An evening at the beach

Last night after dinner, we decided to take the kids and Comet down to the beach for a while.

The weather was gorgeous, and sitting on the beach watching the waves is always therapeutic for me, so I thoroughly enjoyed it! Damon is insane... I figured he would splash around on the edge of the water, but oh no... Damon got IN the freezing cold ocean (it's a wonder he doesn't have pneumonia today!). Comet and Avery wanted nothing to do with the water, but had fun playing/running in the sand and helping Nick look for seashells.

Here are some pics I managed to take before my camera battery died on me.

Will blog for food (or recipes, anyway!)

Thanks to my friend Angie for telling me about this awesome contest!

Check out this yummy cookbook, and tell your friends!

Here's one of my fave, easy recipes... my husband loves this and can eat the whole thing himself in one sitting!

Turkey Pie

1 lb. ground turkey
1 jar salsa
1 c. (or more, if you're a cheese lover like Nick!) shredded cheddar cheese
1 pkg. crescent rolls
sour cream (optional)

Brown ground turkey and drain. Mix salsa into turkey and cook for a few minutes, until warm.
Line a pie pan or round baking dish with crescent roll dough.
Pour turkey/salsa mixture on top of dough.
Top with shredded cheese.
Bake at 375 degrees for approx. 25 minutes.
Top with sour cream (if you're a sour cream lover like me!), and Enjoy!

Emily, this one's for you!

Pink flamingos, just for you, dear Em. (Hopefully, these won't carry you down the boardwalk by your ears, lolololol).

Memorial Day weekend fun!

Today, my mother-in-law and I took the kids to a nearby zoo/playground for the afternoon... it was a HOT one, but we enjoyed our stroll through the shady zoo and pushing the kids on the swings at the playground.


Here are some pics of the kids pretending to be two-toed sloths, playing in the sandbox, and swinging.





After sweating at the zoo, we took the kids to Rita's for some refreshing custard and smoothies! Damon proceeded to throw up ice cream all over the backseat of the car (which wasn't the highlight of the day!), but he recovered quickly and was at home, splashing in our little backyard pool in no time.


Nick and his stepfather are doing the "manly thing" and playing golf this afternoon. Neither of them are real "golfers" so I'm sure they're having an interesting time... and they've yet to surface. Hopefully they survive their battle with that little white ball!


Tonight, we're lighting a huge bonfire and roasting hot dogs and marshmallows! YUM!

Damon, my love

Couldn't you just EAT him up??

Bubbles (courtesy of Grandma Chris!)

I thought we were feeling better...

But, I think I jumped the gun with that wishful thinking.

Poor Damon has had a rough night... OTC meds weren't cutting it, and he woke up crying just a couple of hours after he went to bed tonight. His throat hurts and his ear hurts. So, I put on my "Mommy" hat and made Nick take him to the Emergency Room tonight (lucky Daddy... it was his turn, since I made the last ER run. tee hee!).

Damon cried and whined because he didn't want to go to the hospital... and oddly enough, Avery cried and whined because she WANTED to go "see the doctor." The child is strange, I tell you. She screamed and threw fits and tried to gag herself, trying to convince me that SHE was sick and that SHE needed to go see the doctor to get medicine.

I've decided she's going to be an actress someday... because she ALMOST had me convinced at one point. After 20 minutes of her carrying on, I asked her if I could take a video of her because her drama was really entertaining... she pouted and said, "No!" Then, two seconds later, her face brightened and she said, "but, Mommy, you can take a video of me DANCING!" And she hopped off the couch, all smiles... miraculously healed!!

I don't know what I'm going to do with that one... she's something else.

Hopefully her brother will be feeling better soon. There's nothing worse than sick babies!!

ETA: The ER doctor says that Damon has a bad cold. I'm not sure I'm convinced... but they couldn't find any infection. He's home from school today, taking lots of Motrin and drinking lots of OJ.

