Slip Slidin' Away

Where has summer gone?

It's July for Pete's sake! And only that for a few more days!

At Aggie's birthday party, Jason set up a slip-n-slide in their backyard. If ever there was a backyard made for slip-n-slides and sledding, this is the yard. It has the perfect double hill that is steep enough to be fast but not too fast.

Poor Ag's got stung on her way to slide, so she ended up not doing it at all, poor baby.

Isaac threw a ginormous fit when it was time to go, but lucky for me the mix of the water/soap meant I could send him straight to bed with no shower!

Mothers Day Recap

While I think it is a nice gesture, Mother's Day isn't too different from any other day.

According to my girlfriends, we think it is a little bit stressful and a lot of extra work, quite frankly.
We want to please our mothers and mothers-in-law, yet, we are mothers too! And we are in the throws of parenthood!
So we plan a dinner or mani/pedi session or maybe a brunch.
Maybe a nice low key dinner at home since all of the restaurants have a zillion hour wait.
Regardless of how we celebrate our mothers, we do it because we love them and we would not be where or who we are without them... and because they did the same things for us. Thank you mom, for always supporting me and being in my corner when I need you. Thank you for being loving and compassionate. Thank you for being my friend. I love you.

Plus, without Mother's Day, I wouldn't have gotten these sweet cards from my kiddos!

Easter Highlights

We had a great Easter weekend... the weather was gorgeous and the Easter Bunny filled the kids' baskets with some awesome goodies!

Of course he hid the eggs in the backyard and we had to hunt for them in our jammies.

He even hid the baskets! So the kids had to find the baskets before the hunt could begin!

Then we went to church, and then to my mom and dad's house!

All in all it was a great day!!

St. Patty"s Party

Over the weekend our friends threw their annual St. Patty"s Party. Lots of fun, friends we
hadn't seen in a long time and tons of kids.
I got a kiss from the cutest leprechaun ever!

...and made a fun rainbow cake.

I would go into more detail, but this cutie is snoring, rather loudly, in my arms as I type... isn't she adorable?

So I'm no Annie Leibovitz..

Mark and I don't do grandiose Valentine's Day gifts, a simple card, favorite dinner and maybe flowers... so about a month ago, I got an idea to make him a photo collage of the kids as a surprise.

While I was at it, I called up my sister and got her and her baby girls in on the mix... that way she would have one for her husband and then we could combine them and make one for mom and dad... I know! Genius!
Well.... I am definitely an amateur photographer.
The kids were troopers, poor Piper is teething and Aggie hadn't slept well the night before, but we forged ahead anyway! There may have been a little bit of Reese's Pieces bribery going on at one time or another, but that's neither here nor there... right?

I didn't keep track of who had what letter and which background etc.

So, no surprise gift, but we did get some cute pictures anyway!

Another Birthday...

Last Monday, Mark turned 32.... I have never known him to have any difficulty with his age, but this one has thrown him off a little. "Too close to 35, which then is too close to 40" and he just can't come to grips with the big four-oh.... good thing he has eight more years to find a way to deal!!!

I made his favorite dessert - which is no small feat since he "doesn't care for" desserts- a Boston Cream Pie and we had pizza for dinner with some friends over to watch the Buckeye game. I think he had a good time and hopefully will find comfort in his old age! I love you, Mark!! Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday Mom!

My mom's birthday is on Christmas Day. So to give her special day the attention it deserves, we celebrate a couple of days afterward. This year we went to Steph's house and had a great spread of delicious food which included, baked bree, farmhouse chicken and peanut butter cake. Brenda and Ove were able to come as well and we had a great time.

Happy Birthday Mom! We love you!

Happy New Year!!

We celebrated the new year with our friends, Mandy, Vaughn, Sophia and Cate. We had a great time making homemade pizzas and ice cream sundaes. While the kids played and watched a couple of movies the adults played cards and games. Four years ago I never would of thought I would have fun on New Years without going out on the town but it turned out great! Oh how things have changed! Isaac and Sophia made it to midnight to see the ball drop, while poor Meg and Cate pooped out early.

Here's to a happy and healthy 2009!!





First kiss of the year from my handsome hubby!



A toast with Isaac to ring in the year!



Mmmmmm.... pizza!




Cutting a rug!

Here is a little taste of our Christmas! We had a great time. Isaac was a blast. He has been looking forward to Santa's visit for so long and it payed off. He got his Bengals helmet and a bunch of new race cars. Megan had fun, she got a new baby doll and some dishes and food for her kitchen.

I was all set to capture Isaac on video Christmas morning and the excitement that comes with seeing all the gifts under the tree... I was expecting, "Yeah! Santa came!" etc. What I got was, "Where are all my presents?" Still cute... kinda. Ahhh.... the honesty that comes with being 3.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!

Look Who's One!!!!

Well, my baby had her first birthday! We celebrated with a party on Sunday with family and a few friends.

Megan had a great time, especially when it came to the cake -- Although I maybe should have rethought the bright pink icing!!