The Good Life

We're Back!!! Also, known as the longest post ever!

So, my computer crashed and that was the reason for the way-too-long hiatus...

And because there really is no easy way to write about all the things we've been up to, in a way that will seem well thought out...here it goes...

Bean-Beans
Our Maine Coon, Beans (affectionately called Bean-Beans by everyone), passed the day after Easter Sunday, we had to unexpectedly put him down at 2:00 a.m. We adopted him from the Humane Society when he was a baby. We are devastated and he will be terribly missed. He really was the best cat ever and I am so glad that Lily was able to love and cuddle on him, he taught her how gentle animals could be, I am sad that Liam won't know him.

June 2004-April 2011

he let us do anything to him :)

March for Babies
The one year that I didn't fund raise and it was finally nice enough out to March for Babies (we've been rained out 2 years in a row)...so me, Lily and Liam went...and it was amazing...I can't explain the pride that I felt  seeing our little 2 pound preemie run the whole first mile, it was amazing! And really seeing so many children with shirts that say "I was 1 pound"...and they're running around...and of course there are so many moms and dads walking with shirts that say "walking in memory of", and that's why it's so important.

Starting the race

 Lakefront and the art museum as backdrops on a gorgeous day

Yay! Lily!

Lily's favorite part was the cookie afterwards

Hoping next year I will be back at the fundraising and have some of you join us in marching!

Memorial Day
Started with the Greendale parade...

 ...then breakfast

homemade crepes

 

she meticulously ate it in stages...blueberries, whip cream, crepe, strawberries

Liam had his first crepe

Then we made rhubarb pie for dinner, she is so proud when she helps make something...

it was delicious

T-Ball
In May Lily started T-Ball...
 

there she is!

 

 

3 thru 5 year-olds playing T-Ball, who knew it would be so funny. And every night this mom takes about 25 pictures...no really, 25 pictures per night. What is even more funny, the parents shouting at their 3 year-olds "get in your stance!"....um, they're 3...me and Chris just look at each other and laugh and agree that maybe she doesn't really like it as much as we do.

in her stance

Lily is shy at first and the outfield totally isn't her strong suit, our wildflower prefers to lay on the ground and pick dandelions and throw them, and the day we showed up and the dandelions were all gone because they cut the grass - she noticed..."where are all the dandelions!!!?", it took us weeks to get out of the froggy boots and into tennies, but the day she hit the ball without the T as it was pitched to her, well, I totally yelled and cheered like some crazy lunatic on the sidelines, I was pretty proud and I totally get why those moms of football players in high school wear pins of their sons on their jackets - it's pride!

Hitting that ball with no T!

 

her biggest fan

Dazed and confused in the outfield

 

 

Liam, Mason and Miles watch in the grass

 

quick break for a snack

all business

...and...gymnastics in the outfield

her stance got better over time

he can't wait to get his turn on the field

Lily's favorite part Hi-Fives

 On the last day they had a team picture and got certificates - she was proud...so proud she didn't want the cameras to stop - the video is hysterical.

Team Picture on the last day

Notice how she doesn't move to let the next little boy get his certificate

And when we have time, her favorite part is always ice cream at Ferch's or a cheeseburger at Red Robin and playing at Daffodil Playground.

So, it was fun and you can see why we may have loved it more than her and why I want my Lily pin!

Father's Day
We celebrated with brunch at Innovation, one of our favorite brunch places, they have the best shrimp and best artichoke dip, in my opinion.

We don't always agree on everything, and I know my "piles" irritate him and it bothers me that he always takes the most out-of-the-way-laxidaisy way to get somewhere when we are already late. I am short sometimes and snap at him sometimes when I shouldn't.

But, I love him for the husband and father he is. And they love him very much. And just the other day I was thinking to myself, my absolute favorite thing about him - how much he loves to laugh, make jokes and be silly. He makes me smile and laugh at least once a day, and I like laughing with him...

And so do they...

And at the end of the day...he always has our backs and loves us ~ We love him too!
 
Fests - Polish and Strawberry
Summer in Wisconsin can only mean one thing - fests!
Paying homage to our heritage at Polish Fest

I'm not sure why little cracks are so funny, but they are, and as I took this picture another mom walked by and started laughing hysterically when she looked at what I was photographing...everyone thinks they're funny...

Hands down the water was Lily and Liam's favorite part, she was drenched after this

she loves corn on the cob

Lily can sometimes be more scared than other kids to try new things, but she begged to go on the sky glide and I was sure it was going to result in her crying while we were taken up, but she loved it, which made me proud of her!

girl was dirty by the end of the night

he was tuckered out

Strawberry Fest in Cedarburg
Well, every year I want to go and we usually can't, but somehow the stars aligned this year and we were able to go, as we should, because Lily's favorite fruit is a strawberry!

and another opportunity to rock the red boots

strawberry shortcake

 it was like 95 degrees with a dew point of 75, also known as ridiculously hot, you know, you sit down for a while and stand up and hope you don't have a sweat stain on your butt - that hot

 Lily loved the petting zoo

 Liam slept thru it

Don't worry, he woke up to eat...more on that in his 9/10 month post - he's an eating machine

and adorable

Another playground for Lily to explore

And another opportunity for her to be brave and fearless....this was the tallest slide ever, I swear, the picture doesn't do it justice...Chris is 6'2", so you can see it was pretty tall. She climbed it by herself and did it!

and the second time, she got a little crazy!

Changes for our Family
When I went back to work after being off with Lily, it was so hard. I know it's hard for every mom. But, I couldn't understand how I spent 44 days watching her survive in the NICU, only to be dropping her off with someone else a couple of months later, so I could work. It seemed silly. But I have to work, so I went back. I specifically remember crying so hard days before going back, it was coming from my gut. And the day I went back, I opened my car door in the parking lot at work, and then shut it again, because I thought I couldn't do it. Then sobbing and getting it together and going in. And each day it got a little better. With Liam, I already knew what to expect, which I guess I thought would make it easier, and it kind of did, but I still cried. It got better everyday. But really knowing even the worse days home with my kids (you know those days), are still better to me than the best days are at work. So, when a job opportunity presented itself this spring, within the school district I work for, that would allow me some time off in the summer, it seemed like an opportunity I couldn't pass up. And I got the job! And although it has meant making some sacrifices financially, they aren't really sacrifices when you get so much back in return. And I am happy, and have been spending a lot of time with my favorites - life is good!

More posts coming soon!