Happiness is...

...a rainbow-y batch of mini cupcakes.



Oh, and the fact that today is the start of a three day weekend AND the kiddo comes home tomorrow. Can't wait!

Hope you all have a great weekend, too!

Soccer Success

After last fall's soccer fiasco (remember our, shall we say, reluctant player?), I was less than excited about soccer this spring. Luckily, I listened to Bryan and signed Jonathan up again; after one game that was peppered with whining, I am proud to report that things have turned around. I don't know if it's the coach or the fact that he's a bit older or what, but I am super pumped. Not only has Jonathan been happy about playing, but he's run around, kicked the ball and actually SCORED GOALS. I am so proud!

Last season, I think I took all of two pictures. Now that it's going better, the need to take pictures and document everything has returned. It is actually enjoyable to go to the games this season. Oh, and the fact that the coach is nice looking doesn't hurt either :)

A pictorial:

















Unfortunately, like all good things, Spring 2009 soccer season will soon come to an end. Next up: Wee Ball. Will it be as entertaining? Stay tuned...

Wine + Cheese + Fabulous Weather = Happy Mother's Day

Bryan and I normally have his family over on Mother's Day, but this year it just sounded like too much work, so we scrapped that idea and decided to go to Huber's Orchard and Winery this afternoon. First, however, I got to sleep in this morning and then, while Bryan took Jonathan to church with my MIL, I went to Panera Bread where I enjoyed the most delicious asiago cheese bagel with sun-dried tomato cream cheese along and a latte. Delish! I rounded out the morning with a solo trip to Wallyworld (the solitude of it being a luxury in and of itself).

My MIL joined us for the trip to Huber's. When else but Mother's day do you eat dinner at 4:00 p.m., the same consisting of cheese, crackers and apple slices accompanied by Sauvignon Blanc, followed by homemade ice cream? I feel happy; puffy, but happy.

Bryan was in charge of the pictures and did such a super great job that I have tons to post here! First, Jonathan with my MIL. He loves some Nana, which is great because I love her, too. Oh, and I guess it's good for Bryan, seeing as how he also thinks she's pretty awesome seeing as how she's his mother and all:



Me and the reason I am a mother. This kid is the greatest! Well, except for when he screams for thirty minutes solid like he did yesterday. Not so great then; luckily those times are few and far between.



For some reason, Jonathan enjoys running with his tongue stuck out like this. I have no idea why but he did it for the whole first quarter of his soccer game yesterday, too. Super weird.



Thank goodness, no more tongue. Maybe he's not a freak after all.



Jonathan packed a bag of things to entertain himself. He included in his bag the ear muffs I got him so he could attend a monster truck show with my parents this past February. When he wears them, he talks really loud and asks repeatedly if you can hear him.



Perhaps stranger than the ear muffs were these glasses, left over from last Halloween:


Sidebar--they have this pond at Huber's, stocked with a bunch of fish you can feed at $0.25 a pop. While part of me thinks they are really cool, a larger part of me is totally creeped out. I think it's because there are so many of them!



The last time we went to Huber's, it was to pick a pumpkin. Jonathan was not happy that it wasn't pumpkin season now, but he was placated (at least to some extent) by the fact that the tractors were still there.



My MIL and me. I am so happy that she was able to join us. Warning: try not to be blinded by my legs.


And here are my two favorite guys, who worked so hard to make sure I had a great Mother's Day. Hope all of you had a great day as well!

Preschool Parade

I honestly do not know where the time went between my last post and today, but I am finally getting around to posting some pictures from the preschool Derby parade. Jonathan was horribly whiny that morning, such that I thought that his participation in the parade would be a disaster. Fortunately, I was wrong as his mood took a turn for the better while I squeezed in an hour of work before the parade started. Here he is waiting relatively patiently for the director to let his class leave the room to line up:



Jonathan and his friend Hudson waiting for the line to start moving:



A couple of action shots:




This cracked me up for some reason--caffeine is definitely NOT something that this kid needs:



I love this picture of Clover. She and Jonathan have been in the same class for the entire time he's been in school. She is an adorable little girl but her mother tells me that she is a handful! I'm loving the Hawaiian lei themed flowers:



The preschool shares property with a local business; the parade ends inside their building where three stories of people clap and cheer for the kids. Some of the children get really excited about the attention. Jonathan and his friend Aiden, not so much:



The parade has been so much fun each year. It's definitely of the of the things I will miss with our change to the new school!

Update-ish

I've fallen off the blogging wagon again but I've been taking pictures in an attempt to hop back on. Here's a quick recap of the past week or so; this should catch me up to the current date and then I can start from there, hopefully tomorrow!

Last Friday, I attended the Fiesta tent sale in Flatwoods, WV. It was nothing short of awesome. For an obnoxiously low price, I was able to get all new plates, serving dishes and glasses for our kitchen. Behold the happiness:




I am officially hooked and can not wait for the new color to come out in August--Lemongrass!

I returned home on Saturday afternoon in plenty of time to enjoy the nice weather over the weekend with Jonathan and Bryan. I did, however, miss Jonathan's soccer game, where he actually scored two goals. After the disaster that was the Fall 2008 soccer season, this is a small miracle!

Here's the soccer star himself getting ready to go outside and help us plant flowers. Even as his mother, I have to admit that he's looking a bit dorky here. (Sarah, if you are reading this--note the shine to his skin! Sunscreen will totally take care of that "matte" finish!)



Yesterday after work, I took Jonathan to get a much-needed haircut. He wanted a "buzz" so I had them use the clippers all over rather than just on the sides. He was quite pleased, as were both Bryan and myself:



(Side note: I SWEAR this child has 50 other shirts, but he has two Spongebob shirts that he wants to wear all the time unless I hide them. Getting him to wear something else is a battle that I do not wish to fight most mornings).

Tomorrow at Jonathan's school they are doing their annual parade in honor of the Kentucky Derby. Last year, as a two year old, he wore a hat. This year, as a preschooler, he got to make a "float." The suggestions were to use a stick pony, a bicycle, a wagon, etc. Ever creative, Jonathan chose his shopping cart. We decorated it this evening and here are the results (he insisted I photograph it from both sides):




On another front, the anti-smoking campaign is going quite well. Have their been snippy moments in our household? Yes. Are all items in the household, including ourselves, intact? Yes. I consider it a success thus far. I'm putting $4 aside each day in our checking account, said amount approximating the cost of one pack of cigarettes (even though I think it's actually closer to $5 per pack now). Only 12 days into this and we've saved almost $50!

That is all for now, my loves. I hope to return tomorrow with pictures from the parade. I'll leave you with a picture that I am in that I actually half-way like:

Tailgating

Someone needs to tell Jonathan that tailgating is supposed to look more like this:



and less like this:



Amazing how, despite having multi-million dollar planes flying overhead (we were enjoying the airshow of Thunder Over Louisville) as well as a vast selection of outdoor toys, the main attraction of the day was the back of the CR-V.

Jonathan's Not Getting Any Siblings...

...but if I could pick some, it would be these girls:



Unrelated, this morning, there was a piece on NPR about Spongebob and the longevity of the show. Apparently 9 of the last 20 top rated cable slots were Spongebob. They also reported that Barrack Obama, Scarlett Johansen and LeBron James are fans. Makes me feel a lot better about Jonathan's obsession, but it also worries me a bit that we may be watching it in our house for the next 15 years.