Once again, the slackety-slacker LOL.

Oh well, so maybe I should resign myself to like....once a month blogging? LOL. I try to keep up and have the best intentions, but life just keeps going!

Everyone is doing well, it's nearly Christmas and we are done shopping and happy about that for sure! The kids gifts are wrapped and ready to go. We downsized tremendously realizing over the years that if we get them a ton, and everyone else gets them a ton, they have lots of tons of crap and nowhere to put it. So, we got them about 4-5 gifts each, and each a new bicycle.

Everything is going ok for all of us, been kind of a busy time thats for sure. If you have myspace, check out all the pics there, I am always adding some.

Just turned 30 over the weekend, don't really feel any different, but I've officially left the 20's and that's kind of weird. I had a really great birthday though and spent some much needed time alone wtih Chuck. My parent were kind enough to take the kids and dogs for the weekend leaving us in peace and without ties that made us report home for duty throughout the day LOL. It was wonderful! Chuck got me a little point and shoot kodak camera so I don't have to lug my beasty camera everywhere (like to Disney, or little parties/outings). I love it! My parents got me a coffee maker, and my MIL got me a nail care kit and gave me $25 :) Very nice!

Guess that's about all I have to say for now...oh the kids FINALLY seem to be doing better! They got a vaccination a week or so ago and also the flu mist. They were awesome sports about, no tears I'm happy to report. Last record shows her weighing 37 lbs and he is 42.5lbs. I believe she's 40" tall? He's probably 44 if I had to guess.

Well, to alll, have a very merry christmas and if I don't report back b4 then, a happy new year!

Oh...here are a few pics from Disney Hollywood Studios (12/14/08)

Busy buys weekend

Thanksgiving was SOOOO good!! The food was excellent and we were blessed with the company of my Pawpaw, his wife, Aunt Debbie, Aunt Darlene, and Andrew and Jackie. Plus my parents and our little family of 4. We had way too much food and TONS left over, but it was all fantastic :)

Friday night Raegan had Nutcracker dress rehearsal. I've yet to load the photos from her show, but it all went quite well. There were 2 showings on Saturday (2pm and 7pm). At the 2 o'clock show there were some 'technical' troubles and wouldn't you know that when the curtain dropped, my child was stuck on the wrong side staring the audience in the face trying to figure out how to get backstage with the rest of the little mice. Apparently a stage-mom helped her out though. It was totally hilarious! The 7 show went much better all the way around...no technical difficulties and all the children landed in the right place LOL. Raegan got a bouquet of pink roses from daddy, a pretty orchid corsage from Aunt Bit (darlene) and a Christmas tree plant from Gramma and Poppa. She was totally excited :) Kind of weird to see my baby in make-up though!

Chuck's mom(Pat) and her boyfriend (Frank) came all the way from Chicago to see Miss Raegan in her ballet debut! We thought that was nice, and actually added to the excitement for missy. How nice!

Sunday we drove down to Key Largo (with Pat and Frank) to go on a boat ride only to find out it was cancelled after we arrived. So we just went ahead and drove down to Key West :) It was nice, Chuck got soaked by rain going to get the van. We had a nice time though and it was a neat place to have seen in our time here in FL (can cross that off the list).

Monday I took off work and we all went up to Epcot for the day. It was lovely, nice and cool outside and overall a nice day. The decorations were pretty and the kids were really good.

Tuesday evening we had everyone over (MIL leaves Friday) for Chuck's famous Moroccan Chicken dinner. It was excellent and nice to spend time with everyone....today nothing special...had some Greek food for lunch (Pat, Frank, Chuck, and I), and tonight we'll probably just grab pizza because we're planning to put the tree up tonight!! Yay!

That's about it! Next post should have lots of pics....

The same old story...

Life with the Blair's has been about the same I guess. We're still battling sickness, poor Raegan has been sick for 5 or 6 weeks now and I just can't seem to keep it away. Logan will get sick off and on, but he kicks it quickly. I've called the doc, they say it sounds like a virus. So, hands are tied and I just have to keep listening to the poor kid hacking.
This week is Thanksgiving and we are happy to say that a whole bunch of family will be coming to our house for the meal! Seems like most of Tampa will be on the road to us this time!! We're excited, I'm a little busy bee trying to get the house in order, but we'll get there :) I still don't have any pictures or anything on the walls, kinda boring I guess? Oh well...I am determined to hang art by me...so I'll be patient and wait it out I guess. We have big meal plans, and the weather is supposed to be low 70's, so it will be nice enough for folks to be outside! I'll take lots of pics too.
During Raegan's rehearsal Saturday she got whacked in the face with a prop and got a nice bloody nose...freaked everyone out, but I'm happy to report no bruising and no broken nose :) She's a trooper. It was awfully pathetic though...the things she does for arts' sake! Her performance is this Saturday, dress rehearsal is on Friday (I'll be taking the photos then). I'll be so happy when it's done!
My MIL is coming in to town for the performance and Sunday we are planning to go to Key Largo for the day, that'll be cool since I've never been to the keys :) Check that off my list of things 'to do' before moving out of Florida. That leaves only 2 things...go to the Bahamas and go on a cruise! We've done everything else that I want to. I took Monday off work so I'll have a 5 day break from work, yippee!!
Guess that's about it...

Nutcracker be-gone!

