Granny visits!

We were all so excited that Granny O was coming for a visit. It would only be 4 short days, but we would pack them full of fun! My hubby's dislocated toe and a pending hurricane delayed her visit by a week but it ended up working out better that it was over Labor Day weekend anyway.

We told my mom that my hubby would pick her up from the airport but secretly Noah and I planned to be there instead. We hid until she passed by then I told Noah to walk up and surprise her! Well, instead, he was so excited all he could do was bounce. Which was fine but he was bouncing behind her! I had to quietly nudge him in front of her without her seeing me and finally he did. It took a minute to register with her but once it did, she was so excited! Noah was so happy he couldn't stop smiling or bouncing! After we collected her luggage, we made our way home. Thankfully, my hubby's parents were able to pick Ethan up from school and they made it back to our house at almost the same moment we were pulling in. So, Ethan didn't feel like he really missed anything. The boys were beyond excited to find out Granny came bearing gifts: Thor and Captain America costumes and action figures!

The next morning, the boys had school so we walked each of them in so they could show off their classrooms to Granny O. Then me and my mom headed to get coffee at the Beachhouse Beanery and then next door to the Farmer's Market. where we had a really nice time leisurely wandering around, getting some veggies and doing a little shopping. We managed to sneak in a quick trip to Kohl's on our way back to get Noah.

That evening we went to dinner at Finn's overlooking the beach and then over to the square to sit in the grass and watch the U.S. Navy Jazz band. We had a wonderful time listening to the music and watching the kids running around playing and dancing! My hubby wasn't able to join us all weekend since he was on crutches. :(

Saturday, was beach day! Marineland Beach. We packed a lunch and we had fun in the sun! We stayed and played as long as we could, until the boys tired out. I think my mom and I could have sat underneath the umbrella afterwards for quite awhile, but the boys were ready to go!

Sunday, we headed to St. Augustine, downtown, where we started off having lunch at A1A Aleworks. Next, the boys wanted to show their Granny the Pirate museum they love so much. My mom really enjoyed it! The boys were a little obsessed about showing her the head of Blackbeard hanging from a rope! Yikes! Afterwards, we looked around at several shops and had a grand ole time!

Monday, our final day together, we did something new to all of us. We went to Fort Matanzas. I have been wanting to go for so long and thought this was the perfect opportunity. We loved it! We got our ferry tickets and then went back over the Matanzas bridge to eat lunch at Matanzas Inlet Restaurant since we had a 2 hr wait. It was the perfect amount of time to enjoy some food, get out of the heat and threaten to throw the boys over the rocks to the bullsharks if they didn't behave. Oh, kidding about that last part! Ha ha! The ferry ride over to the fort was really quick but very nice! The boys just loved it. We all had so much fun learning the history of the fort and checking it all out for ourselves. It's so hard to believe it's almost 270 years of history. It was a beautiful day out and we enjoyed every minute of it!

The next morning, my mom left and we were very sad to see her go! Hopefully we will see her again soon but probably next year!

**Photos to be added soon. Blogger isn't cooperating!

Ethan's Kindergarten Open House

Ethan took me to his open house tonight for kindergarten at Belle Terre Elementary. Unfortunately, his daddy had to work until 5p, so he couldn't make it. And fortunately, my in-laws were able to watch Noah so Ethan could have all the attention on him! He was so proud to show me around his school, introduce me to his teacher and tell me all about what he does during his day. He is so confident and independent now, I couldn't be more impressed with him! It was wonderful to have him take my hand and tell me, "I've got it, Mom. Leave it all up to me to show you around." He really knows how to melt his mommy's heart!

Ethan showing off his kindergarten playground.

 

 Proud of his classroom. He's at the computer station.

 

Ethan and Mrs. Morana, his teacher.

 

 Ethan wanted a pic with his mommy in his classroom.

 

 In the cafeteria.

 

All in all it was a fun and relaxing kindergarten Open House!

9/11....The 10th Anniversary.

Where were you? That's the first question that always comes to mind when speaking about Sept. 11, 2001. It was the second terrorist attack that greatly affected me in my life. The first being a domestic terrorist attack also known as the Oklahoma City Bombing. Well, on Sept. 11th, I was working at Citibank. My friend, Becca, comes in as she usually does but she's crying. "What's the matter?" I asked her. "I was listening to the radio (The Big Ape 95.1) and they said some planes flew into the World Trade Center. The DJs were crying, it must be bad!" My first thought is wondering why and how in the world could a Cessna plane fly into a skyscraper? I mean, how bizzare! And so that's what I say to her. "I don't know." she said walking to her office, confused and obviously shaken. Hmmm...Then something seriously odd happened. Silence. I was in a 5 story busy office building and there was silence. No phones ringning, not really any talking. Then someone (I don't remember who, when or how) says that another building had been hit, it was on purpose and they were passenger jets. Then it got even quieter, if that was possible. Who knows what to think at this point, it's beyond comprehension. But, the first person that popped into my head was Osama Bin Laden. He tried before, he must have tried again and succeeded. He's the Al Quaeda that had been hell bent on attacking Americans, including the 1st bombing of the WTC.

