Another amazing weekend: Halloween + New BMX Bike + Hurricanes Hockey!

Another great Halloween for the books! Valentino was so excited for this day, and he was bouncing off the walls and ready to trick-or-treat from the time he woke up. But first, we had to have a full day of school - much to his dismay! Valentino thinks Halloween is a holiday worth having the day off for... can't say I disagree, but I'm a meany and we did school anyway! Long weekends can be tough to come back from, and we've had far too many of them so far this year. Thankfully he was an attentive student, and we made it through the day.

When it came time to get his costume on, Valentino couldn't move fast enough! He was so excited to be an alien:

He's kinda creepy.

Obligatory shots with the proud parents. MEOW.

Vic and I went back and forth over what to do about the candy-passing-out situation. I walked with Valentino most of the time last year, while Vic stayed back and passed out candy. He joined us about half-way through the night, by leaving the bowl on the porch (which we heard ended quickly once teenagers dumped the whole bowl and took off). This year, I volunteered to stay back because I was bound and determined not to let some punks steal all the sweets from the kids. That didn't last long... our group (Valentino, Vic, and Vale's best buds and their parents) was taking off and I didn't want to be left alone, so I grabbed the candy bowl and became a mobile candy passer-outer:

I win because I did my duty AND enjoyed watching my son trick-or-treat/hung out with the group. Score!

Valentino made out like a bandit - see that orange bowl in the picture above - Friday night it was full, to the top, with candy. And not a bunch of necco wafers and bit-o-honeys... it had all the good stuff. We indulged in candy, then had cider and donuts with my brother in law and nephew (new family tradition for us? Vic's family always had cider & donuts on Halloween night). Valentino finally passed out around 11 and didn't get up until after 8 am on Saturday (which never happens!).

Best Halloween yet!

Saturday, Vic happened to see a Facebook post about a barely-used junior-sized complete BMX bike for sale. We have been searching for a bike for Vale since he started to really show an interest in riding at the track in the past month. The stars aligned, and we were able to go pick it up Saturday afternoon. Both of my boys were beaming with pride as he took his inaugural cranks on his new ride:

Saturday night, Vic and Vale were treated to a Hurricane's game together - I won a drawing at work a few weeks ago, and since Vale and I went together this past spring, it was Vic's turn to take him (and momma's turn to have a quiet evening alone!). Vale got a Jeff Skinner jersey from my dad for his birthday, so he was stoked to wear it to the game:

My little CANIAC

To make the night even more special, the Hurricanes won their first game!! They have been stinkin' something awful so far this season, but they shut out the Coyotes to take their first win... then followed it up Sunday night with a win against defending Stanley Cup champs, the LA Kings. Valentino loves the 'Canes no matter what, but he was so proud of their wins :)

Another non-stop weekend, but I wouldn't have it any other way. So many smiles and laughs and quality time together.

Happy Halloween!

As cliche as it sounds, I cannot believe today is already the last day of October! The past two months have seriously flown by in the blink of an eye. My inbox is already filling up with sales for Christmas, and Valentino was singing "Jingle Bell Rock" this morning... slow down 2014! I am not at all ready for Christmas nor winter.  Nor turning 31. Why does 31 sound way older than 30??

Valentino is seriously excited to get out there tonight and fill his pumpkin to the top with everything sugary. He is going as an alien - he looks super cool (and kind of retro!) in his robe and mask.

We carved our pumpkins Wednesday night, which was a lot of fun. Valentino is finally old enough to do most of the process by himself, and he was very determined to do it without our help.

I was impressed at how hard he worked and how good his pumpkin looked afterwards:

Pumpkin carving is definitely turning out to be a fun family tradition that I hope our kids will remember, just like Vic and I do.

