I'm still here. It's been crazy but I am still alive and well.

I remember when my kids were little, I kept getting the advice "Oh it will get easier when the kids get older". Let me go on the record as saying "THEY WERE WRONG". Not that my kids aren't easy, I have been blessed with great kids. But they just keep me running. We finally were able to get Greg a car. Actually, we got him a pick up. It was one of "yard trucks" from Steve's work so we got a FANTASTIC deal. Greg is on cloud 9. He's been out whenever he can washing, cleaning and just admiring it. We finally got the paperwork and title yesterday but today the DMV was closed. So, hopefully tomorrow we will have it in our name with our tags. In the meantime, Greg is still admiring his pick up sitting in the garage. One of the requirements though is that he has to drive Emily to and from school. What a HUGE weight this will be lifted off of me. As sad as I am that he will be a driver in Tampa, I'm thrilled that my running will be less. Plus, he will now be able to drive himself to and from work. Oh happy day!

Seaking of Greg, he got accepted into his first college. He got into the University of Florida. He is still waiting to hear from The University of Tampa and St. Leo's. He also has to finish his application to Florida State University. I can't believe his time in high school is coming to an end. Just yesterday we ordered his cap and cown and graduation announcements.

Hard to believe that almost 17 years ago he was my little guy. He was such a cute baby. Time sure has flown by. I guess I should talk about the other kids too. Elizabeth is doing well up at the University of Florida. She is busy with all her classes and best of all she's getting published. I know she writes articles for the school newspaper and is doing some other things too. Right now they are not paid but she does have a few internships lined up in the future. I spent last Sunday hanging out with her in Gainesville. We had fun. It's been awhile since we've just had a "girls day out". Emily is keeping busy. She is so opposite Liz. I love this girl but she comes with the drama. Wow. She finally got her leaner's permit. She's also going to try out for Tennis. Keep in mind that she's never played Tennis before. I haven't seen her this excited about something in quite awhile. I hope she sticks with it. I played tennis in high school so I told her I will go up and play and teach her the basics. It will be great exercise for me as well. Mark is doing very good in school. He is working hard and is showing improvement in many areas. I just shake that feeling though that had he had the IEP sooner, would he be where he is today. Can't look back though. Can only look to the future. I know he can do it.

That's about all we've been up to. Getting ready for the holidays. Can't believe they are upon us already.

Well, I am going to wrap this up. I could go on and on. I hope I can do a better job of keeping this blog updated than I have been.

Oh one more thing....................thank you to all our soldiers, past and present, who served or are serving our country. I'm so proud to be an American!

HAPPY VETERAN'S DAY.

I'm still here..........just been super de duper busy. I've actually tried several times to update this blog and it wouldn't cooperate. This is attempt #2 on this post.

Everyone is settled back into a school routine. I can't believe that I took my last "first day of school" picture of Greg. How can it be that he is a senior???? Time flies.

I went to another scrapbook crop. I had a blast. Eventually I'll post some pictures. I'm just on a roll. I'm actually getting a lot done. I have years worth of photos to catch up on but I will eventually get there.

Hard to believe that it's fall already. You would never know it here. It's hot hot hot! We are still in the 90s. There's a chance that the temps will drop into the high 80s next week. They call that a "cold front". Throw in the high humidity temps we've been having and it's just down right miserable. I think it's a great time to stay indoors and scrapbook!

Well, time to get something done. Before I know it, it will be time to start rounding up the troops. Today is orthodontist appointment, tutoring, and all the fun stuff. Not to mention that Steve is out of town until Friday night.

Happy Hump Day!

Well look what's out there in the tropics. Am I worried? Not yet. But I will keep my eye on it. The weathermen LOVE this stuff. They tend to make such a BIG deal out of it. Am I prepared? Nope. It was 5 years ago this week that Florida got hammered by back to back to back to back hurricanes. That was the most stress I had ever been through. We were ready. Tampa was in line to take a direct hit but then Charlie turned at the last minute and hit Punta Gorda. We didn't even get a rain drop. We drove through Punta Gorta several weeks ago and you would never know that it had been hit....and bad! I was so impressed by how well they picked themselves up and rebuilt that town. I hope no one ever has to go through that again. Of course, I'm sure the weather will turn nasty just in time for the kids to go back to school.

Speaking of school, it starts in less than two weeks. I have ordered Greg's senior pictures. He got one college application submitted. So far he has applied to the University of South Florida. It's just about 15 minutes down the road. That would be ideal. Still not sure if he will live on campus or not but we don't have to decide that right now. He still has a few other colleges to apply for. My only "dilemna" with USF is that they are in the division as my alma mater...The University of Cincinnati. Who to root for?

