Wee Irish Bobbins

Laundry Lesson #46

2012-02-07T21:01:00.003-05:00

This has been quite a week so far and it's only Tuesday night. It all started Sunday night upon our return home from a super bowl party. Clare barfed all over herself and me, then spiked a fever of 103. It's all down hill from there.

I get up at 5:30 Monday morning with my right eye glued shut. Yup, that's right at the ripe old age of 36, after being in the child care field for almost 8 years I got my first case of pink eye in over 3 decades. U-N-B-E-L-I-E-V-A-B-L-E! I went to the minute clinic and got drops, so we're good to go. I'm not contagious after 1:30 today so I striped all the beds this morning, because I sleep in all of them, and piled the sheet mound high in the hallway to sit tight and wait til I get home. Sean put the sheets in the wash for me this afternoon. I changed them to the dryer when I got home and when I went down to retrieve them later I was greeted by a large ball of intertwined sheets.

I carried it up to the living room and handed it to Sean. "This is what happens when you don't button a duvet cover when you put it in the dryer." His response, "Now I know." We all laughed about the giant sheet ball that took Sean about 10 minutes to unravel!

Kindergarten/CCD update

2012-02-05T14:47:00.002-05:00

Sometimes I feel like I'm back in elementary school. What with all the paperwork we need to fill out daily, homework we have to monitor, family projects, checks we write to school, programs we need to make sure we're involved in, and on and on! It can be a bit daunting, especially after a long day.

Aidan's class does these class projects: a pumpkin based on a character in a book, a large decorated turkey, an animal diorama and now a class presentation on what he wants to be when he grows up. When we first discussed it Aidan wanted to be an Army guy. Easy enough, I thought. We can go down to the local Army recruiting office and chat up some of the guys there. Contact some family members or friends who are in the army and get some info from them. Well that went out the window quickly when Sean mentioned he should do it on being a cameraman. Just like his dear old Dad. (My response to that was, your idea, your project Daddy-o.) So just to reiterate, I asked Aidan the other night, "We're doing your class career project on being a cameraman right?" Aidan's response was (get a load of this) "No, I want to the be the guy who counts the penguins after they are attacked by a seal or killer whale to see how many are still alive." "WHAT?!"

Turns out he saw some information on the "smart board" at school about this particular scientist position and now it's his future career choice. Interesting, YES, easy to research, NOT REALLY! Needless to say, I've been googling all day today in an effort to figure out how to do this presentation. Luckily, he's been watching these you tube videos with me, otherwise I might be bitter about the whole thing.

In other news, tomorrow is the 100th day of school. The Kindergarten classes are making a trail mix with each child's 100 pieces of some snack contribution. Aidan (of course) picked peanut butter m & m's. So he sat at the table and dutifully made 10 lines of 10 m & m's. As I was putting them in the bag I had to recount them to make sure that my kid wasn't the one who showed up with 99. (My fear was he shoved one in his mouth when I wasn't looking) Well let me tell you what, I should go back to school! It took me 3 tries to count out 100 m & m's, the same ones that Aidan had already counted out- correctly I might add.

A funny side note, the first line on the instruction sent home for the trail mix was "With clean hands, count out 100 pieces." I made Aidan wash his hands but can't remember if I washed mine!

This morning after mass we got the following reports on what the kids did in CCD class. Clare couldn't wait to tell us how she and the other girl in class had to go potty and they got to go in without the teacher! And Aidan showed me how he made fart noises under his armpit in class- "But Mom, all the kids were showing the teachers how they make funny noises with their body parts." GREAT!

Are we Holy or what???

79th percentile

2012-02-05T14:23:00.003-05:00

Who knew that they could measure percentiles in utero. Well my friends, they can! When I was prego with Aidan and Clare my only concern was how big I was getting, not how big the baby was getting. You see, with Aidan I didn't have a clue, so I didn't know to worry about how big of a baby I would potentially have to birth one day, and with Clare I'd already done it once so I knew I could. The only thing I did worry about was how big my butt was getting and how big it would end up being after all the dust settled and the extreme exhaustion of having a newborn set in!

Well, this little Healey who's cooking away in there is a tad on the "larger" side. A bit concerning to my docs I guess, since two of them have mentioned it. At 19 weeks, a normal size baby weighs in at about 5.5 oz, well #3 is already weighing in at a whopping 9 oz. The kicker is that this baby makes me crave more healthy food than junk, I have kept to my normal exercise regimen and this is the thanks I get. The recurring question to this Mommy to be is not "When are you due?" it's "Are you having twins?"

The good news though, this little nugget seems to be healthy and happy floating around in there! Now the only question is if it's a girl or a boy???? (That my friends won't be answered until June.)

Wise beyond his years

2012-01-31T21:47:00.003-05:00

Happy 6th Birthday to Aidan! If you would have asked me 6 years ago tonight what Aidan would be like when he turned 6, I probably would have replied, "I can't even imagine him 6 months from now!"

Well, let me tell you a little story about my little man. Last Friday night we went out to dinner. Sean and I were tired, the kids were off the wall. Needless to say, it was not a stellar moment for this Healey crew. Sean and I spent the entire meal reprimanding the kids in the restaurant and then screamed at them when we got home. I had a total freak out on Aidan when he came into the bathroom and peed all over the place.

A little while later, I was sitting on the couch between Aidan and Clare, wallowing in my own guilt. Aidan put his hand on me and said, "Mom, you can lay your head on me." (which I did) I turned to him and told him how much I love him.

It occurred to me as I sat in Mass on Sunday morning, (praying hard for patience,as I always do) that my little Aidan is like a Labrador retriever puppy. Although we scream and yell and lose our patience with them, our kids know we will always love them, first and foremost, we will always take care of them, we will always keep them safe. So in the words of my dear friend Lisa, Aidan is an old soul.

Happy 6th Buddy! Thanks for helping me be the best Mom I can be.

the gift of peace

2012-01-19T17:45:00.004-05:00

And quiet that is!

Sean took Aidan and Clare into DC on Monday to go see the Spy Museum. It was MLK day, so we were all home. I wasn't feeling too great that morning when I woke up so Sean said he'd take them in to the city and I could stay home and rest.

It was so nice (I have to admit) to just sit on the couch and watch all the cooking shows and diy shows my little heart desired.

Thanks Sean for a peacefully quiet morning. You're the best!

What's in your wallet?

2012-01-04T20:40:00.002-05:00

Or in my case PURSE! I don't think good ole Capital One would really want to know the answer to that question. Maureen and I gave my Mom a gift card for Christmas because she wanted to buy herself a new purse. She emailed us last night to tell us (brag)she got a new fancy black leather purse. (To which I was jealous!)

I began to take stock in what's really in my purse. First of all I dream of the day that I'll be able to carry a smaller purse, maybe even a pretty semi over priced, designer one at that. But for now I tote around any random ginormous size bag I can get my hands on, sometimes even two.

Inside the bag, well that's a whole other story. The one I'm currently carrying (a green cord messenger bag with my monogram on the bottom corner) has at least 7 crumpled up napkins from the latest "to go" restaurant or coffee shop I've been to with the 2 wee bobbins. It also houses a ziploc bag full of broken and semi used crayons collected from several restaurants, one Hello Kitty and one Zooble, both from Happy Meals. A really pretty, kind of expensive J.Crew bracelet that Sean gave me for Christmas 2 years ago and a fake diamond necklace. An empty gum pack, 2 chocolate ball wrappers from Christmas Eve Mass (bribery for Aidan), a pair of eye glasses I think I'm supposed to wear, sunglasses that I always wear, a pair of Clare's underwear - just in case, 2 granola bars too. I did have a wireless mouse in the there from Sean that I gave to his Dad just the other day. Oh and there's a pouch in it (that matches the purse) that I carry around with my check book, pens, flossers, and 2 tampons - which I won't need or use in the next 7 months or so. There's a strange sand-like substance that gets mixed in with the change in the bottom- not quite sure where it comes from or what it is.

All in all I tote around a whole purse full o' crap on a daily basis. The kicker is it's only going to get more crap added to it come June when #3 arrives. Maybe I'll just start carrying an additional bag for baby. Who knows, I used to squeeze an entire change of clothes for each kid and a pull up in this current bag and zip it in the pocket.

No wonder my back hurts sometimes!!!!!

A Shout Out

2012-01-03T22:24:00.002-05:00

I have a special shout out tonight to a wonderfully handsome, extremely talented sports fanatic. My incredibly smart, studious, hard working husband just smoked his older brother in his FANTASY FOOTBALL SUPER BOWL! In the league that wouldn't deem him worthy for several years, he's now on top people. There's even a trophy too!!!

(photo to follow)

*disclaimer*
I am not, and never claimed to be a fan of fantasy football. This blog post is a simple act of love and kindness for a great guy who puts up with a lot of "stuff" from me!

Spring has Sprung

2012-01-03T21:48:00.003-05:00

Well, not exactly! I mean come on it's the coldest day of the season so far and I'm signing up Aidan for lacrosse already. I got an email today "the season begins right around the corner." REALLY?! I think that's a bit extreme, I mean as far as I know there is some sort of rule that the season can't officially begin until March or something. Now don't get me wrong, I'm super, duper psyched for lacrosse to begin. Aidan played last year and although he couldn't really follow what was going on (on or off the field) he had a great time and looked totally adorable in the gear! It was great being at the fields a couple of nights a week, watching the weather change and the days get longer. So I am actually really happy I signed him up on this frigid January night, it will give me some hope that the weather will get warmer.

