Higdonhouse

Bye Bye Little Potty!!

2009-07-05T18:02:00.002-04:00

Today I cleaned and disinfected the little potty we were using to potty train Brendan and put it away as he will no longer be using it anymore!! He uses the big potty all the time now ON HIS OWN - goes in , takes his pants down, does what he has to do , {sometimes} pulls his underwear back on, flushes and goes back to playing... and on the occasion all I have to do is go in when I'm called to wipe his little tushie! We FINALLY reached that mark and man does it feel good! thought we weren't going to for a while, but we made it! He goes to bed with a pull up, and wakes up dry, goes to the bathroom and puts on regular underwear for the day and through out uses the bathroom like a big boy with no accidents. Night time comes and we put on a pull up just in case, but he still wakes up dry where I'm soon gonna put him in underwear and see how that goes. Can't believe it- I'm on my LAST box of Pull ups forever! WHOO HOO!! :) My sister in Law just had a little girl.. she wont need the potty for another 2 yrs but maybe she'd like to have it before I get rid of it... Thank You God, Will be nice to see more money in the bank instead of going to buy Pull Ups every 2 weeks!

What a week!

2009-04-14T16:31:00.004-04:00

Well this week was surely a doozy. Palm Sunday,{ my birthday} started out innocently enough.. it was a warm sunny day, nice breeze, perfect birthday day. Tom sent me out shopping for my birthday. Ok . He wanted to make me a cake with the kids- how sweet! ;) That kinda went sour, he's a guy, he doesn't bake, that's ok, I picked one up on the way home- he just decorated it. He ordered Pizza Hut- { way to annihilated my diet- but at this point I was in the mood anyway..} we ate, I gained, watched Home Makeover, went to bed. It was nice- I spent it with the family. 39- how did it creep up so fast? Anyway, Monday rolled around, and so did the germs.. brought Thomas to Karate camp for Spring Break Camp & picked him up later puking his brains out until later that night and pooping out the other end where we had to keep changing sheets.. I slept in his room to make sure he was alright- Somewhere he picked up a nasty stomach virus. Tuesday he was much better, but it was my turn.. I went to the Dr to be weighed in-at 120 - not bad,Deb called to wish me Happy Birthday, by 10:30, it was my turn for the virus-from then till 4:30 am, I was glued to the toilet with a bucket in my lap and camped on the bathroom floor for the night! What the hell? I inevitibly lost 8 pounds in one night- there must be a record for that! I awoke to 113 pounds as to the 120 I was weighed in at the day before! Wednesday and Thursday I was just weak and lightheaded and lethargic & focused on rehydrating myself while it was BRENDANS turn! Not so much throwing up - { just for half a day} but had the diarreah- OY! will it not stop? So we all were drowning in Gatorade around here! Tom somehow escaped it the lucky dog! But has problems of his own coughing and hacking everywhere [ I think bronchitis but wont get looked at & is driving me insane the grossness of how he sounds!} Anyway, I am now a size 3- not the way I wanted to lose my last few pounds but I'll take em! Now Thomas still can't lick this virus- feels tired, and fevery, and doesn't want to do anything and went to scouts and was falling asleep on me, and now sent him to school and came back home with a 101 fever.. new week where are you?? Lets hope the soup I gave him does the trick! :)

The Mom Song

2008-12-20T08:06:00.002-05:00

The Mom Song Sung to William Tell Overture with Lyrics - The most amazing videos are a click away
There are times where I can SOO relate to this song! Enjoy ALL!
Get up now
Get up now
Get up out of bed
Wash your face
Brush your teeth
Comb your sleepyhead
Here's your clothes and your shoes
Hear the words I said
Get up now! Get up and make your bed
Are you hot? Are you cold?
Are you wearing that?
Where's your books and your lunch and your homework at?
Grab your coat and gloves and your scarf and hat
Don't forget! You gotta feed the cat
Eat your breakfast, the experts tell us it's the most important meal of all
Take your vitamins so you will grow up one day to be big and tall
Please remember the orthodontist will be seeing you at 3 today
Don't forget your piano lesson is this afternoon so you must play
Don't shovel
Chew slowly
But hurry
The bus is here
Be careful
Come back here
Did you wash behind your ears?
Play outside, don't play rough, will you just play fair?
Be polite, make a friend, don't forget to share
Work it out, wait your turn, never take a dare
Get along! Don't make me come down there
Clean your room, fold your clothes, put your stuff away
Make your bed, do it now, do we have all day?
Were you born in a barn? Would you like some hay?
Can you even hear a word I say?
Answer the phone! Get off the phone!
Don't sit so close, turn it down, no texting at the table
No more computer time tonight!
Your iPod's my iPod if you don't listen up
Where are you going and with whom and what time do you think you're coming home?
Saying thank you, please, excuse me makes you welcome everywhere you roam
You'll appreciate my wisdom someday when you're older and you're grown
Can't wait till you have a couple little children of your own
You'll thank me for the counsel I gave you so willingly
But right now I thank you not to roll your eyes at me
Close your mouth when you chew, would appreciate
Take a bite maybe two of the stuff you hate
Use your fork, do not burp or I'll set you straight
Eat the food I put upon your plate
Get an A, get the door, don't get smart with me
Get a grip, get in here, I'll count to three
Get a job, get a life, get a PHD
Get a dose of,
"I don't care who started it!
You're grounded until you're 36"
Get your story straight and tell the truth for once, for heaven's sake
And if all your friends jumped off a cliff would you jump, too?
If I've said it once, I've said at least a thousand times before
That you're too old to act this way
It must be your father's DNA
Look at me when I am talking
Stand up straighter when you walk
A place for everything and everything must be in place
Stop crying or I'll give you something real to cry about
Oh!
Brush your teeth, wash your face, put your PJs on
Get in bed, get a hug, say a prayer with mom
Don't forget, I love you
And tomorrow we will do this all again because a mom's work never ends
You don't need the reason why
Because, because, because, because
I said so, I said so, I said so, I said so
I'm the mom, the mom, the mom, the mom, the mom!!
Ta da!!!

It's That Time Of Year Again!!!

2008-11-19T10:35:00.002-05:00

Last night I attended our school's PTO meeting to discuss what will be happening with the holidays. Well, it's that time of year again! Gingerbread shop, Supper with Santa, and Chik- Fil- A night. The Ginger Bread shop for those of you who don't know is an opportunity for the students to do holiday shopping for their families assisted by volunteers like myself. their gifts are then wrapped and sent home for holiday giving. The children learn how to budget money to buy for everyone on their lists and experience the thrill of giving their carefully selected gifts to family , friends teachers,coaches, pets,etc. - the gifts are priced anywhere from 1.00 to 10.00. some items are handmade, some are donated, all are new and unwrapped. The kids look forward to The Gingerbread Shop all year. Anything from coffee mugs to bath sets to pet toys to baby toys to key chains-you name it- there's something for everyone we've never had a bad complaint and this year there will be many practical items such as tools ,candles, mugs picture frames,etc.and immediately following the Gingerbread shop is the infamous
Supper with SANTA!! On Thursday, December 4th, Santa will be visiting Braden River to have dinner with the students and their families and pose for a picture or two!The PTO will host the event which will include fine dining from Carrabba's Italian Grill and the kids will get to have a personal conversation with Santa himself and pose for a picture from photographer Margaret Lanier of Lanier photography, go on a train ride in the car pickup area, and even play in the snow! yes SNOW! In Florida!! This year, we will be importing REAL SNOW for the kids to play in - not the diaper filling we had last year that they sloshed around in that just got too gelly and messy- some thought it was applesauce, some thought it was ice and another component, - we only knew we weren't allowed to throw it in case of injury-?? Well this year we were promised the REAL thing! WHOO HOO! and on January 12, Is another round of Chick - Fil- A night where the kids and their families can go to Chik- Fil- A from 5- 8 and buy anything they want, and 20 % of the profits go right back to the school so they can buy cool stuff like computers, books, whiteboards, smartboards, or any other thing they might need- heck all the kids care about is the yummy food and the cool play area they have-who are THEY kidding??!! So lets get ready for another year of some awesome memories! I hate to boast but, My kid goes to a pretty cool school! That's my update for now, Until next time, Have a great Turkey Day!

Brendan's Big Boy Bed

2008-10-16T11:31:00.002-04:00

Brendan finally reached the milestone of owning his own big boy bed. he's been taking naps in Thomas' bed when Thomas is in school, and very much outgrowing his crib. At night when it is time for him to go to sleep, He even says "I want big boy bed". So last week I ordered him a toffee colored Bed, headboard, and dresser for 500 buck- and yesterday went to Sam's and picked up the mattress for 20 bucks. He spend his first night in his new bed, and it was a success! no getting up in the middle of the night, in fact, he crawled in on his own when it was time for bed and in the covers and went right to bed. He even didn't want to get out of bed this morning! I stayed on the couch to keep an ear out, and he called out a little bit last night, but it was only because he couldn't find his puppy! i put it next to him on his pillow, and he went right back to sleep. Brendan's big boy bed I can safely say was a success and a hit!

Grandparents Day

2008-09-08T19:38:00.004-04:00

Today Thomas had Grandparents Day at his Elementary school. The students got to invite their Grandparents to lunch and had special tables decorated for them, and had a special hot lunch menu and tell them about their day and what goes on in their day as an average Elementary student at their school. My mother in Law was unsure how to get to Thomas' school, so I drove her, and the three of us had a nice lunch together. At first Thomas was like "where's Brendan?" I said " well You're here to spend time with Grandma, Brendan can have lunch with you anytime- today is you and Grandma's special time, I just drove her here, so ignore me and tell Grandma about your day today and what goes on here with your classes". He focused alot on me, but finally got the hang of things and talked and hung out with her- I kinda felt bad he didn't do it to begin with, but he's only 7, He doesn't think things through sometimes, and when it was time to go to recess, he thanked her for coming and gave her a big hug, before running off with his friend and out the door.. But it was nice . I'm glad we went and he always loves it when I go have lunch with him. I think he was just out of sync with the whole "bring your Grandparent to lunch for Grandparent's Day thing- *rolleyes he'll grow up one of these days... maybe next week...LOL

Humane Hubby's New Friends

2008-08-21T13:28:00.007-04:00

Recently Tom has taken a shine to some of the neighborhood dogs that have been romping around unattended in our area. This has me concerned, but yet not so concerned. It's nice to see him take on a bit of a hobby and stress reliever, when his day gets a bit hectic, and he can turn to these dogs that have been coming around and make his day go away; even if it is for just a moment to pet them or feed them or whatever he does when they come around,- they seem harmless enough. It looks like someone kicked them out of their home, or moved away and just abandoned them or left them behind- {the jackasses}because Tom once tried to follow then home once and they { there's two - a black poodle and a Jack Russle who looks like a beagle} ducked into a backyard. But they seem to come back around every couple of days looking haggard as ever and more starving than the last time we saw them. There's another one now that looks like a black whippet-who also looks starved to hell- {almost greyhound skinny} It's beginning to piss me off that someone could do this to their pets - if its all one owner I'll be REALLY mad! If that person passed on, then it would be different.... Anyway, Tom has tried to catch the Jack Russell, but it won't let you anywhere near its collar- abuse? The black one runs away if you try and approach it- VERY skittish! He tosses our leftovers to them to feed them - hence why they keep coming back- Hey at least they're eating the poor things! But my steak and Turkey roll and chicken leftovers? I kinda WANTED them! Call me selfish! Money's kinda hard to come by these days and they're going to feeding strays that aren't letting you go near them to catch them to give them a home! I tried calling animal control, but they have crappy hours- never open! Then witnessed the oddest thing yesterday- the black one is apparently a boy as it had sex with the Jack Russell on a neighbors lawn and got STUCK ass to ass for 10 minutes!we tried luring it away with fod, but it was dragging the poodle behind her still stuck to her , then learned he was in mating stage and had to go " down " in order to become "undone" and that it was common for dogs to get stuck ass to ass like that! Okay! learn something new everyday! So Tom enjoys feeding strays, but hardly fed our dog when we had her- go figure! He did at times- I shouldn't say that. I don't know if its a safe practice . And he said he didn't want another dog after Brandy- now he's trying to catch a stray? I'll never figure him out! I'll just keep searching for my Pappillion...;) white named MiMi- thats my next dog I want- I decided- mama wants a new dog. LOL When that;ll happen I don't know , But I do! for now, i thought It was cute seeing the softer side of Tom and his new little hobby feeding the neighborhood stragglers. Couldn't he just get an RC car or something or be a craftsman of sorts?

Back to School

2008-08-18T11:41:00.009-04:00

Today's the day my little man went back to school. Second grade. Gettin up there! I was all teary eyed when it came to preschool, but he's moving up into the big leagues where they actually take books home now! When we went for Open house, he whispered to me " Mom,what are those? I said those are text books hon" He goes textbooks? I'm gonna have textbooks? " I said "yup! and probably, most definitly, you'll have homework in them too, every night, so kiss your X Box good bye" ! He said " I thought you said Second grade was gonna be easy!"I said " I did , It all depends on how you look at it. - If you do your work on time, and not be lazy, it will, If you don't , and wanna be a slacker, it'll be hell. -From me and your teacher!" He just went "ARRGH!" Anyway, we started the morning off good, on time, up early, full of energy, so that's a plus! Brendan on the other hand was sad to see his sidekick go! He wanted to be in the picture, with his little Diego backpack.. { that has his essentials inside- {toys, sippy cups, snacks, potty seat and pull ups, } While Thomas took his Off to school picture. When we dropped Thomas off at his classroom, Brendan's heart sank when he couldn't go in! He cried "open da door! open da door!" I pried him away and explained Thomas has to go to school now, we can't go in... we'll pick him up later after lunch.. " he was too upset to understand. The poor thing. But I said a couple magic words to cheer him up- "how about the park?" He mumbled "park" So we went to the Boo- Hoo breakfast the school has every year on the first day of school where they have coffee and juice and bagels and coffee cake, and all sorts of yummy breakfast treats and all the moms and dads get to say hello to new and old friends and comfort each other or catch up on each other,or look forward to another year.. it's a nice gesture- food kicks butt too! ;) Brendan ran around with a couple little boys his age while I met up with some new moms and some I recognized from last year. Like I said - fun - then we went off to the park per his reminding me and my promise. We played for about an hour until me and my jeans wearin self started to roast- { the cafeteria is usually freezing for those of you wondering WHY I was wearing jeans at the end of August in Florida!} I was planning on getting a quick bite to eat then home, but Brendan getting so upset didnt come into plan, so I didn't accomodate the outside weather... Then it was off to home for a snack and out of the heat and a nap for my littlest of little men. My how they grow so quickly. If only there was a slow button on them. Why do they have to grow up in such a hurry? If only they knew what was in store for them! They wouldn't be in such a hurry!

3 Years Smoke Free!

2008-08-15T14:15:00.004-04:00

Today marks the 3 year anniversary where A- I learned a week after our 5th anniversary where we went on a cool gambling cruise {and unfortunately I had a few to drink!- How was I to know?!} That we were going to be expecting our second little spitfire Brendan Michael March 21st, 2006! Now that's what I would call a hell of a belated Anniversary present No??! Was I surprised? Hell yeah! Excited? Triple hell yeah! Tom stunned? shocked? taken aback? all those things guys feel when they're told they're going to be a dad whether the first or tenth time? Hell yeah! When I found out, I was back on the wagon smoking again at the time. When I first found out I was pregnant with Thomas, I threw the pack away but snuck a few for a couple weeks, but this time I said , I'm going cold turkey and not looking back. I had been meaning to quit anyway, and this was my perfect opportunity!SO B- It is also the 3 year anniversary where I am smoke free! Yes! On August 15th, 2005, the day I found out I was INDEED 3 months pregnant with Brendan, I literally threw my pack of Marlboro lights out the window, and never looked back! I'm so much better without them too! I can taste things better,when I excercise say on the treadmill or do cardio,I don't get out of breath and can go longer durations, I have a keener sense of smell, my clothes don't smell like smoke, my breath doesn't smell like an ashtray, and I probably put 10 years back on my life or more! And the best part is I'll be around later in life for my kids to see them grow up and be a part of their lives when they get older. Who'd a thought a little piece of paper with shredded leaves in it could do so much damage ? Had I really known then when I was 15, I probably never woulda picked one up, but funny what peer pressure does to ya! I got hooked for the next 20 years! I'd say I was due to quit , and what a nice round number to quit at too!Now if only I can get Tom to stop too, Our family would be all set with all the pesky second hand smoke, but that's an ugly battle in itself.. He's trying- he's got the patch on as we speak - all we can do is pray and send vibes and hope it lasts forever! God Willing! I won my battle- His Journey's Just begun....

Not My Couch!!!

2008-08-13T12:04:00.002-04:00

This morning as I was potty training Brendan, I took a break to make the boys breakfast. As I was in the midst of doing so, Brendan decided to repay me by getting curious and sneaking off with the pen I used to chart his Output and times in the bathroom in the notebook and stickers I used to be creative on my tan leather couch and express his creativity! I flipped! I only noticed he had done something, because he had pen scribbles on his knees that gave him away. I said " where did you get these from"? he said I " mydonno".... I said " Brendan, where did you get the pen sweetie? he said dere" and pointed to the sink- I was like "Oh crap!" and immediatedly started searching the walls for artwork as he liked to do that with pencils from Thomas' pencilbox when raided { yes this has happened before!} quite the budding artist he's becoming! I finally found his artwork on my tan leather couches of all things!!! I was like "BRENNNDANN!" I couldn't help myself, he got a swat on the cheeks. I tried EVERYTHING to get it off- windex, leather cleaner, baby wipes, clorox wipes, axe body spray, hairspray, perfume, rubbing alcohol, the only thing I found that semi worked was the hairspray- and only to a point where if used a little bit with a damp cloth then the the color was stating to come off . theres still pen mark on it, I was referred to the perfume and the body spray and alcohol, but it takes the color out of my couch , so i stopped. the other things - the wipes, ad leather cleaner did nothing. Tom's gonna have a fit. He already knows- he called to see how I was doing and I let him know- NOT happy Man, why couldn't he just have an accident on the couch or something- something I could clean up that wouldn't leave a mark?? damn! Blue pen? Seriously? Have a been that terrible of a mom you had to pull this? Thanks buddy, I love you too! What else you got up your sleeve for this week???....

