Feeling Creative

I've been trying to get my creativity and scrapbooking mojo back. The other night, I shut myself into my scrapbook room and put these little composition notebooks together. They are the little mini notebooks. I made one for my niece, Avery, who is seven and for my niece, Lyric, who is 10. I'm trying to use up "my stash" of stuff. The sassy notebook I just put together and will probably give it to one of my girls to give as a Xmas gift. My favorite colors together are hot pink and orange. So, I really had a blast creating these. The circles and rub ons are Heidi Swapp. I love her "bling". I went back to Wally world today and of course I can't find the mini composition notebooks. I also checked Walgreens and Target. No luck. So I have a few big composition notebooks I can alter too. I finally broke out my crop-o-dile and used it to set the eyelets. I bought the girls lipgloss too and will put them in a caboodle box that I got from Target. To finish it off, I will put in a glitter, gel pen. I'm so pleased with how they turned out.


It finally cooled down here in the Sunshine state. I finally got to turn off the A/C. I'm kind of jealous of all the snow that the north and midwest got. I really miss a good snowstorm--that's only if I don't have to shovel it or drive in it, of course.


Christmas decorations and shopping are coming along. We still don't have the outside lights out. I gave hubby until this weekend to put them up or don't bother. By the time he gets home at night it's dark and he worked last Saturday and then on Sunday he took the girls to the Nutcracker. This upcoming weekend is our only weekend off. The following weekend we go see the Rockettes---love them. I highly recommend the show. We saw them several years ago. They are awesome.


Well, time to start rounding the kids up. Only two more to have to pick up then I can "jamify" and go back to "being creative".

TGIF

Finally. I have been waiting for this day since Monday! It's so hard to believe that today is the last day of November already. Where did the month go?

My plan today is to get my butt in gear and get the Xmas decorations out. I still have the Thanksgiving ones on my porch. Oops. We finished painting the living room and patching the windows. I remember when we bought this house thinking how exciting it is to own a new home (this one was built in 1999). We are the second owners. Having a newer home isn't at all that great. Our first house was built in the 1950's and it was solid and sturdy. This one they must have slapped together. We've already replaced the A/C two years ago, the pool has been resurfaced, one of the bathrooms needed a complete shower remodel, and the windows are leaking (we have no idea why). Steve spent all last week, chiseling out the damage and redoing them. The he recaulked outside and inside. So, if this doesn't work, we give up. We are slowly prioritizing what we have to redo. Next on the agenda is to paint the exterior and new some new tile. I have a tile entry that has these fine hairline cracks. A few weeks ago, I was sitting here at my computer and I could hear them cracking. At first I was considering replacing the carpet with hardwood, but who knows what will be under the carpet when we pull it up. I may have to stick with carpeting and just have them focus on correcting the problem of why the tiles are cracking. They are also cracking in my kitchen and master bathroom. You can even hear the hollow spots under the tile.

Two weeks from today, we head off to our annual Very Merry Christmas party at Walt Disney World. Woo Hoo. I so need to get out of Tampa for the day. I just need a break. Unfortunately, we are only going for the party. The schools changed their schedule so the kids this year go all the way up to December 21. Last year they got out December 15. There was some big deal about "Christmas" and "Holiday" breaks with some groups so the district just did away with them. So, we are only going up Friday night and coming home on Saturday. The kids start their exams on Monday.

I've been slowly getting my Christmas shopping started. It's not so fun now that the kids are older. I miss buying them toys and clothes. I don't even attempt to buy them clothes. So, I've picked up a few things and they will just get gift cards. Elizabeth loves Starbucks so she will get one of those, Greg loves Moe's (it's a Mexcian restaurant and he and his friend always go there), and Emily will get a gift card to the movie theatre down the street. They'll still get other things too. I do still get to buy toys for Mark. He loves Spongebob so I have gotton him a few Spongebob items.

Well, off to get my day started. One more kid to get out the door. Have a great Friday.

Yeah. They won! I have been a avid Dancing With the Stars fan since the very first season. I love that show!!! I was so happy that they won last night. I would have been happy with Mel B. winning too but I think Helio was the man! He was so fun to watch and evolve each week. My problem now is whatever will I watch on Monday and Tuesday nights? I am anxiously awaiting the next season and to see who will be strapping on their dancing shoes.

Can I have a "do over" Monday? You would think after long holiday weekend, I would be up and ready to go. I just want today to be over!!!!

First, woke up this morning to the smoke alarm "chirping". It's never done that before (it's ADT). Recently Emily set it off cooking a grilled cheese. It definately works. They (ADT) even called to make sure everything was okay. Steve thought maybe the battery needed check so he got up on the ladder before work to check. It's hard wired. So, I call ADT. Ray tells me there is nothing wrong with our system and that we must have an "independant" smoke detector in the house that is sending a signal to the smoke detector that is beeping. After I thought about it, t there is no way we have an "independant' smoke dectector. I called back and Cathy walked me through checking the system. She recommended that I get up on a ladder and blow it out with the hair dryer. Sometimes, dust can do that. I did it and reset the alarm. After 20 minutes of peace and quiet, it starts chirping at me again. I called back time #3. This time, I get the "it's not our alarm. Our alarms don't chirp. " Now I am mad. Don't tell me that the alarm is not beeping. I am standing right undereath it! So, I got to Lowes (I had to pick up some stuff anyway). I thought maybe I will just get a can of air and blast the heck out of the thing before I rip it out. The beeping is getting on my last nerve. They are out of air. So, I tell the guy what's wrong and he asks me if I checked the battery. I tell him it's hard wired. He says all smoke detectors have a battery back up. So, I buy some batteries and come home. Get up on the ladder and son of a gun, there is a battery compartment. It's flush with the system. You really had to be looking for it to see it. So, I change the battery, problem solved. LESSON LEARNED: Even though the smoke detector is hard wired, there is a battery in there. I understand that now but why in the world did the ADT people not know that??????? I wasn't some dumb customer who didn't know what she was talking about. Don't tell me that it wasn't making a noise when I was standing under it and it was! Geesh.......

Fast forward to picking Mark up from school. He gets in the car and tells me that he got a "red" in his folder. Red is bad! Green is good. Yellow okay. I asked him why he got red? In his folder is a note from the teacher. I didn't initial his folder from last Tuesday. I did sign and return all the papers but I forgot to initial the folder. He also didn't bring his libary book back. He was using the library book for a book-it report which isn't due until Friday. We weren't done with the book. He also had a note to bring in the report. It clearly says due November 30. He also had a check for talking (which would have only put him on yellow). But since I forgot to initial his folder and he didn't bring a book in that he is still using he got a red. Do I get mad at him? After I spoke to him about talking, I decided to just let the red mark go. I volunteer in the classroom tomorrow morning so I will set it straight with his teacher. So, I just want to crawl into bed and start another day.

Older kids will be rolling in soon. ugh. Who knows what problems/dilemnas they will bring home. It's always something.

Well, off to enjoy the last few minutes of peace and quiet. Hope you all had a better Monday than me.

Happy Day after Thanksgiving! I wanted to post yesterday, but it got totally chaotic. We had a great day. It was just us this year. After dinner was over, we all sat and played two games of Disney trivia. I love that game. Even Mark can answer questions.


Today, I'm locking myself in my scrapbook room and cleaning and organizing it. I've decided to go back to my simple way of doing things. I was just getting so overwhelmed by all the layouts in the magazines with all their embellishments and lack of pictures, that I went into a slump. So, I'm going through all my stuff and keeping/organizing/pitching stuff I just won't use. I've participated in swaps over the years and just have stuff I won't use. I still love my brads and primas. I've recently fallen in love with buttons. I take alot of pictures so I was just stressing myself out when I would see one photo per page and sooooooooooo much other stuff. So, I am hoping to get some pages completed. What's the best part of it all? ABC Family is showing sappy Christmas movies all day. So, today there will be no cooking, cleaning, laundry, or driving kids around. I even joked that I'm not even putting make up on. That's a scary thought in itself but I am taking the day off.

