It Seems I Have Had a Little Trouble Losing the Baby Weight...

Yes, you read the title correctly...

It seems that I have had a little trouble losing the baby weight...

and that really shouldn't be...because my, "baby" turned 5 years old today.

*blink* *blink* Where did the time go?

It seems like only yesterday I looked like this...

(Good. Heavens. Talk about, "great with child". )

and it seems like only yesterday my sweet baby Brian looked like this...
So, tiny...well, with a birth weight of 10 pounds 3 ounces, I guess, "tiny" was relative with my Brian.

Oh, Brian...
It seems like only yesterday Adam was so eager to hold you...
and, it seems like only yesterday that I used to bundle you up to take Evan out to meet the bus. Everyone on the bus stop used to laugh at how only your little face was visible...
and, it seems like only yesterday that Evan used to carry you everywhere you demanded.
It seems like only yesterday you were the most fearsome pirate ever to sail the 7 seas. The boys kept trying to get you to say, "Arrrrrrrghhh!"
I loved how your diaper-pinned on parrot, was totally sideways by the end of the ward, "Trunk or Treat" party. You sort of had the opposite of a, "5 o'clock shadow", as your facial hair was almost completely rubbed off by the end of the evening. You were still a fearsome pirate, though my little, "Dread Pirate Brian."
It seems like only yesterday that Daddy was Santa at the ward Christmas party. I don't think you caught on but, when Daddy entered the room and bellowed, "Ho! Ho! Ho!" Adam, (only 4 at the time) looked as though he might cry and asked me in a very concerned tone with his little mouth gaping open, "Daddy is Santa Claus?"...

So, Daddy and I asked ourselves what would be the perfect gift for a 5 year old Batman obsessed boy?

Enter, "The Batman Bed"...

We bought you a bed and Daddy and brothers painted it black. I drew the, "Bat Signal" on some painter's tape and Daddy cut it out and spray painted around it in yellow. We put new Batman sheets on and...

Your reaction was PRICELESS!

You said with glee, "A Batman Bed!! It even has the, Bat Single!" (meaning, "signal")

Happy Birthday, Brian! We L♥ve y♥u!

Happy Anniversary

Mike and I were married 14 years ago, today. This isn't the actual photo chosen as our, "engagement picture"...to see that one click right here...but this is a photo from our, "engagement picture" photo shoot. We walked all over the Virginia Tech campus and our friend Stefan took pictures of us for our wedding invitations. My little sisters, Stephanie and Megan, came with us and treated me like a model. They carried a can of hairspray, a hairbrush and some lip gloss and tried to do touch-ups to my overall look each time we switched locations. I guess I needed some help to keep my 80's hair at a perfect volume. It was 1994 when we got married but, as I have admitted before, I had a hard time letting the 80's go. As big as my hair is here...it was even LARGER in the actual 80's.



Mike, honey...I know you get nervous when I post personal things about us (as seen here) but, I just want you to know that I love and appreciate you more than I can express and that I am so grateful we are together. You are such a wonderful husband and father, and my best friend.

Lookie What I Got!

I found a wonderful package from Paige on my front doorstep because I won THIS contest about Ellie. I was SO excited to receive it!

Enclosed in the package was a card with the following message...

"Congrats to you on your win for Ellie's birthday quiz! Please don't share. You worked hard for this. Love, Paige"

What was in my wonderful package, you ask? What did she not want me to share?

None other than a box of chocolates from THE See's Candies!

I was jumping around like the goofball that I am.

When I got the package I immediately e-mailed Paige to thank her, and she replied in an e-mail saying, that she hoped that it wasn't melted and, she wasn't sure if I liked chocolate but, she hoped so.

Oh, my dear Paige...don't you worry your pretty self about it. I LOVE chocolate. Paige is a smart girl, too. She made sure that See's packed ice packs in with my chocolate because she knows I live in the fiery depths of Georgia. She pays attention to details.

I was first introduced to the wonder of See's Candies on my mission. My favorite mission companion Nic was from California and used to get care packages with wonderful goodies from See's. I was a quick study. I realized how fabulous See's was immediately.

As I tried to take pictures of my prize because, of course, I wanted to blog about it... this little boy with big brown eyes kept begging me for, "Just one, Mom! Please, just one?!"

A word of warning son, these are See's Candies and Mommy is pretty serious about them. Don't get those sweet little fingers too close to Mommy's mouth, okay? It will end badly.

