Spring is in the air!!!

It is 51 degrees and I LOVE IT!!! I am SO eager for my camera to arrive and get outside to take some pics!!!! I wish it was coming today but UPS tracking tells me that it won't be here til Monday. I am hoping EARLY Monday because Jessi has the day off from school and I want to do a photo shoot with the kids! I even bought a sheet for a backdrop and some white foam core board for a reflector. I think my bedroom in the afternoon will be the best time/place for a photo shoot. I have a huge window in there and it gets GREAT light in the afternoon! So my fingers are crossed for #1. the camera to arrive before noon AND #2 The kids to cooperate!! Jessi has a very hard time with getting her photo taken because she knows that she has a fake looking smile and stresses out about it and it often gets a bit nasty. I will have to work extra hard to keep the mood "breezy" ;)

I tried to learn a bit about shooting in RAW today but had to quit because my head is spinning!!! I think I will wait awhile before trying that out. The benefits seem pretty obvious, but I have always been pretty happy with my photos, so I don't see the 'need' for it yet. Besides.... I should be studying Photoshop before trying to learn yet another thing!! I got 2 Photoshop books at the library that I haven't even taken out of the bag yet!!

Rut Schmut!!!

So yeah... I was in a rut this morning but NOT anymore!!! Something about a house full of screamy, happy girls has that effect on ya. But even MORE de-rutting is the fact that I just ordered my new camera!!!! I am SO FREAKIN' EXCITED!! The camera is SOOOOOOO awesome!! It has GREAT reviews and I LOVE the 'face detection' feature that Fuji has created!!

HUGE THANK YOU to my Mom for finding this camera after I had already settled on it's younger, less-bells-and-whistles-but-not-really-that-much-cheaper brother ;) AND for my paypal birthday present which made me be able to order it THAT MUCH SOONER ;) ;) Love ya Mom!!

BLAAAaaahhhh...........................

REALLY having trouble gettin' my ass in gear today!! Sean is at the in-laws... Jessi is at school.... I should be doing SOMETHING productive, right? I should at LEAST be cleaning my scraproom so that it's ready for my 'kids class' this afternoon. I think I am getting sick or something. I am so tired! I am freezing!! I have a faint stomache-ache and I am all stuffed up. BLAH BLAH BLAH ....I know.

We watched 'Borat' the other night. It was.... umm.... well..... it was something....lol! It was one of those movies that Rick and I didn't even DISCUSS when it was over... just kind of looked at each other quizzically and he headed upstairs to shower before bed...lol. There are definitely MANY 'laugh-out-loud' moments... but there are just as many "OMG what the hell is WRONG with the people who created this movie!!??" moments!

I am thinking about canceling the Blockbuster Online service. We just don't watch enough movies. I have had Babel here for at least 2 weeks. I think we would save money by just renting a movie at the video store when we want to. We used to watch tons of movies and it was totally worth it!!

Well I think I have bored you all enough... I told you I was feeling "BLAH" today!

Just stuff

Taking the kids to the dentist is like taking my car in for service. I DREAD the moment when the girl comes out to tell me the outcome of the check-up. Today was a VERY refreshing suprise when she came out and said that both kids teeth look GREAT and that they are obvisouly doing a great job with their brushing and flossing! HOORAY!!! I called Rick right after the appointment and he answered the phone saying, "It's NEVER good when you call me from the dentist...what's up?" LOL He was also delighted with the news! We celebrated by taking the kids out for candy and cookies... LOL.... Just kidding ;) We actually celebrated with 'Wii Play" to get that bonus controller. We REALLY wanted 'Cooking Mama' for the Wii as that game is both kids FAVORITE DS game EVER.... but it was just released today and we are in Maine... so we had no luck finding it.

Sean also had his swimming lesson this morning and he is doing SO well!! He is the best one in the class (ok... that's not really saying much as the other 3 boys freak out at even putting their faces in the water...lol)! I have my fingers crossed that by the end of this session he will be swimming at least the doggie paddle on his own. It would be great if he could swim by summer as we have LOTS of fun fun stuff planned!!!! Including a 2 week journey to Nashville, TN to visit Nana and Uncle Chris!! The kids don't know about that one yet! I may keep that one for a surprise til the day we leave ;)

TO ALL IT CONCERNS.....

WHO THE HELL CARES ABOUT THE BEST GUITAR SOLO EVER!!!???

