A Christmas Poem

'Twas three days after Christmas, the house still a mess,
With no plans on cleaning tonight, I confess.
The tree still up decorated and lit,
The stockings still hung, and here I still sit.

The children are hopped up on cookies and sweets,
Eagerly awaiting their next round of treats.
All of their new toys are strewn all around,
With giggles of happiness in the background.

I've gained 20 pounds, of this I am sure,
Months of diet and exercise I will have to endure.
Then out from the kitchen arose such a shout,
I sprang from the couch to see what was about.

Daddy holding his head letting out a big sigh,
was going over Christmas bills with a glazed look in his eye.
"$150 to Toys R Us, what is this?"
He shouted and screamed and shook both his fists.

"And Target and Wal-mart, the list never ends,
And Kohl's and Penny's, how much did you spend?"
I just smiled and gave him a great big bear hug,
and at his heartstrings I gave a small tug.

"It was worth it to see their smiles and joy,
Once a year we can splurge so they can enjoy."
He softened and grinned, my words he let soak,
Merry Christmas to all, we are totally broke!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

A Christmas Meme

I'm not really sure what a meme is, but they are apparently pretty popular in the world of blogging. They seem to be just a questionnaire of sorts. This one looked fun, and is about Christmas, so thought I would try my hand at the whole meme thing.


1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I like to open gifts that are wrapped, but I don't have a lot of patience for wrapping, so usually do gift bags.

2. Real tree or Artificial? Growing up we always had a real tree, including the whole 'real tree experience', (driving up the mountain, walking around aimlessly in four feet of snow, trying to keep our eyes from freezing shut until we found that one perfect tree, which we would then cut down and tie on top of the Bronco. Think of the Griswold's). Now we have an artificial, pre-lit tree. Much easier, but I do miss having a real one.

3. When do you put up the tree? My goal is the weekend after Thanksgiving, but if I get it up before Christmas I consider it a victory.

4. When do you take the tree down? My tree has been up as late as January 31st. No rule of thumb here, whenever I get tired of looking at it and have the energy to do it.

5. Do you like eggnog? Yuck. Unless it is sufficiently spiked, then maybe.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? Too many to decide.

7. Hardest person to buy for? My dad.

8. Easiest person to buy for? Me!!!

9. Do you have a nativity scene? My mom made me a beautiful nativity scene, it is one of my most prized possessions.

10. Mail or email Christmas Cards? I love to get Christmas cards, so I mail them out. I even include family letters sometimes. They aren't guaranteed to be delivered by Christmas, one year they were more like Valentine's cards, but it is the thought that counts right?

11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Mock Turtle Neck

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, and Clue (which isn't really a Christmas movie, but my sister and I always watched it at Christmastime).

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Not early enough.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No way, how rude, I would never...OK, maybe once or twice.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? My mom's Lemon Meringue Pie.

16. What decorations are on your tree? Ornaments that I have been collecting since childhood, most were gifts but we have added to them over the years.

17. Favorite Christmas song? Little Drummer Boy.

18. Travel at Christmas or stay at home? Stay home. Brian made a rule when we had kids that we would always be home for Christmas. He said he used to stress that Santa couldn't find him if he wasn't at home. The one time we traveled when I was growing up, I stressed about that too.

19. Can you name all of Santa’s reindeer? Only if I'm singing them.

20. Angel on top of tree or star? Angel

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or Christmas morning? This is a bit of a bone of contention between my husband and I. He doesn't put his foot down about many things, but this is one of them. We can't open any gifts until Christmas morning. Growing up we opened everything Christmas Eve except the gifts from Santa. Christmas morning was reserved just for him.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Traffic.

23. What theme or color are you using when you decorate? No theme, just a hodgepodge of all of my decorations. A lot of them were made by my mom, which is pretty cool.

24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? We usually have ham and all the traditional fixin's. I love hot ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch the next day.

25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Good weather so my parents can make it here safely. And lots of smiles on my kiddo's faces.

Santa's Helpers

We got the tree up and decorated this weekend, a bit behind schedule but what else is new? Austin loves to put the ornaments on as much as I do. Aubrey even helped for a minute, before she started taking all the ornaments back off!

