What a nice change!

Right before we headed out to visit Hubby's Arizona relatives, we found out that I had a broken toe (which happened two months ago) & tendonitis. That made for an interesting trip at times but it was fun. Still we finally managed a long-needed visit to Phoenix to visit Hubby’s grandmother & aunt’s family a few weeks back. The weather was wonderful giving us a break from the darn cold & a chance to wear summer clothes. The hotel was a great deal we found, especially for a suite. We enjoyed the Phoenix Zoo (amazing giraffe exhibit), Hubby’s cousin’s baseball game (he’s a great pitcher!), dinner with our friends who moved out there a few years back (beautiful home & impressive BBQ patio!), the afternoon at Enchanted Island where Son found made a friend, visiting another elderly relative (where Daughter rolled over for the FIRST TIME EVER in front of her & Hubby’s Grandma), toured the Mystery Castle (incredible place seen on the travel channel), had a great day at Rawhide (which is a type of cowboy town) & then found a great place recommended by Hubby’s parents called Out of Africa where we got to feed a giraffe (definitely go if you can!). It’s always nice to visit the ones you care about, especially as the kids get older. It was worth it to make to finally make the trip. Hopefully the wait until next trip won't be so long.

Want something 'cool'?

Tomorrow night (Wednesday, April 30th) is the annual 31 cent scoop special at Baskin Robbins for the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation. Take a break from that diet & support them between 5-10 pm!

Trips galore!

Although spring has yet to arrive, life has been incredibly busy all month! Since Easter we’ve had several family trips. More than I expected but still fun! The end result though is way too much dirty & clean laundry that has piled up between all the trips. Anyhow are some of the highlights from this month!





At the beginning of the month, we enjoyed one of the rare spring days with one of our friends & her two kids at the zoo. The kids are so close in age that they always have fun together.





Son’s preschool had a fun field trip to the local airport right after we got back. The airport manager was very accommodating & informative.





Last Friday night my mom came with us to see the ‘Charlie & the Chocolate Factory’ performed for children at a local theater. Son loved the singing, floating scene with Charlie & Grandpa Joe & especially the Oompa-Loompas. Son greeted each Oompa-Loompa he saw after the show, telling them, “I can be an Oompa-Loompa too!” It was so darn cute! Daughter was good until she started ‘talking’ during the last five minutes of the show. Hubby kept her happy in the back during the last few minutes of the show.


Afterwards my mom stayed home with the kids & we went out for a late dinner & movie. It was great to get some alone adult time one-on-one with each other. We got home very late. Mom left the next morning & called us less than an hour after leaving asking if we’d be interested in going to a water park resort. After a few phone calls & making a reservation at a reasonable place (that included an indoor water park), I quickly packed for our family of four. When my youngest sister & mom arrived, we threw everything into the care & drove up right away. We arrived & checked into the hotel by dinnertime. That left us enough time to throw our suits on to visit the indoor water park, change & rush to the yummy buffet dinner where I thoroughly enjoyed two plates of crab (among other things). Sunday we checked out, stored our bags in the car & were all back at the indoor water park until mid-evening. Only then did we start the long drive home, but it was well worth it!

'Nails on a chalkboard' Syndrome

Everyone has something that just gives them chills down their spine that is just so unnerving. For most, nails on a chalkboard is a guaranteed to do just that. Today I found another one for me that I never would have expected. Feeding a baby with a metal spoon! Now I always thought metal spoons on a toothless gum would hurt like heck so have avoided using those... until this morning. When I grabbed the last baby spoon from our drawer (it's been a busy weekend), it happened to be metal so I decided to give it a chance. Each bite Daughter took made vibrations through the spoon that gave creeps & chills down my spine! After 1.5 jars, I had to switch to a plastic spoon! Never again!

An 'Energizer' Winter

It's a week before my birthday (in the spring mind you!) & when I went outside it started to SNOW! Not a light snow either... no, this was the almost white-out conditions for the first fifteen minutes & has eased up some. Still, this system is bringing big fat flakes you could probably taste on your tongue & has continued steadily for the past four hours & doesn't show any signs of slowing. There is even light accumulation on the ground!





