End of Summer...

Well we are fast approaching the end of summer. One thing I really thought I'd do more of was hang outside on my new back grass patio. I especially loved to sit out in the morning and drink my coffee. I'd watch Ella run around, stop-look-and wonder, watch the butterflies hang out on my lovely purple bush and just listen.

I wish I did it more, but I am not going to haven ANY regrets about this summer!

It was a PERFECT summer!!!! Sure I didn't do everything on my Summer To-Do List, but then again, how many people get through theirs??????

We did lots of relaxing, I needed that, and had lots of fun! Did we have all out fun everyday, no, but who cares! We were together, right! Mommy and Daddy were home everyday! No work for us!!!

Sure the kids needed a few reminders to be "THANKFUL" for what we were doing!

Sure they needed a few, well a lot of reminders to "stop..." you fill in the blank!

I only had to use "I am counting...", "Go to your room", "Do I look happy?", "Are ya kidding me?", "I mean it!" a few times here and there : ) (Smiling)

But hey, that's all ancient history as I look back on the Summer of 2010...

#1 we welcomed home Uncle Mike from his deployment of 8 LONG months!!! That was awesome!!!!

We went up to Maine for a great vacation! We stayed at my parents place on the lake and had lots of fun and only left the cottage a few times : )

Really what's better than being able to drive 8 minutes to your beach?

We went our town beach several times. All but twice, each time we went it clouded over within 30 minutes of us getting there and started to rain or looked like rain. No joke. We still had fun.

The kids went crabbing at our beach at least twice.

We went swimming lots at Kathy's house with our friends. THANK YOU!!!!!

Katie had several sleep-overs with friends here and at their houses! Lots of fun!!!

Ben had his first sleep-over and then a couple more and we all survived the night!

K & B slept outside with Daddy in their tents! We had a few camp fires. A few only because it was SOOOOO hot and humid at night this summer.

We went to DQ a few times during the day and at night. We also had lots of yummy ice cream cones at home too.

Although K thinks I weeded my flower beds "all the time", I weeded them a few times and they still look decent. The front, well, I tried as always, but that is much harder to control with the constant threat of poison ivy.

I almost forgot!!!! I DID NOT get that once this summer!!!! I had all the needed supplies and a new natural relief to try too! Not that I am complaining!!!!!

We had lots of fun watching movies on Net Flix/Wii. They got caught up on some oldies but goodies. They really liked the Home Alone movies. They did not like BIG.

Katie and I read lots of great books! She finished most of the Ramona series (Thanks H for lending them to her). I read some good summer reads too!

Jason took the kids up to New Hampshire to visit Grandma and Grandpa! Lots of fun!!! They were getting over their colds, but they still had a blast with them. Grandma always makes it fun with sleeping in the camper, cooking home-made goodies, walking to the pond and Grandpa gets out the water slide! WooHoo.

That same weekend I went scrap booking with my sister and some of our friends for an overnight. Boring for some, NOT for us!!!! It was great to catch up with Amy and hang with the girl friends, ya know what I'm saying!

Jason was busy all of July into August re-vamping the garden. Instead of just an okay garden he turned it into an "WoW, look at your garden!" I am so proud of him. He's been wanting to this and he put his mind to it and did it. We will be reaping the rewards next spring and summer! (You want to give the soil a season to prepare : ))

We visited the local attractions: Sub Museum, Chatfield Hollow, Niantic Boardwalk (just J & Me).

Visited with friends....both spontanous and planned.

Caught a two teeny tiny bunnies.

Jason went fishing in the ocean.

Ben and Daddy build a logging truck from scratch!

Katie and Me attempted to sew with her sewing machine. Yeah, I really need some lessons on that one.

I know I missed a few things, but that's okay. I'm sure they were fun too!

Today I asked the kids to go outside and write about, I know, they gave me that look too, what their favorite part of summer was.

Ben, well his page was blank. Yeah. I asked why and he told me, "I don't know. I don't really remember." Great.

It's okay Ben, I remembered all the fun for us!!!!!

