Joy...

One of my favorite things about going down to my in-laws is that Mom saves all of her magazines for me to bring home - so I always bring back a stack of Good Housekeeping, Family Circle, Better Homes and Gardens, the weekly Dallas Cowboy Magazine (for Pat, of course) and once in a while a Reader's Digest.
It usually takes me a while to look through them all, but I usually find great articles and a few coupons still in date to use.
This morning I was reading February's Reader's Digest and stumbled on a story about Joy and the writer's (Harvard psychologist Daniel Gilbert) thanks everyone can find this wonderful quality.
Here is what he says:

1. Commitment - People who are in a committed relationship usually happier than even those who live together but are not married. Gilbert said that once he discovered this in his studies he went home and proposed to his long-time live-in girlfriend and found that marriage has made him happier than he was in the 12 years they lived together.

2. Little Things - Find happiness in the little things and try not to stress too much over finding the big joys in life. Gilbert says he's learned to find happiness in his daily walk from home to work and now enjoys that daily stroll.

3. You own strength - People are stronger than they realize and time really does make things better.

4. Go to Church (or join some sort of community effort) - Gilbert says it's not so much the religion that makes people happier, but the fellowship with the other members... therefore just joining a group of people who gather together can bring a person happiness.

5. Giving - People find joy when they give back to others... even if that giving is small, it makes a difference in the life of someone else and improves the life of the giver.

6. Invest in experiences - It's not the new car that will bring you happiness, but the times you spend in it that will create lasting joy. Gilbert says a splurge on a vacation and the experiences they'll have their will make him or her much happier than the new car ever will.

I thought I would share with you a few pictures of the three people who make me the happiest and bring joy to my life. Even though we're about to face a new world outside of newspapers, Pat and I have our healthy, beautiful children and each other to see ourselves through.

What to take?

We leave next week (on July 4) for a vacation on Pawleys Island, S.C., and I'm trying to figure out exactly what we should be taking.
We've rented a condo that is fully furnished with all of the essentials, but I wonder exactly what that means... do I need a blender for my margaritas or a griddle in case Pat wants to make pancakes for breakfast?
If anyone has any ideas on what we should take to the beach, I would love to hear them... I know I need to pack toys and movies for the kids (and beach towels), but I'm clueless to anything I might need.

Blog Hop Friday...

Thank God it's Friday... not just because the weekend is here, but because we're down to single digits before we leave for our vacation to Pawleys Island, S.C.! I don't think I've ever been as anxious to get away as I am right now... so it will be nice for the next week and a day to pass so we can head to the beach!
Welcome to my blog if this is your first visit... I set this up two years ago to keep our family far away up to date with the day to day life in the Fitzgerald house. It has grown into a place where I share my thoughts about all kind of things and I've met a lot of great people with blogs of their own.
Have a great day and a great weekend... and hope you find a few new blogger friends to say hello to!
Sharon:)

Father's Day in Virginia Beach...

We traveled down to Virginia Beach last week to spend Father's Day with my in-laws. We had a nice visit and it just reminded me how important it is for the children to spend as much time with their grandparents as they can.
They have three living grandparents (and two adopted ones that live in Georgia) and I want them to spend as much time as possible with all of them. It's not as easy to visit my Mama in Georgia, but we do try to get down to my in-law's house at least once a month.
We went down late Saturday night and spent Sunday relaxing (and doing a little shopping) together.
Here are some photos I took at the pool next door to Mom and Dad Fitzgerald's... Jackie and Mike are kind enough to let us invade their pool when we visit.

Pizza, pizza, pizza

I have a pizza chef on my hands!
Savannah loves making her own pizza today at the pizza play date. Several of the Mamas from our Moms Club met up at Megan's house armed with toppings and our pizza pans. One of the Mamas picked up some pizza dough from Harris Teeter and we went to town making our own dinners.
Some of the Mamas made their pizzas (and one made some pepperoni balls that looked yummy) and some allowed their kiddies to try their hand at adding the toppings.
Our pizza had pepperoni, onions and black olives (although Savannah has never had black olives on her pizza, she wanted to fill this one with that topping).
Savannah didn't want much help and ate many of the pepperonis before we got the pizza home. She then did made me take off all of the black olives before she would eat a piece.
The pizza was yummy and I hope Pat can enjoy a piece when he gets home (if my kiddies don't get up from their naps and eat the rest of our tasty meal).

Pizza Making/Pool Party Playdate

We went over to our friend, Megan's, house today for a pizza-making and pool party play date and once again the kids had a ball! Julius just loves the sprinkler and it's fun to watch him run around and have such a great time. Savannah just loves having the other children to play with and with some of the other Mamas having babies there has been a great mix of kids to visit with.
Here are some pictures of the kids playing and then I'll post a few of Savannah making our dinner - a pepperoni, onion and black olive pizza. It was quite tasty and just one piece put Savannah right to sleep (Julius hasn't had a chance to eat his yet as he was ready for 'night night' when we got home).
Great time with a lot of great ladies and their beautiful children!

Miss Book Worm...

