My New Ride

It is the end of an era and I am a little sad... we no longer own our 2005 Saturn Vue!

I loved that car, not because it was pretty (I always thought it was old fashioned looking), but because it was reliable.  The car was the same on day one as it was this past Tuesday when we traded it in at over 135 thousand miles after 7.5 years of adventures.  

We bought the car when Tyler was itty bitty... just a few weeks old.  I had a Grand Am at the time and I couldn't get his stroller in and out by myself which had confined me to the house with a screaming baby.  Needless to say, I really didn't care what we bought as long as it meant my freedom.  And it did.

I do miss the car.  Truly.  I hope it finds a good family to love it.

But, now I have my first choice of a car.  I've been pushing for the Honda since I sat in it a few weeks ago. It just felt right.  Not bulky, intuitive, perfect!  Isn't it pretty?  I must say I'm still shocked that I got something other than a GM.  But, 65% of the parts were made in the US and it was built in Canada.  I could have had one built in Ohio... but I really liked the pretty sage color of this one.

Love it!  And, it has a sunroof! I've never had one of those before.  Or, a rearview camera, or radio controls on the steering wheel, or a cell phone sync!  Fun!

I think this is the start of another great relationship with a car.  My goal is 9 years with this one.  Tyler will be 16.  Eek!

Warped

Do you ever wonder the impact that you have on those around you?  Well, my impact became crystal clear the other night and now I'm worried... what am I doing to my kids?

Normally I go to bed before Dan, but on this night I had a late conference call so I was witness to his bedtime routine. I followed him as he checked the locks, touched the faucet to make sure it was off, opened/closed the freezer, touched the knobs on the stove to make sure they're off and he even checked the basement door!

On this night, I asked him why instead of just accepting this odd routine.  In his somewhat sarcastic "isn't it obvious" way, he reminded me of the morning he woke up to a swift breeze wafting through the duplex we were living in at the time... oh yeah, I had left for work in the wee hours of the morning and somehow left the front door wide open.  Oops.  Then he asked how many times he had found the freezer open or the oven on.  Countless.  And, then there was the night I fell down the basement stairs.  Ouch!

It seems that every time I mess up, he adds something to check to his list!  Poor guy... it must be hard to be married to such a flake!!  So I asked him why he married me. His answer?  Love is blind.

Just before falling asleep he reminded me of the day I poisoned him.  I had gone out to eat with some people from work and accidentally left my leftovers of spaghetti and meatballs in the car... overnight... in the middle of summer.  The next morning when I opened the car door the smell was overwhelming.  We were still living in that duplex and I didn't want to stink up the whole place by leaving it in the garbage so I threw it in the fridge.  Oops.  It seems that Dan came home that day for lunch...  It was awful and I've never felt worse.  Luckily he recovered.  I'm not sure what the lesson was there... he still eats my leftovers!

Once again, my husband has proved that he is wonderful.  And I wonder how I'd survive without him!

Mudders Day

The weather so far this spring has been absolutely fabulous, which means more playing outside and less time blogging.  I'll attempt to do a little catch up this morning, but I've also realized that we've been having too much fun... because I've completely forgotten to take pictures since Mother's Day!  Oops!

We started the day trying for some family pictures, but it was too nice of a day!  Here is what we got.

Our family picture under the tree.  I'll try again soon now that we've all had our hair cut.

I've been wanting to check out the work that has been done at the Buffalo waterfront so that was my choice for the day.  Unfortunately the work is right next to the naval park.  Can you guess what the boys wanted to do the minute we got there??

Yes, mother's day became about the battleship and sub that they could explore.  

That was ok by me... we had a great time.  And, the boys learned a bit.

Hi mom!!

I did get a little bit of time in the park.

They did a really nice job with the park and I'm looking forward to going back.  Hopefully soon!

Ryan Funnies

Ryan has reached that age where he is unintentionally hilarious.  Here are a few of my favorites...

On Easter Sunday, the boys and Grandma C were hanging out in Ryan's room.  I was walking by the door and I heard Tyler telling Grandma not to open the closet door because it would explode everywhere.  I stopped and said "Tyler!  Are you letting all my secrets out??"  Ryan looked at me, looked at the closet door and said "I want to let the secrets out!" as he went toward the closet.  He truly thought there was something in that closet that he wanted.  Too funny!  I opened the closet door to appease Ryan and prove Tyler wrong.  That particular closet does not explode upon the door opening...



A couple of months ago I was in the car with the boys when Tyler told me he wanted to be a Navy Seal and fight for our Country.  I was telling Tyler how proud that would make me when Ryan piped up to tell me that when when he's a big daddy, he is going to drive an ice cream truck  Ha ha!!  That is perfect.

This past Friday Ryan wanted to wear his M and M t-shirt.  I put it on him and he said "I'm an MM... I'm sexy and I know it."  Bah ha ha ha!! Those darn commercials!

Just yesterday Ryan told Dan that today is "little kid car day."  When Dan asked what that means, Ryan told him that the kids get to drive their daddy's cars.  Nice try Ry!!

I can't wait to hear what Ryan comes up with next.  There is a lot to love at three... at least as much as there is to dislike.