Katie wrote a novel. Here's a few snipets:

• "My summer vacation was AWESOME. I traveled, I relaxed and I read and I had so much fun doing it!"
• "my favorite part was spending time with my family and friends."
• She loved going to Maine and New Hampshire.
• Sleep Overs with friends.
• Going to the West Farms Mall (she's never been to a mall that big!) with her friend M.

Not bad. She wasn't to happy about having to go outside and write. She prefers to write spontanously.

So I'm off to the lake for one last hurrah for a few days before we all head back to school.

I will miss you Summer of 2010. I really, really enjoyed hanging out with you!

Uncle Mike's Cake

Fishing on the Hi Seas!

Saying GoodBye to Bunny

Ben's cool truck.

Sewing.

KISS at Mohegan Sun

We went to watch fire works...NOT KISS.

Beach Girl

Crabs!

Daddy & Son

New Hampshire

Yippee!!!

FB Rant...

It's another beautiful day. The sun is shining, it's hot, but not humid and I have a roof over my head, food in fridge and two awesome kids and loving husband. Why am I complaining?

This is one of the biggest reasons I dislike FB (facebook). I can just jump on whenever and post that I'm miserable. Who cares?

Why? For attention?

Do I actually think things are going to get better because I just posted a rant or complaint on FB? Really, No!

I keep saying I'm quitting FB. I keep saying it, but it keeps sucking me back in. Not sure why.

So, I'm here to post some blessings of late that are wonderful and I am so happy about. So what that I feel like crap and I'm irritable from being cooped up inside for days now with this stupid cold virus that is going around my house and many other homes too. This morning I told C on the phone, "At least we don't have the stomach bug that is going around!"

Minutes after posting my rant on FB, I'm unloading the dishwasher with Ben and he is doing the "I have to pee really, really bad" dance. I told him to go and he says, "No, I'm making it go away. You have to practice making it go away, but once you learn how, it's easy!"

For those of you who know Ben, I know you are Laughing Out Loud right now!

Of course that instantly changed my mood! I love when God just sends something to whack you back into the right place!!!!!

So here are a few awesome things in my life right now. I'm not going to state the obvious ones. You know, loving husband, great kids, family, job, house....

* Each morning I can go sit on the back porch, drink my coffee and watch the butterflies flutter around my rock garden. BTW, the picture at the top of blog is from our garden.

* I have a husband who takes great pride in taking care of things around the house. He is a real Mr. Fix It and comes up with so many interesting ways to fix or build new things for us!

* A daughter who LOVEs to read and write. She is so creative and I love finding songs or notes she's written around the house!

* A son who beats to his own drum. He doesn't have a care in the world and always makes us smile with how he views things in his world!

*We live in a great area. I miss my old house/neighborhood terribly some days but have been focusing on the positives in our new town.

* I attend an amazing church. What a great feeling to know I don't have to drag myself or my kids to church. We all look forward to going! We have great friends there and leave with our hearts full of God's word! I know He has a great plan my family!

* I get the summers off. I've let go of the guilt of working for a few years now. What a relief! Life is so much better not stressing and letting the guilt consume me. My kids are awesome and attending child care didn't harm them in the least. I was blessed to always have had very competent and caring care givers and my kids loved going to "school". I work with children and families who are often going through a difficult time, having their child evaluated for possible developmental delays. Sometimes my partner and I are the first to let them know that yes, their child could benefit from special education support/services. I thank God all the time for giving me the ability to talk with them and help them through the gate that leads them on this new path. I'm not saying it's always easy or a good time. There are many days I feel like I'm not helping and want to throw my hands in the air and work at Target!

