Christmas Card Photo Shoot

I was a tad late taking pics for our Christmas Card this year. I suppose it's a bit like the electrician's house having no lights or the BatGuys house having bats; the photographers kid is the last for a photo shoot! However, I picked a perfect moment for it, Kyle was cranky and tired and the dog was more excited about playing with a stick. The entire session lasted about 10 minutes and sounded a bit like this "Ky, smile, sit, come here, no here, out of the sun, don't sit in the snow, grab Loco, ok, cheese, wait right here, now smile, over here, let me wipe your nose, oh shit, no over here, KY, LOCO, KY, LOCO, KY, Mom will you grab Loco, Ky can you smile please, please don't sit in the water, don't touch the ice, no don't jump, hold on, almost done, one more minute, one more smile, right here baby,Ok, we're done, " (My Mom will concur I'm sure) That being said, he's still the most handsome little photographers subject I've ever seen :) Although, I could be a teeny tiny bit bias?!

Happy 1st Birthday Delaney!

Storage Unit needed?!

I am assuming this will be necessary as the years go on seeing where we are only 4 months into Kyle's school days and I'm already having a hard time storing his beautiful masterpieces; such as these. And lord knows I couldn't possibly throw them away!!!

"Christmas Pattern"

"Santa Handprint"

"Tearful Poem"

"Hand Turkey & my newest most beautiful piece of jewelry"

And Remember, you're only in a Furniture Store....

is the tag line to the Jordan's Furniture LITE show and we heard in twice in the past 2 weeks! Mammy, Kyle and I took a trip to The Christmas Shops late one night because Kyle had a nap that day and I knew we had to do something. While on our way there we remembered The Enchanted Village was a new thing going on at Jordan's and decided to stop in. It was 7 pm on a Monday night and it was perfect timing because there was no line at all. What a beautiful display of 192o's Christmas themes.

And while walking through and viewing the displays Christmas music plays and every so often when a Christmas song mentions snow....it snows! The lights come on and the snow shoots out from every corner of the room. I'm pretty sure I was one of the more excited parents oohing and ahhhing at that part, but I loved it!

Knowing that you are supposed to be 40inches to ride the MOM ride (we had been denied a few weeks back) I put Kyle in his big snow boots and we sneaked him onto the ride. It was worth in because they played a 1/2 condensed version of The Polar Express in 4D and it was incredible. Ky loved every minute of it (twice because we did the same thing on the following Thursday afternoon with Nana Cill)

We end the adventure with the LITE show, which is a laser show set to Christmas music. Both trips were great fun. We were equally lucky to go at slow times and avoid the 3 hour wait that I've heard some folks have had to endure. Oh and Santa is there too!

Bedtime stories

Kyle will actually sit with me to read not only 1 bedtime book, but a whole pile these days. We have a few favorites, the most popular as of today is "Good Dog Carl" given to us by one of Auntie Erin's teacher friends. This book though small, short and with only 2 pages that actually contain words bring so much laughter at bedtime that I giggle a bit as I write this. It's about a big dog named Carl that's left alone to watch the baby while Mamma runs some errands (I know right? Like Loco could handle that!). Carl and the baby have lots of fun from one page to the next dancing in the living room, swimming in the fish tank, sliding down the laundry chute and by the time Mamma returns the baby is safely in bed, bathed and Mamma say's "Good Dog Carl" Kyle makes a point to stand up and dance with Carl and the baby.

The next book in the evening line-up was given to Kyle from Aunite Annie and is called "The pigeon gets a hot dog" and its just as silly as it sounds. Again, very little content but a whole lotta laughs! A pigeon is getting ready to enjoy a "sensational" hot dog and is being pestered by a duckling who's curious about the hot dog because he's never had one. Kyle's favorite take-away lines are "for pete's sake, can you believe this guy?" and "hmmm, needs mustard"

The newest addition to our bedtime reading is a Dr. Seuss book called "The Sleep Book". I personally LOVE any and all Dr. Seuss books. I love hearing them, I love reading them and I love sharing them with my little man. Many of our Dr. Seuss collection are special because they've come from Mammy (once Matt's books) and Auntie Laura. The Sleep Book is quite long with a lot of content but the funniest thing about reading this book is the amount of yawning we do. I've learned that not only are yawns in real life contagious, but even a Who's yawn from the pages of a book send yawns our way. ( I literally just yawned writing this) Kyle and laugh and yawn the entire time. I know that reading to your child is an important part of development but I never realized just how much fun I would have doing it.

