Another Thankful Thursday

Lucky for me, this Thankful Thursday gig is pretty easy. Here we go:

1. The "delete post" option on blogger!!!

2. My brother in law Joe who turned 40 last week, his super sweet wife Ali who threw him a really fun party, and my mother in law and father in law who babysat for us!

3. A digger right at the bottom of our driveway....what more could a 3 year old boy ask for?

4. A new haircut.

5. A smile. (and toothbrushes)

6. Our elementary school's instrumental program.

7. Mary Kate's super-sweet girlfriends.

8. Accomplishing something.

BEFORE

AFTER

9. A working computer.

10.My Moms N Tots group.

Thankful Thursday

Jumping on the bandwagon with other bloggers for Thankful Thursday posts.

Here we go:

1. A parish that gives me plenty of opportunity to deepen my faith.

2. Jesus and His Divine Mercy.

3. A husband that works a long day, has a long commute, and comes home and says, "What can I do?"

4. Wonderful friendships with some really great women.

5. A new love of my blender, a smoothie recipe with spinach, and my kids actually eating it! (recipe below)

6. A washing machine that is working overtime these days and is holding steady. (I'm knocking on wood right now.)

7. A walk with an adorable 3 year old on a perfect sunny day.

8. A fenced-in back yard.

9. Afternoon cat-naps. ( sshhh, don't tell)

10. And as always....nothing heavy weighing on my mind. (knocking on wood again)

 Smoothie Recipe
1/2 cup orange juice
1 cup spinach
1 banana
1 cup frozen mixed berries (strawberries, blackberries, blueberries)
honey (optional)

Add juice and spinach to blender and blend well.  Add banana and frozen fruit and blend together.

To quote Matthew: "Mmmm, yummy-licious"

Opening Day

The weather couldn't have been better this weekend. It was perfect for the boys' Little League Opening Day on Saturday and Billy and Mary Kate's first track meet.

 I had the pleasure of taking Billy and Tommy to the field for pictures early in the morning. A quick stop at Dunkin Donuts for a large coffee and my morning was off to a great start. It took about an hour or so for them to be done with their team pictures, but the atmosphere was full of excitement.

 With no time to waste Billy had to head back to the car to change from his baseball uniform into his track uniform!

What a dedicated athlete. I usually have a rule here.....one sports activity at a time.  Not sure what got into me the day we decided he could do both track and baseball. Anyway, I digress.

Bill came to the field just in time to whisk Billy away for his and Mary Kate's track meet while I stayed there for Opening Day ceremonies with Tommy. Just Tommy. Just me and Tommy. To enjoy. Sitting on the bleachers by myself, with my big ol' coffee watching that cute kid run onto the field with his team, waving his hat, listening to the National Anthem and the Little League Pledge. (am I being subtle enough that it was enjoyable being there without the other children? )  It was so nice to watch.  It's a great organization we've got here and I am amazed and very grateful at the dedicated people who run the league like a well oiled machine.

When we were finished there we rushed to see the rest of the track meet. Bill had everything under control....meaning, he raided the snack stand and sat Ann and Matt down with loads of junk food so they'd be happy campers.

I came just in time to see them do most of their events, and they did a fantastic job!

Did I mention that Billy, Mary Kate, and I are signed up for a 5K on May 5th? (I'm mentioning it now to hold myself accountable)
These children of mine definitely didn't get their athletic skills from me. Maybe they'll rub off on me. After all, they already inspire me!

Tommy's Birthday/Easter Sunday

On Friday Tom-Bomb turned 8!

Morning doughnuts!



Awesome new Star Wars game on Kinect!

The requested chocolate cake with green icing.

Since Tommy's birthday was on Good Friday we tried to have a balance of solemn and joyful.  The kids were troopers when we took them to church, but mostly because we were taking them to Chuck E. Cheese afterward.  Bribery, you say? Who, us?

Our Easter plans had changed last minute and we weren't traveling nor entertaining.  It had a different "feel" that's for sure.  Lucky for us that was the plan because Billy woke up with a nasty stomach bug and spent the day on the couch.  Bill and I took turns going to mass with the three middle kids. Hence the reason only those three were dressed up.

Poor Billy. And no, I don't cook with that pot.

Ann in the distance practicing her golf swing after watching The Master's all day.

Billy was feeling better by dinner, but very grateful he didn't have to eat ham or veggies.

Another day full of blessings. Happy Easter everyone!



My Irish Twins

Before Tommy's birthday comes on Friday I wanted to show off my Irish Twins.  A couple of weeks ago when I was posting about Ann's birthday I came across some really cute photos of the two of them.

When Ann was born Tommy was 11 months and 10 days old.  I was so excited.  Billy and Mary Kate missed Irish twin status by 13 days.  True Irish twins are less than a year apart. Tommy was such a great baby.  I remember he took his first steps the night before I went in to deliver Ann.

I also remember being very overwhelmed, especially once September came.  Billy was in afternoon kindergarten and Mary Kate had morning preschool.  Trying to get lunch in between with the two little ones was really hard.  I never thought I'd survive.

Here are some cute pictures of them. These are early ones because my laptop with current pictures is broken.  The younger ones are cuter anyway.  Enjoy!

Is it me, or are they so completely adorable?