IT IS A COMPLETELY SUBJECTIVE THING!!!

YOU WILL NEVER AGREE!!

LET IT GO!!!!!!!!!!

FOR REAL!!!

LET

IT

GO!!!

....and now back to your regularly scheduled blog....

Happy Birthday to ME!!!

I am a little bummed that my Wii does not give a rat's ass that today is my birthday! Why the heck do you have to put your birthday in when you create your Mii!? I was hoping at least for a little party hat or something. Geesh.

I guess this is a good time to set some personal goals for my time as a 33 year old. (I am 33, right?....lol.... how sad is it that I really did have to do the math). So here are my goals and how I plan to attain them...

-My #1 goal is to lose at LEAST 20 pounds!! I have been working on that one for a few weeks by eating less and less CRAP and exercising, so I know I will reach that one!!

-I will finish up my Bachelor's Degree and make a decision about what I want to be when I grow up ;) Took the first step here too by filling out my FAFSA! Can't register for classes yet though... Going to school and doing my internship will be no problem this time around since both kids will be in school all day.

-I continue to find ways to bring extra money in to the house, but still be here for my kids. Working on this one too with my scrapbooking class, thinking about doing childcare here in my home, or when I am done with my degree working outside the home part-time while the kids are in school.

I think that's enough for personal goals. I can't wait to look back next year and say, "I did ALL stuff I said I would!!!"

Happy St Pattys Weekend!

YIKES!! I have been a bit of a blog slacker (well... for me anyway)!!

Last night was my birthday party and it was SO much fun!! I have great friends and family and I am very grateful for that!! Julie came over early and got the place all decked out while Rick and Jerry watched stupid videos on youtube in the continuation of the endless search for the 'best guitar solo ever.' Yeah.... that's what I said ;) Nicole came over and made her famous Spinach dip which we all descended on like a pack of wild hyenas the second it came out of the oven and was gone in about 5 minutes ...lol... Tim and Kristy brought crackers and pub cheese which also disappeared very quickly... all but 2 crackers.... why 2 crackers got left is beyond me, but it was kinda funny when Kristy was packing up to leave and was like, "TWO CRACKERS!?? You all left 2 CRACKERS!? You are supposed to eat them all or at least leave enough for us to have some later!?" (or something like that)

I got some great presents! I got a Magritte book and the Dixie Chicks DVD from Nicole. I love both but I am SUPER excited about my Magritte book! I have wanted one forEVER, but it's one of those things you just never buy for yourself. Liz got me a really cool scrapbooking book that I can't wait to look through. And Tim got me an IDEA!! (ROFL) and it's a GREAT one!! He comes in and says, "I had the BEST idea of what I WAS going to get you...." LOL But it is a great idea and I can't wait for it to be a reality!! I told Rick that my new cell phone and the plants I am going to get for my aquarium are my presents from him :)

Kristie has some pics over on her blog... and Nicole probably will too!! I didn't take any pics since they both were.... and since using Jessi's camera feels like slumming...lol.

Thank you everyone!!! You all rock!!!

Started out nice.....

The scrapping class is going well! I think my favorite part is that it's only an hour and a half...lol! It's funny that an average people think of little girls as quiet and sweet. I don't know where that stereotype came from, but it is SO way off! They are LOUD, squealy, messy, bouncy, and they eat like pigs...lol!! They are all doing very well with their scrapbooks. I am glad I decided to have them do 8x8 pages, makes it SO much less overwhelming for them and ME! I also get a kick out of the fact that they LOVE all the stuff that I think is tacky or garish... so they are using all the stuff I would never use! My CM heart punch has been collecting dust for YEARS! It got more use yesterday than it has in the whole time I have owned it! They are having a blast, and I am too. It helps that all the girls are girls that are here all the time anyway, so it just feels like any other day... plus I can yell at them and tease them...lol!

On a not-quite-so-happy note... My brother-in-law is back together with his girlfriend and she moved herself and her kids into his place. The whole thing irks me on many...many...many levels... but the biggest 'irk' is that Sean has FINALLY stopped asking about her son (Sean and him were buddies when they were together before). He had a hard time grasping why he couldn't see his friend anymore... and now he will start seeing him again and I have to figure out how to explain that. Do I explain (because he WILL ask or say, "You told me we weren't going to see them anymore!!) that we might see them now and then, but soon maybe we won't see them again anymore... or just act like they are all back together again and deal with the inevitable break-up when it happens? UGH... I hate that their drama has spilled over into my life! ANd I just have to say... if SEAN was so affected by just not seeing his friend anymore... imagine how HER kids feel getting jerked around like they have been all their life. If they find this blog someday... so be it... I can take it... and frankly... none of this is anything I wouldn't say to their faces... and someday probably will.. I hate seeing kids get hurt by adults who only care about THEIR feelings and THEIR lives. BLECH!!!

