Total Slacker

I can't even believe I have not blogged this entire week. Probably because their just wasn't much to report.

Colby is still at my parents house he will be finally coming home today. I talked to him on Wednesday and asked if we should start forwarding his mail over their, as I was wondering if he ever had any intention of coming home. LOL!!! I think he is relishing in the peace and quiet, something he rarely if ever gets in this house. So I am really glad he enjoyed his vacation. Next week it is back to the grind.

Where has time gone in 3 days it will be March already. Holy cow this year is racing full steam ahead. We are really just around the corner to spring already. I imagine we will start to see temperatures slowly starting to creep up as March turns the corner. As much as spring is not my favorite season, I am itching to go start my outside spring cleaning going. Their will be millions of sticks, leaves and other winter depris that need to get cleaned up and then we can start enjoying hanging out outside.

Okay I am rambling just wanted to do a quick check in.

My birthday weekend is officially over.

Well this has been an awesome weekend. I went shopping and to dinner w/Jeff and the boys on Saturday. Then they surprised me with a cake & ice cream. I was totally surprised I didn't expect it. So it made it all that much more special.

On Sunday Colby was not feeling well so Jeff stayed home with him. Austin, Brady & I went to mom's I got to see Addison. She is so teeny tiny. At 6 weeks old she still only weighs 6lbs. I got lots of bonding time and can't wait till I get to see her again. My mom made me a great dinner and an amazing cake a 3 layer chocolate cake w/chocolate frosting. Then Holly came home w/us for a sleep over. The kids had a blast with her.

I then drove Colby to my mom's for the week as he was feeling much better today and then went and drove Holly home. I hung out with my favorite cousin for the evening we didn't do much but it is always a fun time.

So I will be going to get my license renewed tomorrow and Jeff is going to take Austin to go see Hotel Dogs tomorrow for some dad & son bonding time. Well it is now 1:30 am so I am off for now. Talk to you all later.

Birthday Weekend

Well it is almost 4pm which officially kicks off the start to my birthday weekend. I really don't have any magnificent plans but who knows one of the people in my life that love me just may surprise me.

I am going to my parents on Sunday for a little get together. However, I really want to go so I can go see Addison. I only got to see her once when she was born at the hospital. She is already 5 weeks old and I miss her horribly. I want to see how much she has grown and be a part of her life. I finally got a niece that I am close to in distance and really want her to know us and get excited when she hears we are going to come see her. I had planned on going to see her at Sean & Tiff's but my mom intercepted and now it is at her house. I am slightly bummed not that I don't want to see my mom but now I have to share Addison and I did not want to do that. I am sure Kelly & Laurie will be their and it will be the first time they get to meet Addison so I won't be able to be selfish and monopolize all the available time. I do intend to some of it though. (Sorry for the little vent their I didn't intend for that happen, it kind of just slipped out through my fingers).

I am however, soooo looking forward to a night out w/Tracy next weekend. I am like a little kid at Christmas I am sooo excited I can't stand it. It has been way way way to long since just the two of us hung out. So we are going for dinner and drinks and plain old girl time.

Today also kicks off February vacation for the kids. Colby is going to my mom's for the week. Austin & Colby need a break from each other, gosh can those two argue about nothing. So Colby found out when vacation was and called my mom and told her he needed to get away from his brother and could he spend vacation week with her. My mom & I just laughed. She agreed and so he will be heading their on Sunday.

I also have to renew my license next week too. Ugh!!! I hate going to the registry for any reason and am not thrilled about having to go. If solely only for how time consuming it is and also for the astronomical cost of it also. However, the alternative of having no license certainly doesn't appeal to me and doesn't fit so well into my schedule either. So I guess I will have to reluctantly give in and go get it done.

Okay so I guess that is it for now. See ya!!!

Bedford, NH

I moved to the Town of Bedford, Dec 1, 2001. At that time I had a 3 & 4 yr old. I moved here #1 my sister was moving so it became an opportunity I couldn't turn down & secondly because I vowed that my boys would not attend Manchester schools. We would have sold every worldly possession to have kept them out of the public schools in Manchester.

