Merry Christmas!

May you have simple joys this holiday season!

(On a side note I realize this looks an awful lot like my sisters pictures of her little one, Everett.  We both really liked the whole christmas lights effect.  I think hers turned out better than mine!  Check out her blog at aaronandkristenwindle.blogspot.com)

I Think This says It All...

Easter with The Mock Family

When Todd and I got married I was lucky enough to marry into a huge family.  They are all loving and accepted me immediatly.  What I love is that they love my kids as their own.  We have some great traditions that I hope will continue for a very long time.  Just one of those is the easter egg hunt.  Every year Aunt Blah Blah (aka Aunt Amy) does a wonderful job making it special for the kids.

Aunt Blah Blah and her "Bubbas"



Everett is One!

I can still remember my parents getting that phone call that Kristen was heading to the hopsital.  I was so very excited to beome an Aunt!  Having the 2 boys of my own makes you realize just how precious a child is and I was excited that my sister could now have her own experiences with her little boy!  Being on the other side of the state has made it hard, but getting pictures and texts about Everett have made me feel like I am a part of his life.

  

Happy 1st Birthday Everett!

My Baby is 5!

The above sentence was very hard for me to say! I still cannot believe that Ethan is 5! Seriously where has the time gone?  Ethan has turned into a loving, caring, inquisitive little boy.  Above all he has a mischievious streak in him...you can actually see the twinkle in his eye, which makes him Ethan!

Turning 30

Birthday's don't usually bother me, I mean it's a fact of life.  Everyone gets older.  For some reason this year was hard for me.  Leaving my 20's was hard.  A lot of great things happened in my 20's, I met Todd, got married and had both of my beautiful boys.  As hard as it was for me, I am thoroughly looking forward to seeing what 30 brings!

MeMa, G-Ma, Gram and Grandma

ANDERSON SHIRLEY (McLEAN)
Age 82, of Shaler Twp., passed away on Sunday, March 13, 2011. Wife of the late Floyd R. Anderson; beloved mother of Barbara J. Anderson, David C. (Jan) Anderson and Thomas F. (Leslie) Anderson; loving grandmother of Erika (Todd) Williams, Kristen (Aaron) Windle, Zachary, Kelsey, Katie, Aaron and Rachel Anderson; loving great- grandmother of Aidan and Ethan Williams and Everett Windle. 

She had a lot of names and she answered to them all.  She had her quirks and I will miss them everyday.  When I asked Ethan what he remembered about MeMa he said, "She liked her cereal soggy.  That's gross."  I love that that is what he remembers about her.  We will miss you MeMa.

  Christmas Morning 2009

Feeling Lost

It's funny how when you are surrounded by your kids all you want is 5 minutes of quiet.  Well I have gotten an entire week.  I have never felt more lost in my life.  There is no school drop offs or pick ups, no playdates, not even a whine or complain.  It was a welcome break for my sanity but I was so glad to see their smiling faces at the airport.

Family

After reading my horoscope today (cheesy I know) it was centered around family and it got me to thinking.  Thinking of how truly blessed I am to have two beautiful boys. a loving husband, wonderful parents, terrific in-laws, fantastic brothers-in-law, sisters (in-law too), nephews, aunts, uncles and friends and the list goes on.  And while I used all kinds of words to describe them,  I am absolutely without a doubt very, very lucky to have each and every one of them in my life.  They have all touched my life in different ways but have all changed me for the better.  So I wanted to say thank you for being a special part of my life, you have made me a better person.

 

Superbowl Sunday

Even though it was a hard loss for the Steelers, we still had a wonderful time hanging out with friends.  We say this every time we get together but we do need to do it more often.

The Gang

A Typical Ethan Face

Just when I thought I was in the clear...

Well in case you are unaware the boys and I were in a car accident in December.  No one was seriously injured but we totalled my parents car (sorry guys!)  Other than being pretty sore and having cuts and bruises I was ok...or so I thought.  I have been having loads of pain in my neck and shoulders.  So I tried muscle relaxers, which I can't function on, so those quickly went out the door.  I have tried massage, which I thought would help, but unfortunately did not.  Went back to the doctors today only to learn that I more than likely have a pinched nerve caused by a herniated or bulging disk...yippee.  The doctor said next said that she could give me a shot in the muscle to help numb it and take some of the pain away, I said what the heck.  Well....she came in with the biggest stinking needle I have ever seen and proceeded to "stick" me 6 times.  I was breathing like I was in labor they hurt so bad.  Ethan said afterwards (when he finally looked up from his gameboy) "That sounded like it really hurt.  Are you okay?"  So just when I thought 2011 would be better then 2010 it is now a toss up.

Getting Started

So I have decided to give this blogging thing a try.  I figure if nothing else perhaps it will prove to be theraputic.  Trying to raise essentially 3 boys has proven to be very challenging, since I am coming from having no boys in my family (except my Dad, of course, but he knew when to run and when to bring chocolate!).  Sisters don't beat the crap out of each other, fart on each others head or think it's funny when the other one gets hurt.  This boy thing is still very foreign to me.  Each day is a new adventure and I am learning loads of stuff that I never thought would ever be useful, unless you are trying to raise boys.  Still I will have to say that most days I welcome the challenge. but most certainly fall more in love with them every single day.