Happy » The Fintons

This never happens to me. Ever.

No Responses » Tagged with: Happy, School

Aug 132010

Today I had an excuse to act wild. I clasped my hands together, put them near my chin, slapped a smile on my face, and proceeded to bounce. Yes my friends I was jumping up and down like a kid on Christmas. And let me tell you, it was better than Christmas baby.

At around 2 p.m. Brandon decided to do a coffee run so we could avoid that Mommy Daddy nap time that we seem to think is mandatory lately (I still argue that it is). Around 10 minutes after he leaves the house phone rings. At first I thought it was the lady at the stable calling to confirm our reservation for our riding on Saturday. Then I remembered she only had my cell number. I sat there and contemplated letting the voicemail get it so I could finish my paper. Well curiosity won out over being a good student (c’mon you know it would happen to you too). When I got up to check the caller i.d. it was a number that I had never seen. Well, curiosity won again and I answered (damn you brain for having thoughts of people calling to tell you your name came up in the lottery). There was a nice lady on the line telling me her name and asking for Patti Finton. I couldn’t even fathom a guess at what her name was because I forgot immediately when I heard what she said next.

So let me give you a little background here. Kidding kidding I hate suspense too.

She was calling to let me know that I was chosen to receive the scholarship for the honorary society for part time students at SU. I almost fell out of my chair. This means that it pays for my entire fall semester. And this is on top of the university scholarships I already have. She was also calling to let me know there will a brunch in October at Drumlins, the country club in Syracuse, and that the lady that donated the money for my scholarship would like to meet me. I have to also give a speech, but hey, whatever.

I’m not the bragging type, but holy holy holy hell.

Patti is a happy girl.

I'm grateful

No Responses » Tagged with: Dogs, Family, Friends, Fun, Happy, Holidays, Summer

Jul 052010

I’ve never done a post like this before, but I figured it would be fun. And possibly interesting. And at least self-soul-searching. Well, kind of.

On the 4th of July, you are supposed to be grateful for being an American. Proud.

So here are some of the things I’m grateful for. And definitely proud of.

Organic Raspberry Lemonade on a warm summer day. I even love the little bit of pulp that is in it that gets stuck to the inside of the glass. Makes me feel like my grandmother just made some fresh squeezed lemonade. Even though my grandmother never made fresh squeezed lemonade, but if she did, it would definitely feel like this.

And of course beautiful bouquets of flowers. And it’s even better that these flowers grow around our house.

And for really crazy sun rays that make for cool pictures.

Oh, and our new glasses. Our new glasses are cool. Very retro.

I’m extremely grateful for boys who are so tired out from playing so hard they almost fall asleep while driving around their power wheels. There is nothing better than a beautiful summer day and skipping naps because well, Momma doesn’t want to have fun without her boy, either.

For our furry friend visitors that take great pictures, and are a lot of fun to have around.

For dead plants that I brought back to life. Since I have this ability to save dying plants, Brandon call me the plant whisperer. So I’m grateful for silly husband, too.

And for awesome yellow petunias that bask in the summer sun. That also create sun spots on my lens.

For Grandpa’s who are patient and kind. And aren’t afraid to be silly.

And for Grandpa’s silly friends.

I’m grateful to be able to watch my boy learn how to roast marshmallows over the fire.

And to see him so proud of his work. I am also quite grateful to eat the results.

I’m grateful for others who love my little so much that they greatly care about him, and they show it.

For awesome fireworks. I love the flashes and the bangs that you hear roll down the valley.

I’m extremely grateful for my wonderful husband who allows me to take his photo so often. Who also so kindly poses for undoubtably crazy photos with me.

I’m grateful for wonderful cousins….

…and for fun days at the lake with them.

I’m grateful for fun in-laws, and falling asleep while floating in the lake. Also grateful for my sister-in-laws ingenious idea of using an anchor to keep us in place. So, I’m grateful for laziness.

For Grandmother’s who aren’t afraid to have fun with Erik.

I’m grateful for the furry ones who sit and let me take my crazy silhouette pictures.

For our view of the beautiful lake that we can look at everyday.

And I…am especially grateful…

….for a flower that has the ability to stand alone, and still be breathtakingly beautiful. It’s a lesson that I need to learn.

Hope you all had a good 4th. I know we did.

Erik and his dad

No Responses » Tagged with: Family, Happy, Love

Jul 012010

When I was working I was pretty much heartbroken everyday. I would come home and Erik didn’t want me if he got hurt or upset. He only wanted his daddy. It was a lot of my motivation to stay home and go back to school. Now, it’s pretty much just Erik and me, everyday. Except for the fact now that we got blessed with Brandon’s job, and he gets to work from home two days a week. So after works days, like last Tuesday, this is what happens.

