my week in preview ...

I am so excited for a long Holiday Weekend!! I am looking forward to 3 days away from my office and I am looking forward to spending 3 days at home with my family and I am looking forward to not thinking or stressing about anything and I plan on doing this for 3 entire days !!

I would like to completely remove the stress-lobe of my brain and replace it with a completely fun-lobe! Anyone wanna help me with this ??

This week is also know as Birthday Week in my family... I have a special post or two coming later in the week, but let me give a quick shout out to some extra specials in my life !!

July 1st .... Happy Birthday Duane .... My brother Duane, aka Uncle Dewey. I hope you have a big celebration planned with Aunt Tara in Chicago ! We miss you !!

July 2nd ....Happy Birthday Albert .... My brother Albert, aka Uncle Alby. Have a wonderful birthday and give Little Albie a huge for us !!

July 3rd ... Happy Birthday to MY DADDY !! My father, aka Papa. I wish we could be with you and celebrate your big 60th birthday!! But we are there in spirit ! We love you and miss you!

AND FINALLY ..... DRUM ROLL PLEASE ........

July 3rd .... Our baby is turning 3 years old ! Yes, Trevor will be three on Friday. I can't believe it and it is very hard for me to imagine that my last child is turning 3. He shares a birthday with his Papa/my Dad by my choice. (Ok Moms don't fault me for choosing his birthday, there are reasons for this that I will explain later). Three years went by so fast .....

That's a ton of birthday's, right?

In other happenings ....
Short week at work (listen .... do you hear me celebrating)?? I am at my children's mercy this weekend. I think Thursday the kiddies want to hit Busch Gardens Summer Nights. Little Erin said he heard Gwazi calling his name. Rachael wants to conquer Sheikra again. I think Bff Michele and the girls will go with us, it is always more fun with 3 more kids!

Friday, it the birthday boys choice. Either Seaworld Summer Nights or Island Nights at Adventure Island! He loves both .... Fish, whales, sharks and water slides !! I asked Trevor what he wanted for his birthday he said Fireworks and "burtday cake" ! That is soooo easy ... DONE !

Saturday is BBQ at the sis-in-laws to celebrate the 4th of July! Family, Food, Fun in the pool ! And at night we will watch the fireworks somewhere .... but my kids NEVER miss the fireworks!!

That is my rest of my week and I'm looking forward to every minute of it !!

Cabin Fever ....

It is totally possible to get cabin fever in the middle of summer ... TOTALLY ....

The past five days have seen temperatures in the upper 90's with a heat index around 105-110. Insanely hot even for our part of Florida. And folks, hot isn't just hot .... there is summer in Florida hot, and then there is this past week hot ! Not the same ... trust me on that one.

This summer the olders, Rachael and Erin, have been home with Kasey until she leaves at the end of July. They were allowed to stay home with specific instructions that watching TV all day was forbidden and they need activities. Being it is Florida, I ask that they go for a bike ride, or scooters or a walk to the lake in the morning when the sun isn't as hot. But it has been far too hot to venture outside, even in a pool, the heat is just too much. We usually take the kids outside in the evenings around 6pm or so to ride bikes and use up some energy, but we can't do that either.

On a good day, we have lots of sibling fighting. During a week where they haven't been outside very much, we have a sibling war! OH MY GOSH ... We are fighting about Hot Wheel cars, of which we have about 150 of them. We are fighting about playing Animal Crossing on the WII. They chase each other and scream on the top of their lungs, they fight over who gets to put their legs on each couch cushion and don't you dare touch the others legs ... It is getting ugly ...

I am requesting a change in the upper level winds, a cold front, a low pressure system ... I am requesting anything that will make the heat go away and allow my kids to play - OUTSIDE ! PLEASE ! Am I asking too much ??

In the meantime the fact that they are so absolutely cute are the only things saving them ....

this is gonna be a long one :)

On Wednesday night Kasey graduated from High School. It was a beautiful ceremony, a bit long for Trevor, after all there were 505 students, but we all enjoyed the night and now we now have a college freshman in our family.

