D's Birthday Dinner....

D finally had his birthday! He has been asking when it would come for the last 3 months!!! This, of course, is his first birthday in the United States, so it had to be special. I asked him what he wanted to eat for his Birthday dinner, and without hesitation he replied "Lobster". That boy has very expensive taste. :) On the big day, he took cupcakes to school to share with his classmates, then after work we all went to Red Lobster for his big birthday dinner!!! When we got into the restaurant, Big A whispered to the hostess that it was her brother's birthday so that they would come to the table and sing to him.... He ended up ordering crab legs-- which was just fine with me. :) At the end of the dinner, a bunch of waiters came out to sing to him and present him with his birthday desert. He was a bit embarrassed by it all I think... but he had a great time.

After dinner, we went back home to open presents.... that was the best part for him, of course! I think he had a really special birthday night--- and there is more to come. This weekend, we will go camping, and next weekend will be his actual party. Fun things ahead....

The Proud Birthday Boy!!!

They Think They Are So Cute!! :)

Sharing The Birthday Desert!!!

Silly Six Year Old

D's Birthday Cards....

Opening Presents!!!!

I Think He Likes It...

One Of The Birthday Cards That

I bought In Russia

( I have one to give him for each year through his 10th birthday)

They Are VERY Cute!!!!

Our Dogwood Adventures....

I am finally posting some photos from our weekend. We definitely had a great weekend--- lots of fun with friends, family and festivals. Oh yeah, and soccer. :) Always soccer! :) I am really starting to feel like a real Soccer Mom... is that good or bad??? I guess that depends on who you ask!:)

Friday night, Sheila joined the kids and I for "Movie Night" at the elementary school. This month we watched Tale of Despereaux... It was a very cute movie-- although Sheila had to explain the story line to me a couple of times---- guess I am easily distracted. Also I spent quite a bit of time going back and forth to get food for my "little slave masters". Despite my confusion, it was a very fun night!!

On Saturday, Theresa came to spend the weekend and help me in the yard--- and I desperately need help!!! What a mess!! I took D and Big A to their soccer game at 11:20, then we attempted to go to The Dogwood Festival. It took forever to find a place to park, and by the time we got into the park, the kids were complaining about being tired. We just walked around for a bit and then headed back home.... In the evening, Sheila and I went back to the park to attend a little birthday party. Of course, by the time we got there the party was over... but we did join some of the party guests for dinner and margaritas at nearby restaurant.... Lots of margaritas-- too many. I had quite the hangover on Sunday! :) But it was very fun. I really liked her friends.

Sunday was cloudy and drizzly in the am, but we went back to the Dogwood Festival anyway. It actually turned out to be a good day for it--- the crowd was much smaller at the park. The kids had a good time. It was a pretty laid back day. The kids were happy to get to spend some time with Theresa too. In the afternoon, we all went to Little A's soccer game. Seems like sports are taking over my life these days... I don't mind though--- Little A sure was cute out there on the field! :) I have to brag the she scored 3 goals! She enjoyed playing this time---normally she just wants to sit on the sidelines and complain about being hungry.

All in all, I have to say that I'm pretty happy these days. Things are looking up. :)

The Golden Eagles

Lookin' Pretty!!!

The Silly Tiger!!!

And, Of Course, The

Beautiful Princess!!!

My Offspring

Enjoying The Day...

Always Posing...

Forcing A Smile...

Checking Out The Ducks

(we forgot the bread... maybe next time)

Little A Gets The Ball....

There She Goes...

Occasionally, She Gets Sidetracked!!!

( Just Like Her Mommy! :) )

But, In The End, She Scores!!!

Big A And D Entertain Themselves....

Our 2009 Easter Adventures....

As usual, I am just getting around to writing about Easter... We did have a pretty good, although tiring Easter. On Saturday, we drove to Columbia, SC to attend Erika's Father's wedding. Despite having bought 3 new movies for the kids to watch in the car, the entire trip I heard-- "Are we there?", "When are going to be there?".... Mostly from D. He can be quite the nagger... The kids behaved pretty well at the wedding-- fortunately, it was short and sweet! I have to admit, I do not like weddings... of any kind. I feel like it is a big waste of money. If, and it is a big IF, I was ever to get married, it would be a private little ceremony... just the immediate family. I can see spending money on the honeymoon, but the ceremony is really just a waste... That is only my opinion. BTW, I will not be paying for my daughters' weddings--- I will encourage them to elope-- or better yet, don't get married.... :) Once jaded, always jaded, I guess.

Easter morning was something of a blur, mainly because Erika took me out the night before and kept me out until the wee hours.... :) The Easter Bunny found the kids in Columbia and left the usual loot. They were quite happy-- lots of chocolate. Mommy had a bit of a nervous breakdown because she was the only adult, surrounded by 5 children on sugar highs at 8 am!!! All the other adults were still in bed) Sooo wee packed the car and were heading home by 9:30... I felt bad because I didn't even wake Erika up to say goodbye, but my sanity was at stake! I simply woke up Erika's teenagers and said "watch your brother and sister", I'm leaving.... And I left. :) Fortunately, Erika didn't hold it against me. I am sure that she has felt the need to run away herself every now and then! In fact, I know she has!!! :)

The kids and I made it home by noon, cleaned up, and headed to Piedmont Park to meet Annie for some lunch. We had nice time, although the kids were disappointed because we did not get to feed the ducks... maybe next time. On Easter evening, we went over to Sheila's to have Easter Dinner. We ate outside on the deck, and the kids ran amok as usual.... It was a very tiring day, but it was a good one. I have to admit, I was very happy to go home and climb into my own bed that night though!

