In the midst of history

Ever wonder how a last-minute road trip comes to be? Here's how...
Jonathan came home from Phoenix late Thursday night. "Glenn Beck's Restoring Honor Rally is in DC on Saturday. I would have liked to have gone"
Tracy: Want me to check and see if there are any rooms available for us to use our Sheraton points?"
Jonathan: Sure, but I doubt there are
Both: Night :)
Friday morning...
Tracy: There were rooms available at the Westin we stayed at last time which is within walking distance of the Lincoln Memorial. What do you think?
Jonathan: Book it! We'll leave as soon as Delaney gets off the bus.
So we packed the van and off we went. On the way down, we were hungry and looking to stop for dinner. We promised the kids Pizza and breadsticks but a Pizza place was hard to find on the TomTom. We found one in Grantsville, Md--a beautifully quaint little town but it was closed (I think they pull their sidewalks in at 6 and this was 7:30) But driving through town we found the most amazing Inn and Restaurant built in 1840... The Casselman Inn. The food was so delicious and the atmosphere was so quaint. We want to go back and stay in the antique hotel sometime.
We arrived in DC late and hit the hay. We tried to get up early, but I guess we were all exhausted because we only all woke up at 8:20. We showered, dressed and hit the street to walk to the rally. It was really uplifting to be walking down the street with others who had come to our capitol to join in wanting to make America the best it could be. Here are a few snapshots I took at the event..




I have to say that the moment I will never forget was when all these hundreds of thousands of people lining all open areas of the mall and beyond joined their voices in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. It brought a tear to my eye to think how were were standing amongst the memorials for so many who gave their lives for the freedom to fly our flag over this great nation. There was such reverence and a hush fell over the crowd as hands covered hearts as the National Anthem was sung. I'm so glad we were able to be there and be a part of this historic day.
I had to include a few of my little patriots too :)



And three cheers for the man who made it all happen--who planted the seed and drove all the way here to DC :)  I love you, baby...

{Day 37} Fun with Photo Booth

I found a new program on my MacBook yesterday... it's called {Photo Booth}
It's hot outside. Too hot to play--heck! Too hot to get the mail or even breathe for that matter! So we've been spending a lot of time indoors.
Mommy has also been very backed up on Photography work so I really had to buckle down yesterday and finish editing a session from over a week ago. (I know... I'm ashamed--I blew my own personal deadline).
So you can guess that after about 3 hours there were a lot of "Mommy. Mommy. MOMMMMMMMY! You're not paying attention to me!!!"
We all needed a little comic relief. Wait for it... here it comes. Be prepared to pee you pants (I did--just a little bit though)



I hope that gave you a little joy today...

ET is in my closet!

It was a scorcher today! Almost too hot to be outside. Delaney and Jonathan both had swimming lessons this morning and by the end of the lessons, MOMMY looked like she had been in the pool with all the sweating I was doing.
After such an exciting weekend, we needed to turn it down a notch and made all 3 kids take a nap this afternoon. (boy, did they need it) Daddy cooked us an awesome dinner of Tri Tip Roast and Roasted/Grilled mixed veggies. Delicious! Thanks, Daddy.
I had a photo session with some friends of mine so Dad was on his own and the movie "ET" was on the menu. Delaney requested to watch the movie "with the boy on the bicycle with the monster with no ears"--that was her way of describing the ET DVD cover.
On my way home from my session, I asked Jonathan how the movie went. Were the kids scared from the movie? He related to me that little Jonathan had just made another appearance downstairs after he had been tucked into bed a hour previously and announced that ET was in his closet. (Insert Giggle here) He was sure of it... he had heard him! The only cure for ET in his closet? "Dad, can I sleep in your bed until you come to bed?" (of course)
We had another first today. We usually blockade Addison in the living room with a folding table. She has now discovered that she can crawl between the wall and the back of the couch and escape. Clever girl! What will they think of next?

{Day 15} Lesson Learned: Cherry Limeade Drink Mix does NOT make good popsicles

Oh... don't get me wrong... they are DE-licious... but there's something in that Walmart Cherry Limeade drink mix that will stain anything it touches blood red. I remember Jonathan, my husband, drinking a big glass of it before we left for church one Sunday. When I looked over at him as he was driving, I couldn't help but chuckle...he looked like he had applied red lipstick.

