The kids got up before we did this morning, and they quietly went downstairs and started watching TV. When I emerged from the bedroom, I looked down at the kids in the living room and said, “Good morning, kiddos. And happy birthday, Hayden!”

“Is my birthday TODAY?!?!”

He was so excited to be four! He’s been anticipating this birthday for a long time. In fact, a few weeks ago, we had this conversation in the car one afternoon:

HAYDEN: I’m almost a daddy!
ME: You mean you’re almost four?
HAYDEN: Yep, I’m almost a daddy. I’ve got three more weeks!

After breakfast this morning, Nana called to wish him a happy birthday, but considering how he was holding the phone, I’m surprised he could even hear her. Good thing the volume was turned all the way up!

After Tim left for work, I grabbed my Crayola markers and VERY quickly made a sign that says “I’M 4″. Does Hayden look happy to be four or what?!

And in honor of Hayden’s fourth birthday today, here are four things I love about him. (There are many more, of course!)

1. I love Hayden’s passion for all modes of transportation. Trucks, cars, airplanes, trains, boats, helicopters — they’re all well represented in his toy collection. When we go to the library, he usually spends his time playing with the boat and the trains instead of looking at books. One day a few weeks ago, we came home from the library with five books, and each of them were about transportation, including fire trucks and taxis.

2. I love Hayden’s giggle. I really should make a recording of it so I can always remember that cute, happy sound.

3. I love that Hayden likes ketchup. He’s a picky little eater, but adding plenty of ketchup apparently makes things much more palatable.

4. I love that Hayden enjoys hanging out as a family. At bedtime when we mention things we’re thankful for, Hayden often says that he’s thankful that he gets to spend time with all of us as a family. And when I asked what kind of picture he wanted on his birthday cake, he said he wanted it to be a family. A family? Really? I asked again a few days ago, and he said the same thing. So a family it is. We’re not having a party until Friday, so I still have a couple days to pull that off.

I love you, Hayden!

Today turned into a gray, rainy day, so I thought I’d add a little cheer to the drear by posting a picture I snapped on a sunny day a couple weeks ago.

I love that boy.

Last evening we took the kids to the carnival in Dublin, PA, and at bedtime last night, the four of us took turns telling about our favorite part of the carnival. I couldn’t pick just one, so I said that I liked the lights, the smells, and seeing the kids have fun.

I couldn’t capture the smell of funnel cake with my camera, and since it was early evening, the lights don’t look as special in the pictures I took, but hopefully I was somewhat successful at capturing some of the fun the kids were having.

It’s a good thing there isn’t a fine for delinquent blogging, because I’m definitely guilty as charged. In my defense, I’ve been kinda busy moving to PA, getting married, honeymooning in Mexico, becoming a mom to a 7-year-old and an almost-4-year-old, and getting settled in my new home and community. Oh yeah, and shopping at IKEA.

The wedding went very, very well. Planning it was a ton of work, especially with all of the other transitions I was making at the same time, but it was so gratifying to see everything come together. Our wedding went just as we had planned, and it was a lovely, fun, amazing day. Tim and I are so grateful that so many of our friends and family were able to celebrate the day with us!

On Monday morning we jetted off to Mexico to spend seven days and six nights at an all-inclusive resort along the Riviera Maya (half an hour south of Cancun). It was SO relaxing. We spent plenty of time lazing around the resort, but we also went deep sea fishing (I caught a beautiful mahi-mahi), saw the ruins at Tulum, and enjoyed tubing and snorkeling at Xel-Ha. Oh, and we also did some snorkeling along the beach at the resort. I had never snorkeled before, and was actually kind of nervous about it, but I loved it! One of the other highlights of the week was a romantic dinner on the beach with my toes in the sand. Very nice.

But now we’re back to reality, which involves parenting, unpacking boxes, and going to Phillies games, apparently. Tim and I went to the game on Saturday evening (sixth row, baby!), and then we took the kids to the game last night. I couldn’t quite believe my own ears yesterday afternoon when I heard myself telling Magen which three Phillies were on the DL (disabled list).