One Lucky Momma

Sunday is Mother's Day {as if you didn't know!}, and it's "my day" only due to this awesome little dude:

Being Silly in Target with sexy-arms Daddy

A few Saturdays ago, while we were still sleeping, he stamped himself 22 times

Yep, he's mine :-)

Freestylin'

This boy is at such a fun an interesting age. His personality is blossoming, and we've really started to see how he thinks and functions. I feel so amazingly lucky and blessed to have this little person in my life. He is smart as a whip, funny, thoughtful, kind, assertive when he needs to be, polite, and creative. He is the perfect blend of his parents' best qualities, and I can't believe that he's ours :-)

Lately we've been enjoying: endless games of "post office" (he makes mail, then delivers it to Vic and me); making Mother's Day paintings and cards for his grandmas; tricks on his bike; huge, proud grins as he rides his new, geared mountain bike; willingness to try new foods - including vegetables {he LIKES carrots!!! I still hate them.}; planning another possible summer trip to MI; picking the perfect blue for his bedroom; using big boy words like "eventually" and "possibly" in the correct context.

On a personal level - I've been having a great week, if I do say so myself! I've booked 5 workouts {9-mile bike ride, 2 spins on the trainer, a run, and a lifting session for the arms} so far {4 of which occured prior to 6:30AM}, and I've been critically watching what I eat and getting down a lot more veggies. The scale is rewarding me with -2 since Monday :-) I like that! SELF: Let's keep it up over the weekend...

Mommy and Son Day, In Pictures {and a few words}

Valentino requested a planned long-weekend, so it was time for mommy to deliver one. I told him that today would be all about him -- no housework, no errands. Just whatever he wanted to do. Here's our day, in pictures:

6AM: Spin on the bike before the beast awakens

6:30AM: Bedhead and a happy boy

7:00AM: Epsom salt bath while the boy eats breakfast

8:00AM: Getting started on our painting project

9:00AM: Hard at work on a rainy morning

10:00AM: MASTERPIECES!

11:00AM: Being a boy

12:00PM: Jet's Pizza for lunch

1:00PM: Iced Hazelnut Macchiato w/skim for Momma, Birthday Cake Pop for the boy

2:00PM: Museum of Natural Sciences

3:00PM: Dem Bones

4:00PM: Sun shining, sno-cone in hand {yes, he's spoiled}

We came home, made and ate dinner, then he and daddy played with a paper airplane out in the yard. Later on, he helped me price items for our garage sale this weekend.

Such a wonderful day that I hope he remembers - it was nice to immerse myself in his world and his thinking, and to enjoy him at this age. Visiting a museum is SO much different now that he is so inquisitive and in to learning!

All Hallow's Eve

Another holiday that just gets better every year that Valentino gets older and is able to understand and participate more - HALLOWEEN!!!

Happily, Valentino agreed to be a fireman again - he was the cutest fireman ever last year, and we're definitely getting our money's worth out of this costume! It's going to be chilly again so this will hopefully keep him warm too.

Halloween 2011 - Valentino @ 4 years old

Some pictures from Halloweens past:

2010 - Our first Halloween in NC

Valentino @ 3 years old - He painted pumpkins and had a monkey costume, which he refused to wear. We ended up going to a church carnival instead of trick-or-treating {which turned out to be perfect!}.

I look terrible here, but still a cute pumpkin carving picture of us :)

And a few from Sunday night, when we carved our pumpkins:

Daddy and Vale on the front porch

Mine - Valentino's - Vic's

We'll be trick or treating in a nearby neighborhood and we're all looking forward to it!

Half a decade.

This boy:

At Durant Nature Park this past weekend

Turns five years old tomorrow. I can't believe it.

It's been an incredible five years, full of so many life-changing events. But that boy has been a constant for us. Constant joy. Constant amazement. Constant worry. Constant LOVE.

It was hard to pick these favorites out - this doesn't even scratch the surface - but here's a quick flash back at five years of Valentino.

Three days old in his "grandpa pants"

Four months old in a cooler.

First birthday

One-year pictures

Almost two

Second birthday

Almost three

Third birthday
{PS: I miss those curls!}

Almost four

Fourth birthday

Happy Birthday, Valentino - Mommy and Daddy love you more than you will ever know.

A colorful cake to celebrate half a decade

Only two more days until my one and only child turns five. I can't believe it.

