Blaaaah

Lazy is the only word that I can use to describe the way I feel today. I don't feel like doing anything at all. Sometimes I love that feeling of doing nothing but on days like today when I have a lot to get done it doesn't feel so good. I feel blaaaaah. I suppose it doesn't help that the boys came down earlier this morning ate and are back upstairs playing, Donte had some sort of stupid training today, even the dogs are just laying there like nonaimated lumps, uggggg maybe I need to eat something and just drag my butt up and start plugging away. If I can shake this comatose feeling maybe I will have something more interesting to blog about.

Randy Pausch

I saw Randy Pausch for the first time on Oprah. I remember coming home from school and wanting to watch my DVR'd Oprah(Yes I am addicted), but I had to get the boys homework done. I have a very strict no TV during homework rule. The boys finished their homework and I settled in to watch...I don't know how to explain it. As I watched this man tell his story and do his push ups, he really opened my eyes. To not just one thing but to about a zillion. The old saying of "don't cry over split milk" has a whole new meaning for me now. How wonderful was he to share this with first his students and then the world. His attitude, his smile, his laugh, and the way he made you feel like you knew him personally was so special. As I opened my laptop today I saw the newsbanner that he had passed away. If you haven't heard his lecture or haven't heard of him you should. I try really hard not to feel sorry for myself, for what God has blessed me with I am more than grateful for....even the not so great stuff had it's reasons.

http://www.thelastlecture.com/aboutr.htm

http://news.aol.com/article/man-behind-last-lecture-sensation-dies/100948?icid=100214839x1206295664x1200328977

He tried to prepare his family as best as one can prepare them. He made sure that there were great memories to keep and he made sure that the world knew that there is good out there. May God bless his family and help them through it all.

Birds of a Feather Flock Together

I have mentioned many times that I miss the "Military Mentality". The fact is that I felt like a fish out of water for a long time after moving to Illinois. There was no welcome committee, and even after I did meet a few people who we thought would be great friends they turned out to be a lot different than we thought they were. There are good and bad where ever you go....trust me I know that. Well when I went to conditioning on Monday I ended up sitting by this really nice lady. We struck up a convo and within minutes were gabbing away like we had known each other forever. Come to find out she is retired Army, a former West Point instructor. Tuesday another lady joined us....her husband was in the Army as well. The three of us chatted away while cheering on our kids. We talked about everything from being stationed here and there and how we miss certain things about living in a military community. I even got to vent about feeling like a fish out of water for so long and they agreed that they went through the same thing. I finally felt like I wasn't losing my mind. Another thing I love is that their kids are well behaved. I guess I not only missed the military wives but I missed the military brats too. Now I am not saying that there's anything wrong with all of the locals because I have met some really great people, people that I will stay in contact with forever. People that I love to hang out with and look forward to their company. Unfortunately I have also met people who get joy out of acting like they are 12....enough said.......I don't have time for that crap!

I so believe that there are things in the universe that pull people together. The law of attraction is a powerful one. So thank you universe for pulling me in the right direction!

Just a Few Shots

No not the alcoholic kind even though I like those too. :0)

WHAT?


Eye on the goal.


Got it!!


Relief!



This one is one I took of the sun. I love this picture!

Grass, Blue Skies, and Stinky Little Boys

Today was day two for football conditioning. Donnie and Dannie both condition on different fields that are no where near each other so Donte rushes home grabs one child I grab the other and off we go. The boys need to be there at 6PM...PROMPTLY. They constantly go from 6PM to 8:30PM. They hit, they tackle, they look mean, they laugh, and man do they sweat. The weather here has been perfect for it and I have met some really great people. The parents are actually all really nice and have common courtesy<-----Big change from some of the other sports out here. In fact it's really relaxing for me.

Donnie has about 14 kids in his section and they all get along so well. Us parents take our lawn chairs and get to gab and watch our little men transform from itty bitty babies to little men on the field. I took my camera today and got some great pictures. The skies have been blue and the boys have been full of energy as have the parents and I really think that the positive energy transcends into everyone.

