Life Rushes By

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-07T07:45:00.001-06:00

Tropical Wishes Christmas

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Sunny Sunday

2009-05-03T19:25:00.006-05:00

We finally got some great weather here today. Early on I had every intention of cleaning the house but that didn't last long - the mess will still be there tomorrow. Ryan had a friend of his from across the street over today and they made good use of the day while Ashley sat out back and did her homework at the patio set. While Daisy played down in the grass with Bret and the kids, Luke was too scared to go down the deck stairs to join in the fun so he stayed with Ashley and sunbathed.

She's going to regret not putting sunscreen on today!

Luke's no dummy. He knows where the attention comes from.

Down below, Bret had spray painted a kickball field for the boys in the grass and a fun for all, rules don't apply game was under way.

You didn't think I was going to just let him stay up on the deck, did you? It took a little coaxing, but he made it down just fine. He was scared to death of the white square, though. LoL

Who said you needed anything more than a batman mask and a baby blanket to have an awesome costume?

Batboys with their Batdogs.

Daisy got a nice brushing and was mighty proud.

Luke wasn't so sure about this grooming stuff and Bret was ready to go into the pillow making business.

Life is good, but Bret is talking clippers. LoL

Hopefully the nice weather is here to stay.

Vacation plans to Cancun are still on for now. Our fingers are crossed that Cancun and the state of Quintana Roo remain Swine Flu free. I've got some reliable sites that I'm following for information closely and have talked to our family doctor as well. All we can do at this point is wait and see.

Luke's Playdate

2009-04-25T20:25:00.003-05:00

A video posted for my aunt...

Looking Ahead

2009-03-29T20:13:00.004-05:00

Remember Luke? He's coming back to live with us permanently! The kids are so excited, especially following what happened with Mack when we tried to replace Luke when it was time for him to go back to my aunt. We got the phone call yesterday asking if we were interested in keeping him. He'll be coming home with us when we come back from Chicago after Easter.

****

For a couple of weeks now, I've been consumed with researching where we will be going on vacation this summer. We had it narrowed down to Gulf Shores, Fort Lauderdale and St. Pete's Beach (last year's destination). All were within our price range, but we just couldn't decide. Someone up above must have been tired of our indecision, because on a lark we started plugging in Caribbean destinations when we came across an incredible deal for a very kid friendly, all inclusive resort in Cancun.

I am so excited about this for a couple of reasons. One, because I never really thought I would get the opportunity to see another country or anywhere as beautiful and tropical in the near future. Second, because we've booked this trip along with Bret's brother's family. The kids are really excited that we'll be going on such a fun vacation with their cousins.

It'll be really fun having another family there to hang out with. If anyone is looking for a great place in Cancun to take the kids, you'll have to check this place out! The Great Parnassus caters to kids and is absolutely gorgeous!

Spring Fever

2009-03-16T20:17:00.003-05:00

There's just something about the first spring like day in March to set of a chain reaction. That day for us just happened to fall on a 4 day weekend. This kids are off of school today and tomorrow and the weather passed the 70 degree mark. Kids up and down the block were out playing with their friends. Families were out taking walks with the family dog and the sunset was toasted with a beer (or two) out on the back deck. The first glorious spring like day of many more to come!

Tomorrow is suppose to be even nicer and I can't wait to leave the messy house and the piles of laundry behind to spend another day outside. But along with this prelude to spring, comes the big question that has been on my mind since the weather began warming up: Where will we take the family on vacation this summer?

Every time this year I start hounding my husband about what we'll do this summer in regards to vacation. The kids want to go back to Florida. I vote Disney, but the savings account says not this year. I think we may have narrowed it down to driving to Gulf Shores, AL or flying back to St. Pete's Beach (as we did last summer) and keeping it low key and relaxing. Either choice is a win, in my opinion.

Spring and summer sports are also getting ready to promise busy nights to come. Ashley starts rec league volleyball at the end of this month. Summer softball practices start next weekend and Ryan has already been out practicing his batting and catching skills. He even got back on his bike today which required me to run about 50 laps around the cul-de-sac. It seemed like he had completely forgotten how to balance and then BAM - he remembered. Whew!

Yep, busy is getting ready to make it's return. Can you blame me for thinking vacation?

Stalker, High Tech Style

2009-03-04T18:45:00.002-06:00

How did I not know about this whole RSS feed thing all this time? Last weekend my brother reformatted my laptop due to some problems with viruses. When I went in to set up my Outlook files, I noticed that there was a folder for RSS feeds. I am so loving this! I've got all my little blogger friends added in and now I'll either (1) never miss a blog post of theirs again or (2) drown in a sea of posts that I end up slacking on. I'm betting it will lean towards 2, but I'll definitely try and keep up now!

Well. Hello, Stranger!

2009-03-03T15:25:00.002-06:00

I'm back. Not sure if anyone still reads this thing, but I'm back. I'm not making any promises on frequent updates, but here's what's been going on lately.

Our new puppy is now longer with us. (Did you notice his absence in the picture up top there?) A little over a week ago he unfortunately showed us his true colors - or at least what could be expected in the future. I had given both dogs raw hides and Ashley was sitting on the floor next to Mack petting him when with no warning he suddenly attacked her. There was no warning growl, just a lunge to her face that resulted in the need for an ER visit to get stitches.

This was upsetting on so many levels because the one concrete rule Bret and I had made when adopting him was that he was gone after the first bite - no exceptions. I wish I could say we didn't see it coming, but the week before he had growled at Ryan because he had stepped over him while he was eating from his bowl.

It's unfortunate because he had showed so much potential. He really was a good little pup. I'm not angry at him because I honestly think he didn't know he had done anything wrong and immediately wanted to play. Unfortunately, if he did this at 6 months old, I was willing to bet a sizable fortune that he would do it again. We have small children that live on both sides of us that use the playground equipment in our backyard so there was absolutely no way we could keep a dog that had already attacked once.

It was heartbreaking, we took him back to Paws that very next morning. I cried the whole way there and the whole way back. I cried some more while putting his things away. Surprisingly, the kids took it very well. I think they were now afraid of him, so letting him go was a bit easier for them.

I thank God everyday that the damage to Ashley's face was pretty minor compared to other dog bites that I've seen before. Hopefully there won't be any scaring. I've learned through this process that it's probably not a good idea to get a puppy from the pound. You have no idea what they've been through or how they will turn out. I'm sure we'll adopt again (and not until Daisy is gone, if I can help it) but next time we'll stick with a dog that's already a year or two old that hopefully would have already showed any aggression by then.

Keeping Us Busy

2009-01-18T11:54:00.003-06:00

The New Year has brought busy times with it. Ashley's Volleyball Team's games have started. They are 0 for 2, but have come so close to their first win as their new school's first team. They're having fun and Ashley is getting tons of play time. She is the second tallest girl on her team.

Mack continues to grow and Daisy continues to tolerate him. This shows just how much she has to tolerate:

Mack has slept in his crate in the family room at night since we got him last month, but lately he's starting to understand where Daisy sleeps and has been trying to invite himself in. We gave in this weekend and brought Daisy's downstairs bed up for Mack and he slept throught the night in our room on it both nights! It seems there will be no more crate for the puppy at night anymore!

Exhausted.

Pinewood Derby and Puppy Updates

2009-01-10T21:07:00.004-06:00

It's been super busy around here since the New Year rolled around. I'm planning Rock The House again this year and since it's next month, I only seeing myself getting busier from here on out.

Mack is 5 months old now and has now put on a total of 10 pounds since we got him almost a month ago. Look at the size of his paws in the picture below. Yes, I'm nervous, too. He's pretty much housebroken now and is very well behaved until visitors come over. He assumes anyone that comes through the door is here to see him and gets super excited. When that happens he forgets all manners and doesn't seem to hear me when I try to control him. That would be our big challenge right now. He and Daisy get along fairly well until he gets these little hyper periods where he runs around the house at 60 mph and tries to engage her in play. She's an old lady and is just not having it. We're working on that right now, as well.

Today was Ryan's Pinewood Derby race. He and Bret built Two Faced a set of wheels and while it didn't break any speed records, it did come in second place for best looking.

Since bringing Mack home from the pound last month, we've had him sleep in his crate in the family room. He also stays in there when we're not home or just plain need a break from all things puppy. I've been cleaning the house today and have let him follow me around for the most part. After some time I realized that I didn't know where he was or what he was up to. (Panic!) I quietly looked for him and found him - all snuggly warm in my dark (my camera has a super bright flash) bedroom sleeping in Daisy's bed. I have a feeling this means he won't be sleeping in his crate for much longer.

Sweet, isn't it?

Reading

2009-01-02T07:36:00.002-06:00

I received this book as a Christmas gift from my aunt last week. I had declared yesterday as a lazy day, picked up the book and started to read it, and wasn't able to put it down until I was finished. I have to say that I was under the impression that this was a true story after reading the foreword and continued to believe so throughout the book, which may be why I was able to read it so quickly. While I was relieved that the little girl in the story was not real and did not go through the unthinkable, I felt a little betrayed by the author when I went to the book's website and found that none of it was real. That said, this is still one of the best books I've read in a long time. I won't get into the details of the book for fear of ruining it for someone that still has yet to read it, but it really makes you think on a deeper level.

Happy New Year!

2008-12-31T16:07:00.005-06:00

Christmas was wonderful, but boy am I happy for it to be over. Tonight we'll be ringing in the New Year with good friends, but I thought I'd post some pictures from Christmas while I've got a few free minutes.

Christmas Eve at Bret's Dad's house...

Christmas morning at home....

Mack, who continues to grow at an alarmingly fast pace. I took him in for his last round of boosters today and the vet says he's going to be a very big boy. I'm told that there is a dog that comes into the clinic that looked exactly like Mack as a puppy and that he's a German Shepherd/St. Bernard mix. He's also 130 pounds. Yes, I got a little light headed upon hearing this. Only time will tell, but he's already found a place into our hearts so we'll accept him whether he's Daisy sized or Monster sized.

Late Christmas morning we hit the road and made the drive to my mom's house to celebrate Christmas with my family.

Wiped out, Cubbies style!

Christmas Presents Secured

2008-12-23T20:22:00.002-06:00

Bret and I took Ryan to see Santa tonight so now we're officially ready for Christmas. Ashley missed out since she wanted to go to a friend's house instead. It's kind of sad when they get older. I'm also afraid that this could be Ryan's last "magical" year. He hasn't asked any questions yet himself, but last week when I went to help his classroom in the library, a lot of his classmates were offering up opinions. I wanted to hush them, but couldn't think of a tactful way to do it. So, here's hoping this isn't our last year...