Now, here is my latest conundrum, Clare wants to do ballet again. She got a cd player for Christmas (yup kickin it old school) for her room and she goes in there, dresses up and dances around. It's great to watch. She is so cute when she dances and I know she loves it. We have been down this ballerina road before. She loved, loved, loved it. But we hit a bump in the road when she was told she had to wear makeup for the recital. That's when Dad and I pulled the plug on the whole operation.

So here's my question to all of you, WHY can't I just find a little park and rec ballet program that lasts for like 3 months (ya know- a season) and that's it. I mean come on people why do I have to commit myself, let alone a 4 year old, to an entire school year of ballet. That's a long time and in my opinion not necessary for all. She really enjoyed soccer this fall so if I can't find a little dance program I'm going to offer up another soccer season instead and hope she bites.

All in all, I think it will be a great Spring. Both kids running around on some freshly cut grass field, with another group of (kind of clueless) kids playing the team sport of choice. All the while, I'm waddling back and forth to the car imagining how I'll do this in 5 years with an 11 year old, 10 year old and 5 year old. I don't know if there are enough days in a week to spread over 3 kids sports. This will be my first season of different sports on different days, or even worse, different sports, same days, different fields.

Another test of my Mom super powers, I'm sure I'll pass with flying colors!!!
(wink, wink, nod, nod)

Christmas Favorites

2011-12-27T17:10:00.003-05:00

The Christmas craziness is coming to a close. We arrived home from a super fun-filled weekend in NY. We laughed a lot, drank a lot and ate way too much! It was great- tons of nerf gun wars, jumping on the beds, air hockey, ping pong, retrieving remote control helicopters from the neighbors roof, oh, and LOTS of present opening!

Some of the kids favs this year were LEGOS (we now have almost as many as the lego store) for Aidan and Easy Bake Oven, (a mock) American Girl Doll and Barbie Princess Charm School movie for Clare. I got a beautiful diamond necklace and Sean got some new socks!

The best part is we still have the other half of Christmas to celebrate with the Healey side!

Church Santa

2011-12-19T11:24:00.002-05:00

Clare refused to leave the arts and crafts to get in the picture, so I volunteered to take her place!

A Christmas treat

2011-12-18T18:49:00.004-05:00

Last weekend, Maun and Ellie came down so we could take the kids out for a Christmas treat. We went to a horse rescue farm and they got their pictures taken with the horses. It was one of the best 20 minutes of this Christmas season. The kids loved seeing the horses, sitting on "Doc" and feeding him an apple.

Santa #4 & #5

2011-12-18T18:45:00.002-05:00

I went to the mall the other day by myself and saw the Mall Santa - my #4 Santa.

Today, Aidan and I were driving down the road and we saw a Santa waving people into a Coldstone Creamery. (My #5, Aidan's #4) Clare went to see the Nutcracker this afternoon with Aunt Patra and she saw her #3 Santa there before the show started.

Where have all the Santa's gone?? I thought for sure we'd be racking in the Santa sightings at this point. I guess the Jolly Old Elf is becoming a little more scarce than in years past. Oh well, still a fun search!

A "Pouch" of Cows (correction not patch- pouch)

2011-12-15T21:17:00.004-05:00

We pass by a few farms everyday on the way to work. One in particular has a herd of black angus cows that roam around the fields. Every morning/afternoon they are in a different spot, some days close to the road, some days far. Yesterday when we passed by Clare says, "Hey Mom, look all those cows are in a big pouch today. I bet the ones outside of the pouch might have scratched their noses on a hard piece of grass so that's why they aren't in the patch anymore." (Wait, WHAT??)

I think it's really cute that she calls it a pouch of cows and I'm not quite sure what the correct word would be to tell her, so I'm gonna let her go with pouch for awhile. I don't have to heart to tell her otherwise.

Christmas Card AHHHH!!!

2011-12-12T19:41:00.004-05:00

Every year as the Christmas cards start arriving in our mailbox, I am stricken with another round of guilt. I wish I were one of these prepared people I so strive to be. The ones who take pictures of their beautiful children with no food on their face in adorable little outfits that look so "un"posed but posed at the same time.

Oh and I am also envious of those who dedicate enough time to catalog all the great times they had all year. I know those big milestones are floating around someplace in this mush ball I call a brain.

I am jealous, what can I say. Green isn't my favorite color for no reason people!

So I'm going to do it this year! Below you will find the Christmas card I would send out this year if today wasn't already December 12.

We had a fantastic year here in the Healey household!

Sean had another successful year with his business. He works so hard all the time and we couldn't be more proud of him. He traveled to Iowa to the State Fair and actually saw people eating deep fried sticks of butter. He got stuck on a plane next to Newt Gingrich. He traveled back to Haiti for Catholic Relief Services to make another documentary on the improvements they have made there. He has also been busy in his personal life as well. Sean took a huge step this year for himself and our family and completed the RCIA class to become Catholic. What a wonderfully emotional experience that was for both of us. He also competed in not 1 but 2 triathlons. The first one I competed with him and the second one I got to be the cheerleader. Words can't explain how awesome it was for us to cross the finish line holding hands after swimming, biking and running together. Simply amazing!

Aidan turned 5 this year. He got a new set of "superhero teeth". (because his God given ones were a MESS!) He played his first season of lacrosse in the spring. He graduated from preschool. Aidan spent the entire summer underwater in the deep end of the pool fishing for things we'd toss in for him. I swear that boy is part fish. This fall he started Kindergarten, played soccer (and was pretty darn good at it) and got his finger run over by a shopping cart that his mother was driving. (YIKES!) He's also totally into legos now. It seems like he's grown up 10 years in the last couple of months. He comes up to my shoulder and weighs about 65 lbs, but I can still carry him up to bed if he falls asleep on the couch.

Clare turned 4 this year. She took ballet/tap classes til May. She learned to swim on her own without a life jacket or swimmies and she too became a little fish! We could hardly peel them out of the pool this summer. Clare started in the "Bears" class at Noah's Ark and played soccer this fall. She's got an attitude a mile long with Sean and I but when it comes to other people all we ever get is compliments on how sweet she is. She's totally into everything, art, glitter, fashion, baby dolls, barbies, books, you name it!

As for me, well I've had a busy year too. I got a promotion and I'm actually loving it. I do miss being in the classroom with the kids but it's nice to be able to help the staff and feel productive in other ways. I ran a couple of fun races, a 10k in February with my nephew Connor (he beat me but I only finished a few minutes later), a 10 miler with Maureen on a beautiful country course here in Edgewater, and another 10 miler with my pals Maureen and Kel in Baltimore (which in my opinion is the best town to run a race in). All super fun events but the best was the triathlon Sean and I did in Harrisburg, PA. Then I went into semi-retirement. I still haven't raced since July and I have to say I miss it a bit. I'll get back on the circuit. But for now I'm in resting/nesting mode! We're having a BABY in June 2012! We're very excited to meet Healey #3.

So there's my Christmas card letter I would write on really pretty paper and if I had some extra cash I would've ordered these really cute cards from this website that said "LAUGHING ALL THE WAY" and I would've used the above pictures to prove it!

One way to look at it...

2011-12-11T21:43:00.002-05:00

This morning on the way to Mass we were talking about our Elf on the Shelf (named Claden). Aidan mentioned how he hadn't found him yet today. There was some talk back and forth about where he's been in the past, bathrooms, bedrooms, etc. So Aidan says, "Yeah I remember when he was on top of the rusty star on the wall in my room. And how he was under the lamp on your side Mommy next to the little tree. How do you get those little trees under there anyway?"

Allow me to explain, we have glass bottomless bedside lamps in our room that I put different things under. At Christmas I put these little glittery trees under them. So I say "Oh yeah, I remember that. Well I just pick up the lamp and put the trees underneath because they have no bottoms. I don't think that Claden could lift those lamps though. He must have used his magic to get in there."

Aidan's quick response was, "Well, I think he made a portal to get in."

Sean's reply, "Aidan, you're a weird kid."

Santa #2 and #3

2011-12-04T21:52:00.002-05:00

Santa #2

We went to our church for pizza with Santa yesterday morning. They had lots of fun Christmas crafts for the kids to do and then we (Aidan and I because Clare could not be peeled away from the craft tables) got our picture taken with Santa. Sean was excited because he and Clare got to each make a Santa out of popsicle sticks.

Santa #3

This Santa was on the fire truck tonight. We got to see him twice because as we walked home his truck was sitting on the corner by our house so we waved to him again.

Aidan finally made us a chart last night, probably because he's winning!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2011-12-01T21:28:00.004-05:00

...well on the outside of the house at least. Sean has turned in his normal Scrooge McDuck attitude this year for some serious yule tide spirit! I pulled in the driveway yesterday and there he was hanging over the side of the roof clipping on Christmas lights. When I got home in the dark later on with Clare we were greeted by a lovely white light display!

Santa #1

2011-12-01T21:24:00.002-05:00

Our first siting was last Friday. On our way home from a fabulous afternoon in the Nation's Capitol we drove through Homestead Gardens to get a closer look at the spectacular light display. When we drove past the open doorway, there he was. Walking through the store in his infamous red suit and hat.

Aidan was the the one who spotted him right away. First one down, question is how many more to go. I'm going to make a chart this weekend (at the suggestion of Aidan) so we can officially track our findings.

Let it sparkle, let it shine

2011-11-22T06:27:00.002-05:00

Recently, Clare and I took a trip to the dollar store to for some things to make Christmas crafts. Well let me tell you we hit the glitter jackpot! We got glitter glue, glitter shakers and some Christmas ornaments to decorate. As soon as we got home she got to work. Feverishly squeezing gobs of glue out and sprinkling glitter over it. We have some beautiful pictures that are still in the "drying" process. The best part of this ongoing Christmas decoration extravaganza is that our whole house is sparkling with glitter!