Have a great Friday.

Childhood Memories

Joe Nuxhall

1928-2007

Do you have a childhood memory that will forever be "etched" in your mind? When I was growing up, my dad would listen to the Reds game on the radio. We weren't allowed to watch a lot of TV so the radio was on a lot. I remember being outside while my dad worked in the yard or on his car and he would listen to the Joe Nuxall and Marty Brenneman call the game. There was something special about this duo and their voices were so unique. Even while living here in Florida, we would listen to them on the satellite radio. If we are lucky enough to get a Reds game on TV, we will turn down the sound and listen to Marty and Joe. Everytime we go home to Cincy, we try to go to a game. We look for the broadcast booth so we can catch up glimse of them. Sadly Joe lost his battle with cancer last night. Joe would always end a broadcast with his famous quote "This is the old left-hander, rounding third and heading for home," Rest in peace, Joe. Thanks for the great memories.

TGIF---Yeah. It's been a very long (yet somewhat fast) week! Baseball is officially over. WOO HOO is all I have to say about that. Even though the weather has finally cooled down and making the games "pleasant", I was done. You can only watch so many baseball games. We have 2 months off and then we start back up in February--assuming Greg makes the team again. So, now he can focus on his school work and conditioning.


My to do list is actually pretty simple today. The grocery store, BJ's (for the best pumpkin pies) and Pier One. Then I need to tackle Mt. Washmore again. Everytime I get all caught up I keep telling myself that if I just do a load a day I can keep up with it. But for some reason, that isn't working for me. I'm always on the run.


One month from today we will be heading over to Walt Disney World for our annual Christmas at Disney celebration. We love it there. This may be our last year all together since Elizabeth will be off to college next year. Hopefully, it won't. She loves Disney. So, maybe she will surprise us and make it work. There is nothing more spectacular than seeing Disney World all decked out for Christmas. I need to start working on my Christmas cards. Jolene George you have inspired me with all your Christmas cards. They are beautiful.


It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is here! Where did the month of November go? It's just us this year. Usually my friend Patti comes down but it just didn't work out this year. Bummer. We'll miss you Patti, Krissy, Megan & Hayleigh. Maybe next year. I went ahead and bought a HUGE turkey this year. I decided I want leftovers this year. I'm going to try my luck with some kind of casserole or soup. Usually we have enough leftovers for another meal but I decided to try something new this year. So, if anyone has any leftover recipes they would like to share, please do. Put them on your blogs! Maybe we can get lots of good recipes. I don't know about anyone else, but I love reading blogs with recipes.


Well, time to get my Friday started. Before you know it, the kids will roll in and the "quiet" will be over. Happy Friday, everyone!

Interview Over

Well, Elizabeth's interview is a thing of the past! Cindi guessed the person after only two clues. In case you didn't read the comments, Elizabeth interviewed Jenna Bush. She woke up yesterday a bundle of nerves. She looked so "professional". She wore her black slacks, a new shirt (In my day, we called them blouses) and she swept her hair up. She wore her black heels. She looked so good! (I am biased though). First thing she did when she got home from school was loose the heels. She claimed her feet were killing her. The school campus is huge so she had to talk all over the place. She's a flip flop gal. She didn't take her camera. "Her photographer" from the newspaper got to go in with her and took all the pictures. He has promised us copies of all the pictures he took. Elizabeth said Jenna was super nice and made her so comfortable. She also met Jenna's friend who was the photographer for the book. Even she took pictures. Liz said she made such an impact on her with her work with UNICEF that somehow she wants to help. I'm so proud of her. I think this will be an experience that she will remember always.

It's finally Fall here in Florida. We are in the high 70's during the day and 50's at night. It's wonderful. My AC has been off for a week now. Yesterday, I treated myself (which I NEVER do) to a small shopping spree and got some warmer clothes. I got 2 pairs of jeans, 2 shirts and a new purse. I'm a purse junkie. I have more purses than I have jeans! Thank you Lisa. I blame her.

Thank goodness the weekend is finally here. Yeah. As of now, no baseball game tomorrow. That doesn't mean we won't get an email at 10 tonight but I sure am enjoying the fact that tomorrow is my "day off". Hopefully I can get Steve started on my "Honey Do" list. We still haven't finished painting. The living room and dining room need to be done. So, I told him that we won't be putting our Xmas tree up until it gets done. (It's been since January that we started this project). Since it's HIS family coming down for Xmas and not mine, maybe it will get done. He's been out of town the last couple of days so I am sure when I ask him to work on the list, he will say he has to go into the office since he's been away. That's what he usually does. He was raised that you call a repair man or handy man to fix everything. Well, we can't afford that. I was raised the opposite. My dad could fix anything. Repair men weren't allowed in our house. But, he tries when he can. How hard can it be though to hang vertical blinds? They've been sitting in the garage for almost a month and a half. The ones up over the sliding door have been broken for years! Yes I said years. So, hopefully, I will have nice working vertical blinds hung this weekend.

Today, I'm off to volunteer in Mark's classroom. Yippee. After doing it all this years I think I'm burned out on it. BUT, I did it for the other kids, and I will do it for him.

Cindi, I will get your goodie package out to you this weekend. I'm pretty sure I have your address. If not, I will email you to get it.

Time to get my day started. Have a wonderful Friday!

WOW. Cindi guessed it! How in the world did you figure that out after only 2 very vague clues? I'm so impressed.

Tomorrow morning, Elizabeth will be interviewing Jenna Bush (aka the President's daughter). It's not a political interview. She's interviewing her about the book she wrote.

Ana's Story: A Journey of Hope by Jenna Bush, Illustrated by Mia Baxter

How cool is that? She is coming tomorrow morning to the high school to talk to the kids about this book. Elizabeth scored the only interview. She read the book and she said it was awesome. She recommends that everyone read it. Politics aside, you have to admit that this is a great opportunity for my future journalist. She is just thrilled and has been working on her interview questions. We went shopping and she has her "interview" outfit all ready to go. I'm so proud of Liz and what a memory she will have as she enters the next phase of her life.

So, hopefully tomorrow I will have more to share--hopefully some pictures too.

Mystery Interview

CLUE #2 This person recently became engaged. Maybe "famous" is not the correct word to describer her but "important" is a better word (depends on who you ask).

I know the clues aren't very helpful, but if I give the ones I really want to, then people will guess her pretty quickly. So, on Thursday morning, after she has her interview, I will post the clues that will give it away.

Good guess, Cindi, but it's not Jessica Simpson. (EDITED--Jessica does have somthing in common with her though)

Happy guessing!

GUESS WHO GAME

I've given it some thought (and Cindi also suggested it), and I want to see if anyone can guess who Elizabeth will interview this coming Thursday morning. I will post one clue a day and I will send a small scrapbooking "goodie envelope" to the first person to guess correctly.

CLUE #1 It's a young "twenty something" female.

Good Luck..............

WOO HOO

Just a real quick entry. This is pretty mean of me to post and not give out all the details. BUT, I don't want to jinx it for Elizabeth. I will post all the details and hopefully a picture next Thursday night. BUT, I can tell you this. Elizabeth is one of the editors of her high school newspaper (there are 2). The newspaper is rated #1 in the state by SIPA. She is a senior and plans to take Journalism in college. She has already applied to the University of Florida. She has a few other applications that she is working on as well. Anyway, her high school has a "famous" person coming to speak next week. Elizabeth scored the interview! She is the only person to be granted an interview. Not even the local media gets to interview this person. The scrapbooking mom in me wants to be there with camera in had so bad but even I don't get to go. So, we are all still floating on cloud nine. We are going shopping this weekend for a new "interview" outfit.

