Monthly update!

LOL It's been a while (once again) since I posted. I've been bitten by the whole Facebook bug, and spend most of my online time over there, reconnecting (and playing) with old friends. It's been a blast catching up with my old high school friends, not to mention my college buds and sorority sisters!! If you haven't checked it out, you really should!!! And, while you're there, look me up :)

So, what's new around here.. well, we are still in the swing of Field Hockey. Both girls teams are doing incredibly well. In fact, they are both undefeated, and the season is almost over. Hannah's team has had the pleasure to play on the High School turf fields this year. This is a much welcome change from playing on our school fields, that are regular grass. You know the type, overgrown in some areas, and bare in others; with big tuffs that make the ball pop up, off the ground, and harder to hit. The first time Hannah got to play on a turf field, she was amazed at the size. "It looks like a regular football field!" That's because it IS. When playing on a regular grass field, lined very basically, you don't notice just how big it really is. I hope that next year, they will get the same opportunity to play on these fields. Both girls will be playing in an end of season tournament, in a few weeks. Rebecca's team is actually a league lower than Hannah's (due to age), but they are playing in the highest level of that league. They are still winning games with scores like 10-0! So, her coach is entering them in this tournament in Hannah's league. Should be interesting! The two teams could end up playing one another! lol

School is going well for them, too. Though Rebecca was off to a bumpy start. She was bringing home some (let's say) less than pleasing grades, but seems to have gotten herself back on track. She seemed so overwhelmed at the start. We're not sure what was going on there. She will likely not make Principal's honor roll (all A's) for this first semester, but I think Honor Roll is in her sights. I'm very proud of her though.. she's hung in there, done extra credit, and is bringing her grades up. In addition, she's running for Assistant Secretary for the Student Council. She's a bit nervous about it, because she thinks she will lose, but I have told her that it's okay if she doesn't win. All that matters is that she gave it a try! Not everyone does that! Hannah, right now, has all A's (so says her progress reports from her teachers). She even has 100% in several classes. Smarty pants! :) She certainly didn't get that brain from me! hehe At least not the Math portion. ;)

Amanda Joy continues to grow like a weed. She's just about 9 months old now. She's working on the whole crawling thing. It's actually quite funny. She doesn't really crawl forward, but she's got the backwards crawling down to a T. She'll scoot herself backwards, and get herself stuck in the funniest places. She's a champion eater, too. I haven't found one food that she doesn't like. Today, for example, Steve and I went to a buffet for lunch. I had brought a jar of babyfood with us, just in case she was hungry (she ate breakfast late), but instead, she just ate off of my plate. She had (and liked); cottage cheese w/peaches, lima beans, green beans, mac & cheese, roll, mashed potatoes, and black olives. Loved it all! She also likes chicken nuggets, hot dog, cheese, avacado, banana, apple, baby goldfish, peaches, hamburger, rice, oh I could go on and on!

I'll be sure to post some new pics of the girls soon. :)

In other news, our gutters are just about finished!! Hopefully, by this weekend, they will be done. The next project is the kitchen. We are preparing for demolition of the dividing wall between the kitchen and diningroom. I've got a few more things to clear out, then we can break out the hammers, and get to smashin'! We totally forgot to take a before picture!!! We already moved the cabinets that were on the soon-to-be gone wall. But I'll make sure to take pics along the way. I'm not looking forward to the mess in the process, but the outcome will be well worth it!! :)

Both girls are doing well in school, though Rebecca is finding 4th grade on the challenging side. Luckily, she's got a great teacher, who's very communicative with me, so I can stay on top of how she's doing. I'm hoping that after she adjusts, she'll get back in the swing of it all.

Hannah is really enjoying Middle School. She's made lots of new friends, and likes her teachers. So far, she hasn't had tons of homework, like she thought she'd have, and to be honest, I am quite surprised myself! Let's just hope it continues this way, though I won't hold my breath!

Field Hockey continues to go well for both of them. Both their teams are undefeated!! Rebecca's team has only had one goal scored on them this season, and Hannah's team remains unscored upon! They just had a game last night, and I have to say, it was the most challenging yet. Tomorrow, they play their rival team... Hannah has two friends on that team! Should be interesting!! I hope Hannah's up for playing.. she came home from school early today.. sick. I'm taking her to the doctor this afternoon.