Sean and I were picking up some toys in the playroom Friday night and he says "Man there's glitter everywhere!" My response was, "Oh, I don't mind the glitter, I just hate having the toys all over the place." He just smirked and shook his head. He's a good sport about it.

Christmas Challenge

2011-11-18T17:55:00.003-05:00

This has been a somewhat hectic fall for us. In an effort to slow down and enjoy the holiday season a little more this year I've given my family a challenge. We are going to keep track of how many Santa's we can find out and about this year. I'm hoping we can capture some of these moments on Sean's fancy phone. I'll keep you all posted on our progress.

Jackson Pollock

2011-10-22T07:28:00.002-04:00

Driving down the road the other day, Sean makes some random comment about Jackson Pollock. Aidan says, "Hey, I know him."

We both look at each other and I turn and say, "How do you know Jackson Pollock?" He responds, "I learned about him in my art class. He made paintings that look like splashes."

Sean and I (gleaming) both agree with him. We both studied Art History in College so we were so excited he's learning about some of the greats in school already. Last night we were showing him some of our favorites on the internet.

Pajama Toes

2011-10-22T07:25:00.003-04:00

The other night I painted Clare's fingers and toes. We did 3 different colored stripes on her fingers and on her toes I did pink with red polka dots.

After I finished the first foot she looks up, smiles and says, "It looks like my toes have on pajamas!"

Tri'd and True

2011-10-08T09:17:00.002-04:00

Last weekend Sean completed his SECOND Sprint TRI in Snow Hill, MD.

.6 Mile Swim
15 Mile Bike
3.2 Mile Run

He finished in 1:42... 6 minutes faster than the first one! (Not bad for an almost 35 year old!)

He did this one with his buddy Joe and they both did an incredible job!

Congrats guys!

A little kindness

2011-09-20T22:06:00.004-04:00

Aidan's school is collecting lunches tomorrow for needy children at this local shelter. So we all decorated a brown bag with pictures and filled it with a sandwich and a bunch of healthy snacks. Both kids even gave up watching iCarly in order to decorate and pack the bag.

When we finished, we all got into my bed and read this book. It's such a great book and both the kids love it. It kind of seemed appropriate at the time.

WHAT?

2011-09-20T15:21:00.003-04:00

On the way home today, I hear Clare say to me, "Mommy, why is my hair yellow and brown?" I quickly respond, "Because that's the way God made you." She says, "what?" and I repeat myself. She again says, "WHAT?" I say, "Because that's the way God made you. That's why you have yellow and brown hair."

She says, "NO that's not what I said! I asked why is my Ariel on the the floor?"

Great, not only am I losing my mind but my hearing is going as well!

Letter Races

2011-09-12T20:36:00.002-04:00

Aidan has alphabet cards taped to the wall in his room next to his bed. A couple of weeks ago he asked me if I wanted to play a game of "letter races" while laying with him before sleep. I replied, "What's letter races?" He said, "Well you pick the letter you want to be and race around the cards." (which turned out to be my finger racing his through the spaces between the letters) I'm always "A", he says, "and it always wins." So every once in awhile we sneak in a quick game of "letter races" before he falls asleep. Ah, the little things!

SAMMY!

2011-09-08T20:44:00.003-04:00

We have a little store around the corner from our house that we visit quite often, called Sam's Market. Or more affectionately known in our house just as "Sam's".

We walk or ride bikes there for ice cream or a treat (it used to be in the wagon when they were little). We stop there for milk on the way home or just a random snack from time to time. We love Sam's! When Clare was a baby and Aidan was about 2, we went in one morning and Mrs. Sam (we don't know her real name) gave Aidan an ice cream cone at 8 am. She always gives the kids hugs and squeezes their cheeks. When Mrs. Sam is there, the kids don't ever walk out empty handed. "Go pick out a candy," she'll tell them.

Now, Sam was a harder nut to crack. We'd exchange very short greetings and be on our way. After all this time, Sam has finally warmed up to us Healeys and our antics. I have to give the credit to Clare. She went in one day and ran right to the counter and shouted, "HI SAM!" To which Sam's face lit up like a Christmas Tree. He said, "Now that's a good girl, she comes right over and says hello."

Let me just tell you, we are IN with good ole' Sammy! He jokes with them every time we come in and calls both the kids Sammy. Last week he gave each kid a pack of silly bands. Tonight he gave Clare a lollipop after she rushed in yelling, "There's SAMMY!" She decided she couldn't wait the minute and a half it takes to get home to go potty so Sam told us to go in the back room and use their potty. Then he walked Aidan back there to pick out some boxes he needed to make a Star Wars ship.

Sam has no idea what's in store for him now, next they'll be asking to scoop their own ice cream!

First Day of Kindergarten

2011-09-01T21:01:00.003-04:00

Aidan's first day was postponed by 2 days because of Hurricane Irene. Well, he finally made it. He's officially a kindergartener! Let's just say he's loving it and I still cry every once in awhile.

I get there to pick him up and ask how the first day went. Here's the conversation:

Aidan: "Well something bad happened."

Me: "What?"

Aidan: "I slammed the lid to the ball storage on my hand on the playground."

Me: "Well did you cry? Did you tell the teacher?"

Aidan: "I cried a little, well a lot. But I didn't tell the teacher. I sucked it up because I didn't want to go to the nurse."

Me: "Wait, how old are you?"

And just like that, my next post will be of him graduating from high school. That's how fast these wee irish bobbins are growing up right before my eyes!

Just call me Coach

2011-08-23T09:07:00.003-04:00

Clare has been asking to play soccer since last spring so I signed her up for fall soccer. I registered her online and mailed in the check. All set, just show up for practice in a couple of weeks, right?

WRONG!

First, I get an email from someone asking for volunteers to manage the fields, line them and get the goals out. Nope, not me! No idea how to do that!

Second, I get an email from someone else asking for volunteers to help out at practices. Okay, this is more up my alley, I respond to this one with a yes. I mean I've got to be there anyway, and I'm really not into the sideline small talk. (Been there done that during lax last spring.)

Thirdly, I get another email. This one from the coach of the team, thanking me for volunteering to be her assistant coach. WHAT?!?! Did I really sign up for this? I kindly responded back, "No problem. However, I have not played soccer since I was 5 years old so I won't be much help there. I do, however, work at a childcare center and have a few tricks up my sleeve for getting children to listen in a group setting."

Only problem, I can't get my own kid to listen to me! Hopefully we can both leave our attitudes in the car and put our best foot forward on this one.

*updates to follow*

Late Pick Up

2011-08-23T08:54:00.002-04:00

As you may have heard, Aidan starts Kindergarten this year. As we creep slowly toward the day, my angst is building. Who will he sit with on the bus? Where will he eat lunch? Will he miss me? Will he know where the bathroom is? All valid "Mom" concerns.

He will attend aftercare at the school 3 days a week and I'll be home early the other 2 so he can come home. Last week we had a little "meet and greet" with the staff of the aftercare program. (Of course, true to form, Aidan has to give me a hard time about going.) As soon as we went inside he made a b-line for the lego table, where they have a mega bin of legos. He played there and chatted with a few of the ladies while I filled out some paperwork and chatted with the other ladies. Everyone was super nice and the room was really great. They get to play in the gym, on the playground and in the aftercare room, which holds a variety of toys, 2 computers, a Wii and a playstation.

We stayed for about a half hour and as we were walking out, the kid (who razzed me not to make him go because he "hates it") says,

"Mom, can I go there everyday and can you pick me up last?"

Really Kid?!

Summer Update

2011-08-01T22:12:00.003-04:00

Here's the short list of what's been happening around here lately:

- swimming every night
- birthday parties for friends
- lots of ice cream
- bike riding
- first Nationals baseball game
- crab feast with the Brits
- lacrosse camp for Aidan
- Vacation Bible camp at church for Clare and Aidan
- Daddy jumping in the pool with all his clothes on. (even shoes)

So much fun!!! I think we're handling the heat just fine.

Animal Kingdom

2011-07-25T06:38:00.002-04:00

My Mother was right, "You know there's never just one."

That was her comment on the phone the other night when I told her about waging war on the mouse who had recently taken up residence under my kitchen sink.

Not only did we catch on Thursday night under the sink but we caught his relative in the pantry on Friday night. VICTORY IS OURS! The traps have been clear the last 2 mornings so I'm cautiously optimistic.

Yesterday Momo, Wade, Ellie and Magoo came over to swim and hang out for the day. As we were all getting ready for the pool I noticed a SNAKE swimming across the deep end and right into the skimmer. GREAT! Where was this guy 2 days ago when I needed him to take care of my mouse problem?! Well luckily we saw it and the Dad's took care of the dirty work- I'll spare you the details. (Let's just say it involved a hoe and a pair of kitchen scissors.)

Geez Louise, we're like a regular Animal Kingdom around here. Maybe the snake overheard me telling someone I was going to get Aidan one...Hmmm

New member of the family

2011-07-21T07:12:00.002-04:00

We have a new member of our family. He only comes by in the dark and is gone by sun up. He's kind of sneaky and has no bathroom manners! He eats everything in sight and is getting a little bold.

YUP! We've got a little mouse in our house and it's grossing me OUT! He decided to show himself last night. Sean and I were watching a movie last night and I fell asleep on the couch. He woke me up to tell me that it ran through the living room. WHAT?!

The trap didn't work, so now I'm waging a war on this lil' furry fellow. The little s.o.b. was on my coffee table last night, and the only reason I know that is because he always leaves something behind wherever he goes.