Damn that's good!

Rick got stuck going to Auburn today and wouldn't be home for dinner, so I decided to make Nicole's famous Mac and Cheese. Jessi has been BEGGING for it for AGES and I finally got the recipe from her a couple weeks ago. I just hadn't made it yet because Rick hates macaroni and cheese. So tonight I gave it a shot and had to call Nicole about 10 times because the 'instructions' she gave me were somewhat lacking...lol ;) The kids LOVED it and I loved it too. Even MORE shocking... Rick got home a little early and served himself up some and also LOVED IT!! SO I guess that recipe is a keeper!

I scrapbooked today. It had been awhile since I had some good scrap mojo. I think I use up all my mojo helping the girls (and Sean) in my scrap class. I was inspired by the big box of goodies that arrived on my doorstep yesterday!! LOTS of yummy new stuff!!! I think my favorite stuff is the Urban Lily rub-ons... or the chipboard.... or maybe the Sassafrass Lass papers and die cuts... or all the new Basic Grey... LOL!!!

My new toy :)

No... it's not a camera... but the research is underway for that one and I am pretty sure of the one I want (unless Mom convinces me to go the SLR route... which she hasn't quite done yet ;) )... it's just not being released until April 4th... but that's ok. I can use Jessi's (my old one) in the meantime.

My new toy TODAY is my new cell phone! Rick's has been in dire need of a new phone for ages as his holds a charge (even with a new battery) for about 5 seconds, 2 if he gets a text message (which he does about 50 times a day) ;) So since he doesn't care what he has for a phone as long as it works... I got to get the new phone and he gets my old phone :D I went in with Razr phones on the brain, but once I got there the girl showed me THIS PHONE. I had seen it on the website in the past, but it was way too expensive to even consider... BUT the price just came down on it and it's just a teeny but more than the razr would have been! So for a little more I got a phone with a built in Mp3 player and radio! I am having fun uploading all my tunes and picking silly tunes for all my peeps incoming ringtones ...lol! Here's a couple....

When Mom calls

When Ricky Poo calls

When Nicoolio calls

When Jerry and Julie call (because they have SEEN Godsmack LIVE, you know!? They even MET THEM! FOR REAL!! REally! Just ask them... they'll tell ya....lol)




Hee Hee :) I slay myself.

:(

Without placing any blame... this is what went down.

I was sitting at the island last night waiting for the fries to finish cooking so that I could then turn them into Rachael Ray's 'Funky Fries.' Rick went into the scraproom to go on the computer and then came out and brought me my camera because he 'accidentally pushed a button' and didn't want to mess anything up by trying to turn the camera off. I turned the camera off, set it down and continued what I was doing. About a half hour later as I am chopping parsley, Sean comes in to sit at the island and talk to me. He accidentally knocks the camera off the table and onto a chair...then onto the floor. I gasp. I check the camera and it turns on ::phew:: ...then I notice that the screen is all purple... and that it only takes blank purple pictures. :( Sean runs upstairs crying. I let him because I am really upset myself and don't want to go ballistic on him because I know that it was just an accident. Rick comes down after working out, I say, "My camera is broken. SEAN knocked it off the island after YOU had to bring it out there." (which obviously I realized that it wasn't Rick's fault, or even Sean's, it was an accident... it's not like it was the 1st time the camera has ever been on the island... and it's not like the camera just as easily could have fallen off the desk in the scraproom... but I am upset and pissed off...) Humongous fight ensues. We must fight quickly and wrap it up because Jerry and Julie are on the way. So it was a fast ...but fierce one ;)

I will call Olympus on Monday and see if it's fixable, but from what I have read on the net, 'impact injuries' are usually more costly to fix than to just get a new camera. Let the research begin. ::::sigh:::: It's fun to buy new stuff.... but I hate spending money to replace stuff I already had.