Now I know I’ve gone on about my two boys, but, their beauty is unsurpassable. You always hear that cheesy line that you never knew what love really meant – but it’s true. Whole heartedly and completely true. Our marriage isn’t always perfect, neither are our parenting styles, but we have all grown. As a family. And we find ourselves becoming happier and more comfortable in our lives everyday. And man, you can’t beat that.

Now Erik loves his baths. Like I’m going to stay in there for 3 hours and you’re still going to have to pull me out since I’ve asked for more hot water 30 times. Tonight, during his bath, he started yelling to Brandon that he wanted to get out of the tubby now. Brandon was diligently reading a history book for class (you know, that one I get a synopsis for every paragraph), so he got up after he finished reading his page. Apparently, that was too long for Erik.

Is he sleeping? I do not know.

We see flashes of him hurtling towards the floor after slipping when getting out of the bathtub, so we generally always make him wait until someone can get him out.

Then he runs around like a banshee, naked, but with a towel.

Erik very stealthy tricked Brandon into coloring with him tonight while he avoided bed time. A good 20 minutes after this I reminded Brandon that Erik might need to go to bed now.

Moms always ruin the fun.

I’m off to go live on the greener side of life. I like looking through my rose colored glasses every now and then. Because you know what? Happy is fun. Happy is life. And happy is a hell of a lot better than feeling bad for yourself when you are surrounded by this much love.

And times when Brandon and I share that glance, and wonder how we got to lucky to have such an amazing boy, I know my life is complete. I hope Erik grows up to love his own family the way our family loves each other. If that is true, baby I can promise you, he will never feel alone.

I'm going to break this up this time

No Responses » Tagged with: Boat, Family, Friends, Happy, Holidays, Lake, Summer

Jun 282010

Last Wednesday Erik and I went on a date. We’ve really never done it before, but we had a wonderful time. I’m sure Erik had such a wonderful time because he ended up with a rockin’ day, but I loved the day too. Erik is a movie connoisseur, so going to the movies for him is like it is for an adult. A serious affair that should be conducted with utter respect. He really is an angel whenever you take him to the movies, and it makes it that much more enjoyable for me. He was so excited for our date day that he was running around saying “can we leave now Mommy?”

We went and saw Toy Story 3, and I gotta tell you, it’s worth it. Go see it. Amazing movie. We of course had to bring Buzz along to watch it with us. He said he loved it, too.

When we were waiting for our movie to start, Erik and I decided to venture over to Build-a-bear. He had never gotten the opportunity to make one before. I let him pick out whichever animal he wanted, and he picked an adorable little puppy. When we went to have the nice associate stuff his bear for him, Erik thought she was pretty silly when she asked him to do crazy stuff. He still liked to put the heart in his puppy. Then we went and picked out a shirt, and good boy grabbed a Syracuse shirt. He always says he’s going to go to Syracuse when he gets older and play basketball. : ) I asked Erik what he wanted to name his puppy, and he said Drake. Him and I agreed that he would call him D.J. for Drake Junior.

Erik carried D.J. everywhere. On the way home he fell asleep, and D.J. was right there with him.

On to Friday – Erik and I went to yet another movie with a friend, and this one was Shrek. Erik got to play with his friend Lea, and I think he’s in love!

Later that evening, Erik and Aunt Ashley decided to play a new game of sumo wrestlers.

Also on Friday evening, Brandon finally got the boat running. It still needs some TLC, but at least it’s in the water. Brandon dad was up for a nice belated father’s day dinner, and the two of them took the boat out for a quick spin to see how it was running. Erik wasn’t invited, and he was really disappointed. So Aunt Ashley picked him up and let him watch to make him feel better.

Lee decided he wanted to watch, too.

We finally got to go on the long awaited and highly coveted cruise around the lake. Erik was finally happy. He is a water boy at heart, and I have a feeling will always be.

I, amazingly enough, have probably 50 more pictures to post from this weekend.

Maybe tomorrow.

Animals and Parties (i.e. really long post)

No Responses » Tagged with: Crazy, Dogs, Family, Fun, Happy, Summer

Jun 212010

Life has been uncharacteristically busy. Not that I’m complaining, but, I’m tired.

I remember when I was a kid, and I used to get sheets of stickers. I was always so excited, and I would carefully place them in my sticker book. I would very rarely let someone have one, or waste them by sticking them on your hand or something. Erik, on the other hand, likes to rip them up and stick them everywhere. Including the dog.

Kind of fitting, right?