Fort Spongebob

2008-06-13T15:29:00.010-04:00

Lately the kids came up with the idea of making a fort in the living room.{Fort Spongebob for the name] that was a no brainer since they watch like EVERY episode like a MILLION times! At first, I wasn't too keen on the idea, since Tom telecommutes right in the adjoining dining room,and the kids are ANYTHING but quiet when they play! But nonetheless, I caved and agreed. We took an extra comforter from an old bed set, and a folding stepladder in between our couch set and clipped a clamp on to keep the comforter from slipping and viola! a fort! I have to say,it's quite roomy under there! I didn't expect there to be so much room- either that or I'm shrinking day by day! We fit me, Thomas AND Brendan under there, and a folding stepladder, so If Tom calls me fat one more time , I'd like to see HIM crawl under there! HMPH!Anyway, Thomas liked it so much he actually spent a night under there in his sleeping bag. I checked on him in the middle of the night and he was fully stretched out and at total peace.So sweet. Today we Battled Daddy who tried to attack us, but we won by blinding him with the flash of the camera -who hoo! {I'm not permitted to post pics of said event :( although I am permitted to post the attack- ah well cant win em all! ;) The night before Thomas pitched a tent in our living room- I think he's getting a bug for camping what do you say? Brendan even was hanging out with him of course- he goes EVERYWHERE his brother goes.. Even in the tent . You wanna talk about best buds? I love the way they keep each other company- theres not alot of kids to play with around here, and they just seem to be just right for each other depite their age difference- its great- theyll play any game, its like in home babysitting. Only sometimes I have to be a referee. ;) I love it when the boys find something in common and can get along so nice and the house just runs like one of those commercials- even if it iS for a couple hours! Helps ya catch your breath for a bit and smile at life's pleasures. Like the two you created running around laughing their little heads off..

Work w Daddy Day

2008-06-10T18:29:00.003-04:00

Today Thomas went to work with Tom. He has been dying to go work with him for as long as I can remember. We had been using the excuse that he had school, and school was important, and big people go to school and little boys go to school, and just plain no, you'll be bored theres nothing for you to do there, Daddy's going to work , and that's that! Well, now Thomas is out of school, and last night he said to me, "Mom?does Dad have work tomorrow?" I said "Yes, " He said "Is he going to the office or staying home?"I said "he's going to the office" So his eyes lit up and he said 'Mom! I have no school! that means I can go to work with Daddy!" Aww man! Now what? so to get it out of his system, we allowed a bring your kid to work day to let him see just how bored he was going to be! He got up this morning,got dressed, had breakfast, packed his Gameboy and some snacks and lunch and some drinks, and they were home by noon because he was bored! Thank you very much! We tried to tell him all Daddy does is talk on the phone all day just like he does at home- he can't spent much time with him, and he got his wish- he finally got to go to work with Daddy-his buddy..I gotta get this boy into camp before he thinks of something else to con us into! The summer just started!

Cheezer Awards

2008-06-04T10:02:00.008-04:00

Thomas recently got the awards of Shining star of the week and award of effort from his school. Ahh more awards! Kid just keeps pullin em in! This time for the shining star award, he got to take home this stuffed rat named "Cheezer " whom he really took a shine to and had to write in a journal everywhere he went with it and what they did, and make up a board of 6 -10 pictures that describes him to honor him for the week which I though was very nice! He also go to bring in 3- 6 items for show and tell that describes him as well pictures, trophies, awards, etc.. no toys. so we did that on Monday. He came out of school all upset because he wasn't allowed to keep Cheezer. He said on Tuesday, His teacher said whoever she felt did their best could keep Cheezer . So he had this in his head that he wasn't smart enough. Nice to give him a complex !So He asked for a healthy breakfast Tueday morning of eggs and toast and juice to make him smart so he could win Cheezer that day. - Hes funny. At least I got through to him that a healthy breakfast is brainfood and he needs it for school in the morning- he's listening to me at least! Doesn't eat one, but at least I know he's listening! Needless to say, Tuesday I am met with again tears when I picked him up at the bicycle gate. - No Cheezer. he's heartbroken.:( his friend Ethan won Cheezer. I said well, don't cry . I'm sure the others wanted Cheezer too. That's what being a good sport is about. You should tell Ethan congradulations, and that you're happy for him, and to wish him a happy Summer and hopefully get to see him and play with him this summer. and he lightened up and went off to look for him , but couldn't find him. so we agreed to tell him tomorrow as it was hot as hell out and to go home and have some fresh cookies I made before daddy eats them all. Then i noticed someone backed into my van in the parking lot and didn't bother to leave any information which really pissed me off! I 'm on the search for a white pickup with baby ble paint on it and get their info.. Othe than that That's the latest here at the Higdon house. One day left of school. It's gonna ge awful noisy here in the next few days.. swim school starts in the next week , then off to dad's for 3 weeks WHOO Hoo! I've been looking forward to that! we all have !God I mossed him! and the rest of the family! seeing them every two years or as long as I have just doesnt cutit any more I want more! until then, I can't believe schols over, Whered the time go? Here comes second grade already. WOW.

The Wandering Pony

2008-05-30T17:46:00.005-04:00

The things that show up on your doorstep or front lawn these days are something else! Today I was tidying up around the house, cleaning up after my little trashmasters, when I get a knock at my front door, and wonder, " who could that be? " So I of course go to answer it, and it's my neighbor Pam from next door saying "come see what wandered onto your lawn" so I wonderingly wander out my front door like " okayy.... what is it? and look to my left and there's this 18 hands high chestnut HORSE mindlessly eating my lawn!! I was like WHAT THE !$%!!!?? Where did HE come from?!! I've had alligators, snakes, florida softshell turtles, birds, {cranes} lizards, opossom, raccoons, tortoises trying to SLOWWWLY race each other across the road, but NEVER have I imagined a HORSE on my front lawn! Out of our complex and down the street there's a cowfield and I know theres a single horse that grazes in the field there, I wonder if he somehow got out of the pasture? But WHOAH! It was VERY friendly and tame- I walked right up to it and started petting it and stroking it, it gave me a big PBBBBBBBand shook its mane and decided to walk off. Pam tried to hold it off while we called the sherriff's office to come get it, but it walked of and into a trot down the street. The kids followed it to the main road where I prayed it didn't get hit or cause an accident! Not your everyday a horse goes trotting by free! These days I coulda used it to get Thomas to school with the gas prices the way they are! I only hope the police caught up with it and brought it to safety and home to it's proper home . I have to say I was half tempted to keep it had We owned bigger property given the finders keepers rule! I always wanted a horse!BUT they can be expensive to keep, maybe one day, just not now... Beautiful horse though Someone owns and is missing one beautiful horse...

Tiger Cub Badge

2008-05-20T16:52:00.004-04:00

Last night Thomas had his Cub Scout meeting for the month of May. He was a bit excited because he knew what he was in for. He had been working hard to earn his Tiger badge and we had recently been running around town finishing up his requirements to complete certain tasks so he could earn his Tiger badge. Certain requirements included visiting a troopers station and finding out what they did for the community and interviewing them, visiting a newspaper office and finding out what goes into making a newspaper, going to a library, making a scrapbook, going for a hike or walk with the family or pack, recycling, clothing the needy { making a goodwill bag} and donating food to the needy - { we gave food to the church} So we did it! Last night Thomas earned his Tiger Badge, his one year service star, two tiger beads for other extra achievements he's done throughout the year, and an attendance star {which was on backorder but will get it soon} He was pretty proud as was I! He kept asking me when I was gonna put it on his shirt, I guess I gotta do that soon! I put his cards for his badges in his binder, and when he saw his badges, I guess he forgot or didn't realize he got so much and said 'Are those my badges '? I said sure are! he was like whoah! And got a bit MORE proud of himself! Way to go Thomas! I'm glad he's found something he enjoys doing and feels good about.

Mother's Day

2008-05-11T20:17:00.004-04:00

Today was Mother's Day/ It started out very nice. I got to sleep in a little bit, until I couldn't sleep anymore, then got up , had breakfst with the kids, hung around and watched T.V. with Tom, then decided to get my act in gear as Thomas needed to be at church for the 11:00 mass for the Crowning of the Blessed Mother this morning, annd we needed to pickup a bouquet of flowers from walmart before church. First we needed to get DRESSED an do our hair, then go to church. The boys came out SO cute as they both got their hair cut yesterday and i decided to give them the same haircuts upgrading brendan from a little boys haircut to a big boy cut- GOD does he look Adorable! I spike it right in the bang area and what a little cutie! I got mine cut and collored and hilighted- we won't discuss the price or I'll start to hyperventilate again... what IS it with salons that need to charge a kidney for hhair do's these days? good lord??! I need to find a new place- a CHEAPER place- that's all I'm sayin ! I don't wanna get all worked up again. . AnyWAY back to today, we go to mass, and the boys are noisy as heck , but cute as a button. I have to keep reminding them to be quiet, and that this isnt a playground, its church, otherwise they were good. we drive home and they were so loud they could have driven me off the road! I need to instill a quiet rule while Im driving or something- yeah- like that'll work - who am i kidding? we get home and decide to go to Coquina beach. That was fun. Brendan had a time chasing the seagulls while Tom and Thomas romped in the water. After a while , we all had our fun and decided to go home where the boys took a bath to wash the sand off and Brendan ruined it by "adding a few souveniers to the water " shall we say! Thomas was horrified! he said what's this? because he went to pick it up and when he realized what it was, said " aaaggh! I'm oouutta here! ' I touched pooo! while Brendan had this look on his face like what? what's the matter. what's goin on? LOL It's funny but it's not. I told him from now on you don't have to bathe with Brendan anymore- this was a deal breaker for sure. and told him how sorry i was, but not as sorry as I was going to be when i had to clean it up! Thankfully i could take it out with toilet paper and drop it in the toilet. Just eww. He's been VERY good with the potty training and he went just before the bath, I donno what triggered this- the warm water relaxing him , but UGH- gross. Thomas did this when he was little and I was NOT looking forward to having it happen AGAIN EVER! After all were immediately evacuateed and clothed we had a nice ziti dinner and later boys watched t.v. and we watched ours. Just a nice Relaxing Mother's Day with a Little bit of excitement to spice things up for memories sake I guess you might say. There's always SOMETHING happening that eacked out around here! must be the God's with a sense of humor! a weird one! That's my Mother's day in a nut shell.. Hope You had a Wonderful one too...

Time To Go

2008-05-02T08:09:00.005-04:00

Today it looks as it's going to be Brandy's last day at the Higdon household. No matter what we try, walks, Supervision, parks, attention, She just is INSISTENT on escaping! We are up to our eleventh and final cement block that spans completely across the entire bottom gate on the right side of the house, and she STILL is trying to dig UNDER the stones to escape! I don't understand what the problem is, we don't abuse her, starve her, or any of that, we give her a good home, and make her happy, but apparently she's not. :( Otherwise she wouldn't have this obsession to keep wanting to run away. She's a good dog, She craves love, and we give it to her, sure when she jumps iup on people and the couches, we tell her to get down and when she begs for food, we tell her no - which is normal training and if she doesn't like that, well sorry! And if she can't go everywhere we go and has to stay home sometimes when we go out, sorry too, other than that, I don't know why else she should want to run away so bad- she has it pretty good here. we bought the electrical fence for 200.00, but found you had to carve into the driveway, and landscaping with trimmers would accidentally make one nick and the system would be crap so we returned it. Another one of the minor flaws was the kids were beginning to { or they always did} chase her out of their rooms all the time } this was done since she was a puppy so she wouldn't go after their toys and chew them and make in their rooms , But I think they built up a kind of fear that kind of backfired- Thomas would play with her and her toys , and Brendan would push his rocker after her around the house in a playful manner so maybe not..I'm gonna miss her- awkwardly I fed her, brushed her, walked her, picked up after her, and she was afraid of me! I to this day cannot figure that out! She loved Tom the best! laid by him while he worked, waited for him to come home,cried when he left, was all over him when he entered the room, Just nuts for him - she was his dog . what the hell? That's gratitude for ya! Was it the energy I gave off or something? Oh Cesar Why do you have to live in California? We could really use you about now... I really hope she goes to a nice family . She's a sweet dog and still a puppy. She just has That one issue where we don't know what to do anymore. A tie out in the back yard - she'll get tangled up or she's strong enough to yank it out of the ground . Heck I took her out for a walk from the front door one day and damn near took my shoulder out of it's socket when she took of like a rocket from the front door! Tom thought it was the funniest thing- ME? not so much! I damn near put Brendan in the ground! I wish Brandy all my best wishes for a speedy adoption to a new and happy family . I know shell get adopted- shes a sweetheart, shes young and great with kids and great other dogs and healthy, we just can't keep her anymore. I'm sorry baby. you just gotta go. You'll be in my prayers. I hope you find your perfect home.

Pinewood Derby races

2008-04-26T13:35:00.009-04:00

Today was the Pinewood Derby races at Camp Flying Eagle campground . Thomas got to finally race his car. He was the first up,First to race, He didn't do all that well due to a flaw in one of the left wheels that seemed to have made the car pull to the left thus slowing it down and making it keep coming in last. :( When we test it at home it kept going straight, otherwise we would have remedied that problem beforehand. Anyhow, we watched the other racers, His friend Sammy came in first place of the tigers - his was really fast ! I don't know how he did it, I think it was aerodynamics- where everything was from the back end down like a shark's fin- - he even HAD sharks fins on his car- real cool and fast. Thomas was so proud of the medal he won, he couldn't have cared less if he won or not. That's good sportsmanship right there. Shows he had fun racing and was with his friends. That's all that counts. there were too many that TOO into it- It said in the rule book you couldn't do any special modifications to your car or it would be impounded- we get there and theres people there with their special tupperware and bags underneath to secure their cars , and LUBING the axels, and doing this and that to their cars- ummmm- I thought you had to weigh in and if NEEDED you could add a weight or two BSA approved to make 5 ounces and that was it! I was like dang! These people were obviously trying to bend the rules to cheat inspection! Anyway, it doesn't matter- there was a burr on the back left wheel we discovered when we got home that pulled the car to the left we must have not sanded well enough tha tmade it go so slow- could have been the weight placement in the middle instead of the back too - whadda ya gonna do? live and learn. What's important is we felt and Thomas thought he had the best looking car and said " I never won a gold medal before! when I go to school, I'm gonna bring this in for show and tell for sure! " He loves his medal, he feels like he won first place, he had a blast, and that's all that matters. And the day's still young to go out and have some more fun on this beautiful day.

Derby Car 's Ready!

2008-04-25T17:12:00.007-04:00

Well we finally got done making Thomas' Pinewood Derby car for Cubscouts.. And in good time too! The races are tomorrow! I had been after Tom and Thomas to start making the car when Thomas recieved his car or block of wood from scouts at Christmastime! But we figured we had lots of time seeing the races weren't until the end of April. We had a great deal decideing what to make really. that took like a month! first it was Bumblebee from the Transformers, then it was Nemo,then a bonefish, then searching for something cool on the internet with nothing we liked , then we held off a bit , then back to the search and settling on the bonefish only to find it wouldn't come out right , so we settled on a Matchbox car! The car came out looking NOTHING like the model we drew it after, but I think it came out pretty cool anyway! I also found had we went with the bonefish, there was NO WAY we ould have cleared 5 ounces! we just about made it with this car's weight adding weights where we could. e would never have been able to race making the skeleton of a fish! That would have been a show car definitly! I never realized I had such crafty men on my hands! Who'd a thought? It came out beautiful just in the nick of time! Hopefully we bring home a trophy of some sort. - I think we get one anyway just for racing. It should be a fun day no matter how you look at it. These Scouting events always are. Tomorrow we race at 10 Am . Wish us luck! Whether we win or lose it doesn't matter , it' should be just plain fun.

Healthy Smiles

2008-04-23T17:43:00.003-04:00

Today the boys had their 6 month dentist appointment. I was a little concerned due to the fact that easter was just past, and Thomas has been really getting into the candy scene recently , and hasn't beeb brushing his teeth as good as he should , and lost some teeth and grew in some permanents and hasn't been taking care of them like he should. This time Brendan was going to get a look at his too. I was concerned he was going to freak out, not want to cooperate, Want to develop this hate for the dentist, the whole bit. It actually went over REALLY well!! Thomas had his xrays, came out with NO cavities, [ can you say WHOO -HOO! ?} Being in his shoes at his ageI can SOO breath a sigh of relief! I went through SOO much hell as a kid with cavities and drilling and pulling , I to this day HATE HATE HATE the dentist! The dental assistant found minimal amounts of plaque on the backs of his front lower teeth , and after that gave him a nice cleaning- done. I was like wow. with all the juice boxes this kid burns through and three musketeers he sneaks or shall I say CONS his dad into buying for him, thats all he had? Cool . I'm always after him to brush his teeth, I'm hoping it paid off! I'm after Brendan too. I scrub him whenever he lets me, and he got checked on my lap, didn't cry, had no cavities, and has a couple more molars that need to come in,as well as an eye tooth thats making its way in some more. Otherwise, he too got a big thumbs up as well. They both got stickers and little toys for being great patients, and I worried over nothing. As for Thomas' big horse front teeth, He's got two smaller ones on the side that are just about to come out so that one missing will have more room to come in and should be making its way down more any time soon. I was wondering if it EVER was gonna come down! It was good news all around! Now off to Religion. Another busy day in the Higdon household...

Made the Honor Roll Again!

2008-04-17T13:42:00.008-04:00

Today I went to Thomas' school where Thomas had an awards ceremony where he made the Honor Roll- AGAIN! I'm tellin ya , This kid's on a roll! Not a semester has gone by where he hasn't come home without an award of some sort. this makes his 6th one in 1st grade alone- he got two Positive Behavior awards,one Certificate of Merit,A Student of the Month, and made the Honor roll twice including today's award. and in Kindergarten he got three outstanding attendances, a student of the Month and a Certificate of Merit.Along with the award he gets a "Good Egg Achievement Award From the Broken Egg which is a restaurant in the town of Lakewood ranch here in Florida - you show his report card, with all A's and B;s and he gets a free breakfst. also he gets a free apple juice from Publix supermarket,a free kids meal from Bob Evans for making the Honor Roll- so the whole community gets in on the kid's education which I think is cool! Also, I have a special file on my computer where I scanned all his awards ;). They're starting to accumulate nicely! :) He keeps complaining how he doesn't like school- I don't see why- It seems to like him! Ahh well. He hasn't had the best year making friends this year. They're all in separate classes from his and he doesn't get to see them as much as he wants or go to their houses as they live far away. and the kids IN his class aren't very nice to him. So I can see why he doesn't want to go - but I said he only has a amonth left and to stick it out then no more school and then the fun starts- swim lessons, and Grandpas house, fun times! and summer! For now, just stick it out and keep up the great work! Nice job buddy! I'm so proud of him!