Attention: Long Lost Blogger Found

2008-12-21T22:27:00.003-06:00

It's been awhile. I realize that. Things have been so crazy around here since we got this puppy. It almost feels like we brought home an overly hyper and curious toddler last weekend. Things actually got pretty stressful around these parts.

Mack came home last weekend and by Monday morning he was running a 104 fever and very lethargic. I took him to (a very expensive) vet appointment to find out that his kennel cough had progressed into a secondary bacterial infection. He's been taking antibiotics (which are *so* fun to shove down his throat twice a day) and he seems to be almost over it. His cold like symptoms are still around but I think he's at the tail end of it.

Daisy got sick, too. The same day I took Mack to the vet I brought home some Nylabones for the dogs to chew on. Daisy chewed hers up into chunks and was throwing them up by 4:30am the following morning. We were getting pretty worried about her, praying that she didn't have a blockage. Two days of vomiting later, she had gotten over it.

Mack is doing awesome in the house training department. He's had no accidents in the house over the past 4 days and is the sweetest thing. Daisy seems to be tolerating him for the most part, but when Mack tries to initiate her in play, Daisy goes ballistic on him. We have no idea how to handle that. I know we have to let her assert herself as dominant dog, but my gut tells me that we should only be letting her "respond" to him to a certain aggressive level. We were given the number of a animal behaviorist when we adopted Mack and I'll be calling her tomorrow. Those times stress us out a lot and we really need to figure out how to deal with it if we want Mack to work out.

Last, but not least - we all have horrible head colds. For the last few days I've thought that maybe Ashley and I were fighting allergies, but Bret and Ryan both started getting the whole sneezing, head congestion, stuffy nose thing today. I'm hoping we're over it by Christmas later this week.

Three days until Christmas Eve. How the heck did that happen? It seemed like it was so far away and now all of a sudden it's about to be here and gone. The kids are starting to get really excited. We caved and opened up gifts between each other tonight which made the kids really happy to get a gift each ahead of Christmas.

Thankfully, we're ready for Christmas to come. We're anticipating that it may be a little sad and hard at times since this will be our first Christmas without Bret's mom, but we've worked hard to make sure it's a good one.

If I don't get back here before - Have a Merry, Merry Christmas!

Adjusting

2008-12-14T12:06:00.002-06:00

Mack came home yesterday morning and things are going very well - busy, but well! Housetraining has been a lot easier than we had expected. He goes every time we take him outside. We found out instantly that he's a beggar the minute any kind of food came out. Funny how he automatically sits on his own when someone has food, but doesn't know how when you ask him to.

He's very playful, which Dasiy doesn't seem to be doing so well with. He constantly tries to engage her in play and her response is to growl at him. I may call the animal behaviorist number they gave us just to see how they recommend dealing with that. I'm not sure if we should let her deal with Mack on her own or if we should keep him away from Daisy. It seems to me that Daisy is trying to teach him manners, but Mack isn't get it.

Still top dog.

I was prepared for a rough night last night, but was nicely surprised that he let us sleep until 6:45am with no accidents. That's huge in my book!

Preparing For Baby

2008-12-12T08:42:00.005-06:00

While we anxiously wait for tomorrow morning to come, I'll be busy puppy proofing around here. First on the list was finding a safe place for him to be when we can't be watching him. Not my idea of home decorating, but we don't really have a choice and didn't want to buy 3 different size crates, so that left us with one big one that comes with a partition. See that pretty little tree by the fire place? That would be just one of the many things that's going to have to go.

I don't even know where to begin when it comes to the Christmas tree and the Lego Train. Also, family members can probably expect presents this year with puppy teeth marks.

This plant that I have somehow miraculously kept alive since my mother in law's funeral just screams "Play with me, puppy!" Where on Earth am I going to put this where I won't forget about it?

I may leave this guy out just for some comic relief. If Mack takes on the snowman, who will win?

So as you can see, I really have no idea where to begin. I also noticed him nosing around at the electrical outlets in the visiting room at PAWS yesterday. At least I still have the plastic white plugs to fill those in with from my babysitting days.

Daisy is clearly trying to figure out what is going on here. She's been watching our every move for the past couple of days and keeps going over and sniffing the crate. (She refuses to go in it, though.) I can already see the look on her face when we bring Mack home. It will say, "What in the hell is this and what I am suppose to do with him, huh?!"

Meet Mack

2008-12-11T15:07:00.003-06:00

Meet the newest member of our family. We officially adopted Mack today. Tomorrow he will see the vet at PAWS to be ok'd for neutering. On Saturday morning, we'll pick him up and bring him home.

Bret and I went and spent some time with him this afternoon. He's really a good little pup. He's already got quite the cute little personality. We took some pictures and video for Ashley, who still has yet to meet him. With volleyball practice and school going on right now, she's never home during their visiting hours. The excitement is really killing her.

Upon spending almost and hour bonding with him today, we've come to the conclusion that he looks an awful lot like Daisy. It's almost like looking at a baby version of her. While I don't want him to get big too fast, I'm looking forward to seeing just how much he ends up looking like Daisy.

Puppy Update

2008-12-10T18:33:00.004-06:00

We are super excited! The puppy is ours. I called the shelter just before they closed today to see if the first hold ever came in to adopt him. The lady said no one ever showed up and that he was ours to adopt now. We'll go in tomorrow to finalize the adoption, but it will be a day or two before little Mack can come home since he has to be neutered first.

Then the fun begins! We can predict that Daisy will probably be extremely jealous, but Mack is still small enough that she can assert herself as dominant dog. Our hope is that she will be a tremendous help in training him because she doesn't put up with crap from other dogs.

It's nice to have some time to get prepared for him, too. We've already been out shopping around for dog crates and other essentials. The fact that we don't have a puppy in our arms right this minute means we don't have to go out and spend a fortune in a hurry.

Now I've got a day or two to learn as much as I can about puppy training. Any suggestions?

Waiting Game

2008-12-10T08:41:00.004-06:00

Since returning Luke to my aunt, we've been looking into adopting a new dog. We've made a few trips to the animal shelter and have come up with nothing...until now. Last night we put a hold on a 4 month old puppy and now we are waiting to find out if he'll be ours.

There was already a 24 hour hold put on him by another person and they have until this afternoon to decide. We were told that holds are put on dogs all the time only to have no one come back and adopt them, so we took the fact that they didn't adopt him on the spot as a positive (and hopeful) sign.

I've tried to stay calm and not get too excited, but he's just so stinking cute!

This may be the longest day of my life.

One Year, And A Life Time Ahead

2008-12-04T06:00:00.000-06:00

A year ago today, I embarked on a life long journey. I became a nonsmoker. So many times I had tried to stop smoking and had failed. This time was different. This time I had an army of supporters - family and friends - both online and off. This time I had Chantix, my miracle drug. The drug that helped me to finally kick the habit. One year - the longest I've ever been able to quit in my 12 years of smoking.

Besides taking Chantix, the one other major reason why I believe I have been so successful with this quit is because my husband quit as well. We stuck in there together and are all that more successful because of it. His one year anniversary will be next Wednesday.

It's amazing how great I feel today. I can take a deep breath and not feel like my lungs are going to explode. I will never miss smelling like an ashtray - and kidding myself when I thought that spraying myself with a yummy smelling spray could hide that smell.

I no longer feel the guilt that I use to feel when I thought of the years I was robbing myself of. The years that I might not have had if I continued to be a smoker. The years of my children's (and grandchildren's) lives that I might have shorted myself of.

Tonight I asked my daughter, who was the one that was always on me to quit, if she knew what tomorrow was and she had no idea. Another person might have been disappointed, but I was glad that she had no idea what I was talking about. I was glad because cigarettes are so far from her life now that it doesn't even register to her anymore. Glad because by quitting, I have probably made it more likely that she will never pick up a cigarette herself.

I did it! And I will continue to do it - for myself and for my family.

Haven't Laughed This Hard Since...

2008-11-29T18:49:00.002-06:00

Oh my freaking hilarious. I'm laughing at this so much, I'm crying! You have got to watch this - you'll be rolling on the ground about 1/2 way through it!

Click here!

Downtown Chicago 2008

2008-11-29T17:45:00.014-06:00

We made it safely to my mom's house last night after dropping Luke off to my aunt's new house last night. The kids are sad that Luke is gone and are now begging for a new dog to replace him. We were able to take their minds off of missing Luke by taking them downtown for the day. We had a lot of fun seeing the sights and are now back at my mom's until we leave for home tomorrow. We ended up taking over a hundred pictures, but I didn't think anyone would want to sit through that many - now matter how good looking we are! Ha! So here are some of my favorites...

Just outside of the train station. Same place, same picture, every year.

We took a carriage ride around the city. Here are my mom and Ashley.

Ryan thought Festus, the horse who pulled our carriage was pretty cool.

After our carriage ride, we walked over to the Daley Plaza to see the pretty tree outside.

We then made our way over to Macy's food court for lunch where we spent a fortune to eat. Then it was time to head on up nine levels of escalators to see the Macy's Christmas tree. But first we stopped off at FAO Scwartz so Ryan could look around and beg for toys. In fact, he's still smiling here because he thinks he's going to be able to talk us into buying something.

By the time we made it all the way up to the tree, he knew our "No's" were for real.

He was able to get over it, though.

The day was winding down but we still had some time left and none of us had been to Millenium Park yet, so we went to check it out.

The Bean is just plain awesome. We could have spent hours there having fun with our reflections.

Ryan holds up the bean.

Ryan really wanted to go ice skating, but seeing as he's never attempted that OR rollerblading/rollerskating before, I pretty much told him we'd take him to our local rink to teach him. which means I've got some pretty painful falls to look forward to in the near future.

While waiting for the our train to board, we were a little freaked out my this abandoned paper sack. I took a picture in case the train station was no more by the time we got back to my mom's.

I think it's time to see if my brother's got any beer around here...

Santa Claus Parade

2008-11-28T13:12:00.005-06:00

Instead of battling the crazy crowds at the stores this morning, we went and watched Ashley and her school's band march in the Peoria Santa Claus Parade.

My little street bum.

Bret & I.

Ashley's school band approaches.

Unfortunately, Ashley and her flute were on the opposite side of where we were standing so I wasn't able to get a picture of her.

Remember McGruff, the crime fighting dog?

Ryan's favorite float.

Santa arrives.

We're off for a weekend in the windy city...

Happy Turkey Day

2008-11-26T22:20:00.005-06:00

Time sure does fly when you're busy. I've spent the last week going through Christmas stuff and am officially done decorating. Whew. I've also been Christmas shopping up a storm, determined to get the things I knew I wanted to buy before the whole shopping season kick off starts on Friday.