The rest of the week has pretty much been been filled with the usual... work, kids, cleaning, etc, etc..... I am certainly ready for the weekend!

One other note--- my 15 year old Crow (who I have always thought was a male) laid 3 eggs this past weekend!!!! It, obviously, is the first time "he's" done this!!! I was shocked, and impressed---not only is "he" a "male" :), bu "he" is OLD!! Crazy. Anyway, "he" crushed one egg, but 2 were intact, so I did what I always do-- I took pictures. :)

Medicine Crow's Eggs!!!!

I Think They Are Pretty!!!

Below are some photos from Easter....

Dyeing Easter Eggs....

As Usual, D Is Enjoying Himself!!

Before The Wedding...

My Clowns!!!

Big A Had Sun In Her Eyes,

D And Little A Refused To

Cooperate...

Typical.

Showing Off Her Pretty Dress...

Silly, Silly D!!!!

D's Easter Basket!!!

Big A's Easter Treats!!!

And Little A's Easter Loot!!!

Big A Enjoys A Peep...

D Enjoys His First Easter!!!

Little A Show Me The Egg!!!

What Else Is In Here????

Still Stuffing Her Face!!!

Always Posing!!!

An Uneventful Spring Break....

So far, it has been a pretty uneventful spring break.... Monday and Tuesday were absolutely freezing and dreary... I have not gotten nearly as much accomplished as I had intended. I do like the fact that I don't have to get the kids up and off to school by 8 am though!!! I have been letting them stay up later---we've watched movies, eaten popcorn and had "family time" every night this week. It has really been nice. The only problem is that D and Little A have been drinking way too much liquid before bedtime, and have been wetting their beds... Little A has had 2 accidents, and D has had one. This is very unlike both of them!! I have not been happy about changing the sheets so much either...

I had intended to start planting a garden this week, but the weather didn't allow it, and now I have to work the rest of the week... Bummer. Maybe next weekend!!!

Another Busy Weekend...

The kids and I had a good weekend. Fortunately, I kept things pretty busy so that I didn't have to think too much. On Friday night, the kids and I met Kim one of her sons for pizza at Mojo's. It was fun to let the kids eat pizza and run around the restaurant while we had a drinks and discussed "life". It is always nice to hang out with them.

Saturday morning, I took the kids to a local church for an Easter egg hunt. This was the third year that we've gone there, and the kids always have a really good time. It is so neat to see D enjoy his first Easter egg hunt!! All year he has experienced many "first"-- his first Halloween, his first Thanksgiving, his first real Christmas, etc.... Sometimes I can't believe that he has only been here for 10 months!! He seems like he has always been part of the family. Yet this is his first year... amazing. He has really come a long way. I still look at these 3 children sometimes and am amazed that they are really mine. It is a big responsibility, but it is also a huge blessing!

I often wish that I knew what the future held for me... So on Saturday afternoon, I visited my boss's psychic! Seriously I did. The owner of one of the hospitals where I work swears by this lady, so she arranged a free reading for me. It was interesting, but it seemed like the things she told me were really just common sense... She did tell me that my "soul mate" would be " more butch" than me and have blond hair. Weird. But hey, at least it is predicted that I will actually one day have a partner... even if she is "butch". :) Funny.

Theresa came to see the kids on Saturday. The kids were so excited to see her! She spent the night so I could go out with some friends. I met Annie and Rosanne for dinner- it was nice to get out with friends. Later we went to Bellisima to drink and get into trouble... I definitely drank too much, but it was pretty fun. I did realize that there is no way that I would want to do that every weekend!!! I don't know how people do it... I used to go out all of the time like that, and it didn't phase me. I am way too old for that now, or maybe I'm just way too tired. It was nice to come home and have another adult to talk to though. Theresa also helped me get some projects that I had been putting off done. The last few months, I have realized just how much of a help she has always been to me. I really do appreciate it.

Sunday, despite my major hangover, the kids and I went back to my friend Lissa's church. It was good to see people so full of faith and love. I do wish that I had some of that faith... Later in the afternoon we went to see "Monsters vs. Aliens" in 3D. A very good movie... the kids were glued to their seats.

Today Big A and D hung out with me while I did some house calls and some house work... not too much going on. Back to the day to day monotony of life. Then again, there is something to be said for monotony sometimes....

Making Crafts Before The Egg Hunt...

Waiting Patiently For The Hunt To Begin!!!

Little A Searches Low...

D Searches High...

Big A Searches Far...

And Near...

The Search Was Sometimes Frustrating...

But, For D, It Was Amazing!!!

Photos Of My Baby....

I thought I would post some photos of Little A's soccer game last weekend. She had a good time at this game... tried very hard! I was proud of her.

Sometimes It Is Hard To Concentrate

On The Ball!!!

Dribbling...

Cute

Going After The Ball...

Team Photo

One More...