Christmas Day 2013

After an interesting night when Maggie decided to start vomiting around 11:30 from eating too much fruit and not enough anything else at dinner, we woke up to find that Santa had not only been to our house but had inadvertently left a treasure behind as well.

The magic of Christmas was alive and well in our house when we found this gem on Christmas morning!

What made this discovery even more incredible was that the Santa's Facebook page had posted this status on Christmas Eve:

The timing of our acquiring the bells from a very special helper of Santa and this status made it pretty hard not to feel the magic of Christmas!! 

Braeden just HAD to have this train. He has lots of trains but he was in Rite Aid one day and saw it and was determined he NEEDED it. It's not great quality but it was inexpensive and Maggie ended up getting it for him. He was thrilled!

Maggie LOVED this horse. I'm pretty sure it's not for riding but...

I encourage the kids to think about what they think Daddy would like and then we go and buy him a present. Evan thought about it for a few minutes and then told me that Daddy really likes peanuts (which he does) so that's what he bought him for Christmas. I love this tradition and look forward to seeing how their shopping choices change as they get older. 

Evan just HAD to have some Gak. It's gross and sticks to everything, but he got some and about two days later it was all dried out and in the trash but he sure enjoyed it while he had it. 

Christmas is always busy and it's always hectic, but I love it so much and having children to bring the magic back makes it so much more special. We continue to honor some of the traditions that my family had growing up as well as creating new ones with our little family and our friends. 

And I think that finally wraps up 2013! 

Christmas Eve 2013

We had a wonderful Christmas. The kids found so much joy in so many places and we were blessed with some amazing "magic" to make the holiday even more special. The kids get very excited when Martin (our elf) makes his appearance and this year he was not only a look-out elf for Santa, but he became a messenger as well. The boys gave him their letters to take back to to the North Pole with him and when they would remember something that they wanted to add to their list I would hear them talking to Martin to see if he could pass along their message to Santa. It was so fun to watch and hear!

Christmas Eve is always spent with my mother's side of our family. This year while we were waiting to eat dinner, Santa called! I didn't think any of my three would even get near the phone, but I was so wrong! All three of them took their turn and answered his questions and verified that he knew what it was they were most looking forward to seeing under the tree the next morning. Braeden told me later that he was so glad he got a chance to talk to Santa because he had forgotten to tell him that he wanted legos when we had visited him at Kringle Candle but he remembered on the phone. Phew!

Our very own cookie monster!

 Let's get this party started!

 In front of Grammy and Grampa's tree between Church and dinner

Grammy Jean and Braeden 

Ciocia Julia (the hostess) and Maggie

 Grammy and the boys

Maggie has quite a bond with my cousin Katie! My aunt gave Katie a picture of herself making a funny face and Maggie thought it was the funniest picture she had ever seen. She carried it around showing it to everyone and then laughing hysterically every time she looked down at it. I don't always understand her but that girl cracks me up!

Katie and Maggie

Talking to Santa!

Saying good-bye to Martin and cookies for Santa!

I love Christmas Eve because it's the easiest night of the year to get the kids to go to bed! 

Braeden's 7th Birthday

Braeden turned 7 on December 4th. It's amazing to me that seven whole years of being a mom have come and gone already. I vividly remember the days leading up to his birth and the unbelievable feeling of seeing my baby for the first time. He was very excited this year because he got to celebrate 3 times! My parents joined us for dinner on his actual birthday, then we had a bowling party for his friends from school and lastly we closed out the celebrations with a low key family party. I love, love, love celebrating my children so I enjoy all of the partying as much as they do!

He loved the ship he got from Grammy and Grampa on his actual birthday!

On Saturday we loaded up and went to the bowling alley to party with his friends. Everyone loves it there because they get to bowl, eat pizza and play in the arcade. It's so much fun and the bowling alley does all of the work. All you have to do is bring cake!

On Sunday we had his family party which really confuses him because it's not just family. I don't know how many times we talked about the fact that there are some friends who are close like family so they come to the party too. Maybe I should just call it the "not-school" party. 

We tried to get a picture of all of the kids there and this was probably the best out of ten shots before they all started to walk away. 

A very happy birthday boy!!

Yes, he's actually biting the cake. It's a bit of a family thing... 

