Jayden's "Teams"

If anyone hangs around Jayden for more than an hour you will become a "coach" or "player" on his "team." He will make you pack a bag, tell you he has a early morning flight to go to his "game" or even convince you that he is the best basketball player to ever step foot on a court. I guess this is what happens when your father is a professional athlete.

With that being said, I am pleased to announce that Jayden will finally be able to be on his own "team." Adam and I just signed him up for Sport Squirt Camp. I made the mistake of telling him a little too early and now every morning he wakes up and asks me if it is time to be on his team yet. I can't wait for July 12th for Jayden can really be apart of a team of kids his own age.

I'll be sure to fill you in on how everything goes in a few weeks. But for now, I will continue to play "coach" and tell Jayden he is doing a great job playing sports!

Article: Opinions varied on NBA draft selection

Check out this article in the Journal Times by famous NBA beat writer, Gery Woelfel. The article came out this morning and within a few hours, HoopsHype had picked it up.

I know Jill is looking down with a big smile on her face. She would be so proud of her brother.

I meant to share with you a little post from my friend Leigh again. It's just a short piece that explains Adam and his dedication in a short paragraph.

Chase Your Dreams

My dear friend Adam has been feverishly working to continue Jill's legacy and his vehicle to do that is the Jill E. Harrington Hanzalik Memorial Fund. If you bottled up his passion and dedication you could move mountains, he is a force to be recokened with and God help those that stand in his way. I admire his energy and his drive, he is focused on a cause that is going to impact so many lives and forever change the tragectory for many little boys and girls. My heart breaks that this Memorial Fund exists at all, but now that it does, and now that we can't turn back the hands of time and bring Jilly back I am going to do everything in my power to help Adam spread the word about the Fund and all the great work they have ahead of them.

If you would like more information or like to get involved, please let me know.

Meet My Friend Leigh

To give you a little background about Leigh, her and Adam have been best friends since elementary school. They are basically the same person just in two different bodies, sometimes a little stubborn (according to Adam), speak their minds and always willing to help someone in need. When you put Adam and Leigh together on a challenge, do not stand in their way!

Leigh has a great blog where she shares stories about her life and beautiful little girls - it is private so not everyone can see. However, I politely asked her if I could share her latest post titled "God Bless Me." Below is for sure going to give you a laugh and make you think that your not so good day is looking a bit brighter! Enjoy! (side note; her girls are almost 3 and almost 16 months).

Sit back, relax and enjoy the next few minutes of your life as you read about the last 24-36 hours of my life. .

Monday Afternoon - 4:45pm - TCH calls and Olivia has a fever of 104. God Bless Me, Brad and Karen, the nice manager who gave Olivia a popsicle at school.

Monday Night - Olivia doesn't rest well, she is up a few times during the night. God Bless Me and Brad

Tuesday Morning - 5:30am - Avery wakes up God Bless Me (and Brad)

Tuesday - Brad leaves for Atlanta and I work from home with OliviaGod Bless Me and those pilots that are carrying my darling husband to Hot-Lanta.

Tuesday Afternoon - I pick up Avery at school and notice she has an icky rash all over her that her teachers clearly missed. Avery is a complete grouch, she threw a major fit, threw herself on the floor, screamed her face off, and was so loud that Insley heard her and came over. God Bless Me (and Insley)

Tuesday Evening - Its still 103 degrees outside so I have to keep the girls inside - if you could be a fly on my walls you would know how painful that is, they live to be outside in the evenings. Avery just stands at the doors and yells "side, side, side" at the top of her little lungs. I gave the girls a bath and after Avery's bath I noticied that her rash was worse, and I saw that it was covering the bottom of her feet and her hands were starting to show signs as well - not good. Avery went to bed fairly easily, Olivia on the other hand made it her personal mission to drive me to drink, she was still up, chatting to herself until after 10:30pm. It wasn't until the girls were down and Riley and I were cuddled up on the couch enjoying each other's company that I realized both of his ears were broken and were filling with blood - simply awesome. Just what I need...and did I mention that the odor seeping from his behind was making my eyes water and my nose hairs burn? Brad thought that part was hilarious, he giggled like a school boy when I talked to him. He will get his!!! God Bless Me

