Where

Has the time gone? It was with mixed emotions
that I registered Maks for kindergarten for September 2011!

So excited and happy for him and amazed at how far he has come. I know he cannot wait to be at the big school with Alek.

But, for me it was hard. This would be the last time I would register anyone for kindergarten. My baby is not a baby anymore. Later this year I will have 2 school aged children.

I already feel like time has flown, I just know it will go ever quicker now that they are in school.

Time to hit the pause button....

Snow, snow, snow

Oh snow, how do I love thee?
Let me count the ways.

You make my children smile.

You give us 2 hour delays or school closings.

And that about wraps it up.

I guess the best thing I can say about this winter, at least the storms are small ones.

The snow has been light and fluffy, so I can push it and not really have to lift it.

But still...it is snow, not sand.

No sun on my face as I sit on the beach, no toes in warm water, watching the boys splash around.
Just cold, icey, white stuff all around.

It is pretty though.

I really wish winter was only one month in length.

I long for summer, I cant wait to shed the heavy coats, scarves, and gloves.

I can't wait to store the winter boots away and pull out the crocs and flip-flops.

But at least I received good news today, as Kevin finally broke down and bought a snow blower, just in time for the impending large storm due to arrive Tuesday.

I guess I can retire my shovel for now.

Oh snow, I dont really love you, but thanks for showing my kids a good time!

New Year New Fun

We rang in 2011 as we have done in years past, hanging out with Mike, C and the gang. The kids had a blast playing, dancing, eating, and wearing silly noses!
The food was great, champagne fabulous and we had a great time together with friends.
The kids especially enjoyed a visit from a big gorilla, whom they all tried to climb on and tackle, until he made a run for his life!

C made cute drinks for the kids in fun champagne glasses (sprite with pomegrante juice). So they all got to do a New Years cheers. It was really cute.

The next week, I hear from Maks' teacher that she has a funny story to tell me. She had asked what he did for New Years, he said he played with KeKe and Ryan and then they had a drink and said happy new year. He said the drink was in sparkly glass with sugar on it. She said oh what was in it, he said...beer. "I drank beer for new years" and then walked away.

Thats my Maks. I explained to her what it was, we were cracking up, because if you know Maks, you know the way he talks, the way he says things so bluntly and matter of factly. He is a piece of work.

The first week back to school was an adjustment for sure. No one wanted to wake up. A certain person didnt want to do homework. Breaks are fun but hard to come back from!

I think we are finally back in the swing of things now though.

Most of our fun time has been spent outside in the snow. Thankfully even though there has been snow, it hasn't been huge amounts, just enough for them to sled in. And not heavy shoveling! The boys have tried out snowboarding on my neighbors hill and they are both doing really well with it. They saw a commercial the other day for a local ski place and have asked to go. Oh boy..I don't ski...Kevin can, but doesn't like it....maybe I can talk them into just snow tubing! :o)

As I write this, I am aware that there are 34 days til pitchers and catchers report for Phillies spring training....ahh to dream of warm summer days and nights!

We have more snow on the way, I really hope this winter isn't going to continue like this!

Baseball signups for the boys are this week. Maks is so excited, he finally gets to play T-ball.

Since it is cold outside we have had some fun learning our new Wii games and I can officially say that I am the Queen when it comes to Just Dance 2 and Michael Jackson the Experience!

I have only been beaten once, by my neighbor. The kids aren't happy that I beat them, but oh well, they beat me in every other game!

We have also been testing out all the new board games Santa brought. The kids favorites this week are the Toy Story Operation and the Dino excavation game (similar to operation).
Alek still prefers MouseTrap, but Maks gets frustrated with that game, not sure why?

So we are having fun passing the time in the cold.

Hopefully not too much snow for us this winter.

Generally I am not one to want to rush time, but come January, I cannot wait for spring to get here!!

Year in Review

Good bye 2010, Hello 2011! It has been an amazing year and hard to believe we have left another decade behind! How far we have come and how much has changed in 10 short years. We went from the despair and heartbreak of infertility, to 4 trips half way around the world, and now entering the school years with these two happy, fun and amazing boys. What a ride!

So this is our year in photos! January-ringing in the New Year in paradise, Bimini, Bahamas!
Boy would I love to being lying on that beach right now!

February, more snow..2010 was the year of snow and blizzards! Hoping we dont repeat that trend in 2011.

March-Alek and Keeley have a first date to the Lion King. I will never forget watching them sit close together, whispering, swaying to the music, totally engaged in the show, it was awesome!

April is Baseball--The Harkins boys love their baseball. As Alek says, he loves 3 things the most, in this order: "my family, baseball, pokemon cards".

May-Maks and soccer, he loved it, talked alot, got mad when someone took the ball away from him, and didnt quite grasp the concept of not using your hands. Love his hair here, he was totally rocking his fro!

June-my baby graduates kindergarten-so hard to believe that the little bald headed drooly boy we met in Kirov was now headed to 1st grade!!

