Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Wordless Wednesday

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Skeletel

This is what Landon wore to school today:

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They are selling these hoodies (are they still considered hoodies?) at Kohls and Landon absolutely had to have one. I told him he could get it as long as he wouldn’t wear the mask part on the bus or at school…and he promised he wouldn’t.

So, it was pretty chilly this morning and he got his opportunity to wear it. As we got closer to the bus stop he told me “All the other mom’s are probably going to think you’re a bad mom because you let me wear this to school.” HA! I laughed and said I doubted that they would think that but I really didn’t care one way or the other. If letting him wear something this awesome makes me a bad mother, so be it!

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

License to Drive

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Today was a day that Zoe has been looking forward to for a long time. Today was her appointment at the MVA for her driving exam. For real. Her appointment was at 3:20pm but we got there pretty early (which was a good thing since there was a few papers we had to fill out) and she was a nervous wreck waiting her turn. After all the paperwork was filled out, we headed outside to wait in line for the exam.

As we were sitting in the car waiting for her exam to begin, we were watching a bunch of other kids take their tests. A few failed, one passed…it certainly didn’t help Zoe’s nerves to see those kids fail, but I did my best to reassure her that she’d be fine.

Once the instructor came over, I wished her luck and hopped out of the car. They ran a safety check before the test and the first stop was parallel parking. Girlfriend parallel parked that car like it was her job! Next up was a two point turn (basically backing into a parking spot) and again, she aced it. The final part of the exam was going out on the nearby streets and showing off her skills. I knew she had passed the second I saw her face. There was no denying that look of self satisfaction and excitement!

I’m very proud of her, yet it’s just another foot out the door, so it’s kind of sad too. I have to say though, that in all of her driving time, I’ve never seen her drive more confidently than on the way home from her test. Now, I just need her to stay safe. And, once she does start driving on her own, I don’t know how I’ll ever sleep when she’s out of the house.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Sneaking a Peek

Here’s another page I finished recently.

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It’s really simple, but I didn’t feel like it needed much decoration since the page already had the turtle and bird accent in the corner. When Harper was only a few days old he would open his eyes just enough to see who or what was around. We always felt like he was peeking at us…keeping an eye on what was going on.

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Oh, Irene

Well, we made it through Hurricane Irene without much incident. I’m not one of those people who was waiting for something “more entertaining” and I’m just incredibly thankful that we didn’t lose power or have a tree fall on our house.

Zoe was at work during a good bit of the storm, and she was scheduled to stay until 1am, but luckily the theater closed it’s doors early and she was home by 10pm. There is a lot of flooding in our area, and Annapolis is really hurting. We just got a call a few hours ago letting us know that there won’t be any school tomorrow because of widespread power outages and debris on side roads and such. Too bad we’ll have to use a crappy hurricane as one of our snow days…but, again, I am very, very thankful that we are all safe and that it has moved out of our area.

We did have a little bit of damage though, in the form of a fallen plum tree.

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It kind of just blew over to the left and you can see that the entire root has been lifted out of the ground. I’m not sure if we’ll be able to save it, but we are going to try. If not, we’ll be planting another one because it was a great looking tree!

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Cute, Sweet, Little Feet

We are getting hit with wind and rain from Hurricane Irene at the moment so I decided I would take advantage of the electricity while we still have it. I’m really hoping we won’t join the thousands upon thousands of people who are in the dark! Go away, Irene!

Here’s a page I completed a few weeks ago and never posted:

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Who doesn’t love little tiny baby feet? I just love how both those itty bitty feet fit in his daddy’s hands! He still has little feet, but now they are always on the move and he just doesn’t have time to sit down for pictures! :)

Stay safe and dry, everyone!