Lounging

We haven't felt very good around here this past week; Austin, Aubrey and Daddy all have colds and Mommy threw her back out, so we have been doing a lot of this...

As Brian says, 2000 square feet and we are all in the same 3. I really wouldn't change a thing.

Roller Skating

Yesterday Austin was invited to a birthday party at a roller skate center. I didn't know kids still skated, let alone had parties at skate centers, but we were all very excited. He was of course hesitant and scared at first, and made Daddy get a pair of skates so he could help him. Brian is a self proclaimed 'master' on roller skates, but quickly found out that the no-fear, flexibility, and agility he had at 10 years old no longer applies to his 40 year old self. (He blames it on the music, he claims he can't skate to anything but disco). Anyway, Austin quickly got the hang of things and left his daddy behind to skate with his friends, and within an hour he was no longer holding on to the side wall, but was out in the middle of the floor with all of the other kids. He fell down a lot, but would not be discouraged. He has asked 100 times since yesterday when can we go back.

Being there brought back a lot of memories for me. I used to love to go skating. I could skate backwards, do fun little turns, and played all of the games such as limbo and shoot the duck. I was awesome. I owned that skate floor. Yesterday I could almost feel the skates on my feet, and just knew how easy it would be. I could almost feel the wind whipping through my hair, the speed and feeling of flying. So I rented a pair for myself, mostly to show up Brian (he strongly discouraged me to do so, knowing the day would end in an emergency room with a broken ankle). But I couldn't wait to get out there.

I did not own the floor yesterday. It didn't all come back to me the way I knew it would. I never got going fast enough to feel any wind whipping through my hair and that feeling of flying was replaced with a feeling of terror. I am proud to say I did not fall down, but I was getting passed up by 5 year olds at birthday parties who had never been on skates before. I was the oldest one out there, (besides Brian of course) and after two or three times around my legs were burning and I had a blister forming. I had forgotten about that part. It is true what they say, you can never go back. I quickly got off the floor to stand with the other parents and watched Austin for the rest of the day.

*Sigh...*

It has started already. Austin is torn between being too cool to get hugs and kisses from mommy, and still needing me by his side. I always walk Austin to his classroom in the mornings when I drop him off, and give him a hug and a kiss outside of the classroom door before leaving. Yesterday started out no differently. We got out of the car and proceeded to the doors, when Austin noticed his friends waiting for him (twin girls I might add). He took off running without so much as a goodbye look/wave/grunt. I called out to him, and he reluctantly came back and gave me a pseudo-hug and ran off again. I stood out in the cold looking after him, dejected and hurt, tears running down my face, cars honking for me to get out of the way. OK, so I wasn't quite that pitiful, but you get the idea. So this morning I offered to just drop him off and let him walk in by himself, and he started to get teary eyed and asked if I would please walk him in. I eagerly got out, a smile spreading from ear to ear (my little boy still wants me!) and skipped around the car to let him out. Then he saw the same twin girls waiting for him. I could see his eagerness to run to his friends, so I quickly hugged him and let him go. We have agreed that from now on, hugs and kisses are given before we get out of the car, but that I can still walk him in. I guess it is an ok compromise, I knew as a parent there would be a lot of that. I just didn't think it would start so soon.

Tiny Dancer

Aubrey loves to dance. And I love to watch her dance. She used to think dancing consisted of squats, because she watched mommy do excerise videos that are always set to music, and there were a lot of painful squats. She has stronger legs than mommy.

Here she is dancing, you will have to imagine the music because our little digital camera doesn't have sound capabilities with video, and the quality isn't so good, but you get the idea.

My Littlest Boxer

Halloween Part II

Land of Oz, here we come! This is the first year that Brian and I dressed up with the kids, and we had such a fun time. I have my sister to thank for the whole theme, she got Aubrey a little Dorothy costume and we ran with it. Some friends of ours joined in the fun and filled out our group as the Wizard, the Good Witch Glenda and the Tin Man. It was a gorgeous night; we had plans of walking around with hot chocolate (which might or might not have been spiked with Bailey's), but it was too hot to drink that! Here are some pictures of our fun night.

