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Phil’s Birthday almost always falls the same week as Mother’s Day. I’m sure his mom loved having him so close to her special day. At this point,  I wish it was a bit more spread out. At out MOPS meeting on Monday a few of us had a conversation about our frustrations with Mother’s Day. I think it doesn’t really get good until your kids are old enough to do something special for you. One girl has a 9 year old and told us how her kids made her cereal and fruit in bed. How sweet. But, if your kids are too young and still dependent on you- you can’t reap any benefits of Mother’s Day. My sister told me of a time when she remembered us fighting all morning on Mother’s Day. She was old enough to look at my mom and think “Geeze, what a horrible day for her.” Now, things are different. Mom gets flowers, jewelry, lobster & champagn, movie tickets and a new purse. Plus, lots of calls from all her kids. It’s up to us to train our kids to treat their mom on her day. Reading the “Happy Mother’s Day, Mami” Dora book wasn’t enough. Not that I had a bad day. We went to church then Bistro Aix for brunch. Later, dad took me water skiing on the boat. It was actually a fantastic day in comparrison. We had just gone ALL OUT for Phil’s Birthday the night before- not relieving the babysitter until 2am. So, Ellie’s morning temper tantrum at 6:15am was a brutal start to my Mother’s Day. It could have been worse (it definitly has, but you know I try to keep a positive spin on my blog I hosted book club yesterday so I was busy prepping for that on Monday. “50 Shades of Grey” occupied my weekend. And since this blog is PG-13, at best- I can’t even begin to discuss it on here. Let’s just say our discussion was fantastic. We went though a lot of wine… and jello shots (woot! woot!). Let me reach way back to early last week for an update. I got a much needed oil change and visited with my old SHS friend, Kathleen. That was a fun morning. We were invited to a last minute dinner party that night. How awesome is a Monday night dinner party!? I love those! We met Katherine and her two boys at the beach on Tuesday. Baby William is 3 weeks old so she’s super cool. We were having such a marvelous time out there that we pushed the limits and ended up getting rained on. Luckily we didn’t melt but we did miss eachother for lunch which was a bummer. That night was our last MOPS Steering meeting so we did dinner at Biscotti’s (yes, 2 fun nights so far!). Wednesday was Phil’s 33rd Birthday! Yahooo! Ellie was so cute calling him the “Birthday Boy”. We met him for lunch. That morning we met Tracy and Tabby at the Westside Flea market to buy fresh produce. We got all sorts of neat, new items like egg plants, mangos and some sort of melon I’ve never seen. That night the Freeman’s had us over for pizza. The guys had whiskey and cigars on the dock and they had a cake for Phil. (3 nights in a row!) Thursday my old FSU pal, Leslie came for a visit. Ellie loved playing with Baby Graham. I sure wish they lived closer. She was my roommate in DC so we know way too much dirt on eachother to ever stop being friends- ha! Friday we went to the TPC with my parents and sister. It was a gorgeous day and a nice break. Marly was running a fever that evening so Phil stayed with her while Ellie and I went to Owen’s baseball game. He got the game ball for an awesome hit! Don’t worry, Marly’s fever was gone by the morning. We cheered Phil on in his basketball game. Then that night began his huge Bday extravaganza at Mojo’s No. 4. Whew! What a week!

