Holy blog slacker!!

This poor blog has been all but abandoned! And I would love to sit here and say that I'll start doing a better job of updating it...but I would be lying. Just like everything else in my life right now....it will be neglected!

I would love to say that I will finish blogging our summer Disney trip. But that's not going to happen either. You know how they say you get pregnancy brain....um yeah...I think by the time you get to your 4th kid you can hardly remember your name...let alone the minor details of a trip you took 6 months ago! So I'll just recap quickly. We had a great time, loved vacationing with Matt's parents, got the damn computers back finally ( at the tune to over $300 when all was said and done!) and my kids hate the ocean! Yep.... after 2 hours at this quaint little beach resort they were all ready to go. They are definitely like their father...a vacation isn't a vacation unless you run like hell the whole time from sun up to sun down! ;) No relaxing days on the beach for this family!

Since then we've gone to Vegas for what will probably be our last trip out there for a while. Not a single person has volunteered to watch all 4 kids so looks like we might just have to wait til Hannah's 18 and then dump them all on her. ;)

We also took an impromptu trip back to Disney for Thanksgiving! We've always wanted to surprise the kids with a trip and had the opportunity to do it so we went for it. I had already bought my 25 pound turkey for dinner which I always host. I gladly threw it on Julie's doorstep as we skipped town. ;) We told the kids we were taking them to Hillbilly Hell ( aka Gatlinburg) for the week. When we hit Georgia they finally caught on! Everyone thought we were nuts for going when I am 8 months pregnant but it was worth every minute! Even the 15 hour car ride wasn't bad. We only stopped to go to the bathroom once on the way home...thank god I have the bladder of a camel!!

Now we're back home and I'm feeling the crunch to get a TON of things done before this baby arrives! I have quite a bit of Christmas shopping still to do. Nothing is wrapped yet either! And I still have alot of baby things to buy and I haven't even washed a single onesie or blanket. With the others I was so organized and beyond ready. This one....well I have the carseat out of the shed....is that good enough? =P This poor babe isn't even here yet and is already neglected. Sorry little guy...mommy's plate is overflowing right now!!

Brooke was so kind to point out to me that we haven't done our usual Christmas baking yet either. Even though I absolutely LOATHE to bake...I do it every year because the kids love it. Well...and I do enjoy eating the goodies too :) Matt said he would help me this year so I don't have to stand for hours in the kitchen by myself ( the kids get bored with it quickly and I always get stuck finishing it all!). I'm a little hesitant to take him up on his offer to help though. Last time he helped with Christmas cookies all of my gingerbread men ended up with penises! With Drew helping...I can imagine that all of the angels will have big hooters too! ;)

And just an FYI...if any of you are expecting your usual Christmas card from us this year...that's not happening either. I plan on sending out a new pic of the kids after the baby arrives. But as much as I'm slacking these days I'll probably just end up sending it out with Hannah's high school graduation announcements!

Homecoming dance!

Okay I know that the Disney trip isn't finished. But I felt this event was far too important to wait until I actually got around to finishing that damn trip. ;) I will get it done.. I promise! But I think I'm just going to lump the rest of the trip into one big post with a ton of pics and call it done! lol

So last week was Hannah's very first homecoming dance... a fairly formal affair around here. Of all the milestones we've gone through with the kids... watching Hannah become a high schooler has been the hardest! The last 14 1/2 years have just flown by and I can't get them to slow down! Starting high school just reinforces the fact that she only has a few more years until she goes off to college. And while I will still have plenty of kids at home... okay let's face it I'll have kids living here til they put me in a nursing home ;)... Hannah will be branching out on her own. As her life gets busier and busier I try and savor all the little moments I get with just her.

And these last few weeks I've had the opportunity to help her prepare for her first dance. Going shopping for her dress wasn't quite the long drawn out experience I was expecting. We walked into Macy's, I pointed out a dress that I thought was appropriate for a 14 yr. old, she tried it on ( the ONLY dress she tried on), loved it and we were done! I didn't even bother to look at the price tag because it was just THE perfect dress for her and I didn't care how much it was. Lucked out and it was only $75! Thank you Mema Judy for helping buy the dress :) We also shopped for shoes and jewelry that day and picked up a couple things for the baby too. I'm fairly certain I'm the only mom out there that was shopping for homecoming attire and newborn attire at the same time. lol

And then I got to spend several hours with her as she was getting her hair done. Could I have done it myself... probably. But I never got my hair professionally done for high school dances and it's something I wanted to do for her. She got new highlights, a new cut and then a partial updo with curls. Grand total....let's just say it was alot more than the dress! =P But she loved it and that's all that matters right? I just need to keep telling myself that. ;)

We took her over to her boyfriend Alex's house for pictures and then they went off to dinner and the dance afterwards. They both said they had a wonderful time!