Weekend has come and gone. It was a nice weekend, but like all others far too short. Saturday was Raegans long freaking ballet classes/rehearsals. Driving me nuts, I'll be pretty happy when they're done! We were planning on Disney this coming Sunday, but I just got an e-mail that she has a mandatory rehearsal on Saturday AND Sunday because this is the last weekend of rehearsals. I am so glad we're almost through this! I love that she's in these little shows, but I'm kinda missing the weekend freedoms.

So, Saturday we pretty much did ballet class and hung out around the house, Saturday night we had a few folks over to sit out by the fire pit. I was sick so I gave up by 1am, I think the last of them left around 2:45. Freaks. Sunday I cleaned house, we went to eat at McDonalds for dinner, I was still sick.

Monday called in to work. What a glorious day...sick and all. I drugged myself and was pretty well functional. Caught all the laundry up and cleaned the house up. Had plenty of time to rest and take breaks, then did the grocery shopping around 4.

Tuesday, back to work, aka hell. Each day that passes makes me realize more and more how miserable I am at work. Hopefully I'll be able to quit or at least go part time one of these days. It's so much less stressful on everyone when I'm at home. Oh well. Bills to be paid...story of my life. Here's a pic of the kids playing with the train tracks (I constructed that bad boy on Sunday! Go Mommy!).

Daylight savings, elections, sicknesses, and moving?

A few from Halloween first....

Daylight savings time sucks. I have to say I'm not loving the early darkness, but I do love the sunny mornings. Last week I tried jogging/walking and I did love it...it was in the mornings before work and it was so refreshing. Then I got sick, and now I have no energy and this week I have done nothing. I've been gaining weight back at a steady rate, hate it, but feel helpless and down about it. My clothes are tighter than I'd like. I say, "I gotta do something" and I want to, but it's so hard for me to find the energy or drive. I want it. I can make time for it, I just can't force myself. So I'll just keep clipping along and hope to get a strong 'wind' to do what I need to do to shed at least 20 lbs...I'd be done if I could lose this last 20. I will lose it. Maybe that's what I should say.

Election time! I voted. I was on the fence all the way to the ballot. I couldn't choose who worked better for me and ultimately, at the very last minute, decided on Obama. My fingers are crossed that he'll bring forth this 'change' that everyone so desires. I do like a younger man in the office right now, and I love that our nation has made history.

Kids are sick, they have colds...she's much worse than he, but we're working through it. This past weekend we decided on Sunday to head up to the Magic Kingdom for a fun day at the park. It was really nice! The weather was PERFECT, the kids were good, we brought some friends and that was fun, and I can't wait to go back.

We are still wanting to move, trying for next year but we'll see. I'm really so tired of the stress of it all and terrified to move and not have a way to pay the mortgage here and trying to make a house payment (rent or otherwise) in IL. If we can, great...if not, I don't know what to do. The best news I can think of is that my parents said they'd rent the house from us. Their lease is up in July, so that could very well work! I think the best bet for us is going to be to let them rent it for a few years until the economy flips and then either sell it to them, or sell it to someone. That would be great :)

Well, I better get to work. Yay.

Halloween has come and gone...

Seems to be the nature of the beast anymore...time flies and I find myself wishing away hours of each weekday and hoping that the hours will somehow end up in my evenings or early mornings...the only time I really have with my family.

SO halloween! It was fun :) The kids got to dress up for school and had a big party there, came home with a TON of treats. I made them little grab bags to give to their friends and rather than candy I put a small activity book, some crayons, play-doh, a ball, a slinky, and a sheet of stickers (they were monster bodies and body parts so you take the body off the sheet, put it on a piece of paper, and basically build a monster). They turned out nice...no clue what the kids or their parents' thought of them, but I liked them. In the evening we went around my moms neighborhood with a TON of other kids and they got another big bag of candy each...so we have a ton. Greeaaaaaat, just what I need. I didn't take any pictures with a real camera, just the camera phone.

Raegan's ballet is going pretty well. She isn't the most focused in the class but she does love it and they say she's doing ok, so I guess I'll believe them? She isn't quite past thinking it's a game or play time and realizing that it's something to learn, guess we'll see if she wants to keep doing it when she hits that point. Her Nutcracker performance is coming up...Saturday after Thanksgiving. She's really excited about that...and so am I. I think it'll be adorable!

They are both doing pretty well in school. Not too much on the time-out or mean Mr. Ben these days, so Logan must've figured out how to behave.

Chuck started his new shift working 11:30 am - 9pm. It's ok. He wakes up at about 7 and get the kids ready and takes them to school then he does his own thing...goes to the gym, whatever. Comes home at 9, hangs out and goes to bed. He's frustrated with the shift and his job and wants to just say screw it and move back to IL. That should solve all of our problems, right? Yeah...exactly. I would love to be able to move back there and if we both had jobs and daycare lined up for sure, some way to sell our house now, and pay for the move I'd pack my sh*t tomorrow and leave this weekend. It doesn't work that way though...or maybe it does and I'm the idiot who can't see how?

So, I guess that about sums up my life. Work at a job I hate and get underpaid for, go home and rush through the evenings to get the kids to bed at a decent time and try and squeeze in some quality time with each of them, make dinner, clean the house up after everyone goes to bed, make sure the dogs don't smell disgusting, scoop the cat litter, finish editing photos that people have paid me to do, spend time with my husband when he gets home, go to bed, get up and start all over. Every day. Yay. <

Keeping up

I'm finding that keeping up with myself on the weekends and during the weeks is a challenge, so keeping this updated is pretty tough! Last week was the same as any other. We (meaning the kids, dogs, and myself) spent a lot of time at my parents so Chuck could sleep in peace. He is asleep when I get home and it's tough to keep the kidlets quiet, so I camped out there. The problem with that is that I get nothing done at home and end up being stressed about it. Oh well, I'm probably not the first to deal with this type of work schedule.