I was dating a New Yorker back in college back in '93 when they first bombed the WTC. My boyfriend's mother still lived there so it affected him deeply at the time and, in turn, troubled me. The next year, we went to NYC to visit his mother and, while there, we took the elevator to the top observation deck of the WTC. I had seen the contruction going on to repair the damage of the bombing at the ground level. It was a stark reminder of what had happened the year before.

But, back to 2001. The next information we got was that there were several highjacked planes and they were all going to different important landmarks across the county.  It felt like the entire U.S. was under attack!  We didn't have a TV or radio in my work area so we relied on information from people who had them. I was dating my now-hubby who worked on the floor above us. Some of his co-workers, Moe and Kimarie, had radios, so we got most of our information from them. I think so many people were feeling so lost, including those reporting on TV and radio, that nobody truly knew what was really going down. How many planes were highjacked? Where there more coming to NYC? Where else were they going? I have to admit that even though it sounds pretty stupid now, we all were a little extra worried because we worked for one of the largest financial companies in the world, the 2nd biggest Citi site in the U.S. next to NYC  and it could be a target as well if not that day, in the days to come. The only other thing I remember was that there were some people who worked around me who had loved ones that worked or lived in the WTC area who were terrified something had happened to their loved ones. I don't remember anything else after that until I got home. Bob and I went back to my apartment and were glued to the TV, watching with horror, all of the details of that day. For a long time afterward, we had guard at the entrance and exit of our parking garage at Citibank.

The hardest thing for me to comprehend on that day was the people who jumped to their deaths, falling down amongst the debris. That thought still haunts me. Can you even imagine the thought process? Do I burn to death or jump 80 + stories to my death? Hmm... Oh my lord, the utter terror those people felt! It is also incredibly heartbreaking to me the husbands and wives who lost their spouses, the children (some so small or not even born!) who lost their parents. The parents who lost children. So many loved ones lost.

It truly angers me that a group of  hateful cowards can willfully murder almost 3000 unarmed, innocent civilians who went to work that day to earn a living for themselves and their families. I cannot imagine how someone becomes such a monster. The irony is that they thought they were going to destroy us, weaken us, knock us out. They only brought America to its knees. Unfortunately for them, we got back up, ready to fight. Now they know they cannot and will not ever win over us. There are a lot of problems in the U.S. but when push comes to shove, we support one another, we survive and we thrive!

We also realize that, not only do we know the true depths of evil, we know the heighths of  pure goodness in the human race. Heroism is defined by NYPD, NYFD, the military, & the civilians who risked, and continue to risk, their own lives to save others. We hear of firefighters who knew walking up those steps of the WTC meant the chances of saving someone's life was 2%, dying was 98% and they kept on walking, they didn't turn around. And, people who risked their own safety by going back to help someone or stayed to make sure everyone got out. Some lived, some died. But, they took that chance. That is a true hero!

To this day, I can't watch the events of 9/11 without breaking down. I probably never will. Someday I will visit the NYC 9/11 memorial, hopefully the ones in Washington D.C. &  PA as well to pay my respects to those that lost their lives on that day.  I think the memorial is a beautiful and perfect homage... Reflecting Absence.

First Day of School for Ethan and Noah!

Noah showing off his new Spiderman backpack. So happy to be starting preschool!

 My handsome little kindergartener.

Ethan just loves me taking his picture at school! Ha ha!

 Noah at his new school, Christ the King.

Beginning Noah's 1st school day with his buddy, Harrison, and w new friend.

I would like to say that the 1st day of school was wistful and teary eyed but it wasn't. It was rushed, stressful and upsetting. I was rushed because I had two kids starting at two different schools with the same start time of 9am. I was stressed because the first day of Belle Terre seemed like chaos. They corralled all the kids into the cafeteria with no definite distinctions as to where each grade should be sitting. There was just a ton of kids and ne'er a teacher to be found. Finally I found one but it wasn't reassuring. I finally got one to stay with Ethan so I could rush Noah to school. The minute I got there I ran into my good friend, Christine, who got assaulted by me with a rant about Ethan's 1st day nightmare.  Poor Christine! But, she took it like a true friend with a smile on her face and walked with us back to the classroom where I dropped Noah off to a much calmer and happier place. Noah didn't even really look back, he just acted like he'd been going there all along. So, Christine and I left to meet our other friend, Kayla, and some other moms for a relaxing (truly relaxing) Mommy breakfast. By that point, Mommy needed a shot of Kahlua in her coffee! Unfortunately, I didn't get one. But, I am happy to report that things have improved dramatically since the 1st day and things are beginning to run pretty smoothly for us. School year 2011-2012, here we come!

Out of Commission

Well, the Sunday before Ethan and Noah started school hubby tripped on the rug and came down weird on his toe dislocating it! And, since then it has been a domino effect of bad luck. But, they say things happen in 3s so I think we may just be safe now (fingers crossed, knock on wood!). Doing everything around the house, preparing for the beginning of school, hubby's surgery, getting ready for my mom to visit and every other little thing in life has kept me pretty darn busy!  I will just say that Sept 19th cannot come fast enough which is when hubby gets the pin out of his toe and can walk without crutches again! Things are starting to calm down again so I am back to catch up on my blog!