It's been a long time since I've updated my blog. I really lost my interest in updating about my life and every boring thing we had going on. But here's a recap: Since July we have welcomed Luis home for R&R in September, right in time for Lilli's birthday. We had a luau and a pig roast for her and all our friends. It was one of the best get-togethers we've ever had. I had a great time as did she! It was even more special to share the day with my Love.
October was even better. The kids and I moved back to post, we got an awesome house across the street from a playground and my Love came home from Iraq and is home for the holidays. We have been enjoying our time together as a family and are looking forward to vacationing for the holidays with family and friends.
Hubby and I also started doing P90X together. He had done the program in Iraq with great results so I'm giving it a go. We just finished up with week 1. No huge results yet, but then I'm not watching what I eat at all. Maybe in a month or so I'll feel more like "dieting."
Now I am acting like a crazy person trying to plan the best vacations we can, find daycare for the kids so I can go back to school full-time, plan an awesome 3rd birthday party for my son and juggle the day-to-day activities of our household. I need to learn to be more relaxed. Maybe that will be my goal for 2012.
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Happy Fourth of July: Part 1
This weekend has been pretty good! Friday morning Gabe helped me make muffins for breakfast, cupcakes for a BBQ we were going to on Saturday and played real well till Xa showed up later that evening. I took the boys to the Granite City carnival that night with my good friend, Pam. The boys had a blast and even though we stayed till 10PM they didn't fall asleep on the way home. They also didn't sleep in on Saturday either....
Saturday after a great pancake breakfast we played in the yard and made hand print eagles. Then Mom and I checked out a new craft/antique store in Fairview. I found two great end tables that match my antique dresser in our guest room and they were only $24 a piece! A great buy! I was so excited to get them! Saturday night we headed over to a friends BBQ and to watch their fireworks. It was so hot and miserable. Gabe sat pretty well for the fireworks for the first 5 minutes or so but once they really started to go off all together he said it was time to go home. So, me, Dad, The Boy and Sissy enjoyed the display from the van while watching the Backyardigans. It was a good night.
Saturday after a great pancake breakfast we played in the yard and made hand print eagles. Then Mom and I checked out a new craft/antique store in Fairview. I found two great end tables that match my antique dresser in our guest room and they were only $24 a piece! A great buy! I was so excited to get them! Saturday night we headed over to a friends BBQ and to watch their fireworks. It was so hot and miserable. Gabe sat pretty well for the fireworks for the first 5 minutes or so but once they really started to go off all together he said it was time to go home. So, me, Dad, The Boy and Sissy enjoyed the display from the van while watching the Backyardigans. It was a good night.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Hello, again.
I haven't written in over a month, not because I haven't been doing anything, but because I haven't felt the desire to share my life with everyone who reads my blog. This month has just been one of those months.
I've really been enjoying watching Gabe and Lilli interact and letting Gabe experience new things now that he's a little older and loves to play with other kids. I was never good at play dates, probably, because its been my experience, I didn't like chatting with other moms. It's so hard for me to build new relationships; I need to be better at that so I can have a more full-filling life, I suppose, but it's a struggle. Gabe always loves playing with Xavier, so I've taken them to Monkey Joe's a few times to run off steam. It only takes about an hour of playing on all the inflatables to get tired.
I also always try to do some type of art project with the boys. I think my persistence with Gabe sticking his hands in paint is finally working. He's not afraid to get them dirty like he was before, but the mess doesn't last long before he tells me he needs to wash his hands.
Speaking of telling me things, he's gotten quite the personality this past year. He's learned that when I say "No," he should respond with "yes!" Or, the latest and most annoying and cute all at the same time is "What is that?" and "What you doing?" The things children learn amazes me.
Other than that, we go to Xavier's baseball games once or twice a week. I started a boot camp class at the Y that kicks my butt every time and we bought Gabe a swing-set. That's about the highlights of June. July will be another story, hopefully. I can't wait to let the month fly by so I can see the man of my dreams and get a vacation of total bliss.
I've really been enjoying watching Gabe and Lilli interact and letting Gabe experience new things now that he's a little older and loves to play with other kids. I was never good at play dates, probably, because its been my experience, I didn't like chatting with other moms. It's so hard for me to build new relationships; I need to be better at that so I can have a more full-filling life, I suppose, but it's a struggle. Gabe always loves playing with Xavier, so I've taken them to Monkey Joe's a few times to run off steam. It only takes about an hour of playing on all the inflatables to get tired.