Chuck sold his Jeep and bought a Jeep Comanche for a 5th of the price he sold it for. That's cool I guess. He seemed excited so whatever :) Friday night we went for pizza like usual and Chuck wanted to work on the Comanche so he and my dad fiddled around with that and my mom and I went to wal-mart to attempt grocery shopping. Didn't work. We bought Logan's Optimus Prime costume and a few other small things and left. The kids were just nuts.

Saturday morning I had a photo shoot on the beach at 8am with a couple...pretty much an engagement session I guess. Then saturday night was there teeny tiny wedding shoot. Both seemed to go well, no rain and they were a nice couple. I haven't gone through the photos but I will be soon. During the day Saturday Raegan had ballet twice (class and rehearsal for the Nutcracker) and I bought all the tickets for the show. It's going to be adorable! We went to Stuart to Oktoberfest and it was pretty lame, so we walked over to Duffy's for dinner. Then came the photo shoot, then we went home.

Sunday we went to Sam's club and spent way too much and still have some stuff to buy! It's amazing. Then I went to wash the comforter and forced the kids to try chinese food. They actually did pretty good with it....none of us were starving but just a little hungry. They each had a bit of egg roll, and beef and brocoli (and fried rice). They ate it all and didn't give me too many complaints. I had to feed it to them, but hey, I'll take it!

Now we're back at Monday, it's a little crazy here at work, and Halloween is Friday! How fun :) The kids are really excited about! I want to get some costume pictures of them so we'll see if that happens!

It's been a while...again

Let me see how much I can remember....we went on vacation from October 6-12 at Disney World. We had a lot of fun and it was much-needed for our whole family. The kids were really pretty good, they were ready to come home after 5 days though, so that's something to keep in mind. We arrived at Disney Monday afternoon, checked in, bought our passes, and we actually went to the park that night. We were smart enough to buy some nice ponchos before we checked in and boy did that pay off. It rained every single day we were there. On Wednesday I was the big dummy and didn't drink enough, got severely dehydrated, and we had to leave Hollywood Studios so I could lay in the room and re-hydrate. I felt really bad and it was my own fault, but it really did suck. I didn't take my camera in the park because of the rain, so the only pictures I took were on the last day and they were just around the hotel. No big deal though because we decided to buy the seasonal pass, so we'll be back for plenty of photos :)

We left Pixie with Chucks dad/stepmom. She loved it there and when we went to pick her up we brought home her new big brother, Teddy. He is a sweet boy, just has a little learning to do. They didn't get along well at first (she didn't like him), but she's coming around slowly. He's double her weight (13 ish lbs) and still needs to be neutered. We like him though...even though he likes to eat the kids toys. Molly (the cat) is a little peeved with us though.

Chuck's work shift is once again moving. For this week and next week he's back to working 12am-10am and then after that his shift goes to 11am-9pm. It's bullshiz and we are both very angry about the whole situation. It's so hard to be a 'family' with a schedule like that. As a result we're hoping to be able to move back to Chicago sooner than later. He may have to work crap hours there for a while, but at least he'll be where he wants to be. The house is what's slowing us down in that department...

This past Sunday we did some pumpkin carving with the kids and some friends of ours. It was fun and they had a good time playing. They drew the faces on their pumpkins and I cut them out. SO cute!! I love them and they are so thrilled to have been a bigger part of it this year. Plus they got to play with a bunch of kids and eat pizza for dinner...what could be better news for a 4 year old?

That's all for now, enjoy the photos!

Photography, yay!

So I've found out the cost to technically start business is less than a 100, but once you add in the website it goes over. Still not bad, and I'm hoping by the end of the year it'll be done! This month I have a family shoot, a model workshop, and a small wedding! Seems to be catching on which is cool, but could be a fluke too. Right now I'm going by word of mouth until I get up and running on the web and start formal advertising. Should be fun :)

Another weekend gone and it's almost October??

Wow, time is really getting away from me. I'll be breif because I want to be :) Chuck is back to starting at 4am, much better than midnight! So now we'll see him in the evenings for dinner as a family. He'll still need to go to bed by 8 or 9 at the latest, but at least he's got a few hours with all of us. That's nice..

Raegan has some form of a cold, seems like Logan only had a touch of it so lets hope it stays that way. She's moved into the nasty hacking cough now, but otherwise she's alright. My dad has it now, and Chuck had it for about a day and a half. My throat has been off and on achy, but I'm hoping to get through it without any issues. Only time will tell.

The third week of ballerina school went ok. Raegan has been very 'punchy' lately and is really getting a bit mouthy. I don't know what's gotten into her, but she's not her usual sweet self as much latley. Struggling to figure out her 'place' I guess. She didn't 'behave' as well as she should've for rehearsals, but did well in the class. I'm sure she'll get it, but it's hard for me to watch and know she's going to 'get in trouble' if she doesn't tone it down and pay attention. It's so unlike her, but I guess she's entitled to be 'off' at times. I just hope she kicks it soon.

Logan is a little more crazy than normal too, but nothing like her. He's adjusting well to school for the most part and seems to be listening better so that's good. He likes to go and doesn't seem as negative in terms of "I can't do it". So, some progress there I suppose!