Liz left and went back to Gainesville. It's kind of quiet without her. Steve and the boys take the rest of her stuff up to her on Sunday. Emily and I are going to stay behind and shop.

I'm really looking forward to having the house back to myself. I plan on going through ever closet, nook and cranny and start pitching stuff. It's time. We have way too much stuff. I'm finally okay letting stuff go. It will be hard but it has just taken over the house. I'm making the kids pitch stuff too. I told them I have it easy this year buying school clothes. They have so many and they don't want to part with any so I told them that in order to get some new stuff, the old stuff had to go. Yesterday, I reorganized a few kitchen drawers. I was able to get rid of a few old dish towels and pot holders. I actually have room in drawers now. It's such a great feeling.

Well, time to get off here. I have to run to the elementary school and pick up a few of Mark's uniforms. Again, I'm replacing a few and at the same time getting rid of some. It's a great feeling seeing those trash bags full and ready for donation!

Have a great Thursday.

School starts three weeks from today. I have mixed emotions. I will have a quiet house to myself but at the same time, I've enjoyed sleeping in somewhat. Plus, legion ball just ended on Sunday so my summer of run, run, run, just ended and I have somewhat of a break. Liz goes back to Gainesville this Sunday. Again, I have mixed emotions. It's been nice having her home but at the same time, it's been an adjustment. She had spent the last 9 months living on her home and doing her own thing. We clashed but we also had fun. We will miss her when she's gone. She's wrapping up her job at Adventure Island. Boy did she get tan working out in the sun. She doesn't look like the rest of us anymore. lol.

As we get closer to school, I'm starting to stress out about Mark. I dread the learning struggles. In my quest to find out why he struggles, I decided to take him to get his first "real" eye exam. He's always passed his check ups at the pediatrician and school tests. But, I figured what did I have to lose (except the money to cover the cost of the visit). It was the best thing I could do. He is not only far sited but near sited. Today he is sporting a new pair of eye glasses. He is so excited. So, here's the before:

and here's the after:

I hope this can help him and can help solve the the learning difficulties. I hope 4th grade is the year that things turn around. Plus, we start school off with the IEP which is now in place. There is nothing worse than seeing one of your kids struggle. I hope this helps ease the frustration and stress. I guess time will tell.

I'm still continuing my workouts. I feel so good after doing them. Even if the weight doesn't fall off overnight, I still good that I am taking the time to focus on myself. When the temps cool down, I plan on trying to run. I used to run track in high school but that was many, many years ago. I at least owe to myself to try.

Well, time to log off this computer and get something accomplished. I've decided to tackle my scrapbook room and reorganize and move some stuff around. It's nice that I can start something now and not have to stop and go pick up a kid or something.

Have a great Tuesday!

I'm back...........Took some time off of blogging because suddenly everything was happening all at once. Things are finally slowing down and are somewhat back to normal. Took a few days off and went here:

Greg had a baseball game down in the keys so we decided to turn it into a vacation. Liz wasn't able to join us since she had to work. So she also got a nice vacation....the house to herself. This was the view from our balcony at the Marriott. It was beautiful. We had a spiral staircase that took us right down to the sand.

We walked around the keys and found this cool spot. Man was it hot!

Then we stopped and had lunch, here. This was Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville Cafe. It was my favorite restaurant on the whole island. The Margarita's were awesome. You could even get it in a "to go" cup to take with you while you walked around. We also watched some baseball, went to a pirate museum, walked some more, shopped and sweated. I didn't think it was possible to get any hotter in Florida. After two nights in the Marriott, we checked into the Comfort Inn where the baseball team was staying. It was a D U M P. It was horrible. We ended up calling the Marriott back to see if we could get back in there but it was full until Sunday. So, on Sunday, we checked back into the Marriott. It was like night and day. If you ever go to the Keys, DO NOT stay in the Comfort Inn. I had never been to the Keys and I am glad we went. Not sure that I would rush back, but overall it was fun. I was glad to be home and sleeping in my own bed.

Getting ready to go back to school soon. This summer has just flown by. I have mixed emotions about going back to school. Liz leaves in two weeks to head back up to Gainesville. We spent this morning at the eye doctors getting her annual check up and getting new contacts. I also scheduled Mark for his first eye exam. I am hoping that this is our last week of baseball so we can at least have a few weeks off of that crazy schedule.