So we've passed yet another milestone. A high school dance. It doesn't seem all that long ago that Matt and I were going to those dances together... okay it really wasn't that long ago. lol But the fact that Hannah was old enough to go to one still boggles my mind. And I know there will be many more dances in the coming years...but there's just something special about that first one.

I'm having issues with blogger and it won't let me upload pics!! So hopefully I can get some homecoming ones up soon!

Day 6 Epcot

Ponchos... the new fashion statement!



Brooke and Drew with Pluto.


Hannah with Chip... or is it Dale?



Illuminations...the nightime show at Epcot.



I'm about to give up trying to actually get this trip done and just post the highlights all on one post. =P

Anyways... onto day 6.

Heading to Epcot today. With all the technology of future world and the different countries of world showcase I just know Gene and Judy are going to love this park!!

It's POURING out this morning! We all pull on our ponchos and start making the short walk to the park. Matt calls Gene at 8:30 to make sure they're on their way as well. Gene informs Matt they can't figure out the coffee maker and they need to have their morning coffee before they can go anywhere. But not to worry because it's raining so the park surely won't be crowded. At this I had to giggle. People spend thousands to come to Disney and a little rain is NOT going to stop them. ;) Matt is none too thrilled that they're late over coffee. But I understand addictions... I can't get moving without my morning can of soda. ;) We make our way into Epcot and Matt heads to get fastpasses for Soarin. I am NOT riding this again and will gladly give up my fastpass. Hannah has also volunteered to give up hers as well. Gene and Judy arrive shortly after. Donning ponchos with a cup of coffee in hand they are ready to go for the day.

We hit most the ride and shows in future land. They loved Soarin! Would've loved to have ridden it with them but not subjecting myself.. or others for that matter... to that scene again! Another favorite was the Figment ride. Gene loves Figment...the little pink dinosaur. We're all a bit concerned about his obsession over this pink dinosaur. lol Test Track was also a favorite. I was impressed at Judy's willingness to ride this without really knowing what it was. I think she figures if Drew can ride it then so can she. She hasn't quite discovered yet that Drew will ride anything and everything!!

It's approaching lunch time so we head to the world showcase. Gene and Judy are more adventerous eaters than us so stop at the little fish and chips stand. I have to admit it smelled pretty good. We ate at the American Pavilion... again. ;) After lunch Drew was wanting to go back and swim. And Matt needed to check if the computers were there yet. He's having all kinds of issues now that it's been days since he's had them....he's not overly thrilled with me about it anymore either. =P He heads back with Brooke and Drew. I stay with Gene, Judy and Hannah. I've never had the opportunity to explore all the different countries here so this is the perfect time.

We head to America first. They have an acapella group that sings before the show. Amazing! The show itself though is basically american history 101 crammed into 35 minutes. At one point Judy nudges me to tell me that Gene had fallen asleep. She quickly discovers that I was out cold myself. ;) So if you're ever in Epcot and are looking for the perfect place for a cool, quiet nap.. this is it! We walk around a few other countries after that then watch the Chinese acrobats. Obviously I'm not going to be much of a world traveler because after 2 hours in the showcase I'm bored out of my mind! Guess there's no need to ever buy me a passport. ;) Gene and Judy are loving every minute of this though and I know they would love to have more time to spend in each country.... yet they just keep going along with me as I speed through each one. Thankfully they'll have an opportunity to come back here... without us!!

Matt comes back with the kids after swimming for a bit. No computers still! Dinner tonight is at Garden Grill. A character buffet. Food is mediocre but the kids really enjoyed each character coming to the table with them ,joking around and posing for pictures. And even though Hannah is feeling much too old for this... she takes it in stride.