We are down to one work week left before I much awaited family vacation. We are going to Disney for 7 days, 6 nights (not all days at the park) and while it isn't ideally what we 'wanted' to do, it'll still be fun, and it will be nice to get away from everything for a week!!

Pixie has her follow-up appointment today at the vet for her spay, she seems to be doing very well, so I'm expecting a good report. Heaven help me I hope that dog can have a bath! She is absolutely rancid! LOL.

Well, it's almost lunch time so I'm out!

Pretty tiring weekend!

Friday night we went for our usual pizza, then ice cream, and then we spent the remainder of the evening hanging out with some of our neighbors. It was fun, but it was almost 11 before they went to bed, so Saturday made for a few tired kiddos.
Saturday we had ballet, 10 am and 1:30-2:30 for rehearsal. She's still loving it and we're considering giving her a few private lessons to help her get her skills in order. She would probably really love that!
We've decided to hold off on putting Logan into anything for now I guess. We'll wait until after the holidays and let him have just school to adjust too. He seems fine with that idea!
Saturday night we had some friends over for a nice steak dinner and some fun hanging out and drinking...and staying up WAY too late (again...3:30-4am). Chuck let me sleep til whenever on Saturday morning and I felt good rest-wise but like hell from drinking too much. I wasn't really functional until about 2pm. The kids were great though, laid and watched tv with me, we played candyland..etc. Nice and easy. They rock. Then Sunday night after daddy went to bed (6pm to get up at 11), we went to Gramma and Poppa's for dinner. The kids played and we watched "What happens in Vegas". It was cute!
This morning Pixie was dropped off to get spayed. Poor muffin-cake. I'll pick her up after work today and I'll try and clean up the house this evening and do a few loads of laundry to keep up so I don't have to deal with it on the weekend as much. So, I guess that is that!

Trying to not fall behind

Quick summary! I don't want to burn out typing, so I figure if I keep it short I'll be more likely to come back, right?

• Raegan LOVES ballet. She started last Saturday and is in The Nutcracker on November 29th as a mouse and an angel. It's expensive to start, but I believe will be well worth it in the long run.

• Both kidlets tried Tae Kwon Do (was more for Logan, but she wanted in on it). Logan didn't like it, she liked it ok, but we've decided against it since it was mostly for him anyways. I guess we'll find something he'll like after the holidays...maybe soccer or gymnastis. School seems to be sufficient as an activity to him, he's still getting used to it. We'll slow down a bit, let him get into the school groove, and then re-visit activities for him.


• Chuck's schedule is still starting at midnight. We've been having lunch together every day so we can at least see each other, and then he heads out to see the kids for an hour or so. It's rough, and there's little to no weekday 'couple time' if you know what I mean, and that sucks too. We're making it through, but it's definately not a 'choice' schedule.


• Pixie the puppy gets spayed on Monday. She's about 5 months old and 5 lbs. She's pretty funny and awesome and overall a pretty darn good puppy. She's pretty much potty trained, although she doesn't bark to go outside if you remember to let her out every few hours she doesn't have accidents. She's a crate dog, and she does great with that too.


• The house is coming along, we are wanting to do more and more to it, but don't want to get carried away because we're still contemplating moving in the next year - two years. We want to improve it, but we don't want to break the bank doing it. We do love it though (minus the well water).

Put a few shots from Raegans ballet class in too :)

Ugh!

I'm having an ugh sort of day today. I'm just getting more and more annoyed that I come to work to sit on my butt and do nothing...and not see my kids while I do it. I'm seriously counting minutes until I can leave.

Anyhow, on from that. They seem to be adjusting well to school and the teacher has gotten better about communicating whats going on. I have a few more questions for her, but I'll get to them...nothing super pressing. Raegan is doing well, the teacher has to drum up new things for her to do to keep her going. Logan gets frustrated about writing, holding his pencil, etc. but he's getting better. He needs constant encouragement because more often than not he's telling me he 'can't' do it. He's a smart little dude, he just takes a little longer for certain things to 'click'. That's fine, it's just a different approach. The one concern of mine is the teachers husband. They also run a daycare and he pretty much deals with the little ones while she works with 4 year olds. Well, he's not exactly a 'charmer' and is the mean one. Logan is always telling me that he doesn't like the guy and that he puts him in time out. He tells me why he's in time out and I've agreed with it every time so it's ok. Well, yesterday he said the guy held his hands and put them in his lap "hard" and it was mean. Now that bothers me, so I'm going to have to watch this biz. He doesn't need to be forceful with the kids. Put them in timeout, but i'm not thinking grabbing their hands/shoulders or whatever is a good thing. Chats to come about that shiz.

Saturday morning at 10 Raegan has her first ballet class. Then at 1 she 'auditions' for the Nutcracker. I'm guessing the audition is to see how quickly she can catch on and follow instructions. She'll do well, I just know it. It's going to be a surprise, so I know she'll be excited. I'm leaving it up to Logan if he wants to do ballet or karate, we'll check out either he chooses. So, that information is yet to come! Should be fun though. They'll love having the activity that's for sure.

Well, I guess I should go back to doing absolutely nothing while looking busy. Yippee.

