oh what a beautiful morning....

oh what a beautiful day.... I've got a beautiful feeling... everythings going my way!

Ok, enough of my Oklahoma singing! But seriously, it's a beautiful morning! I got up (slightly hungover feeling) and took the kiddo to school, then the bambino and I went for our daily walk. Only today we went to the towns new walking path. LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

We've got a busy weekend ahead of us. Soccer game, Kiddo is in a musical at the church, Open house, Baseball game... should be lots of fun! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

so freaking delicious!

I made dinner tonight, tried to get a little "exciting" with it.... it was so good I didn't get a chance to take pictures! Anyway, cooked some chicken fried steaks.... placed a steak on a lightly toasted hamburger bun, then placed a slice of cheese on the steak, a fried egg on the cheese, a tomato, some ketchup, and some mayo.... DELICIOUS! My 5yr old tends to be a picky eater and he ate it up like he hadn't eaten in days!!!!!!

Wordless Wednesday

spoiled????

I like to think just very loved!!!!!! We went shopping today and look at the goodies that I got!!! Getting prepared for the big cruise!!!!!

3 goals!

Friday night went pretty great! Dinner at Cheeseburger in Paradise - delicious! And to add to the night, Euphoria (my drink).... I loved the sunglasses & umbrella, made me even more excited for our cruise! We went and saw Observe & Report.... S-T-U-P-I-D!!!! Not sure why we picked that one, Seth Rogen can be funny at times... of course now that I've said that I can't think of a movie that was really truly funny rather than just so stupid it was funny. Anyway, done and over with, take my advice, skip that one!





I have a sad addiction to petfinder.com, it's something I must check daily. Friday I came across this beautiful lab that is in our local shelter. We are lab lovers, have a black lab right now, so it was hard for me to leave this girl there. I called the hubs to see what he would think, he wouldn't give me a yes or a no.... I hate that! Just tell me one or the other! So I packed the kids up and took our smallest dog (Boston Terrier) to the shelter so we could meet this little lady. She was the sweetest thing. I cannot believe someone has let her get away from them. After playing with her for a little, my better judgement told me to leave her there and talk to the husband more. So we've left the poor girl there... I'm hoping because she's purebred maybe she will get adopted instead of euthanized. I'm definitely keeping an eye on her page though and when her deadline is up I'll snatch her up....





Also in recent news, little man has figured out how to maneuver around the house! Not really crawling, more the "soldier crawl". Don't worry, I know he looks miserable right there but he was only stuck for a second!!!!! Promise!!!!





Today my 5yo had a soccer game, he scored 3 goals! We were all so proud of him! It is definitely necessary for these younger kids to have a good game, keeps them wanting to play the sport instead of give up! After the game we drove around looking at houses, we had 5 on our list, and 1 by 1 we crossed all 5 off. Who knew that it would be so hard to find a house that we would like! :(


And to finish off tonights post here's the little man.... he is such a hoot in his johnny jumper!

bored with me???

I'm gonna have to find something interesting to write about it.... seems like blogging is getting boring, maybe it's just because my life isn't that exciting!

Here's a question. If you are driving down the road and a funeral procession is coming towards you, do you pull over and wait for it to pass? It seems like that would be the most respectful thing to do. Today I passed one and I didn't know what to do! I kept driving, slowly and more towards the curb than usual, and I kept watching in my rearview mirror to see what the people behind me were doing.... no one pulled over, everyone just followed my lead. So.... did I disrespect the family?

And for my happy post... tonight I'm going out with a couple of girls, doing a little shopping, dinner, & a movie. Here's the truth, I'm 27yrs old, and have NEVER done this sort of thing. Well atleast not in my adult life! How lame am I? I can't wait though, we're doing a little pre-cruise shopping! YAY! And speaking of cruise, I'd best get my ass in gear if I'm gonna be showing off any bikini's! I imagine I'll be the girl who wears shorts & tanks the entire time!

Happy Friday!

Easter Weekend

Well Easter weekend was exciting for us as usual! Saturday the oldest kiddo had a soccer game... he was more interested in eating the oranges but finally got into the game in the second half. It was great weather for soccer! That's my guy kicking the ball in!





even baby boy had fun!





The hubby got a great picture that night... not so flattering of me, but still a great picture!





And here's my 2 adorable boys together... damn how'd I get so lucky?!





And the boys at grandma's house on Easter Sunday.....

baby boy "finding" his first egg!

Logan on the hunt!

I hope everyone had a great Easter!

feeling hopeless...