We had some early festivities with the neighbor boys today to kick off his big day:

Inspired by Pinterest... super easy!

I love to make the cake for Valentino's birthday, and I'm always trying to make it special somehow. This cake was a hit visually {even though at first, Valentino asked me "why is there an 'S' on my cake?"} and everyone agreed it tasted great to boot.

Inspired by an image I've seen floating around on Pinterest {I hadn't even read nor pinned it myself}, I simply baked a 2 rounds w/boxed cake mix {Betty Crocker's chocolate fudge mix} but subsituted 1% milk for the water the directions called for. Then I frosted the cake as usual {with Betty Crocker's chocolate frosting}. Next, I sketched a "5" on parchment paper {although I think maybe wax paper might've been a better choice...} and cut it out. I set the cutout on the cake then went to town with Wilton's rainbow non-pareils. Removing the parchment paper was tedious, as it stuck really bad to the frosting {of course}. I ended up using a toothpick to coax it free. After it was removed, I smoothed out the frosting inside the 5 - and there you have it! Pretty fool-proof. 

Tuesday is the boy's actual birthday, so Vic and I have taken the day off. We're headed to the North Carolina State Fair - something we haven't missed since we moved here in 2010. It's a pretty good time - the weather is usually perfect, the food is great, the rides are fun {though $$!}, and there's a BMX stunt show. Valentino has a great time, and Vic and I enjoy the people watching and atmosphere.

In other news, we had a fabulous weekend, even though of course, it's ending too soon. We explored two new-to-us places yesterday - Durant Road Nature Park and North Wake Landfill Park {not as weird as it sounds!} - and enjoyed the gorgeous weather {I even got a bit sunburned!}. I am not ready to go back to work, but knowing that I have Tuesday off keeps me going :o)

An Update and some "Sick-Day" Activities

Two-weeks since my last post? Oi. Sorry, but I've really had a case of the "don't really cares," especially when it came to this blog. Just been in a FUNK. I got hit hard with 2 weeks of PMS {WTF?!} that left me feeling physically blah - cramps, fatigue, bloat, and the blues included. Add to that the fact that I was just getting really into swimming laps at the pool and they decide to close it for TWO weeks for cleaning and maintenance {double WTF?! I want the pool back!}.

Last week, I only worked out once. One single, solitary time - a 40-minute spin class. The rest of the week, I was a bum. This seems to happen once every couple months - I need a break from it all to just be lazy and sleep a little more than usual {which I totally did last week}. Since yesterday, I've felt more energized, rested, and very "go-getter!" Perhaps I needed a lazy week to re-energize and get myself back in the right place? Last night I rode 10 miles on my bike and it felt GREAT. Had Valentino not woken up from 2:30-3:30am this morning, I had a 4-mile run planned {I obviously slept until 7:15 instead}... hopefully I'll be able to squeeze that run {or another workout} in this evening. Tomorrow morning will be spin, and we'll see what the rest of the week has in store. I sense an active long weekend in our future!

Valentino is sick right now - poor guy! I can usually tell when he's going to get sick because he gets really grumpy and acts "not himself." This was not the case this time - he was an angel all day Sunday, but then as I was putting him to bed, his nose started getting stuffy. At 11:30pm, he started screaming and bawling his eyes out {plus vomiting mucus} because he was so stuffed up that he couldn't sleep. I gave him some Mucinex, which seemed to help and let him fall back asleep. He woke up so pathetic on Monday morning that we just couldn't send him to school... so home we stayed. There was lots of TV watching, cuddling on the couch, and computer games played, but I also wanted to *do* something as to not totally rot his brain for the day.

I've been really wanting to do some activities/crafts from my Pinterest boards. Enter my inspiration from this pin, originally from a bird and a bean's blog:

White cardstock with a bike made out of painter's tape and a sick boy

 

{Notice all his sweeping aparatai to the right - the boy loves to clean!}.

Let 'em go wild with the watercolors - Valentino was very methodical with his paint application.
Remove the painter's tape once the paint has dried {to avoid smudges}.

