He's Two!

It's hard to believe, but our precious adorable grandson is two years old today.  Two!  How is that even possible?  Wasn't it just yesterday he was born?

They grow so fast!

Jason's first bike.  Yay for garage sales!

"cheese!"

With his Uncle Cory

Precious boy.  It's been fun watching him grow these past two years.  He's such a smart little sweetheart.  He likes cars, scribbling with colored pencils, having The Foot Book read to him - over and over,  throwing balls and playing 'catch' with us, popsicles, and animal crackers. Oh, and he loves his Uncle Cory - and his Nana and Papa, too.  He gives the sweetest hugs and kisses.

Yep, we think we'll keep him.

Soon He'll be TWO!

Jason will be two in less than two months.  How in the world did that happen?  It seems just yesterday he was born, a brand-new baby boy.

Jason wants macaroni for lunch

And then just as quick as that we were celebrating his 1st birthday party.  Since he's a little monkey, his mommy used a monkey theme for that party.  There was even a banana cake!

Jason, of course, won't remember a thing about that party, but it was fun for his mommy to plan.  I'm sure that's why there are so many different options for first birthday party themes - from the monkey themes for little monkeys like our Jason to a Disney Princess theme for your little princess.  They're just all so cute - turtles, bears, Sesame Street babies, and Pooh & Friends.  How do parents even begin to choose?  I guess that's why kids have a birthday every year!  Or something like that.  There are over 30 themes on this one website alone! (as well as some helpful party tips)

My poor kids were very deprived and never actually had birthday parties, except for Beth's 6th birthday.  We didn't have any fancy themed party - just a homemade 'carnival' in a tent in the backyard.  I don't know that she would have been a Disney Princess kind of girl anyway...  We did usually go to Olive Garden, have a family dinner, and get the wait staff to bring out a cake and sing for the birthday kid.  Jason got that, too.

I wonder what kind of party this little cutie pie would like for his second birthday?  I mean, if he's gonna insist on growing up and turning two.

No More Teenagers

It's hard to believe, but as of this moment, I am no longer the mom of any teenagers.  My precious darling son - my youngest, my 'baby' - is 20 years old!

Twenty.

It just doesn't seem possible.  How does the time go so fast?  Here's what you need to learn from this - if you have little people in your life, enjoy every single minute with them!  Take the time to sit down and snuggle and read books and play.  Listen to their silly stories and the dreams they have.  Laugh with them.  Enjoy them.  Because, next thing you know, they'll be all grown up.

And then?  Well, I guess continue to enjoy them, while celebrating the fact that they're all grown up and should be able to take care of themselves.  Though it's nice when they still need you.  And miss you.

And now for some cuteness:

He was awful cute, wasn't he? 
(I don't have the baby Cory pictures scanned in, so this is from when he was about 2)

Happy Birthday, sweet son!  I love you very much!

Flowers for that Special Occasion

Flowers and special occasions just seem to go together.  Birthdays, anniversaries, graduations - somebody is bound to send flowers.  I'm probably one of the few people that doesn't really appreciate flowers. I'm not saying I haven't gotten and appreciated flowers once or twice in my life and probably even sent some.  I mean, I like them, it just seems like they cost so much and you only get to enjoy them for such a short time.  Maybe that's what makes them so special?

I think it's really important to get your flowers from a local florist, in order to get the freshest flowers that will last as long as possible - as well as supporting local business.  You'll also save the extra delivery/processing fee your florist will charge for delivery outside the local area - which is probably just them contacting the florist in the delivery area and arranging delivery through them.  We've got a local florist here in town we've used a few times, for things like prom flowers.  If we wanted to send flowers to someone here locally, we'd go through the local florist.

Of course, for sending flowers to someone who lives in another town, the Internet makes it easy to find a local florist in their area.  For instance, if you want to send birthday flowers to someone in the Roanoke, Salem or Vinton, VA area, you'd visit the website for George's Flowers and either order online, use their smart phone app, or call to get the perfect gift delivered.  They really do have some gorgeous flower arrangements, and they use the latest methods for long-lasting freshness. George's Flowers has been the Roanoke Valley's premier florist since 1981, and they pride themselves on excellent floral design and outstanding customer service.  Besides flowers, they also have balloons, candy, and special banners. 

I did send balloons and candy once - for Jeffrey's 30th birthday!  Oh wow, that was a day or two ago... back when 30 seemed old, or at least when I could give him a hard time about turning 30. 

