Preschool Graduation

Preschool is over. I'm holding back the tears. Giana had such a wonderful year and was in such a loving and fun environment at Little Blessings. I wish I could send her there for her Pre-K class starting in the fall but the hours won't work because of Dominic's nap schedule. We will all miss Mrs. Iles and Mrs. Lewis. The school year ended with a fun day at the park and an evening graduation ceremony. It was so cute!

Last day of school.

Performing in the class program.


Mrs. Lewis and Mrs. Iles


Showing Daddy her school binder.


Yummy treats! She was the first one in that line.


Dominic, Giana and I


Giana with her cousins, Sophia and Luke. There were many of us there supporting Giana including, baby Dominic, Mom-mom, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Dee and Aunt Julie.


The proud graduate!

Easter 2011

We spent Dominic's first Easter in Cleveland with Dominic's parents. (There I go again...these names are a mouthful!) We had lots of fun leading up to Easter though starting out with a visit to Easter Bunny. Giana told me it wasn't the "real" Easter Bunny because "his head moved too much." I responded by saying "I didn't realize EB had helpers." And, that's where we left it. She's been quizzing us about Santa since she was 3. Work with me, Giana...work with me! We hit two egg hunts, colored eggs, made cookies (Giana decorated them) and gave G a new bike. The bike thing really wasn't part of Easter but she needed a new bike and I wanted EB to bring her a bike basket on Easter morning. Cute idea, huh? Wish I could take credit for that one but it was my mom's idea. Thanks, Mom! EB hid Giana's bike basket in the shower and she was "happy that it wasn't wet in there." Only my 4 year old would worry about that. Did your parents hide your basket? I always thought this was a normal thing until we had Giana. Apparently, it's not the "norm."

Dominic was so cute in his little Easter outfit. He made lots of friends at church and I'm certain that all the ladies in the immediate three pews behind us didn't pay much attention to the priest because Dominic stole the show. That's my boy!

And most importantly, Jesus has risen! Hallelujah!

I have a blog...

Right, I have a blog and I haven't updated it for a L.O.N.G. time. Time, what's that? My days come and go. My life is a blur. Could it be because I try to fit 100 activities in each day, the fact that my 9 month old still gets up two times a night to eat (God bless him!) or perhaps I just bite off more then I can chew? I have my "life" waiting patiently in my camera. The photos are my story, my life and they are ready (sort of, minus purging and editing) to be shared but I can't find the TIME.

I will catch up. I have lots of photos to share from Easter, to preschool graduation, to my adorable little Dominic growing and changing...and everything in between. I will catch up before we head to the beach and move. Did I mention we were moving again? Just because I didn't think we had enough to do, Dominic and I decided to move, again. More details on that later.

So bare with me a little longer, I just need a little more TIME. :)

"Come up for air!"

We are ALWAYS on the go. Always. I like it that way and I enjoy doing fun activities with the kids but it can be exhausting. I talk about slowing down but it never happens. Probably never will. Dominic is constantly reminding me to "come up for air."

We've been busy and here's just a few of our recent, fun activities. Air...it's overrated. Who needs that anyway?

Americheer (or as G calls it "Americheers.") She loves going to learn new cheers from an ex OSU cheerleader. GO TEAM GO!



Anthony Thomas Candy Tour with the Mom's Club. Yummy chocolate! The Buckeye's are awesome! And did you know that they make all the Snickers and Milky Way candy bars?!


Swimming fun with my niece and nephew. They just moved back from South Carolina so we are looking forward to lots of play dates!


Gallery 202. This is a really cool place where the kids can paint, garden and dress up. Giana loved it! The picture of Dominic was taken at Gallery 202 so I had to include him here. After all, he was with us on our outing.




Auntie Ann's Pretzel tour with the Mom's Club. Giana loved making her own pretzel!

A Short Visit to Maryland

...to see my sister and her family. Dominic was away on business so I packed up the kids and we drove to Maryland for a few days. My mom came along, too and we had fun time. Giana loves my niece, Katie (who is 16) and she was thrilled to be hanging out with her friends and lacrosse team. She fit right in!

Pajama Party!

I very well may have lost my mind when I told Giana she could have a sleepover with her friends. The good news is that I'm not alone because I roped my bestie, Erin into spending the night with me. So I had help managing the chaos. Actually, it wasn't bad at all and it ended up being a fun night.

We kicked off the evening with pizza. Cindy and Sarah came over for pizza and play but SJ couldn't spend the night because she had school the next morning.


Just a couple more cute pictures of the kids before bed. It took awhile for Giana and Sophia to get to sleep. Caeden was out long before the girls.



The next morning, they enjoyed cereal and pancakes while watching cartoons.


My nephew, Luke was supposed to come for the sleepover but he was sick. So he came the next day to sneak in some playtime.

Hilton Field Trip

Every year, Giana's school class takes a field trip to a parents place of work. This year, Dominic was the lucky one and Giana was so proud that it was "her Daddy and she could help him give the tour." So off to the Hilton we went. (We = 12, four year olds, 12 parents, 2 teachers and 3 hotel employees.) Can you imagine the assembly line going through the kitchen? The chef's hat was a big hit. Dominic showed them the swimming pool and jacuzzi, the Presidential Suite where they loved the mini refrigerator because they could stock it with lots of juice boxes, the laundry area with the huge laundry shoot and the big ballroom where they could run around. The tour ended in a meeting room where they were served cookies, popcorn and drinks. Yum! They always pray before they eat. Giana was asked what she wanted to pray for. She was thankful for her snack, mommy and daddy. Awww. It was a fun field trip!