The finished product, framed in our sad "gallery" wall.

The longest part of this project was creating the bike out of tape - that took way longer than I expected! It was worth it though, since we now have an interesting and personal piece of art for our walls :-)

Now, I'm not the type of mom who would ban her kid from the outdoors when they're sick - afterall, sunshine {Vitamin D!} can cure so much! It was a warm, sunny day yesterday, so I allowed Valentino to ride his bike for about 10 minutes {I didn't want him to overexert himself or get too tired}. He and I also did some side walk painting, a la Katie's post {and my pin}:

The recipe from Katie:

1/4 C corn starch

1/4 C water

4 drops food coloring

The product:

He loved it {and I found a great use for those Easter egg dying cups!}

Welcome Home message for Daddy {Valentino wrote the "HI!"}

Yeah, I know - I made staying at home sick a little too FUN. However, the thing he wanted to do most {play with his friends down the street} was OFF LIMITS. So trust me, it was not all that fun for him ;-)

2012 Family Vacation, Take 1: To Grandma's house we go!

We did it. We survived 1,500+ miles of driving in the car together, and for the most part - it went smoothly!

We left Raleigh around 8:30am on Friday morning with a stuffed car and lots of snacks and toys to {hopefully} keep Valentino entertained - coloring books/crayons/markers, kid computer games {like MobiGo and Leap Frog toys}, library books, white board w/markers, and iPhones and laptops with apps and cartoons. Of course, Valentino immediately wanted to play with everything - his absolute favorite for the whole trip was the whiteboard and set of 6 Crayola whiteboard markers. He drew endless pictures and demanded that I take pictures of each of his creations so that we could show them to Great Grandma:

The three of us in our car w/our dog on a leash, Great Grandma is in the bottom right corner and of course the sun is shining!

This stuff kept him entertained up until the point we got to Pilot Mountain, NC {about 2.5 hours in}, at which point the whining started and he looked like this:

He was ticked that I took this picture - "MOM, I wasn't smiling!" A meltdown ensued.

Needless to say, we made a pit stop just outside of Pilot Mtn for gas and to stretch. This is when we encountered some super nice, but super Southern, Pepsi delivery men at the gas station. One of them may have very audibly farted several times while bending over as I was in close proximity to him, with no apology. Charming!

Pilot Mountain from the car - I really want to climb it one day!
{Side note - on the way home, I could see it from about 50 miles away on a mountainside in VA - cool!}

Back in the car and thankfully Little Mister occupied himself and then passed out, which I definitely didn't expect would happen {he's not known for sleeping in the car}:

Like a champ.

We arrived at my Grandma's in Michigan around 8:00pm, and my Mom and sister {who had driven in from Wisconsin that same day} were there waiting for us. Valentino hasn't seen my Mom or Grandma since he was 2, so he didn't really recognize them right away, but he was playing and bonding with them in no time. The weather was beautiful and because MI is on the west side of the Eastern Time Zone, it stays light there until 10pm so we were able to play outside for quite a while that night.

The next evening was my cousin's graduation party {the fact that he's graduated from H.S. blows my mind... I remember the day he was born!}. We ended up putzing around all morning at my Grandma's:

Valentino slaloming some cones on a bike we borrowed for him.

Can't keep this boy off his bike!

Sitting on a rock during a walk around the block - look at that happy face!
{PS: I used to sit on the same rock when I was kid and I went on walks with my grandparents}

Vic took me for a ride on my uncle's Harley. He's been wanting to take me on a motorcycle ride since we've been together. It was fun!

My mom was able to pick up my three year-old niece {my brother's daughter} earlier that day from my SIL. We haven't seen her since she was about one, so this was really the first time we got to "meet" her. She and Valentino got along great and they played so well together:

Playing trucks and cars in Great Grandma's kitchen

I really enjoyed spending time with and getting to know my little niece. She is a beautiful little girl and she has a really cheerful and happy personality, plus she says some hilarious things.

That's it for the first part of the trip - I'll be recapping the rest of our vacation in at least 2 more entries ;-)