Add a Room, Switch A Room

2008-04-12T10:53:00.006-04:00

recently I had transformed the Boys' rooms into two seoarate rooms as I was tired of picking up toys in one room , then moving to the other room and having to pickup as well. I know, they need to start picking up after themselves, as funny as it might be or maybe not, Brendan actually helps me pickup moreso than thomas does. Maybe because he's so used to me picking up after him in the past? well, no more. I took his bed out of his room, and stuck it in Brendan's room as he keppt saying he wanted to sleep in with Brendan. Well, be careful what you wish for my friend! So far, so good. They have been sleeping together just fine. Brendan goes to sleep around 7:30, 8:00, and Thomas 8:30 9:00. so by the time he goes to bed, Brendan's sound asleep and doesn't hear him come in and doesn't wake him up so goes to bed nic eand quiet and they both sleep well. Their clothes both fit well in the same closet, so all their toys were transferred to Thomas' old room as a play room . The like it, I like it, Every ones happy, and it looks nice too. Thomas' friends come over, and they have a place to play and retrieve his games from his closet and toys from one locaton and they all get put back in their same spot . and if I don't feel like cleaning up the mess at the moment, I just close the door till later when I'm ready ... as my neighbor says ;) it all worked out well in the end. Now it's time to tackle some Disney movies I might sell to make money on Ebay - thing is- some might be worth money,and some the boys might still want so I must choose wisely.. sometime projects can be fun when you pick the right ones! Like these were.

Trip To The Highway Patrol

2008-04-09T18:44:00.012-04:00

Today I took Thomas to the Florida Highway Patrol to see about getting one step further on his requirements on earning his tiger cub badge for Cub Scouts. We just needed to ask what the Trooper did to help the community, but it turned out, we got alot more than we bargained for! The lady Trooper that came to say hello to Thomas was SO nice and helpful. She asked if Thomas had any questions, and Thomas asked if she ever used any weapons. I was like " what a weird question, but ok. He's 7 and I guess a boy and into that sort of thing.. then asked "do you catch alot of bad guys?" Ok , now we're getting somewhere..., Then "do you like to help people?", as he got more comfortable, more questions started coming out of his mouth . I was impressed! It was like he was conducting his own interview! Before we knew it, the fun part began.. She offered to show him her police car. You wanna see a kid's eyes light up! What do YOU think? well she left, drove her squad car around,and Thomas' eyes lit up. She popped the trunk, and there was her hat in a shell to protect it- I never knew they kept it in a carrier- {so that's how they keep it so nice and tidy looking}, You learn something new everyday! Thomas tried it on for size, Brendan too- they looked too cute! There was this wheel where they trace one point of the scene of an accident to impact point {something like that} - I'd have to say Thomas' favorite item was the baton though for some reason. He kept wanting to hold it and have it taken out. We learned how to hold it and how to use it. Then Thomas got to sit in the squad car- front AND the back- he tried on cuffs too for fun. We slid them on loosely so he could slide his hands out- good photo op. He said - these are like mine at home only they're real! LOL We also turned the lights on and discussed safety like always buckling up because you never know whats going to happen on the road. And you never want to find out the hard way. { Thomas has a nasty habit of unbuckling along the way or not buckling at all no matter how many times we tell him to buckle up while were driving, so we thought if a police officer gave him a talking to, maybe he'd listen}.After bunch of pictures and souvenirs, and a tour of the department, we finally bid the kind Trooper adieu. She did more than her share of coming through, and definitly showed a kid that the police are definitly are our friends and should not be feared whenever we see them on the road as he had in the past. Score one for the good guys!

Brandygirl

2008-04-08T14:08:00.002-04:00

I guess there comes a time in every woman's life where they enter the realm of womanhood, whether you are on the brink of becoming, or ARE a teenager, or in this case, a nine month old dog! Yes, Brandy has recently entered that stage. 3 weeks ago she had began spotting, then bleeding, and the poor thing couldn't figure out why we were freaking out and secluding her to her cage and the backyard and the lanai all the time . Everytime she came in the house, she wasn'y allowed to roam free as when she wagged her tail she would go "bloop bloop" and leave these droplets of blood all over the place , so into her cagfe she would go. or out side- at night she would get caged up. This lasted for two weeks. A couple times she snuck into our room and "left her mark" shall we say I shampooed it out, and thank goodness 80 % of our house is linoleum so lots of it just got wiped up - she couldn't help it. So I call the vet to find out how much it would cost to have her neuterd. and how long this would last. She said "' the bleeding would last a weekend to a week, and take three weeks for her uterus to go down " ok , sounds like a typical woman with a normal cycle.. well, she bled for TWO weeks so I have two weeks left? But she tells me it will cost 475 dollars to have her neutered and more to do it while shes in heat! SCUSE ME??! This is a dog! Not a human! I paid 25 dollars MORE for ME to have a scar revision done from my OB! Are you outta your freakin mind? and how much for if she needs to stay over? I cant afford that! is that the going rate? I can't see everyone having to pay that much- Theresgotta be a better price out there- what about the shelters and stuff? I'm gonna check them out and see if they can do it for a lower cost and I'll make a donation if I have to! 475 dollars My ass! Youre on drugs girl! My Car payment aint even that much { my cars paid off but still even when I was MAKING payments! } so now I'm looking around, The damn dog keeps escaping from my yard because shes in heat , so shes in and out of the house . I have these cinderblocks blockading the gap under my fence where she digs a trench big enough to fit herself under and squeeze her ass under and run away down the block. I got the neighbors returning my dog, and when I took the boys to Chuckie Cheese just as we were leaving , She came barrelling around the side of the house where she dug herself under the fence as if to say :'"wait for me ! wait for me! " It's comical, but it's not. Now we gotta look at one of those electric fences or something to keep her in the yard, because this is getting obnoxious. She's so determined and such a digger. Well,. Off to call the shelters on my neuter inquiries. That's my update on our Brandygirl. Ya Gotta love her!

Day At Chuckie's

2008-04-07T18:39:00.001-04:00

Today was the last day of spring break before Thomas goes back to school. I decided to take him and Brendan to Chuckie Cheese's to lunch and have a little fun for the day. He hadn't got out much during the break- we got out a little bit for errands and such , mostly because he just didn't WANT to. What was up with that I don't know! He gets like that sometimes. Just becomes introverted and hooked on his video games { which I can't STAND! } I can't wait to get up north- NO video games, NO hanging around the house, NO acting like a hermit! During the week I took him and Brendan to the fountains where they had a blast- running through the fountains, getting soaked, having water wars, just having a blast for 4 hours. Even packed a picnic. Today I sprung 20 bucks for a pizza, sodas and tokens ,and the kids went wild playing games, romping in the play area, munching on pizza, dancing in the dance production area seeing themselves on t.v., riding the rides, and even getting a photo taken with Chuckie. It was money well spent. They get a day out and go back to school tomorrow with some fun memories. They grow up so fast, money's hard to come by and budgets need to be stuck by, but sometimes you just gotta look in those eyes and say " what the hell, let's go have some fun!!" ;)

John Edward Seminar Updated

2008-04-05T08:29:00.001-04:00

Last night Tom and I went to The John Edward seminar in Orlando for my birthday present. I was hoping to get read, but unfortunately, my Mom or any other of my family members didn’t come though. In any case, We left here around 3:15, and got there around 5:30, so we decided to get some dinner. We went to Red Lobster to grab something quick- { I know, all the great restaurants in Orlando and that’s what you pick?} We were pressed for time and wanted something quick with no lines and it was on the fly so there we were. The food was really good PLUS they got the lobsterfest going on right now so we took advantage I had this grilled lobster trio with shrimp n scallops and Tom had it with linquini alfredo - TOTALLY blew our diets, but hey, we get a cheat night in so I guess that was it! Off to the show, we find our seats, the place filled up quick. We were amazed at how many people there were, and since the rain made us start late, he went right into the readings instead of the seminar, then the readings- cool! There were some Funny readings and some sad readings.. like One womans son came though who died in an alchohol related crash that said he was glad she was honoring her feeelings for being mad but now it was time to move past, and another woman lost a 3 yr old to drowning where she just had a 5 week old and gave the child cpr,and was feeling blame toward the 5 yr old { i think thats how old }that was with her at the time sort of and said dont do that - she got a good story and lecture - a real eye opener - real sad - I did alot from crying, another got a lecture because she wouldnt go get her lump in her breast checked that was detected from a lost family member where she had two smalll children she could leave behind because she was scared and it was probably nothing but needs to move past the fear. And the funny one was a woman’s husband came through where all he wanted to do was validate he once stripped to his skivvies and had a big you know what and was proud of that! He did two hours worth of straight readings talking his usual 90 miles and hour of Long Island talk I thought talking that fast I would get squeezed in there somewhere, but not tonight. It’s o.k. It’s just not gonna happen. LOL Afterward we drove home with barely any traffic reflecting on the nights events and stories and how they come close toour own lives. Tom apologized for Mom or anyone else not coming through. I said it was alright. I prayed and asked her and wore some of her favorite jewelry so she would "find me" if that sounds odd through her personal effects . but then I thought, maybe she wasn’t ready, or since I talk to her alot { i validate her}already , maybe she felt she didn’t need to come through... It still would have been nice though. Oh well maybe another time. It was a fantastic experience nonetheless and I’d do it all over again if he came back to town again.

New Month, New week, New Me

2008-04-01T10:14:00.000-04:00

Starting today Tom and I have vowed to get back in shape for when summertime comes and to lose our wintertime potbellies! Over the holidays we aquired much more than presents I’m sad to say. My jeans get that "muffintop" look which I HATE when I look in the mirror, I’m starting to see the signs of saddlebags which I REFUSE to have, and my ass which I used to pride myself on I know it sounds a little stuck up, But I used to like my ass, well, It’s seen better days! We decided it’s time to take some action. I’m almost 40 in two years and I won’t go quietly. Tom either. He’s been fighting his battle for a couple years now , It’s more fun when there’s a team I think. We’re doing our own " The Biggest Loser" We’re betting each other something with meaning to give each other incentive to lose the weight and work out , but not much is coming to mind- maybe if I win he has to move up north? hmm ... theres an idea.. heehee. We figured It’s a new month, new week, perfect timing for a new us!. Anyway, At 5 am today I started my ritual. I couldn’t sleep anymore and figured Girlie it’s now or never, I guess it ’s gonna be now. So I put on my workout clothes, tucked my walkman into my boobs, got my water, and went into the garage to start my workout. We divided the workouts into 3 days - Tuesday, Thursday,& Saturday- here’s an example of my workout this morning:

body part excercise sets reps
abs Traditional crunch 1 12-15
abs Bent leg knee raise 1 12-15
abs oblique v-up 1 10 on each side
abs bridge 1 1or 2
abs back extensions 1 12-15

legs squats 2 10-12
upperbody/arms bench press 2 10
upper back pulldown 2 10
shoulders military press 2 10
upper back upright row 2 10
arms triceps pushdown 2 10-12
legs leg extension 2 10-12
arms biceps curl 2 10
legs leg curl 2 10-12

cardio treadmill or walk the dog N/A 30 Minutes

Wish me luck! It’s not all that bad- my weight is 127 and BMI is 27 -I’d like it to be back in the teens where it was- and lose my jiggly thighs & cottage cheese butt! LOL EWW! never thought I’d have THAT! Just need a ’Lil toning and tweaking and firming to look good again for the beaches this year! That’s what I get for my love of cheesecake!- Comes back to bite me in the ass literally!

Fun Day Fishing

2008-03-31T21:22:00.008-04:00

Yesterday we finally got to get out and get a little fishing in. Me , Tom and Thomas. Just the three of us. How I had missed doing that! The fresh air, the sunshine, the fish jumping freely in the water, the serenity. i know I know, A woman baiting her own hook? Eww! I have NO problem baiting my own line. NONE whatsoever. Must be the Tomboy in me- I grew up with the love of fishing. I've been doing it since I was like 10? Worms, sunnies, bread; so shrimp and pin fish are nothing to me. Didn't catch a damn thing - barely caught a tan, but trying was just as fun . Tom's mom watched Brendan, and we packed drinks and sandwiches and bought bait on the way. I brought my walkman so I jammed to some tunes while I fished which made it more fun. What made the day even MORE interesting was what Thomas came across fishing and Tom helped hike it up the wall so Thomas could take a picture with it- he was afraid of it but after a while didn't mind posing with it. At least SOMEONE brought SOMETHING home! Pretty cool! He felt a little stupid after he felt his teeth and was like OWW! I said they're little razors dopey! DOn't touch those!He was like " oh yeah" LOL whadda ya want he's only 7? What a day though the weather couldn't have been kinder to us. He's got an ear infection now - hope the sea didn't do that- but he's been sniffling for a while, the trouble ear agin - Oy vay! Anyway, Was nice to get out and do something with Tom n Thomas and do something fun again . I was starting to get cabin fever.

Student Of The Month

2008-03-27T17:45:00.000-04:00

Today Thomas had his Awards ceremony where he got awarded Student of The Month. I went to his school and they had an ice cream party for the students after they received their awards and it was very sweet. Thomas was kinda freaking out because his class was still at recess and he almost missed the awards ceremony . The principle had to call on his walkie -talkie to remind the teacher that the ceremony was going on and that the students needed to come down to the cafeteria. I never saw two kids tear it around a corner so fast! LOL I took Brendan with meand he was surprisingly well behaved. Not that he' s abrat or anything, I just thought with there being ice cream he'd be all wiggly, but lately, he doesn't like ice cream unless its a shake. So that went well. After the awards ceremony, homas returned to his class, and Brendan and I went to the parking lot to wait for him {since only a half an hour he would be released} I got a phone call from the school saying Thomas collided with his classmate Paulina and chomped down on his tongue and made it bleed by taking a chunk out of it- Ow???? So I had to come and get him since he wanted to go home.. Thankfully I was just in the parking lot.. this kid's gonna be the death of me!! he spends like every other month in the clinic! teeth fall out, kicked shins, doesn't feel good, more teeth, headaches.. i got more clinic notes than I know what to do with.. anyway I 'm very proud of my Student of the Month even if the day DID end on a sour note... Con gradulations buddy. This makes award # 10 to add to the folder nice job! *beaming*

Egg Hunt

2008-03-22T16:56:00.007-04:00

Today we all went to an Easter egg hunt where Thomas has his Cub scout meetings . Despite the misty rain, everyone had a nice time. Brendan being so small, surprisingly knew just what to do when it came time to find the eggs! He just put two and two together-: i have a basket , there are eggs, I shall put the ggs in my bunny basket! So Tom helped Brendan find his eggs that he needed to find- { we were given this piece of paper with colored eggs that we were only to find those specific colored eggs so as not to mess up anyone elses egg finding but soon we found no one paid much mind to that with the mounds of eggs that were leaving the grounds! }When we got our designated eggs, we went inside for games, and crafts and cookie decorating, then headed home for some food shopping for tomorrow's meal. That will consist of ham and Green bean casserole { my favorite, !} Garli cmashed potatoes, rolls, cucumber salad, - all the yummies! Anyway the kids just had a ball! We got a bit wet, But it was all worth it!

Happy Birthday Brendan!

2008-03-21T20:47:00.010-04:00

Today we celebrated Brendan's 2nd birthday. Two years old. Wow. Man did time fly! I remember when he was just born! These guys keep me hoppin I tell you ! Time just flies by and before I know it, a whole year just flew by already! It seems like I just had him, mom passed away, I was devastated, was up north, battled those "firsts" without mom, then all of a sudden, life flew into fast forward and Thomas is 7 and Brendan is celebrating his second birthday already ! Holy Crap! In any case, it was a real nice day for a birthday. I started Brendan's cake, Got them dressed for the day, We packed a lunch for the three of us, went to the park for a few hours and gave Tom some peace and quiet in the house {as he had a training session to do and needed silence]. Then after needing to go home as Mr. Thomas took off on me and damn near gave me a heart attack not telling me where was going, - he could have been taken from someone for all I know- A mother's worst fear being taken by some sicko at the park! Thankfully he was next door at the fountains playing with some kid's Transformers - but that's no excuse - we promptly and immediately left the park no if's and's or but's. I was sick to my stomach! After taking him to the restroom with me to change Brendan's pull up , he goes and pulls this. Time to go.We were there for 3 hrs anyway. We stopped at Publix supermarket to pickup the custom giant cookie I had made for brendan - since he doesnt eat cake or cupcakes. I had a cookie decorated like Nemo design- real nice job they did, then home for pizza and presents- Good Friday- can't have meat so pizza it is! Then we opened presents and Brendan loved them all! From Transformer's Bumblebee,{So he would stop stealing his brother's} to Diego, to Thomas the train movie and toy trains, to an Elmo sounds storybook, to a nice knobby puzzle, then we had cake, and the boys watched Power Rangers , then off to bed. He went out like a light. My little sweetheart. He's so good. God Bless Him . May he have many many more . Happy Birthday Little man! I love You!

Yard Sale

2008-03-16T16:35:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we had a community yard sale in our area. At first we weren't going to participate, but then I decided if we were going to try and get rid of some of the kids toys, why not try and make some money off of them? Even if it IS a couple bucks? So I put the toys together the night before in the garage so the kids wouldn't get upset and say " I still want that! AAAhh! " the whole same thing they always do when ever they see the toys they NEVER play with where they could make room for NEW ones and make money on OLD ones! We did pretty well I think considering things were going for a buck or two- we made 65.00 in 4 hours time! We also sold this ram statue that we aquired in Virginia that never really found a spot in our house except for the attic! it went on the coffee table, then the bedroom, then the knee wall, then the counter, then finally the attic. , an air purifier, a speaker system, some rescue heroes, mostly toys, some kids conned their parents- like some rubber lizards, and some large stuffed animals, some dinosaurs, a musical turtle, also some frogs that go by the pond that drove the dog crazy we decided to sell! the rest came out of an assorted 50 cent and 1.00 box we were selling one of our robots that Thomas was punished for that I was surprised didn't get picked up although alot of begging and pleading DID occur from many a child that came about! I was ALSO surprised to see people were coming around at 6:30 in the morning for the sales! We weren't even set up yet! Let a woman get out of bed and have a bite to eat people!! Jeeze! Talk about your hardcore garage salers! They were up at the crack of dawn for the good stuff! Not EVEN because they were driving by our houses before we even set UP!! It was still dark out! anyway it turned out to be a nice day for a yard sale and when we were done, did our errands and enjoyed he rest of the day. Thomas used his birthday money and his share of what he sold of his toys at the yard sale and bought the transformers he had his eyes on so all hurt feelings were .Everyone was happy. Brendan got what toys he still wanted back that didn't sell, PLUS made some money on the toys and clothes that DID sell . All in all everything worked out for the best.

