I Love The Summer

Now that the snot is all gone. I am having a blast with the boys on these long summer days. In fact I am sitting in the shade watching the boys and two of their friends playing baseball in the front yard. The breeze is blowing and the sun is shining. I have a tall glass of sweet tea and my flip flops on. It really doesn't get much better than this. We have been super busy as usual. We took a trip to the brookfield zoo last Tuesday. It was so much fun. We rode into work with Donte, had breakfast with him and then headed to the zoo. The boys and I had an absolute blast. We saw so much and they even got to pet sting rays and sharks. I got some great pics of them. It still amazes me just how fast they grow. At least the zoo is still fun for them....I hope that they never out grow it.
Fathers Day weekend was great. The boys actually had some Dad time on Friday night. I went out with a girlfriend and watched SATC again and then we headed off to a small little bar where there was lots of singing and some good laughs. Saturday morning we got up early and went to the boys soccer games. Their games were at the same times so Donte went to Dannies and I went to Donnies. Dannie played well but his team lost but there was a trophy at the end for him to soothe his little bruised ego. Donnie actually played awesome. His team won by 7 and he made a goal. He also received player of the week on top of the trophy so he was beaming from ear to ear. From there we headed to the movies. We saw the Hulk and I have to admit that it was really good. To end the day we came home and grilled steaks. What a great Sat. I wish that they could all be so relaxing. Sunday morning we woke Donte with his presents and got ready for the day. I had made reservations at Zeds. A Brazilian steak house.....yummmmmmmy. We ate to our hearts content and then came home and crashed. It was a great relaxing day filled with some great family time.
Yesterday we headed to the Y to swim. I was totally exhausted after we came back. Swimming takes so much out of you. I swear I felt like I ran a marathon. This morning I woke up and worked out. It had been a week or so since I had done so, so I had to push myself a little bit harder but boy was it worth it. I feel GREAT. We ran to my friends store to get a couple of webkinz. She has a special going on where the kids can get a dollar off for every A the receive. They made out like bandits and I got some good chatting time in. That brings me to know....sitting in the front relaxing and feeling ever so grateful that I am living the life I am.

Jersey Boys

Last Tuesday was the last day of school in our district. A few of us hopped onto a limobus (with an open bar) and headed into the big city to eat a great dinner and see Jersey Boys. Can I start by saying that the limo bus is awesome!! OMG what a great idea. Everyone crammed in and off we went. We ended up at a cute little place for dinner unfortunatly it took forever to get our food so we had literally 15 min to eat it and get to the theater. We get to the theater and start to get settled....so picture this 21 adults excited and ready to see Jersey Boys, up on the balcony...one of which is petrified of heights....when all of a sudden, the rudest usher in the world starts barking orders. Stating that we better be in the seats that are on the stubs....ok no shit sherlock theres 21 of us who cares if I sit in the left seat and Donte takes the right...she really didnt need to work with the public.....enough said. Any way we finally got settled in and I loved it. It was a great musical and it was the perfect way to end the school year.

SINUS

Why did God create sinus' seriously whats up with them. I totally see no need for them. I swear if there is an infection out there I seem to catch it.I am on the tail end of the worst sinus infection I have had in a while.....UGGGGGG!! There's nothing worse than a summer cold. snot, snot and more snot! EWWWWWWW!!!!!!!

SATC......and more

On April 30th I woke up and was sooooo excited because I thought that the premiere of Sex and The City would be that night....well obviously my bubble burst and I realized that I was a whole month early. When Friday night rolled around I hurried up and got my hiney to the theater....What a FABULOUS movie. OMG I wont post specifics but lets just say that it did not disappoint. If you were a fan of the HBO series or even if your not...get out there and see it....you will love it.

Here's a coupe of pics...man they are growing up...