Drake likes to lay like this to sleep at night. In fact, he barely moves. One would think he was dead.

He even lets me put George on him. Oh, Drake. You are too funny.

He also likes to roll in dead fish. Yes, dead fish. One of the most disgusting things ever, and I’m sure you can imagine the smell. So he gets washed, in the lake. So much easier than the bath tub, right? And my lovely, oh so smart Drake, will stick his head under water if you throw a rock. So, alas, really easy to wash him.

I also got to shoot some pictures of Brandon. He decided to be an ass at the end.

After Drake gets in the lake, and I’m sure it’s from putting his head underwater, he gets lots of water in his ears. He runs his head along the floor to get the water out. It’s totally spastic, but quite funny.

Last Friday was really a beautiful day out, so I ran around and took some pictures around the lake.

I think I’ve mentioned before that Logan sleeps with Erik at night. Apparently Erik’s bed has turned just as much into Logan’s bed.

Yes, I realize there are more pictures of the dogs than the kid this post. That’s okay. They’re cute too.

So Saturday was my cousin Suzie’s daughter’s birthday party. We ran around a lot, watched the kids play, socialized, and ate. Of course, we ate. Lots and lots of eating. Wonderful. : )

Here are a few shots from the party. I will not bore you with lots of captions, okay well not too much.

Yes, I was in a dress. I know, amazing. It was hot!

The kids were playing a game, and apparently the boys were too cool to jump.

They then had a lovely water balloon fight.

While the kids were watering each other, Erik and Brandon jumped onto the trampoline.

Then all the kids wentswimming, and after much persuasion Erik finally went in.

He was trying to make a running jump into the pool.

And when he got there, he stopped. Haha. Funny.

After much swimming, they finally decided to do the cake. And the amazing yummy cake was a homemade ice cream cake made by Suzie. Awesome job, dear.

We finished the whole cake. Seriously. It was that good.

Well that was pretty much it for the party. I will alas leave you with one of my favorite shots with the day as I normally do.

Oh Steve, you rule.

I have more pictures from Father’s Day. I will put them in the next post. Maybe it won’t be as long.

Oh My God - I love it here

No Responses » Tagged with: Family, Fun, Happy, Love, Summer, Travel

May 312010

So, well, it has been amazing here. We have had such a wonderful time with everyone… We had to say goodbye to Sonny and Angel tonight because they had to go to their dad’s tomorrow until after we leave. It was pretty horrible. Angel was so upset she couldn’t stop crying. In fact she is still awake right now crying …it breaks my heart. : (

Okay, we will be happy for the moment. For it has been some of the happiest days in the history of happy days.

We had a pretty good flight down – we ended up flying from Rochester to Orlando because it was so much cheaper. We were able to get a rental car because of the money saved on the flight.

On the tram at the airport in Orlando.

So we drove the two hours from Orlando to get here. We ended up finally getting to my mom’s house around 9 p.m. So we just unpacked and were lazy for a little while before bed.

Saturday was wonderful – of course. After getting up in the a.m. we got ready and headed over to my sister Chris’s house. After some heartfelt reunions we finally got around to getting to the beach. We ended up going to Howard Beach in Tarpon Springs. A smaller beach but still great. Erik and Brandon’s first time swimming in the Gulf of Mexico. Very cool for them.

Simone had a pretty good time too. The water was a little seaweed filled – but we survived anyway.

After our beach excursion we decided to wash off not in the shower like normal people – but in another body of water! This time in Chris’s mother-in-laws pool.

After spending most of the day in some type of water, and in the sun, we decided to go back home and be completely lazy and get already made dinner from the grocery store. We were all way too tired. Hey, it was still great. : )

Since I am camera obsessed, I already have over 200 shots. My lovely niece Simone is almost as camera obsessed as me, so when we were going crazy Saturday night taking pictures, there are amazingly enough some pictures of myself. Woohoo!

Caitlyn’s shirt says love. Sums up my feelings perfectly.

Beautiful girls – God I’m so proud to be their aunt.

We get a little silly sometimes. It’s a sister thing.

Sunday was….well guess what…amazing. It was the day of our family/friends BBQ. It was the first time since Erik’s baptism that ALL of the kids were together. And of course I took advantage of that….

Haha love the last picture – Marijane has her fingers in her nose. GREAT!

So I had this amazing idea of getting the kids to stand in height order.

Okay yea, it actually turned out to be one of the hardest thing in the history of photography – but well, they’re cute anyway. Even if not in a single one are they all looking.

I’m sure the ultra mega cool huge slide they were standing in doesn’t help with the attention span thing.

Okay there were a few more but they weren’t any better. : ( I still love them – and they will be printed. I can oh so fully promise you that.