Tomorrow we'll be spending the day over at my sister in law's. Her family is in town from Iowa and really knows how to make a feast. Then we'll pour over sale guides after dinner. You won't find me shopping on Friday, though. Ashley is in the Santa Parade downtown this year in her school's marching band. She's super excited. Let's just hope the weather holds in the upper 40's since she's not going to be able to fit anything more than a sweater and Cuddl Duds on under her uniform.

After the parade on Friday, we'll be heading up to my mom's for the weekend. Luke, my aunt's golden retriever is going home now that my aunt has moved into her new place. After a couple months of having him here, the kids have really gotten use to having him around. They are handling it just fine though and understand that he's going home to his mama.

We'll also be making our annual train ride to downtown Chicago on Saturday. We have not yet decided what we'll do in the windy city yet, but we'll figure it out. Every year we've gotten pictures of the kids in front of the Macy's Christmas tree and then eat lunch downtown somewhere.

It promises to be a busy weekend! Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Yesterday

2008-11-18T18:32:00.004-06:00

Ah, yesterday. Yesterday was my first time subbing as school secretary and it was everything I thought it would be! I loved it and could totally see myself doing it full time if a position were to open. It was a bit hectic for the first hour, but settled down after that. All weekend I was nervous about having to use the intercom system - there's just something about microphones and intercoms that freak me out - and while I did make one little mistake, it wasn't such a big deal after all.

It's been over 8 years since I've had a full time job other than being mom and running a daycare out of my home. I didn't realize that I do actually miss working a little bit, so I do hope that they call me again. I would love to be trained gradually and then land the job full time when they build another grade school.

For now though, I still feel like it's more important for me to be here when the kids are out of school.

Possiblities

2008-11-14T18:39:00.004-06:00

Since school started, I've been supervising recess for 2 hours a day at one of our grade schools. I've really enjoyed it and look forward to it every day. They have a really great group of kids there.

I expressed an interest back at the beginning of the school year about being trained as a back up school secretary in our school district, in hopes of being able to sub for them and maybe even becoming one of them later on down the road when Ryan is in middle school.

I had kind of forgotten about it since nothing seemed to come of it, until this afternoon when the principal at the grade school that I work at called me and asked if I would be interested in covering for their secretary on Monday. I am so incredibly excited! I hung up the phone and actually squealed in delight!

This may just be a one time deal as their backup is probably unavailable, but maybe, just maybe this could be my chance. If I don't royally screw up answering phones, maybe they'll ask me to sub again. Maybe this could be the start of something promising.

I'm excited - so excited, but am going to have to go shop for a pair of khaki's or something this weekend as my whole wardrobe consists of jeans. Yippeeeeeee.......

Never Say Never

2008-11-13T19:09:00.004-06:00

I'm eating my words, just so you know. Last year while putting up my Christmas tree, I nearly pulled every strand of hair out of my head in frustration at the whole section of lights that thought it would be fun to see how high my stress level could go. Yes, I eventually calmed down and gave up, but with this year's season quickly approaching, I felt it was time to do something about it in hopes of saving myself from the stress this year.

For the past few days I've been shopping for a new tree. A pre lit tree, even though I swore never again. Let's face it - who really wants to spend hours stringing lights when you can buy a tree that already has it done?

While running in and out of every store in Peoria that sells them, I've come to the conclusion that I honestly do not feel sorry for these major retail stores who are crying "whoa is me, our sales are down drastically." Why? Because only one single store impressed me by being competitive. Only one store made sure I didn't leave without making a large purchase because they were the only store that beat out everyone else with their prices.

Everywhere I went a quality 7.5 foot pre lit tree was going to cost me $300. Not happening here. My last tree (which I really did LOVE until it died) was purchased at Sears and they did it for me this time, too. They came in $75 cheaper than everyone else - and it included a rotating base!

World's Favorite Mom Today

2008-11-10T19:59:00.004-06:00

I am now one very favorite mother to one very happy 12 (almost 13) year old daughter right now.

Three weeks ago when we were up at my mom's visiting, my brother gave my daughter his friend's EnV texting phone because he had gone with another carrier and no longer needed it. Because he went with a new carrier, Ashley had to wait a certain amount of time before we could activate the phone. It's been killing her, to say the least.

Every weekend we've tried to activate it, just in case the phone was released from it's old number early. We forgot this past weekend, so I just tried it without telling her a little bit ago. It activated this time, so I brought it to her and the surprise on her face was worth more a million bucks!

Grandview Drive 2008, Part Two

2008-11-08T10:52:00.005-06:00

Here are the pictures from our second day up at Grandview Drive.

Biggest Loser

2008-11-08T10:44:00.002-06:00

Yay, yay, yay for me! I was this week's biggest loser at HFH with my 4 pound loss!

Fat Ticker Friday

2008-11-07T15:23:00.005-06:00

Guess who lost 4 pounds this week? Yep, me - for a total of 7 pounds lost now! I now get to display my 5 gone badge from Hot For The Holidays over there on the left and the 10 pound badge is only 2.5 pounds away.

I haven't been very good about getting to the gym lately and am tired of my jeans being too tight, so I vowed it was time to get back on track. I still haven't been back to the gym, but I've really been trying to cut back on how much I'm eating, which seems to be what worked for me this week. Hopefully if I keep that up and add a few days at the gym next week, I'll be able to hit that 10 pound mark - and then work on the next 10.

Tonight is family movie night at Ryan's school, so I'll be treating myself to a gondola and some popcorn and then it's back on track tomorrow.

(And I really wish I knew why blogger messes up the text formatting so much when you add a picture to posts. It's really frustrating me to have to keep putting periods between my paragraphs.)

Election 2008

2008-11-04T16:47:00.006-06:00

So, I'm already glued to the TV and will probably be there or in the vicinity throughout the course of the night. I'm watching Ellen right now on TV because I got tired of Oprah's biased election show and I'll be darned if I didn't get a little teary eyed when The Agape Children's Choir started singing Change My World. It really made me think about what an impact everything we do has on our children.

And? I've now got a huge crush on Anderson Cooper. What a cutie! Funny, too.

I voted this morning after a 40 minute wait in line. When I left, the line was out the door and growing. It's amazing how many people have turned out to vote this election. This should be a pretty exciting night!

Grand View Drive 2008

2008-11-02T06:56:00.006-06:00

Yesterday afternoon, we took the kids up to Grandview Drive here in Peoria to take some fall pictures on our own. Grandview Drive is home to some of the biggest homes ever seen and even has a castle with a moat, but most importantly, has the most beautiful views of the bluffs around the Illinois river. Here are some of the best pictures we took. We're actually going back up there again today to take more with Bret's brother and family.

Halloween 2008

2008-10-31T18:55:00.003-05:00

Once upon a spooky Halloween, there was a stay at home mom (SAHM) who dreamed of becoming a princess mom. She wished upon a star for her fairy godmother to appear when her witchy friend from work/school showed up and POOF went the fairy godmother!

The SAHM made it through 2 hours of small children asking "What are you supposed to be for Halloween?" and then cruised across town in her minivan to her son's school and watched the annual Halloween Parade.

Clearly facing the wrong way in line, but oh so ~~cute~~ heroic looking.

Cuteness onstage for all to see.

School obligations completed and SAHM is happy to be home and out of those itchy velcro rollers. Could really use that fairy godmother to do something with this mop.

Still way too big, but camera does not show the full extent of bigness, thank goodness.

The kids got home from school and we headed outside to take pictures. Ryan is a brave Army Sargeant, Ashley is dressed up as Bacon (her friend whom she is going trick or treating with is the other half of her costume, Eggs. Bret thinks he's 10 again and makes a pretty sweet Viking.

Before the kids head out with friends tonight, we took them to trick or treat at Bret's Dad's house as well as a couple of his mom's close friends' houses.

Bret is now out with Ryan and Ashley caught up with her other half (eggs) and I'm left here to answer the door with two big overly excited dogs.

Just a little note to the hoodlums that came and wiped out our bowl of candy sitting on the porch while I was taking Ashley to her friend's house, RIGHT after my husband filled it - My witchy friend is coming for YOU!

Update: Oh my freaking hilarious! I was not expecting this when the door bell rang! This would be Bret and our neighbor Scott.

School Pictures 2008

2008-10-29T12:54:00.002-05:00

It seems we missed getting together with Bret's brother and family this year for our pictures up on Grand View Drive due to bad weather and busy schedules, but the kids did bring home some cute ones from school instead.

My grown up 7th grader...

My little man, the 2nd grader...

I even got my picture taken now that I work in one of the schools, but hell will have to freeze over before I share that one.

Worried Mama

2008-10-27T16:28:00.000-05:00

Daisy waits for Ryan's bus and greets him at the door. Then she does the same with Ashley's bus. Only Ashley didn't take the bus home today. She stayed at school to watch the basketball game. It's been 30 minutes since the bus came through our neighborhood and this mama is still waiting for her pup to get home.

Consumed

2008-10-25T21:48:00.004-05:00

I officially opened up my Rock The House (school carnival) binder today. I will probably be consumed from now until March. I'm not sure how I got talked into being Vice President of the PTO, which means chairing RTH again this year. I've spent the last couple of hours sitting at my computer working on volunteer lists and sending out emails begging parents to chair booths. I may need a drink or two when the rejection emails start coming back. (Just kidding.)

For those of you who put up with me through out all of this last year, I'm going to need your support again as I'm flying solo this year. So if it fails, it's all. on. me. Yikes.

I learned something from last year, though. I am going to do a lot of delegating. These people are going to find their own volunteers. Why should I do it for every single committee this year? That is probably what consumed so much of my time last year.

Let the good times roll...

Doesn't Get Better Than This

2008-10-21T14:16:00.002-05:00

I don't know this family personally, but I have friends that do. I've cried over the pictures and videos, signed and passed on the petition. Extreme Makeover Home Edition chose them! They are here in the Peoria area, building this family a new home! Click here.

Hope

2008-10-16T19:30:00.002-05:00

Towards the end of last school year, we were pretty worried about Ryan academically. He went through a lot of testing and the results left us pretty discouraged and worried about his future. We managed to get through the end of the school year with some progress made.

Now we have just completed the first quarter of this new school year and I am amazed at how well Ryan is catching up. Tonight was our parent/teacher conference with his teacher and I must tell you that I was expecting a lot of low grades since that seemed to be the norm last year. I am happy to report that his report card was a lot better!

While he still has some struggles when it comes to reading comprehension and writing, his reading fluency is really coming along. One month ago, Ryan was reading 41 words a minute. And now? 81! He doubled it in one month!

