just a sittin & a waitin...

for daddio's plane to arrive. 

signs ready!!

i remember sitting with ashley when she was a little gal waiting her mommy to get home & taking a picture just like this.

just a rockin.

the kiddos were super duper duper excited to see their daddio & haven't left his side since.  i've been fighting for a spot near him for my hug! so happy you are home, my love!

up to japan and start of soccer games

daddio is right now up in the air on his way to japan.  this morning, i wanted to get a picture of the kiddos with him.

 lovely.  mr. benj just loves to light up for that camera.

but, at the bus stop, they were showing their true feelings. 

 they miss & love their daddy.

& i am & do too. bunches

so glad it's a short trip.  i very much respect those single parents out there & the military families that are at home doing it every day.  some strong folks out there!

******************************************************************************************

& now- dum da dum dum.....game 1 for beano, future soccer phenom!!!

he said the kids on his team (2 of the much younger ones) are calling him "mastermind."  do you think they mean "megamind" the movie because of his head shape - or is that just momma worrying?  anyways, he thinks it's hilarious. & i'm glad he does!

hands up!

the team did a great job & he was attacking that ball.  though he didn't score any goals himself, he did get lots of assists (if there is such a thing in soccer) & blocked a lot of goals. 

some action shots of my boy:

 he had 2 kids on him for the throw in, he was such a threat!

 he was a hustlin too!  i was very proud of my soccer star!

we will be at the soccer fields almost every day till mid october with at least 1 of the kiddos having games (except for sundays & fridays).  i have a feeling this will be what the next month of posts will be about. 

fine toothed comb

daddio & i were talking tonight & we were talking about living life & memories.  he brought up this poem by Gwendolyn Elizabeth Brooks that he remembered from middle school:
Sadie & Maud

Maud went to college.
Sadie stayed home.
Sadie scraped life
With a fine toothed comb.

She didn't leave a tangle in
Her comb found every strand.
Sadie was one of the livingest chicks
In all the land.

Sadie bore two babies
Under her maiden name.
Maud and Ma and Papa
Nearly died of shame.

When Sadie said her last so-long
Her girls struck out from home.
(Sadie left as heritage
Her fine-toothed comb.)

Maud, who went to college,
Is a thin brown mouse.
She is living all alone
In this old house.

daddy's home!

the kiddos couldn't wait for daddio to get home.

running into the airport. 

waiting paitently.  we got there a tad early. 

home!  miss gracie, the goat face (what she wanted painted on her from the children's museum earlier in the day), helped him pull the suitcase all the way to the van. 

happy birthday daddio!

with our household being sick, our weekend plans changed.  but, i think daddio's had a pretty good day. 
lots of mario kart & hugs & kisses & birthday wishes from the kiddos & me. 

miss gracie made the lasagna with a little help from me (all i did was brown the sausage & sautee garlic, carrots & onions).  she was so proud, wanting to do every step by herself.  

she pressed those noodles down extra hard so they wouldn't move.  please disregard unshowered, sick me & all the medicine and junk in the background. 

she picked out her "i love daddy" shirt to wear in honor of his birthday.  i don't know why she has that look on her face.  hard telling with my miss moody.

we were able to tear ben away from mario kart to help make a cake.  he is going to have some withdrawls from this game once he is healthy again! 

this evening, ben put on his party shirt (a pink floyd one) & got to decorating for the "party" which consisted of a quick song, some cake & presents.  daddio got a new guitar tuner (his old one has been mia for quite a while), a pirate treasure kit, a set of pup & pop phonics books (stuff from the gift closet) and several pictures colored by the kiddos.  ben thought it might be the best birthday ever!  

the kiddos have stopped coughing 24/7 (thank god).   ben no longer has that sick look under his eyes.  we all still have a ways to go before we are back to normal.

making a wish!

i think it came true, a sweet hug from the kiddos. 

happy birthday, honey.  i love you so much more than you know.  you're my best friend, my soul mate, what keeps me together.  thank you.  i love you. 

bedtime, schmedtime

this month is crazy around here. crazy good with the holiday season & just plain crazy...
daddio has been working some really loong hours lately. our alarm clock starts chirping around 3 in the morning.
way.
too.
early.
he's getting home around 9:30 at night. i don't know how he does it. but i am thankful he is able to & grateful that he does it.


my goal of getting the kiddos asleep by 9:30 has gone out the window. they wanna see their daddy & i can't blame them. so, we read books a little longer, turn out the lights & talk until daddy comes home. then, it's time to jump outta bed & greet daddio when we here that key in the lock. of course, they both get all "wild up," as ben says, so it takes even looonger for them to go to sleep. a great luxury the kiddos have around here (since ben's preschool is in the afternoon) is sleeping in. today they got up around 10. tomorrow, i have a feeling it will be even later.

i look forward to daddio's work load lessening a bit in the new year. & some more family time together.

a note to daddio

daddio is working some crazy hours this week - going in after ben goes to preschool & getting home around 3 in the morning. yuck. while we were playing quietly this morning, ben said he wanted to write his daddy a letter. so, here it is:

i wrote down what ben told me to put. as follows:
your welcome from work. i love him, ben.
stay all night, i like you.
run on the playground with me.
i love you.
how do you stay all night & then run faster than i?
& play with zackers & that's all.
great best friends together forever, amen.


we put it in his truck so he would have a surprise to read later...

they sure do love their daddio & i do too!

beano's latest tune

daddio has been working crazy hours; gets home when we are asleep & goes to work anywhere from 9 in the morning to 2 in the afternoon. here's ben's song to daddio, ready for him to get up!
>please pardon miss gracie's mouth full of food while talking. she's still learning that's not polite.

playing in the snow & birthday pizza

it snowed today. not much. but ben really wanted to play in it. chase & snowballs were the games of choice.
ben cracked me up trying to make a snow angel. he's pretty much just laying on the grass & leaves.


we are all getting over some illness again in our home. daddio had it the worst, but today i felt rough. so, poor daddio didn't even get his birthday cake. but we made a birthday pizza together. it was delicious!
gracie blew out the candle first, which ben thought was the end of the world.
we had to relight so big brother had a chance for a wish.
can you see ben's shirt? i cut out from an old tie a peace sign & ironed it on, then stitched around it. i think it's pretty cool. but, that's just me.

daddio's home!!

hip horray, daddio made it safely home from japan! it has been a looong 3 weeks of illness, bad weather & missing him. i'm glad his trip was shortened. the kids had been marking down the days on the calender. ben would tell people "daddy will be home when we get to the star day." (we had that day marked with a star)
we made daddio some signs for his arrival & we soooo excited to go to the airport. you can see the anticipation in their eyes!




gracie's reaction to seeing daddy was priceless; she squealed "dada!" and ran up to him. ben, on the other hand got embarrassed. he hid. i don't know why he acted that way. by the time we made it to the truck, he was daddio's boy once again. he has hardly left his side since friday (except for our date saturday night, thanks karen & kevin!).

we went grocery shopping on the day daddio got home. a cart with 2 drivers seats just isn't enough for my 2 kids!

way to go daddio!!

daddio has completed the dale carnegie classes & we are so very proud of him! it's been a long 12 weeks of class on top of work. i don't know how he does it, getting up at 4 & working such long hours. good job hun! we are so thankful for all you do. we are glad you will be home thursday nights for the office now!
we made a cookie for daddio a few weeks ago. it was a #1 because daddio is #1!