Beach- Day 3

We spent our third full day of vacation at Assateague Island in Maryland! I blogged about it last year, it's the island where the wild horses roam! It's so fun driving on the island, because you never know what you're going to see! I totally fell in love with this little pony! I wish I could cram him in the camper and take him home with me!

The baby stayed close to it's mother at all times. They were to the left of the road and on the other side of the road was it's "pack."

 The baby just whinnied and whinnied and eventually the baby and it's mother decided to cross to the other side. As they were crossing, the horse (which you can see on the right came out to block traffic, so that the mother and baby could safely cross!

Apparently, (I read this information today) there is one male "leader" of the pack who protects the mares. This must be their leader. By the way, the lady to the left of the photo is "pony patrol!" lol

 Here they are all together, making their dramatic descent onto the parking lot! lol

 I could stand there all day long and just watch and photograph them! My husband makes fun of me and says that they are just horses, but it's not often that you see horses just roaming around free!

Ben and Alex enjoyed playing in the sand.

 And running from waves!

I enjoyed just sitting and relaxing! I think my pale stomach is just hilarious! This is the first time that my belly has seen the sun in probably 10 years! lol I may be a little too old to wear a bikini, but I worked my butt off this past Spring chasing those men around the hockey rink! lol And by the way my stomach is just as pale now as it was then! I used SPF 70 on it because I knew it would probably burn. It didn't burn and I didn't even get one tan line! :(

 I had to include this photo! It makes me laugh! Every time that I try to get a photo of me and my husband together, he always makes a funny face in at least one of the photos! lol

He said that this is his "stressed out from vacation" look! lol I did end up getting a nice photo after all!

 We decided to take a little walk on the beach and we came to a group of horses just taking a rest! lol I didn't get to see this last year, so it was quite a delight to come upon this! I guess they like to enjoy the beaches and work on their tan lines too! lol

 And as we were leaving we drove up to this group of horses who found a watering hole. We stopped and watched them. They jumped in got wet and went on their way! I know...they're just wild horses, but they are so fascinating to me!

We plan to go back to Assateague in the next day or two, and I cannot wait! 

Goals Scored & Goals Prevented!

I know that I usually start off by saying life has been so chaotic and that's why I'm not keeping up with my blog. But I couldn't be any more honest! I fell and hit my head during one of my hockey games and got a slight concussion...so I've been taking it easy this past week!

But last two weeks have been especially crazy! Ben had 2 hockey programs going at once and soccer as well!

For example, one Saturday morning he had soccer photos at 9:10 am and then hockey practice from 10:00-11:00 am. Then he had a soccer game that started at 11:00 am! It's impossible to be at two places at one time, so we missed half of his soccer game. The good news though, once we got there Ben scored three goals! I love this photo...he gets so excited when he scores!

One good thing about hockey is that it's helping him with his soccer. Ben used to be the type of kid who didn't go after the ball. Now, he totally goes after the ball and tries to hold the other kids back!

 Luckily, soccer was canceled today because of rain! It was super nice not to have to rush around after hockey practice!

This past Thursday was the last of Ben's "Little Penguins Learn to Play Hockey" program. This was the program that started at the end of January. If you remember this was Ben's first time on ice. He pushed a little bucket around so he didn't fall down.

And here is Ben this past Thursday! He's a goalie now, and he's having the time of his life! Not bad for only being on skates for nearly three months!

 Sooo cute! I love how he's smaller than the net!

 And he can stop the puck with his eyes closed! lol

 It's soo sad that this was the last of this program! We had such a great time and the people at the rink went above and beyond to make this a great experience!

 I'm soo proud of every single participant! The majority of the kids started out not knowing how to skate and most of them just whip around the ice now! It's amazing to see them progress!

 It's not everyday you can get your photo taken with a Stanley Cup Replica. But all Ben can think of is eating the ice! lol He must find this tasty, because when it snows he always outside eating the snow! lol At least my snow cone machine will get a lot of use this summer!

 I'm sooo proud of big Ben! :) Hopefully he'll be holding the Stanley Cup over his head again in another 15 years or so! :)

I'm soo proud of him! :)

Friday Fragments

I'm participating in Mrs. 4444's "Friday Fragments!" I love Friday Fragments because here I can post about a bunch of random different things that happened during my week.

I can't believe that it's been a whole week since my last post! That's what I love about Friday Fragments, I can sum up my whole week in one blog post!