Friday, August 26, 2011

Five (or 8) on Friday

  1. Landon began his last year of elementary school this past Tuesday. He’s enjoying being the “big man” on campus, and he especially loves that he gets to use a 3 ring binder for school this year. It’s the first time a binder like that has been on his school list, so he thinks it’s pretty neat.
  2. We took Zoe on a tour of University of Maryland on Tuesday while Landon was at school. I was amazed at how big the campus was and how many cool things they offered. Zoe was pretty surprised how big it was too, and I think she found a lot of it appealing. Now to apply and get accepted…
  3. When we got home from the tour, we were relaxing from our tough day of college shopping when an earthquake hit. It was a 5.9 and it scared the living crap out of us. No one was hurt and nothing major broke. But, it was really scary.
  4. Zoe began her Senior year of high school on Wednesday. She was so ready to get back to school, and I think she too is enjoying being at the top of school. She isn’t as excited about binders as Landon is, but that girl loves her some school supplies! And, since her school didn’t supply agenda’s this year, she begged me to get her a day runner so she could keep track of her ever busy schedule. I complied.
  5. Zoe and I attended a concert on Wednesday night. We saw Gavin Degraw, Maroon 5 and Train. They were excellent. Each and every one. I’ve had their songs stuck in my head all day and night since.
  6. Tony sent me an e-vite this morning. It was for lunch with him at Olive Garden. I love when he does that.
  7. Zoe had senior pictures tonight. She did the mandatory drape photo, one with her soccer uniform and one with a cute outfit. I don’t know how I’ll choose because she was simply breath taking in each and every shot.
  8. Landon had a soccer scrimmage tonight. I didn’t get to go because of Zoe’s pictures, but Tony and Mema went and they both said that he did a wonderful job. I think he may finally be on the right team, with the right coach and kids. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Maroon 5/Train Concert

Last night Zoe and I went to the Gavin Degraw, Maroon 5, Train concert. I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect since I haven’t been to a big concert since high school, but I certainly wasn’t disappointed. All three of them put on an amazing show, and I’d recommend every fan out there go to the show if you get the chance. Since I haven’t bought tickets for such a big event in a long time and I’ve never been to a concert at Merriweather, I had no idea that I had bought tickets for the pit! Zoe and I were pretty excited when we realized how close we were going to be to the stage.

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I’m not going to go into a long tirade about every song they sang and whether or not I knew or liked it, but Train and Maroon 5 played every song that I really wanted them to. It was like they created their set lists for me or something! They both played a good mix of their newer and older music but hearing Meet Virginia and Drops of Jupiter live was a real treat. Those two songs are where it all began for me and Train! (Wow, I am a freaking dork!)

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Maroon 5

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Gavin Degraw opened the show, and I didn’t know most of his songs only the ones played on the radio over and over again, but he was also really good. Of the three of them I think that Train put on the most entertaining performance but Adam Levine was also pretty energetic up there! Train had a lot of audience participation and I think that always makes things a little more fun. Close to the end of the show, Patrick Monahan (Train lead singer) walked up through the entire audience singing Marry Me and at one point stopped to let a man propose to his girlfriend. Needless to say, the woman was pretty shocked, and she, of course, said YES! Another thing that I thought was really cool about Monahan was that he kept grabbing peoples cameras and taking pictures of himself with them! Zoe and I were ready to chuck our phones up on the stage so we could get a picture!

All in all it was a great night and well worth every penny. It was fun to just go out and pretend to be 17 again, and now I’m on the lookout for my next show! :)

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Wordless Wednesday

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Senior

As if having a son starting his final year of elementary school isn’t bad enough, I also have a daughter beginning her final year of high school.

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She really loves school though, and couldn’t wait to get back into the routine of it all. She’s kind of like me in that way…but, don’t tell her! In order to celebrate her last year of school, she and I are attending the Train/Maroon 5 concert tonight! You know, so she can stay up late and be zonked on the second day of school! :) I can’t wait!

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

We Felt the Earth, Move, Under Our Feet

I’ve had those lyrics in my head all day. Well, ever since our earthquake anyways! Yep, you heard me, we experienced an 5.9 magnitude earthquake this afternoon!

