My 2 and a half month absence, explained

I can honestly say that the past two and a half months have been, perhaps, the busiest for our family yet. We have celebrated a wedding, a First Communion, the end of Chase's 2nd grade year, Mother's Day, Noel's adoption day, 6 birthdays, and our anniversary. Oh, and we took a weekend trip to the Aquarium in Atlanta. Without further adieu, here are some photo highlights.








Noel really enjoyed the Olympic Park Fountain.
Both boys loved the Aquarium, which was a surprise for Chase to celebrate the end of his school year.

They also enjoyed staying in the "big" city in the Hyatt.

Chase was on the honor roll and was given the "Excellent Infering" award in his class.

Noel very much enjoyed his A-day cupcake I brought to his daycare class. We has a dinosaur themed adoption day party. Which was overshadowed by Chase recieving his first set of stitches. He cut his finger while trying to make a dinosaur costume out of cardboard for the party.

He has a wonderful 1st Communion and was able to celebrate with two of his besties, Patrick and Christopher.


I have lots more to report and once I get my hands on some of Chris' sister's wedding pictures I will devote an entire post to that.

The Easter Bunny is Dead

This past Easter weekend began with us missing Holy Thursday Mass due to soccer, and ended with Chase finding out the 'truth' about the Easter bunny. Here's what happened in between.

Chase had his monthly eye therapy appointment in Marietta on Friday morning and I had planned to take him to see How to Tame Your Dragon as a treat. Chris suggested we meet up to see it and that started the domino effect that resulted in our not only missing the movie but Mass that evening as well. It is a long, frustrating story, that also resulted in Chase seeing the Easter basket goodies in the van without me knowing.

As it turns out, it was likely a blessing we missed church because Chase's complained of a tummy ache right before bed, and woke up in the middle of the night vomiting. This changed all our Easter plans including the most important, Mass. Chris needed to make an announcement at our church so that meant I would go to the 2 hour and 45 minute vigil on Saturday night putting me home, exhausted, at 11:00.

Here is where things start to go really wrong, and I made the fatal errors that lead to the loss of the Easter bunny. First, I use the same candy in the baskets as the eggs. Second I use some extra candy we had in the candy bowl because they honestly don't usually pay that much attention, and we decided to hide more eggs than usual since we weren't attending the family egg hunt. Third, we decide that rather than get up at the crack of dawn to hide the eggs we will wait and do it in the afternoon, again because we don't plan to go anywhere, but I write the bunny a note to leave the eggs for us to hide later.




Here are the innocent looking baskets that lead to the discovery.

Noel is quite pleased with his basket, especially the jelly beans!

Here is Chase saying, "I saw this in the van. Mom, do you make our baskets?" I figure I am busted at this point and so I just confess. That yes, I make the baskets but the Bunny d0es the eggs, and this year instead of hiding them we asked him just to leave them and we would hide them later. He is not impressed, but grudgingly accepts it.

This photo is taken right before Chase puts two and two together after finding the same gummies that were in his basket and some obscure candy that only he knew we had in our candy bowl. He angrily asked if I was the Easter bunny, and because I am a terrible liar, and well he is 8 years old, I gently say yes. He sat down in yard and cried, we sat down in the yard and cried.

Later on, we decided to take in How to Tame Your Dragon and this time we made it. Noel loved it and sat riveted the entire time. Chase told all his grandparents he knows the truth. And, well, I have recovered from the tragedy as best I can, and am working on keeping Jolly Ol' Saint Nick alive and well.

It's a Pity(riasis)

I currently have a harmless, but most unattractive skin condition called Pityriasis Rosea. I look like I have a cross between poison ivy and a bad case of Chicken Pox. Being the overachiever that I am, I have an atypical case because unlike normal strains mine is on my face, below my knees and on my hands. While I never considered myself a vain person, but this little predicament, which can last up to 16 weeks in some cases, has really made me question that. I am trying not to have self pity (get it), but I am a bridesmaid in my sister- in- law's wedding next month and I so don't want to look like a leper. Anyhoo, I said all that not to whine, but to convey the following about my dear oldest who is getting into the "embarrassed of my parents" stage.