And this is a picture of Trevor holding the rose he was going to give to his sister. This was how it looked before the 1st of 505 names were called. Around name 200, he started picking off the petals one by one. It wasn't quite so pretty when he gave them to her afterwards. Good thing we teach our kids that it isn't the gift, but the thought that counts.

And yesterday was Rachael's last day of 5th grade, last day of elementary school, and last day at the only school she has ever gone to. After 6 years at this school, she made lifetime friends, had some very caring and wonderful teachers and said goodbye to a school that has made her feel safe and confident. She had a rough day yesterday. She cried .... ok, no she bawled !! And I cried too !!

And here is the 5th grade clap out .... Rachael's class is 1st coming down the hall. Her friend, Kara grabbed me for a hug because her Mom couldn't make it and she was a little more than emotional. The next little girl is Rachael and she walks right into my camera. You can't miss her!

And these are were her teachers this year !! They both wrote nearly the same thing in her yearbook, "Rachael, you are a wonderful student with a great personality. I will miss your smile everyday, but remember .... that smile can't get you out of everything! Work Hard!"

Yup, she uses that smile all the time to her benefit ... smart kid.

It was Erin's last day of 2nd grade. He was happy and for him it was summertime ..... nothing more to say on that subject.

During dinner before Kasey's graduation we were doing to graduation math. Kasey will graduate from college in the year 2013. Rachael will graduation from high school in the year 2016, Erin will graduate in the year 2019 and here is what scares me the most, Trevor will graduate in the year 2025 !!

SO LET THE SUMMER BEGIN !!

Wordless Wednesday

I miss him ...

For those of you who don't know my grandfather, the below clip is something he would have been very proud of. His entire life revolved around youth sports, for more than 60 years he coached & managed baseball & football, but he enjoyed every minute of every sport we watched. He even came to every single figure skating competition I had and I honestly think he enjoyed them. He would watch me cheerleading. He would drive my brother to hockey games, and when he didn't drive him, he met us there. I know for a fact even when he was sick, he never missed Mikey's soccer, baseball or hockey games, especially the high school ones!!

He was youth sports in East Longmeadow !!




Did you see that man in the last part of the video?? The man on the left with the sunglasses standing next to the scholarship winner, that's my Dad. That was his 15 seconds of fame, almost :) And how awesome are those T-shirts? I think the caricature of my Papa is spot on. And I'm also betting that my father didn't get me one of those T-shirts :(

Don't you think my Papa would be proud of my Madame President status ??

Time is flying by ...

I've very neglectful of my blog in the last couple of months. It never seems like I have enough time to sit down and type up my thoughts or activities. And for that I am truly sorry. Perhaps now that we are rolling into summer and most of our activities will take a little hiatus, I can get back on the blogging bandwagon.


Some sad news to tell everyone about. Last Friday we had to put our Bulldog, Buzzy to sleep. Buzzy was a wonderful dog, never growled, never bit anyone, never even complained. He brought him home when he was 4 months old and in October he would have been 14 years old. He was around when we brought Rachael, Erin & Trevor home from the hospital. He was Rachael & Erin's pony, they rode him around like cowboys & cowgirls. He lived a long doggy life with us. The doctor who saw Buzzy last Friday said that Buzzy didn't want to leave us and that was why he was around so very long.

On a happier note, we are off to Disney this weekend to watch Rachael play in the Disney Memorial Day Soccer Shootout. I love the Wide World of Sports Complex. It is absolutely beautiful, the fields are perfect and the tournament is run in true Disney form .... flawless !! It will be hot, there isn't usually a breeze on the fields, so I'm packing the sunscreen! This is the end of the soccer season for Rachael .... it was a good year :)

But wait !! Tryouts for next season are on Tuesday of next week. Yup folks, that is a whooping 24 hours off ! Yippee, what will I do ???? Thankfully, there is about 6 week where we will put the cleats up and enjoy some family time.