Happy Birthday, Jason!

One year ago today we welcomed a precious baby boy into our lives.  It's hard to believe that a whole year has passed.  Where did the time go?

He's grown so much in the past year - learned to hold his head up, learned to roll over, learned to crawl, and now to walk!  He loves bananas and pretty much any food he can feed himself.  He gives sweet hugs and always has a ready smile for anyone who looks his way.  He's busy, busy, busy - always on the move exploring and getting into everything.  He knows what 'NO' means, and he's quick to shake his head and give a great big smile - "You don't really mean that, do you?"

He's not talking yet, except to say a few words like 'itty!' (kitty), and 'dada' and 'mama' - but he babbles all the time, so he'll be talking non-stop before we know it.  He's pretty good at letting us know what he wants anyway.

Happy Birthday, sweet Jason.  It's been a pleasure knowing you this past year, but could you maybe stop growing up so fast?  Yeah, I know - your mommy didn't listen either when I told her to stay little.

Of course, if she'd stayed little, we wouldn't have you, would we?

#1 When I was Born

I saw this on facebook and thought it would be fun to try.  The idea is to find the #1 single from the week you were born, see if you can find it on YouTube, and post it without shame.  (Like any of us had any control over the music people were listening to when we were born!)

But anyway...  I tried using the site referenced in the facebook post I saw, but it didn't seem to be working - so I did some searching to find another site that would give me the same information.  I found everyHit.com and searched up my birthday.  Then I noticed the information was for the UK, not the US where I was born.  Oh well - I remember looking this up once before and finding it was a song by the Beatles or something else I really didn't care for.  I like this better. 

On 20th May 1965 ... The Number 1 single was: Jackie Trent - "Where Are You Now (My Love)"




According to the comments, this video clip is taken from the movie 'Four In The Morning' made in 1965.

Now - it's your turn.  Go and find the #1 single from the week you were born and share!  If you don't like the one from your own country, try looking elsewhere.  You never know what you might find!

21!

It's hard to believe, but my baby girl is 21.  Has it really been that many years since we had a brand-new baby girl and our lives changed forever?  Now she's all grown up with a little one of her own.

Happy Birthday, sweet daughter!  Knowing you, loving you, watching you grow up has definitely been an adventure.

She's Going to Be How Old?

Image by Will Clayton via Flickr

Beth has a birthday next month. For some reason, she thinks this is a special birthday.  And, for this birthday, she'd like us to keep Jason overnight so she can go out and take advantage of her age.  I bet she expects all birthday gifts for her to be of a certain type, too - a type she can drink!

Yes, next month Beth will be 21.  It doesn't seem like it's been 21 years...

She wants to go out and 'get drunk' - because she can, I guess.  I don't really understand the whole idea of going out drinking just because you're old enough to do it.  I think I bought a 6-pack of beer or some wine coolers or something at at grocery store a few days after I turned 21, and then went home with my parents.  I was vaguely disappointed that the checker didn't even ask for my ID!  Of course, now they have to ask everybody.  And in the years since then, I've never gone out 'drinking' and definitely never gone out to get drunk.  Why would anybody want to do that?

Regardless of whether I understand her need to go out drinking or not, I'll be happy to keep the little guy!  I do hope she lines up someone responsible to drive, though.

The Big Five-OH!!

Today is my wonderful husband Jeffrey's 50th birthday.  That's right -

today Jeffrey turns 50! 

So, of course, we can't let such a momentous occasion go unmarked, unremarked, and unnoticed, can we?  So, do me a favor - visit his facebook page and wish the old man a happy, happy birthday!  (If you're not friends with him on facebook and can't post on his wall, just send him a message.  And, if that doesn't work, go ahead and send him an email.)  Let's all let him know we're thinking of him!

today Jeffrey turns 50!  - today Jeffrey turns 50! - today Jeffrey turns 50! -
today Jeffrey turns 50! - today Jeffrey turns 50! -
 today Jeffrey turns 50!

I love you, honey!

Happy Birthday, Cory!

19 years ago today - really early in the morning at 12:34am - we welcomed a baby boy into our lives.

It's hard to believe my baby is 19 years old.  How is that possible?  Time flies when you're having fun, I guess, and there's definitely been plenty of fun having Cory around!

Happy Birthday Cory, My Cory!  I love you, my favorite son!

