Church Family Picnic..and some random thoughts-uh huh.

My naked babies before mass this AM--it's a tradition for us all to run around naked to 'Viva Las Vegas' and shake it like Ann-Margret on sunday mornings :) jk

Today was the family mass--St. Bede's parishioners all brought food to enjoy outside after mass, according to your last name. "A-H"names were side dishes, so I made a turkey nacho dish, and managed to get us all dressed and in the car in what I thought was record timing...I thought I would get great parking. Well, apparently everyone else thought this too because it was so packed I guess since we have a new priest and more people are showing up for the monthly family mass! I ended up parking illegally, and got the babies and the food and chips in the stroller and went to mass.

I have to admit---and I know this annoys many people I know---but I have a very limited temper lately...er...I mean, I am already so anxiety-ridden when I go anywhere alone with the babies, that little mishaps and outbursts get me panicky/annoyed. I can't help it--no matter who's around and saying they'll help, I just can't relax and enjoy anything for many reasons. Guilt for burdening others...paranoia about them getting kidnapped...worrying about potential injuries/messes. This might seem selfish and martyr-ish lol, but unless you have had multiple young babies to yourself to care for, (meaning no older kids to help, no husband to help, and not just one baby..) I guess you can't understand. I feel guilty when I think about this also, because I realize how much more I would be doing if I could devote all my energy and attention to Lucas, who is at the age where his mind NEEDS constant stimulation. And Olivia has been a very challenging baby from the get-go. People who casually see me, usually witness a quiet and adorable little baby girl, but Olivia has tantrums and inconsolable times every day.

Well, today's homily was about people losing their ability to be astonished by everyday things. I think we all can relate; things become repetitive and/or so easy that we begin to feel entitled to the gifts we have. There usually is a moment every few days that I really compare my life now to what it was even 2 years ago, and I am astounded by all I have. And every now and then when I am going to sleep, I am listening to music or the radio and it will bring back a childhood memory, and I realize I still feel like young Samantha, who spelled her name "Samie", and learned "The Carpenters" songs on my keyboard, who raked the dirt in the front yard for no reason, and yes, even asked my mom to buy me the "Pure Moods" album I saw on T.V. (hey, gimme a break I was going through puberty!)

Anyway I then zoom back out and see I have a house. In Virginia. With John Hodge. And 2 babies. Yes I am domestic and happy to be. It's just crazy how much has changed. I am reminded to be grateful every time I go to mass (although the feeling isn't quite felt until afterward...via my afore-mentioned anxiety issue.) But the times where I genuinely feel grateful are when I read or hear sad stories in the news or in movies or from friends and family. During today's mass we prayed for the family of a recently fallen soldier in Afghanistan, who is from this area. He was my age, and left a wife and 1 yr old baby. SO heartbreaking. And you hear horrid cases of child abuse or abductions on the news all the time, and it makes me so panicky to think about anything happening to L & O...so, I guess what I am saying is that I just don't want to wait for something horrible to happen, to be grateful, enjoy and protect the gifts God has given me. --See, the babies are now asleep, so I can let everything from mass sink in...this is my spiritual-ish/reflectiony time. :)

AND now, back to the picnic! The church is huge and the turnout was also. There was so much food the line went on and on! I had a delicious hot dog and pulled pork! And there were so many desserts! There was also so many activities for the kids--Lucas was not quite ready for them, but he liked watching. They had a bouncy slide, ball games, sack hop races, face painting, music, craft tables and raffles. And they also had a tent set up for little ones with cool toys. There were 2 teenage girl volunteers to babysit--I thought i'd try putting L & O in for a bit, and they did so well! Played nicely and had lots of fun! I was relieved, but sat right outside just in case. Here's some pictures:


Cindy + Pete's kids Nathan and Emma with Lucas

Eileen + Chuck's son Peter trying to get Lucas to try the jumpy slide thing..he screamed and was too scared to do it :(

But he sure liked playing soccer--he and I have been sorta playing on the soccer field at the school this week.--That's Mike + Tara's son Landon :)



My sweet Olivia

Chuck, with Daniella and Peter--we're about to get in the long line for some good food!

The babies were happy in here with all the toys--surprise!

Here's Cindy + Pete getting their music tent set up


Little Cameron and Nathan playing ball..a little while later I got Nancy Kerrigan-ed by that golf club-ouch!


They got a whole chorus going! Sounded great!

Lucas posing for another camera--he really enjoyed playing in there! Olivia too!


Lucas taking a water break :)

And then I headed home around 2pm--definitely naptime-they fell asleep as soon as we got in the car :) It was a good time and it wasn't as hot as it's been the past few days.

Olivia is Spider-crawling

and she pulled up to stand and play with that toy table for a few seconds (no video of that yet). Lucas is being a terrible 2 yr old, whining for things constantly, hurting you or himself all day, and making messes everywhere...but in between he's cute and sweet and smart!

