the sincere diary

Holy Moly...

2010-10-01T11:47:00.000-07:00

It's been almost a year since I posted on this blog. Things are good here in Illinois. We had a good summer and the kids are back in school and loving it. We just celebrated Braeden's 6th birthday a few weeks ago, and are now planning for Andrew's 8th birthday. It will be Mad Science themed. I look forward to posting the pictures as I'm sure we will have a blast. Elizabeth's birthday is coming up in November. She will be 11. YIKES, can you believe it? Yea, me either. The dog is good too. He just turned a year old. He's big, and getting bigger everyday.

A little bit of fun...

2010-02-14T07:04:00.001-08:00

VOTE for GUNNER in BISSELL's MVP pet contest. He could be on the dog on the box. voting is from feb 12-18th. Thanks

New member of the family...

2010-02-01T20:14:00.000-08:00

Yup the Sincere household has grown by 1. One dog to be exact. His name is Gunner. He is a white German Shepherd. We got him a few days before Christmas at the tender age of 12 weeks. He then weighed 27 lbs. He now is 16 weeks old and weighs 40 lbs.

There's a great big beautiful tomorrow...

2009-11-06T10:31:00.001-08:00

Shining at the end of every day.
There's a great big beautiful tomorrow.
And tomorrow's just a dream away.

That's right folks, tomorrow we head out for DISNEY WORLD. Sunday we will be looking at this.

When you wish upon a star....

2009-11-04T10:15:00.000-08:00

We have THREE days, count them 1 2 3 days left until we go to Disney World.

HALLOWEEN.....

2009-11-04T09:36:00.000-08:00

So this year Halloween got rained out, but we went to many a fall festival. One at the kids' school, one at my dad's school, and one at the church's school.

Elizabeth was a fairy, Andrew was a Phantom (not of the OPERA) but with shackles and all that good stuff, and Braeden was Darth Vader complete with red light saber.

The kids...

2009-10-26T10:33:00.000-07:00

Here's an update on the kids :)

With the move coming up and the kids going to a new school, they needed school physicals. I took them last week and here are their stats.

At age 5 Braeden weighs 43.3 lbs and is 46 inches. He has grown almost 4 inches in a year and gained about 2 lbs.

At age 7 Andrew weighs 45.7 lbs and is 49 inches. He has grown 5 inches in a year and gained 3 lbs.

At age 9.75 :) Elizabeth weighs 81.3 lbs and is 4ft 11 inches. She has grown about 4 inches and gained 8 lbs in a year.

They are all doing exceptionally well in school.

Elizabeth received all A's and one B in science.
Andrew is one of the top readers in his class and is reading at a 4th grade level (he's in first) He is enjoying his TAG class as well.
Braeden is meeting and exceeding all his IEP goals in speech. Right now they are working on beginning and ending word sounds, as he tends to drop the first and last sounds of some words. For him now it is all about pronunciation instead of learning new words. His vocabulary is caught up to that of his peers.

I am looking forward to seeing where they place in their new school.

So long, and thanks for all the fish :)

2009-10-26T10:24:00.000-07:00

We're MOVING :)

I would like to say thanks to all my friends at ft Campbell. The past six years have been great and a wonderful support system throughout the deployments. You all will be greatly missed. Feel free to come visit us at our new home :)

So as I stated, we are moving. Joe has taken an ROTC job with the University of Illinois at Chicago. We have bought a house in Plainfield IL. I am lucky to have some wonderful friends that live in the area as well. The kids are excited for the move, although I'm not sure Braeden quite understands the whole "NEW" house and never seeing his teacher again type thing.

Right now the kids and I are hanging out with my parents in AL, while Joe gets the household goods situated with the movers/packers and then transportation up to the new house. We will be here for 2 weeks until our DISNEY WORLD trip. We will then spend a week there celebrating Elizabeth's TENTH birthday on the 9Th. After that we will then head up to the new house. Can't wait.

So long fort Campbell...

It's Been a Long Time...

2009-06-17T13:44:00.000-07:00

Since I posted last. And we've been busy. So far we've gone to Seattle, Alabama, and Pennsylvania and it's only the beginning of summer.

In Seattle we visited family, played tourist at Pike's Place, and then were entertained at the FolkLife Festival at the Seattle Center. We also took a ride to the top of the Space Needle.

In Alabama we went gem mining, Elizabeth got her "first" haircut (took off almost 14 inches and donated to Locks of Love), and visited with various friends and family.

In Pennsylvania, E and I took a girls weekend away for a family wedding. E had her first Philly Cheesesteak at Pat's King of Steaks, and washed it down with a Birch Beer. We then had a wonderful time at the wedding, did some outlet shopping and then came home.

Awesome Giveaway...

2009-04-20T18:49:00.000-07:00

from Samantha Provenzano Photography :)

visit here to enter and win.

www.etsy.com

2009-04-19T09:46:00.000-07:00

Etsy. I love Etsy.

Here is a list of stores that I have purchased things from on ETSY.

For your Twilight obsession.

Bags, purses and pouches.

Eco friendly cup kozy.

Cute scrabble tile Necklaces.

The Black Apple. Art prints

Gorjuss Art prints

Happy Shopping.

movie reviews...

2009-03-25T13:48:00.000-07:00

First movie up for review-

The Women featuring an all star cast of women. NOTHING but a cast full of women. Meg Ryan, Bette Midler, Annette Benning, Candice Bergin, Debra Messing, Jada Pinkett Smith, Cloris Leachman and Eva Mendes.

So I sat and watched, and it was OK. It's not going to win an Academy Award or anything, but it was entertaining, I laughed at times and will give it ***1/2 stars out of *****

Next up
Rachel Getting Married an Indie film featuring Anne Hathaway as the lead character. This movie was eh, so so just OK. It was nothing like I thought it would be. Not terribly funny, not really romantic, not really a drama either. It just was blah and stale like a left over bag of chips. Not worth watching IMO.

And lastly
Nobel Son staring Alan Rickman (-sigh-) and some other notable people....
It had action, some laughs, and in the end, it was again just OK. It didn't WOW me, but I would at least recommend it to a friend.

It's spring, It's spring, It's spring...

2009-03-20T20:11:00.000-07:00

and that's a very very good thing. (sung to the tune of one of the Backyardigan's songs from The Swamp Monster episode)

anywho...So lot's of things have been happening around here.

Report Cards:
E received all M's (meets grade level) and all 1's in conduct
A received all E's (exceeds grade level) and 1's in conduct (woot for this one)
B didnt get one, however he had an eval and did very well. IEP coming up next month

E also received the Good Citizen Award for the 3rd Quarter. Congrats E.
A is doing well in the TAG program. and enjoying it very much

B's fave song these days is Hot n Cold by Katy Perry. Hilarious.

Joe and I took the kiddos to Chuck E Cheese's tonight. Fun stuff. Food. Tokens. Games. Good Times.

After we got home we watched My Best Friend's Girl...HIGH LAR I OUS. Really funny stuff there. Dane Cook is funny stuff. we laughed. A lot.

Spring Break is coming up in a few weeks and we will be celebrating my dad's 59th birthday and my niece's 15th. Fun stuff. Got a few fun days planned as well.

Easter is also rapidly approaching so must get on the basket buying stuff.

and on a sad note...It's PCS time. Not for us, but for lots of good friends. Yuck. So tomorrow night we're going out to say good bye to M. We will miss you lots.

So now, im going to go watch an uber girly movie. The Women. I will come back to discuss how it was. or if it contained way to much estrogen for my liking.

Sincere...OUT.

PS....IDOL,We have been faithfully watching as well. Tuesday is our "date" night. Unfortunately next week it will be Wednesday date night.

not too much...

2009-03-04T20:48:00.000-08:00

going on around these here parts. The kids are trudging along with school, I'm trudging along with the business, and Joe is trudging along with work. We had a Ball last Friday night. I was able to get my haircut, get dressed up and have a decent time :) No dancing was to be had by this Cinderella. That's not how I roll. Joe got his St Barbara's Medal, and participated in the punch bowl ceremony. Lovely stuff that. Fun to watch too. A drunk Joe is a happy Joe.

Anyways, that's about it from here. Catch ya on the flip side.....wherever that is.

Sincere Photography....

2009-02-19T18:55:00.001-08:00

Has been updated. New website is up and running. Stop by and check it out.

i lied...

2009-02-02T08:08:00.000-08:00

new website is behind a bit, but will be debuting SOON :)

100th post :)

2009-01-25T09:00:00.001-08:00

It's not that monumental but eh, here it is. The 100th post on this blog.
Not too much is going on in the house. It's cold outside, no snow, no rain, just cold. The kids have been watching Joe play Super Mario Galaxy...yes I said watching. I've been working on my new website to be debuted later this week :) so be on a lookout for that.

Check ya later

It's Report Card Time :)

2009-01-09T20:59:00.000-08:00

This is the second report card of the school year and all the kids are doing well. B doesn't get a report card, just progress reports. E and A do though.

Right now they don't get grades though. E's are Exceeds Grade Level, and M's are Meets Grade Level expectations.

A received E's in math, reading, social studies, science, writing/listening and M's in art, music and PE. He has also been picked up for the Talented and Gifted program and will start that in a few weeks.

E received an E in art (her fave) and M's in every other subject.

B is doing really well with speech and has come so far in just a short time (even since the beginning of the school year) He has mastered all upper and lower case letters, numbers, shapes, directions (behind, under, over etc) can count objects and count to 20. He also knows all the letter sounds and if we really worked with him could probably get him to a beginner reader level which I think would help his speech tremendously. His IEP meeting will be in April so I will update then with his progress of that.

We are all fine and enjoyed our holiday at home this year and had some relatives come visit. I will update all that stuff in another post :)

Homecoming pictures...(in reverse order)

2008-12-15T17:45:00.000-08:00

We're going to DISNEY :)

2008-11-25T20:39:00.001-08:00

Wed-Sunday we will be gone to the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH. Expect many pictures following our trip. Hope everybody has a fantastic Thanksgiving.

HE"S HOME :)

2008-11-22T09:09:00.000-08:00

So it's been a whirlwind these past few days. Joe flew in 2am Thursday. GREAT birthday present for me. The kids were great at the hangar, went to bed at 330 and slept in until 10am.
Pictures will follow in another post.

Happy NINTH Birthday E

2008-11-09T09:07:00.000-08:00

To my sweet sweet not so little girl. Hope you have a fantastic birthday. You are such a caring and giving child. As Grandma would say, enjoy the last year of being a Single Digit Midget :)

Halloween 2008

2008-11-03T08:34:00.000-08:00

Penn State Cheerleader

Red Power Ranger

King Peter from Chronicles of Narnia

Happy Birthday Andrew

2008-10-24T18:46:00.000-07:00

A turns 6 today. Actually he turned 6 at precisely 2:32 am this morning. He is your typical middle child. There is only ONE Andrew. He arrival was a quick one, and he hasn't stopped since he was born. He is always on the go, usually his mouth is moving too(he talks in his sleep as well.) He is full of questions, and isn't satisfied with a mediocre answer, he wants long drawn out answers. He wants to be a scientist or race car driver when he grows up. Me thinks something to do with physics. He's a witty, smart, one of a kind, and he's all mine (well OURS) and I love him to pieces. So Happy Birthday A. Hope it was a good one.

Parent Teacher Conferences

2008-10-16T20:19:00.000-07:00

So let's start with B....
We didn't have an official PTC since we had already had his IEP meeting back in September.
All is well and he has improved SO SO much. We set his new goals for this school year and so far so good. He is an old pro at the classroom rules, I'm sure he has to sit in the "blue" chair every once in a while, but he follows them so much more now than this time last year. Overall, I am quite happy with his progress.