The Wicked Witch of the West with the Cowardly Lion and Dorothy.

The Tin Man, Cowardly Lion and Dorothy.

"Could you point us in the direction of the yellow brick road?"

Scarecrow (daddy) is helping Dorothy get some candy. By the end of the evening she had the hang of things and didn't want to pass up any house.

My little lion posing with a spooky. Who says he is cowardly?

Dorothy and her Scarecrow.

Halloween Part I

In honor of Halloween, I thought I would post a picture of Halloween past; Austin was about 14 months old. This is my favorite costume of Austin's, he made the cutest little dinosaur. (He liked to sweep and we couldn't pry the broom away from him while we sat outside and handed out candy.)

However, Aubrey gives him a run for his money, because she makes a darn cute dinosaur too. She wore this today for her Halloween parade at her daycare.

Look for more Halloween pictures of us 'following the yellow brick road' this weekend.

These Boots Were Made For Walkin'

Something about big shoes and little people...

The Pumpkin Patch

Austin had a field trip to the pumpkin patch today, and I got to go with his class to help supervise kids. (I also got to meet his 'ex'-girlfriend, as well as all of the other little girls who think Austin is pretty cute. One girl told me that Austin is her best friend, and 'the twins' (yep, twins-Brian wanted to give high fives to Austin but decided against it as I was staring a hole through him) think he is pretty nice too and like to give him hugs. Hmmm....I think my son is a playah'.)

It was cold today, about 50 degrees (brrrr, yes I have gone soft). We tried to stay warm running back and forth between the hay rides, pony rides, mazes, the petting zoo and the pumpkin patch.

Here is Austin feeding the Llama. They were hungry.

Here is Austin kissing a goat.
Here is the goat trying to eat Austin's coat.

Austin seemed impressed with the slide. It could be because at the bottom was a big pile of wet mud, with a big pile of wet kids in it.

Austin liked the pony rides, he can let out a 'ya-hoo' with the best of them.

Posing with the scarecrow.

What a fun day we had. Austin picked out a cute little pumpkin to paint, and we even got to take one home for Aubrey.

What the...?!!!

Austin has a girlfriend. At parent teacher conferences, his teacher said he was asking a little girl to be his girlfriend. I promptly came home and interrogated asked him about it, and all we got was his standard "I don't know" answer. Other than he did tell us that all of the kids have boyfriends/girlfriends. Apparently the whole "dating" thing starts in Kindergarten. Who knew? (Thankfully, "dating" means nothing more than calling each other boyfriend/girlfriend thus far). So we dropped it because we didn't want to make a big deal about it. (And by we, I mean Brian made me drop it and not make a big deal about it-we shall see if it is handled the same way when Aubrey has a boyfriend in Kindergarten). But darn it, I wanted to know who she was! So the other day while I was waiting in line to pick him up, I saw a little girl giving him a hug. I casually asked him if the little girl hanging all over him, hugging him was his girlfriend. He said no, that De'onna was his girlfriend but that she isn't his girlfriend anymore because she makes bad choices. What a smart boy. I am proud of him, and more than a little sad that he is growing up so fast.

Ouch!

"Hello? Grandma? I got an owie. You should see my nose. I fell down trying to keep up with my big brother. I forgot to put out my hands to catch myself, and instead skidded on my nose. My forehead is scraped up too, but you can't see that in this picture. Mommy says I look pretty cute, even though she cringes every time she looks at my nose. I tried not to cry too much, but it hurt! OK, Bye Bye."

Baseball and Tattoos

We love Red Sox playoff baseball. Brian is pretty superstitious (and by pretty superstitious I mean he hasn't changed his socks since the playoffs started). OK, so it isn't quite that bad, but he does have his quirks/rituals/obsessions as most of you know. And for those of you who don't, lets just say no one can wear anything but Red Sox attire on game days, and all of our Red Sox paraphernalia has to be proudly displayed beside the TV where we watch the games.

And for those of you who don't know how the playoffs are going, the Red Sox aren't doing so well. We started a "tradition" in the 2003 season when I was pregnant with Austin; we ate cookies for every run the Red Sox scored. The 10+ run games were awesome. I wonder why I gained 60 pounds with that pregnancy...

