Happy Halloween!

What good is it to have Halloween on a Saturday if the town only let's you trick or treat from 6 to 8. Poor kids got rained on while we trick or treated too. I wasn't sad not to have all that candy but the kids were a little bummed.


Here are some pictures from Halloween....

The Joker

A Green M & M


A Pirate (trying to look mean lol)

Before we left

When we got home soaked!

The hubby and I dressed up for a party this year

I hope you all had a wonderful Halloween!

I am a Bad Keeper Upper!

OK OK OK!

I know I do a bad job of keeping up on this blog. I AM still here though. The fall always seems to be the busiest time of year. I finally started clinical this semester. I am loving it! Although I was completely unaware of what huge commitment this would be. I had heard other students say it but until this semester I just had no idea. Thankfully I am not working and have the time to focus on school. It is a lot of fun and I'm glad I finally did it.

My kids....My beautiful little babies! Oh wait they are so NOT babies anymore. Our turtle started kindergarten this year. and she loves it. I had to put her in an after care program because of my school schedule, and I hated doing that, but she enjoys going. Some of her friends are there because their parents work, so she has fun. I don't like though, I was able to pick the boys up from their half day, and I am sad I cannot do it for her. But worse things could happen so I will move on.

The monkey has entered middle school this year! That one is even harder for me to believe than the kindergarten thing. He is on the bus at 7:30 am, switches classes, and wants to go to school dances on Friday nights. I'm so not ready for him to grow up ANYMORE!! He has struggled with the course load a little. He is smart but not a fan of putting in tons of effort, things are requiring a little more work in middle school, and he is determined to learn things the hard way. We all know that story, lol. He did make the swim team this year which is very exciting for him. Practices start tomorrow and he can't wait. Let's hope his grades don't ruin his season, lol.

The bear is playing football again. He enjoys it, and I love watching him. He is doing well in school too. This year they opened a new school in town and moved all the kids around. My kids now go to a different elementary school. This is the turtle's first year so she doesn't know anything different, but the bear had to switch schools, and I was a little nervous about how it would go. Lucky for us the whole school is BRAND new and half of his football team is in his class, so he LOVES it! He seems to be a typical middle child at home these days, and it's making me crazy!!! Always trying to antagonize with his older brother and boss his younger sister around. I hope this is a phase and he grows out of it soon.

Her are some pictures from the fall so far.....look for Halloween pictures soon!

First day of school

Monkey reading to his sister

Football

Turtle working hard on her homework

I hope you all have a wonderful Halloween!!

Happy Birthday to....

ME!

My birthday was this past week and the kids and I decided we would go to Philadelphia to celebrate. They were bummed their Dad was away and wouldn't be coming so we decided to wait till Saturday to go. It turned out to be a wonderful day! We went to the Philadelphia Zoo and then for those "Famous Philly Cheese Steaks"

Unfortunately this would be our only picture of any elephants. The zoo had sent all of their elephants to live at other places because they did not have the proper space for them any longer. Elephants happen to be my favorite animal so I was sad not to see any.

The kids all enjoyed climbing on the statues.

GIRAFFES

More Statues!

My turtle talking to a sea turtle

All bear wanted to see was the cats! Lions, Tigers, Cheetahs, Leopards. He was fascinated with them all.

Then we did the touristy thing and went to Pat's AND Geno's to get our Cheese Steaks. We ordered a couple from each place and tried them all to see whose was best. The kids thought they were DELICIOUS!! We were all so stuffed we could barely walk to the car.

And The Winner Was.....Pat's! We were 'almost' positive! LOL
Either way it was a fun day. I love to take day trips like this one with the kids. It made for a wonderful birthday celebration. I hope ten years from now I can still convince them to spend a day like this me.

Thank You guys for a day filled with wonderful memories!

Another Wonderful Fourth of July!

Fourth of July

Well my mother and Vinny have pulled off another successful July 4th party! Great food, Great company, lots of fun! We always look forward to their party, as does everyone else. Their hard work is not for nothing. I hope you all enjoyed your holiday weekend also.

Here are some pictures....

Recital, Recital, Recital!

Another dance recital.....

Yes, it is that time of year again! My little turtle has had her second dance recital.

This year I was much more knowledgeable in the ways of dance recitals. I learned that dress rehearsal night is the best night of the show (for the girls at least), and they do not watch too closely for who has their camera that evening. It is also the only night the girls get to watch the show. For the little ones this is especially fun! We stayed all night, and saw ALL the acts. She had a blast!

I also learned that she really has no idea if we are in the audience or not. So there was no second mortgage for tickets this year!! The show is almost 2 hours, but her act itself is all of a minute long, LOL! Regardless it was unbelievably cute, and she enjoyed her minute on stage!!

I snuck this video from my camera the night of the rehearsal. You can barely make out the girls, it was dark and my camera is not great but it is still fun to watch. You will notice all the girls looking to one side or the other. There is older girls on the sides of the stage leading the routine to help them remember. It is honestly hysterical to watch!

Turtle is in the middle of my view.

Enjoy!