We officially have 2 days of school left...woooohoooo. What ever will I do for 3 months of not having to use an alarm clock..... :0) SMILE :0). It is finally warming up here a bit. I think it it 81 here today...not the June that we are used to but we will take anything in the 70's and up. We went to a graduation party next door yesterday that was a blast. Amy and Reed have two foreign exchange students and they really are sweet girls. They graduated from PSHS and will be going back to their homes in a few weeks. We had a great night of friends, food and laughter.
My allergies have flared up so I stayed in for the rest of the weekend. I am finally starting to feel a little better. I tell you with it being cold for so long my body is mucho confused!!!
My Mom and Dad rescued the cutest little puppy last week his name is Winston. He looks a lot like Buster did and I know with my parents love he will flourish. He has gained 4 ounces in less than a week...not bad for a puppy that weighed less than 5 pounds. He is now up to 5.4 pounds...can I just say that he is going to be the most spoiled puppy in the world. Here's a pic of the little muffin.

TAKE TIME TO REMEMBER

Enough said.

Time....Time....Time

Wow it's been almost a month since I have blogged and it has been crazier than ever. I swear just when I think I am going to get some down time.....BAM.....more stuff gets piled on my plate.
Let's see....where do I start. It is finally getting warm here...Can you believe it? It's the end of May and we finally have a nice weekend. I don't think that I will ever get used to the weather here. I was still having to wear a sweater to work last week. Usually the sweaters are pushed to the back of the closet by now....gleefully gathering dust. Speaking of dust I started to go through my closet yesterday and FINALLY finished today. I have 4 1/2 bags of clothes to get rid of. It does feel good to have to get rid of clothes because they are too big now. Donte says that we should have a yard sale. I swear that man loves to have a yard sale. I don't much care as long as they are gone....outta my room....outta the house.We also cleaned out the garage yesterday. It only took about an hour. We just don't have much in there anyway. But we had to get the sand swept out from the winter. I swear they must use a ton of salt and sand here because I could have filled a little sandbox with what I took out of the garage.
Work is the same old stuff just a different day no news on that front. I really will miss it when school gets out on the 3rd but hey I am sure that I will find tons to do during the summer. Cleaning out the basement will be #1 on my list. I still have a few boxes that haven't been unpacked.....I HATE unpacking. I just read Angies blog and she has 4 boys, did the move without her hubby and has everything unpacked and in it's place......YOUR MY HERO ANGIE.....wanna come lend a hand?
As for the recruiting business......it's going. Donte is doing well but I think both he and I are ready to get back to a post. I miss my girlfriends....true girlfriends, ones that have a common thread with. It's hard to listen to the "My husband has to go to Wisconsin for the weekend...what am I going to do without him" OMG really I am the wrong one to preach to. I have no sympathy for a wife that (GASP) has to find someway to get through 48 hours without her husband when I know people that are just starting a year long deployment that have newborns or pregnant wives that aren't complaining but sucking it up and driving on. I have yet to forge the bonds that have become a life line in the past here. I guess I just don't have that much in common with the ladies around here. Don't get me wrong I have met a handful of wonderful people that I say hello to and speak with on occasion....but it's not the same. The other recruiters are mostly single or live in a completely different town. I guess what it all boils down to is just having genuine people around to share your thoughts with. siiiiiigh whats a girl to do.....hmmmmmmmm.......IM GONNA SUCK IT UP AND DRIVE ON......only 2 more years to go.
The boys are happier than ever to get summer started. I swear they have more energy that any children I have ever come across. Soccer is going great. They both scored goals last week and were happier than ever. They are both still doing great in school and I have to give credit to their teachers. Both teachers are phenomenal. I wish that they could loop with them next year. You know you have the teachers that you remember for a life time....well I am sure that these two will stick with my boys forever. I have been working on their end of year gifts but the truth is that I can never get them anything to adequately thank them for everything that they have done for the boys this year.
My parents are back in GA and are getting settled. It's great to have them back.......even if we are a 14 1/2 hour drive away. I am just glad that they are home on US soil.
Adam and Chrissy are preggo YEAH!!!!!! I couldn't be happier for them. I can't wait to meet my new Niece or Nephew. I have already started buying some baby stuff.....the stuff they have for babies these days is so darn cute.
We also took the boys to the drive in this weekend. They had a double feature the new Indiana Jones and Iron Man were playing. Unfortunately it was cold. We were prepared though we took our mink blankets and sweaters. We ended up turning the seats around in the van and cozying up in there. The boys thought that it was the coolest thing. We hit up Zeds yesterday too. The Brazilian steak house. The boys had never been and we were going to go on Mothers Day weekend but we knew it would be super crowded. Let's just say that all four of us were stuffed. Daniel ate more than I had ever seen him eat. Donnie was pacing himself but ate quite a bit as well.
As for the last few hours of our three day weekend....as soon as Donte gets home we will BBQ and then gear up for the last 6 days of school.
HAPPY SUMMER EVERYONE.