* I am feeling so much better now that I have a new endocrinologist! He did a ton of blood work and upped my medication for my thyroid. He has me on a few supplements as well to rev up my metabolism, increase my B12 and Vitamin D. They were all very low, leading to my constant feeling of being drained and tired. Since starting with all of these I've seen a drastic improvement in my mood and energy level! He also suggested reading the book, Changing Your Genetic Destiny also known as Eat Right for Your Blood Type. It is fascinating all the stuff I've learned. I didn't read to much into his whole science of how he came up with it, not really my thing, but took the test (some were done through my blood work) and found out I'm a Gather and need to watch my sugar intake. Basically I have been hypoglycemic and this causes me to crash constantly in the afternoon. Fascinating!!!!! I'm eating foods that fit my blood type best and have stopped a lot of others (bananas & pretzels 2 of my daily staples) and I think this has helped my overall energy level too. I could go on and on. If you want more info let me know, I'd love to share.

* I have a mini-van. I know what your thinking, "Huh?" Well, lately I've been itching for a new-used vehicle. My van is fine, but it has it's quirks and I'm feeling like I want to move on from the mini-van scene. Well guess what? I'm learning to be patient and not to rush into anything. There are many more things I need to do before I can move on. See, I can be patient!

I could go on, but the kids are starving for lunch! Their patience is wearing thin : D

Thanks for letting me rant : )

Heard Around the house....

I know you've missed this...

After our big adventure on Sunday, Ben was very tired. I didn't think he went to bed earlier than normal, but he woke up at 3:45 AM!!!!!!! 3:45 AM!!!!!!!!!

I woke up to his wiggling in our bed and asked in a fog, "When did you get here?"

Ben, "Oh I've been up. First I went pee, then got the flash light and went to the living room and turned on the light. Then I tried to turn on the kitchen light by the computer, but couldn't. Then I came in your bed because there was nothing to do!"

I suggested he go back to sleep.

Ben said he wasn't tired. He sounded like he'd been up an hour!

After trying to lay still so he'd fall back asleep and telling him to stop wiggling, he got down. I followed him.

"What am I suppose to do?"

"Go back to sleep. It's the middle of the night."

That wasn't happening.

So I told him he could play quietly in his room and not to wander around the house.

I went back to bed. It was about 4:15 by now.

At about 5 am Katie appeared next to me. Her throat hurt....

I got up again. Then I gave in and let them watch television.

I know, BAD PARENT!!!!! But I stayed up super late watching Dexter. I was sooooo tired.

Lesson to be learned: No Naps after 3!

Katie hasn't been feeling well for several days with a sore throat, headache, fever...

So you know when their sick we tend to let them watch more t.v. than usual. Yesterday I had her turn off the television for a break and suggested we do something at the dining room table.

She responded, "Mom, my head hurts and my brain hurts and I can't do anything that makes me use my brain."

"Okay." I respond.

"Can I go on Webkinz?"

Me, "Uh, NO!"

Adventure Time with Ben!

Since Katie was not feeling well and Jason needed a nap to recover from his over zealous night of playing football and volleyball, I decided instead of just sitting around I'd take Ben out. He wanted to go somewhere, preferably to a pool. Hmmm.

Well, how about an adventure I asked. That sounded good to him! So he packed his red back pack and off we went to Chatfield Hollow. It's not far at all from our house. I was hoping since it was close to 3 pm we wouldn't have to pay or at least pay full price, but we did. I was surprised it was only $9 for all day. Not bad for a state park with toilets, clean swimming pond and lots of cool walks in the woods!

So...beautiful afternoon + nearby state park = Adventure time for Ben & Mommy!

Heading out!

Ben took my photo!

We crossed the brook over a rock path. Ben was so proud of me!

They have a cute little nature center for the kids.

Ben was very interested in the beehives.

Our Map!

Lots of Rocks to navigate on the paths.

Ben was very cute with making sure I was doing okay

and I think surprised at my hiking skills since I always tell him I'm fragile after

my ankle breaks!

Trying to take a photo of us with an

uncooperative subject!

Fun Place to Visit

So yesterday we went to the Submarine Museum in Groton. I've wanted to take the kids their for the past 3 summers, but never got to it. Well yesterday I finally did!

It worked out really well, since Jason was coming back from Providence from his work summer meeting and the kids had their last night at VBS.

