The Simple Life of a Rich Girl

My Three Guys

2012-02-05T12:37:00.001-08:00

These three guys hold a very special place in my heart – and always will.

I love you boys forever and ever.

Baby Boy Crochet Hat

2012-02-03T19:08:00.001-08:00

Love the fun colors in this hat!

Crochet Baby Girl Hat

2012-02-03T18:36:00.001-08:00

This adorable baby girl hat has a removable bow that can also be worn in the hair!

Crochet Baby Girl Hat with Matching Leggings

2012-02-03T18:34:00.001-08:00

Baby Girl

2012-01-31T16:49:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year!

2011-12-31T21:38:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T08:27:00.001-08:00

For Santa

2011-12-14T21:11:00.001-08:00

Why oh why did I decide to do baking on a work night instead of the weekend??

I guess it was because I procrastinated too long and had no other choice the cookies were needed for school snack – tomorrow!

And for reasons that are not clear to me, I decide that one doubled batch of peanut butter cookies was not enough, so I made a second doubled batch of peanut butter cookies.

In the end, I’m glad. Me and the boys had fun making them and we have enough for classmates, ourselves and a plate to our neighbors.

Ornament Party 2011

2011-12-08T21:12:00.001-08:00

Luke’s teacher, Mrs. Keenan, hosting her annual ornament party for the kindergarteners. Every year she puts this party together for all her kids and the parents are encouraged to come and participate. This was my second year and, unfortunately, my last.

Luke was so excited and we had so much fun spending the morning together.

Best Buddy Jack

Lucas and Bella

The girl he is currently exchanging love letters with!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-11-25T19:53:00.001-08:00

This year, as always, we had our meal at Steve’s parents house. His sister and her family came to town and Uncle Lenny was there. Carol puts together a fabulous meal, the boys played until they crashed and the adults laughed and ate and ate and ate.

Thanksgiving night at 9:30 p.m. me, my mom and my friend Tiffany headed out the door to shop the sales! We hit Walmart, Target, Panera Bread, the mall, Michaels, Kohls and a pit stop at McDonald’s for a large diet coke! We did not spend an outrageous amount of money nor were we after any high ticket items – we just love being in the mix of it all. We did not get home until 7:30 a.m. Friday morning.

While we were at my in-laws I had the boys sit so I could try to get a couple pictures for our Christmas cards.

This makes me laugh!

Come on Greg – crack a smile!

This is going to be the one. Joseph has a funny smile, but the whole process was too painful to go through again!

Cousins

Joseph, Jason, Gregory, Daniel and Lucas

Homecoming 2011

2011-10-08T07:51:00.001-07:00

Gregory went to his first homecoming dance this October.

Him and Keirsten looked great and had a wonderful time.

I’m so proud of the handsome young man he is becoming!

~SUMMER~

2011-07-24T02:15:00.001-07:00

Hope everyone is enjoying their summer so far! We have been busy with wrestling events, t-ball, basketball, swimming, birthday parties, zoo trips, cottage stays, crafting and plenty more. We still have to fit in another cottage stay, a trip to the state fair, the Renaissance festival, more birthday parties and tons more swimming!!

Stay tuned and when things slow down, the kiddos go back to school and the weather forces us to stay inside I’ll post about our summer.

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T10:23:00.001-07:00

So, it’s Easter Sunday, the boys are all here, dressed and looked great and the sun is out. What better time for some pictures!! Steve had to work, so when my family came over, I made them stop with the Easter business and start snapping pictures! I’m very pleased with how great they turned out.

This one is my favorite, it shows the exact personality of each child – Greg just wants them to behave, quit horsing around and get the show on the road so he can get to his girlfriends, Joseph loves getting his picture taken and will smile the best smile and pose anyway you ask him to, Luke he just wants to screw around, try to make everyone laugh and pull off the funniest face!

I love these guys!!

HAPPY EASTER

Spring Concert

2011-04-10T15:14:00.001-07:00

The first grade classes at Joseph’s school had a small spring concert. I just love hearing all those kiddos belting out the songs! They did fabulous!!

Spring Blossoms

2011-04-10T15:10:00.001-07:00

Spring is in the ~~air~~ afghan!

For more details – check out our craft blog HERE!

Craftin’

2011-03-29T17:29:00.001-07:00

Let the crafting begin!

We applied for and finally received our Federal ID number which means we can now attend craft shows and, better yet, are able to purchase items at Michaels – tax exempt!

The next step is deciding on and preparing our display area and finding shows. We have tons of ideas up our sleeve and have already researched all the shows in the surrounding areas.

Keep an eye for us this summer. For a preview – check out our craft blog by clicking - The Pineneedle Valley

Maggie May

2011-03-29T17:20:00.001-07:00

Our kitty Maggie May is getting bigger – so much so that we really can’t call her a kitten anymore!

She still has a the feistiness though and is constantly playing, running and attacking my yarn.

At a Stand Still

2011-03-15T15:02:00.001-07:00

Well, a few weeks ago I finished the last of the Sue Grafton Alphabet Series. All is at a stand still until V is published! I finished this book about two weeks ago and am just now getting around to posting it…..things have been crazy busy!!

*Photo courtesy of suegrafton.com

S is for….

2011-02-19T18:10:00.001-08:00

Silence

I finished up another book today and I love that I can start on a new one tonight! I have already read T is for Trespass (back in December) so now I’m on to U is for Undertow and that will complete the series until V is written.

photo courtesy of suegrafton.com

Winter Time!

