August anxiety

August..I have such a love/hate relationship with August. It is still the summer and I want to squeeze every inch and second of fun out of it because I know there is that feeling of impending doom on the horizon, like a big storm ready to roll in.
I love my summers, less worry, less stress, warmth, no snow! But August is hard, it is when that countdown in your mind starts....how many days left til school...how many days left until the cold air hits.

I do admit I enjoy fall, the colors, the activities, but it is the evil of winter lurking just beyond that. For me each year gets a little worse.

So, as usual we are packing in as much fun as we can in August and ending the summer on a high note!

We continue to have fun at the beach and enjoy Pop and Noni's as much we can. Kevin and I were able to sneak away for an overnight to Philly as the boys went to stay with Grammom and Poppy.

We had a great night, dinner, drinks, walking around the city. It was a gorgeous night. We had dinner at the Oyster House and it was amazing, then hit an irish pub for the Phillies game and after dinner cocktails. The next morning we took a long walk around center city and then enjoyed a nice breakfast. It was fun to have that quick escape!

We also headed to Williamsburg for a long weekend with friends. We stayed at a time share resort about 15 minutes away from Williamsburg.

B and I took the kids to Water Country on Friday while the guys golfed. Water Country was a blast but it was exhausting. 4 kids 8 and under-whew, it was a work out!! We jumped into the lazy river and realized quickly with this crew it was water aerobics!

That frozen margarita we had at the end was well earned!

The guys had a great time golfing and Kevin shot his best round ever, as we heard many times that evening!

The next day we did the colonial thing. I hadnt been there since high school.

It was really cool.

The kids enjoyed themselves alot.

We learned so much as well. I would like to go back when they are a bit older or even without kids, it would be nice to sit through some of the lectures, etc..

The more Kevin learned, the more he wished he lived back in that era.

The biggest hits were the blacksmith, the prison and the bricklayer. They loved stomping around in the clay. Of course my boys were the only ones fall in the clay which was impossible to get off their clothes.

We had lunch in the Kings Arms garden and our waiter was awesome! I think we learned more from him than anyone. He entertained the kids alot as well.

Do you think it would be wrong to build one of these in my backyard?

Just kidding of course!

Though it does gain me their full and complete attention!

It did rain towards the end of the day there which made things a bit messy, but it helped clear away some of the smoke from some swamp fire in VA, so that was good.

We enjoyed our brief shopping in merchant square. The kids loved the toy store and the Christmas store was great, they had a whole section of Russian ornaments and decorations (pretty overpriced I may add).

We had an amazing dinner there as well, it is a full fun filled day and we were all thoroughly beat by the time we got back to the condo. I definitely think you need more than 2 days down there, especially given the drive there. Have I mentioned I hate washington traffic?

The kids did great given the length of the drive and the traffic. The best line heard from Maks on the drive down as we crawled along 95: Hands on his head he says' "I can't work in these conditions".

He knows how to crack us up!

So summer is winding down..camp is winding down....we have two more weekends to jam in all the fun!

Maks is in the midst of soccer right now and doing pretty well. He has gotten better in terms of not using his arms or elbows to push people out of the way, but now he likes to only play defense or goalie which is short sided soccer is not needed.

He also likes to volunteer for breaks, we are working on that! But he does seem to be having fun!!

Alek just started practice for fall baseball and is very happy to be a member of the Brooklyn Cyclones!

We are headed back down to beach for one last weekend this summer----booooohoooooooo.

Then next wednesday night we will head on up to New Hampshire for a long labor day weekend.

I am looking forward to that, well not the drive, but for the kids, I know they will love it up there!

Then it is back to reality. Alek is ready with his school supplies. His reading list is done, he is still working on his summer math packet.

We should find out their teachers this week.

Maks has K day this week where he learns about the school bus and we take a little ride.

I'll try not to get emotional, save those tears for the first day of kindergarten.

hard to wrap my brain around the fact my baby is headed to kindergarten.

Just scares me how fast it all goes.

Lucky 7

Happy 7th Family Day Aleksandr!

7 years ago we held you in a car outside the babyhome before court. We hugged and kissed your drooly face and hoped and prayed the judge would say yes.
And he did. We picked you up late at night on the train between Kirov and Moscow, outside of Kotelnich and never looked back.


From that first sleepless night on a rocky train until now, you have continued to amaze us.

We are so lucky to have you in our lives and you were the dream we had been waiting for.

You have truly grown and matured so much this past year, you are such a grown up boy now and long gone is my sweet drooly faced baby. I find myself going back to pictures and video clips just to remember all those wonderful moments of our early days home.

