Happy Easter ’12

This year I had two school Easter bonnet parades, egg hunts, and class parties to attend.  And they were on the same day.  First, it was Daniel’s school celebration where I helped coordinate the fun. Then I was off to Annabel’s school to enjoy the rest of the morning with her.

Our Easter Sunday has been wonderful.The kids woke to Easter baskets filled with candy.  We went to a beautiful church service.  We had brunch with the Easter bunny (our new tradition!)  The kids watched Winnie the Pooh (another tradition) and we had Easter dinner with GG .  We stuffed ourselves with Honey Baked ham, Polish kielbasa, hard boiled eggs, fresh veggies, and GG’s strawberry apple pie.  And with all this chocolate I’ve been shoveling into my mouth, I’ll need two days to recover.

I hope you had a blessed day with family and loved ones.

Valentine’s Day ’12

I’m one of those suckers who loves Valentine’s Day.  I love the hearts.  I love the red, pink, and white.  I love flowers.  I love Hallmark cards and a big box of Godiva truffles.

My birthday is February 1st and my daughter’s birthday is February 15th, so I put up the Valentine’s Day decorations on January 31st.  We celebrate for the month, basically.  I love to look at all the hearts, “love” signs, and pictures my kids drew in school.  I just love…love.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

 

 

A 2011 Recap

In 2011…

I hit a major milestone.

So did my son.

And my daughter.

And my marriage.

And our country.

We lost a loved one.

And had the (not so) tough conversation.

We lost a pioneer.

We were back in the ER.

We had a fire in our backyard.

I watched a real life fairytale.

We went to Disney.

We went to the grand opening of LEGOLAND.

I went to my first Jags game.

Daniel started playing two new sports.

Annabel started dance class and got her first bike.

I had my heart broken by a woman.

Then, I fell in love with another one.

I met a Real Housewife.

I met Greg Brady.

I met Taylor Swift.

I spent the night with some New Kids.

Daniel went to his first movie.

I added another movie to my all-time-favorites list.

And another.

We decided not to travel and spent Thanksgiving at home.

We spent Christmas at home too.  And went on some fun holiday adventures.  Daniel even ice skated for the very first time.

And we rang in the new year with some great friends.

It was a year of major milestones and family moments.  I’m excited (nervous? curious?) what 2012 will bring.

 

Happy New Year

One More Thing Before We Head Full Force Into November

Well, FOUR more things.  Quick things.  Promise.

My last week of October was CRAZY.  Annabel had her very first class party.  It was “Fall” themed and I was one of the moms in charge of the crafts, food, and fun.  It was also my first time observing her in the classroom setting and it was such a joy to see her interacting with her little friends.

Daniel had his Fall “Hoe Down” at school where the kids gathered in the gymnasium for games and DJ dancing.  Daniel did not dance, but he loved the games. He’s a pretty competitive kid.  I think he won about fifteen Halloween themed pencils and slap bracelets.

Then, later that night, my super hot and hip hubbie had a big Halloween bash with his radio station.  He went as rapper Pitbull.  I went as a Mom who stays home to babysit while wearing comfy PJs and watching backlogged episodes of Up All Night.  Here’s a photo of the real Pitbull:

And here’s Hubbie in his costume:

Pretty good, huh?  I’m still getting used to his super shaved head.  He wants to keep it.  We’ll see…

Finally, we hosted a Halloween party at our house for some close friends on Saturday afternoon.  The weather had the perfect Autumn chill so of course we made the kids bob for apples in a bin filled with cool water.  They loved it.  We also had a bounce house, pin the tail on the black cat, a bat pinata, and lots of really good “bad” food.

Okay.  I think I’m ready to say, “Hello, November.”  How about you?

A Pumpkin Patch Tradition

It’s when the holidays come around that I realize I’ve been living in Jacksonville for almost five years now. We moved to Florida in February 2007 for Hubbie’s radio gig.  It was an adjustment.  We came down from Maryland where we lived in a suburb about 30 miles outside of Washington, DC.   It was a place where we had all the seasons and most of my favorite childhood memories involved holiday traditions.  We definitely wanted to create those same memories for our children here in Florida. In Maryland, I remember going to Butler’s Orchard every Halloween season to pick out pumpkins and go on a hay ride.  So I wanted a pumpkin patch tradition for my family in Florida.

Daniel was one year old in 2007 when we found a fun pumpkin patch down the street from where we lived.

Then, Annabel was born in 2008 and we went back again.