There is TONS more I could write about the wedding, our trip to Mexico, and the process of getting settled in, but instead, I think I’ll wrap up this post with a few pictures. Enjoy!

And here are a few pictures from Mexico…

OK, I can’t resist. Here’s one more picture of my handsome husband. I love you, Tim!

A couple weeks ago I found a four-leaf clover at the park one morning and then helped the kids find it themselves. Since then, Magen will often stop and look for four-leaf clovers, and she has actually managed to find a few. She even stuffed one of her lucky clovers into the handle of her scooter.

This evening as she and I were walking at the park, she told me that she looks for the little white flowers, because that means that there is clover nearby. I explained that the white flowers are actually clover flowers, and that the three-leaf and four-leaf clovers she finds are the clover leaves.

“But why aren’t there many FOUR-leaf clovers?” she asked.

“It’s kind of like how there are lots of kids with brown hair and lots of kids with blonde hair, but there are only a few kids with red hair.” I tousled her red-haired ponytail. “And the lucky kids with the red hair are like the lucky four-leaf clovers.”

She giggled and took my hand in hers.

I love that girl.

When I bought my house at the age of 23, I had no idea what my life would look like seven years later. Would I be married? Would I have kids? Would I have a masters degree? Would I be working at my dream job? Would I still live in the United States? Would I have cancer?

Fast forward seven years. I’m a few weeks away from being a wife and a mom, I have half a masters degree, I’m getting ready to leave a job that’s been a surprisingly good fit for me, I’m still living in the Friendly City, and as far as I know, I don’t have any life-threatening illnesses.

I’m also no longer a homeowner. This afternoon I took some time off work and headed to a law office downtown. The office is only a few blocks from my house, and I’ve driven past the building a bazillion times, but I had never been inside until today. One hour and eight signatures later, I no longer owned property in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

What better way to celebrate the first day of summer than to check off the first thing on my Summer To-Do List?! Sell my house… CHECK!

But don’t worry, I’m not going to be homeless for the next month. I’m technically considered a “guest” of the buyers, even though they’re staying right where they are, and I will be living in my house rent-free (and mortgage-free!) until I get married and move to Pennsylvania.

So today has been a bittersweet day. I’m definitely very excited to be marrying Tim, and I’m looking forward to so many aspects of getting settled in the area where I’ve been spending half my weekends, but I’d be lying if I said I’m eager to leave the town that I’ve called home for the past ten years. It was totally my choice, of course, and when I considered the pros and cons way back when, it was a no-brainer. And… when I pick up that big ol’ equity check tomorrow and deposit it in my bank account, it’s going to seem a lot more sweet than bitter.

And pretty soon, I’ll be a homeowner again. But instead of living alone in a house that’s smack up next to my neighbor’s house, I’ll be living with my husband and kids at the end of a long, lovely driveway.

Seven years ago, I didn’t know what my life would look like in 2010, but now I do. And I love it.

This evening iPicked up a small, white object and said “Call Tim.” Moments later, iWas talking with my favorite person via my favorite new device. According to my webcam, this is what iLooked like.

iKnow — can you believe it?! Yesterday iTook a flying leap and went from having no cell phone at all to owning an iPhone. Just as iExpected, iLove it. And… iHave a Pennsylvania phone number!

I don’t expect to ever live in my hometown of Hagerstown, Maryland again, but if I were there right now, I think I’d head down to City Park this evening to enjoy the lovely, warm weather.

Personally, I think every town ought to have a big park with beautiful flowers, stone walls, a manmade lake, a museum of fine arts, picnic tables, playgrounds, athletic facilities, a bandshell, and geese that eat out of your hand. Growing up, I never realized how spoiled I was!

(No, I didn’t get a haircut; that picture was taken 7 years ago. Nice jeans, huh?)