Amanda Joy is now 8 months old!! Little bean is becoming more mobile by the day. She's not crawling yet, and let me tell you, I'm in no hurry for that! I'm enjoying every single day of her. Can she stay this age forever? She scoots herself around, and pushes herself backwards. She gets up on her hands and knees, so I know it's only a matter of time before our world changes again! lol But until that happens, we'll just enjoy watching her try. She waves hi, claps, and sings.. her singing is so cute!! She even pulled herself up in the crib yesterday! Oh boy!

Back in FULL Swing!

We are now in the full swing of the school year, as well as the Field Hockey season. Rebecca had her first game of the season, this past Sunday, and her team did really well. They won their game, 8-0! Way to go Rebecca! If this game was any indication of how their season is going to go, it ought to be a good one! Hannah's got her first game tomorrow night. Here's a picture from Rebecca's game. She's on the right; she's got the ball.

Last night, Rebecca's team had their team and individual photos. Here's one I took..

And here is one with her goofy friends...

Hannah's team had their first game of the season last night. They played really well, and ended up dominating the field, and the game. They won their season opener, 4-0! Hannah scored TWO of those goals! Way to go Hannah!



Hannah with some of her friends, and teammates

And of course, I couldn't compose a blog post w/out some pics of Amanda. She never fails to please me with that darling smile.. she's such a ham!

She reminded me of a little Cupie doll...
Don't you just want to scoop her up!!!???

September is here!

Wow. Where did August go? Seems as though this past summer flew by; especially August.
I celebrated my *gulp* 39th birthday this past Sunday. It was odd to have my birthday fall over Labor Day Weekend. I'm sure it's done so before, but I just don't remember it. We spent the weekend hanging out with friends. We were supposed to go to a party at our pool on Friday night, but it was cancelled due to rain. So, we ended up at Fuddruckers! Tammy made an awesome Khalua cake for Heidi and I (Heidi's birthday was last week). It was delicious! Saturday night, we tried the pool party again.. we'd heard that it had been rescheduled. But when we got there, they had again moved it to another night.. Sunday. So we all went over to Donna's, with our beer and snacks in tow. Another good time was had! Sunday evening, we went over to Steve's Father's house for dinner and birthday cake. After that, we finally made it to the pool for the party!! Rebecca missed it, for she was at Jennas.. but swimming, nevertheless!
Yesterday, we had no big plans. Rick and Heidi had invited us to go out on the boat with them, but Steve didn't want to be in the sun all day, after working on the facia board on Saturday. He didn't feel so great most of Sunday. Instead, we headed over to Hooters for lunch. Love their wings! After lunch, Steve went shopping w/Rick (computer stuff), and I took the girls to the pool, for their final swim of the season. So sad to see the pool closing.. especially since the weather is still pretty warm!!

Look at those blue eyes!

Rebecca types on my new laptop!
Ahhh.. Scary Angle!

Thank You

As many of you know, the last several days have been, well, pretty emotionally draining for us here. My step niece passed away suddenly, committing suicide. It has really been hard for our family to deal with this, and we've been through a lot. Not only to lose such a beautiful light in our lives, but having to also deal with the horrible manner in which she left this world. We buried Rebecca yesterday, and that in itself, was very emotional.

I just wanted to take a minute here to personally thank all of my wonderful friends who have been there, in one way or the other, for me during this time. There are many times in our lives when things get tough, and those are the times when you really know who your true friends are. These are the times when those true friends shine. When they offer you kind words of support, send you supportive emails, as well as phone calls. And there are all the little things that mean the world, as well. Just knowing that you are thinking of us at this time is huge. Thank you so much for blessing me and my family, with your friendship.

xo
Holly

Updates, Updates!

Well, I officially have a Middle School student! Hannah started Middle School on Monday. Though she was excited, it was a bit bitter sweet for her. This is the first year that the whole redistricting goes into effect, so many of her friends are now going to a different Middle School. She'll meet back up with them in High School, but she was sad to go to MS w/out them. It also affects Rebecca. Her best friend, Jenna, now goes to a different elementary school. Like Hannah, she'll meet back up with her in High School. Regardless, both girls had a great first day.
Hannah was worried that she wouldn't know anyone in her classes, for she knew she'd be in Advanced core classes, and many of her friends would not. But, as it turns out, she has two good friends in all of her core classes (Language Arts, Math, and Science), as well as many other friends in P.E., Art, and World Language. She was very happy about this, and it made the transition to Middle School much better for her!