So, I told you that this was mean of me. But, I don't want to blow this. You never know who's out there in cyber space. I promise to give out all the details one week from tonight. So stay tuned...............................

THIS AND THAT

It's been awhile since I've blogged. I've just been so busy with the kids and all the daily stuff that I have to do. I cannot remember for the life of me what I did with all my time before I had kids.

So, last week I turned 40 (gasp). It wasn't all that bad. I thought I would be more depressed about it but I wasn't. (I think I was just to busy hehe). We started off by going to breakfast with the kids on their way to school (McDonald's). My friend Sheri gave me some candles, hand lotition, a pumpkin soap dispenser and pumpkin scented hand soap. We didn't our "friends" there from a few weeks earlier when we went for Sheri's birthday. It's kind of a tradition now. I got the coolest gift in the mail from my friend, Lisa. Lisa moved back to S. Bend Indiana two years ago. She was my lunch, scrapping, stamping, just hanging around buddy. We did a lot together. Anyway, she sent me a box with 40 wrapped presents. It was so cool. I took a picture but it's still on my camera so I will post it later. What a creative gift. Lots of scrapping stuff, an altered composition notebook (my favorite), candles, magnets. It was so creative. She even sent me some candy from the 80's. Remember pop rocks? The candy cigarettes? Too fun. Remember how we were told that if we ate the pop rocks and drank coca cola our stomach's would explode? My friend, Kate, stopped by and gave me an awesome orange/pink scrap tote filled with scrapping goodies (orange & pink--my favorite colors). Then I spent the evening working at the concession stand at the Homecoming football game. IT WAS HOT. It was miserable. However, I did a good thing for the baseball team (they get the proceeds). It didn't help that Florida is in a heatwave. On a happy note, our team FINALLY won. They have won a game yet this year and they won in triple overtime! Yeah. Go Patriots. I came home and showered and just crashed. So, overall I had a great birthday. Oh yeah, I got a new dishwasher finally last week so Steve counted that as my birthday gift. He was off the hook.

We survived our last Homecoming. Elizabeth was beautiful. It's hard to believe that this was her last one. I don't know why the picture went to the top of the post. I don't know what I am doing wrong. She was stunning (well, I am biased). She had a blast.

Well, I guess I should get my day started. Kind of a boring blog entry. I have more to tell but I need to hit the shower and get my errands started. There is a HomeGoods store that just opened. I need to go check it out. I also need to tackle Mt. Washmore.

Have a great Thursday.

Happy Fall Y'all

It's so hard to believe that Fall is here. That means Thanksgiving and Christmas is right behind. I was in BJ's the other day and they had their Christmas tree displays up! It will be here before you know it.

Our house has been totally chaotic. Having three teenagers and one seven year old is just physically and mentally draining. Baseball season is in full swing--three nights of practice and Saturday games. Volleyball season is halfway over. Homecoming is two weeks away....the list goes on. We have a dress, we have our hair appointment set. Yesterday I realized I still have to order her boyfriend buttoneire (soory don't know how to spell it). Her dress is so pretty. It's more formal than she has ever worn and it's plum. I will definately post pictures when the big day arrives.

Yesterday was our 20th wedding anniversary. The years have just flown by.........I would love to say they were perfect but hey we aren't perfect and have had our many obstacles. We've live in 3 states, moved 4 times so to say they have been stress free would be a fib. But, I wouldn't change any of it. Here's to 20 more.

This morning I took my friend Sheri to breakfast before we dropped the kids off to school. Her two children went, her little cousin, Anna (4), myself and Emily. We only went to McDonalds because we had to watch the time. Anyway, we sat in the play area so little Anna could play. There were these 3 other people in there (I am guessing 20ish). Anyway, they were climbing and playing in the play toy. Um. It clearly states ages 3-12. So as we are sitting there, we heard the f bomb and other curse words. Sheri politely asked them if they could watch their language since there were kids around. NOPE. The one mouthed off to Sheri so she went and notified the manager. He came in (he looks about 18) and asked them to watch their language. He left. THey continued to "play" in the big toy to where little Anna couldn't go in. They kept calling us "snitches". We continued to have our breakfast while the kids played the computer games and air hockey. I told Sheri I've been called worse than a snitch. We ignored them and had a nice breakfast. As they were leaving, they put their trash away and then proceeded to call us "bitches"--sorry for the language. Again, we just shook our heads and ignored them. It's Sheri's birthday and I wasn't going to let a bunch of inmature kids ruin our morning out. As they were leaving through the doors, they flipped us off! Finally, the gentleman who is always there and such a nice guy came in and wished Sheri a Happy Birthday. We told him what they said and he commented that he remembers faces and the next time they come in he will "take care of them". He apologized and said he wished we would have come back and said something. So, that is how my day started.

Well, off to tackle Mt. Laundry and check Mark out of school early. Went for his 6 month cleaning and has a cavity which needs filled ASAP. So, I am not looking forward to that. He's a a trooper though. He's the only one of my kids that have had cavities so young. The girls were much older when they got their one and only cavity. I didn't have to "baby" them like I do Mark. He just gets himself so worked up and analyzes EVERYTHING.

Have a wonderful Thursday!

Roughing It

We been "roughing" it lately. Okay, not really. But if you ask my kids, we are. You see our dishwasher broke. It's a cheap "builder quality" dishwasher that was installed when our house was built (we are not the original owners). When they slapped the new houses up, they put in the cheapest and generic quality of everything. So, our house was built in 1999 and so far, we have replaced the a/c, garage door opener, resurfaced the pool and now the dishwasher. We brought our own refridgerator with us so I know that should last awhile. Anyways, getting back on the topic, the dishwasher broke. I could have spent more money than it's worth to fix it. But, I thought no. I will wait until we could afford the one I really wanted--one that actually cleans the dishes! Each week, the kids alternate cleaning up the dishes. Call Children's Services. I am violating child labor laws here (my kids version). They have been having to wash and dry the dishes. Everynight, I hear the complaints. "When are you going to get the dishwasher fixed?". They are just mad at me because I have to literally stand over them while they do the dishes. I have to constantly remind them that you have to put water and soap in the sink to wash them. Enter my "darling" hubby. He had been out of town for a week. It was late the other night and Emily snuck off to bed without doing the dishes (I was too busy to have even noticed that I let that one slide). So he offers to do the dishes. He did the dishes! After climbing into bed and having our usual "how was your day" "what did you do" conversation, he asks "What's on the agenda for the weekend?" Well, lets see--the usual. Volleball game, baseball practice, yada yada yada.. "Why?" His response "I thought we could go and get a new dishwasher". What??? After only one night of doing dishes???? WOW. I am not going to argue that one but I reminded him that my plan was to wait until we could replace all the appliances at one time so I could get the color and styles that I really want. So, now I am in a dilemna. Do I get a black one like I want and now have 3 different color appliances, or stay with the off-white and just have 2 colors. The kitchen is scheduled for 2009 remodel. Just for record, I grew up not having a dishwasher. My parents still live in the same house and just "modernized" their kitchen minus a dishwasher. They say they don't need one. So, mom. I am not the one who caved in. You should be proud.

It's finally Friday! What a busy week. Before Steve left for work this morning, I told him that we have absolutely NOTHING going on tonight. Once upon a time, I remember how uncool it was to stay home on a Friday night. Now I live for it! We had conferences last night at the High School. They went well. Greg is starting to slack off a little so I told him this morning before he left for school that he would be spending the evening doing his Chemistry. If he wanted to go to baseball, he had to do his chemistry. I got the "It's not due until Wednesday" speech. Well, bubba, your chemistry teacher showed us what's due and even told us it would take several days to do it. BUSTED. His teacher's ratted him out. Does he think we were born yesterday? So, we have to be a little "harder" on him. His grades are good but the "C" could be an "A" if he just would turn in his homework!