Maybe, just maybe it influences this wild imagination of his?!

Halloween Fun

Halloween is always so much fun in our extended neighborhood because they go "all-out". People literally drive up from RI to park at The Birdlanes (a large neighborhood with street names after birds) . The candy goes quickly and the houses are spooktackular! We typically have a good group too which makes it that much more fun. The festivities started a week earlier this year at Uncle Stevie's work at Taunton Nursing Home and the whole crew dressed up! Kyle was rocking the alligator/crocodile/dragon costume this night and turned to a Devil the night of Halloween.

Halloween day we gathered for a nice backyard pumpkin carving session that went awry and winded up being a pumpkin guts fight! Matt innocently tossed a couple pumkin seeds and Mammy took full revenge for years of torture declaring all out war! She WON! Matt was drenched with guts from head to toe and Kyle joined in the fun too. Notice how I stay out of the mess, behind the camera my friends.

Sara and her little sister Caring came down, Kallie joined us and Marie and Trin came too! Poor loco has a boo boo (what else is new) so she couldn't partake in the pulling of the wagon this year and had to sit it out.

One of the funniest parts of the night was when the whole group was gathered outside of Trinity's friends house talking and getting ready to move on to the next candy station and out of nowhere comes a giant Gorilla running in and scooping Trinity up into its arms and taking off! She's screaming and kicking and Kyle all but runs straight home. All the while I'm whispering into its ear that the little boy in the stroller is scared of Gorilla's trying to get him to give Ky an extra scare but he didn't bite....the reason why was because it was UNCLE EDDY in the costume! Surprise! I had no idea, but some others were tipped off. It was great and he wore it the rest of the night, while Kyle chose to stay safely away from Uncle for the night.

We packed it in about 9:30 and headed home with giant bags of junk. And I'm still throwing it away little by little without it being detected :)

You did what?!

Matt left last week at 2AM to drive to the cape for a fishing trip on a good friends boat. He arrived home that night about 9PM with some great stories and pics. I'm a borderline worrier. If I allowed myself to think about the dangers of Matt's job hanging off of roofs all day long and recreational outings in the middle of the Atlantic with no cell phone reception, I'd have to be heavily sedated. He's a smart man and I trust his judgement so I don't allow myself to worry too much. And then he comes home with a story that goes a little like this; him hanging off the back of a fishing vessel, hooked into a 900lb tuna that pulled him overboard enough so that his entire upper body was underwater and his friend grabbed onto his legs pulling him back into the boat. The best part of that story? He never let go of the fish and they landed the dam thing! Now do you see why I can't allow myself to worry? If I thought of that crap every time he went out fishing I'd have to be in a coma to let him go. The smile on his face and the laugh he lets out while telling that story actually makes me happy, I know I'm twisted, but he loves it! How can you not be happy for the person you love to have such a great day doing something that makes him that happy? OK that said; it will be an entirely different story when Kyle wants to go.....ugh!

I'm a HUGE slacker, I know

I need to make more time for Blogging and less time for Bejewled Blitz I see! A month, really! Yikes. Let's see; where should I begin.

Kyle is a pre-schooler and successfully at that. The 1st day went really well, he got all dolled up, rolled his Diego backpack around and posed for pics like a champ. Daddy and Papa Billy Bob came with us for 1st day drop-off and it helped us both out a lot. I was VERY sad......very very very sad. I choked back my tears and put on a happy face for my little boy and actually never allowed myself to turn on the water works at all, even after I left the school. His teacher is amazing. I got a great, comforting feeling from her right away which is good feeling. He was given his own little cubby for his belongings with his picture on it and he went right for the sand table to play. Once his attention was on playing I kissed him on the head and quietly creptout the door. The following 4 hours were very strange for me. All I kept thinking about was "is he OK", "wonder what he's doing now", "I hope he's not crying" and I did break down and call to make sure he was fine. The teacher told me that he had a moment when he noticed I had left and cried a bit, but them found the sticky blocks and built a rocket ship. He was so excited to see me when I went to pick him up!!!! I don't get that often from him because he's not all the often away from me and when he is he's with his other most favorite people in the world so he never really misses me at all. He made friends, made arts & crafts, sat quietly during story time, played outside and learned about apples all in one morning and he was tired.