Major Milestone

Good-Bye Good Shepard Christian Nursery School....

For 6 years I have brought all of my children to Good Shepard Christian Nursery School. It is a wonderful school, with wonderful teachers. We have had many good times there, been to the pumpkin patch, the farm, the zoo, The Land of Make Believe (6times!!), Halloween parties, holiday parties, and now 3 graduations.

Last Friday night my little turtle officially graduated from preschool. Not only is this a major milestone for her, moving up into kindergarten, but for us as well. We no longer have any children in preschool. It is a bitter sweet moment. I cannot believe they are all so big. That 6 years has passed by. That my 'BABY' is off to kindergarten. I guess I will enjoy this summer and blog about that on the first day of school, lol.

The graduation cap didn't fit her little head at all! LOL

Saying the Pledge of Allegiance

Diploma in hand

Thank you Good Shepard Christian Nursery School! We had a wonderful 6 years.

Who is teaching who?

I believe you may always make this face to the world...

I learn every day about life from you. About how to be a better parent from you. How to work with THAT attitude and make you open to learning from the world. I learn how to have more patience, how to try harder even when I have no idea what to do. I learn what love is more from you than any other person I have ever known.

From YOU I learn how this picture can be the most beautiful one I take all year.

Thank you monkey for all you have taught me about being a mom. I love you!!

MAY 18th 2009

Bendaroo art on your wall LOL

Happy Birthday Bear!!

I remember the day you were born more clearly then you will realize till you have your own kids. It was 8:27 at night, you were 7lbs 1 1/2 oz, and 20 inches long. You were terribly cute, and terribly cranky!! I believe you cried for a good 8 months. Today I tease you about it all the time, but that first year it did not seem funny at all. You grew to be the sweetest little thing I could have ever imagined. Your charm has captured me a thousand times over.

I remember clearly one day we were walking in the grocery store, you were about 3 years old, and I said

"Eric, I like to be your mom.", and without skipping a beat you said "I like to be your son.".

It was the cutest thing I've ever heard. Today at EIGHT years old you still say the same thing to me.

For your eighth birthday this year you had a few friends sleep over, and we had some family over for dinner. You guys ran around outside, played with Nerf guns, bounced on the trampoline, played video games, and watched movies. It was a fun night. You had a lacrosse tournament the next day, so I packed up a few of your friends and took them with us. We didn't get home till 8 that night. It was the longest birthday party EVER!! Here are a few pictures from the weekend.

Blowing out the candles with your brother trying to mess with you

Your new bike


Aunt Lisa bought you a skate board YOU LOVE!

Lacrosse tournament

I hope you had a wonderful birthday bear.... I LOVE to be your mom!!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

I hope you all had a wonderful Mother's Day!


I LOVE to have pictures of my children!! Especially when they are all together!! Every chance I get I make them all stand together and smile. It is never as easy as it seems. I end up with ten to twenty different photos, some with funny faces, some with tears, half looking in the wrong direction, and the other half blinking. I used to dread it, but over the years I have learned to love it. It is never easy, but the end result is wonderful. I now have years of these groups of pictures. This year I will share the some of Mother's Day ones.



Enjoy!!!

I have about ten more but it would be overkill. LOL!

I love those those kids!! More than they will ever know!

Alive and Well

OK So I am really here still....

I have sat here a million times and thought "Ok today I will update my blog". Some how it just never happens for me. But today I'm not letting anything stop me!!

Last year ended well for us. The holidays were fun. Santa brought the kids a Wii and Rock Band and we had a blast with it all!! I enjoy the games that everyone can play together. Rock Band has definitely made a huge hit! Daddy loves it, Aunt Lisa comes and plays, even our little Turtle has found a way to get in on the fun!

Our Easter was nice also. The bunny was up till all hours of the night planning an egg hunt all over the house. This year the hunt was more than just eggs everywhere, there were clues for each child leading them around the house from one spot to the next, with a little present at the end. I am not positive the kids thought it was as fun as the Easter bunny had thought they might, lol. They did have a lot of fun though, it just went too quickly. Maybe next year the bunny will use more eggs.

Our little turtle is as busy as can be these days! She is doing gymnastics, and loves it! She also is still in dance, with the 'million dollar' recital coming up soon, and she has decided to play T-ball this season. So Cute!!! No matter what she has going on you can never keep that girl busy enough. She will finally start kindergarten in the fall, thankfully. It is only half day, but it will keep her busier than the 3 day a week pre-school does. Hopefully she will make some friends she could play with too. We have tons of kids around here, and they always end up at our house. But they are mostly boys, and all older. I would love for her to meet a few girl friends she could play with.