Reading and Writing struggles aside, he's doing excellent in all other areas. His confidence level is growing. That was one of the things that broke my heart into a million little pieces. If something was too hard for him to grasp, he'd get very frustrated - because he knew that he was supposed to be able to do it, but couldn't. Now, he's showing more confidence and his self esteem has improved as well. He no longer fights us when it's time to sit down and do school work.

I'm teary eyed right now. I'm so proud of him. I'm less worried. I see the progress. I'll never get tired of hearing him read out loud.

Six months ago tonight, we lost my mother in law. It was easily the most awful night of our lives. Tonight is particularly tough, because she is the person we would most love to share this with. She beamed with pride when it came to her grandchildren - wanted to know every detail of their lives. This would have made her more proud than any straight A report card because it gives us all hope. It shows us that Ryan will catch up and will succeed.

Sick

2008-10-13T12:21:00.002-05:00

I've spent most of this holiday morning in bed so far. When I got up this morning I was a little achy, but figured it was still from all the hiking I did on Saturday. The achiness hasn't gone away and not it's joined with some queasiness and a fever. Why me? Is it from sleeping in an extremely damp tent or was someone among the other 20 families sick? At least my kids are self sufficient. They'll find their way up to the pantry for lunch eventually.

Camping Among The River Bluffs

2008-10-12T14:13:00.005-05:00

We are home, happy to be clean and looking forward to not sleeping on the ground tonight. We camped with 20 other cub scout families from Ryan's school last night at Camp Wokanda, the old boy scout camp, which is now a park district owned area that is settled among the river bluffs here in central Illinois. When we entered the camp grounds, we came across this breathtaking view of the color changing trees and the glass like lake.

We survived two hikes - one with some rather treacherous climbs up steep hills in the afternoon and the other along flat ground at night with flashlights. The weather was perfect and the kids had a really great time. Ryan explored in the forest behind our camp site with all of the other boys. That particular part of the forest was made up of HUGE rolling hills covered in trees. The kids could run up and down the many hills and were in our sights the whole time. It was the perfect location.

Sleeping conditions, as one would probably expect, were not the best. Bret and Ryan had both cots and I thought I was a genius for bringing the big egg foam crate from Ashley's bed and folding it in half under my sleeping bag. I slept, thanks to ear plugs, but not very comfortably. Ashley and her friend, who stayed in their own big girl tent, had a similar problem. All I had for them were some foam pads to put under their sleeping bags. What can I say? I didn't feel like messing with the air mattresses after they leaked the last time we used them.

Anyway, we're home and I've posted many of our pictures over at Flickr (Click here for slideshow) if anyone is interested. I'm too tired and there are too many to post here. Enjoy!

Sleeping With The Creepy Crawly Things

2008-10-10T21:58:00.002-05:00

In ten hours we'll be on our way to the Boy Scout camp. I think I've packed half of the house. Always be prepared, right?

Camping With The Boys

2008-10-09T20:20:00.000-05:00

My idea of roughing it when it comes to camping is the Girl Scout way - in heated cabins with running water and flushing toilets, using duraflame logs to start camp fires, having mattresses accessible to lay on the floor underneath my sleeping bag, and having pizza delivered for dinner.

We have on a few occasions "roughed it". In fact, the last time we "roughed it" was with our neighbors two years ago. (See that post here.) We "roughed it" with a TV in the tent, a gourmet chef and a cul de sac for bike riding.

Why am I bringing all of this up, you ask? (Hangs head in shame.) Because I just committed us to camping with Ryan's Cub Scout pack this weekend. A day and a half of real roughing it camping. No duraflame logs. No beer. No heaters. No TV's. With 50 other adults and kids. In the woods. IN THE WOODS!

Ok, maybe I'm over reacting, but I've never camped for this long a stretch of time before. A day and a half. (Stop laughing!) Usually when we camp as a family, we arrive and set up camp right before dinner, eat and drink, sleep and then get up early and go home and shower the camp fire smell off.

In the handout we were given, there is a list of what to pack. Number one on the list? "Personal clothing - be prepared for cold and rain. We will get dirty!" Yikes. Number two? "Personal grooming items - camping is no excuse for bad breath and body odor." OMG! People actually have to be reminded of this? Last on the list? A sense of adventure - this will be fun." Ok, they've got me. I'm excited, because Ryan really wants to do this with his friends. I'll put aside my own fears to watch him experience his first Cub Scout camping trip. But, man! It sounds like we'll have to hose each other off as soon as we get home.

Finding My Way Out

2008-10-09T13:13:00.000-05:00

(Picture found on internet.)

So I've hit that rut that I new would be coming. I'm bored with the cardio machines at the gym and can't do the classes since I have to be at school in the late morning. I need to change it up so that I don't give it up. I would love to start running, as my friend Em has started doing, but the fear of dropping dead within 2 minutes flat keeps me from attempting it.

The Rock Island Trail is not far from my house, but I've feared walking it alone because it can get pretty isolated. The trail is gorgeous right now with the trees beginning to change. So, this morning I hauled my neighbor out of her house and dragged her there with me for a half hour long hike and it was exactly what I needed to find my way out of this cardio machine rut I've found myself in. I'll be going again tomorrow morning. Might as well take advantage of this fall weather while I can.

A Day At The Apple Farm

2008-10-05T19:26:00.004-05:00

We took advantage of a free Sunday and went to Tanners Orchard for a fun filled day of picking pumpkins and getting lost in corn mazes.

The kids riding on the short bus.

Guess who had the same idea today? Our niece and nephew - however they were leaving as we were just getting there.
Getting ready to brave the first Corn Maze.
The idea was to find all 12 check points - we found 6 and called it a day after an hour and a half of being lost and confused. Guess I'm not that great with a map. But hey, that's an hour and a half of exercise!
Safely out of the corn maze, we headed over the the play area to let Ryan do his thing.
He sailed a boat,
flew an airplane,

found his way through the hay bale maze,
and then out ran his father during a good game of chase.
Off to the pumpkin patch next to find the perfect pumpkins.

I Worked My Butt Off Moment

2008-10-03T08:00:00.005-05:00

This week's challenge for HFH over at Baby Tea Leaves was to PUSH IT past my comfort zone at least once. So I did. Yesterday. And I survived. It wasn't a big thing, really. You see, normally I power walk on the treadmill for 10 minutes, then hit the elliptical machine for 10 and follow it up back on the treadmill for a final 10.

I get bored easily and changing it up keeps me from quitting. OK, it's also easier in 10 min increments. I don't want to get stuck in a comfort zone though and decided it was time to change it up - so I did 15 min on the treadmill and then 15 min on the elliptical and have every intention of upping the times more as I go along.

I use to take the group classes offered at the gym, but that is no longer an option when school is in session now that I'm working part time at one of the schools here. It's the only way I can actually work out for an hour without losing my mind. I miss those classes and am going to have to figure out how to survive the cardio machines in their place. (On days when there is only a half day or no school, I WILL spoil myself and make it to the classes on those days.)

So, that brings us to today's weigh in. I'm a nervous wreck because my weight has been bouncing around all week. While I've been working out most mornings during the week and have cut out fast food and am trying to eat right, I'm still struggling. I suspect that it may have something to do with too much sodium and building muscle. We'll see - I may have to get serious and starting counting calories or weight watchers points or something soon if I don't start getting the results I want.

Today's weight loss: 0 ugh. gained 1.5 pounds
Total weight loss to date: 3 pounds

What the???

New Addition

2008-10-01T15:33:00.006-05:00

Daisy gained a companion today. Luke has arrived and will be here for the next couple of months while my Aunt moves. Both dogs have gotten along great.

Luke
Daisy

However, the bird's days may be numbered as Luke has shown quite a bit of interest.

Who Laced My Diet Coke?

2008-09-28T18:20:00.002-05:00

Someone must have put something into my Diet Coke this weekend to get me moving, because not only did I thoroughly clean the house, but I also steam cleaned the carpets, washed everyone and their mother's clothes, towels and bedding and painted the kitchen trim and door because the paint has been worn off for awhile and it was driving me crazy.

I am now so tired that I can barely keep my eyes open, but I did get it all done!

Why so much, do you ask? Because Luke is coming on Friday! My aunt sold her town house and needs someone to watch her dog for a couple of months until she finds and moves into a new place. She is unable to take Luke with her to where she'll be living until that time, so he will be staying with us.

Since we'll be having two very hairy and massively shedding dogs here, I figured this was probably my last chance to clean so thoroughly for awhile. That and I didn't want the house to smell so strongly of Daisy when Luke gets here. I've heard that can make it easier on a dog coming into a new home that already has a dog.

So, now that I've had a bit of a break, I need to go swap out my summer clothes in my closet for my fall clothes. According to my weatherman, fall is expected in a couple of days. I can't wait!

World's Worst Parent

2008-09-27T11:40:00.000-05:00

Apparently, today is Nickelodeon's Worldwide Day of Play. They've gone off the air to encourage kids to get outside and play today.

Guess what our kid has been doing downstairs since 6:30am?

Hey, it could be worse. He's been awake since 5:20am, begging to play his new Lego Batman game on the Playstation.

Fat Ticker Friday

2008-09-26T16:02:00.006-05:00

I've been such a bad, bad blogger. Things have been pretty boring and normal around here. We've settled into a nice routine since school started. I've been going over and helping Bret's Grandma get up in the morning a little earlier than usual so I can make it to the gym (I know - gasp! - 3 days in a row this week!)

I've been participating in Hot For The Holidays over at Baby Tea Leaves and had a weight loss of 1.5 pounds this morning, which brings me up to a total of 4.5 pounds over the last 3 weeks. I was actually worried that I would have a gain since I just went back to the gym this week, which usually makes me gain before I lose.

The weekend ahead hold no big plans for us. I may just decide to take advantage of it and get some much needed things done around the house that I've been putting off.

Have a great weekend!

Wii Fit = Smart A*#

2008-09-22T16:19:00.008-05:00

I've been having a hard time finding the time to get to the gym lately and while I was at Wal-mart this morning, I happened to walk past the electronic section and almost died of excitement when I saw that they had TWO Wii Fit's in stock. I've walked by many times and there has never been one there. So I grabbed it.

After I got home from my little part time job at school, I started setting it up.

Yep, that's the Mii I set up for my self sometime ago.

You should be ashamed asking for asking a lady how old she is! Fine, let's get started with your little pretesting, shall we?

No. I do not trip a lot. Then it tells me that my Wii Fit age is 42 years old and all of sudden my Mii becomes rounder. I almost threw the remote at the TV.

Hmm, chose a trainer? Male or Female? What do you think?

