And So It Goes

Well, I mentioned how I blog on Xanga and have for years.  This weekend I received an email from the site that they are most likely shutting down this summer.  If they can raise enough funds they will keep it open but the format will change and ... I think we have to pay for it?  Ugh!  I know Xanga isn't as popular as it used to be and every blogger seems to go with other sites like Blogger, Tumblr, Wordpress, etc.  It will be sad to see it go and this will be my only home to blog.  As of now I will still keep it open to the public but I won't be using it as often or quite like I did with Xanga.  Good things don't last forever.  I love blogging.  It's a great outlet for me, especially as a stay-at-home mother that doesn't have a lot going on aside from taking care of a house, a husband and the kids. 

Matthew is now finished with his first season of tball.  This evening the boys, parents and coaches are getting together for a little party at a playground down the street from my house.  It's sad to see the season come to a close but Matthew looks forward to playing again, and maybe this fall.  The rest of the week will be a busy one.  Today I'm planning to take the kids to the library to sign up for The Summer Reading Club.  This will be the third year we've participated.  We read books to the kids, log the minutes and earn prizes.  The final prize, after reading a total of 800 minutes, is a free ticket to the minor league baseball game in our area. 

Looking forward to a fun summer before sending our big guy off to kindergarten. 

My New Fitness Blog

I'm always at a loss for what to put on this page.  What should I write about?  Does anyone really care?  I decided, after stumbling upon someone else's fitness page that I wanted to create one for myself.  So here it is.  Another blog.

http://runningwithsunshine.blogspot.com

Feel free to leave comments and feedback and I welcome any suggestions you'd want to see on the fitness page or even this page.

I have been trying so hard in the last year to find the motivation and knowledge to keep a healthier and more active lifestyle.  I think having a blog to list my goals, track my progress and give lots of advice on what has worked will be a good step.

I'll still update this one from time to time. 

Memorial Day And A Delicious Dessert

I hope everyone enjoyed Memorial Day weekend.  There are no words to describe how blessed I feel to be part of this great country and for how thankful I am of the men and women who put their lives on the line just to protect our freedom.  Although most find it a day to celebrate with a barbecue Memorial Day is a day set aside to remember those who lost their lives in battle.  I'm so thankful for that sacrifice made by so many.

And yes, we did enjoy a barbecue at my parents' house.  My dad always makes good food on the grill and there were a lot of sides to go with it.  I decided to make a dessert that my husband and I both enjoy.  I was given this recipe years ago by a former coworker who brought this pie in one day for a party.  I fell in love with the dessert and had to have the recipe.  I hope she doesn't mind that I will share it on here.  It's too delicious.

BANANA PINEAPPLE DESSERT

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup melted butter

Mix together and pat into the bottom of a 13"x9" pan

3 bananas, sliced

8 oz cream cheese, softened

2 (4 oz) boxes of instant vanilla pudding

3 1/2 cups milk

1 20 oz can crushed pineapple, well drained

8 oz container cool whip

Layer the sliced bananas on top of the graham cracker crust

In large bowl place the softened cream cheese and whip with a wire whisk until smooth.  Add the milk and mix well.  Add the pudding and continue beating until well mixed and thick.  Pour over the bananas.  Layer the pineapple over the pudding mixture and top with the cool whip.  Chill for at least 4 hours.  Serve. 

Enjoy!

A Little Bit of This and A Little Bit of That

I haven't been a good blogger on here.  I'm very consistent with keeping up with my personal blog on Xanga.  I have been on Xanga for years and have many readers on there that I've become very acquainted with.  It's nice to see who exactly is coming onto my blog and I receive so many comments and feedback from them.  There are also a lot of Xanga blogs I read too.  The Xanga community has been my home since I was first married and I'm most comfortable there.  I wanted to give Blogger a try and leave it open to the public so family and others can easily view it but I'm sorry to say I'm just not as consistent with it.  Since Xanga is kept private and only viewable by a select few who have Xanga accounts, I find myself easily able to write just about anything from my personal feelings regarding any certain situations, certain events going on with the family and even lots of pictures.  I try to be a little more discreet on here and because of that it's hard to know what to write.  Also, I have only a few other Blogger blogs that I read regularly and they don't update as much. 

I have decided to write a blog today with just some random thoughts.  Brianna is napping and Matthew is playing a video game.  While I wait for the last load of wash to finish I might as well blog. 

