Happy Anniversary Ben!

7 Years ago, today, Ben and I were married. I cannot believe what an adventure it has been. Depending on who you talk to, seven years is or is not a lot of time. All I know is that seven years has completely zipped by. We have managed to cram quite a bit into this little adventure (or "life" as some call it) of ours and I wouldn't have it any other way. Love you babe! Thank you for being such a wonderful, loving, supportive and generally understanding husband. :-)

Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder

Normally, I don't buy into this commonly overused phrase. It makes no sense whatsoever. How heartless are we if we need to remove ourselves from our "loved" ones? However, in the case of Leah vs. blogging - absence does in fact make the heart grow fonder.

We have been busy. We have had a 4 year old birthday party, a two week vacation to the Midwest, hosted Thanksgiving, prepared for Christmas, hosted our first family Christmas celebration early, took a day trip to D.C., took a day trip to Perkasie, continued working (Ben) and continued chasing these crazy children around. Did I mention that our computer died at the height of the holiday shopping season? My online shopping was limited and my online photo gifts will be VERY late. It never even occurred to me to find a way to blog. I was pretty sure that I was enjoying playing "rebel blogger", missing every one of my self-inflicted, unrecorded deadlines. I didn't miss it for one second. Until today.

I sat down at our new computer to load up my favorites. I started searching for all of my "go to" blogs. I then came to our family blog - my favorite. My purpose was lost for a moment. I need to chronicle these days or they will be forgotten. My very own modern day journal. Written for my children, family and our friends.

The McRib is BACK!

I have been dreaming about a McRib sandwich on and off for years. Several McRib fantasy scenarios were due to pregnancy. Most were due to just loving and longing for the McRib. I still recall the last time that I tasted this delicious BBQ sauce monstrosity (some refer to it as "meat" but the jury clearly is still out). The McRib arrived in 1981 and remained a hot item for millions of pseudo-pork loving fans, for several years. The person that I remember loving the McRib the most was my Dad. He ate them as often as he could. The dude loved them. As a youngster (probably 8 or 9) the McRib went on "special". I was allowed to order one too! I sat next to my Dad, with my super-gigantic, Dad-sized-mammoth, mouth-watering, fake-meat delight. It. Was. A.W.E.S.O.M.E. I had only one fake meat, bbq swamped, pickle and onion topped sandwich. That was it. For years, I have been waiting. I suppose the McRib may have come back to McDonald's at some point in between then and now. And I would also suppose that I was a little busy doing things such as, growing up? I probably missed the last few opportunities. Regardless. The McRib is BACK!
When my darling Reagan (who really hasn't been that "darling" or delightful, not even pleasant the last few weeks) asked to go to McDonald's after school, what do you suppose I said? Heck ya - we were first in line at the drive-thru for the opening of the lunch hour! The lady at the window thought I was Caaaaraaaazy when I grab my McRib from her hand and shouted, "The McRib is BAAAAAAAAACK!" We raced home, threw our luggage from the morning onto the ground and dived right in to our "meals".
Guess what? The McRib is absolutely revolting. I suppose if I share the experience with my Dad, it would taste just as I remembered it - unforgettable deliciousness. They are coming to visit for Christmas. If the cards fall in our favor, the McRib will still be available. We will be first in line for lunch, by way of drive-thru, naturally!

Here is a picture of the real "McRib" Man!
**Memory by Barry Manilow was one of his favorite songs, back then. He also loved Neil Diamond. For your listening pleasure, Dad!!!**

Vote for God!

Today is Election Day 2010. I was explaining to Reagan what "voting" means. After I finished my statements with, "As a voter, I get to choose who will help President Obama to make good decisions for all of us." Reagan replied, "You should choose God." She couldn't be more correct!!!

Our little Blessings...

While reading a book to Evelyn, during our bedtime routine, I sneezed. Evie said, "Bless you." Tears.in.my.eyes. That baby AMAZES me!

While tucking Reagan into bed, I kissed her and told her how lucky I felt to be her mommy. She replied, "I love you too Mommy. I am glad that you married Daddy." Yep. Tears.in.my.eyes.yet.again. That child ASTOUNDS me!

Our little Blessings. Thank you God. Amen.

