Sushi Anyone?

DS 3 got his license yesterday. We enjoyed a family dinner at our local sushi restaurant where it's "all you can eat". They put away some sushi. And we were surprised by DS 2's visit to celebrate! I love it that our whole family was around the table together celebrating DS 3. There's nothing else to say except that's the way it's supposed to be!

OK Everybody, FALL IN!

This afternoon we got word that LG is one step closer to being ours forever. We were waiting for one more paper to be signed before we can begin our process with a great deal of certainty. Today it happened. I had her out and said, "I think Dad needs to take us out to celebrate tonight. And I think it needs to be a nice dinner where we can get dressed up." It didn't take her long to chime in and agree. (This picture is not from tonight, but I thought you'd be able to see the big brown eyes that were about to ask a Daddy for something.)

When we arrived home, she quickly announced to DH that she and I had something to ask him. He knew it was trouble from that moment! She asked me to start. So I said, "LG and I think we need to celebrate the fact that she's so close to being able to be adopted into our family." She continued, "And so we need to go out to a FANCY dinner. And you have to take us!"

He said, "Who's idea was this?" And she said, "Well....Mom thought of it and I just fell in it!"

HUH!?!? She "fell in it"???? I laughed so hard! That girl cracks me up.

Then he said, "Well, where do YOU think we should go that's fancy?" She said, "Golden Corral". Let me tell ya' the Golden Corral is NOT fancy...but where LG has spent most of her life, it IS a fancy restaurant. So we chuckled a bit and said we wanted to up the ante a bit (ok a LOT). So then she tells DH that she wants something "Da Ru Ma-ish". Let me explain. This is the name of one of our Japanese steakhouses where we spent Valentine's Day dinner. I just thought it was funny that she added the "ish" to her description.

Anyway, DH settled on The Melting Pot, which we LOVE! LG had no idea what to expect but loved each course and the whole experience!

Let me tell you...

DH suggested it and she "fell in it"...that's for certain!

A Weekend Recap...

So, here's my DS 3 sans a lot of hair! He got it cut on Friday and decided to go ahead and go short. I like it very much. He's practicing his "chicken-neck" model pose here.

He, LG and I headed up to my hometown on Saturday for a little July 4th fun. It was great seeing the parade and enjoying the hometown feel of celebration.

We met my brother, SIL and their kids along with the grandparents and headed up to the golf course to stake out our seats.

It was fun to watch LG enjoy the parade. It's

not the first parade she's ever attended, but I am pretty sure it's the first fourth of July parade she's ever attended.

We had fun buying matching shirts to wear and preparing for the day. She helped me make pasta salad, strawberry pretzel dessert, beer bread and artichoke/ranch squares to take up there.

It was also fun seeing people that I haven't seen in years. And some I've seen but known for what seems like forever.

Here's one example...Keven, aka Uncle Sam, and

I have known each other since we were 4 years old.

We met in 1968 when we moved to the area. We lived only a few doors apart from his family. One of my early memories of Keven and his family is of his Dad, who's now gone, dressing up like Uncle Sam at the annual July 4th festivities.

I think it's neat that Keven is carrying on the tradition started so many years ago.

My Mom still lives in the area, as do my Dad and Stepmom. This is how I keep up-to-date with the goings on there.

After the kids caught all the beads they could handle (and then some) and bagged up their candy prizes, we headed back to my Dad's for a little swimming, food and relaxing until the fireworks.

DS 1 and DH came up and joined us for food. It was fun having DS 1 there since he hasn't really been around the entire family since Christmas! He has been home for the week and I've loved having him here.

When we headed out to the fireworks, I had to find somewhere I could watch them from the car. I cannot handle the loud noises. It's pretty embarrassing being 45 and sitting with your ears

plugged! So we parked ourselves on the golf course and were able to see them perfectly!

In fact, here's a shot that DS 3 got from INSIDE the car while we watched:

It was a perfect ending to a very fun day!

Happy Mother's Day...

Wow! It's definitely been a Mother's Day Celebration to remember! DS 3, LG and I went to Tampa last night to take my Mom out to celebrate. Here we are at Outback Steakhouse...one of my favorite places:


LG wanted us to take this picture outside....I thought it was sweet!

When I got back home, DS 4 surprised me with this cake he decorated just for me. He and DS 2 worked together to get up to the store where they were decorating them and have it done. I LOVE IT!

Since I forgot to take a picture of DS 4 WITH the cake...here we are at church this morning...


Here is LG giving me her sweet gift...a decorated pen and holder that I will treasure. It came with a beautiful card that she made. So very sweet!

And here's DSs 2 and 3 and I at church together this morning.



It took us a couple of tries to find a restaurant since a couple of our favs were closed...but we met DS 1 at Red Lobster and had a lovely meal together.

