Warm Florida...

Time sure has been getting away from me! Just when I think I've caught up my train gets derailed and I find myself behind again. Such is life...

December was nuts but a lot of fun. I'm thinking there needs to be a bigger stretch between Thanksgiving and Christmas. There doesn't seem to be enough time to squeeze in enough holiday fun into just one month. I keep going over the things we didn't find enough time to do, but I shouldn't lose sight of all the great things we did squeeze in.

The boys and I had planned a little visit to Florida back in October, but as we were sitting at the gate at the airport, ready to board, the boys' behavior dictated a very loud and dramatic exit from the airport instead of a walk down the jetway. Not exactly the pleasant flight I had hoped for. Lucky for us we found a small window to make up the trip, and we enjoyed a few days with the Bacon's....after a much better travel experience!

We love all the Bacon's, but we were extra excited to see how much Emma had changed since we last visited. It's so much fun to see a little person change so quickly in a short amount of time. She definitely did not disappoint and was full of the lively, sweet/sassy personality we had been hearing so much about. It was so nice to spend most of our time just hanging out at their house. Patti and I did a little sewing, which totally took me back to when I was a kid around the holidays, watching my mom sew our Christmas gifts. Love it.

After we finished up sewing projects and dinner, Patti majorly treated the boys and I to a little visit to Magic Kingdom. We enjoyed a few hours to watch the fireworks show, electric parade, and a couple of rides. I loved seeing the castle frosted with lights for the holidays. It was gorgeous, and it was such a treat to be able to visit the park during that time of year. Thanks again Patti!!

I loved that we were able to find the time to visit the Bacon's, especially during the holidays. I love their home and how much they get into Christmas. I don't know anyone else who decks their house with 4 full-sized Christmas trees and a few bonus smaller ones! It was another great, and always special, visit with some of our favorite people.

L.O.V.E....continued

Why try to cram it all in one post eh?

I've mentioned before how I first came to really love Valentine's Day, but I've found over the years that the reasons behind my affection for it have only grown. It's kind of like one of those balls of rubber bands. I keep adding things to my ball o' love each year, and when the day arrives, I love taking the time throughout the day to really examine it and appreciate how much it's grown over the years.

Here are a few of my favorites past/current that stood out to me this year:

Back when I first lived in NJ and worked as a nanny, the family I lived with had a unique way of expressing their love for each other anytime it came to saying goodbye. They would say fingers, sign I love you, and touch fingers. It has stayed with me throughout the years and is impossible not to think of whenever I think about them.

In grade school, whenever I was preparing Valentines for my classmates, I recall saving the most affectionately titled Conversation Hearts for the boys in class I had a crush on. I'm sure the boys were oblivious.

My friend Patti in NJ called a left me a lovely message, knowing it was my favorite holiday.

Sitting with Ben and stringing paper hearts to hang up in our apartment.

The little things Darius does. Washes dishes leftover from the night before....I love unexpectedly waking up to a clean kitchen! Cleans the apartment while I'm out. Takes the boys for haircuts. Calls me every morning when he has a break. The list goes on...

My boys. Their excitement. Their hugs and kisses. The way they tell me they love me.

All my family and friends. There are so many of them, and they're each unique and have such amazing qualities that I love.


Love is unique to each of us. How we feel it, express it, respond to it. It grows, morphs over the years, and takes on new meaning as life progresses. We find love in places we may not have expected. It's surprising. I love that about love.

I love love.

It's fun to be Emma!

February is quickly on the way out, and I'm still mentally half way stuck in January. The boys and I were super lucky to get a break from winter for a couple of weeks, and I think the recess scrambled my brain a bit.

The reason for our trip to sunnier skies was to celebrate Emma's first birthday with the Bacons. There's something about first birthdays that seem to me to be as much as a celebration for the family and friends as it is for the person turning one. Emma is one very loved little girl, and it was lots of fun to be around so many people who love her as much as we do.



