A weekend to remember

Wow. We had such a huge weekend here! I am going to post about it in three parts so that I can break it up a little.
Friday night at the camp was Brady's brownie troop camp out. I think there were about 11 girls. each girl had to have a parent there and some even had their siblings there too. I was so thrilled to see the camp used for something other than the usual Friday night debauchery. (That's a whole other vent. I mean, post)
We don't usually see tents like this even when we have parties at the camp. i called this area tent city. Oliver had a grand time helping until it was time for him to leave.





After everyone got their tents set up we got the fire started so that the girls could roast their hot dogs. We ended up microwaving the hot dogs b/c the fire was being a little disagreeable. Once the fire got going the girls had a patch to earn. Making s'mores. Brady doesn't like s'mores so I was happy to volunteer to eat them for her. After we ate the girls had a project to make. Each girl had a five gallon bucket with a lid. They had to cut out carpet padding and then wrap it in plastic and glue it to the top of the bucket. It is now a camping stool and they can keep their camping equipment inside of the bucket. One dad thought they were going to be used for toilets when he heard we had to bring a bucket.




It was a cold night for some of the folks but Brady and I were cozy and warm in our tent. I didn't get much sleep between the talking in other tents and that damn rooster who lives at the next camp over. We were up by 6am. One of the dads had offered to make breakfast over the campfire for everyone. I thought I would pitch in so I brought my waffle iron. this was the best part about the whole event. The morning started out chilly and foggy. Then the sun began to shine and we all came to life The kids had a blast playing on the swing and the sunlight was beautiful trickling down through the trees. I did my best to capture it in pictures.








Brady was a happy camper by the time it was all over. I was pooped but had to go home and get ready for a wedding. It will go down in my memory as the best night I ever spent at Michael's camp. It was also the first night I ever spent away from Oliver and I did fine. I guess Oliver did pretty well too but daddy was a little tired when I got home.

Is there any doubt?

Who Oliver looks like? There are times when he does resemble me. And those who do not know Michael personally, all say he looks like me. But, I think I have proof that he is a mini-Merl.
This picture is a painting that Michael's Uncle Mike, painted of him. (he painted it from a picture) He was around Oliver's age.
So whom do YOU think he looks like?

Science center continued!

I have more to share on the science center. On the top floor there is a section that is specifically for the ages of 3-6. It contains a station for the little ones to float ping pong balls in water. Somehow we failed to heed the recommended ages. Oliver shot right out of Michael's arms and went straight to the water and promptly splashed himself and everything in sight, right down to soaking himself thoroughly to the shoes! He was soaked and shivering. Luckily I knew to bring an extra set of clothes with us although I did not pack extra shoes. I truly didn't expect him to get that wet as last time he just got the sleeves of his shirt wet. So he spent the rest of the day tooling around the science center in his socks. (Dry ones though!) He is a busy baby!
Some wet and dry shots:

Soaking wet but Pap will keep him warm!



All dry and hanging with Daddy!

Did anyone else notice that Pap, Daddy and baby all have the same hairline? How's that for genetics?

Brady's birthday adventure!

I realize I haven't posted anything in a while. We are just so darned busy this time of year. And as always Oliver is a 100%, on the go, handful.
For Brady's birthday this year we decided to something different than the usual kid's theme party. So I let Brady pick some friends to go to the Carnegie Science Center for the day. I had three other moms to help me wrangle the girls (and some siblings) through the science center. I think these kids had a great time. Any time you have a group of friends, it always seems that someone gets left out. Unfortunately it seemed that Brady kind of got left out and didn't get to buddy up with those that she really wanted to hang with. But I think all the girls had a blast and how many 7 year old birthday parties get taken out to eat at the Hard Rock Cafe? I think Brady is officially the coolest kid in the first grade. Here are some pictures of the party:



This is a popular exhibit for the kids. They stand against the wall and a bright light flashes and leaves an image of their shadow in the wall. Don't ask me for the scientific explanation! The kids love it and there were lots of Charlie's Angels' poses.

This was taken on top of the USS Requin, a submarine docked in the river that you can tour. There were about 30-40 Asian tourists that had gone into the sub already but didn't have a wristband from the science center so they had to come back up to the top until their tour guide got things straightened out. The experience that I have had with traveling to Asian countries is that they are used to having to work their way quickly through a crowd. There were many times I had a cart in the middle of the aisle during a service only to be pushed past when someone needed through. Not a big deal, we just aren't used to it in the US. Anyway, when they started coming back to the top, we were getting a little overcrowded on top of this very, very narrow submarine. I was very nervous that one of the girls would be knocked over the sides while they made their way through so I was hanging on to the backs of all their shirts. So we hurried through the sub, because their were 50+ people waiting on top to go through and there was NO WAY I was getting crowded in that little space.