The next few drops offs were a little bit more difficult, it wasn't new and exciting anymore, now it was just "Mommy's not staying with me" and it made him sad. Every day has gotten a little bit easier and this week on Tuesday he was waiting at the door with his backpack wanting to leave early because his bestest friend in the whole world Bella was going that day too. I warned his teacher that the two of them were going to melt her heart when she saw how much they love each other. They sat together during story-time holding hands saying how much they love the other one and during the day if they lost track of each other one would always seek out the other to check -in. I have never seen a friendship at 3 years old like Kyle and Bella.

So he's got about 10 days at school under his belt now and he's doing really well. Brings home art and stories that filter out of him throughout the day, new songs, dances and new friends. I'm very proud of him.

Warning; the following may cause you to laugh very hard

Shiners for fishing with Daddy at the lake $5.00

Sunscreen for staying staying safe in the sun $9.75

A photo shoot while doing your business before take -off "priceless"

* *Footnote : Kyle, I apologize in advance for the embarrassment this might cause you someday!

My baby boy is 3!

Everyone warns a new mother to hang onto every moment with your new child because they certainly grow too fast....and you heed the warning soaking up every snuggle, kiss, hug and boo boo thinking to yourself "I'm not going to miss a beat". Then they turn 3 and all you can think is "where the hell has the past 3 years gone?" OK, in all fairness I have been blessed with a situation that has allowed me to spend all my time with Kyle since he was born and I am thankful to say that I have been with him for each milestone thus far, touching up the boo boo's, savoring the snuggles and helping him to learn and explore. The truth is that it still goes by very quickly and maybe it's that "time flies when you are having fun" or that life can really just pass you by. At any rate, I've enjoyed every moment thus far and look forward to the years to come. I can honestly say that at moments I can hardly remember what it was like to have a newborn and that at each and every stage of development so far I've claimed it to be the best. That said " this age is the best"! Kyle is a great kid. He's bright, he's great company, adorable, friendly, loving, a pest, a challange, a question box, a wise butt. He's my proudest accomplishment hands down and I love him dearly. Being a Mom, stay at home or otherwise is without a doubt the toughest job there is. The manual labor is what it is, but the emotional work far exceeds any position I've ever held with a company. Knowing that virtually every decision I make will affect him in one way or another can be a scary feeling and an empowering one at the same time. I've always found myself a bit out of place in life as far as "where do I belong" but being Kyle's Mom is by far the most comfortable place I've ever been and it just keeps getting better! We are sending Ky off to a couple mornings a week of pre-school this fall and my pro & cons list is 50/50 right down the middle! I'll miss the hell out of him even for those 8 hours a week, he'll be with a virtual stranger doing things without me, he'll be making friends and learning new things and won't need me to help him and wholly hell does that tug at the heartstrings, even as I write it. However, he'll be making new friends and learning new things, having fun and he won't need me to be there with him...and wholly hell that makes me proud.

Happy 3rd Birthday, Kyle James!

Preparing myself...

I'm sure I'll get a whole lotta crap for this comment considering the summer we've had, but holy hell is was too hot today! I felt like a slug all day long dragging myself through the day. I was extra cranky and felt like I needed a shower every 10 minutes! I give you all permission to remind me of this when I'm bitching about the digger I took on the 4 inches of ice we'll most likely be dealing next winter....but for the moment I'm thinking central air may be the next project! Or at least an option in the next house...

Arbonne Q&A

Erin has a good friend who is a direct sales rep for Arbonne. I had planned on attending the party for the snacks only; having been to many of these "parties" over the years from Silpada to Mary Kay and so on and being fairly unimpressed. However, I have to say I found this meeting chalk full of information. There is always that bit of car salesmen stuff going on, but this rep was not pushy at all and she had some great information. I am forever looking for the product that clears up my oily prone to breakouts skin and have been since I was a teenager. I had found some success with Proactive over the past couple of years but in recent months I felt that I wasn't getting the results from it that I had gotten in the beginning. My pores feel extra clogged and my skin feels bumpy. She was informing me about the latest complaints of Proactiv being just that; that the product opens up the pores so wide in the begining to flush out the impurities but does not shrink them back resulting in quick positive results, but overall wide open clogged pores. Ugh! She was also talking alot about the Arbonne products being animal and animal byproduct free and talked about what that means. Just because its not tested on animals doesn't mean that most companies haven't used "parts" of animals to help create their product. All in all I was impressed by the presentation and hopefully the product once my order arrives. I know that some of us (me) are quick to bash a product or system and not always give praise when its due, so here's my good deed for the day. Go Arbonne! (until my skin doesn't respond and I'm pissed off)

That's a Big Tuna!