And then we went again in 2009…

and again in 2010.

And here we are again in 2011.  The pumpkin patch tradition continues.  (We’ll see how much longer the kiddies can fit on that little blue tractor.  Hee.)

 

Happy Halloween ’11

Or should I say, “Happy Kim Kardashian gets a divorce day” or ”Happy Jessica Simpson really is preggers day!”

No, I’ll just say Happy Halloween!  Because it felt like this day was never going to get here.  We have been celebrating all week long. I’m officially exhausted.  But my little UPS truck driver and my adorable pink Minnie Mouse had a blast.  Now I’m going to put my feet up, throw on some mindless television, and sneak a couple of those Reese’s cups from the plastic pumpkins.  See you tomorrow.

Myrtle Beach ’11

It’s been a rough couple of weeks adjusting back to “normal” after our beach vacation.  Plus, add the fact that Hubbie went away for the weekend to attend Queen’s funeral and then, we both got sick. Yeah, good times.  It was some nasty stomach virus and the only up side was that the kiddies did not get it.  THANK GOODNESS.  But, needless to say, the house has not been cleaned and there is laundry piling up.  It took all my energy yesterday to get the house refilled with groceries and toiletries.  Today, I feel much more “normal.”

I was also able to FINALLY download all our beach photos!  We go to Myrtle Beach, SC every summer with my parents and my sister’s family.  They all drive south.  We drive north.  We meet in the middle.  It’s the best case scenario for everyone.  It’s so awesome for all the cousins to hang out together.  They are all around the same age and they love each other so much.  We spent loads of time on the beach, in the waves, in the awesome indoor/outdoor pools, and at Broadway at the Beach.

July 4th is one of my favorite holidays and we threw a party in our beach hotel room to celebrate.  We decorated the windows and had crafts for the kids.  Hubbie made some mean hot dogs and chicken fingers and my sister was in charge of the red, white and blue ice cream treats.  We watched A Capitol Fourth on PBS and danced along to the live performances.  Even Grandma and Grandpa. The night was perfect.  (Although Annabel did miss the flag painting because she was so exhausted. You can see her in the background just snoozing on the sofa.  But, don’t worry,  she was awake before dessert and the fireworks on the balcony.)

Happy Father’s Day ’11

Happy Father’s Day to the most awesome Daddy in the whole wide world.

Love,

Bean and Annabelly

Mother’s Day ’11

My Mother’s Day celebration started early.  I went to Daniel’s preschool for a special Mother’s Day luncheon on Friday.   Daniel gave me a homemade vase and the teacher read aloud questionnaires filled out by each child about his or her Mother.  When it was my turn, I learned that (according to Daniel):

I have silver/yellow hair. (Note to self: Book hair color appointment pronto.)

I am 40 years old. (Many kids said their Mom was 18 or 21.  I guess I should be glad he has a good memory, right?)

I like to vacuum. (At least everyone knows I’m not a Hoarder.)

My favorite color is pink. (I’ll take it.)

I don’t like to cook ALL of the time. (Understatement of the year, kid.)

But when I do cook, I cook fish sticks the worst.  Because I let them get black in the oven that one time. (???)

Okay.  I have NEVER cooked fish sticks.  Not once.  Hubbie cooks homemade tilapia fish sticks.  On the STOVE TOP.  And he has never burnt them. Not once. Daniel has an amazing imagination.  He loves to make up stories.  But, COME ON!  I would have rather he imagined me as a 25 year old who never, ever cooks.  That’s okay.  He made it up to me with the yummy lunch buffet and lots of hugs.

Speaking of cooking, Hubbie is the Top Chef of our family.  He made me an amazing Mother’s Day breakfast on Sunday.  I had french toast with bananas and fresh berries.

My gift was a morning at the spa for a 90 minute massage.  HEAVEN.  Then, I was back home for my yummy poached salmon lunch.

It was a day of eating and relaxing – my two favorite things.  I read magazines in bed.  I watched a lot of  television. We all went to the bookstore for coffee.  I got the best Mother’s Day cards from Hubbie and the kids.  I got this beautiful spring bouquet of flowers.

But the best gift of all was this:

A 15 minute window in the afternoon where both kiddies were getting along.  They were reading books together.  I couldn’t have asked for a better day. I hope your Mother’s Day was awesome too.  You deserve it.

PS:  I just realized today is the TWO YEAR ANNIVERSARY of PopMommy.  Time flies! Thanks to everyone who continues to visit me here.  I appreciate it so much.

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