Catching up with friends, saying goodbye to neighbors

I came back from a 3 day trip Saturday morning. Our itinerary included Luke's soccer game 9am, put Matthew down for a nap at 10:30am, visit with the Krohn family in Midtown at 2:30pm, attend send off party for neighbor Jenn Elliott (going to Iraq for 1 year) and finally watch Phillies and Tampa Bay Rays in World Series. My trip was delayed and unfortunately, I missed Luke's soccer game. Mark said Luke started off slow but picked up and scored 2 goals and had some shining moments during the game. His best moment was when a kid on the other team was pushing Luke and he stuck with the ball. Mark was really proud of Luke and saw a soccer player out there on the field. When the boys arrived home I got them both a snack and then Matthew took his nap so he could rest for the long day ahead. We hadn't seen Kara, Chad and Max since Luke's 5th birthday party so we were looking forward to our visit. Their neighborhood was having a Fall Festival, it was a gorgeous fall day, there was face painting, a big bouncey thing for the kids and some time for the adults to catch up. The kids had a good time playing and we had a good time talking so we decided to stay for dinner. 2 pizzas, 1 bottle of wine, 3 dirty diapers (2 for Max and 1 for Matthew) and 5 hours later the Lamparellas headed back home to Acworth, fun was had by all. I met up with Tyra, made vodka drinks and we headed to Jen's going away party. Mark stayed home with the boys. They were both begging to be put to bed on the way home from Kara's. When we walked into Jen and Doug's house it was a much more subdued and sober atmosphere than their parties normal Elliott party. But was fun had all the same. There was good food and conversation. We wished Jen all the best and asked her to email us with news and photos from Iraq. I got into home and Mark was still up watching the World Series. By the time I washed my face and hoped into bed, the Phillies had won the game. It was a great family day.

It grows back

Don't be mad. Both the boys went to Tom the hairdresser last Friday and buzzed off their hair. They look real handsome. Some ladies at Mark's sale are mad at me, they like Matthew's curls. I'm sure I'll hear more about it as others see it. Big weekend ahead. Mark is still out of town. I work a 2 day trip on Friday and return on Saturday afternoon so this will be the first soccer game of Luke's I will have to miss. Sunday we have church and Jesus class and then Luke will go to a Birthday party of a classmate. He has been doing well in school. His teacher gives him a little homework mon-thurs., only lasting about 5 to 10 a night. We are looking forward to our family visits in November and the end of this month. Time to get the boys ready for bed. I hope you like the new pics. PS The soccer photos came out great. Ask for your photo.

Happy 39 to me!!

Last Friday I went to Marlow's with Peggy, Lillian and Shane for Birthday drinks and dinner. We had a fun night. The pomegranate martinis were delicious and the food was pretty good as well. I stepped out of my box because I would usually opt for my favorite bars, sidelines or taco mac. The waiter bought me a birthday shot and Shane and Lillian decided to do a pinepple upside down cake with me (the name of the shot) and it was just as sweet as it sounds. We had nice conversation and I actually stayed out til 11:30. We all had things to do Sat am so we made it an early evening but it was nice to have a ladies night. The good thing was this restaurant was close to home. Saturday as Mark noted Luke scored his 1st goal. Saturday night was my actual birthday so Mark and I had a date night so we went to see Burn after Reading. It was pretty good. I laughed alot. Brad Pitt was pretty funny and the characters in this movie were entertaining. We planned to eat dinner at an Italian restaurant in Acworth but it was closed for a private party so we went to another restaurant that turned out to be delicious. The Lasagne was really good. I didn't order dessert because my mother bought my favorite pepperidge farm cake and I bake cupcakes for my birthday and I ate most of them myself. I had my mother in town and my family was over so it was a really good birthday.

Luke's 1st Goal

Written by Mark: Luke scored his first goal today in a game. He said he wanted to score a goal for his Mommy because it was her birthday. Grandma DaCosta, Aunt Tasha, Aisha and Sasha came to see him play today. This was his 5th game and he has really improved! As expected, he was a little timid at first but now that he feels "the rush" of doing well and getting cheered on he is really in to it. I am also teaching him to "attack the ball" and be more aggressive when the other team has it. During the practices I have been lending a hand and during the games I give Luke and his teammates positive reinforcement. Perhaps I will coach the boys one day. Time will tell.

Happy Birthday to V!!!!!

If I wanted to clean mess off the floor I would have got a dog

Matthew has been working on his potty training for awhile now and he does a good job for the most part but we took a step back tonight. He is very resistent to doing no. 2 on the potty so he decided to go on the floor. He gets stickers for going potty at school and his teachers think that when he goes to the 3 year old room it will click and he will get it. It took Luke a few days of seeing the kids in this class go potty and he started didn't have the accidents anymore so we hope it's the same for Matthew. We have had great weather here despite having only 6 days of rain all of September. Wednesday night the whole family went to Luke's soccer practice and we all had a great time. Mark got to play with the kids and I helped out by throwing the new balls back in and Matthew played with the coach's older daughter Lexy. Luke is growing more confident with every practice and game. When the boys returned home from school today they played with William, Andrew and Ethan. They had alot of fun. Nobody wanted to go in when it was time for dinner.