3/17 Blog Happy St Patty's Day

So did you all wear your green today...I did. Having gone to the Univ of Scranton, what I would describe as an Irish Catholic school, I have grown to love this day. All day today I thought about my old roomies, Colleen, Kris, Kate and Jeannine and how they all used to take this day off from work to go to the NYC or another parade. I wondered if they still did this tradition.

While I didn't take off, the day still brought back many fond memories of past St. Patty's day. Running to meet friends at a local Irish establishment and one year in Hoboken that I still have a great photo of in my house...with Shamrock stickers on all of our faces...so much fun. I think Margaret, Tara, Nora and Carol were in that pick with me.

Arnie is out celebrating tonight...there is an "men's only" black tie event at the Museum Center tonight. Let's just say there is a cab booked to bring them all home. I can't wait for the stories. We even found a great green vest and tie for his tux.

On the downside of today...I am battling a spring cold. Came on Monday and still hanging around. I literally feel like me head is in a cloud. My nose is raw and tissues are my savior. I really hope it gets better before this weekend. We are heading to Cleveland for a hockey tournament for Ben and I really hope I am more like myself. It's hard enough to sleep in a hotel, even harder if you don't feel well.

I tried to pack tonight to prepare, got everyone done but Arnie. We have practice tomorrow night at 7 which means eating out beforehand and not home until a bit before nine...so it had to get done tonight. I also started packing for spring break in Florida...as we are leaving next Friday which really doesn't give me a ton of time...figuring the kids aren't wearing shorts yet I took advantage of the weekend to get a head start.

Bed time has arrived, I hope you are all well, and that Spring is arriving where ever you are...it has come to Cincy and it is great.

3/8 Blog: A very longggggg Sunday

This past weekend has been marvelous in that we had ZERO plans, literally zero. It was fantastic. No hockey games or practice. No parties or plays to go to. Just family time.

We were so empty that we decided to volunteer on Saturday morning. I'm sure most of you know by now that Disney is running a promotion called "Give a Day, Get a Day at Disney."
We are planning to go to Disney over our spring break at the end of this month. When we heard about the promotion it seemed too good to be true - expose our kids to volunteering and get a free ticket to Disney. So this past weekend we volunteered with the Cincinnati Parks District.

Unfortunately Claire and Sarah were too young. We were going to take them with us anyway, but the project was on a hillside along a roadway so it didn't seem safe enough. Thankfully our kind neighbors watched them for the three hours we were there. Ben and I were on little patrol - they put all the young kids on that with their moms. Arnie on the other hand had the hard job...cutting down honeysuckle. For those not from Cincy, honeysuckle was brought from Asia about 130 years ago to Cincy to help prevent erosion. Well, one hundred years later it has overtaken many acres in Cincy. So we were there to rip some out in from of Walnut Hills high school.

It was a great morning. Ben worked hard and we made a difference. A great way to start a Saturday. Not much else happened yesterday besides a couple of car washes, my haircut and bringing Ben's to a friends to sleep over. The girls and us had a very mellow evening and I was in bed by 9:30.

Today however was a long one. I really love Sunday mornings. Sleep late. Play with the kids on our bed (this has become a family ritual), then head downstairs for breakfast. We were going to noon mass today so we had a couple of hours to kill. I started dinner (stew in crock pot) and baked some Corn muffins with my time while the girls did some puzzles. Arnie headed out for a bike ride. Ben got home at 11:30 and off to mass. The kids didn't behave so well in church so it was pretty stressful....we are so hit and miss it drives me nuts. We had arranged to go bowling with our neighbors after lunch, so their time outs had to wait until we got home.

Bowling was fun. The adults got two games in the time it took the kids to do one. I love to bowl, and even asked for a ball for my birthday...my big thumb has a really hard time in most balls :).
Ben and Sarah went in for their time-outs when they got home, while Claire rode her bike with friends. Arnie took advantage and did some yard work while I got to work.

6 hours later I am still doing work (waiting for a file to upload while typing this). I have been so nuts the past few weeks that I had to take a day to catch up. I HATE IT, I try so hard not to work on weekends, but I just couldn't keep up. I am out three days this week so there would be no time to catch up. I feel a bit better going to bed tonight knowing the in-box and to-do list are clear. And in the background are the Academy Awards so it hasn't been too bad. Arnie is playing hockey (yes, his 2nd exercise in the day while I sit on my butt) tonight so I had the kids. Thankfully they were much better going to bed then in church.

So my long day is coming to an end. Not a normal Sunday but we got in family time, a home-cooked meal, church and some work...not so bad...and I even made Ben's lunch for tomorrow already. I guess it really is time for bed.