Finally..............................

we are feeling the effects of Tropical Storm Fay. We got not even a raindrop on Tuesday. I guess second time is a charm. It's just a dreary, rainy day. I actually kind of like it. Unfortunately, I do have to venture out in it. I have to put gas in my car and I need to pick up some new gym shoes. I have been having lots of problems with my ankle and I went to the doctor yesterday. So, after all the years of wearing flip flops, my poor feet are paying the price. I have a pair of gym shoes already, but I want something that doesn't look so "clunky". I am also supposed to rest it and ice it as much as possible. If this doesn't work, I will have to get an MRI. Good news is that there were no strains or breaks.

I spoke with Liz last night and I guess Gainesville has been hammered by all the rain by Fay. She said, the campus was closed today and all activities cancelled. So, she is stuck inside her dorm room. Is that a bad thing? Oh yeah, last night our local news did a story about the comeback of bed bugs in colleges. Guess what college they mentioned? Yep the University of Florida. They also mentioned Ohio State. Gross. I sent her up with only one set of sheets, but I may send her some more so she can wash them more often. I couldn't stop itching after seeing that story. Ick.

So, I have finally narrowed down some new blog names. I would really love to hear some comments on what people think. Here's what I have so far:

A New Day

Life is a Highway

Married with Children

Unfinished Business

Life's Moments

It's All Good

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

I'm kind of leaning towards "A New Day". I keep hearing that Celine Dion song in my head. This past year has been a turning point for me. I turned the big 40--GASP, one of my kids graduated high school and entered college, and Emily entered High School. This was the first time, that I actually slowed down and took a look at how fast my life is going by. We've had ups and downs and by no means has it been perfect. But, I have a healthy family and a nice roof over my head. What more can I ask for? I actually sat down and deleted some blogs off my list because they were depressing to read. Not because their lives were bad, but no one can be that perfect. I would read some of them and just shake my head. I like reading blogs where I can actually relate to people. My family is far from perfect.

Anyways.............last night I went Creative Memories shopping at my CM Consultants house. She is moving and had marked some stuff down so she doesn't have to move it. I got some paper packs. I am extremely motivated to sit down and work on some layouts, but housework is calling. Maybe tonight.

Well, it's time to tackle Mt. Washmore and get the day going. I am so tempted to go back to bed--it's so dark in the house right now but I will resist the urge.

Have a wonderful, Friday. Make it a good one.

Happy Birthday, Elizabeth!

Eighteen years ago today, Elizabeth came into our family. We were young, clueless, and oh so excited to have our first baby. (I can't believe I am sharing this picture)! She came ten days early and we were NOT ready. Thanks to my friends Susan and Lori, Elizabeth came home to a completed nursery. Luckily, she was a good baby. She let us sleep through the night pretty much right away. She was a "text book" baby. I never would have imagined that the next 18 years would fly by so fast.

This is the first birthday EVER that we have not been together. It's only been a few days, but oh how I miss her! She has spent her first few days finding her way around campus. Being the good girl that she is, she has checked in with me everyday. I even set up a Facebook so we can keep in touch. My next investment is a web cam so I can actually be able to see her when we message.

I am so proud of the person she has become. She is extremely well rounded and I do believe she is going far in life. I can't explain how "strange" it is her not being here. I am used to staying up at night until she came in the door after being out. Poor Mark really is missing her. I taught him how to email her and he was so happy when she emailed him back. Greg and Emily are enjoying having the bathroom! hehe. I am sure my water bill will go down somewhat too. I sure do miss her. She's hoping to come home sometime in mid-September. That's a long time!!!!

So, Happy 18th Birthday, Elizabeth. Oh yeah, in case she is reading this--don't forget to register to vote.

We love you & miss you!

Tropical Storm Fay Update

Bummer. Today was the first day of school. Kids were up and out the door ready to go. I certainly am enjoying the quiet. However, the quiet will be short lived. I just saw on TV that they are closing the schools tomorrow. So, I spent my morning getting pictures developed and ran to Michael's for some scrapbook goodies so I can spend "my day off" working on some layouts.

I am not concerned about this soon to be hurricane though. I have candles, batteries, water, snacks and all the necessary items. If the power does indeed go out, we will survive. This system is so reminiscent of Hurricane Charlie four years ago. We were so lucky that year that we didn't even have any wind or rain.

I will post some pictures of "moving day" soon. Right now I am just enjoying the quiet. I know the kids will be home soon and it won't be quiet anymore.

SHOULD I BE CONCERNED?

Tomorrow is moving day! We hit the road at 7 a.m. to make the 1.5 hour drive to Gainesville and move Elizabeth into her dorm. We've been so busy getting everything together that we haven't had the tv on. I saw last night that there was a tropical storm brewing! Where did that come from???? So, I just logged onto our local news website and this is the headline.

Crist declares state of emergecny as Tropical Storm Fay moves towards Cuba WFTS-TV First in HD

Should I be worried that if this hurricane does indeed come in the "projected" path that one of my kids will be weathering the storm out away from home? I have a feeling she's not worried. She will be in a dorm room with a bunch of other college students probably having a blast. Who would want to be stuck at home with their family fighting over what to watch on TV? :)

This and that and Name my Blog Contest

I haven't blogged lately because I haven't had anything to blog about. It's the same ole stuff going on. Take this kid here, that kid there, blah blah blah. That's how my life has been going lately. I feel like I am on auto pilot. Well, that will all change in a matter of a few days. My "baby" is leaving for college. She's pretty much been packing up her room and putting stuff in storage containers because she says this will never be "her" room again. She shares a room with Emily (you can imagine her excitement over getting the room to herself). She tells me that she will only be "staying" here not "living" here anymore. I keep telling her that this will always be her room. She doesn't have to clear it out but she is excited about moving 1.5 hours away. No more parents hovering over, no more fighting with her siblings. She's "on her own". Not only will I have to adjust to her leaving, but I have to adjust to having yet another high schooler. Emily will be a freshman! Emily is the third child and sometimes I fell like I have short changed her. I try not to but I remember what it was like. I was the fourth out of five kids. I was always jipped out of things. So, I am hoping to spend more time with her. She's totally opposite Liz. So, I will do my best. Greg is all ready. He "gets it" this year. It has finally sunk into him how important those grades and volunteer hours are for college and Bright Futures. He spent the day today up at the high school volunteering. This time next year, I get to experience the whole "senior" thing again. I have been blessed though that I have really good kids. They are smart, they have great friends, they don't drink or smoke. So far, all is good. I'm not ever saying that they won't make mistakes along the way, but "it's all good". As for Mark, hopefully third grade will be as good as second grade. He had the best teacher.

So, I don't know what I am going to do next week when my house goes from total chaos to about 8 hours of silence. Lisa and I used to go to breakfast and we even did pedicures to celebrate. It's not the same without her. So, I have decided to spend the entire day scrapbooking. Not cleaning, not running errands but hopefully get some pages done. We will see how that goes.

I have also decided to update my blog and be a better blogger. So, first thing first, I need a new name for my blog. I am also going to "change it up" with different background to reflect all the changes that we have been going through. I hope to start including more pictures as well. So, I am going to have a "name my blog" contest. If I choose the name that you suggust, I will send you a prize. Don't know what it will be yet, but give me time to put some more thought into it.

Well, told you nothing exciting has been going on. Hopefully that will all change. Have a wonderful rest of the week.

