Random Tuesday Ramblings

I have been so busy with PTO stuff that I haven't taken any time to blog about Bella's Recent field trip or to give an update on our landscaping remodel. So today I am just going to blog about boring everyday stuff.

When Jared and I 1st moved in the backyard was one of our favorite features of the house.  The landscaping was so beautiful and well taken care of.  At the time we only had 2 children.  There was a pretty little pond with a waterfall.  


Another angel of the pond....

This pretty little pond turned into a smelly, mosquitoe infested, dog drinking, kids throwing stuff into pond.  We decided it need to go.  So we dug all the hostas up pulled the liner out and reconfigured the pond into a brand spanking new fire-pit.

And wow did we do a nice job.  It looks amazing and we finished just in time for fall.  The nights are quickly becoming cool and perfect for us to host a backyard get together. 

Directly behind the pond is a bench and a ton of overgrown nasty looking shrubs.  Since we dug up 9 hostas we needed to find a place to plant them.  I choose to pull the nasty shrubs out and plant them around the lilac bush.  It ended up being quite the undertaking.  Those shrubs had some major roots. 

This is another angel for the bench and bushes.

And here it is now....

Amazing transformation!  I love projects that cost Zero dollars and a lot of sweat.  It always makes me step back and appreciate my house so much more!
Here are some more photos of the back yard.

I took all the stepping stones and made a cute little path to the hose. 



Come back tomorrow and I will share Bella's field-trip to the apple orchard with you. We had so much fun we are going to go as a family this Saturday.

Hey, we like to party.....

It finally happened! Yes, hard to believe, but Jared's best friend from Elementary School finally tied the knot! It has been a long time coming, and frankly I never thought I would see the day, but it happened. And let me just say for the record boy oh boy do they know how to throw a party!!!!  Below the groom, best man and my hubby are checking the score of the ND football game while the rest of us are eatting dinner. 


Here he is the happy groom about 40 minutes before the wedding began. He had called me 20 minutes earlier in need of some eye drops. So being the nice wife of a groomsman I got the boy some eye drops.

Kevin was a groomsman in our wedding 12 years ago, so Jared was really excited and quite honored to return the favor back to Kevin. Below is my hansom hubby and one of the brides cousins.


I have to say my mother in law moved up the ranks this weekend from a 2 to a 6!  Her and my father in law picked me up and took me to the wedding so I wouldn't have to go by myself.   (That gave her bonus points) They sat with me during the wedding and even took me out for drinks before the reception started.  It was really nice. I felt like I was even the daughter for awhile instead of the daughter in law.  It was nice.  But lets be truthful here, my hands were extremly sweaty and I may or may not have had a few drinks to remain calm before they picked me up.  Really those are such small  unimportant details I almost didn't mention it, but I don't want you thinking she sounds like a 10 and I am just being picky.  By nights ends they showed me how much they really do love me by driving me and there drunk ass son home!  It was 1 am!   Now if that isn't love then I don't know what it is.

Ok, ok ....she really is 10, but only for tonight!  Lets hope this evening was just the start of something new between us, but I am not going to hold my breath just yet.  

Here Jared and I are around 11:45pm. The i phone is a great phone, but not so great at pictures when the lighting is not so good and the people taking your picture are drunk!


These are my drop dead gorgeous snake skin 4 inch dancing shoes!  Aren't they pretty?  Today my calves, butt and balls of my feet do not seem to agree with my brains decision to wear them.  As a matter of fact, those body parts pretty much hate me today.  My lower half feels like I have been hit by a mac truck.  
It is hard to know if the 16 martinis are to blame or the shoes! Oh I guess we never will really know the truth to that question.

And here is one last picture. Aren't these flowers so beautiful?  They are left overs from the bridesmaids bouquet.  They scream Fall.  The big H is a piece of chocolate and the cupcakes are what we ate for dessert.  I added the little pumpkins to make the picture more fall like.