- photo from his facebook profile in celebration of his birthday -

Camera Critters (#156)

 

This Camera Critters post celebrates two special occasions - The 3rd anniversary of Camera Critters (can you believe it's been 3 years?) and Weasley's 2nd birthday.

We don’t actually know when Weasley’s birthday is, but since he’s named after Fred Weasley of Harry Potter fame, Cory has decided that his birthday is April 1st.  It’s as good a day as any, right?

That means our Weasley boy turned 2 on Friday.  He didn’t get a cake or anything special.  We just told him it was his birthday.

He is a handsome boy, isn’t he?

Camera Critters is a fun weekend meme hosted by Misty Dawn.  Visit the Camera Critters headquarters and join in.

How Important Are Birthdays?

Image via Wikipedia

Facebook is good for keeping up with birthdays.  When a friend is having a birthday, you get a reminder.   For a while, I tried to keep up with wishing all my friends a good day on their birthdays, but I wasn't very good at it.  Eventually, I just stopped altogether, figuring if I couldn't acknowledge everyone's birthday, then I wouldn't acknowledge anyone's birthday - except really close friends and family.  In the interest of fairness, of course.

When I was growing up, we didn't celebrate birthdays.  We might mention that one or the other of us was another year older, but we didn't make a big deal of it.  Now that I'm grown up, I still don't really do much when it comes to birthdays.  My kids thought they were really deprived. 
I know there are people who plan big, elaborate parties for every kid's birthday.  Not me.

We did put together a backyard party for Beth when she turned 6.  I can't remember why we did it that year, but we never really did anything for any other birthday.  I can't even remember if Cory ever got a party.  I'm sure he remembers though, and will be quick to tell me when he reads this.  There were a few special birthdays, like when they turned 18 or celebrated their 'golden' birthday (something I'd never heard of until we moved to Wisconsin), when we their father gave them something they'd been wanting, like an iPod, Zune, or gaming system.  Other than that, maybe they got birthday cards, a hug, or just a happy birthday wish on their facebook wall.

How important are birthdays?  Should I be putting more effort into them?

Happy Birthday, Beth!

I am now the mom of only 1 teenager.  My beautiful daughter, Beth is 20!  How in the world did that happen?

Then again, her teen years seemed to last forever.  When she was 3 she already had that teenage girl attitude!  Or maybe it's just girls in general and has nothing to do with being teenagers.  They've got way more attitude than the boys do.

Attitude or no attitude, she made it through her teenage years without a case of acne that called for epiduo and without having her parents strangle her, so it's all good, right?  And she's turned out pretty good, despite the horrible home life she thought she had.

Dear, sweet, precious Beth - you've grown into a lovely young lady, and we love you very much!!  You are smart and beautiful, and you can do anything you put your mind to.  Enjoy your twenties.

Almost 50

Today is my wonderful husband's birthday.  He's 49 - and since he's a guy I'm sure he won't mind my telling the whole Internet how old he is.  Also, he'll always be older than I am!

I have a hard time believing I'm married to a man who's almost 50.  I remember telling him that I had to marry him before he got 'old' - before he turned 25.  Then when he turned 30 I sent black balloons to his office, because he really was 'old' then.  40 I don't think I made a big deal out of, because he threatened to do the same thing to me a few years later.

25 and 30 don't seem so old now, or 40 either.  But almost 50, now that's old - at least for the next few of years, or until it applies to me.  Then, of course, 50 won't be old at all!  Neither one of us will be needing social security disability insurance or collecting retirement any time soon. Unless someone knows something I don't - I just got an email with the subject line: 'See if you qualify for Social Security disability benefits.'

Snack Attack!

Look what was delivered to my doorstep this week:

A Deluxe Snack Attack gift basket from ProFlowers.  You want snacks, this basket has them.  It includes:

• 6 oz. Colossal Pistachios
• 6 oz. Corn Nuts
• 6 oz. Honey Sesame Sticks
• 6 oz. California Trail Mix
• 6 oz. Honey Toffee Peanuts
• 6 oz. Rice Cracker Mix
• 6 oz. Smokehouse Almonds
• 6 oz. Roasted Salted Cashews
• 6 oz. Honey Roasted Peanuts
• 6 oz. Cinnamon Toffee Almonds

Cory had to dig right in and pull  all the bags of snacks out of the basket.  It wasn't really for his birthday, but I let him open it up anyway.  As he pulled off the top layer, he said, "the rest if filled with Easter grass."  (not really Easter grass, but a shredded paper filler)  And then, he dug some more and found another layer of snacks!