I also always try to do some type of art project with the boys. I think my persistence with Gabe sticking his hands in paint is finally working. He's not afraid to get them dirty like he was before, but the mess doesn't last long before he tells me he needs to wash his hands.
Speaking of telling me things, he's gotten quite the personality this past year. He's learned that when I say "No," he should respond with "yes!" Or, the latest and most annoying and cute all at the same time is "What is that?" and "What you doing?" The things children learn amazes me.
Other than that, we go to Xavier's baseball games once or twice a week. I started a boot camp class at the Y that kicks my butt every time and we bought Gabe a swing-set. That's about the highlights of June. July will be another story, hopefully. I can't wait to let the month fly by so I can see the man of my dreams and get a vacation of total bliss.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Memorial Day: Part 2 and Our Weekend Adventures
I finally am a little caught up since our vacation so I wanted to post some more pictures from our trip as well as the past weekend. Since my last post we had taken down the flags at the cemetery and went back to my grandma's for our last dinner/get-together with the family. Gabe was so sad to leave the next day, he even said he didn't want to go to Paw-Paws, which never happens. I'm glad he had such a good time and is able to meet and get-to-know his extended family. It was a long road home but we were all glad to be back.
What we weren't glad to come back to was the Kitchen. A few weeks ago we had a leak under the sink and we thought we had fixed it but not before all the wood tile was soaked and now starting to smell like mold. Yuck. So, after spending eight hours in a car driving home Dad and I spent a another two tearing up the kitchen floor. What fun!
Fast-forward to this weekend which was jam packed with outings, just the way I like to spend my weekends! Friday I took Gabe to the Y to swim. I knew the trip would be difficult since he had skipped his nap but it was so hot I wanted to go anyways. We got there around 2:30 and quickly changed, showered and jumped in. The day camp kids were there too, so it was a little rowdy and super loud but it didn't seem to phase Gabe - he loved it. He saw another little boy jumping in from the side, probably 18 months old, and decided he would like to try that. So, he did, and LOVED it! He kept saying "Ready?!" and he'd jump, sometimes before I actually was ready but he didn't mind going underwater. He actually go so brave that he told me not to hold him and he would swim to get the ball we were playing with or he'd jump in alone. It was so cute to see how brave he was.
Needless to say he didn't want to leave. Thankfully there was only one other person in the locker room when we went to change that had to listen to his temper tantrum and constant screaming about wanting to go back into the pool. Once his clothes were on he was good to go. All in all it was a pretty good trip.
Saturday while I was workingreally, really hard, I found a few festivals in the area I wanted to attend. So, after work we headed out to the Horseradish festival. We only stayed about an hour since it was really too hot to walk around. Gabe played on the playground a little but agreed it was time to go. Then, we headed across town to the Pig-A-Palooza, a charity event for Jacob's Ladder Foundation. They had BBQ and a few inflatables for kids. Gabe slid down the large inflatable slide all by himself. I was so proud. They also had a silent auction, I tried to win the Hubby a Yankee's something-or-other but I didn't win. My friend Pam also met us out there so it was nice to catch up and chat with her that evening. It's so hard to meet new, good friends that it makes me very thankful for the friends I still have from school that I can call anytime and everything just clicks back in place as if I never moved.
Today, we finished up our weekend with the Strawberry festival. This takes place about an hour from the house in an old town. There are tons of booths set up with crafts and food. They also had a petting zoo and rides for kids. Gabe, Xavier and I fed all the animals: a camel, a cow, some goats, sheep and chickens. Then the boys rode in the airplanes (Gabe's favorite part of the day) and the mini-train. We were all tuckered out by the time we got home. In fact, this is the first night since we've been home from Oklahoma that Gabe is asleep in his room before 9PM. Let's just hope he sleeps in too!
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| Grandma with the grand and great-grandchildren |
What we weren't glad to come back to was the Kitchen. A few weeks ago we had a leak under the sink and we thought we had fixed it but not before all the wood tile was soaked and now starting to smell like mold. Yuck. So, after spending eight hours in a car driving home Dad and I spent a another two tearing up the kitchen floor. What fun!