We still have been playing a lot of hockey! Both Ben and myself! As you can see from the photo below, Alex is actually trying it, but doesn't enjoy it as much as Ben. Ben's Spring Season starts next Wednesday, so between that and soccer we'll be keeping busy. He has decided that he wants to be a goalie, so I'm going today to pick him up some goalie equipment! I'll have to keep you updated, because he's going to make such a cute and tiny goalie!

 I'm going to soon be selling some of my art and jewelry at a local Art Gallery. I've been working on things lately to put in the gallery plus to fill my Etsy shop back up. Here is the beginnings of a bird nest pendant.

 Again Ben won three awards at school: Reading Excellence, Math Whiz, and All A's! He loves writing in his journal daily and at the end of each month his teacher sends home his journal pages. I love what he writes, but this particular page made me laugh. It says: "My choowowo is fat." He's talking about our chihuahua Allie! lol :)

 I'm not much of a sweets person, but every once in awhile I crave chocolate. I love Cadbury Eggs, but they are way too big and way too sweet for me. I did find that they make mini Cadbury Eggs, and they are just the perfect size! One definitely satisfies my cravings! And they sell them by the dozen!

 Another blogger (I'm sorry I can't remember who) recommended this nail polish. I tried it yesterday and I am in love! I'm not much of a purple person but this polish screams Spring! And I can almost feel the warmer weather just by wearing it! It's called "Lacey Lilac." Excuse my unmanicured fingers. Between hockey and housework, my hands really take a beating! I am definitely in need of a manicure!

I don't wear nail polish often, but this particular brand is awesome! I also bought a pretty green color too and I can't wait to try it out!

That basically sums up my week. Hopefully I can be back on track and start blogging at least every other day. We'll see like I said Ben starts Spring Hockey next week so I'm sure it will be hectic!

Have a wonderful week!

Hockey and Comfort Food

This is just a random post about what I have been up to lately. Ben is still continuing in the Little Penguins hockey program and he is loving it! He is turning into such a great little player, and he amazed me the other day with how fast he can skate backwards! And I am totally enjoying helping to teach the kids! It is amazing to see how fast they are progressing!

Here I am on the left (in pink of course) watching them do a drill! Ben is in the front of the line.

 I normally wear full equipment, even when it's just teaching the kids, because I don't want to get hurt. Well at this particular practice I decided not to wear any because I had a hockey game later that night (last night). I didn't plan on skating around too much. Well earlier that day I bought new skates, because my other pair were about 17-years-old and falling apart. I figured they would be just like my old skates...well they were not! lol I stepped out on the ice and nearly wiped out! This happened several times, but within the hour and a half I got use to them! Thank goodness because later that night (last night) I had a game with "the big boys!"

 I do need to get a photo of me in my hockey equipment from my men's league. I thought I wanted to quit, because it was sooo hard core, but I decided to give it another try last night and it went really well actually! I think my body is finally getting conditioned! It wasn't worse than childbirth last night, and I'm sort of looking forward to my next game!

Remember when I posted about my first game ever in the men's league? I said that no one talked to me and I just didn't have a good time. Well last night we had a new player on our team and he was so nice! He actually talked to me the whole time that we were on the bench and I don't feel so out of place now! We even shared water! ;)

The other players were even actually joking with me about my age! They found out that I was 33-years-old and I had a couple players come up to me after the game and ask me if it was the truth! lol Apparently to them I look like I'm in my twenties! Now you can understand why I keep going back going back! Plus the weight loss helps too! ;)

Oh and speaking of hockey...I am a little irritated about one thing! Now that I am playing hockey again and now they finally have pink laces, and pink hockey tape, and pink sticks...it's wonderful for a girl. And it's my thing that keeps me different from the men...or at least that's what I thought! Last night one guy had a pink stick with pink hockey tape and pink laces in his skates! Come on! I don't even have a pink stick! I was a little jealous! But seriously this is the latest trend with men playing hockey!

Ok onto another note: cooking! The past week or so I haven't cooked much at all! You know how it is when you get out of a routine and then it becomes hard to get back into that routine? Well that was me!