Did you see the finale of the Bachelorette? I think she made a good choice. Ed was one of my favorites. I've decided to lay off the reality shows for awhile and do more scrapping and reading. When we were down in the Keys, I was watching and HBO show called True Blood. We dont' have HBO so I had never seen it before. The girls loved the books and now are encouraging me to read the series. So , as soon as I finish the Twilight Series, I am going to read that one. I want to spend less time in front of the TV. I figured now is a good time as any since a new TV season is starting. I am NOT going to get all caught up in it.

Well, not much else is going on. I have a bunch of pictures to get developed. Maybe that will be my motivation to do some serious scrapping!

Happy Hump Day!

BACHELORETTE SPOILER

If you haven't had a chance to watch tonight's episode, you may want to come back and read my blog tomorrow. I'm going to spoil it for you..........................








FINALLY..........................Why she kept that "jerk" around as long as she did was beyond me. He's a first class JERK. And watching his interview in the car made me want to throw up. ACK. But for "the record" I WILL NOT be purchasing anything recorded by Wes. I hope no one else does either. BUH BYE Wes.............Good riddance.


Now, for my favorites..............I just love Ed and Reid. I think I am leaning more to Ed though. There's just something about Ed. I'm glad he came back. I was so sad when he left.

But, if I had to choose the one bachelor overall that I really thought was perfect for Jillian it was Jake. He was perfect. I think she will regret letting him go. Who knows, maybe he will be the next bachelor???? Although, I have this feeling that Jillian won't end up with any of them. She seems somewhat "disconnected" from them. At least she saw through "Creepy Foot Guy". Now that was a strange man!!!!


Okay, enough rambling about a reality show. I really need to get a life. I just can't help myself. They are addicting. Big Brother starts soon. Woo Hoo!!!!



Not much going on here. We booked our "mini vacation" for the end of the month. Greg has a baseball tournament in the Keys at the end of the month. So we decided to spend a few extra days down there. We've lived here in Florida for 6 years and we've never been there. I'm excited. The only thing I have to do now is get over my fear of going over the long bridges. I haven't even gone over the Sunshine Skyway since we've lived here. I remember when the barge hit it back in the early 80's. We came down on vacation not long after that and I remember my dad driving us over the bridge to see the damage. It freaked me out! I will always have that image of half of the bridge gone stuck in my head. When Liz was a baby, we came down here on vacation and we HAD to drive over the bridge. It definately wasn't what I remembered but I've never driven over it since. At least I have a few weeks to prepare myself.

I was in Target the other day, and they are already putting out the school supplies. Say it ain't so! I'm not even ready to start thinking about going back to school. I'm enjoying being lazy. Mark is still tutoring but he is doing well. I can't believe he will be going into the 4th grade! Where has the time gone??????



Well, time to wrap it up here and get ready to climb into bed.

I was one of those people who had to watch last night's "big announcement". I was flipping between that show and the Bachelorette. I was not surprised at all by the show. I was extremely sad. They went from being a "normal" family to................not sure what the name I am thinking of. Fame definately got to them. I have watched the show since the beginning. I used to be so impressed with Kate and how she stuck to a budget, kept the house clean and took care of 8 kids. As the show went on, I saw Kate change the most. I have always thought she talked down to Jon and treated him as one of the kids. I hated how she would tell the kids that "you don't have to listen to daddy". That drove me NUTS. I felt sorry for Jon. He definately pulled his weight. He does more than my hubby has ever done. And how about how Kate treated her family? Her brother and his wife really were there for Kate. But when she didn't need them anymore, she just shunned them. And whatever happened to her BFF Beth? Beth did alot for them. She wasn't even at the birthday party. I thought it was strange that no one was at the party except for Karla--who has folded her laundry through the years. I also couldn't stand how the show became all about how they got all this stuff. I'm sure it was all free. The motorcyles, the playhouses, cooking with Emeril, etc. What happened to their Friday night family movie night? Remember when Kate always had her camera in her hand? I have seen her even bother taking pictures. I guess she has a "personal photographer" for that now. Well, I hope that they can find peace. Especially for those kids. I hope Jon can go back to work like he wants and I hope Kate realizes that Jon wasn't all that bad. I didn't feel sorry for her at all last night. She definately played the "poor me" card. I have to do it all by myself. blah blah blah.

Anyway, the other show I am hooked on is the Bachelorette. What is she thinking? She has made some poor choices. I will save that for another post though.

Have a great Tuesday!

EDITED: I was just reading our newspaper and it says that according to divorce papers filed by Kate, they have lived apart for TWO years. So why buy a million dollar home and go through the farce of renewing their vows last year. What a bunch of phonies! Reality show? I think not.