Spring Fling

I guess I have been pretty busy because I have not posted since Valentine's Day.  Pathetic. I will at least say that my computer was on the fritz for quite some time and I got a new one for my birthday, so that does make a difference! It isn't as fun or as easy to blog from my phone!

It certainly has been a fast moving and exciting spring.  In the middle of March ACT opened our newest show, Broadway Our Way.  40 singers ages 10 to 80 prepared music from some of our favorite musicals including Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Starlight Express, and Chess.   I soloed two songs. U.N.C.O.U.P.L.E.D from Starlight Express which was super fun.  I put a bit of a country twist on a totally fabulous song, topped off with a decorated cowboy hat that mom made for me! I also had a flashback song... On My Own from Les Miserables, which I first sang in 8th grade!  Ensemble pieces were incredible with so many talented singers on board!  We are currently planning to do another show this summer highlighting other favorites!!!

Mom and Dad came to spend Easter with Foster and me.  Foster hunted in 4 Easter Egg hunts, so he is now a professional!  It all started at our house when the kiddos hunted in and around the Yard! What a great turnout we had! Such a difference from last years hunt!  Most of the little ones were barely crawling and this year they were rapidly running all over the yard grabbing eggs and putting them in their baskets.  So cute!

Of course Easter morning, Foster had to have a Peterbrooke Chocolate Bunny Pop!  And he ate it on his new set of table and chairs that mom worked so hard to refinish.  Third generation!!!  Thanks mom.  The set is a big hit.

Mom and Dad stayed the week and Jaime came down for the weekend. Some of my girlfriends from Jacksonville took me out to a fabulous restaurant in St Augustine on my birthday and we had a sleepover at Vanessa's house.  I haven't had a night without Foster in a really long time.  IT was so nice to wake up in the morning without having to immediately get going on Foster's meal as well as going the through the motions of the dogs' routine!  Thanks Ladies.  The following night Jaime took me out to see Crazy for You at the Alhambra.  Mom, Betty, Heather, and Stephenie joined us.  What a fun night.  And although Dad was in charge of Foster's nightly routine and all 4 dogs, the house was still standing when we returned home late that night.  Way to go Papa Jack!!!  All in all, the only thing that would have made my birthday better, would have been Daniel being a part of it!  He will be back before we know it!

Wow!  33!!!  Hoping for another fabulous year!

Be My Valentine, Foster!

With Daniel deployed, Foster had big shoes to fill.  He was my date for Valentine's Day.  And what a cute date he was.  I made heart shaped meatloaves...

An Early Valentine

On his way from Japan to El Salvador, Daniel got a special treat...and so did we.  We considered it an early Valentine's Day present.  He swung through Jacksonville, and we were able to spend a couple days with him.  Foster needed no warm up for "dada."  He went right to him...so sweet.  My heart melted.  We skype with Dada almost every morning, so Foster has gotten in the habit...

July in Janurary

The King of his Florida Castle!!!

No Place Like Home...

...For the Holidays! (In Fernandina)

This Christmas, Foster's second, was wonderful.  MJ and PJ came down the Friday before the big day to help me while I was caroling at the Cloister on Sea Island.  It was a paid gig and such fun!  They certainly helped make it possible for the money I made to actually be used for family Christmas presents as opposed to simply a Christmas present for my babysitter!

Holiday Happenings

This is such a fabulous time of year for events.  I love to host, as most know, and this year was no different.  I hosted 11 moms and 14 toddlers at my house on December 20th and although chaotic...such fun.  Sara Collins helped co-host and I was so thankful she offered.  We had quite a spread with Peach Sangria, Chicken Salad Croissants,  and Nutcracker Pull-Apart Cupcakes!

The kids participated in a Secret Santa, which was hilarious.

Ladies' Night Out!

December 15th several of my girlfriends and I called up our babysitters (some husbands!) and headed out for a night of Chocolate and Martinis at Peterbrooke Chocolatier in Fernandina Beach.  In one word...perfection!

Tubby Time with Dad!

Daniel did Foster's nightly routine one last time before he had to leave.  It was so sweet seeing the two of them together playing in the water!  Foster was as happy as any little boy could be.  He loves his dad!  I heard Daniel

Picking out the Tree!

This year, unlike any year before we selected our tree before Thanksgiving!  The mortal sin!  But, with Daniel leaving just after the holiday, we had a lot of Christmas type things to cram in before he left.  We went up the street to the lot we got our gorgeous tree from last year.  We chose a 10 foot Fraser Fur...

All I Want for Christmas...

Is not to have to sit on Santa's lap, on Santa's lap, on Santa's lap.  All I want for Christmas is a break from Santa's lap...I don't why my parents make me do this!

