Birthday...the Celebration

It has been in the 80s here in Savannah for nearly a month. Yep, a month. But, on the day we decide to give William his gift (a water table) it is 55 outside with no sun. He was shivering but refused to stop playing with it.


For dinner we had meatballs and pasta (Thanks Grandma H for the bunny pastas). For dessert I made grain free cupcakes with whipped cream for frosting and an avocado mousse. The bigs made the whip cream. Anthony is becoming quite the sous chef.

Now before you accuse me of not giving my kids a real birthday celebration or them never getting sweets. They have had 3 egg hunts, a ton of parties, and way more candy than 3 kids need and that is just in the last week. We have birthday celebrations every weekend till school is out. They get enough. And, since they devoured and asked for seconds, I think it was fine. As a bonus, I don't have to feel guilty for saying yes to seconds.

William actually blew out his own candles. Anthony was dying to help him, but he didn't need it. Growing too fast!!!!!


Pictures of the kids DEVOURING then asking for seconds.


Even Rob approved.

Look Who's Two

Seriously?!!?

Just a few days ago painting with brothers

I cannot believe that he is two. I can vividly remember PCSing to GA and he was SOOOO small. OK, in truth he was way bigger than any of my other kids at every age, but...still so small.

Snuggled with me. Pretty sure Rob thought he would never leave that thing!

He wants nothing to do with being small. It seems I only get drive by cuddles these days. He wants to know letters and words (like the bigs). He wants to run (like the bigs). He wants to fish in the creek and play with Legos (like the bigs).

At One in Pensacola

With the 1st you spend so much time wishing for them to just grow and be fun. But each one after seems to skip more and more babyhood. Sigh.

Happy Birthday Big, Little boy!

The Hunt

The big boys both got Egg hunts at school. Plus we had another at the church (pictures later on that one).

Gabe's super awesome teachers that made the most adorable bunny baskets out of tin cans. They are the best.




Then after, there was cookies and candy...SWEET!


Anthony's was a little less sugary, but way more chaotic. 2o Kindergarten classes with 20-25 kids each all on a soccer field where each kid is looking to fill an egg carton with eggs numbered 1-12. Chaos!

My Birthday

I once saw a comment that there comes a moment in life where you should no longer expect balloons, cake, and clowns...that time is when you turn 12. Fortunately I am well past that time and none of my kids have reached it yet.




Today Rob came home early to help me around the house since I am still recovering from back surgery. Now he is out hunting for fish in the ditch behind our house with Anthony and William. Best birthday yet! We had a great dinner on the grill with a bunch of fruit and raw veggies then went to DQ to make sure we weren't getting too carried away with being healthy.

Preparing for Easter

Preparing for Easter with Easter Eggs. I have been lucky to celebrate Easter all over the world to include at the Vatican and in Eastern Europe (where I got two Easters both western and eastern). But I think this is still my favorite...at home with kids in pajamas.

That Mom

Today William and I were crafty and I could look like I was that awesome mom. So Happy Spring everyone!

St Patrick's Day

In most places, St Patrick's Day is just that, a day. In Savannah, it is a season. Really! It starts with the Irish Festival the last weekend or so in Feb and runs through the St Patty's Day weekend. There is an event nearly every day during this 3 weeks. This year the parade may have topped over 1.5 million attendees. That would make it the biggest in the world. That is not bad for a city with a population of only 200,000. There are some big lessons to be learned for Savannah this year if they want to keep the parade this big...otherwise they will see a decline in attendance, and that is just fine too.

Our season started with Gabe's parade at Pre-K on Thursday. Even though I am not a fan of all day pre-K and wouldn't do it again, I love his teachers. The kids were adorable.




Rob even had a 4 day weekend and got to attend. I don't have the first picture of him seeing dad, but he was over the moon about it.


This year we went to the main parade in style. Rob and his friend Steve got up at 0 dark 30 and went to a square to secure a place with a tent. We had coolers, chairs, and a place for the kids to chill. Since the parade is well over 4 hours long, the place to chill is critical. We took the shuttle from the mall and then walked the nearly 3/4 of a mile to where Rob and Steve were set up. It was a long walk with all the kids.





We were also close enough to take the kids to Forsyth to play when they got bored of the 4 hour long parade.

The Heater

I am cheap, but I guess when all three of your kids are wearing hats at breakfast it is time to turn on the heat for a little bit at least.

It's a Seussical Day

For Dr Seuss' Birthday...Anthony was the Cat in the Hat, because he knows a lot about that.

Energy and Sanity Return

So, after the horrendous last 6 weeks, we are beginning to return to a normal life. I am still grateful for my mom being here so that I do not have to wear my self out.

Today I was cleaning the kitchen and William wanted to help. My mom has a ton of pics of me playing in a sink full of dishes so I thought, "Sure, we'll try that."

William played happily there for almost an hour. And since it is just water, the end was an opportunity to clean a bit of the floor and the cabinets. (Don't worry, I'm not really drinking the mom Kool-aid on that one...I hated every minute of the cleanup)

Getting big

I have come to realize that William is getting a bit short-changed. I often forget to do all the fun activities with him that I did with the brothers. Mostly because I remember the mess the brothers made. So today my guilt got the best of me and we made granola together.

These are not my best pictures. Hard to take pictures and keep him from tossing everything on the floor at the same time.

Guess How Much I Love You

"I love you to the moon and back again"

I don't really like Valentine's Day. I have never really liked it. I know that St Valentine is a real person, but have always felt that the holiday was for men who couldn't remember to tell their women nice things the other 364 days a year. Yes, I recognize that this is a bit cynical. But I am lucky...I have a hubby who is the same way. He remembers me in a thousand other ways most of the days of the year. He remembers to get me a roast chicken from the store when he knows that I am not getting to make dinner; he remembers my love of pictures and buys me cool camera stuff; he has learned to recognize when I am on my last nerve and tries to give me a break; he vacuums; most of all, he is here...and as an Army wife, that is often enough.

My kids get a lot of Valentine stuff with school, so this year I am their biggest Valentine. How do you show love? There are a thousand ways, and many don't include flowers or chocolate.

How did I show my love today?

I made Gabe and Anthony heart shirts at 730 in the morning so they would have them for school.


I shared my Green Truck Burger with William (I consider this the ultimate sacrifice on my part)

Tonight I will make a seafood medley of shrimp, scallops, and clams for 4 very happy boys.

2012 officially sucks

While we ended 2011 on a great note, 2012 has been awful!!!

We began in mid Jan with Strep. It ran it's course through our house, 6 cases in 5 people. Poor Gabe got it twice. It really sucked!

Then just as we were healing from the strep, my sciatic nerve started hurting. A little at first. Then a lot. Then so much the pain made me cry and I could only lessen not eliminate by laying down. 4.5 weeks later this is still a big issue for me.

Oh but wait...

Just at the worst of my back pain everyone in the house but me gets food poisoning. Fantastic...that is just what we need!!!

So, I am now over 2012 and hoping to skip the rest and go right to 2013.

Sweet as can bee

here are the valentines my kids are sending out. Complete with local honey sticks from B&G Honey.