***AND this is why I am participating in this blogging nonsense! I was reading past posts before heading to bed. Apparently, Evie stating, "Bless you," has happened before?! It happened way back in August and I had forgotten. Do you see, people? I have already dismissed that she has previously made this adorable statement and it was only ONE measly month ago. Now if only I could figure out how to print this blog for safe keeping. :-)

Back to School - and everything else!

September has finally kicked into full swing...school, dance, swimming, soccer and Sunday school have all now begun. Today marked Reagan's first day of 4 year old pre-school. The past few weeks I have been saddened when thinking about sending Reagan back to school. Our summer months were so wonderful. I valued the time the girls and I had together, more so than I have in the past. Reagan and Evie have developed a lovely little sister relationship and I am sad to see them have to part ways. Thankfully, I only have to send her 3 mornings - not all day. We will have our afternoon time together! Additionally, I was worried for her today because 3 of her 4 best "school friends" are no longer at her school. Thank goodness for sweet William! He is in her class and they were very excited to see one another. Reagan immediately made a new girl friend when we entered the "big kid" classroom. I didn't even get a hug before I left school. Reagan was busy playing with the toys she has been desiring all of last year!!! Proven, yet again, children are far more resilient than their parents!
Evelyn and I had a wonderful morning. I looked at her and it was as if I was truly seeing her for the first time. I can't remember the last time that she and I were together, just the two of us. I captured a video (5 min. long - sorry, but I couldn't put the camera down...just too cute!) of Evie enjoying her first moments home, while Reagan was away at school. We went to Kohl's to get her a few things, just for her that she can truly call, "Mine!" and then we went for a walk and played. Golly I love this girl!

lady gaga fashion @ the vma's...

Reagan and I were computing (I was checking the fashion pics from last nights VMA awards and she was waiting patiently so she could play "puter" and do pbskids.com) together. I clicked through the various outfits that Lady Gaga wore. Here is Reagan's response, "That dress is BEAUTIFUL, THAT dress is really BEAUTIFUL, that dress looks like...Bacon?" It was HILARIOUS! The dress was actually meant to look like raw meat but it struck me as down right hilarious that Reagan called it out - like seriously, who wears raw meat? I love this girl!

When Ben was home for the month of June, none of us knew what we were going to do with him. How would we include him in our daily happenings without attenuating our daily productivity? Come to find out, he had a plan of his own - plant sunflowers. Apparently, Benny-Boo is quite the gardener. Take a peek at how beautiful his sunflowers are! And yes, we do call him Marco Stewart...clearly a fitting name. This guy is astonishing/amazing! :-)

Attenuate [at·ten·u·ate] v. 1. To reduce in force, value, amount, or degree; weaken: "The layoffs attentuated the company's sales forecast."

Adorbs...

I asked Reagan how she got so cute..."Mommy, God made me this way!"

I sneezed today and Evie said, "Bless you."

Adorable/Adorbs. :-)

Just a little change...

I have gone ahead and altered the title of our family blog. The purpose remains the same. However, I am going to attempt to improve my personal vocabulary while I plug away on these postings. My ability to speak as an educated 31-year old woman has radically diminished since around Oct. 2006! In my posts, you will find my normal bantering ways and then you will occassionally see two words separated by a forward slash. The first word represents a preferred word choice and the second is the original word that I chose. This should be compelling/interesting!

When I grow up...

Reagan said, "Mommy, when I grow up, I want to be a doctor like Daddy and drive a car like you." Wow.

Garbage Lady

Yep. I did it. I dived deep into the depths of a Costco garbage can, searching for a tiny little baby dolphin. Reagan was hysterical after Evie launched the prized baby dolphin into the awaiting trash receptacle. As you can imagine, the "can" was disgusting. Ev didn't happen to drop it into a newly cleaned, fresh-as-a-daisy, trash can. Evie threw it into the most gooped up, sticky, smelly, fly infested trash can in all of the freakin' store. I tried to get out of "going in" for it. I even circled around the entire warehouse, hoping that the sobbing Reagan would forget. No such luck. I faced the fear, and I conquered the foe. Reagan could have cared less once I finished fishing that stupid dolphin from its temporary home. Gross.

Potty Training?

