Last post of June.
Today I finally got my toes done (God they needed it). They are painted Cayenne Pepper. To celebrate my newly painted feet, I went to Marshall's and got a pair of trendy sandals that only cost me $7. Went home to hang out with the family for a little bit. After putting everyone down for a nap, I stopped by Amy C's house to drop off some cash for a home sales party she is having tonight, that I can't make it to. I can't think of the lady's name right now, but she makes the coolest stuff, bags, keychains and she also decorates clothing. I will post the info at a later date. After coming home someone (a total stranger) called for the Grandparents Day special I am participating in. It is sponsored by Lancaster Newspapers Inc. It is going to be like their Mothers Day tribute, but with Grandparents instead. As you can imagine, after being advertised in the paper for the first time and actually having someone call me, I was so freakin' happy!! So to celebrate that, I went and took some pictures of my new day lilies that I just got this year. At this point I am waiting for our cool neighbors, Cheri and Sean, to come over for dinner. Afterwards we are going to see FIREWORKS!! I am so siked! This will be Cate and Alex's 1st time seeing fireworks, so I am not sure how they are going to do, but I am optimistic. One last thing, as I am sitting up here blogging important stuff, Ted is down stairs being Chef Ted and making dinner. If I have not mentioned this before, he is the best flaming cook. Okay-got to go. See you in July!!!

Rain, Rain go Away!

This is more of a complaint post since, as I am typing this, I have not heard any rain at all. We did not get any water in the basement, but all of my tall flowers outside are ruined. The force of the rain either knocked them down or snapped the stems. Bummer. I must say since I used to live in Flood City (Gordonville) I will not complain too much since there was a time that I came home (after being forced to leave) not knowing if I would have a house or not. Those flower were really pretty though...

Happy Birthday Erin!!
We've come a long way since 8th grade graduation. How some famous designer didn't hire one of us for these lovely creations I will never know. I know you are going thru it right now, but know I am here if you need me. FF.

We have a Hummingbird.

Last year a friend of mine gave me a blooming plant called Bebalm (not sure of the spelling) It is in the Mint family, its stems are square, gets really tall and has red flowers at the top. One of the cool things about it is it attracts hummingbirds. Last year a couple of different hummingbirds visited our garden. Now I have heard that hummingbirds will return to the same place every year to eat. I can not be sure it is the same hummingbirds, but the other day two were buzzing around the bebalm, right outside the window. I have not figured out how I am going to get a picture of them, but as soon as I do, I will post them here.

12 years.

It was today 12 years ago that Ted and I met on the Faulkner Chevrolet Used Car lot. Honey, I am so glad that lady had bad credit. Loving the ups and downs of this crazy ride and looking forward to another 12. I love you.

Happy Fathers Day Ted!!!!!!!!!!!
Your kids absolutely adore you! They could not ask for a better Dad!

I won't say the B word, but I do have some stuff going on!
This past weekend I had three photo shoots and they all went great! I am up to my ass proofing pics right now, but I love doing it. I also went to the annual Sheep Shack Shindig at my friend Colleens house and hung out with some of my college girlfriends. Have to give a shout of credit to my friend Fishbone who gets the prize for best "Keep the kids busy" award for bringing tons of glow sticks for every kid at the shindig. Each of my kids had strongman grips on those suckers when they were dead asleep.

Ben and Tee-Ball-Perfect together.
I am so glad we registered Ben for Tee ball. It may be the sport he considers his favorite, because it certainly is not basketball. He improved every game and even threw someone out at the last game (almost unseen all season). He has the medal they gave him hanging from his bed so he can look at it everyday. I know I say all the time how proud I am of Ben, but the effort he put into listening and trying hard just makes me glow with pride. Next season just can't come soon enough!!

Love these little nuts!!
Comments heard in the month of June:

Alex-"Mommy-you have nice breasts"
Cate-to give an affimative answer says "Yea Baby"
Alex-when faced with the nail clippers-"don't cut off my finger"
Cate-while eating Ted's homemade cinnamon buns "Daddy you are the best cook in the world"

Happy that we were a small part.

Two years ago my Grandma Daisy passed away from her four year battle from cancer. Sometimes I miss her so much it hurts. One of the things I promised is that I would support the American Cancer Society. This picture was taken yesterday after the Cardwell family participated in the Relay for Life walk at Lancaster Catholic HS. We got up pretty early to cover the 7am to 8am slot. I was so proud of the kids, esp Cate and Alex, they walked by themselves the whole time. The team that we walked for was "Susan's Squad" which one of my co-workers founded when her good friend passed away from Cancer. It is one that I try and support through out the year. I read in the paper that Lancaster's Relay is the biggest in PA and 6th in the nation and to top that off this year all the teams raised over a million dollars. Hopefully everyones hard work will help with finding a cure for cancer. I am just happy to have helped a little bit.

Ever have one of those days at work?

I am having one of those weeks. There are times when I feel totally trapped, knowing full well I get up everyday for my family not because I feel like I am making a difference. I know this too shall pass, but this week has totally sucked.

Ben is a First Grader.




I picked Ben up today from his last day as a kindergartener. We went out to lunch at Old McDonald's, just the two of us and we talked about all the things he learned and all of the cool friends he made this year. Ben said he was a little sad when he realized he was not going to see his friends everyday, but was excited that he got a Summer Journal from his teacher Mrs Crouser (pictured with Ben above) to practice in. It was great to be able to get some Mommy/Ben time in. Ben really makes me feel blessed to be his mom. His sense of humor, smarts and caring attitude make up the best of this little boy who is officially a first grader.

Ain't no stopping me now...

The Red Rose Run is OVER!! I took 10 minutes off my time from the last time I ran it!! This year I ran it in 1:08:38. My first two miles, I had averaged 11 min miles at that point, but I slipped on the pavement/grass in the county park and totally fell on my ass. That and the rain kinda held me back. I think I am going to add some bad weather simulators to the treadmill in the basement for training purposes. I ended up doing 13+ change minute per mile, but I am happy with how I did! I am as sore as can be as I type this, but it is sooo worth it. I am going to lay off the running for now and concentrate on dropping some more lbs. The plan is to cross train with Tae Bo, biking, walk/jogging and weight lifting until Jan. Then I am totally going to start training for next years race!!