Savannah decided she had to try on her Daddy's glasses last night after he came home modeling his new eye wear. Pat broke down and got a new pair of glasses before his eye insurance was gone along with his job (Just two more weeks to go!).
Savannah looks so grown in these pictures and it's amazing to me that she'll be staring school soon (just pre-school, but still school).

Mr. Bath Man....

Julius loves, loves, loves the bath... he's totally the water baby among our children.
I caught him "soaking" in the tub last night and ran and got the camera so I could capture the moment. By the time I got back he had sat up again and I had to wait around until I caught him again... it wasn't as cute as the first time because he didn't have a grin on his face, but I still like the photo!

VACATION!!!!!

We booked our vacation plans tonight and are so very excited to be going away in just 20 days!
We're heading to Pawleys Island in South Carolina and will be staying there for six nights. We found a great deal at a resort near the ocean and we're hoping to have a lot of family time and (if possible) a date night.
I borrowed a few of these photos from the town's official Web site and can't wait until our Big Red Van is headed south on the official start of our vacation!

A sprinkler of our own...

I wanted to share a few pictures I took last week after buying the kids a sprinkler. Poor Julius is suffering through teething his premolars and hasn't been feeling too good these last few days... he didn't even make it through his first swimming class yesterday (not feeling good doesn't mix well with a broken air conditioner system at an indoor pool facility).
So, here are some moments from a happier time next week... hope to have swim class photos to share next Saturday.

Five Question Friday...

I think these question blogs are a great way to get to know people... so here we go!

1. What do you think makes a good friend, or friendship? I think a great friend is someone who loves and supports you through the good and the bad. You might not talk to them as much as you would like, but when you do it takes no time at all before you're right on track again.

2. What is the last thing you bought & later regretted? We bought a Preschool game for Savannah and the first one wasn't Mac compatible (Hubby didn't look at the undamaged box he picked up) and the second one was TOO OLD to work on our computer. I've never heard of a game that was too old...
Anyway, I called the company's customer service line and they said the Mac version would soon be available at the Apple Store only... so you know it's going to cost more than the $14.99 sale price at Target.

3. Have you ever had a prank played on you? I don't know that I've ever had a prank pulled on me... but I guess it's never too late for that.

4. What is your favorite theme park? I have to say it's Walt Disney World... and I can't wait to take the kiddies there when they get old enough to appreciate and enjoy it.

5. Have you ever seen someone else give birth? When I was pregnant with both of my kids I watched Birth Stories on TLC (think that is the name of the show), but I've never watched someone in progress.

Finding some new friends...

I took last Friday off because there was so much going on here, but I'm back now and ready to meet some new bloggers.
I want to welcome all of you who are visiting for the first time and hope you come back and see something you like. I also want to welcome back everyone who has stopped by before.
This is a bittersweet week for me as I remember my Daddy. He would have celebrated his 77th birthday yesterday and Sunday will be the second anniversary of his death.
I know Daddy is in a better place, but there are times I still wish he was here with us.
The good news is I've picked up some additional freelance work and hope that will continue to increase as the weeks of Pat's job dwindle down.
Anyway, I hope you come back and visit my little blog again soon. Happy Blogging!

Birthday wishes for my Daddy...

Two years ago I woke up and called my Daddy to wish him a Happy Birthday... it was his 75th and considered a milestone by many. Daddy wasn't at home, but instead in the hospital once again fighting the battle to breathe.
I had mailed him a package containing more than a dozen little lemon muffins - a slight variation from the lemon pound cake he loved so much. He was quick to tell me that although he loved the muffins, they were not nearly as good as my regular pound cake.
Daddy never was one to mince words.
I can't tell you how long I talked to Daddy or everything we spoke about, but I do know it was among one better conversations I had with him that week. He had been in the hospital for several days and would only be there three more before he passed away.
Daddy had a lot of funny ways — some of which I couldn't stand and others I didn't understand — but I know he loved all of us the best way he could.
There are many times that I think of him and wish he would have known my children as they would have brought a new light to his life.
This is one of my favorite pictures of Daddy and Savannah... it was taken on the first of three visits they had together. I so wish he would have had the chance to know her longer... and to meet Julius.

Wordless Wednesday ... Outside with Daddy.

Pool time...

I took the kids to a play date this afternoon and it involved outside play in the kiddie pool and sprinkler... and you can see from the pictures that both of the kids loved it!
Both kids have their first swimming class on Saturday (Pat is going with us and he'll be the pool parent while I entertain the one outside the pool. Savannah has the first class so it will be interesting to see how I keep Julius entertained while his sister is in the pool... I'm hoping she'll be too exhausted to care about him being in the pool afterwards.
Here are some pictures of our play date today... we had a great turnout and it was good to see all the little ones. Julius was one of only two boys and he towered over the girls his own age (and the ones who were 18 months)... he really is our Gentle Giant!

Happy Birthday Grammy!

Today is Grammy's (a.k.a. Mom) 75th birthday and although we're going to celebrate it next month with a family celebration, I wanted to post something about it today and let her know we're thinking about her on this special day.
We love you Mom and look forward to seeing you soon!