Could it be so?? Evie stood outside the bathroom door and said, "Potty." I opened the door, she walked to the potty and stared at it. I took her diaper off, placed her on the potty and...she went potty. Well. That was easy. ;-) This was a solid act of potty proficiency and at a very young age. And we also know that she won't realistically potty train for a good 1.5 years. But (BUTT) it is fun for her to try to be a big girl like her sister. Way to go Evelyn!!!!

Mommy's Maddness...

Evelyn had an awful night of sleep last night. As a result, I didn't sleep either. How Ben and Reagan can sleep through her screaming is consistently amazing to me. By sunrise, Evelyn and I were up, yet again. By this time, I was honestly unable to be patient with her and parent her with gentleness and care. To be completely truthful, I had lost that ability around 2:30am. I had nothing left but frustration and "maddness". Evelyn kept screaming and screaming and screaming and I couldn't get her to stop. "Evelyn Maris - STOP SCREAMING!!!! You will wake up REAGAN!!!!", screamed her crazed mother. As one would guess, Reagan appears. She happily came breezing down the staircase. I said, "Oh Reagan. I am so sorry that Evie's screaming woke you up." "Mommy, Evie didn't wake me up. Your maddness woke me up." Lesson learned. Heart breaking. So sorry to start their day off with "maddness". Tomorrow will be better!

Barbie Doll dress...

Complete! When Reagan saw it she gasped saying, "Mommy, it is BEAUTIFUL!" Now, don't get too excited. In reality, the sewing quality is crap. Reagan is a generous soul. Several hours later, after looking the dress over and over she asked, "Could you cover up her butt?" I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. And yes, I have figured a way to cover Barbie's buttocks.

Princess Tiana's Cookbook

One item that I bought with my Mother's Day gift card to B&N was Princess Tiana's Cookbook. The idea is that this cookbook will get the girls excited to continue cooking with their mommy in the kitchen. Reagan always is a-go for cooking and baking and we are anticipating that Evie will enjoy kitchen time as well. Our first recipe was for Froggy-in-the-water Cupcakes. Everyone, including Daddy, participated. Awesome fun! The following evening, I went ahead and made the Jambalaya - all by myself. Weird to be cooking from a Disney cookbook as a 31 year old woman, but the result was uber-yummy. Julia Child's who? Princess Tiana knows how to take on the kitchen!!!

Just another Sunday...

Our Sunday turned out to be a regular, uneventful old day. We didn't do anything out of the ordinary and it occurred to me later that - Just another Sunday - is what life is all about. Each day, no matter what, counts. I am so thankful for my family. We got up, went to church, had lunch, Evie napped, Reagan and I sewed Daddy his pillowcase, Evie and I ran errands together, I made dinner (by myself, using Princess Tiana's Cookbook for Kids - embarrassing but I am woman enough to admit it!), we ate dinner together and then played outside. It was while we were having races outside that it occurred to me just how Blessed we are to be able to have just another boring old Sunday.

I Heart Spinning!

Now that we are back in our reality and the daily grind, I am also back to spinning. I seriously LOVE spinning. It is such a great workout and I never get tired of it. Today was also my first day back to the Y without my three dear friends Amy, Kam and Ericka. Amy and Ericka are friends that I met at the Y and Kam is a neighbor friend. All three ladies and their families moved to different parts of the country while we were away on vacations. It is sad not to have them filling their bikes but I also know that they are moving on to fun and exciting adventures with their families. I don't have any pics of all of us, but there is this little clip of one of our spinning groups doing a silly little thing for a local media channel. Amy and I are stuffed way in the back.

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/station/as-seen-on/Wake-Up_Call__Main_Line_YMCA_Philadelphia.html

Latest Sewing Project...

The kids are freaking out right now, so this will be quick. I have taken on a new sewing project. Mom has graciously sewn 3 new pillows for our futon, matching the roman shades that she made previously. We have 4 very ugly, non-coordinating, but quality throw pillows that I wanted to put to good use. I took a trip to JoAnn Fabrics and made off like a bandit. Even Helen the fabric cutting lady said I did AWESOME! I have recovered 2 pillows of the four and they go nicely with the one's Mom has already made for us. I can't take credit for the fancy ones, but I did cover the bigger ones. I have a long way to go with this sewing bit but I am improving. The first pillow cover took me 2 hours. The second one took only 1 hour. We shall see how the next two turn out.