Another weekend gone and we are steadily rolling through September...I just can't believe how quickly time flies by anymore. It started picking up speed after the birth of the kids, I was amazed then how quickly days went by and how fast their little faces changed. Now it's nearly blinding...just bought Raegan some size 5 shirts and Logan is in a boys size 6...no more baby clothes for him...she can still range from 4T-5/6 girls, so I have a little more variety for her (and it's a little cheaper on the 'T' side of things). I just look at them now and see little boy/girl, not baby. How bittersweet that the time should go so quickly. In a flash I'll be sending them middle school...then high school. Wow.
So, not a lot going on really...we made it through the first week of midnight shifts and we all pretty much hate it. Oh well. I'm geared up for another stressful week that'll fly into a weekend that in turn flies by. I hate that. We had a fairly nice weekend I guess, not really any major happenings. We attempted to go shopping Saturday and that was foiled by a tired little girl, and then Saturday night we hung out with our friends again (that also have a 4 year old) and stayed up far too late, once again rendering Sunday a useless sort of slug day. I really can't keep that business up, staying up til 4 or 5 and getting up at 8...not workin' out so good for me physically...guess I'm not 20 anymore.
This Friday we were supposed to meet up with a friend with twins for Mickey's not-so-scary halloween, but it's looking bleak actually. I would've loved to go, but I think we'll be better off saving that money towards our own vacation in October. I really can't wait.
Today's plan, work as usual...try and get an impressive amount of things done. I have to get out some thank you cards!! I need to go grocery shopping and clean at least my bathroom that is really gross (to me anyways), and somehow fit in an eye dr. appt at 5pm, time with the kids, and have them clean and to bed by 8pm. Not a lot of time there...ugh. Well, I guess I better get the ball rolling here at work.

A little bit of this, a little bit of that...

So, Labor day weekend! Thankfully it was 3 lovely days long :) Friday night the kids and I met my friend Jamie and her 4 year old girl, Emily, for pizza! It was tasty (as usual) and afterwards we went home and just chilled.
Saturday morning at 10 Pixie had another appointment to get some more puppy shots and get her spay scheduled (it's sometime this month...I think the 25th. We got to Petsmart (where her vet is) and I looked over at the kids when we got to the coutner (back of the store) and Logan had plopped himself on the floor in the middle of the store and was a terrible shade of white (absolutely zero pink in his lips). I was like, "Whoa! Are you okay, bud?" He just sat there with this blank stare looking at me without knowing what to say. So I put the pooch down, handed the leash to Raegan, and picked him up. We got back in the room (they were fast) and they took her out to trim her nails and give her shots and he proceeded to throw up in the sink in the exam room. Yikes! So we left, got half way home and he threw up ALL over himself, his seat, and a little on the seat under his carseat. So I had to strip the poor thing down to his undies, take is carseat out and put it in the back of the van, put a towel down on the seat and put him in it so he didn't have to ride home in vomit. Luckily I had a small packet of wet wipes that I used to clean him up. We stopped at my moms house, washed the carseat, his clothes, and cleaned the van. Everything is back to normal now and he was totally back to himself by 1pm in the same day. He ate 3 helpings of everything at dinner that night! Nothing funky with Raegan yet, so knock on wood it was a fluke! We did nothing Saturday to make sure he was back to good!
Sunday I had a photo shoot for a baby's dedication. I got home from that at about 1. Took the kids to eat at Boston Market, went to the park with them, came home, cleaned the kitchen, had pizza and booze with some friends, hung out, and stayed up WAY too late...again (4am), got up at about 8:30, went to breakfast with everyone at 10, cruised A1A in the Jeep, went to the mall, had some Subway, bought a couple books, went home so Chuck could go to bed. I had some yummo Ramen noodles, Raegan had Cocoa Puffs, and Logan had mac n cheese (and then cocoa puffs). What a dinner!
A shizzy new schedule. Chuck is back to working midnight-whenever and it sucks. We were in a pretty good routine with the kids starting school, dinner, gym, etc....now it's a little screwy and we have to work out some sort of schedule to get it right. He thinks its "probably" temporary (maybe a month or so) and then he'll have normal hours once they get that shift in order. It's not cool, but we'll get through it as best we can.
The kids' school was closed Thursday through Monday and sure enough Monday night when I was getting my loves to bed, Logan's apprehension kicked back in. It took me an hour to get him to stay in bed and relax. He was asleep by 8:30 or 8:40 so still not bad, but he was set that he did not want to go back to school today. So, my mom dropped him off and said he did just fine. No tears or hesitation, he just needed to get there and remember that it's still ok. I need to devise some sort of 'plan' to get more involved from the sidelines. I don't pick up or drop off the kids so I don't have interaction with the teacher. I will have to see if she'd be willing to e-mail me what they are doing/learning, what their snack for that day was, if there were time outs or any behavior problems, what they like to do at school, etc. Gives me a path to discuss what they've done with them. They aren't so great at remembering, so the best way for me to engage conversation is to have some sort of guideline. So, I'm working that one out...
Enough for now.

Blood & Money

Today I spent my 'work' morning driving around doing errands which is FABULOUS because it gets me out of the office and being bored (as I am now). I pulled into a parking space outside of the building department and found 20 bux on the ground!! WOOOT!!

When I got back to work from running the errands (12:35) and realized I had an appt. to donate blood on my lunch hour at 12:45. I made it by 12:50, did my part, and now I'm back at work ticking the time away.

Labor day weekend plans include, a 3 year olds bday party tomorrow, a photo shoot sunday for a dedication, and nothing monday that I know of. I really don't feel like doing anything that involves a commitment, but oh well. At least I'm not at work, right?

Right, so Kool-aid is apparently removable??