Anyway, we reinstated that tradition again for the post season only, but haven't gotten to eat as many as the Sox aren't doing very well. So we started a new "tradition". We are all donning Red Sox Tattoos. Even my babies. I am hoping they turn the Red Sox around soon. Austin loves his, and loves to show his off. He gets very sad when they start to wear off. Aubrey, well, she could really care less. But aren't they adorable?

Going For A Walk

This August after Austin started school (and it wasn't so hot!), Aubrey and I got into the habit of taking walks in the morning. We have since gotten out of the habit due to our busy schedule, and I miss them. I have great intentions daily in going for a walk with her, but something always needs to be done. And I am lazy. But this is my favorite time of the year here, it has been so nice (except for today, it rained and was chilly today), so I am hoping to get in the habit again. Maybe by writing it down and telling you all it will motivate me. I will let you know how that works out.

Aubrey sure likes it when we manage to get one in. I can always count on a good nap when we get home, which really makes it all worth it!

Here she is before our walks...

Here she is after...

Our Annual Race

We raced in the Race For The Cure this weekend, it is an annual event for us (and by 'raced' I mean walked slowly among the masses pushing Aubrey in a stroller and stopping every few minutes to let Austin and Daddy catch up after they had stopped to tie his shoe/look at something/rest/get a drink of water). We usually walk with some friends, and then go have a drink and greasy food afterward. It is the one time I don't feel guilty about eating yummy french fries with ranch dressing and a fatty, greasy hamburger with a beer, because hey, I just walked three miles. And we had to get up before the sun and get two kids ready to go do it (and by 'ready' I mean dressed. No one had a shower or breakfast. We all threw on a hat and the kids ate in the car).

I am always so overwhelmed by the number of people who come out to walk. Downtown is so packed that it is hard to even maneuver a stroller around. And everyone of the 50,000+ people who are there have a sign on their back with "I race in celebration of..." or "I race in memory of...". It is hard not to get choked up when I see man with young children walking with a sign that says "I race in memory of my wife". It is usually an emotional day for me. My sign always reads "I race in celebration my beautiful mom".

There are a lot of local bands/performers who come out in support of the 'racers', and on just about every other block along the race route someone is playing music. Aubrey enjoyed this, her little feet would get going in the stroller "dancing" to the beat. My favorite are the bagpipe players.

Here we are after the walk. Aubrey just wanted out of the stroller. And we all just wanted to go and eat. And then come home and take a long nap...

Aubrey-Lou Who

A Poem

inspired by my Seuss' Cindy-Lou Who Look-a-like)There is never enough time in the Miller household,

with dishes to do and laundry to fold.
With errands to run and trips to the store,
when you think you are done there are always more chores.
Each day goes so fast and nothing gets done, promises for tomorrow with each setting sun.
Two kids to bathe and pick up after,
while still trying to cherish the smiles and laughter.
The house is always in such a big mess, which adds to the reasons mommy always feels stress.
Mommy tries to find silence but the kids love their toys.
And those kids oh they make so much noise noise noise noise!
That is why it is hard to find a minute or two,
to post new cute pictures and stories for you.
So please forgive me when this blog stays the same,
day after day with minimal change.
Some things are more important, like taking a nap,
or reading a story with two kids on my lap.
And now with the Red Sox playing in the post season,
and the Steelers each week, there's another good reason.
But I hope you're impressed with this poem just for you,
it took me three days and tons of coffee too,
to try to make sense and write it all down,
(just try to concentrate with two kids running 'round).

40 Years...

Today is my parent's 40th anniversary. I found a quote while making a scrapbook for them which said, "Once in a while, right in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us a fairytale". This is their marriage. I only hope that when I am married for 40 years, my marriage is as strong and as beautiful as theirs is. Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad, I love you both so very much.