2011-02-06T12:00:00.001-08:00

Do you remember being a kid and going outside ALL day and crying when it was time to go inside? I do – even in the middle of winter I loved being outside. We got a good amount of snow last night and since Luke set eyes on it this morning all he wanted to do was go outside – how could I resist?

Joseph had his first sleep over last night so when he came home, he immediately fell asleep. I bundled Luke up and out we went. Steve had just snowplowed so there was a huge snow pile – I started digging a small hole telling Luke I’d make him an igloo but we decided to turn it into a tunnel that came out the other side. In the middle we made a big area where they can sit and hide. I know forts like that can be dangerous and collapse (speaking from experience) but the boys are never outside unsupervised so all is safe!

I dug and shoveled snow for two hours. I can only imagine how I’m going to feel in the morning. And to top it all off – I start a new job!

(yeah that is our cat’s hind end above Luke’s head – he played in the fort too)

Book Two

2011-02-02T17:45:00.001-08:00

I just finished my second book of the year

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest

by Stieg Larsson

This is the third book in Steig Larsson’s Millennium Trilogy and it was just a great as the other two. I was immediately hooked when I picked up The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and then I flew through book two - The Girl Who Played with Fire.

The Bella Hat

2011-01-24T12:36:00.001-08:00

I’ve updated our craft blog. I’ve been “hooked” on making hats lately!

Check out this sneak peak….

For more information or just to browse, head on over by clicking HERE!

FIVE!!!!!

2011-01-22T17:55:00.001-08:00

I can not believe that our baby is now five. It has been five years since Lucas has joined this family and on one hand the years have flown and on the other it seems like he was just born. I’m missing having babies in the house but not the diaper changing, sleepless nights and fussy crying.

No matter how old you get Lucas, you will always be my baby. We love you so much!

Book Journaling

2011-01-06T15:03:00.001-08:00

Like I mentioned in my resolutions, I’m keeping a record of all the books that I’ve read in 2011. The first one finished is….

* Photo was used from Sue Grafton’s website www.suegrafton.com

I love to read and when a book is part of a series – I love it even more. Sue Grafton has started a series of books named after each letter of the alphabet. She is currently up to “U”!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-06T14:54:00.001-08:00

The new year is finally upon us – what will it bring? 2010 was a pretty good year for our family and friends so here’s looking to an even better 2011. I’ve made a few resolutions for myself:

Blog more often!! There is just so much going on, sometimes it’s hard to find the time to sit and write out all I want to say – but that should be my reason for taking time and journaling all that is happening. Time is slipping by so fast, I want to remember it all! I also have a craft blog that my Mom and I have started – so I’m going to stay on top of that too!
Journal the books that I read for a whole year. I read all the time and Steve is amazed at how many books I can go through. I thought it would be interesting to keep a list of all the books that I finish in 2011. I just finished reading “R is for Ricochet” by Sue Grafton. She has written a whole series of books starting with “A is for Alibi”, “B is for Burglar”, “C is for Corpse” and yeah, you get the picture. I’m going to finish them all! Steve bought me three new books for Christmas so I can’t wait to crack a new one open tonight.
ORGANIZE. It seems that many things are in disarray around here and that is coming to end! The boys’ room (particularly the TOYS) will be cleaned out along with closets and drawers. Our attic is refinished and Greg occupies one side and me the other side – it stores all my crafts and it is atrocious! It used to be hard to go up and settle down to craft with the boys little, but now it’s a breeze.
Get home improvements done. We’ve already done tons of work to this house, but there is more to do. My plan for the next couple months is to get the stairway, hallway, bedroom and stairway to the attic painted and the rug in the dining room, living room and on the stairs torn up!
Get my pictures in order, hang them up and get the scrapbooks caught up. I have so many pictures and they are all over the place – on my phone, on my laptop, on the desktop, stored on two cameras, stored on three thumb drives, printed ones in boxes for each of the boys and thrown in a tote in the storage closet. When my stairway and hall get painted they will showcase all our family and friends pictures – tastefully! I’ve got it all planned out in my head so we’ll see where it goes from there….

This is a short list – at least my goals for the next few months. When Spring shows up, it will get updated for sure!

YIKES!?!

2010-12-20T15:29:00.001-08:00

Yup, that about sums things up! Four days before the big guy in red is due to show up and his mama elf is no where NEAR ready! This is not like me! I’m organized, always have things planned out and never go out without a list. Sure I’m stressed, but this year, I’ve skipped stressed and went straight to panic with a dose of anxiety.

I have gifts that are not purchased yet, not a single item is wrapped, no Christmas lights adorning our front porch, there are no cookie, candy or yummy desert smells lingering in the kitchen and not a single Christmas CD playing.

I know, it’s pathetic – my Christmas spirit is hibernating!

This past weekend was THE LAST weekend to get shopping done before Christmas and do you know where I spent it??? Sick as a dog, wrapped up in three quilts unable to lift my head from the pillow. I had to call my husband (GOD love him) at work, crying asking him to come home to take care of our boys because I was pretty useless.

So, that about sums things up here! On a happy note, two more days of work and then I’m off for twelve days!! Time to find my mojo and gets things going for the new year.

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Winter Snacks

2010-12-09T17:41:00.001-08:00

It is J’s turn to bring snack to all his first grade friends. His teacher requests that high sugar snacks (cupcakes, brownies, etc.) are not brought in and I can’t say I blame her at all! I came across this idea at Gourmet Mom on the Go and could not resist!

Can you guess what it’s going to be?

It consists of baggies, mini chocolate chips, mini marshmallows, cheese doodles, fruit roll ups, junior mints and pretzels.

