Cuts came through at TI this week and my heart goes out to everyone who lost their job. It has to stop somewhere. What is going to happen to our kids in the future? I am genuinely worried for them. Priorities of the world in general are so wrong.

Crystal Ball

Seth insisted on wearing his new shirt and tie to school on Monday. He even tucked the shirt in. We are taking bets as to what profession this one will choose when he grows up. I say lawyer because he can argue until you are out of energy.

By the time I picked him up at the end of the day he certainly didn't look this neat and tidy.

Happy 40th Zekester

 Saturday morning this was the view from the front window of our house and we were ready for a fun filled day celebrating our friend Zeke's 40th Birthday. Food, wine, laughter and great friends was the recipe for the day.

 First stop...The Tilted Kilt for lunch, cocktails and some silly games. For the guys, it was the game on the big screen TVs and checking out the waitresses.

We played "Pin the Tail on Zeke". Kristen and I tied, but she really wanted to keep Zeke close to her heart.

 Girls pic 

 We stopped at three wineries on our whirlwind day.

 Slushies were the BEST.

By the end of the day we were all pretty silly.

Great day spent with great friends. Thanks Lisa and Zeke. xoxo

Happy Birthday Lily (a bit late)

Two weekends ago Seth went to a birthday party for his friend Lily from school. The kids were able to feed these beautiful horses and they had such a great time. It was a simple party and the kids truly loved every minute of spending time together out of school.

Phantom of the Opera

 Seth was so excited to head back to WHS on Friday night. He not only wanted to see the show, but he was very excited to see all of his high school friends again. As we waited in line Mr. Faunce saw us and asked Seth is he wanted to go back stage to see everyone. He was a little hesitant at first, but once his BFF got there they were very excited to see everyone again. He was most excited to see Johanna. She ran right over and gave him a big hug.

 The boys were able to get a picture with their former mom from Miss Saigon and The Engineer Dennis.

 Seth was a little scared during the show. He thought the Phantom was a bit spooky, but once we reassured him it was only Mark Anthony, he was alright. They were super excited to get a picture with him after the show too.

 To top off the whole night, they took the boys on the stage after everyone left and showed them how the magic chair worked. It was such a wonderful opportunity for them that once again they will never forget. Bravo Watertown Select, you are creating future members!

Thank you Mr. Faunce for treating the boys like gold once again. Their smiles say it all.

It's March?

 This weekend we enjoyed every single minute of the wonderfully and unseasonably warm weather. We went for walks, ate outside, bike rides, trips to the playground, trips to Sackets, tons of grilling and even a little sun burn... IN MARCH.

 Seth thought he looked "cool" wearing his 4 wheeler helmet on his bike. What a kid.

Leah has to wear her sun glasses all the time now, but she looks to stinking cute that I don't mind toting them around.

I could take this weather year round, it is fantastic.

We Love The CRAZY Sweet Family

 Saturday was St. Patty's Day and we normally don't do much special except for dress in green and look for Paddy Leprechaun, but this year that all changed. We were invited to The Sweet's for a traditional Irish feast! Lisa is the most creative and festive person ever so her house was decked out in green, her kids, she and Zeke and every aspect of the dinner was either authentic or just plain green.

 She had the meal covered so Roland and I researched green cocktails, something fun.

 Thank goodness our March weather has been so mild. The kids got outside and ran off some energy.

 Check out this 4 layer rainbow cake Lisa made.

 Our GREEN big kids.

We also celebrated Zeke's 40th birthday with a Bailey's Irish Creme cheesecake...yummo.

I told Lisa I would come to her house for every single holiday. She had more food than you could imagine and the whole night was just perfect. Thanks a ton Lisa.

Random Obsessions,Tidbits, Grateful Thoughts & Positivity

After attending a very disturbing BOE meeting earlier last week I got thinking to myself about all of the wonderful aspects of my life. I have lots of time to think on my drives to and from work so I got thinking about all the positives in my life and how even when life isn't perfect, it could always be so much worse and to never forget that someone else's shoes could be so much different and to focus on the positive. Here is my latest list of random obsessions, positive and grateful thoughts:

* Completely love the app "Shazam". It has helped to feed my love of music even further because I heard two different songs on commercials, but didn't know who sang them. All I had to do was grab my phone, turn on the app and now I have two new favorite songs that I rock out to on a daily basis. Love love love the songs Country Girls by Luke Brian and We are Young by Janelle Monae. Thank you "Shazam" for being an awesome app.

* I'm crazy about quiche and I'd have to say I make it once every 3 weeks. It is so amazing. Last night I ate 1/4 of the pie and could have eaten more.

* I love how Leah says "Elizabeth". I'm going to have to video her. It is truly priceless.

* Roland now not only sells Pepsi products, but also Frito Lay now. I am so excited for some samples that may arrive soon. 

* I dislike inconsiderate neighbors who dig huge ditches next to our house and then leave it for a year. We want to try and find a new house oh so badly. We are more than ready to find that "perfect" house with a big yard, open floor plan, full basement and master bathroom. Say a little prayer, we are being very patient and hoping that fate will step in.

* I am secretly addicted to a new trashy show on ABC called GCB. It is so funny and silly that I just love it. 

* I can't wait to take the kids on our mini vacation in 2.5 weeks. It will be so great to get away for a few days.