Tuesday Night - Olivia didn't rest well again, was up a few times during the night God Bless Me

Wednesday Morning - 5:00am - "I want to watch Dora", that is all I heard over the monitor, Olivia was wide awake. So into our bed she came, I thought for sure I would get her back to sleep by cuddling up with her, but no such luck, I opened my eyes to find us nose to nose and her big browns staring me down. God Bless Me

5:30am - Avery screams for the first time God Bless Me

6:00am - I get into the shower

6:15am - Avery screams for the second time, still in her crib God Bless Me

7:00am - Avery wakes up happy but her rash is now in full force, covering her legs, feet and hands. God Bless Me

7:15am - We all pile into the car and set out for TCH. We dropped Olivia in her classroom and talked to a wide variety of teachers about Avery's rash and the consensus was "she needs to get checked out". God Bless Me

8:30am - Avery and I make our way to Chippenham Peds, see our favorite NP Lauren and within seconds of seeing Avery she said "Yup, Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease". AWESOME....and here is the kicker. She has to be out of school for the rest of the week. Sure, no problem, not like Capital One needs me, not like I don't have a job to do, not like Brad is out of town until Friday at midnight...God Bless Me

8:43am - I order a Diet-Cherry Limeade from Sonic...and debate spiking it with Gin...and lots of it. God Bless Me

8:51am - I deliver the news to my Director...the news being that I will be "working from home" for the rest of the week, and when Avery is the one at home, that basically means I will be worthless because she requires so much attention, whereas Olivia can entertain herself. God Bless Me

9:30am - Avery takes her morning nap and I get some work done - God Bless Her

11:00am - Nancy our heroic cleaning lady arrives God Bless Her

11:52am - Avery has her first fit of the day God Bless Me

11:59am - Avery has her second fit of the day God Bless Me

12:15pm - Avery has her third fit of the day God Bless Me

12:19pm - Avery has her fourth fit of the day God Bless Me

12:40pm - Avery goes down for a nap - God Bless Her

And thats it so far...I am going to get some work done while she naps, pray she naps for at least 2 hours, run out and pick up Olivia when Avery wakes up, leave Olivia with Molly while Avery and I take Riley to the vet, shake the money tree to pay for Riley's vet bill and then we'll go from there...

Any takers on whether Olivia will be home from school tomorrow with a nasty rash? Over/Under on that?

Berenstain Bears

If you ever walk into our home you will hear one of three things: Christian music, a sporting event on the television, or nothing. I am not 100% against Jayden watching television but at his age I can think of countless activities he could do instead. With that being said, when I do allow Jayden to watch television, usually one 30 minute show every other day, I like to make sure it is somewhat educational. Lately, he has been in love with the Berenstain Bears. I think they were popular when I was Jayden's age. Every episode plays two stories that both have some type of life lesson. Whether it is brushing your teeth, sharing or letting everyone play no matter their looks, I somehow reason with myself that it is ok for him to watch something that has a point behind the story. To top off, I always quiz him afterwards! So parents, if you are looking for something cute and education, try the Berenstain Bears!

Married to a Baller

You may have heard me mention the blog Married to a Baller before or the name Erin. Erin is the writer of Married to a Baller where she talks about her journey in faith, life and living overseas with her husband and now four small children (yes, 4 children under the age of 6, living overseas with no family; she's basically a superwoman). I have actually never met Erin in person but over the last 1+ year I have had the opportunity to communicate with her through our Basketwives network. She has given me advice on everything from parenting to helping Adam and I along on our journey in faith. She truly is an amazing woman of God.

I check her blog daily and the other day she wrote a piece on Jill and her foundation. My heart with overwhelmed with gratitude and happiness. For her to take the time to write to her followers about Jill and the foundation, a person to which she never met and had never known, was simply too kind. Please check out her blog, her posts will certainly give you a smile or laugh!

Happy Father's Day 2010

Happy Father's Day to all the amazing Father's and soon-to-be Father's out there. And of course, a very special Happy Father's Day to my Dad and Adam!