Here is another clue:

marshmallows – mini snowballs

chocolate chips – eyes and buttons

cheese doodles – noses

junior mints – hats

pretzels – arms

fruit roll up (cut into a strip) – scarf

Add a little of each into a baggie and add a label

Here is a close up of the label. If you’d like to make your own – click HERE for a direct link to Gourmet Mom on the Go and a FREE downloadable label.

**sorry for the low quality pictures

I have two cameras and both have dead batteries so I used my phone camera**

O The Weather Outside is Frightful…..

2010-12-02T17:51:00.001-08:00

But this deal is SOOOOO delightful! A chance to blog and receive FREE Christmas cards?!? I. AM. IN. With a great big thank you to Shutterfly for their offer to bloggers. HERE is the direct link – if you blog it is worth the click!

I can’t believe it is already time to start thinking about Christmas cards! Actually it’s December 2nd and truthfully, I should have been thinking of this a while ago!

There are so many photo cards to choose from, I’m having trouble deciding which I like best! Some of the top runners are these:

Something about the red draws me right in! This weekend we are going to try and get some good family pictures taken. Once I get a handle of what we will wear and the best scenery in the pictures, I’ll have an easier time choosing the card.

AND for those hard to buy people on my list – these CALENDARS are the bomb! What grandparent would not want one of these on display, especially is they live out of town. We also have several relatives that live down south and do not get to enjoy the ~~piles of snow~~ wonderful scenery that we have for the next five months – I have so many nature pictures I could definitely swing a calendar!

AND after Christmas when the shopping is done, the baked goods eaten, the trash taken out and the tree has dried up it will be time to think about sending out THANK YOU NOTES for all those gifts that you received. Shutterfly offers these too!

SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR – GO AND MAKE YOUR LIST AND CHECK IT TWICE!

~Merry Christmas~

Countdown to Christmas

2010-12-02T14:04:00.001-08:00

When I was growing up, the first day of December meant getting out the advent calendar. For as long as I can remember, we had the same calendar and every night for the next 24 days me and my brother took turns snapping an ornament onto the tree. The last night, December 24th Santa was snapped to the top of the tree. My brother and I would take turns each year putting up Santa and my mom was sure to write on the box it was stored in whose turn was next.

My childhood advent calendar was homemade by my Aunt Lydia with other ladies from her church.

The memories it brought me, I wanted it to bring to my boys so last year I pulled out the old one (its over 30 years old) and made a replica. I made some minor changes, but not many and you will notice how dated it was by looking at the ornaments.

I’m so thrilled pulling this out every year!

Each ornament fits into a pocket and one by one they get put up. I just wanted to snap them all on so the details could be viewed in the picture. Excuse the wrinkles – I wasn’t going to iron it before taking a picture!

(the red round piece is suppose to be an apple, for some reason mine looks like a tomato! Also, my white fish is missing his eye, which will get fixed soon!)

Before - After

2010-11-28T12:23:00.001-08:00

One more project I can check off my list. We have a fireplace in our living room that, in my opinion, was an eyesore. The original brick reminded of something from the 80’s and it seemed dark and dreary.

So I headed to Lowe’s and bought some masonry paint and got to work. It was messy and time consuming (three coats of paint and it could still use a few more), but well worth it!

Ignore the black dust under the knob in the middle and the cluttered shelves Just focus on the fireplace!

Happy Thanksgiving

2010-11-24T18:01:00.001-08:00

Craft Blog

2010-11-08T17:54:00.001-08:00

My mom and I have started our craft blog! We both love making things, baking and decorating so we decided to pull our efforts together and blog about it. Check it out at thepineneedlevalley.blogspot.com

Barbies!

2010-11-08T17:51:00.001-08:00

I live in a house full of males – that is my only explanation for my new obsession with Barbies and making them clothes. Maybe some day I’ll have a granddaughter to pass the mountains of my latest craze to…..

In case you are wondering – I have my own collection of eight barbies and yes, I have named them all. Call me weird, but again, it’s the boys fault!

Speaking of the boys – when I’m not looking, they are undressing my barbies and laughing hysterically. Now that’s weird!

Halloween Shirts

2010-10-30T08:54:00.001-07:00

A quick, easy and virtually mess free craft to do with the kids! The only supplies needed are a white shirt $5), a bag of plastic spiders ($1.50) and a hot glue gun.

the plastic spiders had a small clip on the back so I cut it off with the kitchen scissors

the boys arranged the spiders – the pattern was totally up to them

I glued the spiders on

and VOILA

J and L were the envy of their classrooms.

**a couple hints – make sure no spiders are placed were they will rub against the body such as the neckline and, if a short sleeve shirt is used, along the sides by their bare arms**

Basketball

2010-10-17T15:30:00.001-07:00

We went to the playground today to run around, get some fresh air and exercise our legs. One of the boys brought his basketball with him and lucky for us, the court was close by. Not once did they go towards the playground, they were gonna play ball.

Fall

2010-10-16T13:09:00.001-07:00

What better to do on a wonderful fall day

than to rake a huge pile of leaves

to stand back and admire all your hard work

and let the boys

dive

right

IN!!

then stand back again, and love this wonderful season of fall!

cause pretty soon, our trees will look like this….

BLOG

2010-10-08T17:27:00.001-07:00

Another blog is in the making and I can’t wait!! My mother and I are paying someone to create our new craft blog. We both love to do all sorts of crafts and wanted to find a way to ~~make a little cash profit~~ share our creations with the world! Hopefully within the new few weeks, we’ll be up and running.