Fast-forward to this weekend which was jam packed with outings, just the way I like to spend my weekends! Friday I took Gabe to the Y to swim. I knew the trip would be difficult since he had skipped his nap but it was so hot I wanted to go anyways. We got there around 2:30 and quickly changed, showered and jumped in. The day camp kids were there too, so it was a little rowdy and super loud but it didn't seem to phase Gabe - he loved it. He saw another little boy jumping in from the side, probably 18 months old, and decided he would like to try that. So, he did, and LOVED it! He kept saying "Ready?!" and he'd jump, sometimes before I actually was ready but he didn't mind going underwater. He actually go so brave that he told me not to hold him and he would swim to get the ball we were playing with or he'd jump in alone. It was so cute to see how brave he was.
Needless to say he didn't want to leave. Thankfully there was only one other person in the locker room when we went to change that had to listen to his temper tantrum and constant screaming about wanting to go back into the pool. Once his clothes were on he was good to go. All in all it was a pretty good trip.
Saturday while I was working
Today, we finished up our weekend with the Strawberry festival. This takes place about an hour from the house in an old town. There are tons of booths set up with crafts and food. They also had a petting zoo and rides for kids. Gabe, Xavier and I fed all the animals: a camel, a cow, some goats, sheep and chickens. Then the boys rode in the airplanes (Gabe's favorite part of the day) and the mini-train. We were all tuckered out by the time we got home. In fact, this is the first night since we've been home from Oklahoma that Gabe is asleep in his room before 9PM. Let's just hope he sleeps in too!
Friday, June 3, 2011
Edit Me: Week 3
I'm a little behind my regular schedule due to our vacation but here's the week 3 Edit Me challenge. This adorable little girl made it easy for me to decide what to do!
Here's the before:
And my after:
I didn't know how to do this effect with Picnik so I had to brave my Photoshop.
Here are the steps I took:
-Created a background copy
-Used the selection tool to select the balls in the background
-Enhance tab, then Convert to Black and White
-Zoomed in to correct the edges and Viola!
Enjoy and check out the other great edits!
Monday, May 30, 2011
Memorial Day Trip: Part 1
This past weekend my family and I traveled to Oklahoma to visit with my mom's family. We had special plans, as the family does every Memorial Day, to visit the grave sites of our family that has passed and decorate the graves. My great uncle just happen to pass the day before we were coming to town, and due to the holiday they had to put his funeral together in quite a hurry for the following day. So, we were able to attend that ceremony as well.
The the local cemetery where my mom's immediate family has plots/buried, they have a large ceremony every Memorial Day to honor those service members who are laid to rest there. Each year, they raise flags that are donated to the cemetery on behalf of the family. There are over 2,000 flags that fly for the holiday weekend. This year we also raised my grandpa's flag for the first time. There were 6 or 8 companies from local ROTC units present to assist families with their flag and the local Civil Air Patrol does a reenactment of the tomb of the unknown soldier for three days straight. It is a great tribute to the military and their families.
On a cheerier note, The Boy loves coming to visit because it means there are lots of little kids he can play with. They have had a grand time playing in the yard and in the toy room. He's always so sad when its time for bed and they all go home, but, boy, does he sure sleep good! And, of course, Sissy is in heaven because no one lets her down for more than a minute.
It has been a great weekend that would only be better if my love were home to share it with us.
The the local cemetery where my mom's immediate family has plots/buried, they have a large ceremony every Memorial Day to honor those service members who are laid to rest there. Each year, they raise flags that are donated to the cemetery on behalf of the family. There are over 2,000 flags that fly for the holiday weekend. This year we also raised my grandpa's flag for the first time. There were 6 or 8 companies from local ROTC units present to assist families with their flag and the local Civil Air Patrol does a reenactment of the tomb of the unknown soldier for three days straight. It is a great tribute to the military and their families.
On a cheerier note, The Boy loves coming to visit because it means there are lots of little kids he can play with. They have had a grand time playing in the yard and in the toy room. He's always so sad when its time for bed and they all go home, but, boy, does he sure sleep good! And, of course, Sissy is in heaven because no one lets her down for more than a minute.
It has been a great weekend that would only be better if my love were home to share it with us.
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