ya KNOW!

you would think with the convention coming at the end of the week, and SAVE at the end of next week I would be excited. Well, I am about those things, but have you ever noticed how the people who really really suck are the only ones who don't know that they suck?

You know them...the ones that just suck the fun out of everything, make life more difficult for the rest of the population, are so dang miserable with their own little lives that they feel the need to try and bring everyone else down with them. So now I am venting. We have had the good, and the bad, and here is the ugly on Trish's Treasures. Not that the sucky people are reading this because they are always more interested in their own self to care about anyone else. But someone once told me that with a blog...it was good to get it all down and it would feel better to get it out...you know who you are and you were right, I feel better.

So now I am going home, to hug my kids and read another chapter of Harry Potter to them before they go to sleep. This was just a bad day and I am going to start over again in the morning and see what happens. I hope everyone else has a better day than I did, and if not...there's always tomorrow!

Thanks for listening..see you at the convention!

10:45 PM

(copying format- thanks Rollie!)

Patrick: MOM!

he comes running in our room very upset

Me: Patch what's wrong?

Patrick: You know that juice from the store this afternoon? I want to try it now.

we had been to Costco early in the afternoon where the sample lady had been giving out juice samples. William got one for each of them, Patrick did not want his so William drank both.

I am not sure if he thought William was still carrying the juice around, or if he thought I was going to pop him in the car for a trip to Costco in the middle of the night, but apparently he did not expect me to double over laughing because he looked surprised for a second then cried harder. Now Tom is running up the stairs to see why I can't breathe and who broke Patrick's heart. Thankfully when he realized what Patrick wanted he also deducted my tactic was not working so he took another one and took him back to his room.

Patrick is either making us laugh or making us crazy...either way it is always an adventure!

Mom's garden...

We have had so many very busy weekends this year and it looks like they aren't going to stop any time soon. This one sounds like it is going to be kind of quiet. Tonight I think I am going to open a bottle of wine and chill by the garden.

I planted my garden this year...thanks Rollie for turning 45...your party instigated many changes at the house I had wanted to get to for a very long time but kept putting off, one of them being re-planting "mom's garden". The garden started when William was born in our first house. On my second Mother's day Tom dug out a garden down the side of the house and he and William planted my first perennial. After that I got many. When we moved I was not able to take them with me, but I had the most perfect spot in the back yard to "resurrect" MOM's garden.

I did not start with just one this year, I put in quite a few, and I love to go and watch them. What is it about blooming flowers that is so peaceful? So besides finishing my kits, doing the laundry, getting William's glasses, finding my stuff for SAVE!, going to Costco, working at the store, planning the meals for next week, going to the grocery store, helping my brother find furniture, and planning childcare for the next two weeks, I think I will make it a quiet weekend and sit by my garden and chill. Is it 5:00 yet? I think I need to find a bench to go out there!

Everyone have a great weekend! Take some time for yourself and sit by your garden or wherever you like to sit!

Patrick's first Trophy

Have you ever seen such a happy boy? Patrick got his first trophy this year for T-ball. He had an interesting season, our boy who never sits still decided it would be fun to walk quietly from base to base. Then there was the day he just refused to go on the field. Of course when he did decide to bat he swung in a complete circle...his "windmill hit" as he proudly called it. Halfway through the season he decided he was done and while he liked going out and hanging with his friends Sean & Aiden on Friday & Saturdays...he was done with the T-ball thing. We explained that if he did not complete the season with his team there would be no trophy at the end. So he kept going. For the trophy.

I must admit, it is a pretty cool trophy, and when he wasn't carrying it around showing how it was so much bigger than his dad's golf trophy, it was sitting next to him while he played or watched TV, he was sleeping with it.

Patrick had a lot of fun this year playing for Coach Fisher. It might not have been the same fun everyone else was having but Patrick is known for making fun all his own. We can always count on Patrick to make us smile. You never know what he is going to do next. I can't wait to see what he does in soccer!

Virginia...

We went to Virgina this weekend for my nephew Brian's fiance's bridal shower. We drove down late Friday night while the kids were groggy and not poking one another. Then we got up early the next morning and went to one of my favorite places - Great Falls Park. It was one of the first places Tom took me in Virginia when we started dating and I proceeded to fall in a puddle. I reminds me so much of the woods in Michigan where we used to walk along the lake at by grandmother's house and it is beautiful to boot!

The shower was beautiful too, I had never been to such an elegant..yet comfortable event. The home was beautiful and decorated so nicely...and the food was really great. I am dying to get the strawberry chicken salad recipe! And rumor has it what I was drinking was a Mojito. The bride was beautiful. Alyssa is both beautiful on the inside and out and I am so glad Brian took his time and waited to find her she is quite the catch. I know they will be very happy. We are very excited for the wedding, Patrick is Brian's godson and he will be a "helper". Somehow he got the idea when you were in a wedding you are the one getting married and he was upset. So we are sure to tell him he is helping not getting married. Cause "He doesn't want a weddin!"

We got another nice surprise when we got down there, our other nephew Robert got engaged as well. We got to meet his fiance Ali and she too is a wonderful girl. Smart boys our nephews they know when they have it made! Their wedding will be next year on the beach in the outer banks on June 28th, so it looks like we will be spending a week in NC next summer. Tough duty! It unfortunately means postponing another plan, but I would not miss Rob's wedding, he is such a special guy. All three boys are.

While we were at the shower, Uncle Chris had spent the day attempting to wear out the boys, and while William was exhausted and Tom felt older than ever...Patrick still couldn't lay still to fall asleep. They had gone hiking, and swimming, and fishing (that was more scaring the fish away by splashing in the mud), and just plain running around all day, and he still took an hour to fall asleep.