Mark had his big end of summer reading party at Huntington Learning Center last week. He broke the family curse of us never winning anything. He won the overall prize of either a $50 gift certificate to Circuit City or Learning Express (toy store). So, he chose the Learning Express. So tomorrow we are off to spend $50 in a toy store!!! He was so excited. "I'm a winner" he tells everyone. So cute.

4 more days until Dancing With the Stars. Woo Hoo. That is one of my favorite reality shows. I haven't missed an episode yet. I am addicted to that show.

Well, time to get my Friday started. Lots and lots of laundry today. Have a wonderful Friday.

Changes......................

I hope this doesn't turn out to be a "bummer" post but today was a "turning point" for me. As the kids get older and college is getting closer and closet the bills and expenses of having teens mount. I have been a SAHM since Greg was 1--he's now 15. I never really minded working before but having two young ones, it was time for me to stay at home. Then along came Emily, then came Mark. I have no regrets staying home--I have enjoyed every minute of it (okay, there were times I was ready to throw in the towel). So, today we met with our insurance agent to go over everything. Our car insurance has skyrocketed now that we have Elizabeth driving "full time" and a third car. Having sent Mark to Huntington Learning Center was "brutal". It is sooooooooooooo expensive. But, as parents we have to do things for our children. I have no regets sending him there. They have helped him so much and I have seen his confidence come back. He lost that. He kept telling me that he wasn't as smart as the other kids and that he was "stupid". That was heart wrenching to hear a six year old say that. He hated school. Didn't want to go. Now he is enjoying it again. I am happy for him. So, after crunching numbers, I have decided it's time for me to get back into the work force. I have been making calls and "net working". I may never find what I want. I am picky about hours. I can only work while my kids are in school. I cannot put Mark in after care. I would lose money if I did that. So, for my kiddos (above), I am willing to go to work to help pay for the "extras". Elizabeth has even told me that she wants to get a small part time job to help pay for her gas and get some "experience". We have never brought up her getting a job because school is most important. But, if she wants to start paying for stuff by herself, she will get no argument from me. My first job was when I was 16 and I worked at McDonald's. I ended up staying there for 3 very long years. Even Greg is saying that he would love to work at Publix (our grocery store). I told them that I would support them and help them in any way if they want to work as long as it doesn't interfere with school work. So wish me luck that I can find something that will work for me. I am actually getting excited at the idea of getting out of the house and "mingling" with other adults and bringing in a paycheck again.

Well, as I am typing this, a thunderstorm is rolling in. I better get off the computer as I am on router #3 since May--all thanks to our wonderful Florida storms and their lightening. Off to log off.......................................

Look out! Another driver in our family. Yesterday I took Greg to get his driver's permit. So, now I have not one, but two teenage drivers. He hasn't driven yet so he is itching to get behind the wheel. We finally broke down last weekend and purchased a third car. Ouch. Elizabeth was thrilled because this now means she can driver herself (and Greg) to school. I have to admit it is nice because it was taking me 1 hour and 15 minutes to pick them up at the high school (which is only 3 miles away). Traffic and pick up line was horrific. Keep in mind that I already had been sitting in the pick up line at the elementary school for 40 minutes. So, as much as a financial hit it is having 3 cars, it's wonderful and gives me the much needed time to do other things. Steve gets to drive the "new car" though. I am still stuck with my mini van (which is okay but he says I can drive his car one day a week). We got a 2006 red Toyota Camry. It's pretty neat. We are not car people. We drive cars until they don't go anymore. So, getting a new "used" car is a real thrill for me.

We are in our 2nd week of school now. It's so quiet in the house. I LOVE IT. I was so ready for the kids to go back to school. Everyone likes their teachers and classes. Poor Greg is stuck in a portable classroom right now with NO Air Conditioning. He says it's just downright miserable. Everyone is cranky. Plus, I am sure it stinks having 30 high school kids stuck in a little room. I grew up in a school with no AC so I don't have a whole lot of sympathy for him BUT I didn't go to school in Florida either.

Well, better get a move on tackling "Mt. Laundry". Before I know it, everyone will start rolling in and I won't be able to get anything done. I used to not mind doing the laundry but now I absolutely despise doing it. It never ends.......................................

Ramblings

I wish I could figure out how to put music in the background. I would put "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year". Visualize that old Staples commercial (a classic IMO) where the dad is running through the store with his cart full of school supplies while the kids look on. Well that is how I am feeling right now. I went to my first Open House yesterday at the middle school and got Emily all situated. Today, I have to visit the Elementary school (Mark) and the High School (Liz and Greg). Unfortunately, they are at the same time and Steve is MIA (business trip). After the open houses, I have to rush to the airport and pick up Steve (he left his car for Liz to drive to help me out while he was gone). But, come Monday, this will be all behind me and I will be celebrating with a pedicure and lunch with a friend. It was an extremely long summer this year. Greg was the worst. He spent all of June and the first part of July playing baseball so when the season was over all I hear was "I'm bored. There's nothing to do". He got grounded this week for mouthing off to me so he is deliberately being annoying so that I will let him off the hook. NOPE. So, in 4 more days, he will be out of here and his schedule is so hard that he won't have time to say that (I called his counselor to make sure his schedule was correct. She commented that he will be busy). Last year they scheduled him for "weight lifting" as a course and when I called his counselor I pulled him out and put him in a history class.

My computer router got fried again over the weekend in a thunderstorm. Man, I thought the house got struck by lightening. That's two routers in two months. Luckily, they've replaced them for free. Looks like we will miss that Hurricane Dean that's out there. Unfortunately, it looks like it's heading for Texas or Mexico. The gulf temps are so high right now it's just not helping "fizzle" it out. It's been hot! Our pool temp right now is 89 degrees. It's like bath water. Even our cold tap water is coming out warm! I'm looking forward to the temperatures cooling down.

Well, that's about all that's been going on here. Hopefully, next week I can get started on a routine and have "me" time again. My goal is to do more scrapbooking. This is Elizabeth's last year of high school and I have lots to catch up on so I can finish her album. Next year, I will get to start one for Emily! YIKES. As one is graduating, another one is starting. I feel old.........................

Have a great Thursday!

Taking a trip down memory lane

Jennifer Stewart posted on her blog a fun You Tube video from a wedding reception. It got me all nostalgic looking back at my own wedding and reception. So, just for fun, let's reminisce. How long have you been married? What song did you dance to? What were your wedding colors? Anything memorable from your reception? I have been married for 19 years (20 on October 3). My wedding colors were mauve and grey. I wore an Ivory dress (I couldn't find one I liked in white) and Steve wore a gray tux. We danced to a song called "Nothing's Going to Change My Love For You" by one-hit wonder Glen Maderios. The wedding party danced to songs from Top Gun (who didn't love that movie). I am a more soft-rocker/country gal and Steve is Rock and Roll. We had a DJ and the music was all over the place. I remember everyone dancing to "Walk Like an Egyptian" and laying on the floor to "Shout" (from Animal House). One of my favorite memorable songs from when I was really little was by Donna Fargo called "I'm the Happiest Girl". So, I had the DJ play that song. Steve got teased and so much crap from his buddies. He asked me "what the "heck" is that song. I really think I embarassed him. However, he had fun playing the "air guitar" with his groomsmen. I have all this in pictures! And to everyone who said "it won't last" or "we were too young". Haha (I was 19 and he was 22). So, four kids and 20 years later, we are still going strong. We have our ups and downs but I look forward to the next 20+ years! What a trip down memory lane. Thanks for posting that video, Jennifer.

