TEN THINGS TUESDAY!!!

Well, it's that time again, "Ten Things Tuesday!" I love the idea of this and if any of you would like to join in, on the fun, just click the picture above and it will take you to the place to get started!!

This week, I am thankful for:

1. My mother-in-law! She is the most loving, generous, and kind person. I am so lucky to have her. We are all lucky to have her! My children love spending time with her.

2. My father-in-law! He is hard to read, at times, but is such a special man. And, my children adore him!

3. My husband, as he never ceases to amaze me!!

4. The beautiful weather that we've been so blessed with!

5. My two precious miracles -- true blessings from above -- Emily and Ryan!

6. That the Lord has given me another day! I always thank Him, as soon as I open my eyes!

7. For all the military who have served and continue to serve our country. They are true heroes!

8. That our end-of-year conferences, with our children's teachers, went so well. Both Emily and Ryan have worked so hard this year, and we are so proud of them.

9. That my headache went away. I have had one for 3-days straight!

10. For a short school week. Summer is right around the corner!

Ryan's Day with Daddy~

Yesterday, we actually let Ryan stay home and have a day off from school, to have a special day with Daddy. We did this with Emily about a month ago, but have no pictures of it, because she went to lunch and out shopping. Emily's day off started as a "sick" day, when she was supposedly feeling awful and couldn't make it to school. About an hour into our morning, she had a miraculous recovery and ended up spending time with Daddy. I had Brandon and Joshy, so I stayed home with them. Anyway, we let Ryan have his day yesterday. We were running out of time because they start their benchmark testing next week, and then the end of the year will be here before we know it! Here are where their travels took them yesterday: They went to the skate park, at Mount Trashmore, in Virginia Beach. I have taken the children there several times and Rob has always been working, so it was nice for him to actually see this HUGE park, as opposed to just seeing pictures. Since everyone is still in school, Ryan had the park, basically, to himself. Then, they went to Mike's, the indoor skate park, in our city. After lunch, at Red Robin, they went to play Putt-Putt. They were home shortly after I got home with the children from school. Here are the pictures from both of the skate parks. Enjoy!!! I'm also going to try to post a video of him skating at Mount Trashmore.

Pictures from Skate Park at Mount Trashmore ~~


Video of Ryan at Mount Trashmore ~~


Pictures, from Mike's Skate Shop (he was the only one there) ~~

Ryan's Chicken-Scratch (umm, I mean handwriting)!

As you can imagine by the title of this blog, Ryan's handwriting is a little bit on the "chicken-scratch" side, as opposed to neat and legible. It's something that he could absolutely care less about and really dislikes spending any time on at all. I guess I should mention, though, that he is a straight A student. This is the first year (2nd Grade) that they have actually received letter grades on their report cards and he has really done well. He's also on the younger side, as he had just made it for the cut-off for starting school in kindergarten. You had to turn five, by the end of September, so he just made it. Anyway, the reason for this blog today is that last night, while Ryan was doing his homework, he said, "Mommy, look at how neat my name is." I had to admit that it looked WAY neater than usual. Then, I noticed IT!!! My precious, 7-year old, end-of-the-school-year 2nd grader, who has been spelling his FIRST and LAST name since pre-k, had actually spelled his OWN last name incorrectly!! We all got such a chuckle out of it that we had to grab the camera!!! He put an extra "R" in our last name!! LOL!! It was priceless. However, I do want everyone to know that I did praise him for his beautiful handwriting!!! I just love my children!!


Here it is! Proof that my sweet biggy boy misspelled his own last name. I know that this still isn't the neatest handwriting; however, it's tons better than the way he usually writes.

TEN THINGS TUESDAY!!!

As I was browsing blogs, of "stay-at-home Mommy's," I came across "Ten Things Tuesday." If you click on the cloud picture above, it will take you to Mrs. Brownstone's blog, the person who started "Ten Things Tuesday." I thought it would be nice to reflect upon, on a weekly basis, the things that I "thankful" for. So, here goes my first attempt at "Ten Things Tuesday!"

This week, I am thankful for ..................

1. My sweet husband, who went out in the rain this morning, to pump gas in my van. He actually always does this for me, rain or shine. I love him so much and am so blessed that he takes such good care of me and our children.

2. Emily, my sweet, kind and loving daughter. She is so tender-hearted and definitely sticks up for and protects the "underdogs." When she sees someone making fun of another child, she will actually "correct" them and tell them that it's not nice to do that.