As Donnie and I were driving home today I was telling him how very proud I was of him and that I could really tell that he was enjoying himself. He smiled and looked at me and said "Mom, I'm really good at this aren't I?" I responded with "You sure are." You see after asking them both if they were sure they wanted to play, and them saying yes. I went out and signed them up. As soon as we were done and got back in the van Donnie says something along the line of "I don't think I want to do it." My head could have popped off....it costs more than a couple hundred for each kid to play and you don't get a full refund. My reply to him was " Oh no you wanted it, you got it, suck it up son, you will be fine." Now don't get me wrong nothing would have made me happier than running in and saying pull my sons name out....but it's the principle. Once you have signed up, you can't quit. You have to give it all you have. I am not raising quitters. So today as I watched him catch, tackle, and all that other football stuff I could have passed out from the sigh of relief because you see my son was enjoying it. We talked for awhile about it and he was telling me how he faked this and how you can't tackle with your helmet because you can break your neck (UUUUUhhhhhh SON DON'T TELL MOM STUFF THAT HAS BREAK AND NECK IN THE SAME BREATH). He was grinning from ear to ear. It gave me the warm fuzzies.

I don't know if I was dizzy from the warm fuzzies or dizzy from the smell coming off my boy. Man he was stiiiiiinky. I know he put deodorant on too because his Uncle Adam bought him David Beckham deodorant that he slathers on so the whole world knows he smells good. I cracked the windows and he says " smells good doesn't it Mom?. My mouth hung open in disbelief....you see his is my sweet one....and he cracked up laughing. As he did so he raised his arm and said "smell it!" By this time we were both laughing hysterically and both my windows were down. I can just imagine when they are teenagers what I am going to have to go through. **Lord help me please**

My First Born, My Baby, and The Man That Loves Them

This little football player is my first born. My sweet little, angel faced, loving boy......who turned into a monster ramming the heck out of his brother and father and giggling with enjoyment at every hit. To think that he is my reserved one. That's not a tear on his face, it's hard core sweat.



This little muffin is the baby of the family that swears his first word should have been TACKLE. I knew this time was coming for him and have been mentally preparing myself from the beginning.



Here's the first moment of impact....I think my head sprouted about 50 gray hairs after witnessing this.



Here's the proud Daddy who is seeing the fruit of his loins starting their manly trek into tackle football. HA and he thought that he was exempt from being tackled. No way Jose your a target too. Moms the only safe one.

The Death of The Lemon Filled Doughnut.

I really love Sundays. It's a day that we are all usually home and it's a day of doing whatever we want to. I absolutely love to spend time together especially when it's just the four of us. In the winter we are even known to stay in our PJ's all darn day.

Today we had a nice lazy morning. The boys and I were up and Donte was still asleep. We were doodling around downstairs when my Mom called to tell me that Mario Kart was in the Target flyer....hmmmmm i googled the number and they were all sold out. I decided to go to the Best Buy sight and what to my wondering eyes did appear? The Best Buy in Bolingbrook had one. I called and the lady said that they had 9 left. I ran upstairs told Donte....he jumped into gear after a few choice words and hollered at the boys to hurry up and get dressed. We all piled in the car and off we went. We get to the store go in and they had 3 left...I wish I had my camera to show you all how wide the boys smiles were. We also had to stop by the Krispy Kreme store....only because it was right there. It had been awhile and anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE THE LEMON FILLED. We walk in and the boys are pointing out all the ones that they want, I didn't see the lemon filled so I asked the lady. She had the nerve to tell me that they had been discontinued. WHAT!!!!! OMG are you serious? <--I really said that. She said that they weren't that popular. AAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHH! They are popular to me darn it and that's all I care about <---OK so I didn't say that. I settled for a raspberry. And even waited until I got home to eat it. Where's the fun in that?

However we did grill tonight and that was scrumpdiddlyumpcious to say the least. You better believe that I put some of that corn out there and Daniel and torn it up! So now I'm sitting here aimlessly plugging away on my laptop, Donte is playing Call of Duty 4, and the boys are playing Mario Kart. I think this is the perfect time for me to sneak into my scrapbook room and get some memories done.

Golden Yumminess

The last few days have been busy. That's the best way that I can put it. Every time I sat down to post something or someone would come calling and I would have to go running. Today I finally got to relax a little.....I got to take a 3 hour nap!!!!!.....I am recharged and rearing to go.

Today started off early. The boys have being dying to see Dark Knight as has Donte. So we were all dressed, fed, and in the car by 9AM. The film was filmed right here in Chicago and I knew with all the hoopla that it would be one of those movies that drew the crowds by the masses. There was a 930AM showing and we got there at around 920. Unfortunately the theater was already crowded. We bought tickets for the 10AM, got our icees and candy, and settled in. The boys and Donte loved it. I liked it as well but the length kinda got to me. It was almost 3 hours long. All in all it was worth it and the boys are still talking bout it.

