New Year's Eve...for just a bit longer...

It is just one hour until the New Year is upon us in the Eastern time zone and as I ponder what I hope to accomplish this coming year, I am reminded of a quote known as the serenity prayer.

Lately, I tend to focus too much on the roadblocks in my life. I am prone to give in to feelings of hopelessness much too often. I never used to be this way. I don’t WANT to be this way. And I think I need to tattoo this prayer in my mind as a constant reminder of where my focus needs to be.

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference."

Acceptance, courage and wisdom -- three pretty good things to strive for I think.

Here's wishing all of you a wonderful 2008!

Last Post For A Bit...

Well, I think it's time I say "Happy Holidays" and focus on what needs to be done the next two weeks. I may try to keep up with your blogs a bit, but for the most part, I won't be around. So, have a wonderful, wonderful Christmas with your families!!!

Be safe -- stay healthy -- and I'll "see" you soon!

Shooting Christmas Card Photos -- Take Two

Well, that's it -- the kids win! I give up -- and today I just completely cheated and picked two of my favorite pictures from earlier in the year (one of Nick -- one of Ryan & Rachel together) and put them on a photo card and will be picking them up tomorrow.

But I still wanted to show you my latest moments captured on film. Not funny at the time -- but they sure crack me up now. Be sure you click on them to see the wonderful facial expressions (and the lovely red eyes!)

Night of the Prehistoric Sea Monster

Have you seen these before? Have you had them living in your home?

If you click on the pictures you can read the description of these Prehistoric Sea Monsters (also known as Triops) and get a look at one of ours. (And sorry about the dirty-ish water -- I have no idea how to clean it out!) Let me start by saying, my son received these as a gift last Christmas. (Yes – last Christmas.) It took me 11 months to get them out of the box and set them up. But the weekend after Thanksgiving, we decided to try them out.

I had no hope of anything happening – especially since we waited so long to actually open the box. But lo and behold – we followed the directions and guess what? Living, swimming, itty bitty little triops appeared. Maybe 11 of them to start. And now, for the past three weeks (or however long it has been since Thanksgiving) – two fully-grown triops are living in my house.

My husband was immediately freaked out by these creatures. He kept asking me, “Really – what exactly are those things?” All I know is what I read on the box and instructions. I laughed at him – the kids and I think they’re fun to watch and Nick thinks they are our fish.

But even though I laughed at my husband...I have to be honest….

Each evening as I pull their little tank out of the window to shut the blinds, they really do seem somewhat freaky. They started out as a packet of what looked like dirt – and now they swim. For a split second each night I start to envision my family as the unwilling stars of the next direct-to-video Sci Fi thriller. You know which type of movie I’m talking about. Where the pet crustacean turns out to be something from another world – it starts out small and then takes on a life of its own – growing to gargantuan size and eating or destroying anything or anyone in its path.

It could happen.

So if you don’t hear from me for awhile….you may want to send help.

Why I haven't even STARTED my Christmas cards

Alright -- I am seriously envious of all of you that can get perfect pictures of your kids together. Because look at what I get...

Not that I don't like this picture at all. It's very much what I'm used to getting when I try to get the three of my kids to pose together. Nick looks like he's making a pirate face -- their clothes are not ideal for Christmas cards -- Rachel only has a half smile on her face. These three do not make it easy on me. But in a way, I am thinking I SHOULD put this photo on a card because in 20 years, they would probably think it's really funny with Nick's silly face. And it IS a true representation of what happens when I pull the camera out.

If I get Christmas cards out at all this year, it will be a miracle!

And yes, I know you're wondering if that's a Stormtrooper on my tree -- it is. Because you know, nothing says Christmas like characters from Star Wars. (Ha!) If you look closely, you will also see Foghorn Leghorn, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger...we also have Harry Potter, Homer Simpson (my hubby's ornament), and many, many other character ornaments. Someday, I will have a tree that has all my pretty ornaments -- right now I have to settle for 10% pretty -- 90% crazy! But it makes my kids happy -- and you can't beat that. Plus some of my ornaments, although not elegant are very sentimental -- one from my grandma that is really beat up, but a treasured possession. One my husband made when he was little. Ornaments the kids have made. I really do love our tree.

I hope your holiday planning and preparation is going well and you are enjoying the season. I have started wrapping presents and I think my shopping is pretty well finished except for a few odds and ends. We may bake cookies this weekend -- we have a new bucket of holiday cookie cutters just waiting to be used. Does anyone have a fantastic sugar cookie recipe for cut-out cookies??? I need one.

Alright -- I best be going. Happy Monday -- have a good week -- and hopefully, I'll be catching up with all of you soon!

What is Wrong With Me???

December 6th and my Christmas spirit is just not what it should be. I am pretty sure I went through this last year as well. And I don't like it.

All week I have been stressing about how much I need to get done in the next two weeks and then the days pass and at the end of each day I wonder -- did I accomplish anything today?? I know I did -- I've been very busy. Still, my to do list seems to grow instead of diminish. I guess it's just that time of year.

I know you get sick of me saying it, but seriously -- have these past four or five months FLOWN by, or is it just me?? Where in the world did September, October and November go? It's like life is moving at the speed of light and you can get so caught up in the "busy-ness" of getting things done, that you have no time to enjoy them! Plus, my family has been sick for several weeks now -- nothing major, but we keep passing some darn cold/sinus bug around and it's just enough to be completely annoying. And it makes us all run down and tired which means at the end of the day when I hope to be wrapping presents or making Christmas cards -- I'm spent and just want to call it a day.

To top it all off, we are not going to be spending Christmas Eve or Day at our own home and I'm not too happy about it. I actually have mixed feelings about it -- but I have to say, it gets under my skin that nobody seems to really understand that it is important to me for my children to have memories of Christmas in THEIR OWN home. Is that too much to ask??

Gosh, as I reread my post I sound like a complete SCROOGE -- I think I needed to get this off my chest! LOL And please don't get me wrong. I do love Christmas -- for its TRUE meaning. It's my favorite holiday. I think I'm just a little down -- feeling like I can't enjoy it as I would like.

This is why I haven't posted this week...I don't mean to be a downer. I am trying to just clear my head and remind myself each day that this too shall pass and hopefully, hopefully, hopefully I can get past my frustrations and just enjoy this time of year for what it's all about.

I think it's time for my annual viewing of "It's a Wonderful Life".... maybe that will set me straight. What do you think??

I have four words for you...

Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha....

Mmmmmm.....

Sometimes, it's just a Starbucks kind of day.

This little cup of yummy cost me more than a gallon of gas (and if I think about it too much, I'll feel incredibly guilty) ~~ but sometimes a girl just needs to splurge a little -- know what I mean???

If you haven't splurged on yourself lately, remember that it's a crazy busy time of year and you need to pamper yourself a little now and then.

Enjoy the weekend as we enter the final month of 2007! Can you even believe it??

Oprah Trucks & E.T. Cheese

This post is so completely random, but as I was going through some photos from this past month this morning, I found some from a UT football game that we went to with the two older kids.