I have a ton of pics for everyone to see. I'll get them uploaded in the next couple of days! Wait to you see how Trevor has grown .... he is quite the little man !! And an update on Erin, he is no longer required to attend speech classes, he was released this year !! He was very excited about that.

And one more thing ... Poor Ass Momma Bird has more eggs. This is now her third try at the Momma Bird thing. So far we have do not have any baby birds and I'm not holding my breath. I just don't think she knows what she is doing.

Promise I won't be gone long .....

The New Addition ....

Meet Lionel ..... he likes cheese ....

I know this is going to sound crazy ... but he actually grows on you and he has me. He is sweet and cute. Just so you all know, he is a fancy rat, as opposed to your every day garage variety !!

sometimes bribery isn't such a great idea ...

To the overly enthusiastic young lady at the pet store,

Thank you for all your help yesterday. You were very nice, sweet and extremely helpful. This is probably your first job, and I'm sure your boss appreciates your enthusiasm and knowledge. Lord knows, my kids think you are just about an animal god. I'm even sure when you go home tonight and tell your parents how many animals you suckered people into buying today they will beam with pride.

But let fill you in on a little secret sweetie. We came in for a hamster. They are cute and their life expectancy is relatively short. It was a carefully thought out decision of two parents who carefully manipulated their child into wanting a particular pet. It was a form of bribery to my 8 year old son who need a little push (ok, a shove) into passing a writing test and using his little brain to its fullest capacity. A hamster.

It is quite apparent that you have studied up on domesticated animals. You deserve your job. Your knowledge on how wonderful rats can be for pets was amazing. You had my kids complete attention. They only give this attention to me when I am offering them ice cream. I knew right then and there when my 8 year old son who has ADD tendencies , couldn't take his eyes off of you as you spewed on and on about how a rat would be his best friend, that I was in trouble. At that exact point I had this overwhelming feeling that I needed to round them up and leave because this visit to the pet store wasn't going in my favor.

So here I am writing you this letter while a rat climbs over my keyboard. If I think of him as something like Stewart Little I am okay, but then I snap back to reality and realize that at the end of the day Lionel is a rat. With a long tail, he is a rat. And he lives longer than a hamster. And should or when he gets lose, to quote you, I will have a little more of a chewing problem, thrills me to death.

Oh don't get me wrong, my son is happy. Ecstatic, he loves Lionel. And because my son did his best and passed that test, he deserves his reward. I just want to make sure you understand that I am a kind person, a nice mom and mostly a pushover. Be careful because the next Mom you con into taking a rat home may not be as nice as me!!

Former Customer,
Mom with a rat

I may lose my mind ....

Before I start .... I love my Trevor. He looks like me, he is the only one does. He is so very darn cute. Let me say that one more time. I. LOVE. MY. TREVOR.

But ...

He is something else. He is now a little over 2 1/2 years old. Well into the terrible two stage. And really, until now, it has been a walk in the park. For the most part parenting Trevor has been easy, little bumps here and there, but easy. But the last few weeks, my son has turned into a little Tasmanian devil. A little tornado. A little boy with a big attitude. A handful.

Trevor's vocabulary is far beyond any of my other children at his age. I think it is due to having an 11 year old sister and an 8 year old brother. Trevor is polite, he will always use his please and thank you''s. And Trevor will tell you he loves you, he just follows it up with "punk".... "Mommy, I love you punk" or he will tell you he wants some juice ....."Mommy I need apple juice please butt head". He almost has the context down pat. Almost.

He has discovered that he can escape anything by locking the door. He can take Erin's toy and lock himself in the bedroom. He can take Rachael's lip gloss and lock himself in the the bedroom. And he won't unlock the door. Unless you tell him you have to go to the bathroom. Even if the room he locked himself into is a bedroom, it still work. Eventually, I will need a new approach, but for now he hasn't figured it out.

He can successfully open both locks on the front door. He escapes, alot!! Good thing for us, our front door is noisy. He has a growing friendship with the Florida lizards and he needs to look for them all the time .... it is more like a form of torture. There are many lizards missing their tails in my entryway!

Oh Trevor ... sometimes the only thing that saves him is this super cute face .....

