A Special Message for Kevin

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEVIN!!!!!!!!

May the coming year bring you as much joy as you bring to everyone around you!

May you have all the luck in the world, May each day be filled with laughter, May you sing loud and off key in many parking lots, May you never be banned from any stores, May you enjoy each day to the fullest!!!!!!!!!

Why oh Why!!!!!

Why won't Larry Lepard friend me? Do I offend? I refuse to friend him. This has become my obsession. Is he still recovering from having me as a homeroom student in seventh grade?
Larry, why????

Frustration Overload....

So I am unsure of what I need to do next.
I am struggling with my courses, I can't learn Microsoft Office to save my life - and right now my studying isn't paying the bills. I apply for every job that I am qualified for, and even a few I'm not, and don't get any responses. 11 years of being a stay at home mom does not do much to make me marketable.
We are barely scraping by on Sean's income and I really need to add to it. There are a lot of extra expenses that will be coming up (Orthodontist & dental bills for one!)

Does anyone have any ideas of what I can do? I feel so useless right now. How can I make myself more attractive to potential employers??? How can I get a job!!!!!!!!!

Love and Sex.....

....is the title of a great movie Sean and I saw the other night on the Indie Film Channel. It was an unexpected treat that had us laughing and me crying - although that could have been partly to blame on PMS. Don't let the title fool you, it was not a "dirty" movie at all. It was about relationships and love. If you get an opportunity to watch it, definately do.

"When her rather explicit copy is rejected, magazine journalist Kate is asked by her editor to come up with an article on loving relationships instead, and to do so by the end of the day. This gets Kate thinking back over her own various experiences, and to wondering if she is in much of a position to write on the subject. "

I must be maturing...

I picked up the triplets from school yesterday because Luke had a doctor's appt. He was fine when I sent him to school, when I picked him up he looked so droopy. Turns out he had a 102.7 fever. He was on an antibiotic that stays in your system for 10 days and Sunday was day 10. So the dr. gave him another course to see if they could knock it out of him! Poor guy. So he is home today. Anyways, the doctor's office was packed! There were no parking spots so we had to park in the next lot and hike over. I checked in at the desk and took the kids and myself potty. We walked back to the waiting room through all the people and Johnny asks me "Mommy, why do you have toilet paper stuck to your shoe?" I had at least a foot and a half trailing behind me. I reached down, ripped it off, balled it up and put it in my purse. (no trashcan nearby.) In the past I would have been mortified. Okay, in the past I was mortified when this happened) but yesterday it really didn't bother me. It was no biggie. I am growing up! It's about time!!

Photo Phun

Hey Crystal.........

The first song on my playlist is for you! It's thie first of his I ever heard and I loved it! Of course it doesn't have a great message like Kiss me through the phone!!!!!! Hope Daws is feeling better!

Loose Tooth-eses

We have big news at our house! Luke and Jonathan have loose teeth! Luke has 2 and Johnny has 1. They have spent the last 10 minutes wiggling each others teeth. Caitlin felt left out for a minute, but then discovered other fun things to amuse herself. Hopefully the tooth fairy will not be coming too soon, I am not ready to say goodbye to baby teeth yet.
I hope that you all have a nice weekend. I will probably be posting again as I have no life! :)

Dentalists....

Today two of the four saw the dentist - or dentalist as Jonathan calls him. Caitlin did super and got to choose several toys. Luke showed up for his appointment so he chose a toy. In the time it took for Caitlin to get xrays, flouride, her teeth counted and cleaned and checked by the dentst, Luke had his teeth counted. He refused to let them do anything else. They didn't force it because they don't want him to be afraid of them. Last time he cooperated and enjoyed himself. I hope that next time he will behave. The next 2 go in April.
I am borrowing my mom's jeep for the next couple of days. I don't know why she broke down and offered it to me, but I am thankful. I have been trying to manage with an extended cab truck with an eight foot bed. I am not that great at manuverability, but the exercise I get from having to park at the end of the parking lots has been good.
I am suffering from a bout of emotional eating and feel as if my weight is getting out of hand again. I think winter blahs has a lot to do with it. It is not helping my self esteem when my pants are snug. I am working hard to get the motivation back to eating well and daily exercising. I did really well for awhile, but seem to have fallen off the wagon. Stress is no fun.
Sean has to work at least 10 hours this Sunday. The overtime will be wonderful, but I will miss him! I have to go to a baby shower for my niece. I dread going. This will be her second child by a different guy. She might be 21 now, but I am not sure. This will be my 6th great niece/nephew. None of them are married and it is just sad. I feel bad for the babies - and for them.
I found out that 2 of my nephews are getting married next year. They are the 2 in the military. My nephew Cory was on duty at the inauguration of Obama and Mike is in Afghanistan.
Well I need to get cleaning done and some laundry. I hope that you all have a good night!

