A Few Things...

Hi there! Long time no blog!

Here are few things on my mind today.

~The last day of school was a few weeks ago and we've been enjoying the lazy days of summer. It's nice to not have to wake up with the alarm every morning. We do what we want, when we want to! Ha! 

~We haven't been completely lazy this summer. Last week, Stella and Madelyn had VBS at a church in our area. They had a great time! The church volunteers were so welcoming and energetic. Sadly, our own church isn't having VBS this year due to lack of volunteers. I'm now faced with the decision to stay at the church I've called my own my entire life or venture out and find one that focuses a little more on children (the future). It's not easy and I am praying I make the right choice.

~Recently, our neighborhood has had some new families move in adding lots more kids to our block. Several have girls around Stella's age and she loves it! For years, she felt left out because the big girls had friends close by and they didn't exactly want their kid sister hanging around with them. Seeing these little girls playing "mommy" to their "babies" in my backyard makes me smile. #juststaylittle

~This weekend we are packing up the mini van and heading to Myrtle Beach for a week. I am so excited to get away and actually spend some time with the family. Especially my workaholic hubby whom lately I've only been able to see while he sleeps. The girls have been counting down the days since we came back from vacation last year! Now if only I could get motivated to pack. 

That's all I have to say for now. I guess I can't put off packing forever!

Happy Thursday!

Life Lately

It's been a while since I blogged, but some things never change! It's snowing again. Although I usually like snow, it's April. We've had enough! Bring on the sunshine!

All three girls in school has given more free time...to do laundry! Ha!

Stella missed the entire past week of school with a fever and nasty cough. Sadly, I think she shared it with a few of the other kids because I am hearing quite a bit of coughing this morning. :(

We are all so ready for summer and planning our vacation has been fun! A week at the beach is just what we all need. Too bad we have to wait until July! 

It looks like I'll be spending the rest of this weekend at home while everyone recovers from the latest virus. Hopefully by next week everyone will be feeling good and the weather will get warmer!

Happy Saturday! 

A Few Things...

~I can't believe it's August already! In a few short weeks we will go from the carefree days of summer to the rigid school schedule. Although the kids seem to be excited about getting back to school I am not ready for it.

~ I've been enjoying my mornings sitting on the patio watching the kids play while the sun peeks through the giant spruce in our backyard. Speaking of the spruce, when I was a little girl, it was one of our family Christmas trees. It now towers over everything in our neighborhood including our house. We have scheduled to have it cut down. Lately, I have been having second thoughts. I guess we'll have to think about it some more. 

 ~My sister is "home" visiting from Kansas. I haven't seen her yet and I can't wait. I miss her. 

~ Lately, Stella has been a super bug catcher. She has found six Praying Mantis so far this summer! She has now started digging to find bugs. 

~It's raining today. I guess I'll do laundry. 

~Felicia has really had me laughing this week. A few days ago, my Dad was visiting and talking about his old security job at a strip mine. He referred to it as the strip. Felicia leaned over and whispered to me. " Eww, I had no idea Poppy was a male stripper!" Hahaha! Excuse me while I try to bleach that image from memory!  The next day she was helping to clean the kitchen and asked if it would be okay for her to use one of those "S.O.B. Pads". That kid cracks me up!

~The kids are all still asleep including the little boy that I am watching today and it is almost 9:00 am. That NEVER happens. It's too quiet....and I spoke too soon. Here comes Stella! I guess on that note, my random ramblings are finished. Have a great day!

Random With a Touch Of Porn!

Well, I have been a slacker lately! Not much going on here but hanging out with my kids and enjoying the start of summer break. Saturday, Mike and I celebrated our 17th wedding anniversary! I can't believe Big Daddy has put up with me for that long! He's awesome! Of course we celebrated with pizza, duh! As if there is any other way! Seriously, after things stabilize at his job and we have some extra money, we will actually have a "date" night. A much needed date night!

Our weekend was normal and boring as usual. We had a family reunion yesterday and then we went to visit my Gramma. The girls spent the afternoon making oodles of bead necklaces with my Aunt and Cousin. They had a blast and found a new hobby in the process. After that, we took the kids out for ice cream! Felicia got a small cone which I believe may have been about a half a foot tall. Her cone broke and ice cream was dripping down her arms and all over that table! It was hilarious watching her try to keep up with the dripping ice cream! Her tongue definitely got a workout! I wish I had my camera with me:)

Oh yeah, about the porn. Yesterday(while at church!) I apparently sent porn to all of my Facebook friends! How about that? Me, porn?! It turns out that my account was hacked and the bogus messages included a worm. Not cool! Although I was mortified at first, now I can't stop laughing at the thought of my friends thinking I was naughty;0)

I hope something exciting happens this week for me to blog about! Until then, have a fabulous week!

Sticking Together!

Last week I turned 35. Not a monumental milestone, but it got me thinking non the less! I realize that sometimes life creeps up on you and you sometimes get the sense that you have no idea how you got where you are. I love sitting around to reminisce with my family. I look back fondly at watching my kids grow up and all the incredibly funny times we have had. I NEVER look back with regrets. We have not always had an easy time of things. But, we would not be who we are without those bumps in the road. I value the time I have with my family. I want my kids growing up knowing the same love and support that I had as a child. If someone in the family needs something, we are there. That is how it should be. Supporting each other through thick and thin is the way we live our lives. My family will never let me fail and I am grateful for that.

