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And Most of all.....no matter how much you really don't want to, Parenting is about just letting go......

(he has been going ALONE to neighborhood friends' houses to play after school for a few weeks now, and it's scary for me but he has been very responsible so far....)

And I'm heading our for a few days for a little scrapping get away with a girlfriend--so exciting!
I'll be back here on Sunday:)

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riding "Teddy"

AND as we were leaving, it was SNOWING!

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My little helper......

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This kid. No matter how challenging his behavior gets, he always seem to fix things with a "hug"

AND...I started the Week in the Life yesterday. Last one I completed was in 2008, I'm hoping to get a few days (see below for Monday) worth of photos up tonight..... Here's to our perfectly ordinary life.

A week in our life:Tuesday

ordinary days.

Pause the music and grab a kleenex (maybe a whole box)........

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Monday morning. Watching out for the trash truck.

A week in our Life:Monday

April 26, 2010

Stories/Quotes:

• Trevor: "Mom, why do we walk on the wrong side of the road?"
• Lucas and Bre looking out for the trash truck behind the couch with their bags of puffs
• a typical Monday at home, between getting kids off to school, going to the gym, stopping at the grocery store and going to work, I'm our of the house from 8:30 AM-8:30 PM (hard to get a lot of pictures)
• Lucas: "Mom, I want you to stay here ALL morning!

Place we went:

• school
• the gym
• work
• neighbors houses (Trevor)

what we ate:

• granola with frozen blueberries, walnuts and coconut
• blueberry pancakes
• vegetable soup
• peanut butter sandwiches
• chicken salad sandwich
• mac and cheese
• hot dogs

Struggles:

• the new work computer system
• leaving Lucas and not having time to play outside
• laundry (those darn socks!)
• talks about balancing work, school house projects and kids activities

Good Things:

• green tea energy bars (I can only get them at work)
• kick-boxing class at the gym
• tucking the boys in when I got home
• 24
• pistachios
• the kids playing and racing their matchbox cars down the slide
• the great weather
• finding the F8 key

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Love you.

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Today.....

My first 5K of the year and I beat my goal time of 30 mins, and Trevor came in third in the kids 1K race.

We constructed our raised bed gardens on the hill

We had the neighborhood boys over for a backyard baseball game

we whipped up a chicken dinner with scattered ingredients

We went out for ice cream :)

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"Yeah, Breanna, I don't know what is wrong with these boys either......."

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My daily mess.....

(Click photo to see larger)

This is my life.

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goof.

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Home.

and a well deserved rest and relax afternoon, with perfect spring weather to boot.

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Marathon Monday.

It couldn't have been any better. We saw about 8 miles (and even saw Josh running!!) of the race from the train on the way into Boston. Once we got in, we walked around a bit and then Trevor and I headed over to our VIP bleacher seats at the finish line. What a spectacle and what an amazing and emotional moment to see Josh and all the other runners cross that finish line! Kids were jumping over the fence and running in to the finish line with their moms and Dads, military men were finishing in full uniforms, backpacks and boots, and one man even proposed to his girlfriend just feet from the finish line. People were walking in, jogging in, limping in, wheeling in and even sprinting in to the finish.

This moment. The cumulation of six months of hard training and dedication. Through cold, snow, rain and sickness (I think you only missed one run in six months.) I heard once, that just once in your life, you should push yourself far beyond what you think you can do. Here's to your 15 minutes of fame. You deserve it and we all love you and are so proud of you---our hero!

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The eve of the big race.....

We had a lunch put on by the MDSC at Fiero's in the North End of Boston. We landed a prime parking spot with the van on the street right outside the restaurant (not sure how)! Our whole family and had an afternoon of great food, good company and celebration. During the presentation, the coach and coordinator, Susan, spoke and a 21 year old man with Down syndrome gave a motivating speech about his experience running the Falmouth Road Race (hard to keep a dry eye for that one). The awards and gifts were passed out and we landed two VIP seats for the finish line bleachers for being the second place top fundraiser. It was a day of celebration, anticipation and lot's of emotion....hearing everyone's stories of how they got there and why they were running for such a great cause. I can't WAIT until tomorrow....It should be a once in a lifetime experience!

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Saturday. Two days before the race. It was rainy and cold. Josh and I (no kids!) headed into Boston for the morning on the green line. We picked up his race number, his t-shirt, a souvenir race jacket (well deserved) and a t-shirt for Trevor at the expo at the Hynes convention center. Then we headed off to see the finish line, the bleachers, and the family meeting area. We had a fantastic lunch at Stephanie's then headed home inspired, refreshed and with a plan in our minds for race day.

Here is a copy of the final e-mail Josh received from the charity runners' coordinator....pretty inspirational:

Dear Friends,
I want to thank you all so very much for letting me be your guide in your 2010 Boston Marathon Journey. I can't tell you how important it is to me to have been able to watch you succeed in your fundraising and in your running. Each of you deserves your spot at the starting line. You have earned it. Together-as 6 charity programs - just 100 people raised over $450,000 for important causes - which need the attention and funding. This is a incredible.