After dinner we use up some fastpasses and then head to find a spot to watch Illuminations. Now if this were just us I would plop my butt down on the sidewalk about 20 minutes before hand and watch it from there. But I'm with senior citizens now. Which means I must find appropriate accomodations... ie: a bench! And they are pretty scarce through here! Gene and Judy...although not complaining one bit... are exhausted! I find a spot for them to sit while I go search for a bench. I finally find one....right by all the people in those little motorized scooters. I know Gene and Judy are eyeing those scooters thinking if they're going to try and keep up with us over the next 10 days then maybe those wouldn't be such a bad idea. ;) Drew wants popcorn so I head clear to the other side of world showcase to get him some. By the time we return he's eaten almost the entire box himself! And I discover that there was a popcorn stand 20 feet away in the other direction! Ugh!! I've done so much walking by now that I'm starting to eye those scooters too!!

Gene and Judy loved illuminations! But afterwards they were beat! As were walking out of the park they spot the boat that will take you back to the resorts. The lines are long which makes walking a quicker option. But I don't think they could walk another 5 feet so they choose to ride the boat back. I'm pretty sure that by the time they got back to their resort they had to practically crawl to their room. And while they're crawling they're probably mumbling to themselves...what the hell have we gotten ourselves into?!

We call to make sure they got in okay and gently remind them that they MUST be on time for rope drop tomorrow at Hollywood Studios. Gotta get those fastpasses! I'm fairly certain I heard a voice on the other end saying oh dear god..she's going to make us do it all over again. ;)

Day 5 Animal Kingdom/ Gene and Judy arrive :)

After riding Kali River Rapids... blech! Of course we all looked like this after the big storms hit!


Matt clearing the table while the server takes a "break". :)


Gene and Judy about to toast to their surprising news!




Due to the lack of more than 5 hours of sleep since we left home... I am really dragging this morning! But... I know that we MUST get to the park by rope drop in order to get those fastpasses!! All the kids surprisingly get up this morning no problem. Breakfast this morning.... powdered doughnuts. ;) We make a quick stop past concierge to check on the status of the computers... hmm still not there?!

The plan for today is to load up on fastpasses so when Gene and Judy arrive we can go back to the park and not have to wait for anything. First snag in the plan... they're plane hasn't taken off from Dayton due to storms in Orlando. They should still arrive by noon so this shouldn't be a problem.

At this park I can ride.... NOTHING! Seriously.. there isn't 1 single ride in this park I can do. A couple of shows and that's about it. Well I could also do the walking trails seeking out all the birds and crap... but those of you that know me know that is sooo not something I'm going to do. ;) My job today will consists of getting the fastpasses while Matt rides various things with the kids....and of course sitting in the shade because this park is about as hot as the sun! Not sure if it's because of all the vegitation or if mounds of elephant poop makes the temps rise.. whatever it is... it's HOT here!!

The first ride they run off to is Dinosaur. Another first for Drew. There are many kids... and even some adults... who will not ride this because of the scare factor. It's loud, dark and things jump out at you. As they get to the entrance there is an 8 yr. old boy who is all out whailing because he is scared to death to get on this. Drew looks at this kid as if he's nuts and continues to walk on. At the exit there are several kids who are coming off of it crying. I'm a bit concerned that this is NOT a good idea for him to ride. But he's insistent! Imagine my surprise when he comes off LAUGHING!! He thought the big scary dinosaurs jumping out at him were funny. I think there is seriously something wrong with this child!

They then head to ride a few little carnie rides and then to the big water ride. I'm not a fan of getting soaking wet in smelly water and walking around in wet shorts as my fat thighs ryb together like 2 pieces of sandpaper. So even if I could ride this... I wouldn't! I get some fastpasses and then just sit and people watch while they ride. People watching is pure entertainment for me!! It always amazes me to see what people will wear out in public... do you not own a mirror? Or to sit close enough to a couple that's in the middle of a huge argument...those are my favorite! ;) Yes.. I realize I have a pathetic warped sense of humor.

After riding the water ride we get a phone call. Gene and Judy are still stuck in Dayton and will be coming in several hours later than planned due to the storms. Ths storms that look like they are quickly approaching! The sky is becoming quite dark. Thankfully I have ponchos for all of us that I bought 2/$1..such a bargain! We put them on and then head out of the park. By the time we get to the van we're all soaked! Apparently ponchos that cost 50 cents aren't the best quality... go figure!