Sick, sick, and now more sick

It's all Nick's fault. He found these pesky germs somewhere last week (at work, we're guessing) and brought them home, to breed.

I was their next victim... and have spent the past two days whining LOTS and realizing just how much I scream (at my children and the dogs) because now I CAN'T scream... it hurts way too much. If I thought my household was unruly before, it's even worse when Mom can't scream... trust me. Comet doesn't understand anything spoken in a soft tone... in fact, I think he might be slightly deaf and can ONLY hear when he's being yelled at.

Poor Avery was victim number three. She started running a fever today and spent most of the day zonked out on the couch. Nick has been to Rite Aid several times in the past 24 hours, and I'm sure we now own half of their severe cold/sore throat medicine inventory. (Why doesn't that make me feel any better? I see doctor visits in our future... lots of doctor visits... lots of prescription meds. yippee!)

On a slightly happier note, we all enjoyed a nice visit from Grampy yesterday. He came over for the day and joined us for Damon's weekly T-ball game. Grampy also brought Damon his very own "tee" so that Damon can practice his swings in the backyard... and Grampy taught us how to play Indian Ball (I think that might be easier for poor Gimpy Grampy when he gets his brand new hip later this month). Damon also sported his new Orioles jersey that Grampy brought for him... and he even slept in it last night (the jersey was definitely a hit, Dad!).

Now, I'm trying to summon up the energy to prepare for the next week... another week of school for Damon... work for Nick and me... and hopefully we'll all start feeling better soon. Being sick is the PITS.

My Mom, by Damon (age 6)

Damon made me a little Mother's Day gift at school and brought it home for me last week.

At the top is a smashing picture that he drew of me (apparently Damon thinks I have a REALLY long neck... I look much like a giraffe!). What amused me the most was that, although the picture doesn't resemble me (much less a human) very much, he drew me wearing a pink and orange-striped shirt... normally I would think it odd that he chose those colors, but I DO just happen to have a pink and orange-striped shirt that I wear quite frequently... so that made me smile.

Anyway, at the bottom of the beautiful portrait is a little paragraph about me. No doubt his teacher asked him a few choice questions and he then filled in the blanks (think Mad Libs, lol). This is what Damon had to say about his giraffe-like mom:

My mom's name is Erin. Her favorite food is Hamburger Helper and her favorite color is purple. In her free time, Mom likes to go to the grocery store. Her favorite vacation spot is a hotel. Her favorite holiday is Christmas. She likes Christmas best because she gets to open presents. Mom likes it when I go in the pool, but her favorite thing about being a mom is watching me jump in the pool!

Just for the record, I HATE Hamburger Helper and I do NOT enjoy grocery shopping. Funny how a child's mind works, eh?? But, my name IS Erin, and I DO, in fact, like the color purple, so I will give Damon credit for knowing that much about his dear old Mom. *grin*

Photo Fun in a Field of Flowers

(it's called alliteration, people, c'mon! lol)

A week and a half ago (May 9th to be exact), I took my children out into the field next to our house to attempt to get a REALLY good picture of them... to frame for their grandmothers and great-grandmother for a Mother's Day gift. (Meddy, your frame should be hand-delivered by dear Grampy next week!)

I don't think I got any "really" good pics... mostly because the sun was way too bright and poor Damon was grimacing, as a result, instead of smiling. But, I did get some "ehhh" okay pics, and here are a few of them.

A bad case of the shakes

That's what I've had for the past week because my cable modem decided to go crazy on me.

I've basically been without Internet access for a whole week, and I was seriously having withdrawal symptoms!!

We had an appointment today with the cable company, and of course when I woke up this morning, it was miraculously working (before the cable guy even got here!). He called and told me that they've been "working on the lines" for the past week, but the problem should be fixed now.

WHEW!!! Best news I've heard in a while!! :)

So, I know I'm way behind on blog posts (and I don't want any of Damon and Avery's fans getting the shakes as a result!!). I have lots of new pics and things to post... and will try to get several new posts up today sometime! So stay tuned!!!