This week, let’s do a toast to our health. When we’re feeling good, we don’t usually take the time to think about how great it is to just feel good. You may be so focused on your missing toenail (in my case, thanks to all those people stepping on my toes around here) or canker sore that you don’t think “man, it feels so great to not be sick in bed today.” This week started out with a text from my neighbor saying her newborn is in the ER with meningitis. Wham. I’m sure she’ll blog about her busy week when she gets some downtime. That’ll be her story to tell. Let’s just say Stephanie knows how to prevent boredom in “the Farms” (as she’s calls it). We made another visit to my friend, Petra before she goes back to work. I obviously love playdates just as much as my kids, but most times I spend the drive home frustrated with all the unfinished conversations. One day, that won’t be a problem. I know this phase of motherhood is short-lived. We spent lots of time with Baby Tabitha this week. We even went swimming in her pool. Ellie still was not swimming (that was Wednesday). It’s really hard to handle 2 non-swimmers at the pool (shout out to all the gals with TWINS!). So, I decided to do something more drastic with Ellie’s decision to not swim this summer. On Thursday after naptime we went to my parents for a quick afternoon swim. I peeled Ellie off the steps and forced her to swim back. She threw a huge temper tantrum. But, once she calmed down and came back to the pool, I made her do it again. And again. Then, I made her swim with the fun-noodle- which she threw a tantrum. But at least when she kicked, she was moving all around the pool. And oh, by the way, she can TOTALLY swim…she just didn’t want to. Then, I gave her ice cream when we can home for being such a super swimmer. We did this again on Friday and instead of a temper tantrum, she just wimpered. Phil came with us on Saturday for more and guess who was jumping off the side and swimming to the steps? Oh yes, super swimmer Ellie! So, she’s back! We went again today and it’s fantastic to have her right where she left off last summer. I guess she just needed her confidence back. Meanwhile, Marly is not a lover of the water (could be because she watched her sister freak out the last few weeks). I got her a floaty elephant thing and she’s not too impressed with it. Now that Ellie is back to being a fish, I’ll have to work on Marly now. Who-Ra! Tuesday night I got a night out with some MOPS moms. We took a friend out who’s father recently passed. I was glad to have a break and drink good wine. Phil went out of town Tuesday night. He had business in Mutrie, GA (bank headquarters). I had a happy hour playdate with a friend we don’t get to see too often (cause they are so popular)- Kassia and Laurie. Then, I took the girls to the FFC Summer Marriage Enrichment Series. I’m more excited about the next one, since I’ve actually read that book but this one was decent. The girls went to the playroom and had fun. On Thursday we had a down day. We didn’t go anywhere (other than swimming down the street). Ellie was killing me with temper tantrums so I made a point to spend lots of time with her and I think that was the trick. She was much better the latter part of the week. Friday we went to the Hands on Childrens Museum with the Brocks. More great fragmented conversations. And then lunch at chick-fil-a. We went to support Phil at his Rotary Club’s Low Country Boil. He actually cooked (which was amazing). They raised money for one of his clients. We got a great group out there. It was such a nice night with friends listening to the live music, eating and drinking. Yesterday we celebrated cinco de mayo by watching Owen’s baseball game and having lunch at Moe’s. We had the MOPS End of the Year party that evening. I think Phil enjoyed putting a face with all the names. It was a good party, but I think the bucket margaritas were too sweet (and they were my idea). I still have fun seeing everyone. I’m getting reved up for my reign This morning I took the girls to mass (truly missed Ms. Kim!). We went swimming at the Suters and had a seis de mayo party (meaning we ate leftovers and drank lots of water). I’m really enjoying my membership to Suter Pool Club. Such hospitality! We walked away with the first 3 episodes of The Walking Dead’s 2nd season. Yes! I finished reading “Why marriages succeed or fail and how you can make yours last” and picked up a few good tips. It took me such a long time to read because there were quizzes and exercises. I learned a lot on how to fight well and actually solve the disagreement. I was super excited to begin our racy book club book. I’m almost halfway through and still waiting on the juicy parts I’ve heard so much about. Come to find out, I got the WRONG book! I’m reading “Shades of Grey” instead of “50 Shades of Grey”. Woops. Okay, time to watch some Walking Dead!