Viva Las Carwash

I was going to wash the car myself today but a.)I forgot john already cleaned out the garage and put all our car cleaning stuff in storage, and b.) I wouldn't know what to do with L + O while I did anyway. SO, we got a carwash today with the rainbow foam stuff. It stopped working once I pulled the car in, and I had to back out and start over (while a line of cars waited...) But it eventually worked and the car looks great :)Lucas would've been scared if not for his favorite Elvis song playing louder than the spinning brushes hitting the car.

I will have to get it on video next time, but Lucas really liked hearing Elvis the other day so I bought an Elvis record. He always smiles and dances to "Viva Las Vegas," so I had to go and buy the movie too--waiting for it in the mail---will be fun for all of us to listen to/watch on the road trip to CA.

A year ago...

Seeing those pics of Raquel reminded me to make this video compilation finally, of visiting family in CA last year. I was ~25 wks pregnant with Olivia, Lucas was ~8 months, and we hung out at Grandma Emma and Grandpa Charles' house. We met up with my cousin Jenny, her husband Israel, their baby Evelyn, mine (and john's) close friend Brianne, my sister Sarah, and her babies Raquel + Maxine. Fun time--so glad I took so much video :) This was almost exactly a year ago--and we will be coming back to CA soon! :)

20 months, and 8 months

And they are both so big and active!









Here we are walking through target looking at halloween stuff:

Everyone had to try on the mullet wig.



What a dumb costume. And how long do you think it took the PC police to think up the name of the costume? "Round Rhyme Master"

Similac Recall

This morning Susan let me know there was a Similac formula recall...which is all I have for Olivia. Apparently the manufacturer in Michigan, allowed beetles to lay their eggs in the powder and there were larvae being found in formula, which could irritate baby's stomach. Gross! How'd they allow that to happen to baby formula?
Anyway, I went to the site and typed in our batch #, and it was on the recall list. It's frustrating because before John left, he bought a couple huge ones from Sam's Club to stock up on them so I wouldn't have to go down to dangerous Newport News with the babies by myself...We had already used one of them and threw out the container, but I think we should've been reimbursed for that beetlejuice formula too. Anyway, I tried going to the website to learn how to return and get refunded, but the site never loads. The number had a very high call volume too--so they recommended returning the items to the store you purchased them from. I had my neighbor pick up some Enfamil for me temporarily, but I did drive down to Sam's Club to return them later in the day.
So, Sam's Club told me they would give me 'store credit' since I didn't have a receipt...I got bitchy. I was yelling "how was I supposed to know to keep the receipt in case of a recall?" The manager came over and I said "what is the protocol for product recalls? I don't want store credit. Put it back on my card." Well, their computer system was down, as it usually is when we have gone there. But they ended up giving me $57 back in cash. I felt bad for being bitchy, but I wanted my money back--this wasn't an "I changed my mind"-return, this was a recall!
Anyway, I bought one container of enfamil at target, where I met another mom returning her similac. Similac was the more expensive brand...and now I see Enfamil is thoroughly enjoying their competitor's recall; their price is ~$2 more than Similac's was for the same size. Hopefully Olivia likes it alright...

My Niece Raquel on 'Ellen'

This is just a video I took with my camera---was a lot clearer when I uploaded it, but youtube made it crappy lol.

Sorry for the noise too--L + O were playing next to me. I told Lucas, "That's your cousin Raquel!" and he smiled and watched. Maybe he remembers her from last year?

Raquel is modeling a "back to school kids fashion line" Ellen created. And yes, her favorite school subject is "trains". :) Good job Raquel!
here are some pictures from last year's visit--my oldest sister Sarah, her daughters Raquel and Maxine, and Lucas (when he was Olivia's age!)

Watch Ellen Show Right Meow!

My niece Raquel is on the Ellen show right now in a tin-foil coat!...will add clips later!

Another Spider

I saw this one on a huge web in the back---it's so big and crawls so fast. I took a bunch of pictures but couldn't get it focused on the spider-except this one. I thought it was special because it was so big and had orange and yellow, but I looked it up and it's just a garden spider. At least it's not poisonous though.

Let's Run Around Outside!

It was the perfect time of day to play outside so Susan and I took L + O to the local school's soccer field to run around. Lucas was thrilled with the idea of having free roam in such a wide open space! I will definitely be taking him more often now that he's such a big kid. Olivia loved sitting on the blanket watching all the action--and then we saw a neighbor Melanie with her adorable son Elijah--I am telling you he is the sweetest little boy. Played so nicely with Lucas who adored him too.


Olivia lookin all constipated (just woke up abruptly and plopped down in the bright sun lol)











My little nerd.








These are so cute!