Ethan's Take On Makeup

[last night as we are kneeling to say bedtime prayers]

Ethan:  Mom, you still have your makeup on.

Me:  I know, I haven't gotten a chance to take it off yet.

Ethan:  Why do you wear it?  You look better without it.  Is what I'm saying going in one ear or out the other?  You don't need it.

aww:)

And... We Are Moving

I remember  when Owen was five days old I was sitting in bed nursing him and Sean asked me how I felt about moving to Connecticut... I remember bursting into tears.  A couple of months later, he asked me again and expressed how much he would like to participate at his company's National Office-with the groups he is interested in being in San Francisco or Wilton, Connecticut - and starting this summer.  I was in denial for awhile and tried not to think about it.

Well, here we are at the end of April...  Sean spent three days last week in Connecticut doing interviews with different groups within National Office and he found out yesterday that he was accepted into his top two choices of groups!  Great news, but makes it SO. REAL.  Time for me to stop denying that this is happening and trying to accept [and be happy about] it.

It is really hard because I absolutely LOVE our home, neighborhood, and have made some awesome friends who are also stay-at-home moms.  I know that I will meet other friends in CT, but it won't be the same.   Also, we are so close to my family right now - it will be weird not seeing them every week.  I know that I have been spoiled by living so close to them for so long, but I enjoy it:)  And it is really weird to think about someone else living in my beloved home!  I am praying and hoping that we find someone that will care for it as much as we do and that they will take good care of it for us while we are away. I also hope that we are able to find a nice place to call 'home' in Connecticut.  It is hard trying to find a home in a different state that you don't know anything about!  I have contacted a Realtor up there, and we are relying heavily on their input as well as Sean's knowledge about the area (he lived in CT before he met me).

We are planning on take a trip to Connecticut in early June; and move there sometime during the last week of June.  That way we can rent out our home starting on July 1st.  Yes, that is Owen's birthday.  Much to my sadness, we won't be here on his special day to celebrate with family, so we will celebrate the week before.

I am really, really trying to be positive about this and be supportive of Sean and his career, but this is really hard.  Each time I really think about it, I almost start crying (as my eyes have watered up while writing this post!).  I know that it is only about 6 hours away (depending on where our 'home' will be), and that we will be able to come back and visit often, but it just won't be the same at all.  And, it is for only two years until we come back home.

Two years. 104 weeks. 730 days.

I can do this.  I can do this.

It Makes My Heart Smile...

When I watch how excited Owen gets when he sees Ethan!  He gets this huge smile on his face, his kicks his little legs so fast, and "coos" with excitement - especially when Ethan gets home from school.  This is reciprocated by Ethan runnning up to him and talking to him all excited.  It is quite honestly one of the sweetest, happiest moments of my day:)

Easter 2012

On Saturday (the day before Easter), we went to my parents house to celebrate Easter a day early.  It was the first time all of my parents grandkids were together at their house!  It was a home full of babies crying, adults laughing, and good memories:)  As always, Mom made a wonderful meal that we all thoroughly enjoyed.

Sunday after church, the McQuivey's came over to have Easter dinner with us.  It was the first time I have hosted Easter dinner, but I think it went well.  It was so nice to see the McQuivey's again!  We definitely need to have them over more often - they are such a wonderful couple whom we love so much!

Spring Break 2012

Monday:  When I went into the city a couple of weeks ago, I told Ethan that I saw real mummies, so he really wanted to see them, too.  So we planned a day trip to go into DC and Jill joined us!  We first went to the American History Museum - where we saw the hat and shoes of the scarecrow from the Wizard of Oz, along with exhibits of slavery.  We didn't stay there long because it wasn't very interactive and Ethan was anxious to see the mummies.

 Next, we went to the Natural History Museum, where we spent a lot of time looking at (you guessed it!) the mummies and their 'bones' section.  Ethan was so interested in it!  I gave him my camera and he took a lot of pictures of the things he liked:)  We spent a short time looking at the gems and then enjoyed some lunch at their cafe.

We then hopped back onto the metro and went to the National Geographic Museum to check out their Titanic Exhibit.  It was pretty interesting - they had some really cool interactive parts that we enjoyed, and they had some artifacts from the movie as well.  Included in our admission, we went through the Samuri exhibit - they didn't allow pictures to be taken, and it was OK.

Overall, we had a fantastic day in the city!  It was more crowded than when I went last, but I guess that's what happens when you go during Spring Break;)

Tuesday:  On Tuesday, we met some of my friends at Ticonderoga Farms in Chantilly.  They had huge slides set up as well as a pet-a-pet farm, playgrounds, a tractor ride, etc.  One of my friends, Paula, came with her four kids so Ethan had a blast running around with them!  Afterwards, we went to lunch at the Chipotle that Ethan and I would go to every Monday night for dinner back in my bachelorette days:)  Then, we went to my parents for a quick visit since they live really close.

Ticonderoga Farms Fun!

At Mom and Dave's... We found out that Owen does NOT like the grass-he cried when he was sitting on it and then when we put a blanket under him, he would not get off of it!  Dave and Ethan had fun playing a game of baseball and being silly:)

Wednesday:  A day at the zoo!  We joined my friends again for a day at the Reston Zoo.  Ethan liked looking at the reptiles and also the big animals that came right up to us on the tractor ride!

Babies from left to right: Owen, Liam, Emery, Christian, and Tori

Thursday:  Owen had physical therapy in the morning so Ethan was able to meet his therapist, Julianne.  After Owen's therapy and nap, we then went on a hike at the Red Rock Wilderness Park (this is the same park I went with my friend Michelle and Josie got covered in mud!).  I had forgotten how steep some of the hills are and how exhausting it is climbing up (and down) them with Owen in the Beco carrier!  We hiked over 2 miles and enjoyed being in the middle of nature:)  Ethan picked out walking sticks and would toss it back in the woods when he found a 'better one.'  Everything is turning green and the Potomac River looked so beautiful!  We then dyed our Easter Eggs and Sean surprised us by coming home early (4:30) from being in Richmond since Monday!

