Wednesday, February 29, 2012

The Extra Post

Do you know what today is?  It's Leap Day!!!!  One extra day every four years, which means you get to read one extra post from yours truly and the million other mom bloggers out there.  Oh the pressure was intense when I was trying to decide exactly what to write about.  What topic would truly be worthy of the honor?  Then I realized that Leap Day is also known as Sadie Hawkins Day.  And you know what happens on this pseudo holiday known as Sadie Hawkins Day?  Women are allowed to ask men to marry them, and depending on what country you live in, refusal of the proposal requires a fine that ranges between a kiss and 12 pairs of gloves. 

There's something that bothers me with the idea of a woman asking a man to marry her.  You could say I'm just old fashioned that way, I suppose, but in reality I am a pretty "modern" woman.  I went to college and graduate school, I work full-time, I have a supportive husband who shares all of the household chores, my kids attend a private school, I workout at the gym, and like to shop for cute clothes.  Yet, as a woman, when I think about relationships, I want a man to take the lead.  

As a young girl I daydreamed about a handsome boy asking me out for a date, and then waiting until Phil finally got up the nerve to kiss me.  And waiting until he was ready was part of the charm.  Growing up, I was always instructed by my father not to call a boy,  and while at the time I thought he was being unreasonable (after all I really wanted to talk to him, and maybe he just forgot to call me?), I now understand the wisdom behind that fatherly guidance.  Men want to take charge.  They want to have the opportunity to make the first move and take the lead.  There is something very masculine about that role.  

Have you ever watched a man shop?  They are hunters.  They need a pair of pliers, so they go to the tool store, and buy a pair of pliers.  Not like us women, oh no, we like to window shop and take our time and find the best deal, and talk to our friends about it, and maybe pick up some more things for the future. 

We are very different creatures, men and women, which is exactly how God intended it to be.  When we let the men be manly men and let them take the initiative in dating or proposing marriage, then we are free to be womanly women.  We can enjoy the thrill of being chased, play a little hard to get, make sure he truly wants to be with us for the right reasons, and accept his proposal in his time.  Then men will never feel like they got trapped, and women will never feel that they had to trap their man.   It's a win-win when we just let nature take it's course. 

So today, let's celebrate this extra day of the year by letting the men in our lives know how much we appreciate them, instead of trying to take away their thunder.  No offense Sadie Hawkins. 

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

February 25th

On Saturday, my eldest son turned 9!!! 
I am definitely not old enough to have a nine year old.

Happy Birthday John-Paul!
Nana and Gramps sent him a science kit, and he immediately set out to making green slime.  Boys!

Note to self: Just give Xander some wrapping paper on his first birthday:

Oh, and it was my birthday too. 
29 again.
Fourth year in a row.

We bought him this game, recomended by Sarah from Clover Lane:


We also got him a circuit board thingie majigie (sorry to get all technical with you!). 
You can see it here
It's actually really cool, and he LOVES it.  My little future engineer ;)

Eamon was super excited John-Paul got this present from Fr. Dave:

Here's when he opened Mousetrap from his godmother:

We had a big feast day with all his favorite foods - chocolate chip waffles, brunch (omelettes) with Fr. Jay, meatloaf and mashed potatoes, chocolate cake and chocolate ice cream with my parents and some of his cousins. 

I even managed to score a few birthday gifts, my favorite being this one, although nothing could ever top my 24th birthday gift which was the birth of John-Paul. 
I love you to the moon and back!

Monday, February 27, 2012

From the Mouths of our Littles...

Maggie (4), upon watching Daddy cook John-Paul and my birthday dinner and cake said, "Daddy, you are the best cook and caker in the whole world!"

Just after going to Fr.Bill's wake, we were talking about how wonderful he was.  How he had lost his mother at only 4 years old, spent his whole life taking care of his sister Mary Louise who was in a wheel chair, became an amazing priest, and literally gave away all his money and possessions before he died.  I said to the kids, "Fr. Bill must be in Heaven because he was such a good and holy man" and Eamon (5) said "No, he's not in Heaven...he's in the box!"

Maggie, whining about where she had to sit for dinner, "Why do we always have to sit in our science seats?"

Phil overheard this gem of a conversation recently:
Eamon: "blah blah blah...sense of humor"
Maggie: "What's a sense of humor?"
Eamon: "When one adult says something that isn't funny, and then another adult laughs at it...they have a sense of humor!"

Friday, February 24, 2012

7 Quick Takes Friday - The Vacation Edition


We went on vacation!  

1) Look how happy they all were on the way to New Jersey to the Coco Key Water Resort.  Even the baby slept for 3 hours straight in the car, which was over half the trip.


We spit on Yankee Stadium as we drove by.  Boooooo Yankees!


2) We actually drove straight to Philadelphia first, and thanks to Aimee's recommendation, stopped at Tony Luke's for a cheesesteak.  This was the first REAL Philly Cheesesteak any of us had ever eaten, and it did not disappoint!  I put pickles on mine, not sure if that is the protocol, but it was yummy!






3) Next up was a walk around historic Philadelphia, with a stop at the Liberty Bell and the Betsy Ross house:




4) Then off we ran to the Franklin Fountain, an ice cream/fudge/candy shop I had read about in a magazine.  After all, it was Fat Tuesday:




Much to our dismay, it was CLOSED!!!


 We tried to console Xander, but he was just too upset...

5) Actually, he didn't get really upset until we got to the water resort and plopped him in the water torture device chair:

But just for a minute, then he regained his composure and was a happy little clam fish.

We all enjoyed ourselves.  The reason we went was because it was a Groupon deal, so it was an inexpensive family vacation.  I bought restaurant.com gift certificates (with promo codes) on the cheap too so we could eat out without breaking the bank.  And we brought bread and PB to make sandwiches for lunch.  It was a poor man's Martin vacation, and it was awesome!









6) On Ash Wednesday, we went to church and got ashes, which led to some very interesting conversations on the car ride home:
"My ash is bigger than yours!"
"No, Mom's ash is the biggest!"
"Awww, Xander has the cutest little ash!"



We ate at Cracker Barrel on Thursday morning for breakfast, and the rocking chairs made a great place to take photos, but the shadows nearly did us in.




7) Sadly after 2 nights and 3 days of fun, it was time to leave:
 And we were ready:

We had a loooong ride home.

This is when Phil realized he had to fork over $12 to drive over the George Washington Bridge.  TWELVE dollars!

Not worth it:
For $12 bucks, it should have included lunch!

Have a great weekend everybody!!