9 days left of Summer Vacation, but whose counting???

Well, I might be a bit anxious about the first day of school, but not because the girls are starting a new year with new teachers and challenges. Well, yes, a little of that too...but mostly, I'm getting worried about having them gone all day and missing out on all the amazing help they have given me this Summer. First off, they are wonderful big sisters and help a ton with Adam. From watching him in the family room while I cook dinner, to sitting with him in my bedroom while I take a shower that doesn't involve a baby in bouncy seat and an anxious mom poking her head out every minute making peek-a-boo squeals to keep said baby happy for 10 minutes! Now, I'm not taking advantage of their offers to help...they sincerely are CRAZY about this boy and are actually willing to help! I think that for those of you out there wondering if Mohammed and I were crazy to "start over" with a baby after 7+ years...I'm here to say that it is wonderful! The age spread between the girls and Adam makes for some genuine love and affection with no competition and lots of kisses.

On another note, we are wrapping up our summer with a few more activities including a recent trip to the Jersey Shore with Titi, the girls, Adam and me. Mohammed was hard at work, and besides, wouldn't have enjoyed the water as much as we do! Speaking of which, the girls and Mohammed are actually at the Junior Firefighter Olympics as I write this. They didn't want to participate, but they were very excited to help Daddy set up for the event. I'll meet them there later with Adam...who is napping right now.

Yesterday I spent a glorious day at the NJ Scrapbook Expo and also attended an all day (and night) crop. Although I didn't get as many layouts done as I had planned on (I hardly ever do anymore these days), I had a great time with my friends going back and forth between the various vendors at the show. We stopped only to eat and check out each others amazing finds (with the occasional layout thrown in every so often). Believe it or not, a friend of mine actually surprised me with an awesome scrapbooking/laptop/diaper bag in a fabulous print by Amy Butler. Very similar to the Vera Bradley bags you see everywhere now. Can't wait to use it! Now that is my perfect day (if I had to choose something that didn't involve my family of course).

Well, this next week is the last of the lazy days of summer before a busy week.and the start of school. Besides being Labor Day weekend, we also have classroom orientation for the girls, Adam's 9th monthiversary and our 11th wedding anniversary all on the same day!!! Add to that a visit from a family friends and a party for my nephew's 21st birthday on Saturday, and the first day of school will be here before we can say "bye-bye Summer". For now, I'll leave you with these images...enjoy and have a great week!

Playing with collages...

Well, every so often the scrapbooker in me takes over and I begin thinking of ways to" scrapbook" in the few minutes I carve out here and there in the wee hours of the morning. Last night, I got on the computer to download some recent photos and started playing around with Photoshop Elements and made several collages. I just thought I'd share them since I was pretty darn proud how they came out...now if I can just find the time to scrapbook them! Below are collages from Yasmeen's last summer volleyball class, Adam hanging out at said volleyball class, a Hershey Park collage, another collage from a recent trip to the Splashground with our friends, the Yankos and a cute collage of Yasmeen posing in her TKD uniform while showing me some moves. Enjoy!

Making the most of what's left of Summer Vacation!!

Well, with the summer winding down quickly, I feel this need to get out there and do as much as possible with the girls and Adam before they head back to school and school-year activities. We've taken advantage of a few nice days here in NJ and have gone to a few local parks with friends and even to Hershey for a weekend. The girls have become quite the dare-devils...joining their Dad on every roller coaster ride he suggests. Thankfully, I have Adam to use as an excuse, I mean, er, to take care of, so they leave me alone pretty much. After all, who would take all these great pictures if I was up on the rides all the time? By the way, Mohammed takes great pictures too...he actually caught us on one of the few rides I did go on with the girls-the Roller Soaker, which didn't seem worth the 1.5 hour wait! Seeing as we've caught the Amusement park fever, Mohammed is taking off from work this Monday so we can (barring rain) go to Six Flags here in Jackson. Unfortunately for them, the world's biggest roller coaster that happens to be at Six Flags is temporarily closed, so they will miss out on that one (sigh of releif from me, since I don't much care to send my babies off on a ride where they seem to be risking their lives). I guess there's plenty else to do there, though, so they won't be that upset.
On another note, Leena has decided to sign up for Jazz dance classes again in the fall, and well, Yasmeen is doing great with volleyball this summer. And although she wanted to continue into the fall, the academy is far from us and they require multiple classes a week, so that wasn't going to jive too good with Adam being so young...maybe next year. In the meanwhile, we just started Tai Kwon Do classes here in town. She's going between 2-3 times per week and she seems to enjoy it so far (lots of kicking and punching, which she LOVES to do :-) ). If she continues to enjoy it, we'll most likely sign her up through the upcoming year...we'll see where that goes.
Well, luckily for me, back to school supply shopping is completely done except for a pack of glue sticks and new backpacks (which Titi has offered to buy for the girls--thanks, Titi!!). We've even gotten a few new 1st week of school outfits and Yasmeen is excited to go. Leena on the other hand, not too excited...she enjoys being at home with all of us...Me? Well, I've got to say I'm torn about school starting again...I hate the tight scheduling of the fall, and boy, will Adam and me miss having the girls around (how do you think I get to update this blog every so often??). I guess the good news is that next summer is less than a year away!
Enjoy the rest of your August...see you soon!