Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Memorial Day Weekend 2009



Who knew you could cram so much in a 3-4 day weekend?

Thursday night I went out with the girls from work for dinner and drinks.

Friday Parker went to work, I took Rowan to daycare and Lily to the ENT - not unexpected she needs ear tubes and is in the midst of her 5th ear infection since December. Surgery is currently planned for 6/17/09. After the appt I took Lily to daycare, came home and did laundry and cleaned the house. Friday night we went to a neighbourhood pot luck across the street and had a fantastic time - Rowan was up until almost midnight playing with her friend and I was having such a good time I actually put Lily to sleep at the neighbours house instead of going home - unfortunately I had two bottles of wine of a good time so that led to a pretty quiet Saturday for me!

Saturday Parker took Rowan to gymnastics - in an attempt to redeem myself I then took Rowan to the Hatboro Pool for opening day of the pool season for a couple of hours. That night I was still not feeling great so I stayed home with Lily while Parker and Joe and Rowan went up to Allentown for another Iron Pigs game.

Sunday Rowan and I went to BJs in the morning and then we went to the Ringling Brothers Circus at the Spectrum - I am not a huge fan of the circus because of the animal issues but the acrobatics were great, too many clown things though - I think Rowan liked it, I know she was enthralled with the animals so it is what it is - even Lily went and seemed to enjoy herself...when we got home Joe and Diane met us at our house and we had a great BBQ grilling all kinds of things and enjoying life on our deck!

Monday we got up and went running to the garden center to get all our vegetables and herbs to plant in our garden - got them in the ground, with Rowan's help then Angela and Enaiya came over and hung out for an hour then all the girls went to the pool and gave Parker some peace and quiet for the first time all weekend! I of course forgot my camera and it was Lily's first time to the Hatboro pool but trust me, she had a great time, sat in the shallow part and splashed away! We stayed until 4pm! and then Ang and Enaiya came over and stayed for dinner where we grilled again!

A packed and exhausting but FUN FUN FUN weekend!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

Our Trip to Canada


We got back on 5/16 from a week long trip to Canada to visit my parents and my sisters family. We left on 5/9 at 400am and got to Canada around noon - did the same thing on the way home but left at 330am and got home around 1130am - really was the best way to do it with the two kids and they both travelled pretty well.

Got to do all kinds of things when we visited. We went to see the tulips for the Tulip Festival on the first day. I planned the trip specifically so we could see them and they did not disappoint. We only got to Dows Lake to see them but that was enough, just enough of a burst of spring to make us smile. Then we went to the Byward Market where Rowan got a taste of her first Beavertail and loved it!





Somehow we talked my sister into letting Abby stay and hang out with Rowan for a couple of days so after taking her to her Irish dance lesson on Monday night Abby came and slept over for two nights with Rowan - they were so excited and got along so well it was a pleasure to watch. We went swimming on Tuesday where everyone, including Lily had a great time! The pool was very cool and easy to play in for kids and adults alike - we stayed all two hours (like we had a choice with the two fish that are Rowan and Abby)




Wednesday my sister and Jessica and Erika all took the day off and we went to Cosmic Adventures - if I had the money I would totally open a place like this here in the Philly area - it would be a HUGE hit! Lisa and I played a bit too but frankly I am too damn old for that and we both had bruises to tell our tales!







The next couple of days were spent doing some shopping and we talked Lisa into letting Abby stay again on Thursday night because Rowan spent Wed night crying for Abby :( We took them to a couple of playgrounds where they had a total blast together. Nana did their hair as well so they both slept with braids and woke up with curly hair - I don't know what they liked more, their bubble baths or their curly hair, both were huge hits!







We also got to see my sisters new house out in the country - it is a great old farmhouse and Parker and I really liked it - they have two great dogs as well who never tire of playing fetch. Lisa and Russ grilled a lovely dinner - now we hope to reciprocate the favour when they come to visit us this summer - HINT HINT - I know you are reading this, especially you Jess ;)

All in all a lovely trip that was too many years in the making so we will have to go sooner again rather than later.

And last but not least - 5 of the best looking daughters and granddaughters a family could ask for...

Lily 8 Months

Here she is - 8 months old already! Two teeth are in on the bottom now, last weight check was 18.5lbs and growing. Her hair is still out of control but as my sister called it, "The best baby hair ever." Pics and stories from Canada coming soon - I promise!





Thursday, May 7, 2009

In honour of Mother's Day

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin..
I never sat up late hours at night
watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
having my heart outside my body..
I didn't know how special it could feel
to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
the joy,
the love,
the heartache,
the wonderment
or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much,
before I was a Mom