JD Gem (From Sept 9th)

I left work early so I could meet the bus since daddy had a doctor appointment that day. JD was so excited to see me and when we got in the house, he's jumping around and says "Mommy, chasing girls is good exercise!" Hhhhmmmm, I wonder what goes on a recess. ROFL

Bath time...question time

So, this past week, during two of the little man's baths, I got some interesting questions. The first was about goosebumps. He said "I have goosebumps....mommy, what are goosebumps?" and then a whole conversation ensued about them. This question was cake compared to the one that came two night later.

His second question, asked very seriously, was "mommy, when am I going to die?" OH. BOY. I told him I didn't know and that no one knows when they'll die. Then he mentioned that he couldn't see things he did in the past, which I didn't quite get. So next he asks "Where do you go when you die?" Luckily, I had just asked a friend who lost her dad what she told her son and I went with it, since I was raised in a Catholic family and she was too. I told him that when you die, because your body stops working, your soul, the part that makes you the person you are, goes to heaven. Next questions was, "Do they have phones in heaven?" "No, I don't believe so" was my answer. So he goes, "I think there should be phones in heaven so that they can call and tell you if you can see things in you past when you're in heaven."  I told him that sounded like a good idea, but I'm still not sure where this "seeing what you did in your past" thing came from.

I asked him if something happened at school, like a classmate having a death in the family and he said no. Then I asked if it was because I had been talking about my company's president's wife, who had just passed away and he said I guess.

The things that kids think sometimes amazes me.

First Week of School and Soccer Update...

I am very happy to report that the first week of 1st grade has been really good. Just this morning, JD said "Mommy, I really like Ms. Mason!" He's still excited that he has a "grandma" day on Thursday, since they have the day off, but he really seems to like going to school this year. He tells me when he gets to see kids who were in his class last year at recess and lunch and again he really loves Ms. Evans' art class. One thing he is very excited about are First Grade Fuzzies. What is a First Grade Fuzzie, you ask? Well, this is how it's described on the class website:

"Each student is given a cup that will hold their fuzzies in.
All students will begin 1st grade with 5 Fuzzies!

One BIG fuzzie equals 5 little fuzzies.
So to get a big one is kind of a HUGE deal to a little one.

Students work to earn fuzzies throughout the week.
Fuzzies can be lost when a poor choice is made. 

Fuzzies are traded in at the Fuzzie Store on Friday mornings. Students can buy a Coupon Reward of their choice. Coupon prices will vary and students can save fuzzies in order to buy a more expensive Coupon Reward.

Students are responsible for the Coupon and must turn it in before morning announcements in order to claim the reward."

 

He was able to buy a coupon last Friday which allowed him to bring in a furry friend (stuffed animal) for the day. He used it this morning to bring his Torrey Smith bear to school. He is however thinking of bigger things, because he was wondering this morning how many fuzzies it would take to get lunch with the principal.

 

So far homework has been a combination of papers for parents to fill out and 10 minutes of reading each night. 10 minutes of reading is cake! We read every night, so I'm liking that kind of homework. We'll see what the coming weeks hold. His teacher said they like more hands on homework rather than just stuff done on paper.

 

As for soccer, he can't wait to get to practices and all he wanted to do this weekend, when we were visiting my parents, was play soccer. His first game is this coming Saturday and I'm hoping the enthusiasm continues. I think the coaches for his team really have something to do with his attitude this year. The head coach, Scott, really has a love for the game and wants to pass that on to the kids and most importantly, make it fun for them. They haven't come up with a team name yet, but should have one by Friday night's practice. This year the uniform colors are white with blue trim and JD's choice for a name is "Blue and White Ninjas". We'll see how the vote goes. LOL  

Homework Station

Oh homework, how I hate you. My son does to (at least that's what he says), but it's inevitable and we need to find a way to conquer it.  We had issues with homework last year in kindergarten...2 pages came home on Monday and had to be returned on Thursday. It would take an hour to do it, mostly because of the whining and carrying on. My suggestion was to turn it in unfinished and talk to the teacher about it, but he insisted on finishing even when throwing a fit. UGH! We found a solution in taking him to the library on Monday nights and doing it there...in 15 MINUTES! DONE!