State Fair

We went to the Oklahoma State Fair last night with some friends, Brian and I haven't been in over 10 years. I don't know why we never took Austin before, he had such a good time. He rode all the kiddie rides, including his first roller coaster, and won some prizes playing basketball and pick the duck. We ate some yummy fair food, got a caricature done of the kids, and listened to some good live music. We spent way too much money, but it was worth it. I can't wait to go back next year, when Aubrey will be old enough to have some fun too. She mostly just watched her brother, and all of the other interesting people the fair has to offer. And all of the fun wasn't had by just Austin. Brian and I got brave and rode a ride ourselves. It was like the Superman Ride at Six Flags, which is a huge tower that we rode up on in some flimsy seats all the way to the "oh my gosh I am getting a nose bleed" top, where then the drunk carny kept us for at least eternity, before pushing the button to plummet us 200 miles per hour to the ground, stopping just shy of crushing my dangling feet. I have no idea what got into us. I swore off fair rides a long time ago when I recognized that the people who operate the rides are 14 cards shy of a full deck. But there we were, screaming like little girls all the way to the bottom. I had to have a beer after that one...

Here are some pictures of Austin's fun...

"Give Peace A Chance"

Red Sox Weekend

We made our annual trek to Arlington Texas this weekend to watch some Red Sox/Rangers baseball. Our Sox took two out of three games, which was nice. It is always such a fun weekend full of eating out, baseball, eating out, swimming in the hotel pool, lounging around, and eating out. Did I mention we get to eat out? I love eating out. I think I gained 5 pounds. This year we went with some good friends, which made the trip even more fun. And we always meet a lot of cool Sox fans at the games, hotels and restaurants (while we are eating out). It seems the Sox fans far outnumber the Ranger fans, and it is almost like a huge family. Everyone is so happy to see other fans wearing their beloved Sox gear, and Austin gets lots of high fives from everyone. We all greet each other with chants of "go Sox".

Here is Aubrey and Austin at Aubrey's first live Red Sox game.

Here we all are, they do free pics at the stadium so we get ours taken every year. Some day we will make it to Fenway...

The Scales Don't Lie

Austin likes to weigh himself whenever he goes into our bathroom. For the past year he has been right at/around 40 pounds. (Getting him to gain weight is as hard as getting him to eat anything other than hot dogs and macaroni and cheese, no surprise the two are related.) A day or so after his 5th birthday, he got on the scale and his eyes immediately started welling up and his bottom lip started pouting. His daddy asked him what was wrong, he said that the scale didn't know he had turned 5. It took daddy a few minutes to realize that Austin had related 40 pounds to being 4, and wanted to weigh 50 pounds because he was 5. So Brian told him he had to tell the scale that he had a birthday, and to get back on it. With daddy's help looking over his shoulder (and adding 10 pounds by leaning on him) the scale 'listened' and got his weight right. It is funny how kid's minds work. I guess we are going to have to set the scale 10 pounds heavier. Like I need that...

Happy Birthday To My Little Man

Dear Austin,

You are now officially a big boy; today you are five. You even look older to me today. I know I have said it a million times, but I don't know where the last five years have gone, they happened so fast. You have grown into such a wonderful, caring, thoughtful and smart little boy. You make friends everywhere you go because people are drawn to you, even though you are shy and reserved. You are like your daddy though, and can't remember any of their names!

You are a big Kindergartener now, and really like school, although you "can't remember" anything about it to tell me when I pick you up. You are respectful and well behaved (most of the time), and Mommy has gotten a call from the teacher at school telling me you "got caught" being good. You are curious and inquisitive, and always asking questions about something, your favorite one being "why?". You won't eat anything without first asking what it can do for your body, so most foods "make you run fast, hit the ball far, or make you strong", so you will eat them. You are learning to ride your bike without training wheels, and have the riding part down pat. It is the stopping part we need to work on!

Your favorite thing in the whole world is baseball, and your daddy. You and he are "same same", best friends since the day you came into this world. You love to play baseball, and can hit the ball over our house. You have been amazing our friends with how well you can hit since you were two. If you can't play baseball, then you want to watch it. You know all of the players on the Red Sox, and know their numbers and lineup better than daddy does. You are even really good at the computer baseball game, and love to get home runs in it. You love to swim and be in the water. You still love dinosaurs, and have since before you turned one. Your favorite movies are King Kong and Jurassic Park. You like to put on your costumes and make believe you are Superman or Spiderman and have special powers. You love books, and you and daddy are reading The Three Investigators Series; you like a good mystery. You also love Scooby Doo.