AH! I think I'm going to buy Aidan a snake! Or maybe Clare a cat....hmmm

We are officially...

2011-07-11T20:57:00.002-04:00

TRIATHLETES!

Sunday, July 10, 2011 Sean and I competed in the Catfish Sprint Triathlon in Harrisburg, PA.

.8 mile swim
14.5 mile bike
3.1 mile run

After all my hesitation and nervousness, I had a great time! Sean and I got to race side by side. It really was a cool experience!

Vacation

2011-07-11T20:53:00.002-04:00

...was AWESOME!!!

graduation party for Mikey
4th of july parade
bbq
swimming in the canal
paddle boards in the canal
boat rides
beach
clare's 4th birthday party
beach
unqua
tons of laughs
tons of family
tons of fun

WE HAD A BLAST!

J O B

2011-06-29T22:48:00.002-04:00

This morning on the way to the center Aidan said to me, " Hey Mom, Sponge Bob is a kid and he has a job, how come I can't have a job?"

I simply replied, "Well it's against the law to have a job before you are 16. So you've got 11 years, BUDDY! But believe you me you'll have a job when you're that old!

"MOMMY!"

2011-06-29T22:45:00.002-04:00

Clare: "MOMMY!" (screaming like she's got a finger cut off)

Me: "WHATTY?"

Clare: "I LOOOOVVVVEEE YOUUUU!"

Me: " I LOVE YOU TOO!"

Just when you think she's about to drive you thru the roof.... she comes out with this more often than not!!! I'm not gonna lie, sometimes this really saves my day!!!!

Cool Tricks

2011-06-27T20:38:00.002-04:00

Tonight on his way out to the recycle bin with a milk gallon, Sean decided to show the kids a cool trick. He put the top on the gallon and squeezed it hard so the cap flew across the room. Of course, this trick was received with great applause! Both kids yelling, "I want to try it!"

So they each got a couple of turns. Clare had to stomp on it, but Aidan told him, "I can use my hands, I'm strong enough!"

What a fun Dad! That's why we love him!

Cooties

2011-06-20T21:14:00.002-04:00

Tonight at dinner Aidan asked me what "cooties" are? He told me one of the school agers at the center told him that when she asked to hold his hand, she said something about cooties.

I think tomorrow night I'm going to teach him how to do a cootie shot. HA HA!

Just another life lesson I guess!

Father's Day

2011-06-20T21:12:00.002-04:00

Happy Father's Day to one super duper incredible Dad.

Thanks for all the laughs and hugs!

XOXOXO

Saving turtles

2011-06-10T22:13:00.003-04:00

Apparently it's standard practice in my part of the world to save a random painted turtle while crossing the street.
I personally have done this once in my life. It is very important to note that when saving such turtle, you carefully place it on the other side of the road from which you found it. That way it can continue on it's original path.

This morning, when I was turning off my road with the kids we saw a man stopping traffic with his two bare hands in order to save a turtle who had just begun his journey across a very busy road during rush hour. Both my kids were so interested in what he was doing to save the turtle that on the way home tonight Aidan asked me if I too would save a turtle if I saw it crossing the road. My answer was in fact the story of my own turtle save. He said when he gets bigger and can drive he will save a turtle that is crossing the road too.

I guess I can count that as a life lesson in karma!

Table Talk

2011-05-10T06:41:00.003-04:00

There are tons of studies conducted these days on the importance of sitting down as a family for dinner. Children do better in school, have a better relationship with their parents, more communication, so on and so forth.

We have been slacking a bit lately on that. Sean's been travelling or working late, 2 nights a week of lacrosse, you know the normal stuff. So last night we decided to turn over a new leaf and try to eat at the table every week night.

We sit down to a taco sort of casserole/pasta thing I made and Aidan starts complaining about the 1 single bean I put on his plate. So what does Sean do to difuse the situation?

Sings: "Beans, Beans the magical fruit, the more you eat the more you toot."

Of course the kids are hysterical! So we teach them the other Bean song too. You know:

"Beans, beans good for your heart. The more you eat them the more you fart. The more you fart the better you feel, so eat beans at every meal."

As you can imagine the quality conversation went downhill quickly after that!

Update on the Predicament

2011-05-10T06:30:00.002-04:00

Well, I spoke with Clare the next morning and asked her if she wanted to do recital but without makeup. She of course was hysterical.

"But Mom, all the other girls get to wear the makeup!"

"I know Clare but Daddy and I don't want you to wear makeup yet."

"Their Moms are letting them wear it."

"Yes, I know but we are not their parents."

"Well, when can I wear makeup?"

"When you are in high school. So do you want to do recital or not?"

"No."

Problem solved!

Predicament

2011-05-02T22:57:00.002-04:00

So Clare's ballet recital is in June and she is required to wear makeup. Well Sean and I decided that we were not ready for Clare to be required to wear makeup at 3 years old. So I emailed the studio and let them know that I would be withdrawing Clare from class for this reason.

Well, low and behold I got a response back today. It came from the owner of the studio saying that they would love to have Clare still dance in recital even without makeup because her teacher says she's the strongest dancer in the class. She's supposed to be front and center on stage for the recital.

Looks like I'm going to have to talk to Clare in the morning and make a decision.

Somebody's Prince Charming

2011-05-02T22:45:00.003-04:00

Aidan has a little lady that he's kind of sweet on.

Her dad told me the other day that during her breakfast with the Disney Princesses in the castle in Disney World. Her grandmother asked her, "So who is your Prince Charming?" (Thinking she was going to say her Dad.) She responded, "Well, I think that would have to be Aidan!"

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T08:53:00.003-04:00

This is a very special Easter for us! Sean completed his 7 month journey through Catechism in the Catholic Church. He finished last night at the Easter Vigil. A very beautiful, very spiritual, very long mass. It was really cool, they start outside with a fire to light the Pascal candle and then go into a dark church lite only by candlelight. It really was pretty- all 2 1/2 hours of it! I'm so proud of him and now he gets to walk up and get a "chip" (as Clare calls it) with me at Communion next weekend.

This morning 2 very happy kids woke up to find 2 baskets overflowing with treats. They were so excited you'd think it was Santa who came instead of the Easter Bunny.

The weather forecast is 80 degrees for today. I think we'll be dining al fresco for our luncheon.

Kindergarten....What?!

2011-04-11T21:10:00.002-04:00

Yes, it's official! Sean registered Aidan for Kindergarten last Tuesday.

I'm having some very mixed emotions about all of this. I don't think I'm ready to let him go out into the real world without me! Although, he's such a super awesome little guy I guess it might be time that I shared him with others.

The other day, a mom at the center said to me, "Aidan seems like he's always laughing and smiling, like he always has fun." YUP that pretty much sums him up in a nutshell!

Shiner

2011-04-04T21:34:00.003-04:00

Yesterday afternoon we were all out in the yard enjoying the Spring weather. Aidan and Clare were playing a game and she kept hitting him with a baby doll. He had a light saber upside down in his hand and turned to stick it in her face to tell her to stop. As he turned, it whacked her in the cheek and WHAMO she immediately had a quarter size lump on her cheek.

First, I got her ice and she wanted DADDY! (which of course melted Sean's heart)

Second, when I showed her in the mirror what it looked like she said, "I need a bandaid to cover it."

The best part is picture day is next Friday! Never a dull moment around here.

*Here's a shot of the day after*

A little laugh

2011-04-02T08:00:00.003-04:00

Yesterday morning, I went into the bathroom with Clare cause she had to go potty. When we got in there I had to wipe Aidan's pee off the seat- OF COURSE! As I was wiping the toilet and the floor I turned to Clare and said, "Boys are so gross, they always pee on the seat!" Clare laughed and then replied, "Sometimes I'm kinda gross too Mom." Ha ha! "Me too Clare!"

the little things

2011-03-28T08:37:00.002-04:00

This Healey house seems a little hectic lately, Sean busy at work, Me working, Clare's dance, Aidan's lacrosse, endless piles of laundry, me on a quest to find a new hobby, ya know, the usual! Sean and I seem to just be bouncing around bumping into each other.

Sometimes it's the little things that get you through times like this. Last night I was setting up the coffee pot for the morning brew and I yelled up to Sean to see what time he'd be up. His answer was so unbelievably early I can't even say it. When I went up to bed he said, "Don't forget in the morning to microwave your coffee before you put the cream in, otherwise it's gets funky." Now is that true love or what?!

Sandy Shoes

2011-03-28T08:32:00.002-04:00

The other night Clare and I were sitting together on the chair in the living room. I told her to take her boots off, so she climbed down to the ottoman and pulled the first one off. She instantly turns to me with a look of surprise and says (boot upside down in hand) "Look Mom, I didn't get to play in the sandbox today!" ~because no sand came out of the boot~

Let the games begin...

2011-03-06T14:34:00.002-05:00

Saturday was Aidan's first day of lacrosse practice. It's actually Scoopers, a team where they teach the kids how to play the game, they then have a few games within the organization. All the equipment except for cleats and a stick are supplied by the team. So he and Sean went to get a new stick (used) and new cleats the other day. Aidan seemed pretty excited about it.

They got there early for equipment pick up and by the time they started to play Aidan wasn't quite sure about the whole thing. Although he's so big, he's one of the youngest kids on the team. He did everything the coach asked him to do (a little slower) and when I came home he told me it was AWESOME! I'm very proud of him and Sean (who kept his cool and didn't freak out when Aidan got upset). Good job boys!!!

Cheese!

2011-03-01T06:45:00.003-05:00

Daddy got a new IPHONE yesterday and he's the picture he took of us!