Blue & Gold Woes

2008-02-25T09:55:00.007-05:00

FIRST PLACE:

SECOND PLACE:

THIRD PLACE:

THEIR FLAG CAKE:

OUR FLAG CAKE:

Saturday was our Blue and Gold banquet . It started out fine, Thomas was all excited to go, Tom was feeling a bit under the weather, but I really wanted the whole family to participate, so we picked up my mother in law and the whole family went. I had helped Thomas make a Rainbow Fish cake the day before, but that came out a disaster, so it wound up in the trash, so early in the day, we decided to make a flag cake out of yellow cake, whipped cream, strawberries,and blueberries. He did the cake- I just put scrape it into the pan, it in the oven and helped a bit with the cutting of the strawberries and told him how to place them- it came out pretty good . There was going to be a judging at the Banquet and prizes, so I it would be nice if he could have won.. The cakes that were there! Ours looked so simple! I'll post first prize to third prize but there were so many more that were so creative! There was about 30 pizzas delivered after the opening ceremony and awards then Thomas had to act up- he kept getting up out of his seat, leaving the room, {he was missing for half the night}- he was present for the dinner and cake of course but he should have been present for the entire evening to show respect for his fellow scouts] then towards the end of the night, I was sitting with my Mother in law, and Tom had to leave with Brendan and so I thought Thomas went out with my Tom into the entryway, turns out, Tom completely left the building, and the ceremony ended, and I helped clean up, and still no sign of Thomas! I agree I didn't show enough persuasion in keeping him in his seat but neither did my Tom- bad parenting on our parts. I couldn't get up and walk away and just leave my mother in law there somewhere she doesnt know.. I left, went to the van and said " is Thomas with you? Tom was Furious! He found Thomas by the Classrooms with some other kids where he had NO business being - We had it out with him telling him -why were we there?We were there for him-he showed no respect for his fellow scouts whatsoever! And he didn't act like a Boyscout at ALL tonight! Tom told him to take off his uniform, and put it in a bag and told him no more scouts for him and took away his Xbox for good. . Now Thomas has been acting like this for a while now-showing lack of respect others- you tell him to do something;- and he just ignores you and does what HE wants- so this was his punishment sadly. I was able to lessen the charge and save the uniform and have Thomas make it up to him and keep scouting since a big campout is coming up, but he REALLY has to make it up to his dad or he doesn't go. He traded his ROBORAPTOR to go in the trash instead of his scouting uniform. He's really stepped in it this time. but the Xbox- thats gone. . It was only 4 months old of a system too.. anyway- it wasn't as nice of an evening as I had wanted, but heres the cakes that beat us out of winning .. heres what took 1st place

Mine! Mine! Mine!

2008-02-20T16:24:00.003-05:00

Lately there has been this turn of events { or event that has just got me well cringing for lack of better words! Thomas has taken to the sport of if he sees his brother with a toy that A- either used to be his, or B- Just plain catches his eye, or C- he's feeling like a plain old spiteful pain in the ass and wants to be all of the above {which is usually the latter}He goes and snatches whatever Brendan has in his hands and brings him to those oh familiar and hateful words of adults - Mine ! Mine Mine! Thomas just breaks into this shit eatin grin and laugh where a good crack in the back of the head would serve him good! I just yell at him " give your brother back his toy!" He's old enough to know better , I know its a whole sibling rivalry thing kicking in - I was there, but I swear if I have to hear those words "Mine" one more time I'm gonna lose my mind!

Happy Birthday Thomas

2008-02-19T21:45:00.005-05:00

Tonight we celebrated Thomas' Birthday. 7 years old today. Where did the time go? My how time has gone by! I remember when he was this little thing who had this insistence on falling off the end of my bed! That and getting himself so worked up he would literally make himself sick! You would reprimand him for having a temper tantrum in the store or for not gettin what he wants { usually around naptime and a time out was needed, he would hyperventilate and Blleech! all over himself and get these red blotches all over his face- too much! Glad THATS over with! Now hes this sweet kid who is feeling his oats as a typical 7 yr old in THAT stage of years. *sigh* At least he's building my confidence in myself! I bought cupcakes and brought them to his class this morning- - Spongebob and Patrick rockin out- too cute. The bakery at the grocery store here does such a beautiful job! Of course there were none left to come home- I didn't expect any either- the way they taste? I'd go back for more! The teacher told me Thomas gave some to his old kindergarten teacher and gym teacher and so on - He's so thoughtful. There's another boy who had the same birthday as him who also brought in cupcakes, but the teacher asked the mother to bring hers in tomorrow- I felt so bad- She{the teacher} said I asked , she didn't so .. still , she had to take hers home -I felt like an inconvenience for some reason- but two cupcakes- that IS alot of sugar- bit rough on a teacher to handle.. ;) So I also made Thomas a cake for when he got home but never got it finished till 7 :00 at night because I had to take Brendan to the doctor while Thomas was at school to find he had Pneumonia, go to the pharmacy, wait for meds, go to Toys r Us return T's gift{this Transformer he got was too hard for him to figure out and I wasnt gonna have him have a fit every time he tried so I returned it for an easier one} pick out better one he wants,drive back to Walmart, buy cake mix and supplies, go home, start cake, go pickup Thomas, go to Toys R Us to let him pick out the gift he wants w credit from returned toys, go home, make dinner, Toms mom is there- ( wasn't planning on dinner guests, but its cool-was gonna invite her over for cake anyway}make some mac n cheese for the boys as I watch them trash the house in plain fatigue as their rooms are trashed after I cleaned them and theyre running like animals and I'm getting talked at like Im a piece of dirt and still need to ice the cake..{and yes he DID go to his room before cake for disrespecting me and was quite upset with himself that he ruined his birthday after a harsh talking to in case youre wondering} {I dont let that fly } I finally ice the cake and put some Transformer toys on it and call it done . I make some leftover dinner and watch Brendan Chuck his food all over and decide these guys are either ungrateful or just plain hate me! I finally sing Happy Birthday to Thomas and we have some cake, they finally get to bed, Mom goes home and I breath a sigh of relief, and clean up and dont dare look at the dishes till tomorrow and relax and get some blogging in! What a day. Happy Birthday Thomas! I love You ! It's memories like these that make the time go by so fast and make the world go round so quickly. Until tomorrow....

Sea World

2008-02-17T21:07:00.001-05:00

This weekend we went to Sea World to celebrate Thomas' birthday. Since Tom needed to work the day of Thomas' birthday, we decided to do something special for him just the family. We stayed a night at the Rennaisance across from the park, that way we could just wake up, have breakfast and go. Breakfast took like an hour and a half due to slow service, but other than that, Thomas LOVED staying in a hotel room overnight!He wanted to go back there again and live there- although I don't know about that!I guess when you're a kid it's exciting- the change of someplace new- {I know I used to love it too. } The park was perfect weather-75 degrees and sunny.It started in the sixtys - we were gonna wear pants, but it warmed up fast. Glad we switched to shorts at the last minute cause it got hot! Thomas made sure we saw every attraction just about - all but the sea lions and concerts just about and kiddie rides. He wasn't in the mood this time. All the animals got checked off from Polar bears to penguins, Sea Turtles to Shamu,and Budweiser Clydesdales to Baluga whales! We saw it all! We saw the Shamu show { which was AWESOME!} Brendan couldn't sit that long so Tom sat outside with him which he didnt mind - he said he saw it a million times and was sure it hadnt changed much so was ok with just me and Thomas seeing it so had some bar- b - q instead {which was a rip off for the size of what he got}.We walked and saw till we couldn't see anymore and saw everything on the map. Everyone had a wonderful time. We even bought the yearly pass for for 10.oo more so we could come back all year just in case we DID miss something! Thomas {being the marine afficianado that he is} I think will love that ! All in all it was a very lovely day! Happy early birthday Thomas! Love you Buddy!

Award Day

2008-02-05T14:45:00.000-05:00

Thomas had his Awards ceremomy today. He almost didn't want to go to school because he has been having problems with kids at school , and just hasn't been all that excited about school lately. I said "well, we'll just have to give your award to someone else then!" He said " What?! No ! I 'm going! I'm going!!" He wouldn't hear anything about anyone claiming HIS award! I THOUGHT that would work! ;) I got Brendan dressed, We picked out his clothes, had breakfast, and were off. We were halfway there when I realized that the stroller wasn't in the car. Oh boy. I was going to have to go ALLLL the way BACK home and get the stroller and get back to the school BEFORE the awards ceremony.It was already almost 8:30, and the ceremomy started at 8:45, and it took at LEAST 15 minutes to get home- I was going to have to sprout wings and fly! Needless to say traffic was good to me with some cursing and yelling and driving like Mrs Maria Andretti!{and a little help from mom above } I somehow got back to the school AT 8:45 and snuck in the back way of the cafeteria I had my camera in hand. I saw Thomas on the floor with his class straining looking for me and when he saw me he relaxed. When I told him I had to go back for the stroller he said "mommmeeeee! " I said I PROMISE I'll be there! I wouldn't miss it for ANYTHING ! I think he was nervous with the traffic I was going to miss it. It turned out , his class was the last class to be called for the awards anyway- can you say Murphy's Law? I had wanted to take one more picture of him after the ceremony holding his certificate, but by the time I got through all the parents, His teacher was ushering him through the door back to class- I was like "but but" ahh well, I'll get him at home.." I'm very proud of him - not a semester goes by that he doesn't win an award- hes got awards for Merit,Outstanding attendance, Student of the Month,Positive Behavior,And now making the Honor Roll. I wouldn't call him a nerd, Just a good clean student , and I'm damn proud of him! Its things like this that go on his record and get him in good schools if he keeps up the good work. Heres some pics from his special day.. Go Thomas! I love you Sweetie!

Happy Birthday Tom

2008-02-05T13:34:00.000-05:00

Another year has come and gone, and today we celebrate Tom's birthday.38.The old Fart. I shouldn't talk really. in two months I"LL be that same old fart! It doesn't feel like that I'm almost hittin' 40. wow. are we REALLy middle aged? Have we REALLY hit that mark? or is what they say 40 is the new 30? In any case, The day started out sweet with the boys waking up and giving Tom their birthday card to him in bed,then getting ready for school. I went to Thomas' school this morning to watch him recieve an award for being on the Honor Roll- I'll post about that next} ;) then got suppies at Publix for making my famous birthday cakes that everyone seems to love... thank you ;) and decided to pick up a gift certificate where I get my nails done for Tom to get a Pedicure - no hint there- just he loves getting his feet worked on by me and I feel I do a real shitty job at it really and thought I'd treat him to it by somebody who knows what the hell they're doing quite frankly!!! Get the foot soaking, the massage, the creams, the whole bit. All he has to do is sit back and relax. Thought it would make a nice present. I asked if men come in and get it done and this one lady said " oh yeah! my husband felt funny at first , but when he got it done was like Oh yeah! ' now comes all the time when he can get time off of work". That sold me! I just hope he goes- he might feel funny about strangers touching his feet. Then again , hes had massages done on business trips so we'll see. So I went home and made his cake which Brendan helped - { he loved the batter - takes after his mom in that department;) Then he was off for a nap.Soon its time to pick up T from school after some afternoon chores.Any way, Happy Birthday babe! Love You .May you have many many more!

New Sheets

2008-01-29T11:52:00.000-05:00

Bedset BEFORE Accident:Cream Color

Bedset AFTER the Accident: Rose Color

Yesterday I did the sheets - it was their day, so I ripped everybody off their perspective mattresses and threw them in the washer. I noticed the shams had some schnool on them and thinking they had been washed before, I tore them off and tossed them in too. I put the washer on its usual warm /hot setting like I usually do for sheets to get any unusual funk out of them and went on my merry way. When it was done, I opened the door to a pretty rose colored sheets! Ahh crap! Tom's gonna kill me! Apparently, The shams were NEVER washed, and bled all over my cream colored sheets!! I dried the shams and hand towels that also got turned pink, - they're hand towels - so what? who cares? And tried to RE wash my sheets with bleach alternative detergent I have to no avail- so now I have rose colored sheets that I think look pretty nice with my maroon colored comforter set if I DO say so myself! It seems to have turned out to be a mistake for the good ,but Tom's all bent that he has PINK sheets the chauvanist- well WAHH - it adds some color to the room as opposed to the blah pasty cream! I'll let you be the jugde- I think it was a change for the better- even goes nice with the wood.. Sometimes I think inventions are made by accidents aren't they?

Dangerous Digging

2008-01-26T16:26:00.000-05:00

I was cleaning up after the dog and noticed she had dug up something from one of her digging escapades and making my yard look like Beirut. I went over to what it was, but she took off ,with her running around, eying me cautiously upset that I was about to steal her prize, I picked it up. I thought it was just a stick and thought nothing of it, but when I noticed it had little barbs on it, I got concerned! This is the second item she's gnawed on what was foreign that she's dug up from her foot deep digging in the background. See, this property used to be nothing but cow fields. Apparently, this property was cleared, tilled , and made way for properties. It would be nice to get rid of EVERYTHING for future residents {and pets} when clearing land so that no one gets lockjaw or tetnis thank You! What if the dog bit into this rusty barb wire and sliced the roof of her mouth open? She would have needed stitches and a tetnis shot,And I would have a nasty bill on my hands not to mention a dog very much in pain! Or what if say Brendan found it and cut himself open and need the same? Oh , then the dog dug another trench and dug up a crushed beercan! WTF! Does anyone prepare the land for clearing and property siting anymore??!! UGH! Dopey Dog!

Before I was a Mom...

2008-01-21T16:16:00.000-05:00

A Girlfriend of Mine sent this to me and it was uncannily hitting home that I just HAD to post this! Thanks Mia! Love ya girl!

Before I was a Mom
I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom
I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop
the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom -
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and
happy.

Before I was a Mom -
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make
sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache,
the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mom.

DayDoh!

2008-01-04T18:41:00.001-05:00

Tonight Brendan recieved these adorable Diego Jammies from his Uncle Dougie- When we decided to put them on, he said 'Daydoh? I said " yeah lets see if they fit- and he hugged them - it was too cute! we put them on , and they fit like a glove! He ran around the house like a nutjob! He'd point to his pants and say Daydoh! I never met a kid who loved Diego more!

We've Got a Climber

2008-01-03T19:27:00.000-05:00

sitting around catching a breath watching t.v with Tom, I happened to witness something exciting, yet very unnerving as any mother will agree with me. Brendan is doing his rounds of playing and running and screaming and opening the refrigerator to get his "dink" as he calls it - we can't seem to get the "rr' in there ... but he sees everybody else sitting around, so he decides to come over and join us . ok. What does he do? he goes over to the couch, and hoists his leg up and climbs up all by himself and sits on the couch! I sat there with my mouth open ready to catch him if he fell, grabbed my camera because this was a milestone, and let Tom watch him, my heart was in my throat, but he did it! He was so proud of himself! Me on the other hand was like "Excuse me!' what was that?who taught you that? what do you think you're doing?" He just smiled and got down feet first and got back up again smiling triumphant with my heart in my throat again. So , the two's have started- climbing, shouting, all that good stuff- 2008 's gonna be FUUN! I can see it now- he already has lump upon lump from cracking his head on the cement/ linoleum floor- what's next? please no broken bones- my heart cant take that... Lord gimme strength..

Until Next Year

2008-01-02T16:51:00.000-05:00

Today we took down the tree and the Christmas decorations and air balloons in the front yard. It was a solemn day at the Higdon household. We didn't tell Thomas what we were doing until he came out of his room playing ans aw what we were doing and was like No! what are you doing??!!! I said "it's time to take down the tree honey, Christmas and New Year's are over, It's time to put them away till next year". He was like "Ohhhh" .I admit , It seemed sad to take them down, they brought so much cheer and the kids loved to put the lights on at night and see the balloons blow up and the lights twinkle. I can't believe this year is over already! It just zoomed by!The balloons are drying in the garage from the rain and wet grass, and the tree has been stripped from having ornaments , to barely ornaments, to no ornaments, to the fiber optic angel and Santa being ready to be packed up.Where did the time go? Thomas will be 7 next month and I swear Brendan was just born ! He's gonna be 2 already in March!2! Dang!Am I REALLY creeping up on 40? CRAP! I remember almost 20 years ago when I came home engaged to a Korean boy named David- Mom almost had a stroke! She said "that better not be what I think it is"! Needless to say I broke it off two weeks later- I was too young - Im sure she was relieved- It would have been the first mixed marriage in the family- anyway- its a good thing too because I've always had a thing for my man here since the day we met back in high school when we were 15. Anyway- FIFTEEN! WOW!We've known each other 23 years! If we were married we'd be coming up on our silver anniversary! Yeah he drives me crazy and vice versa, but I can't picture myself or want to be with anyone else. Especially now with these two beautiful boys he's given me! Anyway, I look forward to another great year with my boys and our goofy dog Brandy-yeah she's a dope at times - a big one, and you wanna give her a swift kick in the ass -lotsa times- but she grows on ya and shes part of the family and I look forward to good times to come in 2008. Happy New Year All!

Christmas Innocence

2007-12-30T15:25:00.000-05:00

I was just noticing how children affect the holidays. Not in a bad way mind you, In a good way. And in a way that makes you think and smile.How their faces light up when you get them something that you don't think they'll like that you just grab off the shelf last minute for a stocking stuffer, and they're like ohhh coool! Or like take for instance, when we go looking at the Christmas lights,like last year we must have went every DAY to look at this one setup of Christmas lights all the way until after New Years until they were gone. We had to convince Thomas they were gone and done with until next year.. Now its Brendans turn with the Balloons- Hes GOTTA have them up before bed so he can see them ... and the Christmas tree- we found he LOVES the ornaments. Especially the glass ones unfortunately.. The tree started out so nice , but now ended up half bald on the bottom, as all the glass ornaments one by one have made their way to the top half of the Christmas tree. It looks so awkward, but makes you smile too when you look at it. Because if it wasn't for the innocence of kids with such fascinations and spirit and loves for little things like Christmas balls and balloons and lights, and little things that warm the heart, what would life be like without it?