My hubby and I love to go driving in the country and look at houses.... about 2 months ago on one of our drives we passed a house that we absolutely fell in love with. So, we decided to sell our home in hopes of buying this amazing house. Well today we went and actually toured the amazing house, and now the once amazing house is absolutely incredible! 2200sq ft on one floor.... 4 bedrooms, the master suite was absolutely HUGE! Had an amazing bathroom and walk in closet.... love love LOVE the master. Every bedroom had a walk in closet (4 bedrooms total) and the 2nd bedroom had a full bath. Inground pool with a huge deck and beautiful fencing around the pool. Now for me, this next thing is the biggest selling point. I spent my childhood with horses, rodeo'd through high school and my young adulthood. So, this house came with 12 acres.... and sitting between the house and the fenced pasture was a 30x60 barn in immaculate condition.... absolute perfection! The house even had a chicken coop - once we move to the country I want chickens!!!!! :) Oh, and besides everything else, the house has a full basement and a 4-car garage... and is in the school district that we want... and is an unbelievable steal! It's a foreclosure so that always helps!

As we were touring the house, another family came through for a tour.... the house has been on the market since 02/27th, we were the 8th showing. I have a sinking feeling that the house won't be for sale by the time our house finally sells.... how horrible is that? You find your dream home, and it's just out of reach! You know what will happen.... next week we'll get an offer on our house, and it will be a week too late!

Isn't this home just amazing? And with all I described, would you believe that the house is selling for LESS than $200K!

Loan Questions!

Okay my blogger friends..... what is the best way to find the best loan? I've owned 4 houses but I've always just gone to the local bank and gotten a loan. I've never shopped around.... so, is it best to go to a broker? Or is going to the local bank the right thing? I need advice!

Easter preparations....

I am so excited for Easter! Anything that gives me a reason to get the whole family together and eat and play, LOVE LOVE LOVE it! So to begin the preparations I of course needed to find my boys their Easter outfits.... what do you think?

then tonight my family got together with our kids and decorated eggs.... fun fun!

and then afterwards when I got home I thought I'd get creative and make some Easter rice krispie treats! I've seen the commercial where they make these, so I spruced it up a bit and dyed the marshmellows.... Lots of fun, very messy, and I don't like the chocolate that I used! :(

And just to end things off.... here are my beautiful boys... this is what I wake up with every morning! Man I love my job!

chow time

Made an interesting dinner last night... it was good, but I think I'll stick with regular tacos next time!

Mini Taco Bowls

8 flour tortillas (I'll recommend small)
1lb ground beef
1c thick n chunky salsa
1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
2 c chopped lettuce
1 c chopped tomatoes
1/4 c ranch dressing (I opted for sour cream)

HEAT oven to 350. Microwave tortillas on high 30 sec. Press 1 tortilla into each of eight 2-1/2 inch muffin cups. Carefully fold back edges of tortillas, leaving opening in center of each for filling. Bake 10 min.

MEANWHILE, brown meat in large skillet; drain. Stir in salsa; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 10 min. Spoon into tortilla bowls; top with remaining ingredients.





Also, in response to my previous blog about my son's CRP level. CRP is a blood test that sounds pretty confusing to me. All it really does is let you know that there is inflammation somewhere. It gives no specific answers!

CRP

The other day I posted pictures of my son's eye. I had taken him to the doctor on Monday and they drew blood, sent us home and said they'd call us on Tuesday. Tuesday morning I got a phone call from the doctor saying that the kiddos CBC was normal, but that his CRP was extremely elevated. Here's an example of HOW elevated. The normal person has a CRP level of <1. My son's level was 99.7! Of course the doctor is concerned but also confused and says he'll call be back. About an hour later he calls and sends us to urgent care in one of our city's hospitals. Being that this was a city hospital it was quite a cultural experience for us! The main attraction being a man who was escorted in by the police who kept throwing himself on the floor, putting his hands on his head and yelling "don't shoot me in my head!!!" So obviously my 5 year old is terrified, and to be honest so was I! Anyway, nurse comes in and draws labs again, CRP dropped to 4.5 - we get sent home with the explanation that the first test done must have been an error. So of course I'm relieved!!!!

Another crazy day here in my household, running errands, had a house showing (woo hoo!), and then I check my email. New email from our doctor, the original blood that was drawn was re-tested just to confirm that the first test was an error.... unfortunately it was not an error. CRP level was definitely 99.7 So now, next time his eye mysteriously swells we are being shipped to a specialist ASAP. This evening I browsed the internet for CRP, turns out that an elevated CRP can be an indication of rheumatoid arthritis or even lupus. What I was told yesterday that if an adult came in with a CRP level of 100 they would almost immediately assume that he'd had a heart attack.

So now, instead of being relieved that all was okay, I'm freaked out! I want to ask the doctors to run every test possible, turn over every rock... I HAVE to know that he's okay! :(

AI

I LOVE Allison & Adam, they rock!!!!!

