I'm counting the days!

Best. Lunch. Date. Ever.

Ok, I know I say that about all of them, but this one was especially nice.  Why?  Because I didn't cry when it was over.

Hunter left straight from lunch to head back to school.  But this mom knows that I'll see him again this weekend (it's Sibs weekend) and in just two short weeks after that, he'll be home for the summer.

That's no reason to cry...it's reason to celebrate!  So I'm counting down the days...

One choice can transform you.

I am selfish.  I am brave.  I am divergent.

And I am thrilled that we finally got the afternoon to see the movie!!!  I can't remember the last time that we all got to see a movie together...I'm sure it was something like Harry Potter when Will was like 10.  But no matter, it was wonderful.  In just a few weeks, we'll be able to do this all of the time!!  (Please note, this is how they pass time waiting in line for popcorn, lol!)

Like every book turned movie, there were a few minor rumblings in the car on the way home of things that were not quite right.  But for all intents, I got to share my very favorite book with the boys today.

So if you had to choose...would you be honest, smart, kind, brave or selfless?  Remember, you can only choose one.

Disney in review!

I think my favorites part of any vacation is coming home and scouring the images that we captured while we were away.  Not because they're all stellar shots, but because it reminds me of what a wonderful time we had!

While it's happening, it's a crazy rush to fit it all in.  But afterwards, I can laugh about the moment or smile about something that I didn't really appreciate as it was happening.

So here's some of our trip....the good, the bad and the ugly!

Too tired to type.

And I wish I was kidding.

All three of us have made it home safely, but are all half dead.

Will is so tired a shower seemed to do him in.  I've jumped in a jar of Advil, hoping the aches and pains will fall off my morning.  And Jeff, he's too tired to speak...and we've given him lots of opportunities to crack a joke at our expense.

I'm positive that when we all wake up tomorrow afternoon, we'll be ready to share all the details of the week.

I have soooo many pictures to share and stories to tell.

But tonight all I can say is it's good to be home!

The calm before the storm (literally)!

My legs are tired. Jeff's just a few more steps from a hole in his soles. But we've laughed more than we have in a year! Disney is not really a relaxing, leisurely vacation, but it's certainly been magical.

We covered every inch of the resorts, from the fishing hole to the arcade. We searched out a Christmas ornament for Will and snuck in a few extra souvenirs for the boys. And after I drug Jeff out of the Lego store, we had dinner at the House of Blues and now I can mark another famous chef's restaurant off my list.

I'm going to fall into bed tonight anxiously waiting to catch up with Will tomorrow. Epcot, here we come! Hopefully the wind advisories will be gone and the temps will find their way out of the forties....quickly!

The Jungle VIP!

Jeff's has been singing the theme from the Jungle Book all day. Don't get me wrong,it makes me smile. It also gets stuck in my head. Which was fine today since we spent most of the day on an African safari.

I have so many pictures of birds, zebras, wildebeast, antelopes, flamingos and so much more. I just don't have a computer with me that's powerful enough to upload them all (I'm traveling light with just the Ipad).

Once we get home, we'll share them all! But in short, Will made is safely after 20 hours on the bus. Hunter is sharing the trip with us via Snapchat and text. And we spent the day on foot, touring all of the Disney resorts. I'm positive that we walked off all of the food we ate.

But man, am I tired. So I thought I would share how we started the day....as well as how we ended it.

You can guess which is which!

It's Magic!

We've made it safe and sound.

The hotel is gorgeous and the weather is even nicer. We've got a little rain moving in tomorrow, but who can complain about that!?!

Needless to say, we're exhausted. A day that begins at 5:45am is not something we're accustomed to so I'm two minutes from hitting the hay.

But not before I share my newest accessory for the week :)

So long, farewell!

You've seen what a "hello" looks like with Willow.  She mauls Hunter and cries for hours once he walks through the door.

Now you can see what a "goodbye" with her looks like too.

She's a smart one.  She knows what a suitcase means.  And when you drag out three...she knows it's going to be a few days without us.

We're heading out at the crack of dawn (6am to be exact!) so we're all off to bed!

Hugs to everyone!  I'll try to check in throughout the week, it's my goal.  But if I get a little carried away at the most magical place on earth, I'll be sure to catch up on Friday when we're home.

Have a great week!

Spring!!!

It's beginning to look A LOT like Spring!  Temperatures reached 70 today!  I rode around all day with the windows down, running all of the last minute errands for our Disney trip.  Ok, so all of the errands were for me but by 7pm, I had completed them all.

The most important one on the list?  A pedicure!  These winter toes needed some color (as do my very white feet, lol!).  Can't hang out with Mickey with ugly toes poking out of flip flops!

I know Jeff loves it when I post feet pictures...but this one has to cheer him.  It's the first sign of Spring!

One more day.

I think I can.  I think I can.  I think I can.

Dear heavens, it's been a long week.  A roller coaster of good news and bad news.  I'm pretty sure it's been a week of Mondays.

But Hunter's feeling better and Will's made it through the longest day of the week.

So here's all I can say....

Help!!

Here's Will's schedule for next year.

It's been weeks in the making.  It is still subject to change.  

And right this minute, it doesn't matter to me one bit what classes are actually listed on it.

My youngest is going to be a senior.