I am guessing I have impecable timing in the worst of ways. As you may or may not have read in previous posts the reason we lost 66% of our security deposit because there were 3 or 4 kool aid stains. Well guess what! I JUST found out today that if you take a super hot/wet wash cloth, lay it over the stain and then iron the stain (even old stains) it will come out. You may have to do it multiple times, but supposedly it works. So I guess that was a $750 lesson. Yay.

An update on the kids' school....Raegan is still happy as a clam to go every day (she'd go Saturday and Sunday if we let her). I was told that yesterday (day 4 of school) Logan promptly got out of the car himself and RAN to the door to get inside and see his teacher!! He really enjoys it now and boy am I relieved! I knew he'd grow to love it, but it's so nice to see it actually happening. That made me smile....heck in the worst of the worst moods my little pumpkins can ALWAYS find a way to at least make me grin. They are pretty awesome little people :)

Well, in light of our cabin cancelation we've decided to do Disney...again! It's ok with us though, we love it there. We're thinking of spicing it up some though and maybe going to Universal too, or a water park. We'll see. We're determined to take it easy though and take our time. As often as we go there's really no sense in us rushing to get on rides, now is there? If anything we'll spend more time at the 'other' parks to see things they haven't. It'll be fun, and it's only 39 days away. It sounds like a little patch of heaven. We have to figure out what to do with Pixie Pixie Pumpkin Pie, but otherwise we're set to go! Oh and someone will need to scoop the kitty litter and make sure fatty has sufficient food/water. That's the easy pet...

I guess that's enough rambling. I can't wait until it's magically Friday afternoon. I'm sick of this week at work.

Vacation plans, T-Rex arms, and Fatty McFat

So, with our Portofino bull crap, we've decided that the most responsible route we can take at this time in regards to the vacation to the cabin in the mountains, is unfortunately to cancel it. We can't pull together the funds fast enough to be content there without being stressed about it. So, we're now trying to figure out what we're going to do in the meantime for our vacation. We will of coarse have to do something locally, but oh well. The important thing is that we'll be off of work and away from all the stupid-ness of day to day life. I'm guessing it's going to be camping or Disney related, but we have yet to decide and the search is on. We don't have much to spend so we need to decide based on that! We do plan to do our cabin in the woods vacation next fall though, so at least we have time to plan for it and something to look forward to!

I went to the gym last (as usual on Mon-Thur) and it was 'arms' night. For some reason my arms took more of a beating last night than usual and they are a bit achy today making them feel heavy to operate, hence the T-Rex arms...everything from the elbow up is what aches the most so imagine operating phones, etc. with just your forearms moving LOL. Now picture me, T-Rex-ified. Not fun, but hopefully worthwhile.

Speaking of the gym, what the hell? This is my 4th week going and I've gained 5 lbs and a whole lot fat is sticking out. It's gross. My pants are WAY too tight to be even remotely comfortable. I was warned that toning my muscles would push the fat forward, but DAMN, the fat needs to start melting off because I am seriously uncomfortable! Ugh. I see why people quit the gym.

Housewarming, some family, and another 1st day.

Saturday's "housewarming" party went very well. We had some friends and family present, lots of food, and a really great time. Thank you to those who gave 'gifts' it wasn't required, but none-the-less appreciated. It was nice to see our friends in family enjoying our home as much as we do!

Included in the party were my 2 Aunts, Debbie and Bit (Darlene), my cousins Andrew & Jackie (and their 3 beagle pooches), and our friends: Jamie & Jeremy, Paul & Terri, and Debbie & Henry. It was nice to see them all. The kids just ADORE their aunts and cousins and got so excited to see them all. We got to spend a little more time with them Sunday, the kids swam at my moms with Andrew & Jackie, and my aunts, parents, and myself sat down to watch a movie together before they had to leave and head back for Tampa. I'm so happy they made the trip over!!! LOVE YOU GUYS!

On a more depressing note, my best friend Mary's dad passed away early last week. The funeral was Saturday morning. My dad and I attended and it was one of the most sad things I've been part of in a very long time. While I didn't know Linn very well, it hurt my heart to see Mary and her mom, Nancy so sad. What a terrible, terrible thing to have happened to such a wonderful family. My heart goes out to them, may he rest in peace.

The kids went back to school today. I guess it was kind of a 2nd first day for them since after their real first day, school was canceled the rest of the week. It went well, Logan did really well being left this time. I think his real first day was enough to establish a bridge of trust with his teacher. That's all he needed. She asked that we work with him holding a crayon correctly as 'homework' but otherwise, they are both doing well with it. Raegan is in her own little heaven. I think they're both going to enjoy their schooling at 'Little Beginners.' Their drawings and first day things were really cute too :) I'll try and get some photos of their work to share with everyone.

Today we found out that despite our best efforts, we'll only be refunded 1/3 of our security on the other house. We are absolutely THRILLED to be finally completely done with that house. It was no less than a thorn in our sides. So, although we didn't get back nearly what we thought we deserved, every little bit helps. It's a relief to be done with it though.

Plans for tonight: Start the spaghetti sauce when I get home (has some chicken chunks in it) and get dinner started. Work for a few minutes with Logan and his crayon/pencil holding. Play with them, maybe build a train track or play Candy Land...or we can play with the ball/bat outside. Have dinner. Bath time. Story time. Bed time! After they head to bed and fall asleep it's off to the gym for mommy! Somewhere in all that I'll squeeze in 1 or 2 loads of laundry as well to keep it as current as possible.