10K

2011-02-21T08:43:00.003-05:00

This past Saturday we ran a 10K with my nephew Connor. (We kind of roped him into it.) He's a 15 year old Sophomore in High School, he spent a Friday night in and woke up super early on Saturday morning, to run 6.2 miles with his Aunt and Uncle. Sounds like fun right?! He didn't train, because when you're a 15 year old football/lacrosse player, 6+ miles is a joke to you. Let me tell you he ROCKED it! He finished the race in 56 minutes and only stopped to walk for about 30 seconds because he had a cramp.

I finished in 58 minutes and I've been running for 9 months! Not bad considering I've got 20 years on the kid!

Poked Eye

2011-02-21T07:54:00.003-05:00

My sisters, brother and I laugh sometimes as we reminise about the things our parents told us to do when we were little. Like when we'd poke ourself in the eye, our Mom would ask if we wanted a wet paper towel to put on it. Now I'm fairly certain that a wet paper towel has no medical function for a poked eye but it definitly made it feel better. Now as a mother I too offer a wet paper towel when my kids poke themselves in the eye.

Yesterday, Clare poked herself in the eye while we were in the car. As she's freaking out Aidan's telling her, "Clare you have to keep blinking your eyes." He's then demonstrating how to blink your eyes. I guess it worked because by the time we got home she didn't need a wet paper towel after all. Perhaps an alternative method to the wet paper towel is born?!

Valentine's Day

2011-02-21T07:45:00.002-05:00

This year for Valentine's Day I decided to make chocolate covered strawberries for my 3 favorite valentines. The kids and I baked heart shaped cookies for their friends at school and Sean surprised me with a brand new pair of running shorts! (Possibly to help me work off all those chocolate covered strawberries.)

When we got home from school/work it was still light out so we got out the bikes and scooters in the driveway and had some races. We laughed so hard and I totally won!

A simple request

2011-02-21T07:38:00.003-05:00

The other day Aidan and Sean were in the car and saw a bright orange Lamborghini. So Sean explained what kind of car it was and that it was really, really fast!

Aidan then says to Sean, "Hey Dad, when I get bigger, I'm gonna drive a race car and when I win the race can you share your popcorn with me?"

Maybe just a little

2011-02-07T19:57:00.002-05:00

Anal retentive that is.

I'm not an overly organized person in any area of my life. In fact most of the time I struggle to be just a little organized. I try very hard to keep things in their perspective places. You know, ipod charger in the same spot, all the pens together in the junk drawer, the tupperware stacked neatly. I'm pretty good about 55% of the time, the other 45% I let stuff go, a little too long sometimes.

There are 2 things I am organized/anal about: making the beds and putting my groceries on the belt. Every morning, no matter how late I am running, I make sure all 3 beds are made before I leave the house. In my mind, it doesn't matter what the state of the room is like as long as the bed is neatly made. At the grocery store I make sure all the like items are together on the belt before they are rung up. It makes me feel like there is some order in my life. It somehow softens the blow that I receive when the check out person gives me the grand total of my usually gigantic grocery bill.

5 and Fabulous

2011-02-02T19:27:00.002-05:00

On Monday, January 31st Aidan turned 5! He had a Laser Tag birthday party on Saturday at the center with all his friends. Nana and Papa from NY came down to visit and celebrate with us. It was tons of fun.

Yesterday we got his teeth fixed finally! He's got 7 stainless steel crowns on his molars... Super Hero Teeth! They do look pretty cool I have to say. I was totally stressed about how he would do but he was great! All's well that ends well!

A DC Landmark

2011-01-17T16:29:00.002-05:00

This past Saturday, Sean and I went into DC to go on a "mission" trip with his Catechism class. We visited a Franciscan Monastery and the Basilica of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception on the campus of Catholic University. Both places were really cool, full of history and beautiful works of art.

In between the tours we had a bit of time to kill for lunch so we went to Ben's Chili Bowl on U Street in DC just past Howard University. I used to pass there everyday on my way to work when we lived in the city and never ate there. It was so much fun, the people were awesome, as was my first ever chili dog and the fries were yummy too! We sat at the counter and a sign hanging in front of us stated: BILL COSBY AND THE OBAMA FAMILY are the only people who eat free at Ben's Chili Bowl!

The place was everything I hoped it would be and more! I can't wait to bring the kids!

Pancake Fun

2011-01-17T16:20:00.005-05:00

One night last week we had breakfast for dinner. Aidan had pancakes in the shape of the Millennium Falcon and a Star Fighter (he got star wars pancake molds from Aunt Mary for Christmas) and Clare had pink pancakes. As if Breakfast for Dinner isn't fun enough, these were another fun twist!

Dare ya!

2011-01-11T21:21:00.002-05:00

Tonight around 7:30 it finally started to snow at our house. The meteorologists have been predicting different times for the snow to start all day. So when it finally started and we had a slight coating on the patio and the lawn, Sean says to Aidan, "Hey Aidan, I dare you to run out to the fence and back with no shoes on!" So of course, Aidan took the dare, hook, line and sinker! He hauled his lil butt across that yard and back, laughing and tumbling the whole way. It was great! These Healey boys are NUTS!

A Proud Wife

2010-12-27T21:37:00.003-05:00

On Saturday, December 18, 2010, I had one of the most fun mornings of my life! Now I have had some great experiences, as a child, woman, person, wife, and a mom. This one is on the top of my list right now.

Back in October, after my girls and I ran the Half-Marathon in B'more, my super duper amazing husband gave me tons of accolades! To which I was most grateful! He then became inspired, YIKES! So he decided to run a 5 miler with myself and Kelly in December. He started running about 6 weeks before the race. The race was in Baltimore and Maureen and Wade said they would watch the kids for us. So on this particular Saturday in December, under a sunny (about 30 degree) sky in Druid Hill Park we ran together in the Celtic Solstice 5 mile race. It was so awesome, I can't even explain it. I was so proud of him! He ran the whole time without slowing or stopping, for 51.45 minutes! That's about 10 minute miles (because the course was 5.14 miles long).

By far, the best part... we came around the loop on the lake and there standing in the wind and cold were our 2 beautiful kids, Aidan and Clare. Maureen and Wade and Ellie brought them down to cheer us on. When we hit that turn (which was about .2 miles from the finish) and saw those two standing there cheering us on, words can't even describe how incredible it was! I feel like I won't ever be able to tell them how much it meant that they did that for us.

Another great day in my life!

A Silent Night

2010-12-27T21:27:00.002-05:00

On Christmas Eve, after all the Santa madness subsided, Sean and I actually got a chance to spend (some much needed) time together. The kids went to bed and we sat on the couch with Christmas music playing and talked for awhile, in peace and quiet. Nothing serious, but a chance for us to steal a few moments alone enjoying our own Christmas moment, uninterupted. To me, that was my best Christmas gift!

Merry Christmas Sean, my original favorite person in the whole world, Love you!

This Christmas....

2010-12-25T09:56:00.002-05:00

Santa has arrived! And boy, oh boy, we must have been good this year.

Sean and I got an iPad and it's pretty cool. Aidan got a bunch of star wars stuff, including the highly coveted AT-AT Walker. This thing is AWESOME, it's bigger than Saddie. Clare got a camera, barbie, and a fully stocked art table, needless to say, she's been painting since 7:00 this morning! All in all a great day so far.

Oh and did I mention it's snowing! YEAH! It can't get any better than this.

Who knew?

2010-12-22T16:49:00.002-05:00

This Christmas we have been talking a lot about the true reason for the season. The kids know all about the first Christmas, the night Baby Jesus was born. They have made art projects at preschool depicting that night, sang songs and read tons of books. They know that Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem, in a stable and placed in a manger. His Mom (Mary) and Dad (Joseph) were there, along with the Shepherds and their sheep. They know about the 3 wisemen who followed a star to find Him. Good little Catholics, aren't they!

Now, last Christmas I bought them each a little nativity scene for their rooms. (Actually, they keep them on their nightstands all year.) Just the basic little stable, Jesus in a manger, Mary and Joseph, the Shepherd, a sheep and a donkey. Today while I was dusting in Aidan's room I noticed he made two additions to his nativity scene, a little dinosaur and an army guy kneeling down with a bazooka on his shoulder. Maybe they were omitted from the historical account of Jesus' birth.... who knew?!

Sunday Surprise

2010-12-12T21:43:00.004-05:00

Today Sean had to work so the kids and I were going to clean the house and run some errands. It was a a rainy, gloomy Sunday so I kept all the Christmas lights on all day just to have something pretty and sparkly to look at. We decided that we'd go out for pizza before we ran our errands. And to our surprise, Momo and Ellie decided to drive down here to meet us for pizza.

Now in my mind there's nothing better than eating at a pizza place and ordering a whole pie that they bring to your table on a big round silver pan with a spatula. Oh and of course, a side of fries! When we were driving there, Aidan asked, "Mom, can we get the big pizza that they bring to the table on the silver circle thing?" My response, "YES!" And it was YUMMO!!!

When we finished eating I ran into the grocery store and Momo took the kids out to her car so they could get another surprise.... pillow pets from Clairey and Uncle Matt. They were so happy that they finally got a pillow pet.

What a great day! I mean it is the Most Wonderful Time of the Year right?! What better way to spend a rainy Sunday than to fill it with surprises.

Ninja Turtles meet Strawberry Shortcake

2010-12-07T21:43:00.002-05:00

Tonight while I was cleaning the house up after dinner, I could hear the kids come running down from Clare's room. They were talking a mile a minute about how they would play with the Strawberry Shortcake dolls. They were going to go shopping. They got all of Strawberry's clothes and shoes and got the Barbie house. They decided they needed another house for them, the Ninja Turtle Lair too. Aidan got the turtles and the battle wagon too.