What a great evening!  Memories were made for sure.  It was awesome to have the kids gone for 24 hours and to get dressed up and go out.  Nights like these are few and far between.  As much as I love being a mother and a wife, it sure was fun to go out and behave like a 22 year old, but now that it is all said and done I am glad to be back at home in my pj's blogging and watching TV.  I really am an old soul living in a younger body. 

Love is patient.....Love is kind......

TGIF ~ (well not quite, but almost)

I made it through the day and most importantly the night. Whew, that dinner is final over and I can breathe again! Now that it is over, I can look back and reflect and you know what?  It wasn't so bad after all. I can see the big picture finally and it looked great.

I feel really proud of the dinner that I put together.  The sense of accomplishment I have feels amazing.  I have decided that the life of a volunteer is often thankless, but that is ok for me, because I am not doing it to be recognized I am doing it for my kids.  When Gabby walked thru that food line tonight and saw me scooping food on her's and others plates her smiled was worth all the effort I put into this event.  She walked a little taller knowing that I was the one who made the whole event happen.  Her smile was worth all the stress.

I may not work outside of the house, but I am teaching my children the importance of doing for others.  Bella and Gia helped me all week at the school.  Today while shopping for the lemonade and napkins Bella told the cashier we are buying these things for my sisters school.  We are volunteers!  She may only be 5, but she understands it takes a lot of people to make an event happen.  She made me so proud when she asked if she could help by caring the napkins down to the cafeteria.  It is teachable moments like this that remind me why I am a stay at home mom. 

Now for the real fun!  The weekend is one day closer and I am ready to cut a rug and let loose!  Jared's elementary school friend is finally tieing the knot!  This is the first party I have not been pregnant or nursing.   I have my designated driver set, my 4 inch snake print dancing shoes heels ready to go and an overnight babysitter for my kids!  I can hardly wait!  LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL!


Now if I could just get a nap in, like my dog, 
I just might be able to party all night long....

Have a great weekend!

I think I can, I think I can. . . .

This is one busy week for this mother of three. I just need to make it past Thursday evening. A dinner for 500! ARGH it is stressing me out. I still need to get the drinks but I have all day to do that. I usually handle stress well and work at my best at the last minute, but the week has been rough. The death of that administrator in our school district has stopped everyone in there tracks. There is now food to be made, flowers to be sent and cards to be written all while school, work, meetings and life still must continue to go on. The pain that family must be feeling...oh it is so sad. It has brought many conversations on whether dying a long hard death is easier or going quickly. A fatal heart attack at 51. His poor children and wife. Personally I think there is no good way to go. The newspapers said today that the funeral home reported over 1,000 people signed in at the viewing. His presence at our school will certainly be missed....God sure must have something really important he need him for.

The circle of life is such a mystery. We just heard a good family friend is expecting there first grandchild. Jared is in a wedding on Saturday. All these events are such joyous occasions, but tonight I can't stop thinking about this fundraiser dinner and the newsletter that is due to the print shop by Friday. My to do list is so long it really isn't a list, it is a sheet and it now includes making dinner for family who just lost there father. Did I mention this is one busy week? Lets factor in lack of sleep, it is not helping me. I haven't slept good since I read that letter my mother in law wrote me on Friday. It is causing me additional stress because I do not know what to say next. The worst part is we are going to spending all day Saturday together because Jared will be with the wedding party all day. The anxiety I am having from thinking about a car ride and a dinner with her are causing me lack of sleep, and I need sleep so I can finish prepping the dinner for 500 and the newsletter, and parent pack.

I know everything will fall into place, it always does, but even I am a little worried this time around. I think blogging probably isn't the smartest thing I could be doing with my time right this moment, but I just can't say NO! SIGH....I think I can, I think I can wait let's make that I KNOW I CAN, I KNOW I CAN.........

Time Out

So I am having a better day. It is amazing what a little sleep and an hour with Jesus can do to revive you. After church I took what aggression I had left and put into yard work sorry bushes, I know they look like Edward Sissorhands came to town, but it will be spring soon and you should recover just nicely. I made the kids chocolate chip pancakes for lunch and mac&cheese with hot dogs for dinner. We also had some strawberry shortcake with lots of whipped cream for dessert. I believe this is what some would call comfort foods. I don't care what you call them because they were yummy!

