Easter 2011

Although the Easter Bunny had a raging sinus infection that landed her in the hospital early Easter morning, she still managed to fill Easter baskets for the kids and dogs with lots of goodies!
  

Seeing my kids this happy makes me feel better.  That and antibiotics!  Happy Easter.

Bottles and Brushes Part V

Last night I went to Bottles and Brushes to paint my rendition of Rainbow Row. 

It was a lovely evening spent with lovely people.  I can't wait for the next class.

My Darlings

Currier and Rya's first day of school.

Charleston Riverdogs

Our neighbor gave us free tickets to the Riverdogs game for Family Sunday.  It was Kid's Opening Day so Currier and Rya got free t-shirts, hotdogs, chips and a drink. 

And we got to see the comedic classic and Riverdogs owner Bill Murray.  It was a good day!

Giddy Up

Currier had three birthday parties to attend over the weekend.  One of them was a cowboy theme with horseback riding for all the kids.  Of course now he's expecting the same high standards for his 5th birthday party next month.  Ugh.

Food Fight

Note to self:  DO NOT leave these two "darlings" unattended while eating dinner.   

Double Trouble

Little Miss Rya D. is having her BFF Riley over for a sleep over tonight. I anticipate a lot of giggling and pure silliness.

Friday Favorites- Sushi With Friends

Now that I'm a full-time working girl I don't get to see my workout buddies as much anymore.  I've resorted to waking up at 5AM to workout with the rest of the half asleep working moms of Mount Pleasant.  The gym isn't nearly as fun without these ladies sweating by my side.  Jean and Ella met me after work for sushi, cocktails and serious chit chat last night and it was so good to play catch up.  Giggling over sushi and drinks with these two ladies is certainly one of my favorites.  And I highly recommend the crunchy roll at Fugi.  It will make you want to go off and be by yourself for a little while.  Happy Friday!

Myrtle Beach Weekend Getaway

We escaped for a quick weekend getaway to Myrtle Beach right after work on Friday.  About an hour into the drive, we stopped at Litchfield Beach Fish House for dinner and couldn't have scored a better place to eat.  The owner, Bob, excitingly showed the kids around his restaurant filled with sharks, prized fish and gators.  He gave the kids toys to play with during dinner (which was delicious) and then gave them t-shirts to take home.  Currier hasn't stopped talking about Bob and his awesome restaurant!

We stayed at the Breakers Resort which was a HUGE hit with the kids.  It had a pirate ship pool, a heated lazy river, several Jacuzzis, and a heated pool. 

We spent the majority of the weekend being carried away.

And relaxing in the hot tub. 

The only time we left the resort was for lunch at Joe's Crab Shack at Barefoot Landing where we sucked down some beers and ate a whole lot of crab.  It was a lovey and much needed mini family vacation.  

Surprise Weekend with Dad

My dad has been fighting multiple myeloma (blood cancer) for two years now and was just diagnosed with Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura or ITP which is much easier to pronounce, a bleeding disorder in which his immune system destroys platelets that are necessary for normal blood clotting.  The doctors are confident that they can control this with medication and my dad assured me that he's fine and in good spirits; Alas, I still felt compelled to go home and be with him.  With the help of Trent's sister getting me a plane ticket home (Thanks Tracy!) and my cousin picking me up from the airport, white-knuckleing the steering wheel in a snow storm and putting me up/putting up with me for the weekend (Thanks Cheryl!), I surprised my dad on April Fools Day!  Our first stop was of course the Park Lunch where we enjoyed some chowdaahh and exchanged jokes and laughs.          

My dad took me by the Commonwealth Newburyport Cancer Center where it was a pleasure to finally meet all the wonderful nurses who have been putting up with my father's bullshit and sexual harassment for the past two years.   

After an evening of take-out Chinese and the Red Sox game at Dad's house, my brother PJ and I hit the Winner's Circle for some beers.     

And we shared some laughs with Cheryl and Eliza until we got kicked out of the Winner's Circle for being losers.

Of course it wouldn't be a proper visit with my dad without a couple rounds of Scrabble coupled with Christy's Beach Pizza, Moxie and verbal abuse. 

I rounded up the girls on my last evening home and hit downtown Newburyport for drinks, giggles, catching up and more drinks!  It was a good visit home and I'm thankful for the time spent with my dad, my brother and my friends.   

Top O' The Morning To Ya

The silly leprechaun charmed us with his presence on St. Patrick's Day and left Lucky Charms and mini pots of gold coin chocolates for Currier and Rya.  Of course he didn't leave without pulling some shenanigans.  He peed in our toilet and forgot to flush, knocked over a stack of blocks, left a messy trail of clovers and escaped our trap leaving behind his tiny top hat as a tease.  

Alte Freunde von Deutschland

Our friends from Germany stopped by for a quick visit over the weekend.  Vicky and Bob lived downstairs  from us in Bahn, Germany and at the time had a toddler and infant.  Now they have four boys ages ranging from 6 months to 10 years.  They're stationed in Columbia, SC now and while Bob is in Iraq, Vicky and the boys were in Charleston for the weekend and made the time to come see us.  It was so great to see a friend from our days in Deutschland and meet her army of boys!  It was a little bitter sweet because it was Bob and Vicky that gave us Remi and Remi is a sore subject for me.  She's been missing in Sicily for over five years now and my heart isn't even close to healing.  

My Sweet Remi Girl. 

Stacey's 40th

We celebrated Stacey's 40th birthday last weekend.  Her husband rented a pimped out party bus with disco lights and a stripper poll to chauffer us to a waterfront restaurant.  Stacey's mom, sister and aunt from Newburyport flew down and her friends from various parts of the country flew in to surprise her making it a total of 20 people in the limo.  She had no idea and seeing her shocked face walk on to the bus was priceless.  It was a WILD time and I'm so happy I could be a part of it even if it took me three days to recover from it.  Happy 40th Stacey, you crazy girl!

Arcadia Publishing

I started my new job at Arcadia Publishing a few weeks ago.  I'm an Acquisitions Editor which means I acquire titles for the publisher.  Arcadia publishes photo history books and my territory is Alaska, California, Idaho and Wyoming.  I'm sure you've seen Arcadia's popular Images of America series, which chronicles the history of communities with vintage photographs.  The books are great and I'm so proud to be a part of making them.  I really love the job and although I miss my kids, it is so refreshing to talk to adults all day and be a part of making history.