Trey's World

There's this boy

who colors the whole world.

He colors it in all the shades of a perfect rainbow.

He adds laughter where there's sadness.

Gives hugs when there's tears.

He warms up the coldest of nights

and brings cool breezes to hot summer days.

He has the spirit of a champion

and the heart of a saint.

He's funny.

And smart.

And grateful.

And he has to be the most humble human I've ever met.

And with just his smile, he makes life worth living

for anyone that knows him.

It seems like just yesterday he was born.

He came early.

He couldn't wait to start his party!

Or to make my life as his mama the best life I could ever dream of!

Happy birthday to my guy.

Mom loves you!

Lists, lists, lists

Do you make lists?

I do.

And I put them everywhere!

EVERYWHERE!!!!

Bloodied

What the hell is going on?

My little guy has a bloody nose

and a smile...

There goes the neighborhood

S un

Brides and Bras

Frankie's cousin got married.

Is that not the most beautiful bride you've ever seen?

Seriously...glowing.

Weddings are fun, aren't they?

You get dressed up.

You drink wine.

You pick a dress that you can't wear a bra with.

Don't shake your head.

Listen...

Here's the deal.

Fancy dresses, unless you're 74, which I'm clearly not,

require you to go without a bra.

I should've been a hippie.

I sorta hate bras.

I like how pretty they can be.

You know the matchy kind with the lace

and coordinating panty.

But if I were to think of a time of day I'm happiest

it's when I take that dang thing off.

Remember friends, I wear one for 18 hours.

(do they still make that brand bra...I seem to remember

a commercial)

You could, I suppose, go with a

strapless concoction but if I were Pope

strapless bras would be accepted as penance.

They are horrible and fall down.

Or they have some weird silicon tape that digs into your

rib cages requiring two weeks of recovery.

Here's the other thing...

Weddings require dancing.

Sometimes weddings require riduculous dancing.

imagine me, doing the chicken dance

with the strapless bra around my ankles.

I did.

Imagine that.

Tit (ha) didn't happen because I didn't wear a bra.

And because what God gave me, my children took away

I now must buy my dress a size smaller so everything is

held in nice and tightly!

I won't embarrass you and put a picture of me showing off

the non bra dress. I might make you blush.

But notice my smile...

Don't I look happy?

Weddings (and braless days ) do that to me.

Congrats Donny and Katie.

May the road rise to meet you....

Me at the wedding....I'm dressed up and drinking wine.

I didn't cut anyone's meat.

Tell anyone to stop talking with their mouth full

or escort anyone to the potty.

Weddings are fabulous.

Adult weddings....divine!

Eddie's House

Date Night.

Plus two of our favorite people.

Makes for an awesome night.

We spent some time at Eddie's House

and if you've not visited, GO.

It's amazing.

The food. The atmosphere. The chef.

For us, it was also the company with a wee

pinch of mac n cheese, peanut butter cheesecake, chicken legs...

MMMMM.

Lasts and Firsts

Last day of school, first day of summer.

Let the fun begin.

W

Trey's Black Tube

The boy asked to play the saxaphone for his first

year of the school band.

"It's cool," he said.

Unfortunately, fifth graders must start with the clarinet,

or according to Trey, the squeeky black tube.

It's been a year filled with little to no practice,

and tears when it's time for the consequences

 that come along with little or no practice.

Yes, it's been quite a year with that dang clarinet.

So how lucky do we feel to be 

invited to little man's concert tonight. 

As Trey got fancy in his shirt and tie he told me not to expect

much. "We all sound pretty bad Mom, even though we've been

playing for a year. It's  really squeeky.

And so we went, Frankie and I with our cameras in hand

and cotton balls, just in case.

(Please tell me I'm not going straight to hell...)

It was indeed squeeky but I've never heard sweeter

music - I think I'm required to say that since I'm the mom.

However, I'm being kind.

Trey was right all year long -

it's painful that clarinet.

But have no fear -

We're on to bigger and better things next year being that

we've made it to sixth grade.

Yes, indeedy the sax awaits...

Thank God for small victories.

F

Our thing...

The boys are away for the weekend.

They're getting dirty and shooting guns.

Probably eating S'mores

and catching fish. 

So Mia and I are did a lil something of our own.

Did a little shopping.

Did a little sunning.

Did a little Chinesing...

It's our thing.

Catching Up and The bye-bye boys

Friday

Have you ever tried to take a picture of a bunch of boys?

11 year old boys?

I did.

They wouldn't oblige.

At all.

Frankie, along with another seven dads, took Trey on

their annual camping trip.

Three days in the "wild."

Getting dirty, shooting bb guns, getting dirty.