It's so good to be BACK!!! :)

Yes, my husband has a tongue...

Don't worry, it's not as perverse as it sounds... this post should still get a PG rating, I promise (okay, maybe PG-13).

Nick has this problem when it comes to being photographed... every time he sees a camera pointing in his direction, he sticks his tongue out. He's been doing this for as long as I've known him. I think the ONLY pics I have of the man without his tongue hanging out are from the day we got married (thank goodness he cooperated for THAT, at least!).

After the Billy C. concert Friday night, we went to karaoke with some friends (and had a fabulous time... the only thing better than a date with beautiful Billy is the fun post-Billy date with my hubby... tongue hanging out and all). All evening, our friends and I tried to get a picture of Nick without his tongue... but we had NO luck.

Instead, I ended up with lots of pictures like these:

My date with beautiful Billy

I posted several weeks ago when I first bought my concert tickets to see my boyfriend, Billy C.

Well, this weekend was our date. And he didn't disappoint! The concert was fun, fun, and more fun. Nick actually accompanied me (even though I warned him that there would be drooling!), and we had an awesome time.

My husband gets major points for this, too... toward the end of the concert he told me he was leaving for a minute to use the restroom (I didn't figure I'd miss him much, considering what my eyes were feasting on at the time! lol)... So, Nick left the concert tent, but ummm, never came back. The concert actually ended, and I had no clue WHAT to do... how to find Nick in the huge crowd of people leaving the tent, milling around. Just when I was about to give up and trek back to the car, hoping he'd have the sense to meet me there, I saw his big black cowboy hat in the crowd. I said, "Where the heck have you been?!?!" And he says, "Getting this..." and holds up a scrumptuous pic of half-naked Billy that he purchased for me.

I thought that was too sweet. And later I realized how comical it was that my big redneck manly man husband was milling around carrying a picture of a half-naked man... I'm sure it was a proud moment for him.

Here are some drool-worthy pics that I took of my dear Billy during the concert... Isn't he yummy?!?!

Another Season of T-Ball!

Damon's second season of T-ball started last weekend. He's been looking forward to this for months! Here are some pics of him (and his little sister, of course!) at the field last Saturday, during their first practice.

Tomorrow is his first "game." Go Reds! :)

Muffins with Mom

Avery and I just got home from a fun-filled morning at Damon's school. Today was their 3rd annual "Muffins with Mom" Day. We took Damon to school at 8:30 (way too early for me to be up and functioning, by the way!) and had muffins for breakfast in the school cafeteria. Then, we spent an hour in his classroom, watching Mrs. Davis's Kindergarten class start their school day.

It's always funny for me to see how Damon acts at school around his friends and under the direction of his teacher.

One of his school's little "philosophies" that they preach/teach the kids is to "Show Respect." Respect toward their classmates, teachers, school property, etc. It's a nifty little phrase, and I only wish I could make it work here at home! I keep telling Damon that he needs to "respect" his parents the same way he respects his teachers at school (where he's an angel), but I don't think he believes me...

I've spent a few mornings in Damon's classroom this year... and every time I leave there, I think, "Mrs. Davis is a saint, for sure." And I'm always reminded why she is a teacher and I'm not, lol. Twenty-one 6 year olds in one room... "respecting" one another and their teacher. That's a small miracle. I don't think I'd last one full day, let alone 180 of them per year! Mrs. Davis is my hero.

And poor Avery. She cried when we had to leave. She is sooooooooo ready to be a big kid at school. She's been ready since Damon's first day of school, I think. But, alas, she still has a long wait. Being a December baby is no fun... she'll have to wait a full year from this September before she can start half-day pre-K at Damon's school.

For now, she'll just have to settle with spending her days with Mommy (and Miss Trish!). This morning was a reminder for me to enjoy my days with her now... before I know it she'll be getting on the bus with her brother every morning, and I'll be crying because my babies are so grown up.