Now if this was February I would fully this but come on! Did Mother Nature not get the memo that this is supposed to be SPRING??? Our tulips which bloomed last week must be freakin' out as well! One of the things I enjoy the Midwest is because of our variety of the seasons but really... when is this winter going to end? Hubby is right; this is the 'Energizer' Winter that keeps going & going!


Who could honestly say there is no global warming now???

Do you know someone who's 'still a guy'?

I love this Brad Paisley's new song 'I'm Still A Guy'. Check out this video (meant for adults please) & song below! Pay attention everyone because there's definately truth to this.





This guy then sang it himself!

Training men?

Do women train men? Ok, to some extent, we do!





The difference how men & women speak

How NOT to flirt!

As if this could be attractive!

Talk about a display of love!

This video is an incredible video about love & what people will do for it, if they could. It makes me cry everytime. Can you imagine a love this strong?

Kudos to the writers!

The writers are back!




Most television series haven't been great since the writers strike & now they are trying to get back into the mood of each show. I really enjoy the CSI series but even they have been struggling. That being said, the most recent CSI:Miami episode "All In" was absolutely FANTASTIC! I can't remember the last time I've said or felt that. These last two scenes have the most AMAZING scenes that I had to watch it several times over & couldn't bear to delete it. The way the team defends Calleigh with pure confidence & the way she reacts as the strong woman she is but still showing her soft side to her co-workers & friends.





I just love the honesty & their simple acceptance/recognition of their emotions/budding relationship between them at the end. The cinematography, music & emotions all were the best I've seen in a long time. Kudos to the writers! I especially look forward to more from this show now! If you haven't seen it already, check it out here or read the review.





PS - During the episode above, you can see the glint of something in Eric's eyes for Calleigh. This was a few episodes before 'All In'.








This was a nice video two people made about Eric & Calleigh.

More snow???

My cousin had a healthy baby boy just before Easter! He was 7 lbs 19 inches. Both mother & baby are doing well. According to my aunt, my cousin has almost lost all her baby weight. What amazing genes!







Last Thursday we woke up to a slight chilly morning. Sometimes we dress the sticky duck on our window for what the weather is. This particular morning Son said, "Oh the duck needs his winter coat for the snow!" I said, "No worries." Twenty minutes later it started to snow AGAIN! It's freaking April people! It wasn't until today that I wondered if spring showers had thankfully arrived leaving us with NO MORE SNOW! Ugh... For a while, I wondered if the weather was totally skip spring completely & go from winter to summer. That would have been one for the books!






We had fun as always celebrating Hubby's birthday with my in-laws. Hope you had a great one! I'm really glad you enjoyed your new Stargate movie "Ark of Truth". Love you baby!!!







Son's kid birthday party at Chuck E Cheese went very well. He & his friends had a blast & we didn't have any clean-up or organizing to do. It was great seeing old friends with their kids. It was worth every penny. It was worth every penny & I'd do it again in a heartbeat!

Compassion Overload

Son enjoys watching most G-rated kid movies. Lately though, there comes a point during each movie where a dramatic scene is taking place where someone is sad, sick, or in danger. At that point he cuddles up with us & says “I don’t want to watch this anymore.” He becomes so overwhelmed & concerned for the characters that he can’t stand to watch what’s happening. Once we reassure him & see the characters overcome their problems or unhappiness, he’s happy once again too. Life is just peachy for everyone! I’m convinced that I will hear my heart break the day he realizes that not everything in life ends in happily ever after. Granted Hubby & I are living the best life we always dreamed about as we said “I do.” Unfortunately that’s not the case for so many people out there. What a sad truth in our reality…

Silly girl makes progress!

Son has made a lot of behavioral improvements in the past month & half. He seems to learning how to properly interact with other kids & doing better at doing his preschool work. Recently he also just switched to a new booster seat because Daughter is ready to switch from the baby carrier because they are both so tall!

