More proof I'm deaf

My friend Cass was talking today about a Christmas song that made her sad, thinking of baby Jesus in the cold manger. Then she said something about Pompeii. I snorted and said, "Jesus wasn't born in Pompeii!" She rolled her eyes and said "I said 'I wondered if he was allergic to HAY!'"

I am thankful...

...for our home sweet home!

I am thankful...

...for this family!

I am thankful...

...for a night out with all of Adam's brothers and their women - my sisters! We get along so good and I wish that we all lived closer together. Can't believe we forgot to get a picture of us at dinner!

I am thankful...

...for friends and family we don't see too often. For too much good food. And inside jokes and laughter, unconditionally.

I am thankful...

...for safe travel.

I am thankful...

...for doctors and hospitals. We found out yesterday that one of Lauren's classmates had her appendix burst and she had to have emergency surgery. She'll be in the hospital for a week to get rid of the infection. Please pray for Emma and her family during Thanksgiving week!

I am thankful...

...that we can afford to do fun things like go to concerts with our little family. And also thankful for ear plugs and headphones to protect our ears!

Watching the warm-up singers

Kutlass

No idea how he fell asleep when it was that loud, but it was way past bedtime!

I am thankful...

...for coworkers who are also great friends. We can make each other laugh like crazy. Going to work is so much fun because of them.

I am thankful...

...for my bed. Flannel sheets, down comforter, heated mattress pad - I'm headed there now. Good night!

I am thankful...

...for the fact that we have food in the fridge, freezer, and pantry. Too much food for the pantry, actually - it's expanding to the corners of the dining room! Not a bad problem to have, but it certainly doesn't look good!

I am thankful...

...for the brains God has given our children. We had our parent teacher conferences today and both of them are doing fabulously!! I am so very proud of them!

I am thankful...

...for my parents, for too many reasons to list. Today specifically, it's because they kept the kids overnight and took them to the movies and out to lunch. Thank you, Mom and Dad!

I am thankful...

...for the view out our back windows.

I am thankful...

...for weddings and love and family and friends!

I am thankful...

...for our veteran's and all that they do every single day defending our freedom.

I am thankful...

...for my Girl Scout and the things her troop does for the community.

I am thankful...

...for my babies, who are growing up fast. These pictures just came home from school yesterday. Love them!

I am thankful...

...that my wonderful husband loves to cook! He can whip up gourmet meals out of ordinary ingredients. I love this man!

I am thankful...

...for good friends who make me laugh!

I am thankful...

...that this weekend we've only left the house to go to church this morning. So enjoying being lazy and cozy with my family!

I am thankful...

...for rain! SO glad it's finally here!

I am thankful...

...that this is my five year old's favorite song, and he's not embarrassed to sing it with me.

I am thankful...

...I have a job that I love and that is flexible to our family's schedule, even if it keeps me busier than I want it to some days.

I am thankful...

...for songs that get me choked up:

I am thankful...

...for these characters and how much fun they are!

Well...

I've been slacking big time! I can't promise I'll blog more, but I will promise to TRY to make more time for it.

A little excitement for the evening

(DaddyBoi's first post, yea like 7 yrs later... I know it's shameful.)

The setup: I had just arrived home from work today much earlier than usual, around 4:30 PM and we were out in the garage talking as I was getting something out of the rafters.

Ali: Honey is that smoke?

Adam: It's probably just a BBQ

- a few minutes later -

Ali: I don't think that's a BBQ honey.

Adam: *sniff* no, that's not a BBQ.

Adam: Get the keys for the back gate and my phone!

And there was running...

And then a quick chat with a 911 dispatcher...

And there was some banging on the neighbor's door... thankfully nobody home.

Then there was a big red truck (E23 from Station 108), and the brave men in yellow coats began to do what they do so well...

Soon they were joined the good 'ol *whump whump* of a Huey, as Metro Copter 2 made a pass, then off to snorkel up a river nearby...

About 10 min later the *whump thump* returned, and there was water falling from the sky to join with the ash and smoke...

And then finally... that most poignant of aroma's... well soaked, smoldering ground.

** To the punk kids who figured that a grass fire in the dry scrub oak nestled in residential neighborhood was "fun," I wish that you may reap the benefits from many of life's lessons in an unfortunate way.

Anti-social

We needed the kids to record a new message for the answering machine. We asked them what they wanted to say.

"We're not here so hang up."

They are so their father's children.

Love is...

The kids have been arguing all morning, so I sent them each to their rooms for a time out. Owen came out a few minutes later to see if they could play. I told them they couldn't come out until they could love each other. He came running back after another few minutes to say, "We did everything that is love."

What??

He said, "We did everything that is love. We did this (eskimo kisses), we hugged, we bumped bellies, and we high fived."

What are we, a football team?

Tortuga @ 6.5 weeks

Our boy is FIVE!

Happy Happy 5th birthday to our baby!