The jury was still out on how well of a work out one could get with this, but 38 minutes later I have to admit that I was a little sore and working up a sweat, but having fun at the same time. I think we'll keep it!

Homecoming Parade

2008-09-20T09:12:00.003-05:00

This weekend is Dunlap's big Homecoming weekend! Ashley survived her first parade in the marching band and had a great time.

After the parade, we ran home to eat and change clothes and then went and cheered on the football team at the game.

Today we're off to Chicago to drop off the kids at my mom's and then it's on to my friend Emily's house for girls night out.

Join The Fun

2008-09-16T22:12:00.000-05:00

They've got me hooked over at Facebook. I originally only signed up to give it a test run to see if it was appropriate for my daughter to use. The jury is still out on that, but meanwhile I've been having more fun on there than a 31 year old mom probably should be having, but in my defense, I'm not the only 30 something over there. I've found that many of my friends are there and I've reconnected with quite a few people from my high school days. It's been fun sending little messages and funny "gifts" to my friends throughout the day.

So, while I've been busy settling into a back to school routine over here, I promise to try and keep up on this blog a little better than I have been. However, I'm curious - are any of you signed up over at facebook.com? Want to join me over there? Email me at lmweth24 at aol dot com. Oh, come on! It's really fun!

Week In Review

2008-09-12T21:28:00.006-05:00

I apologize for disappearing this week, but things are now finally starting to slow down. Ashley's softball season is officially over. Her last game of the season was Wednesday night. Watching her games has been a lot of fun, but I'm ready for it to be over.

Homework has been out of control now that school is back in full swing. It seems like once we're all home and done with dinner, we're spending the rest of our nights buried in homework. Ashley is doing excellent in school. No problems there. Ryan is struggling a little, but we expected that. While he has made tremendous progress - I'll never get tired of him reading a book to us - he still has some more catching up to his peers to do. Five years of undiagnosed hearing loss plus a possible learning disability will do that to you. We just have to stay patient, work with him and keep on top of the school.

Homework time.

Earlier this week, Ryan brought home a short story that he wrote himself with no help. I was very proud and promptly hung it on our fridge. It had some spelling errors, but it showed promise. Being able to write an actual sentence was a challenge for him last year.

Also this week, I got my highlights redone and my hair cut. It's still very blonde right now, but it'll tone down in a week or so. I went for more layers this time around because I'm so tired of my hair just hanging there, doing absolutely nothing. I was amazed at how many of the little kids at school the next day noticed my hair.

The weather here has been horrible and depressing for the last couple of days. It has rained nonstop. Despite the constant rain, we went to the high school football game tonight. We made it through the first half and ended up leaving during halftime because of Ryan's boredom (his friends decided not to brave the rain), the obnoxiously loud parent behind us and because we looked and felt like drowned rats.

Ryan is ready for the football game.

Brings back memories of the good old days.

I didn't get any pictures of Ashley tonight. Once we walked through the gates, she was swallowed up by a group of her friends and gone. Seems to be becoming the norm these days. Sigh.

Motivate Me, Please

2008-09-08T21:51:00.003-05:00

Looky what I found by way of Maggie. Should be fun. This is just what I've been looking for - a group of people with the same common goal to help keep me motivated and on track. Be sure to check it out!

Party Like An Eight Year Old

2008-09-07T11:44:00.005-05:00

Friday night was the big night for Ryan. He and 14 of his friends swam the night away at the indoor River Plex pool at his birthday party. His birthday was Aug 19, but we've been so busy that we couldn't have his party until this weekend.

Ashley and her cousin Mitchell are always inseparable.

(Click on pictures to enlarge for a better view.)

The kids play in the zero depth area,

while the big kid waits for his friends to join him.

Lazy River

Ryan and his two best friends.

Bret's always up for a water slide.

The birthday boy gets dunked by his uncle.

Then the uncle gets attacked by the kids.

Batman cake for the bat boy.

Cheesing it up.

Sydnie, Ashley & Skyler.

Jackpot!

All hopped up on sugar and ready to go home!

Happy Birthday, Buddy!

Payday

2008-09-07T11:28:00.006-05:00

At the rate the kids are going, it's a good thing I took on a part time job at school. They each made $4.25 this week. Once they had to pay up their first and second quarters, they caught on pretty quickly. It actually served as a good little math lesson for Ryan. He did pretty well with counting out the quarters, exchanging them in for dollar bills and then counting out how much he had altogether in paper money. Now the kid wants to go spend it all! Go figure.

Nine Months

2008-09-05T07:20:00.002-05:00

Wow, yesterday marked nine months since I quit smoking and I didn't even realize it until last night. This is the longest I've ever stayed quit and I'm pretty confident that it will stick. I honestly can't see myself ever going back.

Last night, my friend Teri and I went out for a couple of drinks and the thought to smoke never occured to me once. The Illinois smoking ban (thank God for that!) I'm sure has a lot to do with that.

Three more months until I make it to the one year mark!

Trim Up Tuesday - Baby Steps

2008-09-02T07:43:00.000-05:00

Well, I guess I made it through my first week back at Trim Up Tuesday. I started out this week taking it slow since we all know how fast I tend to jump back into the whole working out thing only to end up injured and out of commission for the next couple of months. My effort, however, was squashed by busy schedules, rain and then getting sick. I'm not really sure how, but I did manage to lose 2.5 pounds this week.

I'm going to try something new here. I think it will help me to do this as more of a journal type thing. Something to the effect of holding me more accountable....blah blah blah. I'm just going to go with it and see what happens.

Week One:

Tuesday: Sore from my first day back to the gym yesterday. Thought about not working out today, but the pull to do something was strong so I grabbed our dog and headed to a nearby trail for 25 minutes of uphill and downhill torture. Has anyone found the secret to avoiding shin splints?

Wednesday: Holy calf pain. Those hills yesterday got me good - I wonder if the poor dog is sore, too. Very seriously considered taking the dog over to the Rock Island trail after school/work this afternoon for a walk, but chickened out after talking to another Playground Supervisor Mommy at work and hearing that two women were recently attacked on the trail in broad daylight. Will rethink that plan after I buy some mace. Where can one buy mace at these days? Decided to give my calves the day off.

Thursday: Rainy, stormy day + running around town getting errands done = no work out today.

Friday: 5 hours of house cleaning today. Well call that a workout and run with it.

Saturday: Too busy being a family to do anything else today. Ashley had a double header this morning. After that we went out to lunch, did a little shopping and then it was time to head over to our friend's backyard party.

Sunday: Awful allergies got me good. Or maybe it's a cold. Can allergies really make you feel this bad? Had to leave the party early last night and was in bed by 8:30pm.

Monday: Still sick and miserable. Enough said.

So, as we can all see here, I didn't really keep up with the excersice, but I did spend 2 hours a day at work walking all over the playground. I also didn't eat out as much this week, which is probably a big help.

Weight loss this week: 2.5 pounds

Total weight loss: 2.5 pounds

Enough Already

2008-09-01T08:00:00.000-05:00

I'm tired of hanging up forgotten bath towels, cleaning up puddles around the toilet, finding dirty laundry on the floor IN FRONT of the hamper, tripping over toys and cell phone texting during homework time. It's time to train them.

Starting today, both kids wills start the week with $5 in quarters. Each time the kids break a rule, fail to listen, or don't take care of their belongings they have to pay me a quarter. At the end of the week, whatever is left in their cups is their's to keep. (I'm even going to be nice and cash them into dollar bills so I don't have to keep running to the bank for quarters.)

Unless they surprise me, there probably won't be much left in there by this time next week.

Spartan's Win!

2008-08-31T14:39:00.003-05:00

Ashley played a great game on Saturday. She made some really great plays at first.

Ashley at bat.

We have one more week left of school ball and then sadly, the softball season will be over. We've really enjoyed sitting through all of her games. We couldn't be prouder.

Cold or Allergies?

2008-08-31T13:05:00.002-05:00

I'm still trying to decided, but all I know is that whichever it is, it's gotten me really good. Please send some Vitamin C my way.

Trim Up Tuesday - Week One

2008-08-26T07:17:00.002-05:00

I figured with everyone else so gung ho to get back into shape that I better jump back on the bandwagon. I've now put on twenty pounds since quitting smoking over 8 months ago. It's time to get back to it. (Now if I could just muster up some enthusiasm.)

Exercise

I worked out 2 times this week.
I did 20 minutes of cardio this week.
I did 4 hours of brisk activity this week.

Goals

My new goal is: to make it to the gym at least 3 times this week and to eat out less.

Family Day

2008-08-24T19:10:00.005-05:00

It turned out to be a gorgeous day today, so we took the kids to a Peoria Chief's baseball game this afternoon. The Chief's are a Minor League team owned by the Chicago Cubs, are managed by Ryne Sandberg and located right here in Peoria.

Still has a big gaping hole in his mouth!

There's Ryne Sandberg.

Ryan was fascinated by the mascot.

After the game (sadly, the Chief's lost) we went out for dinner and then stopped at a nearby park. We walked down to the little lake and fed the fish some bread and then let the kids play on the playground.

Almost home.

Schedule: Empty

2008-08-22T09:27:00.003-05:00

As I went about preparing for my day this morning, I sat down and checked my calendar on my cute little smart phone. Let me just say that I am totally spoiled by this thing! Any moms (or dads for that matter) that have school aged children that are involved in what seems like every activity imaginable shouldn't have to live without one of these things. I'd love to snatch one up for my husband so that I can put my Outlook calendar on it for him. Then he'd never again be able to tell me that I didn't tell him that we had such and such planned tonight.

In fact, after a nightmare drive to a softball game that was an hour away with wrong directions on Wednesday night took me 1 hour and 45 minutes to get there -only to have the game end 5 minutes after I arrived - I decided to copy the directions from the school website for each away game left and put them on my phone. It was super convenient and I made it to yesterday's game that was 1 hour and 15 minutes away right on time - only to have the game called for lightning in the 4th inning! It's OK though - we were looking at a brutal loss.

So, now that I've gotten completely sidetracked (are you still there?) I'll come back to where I meant to go in the first place. I checked my phone this morning and was excited to find that other than working at school for 2 hours, my schedule is completely empty today! As soon as I get home from supervising 5 grade levels of recess, I'm going to finally be able to get something done around here. I'm so excited!

First Days (Updated)

2008-08-20T07:52:00.004-05:00

Monday was the big day as the kids went back to school. Monday and Tuesday were half days and today will be their first full day - as well as my first day at one of the grade schools as a Lunch and Playground Supervisor. The kids took going back to school fine, but I have to admit that I'm a little nervous. I'll be working with 3 other moms and let's face it - moms can be mean! They can be more click-ish than their kids sometimes. I don't know a single person at this school except for the principal who happens to be our neighbor. I do know a handful of the kids that Ryan went to preschool with, but that's about it. Should be interesting.