After our long morning walking around the University of Maryland, we were all relaxing (Zoe and I on our laptops, Harper snoozing in his bed and Tony napping on the couch) when all of a sudden we felt a slight rumbling. The slight rumbling soon turned into a full house-shaking, glass-shattering event! The three of us ran out of the rooms we were in and Zoe ran into Harpers room to make sure he was ok since she was on the second floor. I looked at Tony and yelled that Harper was upstairs asleep and then he too ran up to see if he was ok…it turns out that Harper can sleep through earthquakes, no problem!

After the shaking stopped we all just stood around digesting what had just happened. I walked outside to see if there was any damage and noticed a bunch of my neighbors out on their lawns. We all shared our stories about “what we were doing when the earthquake started” while we calmed down.

Landon was at school during the quake and I thought he’d get off the bus freaking out about it, but all he said was “Did you guys feel that earthquake today?” He said that his whole class had to get under their desks and they stayed there for about 20 minutes until they were all evacuated out of the building. I guess he thought the whole thing was a little exciting, but I’m sure he must have been a little scared too.

I’m so thankful that the earthquake didn’t cause a ton of damage to our area and that everyone is safe. And, I hope to never experience anything like it again. Ever.

Beginning 5th Grade/ U of M College Tour

Today Landon began his final year of elementary school. It is heartbreaking yet comforting all at the same time. I’m so happy to get to watch him grow into this smart, funny, loving young man, yet a bit dumbfounded by how quickly he’s reached this point.

Just look at this handsome boy!

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After getting Landon on the bus, we took off for a tour of University of Maryland with Zoe. We were really lucky it was a gorgeous day because the walking tour lasted about one and half hours! The campus is HUGE and the buildings are spectacular!

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The school has so much to offer and I’m really hoping Zoe will be accepted. I don’t know if it’s the school she’ll end up attending or not, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed!  I’d just love for her to go somewhere not too incredibly far away so that I can see her every once in awhile.

Monday, August 22, 2011

Back to School Eve

Today was such a beautiful day.

I don’t know if it was the weather or the fact that it’s the final day of summer vacation, but either way, the sky seemed amazingly blue, the breeze felt perfect, and the shade was just shady enough.

We celebrated by swinging at a nearby park. 

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Poor Zoe wasn’t really feeling up to it, but she came with us anyways. She had soccer practice earlier in the morning and when she came home she told me someone had kicked the ball in her direction when her back was turned and it hit her on the side of her face. She said she felt a little dizzy afterwards and that she had a headache, so we were a little concerned about a concussion. I ended up calling the doctor and they told me to keep an eye on her and to have her take it very easy for the rest of the day. Take it easy meaning, no texting, computer, video games or even reading! (Of course she wasn’t supposed go to the park either, but when we went to the park she just sat, no playing for her!) After a little bit she said her headache was gone and she’s been acting fine all day, so I think we’re in the clear, but I’ll be watching her nonetheless!

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After swinging we headed over to the empty baseball field so Harper could run around and explore. He immediately found a pinecone and a stick, but I didn’t let him hold the stick much after taking this picture because he’s still too clumsy and I just can’t imagine him falling on something like a stick…gross and ouch. But, he sure enjoyed that stick for the few minutes he had it!

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I have no idea what Landon is doing in this next picture, but there is seldom a moment that he isn’t doing something funny. For instance, tonight at dinner we were talking about carpentry being a really good and necessary job back in the “olden” days and he said “You mean someone that puts carpet in your house?”. He was serious and I thought that was just too funny!

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Happy Monday!

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Fun at Breakfast

Whenever Harper is in his highchair the dog is at his feet. She’s no dummy, and she knows that if she waits long enough, something will either fall or fly her direction.  IMG_7534

For some reason, the morning I took these pictures, Ginger wasn’t under his seat, but Harper kept looking down there anyways…so, I thought I’d give him something to look at!

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I think he was watching his feet swing back and forth, but I’ll never know for sure because once I crawled under the table, a huge round of peek-a-boo ensued.

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And then he tossed me what was left of his toast.