Super Awesome picture taken by Beth ....

remember me??

I've been a little MIA for a week. Not really sure why. My other job as Madame President Elect has been a little overwelming, taking up a little too much time. I need to organize my life so that I can have a life. How I'm going to do that remains to be determined.

Last weekend Rachael's team played in the Quarterfinals of the Region C Cup. They played so darn good..it was amazing!! However, in our teams true form, we didn't score. Not shocking, we never score. But we win alot. Because we never let a goal in. Many of our games have been won by direct kicks related to a foul of some sort. But, true soccer peeps would know, you cannot win every game on direct kicks. No, you can't. So the game finished in a 0-0 and went directly to post game penalty kicks where we lost 3 - 2. And there is where our soccer season came to a complete stop! Yup ... done. Rachael doesn't cry a lot over soccer, because she is an athlete and losing is part of the routine, but she cried....she didn't want it to be over. Don't tell her ... but I think I cried a little too :( She does have some tournament to play still and they are practicing, but the heart of the season has passed.

Trevor has taken a new interest in the potty. It is a small interest, but I'll take what I can get. I'll share a little secret with all of you. I have NEVER potty trained any of my children. And I'm afraid I may have to potty train this one!! My mom did the potty thing with Rachael while I was in the hospital delivering Erin. Two days...it was done. My daycare potty trained Erin. One week ...it was done. I'm scared! And by the way he still has his pacifier, which absolutely disturbs me. But there isn't a lot of fight left in my lately, and I really think he won't take it to college. I hope not .....

Little Erin is an All-Star!! Yup, my boy made the U8 All Star soccer team. I raise em' good !! He is a very good soccer player. I really attribute that to the fact he was given a soccer rattle in the hospital nursery. Or that he attended his first soccer game when he was a week old. Tonight he trains with the club trainers and next week he plays in the big game. He was so excited when Big Erin told him, he was jumping up and screaming !! Love him to pieces ....

Erin's new schedule is working out just fine. I think we are both adjusting. I think he is realizing how the kids are a little out of control since he is now home in the evenings. With his new schedule he is able to pick the kids up at school and they do not have to attend aftercare, they love it!! And Fridays are Daddy Friday ... he spends the day with Trevor! As I speak they are watching Blue's Clues. That's one lucky Daddy!!

And because I hate posting without pictures....Taken by Beth ....

what is that smell??

Yes I do, today is my birthday and I dont' want to be the age that I am.

So Happy Birthday to me!! I told baby Trevor that today is my birthday and he said "Happy Birtday me Mommy" ! Love him !! And Rachael in her super sweet, half asleep whisper, wished me a happy birthday and then I went to wake up Erin and he said ...... Today is your birthday mommy and it is like 50 other peoples birthday too ! How funny is that. He is such a little joy!

While my Mother was in town we had an early celebration. My favorite cake EVER is Angel Food Cake !! LOVE IT ...and bonus...It's low in calories!! And she made my all time favorite meal from when I was a child, Open Face Chicken Benedict! I was overjoyed by the deliciousness of my dinner. And, I am seriously craving more. Good thing Mom will be back in 4 weeks :)

My kids did the sweetest thing for me. They sent me on a birthday scavenger hunt. They made me work for my gift! It was so much fun....They went through so much effort to make it fun.

As soon as I arrived home last Friday, I was greeted by 3 very anxious children and a note telling me to "proceed to our lake and on a tree, will be two balloons in view and you will see a note for you"!

And then that note said "You found it, good job and now round two. Proceed to XXXX BlahBlah Way, and on a table waiting for you with a birthday cake and it may be in two, but look inside and you will find another clue for you"! So cute ... And by the way ... That address happens to be my friend Beth!! She rocks ... what a team player ...

I chased notes and balloons around for what seemed like 30 minutes around my neighborhood. It was so much fun! At the end was my brand new Pandora Bracelet with a "J" charm! YIPPEE !! I was so excited !!