Once Bitten

2007-12-27T16:20:00.000-05:00

Today Thomas was hanging out with his friends down the street riding innocently on his new scooter he got for Christmas having a good old time scooting up and down the sidewalk with his friend Chase when he came across the neighbor hood Chihuahuas. These things mind you I cannot STAND! they bark at anyone who go near their house, go 50 feet across the street in front of their house {which is where the sidewalk is}see anyone in their line of sight they bark their heads off , there's a a little girl down the street who is PETRIFIED to pass the house they are so mean - she always asks if they're tied up. Thomas a couple times has walked her to her house after school she's so afraid of them. Anyway, Thomas was riding his scooter, and the owner was walking the 3 Chihuahuas-Pebbles,and I don't know the other two- I'll just say Cheech & Chong for now.. Thomas went to pass, and all 3 of them rounded on him and attacked him! Well he was never so scared in his life! All I heard was him screaming OWWW! MOOMMEEEE!! They bit me!!! I was in awe- you'd think there was a piece of meat strapped to his leg they way they went at him! Thankfully they didn't do that much damage to him that he got out of there as soon as they rounded on him , but still! WTF??! Can't kids play on the sidewalk anymore without having to worry about getting attacked by little ratdogs with attitudes? He wasn't going fast on his scooter- I could see if they felt threatened- like they were gonna get run over, he slowed down , because he was afraid of them and told the owner " excuse me" and the owner- he just smiled and said " sorry" and kept walking .. that was the lamest apology I've ever seen buddy! Don't even ask if he's ok or not! Jackass! I'm tellin ya -this neighborhoods goin to pot! My cars gets broken into and my cellphone gets stolen , my gas gets siphoned, { Tom's car anyway} people leave their dog waste in my trash can & mailbox, my kid gets bit by dogs n the owner could care less ... Nice neighborhood! Anyway, he wont let me touch the area yet, but it looks ok. I gave it Johnson's wound wash immediately a couple times -who knows what germs those dogs got? I gave it a band aid, so far its ok. His spirits are good. We'll check it out in the tub tonite.Those Damn dogs- I hate them! and I'm a dog lover! They're just vicious- those 3 ! They need Cesar Milan in a bad way!

Christmas Eve Mass

2007-12-24T21:35:00.000-05:00

Tonight Thomas sang in the Church choir for the Christmas Eve church services. He was so handsome,all dressed up in his good clothes and so sweet! Ma Higdon and I went to the mass to watch him perform. He looked just like a little gentleman, aside from the fact that he had just the slightest touch of stage fright given he kept coming over to me saying " I don't know my songs" , so I was give a piece of paper from his choir director's helper to mark off in his hymnal which songs he would be singing with the corresponding hymns marked on the board on the wall. well I earmarked the pages and showed Thomas the songs as well as the songs on the pages that would go in order so he could see for himself , but he was like "I can't do it" I was like" oh boy" He kept seeing more and more people fill in the church and was getting more and more nervous.. I told him to just take a deep breath and let it out slow , and that he'd be fine. Soon he saw Fathe Joe { he ADORES this Priest and he began to calm down} but soon a whole other problem began - he tried to sing but found he was too short for the microphone and was standing on his tippy toes and was till too short- why someone didn't see this and fix it I donno why.. but soon gave up but still tried to sing here and there anyway.. but got bored at times and started picking his nose! IN CHURCH! In front of A PACKED HOUSE! AAAGGH! I couldn't believe what I was seeing! Every time he caught my eye {and I made sure he did believe me} I would mouth Stop it ! that gross! No! and he would mouth back "I can't!" this went on for most of the mass. I don't know what drove me more crazy- the fact that he was picking his nose in public--a packed Church no less, or that I couldn't get to him and make him stop it since he was only 20 feet away! GAHH it was so gross watching him do that and at times look at "his prize"- ewww! I felt so mortified! Other than that, when Thomas finally reached the microphone, he sang very nicely, very sweet . It actually brought tears to my eyes. Once it was cute he raised himself a little too high and sang a word that just echoed too loud into the microphone -LOL it was like hitting a wrong note because hes more of an alto where the rest are close to say sopranos. The teacher was like "not so close'. I thought it was cute and so did everyone else. The mass also had a Nativity play which was also very sweet- this was the rest of his religion class friends. Kids volunteered to either play in the nativity or choir and I think Thomas is getting tired of choir , we shall see . All in all it was a very nice mass but also "interesting" shall we say and we had a nice chat on the way home about it.Hopefully we made a dent Until then, we had some Christmas Eve gifts to open And share our story with Daddy about how our night went. He's 6, I cut him a break- after all, it IS Christmas right? Lesson learned. Let's open some stockings!

What A Day!

2007-12-19T21:56:00.000-05:00

Ever have one of those days where nothing seems to go right? Today seemed to be my day. I woke up to the alarm, not wanting to get out of bed, finally did, brushed my teeth,got toothpaste on my shirt. Poop. Should'a saw the omen comin' right there.I got dressed and did my usual morning thing- made my berry tea to start things rolling, made Thomas' PB&J lunch, checked the weather, let the dog out and opened Thomas' door to give first call time to get up.He didn't answer, so it was a bit early to wake up Brendan, so I futzed around and made myself some breakfast until I heard Brendan and decided to have HIm wake him up. well, B accidentally hit his groin and he let an almight yell out and from that day on he was injured- his arm was broken-{ even though the 2 aren't connected} and he back talked me , wouldnt eat his breakfast, wouldn't get dressed till 10 min before we had to leave, thankfully Brendan was dressed, fed and ready to go as I anticipated this for some reason.I HATE HATE HATE when he gets like this! WHEN daddy leaves town, he he gets this "I don't have to listen to you " attitude that I want to strangle! so we finally make it out the door after him finaly getting dressed 5 min before we have to leave- he just dilly dallies and wastes time - I had been trying to get him dressed since 6 :55 it was now 7:40! Anyway, the rest of the day I cleaned-bathrooms,- Ew- closets- wee. recliners- sticky foods stuck on them- double eww. and stuff molded to my glass tables from 2 yr olds- double weee that I had to scrape off from my nice manicure- SO FUN!then pick up time- I looked like death and didnt want to show my face! I picked Thomas up and hurried back to the car and got home did some more cleaning ,the dog came in and got my nice clean floor all muddy - GRRR. I'll deal with YOU later.... the boys trashed the house as fast as I picked up after them! C'mon guys! Gimmee a break huh? Then it was dinner time {another fun time here when daddy's not here} I got smart mouthed and yelled at - I told him a thousand times to turn around and eat his dinner {Thomas] what do I get? a big fat loud OKAYYY!! whoah!Oh Hell No! That deserved a smart smack in the back of the head! I said "You dont yell at me! You watch your mouth and tone! I've had it with your smart mouth!" and he was upset and said he was sorry.. but had a look of anger in his eyes- I didn't like hitting him, but he doesn't get hit , and I think its time someone did. Then religion, he had choir first where he ran around like an idiot and didnt listen to sit down, and was all noisy- I said you're in church- not the playground- you have respect- he ran around anyway- UGGHH! Then the icing- as he was in religion, I sat in the parking lot with Brendan and watched a movie - "Mickey's Magical Christmas" on the DVD player- well when it was time to go home, my car wouldn't turn over! CRAP! This day just won't end! I must have drained the battery while watching the movie since I didn't have the car running.DUH. Won't do THAT again! Thankfully two nice men gave my car a jump with some cables that they actually went to look for! I thought that was really nice! I guess the best place to have your car go dead is at a church right ? You're BOUND to get help - no one will let ya go stranded! I was outta there in 30 minutes tops! After all that I just wanted to get home! Maybe have a stiff drink! Since that wasn't availiable, a nice cold coke would do ;) Kids are finally in bed and I can unwind . I'm hitting the sack now.I hope tomorrow will make up for today's chain of one after the other pain in the ass moments! Say Good night, Sleep tight, Hope tomorrow'll be alright!

Pinewood Derby Block

2007-12-18T09:17:00.000-05:00

We just had our pack meeting last night where the boys got their Christmas pesents that were their Pinewood Derby cars . Thomas opened his present at home last night and was like "what the"? He was expecting "a car" It was quite funny . This being his first year , he wasnt expecting a block of wood and nails and a wheels to come out of a box at him! I had to explain to him "no, you MAKE your car, and then in April , you have a race to see whose is the fastest and the best". he said "can I paint it?" I "said yeah! you paint it, sand it, put stickers on it, do anything you want to it, thats the beauty of it- everyone's is different"- he liked the sound of that and felt much better than getting a block of wood for Christmas! LOL

Busy Holiday Wrapup

2007-12-15T15:05:00.000-05:00

This week sure was a busy one! With Starting off volunteering at Thomas' school as I usually do, then coming home and making an early dinner because we had Boy Scouts Monday evening, then after that it was straight to bed, then Tuesday waking up, getting the kids ready for school as usual , Tom stayed home from work. We were going to try and get in some last minute shopping for relatives {gift cards and packing materials} after or during work while Thomas was at school, {which worked and didn't} Brendan would see stuff he wanted as would Thomas , Tom wanted to get me stuff , but we were all there and we were beter off separate but were shopping for relatives and spent money we shouldn't have- you know the deal!, so we come home, make dinner , get some more cleaning in, let the kids get some play time in,Wednesday, was a half day and even crazier as we had to NOW have ALL the presents BOUGHT,WRAPPED AND PACKED UP that were going to be shipped up north. Thankfully I had been storing boxes in the garage for months any shape and size that looked like they might work, and thankfully they had. THAT saved me a bundle on packing prices! I did my own labeling , and packing, all I had to do was the shipping. We sorted everybody out and boxed them up and taped them securely, labeled the addresses, and off we were to The UPS store. $130.00 in shipping later anyway, OY! Another reason why I SOOO want to move closer to my family! WAHHHH! Next year gift cards all around! They're an awesome family, don't get me wrong, I wouldn't have it any other way, and they're worth every penny! I love them to death. Just gift cards are a little lighter on the wallet..;) But now breathing a sigh of relief, I can officially say I am finally done and can relax- I ended the week with a trip to the salon and got my hair and nails done compliments of darling Husband. He said I was starting to look like Carrie from the movie-all I needed was pigs blood dumped on me- Point taken! So I got tips put on, and got my hair highlighted and the split ends chopped off, I must admit the time to myself IN irself was a gift right there being pampered :). As for the being done , I must say maybe not - I got cleaning to do for when company comes to visit for Christmas.. THEN I can relax... Wait then theres cooking, And clean up and the removal of decorations after that.. then theres New Years.. UGH No rest for the weary I guess! ;)

Supper With Santa

2007-12-06T21:30:00.000-05:00

Tonight We had a ball at Thomas' school where he had Supper with Santa. Carraba's catered dinner to the school, I believe it was Chicken Marsala, with ziti and a side salad. Really good! They also served cake and soda. The kids also received a free picture with Santa, then got to go outside and play in the snow. I know snow? in Florida? It was a patch of snow from the freezers or some sort where the kids gave a ticket and got to romp around for 5 minutes at a time - no throwing though- after a while it became mush and they "slushed" around but still had a ball! The kids also enjoyed a free train ride on A Thomas the train look alike train ride in the parking lot pickup area . And there was also Christmas shopping the parents and students could enjoy with the Gingerbread shop that was open for a small amount of time. All in All it was a fun filled evening that everyone enjoyed, and after we drove around looking for Christmas lights around town. A nice way to start off the weekend.

Choir Homework

2007-11-28T10:35:00.001-05:00

Recently Thomas was given Choir homework where he had to memorize the song "O Come O Come Emmanuel" for church. That's a pretty tough song for a six year old to memorize! So I found on You Tube a sort of Kareoke version for him that would make it a little bit more easier for him to learn the song and words and the way the way it goes without it being too boring.{click the lined bar uptop}. He enjoys choir, Why make it not fun? At the first of every month, he and a couple other kids in the choir sing at the children's mass at 11:00 On Sunday ,{ which will be this Sunday} so he's gotta have this song down. So I figured I'd make it easy on him by looking up this song for him . It being Kareoke style I think couldn't have been easier! What a score!

Got our Bobcat Badge!

2007-11-26T21:09:00.000-05:00

Tonight Thomas and I went to his Cubscout meeting where he recieved his Bobcat badge. He was pretty excited knowing he was going to receive this. You get this knowing the cub scout promise, the Cub scout sign, the handshake, knowing the pledge of allegiance,saying the law of the pack, the motto, the salute,and fulfilling safety rules- knowing what to do when a stranger approaches or you are caught in a posotion you dont like. - and he passed and is now earned his bobcat bagde! They did a little facepainting ceremony where I got painted a bit myself, they had nice little awards ceremony, and had some awards for some other scouts there- Wolf and Webelo, by this time the meeting was almost over, and we closed and cleaned up until next time,. Thomas really enjoys this, I'm real glad I enrolled him . Last week we went on a "Turkey shoot" {target practice } where he shot real bb guns -22's and bow and arrrows and such and had a ball and earned another badge for that -next week is a weekend camping trip - hopefully we'll be able to make that too- sounds like fun! for now, Here's our Bobcat badge . Movin' on up the line!

The tree is up!

2007-11-24T19:35:00.000-05:00

Today we put our Christmas tree up - well I did anyway! It was fun. I'm used to putting it up myself- Tom usually puts up the balloons in the front while I put the tree up inside. We got a new one this year as half the lights didn't work anymore on the old one and was a bit small as the ceilings are high here and didn't seem to measure up, and we seem to acquire more ornaments each year and it was getting crowded, so we decided on a bigger tree. This one is a 7 1/2 foot pre lit tree. It looks like we have lots more room for lots more ornaments too! When i set it up and was nearly done, Brendan let out a great big OOOOOOHHH! It was too cute. I put the plastic ornaments on the bottom to diverge him from taking the good ones and breaking them and cutting himself which seems to be working well,. I got him a Diego ornament which he keeps yanking off the tree along with Thomas' Transformers ornament. It's to be expected. I have more on order from Lillian Vernon. One for Brandy, A couple family ones , plus a stocking and holder for Brandy, ( guess she's sticking around if I ordered a stocking for her!} ;) Shes a good girl. Looks like it'll be a nice Christmas so far.. Lil budget minded, and I already miss the family tons, But that's what I still have to live with even though I still don't like it. I gotta wait 365 more days till next Christmas. But if I have MY way , I'll be up there sooner.. You wait n see!;) Till then, My favorite time of year is finally here!

Another Stone Bites the Dust

2007-11-15T13:43:00.001-05:00

Last night as far as sleep wise goes,didn't go so well. Tom slept like a baby, not so much for me.- It ended well, took Thomas to religion, watched some t.v., picked him up, unwound, kids went to bed, Then I went to bed, Snuggled,but then later on in the middle in the night , it decided to hit. My body decided to ditch another kidney stone. I have been having this problem off and on since I had switched my medication a few years ago. I'm supposed to be drinking more water, but I guess I'm not , and I guess it's my body's way of yelling at me and MAN I have no other means but to listen!It feels like you have the worst cramps or a hernia , it's hard to describe, I just know that its SOO painful !- They say not to lay down, but I'm in bed and its 1:30 in the morning! WHAT ELSE am I gonna do? I rolled back and forth , took some Tylenol, and Ibuprofen, praying it would kick in so so I could sleep. Course it took FOREVER, SO I just rolled and whimpered and got up and walked it off when I could . Finally around 4 AM I had to pee and it passed .THANK GOD! For such a small stone only a centimeter big it sure was painful! I feel sorry for all the men that have to go through this ! At least we women have a larger opening for it to pass down unlike you men - my heart goes out to you! What a relief ! I'm gonna go to bed early tonite {with a bottle of water} and catch up on some missed and needed and deserved zz's!

They're Not Real So Shut Up!

2007-11-13T09:29:00.000-05:00

I have these three ornaments by my pond in my backyard and they seem to drive Brandy crazy!! Every morning around 6:30, she barks like a madman - I'm thinking there's someone passing by the gate and she's trying to protect us by instinct, but when I go out back, she's standing by the pond just barking her head off barking at these! The neighbors must love me!! {dumb dog!} I swear I'm gonna hang her one of these days- she's sounding more and more like a Shepherd when she barks - I could see if someone or someTHING was in our backyard for her to be barking like the way she does but come ON!? PLASTIC ANIMALS?? gimme a break dog! DID they move? no. are they gonna move? no! stop bein retarded! Youre pissin off the neighbors! I got so annoyed I moved them to the front of the house to the front garden and perched the chipmunks on some rocks and the rabbit nearby and the frogs near a topiari plant to avoid anymore future annoyance!

Pinkeye

2007-11-12T10:07:00.000-05:00

Today both the boys are home sick with pink eye ! Where they got it , I have NO idea! Thomas woke up with both his eyes glued shut. How he found his way out of his room I have no idea! He said mom! I can't see! Poor thing! Then Brendan woke up and his eye was all watery and gooky in the corners , so I called the doctor and we have an appointment at 11:15. Talk about your double whammy! Brendan is acting all crappy on top of that too because he keeps going in his diaper and doesnt like the feel of it. Talk about a crappy way to start the week off! Well, wish me luck and pray this disappears quickly and T can get back to school and not miss much, and B can get back to his normal happy go lucky self. I'm just dreading the medicine - Not for Brendan as He LOVES taking medicine for some reason- i wonder if I should be worried about that..... Thomas hates ANYTHING that has anything having to do with his face- ESPECIALLY his EYES- and eyedrops- you have to PIN him down to put drops in his eyes- NOT fun! Im not looking forward to this at all!

Personality Test

2007-11-12T09:20:00.000-05:00

My Favorite Color..

My Dream Car...

I Find Most Beautiful..

My Favorite Meal Is..

Success Is..

My Dream House Is..

Love Is..

What Disgusts Me Most Is...

My Ideal Vacation Is...

My Biggest Weakness Is...

Relaxation Is...

