, but having a child, and seeing that toothless grin and watching their little teeth come in and they learn to eat, and smile with their big grins, and when they lose their first tooth and how funny they look and how they have to reinvent how they eat because there is a big space that was helping bite off a piece of steak is now gone.
Enjoying each milestone, Finding out your pregnant, going through the 9 months and all of the doctor visits, the ultrasounds. Delivering your precious bundle of joy and watching every move they make. Watching them change everyday and grow in so many ways, watching them sit up, crawl, pull themselves up, walk, run, talk, play, interact with you, and other children their size. Just watch them develop and conquer each "YAY" milestone, and before you know it they will be standing in a cap and gown, at the alter, or in the delivery room ready to start the process all over again.
Life, no matter how you measure it... its a Grand Event!

OOOPS!!!

Now, this is what happens when you try to do EVERYTHING at once!
I decided to pile on as much of the clean folded laundry onto the already packed basket and with the Mountain Range of Laundry in my hands I grab the kids, my purse, my water, the mail and my phone. Now the kids can walk by themselves so that took some of the edge off... but walking from our car to our house and up the stairs my phone was wiggling itself out of my pullover's pocket... next thing you hear... CRASH, BOOM, BANG, SPLAT my phone broke free but to a damaging end. I went to pick up my faced down telephone, hoping with the protective cover still on it would have survived with minor damages. I flipped it over, hoping it was going to be alright... but no hope in the world was able to save what I saw...
So next time you are trying to be superman, just remember you are already supermom and it is okay to make multiple trips to the car to get what you need accomplished.

Celebrating Teachers

I think the reason Mothers Day and Teacher Appreciation Week are around the same time of year is because it is a time to show your love and appreciation to those who help grow the flowers of tomorrow. Teachers are extremely important and when you get a phenomenal teacher, like Tommy was got this year, it makes all the difference in the world. Mrs. D has got to be the BEST Kindergarten Teacher in the wold!! She is so wonderful with all of the children in the class. She has so much Patience and love for each child. Being a teacher, let alone a kindergarten teacher, is hard work and a challenge and she does it with ease. I am very delighted that Tommy was put into her class.
I strongly believe that teachers are important to our future and when a fabulous teacher gets a hold of the clay we call children and helps mold them to dream and potentially become something amazing I believe that is something worth celebrating! Teachers devote time, effort, energy and pure love into the children and Mrs. D does this with each and every child that walks through her class room doors.
Celebrate your teachers, Pre-School through Grad School with a little something for their class(school supplies) and make sure you say thank you.

Spring into action and celebrate Mom!!!

Spring time is not only amazing with all of the animals waking up from a long winters nap, making their way back to a warmer climate, or having nests come alive with new life, and flowers opening to the sun's kiss, bees buzzing, but it’s a beautiful time of year for weddings, it’s a perfect season for spring cleaning and taxes, a time for Celebrating Easter, Rejoicing Mother Earth, it’s a time to jump in puddles, roll in the grass, have a picnic, and Spring is the season to celebrate Mothers.

Mothers make the world go round; we dry tears with our sleeves, we are a shoulder to cry on, we are an open ear to hear what needs to be said, we have eyes that seem to see EVERYTHING, we kiss a boo-boo and magically it is all better, we are the warm hugs that keep you safe, we are the heroes that frighten the monsters under the bed, we sing the soft lullabies and make up the most daring adventurous bedtime stories, we make the coolest forts out of sheets, we are there to correct you when you are into mischief, we are a crutch when you need assistance, we are your motivation when you feel discouraged, we are your cheerleading team that never gives up on you no matter what the final score ends up being, we are beyond proud when you succeed, we are supportive and there to help you back up if you fail, and most importantly we are the GIGANTIC HEART that will love you to the moon and beyond.

I am one of the luckiest mothers in the world to have two beautiful and amazing children!!! They are growing up so fast and it doesn’t matter the good, bad or different they are my little luv bugs. I am also so fortunate to have sat on a rainbow and land in a pot of gold; I have the best girlfriends in the world that are also fabulous mothers!! I don’t know where I would be without them and they teach me so much!! I love them all and am impressed with them; they are so beautiful and amazing in so many ways. My mother is a very special woman, she is her own person, and there is no one in the world that is like her. She has her own way of doing things, and no matter what anyone says she is a wonderful Oma!!

If you have a spectacular mother, grandmother or great grandmother, or if you have fabulous girlfriends, beautiful sisters, amazing cousins and aunts that are mothers, celebrate them this weekend! They have traded sleep for dark circles, salon haircuts for a ponytail, long showers for quick ones, designer bags for diaper bags, they stay up late and get up early, help you on last minute projects the night before they are due, they did everything they can just for you! They are mothers!!!

Happy Mother’s Day to all of my MOMMYs!!! ::HUGS::