We are so proud of you and love watching you grow and change.

We love your excitement for life.

Thank you for making us parents and for making us smile each day.

I didn't give you the gift of life,
But in my heart I know.
The love I feel is deep and real,
As if it had been so.

For us to have each other
Is like a dream come true!
No, I didn't give you
The gift of life,
Life gave me the gift of you.
--- Unknown

Knee deep

... in the water somewhere, got the blue sky breeze blowin wind through my hair,
only worry in the world is the tide gonna reach my chair"

We had an awesome and relaxing week chillin out at the beach. This year we checked out a new area of Delaware for us, Broadkill Beach.

This beach area is a hidden gem. I loved it!

We rented a little cottage with a short path through the dunes to the beach. We were the last house on the street and had no neighbors to our left, which made for gorgeous views from the roof top deck.

We left the extreme heat and humidity of the Philly area behind and traded it in for some nice breezes by the water. Yes it was still stinkin hot at the house, but once you were down next to the water it was a different world.

The water temp was perfect, the bay was awesome and the kids swam so much. We had a great time floating on the rafts and keeping cool. The area is home to a bunch of friendly feral cats. The two that frequented our house we fondly named Blackie and Smokey by the boys.

Blackie seemed to think my painted toe nails were toys as he chased them on the roof deck. He then proceeded to scratch me, so I am convinced I will be coming down with a case of cat scratch fever soon! They loved the boys though and the boys loved keeping an eye out for them!

We pretty much hung on the beach the whole week which was fine by me. Sadly my Kindle broke on the 1st day so the books I had downloaded were not read, but someone left a good book behind at the house, The Thirteenth Tale, so that kept me occupied.

C and the girls came down for a day and overnight and the boys loved it. They had a blast hanging with their gaals on the beach.

We grilled out, but were bummed it was too hot to eat on the deck, except for one night.

We hit the Rehoboth outlets and the boys picked out their backpacks at Eddie Bauer. I was so happy no one wanted those cheaply made character ones from Target. As Alek informed me, 2nd graders dont carry that stuff. Now we have great backpacks that come with the Bauer lifetime guarentee, with these two boys, that is perfect for me!

We enjoyed a great dinner at one of our favorite places, Irish Eyes, in Lewes. It is fun to sit outside by the marina. We like to take a walk and check out all the boats. We also walked around Lewes a bit and the boys got to pick out a toy at the great toy store, KidKetch, in Lewes.

Not once did they ask for the boardwalk and rides, which frankly was fine by us. I think they were so beat from playing on the beach all day, that they just wanted to crash at night and either play Life or watch a movie.

Pop came down one night and we all headed to the Ruddertowne, to take in some live music, a couple fun drinks and appetizers on their awesome water front deck. We toasted to Noni's birthday, though she was stuck on a train coming home from work. Then we headed into Rehoboth and had a light dinner at the Purple Parrot, though by that point, the boys were done, and getting into their extra silly, giggly, fighting with each other, over tired stage. So we headed back to the cottage.

While we were at the beach, Maks lost his second tooth! He was so excited, I love the gap in his mouth now and he loves sticking his tongue through it. So we forgot to put the tooth under his pillow, but the tooh fairy remembered to come and she left his money on the kitchen table, he was happy, though I think he would have preferred a toy to cold hard cash.

Alek and I are total beach bums, we would stay down there all day. Kevin and Maks like to head back to the house after a few hours, so it worked out great. Alek and spent some afternoons swimming, relaxing and taking walks looking for stones and shells. At one point we were laying on the rafts together and he looked at me and said, this has been the best day ever and he proceeded to call me his beautiful mama. That was seriously the best. I have to remember that always because it wont be long before he may be too cool to tell me those things!

Our last night we headed back to Rehoboth for dinner. We chose a restaurant we haven't been to before, called Claws Seafood.

It received good reviews on my Urbanspoon ap, so we decided to give it a go. It was awesome and definitely a place to go back to. We all enjoyed our meals and they make a mean mojito!

After that we did a little shopping and the boys got to pick out some goodies from the Candy Kitchen.
I brought home some salt water taffy for my co-workers and some awesome fudge for myself! Love that store!
The next morning after we checked out, Kevin had to head home for a golf outing and I took the boys to a small water park, Midway
It was the perfect size, not overwhelming, but just enough to keep them happy and busy and the price was so reasonable too, including their food. We had a blast, though slides can beat you up once you pass 40! So after a few tweaks to my neck and back, I sat in the one pool and watch them go.

We then headed up to Pop and Noni's for the rest of the weekend. I wasn't quite ready to leave the beach behind. My post vacation depression was setting in. I really need to hit the lottery so I wont have to leave the beach!