I bought these popsicle makers at my new favorite store "5 Below"... it's like the Dollar Store on steroids! Everything is $5 or less. I've already spent a fortune in there. I may just have to go back before we leave for the beach--they have boogie boards for $5!!!

Anyways, the kids had a blast eating their popsicles that they made with me. Addison did not get to indulge this time. As messy as the older ones were, I can only imagine what she would have looked like after all was said and done. The Stephen King story of Carrie comes to mind...

{Day 14} P-A-R-K and a new camera to boot!

Okay, I've complained about my PNS camera long enough. My husband finally relented to my constant jibbering about what a great idea it would be to get a waterproof/sand-proof/drop-proof camera that we could enjoy without worrying about the elements (ie kids) damaging. Hurray! It came today.
So, out the door we headed to Morgan Park to enjoy the sunshine and test out that bad-boy to make sure it fit the bill and my high expectations.  Here are a few shots we captured. It's a keeper...

{Day 13} Sunday is a day of rest...

What can I say... we take that motto very seriously and try spend the day as a family just enjoying each other and relaxing.
I can't say that we actually did anything worthy of the 100 day challenge--but we did attend Church as a family and my husband gave a wonderful talk in church (go, honey!) but then he had to leave for the airport for a business trip (boo)
It was a stressful day for me though because Addison is too young for nursery so I pretty much "contain" or chase her for 3 hours at church. Not fun.
Today after church was Hunter's 3rd Birthday party where I chased Addison for another 2 hours. I will say that the kids all got to eat cake and ice cream so I use my slacker card and count that as our fun thing for today (because they would) and call it a day... happy that I survived :)

{Day 12} Say "Hola" to Ms. Rosa

My husband was away most of last week. We missed him--so to celebrate his return home... I subjected him to a forced family day :) Now for those of you who know my husband, you know that I say "forced" tongue-in-cheek because there is no where else he would rather be.
Saturday morning started out with Daddy/Delaney day on the River. What an awesome day--beautiful blue skies, calm waters... Delaney was in her glory... time with Daddy all to herself...and all the junk she could collect on the river. Yes, my little junk collector was even at it on the Allegheny River! Jonathan said she almost tipped the kayak over a few times reaching for sticks and debris but I know he loved the time with his special girl.

Now, did you think the day was over... not by a long shot!

When Daddy and Delaney got home from the River... we packed everyone up again and headed back downtown to go to the Three Rivers Arts Festival.

I think the threat of rain scared the crowds off so it was wonderful. No pushing crowds or long lines for food. We brought our favorite picnic blanket, bought some fried, festival food and had a lovely picnic right there in Point State Park. I was excited to eat my corndog... but it was commandeered by Addison right after my first bite. Delaney loved her Quesadilla and Jonathan just picked at everything.

A healthy meal? Not by a long shot--but a fun meal!

Believe it or not... the food was NOT the highlight of the day... Ms. Rosa was! {Who the heck is Ms. Rosa?} you might ask? Only the biggest celebrity... on the Sprout Channel. The kids were so star struck and hung on her every word as she told a SuperWhy story and played Dance/Stop with words that ended in "A-L-L" 

Then, to make sure we were the responsible parents we were supposed to be, we fed them {Ice Cream} for dinner on the way home. WE ROCK!

Of course, we all crashed in a sugar coma when we got home. But the day was far from over... Delaney, Jonathan and I went to our neighbor's house for an outdoor showing of "The Muppet Movie" projected right on the side of their house. They had popcorn and candy and we just laid out our favorite blanket again and rocked out to "Movin' Right Along" and "The Rainbow Connection" and laughed at that crazy Animal who is my favorite Muppet by far--sometimes reminds me of my little Jonathan :)

{Day 11} Making Learning "Funner"

I bought the kids some learning workbooks yesterday at Walmart that I thought we could do over the summer. Before you start booing me as a "non-fun" Mommy... let me just tell you that my kids LOVE doing these worksheets. I feel so accomplished when we sit down and do learning stuff--like I'm actually the Mom I dream of being (but only for a brief second--then I'm back to "get through the day" Mommy)
Delaney had 2 books--a maze book and a hidden picture book--and I think they are both half way done already. I bought Jonathan a Pre-school book that worked on scissor skills then pasting the things you cut out with the appropriate pictures (matching). I figured that the kid loves to cut anything not nailed down in this house--this would give him a creative outlet. He had a little bit of a learning curve to master--wanted to cut the pictures into small strips but then figured it out and away he went. I love seeing the wheels turning in those amazing minds of theirs...

