Can anyone tell me why my blog looks funny?

Marathon May (which isn't quite done!)

I've been quite busy this month, which shouldn't keep me from blogging, but it has. Here are some of the highlights:

Lynsey's First Communion.

Alex's (Tommy's Goddaughter) First Communion.

Andrew's First Communion (my sister Jess's boy).

In preparation for the upcoming Scouting trip, we had a "camp out" in our living room.

Johnny's First Communion (my sister Theresa and her husband Frank).

Our last visit was to Richmond which involved some sight-seeing. The Dooley House where Patrick did some statue posing. This house was one of the first to have electricity in Virginia. There was also a swan bed. Very interesting.

A stop at Outdoor World for some fish, lunch and fun.

And a little target practice.

A visit to our State Capitol in Richmond, and some really cute kids showed up for our photos.

Free petting zoo. There were sheep, goats, pigs, chickens, black bears (no, we didn't pet them), hawks, eagles and a fox. The sheep made lots of noise, and when we approached her stall, she was walking around in circles. The sign next to her told us that "Daisy is blind and suffers from vertigo which causes her to walk around in circles. She is under the care of us and is monitered with meds." In other words, don't tell us about her circular pattern. We got it.

Mary's graduation from VCU! We have another nurse in the family! We are so proud of Mary, and even though William kept saying "Go Mason!" every time he saw a photo of basketball players, he was excited to see Aunt Mary too. (she made dean's list all 4 years!)

So, in a nutshell, that is where we've been. It may not look like much, but it has been fun!

"Hot and Cold"

You know you've been playing "Just Dance" too much when this starts to happen throughout the day.

May Mumblings

• It seems the the month of May is always full, but this year we have something every single weekend, and in fact, almost every day of the weekends. The kids have loved seeing their cousins on both sides as much as we have, but they are tired. In other words, they are grumpy!


• I am so excited to announce that Patrick will be entering the second grade at our Parish's school! I don't think he has quite grasped the concept because he said "I'll just be going on Sunday, right?" Um, no. We will be finished with his schooling at the end of the month, so I am thrilled that we can enjoy our summer and start preparing. I am excited, but also very nervous. I know I will cry the first day! Emma took her Kindergarten screening the other day and we are still waiting to hear about her. She is reading really well, and I kept asking her if she read anything for the teachers, but she couldn't remember.


• Do you know that I have been blogging for a year this month? That makes me happy. I have enjoyed sharing my kids and our lives, but this is so fun for me to just sit and put my thoughts together in one place.


• It's that time of year again. Ants. Oh, how I hate ants. They always come in our house, and they are those teeny tiny ones. Even William likes to step on them but they are still too tiny for him to squash! Our other problem is that we live next to a house that is almost always empty. The owners never seem to be home, unless it's one day a week. We had a visitor of the rodent kind (*shudder*) in my living room, and I would like to blame that house. The joys of townhouse living. The good news? We found a snake in the front yard, so perhaps it will take care of the mouse?


• William is my little parrot. He says so much now, and has started to tell the big kids what to do. The funniest one is before we leave. My usual chant involves telling the kids to go potty before we leave and getting our shoes on. It's a process, and I say that phrase often. I heard William tell the kids: "Shoes potty! Patrick, Emma! Shoes potty!"


• Patrick saw a fun fact the other day, and wanted to share it with us. "How many words does a woman speak on average in a day?" The answer is about 7,000 and men speak only 2,000 on average "because they go to work" Patrick says.

Here's a picture story I am sharing with you:

My first book signing!

No, I didn't write a book. The Pioneer Woman did! She is one of my all-time favorite bloggers, and she came to our area to promoter her cookbook. If you have an hour or 30, go browse her amazing site. She has such scrumptious recipes, and I was so excited to meet her!

She is so real and down to earth, and I think she is just beautiful.
My good friend Katie met us at the bookstore and I was hoping that my kids would come along to meet the lady who makes the delicious chocolate cake, but Emma was my only companion. Tommy took photos, and William decided to act up, and it ended up being one of those "mommy moments."

See? I get all tongue-tied when I meet a celebrity, and I didn't have a good story like Katie did. I just flubbed my way through the signing, as I do most things.
But we got a nice picture of us! She was so cute and fun and even Tommy said he enjoyed listening to her. I think he is going to be the one to go through the cookbook and tell me what to make, since Ree's cookbook is sure to result in many marriage proposals. (Later that day, on facebook, she told us that she was wearing 2 different earrings. I didn't notice, but in the photo you can see it. She still looks amazing!)
That's her cookbook to her right. I think she has the most amazing dimples! Thanks for coming out to meet us, Ree! We love you!