Freedom Is...
I took this picture personality test on this site I go to to just play around and see what it would come up with -just basically click on the pictures that I felt right with, and surprisingly,this is what came up as my personality which came back I feel VERY much on the mark as how I would describe myself to others! Pretty freaky!

Temperament

Flexible
Nothing seems to bother you - you sail through life crisis free. It's not that your life doesn't have its ups and downs, it's just that you handle everything without unnecessary drama and antics. You approach each day fresh, not worrying about yesterday or tomorrow. You are confident that you can handle anything that comes your way and experience has shown that you are absolutely right about this.
Interests

Simple
You are continually pursuing a simpler and less complicated life - you don't allow yourself to fall victim to all of the "should do's" that society continually bombards you with. You are thoughtful about your life choices and think in terms of yourself, others and the world in which we live. You have a great sense that we are part of something much bigger and we must be good to others, if we want others and the world to be good to us.
Amusement

Thoughtful
You are easily stressed out and overwhelmed - you need to take care of yourself first and foremost. Because you tend to be self reflective, you know your limits quite well and must remember to not exceed those limits. When you overwhelm your life with obligations and responsibilities, you tend to shut down and go into yourself even further. Take some time to find your serenity and kick back your feet.
Passion

Emotional
For you passion is less about romance and sex - it's more about friendship and family. Strong emotional bonds and connections are your passion and your pleasure. You always let your loved ones know how much you love, respect and admire them. You do this through kind words, loving actions and simple gestures. You count your blessings each day and express your love openly. You expect the same from others.

Back on Track

2007-11-09T10:52:00.001-05:00

..I had started Brendan potty training since he was 16 months old. It was a bit premature probably, but given the cost of diapers these days I thought I'd give it a shot , Needless to say he's been doing pretty well with it. He would signal to me by walking to the door and whacking on it when he has to go, making Ahh ahh noises, looking at me standing at the door. Given that he can't talk, these are good signs to let me know he has to go! Given also he HAS fallen off the wagon and only gone once a day on the potty and the rest in his pants, and given me no signals at all. He's gone no days at a time.. and the rest in his pants- It's an uphill batttle where it can be a losing one at times. But I've found at three months in, and his love for stickers, I've found he's getting better. He's regularly pooping and peeing on the potty, and I'm throwing less and less diapers in the diaper pail, which saves me money on buyin box after box each month! I find myself only changing 4 diapers a day instead of 8. After falling off the wagon, we seem to be starting off the month back on again. We wake up each morning sittting on the potty, we pee, then after breakfast, we drop Thomas off at school, then we try again and are usually successful with a poo. . He loves getting his stickers which is a real incentive. Who knows? Maybe we'll have this thing licked sooner than we think if this keeps up? Here's our success for this month's week so far..
11/1 6:30 am- Peed when woke up
11/1 9:10 am - pooped & peed before nap
11/1 12:12 pm peed peed after lunch
11/1 7:15pm- pooped & peed before bed
11/2 6:30am- woke up &peed&pooped
11/2 8:30am- came home from school & peed
11/2 10:10am-pee after snack
11/3 6:30pm- pee & poo when woke up
11/3 7:00pm-pee before bed
11/5 9:30 am- pooped & peed before naptime
11/5 6:50pm- pee before bedtime
11/6 6:30 am- peed when woke up
11/6 10 am -pooped& peed before naptime
11/7 6:30 am-peed when woke up
11/7 9:45am-peed before naptime
11/7 pooped & peed before bed
11/9 6:30am- peed when woke up
11/9-9:30 pooped &peed before naptime

Brandy&Clyde

2007-10-23T14:29:00.001-04:00

Having to ban my two partners in crime from certain rooms sometimes breaks my heart but has to be done for their own good and my own sanity!Sometimes I think I have THREE kids instead of two!One chews the other ones toys while the other one pulls plugs outof the wall,and gets into just about everything and helps the other one get out of "jail" when shes being punished. They're a perfect match for each other who keep each other company all day long and I see a lifelong relationship to come! They are too cute together!

Jack- O- lantern time!

2007-10-23T10:48:00.000-04:00

It appears to be that time of year again where pumpkin festivals and Pumpkin picking and ahh yes , jack-o-lantern carving come to life! Saturday it started out bit of a miserable day with it drizzling, and the boys feeling not so up to par, and Brendan still feeling sluggish from him catching the croup.- WHERE he caught it, Heaven only knows! But he's been feeling much better though thank goodness! I decided to take them out for a little fresh air , even though it was a bit damp out- maybe not so smart. There was the Hunsader Farms Pumpkin Festival going on , with a petting zoo, clogging, good eats, face painting, the works. It rained while we drove there, but the sun came out and it turned out to be a really nice day. There as a barrel train to ride on, but the boys it turned out didn't want to do ANY of these things, given they were still feeling yucky from their getting over feeling sick. Oh well, you can't blame me for trying! We did however come home with a nice fat pumpkin for a Jack-o-lantern though, so last night Thomas and Tom carved him a good face that came out real nice it if you asked me! real friendly looking too! If there was an award for friendly looking Jack-o-lanterns, this one would take first place!

Tonsilitis!

2007-10-17T14:29:00.002-04:00

Today turned out to be not so good for the bombinos. Thomas yesterday got sent home from school with 100 degree fever and chills,so I had to go and pick him up from school, Brendan was cranky as heck, so I just figured he missed naptime. Dinnertime he wasn't his hungry self so I figured something must be up. He had a doctors appointment today so Id soon find out. It was a well check so nothing big. We woke up this morning, I was feeling much better as I myself had the chills and feeling like I was hit by a truck and watched Dancing With the Stars last night and hit the sack when that was over, I was all achey - donno why I didnt go to sleep earlier. Anyway, Thomas woke up with a fever and was coughing and feeling crummy, so he stayed home and I called the school again.I figured I'd take him to the doctor with me. Brendan woke up and he TOO had a fever of 99.5. Great. This morning's turning out JUST fine! He didnt want to get dressed, or eat,he was just a grump and looked like " some body just put me back to bed". We got to the doctor, and his fever was worse,101.4, and it turned out he has tonsilitis after having to pin him down to look in his ears and throat after him squirming and crying. He was supposed to get a shot and a checkup and be done with it, but when hes better we'll go back for that. Thomas just huddled in the corner crying make it stop! - He wasn't much help. So we stopped by Walgreens and picked up some Amoxicillan and put him down for a nap where he hasn't woken up yet.Its been almost 3 hours - he should be up soon. He needs the rest poor thing. Tonsilitis. Dang. any worse they can be removed- The doctor said he was really red. She said no wonder his appetite decreased he didnt want to eat. As for Thomas, well his appetite's always been crap. He's coming around I think- he just has this cough he can't get rid of but she didn't prescribe anything. Just to ride it out. Until tomorrow- I gotta get him back in school. Donuts with dads is tomorrow- Tom goes in and has breakfast with him- that'll get him to school..:) For now, Lots of juice and rest. And meds for my baby boy.. Ohh! he's up.. Gotta go!

Csi'd

2007-10-14T16:05:00.000-04:00

Today I've become yet a victim of another sleaze crime - again. I woke to a normal morning, even got to sleep in a little bit as I decided to go to the later mass at church as after the mass, Thomas had choir practice. Tom was going to go up to Mcee Dee's to get some breakfast and take my van, and said to go outside and look inside. He said did you do that? I said "what"? I looked inside, and my whole console was strewn all over my passenger side seat. CRAP. Apparently someone waited till we went to sleep last night and decided to break into my van and Toms truck last night. Someone was looking for something. I checked to see if anything was missing,Tom was missing his change. I found my cellphone charger was gone, and told Tom, and he said where's your phone? I checked my purse and just the clip was in it. We went to Olive Garden and ran some errands yesterday, and in the meantime I was charging my phone on the way, so I never unplugged the phone and put it in my bag. They stole my phone PLUS the charger, sons a bitches! So Tom called the cops and they came by and took a statement and dusted my car for fingerprints.We were able to provide them with the sim number and serial number of the phone which they said was helpful in case they try and pawn it- it'll come up stolen and they'll get arrested. But damn, first my purse gets stolen, then the next year I get plowed, then I go and get my car siphoned for the gas as well as Tom's , then someone goes into my car and steals my phone? I'm sorry but What the F!@#$??! What has this world come to? And that's just ME! Just think of everyone else out there. Theres this rehab place around the block from where we live, which is where I think my phone took off to ,{since they keep coming round here causing trouble - cops are CONSTANTLY THERE} I wish I could just go over there and beat the crap outta the delinquents that have been doing this crap, BUT I have no evidence or proof so I can only sit and sulk and be pissed and get on with my life and trust yet one LESS human being in my life. The only good thing that comes outta this is I get to pick out an updated model phone to replace my old one. Replacing all my old stored numbers is going to be a pain ! Ah well not every cloud has a silver lining. My phone gets stolen and my car gets CSI'd. nice. But they don't take the DVD player in the back- morons. Must'ave been kids- had to have.Tom called Sprint and they were closed. Customer service was closed- he was livid! Sure to OPEN an account they were open but to close one they were closed? But then tried another number and kept hanging up on him, so he pretended to open one and yelled at the girl and got the phone suspended until we get another phone so we'd have the same number.tThis way the person who stole my phone doesn't run up a huge bill by calling whoever. So , you steal a phone,now you cant use it, you pawn it, your ass is grass. HAH! whos laughin now? Teach you to steal from me! Lets just hope it works..

Goose Bumps

2007-10-09T16:46:00.000-04:00

It seems I've found a new man in my life.. Recently I put together a new blog in memory of MOM, and made up a playlist to compose some songs that I thought that would fit the purpose of the blog. Boy did get more that I bargained for! I came across Josh Groban who is a PHENOMENAl singer to put it lightly! The guy is only like 20 years old but sings like a 35 year old- the voice on him gives me goose bumps! I'm in love! He has this one song "Oceana" that puts me in tears every time I hear it, it's i believe the last track so far on the playlist , but there's others,like You raise me up, and he sings On Eagles Wings like none that I've heard! I'm going to ask for his CD for Christmas! He just gives me chills! I added a few of Moms songs that she liked plus a few others, I thought fit some. He's not only handsome, He's got the voice of an angel! Some body pinch me! heres the link to check it out http://oneaglswings.blogspot.com/

Ready for Halloween

2007-09-24T12:41:00.000-04:00

Well,I know it's still a month away,but it's getting to be that time of year again. Frankly one of my favorites- Halloween! and me and the boys were out Costume shopping yesterday.
Thomas is being a transformer - - just had HAD to be Optimus Prime and I heard they were hard to find so I got it off Ebay for 24 bucks- you know they were going as high as 70 dollars or more?? Thats just crazy! Thomas couldn't wait to try it on, then I saw it in Toys R Us for $19 -I wanted to spit! I got Brendan's- he's gonna be Tigger- He has this fascination with Diego and Tigger- Diego's easy just throw some clothes together and an orange backpack,- but -- The hair- ever see a blonde Diego? and I don't see him wearin' a wig for very long, so here they are trying on their costumes..now that that's outta the way, how do I stop Tom from buying and eating all the candy whenever we go food shopping? That's a task in itself! *sigh Some tasks are never done I guess.. ;)

Dig Dig Dig

2007-09-19T08:32:00.000-04:00

I looked out in the yard today and noticed the dog digging furiously into the back lawn. Ohh Nooo. Not another one. First Kota, Now Brandy. I guess I'm just going to accept the fact that dogs dig. Period. But this one, has a fascination with this sand patch, and the back part of the fence- I think there's something back there that she's dying to get at, because she digs so deep where I'm afraid she's going to slip under the fence! So I block it with a beam and the stone blocks we used for around the garden before we had it curbed. She got mad and barked at it! Dopey dog. So she dug another hole. I blocked it. and another , and I blocked it, and so on- she's getting pretty pissed by now where she's digging in FRONT of the stones to try and get under the fence! I think it's snakes because Tom said he saw snakes pop up in front and down and she started barking at them.Now she's taken to digging in this sand pit from last year where we had a pool and took it down because it was un level and got nasty from the rain and such so we just got sand -her whole head dissappears it gets so deep- I walked out in the grass at 6 in the morning to walk her half asleep and nearly took my ankle off from stepping in the hole!- I almost killed the damn dog! Ah well, such is the life of a dog I suppose, at least shes not digging every three feet like Kota did-She's a good girl Brandy-think she's a keeper - She's good for the soul and the patience..Lets you remember theres more to life than just grass..

My New Tiger Cub

2007-09-15T08:33:00.000-04:00

Friday I enrolled Thomas in the Cub Scouts. They sent home fliers with his Friday folders from his school to come join. I have been trying to get him enrolled in something after school besides his constantly shut in his room playing his blasted XBox, but couldn't figure out what to enroll him in! He's not very sports inclined, his patience isn't very up to par... and his sportsmanship and following rules can be improved upon, so that was out, He likes Karate, but it's expensive, so maybe next year, considering we might be looking at moving, so the flier came around to join the Cub Scouts for $15.00 including the Boys Life magazine and dues. That sounded PERFECT! He'd get to make things, make new friends, go camping, GET OUTSIDE, interact with people.. I think it was just what I was looking for! So we went down to the school and signed up. He even saw a friend or two he knew who signed up too.So He is now officially a Tiger Cub. Today Tom and Thomas went on a breakfast hike with the Cub Scouts which sounded like fun, I wish I could have gone, but had the baby, so I stayed home.When he completes it, he'll receive his very first badge! I used to have a backpack when Thomas was smaller and we would go hiking with him in tow, but just recently, dad had gotten rid of it. Shame. It's a nice father son bond for them anyway.I have to drive to meetings way out in Lakewood Ranch, so I'll take care of that part for US to bond I guess;),Hopefully Thomas will enjoy this, I have a girlfriend of mine who is a Den mother with the Cub Scouts and she just LOVES it! Anything to get him out of his room and away from his video gaming and interact with the REAL world! I just want him to have a REAL childhood like I had { I know it sounds Odd} But when WE grew up we were out until dusk and had to be hunted down and called in for dinner, but its a different age now- we played chase and Roller hockey and Red Rover or Kick The Can till we were called for dinner-now the kids all stay inside because its too damn hot to play outside or too dangerous! It's sad. You only have one Childhood and I just want the best for my kids enrichment wise and fun wise-anyone does-it'll be good for him school wise as well as psychologically wise building confidence and such. Hopefully he enjoys this.I look forward to hearing how his hike went with Dad.

Again With The Plant!

2007-09-04T10:07:00.000-04:00

There's something about the allure of my fake ficus plant and the grass that's in it that keeps seeming to draw the littlest of hands and minds and now even paws! Today I came out of Brendan's room playing with him, about to put the laundry in the dryer, and saw half my plant grass scattered across my linoleum floor! I was like what the?? DOG!!! Since we got her, she showed no signs of mischief, but she's a puppy, she's got to have SOME in her I suppose! Well here's some.. guess she got bored and had nobody to play with so started sniffing around and thought , OOOHH.. what's this? And started ripping it out of my plant and onto the floor, and even got it into her rope toy and scattered THAT around.. *sigh.. First Thomas, THEN Brendan, Now Brandy! Who's next? ANYONE? C'mon! While the wounds still fresh! I'm tellin' ya I'm gonna replace this damn plant if this keeps up! What's the fascination?

Back With Fish 'A' Plenty

2007-09-02T21:11:00.000-04:00

Tom and Thomas are back from their expedition of fishing. They left today around 2:30, to be at the marina to go on a party boat fishing together. Kind of a boys day. We were a little apprehensive that Thomas would behave himself, whine that he wanted to go home, yada yada.. But according to reports, He was pretty good. He was all excited that he caught three fish at once { the way his pole was set up } He was like Whoah! I caught three fish! and found a friend to play hide and seek with on the boat with a boy his age, was spying on TOm here and there and returned to fish some more, Generally had a real nice time. They came home smelling funky and had fish ranging from Snapper to Perches, - {I guess the Grouper were too smart for them}I stayed home with the dog and little guy so we had some fun on our own .. had dinner and went for a ride, then Brendan went to bed and I got to get some reading in and peace and quiet! They soon returned and filled me in on their journey. They met some nice people on the boat and sounds like a time Thomas will soon not forget! What I'm going to do with all these fish I have no idea, hope the raccoons are hungry because aside from the snapper, I've no idea how to prepare some of these! Hope I got enough vaccuum freezer bags because looks like I'm in for ALOT of filleting and vaccuum packing!

Back to School

2007-08-20T10:53:00.000-04:00

Today Thomas started First grade. At first he didn't think he knew ANYONE in his class and was real bummed and nervous. but when we walked in,he saw his friend Kaitlyn from kindergarten. He said Kaitlyn! Youre in here? and said "cool! " and turned around and saw his friend James from soccer, andsaid Hi James! " and said Look mom! James is here! " I know of a nother little girl Lauren who is also going to be in his class who he was friends with so I think he's gonna be alright ! I brought in some gooodies to start his teacher off like hand sanitizer and yarn and plates and spoons and forks annd ziplock bags and tissues - she was most grateful.. Thomas' nerves seemed to go right out the window once he saw some of his friend sfrom kindergarden were back in his class. I took a picture this morning -kinda crummy of his nerves- I should do another before and after when he comes home!Here he is this morning on his first day. Hopefully This afternoon when I go to pick him up He'll have a much different type of face on! and I'll have lots to hear about and how his day went!

Meet Brandy!

2007-08-16T09:35:00.000-04:00

I must write about our new addition. Her name is Brandy.She is a 9 week old part Labrador, part German Shepherd puppy. At first we weren't sure if we wanted another puppy after Kota. They chew, they have accidents,The kids become afraid,the list just goes on and on and on. So we we started our journey yesterday to Fort Myers. I picked Tom up from work, and we made our two hour journey with the kids through hellacious torrential rainstorms,watched jackknifed tractor trailers on the side of the road, stopped for numerous pee stops, hoping that this lil girl would soon be what we hoped for when we got there . We felt like we were almost obligated to buy here just from the journey! But when we finally got there, and saw her, we were greeted by this sweet little brown and black face with these sweet little brown eyes and waggly brown tail and she was just so happy and full of gentleness and love that we just HAD to get her! So we got some last minute do's and don'ts from her owner, when her shots were and were due,paid her and started the journey home which went VERY well! She sat in my lap all the way home, By the time we reached Sarasota, we stopped by Ma's to see how she'd do with KiKi { the ultimate test} and they got along like good friends so then it was time to go home. She spent the night in our room so as not to go peeing in the house just in case and she wound up sleeping on our bed and getting up 3 times to go outside which went well as she pooped n peed 3 times. I decided to pick it up in the morning as I couldnt see a darn thing! Now SHES asleep as I wish I was! the kids were a bit on edge and forgot she came home with us, but are warming up to the idea of having a new puppy in the house . She DID have an accident in Thomas' room this morning when she went in to say hello, and was immediately put outside which we were told would happen - she has to adjust. She seems to have take n to the house great and I look forward to many fun times with the kids playing our new bundle of fur!