Back to School Boys

2010-09-20T16:41:00.001-07:00

Summer is over, school is starting. Soon the leaves will be changing colors and the days of sunshine shorter and the nights colder. One thing I do love is the change of clothes for the season. Pulling out the winter clothes that I haven’t seen for the past three months makes me feel like I’m getting a whole new wardrobe!

Here are the boys and their back to school pictures. I practically had to bribe Gregory with about half my life savings to sit in the darn chair, look at me and smile.

I can’t believe that I have a child in his first year of high school, a first grader and a preschooler! The times are slipping by too quickly for this mama. Love you my boys.

Labor Day

2010-09-06T08:32:00.001-07:00

Labor Day – the last day of summer vacation, an extra day off from work, the first school night of the school season. Everyone has fresh haircuts, new sneakers, pencils with erasers and are excited to go to school.

Labor day has a different meaning to me. Fourteen years ago on Labor Day I gave birth to my first child. I was a week late and had actually thought “wouldn’t that be funny if he was born on Labor Day?” When I hear Labor Day, I think 25 hours of pain, fear, excitement, exhaustion and pure bliss – all at the same time. Then I saw my baby boy and I knew that every Labor Day I won’t be excited for school to start or the extra day off – I’ll be reminded of the best day of my life and my reason for being.

I love you Gregory!

Our Summer in Review

2010-08-08T16:28:00.001-07:00

Holy cow we’ve had a busy summer and we still have a few weeks left! I’ve neglected my blog because there just haven’t been enough hours in the day to get things done. I’ve finally uploaded all my pictures from the two cameras and phone and have worked diligently today getting them posted. So scroll on through and see what we’ve been up to.

Alan Jackson

2010-08-08T16:26:00.001-07:00

Steve and I went to the Alan Jackson concert this summer. Although I’m not a huge country music fan – I can tolerate in small quantities. Not only are Alan Jackson’s songs good, he’s not too bad looking either! All I had was my camera phone so the pictures are blurry – we were in the 5th row.

Swimming

2010-08-08T16:21:00.001-07:00

What Summer would not be perfect with tons of swimming? All three of my boys are little fish and will swim at any chance they are given. We spend the afternoon with friends on this hot and humid day and swam until we were water logged.

The quietest car ride – EVER!

My Bon Jovis

2010-08-08T15:55:00.000-07:00

Joseph is Six

2010-08-08T15:51:00.001-07:00

Joseph celebrated his sixth birthday a couple times this year. We had one family party with his cousins Daniel and Jason and another with family and his best friends at home.

Singing in the Rain

2010-08-08T15:28:00.001-07:00

What’s better than playing in the rain – dressing like army guys and playing in the rain. What better to do on a hot summer afternoon. I’ve done it myself, plenty of times!

Happy Birthday Brady – At the Zoo

2010-08-08T15:18:00.001-07:00

Brady celebrated his 7th birthday at the zoo – Happy Birthday Friend!

Random

2010-08-08T15:05:00.001-07:00

Some random Summer pictures…

An Evening at the Beach

2010-08-08T14:54:00.001-07:00

We have discovered that the best time to go to the beach is in the evening. A – there are no lifeguards, B – the crowd is gone and C – you’re not sitting out in the blazing sun. The kids get to swim, watch the sunset and tire themselves out and it’s home to bed. It is so relaxing sitting on the beach as the sun is setting and the kids are playing in the water.

Kids + Electronics

2010-08-08T14:48:00.001-07:00

This is what happens when your children learn how to use the camera on your phone…

There are almost 200 pictures on my phone, guess how many are actually “pictures”. It’s fun to look at the world through their eyes!

Kindergarten Graduation!

2010-08-08T12:26:00.001-07:00

Kindergarten is over and Summer is here!

Best.Teacher.Ever.

Family portrait – minus Greg who was still in school.

Luke wanted no part of this whatsoever!

Bestest friends in whole wide world!

Joseph and Patrick

Another great friend – and I was friends with his mom in school!

Joseph and Joshua

My All Star

2010-08-07T18:15:00.000-07:00

Joseph played tball this summer and loved every
minute of it. I am so proud of him. Luke was very
upset that he couldn't play, but next summer
he'll be right out there with his big brother.

Happy Fourth of July!

2010-07-04T06:54:00.000-07:00

What a great holiday week we have in store for us! The weather is going to be absolutely perfect and Steve and I are on vacation! Well, it's called a vacation, but there is certainly no plans for rest and relaxation! Steve is tearing off the garage roof and putting a new one up and I'm going to paint the livingroom. We have fun stuff planned with the boys - camp outs on the livingroom floor, sparklers in the backyard, cookouts, fireworks, trips to the beach and the Renassaince festival.

Enjoy the holidays - I know I will!

Before and After

2010-06-06T16:59:00.001-07:00

Once again (and this is the last time ever I PROMISE) here is what my sun porch has looked like for the past four years:

Ugly yellow walls, stark white curtains and, if you could even see the floor – it is a horrible shade of baby poop brown and wooden.

Now, my porch looks like this:

It still needs some decorations, but it’s coming along nicely~

Curtains!

2010-06-06T16:45:00.001-07:00

I love it when a project goes from this:

To this:

In an afternoon.

I am slowly working on converting my porch from a playroom to an adult room!