Ryan waits at the bus stop with his friends on Monday morning.

Onto the bus my baby goes.

And then he's off.

Ashley has been ready for school for awhile now.

Out the door she goes.

And this would be as close to the bus stop as we are allowed to go!

Update: My first day went very well today. It's a bit chaotic and very busy with 5 grades on staggered lunch and recess schedules, but the other moms were all very nice and friendly. I worry too much. :-)

Last Summer Day

2008-08-17T19:43:00.004-05:00

While Ashley is excited to start 7th grade tomorrow, Ryan is a little lacking in the enthusiasm department for 2nd grade. I'm hoping all will go well tomorrow, but for now it was one last carefree summer day...

Birthdays and Make Overs

2008-08-17T16:19:00.003-05:00

Today we celebrated Ryan's 8th birthday with family over at my father in law's house. His birthday isn't until Tuesday, but with school starting I thought it would be best to get everyone together before school starts tomorrow.

Looks like we have another Wii game for mom to play when the kids go back to school tomorrow. Ha.

He has been wanting this since he saw a picture of it in the Playmobil catalog and didn't have a clue that my mom, Grandma and brother were getting it for him. It may be a week or so before I see the white's of his eyes again.

After Ryan's little party, I took Ashley to get her hair cut and was surprised when she told me that she wanted bangs and to get her eye brows waxed. She looks so grown up that I had to do a double take. Next thing you know her eye teeth will be in and she's going to come out of her room with all kinds of eye makeup on. Her dad and I just may have to lock her away for the next ten years!

Why do they have to grow up so fast?

Addiction

2008-08-16T23:11:00.005-05:00

Every once in awhile one of my kids' games will pull me in, leaving me with no choice but to step it up and kick their butts in it. This happened last night with their Wii Mario Kart game. Everyone was gone and I was home alone -a rare occurrence that I savored every moment of - so I took advantage and gave it a go.

We had bought the game awhile back for Ashley when she had to have 4 teeth pulled to make room for the adult teeth that were coming through (that's 8 shots!). I had been wanting to try it out myself and finally made the time for it last night.

I tried my hardest and even got some pointers from Ashley. I've even practiced a lot today and think that I'm now ready to take on my 3 year old nephew! It's his absolute most favorite game on the Wii.

Can you believe that they actually gave me a driver's license? We won't talk about what an hour or two of playing Mario Kart does to your real driving skills when you immediately get behind the wheel after playing.

Grand Bear Pictures

2008-08-15T13:46:00.003-05:00

We had a great time during our annual Grand Bear trip last weekend with Bret's brother's family. We did lots of swimming, played mini golf and spent a lot of time in the amusement park.

The indoor water park was definitely our favorite part.

Ryan has other ideas when it comes to playing mini golf.

They keep getting bigger every year.

If you dare to wear a speedo and not cut your hair in 20 years - be forewarned - you will be blogged!

There are more pictures uploaded at flickr. Click here for a slideshow.

Changes Ahead

2008-08-14T22:33:00.003-05:00

I'm still working on posting pictures from our trip to Grand Bear Lodge last weekend. I haven't forgotten. I was just waiting on getting the pictures that my brother in law took. I've got them now and will try to get to those tomorrow.

School starts on Monday and the kids are actually excited to go back. I think they miss being around their friends all day, even if it means that school work goes with it. Or maybe they are tired of me. Ha.

So. What to do with myself when they go back next week? I could spend maybe two weeks or so cleaning and organizing my house, but that would get old really fast. Since making the decision to stop babysitting, I've been trying to come up with a plan.

I've already committed to being Vice President of the PTO at Ryan's school and that will keep me somewhat busy - and yes that also means I'll be chairing Rock The House again this year. I've already had my first RTH related nightmare - and it's only August.

It just so happened that by word of mouth I was offered a part time position supervising lunch and recess at one of the grade schools in our district. I jumped on it because it gets my foot in the door if something else were to open up. The only downfall is that it's not at Ryan's school, but I've been told that I can be moved there if an opening becomes available. I'll only have to go in for about two hours each full school day. I'll be off when my kids are off or when they only have a half of day. And in that two hours a day, I'll be making close to what I was making each day when I was watching Chloe. Perfect - except that now I've gone from watching one kid to watching over 300 kids. Oh well - it'll buy some groceries or at least fill up my gas tank every week, right?

It's unbelievable how much you have to go through to work in a school. I had to have a physical yesterday, along with a TB test. Today I had to go down to the courthouse and get finger printed so that they can run a background check on me. I am now obligated by law to report any suspicions I have of child abuse to DCFS and then there is also a huge mound of paperwork to fill out.

I start work next Wednesday and will have just until lunchtime to myself on Monday and Tuesday while the kids are at school. I had all kinds of ideas of what I might do during the first two kid free days since the beginning of summer break and have decided that the minute they walk out the door I'm going to put my iPod on and sing at the top of my lungs just because I can. I'd like to apologize to the neighbors right now.

I've loved having the kids home this summer, but in the past week I've felt my patience thinning quite a bit. It's time for them to go back to school so I can whine about missing them.

Right Back To It

2008-08-11T18:57:00.000-05:00

We made it back safely from Grand Bear Lodge this afternoon and had a few hours to unwind before heading out for Ashley's first softball game of the middle school team. This is the first team ever to wear these uniforms since they are playing for the new middle school that will be opening it's doors for the first time next Monday. Sadly, half of her friends are going to the old middle school. She'll miss them, but luckily she still has a lot of friends going with her to the new one.
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Dunlap Valley wins! Ashley is learning a new position over at first base now.

I'll post some pictures of Grand Bear once I have more time.

Leaving...

2008-08-09T12:47:00.002-05:00

... and I didn't get much done yesterday. Could care less. Going to have a great, relaxing weekend at Grand Bear. See you all on Monday.

Chaotic Friday

2008-08-08T10:36:00.003-05:00

It's madness, I tell you.

We leave for our weekend at Grand Bear Lodge tomorrow morning and my house is still a mess from redoing Ashley's room.

I forgot about the damn laundry in the washer and dryer. That's going to smell nice.

We're out of clean dishes. Lovely.

My aunt is having second thoughts about giving up her dog. My kids are heartbroken.

Today is our ten year wedding anniversary (Happy 10 Years, Honey!) and I have no idea what we're going to do. We usually go out for a yummy expensive steak dinner, but Ashley has a birthday party to go to this evening and I haven't made any arrangements for Ryan.

Ashley injured her back most likely during softball practice. That should make for an interesting time at a water and amusement park this weekend.

Did I mention that my house is a mess?

I checked out a new book from the library that I've really been wanting to read and I just can't find the time to sit down and read it.

I don't think we've even made arrangements for anyone to take care of Daisy (the dog we do have) while we're gone this weekend.

Guess I better go get busy.

E 'finito!

2008-08-06T21:13:00.001-05:00

Ashley is beyond excited at how awesome her room turned out! My sister in law is a creative genius when it comes to stenciling! She left work at 2pm today to come over and finish up the second coat on the stencils. Then we ran to a few places to get curtains and some other finishing touches and pulled it all together tonight. I am so happy with how it all turned out!

Ready? Here is a before picture...

...and POOF! Here is after!

I am now off to try and put back together my poor neglected house.

Sneak Peak

2008-08-05T22:47:00.002-05:00

It has been quite a day today. We had one of the worst storms ever roll through here at 4am this morning. All day yesterday it had been in the upper 90's and the humidity was so bad that you could barely breathe outdoors. Taking all this into account, we knew that any storms that reached us would be really bad. And they were.

Every single thing on our deck had blown over to the railing right in front of our patio door. Our only saving grace was that we had just stained the deck, so the floor of it was still pretty slippery which I believe helped our new patio set glide across instead of being hurled across. Our neighbors weren't so lucky. There table flipped over and shattered into a million little pieces. Our other neighbors had it even worse. Their children's brand new wooden play system blew over and broke. All throughout our neighborhood, the effects of this morning's storm could be seen.

With the outdoor clean up taken care of, I moved on to Ashley's room. I ended up removing all of the tape from around the brown wall and was upset when the tape took off quite a bit of the original blue paint. Guess what that meant I ended up doing today? With the help of Ashley and my sister in law, we repainted all of the three walls with the same color.

After getting the blue walls painted, we moved on to the stenciling. My sister in law is quite talented and did an incredible job. Ashley is beyond excited, but the squares still need one more coat of paint tomorrow and then we can move everything back in and put her new bedding on.

I still need to find window treatments for both kids' rooms, but need to look around and decide if I want to make them myself or just buy them. We'll see.

Check back tomorrow...hopefully I'll have her room all put together and final pictures posted. For now, I'm off to go collapse in bed.

Painters For Hire

2008-08-04T21:02:00.004-05:00

We got just a little bit sidetracked today.

Don't worry - we did eventually get two coats of brown paint up on that wall. Now we're just waiting to see if we need a third coat. Then the stenciling nightmare will begin tomorrow.

Oh, don't you worry, Daisy. You're days of boredom are soon to be over. Luke arrives in less than 2 weeks.

Here We Go Again

2008-08-04T12:01:00.003-05:00

With the upcoming addition to our family coming in less than two weeks, I thought I had better get Ashley's room done since Ryan's has been done for quite some time now. There were a few things that kept me from getting it done, such as our vacation to Florida, the carpal tunnel in my wrist (which still hurts if I do too much, but it's managable for now) and more summer ball games than one can count.

Here we are before:

(The blue and brown bins in her closet are new.)

Now I'm working on the after. It's all taped and ready to go. I just need to go pick up Ashley from softball and get the paint - then she and I can get to work.

More later...

Unfair

2008-08-03T13:44:00.003-05:00

When I was a teenager, I more than put in my time cleaning out my disaster of a bedroom. So why now, when I'm 31 (I'm 31, right?) years old am I doing just that again?

I gave Ashley weeks to get her room cleaned up so that we can redecorate her room, but was growing frustrated by her lack of motivation and ability to get it done.

We've been in there most of the day, slowly and painstakingly organizing her things and still have a ways to go. There are so many toys and such that she's outgrown that I just don't know what to do with. And you know what? I'm frustrated with MY lack of motivation and ability to get it done.

Update:

Her room is clean! It's done! I can drop now!

I don't think she'll ever let it get that messy again. I took great joy in dumping every single one of her draws and making her go through every single thing she owns.

I'm really proud of her, though. She did a great job. I helped her by guiding her where to start and what to do next, but she did it mostly herself and showed amazing maturity in getting rid of things she no longer needs or wants.