Time

I swear I can't believe how long it's been since I posted. Things are pretty hectic here with the end of the school year fastly approaching and the boys Soccer is in full swing. Have I mentioned that they practice Mon, Tues, Wed and Thurs.....oh and games are on Sat.......I am tired just typing that :0) I swear I will be back to blogging reg after 3 June. :0)

It's been a long time

It’s been awhile I know. So much has happened since I have last posted. My Grandfather passed away on St. Patrick’s Day. It wasn’t unexpected but how do you really prepare for it. He had a good, long life. He was a phenomenal Grandfather and will be greatly missed by all of us. Luckily the boys and I had flown to Pennsylvania a few weekends before and we had the chance to visit with him. All I can say is that he is with us all the time now and I thank God that he is not suffering anymore.

We left Chicago on Thursday, March 20th, to go to PA. It took us 11 hours…the drive actually wasn’t that bad. Donte and I shared the driving and the boys were plenty busy with their games in the back. Can I say I am so happy that they are older and I don’t have to worry about diaper bags and formula? My Granny, Mom, Aunt Lorraine, and Uncle Maurice were already there and I was so glad to be with all of them. My Dad, Brother, and Chrissy arrived later that night. And my Uncle Barry arrived the next day. We were all together and I was so glad that we were. The service was nice and I was glad that I was able to be there to say goodbye. We even drove by the house that my grandparents used to live in when I was a kid. It’s so funny how through the years everything looks smaller than you remember. We stayed and spent Easter morning there with everyone. My parents, Brother, Chrissy, and us got on the road around 1100 to drive down to GA. We made a pit stop in Washington D.C. Donte was named after his Uncle that was killed in Vietnam and Donnie is as well, so my brother thought that it would be cool for Donnie to do the rubbing of his name on the Vietnam Memorial Wall. I can’t even begin to put into words how special it was. We also walked up to the Lincoln Memorial and of course got some great pictures of the Washington monument and the Mall. We also did a quick drive through tour of the White House and some other great places. Have I mentioned before that I absolutely love the city…..sigh. We reached GA at some ungodly hour in the morning and were totally exhausted. We had so much fun hanging out with my parents, Adam, and Chrissy. My Parents are renovating their house so we pulled in and helped with the painting and Donte and I were able to surprise them with a new dishwasher and stove. It’s very hard to surprise them a they tend to know everything….but we did it and it was a great moment. We took a day trip into Orlando and enjoyed a day at Sea World. It was so nice to walk around in capris and have the heat just shining down on you. Of course we had to go Go-Cart racing and to the mall to get some Pralines from Savannah Sweets……YUMMY!!! Downtown was a must as well. We ended up going to this great Moroccan place. The inside looked like the inside of a Genie bottle. We gathered in around the tables that were close to the ground as were the chairs. The food was amazing and they had belly dancers…..so yes Daniel had to get up and dance with them…..and Donnie had to put the tips in their skirts…..hmmmmmm can we say they are starting really early. I swear Daniel got up and danced every single time that they allowed him to. Oh to have boys. We left on the 30th at 330 in the morning and made it home by 530 PM. We came back to yucky, rainy weather and of course its cold as ever. They say that we are supposed to hit the 60’s this weekend….lets just say I am not holding my breath!!

The boys and I went straight back to school the next day. Donte had a couple of days off so he got the pleasures of starting the laundry and getting everything unpacked. I had a girl’s night out on Wednesday. We went to a scrap-booking store and made Explosion Boxes. I will post some pictures of spring break and the explosion box as soon as I get a chance.