Tonight I have had a chance to catch up on some blogs and I believe Eclipse and I will be spending some much need time together in an hour or so. As much PTO and Swim Board stuff I have to do I have no business spend sometime with Edward and Bella tonight, but I have until Tuesday evening to get that yucky volunteer stuff done so the vampires win in the end.

Have a great Monday. I know my is going to awesome. I am getting my grey colored and adding some beautiful red highlights to celebrate the start of fall!

Tight Rope...

My life is a mini zoo right now. This is the honest to god's truth. For real, between life, kids, PTO, swim board, work and everything in between it is truly amazing that I have enough energy left to blog. Everyone seems to want a piece of me right now and me with this stinking cold, I just don't have the strength, patience or energy to build that protective wall around myself like I like to keep around me. My guard is down or low or out of whack right now.

Really I should be in bed, I have had this darn head cold for almost 6 days now and just when I was feeling better, I have lost my voice again. Sleep is really what I need, but when my head tries to hit the pillow the mind races with thoughts about way to many things. Warning... the tone of this blog is really going to be extremely negative tonight. I have had a stressful week and really am feeling the need to vent blog. If you don't want to read about "Debbie Downer" I mean me then perhaps you should go someplace else today.

There are so many things that I am pissed about I don't even know where to begin! I guess I will start with work. It sucked tonight. It was a night that I thought why am I a waitress? I actually had a moment where I started to think I am a college educated person who is waiting tables...what a waste. But then I came home to a messy house that I spent 2 hours cleaning while my lazy ass lovey, wonderful husband laid on the couch while watching football watched me clean. Then I began to remember why I wait tables. Nonetheless, the night sucked but I am still undecided about what sucked the most work or coming home! On a positive note, I got a wonderful new haircut and style the other day, it is the best I have felt about my hair in a long time. (Pictures to come in a few days)


So I guess the next thing for me to bitch about would have to be this topic that I have been really wanting to get off my chest for 2 months now but have been to nervous to do so. I think tonight I am in such a bad mood that I should just do it. I don't care who reads it. Actually I hardly have any followers just some lurkers so I don't think it really matters anyway.

I think I wrote about my mother in law before. I am pretty sure I called her a 2 out of 10. The problem is why can't I just accept that? She is just a 2! Plain and simple, so I don't understand why I can't move on. She is 60 years old and will never change, so I need to let it go. I have been waiting for 2 almost 3 months for her to respond to my letter. Seriously 3 months, how can it possible take 3 months for a person to respond to a letter written with compassion and love? Well, now I know why it to so long. She is just not capable. Yesterday I finally got my response and it has left me with more questions than I had when I started. A response I received, yet it answered none of my original questions and has left me wishing, well, wishing she would have never responded because the ball is back in my court and I just don't have the strength to hit that damn little yellow ball back at her.

To add to this glorious week, the assistant superintendent of my children's' school district died from a massive heart attack Friday morning. He was 51! He hired me for my first coaching job and I coached his daughter when she was in 7th grade about 6 years ago. My mom called me with the news around 8 am on Friday. This came as a complete shock. How horribly sad. The school has lost a wonderful administrator. And the poor family. He left behind a wife and 3 kids. Those children, how do you ever recover from that? So sudden, no good-bye's. It makes me complaining seem so petty and small.


I need to find some balance in my life. I miss blogging and reading blogs, I miss reading a book for fun, I miss sleeping in! I have become consumed with committee meetings, work, and household chores. My life needs some fun some sleep some something....

