Happy Birthday Dad (and Grandpa!)

Just wanted to wish my Dad and Grandpa a Happy Birthday (61 & 91 respectively). My Dad had a really hard weekend and has been in the hospital since Saturday with a seizure, heart attack and kidney failure. Good news is that he has been taken out of intensive care, bad news is that he has to spend his birthday still in the hospital eating their food and we won't be able to spend Christmas with him and my mom this year. We wish you the best and are sending out lots of hugs to you!!

TGIF!!!

It was a bit chilly that night (as Macy's face tells us!)


I have had a long week. Not any different than any other week, in fact, a pretty easy one. It just seems long. I also am not complaining. It reminds of when we were kids and summer vacations lasted foooorrrever! Then when you are an adult, you make all these summer plans, and realize that 10-12 weeks is just not enough time to fit all your plans in and it flies by!
Anyways, I am so beat, because we have had so much family in the past few weeks here. Jason's mom is in the last stages of her fight against cancer and everyone wants to be here with her. My BIL and SIL (Peter and Jordan) were here last week (yeah!) which was nice because they live in California and we just don't get to see them as much as we would like to. We all went out to a family dinner last Saturday night, and here are some of the photos of it.






Aunt Jordan and
the girls. (Vince walked in on the photo!)

Strange....

Well this feels really strange. It is Wednesday (day before Turkey Day). Macy was supposed to have a half day at school today, but I let her stay home (I had talked to her teacher last night and she said that they weren't doing any learning activities today). I told her we could put up the Christmas Tree today, as we usually do it Thanksgiving weekend, but we will be at my in-laws all weekend (seems I keep pushing it earlier and earlier each year....I LOVE XMAS!). The strange part is that it is completely sunny and in the 70's! It is supposed to be about 77 degrees today. I just opened all the windows. So instead our old Michigan tradition of playing Bing Crosby Christmas music while decorating the tree, we are here with a wonderful little breeze blowing in, the sun shining through the windows, and the sound of lawn mowers and the guy across the street washing his car!! Strange.

November 15th, 2007

Okay, I really have been slacking at the blog. I keep telling myself as soon as I get a new camera, I will do it, but in reality, I think I am only a "once a month" blogger.

I promised I would comment on scary skeleton costumes (well Vince ended up not wearing his skeleton mask, which I thought was too scary for a two year old), so that was a relief. We went the traditional halloween costume way this year, with Vince being a skeleton and Macy being a non scary witch. Tons of candy, though it is suprising how fast all the chocolate can disappear from the candy bowl, when I am home all day! Yum!

Macy has been invited by the school district to test for their Gifted and Talented program. Is she excited? NO! She thinks it will mean more work for her to do, and as intelligent as she is, she also hates homework! Oh well, I was proud, though I doubt the Gifted and Talented for second graders is filled with MENSA students.

Vincent's birthday is today. He is three years old. I just emailed Kelly and was commenting on how I feel melancholy today as I realize I am the mother of a seven and three year old and no longer have any "babies". I thought I would be geeked the day I no longer had to buy diapers and when my kids learned how to buckle themselves in their car seats, alas, I am not jumping with joy today. Vince is still my little baby and always will be (though I feel I need to keep that more to myself or else I will be babying him). I am very proud of how both of my kiddos have grown, and I will continue to enjoy their growth and how much more they will learn....I guess I will just miss the craddling them in my arms a little bit.

Anyways we celebrated Vincey's birthday this past weekend when my parents came into town to visit. Vince had a few of his friends over for cake and he received some awesome gifts. The best gift we gave him was a micro mini scooter which I was stokked about, and had tried to justify to myself that the $90 model was so much better than the typical $25 ones, only to find that Vince just isn't into it. Oh well. I will make him go outside and try it everyday until he loves it!!! (Nothing like forcing something on a kid, eh?).

Christmas shopping is 98% done!!

Sorry, I haven't kept up the blog as promised, but I can't get any photos off of my camera, and I love seeing new photos on blogs. So this is for you, and you know who are (the one who keeps bugging me to update, lol!).