Now, did you think that I would let the day go by with just "fun schoolwork"? No... we had to take a Funny Faces break. I was laughing my butt off taking these snapshots. What a talent my kids have for showing every inch of their gums and what elastic faces they have! We even made Addison join in on the fun...

Now... off to the park for a picnic and MORE fun... it's hard to contain myself today now that I'm finally feeling human again after being sick for almost 2 weeks. Enjoy the sun!


{Update} Had a great time at USC Park today with Morgan and sons. I just had to add some snapshots taken with my iPhone of Addison "enjoying" a Shrek Twinkie. Priceless...

{Day 10} Cupcakes...need I say more?

Today will be hard to find the fun--because I hardly saw the kids today. I had a babysitter today so I could get caught up on my Photography business stuff so I spent the day at Panera on their WiFi but I did manage to cook dinner with them and eat before I had to leave again for a MOPS Retreat meeting. Pat and Robin came over to watch the kids and the kids have come to expect a sweet treat when they come. They did not disappoint. Today was {cupcakes}! My kids LOVE cupcakes! Including Addison. Unfortunately, Jonathan was not done eating his dinner before I had to leave so no pictures of my handsome boy devouring the cupcake too. But here are the dainty princesses...

{Day 9} Are you my Mummy?

Big shout out to Christina from MOPS for this idea... we made Mummy Dogs for lunch today (find the yummy recipe here.) Don't be a hater... I know it's a halloween treat, but the kids didn't care and we had a blast making them. Hey... you do what you can when it's a wet, dreary day out and no chance to play at the park.

Sorry... no pictures of the final product...we were too busy eating them!
P.S. Delaney says Mummy Dogs taste much better when dressed in your expensive dance recital costume :)

{Day 8} Fun with the iPhone

Ahhh another beautiful day at the park. Time to play with the iPhone... Thanks to David Burke for the idea for the Shake Photo app... it's a way to take "Polaroid" pictures with your iPhone... you even shake the phone to make the photo develop. So much fun!

{Day 7} Mom... can I draw on my face?

What is up with Pittsburgh weather. In April and May, it's warm enough to lay out and tan. June 7th... 62 degrees... urgh... needless to say, my kids were not dressed warm enough when we headed out the door to the park today.
Normally I would count "The Park" as our fun thing to do today... but I had other things up my sleeve... in the form of face painting crayons! The kids had a blast doodling on each other. First I confined it to the arms, then all hell broke loose and, well, faces, hands, legs, etc. Even Mom got a butterfly "tattoo" from Delaney. Addison liked it all... the drawing, the swinging, the eating... a fun day was had by all. Finally... some {real} pictures...
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I just love Addison's face while she's getting "inked"... so serious. She's hilarious!

{Day 6} Big Girls Don't Cry

Tonight was Delaney's very first Dance Recital(and probably last--she's just not that in to it--loves Horseback riding lessons much more). She and her friends Clara and Sabrina rocked the stage to the oldie-but-goodie {Big Girls Don't Cry}. It was so precious. In attendance were Grandma and Pap-Pap, Aunt La-La, Aunt Bird and Aunt Pat and, of course, Mommy and Daddy (who were beaming ear to ear). Thanks for suffering through, family...

{Day 5} Mom! There are two Chuckies!