You are a wonderful big brother, and have never given a second thought about sharing your things with Aubrey. You adjusted so well to her coming into this family, and have only a few times been upset with or jealous of her. She loves and adores you, and likes to follow you around even though you like to pick on her sometimes. I have to remember that is what big brothers are for. You are kind hearted and sensitive, (like your mommy), and always put other's first. You are perfect in every way, and I adore you. We are so very blessed to have you as our son, and are so very proud of the person you are becoming.

I love you Austin, Happy 5th Birthday!

This is what a five year old eats for breakfast on his 5th birthday!

Rare Moments...

My kids get along pretty well, for the most part. They adore each other, but have their un-harmonious (is that a word?) moments. Austin does love to pick on Aubrey and do things to irritate her, but I guess that is what big brothers are for. She will get her revenge as she gets older I am sure. As it is, she knows if she screams when he is around, he will get into trouble. And boy does she love to scream.

Watching TV. I love this picture.

Austin is keeping Aubrey busy while mommy vacuums (and takes pictures).

Milestones

Austin started Kindergarten yesterday. I think he was a bit scared, but excited. He did really well and was a big boy, he went right into class and started playing with the other kids. I did pretty well too, I was not a sobbing mess like last year, and I didn't have to sit in the parking lot all day. He goes from 8am to 3pm, which is hard for me as I think it is a long time for him to be at school (or for me and Aubrey to be home without him). But he gets to go to computers, music, art and PE this year, as well as all of the basic stuff. I was worried about lunch time because they only have about 15 minutes to eat if they want to go to recess, which he will always want to do, so he will fore go eating to play. Austin can't eat a cookie in 15 minutes. He is the slowest eater I have ever met. Plus his lunch time is at 10:30am because there are so many kids that have to eat, so if he doesn't eat he will be starving by the time he gets home). But I guess he will either learn to eat fast, or he will go hungry.

Here is my big boy on his first day of school this year.

Austin also had another big moment this week. He learned to ride his bike without the training wheels on! We have been going for walks at night, and he usually rides his bike. Daddy asked him if tonight he wanted to ride without training wheels, or just take a walk and play catch along the way. Austin wanted to try it without the training wheels. He did great, better than we thought he would do. After about the 13th time of hitting the curb and/or falling over though, he said he wished he would have chosen to play catch. But he got right back on his bike every time, and did a super job. Here is a little video of him, there is no sound. Daddy was worn out by the time we got home!

A Fun Filled Afternoon...

I don't know a lot about cars. I took auto shop in high school, mostly because the teacher was pretty cute. I learned to change a tire and change my oil, but beyond that I am useless. I can't even fake interest in the inner workings of a car. My husband is pretty handy in that area, and does a lot of our own repairs on the cars. He has changed out steering racks, water pumps, breaks, clutches and does the routine maintenance. He enjoys it but has a habit of talking to me about said inner workings of the car. I just try hard not to look too bored. I am only really annoyed put out involved when he needs me to help him hold something, or turn the wheel/give it gas while he checks. I was about 6 months pregnant with Aubrey when he had to change out the steering rack on his car. He needed help holding something and I was the only one around. Imagine a fat, pregnant woman underneath a car, with her huge belly and swollen ankles sticking out (I could only get under there so far), cussing her husband for having to be there. I got transmission fluid in my hair, which is not easy to get out I might add (I was greasy for at least a week), and I got stuck at least once. I was not amused. Again, no enthusiasm when it comes to car repair. That being said, my car has been acting up lately. I cussed it and cursed it and then realized that for 9 years old, and 137,000+ miles on it, it has been a pretty good car. So far...