Saturday, August 20, 2011

Off to Work

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Last week Zoe interviewed for a job with Cinemark theater and was excited when she learned she got the job. She knew it meant that she’d be extremely busy during the school year, but it was something we felt she needed to experience before heading off to college next year. Her days are going to be filled with school and homework, soccer practice (she made the team!!!) and then work on the weekends. Her schedule is going to be pretty tight, but I know she’ll be able to handle it all just fine. Good thing she has those awesome time management skills!

Friday, August 19, 2011

Five on Friday

  1. This morning I took Zoe in for a consultation about having her wisdom teeth pulled. I found out that removing her wisdom teeth was going to be just as painful for my wallet as it would be for her mouth. $415.00 a tooth…plus anesthesia. Ouch. Thanks goodness for insurance or we’d have to pull them out here at home.

  2. Harper had his 12 month appointment earlier this week and he cried the entire time. As soon as the nurse came in to get his weight/height etc. he started bawling and continued until we were almost home. Talking to the doctor was near impossible and holding him for his (three) shots was heartbreaking. Along with the three shots they also pricked his finger to check his iron levels; it was not fun. He weighs 24 pounds and is 31 inches long and never wants to visit the doctor again.

  3. Landon finished his third book of the summer this week. He’s read The Maze of Bones (39 Clues, No.1), Because of Winn Dixie, and The Tale of Despereaux. He loved the last two and finished them in record time.

  4. Zoe and I had to brave the craziest thunderstorm yesterday on our way home from her soccer practice. I took the highway when I went to pick her up, but it was so congested and slow because of the rain that it took about 30 minutes to get to her school. So, on the way back, I decided to avoid the traffic and take back roads only to discover that they were all flooded! It was an intense drive home and I’ve decided that from now on, when it rains, to take the truck.

  5. For the first time ever, our elementary school had a meet and greet for the kids. We were able to go to the school and meet Landon’s new teacher as well as drop off the majority of his school supplies. We were happy to see that he will be in Mrs. Bell’s class (Zoe had her in 4th grade) but a little sad that none of his close friends will be in his class. We told him that it was just another opportunity to make new friends and that things would be fine. He doesn’t seem too worried about it and I think he’s really looking forward to starting school next week. I know Zoe can’t wait, and no, I’m not being sarcastic!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

King (or Queen!) of the Sidewalk

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I got the idea for these sidewalk chalk crown pictures on Pinterest. That site is so incredibly addicting! I could sit and pin things to my boards all day! If you want an invite, let me know, I still have some left!

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Harper’s 1st Birthday Party

Yesterday we celebrated Harpers birthday. It was just a small family get together at our house, and it ended up being a ton of fun. I took 334 pictures, so brace yourselves for photo overload.

The first thing I did when I got up Sunday morning was put together his cupcakes in a jar. I found a cool recipe for rainbow cupcakes, and decided I’d give them a try. They were excellent, by the way. Never mind the fact that those look like bowls of finger paint. That was the beginning of the best tasting cupcakes, ever.

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Then I finished and hung my homemade Happy Birthday banner. Simple, but cute.

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After that, Tony and I spent hours prepping the food for dinner as well as cleaning the house and all that other crap you have to do before people come over for a party. Harper must have known that we were going to be partying because he decided to take a nap, and at 3pm when people started arriving he was still snoozing. He woke up around 3:30 though, and we slapped a party hat on him and he was ready to go! (He actually hated the party hats, but after approximately 20 pictures something made him forget it was on his head just long enough for me to get a cute grin out of him.)

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He was fascinated by the balloons.

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He really enjoyed this yellow one.

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And this blue one too.

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Lea picked a red one.

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After all the balloon fun, I decided I wanted another picture of him with his party hat on. 40 pictures or so later, I got a cute one.

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And then there were some group photos.

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Opening presents came next, and Harper kind of enjoyed that part… for about 2 minutes.

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Finally, after opening his presents, Harper got his first cupcake.

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It was a fun little party and we really had a good time. I’m so happy to be this little guys Mom and I am really looking forward to all the great things ahead. Happy Birthday, Bunny!

April Fools Pranks

The two little kids made me laugh yesterday morning.  I was upstairs getting things ready for school when I heard them talking about how ...