 

We now have nightly homework in first grade and we just don't have the time to go to the library everyday and I needed a space for the little man to sit and do it with out distraction. Looking through a link someone posted on my FB page, I found something similar to the picture below. It's the same concept (presentation board from the office supply store, that's been cut and decorated), but theirs had little bins and magnets and clips on it. Since the little man likes Minecraft, I got a poster, glued it to the board and cut the board across at the top of the poster. We then used angry bird duct tape to finish the edges the poster didn't cover and trimmed it in green. I didn't add the bins since we have a box all set up with his supplies (you can see it in the picture). It's perfect, folds flat, and can be taken down easily if we need to use the whole table.

 

He used it last night to finish up his bridging the gap to 1st grade book that needs to be turned in tomorrow. He didn't even notice that his grandparents arrived, because it makes his space that closed off from the rest of the area (the dining room is open to the living room and front door area).

 

The Tooth Fairy Has Visited...

In my post at the end of July, I mentioned JD had his first loose tooth. I though it might come out before grandmom and grandaddy came home from their trip, on August 4th. WRONG! It took almost all of August for that sucker to come out.

I picked him up from daycare last Thursday and it was really wiggley...he said it bothered him becsaue it was moving around so much. He made it through the Ravens game with daddy that night (they went to the preseaon game thanks to a friend of ours who gave us her tickets) and grandmom's on Friday. He got up Saturday morning and wiggled it a few times and it came right out. He handled it really well and was super excited about the tooth fairy! (Luckily the "tooth fairy" remembered to get some cash back at the grocery store Friday night, just in case this happened. LOL)

First Day of School 2013-14

Here's our little man, all ready to head out on his first day of 1st grade!

 

JD Gem from yesterday...

JD's been going to daycare two days a week this summer and they always have someplace to go. Yesterday, they went to the Science Center in Baltimore. So, we're getting ready to leave and we have this conversation:

Me: Do you want some money from your jar upstairs in case you want to get something at the gift shop?
JD: Yeah, cause I know we're going to the store...(pause)...and I have more money than you.
Me: *sigh* Yes, you do.

I actually had a few dollars in my wallet, which is like a teasure to me...I hardly ever have any actual cash on me. LOL

I even predicted what he'd get...a webkins, probably a cat. So last night, we welcomed BW Boots, the black and white cat to his webkins family. LOL

JD Gem - August 1st, 2013

Getting ready to leave the house that morning, my son channeling my mother:

JD: Those shoes aren't good for driving.
Me: What?
JD: They'll slide off.
Me: No they won't. (pull up pant leg to show him they have straps around my ankles)
JD: Oh, I thought they were slip on ones...that kind can come off so they're not good for driving.
Me: Can we go now?

Yup...slacker mode again...

This summer is just flying by and school starts 4 weeks from today. Yikes! Honestly, I haven't really felt much like writing, so that's why I haven't posted anything. Just feeling a little uninspired, which means I've probably missed out on sharing some funny JD gems and things like that. I also have 3 trips worth of photos to go through. Could I post them as is? Sure. Will I? Probably not. The curse of being an art major. LOL Anyway, I thought I'd try to just post the highlights starting in May.

MAY

• We helped our friend Betsy's parents celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary! That's a huge milestone. It was a crazy weekend too since Reece worked 10 hours on Saturday and 8 hours before the party on Sunday.
• The Friday before Mother's Day, JD and I went to the Mother/Son event at school. They had a DJ and games to play. He had a great time with his friends and it was fun watching them dance. A bunch of K-5 graders dancing to Gangnam Style...priceless! LOL
• We had a bunch of friends over for a Memorial Day cookout. Reece got a smoked/grill for an early Father's Day gift and smoked a brisket...delicious!

JUNE

• The Friday before school was finished, JD's class got together to celebrate the end of the year and to say goodbye to Mrs. Zanti, their teacher, who was moving to Arizona. Here's a photo of all the kids with her.

Mrs Zanti and her kindergarten class (2012-13)

• School got out on June 12 and the next morning JD and I drove to NJ to spend some time with my family. Unfortunately this trip also included a memorial service for a friend who just lost her husband to cancer...from diagnosis to his passing was only a month.
• June 21-23, we took out first camping trip of the year. Yes, I said first! Reece had been working so much and we just kind of waited too long to start making reservations, so first thing we could get was June. Anyway, JD and I did a lot of hiking with grandaddy and got to spend time with the Magees, who were also there that weekend. (Photos to come)

JULY

• We had a small 4th of July picnic at our house and then did our own fireworks display in the neighborhood. The boys have all decided to up the ante next year for a bigger show. LOL
• We left on July 6th for our week at Castaways in Ocean City. The Magees were also there. It's going to be our annual trip I think.  Had 4 great days with no rain...went to Asateague Island and saw the horses close up, spent time in the pool, and went to the boardwalk. Thursday and Friday it rained...A LOT! We found a leak in the camper and had to collect water in pans. Fun, fun! Headed into Salisbury on Thursday to see Despicable Me 2 and ran into an old college roomie and her kids. After the movie we went to Salisbury University so I could get a new alumni sticker and show Reece and JD the campus. We also made it to Frontier Town Water Park and Mini Golf again and had steamed crabs for dinner at the Shrimp Boat! Awesome! No splinter emergencies this year, I'm happy to report! Here are a few photos, but to see the rest click here.