A...oh what can I say about this boy. I love him. His teacher apparently does too. and thinks he is a "one of a kind" that "thinks outside the box" That is definitely A. He got an E in Math and Reading which means Exceeds grade level. He received M's in everything else meaning Meets grade level standards. Hopefully he keeps this up. He still is getting into spots of trouble during class. Most of the time it is from talking. and not just talking, but he is whispering the answers to other kids. Yikes. That's my kid, the Know It All. The "Hermione Granger" of the muggle elementary school :)

and E...the wonder child who can do no wrong. I have gotten virtually the SAME remarks about her since Kindergarten. The one that has been thrown out there EVERY TIME... "she manages her time well" OK, that trait did NOT come from me, nor did it come from her father. She received all M's (nope 3rd grade still doesn't have ACTUAL grades yet) and all 1's in conduct. E is also "a pleasure to teach, and have in class" Good thing I have one of those, because I think those boys are going to throw their teachers for a loop :)

All in all they are doing exceptionally well at this stage of the game. I am happy.

Another road trip...

2008-10-16T20:00:00.000-07:00

Since I last posted we (the family + the Lady) went on a road trip. To Chicago. We went over the long Columbus Day weekend. It was a long boring ride. No billboards except a few that advertised Adult Superstores with All you can eat buffets. YUM. Oh yea, lots of cornfields too as well as this giant cross in Effingham Illinois. If you GOOGLE it you can see pictures of it.

We had a lovely time at Sam's house on Friday night, complete with pizza and a copy cat Outback chopped blue cheese salad, and a few friends to share it with.

Saturday we spent our morning at Ikea eating free breakfast (those potatoes are YUMMY), shopping around, and then we headed to the Brookfield Zoo. The Lady had gone to the zoo when she was E's age and made a wax elephant...guess what? They still have those machines. The kids made an elephant, a lion and a shark. MOLD A RAMA. google that too. They're fun machines. That night we went to Toys R Us and bought some board games to play at the hotel. Pokeno is a family favorite as well as Mexican Train (dominoes)

Sunday was THE party to go to. The Carter Carnival. Everything was amazing, the kids had fun, and we saw lots of friends. It had been a long time since we had seen some of them.

Monday we got up, checked out and got on that long cornfield lined road known as I-57. We stopped in Tuscola IL at a Tanger Outlet where I dropped $100 and left. Got some good deals at Bath and Body Works OUTLET, The Children's Place, and Osh Kosh.

I have to say that it was a long trip, but well worth it to see lots of good friends. We made memories and that's all that matters.

The Middle Child

2008-10-07T06:01:00.000-07:00

more popularly known as Andrew. I love this kid. He is a nut. He has a wonderful sense of comedic timing that is unusual for one so young. This morning's episode proves that.
A gets dressed, I tie his shoes, I look him over to make sure he's presentable (for all those kindergarten girls- no no, we cant forget those kissing issues we had a few weeks back) and when I get to his hair it's a complete mess. So we go to the bathroom where I told him i needed to fix his hair
A-"Not for another picture day..."
me-"No I just want to calm it down some..."
A-"Oh, well there's a party in my hair. You can't calm that down"
right there folks is THE line that had me cracking up for a few minutes...I'm still chuckling about it.
He is quite the character. His teacher said he is "one of a kind." Yes he truly is :)

day 356 can be summed up in one word....

2008-10-04T20:41:00.000-07:00

BUSY.
Today I volunteered to watch Mags, while Ads and Tony went tailgating in Nashville for the Auburn vs. Vanderbilt game. It was sort of a last hurrah for those two since baby L is coming soon. I took it upon myself to find something to entertain my kids + 1. 3 words for you...Chuck E. Cheese's. Not only did I take my kids and Mags.....I took one of E's friends as well. My van was fully loaded. The ages were 2.5, 4, 5.5, 8, and 8.5. Lovely, eh? Honestly though, they were well behaved. I got $20 worth in tokens, split them between the kids, they lasted almost 2 hours. NO issues when it came time to leave, I rounded them up, they got their prizes (JUNK) and we headed to the car. They were STARVING when we came out though, so we headed to Steak and Shake. 3 grilled cheese kids meals, 2 chicken tender kids meals, 2 chocolate shakes, 1 strawberry shake, 2 sweet teas and a LARGE cherry coke, and we were off. I passed out the food and holy smokes, I don't think my car has ever been THAT quiet...ever. The only sound you heard was rustling of Styrofoam containers, slurping milkshakes and the general sound of good eats.

After heading home, we dropped off E's friend and played outside for a while. The boys + neighbor hood boys decided to play Jedi Knights and had their Light Sabers out. The girls decided to color. Meanwhile I sat in the back of the van and recovered from CEC.
It's getting hot, the kids are getting, shall I say cranky. We go in and it's time for a nap for M. So we read a Care Bears book, and she's out like a light. Whew. ONE DOWN.
We decide to head back to the front yard to make sure Mags stays asleep...more Jedi fighting ensues. She wakes up a few hours later, and guess what? THEY ARE HUNGRY.....again. Must be all that sleeping and fighting going on. So they finish up the pizza from Friday night. I decide to break out the Little People to keep them interested for a bit. These things have not seen the light of day since February. Any who...the kids played. Then more outside time at the playground, and then back inside.....for MORE FOOD. Cereal this time. and gummy snacks.

I am quite shocked that the boys were not asleep on the floor, B did fall asleep on my lap while i was watching a movie. June bug. Weird movie...really, really weird. I'll say it again. WEIRD. With capital letters. A passed out on his bed too shortly after that. Everyone is conked out, as they should be as its 11 at night. I really need to get in bed too....and sleep on a GOOD MATTRESS. The boys' suck. They need new ones. That's my mission this week. Internet mattress shopping at it's finest.

OK so now that this blog post has turned into a novella I'll sign off.
Until tomorrow.
Goodnight.

Happy Birthday to My Sweet Baby Boy...

2008-09-25T10:35:00.000-07:00

My sweet Baby B is four today. He looks wise beyond his years, yet can laugh with the best of them. He is a thinker, a builder, a brother, a son, he is mine.
So happy birthday B.

Commercial that sums up A's personality...

2008-09-22T13:54:00.000-07:00

nothing more to say :)

Tuesday's TV night :)

2008-09-17T08:29:00.000-07:00

So last night I had the kids fed, bathed and in their room at 7 so I could hunker down and watch Biggest Loser (while Tivoing House) Is it blasphemous to eat a bowl of Cherry Garcia while watching Biggest Loser? Yea, probably so. Anyways, I watched the hotness which is called Bob Harper. Mmmm. After BL was over, I then watched House. More hotness coming from Mr Laurie. Methinks this will be an intersting season :)

So today the kids have off. WHY? Professional Development Day. Ok then. So now I need to figure out WHAT to do with these kids. I can't keep them cooped up here. I'm contemplating Nashville and taking them to Dave and Buster's. MAYBE. a BIG maybe.

Ill let you know what I decide later.

327, 328 and 329

2008-09-07T20:27:00.000-07:00

more commonly called the weekend. Friday night I went over to a friend's house for GIRL GAME NIGHT. We started out with Cranium, and only made it through one TURN around the board before everyone started talking etc... We then moved on to ROCK BAND. I was the drummer, and SUCKED. A LOT. At one point my score was 40% and my note at the bottom said "unconscious" LOVELY. Methinks I need to practice more. Good thing the kids are getting a Wii for Christmas this year. WOOT.

Saturday was a "super Saturday" meaning FREE DAY for me. Ads and Tony came and we did maternity pictures, ate a yummy lunch at Rafferty's and hit up Target and Old Navy at the mall. We had lots of fun, and now I can't wait for Miss Lily to come in about 5 weeks or so. I'm all giddy and can live vicariously through them :)

Today however was not so fun. For some reason the day after a SS the kids are HORRID, and I mean all over each other. Hitting, fighting, jumping all over one another. It's BAD. and I had enough by 730, that the boys went to bed almost an hour early. You know what, not a peep from them and 5 minutes later they were sound asleep. Good thing E wasn't around much today, or she would've been faced with an angry pms'ing mom. She was playing outside and didn't get to endure the wrath and see me on a warpath.

Tomorrow will be better :)

Fall TV Lineup...

2008-09-02T19:37:00.000-07:00

I went and checked all my favorite shows to see when the season premiers are...So just for you, here they are

September 16
FOX-HOUSE MD 8pm/7c
NBC-BIGGEST LOSER 8pm/7c

YES one of those will be tivo'd (HOUSE)

September 23
NBC-Law & Order SVU 10pm/9c

and Jon and Kate Plus 8 have already had new episodes WOOT. Unfortunately, Women's Murder Club has been canceled on ABC. URGH

Well it had to end sometime...

2008-09-02T19:32:00.000-07:00

...the run of GOODNESS that A has been in school. Today I got a phone call from A's teacher saying that he has been kissing kids again. He had gotten in trouble on Friday, and I guess one of the little girls went and told her mom, who got upset and told the teacher. The teacher asked A if I had talked to him about it and what did he say...he said NO. Holy Crap. We have had this conversation more than once, more than twice, try about 2 dozen times. ARGH. Yes he's a ladies man. He likes the boobs, the bigger the better, and he likes to kiss girls on the cheeks...a LOT.
Anyways, for punishment he had to write 3 letters of apology. Why did I make him write them you ask? Well, he HATES writing anything with a passion, same with coloring. He is also grounded from the Game Cube for the week as well. Hopefully the mere thought of having writers cramp will steer him away from the girls. In school they are also learning about "personal space" which he calls a "personal bubble." I'm hoping this works as well and he will remember no invading peoples personal bubbles.

ACK. where is his father when i need him. grrrrr.

Andrew says....

2008-08-31T22:36:00.000-07:00

...guana is bat poop. Yup. He told me this tonight. He was watching Discovery Kids network. I love that boy.

Day 320

2008-08-29T06:05:00.001-07:00

Still haven't Punk'd E back yet...I'm still trying to think of something good for her.
Today I had a nice breakfast with the CampbellGals at Cracker Barrel. They make damn good bacon :) if i do say so myself. I had the french toast which is also good, and B...he had his sausage. That boy loves sausage (and bacon, and most other breakfast meats or meat in general) along with his sweet iced tea. A true southern boy. Other than that I didn't do much. Hit up Wal-Mart for groceries, and then came home and cleaned the house a bit. I bought a book called The Wednesday Letters. It looks interesting. I'll start on it tomorrow.

So who else is looking forward to the fall lineup on tv. I am anxiously awaiting House M.D. which premiers on September 16 on FOX. I'm also waiting for Law and Order SVU and Criminal Intent. I need to check and see if Women's Murder Club will be airing this fall or not. With Angi Harmon being pregnant I'm not sure how this affects the show. And we can't forget about American Idol can we? So yea, I have a limited amount of shows that I enjoy...but hey Dr House, (Hugh Laurie) is HOT. We'll just end this blog on that note :)

I've been PUNK'D...

2008-08-27T18:17:00.000-07:00

...by my own child no less. I'm not sure when E set this prank up, but it was within the last 24 hours. Fast forward to today-10am-ish. B asks for some water, so I check the Brita and it's empty. Turn the faucet on and can you see it...you know whats coming. I get squirt by the Sprayer. Yup, right at chest level. My shirt and pants were soaked. I was shocked speechless. Lo and behold I look at the sprayer, and yup 3 rubberbands wrapped around the nozzle. Now I'm not 100% sure this prank was meant for me or one of the boys. My thinking is, if it hit me at chest level, this surely would've hit the boys smack in the face, which would've been the Pièce de résistance of the prank. I haven't mentioned it to her yet. I will wait to see how long it takes her to say something about it. I just may have to think of my own. Revenge is sweet.