They set it all up in the living room and were playing together. (It was precious!) I can overhear them from the kitchen. Aidan was loading all the turtles into the battle wagon and said, "The turtles are going to Target to buy pizza for the girls. We're going to bring it back to Strawberry's house for dinner."

They had so much fun together and I had so much fun listening to them.

Santa Stop Here

2010-12-05T20:20:00.004-05:00

Tonight after the bath, I got Aidan and Clare dressed in their jammies and put their socks, shoes and coats on. We jumped in the car and drove over to the new neighborhood, where we anxiously awaited the arrival of Santa. The fire truck pulled in a few minutes later. They jumped out of the car and ran right over to Santa. They were so excited I wished I had a camera to capture the looks of pure joy on each of their faces. They said hello, told him their names and what they wanted for Christmas. I love that it only takes 5 minutes to make their whole day and another wonderful holiday memory for me!

Christmas in NY

2010-12-05T18:47:00.003-05:00

This past weekend we went up to NY for our McDonough Christmas. When I was telling the kids about our trip and that they were going to give and receive some Christmas gifts they were screaming with excitement! Aidan told me on Friday morning, "So today it's Christmas Eve!" (Well i guess it kind of was.)

When we arrived Saturday morning they got a bunch of awesome gifts from Nana and Papa. That evening we headed into town for the Christmas Tree lighting and to greet Santa as he drove in on the fire truck. Then back to the house for a fun-filled night with the whole family. All in all this Christmas season started off with a BANG! I bet the rest of the month will be just as fun.

New Look

2010-12-02T18:34:00.002-05:00

I have to give a shout out to my personal Art Director... Thanks to my super crafty, super talented, super artsy Twin Sis for the totally cool new header I have on my blog!

You ROCK Maureen!!!

The Nightmare continues

2010-12-02T18:23:00.003-05:00

Today was the day! Aidan and I went to the NEW dentist (who I absolutely LOVE) to get his tooth pulled. The plan was to do an awake sedation and pull the tooth, measure for the spacer and on the tooth next to it, do a pulpotomy and place a stainless steel crown on it.

We got there at 8:45 to administer the meds and wait for them to kick in. He bumped the cup and spilled some of the sedative on the counter so the Dentist wasn't sure how much he'd gotten. We got in and he was a little woozy, they put on the laughing gas and gave him 2 hits of Novocaine. Even with all that, he could still feel them pull the tooth. Since that was the case, we decided to wait in the rest. He really was a champ though. I'm so proud of him!

Next stop, the Operating Room for the rest of the work. Updates to follow.

You're so vain!

2010-12-02T18:13:00.002-05:00

Tuesday night at dinner, Clare was bouncing all over the place and would not sit still. After several reminders to sit and eat, Sean finally raised his voice and said, "CLARE knees or bum!" As he's talking she's staring in the window primping her hair and totally ignoring him! We both busted out laughing.

Isn't she only 3!

Thanksgiving

2010-12-02T07:43:00.004-05:00

This year we hosted Thanksgiving at our house. In lieu of us travelling to NY (because it's our year) Mom and Dad and Mick traveled south instead. The Hughes' came down too. It was a cloudy, chilly November day this year, perfect Thanksgiving weather, in my opinion.

It was such a great day. Everyone just hung out, snoozed on the couch, watched football, stood around the kitchen cooking and talking, all the while the kids ran circles around the house. PERFECT! Exactly how I hoped it would be. Sean and Wade deep fried a turkey breast and we had a traditional bird as well. We laughed at dinner about old stories and old traditions we're glad have been broken. And Sean made us all say what we were thankful for.

"Have you any more?" WHAT?

2010-11-17T20:36:00.003-05:00

Last weekend we went down to VA to Sean's cousins house to a party because he just got a huge promotion in the Marines.

We got the hotel and the kids were so excited to spend the night there. They had a pool in the hotel so they went swimming for an hour then we headed to Jeff's house for the party, which was great. They ran around all night long with all their cousins. They played the Wii, flashlight tag and watched Avatar the movie.

We got back to the hotel at 10 and all passed out. Sunday morning we had breakfast and got on the road. Clare was singing to us on the way home.

"BAA BAA BLACK SHEEP HAVE YOU ANY MORE? YES SIR, YES SIR, 3 BAGS FULL."

Me: "No, Clare it's HAVE YOU ANY WOOL?" So I explained to her why it's wool and how they shave the sheep. She continued to sing it that way.

Aidan says, "I think that song is making her crazy in the head!"

We all agreed! Ha Ha! Never a dull moment in this Healey house!

What a NIGHTMARE!

2010-11-17T20:21:00.002-05:00

Today Aidan was supposed to have a root canal. He complained on Halloween night that his tooth hurt so we stopped the insane intake of candy, threw out the remains and called the dentist on Monday morning.

He had an infection and a huge cavity and had to have a root canal. Today we went in to have the procedure done. Aidan was a little squirmy but complained the whole time that he was in pain! I knew there was something wrong because he really doesn't get too worked up about that kind of stuff. He's had several cavities filled already, and had no problem with those.

The dentist got halfway through the procedure and said, "I can't work on him anymore and said I need to refer him to a pediatric dentist." So I got the number and called. Luckily they got us in this afternoon. We got through the first appointment and he has 8 cavities and the dentist there wants him to go to the OR and get all of it done at once and pull the bad tooth. Aidan was a champ and said he "LOVES this dentist!" So we're going through with it! Sean and I just want him to not be scared of the dentist and also have good teeth as an adult!

Fashion 911

2010-11-08T21:31:00.003-05:00

Last Saturday as we're pretty much walking out the door to Ballerina School I grab a baseball cap and throw it on. Here is the conversation I had with my 3 year old daughter:

Clare: "Why do you have that hat on Mommy?"

Me: "Because my hair is crazy Clare."

Her face now stricken with panic!

Clare: "Are you going to take it off before you bring me into my Ballerina School?"

Me: "Um, NO! My hair looks crazy right now so I need it"

Clare: "Well none of the other Mommies at my Ballerina School wear hats like that."

Me: "Well Bug, do I look like all the other Mommies in your Ballerina School?"

On that note we pretty much agreed and she ran to the door to leave.

*NOTE* The hat was a "Life is Good" hat with a pink heart on the front.... come on it is her favorite color. That should earn me some kind of brownie points!

What rhymes with Saddie and Ms. Katie?

2010-11-08T21:15:00.003-05:00

HAITI!

That's where Sean was for 10 (actually) 11 straight days to make a documentary! Needless to say I weathered the storm sans my partner in crime. He left on a Tuesday morning at 2:45. When the kids were going to bed the night before, we talked about where Daddy was going and what he'd be doing once he got there. "He's going to Haiti," I tell them. Clare says, "That rhymes with Saddie" and Aidan says, "Yeah and Ms. Katie."

I explained to Aidan (4) and Clare (3) as much as I could that there was an earthquake (which is when the earth shakes alot - as I shook my body around the room) and that some people had no place to live now because their houses got knocked down. (But don't worry because we don't have earthquakes in MD so our house won't fall down.) Now Daddy has to go there with a group of people who collect a lot of money to help them build new houses- Catholic Relief Services. They were sad to see him go but were excited that on the day he got home was time for trick or treating.

So the first night Sean was gone we were driving home and Clare says, "How come Daddy went to Haiti to help people build houses?" Aidan responds (not missing a beat), "He didn't go to help them build houses, he went to make them a bideo so they aren't sad anymore." (of course my Mommy pride is busting out of my chest and I've got a tear in my eye- what a sweet little boy I'm thinking) and no sooner did that thought cross my mind, did he finish his comment with, "Ya whinker!" Which is Aidan's American version of the British whanker. UGH!

Well at least they were paying attention to our conversation the previous night and sort of understand the super cool thing their Dad just spent 11 days away from us doing.

WE DID IT!

2010-10-18T13:33:00.005-04:00

A funny thing happened a little less than 5 months ago on Memorial Day weekend. We had a little cookout with the Hughes' and the Murphys. A couple of drinks in Kelly says to me, "Hey, I'm thinking about running the Half Marathon in Baltimore this fall. Want to do it with me? All you have to do is be able to run for 30 minutes straight before you start the training." Foolishly my response was, "Let me try see if I can run for 30 minutes straight first then I'll give you an answer."

Well, that Wednesday morning I got up at 5am and ran, for 30 minutes straight. So I emailed Kel and told her I'd do it. Now we just had to "get Maureen on board." Well it was actually easier than we thought! She agreed and we were off running- literally!

Our official training didn't start until the first week of August but we ran on and off all summer trying to psych ourselves up for the 10 week training schedule. Needless to say this was one of the hottest summers on record- and we trained in it. Some runs were good, some great and some terrible! Super humid, super hot does not make for good running weather- at least not for this girl. We tried to do a couple of long runs together, for support and peace of mind, we even ran a 15K a couple of weeks ago to get in the racing spirit.

Saturday, October 16, 2010 we DID it! We started around 10am by the time they got to our heat and Maureen finished in 2:15, Kel and I finished in 2:18. All in all it was pretty awesome! For the better part of the race I felt like someone was stomping on my feet and kicking me in the back. Today, my whole body HURTS! But the crowds of spectators and supporters were incredible in Baltimore. The course was very hilly and I struggled a bit from time to time but pretty much ran for the whole 2 hours and 18 minutes. It is a huge accomplishment for all 3 of us and I'm so glad we did it together!