We then headed to the fresh market and to the local farm. The farm stand was finally open.......I have been counting the days for it to open. There's nothing like fresh produce. We picked up some tomatoes, cucumbers, and corn. I couldn't help myself as soon as I got home I had to make a ear of corn. It only takes like 5 min on top of the stove but it seemed like so much more. I swear I was drooling by the time I got it to my plate, buttered, salted, and finally in my mouth. Corn is absolutely my favorite veggie and I was in corn heaven. MMMMMmmmmmm MMMMMMmmmmmmm Good.

We hung out at home for a bit, then we decided to head to the school so the boys could play some football in the field. I took my new camera and got some great pics of my men. I feel so blessed to have all three of them. It was muggy and sticky but theres nothing sweeter than seeing the man you love teach the two little men you love how to do something.

Donte Jr. He is always so happy.


Donte Jr. and Diggy


Murphy after he got shaved....so fresh and so clean.


Golden Yumminess


My three men


Father and son. I love this picture.


SET......HIKE


He looks so tiny compared to that big 'ol ball.

Old Movie Day

The boys and I have taken to watching old movies once a week. We have watched such films as "Field of Dreams, "Rudy", and many more today we watched "Lorenzo's Oil". I remember watching his many years ago and I remember crying then, not only for the movie content but for all the people that have been, are, and will be effected by ALD. After the movie the boys and I googled Michael Odone only to find out that he passed away this past May....he was 30.

The film not only educates us all about the medical aspects of this disease but it also shows the power of parents love. If you haven't seen it, you should. Doctors aren't always right...sometimes they need a little help too.

The Vet

Today we took the dogs to get their yearly check up and get groomed. We got to the office in plenty of time and dropped of Mr. Murphy with the groomer and walked Diggy over to get his exam.......let me start with a little description of Diggy. Diggy is very muscular and at first was always friendly with other animals. We had him since he was 6 weeks and he was such a cuddly little fart. When we moved here we left him and Max with my brother. My brother has two dogs too and they are notorious for getting out and taking off. One day my brothers dogs and our two got out and Max never came back. They scoured all over for him but we never found our Max (still a very delicate situation). Well after that Diggy would loose his mind at the sight of another dog. I swear he would go plain nuts whenever he saw another dog. He was OK with Murphy when we got him. I think mostly because Murphy was just 6 weeks old. However he was still very aggressive towards other dogs. It was a fight to say the least to take him to PetSmart or anywhere else. We tried training, hell we tried it all and nothing seemed to calm him. Over the last year we have worked extensivly with him.

IT FINALLY WORKED. Today when I took him to PetSmart he calmly walked by numerous dogs. Now I was set for a struggle with him, I was so pleased that I decide to test my luck....and my dog. I walked him by the room with the huge window, that has the daycamp area for dogs. There were at least 10 dogs in there. Some even jumped at the window and barked. Diggy started to pull to get closer. I calmly said "leave it" and he did!!! He just turned in my direction and kept going.....I was so the proud owner!!!

They both got groomed and Diggy got his yearly. I have to take Murphy back on Thursday but this time I will be a lot more relaxed about it all. I'll be sure to take some pictures and post them tomorrow.

Back to Shopping.

I have lollygagged as much as I can today. It's one o'clock and it's time for shopping in the basement. **Sigh**

Ok I am back. We did really good on our shopping expedition today. I actually found my old high school year books and the love letters that Donte and I sent to each other while we were dating. It was nice to reminisce a little. Of course the boys were too busy rolling their eyes to pay attention. Donte was so right I have too much polish pottery....oh man oh man. I'm keeping it darn it. It's sooooooo puuuuuuuurty. I also found my foot massager. It's one that you plug in and turn on. Ummmmm how nice.

We had another great day today as well. The windows wide open and of course we had to go outside for a bit today. I got some great action pictures of the boys. We also went across the street for a little bit and chatted with some of the neighbors.

I know I haven't talked much about recruiting lately.....my Mom told me if I have nothing nice to say not to say anything at all. LOL It's going OK. They are in the 4th quarter so the are busy to say the least. The days are long and the hours suck. They are doing what they need to and his stress levels seem to have evened out. I am still counting my blessings that he is here with us and not in Iraq or Afghanistan. Late nights I can handle but the deployments get old really fast. I know that when he deployed he did so much good in an awful place but I am cherishing the time that he has here with us. One year down and two more to go!