Backyardigans LIVE!

2008-08-24T18:23:00.001-07:00

Today I took the kiddos to see The Backyardigans LIVE! Tale of the Mighty Knights in Nashville. We had 6Th row tickets which were fantastic seats. All three kids could see the stage despite 2 adults sitting in front of us. Upon getting there the kids were given shields to use as a prop during the show. The music is some of my favorite from the show, especially the song by the Grabbing Goblin-played by Austin. It's a rock ballad that I love the beat of. Anyways, I had 100 bucks, minus the six for parking and 10.07 at Starbucks, to buy souvenirs and do you think they wanted anything? NOPE, not one thing. They had t-shirts and TY beanie babies of the characters, and star light up wands, and nobody wanted anything. Good for my wallet. I treated this as a test for B for our upcoming trip to Disney World to see how he would handle stage shows with characters. He did very well and sat for the whole thing in his seat. He got antsy during intermission, but eh, that was to be expected. So, overall money well spent.

Reading...

2008-08-20T19:04:00.000-07:00

So I finished the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer on Sunday, and yea it's Wednesday night and I'm just now blogging about it. It was OK. Not spectacular, not horrid, but OK. Everything was wrapped up and tied with a bow. It's certainly no Harry Potter :0

It's week two of school, and so far so good. A read a book tonight all by himself. Bears on Wheels. He proceeded to read it another 8 times, and then decided to SING IT to the tune of "Camptown ladies sing this song DOO DAH DOO DAH" I'm sure the author of that book had not intended for it to be read in such a manner. Oh well, could be worse. It could've been " OH SUSANNAH....." which he sang for 8 hours straight on our way to Texas once.

Twilight...

2008-08-15T06:54:00.001-07:00

Just finished reading Twilight by Stephenie Meyer. Definitely an interesting read. I will be starting New Moon tonight. I went and bought the other two books as well, so I can just go from one to the next without having to go to the store and chase copies down like I did when reading the Women's Murder Club series by James Patterson.

Do You Hear THAT????

2008-08-15T06:19:00.000-07:00

THAT is the sound of millions of Harry Potter fans' hearts breaking. WHY? Because Warner Bros. has pushed the release date of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince from November 2008 to JULY 2009. HOLY COW that's a nine month push back. UGH....That was going to be a fabulous birthday present to myself......now I guess I will go see it for Joe's birthday instead :)

Holy Smokes its been a while

2008-08-10T19:24:00.000-07:00

So yea Ive totally lost track of what day we are on.....next post i will count it up and be back on track.

Anyways, since my last post there has been a recent addition to the extended family. Jessica(Joe's sister) and Eric welcomed a new baby boy Austin James or A.J. for short, on August 1. So congratulations to those too. and let me say I will be the favorite aunt, which I'm thinking may not mean much since I'm the ONLY aunt :) ah well

and SCHOOL IS BACK IN SESSION :) wooooooooooohooooooooooooo.
E and A started last Wednesday and B starts tomorrow. so I will officially have mornings with B, and then afternoons will be splendidly free of children. I don't think i will know what to do with myself.

So that's life so far this August.

Here's are two movies Ive netflixed recently
Love Actually.....yum yum Mr Rickman
August Rush....great music, great soundtrack

Days 272-287

2008-07-26T19:21:00.001-07:00

Soooooo lazy and soooooo behind on writing on here :) Sorry guys.
If you want to see some pictures from the beach, you may need to wait a bit longer, only because I'm waiting for our professional ones to come back and then I can share those with you guys. And really I didn't take many this year. I didn't get to do any individuals of the kids. I'm kinda bummed about that.

Anyways, what's been happening since I last posted. Well I went to St.Louis again this year to hang out with a few peeps. CK and Indiana Joans :) and their kids. We hung out at the pool, at Joans house where we had some amazing Trader Joe's goodies.....and a few bottles of wine, did Grant's Farm and Monkey Joe's, and the Magic House Kids Museum. Overall a very good time had by all I believe.

Other than that, not too much has been going on here. Kids have been driving me nutters, but hey that's life. E has been playing with ALL her neighborhood friends. No lemonade stands yet this summer, perhaps someday next week? Eh, oh well. The boys are boys, and have discovered Super Smash Brothers on the Game Cube. We have ONE controller so makes life a little difficult at times.

I am literally counting down the days until school starts. AUGUST 6Th BABY.
I've got my 10 year class reunion next weekend as well, and hmm, feeling a bit old these days. I'm also the photographer of the evening so I will at least get to mingle with everyone. It will be interesting to see everybody too.

OK then, off to watch some Netflix movies that came in today....
So long, farewell, Auf Wiedersehen.....GOODNIGHT :)

Days 257-271

2008-07-10T08:50:00.000-07:00

OK yea so I haven't posted any pictures from vacation yet, and Ive also been slacking, AND I forgot to mention Joe's birthday.

1-pictures WILL be coming soon.
2-yea yea I'm a slacker
3-Happy Belated Birthday Joe (and Jessica)-yup they're twins

Nothing exciting has been happening here. And I mean that too. We've hardly left the house, except to go to the splash park, or the store.

We had a most boring 4th of July. None of us even got dressed. The kids watched fireworks from the front door, and I read all day. It was relaxing. I think we had pizza for dinner...no bbq's or watermelon for us. :)

I'll update when I get some time to do the pictures.

Days 230-256

2008-06-25T11:31:00.001-07:00

I'M BACK :)

So i just dropped Joe off at the airport so he can return to the sandbox. We spent 18 lovely days together doing lots of fun fun stuff with family and friends, and we even managed a few nights of Alone ADULT time. hot dog

I will definitely share pictures of the beach in the next few posts.

So just wanted to let my faithful readers that I am back-not quite for good, as I still am MIA from the home base of operations.

On my way...

2008-06-06T04:25:00.001-07:00

To the airport to pick up JOE :) R&R begins. We won't be around here for a bit, so everybody, have a great beginning of summer. I know I will be

UPDATE...

2008-05-30T03:58:00.000-07:00

Lucy was found early this morning. She is safe at home now.
Thank you everybody.

LOST DOG...

2008-05-29T21:48:00.000-07:00

PLEASE pass this on to anybody you know, she means a lot to our family
thank you
http://dogdetective.com/pet-details.cfm/id/990458

Um yea forgot to mention that Anniversary...

2008-05-29T19:50:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was our 8Th anniversary :0

So lots of love going out to my Joe.

8Th Wedding Anniversary
Traditional gift - Bronze/ pottery
Modern gift - Linens/ lace

OK so i got a card, a very funny card too.

222-229...with an added Happy Anniversary in there too

2008-05-29T09:46:00.000-07:00

So, Ive been MIA for a few days. I had a wonderful whirlwind trip to Seattle this past weekend (well Friday-Monday) I feel as if i ate all weekend long, which really, I did. I went with my friend Ads and met up with my cousin Patrick (who came up from Oregon) We went to Folk Life Festival, Pike's Place Market, the Seattle Library (which is really cool as it has one floor that is completely RED. Red ceilings, floors and walls. ALL RED. Then out to eat with my in-laws, and dessert at Cheese Cake Factory. Sunday was a baby shower for my Sister-in-law at the Queen Mary Tea Room. Very fancy schmancy. The nibbler food was delicious, the tea was yummy and the company was good. Sunday we also went up to Boeing, to do the factory tour where we got to see BIG planes being made. We also went to see Indiana Jones. We had the option to see Indiana Moans, and the Temple of Poon, but decided to pass on the Lusty Lady cinema :)

Tuesday i rested up and packed my clothes for the upcoming beach week. Wednesday I drove and drove until i was reunited with my children, who really, didn't look all that thrilled to see me (well two of them did) one was playing on the computer and finally decided to make his presence known when he wanted food. Boys.

So here I am today. it's a nasty day out. Not rainy, not sunny, miserably muggy and hot. Yuck.
Hopefully the weather will be nicer tomorrow and they can go swimming (plus i need a little color before we head to the beach)

216-221

2008-05-21T12:15:00.000-07:00

School is winding down for the kids. I had a PT Conference with A's teacher. Apparently he "asks increasingly complex questions to further his knowledge" Hmm, is that a nice way of saying he's nosey? Overall he did very well. The only problem he had was trying to negotiate his punishment when he got in trouble. Oh well.

E had field day yesterday and got some ribbons. She did pretty good. She also got a medal for Caldecott readers. Just awaiting the report card tomorrow, which I'm sure will having glowing reviews.

I've been busy around here doing laundry like its no body's business. Trying to pack clothes for 5 people. Trying to get some last minute picture orders in and still dealing with the turds...um yea i mean kids.

I'm going to be watching American Idol tonight to see who is the winner. I'm def. a David Cook fan. Mr Archuletta is just too sappy with all his ballads.

I also have two Netflixes to watch. Can't remember what came in, but should be a good night.

Other than that, not much going on these days. The dog days of summer are just around the corner. I'm going to embrace it with Fudgesicles, dirty knees, perpetual wearing of bathing suits, lemonade stands and the ever present red kool-aid moustache.

a PSA for today

2008-05-15T10:29:00.000-07:00

Yea so last night I watched P.S I love you
um yea, don't watch if you are overly hormonal, PMSing, pregnant, missing your man, or just a sack of mush in general. I think I cried during the whole thing.

208-213

2008-05-14T19:29:00.000-07:00

OK so another week has passed us by. It went by quite quickly. School is almost over for the boys. They have 2 days left. A is getting excited because he will be going to Kindergarten. ( I pity his poor teacher, esp if he gets the same one E had)

Anyways, this weekend was definitely interesting. E and her two "boy" friends set up a lemonade stand. They made around 12 bucks or so. Not too shabby at .50 a cup. The boys were at the end of the road by the stop sign directing traffic to E, who was taking money and pouring cups. They had signs up and everything. Even an MP came and bought a glass.

Sunday was Mother's Day and I received flowers from Joe (which did not affect my allergies) and 2 cards made by the boys, and a packet from E. Here is a poem that she wrote for me.

Poem of Love
i love my mother, shes like no other
she gave me birth, on this earth
shes always caring, and very sharing
she is so kind, I'm glad she's mine
she'll never trade me for riches, she always gives me kisses
she spends time with me and gets me tea
i give her flowers and she has powers
she is on my mind all the time
she is aware when i am scared
when she is gone i sing a song
she is sweet like a peach
she lets me taste,when we make cake
when we pack i get a snack
she is bright like a night light
no matter how old she will have me to hold.
-EMS 5/08

So there it is. She's quite the poet. She has her poems, A has his jokes ;0

We've been doing lots of outside playtime since it's been so nice. Tonight was sidewalk chalk art. We had rainbows and hopscotch and mountains and the sun, and some names and random shapes. Last night we played jump rope. It was a blast from the past with Cinderella dressed in yellow.., and Miss Mary Mack. Childhood gotta love it.

So Monday night was House MD. Got to see Mr Hugh on Ellen that day as well. He can read the phone book and make it sound sexy....him and Mr rickman. Meow.
Tuesday was Women's Murder Club and Law and Order: SVU. Both very good episodes. Were they the season finale? I must go check it out.

25 days to beach week :) whee. I started packing tonight. I got the swim stuff and linens done. And I packed for my trip next week as well. I'm excited about that one. No kids. Just Ads and me. Girls weekend.

OK off to watch my netflixes. PS. I Love You. Wonder if its as good as the book. Let's go find out.
Later

two hundred and one - two hundred and six

2008-05-07T19:17:00.000-07:00

La Dee Da :)

Not much happened over the weekend. The kids played a lot outside, at the park, at the school playground, in the yard, and let me tell you they had fun....but holy jeez did my allergies attack. I have been sneezing non stop. Therefore I have been self medicating as well. Benadryl is my new best friend. I do have a Rx for Zyrtec but haven't taken it yet, as the Benadryl is working for now, and I only take it at bedtime.