How is it already time to write the blog again? Where did the week go? I just asked Phil if he wanted to write it this week and he said no. This was another Disney week for us. I’ve gotten lots of comments on FaceBook about all our Disney trips. Last May we got the weekday season pass. So for the last year, I have been to Disney World once a month (unless we were blacked out). For the first time, I am Disneyed out. Sorry, Mickey-lovers. I need a break. (How snobby does that sound?) On Monday morning I got a call from Phil’s parents saying they were coming to Jacksonville first instead of meeting us in Orlando. So, the party started early. Monday flew by with the organic produce chick speaking at MOPS, an afternoon brainstorming MOPS session in the afternoon and preparing for my in-laws. Tuesday I watched Alex for a few hours, met some navy chick friends at a park, took Ellie to her 3 year old check-up and then welcomed the Bravos to town. Ellie is off the charts and doing fabulous, obviously. I am so proud of her. I asked the doc about temper tantrums and sleeping arrangements…no surprises but its always nice to bounce ideas and make sure I’m not nuts. I cooked a quick dinner for the family and my neighbor who just had sweet baby Sophia. Then, Phil and I went on a hot date to his Rotary Club’s Gourmet Night. Wednesday may have been a little too crazy (one of those times when I cram too much in). I brought dinner to another friend who recently had a baby, stopped by another friend’s house to visit a baby I hadn’t seen yet, then picked up the family and met my mom and sister for lunch. But, we started out running late and never caught back up. I ended up packing on the fly and forgetting all sorts of things such as my bathing suit and the stroller. I was able to get a great hotel at a great price (thank you priceline) that morning. But, you can’t have it all. We stopped at Walmart to buy 2 umbrella strollers, which ended up being fine. And I got an inappropriate bathing suit at Walgreens. Sweet. We went to dinner at a Johnny Rockets on I-Drive. I had a chocolate peanut butter milkshake that I’m still thinking about (with a salad of course). Phil took Ellie swimming. Then, he and I got another hot date in the hotel lobby. Thursday we hit Magic Kingdom and then Epcot for naptime. It was fun, but it got hot fast. We left early (by our usual standards) and got a pizza at the hotel- which was a great idea. We went swimming (cough) and cooled off. Another hot date in the lobby bar- yesss! Friday we went to Hollywood Studios. Phil rode the rockin rollercoaster with me, which was awesome. We dipped out early and came back to the hotel for naptime. Phil and I snuck out and went on a date to Epcot. We started the opposite way (Canada) and took our time, which was really nice. Did you know France has a video? We ran into some “new friends” and things got dangerous. Who’s heard of doing 3 sake shots in Japan?! It’s supposed to be 1 drink in each country! It’s this guy’s fault. Somehow we did make it to Mexico, and stayed there for a long time. Saturday morning was rough, we’ll just say that. We had breakfast with Phil’s parents before heading separate ways. It was great to get so many dates! I know the girls loved their time, too. We made it to Suzanne’s to celebrate her Birthday. Jason made shish kabobs and the kids played in the pool and yard (Ellie is still not swimming). We took it easy Saturday night- grilled cheese and playing on the porch. This morning we went to mass and then mom and dad’s for bloody mary’s and eggs benedict (perk to living down the street). We went for a fantastic boat ride. Later, they brought the sailboat to our house for a while. So, it’s been a nice, low key day today, too. Now, it’s Sunday night TV time- Desperate Housewives and Mad Men!

It’s tough to brag our fab FL weather to all our friends up north, when our pictures are mocked with a smokey film. And so the fires have started. One day this week it was so bad that the whole day was pretty dark. Our porch furniture had a layer of ash when I went to tidy up this afternoon. Luckily, we had a cold front and it pushed all the smoke away. We’ve had a gorgeous, spring weekend. I went to a coordinators coffee at Chick-fil-a one morning. We brainstormed with other MOPS coordinators in Jacksonville. That was pretty neat. Cora came to play with Ellie that afternoon. They play pretty well together. Wednesday I drove out to meet up with my friend from high school, Petra. I didn’t realize how far away she lives. I think Ellie enjoyed seeing all the cows on the way over, though. Petra had her 2nd baby girl about 3 months ago and she has to go back to work (family physician at a local clinic) so we had lots of catching up to do. I really wish they lived closer. We had such a nice visit. That night I taught my mom’s CCD class since they are out of town. (Suzanne and mom went to the beach house, I spent the week trying to keep busy to ward off my jealousy). The class was pretty interesting, about ’safe touching’. It was sad to me to have to talk about that to kids at such a young age. But, I was interested to see how they presented it. Phil grabbed some impromptu drinks with friends (I was jealous). Thursday we met up with an old Rotaract pal and her daughter, Emma at the zoo. We packed a nice lunch- this was the cold front day. That night we made it to one of Phil’s basketball games. They usually begin pretty late at night so we haven’t been to one. This time it was early