A lot has been going on lately in our family.  Matthew recently graduated from preschool.  The school held a very sweet ceremony and the kids wore caps and gowns and were presented with a diploma.  Matthew enjoyed going to the school and made lots of friends.  He is excited to start kindergarten in the fall.  I have always enjoyed teaching Matthew different things at home but preschool has taught him so much more.  He can recognize and write all the letters in the alphabet and is learning how to spell.  He knows all the days of the week and months of the year.  Preschool also gave him the experience to learn social skills that he didn't get by being at home with me.  Now he's done with preschool and officially on summer vacation.  He is also near the end of his first year of t-ball and that has been going well too. 

Brianna is getting closer to her second birthday.  She can repeat anything we say word for word and her little voice is so adorable.  She's very clingy to me just like her brother was.  She's also learning a lot and it helps to have a big brother who is constantly wanting to recite the alphabet and count numbers.  She is picking up on all that too.  She tells me when she "pooped" her diaper and for awhile she was willingly using the potty but that has stopped.  I'm not the type of parent who rushes to get my little one's potty trained.  Matthew learned on his own when he was almost three and I know Brianna will get it when she's ready too. 

My husband is doing well.  He is back to work after taking three days off.  Then, because of Memorial Day, he will have a three day weekend.  It's nice having him home.  He works a full forty hour week as an accountant and also has another bookkeeping job from home.  He's always been a hard worker and I'm so proud of him for always wanting to step up and do what he needs to for himself and his family.  Yesterday we celebrated his birthday and six days ago we celebrated our 11 year wedding anniversary. 

Yes, 11 years!  I shouldn't brag, but truthfully I feel so lucky to have found such a wonderful man and at a young age.  He is a great person.  Never complains about anything, always works hard and is a great husband and father.  I couldn't imagine having anyone better as my life-long partner.  It hasn't been an easy 11 years but it's been totally worth it.  I'm blessed! 

Mother's Day Recap

We celebrated Mother's Day a few days ago.  I'm blessed to have a husband and children that treat me special every single day but I enjoyed being extra pampered on Sunday.  Matthew made me a bag in school with his hand prints on it.  Rob bought me a Boston Creme donut (my favorite) and some flowers.  They also made a beautiful card for me and we enjoyed Olive Garden take out.  It was a great Mother's Day!

I love being the mother to my two children.  Since they've been born I couldn't imagine my life without them.  They completed my heart and gave me a purpose for living.  As parents we are supposed to teach our children so many things but they have also taught me so much as well.  When you're a parent love at first site does exist. 

Curb Appeal

The weather on Saturday was beautiful and gave us a chance to work on one of the flower beds in the front yard.  I believe that curb appeal in a home is important but we unfortunately neglected that for a long time.  My goal for the spring is to get the outside of our house looking presentable and I'm very pleased with the look so far. 

I'm very grateful that my husband offered to chip in and replace the old, worn out wood around the bed with some new wood.  It looks great.  We also purchased a new plant called Rising Sun Coreopsis. 

Right now the plant looks like this.

But with time and love it should look like this picture I found on the internet.

The Rising Sun Coreopsis is expected to grow 3' wide and 3' tall.  I've been known to screw up plants before so I'm crossing my fingers that this works.  We'll see.

Here is the finished look as of right now.  I'm hoping to add more garden decor.  We decided to go with rubber mulch instead of the real stuff.  My dad uses it in his flower beds.  It's a bit more costly than real mulch but it lasts longer and we won't have to replace it every year so in the long run it will be a huge money saver.  I don't have a green thumb so I'm very impressed with these results. 

Introducing ... The Next Babe Ruth

We signed Matthew up for t-ball and he loves it.  He's normally a very shy boy; an introvert just me, but he is so different on the field.  He has a good time and I love knowing how much he enjoys it.  It's important to me that my children get involved with sports and other activities.  They need to be active, socialize with other children and learn different things to find out what they like and what they are good at.  This is the first sport Matthew has played with a team and I can't express just how proud I am of him. 

Yesterday was the first game of the season.  There are only three t-ball teams in the league so Matthew will be playing the other two teams four times each.  He's the smallest and probably the slowest on the team so he has to push himself harder but he did well.  He can't throw the ball as far as the other kids can but that will improve over time.  It's especially awesome that his dad is an assistant coach.  It has always been a dream of Rob's to be able to coach his son's little league team and now the time is here.  I love watching them both on the field. 

 My little lefty

 Giving Coach Dad a high five after his first run.  I love this picture so much!