Somewhere Along The Way

First written sentence by Tyler

Today as I walked in to get Tyler he was writing his first sentences.

The very first one:

I SEE THE OCEAN

Momma cried. That's our little surf rider baby.

Me at 43

Julian and fish

Julian, my little sophisticated seafood eater. Tonight fish nuggets. I say, would u like ketchup with that and he says oh no mom, a slice of lemon please.

From Julian age 8

" I really really love u mom you my best friend "

What I live for!

A note for me from Tyler! Handwritten!

Sharks!!

Little shark Julian is learning butterfly today! The kids are diving over the ropes in a butterfly drill.

The Week Ahead

Spring arrived early. Not sure how happy I am about it. I'm a winter lover. Sometimes when it gets this warm and there are this many blooms I feel Mother Nature is making a big mistake. Anyhow the Magnolias are stunning and they are super fragrant.

This week:

Finish and submit Julian's gorilla project!
( have to say I was super excited when we were able to use MY pics of gorillas from the Bronx Zoo. )

Exercise, exercise, exercise and swim swim swim

Register T for Kindergarten

Have a teacher conf with Mrs Orr, Julian's 2nd gr. teacher.

Get ready for girl's scrapbook weekend in
Jackson, NH.

Make sure Julian gets in two swim sessions.

And I think we have an eye dr appt for both boys!

Lastly, Stormy could really use a bath at the groomers.

Whew, and that's just a snapshot of the week to come!

Chocolate, Yes please!

Sometimes you just need chocolate! Here is a WW cupcake recipe!

Three point plus!

1 box chocolate cake mix
1 can of pumpkin
1/4 or 1/2 c. Of water

Bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes

( I frosted these for the kids, so at least the frosting is all natural - add two points for a frosted one! 5 points not bad)

Deciding

FEELING BETTER IS ALL ABOUT DECIDING.

We are all victims and heroes. We over think and forget to act. We get stuck and we restart. We trust our gut then follow our heart. We wake up again. We inhale this breathe and exhale the next. We will never be the same again. We find friends inside screens, and enemies within us. We fight change even as we’re changing. We let thoughts define us and illusions close our minds. We are capable of more than we have ever imagined.

We cannot hold tight to what was and live in what is.

BETTER IS WAITING.

IT’S YOUR CHOICE.

On that note, I am down 15.2 in eight weeks.  Averaging 4-5 hours of exercise per week, including spinning, running, training and as of this week swimming.  I'm working my plan to the max, and it's coming off. Yay.  I can do this.  It is my choice.

Lake Placid

Well we are one lucky family.  Bill's very good friend from high school and his wife Mary have been inviting us to their lovely home in Lake Placid a couple times each year.  They spoil us terribly with treats, and presents and fun mountain activities. 

We left our home around 4:30 and made our journey north on a Friday night.  All was well until we got to upstate New York.  We saw white out conditions.  The driving part wasn't so treacherous, but the visibility was horrendous.  We spent the last two hours of our drive travelling at a whopping 15-20 mph.  We finally arrived at 10:30pm.

Scott and Mary's renovated hunting lodge is so beautiful.  Every time we arrive we get to see something amazing that they've done to their home.  On this visit we got to see their great kitchen nook, with a tree incorporated into the room.  Hanging from the tree, a reclaimed piece of pully and rope that Scott turned into a light.  So very cool.

In our room, Mary had an old suitcase filled with treats for us.  Chocolates, dog cookies for Stormy, nice soaps, towels, magazines....so very lovely.

Our weekend included so many wonderful activities.  Tubing, hiking, dog sledding, walking, cross country skiing and just hanging out. 

Tubing, Mt. Pisgah in Saranac.

Looking for ice formations in their "backyard", aka the mountains was a challenge for our family.  Only five minutes into our hike poor Tyler fell on  a log, bumped his nose and it bled terribly.  Poor kiddo.  What a champ.  He kept on going, although a couple of times he looked at me and said in a whisper "please Momma can we go back to the house".  I said sure we're headed that way.  We did find some nice icey backgrounds for photos though!  So it was well worth the challenge.

(this will be one of my favorite pics for a long time) (me and my best four legged friend Stormy)

Please look closely to see my arm wrapped around a tree.  That's how steep it was.

And our mountaineer, Julian.

On Saturday night, Scott and Mary took us to the uber luxurious and upscale Lake Placid Lodge.  I could spend a week here with Bill. So nice.  Every single room is exquisitely designed with Adirondack style, and furniture.  We were able to take a good peak around and we also had the chance of meeting a wildlife expert who specializes in owls.  So here Mary and I took turns holding a real Barn Owl.  What a treat !  I adore barn owls and Mary has no less than 100 owl pieces decorating their LP home.

I also got the chance to try cross country skiing.  Loved it !

(this is the antique luggage with goodies we found in our room)

And a winter weekend in LP wouldn't be complete without a dog sled ride.  The boys and I hopped in and were pulled by 12 dogs across frozen Mirror Lake !

Leaving Scott and Mary's is always a little sad.  The boys literally start shedding tears in the car.  Good memories and lots more to come!