My dream is to someday be the Incredible Hulk....

but I think I look more Jolly Green Giant.

Today is such a dreary day. They are calling for 1-2 " of snow tonight. The kids will be happy.

Things here are going along well. The kids are crazy as always. We have once again entered the stage where nudity is preferred over clothing. It's mainly my 2 youngest boys. Caitlin is happiest in her Cinderella dress and pink bathrobe. Gabe is just annoyed by everyone and everything.

Tonight is LOGOS, so I need to figure out how to get to the church and then bring home the 4 kids as I have no vehicle. Sean and I are not sure what we should do. I am still unable to find a job, I keep looking, and a car payment is a scary thought. We also have to pay the orthodontist next month and then go on a payment plan with him for Gabe's teeth. Argh! It never ends!

I know that God is in control and things will work out. It is just hard to wait for God's time when I want it done now!

I am amazed at how fast my kids are growing. Gabe is in high water pants lately because he hit a growth spurt again. Caitlin is rarely in shirts that meet her pants as she has become very long in the torso, Luke has been growing out more than up, and Johnny is just so solid. They are going through pants and shoes faster than I can keep up!

Change is just everywhere! I guess it is inevitable, as much as I want it to stay the same sometimes.

I have been feeling lonely lately. I think a lot of it is hormones and winter blahs. I am teary a lot and can't really say why. I hate feeling sad so much! I hope that when the warmer weather comes the better moods come.

Boy, this is such an uplifting post!

I hope you all have a good day. Thanks for listening.

Happy Birthday to the man I love more than Alan Alda!

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope you all had a good Valentine's Day. We awoke to snow flurries today. Brrrr... At least it wasn't awakening to snow being dumped on us.

I had an eventful night last night. I ended up calling the pediatrician because Luke just couldn't keep any fluids down. He had only managed about a 1/4 cup of liquids all day and nothing would keep. So I ended up taking him to the ER. Sean was working so I had no car, so thankfully my mom came to stay with the other 3 while we went and I drove her van. We got right in to see someone. They did a few tests and xrays. Luke is still struggling with the nasty virus going around and has now developed pnemonia. They started him right away on medicine to settle his stomach and antibiotics and got him to drink and keep down 4 ounces of Gatorade. He has lost 5 pounds since Wednesday.

It is now Sunday and while Luke sounds horrible, he is eating and drinking and it is staying down. It's not a lot, but enough to keep him hydrated. Jonathan has the hacking cough and threw up several times again last night, but is hyper today. I am glad tomorrow is a no school day.

Oh, when we were in the ER, we were recognized as the snake people. I had several ask me about the incident. I thought that would have been forgotten news. Mr. G's prank phone calls have cut down as well. I had a call Friday checking our wild animal inventory from him! He is a card.

I am determined to get all my laundry done and our bedroom cleaned today. I have bought Lysol wipes to go over all surfaces that are commonly touched so I can get germs out of here. I hope to have a spotless house by the end of the day!

If the kids are all healthy this week I plan on spending time with Victoria, helping get things ready for the baby and doing whatever she needs me too! It won't be long before her little girl will be joining us, it will be exciting to meet the new baby.

Gabe had his last Basketball game yesterday. He came home with an engraved trophy, medal, certificate and a basketball. He was really excited. They also had a pizza party to celebrate the season. I think we are done until baseball starts, but I can't remember. Since we finally have a rec membership we are going to take the kids swimming and to open gym. They are looking forward to it.

Sean is at the white house (not Obama's) and ripping up the rest of the flooring and taking down the ceiling fans. We are done with the house then. I am relieved!

I am off to my cleaning! Have a good Sunday.