How could anything be more fun for kids than a Birthday Party at Chuck E Cheeses? We had the honor of attending Jonathan's friend Hamilton's 4th birthday party today.
Jonathan and Hamilton went to Small Steps at Zion Lutheran Preschool together until February when Hamilton was diagnosed suddenly with Leukemia. We've been so blessed to have stayed in touch with Ham and is family and are so relieved that so far all his treatments are going well. So this was an extra special birthday celebration. It's so magical to see Jonathan and Hamilton playing together--like no time has passed between the time they've been together--playing trains or airplanes or rocket ships or anything else that spark boys' imaginations.
When Jonathan got home, and I asked him how the party was (Daddy took all 3 kids while Mommy had a spa day with my Mommy) he exclaimed, "Mommy, did you know that there are TWO Chuck E Cheeses? One that dances on stage and one that walks around!" Too cute!
Delaney had fun at the Cheese's house too but she got a special belated Birthday present today from Aunt La La and Uncle Matt -- Movie and Dinner out!
They went and saw the final Shrek movie then went to Kings for dinner. It's always fun when you come from a large family to be the only one on a date night. Thanks, Aunt La La and Uncle Matt for making our girl feel so special and so loved.
Sorry for the short post... I am still under the weather. Maybe better tomorrow. One can hope...

{Day 4} Pump those legs!

I have a confession to make... I never made the jello :(

I am not a failure on the 100 days of fun challenge though because we did something even "funner"... we had friends over--Delaney's self-proclaimed future husband, Riley and his sister Avery. They begged so my BFF Tiffany and I just HAD to relent and spend some time together (he he... and the kids think we plan playdates so that THEY can play)

But that was yesterday. And today... well, we pulled something from the jar, but never got around to it. Again I remind myself...the purpose of this challenge was not to stick to the jar and suck all the joy out of the day, but complete the task. The goal at the end of the day was to HAVE FUN. And we did.

Jonathan's last day of Music Camp was today. So when it was time for us to pick him up, Delaney went with me and we stayed at the school and went to the park. We climbed on the Monkey bars, spun around on the twirly thing (what IS that thing called) and pushed each other on the swings. My sweet, tender boy pushed his momma on the swings today. How big he's getting. He also insisted on spinning me around on the twirly thing...all by himself. His chubby little feet in their Toy Story flip flops going as fast as they could, round and round, trying to pick up speed. When he was done, he was the one that was dizzy. Then I watched anxiously as he climbed to the top of the Monkey Bars and was relieved that my "growing-up-too fast" boy needed me to help him get down. He still needs me :)

Delaney continues to amaze me. She's been trying for so long to teach herself how to swing. Today she did it! I wish I could bottle up her excitement and pride. It was contagious!



So I'm going to check Day 4 off as a Fun Success! Ready for tomorrow?

{Day 3} J-E-L-L-O

Did you sing the letters in your head as you read my blog post? I did when I was typing it. Today's challenge was an easy one... {make some Jello then enjoy it with whipped cream and sprinkles b/c sprinkles makes everything better}. Okay, so I haven't officially made the jello yet at this point...but I am planning to. While singing the J-E-LL-O song in my head I came across a great blog entry on one of my favorite photography sites (here's the Link if you have some time) and it really got me thinking... life WAS so much simpler when we were kids. There were no scheduled playdates... you played outside with your friends ALL DAY and groaned when you had to come in when the streetlights were on. We didn't need anything to "spark" our imagination...we were full of ideas... secret clubs, pretending to be the Mandrell sisters or the Gong Show, treating our bikes like the General Lee from the Dukes of Hazzard. Even playing the characters in MASH which was my Dad's favorite TV show. We would run to the top of the block watching for him to walk home from the bus stop and carry his briefcase home for him. Every night was the same. He'd come home, take off his tie, lay down on the couch, watch MASH. My mom would ALWAYS call us in for dinner when there was only 5 minutes left in the show and we would all ignore her until MASH was over--she'd get so mad. To this day, I never understand why she didn't just plan dinner for when MASH was over--it was only 5 minutes. Dinner would be a comedy--I would try to smuggle unwanted food on my plate away from the table in a napkin tucked in my pants and excuse myself to go the bathroom. It worked a few times before my sister Laurie ratted me out that there were hot dogs floating in the toilet. From that point on--no bathroom breaks during dinner. My brother always had to be strapped into his seat with my dad's belt because he never sat still. My sister Laurie was the tattler and informed Mom and Dad every wrong she had witnessed by us during the day. Megan, the youngest, was the baby and got away with everything (still does :) ) Dad worked hard and made an honest wage, while going to night school to get his degree. Mom worked hard keeping the house and stretching the budget as far as it would go. I remember fondly her basket of coupons, so organized. As an adult, I now realize what a chore coupons are. We ate a lot of generics--remember the potato chips in the black n white bags? Did we know we were poor by today's standards. No way! We never wanted for anything. We had everything we needed. I hope my children will look back on their childhood as fondly as I do.
So now, back to the Jello... I may even get a little crazy today and make Jello Jigglers and savor another taste from MY childhood. Stay tuned...