We decide to go back to the beach club for a few hours and check on the computers and take a much needed nap... well much needed for me anyways!! And this is when Matt gets confirmation that the computers HAVE arrived..... on our doorstep... at home!! OH.MY.HELL!! The hotel shipped them back to our house instead of Disney! Turns out they've been sitting there since yesterday! And they shipped them in a beat up paper towel box with no packaging. And they charged us $138 to send them to the wrong place! Good god I can see the steam coming out of Matt's ears!! Thankfully we live in a good neighborhood so nobody has bothered them. Larry and Jess offer to go get them for us and then get them shipped back down here. Matt keeps mumbling a few expelitives under his breath. Can't quite catch what he's saying but pretty sure he's NOT complimenting me on what a wonderful wife I am. =P

We hear from Gene and Judy that they have finally landed! I believe from start to finish their whole trip ended up taking about 10 hours. See... you just don't always save uch time when you fly! They are staying at Boardwalk which is the resort right across from ours. The kids are beyond excited and are just bursting at the seams to tell them their surprise! They're not too happy with me that I'm making them wait til dinner. It's pouring down rain again so Judy and I head to the gift shop to buy some decent ponchos. Matt's insistent he's going to wear his little trash bag instead and doesn't want me to spend the money on one for him. Not sure why he's not too keen on spending money all of the sudden... wonder if it has anything to do with the $138 he just spent to send the computers to the wrong place??

Dinner is at Whispering Canyon tonight. This place is all about the atmosphere! Lots of jokes and pranks being pulled by the staff. When we check in I let the servers know that we are celebrating Gene and Judy's anniversary along with something else. They assure us that they will do something special. Once we're seated the antics begin. They throw silverware on the table, toss napkins and straws your way and tell you to set it yourself. This isn't much unlike my own kitchen by the way. ;) They serve the food family style... meaning they bring it out on big platters and refill as needed. The food is really good home style cooking. Hannah asked for ketchup and they came running with 15 different bottles. When another table asked for it... we had to take all the bottles to them. This chaos continus throughout the meal. They have songs playing where everyone has to stop what they're doing and get up and dance. The kids are cracking up watching Gene and Judy participate in all of this!! Then comes time to celebrate. Our server asks the whole dining room to be quiet.... oh dear god I didn't realize they were going to do this in front of 300+ people!! She announces that not only are Gene and Judy celebrating their wedding anniversary... they are also celebrating the arrival of their 10th grandchild! They both just stand there completely lost...not one.single.word. How can there be another grandkid when we're all done having kids? You know that eerie silence that seems like it lasts an eternity.. yea that's what we have going on here. lol I finally have to just come out and tell them.... in front of the 300+ people sitting there... that I'm pregnant! Ten you finally see the lightbulb click! Ahhh... they finally get it. lol Hannah is about ready to crawl under the table by this point. ;) Then the server decided she was going to take a break and made Matt clean up our whole table.... I would like to see that happen more often!!

Afterwards we head over to Magic Kingdom for a few hours. Animal Kingdom closes early so we can't make good use of all those fastpasses after all. It's been years since they've been to Disney and they're just amazed at how it's all changed. Drew insists on taking them on what he considers the best ride in all of Disney... Small World of course. Being the great grandparents they are... they take his hand and let him lead the way. He's so proud to show them his favorite ride! We hit a few other rides as well and then head in to see the Monster's Inc. show. This show is interactive with the audience and Gene is immediately labeled Sully.. the big scary monster. The kids are laughing so hard at this! Again and again the camera keeps going to him. This makes the show so much more entertaining!

They're pretty pooped after traveling all day so we head back to our resorts by 9pm. We plan to meet up for rope drop at Epcot in the morning. We've explained to them the importance of staying ahead of the crowds so we know that they'll be there on time. ;)

Day 4.. Epcot!!

The handsome men in my life :)



Hannah with Prince Charming. She just LOVES how we do this to her. ;)


Brooke and Drew with Cinderella



Matt couldn't resist a brush up next to Cindy!



The wicked stepmother...she keeps that serious face the whole time!!



One of the wicked stepsisters... these girls were a riot!!