3. Ryan, my shy, sensitive and quiet son. He is such a "thinker" and is just starting to come out of his shell, a wee bit. He is so into skateboarding right now and it's wonderful to see him enjoying something so much.

4. Joshy, my nephew, and his sweet 3-year old vocabulary. After I ran out to my van this morning, to put his car seat and Brandon's booster seat into my van, I said, "It's wet and rainy out there." He responded with, "Amy, it's not raining, it's 'sparkling'!" I loved how he used 'sparkling' instead of 'sprinkling.'

5. My laundry being caught up.

6. Both of our families, who live so close to us. It's wonderful to see them as often as we'd like and for them to be so involved in our lives.

7. Being able to stay home with my children. And, to be able to watch my niece and nephews -- Caitlynn, Hunter, Brandon, and Joshy. I love that I am so close with my sister's and brother's children.

8. My "blooming" garden. Spring is definitely in the air.

9. A clean and uncluttered garage. I finally cleaned it out and organized it again yesterday. The children can get to all of their "things" so much easier now.

10. "Ten Things Tuesday," because I just love the idea of this and to have a specific day to just think about and jot down all the things I'm thankful for that week. With how busy we are, it's nice to slow down a bit and reflect upon all the wonderful things in our life.

Ready, Set, Ride (your bike to school, that is)!

Emily and Ryan were so excited this morning to ride their bikes to school, for the first time!! Ryan had a little bit of a "chain catastrophe," as they were getting ready to head out. Remember that we had "timed" the ride yesterday to see how long it took them to make it to school, so we were still fine, in terms of time (even with this little set-back). I quickly ran into the house to call Rob, because I have NEVER been able to fix a chain. Luckily, he had just left to go to work. He quickly fixed it and they were off!! We got some pictures before they left. I also took one, from my van, while they were riding to school. I really wanted to park and take a picture of them at the bike rack; however, they were not going for that!! LOL!! So, as I dropped Maddy and Morgan off (my friend's children), I took a picture of them walking their bikes up the sidewalk! They were so adorable!!!

Getting ready to head to school (after the chain catastrophe) ~

Emily on her way to school. I think she was in the middle of "blinking" because I'm sure she doesn't close her eyes, when she's riding her bike! LOL!

Ryan on his way to school, right behind Emily. I took these from my van, as I was driving. No one was behind me! LOL!

This was taken as I was leaving school. They had just crossed the street, with the crossing guard. It's a little blurry and not the best quality, because I was driving, but I just had to include it!

The Weekend!

We had such a nice weekend; although, we didn't get to see Rob that much at all. In fact, as I write this, he's still playing in a golf tournament. We miss him so much when he's not around and he's been working a lot lately. Sunday is usually reserved for "family day." He doesn't work on Sundays and we usually do something fun with all of us. His friend asked him to be in a golf tournament that is being held in memory of his father and brother, who both have passed away. Rob accepted the invitation and we definitely understand him being away from us today. But, we still miss him!

So, let me back up to Friday ~~~

My brother went out of town this weekend and asked me if I would keep his children (Brandon and Joshy) overnight, until their Mom could pick them up on Saturday. I gladly accepted and we had a fun night with them. Emily especially loves for them to come over and acts like a little "mommy" to them. She is so loving and nurturing. She definitely reminds me of myself at that age -- always flocking towards the youngest at any gathering. She is just so sweet to them. Ryan is tolerant and tries to be patient, but is not as much, when it comes to the little boys getting into his room, his things, and his personal space!! LOL!! We played games with them, watched "The Wild Thornberry" movie, and ate popcorn. Then, they all bunked-out in Ryan's room. He has the bunk bed and futon, so there is definitely more "sleeping" space in his room. They ended up in bed around 8-ish, and fell asleep pretty quickly.

Rob had to work very early on Saturday morning and said that they were actually all awake around 6:30am. Emily fixed their breakfast for them and I stayed in bed until 7:30. After playing outside and going for a walk, their Mom picked Brandon and Joshy up and we went to Nana and Poppy's (Rob's parents) pool. The water temperature is still a little too cold for me, but Emily and Ryan had a blast.