Bethany Beach Baby!

We arrived home from Florida, did 2 loads of laundry, slept in our beds 2 nights and just like MAGIC - out the door we went for a week at Bethany Beach! Mom, Dad, Joel, Heidi, Soren, Markus, Kai, Ben, Leah, Reagan and Evelyn set out to make memories on the sand and in the surf...it was awesome!

The MN crew drove across country, sans Joel, and arrived to the Philly area mere moments after a horrible storm ripped through. Straight line winds knocked trees down everywhere, even across the highway they were attempting to traverse. Heidi, boys and Co. were stuck in traffic for an additional 3 hours before they managed to complete an already 18 hour trip. My nephews are heroes for handling themselves with honor and loads of class, being stuck in the van for so very long.

Our short trip to the beach the following day, was much smoother. We arrived to a beautiful rental property right off of the beach. The location was AWESOME. Great work PapaBoo! Thank you for treating us to a great home and a wonderful week. We spent one entire week basking in the sun, skipping in the waves, building sand castles, playing beach football and simply relaxing. The kids enjoyed the company of one another and the adults appreciated the opportunity to be together once again. We had a wonderful "Crab Night" where we enjoy, yep you guessed it, loads of CRAB! Ben, Joel and I took a quick adventure up to the Dogfish Head Brewery. We all made a last minute trek up to see the wild horses of Assateague (don't ask - the event will give us year's worth of laughs!) and finished our week at the Frog House for brunch. We even managed to catch the majority of Wimbledon during our lunchtime breaks from the beach. The week was as a flurry of activity, creating memories with each experience.

There were two very obvious groups absent from our Bethany week. Jana, Todd and Brayden were unable to make the trip due to work conflicts. Oh how we were wishing they were there. We sure hope to make this trip again in the upcoming years and we simply must make sure that their schedules will coincide. We also very much missed our Johnson family. From my very early childhood, we have gone to Bethany with Karen, Gene, Kris and Lars. Grandma and Grandpa have also joined in on most trips to the beach. We have frequented Bethany over and over. Most recently, we had the entire family together at Bethany, honoring Karen and her memory. This past week I found myself thinking about Karen; watching the waves, digging for sand crabs, runners on the sand, taking on the waves and floating with the swells, kite shops (more Gene with that thought!), restaurants we have visited, Indian Harbor Villas, spending time with my nephews. These were all things we did with Karen over the years and I was wishing she could still be here to enjoy these splendors. Bethany is her beach and I thank her for sharing it with us.

While there is nothing better than sun, sand, ocean waves and wonderful family moments, we couldn't end with just that. It was decided that those who had not yet visited NYC and were over the age of 4 would take a day and go see the sights. Mom, Dad, Joel, Heidi and Soren left early Saturday morning while I stayed home to hold down the fort. Boy oh boy, did both groups have LOADS of fun!!! :-)

Tantrums Times Two (maybe Three)