It's been awhile since I have blogged because I have just been so daggone busy. My summer is flying by. Elizabeth leaves on August 17th and the others start school on August 18th. I don't want summer to go by so fast. After next week, it will slow down a bit because Greg will be done with PT and baseball. Mark only has two weeks of swimming left too. We still have a lot to do before Elizabeth leaves. Lots of shopping!

My new carpet is finally in. It looks so nice. It smells so new. I think I am finally at a point after five years of living in this house, that it finally "feels like mine". The only room left to do is the master bedroom.

We are finally getting some much needed rain. Everything is so green. Greg hates all the rain because he has to mow the lawn more often. Looks like the tropics are starting to get active so it will be interesting to see how our hurricane season goes. The first summer we were here, we got nothing. The second and third summers I was ready to pack up and leave. Last summer was quiet. So hopefully this one will be quiet too. Last night on the news, we saw where State Farm wants to raise Homeowners Insurance by 46% to cover future hurricanes. Umm. Hello. That's a big increase. Hopefully it won't go through. Our insurance is higher than our house payment. So, I think they will lose a lot of customers (including us). This will be a big test for our Govenor since he was so vocal in his campaign to lower insurance cost. Hopefully he will stand by what he promised.

That's about all that has been going on in our lives. Just busy, busy, busy.

I've been tagged by Benita so here goes:

Ten Years Ago: We were a family of five. Liz was almost 8, Greg was 6 and Emily was 4. We were living in West Jordan, Utah. I loved the house but the neighbors weren't very friendly to us (another post). The kids were going to school in Sandy and it was quite a drive to school since the roads were all torn up and under construction for the upcoming Olympics. Since the neighborhood kids weren't "allowed" to play with my kids, all their friends lived across the valley by the school so I spent alot of time driving! We also took our very first trip to California and took the kids to Disneyland.

Five things on today's to do list: (1) Get myself showered and dressed. It's early and I still haven't finished my coffee. (2) Finish putting house back together. We got new carpeting put in and everything had to be boxed up. I've been able to sort through everything as I'm putting it back and getting rid of a lot of stuff. Love that feeling. (3) Go to Circuit City and price new speakers for the stereo. They are Steve's speakers from high school (at least 27 years old), and they finally need to be replaced. (4) Laundry, laundry and more laundryl. It never ends (5) Take Greg to baseball if it doesn't rain. (5) Cook dinner.

Snacks I enjoy: Green apples with peanut butter, chips and salsa, Cheetos. Not very healthy, I know.

Things I would do if I were a millionaire: Pay off all our debts, buy a new car for myself, set up college funds for my kids, travel, hire a personal trainer, remodel my kitchen, and if there is anything left, donate to the Susan G. Komen organization. I will admit I would be greedy. Notice I didn't say buy a bigger house? I don't want to have to clean a bigger house so I would just fix up what I have.

Places I have lived: Ohio, Utah & Florida

I tag Lisa, Cindi, Liane and Sue. This was fun.

Happy Thursday.....................................

July Already?

Where did June go? It's hard to believe that it's July 2nd. YIKES. I was at Target and Walmart yesterday and they were working on the school supply aisles. I'm so not ready for school. As crazy and busy as my summer is, I'm enjoying not having school.

It has been a crazy summer here in our house. Busy, busy, busy. I've taken three of the kids into the doctor for physicals, Mark to his allergist, Greg twice a week to physical therapy, Mark twice a week to Mathnasium. Gas stations are loving when I pull in. In addition, Greg is playing legion ball and that involves driving all over the city of Tampa. If anyone is familiar, traffic in Tampa is awful. What's worse, the games start at 5:30--right in the middle of rush hour traffic. Oh yeah, I've also been running kids to the orthodontist. As Greg was getting his braces off, Emily was in the other room having her "consult". She gets her braces on August 4th. Here we go again with monthly payments and check ups for the next two+ years. It's all worth it though. Greg's teeth are beautiful. My kids have not been blessed with nice straight teeth. So, this is #3 in braces and from what I can tell from Mark's teeth, he will need them too.

Last week, Elizabeth and I attended Parent Preview at UF. WOW. I'm overwhelmed. She can officially move into her dorm August 17 at 9:00 am. Then we have to rush right back because the others start school on August 18. What's going to be harder is that Liz will turn 18 on August 20 and we won't be there to celebrate with her. 18 is a big deal. So, I'm secretly going to arrange for her friends to take her out or something. I already spoke to her friend and he said no problem. The campus is HUGE. It was fun to see everything though. I think she is going to have a blast. She also got her season tickets to the football games. GO GATORS. I think she will love being away from home. It took us exactly 1.5 hours to get there so I know she is just a large cup of coffee away and we can visit anytime. She's working her little rear end off this summer. She's babysitting two days a week making AWESOME money and the other three days she works in a doctors office. Good news is that we don't have to pay for her gas anymore. YIPPEE. We are still forking out her car insurance but at this point, gassing three cars was hard. So every little bit helps.

Today I have to drop my car off into the mechanic. It's been running "a little hot". The light came on the other day for a minute but it hasn't been on since. So, I figured I better get it fixed now. After that, it's Mathnasium and physical therapy and a baseball game tonight.

Speaking of baseball..................how about those Tampa Bay Rays? I'm a Reds fan since that is what I grew up with but I just love those Rays. They have beaten the Red Sox twice now and there is another game tonight. Go Rays! I just wish their stadium was closer. It's a good hour and half drive from where we live to go watch them.

Well, kids are stirring so my quiet, morning time is about to end. I need to hit the shower before they all do so there is hot water. Although it's so hot here right now, the cold water tap is warm! At least we are finally getting some much needed rain.

Have a wonderful Wednesday. Make it a good one.

Happy Birthday, Mark

Dear Mark: Eight years ago today at 2:47 pm you joined our family. I was overwhelmed with the thought that I was to be a mom to four kids. You haven't been the easiest of our "gang" but you have brought such joy to our lives. You definately keep us on our toes. Hope you have a great birthday.


Love,
Mom

OH HAPPY DAY

Two posts in one day! Mark and I returned from his annual allergy check up. He has been allergic to eggs and peanuts since was a baby. Unfortunately, we learned the hard way. Since he was 11 months old, we have been carrying around epi-pens. Each time he gets tested, his reactions are "better". Well this year we had good news and bad news. The good news---he outgrew his egg allergy. The bad news--he is still allergic to peanuts. So, we still have to have that dreaded pen. It's going to take me awhile to actually feed him eggs. He has never tasted a fried, scrambled or any kind of egg since that horrible day back in 2001. I even told the doctor that this will be something I have to "ease into". Just within the last year, we've been "introducing" him to baked goods with eggs and he has been able to tolerate them. We celebrated with McDonald's milkshakes and a call to dad telling him "what a good job" he did and never even cried. Oh Happy Day!!!

Is this a good idea?

With the Fourth of July approaching, it's time to set up the fireworks tents here. I was coming home and one of the first ones that I saw is sitting in the parking lot of the Shell gas station. Is this a good idea? Later............