July-vacations at the beach, my favorite thing. Nothing like the sand between your toes, playing in the water and looking for the perfect shell!

August-more summer fun and this year it was great to get together with several other gorgeous russian kiddos!! I mean seriously, how cute are these kids!! I love how Maks and Alyana have their own little sidebar going on. They are so much alike, it is crazy!

September-Back to school. Alek headed off to 1st grade and Maks to kindergarten (Year 1).

They were both very excited and totally in to their new backpacks.

Just so happy they both love school.

October always mean fall festival time at Merrymead. I feel like we are there everyweekend.

Lately October means fall baseball for the Phillies and hopefully the World Series (with the pitching we have this year, I can't wait to see what is happening in October!)--Alek was supporting the team and Maks was doing his best pirate imitation.

Love the fall walks in November, checking out the leaves and deciding which path to take. Enjoy as much sun as we can before the dreaded winter arrives!

December-the magical time of year when both children and parents become insane!

We had a great day and night at Peddlers village soaking up the Christmas spirit!

Christmas was a blast and Alek was loving having a school vacation. He received his report card right before break and we are very proud of him for his hard work and love of learning. He was proficient in all areas, but advanced in math!

Maks continues to amaze us at his progress with writing, speaking and drawing. For a kiddo who would barely write or color early in the year, he writes many words and loves to draw dragons and robots. His speech has improved greatly over the year, though we are still working on the volume issue.

Whew-what a year it was, so much fun and lots of different adventures.

Thanks for the memories 2010, now lets see what ya got 2011!

Happy and Merry!

Well, it came and went in a flash, as all Christmas' do. All the planning and all the hype and it just flies by.
We had another fun filled action packed holiday. Christmas eve day, Pop and Noni came up for a visit and for lunch

The boys were very excited over their new Pogo sticks and DS games and their new snuggly blankets, actually I think Kevin and I have been using the blankets more then the kids!

It was a great afternoon.

Wish it could have been a longer visit though, but lots more to pack in for the holiday!

Next up, to LaLa and Jim's for dinner. Of course the boys were super excited to see Jakey and play with his toys, I used it as a pawn all afternoon..."if you're not good you can't see Jakey", works just as well as Santa!

We had a great dinner and fun evening hanging out, although we were missing Krissy.

The boys had fun playing with their new BeyBlades, Mousetrap and playing Twister with Kait and T. I tried a round, I think I pulled something in my leg-sucks getting older!

A good time was had by all, but soon it was time to head home and get ready for the big Guy's arrival (thanks LaLa for the cookies, I forgot to make some..)

The boys were exhausted, so we settled into our comfy jammies, read The Night Before Christmas and then set out the milk and cookies for Santa.
I love snugging on the couch reading that book, definitely one of my favorite things at Christmas!

Alek and Maks fell asleep so quickly, as did Kevin, but on the couch. He woke up just in time to see me finish wrapping!

Off to bed we went to rest up for the morning chaos!

The boys woke up around 7:45, so we still had about 45 minutes til Grandmom, Poppy and MeMe arrived. They like to see the boys come down the stairs, the same as when I was a kid.

So, we pass the time by opening stockings in our room while daddy gets the fire and the coffee going!

They finally arrived, so the boys got to make their grand entrance, video rollings, cameras flashing, Grandmom complaining she missed a good shot!

I have to say they were much more subdued this year, no chaos, it was very controlled. They took their time opening presents and seemed to take in each one.

They were so happy with the new bikes Santa brought and also the new scooters that Grandmom and Poppy gave them. So we are all set for outdoor activities!

This was definitely the year of games, board games, travel games, video games. I especially was thrilled with my new Wii game from Kevin, The Michael Jackson Experience! All those years practicing Michaels moves on my kitchen floor on Overlook Rd have paid off. I was kicking some butt in that game!
We had another amazing breakfast, thanks to Chef Kevvy and just enjoyed our time with everyone. It is very hard for MeMe to get around, but she absolutely loves this morning tradition and we are so happy that she is able to come each Christmas, it means the world to me to have her there.

After we said good bye to them, we took a bit of a rest and then re-gathered ourselves to make the journey to Granny's house.

We had such a great time, it was fun to see Kevin's uncle and cousins. The kids had a blast with their new toys, especially the Hexbugs and the flying, screeching monkeys--you know only grandmothers and aunts would buy toys like these--I think they take secret joy in knowing the bugs keep scaring the crap out of me and having brawls with the screeching monkeys is the boys favorite new game!
We had a very nice dinner and just enjoyed hanging out, that is until Maks flooded the toilet by flushing soap down there, in true Maks fashion, "it was just an accident..it slipped".

So between us all we spent an hour or two, plunging.

Its always the redheads!

It was another amazing holiday spent with family and we enjoyed each gathering so much!

Can't believe we are winding down 2010, another new year is upon us and that means many more adventures for the Harkins boys.

They keep us entertained and they sure make life interesting!