Big news here.....E was able to take off her training wheels. WOOT. She rode around all weekend long, all over the neighborhood.

In other news, the business is picking up. I have two shoots next week. One with almost 3 week old twins, and another with 16mo old twins. It's multiples week :) So look on the Sincere Life blog for a sneak peek.

TV this week was good. House M.D of course was YUMMY. He can speak in that snarky New Jersey accent all he wants, or his native Brit accent. Either way. HOTNESS abounds.
Tuesday brought me a new Women's Murder Club and Law and Order SVU (which I haven't watched yet-will do that in a few)

I also have a few Netflixes to watch. Memoirs of a Geisha (the book was really good) and Derailed.

I finished Sunday's at Tiffany's by James Patterson last night. It was good. Took me a day to read it and I was happy with it.

Tomorrow will be a grocery shopping trip for some essentials (milk, eggs, cheese and more freaking fruit)

Later
Sincere OUT

Day 200 + jokes from A

2008-05-01T14:59:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd celebrate day 200 with some jokes that A has told me in the past week.

Q-What sneezes a lot and carries passengers?
A-Achoo-Choo Train

Q-What do you call a snail on a ship?
A-A Snail-er

Q-Why couldn't the 11yr old get into the new pirate movie?
A- Because it was Arrrgh Rated

Q-What do you call a cow that eats grass?
A-A Lawn Moo-er

Q-What is a baby's favorite constellation?
A- The Big Diaper

And that concludes comedy hour with A :)

Days 193-199...

2008-04-30T16:12:00.000-07:00

So a week has passed since I last posted, and not too darn much has happened here.
We pretty much hung out around the house this weekend, played in the yard/park. We've been doing lots of Frisbee playing and soccer in the yard. The weather is doing weird things. Warm, COLD, chilly, breezy, warm again, hot, warm, COLD...and so on. Today it was one of the warm and breezy variety. Hopefully it will stay warm for a few weeks. Seriously its almost May.

So I have to say I'm quite excited about my TV nights. Monday presented me with a new episode of House M.D which was great. And Tuesday, a new episode of Women's Murder Club..but that's not it, a new episode of Law & Order SVU :) Hot diggity dog. American Idol is still hanging out on Tuesday nights as well.

E had a field trip today to the commissary. She said they went around looking at things that were gallons/pints/quarts/etc, and then looked at the meats and stuff for pounds. In math they are currently learning about fractions, so looked at measurements for recipes. That's pretty cool. They rode their bikes there too.

That's about it for us this past week. Nothing that will knock your socks off.
check ya later

187-192

2008-04-23T08:44:00.000-07:00

OK i better update this week or someone's gonna be knockin on my door pretty soon.

So, the parents came in last Thursday night, Friday they went to a Moody Blues concert down in Nashville. They said on a scale of 1-10 it was an 11 :) Saturday was a nasty day weather wise, the boys got haircuts (much needed) and us girls + a boy went to Hobby Lobby, Kroger and WalMart. Sunday they left to go home, and we planted some flowers in the garden, then the boys rode their BIG bikes around the park, played kickball for a while and frisbee as well. The kids all took baths because frankly they smelled like little wet dogs. The school week started and now here we are at Wednesday. B's day off. So we went to Chuck E Cheese's and then Starbucks. I think he had fun being the ONLY kid in there, so he had the run of the place. He got 107 tickets too :) Not too shabby. Now we are waiting to pick A up from school. Tomorrow is school picture day......so I must keep them bruise free for at least another day.

Later.....

a little shout out to my friends :)

2008-04-22T12:22:00.001-07:00

HOLLA :)

love you guys and will update tonight before Idol.

179-185....wheee

2008-04-16T16:29:00.001-07:00

HOLLA! that shout out is for miss cherry :)

So not too much has happened this past week. The weekend was....well a weekend. The kids played, destroyed the house, i cleaned the house, and they destroyed it again within minutes. I did shampoo the carpet in the living room though, and it looks much better. The weather has been whacked out I tell you. First its sunny and in the 70's then the next day rain and in the 40's and one day we even had rain & snow showers predicted (Monday) WTH? people. It's APRIL. SPRING TIME.

Monday I had an Op Love session with a family of 5 and their 3 pets. You can go to my other blog to see the sneak peek. The past two days I've taken the boys to the playground so they can run off some of their energy. So far its helping a bit with their sleeping, but isn't doing much to their energy levels...if anything it winds them up even more :)

Tomorrow we have B's end of the year IEP meeting to see where he stands for next year and how well he progressed this past year. Crossing fingers he's doing well.

That's about all here...I'm gonna watch some movies tonight that I Netflix'd Should be a good night.

Sincere- OUT

some days and then leading up to 178 :)

2008-04-09T18:50:00.000-07:00

yea i lost count and don't feel like going back and looking it up. oh well.

So this week was pretty good. Had a respite day on Saturday. I dropped the kiddos off, and went shopping. Hit up Kohl's and then the mall. Got some good deals, and some cute new shirts for my upcoming vacation in May.

Met Ads and family for lunch @ Shogun. It was yummmmy. Hella yummy. Took my leftovers home and had it for dinner. So yummy x 2 :)

picked the kiddos up later, and then hung out and talked to Joe later that night.
The weekend went by quick. It was very nice outside, so the kids played outside for almost the entire day on Sunday.

School on Monday and again, when the boys got home......zip...right outside they went. And yes they slept very well.

Tuesday....my TV night :) watched Biggest Loser and American Idol. I can't wait for next week's finale of BL. wooty woot. And i also can not wait for new episodes of HOUSE to come on. It's moving to Monday night's New episodes beginning April 28Th. Yup I'm a living commercial for HOUSE. mmmmm tasty.

So today is Wednesday....and the kids had off. Why? you ask....heck if i know. Professional development day. Any who its amazing to think that the boys have less than 5.5 weeks of school left, and E has about 6.5 weeks left. and then SUMMMMMMMMMER TIME.

Can't wait.
Later
Taters

home again home again...

2008-03-31T14:38:00.000-07:00

jiggity jig

so we're home from our "spring break" vacation in Alabama. We did lots of things. Chuck E Cheese's, the museum, Ikea shopping, Hollywood Connection, got taxes done, went to a movie Horton Hears a Who? and then went shopping in Auburn. All in all a good week.

Yesterday I did the drive, which was pretty darn boring in itself not to mention the kids' DVD player went kaput. ACK. Must buy a new one before our next big trip. blah

So today was the first day the kids went back to school. YIPPEE. a few hours of peace and quiet for me. I did some grocery shopping-staples of course.

hopefully the kids will go to bed nicely tonight-unlike some little boy last night (B) I'll settle to watch some TV or read my book.
happy days

days 158-163

2008-03-25T13:52:00.000-07:00

First of all Happy Belated Easter. Hope everyone had an enjoyable one.
Drove down to AL on Saturday. Got to the house, and dyed eggs with the kids, made cookies and then made pizza. Sunday the kiddos got up filled with LOTS of energy. EEK. Did baskets, looked at their loot, played with the loot and ate lots of candy. Papa hid the eggs while he was walking the dog. The kids found the eggs. B was a genius mastermind and put his basket in the back of his little motorized car and drove around for eggs. He's not stupid.
We then ate dinner, Joe called and we chit chatted for a bit, and then we headed to Callaway Gardens to take pics of the kids. The kids slept like ROCKS that night.
Monday I met with some of my online buddies. I met up with Jay her kids and mom at cracker barrel to do brunch, and then we headed to the zoo. We then met up with Shay and her kids. I think everyone had a blast. It was kind of chilly and very windy. Again another night where the kids slept like a rock. Today i took them to Steve and Barry's and then to Chuck E Cheese's. There was virtually nobody there, so they had the place to themselves. They ran around, played games, got tickets, ate pizza and fries and then played some more. And now we are at the house just chilling waiting for the Nana and Papa to come home from work. Which should be any minute now.
later...burgers are on the grill.
yum
Big tv night. Idol and Biggest Loser. Bob and Ryan mmm mmm good.

days 151-157

2008-03-19T14:35:00.000-07:00

So this past weekend was a whirlwind of activity. The in-laws came to town, we went to Chattanooga where I had a photo shoot, and then we were able to relax. The kids, despite it raining, decided they wanted to be outside, riding their bikes and roller skating. No problem. Stick a coat on and away they went.

B is doing VERY well on his bike, as is A. E on the other hand would rather her scooter or roller skates.

I also went and got the kids' Easter basket gifts from Target. I found some really neat little card games for A. I think he will enjoy them. He's really into board games now, and I think this will work for when we go on vacations and stuff. E is getting a new nightgown and a book and some girly stuff. B is getting a Tom & Jerry DVD. All the kids refer to T&J like its their own personal Bible or something. Whatever works kids.

This weather is really starting to drive me batty. Sunny and warm then rainy and thunderstorms and cold. UGH. Mother Nature figure it out already.

OK, gonna go get dinner started.....well not started, reheated as its leftovers from last night. Pork roast with CousCous. yum

days 142-150...

2008-03-12T19:35:00.000-07:00

Ladee Da.

So nothing TOO exciting happened in the past week. It snowed Friday night about 6-8 inches in some areas, depending on the snow drifts. E had a slumber party Fri night and Saturday morning we had to suit up in our snow gear and go walk to get her, bc there was no way my van was getting through the snow in our driveway.

Saturday we spend 3.5 hours at the school playground playing in the snow. The kids enjoyed going down the hill in their inter tube sled. Late that night my entire body hurt. A pain I haven't felt in years. Blah.

Sunday we went grocery shopping as the snow had melted and we were able to navigate the roads. We were also out of all liquids in the house except Brita Filtered Water. So the main items on the list according to B....Milk, Juice and Bread. He kept repeating that in the van on the way there. And yes, we picked up all 3 and then some extras. Even Doughnuts bc they were fairly well behaved in the store and I wanted one too.

Monday and Tuesday were routine school days and nothing much going on. Drop off, pick up, yadda yadda blah.

Today the boys didn't have school as it was Parent Teacher Conference Day. LOVELY.
Overall B is doing SO SO SO much better with his speech. Since August he has learned how to use 4 5 and 6 word sentences, speak more clearly, and for strangers to actually understand what he is saying. He also knows ALL his shapes, colors and numbers up to 10 even if he did call the ZERO an Oval. oh well. He's my little genius. We have an IEP meeting set for April to see where he stands for next PREK school year as he actually will be prek age by then. And I'm very proud of what he can do these days. A....didn't get a bad report as I expected. He's doing very well himself. Obviously he knew his colors/numbers/shapes etc, but is able to identify almost all uppercase and lowercase, can count to 100(and beyond). We now need to work on writing his name NOT using a flash card. I know he can do this bc he wrote his name on his wall and then blamed it first on E and then on B-i LOL at this one. SO overall they both are doing well in school.

And now its night and the kids are in bed. I'm going to go read....and clean some more. Ive been a cleaning fool all week long. I even battled my vacuum cleaner and lost.....so I bought a new one today :)

a PSA just for you

2008-03-05T14:30:00.000-08:00

A dog farting is a sign of happiness.

yes this came from the 5 yr old with a crude sense of humour.

i love this kid

days 136-141

2008-03-03T08:30:00.000-08:00

So last week was much better than the previous ones. I was still sick-this cold is lingering-but the kids went to school and it was QUIET in the house.

It snowed on Wednesday, so the boys got bundled up in their snow gear and went out to play. They were probably out there for an hour or so, before their little bodies froze and they decided to come in.