Since we have moved here the boys have gone through kindergarten through 5th & 6th grade here. I couldn't possibly be so happy with another town. We are large enough so we are not in the boonies but still with a lot of small town charm. I have met so many phenomenal people since living here. Especially since I volunteered at the school and because the boys are so involved in sports and activities through the school. I have seen the towns people rally around and help when a town member needs help. When Lisa Readman was paralyzed from the waist down after a tree fell on her. The town rallied together and helped them sell their current home and find a single floor home in Bedford and then helped modify it so it was wheel chair accessible. The town also then held tons of fundraisers to help with all her medical bills. Another parent in town was on the ball field with his son when he suffered a aneurysm the town rallied to help Julie w/the kids and also raised a ton of money to help w/gas and expenses as her husband was in Dartmouth.

As most of you know the past 4 months have been anything but easy. We were one of the millions of families that have been suffering from layoffs. When I was mentioning to friends on Sunday that my boys would not be able to play baseball this season due to the sheer cost, another mom jumped in and told me to write to the board and explain your situation. So I ate every ounce of pride and wrote to the board and explained our situation and they have graciously informed me that my children would not be turned away and they would do whatever they needed to do on their end to assure that my children also got the opportunity to play this baseball season. Words can not describe how quickly I became humbled. I really didn't think that they would do anything for us and may even turn us away. Instead they reached out and fulfilled the hopes and dreams of two boys, that all they wanted to do was play spring baseball. I am so thankful and appreciative of this town and the opportunity they have given the boys. It will never be forgotten and I hope they understand how thankful this family is and we can not say it enough.

What a great day

Austin had his basketball skills competition today. He did great although he didn't win any of the events. He worked so hard and came out a winner in my book. They had a blast and were rewarded with ice cream sundae's supplied by Blakes ice cream.




As soon as the skills competition was over we hauled butt into the car to race over to Kim & Wayne's. I had to be their before 1:30pm and it was 1:15pm. Phew!!! we made it. We needed to be their on time because it was a surprise 40th birthday party for Wayne. He would be home at 1:30pm. He was so surprised and it was an awesome time. Wayne & Kim are such great people and we had a blast celebrating w/them.

We got home and I chatted on the phone with Steph for about 45 mins. Then Rachael called and I chatted on the phone with her for over an hour. Who can end the night better than talking with her 2 best friends on the phone. I also accomplished a few loads of laundry and added all the photos to my new photo frame. I then even got Jeff to hang it for me. YEAH!!!


So this is this the wrap up to my great day!!!

My eldest is growing up.

Valentine's Day to me is a day like any other. I never do anything special or get anything special either. Jeff may get me a card if we can afford it but ehhh really it doesn't usually thrill me. However, when Colby got home from school today and Jeff came running in saying "close your eyes, close your eyes. I was thinking it was something silly so I was waving me hands around. Jeff kind of got annoyed and was like no you will wreck it just put your hand out. So I took the gift and opened my eyes to find this beautiful red carnation. He put it in the water bottle at school so it wouldn't die on its way home to me. I really got all teary eyed and even now I can't help but get all weepy. I asked him where he got the money to get the flower and his response is what kills me. I used my own money mom and I kept it a secret nobody knew I was going to buy the flower except me. In the moment I may have officially been the proudest mom in all the world. That he took his own money and spent it on a gift for me, oh wow it blows my mind. My little boy will be turning twelve in 3 weeks and today I realized how grown up he is becoming. I really get on his case about grades, attitude, & especially how he speaks to his brothers and I, but in moments like these I realize what a great, selfless and amazing young man he is becoming.

On a lighter note just so I can stop crying we are finally surprising the boys. We went and got paint today and are secretly painting their room. They are crashing upstairs tonight and are not allowed in until it is finished. We are cleaning it from top to bottom and reorgaizing the entire room. The room is huge so we are going to almost divide it in half. This way they can each have a little more privacy as they get older and aren't so on top of each other all the time. We are doing Austin's half blue for NY Yankees and Colby's red for Red Sox. I will take photos once it is completed. I hope the kids love it and I can't wait for them to see it.

Well okay it is 2 am and I am beat. So talk to you all later.

Sleep over

Brady is having a sleep over this evening. He has his friends Rachel and Logan sleeping over. He asked me earlier if it was a special treat. So I made them all homemade chicken nuggets, some broccoli cheddar pasta and veggies for dinner. They all got chocolate pudding for dessert. So now they are all stuffed to the gills and are happily sleeping.

I am feeling a lot better tonight. Thank the heavens. Now tomorrow I will need to clean the house. It is amazing what happens when mom is out of commission for a couple of days, nothing gets done & I mean nothing. The sink is full of dishes, the laundry is out of control, the trash is practically overflowing, the counters & tables have not been wiped down. How is it that I am the only one that notices these things. I think the rest of the family walks around w/blinders on. UGH!!