(If you look real close you can see the extremely cute "pennants" my daughter made for us to use at the game!)

Look at the photo of my son standing next to me. Can you tell how big he is?? For goodness sake the boy is only eight years old and he is nearly my height!! Not that I'm tall, but still -- my eight year old will be looking me straight in the eye in no time and it completely blows my mind sometimes. In just the past year, he has really outgrown his little boy features. Sometimes, it makes me sad. Where does the time go??

It also makes me think about one of my favorite things about my kids as they grow. I absolutely love when they come up with a particular name for something, or when they mispronounce something and then we all end up using the "new" word in our vocabulary.

For a long time we called dinosaurs "see-saurs" because that is what my oldest son Ryan would say when he was little. When my daughter Rachel was little, we called her "Rachie" and she started to call herself "Chi Chi". So of course Chi Chi is what we all started to say ("Cheech" for short) and to this day, "Cheech" is what we call her most of the time. Nicholas calls pots and pans "cook cooks" -- now the rest of us do it as well. It sounds so stupid, but somehow we all pick up on these things and they stick. Some days I think a person might need an interpreter if they were to come to our home and listen to our conversations.

Last week, we turned on Oprah's annual "Favorite Things" show. (Gosh that woman is generous!!) Anyway, she had traveled to Georgia for the show and used Fed Ex to deliver all the presents. My daughter has since been calling every Fed Ex truck we see an "Oprah truck" and I am quite sure we will be calling them this for a while. We also call American cheese slices "E.T. cheese" because when Ryan was little, they had a picture of E.T. on the package one time and he began calling it that. Here we are six years later -- still calling it E.T. cheese.

Other fun words from our personal dictionary -- "basket hounds" instead of bassett, "wobspur" instead of lobster, "arts and craps" instead of arts & crafts, "BombBob" instead of Spongebob -- I am sure there are a million more, but these are the ones that come to mind.

So if you didn't already think I was a bit off my rocker, I'm sure you are now convinced! Ha! I'm hoping some of you will tell me you do the same thing at your house, so I don't feel quite so weird.

Happy Thursday!

Did Ya Miss Me???

If not, don't tell me.... ;)

I have missed YOU because I feel like it has been AGES since I've checked in on your blogs or emailed. I hope all is well. I will do my best to catch up over the next couple of weeks.

My mom has been visiting for the past two weeks. It had been almost a year and a half since the last time I saw her. She left to go back home today. I'm feeling pretty sad, as are my children. Especially my little guy, who got a lot of time with his Nana all by himself (while his siblings were at school). He will have some big time withdrawal for a couple of days I think. This picture says it all. Nick was his Nana's sidekick for two weeks and she got quite a few hugs, kisses and snuggles.

I absolutely love to watch my children enjoying time with their Nana. She and my in-laws are pretty opposite when it comes to how they spend time with the kids. Both ways are fine and the kids enjoy both, but my in-laws like to cram a lot of "adventures" into a visit -- going here and there, lots of commotion. My mom prefers to play with them at home -- board games, art projects, reading, puzzles. We did go to a few places -- the zoo (yes, I took a zillion animal pictures!) shopping, the park, a museum, out to dinner once -- but mostly they played at home and had a wonderful time. Personally -- I prefer it that way. I like for the kids to realize that you don't have to be out and away from home to have a really good time. It's a struggle at our house sometimes because my husband and I are similar to our parents -- he tends to need to be on the go to think something is fun. I am a homebody.

I think in general there is too much of a need to be entertained. Maybe not for everyone, but for a lot of people. They need to be busy, busy, busy -- plugged in to this or that -- and they forget how to make their own fun -- how to use a little creativity and imagination to enjoy their time with their family. It's really pretty sad in my opinion. And I want my children to be able to create their own fun -- and not EXPECT to be entertained at all times.

And now, before I really get going on my little soapbox -- I need to run. I have lots of things to do this afternoon and this afternoon is quickly turning into this evening!

I have missed you all -- I'll be back to post again soon!

So Thankful...

Good Monday Morning Everyone! In a couple of days my mom is coming to visit for a couple of weeks (woo hoo!), so at this point I'm not sure how often I'll be posting. If you don't see me around -- you'll know why.

It's November -- Thanksgiving is just around the corner -- and although I'm a firm believer in constantly trying to remember ALL the things I have to be thankful for, I'm glad for this upcoming holiday and what it stands for. It's nice to have a day when we are all meant to reflect on the goodness and blessings in our lives. Today, I want to share just one thing I am extremely grateful for.

I am SO extremely grateful for my online scrapbooking friends.

There was a time when I would have never considered making friends through the internet. And even now, I would be hesitant to join some of the various sites out there. But through scrapbooking and a couple of scrapping message boards, I have gotten to know some really wonderful people -- who I truly consider close friends. And for that, I am thankful.

The talent of these friends is inspiring, but the kindness is even more amazing. From these thoughtful friends I have received various handmade cards and gifts, CDs, packages of scrapping goodies and emails just to say hello. Without even knowing it, these friends have brightened my day on many occasions.

Around my birthday last year, I will never forget, my husband commented that my scrapping friends were nicer to me than he is....LOL! Hmmmm....

I would love to name each of you personally here -- but chances are I would forget someone and I don't want to do that. I think you all know who you are -- I hope you do.

I have had the pleasure of meeting a handful of you in person and I hope someday I will have the good fortune to meet more of you. In the meantime, please know how much I appreciate each and every one of you. I feel very lucky to have you as my friends. Love you guys!!!

Thanks for stopping by -- have a great week!!!

Thank Goodness I'm a Dog Person...

Look at my furbaby Apollo -- isn't she the prettiest dog ever? I just love my pup! The poor girl is slowing down more and more each day, but she's hanging in there. Aside from very obvious trouble with arthritis (it's almost painful to watch her get up and down sometimes) -- she seems to be okay. We have been bracing ourselves for several months now that the end may be near -- the vet thinks she has liver disease or a tumor of some sort. But so far, she's hanging on and we just keep hoping she'll be with us for as long as possible. I have no idea how the older kids will handle it when something does happen. Not to mention me....I will most certainly be a mess! As crazy as it may sound, Apollo has been a huge comfort to me during some of my worst moments (like my miscarriage) -- and I can't imagine life without her around.

Anyway -- the real reason I am writing about dogs today is because of a neighbor who lives up the street and behind us. I don't know these neighbors, but they have a pen with dogs that bark pretty much ALL the time. And sometimes, it doesn't sound too good. It sounds like the dogs are fighting -- or in pain -- or just neglected. And I keep thinking I need to go snoop around and see if the dogs appear to be in bad shape. But I haven't done it -- because I also wonder if maybe I've seen one too many episodes of Animal Cops and am just imagining things. I hate to stick my nose where it doesn't belong -- but I also hate the thought of animals being mistreated or not cared for. I also am SURE the noisy dogs must be bothering some people in our neighborhood. Not everyone enjoys constant barking. I can usually tune it out -- but there are times when it's pretty annoying. Would you go check it out if you were me? I'm not quite sure how to do it without trespassing.