Fiesta, Feshta, Feast...

..call it what you will, but the truth of the matter is that the Fiesta is the greatest 3 days a year to happen to East Taunton. I'll admit that when I first starting dating Matt and he and his family talked about the coming of the Fiesta as if it were the coming of The President; I just didn't get it. I mean, it's not like Thanksgiving eve at Condon's, right? WRONG! Almost 7 years deep and now I get it. When I see the signs going up that the dates have been set for the 3 day party I can begin to taste the marinated pork sandwiches and hear the Portuguese music in my head. Now there is another generation of Feshta lovers in town, my son and his friends! Lulu talks about the worries the Feast brings to the parents when the kids are old enough to venture out for the 3 day bender, waiting patiently by the police scanner to make sure the Dutra or Grady names aren't being called. I do see this in my future, however, I love ever minute of the excitement the Fiesta brings to the town and our family. Of course my wallet would disagree, but hell its only 1 weekend out of the year.

Kyle saw the lights and rides going up in the days prior and was so excited I don't think that there is a word to describe it. Auntie Erin also lives for the Fiesta and we all played into his excitement. We kicked off Friday night with Auntie Erin and Kyle rode every ride he could time and time and time again with the same laugh and smile every time as if it was his 1st ride. He especially loved the dragon roller coaster. He's just like his mommy loving the rides! I have a future adrenalin seeker to try out the biggest roller coasters with me that we can find and I can't wait!

Saturday Matt, Ky and I took a boat ride, did some fishing and anchored up to the beach in Onset. We topped off the day with round 2 of the Feast! Another great night of games, rides, sandwiches and dancing. We were joined by Kallie and Kara to add to our fun. Matt cooked meat on a stick over the fire pit and caught up with some old friends.

Sunday we spent the day in West Island and I got to meet a lot of the Seekell family (Matt's grandmother's side) who'd come up from Florida for a reunion. Delicious stuffed Quahogs and Quahog chowda, sitting in the sun on the beach and watching Kyle ham it up for the family who've never met him. We finished off the day by hitting the Fiesta for the final night and met up with The Mitchell family so Kyle had a chance to ride all the rides and play the games with his favorite little girls. They are too adorable and of course that day I didn't have my camera with me. Auntie Erin, Uncle Eddy, Uncle Benny were all there and we ended the long, tiring, fun weekend with a bang. We were on 1st name basis with many of the carnies (who I personally love talking too) and even got a few free runs through the fun house for the kids while we chatted. Uncle Eddy made a run to Drunkin Donuts for us all and we had lots of laughs.

Needless to say, Kyle had a great weekend. The Fiesta proved to be everything and more than what he was hoping for and the 11pm bedtime for 3 nights in a row proved tiring for us all. He woke up Monday morning and literally the 1st words from his mouth were "Can we go to the Fiesta?" He took it pretty hard to find out that the 3 days were up and we'd have to wait an entire year before seeing the Feast again. So, I drove to NH and we spent the day with his Aunties and cousins at Canobie Lake! LOL

Fun house
Kallie on the swings

more prizes ( I think he ended up with 11 total)

Auntie Erin, my partner in crime

purple monkey, that funky monkey

Uncle Eddy contributed to many of the 11 prizes won

Kyle and his cousins

Sharkin' 09

We took a crew shark fishing last night for the 1st time in a long time. I pretty sure we haven't been since before Kyle was born, well I don't think I have. There is a great spot on a beach in the cape that has some small shark activity this time of year and we used to be able to set up right near the parking lot but many people have discovered the spot and last night we had to walk about 5 thousand miles....ok, maybe 200 yrds but dragging a ton of stuff and with kids...it felt like about 5 thousand miles. Destination found, camp set up and then we wait. And eat. And wait. And dance. And wait. And SHARK!!!!!

camp wind a lot
A really cute pic that I can't get to turn for some reason!

Benny and his jets

1st catch

"he's gonna crab ya!"

"weirdo and Kyle :)"

Blanket

Benny's shark!

wondering where in the sam hell she is

why Matt needs a pic of her teeth up close, I'll never know

she was tagged and set free (insert song here "Born free")