Throw me a flotation device

Anyone else sick of all this rain? It's getting ridiculous!! Okay, so I know that April showers bring May flowers, but I'm just done. Guess May isn't that far off now, so I should count my blessings. I just don't like rain. Not to mention the cold, mixed with it. Not a good combo, if you ask me! Only in Maryland, though, can you go from 80 degree weather one day, to 50 the next! Insane!!!
We had a busy weekend, that's for sure. Steve came home from his business trip (made it home by dinner time, Friday). We ended up going out to Ledo's with Teresa, and the gang... last minute, then early to bed. Hannah had a 10:45 game on Saturday. What a beautiful day that was!! 80 degree weather!! Blue skies!! HOT! Hannah ended up playing most of the game, for we were down a few players. She mainly plays a midfield position; one of the strongest positions on the field. It's hard, for there's tons of running with this position. Her team played well, though were outrun by the competition, and ended up losing their game.

After Hannah's game, we packed up, and ran out to get a bite to eat. We ended up at Wendy's, per Hannah's request. After Wendy's, we met Teresa at Coldstone, and had some Ice Cream before Becca's game. Realizing that we totally misjudged the time, and how much of it we actually had, I left them at Coldstone, and ran home for Becca's waterbottle and cleats. Then it was a mad rush to her game. Luckily, it wasn't too far, and we made it in time. This was a special game for Rebecca, for she was goalie! I have to say, she did quite well, too! She's such a natural defensive player. She just has a sense for it! She ended up playing goalie for half of her game on Sunday, too!!!

After Rebecca's game was finished, they won by the way!!!, we came home to chill.. well, we tried! I ran to the grocery store for some chicken to grill, and Steve borrowed a neighbor's lawn mower so that he could cut the grass in the backyard, that was creeping up above our knees!! We were lucky enough to grill our chicken before the rains came, but boy did the temperature drop quickly!! We were sitting out back, waiting for the chicken to finish up, and it got quite cold! The girls were making a fort out of the playhouse, and didn't seem to notice the chill in the air.. how come kids are like that?

Here's some other big news!! I started Amanda on cereal this past weekend! Right now, it's still very runny when I give it to her. I'm trying to get her used to it, for she doesn't yet know just quite what to do with it. But, she likes it!! lol

Morning Outing

This morning, Amanda and I, went on a drive to visit my Mom. Amanda was all smiles, which pleased Mimi (that's what my girls call her). I took my Mom to Target, then we went out to lunch.. of course this is when Amanda decides she needs to be fussy! lol
It was a good visit, and I think my Mom enjoyed seeing us. With gas prices soaring, I don't get down to visit her too often. It's just way too expensive to drive!

It's so beautiful out! 76 degrees, the last time I checked. Great night for Hannah's lax practice! I think I'll be walking!

I'm in Love!

Yes, it's true!! I'm so in love with this little girl :) It's funny, the things you forget over the years. I can look back, and remember Hannah and Rebecca being so little, and know that I totally loved them then, as much as I love them now, but looking at Amanda just reminds me so much of those days gone by, and makes me appreciate every moment we have NOW. You have to cherish every second, for it will be gone in a blink of an eye.

Not much to report for today. I met my friend, Teresa, for lunch at Olive Garden. It was my treat, to celebrate her birthday (which was this past weekend). Amanda was a doll, and slept through the whole lunch. As soon as the check hit the table, she awoke. She seems to be much happier lately. Not sure what it is, but maybe she's done with her growth spurt. I weighed her yesterday, and she's a whopping 14.5 pounds! Growing like a weed!

Rebecca had lacrosse practice tonight, and she was goalie! I always get nervous when she gets in the goal. However, this was her first time this season. She tells me she will be goalie this Saturday, in her game. She's very excited about it. I have to say, she did really well!!! Should be interesting!

As for American Idol, I was sad to see Carly go tonight. I think she's the best female singer there, and think she should still be in this thing. Oh well. I think she has a great career ahead of her anyway.

I don't like Strawberries!

Well, not that we actually know yet, but Amanda definitely doesn't like Strawberry hats! lol I had bought this hat for her at Gymboree (love that store), and it's simply adorable. I just chose the worst time to try to get her to model. She wasn't very happy, as you can tell by the picture to the left. No matter how I posed her, I got the same reaction. However, once I removed the adorable, strawberry hat, I got this adorable picture (on the right). Figures, right? LOL I'll try again, with the strawberry hat, another time, when she's in a much happier mood.