Spring Has Sprung

2010-05-17T17:00:00.001-07:00

The warm weather has arrived! Which also means, so have a lot of projects around the house. Steve has replaced four more windows on the second level – only four more to go and then we will have replaced all sixteen windows upstairs. And I’ve been working on…remember the eye sore in this picture:

The nice yellow walls, the piles of toys, the lopsided, unfinished curtain?!? The dreaded “toy porch” is in the processed of being completely overhauled. I have taken numerous bags of toys to the dump, made two trips to the consignment shop and several stops at the Salvation Army. There is not one single toy left on that porch, the walls are now green (like the dining room), I’ve got the ball fringe to finish the curtains and the trim needs one more coat of white paint. Oh, by the way – this paint ROCKS:

I have covered my trim in this paint – it goes on great and wipes off easily! The only thing is it is oil based which makes clean up a challenge! I’ve overcome that challenge by buying cheapo brushes that can just be thrown away after I’m done painting and I keep a wet rag close by for drips. Another trick I learned – put your paintbrush in a zip lock freezer bag and stuff it in the freezer and it will not harder! You can take it right out and start painting again like you just set the brush down 5 minutes ago. Also, make sure the room is WELL ventilated and get the kiddos out if possible.

I’ve bought my new porch furniture and we picked it up from Sears yesterday. All I need to do is find a rug, touch up the painting and buy some decos! Hopefully by the weekend, we’ll be enjoying our new room.

The Boys

2010-05-01T18:59:00.001-07:00

We live in the best neighborhood - I could not ask for a better location for these boys. Right in our area there are at least 13 kids (all boys) that I can name off the top of my head that all go to school together, they are all friends and the parents are friends. I just came back from a night with my girls and there were six boys together playing. I love that any given night we can have a get together and the boys all have their friends around.

Two of the boys have younger brothers with the name Jack – so Joseph tells me tonight that he wants a younger brother with the name of Jack. I asked him what we would do if it was a girl and he answered just as serious as could be “well, she would just have to live in another house because your the only girl allowed in our house”!

Dryer Sheets and Bubble Gum

2010-04-21T16:30:00.001-07:00

I don’t know who the genius is, but my son owes them his life! He went away on vacation with his friend over Spring break with his friend and came home with a ton of laundry. I pulled the final load out this morning and just about went through the roof – four stories up! All over the inside of my brand new dryer – green gum!! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve told the males in this house to empty their pockets, but one day, they’ll understand. I’m sure Greg would have gotten the hint this time, but oh no, a dryer full of his clothes (brand new clothes I just bought for his trip) and the gum was only on one pair of shorts, the rest, strung around the whole drum of my dryer.

Anyways, I checked the internet for a solution and I read that if you soak dryer sheets in water, then place them on the gum in the dryer, and let it sit for 10 minutes, the gum will come out. Low and behold – IT WORKS! I was very skeptical at first because how in the world was that going to work?!? It did take a little bit of elbow grease with all but my rear end in the dryer, but IT WORKS!

And now, I don’t ever want to smell another lavender dryer sheet or spearmint gum again – EVER! And Greg, if this happens again, you are doing your own laundry – you’re lucky I’m even giving you another chance!

Easter 2010

2010-04-10T08:40:00.001-07:00

We did not decorate our Easter eggs this year the traditional way – instead we opted for plastic, already colored eggs and used glitter glue and stickers. I just wasn’t up to the mess of dying the eggs, hiding them overnight and then having to throw them all away (I’m not eating eggs that have been unrefrigerated for any amount of time). The boys had a great time squirting the glitter glue haphazardly all over the eggs and placing stickers on them. An the bonus – the eggs were filled with candy. But, of course, Greg wanted no part of this!

Easter morning we were loaded up on candy. The sad part is – I’ll probably eat a majority of it! I’ve got a candy dish at work that I keep well stocked also! And there is my secret stash of Cadbury cream eggs in the back of the refrigerator that no one knows about.

Then we had an egg hunt. Looks pretty bad that the boys are carrying around plastic bags rather than Easter baskets – but hey – it’s what’s in the eggs that counts~

Hope everyone had a great Easter~

Where are you…..

2010-03-23T15:06:00.001-07:00

Man or man – where have I been – it seems like I haven’t posted in forever! In one sense it seems like things have been crazy busy and there is no time to post and then on the other hand – nothing really exciting has happened to blog about!?!? We were lovin the warm temps we had last week and got outside to play and clean up the yard but now it has been cold and rainy; but that’s what we need for the green grass and flowers to start coming alive!

I’ve also started a new job – still at the same business, but I’m working in the Human Resources office. I just started Monday but all is going great – I hate changing jobs but this worked out good because it was a promotion for me, I got to keep all my benefit time and I already know all the people that I will be working with and for. I get tired of the same old / same old and after five years, I was ready to change things up a little.

I have all the stuff to make the St. Patty’s day photo display below, but I guess now that Easter is approaching, I better think twice. And I can almost guarantee that I won’t get it done in time for Easter either…..guess I’ll just make it a fun summer display! I’ve got about ten other projects going – Steve and I have been working on remodeling the little bedroom upstairs – the bookshelves have been torn out, new windows installed (well one of them….) the rug was ripped off and a nasty layer of glue was left. Steve worked his butt off sanding the floors down, staining and then polying them and now they look wonderful! The trim was all repainted and the wiring redone. Now we plan to turn it into a computer / game room and are looking for the right furniture. I’ll post pictures when that is done.

So – after the computer is moved out of our big bedroom, the little boys will be moved in there and then most of their toys will be brought upstairs so then I can work on the sun porch and then on to the living room! I think by the time we get all these rooms remodeled – it will be time to start all over again.

Oh – and we splurged and bought a huge refrigerator (stainless steel, side by side with ice make and water on the door) and a really nice stainless and black stove. I’m loving them! Then last weekend our dryer was on the fritz – so we bought a new dryer.