COLLEGE LIFE

Last night, Elizabeth and I along with her friend, Heather and her mom, went dorm room shopping. Liz and Heather will be suite mates at UF. They both have different favorite colors and taste. Elizabeth wanted something brown and Heather likes pink. We searched and searched. We started off having dinner at Panera. Then we hit Linens and Things. As soon as the girls saw this set, they fell in love with it. It's perfect. It's a bed in a bag (also called Express kit) and has everything--sheets, towls, rug, throw. We will have to buy different sheets because the beds in the dorm are twin/long. Better yet, when I used all my coupons and Liz had one gift card, I was able to get out of there under $100. We also went to Bed, Bath and Beyond and they each got a pink trash can. It was really fun picking all the stuff out. We still have a lot to do before they leave in August but getting this was a big start. Heather leaves in two weeks to study in Mexico for six weeks. By the time she gets back, they would only have two weeks to get stuff. It's going to be so weird moving her out.

We are still in desperate need of rain. We had a little on Sunday and it hasn't rained since. It seems like it has rained everywhere except over us. As I type this, I can hear thunder in the distance but the sun is out here. We so need the rain!!!!

Today has been a real lazy day for a change. Other than running Mark to swimming lessons and the YMCA and a quick trip to Publix, I've been lazy. Mark and I got in the pool and were swimming until we heard the thunder and the skies (all around us) got dark. Now I'm in my comfy, stretchy pants relaxing. I have some laundry to fold and then I am going to scrap away the rest of the night. Quick and easy dinner--baked potatoes and salad. YUM.....

IT RAINED! Finally, yesterday it rained. After months of no rain, we finally got some here at our house in New Tampa. What's even better, it's supposed to rain again this afternoon. YIPPEE. Even the possibility of severe storms isn't phasing me. We just need rain!

Yesterday we spent the afternoon at our friends house "hanging out". They live on a lake so the boys had a blast tubing. I personally enjoyed watching from the side especially after Kate told me that they have had a few gators come onto their "beach". NOPE. Not for me. Even a few dads got out their and had some fun. It was so cool watching the storm clouds move in. It was pretty but once the thunder started rolling in and we saw lightening bolts, we moved the get together inside. You don't mess with lightening in Florida.

Last night I got to watch the new season of Army Wives. I really enjoyed watching that show last season but I was somewhat disappointed in last night's show. They didn't have to kill her off. I won't say who so I won't spoil it for anyone. Also, Kim Delaney had "some work" done on her lips. I thought she looked awful. I know they had her made up to look injured, but you could tell her lips were different! So, I will probably watch it next week and then decide if I will keep watching. I don't want to get hooked to a "depressing/sad drama".

Got up this morning and took Greg to his first physical therapy session. Today they just took measurements and he will probably start on Wednesday. I hope this works. He's too young (16) to have back problems. They commented on how "fit" he is. He does work hard and keeps in shape. He just made that one play in a baseball game that tweaked his back. He did get the out though!

Not much else going on here in our house today. This afternoon, I'm taking Liz to the bank and get her all set up with her own checking account and everything that goes with it. I've known this day was coming. We go up in two weeks to Parent Preview at UF and we can't wait. It's just here and I and I personally am looking forward to two nights from home! One of those nights, she has to stay in the dorms so I have a the hotel room all to myself. She will get registered for all her classes while we are there. I'm still taking this all in. I have a college student!!!!!!

It's time to tackle Mt. Washmore and get my day started. Have a wonderful Monday!

In less than four hours, summer vacation will officially start here in our house. I am thrilled that the kids will be getting some much needed sleep (they've been a wee bit cranky and moody lately). However, I am not thrilled that they will be home with me all day! The job market is horrible so Elizabeth and Greg are struggling to find jobs. Elizabeth has some babysitting gigs lined up but she still needs more hours. Greg started Legion ball so my next 6 weeks still involve going to baseball games. Don't get me wrong, I love, love, love baseball but not in Florida in June!!! Can you say "hot, hot, hot". Em's the outgoing one so I am sure she will be running around with her friends. Mark I hope to sign up for some more swimming lessons or find a swim team. That really seems to be what he likes. He never followed in Greg's footsteps and liked all the sports. He needs the constant "movement" to keep his attention so swimming is right up his alley. As for me, I just want some sleep. Before I know it, school will be back in session. I was able to talk to our school counselor and Greg and Em have some really tough schedules next year. I'm still taking it in that Em will be in high school! I'm not a big fan of middle school so I am anxious for her to enter high school. Sadly, her bff won't be going to the same high school. She's going to the other high school here in town. But, I told her that it will only make their friendship stronger. They won't be in each other's "drama" and when they get together, it will be much "funner" because they don't see each other all the time every day. I won't miss the "drama" of middle school. There are a lot of mean girls in middle school. Hopefully, in high school they "will get it". They will be the "freshman" and put in their place. I've been lucky that my kids have nice friends and stay out of trouble.

So, today is just a "veg" and "relax" day. Em is having some friends come over after school (they get out 1/2 day). They are going to swim and order a pizza. Her one friend is leaving for Italy for the summer so they want to spend some time with her before she leaves. It will probably drive Greg nuts that there are "girls" running around but I'm sure he will find somewhere to go. :)

Not much else planned for the rest of the week. Liz goes tomorrow for her "college" physical and shots. It still seems so weird to say that. We go at the end of the month for parent orientation and she will sign up for her classes. She got her dorm assignment and she is rooming with her friend. They also got their first choice in their dorm. So they were thrilled. They've already been out and about looking for bedding and stuff.

Well, it's time to get this day started. Before I know it, everyone will be home and I will be complaining how they are driving me nuts! hehe. Have a great Wednesday.

Kim

WHAT A WEEKEND

What a great Saturday it was here for "me". Yes, I say me. Being a mom of 4, it's very rare that I have a "me" day. My friend, Barb, scored some free tickets to a private showing of Sex In the City. What a great movie!!!! I used to watch the show when we would get free HBO. I've also been able to catch it in reruns. The movie did not disappoint. I went with my friends Barb & Terri and there was an extra ticket so Elizabeth (my daugther in college--which is so weird saying) went. I loved it and will definately purchase it when it comes out on DVD to add to my "chick flick" collection. There was some sex scenes and some language after all it was an "R" rated movie. Stuff like that doesn't bother me though. I would have been disappointed if they didn't have it in there. After all, it's Carrie, Samantha, Miranda and Charlotte! Charlotte is still my favorite character. She is so funny. I even learned that there really is a website where you can rent designer purses. How funny is that????

Later that evening, we had tickets to the Tampa Bay Rays verses Chicago White Sox. I am a baseball fan. I love going to baseball games. Unfortunately, the Rays stadium is not close at all--it takes about 1.5 hours to get to their stadium. However, after Saturday nights game, Trace Adkins sang. So, for Mother's Day, Steve had purchased tickets for our entire family to go. Elizabeth wasn't able to make it because of all her graduation parties. So, Greg took a buddy. Oh my heck, can Trace Adkins put on a good show! He is one of my all time favorite singers (George Strait is my other favorite). It was awesome. I still think he deserved to win The Apprentice. As I mentioned in a previous blog entry, he played for a charity that really affects my own family. His daughter suffers from food allergies and he played for a charity that raises awareness of how severe allergies can be. Marks suffers from an allergy to peanuts, tree nuts and eggs. Hopefully, there will be a cure for these allergies some day. Thanks, Trace.

Yesterday, after a quick trip to Wally World, I just relaxed. I did some laundry and watched a very disappointig NASCAR race. I eventually turned it off because I didn't want to see a certain racer win--which he did. Bleck. I spent last night sorting my photos so that I can start doing what I love--SCRAPBOOKING! With school out on Wednesday, I can finally relax and actually get a few pages completed.