7 Years And Counting

2007-08-05T20:13:00.000-04:00

Today marked the 7 years that Tom and I have been married. Seven years. Wow. We've KNOWN each other since we were 15. That's what? 22 years? Granted we didn't date for that long, we did in High schoool , then wwent our own ways but still, we got alot of history under our belts, it's almost as if we did. We've had outr ups and downs ad ins and outs and wanted to kill each other and call it quits at times, but hey? what young married couple doesn't? We try and stick it out as best we can and try and think of creative ways to solve matters and make things work and better our marriage for the sake of our marriage and that we love each other deep down and especially the fact we got two amazing little boys now that neither one of us could survive without! so we make it work come hell or high water {some days its just hell!} ;) No really , Lots of times it's just me- I can get really slow in the brain when it comes to doing things and I just don't think and it winds up in the end being my fault and we get in a fight, I try and talk my way out, but I am the worlds WORST litigator! He's a fantastic man, and I donno what I did to deserve him,but I must have done something right in my past! We shared the day by going to the beach with the kids- the water was perfect- temerature like a bathtub, and crytal clear- Thomas even had a friend to play with in tha sand and water, while Brendan romped in the shallow end with me in the water and hung in the cabana we had in the shade and played - while Tom and I got some sun. Just a really nice beach day. I bought him a nice silver engraved clock for his desk ,and some lingerie {for me of course to wear for him!;P}and he made me a delicious surf and turf dinner- - he always WAS a great cook- by far much better than me! Ma came over and shared dinner with us , all in all we had a very lovely evening. We joked about having the "7 year itch" But really now that we think about it, the "itch" wasn't really as bad as we thought! Happy Anniversary Babe! I love you!

Tom's Anniversary Present Adventure

2007-08-03T20:40:00.000-04:00

Rain Rain Rain. The boys were starting to get cabin fever, so we decided to go to the mall and get Daddy's anniversary gift before he comes home tonight from Viginia on business. While we were there the boys played at the little play area that's there and blew off some steam. Thety had a ball! This play area is made of soft foam made into animals and cars and logs and bugs that the kids can climb on and such and has a soft foam floor so if the kids fall they just get right back up. there's also spinning things for kids Brendan's age and mini canival mirrors, they LOVEd this place- Brendan didnt know where to go first! I let them play for an hour or so, running their little legs off, then devcided to get som Chick fil -a for lunch, then get a clock for Toms desk , and thought some lingerie too. wel, after we placed the order for the engraving on the clock, had some lunch, we went to Victoria's Secret. Well, Thomas stops dead in his tracks and practically yells " OOHH NOO! I'm not going in there! " well this old lady was doing her best not to start cracking up . She did a good job of hiding a snicker, but I said " aww cmon, I promise it won't hurt and I'll be quick , I know what I want". I said 'why don't you wana go in? he said cause "I'm a man and men don't go in here" LOL :rolleyes well we went in anyway and he would take babysteps going in step andstop . step and stop - I said well I'll be in here- i wanna be able to see you" so I fint what I want. and he comes over to the bras, and says " I know what these are for, {squeezing them} these are for boobies" lOl Oh Lord get me out of this alive!" then Brendan-my one handed bandit starts yanking panties off the tables nearby and throwing them on the floor from his stroller! I'm like guys cmon! youre killin me! so I quickly find my size and find some stockings and zoom on up to the cashier where Thomas starts spraying the bodysprays behind me going " mom!mom ? how 'bout this one Pssht! this ones nice! [another one pssht! this ones stinky! aaargh! i was like"put that down... I dont want that today thanks. maybe next time. " 'Just come mind your brother while I pay.. So I paid and GOT the HELL outta there! Note to self, no more ladies shoppin with the boys-those days are done .*sigh* Next i got convince to spend a half hour at the play area before we headed home after picking up the clock { which came out really nice I have to say}Then as we got home it was getting late so we had Mckee dee's and called it a night since we found Toms flight was gona be delayed and the dinner I took out was more than enough for me and two kids , so we decided to save it for tomorrow and treat ourselves. All in all anothe good day with me & the littlins

Drainer Drivin

2007-08-01T11:18:00.000-04:00

Today was cute. Thomas and Brendan decide the wanted to do some what I call " drainer driving" around the family room. At first I thought brendan was gona be too scared, and want to cry and get out, but being the daredevil that he is, he had a ball !it was actually quite funny anfd fun to watch! Thoma took Brendan, took my dish drainer, and scooted him around the linoleum floor as fast as his little body could push him! Brendan was all smiles! He thought htis was the best ride ever next to his carseat! When Thomas would slow down to catch his breath, Brendan would rock back and forth as if to say more! more! I just had to get my camera and snap the two of them fo future memories and tell them what they used to do witheach other- this how childhood memories are saved!

Gotta Go Mom!

2007-07-18T09:39:00.000-04:00

This morning after dropping Thomas off at Karate camp, I unlocked the door and put Brendan down to take the keys out of the door, well he walked over to the bathroom door and pushed it open and went ummm? I was like huh? in total shock I said " you gotta go potty"? Now keep in mind, every day pretty much I have been putting him on when he wakes up and after breakfast or lunch to see if he has to go and reward him with stickers like I did with Thomas if / when he does go and praise him So he kinda got it in his head that going potty = yay! So today he went a step further and I donno if it was an actual fluke or not, but he in his way TOLD me he had to go. Good thing I was paying attention because he made a good windy followed by a good size # 2 and clapped his hands cause he knew he did good - he was so proud! He just turned 16 months not bad for getting potty training on track for that age no? Yay Brendini! Proud of you cookie!

It's Raining!!

2007-07-16T16:25:00.000-04:00

After months of it being dry as a bone,hot a hell, parched as a stranded man in a desert- Well you get it! It hads finally happened... God just can't hold it in anymore! IT"S RAINING!! We may have had a passing shower or 20 minute "piddle" here or there, but really didn't make much of a dent in things. It's been thundering and lightening, and I mean real Cracka boom poop in your pants kinda thunder! I jumped outta my skin a couple a times and Brendan nearly had stroke here and there. My front flowerbed is flooded, basically all around the house it's flooded, my mulch is about to float away and theres 4 " of mulch there, my pond is about to overflow, and that was real low, Tom put some water in there yesterday, But still we got some good inches dumped on us in a short period of time. Granted we still need LOTS more to make up for the drought we've been experiencing this past few months but I'd say this was a good start! My plumeria was so dying of thirst you could see the veins through the leaves- I put the hose in the pot and left it on for 15 min just to help it along the stalk s had bent over and stayed that way from the weight of the them. but now I think itll be all right. Thank you Mother Nature we need this rain so very much! Keep it up even though the sun is so welcoming we ned the rain maybe nighttime when everyone is asleep an sun while were awake? just a suggestin- to keep everyone happy? ;) Here comes some more... cool!

Home From the Hills

2007-07-11T14:08:00.000-04:00

Now that we're back from our Vacation at Dad's, I can't help thinking about what a great time we had .And how close the boys became while we were there.Now that Brendan is walking , He just wants to be with his big brother- sometimes thats a good and a bad thing because sometimes Thomas just wants to be left alone to play or whatnot, and B just doesnt understand and gets upset- Hes like "I thought we were buds! ' The things Thomas teaches Brendan is less to be desired like hand farts and rasberries and such , but such are boys I guess! We had such a nice time up therein the Catskills and they behaved themselves so nicely -there was no arguing - or jealousy going on, in fact I made it where I divided my time where we would do some special thingstogether just "US" just some quality time like Thomas and I went down to the waterfall to check it out together, which he really enjoyed, and we went on a tractor ride the three of us, or Brendan and I went on little walks, Real nice.. The weather was cool, but nice compared to the blazing humidity here was jusrt a whole other world.I can't wait to back again.Between the fresh mountain air, and crisp water, I know where I want to retire when I do! I miss my Brother and Dad already - as well as the rest of my family that I didn't get to see- Maybe another time. But what a beautiful area,. I'm already saving up to go back again! I took so many pictures , but so glad I did because now I have so many memories of fun to look back on to do again next time and even add on a few more!

Grandpa's; {updated}

2007-06-23T14:05:00.000-04:00

So far we're havin a good time at Grandpa's- the boys are bein REAL good - we had a flight from hell- Brendan sat on my lap and was fidgety and cried most the time I think because of his ears not popping - who knows? Then he had a poopy diaper ON the plane that had to be changed in the bathroom- try and imagine THAT one! He had his head pinned aginst he corner of the wall while laying on the floor while I was sitting on the toilet changing him! You can't get any more cramped or uncomfortable or inconveinienced than that as far as diaper changing goes! And I couldnt get ANYTHING out my diaper bag to sooth him because he was on my lap and I couldn't reach anythin without hitting my heat on the seat in front of me or hittng the brim of my hat n the seat in front of me for that matter- VERY frustrating! - THEN THE POWER WAS OUT AT THE TERMINAL -so they had to bring stairs and do the luggage manually and let us sort through it, and we had a giant rainstorm..when we got home, it was like what's next?it's a bit chilly here and I didn't pack sweaters because they said nice weather- never trust a weatherman! But its shaping up nicely.. cant believe a week is gone by already! Brendan is walking more n more steps and trying to talk - I took a picture and he said "cheese'! so cute! He says "Hi" now too to everyone and got swiped by dads cat and keeps bonking his head from walking n falling. Thomas is being the man so He's tooomuch lately but being VERY good for me... But I almost hung him because we came out of a store yesterday and he jumped in front of a moving car- I almost had a stroke! I yanked him back and gave him the lecture of his life until he was in tears. We saw a momma n baby deer while on a drive through the mountainside- too cool! Today we're going to a graduation party, so lots going on! We'll back home next Sunday.The time is just flying by! I'm sure all will be happy to be home and happy to have us home, for now I'm just enjoying our stay and loving the views and company and weather and fun times.

Slap 'A Color

2007-06-17T21:30:00.000-04:00

We just had our house painted today . Thought it was time for a change. Here's the before and after- For two guys they did a nice job- had it power washed,spackled it, roof and even did the garage floor ..here's before and after.. I thought it came out pretty nice- brings out the landscaping more and gives it a bit 'a charachter whereas before it was missing a little something- like a blank slate.. Now it had a bit of attitude :)

Going to Grandpa's

2007-06-17T13:59:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow Me & the boys are going to dad's upstate . Tom I'm sure will be glad to have us out of the house so he can get some work done and have some peace and quiet! SO if anything exciting happens online, I won't be able to find out until I get back. Dad has internet, but it's dial up since he lives in the mountains and it's Reeeeeaaallllyy slllloowwww!! so I can't guarantee anything but I'll try and check in I'll bring my camera and be sure to post pics- you know me- picture taking freak! I'm really looking forward to going- it should be a fun experience for the boys too- there's alot they can explore and do Wish us luck!

They Just keep Growing!

2007-06-07T10:05:00.000-04:00

So Busted!!

2007-06-06T15:38:00.001-04:00

I'm cleaning the house today, { the bathroom in my room} and I asked Thomas to keep on an eye on his brother while I'm doing this so I can get it done, He says "OK mom" he's usually good at this and if he does something wrong to him I'll hear a " brendan! bad baby! even if he looks at him wrong LOL so I figured I'd hear him across the house.. well, I had to come out for more paper towels , and this is what I find ,, Thomas playing Xbox jumping up and down, and This..

When Ya Gotta Crash..

2007-06-05T13:55:00.000-04:00

While I was surfing on the computer, the boys were playing, {so I thought - I DID notice the lil guy was a bit quiet for a while} I noticed a slight whimper, and looked over to find Brendan passed out in front of the television. I guess it was naptime! I would have preferred lunchtime since it was so close , but his internal clock said otherwise! So I took a quick snapshot and gently passed him off to his crib for a quick nap. We'll have a quick nap and then some lunch , then head over to Grandmas house when he wakes up and go to the community pool for a nice swim in the afternoon. Its heating up nicely. He won't be so cranky either. When ya gotta sleep ya gotta sleep who cares where it is right? As long as theres a soft spot to lay that sweet head?

First Catch

2007-06-03T20:55:00.000-04:00

This evening Tom and Thomas went fishing together before he goes to Virgina this week and well, Thomas caught a fish! he was so proud! Its nothing to sneeze at, but the look on his face is too cute- Its his first fish he ever caught and well, you just know these things have to be documented! so here ya go! Thomas' first catch...

I Love My Family!

2007-05-29T20:36:00.000-04:00

My Kindergarten Graduate

2007-05-22T20:34:00.000-04:00

I just have to say how fast time goes these days. My lil boy is graduating Kindergarten already.. I donno to whether to laugh, smile, cry, hold my head up or all of the above! It was just yesterday I was visiting him in the NICU everyday for 2 weeks praying for his lil butt to come home and him yankin a feeding tube out of his nose by himself , and dealing with his temper tantrums and the potty training, and here he is movin on to first grade in the fall! Boy this year went fast! Too fast! I had a baby , and even HE'S past the one year mark already! ssomebody stop the clock for just a minute so I can catch my breath and just stop and watch for just a fleeting moment please!! My Gahd! Where does the time go??! Congradulations baby Boy! You did it! Onto 1st grade we go!

Day at Universal

2007-05-20T15:34:00.000-04:00

Yesterday we decided to to go to Universal Studios in Orlando.First We decided to pack the night before and lay our clothes out so we would just have to make breakfast and be on our way and get there early. Well, Thomas, As excited as he is, Wakes up at 6:30 in the morning, gets fully dressed, comes in our room, and says, "everybody, it's time to get up, " it' s time to get ready and leave..'" I was like {half asleep}" dude, it's 6:30 in the morning, the park doesn't open for another 3 hours.." He didn't care ,he was rarin to go ! So we got up and got ready to go - it was gonna take a couple hours to drive there anyway, by the time we got there it was 10 anyway, so he was right on time.. Back to the story,- What a blast! We decided to purchase the express pass for 30 bucks more that took us to the head of the line and not wait in line for the whole day on each ride- What a concept! The longest we waited was 5 min! Thomas had a blast ! Jaws came up right in his face! He nearly fainted on the spot!I wish I had pics for that but no cameras were allowed for the ride- bummer! Brendan Had a blast too- They had kiddie things for him so he had just as much fun!Thomas' favorite ride was the Spiderman ride of course but the 3 D rides I think were the coolest! Tom n Thomas went on this water ride that got them absolutely SOAKED to the bone! they were wet for the rest o fthe day! LOl Terminator 3d was cool- Thomas was reaching out to touch the robots that looked like they ere right n the audience, then Tom n Thomas went on an E.T. ride that you pedaled across the sky which sounded cool- I watched Brendan- we took turnes watching the baby and taking Thomas on rides so we both had fun going on rides and watching the baby . All in all it was a really nice day. We did the park hopper, so we did Islands of Adventure too-we did that first, then did Universal second. We ate at The Hard Rock Cafefor dinner and ate upstairs amongst The Who memorabilia and Woodstock stuff - Very Cool! They had awesome Food And we an awesome Day! Kids were passed out by the end of the day and was a silent ride home which is always nice for reflecting on the day and grabbing a moment of peace and quiet with your sweetie .;)

Happy Mother's Day '07

2007-05-13T19:43:00.000-04:00

Today started out quite beautifully for Mother's Day if I do say so myself. Vibewise, as well as weather wise. Forecast called for hazy,partly sunny, but in the 90's no rain. Alhough we need it so desperately. My Mother's Day actually started last night, when Tom coooked me an AWESOME crab raviolli in vodka sauce dinner from scratch with shrimp which tasted just too good to say! I also recieved a dozen yellow roses, and wasn't allowed to lift a finger to do anything, so I took the time to give myself a manicure and pedicure. We watched T.v. with the kids, and went to bed and had fun. This morning , Thomas woke us up, and I was greeted with more presents { did I mention I LOVE getting presents?} I got a picture frame with a picture of Brendan and I from Brendan- TOO sweet! A shadow cutout and card from Thomas that he made in school that is WAY cool that I want to frame, and a star sapphire necklace from Tom {Brendan's birthstone} he was gonna do half amethyst { Thomas' birthstone} and half star sapphire, but it had to be ordered, so he did all star sapphire- I love it- I love ALL my presents I feel so lucky to have such Awesome men in my life! After that, we had breakfast, and got ready for church, then after church we went to the marina where there's fountains and a park there to play at so the boys had a ball playing at the park and cooling off from the heat splashing in the fountains. Then after that { 4} it was time to head home and think about dinner . We decided we'd pick up some subs from the supermarket and some chips and call it a night and Tom would play some X Box with Thomas, and I would chill with the baby. All in all I would have to say it's been a great Mother's Day. Now to pop Brendan in his swing with a cup of milk, wrap up loose ends, put on Home Makeover and my day to night is just perfect. I couldn't have asked for a better Mother's Day if I tried except to have spent it with my family up north. Someday, Someday.

Bathtime For Two

2007-05-10T21:25:00.000-04:00

Tonite the boys took a bath together to save some time so they could wind down and get ready for bed and I could actually watch some t.v and have some me time without it getting too late and get to bed at a decent hour. Brendan brought in his Little people I had from This Fisher Price train set I bought off Ebay, and Thomas just hung and splashed around. They love each other to death its so great to have them get along so well! Even in the tub. Usually, I'll wash Brendan and have Thomas jump in, But this time he wanted to take a bath w/ him so I was like fine by me! Now The little one's out cold and ready to be put in his crib, and Thomas is about to be put to bed. I finally can watch my Thursday shows in peace! Thomas is a little leery because theres a lizard lurking around his room and he's afraid to go to sleep afraid itll attack him in the middle of the night!LOL .I told him it's more afraid of you than you are of it- you're like a giant to it so just relax and go to sleep. He was cool with that logic. Having two boys has its perks I guess - save on water by bathing them at the same time.. Only for a while though I'm sure ...