Making lots of progress on the house – but not a lot on the blog. More later!

American Idol

2010-03-09T19:13:00.001-08:00

Yawn….Yawn….Yawn…. Oh American Idol I am so disappointed this year!! I have been a faithful follower all this time but I’m seriously considering terminating our time together! I think I’m compelled to sit in front of the TV every week just to see if someone finally GETS IT – gets what?? The “wow factor – Dog, the wow factor – it’s just not happenin for me, know what I’m sayin?” Ugh….and it’s the same old thing those darned song choices! The guys are up tomorrow, will I sit through it, oh probably!

St. Patrick’s Day Photo Display

2010-03-07T07:01:00.001-08:00

I don’t have very many St. Patrick’s Day decorations and to look at them all in the store, they’re pretty pathetic (green plastic hats and tinsel shamrock garland – ick). So, I was happy to see this photo display that Gillian at All The Small Things made:

I have tons of photos of the family and I wanted ways to display them rather than scrapbook albums or a gazillion frames all over the place. AND I have a new office and a big desk screaming for some cuteness. I have already placed my order for the rack and will post my final product soon!

If you would like to read more about Gillian's photo display check it out here!

Is It Time For School Yet?

2010-02-21T17:25:00.001-08:00

Mid winter school break is upon us. The boys have had a great vacation – their cousins Daniel and Jason were up this week and they spend a lot of time with them. We’ve been sledding and playing at McDonalds and out to Family World and hanging out at home playing the Wii. Now that Sunday is here, there are some sure signs that we are ready for school to start. The boys have done nothing but fight all day – Joseph lost his game privileges about 20 minutes after he woke up this morning, Gregory finally rolled out of bed at 3:00 p.m. and Lucas has been crying pretty much all day. If only I could include the sound with this picture sequence – and yes, he is standing in the corner and he put himself there…..

I’m going now to pack lunches because SCHOOL STARTS TOMORROW!!

Dining Room Remodel

2010-02-21T17:17:00.001-08:00

Yes!! The dining room remodel is done and I did it all myself. When we first moved in the wallpaper on the dining room walls was awful and I swore that it would be coming right down…..well, four years later, it is down and repainted.

These are the before shots. The wallpaper is gone and the holes are filled. Please ignore the spots that appear throughout…there is something on my camera lens and I didn’t notice until the picture were already uploaded.

And here are the after shots. The walls are in need of some major decorations, but I didn’t want to buy anything until after it was done so I could see what would work the best. I’m going to get a big oval mirror to hang over the sideboard along with some candle sconces. There is also a long wall opposite the wall with the door – Steve is going to make me a long shelf to hang and he promised it would be done before the end of the week. Also, the boys playroom is on the porch off the dining room (currently a bright shade of yellow) that will also be painted the same green. The toys will be removed and taken to their room so I can have my porch back! That is the next project on my list and will be (keeping my fingers crossed) finished next weekend.

Random Pictures

2010-02-19T17:02:00.001-08:00

The boys went to Gramma and Papa’s today so Steve and I went for a ride. I love hoping in the car and going for an unplanned ride through the little towns. We ended up in Gouverneur, stopped for lunch and visited a Flea Market / Antique store. While riding through the back roads, I snapped a few random pictures – I like pictures of broken down, abandoned barns. With the snow and gray skies, it added a little to the atmosphere.

Winter Olympics

2010-02-15T16:14:00.001-08:00

Is anybody else watching the Winter Olympics? I am and I’m lovin it!

Projects!

2010-02-14T10:22:00.001-08:00

I love finishing a project, mostly because I get so excited to start something new and be done with the old!

This was originally going to be a blanket for the boys, but then decided against it – we have enough blankets. This is for a child or it could be a lap blanket. It’s made with Lion Brands Vanna’s Choice yarn – my favorite!

This sweater is not one of my favorites. It was my first attempt at using fun fir and, sadly, it will be my last. It is too hard for me to work with and because you can’t see your stitches, you need to count them as you are going along and with the kids running around and having to stop work often, I lost track of where I was! The picture doesn’t do the sweater much justice either – I tried an inside picture and the flash reflected off the fun fir, so I took this one outside – and it’s freezing and I felt a little strange hanging out in my back yard with a two year old sized doll, so I didn’t adjust anything, just snapped the shot and came inside.

And now, with these two projects done, photographed and listed on my Etsy site – I can start something new!

If you want to browse my other project – click HERE.

Family Movie Night

2010-02-02T16:00:00.001-08:00

Yeah, I know what your thinking “Jack Black for FAMILY movie night?!?” – so call the parent police!! Joseph and Lucas were too young to understand the humor, Gregory is a teenager and loved every minute of it and Steve and I just laughed and rolled our eyes! It was a good flick for some great belly laughs. Added bonus – quality time with all my guys.

I Heart Old Navy Flag Shirts!

2010-02-01T19:06:00.001-08:00

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

I love Old Navy’s flag shirts! Every Fourth of July since Gregory was very little I have been buying these shirts and taking pictures. I do have older pictures of just Gregory in his shirts, but they need to be scanned in (maybe tomorrow a continuation….). This may have been the last year that Greg will participate in this little tradition I have started; maybe I can get him to put one on, let me take the picture and then he can take it off – I won’t make him go through the “embarrassment” of wearing it all day while we prance around Sackets Harbor.

All Right Snow, I've Had Enough!

2010-01-31T14:21:00.001-08:00

I spent an hour outside shoveling….but you’d never know that an hour later….