Emma is at such a fun age. There's so much for her to absorb at her age. How interesting it would be to get inside her head and see her take on all the things she's experiencing right now.

A couple days following Emma's party we had planned on returning home, but we ended up extending our stay to lend some help. Honey had not been well when we first arrived and needed some extra care to recover from a nasty case of pneumonia. Although the circumstances were far from ideal, it was nice to be able to spend the extra time with the Bacons.

A little of the extra time included another fun party the following weekend. The Bacons are skilled at throwing a good party. Emma's party followed by their Super Bowl party the following weekend were no exceptions! I had lots of fun with Patti getting food ready for the party. I get so many great and delicious ideas from her.

During our stay we also enjoyed a nice visit with Grandma Gaile and her husband Jim, who were kind enough to make the drive over to Orlando from Sarasota. They treated us to lunch, froyo, and gifts for the boys. It was so nice to be able to visit with them and so much sooner than we had anticipated.

I didn't care to leave our friends and the warm weather behind, but it was good to come home to Darius. He doesn't like it when we leave him for long periods, and I can't say that I blame him. We miss being away from him too. I appreciate him and his job which allows us these opportunities to visit our far-away friends and family!

Wood or a Trash Can

So for one's 5th wedding anniversay, the traditional gift to give your spouse is wood. Darius and I didn't exchange gifts this year, but we did treat ourselves to a new trash can. We love it!

Whenever we get a willing saint to watch our kids for the better part of a day, Darius and I think we're going to enjoy typical date activities like dinner and a movie. We never quite get there. The majority of our dates are spent shopping...ugh. It's not something we love doing, but we love the freedom of being able to do it in peace and quiet.

My friend Patti sent me a very fitting text this morning without even knowing what we had planned for the day. She sent me the quote that "shopping with kids is like trying to concentrate on 150 things at once while someone beats you over the head with a plank of wood." How nice that today this wasn't the case!

To our willing saint, Carrie - Thank you many times over! Not only did Carrie in her very pregnant and uncomfortable state watch our little gremlins, she also treated us with a Groupon for dinner. We throughly enjoyed some delish food at Pat's BBQ. Sooo good.

We may not possess much in the romance department, but Darius and I do love each other very much. Far more than our sweet new trash can. Cheers to 5 years!

Another year older.

My birthday friend Dylan just recently turned 11, and the boys and I were lucky to be able to attend his party this past weekend. We flew in on Friday night and were able to watch Dylan's last football game of the season on Saturday...an exciting nail biter! The final score didn't favor his team, but they definitely outplayed their opponents.

Dylan's party was a really good time! The Bacon's know how to throw a seriously fun party! They rented a mobile gaming unit equipped with XBOXs connected to 5 flat screens and 2 rows of seating. On the outside there was another pair of screens connected to Wii consoles. There were some very loud and happy young men in that trailer including one on the much younger side. :)

 

 

 

In addition to the trailer, there was also the big hamster ball in the backyard. I don't think there was ever a time there wasn't a line to get into the thing. It was so funny to watch all the kids get in and roll up and down the yard. Ben had a blast in it and would turn around and get in line as soon as he finished his turn.

 

Between watching the boys have so much fun, I also enjoyed myself and all the great company they had at the party. I thought it might be awhile before I saw a lot of those faces there, so it was an extra bonus to be able to see everyone all together at the same time.

Patti killed another cake. She made Dylan an XBOX cake and everyone was very, very impressed. I think it was a friend or a parent that called Patti the Cake Boss of Florida.

 

I definitely didn't think we'd be able to get back to Florida so soon, but I'm so glad it worked out to where we could. It was such a fun weekend! We were able to get our Bacon fix to hold us over until our next visit. Thanks again Team Bacon for putting us up and giving us a great weekend! Love you all so much!