In that late night hours of my birthday, the fire alarm in town began screaming. It did not stop. I knew that it was something big. People were seen running down my street and I had to go check it out. I threw on my clothes and headed out into the night. Large billowing clouds of smoke were seen hanging over our tiny town. My son called me and said that the garage down the street was on fire. The garage is owned by a family that I have known all my life. The owners grew up with my father and they were very much like my own family. Thankfully no one was injured, but the business was a total loss. The next morning after picking Felicia up at preschool we slowly walked toward the place where we frequently dropped off our car for repairs. I wanted to show my support and offer my condolences for their loss. This was their life. As I edged my way past the barricades, I could see the family all together. As I approached them, it struck me how they were all smiling. In the face of something so devastating they were there together. With smiling faces. Not feeling sorry for themselves. They came to work that day! There was little they could do, besides sweeping up some bits of their charred business off the sidewalk, but they were there together. Moving forward.

Things like this always make me want to reevaluate my life. Am I living the way that I want to be? I think I am. Sure I have conflicts sometimes. Will we have that last baby that I have been wanting? Will I go back to work soon? Maybe I won't find a job! What would I do then? Mike and I have faced many challenges in our years together. We have always made it through them with lessons learned. I am sure that in the future there will be more, but the one thing that I know I will always have is a very loving and supportive family. We stick together and for that I am truly blessed.

Random Stuff

Yeah, I know I have not blogged all week! I just have not had a lot to say. So, here is a bunch of random stuff for all of you who care;0)

Mother's Day was great (of course)! We spent the day at my parent's house cooking out and enjoying the day together. I bought my Mom a tree and Big Daddy planted it for her. A few days before Earth Day, the borough workers cut down a 100 year old tree that was in front of her house. Not really sure why, but it was sad to see it go. My Mom was devastated, she said they are tree murderers. So, now she has a new tree. She is very happy:0)

My Mother's Day gift was the new hard wood flooring for my dining room! I can't wait for it to be finished:0)

Speaking of Mother's Day, I got a card in the mail from Whitney! Thanks Whitney! I. LOVE.YOU.

Madelyn and Felicia have been fighting so much this week that I think I might enter them in a cage match! No really, I kid;0)

The boys are busy being boys. I really don't see too much of them when the weather is nice. Except for meals. Those boys can EAT!

Big Daddy has an extra day off this weekend! Yay! It's probably a good thing, he is currently slumped over on the couch sound asleep. I hope I can get the newspaper out from under him without knocking him over!

Today is going to be gorgeous outside, so I plan to do very little but soak up some rays. Don't worry, after my last sunburn, I have plenty of sunblock!

What are your plans? I hope you have a fabulous day!

Home Sweet Home

We are finally home from our impromptu vacation at my parent's house. Things are slowly moving along with the remodel. I wish it was done already! It is coming together and I am feeling a little more at ease knowing that it is not in danger of collapse.

Easter was great! We had a get together at my parent's house and it was nice to spend the day with family.

It's finally warming up here and I am thrilled to be able to play outside with he kids. Maybe Michael will even get a baseball game in. Many of them have been cancelled because of rain:0(

Do you know how hard it is to live without the computer for a whole week? Torture! I am so glad to be back home in bloggy land:0) I will be very busy catching up on blog reading. But I promise I will be back in the swing of things soon!

Sorry if that was a bit random, but that's how my life is. You never know what tomorrow will bring!

A Dose Of Random!

Well, talk about crazy! The major renovation of our house has been very trying. The more we "uncover" the worse it gets. They say it always gets worse before it gets better, so I hope I am seeing the "better" end of that soon. This is a current picture of my laundry room:

Notice, the studs at the bottom have rotted away. Oh joy! The men are currently at Home Depot buying supplies so it's a bit quieter here now. I should be seeing some progress in the positive direction soon. (I hope)

Today was Felicia's preschool Easter Brunch. The food was delicious and it was fun hanging out with my former co-workers. Madelyn went along too and cried all the way home. She really would move in there if I let her.

Michael's baseball game from yesterday was cancelled again due to rain. I was really bummed. I live for that kind of stuff and every single day he has a game it rains:0(

Sunday afternoon the girls had cooking class again. They made candy for the Easter Egg hunt that our church is having on Saturday. What a blast! I think they may be master chocolatiers when they grow up;0)



How about this crazy weather? What the heck happened to Spring? It was flurrying here today! Geesh! Can somebody wake Mother Nature up?

I'm having a giveaway on Just For Fun! It's for Fishful Thinking, so go check it out please:0)

Well, I guess that's all I have for now. Hopefully I can have some pictures of "good" progress soon:0)

Life Goes On

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Did you remember to wear your green? Ah, who am I kidding, I forgot of course. But I did remember in time to dress the girls. They were so cute, hoping to catch a Leprechaun today:0)


So far this week has been crazy busy! Aaron has PSSA tests, so we have to travel a bit to get to the testing place. So that means early to rise, which has not been so easy for the girls or for myself for that matter. One more day of that and I will be so glad when it is over.

