Happy Holidays!!!

On Tuesday morning when the kids woke up the sounds of Nat King Cole filled the house and twinkle lights sparkled in the sunny dining room.  The table was decked with the reindeer plates, santa hats were at each chair and a small tree sparkled in the room.  Why was our dining room decked out for Christmas when it was still 6 months away?!?!?!  Because Lil'C had requested "Christmas" when we made our Summer Bucket List and so this mama decided to make her dream come true :)

The night before I crept up to the attic, grabbed the small tree, a stuffed snowman, two holiday books, a holiday DVD, the santa hats and some twinkle lights.  After the kids were all snug in their beds with visions of watergun fights dancing in their heads...I went to work.  It was so much fun to set up this surprise and their reactions were ten times as fun!!!  We listened to holiday music, had a special holiday breakfast and then read some holiday stories.  We headed to Neene's house where Chi Chi had told me I could wrap up some of Neene's old school stuff (she is retired now) and give it to the kids.  I did this and so they even had PRESENTS!!!  I had Z pick out Lil'C's gift and Lil'C pick out Z's.  They both loved the books, crafts and games they got and have been playing with them all week.

They watched one of our favorite holiday movies, Prep N Landing, with Neene (she had never seen it) and then went swimming in their hot tub (it was only 80 in the tub but 90 outside!!).  It was a wonderful day and as we were getting ready for bed Lil'C asked, "Is Fake Easter Tomorrow?".  Maybe next year.....

Celebrating Summer Solstice

Friday was a fun day for our clan.  Summer solstice brought with it wonderful weather and we tried to make the most of every hour of the longest day of the year.

We started off the day at a beautiful state park with my sister and her kids.  The kids played on the playground, swam in the lake and played in the sand.  Lil'C made a little friend on the beach and spent the entire day playing with her.  Everyone had a really great day.

Our evening was spent eating watermelon, playing with their glow sticks, eating s'mores, playing outside in our pajamas, conducting some night vs. day experiments for Camp Mama and then going on a big Moon Hunt.  This was so much fun and we ended up on Auntie Kristen's beach.  The Super Moon was indeed Super and the kids loved staying up late to search for it.  It was a wonderful first day of summer and we so enjoyed the extra time and the beautiful weather that the longest day of the year brought for us!

Making Memories....

It has been a busy two weeks with T-Ball ending, birthday parties and adventures!  

Here are some highlights.....

T-ball Team

Helping Mommy Garden

Family Birthday BBQ

Princess Birthday Party

Chima Lego Bounce Party

Bird Hike at the Audubon

Trip to the Planetarium for Night Camp

Birthday Lunch with my Dad

Summer is Here!!!

Well technically Summer begins on Friday but today was the first day that really felt like summer vacation.  It wasn't a particularly warm day but it just felt like summer all day long.

We woke up, took our time, read some books and then headed to a Princess Birthday party for a sweet little 3 year old.  The kids had a blast bouncing and it was fun to connect with moms I hadn't seen in awhile.

We got home, had lunch and decided to have the first water fight of the year. We had so much fun running through the yard, laughing and squirting each other.  Once we were dressed we brought out the big blanket and the kids sipped on popsicles while we watched the clouds go by.  We read a few more chapters of our book, "face-timed" with my mom in the hospital (she has a new knee now) and searched for cool cloud shapes.  We then drew with side walk chalk and enjoyed a lazy, summer day.

These are the days I love.  It was not too hot, not much on the agenda and we had so much fun spending time together.  Summer is here.

Making Memories....Photo Dump

I haven't done a Making Memories post in a LONG time and realized there are so many photos I never shared.  I am going to share some of them today and start up Making Memories again.

Happy Friday!!

Indoor Pool time at the Hotel in May 

Playground Fun

We love Mini Golf

Z's Kindermusik Graduation 

Backyard Water Fun with Good Friends

Z getting the game ball at T-Ball!!!

Saying "Good-Bye" to Old Blue

On Monday night, Lil'C and I watched and waved as Scott and Z drove away in our Blue Forester for the last time.  It was time to turn the old girl in for a newer model and though I was excited about the new Outback, I still got teary watching my sweet little car drive away.  There were so many memories in that car over the 8 years that we were together.  We spent 160,000 miles together and if she didn't need new brakes and AC, we'd probably be spending more time together.

The Blue Forester was my first NEW car.  I have had MANY cars in my day but she was the first new car I ever had the privilege of driving.  When Scott and I drove her out of the lot in 2005, he told me to turn around and imagine my future kids sitting in the back seat.  I did and often think of that moment when I look in the rear view mirror and see Z and Lil'C smiling from the back seat.  

