The Crocheting Mom

     I have done my share of fundraising in my lifetime.  I used to be a girl scout and I fundraised like the best of them.  I was a cookie pusher, every single year.  I had to get the top number of boxes sold, or I was a disappointment to myself!  It didn't stop at cookies either.  There were many more fundraisers for this group throughout the year, nothing as big as cookie time though!  I was in other activities growing up as well that had many fundraisers; choir, basketball, school.  It's a skill, a skill that can be learned!

     When I think of summertime food, I always think of the macaroni salad that my mom made.  I mostly remember it as a teenager.  I would claim it as mine, or eat all I could before it was gone.  It was my favorite breakfast, lunch, and dinner food, well, maybe not breakfast!  I didn't do a lot of cooking when I was younger, so I never asked my mom how she made it.  When I went home recently, I requested her to make it, so I could finally learn.  It's actually really easy!

     Everyone has been through hard times before.  It tends to be a really taboo topic, talking about money, and how 'comfortable' you are.  I wanted to put a list together of things we had done in the past that seemed to really help us out.  We actually still use some of these strategies because they have just become good habits.  There are ways to save money, that some people don't even think about.            

     While on vacation, Ashley noticed her tooth was loose.  Daddy and I were out at the movies at the time, but when we came home, she was so excited to tell us.  For the next week she couldn't contain herself.  She felt like such a big girl and was so excited for it to fall out.  I was happy because usually she's worried about anything and everything hurting, but not this time.  This time, all she cared about was the significance of the tooth, and that it meant she was growing up!

     After 4 long years, my family finally got to take a trip back to my home town.  I grew up and lived in the same house in Rhode Island, my whole life, until I got married.  The last time we went, Ashley was still a baby, just learning how to walk.  There was no way she was going to be able to remember that trip, so everything and everyone was new to her this time.  We've had a few family members come visit us here and there, and my mom usually comes out twice a year, but there was a lot of family who have never met Lilly, and have not seen Ashley in a long time.      We were really dreading the 15 and a half hour car ride it would take to get there.  It turned out, it actually wasn't that bad.  We left at 830 at night so we could get the most sleep out of the girls while driving.  The drive on the way back was broken up, which made it a lot easier to handle during the day. We visited family in New York, and then...

     Yesterday was  my oldest daughter's birthday.  My beautiful Ashley.  We were so excited to have children and were in love with you the second you were born, even from the second we found out we had finally started a family!  Our love for you has only grown over the years, and will continue to do so.

     My oldest, almost 6 years old LOVES Barbies.  I'm serious.  Anytime we are in a store, it doesn't matter what it is, she will find something with Barbies and start trying to get us to buy it.  It could be a shirt, a ball, shoes, a backpack, dolls, accessories or anything else.      I don't really know how this phase started for her.  She was our awesome little tomboy most of her life, up until she turned 5.  She loved playing sports like soccer, football, or anything with a ball!  She loved comics, especially Iron Man.  I even spent a whole summer crocheting her an Iron Man blanket that fits her full sized bed!  She loved it!  Needless to say, when she told me 6 months later that she didn't want the Iron Man blanket anymore because it was too boyish, I was a little bummed.

     It's the dreaded sound for all parents.  When you hear that gut wrenching music, you know what's coming next.      "ICCCCEEEEE CREEEEAAAAMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

         Baby number 3 is now on the way to our household.  My husband and I found out we were pregnant about a month before our vacation.  We decided it would be fun to tell my side of the family in person, instead of them finding out through facebook.      To do this, we had to be very careful if we decided to tell anyone.  That meant, ASHLEY WAS NOT TO KNOW!  She has such a big mouth.  If we told her right away, she would've let it slip.  She is the worst secret keeper, LOL!  Unfotunately, we did have to tell her the day before we left on vacation.  I think she would've figured it out when I took her to the doctors with me and saw the ultrasound.  So we told her, and pleaded with her not to tell anyone until we said it was okay.

     June 2nd was my youngest daughter's birthday!  My precious baby Lilly is now two years old.  On her first birthday we took her to the Indianapolis Zoo, and that was something I really wanted to do again this year.  It looked as though it was going to rain, so I was super bummed out.  We looked and looked for different solutions for her special day, but nothing seemed as fun for her.  We had a back up plan, but were crossing our fingers that the weather would hold out for us.