TGIF

 It was quite the week let me tell you, our calendar is highlighted and bolded and just plain busy now that sports are in full swing. Next week Seth adds a second sport to our festivities so I'm trying to breathe and chant "Serenity Now" in my head. Leah went for her kindergarten physical this week. She is a giant weighing in at 53.8 lbs. and 45 inches tall. Her vision is perfect, she isn't color blind and she took her shot like a champ with no tears. I was so proud of my growing up WAY TOO FAST girl. She also finished this session of swim. She still will NOT go under the water so she may be a 1b for the rest of her life. Oh well, Poppy will get her swimming this summer we have no fear of that. Leah will be moving up and playing soccer in the 5 year old group this summer too. We thought she needed a little more of a challenge. Hopefully she won't cry.

 

Seth is now done with all of his baseball practices and games begin on Monday. He will be pitching three innings and playing shortstop or third base the other three innings. Soccer starts next week so we will be playing baseball one night a week and soccer two nights a week. Am I insane? Seth also went on an amazing field trip to Billy Beez in SYR yesterday. He had such a great time with his buddies.

 

I am also happy to announce that Justin will be home from the UK on June 28th until the middle of September and we have started a countdown. We are so excited to have him home for the summer. He is tons of fun and we love spending time with him.

 

The weekend involves a seafood feast tonight, some outdoor work at our house, possibly a boat ride and celebrating Grandma Bonnie's birthday on Sunday. TGIF.

Happy Memorial Day & Happy Birthday Sheryl

 We loaded up and headed to Rochester bright and early on Sunday morning. We were all super excited to go to Sheryl's and see it in the spring. Her pool was open and the backyard is just beautiful. We had the BEST day.

 We learned that Leah is a fish and spent 80% of the day in the pool.

 Sheryl lives one block from Lake Ontario so we took a little walk to the water.

 Mr. Sports all the Time Seth played ladder golf, corn hole and practiced his throw most of the day.

 We also ate our way through the day and the kids ate their weight in fruit.

 Happy Birthday Sheryl...We Love you.

 That's a wrap, tired and done.

Thanks for a fantastic day Sheryl and Rachel, can't wait to come back.

Weekend Tidbits ~ May 23-25

 1. We spent Friday night with my grandparents in Lowville. We hadn't been up to visit in quite a while so we were excited for a free evening to spend with them. Their summer room is all set for the season and it's my all time favorite place to be in the summer with them. The kids played inside and out and we had way too much food. I love the fact that my Gramps can fall asleep like this at the drop of a pin. It cracks me up.

 2. Seth raised $72 for his baseball team this Saturday. Between Kinney Drugs shoppers and the employees at FX Caprara Kia he did extremely well in his fundraising skills. Way to go buddy.

 3. I planted my garden this weekend. I'm trying some new things just for fun and then the old standards...strawberries, watermelon, cukes, cherry tomatoes, broccoli and mini sweet peppers.

4. Love this guy. He poops more than any dog I've ever met and he can't see or hear much any more, but he is such a great and loving dog. Love him to the moon and back.

Weekend Tidbits ~ May 17-18

1.  The kids begged to have friends from school over Friday night and since it was rainy and cold we said sure. Leah had Grace and Seth had Devin. Leah and Grace played amazingly, but the boys were wild. I have huge respect for Seth's teacher and the fact that she deals with these boys daily for 7 hours a day.

 2. Saturday we had the annual "gut the house and get rid of stuff" SALE. It feels so good to donate all the clothes and sell all of the "stuff". The kids made a bundle at their booth and they now have money for the ice cream truck. It was bittersweet this year as I sold many many of the baby items. We are now stroller free, baby swing free, etc.

 3. Saturday night we had the honor of getting pictures and seeing our wonderful babysitter as she got ready for her senior prom. Johanna looked gorgeous and the kids were super excited to see her looking like a princess.

 4. Sunday Funday... we headed to Sackets for a bike ride. It was a bit (a lot) windy and chilly, but we still had a blast.