Today, is just a typical Monday. When I woke up this morning, I couldn't even remember what day it was. For some reason, I have it in my head that today is Tuesday. DUH. Greg is home today since he exempted his exams. So, I have not one but two teenagers laying around. But, they have a nice "to do" list. The others go a half day on Wednesday and then they are all home for the summer. Let's hope it's a good one.

Have a wonderful Monday!

Introducing........

my high school graduate. She received her diploma tonight. She graduated #8 in her class (not sure what the final count was but it was around 500). Not to bad! It was definately a proud moment tonight. I held up well and didn't cry until tonight when I uploaded my pictures off my camera. She is no longer a Freedom Patriot but now a Florida Gator!!!!! Way to go, Liz.

It's here

The day that I have dreaded for the last 13 years, is here. Today is Elizabeth's last day of high school (well, really yesterday was. Today it's Senior Day and the school has lots of fun activities planned). She will be home around lunch time. I've been handling this really well until this morning I got my last email from the guidance counseler with the heading "Bye bye Seniors". It was then that I got all choked up. I wanted to take a picture of her leaving but she was gone when I got back from dropping Mark off at school. So, maybe when she gets home. Commencement is Wednesday. I planned on "painting" her windows on her car but it was raining this morning. Now the sun is out so I will definately do it later.

What a Finish

WOW. What a finale. I was rooting for both of these teams since week #1. I thought Kristi had a slight advantage but how could you not want her and Mark to win? They were a great couple. I loved Jason. What a dancer he became! He was a hottie! I have loved Edyta all through the seasons and I am glad they finally got her a partner that could take her to the end. In my book, it was a tie. Two fantastic dancers that deserved to be there in the final two. Tom B. commented they would be back in September. Woo Hoo. Love my Dancing show. Can't wait to see who is on next season. So, now my Monday and Tuesday evenings are free. I saw a few previews for some upcoming new reality shows that will be one soon and am looking forward to them. The Mole is one of them. I've watched Celebrity Mole in the past and it was a fun show so I will give that show a watch.

Have a great Wednesday. Make it a good one.

I'm still alive. I have been MIA from my blog now for a few weeks. We have made First Communion and Confirmation (I will post pictures soon). Right now I am knee deep in planning a graduation party next weekend for about 35 people. I'm also trying to put a video together from the many pictures I have gathered. I have no clue what I am doing since I am not computer smart.

Be back soon..............................

Where's the book?

Remember when you were expecting your first baby? One of the first things I did was buy the book "What to Expect When You're Expecting". I read that book all the time with all four of my kids. After that, I didn't have time to read. I've never been one to read all of the parenting books but I did read a few. I wanted to stay up to date to see if I was "doing it right". I am in no way a parenting expert but raising 4 kids (17, 16, 14 & 7), I consider myself experienced. As I look back and think about the advice I have been given through the years, I feel like people forgot to fill me in on a few things. The early 90's were a blur to me. Having 3 babies in car seats and 2 in diapers at the same time really did a number on my brain function. Looking back, I think, how did I do it? Not only did I do it, I did it by myself. I didn't have Grandma's and relatives that would come over so I could go to the grocery or take a shower. I drug those kids to the grocery stores and any other errands I had to do. I would wait until hubby got home from work to get stuff done. One of the WORST pieces of advice I kept hearing was "it will get easier when they get older". It doesn't! I don't want to scare any new mom's out there but having the babies was the easy part. Gone are the days where you could put them in their crib or playpen and then they would take a nap. Gone are the days, where you could put them in the high chair with cheerios and they would sit still long enough to eat them all gone. These days, having my family sit at the dinner table at one time is a miracle. Where did it say this in the book? Gone are the days where we could go to McDonald's and get out of there under $20 with Happy Meals. If we do make it out to dinner (which is rare), it's about $75. They have to have platters. Don't get me started on clothing. Gone are the days of picking up outfits at Target (my favorite). Now it's American Eagle and Hollister. I recently picked up some underwear for one of my girls at Victoria Secret-hey they were a bargain. I never thought the day would come that I would be shopping for my baby girls there. Gone are the days of buying princess panties at Target. Where was this in the books? Where in the books did it say the emotional rollercoaster one will ride as one of their kids prepares for college and another one starts high school?

I know I am rambling on and on and I apologize. I am not even sure what the message of this blog entry even is. I guess I'm just looking for a book "What to Expect the Teenage Years". Maybe I could write the book.

TGIF

Enough said.

WOW. I so did not want Marlee to go home on Dancing With the Stars. I so enjoyed watching her dance. What a inspiration she is. She was phenominal and to be able to dance like she did without being able to hear the music. WOW.

Happy Birthday, Emily!

So, I caved! I broke down and got her a cell phone for her birthday. The others had to wait until they got into high school. Well, she's only 6 weeks away. AT&T had a "add on promotion" that I couldn't pass up. She was so excited. Now it's not a fancy phone like some others, but she was thrilled. I am still taking it in that she is 14. Where has the time gone?

We are down to just tournament play in baseball. I am so excited that this season is almost over. As much as I love baseball, I HATE the politics that go along with it. I refuse to play that game. It's so obvious who is in the "coaches pocket". It's sad. But I know it's everywhere.

Elizabeth is so excited that next Saturday is grad night at WDW. I wish we had that opportunity when I was in High School in Ohio. Basically, they go to Disney from 10 pm -4 am. What I find cool is that Disney has a STRICT dress code. Very strict.

Mark finally made his First Reconcilliation. Only 2 weeks to go until First Communion. It's been a long process but he is almost done. Greg is down to 2 1/2 weeks until Confirmation. WOW. It has bene an extremely busy year for us.

Is anyone else watching Desperate Housewives? I'm glad they are finally addressing the whole Orsen running over Mike. That storyline has been really bugging me that they never addressed it. I am so not liking the direction they are taking with Lynette's husband. I really like him and I don't want him to be a "a bad guy".

Today, I am hoping to stay close to home and get the house in order. I let it get out of hand again. I spent most of the weekend working on laundry. Boy, do we have a lot of it.

Have a wonderful Monday and a great rest of the week.

American Idol Results

I'm speechless and very sad. Never saw that one coming. All I can say though is remember Elliot Yamin? He didn't win Idol but he has gone far. He's one of my all-time favorite Idols. Hopefully, this young man will be able to have the same success.

I did a layout! Finally. Life with 3 teenagers and one 7 year old just sucks up every free minute that I have. I have this great scrapbook room and all the supplies but at the end of the day when I can actually sit down, I'm too tired. So, I'm determined to get back into scrapbooking which is a passion of mine. I also got a new camera--a Canon Rebel. I'm have a long way to go to learn how to use it and I invested in Photoshop. I can't wait to jump back in. So, the other night I was sorting pictures and I came across the two from Emily's birthday breakfast. We car pool to the middle school with another family and whenever someone has a birthday, we take them to McDonald's before school. This is actually her birthday from last April. The pictures were taken on my phone because stupid me forgot my camera but at least I had something. I thought I could do this page pretty quick since it only had two pictures. The title was made using my Cricut machine. I know it's a pretty simple layout but I am just thrilled I got it done and I can't wait to do more. I've been working on Liz's high school album so it will be done in time for her graduation. Right now I'm sorting all the photos that I have never organized before. I've got a long way to go but I'm getting there!

