Graduation Day

So here is the graduate........ The whole day Nicholas couldn't wait to go to his preschool graduation. The kids gave a little concert, received their diplomas, and topped off the festivities with pepperoni pizza. I can't wait to look back on this day 13 years from now. I know the time is going to fly. Sooooooo KINDERGARTEN here he comes!

The graduation march. The cap and gown make him look so smart, I'm sure he was summa cum laude for this class:)

Nicholas is awarded his preshool phD from Miss Emily.

It's official. He is movin' on up!

Why?

Why? Why? Why? Gabby has been up all day. I could not get her down for a nap today and it is 10:00 p.m. and we are rocking her and feeding her and can not get her to bed. UGH! I should be happy that the last 2 nights she has slept through the night. She slept a solid 7 hours., too bad it takes 3-4 hours to get her to bed! Anyway...... I know that this will pass soon. In the meantime I keep repeating my new mantra..... I'm too BLESSED to be Stressed! It will be my shift to walk Gabby next so I can't write much today. Here are a few new pictures.

Here is the little stinker... At 2 months old she is smiling like crazy and cooing. I can't help but smile when I see her. I shot this photo the other day and doctored it in photoshop.



The reason why you need a king size bed........ This is our way of trying to settle everyone down before bed, although the only person that looks truly tired is Steve.


The Herdoiza girls.....

I love this snapshot. Here are Amanda and her best friend Maddie playing dress-up. I told the girls they looked like they were ready to go to prom. That prompted the picture on the stairs. Didn't they do a great job with their hair? When it was time for Maddie to leave, I must have taken out 40 barrettes between the two of them.

Chillin' at the park...........

Now that summer vacation is here the kids have been having fun playing outside running through the sprinkler. After each pass through, they would get their towels and dry off.

The smile is ADORABLE!

And so are all of her other lovable parts........

I just can't get enough of her at this age. Now if only she would GO TO sleep.

Finally, I just finished the book Still Alice by Lisa Genova. I'm reading it for book club. It was about a Harvard professor who at 50 years old was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's. What a terrible disease for both the patient and the family. I liked the book, but I think we need to start reading something lighthearted for the summer. Anyone have some suggestions? What have you been reading lately?

Until later...........

My Brilliant Idea...........

So yesterday I finally decided the time had come. I could not look at the broken kitchen screen door for another summer. (let alone the hole near the handle was growing larger and larger. It seems as if scotch tape is not the way to repair the screen.) I did make an attempt last summer, I asked if Home Depot repaired screens and the answer was no. Therefor, I relied on more scotch tape. Let me tell you that this summer, the scotch tape has holes and needs more scotch tape to hold it together. Anyway........ that brings us to yesterday morning when I had the great idea to look up screen repair on-line. I came across a video that made it look like a piece of cake. You take the door off the track, rip out the old screen, put in the new screen, pop the door back on the track and Voila! All fixed! I can't believe it is that easy. I must give this a try.

Well, first I called Dad for advice. He had never actually repaired a screen, but he told me I could call Aco Hardware and they would repair it. I made a quick call to Aco and for around $32 they would fix the screen and have it by Monday. I was hoping to have it a little earlier since we let Tug in and out from that door all the time. It is annoying with bugs flying in the kitchen. Soooo....I decided to head to Home Depot for the repair supplies. Finding the supplies was easy and I cashed out spending about $22. I didn't have any more time to work on the project so I waited until today.

Let's just say, I should have never purchased the non-destructable screen material. It was a stronger strength to prevent pets and kids (or superman) from pushing a hole through it. It was so difficult to get on the door frame that Steve and I, with all our body weight, could only manage to put a few inches in at a time. The screen was so thick! That was the most difficult part of the job. Steve went back to work and that left me to contend with the rest of the nightmare door. I finally completed the project after giving myself several cuts (Amanda rushed to my aid with band-aids), a blood blister, and some sore knees. All of this took place in the span of an hour and a half. I was so happy when the screen door was finished, I was giddy! It looked great, it was not being held together with any tape, I learned something new (which was on my New Year's goal list), and I was proud of my accomplishment. Then quickly my smile began to fade. For a measly 10$ bucks more than I spent, Aco would have repaired the screen, I wouldn't have physically hurt myself, and I would have had an hour and a half to do something valuable with my time. I also forgot to mention I still can't get the door back on the sliding track. This means I'm still letting Tug into the kitchen along with the bugs! When will I ever learn!

