Alexander the Great is Eight!

Xander has told me everyday this month exactly how many days until his birthday, and it fiiiiiiinally came!  He's EIGHT!

When we were discussing plans for his birthday, he started off by saying, "Well I definitely want to serve daily Mass, because it's my birthday, duh.  Then I'll go to the last day of camp for a little while, and then you can pick me up right after lunch and we can do something special."

Lo's and Hi's at the End of July

Lo:  JP is in the middle of a Cyber Security program at the local college and is supposed to be completing an internship this summer.  The problem is that he and a couple of other students have yet to be placed for the internship.  The program is brand new this year, so I can understand a few bumps in the road, but it is very annoying that he did not get a real summer job thinking he would have an internship and now he is just doing neither.  He is completing the college work, and doing his summer work for his AP courses next year, so he is keeping busy, but that's not making him any money.

Hi: JP gets to take his driving test at the end of August and since we only own a minivan and a huge van, we decided to get a small car that he can use to practice on and then drive around once he has his license.  To be clear, this is not HIS car, but a family car that he can use.  It's a 2006 Honda Accord with only 41,000 miles!  I love driving it around and we've nicknamed it the Holy Roller due to the rosary, holy water, statue of Mary and visor clip proclaiming that we are Catholic and to call a priest in case of an accident (all gifts from my mom).  A car doesn't get much holier than that - oh wait, we still need to get it blessed!

Summer Travels: Hershey Park, A Wedding in Maryland, and Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire

Well helloooooo!  It's been awhile!  The summer has been quite packed with camps and sports leagues and work and potty training and driving lessons.  Phew!  I started the summer out by scratching my cornea (ouch, that hurt!) and then getting a tooth pulled (no pain there!) to prepare for a dental implant ($$$$$$).  But then we started our summer travelling, so I thought I'd get these memories written down while they're sorta fresh in my toothless head.  

We had to drive down to Maryland because Phil's sister got married!!!  So we packed up the kids and dog at 4 am one morning and drove to Hershey Park.  It was a sunny day (88 degrees) and the kids were a bit tired/hungover on Dramamine (car sickness runs in the family - even the dog!) but it was still a great day!  I took the majority of the kids on the tram ride into the park while Phil and Declan dropped off the dog at the Barking Lot.  How cute is that?

We met inside and got the tickets, then had to measure the littles to see what they could ride.  We had a delicious Hershey bar:

A freshly made Reese's:

And the cutest and thirstiest Kiss ever:

The kids know that posing and smiling nicely for photos is my love language, so I therefore  love everyone except Brendan ;)  JK B, you know you're one of the top three right now.

All Grown Up and Ready for High School

I'm sure high school and college graduations are a huge deal as a parent, but since we haven't experienced those yet, there's something really special about 8th grade graduations.

{Stylin' in these pants, shoes and bow tie.  Navy pants and bow ties were the popular choice this year!}

The kids start elementary school as babies, start middle school as awkward tweens, and end up looking like young men and women.  What a crazy fast transformation has happened in the past three years.  He's taller than me now!

We had the Baccalaureate Mass on Saturday night, and when I walked out, I saw this.  I love that he's not too cool to pick up his baby brother in public ;)

7QT The End of May...Don't Let June Hit Ya on the Way Out

It's been a minute...how are y'all?  

Let's sum up the last two weeks of May, which has been CRAZY busy, as usual.  It seems like a dark cloud was hanging over my head this month (car accident, court date, illness, teeth issues) and I haven't felt like recapping here.  It's not you, it's May.  But let's focus on the mostly good, mostly important things that have been going on at Casa Martin...

1)

Mother's Day was a rainy, yucky day so I didn't get my annual outdoor photo of the kids.  But!  It was the first Mother's Day that they all chipped in and bought me an actual present.  They got me my favorite perfume since I had run out.  We all went out to breakfast and later I shopped at Marshall's all by myself, it was lovely.  

2)

Phil and I were able to sneak away to Boston for a 24 hour anniversary getaway. On the days leading up to it, Phil was sounding very stuffy and I kept asking him if he was getting sick.  I'm a complete germaphobe and I didn't want to risk catching anything from him.  Not wanting to postpone the planned getaway, he kept saying he felt fine, that it was just allergies.  So we went to Boston and had a great time.  He finally got sick the next day.  Cough, cold, feeling lousy.  Instead of being sympathetic, I was just upset that he had exposed me to his germs.  (This is why I could never work in the medical field!)  Wouldn't you know it, I came down with the same thing on Tuesday.  I hate being sick!!  It means I can't workout and all I want to do is sleep.  What a waste of what could be productive days.  OK, I'm over it now.  Germs happen.  I can't get mad.  Do you hear that, future Colleen?  Let's focus on the happy times:

Seventeen Years of an Ordinary, Lovely Life

This morning, like every morning, he rises and starts getting the little kids ready for the day.  He picks out their clothes, helps them get dressed, makes their lunches, finds their shoes and then starts to work on himself.  I get myself ready, prepare our lunches to take to work, and gather the elementary school kids in my car.  He grabs the baby and the highschooler, drops off the baby and stops on the way to buy us coffee because we keep forgetting to add it to the grocery list.

He brings my coffee to my office, then meets me in the chapel for morning Mass.  He holds my hand during the homily and lets me go in front of him to receive the Eucharist.  He opens any door that gets in my way, and walks by my office during the day with a smile that still makes me weak in the knees.  We eat lunch together with our coworkers as we go over the schedule of the day.

He works security after school to provide a little extra for our family as I go pick up the kids.  We meet back at home and cook dinner before we take turns working out.  He needs no direction to take care of the kids no matter what time I'm away from the house.  We ebb and flow to the rhythm of family life, and as busy and difficult as it can be sometimes, it's never that bad with him as my partner.

He spends his evening helping the teens with their technology issues, changes the baby's diaper, works on reading skills with the preschooler, and reminds the rest to pick up after themselves because their mother is not their maid.

He tells me he'll bring the littles up to bed so I can work on the to-do list.  He comes back down and washes the dishes.  Later on, we walk the dog together and talk about all the details of the day that we don't want the other to have missed.  We get ready for bed and he brings me some water and vitamins.  He asks me what I want to watch as I predictably start to fall asleep and we say Good night, I love you.  He makes sure the kids are all in bed, takes the dog out one more time, checks that the doors are locked, and then he falls asleep while rubbing my back.

It's just a ordinary day in my life with an extraordinary man I thank God for everyday...but most especially on our anniversary. 

Happy 17 years, Phil, you're still the one. 

"You are the finest, loveliest, tenderest, and most beautiful person that I have ever known - and even that is an understatement."

~ F. Scott Fitzgerald