Alllllll Done........and a Bit of Everything Else.

I am so glad that my craft room is done. It is a pain to have to move everything but it was so worth it. I can now have the window open wide and my papers are not flying around all over the place. ****Sigh**** That's my sigh of relief now that it's all said and done.

We also went shopping yesterday after Donte got home to get the boys their football stuff. OMG we spent a small fortune. All well worth it though. My boys have to be protected!! Most of the stuff that we picked up was Under Armor. I figure with the cold here it's worth a little bit extra to keep them warm/cool and dry. They are totally excited now and keep drooling over the bags of stuff. It was funny to see them in the football pants. You can really see how gosh darn skinny they are. I am sure that they will stay safe out there and yes they are tough as nails, so they will be good. I will keep repeating this to my self until I believe it. :0)

Today is an absolutely beautiful day here. It's 77, sunny with a good breeze going. Needless to say the air conditioning has been turned off, all the windows have been opened and the four of us are just hanging out. In fact all four of us are still in our PJ's....it's 4:52PM. I even sat out on the back patio and read some today while the dogs layed on my feet and fell asleep.

Speaking of dogs. The house we have here doesn't have a fenced in yard so our dogs have leads outside. They can run and play and all of that but I hate leads. Donte and I really wanted them to be able to run like they used to. We broke down and ordered a PetSafe Wireless Containment System. I also ordered an extra collar so both dogs could go out together. We excitedly opened the box and put everything together. The instructions say that it takes approximately 2 weeks to train a dog. We set everything up and put the dogs on leashes, we got their treats, and went to work. It took ONE day to train my two. The can go outside and run around and still have their border. The system actually gives them a warning beep before shocking them. When they hear the beep they back up pronto.

Well I am going to go back to my lazy Sunday because before I know it, it will be Monday......but wait.....I'm off then too. :0)

Had To Share

This is a conversation I just had with my Soul Friend. J and I have been friends ever since we the only two flutes in beginning band. We have followed each other all over the world and she can read me like an open book. Soooooo I am still stalling in my craft shopping and getting more agitated by the fact that my boys are going into football.....this is how the convo went.....

Riiiiiiiiiiing

S: How was it?

J: OMG you were right that movie was the boooooomb

s: I told you....did you crack up when he said they should have sued McDonalds?

J: HA yup that was too good

more banter about Hancock and Will Smith

Then we start talking about vacations, and family, and all the regular stuff. I tell her I better go because I have to get ready to get the boys stuff but I don't wanna go.

J: Why not? they are boys....

S: I know but there my babies and I don't want them getting hurt.

J: They are rough, they will be fine.

S: I know but....well FD says that they are rough enough and that their Daddy's mean as a rattle snake so they will be fine.

J: Ain't no one meaner than you. LOVE YOU go get ready so you can get the boys stuff.

S: **laughing** Whatever LOVE U2.

Thanks butt head for making me relax. Miss U!!!

A Few Things I Have to Say

Check it out.

Shopping in The Basement and Football

Yesterday morning when the boys and I got up I mentioned to them that we were going shopping. I got the usual uhhhh nooooooooo. I am trying to hold in my laughter. In a house full of testosterone there are few girlie things that I actually have the pleasure of dragging them along with me for. They would die if they had to go to a salon....thats right if it aint a barber shop, they will not enter. Thats all ok with me. It just drives me nuts that my men have an aversion for shopping unless it has something to do with electronics. Yesterday was payback. After complaining for a min and syaing nooooooo about 15 times they finally asked where we would be going shopping. I calmly informed them that we would be going shopping in the basement. I almost busted out laughing at the look on their faces. Wheres that camera when you need it? After scraping their chins off the floors the decided that it had to be better than going to SAM'S or Caputos. Little did they know...

You see there are still boxes in the basement from when we moved here a year ago. Not a whole lot but not a whole little either. I purchased 15 plastic bins. Not huge ones but ones that I know I can easily carry myself incase Donte's not here. What doesn't fit in those boxes gets put into one of three piles....toss, donate/give to people I know that would like it, or yard sale. Don't worry I didn't slave drive them all day just for 90 min. I figure 90 minutes a day and we should have it done in 4 sessions tops. This gives us a set time to get it done.

However when I went downstairs I was armed with my fly swater and vacuum. There are enough spiders down there to start an exhibit in a science museum. I spent the first 15 minutes franticlly vacuuming spider webs up. We literally never go in the basement. The boys found all of this very funny. They thought that the two frogs outside the basement window was funny too. They named them Bart and Stewie. I am a girl I DO NOT LIKE THAT CRAP. ahhhh welll whatdayagonnado?