First Time Swimming '07

2007-05-08T19:55:00.000-04:00

Today we went to Thomas' friend Alex's house after school for a playdate. At first it was just going to be just Thomas, but since Tom is out of town on business, Alex's mom Maureen said, "why don't you and the baby come over too, and you can relax and jump in the pool and have some fun for for a couple hours, and Brendan can play here , we've got lots of toys to play with" . At first I was Like" I donoo" this is Thomas' time" But then Thomas asked if I was gonna come, so I guess that made it alright. It DID seem like fun. I had nothing to do anyway , And I DO love hangin' out in the pool! So I said Why not! While he was in school , I made up a bag to take along, - lil swimmers for Brendan, a bathing suit for him, extra clothes,diapers, snacks, bra n stuff for me, sun lotion, extra clothes for Thomas, his swim suit, all the necessities for a fun time. all I needed was a swimsuit- the ones I had were thongs and bikinis and weren't really appropriate to wear to a playdate s house if get what i mean- un cooth. So I went to Walmart and picked up a onepice my age and style. Even Thomas said Nice Mom! now you look like a lady! LOL that could be a good thing or a bad thing! I've been dressing like a Ho in front of my kid for X amount of years it been too embarrassing for him to say, or what! Any way, I'm NOT gonna go dressin like a Hoochie momma to my kids playdates- thats just wrong - I got more class than that! I wasn't raised on no Jerry Springer show { which I HATE By the way! } So i got one the day before and had the bags ready so when I picked him up, we'd go straight to Alex's house which was right on the way home. Boy were they excited! They were yelling and shouting and beaming with excitement they couldn't control themselves! LOL Thomas wanted to ride in Alex's car, so I gave him his carseat and said why not, and followed them there. We got there in 5 minutes or less. Had a snack, and Brendan made himself at home with the toys on the back lanai. He was in heaven! The boys ran around with plastic swords playing pirate and Bionicles, and Maureen and I sat and chatted and played with Brendan. It finally came time for the kids to go in the pool . They had a BALL! At first Thomas was a little leery, because he has this thing about getting his face wet, but once he saw how much fun Alex was having, he forgot all about that . They gave him this swim vest, as he can't swim all that well and is a bit skittish of the water,{ but soon forgot about that too} and was soon jumping in the water and doing the Cha- cha and swirling around on Alex's back and almost going into the deep end ! He didn't want to come out after a while! After an hour and a half, the water rats finally came out . As for Brendan, his first time in a pool, I think I'll have a Navy Seal on my hands! He was sticking his face in the water, blowing bubbles, laughing, floating on his back, kicking his feet, getting his head wet,floating on his stomach, just lovin every minute he was IN the pool! I wish I had pics of it, but its hard to take pictures when you gotta hold the baby as well. So pics of him are limited but he had the time of his life! I enrolled them both in swim class at the end of May, so that looks like they're both going to do very well if this keeps up. Dad has a friend with a pool up north when we go visit him after school's out, so I at least have an idea how they'll do when we go visit in a month. So first time swimming turned out to be a big success. I look forward to many more of these successes down the road if this keeps up- hopefully if life treats us well maybe someday we can get a pool of our own someday. Wouldn't that be something? That would just be awesome!

We Need Rain!

2007-05-08T10:53:00.000-04:00

I was getting Thomas ready for school this moring and taking out the trash and recyclables when I noticed the neighborhod smelled like smoke! I thought one of the neighbor's houses was on fire. It didn't look that way, but smelled it, . The sky was also very hazy, and the lake across the street is also VERY bone dry. We SO need rain her it's not even funny. There has been a forest fire up in Georgia for the last few weeks that has annihilated THOUSANDS of acres in Waycross I believe it is like 100,000 I think its up to so far, that the smoke is travelling all the way down to the Tampa Bay area. I asked our neighbor if HE smelled it and he said it was a forest fire in Sarasota . Which I believe, but on the radio, they said if you woke up to smelling smoke, it was the Georgia fire and the winds carrying it down to the Tampa Bay area which I can believe as well. It can also be the combination of the two as well. There was this weekend some thunder rollling through because it was so hot - like 95 degrees , and read there was some lightning, so there was probably some lightning that hit some dry ground and sparked some more fires since we've had like NO rain yet and this is SUPPOSED to be our rainy season right now! Here's a link of the deal so far of what's going on so I'm not making this up http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18541799/ Maybe I'll try and start doin a rain dance soon if these wilfires dont let up because as much as I love the sun, WE NEED RAIN!! And SOON! Before sunny Florida becomes Blackened Florida! Gonna have to chabnge the name from the Plywood state to the wildfire state.

Off to San Fran

2007-05-07T12:38:00.000-04:00

This morning Tom left for traveling for work again. Kind of a long one- A Week long. He left for San Francisco. Lucky dog. I hear it's really pretty out there,. I also hear there's not so pretty parts as well- Like homeless people strewn all over and and gangs and such , but that's pretty much all over . The last time he went, He brought home some really nice pictures. So I don't see what he's whining about. Its all business, like conferences and meetings but I know for a fact he's going to dinners and even taking in a baseball game paid by the company so it can't be all that bad! I hope he has a good flight there and back. He woke up at 3 this morning, took a shower, left at like 4 to be at the Tampa airport by 5 :15,had a 6:00 flight, landed in Dallas by 9:00, called me then and now I believe is headed to San Francisco which its now 11:30.Basically an 8 hour flight- BORRRRing! Hope he gets to eat or sleep or SOMETHING!As for me, I already was encountered by Jehovah's witnesses this morning at my door- I told them I go to church, but that didn't stop them as they tried to preach to me anyway.. I told them I was working so they left me pamphlets and told me theyd be back- Joy. ;Rolleyes. I can't stand them they're as bad as telemarketers only on foot. So it's Me n the boys this week . The separation of Me n Tom will be good for us - the last few months have been bumpy- we were ready to have a smack down. W ith money being tight, and bills the way they are, and things getting at us, cabin fever is setting in and well, we need this little break. So he's off and I'm in charge of the lil ones. Hope we have fun. I know Thomas is gonna try and take advantage of me as usual - not this time- no more games- I'm on to him. He gets outta line I just hit him where it hurts. In the box- the X Box - just take it away, and hes putty in my hands. Plus I'm DETERMINED to get that kid to ride his bike! I didn't buy him a bicycle for his birthday so it can become a mountain for the spiders in the garage! He's gonna get out there and ride it and lose those training wheels dammit! He's 6 years old for God's sake! When I was six, my mom held onto the back of my bike, and helped me ride it, I crashed ito a tree, but got right back on and rode it , till I was jumping curbs and riding it like a horse! And he's gonna do the same! This weeks gonna be fun! We'll make daddy proud! No son a mine's gonna become an indoor hermit! It's beautiful out there and we're gonna take advantage of the nice weather when he comes home!

Lets Go Bye Bye's

2007-05-06T18:27:00.000-04:00

Today Brendan was DYING to get out of the house and go somewhere- ANYWHERE! It was too cute! He has been that way lately. As soon as he sees me or Tom pick up our keys, He hightails it toward the door! Once we were joking around with him said "Brendan wanna go Bye Bye?" and he was like a dog going after an invisible stick just hightailing it to the door, and when he got there, he turned around and was waiting for us to come too so we could put him in his carseat and go somewhere! I felt so bad, I had to think of somewhere to go just to make it up to him. LOL . So I asked, Do we need anything? Maybe for supper? make a southwest salad? I'll go up and get some tomatoes and peppers and cukes and olives and lettuce and onions- got chicken at home, and take him with me for the ride..poor thing - he just LOVES going for rides! I think I found me a new shopping buddy! Just bring a drink and hes good to go -doesnt complain, loves the view and the people LOVE his eyes- he's a people person if I ever saw one - he puts a smile on every persons face that we come across.. My little sweetheart.He can come with me anytime.

Misrun Charity

2007-05-02T19:03:00.000-04:00

Lately I just don't get it. And apparently, neither do they! What am I talking about you say? Charities. For a while, I was really on a giving spree. I was just in a really contributing kick- not that I could really affford it either; something just got a hold of me and when the charity felt right,to me,I gave to it. Like Cystic Fibrosis -My friend Tony Jackson from when I was like 11 years old died from it, March of Dimes, myself and brother were both preemies as well as a friend whos daughter was born at 25 weeks. FLorida PBA- My brother's a cop- Epilepsy Foundation- I have a seizure disorder- you get the picture. There's others that have no connection that just came out of the woodwork I guess they saw in the system I was giving and wanted to jump on the bandwagon and suck me dry too. so I figured why not like D A R E - Drug Abuse Resistance Education, Kids wish network and St Judes . But now more and more Charities aren't seeing a penny from their earnest contributors like myself -like D A R E and Kids Wish Network .Alot of the money isnt making it to their destinations - its going to circulations and bills and such and not where its SUPPOSED to go to the charity itself which is sad which is what Kids Wish network 's issue is. [20/20} so i cut them off.and now DA R E isn't owning up to their charity either they aren't seeing much of a dime, so I cut them off as well. I decided Hell, no more. Everyon'e getting cut off if this is the case until further notice! It's sadbecause so many needy people and kids need this money and people- STUPID greedy irresponsible people gotta go and screw the system up. I guess in the long run it saves me a bunch of money, but it's really a shame actually. I wonder where all the money is actually going when you figure all the people donating and the majority of the money isn't even actually making it to some of these charities. Some of the others ARE legit-don't get me wrong- not ALL of them are scammers, in fact the majority are run extremely professional for years,there's just some that that just blew it big time! I just stopped donating because I felt so betrayed. Ah well, whaddaya gonna do? Ya gotta get burned to learn I guess...

One Year Today...

2007-04-30T21:53:00.000-04:00

Today marked the one year anniversary of Mom's death. It wasn't a very happy day, I started it last night actually by ordering flowers online -- the same type of flowers I had dedicated from her funeral spray from Me and the family- yellow roses and stargazer lillies and snapdragons- Stargazer lillies are kinda my signature flower to know its from me :) . I had them sent to Deb's house so when she went to the cemetery to visit Mom today, she could take them with her and place them at Mom's stone for me. That's the thing about being way down here- I can't visit my family or Mom when ever i want like they can and it really pisses me off and Tom has no inclination of ever moving back -.After I ordered the flowers, I called Deb and let her know the flowers would be coming tomorrow, then went to bed and said a prayer for Mom and broke down and had a good cry after talking to her took her picture of us on my dresser and went to sleep. I woke up an hour or so later and called Doug and dad and chatted a bit told them I loved them, we talked of Mom then hung up and went back to sleep as I had to get up early and volunteer at Thomas' school at the book fair his school is having. It did me good as it took my mind off for a while, and before I knew it, it was 10:30 and time to go home.By the time I got home, made lunch, took care of Brendan and housework, the day was half over . My mind was pretty much occupied for the day. Before I forgot I went to church and lit a candle for Mom and said a prayer for her to the Blessed Mary. Then I had to race back and go pick up Thomas from school and by the time I was home it was 3:10, and I had to keep them quiet for the rest of the day because Tom works from home doing conference calls all day so that's always fun - yeah so are getting shots! Before we knew it it was time to make dinner and then off to bed and time to relax This day just whizzed by. It's almost as if I didn't have time to reflect and mourn and miss Mom - I kinda feel guilty! I still have that empty hole in me that i wonder if will ever go away .. I'm thankful my mind was kepy occupied, but still had the solemness that kept Tom a bit baffled as to what the hell was wrong with me today - He thought I was mad at him- I said today's the anniversary of my Mom's death- I'm just not in the mood today - he was like "oh yeah"... and just left me alone. Little by little the hole will heal I guess. The question is - Do I ever want it heal??Anyway, I love you Mom, we miss you, always have, always will. Thank you for watching over us and keeping us safe, and may God Bless you as well, as you are at peace now and free from sickness . You're where you spent half your life teaching others about His wonderous love, life and eternity. What goes around really DOES come around! "Live in me and I shall live in you".. Ironic..:) God Bless You Mom You are forever loved and missed.

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2007-04-22T16:56:00.001-04:00

Brendan's Baptism

2007-04-15T21:54:00.000-04:00

Today was Brendan's Baptism . What a day. First it started out stormy. Then it turned sunny. At church they forgot to turn on the air conditioning and I thought I was going to nearly pass out from heat stroke!Thomas looked so handsome in his three piece suit and Brendan looked so adorable in his satin suit- It was passed down from Thomas when he was Brendan's age. It fit him like a glove. Right down to the socks! All I had to buy was the shoes! My mother had given me this BEAUTIFUL gold cross necklace for Brendan to wear at Christmastime Before she passed away.I wonder if she knew she was sick And was making plans...or in any case she passed away last May when Brendan was only5 weeks old.I asked the priest to say a little something and mention Mom's name -maybe dedicate Brendan's Baptism perhaps in her name if he could in her name since this May will be one year since her passing of cancer last May, He said he would see what he could do- Maybe mention her name in the homily or something. I was listening, but didn't hear anything, although it WAS kinda noisy in the crying room with all the kids- well I tried anyway..In any case, I made SURE he wore that necklace today to ensure her spirit was there and well because when she gave it to me she said " I'd like Brendan to wear this when he get's Baptized" who am I to deny my dead mother's wish ? Not that I would DREAM of doing that just - pssh- not even worth talking about! It just gets done! Period! I wore her and my dad in a picture in a pin on my blazer {dad's still alive He's up in N.Y. just WISH he was here}- but the reminder of him here was there in spirit} Father Joe Connolly who performed the Baptism LOVES children and was the perfect man for the job- there were only two babies there- Brendan and another little baby maybe a month or so old. Little girl. Thomas was the Church clown- Kid would NOT stand still! Or sit still or stop running up and down the aisle,- at he end he TRIPPED the priest for heavens sake! I was like WILL YOU SIT DOWN! I was beyond embarrasssment! I know he just wanted some of the attention focused on him for a bit but cmon! Getting back, Brendan was a bit clueless as to what the deal was what was going on, He was antsy, loud, Daddy held him, OK cool, then held him back and wait what? My hair gets doused? Not cool! He was a lil perturbed at that but got over it. He got a little fidgety again when it came to Doug's turn with the Holy cloth, Then after a bit finally settled down and the ceremony began to wind down after the candle lighting. Richard my BIL took some good pictures. After we went to the Crab Trap restaurant for lunch where he was an angel. Tonight he was exhausted of the days events after a nights bath and quickly passed out for the night. SO was today's eventful excursion. My lil' angel has been officially Baptized! God Bless you sweetheart I love youu!

Mote Marine Field Trip

2007-04-12T20:04:00.000-04:00

Today Thomas went on his very first school field trip! {well maybe not exactly his VERY first because he went on some field trips in Vprekindergarten at La Petite Preschool} But with his Elementary school now, this WAS his very first field trip. They went to Mote Marine Laboratories and Aquarium. I had submitted the permission form back in January when I broke my nose and had my seizure So I was expecting not to be able to go and not be able to drive, otherwise I would have been ALL over this trip as a chaperone! They hired 2 charter buses instead of school buses for the occasion at 20.00 per child.Thomas woke me up at 6:45 this morning frantic that he was gonna be late for school and miss his field trip! He was so excited! He got me out of bed,went to his closet,picked out his clothes, and underwear and socks, and laid them out on his bed{ which he NEVER does!}and said"see? I got my clothes ready! I'm a big helper , right mom? "and told me what he wanted for breakfast instead of me asking 40 times in a row,he was on the ball and ready to go to school by 7:30 this morning! He had a whole extra half hour to do whatever he pleased for a whole till it was time to go to school! I wish EVERY day was field trip day if the mornings started out like that! Before Thomas left, I told him I wanted to hear all about it when he got back as I had to watch Brendan and couldn't chaperone so I couldn't wait till 3 to pick him up and see how it all went. I found out he DID get a little nervous when he got dropped off at 8:30 and saw the charter buses pulling away, that Thomas thought they were late, but the buses were just moving to a different spot. He still had time- they still needed to take attendance then they would leave.Thomas had a bit of a heart attack there! LOL. Tom offered to drive him to Mote Marine if he had to which I found very sweet-to catch up with his class- Now that's a hell of a dad that would do that! After we picked up Thomas from school, boy did he have alot to tell! From sharks to squids,to manatees to sea turtles,and stingrays to jellyfish to seahorses, there was just no containing his excitement! Especially when it came to pufferfish! That was his highlight! He saw pufferfish and balloonfish and a giant squid and he was set for the day. He could go home! LOL. I must admit, I'm a bit jealous I couldn't go and had to stay home and watch the 'lil guy . Maybe it's just one of those family outings in the makings ... I'm just glad he had such a good time!

Wall Diving

2007-04-08T20:21:00.000-04:00

Right before dinner Brendan decided to take a header into the corner of Thomas' wall in his room! I literally WATCHED the bruise form on Brendan's head ! I immediately grabbed the ice pack from the freezer and stuck it on Brendan's head- he was so miserable! after a bit he calmed down, but oh! It's like he did it in slow motion! He was holding onto my fingers going into Thomas' room, then his little hands just slid off my fingers and he just dove into the corner of the wall! What a nightmare and what a bruise! that's gonna leave a mark for a few days! Good thing it's bath night- that always cheers him up! Here's my lil wall banger and the culprit...

Happy Easter!

2007-04-08T18:21:00.000-04:00

Today is Easter Sunday- the Easter bunny left some yummy treats this morning for the boys and we dressed up in our Sunday best for church. Boy was Church packed! It was Standing room only! Thomas didn't even have a seat- he had to sit on the floor! I squeezed over in the crying room for the babies where we usually sit and made room for him. Tom's mom, me and Thomas and Brendan allwent. I still can't sing the hymns as of yet it's still to upsetting and I still cry thinking of Mom as I sing. Thomas was looking at me trying to figure out what was wrong with me why I was crying , I just miss Mom so much, I just don't think anyone really knows just how much her death has really affected me . I keep it bottled up alll inside. When I try to sing the hymns - especially her favorite ones { which happen to be mine too} I start crying silently. Anyway, Tom made a delicious turkey and green bean caserole and potatoes and salad and corn on the cob for dinner. Everything was perfect and dissapeared. Perfectly yummy! Now it's bathtime for the boys . Another day and holiday has come and gone. Back to school tomorrow. One more month and school is out for summer! wow! that went by fast! Whered the time go? He just started!