enough to push the envelope on the girl’s bedtime. They lost but it was still nice to see him out there. Friday we met Tabitha at the library and then had lunch in the courtyard. I was running around that morning buying Birthday gifts, delivering meals and little “happy’s”. We had an afternoon playdate with our Mu Omega Mu “sorority”. It’s the Lauries and I and our fantasticly scandelous happy hour discussions, while our kids play peacefully together (usually). We met the Suters for a Friday BBQ dinner at Monroe’s. Then, the guys went on a very important trip to Lowe’s (yeah right). I made a pit stop at my neighbor’s house to scare off a creepy tree guy that was still “writing up an estimate”. Saturday Phil made us a pancake breakfast and we were off on another wild, Bravo family Saturday. We went to a picnic out at a private, family’s park. It was pretty neat with a cabin and a pond. The girls took a nap in the car on the way back and then we headed over to cheer on Pierce Benton for his Baptism. Afterwards was his 1st Birthday party complete with ball pit and bounce house. We snuck out early to meet and greet a new babysitter. The Girl Scout’s are a new client of the bank so we got to go to their Cookies and Cocktails event to celebrate 100 years. Wow! How cool is that? VERY! Not only was I excited to go to this event since I was a Daisy, Brownie and Girl Scout myself…but I love s’mores, cookies and oh the cocktails! They had thinmint and samoa milkshakes! The s’mores were made with Ghiradelli chocolate squares! It was awesome! This morning Ellie and I went to mass and met up with the other two for lunch. We took a quick dip in my parent’s pool. It was pretty cold but felt great in the sun. We’re just bummin’ around this afternoon. Phil and Ellie are fishing. We’re going to enjoy a nice steak dinner once the girls go to bed. I’m ready for that. Ellie seems to have hit a record high for temper tantrums this week. Can’t beat a nice spring afternoon on this porch, though!

I usually pull up my google calendar while writing the blog to remind me what we did. For some reason, this week looks awfully blank. I know we did some things, though so that means nothing was planned in advance, I guess! No, we did not enroll the girls in a tumbling class- by the looks of the title. If you check out the Easter pictures in the spring album, you’ll see what I mean. Marly took a face plant on my parent’s new boat one evening. They picked us up to check us out in the boat. We didn’t make it very far. Marly does not have her “sea legs” yet. She was quite wobbly in her life jacket and fell right into the front (where there was no cushion, of course). She had a ping pong ball between her eyes for a few days. We almost raced to the ER but paged the doctor first. They said she was fine I just had to make sure she didn’t have a concussion (i.e wake her every 40 min all night). The day before Easter, Ellie slid face first down the slide and got a nice rug burn on her eye. It looks much worse than it is. Hopefully she’s learned her lesson having to tell everyone what happened. I took the girls to the beach one morning. I just love it out there. It’s always a chore to get out there, but once I’m there, it is just paradise. The girls absolutely loved it. We could have played in the sand for hours! I love witnessing them experience the waves and sand; it’s awesome! We had a playdate at the Naugles. They have their own bounce house! How cool is that?! Ellie went on a “big girl” playdate early in the week at Cora’s. Marly and I snuck over to the hospital to visit our new friend, Sophia (born on Monday)! Stephanie was able to skype the birth with Carl so that was pretty neat, I’m sure. We tried out the Suter’s pool one afternoon for a quick pool-date. Ellie has decided she “doesn’t know how” to swim. I’ve showed her the videos of her fish-like experiences last summer. Hopefully, she’ll see Owen swim and want to do that, too. I don’t think I can handle 2 non-swimmers going in 2 different directions this summer. I may have mentioned that I’m not into community service these days. I know that sounds awful, but I’m not going to hire a babysitter so I can work in a soup kitchen. These days are numbered when I can be home with the girls so I want to milk them for all they’re worth. I do, however, make lots of meals for friends in need. It sorta comes with the territory- all my friends are having babies these days. We all know cooking is not my favorite thing to do. So, I figured out a way to cheat a little bit. MOPS (”Oh, there she goes again talking about MOPS!”) does a fundraiser for convention: take away meals. I can never help cook the meals because my kids are always with me (back to the service comment). But, I do volunteer to cook the chicken that goes into all the casseroles. It makes it easier when they get together to put the meals together when the chicken is already cut up and ready to go in. Well, I started buying these meals to give to folks who just had a baby. I throw in a bottle of wine and presto…it’s a great dinner! (For all parties involved!) Phil and I got a free month of Netflix. Lots of people rant and rave about this deal. I just don’t see it. There’s nothing on there I’m dieing to see. On Friday night we popped popcorn and sat down together to check out our new Netflix. We were both disappointed. We finally agreed on the The Walking Dead. Oh dear. What do you guys think aboutthis series? We’ve watched the first 4 episodes so far and I’ve had 2 