Then the weather got pretty nice, in the 60's and 70's. So the kids played outside all weekend long. Again, it was quiet in the house.

The weekend passed with little drama from them. We did grocery shopping yesterday as we were out of milk and bread-two staples we can't live without in this house.

Today, the kids were off to school. B wore UNDIES to school, so we'll see how he did. Hopefully we are on the road to FINAL POTTY TRAINING. We'll work on night time stuff later, but man lets get these days done with.

I went to Target and picked up a few things-a set of towels for the bathroom, and a new comforter that was on sale for 12.00. I figure the kids can use this when they have friends over or whatever :)

This weeks list of to do things
-wash and fold laundry
-vac the house
-sweep the house
-unload/load dishwasher
-clean the bathrooms
-get tax information ready
-clean my desk off

ta da....not asking too much am i :)

days 128-135

2008-02-26T13:21:00.000-08:00

Another week of sick kids. Seriously February is the shortest month of the year, yet it is dragging ass and so far is the worst month by far. Holy Lord we are 2months into the year-10more to go, hopefully those can be a little bit better.

E went to school last Tuesday, the boys stayed home. She came home with a note from the nurse saying she was running a slight fever, sore throat, coughing yadda yadda blah. She woke up Wed morning feeling yucky, and couldn't talk. The frog in A's throat somehow snuck into her room during the night and infiltrated E. Wed is B's stay home day anyways, but he needed that extra day to recover.

Thursday rolls around and I was planning on sending the boys to school. Um, NOPE. FTC decided to cancel prek classes due to ice storms during the night, regular school was pushed back 2 hours. Well cripes. So another day with all three of the turdlettes home.

FRIDAY....the boys go to school, E is home but quiet. It was quite lovely. Saturday is a respite day and all of them were well enough to go. HOT DAMN. I was impressed with my ability to do NOTHING that day. However now I'm suddenly starting to feel like poop. Cough, irritating post nasal drip, and sinus pressure. Great. Sunday we all just hung around the house.

Monday-again all kids off to school. And I'm still feeling like crap. Last night was the worst night for me. My face was throbbing under my left eye. I took my meds too but it didn't help.

Today is Tuesday and I'm feeling marginally better. I'm staying on top of my meds and the kids are being relatively good.

This month better hurry up and be DONE soon.

days 121-127

2008-02-18T18:04:00.000-08:00

wowee. so lets see what has happened in a week.
Valentine's day-not too shabby. the kids had parties at school, exchanged cards, and got lots of candy. A of course gobbled his up. B wanted me to open it all and then said NO, so i threw it away. Before you ask, No it wasnt chocolate. I wouldnt do something like that. Sheesh.

ok fast forward to the weekend. SICK KIDS.......again. First A, pukes in bed, so then i have to clean him all up at 230 in the morning. get him all dressed with new jammies, get his bed all fixed back up and then i head to bed. He never did puke again, but you could tell he wasnt himself that day. He was running a fever and just didnt look well. He took a 3 hour nap. UNHEARD of for this kid.

Then last night, i stayed up late-after 2am. get into bed, and B was in my bed (bc A was still sick and not wanting to spread the germies i let him into my bed) so he's all kinds of restless and sure enough......PUKE. ugh. The foulest smelling stuff ever. Which if it smelled that horrid i know it tasted horrid. blech. anyways, get him cleaned up, my bed sheets changed, new pillows, new jammies, and we lay back down....and blech again. ugh. Another change of clothes, not sheets this time as i laid down a towel under him earlier in anticipation of this happening. clean up again and get settled. it took a long while before we fell asleep and right when i was drifting off into a beautiful oblivion....A comes in "I PUKED" ack. At least his was due to coughing up a lung mixed with a ton of water he had just drunk and choked on and lots of phelgm. so as im cleaning up THAT mess, B pukes again in my bed. Double ack. Get A all cleaned up, and into B's bed all comfy and cozy. get B all cleaned up and he decides he's up for the day @ 6am. E is still blissfully unaware of all the puking that has been going on in the house.

B fell asleep for most of the day in various spots in the house. In front of the tv onthe floor, on the couch, on the coffee table back on to the floor, my lap and on to the couch again. A also took a nap on the floor. They have beds, but prefer the floor. Not sure why as its cold tile.

So as of now B hasnt puked in a few hours and has managed to keep down some goldfish crackers and juice, and A isnt running a fever anymore, but he still has a slight "frog" in his throat.

Lets hope tonight goes a bit better than last night.

ps....A just came in and asked why dont i have "green bags" for my fruits and vegetables. it keeps them from going ICKY. ok just eat your banana kid.

goodbye

days 115-120

2008-02-11T18:54:00.000-08:00

One week. In one week a kid got sick with the pukes, the boys had off from school and we trekked yet again to the hospital to get shots, I had a girls day out, and I went grocery shopping.

Sick kid- E. puked in the wee hours of the morning. then she had some poop issues going on. So she stayed home and proceeded to eat toast, applesauce and oatmeal. She was fine the next day.

No School Day/Shot Day-A&B. Had to get shots. Varicella and Hepatitis A. One word. WUSS. the both of them. Yes the are kids, but holy crap I know every person in that waiting room heard them. Later that night B asked if we could go to the dr to get chips. (i bought cheetos out of the vending machine while we waited our 20 minutes) Um no kid i'll just run to the store and buy chips there.

Girls Day-Ads came sans Mags, and I dropped the kiddos off at respite care. We went to the mall and didnt but a THING, then headed to Starbucks where I got this scrumptious Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Loaf to go with my hot chocolate. We then went to see 27 Dresses. Yes a very girly movie-but we're girls who cares. Pretty decent movie, had some good lines, and cheered me up. We then headed to Sho-Gun where we had some Japanese a la hibachi grill. Steak and Chicken......yum. After that Target run. Didn't get much there, Pull-ups, soap, and some Dvd-r and Cd-r's. Then home, then picked the kiddos up.

Last day of my weekend- Didnt do diddly. Nada. Zip. Zilch. NOTHING. I watched Unaccompanied Minors with B. He laughed I laughed. It was mindless funny.

Grocery Day/School day-kids went to school. I went shopping for groceries. I also bought a box of Swiss Cake Rolls........for ME. Not the kids. I will NOT share my snacks.

Later tonight......CRAP on tv. Will go watch another Netflix movie.

107-114

2008-02-05T13:59:00.000-08:00

Great. Another week has passed us by.
Review time... The weather has gotten COLD sometimes FRIGID, then rainy, snowy, icy, and occasionally some "tornadic activity" has gone on. One morning it was a whole 1*. YeeHaw. The kids ended up having a "snow day" becuase overnight it managed to snow, then have frozen rain on top...oh well. Today it is an overcast yet warm day...probably 68 or so. Thats the weather update.

Technical update....Computer crashed Tuesday night. Not the hard drive thank goodness, but windows would no longer open and Dell confirmed that Windows was corrupted and my best bet was to take it to a local guy and have him backup my entire hard drive. Took it in on Wednesday, and got it back Thursday night. I have since gotten an external hard drive and backed all pictures and important info. Now the TV in the living room is acting up. It's old though. Joe had it when we first met which has been 10 years ago, and I'm pretty sure he had it before then. Don't know what im gonna do about that.

Kid update....took E and A to the doctor on Friday to get some booster shots (hepA and varicella booster) E got hers....let me say WUSS. OMG i dont think i ever wanted to smack her more(not really). SHe cried and screamed and refused to take off her coat, and then refused to take off her sweatshirt. HOLY CRAP was she pitching a fit. All the while A is standing there all stoic like becuase he knows he's next. 30 seconds later and she's done. A's turn. Oh no? What? His records ARENT in the computer system? Go figure. So off we traipse down to records holding...get a copy of his shot records, go back upstairs to learn that his 4yr boosters arent listed on the hard copy shot record. Grrrr. That's ok. Take E to school, go by the nurses office, drop her stuff off, and pick up A's shot record which IS up to date. Go back to the hospital.....LONG LINE now. Grrrrr some more. Sit and sit some more until it's time to pick B up @ 11. So no shots for A. The boys will be going back on wednesday(tomorrow) for their shots. A gets both hepA and varicella, B gets varicella only.

Weekend update....didnt do a thing. Really we didnt. Didn't go anywhere. I did some laundry and cleaned the house but acutally being productive.....nope. I read my book, the kids played.

Super Bowl Update....did i watch it? NOPE. Couldnt even tell you who was playing :) I do know that House M.D. was on after and I watched it.

Tonight....its SUPER TUESDAY. Elections, Mardi Gras, and TV NIGHT.

Days 98-106

2008-01-28T22:17:00.000-08:00

OK so a week has passed since i last updated....which is about right as nothing is really happening on a day to day basis so I'm thinking a weekly update would be better than a daily entry unless something spectacular happens then i will blog it.

So last week the kids had MLK jr Day off. We didn't do anything. Really we didn't do much of anything last week. I cleaned the house, did some laundry, did some grocery shopping and of course took care of the kids.

Lady(or NANA) came in on Friday night. Saturday was a respite day, so I dropped the boys off at 9. E came with us so it was a GIRLS DAY. We went to Old Chicago for lunch, then hit up the mall where E got some new clothes from Belk's and Old Navy.
Sunday we went to the museum downtown and let the kids go nuts for 2 hours in the children's section. This morning after i took the kids to school, we put together E's new bed I had gotten her at Ikea over the winter break. I have to say we pretty darn good with no electric tools. And her room looks very nice now.

Tonight we just hung out. Did dinner, no baths as they took them last night, and then bed for the kids. nothing TOO exciting.

Joe called tonight. That perked me up a bit. I probably needed to hear from him as it had been a while. It gets lonely at night when the kids go to bed and its just me. I try to fill my night by reading, or perusing sites online, or watching a movie (like i did tonight. I watched Sydney White with Amanda Bynes) Sometimes I think of something I want to say to him, and forget that he's not in the next room, but hundreds of thousands of miles away, and have to resort to email to tell him that joke that i just heard or send him the newest picture of the kids. Ah, the life i lead. Not so fun at times. I'll live though. Approximately 527,040 minutes (and yes i accounted for the leap year) until hes home for good :)

days 86-97...

2008-01-19T13:07:00.000-08:00

Since I last posted, the kids have started back to school, E has gotten a stomach virus, B has a cold, I've had a photo shoot, and then general house cleaning and maintenance.

Nothing too exciting, honest. It's cold here today. High of 25, right now its feeling like 15*. It's a beautiful day. Clear blue skies and sunny. We are in lock down mode :) We're not going anywhere this weekend. I've done all the grocery shopping, so we are well stocked with milk, bread, and toilet paper to last us through the weekend. We have plenty of crafts to do if the kids get bored. I have some blank canvases I'm going to let E paint, and then going to hang in the computer room. Yesterday I did a deep clean of the comp room. Threw lots of stuff out, and rearranged the room. Cleaned the desk off, dusted and am getting ready to hang some prints I got off of Etsy. There are two sellers that I absolutely LOVE their stuff. I have 3 prints from The Black Apple http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=991 and one from Gorjuss http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5868 I will definitely be buying a few more from the both of them soon. I also bought a print from Elsie Cake http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5079159, who is currently closed but will be back in business in February.

That's about it for now. I'm off to enjoy a book I just bought....
Tootles

We're home...days 73-85

2008-01-07T16:35:00.000-08:00

I won't bore anyone with the details. We had a great trip to AL. Got to see some friends we hadn't seen in a long time. We ate good food, and had fun on NYE with fireworks and sparklers. In the end we all had a wonderful time.