{Day 2} The Letter of the Day is...

Today's challenge was picked by Delaney from the jar.
"Choose a {Letter of the Day} and do activities and eat food that start with that letter"
This is one you can really have fun with. Let me also clarify that I woke up feeling extremely under the weather today but with a strong resolve not to abandon my challenge as easily as I abandon my diets.
Now, remember I said that I was sick this morning and wonderful hubby had already made breakfast for the munchkins... pancakes. So I thought--go with it. Letter "P" it is.
Lunch (prepared by said wonderful husband) consisted of Pierogies, Potato tots and Purple smoothies... which lead to my favorite shots of the day...
{Purple Mustaches}

One thing I do realize as I post these....my point n shoot sucks!!!! Time for a new one?

After lunch, I realized that I couldn't just FEED them the letter P's, we actually had to have some activities that involved "P's"

Out came the {Play dough} and I do mean out... OUTSIDE (gosh, I love summer--no play dough to scrape off the wood floor!)

We continued with the P's for dinner... a Picnic in the Park! Okay, so we had Arby's that does not start with P, but Jonathan really had to "pee" half way through dinner (okay--that was a gross reach). The park was fun and we even Picked up some trash in the park -- a good lesson to teach our children--that we should leave a place looking better than we found it. (I love my husband for teaching us such great boy scout lessons).

Thunder and lightening ended our perfect day so it was home for PJ's and Prayers... a Perfect P Day!

{100} Days of Summer Challenge

Today is June 1st. It's the first day of Summer in my mind because it's the first day after Memorial Day. It's neat and tidy... it's the first day of a long summer with 3 kids. But then I realized, that's just a matter of perspective... it can be as long or as fun as I choose to make it to be. So I choose to make it a memorable one not only for me...but for my kids. They will only be 5, 3 and 1 for one summer only.
I invite you to go on this journey with me. Here's how we will begin... a jar full of ideas... 3 willing kids... one Mommy armed with a camera (point n'shoot or otherwise) and I'm sure some hilarious stories will be created along the way.
So... the jar. We made them at MOPS a few weeks ago (well, actually, I was lazy and JUST completed mine today, in fact) But hey, perfection is a blessing and a curse in my world.

Inside the jar is a hundred or more ideas for fun things to do this summer. Every day we will pick one one (or make one up). Every day we will do something fun. Everyday I will document it (see--this is a double treat for me-time with the kids--but also time with my camera--it's a win-win!)
Okay.... here we go!

June 1 - {Day 1} - FUN WITH GRAPES
Okay, so I made this one up because we didn't officially pick one out of the jar. But we sure had some belly laughs today seeing how many grapes the kids could fit in their cheeks. Yes, I know it's a choking hazard... no we will not do it again. But how can you resist these cheeks?

See you tomorrow!

Happy Valentine's Day {2010}

Addison's first Valentine's Day

Handsome Boy

I have been playing around with Textures in Photoshop and had to post this picture.

My handsome little devil...I love you "Mr. Ticklelicious!"

Bailey {Great Dog}

We lost our dear Bailey on Saturday, January 23rd. Although I knew this day would come "someday"... I never wanted it to be now. How can you count the precious 13 1/2 years she brightened our life as "enough"? She was my first "baby" so I thought it only appropriate to post one last picture of {My Girls}

{Cousins} Naomi and Delaney

Delaney and Naomi had a blast over the New Year holiday. I joke that I really miss Delaney when Naomi is around because I never see her--they are too busy playing. We love you, Naomi. Thanks for coming to visiting!

Addison at 8 Months