VENT

I have come to realize that non-military people are just plain different. I really miss living close to a base right now. I guess I am just having a bit of a pity party for myself. I am feeling like a fish out of water I have lived here for almost a year and have met some nice people but none that compare to my “spouse” counterparts. I tell you I really miss everyone and there is something to be said about civilians who live in a military community. I love Donte recruiting because he does come home every night but why oh why can’t he recruit closer to a base. Where I can go to the gym and see others that are going through what I am going through versus a mom that has 5 kids is 24 and is complaining because the nanny made the formula 2 degrees warmer than it should have been…..my response is are you serious???? Try being the Mom that never sees her husband and is juggling just as many kids without a nanny and doesn’t complain because she is blessed to have what she has and is grateful for the chance to have a life like she has. Now I am not saying everyone around here is walking around with their heads up their hineys…….but there are quite a few. OK I’m done….gonna put a smile back on my face and push on :0)

O Days Left

I got my surprise. I honestly thought that it was going to be the new Kodak Printer that I had been eyeing since November. It came out in March so I though oooooh how sweet of Donte to remember. As you all know I have been sick for the past two weeks battling what I call the CRUD!! Saturday after the boys’ game we came home and I went into veg out mode. The boys went next door to Americas to play with Alyssa and I took a nice warm bath, put my PJ’s on, and settled into a little bit of scrap booking. Earlier that day I received Flowers, a Teddy Bear, and some Candy….ooooh I love it but I couldn’t get a hold of Donte to say thank you. I had received a text saying that he was going to be super busy all day and would call around 830 that night. The boys ran back over to the house to get a game to play and then ran back over to Americas. Then the front door open and I thought it was the boys coming back to get another game………IT WAS DONTE. He graduated early and was home for good…..OMG can I just say that I was in complete shock….partly because it takes a lot to surprise me….at the same time the back door opens and in run Donnie and Dannie. They had seen him pull in and before my brain could register anything they were in his arms. Can I just say that, that was the best surprise ever!! It feels so good to have him home. As for the crud I went to the doctor on Monday and he said that I have a “Super Bacterial Infection”. Ummmmm OK what’s that (those are my exact words) to make a long story short I have many different bugs that are all attacking my system….ohhh the joys of working in an elementary school. But I am taking my meds and feel so much better….I am sure that having Donte home is a huge part of feeling better too. I am going private on Monday so get me your e-mails :0)

Going Private

After much though I am going private with this blog. If you are one of my readers please send me an e-mail or leave me a comment and I will add you to the list. I will be transitioning in the next week. Thanks :0)

UUUUUGGGGGGH

so I am still battling the crud. I can at least breathe today.....amazing I tell you. The boys both had a sleep over yesterday so I took full advantage and slept! I woke up this morning with the sun shining into my bedroom. After all the gloomy, snowy days it is a welcome change. Our high will be in the 40's tomorrow....I hate to admit it but that's warm here. Anything over 0 is warm here. The dogs went out and played this morning.....they are southerners too and have been couped up with all the snow. After the boys get back I will be off to SAMS and Caputos to get some grub. I hate to admit but I haven't been grocery shopping in over a month....well I've picked up milk and stuff but no real food in a while. Lets hope that the meds keep me breathing until I get back!

3 Surprises and a Nasty Bug

Surprise one started out with the boys and I rushing to the airport in Chicago. Now if you know my family you know that we travel A LOT...Planes used to excite the kids when they were little now its just a pain to them. The only people in my family that new about the surprise were Donte, my Dad, My Granny and my Uncle Maurice.....not even the boys new. They thought that we were going to the "city" for a long weekend. We boarded the plane and they soon figured out that we were going to fly to Baltimore. I must have heard "What's in Baltimore?" 100 times. I just kept saying "wait and see". When the plane landed they were about to explode. I looked at them calmly and said "Here's your surprise.....I flew you to Baltimore and now we are going to fly back to Chicago." The looks on their faces was priceless. Their little lips were saying "oooh thanks Mom" and their eyes were saying "are you kidding!" We deboarded and walked into the baggage claim. They were scanning the airport like FBI agents. Looking for a familiar face. They were looking so hard in the wrong direction that my Dad literally walked by them and stood behind them. I had them turn around and they jumped on Grandpa. They were so very happy to see him and Uncle Maurice. We then had to drive to Pennsylvania. A little after midnight we pulled up at my uncles house and snuck in through the garage. Mom and Granny were in the downstairs living room watching TV. The boys walked right up to her and she busted out in the biggest smile and there were kisses and hugs all around. We spent a great weekend there with our family and of course as all good times go it went by so very fast. The trip home was a bit bumpy because Chicago was hit by a winter storm....don't get me started. When we arrived home I felt a little icky but thought that it was just a little scratchiness of the throat....well lets just say I woke up this morning after a night of being totally sick...the boys and I all were up all night. I have been pumping us full of Robitussin and Tylenol and hopefully tomorrow we can get back to work and school. So theres two of the surprises. One for the boys one for Grandma. The third one is up to Donte so theres no telling when that will come to light. As for this Nasty Bug.....I can't wait to get rid of it!!!!

