Mel's Box of Chocolates

I promised pix from the weekend so here they are. When we got to my parents Saturday morning, we had a couple hours before we had to leave for the rodeo so we decided to go swimming. My parents community has a pool and we were actually the only ones who were there so it was like having our own private pool complete with a lifeguard. The kids had a blast swimming with grandpa and grandma. After swimming, we had a quick lunch, and were off to the rodeo. It is held at a ranch in the middle of nowhere, Maryland. I couldn't even get a cell signal!! It's a Christian summer camp where kids stay for a week at a time and on some Saturdays they have family days where you can go and set up a little camp for a day of picnicing , creek playing, swimming, and rodeoing (yes, I made it up!). We didn't take lunch since we went later in the afternoon, but we walked around the little "town", let the kids play in the creek, and watched the rodeo. Sorry, I didn't get too many pi...

As I'm sitting here typing this all I can really think about is my comfy bed calling me from upstairs. I would go lay down and type, but I'm afraid of what may appear here so I'm going to give a quick weekend recap and say goodnight! As you know, we went to Dutch Wonderland last Monday, had friends stay with us Tuesday - Friday, and because I was just having too much fun I decided to drive to Baltimore on Saturday to stay a night at my parents. After the two hour drive there yesterday morning, we swam in a pool, drove another hour to attend a rodeo, and played with Sophia. We spent last night there and left early this afternoon later than I had planned because my dad tempted me with sushi for lunch... YUMM ! Then we came rushing home to have dinner with some friends at our house. Thankfully I have the most wonderful husband on earth (sorry ladies I know he has some competition, but I have to say he wins in my book). While I was driving home and hoping to arrive there before...

Friendships come and friendships go. This could be due to personal reasons, moving away, or just circumstances changing. Then there are some friendships that were meant to last forever. That would be my friendship with Bek. Honestly, I can't remember life before her. Our parents attended the same church when we were very young and from when I can remember till I was about 12 we were pretty much inseparable. When I was 12 my parents left the church and our friendship sort of took a hiatus, however we still saw each other occasionally and would talk now and then. The great thing was that we would go ages without speaking, but then when we connected again it was like we had never been separated. We would pick up right where we were and move on. During our time apart both of us experienced some hard times. When I look back I regret that we were not closer during them because perhaps we could have provided each other with more strength making everything just a bit easier to get through....

**Don't forget to sign up to win some Starbucks and Chocolate . Friday is the last day to win!!** The other night a storm blew through and the power went out. We lit some candles, played a couple board games, and then started getting a bit bored. Isn't it amazing how addicted we are to electricity?? So as we sat twiddling our thumbs trying to think about what we could do to occupy our time I grabbed my camera to look at some pictures. I think I was having technology withdrawal ! Since I had the camera the kids asked me to take their pictures and that is when we started doing what any normal family would do during a blackout... Make faces for the camera.

Dad: I heard a new word the other day. Me: Oh yeah, what was it. Dad: Hmmm, I can't remember. It was something about these new short blogs. You write on them whenever you want and people can follow what you are doing all day. Me: Oh you mean, TWITTER! Dad: Yes, that's it. There was a guy who was being laid off and wrote on his short blog how the day went. From when he was called into the office until after he left and went home. Me: I didn't hear about that one. Dad: I suppose you Twitter. Me: You betcha. Dad: I figured you would. So what are you and the kids doing tonight? Me: Guess you will have to follow me on Twitter to find out. I love being able to teach my dad, who knows everything, something. **Don't forget to sign up to win some Starbucks and Chocolates . Friday is the last day to enter so don't miss out.**

Hi, I'm Mel and I'm a Blogaholic !! During the summer, I often hear families discussing the subject of screen time for their kids. How many hours should TV be limited to? Computer time? Video games? I have even found myself wondering if I was allowing my son to play Wii too much as he would whine when asked to play outside. Dave is a big TV person. On his days off the TV is on first thing in the morning and pretty much stays on all day. When he gets home after work, the first thing he does is turn on the TV . Now he does not always sit and watch it, but he enjoys having it on for background purposes. I, on the otherhand , am not really a TV person and can do just fine without background noise too. I'm perfectly content with a bit of quiet now and then, thank you! If you were a fly on the wall in our house, at some point you would probably have heard me complaining how it drives me crazy that the TV is constantly on. However, my complaints came to a screeching halt whe...