Vacations with a young family are work. They have to be or none of us would ever return to our homes or our much needed places of employment. I will take a few short minutes to document the dismal realities and yucky moments during or 2 vacations. My 3.5 year old and 18 month old both displayed a healthy amount of temper tantrums throughout the course of our 2 vacations. Reagan has been challenging for a few months lately. She chose to kick it into high gear while on travel. Little Miss Sass Box is her new nickname. I had to put her on many timeouts. Ugh. She even became more physical this week. Little kicks and hits that I have not seen her do. While I know she mimics my sassing, I don't know where she gets the idea to hit...she is fortunate to be in a home where hitting and kicking is not allowed. Reagan didn't take the cake, believe it or not. Little Miss Evelyn receives the award for most challenging. Didn't we know that traveling with an 18 month old was a bad idea (cue memories of San Diego when Reagan was 18 months old - misery)? She started the ever-dreaded TEMPER TANTRUMS! Evie was up screaming on most of the nights where we shared a dwelling with others. This is MY FEAR! My tension and fear when we stay with others or other's stay with us is that my children will wake in the nighttime and keep the household up. Sure enough, at Doyle's and at the beach - she had night after night of sleeplessness and was often inconsolable. I was a mess. I lost it on several occassions, not helping the matter. I was so out of sorts, it never occurred to me that she could be sick or teething. I was just angry and exhausted and couldn't see straight. Now that we are safely tucked back at home we know a few things; 1) Evie and her Mother are homebodies, 2) Evelyn was teething during our vacation, 3) Evelyn was getting sick and was sick the entire vacation. 4) I need to relax on vacation and not add to the hysteria. I was so stressed about the children's behavior during the trip that I simply was adding fuel to the fire. While Evelyn has now taken to full-blown, throw-self-on-the-floor-with-an-arched-back, kicking and screaming tantrums, we are now at home and are better adapted and more skilled at dealing with these tantrums. I had my worst parenting moments of all time on this trip. One night (maybe two) at Doyle's, one night at the hotel on the way home from FL and one night at the beach house in Bethany. I seriously thought that I was losing my mind - I was questioning my sanity and whether I was a fit mother. I know now that the "perfect storm" had been created by Ben and I just choosing to take on such ambitious trips with our very young family. I cannot judge my ability as a mother solely based on a few nights of teething while vacationing and on the road. I guess I have seen the ugly and now I can be better prepared for future vacations. The alternative is to lock ourselves in and never go anywhere again. I'll choose to live, learn and book our next trip! Whew - we are all back to our better-selves. Did I say "Whew"? I meant - AMEN!!!! This is the last I'll mention of the Reagan, Evie, Leah tantrums because I don't want to remember these vacations as negative experiences. We made great memories and I have a tendency to focus on the negative. Now for the happy, positive post about our great week at Bethany Beach!!

Sewing Pillow Covers Now?!

It is true. I have ventured into covering 4 throw pillows for our futon. I completed one last night while watching "The Bachelorette". Finally. I have found a way to watch my favorite junk tv while keeping my brain active. The pillow turned out quite nice, given it was my first cover. 3 more to go. Pictures to follow.

**We arrived home from our Wessman family beach vacation on Friday. I am way behind on maintaining our home. Once I get my act together and this place functioning again, I'll post about that quality time. We had a blast and I can't believe it is over already!!!

Disney and Doyle's

We are home from Florida! Our "vacation" was wonderful, enjoyable, not relaxing, and we have made memories to last a lifetime. The purpose of the vacation was to meet little Layla. While doing so, we figured we would add some time with the Disney folks, since Reagan is now into the whole Princess thing. While both Reagan and Evie were a little on the "young-side" for taking on Disney, we only did 3 days and all were shortened and we knew not to try and do too many things. We did 2 short days at the Magic Kingdom, one full day at Animal Kingdom and a day at SeaWorld. Awesomeness all around! Considering how ridiculously hot it was, both girls did great. Evie only had a few meltdowns and Ben and I are getting better about not being 100% humiliated when she takes off on one. Reagan had a handful of temper tantrums as well. But, she saved those for the company of Doyles. Nice. Danielle and Layla met us for a day of swimming at our hotel. We then met up with them at SeaWorld - total awesomeness! Then off to their home for some R&R.

Favorite quotes from Reagan:

-While driving at the tail end of our first 13 hour day, we shared with Reagan that we would soon be at our first hotel and that tomorrow we would drive a short bit and then we would arrive at DISNEY WORLD!!! She replied, "WOOOOOOO-HOOOOO! I LOVE HOTELS!!!!!!" :-)

-The cast members at Disney all referred to Reagan as "Princess". Finally, after 2 full days of being called "Princess" Reagan tells an unsuspecting cast member, "I am NOT a PRINCESS. I am a HUMAN!" :-)

-We went to have dinner at the Grand Floridian, a character meet-and-greet. Cinderella and her step-sisters were there. Once Cinderella was in our section of the restaurant, Reagan was too enamoured to eat. She just stared at Cinderella, as she was greeting the other children. When Cinderella finally made her way to our table, Reagan began stuffing her face with macaroni and cheese and wouldn't stop eating. I suppose Emily Post would have been mortified at the rudeness on Reagan's part but she was just sooooo very shy, she couldn't make eye-contact. It was hilarious. She was pretty much frightened of the step-sisters and step-mother. You can see the pictures below. Evie was pitching a fit by the time Anastasia arrived. Anastasia would have made the best babysitter; she got right up in Evie's face and told her to knock it off, "Nobody cries here, it is the most MAGICAL PLACE ON EARTH!" Evie hushed immediately!