Yesterday, we went out for breakfast with the girls while Aaron was taking his tests. Big Daddy asked the girls to finish their orange juice so that we could go to Target. Madelyn reached over and grabbed his arm and said "Daddy, that would be Tar-Jaaaay!" Man did I laugh! He just looked at her all confused and said "okay?" Hehe!

On Saturday, Mike and my Dad started a new project at my parents house. They are building a new sidewalk. My boys scooped out piles of dirt and shoveled in mounds of stones. Aaron even helped do the cement work yesterday after his testing. He only stepped in the wet cement once, as did Mady. Oh well, what can I say, they inherited my grace. Given the opportunities for disaster yesterday, I think we did quite well. The menfolk worked to smooth out the cement for many, many hours until we were all exhausted. Late to bed for all. I am very proud of my boys, they are becoming great workers, just like their Dad!

Mike and Felicia planted some tomato plants today from this cute little growing kit that we bought at Toy r Us! It is always so sweet to see those two working on a project. Did I mention that Big Daddy has the week off? Not in our plan, it's a plant shutdown for a week. We will make the best of it. We always do:0)

The weather was so nice today, signs of spring are everywhere. Flowers are unearthing themselves to spread their joyous color. That makes me happy!

Well, Big Daddy went to my parent's house to continue beautifying the yard. I however could not stand to watch my laundry mountain grow any taller. I plan to put the girls to bed a little early, they need their rest. Then I think I will challenge my youngest and most rambunctious son to a game of Rummy. We are currently in a long-running game that of which, I am losing:0(

A Bit of This and That

Today under this gorgeous blue sky...

the "littles" played follow the leader,

and danced.

The "bigs" worked hard building a new sidewalk...

and spoiled babies! (He's looking at her that way because his Mommy told him not to let us spoil him:0) Oops!)

Again we had a great weekend! Except for the "falling off the wagon" part! That's okay! Tomorrow I will get back on:0(

Aaron has more PSSA tests for school this week, so Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday we will be away for a bit. The best part about it is, the area where he has to test is a great place to shop. I will try to do my best to stimulate the economy:0)

Oh yeah, I won another prize from the Spring fling! I won a three month membership to Jumpstart.com from Screaming Mimi! The girls are really going to love this:0)

My very best blogging buddy Vickie from Vickie's Scrapbooking and Tidbits gave me another award! She is the kindest and most loyal person a gal could ever meet:0) thank you Vickie! You put a smile on my face again!

As you can probably guess, I have been very busy lately just being a mom. I am sorry that I have not gotten around to all your blogs or responded to some of your comments. I really do appreciate all your kind words. I am hoping to get caught up again this week:0)

Have a great week and just enjoy life!

Random Ramblings

I thought I would throw a few random things into one post just to catch up with everyone. I had not been feeling well for a few days, so I have done very little blogging. By Saturday afternoon, I felt so much better. I made a trip to Home Depot. Yuck! I wish they sold shoes, then I might actually enjoy it. I had to go pick out my new kitchen faucet (ours was broken since December). It's so nice to have it fixed, I don't even mind doing the dishes now that I don't have to fight to get the water off!

Yesterday, I started attending a new class at church focusing on "Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living". It was interesting and it felt good to be involved in a class to improve our way of living. Of course, the man that sat across from me kept falling asleep and his arm kept sliding off the table. At one point, he bumped his glasses and they fell off the table and it woke him up. I was so afraid that he would fall off his chair and I would laugh out loud. Not very Christian-like, I know, but it was funny!

After church, I was just walking out the door and an older man in the congregation stopped me. He said, "you made my day today!" I looked at him kind of surprised. After all, although I know him and have since I was a child, I had no interaction with him that day. So I said to him, " how did I do that?" His response, " I looked over at you during the service, your daughter was sitting on your lap, you reached down and stroked her hair and kissed her on the head. It made my day, your a wonderful Mama!" Awww, it brought a tear to my eye and a smile to my face all at the same time. It made me feel all happy!

I did a little clothes shopping with my mom. So much stuff is marked down, and living in PA, I know that we will still be wearing winter clothes for awhile. Now is a great time to buy. While we were shopping, Mike called to tell me he was at another mall. When I got home I was surprised with our new TV! You may remember that Brandon broke the other one a few months ago. Boo Brandon, we will never let him live that one down;0)

Also this weekend, I received some yummy smelling Bath and Body Works stuff from Mesa's giveaway.



Felicia and Madelyn received this adorable tooth pillow from Tara and the beautiful Chloe from the Kidz giveaway! Felicia was so excited that she keeps asking when her teeth are going to fall out:0)







I also received this fabulous card from Queenie Jeannie! She has got some great stamping skills ! I love it Jeannie! Thank you:0)






My dear friend Vickie gave me award too! Thanks Vickie! You're the best:0)




Well, I think that is about all for now! How was your weekend?