After reading this momma's top ten list I just had to write my own. Summertime Top Ten Summer Vacation - nuff said Beach and Boardwalk Steamed crabs and corn on the cob Barbecue dinners Waterparks Blue skies and bright sunshine Ice Cream and Snowcones No shoes Smell of sunscreen on my kiddos Spending lots of time with my family just hanging out and having fun Honestly, I think I could do a top hundred list of my summertime favorites, but I guess this once I will follow the rules!! Wanna read more top ten lists and share yours. Then you want to go here .

Sunday night we went to a Shorebirds baseball game in Salisbury, MD. The Shorebirds are a minor league baseball team who seem to have a fairly large, local fan club. Dave and Dylan have attended one other game when Dylan got free tickets for a reading challenge at his school, but I had never been. I am not a huge baseball fanatic although I do remember many summer nights sitting at home with my family in front of the TV, eating popcorn, and sundaes while watching the Baltimore Orioles lose play. My family also went to some weekend games at Memorial stadium when I was young and I always enjoyed cheering and hoping a foul ball would come my way. Dave's work actually purchased a group of tickets so many of his co-workers were there too including Zoe's friend Abigail, which kept her busy at least for an inning or two. The stadium is also kid friendly in that it has a carousel and a couple bouncy things to keep them busy. Never mind they cost additional monies...who wouldn't p...

What a relaxing weekend we had here... Saturday the kids and I went to the beach with a friend. It was an absolutely gorgeous day with a light breeze from the ocean. The kids found a couple friends and played pretty well together so I didn't have to entertain them. I was able to chat with my friend and even read a couple chapters from one of my new library books. For dinner, my mom-in-law invited us over for a summer bbq with ribs, shrimp, cole slaw, baked beans, and fresh fruit and cookies for dessert. Yumm !! After dinner we sat on the screened porch chit chatting. It was a wonderful way to end a perfect day. Sunday we mostly stayed around the house during the day. We gave the boat a good scrubbing so it is ready to go, I read a book, the kids played, and Dave worked on his motorcycle. Oh and I sneaked in a pedicure...I figured since I helped Dave scrub the boat I deserved it. Right? Then we all went to watch the Shorebirds play at Perdue Stadium this evening. Dav...

girlymama tagged me for a meme and well I just couldn't let her down even if it was ages ago and I am sure she has forgotten by now. So without further ado... Favorite person (outside family)? This is an entirely loaded question so I'm gonna pretend that it isn't here and move on. You all know I love you anyway!!! Favorite food? Steamed Crabs with lots of Old Bay. Quirks about you? I sleep in hubby's shirts, I laugh when I'm nervous, I get grumpy when my routine is ruined...there are way to many for me to list! How would the person who loves you most describe you in ten words or less? Asking them would probably be the best way to know, but I would think some key words that may come out would be "organized", "stubborn", "must be in control", and I would hope "fun", "nice", "a good wife, mom, and friend" would come up too. Any regrets in life? Hmmm...not really. Probably paying more attention to my dad ...

I cannot even believe that this is my 500th post, but that is what blogger is telling me. Now granted I have a few scheduled posts, which haven't posted yet, but are still counted towards the 500 so technically maybe this isn't really the 500th post or it could be considered the 500th post, but out of order... Anywho...I'm going to go with what blogger says and say this is my 500th post. With the 500th posts comes a lot of pressure. What to do, what to do, to celebrate such a wonderous occasion. So after asking my twitter friends for help this is what I decided... I am going to give away a $5.oo Starbucks gift card to 5 of my lucky readers (thanks simplyamusing for the idea) !! Along with the gift card I'm going to include a box of chocolates (thanks twithhoney for this idea) because that would only be fitting in recognizing my blogging achievements, huh? So what do you have to do to win?? Just show me some love! You can do this in a couple of ways, tell me one thing...

Why is it when I sit down to do some blogging or twittering my daughter has the sudden desire for my attention? She could be happily playing in her room, in the playroom, outside or just about anywhere and as soon as I sit down to turn on the computer she comes running. As I type she is leaning against me playing her Leapster with her head on my arm and leg over the keyboard. Why, I ask, why?