Tomorrow marks the 20 days until school starts countdown. I am so excited to have the kids going back to school. If they hadn't changed the school year calendar, they would have been going back next week! Thanks Florida. I really enjoyed going early (it's too hot to do anything anyway) and I liked getting out earlier than other states. They also took away our long Christmas break--oh wait. I should be PC and say "Winter Break". So instead of getting out mid December, we get out on December 22. Oh well. We are slowly getting all the much needed school supplies and clothes. Mark's is easy. He wears uniforms. I still have last years so he doesn't need much except new shoes, socks and underwear. Now the girls are going to break me. I am glad they are finally at an age where they have "slowed" down in their growth and can still wear last years clothes--except for Emily's who's feet just took off. She now wears the same size as Elizabeth. But, do you think they can share the fashionable shoes? NOPE. Ah, the joys of teenage girls. Greg is easy, basketball shorts and T's. I so wish he would wear the plaid shorts that all the boys are wearing. I love that look! I can occasionally get him to wear khaki shorts and a three button but not very often.

Well, it's raining again here in Florida. I love these gloomy days. I seem to get much needed housework done because I don't want to go anywhere in the rain. So, I'm tackling the cabinet on top of the fridge--you know, the one you need a ladder to get to. I also cleaned off the top of the fridge. I got to throw away a lot of junk. I love these kind of cleaning frenzies! I dug out my planner and almost have it organized for all my back to school stuff. These next three weeks aer going to fly by.

Have a great Tuesday!

I'm back!

In cyber space that is. Last Monday we had a terrible thunderstorm roll through (one of the many joys of living in Florida). I thought the house got struck by lightening but apparently it was pretty close. It zapped my router to the computer. We finally got a new router put in on Friday morning. The nice guy didn't even charge us for a new one. We just had a new one installed back in May when we went to FIOS on the TV. When he plugged it in, he put it into an outlet and not the surge protector that the computer is plugged into. So we are totally lucky it didn't zap the computer or any other appliance. We have so many thunderstorms lately that I am beginning to be afraid of them. We have had enough rain that we have had to drain some of the water out of the pool twice in the past two weeks. I am not complaining about the rain though, I know so many areas need the rain. I remember living in Utah where it was so dry and we would watch the mountains burn. I just wish we could just "share" some of it :)

27 days and counting until school starts. A part of me is sad but a part of me is so happy. I will miss sleeping in until 7 (that's my sleeping in). However, I won't miss the TVs being on, the kids bored because they can't do anything because of all the thunderstorms.

I have really been organizing and sorting through all my scrapbook items. I am donating a lot of stuff that I just don't use to a fellow blogger Stefanie Hamilton. Stefanie was diagnosed with cancer last year and part of her "giving back" is to teach fellow cancer patients to scrapbook journals. The program she is teaching through is called LifeSpring. I have never met Stefanie and I can't even remember how I came across her blog. Having lost my mom to cancer when I was four, I am a huge supporter of any cancer program. Unfortunately, there were no programs back then. I do believe that if they knew about cancer back then, then maybe my mom would be here. Sadly, I don't remember her. How I would have loved to read a journal she kept. So, this is my way of giving back. I have a nice box started to send to her.

As I am updating my blog, Steve and Elizabeth are up at the University of Florida taking a tour. I can't believe how the time has flown (I know I say that alot). Tomorrow she gets her senior portraits taken.

Well, better wrap this up. I have a mountain of laundry to tackle. Steve is on vacation this week so I am hoping to get some stuff done around the house. We are planning on going to the beach at some point-hopefully Friday. I can't believe it's almost August and we haven't been to the beach. That's how busy our summer has been. We only live less than an hour away (mostly traffic).

Have a great Monday!

This and That

It's been awile since I have blogged. Not much to blog about. Life is kind of chaotic now. Having not one, two but three teenagers is physically and mentally draining. I'm tired!

Mark finally lost his first tooth. He turned seven in June and was so bummed that he didn't get his name on the "lost tooth" chart in the classroom. So, we made a big deal out of it. He was officially diagnosed with CAPD (Central Auditory Processing Disorder). Not a big deal. He's extremely smart but moves at a much slower pace and needs to "be kept on track". He is easily distracted. Now we can get the IEP and he can get some help from the school--which they wouldn't do because we didn't have the IEP. The audiologist doesn't test them for CAPD until they are at least 7. So, one week after his seventh birthday, we got the testing done. Hopefully, 2nd grade will be much smoother than first. Next week he goes in for his allergy testing. Keeping our fingers crossed that he outgrows the egg allergy. Doubt he will ever outgrow the peanuts and tree nuts!

Greg finally finished baseball. I love baseball, but I can only take so much. Living in Florida, there are 3 seasons--Fall, Spring and Legion. At least we have a couple weeks off before he starts conditioning for Fall ball. He's working on getting his driver's permit. Not quite sure I am ready for that!

Emily is having a lazy summer. Not much going on with her. Her BFF is moving away and she is extremely bummed. The good news is that it's only across town and not out of state.

Elizabeth is continuing taking her online summer course-Economics. Yuck. She is also working on her college application to the University of Florida. I can't believe that she will be going away to college next year. We just got her appointment card in the mail and she gets her Senior pictures taken next week. It just makes me so very sad that she has grown up so fast. It seems like just yesterday she was my baby. Now she's driving a car!

Well, it's Saturday which means cleaning and laundry. The good news is that the kids are home and they are going to help me. Yeah. I told them that the TV was to stay off until the family room was dusted, swept, and cushions vacuumed. It looks like it might rain--which I hope it does. Then maybe we can have a lazy rainy day. Steve is golfing over in Orlando so who knows what time he will be home. It's kind of quiet today............

Well, Here is the "full pool". After several weeks of not being able to swim, we are "back in business". Couldn't have come at a better time. The kids have been swimming every day. The temp is 86 already and it's not even July 1. That's how warm it is here in Florida and only going to get hotter.

I got my scrapbook "mojo" back. Since I got my room done, I have been working all the time. I still have some totes to go through and sort out. I have been working on an ABC Pregnany book for my sister in law who is due in September. I have about 10 more pages to go and then I will be done and can work on other stuff. I am hoping to post some pictures as soon as I can. Steve even had Verizon come in. Now not only can I watch TV but I can watch all my HGTV shows as I work. My favorite show to watch while I work is The Wonder Years. They started showing it from the pilot episode and I just can't turn it off. They also put on Designing Women (although it hasn't been on locally because they put on the Devil Rays). I used to love that show!!!!! My kids think I am crazy and think the shows are "dumb". What do they know? hehe.

No vacation planned this summer. Too much going on. We were really hoping to squeeze a trip to go to Cincinnati but every week is filled with the kids activities. I keep hoping for a rainy day just so we can "slow down" but no such luck.

My "bff" Lisa came for a visit last week and we had a blast. Got pedicures, dumped some $ into the local economy with a trip to the LSS. We also had a BBQ and were able to do lunch. It was just like old times. When you coming back, Lisa? Actually, I am hoping to head up her way in the Fall. Can't wait.

Not much else going on in our house. Just trying to keep the kids entertained and busy. School used to start the first week in August but now they have pushed it back. So, August 20th can't get here soon enough. I love having my kids home but they are driving me nuts. It was sooooo much easier when they were younger and you could do more stuff with them. Now everything is "dumb". They want to do more expensive things like go to the movies, go to the mall.

Have a great Thursday..............................................

Not much too blog about.

Kids are out of school--already driving me crazy. It's going to be a long summer.

We finally got some much needed rain here in Tampa.

Still not swimming in the pool. It's got water but the water is not "swimmable" yet. I think once the kids can swim, they can burn off the extra energy they have.

I got my scrapbook room done. I am hoping to be actually working in it this weekend. I am taking the time to go through EVERYTHING before I put it away. I have a lot of stuff that I am getting rid of because I just won't use it.