nightmares. Although, I’m interested to see what happens (ahhh! And that’s how you get hooked!). We went to an Easter Egg hunt on Saturday morning. It was cute, more of a social event for us, really. That night the Suters brought over oysters. We decided not to do rockefeller this time- just raw and grilled. We finished the bushel! Delicious! Ellie helped me set out celery for the Easter bunny (sorry, we were out of carrots). I think I put too much candy in their baskets. They were high on sugar by 6:30am Easter morning. Scary. I’m nervous I will go overboard on the sweets, since I gave them up for Lent. It’s been a slow walk back into that pool. After mass we went to the Voss Villa for some family fun. The Kerkezi’s where there along with cousin, Natalie and kids from Orlando. And of course, the Sacred Heart priests where there. We went out on the new boat and had an egg hunt. The weather was just amazing! Oh, you know, we went as a family to a Penance Service this week. That was a trick, it’s not like you can bring the kids into confession with you (I think I brought Marly once when she was tiny). It was still nice to be together, though. This morning we had MOPS (oh, there it is again!) and Chef Jessica talked us though a few delicious, quick, family-friendly breakfast foods. It was a good meeting, but you won’t see me making citrus biscuits from scratch anytime soon. Well, Happy Easter to you and yours. I hope you’re all enjoying this fantastic spring season!

Sometimes I wonder how we fit so much into one week. This was one of those weeks. I’ve always loved hopping from event to event, even when I was a kid. I’m so happy I married someone who also likes the high energy lifestyle (most of the time, at least). Our 8th wedding anniversary snuck up on us. I kept planning things for the day, forgetting. Suzanne watched the girls so Phil and I could enjoy a lunch together. Nothing extraordinary, just a chance to connect during the day. I wouldn’t say the eight years has flown by, sometimes it feels like we’ve been married for more than 15 years. It just feels like our lives are so much different than they were back then. That’s a good thing. We spent the evening of our anniversary with Cecil and Marilyn going over our CEE talks. Delving into the mechanics of our marriage is a heck of a way of celebrating. Also this week we had a productive MOPS meeting where I spent the time solidifying my ‘Dream Team’ for next year. It’s shaping into a good start. The real rough part I hear will be planning the retreat this summer, so stand by. At book club we discussed our recent read, “The Power of Half”. It’s about a super rich family who sold their multi-million dollar home and gave half the proceeds to a charity in Africa. The thought was wonderful. I was even nervous to read the book because I really like my house and didn’t want to be inspired to do anything drastic. Lucky for me, the book was very badly written. I’m very excited about our new book, “Shades of Grey”. Probably too scandelous to review on the family blog. We had a quick playdate with Duncan and Tabitha before heading out to Disney World on Wednesday. We got a late start and ended up eating dinner on the way down. I pricelined the hotel the morning of and we ended up in a super nice place off I-drive. The only downer was that the hotel/resort was so huge that carrying a sleeping child from the car to the room was an ordeal. Don’t worry, I sucked it up though. Thursday we began bright and early in Magic Kingdom. Fantasy Land opened up a few new rides so I wanted to hit those before the crowds appeared. We truly finished with the park by nap time so we headed over to Epcot. Marly decided not to participate in Bravo-kid-mandatory-naptime, right as I was sitting down to enjoy a Mexican-rita. But we still enjoyed the Epcot tour (the adult beverages always help). Somehow Phil landed reservations for dinner in Japan- window views of the fireworks display. That was super cool. Friday we got in a morning swim at the hotel and then headed out to Animal Kingdom. We hadn’t spent much time there so we were able to experience many new rides and things. I think we were just tired from the day before, though. We left fairly early and decided not to go all out and hit the 4th Disney park that evening. We cut out and went to dinner at downtown Disney, shoe shopping for Phil and then a mostly quiet drive home. Saturday the girls and I participated in an awareness walk for the Hubbard House. Then, we cheered on Phil in a basketball game (which they won). We tried out a new local sub place for lunch. After naps we took a family trip to Winn Dixie (not a fab experience). Suzanne came over to watch the girls while we went on a Parents Night Out with 4 other couples. A nice dinner and then 2 other hot spots for drinks- a great way to unwind. Sunday Miss Elizabeth turned three! She was so cute (even when she woke me at 6:05 yelling “I’m free! I’m free!”) Miss Kim did a cute tea party celebration at church with the kids. We had a low key park Birthday party for her. I let Ellie choose the friends (17 in all). We got a pinata, Phil grilled hotdogs and Winn Dixie did super cute Dora cupcakes. It was a great, no frills Birthday. I think all the kids had a great time. Phil was disgruntled that I forgot forks and the bugs got annoying. But, I thought it was super sweet. The girls have been playing with all their new toys- amazing shopping cart/baby car, Barbie’s, babydolls, stickers galore. This is so much fun!