May 2008 Brian 4 years old

I Got a Lovely Walk Down Memory Lane Out of It...

My poor sister Stephanie is a retired 5th grade teacher...

She retired, to give birth to and rear these scrumptious fellas...

but, having those delicious boys certainly isn't why I feel sorry for her.

You see, because she is a retired 5th grade teacher...

whenever I don't like a school project that my kids have to embark upon creating

I call and practically scold Stephanie about it...

like it is somehow her fault.

Stephanie, I would like to publicly apologize to you for scolding you about

Evan's latest school project...

I believe I called his project, "cuckoo bonga" and "cracka lacka" and said in
an accusing tone to her...

"You know what drives me to distraction? Do you know what makes
me froth at the mouth? Do you know what practically drives me to drink, and as a Mormon woman I have to adhere to rules that forbid that sort of thing?"

If I remember correctly, she calmly replied, "Do, tell?"

To which I continued, my passionate diatribe...

"I despise school projects that make the parents do more work than

the student!"

You see, Evan had to make a scrapbook chronicling his entire

Kindergarten through 5th grade experiences.

I declared a passionately worded epiphany (to Stephanie, not poor Evan) about

how I was going to have to dig through boxes,

pillage negatives, search through archives and digital photography

for this blasted project.

For the entire week if I talked to Mike on the phone

while he was at work I would snort, and huff,

"Asher and I are working on our 5th grade

project...Asher is scanning the originals as

we speak."

Okay, so I exaggerated...but, I though it added to

the overall drama of my plight to say that the 18month

old that I babysit was being forced to immerse himself in my

meaningful work...

Here is where I publicly thank my fabulous Sister-in-Law, Amy

for helping me organize my

pictures those years ago...So that I can

scrapbook them all...

I am a years behind in my scrapbooking...but someday, I will

scrapbook them...(I say, as I pound my fist on the computer desk with conviction)

Perhaps, that is why I got so irritated with this little school project...

because when I look at all of my un-scrapbooked

photos...it makes me want to cry...

And reminds me why Mike jokes that I am more

of a, "collector" than a "scrapbooker"...in reference to all of my

scrapbooking gear and lack of finished pages.

Amy, if it weren't for your help

this project would have been even

more painful than it already was...

But, you know what...

*sniff*, *sniff*

As much as I complained about

this project...

*sniff*

I am grateful it was assigned because

*sniff*

I fell even more deeply in love

with my Evan.

So, I take it all back...'cause I got to unearth some of these...

Here he is learning how to ice skate...He said, "This is the greatest day of my life!"

Who knew falling on an unforgiving surface like a cold slab of ice could be so life altering?

The rink gave the boys used pickle barrels to push around the ice to get used to skating. Adam looks so tiny ... *sniff*...

No Easter Basket is complete without a new Virginia Tech poster for your room.

Fun with adorable cousins...my brother John and the aforementioned fabulous Amy's kiddos...everyone looks so young!

So, thank you to *sniff*, Evan's wonderful

5th grade teacher, Mrs. Sharon Meaders

for assigning this *sniff* fantastic project

*sniff*

So, uh, sorry Stephanie for being such a whiner...

here is a little picture I dug up that can cheer you up...

*

*
I think it is so adorable...

(at the, "cabinet" as Adam called the cabin we rented at Holden Beach, North Carolina August 2003)

I Feel So Loved!

Celia sent me an e-mail that said, "Thought of you this weekend..."

and had this adorable picture of a gentleman she stopped in the airport. The fact that she thought of me when she saw Virginia Tech emblazoned on the front of his sweatshirt made me so happy and really touched me. Thank you, so much Celia♥.

Celia's sister, Paige had a contest on her blog to see who could answer the most questions about their sister Ellie correctly. I didn't deserve to win because I don't think that I actually got the most correct...but they appreciated my effort. I was loopy with joy over winning! Thank you, Paige for letting me win and, Ellie for saying I should!!!!! I am drunk with happiness!

Here are all of the fabulous "Greenbaum" sisters. (L to R) Celia, Ellie, Paige, Lenore, Camille and Val. Now, we all know that Lenore is really the one that won the "answering all of the questions about Ellie" contest...but they named me the winner, anyway. *sniff* *sniff* Thank you, Ladies. (Now, I don't know Camille or Val very well but, if they had blogs I would be lurking all over their blogs, too...they are great commenters, though!)