Bear is playing Lacrosse again this year and is doing GREAT!! He started of the season wanting to play something else but his options were limited and he seemed to 'settle' on Lacrosse. For those of you who don't know Lacrosse is BIG in my house! My husband can't possibly get enough. He played when he was younger, and has coached a Lacrosse team here in town for a few years now. We always worry they may pick that sport out of pressure, but he is having a lot of fun and playing great! I won't ask for more than that. He has a birthday coming up, and I just can't believe he will be EIGHT! Although I think he may be under the impression he is turning 18! He is definitely a little big for his britches, but I believe his mother may have been like that at one time also. Lol

Speaking of birthdays, the monkey just turned TEN last week! 10! It doesn't seem possible to me that he could be ten years old. In honor of the occasion he had 4 friends sleep over. Including him and his brother we had a total of 6 boys here, up all night!! It was a good time for him. We bought him a Nintendo DSi, which just came out, and he was the first one of his friend's to get it. He loved it, and all the attention!! By noon the next day, with all of them running around playing Nerf wars in our house, the hubby and I were ready for his birthday to end!

Happy 10th Birthday Monkey! We love You!

The hubby has a new job. It keeps him very busy! He is typically gone most of the week, and we have had quiet a bit of adjusting to this schedule. The kids miss him like crazy, each one missing him at different moments, and handling it differently. Most often we do ok, but not having him here all the time is sad. I notice it the most when I go to bed and.... GET TO HAVE THE WHOLE BED TO MYSELF!! Lol (sorry baby) I wish that were true but one of them always tries to sneak in on my in the middle of the night. It's like they know half my bed is empty. In the beginning they would ask, when they went to bed, "Mommy, won't you be lonely?", or "Who will keep Daddy company?". It was sweet.

I am still in school, and was accepted into the nursing program. It is a two year program, and I will start in the fall. I have wanted to do this for so long, I am very excited to get started. I am currently 3 weeks away from finishing the Anatomy & Physiology class that I have been taking since the fall. I am looking VERY forward to this being over! It sure was a hell of a class!!

Well that's all for now....hopefully it won't take me another four months to come back. I'll leave you with a few pictures cause I know that's what you're looking for!

Monkey getting his new DSi

First t-ball practice

Bear is maroon & gold

I almost forgot to mention, but this little turtle lost her first tooth!!

Looking forward to December 17th!

OMG!

This semester has been insane! I am taking Human Anatomy & Physiology, and it's kicking my butt. We ARE still here though I promise. I have two more exams, and I can finally return to my family. They are struggling with my semester too. My poor husband has been traveling a lot for work so when he's home I quickly leave to get some studying done, and when he's gone I'm complaining about how overwhelmed I am. I pawn my poor kids off on everyone I know every time I get the chance, they will be happy to see the semester come to an end also.

They have had a busy fall too. School and sports keep us all going non-stop. I am still at times struggling with the monkey. I worry about him so much. He is sensitive and emotional, and not always sure of himself. It does not help that he fights us on EVERYTHING! It is just his nature, but it makes his life more difficult. For that I get sad. I love him so much and want him to enjoy the world and life, and be happy with himself. I hope I can help him learn how. Bear is going through a "too cool" stage....since birth, but especially lately. I look forward squashing that when the semester is over. He enjoys the non-stop action, and is hoping we will sign him up for a boxing program this year. BOXING...great! As for the little turtle in the house, she just turned 5 a few weeks ago. We had some friends over for her and she had a blast. It amazes me how fast the time goes. I can't believe how big they have all grown. The ipods are always going, friends knocking on the door, full blown fights between the boys, and arguments with the little girl on why she can't wear my jewelery. How did that happen?

I find myself thankful this year for the Lego's on the floor, Hannah Montana stickers everywhere, High School Musical 1, 2 & 3, clothes that never make it into the laundry basket, and tooth paste on the sink. They will never get younger than they are today, and the days go by so fast.

On that note I will go enjoy them. I leave you with a few pictures from her birthday....

I am Five!

Blowing out the candles

Turtle with her friend

*Today's my mom's birthday...Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy Labor Day!

This time of year is always bitter sweet to me.

It is the last official day of summer vacation. Although the kids started school last week, it was a short week with two half days. They have off Friday and Monday, so this long weekend is our last bit of summer. It IS nice to have them back in school, but along with school comes homework, and sports. The monkey is playing soccer, bear is in football, and our little turtle is doing gymnastics and dance again this year. The husband is coaching for both teams and I took Anatomy & Physiology, so the fall is a busy time in our house. It is sad for me to say good bye to summer, when we sleep late, play all day, no homework, no schedules, and I get to have lunch with my kids every day. Now they are out the door at 8:30, they get home 3:30, practice by 5 or 6, and we don't get home till 8 sometimes 8:30. We do this all week long and then games on Saturdays and Sundays. I like watching them play their sports and helping them with their homework, I like that they are gone all day and not home getting on each other's nerves. I love this class, and my husband loves to coach BUT ....THE SUMMER IS MUCH BETTER!!!
Here's a few pictures from Bushkill Falls...

Funny faces are much easier to get than plain old smiles these days

This is the Bear's first year playing pads and he loves it!! That's him and Dad.

This was the boys first day of school. The turtle doesn't go till next week. With her birthday being on November she will not start kindergarten until next year, so this is her last year of preschool, and our last year PAYING for preschool!!

I hope you all had a wonderful summer, and HAPPY LABOR DAY!