Frankie and Trey left in a truck filled with lots and lots and lots

of STUFF

And enough excitement on those sweet faces,

 that even without a photo,

I'll always remember.

Thursday

A day...

That calls for more than just a "pain reliever."

Six and a half days.

Thank you Jesus...

Nailing it.

It's Mia's week.

She got the letter she's been waiting for.

She was accepted into an honors program for next year.

She wanted it.

She went for it.

She made it.

We're proud.

And grateful for a cool kiddo.



Diving in

Let the season begin!

We're She's back in the pool.

Lookin good, girlie.

Mother's Day Weekend (I'm catching up..I promise)

One of my lovelies treated me for my birthday.

She knows me well.

Lemons.

Love them.

They are among my favorite things

If I was Oprah, lemon growers would owe me millions.

My lovely must have forgotten I've been waking up at 4:45

every morning to boot camp my butt.

It's wretched.

Really, it is.

But my 25 year old body has caught up with me

and things that didn't used to move, do now.

But it's lemon.

LEMON.

So I have every intention to make these little treats

and enjoy EVERY single one.

I'm not intending on sharing.

That's mean.

But they're LEMON.

Thursday and Friday, too.

Don't judge me.

This whole "take a picture everyday and post it everyday"

is a whole lot harder than I thought!

So every now and then, I do two days in one post.

It will drive me crazy at the end of the year when the

number of posts don't match the days of the year.

I digress...

Here goes ~

Thursday

It's hard to imagine there's another Frank

in the world that is as amazing as mine.

Or as lovable

Or funny

Or kind

You see, I hit the jackpot.

He's awesome.

Some super cool chick gave me a calendar

with a new book for each day of the year.

Looky what I found.

A book about Loving Frank.

Wonder if the story even compares to mine...

Nope.

Not a chance!

Pillows and prayers

When I was small and found myself in a pickle

I would take it up with my mother.

Not the one that cooked my supper or combed my hair,

but my other mother.

The one in heaven watching over us.

My blessed mother.

I would take my rosary to bed with me

and ask her to intercede.

To watch over me.

Maybe help me with a test.

Or a situation with a friend.

Give me the grades needed to get into college. 

I can even admit, I'd beg her to make a boy fall in love with me.

It worked.

He did.

I remember thinking I'd pray a whole rosary

to feel the peace it would bring.

I'd get through maybe only half

and still feel that amazingly awesome peace.

One of the things I've hoped for as a mom

is that I'd pass my love for our mother onto my own kiddos.

So to my delight,

I came upon a rosary on the pillow of my small gal.

I imagine I know a few of the things that she's asking

for a little help with, but not certain I'm sure.

There's an overwhelming peace that comes with 

 knowing tonight I 

can spend some time praying for the intentions

of my wee one.

I'll spend some time with my blessed mother,

my pillow and rosary.

Tussle with Tuesday

Tuesdays with Trey

means lots of time at the gym.

He's a lover of all sports and so it

didn't come as a surprise when he said he

wanted to try something new.

But why in the world has he chosen boxing?

Trey's my boy that isn't aggressive.

He's a lover not a fighter.

He's peaceful and calm.

He's never hit anyone

(except for one time but let's be real,

the kid had it comin to him. Sorry)

He's the one on the football field who

waits to tackle and then helps the kid who was knocked down, up.

He's my sweet and kind kid.

Parenting is hard.

It's confusing.

And it's full of blessings.

And it's hard.

And confusing.

I hate when Trey goes to the gym

to work on "his footwork, striking and muscles!"

He's my kiddo. My boy.

And he has a really pretty face.

And soon to be really pretty teeth, I happen to be paying

some hard cash for.

In case you wondered, My Trey is also a witty one.

When I asked him why he's on this new path,

he proudly explained,

"One day I'm gonna float like a butterfly and

sting like a bee."

If you have no clue where that comes from

ask a boxing fan.

Or just call Trey, he'd gladly school ya!

Catch Up - Weekend Fun

Saturday

My kids are suckers for birthdays.

I'm lucky God gave them sweet enough hearts

that they love celebrating others special days as

much as their own.

Imagine my delight when I came home to this:

Sunday

As if that wasn't enough, they did this too:



Monday

All that celebrating the anniversary of one's birth

can make a gal feel a tad bit old.

That's why I couldn't be happier to find this

card waiting for me when I arrived

at work this morning.

Birthdays aren't so bad, are they?

May 4

A few years ago...

Sore...

I'd take a picture if I could raise my arms.

However, I can not.

Instead I'm walking around like I'm 83.

I'm back at bootcamp.

And if I could guess, it's getting back at me

for ever leaving.

May Day and Mary

Hail Mary, full of grace...