• The weekend after we got back from the beach, we were off again, this time to Hershey Park! We had never been and stayed at the Hershey Highmeadow Campground, which I would highly recommend. The sites are pull through and really level; the staff is friendly; the pool is great; and there's a shuttle to take you to and from the park! Awesome...drops you right off near the gate and runs until and hour after the park closes. Also, having pre-purchased tickets gets you in the park 2 1/2 hours before closing the night before and staying on Hershey property gets you in an hour early the day your are going. We went on rides all morning and then had lunch and went back to camp for a break. Took JD to the pool while Reece slept and then we went back at 5 to go to the water park and on the way out, at 9:30 pm, took JD to Chocolate World, where he made his own chocolate bar.  If you've never been to Hershey Park, I really recommend it...very family friendly, lots of rides for younger kids.
• Right now, JD is spending his second full week at the daycare he goes to before school. Grandmom and Grandaddy are enjoying their vacation on a Princess cruise in the Europe...Britain, Ireland, Scotland and a stop in France. We sure hope they have a great time, but I'm sure JD will be happy to see them again next week.

This is just the big stuff. There's always something going on. JD has been spending 3 days a week this summer with Grandmom and 2 days a week at daycare. They take the kids on all kinds of field trips, including swimming, which is great because we really wanted him to have more time in the pool. He's still using swimmies, but at Hershey, he let me take them off and tried swimming without them and he even jumped in without them on. Yippie! They've been to a dairy farm, local parks, the science center, mini-golf, the movies, and cascade lake too. I joined the new Gold's Gym up the street from the house and have started going again...my goal, to see a difference by the holidays. Hoping using the weight machines will help me out. Reece has been working alot, as I said, and he worked again this past Saturday.

We've still got the month of August to go and hope to get together with some of his old classmates and head to NJ to see mom-mom and pop-pop one weekend, and we have a birthday party to go to and back-to-school night for our 1st grader. Hopefully soon we'll find out what soccer team JD is on and when practices are. Oh yeah, Rennfest starts the last weekend in August too. Ooh, and last but not least....JD has his first loose tooth, so we'll soon have a visit from the tooth fairy. My niece asked me how I do everything I do. I told her I just do it and sometimes I don't really know how. LOL

April, At-a-Glance...

The first weekend in April, was my birthday. We went out with a bunch of friends to Cancun Cantina. Hadn't been in a long time and wanted to dance. Pretty sure I did more drinking than dancing. LOL Had so much fun that night, but man, Sunday was a total wasted day. I did find out later that it wasn't just a hangover that kept me sick all day. The stomach bug was going around and Reece had it the next day. Thank god JD didn't get it. My neighbor's son had it too. Yuck!

On April 11th, I had an IEP meeting at the school to go over the results of the reassessment tests they did with JD. He's still going to get speech therapy and he's been in a "social club" that the speech therapist runs, so they will keep him in that. They play games and learn to work through furstrations and express how they feel and ask for help. I still need to talk to his pediatrician about his anxiety, which seems to be causing most of his touble in the classroom. He did show improved in his reading and math and he's been participating more in class since the previous meeting. On April 12th, I took the day off and went on the kindergarten field trip to the local fire department. They have a brand new building because they had a fire that destryed most of the old one in 2010. We'd had 2 reall heavy snows and it was just too heavy for the roof...the roof collapsed and broke a gas line and there was a huge fire. I remember walking down from our house, through the snoww, and getting some pictures. The new facility is beautiful and up to date with everything they need. The kids had a great time and hopefully learned something while they were there. JD asked me to come to school for luch, so I did that too (no lost teeth and no puking...yay!) and then went for a massage I put some birthday money away for.

On April 20th, my brother's girlfriend threw a party for his 40th birthday. I think Dave had a really good time even though he kept saying he didn't want a big party or anything. I got to see friends I haven't seen in years and all Dave's friend's got to meet his nephew (that he talks about all the time, apparently). He didn't want a cake, which I think only disapponted JD, since he was they only one who asked for a piece of cake. It was a quick trip, since we drove up Saturday morning and left at noon on Sunday. I did get a chance to clean at mom and dad's, which the house desparately needed. .Will have to make it a point to do that every time we go up there.