After that the night got MUCH better! Jerry and Julie came bearing gifts for me (for my birthday and a housewarming gift) and nothing cheers me up like PRESENTS....lol! Sean went off to bed, so we were kid-free, which is a rarity! We had a BLAST all playing Wii. 'A couple drinks in ya Wii' is even more fun than regular Wii! LOL

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

We had no big plans for today. Jessi had a friend over and they wanted to go to the pool, but upon looking at the pool schedule decided that wouldn't work. So Jessi asked if I would take them roller skating instead. I must have still been on a 'work-out high' from the Gazelle workout I had just done because I said, "Yeah... why don't we all go skating! That would be fun!" They started getting ready and I started to realistically think about what I was getting myself into. I realize this is horrible to say, but Sean is kind of a woosey. He hates heights...won't sled by himself...won't go over the nets at the playplace...you get the idea ;) So I strapping wheels to his feet probably wasn't going to end well. But hey... you never know, right? So we get there (after a stop at ACMoore to get some new goodies since they FINALLY got lots of fun new stuff!! AND a stop at Kohl's for new sneakers since on the way to Bangor Sean was crying that his feet were hurting and I felt them to discover that his toes were about to come right through the front of his shoes---that JUST fit fine a couple weeks ago!!) I get rollerbladesand the kids chose regular skates. . Sean fell about 437 times before we even got to the floor and was NOT having fun, but was being a good sport about it. The girls are having a hard time too and decide to switch to blades. The blades didn't help... apparently for Jessi skating is NOT like riding a bike. She used to rollerblade ALL THE TIME when we lived in Bangor. She had a terrible time of it and had to stay holding on to the wall most of the time. (It didn't help that is was REALLY busy.) We ended up skating for only about an hour until Jessi burst into tears of frustration (he friend is a great skater), and Sean was pretty much done himself. I left a bit upset also. I can still skate just fine, but I was SO SORE skating! My lower back hurt, my calves burned and I am totally going to be feelin' it tomorrow. When I lived in Boston, I pretty much LIVED in my rollerblades. I think I wore blades more than shoes! I could do tricks, jumps, stairs...and the only aches and pains I had were bruises from practicing new tricks! So that kinda sucked. On the way home Sean said, "I was really excited about that skating... but I do not wanna do that again! I tried and tried but it's just too HARD!!!"

We'll try again someday... some far far away day ;)

A season for change

Just spent the morning gathering up all my crap and filling out my FAFSA. I have been putting it off for about a month and it was time to get my butt in gear. I think what got me going was seeing a commercial that Bangor's kindergarten registration is coming right up. YIKES!! Soon I have to register my BABY for kindergarten!!!

Fall is going to be a big time of change for this family! Sean and Jessi will both be in school all day. I will be in school AND doing my internship, AND probably working part-time! I think I am going to do my internship working with the elderly. (ok.... you can all (except Nicole because she already knew this) pick yourselves up off the floor) The reason I would like to do this is that I really enjoyed visiting my grandfather in the nursing home. If it wasn't so far away I think I would have visited often. I loved how much joy they all got in just watching my kids play, and how much they loved to just TALK! To have someone just LISTEN to their story! I think that the way so many elderly (especially the poor) are treated in our country is very sad. I would hate to think that someday when I am old someone is going to lock me in a chair in a hallway and I will sit there all day without talking to anyone... and then at the end of the day get stuck in bed. Old people are still PEOPLE! They had and still HAVE lives. They have stories to tell. They need companionship. There are some great people working in nursing homes. But there are far too many people who work in these places are are there only for a paycheck and treat those old folks like a piece of meat. I know that there are some really gross and sad aspects to working with the elderly. But after 80 or 90 years of being on this earth, haven't most of them earned a happy ending?

Anyhoo... I want to do this internship to see if it is something that I would like to do with my life. What better way to try it out, right? My internship for my A.S. degree showed me that I really DON'T want to work with little kids as a preschool teacher. Maybe this one will show me that I don't want to work with the elderly.... maybe it will end up being my life's calling... who knows??

Spring Fever

I've got it. I've got it bad.

I want to go OUTSIDE!!

I want to take pictures of flowers and birds!

I want to teach Sean to ride a bike!

I want to go watch Jessi play softball!

I want to go for a walk while Sean follows along on his bike!

I want to go for walks in the woods with the dogs!

I want the kids to spend more time outside than IN (lol)!!

