Christmas Favorites

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

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

A Christmas treat

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

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)

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!!!

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...

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

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...

...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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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...

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

...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

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!"

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

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

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

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

Thanks for all the laughs and hugs!

XOXOXO

Saving turtles

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

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

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

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

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

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?!

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

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

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

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

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...

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!

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

10K

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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!