When Nana came home from work she told us to quickly get in my van and drive to a yard sale around the corner from her house. They had two bikes that she wanted us to look at for Ryan. He has a very small bike that we bought him for his fourth birthday and he has long since outgrown it. He has actually been riding Emily's bike, which is pink and white. So, she thought that she would buy them for him so that we wouldn't have to go out right away and get a brand new bike. With the exception of a little bit of rust, the bikes were in great condition. She bought both of them just in case we needed to use one for parts. The one that he's riding is a red and black Mongoose. He loves it. Then, they gave Emily the bike that has been in their garage for about 4-years, that they had bought at another yard sale, in hopes that their oldest granddaughter (Rob's sister's daughter), would learn to ride. She hasn't learned how to ride a bike and is not interested in learning (she will actually be 13-years old in September), so they let us take that home with us. Emily's pink and white bike is actually a Barbie one and she has definitely outgrown it. This one won't last much longer for her, either, but it was nice to have something for her, too. They were both so excited and I've included pictures of them riding their "new, for them" bikes. Nana and Poppy also got their bikes out and joined in on the fun. Rob came over, after he got off work, and rode his Dad's bike. He even popped some wheelies, but I didn't get a picture of it in time.

Today, after church, we came home and got the bikes out. Emily and Ryan want to ride their bikes to school from now on. So, I got in the van and we did a "trial" run to school. I had to follow in the van, because I don't have a bike, yet. And, I knew that I would have to run to keep up with them -- something that I am not going to do!! LOL!! We live quite a ways from school, so it's not like it's just around the corner. I wanted to make sure that they left in plenty of time to get to school, stopped at every stop sign, knew the rules of the road and crossing guard, and that they were able to get the bikes in the bike rack to lock them up. I will actually be following them to school every morning, because I drive a friend's children to school every day. So, I will be in my van anyway. Also, I pick Hunter up from school, so I will be following them home, too. LOL! They did such a great job and it only took us 4-minutes to get there, which really surprised me! They have been wanting to do this for a long time now, but we knew that Ryan couldn't ride his tiny bike up there and keep up with Emily. After we did that, we played on the playground for a little bit. Then, we rode back home and went to Target. They have both been saving their money and Emily bought a couple of things, in the dollar section. She also bought a "Pucci Purse," that has a stuffed puppy. Ryan bought a Tony Hawk skate park and another package of tech decks (finger skateboards). Now, we are just relaxing at home. Emily is about to go to the pool again, with Sarah. She called and invited her to go to Nana and Poppy's to swim. Ryan didn't want to go, so he is playing with his tech decks. They have been on about six bike rides today!! I really have to get a bike ~~ imagine the weight that I could lose if I went on a bike ride each time that my precious children did! I've been catching up on laundry, though.

Well, that's about it for today. Rob actually just called and told me that the tournament is over. So, he should be home within the hour. We are cooking out for dinner and will enjoy spending the remainder of the day together ~~~ I can't wait!!!

Here are some pictures from the weekend!



Here's Joshy ~

Here's Brandon ~

Here's Emily ~

Here's Ryan ~

Emily taking her 1st plunge-of-the-day ~

Ryan taking his 1st plunge-of-the-day ~

My sweet babies ~

Ryan on his "new, for him" bike ~

Ryan, Poppy, Emily, and Nana ~

Emily, Ryan, and Daddy (Rob had to join in on the fun.) ~

Happy Things!

Just a few things that make me, oh so, HAPPY!!

1. When Rob is home ALL day long and doesn't have to go to work!

2. Close-up pictures of Emily and Ryan!

3. Summer days, when the children aren't in school!

4. The smell of freshly laundered clothes!

5. Laying out and reading a book, by the pool!


The above is just a snip-it of things that make me happy! I will share more in future blogs. I will close now, with "close-up" pictures of my beautiful babies!

My Emily ~

My Ryan ~

Emily's School Projects!

I wanted to include pictures of all of Emily's school projects that she had this year. Fourth grade was a tad more challenging for her, with three major projects that she had to complete. She even had to do her first book report this year, which was very easy and only required her filling out a "sandwich-shaped" book report. It had different pages, that resembled the sandwich fillings and was even about the size of a sandwich. I do not have a picture of that project, so it's not included in this blog.

Emily's first project was a huge collage of Virginia's Products and Industries, for the five regions of our state. She used my scrapbooking Sizzix machine to cut out her title and name. Then, Rob and her went to his office and printed out all the products and industries for the five different regions. She divided the poster board, into the regions and glued her pictures on. Then, she had to label each picture. Luckily, Rob has a labeling machine at work, which I would LOVE to have at home, and they printed out the names of each picture. What a lot of work, but she did a great job. So much, in fact, that the teacher is keeping it to show her class next year. She just moved up grade levels this year, she used to teach 2nd grade, and she has nothing to show her students for examples of different projects. Anyway, it's a good thing that I take so many pictures of EVERYTHING, or I may have had a bit of a problem "letting go" of this school project!! I keep all of their school work and have done this since they were 3-years old and in preschool. I have two huge bins, in the garage, filled with their work. I will have to get a new one for Emily for next year's work. I really need to go through them and only keep the best things. I hate throwing any of it away, though! LOL!!!