* Completely and utterly love the following songs. I have them on repeat on my phone daily. If you see me singing my lungs out on Rt. 12 these might be the songs...Go your Own Way, Still the One, Someone Like You, the entire Miss Saigon soundtrack, Thriller, When We Stand Together and Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.

* This spring weather rocks!

* The kids wearing their new summer sandals...IN MARCH.

* The fact that my Gram calls me each and every morning on the way to work. Love it.

* Seth can not seem to catch Paddy Leprechaun and he has turned his room into one giant trap. Tee hee.

* I'm going to try and find green marshmallow Peeps tonight so that my kids at school can make St. Patty's Day S'mores. Wish me luck.

* Bike rides after a long day of work with the kids ROCK.

* I ordered Seth a tie. You would think I'm giving him a million dollars. He keeps asking when it will arrive. Pics to come when it does.

* Two months until our new boat heads to the lake. I can't wait for pizza nights on the boat. 

I'm sure there are a ton more random thoughts in my head, but for now I need to get to work and put lots of thoughts into my students heads.

He's BACK

 Our sneaky little leprechaun is back again this year and he is causing all sorts of commotion while we sleep. The kids both awoke on Monday morning to notes in their rooms and glitter all over. It appears as if he tried to sleep with Seth because he was covered in glitter and had glitter on his blanket. He only left a note for Leah. She must snore too loud so he preferred to sleep with Seth.

Seth was busy building a trap last night, but once again he was unsuccessful. Seth got another note this morning saying, "Ha ha you can't catch me" The trap was closed and he left Seth a gold coin.

As I left for work this morning Seth was trying to build a bigger trap to try and catch him tonight.

Annie

 Friday night we met up with my grandparents and went to see a production of Annie at Lowville Academy. It was a sold out show, the main student who played Annie was in the fifth grade and we sat in the balcony. The boys really enjoyed themselves, but were exhausted by the end of the night. Thank goodness they conked out on the way home because we drove through a major snowstorm and it took up an hour to get home.

We feel like we are on a musical tour. Since Seth loves them so much over the past few years we have taken him to as many as he has been interested in. Next up...Phantom of the Opera at WHS.

Soaking it Up

I can not even begin to express how tired we all are of being cooped up in the house. The winter is far too long and this hasn't even been a bad winter, but we are more than ready to get back on our bikes and scooters and get outside.On Wednesday we didn't even go inside when we got home from school, we headed right to the garage, jumped on our bikes and headed for a walk. Check out who joined us. This was Leah's maiden voyage on her brand new big girl bike. She loved it.

 Seth was WAY ahead so I didn't get a picture of him :(

We love this warmer weather and we look forward to enjoying it to the fullest.

Leah's 3rd Photobooth

We all tried to cram in this year so it looks extra funny. You can tell by the last picture that she is totally over it. We love these memories so much though. At least one day Seth and Leah can tell their kids what they did every year on their birthday and possibly pass it on.

Happy 3rd Birthday Leah. We love you tons and tons.

Happy 6th Birthday Jacob!

 Leah and Jacob share the same birthday so we had double celebrations last weekend. We headed to the rollar skating rink on Saturday for some skating, video games, pizza and cake. Seth was super excited to see his friends and to try skating again. He only lasted about 25 minutes before heading back in with sore toes and wrists. He gave it the old college try and I was proud of him.

 You have to love those SMILES.

 Seth prides himself on his air hockey skills. If there is a table, he always wants to play it.

 We have come to the realization that Noelle loves Roland. If he is around she is stuck to him like glue. It is the cutest thing.

 Leah had a tough time sharing her Daddy from time to time, but how can you say no to those cheeks and pig tails.

At the end they held races and the kids had a blast watching all the big kids.

HAPPY 6TH BIRTHDAY JACOB DREW! WE LOVE YOU!

Leah's Lunch Party

We decided to have a Sunday lunch party for a change this year. Leah could not decide between a Dora cake and a My Little Pony cake, so we combined the themes. She was thrilled.

When Seth turned 3 we had a pinata, so we decided to do the same for Leah. It was filled to the brim with candy, fruit snacks and toys.

I wanted to make sure the kids weren't running wild in the house so I planned a craft and a couple of games to keep them entertained and busy.

Leah definitely did not want to be the center of attention and wasn't thrilled with the number of pictures I wanted to take of her.

I found a "pin the bracelet" on Dora game so that was good for some laughs and the kids really seemed to have fun with it. Lexy was the big winner, being closest to Dora's arm.

It was so funny spinning the kids around with a blind fold on.

Linds tried to cheat and what a kissable face on her.

Lastly, we hung the pinata and gave the kids a real bat. What were we thinking? They had a blast and the only casualty was Uncle Brad. Seth accidentally swung and hit him pretty hard. He felt so awful.

The smiles on these kids makes it so worth all the time and planning.

We even gave the littlest munchkin a bat.

Leah took it all in and wanted the candy the most.

After about 25 hits it finally let loose and there was mass chaos, laughter and smiles all around. It was priceless.

At the end Leah could care less about the cake itself, she wanted to eat the ponies head. Hysterical.

Thank you to everyone who came and made it super special for Leah. She has a brand new summer wardrobe, a back pack for Nursery School in the fall, a bike helmet to go with her big girl bike and so much more. We are blessed. Thank you so much.

Thank you also to Lorraine for the beautiful cake.