Above is Hannah, and her good friend, Tina, on their way to the bus stop on the first day of school. Hannah was excited to ride a bus to school for the first time! The first day was only 6th graders, so it wasn't bad. We'll see what she says today!


Rebecca also had a great first day of school. There were two teachers that she was hoping to get.. either of them she would have been thrilled with. One was the 4th grade teacher that Hannah had (loved her!), and the other was actually a 5th grade teacher who dropped down to 4th grade this year. The later is the teacher Rebecca got. She was also hoping that one, if not both, of her remaining good friends would be in her class, but sadly, neither of them are in there with her. However, she does know quite a few of the kids in her class, including two girls who live up and down the street from us! There are also some new kids that she quickly made friends with. She's such the social butterfly!



Above is Rebecca sporting her first day of school outfit. She's had this outfit planned for several weeks now. She's quite the fashion guru these days! lol

This past weekend, we had a big Field Hockey Play day for the girls. It turned out to be a hot day, but the girls had a lot of fun!! Later that evening, we all attended a joint birthday party for my friend, Donna, and her daughter, Gabby ( a friend of Hannah's). Let me tell you, this was the birthday party of all birthday parties! Donna rented a HUGE water slide, and girlfriend got her money's worth out of that thing! My girls were on it just about the entire time! It was crazy!!! Donna even took a few slides down it herself! There was also a moon bounce and karaoke... professional karaoke! This was the other hit of the night, next to the Adult game of Drinking Jenga ;) I even was talked into singing... not alone, mind you. It was a lot of fun! Amanda lasted until about 11:30, then had had enough. I took her home, but Steve and Hannah stayed and partied a bit more! Here are a few pics from the evening...

The Giant Water Slide... Hannah's the one with her hands in the air! LOL

Hannah and Christine about to go for one of the best slides of the evening!

My little angel... having a rockin' time!

Rebecca on karaoke.. most likely singing a Jonas Brothers song!

Okay, so here's the grown up side of the party... jello for all! :)


The birthday girl sings her heart out! Happy birthday , Donna!


Took this last night... Amanda was so tired, and ready for bed, and big sis Rebecca was trying to comfort her.. so sweet. :)

So much going on!

I apologize for not being around here and blogging lately. It would be an understatement to say that it's been a bit busy around here. One often hopes that Summer is full of lazy days, and free time, but lately, our summer has not been like that. Don't worry, we've been having fun!!

So let's see, the last entry I posted was about when we went down to Breezy Point, in Calvert County. That day was a lot of fun, and we had hopes of getting back down there this summer, but I don't think that's going to work out... unless we find time this week (which doesn't look likely).

One of the highlights of the girls' summer was going to see the Jonas Brothers in concert. They rocked the house at the 1st Mariner Arena in Baltimore, on Aug. 6. Hannah's friend, Brittney, received 4 tickets for her birthday, so she was able to invite 2 friends along. Hannah got invited, and was thrilled. We had her keep it a secret from Rebecca, for we knew she'd be upset. Rebecca LOVES the Jonas Brothers!! Little did she know, we had tickets for her and her best friend, Jenna. We didn't let them know they were going until the very day of the concert! Thier friend, Kara, was also going, and actually sitting in the section next to us. So, we surprised them, and we all went together! It was a lot of fun!!

Since we hadn't planned any big vacations this summer (due to adopting the puppy), we decided to opt for a couple of day trips, so off to Hershey Park we went! Hannah brought her friend, Brittney along, as a birthday present to her :) We had a great day! The weather was awesome.. clear and warm, but no humidity, and a nice breeze blowing. Perfect. We actually bought 2 day passes, so that we could go another day, which we did last week. Heidi was going up, so we decided to join in the fun! Another great day in Hershey!!!