Owen was born on a Monday, the day after Father's Day. I had a doctor's appointment that day, and I was 41 weeks, 1 day pregnant. I'd gone 9 days overdue with Lauren and I was at the end of my rope being 8 days overdue with Owen. My mom and Lauren had come to the appointment with me. While waiting in the waiting room I realized I was having contractions. They hooked me up to a machine to time the contractions. So, of course, they stopped. My doctor told me to go home, but I'd been through it before and I ignored his advice and crossed the parking lot to the hospital. Women's intuition! I called Adam and told him to hit the road and join me. My mom waited for him to get there, then she headed home with Lauren.

The nurses told me to walk the halls for an hour so they could process the paperwork. I lasted 45 minutes, and by the time the nurse checked me, it was go time. The took us to a room and as I laid down in the bed my water broke. Instead of trying to clean it up, we just moved to an empty room across the hall.

My local family was all at the hospital by this time: Adam (of course!), Lauren, my mom and dad, my brother and Talia, my aunts and an uncle. We knew it was a boy, and labor was obviously moving fast, so everyone was excited to meet the little guy. Adam and my parents were in the room with me, and my mom was pacing around, nervous. The anesthesiologist rushed in, literally, to do the epidural and my mom went out to the waiting room, not wanting to watch. Adam said that anesthesiologist was working fast, ripping packages open and that things were flying everywhere.

A few minutes later, after he was done, my dad went out to the waiting room to get my mom. He announced to my family, "She had it." He meant the epidural. The nervous Noni exclaimed, "She had it?? The baby? Already?" My dad said, "The epidural." My mother, in disbelief, says, "It's a GIRL?!?!" And they say hearing loss isn't hereditary! That story never gets old.

Once Owen was born, everyone joined us in my room. We were all talking, you know Italians. I was just staring at him, memorizing his face. He was wide awake, and he had the biggest eyes. He reminded of Squirt on Finding Nemo.

I told everyone, "I hate to say this about my baby, but he looks just like a turtle." My brother said, "I was thinking the exact same thing, but I didn't want to say it!" We called him Tortuga, spanish for turtle, for quite a while after that!

Duck, Duct, Goose

Owen found a roll of duct tape in the house that Adam had just brought in from the garage. "Mama, what are we going to use this goose tape for?"

Once again, playing catch up

It's a good way for me to spend a rainy June day! Make sure you scroll down to see all the new posts. Some even jump below a few of the older posts, so don't miss any.

Rainy June Saturday

We've spent our day coloring,

playing dress up,

(a hippie Hawaiian cowgirl witch with Mario hands)

and learning about rainbows and prisms.

Owen-ism

"Mama, my foot just fell asleep and it's tinkeling."

After party

After the graduation celebration we were invited to a BBQ at Owen's best buddy Michael's house. It was overcast and too cold for the adults to swim, but some of the kids got in the hot tub. They thought they were pretty cool!

My child is so pale!

Graduation video

This video was too big to go with the other preschool graduation post, so it's getting one of it's own (after Adam had to resize it for me!). Ms. Lily does a great job of telling the crowd about each of her students as she presents them with a binder of their artwork and writing from the year. We're so proud of our smart little guy!

Pomp and circumstance

Our baby graduated from preschool! Where has the time gone? We are going to miss Ms. Lily tremendously. We're so grateful she's had both of our kids, and that she just gets them. I've been on the parent board for three of the last four years and I'm really going to miss it. If you're looking for a parent participation preschool, I can't recommend it enough!

Buddy Aidan

Buddy Colin

Buddy Michael

Our graduate

Papa and Noni with Owen

With Jada - these two will be together for the next 9 years as well!

Enjoying his ice cream with Mama.

Daddy was also there, but behind the camera the whole time.

Showing Ms. Lily the quilt made by a few families

who have been with her since her first year, in 2007.

(All credit to Michele!)

All About Lauren

Lauren's teacher picks a child each week during the school year to feature on a special bulletin board called "All About Me". You supply pictures of your child doing their favorite activities, with their family, a baby photo, and anything that is special to them. The child fills out a questionnaire about their favorite food, sport, television show, book, etc. At the end of the week all of the classmates fill out a half page "Lauren is..." sheet and the teacher puts them all together in a book as a keepsake. Some of the things her classmates wrote about her: funny, silly, cute, smart, nice, cool, and fun to play with!

I've mentioned before that Lauren's current teacher is the same woman who taught me third grade. I was her very first class, and back then she did a similar project called Super Kid. I still have my Super Kid book!

County Fair

We surprised the kids with an afternoon trip to the county fair - and we were all surprised when it started to rain almost as soon as we walked through the gates. I'm usually on top of the weather, but this storm snuck up on us. Luckily we had dressed warm enough and had a couple umbrellas in the car, despite Mother Nature's attempt to drown us out. We had a good time watching a seal show and a small circus of imagination. The kids enjoyed the farm animals and magic distortion mirrors.

At one point while we were waiting for the pouring rain to stop, we ducked into a tent and listened to a live band. The kids were hopped up on kettle corn and were dancing to the music:

We ended the afternoon with the demolition derby. The kids were so enthralled, they just could not believe people were crashing their cars on purpose. For the last week whenever we see a car that has even the slightest dent on it they both gleefully exclaim, "That car belongs in the demolition derby!"

Four and eleven twelfths

We celebrated Owen's 5th birthday at preschool a month early, since his birthday falls during summer vacation.

Preschool Open House