Yesterday I did make some yummy chicken enchiladas with a homemade enchilada sauce! They turned out great! And today I needed some comfort food! I get soo exhausted from running around after the boys, going to Ben's hockey practice, and me playing in my league! For example I was out on the ice with Ben last night for an hour and a half and then later had a game of my own! I didn't get home from my hockey game until about 11:00 last night and then stayed up a few hours after that only to get up early this morning for a doctor's appointment. I was exhausted today that I ended up taking a two hour nap this afternoon! So when I woke up I wanted comfort food and something that I love is tuna melts!

As a matter of fact, when I was pregnant with both boys I craved tuna salad sandwiches. But as you know eating tuna isn't safe during pregnancy, so I rarely ate it. When both of the boys were born in the hospital I ordered a tuna salad sandwich for breakfast, lunch, and dinner! I just couldn't get enough of them!

Then we vacationed in Ohio and we went to this fancy restaurant for lunch and I ordered a tuna salad sandwich and it tasted just like the ones I ate at the hospital...just delicious! So I asked them what was in it, and when they told me I was shocked at how simple it was! The secret is mayo and not Miracle Whip! Previously I was using Miracle Whip and I couldn't understand why I couldn't replicate the taste. Well know I knew!

Here is how I make it. I take a couple cans of tuna; drain and flake it. Add some chopped onion and chopped celery. The amount just depends on your taste. And then you add some mayo. Not a lot because you don't want it too wet, but just enough where it's not too dry. Mix it together and chill! It's that simple!

So tonight I made up my favorite tuna salad and made tuna melts with it! I also made a side of the best buttered noodles! You can find that recipe HERE.

This was the second time I made these noodles and they are just delicious! The key to making these is to cook them in a large skillet, not a tall pot. This is because you cook them in very little liquid, so you want to make sure that the noodles are spread out so they cook evenly.

 

Here is a photo of the yummy tuna melts and yummy buttered noodles! As you can see from the photo, I am definitely NOT a food photographer! lol But trust me they were yummy!

What kind of food comforts you?

Much, much too old for this!

Last night I played in my first official hockey game in about 15 years! As you know from my previous blog posts I have been helping out with my local rink's Little Penguin Learn To Play program. It felt natural to be out there playing again, and I was looking forward to joining a team!

I got a call asking about joining a team a couple days ago. I originally wanted to play with younger kids/teens because that is more my speed. Unfortunately, there wasn't any spots in that division so I was asked to play with the adults (or big boys as I call them)! A little unsure I said "yes" and very late last night I headed to my first real game! I need to give a big thank you to my wonderful neice Desiree for coming over to sit at the house while I was gone!

It's a little lonely being the only girl on an all boys team. I have to get dressed in my very own dressing room...alone! And rarely anyone talks to me. I don't know what the big deal is about changing around men or vice versa. I already have a t-shirt on and shorts under my jeans, so it's not like I get naked and plus when you've seen one man...you basically have seen them all...they all look the same! lol But anyway I got ready alone. Oh and I got my very own jersey and socks...which was exciting, and made it ever so "real!"

So then it was time for the big game. I wasn't nervous at all and was actually really excited! Our team isn't very full, so there are only three players who sit on the bench at one time. Which means you play a majority of the game....3- 20 minute periods! YIKES!

The game started and I nearly died seeing how fast the other team was! I come to find out that they are very experienced high school hockey players! What the heck did I get myself into?! The first period trying to keep up to these men was super exhausting! I'm not an overly religious person, but found myself sitting on the bench trying to catch my breath and praying that I either didn't throw up or pass out! lol

When I played hockey in the past there was always an ambulance there in case something happened. Last night there wasn't one, and I honestly thought I was going to have a heart attack and I was going to die right there among a bunch of clueless high school teenagers! lol I was also beginning to panic when I didn't even see one of those glass cases that hold a Heart Defibulator! I was seeing stars and thought I was doomed! lol  I honestly wanted to quit during that first period, but I would never do that because I was part of a team that depended on me! Normally I play defense, which requires a lot of skating backwards, but they were just too darn fast and I spent most of my time just trying to keep up!

By the third period I was physically exhausted! When it was time for a line change I would just roll over the boards and onto the bench! Then I would go out there and last maybe a minute and would need to sit back down...it was crazy! I continued to pray that the time would just go by quickly, and eventually it did! After an excruciating hour it was finally over! And at 11:30 pm nonetheless! I find out that the oldest person on our team according to one of the other guys, is 30-years-old which to them is old! Apparently they think I'm in my early twenties, but will be 33-years-old in just a couple days!