So lets fast forward to today ......I am at work today. On my birthday. Oh well, it is just another birthday. They seem to come so quickly in recent years, which is very concerning!

I would rather be relaxing ... something along these lines .....

The girls at work were so thoughtful and gifted me with such an appropriate charm for my new Pandora Bracelet! How great is this ....
It makes coming into work today so very worth it!

Can't wait to go home and see my family !! I really hope I don't have to cook :) and I hope there is some birthday cake waiting for me.

Time flies ...

Wow...I have blogged in like 5 days! Geez..I'm such a super slacker !!

Did I mention that my Mother and Grandmother were in town this past weekend??Yup, they were. Only for 3 days! But it was a great 3 days and it left everyone pretty exhausted! My kids run my mother into the ground .... hummm.... let me think about that ...... I think my mother runs my kids into the ground. lol !

We had only 2 soccer games this past weekend. One of them was little Erin's game!

Grams completely enjoyed watching him play! He is so talented .... ok, I know, I'm supposed to say that. But seriously, he moves the ball, looks for the open player and he can make things happen. He has learned to play so well with a couple of his teammates. They are quite a force to be reckoned with. Rachael had a scrimmage on Sunday, in the cold, and she won.

Here are some other pictures of us enjoying the beautiful weather on Saturday...

Rachael is all smiles ... whenever she is at the soccer field

Me and my not-so-little girl!

Kasey and Grams ....

Rachael and my other girls ... Courtney and Alexandra

This is the picture that I love! Trevor is 2 1/2 and he can operate an Ipod touch. Now I don't mean he can just push buttons. He knows how to turn it on, how to slide the bar to unlock it. And he knows how to play "whack em' all"!! And he knows you only hit the moles, because if you hit the Kitty's they cry!! Check the cuteness out ......

How cute in my Grams ... Check her out with the Secret Service Hat on !! She is soo fashion forward!! The sun was in here eyes .... and Erin's hat came in handy. Here is an interesting fact on Grams ... she watches What not to Wear with Stacy and Clinton!! That is some funny stuff..

This week the new schedule thing was going really well until the Bachelor, Jason, had to pull his little ....oh I still love Molly crap .... I stayed up way too late watching him try to find a way out of his little ooppss. Not sure why I did, it was like watching a train wreck, I just couldn't turn away. And then last night they has part 2 on. And you just watch part 1 without watching part 2, right??? And I am so excited to see the Jillian ... the next Bachelorette !!

I'm still playing catch-up with my DVR. I did notice that someone has been doing a little erasing to accommodate someones shows...I put a stern warning to the household. Erase "the suite life", erase, "Raw and Smackdown", I really don't care, but the first one to erase Mommy shows is going to be held accountable ... I will hide every single remote control !!

ETA: Sorry for the funkiness with the white around the pictures. I took them off of my mom's online photo account ....

Rachael's Birthday Round-up

After a super wonderful weekend of winning soccer in Naples, we hurried back to celebrate her birthday at home with Daddy, Erin, & Kasey !! No kidding, I made in home by 12:45 yesterday. I'm not saying I was speeding, I am saying there wasn't much traffic :)

We went to a late lunch with Pappy Ralph and then came home to open her presents and have some birthday cupcakes. I'm not a fan of having left over birthday cake around, so a 6-pack of cupcakes and some ice cream worked just fine. Just so you know, she did have a birthday cake with her soccer buds on Saturday night, so she wasn't cake-less! This Mommy wouldn't do that.

Here are some pictures. She looks so happy. It was her birthday and soccer team just ran away with the weekend ... It doesn't get much better than that for this 11 year old.

Here is Rachael opening her last gift and it was a big one .... her Ipod touch !! She is daddy's girl and this was his idea. It was a hit, she was very excited ...

We went to lunch with Pappy at Cheddar's. Here are a couple of pics.

And finally .. I couldn't resist.... Trevor is such a little train wreck ... but boy did he love the cupcakes. He ate his and lil' Erin's and wanted Daddy's !!

So now Rachael is 11 .... but I told someone today she was 10 .... I guess there is an adjustment period!