Hard work

The house of five on Cambridge Drive has been working like a bunch of busy bee workers lately. About 2 weeks ago I posted pictures about some bushes I pulled out. Over the Labor Day weekend the hubby and I went to work. It was back breaking. Literally, Jared pulled a muscle on day one and was worthless the rest of the 2 days. I not being to sympathetic forged onward until my legs and arms could do no more. Needless to say not everything was completed, but for the time being I am ok with that. I am not sure when we will finish up these outside projects because the extended forecast does not look to promising. The weather has been horrible. A cold summer. The trees are turning already. I think we had 2 weeks this entire summer that the temp. was in the nineties. One in July and one in August. The first full week of school it rained and was chilly. Now we are in the 3rd week of school and the forecast is calling for another week of rain. YUCK!


Below are some before and after photos I thought I would share.

This is what the house looked like Aug 2006.
 

Here it is today:

Notice the dark dreary photo. It was taken at 12:20 pm. and yes this is how the weather has looked most of the summer, wet, dark, cold!

We chopped down a tree and pulled up a ton of shrubs. We are not done yet, but I was getting nervous that the trees were turning early this year and I would not have a photo with any green in it.

Here is a close ups of the shrub area when we 1st moved in,
 

And here are a few close ups from are labor day weekend project.
 

 

 

Jared and I have decided he should not quit his day job. Landscapers we are not. Home owner ship is tiresome, expensive and time consuming. The thing we are most pleased by from this project is we spent ZERO DOLLARS! Yep $0.00! We did all the work ourselves including cutting the tree down. All the new plants were given to use by our favorite backyard neighbors. They are paying to have all their landscaped removed and updated. They graciously gave us plants, flowers and edging. All we had to do was come and dig up what we wanted. By next spring we will be able to rept the benefits from our hard work.

As an added bonus while digging holes to plant the new stuff I found

cha-ching...a gold mine full of some type of spring bulb. Now if I can just find a place to plant these .... oh well I guess that is another project for yet another weekend!

Tick Tock....

I don't know where the time has gone, I swear I thought with the kids back in school I would have oodles of free time to start working on my projects. Boy was I wrong. Between PTO board meetings,and Swimming Club exec board meetings I barely have time to brush my teeth.

A lot has happened in the last week in a half since my last blog post. The biggest and most important being my Bella Boo turned 5!
  Yikes 5 years old.

Gia and I took some treat to the preschool and spent 45 minutes with the class.  

Here they are in the snack room enjoying the supper messy red, white and blue cupcakes I brought in for a treat. (Sorry for the smaller pictures, I think I hit some weird setting on the camera.)

 
Bella showing off the birthday crown.

On her birthday we took her out for dinner at her favorite Mexican restaurant and came back home for cake and presents. Aunt Kiki mailed her a cute head band and sent a note explaining where her real gift was. So Kiki here is a picture of the birthday girl in her head band just for you.  


Gabby on the other hand had a great swimming banquet.  Last weekend was the end of the year swim banquet and she received her first ever trophy. I don't know how the weather has been in all your neck of the woods, but here it has been more like October. This banquet was on a lake but the weather was only about 62 degrees.   This is Gabby's new swimming buddy Sydney. She also swam this summer and won an award too.


Like I said a lot has been happening on the home front. Bella also had her first day of school.   This is Matthew and Quincey they live on our street and we all carpool together. All 3 of them will be big kindergartners next fall. Bella and Matthew are in the 5 day a week pre-k class. This has been awesome for me. Gia and I have been spending a lot of one on one time. By time all my children are elementary school aged, they will all have spent at least 2 years of one on one time with me and at least 2 years of preschool.   I am not going to lie, dropping Bella off at school that morning was a bit glorious. Gia and I sang the whole way home.


As the clock tick tocks away, I am busy making messes and memories with my family. A few days back I learned that a blogger friend of mine husband has cancer. They are amazing people that I have never meet and yet I read and comment daily on their blogs. Miss Bee and Sarge are in need of prayers. So any of you stopping by to visit me and my family, please take a moment and say a prayer for their family. Sarge is one tough cookie who will beat this, I have no doubt in my mind,but non the less a pray or two can't hurt!

Thanks for stopping by and hanging with me while I took a little blog break. I hope to be back at it again.....