Chase has been monitoring my condition closely and everyday greets me with a grimace and informs me I have more spots. The other day he was quite taken aback to see I had spots on my face. He actually asked if I knew I had spots on my face now, which oddly enough I did. The look on his face was pure mortification and he asked, "How long does this last again?" I told him it could last up to several months. I asked him if he was embarrassed by me and his sweet, priceless response was, "not on purpose". Now he will just walk by and shake his head and mutter "more spots".

The good news is Noel remains oblivious to the fact his mother needs a Bur'qua. He is content to walk around chanting, "Licka Licka Loo Loo". Don't bother asking, we have no idea where he picked this up. I asked his teacher and she said she was wondering if it was something we said at home, ummm no. He says it all the time! He has also taken to adding the 'y' sound to the end of every word. For instance he asks for "juicy" or "milky". He is very two these days and doesn't hesitate to express his opinions, but then he smiles that incredible smile and you just have to kiss him. And when you do, he giggles and says, "Licka Licka Loo Loo."

The Sacrifices of Lent

Again no pictures, but in the famous words of Chase, "it's not my fault." Our laptop is on the fritz so Chris pulled all the pictures to an external hard drive. Great if the laptop does indeed crash, but bad for my blogging which is already lagging way behind.
Speaking of Chase, this year, becasue he is making his first Communion, we have really encouraged him to give up something for Lent. I decided to give up diet soda which is a pretty big deal for me. Chris hasn't decided yet, but Chase after weighing several options has decided to abstain from soup. Yes, that was his much deliberated choice, and I honestly don't believe he chose it to be funny. He really thought long and hard about his decision. We both agreed candy wasn't a good choice because there was so much in the house from Valentine's, so his next choice was soup, and yes, he really enjoys soup though we don't eat it that terribly often.
After boldly embracing soup as the thing to give up, he then said, "now how long will this last?" I told him 40 days to which he made a horrified face and said, "I might really want some chicken noodle before then." The sacrifices we make...

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

I know I am way overdue for lots of photos and updates, but I had to share this quickie before I forget it. Last night as I was cooking dinner, Chase was trying to get a VERY grouchy Noel to sit on the couch with him. At one point Chase says, "Noel, I have to tell you something very important. I am your brother. Since I am your brother, I think you should treat me with the respect I deserve." In response Noel probably either hit, kicked, or pulled Chase's hair and the chaos resumed.

Taking a Stand

I do not consider myself a political person. Don't get me wrong, I vote, but I do it because too many have fought and died to make sure I have that right rather than my real interest in the political process. However, last Friday the entire family took part in what, I have to say, was one of the most powerful things I have ever done, the annual Together for Life rally at the State Capitol. The rally marks the anniversary of the passing of Roe vs. Wade, and begins with a gathering on the Capitol steps and ends with a one mile silent walk through downtown Atlanta.

Our family had a very special role in the program. Because of Noel's involvement in the Face of Personhood contest one of the directors at Georgia Right to Life asked if we would be interested in participating on stage and beginning the march. Our portion of the program involved representing our birth year since Roe was passed by holding a sign with an abortion statistic as the information was read. I represented 1976, Chase 2001, and Noel 2007 (Chris got to carry Noel). I was so proud of my boys! And a little anxious as you can see below.(Chase was somewhat unsupervised)

The experience was moving and reinforced so much what a miracle Noel is. He is literally one in a million that was adopted and not aborted. And while the media did not find this event, that drew thousands to walk silently through the middle of a major American city, worthy of their coverage, I felt as though we were making a difference. Choose Life!

Wordless Wednesday

Our big Snow Day January 7, 2010