My Favorite Items: iLuv

My dearest soon-to-be brother-in-law purchased one of these iLuv cases for his blackberry at the airport in Florida. I immediately fell in love with it because it protects the whole phone, it is flimsy and you can't even tell it is on there unless you hold it or really look.

Kevin paid almost $30 for his but when he returned home he purchased two of them for $17.00 off of Amazon.com. Check 'em out! They carry cases for Blackberrys and a lot of Apple products as well. Just another item to add to my "Favorite Items" list.

The Jill E. Harrington Hanzalik Memorial Fund

It has been a busy month to say the least. When the season is over I used to think it was time to relax for the summer and get ready for another season living aboard. Well let me tell you something, it is the complete opposite. The spring/summer for us is the busiest time of the year. We are pulled in 100 different directions and try to do what most people do in 12 months in 3. So needless to say, my blog has taken back seat.

So to fill you in here...

First, Adam has been working non-stop on his sister's memorial fund. The Jill E. Harrington Hanzalik Memorial Fund is officially underway. We have our first event scheduled for Saturday, June 26th at Jake's Tavern in Turners Falls, MA (if you are in town, please come by) and our second event schedule for Sunday, August 1st at Mount Snow Golf Course in Dover, VT. Please see Adam's facebook page for any details.

It warms my heart watching Adam go to work on helping his sister's legacy live on. I can tell he feels so strongly about it and really knows he can help youth and young adults chase their dreams so for that I am proud of him.

Next, we took a nice little vacation to Block Island, RI and had an amazing time. If you ever get the chance to go, go. It is the cutest little island with happy people and beautiful views. After that I took the train to NYC and the boys went home for a weekend to themselves! I drove down to NJ to help my little (big) sister get ready for her very first semi-formal. She looked absolutely gorgeous and I was in tears watching her walk into the dance.

Lastly, on Saturday my bridesmaids and family threw me the most amazing bridal shower in the rain ever. It was just perfect! They all did such a wonderful job and I couldn't have asked for anything more. Our house is currently filled with more gifts then any one human should have but I will say I am more in love with crate and barrel then I ever was.

Well there you have it, that's the run down of our lives lately. Jayden is growing like a weed and is actually becoming more independent then I ever thought possible.

I am going to try and "promise" to get back to my normal blogging about other things then our lives. But for now, I will leave you with this video of our pastor, Carl Lentz talking about his newest journey: the coming together of Hillsong NYC.

Wedding Dress Disaster

What do you do when your wedding is 93 days away and you don't have a wedding dress? Don't stress and relax. Well that's what I am trying to do. There are far more bigger problems in this world then worry about a wedding dress, right? Of course!

Here is my story. I bought a wedding dress before we left for Poland because I knew we wouldn't be back in the states in time to order whatever dress I liked (custom dresses take 6 to 8 months to come in). So I made an impulse buy. At the time I thought I liked the dress I bought. When we first got home from Poland, I wasn't in the mood to try the dress on again. Last week I decided to try the dress on for my mom. I immediately started crying and lost it. I absolutely hate it. I looks so cheap and doesn't fit at all. So now what?

I have began my dress search again. It is going to be difficult because 1. there is a labor shortage in China right now so some dresses at taking much longer and 2. there are no size 0 or 2 in stores. Most stores carry sizes 10 and 12 as floor models.

You all may be wondering why it is such a big deal to me to get a dress that I absolutely love. To Adam and I, divorce is NOT an option once we are married. Therefore, I am going to wear one wedding dress on September 4, 2010 and that is it. So it is very important to me to look and feel like a gorgeous bride for Adam, my future husband. I have not given up hope, I have faith that I will find the perfect wedding dress before my wedding!

The Jill E. Hanzalik Fund

If some of you don't have Adam as a friend on facebook you have missed his latest statuses. Bracelets have been created in memory of Jill (Harrington) and Chase Hanzalik that are on sale for $3.00. 100% of the proceeds are going to her fund that is currently waiting for approval. So for now, if you would like to help support please let me know.