Oh boy, my slacker side is showing again...

Wow! I haven't posted anything since the beginning of March?! Yikes. That means I have a lot to go through. Maybe several posts. We'll see.

First of all, St. Paddy's Day was pretty quiet this year. We did go out the night before for a few drinks at a local bar, Cobblestone. They had a great DJ that night too. On St. Paddy's, we had dinner with my in-laws and Norm and Michelle. Usually I'll make corned beef and cabbage, but went for Irish Stew instead and it was great. Got the recipe from Pinterest and it used Guinness, of course. Oh, btw, don't ever make marshmallow treats from Lucky Charms. So. Not. Good. I should have just made rice kispy treats and used green food coloring.

The following weekend, Reece and I went to St. Michaels, MD for the weekend to celebrate our 10 anniversary. We stayed at the Tillghman Island Inn. Wasn't too sure about it when we first pulled up, but it was great. The food was fantastic and we met some interesting people. Spent some time walking around St. Michaels on Saturday; had lunch; sampled some local beer, and went to the maratime museum. Pretty quiet weekend, but it was perfect. We got hom on Sunday just in time to take JD to a classmate's birthday party at the bowling alley just up the road. A great weekend!

We went to my mom and dad's for Easter weekend. My brother and his girlfriend, Amy, had an Easter egg hunt for JD again this year and then we had dinner there with my parents and Amy's parents. JD just loves this kind of stuff. The Easter bunny brought him a bunch of yummy scented markers and candy and the Wreck It Ralph movie.

Here are a few pictures from that weekend. Thikning I'll put April in a separate post...more photos from my brother's birthday party to share there.

Thinking Spring

Well, I'm trying to think spring as we anticipate a storm on Wednesday that could bring the largest snowfall we've had all winter. The current map shows us in the 9-12" area. All I can say is I hope it starts well before morning so I don't even have to leave the house Wednesday morning. I'm sure JD's already planning for a snow day. LOL

On to thoughts of warmer weather, spending time outdoors and camping...

Since the pay periods work out that there are three this month, I want to get some camping weekends booked. I know I shouldn't wait, especially for holiday weekends (which include Halloween believe it or not...if you camp, you know this), but I kind of had to wait for the extra money. Anyway, just booked 2 weekends in Gettysburg Campgound, one of our annual stops. It's about an hour away and they have mini golf, which JD loves.  We've already got our summer trip to Ocean City, with the Magees, booked and now we need to find a few others. Hoping to still find something for Memorial Day weekend somewhere not to far away. LOL A girl can dream, can't she?

Spent some time looking at the catalog that came from Gardeners  Supply Company today. Need to make some decision about what to plant this year. I think we get a little confident in our plans every year and unfortunatley things go to waste. I hate to even say that, but it's true. We get home, there are things to do and checking the garden isn't on top of the list. Need to make that a prority is we're going to try it again this year.

I also hear that it's going to be like 50 degrees this weekend and nice. Goodbye snow from Wednesday...hello mud pit. Anyway, if that's the case, my car really needs to be cleaned inside, especially after Friday night. On the way to the community college to see Wreck It Ralph (great movie BTW), JD ate his Subway sandwich and then asked if he could eat the 100 fruit loops he had on a plastic cord from school. They were practicing counting that day I guess. Well, if you can image the way a beaver eats...wood chips flying everywhere...you have a good idea of what my back seat look like. Honestly, I have no idea how he does it, but the back seat and floor loaded with fruit loop pieces. Pieces from 100 fruit loops to be exact. So seriously, I hope the weather's nice so I can clean. However, if I were to get stuck in the snow on Wednesday, at least I'd have something to eat. ROFL

JD Gem - Febuary 20th

Sorry I'm just posting this now. I put it on Facebook, but want to keep track of these here. This is a good one...my dad laughed for days thinking about this one.

Conversation with JD while drying his hair...he asks me what my shirt says:
 
Me: It says Salisbury State University, where I went to college.
JD: And where I can go too.
Me: Well, yeah. You can go anywhere if you get good grades.
JD: I don't want any more grades.
Me: Well grades tell you how well you're doing in school. If you get good grades, you can go to a good college, you know, so you can be an engineer.
JD: Or in a caboose.
 