 

Mini Vader

So the boys started out with Dark Mater and have moved on to Dark Vader/Vater, so we're almost to the correct title of Darth Vader now. It was thanks to Patti that Zach was able to meet Vader in person at Hollywood Studios this past Friday. Annually the park hosts Star Wars weekends for a month or so where all kinds of Star Wars fun goes down.

Patti picked us up early, and the boys were super excited when they found out their surprise was a visit to the park. She knew right where to take us to find Darth Vader. Ben immediately freaked out when he saw him, and had absolutely no intention of getting up close to him. Probably had something to do with his first encounter on Halloween. Zach on the other hand patiently waited in a long line for his chance and would tell me how handsome Vader was and how he wanted to give him a kiss and say "Nice to meet you." To top it all off, I had packed the boys' Vader capes and masks and Zach enthusiastically wore his in line and in his photo.

Later we checked out a MASSIVE makeshift store specifically constructed to house all things related to Star Wars right down to Darth Vader cupcakes. Wow! I was nearly speechless walking through the doors, and I'm not even a huge Star Wars fan. After we left the Star Wars Emporium, the rain started to pick up and we were content to leave.

The rest of the day we spent at the Bacons' new home, which they were busy moving into when the boys and I were headed out to Utah. It had been a month since we'd seen the Bacons, and it was so nice to be with all of them again in their new house and see how it looked with everything moved in. Their home is beautiful and in a really nice neighborhood. In back of their property is a nature preserve which is super busy with wildlife! In the evening while we ate dinner, we saw nearly 20 deer and 2 baby raccoons, one which came right up to the back door. Other interesting house guests are the tree frogs that climb up the sliding glass doors leading into their backyard. After days/nights where there is a lot of rain, the frogs (for some strange reason) scramble up the glass doors....probably by the hundreds! I got a peek at a few dozen of them while I was there. It's fascinating but also a little gross.


Just a fraction of the deer we saw.

The boys had lots of fun at the new house and had plenty of room to run around. I enjoyed a couple of pool games with Dylan and Patti and was thrilled for lots of time to hold Emma. A month away was too long! We missed our Bacons!

As sweet as they come...

A very sweet woman proudly announced her age to me earlier tonight, and it got me thinking about growing older and how I would feel when I reached her age. I like to think that I'll be just as happy as she is. After all she has a lot going for her. What more can any of us ask for on a birthday aside from spending it surrounded by people who love us? I hope those of you that don't already know Honey, know someone equally as wonderful. She's a very special woman, and I'm so fortunate to have her in my life.

This evening we met with Honey and the Bacon's for dinner at her favorite restaurant, and then we headed back to their place for some birthday cake. I'm still in awe by how easily Patti whips up these awesome cakes that she makes. She's got some mad skills.

And just coming off of their own birthday, Zach and Ben were all about celebrating another birthday. All they could talk about were Honey's presents and if it was time to open them yet and if it was time for cake yet. Once Zach got his piece in front of him, he just pushed it away and instead helped himself to the sheet of fondant with the Honey's birthday wishes.

Happy Birthday Honey! We love you and are so happy we could celebrate with you today!

Newest Addition

Ben and I visited the Bacon household yesterday afternoon while Darius and Zach stayed home and napped. Since Emma's arrival, Ben has been very timid on arrival, shuffling his feet and lingering near the door instead of his usual stampede inside. Next to Emma on the couch, he sat on my lap and clung to me, which is something totally uncharacteristic of Ben. I will admit that I enjoyed it since it's rare that Ben will just sit on my lap with his arms wrapped around my neck. Patti eventually got him to release his grip by asking him to keep an eye out for Dylan coming home from school. After the initial squirreliness, Ben enjoyed sitting next to Emma on the couch and repeatedly asked to hold her. A good portion of the rest of our visit consisted of him sweeping the floors.

The face of a big brother that absolutely adores his baby sister.

I finally had the presence of mind to snap a couple of photos of Emma during our visit. I know the boys weren't any bigger than she was when they were new, but I forgot just how small they really were until Emma reminded me. I'm so happy that we're here to see her start out, and I'm so looking forward to watching her grow.