And since I'm rambling about dogs....can someone please explain to me the concept of having an "outside dog". I really don't get it. If you have a pet -- why would you keep it outside all the time? I guess if you live on a farm or in the country maybe. But I really cannot imagine having a dog and keeping it outside all the time. It doesn't make sense to me. So -- I am not being judgmental -- I am truly wondering if someone can explain it to me! LOL

Okay -- I am on my way to the vet right now with my dog, so it's time for me to quit rambling about them!

Have a great day and enjoy the weekend!

Love Notes and Loud Mouths....

I don't know if this will crack you up as much as it did me, but last night, I took my son to Cub Scouts and when I got home, my daughter had written me a nice little "love" note on a napkin. Can you read what it says??

I like pigs. I love U Mommy. (LOL!)

I am not sure whether or not I should be offended. What thought process made her think of pigs -- and me -- all at the same time?? Hmmmm.....better not think about it for too long! Actually, she is in kindergarten and enjoying learning to sound out and spell new words all the time. I think she was very excited to sound out and spell the word "pig" all on her own, so she included it in my note. Is that the funniest thing or what?

Today, the kids are home from school and it has been one of those days when I almost wish they were at school. They are bickering, moody and then when they were playing nicely together, they made up a game that Ryan named "battle of the loudmouths" -- which sadly, was quite accurate. All three of the kids were making as much noise as possible to see who could be the loudest. And guess what? In my book, they ALL won. I considered making them stop, but they were having fun and it was better than the bickering. I then took them to the grocery store which was not awful, but not pleasant. I think when my husband gets home, I may run screaming from the house.

(Okay, it's not THAT bad, but really -- I have had that "Calgon take me away" feeling quite a bit today!)

Alright...I guess I should go before all heck breaks loose again. Hope you're enjoying your day. Sorry I missed my RAK prompt this week -- I'll do one again soon.

Happy Tuesday!

Words of Advice....and another tag!

What do you think of my jack-o-lanterns??? Let me give you some very important advice. Don't ever say to your children -- at 2pm -- on the actual DAY of Halloween -- "Hey, do you want Mommy to make shapes in your pumpkins???" That's exactly what I did. Why? Who the heck knows? I certainly don't know what possessed me, but luckily, I talked my daughter into choosing an easy pattern (the bat) and my oldest chose the goblin, which was a little harder, but not too bad. But there I was -- from about 2:45pm until close to 5pm (off and on) -- carving pumpkins. My little guy has the cutest little skinny pumpkin which I wanted to carve a face in, but I never got around to it.

Now our house is downloaded with way more candy than any child should eat in one lifetime. We have entered the new candy cycle -- you moms know what I mean. It starts with Halloween, then you just get rid of all the Halloween candy and people start giving your kids treats for Christmas. You use up the Christmas treats and -- Wow! -- It's time for Valentine candy! You finally get rid of that and you guessed it -- it's Easter!!! Candy, candy and more candy.

Moving on to my new tag -- from the lovely Paula -- I've never seen this one before.

1. If you could have £100 worth of scrapbook paper or assorted embellishments, which would you choose? Hmmm....I am somewhat addicted to pretty scrapbook paper, so if I had nothing I would choose paper. But seeing as I already have quite a ridiculous stash of paper -- I will say embellishments!

2. If you had to choose between using only stamps or rubons, which would you choose? Rub-ons, only because my stamping skills are not very good at this point.

3. If you knew how to do both awesome cards and layouts but could only do one for a whole year...which would you do? Layouts

4. Would you rather own a scrapbooking store or have your own scrapping room at home?(can't have both!) Scrap room at home -- owning a scrapbook store might mean too many headaches!

5. And last but not least, what is your CURRENT cardmaking or scrapping style? I would have to say simple. I like clean lines and also like to journal (usually), so my pages are pretty simple.

I will not tag anyone in particular, but if any of you other scrappers would like to play along -- feel free!!!

One final note -- if any of you have some extra creative mojo -- will you please, PLEASE send it my way?? Mine has been gone for quite some time and I miss it! I have no idea what's up with that.

Hope you all had a fun Halloween and I wish you a fantastic day!

Happy Halloween!!!

From Buzz Lightyear, Jango Fett and Little Miss Pink Princess!

I have said countless times how incredibly difficult it is for me to get a great photo of the three of these monkeys together. (As you will see from the goofy look on my daughter's face! LOL) But this will have to do!

Hope you all have a fun & spooky day!!!

Defending the Galaxy Makes Me Mad!

Have you ever seen a Space Ranger looking quite this angry??

I am not sure why he's mad. Possibly because he is sick of me taking pictures. Or perhaps it's the fact that he's wearing a hand-me-down costume -- or the fact that I made him wear a costume at all. Or he may just be tired out from defending the galaxy. Who knows. All I know is that this mad little face cracks me up -- so I had to share. (and please excuse the chocolate chip cookie stains left on his face!)

This poor child -- he makes this face whenever he's angry and it always makes the rest of us laugh. I don't want him to feel like we're laughing at him -- but look at him -- is that not the funniest thing?

This photo was taken at a Halloween party at church this weekend. The kids had fun and we are always happy to find a reason for them to get more use out of their costumes. This year I have Buzz, a pink princess and Jango Fett (from Star Wars). I will have to share photos of all of them next time.

Today we are back to our regular schedule after a week of Fall break for my two oldest kids and a visit from my in-laws. We had a great time during the break and I think the kids enjoyed a chance to sleep in a bit last week. Today we were back to getting up in the dark and it was actually COLD in the house this morning. We even turned the furnace on for the first time. I think Fall is finally here.

We finished up soccer this past weekend too, and after our end-of-season parties this week, I think our schedule will be just a little lighter. It's a good thing because wow -- the holidays are quickly approaching and I feel the need to get a better handle on that.

I guess I should post a Random Act of Kindness prompt, since I skipped it last week. So let's see...how about sending a card, handmade or store-bought to a friend or family member. It can be for a birthday, anniversary, or how about just because. I know for me, email is just so darn convenient that I have gotten away from actually writing to people and sending cards by mail. I personally, love to get fun mail as opposed to the usual junk & bills -- I am assuming other people feel the same way.

Okay -- enough rambling from me. Enjoy the week!!!

Sometimes it's amazing...

what can happen when someone USES THEIR BRAIN!!! Oh my -- I am such a dork! I am so glad I can laugh at myself. After a little playing around, I FINALLY figured out how to do proper links in the text of my blog.

Spare me your pity -- but feel free to laugh at/with me!!!

That's all -- I had to share my exciting news for the day! LOL Happy Weekend to all!!!

I'm here! And I have been tagged...

My friend Suzy tagged me on her blog (her link is on the side -- I still can't make a link work in my text because I am link-impaired!). It's a "seven random things" tag.

