Wednesday, June 8, 2016

This Girl ...


THIS GIRL...
will be turning 15 while in Europe.  Her birthday sun will rise in Scotland and but will set in England. I'm really going to miss saying "She's only 14."


She loves her Snapchat app and while I don't really "get it" I do appreciate the fun photos I receive.




THIS GIRL...
has really blossomed over the last six months.  She is becoming much more of a free spirit.


Her "costume" for an 80s themed grad party.




THIS GIRL...
has been open to new adventures.



To say I was thrilled that she entered into a 5K is an understatement.  
She walked, of course, but the fact that she got up at 6AM, 
participated, and finished made me one very proud mama indeed.  




THIS GIRL...
is now officially a sophomore.


She didn't even balk at her obligatory last day of school photos.



And finally...

THIS GIRL...
worked very hard this past quarter and earned herself the very first .... 'STRAIGHT A' ... report card in the history of her life.  :-)  





As we all know, math has been her nemesis forever but she persevered and earned herself an A this past quarter.  It's early, of course, but I am SOOOOO proud of her overall 3.9/5.1 GPA.  She has come such a very long way from our Homework Hell days of past!  (Woohoo!!!!!)

I'm so proud of you baby girl!





Tuesday, June 7, 2016

More Mother's Day Gifts


In less than 48 hours Meggie and I will be on our way to the airport for our much anticipated trip to Europe.  That first day is going to be a doozy though. We'll be getting up at 5:45 AM to make our way south to the airport and if all goes according to plan, we will be landing in Ireland at 2:00 AM, our time.  And because it's 7:00 AM their time, we will be hitting the ground running.  I'm not worried about Meg but I sure hope I'm able to catch some sleep on the plane.

I have so much I want to share before we leave but I don't know that time will allow.  First up though is the remainder of my Mother's Day present, yet another wonderful surprise.  I'll start with my favorite....





My gift basket contained an empty frame and now I know exactly what I am supposed to do with it.  I couldn't love any gift any more!  (except maybe a plate full of lemon donuts.  *wink*)

I'll leave you with a few of my other favs...











Pretty awesome, huh?





Wednesday, June 1, 2016

Here We Go Round the Mulberry Bush


One of Fin's favorite activities when visiting Grandma's....





But once the berries are gone, he's outta there!



This is his sign for "all gone."




Don't you just love that berry face?  :-)







Sunday, May 29, 2016

More Photos, Less Talk


For Mom, who has been patiently waiting for photos.  Last week in a nutshell.



Fin's first 2016 swim in our pool...



(He spotted a lizard on the screen roof.)





A beautiful belated Mother's Day gift from Jay and Colleen...


You may remember that was the weekend of the "plague."  (Thank goodness that's all passed!)





An early birthday gift for Meg....



The back piercing is the new one.



Her shirt very appropriately reads "Happy Camper."  :-)






And finally, Clay's graduation banquet for his International 1baccalaureate class of 2016....






This little play on words says it all.  We're very proud of Clay!!!







Friday, May 27, 2016

A Typical Grandma Day


Because I'm hopelessly behind, my theme for the next several posts will be "more photos, less talk." Today I'll focus on last week's Grandma Day.



Fin's morning ritual while I get Meg's lunch ready for school.





Quiet time hanging out with "the girls."






A trip to the mall where we finished up with some time on the "rides."  As I posted on Instagram, #noquartersnoclue.  :-)  He was sooooo happy!









Waiting outdoors at my local coffee shop while Meg gets tutored in math.






Looking for lizards at the school.






And finally, bath time before bed.  (I just love this photo.)




It was a good day.




Thursday, May 19, 2016

Countdown...T minus 20


The trip to Europe that Meg and I signed up for waaaay back in October is finally growing near. Today's countdown is 20 days until departure and I have spent most of this week preparing but I'm far from finished.

Our flight will be leaving Miami on June 9th headed first to NY and then on to Ireland where we will be staying for the first five days.  After that we'll be taking a ferry to Wales for a one day visit and then it's on to Scotland for an additional two days.  We'll finish with a week in England, the tour concluding in London.  Our scheduled arrival back to the states is set for the evening of the 23rd.  

It's going to awesome and tiring at the same time but I can't wait!!!  If anyone has any suggestions on what to bring please let me know.




Friday, May 13, 2016

My Day in the QZ


I know you all have been waiting on pins and needles for an update on my day in the QZ.  *wink*

Fin and I had a wonderful day on Monday.  He was still on the mend but, in my opinion, no longer contagious.  (That said I was still extremely careful, wearing gloves when changing him and wiping down nearly every surface prior to touching.) Because he was still a bit "puny" he wanted to be held a lot and I enjoyed every single minute.  Fin is normally a man on the go who only cuddles when taking his morning and evening bottle so this was a rare treat.

But on that day we had a lot of this going on...




Normally we only do TV in the evenings but Grandma made an executive decision and we vegged to one of Meg's former favorites, The Wonder Pets, for a good chunk of the morning.  (I think Bubble Guppies may have some new competition!)  I just love how he always places his hand behind his head when chillin'!

He also enjoyed sitting next to me on the couch, again, something he rarely does for long.



But seriously, sometimes only the boob tube and Gerber Cheese Puffs will do, right?

He did get a bit more energetic as time wore on but all in all, it was a fairly laid back day.  Come bedtime I sat down with him to play some blocks.  Herein was my downfall.  (Are you guessing the end of my story yet?)





I hesitated before touching them knowing full well that there was no way I could Clorox wipe every one of them down before his bedtime.  But then I realized sick toddlers are probably not playing Mega Blocks so we proceeded to have a great time.   I was amazed at his dexterity.









I was so impressed with his construction skills that I shot off a quick text and photo to Jay.  His response?

"I worked with his stacking with him while we were all sick.  :)"


Cue the music....dum, de, dum, dum, dum...followed by a MAJOR groan on my part.

Yup, you guessed it. At 2 AM, in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, I was sick.  Sick, sick, sick as in bed (and bathroom) ridden for the entire day.  But 24 hours is a far cry from their 72 hour ordeals so I consider myself quite lucky.

That said, I want it known that it is my firm belief that I would not have gotten sick at all had my family not totally and shamelessly thrown me under the bus. Fin was no longer contagious.  He did not get me sick.  Banishing me into the Quarantine Zone (instead of allowing me to watch him here) is what made me get sick.  (Are you sensing a bit of resentment?  You should be.)  So even as I'm typing this I'm waiting patiently to see if the old adage of "what goes around, comes around" rings true.  I don't wish my family sick but their decision to vote me off the island could very well backfire on them.