We got back home on Saturday, and I spent the weekend unpacking the car and getting it cleaned out. And today.......THE KIDS WENT BACK TO SCHOOL. Freedom......Freedom. Need I say more. After I dropped the kids off, I headed to workout and did the treadmill for 30mins, then decided to head home to finish the house cleaning. Picked the boys up from school and we did some grocery shopping to stock up on the essentials since we were gone for a week and a half. The kids are getting reacquainted with their Christmas gifts....so they are out of my hair. Bedtime is in a short ONE HOUR and TWENTY minutes :)

Hope Everybody had a wonderful holiday season and will have a great New Year.

PS....Saw Sweeney Todd. One word. WEIRD. 9.00 and 2.5 hours of my life I can't get back. Oh well at least i had a nice dinner beforehand with a wonderful friend. So the whole night wasn't ruined.

Days 69-72

2007-12-27T05:54:00.000-08:00

So Christmas has come and passed. Needless to say the kids were beyond excited that morning. Christmas Eve the kids were in bed by 8:30/9:00. As soon as we knew they were asleep,out came the presents. They pulled in a good haul this year, but not nearly as much as last (thank goodness) The kids woke up at 630, but were told they couldn't open any until Everyone was up (they were waiting on ME) So promptly at 7am they started the unwrapping
A received-a SUPER MARIO PARTY Ds game...the ONLY thing on his Santa list. A chemistry set from Grandma/pa, roller skates from Nana/Papa, a set of Lincoln Logs-that he proclaimed to be LAME (good thing I got those for him) a super hero cape, some planet hero toys, an ear set of walkie talkies from Joe, a detailed look into the body and Dr kit complete with goggles from Addie/Tony, and a few extra track packs for the Geo Tracks set.
B received-a dance mat with Pingu(from discovery kids) from Grandma/pa, a Smart Cycle with an extra game, a Bilibo to help with his SID, a super hero cape, a race track set from Nana/Papa, a bumblebee game from Joe, a roaring dinosaur from Addie/Tony and a few other odds and ends.
E received-a Nintendo ds, a few games to go with, an Mp3 player from Nana/papa, along with roller skates from them too, a watch, a set of Nancy Drew Books and a new Nancy Drew computer game, some clothes for Snowflake (her build a bear) a High School Musical shirt from Addie/Tony, an ATM from grandma/pa.

and I received my Nikon Nikkor 85mm 1.8 lens. that i have been lusting over for months now.
Also got some perfume which is a good thing as i was literally on the last little squirts from my old bottle, a new book, a vegetable steamer, cutting board, gift certificate to a day spa for a Swedish massage and facial. And I treated myself to Seasons 1 and 2 of House-as target had them on sale for 12.99 a piece. Can't go wrong there with that price.

Overall Christmas was good. We all got things we wanted.

Wednesday-We decided to leave a day early. So this may not be updated daily(not that it has been for the last few entries-oh well) but I will try.

:)

Days 64-68...

2007-12-23T15:33:00.001-08:00

This week has been hard. The boys have had cabin fever as it rained EVERYDAY, so they couldn't go out to play. I cleaned the house to get ready for the upcoming holiday. I've been doing laundry out the wazoo. Clothes are washed, but again are laying in a pile on my bedroom floor waiting to be folded/or hung up and put away. UGH. I hate folding. Really loathe it. A lot. A whole lot. ;)

So the parental units came in yesterday and we went to Kroger to pick up our Christmas Day food. We'll be having a standing rib roast, creamed cucumbers, sweet potatoes with praline topping, some sort of veggie (unknown as of now) and croissants. YUM I can't wait.

Today is was quite cold, so again, no sending them out. That's OK. Nana and the kids made cookies this morning. Cookie press cookies with red/green sprinkles. And then later made the fundraiser cookie dough cookies. Double chocolate with Reese's pieces. Mmm, those are good.

The kids are about to get jammies on and settle in to watch a movie. Maybe with popcorn, maybe not :) Hopefully they will go to bed early as I'm whooped. We cleaned the pit of despair today, better known as E's room. YIKES, enter at your own risk. Everything is back in it's place and we got rid of a bunch of things that she no longer played with. This girl has more purses and bags and things to put THINGS in, I'm ashamed. And she's a pack rat, which is no surprise considering I was just as bad as a child. Really bad. Heck almost 90% of the books on her shelf were mine-and these things date back to the early 80's....and are still in pretty darn good condition. That just shows I take care of my stuff.

So, on with the movie and popcorn(still don't know if we have any)

58-63

2007-12-18T10:42:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the delay. Can't say that anything really held me up. Just a reluctance to write. After the sick episode with A last week, the rest of the week went pretty good. Nothing exciting, nothing really worth writing about. Saturday was a respite day. So I dropped the kiddos off @ 9am, came home and proceeded to get the decorations out of the garage....in the RAIN. The Freezing Rain. Came in to defrost, talked to Ads and the Lady for a bit and then got to cleaning the living room so I could put the tree up, and other Christmas accoutrements. Did the dishes in the sink, and unloaded the dishwasher, did a few loads of laundry too. (which need to be folded now) It continued to rain all day, so at 5pm I picked the kids up and came home. Sunday was Pajama day. E got dressed only because she wanted to go play with some friends. Monday was the last day of school for the boys. Tomorrow is Parent Teacher conferences for them as well...so we will see how they are doing. Thursday is E's last day before the break. The kids will have almost 3 full weeks off of school. They go back January 7th. Other than that....no big changes here.
TTFN

Days 54-57

2007-12-12T17:44:00.000-08:00

Sunday wasn't too exciting as it rained again. So we stayed inside all day. Monday more craptastic rain. I also had to go grocery shopping, which I hate doing in the rain. I had to take pics for E's class for ornaments, but when I got to the school , the nurse told me she had one of my OTHER children in her office. GREAT! A had been puking. So I go tell E's teacher I can't do pictures and then head to get B, because frankly i wasn't coming back in an hour to pick him up if A was puking. We gather A from the nurse and head home. He was sent to his room to change into pj's and then get right into bed. He looked a little pale, but other wise fine. He proceeded to eat crackers, 2 bottles of water, oatmeal, toast and a banana. By the end of the night he was proclaiming that he "was STARVING" uh huh. Anyways, since he got sick at school, they have a 24 hour vomit free until he could return. Yup he missed that 24 hour window by 2 hours. UGH. So Tuesday I kept A home and B because he slept in until almost 9. Tuesday was PAJAMA day. I didn't have to go anywhere or do anything. YIPPEE. It was a very nice day as far as weather goes. high of 75* and no rain. fast forward 24 hours to Today (Wednesday) and its rainy and COLD again. B stayed home as its his stay home day. We went to the bank and then home. B has been watching Santa's Rockin-Wiggles movie and is driving me nuts. but hey, hes singing and dancing and is cute when he does it. A is much better, and the others don't seem like they will get it either.

days 48-53 Weekly Recap

2007-12-08T10:44:00.000-08:00

Wow, so this week wasn't too busy. I've been busy working on my yearly DVD slide show of pictures for the family as presents, and also working on the SAH cookbook. I'm kind of tired at looking at photo shop these days :) I also designed the Christmas Card, had them printed, bought envelopes, hand addressed ALL 80 of the, bought stamps, put the return address labels on them and then stamped them and then mailed them out. WHEE

I also got some online Christmas shopping done, for my Kris Kringle, Secret Santa and Secret Sis. I now need to wrap all the presents that have been coming in the mail this past week. I'm sure my neighbors think I'm having some illicit affair with the FedEx and UPS guy.

Speaking of UPS, I received a package from Harry & David's that said OPEN IMMEDIATELY. I open it up and there is a gorgeous gift basket full of pears, ONE apple ?, two blocks of cheese, a bag of mixed nuts, some peach preserves and chocolate mint candies. I look all IN the box for a gift card.....NOTHING. So I sit and ponder for DAYS as to who would've sent me this. FINALLY when I was throwing away the box, I noticed on the OUTSIDE packing label it said who it was from.....so Thank you Grandma and Grandpa T :)

The kids have been good this week. A little cabin fever due to the extreme COLD and WET we've been experiencing here. Yuck. Tuesday we had wind chill of 30, and today its 54* out and fore casted for tomorrow is 68* and then Monday as 70* HELLO its December.

We also had our CG Yearly Ornament Exchange. Only a few of us showed up, but that's OK. We sat by the fire and drank Starbucks and chit chatted.

Last night (Friday) Ads and Mags came to visit. We had a girly sleep over (for once girls outnumbered boys) and then today we got up, ate breakfast, then went to Target-the kids had popcorn and drinks, and then I came home. Ads is coming back in a bit with LUNCH.

ICE! How the Grinch Stole Christmas in pictures

2007-12-04T08:37:00.000-08:00

Weekend Update...Day 46/47

2007-12-04T08:26:00.000-08:00

Day 46- Saturday
Dropped the kids off at Super Saturday Respite Care @ 9am. Then headed down to Opry Mills to do some Christmas Shopping. We spent almost 2 hours in Black Lion, then went to Bed Bath and Beyond-because I am in desperate need of a new dirty clothes hamper. My other one has 3 sections (whites, darks, reds) and the plastic is disintegrating all over the floor. It's OLD. Anyways, I didn't find one in BB&B, so then continued on throughout the mall. We ended up back in town and went to lunch at Olive Garden. We got the Mozzarella Fondue for an appetizer, Salad, and the Mixed Grill (which consisted of steak and chicken in a balsamic demi glaze and roasted Tuscan potatoes) We then went back home, decided to pick the kids up around 4:30ish, and headed to the PX to pick up some other things that we needed. Came home, fed the kids dinner, and I got ready to go out with the girls to dinner. I left around 6:45 and went to Chili's and met up with some friends. Since I had such a large lunch, I just got a side salad, and dessert which i promised the Lady back at home with the kids. Then after dinner we headed over to Autumn's house to hang out some more. Got home around 1ish.

Day 47-Sunday
Got up early, and decided to take the kids to Nashville to take some more Christmas pictures of them for the card- NO LUCK. After that we headed over to the Gaslight Theater to see ICE! The Grinch Stole Christmas. Pictures will follow this post. After that we headed over to Dave and Buster's for some game fun. The kids ended up getting over 800 tickets with just 40 bucks-$10 a kid, and i had $10. Whee. We then headed back home, and drove around while the kids slept in the car. Got home, made dinner, the boys and Nana played Mousetrap, and then got the kids in bed.

Yes it is FRIDAY night...

2007-11-30T20:07:00.000-08:00

Day 46
Today we woke up and it was COLD. Frigiddy freezing cold. A nice 31* with wind chill. Needless to say I drove the kids to school this morning. So, get them to school, and I head off to Target. I got a dvd that had 4 movies on it (Never Ending Story, The Secret Garden, The Witches, and 5 Kids and It) all for 8.99. Not too shabby, as I would've paid the same price for The Witches or The Never Ending Story. Got two new shirts for me, and some new Burt's Bees Chaptstick, as B decided to play with my other tube while driving back home on Sunday. He smeared it all over his mouth, and then decided his calves were in desperate need of peppermint oil, lanolin, sunflower oil and 1/4 of a tube of BB's. Nice eh? At least he smelled good. Oh yea, and I got some Inside Out Junior Mints. They have a white coating on the outside, with a dark chocolate mint on the inside. Yummy. After Target, I went to Starbucks to get my hot chocolate as always. Came home, and started to read a book I had bought the other day. It's a new one by Nora Roberts. I didn't read much as it was almost time to pick the boys up. Got them, came home, did lunch, and put Cars on the TV for B to watch. That stayed on ALL DAY LONG until bedtime. Lighting McQueen.......I want to kill you. ACK. No nap for B, which was good because he went to bed at 8pm with no problems or complaining...his brother on the other hand pitched a ROYAL FIT that would've made Verruca Salt proud of. Ugh. Just go to sleep kid. That's why you're all whinging and screaming for. Because you ARE tired. So the Lady (aka NANA) came to town this weekend. We sat in the living room and listened to A talk himself to sleep...which took about 10 minutes. Then E fell asleep on a palette on her bedroom floor. Now I'm sitting here eating chocolate chip cookies-really wanting a glass of milk to go with them, but damn I'm lazy and don't want to get up. Besides, I'm warm sitting here.
Tomorrow is a big day. Respite Day. Read all about it tomorrow night. Adios. Auf wiedersehen. Goodnight, and have a Pleasant Tomorrow.

not just a two-fer but a three-fer :)

2007-11-29T19:09:00.000-08:00

Day 43
not as exciting as day 42 i can tell you that :) Actually nothing happened. It was the SSDD routine. Wake up, kids dressed, kids to school....relax for a few hours, pick em up, make em lunch, nap for B, playtime for A, E comes home, dinner for kids, bed for kids. However it WAS a great TV night. Got to watch all my shows. Woot.