Baby It’s Cold Outside

2010-01-29T17:29:00.001-08:00

I really hate winter, I mean really really hate winter, everything about it. The cold, the snow, the ice, scraping car windows (outside and inside the vehicle!), snow building up on the windshield wiper, losing control of the car on ice and snow covered roads, risking my kids life every time we have to go someplace, the huge heating bills (and of course we heat three floors), the bulky winter clothes and washing them cause you can only fit three sweaters and a couple pair of jeans in one load as opposed to about a dozen summer items, dressing the kids in multi layers, laying in bed shivering all night and then going and putting my son who has a raging fever in bed with me to keep me warm, days that the sun will peak out and the temps hit 40’s and then the next day its 20 below, when school gets delay because of the snow but I still have to drive to work, getting showered and dressed each morning only to go outside and get covered in wind blown snow and ice and getting to work soaking wet looking like just crawled out of bed and forgot to wash the mascara off my checks, constant dry skin from forced air heat, sitting in front of a door that opens and closes all day (but then getting smart and locking the front office door and make everyone park out back and use the back door), leaving for work in the dark and getting home in the dark, cold toes that never get warm, blowing on my hands to warm them up and getting light headed, feeling like all I want to do is lay on the couch covered in blankets and do nothing but hibernate and get fat, standing outside the school in freezing temps, with a toddler waiting for school to get out, taking an hour to bundle kids up to play in the snow and then having them say “I have to pee”, then to repeat the process all over for about a half hour outside, having only two seasons that consist of nine months of winter and three months of spring…….shall I go on or do you get the point.

I REALLY HATE WINTER!

Day 28

2010-01-28T17:05:00.001-08:00

Napoleon Dynamite: How long did it take you to grow that moustache?

Pedro: A couple of days.

Brothers

2010-01-25T17:11:00.001-08:00

Sometimes being a brother is

even better than being a superhero.

PEACE

2010-01-24T14:19:00.001-08:00

Peace is not something you wish for; it's something you make, something you do, something you are, and something you give away.

That Face!

2010-01-22T18:13:00.001-08:00

I Love It!

What’s on the Menu

2010-01-21T14:38:00.001-08:00

Ice cold milk from a glass jug, real pure maple syrup and whole wheat chocolate chip pancakes – fast, easy and delicious dinner!

My Second Born

2010-01-20T18:55:00.001-08:00

Dear Middle Child - I've always loved you best because you were my challenge and it made me become the woman I am today. You cried often, had no patience and wore faded hand me downs. You could play in the dirt and leave your toys all over the living room floor and you helped me understand that the world would not collapse if you went to bed with dirty feet. You were the child of my busy, ambitious years and without you, I would not have survived the job changes, moves and the routine that is marriage. Never in your life will you get anything first, but it only makes you stronger.

My Teenager

2010-01-19T19:40:00.001-08:00

Dear First Born - I've always loved you best because you were my miracle. You were the genesis of a marriage and the fulfillment of young love. You sustained me through the hardships, the garage apartments and my going back to college years. You were new, had four unused grandparents and enough clothes for a set of triplets. You never wore the same outfit twice, you were always clean and had your first pair of Nike sneakers when you were four months old. You were an original for a mom who was trying to work the bugs out. You got the name brand clothes, top of the line toys and took three hour naps. You were my beginning.

My First Born

2010-01-18T16:35:00.001-08:00

It may seem that I don’t post many pictures of Gregory on here, I try, I really do; but my problem can be summed up in one word: TEENAGER. The last thing my oldest son wants is to have his picture taken – getting him to look at me and smile, that’s about as simple as getting him to ~~cut his hair,~~ ~~clean his room, hang out with his mom, carry his dirty laundry downstairs, waking him before noon~~, well you get the idea, it’s impossible. And, if you don’t believe me – the proof is in the pictures…

There used to be a time when I called his name and wanted to take his picture, that this is what I would get:

I’m told that when the teenage years pass, these smiles will come back.

God help me until then!

Bowling with the Boys

2010-01-17T16:43:00.001-08:00

For the last and final birthday celebration I took the little guys bowling. We had an awesome time and they loved every minute of it! We bowled with our friends, ate pizza and laughed until our sides hurt. There were a couple young guys in the lane next to us and they were so entertained by the kids, they could hardly bowl themselves!

I had a special shirt made for Luke by Heather at “LaLa A Blog Shop” – here is her LINK. She was super fast, has excellent prices and a quick turn around time. Thanks Heather!

Happy 4th Birthday!

2010-01-17T07:31:00.001-08:00

To The Baby - I've always loved you best because while endings are generally sad, you are such a joy. You readily accepted the milk stained bibs, the frayed books and the used crib. You are the one I hold onto so tightly and never put down. You are the link with my past and my reason for tomorrow. You darkened my hair, quickened my steps and restored my vision. You gave me a sense of humor that security, maturity and durability can not provide. When you are all grown up and have children of your own, you will still be my baby.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!

Popcorn and a Movie

2010-01-16T19:37:00.001-08:00

Today I took the boys to see Avatar – what a great movie! I don’t know what I was expecting, but it was nothing like that. I really enjoyed the story behind the movie, all the boys cared about were the robots and the fighting. We went with a good friend of mine and her two little boys. We stuffed ourselves with snacks bought from the grocery store at a much more reasonable price and ~~snuck in~~ just so happened to have in my purse and popcorn that we legally received from the concession stand compliments of a free small popcorn coupon that we upgraded to a medium for $1.

After the movie we headed over to McDonalds for some dinner, playland fun and ice cream.