Elizabeth is up at the University of Florida right now "shadowing" some gals from a sorority. Her friend's sister just joined a sorority so they are hosting Liz and her friend for a few days. It was weird dropping her off and going home without her. She will have a blast though.

I'm hoping to finish the kids closets before Spring Break is over. Greg is begging me to drive him over to Clearwater to eat at Skyline Chili. It's a restuarant that is big in our hometown (Cincinnati) and is all decorated with "Cincinnati Things". We really miss having it close. Now if there were a United Dairy Farmers (another hometown favorite) life would be good! We went to a few Reds Spring Training games last month down in Sarasota and they served Skyline so now we are all just craving it.

Well, it's time to get my day started. Mt. Washmore is growing by the day. Happy Thursday.

Spring Break Crud

We are in day #2 of our Spring Break. Mark came home from school on Friday not feeling well. His teacher even commented that he "wasn't himself". So, he is still hacking and coughing. Steve came home from work last night not feeling the best. Emily woke up this morning with a sore throat and she sounds horrible. 3 down, only 3 to go! CVS will love us this week.

THEN & NOW

I'm going through pictures for Elizabeth's graduation video and I came across my favorite picture of her from 2nd grade. These two pictures are exactly 10 years apart! (sorry about the grainy look but I had to shrink them down to fit into the blog) Going through all these pictures is really making me sad. In less than two months she will be a high school graduate! In less than 4 months, she will pack up her stuff and go off to the University of Florida. Luckily, it's only two hours away. These next few months will be an emotional roller coaster for me. The time has just flown by. And, I get to do it again in two years with Greg. Elizabeth has been an awesome kid. She is a driven, well rounded young woman. She's graduating #8 in her class out of over 500+ students. She's worked so very hard and I do believe she's "going far in life". Despite all the negative publicity that her high school has received in the press, they have prepared her well for the next leg of her journey in life. We are so proud of her. I've been trying to get her scrapbooks done for her graduation. It's been fun looking back over the years. Okay, time to change the subject--I'm getting all teary eyed.



I got my first blog award from Benita (On Eagle's Wings). I can't figure out how to post the picture but I will work on that for my next entry. Thank you, Benita.



In addition to getting ready for Graduation, Mark is preparing to make his First Communion and Greg will be receiving his Confirmation. Whew. It's been a busy and hectic few months. All this happens next month. Yesterday, I spent the morning coloring my hair. It's no wonder why all those pesky gray ones are appearing lately. I went with a little more red this time and I really like it. Now I'm debating whether or not to chop off my hair. This is the longest it has been in years.



Time to get a move one. The kiddoes will be rolling in shortly and my quiet day is done. The good news is that I have absolutely NO WHERE to be tonight. Mark will be my one and only pick up of the day. These days are rare and I sure cherish them--especially with gas prices so high. ouch.



Have a great Wednesday.

HE'S A WINNER IN MY BOOK

So, he didn't win Celebrity Apprentice. But he won me over. I love Trace Adkins. I have liked him since he first came into the Country Music scene. I have several of his songs as my cell phone tones. He, in my opinion, was the Celebrity Apprentice. Granted Piers raised more money but Trace was a real gentleman throughout. But most important of all, he played for a charity that is very close to my heart. The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (www.foodallergy.org). Like Trace, we are parents of a child who suffers from severe food allergies. Thanks to Trace, he got that charity "out there". I hope that someday Mark can live an "allergy free" diet. Hopefully, parents will understand the dangers of certain foods in classrooms. I've heard through the years how parents complain because certain candy and food are not allowed in the classroom. I'm not expecting food bans but I want people to understand that this was not our choice. It can be deadly! There is not a day that goes by that I don't worry if he will come in contact with a peanut or tree nut and I will get the dreaded phone call from the school nurse. Education is so important. As for Piers, he played for a wonderful and deserving charity as well so I'm happy for him. It was just the way he played the game. That's all I am going to say but to me Trace was the big winner!

For some reason, I keep thinking today is Thursday. I need to remind myself it's only Wednesday. The good news is that some of my "Thursday To Do's" are done!

"It's only Wednesday, It's only Wednesday!!! "

PSA for the day

This morning I got up and out and got my annual mammogram. This was my third time having it done. I didn't get one last year so I was determined to do it this year. So ladies, don't forgot to get your mammograms. I was in and out in less than 20 minutes (most of the time was spent filling out paperwork in the lobby). No excuses.

Happy Easter!

Woke up this morning to the sound of rain. I just love the sound of the rain on the roof. It's so calming. I looked over at the digitial box on the tv and it said 6:28. WHAT?????? The house was pitch black. Our alarm didn't go off. We all over slept which is so not us. I get up and go wake Greg. He mumbled a few words as I was going to the next room to get Liz. As I open her door she is awake. I just happened to look at her clock and it says 5:28. What? I check the kitchen clock on the stove and microwave--5:29. I check my watch--5:29. I checked all the digital boxes and they were an hour ahead. Oops. So, I climb back into bed and attempt to go back to sleep but I just laid there listening to the rain. I should be mad at Verizon for having the messed up clocks, but it was just so nice to lay there in the dark and quiet listening to the rain. Wonder how many other people got up in a panic like me? Oh well.

I finally made it to the scrapbook store yesterday. I was supposed to go with my friend, Kate, on Tuesday but I woke up to a flat tire. It was my first flat tire ever. Hubby took little man to school for me so I could get ready. I think someone was looking over me because I usually take Mark to school in my pajama's. That could have been embarassing! So, I was able to air up the tire and drive to the tire store down the street. So, Kate and I rescheduled for yesterday. Kate doesn't live close so my other friend Barb picked me and we went to breakfast and shopping. Got a bargain on a new leather purse at Marshall's. But, yesterday I got lots of goodies at Ruban Rouge. It's the ultimate LSS, in my opinion. It's a good thing it's not real close to me otherwise I would be so broke.

Tomorrow I decided to let the kids stay home from school. This is the first year the school district cancelled "all Religious holidays". They even changed our spring break until April so it wouldn't be "associated" with Easter. So lots of teachers, bus drivers, cafeteria workers are taking the day off. Most of the students are staying home too. Even hubby is off. So, since it will be excused I am letting my kids stay home. I even heard on the news last night that they are cancelling bus service at schools and to "bring your own lunch". It's silly that our district is even going to school.

So today I'm off to Target to finish my last minute Easter baskets for the kids. We don't do a lot of candy since Mark can't eat it. It's not fair to give the older kids candy and not him. So, we do what candy he can eat and I gave them all each a DVD.

The rain has stopped. It was one of the rains that moved in and then moved on. Hopefully it washed a lot of the pollen out. We are miserable here with our allergies.

Have a wonderful Thursday.

TGIF..................

This is what I spent all of yeserday doing. I am not Martha Stewart but I do love getting creative. Mark needed a prince costume for his fairy tale bowl. I thought I had until next Friday to get it done but he came home Wednesday and said he needed it for this Friday. I improvised about 99% of it. I had a pattern but it has been years since I have sewn. So, I only used the pattern for the cape. Trying to find a long sleeve shirt in Florida in March is impossible and making one was out of the question with my sewing skills. So, I settled for a $3.50 shirt oversized shirt from Walmart. The belt was a piece of cardboard spray painted gold and sewn with ribbon. The crown came from the local party supply store. I probably put this costume together for under $20. Find that online! I'm happy with how it turned out. Ignore the bare feet. He will have shoes on! He told me the shirt looked like an elf. So, I told him he can be an "elf prince".