I have done this once before (in my April archives if you are interested), but I am going to attempt to come up with yet another seven items. Because I KNOW you are just itching to know seven more highly important facts about me! *hee hee*

Here are the rules which must be posted on your blog if you are tagged.1. Link to your tagger and post these rules.2. Share 7 facts about yourself: some random, some weird.3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them).4. Let them know they've been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

Here goes --

One: I try to keep my kids' movie collection in alphabetical order. It makes it so much easier to find the movie they want when they want it. It seems a little over the top -- but it saves me and them a lot of frustration!

Two: I used to LOVE cotton candy and would have to get it if we went to a carnival or festival of some sort. Couldn't resist it. Then one time my hubby got me some for my b-day and it just made me kind of ill -- I couldn't figure it out. I found out a few days later I was pregnant with my youngest child. I can hardly eat the stuff anymore! (a good thing I guess!)

Three: I am an only child of a single parent. My mom and I lived with my grandparents until I was seven.

Four: I grew up with mostly boys for friends. Once my mom and I moved out on our own, there were primarily boys in our new neighborhood. The only girl I knew was a bit wild -- she did mean things like cut the feet off of my Barbie dolls. (ha ha -- that just cracks me up now!)

Five: I once had a poem published in a book of poetry and thought it was the coolest thing ever -- until I got the actual book and realized even though it was a large, hardcover book -- they probably published EVERY poem submitted to them to get people to spend money on the book. I was seventeen and very naive!!!

Six: I am a pretty good bowler. I'm not sure if this makes me proud or embarrassed. LOL! I grew up in Northern Illinois -- my family didn't ski, swim or surf -- we bowled darn it!

Seven: I love old cheesy musicals -- one of my favorites is "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" which I own on VHS!

Okay -- many of my friends have been tagged so I may accidentally repeat names, but I will try these seven and see what happens -- Alice, Jeanne, Carolyn, Dawn, Scott, Jayne and Nancy.

And just a side note -- I have been neglecting all of you lately -- I have lots of blog reading to catch up on. My in-laws have been visiting and I have been busy! But I'll try to visit all of you very, very soon!

Taking A Break...

from my Random Acts of Kindness prompts today -- but I'll plan to post one next week. And I know you all are kind without my help anyway! :)

This past weekend we went to the Pumpkin Patch. I don't know what it is, but I love going to the pumpkin patch. I never went as a child -- I don't even know if they were around or popular when I was little. But since having my oldest son, we have gone every single year and it's always a great day. And somehow, I manage to take a ton of pictures every year as well.


It was a gorgeous day when we went -- almost too warm, since I was able to wear capris. I equate the Pumpkin Patch with sweatshirts and a chill in the air. But trust me, I'm not complaining -- the sky was a brilliant blue and the sun was shining, so the pumpkins seemed even more brilliantly orange and the fall colors were wonderful.

This photo is my oldest and I'm so glad to see I got half a smile. He is going through a "not going to smile or pose for your darn camera" phase. In fact, he's just going through some phase in general that is making me a little crazy. He is negative about many things -- If I had a dime for every time I hear, "I don't want to do that" -- "I won't have fun" -- "I don't like it" -- I would be a rich woman. And usually, he'll say he doesn't like something, but if we do it anyway, he seems to enjoy himself. I don't know what is up. I try to be patient, but with him in particular, I have a very hard time. He can really push my buttons and I have to work to keep my cool. He is a good boy, but pretty tempermental. I think God knows I need to work on my patience and he gives me lots of opportunities to try and do so! It's probably payback for any stress I caused my mother when I was young!

On another note -- can you believe Christmas is just about eight or nine weeks away?? That just seems so crazy! Where does the time go?? (I know there is no answer to this question!)

Well -- I need to get moving. Hope you all had a fun weekend. Enjoy your week!!!

They Say It's My Birthday....

And it is!

There are 38 candles on my cake today -- how in the world did that happen? I am not one to stress out over getting older. I never have been. But it sure does feel like 40 is just looming in front of me now and although I am not worried about it....it really just feels impossible. How can I be 38???

Honestly -- I am thankful to be 38. Thankful that I have three beautiful, amazing children. Thankful for family and friends that are blessings in my life. Thankful that God has given me 38 years on this earth filled with a lot of happy times ~ as well as plenty of hardships, that I hope have only made me stronger and wiser.

I still have a multitude of things I want to do in my life -- and that's when I get a little stressed about my age. I have those moments of "Wait a minute! Another year has passed? I haven't done enough -- I need more time!" But it just reminds me that life is short -- life is a gift -- and I need to be working each day to do more -- to become better -- and to share kindness with as many people as I can.

THANK you to all of my wonderful friends who have sent me emails or e-cards with warm birthday wishes. You all are just amazing and I am so grateful to call you my friends.

I wish I could celebrate with each of you in person, but since I can't -- go have a drink or a treat of some sort for my birthday -- and enjoy the rest of your day!!!

Random Act of Kindness Prompt - Week Five

Good Morning (just barely -- it's nearly noon!)

Life is crazy busy here -- our house is in complete disarray from painting and rearranging, I have been cleaning out closets, I'm *sort of* considering a garage sale in a few weeks (which means I have piles of JUNK everywhere), my in-laws will be here in four days -- my head is really spinning. In addition to this, I have two soccer parties to plan, Cub Scout popcorn to sell and miscellaneous kid stuff to do. There truly is not enough hours in the day right now.

So -- I almost forgot my prompt today. But -- here it is...

At my old job, we used to have a fun tradition that one of my managers started. It sounds so silly, but it was really fun and everyone got a kick out of it. When one of us would travel somewhere, we would buy "totally meaningless" gifts for each of our co-workers in our department. They were usually some really bad souvenirs -- the dorkier the better. (Is "dorkier" a word?) Sometimes, they were just some cute trinket -- a pen, a pencil, a magnet -- inexpensive, fun little gifts.

So my prompt this week is to give a little gift to someone (or several someones!) -- something unexpected and fun. Nothing big -- just something quirky or sweet to brighten their day.

I am not sure how often I will blog this week -- as you can tell I'm just a little stressed out. (taking deep breaths!!) So -- have a GREAT week!!!

Things I Am Not...

There are SO many things I am not...and we don't need to go into all of them, since you all have lives to get to...but let me just say...Martha Stewart, I am NOT!

I have been painting our kitchen and living room and I have discovered that although I THOUGHT I liked to paint -- I really don't like it much at all. I like the finished product (hopefully!), but the prep work, the mess, the time it takes away from everything else -- don't like that one bit. And being the brilliant human being that I am (ha!), I chose a dark color for the kitchen -- kind of a reddish brown (it's called "Wine Barrel") and it is quite difficult to make it look nice. Red is not an easy color to work with. So wish me luck on making my kitchen look good! :)

The living room on the other hand, is halfway done and I love the color. We actually are doing two colors -- one is called Egyptian Nile (it's a warm sagey/olive green) and the other Harvest Brown (a khaki-like color). If you're bored, you can check out all of these colors on the Behr website. (I would put a link here for you, but I am link-impaired -- I can never make them work right -- I know, I know -- pretty dumb -- maybe some kind soul can help me figure it out....)