What a different meaning Spring Break is for us these days. In some ways its always spring break. But since my girls aren’t in school yet, we just took advantage of lots of others being on spring break. We had a super playdate here one morning with the Lauries- all the kids were here so that was cool. We had the pools set up, too- complete with a sand finale meltdown from Ellie. We also had an afternoon at the park with the Leen family, baby William already loves the swings. Cora and Ellie danced their hearts out one afternoon for a big girl playdate. We did Toddler Power hour downtown and had lunch after in the courtyard with a few friends that we don’t get to see too often. I tried something new and got produce at the flea market down the street early one morning. Hey, we’re up anyway. That was pretty cool. Suzanne and I took turns trying out a new local spa in town (swapping the babysitting). Probably a one-time gig, but hey it was nice to enjoy a free promotion for an hour! We headed back to mom and dad’s for family pizza night. No robbery this time. (I think I forgot to write about that last week. Someone broke into my parent’s shed and stole some tools when we were all over there on pizza night. Talk about gutsy! Ellie actually was the one that saw them and told us someone was out there. Phil chased them down to no avail.) On Thursday night, mom, Suzanne and I snuck out for the midnight showing of the Hunger Games! How cool are we!? Friday morning was pretty rough but totally worth it. Coffee club was very interesting. The topic was: should pot be legal? I think we had a healthy discussion. Our host concluded the meeting by sharing the exciting news of her pregnancy with TWINS! Awesome! Friday night we attempted the Sacred Heart Carnival. But it started pouring so we ate and fled. Phil and I enjoyed a low key night, he worked on his CEE talks. Saturday morning the girls participated in their first (and most likely last) fashion show. Willies, a kids botiquehad a spring fashion show. We went last weekend and had them try on the dresses. It was just rough. Neither child had any interest in posing for pictures or walking the runway. At least we gave it a shot. Something to add to the baby books! We headed over for Alex’s 3rd Birthday party! It’s still funny to me that Ellie was due way before Alex (March 20th!) but Alex was born before her. He had a dance party. They transformed the garage into Club Kerkezi- lights, bubbles, fog, clubbing music, instruments! It was awesome! They even had a guitar pinata! The Bravos were so inspired by the dance theme that we wanted to keep the party going. We ended up staying way past the party (and we usually hate those people!), getting the kids ready for bed, hiring a last minute sitter and heading out for a double date! It’s been a while since the 4 of us went out. We hit up Capitol Grill for drinks, Black Fin for dinner and then Whiskey River for clubbing! We even rode the mechanical bull…oh yes! As you can guess, today was rough. Especially since Mr. Bravo didn’t bless us with his presence until 11am. Miss Marly just loves breakfast in the dark. We finally got around to celebrating Baby Mitchell. We had a ladies brunch, which was nice. We spent the late afternoon at the carnival. The weather was so perfect today. A great day to enjoy some lumpia. I’m so proud Ellie has my thrill-gene. She loved the ferris wheel and roller coaster. I’ll have to post those videos soon. Needless to say, I am turning in early tonight. I’m just so pooped after my Spring Break. Ha, ha, ha!

