The Unknown Soldier (Memorial Day 2010)

Memorial Day 2010 - Time for our Annual Memorial Day Shrimp Boil!  Margie & Charlie arrived early as they always do, to help with the decorating!  Last year I picked up a bunch of new decorations and couldn't wait to see what Margie would do with them!  She has such a good eye for that stuff.  Charlie also put up the flag pole  & flag I bought Tommy for Christmas!  
We had a smaller crowd this year, but it was still a wonderful day full of family & friends, and of course FOOD!  Tommy outdid himself, as usual!  He started out by shucking raw clams by the dozen!  Then it was time for the steamers, followed by his now "infamous" Shrimp Boil... loaded with shrimp, clams, kielbasa, potatoes, onions, and corn on the cob... YUMMY!!!  

We also had some great contributions to the menu from our friends, too!  And of course, there was mom's incredible salad! I couldn't have a party that didn't include mom's salad! 

Everyone seemed to have a great time, eating, talking, and swimming!  Naturally Rachel only wanted to eat shrimp and swim... her 2 favorites!  She had a great time, and her "Aunt Margie" even taught her how to FLOAT!  She was so excited to show me her toes! She is swimming like a little fish (not without her swimmies, of course!) 
 
   

Behind the Wall of Sleep

It's been a hectic week around here. This weekend is our annual Memorial Day Shrimp Boil.  Every year since we have been living in our house, we have hosted a party on the Sunday of Memorial weekend. Tommy makes this fantabulous meal, and we have as many of our friends & family here as possible!  The shrimp boil consists of Shrimp, Clams, Potatoes, Corn on the Cob, Kielbasa and Onions, all cooked together in a huge lobster pot... It is beyond yummy. So before the cooking begins, I make my husband absolutely nuts trying to get the house ready for all the company.  This is the same every single year, so I don't know why it should come as a shock to him, but it always does!  Of course this year, it was a lot harder than in the past, since I am just not physically capable of doing what I used to, so we actually had to hire someone to help with the cleaning. I really REALLY hope the Dr's up in Boston can fix this mess... I know Fibromyalgia is miserable, but it's really getting old already.  (If everyone reading can keep fingers & toes crossed, I'd sure appreciate it!)

As for our little princess, she is just as amazing as ever.  This week she has been spending most of her "free time" working her favorite Melissa & Doug wooden puzzle. She has also been helping a lot with picking up around the house. And of course, not a day goes by that she doesn't ask to go in the pool.  She really loves being in the water, and it still amazes me how well she has been swimming!  My folks also have stopped by a few times this week too.  Any time they are out and about (usually running from one doctor to another) they come by here to see their precious baby girl... This is the end result of a little visit with my folks and Rach being chased around the family room by her Papa!  After my folks left, I was ready to get into my PJ's and Rach followed me to my room.  While I was changing, she climbed up on my bed and this is where I found her, all snuggled into my pile of pillows....  and she had her favorite body guard on duty as well... and if I'm not mistaken, my dad was probably in the same exact position not too long after he got home! LOL...  She really can knock ya out!

One of the favorite things about weekends lately is that Rachel's favorite friend Arora gets to come play with us!  Margie brings her here every evening while she takes her "insane" 2 mile walk!  We LOVE that Margie goes for a nice long walk because it means Arora & Rachel get some quality play time in.  They have SUCH a good time playing together!

Today, the girls made playdough spaghetti & meatballs, played on Rachel's playground, and just ran around giggling up a storm.  Margie came back and shared some BEAUTIFUL pictures she took of the local Poincienna trees in full bloom... here are a couple of the wonderful pictures she took of our neighbor's tree.  It is so amazing, because this is actually from a piece of another tree on the same lot that had been damaged during Hurricane Charlie.  It was like a little tiny cutting.  In the meantime, I have a Jacaranda (same family, but instead of blood orange flowers, it has lavender flowers) that has only had flowers on it once in the past 8 years!!!  My neighbor has a true green thumb.  Yes, I AM jealous!

Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon

So it was a rainy, stormy Sunday, and it was a perfect day for relaxing.  My back & leg were really bothering me a lot, so I needed to take it a little easy for the day.   We started by making Matzo Brie for breakfast.  I was very glad to have my favorite little kitchen helper! She had a great time beating the eggs.  She also helped me mix in the Matzo, but I didn't get a picture of that! LOL...     