Now, back to projects. I definitely have a tendency to become side-tracked!! LOL! Emily's next project was to either build a Native American Longhouse, or make a game board. Their teacher even told them that the game board would be the easiest route to take; however, Emily chose the model!!! I knew which one she picked EVEN before she told me. Anyway, we ended up buying the Powhatan Indian Tribe package, from TAPS, and were able to have people in this model. We used rectangular-shaped foam and sand (the kind from an arts and crafts store). The longhouse is constructed of craft sticks. The roof is made out of an oatmeal box, that is cut in half. We used felt for the roof, for the deer skin. I love the little corn crop, that is made with pipe cleaners and yellow beads (Rob's idea). When she presented it to the class, they all loved it. I have to also add that Emily has no problem, whatsoever, speaking in front of a group. She is NOT shy one bit. LOL!!

The last project was to build either a Colonist Fort, a fort for the English Soldiers, or to make a diorama of the Boston Tea Party. She chose the Colonist Fort. She also had to write a paragraph about the Colonists and present it to the class. Unfortunately, we didn't have any of the sand or paint left from her first project because Emily, Caitlynn, and a friend of theirs used it for a craft project. So, we had to go and buy a lot of the supplies again. This time, we got a slightly smaller foam board. The fence, houses, ladder, and cannon perch were made out of various sizes of craft sticks. The roofs for the houses were made from pizza boxes, covered with frayed felt. She did another fabulous job and we are very proud of her.

I will end here with some pictures of her projects!!


Emily with her Virginia's Products and Industries Project ~


Emily with her Native American Longhouse Project ~


Emily with her Colonist Project ~


A close up of the fort -- notice the little fire. Rob actually burned the little craft sticks to make it more authentic. We didn't want Emily's entire project to go up in flames; therefore, Rob did the burning!! LOL!

Yard Work ~~~

After a VERY rainy day yesterday, it was such a welcome change to have some beautiful weather today. It was so nice, in fact, that we did some yard work. We had some hosta to plant, tree branches to cut down, grass to cut, and so on and so forth. I basically monitored the job, cleaned up the tree branches, and took pictures. I took so many pictures that I actually had to create a little slide show, instead of putting individual ones up. I had all the children today -- all the cousins together -- I love it!

Brandon and Joshy were napping, while Rob cut the front yard. So, when they woke up, Rob was cutting the back yard and Brandon ran out to help. Joshy and I were playing a game. When they had finished cutting the grass, Joshy realized that he didn't get to help and Rob actually cut the front yard again (yes, I said AGAIN), so that Joshy could help. See -- I told you all that he is the most wonderful hubby!

Rob cut down some big branches that were hanging over our house. We all helped pick up the leaves and branches that were cut down. The girls had fun playing in the huge branches that were cut down. They also had fun climbing the big tree. The bigger boys (Hunter and Ryan) pretty much stayed in the driveway skateboarding. I am actually posting those pictures separately, from my slide show, because I have so many of the yard work.

As I close for now, I am thinking again about how lucky I am that I have my family. We had such a fun day and enjoyed being together, having fun, and doing yard work! I am so blessed!!!

Enjoy my slide show ~~~

Ryan making good use of that tree branch and his ramp. Look at how high he got!


Look at Hunter grabbing his board. I know there's a special name for that trick, but I don't know what it's called!


Ryan doing the same trick as Hunter is doing above. I will have to ask the boys to look at the pictures and tell me the proper terminology!

The weekend and Mother's Day!

I know that I'm a couple days behind on posting this entry. This weekend was really busy, so I really do need to catch up.

On Friday night, I took Emily, my niece, and their friends to ice skate. They are getting ready to redo the ice, so this was their last opportunity to go for a couple of weeks. They had a blast and we stayed (almost) until midnight. We all came back to the house for a sleepover. Rob and Ryan were already sound asleep. They had an evening filled with X-box and movies. The girls stayed up until 2:00am (YES, 2:00am!!). They just had to come home to play with their American Girl Dolls. Then, they did hair and I had to draw the line, at make-up! LOL!! The girls got up around 7:30am, and were busy playing. The energy they have is amazing to me. My gosh, to be 9-years old again -- LOL! After the girls were picked up on Saturday morning, we had to run some errands. Ryan went skateboarding, while Emily and I went to her friend's birthday party. It was a fun and busy day.