Since Steve is out of town this week, on business, I told him that I would take a picture of Amanda every day, and send it to him. She changes so much from day to day, that he's afraid she'll look different when he comes home. Well, I snapped a picture of all three girls this morning, and it came out really cute. See for yourself! Yes, they look like angels, but don't let the picture fool you! They bicker, just like the best of them! :O lol They are good girls :)

Rebecca's lax game ended up getting canceled last night, due to the wet weather. She was disappointed, but I pointed out that now Daddy didn't miss it! That seemed to make her feel a bit better. Tonight is our free night, however there's a clinic at the school for 5th grade Mothers and Daughters.. yes, the whole puberty preparedness talk. Hannah didn't want to go, but I thought it would be a good idea. A couple of her friends will be going as well, so at least she's not in it alone. Debbie is going to watch Rebecca and Amanda for me.

Don't forget, American Idol is on tonight!!! It should prove to be a good one this evening. They are to be singing songs by Andrew Lloyd Webber! I'm guessing David A and Carly will do great. I think Jason and Brooke will struggle, and I look forward to David Cook's spin on it all!

What a dreary day!

Wow, what a difference a day makes, huh? Yesterday was beautiful and warm, and today was a bit cooler and rainy! It's been yucky all day. It's one of those days where you just want to stay in bed for most, if not all, of it. Steve and I did take a nap! The baby had just woken up from a 2 hour nap, and wanted to eat. I nursed her, and she feel back to sleep, as did I. I think we slept for about an hour! Man, did that feel good :)

Before I post about our weekend, I have to mention the girls' report cards! Once again, they both got straight A's! I cannot tell you how extremely proud that Steve and I are of the two of them. Way to go Hannah and Becca!!!

Yesterday was such a productive day, and today I basically got nothing accomplished, other than going to the grocery store for dinner ingredients (we had tacos, by Hannah's request). Yesterday, we spent time outside, doing some yardwork. We started cleaning up the front of the house, as well as the side. I sware, it's like a leaf & dirt trap. The girls also tried to gather as many sticks as they could, and we utilized the fire pit, and made s'mores. Yum! :) Yes, it was Amanda's first 'campfire'. Needless to say, she was totally amazed by the blaze!
Earlier in the day, both girls had lacrosse games. Since they overlapped a bit, Steve went to Hannah's (since he's helping out as a goalie coach), and I went to Rebecca's. Sadly, Hannah's team lost (10-8). Steve said they played well, but fell apart at the end, allowing the two extra goals by the other team. Rebecca's team, on the other hand, won their game, 10-2!! They played great. Rebecca cracks me up, for she's quite the little ham. She'd have the ball in her net, and running down the field. As she runs by all us parents, on the sidelines, you can see her looking out of the corner of her eye at us! LOL She totally is into the whole audience thing!! My observation was proven when I got home and looked at the pictures that I took, during her game. There is was, in plain view.. the little ham in all her glory. Well, see for yourself! LOL!! I'm quite impressed with how she can be so coordinated, as to run down the field with her eyes focused on the sidelines! hehe Both girls are great players on the field. Hannah has awesome stick skills, and while Rebecca is still fine tuning hers, she has an incredible sense of the ball at all times. She's quite aggressive, and doesn't seem to have any fear out on the field. She's also a great runner. It's so fun to watch them play! Though Rebecca's game on Saturday, seemed to put Amanda to sleep (see photo above!).
Rebecca has a game tomorrow night. Thankfully, it's a home game, and hopefully, it won't get rained out.
I snapped a few, okay a lot, of pictures of Amanda yesterday afternoon. We had her in the stroller, outside, with us. She had a ball, just sitting there, playing with her links, and watching us! Here are a few of the better (and cuter) pics I took!

Yesterday, Spring; Today, Summer!

It's absolutely beautiful outside today! I'm still working on the mounds of laundry.. slowly catching up. I'm trying to get all of Steve's stuff washed, for he has a business trip coming up. Steve took the day off, so we ventured out to the new Lowe's. We bought a new blower, and looked at Facia board (our next home project). Then we hit Sam's Club, where we looked at a new shed (crossing fingers), and I bought Amanda a couple of cute outfits.. hopefully the weather will stay warm enough for her to wear them soon :)

Rebecca had a lacrosse game last night. Once again, she was able to score! She really is a good player. I lost track to the score, but she said her team won by one goal... okay, so Congratulations Becca!!! Whooo Hooooo! Here's a picture from last night's game.