I want to OPEN THE WINDOWS!!!

I really can't wait. I love the burst of energy that accompanies spring. I am hoping that burst will get our basement cleaned out so we can get started with finishing it! I am also eager for the ground to thaw so that we can rent a Bobcat and FINALLY get our yard all leveled off and grass planted!! I also can't wait to clean up the porch and get it all set up for use again.

COME ON SPRING!!! WE ARE SO READY FOR YA!!!!

Bee rapture!!!!

Did you know that millions of bees have mysteriously disappeared? As in, gone without a trace... not dead... just gone. I think that is very weird. Well yeah... it's weird... but who the eff cares you say, right? They're freakin' bees for cryin' out loud... so I'll have to put sugar in my tea instead of honey... whoopeedoo. Well apparently it IS a big deal... and not just for the honey reason! Bees are a HUGE part of our entire ecosystem and agricultural economy. Without bees to pollenate... we are screwed!

So... yeah. There's somethin' for ya to ponder tonight ...lol.

Monday and a Root Canal,,,,

Does it get any better than this?? Surely it must...lol. It actually wasn't nearly as bad as I had convinced myself it would be... nonetheless... I can think of about 999,999,999,999,999 things that I would rather do on a Monday, or any other day for that matter!

I heard the weather on the radio while driving home. This week is supposed to be the COLDEST WEEK OF THE YEAR WITH WIND CHILLS FAR BELOW ZERO!! Yikes. Sean has swim lessons tomorrow, going to have to bundle him up REAL GOOD!! Glad he is older now and I don't have to go in with him...brrrrr!!

OK that's enough for today... my mouth is still numb and I hate that feeling ...makes me groggy and grumpy!

Can it REALLY be THAT fun!?

Umm... yeah. It can. LOL!!!!



We waffled all week about which system to get, and I researched all week on how to get my hands on a Wii if that was the way we decided go. I love a good hunt!!! I found a website that somehow monitors all target shipments of Wii's and knew that they got some in this week... and through some neat message boards I found... also learned that if Wii's are going to be in the sales ad in the weekend paper that stores hold all the Wii's out back until Sunday. (If they are not going to be in the Sunday ads, they just put them right out on the floor and it's just grab em if you see em) So I knew (well... I hoped... not really KNEW) they would have some at Target. And they did!! AND they were on SALE!! So not only did we get our Wii... we got it for less!! Loves it!!

HA!!!

My aunt just sent this to me... too funny!

A perfect snowday

We pretty much knew yesterday that we were going to have a snow day today, so it was no surprise when that text message came along at the crack of dawn. The kids were out playing in it before the clock even struck 7am...lol! They have been in and out all day. We also spend a couple hours all scrapbooking together. Both kids are QUITE the little scrappers ;) Sean is too funny! He doesn't consider a page 'done' until the edges are FULLY inked..lol!!



And a day off from school wouldn't be complete without some 'Jessi friends' here... so they are on the way right now from Bangor (yes...their mother is apparently either crazy or desperate to drive them all the way out here in a blizzard...lol). That will give me a chance to get some housework done without kiddos all up in my grill!

Rick came through again!! This time it was Jerry's turn to get 'hooked up' with a shiny new job. They are SO excited that they will be working for the same company (different buildings). I can't even imagine how excited Jerry must be to not have to drive 2 hours to work and 2 hours back!! And word on the street is that he won't be driving to work at ALL ...lol... as he and Rick are going to carpool. Awwwwww ...so cute ...lol ;) When Jessi found out she said to Rick... "Awwww... Daddy gets to go to worky with his wittle buddy." Hee Hee ;)

My girl

On the way home from the Pampered Chef party my mother-in-law told me that she ran into a family friend of ours, Jen, who runs an after-school daycare. Jen told Liz a story about a few weeks ago when one of the boys came from school just crushed because he had asked Jessi to 'go with him' (i.e. never actually GO anywhere or do anything.... just be boyfriend and girlfriend) and she said, "I'm sorry, no. My mom doesn't want me doing any of that kind of stuff for a few more years."

NIIIIIICE!!!!

THAT'S MY GIRL!!!!!

She told me that a boy 'asked her out' a few weeks ago and that she said 'no'.... but it was kinda funny to hear it from the other side! And VERY cool to hear that we are definitely doing something right!! That all the sacrifices we have made to always be there for our kids are really starting to pay off.