This was the 4th week of Lent: the half way mark. For me Lent is kinda like a spring cleaning time. I make a New Year’s Resolution so I can check up on that, do some soul searching and think about that constant struggle to maintain my personal balance. Fr. Vic gave a decent homily this morning about using Lent to re-set yourself. I like that thought. The week kicked off with a great MOPS meeting. My super blogger pal, Laurie gave a great recap, so I’m just going to steal it- here. Suzanne bought a new playhouse for her boys so we checked it out on Tuesday. I think they are going to turn it into a pirate fort, but Ellie liked the curtains and flowers. She had her first solo playdate this week. She entertained Cora so her mom could pack, I spent that time organizing the girls clothes (New Year Resolution, remember?). The Mitchell’s had us over for burgers. Super cool to catch up with them. Wednesday, we picked up my mom and headed to Disney World to meet up with one of my Mississippi cousins and her family. That place is always fantastic. It got hot and crowded but we just loved catching up with Amy & Robby and their 2 boys (with another boy on the way!) A day trip to Magic Kingdom is light years better than that 12 hour trek to MS! Marly had her one year check up on Thursday morning. She is a very healthy girl. She weighs 23.14lbs (which is a bit on the heavy side, only 2% milk for her), 29.5 inches tall, 11:5 hemoglobin count (over 10 is excellent), 18.25 head circumference. According to her walking and talking, she’s at a 15-16 month old pace, says Dr. Thornton! I am having her stool sample looked at (that’s probably TMI for a blog) because of some funkiness she has going on. The doc didn’t think it was necessary but I like to follow that mommy intuition. Baby Tabitha came over for a playdate that afternoon and Phil played in his first of many YMCA b-ball games that night (a win!). Friday, Suzanne and I took mom to brunch for her Birthday! It was a very sweet morning with the ladies. That night we went to our CEE meeting. We are supposed to present at a weekend in June and boy do we have a lot of writing to do! Yesterday I made green pancakes for St. Patrick’s Day. We spent the morning doing yardwork and then a family pizza lunchdate and then the park (I got a few really sweet pictures of the girls). Some great friends brought over OYSTERS for dinner- my all-time favorite food! We spent the evening shucking and making Rockerfeller, cornbread, margaritas and salad. I felt like it was my Birthday or something. It was so much fun catching up- I laughed so hard I cried. Sitting out here on the porch was just perfect. Today was pretty rough. For one thing I was tired- I say this all the time but its like ‘every night is a Friday night and every morning is a Monday morning’. 6:15am was painful today. And then to add some salt, neither child really took a nap. We spent the day in St. Augustine. I had to put Marly down at 6pm tonight, she was just done. So, I’m sure tomorrow will begin pretty soon. Marly’s personality has changed in the last few weeks. She’s not as laid back as she used to be; more outgoing, likes to be heard, no slack. It’s neat watching these two girls grow. Namaste!

I started taking the girls to the park first thing in the morning. We’re up so early, we might as well get out there and start the day- do something before Marly’s morning nap. It’s always wet first thing at the park so I need to remember to bring a towel. We spend lots of time at the park, that’s where we’re doing Ellie’s Birthday, actually. Now that Marly walks, she’s working on climbing the slide. And we could spend all day swinging. When is it that I can sit and read while the kids play? I see ladies doing that, but I’m still the ‘helicopter parent’. We watched Ellie’s little pal on Thursday. Her mom is having a rough pregnancy so we gave her a break. Friday we did story hour and then picked up my race packet for the River Run. We went for an early dinner (pizza, my pre-game staple- hey at least it wasn’t CiCi’s We all went to sleep early. Erin and I started out together, but she sped on around mile 2. I ran the whole way, which is always my goal. But, this one hurt more than that 1/2. Not sure why, maybe because it was warmer. Maybe because it was so crowded (it never really thinned out). It was still fun to run and see everyone. Our pal, Jay hooked us up with access to the Strider’s tent; which means a massage for me and all you can eat for Phil and the girls. We zoomed home and I took the girls with me to Stephanie’s Baby Sprinkle while Phil respresented us at the Ronald McDonald House, Rock The House. I’ve never been to a baby shower that was also a playdate. It was pretty neat, actually. The girls had a wonderful time- cracked out on cupcakes, cookies and jellybeans! That night we went to the Denk’s couples BaByQ shower. The Kerkezi’s watched the girls. I enjoyed seeing the ‘ole God Squad again. The time change hasn’t affected this family. I tried out a new breakfast casserole (thumbs up). Once it was light outside, Phil did a bit of fishing before church. We rocked the cry room at mass and then headed over to Addison’s 1st Birthday party. They did a super cute baby Minnie theme. I caught up on all the JU news from Bre. We’re just doing some post-nap porch playing and enjoying a lazy Sunday afternoon. What are your thoughts on the 2012 Kony video? Just curious.