My Overthinking

Philly Area mom, Life forever changed by adoption

While you were Labor Day BBQing…

we were doing a few other things which have become our own Labor Day traditions. 

traditions like ziplining into a lake 3 at a time. 

traditions like the rush of the screamer swing. 
(at this point in the picture, Drew yelled up to Ashlyn and cousins Bo and Maddie, “Pack your underwear!” That boy’s a kick.)

traditions like climbing from tree to tree.

4 of us preferred watching safely from the ground while sipping our skittles, swedish fish, and M&M milkshake.

the other 2 were super brave…and seriously focused while very far from ground.

traditions like tubing over and over again.

love my niece Abby’s expression here. Seriously having a good time.

We even got to visit with a friend 

and meet a new friend, her new baby girl Joni. 

who was not so happy about posing for pictures because she just wanted her mommy. And, that’s a good thing.
(please note and appreciate my efforts of dressing up for 80s night…fringed t-shirt, people, hanging off my neck Flashdance-style. Found the directions on how to make it online with a posting titled “How to Make a Totally Rad 80s T-shirt.”)

The girls went with the Cyndi Lauper look…and managed to look oh-so-cute as they posed in another group’s picture. Someone right now is probably looking at their pictures wondering who these children belong to and why they are in their pictures.

traditions of watching some super funny guys do crazy things that my kids now can’t stop imitating. Even Lydia is mimicking these guys.
And, traditions like hearing some great teaching (including some from my very own hubby who did a great job). 
Who needs BBQ? Young Life’s Labor Day Family Camp has been a tradition in my family for years–my parents ran it and now my older sister and her husband run it. And, our whole family looks forward to it all year long.
Mark your calendars–Labor Day weekend 2012 in Glen Spey, NY. 

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Happy New Year!

We actually managed to get out of the house by 8:10 and take pictures with all four kids (and a mama) smiling.

I did have some help though.

Mark now takes off work for every first day of school. It just may have something to do with the fact that our first first day of school was a total disaster that left a mommy and several children upset for the whole day (he may have received some tearful calls at work…maybe…in between my drives over to school to check on our son…maybe). Or, he may have just decided he likes to have the first day of a much quieter house off from work. It could be that. 
I swear I didn’t tell him to turn around and pose. But, I was quite proud that he knew to just do it for his mother.

There he is, basking in his prime position in the next-to-last seat in the bus, without a booster seat or even a seatbelt. Pretty cool to a 5 year old boy. He didn’t even seem to mind me wiping a tear or two in between camera clicks.
We worried that the one left behind would have a rough day.

Ummm…yeah…I think she’s going to be just fine.
No more late nights for me though. I’m off to decorate a door with streamers (don’t you all celebrate the second day of second grade?) and collapse in bed.

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Images of Summer

In case you didn’t know, it’s raining here. Oh, just a little bit of rain. About 6-10 inches, that is.

I got into the spirit of things, taking a mad dash to Wegman’s to get the supplies we couldn’t live without to weather Irene — things like sliced cheese, deodorant, and ice cream. And, yes, thanks to the woman ahead of me in line, I realize that if we lose power, we will also lose that ice cream. But, I’m pretty sure we could all grab a spoon and make use of it if need be. And, having another family over for pizza tonight helped a little bit with that.

After a couple On Demand episodes of Parenthood, while Mark counts the leaks in our garage and checks the basement for flooding, I’ve been busy recounting our summer and getting all nostalgic. Somehow the hype about Irene has shadowed the hype about Monday for some. But, this mama is very aware that Monday marks the end of summer for us — school is starting.

To reminisce, I thought I’d share a few (okay, it was really hard to limit them) of my favorite images from this summer. Some are neat shots, and some just tell a story and are neat to me. Posted in chronological order, they don’t tell the whole story of our summer — but they are some of my favorite moments.

Love that I caught this shot. And, it’s proof that she really does love him despite her frequent, “No, Drew Drew, No”s.
My friend Julie took this one at a splash park–clearly at the beginning of the sun-kissed season. He’s a handsome boy. I can’t believe he’s starting kindergarten Monday (sigh).

Now, this is summertime. Eating fresh popcorn with your Granddaddy while watching a cheesy local circus. Every kid needs this experience. Check.

And, I may venture to say every kid should have this experience. But, you can’t come by this one everyday. The weekend at the Comic Con in June was a serious highlight of the summer for my children. And, I scored some major cool-mom points. 

Our new play set off freecycle = fun summer

I regret that I’m not a mom who gets into letting my kids play in mud and finger paint and do paper mache. But, I’m glad I’m married to a man who doesn’t mind them doing messy things sometimes–but remembers to take their shirt off when they do. I love that man.

Anybody else think slip-n-slide water fountains rule?

Just because she’s so stinkin’ adorable.

And, just because she is too.

Perhaps the sun is a little quirky, but I love the shot and her cute purple and lime outfit anyway. And, I love that her smile is just about as big as the sun’s.

Evan came alive this summer. Relaxed. Happy. Silly. Enjoyable. I really like this kid. And, I can’t wait to see him rock 4th grade.

And, this kid. He’s crazy. And, I love his crazy. Love that he dreamed up this mask and that his Daddy was willing to help him make it. 

My single most favorite shot of the summer right here. A face plant in the sand made her a sand monster.  And, she proceeded to chase the kids around as they yelled and screamed. I love the shot of her. And, I love the memory of watching them play for the few minutes after this was taken. 

First catch. Big whopper and big whopping pride for my girl.

She is seriously cute. And, I love the shot not only because of her cuteness factor and super adorable crooked smile but because of her modeling one of the African animals we’re selling to benefit the adoptive mothers in Kenya and The Sparrow Fund. I’ve spent a lot of time this summer working to sell this stuff. And, my kids have rallied and have started to engage with the cause — even Lydia, in her 2-year-old way.

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