Sunday morning the boys had more fun, William got archery and crossbow lessons, as well as Lacrosse. He also inherited some very special lacrosse uniforms. Patrick got chased around a bit and got to play some games too. He also got a pair of lacrosse shorts that he proudly wore over the ones he was already wearing all the way home. I really wish we lived closer to these guys. They are so good with William and Patrick, from teaching them to run matchbox cars down the banister of the stairs when they were little right up to now. It has never mattered what they were in to these teenagers, now grown ups got down on the floor with them and tried to talk to these little kids about whatever it was that was going on in their lives. William and Patrick couldn't ask for better cousins! I hope they turn out just like them.

Special friends

It seems like William and Aiden have always been friends. I guess they have been since Aiden was born, William is a few years older but it has never mattered to either one of them. Aiden's family lived down the street from us, and William took to his new friend immediately and there was no looking back. Not even both families moving could separate them. We have remained friends even 30 minutes apart.

This year William and Aiden got their first pets. William got a hamster named Oreo and Aiden got a rabbit he named Flip Flop. They have been bugging us to get the pets together for a play date so one afternoon we decided to see what would happen.

As it turns out a rabbit and a hamster have a lot in common, they shared toys and food and sniffed each other and had a grand old time. Who would have thought? Well, Aiden & William did!

I have been so lucky in my life to have had a girlfriend I met when we were 3, our moms were friends and we remained friends through moves and different schools and college and boys and marriage and kids and many many states. How great to have friends like that where even your pets are great friends! I feel so lucky that we met the Fishers and William met Aiden, I hope they will always be friends. I think they will.

Sunday morning rides

Sunday morning we got up and went to see Uncle Tim off on his Christmas in July ride for children. Uncum is a member of the Blue Knights and they collect toys then deliver them to the Salvation Army. It is fun to see all the bikes arriving and lining up. So many people! So many kinds of people...biker guys and people you wouldn't think of as biker guys. Uncum even had a pink backpack full of toys to donate strapped to his bike. It is really cool to watch - and REALLY loud! Patrick still doesn't like the loud noises and it was very hot even that early in the morning.

The boys pulled out their chairs and watched the police motorcycle teams go through their drills and run the obstacle course. They move those things really well! It is amazing they don't drop them. I am waiting to see who will be the first to ask for a bike of their own...maybe Tom????

Friday Night Lights

Tom and I got to go out to dinner by ourselves Friday night... we went to DaVinci's in Collegeville - pretty good! We talked like grownups. Didn't separate or threaten anyone with time outs, and really had a fun time.

Once a year my parents take the kids to the carnival at Wissahickon HS while we go to dinner then we meet them there for the fireworks. We have recently discovered that the 4th of July is one of my dad's favorites, because of the fireworks, and we have never been disappointed with the show.

The hardest part is the waiting. Both of the boys got glow wands this year and the camera took some really good shots of the light. All the funnel cake, ice cream, and water ice helps, but it takes forever for it to get dark. Then there are all the speeches and then we pull out Patrick's "hear" muffs so he isn't scared of the noise. Once they started Patrick and I looked for the yellow fireworks and commented on how silly they were to have so many Christmas fireworks. I like the ones that whistle and he like the ones that fizzled. William & Tom like them all.

I hope we have many more of these family outings full of fun and fancy lights!

New Beginings

I am calling this new beginnings for many reasons. First of all I am posting again for the first time in many months...yes Rollie I am doing it again!

Encouraged in many areas of life right now, I got an extra boost this past weekend with an amazing 48 hours in Rehoboth beach with very special friends and family, here I am starting again.

We went to Rehoboth with my friends Rollie & Kate and their son Josh who generously asked us to crash their family vacation for a few days then didn't take it back - go figure! After a week of 4 year old anticipation, we got up at 4 am to meet at Cracker Barrel, where we started off the weekend with pancakes...what could be better. A few hour in the car and Rollie's car started to leak bubbles...

A quick stop at Walmart for William's first boogie board and an array of buckets and shovels for Patrick. Off we go to the beach where Josh and two of his very kind friends showed William the finer points of the boogie board. Note to self, water shoes (he has his father's glass feet) and swim shirt. He didn't do so bad for his first time out...a few setbacks, but we were really proud at how he stuck to it for the most part!

Patrick told everyone there were "socks" in the water and his plans for the weekend were just to dig a big hole. No more Shark Week on the Discovery channel for Patrick! So Patrick dug a hole.

I had lots of time to think on the beach. And quality non-scrapping girlfriend time with Rollie. I tried to eat crabs...but there will just have to be more for Rollie. I love crab, but I can't get past their little faces. I will have to stick to crab cakes! I was also introduced to the Candy Kitchen and Thrashers. I love Vinegar, but I now crave it on everything! Although I have discovered it is not the same on tater tots! I loved giggling and being a pirate with Rollie, we shall have to celebrate national "Talk like a pirate day".

It was hard transitioning back to work. I spent Monday and Tuesday surfing the net looking for hotel rooms to go back..but with work and William's science camp it became painfully clean that I was dreaming. So I just kept waiting for my beach report, and finding new things to pour vinegar on.

It is hard to put all my thoughts and feelings from the whole weekend in to words, I know I am am blessed in so many areas of my life, and I got to experience quite a few of them over the weekend. It has given me the strength, and the strong desire to start over. It is a new day.

Vitality shows in not only the ability to persist but the ability to start over.

F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896 - 1940)