So after hundreds of emails - this is my final email to all of you before- I see you on race day at the buses. Prepare - Rest - Enjoy our incredible city.

In Boston, the fans will take you home. Trust in them now - and yourself.

I wish all of you success - a mylar blanket and medal at the end.
Thank you for running with me and remember forever the runner's creed.

Nothing's better than the wind to your back, the sun in front of you and your friends beside you.

Much love to all of you -
Start Slow- Hug the girls in Wellesley - Break the heart of that hill - Toast the kids at BC - Run Hard through Coolidge Corner - High five Red Sox Nation - Have a moment of final silence to collect your self in the tunnel - Right on Hereford - Left on Boylston - Hold back those tears - Put on that Smile - Welcome Home.

Turn up your volumes on your computer and take a look for the final time

http://www.youtube.com
By the way -"Real Super Heroes wear Silver Capes."
Cheers.

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These two.

are only an inch and 5 pounds apart. They fight like cats and dogs, but they do everything together. I do so wish her language skills are where his are, I hate to see her struggle. Everything comes so easy for HIM. BUT, as hard as it is having, "twins" they are so good for each other, I'm sure of it.

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The boys have a fish tank in their room. They have an algae "sucker fish". He likes to hide in the little boat we have in the tank. Every morning I wake up to a three year old little voice yelling...."MOM, DAD, TREVOR.....THE SUCKER FISH IS OUT!". He's cute (the boy that is.)

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The nightly "group read"

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Blue Point Spring Concert 2010::Theme-Let's get healthy:)

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If you were to ask me what item I used around the house the MOST (aside from towels and kleenex), I would say this. I mean, I'm not a gadget junkie (I don't even have my own cell phone), but I've TOTALLY jumped onto the iPod bandwagon.

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First time flying a kite:) and Lucas was just thrilled!

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a great (but windy) day for a walk....

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"When i was 5 years old, my mother told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when i grew up. I wrote down "happy." They told me I didn't understand the assignment. I told them they didn't understand life."

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taking on the task of baking oatmeal cookies all by ourselves-OH MY!

Marathons

Top 25 Marathons Road Races
Boston Marathon
New York Marathon
Honolulu Marathon
Chicago Marathon
Walt Disney World Marathon
Rock n' Roll Marathon (San Diego)

Maui Marathon
Marine Corps Marathon
Grandma's Marathon
St. George Marathon
Houston Marathon
Mardi Gras Marathon
Napa Valley Marathon
Vermont City Marathon
National Capital Marathon
Philadelphia Marathon
Portland Marathon
Big Sur International Marathon
Seattle Marathon
Twin Cities Marathon
San Francisco Marathon
Myrtle Beach Marathon
Grandfather Mountain Marathon
Las Vegas International Marathon
Atlanta Marathon

guess who will have run #1 and #2 by the end of 2010????

Josh got picked in the lottery out of 250,0000 applicants for one of 40,000 spots! Wow:)

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Today was one of those GOOD mommy days......the fact that I had an extra day at home this week and the gorgeous weather helped for sure. Lucas and I rode bikes up and down the road a hundred times, we found 5 frogs. I spent the afternoon with Daphne (who is just so cool by the way) and Bre at swimming lessons. We got to go to the beach in April without even so much as a sweatshirt. In the picture above, these three, are all so different. Lucas pushing his train and daring himself to enter the frigid water. Breanna making her "sand castles" and Trevor digging for pirate treasure (which I'm sure you can only do when you are seven). The house is clean, the laundry is done, the food is bought, the errands are complete. The kids had a TV free day with my complete attention. We had a relaxing family dinner complete with candlelight. It just doesn't get any better.

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LOVE this.

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Just another little gem from yesterday......six kids the same ages, playing outside, making up their own games and having a blast.

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We had an egg hunt.

We got all dressed up for church (and honestly the boys were more excited about wearing their ties than the egg hunt)

We played outside ALL day

We entertained family

we made a ham and potatoes and cheesecake with strawberries(and ate OUTSIDE!)

We played outside until it was almost dark.

A perfect weather weekend, a perfect weather EASTER!

Happy Easter!

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Today.

We played outside and in.

We colored eggs.

We took advantage of the Dairy corner's opening weekend.

Trevor said, "Mom, we are eating outside and we have the music playing, I don't think the weekend could get any better...."

I agree.

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This kid.

Loves music (especially Kris Allen and Rob Thomas) and walks around a lot listening to his ipod.

wrote a two page adventure story (and counting) at home because he felt like it.

Is my saving grace most of the time......I LOVE this age, he is super independent, smart, is into everything we do, doesn't really give me attitude, but still needs me. LOVE you boy.