After our visit, Ben and I headed to the store for a little secret shopping mission. I'm starting to see now how nice it is to have a little one-on-one time with the boys separately. So much of their time is spent together, and it's refreshing to be able to focus my attention on them individually. Ben and Zach may be twins, but to me that's hardly a term I ever use to describe them. They are brothers who are the same age and roughly the same size, but that's about as twin as they get. They do pretty well to get along as well as they do and as often as they do. I can't speak for them, but I have a feeling that a break from each other is probably something they don't mind too much.

Party for Baby Bacon

Before we decided to move back to Florida, I was already secretly scheming how I would make a special trip here to take part, or at least attend, a baby shower for my dear friend Patti. I was thrilled that we made it here in time to be able to help out with it! It was the Bacon's that actually threw us our baby shower for Ben and Zach, so it was fitting that we were able to help out with returning the favor.

Saturday afternoon we all came together at the Bacon home for a really good time with friends and family. We enjoyed lots of delicious food, fun games, and great company. Several of us mentioned what a great mix of people we had at the party. It was a great opportunity for all of us to come together and celebrate the Bacon family and their new addition arriving soon. We're all so excited to meet their little girl.

It's typical to say that mom's to be are glowing, but I'm going to say it anyway because you couldn't look at Patti and not see the glow oozing from her. She's already stunning, but even more so with extra cargo on board. Considering the good genes her son has, her daughter is going to be a gorgeous little girl!

November Leftovers

What happened to November!?! I guess I need to recap most of the month....

The first couple of weeks we kept busy with unpacking, moving stuff around, buying stuff so we could unpack more stuff, and just getting comfortable with our new place and neighborhood. Darius finished up his job training and so far is enjoying his work.

Our couch is officially broken in. It looks as if we've had it a year already.

We joined our local YMCA and are happy to be adding regular workouts to our days. We love the facility and all its amenities. It's especially nice that we can take the boys with us. They very much enjoy playing in the Child Development Center while we workout. They ask us almost everyday if they can go to the Y and often scream bloody murder when it's time to leave.

Zach got his first black eye. No dramatic story here, just horseplay with his brother. Blankets over the heads...one head meets the other's face. Zach had fun telling his aunts he had a shiner.

For Thanksgiving we joined the Bacons at their home for a delicious feast. The past couple of years it was just our little group of 4 for the holiday, so we were happy to be able to spend the day with our friends!

Our Thanksgiving Day entertainment....poems read by a turkey.

Nothing says Thanksgiving like a post dinner nap.

I didn't really have plans to do any crazy, late-night, pre-Black Friday shopping, but Patti had a few stores she was going to hit Thursday night, and I was eyeing a great deal on a sewing machine and kitchen mat, so I decided to tag along.

This was my first experience at Black Friday madness, and it definitely didn't disappoint! Darius and Michael had gone ahead to scout out Walmart to see if any lines were forming for a certain item Patti and Michael were looking to buy. Turns out we hadn't planned to leave soon enough, so we headed over to meet up with them. Darius had been busy checking stuff out for the boys and found some awesome deals, so I unexpectedly ended up stalking some ride-on toys for a couple of hours before the clock struck NUTS! I can't even describe the madness that ensued. I ended up leaving with all limbs in tact and the boys Christmas shopping pretty much all done.

Black shopping is definitely not for the timid, and although I'm not a shopper at heart...and no where near a competitive shopper, I must admit I found it strangely fun. Patti said it best..."it's an adrenaline rush"...so true.

We've been transitioning into Christmas mode this weekend, and we've got our tree and lights up, but we can't seem to move past that yet. I'm kind of preoccupied with baby shower stuff, and I guess with that and Darius' birthday coming up next weekend, I'm content with putting it on the back burner for now.

This is the part that obviously plugs into the wall, and where did I put it? Yep, at the top of the tree. Doesn't everyone have an outlet on the ceiling?