We wrapped up our trip with dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. it had been a pretty gloomy day weather wise, but suddenly cleared a little and the sun came out briefly. From where we were sitting you could see a fountain that danced to music. The girls were in hysterics watching some rather intoxicated patrons dancing in front of the fountain (the Lynard Skynard concert was that night if that helps with the mental picture). So after dinner the girls headed out for their own dance party.

Phew. What a day. Happy 7th Birthday sweet girl. Mommy loves you.

A little late, but still important!

I have received this many times and I always tear up when I read it. I wanted to share it.
Happy (a little late) Mother's Day!!!

This is for the mothers who have sat up all night with sick toddlers in
their arms, wiping up puke laced with Oscar Mayer wieners and cherry
Kool-Aid saying, 'It's okay honey, Mommy's here'.

Who have sat in rocking chairs for hours on end soothing crying babies who
can't be comforted.
This is for all the mothers who show up at work with spit-up in their hair and milk stains on their blouses and diapers in their purse.

For all the mothers who run carpools and make cookies and sew Halloween
costumes. And all the mothers who DON'T.

This is for the mothers who gave birth to babies they'll never see. And the
mothers who took those babies and gave them homes.

This is for the mothers whose priceless art collections are hanging on their refrigerator doors.

And for all the mothers who froze their buns on metal bleachers at football,
hockey or soccer games instead of watching from the warmth of their cars,
so that when their kids asked, 'Did you see me, Mom?' they could say, 'Of
course, I wouldn't have missed it for the world,' and mean it.

This is for all the mothers who yell at their kids in the grocery store and
swat them in despair when they stomp their feet and scream for ice cream
before dinner. And for all the mothers who count to ten instead, but realize how child abuse happens.

This is for all the mothers who sat down with their children and explained
all about making babies. And for all the (grand) mothers who wanted to, but
just couldn't find the words.

This is for all the mothers who go hungry, so their children can eat.

For all the mothers who read 'Goodnight, Moon' twice a night for a year.
And then read it again. 'Just one more time.'

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to tie their
shoelaces before they started school. And for all the mothers who opted for
Velcro instead.

This is for all the mothers who teach their sons to cook and their
daughters to sink a jump shot.

This is for every mother whose head turns automatically when a little voice
calls 'Mom?' in a crowd, even though they know their own offspring are at
home -- or even away at college.

This is for all the mothers who sent their kids to school with stomach
aches, assuring them they'd be just FINE once they got there, only to get
calls from the school nurse an hour later asking them to please pick them
up. Right away.

This is for mothers whose children have gone astray, who can't find the
words to reach them.

For all the mothers who bite their lips until they bleed when their 14 year
olds dye their hair green.

For all the mothers of the victims of recent school shootings, and the
mothers of those who did the shooting.

For the mothers of the survivors, and the mothers who sat in front of their
TVs in horror, hugging their child who just came home from school, safely.

This is for all the mothers who taught their children to be peaceful, and
now pray they come home safely from a war.

What makes a good Mother anyway?

Is it patience? Compassion? Broad hips? The ability to nurse a baby, cook
dinner, and sew a button on a shirt, all at the same time?
Or is it in her heart? Is it the ache you feel when you watch your son or
daughter disappear down the street, walking to school alone for the very
first time?

The jolt that takes you from sleep to dread, from bed to crib at 2 A.M.
to put your hand on the back of a sleeping baby?

The panic, years later, that comes again at 2 A.M. when you just want to
hear their key in the door and know they are safe again in your home?

Or the need to flee from wherever you are and hug your child when you hear
news of a fire, a car accident, a child dying?

The emotions of motherhood are universal and so our thoughts are for young
mothers stumbling through diaper changes and sleep deprivation...
And mature mothers learning to let go.
For working mothers and stay-at-home mothers.
Single mothers and married mothers.
Mothers with money, mothers without.This is for you all. For all of us.
Hang in there. In the end we can only do the best we can.
Tell them every day that we love them. And pray.

Please pass along to all the Moms in your life.

Phew!

I think I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Teacher Appreciation week is almost over. That almost wraps it up for the school year too! You see, the reason I haven't been blogging lately is because I had to get everything ready for the week! Tiffany and I have been crazy with details and believe me I have had about three meltdowns in the last week. I don't like second best but I am a procrastinator. that ends up putting incredible stress on me. I can finally move on and Tiffany and I did a great job! How's that for patting myself on the back? I am exhausted and will sleep like a baby tonight. Now it's time to focus on Brady's birthday. My girl is gonna be seven! Someone get me a tissue!
We are still in our soccer season and haven't won a game yet! I don't think the kids even care. The girls are just happy to be on the same team with each other. I see lots of giggling and frolicking on the sidelines when they should be focusing on their teammates and cheering them on!
Oliver is still his same sweet self. I love his snuggles. He is doing a lot of talking lately and gets very frustrated that we can't understand what he is saying or when he doesn't know how to get what he wants. I think he may have a future as a rap star. MC Peace on da mic! Please ignore the house, it is always a work in progress when Oliver is on the loose!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com