Loved this day...

These photos were taken on Mother's Day. The kids and I were just hanging outside, and the big kids were blowing bubbles for Lucas (sorry, Chloe, you didn't make it into the layout lol). Lucas thought it was the funniest thing ever! Love those little moments :-)
We've done a lot of hanging around this week. We went to see The Smurfs Sunday night, and the baby came down sick later that evening, so we've been stuck in the house. We made fingerpaints, silly putty, baked cookies, went on the slip and slide, and we've played 6, 399, 293 games (at least that is what it seemed like lol) - mostly UNO. I'm definitely not complaining, though - I love games myself, especially UNO :-) I'm sure the kids are feeling a little cabin fever at this point, but we've gotten a lot of quality summer-time in. Good times :-)

My other love...

It's no secret that I love to scrapbook, but some of you may not know that I also love to crochet :-) I've been doing it since I was a little girl (I think I was 7 or 8 when my mom's friend taught me how), and i'm hooked (hehe). Having kids has given me an excuse to get back into it, and some of you may remember the sock monkey hat that I made for Lucas this past winter. I've always loved this photo of him, and I finally got around to scrapping it!



I can't believe we're already almost into August - ack! This summer is going TOO fast! The kids have dabbled in camp this summer, but from here on out, there are no more camps and vacations left, so it's up to moi to keep them busy. Today it was homemade finger paints I had found a recipe for on Pinterest. Wonder what next week will bring? ;-) Would love to hear any ideas you all have found for great summer activities!

All I ever needed to know I learned in Kindergarten...

I always thought that classic poem was true... I wonder if Noah will? :-) He had such a great Kindergarten year, and he loved his teacher. She is young and energetic and had good control of the class - she worked out really well for my little guy! (Btw, ignore the crazy coloring of the photo, my printer was being wonky, and I plan to swap that photo out!)

We can't wait to see what first grade brings - I hope Noah's love for school will continue!

Back to life, back to reality...

So, the reason I've been away from my blog (even longer than usual ;-) is because we just got back from a family cruise to the Bahamas. What a blast! The kids and Tony and I went with my parents, and we had so much fun :-) We left from Baltimore, so we didn't have to fly, and i'm really glad we did that, as I think flying with three young kids would have added a whole new level of stress lol. On our days at sea, the kids chose to go to the camp, and they had a blast! On our first port day, we hung at the beach while Tony took surfing lessons, and on our second port day, we went to Atlantis in Nassau - it was gorgeous! We didn't get off the ship in Freeport but decided to enjoy another day on the ship. Some of my favorite highlights of our week:

- Dinners in the dining room. The food was reaaaally good, and Carnival makes meals so much fun! Most of the nights, the waitstaff did interactive dances, songs, etc, that got us up and moving. There was even a magician that visited our table and did magic for us.
- Dates with my hubby. Thanks to my parents, we got to have some adult time to ourselves. One afternoon, we got to enjoy some time at the adults only pool and even snagged a relaxing hammock. One of the nights, we went back to the adults only pool and hot tub (see a theme here?) , and on another night, we hit the bars on the ship and went to the comedy club.
- A date with my dad. We went to the piano bar and also saw a comedy show - the guy was a riot!
- The excursions. I had so much fun playing in the ocean with the kiddos, and it was neat to see Lucas experience the beach for the first time. Atlantis was amazing! Totally gorgeous and the best beach ever! The aquarium was pretty awesome, too.
- The drinks. It was vacation, afterall! ;-)
- And, of course, the family time. The kids had a blast, and it was so great to make so many new memories with them. And, I feel blessed that we were able to go with my parents. Not only did they get quality time with the kids, too, but we got lots of hangage, too.

Now for some of my favorite pics from the week (in order that we experienced them) - it was hard to choose!





















I could definitely get used to the cruising lifestyle!! Something to aim for in retirement... ;-)

Woah... two posts in one week!

Might I actually be getting back into the swing of this whole blogging thing? ;-) Well, the first full week of summer is going well. Noah has been at Lego camp in the mornings, and we've been keeping busy and having playdates in the afternoons. We're going to get our 4th of July on this weekend with the neighbors, and we plan to get in lots of pool time.

I have to share a few recent things my kids said that cracked me up...

I had recently asked Chloe to do something, and when Noah observed that she wasn't doing it, he reminded her of what she was supposed to be doing. Chloe's reply? "Noah, you're not the boss of this family!!" Hmm, that sure knocked him speechless... ;-)

The other day, I was rinsing out an outfit of Lucas' in which he'd had a blowout. Noah came over and asked what I was doing, and I told him that I was getting the poop out of Lucas' pants and that one day, when he was a daddy, he'd have to do the same thing. He replied with, "Ewwww! No way! I'm going to have the wife do that! Oh, and I'm not going to change any dirty diapers either!" OMG, I wasn't sure if I should bust out laughing or be pissed that we are raising a little chauvinist lol (although, i'm still hoping he was kidding ;-) The funny thing is that Tony is a very hands on dad, so he's certainly not getting the hand-off type dad modeled for him. Crazy boy. Luckily he has many more years for me to knock some sense into him!