Anyway, it was making some horrible racket, and the floor vibrated so much that I thought the front end was about to cave in. It was also leaking some fluid or something from the inner workings area. Brian drove it around and did his diagnosis on it, and then I took it to the shop. He was pretty much right on; it needed a new water pump and engine mount which apparently is not something he felt like he could do on my car in a timely manner. I tried really hard not to be that stereo-typical woman who takes her car in and sounds like an idiot describing what the problem is to the mechanic. I refrained from imitating the noises my car was making, even though I thought I had them down pretty good. I thought I sounded fairly knowledgeable and tried to remember what my husband told me to say. And then I used the word 'thingy'. And the mechanic smirked. Ah well...

So while the car was being fixed, the kids and I spent three fun filled hours playing with the dirty broken toys and reading the dirty ripped books they had in the dirty playroom. But we had popcorn and cappuccino (for me), so not all was lost. And the kids got to ride in this nifty rocket. It was almost like a day at the amusement park really. I can't wait to go back...

Playing at the Park

We went to the park last night, thankfully we had a little reprieve from the 167 degree heat here as it rained some yesterday and cooled things off. So it was bearable to be outside. Both kids love the park, and while Austin and Daddy were busy playing baseball (shocker, I know), Aubrey and I played on the slide. Or should I say Aubrey played on the slide. I am a bit too big for today's play structures. They just don't make slides like they used to. I miss the huge metal slides that burned your legs all the way down because they reached boiling temperatures, and you could get going so fast that you flew off the end. Now they have the 'safe' plastic slides that cause enough static electricity to equal volts of lightning. Anyway, Aubrey loved the slide and is getting much braver. She climbed up the steps and went down all by herself. We had to take her shoes off because they kept stopping her and flipping her forward onto her little cute face. Not so good. She is much happier when she slides all the way down on her bottom.

Summer's Over...Just About

Well summer is wrapping up around here. I know what you are thinking, it is just the beginning of August. Yes I know, but Austin starts school next Wednesday. I am so sad about that. My boy will be in all day Kindergarten. I will miss him.

Anyway, Austin played his last T-Ball game for the season last week. He has so enjoyed playing, especially since his daddy was his coach. He finally got to play "real baseball". It was a big deal around here. I am sad it is over, but thankful too as it has been about 150 degrees here this week. I don't know how hot it has to be for one to melt, but I think we are close.

Here is Austin's last at bat of the season, and it was a good one. He had all the kids running out in the outfield to retrieve his ball.

Here he is crossing home plate for that last time this summer, giving daddy five on the way by.

Slapping hands with the other team.

Austin looking very handsome with his medal he got for playing ball this summer. I am so proud of him.

Happy Birthday To My Little Girl

My dearest Aubrey,

Today you turn one. I blinked and your first year has passed. You are entering the exciting world of toddlerhood. It truly seems like yesterday we were bringing you home from the hospital; scared, excited and exhausted. We really never thought we would be blessed with a baby girl, but you have brought so much wonder, love and happiness into our family. I have marveled at watching you learn and grow, and wish, like I do with Austin, that I could keep you little forever. You have learned so much in your short year; you have almost mastered walking, and you love to dance. You are learning to say all the player's names on the Red Sox (and according to your dad, you can say them all clearly. I am just patiently waiting for you to call me mommy). You like to clap when asked "What do we do for the Red Sox?" and are learning to do the choking sign when asked "What do the Yankees do?" like your big brother does. You know where your nose and belly button and eyes are, and love to put your fingers into my mouth, usually after they have been in your nose. You love taking a bath, and cry when you have to get out. You like getting your 8 teeth brushed. You are a great sleeper, and love to sleep on your belly with your hands under your tummy, and your knees drawn up so your butt sticks in the air. Very cute. You are a little shy and reserved, and each smile you give has to be well earned. You rub your little eyes when you are tired, and have mastered the "fake" crying to get attention. You are a mommy's girl, and love to be held and cuddled. And although you like to get your brother into trouble, (which he often deserves as he likes to torment you) he adores you. He loves to play with you and give you lots of kisses. We all do.

My little doodle bug, I love you so much.

Happy Birthday!

Not quite sure yet what to do, but definitely eyeing the blue frosting...

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to...

We took the cake away to cut it up, she was not happy. She was ready to dig into it.

And dig into it she did, she enjoyed every last lick, blue frosting and all.

Happy Birthday my little Aubrey.