Tomorrow – we are going bowling – bumper bowling. The boys have never been to a real bowling alley, they’ve just bowled with the Wii. All they are talking about is how many strikes and spares they are going to get….I’ve reminded them numerous times that bowling balls – REAL bowling balls – weigh a lot more than a Wii controller, but I still don’t think they get the concept.

Three more days of being Three

2010-01-14T18:18:00.001-08:00

Lucas will be four in three more days – where has the time gone? Today was his day to bring snack to school and we had the perfect cookie recipe! Amy from The Idea Room featured the “Play Dough” Lollipop cookie. Not only were these easy to make, it was something fun to make with the boys.

If you would like the recipe following this Link ! Even if you don’t want to make the cookie – check out her blog, I love it!

We had a birthday celebration for Lucas tonight because Daddy has to work the next few nights and won’t be home in the evening to celebrate.

Some Day, I’m Going to Miss This!

2010-01-14T13:49:00.001-08:00

This morning I was reading a blog that I follow – her name is MckMama. Her post this morning was wonderful and it completely hit home for me, put my life in perspective. Click here for a direct link to her post. As I was reading this, I cried that’s how meaningful this was to me.

Having the three boys, life sometimes gets hectic and I forget to live in the moment and enjoy the best days of our lives. From this point forward, I’m going to remind myself “Some day, I’m going to miss this”.

The Dangers of the Wii

2010-01-11T13:10:00.001-08:00

His first black eye – the effects of Wii boxing, very realistic! Just kidding. If you’re wondering what happened, just ask Luke – he’ll tell you he got mad while they were playing Wii and he threw his controller at Joseph. Too bad for Joseph we have to find out Luke has an awesome throw the hard way. I’m sure with three boys, it’s only gonna get worse.

Ahhhh

2010-01-09T11:41:00.001-08:00

Having three boys in the house can sometime be quite trying, especially when it comes to getting a little peace and quiet. It may be selfish on my part, but I have hobbies that I like to partake in once in a while. Today, I have been able to accomplish that....even if for short bits of time.

Luke was playing the Wii in the living room....

Joseph was playing Nintendo in his room....

and Gregory was playing on his laptop in his room....

and I had a little peace and quiet!

The Evolution of a Wall

2010-01-06T17:00:00.001-08:00

This is the evolution of our dining room walls. The top picture is the wallpaper that we have been looking at for four years - FOUR YEARS! How did we ever do - every picture that I took in my dining room has this wallpaper plastered all over the background and I cringed every time I saw it and swore that soon I would strip the walls and repaint - well, it took me four year - FOUR YEARS to start the process. The middle picture is what what left of the next layer. I would love to know the history of these walls - why was this chosen, how long ago and WHY??? The final picture is the wall itself - painted. What color is that anyways - and again WHY??

So now, the wall paper is gone! Next on the list is to scrape the flaky spots on the ceiling and get that painted! It will be amazing how bright this room will be when just the ceiling is fresh white again instead of the ugly, smoke stain, appearance that it has now. I've already decided that the room will be painted a nice shade of sage green and I will be trying the Kilz paint with the primer included! Hopefully it will only be FOUR DAYS before this room is finished.

Then...on to the living room....but that's another entry!

My Love/Hate Relationship

2010-01-04T16:24:00.000-08:00

After a long six months, I've rekindled my love/hate relationship with my wallpaper steamer. Fortunately our side of the house only has one room with only two layers of wallpaper - as opposed to seven rooms and 50 layers of wallpaper on our rental side. It is grueling work, especially to be taking on after a long work day that begins at 5 a.m. But I've set small limits, only a wall a night - this minimizes the mess and still lets me have time to relax at night.

I'm working on the dining room and when the walls are stripped (only two more to go) the walls will be painted a sage green. With a nice fresh coat of bright white ceiling paint and trim work, this room will be wonderful. There are two large windows and a full paned glass door leading out to our sunporch (aka the playroom) which will eventually become my craft room.

After the dining room, I'm moving on to the living room - but there is no wallpaper!! I should be posting pictures with this, but I'm not....maybe tomorrow.

A Picture A Day

2010-01-01T19:54:00.000-08:00

I've seen this done by others and I thought I would give it a try. Along with my new years resolution of posting often on my new blog, I've stared another. It is called "365 Reasons I'm Rich." Every day for the next 365 days I will post a picture of something special in my life. It may the kids, something with the house, a trip we have taken or just something that caught my eye. You can see the sight here: 365reasonsimrich.blogspot.com. Check it out and start one yourself!

Not Me Monday

2009-12-21T16:07:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

So this is NOT my first Not Me Monday - I do it all the time, just never blog about it! So now that I am not completely blog obsessed and glad that Jennifer created this awesome blog for me so I can do this - I am not going to start out my new blog by expelling all my Christmas "not mes"!

Am I not glad that Christmas is only a few short days away - nope, not me. I am not overstressed, sleep deprived, broke and totally unprepared at all. That's too bad that in just a few short days - it will all be over....for another year anyway. And next year, I am NOT breaking my vow to start my Christmas shopping in August, prepare my cards by October, have all my wrapping done by November and enjoy a stress free December. Nope - not me!

I will not spend my entire $800 Christmas bonus on household items and fun stuff for me instead of buying all sorts of gifts. I will not let the boys completely trash the house while I stand in the kitchen baking buckeye cookies that I will not totally screw up and end up throwing them all away (and it was NOT a double batch)!!

And on a final note - I will not return, regift or hide in my closet any Christmas presents.

Merry Christmas!

The Ring

2009-12-15T13:10:00.000-08:00

I got a ring today.

From a boy.

He said it was because he loves me.

I love him too.

With all my heart.