Before I leave you, here are two of the layouts I completed at the crop I was at this weekend:

If i'm not back here before then, have a wonderful 4th of July to my friends who celebrate! :-)

summer summer summertime.....

Whoo hoo! it's truly finally officially summer... let the fun begin! :-)

This layout:

is of my beautiful girl at her first dance recital a couple of weeks ago.

This boy:

is TEN months old (how on earth did that happen??). He is SUCH a joy! He just got his first tooth on his ten month birthday, and today (a few days later), he got his second tooth. He's not crawling the "proper" way, but he scoots around on his tush and crawls backwards lol. He's waving and clapping and smiles and laughs all day long. Seriously. Our neighbor always jokes that he has never heard the boy cry. I only hope his demeanor stays so upbeat ;-)

This girl:

loved her dance recital! She was in two dances (a ballet dance a tap dance), and did such a great job up on that big stage! She misses preschool and constantly wants to work in school workbooks lol. She has gotten really good at writing her letters and constantly asks her big brother how to spell words. She also really loves crafts, and she has recently taken to "upcycling" pretty much every empty bottle and box in our house. We have a long craft to-do list for the summer.

This boy:

just "graduated" from Kindergarten! Wow, that also went fast! He had such a great year and learned so much! He is reading like a champ, and it never gets old hearing him. He continues to be a lego fanatic, and it truly amazes me how well he build his own designs. He's also gotten really into drawing lately - hopefully he has his daddy's talent. He made some great new friends this year, and he continues to be an awesome big brother.

This mama:

is REALLY excited for the upcoming cruise we are all going on this summer. I'm happy to be in summer-mode both at work and at home, and am hoping to take some time to take things down a notch. I've been eating well and working out regularly, and I feel good (despite feeling sleep deprived since that baby of mine still isn't sleeping through the night ;-) I went to a scrapbook crop yesterday which was so wonderful - hadn't been to one since I was preggers with Lucas! It felt SO good to create. I'm really trying to make time again to make it a regular thing. I've gotten totally addicted to Pinterest lately, and i'm really excited for the season premiere of True Blood (in 30 seconds! gotta wrap this up lol).

This daddy:
is training for his first race event (it's called Tough Mudder, a relay type of thing) in the fall. We can't wait to go watch! He's the best daddy ever, and he's a pretty darn good hubby, too ;-) He's also super excited for our upcoming cruise - we haven't been on one since our honeymoon!

What we've been up to...

Or more like, what haven't we been up to?? Gosh, things have been busy lately! As the school year comes to a close, I am looking forward to lazy(er) days and spending lots of time with the kids. The kids have some camps they are doing, we are going on a week long cruise to the Bahamas, we've got lots of crafts and pool time planned, and we're even going to have a visit from this super cool lady and her super cool son :-)

In scrappy news, I can sum up what i've been up to very easily - nothing lol. I have taken a break this past month as I hadn't been feeling very creative and needed to refocus. Well, i'm happy to report that the break helped - I actually felt motivated to scrap two nights ago, and it felt GOOD! Actually, it felt great :-) It just reinforced for me how much I love (and need!) having a creative outlet, but sometimes taking a break is definitely needed to get the mojo flowing again. I made this layout just for fun (something I also don't do nearly enough!).

Here is the journaling:

You have always been SO tall for your age and have often acted more mature and wiser than one would expect. Because of this, I sometimes forget that you are ONLY six. I forget that when it’s pajama day in Kindergarten, you will want to wear your superman pajamas with a cape. I forget that when it’s show and tell, you’ll want to bring in a stuffed animal. I forget that when I volunteer in your classroom, you’ll want to run over to me, give me a big hug, and sit on my lap (which I love!!). I forget that sometimes when things aren’t going your way and you’re frustrated, you’ll break down in tears. Time goes way too quickly as is, so I am so thankful for all of these little reminders that inside that mature, wise exterior, there is a little boy who is ONLY six.

So, speaking of scrappy breaks, my term is up at AMM and, after two years designing for Michelle, I have decided not to renew my term. It was a tough decision because I love AMM and I really love Michelle, but it seemed like the right time for me to move on. Life is definitely crazier now, and I think it's good to do something different after awhile to bring out the best of my creative side :-) This is the first time in three years that I have not been on a design team, so it will definitely take some getting used to, i'm sure. And, although I don't have the time in my life to be on multiple teams like I used to, I would certainly still love to be on a team in the near future if it's a good fit. So, my plan is to just keep creating and see what the future holds!

And, of course, I just had to post some recent pics of what we've been up to...

Chloe and Lucas loving each other up on Memorial day: The boys swimming at our good friends' house:
Hanging out with my new friend, the goat, at my nephew's b-day party (at a farm ;-)
I just loved this bench, and Lucas seemed to, as well!

Love this little guy!!
Happy hump day, my friends!