After breakfast, it was time to rest on the couch and read the Sunday paper... I had no idea I was going to have so much company!  After some serious cuddle time with my two favorite girls, it was time for a little nap before we had to get ready to go out for dinner.  We were going down to the beach to Anthony's on the Gulf to celebrate Linda & Tony's 29th Anniversary!  
Considering how my back felt, I was sure glad the elevator was working.  It's this teeny tiny little elevator that was just about big enough for mom, Rachel & I.  So anyway, there was a torrential rain while we were in the restaurant. It only lasted a few minutes, but when we stepped out of the elevator to head to the car, the water was almost ankle deep!  What a mess!  Tommy had to come carry the baby while mom & I walked through the flood zone!  Unbelievable that this is the handicapped parking area!  But dinner was awesome as usual, and we had a very nice evening to celebrate the Anniversary!

Mother Love

Mother's Day... a day that used to bring me down, but not anymore!  My life is so much more fulfilled now that I am the mother to this amazing little girl.
My Mother's Day started with my beautiful little girl & her fantastic daddy coming into the bedroom with all kinds of goodies!  First, I got the most gorgeous roses... This picture just doesn't do them justice!
I also got a nice squishy pair of slippers (which is what I asked for) and a beautiful card.  Tommy left for his regular routine, so Rach & I had some breakfast, and then decided it was a perfect day for a swim!
Rachel was all for it.  She couldn't WAIT to get into the water, but she was really good and waited for her mommy to get organized first!

Since it had been quite a while since we had been in the pool (it was just a wee bit too chilly until recently) I wasn't sure if she would remember the things she had started learning back in the early fall... well, she sure shocked ME!  She is swimming!!  REALLY swimming!!!  This pic will give you an idea! She was halfway into the deep end of the pool and was swimming all by herself!  Too cool...
We continued swimming until Daddy came home, and then had a little lunch and a much needed nap before we were supposed to head out and meet Nana & Papa for dinner!

My main request for Mother's Day was that I really wanted a lobster dinner.  We headed out to a fantastic restaurant here in town.  Ariel's usually does something special for holidays, and this was no exception.  Mom, Tommy & I all ordered the 2 pound lobster.
My dad thinks lobsters are too much work... LOL...

We really had a great dinner. I was really glad mom was well enough to come out. With all she went through the past couple of weeks, I was really worried she wasn't going to be up for it...  but I should have known better... after all, she was going to eat lobster AND she was going to see her precious grandbaby!!  Of COURSE she would be going!   We all enjoyed our dinners, and even had room for a little dessert!  That is a rare treat for me! I am usually SO stuffed after dinner I couldn't consider it! But this time, we just got a tiny dessert and we shared it.
Then it was time to head for home and relax... I couldn't WAIT to get my feet into my new slippers!

Sick & Tired

This week has been a bit crazy, with my mom going back into the hospital for yet another surgery. That alone, has me just furious. Long story short, my mom trusted this doctor who was a complete & total JERK. On TWO different occasions, the moron did a colonoscopy on her and declared her clean & cancer free.  and BOTH times, he was TOTALLY WRONG.  Luckily this time was not as long away from the test as last time. This time, her oncologist insisted that she see another gastroenterologist and have another colonoscopy. Thank goodness... because they found such a bad blockage that they needed to go back in and remove it.  They also said there is no way she could have had a colonoscopy just a week earlier, because they couldn't get thru with the wire & camera! Now I am curious what the other guy was doing while he was apparently pretending to do her colonoscopy!  So anyway, this whole week, she's been in the hospital.  She did great the day following the surgery, but then started having a lot of pain and feeling so miserable, she didn't even want me to bring Rachel up to see her. That's when you KNOW she's not herself...  But on the bright side, she is finally starting to feel a little better, and she is due to come home tomorrow barring any unforseen issues.   I brought Rach over to see her a few times during this week. I couldn't go every day, but whenever we could, we were there.  

Mostly, we've been hanging here at home. Rachel is loving playing on her "Playground" as often as possible. It's great but we have to keep a close watch on the wasps... they keep building nests either under the swings or the ladder that leads to the slide.

She's growing by the minute these days too.  She is getting to be quite the little emotional doll too. As soon as anyone says they have a "boo boo", she responds with "Don't worry, I kiss it so it's all better"... She makes me melt every time!