Day 44
Again, not too exciting. Got the kids up, and got E and A dressed and sent them on their merry way to school. It was chilly so they were bundled up. B and I came back home and chilled. We made an awesome train track and then raced cars down the hallway. Time to pick A up, and then we came home, did lunch, and B decided NOPE NO NAP TODAY. Fine with me kid, that just means early bedtime for you. :) Early day, so E came home, and she went to play with her friends outside. Made dinner, and got the kids ALL in bed and asleep by 820. B even slept the whole night through without coming to my room demanding "choco nulk" at 430am.

Day 45
I was woken up by a little boy tickling my feet. B came in and decided he was waking me up...at 630. So I got up, got them all ready for school, and took em. I then went to Wal-Mart to find some Christmas presents. I found a few that were on the list and came home. Unpacked the car, and then got the boys. Came home, made them lunch, and put B down for a nap that he desperately needed as he was Mr. Cranky McMoodypants today. So he slept for a long time, E came home but then went to Miss G's house to play. Made dinner, did baths, and got them ready for bed. So here it is 9:20 and my house is blissfully quiet. I really need to do laundry....i have a lot of laundry to wash + fold + put away. ICK i hate laundry. But, I do get a Law & Order episode tonight (I think-it might be new, I'm not sure though)

the ultimate answer to life the universe and everything...

2007-11-26T18:36:00.000-08:00

42. day forty-two.
make sure to have your towel handy now, because it's gonna be a bumpy ride.
Today was rainy and not too cold. Drove the kids to school, came home, made a few phone calls. Then headed off to get my MWR spouse discount card. That took all of 10 minutes (including the drive there and back home), came home and then signed the kids up for Super Saturday respite care. WOOT. I didn't do much until i picked the boys up, then we headed to Wal-Mart to get milk. 2 gallons of milk to be exact. We have been going through massive quantities of milk these days. In a span of less than 72 hours or so we drank 1.5 gallons of milk, which is approx 200 ounces or 16.66666 12 oz cans of soda. Anyways, got home, unloaded the groceries, made the boys lunch, made B take a nap, A played with blocks for a bit, and then he settled in his room quietly for a bit, talked to Joe for a bit as well. E came home from school, she did her reading assignment, made and ate dinner, and got the kids ready for bed. That's where we are currently. The boys are IN bed, but not asleep. B has discovered the art of "tattling." Every night he will shout out "GET IN BED" to A...so then i will tell A to get in bed, to which A will say "I AM IN BED" It never fails but this happens every night. And every night A is in bed, and B will just tattle on him anyways. Gotta love it... So I'm off to tuck E in bed.

Hope this little hitchike into the world of sincere was fun...and remember DON'T PANIC

Saturday/Sunday...

2007-11-25T15:16:00.000-08:00

Saturday-
Slept in...why because I was tired from all that shopping on Friday, and my meal with Ads and Tony(thanks again guys.) Got up with B and got the other kids dressed and ready for the day.
We went to Hollywood Connections-which started out OK, but then went downhill fast. WHY? Because we go upstairs to the arcade, and HALF the games were out of order. Why you ask? Because they were OUT OF TOKENS. How can you be out of tokens, and on a holiday weekend at that. So the turds had 4 yes FOUR people (more like nimrods) standing behind the counter at the Redeem your ticket booth. Not really sure why since the games that give tickets.....are the ones that take TOKENS. Assholes. So four useless people upstairs, while downstairs TWO people were running all the rids. Again...ASSHOLES. I'm writing a nasty letter to them too.

So we gave up at HC, and went to a place called Monkey Joe's. It's a huge building that has inflatables for the kids to play on. WOW a kids dream place. So my kids ran around like the nuts they are for 2 hours straight. Jumping and bouncing and climbing....wore their asses OUT.

Came home, and tried to put the baby to bed for a nap, no go. So we decided to just take him with us to Steve and Barry's store in Opelika. E came along, while A stayed home with Papa and played on the computer. Papa stayed home to watch the GA/GA TECH game, and then the AU/AL game. Got some good deals at S&B's store, and then went to Petco for some biscuits for Lucy.

Sunday- Long day in the car.
left this am at 10 CST, and just got home around 445 CST. I stopped literally 7/10 of a mile from my parents house for gas then again about an hour from the gas station bc B figured out how to unbuckle the plastic top buckle of his seat and then take his arms out....but it was too tight for him to get them back IN the seat....then the kids said they were hungry.....BUT B and E both were asleep when i was planning on stopping, so i said screw that and kept going......well A actually fell asleep too.....so i had all 3 of them asleep at once....then about 30 mins from the AL/TN border i needed some hot chocolate to stay awake....so i stopped there, and that's when the kids woke up, so got their food, and back on the road.....crossed the border and right out of Nashville got gas, i prob could've made it ALMOST home, but didn't want to chance it, so now i have 3/4 tank of gas for a while the entertainment was1-Backyardigans Movers and Shakers2- Toy Story 23- Tom and Jerry episodes4-Polar Express it's good to be home and i came home to a clean house as well. woot......well except the CLEAN laundry on my bedroom floor. AND i have a women's murder club tivo'd from Friday night

BLACK FRIDAY :)

2007-11-23T08:51:00.000-08:00

Got up at 3am, left at 330am and got to Kohl's at 4am when they opened. Got what i needed to get, and we were at JC Penney's by 5. We then went to Macy's at 6 when they opened, and then onto Target where I got a few things. After that we made a Starbucks and Krispy Kreme run for a little pick me up. Last stop was K-Mart and got some Lincoln Logs. We then came home and I did a little online shopping at Old Navy. I used my birthday gift card to buy some things for ME-a pair of jeans, 3 performance fleece pullovers, a pair of jeans for Joe, pullovers for the kids, and some fleece pants for B.

They are getting ready to eat lunch...will come back later to update about my Outback dinner tonight with Ads and Tony.

Day 38...Gobble Gobble day

2007-11-22T07:08:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving

will update later with the yummy food we had.

Ok I'm back with an update to the food and rest of day we had
Fried Turkey injected with Garlic Butter sauce
Pea Salad
Sweet Potatoes with butter and brown sugar
Chicken and Dressing
Cranberry Relish
Rolls
Carrots and Rutabagas

B and I took a nap at 3pm, and didn't wake up until 730. WOW that triptophan really put us to sleep. So needless to say we were awake until after midnight. Not a big deal, I perused the ads for the sales and he watched a few movies here in the bedroom

All in all a very good day.

Day 37...

2007-11-22T06:59:00.000-08:00

Was a long day of driving. Got up early-not because we were leaving @ 9am, but because of my faithful alarm clock B. So we got up, and i finished packing the car, got the kids dressed and fed some breakfast. We then just had to wait for Tony to come since he was riding with us.

We get on the road only a few minutes past 9 (so not too far off from the projected leave time) and head out. After 2.5 or so hours we make our first stop at the ROCKET SHIP rest area. Take A to pee, and then take B for a walk to see the rocket ship. We get back on the road, and right before Birmingham we stop for food and gas. Chik fil-a and some petrol...and we're good to go. On the road again....and a few hours later I drop Tony off with Ads and fam.(happy birthday Mags.) And finally 45 minutes later, we get to our destination. So i had a belated birthday dinner of Mongolian Beef, rice and an egg roll. YUMMY. Lady made a cake-some Paula Deen version- I didn't eat any, but the others said it was good.

Finally got the kiddos to bed, and that was my day.
the end

MY BIRTHDAY---Day 36

2007-11-20T21:39:00.000-08:00

So as you read from my previous post-the PSA, my morning started out just dandy. And yes, I most certainly was eating pizza for breakfast. No harm done....except maybe that extra few pounds that went straight to my thighs. Whatever.

Did my thing...kids, school, home. Talked to my mother in law, my mother, Ads and Joe. Got some flowers from Joe. I haven't opened them yet, as I'm taking them down to my parents house so we can all enjoy them, and they just don't sit here at the house for the fish to look at.

Picked the boys up, made lunch, TRIED to lay B down for a nap...but that was not a happening. Oh well. We do some artsy fartsy stuff, and the boys made a mess of tiny paper pieces on the floor, so I gave A the dust buster...BOY does he take after his father. He is loving that thing. He managed to dust bust the computer room, the living room and his bedroom. Hot damn. Maybe i should let him do that everyday.

E comes home, and the boys are STARVING for food.....not like they didn't eat lunch a mere few hours ago, with a few snacks (yogurt and fruit bars) in between. So, leftovers of pizza, and I had my spicy Asian wings that i didn't eat last night. YUMMY.

Got the kids in bed, and settled in for a good night of TV. Biggest Loser, House (guest star Steve Valentine from Crossing Jordan), and Law & Order: SVU.

After I watched my shows, I went outside to clean out the van for tomorrow. Loaded it up, and now just need to put in the toiletry bag. I now need to shower, and run the dishwasher, and then everything will be ready.

So...overall a very productive birthday. Do I feel 27? Nope. Do I look it? Sure do. Right down to the greying hair ;) which will soon be color corrected he he.

I also had a wonderful rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star sung by B earlier today. Much better than Happy Birthday to you CHA CHA CHA HOOAH that the kids always sing at parties.

Also...a little shout out to my birthday buddy Cherry. Love ya chicky, can't wait to see you in a few months....okay, make that 8.5 months

PSA

2007-11-20T12:44:00.000-08:00

Do not put a HOT WHEELS PAPER PLATE can be seen here http://www.birthdaydirect.com/hot-wheels-fast-action-lunch-plates-p-7476.html
in a microwave. They WILL catch fire. (and ruin your meat lovers pizza slice)

What a way to begin my birthday.

Day 33/34...another combo

2007-11-19T21:04:00.000-08:00

Day 33-Sunday
Lazy Day. Need I say more? Stayed in pj's until it was necessary to change. Got the kids dressed, yadda yadda. Tried to talk to Joe on his phone, but no go. Tried to call him back. No go. finally just chatted with him on yahoo I'm. He's doing as well as can be expected. Kids were fine. Went to bed at a reasonable hour since they had school. I stayed up a bit working on some stuff...then went to bed.

Day 34-Monday
I hate Mondays. Do you remember that poster of the cat laying on a tree limb or some other tripe, with the ubiquitous speech bubble of the 80's. Whatever. I really would like to sleep in until 7am. Nope it's not going to happen as long as B lives under this roof...or until he turns into a grumpy hormonal teenager who wants to sleep in until noon every weekend. But until then I have a 3 yr old who has the internal alarm clock of 6:32am, which i believe i have mentioned before :) Anyways, if one kid gets up, within minutes the others are up. So get them dressed and ready for school. It rained last night, so E decided to ride with us as it was still foggy and muggy this morning. Drop them off and head to Target....or the fancy store TAR JAY. Bought a pair of jeans and a few shirts for me, and a few other things that were needed. Then i went to Starbucks....YUP i enjoyed THOSE calories today. If you are on Weight Watchers, do NOT, i repeat DO NOT get the Cranberry Bliss Bar. It is a whopping 8 points :) a whopping 8 points of glorious goodness. and I washed it down with my grande hot chocolate......no whip cream.