She's already wearing 18 month dresses! She smiles, talks & laughs. She especially loves talking to animals. Can't wait to take her to the zoo this summer! After months of drool, her first tooth is starting to poke through on the bottom. She can also sit up & stand on the side of the crib by herself for about thirty seconds before falling. Still no interest in rolling or crawling...

What a rush!

Son & I made 'chocolate chip cookies with an attitude'. We each took pictures (as you can see in the slideshow above). He's just like me & takes photos with of himself & asks others to pose. It's so cute! He's getting better with his aim & focus too. I'm so proud of him!








While I went to a local candle party at a neighbor's, the girls set up a wonderful 'buffet' to snack from while Hubby took the kids to the mall for some fun.










A local town had a cute 'bunny hop' where the kids went store to store for Easter. Son was so cute! Afterwards we played at the park & then had a wonderful date night together relaxing. Thanks mom!





We went to a an indoor spring fling where they had an easter train, story book characters along with inflatable bouncers & child-sized obstacle course. Son had such a great time & the in-laws loved spending time with the kids. Daughter looked so cute in her Easter dress. Oh the joy of having little girls! Afterwards we had a nice dinner together.






My mom was able to baby-sit & spend some one-on-one time with Daughter so I could help chaperone Son's preschool field trip to the local post office. Son had a fun time being with myself & his favorite friend & 'walking buddy' (our neighbor's daughter). Several times, I was holding one in each arm! That certainly didn't last long. Anyhow, it was informative & fun to see the kids interacting together. They started to get tired on the way back to the school, even though it was a short walk. Hey, at least it wasn't too cold out!





After we returned to the school, the kids discovered that the Easter Bunny had stopped by & filled all their handmade Easter baskets! We managed to get a decent class picture in the gym & outside at the post office. Best you can anyway with about fifteen kids!





After post-poning several times, we finally managed to celebrate Hubby's brother-in-law's birthday. It was a nice as always.

Hoppin' Around Like A Bunny!

After a long drive to my brother's, we arrived late & managed to spend the afternoon at the local zoo. The train ride was pretty cool actually with a lot of tunnels that fascinated SON. We only got to see a few animals but it was worth it. Son especially loved the snakes so I found myself saying, "No you can't have one for a pet!" We had a good time except for my nephew. Poor little guy was so tired & wouldn't go to anyone other than his mommy. My sister-in-law was getting pretty worn out herself by the end of the day.





We went to the Chuck E Cheese for some pizza, fun & games for Son's birthday with my parents & Brother R, Sister-in-law & nephew.





My youngest sister & her boyfriend then arrived so we had a nice easter dinner at the house & then celebrated five birthdays (Hubby, Son, Brother R, Sister-in-law & Youngest Sister's Boyfriend) all within a month of Easter! Gift cards were a common theme but Son loved the remote control monster truck from Brother R. Although we had a problem with it initially, the exchanged one worked great! The monster truck box even made a perfect 'garage' for his new birthday truck & car. Can't get better than that!





Then we relaxed before the kids went to bed.





Since it was his birthday, Son loved finding some balloons waiting for him downstairs. He even told us how since he's four that now he'll 'get bigger like Daddy & going to be a good boy now', learned how to change Daughter's diaper (although trust me doesn't do it by himself!)


Easter morning there were two baskets for each child & approximately 100 plastic easter eggs hidden around Brother R's house. Son helped my nephew look high & low for them. Then they spent quite some time opening them to find a mix of candy & dried fruits (as requested by myself to avoid the sugar rush). I'm still in awe of just how much there was in the eggs to take home! Thank you Easter Bunny for everything!


After packing everything up, we had a nice buffet dinner at the Golden Corral & then started the nightmare of a drive home!

You mean marriage requires work?