My xmas shopping is 98% done!! Yee-haw!! Since in our families, we only buy for kids, it is pretty easy. Here is the list so far:

Macy..age 7...LOTS of books (like 25). She is at the age in which she is starting to get into the good chapter books such as Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume; a great coloring book, that I wish I had, called Scribbles, it is almost 400 pages and it gives you a jumpstart on your creativity. Check it out. Lincoln Logs and a large Lego set (she builds awesome stuff), 4 movies for rainy days, Polly Pockets, cds, games for her Leapster (which is the closest thing to a videogame she will probably ever see in this house, and it keeps her busy during long car rides), an awesome painted wood disc to hang from the swingset and ride on (she is to share this with Vince), earrings (I told her she had to wait until Christmas to take her starters out, even though she got her ears pierced for her bday in August!), necklace, leg warmers, a long sweater, a dartboard (her new hobby) and Bratz clothes (yes, I know, I swore my daughter would never own a Bratz doll, but when she had her sleepover bday party this year, every single girl brought her a Bratz. Was I supposed to take away ALL of her bday presents? Anyways, it is hard to find outfits for these things without buying a whole other doll, so I scored some on Ebay, because who wants their dolls wearing the same hooker outfits day in and day out? Besides she plays very innocently with them, they go on picnics and horseback riding (though I think I bug her with my remarks of "It must be hard to ride a horse in 4 inch heels!")). I still have a few things to get her...she wants me to teach her how to knit, so supplies for that and a 14 ft. jump rope (or 2) so that I can teach her how to doubledutch.

Vince is the hard one since all he likes to play are superhero figures. So he has gotten various Superhero, Pirates of the Carribean, and his new love Star Wars figures. Lots of craft supplies for him, such a paints, papers, new Playdoh, etc., some hockey sticks, lots of dress-up clothes (you got it Star Wars characters), Legos, and I am still thinking of a doctor's kit and I need ideas for a "big gift" (I was thinking a pirate ship or something).

A week ago, I was at a yard sale, and a guy was selling one of those huge Powerwheels Monster trucks, you know the one where two kids can fit in it and they run down the battery after one weekend use? Well he said he bought it last year after xmas on clearance for $259, and it still was in excellent condition. He was asking $25 because he really wanted to get it out of his garage and he said his kids barely use it (well duh, they were seven and nine), so I offered him $10. Since I doubted I could hide it for another 2.5 months, I gave it to the kids already and hence have already won this year's "Best Mom Award". I also explained that this was an early xmas present, so don't expect alot at Christmas time (that was the sentence that got me off the hook from having to buy out every store). Oh and went I went to Toys R'Us to see how much they were retailing for...$399! Score!

Next blog...Halloween and not so cute costumes, Macy and Gifted and Talented (otherwise know as G/T), and trying to rationalize the fact that I bought my 2.5 yr. old son a $90 scooter for his birthday next month.

Us

Okay, I have decided that I need a new camera, but in the meantime, I am going to have to start taking more photos with the one I have. Here are some photos of US (The Marottas'). Macy who just turned 7 (wowzers!) and instead of her precious gap-toothed smile, has recently lost her two top teeth and now looks like the typical goofy seven year old. I love that gap! Jason and Dave Letterman and Madonna all have it and I hope she grows to appreciate the different look instead of insisting on oral surgery to remove it! She is my artist, my animal lover, my genius, my jester (I have never met a girl who cracks up so hard at burps and toots...sometimes I feel like I am living with a Beavis or Butthead!). Colors, words, nature, and quick learning sum up this very independant child of mine. She is in second grade now and this past year was full of triumphants for her (she got her ears pierced for her birthday, she learned how to ride a two-wheeler, she can now swim and do handstands in the pool, she placed 2nd in a huge karate tournament, and she sold the most boxes of cookies in Brownies (232 to be exact!). I just cannot get over the concept that I am the mother of a seven year old!!