We got lucky with the haircut being such a success, because the very next day we went to see Santa and what a mess that was!  Last year, Foster was all smiles

Foster's First Haircut

After many questions directed toward our clearly boyishly dressed son that mirrored "Oh, she is beautiful.  What is her name?" we finally bit the bullet and took Foster to get his first haircut (16 months).  We were fully prepared for lots of crying, fidgeting, and an alll out refusal to allow scissors near his head.  However, amazingly he was the mold of a perfect child.  Daniel sat in the chair

Mountain High

Daniel, Foster, and I enjoyed a week away, in the mountains of Georgia during his POM leave.  It was so nice to get away from it all and relax! Mom and Dad were there for the night we arrived and they were of course thrilled to see little man!  There was still color in the leaves of the tress, so we got that nice taste of fall.  Plus it was very chilly, so we actually got to break out a

Damnit, Janet!

Well folks...I finally did it.  I took the plunge and jumped back into the theater.  I auditioned for our community theater's performance of The Rocky Horror Show in August...and voila!  I got the part of Janet!  I was shocked.  Having not participated in any acting or singing in 14 years, I was very rusty...but clearly I wasn't too rusty to score a lead role!  Wow!  It was such a whirlwind of fun, frustration, hard work, and a lot of goofing around!  We had a fabulous cast, and I mean fabulous.  Not a single person acted as a PreMadonna- which never happens with a cast as large as ours.  I truly enjoyed getting to know each person who was a part of this fabulous show.  We ran 8 nights and sold out every night, but the opening!  And that was only shy of 5 seats!  Daniel came for dress rehearsal as well as closing night.  Mom and Jaime were here for the opening night and I had soooo many friendly faces in the crowd!  I felt extremely special every night I saw faces I recognized in the crowd.  With the prop bags and the participation of the crowd...the cast was jazzed every night!

I cannot wait to be involved in the next show...A music review of Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, Caberet, Chess, and Starlight Express!  That will be in March of 2013, so pencil it in on your calendar now! 

Happy Halloween 2012

I am posting this a day late, but Foster wanted to send his Halloween wishes out to Blog-Land!  HE has been obsessed with his pumpkins, since he picked them out a couple weeks ago.  Every time we go somewhere, he has to go "Visit" his pumpkins when weget home.  He walks over and gets them off the front porch bench.  Then walks around the driveway with them in hand.  When I tell him to put them away, he does...such a good listener!  Daniel took him Trick or Treating because I performed in the RHPS on Halloween.  I will post some pictures from it soon!  But because Daniel took him...there are no photos i costume!  HA!

Halloween at VP 10

On October 17th, VP 10 hosted a Haunted Hanger.  The squadron worked really hard to decorate their very long hallway and many rooms with the spirit of Halloween and all that is haunted in mind!  Foster was a Pirate, as Daniel had picked!  He was great for about 1 minutes...then the lip came out and the quivering began.  It was pretty dark and spooky, so good job on that, guys!  Foster was able to trick or Treat for a bit, but Daniel had to hold him most of the time.  It was short lived, but fun.  And such a great event for kids about 3 years older!  Thanks VP-10!

Spooky and Cooky!

The afternoon of October 30th, I threw my annual Halloween Get Together for moms and tots!  We had such a fabulous turnout and the tots were adorable.  We had Dorothy, Minnie Mouse, Chewy, a Pirate, a Fireman, a Lion, a Bear, a Dinosaur, a Duck, a little Pumpkin, and so many fabulous ladies!  Thank you to all who attended out fun little function.  Instead of Tricks...

Pensacola or Bust!

Daniel and I spent the weekend of October 20th helping Cathy and Trevor celebrate there vows! Cathy, a former college roommate and ECU Pirate swimmer, has been a friend of ours for 14 years. When she got engaged to Trevor last fall, I was asked to be her Matron of Honor.  As her only attendant, I was honored to be such an important piece of her ceremony.

Country Road...

 Since Daniel missed last fall, we wanted to be sure that this year, he was included in all the fun "fall" activities Florida can provide, which unfortunately are not many.

 However, 45 minutes north west of Fernandina is a little pumpkin

Aunt Meme Comes to Town...

I cannot believe it has been two months since I last updated my blog.  It took Jaime coming to town and actually taking pictures of our son for me to post!  I have gotten so lazy with my picture taking...and without a photo, who wants to read the blog???

 In the last two months, foster has gotten another tooth and we have begun the transition from two naps down to one.  Most days he takes one nap, but the poop monster is definitely a major problem.  For, like most human beings...

One Year and Counting...

 How has it already been a year?  It is truly hard to believe that a little over a year ago I had a 7lb., 14oz baby boy...one year later, he is just shy of 23 lbs and tall!  He is in the 75th percentile for height and the 50th  percentile for weight..."PERFECT in every way."  We had some one year photos taken of Foster under the same pier where we took the maternity photos, with our strapping boy in my belly.  He is such a joy that we have decided to think about another one a bit sooner than expected.  We will see...