Well, I better get back to work now!

Friday, unhappiness, excitedness, school and pizza

Yay for Friday! I always love when Fridays arrive. It means that for the next two days I get to spend my time doing whatever I want, playing with my kids, hanging with my hubby. It always seems so unfair to me that I dedicate the majority of my life to a company that gives me little (other than a paycheck) in return. What do I gain from it? Learning how to act invisible to avoid a boss that thinks he's the king of the world. Invisibility would be a nice function to have elsewhere, but alas, I cannot hide from all problems.
Unhappiness...it's such a tricky topic really. It's very clear to me that some in my life are quite unhappy right now. My best friends father passed this week...it's so sad :( Another friend is in fear of losing her job, her plans aren't falling together as they should. My husband's job is driving him insane and some of that general ickiness certainly trickles into the house, and the kids and I feel his anger (while filtered, his general unhappiness is pretty well written in his face). My boss, not so happy because the 'jobs' aren't pouring in. That's never good for any of us...especially those of us who need to remain employed. Sounds like a big fat happy world out there, doesn't it? Money. Don't get me started on that one...it's never a source of happiness.
So, through some general unhappiness..comes a ray of sunshine and excitedness for a vacation we're planning to take in early October. Just the 4 of us, a trip to the mountains of North Carolina and a stay in a cabin in the woods, topped off with a little Jeep trip, and then a short train ride through the mountains to *hopefully* see some leaves kissed by autumn. I'll be bringing my camera, don't worry! Also, I got a random message on a photography message board from someone who lives in my area. She said she loved my work and wants to know if I'm accepting clients :) Yay, that was exciting! Of coarse, I don't have my business license so I can't technically take on clients that pay...so that's not so exciting.
The kids start school again on this coming Monday. Raegan is excited...it'll be a bad day for Logan again I'm sure. I was so upset with Fay for coming in the first week. He did 'ok' on the first day when I dropped him off, but I don't know how well he'll do on a 2nd '1st' day. If he can get a few consecutive days of happiness, he'll be fine. I just hate that sad look on his face :(
Pizza. Friday night is our traditional family pizza night at a little local shop called 'Rae's". I look forward to it, but we'll probably have to skip it for a month or so. Big shock, we have residual money issues from the damn rental house from hell. I have such animosity towards the people that own it. We were such good tenants, never complained, called ONE time in 2 years, and took care of the place above and beyond expectation...only to be told that the few koolaid stains in the carpet are going to cost nearly the entire security deposit. What a wasted effort it was to bother getting that house in order to be shot in the foot for our efforts. I'm so bitter over the whole deal and my gut just churns to think of the months of fall-out we have to clean up because they were jerks about the situation. Whatever. So anyways, the pizza...my dad bought a boatload of pizza crusts from a 'crash and dent' store that we froze and I'm going to search online today to see how to make them work. From what I understand they are the formed pizza crusts that say Sams Club would use to make their store-brand pizza. Can't be hard, but from frozen I'm not sure of the steps needed.
Well, back to the grind. I'm ticking the minutes away that I sit at this desk being underpaid and I would guess that runs parallel to under-appreciated. At least it's a paycheck...gone before it hits the bank, but money none-the-less. Yay.
Wow, just a little ray of sunshine, aren't I?

A little catching up to do...

So, like most of these ‘blog’ entries I have to preface it with, “Wow, it’s sure been a long time since I’ve posted anything!” I guess I should just resign myself to the fact that I’m no good at keeping up with this sort of thing, but it’s nice to have around to occasionally update friends and family.

Let me try and sum things up as quickly and painlessly as possible:
- January: Early in the month we returned from our Christmas holiday in Chicago and stopped on the way home at Disney for I believe it was 4 nights. The kids had fun, but they were so ready to just go home. I think 2 week vacations are a bit much for them to handle.
- February – Chuck and I went to Disney World as a ‘Valentines’ getaway. My mom kept the kids for a long weekend. We actually made it to all 4 parks in one day. We were so tired, but it was so fun!
- March – Chuck’s birthday!! We had a little party at our house, he got some new ‘boots’, jeans, and a couple of shirts. Yep, I said boots! Also Easter, was nice, the kids got a few fun things and had a great time hunting for the eggs.
- April – We decided we’d like to buy a house since the market is perfect for it! We closed on the house at the end of April (a little quicker than we had anticipated resulting in us having to pay out our lease at the rental…they were total jerks about it and it’s been really tough on us!).
- May – We wanted to ‘take our time’ moving in but we were totally anxious to be out of the rental. So we moved just about everything over to the new house in the first 2 weeks there. What was left behind was stuff that needed to be stored or goodwill. The kids birthday party was at the new house as well and they had a TON of fun. We had a giant water slide for them, some friends, cake, and pizza. It was nice and they got a bunch of nice things! Grandma & Frank (from Chicago) came down for the party as well and the kids had a bunch of fun with them. We painted almost the entire house (the kids’ bathroom has yet to be done) and planted a few trees/plants. There is still a bunch to be done, but we have plenty of time! Mother’s Day was AWESOME! I got a cute little puppy (Pixie) and a whole new kitchen set-up (plates, utensils, glasses, pots/pans, etc). Very awesome!!
- June – Andrew and Jackie’s wedding!! We saw a bunch of family and had a great time. I was lucky enough to be their choice as photographer. What a learning experience that was! All of the squatting (about 9 hours worth) made my legs hurt so badly that I struggled walking for a FULL week!! Yikes. The photos came out pretty well, of coarse I saw room for improvement, but they seemed to like them. Father’s day! The kids made Daddy cards and I got him one. It was unfortunately the first month of double house payments and spending a bunch on Daddy was sadly not an option. We’ll make up for it though when we can.
- July – Well, there was the 4th of July spent in Tampa this year re-roofing Pawpaw’s house! What a joy that was…not! A lot of hard work and the occasional set back (like say falling through the roof). It was nice to see the family again, but it was pretty tense for everyone. Mostly the guys did the roofing and the girls took care of feeding them and watching the kidlets. It worked out and the roof is lookin’ good!
- August – Finally I’ve made it to the current month!! As always, never a dull moment. This is our first month without a 2nd house payment and we’re still trying like hell to catch up only to find out they want to hold most of our security deposit because a few koolaid stains on the carpet (in my opinion normal wear and tear over a 2-year period of renting it). Not a good thing. We’ve decided to carry on with a house warming party regardless and have invited local family and friends…just a little casual gathering with some hotdogs J The kids’ first day of school (pre-kindergarden) was on the 18th and was quickly shut down on the 19th and for the remainder of the week because of Tropical Storm Faye. It’s been raining here for 2 full days and we’ve started the 3rd. Not fun. It’s like living in a cave and people’s moods are steadily heading downward. Chuck and I have joined the gym this month and I’ve been pretty good about getting myself up there. He goes straight from work and while I started out doing that I quickly realized that I was ending up with not enough time to spend with the kids. So when they go to bed at 8 I hurry up to the gym because they close at 10. Makes for a long day….but hopefully worthwhile (although I’m not loving any results I’m seeing so far…week 3!).