The next photo is Vincent (who mostly goes by Vincey or Vince). He is my lovebird. Has a hug or kiss for everyone. He will turn three in November. Always in a great mood, very mellow, is proving that as laid back as he is, he is absorbing so much from his surroundings. Raising a boy is mind boggling to me, as I grew up with all sisters. I am amazed that boys have a natural born sense of how boys act (how did he know what a car sounds like down-shifting at 12 months, when I drive an automatic?). Girls and boys are very different and whereas Macy knew everything by this age, I am realizing that Vince learns better through play. We are starting potty training now, and he is slowly getting it. His favorite toys are the play kitchen (loves making me dinner....could be that daddy is a chef), and his little guys (action figures) in which he creates the greatest stories for them to act out, and a lover of books. Hugs, pasta (his favorite thing to eat), books, and laughs (when he laughs, it is the sound of pure happiness) describe my little bugaboo.

Next photo is Jason, best friend for 16 years now!! We have been married for 5 years, but have been in a relationship for 16 years (he went to the neighboring high school, Groves). My great guy is a chef at The College of William & Mary, here in Williamsburg, VA. We moved down to Virginia about six years ago and really like it...especially the weather! We have all four seasons, though winter only lasts from the middle of December to the middle of February and it might snow only once or twice. Williamsburg is such a smaller town than what we had in Michigan, though it is very pretty and we feel we have the best of both worlds....the mountains on one side and ocean on the other.

The next photo is the most recent family photo I have. It was on Memorial Day at Buckroe Beach (did I mention I need to take my camera out more?).

I also need to find one of Claire, our Airedale Terrier (my third kid!).

Okay, excuse the order of the photos, as I haven't figured out how to post them the way I want to.

Fresh Start!!!

Okay, I received an email today from a friend and she had told me about some fellow bloggers who I happenend to go to school with (waaay back when!). I checked out their sites, as I had forgotten I even had a blog page and came to two conclusions: One: I need to re-start my blog. It was originally there for the grandparents to check out the kids, but I guess I got bored of doing it. Two: There are a ton of great looking kids whose genes trace back to Birmingham!!! It was so great seeing all the cute kids (though I did feel like I was sneaking a peek at their blogs and I haven't spoken to them in 15 years!!). Oh well, here is to fresh starts and cute kids!!

It Snowed!

Well here is the first and probably last photo of Vince and snow. It actually snowed yesterday! Yes, it only lasted about an hour and wasn't even enough to cover the whole ground, but I figured I should stick Vince outside and see what he thought. All he said was "cold" and then asked to go inside....that's my boy! Here are some more photos of us at Virginia Beach on Saturday also.

Wonderful Weekend...with Mom!

My Mom (aka...Grandma Harrison), came to visit this past weekend because Macy had a four day weekend. They went shopping, out to eat, and saw the movie Happy Feet. On Saturday, we were given the precious gift of nice weather and took a drive down to Virginia Beach. The temp was in the 60's and the sky was beautiful! The strong winds did blow some sand into our eyes (bothered Vince the most), but they did love running in the sand. We had a great lunch of crab cake sandwiches (thanks to my dad!) and Macy saved all the chips from her lunch to feed to the seagulls.

NEW YEAR!!!

Okay, I just wanted to share these photos with you guys. The first one is Macy and when I looked at the photo, I just realized how old she really is and then it makes you think of the old adage "time flies". She now has a very defined face, no longer the baby fat that she even still had 6 months ago. We took this photo so that she could upload to her virtual makeover game where she changes her hairstyle and adds makeup. I will try to post some of her favorite looks!

The ones of Vince are just funny. These were from a couple of weeks ago. I hear him yelling "Mommy, help me!" and run in to find this! He had stepped backwards and fell into this huge cooking pot (why it was sitting in the computer room is beyond me!). Of course, me being the mean mother, I had to grab my camera before I saved him!

Anyways, so far, this year has been successful! Macy is currently selling Girl Scout cookies for her Brownie troop, and as of Monday night, she has sold the most.....232 boxes! Many thanks should really go to Jason, who actually sold them! She earned a stripe on her karate belt for breaking boards which made her very proud...even though she is still only a white belt and isn't ready for testing yet. Vincent is very sloooooowly learning how to use the potty. He has had a couple BM's in it, but has yet to recognize the feeling that he is about to wet himself in time to tell me. Jason is back at work at William & Mary after a nice loooong break of six weeks. We joined the new YMCA and will hopefully all be able to keep our new years resolutions of getting fit in a few weeks when the facility actually opens.

New Year!