And that folks is why I love him so much! LOL

Christmas...in pictures

Finally got the pictures downloaded from the camera and ready to post. Hope you enjoy!

    

 

 At Washington Crossing State Park (NJ side) on Christmas day to watch the reinactment of Washington Crossing the Deleware River. It was really cold!

Reece, my little buddy and Pop-Pop watching TV.

Look at that big silly grin!



JD Gem...Superbowl Sunday

When the game was over, which was after 10, and everyone went home, JD looks at me and says "Mommy, you have purple on your eye." I thought about it for a minute...did I put purple eyeliner or shadow on; I mean the Ravens were playing and that is their color. Nope, pretty sure I didn't. So I asked him where on my eye and he points to the circle under it and says "right here". No buddy, not makeup...mommy's just tired...all the time. LOL

Year in Review

I knew I had done this once before, just needed to look back for it. A great way to sum up what happened this year, include a few bits of info, and guess at 2013 might bring. Yeah, I also realize it February already...time flies, right?! So, here we go…

What did you do in 2012 that you’d never done before?
After years of watching the commercials, I tried the Insanity Workout. Yikes! It was a great workout, but not really the kind that works for me.

Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Once again I’m going to guess that it was eating better, exercising and losing weight. It was mostly kept, just not the losing weight part. This year it’s to be a better mom, wife, friend, person. Oh, I have so much faith in myself. LOL

What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?
A refinanced mortgage.

What date from 2012 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
November 29^th…our first trip to the ER with JD when he gashed his head open in the corner of the half wall in the kitchen.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Getting out of bed at 4:15 am for probably 80% of the year to get in my workouts.

What was your biggest failure?
Not losing the 8 lbs I gained back the year before. L

Did you suffer illness or injury?
Ear infection (Nov 29)…sinus inflammation (Dec 21), then a stupid cold (Dec 31) and finally the flu (Jan 21). Everyone is sick and it’s hard to kick it. JD had a little cold thing right after school started, but he and Reece have been good.

What was the best thing you bought?
Our new smaller coffee table…so much more space in the living room. Of course we did get a truck that makes towing the trailer a breeze…that was a pretty good buy. LOL

Whose behavior merited celebration?JD, for adjusting to getting up for daycare before school in the morning and full-day kindergarten. It was a huge transition for him, but he’s doing well.

My parents, both in their 80’s, who spent 13 days without power after Hurricane Sandy hit NJ this year. Luckily they have a generator and my brother was able to stop by their house to start it in the morning to power the thermostat for heat and run the hot water heater and fridge and a few lights. Tried to get them to come visit us while it was out, but they wanted to stay and they never complained.

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Let’s see…most people on reality TV and politicians during this election.

Where did most of your money go?
Mortgage and bills

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
We spent a week at a great campground in Ocean City, MD with some friends of ours. It was so much fun; we’re doing it again this year.

What song will always remind you of 2012?
LOL…well I’d have to say Gangnam Style by Psy. It’s was only playing somewhere every 5 seconds.

Compared to this time last year, are you:
happier or sadder? I guess about the same…if I had to choose, I’d say happier. It wasn’t a bad year.
thinner or fatter? Hhhmmm…so much for my plan from last year…still have to say fatter.

richer or poorer? Well, honestly I feel a little poorer right now, since we’re still catching up from Reece being out of work from mid-Sept until the week before Christmas. Hoping that will change. Of course we’re always rich in everything else…family, friends, having the things we need.

What do you wish you’d done more of?
Spending time with my parents. They are both in their 80’s and mom’s having some memory issues and dad’s fallen several times this year. Leaving at Christmas was a little hard this year, because it really hit me that I don’t know how many more Christmases there will be with them. I’d like to think lots, but in reality, I just don’t know and I have to face that.

What do you wish you’d done less of?
Worrying (money, my weight, what others think of what I do or say)

How did you spend Christmas?
We spent it in NJ with my family again this year. JD had a bowling date with his godmother; we had a wonderful time visiting with Dave and Amy and caught up with some friends I haven’t seen in years. JD had a wonderful time playing with his Pop-pop…they were army guys and rid the world of villans.

What was your favorite TV program?
My favorite is CSI and I love Big Bang Theory.

What was the best book you read?
Some friends that I grew up with in NJ introduced me to the Janet Evanovich series about Stephanie Plum, bounty hunter. Super fun reads!

What was your greatest musical discovery?
My son…he’s really into music and I find him singing and “la, la, la-ing” a lot. Two favs so far are Gangnam Style and Whistle.