The Blue Forester was our first purchase as a married couple.  She has been to many Red Sox games (even the playoffs for the 2007 World Series), has spent many summers at the lake and has taken many trips to the beach.  She was the car that both Z and Lil'C came home from the hospital in and has been with us for every major moment in their little lives thus far.  She has been a sturdy car and as my friends have traded in their cars over the years, Blue Forester stayed loyal and true.  She has been puked in multiple times, has seen more crumbs than I care to think about and has been often embarrassed by her appearance when Z gets out of the car in car line for school :)  She has been a good car and I am so grateful for the time we have had with her.

So now Blue Forester has been retired and Red Outback is sitting in the garage.  Red Outback is shiny, sporty and has that "New Car Smell".  Lil'C does not like her at all, she wants her old car back.  She reminds me a lot of me, I once cried when my parents got a new couch!  Never mind the mild depression I had when we moved houses as a child :)  I know in time she (and I) will learn to love Red Outback as much as we loved Blue Forester.  For now we will just smile when we think of Old Blue and how good she was to us!

Mommycation!

This past Thursday the kids and I started our second annual "Mommycation".  We started this tradition last year when Scott was traveling a lot after listening to the Sparkle Story called "Daddycation"(you can read about it here).  He has been traveling a lot again and so I thought it would be great to do another "Mommycation" this year.

We headed to the lake for our "Mommycation" despite the threat of Tropical Storm Andrea.  We started our mini-getaway off with sunshine and time on the beach.  Lil'C somehow fell in the lake and so a few minutes later they were both in their swimsuits SWIMMING!  I was in a sweatshirt and jeans in my beach chair as they were frolicking in the chilly water. After their swim and some beach baseball we got nice and toasty in the cottage and settled in for the evening.  Z got a new Chima LEGO for his graduation and got started right away on building it.

The rains came during the night and so we spent some time at the Biggest Arcade in America (or so they say), Funspot USA.  The kids have never been here before and were blown away by all of the fun to be had.  They went bowling and blew through $20 in tokens.  They had the time of their lives and treasured the crap prizes they traded in their tickets for.  It brought back so many memories from my childhood and I flooded my sisters phones with texts and photos as I strolled down memory lane.

After our outing, we put on our rain gear and headed out to play in the rain.  It was a balmy 53 degrees but that didn't stop us!   My dad came after our rainy time fun and we had a great evening playing games and hanging out with Chi Chi.

Saturday brought Neene (and my sister) to help with the cleaning and prepping for the rentals.  We enjoyed some time with her and then packed the car and headed to the Old Country Store for our final stop of the trip.  The kids picked out some candy, we bought something "real nice" for my sister's birthday and then we headed home.

It was a wonderful "Mommycation" and we all had a great time together but were super excited to see Daddy on Saturday night!

Happy Birthday SessionM

This was the view of Boston we had last night as we celebrated the 2nd birthday of Scott's company, Session M.  Two years ago the company was just Scott and his two co-founders, working out of a small office in a shared office building.  Today they have over 50 employees with offices in Boston, NY, San Francisco, LA and Chicago.  I am so proud of Scott and the rest of Session M and all of the blood, sweat and tears they have put into the company over the past two years.  I was so happy and honored that Scott invited me along to the party, the only spouse there, to celebrate.  The past two years have been a roller coaster ride for everyone involved but it has been very exciting.

To learn more about what Scott and his company do, check out the video below or visit the Mpoints website.  If you have an iphone or a droid, you too could be earning Mpoints by using apps like Shazam, Addicting Games, the Weather Channel, MTV, Crackle and many more.  You can trade in your Mpoints for gift cards, donate them to charity or enter to win great contests.

Thanks for including me in the celebration last night Scott and for sharing with everyone all of the ideas I have helped you come up with.  It was sweet of you to do and meant a lot to me.  I am so proud of you and all you have done to build the company up to what it is today.  I love you!

Adventures in Mommysitting

Friday night was like a scene out of Adventures in Babysitting.  I was playing the role of Chris Parker (played by Elizabeth Shue, people say I look a bit like her) and Scott was playing her "frantic friend" Brenda.  So here it was 9:40 at night and Scott was STRANDED at the bus station.  Yes it was downtown Salem, NH not Chicago but still it was just like the scene from the movie (see below).  The taxi service was a no show and poor Scott had been trapped at the bus station for 2 hours.  The station was closed, our kids fast asleep....what to do?!?!?



please picture Scott while watching these clips from the movie!

What choice did I have?  I had to save my man!  I tried to wake the kids (impossible task) and thus had to carry them both to the car.  I drove into the night in the corolla (so wish I had a wood-sided wagon) to rescue Brenda my man.  We drove up to the dark and "scary" bus station and there was no sign of Scott anywhere, I thought that he might have lost his glasses or was busy petting a sewer rat!  I called him and was relieved to hear that he was at the front of the station, just out of sight.  He was excited to see his rescue mission, got into the car and thankfully we avoided any run-ins with mobsters, old boyfriends and the like.  We headed home.

Mommy, Lil'C and Z