With the late games and priorities as a mom, I'm not sure if I'm going to continue. My team wants me to come back, but I'm still unsure. I would love to continue playing because it's such a great workout, but apparently I'm the only one with parental obligations! The other players go out to the bar after the game and don't have to get up the next morning at 7 am to pack lunches and get a 5-year-old ready for school! And speaking of getting up...I could barely move this morning...I'm hurting in places that I've never hurt before! lol

But to sum up my night and just to give you an idea of just how excruciating it was...I told my husband I would rather give birth to 100 babies than have to endure that again! lol And the two births that I experienced were very long and very, very painful! lol

Bucket Boy No More!

If you read my last post you know that Ben couldn't skate his first time on the ice. But by the end of his first time he was able to skate just a little!

Yesterday was his second time on the ice however, and he didn't use a bucket! He skated the whole hour and a half on his own! I was sooo proud of him! He did great, and even scored two goals! He still falls alot, but it's amazing that he is doing so well!

 I'm not sure if I mentioned it, but because of my past hockey experience I am helping out with the program! Here I am teaching some kids how to skate! Aren't they soo adorable and tiny?! lol I'm not tall at all, I'm only 5'6", so you can see in comparison of how very little some of them are!

I absolutely LOVE teaching the kids! I think now that I am older, plus I'm a mom, I have a ton of patience and it's soo rewarding too! One little boy fell backwards and hit his head on the ice. I was standing right there and I said: "You're all right!" And he responded in his tiny little voice: "No I'm not!" lol It was the funniest thing ever..it made me laugh! He was ok, he wasn't hurt, and he never cried. 

I totally forgot what a workout hockey is! I was completely drenched with sweat after our last practice! lol  It was sooo gross! I felt like I sweat off five pounds! Hopefully I'll lose a little weight at least!

My Little Pittsburgh Penguin

We had a very busy and exciting weekend! Benjamin, my five-year-old, started "The Little Penguins-Learn To Play Hockey" program! He has never played hockey before, or even ice skated for that matter, but we had the opportunity to participate and went for it!

He was all smiles when he first got his equipment, and even wanted to watch tv while he was wearing it! I'm just loving the little helmet and the itty bitty skates! They are soo adorable!

 Sidney Crosby, who is the captain of our professional hockey team, The Pittsburgh Penguins sponsors the program each year! He is a spokesman for Reebok, so all the children participating got full gear! Through The Pittsburgh Penguins (Sidney Crosby), Dicks Sporting Goods, and Reebok they gave children all over the Pittsburgh area the chance to be able to play hockey at an astonishing price! It only cost $100 and that included all the ice time, full equipment, and 12 weeks of lessons! You cannot beat that! If anyone knows anything about hockey, it can cost up to $1000 just to play for one season! This is the perfect opportunity to see if he really likes the sport and wants to play...and it's easy on pocket! ;)

 So Ben will be playing every Thursday for the next 12 weeks! I just love this profile picture of him! It's soo cute, and he looks so deep in thought. He's probably thinking...what have I gotten myself into?! lol

 Here he when he first got on the ice! You can't really tell, but the boy kneeling behind him is holding him up! lol Poor Ben just couldn't get the hang of just standing on the ice! He wanted to keep moving his feet, which caused him to fall repeatedly! lol

 For those who don't know, this is how they teach kids to skate. The kids that cannot skate or stand up by themselves are given big buckets to push around the ice! At first Ben was hunched over the bucket and by the end of the hour he was standing up straight and even skated a little on his own!

 I played hockey in high school, so luckily I was out on the ice with him and was able to help him skate. It's been about 15 years, and my feet were killing me! Especially since I had to skate backwards most of the time as I was watching Ben skate! lol

 Towards the end of the skate I let Ben hold onto his stick as I skated backwards. I figured it would give him a better idea of actually skating, if he was standing upright doing it himself. Like I said, it worked and hopefully by the end of our next skate, he'll be able to skate on his own!

 Here we are taking a little rest!

 Since I have had experience playing in the past, they will be letting me help out on the ice! I am soo excited! I love hockey soo much and love working with kids! So this will be a good fit for me! So I won't be taking a ton of photos during the program obviously since I will be on the ice. But I will try to have my husband take some.

Just for laughs, I wanted to share a photo from when I played hockey. I was about 17-years-old when this photo was taken! I absolutely fell in love with the sport and hope that Ben does too!

Traveling to games and playing hockey was one of the best memories that I had of childhood!