Our Hike To The Potomac River

Owen Supervised Ethan Dying Easter Eggs... and the final products!

Friday:  Dad, Meghan, and baby Hannah came over for a visit!  It was so fun having them over and we took tons of pictures to capture the kids together with Poppa John!  Afterwards, we went out to lunch - what a great visit!

Love Having Family, Kids, and Babies Around!

Overall, I think we did a good job at staying busy during Spring Break!  

Contract for My Sons' Future Wives

This morning I ran into this article and found it absolutely hilarious, yet so true.  It makes me sad that all too soon, Ethan and Owen will be grown up and be getting married.  Anyway, here is the article:

The moment you bring a baby boy into the world, you start to wonder when he's going to leave you. That's right. You know that one day he'll leave you for another woman -- even though he'll propose to you all through toddlerhood and tell you that you are the only girl for him.

Liar.

You're already quite certain that the woman he marries will probably resent you for being so awesomely cool. And you're betting she'll do whatever she can to break the strong bond you have with your sweet prince. Women say it's good to marry mama's boys, but they don't really want to deal with the mama part. 

Wenches!

My husband has told me time and time again to cut the cord... no f*****g way! I'm waiting until that thing rots and falls off. I mean, for how much longer is he going to say "I love you" when he walks out the door, or hug me in front of his friends, or ask me to lie with him at night? Frankly, I don't know, but I won't be the one to stop it.

If he's 40 and wants me to lie with him and scratch his arm, I'll be all "Move over, Megan," or whatever his unappreciative, son-stealing wife's name is.

Let's be honest: he may be 5 now, but before we know it, he'll be shaving, and driving, and then he'll leave us to go to college somewhere cold. Then he'll get married and move to be near her mother, because that's what girls make boys do:move near their mothers! Then he'll be a father, and then one fine holiday he'll have "wifey" call us to cancel our plans. Then he'll try to make up for it by sending one of those Harry & David gift baskets filled with pears, because he'll remember that we love pears, but they'll be bruised -- like our hearts.

No, we can't go down that road. We have to take a stand against son stealing right now.

We'll make those Jezebels pay... no, sign! Yes, a contract for us to make them sign, besides the pre-nup. That's right, like using WiFi in Starbucks, they'll have to agree to our terms. 

This is a MIL-nup, and it goes like this:

• I will compliment my mother-in-law's (MIL's) cooking, her decorating, and, most importantly, the incredible way she raised her son, my husband.

I will marvel at my MIL's beauty and miraculously never-aging skin every time I see her.

I will acknowledge that my MIL's son is on loan to me so that we can make grandbabies, which will probably look like her and have her wonderful traits, which I will mention in conversation frequently and with great fervor.

I will remind my husband to call my MIL daily, saying, "Have you told your mother you love her today? You should, she rocks." Plus, I will throw in phrases like this:

"That amazing woman raised you! You should call and thank her... again."

"You can truly never thank her enough."

"Let's go over and thank her in person."

"We should bring her a gift when we go."

"She's so deserving of gifts."

"Let's take her on vacation with us."

"And get her another gift."

"Maybe a beautiful locket with pictures of you and our children."

"No, I don't need to be in the pictures; she didn't raise me... unfortunately."

I will tell other women that their mothers-in-law are not as fabulous as mine, and I shall be willing to throw down in the event that said women disagree.

I will take my MIL to her weekly hair salon appointment and shopping at Loehmann's, when it is deemed necessary by age.

I will spend all holidays with my husband's family, because they are so awesome and gracious, and I realize how much mine sucks by comparison.

And lastly:

I will move to be near my MIL, whether she has retired to Century Village in Florida, decides to live in a nudist colony in Arizona, or goes bat-s**t crazy and moves to Alaska for the fresh sushi. She is so wise and wonderful that I'm sure her choice of habitat will suit me and my husband perfectly!

Oh, and:

My MIL can so live with me and my husband when she's old and can't remember who I am.

There. You can print this to be signed when the inevitable happens. I just saved you from losing your sweet, sweet boy. You're welcome.

Surprise Party for Sean!

Sean took all of the C.P.A. exams when I was pregnant with Owen and in September, he received his Connecticut license and his Virginia one in January.  We never did anything to celebrate this huge accomplishment, so when we received his Virginia license I started thinking of different ways to celebrate.  I decided to ask his sisters (one lives in Falls Church and the other lives in Richmond) if they would want to come up and surprise him with a small party.  They both happily agreed!  So the planning began!  It was just the three families, but it was so fun!  

Sean always asks me to go with him wherever he goes on Saturdays (except for the grocery store, because we always spend more when I go there, haha!), so I knew that getting him out of the house without me would be tricky without getting him suspicious.  So, I asked Kevin from church to help.  He took Sean to visit less active members in our ward.  In the morning, Sean had looked at the online banking and was questioning the charges at Party City and Costco... It was so hard not to tell him what the purchases were really for!  

The boys and I left shortly before Kevin picked Sean up, and we got the balloons I had ordered earlier in the week, and Aubrey and her family came over and helped decorate.  Jennie and her family joined a little later, and we all waited in anticipation for Sean to come home!  They finally pulled up and we were all ready with our party poppers for when he came in!  

The kids all had a blast playing together and us adults enjoyed one anothers' company.  Good times, good memories:)

Sean's Completely Surprised!

Kiddos Eating

Hanging Out

The Babies!!!  Matthan and Owen

Aubrey and Matthan