It’s really easy for me to get stuck in a rut, especially when I like the rut I’m in, so for the past three months, I’ve had the same image on my computer desktop background. It’s a fun picture of me and my now-fiance, but it was taken at a Christmas parade back in early December, and now that we’re on the verge of Spring, I’m in the mood for something a little less wintry.

I recently discovered the Chez Larsson blog, and today Benita wrote about growing grass in a container on the windowsill. See? Isn’t that a great way to bring a little bit of summertime indoors during the bleak winter months?

I have a lot to do in the next four months, and “grow grass” isn’t exactly on my list. But since I’m all about instant gratification (who isn’t?!), this evening I did a quick Google image search for “grass” and found this image from the Cambridge Department of Public Works. I suspect they got it from somewhere else, but at least I’m giving proper credit to my source.

After just two clicks of the mouse, that lovely photo was my desktop background image, so now when I sit down at my computer, I see green grass and blue sky. Also, did you know that you can hide your desktop icons? I’m already a minimalist when it comes to icons (I only have five on my desktop), but I was pretty excited when I learned that you can totally hide them. Just right click on the desktop, click View, and click Show Desktop Icons to toggle between showing and hiding them.

Doesn’t that just make you want to go barefoot? Me too.

After a cold, snowy winter, you know that spring is on its way when Rachel gets home from work, pulls on some spandex, and heads out for a good brisk walk. No music, no companion, no destination. Just me, my sneakers, and the pavement. (Another sure sign that spring is on its way is when you walk past a house where half a dozen college students are standing on the roof of their porch, beverages in hand. This evening they made some comments that I ignored, but at least they didn’t offer me a beer.)

This past fall I bought a pair of exercise pants that has a tiny zippered pocket in the waistband. It wasn’t the reason I bought the pants, of course, but it sure is a handy place to tuck my house key when I’m out for a walk. A number of years ago, I had exercise pants with drawstrings, and I would usually tie my key onto the drawstring when I tied it. However, only one pair of my exercise pants has a tiny pocket, and none have drawstrings now, so several years ago I finally came up with a creative way to take my key along when I go for a walk.

My solution was inspired by an idea I encountered over at Real Simple. Basically you take a small binder clip, temporarily remove one of the metal pieces (if you pinch it, it pops right out), stick it through the hole in your key, and put the metal piece back in the clip. It’s easy to do, and if you have a spare house key, you really only have to do it once.

After I lock the front door, I clip the little doodad to my waistband with the key to the inside, and then flip those little metal pieces down so they’re flat and sleek. They key lies almost flat and doesn’t poke into my side, but if your key doesn’t behave quite as nicely for you, you can always put the key on the outside and just let it dangle. Since I’m just going for a walk and not to Starbucks, I don’t put any money in the clip like Real Simple suggests, but that’s a pretty neat idea.

Figuring out what to do with your key when you exercise might seem like a small thing, but it felt like a big thing for me when I discovered this solution a few years ago, so I thought I’d pass along the idea in case you find it helpful too.

On Saturday morning at 6:58, I did something I had never done before. I sent an email RSVP… for two people.

As much as I love lists, today was so low-key that I’d have to scrape the bottom of the barrel to come up with a legitimate list of eight things that made me happy today. So this time I’m only going to mention one. (Kim, if I were listing two things, helping Conner play with the bell this afternoon would definitely make the cut.)

Last night I read an email from a friend just before heading to bed, which means I didn’t find the subsequent P.S. email until this morning. This was the entire message:

P.S. – notice the Oxford comma in [a certain paragraph]. I don’t usually use them, but I know you are a fan.

It’s a firmly established fact that I’m easily amused, but of all of the thoughtful things someone could do for me, indulging my preference for the Oxford comma is definitely one of the least expected!

(Is everyone aware of my preference for shrimp and Kline’s ice cream? OK, just wanted to make sure.)