I sectioned the basement off into quadrants and we went to work. I am happy to say that we got one of the quadrants entirely done. The boys found a few of their boxes with some old treasures in them and had a blast going through and adding to their piles. They even got the snoopy snowcone maker that Adam sent me out an attempted to make the snowcones. Ahhhhh to be a kid again. We will resume out shopping sesion on Monday. On a side note I dont think they will complain about going grocery shopping for a while.

On to football. Yesterday was equipment pickup day for he boys. We trudged out to four seasons park and got into the line that wrapped around the tents and waited. Now I am sitting here filling stuff out and the boys even have to sign a contract stating that they understand that they will have to behave...tsk tsk. TESTOSTERONE......enough said. So we get to the weigh station they check the boys again for their weights and make sure that they are put into the right categories. Daniel is a Bantam and Donte is a Featherweight. They then proceeded to go through the line and get all kinds of pads, crotch protectors, mouth guards, and the huge shoulder pads. They were both grinning liking cheshire cats as was Big Donte. I on the other hand could have passed out. these are my babies and I dont want them to get hurt!!!! I couldn't say that as a Mom you have to let your kids experiance life and at least try the things that they would like to. I would rather have two golf players. Alas I am outnembered...that damn testosterone thing!!! I know that they will do great and for big Donte, I know that this has been a dream of his for awhile. He did wait for the boys to bring it up to him before we signed them up but let me tell you the word football came out of their mouths and he jumped into action....GOD please help me o get through this. Another side note. I picked up a box of hair dye yesterday and am going to call Gina on Monday. I know the gray is going to be coming with a vengance. For all of you who were trying to be sweet and told me that it wasn't that bad.......pahhhhhhleeeeeease it's not good. I love you all for trying :0)

As for me today I am going shopping in my craft room. I need to get that straightened out and it's the perfect morning to do it. Donte had to run into work for a few hours, they boys are busy playing games, the gardeners are here so we have to stay in for a couple of hours anyway. This afternoon we will be going to buy Cleets and Helmets. DAMN there popped up another gray hair.....

Winston Henry

Winston Henry is the dog that my parents rescued. Remember this. Well now he looks like this.




He actually reminds me a lot of Buster. No dog could ever replace him but this little fart sure does look a lot like him.

Babies

I have recently been reading the blog of friend.......I don't even know the words to start this post. But I will post about it. It is important. I just fall into ones of those that doesn't know what to say.

Kym and Frank have 4 beautiful children. Two boys and two girls. They however did not have the easiest road to get their 4. They had to endure heartache. Getting preggers was the challange for them, and as they were going through those challenges her sister became pregnant and so did her dog! I wouldn't have known what to say to them at that time, heck I don't know what to say to them now about what they went through. I often wonder why bad things happen to good people. I would have rather them not have to go through what they did but then they may not have gone to do this.

The point I am trying to get too is that Kym is now a Surrogate Mom. The pure unselfishness and love that she shows is amazing. Frank, who I have always known to be commpassionate and understanding is right there with her supporting not only her but the other couples as well. What a blessing to have these two people in this world. To take something so heartwrenching and turn it completely around to give hope to others.

I thank God for my two little men. Donte Jr. who decided to come out two weeks late, and Daniel
who made his grand entrance on the exact date that he was due.

A Little Bit of The South

As a rule I rarely fry in the house. French Fries are baked and chicken is baked or broiled, but today I just had the need to make some good old fashioned fried chicken. I got the chicken, soaked it for a few hours, breaded it up, and now we are getting ready to eat a little piece of golden fried heaven. I absolutely love soul food but it's always so bad and I find myself having to work out twice as much.....but tonight we will have fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and a veggie medley. Tomorrow morning I will be cussing up a storm as I run and do the elliptical.



As an added note the new camera is great. More on that later.

Mining for Gold

Wow what a fun little town we got to go to. We had a blast to say the least. We were there all day, perfect weather and all. The boys got to pose for an old timy pic, use the slingshot, shoot at bottles, ride horses, mine for gold, take a train ride, ride in a canoe, get thrown in jail, sing to get out of jail, and they even got to enjoy a good old fashioned root beer float. The weather was perfect, excepting a little bit of rain, the breeze was blowing and the sun didn't melt us. Here are a few of the pictures from yesterday.