Rebecca is number '72' - white jersey, last white jersey on the right. She just scored a goal! You can see the yellow ball, in the goalie net! What's funny is that I had been down on the sidelines, taking pictures. I decided to go back up the hill, since the game was just about over. I heard some parents yelling, "Go Becca!", so I turned around, saw that she was getting ready to score, and with one hand, snapped the picture. I had the baby in the other! lol Turned out pretty good! I only had to crop out a little bit ;)

Today is Report Card day!! Hopefully the girls did well; I'm sure they did. I'll be sure to post that info later!

Hey! It looks, and feels like Spring!

Now if the weather would just stay like this! Wishful thinking, right? It's absolutely beautiful out today :) We have been wanting to get out in the yard, for such a long time, but the weather just hasn't cooperated. The last nice day we had, I ended up cleaning out the van (boy did it need it!). I'd like to throw down some grass seed, though not 100% sure it will be worth it. We have so many huge trees in the yard, I'm afraid that the roots will just continue to take all the water away from the grass. We really need to get some trees removed. Anyone know of a good, yet affordable, tree removal company? What's funny, is that Hannah noticed, and pointed out to us, that all the spots in the yard where Miley 'did her thing' have really green grass growing! LOL I'm happy to say that the grass in the backyard, actually needs to be cut! Maybe we'll get some time this weekend, if the weather stays warm.

I have figured out my new time to go grocery shopping... in the morning! Lately, it's not been much fun, going to the store with Amanda. She does fine at first, but always ends up crying. That's hard to deal with on my own, since she won't take a pacifier. Yesterday, I went to Target, and ended up having to carry her in my arms, while pushing the cart with the other hand. I managed, but it wasn't easy! She's at that in between phase. Another two months, and she'll be a completely different child. For the most part, she's a happy baby.

I was reading a comment on another blog, where it was said that blogs without pictures are boring. I have to tend to agree!!! So I have made a decision to try and post at least one picture with every entry!! I can't promise, however, that the picture will have anything to do with what I'm writing about! lol
The pictures on the left are of Amanda, of course. I was playing around with the camera outside, on a nice day. Isn't she cute? The other one I thought was just a riot! It looks as though she has had it with the cat! LOL When in reality, she was trying to get her hands to her mouth. Needless to say, she missed! Hehehe!

It's all done!

The yearbook, that is! Yes, Debbie and I finished it up today, and delivered it to the publisher.. it's out of our hands now. Feels good, and a little scarey! I'm sure it's a beautiful book, and the kids will love it. Neither of us will be doing the yearbook next year. For Debbie won't have any kid in the school, and I'm just done. My hope is that someone will pick up the job. I will be happy to assist with advice and guidance, and of course will donate pictures, but don't want to be in charge again. It really takes up a lot of time... time I'm not so sure that most people realize.
So what's up with all the birthday party invitations? Over the last 2 weeks, Rebecca has brought home 4 birthday party invites. Three of which are for this coming Saturday! Crazy. Poor thing has to let two people down. The one she selected is for one of her good friends, and to be honest, the party sounds really cool. It's a pirate adventure party, and they actually sail out on the bay! I'll have to pull her from her lax game a little early, in order to make it on time.
Well, I need to run.. we're meeting friends for dinner tonight, and I need to get a few things done before we leave. I'm hoping I don't regret doing the dinner thing. Seems like no matter what I eat these days, it bothers the baby :(

Testing out this new place

Hi everyone! Yes, I'm actually trying out a new blog. I'll still keep the old one, but will use this one mainly to post family news and happenings, as well as pictures. I've heard that it's much easier to post pictures here. We'll see! Be sure to keep checking back. Bare with me though, until I'm able to get the hang of it. The format here is much different than on Yahoo! It might take me a while.

The picture to the left is my new favorite picture of Amanda Joy. I snapped it at one of Hannah's lacrosse games. She was smiling at a friend of mine. I don't think I could have asked for a cuter picture!! I'm thinking of taking her to get her pictures done at The Picture People, soon. I wanted to wait until she showed more personality, and since she's now smiling A LOT, I'm thinking it's just about time!!

Over the weekend, I took Hannah and Rebecca to a free lacrosse clinic, given by Gary Gait. He is a Lacrosse hall of famer, and head coach at Syracuse University; a very well known name in lacrosse. The girls had fun, despite the cold temps, and even got their picture taken with him (right), as well as lots of goodies autographed.