Last night, I went out to dinner with two of my best friends. There is actually a group of us who met my first year at the school where I teach who are really close, but only the three of us could get together last night. It seems like whenever we are together we always have a conversation about how lucky we are to have such an awesome friendship. It was weird how the group of us instantly connected. For me, I felt so blessed because it is usually hard for me to create solid friendships with other women. I have plenty of acquaintances that I can hang out and have a good time with, and many people I consider friends who I can laugh, cry, and even somewhat confide in. But, this group of girlfriends...well what we have is just beyond special. I think what makes our friendship so perfect is how easy it is. We check up on each other when we get a minute and this could just be a simple text "thinking of ya" and make time for each other at least one night a month to go out a...

In an effort to save fuel, get some exercise, and increase our brain power the kids and I decided to visit the library. How does that save fuel and how did we get exercise? We walked to the library, of course. We walked the 1.41 miles to get to the library to be exact!! So very green of me, huh? It was such a pretty day and we were contemplating the beach thing, but decided since we were late getting up and around today that we would visit the library instead. We were hoping to make the 1:00 story time, but I kind of underestimated how long it would take to walk to the library. We stopped at the grocery store for some L unchables and then had a picnic under a tree in front of the library. Then we visited the library and loaded up on lots of good books. One of my favorite childhood memories was our bi-weekly trip to the library. We were only allowed to choose 5 books and most of the time I had them read by the next day!! I tried to limit my kids to 5, but when Zoe had 8 I just couldn...

Like many bloggers, today I struggled to come up with something I wanted to write about. Often when this happens I go to my reader and begin reading other's posts to see if something sparks my interest. Today was like all those other days so off I went searching for inspiration. As I was reading I came across Victoria's post. Victoria is a mom of two who's husband was just laid off. Then I also read A Daily Scoop and discovered that they just lost one of their children in a drowning accident. Their baby fell in a hot tub that they just purchased 5 days earlier and they had to take her off a ventilator after all of her organs failed. Then I read 5 minutes for mom where they are talking about the floods in Iowa and how many families have lost their houses, have no food, clothes, and some even lost family members. I also recently found out that my school nurse's son was in a horrible accident and is in critical condition. They have been updating a care page to rel...

While my brothers and I were staying at my parents house a few weekends ago, this is what I found when I opened the freezer one morning. I asked my oldest brother first if he put a Coke can in the freezer and he denied doing it, saying it must have been our younger brother. So when my youngest brother finally got out of bed, the sleepy head, we asked him. He denied it also. So then if they didn't do it and I didn't do it...whodunnit??? At least you all can learn from "somebody's" mistake. Don't put a Coke can in the freezer and leave it overnight because it will explode and it is not pretty when it does.

Kristine , a fellow Philly Mom Blogger, tagged me for this meme and I'm going to give it a shot. The meme originated over an idea that was prompted by the book written by Larry Smith & Rachel Fershleiser, Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure. It’s a compilation based on the story that Hemingway once bet ten dollars that he could sum up his life in six words. His words were, “For Sale: Baby Shoes, Never Worn.” 1. Write your own six word memoir. 2. Post it to your blog including a visual illustration if you would like. 3. Link to the person who tagged you in your post and to this original post http://herebaby.blogspot.com/2008/06/six-word-memior.html if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogsphere 4. Tag 5 more blogs with links 5. Don’t forget to leave a comment in the tagged blogs with an invitation to play So, here it is. Life. It's what's for dinner. Devour! my memoir or now that I think about it maybe my m...

My very favorite thing about summer is all the time I get to spend with my family. I enjoy spending everyday with my kids, but I look forward to Tuesdays and Sundays the most because those are Dave's days off so then the whole family can spend the day together. On most days when he is off you could find us on the boat or surf fishing at the beach, but since we don't have our truck we couldn't do either of these things today so we decided to just hang out. Here is what we did... We started the day with swim lessons. It was the first lesson of summer session and silly me chose the 8:30a slot so there aren't any pictures as I had not had my first cup of coffee. When we got home Daddy and Zoe decided to wash the car. After they washed the car, they decided to take a ride on the motorcycle. Zoe loves the motorcycle and never wants to get off. For all you worry warts he only takes her up and down our dead end street at about 5 mph...so no worries!! Zoe has been asking to try ...