Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Where Does the Time Go?

The days seem to go by faster and faster. Some days I relish the idea and cannot wait for what's in store for the next. Other days I want to hold on to that moment, willing it to stay for awhile.

This morning, after taking the kids to the bus stop, I walked back with our neighbor's father and our neighbor's kid (the parents were both at work), The little girl is 3, and she has literally grown up before our eyes. I asked her if I could stick her in my pocket, to which she replied, "I'm too big." 

And then yesterday marked the 1-year anniversary since a friend of mine from high school's sister's 2-year old. suddenly died (did you follow that?). The dad of the little boy has been blogging for most of the year, trying to wrestle with his grief. All his posts bring me to tears, so be forewarned if you want to check it out here.

Anyway, I oftentimes find that I wrestle with feelings of longing. Longing to hold on to my kids a little tighter. Longing for the days when the kids were littler. Listen to me--my kids are only 8 and 5, but to me, I fell like those toddler years were so long ago. As kids grow up, they gain more independence, which, in the end is all we can ask for as parents. But with that independence comes needing me a little less.


I have a hard time accepting change. I don't know if I've always been that way (those who have known me longer may know the answer), but I think it's become even more prevalent since having kids. You are basically watching your children grow up right before your eyes.

And I don't know if it was kismet, but I received an email this morning from a website I wasn't familiar with. The company asked me to click a link to let it know if I still wanted to keep my videos on its site.

Videos?


I was intrigued. And I viewed the video, which I honestly have no memory of ever making, and I cried. Gosh, 2.5 years ago isn't a long time in the grand scheme of things, but look how young the kids look! The flood gates opened. You can tell how much Riley adores her brother. You can see how much Jeremy loves food and how we dressed him up like a girl. You can see how happy Casey makes my brother. And you can see just how much my parents love being grandparents.

Yes, I do believe I'll keep that video around for a bit. If only to remind me that life flies by in an instant.

Check it out here.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Riley's 8th Birthday Party

I realize it's been a few months, but we did have a birthday party for the birthday girl, oh, way back in mid-November. As parents, we wanted her to have fun and invite some friends, but we didn't want to go into debt in order to do so. Plus, the problem we have around here is that a lot of people do the same parties. Riley has been to several at the bowling alley and a bulk at this local chocolate shop. Not that there's anything wrong with having a party there, but we just wanted to do something different.

We finally settled on a roller blading/skating place. Riley originally didn't want it there, but we were able to convince her that it would be fun. She invited 10 of her friends (and one brother of hers), and we had the party the day after her actually birthday.

The kids seemed to have a fantastic time--some of them had never been on roller blades/skates before. So those girls took a bit longer to get out there. What I love about kids this age is that even if they've never met, they can immediately become friends and not hold any preconceived first notions about anyone. Girls were holding hands, trying to keep each other from falling; meanwhile Jeremy is zooming around the rink due to his many hours of actual ice skating.

About halfway through the party we met in a separate room for the kids to enjoy some Italian ice and open presents. The problem with that was that some of the girls needed to use the bathroom, which meant blading/skating over there and trying not to fall.

The other disappointing aspect was that Phil lost his jacket, which had his car keys and checkbook in the pocket! We had the entire staff looking around for it, they announced it over the PA (although I later joked that we were in Bear country, and who would willingly give back a Packer jacket), and about 45 minutes later it was located in another party room. I guess someone thought it belonged with their group, but we were just so thankful that it was found.

Riley had a fantastic time with all her friends, and since her party, she's been invited to two other birthday parties...both at the same place! And they were both for girls who had been at her party! The best part of all was that for the third straight year, we asked parents to not buy Riley any presents and instead to donate food to give to the local food pantry. Some parents did purchase gifts, but we ended up bringing 133 pounds of food to the food pantry! Riley was so proud to give the food, and when we brought it in, one of the volunteers gushed over her and told her what a wonderful thing she was doing. (To which Jeremy complaining: "Am I going to go have to do this for my party?")

Here are some pictures from her party. Enjoy!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Vacation Recap

Back in November, Phil and I celebrated our 10-year anniversary (Aug. 11) with our first kid-free vacation. It was actually our first real vacation, besides when we traveled to Boston for C+D's wedding. We were blessed to have both grandmas agree to watch the kids since we were going while they were in school, and off we went to beautiful St. Maarten.

We had an overnight layover in Philadelphia (which is funny in itself because in order to save money, we got a room with two queen beds instead of a king. So the vacation began with both of us sleeping in separate beds!). Bright and early the next morning we boarded the plane for the Caribbean. And let me tell you, the view from off the plane was amazing! We were actually the very last ones off the plane, and we disembarked on the actual runway. We walked down the stairs, and was it ever hot! It was about 3:30 pm when we arrived, and it was a stark contrast from the 20-degree temps when we left the States.


We found our bags and got in line for a taxi. We shared the ride with two other women, and the conversation was strained at times due the heavy accents. But we arrived at our resort about 4:30, went up to the room and gazed upon the beautiful ocean view.

We traveled to another island for one of the days--it's called Pinel Island--and it was beautiful. We also rented a car for a day and drove around the entire island, with a stop at one of the world's most beautiful beaches. We spent a majority of the day there, enjoying the weather and the waves. One of the highlights was a spur-of-the-moment dinner stop during the middle of the week. We had plans to go to this Italian place, only to arrive and find it closed. We walked down the street and came across this French restaurant, and when the hostess said she'd give us a free glass of champagne, I was sold! It was one of the most delicious meals both of us had ever eaten.


All in all, we had a fantastic time, and we spent every day in the water at some point. I was happy to get some sun and enjoy being "me" and not necessarily a "mom". It was a great way to reconnect and remember why we're together. We both agreed that the time we were gone was just the right amount. It was 6 days, 5 nights, and we both felt completely refreshed when we arrived back home.

There are a TON of pictures, and I didn't label them all, but here's a link to the photo album. I'll be happy to explain any of the pictures if you have questions. I already miss the scenery and wearing shorts. :)