Moved in..mostly and FOOD!

It's been just about a week now, and we're almost there with the unpacking. Last Tuesday was our move-in date, and the Bacon's were awesome to help us out. Michael helped Darius with the heavy lifting, and Patti watched the boys for us while we unpacked the first day and a half. I started running out of steam after about the third day, and those final few pesky boxes are still lingering, and I'm still avoiding them! I guess I kind of got sidetracked by some post-birthday fun the last couple of days.

Patti, Michael, and Dylan gifted me with a visit to Epcot for their annual Food & Wine Festival. Michael, Dylan, and Honey watched the boys while Patti took me to spend the afternoon sampling world cuisine and drink. It was SO much fun! They know me well, and the route to my heart is much like the way it is to a man's...through the stomach!

We started out with a stop to the Craft Beers tent where I sampled the Full Sail IPA. We killed some time at a couple of shops while we waited for an afternoon rain shower to pass, and by the time we finished our sampling from Greece (Chicken Souvlaki with Tzatziki...YUM) and Moosehead Beer from Canada, the rain had stopped and we enjoyed perfect weather the rest of the day. We moved on and tried a cheese plate from Ireland, (Yes Carrie....Ireland does have delightful dairy!) a 16th Anniversary Festival Beer from Samuel Adams, a Harissa Chicken Roll and Baklava from Morocco.

We perused the shops at the different countries to give our food time to settle before moving on to Schofferhofer Weizen beer from Germany's Brewer's Collection, to warm caramel popcorn from the Werther's Original sweet shop, to a Strawberry Lime Margarita from Mexico, to a Beef Empanada from Argentina, to a Frozen Rock Coconut Mojito from the Caribbean (RIDICULOUS!), to Mahi Mahi with Coconut-Lime Sauce from Brazil, to a Lamington from Australia, and finally one last stop to the Craft Beers tent before we called it a day. Note: My sweet friend is carrying some precious cargo and was unable to indulge in the drink with me. I think she wishes she could have though...especially that insane mojito! Next year Patti....

So I know what you're thinking now...."Wow! What a lush little piggy you are Ruth!" Hmm...yes a little, but in my defense I was drinking 6 oz pours, eating small samples, and doing a lot of walking inbetween, so it's not nearly as bad as it sounds!

It was such a fun outing with my dear friend Patti....thank you, thank you, thank you! My belly and I thank you (and all the other Bacon's too)!

As if that wasn't enough culinary fun to last me for a year, I got another treat today. Darius took the boys and I into the restaurant he's working at for a nice belated birthday dinner. I'm embarrased to admit it, but I wasn't looking forward to our meal tonight....and not because I didn't want to try the food, but because I was a little freaked out by taking the boys into a really nice restaurant. I should have just relaxed and enjoyed myself more...it was dinner, the boys were fine, and the restaurant was still standing when we left.

Darius works at a really nice place! Ocean Prime has some unbelievably good food, and I can see why Darius was anxious to take us in to try it. We had Ahi Tuna Tartar for an appetizer. Darius had Chilean Sea Bass with Whipped Potatoes and Champagne Truffle Sauce, and I devoured the Blackened Snapper with Wilted Spinach & Jalapeno Corn Tartar. The boys had their fill of Macaroni and Cheddar Cheese with glazed carrots, and Mini Sliders with shoestring french fries. They also got to try OP's homemade strawberry sorbet and vanilla ice cream. There wasn't room for dessert, but I knew they had this ridiculous 10 layer carrot cake, and I was happy to take it home after a few bites.

Yup, I think I'm good and full for the next few days...or maybe at least until the carrot cake in the fridge starts calling my name. It's been fun to indulge and enjoy some really awesome food the past couple of days (and weeks)! Time to get back to getting those last few boxes unpacked, and time to add a solid workout to my daily routine!

Have I mentioned yet how good it is to be back?!