I am so happy it's Friday. This was a very hectic week. Yesterday a mom who was trying to back up her car in the middle of freaking pick up yelled at me. Pick up time is a crazy time to begin with. The car in front of me moved up and I followed. She whipped in and tried to nose her way in so she could back in. I totally didn't realize what she was trying to do so I pulled up. She had a hard time backing it in (she totally could have moved to other spots that had the extra room). So, as she got out of her van and slammed her door she walked right in front of my van and yelled something at me. Sad thing was I was going to roll down my window and apologize. Forget that. So, I will probably get a dirty look and she will stand in her "little group" and point out what a *itch I was. It's amazing to me too. It's always the "new" parents to the school that do this. Why do they feel the need to get out of their car during pick up and get their kids. That's why it's called a PICK UP LINE. The staff puts them in the car. Yes, the line is long but it moves. There is a HUGE parking lot in the back of the school they can park in and walk up to get them. Rules are rules. I feel so bad for the staff though. They try really hard to get the line moving but they are outnumbered by the rude, impatient parents. Okay, I'm done venting.......................

Today I have nothing to do. Well, I always have something to do but my goal is to work on laundry and get some pictures developed off my computer and stored. I am so far behind on that it's not even funny. I might sneak off to get a fish sandwhich later since it's Friday. Only one more Friday after today in Lent. Hard to believe that next Sunday is Easter.

So, that being said, it's time to log off and get my day going. This sure wasn't a "happy" entry so I apologize for the rant. Hopefully today will be a much happier day. Make it a good one.

3.11.08

Has it been almost a weeks since my last entry? Not much to blog about here. Right now we are just stuck in a routine whic is EXTREMELY busy and boring. Same old stuff--school, sports, run, run, run.

I'm just counting down the days until Spring Break. Last year the school district changed around the school schedule which is awful. Usually we start early August and get out in May. Now we started later and get out in June. They took some of our CHRISTMAS (yes I will say that) break and now the kids don't get their Spring Break until April. That's way too long. They are scheduled to go on Good Friday and the kids are begging me to let them take that day off since it will be considered a "Religious" holiday. So, I am considering it ON the condition that we all get up and go to Church. Then they can have the rest of the day off. It's a long story about our school schedule. They should have just left it alone.

Sunday we are going down to Sarasota to a Cincinnati Reds spring training game. I'm actually very excited to go. Even "Princess" Liz is going. I definately will take a picture of that. She doesn't like to do a lot of the "family" things anymore. So, we are all heading down to watch the game. Best part is that we will be able to get some "hometown" food there. I cannot wait to get my Skyline Chili. We went last year and had a blast. I just hope the Reds stay at that facility and not move to Arizona which is a possibility. Then on Easter Sunday, the boys are going back to watch another game.

We sent in our first check to the University of Florida (ouch). Her housing application is all done and been accepted. They had to list three choices for their dorms. It will be interesting to see which one they get. The kids are just anxious to be able to use their own bathroom in the morning. Liz is a bathroom hog! We get on her and on her about how other people need the bathroom but it goes in one ear and out the other. Next year she will have to share ONE bathroom with three other gals. Can't wait for that. I can't imagine what our life would be like if we still lived in our house in Ohio. It was our first house and had only ONE bathroom. Our second house had 1 full and 3 half baths. Then we went down to a three bathroom house and now we just have two. We should stop moving around before we end up with one bathroom again.

Well, today is a stay at home and do laundry day. That job just never seems to end. I really need a new washer since the one I have is really starting to go. It stops mid-cycle. It's a Maytag Neptune and I dont' like it. I've had it repaired several times. After the warranty expired, I decided not to purchase another one and just replace the machine. I'm going back to the old fashioned top loading machine without a computer. I don't care for the front loader either. I just want to load and go and this machine is definately not that. The dryer is okay so I will keep that for now.

Have a wonderful Tuesday. I was tagged by Benita so I will post that later when I get everyone out the door and off to school.

3.5.08

Is it Wednesday already? Where is the week going? I'm not complaining though. That means we are halfway to the weekend.

Today I am forcing myself to stay home. If I have to chain the doors, I need to stay home and clean my house. The laundry is out of control! So, I told myself that if I stay home today, I can run to JoAnn's tomorrow. Mark is having a "Fairytale Bowl" at school next week and he has to dress up like a prince. I have no clue what to do with him. I found a crown at the party supply store yesterday but that's it. I checked out the patterns at Wally World and they wanted $15. I thought maybe I could get creative with a bathrobe but they're not in high demand here in Florida. So, I thought maybe if I walked around JoAnn's I could get some creative juices flowing. So, tomorrow I am going to get up and out early and hit JoAnn's. The closest JoAnn's to me is a crappy, dirty store so I have to make the drive to a bigger, better (and cleaner) store.

Also on my "to do" list is to start going through all of Elizabeth's pictures and start pulling ones for her video. I think I have narrowed down all the songs. Some of the songs I have in mind are :

"In My Arms" by Plumb

"Under the Sea" from Little Mermaid (her favorite as a little girl)

"My Wish" by Rascall Flatts

"Ready, Set, Go" by Billy Ray & Miley Cyrus

The Graduation Song by Vitamin C

I'm not sure of the exact title of the Billy Ray song. I can't believe that in two months she will be graduating high school. We sent in her housing application and made our first check to the college (ouch). I know she is going to do great and I hope she has a great college experience. It's something that Steve and I never got to experience. We did it the hard way. Got married. Over 12 years, Steve went to night school until he finally got his MBA. I don't recommend it. It was a lot of work and a lot of stress.

Well, I better get off here and start tackling my "to do" list. Here's just some of what's on it:

Pay bills

clean kitchen

clean bathrooms

laundry, laundry, laundry

dust & vacuum family room

sweep & mom entry way

Mark's program @3:00

I could go on but if I could just get half of that done today, I will be happy. I'll post my progress later.

3.3.08

They did it again. Elizabeth got home late last night and of course was running really behind this morning so I only got a little of the information. Remember she has been in S. Carolina that last 4 days at a journalism convention. All I got as she was quickly running out the front door was that their newspaper RevolutionNewspaper.com - Home got number one in state again. She also got an award for one of her layouts she did. Woo Hoo. I will post more later when she gets home and can tell all about her trip. Later...............................................

3.1.08

I got to do something really fun today for a change. Usually my Saturday's are spent at the baseball fields.

My dear hubby decided to make an appointment at 8:00 to take Elizabeth's car to the dealership for some work. On a Saturday morning??? What was he thinking? It's the first Saturday that we didn't have a baseball game. So up and out I went.

Then Emily and I made the drive down to Westshore Blvd. to meet my friends daughter and her boyfriend for brunch. They flew in to Tampa to take a cruise. So I picked them up at their hotel and then we went to IHOP. It really made me homesick for my friend Patti. We've been very good friends for the last 18 years. Her girls were practically babies when we met--okay, 10 & 5 isn't babies but now that they are grown women it seems like they were just that when we met. Krissy asked if I minded taking them to the port. No problem. However, I have no idea how to even get there. The boyfriend (whom I totally liked) had a GPS system on his phone. So, no problem. Off we go. Oh man. It was so cool. That ship was huge. Just going down to the terminals got me all excited. I've never been on a cruise. I wanna go!!!! After I got home and we were in the car on the way to pick up the other car, I "hinted" how nice a cruise would be. See, we've NEVER taken a pleasure trip in the almost 21 years of marriage. House hunting doesn't count! It was way to stressful to be relaxing. Even before we had kids, we never had the finances because we were very fortunate to buy our first house within six months of getting married. Not bad for a 20 & 23 year old. I'm not complaining. I just really want to go away with my hubby. So, now I am going to work on getting hubby to go away. Unfortunately all our family is back in Ohio. That will be the tough part.