Greg's playing baseball 2-3 days a week.

Mark still going to Huntington 4 mornings a week. So I still have to get up and out of the house.

Emily's "bored". Can't find anything to do.

Elizabeth is still wining that "if I had a car....blah blah blah". She goes to "Journalism Summer School" next week at the University of South Carolina. So, I will have at least 4 days of NOT hearing "if I had a car".

Best of all, my "BFF" will here here in town to visit. Can't wait. We won't get to spend too much time together, but hopefully we can squeeze in a pedicure and a trip to a LSS. Oh yeah, we are hoping to plan a trip for my birthday this fall. Lookout Chicago---here we come.

Told you that it's been pretty uneventful here in my house. Maybe in a few days, I will have something to tell.

What's missing in this picture? Can you say water? Our pool is still not finished. We are on day #3 of our Summer break and no pool. As our luck always goes, we are told a deadline and it always takes longer. Always problems when it comes to our projects. The tile is new and I really like it. As I type this, they are putting in the new "bottom/lining". Hopefully tomorrow or Friday we can start adding water and be swimming soon. It's already pushing 90 degrees here. Still no sign of rain. WE NEED RAIN. Friday officially kicks off Hurricane Season. I need to sit down and make my list of everything I need to purchase so we are ready "just in case". Basically, I just need to make sure I have lots of batteries for the flashlights and lots of bottled water. I also stock up on canned goods such as tuna, ravioli and spagetti O's. That kind of stuff. If we lose power, we have a burner on our grill that we can use. We also keep an extra full tank for the grill. Hopefully, this season will be as mild as last one.

My scrapbook room/study room is done. I am still moving everything back into it. It's all in my living room right now and I feel the need to go through everything before I put it away. I am really pitching a lot of stuff out. What a good feeling that is. We tackled all the kids books from when they were little and donated a bunch of them.

We spent last Friday and Saturday over at the Magic Kingdom. This is why I love living in Florida. We put it together at the last minute (we had to use up our last 2 days of passes). It only takes us about 1 hour and 15 minutes to get to the hotel. Then we hop on the bus and hit the park. It was a blast. Unfortunately, it's love bug season so there were a lot of them flying around. It was interesting to watch the people who aren't used to them freak out over them. They don't hurt or bite you. Some people were really freaking out. I felt sorry for some of them though because they were really afraid of them.

Not much else going on in our house. Legion ball started already and Greg has his first baseball game tonight. What really stinks though is that they play teams all over the city of Tampa and with gas so high, it's going to cost me a fortune to fill up my gas tank. I just keep hoping that the price of gas comes down soon. It definately affected our decision to travel home this summer. So maybe next summer.

Well, need to go tackle my mountain of laundry. With all the work we have been getting done on the house, I have neglected it. Have a wonderful Wednesday!

TV SHOW ENDINGS

WoWzer! (Is that even a word?) hehe. Just got finished watching the season finale of Desperate Housewives. If you haven't watched it yet, you may want to come back after you have watched it. I am going to spoil it!

Bree's back! yeah. Her character is such a big part of the show that I was finding it boring without her. I guessed that she was "faking" the pregnancy to cover for Danielle. Still not sure I like her hubby, Orsen. He's weird. I want Rex back!

Susan....................I loved it when Mike was teasing her about her being in a wedding dress and being around a chocolate fountain. That was funny. That was so clever of her to put that wedding together. How romantic. I just hope that they can keep a storyline going with them.

Lynette: I didn't like her this season. Not sure about the whole cancer storyline. Having lost people close to me from it, I don't find any kind of storyline referring to cancer as entertaining. Wasn't it enough for her character to get shot this season? Oh and that Kayla chick (her stepdaughter)---YIKES. What a little snot. Needs a good you know what. But, she does add great conflict to the family.

Edie: Didn't see that one coming. Edie is the character you hate, but love. I don't want her off the show. Hopefully, Carlos will come in and save her. Even as evil as she is, she definately adds to the show.

Finally, Gabrielle. How can you not love her? Loved her reunion with Carlos. How cool will it be if she got preggars with his baby. I figured Victor was a fraud. I can't wait to see what she does to him.

So, now I have to wait four months to find out what happens next. At least it was a real cliffhanger, IMO. Grey's Anatomy (my other show) was such a let down. I didn't like the "spin off" episode. I tried to stay awake and watch it but Mr. Sandman made be a better offer.

My team won "The Amazing Race" Yeah.

American Idol--BORING. I can't believe Melinda went home. I truly believe people are missing the whole talent concept. For the two that are left---GO BLAKE. About mid way through, I started to really not care for Jordin. I have liked Blake all along so I will definately cast my votes for him. Did you not love watching Elliot Yamin sing? I liked him last season. I voted for him too. Taylor who?

Now, my favorite of all the Reality Shows--DANCING WITH THE STARS! I have watched every episode of every season. I have not missed one. People think I am nuts but I just love to watch that show. I think the best two are left (Joey & Apollo). I just don't think Leila can compare to them. She's a good dancer but Joey or Apollo should be the champ! I rooted last season for Emmit. I knew since week #1 that I wanted him to win. I have been going back and forth this season. It's going to come down to the final dances to see who gets my vote.

Okay, what a boring post this was. All about TV. I am a reality show "addict" Now that all the shows will be ending maybe I will actually do more. I have several rooms to paint so maybe I will actually get them done.

Well, it's late (okay not too late, but I like my sleep), so I am going to call it a night. Have a wonderful Monday (what am I going to watch tomorrow night--CSI Miami ended last week).

I did it! I finally got a picture of my kiddos together. AND, they are all smiling. Now that's rare. So, I cherish this picture. I don't know when I will get another one. My goal this summer is to get a family picture. The last time we did a family picture was when Mark was 6 months old.

Not much to blog about. It's the same old crazy stuff going on. This past week has been AP exams for Greg and Elizabeth. Next week are finals. Next Thursday is their last day of school! YIKES. Whatever will I do with them all home this summer. I am so thrilled to finally be able to sleep in but at the same time, what am I going to do with them all and their friends all summer.

We head off to Disneyworld one week from today. I love Disney. We have to use our last days of passes before the end of June so we thought we would head out before all the tourists come down and it gets too miserably hot. Elizabeth is taking her friend so I won't have to listen to her "whine". She's at such a fun age. It's so 'uncool' to be seen with her family. So, they can go off on their own and have fun. They both have worked so hard this school year with all their classes and stuff, they deserve it.

We are anxiously awaiting for the pool people to call and get started on our pool. It has to be drained and resurfaced and retiled. Pretty sad that we have to do it already. The house is only 7 years old. So, I picked some really cool mulit colored blue tiles and some dolphin tiles. I am really going with a "beachy" theme on the lanai. We had the ceiling fan replaced last week and the one I put up has blades that look like palm leaves. I got some really cool candles to go with the theme. Now if it can just get done before it gets too hot to sit out and relax. Once the heat rolls in, it's just too hot and humid to just sit. They say it will take about a week to do. I really thought we would have it done before school let out.

Well, told you it's been kind of boring here. Today, I am off to Home Depot to get paint to paint my soon to be office/scraproom. That room is scheduled to be done on May 29th. I finally settled on a tropical theme (pinks, oranges & blues). The walls will be blue. I can't wait to cross that room off my "to do" list. My goal is to make the room "fun" so I can get motivated to get some of my scrapbooks up to date and since it will serve as Mark's workspace too, he will have a fun place to go and study. I will post pictures of before and after. So, my guest room is no more. My guest room will officially be the Wingate Inn or Holiday Inn down the road. :)

Have a wonderful Friday! Off to conquer that long "to do" list that's sitting on my kitchen counter!

Just a quick entry this morning. ............