DS 3 and I finished the afternoon with a trip to Goodwill (where he picked up some "new" vinyl records and I searched for treasures) and then Target.

I'd say it rounded out pretty well! I love my guys and my gal so much! It's a treasure to be their Mom!

Spring Break Reflections

We have officially finished Spring Break. For me it was like the players sliding around the bases during a great run at a baseball game. It had it's moments of pure joy and moments of weariness. But all in all it was a GREAT time!

Instead of picking one destination and going there to spend a few days, we decided to take several day trips. Or maybe I decided to take several day trips and they just humored me.

This adventure started with me taking LG to the fair on the first Saturday--She had a BALL! She rode everything...and I DO mean EVERYTHING! The faster the ride went, the better!
On Monday, DS 3 and LG and I headed out to our local science museum for a little hands-on fun! We followed that up with a trip to the Ringling Museum of Art where they have the work of Norman Rockwell on display. It was a beautiful day and a fun time! My favorite picture from the science museum is this one:


From there we went to the art museum where LG and I took time to pose near the Banyan trees:

And DS 3 took time to make fun of appreciate the art.


Then it was on to bowling where DS 4 showed us how it's done:



I don't think LG "got it"...


On Tuesday, we went to the Florida Air Museum, a Children's Museum, and to feed the swans in Lakeland. DS 3 says this photo, taken at the air museum, looks like a band photo...what do you think?

I thought this was a good "teachable moment"--although I'm not sure DS 4 really "got it":



We went to the Children's Museum for some more fun followed by a visit to Lake Morton in Lakeland. This is only a stone's throw from where DH and I went to college. We used to go out to this lake to feed the ducks/swans back then. It was fun to see the kids enjoy it as much as we used to!

We rounded out this day trip with a visit to a "Roaring 20's Pizza Parlor" near us. This was a throw back to a place we used to visit when I was a kid called "J Burns Pizza". When we walked in, they noticed it was filled with a lot of senior citizens. But, I enjoyed the trip down memory lane and the kids had a great time listening to the giant pipe organ and eating pizza.

This is how we finished Tuesday. I'll give an update on the second half of our break tomorrow.

Holiday Reflections...

What a fabulous Thanksgiving holiday we have had! Of course, I was a bit whiny that my colleagues in other counties had the entire week off...but we made the most of having three days and the weekend.

Thursday morning, I took LG over to her Grandma's to visit with her brothers and cousins that she hasn't seen since she moved here. She and I had a visit with her Grandma and we've visited her younger siblings. But she had not seen her older brothers and cousins.

I have to be honest, I wondered what this would be like. I had never been to Grandma's home. This was the place she and the other kids were removed from a little over a month ago. And, honestly, if it were me in my 8yo body, I probably would not have wanted to leave my family and return to a foster family.

But there was none of that. She had a great time visiting. We took pictures so she can have them for her own scrapbook/room. It was nice talking with the boys and her Aunt/Uncle who have them. And Grandma was happy to share some of the things she wanted LG to have as she prepares to move to a smaller home.

LG and I came home in time to visit with our family and begin our own celebration. It was a great day shared with the blessing of family. DH did a great job preparing the turkey as usual. We served up buffet style and brought tables in to the living room so we could share the meal together.

This year we bought "real" glasses for the mashed potato bar. The kids seemed to enjoy doctoring up their potatoes and preparing them for eating.

Here's part of the group settling in to the meal:

And here's the other part of the group:


After dinner it was great fun playing corn hole and enjoying the beautiful weather! One of the blessings this year was having DS 1 home. Last year he had just begun Basic Training. This year he was able to be here for a good portion of the weekend with us. I know DS 4 enjoyed it--he really misses the guys when they are not home.
LG and DS 2 enjoyed hanging out on the back porch and visiting after the meal.
DS 3 played corn hole in his "special outfit". Do you suppose it helped him? I think they won...so who knows for sure??

We paused to take some family group shots. I think this one is going to be our Christmas card this year. It CRACKED me UP and says quite a lot about this zany family of mine!



I hope your holiday was also filled with special memories and moments!

Why whine when we're blessed?

I have to tell you, I can be a whiner sometimes. I try not to do it. I try to keep my chin up and not complain. But occasionally the whine slips through my filter and right out into the open.

If you read my last post, then you know that I've been a little stressed at work. I know that ultimately my moving is the "right thing"...but it DOES NOT make it easy. And it doesn't mean that I am not a bit emotional over the whole thing. It would be easy to get stuck in the muck and the mire, but I am making the choice to make the best of it and muddle through my emotions to take the next step in location.

I have to say, though, in the last 24 hours I have been the recipient of MORE blessings than I can count. Right in the midst of my whining!