After leaving the Port of Tampa, Emily and I ventured back to Westshore Mall and did some shopping. It was very nice. I don't get to spend much "alone" time with her. It's always about Liz or Greg's baseball. So, we shopped. She got some much needed clothes and she had a blast being the center of attention. She actually even liked some of the clothes I picked out. I never thought I would see that day again. I never thought I would be buying her clothes at Victoria Secret. Yes, I got her some T-Shirts there. We even got a yummy cookie and soda. It was a fun day. It's interesting to "people watch" at the malls. WOW. Some of the outfits people wear.

Dinner tonight is pizza. Quick, easy and I don't have to do the dishes. After that, I am off to work on some scrapbooking and listen to my new Dierks Bently CD that I purchased yesterday. There is also a bottle of wine chilling in the fridge. I'll be lucky to make it until 10 pm. Well pizza's here as I type this.........................

Have a good evening.

For the next four days, I am going to get a "little taste" of what it will be like to only have 3 kids in the house. Elizabeth left for a journalism convention in South Carolina called SIPA. She is not only going on behalf of her school's newspaper RevolutionNewspaper.com - Home she also was Vice President and helped organize and plan it. So, hopefully the newspaper will do very well this year again. The only down side to her being gone is that her car is in the driveway. When I leave to take Mark to school, I just back out! Well, guess what I did this morning?? Yep. I "tapped" her car. I cannot even tell if I left those scratches or if they were left over from the last time I "tapped" it. So, because I felt so bad, off to the Autoparts store I went and got some good "buffing stuff" and "wax". Could I be any more dumb?

The weather here is finally cold! I'm even tempted to turn on my furnace but I am trying to save a few $. I just got an email that Greg's game was cancelled for tonight due to the wet field conditions from the other nights rain. I had absolutely NO plans to go sit in the cold and watch that game.

I finally got my Canon Rebel last week. I just haven't had a chance to play with it yet. So, hopefully I can get some shots next week at Greg's game when it warms up. His game last Saturday was in the rain so I dared not bring it out.

Anyone watching American Idol? This season is okay. There's a few I like but I haven't narrowed it down to just one favorite yet. How about Big Brother?? I watched the first show and that's it. It's horrible. I was flipping the other night between that and Idol and I had to just not watch anymore. It's just all fighting and bickering (and lots of boobs) this season. AND not meant for anyone over 25! Maybe someday they should have a "senior" Big Brother for us older "more mature" adults. hehe.

Well, time to tackle Mt. Washmore (as Jolene calls it). Pretty soon I'm going to need climbing gear to walk through that room. Why my kids can't put their laundry in their hampers instead of my floor I will never know.

Happy Thursday................................Make it a great one.

I was tagged today by Benita. This is the first time I have ever been tagged. :)

A: The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.

B: Each player answers the questions about themselves.

C: At the end of the post, the player then tags 3 people and posts their names, then go to their blogs and leave them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

10 years ago: I was settling in to our first Winter in West Jordan, Utah. I was overwhelmed by all the snow. I was a "Cincinnati" gal. If it snows an inch, you stay inside and most of the time the schools were closed or delayed. Not in Utah. The kids went to school across the valley in Sandy and I remember driving them up the bench to school. The kids were 7, 5 & 3. Mark wasn't even a thought! I had just celebrated my 30th birthday earlier. I had met a mom at the school who sold Creative Memories and invited me to a crop. I had not idea what a crop was. So, I went with another mom I had just met and the rest is history. Once a month on a Friday night I made the trip to Draper and scrapped, scrapped, and scrapped.

Things on my to-do list today: Well, since it's almost 8:30 at night, I plan to spend the rest of my night doing what else? Scrapbooking. Tomorrow on my agenda is to make a run to BJ's and get laundry caught up. Then the NASCAR race is on and I will watch it.

What I would do if I were suddenly made a billionaire: Pay off all my debts. Then I would make sure that my kids are all set up for college and not have to worry whether we qualify for financial aid. I definately would make some charitable donations. I also would trade in my mini van and get my dream car--a BMW. I could go on and on.

3 of my bad habits: When I get extremely stressed, I bite off my nails. I am the biggest procrastinator. I put things off until the last minute. I am also horrible about writing things down. I also have a nice new treadmill in my bedroom that is collecting dust. But, I swear I'm going to use it!

3 places I have lived: Cincinnati, Ohio; West Jordan/Sandy (we moved after two years WJ), Utah; Tampa, Florida.

5 jobs that I have had: My first job was at McDonalds (it's where I met hubby). I worked as an Administrative Assistant at a Steel Company. I worked in the traffic department tracking drug shipments at a pharmaceutical company (my favorite job). I was a Client Services Manager for an Estate Planning Company. I had to leave that great paying job because I was having baby #2 and was able to go part time. I left there and went to work for a large insurance company in their Marketing Department. But, the most important job I've had is being able to stay at home for the last 14 years with my kiddoes.

5 things people don't know about me: I HATE SNAKES. I am terrified of them. Unfortunately, Florida is full of them. I hate tomatoes--they make me gag. I would love to go back to school. But, with the kids all in high school, they get to go first. I'm awesome with directions. I think I inherited that from my dad. Who needs a map? I love to read Harlequin Romances. I have tons of them and every time I hit Target or Walmart, I have to pick one up. The library here doesn't have a section like all the other libraries I've been to. So I have to buy them! I especially love ones with cowboys (this was even before I found Pioneer Woman's blog). My dream is to go to New York City at Christmas time. I dream of riding through Central Park and taking in a Broadway show. Someday!

Okay, that's it. So, I tag:

Cindi
Liane
Sue.

Have a wonderful Saturday evening.

Wow. What a week it has been. After having a horrible week the week before, it was such a nice change to have a lot of good happen. First, Mark passed his Hillsborough writes. What does that mean? He can advance onto 3rd grade. He is an excellent student but struggles when it comes to "putting it down onto paper". He was diagnosed with Auditory Processing Disorder last summer. Basically, he processes information at a slower rate. He is as smart as the next kid but moves a little slower to absorb the information and write it down. We got word that he passed. Yeah. Then, Elizabeth getting into her first choice college was the icing on the cake. What a whirlwind of a week. A lot of stress has just been released. Now we can enjoy the rest of the school year.......................

Today is a clean, clean, clean day. The weather is absolutely beautiful. It's a little cool right now but is supposed to get into the mid 70's. I have all the windows open airing out the house. I have a few Yankee Candles burning so hopefully the house will smell yummy.

I finally ordered my Canon Rebel. They were out of the one I wanted at Circuit City so they had to order. They even gave me the online sale price. Life is good right now. I can't wait to get my hands on it. My camera is several years old and doesn't have all the bells and whistles that the new smaller ones have now. It has served it's purpose and I probably will keep it. But it has never taken good "action" shots. All of Greg's baseball pictures aren't very good. So, I am looking forward to getting some great action shots and having a telephoto lens.