Oprah

I don't normally watch Oprah but yesterday's theme caught my attention, it was about the goods and bads of motherhood. Everybody should watch that show! People expecting, people wanting to get pregnant, people who are mothers, even dads should watch it! My husband watched it with me and he got a kick out of it. Basically it's the things that nobody tells you about having kids. The awful/disgusting things, the poop, the pee, the vomit, the snot, the sleep that you will NEVER get back, the carefree life that you will NEVER get back, what happens to your body and your mind..... motherhood is wonderful don't get me wrong, there are very rewarding moments - last week my 6 month old learned how to give kisses - talk about stealing my heart! But there are also very un-rewarding moments, when your 5 year old tells you you're not his friend anymore, or that he doesn't like you, or when he hits you. No one prepares you for that. Who would have thought you'd get bruises from your own child! Don't go thinking it's just my child because I've talked to many other parents who say their children went through that phase too. Something I noticed yesterday, I was taking my child to the doctor and I wanted to listen to Fergie... however, the language is too foul for him to listen. So there went that idea. Instead I put in Kelly Clarkson, but the problem this time was that the child wouldn't quit talking to me! I can't even listen to music in my car anymore! I'll be thankful though, atleast the kiddo wants to talk to me still! I'm sure in about 10 years I'll be the last person that he wants to talk to!

So, back to the show. There were guest speakers via webcam. One of them I've seen on Momversation. Anyway, here's her site... http://dooce.com/ This lady said that her website brings in $40,000 a month from advertisements. Her husband quit his job and now her site is what supports their family. Hello, I want to do that! It all started with her discussing her post partum depression on her blog, which at that time the only readers were her friends. Look at how much she's expanded! I can talk about crummy mother experiences, birth experiences, post pardum depression..... I know all about it! Refer me to your friends!!!!! I need some more followers so that I can start doing some advertisements on the side too! lol

Anyway, I don't know what the point of this blog was....I think that #1 it was to make women who are very desperate to get pregnant aware that it's not all beautiful and glory. Enjoy your time with your husband while you have it because the days as you know them are gone. Your relationship will absolutely change! And #2 it was to talk about how amazing it is that this woman has gotten so RICH by blogging!!!!!

Also, one of the speakers said something that I 100% agree with. I have been divorced once and have a child from that marriage. Some people may say that this next theory is wrong, but I believe that it is the only way to keep your marriage intact. "Make your marriage your priority before your kids" Your kids need to see you happy with each other, they need to see they're in a stable home. When you start making your kids the priority before your marriage, the marriage starts to fall apart, meaning the happiness sort of just disappears.... Now obviously this doesn't mean that I'm saying don't make your kids a priority, cause hello, that's just ridiculous. But you have to remember where the family started, remember the roots, and keep them growing strong!

tired... so tired

My baby had to go get his 6mo shots on Wednesday. Needless to say we ended up running a fever for 2 days, and for the last 4 days he's had constant diarrhea. My 5yr old spent the weekend with his bio-dad, I got woke up this morning at 7 with a phone call from the kiddo. Poor guy was crying saying he didn't feel good. I talked him down to normal and we hung up. 30 minutes later he called again so this time I just told his dad to bring him home. As they pulled up to the front of the house the poor child threw up everywhere. All day he's been running a fever. Then tonight his eye got this little blister looking thing... I left to go to the store, returned about 30 minutes later and this is what I found.

within 20 minutes this is what it looks like....

Now if you follow this blog at all, you'll remember back in February I wrote about how this same child had given himself a black eye during his nap time. I was so frustrated with him for lying to me and not telling me how he managed to give himself a black eye! Here's the picture from that incident....

They look pretty similar huh? I'm starting to believe that he was telling me the truth about not knowing where the "black eye" came from! Bad mom for not trusting my kid! So it looks like tomorrow I'll be taking the boys into the doctor to see what's going on. Lots of driving... joy!

On a separate note, I had a recent blog about how life gives us challenges. The current challenge is still rearing it's ugly head. Going for legal advice this week to make sure we're in the right, keep your fingers crossed. The stress is killing me right now, I'm ready for my vacation. Just a little over 2 months and I'll be cruising along the western Caribbean.... sounds so nice!

Hope everyone has a nice Monday!

times are tough

Sometimes I wonder why life continues to throw challenges at us. Is it to see how strong we are? To help make us stronger? Why is it that when we finally get our ducks in a row and the sun is shining brightly someone has to come along and try to rain on our parade? Just accept that people move on and are happy, you don't have to try and continue to have control or try to make everyone miserable. I know this is a very sporatic post and makes no sense, I'm just so frustrated!