This painting project is also giving me incentive to update the family photos I have displayed. I don't do that often enough. And my hubby gave me three shadow boxes (one for each child) for Christmas I have yet to do anything with -- I cannot decide what to do, but now I really want to figure it out.

And as promised in my previous post...I have drawn a name from my fellow "Annie" loving blog readers and the winner of my mini prize is....(drum roll if you please)....Mary Jo!!!! Woo Hoo! I will get something off to you soon my friend!

Alright -- enough rambling -- have a FANTASTIC weekend!!!

It’s the Hard Knock Life….

It’s not really the hard knock life…but I have had the songs from the musical “Annie” playing in my head for two weeks now. It’s like I have my own little soundtrack as I go about my day. I may just have to title all my posts with song titles from “Annie” for the remainder of the week.

In case you are wondering why these songs are playing in my head, I took my two oldest kids to see the musical – and they BOTH loved it! I did not think my oldest son would even be interested, but he fell in love with the story and we of course, had to go buy the Broadway soundtrack on CD. So needless to say – it has been playing a lot at our house. My kids have been singing the songs (with a little acting out of the scenes with props courtesy of my daughter!) Luckily, I enjoy the songs. I remember having the same CD (although I think it was an album – gasp! LOL) when I was maybe 10 or 11. Loved it. But at the same time – having the same songs playing over and over in your head does get tiresome. I catch myself adding commentary to the songs….you know, like “The sun will come out, tomorrow….YES I KNOW THE SUN WILL COME OUT TOMORROW, I’VE HEARD IT 652 TIMES NOW!!!!….."

Moving on to equally unimportant things…

Do you ever feel like you’ve run out of all your toiletries/paper products all at once?? I swear – today is that day for me. I am usually a stock up and try not to run out kind of gal. But this week – I need about 20 things – paper towels, soap, laundry detergent, toothpaste – that kind of thing. Goodness knows I visit Target often enough for this not to happen, but nonetheless it has. I guess it’s an excuse to visit Target yet again. Because you all know I avoid Wal-Mart like the plague!

And since I am apparently feeling a little quirky and silly this morning – how about a little fun. Anyone who can name THREE songs from the musical “Annie” in a comment will be entered in a drawing and get a little prize from me. And no cheating by looking it up online – okay, okay, if you absolutely need to look online, you can, but I’ve already mentioned two songs in my post. The prize winning is a piece of cake!

Have a happy hump day!!!

Random Act of Kindness Prompt - Week Four

This one has to be quick today -- we've been painting all weekend and my house is such a mess! I need to go try to clean it up somewhat and put it partially back together -- we still have LOTS of painting to do. I also MUST do laundry -- the pile is about to take over my bedroom. Ack! :)

SO -- on to my RAK prompt for this week --

I have quite a few friends and family members in my email address book who I rarely keep in touch with. I always have good intentions, but seem to not always get around to calling them or writing. So this week I challenge you to send THREE short emails to family or friends you have not communicated with in a while. It will likely be a very nice surprise for them!

Enjoy your week!!!

Bored, Unmotivated, blah, blah, blah....

What in the world is up with me? I am not really down in the dumps or particularly unhappy. And usually, this time of year is very motivating to me -- the change of season, the getting into a routine -- but lately, I feel very unproductive.

In my head, I'm thinking about the sixteen thousand things I want to accomplish and would love to be doing. And then I don't do them. OR -- I spend one or two crazy days doing a bunch of things and then three or four days doing the bare minimum.

Now, as all of you who have kids know -- the bare minimum still keeps you pretty darn busy. On top of the usual daily chores and errands, we have activities every night of the week except Friday -- soccer on Saturdays -- church & Sunday school on Sundays. We're pretty busy. But as far as other projects I'd like to do -- where is my motivation??? No idea -- it's on hiatus and I need it back!

It's all good though -- I'm sure this boredom or lack of mojo or whatever the heck it is will pass.

I have not shared a quote in quite a while, so I decided to share this one with you -- it is from one of my very favorite books (possibly, my all time favorite), "The Count of Monte Cristo" --

"Until the day when God shall deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is summed up in these two words,--'Wait and hope'. " ~ Alexandre Dumas


Happy Wednesday!

Random Act of Kindness Prompt - Week Three

Good Morning!

As most or all of you know (and I just mentioned it in a post recently), my kids are at a new school this year. It was not too big of a deal for my daughter, who is in kindergarten, but my son is in third grade and although he was kind of looking forward to it, it is still very hard to be the new boy in class.

Quite honestly, we knew very little about this new school before our transfer. All we knew is the school we were at was not a great environment and we needed to make a change. We requested three different schools that apparently could not accommodate us -- we were offered the school we are now in. And it has turned out to be such a blessing.

I am so extremely thankful for the people at our new school who have made the transition so easy and really wonderful. My kids love their teachers. The principal is great. The school secretary has gone above and beyond from day one -- she's awesome. The atmosphere is just so positive and upbeat.

This week's kindness prompt comes to me based on this experience. Often, there are people we come in contact with who make things easy or pleasant and we don't always get the chance to thank them or let them know how much we appreciate their efforts. Isn't it a great feeling when someone goes out of their way to let you know they appreciate you? Especially when it's someone you don't really expect it from? So I encourage each of you to write just one thank you this week -- to a dedicated teacher, an understanding boss, an online friend who brightens your day, a secretary/receptionist who always has a smile or goes the extra mile. And if you want -- write more than one! I know I have plenty of people in my life who deserve a thank you.

Happy October everyone -- enjoy your week!

Follow Up to Yesterday's Post

Last night before bed my daughter said, "Is it a school day tomorrow?"

Me: "Yep! It's Friday!"

DD: ((HUGE sigh))..."Man! I need a day off!"

LOL! See -- I told you the girl misses her sleep! I assured her the weekend was just around the corner.

(And man -- I could use a day off too!)

Happy Weekend Everyone!!!!

A day of excitement...

Even though the picture does not convey much excitement -- ha! I'll get to the picture in a minute.

My oldest has his first field trip today and he was so looking forward to it. At his old school they never took any and I think he gets to go on three or four this year. I am so anxious to hear all about it.

Our other big news of the day -- my daughter lost her first tooth last night and was excited out of her mind! It's all she can talk about. She could not WAIT to get out the door to show her teacher and friends at school the gap between her teeth. It was just the cutest thing.

Speaking of my daughter, we are well into the school schedule now and the poor thing is still not quite adjusted to her new sleeping pattern. She is my one child who loves to sleep in. We are putting her to bed earlier than we used to, but she still is SO tired in the morning. Luckily, she's not grumpy. The other day though, she wanted to play in her room after school. I walked in to find her like this. She has a book that opens up into a farm corral -- she hasn't played with it in months! But for some reason, she pulled it out on this particular day, set it up -- invited her stuffed animals in and then curled up and fell asleep. (And for some unknown reason she also had arranged her dress up shoes around the outside -- you can kind of see them -- ). She looked so cute. Poor thing. I feel bad for her when she's so tuckered out at the end of her school day.