Pool Party

2010-10-04T19:55:00.002-04:00

Last Thursday we had a huge rainstorm. I mean torrential downpour for HOURS. The rain began overnight and by morning our sidewalk in the back was underwater and the pool was almost overflowing.

As I stood in the kitchen making a pot of coffee, staring out the window at the rain splashing in the pool I noticed something dart across the shallow end. I thought, "What the heck was that?" Saddie and I went outside to investigate. To my surprise, the local frogs and toads decided to host a pool party in my pool that morning. There was about a dozen of them swimming around in there. Well, in case you didn't know, if these guys are left to fend for themselves (with no way to get out) they will be totally bloated with water and floating on their backs in no time.

So the kids and I began our rescue efforts. Aidan was the scout, his job was to locate them and NOT scare the away before I could scoop them up with the net. Clare's job was to get the little kick boards we have and put them in the pool. In the event that we missed one, he could jump up on there and float around safely until we returned home to rescue him. We all had to make sure that Saddie didn't scare them after we got them out. All in all a total victory. We were able to remove every frog/toad from the pool and up to the grass to safety.

I did learn something from Aidan that morning. I was not aware of the difference between frogs and toads. Aidan did a lesson in his class last year about the differences. So when we pulled this big, fat, ugly one out first he told me it was a toad. He kept an eye on him the whole time and when we were packing it up to get inside he told me the toad was making a sound. When I stopped to "listen" he informed me that he makes that sound "because he's calling a girl." HA HA! When I asked his teacher from last year about it she laughed and said, "Yup, we told them that they make this sound when they want to find a girlfriend or boyfriend." Too funny! So he doesn't know his letters or numbers yet but he knows a toads mating call.

PS: Aidan asked if he could jump in the pool to swim with the frogs. I actually contemplated it for a minute but then decided against it because we were running late for work as it was!

Front Yard Party

2010-09-21T16:46:00.007-04:00

On Sundays in the Fall we have every TV in the house tuned into FOOTBALL! So in order to keep the troops busy this weekend I pulled a few tricks out of my hat.

First, the kids and I walked down to Sam's Market for an ice cream cone. Then I pulled the cars out of the driveway so we could ride bikes out there. (Since we live on a pretty busy street we don't get to do much bike riding in our neighborhood.) While we were out there Aidan and Clare decided to climb the trees too.

It was a great Fall day as I watched the kids play around the yard and driveway and listened to Sean and his Dad yell at the Redskins!

Ballerina school

2010-09-11T21:24:00.003-04:00

Today was Clare's first day of Ballerina School. Although she gave me a hard time before we left to go there she was very excited with the outcome of her first hour long class. We purchased her ballerina shoes and tap shoes today. (We're waiting for the tap shoes to arrive til next week.) She dressed herself in her black leotard and her pink tights and I did her pony tail. When we got there she was sized for shoes and one of the nice ladies walked her back to her class. We left her there for an hour and when we got back she was a little shy but super excited about it. Today's class, she learned how to be an ice cube, how to tip-toe around in a circle and how to sit like a butterfly. It's all coming out in pieces, as she decides when she's ready to share it, but all in all it seems like Ballerina School was the right choice for our little ballerina!

9/11

2010-09-11T21:12:00.003-04:00

This morning as I pulled out of my driveway and down the street, I noticed that my neighbor had lined his half acre of property along the street with little American Flags. It brought tears to my eyes. I got on the internet and saw some pictures of that day 9 years ago and cried to myself (luckily my 2 precious babies were not paying attention to me).

I pray and hope that all people in the USA are as sorrowful, respectful, hopeful and remembering of what happened 9 years ago today all over this wonderful country of ours. One day I'll be brave enough to share my experience of what happened 9 years ago today to my family. In the meantime, I hope and pray that my children will never have to experience this type of hatred in their lives.

God Bless America...NOW and always!

Where's the BEEF?

2010-09-07T19:32:00.003-04:00

We recently purchased a half a cow along with my in-laws. It's been fully butchered and is all sitting in a deep freeze in the basement at the Daycare Center. I finally got down there this afternoon to look at all the meats and it looks GREAT! They had some burgers made from the ground beef this weekend and said it was yummy. Evidently, sometimes when you butcher a cow they get anxious when going to slaughter and that can make the adrenaline stay in the muscle tissue afterwards, making the meat taste not so good. So it sounds like we lucked out. YUMMO!

Labor Day

2010-09-06T10:45:00.007-04:00

Yesterday we had the Murphy's and Hughes' over for the final hoorah at Club Healey for the summer! Crabs, body painting, ice cream pie, swimming and tons of laughs!

Canning

2010-09-06T10:04:00.004-04:00

This summer I learned how to CAN! It's something I've wanted to learn to do for a couple of years now. For my birthday this year Toni gave me a canning kit and Patra gave me a case of the jars. You see, I have trouble finding a store bought tomato sauce that I really like so I end up buying canned tomatoes and making my own sauce. A couple of years ago Sean and I made the "Sopranos Sunday Gravy" from a Sopranos cookbook we borrowed from our friend Jen. Let me tell you it was DELICIOUS! After we made it I thought that I'd love to have jars of that sauce in my pantry. And now I can!

Toni is the one who gave me the lesson on how to can tomatoes. She got a whole crate of tomatoes from the farm we belong to. One Saturday morning, Clare and I went down to her house and got to work. First we had to wash the tomatoes, then bake them in the oven til the skins start to split, and then peel the skins off. At that point we cooked some down on the stove top and some of the others we just canned right out of the oven. Then, put them in boiling water for like 40 minutes and the tops seal. Ta Da! Jars full of yummy tomatoes ready to be made into delicious sauces over the winter.

It seems like a bit of a lost art to me. As we were canning, Toni and I were talking about how people used to do this all the time and how much they would have had to can in order to make it through the winter months. Amazing! We are so spoiled with the technology and conveniences we have available to us.

We're not out of the woods yet!

2010-09-02T21:39:00.002-04:00

Yesterday, our lil Saddie girl had her surgery. The stone (calcium deposit) was removed successfully and she was a champ! She came out of the anesthesia well and Sean picked her up at 4:00, only to be told a laundry list of instructions before he left.

Apparently, the surgery was the easy part! For the next 14 days Saddie has to stay in a crate unless she's "closely monitored in a small confined space". She has to be leash walked for "elimination" and she got a whole bunch of pills to take between. She can't walk up or down stairs, can't run and can't get too excited otherwise she runs the risk of tearing the stitches in her bladder which would result in urine leaking into her body and eventually.. well, I'm not ready to talk about what could happen then!

So, it's a darn good thing Sean and I decided that we were good with 2 (human) kids because we've got to care for our first (dog) baby as if she were brand new again! It's going to be a long road to recovery but I know my girl will be just fine! She's getting more attention now than she's had for the last 5 years- and I'm sure she's LOVIN IT!

Sweet Saddie Dog

2010-08-25T22:00:00.003-04:00

Currently there are a lot of things going on in our lives... kids starting new classes, Sean getting busier at work, Me getting busier at work, house on the market, and now my first baby is sick!

About 2 weeks ago I noticed that Saddie was peeing much more often than normal. I mean this is a dog who has a full bowl of water all the time because she drinks exclusively from the toilet. She's had several accidents in the house over the last few months (pee), but we just thought it was because we weren't taking her out enough later at night. Well, I finally (sorry ole girl) got around to calling the vet and Sean took her in last Tuesday. They did a culture and found a UTI. No biggie, just a long dose of antibiotics and she's cured. Well then they called me to say they want to send the culture out to the lab to be sure the meds they gave her are the right kind, but that will be another expense. "Are you in position to do that right now?" Well lady, this dog has been by my side when both my babies came home, no matter how moody I've been pregnant or post, and for all the stuff in between. Not to mention she's only 7 years old and she's got a heart murmur. So YES I'll make myself in a position to be able to afford that right now.

She seemed to be doing fine on the meds, until Saturday when Maureen was here and noticed blood in Saddie's urine when she was peeing in the yard. I called the vet back on Monday and they said bring her in Tuesday for an x-ray. Sean took her in and they found a rather large stone in her bladder. It's basically a calcium deposit that cannot be broken down with a simple diet change. MY POOR BABY! I had no idea, she seems totally herself. She's going in on Wednesday for surgery to have the stone removed. Man, I guess the stresses of being a Mom just keep coming!

4 going on 14

2010-08-25T21:35:00.002-04:00

Last weekend Aidan had a birthday party for one of his best friends. He and this particular friend have been planning and plotting for months to have a playdate/sleepover/sneak out party. So when his Dad called and said they were having a birthday party and Aidan was invited I couldn't say no. That afternoon, literally 10 minutes before we were leaving, I checked my email for their address and found a new email from the boy's dad. It was an invite for Aidan to sleepover that night. Sean and I briefly talked about it, so I packed his bag and sleeping bag just in case. On the way there I talked to Aidan about it and he came to the conclusion that since I couldn't spend the night too that he wasn't ready yet. I just left it at that. Once we got to the party I barely saw Aidan. Lucky for me this boys parents are super cool, otherwise I would have been itchin to get out of there. About 2 hours after we got there I went in to check on him and he says to me, "I thought you said you were going to only stay for a couple of minutes?" (OUCH!) To that his friend replied, "Oh, I know Aidan you're spending the night tonight." Aidan quickly says, "Yeah, I'm spending the night." Oh Really?! I'm thinking. I ask if he's sure and he tells me YES! So I go talk to the Mom and she's cool with it. I tell her they can call me all night if need be. Well, as the title of the post says.... 4 going on 14! Our boy passed out, slept ALL night on his face and didn't even need to wear a pull up to bed. I, on the other hand, woke up every 1-2 hours after a dream about him. I don't think I'm going to make it through the real teen years! Sean and I were super proud of our big boy though!