Go home, unpack the car, pick up the boys, come home, make lunch for them, settle B down for a nap, A plays his Shrek Vsmile game for a bit. And then........ROCK PAPER SCISSORS.....with boulder, dynamite, rain and lava added in for fun :) It's time for E to come home, and she heads to a friends house-which you faithful readers may think she goes to a friends house EVERYDAY, and why don't her friends come here. Well the answer is simple. she has TWO brothers who love to bother the absolute crap out of her and her friends....so its much easier for her to go to them :)

I'm LAZY tonight and get pizza from Pizza Hut...with a side of wings (spicy Asian-these are going to be lunch tomorrow)
Get the kids ready for bed. Yadda Yadda.
B is the biggest procrastinator ever. He thoroughly enjoys his sleep, but man, does he know how to wheedle another Hug, water, kiss, scratchies, and song out of you. After a while it gets quiet...I go to put my pj's on.....and i found a stowaway in my bed. Oh well, its better than him coming in at 4am. Whatever :)

Good Night

Day 31/32 combo :)

2007-11-18T10:39:00.000-08:00

OK so sue me. I'm a few days behind in updating. It IS the weekend after all.
So Friday-Day 31
Wake up, get kids off to school, head to post office to mail out some clients photo orders and a package to Joe. Mosey on over to Starbucks and get a hot chocolate and then go home. Nothing too exciting. Went to pick the boys up, and then went to the grocery store for the staples-milk, cheese, tortillas :) I also picked up Shrek III and a book for me Creation In Death by J.D Robb. Got home, make the boys lunch, and then proceeded to read my book while they watched the movie. E came home, and her friend G came over to play. I cleaned the house-swept, swiffered, dusted, dishes/washer, clothes, vacuumed etc... Then dinner time, baths and bedtime. I stayed up to watch my tivo'd shows, and then read some of my book.

Saturday-Day32
Bright and early I was up with B. Why because his darling internal clock awakens at 6:32am EVERY MORNING. Turn the TV on for some Saturday Morning Cartoons, the other kids are smart and stayed in bed, but not for too long as everyone was up and running by 7:15. Whee. I love it. So I got them dressed, made breakfast, which consisted of cereal and milk, and then cleaned up the mess they had already made. E had a birthday party to go to at 2, but first we had to get the present. So we head out, get the present and drop her off at the skating rink. I come back with the boys, lay B down as he was asleep in the car, and then finish my book-it was good-then go back to pick E up at 5. Came home, ate dinner, baths and bed.

Day 29/30 Combo

2007-11-16T07:46:00.000-08:00

Wednesday-
Got up, got the kids dressed. Sent E and A on their merry way. B and I hung out here at the house for a bit. Played Cootie, and with his race track....and then built an awesome train track with his Geo Trax. Picked A up from school, did lunch, nap, some downtime for me. E came home early (early day wed) Nothing too exciting. Dinner, baths and bed.

Thursday-
Morning routine, took kids to school as it was ~~CHILLY~~...no scratch that, it was DAMN COLD. Anyways, came home and cleaned the house. Picked the boys up, came home and made lunch. B was not in the mood for a nap, so he didn't take one (good for bedtime.) They boys played and made a fort in the living room. A didn't call it a fort though, it was his secret relaxing spot. Whatever. E came home, and went to play with D across the street. She came home and we went to Sonic for some yummy corn dogs. Came home and ate dinner, and then got the kiddos ready for bed. I tivo'd Women's Murder Club and Law & Order:Criminal Intent...will be watching those later. Got on the computer to look at some Black Friday Ads, made up my Christmas list...still not done with it though. Made some hot chocolate and then went to bed.

Day 28-Tuesday

2007-11-14T05:41:00.000-08:00

Wheeee, it's raining. Lovely. UGH. It's another day, just like any other. Get the kids up and dressed and off to school. However B didn't go because he had a Dr's apt. It was a combo school physical mixed with his 3 yr well check. He is doing perfectly fine. he is 41.5 inches(which is only .5 inch shorter than what A was back in June 07-hello they are TWO years apart) and he weighs 38.6 pounds. He did get have to get the Hepatitis A shot, and will be required to go back in 6 months for the next in the series. He did very well with the shot. He laid up on the table, and was watching as she stuck him....when he felt it go in he said to the lady "HEY, what you do?" and that's IT. No crying or anything. He was very polite and was relatively good in the waiting room (which we were there for a total of 1.5 hours) The rest of the day went by with relative ease. No major meltdowns from A. Did dinner, and then got the kids ready for bed as it was TV NIGHT. Tuesday night is a good night for TV :) So I snuggled in and watched my shows, then went to bed.

the end.....until tomorrow

Day 27-Monday

2007-11-13T05:36:00.000-08:00

Ok so again, I'm a day late posting this. Not a big deal :)

So this weekend was a whirlwind of parties and people visiting. Now that all guests have left, it's time to decompress.....and clean the house. I told myself that come hell or high water I WOULD be taking pictures of the kids for Christmas cards TODAY. So got the kids all dressed and headed out. We ended up going to Dunbar Cave Park. Interesting place. They weren't open for Cave excursions...good thing, but you could still get to the mouth of the cave. So that is where we took pictures. A was in a bit of a mood. He has gotten into the habit of doing the CHEESE smile and it looks quite frightening. He said the photographer at school told him to smile like that. UGH my biggest pet peeve when taking pictures. E and B did fairly well. I think I got some useable images, but not sure if they are THE picture for the cards. I will try again here at home in the garage.

We come home and there is a SpongeBob Marathon on.....a countdown to Sponge Bob SquarePants....ATLANTIS SQUAREPANTIS :)

E takes her bath, and its HAIR WASHING NIGHT......eeeek. Somehow she ended up with a horrendous knot and we proceeded to comb while we watched SBSP.

Kids were in bed when SBSP was over. I go to check on the boys....and A, still in a mood, decided to put some toys around B's head while he slept. A pair of shoes, not just ONE shoe, but the pair, a huge Optimus Prime toy, a Piggy Bank, some blocks and a blanket over everything. Seriously WTF was that kid thinking. OY.

Let's hope this week goes better than Monday was.

day 26

2007-11-12T06:59:00.000-08:00

It's another PARTY DAY. This one is for M&G. Party was at 4:00, but we headed up their way around 12:30. Ate lunch at A&T's house, then headed to the partay. Cake was ELMO cupcakes...lots of RED frosting, that Ms. M was really liking. She opened presents, got lots of good loot. Overall a good 2nd birthday.

The boys fell asleep on the ride UP to the party, but were wide awake for the ride home. We came home, boy's got baths, we played a Backyardigan's Board Game, watched some TV, put the boys to bed, Papa slept in E's bed last night, so E slept with Nana on the air mattress in the living room. We watched a marathon of Jon and Kate plus 8, then Nana and E fell asleep. I got on the computer and proceeded to play E's new computer game.....Nancy Drew and the Legend of the Crystal Skull. Let me tell you that game is HARD. But I'm kicking butt. Woot.

Got into bed around 230am. Oh well.

Day Twenty-5

2007-11-10T20:15:00.000-08:00

It's a PARTY. Not just any party, a BOWLING party. Wheeeeee. The kids were up and ready this morning at 6am. Party didn't start until 12:30. Kids are up...bfast...dressed...fast forward to the partay.

Almost everyone invited came to the party...so overall, a very good turnout. 7-7 and 8 year olds, 3-5 year olds, 2-12 year olds and 2-3 and under. WOW. Presents galore, cake a plenty. Everyone was happy.

We got home and E had flowers waiting for her from daddy. Sunflowers. Very pretty. Again we missed his phone call, but that's OK. We will eventually get to talk to him.

Dinner was chicken and dressing with pinto beans seasoned with a ham hock. Mmmm tasty.
Kids were tired, no nap for B today, so he crashed as soon as his head hit the pillow(only after a few rounds of Happy Birthday Cha cha cha song)

Tomorrow.....another PARTAY....for M&G (2 and 1 yr olds) wheeeeeee...

Day 24

2007-11-09T20:52:00.000-08:00

E's birthday. Let's celebrate, shes EIGHT. Yup, the princess is eight. I think she had a pretty decent day. Went to school, came home, had a friend come over for a bit, then went to D's house. Came home ate dinner, and crashed. Joe called to wish her a happy birthday, but his phone crapped out. Oh well, he will call tomorrow before the partay.

The boys had the same kind of day they've been having. Dressed, school, home, lunch, nap for B, yadda yadda.

B fell asleep tonight at 730 on my lap. So hopefully he sleeps all night. If not, grrrr. Anyways, tonight I cleaned. Swept, vacuumed, dusted, ran dishes, loaded dishes...house is CLEAN.

Watched a little TV tonight, and now its time for bed.

Tomorrow......PARTAY....bowling style.

10 + 10 + 3

2007-11-08T18:31:00.000-08:00

It's Thursday night now. Two kids are asleep, and one is about to be tucked in. Today I went to the PO and then to Starbucks for my hot chocolate. While there I also picked up a tasty morsel called a Caramel Praline Muffin. This would put anything Paula Deen makes to shame. It was so sugary sweet, just "delightful", sinful is more like it. YUM. Anyways, I usually get my HC with no whip cream. WHY? Certainly not for dietary reasons. Nope, if you get whip cream they don't fill your cup all the way to the top, they leave room for the WC. However, if you don't get WC, they fill your cup all the way to the tip top of the cup. So more drink for my $$. I digress, so the guy hands me my cup and was all "Oh crap, I used whip cream." So i told the guy, no big deal. As i walked away i heard him say to me "Well, enjoy your calories." Seriously....WHAT? Obviously he didn't see my tasty morsel in my brown paper bag either. But I do believe I will be going back tomorrow......to enjoy some more calories. Thank you very much.

As for the kiddos......SS DD. Up, school, home, lunch, NO NAP today, play, outside time, photo shoot with B, E come home, dinner, bath, BED.

Tomorrow is E's birthday.....

Tag zwei und Zwanzig

2007-11-08T07:16:00.000-08:00

Wednesday! a whole lot of yadda yadda and blah blah blah going on :) It didn't really differ from any of the other days. Besides it being a bit nippy, it was a day like any other. Get up, get dressed, get kids dressed. Send E and A off to school....yup bad mom in the COLD they walked. Clean the house, went to the bank, went to the park with B, picked A up. Lunch, nap, some quiet time, JOE called (high light of the day), E came home. She went to a friends house, then dinner, baths, and BED. No TV on Wednesday's. I chit chatted with some friends, and then went to bed. Nothing too exciting.

Day 21

2007-11-07T05:06:00.000-08:00

Tuesday :) It's a good day. It's TV night. Anyways, it starts off as an early morning again. Kids are up by 630, and are ready to go by 7. I take the kids, then go back home. Clean up, do some menial tasks around the house. Go pick the boys up, then head to the grocery store. Come home, lunch, then B takes a nap...for a LONG time. A is playing his new game he got for his b-day. E comes home and goes to a friends house. When she gets home, we do dinner, baths, and then BEDTIME. I had the boys IN bed at 7:15pm. I sit down to watch Biggest Loser...by the time its over the boys are still awake. Then I begin to watch House, and I think one boy is asleep. I go tuck E in. And finally the other boy is asleep. I then get to watch Law & Order :SVU. It's a good night when I get to watch 3 shows. Again, I get to bed before midnight. woot.