What did you want and get?
The last few months, for there to be work for Reece, but I really wanted JD to start kindergarten with no issues and adjust well to his new long day. He did.

What did you want and not get?
To refinance the house…again. Sigh.

What was your favorite film of this year?
Well, technically we didn’t see Skyfall until a few days into the new year, but it did come out in 2012. It was awesome!

What was an unexpected joy this past year?
No-Knead Bread…taking the time to actually re-read the recipe for no-knead bread and then making it. The Best! It takes a lot less time than I initially thought and everyone loves it!

What was an unexpected obstacle?
Time. Just trying to figure out how to fit in being mom to a kindergartener with everything else seemed like such a daunting thing to me. Now there’s getting him up and dressed for school, dropping him at before school care, homework, making lunches for the next day and checking his backpack and keeping up with anything else school related.

Pick three words to describe 2012.
Changes, busy, quick

What was your single biggest time waster in your life this past year?
Pinterest!

What was the best way you used your time this past year?
I spent many days getting up at 4:15 am so I could get in my workouts and have the evenings free to spend with JD and Reece.

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
To celebrate my 41^st birthday we went to Cancun Cantina with some friends and got a hotel room near there so we wouldn’t have to drive all the way home. The hotel was really nice…brand new.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
To have been able to pay off more bills so we’d have some more play money for trips and things like that.

What kept you sane?
My friends and family…especially JD (even though he takes his part in making my insane)! Oh yeah, some wine didn’t hurt either.

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2012.

That I really need to stop comparing myself and my life to others…it never does me any good.

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.
So you're standing in the middle of the thunder and lightning

I know you're feeling like you just can't win, but you're trying
It's hard to keep on keepin' on, when you're being pushed around
Don't even know which way is up, you just keep spinning down, 'round, down…

Every storm runs, runs out of rain

Just like every dark night turns into day
Every heartache will fade away
Just like every storm runs, runs out of rain
(Gary Allan)

Make 3 predictions for 2013:

I did this last year and just don’t feel like I can predict anything this year. I have no idea what it will bring, but as long as we’re happy, healthy and have the things we need, we’ll be good.

Out with the old, in with the new...Happy 2013!

Another year gone by and boy did it go fast, especially once school started. The end of 2012 wasn't at the top of my good list with Reece out of work from Mid-September until the week before Christmas, but the rest of the year was pretty good. We started by celebrating JD's 5th birthday at Adventure Park; went to visit my family in New Jersey several times; went camping a lot and spent a week at the beach in July; and JD started Kindergarten in the fall. We've got a roof over our heads, food on the table and our families and good friends to share it with.

We had a great Christmas in New Jersey with my family. JD and Pop-Pop (aka, the Lieutenant and the Captain) saved the world from bad guys again. JD's god-mother took him out for the day Sunday...lunch and bowling, which he loved! We got to spend time with Dave and Amy and catch up with my friend Debbie, who I haven't seen in years, and her new husband Adam. At mass on Christmas Eve, JD impressed us all by talking to Fr. Kindon and shaking his hand and he followed along in the hymnal and mass book...it's the first time I didn't need to find a way to entertain him (or listen to him ask "how much longer?" while squirming in his seat). New Year's Eve was spent at home with Carolyn and Dean and our neighbors, Emma, Alex and Connor. Reece and Alex lit off fireworks at midnight and a good time was had by all!

So, I'm not planning to make a resolution this year, cause you know how that goes. I'm gonna get back to healthy eating starting today and if it wasn't for feeling so icky (we've been passing around something for about a month and it's my turn...again...sigh) I would have gotten up at 4:15 this morning to work out. Honestly the way I feel right now, I could go back to bed for the rest of the day and if you know me, you know I'm not one to take naps or stay in bed late. I'm usually by 6:30 - 7 even when I don't have to. I guess my plan is just to be a better mom, wife, and person this coming year!

Anyway, it was back to the regular routine this morning and surprisingly, it went pretty well, although JD really didn't want to get out of bed. I'm just going to assume that tomorrow and Friday will be harder since he'll be tired from being back to a normal day. We're a little over a week out from JD's bowling birthday party, so there are a few things left to do for that. I've already figured out that March is the month with 3 pay periods instead of 2 and plan to book our camping weekends then. Need to start getting any papers not in the tax folder together so we can get those done as soon as we get the chance. I have no idea what 2013 will bring, but I hope it it includes continuous work for Reece, having friends over more often, spending more time with my parents, a visit from the Carter's when they head to VA again, more camping, and health and happiness for all!