Luck of the Irish!

On Saturday morning, we decided it would be fun to bundle up the kids and take them downtown for the annual St. Patrick's Day parade. It's sad for me to admit that this was Jackson's first parade he's ever seen. Well, if you don't consider the parades he saw in Disney World when he was only one years old - but somehow I don't think that really counts. He was SO excited when we told him we were going to a parade, which I found hysterical when I'm sure he didn't even really know what a parade was! It was a balmy 42 degrees outside, so we got the boys in some warm clothes and headed downtown.

The first thing Jackson noticed once we found a place to sit down were all the people carrying around green flags. He immediately started pleading for one. Now usually I'm pretty cheap when it comes to things like that, but the look on his face was just too hard to say no to. So we found a nice guy selling all sorts of St. Patty's gear and Jackson got his very own $2.00 flag. He loved it. Thought it was the coolest thing ever.

He had such a blast waving his flag all around. Keeping him from hitting all the people around

us proved to be quite the challenge though. I sure felt bad for the nice family who was sitting next to us, especially the soft spoken teenage boy who kept getting whacked in the face. He must have younger siblings for being as tolerant as he was!

Charlie hung out in his stroller and enjoyed looking at all the chaos surrounding us. Each time the wind blew, he made the silliest face followed by a beaming smile. I may be biased, but Eric and I sure do make cute little boys...

Once the parade got started, Jackson was completely awestruck. He loved seeing the marching band and cheering and clapping with the crowds. It was a really fantastic day and I truly enjoyed that quality time with all three of my boys.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone!

Sleep, snot, and stories... Oh my!

I am not kidding, for the last two weeks I have been planning on writing in this blog every day, but somehow each day seems to get shorter and shorter. I have decided that I truly need to grow another pair of arms so I have the ability to do more. It is now almost 11:00 PM on a Friday night, and realistically I should be getting to sleep since Charlie is snoozing away in his swing. If history repeats itself, I can plan on being up again in about three hours when he wakes to eat. Whoever said that babies start sleeping through the night at this age can step far away from me now!

Life has been awfully hectic around our household. It's not that anything major has been happening, every day just seems to have something substantial going on. Over the last few days, we have all been struck down with a nasty cold. AGAIN. It is never ending. It started last Sunday while at the park with the boys. Jackson was having a blast playing with another little boy on the equipment. Next thing I know, he's running up to me with green snot pouring out of his nose and covering his entire face. Not exactly a picture moment. Call it mother's instinct, but somehow I just knew we were in for another illness. My poor boy has been sick over and over again since October. Good 'ole preschool. The cough followed a few days later, along with Mommy joining the Booger Bash. Eric got a touch of it but seemed to fight it off before it got too bad. And bringing up the tail end, little Charlie has started coughing today. Talk about pure panic setting in after our hospital fiasco last month (seriously need to devote an entire post about that). I'm just praying that we will all fight this off quickly and no trips to the ER will be required.

My newest obsession has become library books. I kid you not, I have been spending most of my computer time logged onto the library's website, putting tons of books on hold. I have rediscovered just how much I love reading.

My latest find that I really enjoyed was "The Host" by Stephenie Meyer. Now I was one of the millions of people that enjoyed reading the Twilight series, I will admit that. They were fun and enjoyable books to delve into. But there was something really great about this book, I'm not even quite sure what it was that pulled me in so deep. I thought the character development was fantastic and the story was just such a ride. It was definitely the book that has reminded me just how much I love to read. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an intriguing story.

I have made a goal to myself to read 35 books in the year 2010. I was going to make it 50, but decided since I'm just getting back into the groove of reading, I better not push my luck. But I have to say, there's something to be said about choosing to sit down and read rather than zone out on the television and literally feel my brain turning to mush!

The smell of motorcycle fumes, dancing in the air.

When I first met Eric, he always talked about his dream of someday owning a motorcycle. His dad always had one and it was a passion that he shared with him. I was very adamant that he would never ride a motorcycle if I had anything to do with it. They terrified me. Being the kind of man he is, Eric shelved his desires for a bike because he knew my fears were very real.

When his 27th birthday started rolling around, I started noticing how strong he was feeling about wanting his very own bike. I didn't think much of it - truthfully thought it was just some macho thing that I couldn't understand. How very wrong I was. His dream of owning a bike was so much more than just some crazy surge of testosterone. He had visions of being able to go on long rides with his dad, sharing something special together. Being on a bike brings a sense of peace to his soul that I'll probably never be able to understand. I finally got it - I realized this was something he really did need.

So on the day he turned twenty-seven, we headed for the Honda Motorcycle dealership and we purchased his very first motorcycle. I don't believe I will ever forget how happy he was that day. It brought so much joy to my heart being able to see that spark in his eyes. He wanted to ride that thing everywhere all summer. Needless to say, he was slightly heartbroken when summer ended and he had to store it away for the winter.

I was always very clear with him that I would never be getting on the back of that beautiful motorcycle. Poor guy - all he wanted was to take me on a long ride through the countryside. I'm not sure how it happened, but he managed to convince me to take a short ride last May. Keep in mind, I was sixteen weeks pregnant with Charlie at this time! I was stubborn and acted like I hated it, while secretly inside I was yearning for more. It was exhilarating. I already started thinking about the next summer when I wouldn't be pregnant anymore and we could really go riding.

Well, two days ago was the most beautiful day we've had in the last few months. The sky was crystal blue and the sun was absolutely beaming. Guess who's idea it was to go for a ride? You got it - ME. My lovely mother-in-law agreed to watch the boys for a little while and we hopped on the bike.

Let me tell you - it was the most amazing ride ever. We rode out into the country around Liberty Lake and I truly felt alive. To feel that warm sunshine on my face absolutely rejuvenated me. Not only that, but I felt really close to Eric during our ride. We don't get much alone time these days, so even that 20 minute motorcycle ride together was perfect. I have to admit that I'm so ready for summer when we can go on longer rides together. Who would of thought I'd ever be saying that?

And can I just say - Jackson thought seeing his Mommy and Daddy on the motorcycle together was just about the coolest thing on the planet.