Now, onto Mother's Day --- what a special day!!! We got up and Ryan and Rob gave me their cards (Emily was saving her's for our breakfast, with my family). Rob got me a Target gift card. Ryan made me a sweet card and answered all these questions about me, at school ~~~ so sweet! He also decorated a picture frame and his teacher put a picture of him in it! I loved it. At church, Emily and Caitlynn were a part of the May Procession, to crown Mary. I loved it and it was so special watching them place their rose around Mary. It reminded me of my days, at Catholic school. We would have a HUGE celebration for Mary. We also sang the same songs, at church, as we did when we were in school. After church, we all (me, Rob, Emily, Ryan, Kelli, Caitlynn, Hunter, Scott, and my Mom) went to breakfast. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures from breakfast. Emily gave me her card and present as soon as we sat down. My precious angel gave me this beautiful bracelet, that she bought herself, at the Hallmark store. It has gold, silver, and crystal beads, with the clasp that says, "Mom and Love Forever," that is heart-shaped. While we were at the Hallmark store on Saturday, she bought it while I was paying for her friend's birthday gift. How absolutely precious and so thoughtful! She told me that she was right beside me and she had asked the cashier to please ring it up quickly, because I was standing right there and she didn't want me to see it. Awww, she is the sweetest!!! When we got out to the van, she told me that she had bought some clothes for her Webkinz and didn't want to show me. :-) She also got me a candle, a little porcelain box (with a picture frame on top, for me to keep trinkets in), and she painted me this heart with a poem on it (she did this at school and it is so pretty). I am just so blessed to have these precious children -- Emily and Ryan! I love them so much. They are my world!!!

After visiting with my family at breakfast, we ran to Rob's parents to see his Mom. Unfortunately, they weren't home. But, they came by our house to visit later. I didn't get to see them, though, because I was taking a coveted nap! My dear, loving husband told me to lay down and enjoy some time to myself. I was watching some TV and reading a book -- and fell asleep! Rob was holding down the fort and helping Emily work on her Social Studies project. Have I mentioned what an amazing Daddy he is??? If not, I will now --- he is the best and most amazing Daddy ever!! Speaking of the project, I will post some pictures of it later today.

Here are some "thank-you's": I am so thankful that I have my Mom and that she was the perfect example and role model of how a Mom should be. She always did her best to encourage us to be the best that we could be. She was always there for us and loved us unconditionally. All of our friends always hung out at our house -- everyone LOVED my Mom!! She helped to form me into the woman and mother that I am today. I love her so much!!! I also want to thank Rob's Mom for doing such a great job raising her son, my sweet husband. Thank you Rob, for making me a Mommy!! Lastly, I just want to thank you for a beautiful Mother's Day -- it was great! I love you all!


Caitlynn and Emily, at the May procession, for Mary. I gave Kelli my camera, and she took these. The camera had too much of a delay to capture Emily, so I cropped the image below this picture to get a closer look at her.


Emily ~ this is the one I had to crop. Not the best clarity, but at least I have the memory captured! LOL!


Me, with my precious children!! I love them so much!


Emily and Ryan in my in-law's back yard.

Cute Cousins ~~~

I had the whole gang today!! I just love for all the cousins to be together! Here are a few pictures to share. These were taken after school. The older boys (Ryan and Hunter) are really starting to get annoyed when they see my camera come out. That's why some of the times, they do not look too thrilled in their pictures!! LOL! Enjoy!!




All of the sweet cousins!

Not only are they cousins, they are like sisters! They remind me so much of Kelli and I when we were little -- we'd argue one minute and would be best friends again, just as quickly. I'm so happy they have each other. My sister and I have such a close bond that I really wanted Emily to experience a "sister." Well, she definitely has one in my sweet niece, Caitlynn! They are beautiful!

The handsome boys. Ryan actually doesn't look annoyed in this picture. Hunter is wanting to get back to his homework. Brandon isn't showing teeth, like he usually does. Look at Joshy -- too cute!

Pictures Before School!

I love taking pictures and decided to take some before school this morning! If you notice Ryan's shoelaces, you will see that he has a white one and a black one. While we were about to walk out the door to go to school, on Tuesday, the black one broke. Luckily, his skating shoes always come with an extra set of laces; however, he only wanted the white lace to replace the broken one. Apparently, that's how the skateboarders wear their laces. I will have to take note of the shoes that the skaters are wearing the next time we're at Mike's (the indoor skate park that we visit).