And since I'm rambling about the kids...yesterday my oldest told me something that made me so sad. As most of you know, I transferred my kids to a new school this year. My oldest is in third grade and it took a little while, but after a couple of weeks, he seemed to be making a little group of new friends. Yesterday I asked him about a couple of the boys and if he still enjoyed playing with them. He said he didn't really play with them much anymore. He said the two he played with most often had kind of paired up as best friends and are playing without him now. So I asked who he plays with now and he said no one really -- just by himself. Can I tell you how much that breaks my heart??? I get a lump in my throat typing it. He seemed a little down in the dumps and he told me he wishes he had a best friend. But thankfully, he said the boys aren't mean to him or anything -- he's just feeling a little alone. It really makes me sad for him. I told him to try and be flexible and see what the other kids are playing and to just try to join in and have fun with what they are playing if they don't mind. It seems to be a trend -- last year, his best friend at his old school transferred out after being punched in the nose by another child and he has felt a little lost ever since then. The other boys in his class last year for the most part were either in trouble all the time or would tease my son, so he never had any boys that he "bonded" with so to speak. And now this year, he's struggling. It's so hard to see as a parent. I was never the most popular girl in school, but I always had my core group of friends and pretty much always had a best friend throughout the years. I'm hoping he can work things out soon so he doesn't feel rejected or lonely.

Ah well -- enough of my rambling for today. I have so much to do and yet here I sit typing away.

Hope you all are having a good week.

Let me tell you how to spell lazy....

R-I-T-A....

Yes, it's true. I'm being a huge LAZY bum today. It's 11:40am, I haven't showered and I have done very little around the house. I had an insanely busy day yesterday and I've been sick, so today I appear to be moving in slooooooowwwww motion.

And guess what??

I just don't even care! hee hee

However, I do need to pick my daughter up from school shortly, and leaving my house in jammies and funky bed hair is a big mistake. I would seriously frighten anyone who sees me....

So now that I've left you with that disturbing mental picture...I'm off. Here's wishing you a lazy day soon -- they really are quite necessary sometimes!

Random Act of Kindness Prompt -- Week Two

Good Morning! I have a to do list about a mile long today, so I don't have much time -- but I didn't want to forget to post my next RAK prompt, so here you go...

This week, I challenge you to make a donation of some sort. Clothes to Goodwill, money to your favorite charity (or even just your spare change in the Ronald McDonald House box at McDonalds!); Or how about some magazines to a women's shelter or clinic, toys to a daycare or childrens home, art/scrap supplies that you don't need to your child's school or to a new scrapper who may not have so much.

I could do any one of these things this week and will try to do several myself. Hope you join me!

Have a fantastic week my friends -- and Happy Fall (I am so excited it's Fall -- now if the weather would figure it out, I'd be all set -- it's still 90 degrees here)!!!

Things You Simply Need to Know in Life...

Alright...I've been tagged by Miss Amber -- here goes...names you need to know, in case of an emergency...

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) - Jackson Windstar (LOL!)

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fav ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) - Jamocha Chocolate Chip (does that just send fear through your veins????)

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) - R Bar (not quite the same as "J Lo" or my friends "D Wag" and "C Don")

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) - Green Dog

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) - Marie Rockford

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) - Bar Ri

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put “The") - The Black Margarita

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) - Jerome Grace (I had to cheat a little here -- I only know one grandfather, so I used my grandfather & grandmother's names!)

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy) Obsession Caramels (good thing I will never need to use this one -- hee hee!)

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ) Jean Richard

I'm not going to tag anyone else because I'm unsure who has been tagged and who hasn't -- but if you want to play, feel free!

Random Act of Kindness Prompt - Week One!

Good Monday Morning!

This week, I will start what I hope will become a weekly habit -- provided I can keep coming up with ideas. I also want to say that these prompts may be things you already do all the time, but I thought it would be fun to try to do them together. And really, they will be reminders to myself to do some little things that I try to do, but am not always consistent with.

My first RAK prompt to you, is to leave an unexpected note for a loved one or friend. Just a little "I love you" in your child's lunchbox -- or maybe a note in your spouse's car or somewhere, letting him know you appreciate him. Perhaps you have a friend at work or in your neighborhood who deserves a note letting them know you think they are great.

You never know when a small, simple act of kindness will be just what someone needs!

Hope you all had a pleasant weekend and I wish you a great week!

Do You Smell Smoke???

If so, don't worry -- it's just me -- using my brain -- putting my thinking cap to work!! LOL I had a little lightbulb moment last night.

I always think I should do something more than just ramble on my blog (although I am QUITE good at rambling, wouldn't you say??) I have thought of doing journaling prompts for all my scrapping friends or something along those lines (which I may still do), but for now, I think I may do a random act of kindness prompt each Monday. What do you think? Will you join me now and then if I do that? I think I will just post an idea each week that is an easy little kindness we can all try to do together. Because honestly -- I always have good intentions of doing certain things -- and often, they don't get done. Maybe if I put it in writing -- it will help. And it won't be anything too difficult.

So stay tuned...I'll post my first one on Monday!!

Hugs -- and happy weekend!

Just some smiles to start your weekend...

Happy Weekend Everyone!!!

Hope you enjoy these cheesy smiles!

Yes, there is music on my blog....

I hope it didn't startle you. In fact, the video for the song playing is all the way at the bottom of my blog. It's rather big -- I was too lazy to see if I could resize it. But I love this song and the message of it.

Moving on....

Last week, my oldest son was the "Star of the Week" at school. Each day he got to do/bring something to help the other kids get to know him better. One day was family pictures, one day he brought his favorite book, one day was show and tell. Then, one day he had to write about something important to him. He chose his family (thankfully, he chose us over a video game or some type of food! LOL). He wrote one short sentence about each member of our family. For some reason I cannot explain, he wrote very "light" things about everyone -- "My dad is tall...my sister has long hair...my brother loves Thomas the Tank Engine..."; but then for me -- out of all the things he could have written -- he wrote, "My mom never knew her dad." I was really stunned.

It's true. I don't know my dad. We rarely talk about this in our house. It comes up every now and then because obviously, my kids don't have a grandfather on my side and they'll question it once in a while. I can't tell them much. My dad was out of my life before I was born (he didn't want a child), so my mom has pretty much kept me in the dark about him. I know his name -- and I know he didn't treat my mom too well. I have lived my entire life without a father, so although I have been curious about him at times, it has never really bothered me. But it appears, it really bothers my son.

I asked him why, of all things he could have written, he thought to share this fact about me. He said he didn't want to talk about it because he didn't want to upset me. He said he knew it had to upset me to talk about it, because he could not imagine going his whole life without knowing his daddy.