There are more from the BBQ, and they will be in the next post, promise. You just wait….total picture overload.

Florida!!

No Responses » Tagged with: Happy

May 272010

I’m sorry I don’t have any pictures today. It’s not from the lack of taking them, it’s because my camera is packed.

So we all know what that means….FLORIDA TOMORROW!!!

So, bloody, excited. And happy. I need my family. I miss them so much it hurts. And my family is amazing group of friends there too. : )

So so happy. I love my family.

Sometimes the good guys finish first

No Responses » Tagged with: Family, Happy, Love

Apr 292010

Tonight was a good night. Talk about being grateful for the little things. Like when this little angel reads “Green Eggs and Ham” to us.

And then of course teeth brushing time. He honestly isn’t horribly fond of brushing his teeth, but he was in such a good mood tonight, even that made him smile.

I haven’t had much time to take pictures the past couple of days. Today was my last full day of classes this semester! I only have 1 class left, then 2 finals, and 1 paper. YES! I think this has been the longest 4 months in my life, ever. Okay maybe I’m exaggerating, but man, it was not something I would ever want to do over.

But, for the lack of anything better to really say, we’ll just let this pictures speak for themselves.

Drake, so cute. I put him out on the porch…apparently he thinks he is a cat and tries to scratch his way back in.

I wanted to get this pic of Logan, and also so you can see the lake, and get the idea of just how crazy windy it was today.

Erik done brushing his teeth. Gotta love the George bathroom.

Yes, we got a little camera/mirror happy. We’re dorks, we know.

I hope everyone remembers to take a minute and enjoy all the things in your life that are wonderful. The things that make you feel great and make you love life so completely your heart feels full.

Then, jump on the bed because you just have to.

Enjoy your almost weekend. It’s the weekend here for the little and me. So soon for Brandon though too. And oh, are we looking forward to it.

Things that make me feel like hell for heaven's sake

No Responses » Tagged with: Dogs, Happy

Mar 122010

The 3 (well actually 5) of us had a great weekend. Saturday we did absolutely nothing. Seriously, nothing. We all took naps, and just enjoyed the day. I made manicotti, but that was the extent of the work involved. We watched Narnia, and were generally pretty worthless. It was great!

Sunday we took the dogs and went up to PetSmart. We saw a kitty we wanted to look at, but the volunteers that work there were no where to be found, so alas, we couldn’t look at the kitty. I brought Drake into the store with me, and everyone thought he was pretty darn cute. At least someone does. We also went to Target to look for boots for Erik (that they didn’t have), and to the mall to again look for boots. The only place that had them was stride right, and we find it kind of ridiculous that you have to sign up to be waited on. So poor Erik is without mud boots. Zappos it is.

Amaroo is finally is NY! Wooohooo! Now I can torture her again! With my presence that is. The Fintons will be joining the Allyns tonight for dinner. I am utterly excited about it. Ah the little things in life…

I love Spring Break.

d50

No Responses » Tagged with: Happy

Jan 292010

I didn’t update yesterday because, I had insomnia, I took sleepy medicine, and I’m obviously not used to it anymore, so it put me in a coma for two days. Gomeandmystupidity.

So, my Nikon d50 broke when we were in FL. Brandon was trying to take pictures of Anthony and his band, and it wouldn’t focus. Then you couldn’t zoom in or out, the lens appeared to be stuck. So I took the lens off, and the glass piece that is in the back popped out. So we officially had a broken lens, and no camera for the rest of vacation. I – the insane photographer – had no camera. It was rough.

Upon researching for a new lens, the cheapest we could find was around $200. The poorness that is us, decided we would have to wait a little while until we could get one. Pretty upsetting, since Erik’s 3rd birthday party is this weekend.

Well, since there is some happiness to this story (which is extremely rare with us, we know) I was laying in bed at 4 in the morning, and it dawned on me that I had bought a warranty on that camera. I couldn’t remember at all how long ago I had bought it or for how long the warranty was for. So I found the paperwork (I’m overly organized) and it was luckily a 4 year warranty that was up in 3 month.

So we bring it in to Best Buy. The lovely Geek Squad guy came over and told us that the model was too old and they couldn’t service it anymore. I was bummed…but then he said that because of that they would replace it with a new one that was comparable to the d50. I was still a little bummed, but we ended up with a new Nikon DSLR. We got one that was better than our old one, but was $250 cheaper than our old one. It’s okay, it’s still nicer. And we are really happy. Yay.

Lesson learned, ALWAYS buy the extra warranty with electronics. Don’t worry, we bought another 4 year warranty for this camera.

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