Doesn't the screen look AWESOME?

Look, there is no scotch tape on the handle.......

Did I mention that with the $10 I saved today, I went and bought this new cupcake book at Costco for $15? I could have spent an hour and a half of my time making treats and feeling giddy over chocolate!

Until later.....................

The Passat Rod..............

Another conversation with Nicholas..... we have the BEST talks in the car on the way home from preschool. Let me warn you, this may sound gross, but you must remember it is coming from the mind of a 4 year old.

While looking out the window Nicholas asks, "Mom, is Dad's car SNOT?" I'm caught a little off guard. What? I know Steve's car can get messy, but I wouldn't describe it as SNOT. "Nicholas, that is gross. Do you even know what SNOT is?" "Boogers!" he replies. I clarify that with the more technical definition of "what comes out of your nose when you use a kleenex." "Dad's car is SNOT." "Nicholas stop it. I don't understand what you are saying." "MOM!"

He is getting frustrated with me now. Then all of a sudden a light bulb goes off. "You mean PASSAT, Is Dad's car a Passat?" A huge smile lights up my face and his. Finally, I understand what he has been asking. I am laughing inside. I can see how he might make the mistake. First, they do rhyme, Passat and Snot, and one of the characters in the Cars movie is Snot Rod. I guess Steve has a Passat Rod!

And a few more pictures............. Gabby is just starting to smile and it is the BEST! She is lying on this super cute giraffe shaped rug that some friends brought over for her. It is so soft and she loves it!

Hanging with the big sister.................


Watching the Red Wings together............

I just bought a beginning piano book for the kids. So far they seem to like it. We will see if the novelty wears off.

Have a great weekend. Until later...................

Memory Tips and More Photos.............

So.... Gabby just went down for a nap and I don't feel like beginning my monster project (cleaning out the garage) so I think I'll blog. First, I just want to say I'm so glad I took up this blogging project. Some days I think my memory stinks! I'm glad I'm documenting my daily life so I can look back and remember all these moments. For example, I can't remember what I did with my time before kids. I must have been truly relaxed and energized. I'm sure I got a good nights rest, I cooked gourmet meals, and I never worried about fevers or throw up or washing away hand germs. I must have read a lot, watched movies, gone on dates and never stepped on toy cars. I just don't seem to remember all that stuff. I guess my brain centers are now flooded with Hannah Montana lyrics, Willabee Wallabee Woo (an elephant sat on you), school dates, play dates, the milestones of a newborn, and dinner likes and dislikes (i.e. Amanda loves peas and sometimes corn, but never broccoli or carrots. Nick eats broccoli, only cooked carrots, never peas or corn, but likes asparagus). I guess that explains the poor memory recall, I have too much crazy stuff floating around! I did look up some memory tips and I'm going to give them a try: eat more B vitamins and antioxidants, (check) brush your teeth with the opposite hand (check), do puzzles or play music (check), take a new route to work (check), get a good night's rest (HA, HA). What do you do to keep your memory in check?


Here are a few more photos.... I'll upload the rest later. I'm having a problem with the site.


Here is Amanda right before her bridging ceremony. She is no longer a Daisy scout but has bridged over to become a Brownie. (Guess who congratulated all the girls on stage for becoming Brownies? Me! I guess I'm officially the new troop leader. Yikes! I'm not sure what I have gotten myself into, but all the mom's seem excited and willing to help.)

Here is more Amanda news. We are so proud of her for being selected for the Principal's breakfast. Her teacher chose Amanda based on her accomplishments this semester. Mrs. Payton wrote some very nice things about Amanda including her kindness, imagination, good detailed writing, and her reading and math skills. Mr. Drewno, the principal, read what every teacher wrote about the children. Amanda did AWESOME!

This is me coaxing Gabby to smile........

What she is really thinking......(Enough already, when can we go outside Mom?)


A Great Photo of Steve and Nick


Well, I must be feeling somewhat back to normal because I agreed to host the next poker party. It has been 2 months since the last one. When I emailed everyone to give them the details, I let them know that we have to initiate our newest member. I think she is going to be pretty good, check out those pocket ACES!

Until later.............