It started with the food delivery and box top pile. Last night, I came home later than usual. My wonderful in-laws had dropped off "Grandma's Kitchen" for us...complete with new foods to taste-test. On the fridge was a note telling us what had been delivered. The thing that really got me was the P.S. from my MIL. She saw a mountain of General Mills Box Tops on my counter that needed to be cut. The P.S. asked if I wanted her to do that for me. I gotta' tell you this simple offer made me cry on the spot! Even though it seemed like a small "mountain"...I had been trying to finish the task admist everything else for a couple of days.

Today, my sweet DS 2 offered to come help me move stuff to my new room. Now please understand that this is the same son who helped move from my old office to my "new old" office just a few months ago. He got his grandfather, my FIL, to come with him. Right when they arrived, it started raining and it did not stop for the rest of the afternoon. Yet, those two did NOT stop! Thanks to them there is only a small bit left to do tomorrow and then I can concentrate on getting stuff put away and organized.

At home I had been preparing to host a Tastefully Simple party for my neighbor who is a consultant. I'd been promising her for months that I would do this. I had several people RSVP and ready to come this evening. DS 3 totally made sure things were ready to "Mom's specifications" around the house before I came home.

At five o'clock, I got a call from my neighbor (the consultant) who told me that she'd been running a fever and was getting worse. She had already had the food ready to go with the help of her family. My party was at 6:30. She said she was going to send it over and let us enjoy it.

I immediately called my friend Sandy who loves to cook. She said not to worry she'd be here to help. And she was....we just faked our way right through the party and had a blast sampling and tasting the stuff. My friends are simply the best as they didn't care either way...they are so flexible and helpful and just all around super people.

After they left, I sat with my boys and once again reflected on all my blessings. I think I'll count them tonight as my head hits the pillow...as I sing "You'll fall asleep counting your blessings!"

Night!

Who Knew?

My DS 4 has been sick this week.  He's got a horrible cough and this morning it turned to "croup".  On Monday, I stayed home with him cause I wasn't feeling well.  On Tuesday, I had to go to a meeting, so DH stayed home with him.  Today, DH and I both had a full schedule...so we did what we normally do when that happens:

We called "back-up".  Our back-up is...GRANDMA!  She's run sick bay on more days than I can count over the years we've lived in the same town.  And she is always so pleasant about it.  I can't tell you how much of a blessing it is to be able to call her (and Grandpa) at 0'dark hundred and say, "can you?" and without hesitation they answer, "of course!"

Today, as DS 4 and I headed over to Grandma's, he was coughing.  I told him that it should settle down because he'd just taken meds.  He said, "I'm sure some of Grandma's Cinnamon Toast will help my throat feel better.  It's so warm and soothing."  

I have to say I never really considered the healing powers of cinnamon toast, but thanks to DS 4 now I know!  

It's Monday Do YOU Know What that Means?

In our city, Moe's celebrates "Moe Mondays". This is where you get any burrito and a drink for $5.55. My boys often go to Moe's on Mondays. Their burritos are simply huge and you can have them made with the toppings you pick. I rarely join them to eat there, although I do enjoy Moe's food.

Tonight, I got home late and DH tells me that a few of our family members aren't feeling well and that DSs 2 and 3 are at Moe's because they WERE hungry. I was starving since I did not get a lunch today and decided I'd see about joining them and leave sick bay at home.

Of course, the boys were gracious and said they'd wait for me even though they were more than half way through their meal. Upon my arrival at the restaurant, I should have realized just what a mess it was going to be! Cars were parked pretty much anywhere they could find a spot. And when I walked in, and was greeted with the infamous "Welcome to Moe's!", I could tell I just didn't belong!

I mean it was FILLED with the 15 - 20-something set with only a few folks of my age in the room. It was like a giant teen young adult ant hill. And they were everywhere. My growling stomach won out and I got in line anyway.

After making it through the line, DSs 2 and 3 and their friends had an empty table close by where they were seated. I told them I'd sit there. But they wouldn't have it. They squeezed room for their "forty-something" perhaps-she-needs-dates-for-hot-flashes Mother. And they politely sat there and talked while I tried to enjoy a peaceful dinner.

Although that was a stretch! The line, which remained out the door, continued to be filled with this crowd. It was loud. Very loud. It seemed that they all knew each other and there was communication throughout the restaurant that was weaving an invisible web of connections between diners. I actually began to wonder if there is a whole "Moe's Monday" cult or something!

Although I was tired, I enjoyed it in many ways. And I thanked God that my boys aren't afraid to get out with their Mother and are willing to let me occasionally glimpse into their teen and young adult lives. But I also told myself that next time I was tempted, I'd just send them with money and eat my burrito in the comfort of my own home!