I'm leaving on a jet plane....

Theres the next hint :0)

Oh How They Have Grown

Surprise.....Surprise?

Well my husband is getting me back for making you all wait for my surprise. He told me that he got me a surprise...ooooooooh I love it......What is it? I ask. He replies with you will have to wait a couple of weeks until it comes in.......huh......what.......how dare he do that to me......make me wait......ugggg I can't stand it!!! I DONT LIKE TO WAIT!!! Now I know that I am making all of you wait....but that’s different. My friends are all very calm and collected....I AM NOT!!!! Ugggg I want to know. I must have asked him a million times what it was but he won’t tell me. He is not budging one inch. It's driving me completely nuts.

On to my surprise......you will all know in roughly a week. I'm busting at the seams and haven't really talked to anyone about it so it's driving me completely nuts too.

As for this weekend man it's been a crazy one. Friday night the boys had two friends spend the night. I got to bed pretty late and the boys were all up at the crack of dawn. The boys had a Soccer game and directly after that we had to go and get fitted for football helmets, pads, and all that good stuff. They start early here. We had to register early, and when I say early I mean early they don’t start practice until July. We ran and got something to eat after and then went directly to Jacobs birthday party. That was a blast the kids had a really good time and then it was off to L’s Pampered Chef party. I left the boys with Brian and the boys and Jenn went with me. After that it was a quick stop by Target and Starbucks….YUMMY YUMMY Raspberry Mocha with an extra shot of raspberry and extra whipped cream. Then it was back to Jenns. The boys and I got home around 9:30 – 10:00. Needless to say that it was a very long day and I really wanted to sleep in this morning but Mr. Murphy woke me up bright and early.
The weather man had said that we were in for 10 inched of snow today but it actually warmed up to 40 today. Almost all the snow is melted and there are floods all over the place. Our pond is overflowing and we have one loud duck that made his way back. The boys and I ran all of our errands today and are planning on a very lazy day tomorrow……..well I have to do the laundry but other than that a very lazy relaxing day.

Happy Heart Day

I hope you all have a great Valentines day!!!!! As for me and my two Valentines it's going to be a blast even though we are missing Donte.....we know that time is flying. So from our family to yours share the time with each other and enjoy every moment!

78 Days to go

Wow we are in the 70's and counting down. Not much has been going on here. Just the everyday happenings. I did have a girls night out last Friday. I saw 27 dresses....I loved it. It was such a chic flick but hey I was so happy to see something that wasn't animated and didnt have super heros. The snow is still coming down hard and the days are pretty dreary. I miss the sunshine so much......I cant wait for spring time to come around!!!

The Sun and The Wind

Do you remember that story? The one where the wind blows and blows trying to make the poor man take his coat off. The sun and the wind have a competition to see who can make the man take his coat off first. The wind starts to blow, getting stronger and stronger and this makes the man hold on to his coat and snuggle deeper into it. The sun smiles and starts to beam and the temp gets warmer and warmer and the man with a smile on his face takes his coat off......well here the sun and wind are having the same competition but with it being -4 the darn wind is winning. I for one am ready for the sun to be the winner. UUGGGGGGGG

For Yvonne........

.......who is so much like me when it comes to surprises. 16 days lady you will know in 16 days. I'm busting at the seems myself.