"first" day of "school"

2010-08-25T21:21:00.002-04:00

Although Aidan and Clare have not yet hit kindergarten they both had a big "first" day at "school" on Tuesday. You see, they both have been in the same preschool/daycare class for 1 1/2 - 2 years so Tuesday when the public schools went back they moved up to the next class in daycare. Now Aidan is a "BEAR" (4-5 year old class) and Clare is a "TIGER" (3-4 year old class). I was so proud of them for how well they adjusted, Clare much better than Aidan. (He's kind of a creature of habit.) I had to recruit Ms. Marilyn, who cared for him as an infant, to peel his butt out of my car. She was able to get him out of the car and down to the bus stop to Nana and his new teacher. From there I met him with a couple of his friends and once he got up to the classroom and discovered the legos and star wars guys he was SOLD! Clare.... well she just jumped right in! (That's my girl.)

On the way home last night, I asked both of them what they liked best about their new classes. Clare told me she loves to play in housekeeping in her new class and Aidan said his favorite part was that he only had to eat the beef and broccoli for lunch which he liked and got to be excused before he tried his potato. As you can see, it doesn't take much to make them happy.

Super Aunt saves the Storm Troopers

2010-08-19T21:30:00.002-04:00

While in NY a few weeks ago, Aidan went over Kerry's house - one of his favorite places in the world. While he was there, his oldest cousin Mike was kind enough to give him a few Star Wars figures. That evening he began asking me when he could go back to Aunt Kerry's to get his storm troopers. I was completely clueless as to what he was talking about. Since our plan was to leave very early Monday morning, I told him we'd call Aunt Kerry and ask her to mail them to us. I called at like 6:45am and Tim answered, he too knew nothing about this transaction that took place the night before and Kerry was at the gym. About 10 minutes later as we sat in the gas station parking lot Kerry called me and said she'd bring the "guys" right up to us. Luckily for Aidan we were still in Amityville, although I'm not so sure she wouldn't have driven halfway across LI to get to him. Needless to say, Aidan got his storm troopers and Kerry gets to keep her title as Super Aunt. Mission accomplished!

A kiss, a squeeze and a chomp goodnight

2010-08-12T21:15:00.003-04:00

The other night I was laying in Clare's bed with her at bedtime. We read a Barbie book and then began to say our goodnights:

Me: "Okay Bug, it's time to go to sleep. Give Mama a kiss." ~kiss~

Clare: ~ kiss ~ "Okay Mama, good night."

Clare: "Now a big squeeze!"

Me: ~ big squeeze ~

Clare: "Even MORE!" ~ big squeeze ~

Me: ~ bigger squeeze ~ "Even More!" ~ BIGGER SQUEEZE~

Then she lays on top of me and tells me I'm trapped and I can't leave her because she's got me. So we give each other a few eskimo kisses and I get up from the bed. As I lean over her bed to give her one more kiss I pulled my face back and pretended to chomp her with my teeth. Which backfired completely because she began to laugh hysterically just moments before I was expecting her to go to sleep. Good job Mommy!

America's favorite past time

2010-08-12T20:55:00.002-04:00

Well folks, we are officially NATS fans in this house! We are all about DC! We've LOVED the Redskins - through thick and thin - and so we'll love the Nationals the same. Actually when I say we, I mean Sean. He's the avid sports fan in the house. (We are about to embark on anther year of fantasy football in a week or so...oui va) So almost every night, because evidently baseball teams don't get much of a break in-season, we have the Nationals game (deafeningly loud) on tv in the living room. He's happy when they win and pissed when they don't.

It's really starting to make me have to pay attention to it because it's the only thing on most of the time. And I'm not really the kind of girl who likes to admit that she likes sports. Truth be told, I actually like that Sean's into baseball because I do feel a stroke of nostalgia when I hear the bat crack against the ball, the little silly songs/cheers the fans do in the stadium and the same old announcer voice calling the plays. It reminds me of listening to games on the radio in an uncles garages, my fathers car, or at backyard bbqs growing up.

But I mean, come on does baseball have to overlap football? Come on people, can't a girl catch a break around here??? Ha ha!

a first DATE

2010-08-12T20:38:00.003-04:00

Lately it seems that whenever Sean and I each take one kid on our weekend "adventures" it's boys against girls. On Saturday, Clare and I went to starbucks then headed down to Toni's house to do some canning - will post that soon. As much fun as I have with Clare, it seems like I don't really get much alone time with Aidan.

So when we got home that afternoon, I asked Aidan if he'd go on a date with me on Sunday after mass. To which he quickly agreed and began making his plans. Every once in a while that night he come over to me and tell me another detail of our "date" on Sunday. "So it's my special day with you and I can make the plans right?"

Sunday morning he's sitting there watching tv and says to me, "Hey Mom, how can we go on a date when we're not even in love?" Ha ha! This kid is hilarious!

After mass, we dropped of Sean and Clare and headed out. First stop, K-mart to spend all his "allowance" money on a couple of storm troopers- cause now it's all about star wars. Second stop, Squisito for a slice and a soda. He walks up to the counter, unbuttons the pocket of his shirt, looks at me and then the pizza guy and says, "I got this Mom," as he pulls a $10 bill out. (Sean gave him the money and told him to do that... it was priceless) We sat and talked and hung out. It was great! Then I had to drag him to the grocery store where he shook me down for a few things.

The day was super great but the best part, the thing that still makes my heart smile, was when we walked out of Safeway and he turns to me and says, "Hey Mom, it was great having a date with you today."

Summerland

2010-08-04T21:24:00.002-04:00

This past weekend we went to the best place on earth, in my humble opinion, Amityville, NY. The kids and I drove up on Friday morning and Sean flew up on Saturday. (The reason for this trip was to take my Mom and Dad out to dinner for their 60th birthdays.)

Once we arrived there Friday morning, we basically dropped off our bags and headed to Unqua... the Yacht club they belong to. The kids love this place for 3 reasons: cousins, diving board and snack bar (aka: ice cream). It's awesome at Unqua! I spent much of my childhood there, the first swim meet I ever won was there and the first job I ever had was there as I lifeguard. Most importantly, Sean and I had our wedding reception there. And now our kids are totally in love with this place. They fall right into place there, they find new friends and forget who their parents are pretty quickly. That night we had happy hour, pizza and a dance party at Papa and Nana's house then finished off the night at the tiki bar next door at Wayne and Karen's house.

Saturday morning, Clare went birthday shopping with Nana at Target. Aidan hung out with Matty, Emma, Maeve, Luke and Colum, Momo, Uncle Mickey and Aunt Jenny at the house while I took Ellie with me to the airport to pick up Sean. (At least one of the kids likes me...lol) When we got back from the airport Sean went to OTB with Mike and we all hung out at the house. We swam in the canal and played in the yard all afternoon. All us adults went to dinner at this great Italian restaurant in town and Aidan, Clare and Ellie stayed with my cuz Mary. We had a blast at dinner! It was so much fun to all be out together with no kids... the last time we did this was at a wedding in 2004! Sad but true!

Sunday we all piled on Tim's boat and he did shuttle runs back and forth to Gilgo beach! It was such a gorgeous day at the beach the kids were swimming and building sand castles all day!

All in all, another incredibly awesome summer weekend in Amityville! I wonder if it would be as much fun if we lived there... wait I used to live there and it was that much fun!!!!

Our own little summerland!

Battle Royale

2010-07-26T22:13:00.002-04:00

So one day last week, we are driving to work and Aidan pinches Clare in the backseat. Clare (of course) cries and tattles on him. To which I (the mature mother) respond, "Aidan if you pinch her again, I'm going to pinch you back and believe me I can pinch much harder than you can." Aidan, being the little back- talker he's growing up to be, says, "Oh yeah, well when we get to school, I'll meet you on the playground, cause we're gonna battle."

Me bewildered by this comment (and laughing so hard I want to pee my pants) think to myself, "Have I just been challenged to a Battle Royale by my 4 YEAR OLD SON?" ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

I got boobies!!!!

2010-07-26T22:09:00.002-04:00

Saturday night Clare was in the bath and I was picking at my face or something stupid in the bathroom. I glance over and she's puffing out her chest. I ask, "Hey, whatcha doin?" She responds, "Look Mom, I got big boobies! See!" She's obsessed with boobies and has been for awhile. I figure between the Healey blood and the McDonough blood the girls got a 50/50 chance of gettin a decent set of her own. Although, she's a bit on the petite side right now so hopefully if she does get them they won't be too big!

The 3 Amigos

2010-07-18T16:46:00.003-04:00

Aidan, Clare and I picked up Ellie from school early on friday and took her out to lunch. It was so much fun to see her school and friends. She was so excited to see us when we walked in. We went to the diner for lunch then back to Ellie's house to play.

hot dog, hot dog, hot diggity dog

2010-07-18T16:42:00.002-04:00

Here's a picture of Aidan with the Hot Dog Man, outside the little store on the way to the house in Deep Creek.

Summers Best 2 weeks

2010-07-14T22:50:00.002-04:00

Well, really summers best 1 week...while we are on vacation at Deep Creek, my beloved Saddie dog is living the life of luxury at her own personal doggie hotel. As we speak she's probably curled up in her own bed with a full tummy of yummo treats provided by her surogate parents... Maureen and Wade, along side her bff/cousin Magoo! I know Ellie girl is petting her frequently and loving her often, as she feasts her eyes and mouth on a variety of deliously peanut butter covered treats and human food! Saddie is totally going to SNUB me when I get home, but it's well deserved!!!!