To think that when I was in my twenties I lived so much worse and thought nothing of it. Rachael remember the black socks that could walk away by themselves. EWWWWWWW!!!!!! or how about having your mom come to visit and we had to sit on the floor in the kitchen because their was no other available space. It didn't even occur to us to be embarrassed. Your mom was such a good sport, she didn't even complain. Oh the best were the dishes that would sit their until we didn't have any clean ones (which could be weeks, we were rarely home). Then I would have to brave the nastiness and actually dare to wash them. OH MY GOSH the thought is making me gag.

Today dishes in my sink over night almost puts me over the edge. It drives me nuts. The trash typically is emptied every day if not every other. Laundry is done usually at least a load a day if not several loads a day.

Okay well I was going to wait till tomorrow but my mind is not going to shut down until I go get some of it done tonight. So chat with you all later.

Just a quick check in.

Brady is so stinkin' funny:

Brady: Momma
Me: yes Brady
Brady: I just did a burp in my undies.

I was hysterical that I couldn't even move. Just one of many of Brady's bradyisums. I really need to start documenting them because they catch me so off guard that they make me just laugh.

The beginning of each year for whatever reason leaves in its wake many deaths. I am finding this especially to be true in the past 2 yrs. This year sadly is no different we lost Bobby Taylor and then I got a call this afternoon that an extremely close family friends mom passed away at 4pm. So it looks like I will be attending another wake, it will be the second one in less than a week. I also think that Rach may have lost her Gram today as well so it seems if the services will be on different days that I potentially could be attending two wakes this week. I can not wait for spring this winter has officially been one of the most challanging and sad winters of my life. I know that it can always be worse but their is an awful lot of harships and sadness all around this winter, that I am so anxious for it to be over.


Okay well I am really really under the weather so I am going to keep this amazingly short. I have a head cold from hell and it is kicking my a** so I will update more tomorrow.

The Real food fight

Have you just had one of those days. It seems like yesterday was just one of those days. I got a call from Rach and she invited me over. I brought the tequilla and chocolate chocolate chip cookies. She offered the dinner and the mango rum. Well what started out as Rach and Brady having a amusing banter back and forth of stealing each others dinner suddenly took a different turn. All of a sudden Brady & Rach are tossing pasta (plain of course, no sauce) at one another. Well I think we all resorted back to our childhoods and I informed my boys that this was a once in a life time opportunity and enjoy it before I regained my sanity. It turned into a full blown each man for himself food fight. Their was pasta flying EVERYWHERE and from every direction. You see their were 6 kids and 2 adults. I have to say I know that it was technically wrong and as an adult I should have acted like it but sometimes man you have to let loose and have fun. I had more fun in those 15mins then I have had in a can't tell you how long. The kids were laughing, I was hysterically laughing and it eliminated every possible bit of stress that you can imagine. WHAT A FRICKIN' BLAST!!!! Thank goodness she has a dog that was right behind us cleaning up every bit of the pasta.

Rachael kept my kids overnight because Jeff and I had to go to the memorial mass for Bobby Taylor this morning in Laconia. Now I just LOVE the invention of GPS except when it is wrong and today was one of those days it gave us directions 20 mins out our way and THEY WERE WRONG!!! So we wave down a cop and ask for directions and realize we are really not close to were we are supposed to be and the service starts in 5 mins. Yup you guessed it we were officially late. Oh well we got there saw most of the memorial service and then went down stairs for the meal. It was really beautiful and they did a wonderful job!!!

We then hopped back in the car and rushed back to pick up the boys from Rachael's to get Austin to his Basketball game which I did. We get to the school and I find out I messed up and his game wasn't at 3pm but it was at 1pm. Oh well he was only 2 hrs late. BAAAHAAAAA!!! Oh what the heck I have only spent 3 hrs in the car today.

So we are finally home, I made the kids homemade chicken nuggets & baby carrots w/ranch dip for dinner and we have plopped ourselves in front of the TV to eat. Something I rarely let the kids do so they are loving it. I have no intentions of doing a thing for the rest of the night aside from picking up the remote and pushing the buttons to change the channel of course. LOL!! So I will talk to you all later.