Well, for now that about sums us up. If you made it through all of that you are the woman/man! Again I’ll try and keep up better in the future, but I can’t make any promises. Here are a few shots of the kids…1st day of school and then playing in the rain resulting from Faye (Pixie had to get in on the rain fun too!).

A fun weekend :)

We went to the beach Saturday morning from about 10:30 to 1:30 and it was great! The kids had so much fun...stressed me out just a bit. Raegan is really fearless and kept going in the water to her waist, the waves were knocking her down and she was cracking up. The waves were really tame, but it still freaked me out some. Logan runs in towards the waves and as they crash he runs out...it's pretty funny :) After that we went to White City Park, really shady park with a nice little playground. They were pretty good, got a little tired though. We went out to dinner, and then home. It was nice!
Sunday we didn't do too much in the morning, in the afternoon we went and looked at some new furniture for the living room...it'll be a little while before we get it, but it's fun to look. Then we went to home depot and looked around at some plants/paint for the new house (when we get it). After Home Depot we went to a park for a picnic dinner. The kids played catch with Daddy and had fun on the playground. Was a nice weekend! Didn't get much cleaning done, but it can wait :)

HOLY COW!!! It's been since Thanksgiving that I've posted anything!

So, I thought, maybe I should type something up....lets see if I can remember anything:
December - we actually celebrated Christmas in Chicago in 2007. It was lovely, we drove up in our nice new Kia Sedona. We really were thankful we chose a dreaded mini-van after that trip. The kids were awesome on the drive, I was shocked!!! They saw their first snow, and they really enjoyed it. Donovan and Louise's new house is super cute too! That's actually where they saw their 'first' snow and then the big snow came the day before we left and Grandma (Chuck's mom) pulled them all around in the snow. We had a great time visiting friends and family and can't wait to see them all again :)
January - On the way back from Chicago we went to Disney World for 4 days (3 nights) at a Disney hotel and we had a lot of fun. On the first night though, Raegan threw up all over Chuck in the middle of the night and woke up just fine in the morning (thankfully). They had a great time, but we learned that 2 weeks is too long to be away from home for them. They missed their beds and toys, and started getting edgy in the last couple of days.
February - Chuck and I went to Epcot alone (stayed 2 nights in Orlando), went to a cool dinner show (Capone's) and had a fantastic Valentine getaway. It was so nice, and we are SO due for another getaway!
March - Chuck turned 32 this year and we had a little party here at the house, it was nice and he had a great time. We also decided it would be in our best 'financial' interest to stay here in FL for a while. We also decided we'll buy a house rather than rent, especially since it is a 'buyers' market. So, we're happy with our decision and we've found a house we like. Built in 1990, fenced yard, screened patio, and some nice character (complete with some nice big Oak trees in the front yard).
April - It's only just begun and we have been going in rounds with the contract on the house. We have found several issues via inspections, luckily though, they have been willing to repair what we've found so far. We have our final set of inspections this Thursday, and hopefully we don't find anything wrong! If we don't, we'll move on to the closing (tenatively April 30). We're excited and have lots of plans/dreams about turning the house into exactly what we want it to be :)

All in all we are doing well...a few nasty colds, one horrible sinus infection for mommy, and some long days at work...but that's he worst of it! I'm looking into preschools for the kids, so we'll see how it goes I guess. I hope we find something, but if not they won't perish without preschool! The kids are doing well, very smart and such personalities. Raegan is our 'drama momma' and Logan is captain attitude! They're great kids though, I completely adore them...and I've been missing them lately with working full time. Kind of sucks, but the money has done wonders for us, so I'll live through it. They do great with Gramma too, they adore her and she them.

So, I'll try and update again soon...it's hard to remember to, and even harder to do it when I do remember to.

Hugs!