A Magical Mother's Day

I don't ask for much because quite frankly I need very little. When Roman asked what I wanted for Mother's Day this year I told him probably some plants and mulch for my gardens. I had every intention of working in those gardens today, but after we were finished with church and breakfast I thought it might be fun to go on an somewhere instead. Kids love adventures and quite seriously, don't we all love an unplanned day trip? So I asked the kids where they wanted to go. It had to be out of state and someplace we don't go often. The original thought was that we'd go to the Lakes Region in New Hampshire, but since we all love any reason to go to the ocean, we agreed on the coast instead. I'm so glad we did because we had the BEST day!! It was so fun and relaxing and special and actually beyond words. I hope that we do something like this every Mother's Day because I enjoyed every minute.

The plan was to head to Southern Maine because along with the beach, I wanted to hit an outlet store or two. After all, it was my day. We stopped in Portsmouth, New Hampshire for lunch at BG's Boathouse. It's on the water and the kids were able to look at boats and throw rocks into the water while we waited. I'm not a huge seafood eater and most of their offerings were fried, but it was worth the experience just the same.

After that we traveled though Portsmouth to get into Maine. What a beautiful old historic city! The kids were amazed to see a submarine sticking up out of a hill beside the road. I've always traveled through Portsmouth but never actually stopped there. We are now planning to return for a visit to explore the city. All of these gems in our back yard. I love New England. 

Then we went to York Beach so that the kids could play and we could walk on the beach and take some pictures. I really thought there was no way that they would go into the water very much because it's still the beginning of May. In Maine. However, yet again they proved me wrong and spent an hour playing in the freezing water!

We were all sand and salt coated when we left. It was wonderful. The water was cold, but the air temperature was warm enough that no one was cranky and freezing by the end. It was an amazing way to spend Mother's Day. I hope the kids keep the memories of days like today locked inside and tell their children about them in the future. I believe we may have started a tradition today. And all because I get the honor of being three amazing little people's mom. 

Nearing the End of a Generation

I have been very lucky during my life to be surrounded by family. Unlike so many, I have always been blessed with three generations in my daily life. Now that I have children, we are up to four generations! It's quite remarkable and I know for certain that I am a better person as a result. I realize that lots of people feel lucky to know their grandparents, never mind their great-grandparents and great aunts and uncles.

Sadly, the last of my grandmother on my father's side siblings died last week. Aunt Esther (my great-aunt) was 92 years old and had been a part of every holiday and special event that I have celebrated my entire life.

We feel very fortunate to have had her with us for as long as we did. Her 92 years were lived simply and in good health. She was a strong woman who lived a fairly solitary life. She lived in the same house for all 92 years! Many changes occurred in that house over time. Babies were born, tragedies broke hearts, and the residents that lived with her changed several times. It was the family home from the time that their parents immigrated to the United States and was a functioning farm when her parents were alive. I don't remember it ever being a farm in my lifetime but my father has many great memories of days spent doing chores, turning farm animals into pets (that did not end well), and playing with his many cousins all over the land. My earliest memories are of Aunt Esther and Aunt Rose living in the house. Neither of them ever married, though Rose had a man that she was very much in love with, but was unable to get her father's permission to marry him. We often jokingly referred to the two of them as the Baldwin Sisters from the Walton's, though I can be positive that the two of them were not making moonshine in a back room. It was a gathering place for family and visiting them on Sunday mornings after church was something I absolutely loved to do. We could always count on them to buy from us when we were selling Girl Scout cookies or doing fundraisers for school. They loved us as much as our grandparents did and we knew it.

It's difficult to comprehend that my grandmother is the only member of her family left. I can't even imagine how hard that is for her. During the course of my lifetime she has lost 3 sisters and a brother. Other siblings had also died before I was born. It takes an incredibly strong person to keep carrying on as pieces of your life and history are taken from you year after year. The Ladzinski Family has been in our town for over 100 years and I know how grateful we should be, and I am, for the time we have had with them all, but it's still so hard to let go of what has always been.

The years to come will continue to bring changes for us all. The house will likely change hands, but hopefully will stay in the family somehow. We will have to create occasions to get together with the extended family because the heart of our connection has now been lost. I know personally that I am not willing to let go. I will make a point to stay in touch and make plans to gather us together. Even though our lives are all busy, we need to do it for those that are gone. They would want that for us. We may not be able to gather where we always did, but the place is not as important as the connection we all need to feel to one another. We are the newest generation and we must carry on.