Weekend Plans Labor Day 2012

Labor Day Weekend is here. As sad as I am saying goodbye to summer, I am soooo happy that autumn is here. I always consider Labor Day the end of summer, even though the calendar may disagree! In any case, I can't wait for all the beauty and comforts and food that fall brings with her each year. Our Labor Day Weekend is full of goodbye to summer and hello to fall activities.!

Friday night, Rhett has his first soccer practice. Since Steve is his coach, he does too. For dinner, I plan on making a new recipe I recently found on the Gooseberry Patch website. It is called Taco-Filled Pasta Shells. I will let you know how it turns out! Madison has cheer practice and then work, so I expect her to eat and sleep when she gets home!

Saturday is my coffee visit with my father. After that, Madison cheers at her very first Varsity football game. I am so excited for her! We plan on attending the game and then mass. Saturday dinner is pierogies with steamed broccoli and fresh fruit. Just something simple, because by that time i am sure I will be ready for a nap!

Sunday afternoon we are going to visit my sister and her husband. They have no children of their own, and therefore, spoil mine like crazy! We usually get down there to visit at least 2 times a year... Labor Day and during Christmas vacation. We always have the same thing to eat...pizza and wings! We love it and always look forward to visiting with them at their home. They come here quite a bit more, but the kids just love visiting Aunt Margie's house!

Labor Day is always a day we claim for our own. No cookouts, no picnics, no fuss. We stay home and spend the day finishing up summer and preparing for the new season just ahead. I hope to put all the Americana decorations away, both inside and out. I put them up for Memorial Day and leave them up all summer for 4th of July and Labor Day. Now is the time to dust them off and pack them up until next spring. I plan on sweeping off the porch in preparation for fall decorating! My favorite!!! Then a simple dinner of hot dogs on the grill with steamed zucchini and dessert, whatever Peyton wishes to make!

 Well, I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend, whatever your plans may be. Thanks for stopping by!

Madison all ready for the Family Picnic and Bonfire

And  Flynn was excited to go too!

My Middle Ones

Peyton and Rhett used to be referred to as "the little ones." When Flynn came along, they became "the  middle ones." Peyton was exactly 2 years old when Rhett was born. For as long as I can remember, they have been grouped together. It has always been Peyton and Rhett. And that is just the way they like it.

I remember carrying Peyton around before Rhett was born. She was my baby. My mother warned me that when I saw her for the first time after the new baby was born, she might look a bit older. Well as they say...mother knows best! When my little Peyton walked into the hospital room for the first time to see her baby brother, I cried. My little Peyton looked like a giant compared to my newborn! In she marched, sucking on her binky and clutching her blankie. At that moment she became a big sister, and she is the best big sister around. She took to caring for Rhett like a second mother. I remember like it was yesterday her picking out which sesame street diaper he would wear, or what color sippy cup he would use. She used to call him" my little buddy," but it came out bubby. To this day, Rhett's nickname is Bubby.

Rhett is a wonderful brother. He has endured way too many games of Strawberry Shortcake Memory and watched his fair share of Disney princess movies. He was so patient with Peyton when she wanted to play just one more game of grocery store or kitchen center. These two just go together. They balance each other so well. Peyton is the organizer to Rhett's chaos and he is the confidence to her uncertainty. They have collected Dum Dum lollipop wrappers to buy prizes and have had too many clubs to count. I feel so blessed they have each other. And I know that despite the occasional disagreements, (ok... fights!) they feel the same. They will always have a best friend in each other. For that I am thankful.

My Oldest And My Youngest

This is a picture of my oldest daughter Madison and my youngest daughter Flynn. They are almost exactly 13 years apart. They look almost identical. Well, at least Flynn looks almost identical to Madison at that age. Steve and I joke that we are doing the exact same thing we did 13 years ago...raising the same child all over again. But of course, I know that isn't true. They are two very separate people who just happen to look very much alike.

They are being raised by a very different mother as well. While I may look the same as I did 13 years ago (well, alright I may be a tad heavier...!) I am a different parent to Flynn than I was to Madison. I know as an older mother, I am not as active with Flynn. It takes me a little longer to get off the floor after playing Little People with her. I sit outside and watch her and the others play ball rather than play myself. And I may encourage a bit more television snuggle time together with her as opposed to another afternoon walk. That is the reality of being blessed with a toddler at age 42.

All these things, however, are offset by the positive aspects of being an older mom. I am so much more relaxed with Flynn than I was with poor Madison. After all these years, I know that every fever isn't strep throat and every fall doesn't result in a broken bone. I know that Flynn will eventually go in the potty, and I don't need any fancy incentive kit with bright stickers to help things along. We have a potty. She plays with it. Someday she will use it. I know that if she doesn't eat carefully measured organic food from matching dishes complete with coordinating silverware, she will survive. Sometimes she even has ice cream for breakfast and a pop tart for dinner.

The parenting book I dug out when I was pregnant with Flynn sits untouched on my nightstand. When I started this wonderful journey called motherhood,  I needed others to tell me how to be a good parent. Now I KNOW how to be a good mom. I have learned from my children what they really need. It isn't found in parenting books. (Although they are useful at times...like when your toddler has a weird looking rash and you totally forgot about 2-year molars.) What my children really need is me. They need a confident, relaxed, happy mommy. It doesn't matter if that mommy is 27 and pushing a stroller three times a day, or 42 and snuggling on the sofa watching Cinderella yet one more time.

Oh...  and my deepest apologies to you, my dear Madison, for not allowing you to eat poptarts or watch The Rugrats. Sorry for all the unnecessary trips to the doctor. And sorry for the " no chocolate until age 4 "  rule. What was I thinking!

Weekend Plans

The weekend is here! This is our first weekend back in school and our last one before the fall activities begin. That being said, we plan to do what we love best...nothing!!!! No, really, it will be fairly quiet around here with just a few things on our list. Friday night Steve and Rhett are heading to camp. The girls opted to pass this time, so that means a quiet night of tv and take out. There is a place near our house that has the best steak salad ever! I love to think I am doing something good eating a salad for dinner. We won't mention the french fries and melted cheese on top!

Saturday morning is my coffee visit with my father at the nursing home. Saturday afternoon I have some errands to run and Madison has work. We have Saturday mass and this week Rhett is serving! It is so special to see him up on the altar as a server now. I look up there and see the place where he was baptized and it feels like yesterday! We are having tacos for dinner after mass, and then I begin again my Saturday night routine. Are you ready for this excitement? Ironing!! Yep...that is my favorite Saturday night activity! I actually do enjoy pressing all the school uniforms and Steve's work shirts. I like to do it all at once, just once a week and Saturday night works best.

Sunday is a quiet day! Madison has a few hours of work and after that, I plan on spending some time outside playing with the kids. Steve needs to mow our yard too. That is an afternoon job in itself! For dinner on Sunday I plan on using some garden tomatoes my mother brought me. I have a wonderful, simple pasta dish with fresh tomatoes that is a favorite around here. Then it will be back to our Sunday night routine of showers, backpack packing, and early bedtimes. Well, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, whatever your plans may be. Thanks so very much for stopping by!