For all you Harry Potter Fans......and Lura

Please Pray for my kids

Luke is now running 104-105.3 The pediatrician has increased his motrin and wants us to call if no change. Gabe is at 102.6 and feeling lousy. I can't get either boy to sleep - I guess it is good they are being active. It is just so scary to have such high numbers on the thermometer.

Fun Fun Fever Update...

Gabe was 102.6 at last reading, Luke came home from school today with a 103.6 temp. So far the other 2 are doing fine....... :{

Looking at the World Through Pink Colored Eyeballs

Hey ya... (read like the guy sings on Carrie's blog)
As you can probably guess from the title, I have pink eyeball. Only one so far. I woke up with it this morning. I guess it's my gift from my runny nosed kids! I will survive :)
Sean and I have been busy emptying the last of the stuff from the white house. We finished clearing out the garage this morning. Basically all that is left is the ceiling fans and the flooring which Sean will get tomorrow. I told him that while I am sad because it is the first house we bought, etc. I think I am more relieved that this will finally be done. They tagged the house last week, so they are going to be padlocking it up soon. I guess it was because it was vacant. I am so ready to close that chapter on our lives! It is a mess inside because the radiators all burst. No heat, No electricity, Cold Weather apparantly = burst radiators! The dining room ceiling is sagging now really bad because of the leaking. There was no way to drain them and it was something nobody even thought about happening.
We went grocery shopping and it was very uneventful. No singing or walking like my thighs were glued together this time.
Oh no, the phone just rang and it was Gabe's school. He is in the office with a fever of 101. Poor guy! Sean just left to pick him up. I need to go and get his bed ready.
Have a good day!

Victoria's Shower

This onesie made us all think of Crystal! We decided that we all need shirts like this. How depressing! Getting older isn't all fun!

This is the gorgeous quilt that Victoria made for the new baby. I wish I had a close up so you could see all the work that went into it. It is beautiful! I have 4 for my kids all different, so I will have to post a picture.

Here is the glowing mom to be! Look at that belly!!! sorry victoria.

Lura, Kellie, Victoria and 1/4 of Amanda. I was taking the picture and apparantly I didn't feel the need to be in it, but these 3 beauties are!

Yesterday was Victoria's shower for her fourth and final baby. She is finally having a girl!!! Vic has 5 year old twin boys and a 3 year old son. It was a fun time with grown-ups. We are all excited to welcome this new baby who is due on Vic's favorite day of the year, the Ides of March.

I feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends like these 3 women.

Woo-Hoo it's the Weekend!

I hope you all have a "spec"tacular weekend! Lots of Love!!!

Super "Special" Secret Agent

Caitlin and I looking extra special...

I think there is nothing more to add....

Don't you think that I would be a fantastic secret agent? These are the glasses from Gabe's spy gear set. Sean says I am a "Special" secret agent. Somehow I don't think that was meant as a compliment.

Just Stuff....

Caitlin is home from school today and does not want to be! Can you imagine a kid that would rather be in school than at home? She has had 102 degree temp since last night and a horrendous cough. This morning when I told her she was going to stay home she said "Wait, I have an idea!" then ran to the bathroom. She walked back in with her hair plastered to her forehead and said "Feel me, I don't feel warm anymore." The little angel had taken cold water and put it all over her head to cool it down. She was desperate! So needless to say, she is not enjoying her day off. I hope that maybe she will nap and wake up in a better mood. I didn't realize until I was chatting with Crys last night that Cinci was having a huge storm. I hope that you are all okay and enjoying the white stuff! We ended up getting about an inch overnight. Sean and I went grocery shopping together on Monday. It is always an experience. It is a bit embarrassing to walk through Wal Mart with a husband who is singing Sunrise, Sunset from Fiddler on the Roof? And no, he doesn't know more than 12 of the words! We ran into Victoria and Andrew and she said she never heard him. I trust her to tell the truth!!! I guess Sean felt I deserved it after I pushed the cart showing him how I would walk if my thighs were glued together or if one leg was shorter than the other. Don't worry, I made sure there were no other shoppers around. For a Monday it wasn't very busy. I don't think we will ever grow up! I have heard many people say they hate shopping with their husbands, personally I love it! We always have a good time. Sean is not afraid to hold my purse or push a cart full of tampons and queen sized pantyhose. I am a lucky woman. He is pretty neat-o. My sister in law made me fat free lemon bars that were amazing. And they are 2 ingredients! A box of angel food cake and a can of lemon pie filling. You mix it until well combined with an electric mixer and bake in a 9 x 13 pan until brown at 350 degrees. Make sure they are completely cooled before you eat them. We tried it last night with Angel food cake mix and cherry pie filling. They are to die for! and FAT FREE! Just make sure they are completely cooled or they don't taste as good. Sean's dad has agreed to cosign for a loan so we can get a new to us vehicle. The van is a goner - it would cost more for us to fix it than the van is worth. I am scared to death about how we will pay for it, but God will provide as He always does. I just need to remember that. Due to the bankruptcy we cannot get a decent loan without a cosigner, so we are thankful that his dad will help us. Is anyone else watching The Biggest Loser? I wanted to reach through the television and smack Joelle last night. I swear she was off in her own little world the whole time. Last week I felt sorry for her, this week not so much. I find that show to be motivating. I also loved Diet Tribe. Did anyone else watch that one? This Saturday is Vic's baby shower and it should be a fun time with grown ups. I am looking forward to it, especially knowing that we won't have to guess the candy bar in the diaper. (we won't, right?) Hopefully we will get there as it is in the next town over and Kellie, Lura and I are carpooling. We are so enviornmentally aware. I am the navigator and Kellie is the driver so we may blindfold Lura with a scarf and play the scarf game. It has been years. I know Kellie would be all for it, how about you, Lura?! Well, I need to go and spend some time with the sickie and get Sean up. He fell asleep after the kids went to school and I figured he needed the extra bit. Have a glorious day~