We met Jason and then went over. They renovated it not to long ago and it was so nice. Outside they have several old subs for you to look at and Ben had lots of fun peeking in windows or trying to figure out where the doors were!

Inside very nice. I admit, I had no idea it was so nice. They had several hands on exhibits for the kids and Katie and I got a kick out of looking through the periscopes that looked out to the parking lot! The kids had fun pushing buttons and pretending to steer the subs! They also had torpedoes, replica of the "Turtle", the first submarine from Connecticut.

As we were exploring inside there was an announcement letting everyone know that the USS Virginia Sub was on its way down the river. Of course we ran out to see it! Just as we got outside a train horn sounded, lights went off and we hurried over the train tracks. Ben couldn't believe it a Sub and a train all in one day! It was very cool to see the sub pass by with all the sailors on top of it and watching everyone wave. We stood next to a mother & daughter waving to their husband/dad. I got goosebumps.

Once that passed we headed onto the USS Nautilus. I was excited to finally get inside a sub and see how Jason lived for 5 years! The tour was interesting and it was to crowded so we didn't feel super rushed. I of course asked Jason a million questions about the sub and if this one was like the one he was on. There were a few differences but we got the general idea. I couldn't believe how small the inside of the sub was. I can't imagine how guys 6 ft or taller go in those things or sleep in those tight quarters! The best part for me was to see the galley! I could just picture Jason cooking away on his sub!

I didn't have the camera, I know big mistake. I did take pictures on my phone and once I figure out how to get them off I'll post some.

I highly recommend this for a fun, family day out. We stayed for about 2 hours. The best part...it was FREE!!! They have a donation box.

Maine....Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!!!!

Okay, all of you know by now that the SURPRISE was Mike came home a month earlier from the middle east!!!! Yes!

We had no idea. Amy kept a secret for 5 days! Can you believe it? Mike wanted to surprise my parents and us up at the lake and boy oh, boy were we surprised! I haven't screamed or cried like that in a long time! Jason and I couldn't believe our eyes and took us a few days to really believe that he was home. Good Job Amy!!!!!

So, as you can imagine we had a great time for our week up in Maine over the 4th of July. As my Mom said it was the best birthday gift she could ask for! Liam, Brody and Kelly were so happy to have their dad home and Amy of course is thrilled and very relaxed now : )

We didn't do much while we were up there. It was HOT! We swam (yes, even I did), went for boat rides, tube rides and played Wii! We introduced a new game, Quirkle, which was a hit with all the kids. Of course we also played dominoes, Wii games and a few Minute to Win It games.

Summer 2010...

Summer started off June 14th, for me anyway : )

K and B got out of school on June 17th. I had gotten out the Tuesday before so I was so excited to be a part of the end of school activities! I was able to go to the beach with Ben's class and then take part in the last day of school festivities for both classes.

Here is Ben at his kindergarten orientation September 2009.

Ben's room had a fun day of activities outside, including water balloon fights! You know he loved that!!!!!

Day at the beach with his class.

Ben on his last day of kindergarten. WoW has he grown a lot this year. He's grown taller, smarter, face has matured and yes, he's even gotten a little more silly! That's our Ben!!!!

Katie had a fantastic year in 3rd grade! We could not have asked for a better teacher for Katie. They were a perfect fit! Katie grew a few inches, has learned so much about all 50 States and can sing the 50 Nifty State Song in less than 1 minute! 3rd grade was all about the 50 States but has also grown as a writer and mathematician! Katie loves to go to school and see her friends and as Mrs. Cloutier reported all year, she is a very kind friend to everyone in class.

First day of 3rd grade.

Mrs. Cloutier and Katie on her last day of 3rd grade.

Heading to the bus on her last day.

Summer pictures from around the house...

Beautiful Day Lily

Hydrangea Bush...making up for last year's lack of blooms!

Katie's 1st piano recital! She did awesome! A real natural!

Proud Mommy!

Once school was out we had a week home to get all organized for the summer. I did another deep clean and put away school stuff!

Then we headed off to Maine...