We got our A/C back up and running. It's so nice to be cool again, especially since we are in the mid to upper 80's. They say there is a chance for some rain and thunderstorms today. Bring it on!! We need rain so badly.

Today, my day consists of running around. The electrician is supposed to come tomorrow and replace 2 ceiling fans, the kitchen light (the light over the kitchen table) and install can lighting in the kitchen as well. I still have to go and pick up one of the fans. Our Home Depot and Lowes are right down the street from each other so I was running back and forth comparing prices and styles. So, I already picked up the lights from Lowes and now I have to go back Home Depot. I also have a meeting with a mom to go over our class gift to the teacher for teacher appreciation week. Well, we also have to plan our end of year gift as well. I hate asking parents for money so we have decided to do something more crafty and inexpensive for Teacher Apprecation and do a bigger end of year gift in 2.5 weeks. I also have to read to Mark's class. Busy day.............

Is anyone else as happy as me that school is almost over? My kids are DONE. They are on such burnout. They are hard to get up in the morning and out the door. I know I am burned out.

Emily has two choir concert coming up. Sunday afternoon they are singing for the entire school board. This is the first year that the school was opened so they are doing a "dedication" finally. Then on Tuesday, they have their Spring concert. I will be so glad choir will be over as well.

Well, off to run all my errands. Wish I had more to blog about but it's been kind of boring in our house lately. Have a great Friday!

It has been a CRAZY week. I am finally finding a few extra minutes to update my blog.

Last week was Greg's 15th birthday! I would post a picture but I don't have my pictures uploaded from my camera. The kids have taken over the computer with all their homework and projects. Why do teachers pile on the work the last few weeks of school. My kids didn't work this hard throughout the whole school year and now they are all needing MY computer. Only 3.5 weeks of school left.

I am so excited though to report that I am getting a real scrapbook room! When we moved from Utah to here, we lost a guest room, bathroom and my scrapbook room. So, I have 2 rooms of stuff crammed into one. Well, it's just not functional. We also need a space where Mark can go into silence and get his work done (it's all part of the auditory processing). So I told Steve that I would give up my scrapbook desk (just a computer desk) and set up the banquet table for my to work. We would have to get rid of the sofa bed though so if we had guests, I don't know where they would sleep. He surprised me by calling a closet company and they are going to build an "L" shaped workspace and hang cabinets for all my stuff. Also, a bookcase for all my albums. Mark would get one side and I would get the other. We are also going to set up the old computer so I will be able to use that instead of having to wait on the kids to get off MY computer. Yippee. Now I just have to pick a new color. Something fun and soothing. I'll let you know what color I choose when I figure it out.

Our A/C went out on Friday night. It was a long and miserable weekend. We finally got it fixed yesterday afternoon. Funny thing is I grew up in Ohio without A/C so one would think I could handle it. NOPE. I was hot and whined the whole entire weekend. The kids swam in the pool to keep cool. The water temp was a little to cool for me to get in (it was 81, I get in when it hits 84). So, I just soaked my feet.

Elizabeth has been very busy getting all her ACT's and SAT's done. She is still interested in journalism and has her colleges down to 3--Northwestern, University of South Carolina and University of Florida. I would love for her to go out of state, but unless they offer her some serious Scholarship $, she will probably end up at University of Florida--GO GATORS!!! She got to write the front page story for her newspaper last month. It was cool. The school made it on CNN headline news last month because the principal locked some of the bathrooms to curtail the vandalism. Someone went to the medial and said ALL the bathrooms were locked--not true. It's just sad that kids feel the need to destroy a beautiful school--it's only 5 years old. Here's link to her story.

RevolutionNewspaper - Home


Not much else going on. Today I have to get caught up on the mountain of laundry I DIDN'T do because it was too hot without the A/C. So, my day is laundry, laundry, and more laundry. I have to run to Home Depot and Lowes to get some lighting fixtures that we are changing out. I am also replacing the icky ceiling fan on the lanai and putting one in that looks like bamboo.

Have a great Tuesday!

Just a quick blog entry today. I am busy cleaning the house for tomorrow's big birthday party for Emily. All but one girl can come so I will have a dozen 13 year old girls running around. The weather is supposed to be nice so the plan is to keep them outside in the pool. We turned the pool heater on so it should be a nice day to swim.

As I mentioned in my previous entry, I picked out Emily a birthday outfit. Well, it was a hit. She couldn't wait to wear it to school yesterday (she did have to put on a jacket to cover the spagetti straps whic are no no in the dress code). She still looked cute. She went through a phase where she wouldn't wear shorts. Um, have you ever heard of somebody NOT wearing shorts in Florida???? Well that was my girl. She has always been such a tom boy and wanting to only wear jeans and T shirts. She finally loves all the "girly" stuff. I even got her a matching head band, earrings and a necklace. I am just no so sure I am ready for not one but two teenage girls!!!!

Have a great Saturday!

Happy 13th Birthday, Em!!!!

It's official! I now have 3 teenagers! 13 years ago today, Emily joined our family. It has gone by so very quickly. She will probably be so embarassed if she knew that I put her "then" and "now" pictures on my blog. She was the cutest little baby and boy was she a little "stinker". She still is. She is so outgoing. Our day started off with our car pool all going out to McDonald's for breakfast. We sang her happy birthday and put a candle in her Sausage McMuffin. She had to wear her birtday badge and crown. When we finished singing there was a guy and his son eating breakfast and the dad told us it was his son's birthday too. So, we whipped out a candle and sang him Happy Birthday. He was the same age but went to a different middle school. I don't know who was more embarassed. The girls or the boy! At least they don't have to see other and be embarassed. It was fun. I am sure all the people in Mickey D's thought we were nuts. When we dropped them off in the front of school, we cranked the "It's your birthday" rap song. They were begging us to turn it down. We waited until the very last minute and turned it down. I am going to cherish these moments forever.

So what does a 13 year old want for her birthday? Let's see, a cell phone and a digital camera. The cell phone was out of the question so I went and got her digitial camera. At first I was hesitant, but she does enjoy taking pictures and she has inherited my love for scrapbooking--unlike her sister who wants nothing to do with it. Grandma sent her some money so I figured I would use that and put in the rest for the camera. I got her a Vera Bradly purse (that's what all the girl's have). I also got her the traditional "birthday oufit". I don't usually pick out their clothes but I get to pick one outfit a year--the birthday outfit. She is having her birthday party on Sunday here at the house. She is having a pool party and the weather is supposed to cooperate. I don't know if I can handle 13 13-year olds in the house. The theme is an Aloha theme and we have some really cool decorations and goodies for her friends. I go all out on the 13th birthday because "it's special".

Greg's birthday is on Monday. 15!!!!! YIKES. Unlike Emily, he doesn't care if he as a party. He just wants to take a couple of friends to the Devil Rays Game. No problem. Steve loves to do that kind of stuff so he will handle that one.

I am devastated like everyone else over the Virginia Tech shooting. We are scoping out colleges now for Elizabeth and it sure doesn't get me very excited for her when this kind of stuff happens. It makes me so sad that there is so much hate in the world.

We are down to the home stretch for the end of school. My kids get out on May 24. My summer is already very busy. Mark will continue at Huntington Learning Center 4 days a week and Elizabeth will be volunteering at the hospital in the Women's Center. Greg will continue to play baseball. I can't imagine that in a couple of years, my life will not be so busy because they will be off to college (hopefully).

I've been slowly getting back into scrapbooking. I have so many pictures to get printed off. So many YEARS to catch up on. Just wish I could find someone who loves to scrap as much as I do. I used to have a scrapping buddy but she moved away--yes, Lisa, I am talking about you! Hope you are having fun scrapping away up in the cold and snow! hehe. It's a beautiful 80 degree day here.