Well, I better get a move on. I confiscated the TV remote and told the kids that I didn't want to listen to the TV on all day. So, I have my satellite radio on listening to some Country tunes (much to the eye rolls of the kids).

Have a great Saturday.........................

It's official. We are officially a "Gator Family". We got word that Elizabeth got accepted. Woo Hoo. It's finally hit me that she's going off to college this Fall.

Here you go, Liane. My stash from QVC. I am usually not into a lot of embellishments on my scrapbook pages. When the kids were younger scrapbooking wasn't that big. I just had an "average" 35 mm camera. By the time I had Emily, I was "tired". I didn't take that many pictures anymore (she will be the first one to tell you that there aren't many pictures of her). So, for her album, I use more embellishments to make up for the lack of pictures. I am so into the Heidi Swapp bling. They really ad some pizazz to any page. I've uses Prima flowers before but some of these flowers are huge and will fill in a page nicely. :)

{2.13.08}

It's "hump day". Yeah. Not only that, but we yet another three day weekend ahead of us.

I finally got out all my QVC goodies and took a picture. Guess what? Blogger must be having some problems and the image won't upload. So stay tuned...........I'll try and post it later.

Woke up this morning to sunshine. Is that a bad thing you ask? Well, when you went to bed under a tornado watch until 7 am. and the threat of 2 inches of rain and severe thunderstorms possible and the weather guessers telling you that the morning commute is going to be treacherous, it's a good thing. I was actually looking forward to a much needed rainy day though. My plan was to lounge in my "fat pants" and bum around the house. Not going to happen now. Nope. Gotta get out there and do my errands and knock off some of that "to do" list. They really, really blew the forecast yet again.

Today's errands consist of finding a picture frame for MIL. When they were here for Xmas it was the first time the whole family had been together since Mark was one. I took a picture of all the grandkids for her and was going to frame it and send it to her for Valentines Day. There are six grandkids total--my four and Steve's sisters two boys. Jeff is now 23 and an engineer and Ryan is 22 and is finishing up college at the University of Dayton. Right now he is applying to medical schools. So, who knows when "the kids" will be together again. I know MIL will cherish this photo. She is an awesome Grandma. I think they get the "Best Grandparents" award. Even though they live in Cincy and we are down here in Tampa, we see them quite often. Even when we lived in Utah, we saw them at least 4 times a year.

Well, off to tackle that "to do" list. With tomorrow being Valentines Day, I need to grab my kiddos some goodies. Oh and Liane, as soon as blogger fixes it's problem, I promise to upload my QVC goodies!

{2.12.08}

Has it really been a week since my last post? This week is definately starting off better. Even Mark staying home from school yesterday sick didn't even bother me.

My car is all fixed and "running great". My friend Barb's hubby owns a shop and he took good care of us. If you ever have car trouble in Tampa, give Glen a call. RUNNING GREAT AUTOMOTIVE SERVICES OF TAMPA FLORIDA

My computer is back up and running as well. It was a bad CD drive. We got all our taxes done. Yeah.

I got my first of two orders from QVC yesterday. I can't wait until the "Build a Flowers" come. I got all my Heidi Swapp bling. Now if I would just take the time to actually sit down and scrapbook. I will post a picture of my new "goodies" when they all get here.

Today my day consists of running, running, running. I get to spend my afternoon on my favorite road--the dreaded BBD. One trip to the Elementary school for afternoon pick up, then on to the High School for a pick up, back home to drop off, up to Huntington and back to the High School for another pick up. Breath. Pick up from Huntington. Maybe get a quick bite of a dinner which I have no clue what it will be and then drop off to another High School and pick up after game. ACK. Keep in mind that tonight Idol is in Hollywood. It makes me really appreciate the small town that I grew up in where you walked everywhere. Rain or shine, cold or hot..........Speaking of where I grew up, they are getting hammered with snow and ice. They even closed the schools. It must be bad. They rarely closed the schools since we were a "walking district".

We are supposed to get some much needed rain. Maybe even some thunderstorms later tonight. I can live with the rain but not the thunder and lightening. If it rains, I can cross off baseball practice and a game. Less running. So, I have some errands to run this morning so I can stay home tomorrow. That being said, I really should get off the computer and get out of here.

Happy Tuesday................................

I really should watch what I post. Remember my last post how I said nothing was happening in our house? Well, duh on me for saying that. I should have known it would blow up in my face.

First, my computer. We tried installing Turbo Tax on it and it would not load. We tried other things and the CD drive wouldn't read anything. No problem. Sounds like a need a new CD drive. I wake up Monday morning get the kids off and take the computer to the "computer store". I make yet another trip up the BBD. Guess what. The computer store is closed, gone, out of business. Out of desperation (because we are on some serious college application deadlines and I NEED that computer), I take it to Circuit City. I swore I would never use them again (a whole other post). They were so extremely nice. He said they could get to the computer ASAP because they had openings. Turns out, it wasn't the CD drive but some programming issues. By 1:00 I already had the computer back and hooked up. I do my usual car pool runs. I have a small window to install some software before I head back out. Guess what? The computer not's fixed. I called Circuit City and the guy tells me to bring it in. It's on my way so I drop it back off on the way to taking Greg to baseball. As I was getting back into my car to leave, my battery is dead. Car doesn't start. I call Steve and throw a "40 year old temper tantrum" and he leaves work to come rescue me. Luckily, Elizabeth is home so she packs up Mark and comes to get us. We drop Greg off. By the time Steve comes home (now in a mood) we go to "jump" the van. Don't need to. The darn thing started right up. So, I refuse to drive it at this point (another tantrum). We drop it off yesterday and sure enough the battery was bad and a few other things were going on. I must say, I really enjoy driving a new car (I confiscated Steve's). I really could get used to it. "Out of the question" I am informed by my hubby. Can't take on another car payment at this time. So, today is my last day to drive his nice car and tomorrow it's back to the mini van. My computer is also back and running. After all it DID need a new CD drive. At least they didn't charge me any additional labor.

Today I'm back off to the dentist. Two weeks ago, I got a crown put on a cracked tooth. It still hurts. I still can't chew on that side of my mouth. If I do, the pain shoots up into my jaw. I've been living on Aleve and I finally found time for me to go and get it looked at.

Man, I really didn't mean to rant on an on. Hopefully, the worst is behind me for awhile. Today is a beautiful sunny day and going to be in the low 80s. So, I'm out of here for awhile.

On a happy note, I spent Monday at home watching QVC. I got a few things and I can't wait to get them. I also snuck off yesterday to my local scrapbook store The Scrapbook Shoppe - Home I had to take Steve to work yesterday so since I was that close, I stopped by. I can't wait to actually use the stuff. Maybe tonight I will close myself in my room and work. I haven't even missed all the TV shows not being on due to the strike. I've gotton a lot done and the TV in our house is off more.

Well, off to finish getting ready to see the dentist. Keep your fingers crossed it's something simple. I have this nagging feeling he's going to tell me I need a root canal.

One more thing....................11 more days until the Daytona 500. Woo Hoo.

BE BACK SOON

I will be offline for a few days (hopefully not that long). My poor computer needs to go "to the computer doctor". Hopefully, when I get it back I will have something to post. It's been kind of slow and boring here in our house.

See you soon.................