There are two bags of each item, so you can open one at a time while the other half stays nice and fresh until you're ready to eat it.  The bags are not re-seal-able, which would be nice, but not having to open all of the toffee peanuts or all of the rice snack mix at once pretty much makes up for that.  The basket also came with an information card that has all the nutritional information for each item.  I'm sure it's something that has to be included with any food items, but ProFlowers packaged it nicely in a pretty envelope, which is nice.

I've never before received a basket like this or sent one either.  I honestly always thought that they probably looked better in the pictures than they actually were.  ProFlowers has me re-thinking that!  I think this was just as good if not better than it looked in the picture. 

We couldn't decide what to try first.  I wanted to keep all the Cinnamon Toffee Almonds for myself, and Jeffrey wanted to try the Butter Toffee Peanuts - so we started with those.  Both were really good, and I did share.  Then Cory chose the Rice Cracker Mix, and I think I like that best of all.  So good!  There are a lot of snacks here, and we're enjoying them all. 

Once the snacks are gone, I'm sure I'll have fun finding a use for the basket, too.

ProFlowers has all kinds of birthday gift baskets to choose from. This is just one of them.  There are baskets like this one with the nuts and snacks, baskets full of sweets, cookies or fruit, baskets and boxes with wine and cheese and sausage, and more.  If you're looking for a gift for a birthday or other special occasion, check out ProFlowers.  It looks like they have something for everyone. 

Note: I received this gift basket free of charge from ProFlowers for review.  I received no monetary compensation.  All opinions are 100% mine.

Happy Birthday, Cory!

My favorite son is 18 today.  It's so hard to believe that I've known and loved him for 18 years.  It seems like just yesterday (OK, not just yesterday, but certainly not 18 years) that we welcomed our brand new baby boy into the world.

I watched him grow from the adorable little boy he was into the amazing and handsome young man he is today, and I'm so glad I have the privilege of being his mom.

Cory, I love you!  You're the best son ever!  Talented, affectionate, handsome, crazy, sweet, friendly, smart, fun to be with, and just an overall great guy.  Oh yes, and you're 'pretty good at hugs' too!  I'm looking forward to seeing what you do with the next 18 years.

One Week

One week from today my favorite fly killer and son will be 18.  You know what that means, right?  Not just that it's been 18 years since I've needed duet dha prenatal vitamins or prenatal vitamins of any kind.  It means that in one week, my baby will be a legal adult.  I don't know that anything will change, but it certainly sounds serious.

18 years!  Where did the time go?

Give Me 5 Monday - Birthday Memories

The topic of today's list is - Give Me Five birthday memories from your life or of someone else.

Birthdays were never a big deal in my house, so I really don't have any birthday memories. I still don't think much about my birthday and sometimes don't even remember that it is my birthday until the day is about over.

Since Beth's birthday was just last week, I'll use this as an excuse to tell you what we did for her birthday. We don't really make a big deal of the kids' birthdays either, even though they think we should, but it was her 18th birthday, and that's supposed to mean something, I guess.
For Beth's birthday:

1. We took her (and Tim, always Tim) out to dinner at the Outback Steakhouse, because she wanted a Bloomin' Onion.
2. We should have had the people at Outback sing 'Happy Birthday' to her, but we didn't.
   
3. After dinner we went to the mall, and her dad bought her two new pairs of jeans.
4. And he paid to get her ears pierced.
5. That was only 4 - because we asked if she wanted to stop at Dairy Queen on the way home, but she and Tim were having some drama and she just wanted to go home.

Exciting birthday stuff, huh? For more birthday memories, visit BeccA's Buzz.

18 Today

My brown eyed girl is 18 today.

It really doesn't seem possible. 18 years ago, we had a brand-new baby girl. We must've blinked, because now we've got this young lady who thinks she's all grown up. Doesn't she know she'll always be our baby girl? Happy Birthday, Beth - we love you!

Happy Birthday, Honey

My honey is 47 today. We're spending his birthday in a really exciting way. Well, of course he had to work all day, but then this evening we're alone, with no kids. And what do we do? We're both sitting with our computers on our laps, playing games, blogging, checking email - and watching a movie, Rendition. Aren't we exciting?