Saturday, June 21, 2008
Nat lost another tooth & Recital pics
Natalie has lost another tooth so now she has the wide gap in the front. Yes the left tooth has already come down some but it's still cute. We got pictures taken at JcPenney for their 50's theme and can't wait to pic them up. They turned out so cute! We finally finished with dance recital and we are so glad. It was fun but a lot of work. Natalie needed a break too! Here's a few photos of it.
| posted at 5:14 PM
Monday, June 16, 2008
Recital
So Natalie & I have our dance recital this Friday and Saturday night. We will spend every night this week practicing for it. Natalie is an ice skater for ballet & a reindeer for tap. I am Santa's secret service for tap and in the tap production I am a toy soldier. We got pictures taken a week ago and it was fun to take one together. I remember when I was Natalie's age taking dance at the "Betty Smith School of dance" at the very same studio. I love watching Natalie dance & I have enjoyed dancing again after all these years.
| posted at 8:10 PM
Sunday, June 15, 2008
Thankful for today and everyday
Today I am thankful for the wonderful father my husband is. I could not wish for a better dad for my kids. He plays with them, helps them with homework, shows them how to do things and is always there if they need him. He does his best to get off work to go to their school programs and he makes sure to check on them every single night before we go to bed. Watching him with our kids fills some of the emptiness I felt all my life not having my dad around as much as I would like. It makes me feel good knowing my kids have what I didn't. I made a page with some pictures of him and the kids together.
Today I am also sad that my dad isn't here for me to wish Happy Father's Day. I think of all the years I didn't talk to him and see him. Part of that was I didn't know where he was. I'm so glad that the last 5 years we had a relationship. We had things to work out but the 4 days I spent with him a week before his passing I felt a closeness with him I never felt before. I feel like we were both in a great place and just enjoyed being together. I know he loved his grandchildren and I'm so glad he got to meet them. He always wanted a son but got two daughters. I recently realized that in the end he got 3 grandSONS but still had a sweet spot for his granddaughter. I think in the end girls just melted his heart. Losing my dad has been hard & without answers to my questions it won't get easier but the thought of him being out of pain helps. Nothing can take away the time we did have and my memories. Here's a digi scrap page I did to honor my dad. A few weeks before he passed he said he would like to learn how to scrapbook, that he really liked how I did that. It means a lot to me that he appreciated it and I know he would have liked this page. To my Daddy!
Journaling reads: My Dad & I are alike in many ways. I cherish the time we had together & I will always be proud to be his little snowflake.
| posted at 11:13 AM
Friday, June 13, 2008
School no more!
Wednesday was the last day of school. The kids and I were so excited to finally get a break! This was Natalie's first year in full day school and was an adjustment for her and me. During the school year there is so much going on so I feel like I don't get to see Matthew very much and then this year it happened with Natalie too. I usually dread the last day of school because the kids get bored staying home and fight more but the last couple of weeks I have been really looking forward to having some time with the kids. Jeremy is working only one job now so maybe we can have more time together as a family too.
The first day out of school we hit the beach! On the way down to the beach I asked the kids "do you like living here, near the beach?" They yelled "yes!" They both played in the sand as usual and we found a few neat shells to add to our collection. Matthew took his boat and had it crashing through waves. I put Natalie's hair up different this time just for fun and she rocked it. Haha. It was a great time as always. We will be going to the beach a lot this summer! The kids just love it and it's so relaxing.
So Friday we hung out at the house. We have a busy weekend ahead of us and a busy week filled with cub scout camp and dance recital stuff. The kids went outside to play for a bit and I took some video of Natalie riding her bike and Matthew riding his big green machine. Fun!
| posted at 3:01 PM
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Silly Matt, tricks are for kids
Oh well he is a kid and man is he silly & full of tricks. I was in his classroom yesterday doing a craft with the kids and just had to take a video of this crazy boy in action. Enjoy! ...fence. I just realized I stopped the video in the middle of my sentence. Matt ran into the fence at his birthday party and that's why he has that mark under his eye. I was cleaning up after the party and saw him talking to my Grandma Harriet. I realized later when he told me he ran into the fence she must have seen him do it. Oh well, we have experienced worse. LOL (Laugh Out Loud)
| posted at 5:28 PM
Monday, June 09, 2008
Matthew Shenanigan is 9!!!
We have a few nicknames for Matthew. Matt, Matt-a-roni, Matthew Shenanigan & Natalie loves to call him "Batt-Batt." Whatever you want to call him he is our little boy. Maybe he isn't so little anymore but he will forever be my baby boy!!! I can't believe he is 9 years old already. The years have flown by. He has a great personality and I swear he jokes around so much he is bound to become a comedian or actor. The other day he started acting like Jeremy, flexing his arm muscle saying "look at my guns." Haha, that's my husband for ya!
For his birthday this year we had a party at an outdoor pool. We had 11 kids come plus our two; they swam for 2 1/2 hours then we had cake, chips and drinks. Matt opened presents, then we gave out water squirters for party favors. After everyone left we got back in the pool for an hour. The party went well but I'm glad it's over. I always stress about that stuff. I wish I could start planning their parties for next year. Seriously I do but kids change their mind so much it wouldn't happen.
Matt got mostly money for his birthday, a speed racer lego set from Ian, an air hogs rocket from Thomas & a transformer from his sister. One of his friends Devin gave him a sponge bob card that played sponge bob singing, the boys got a big kick out of that and were laughing at their own inside jokes. It was so funny and I'm glad Matthew has made friends at his new school. I got a picture of the whole group at the end but Natalie wasn't feeling well. She ate too fast and upset her stomach, poor baby.
| posted at 4:52 PM
Monday, June 02, 2008
Catching up...
I am doing a catch up post since I was having issues with my computer & camera. On May 19th Natalie performed for the first time at school. She sang songs with other Kindergarteners & first graders. The place was packed so I had a hard time getting to a good spot to take pictures but at least I got a few good ones. She did really good and was so cute. I can't believe my baby is 6 years old already! May 22nd I did a craft with Matt's cub scout group. We made kites out of plastic bags & wooden dowels. The kids enjoyed it and I was glad to work with them. May 24th Jeremy & I took the kids to a park in Portsmouth called the Pokey Smokey Park. The kids rode their bikes, played on the playground and we played frisbee. Matt got it stuck in the tree but hey it was free. We had a great time! 
May 25th we took the kids including my brother to play putt putt. I'm glad we did before the heat got as bad as it has been the last week. After we finished we went inside and played some of the games. Everyone had a blast. May 31st the kids and I went to the Blackbeard Pirate Festival while Jer worked. This one pirate slipped a ring on Natalie's finger then said to her "now you be me girlfriend." I laughed so hard. Just had to get a picture of them together. We went back the next day with Jer and the guy was no where to be found. Jer was gonna joke around and ask him what was his intentions with his daughter. Haha. June 4th Jeremy started full time with UPS. The heat has been horrible here but he's use to working in it. He likes it so far and talks about it often.
Matthew turned 9 on June 5th and the same day they had field day at his school. I volunteered to help, I was assigned to the parachute station. I had a good time hanging with the kids but it was hot out! Jeremy got sent home by UPS cause his trainer had paperwork to do so he came and hung out too. It was a nice day! June 6th Matthew became a webelo in cub scouts. We had a ceremony and camp out. The next morning Natalie and I had to rush off to get dance pictures taken. We spent the rest of the day running around getting the last minute stuff for Matt's party. It was a busy last couple of weeks but with the last day of school being June 11th we are going to have much more free time on our hands! Whew.
| posted at 5:46 PM