As always we had a great time hanging out at Pop's. The boys were spent though and we needed to head home on Sunday to begin to adjust to reality. Alek and I did get in school supply shopping though and he was very excited about that, more than me, I am not ready for summer to come to a halt.

Maks had his physical for kindergarten, he was 46.7 inches and 47 pounds. He is growing so fast! He had to get his Varicella vaccine, which hurts, but he was a champ and was rewarded with 3 stickers. He was very excited to get his shot so he can go to kindergarten.

Next Maks and I head to K day, where he gets to ride the bus and learn about school bus safety.

Hard to believe this is the last time I will do this. I know I will have lots of tissues packed.

We have some fun planned for the remainder of the summer, we are headed to Williamsburg, VA with some friends (Alek's buddy X and his family). I am looking forward to that , I havent been there in forever.

Then we are winding out the summer by heading up to New Hampshire to the cottage on the lake with Pop and Noni. The last time I was there, we had Maks' referral in hand, we were waiting on travel dates and Alek and I flew up for the Labor Day weekend. How much Alek has changed since then

So Maks has never been there and I can't wait for him to play in the woods and swim in the lake (hopefully the temperature cooperates). As we know, I am not a big nature, woods fan, but I know the boys will love it! It is a beautiful up there, just wish there were so many spiders and other bugs :o)

So in the meantime we are back to the reality of work and camps. Maks' soccer has started and Alek will start baseball soon.

For now, I have to dream of the beach and my toes in the sand.....

Oh Summer how I love thee!

Summer, may favorite season of the year.
I love that everything just seems a little more laid back during the summer. No homework battles, no rushing from homework to dinner to baseball practice or games.
And even when we are busy, we still dont really seem that busy.

Lots of daylight to play outside, go to the pool or hang out on the patio with snacks and drinks.

Alek loves his new camp this summer and we look forward to Maks being old enough to go next year, but for now Maks is enjoying his time at LL. I think he enjoys the time apart from his brother. Alek tends to boss him around a bit!

The boys and their friends attended a sports camp at a local church. We were all excited about it.

Maks made it through 3 days. He was in his brother's group, which again, probably not a great idea. It was alot of physical activity in the humid weather-not a great match for Maks and his asthma.

So come lunch time, he was not paying attention, not listening and probably annoying the counselors! The did switch his group which worked a little better, but I think the full day of sports was too much for him to stay focused.

So I talked to him about his behavior and he asked to just go back to LL for the rest of the week.

I think he just felt safer there and less frustrated, plus it wasn't as physically draining for him.

Those 3 days of sports camp, Maks was asleep in the car within 5 minutes of picking him up!

So, the summer has been fun and interesting! I love that I have a job that is flexible and allows me to enjoy time with my kids at the pool. I love that I can make my arrival and departure times work around their schedules. While I would love to not work at all (hence my weekly lottery tickets), this is the ideal situation.

I have also picked up a shift or two a month at a nursing home.

I love it. I love the residents, they remind me to enjoy all those moments, because life does fly by.

They make me laugh (especially some of the blunt words of wisdom) and they make me cry as they mourn the losses of spouse of 65 yrs or lifelong friends.

While it is physically tiring, after having been out of clinical nursing for years, it has brought me great joy to be able to care for these amazing residents (we have several over 100 yrs old!) and I hope in turn I have brought them comfort and respect and some laughs on my shifts.

It is hard to believe it is mid July. I wish summer could be an extra month long. I feel so much more at peace in the summer. I love the warmth of the sun on my skin.

I love my feet in the sand. I love watching the boys run around at the pool and Alek perfecting his flip off the diving board.

I love watching Maks swim to the bottom of the deep end to grab a toy or watch him practice hard on getting his freestyle correct.

I love chillin out on the patio and in the hold(well cold) tub with them.

We watched the World Cup final in the hot tub with the sun on our backs, cheering the girls on.

It was so much fun!

I love riding in the car with the boys singing at the top of our lungs to our favorites songs. I love that they also love to jam along with me to Jimmy Buffett, Bon Jovi and even Rick Springfield! Maks sings a mean Jessie's girl!

I love laying in bed every night watching the Phillies or any baseball game and listen to Alek and Kevin chatter about the game or the players. Such a great way to end the day.

I love cooking out on the grill and eating corn on the cob. I love all the fresh fruit and ice cream trips to Merrymead. Even when its hazy hot and humid, summer is the best!

We are all looking forward to our week long vacation to Broadkill Beach the end of this month. Cannot wait to relax on the beach and play in the water!

I heart summer!