 5. The weekend kicked Leah's butt. She crashed Sunday afternoon after all of that fresh air.

The week ahead is semi insane and I'm taking deep breathes. Roland is gone for three days, we have baseball two nights, swim class, dinner at friends and FINALLY I have Friday off and the kids don't. This is where not using all of your snow days benefits ME. Hooray.

Weekend Tidbits

 

 1. I'd like to have a contest with my children to see how many chocolate covered strawberries they can actually eat before they get sick. At this point I always end up cutting them off, but some day I'll challenge them to a contest and see how many they can truly eat.

 2. My friend Ashley is the bravest person I know and this is coming from a bit of an anal retentive person. She had Vivie's 3rd birthday party Saturday and had 7 little girls paint. Kids loved it, but I was secretly in inner panic mode until I realized that it was completely washable. Then I was finally able to breathe. Kids had a blast and Ashley should also be a party planner, the snack table was straight off a Pinterest page. It was adorable and I'm definitely stealing some of her ideas.

 

3. Sara watched the kids Saturday night and arrived in 3 inch wedges. I literally asked her if she was insane? I said how are you going to play basketball, soccer, etc in those heals? Her reply was that she loves to be barefoot....gross. Anal retentive instance #2 of the day. I may need some therapy.

 

4. Roland's car was stolen while he was away for work in Delaware this weekend. Random craziness.

 5. I made it through the mirror maze at Destiny without having a panic attack. Last year when I tried it in Niagara Falls with Seth I had a major panic attack. I'm proud of myself.

 6. Made it to one of my favorite restaurants this weekend for an early Mother's Day meal. Ate the 4 full courses and just about fell asleep on the way home from being so full. Well worth it, so delicious.

7. This guy CAN eat his weight in Rice Krispie treats. He asked for a third plate at dessert. Needless to say he DID fall asleep on the way home.

 

8. My kids have certain traditions with my Mom and Tom and they let me go with them Friday night to the cemetery to partake in a few of them. Let's just say it was the  most fun I've had in ages and it makes me smile just thinking about our night. It's the small things in life that mean the most.

 

9. Mother's Day wasn't extravagant this year, but it was exactly how I pictured it for this year. I loved my homemade gifts from the kids, my special gift from Ro and we got a ton of work done around the house. It was perfect.

Seth's 2nd Grade Music Concert

 It's hard to believe that we are entering the end of 2nd grade already. I feel like I was just stressing about kindergarten and he is almost a 3rd grader now. Anyhow, we got dressed up and headed to Knick to hear the songs Seth has been practicing at home nonstop for the last two months. The kids sounded great and Seth belted out the songs. I can now see why his teacher finally gave him an outstanding on his report card for music. He has never sung so loud or with such enthusiasm before. We are super proud of him.

 We are very excited that Gram and Gramp were able to make it down too.

 Seth and Evan

Seth and Lillie

Just think...next year we will have two concerts to attend. It's very bittersweet. They are growing up so quickly, too quickly.

Castana Farewell

 May 3 was the day I was looking forward to as a fun night with family and friends, but that I was also dreading because it was a farewell to our wonderful friends The Castana's. There was a great gathering of family from PA along with some wonderful friends they have made here in Watertown. The kids had a blast running and dancing and enjoying each other.

 Matchy BFFs

 

 From left to right: Erin (Kristen's BFF from high school) Kristen and Laurie (Kristen's sister)

 Lee's parents and Aunt Beverly

 I had special collages made for Jake and Linds from their buddies. They were  both so excited when they unwrapped them.

 One of our favorite Stage Notes/babysitter/all around amazing girl Sara came to the party and we were all thrilled to see her.

 Pammy even stopped for a quick visit

Finally when the kids had run themselves silly and were ready to go Johanna came and took them home. We thank her greatly for that.

It was a wonderful night for a wonderful family and we are so thrilled to have been able to do it for them.

Seth's 1st Holy Communion

 Two years of CCD classes are now DONE and Seth made his First Communion on Saturday. The mass was wonderful and it was the largest class St. Anthony's has had in years. All of the girls were dressed in their finest white dresses and the boys looked stunning in their suit coats and ties.

 We are so happy that at age 86 and 88, my grandparents can still be with us for these memories.

Thank you Sister Jackie for your patience and guidance this year.