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LURA!!!!!

Celebrating Lura's Birthday 13 years ago! I think this was in 1996. L-R is Lura, Amanda, Kellie, Rhonda and our waiter.

Orange you glad we are friends???

Your tongue must have been on the roof of your mouth....mine obviously wasn't!

You are always one to make a fashion statement! I think it worked!

Only a true friend would help you hide blemishes for a picture.

L loving friend

U usually has something brilliant to say

R rarely buys full price

A always willing to lend a hand

N never a dull moment when we're together

D doesn't think twice about beeping at strangers

A alumni of the NHS marching band

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LURA!!!

What?!?

I think my youngest child reverted back to being 2 this afternoon. When he got home from school he had his snack, played with Caitlin, colored all over a section of the living room wall in pencil and number 2-ed in his pants, in the bathroom, when I sent him to time out. What on earth is he doing?!! The only reason I knew he had had an accident was when Luke complained that something was really stinky. Jonathan had "cleaned himself up" which leads me to think that it truly was an accident and not him acting out. He doesn't have accidents! I wonder what happened? And why on earth would he color on the walls? ARGH!!!!
Motherhood is never dull, is it?

Christmas Eve with Sean's Family

My nephew Ryan. He has joined the lip piercing and tattoo ranks in the fam.

My father in law and crazy Ryan. They both make me laugh.

Rhonda's son Christian and Jonathan. They are cousins - we think they look a lot alike.

My neices Courtney and Allison with my sis-in-law Chrissy and of course Ryan in the back.

On the 24th of Dec. we managed to cram 23 people into our house for Sean's family's party. It was a smaller group than usual, but we had a good time. Gabe was on camera duty so my picture selection wasn't that great. I have 3 close up shots of Jonathan watching t.v. and various views of the trash can. He must have been going for some abstract artsy type of photos. We enjoy spending time with our families, there is always something interesting going on.

Now I get how Kellie felt driving her spytruck...

Sean pointing to the smoking engine. Unfortunately the wind shifted so the smoke switched direction.

This picture doesn't do it justice, but you get an idea.

On our way to WalMart this morning our van started smoking really bad. It was coming in the inside in yellowish,grayish smoke and surrounding the outside. We pulled into a parking lot (ironically a car dealership) and got out while smoke poured out. So there we are, standing in the lot with 2 crying kids, 1 waiting to see flames and me in my pajamas. Thank the Lord we can find humor in our life! After waiting for about 15 minutes the smoking stopped, we said a quick prayer and headed home. Thankfully the van lasted until we pulled in and then smoke poured out again. The pictures don't do it justice. It sure was a sight, and a smell!

So now we are waiting to see what happens. It has been about a half hour and the smoke has died down some. Maybe this is God's way of telling us we should not skip church!

Hope you all have a great day!