We also joined Rick and Heidi on their boat for the day. That was fun, as usual. The girls had a blast. We left Amanda with Steve's father, for we weren't sure bringing her along was the best idea. The girls had a blast on the tube! Unfortunately, as we were heading in, we got stuck on a sandbar, and Steve actually had to get out of the boat and push us!!! Crazy! Can't wait to go again :)

So Field Hockey season is here! Both girls have begun practices. It's nice to be getting back into some sort of routine again. School begins next Monday, which will be a real shocker for Hannah, who will have to get up even earlier than last year. She is not a morning person.. at all! lol I think she's looking forward to Middle School though. It's an exciting year, that's for sure. Rebecca is looking forward to meeting a bunch of new kids this year. Our school was redistricted last year, so many of her friends won't be returning to her school, but a new bunch will be coming in instead.

We are in the middle of several home improvement projects. We recently pulled up the carpet in the livingroom, and laid a laminate wood floor. It looks great! Next up, Steve has been working on replacing the facia board outside. Already, the front of the house looks so much better. He also covered up the posts out front.. took off all the rotting wood,and wrapped them. He's in the middle of sanding down our bannister, in the hopes of refinishing it to a lighter color. The next big project is the kitchen/dining room. We're going to take down the wall that seperates them, making a big, country kitchen. I can't wait for it to be done...the house is a complete mess right now! I don't have any remodeling pics yet. Would you believe we forgot to take before pics! Grrr! Anyway, here are a couple of the girls from our quick trip into Baltimore for lunch!

Wow!

I know I've been absent... LOTS going on around here.. I promise to post a new entry SOON! :)

Fun In The Sun!

Friday, the girls and I spent the day at the beach, with Hannah's friend, Emily, and her Mom (Mary Anne). We drove down to Southern Maryland, to a local park on the Chesapeake Bay. It was really nice, and I can't believe that I've never been there before!! They had some nets up, to keep the jelly fish out, so that you could swim. Though a few actually got through. Luckily, none of us were stung. The big attraction to this place was the hunt for sharks teeth! There are many to be found, that it didn't take the girls long to find some, once we arrived. They spent most of the day looking for them, along with sting ray fossils. Mary Anne also took them fishing on the pier, while I sat under the umbrella with a sleeping Amanda.

I have to say that Amanda seemed to enjoy the beach much more this time, than she did in Ocean City. I think the bay water was much warmer, and definitely more calm. Maybe this was the reason. I'm just glad she enjoyed it!

After the beach, we went to the local waterpark, which is rather small, but the girls had plenty to do. Here are a few pictures from the day!

This and That

It's been a while since I've last blogged! We've been busy with a home improvement project, so my computer time has been rather limited lately. That, in addition to Amanda being extremely cranky over the last week. I know it's her teeth trying to push their way in, but let me tell you, I'm ready for them! It's been very hard with her wanting to be with me ALL the time. Last night, I don't think I got a full hour of sleep! She just kept waking up, and just wanted to be soothed. She was a mess yesterday!

So, back to our home improvement project! We've been thinking about replacing most of the carpet in our house with laminate wood flooring. Steve and I bought some flooring at Costco a few days ago, and were able to save a lot of money, using a coupon they had. We installed this flooring in Rebecca's room a couple of years ago, so we were up to the challenge. First up was to be our bedroom, and then Amanda's, since both rooms still had the carpet that was there when we moved in to this house. In the end, we decided to do the livingroom/diningroom instead! So, we crammed everything from the livingroom into the diningroom, and ripped up the carpet! Actually, Hannah helped Steve do this. I WISH I had taken pictures!! I know, I know.. totally UNlike me. Guess we all have our moments, huh? LOL

Steve pretty much installed the new flooring in the livingroom by himself. I was no help to him due to the baby attached to my hip! All that's left in there now, is the trim, which he will be doing tomorrow. Here's a picture of Amanda that I took today.. you can see some of the floor in it. I'll be sure to take a picture once he's finished with the room.
Of course now, we are looking at our windows, thinking we want to redo them. The room looks so big right now, with so little in it, that we don't want to overload it again. We're thinking of simplifying, and that means window treatments too! I'd like to get wood blinds/shades, so as soon as the flooring is done, we'll be looking into that! I think the room will take on an entirely different look. It already looks great!