My eye hurts

My eye has been bothering me for the last couple of days. It was just amazingly sore so I am not sure what I thought it was but figured I bumped it or something. However, I woke up this morning to find that it was very swollen and so sore it hurts to blink. I am now under the assumption it is probably conjunctivitis or pink eye. Luckily we had drops left over from Jeff for a problem that he had a ways back. So I do a search for Gentamicin sulfate and find out it is a antibiotic to clear up conjunctivitis. So I am going to do this 3x's a day and hopefully this will clear up in the next couple of days.

I have working out regularly for the last few days. I know that it is working because my muscles have been feeling like they are on fire for the past couple of days. I am not a fan of working out in front of anyone. So I have been trying to work out when Jeff runs out to do errands or is out of the house. This has not been an easy task. He thinks I look fine and loves me the way I am, so it doesn't mean to make me feel badly but jokes about me working out and it makes me all that more self conscious. I am really working hard to stick to my goal of at least 20lbs. I hope to lose this much by May when I have a wedding to attend and will be in a lot of photos. So now that I have the goal I have been really working hard to stick to accomplishing it. It feels good to be a little sore and knowing that it is because I have been working hard.

The kids have a dentist appt. this afternoon. Then I have to color my hair tonight for the memorial service tomorrow. Hopefully will get Austin to his basketball game tomorrow too. So as always busy busy busy.

Okay I need to go clean for a little bit talk to you all later.

I am turning into June Cleaver

I think I am turning into Miss Suzy homemaker. I am not sure what is up. I spent over an hour cleaning up and dusting every nook and cranny of my desk today. Went and washed down all my bedroom walls and dusted all of the pictures and decorations on it. Can I tell you that was an adventure. NASTY.....

I then cooked dinner, cleaned up from that and proceeded to bake 6 dozen chocolate chocolate chip cookies for Colby. He needed them for some whatever at school tomorrow. Now mind you he walks in the door at 4pm and informs me he needs the cookies for school tomorrow. UGH!!! He tells me they asked for volunteers and Colby volunteered my services without asking me first of course. A whole entire other sink full of dishes to wash. Ssshhh if you really want to know a secret I really didn't mind, it was kind of fun. I won't be telling my son this of course.

Now if I could get my family to stop being such clutter freaks I may possibly be the happiest person on earth. However, until this happens it seems that I will be on their butts. I think the kitchen will be the venture for tomorrow. My counter top clutter is OUT OF CONTROL!!! and mind you when I say mine I actually mean the other numerous members of this family.

Okay well my little guy just asked me to go snuggle with him and this mom just can't turn down such a sweet request such as this so I will talk to you all tomorrow.

It is groundhog day

Today would be the awaited day for all kids to see if their will be six more weeks of winter. The anticipation will he see his shadow or won't he......well the little rodent should wear a blind fold so he can't see his shadow. The little rodent didn't disappoint and gave the little hooligans what they wanted 6 more weeks of winter.

This is one mommy that can not wait for spring. This might possibly be the longest winter of my whole life.



Today has been a good day. I know they have been rare lately. Nothing good bad or indifferent happened today but I am in good spirits. I got the kids report cards today. Ehhh not a shining moment but improvement had been made in certain areas so I will give them a reprieve. I have very high expectations for this quarter. Why is it you just don't see the importance of school until you are an adult and then you wish you had put the hard work in and done better. I wish I could get them to see that now. Not that they don't do well but that is only because I ride them about it constantly. I wish they would do it because it will really make or break what kind of college you can get accepted too. Not to mention it surely helps for those little things called scholorships. Someday they will realize I am not talking like the teacher on Charlie Brown and real words that are in their best interest are leaving my lips.

This is going to be a busy week Austin has basketball practice tonight, Colby has to be driven to school tomorrow, Thursday Austin has chorus and basketball, Saturday we have to drop kids off at Rachaels and go to a memorial service up in Laconia, hopefuelly be back in time to bring Austin to his basketball game. Crazy week!!!

This afternoon has been better...

Well as not to disappoint this morning was a day in hell so I cleaned and scrubbed the house this morning. This is how I got out all my frustrations it seemed to work at least for a while.

So I managed to get my butt in gear and I did take the kids sledding at the Bedford sledding hill. I got some great photos of them. We then came back and we started yummy dinner and some snacks for the super bowl. We managed to watch maybe half and then I started the clean up from dinner. I just couldn't get into the game. Jeff & Nate also gave up watching the game and played WII. They would flip back and forth just to check the score and watch the last minute or so of the game. So not much else going need to go finish up on laundry so talk to you all later.