NO TRAINING WHEELS!

The kids have been avoiding their bikes forever. I bought E a bike a couple years ago or so and I don't think he ever rode it. He asked me to take the training wheels off it last year but was still too afraid. e also has had a really girlie bike for a couple years or so and has never ridden it. Maybe a couple times with the training wheels, but the two of them usually opt for their Razor scooters, instead. They are certainly experts at using those!

Last week, for some reason, one of them (I think E, but I can't remember) asked me to get the bikes out without training wheels. e, of course, had to have hers without the training wheels, too. So, off the wheels went. In the past, I've always kind of pushed them along and held on. Well, I took a new approach this time. Our driveway has a little bit of a hill to it. So, I told them to just go down the hill and lift their feet off the ground, and once they felt comfortable with the balance to try to pedal. It worked! Literally, within a few minutes they were both riding great! Now, every night when we get home, they want to ride on their "two wheel bikes." I haven't had a bike in years, so I'm looking to buy one so I can keep up with them! I also had to get E a new bike because his was too small. I gave his old one to a neighbor and we went out right away for a new bike for E (I didn't want to lose the excitement of the moment!).

The new man has been working on my house lately....last week, he put up lattice work around my back deck...the next project is to redo the railings on the deck so it looks completely redone. I'm excited about how it's looking! And, what a great guy to be doing all of it for me. He really seems to enjoy helping me around the house. Usually by now I'm trying to figure out what is wrong with a guy...I haven't figured out anything about this one yet. He has a really laid back attitude and likes doing all the kid stuff with us. Maybe we just haven't spent enough time together! No arguments yet, though...we'll see how things go once we have one!

Back to it!

Well, I've neglected this spot for way too long! I got really busy during the end of the semester trying to plan our Italy trip. Putting together all the details for two weeks there was a LOT of work! But, we ended up having a great time. We took 12 students along and fun was had by all. Most of it went pretty smoothly, surprisingly enough, since for many of the days I planned, I wasn't totally sure how long it would take to get to our destination, or even how we'd get there, and if we could fit everything into the day as planned. My kids were also great. Given that we were climbing and hiking much of the day on most days, they didn't complain much and seemed to love the trip. I'm posting some of my favorite shots (if anyone knows how to flip some of these the correct way, please let me know!).

E and e with the gelati...which we consumed just about every day!

This lake really is that blue!One of my favorite spots on top of a mountain by the lake
That was in May. The weather while we were there couldn't have been more perfect....low to mid 80s everyday and very little rain. I got to spend some time with a couple of my friends who live over there, too, so that was a lot of fun.

We also went to our local family camp for Mother's Day weekend. As you might remember, I'm making this a family tradition -- this was our third year. In August, we will go for a whole week - another family tradition that I have started. It was a little cold while we were there, but we had a great time. E and I tried the high ropes course. He fell off several times, but I think that's only because he wasn't afraid to fall! I really did NOT want to fall and trust my harness. I have a brand new appreciation for tight rope walkers. I have no idea how they do it.

The guy I was going out with last year and into the first part of this year is completely out of the picture now. He finally got the hint that I just wasn't interested anymore. We're still friends, but it was very clear to me that we were in completely different places in our lives...he just seemed very "old" to me...watched a lot of black and white movies, sat on his butt most of the day (that REALLY drove me crazy), and after a while seemed to be bothered by having little kids around (HUGE red flag). There were other things, too...he seemed to live in the past...always reminding people of his military service (over 40 years ago!) and his corporate accomplishments (he's now retired, so who cares what he did back then?). There was more, but I won't go into it too much -- maybe I've already bored you with what I've said so far! I guess the good thing is that no bridges were burned and we'll still be friends.

So, back to M*tch.com I went. AND there's a new guy now...I met him on M*tch and we corresponded for about a month before actually meeting for lunch. His correspondence was always very casual and unassuming, which I really liked. To be honest, I was actually just lukewarm about him for awhile. Good looking guy, but wasn't corporate or anything. For some reason, I had it in my head that I had to find a man that made a ton of money, was very driven and successful. I know, I CAN be pretty shallow at times.

Back in the beginning of March, we met for lunch. It was a very nice time, I found him attractive and the conversation was easy, but I was still lukewarm. Besides, his profile said he wasn't really looking for a relationship right now - just friends (but he clearly was not on the friends with benefits search). We went out again a couple weeks later. During that dinner, he did something kind of stupid. I didn't think a whole lot about it, but I was still lukewarm about him. Nothing was persuading me NOT to go out with him...I enjoyed his company, but I think the fact that I knew he wasn't looking for a relationship made me not look towards him...So, back to the stupid thing he did...again, I didn't think a whole lot about it, except that it kind of verified my lukewarm feeling towards him. BUT, the next day he sent this incredible flower arrangement to my office with an apology. Well, that got my attention! And, it made me think that maybe he IS interested in something more.

Anyway, to make a long story short, he just kept coming back...it was also clear to me that he's actually a pretty smart guy and very driven (built his own house and built a very cool car)...he starts projects and actually finishes them, he's really great with my kids (sometimes I think he likes playing with them more than he likes playing with me!), he fixes stuff around my house (major bonus there) practically every time he comes over. He didn't even try to kiss me until we had been going out for about three months. So, he kept growing on me with all the little things he kept doing. And, he had a lot of patience for me to figure out whether I wanted to be in a relationship with him. He is now at my house usually three or four times a week. It's nice to have the company. He also really likes to work on my Honey-do list! He doesn't sit on his butt at all - he constantly stays active helping me around the house or with the kids. We'll see where it goes, but so far, so good!