So I've been thinking lately, about Halloween! LOL I know, Summer isn't even over yet, but I had been taken by these cute little tutus that I've seen online for little girls.. mainly for photo ops, and saw one that would be great for a costume. So, I've decided that Amanda will be a ladybug this Halloween, and I'd make a red/black tutu for her. The girls and I went to the fabric store today, and I bought some tulle. Thought I'd play around, and see if I could manage with the no sew project that I found online. I think I did pretty good for my first time! :)

So tomorrow marks the beginning of the weekend! Hurray :) We've got a pretty busy one planned. The girls and I are heading down to a local beach tomorrow, to spend the day. The girls are mostly excited about looking for sharks teeth. Something they've never done. Not quite sure why we've never gone before.. it's so close! We may go to a local waterpark afterwards, too. Tomorrow, it's working on the flooring, then we're heading over to Heidi's for dinner for a cookout and drinks. Sunday, Hannah has a birthday party, and I'm hoping we'll get the dining room at least started!

I'm sure Monday's post will bring lots of new pictures to share!! Stay tuned! ~ H

Birthday's and Milestones

This past Thursday was Steve's Birthday. We celebrated with friends and family, here at the house. Here's Steve with his three little girls! (It was hard to get this shot, since Amanda was really interested in trying to grap the cake! lol)


Friday, Amanda officially turned 6 months! I took her for her well visit, and she's doing great! Her weight was 15 pounds, 9 ounces (EXACTLY what Hannah was at 6 months!), and she's 26.5 inches tall. A tall, skinny, little thing. I think she's going to be built like Hannah, but look like Becca! hehe

So she FINALLY has started to laugh! Yes, we've been trying out so many funny voices and faces, all with high hopes to get the little one to laugh.. of course with out much success. Well, today, we were walking into Toys R Us, and Rebecca, the little lady that she is, was on a burping kick.. Yep, you guessed it!! Amanda thought it was hilarious! LOL So, all through TRU, Rebecca was burping (we're so proud), and Amanda was laughing!! When we got home, we tried to capture the moment, and this is what we ended up with :

This and That

No one thing to write about today, but more of a mish mash of things. We've had my niece, Samantha-Joy, up here since Sunday afternoon, and the girls have been having a blast! Thought I'd just post a photo montage! :)

(now this is how her eyes really look! So blue :)

Our little Super Model :)

I took Amanda to The Picture People today, for her 6 month portraits. She actually will turn 6 months old on Friday! I can't believe how time flies!! I was pleased with the shots we got, however her blue eyes don't pop, or even look that blue in these pics. I'm already planning on taking her back next month, for another round. I'll be sure to get those baby blues to shine! :)

(sorry... it seems as though blogger can't handle the full picture, so part of each one is cut off :( )

From the Desk of Amanda Joy

From the Desk of Amanda Joy

Hi everybody! Amanda Joy here. I've been trying out my new keyboard that Ms Heidi brought to me. She heard that I like to help Mommy write emails and posts, and she figured I could use one of my own. I do worry, though, what Mommy will do without me now. I'll have to make sure I still help her from time to time, so that she doesn't feel like I'm neglecting her.

I've become very good at 'typing'. I figured out that the faster I bang my hands on the keys, the more keys I can push in! Mommy hasn't figured this out yet. She still types pretty slow, compared to me. And, would you believe, she only uses one finger on a key at a time! Imagine! I'll have to let her know my secret!

Here are some other tips that I'd like to share with all of you, that I think may help you at work! And, Mommy was so nice to help out with taking photos of me so that I could demonstrate them for you. Hope they help!

#1. No matter what, NEVER look surprised when someone approaches you at your desk. This only gives the impression that you were up to something! (Such as reading all the wonderful things Mommy writes about me, here!)



#2. Try to keep a pleasant look on your face as much as you can. Looking unhappy will just make everyone start talking in very high, silly, voices, and they'll keep asking you what's wrong. Then, they may very well start breaking out into some sort of goofy song, and make goofy faces, to try to make you smile. Save yourself! Just smile from the start!



#3. Always laugh at the Boss's jokes. If you don't, she's likely to sit there with that stinkin' camera for up to 30 minutes!


#4. Always look busy, and learn to entertain yourself when you're bored. Believe me, this will make the big guys really, really happy! It's like you gave them a million bucks! Well, almost! :)


#5. If you feel as though Mr. Sandman is getting ready to pay you a visit, whatever you do, GIVE IN TO THE SLEEP! Sleep is very good for you, and your mood, and if you fall asleep at your desk, the big folk will, after taking a few pictures and video, will rush you off to a nice comfy bed, in a nice dark, quiet room!...... * who's laughing now?