I grew up believing in fairy tales but as I got older I saw how real marriages also took work so you could get that fairy tale ending. Here’s an interesting article I found about ‘Eight Things No One Tells You About Marriage’. I'm certainly no expert but here are the main points & my thoughts about them following:

1. You will look at the person lying next to you & wonder, “Is this it? Forever?”

Perhaps not in those words but, after you have been together for a while, there are days that may seem mundane & going through the ‘daily routine’ but those are the days that you can be especially grateful for the stability in your life.

2. You’ll work harder than you ever imagined.

There’s a term about how ‘something worth doing is never easy’ comes to mind here. A marriage is a friendship & partnership (among other things – wink, wink) & everyone knows that everyone changes with time. Maybe not their basic qualities but how they see things & their life priorities. When Hubby & I were dating & attending two separate colleges, I knew then how the little events of our days would shape our personalities & change our viewpoints on EVERYTHING. So we talked about everything that happened during our day to the why we did laundry when to what we disliked about our professor to what we wanted out of our lives. As a result, we grew not only as individuals but as a couple. There were good & bad times but as long as the good outweigh the bad, I will always be thankful for Hubby being my friend, lover & partner in our life we continue to build together.

3. You will sometimes go to bed mad (and wake up even madder).

A common piece of advice is to never go to bed angry but let’s face it, sometimes you just can’t resolve a problem in one night before you go to bed (especially with how busy life is with kids). I believe the smart thing to do is to talk about it & work it out as soon as you can so the ‘difficult issue’ does not become a resentful pressure point in your marriage.

4. You will go without sex – sometimes for a long time – and that’s okay.

Think about how busy life is! Now add in a relationship, jobs, kids, classes, plans, holidays, etc. Life is so fast-paced in our society that it’s difficult to slow down & make time just for yourself, much less couple-time only with your spouse. It’s not surprising how tired we always are. The important thing is to stay connected on a physical level showing your affection for each other via touch. After fifteen & half years together, I still love to feel Hubby’s arms around me. If I ever felt differently, I would be very concerned for myself & our relationship. Luckily, I don’t think I’ll ever worry about that!

5. Getting your way is usually not as important as finding a way to work together.

This is hard one for me sometimes because I like things a certain way. Sometimes I have to push my organized nature aside & accept that a different way of doing things. I always struggle to ‘learn a lesson’ from doing things a different way even if it’s not a way I like at the time.

6. A great marriage doesn’t mean no conflict; it simply means a couple keeps trying to get it right.

Fighting often brings up unresolved conflicts which cannot be settled or a solution agreed upon as a result of opposite personalities and/or viewpoints. As unpleasant & stressful as fighting can be, it’s important that arguments do occur these unresolved conflicts do not reach a boiling point & it’s too late & difficult to find any peaceful resolution.

7. You’ll realize that you can only change yourself.

When I started dating Hubby, I never thought, “Now if I can only this about him!” You see when I started dating him, it was because I LIKED who he was. When I married him, it was because I LOVED who he was. Yes, we all have our idiosyncrasies but isn’t that the point? No one likes EVERYTHING about another person (even our partners/spouses) but when you build a life with someone, shouldn’t you RESPECT the other person & all their personality traits (even if an occasional few drive you crazy)?

8. As you face your fears & insecurities, you will find out what you’re really made of.

Any kind of life worth having involves taking some risks, including facing your fears. Before Hubby & I were married, I was terrified I was going to lose him in a terrible car accident. Thankfully that never happened but I couldn’t ask him to stop driving or living his life just because of my fear. I had to face each day & grow stronger, moving beyond my fear. When we decided to have kids, we were faced with infertility. We couldn’t imagine never having children to share our lives with. Facing those fears (even though we finally got our blessings in time) made us stronger as individuals & as a couple.

Where is it??

Need a safe place to hide things?

What a hoax!

Ever wonder what the greatest hoaxes ever were? Check it out at the Museum of Hoaxes! Perhaps you just want to freak out your boss with these tattoo sleeves or peek-a-bootie skirt! Maybe frustrate the 'Remote King' of your house with this covert clicker! Or imagine scarring your kids for life with this monster seat!!!


In this day & age with all the school violence, joking about a school bomb is definately not smart or there will be consequences!