Now we can start painting.

Frustrated

2008-08-01T14:09:00.004-05:00

I got a pretty new phone last night from my sister in law who had just replaced it with a Blackberry she liked better. It's really pretty and still new. However, it's really frustrating me because I can't figure out how to use the darn thing. I can dial out, answer calls and look at the calendar, but I'll be damned if I can figure out anything else such as memory expansions, ringtones, files and the music media player. Ugh. Does anyone have one of these things? I've wasted almost a whole afternoon of my life trying to figure this thing out!

And before you ask - yes, I've been to Verizon to have it activated. I'm not that dumb.

Year End Softball Team Party

2008-07-31T17:06:00.001-05:00

With the end of the summer season comes a good time at Kartville every year.

You've got your bumper boats...

...and the kid who fills the bucket and ensures that you walk away thoroughly soaked.

Then it's good clean fun out on the dirt. Yee-haw!

But, do NOT forget the blue snow cones!

Ever Changing

2008-07-29T12:40:00.007-05:00

Life never seems to stay very still for us over here. It seems like summer just began and now it's going to be over in 3 weeks when the kids go back to school. I thought with the end of summer sports and summer activities that we would have a breather, but I was fooling myself because I honestly don't know how to not be busy.

Ashley is excited to go back to school and has gone straight from summer ball to school ball. Softball try-outs started this week for the middle school and while she's made the team, we still have yet to find out if she will be on the Varsity or Junior Varsity team. Practices start immediately on Thursday and will be everyday except for Fridays and Sundays. Whew, here we go. Sometimes I feel more like a chauffeur than a parent.

Ryan has scaled down to just swim lessons, with only two more remaining, so things are momentarily calm there. With the start of school comes the whole stress of making sure Ryan gets what is needed with his hearing and learning disabilities. We've given him the summer off from working so hard, but it's time to get cracking again.

In other news, we're adding a new dog to the family. We currently have Daisy (see picture on masthead above) who is 9 or 10 years old. She is the biggest sweetheart and everyone commonly calls her the neighborhood dog. People love her that much and welcome her into their yards.

My aunt has a 4 year old Golden Retriever, named Luke. She's moving and sadly cannot take him with her. We've offered to take him and the kids are really excited and having a hard time waiting the 3 weeks until my aunt can bring him down here. It could have been sooner, but we have our upcoming annual weekend vacation to Grand Bear with Bret's brother and his family and didn't want to upset his adjustment period here.

So, that leads me to a question I've got for all of you. I've found a lot of valuable information in regards to adding another dog to your family online, but I'd love some advice from anyone who's been through this. Daisy has her annual appointment at the vet tomorrow and I'm going loaded with questions for him. Does anyone have any suggestions on making the transition easier on both dogs? I'm pretty sure Daisy will be the dominant dog as Luke is very laid back and easy going while Daisy is pretty laid back herself and very well behaved, but is very protective of her turf. I'd love some feedback!

Back To School

2008-07-28T15:47:00.001-05:00

I'm cracking up over here. Ashley and I went school supply shopping today and she and her friends are comparing school supplies like it's Christmas morning. What a gag!

St. Pete's Beach Vacation - Day Four

2008-07-28T07:53:00.009-05:00

We were off to a great start on day four. Still not quite sure what we were going to do today, so while the kids decided whether they wanted to go to the zoo in Tampa or back to Busch Gardens, we drove around and found this beach at the other end of the island we were on. It was absolutely breath taking - all soft sand and no seaweed.

The kids decided on Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa so we headed out that way. While *EVERYTHING* in Florida is ridiculously expensive, admission prices at this zoo were worse. Twenty bucks a person to get in. Thankfully, we have a zoo membership for the zoo in Peoria that gets us in to over 150 zoos nationwide, so we got in for free. Yahoo! That sucker paid for itself before all four of us were even through the gates. Our excitement didn't last long when we saw how much everything cost inside the park - on top of admission prices. While it's a very beautiful zoo, I don't think any zoo is worth spending $150 for one visit. Sorry, Lowry.

Just one beautiful exhibit after another.

Sweet. I think we'll leave him there.

In the African Safari section of the zoo, we came across this beautiful giraffe. I had never been so close to one before and were mesmerized by her eyes. She was a little put off that we didn't have a cracker to feed her, but we were still in shock that it cost $2 per freakin' cracker.

Another log flume ride and Ryan would have ridden this sucker 10 more times had it not cost $4 per person, each ride.

Another $4 per person for the Sky Ride. They must be on to something here, because we did pay it. I'm not sure that we would have ridden any of these rides if we had been required to pay to get in.

Ryan loved the Munster Ride.

Around 2pm, we still had the other half of the zoo to see. We hadn't anticipated the zoo being so big and really didn't want it to become an all day thing since it was our last day in Florida, so we took a vote and unanimously decided to skip out and spend the rest of our day swimming.

Two weeks ago this kid wouldn't put his face in the water. Amazing.

After some time in the pool we ordered dinner from the outdoor bar with the intentions of eating it outside at a table overlooking the beach. The seagulls proved to be pretty aggressive so we took the food back to the shelter of our room and ate there.

Then we spent some more time in the ocean where the waves had gotten pretty big in comparison to the last three days. We think it may have had something to do with Hurricane Dolly over on the other side of the Gulf.

I really wanted to get some pictures of the sunset, but the clouds were moving in. It was still a beautiful site, though.

One more swim in a different pool (there were 3) before heading upstairs to start packing.

This vacation was so much fun, but it went way to fast. We had to get up at 5am the next morning to make our flight home. We had called for a wake up call, but to be on the safe side Ashley set the alarm on her cell phone as well. Guess what time her cell phone went off at? 1am. At 1am, we started waking up thinking it was time to go. As Bret started getting out of bed, he looked at the clock. We had a good laugh over it, but it was hard to get back to sleep and we were all dragging on the flight home.

It's nice to be home, but if we had an ocean view from our backyard deck, that would make things perfect! We sat our back on our deck with some friends on Friday night, and the ocean was the only thing missing.

More pictures at Flickr.

St. Pete's Beach Vacation - Day Three

2008-07-26T20:36:00.004-05:00

Tuesday morning arrived with a late start due to getting back late from the Tampa Rays game the night before. This was our big day at Busch Gardens.

They just may have some of the most beautifully landscaped habitats I've seen anywhere.

There were plenty of Florida's lawn ornaments walking around.

Around noon, the sky started getting dark and the rain moved in so we found shelter in some dry exhibits. The tiger below is obviously not real, but it was definitely a pretty good replica.

The rain moved out pretty quickly, the humidity level shot back up and the kids wanted to try out some of the rides in Timbuktu. Ryan flew his helicopter...

...while this beast reminded me that I'm getting way to old for this stuff. Ashley loved it while I held on for dear life.

Lots more beautiful animals to see. Some real...

...some not, but very playful regardless.

We weren't sure what to expect when it came to Ryan and rides this year since he was still so scared of all of them at Disney last year, but he LOVED the water rides. We first took the kids on the Log flume ride where the last drop is pretty steep. Then we took them on Congo River Rapids. Ryan loved that one and would have ridden it over and over again for the next two hours, had we let him.

Bret and Ashley wait for the Congo to take off.

The whole day was pretty much Busch Gardens and nothing else. We did so much walking that day that by the time we got back to the resort, we were ready to collapse!

I'll work on Day Four tomorrow...

St. Pete's Beach Vacation - Day Two

2008-07-25T12:08:00.005-05:00

Monday morning was a big day for us. We had lots of fun things planned to keep us busy.

Ocean still there? Check. Okay, now we can leave.

We drove down to The Pier in St. Petersburg for our Dolphin Cruise. Along our walk up on the pier, we came across these gorgeous birds of paradise flowers. We had a little moment here because this was Bret's mom's favorite flower. She loved Florida and it made us feel close to her being there. We took this picture of the kids in front of the flowers. As soon as Ashley can string some of the sea shells that she brought home together, we're going to take the shells and this picture over to the mausoleum to leave there for her.

Okay, enough of the sad stuff - moving on. There were lots of different stores at The Pier and Ryan went bananas in Just Hats over this Indiana Jones hat. We started calling him "Illinois Jones" since we are from Illinois.

Our dolphin cruise on the Dolphin Queen was ready to take off so we made our way down to the dock.

This was by far my favorite part of our vacation. There is just simply nothing better than a warm, sunny day out on a boat on Tampa Bay, where the wind blows against your face and the dolphins are so playful that they swim along with you. Ryan got to steer the boat. It totally made his day.

We saw many dolphins - some playful, some reserved and protecting their calf's. These dolphins in the picture below (along with 2 others) were showing off, trying to impress the female dolphin that was with them.

There is a 96 year old man (pictured below) whose nurse takes him outside daily to watch all four of the scheduled Dolphin Cruise's go by. He stands there and waves every day.

This playful guy swam along side us as our boat cruised by, jumping high out of the water and landing with a big splash. It was the highlight of the trip for me.

When our cruise was over, we ate lunch and drove back to the resort to swim in the ocean and pool until it was time to go to the Tampa Rays game. The game that night was a lot of fun. The Rays won and Ryan got to see his first Major League baseball game.

We were exhausted by the time we made it back to the resort and quickly took showers and got to bed since the next day promised to be a long one at Busch Gardens.

I'll work on Day Three later...

St. Pete's Beach Vacation - Day 1

2008-07-24T14:32:00.005-05:00

We're back from this summer's trip to sunny Florida. We had (mostly) great weather and enjoyed lots of activities that kept us busy the whole time we were there.

Sunday morning we were up, dressed and out the door by 8am. After a quick stop for breakfast, we made it to the airport in Peoria in time for our flight.

As soon as we got our baggage and rental car, we made our way to our hotel (big thanks to my brother for letting us borrow his GPS Navigator, whom the kids named Pat). While Bret was checking us in, Ashley texted everyone the picture of this palm tree and let them know we had made it down safely.

Our stay at the Sirata Beach Resort included a great room...

... with a great gulf side view. I was in pure heaven, having never seen an ocean before. (Yes, it's actually the gulf but that still counts.)

So after eating a quick lunch, we made our way down and swam in the ocean. It took me awhile to get past the whole seaweed and salt water thing, but I did get over it. It didn't seem to bother the kids at all.

After our long swim in the ocean, we rinsed off under the outdoor shower and headed for one of the resort's three pools. We really were just looking for some easy, relaxing fun.

After eating dinner and souvenir shopping, our first day of vacation was coming to an end. We walked down to the beach and walked along the water, listening to the peaceful sound of crashing waves. I could have stayed there on that beach all night listening to the waves. Nothing could have been more relaxing.