Well, better get a move on and wrap Em's presents and finish her cake. I was shocked when she said she wanted me to bake her a cake. No problem. I love doing that kind of stuff.

Have a wonderful Thursday!

Wow. Its hard to believe that over a month has gone by since I blogged. So much has been happening here. So much to catch up on.

First of all (and most important), Mark is really doing well. We enrolled him in Huntington Learning Center. Wow a difference that has made. Getting one on one tutoring has really been what he has needed. It's just a shame that the school would not help us. However, putting him at Huntington, was the best. He passed his first math quiz of the year! Not only did he pass, he got a 100! We celebrated by going out to dinner. Even his school teacher gave him a "Star student certificate". I give all the credit to his wonderful teachers at Huntington for this. They have really worked with him and he now has the confidence that he can do it.

Elizabeth went on a trip to the University of South Carolina with her high school newspaper. RevolutionNewspaper - Home They won first in state and several othe awards. Woo hoo. She really likes that college and it's on the top of her list along with The University of Florida and Northwestern. She has been busy taking SAT's and her ACT is coming up as well. Where has the time gone? My baby will be a senior in high school!

Greg has been busy playing baseball. I really don't have much to update about him. He's just an easy going "freshman' going to school and playing baseball. He will be 15 in less than a month. We have been getting information in the mail about getting his driver's permit. YIKES.

Emily has been busy practicing for her school play. The school just opened this year and they have a drama department (her old school did not). So, after weeks and weeks of practice, the show is this upcoming weekend. I for one am excited. It has been really hard getting her picked up on time after practice. I spend from 3:30 until after 6 pm driving/picking up kids.

As for me, I have finally gotton back into my scrapbooking. I am also going to take a class in Geneology with a friend starting in May at her Church. I am excited about that. I have always wanted to do it but never had the time. I lived in Salt Lake for 6 years and am kicking myself because they have that wonderful Geneology Library downtown and I never took advantage of it. So, I am hoping that maybe I can make a trip back there someday.

My friend Susan flew down from Cincy last week to celebrate her 40th birthday. She brough along her 2 sisters and a friend. For four crazy days, this house had 10 people sharing 2 bathrooms. 7 girls to the 3 boys! We had a lot of fun. We turned on the pool heater and they sat around the pool. The weather wasn't too warm but it was a break for them. We celebrated her birthday by going to Ybor City. The picture at the top is of us at one of the many stops we made. My neighbor also went with us. Her sister, Terri, took the picture. I am not used to staying up late anymore (I guess I am boring). I was the designate driver so I just drank water all night. It was fun. The next day we went to Tarpon Springs. It's a great place to visit if you ever come to Central Florida. It's where they dive for sponges. It's a Greek village so the food is awesome. I like going just for the pastries!

Two weeks ago, Steve and I took the boys a Reds Spring Training game down is Sarasota. I had so much fun. I really miss watching the Reds play. I think it's cool that they have their spring training so close. We had front row seats by third base. They even gave Mark a game ball. Totally cool. Go REDS! Can't wait until opening day. That was on a Friday. On Sunday, I took the girls to see Wicked. Elizabeth and I saw it last year. This was Emily's first time to see it. It was great. The music is so awesome. Hopefully it will come back next year again. YOu can bet, I will be there. While we were at Wicked, Steve took the boys back down to see another Reds game.

That's about all that's been going on. The kids go back to school tomorrow after being on Spring Break. We really had a lazy week -- caught up on some much needed sleep. We were all exhausted.

Hopefully I won't stay away from my blog too long. I still can't figure it out but someday, I will. Until next time....................

Happy Valentines Day!!!!

I can't believe that I have gone so long without blogging. I have been on an emotional roller coaster these past few weeks trying to get Mark some help at school. I went "outside" the school and got some help. Now the school has learned that I am "on my own" they are all of sudden getting interested. We took him to Huntington Learning Center and the results were just as we expected. The surprise though was how poorly he is "comprehending" what he reads. He is a strong reader and he can tell you what happens in a story. But, when he has to write it down, he can't. So, we bit the bullet and enrolled him there to get help. The school was unable to find a "tutor" for him. They recommended I call another school to see if they have any teachers willing to tutor. Oh well, I have put that behind me and am looking forward to Mark really learning and hopefully enjoy school. There is nothing worse than having to fight your six year old to go to school because he hates it.

I really don't have much to tell. My days are boring! I don't have anything planned for Valentines Day. Steve is out of town and supposed to be home tonight but I am not holding my breath. He is in Cincinnati and they got all that sleet. So I would be real surprised if he gets home tonight.

My car is acting up and there is nothing I can do. I have a few dashboard lights on but I have to drive it. I don't have a back up car or anyone who is willing to help me out with my crazy schedule. Hopefully, it can "hang on" until Friday when I don't have all the practices and car pools to run. I used to love my van but now I can fell my Blood Pressure rise when I open the door to get in.

My prayers are going out right now to all the people in Salt Lake who were impacted by that horrible shooting at Trolley Square. When I lived in Utah, that was my favorite mall to go visit. I can't imagine what would possess someone to do that. My thoughts are with families.

Well, I hope everyone has a wonderful Valentines Day. Sorry this blog is so boring. Hopefully soon I will have some fun stuff to blog about.

It has been a crazy and eventful week here in our house. We have been super busy. My BFF (our little joke as we revert back to middle school), Patti, has been here for the last week from Cincinnati. We have had a blast. She is an awesome decorator and loves to paint (something I hate). We have been painting my house like crazy. The first room we tackled was my girls room. It's so hard to decorate a room when the girls have such different taste. Emily is 12 and Elizabeth 16. They hate sharing a room but we needed a guest room and I needed the guest room to double as a scrapbook room. So,they have to share a room. Emily wanted a green room and Elizabeth wanted blue. I said compromise and do purple. So, along come Patti and agreed that a purple room would look the best with the comforter's they have. So, in one day, we got the room painted. It still needs some "decluttering" and they need to finish putting stuff away but they are so happy with the result. We moved the entire room around, got all the posters/pictures/awards/shelves hung. They each even have their own "wall of fame". Elizabeth loves Pirates (the picture looks like the wall is pink, but it is purple). My favorite part is the little reading corner with the fun lamp. They also have a desk in another corner. All I have left to do in that room is sew a valance and make a little lap blanket for the chair. I bought the material yesterday so hopefully I can get that done in the next few days. We also painted the boys room gray (it was this ugly two tone blue). I will post photos when we get that one done. Today we finish painting my family room, kitchen. Tomorrow it's the living room and dining room.

We have really been scrapbooking our hearts out. I have gotton so many pages completed. I hope I can keep this up when she leaves on Wednesday. :*(

Greg made the JV baseball team. I am so happy for him because he just loves baseball! To make the team when so many kids try out is awesome. Now the fun begins with all the practice. He has been conditioning 3 times a week but now it's conditioning AND practice. At least he will practice later and Steve can help with the pick up now. Emily made the school play. Again, thrilling since so many people tried out. We've always called her our "little drama queen"!

Greg and Elizabeth also filled out their class schedules for next year. My "baby" will be a senior. Greg will be a sophmore. Where has the time gone??? Emily will be in her last year in middle school (8th). I feel so old!!!!! And then there is Mark. Still struggling with the math concept. we are looking into taking him to Huntington or Sylvan. I don't know how to help him. The school certainly isn't and we are on our own.

Not much else to blog about. As I mentioned, it's been painting painting painting! I finally feel like this house is "mine". I have never loved this house. I really miss my house in Utah. I miss the layout, the two stories, THE EXTRA BATHROOM!!! Two bathrooms for six people just doesn't cut it. But, I am beginning to like this house and it finally feels like it's mine.

Well, need to get back to putting all my scrapbook stuff away so we can paint. Have a wonderful week!!!!