Doesn't it amaze you sometimes -- the things your kids remember or think about? I would have never guessed that my son ever even thinks about the fact that I don't have my father in my life. My son is eight -- he has lots of eight-year old things on his mind. He frustrates me many times because I feel like he thinks about himself first and foremost and can be very selfish. But then he'll show me a side that is thoughtful and compassionate -- a side that feels sad for me. And I think -- maybe I don't give the poor boy enough credit.

People who think kids aren't affected or take no notice of what goes on around them are SO wrong. I am very aware that my kids take in pretty much everything -- but still, they will say or do something sometimes that makes me realize even MORE how much they really are in tune to their surroundings and what is going on in our lives.

Okay -- enough of my rambling for today. Happy Monday to you -- and have a great week!!!

I am blessed...

Look at these little monkeys...a picture from our day at the zoo. Am I the luckiest mom alive or what? I like to think so!

Have a GREAT day!!!

Something important...

Found this on Cami's blog -- wanted to share it here as well.

Sad story of a man who was the victim of random violence -- is now paralyzed, has nine children to support -- Rusty Pickle is trying to help them out.

Read about it here --- http://www.legacyscrapbooking.com/legacy_lounge/viewtopic.php?t=330

What day is it anyway???

We went to the zoo on Saturday, and as always, I felt the need to take a kazillion pictures of the animals. It's ridiculous how many animal photos I now have -- but for some reason I can't help myself -- they are so darn cute! Rachel couldn't get enough of this baby camel -- and look at those little meerkat faces -- I think I need one as a pet. Ryan and Rachel each brought a notebook and took notes on what we saw. It was rather cute. Rachel is not really reading yet, so I had to tell her how to spell each animal name. It made for a slow-moving trip at the zoo, but my kids can't get enough of the animals, so it was really a lot of fun.

Our weekend also included a trip to Chuck E. Cheese (yes, this was our anniversary "dinner" -- sad, but fun! LOL), swimming, a night of fireworks, a church picnic -- it was jam-packed. And can I just say how ready I am for Fall temps??? The humidity has got to go. I'm ready for sweater weather!!!

On another note -- I have GOT to start scrapping again. It has easily been two months since I did a layout. When I've gone this long without creating, I have the hardest time getting back into it. I have the desire, but when I sit down to work -- I move in slooooow motion -- as if I've forgotten how to use my supplies.

Hope you all enjoyed the long weekend ~~~ and just a reminder ~~~ today is TUESDAY, not Monday. (hee hee -- don't you hate that "what day is it anyway???" feeling after a long weekend?)

It's my 11th wedding anniversary...

And I found this great quote...

Marriage means commitment. Of course, so does insanity. ~Author Unknown

(LOL -- I couldn't resist.)

Not the most fantastic photo, but it's the most recent. We were melting in the Arizona sun in this one! Thus my wilted hair...but I pretty much have wilted hair all the time -- an eternal bad hair day -- the story of my life!

Some days, I can't believe it has been 11 years. Others, I can't remember a time I wasn't married. Here we are -- three kids, one dog, three states, four homes and five cars later. Lots of ups and downs. It used to be more simple ~ it certainly isn't simple anymore. Marriage is hard. But it also comes with many blessings and I am thankful for them.

Enjoy your weekend!

This is why female drivers get a bad rap....

Yep -- this is my daughter -- just five years old, already cutting other drivers off. And that poor boy looked very frightened! LOL

We took the kids to a small amusement type park called NASCAR Speedpark and it was the first time Rachel had "driven" anything. She did really well overall, but wow -- did she have a lead foot! She just cracked me up. Her face was quite serious the whole time, as she lapped the other children and nearly ran this poor boy into the rail.

Don't you all worry though -- she won't be cruising down your street anytime soon. Your children are safe! I'll send out a reminder warning in about 11 years. Hee hee...

Enjoy the day!

Just FYI...in case anyone even notices...

I had to delete my Photobucket account, so for now -- my photos are probably not showing up on my blog. Just lots of pretty red x's! LOL!

I'll post something for real later today or tomorrow!

Have a great day!

Am I The Only One?

I swear -- nothing seems to ever go as I plan. Maybe one out of 100 times, but usually not. Sometimes, I know it's my own fault -- maybe I'm not organized or maybe I get a late start on something. But then there are times when I plan ahead and am all set to do something -- and my plans are almost always interrupted or changed. Sometimes it makes me C-R-A-Z-Y!!!

Just last night I had a great plan. We had a long, busy, tiring weekend, so I decided my kids should go to bed a little early (8pm) and my hubby was out of town so I was going to spend a few hours doing whatever I wanted -- reading, scrapping, watching a chick flick -- whatever. These opportunities are ridiculously few and far between for me. When I see an opportunity, I try to grab it.

However, my son ended up spending some time with a friend in the afternoon and got home an hour later than I was expecting him. It was 7pm, we hadn't eaten dinner and we had to run to Wal-Mart, which can NEVER be done quickly. We got home at 8pm, my kids did not get to bed until 8:30p and then my oldest had a horrible stuffy nose and was up at least five times between 9pm and 10pm moaning and whining. I felt badly for him. He finally got to sleep, but was up again between midnight and 1am.

Needless to say, I got very little time to unwind. No scrapping (I was too darn tired) and I read about 10 pages. It's okay -- my kids come first. But it is frustrating nonetheless. I crave peace and quiet and those moments when no one needs a thing sometimes. Ah well...that's my life I guess! I guess I just have to go with the flow and not expect too much.

Wow -- I am so boring today! LOL Must be Monday.

I have not shared a quote in a while, so I thought I would leave you with a couple about life...

"He who has nothing to die for has nothing to live for. " ~Moroccan Proverb

"Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first." ~Mark Twain

Anyway -- hope you had a nice weekend. Have a great week!

How Does This Happen??

Two of them, off to school. One in kindergarten, one in third grade. Where did the summer go? How in the world do I have TWO kids in school? ((sigh))

I am such an emotional person -- this morning was much harder for me than my little girl. She was a little nervous the past couple of days, but this morning -- it was gone! She was so excited. She walked right into school like she did not need me to help her out at all. She was ready -- me? Not as much. But amazingly -- I did not cry.

I'll keep this one short -- but I wish all of you and your kiddos a happy school year filled with wonderful memories!

Questions, questions and more questions...

Three days in a row…would you say I’m on a roll???

I have been up for two hours and done a lot of nothing. It took me until about half an hour ago to really feel awake. And now I need to get moving, but appear to be glued to my chair. (I may need you to send help!)

I have a question for you today. Do you think feeling restless and unsettled in your life is a good thing or a bad thing? I feel that way a lot. And while I know the main cause of it, I often wonder – is it good to have that feeling? Does it make me work harder to get to a better place? Or does it simply agitate me to the point of doing nothing? I’m not sure. I think it does both – depending on the day. I don’t ever want to be complacent and not work to make myself and/or my life better, but it would be nice to feel a bit more content. Know what I mean?