My baby is scheduling senior classes, ACT test dates and college visits.

Where the heck did time go?  And what can I do to slow it down?

Ooops, I did it again!

Yes, I just remembered that I was supposed to blog.  No, at 11:55 I don't have a single new thing to tell you.  Will's still got his braces.  I've been cutting tags all day.  Jeff barely made it home for dinner and Hunter is sick.   And it's only Monday.

Here's to hoping the week flies by....next time this week I'll be hanging out with Mickey and sipping something fruity.

Oh, and Happy St. Patricks Day!

The Greatest Show on Earth.

Bucket List #3 :  Go to the Circus!

Thanks to my wonderful and thoughtful husband, I'm able to finally check this one off of my list.  Jeff came home Friday and surprised me with tickets to todays afternoon matinee performance of the Greatest Show on Earth.

And it was just that!

The Ringmaster, the clowns, the animals and the entertainers were all as amazing as I imagined.  The smell of popcorn and cotton candy filled the entire arena.  The tightrope walkers made me gasp and the poodles made me giggle.  And the elephants, well, they were just awesome.  And of course Jeff said the day wouldn't be complete without a souvenir!

Thankfully, Jeff had the good sense to record lots of it so I could watch it over and over...just one more thoughtful gesture.

I can't say thank you enough.  I've been dreaming of the circus for years and years and today was everything I hoped it would be.  I'm going to have to find an equally wonderful way to return the favor, goodness knows he deserves it!  Letting him take this picture was a start....

I have so many other pictures to sort through, I'm guessing you'll be seeing circus pictures for weeks!

Springing up!

The weather was warm and the sun was out.  It made wonderful weather for us to travel to camp, Hunter to make his way home from New Jersey and Will to march through downtown in the St. Patrick's Day parade.  And of course, we had to make an extra stop at Mama Renie's!

Sometimes you just need to take a back road.

It's amazing what a little sunshine, a loud radio and a day with Jeff can do to improve my attitude.  It appears that Spring is starting to make it's way into the Ohio Valley and I wouldn't be more thrilled!

Finished Friday.

I never get a chance to finish a project lately.  I have two baby blankets underway, a stack of 1/2 done scrapbooking pages and a "craft" to do list a mile long - most of which aren't for me.

So it's the rare occasion that I take a minute (or a few minutes per evening) to finish a project that's all for me.

This one was special, because the yarn was hand picked and mailed to me as a surprise "pick me up" from a special friend a few months back.  I was determined to make something just for me with it.  Something that would make me smile every time I saw it.

So forgive the crumby cell phone picture and the completely non-matching shirt.

This is my finished project.   I love it!

Non-throwback Throwback

It's Throwback Thursday!

It was my intention to dig out a few more old pictures of the boys, but then I read this article and decided that it was a far more appropriate post.  

It's my version of a non-throwback throwback.

I'm that mom.

The mom that is excited to see what's up ahead.  

So I decided not to include a picture, just a link to the article.  

A reminder that the best days are ahead.  

I'm the ache-free mom!

Wow.

I'm at a loss for words...and I just got to see the pictures.  I'm hoping that he was as moved as I was.  Life made up of moments.  Hunter is building quite a library of them!

Yummm.

What a great day!  Temperatures hit 75 degrees.  Hunter is having the time of his life on the Jersey Shore and Will doesn't have to be at school until 9am all week!  Any morning I get to see him for a while longer is such a bonus!

But today he ditched me for an early morning breakfast with Daniel.  Not that I'm hurt, I had a bagel and coffee date of my own.

At least he shares his experiences with me!  And in the "sharing" I've figured out that I've raised another coffee addict!  It could be worse, right?

O-H-I-O!

This was how I started my day.

And it ended with a 2 minute (and I mean 2 minute!) phone call telling me how wonderful his day was.  He's working with seven other kids, demolishing a house destroyed by Hurricane Sandy.  He's on the Jersey Shore (which I was hoping I wouldn't ever say about either of my kids, lol!) and from the sounds of it he's loving ever minute of it.  Well, with the exception of sleeping on a cot in the gym with 77 other kids.  But close quarters never killed anyone, especially at 19.

I don't think words will every be adequate enough to say how proud I am.  If given the chance, I'd have taken the first bus to Key West, pitched a tent and a beach chair by the ocean and slept for a week.  But he took a 12 hour bus ride to New Jersey (in March!) and volunteered to work in a Big Brother home at night and help hurricane victims during the day.

One day, I hope I grow up to be half of the person that my kids are.

And here's how I'm ending my day :)

The messy one!

It seems we're not the only ones enjoying the warmer weather!  The kittens have gone from hiding in their house to roaming the woods.  Of course, all it takes to bring them home is one whistle or call of their name and they're back lickety split.

This one spent all her time messing up my work, lol!  I'd make a nice pile of debris...and within two minutes, she'd played in it and made a huge mess.

That's the fun of it!

Yiipppeee!

YES!  That is Will's car in the driveway.  It was after 11pm when he pulled in, but he drove home!!!!

That may not seem like a big deal to anyone, but if you'd been sharing a car with Will for three months, you'd be excited too!  He can drive himself to work, school, band and I can have a coffee date!

It may not be beautiful, but it has a bumper, a quarter panel, a hood and it's drive-able!  That's what's important when you're 17 :)