Well, going to try this again. Spent yesterday morning updating my blog-FINALLY- and I got an error when I went to try and save it. So here goes again...............

Hard to believe that tomorrow is Halloween. The time has just flown by! Kids have been super busy at school and their extra-curriculars. Greg finished his baseball season over the weekend with yet another loss. This was a brutal season. I felt bad that they lost so many games. Now he is conditioning 3 days a week and practicing one day until Spring tryouts in February.

Elizabeth attended her Homecoming with her friends. She looked absolutely beautiful. (Still can't figure out why when I upload a picture, it goes to the top.) She looked beautiful in blue. I think this was my favorite Homecoming dress she has worn so far. Her first year she wore black, last year she wore brown.

Emily received her black belt!!!! I have a 12 year old black belt. The ceremony was awesome. She got called up to break a concrete block. You should have seen the look of sheer panic on her face. She has broken boards before but never a block. It was awesome. She broke it on the first try. (okay tried twice to upload a picture of her at the ceremony but it say's "photo uploaded" but I don't see a picture. Will try later.

Mark is still Mark. Plugging (and struggling) away at school. None of my kids have ever struggled academically before so I don't know how to help him. His teacher is "supposed" to help locate a tutor. She doesn't recommend that we take him to Sylvan, Hunnington or Kumon yet. Unfortunately, the schools made all these cuts and there are limited teacher's aids. She said she is not giving up and is going to keep looking. This is just a horrible situation. Florida is supposed to be all about education but they cut the staff to the minimum and give teh superintendant a $21,000 per year raise. Guess I just don't understand priorities. I guess when it comes time for him to have to take and FCAT, the school will kick it in gear for him.

Had a girls day out yesterday and sent to the LSS. It's an awesome store and I dropped $127. (It's a great store called Ruban Rouge. I tried to insert the link to their website but it didn't work. But you can check it out at RubanRouge.com) Sshhhh. We won't tell hubby. It was a much needed and deserved day out. I spent a lot of money getting paper and cardstock. I have 3 Xmas projects in the works. I also picked up a 7 Gypsies book that I want to alter. I have caught the altering bug. I am really into doing stuff for the house. There is this gal on the scrapbook boards (hey Jennifer) who has done some really fantastic stuff altering items and I am hooked. Wish I lived in Texas because I would definately attend the classes she is teaching.

Well, got one more kid to get out the door to school and then I am headed off to Curves. I really need to start working out again before "I blow". I know my BP is back up. I need to call Dr. and have my bloodwork done. I have been really bad about taking my meds and staying on track. After that, I am going to get cleaned up and go get a pedicure and pick up some flowers from Home Depot. Sounds pretty funny buying flowers in late October. The joys of living in Florida!

I just spent 45 minutes typing and updating my blog. As I was saving it, I got some kind of "error" message. So, I am typing this quick little note here to see if it was a fluke or if something is indeed wrong. Considering I don't know how to "fix" it, this may be my last blog entry.

I know it's been a long time but I have been extremely busy. Juggling two baseball teams is extremely time consuming and exhausting. The good news is that Greg's season is finally over. I felt so bad for that team because they were so bad. Not all their fault though. We had a coach who was constantly cancelling practices. The first half of the season, they got rained out. Then I think the coach just "gave up". So, Greg will continue to condition threee days a week and practice one. This will go on until Spring ball.

Elizabeth had homecoming last week. She went with a few of her friends. They all look gorgeous. One of her frients wore a dress by Reba McIntyre. I didn't even know she had a line of clothes but wow it was georgeous. It was oranges and browns. Not something you would expect someone to wear to a homecoming but it was so pretty. Her attitude is that she can wear it again and just "dress it up" or "dress it down" with different jewelry and clothing. Another mom and I took the girls to Bennigan's for dinner and they actually had several people stop by and compliment how nice they looked. Here's a picture of Liz. She has worn black and brown so she wanted blue this year. Times have sure changed since I went to Homecoming. My mom would not have let me wear a dress like that. Our Homecoming's were never that "formal".

Emily got her black belt! Yep. I have a 12 year old black belt. The ceremony was so cool. They called her up to break a brick. The sheer look of panic on her face was priceless. She has broken boards but never concrete. So, after getting a quick "pep talk" by her instructor, she did it. It was so cool.

Pardon the way the pictures are posted. I upload a picture and it puts them at the top of the blog. I don't know what I am doing wrong. At least you get the idea of the pictures anyway. This is why I guess I got so lazy with the blog is because "just don't get it". I don't even bother trying to post through AOL. So, I got through Internet Explorer and it seems to work.

Hard to believe October is almost over. Less than a month until Thanksgiving and then it's Christmas! WOW. I do love going to the stores and see the Christmas decorations. I also miss the snow and cold this time of year. So, at least going into the stores, it somewhat feels like the holidays.

Today I am off to have a "mom's day out". Steve has been working ridiculously long hours. I get so mad at him because he has always put his job first. I keep reminding him that Elizabeth will be going off to college in less than two years. He never used to be like this. He never would miss games, conferences, chorus concerts, etc. Now he doesn't even try. I feel like a single mom. I have the utmost respect for them. It's hard doing it yourself. I am lucky that the older kids are old enough to help out. I don't know what I would do without them. So, today my friend, Kate, and I are going to the most awesome Scrapbook Store. It's about an hour away but I deserve a day off. I have a list for Steve and all the places the kids have to be. He can handle it, at least I hope he can. But, I don't care if he can't. I need a day off! I am even leaving him in charge of dinner.

Well, it's almost 9:30. Guess I should get my day started. It's going to be a fun one!