I want to be a better mom. I want to be a better friend. I want to be a better relative. I want to learn more, do more, give more. Are we always supposed to feel that way? Or does it mean I’m not trying hard enough?

(And darn it, am I asking way too many questions today???? LOL)

How about you? Do you feel a certain amount of restlessness on a regular basis?

Just wondering….

So now that I’ve GRILLED you with my questions – I wish you a wonderful, peaceful, content and restful day!

Somebody PINCH me...

It is 9:07am -- Saturday morning -- I am the only one up.

Surely, I am dreaming....

And -- oops -- I hear footsteps...so I believe I have just jinxed myself....LOL

Happy Saturday everyone!!!

So maybe I AM ready....

Hello -- remember me?? I have not been posting due to many, many things going on -- but now we are moving back into the start of school routine, so I hope to be more consistent within the next couple of weeks.

For the past several weeks I have been dreading the start of school. I have not felt at all ready to send my kids off to school. I have enjoyed having them home this summer and the summer truly just FLEW by.

But dare I say it? This morning as my hubby prepared to leave with my oldest son for school, I felt myself getting anxious to have the house to myself for a bit before my other two kiddos woke up. My daughter starts school next week, so we are not into the full routine yet -- but I might be more ready than I realized!

I have a list a mile long of projects I want to do this fall -- painting, sorting, cleaning, purging.

And have I mentioned we may be moving yet again??? I probably shouldn't talk about it yet -- it's very up in the air -- but that will make three times in four years if we do. And I am planning to just go with the flow, but in a way -- the thought of moving again just wears me out!

Alright -- well, I am basically rambling this morning but wanted to check in. I must get moving -- lots to do today!

I have lots of blog READING to catch up on as well -- hope to catch up with all of you soon!

Enjoy your weekend!

I've been tagged!

So my amazingly talented and wonderful friend Linda has tagged me. I guess that makes me a Rockin' Girl Blogger! And now I get to tag FIVE of you --

I choose ~~ Beth J, Mary Jo, Shalini, Amber & Dianne M! Rock on ladies!!!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Not much to say...

but goodness it's been a long time since I've blogged!

My summer with the kids is flying by. They will be back in school before I'm ready. And as usual, I am not accomplishing everything I would like.

I have not visited many of YOUR blogs lately either -- I hope to do that soon.

I'll try to get back on the blogging bandwagon soon. In the meantime -- happy weekend to you!!

Hanging In There

Today seems like a good day for quotes. I chose a theme I need to reinforce to myself this week. Hanging on when you're at the end of your rope.

"Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain." ~Author Unknown

"If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces, never be afraid to pick one of those pieces up and begin again." ~Flavia Weedn, Flavia and the Dream Maker, © Flavia.com

"Don't be discouraged. It's often the last key in the bunch that opens the lock." ~Author Unknown

"Men are made stronger on the realization that the helping hand they need is at the end of their own arm." ~Sidney J. Phillips

Just a little inspiration for today! Enjoy!

What a bad mommy!

Yesterday was my little Nicky's birthday and I did not even post about it. I gave Ryan a post on his b-day, but not Nick and I feel like such a bad mommy now! So here I am -- a day late.

This picture is obviously not the best, but I rarely get this silly boy to smile for the camera. He always gives me the most serious face or he's moving at light speed and I get a blur. Here he looks like he isn't sure he can muster the energy to open that mound of presents! LOL

We had a fun afternoon/evening after a very bad morning on his birthday. Many, many things went wrong on Saturday morning (and actually, have just been going wrong for a while now!) and then poor Nick -- I swear this boy is going to be the one to keep me constantly on pins and needles, he's so accident prone -- fell off the steps from our deck to our backyard and the bottom of the steps is a hard slab of concrete. He landed cheek first and has a nice black and blue knot on his cheek now. It goes so well with his scar on his nose (from the stitches he had two months ago!). And he bruised his knee, which he had already scraped two days earlier. And (shall I go on?) -- he has three enormous and ugly bug bites on his other leg. The child is a mess. People must wonder what I do to the poor boy when they see him.

Anyway -- my BABY is THREE now -- and I have no idea how that happened. He may be a mischievous, accident-prone monkey, but he is completely adorable and wonderful and I'm so glad he's mine! Happy Birthday Nick -- sorry mommy's a day late, but I have a feeling you haven't been reading my blog, so I think I'm off the hook this time! I love you with all my heart!

I have a thing for...

coffee mugs! Isn't she pretty?? (Yes, I called my coffee mug a she, because it's way too elegant to be a HE!) I picked this mug up at the evil money-stealing store they call Target yesterday. I could have picked up about seven more -- they had a ton of cute ones on sale. I rarely buy them anymore, but I couldn't resist this one for some reason. And it did make my coffee taste even better this morning (or so I am telling myself!)

I seriously have this strange attraction to nice mugs. I used to collect them when I would travel to different places and I had quite a stash of them at one point. I eventually let quite a few of them go, but I am still attracted to them when I'm out and about. Anyone else have a love for coffee mugs? Maybe we could start a club! LOL

Today was a weird day. My daughter had a dance/gymnastics recital which was absolutely precious. I love watching those little girls perform. They are so darn cute! And then we took the kids swimming which was fun. But the overall mood at our house today just wasn't pleasant. It made the day a little rough around the edges for everyone and I hate that! I wanted today to be carefree and happy for my little girl and it definitely wasn't as nice as it could have been. She seemed to enjoy performing though, so I'm trying not to worry too much.

Okay -- I'm pretty much wiped out from a long and mentally exhausting day, so I will keep this short. I just hadn't posted in a while and wanted to say hello to all my dear friends. I am also behind on reading blogs, but maybe this week I'll try to catch up a little.

Hope everyone has enjoyed their weekend! Have a good week!

Eight years ago today...

This little monkey came into my life. (Eight years...how is that possible??) Look at that happy face! He was such an active, joyful baby. Always on the go and full of personality. I remember vividly the night he was born -- at 6:45pm. I had a pretty short labor -- about five to six hours. He weighed 6 lbs, 9oz. I remember feeling so tired as the night wore on, but I didn't want to let him out of my sight. I just gazed at him most of the night, amazed at everything about him. Full of love, full of hope ~~ instantly wondering how I would protect such a sweet little thing in this big, crazy world.

Now my sweet boy is anything but small. He is nearly as tall as me and we've discovered that we are nearly wearing the same size shoe! He is finishing up 2nd grade today and is incredibly smart ~ excelling at reading, spelling and math. He has a hot temper and likes to test my patience, but he is also quite sensitive and has a warm heart. He loves spending time just the two of us and we rarely get those moments. I cherish each and every one we do get.

As sad as I feel when my kids get older, I am also incredibly grateful for these past eight years and I look forward to seeing what the future holds.

So -- Happy Birthday Ryan!!! I love you more than you will ever, ever know. I hope you will always dream big and have faith in your abilities. You can do anything you set your mind to and I look forward to what life has in store for us. God bless you my boy. I love you!