Check back later for Day Two.

We're Back!

2008-07-24T12:06:00.002-05:00

Florida was awesome! Hot and humid, but so much fun. As soon as I get the laundry going, go through all 671 pictures that we took and weed out the junk mail from the 55 emails waiting in my inbox, I'll be back with pictures.

We Are Off!!!

2008-07-19T19:15:00.003-05:00

The waiting is finally over! Everything is packed and ready to go. It's time for quick baths and early bedtimes! We'll be taking off for sunny Florida early tomorrow morning. Have a great week!

So Much To Do, So Little Time Left

2008-07-18T10:54:00.002-05:00

I've been cleaning and getting laundry done, fast and furiously for the past two days. Today is going to be a crazy one. I've got to finish cleaning and wash bedding because the OCDish part of me won't let me leave it behind when we leave on Sunday. Then I need to pack as much as I can today because Ashley has softball tournaments tonight and all day on Saturday, which means I won't have much time to do much after today.

Then we're out of here early on Sunday morning. Sunny Florida and the Gulf Coast await us for some much needed family time. I'm looking forward to it just being the four of us with no other distractions. I've even decided to leave the laptop behind.

Ok, I'm off to get it all done!

Just One Day

2008-07-17T12:23:00.004-05:00

It's not been a great day over here today. I've been attacked by Japanese Beetles that didn't want me to cut back their food source in the landscaping this morning. I've got two kids that don't understand that not every day is a party. Some days are just simply not always going to be fun. Yes, mom does need to actually do some laundry and clean the house if we're going to go on vacation in a few days. Heaven forbid should we get back and find a not so pleasant smell coming from the garbage can or refrigerator. And by the way, the bird's cage needs to be cleaned out as well. Any one up for that pleasant job?

I love being home with my kids this summer and it's been a blast, but I really just need one day by myself so I can get stuff done without being interrupted. Either that or a cleaning lady.

Update: My friend must have sensed from two blocks over that I was majorly stressing today. She asked if Ryan would like to come over and play with her son tomorrow after lunch while I get things done before our trip. Libby, you are the best!

Hmm, How Much Is This Going To Cost Us?

2008-07-16T19:46:00.000-05:00

After Ryan's last baseball game of the season tonight, I went out front with the intention of cutting back my out of control landscaping. We've had a lot of rain and it's grown faster than I've been able to keep up with.

I was shocked to find that this was the case through out our landscaping. It wasn't like this a week or so ago when I had last checked it and pulled weeds. It really looks awful!

This is the son of a b**** that's to blame. Him and his swarm of friends that protested as I tried to cut back the plant.

Now, I most definately do not have much of a "green thumb" (or I wouldn't have put in plants that get so freaking big), but this landscaping has been here for almost 5 years and we're just now having this problem? From what I know, these beetles will soon turn to grubs and kill our grass next. (Little do they know that Nature Scape is already coming for them with their next application!)

They've eaten almost all of the leaves on these two purplish plants that I have. (See? Green thumb? Ha! I can't even tell you the name of the plants.) Upon closer look, they've just gotten started on the other plants. Ugh!

How do I deal with this?!?!

Improvising

2008-07-15T22:32:00.000-05:00

The boys were so over watching their sister's play softball tonight. They decided it was their turn - only all they had was a stick and an empty soda bottle. Impressive, no?

Conversations That Leave You Baffled

2008-07-15T13:05:00.004-05:00

Me: Pretty soon we'll be leaving for Florida, Buddy! Are you getting excited?

Ryan: Yes.

He's not acting very excited. Surely, I'm not the only one who's having a hard time controlling my excitement!

Me: We're going to get to fly in an airplane, swim in the ocean, play on the beach, spend a day or two at Busch Gardens and go to a Devil Rays baseball game!

Ryan: Cool. When do we go to Grand Bear with Brooke and Mitchell?

Me: Um, next month. About a week before school starts back up.

Ryan: YIPPEE! I CAN'T WAIT! IT'S GOING TO BE SO MUCH FUN! AWESOME! I LOVE GRAND BEAR!

Hmm. Maybe we should be taking his cousins with to Florida. Then maybe he'd be as excited.

Family Picnic - 2008

2008-07-13T20:35:00.004-05:00

We made it up here to Chicago yesterday afternoon and stopped by Jon & Em's new house on the way. They use to live behind us in Peoria and were transferred to Iowa a year ago and then transferred again just this past month to Chicago. The kids got along great, as if they had never been apart and we didn't end up leaving their house until 9:30pm.

We are now at my mom's house, which is only 15 minutes away from Jon & Em. Today was my yearly family reunion in Indiana. The kids swam all day (while I alternated between playing life guard and swimming myself) and we stuffed ourselves with so much food that it'll be a few days before any of us can eat again.

I have to tell you that I am truly proud of myself. Quite a few of the people at the reunion today were smokers. Even after 7 months, 1 week and 2 days of being a nonsmoker, today wasn't easy. At first it smelled good and many times I thought about how great just one would taste. And how easy it would be to just bum one. No one would ever have known, but I didn't. I just tried to keep my distance from those that were smoking, which wasn't easy since I was able to smell it everywhere. I hung in there and eventually the smell really started to turn me off to the point where I really did NOT want one anymore. I'm really excited that we'll be taking our first smoke free vacation to Florida a week from now. We won't have to worry about where we can and can't smoke at. Our kids will definitely appreciate that the most.

Ryan and myself before leaving for Indiana this morning.

Ashley brought her friend along with us this weekend. They watched a movie on the way to Indiana.

The kids in the back on the right side of the pool are my kids -Ryan's swim lessons are really starting to pay off - he was really starting to swim today!

Summer Review

2008-07-11T19:13:00.001-05:00

We got the deck put back together and then grilled up some chicken and ate out back tonight. It was nice to finally have a night that didn't include ball games or some other planned activity and super duper calorie and fat drenched carry out. We have been so busy that I've hardly had time to keep up with anything else. The house is a mess and the laundry is backed up, but it just didn't matter tonight.

I do feel like I've been able to accomplish a lot so far this summer. The kids haven't had a chance to say that they're bored due to swim lessons, baseball/softball/volleyball camps and weekly planned fun days at the movies, pool or mini golf course. Our nights have been filled with watching (or for Bret, coaching) the kids' softball/baseball games. I completely redid Ryan's room and will soon redo Ashley's room. Bret, Ashley and I stained the deck and purchased some new patio furniture. In a little more than a week, we take off for the sunny Gulf side of Florida and next month we'll be spending our annual weekend at Grand Bear Lodge with Bret's brother's family. Then school starts. Can we order up a few more weeks before they have to go back? Pretty please?

Honey, those feet and ankles really need to spend some time at the beach.

Picture To Burn

2008-07-11T13:52:00.006-05:00

This is a little meme that I copied from Tasina. Set your iPod to shuffle and answer the following questions. I've been in the process of importing all of my old, old, OLD CD's into my iPod, so this could be rather embarassing. Here we go...

1. What would describe your personality? Big Girls Don't Cry - Fergie

2. What do you like in a guy/girl? Naked - Deborah Gibson (I am so not kidding! This seriously was the second song that came up on shuffle. How embarassing. LoL.)

3. How do you feel, today? Feels Like Tonight - Daughtry

4. What’s your life’s purpose? Sexyback - Justin Timberlake (I'll be in that hole that just opened up in the ground for me...)

5. What is your motto? Goodbye To You - The Veronica's

6. What do your friends think of you? Tied Down - Colbie Caillat

7. What do you think of your parents? Finally - Fergie

8. What do you think about very often? Don't Forget To Remember Me - Carrie Underwood

9. What do you think of your best friend? Teardrops On My Guitar - Taylor Swift

10. What do you think of the person you like? How Many Words - Blake Lewis

11. What is your life story? Lost In Your Eyes - Debbie Gibson (I warned you. Remember that crazy weekend of cleaning I had?)

12. What do you want to be when you grow up? She Goes All The Way - Rascal Flatts (That hole in the ground just swallowed me whole!)

13. What do you think when you see the person you like? The Man You Used To Be - The Heights Soundtrack

14. What do your parents think of you? Take A Bow - Rihanna

15. What will be played at your funeral? We Could Be Together - Debbie Gibson (HA! Anyone?)

16.What is your hobby/interest? Little Birdie - Debbie Gibson

17. What is your biggest secret? Ordinary Day - Nick Lachey (The fact that Nick Lachey is on my iPod could very well be my biggest secret!)

18. What do you think of your friends? Wannabe - Spice Girls (Ok, do I even have any friends left after this?)

19. What should you post this as? Picture To Burn - Taylor Swift

Ok, I've had my little fun. Now that it's 2pm and I've gotten NOTHING done today, it's time to get busy since the kids and I are going to Chicago tomorrow for my family reunion.

Done

2008-07-10T20:24:00.000-05:00

Done. Tired. Sore. Never doing this again! All showered and cleaned up. Going to bed...

Breaktime

2008-07-10T16:09:00.000-05:00

It's been 4 long hours of deck staining and we still have a long way to go. Even Ashley has been helping. I'm not sure I have enough juice left to keep going though. It's 88 degrees of pure, hot sun outside. Hopefully a nice yummy bowl of Ramen noodles and a super cold can of diet coke will recharge me.

The cardboard below pretty much sums up the way I look right now. I'm covered from head to toe in deck stain and as soon as Bret gets back from getting more sponge brushes, it's back to work.

Holiday Weekend Review

2008-07-07T07:41:00.005-05:00

It was definitely a busy one this past weekend.

It all started with a little league game. Ryan waits for his chance at first base.

Next on the weekend agenda, were the July 4th fireworks downtown. It's said that Peoria/East Peoria's combined display were expected to be in the top 3 percent of the nation's best fireworks.

Look closely to see what had us laughing. Can you guess?
Ashley waits for the fireworks to start with her friends.
Bret and Ryan wait, too.
It was the best show yet.
The two cities spent $77,000 on the display.
Yesterday we spent time with family. We met up with Bret's brother's family over at his dad's house for lunch. The kids tested out the in ground sprinkler system for Grandpa.
When did this kid grow up? And who the heck said that she could?
Thinking about it...
And we have lift off...

Chilling out.

We followed up the afternoon over at Bret's brother's house where the kids swam...
...and the mom's hung out.

How was your holiday weekend?

(Sunday's pictures courtesy of my brother in law.)

Coveting

2008-07-06T11:45:00.002-05:00

I *must* have this!

However after lots of searching, we've decided on this since our deck is so high off the ground:

Now maybe we'll be able to actually see the kids when they are down below playing. Of course, this awarded me the job of staining the deck during the day this week.