Beach Club at night




Well at the pace I'm getting this trip blogged... I MIGHT be done by Christmas! Anyways... onto day 4!!

This morning we're off to Epcot. Since we're staying at Beach Club we have the luxury of just walking to this park in less than 5 minutes! This little luxury is worth it's weight in gold! No dealing with crowds to get on the monorail, bus, trams, etc. Because of this we can leave a little later this morning to get there by opening. But alas... there is NO sleeping in on this trip! Drew is up bright and early.... after a full 6 hours of sleep! =P Hannah on the other hand has turned into full teenager mode and by 8am still won't budge out of her bed! Since she's 14 we give her the option of just meeting us at the parks. She jumps at the opportunity to get up at her own leisure and shower in peace! Not that I can blame her... 1 bathroom for 5 people is a bit cramped. ;) We inform her that since she's not with us we can't get her fastpasses... thus not being able to ride some of her favorites. In typical teenage fashion... she could really give a crap! ;)

So Matt, Brooke, Drew and I walk to Epcot and arrive with plenty of time to spare. We didn't really realize how close the park was to the resort. We take a few minutes to give the kids breakfast. Donut holes and a bottle of water. Hey... it's better than Cheetos and Mountain Dew!! The plan of attack is as soon as we enter to send Matt to get fastpasses for Soarin. Since we're coming in the back entrance we're supposed to be able to get ahead of the people coming in the front. But we get MR.I Just Love Having Authority who decides that he's going to hold all of us at this little line and not let us get any closer. He stands on his Segway and starts telling us Disney trivia. I don't give a rats ass about how they recycle everything in Epcot... just let me get to my damn fastpasses! After another employee informs Mr. Smartypants that he IS to let us through... he smirks at us and says, "Have a magical day at Epcot". Thanks asshole... now I'm late! Which there is NO room for in the notecards. lol Matt barrels over a few people ( mainly old ladies and folks in wheelchairs I'm sure ;) ) to get those fastpasses! I drag the kids, one in each hand, to go get in line to ride. We love this ride so much that we want to make sure and ride it multiple times! Technically.. with my "condition", I shouldn't ride this. But I've ridden it multiple times before and I see no reason not to ride it. There are several people who get out of line because they're afraid of heights, etc. But thankfully Drew has no fear! We get on and I spend most the ride enjoying watching Drew take in every second of this! He loved it!! As we're walking out of this Matt rushes off to get fastpasses for Test Track. And I quickly realize why I should NOT have ridden this ! I. AM. SICK!!! Just walking all the way to the exit is becoming a struggle. Apparently they have those warnings there for a reason. Oh dear god... PLEASE do not let me toss my cookies in front of all these people!! Brooke's talking to me a mile a minute about what we're going to do next and all I can focus on is not dryheaving so violently that I look like a cat coughing up a hairball. =P

We make it over to Nemo and I promptly plant my butt on the pavement. Some vendor must've noticed my lovely shade of green and brings me over some water. The kids of course are completely oblivious to the fact that I might be dying and are trying to pull me into the next ride! Fortunately Matt makes it back quickly and proceeds to tell me that I'm an idiot for riding it. Yes, I'm well aware of that dear. =P

We spend the next couple hours riding all Epcot has to offer... not tons of rides there. Hannah finally mosied her way into the park around 11am. I think she was secretly thrilled to learn that I would NOT be using my fastpass for Soarin.... thus meaning she gets to ride it!! Test Track quickly became a favorite of Drew's. This was another one I couldn't ride though so I did a little shopping while they rode. :)

It was a balmy 95 degrees by noon so we decided to walk over to the world showcase to get lunch, then we would head back to the pool for a bit. There are so many different options to eat here! Hannah decides she wants Mexican but quickly discovers that it's not Taco Bell. Matt and Brooke are going to get Japanese... but quickly discover it's not like the stuff in the food court at the mall. Drew and I know from the get go that we are getting plain 'ol American food. And as it turns out... everyone else decides to do the same. So here we sit... in a place with atleast 20 different types of food... and we eat hotdogs and hamburgers. We're soo adventerous. ;)

We head back to swim for a bit and Matt wants to check to see if the computers are there yet. Hmm... not there yet but I'm just sure there's nothing to worry about. Matt already is quite a bit behind on work and really needs to get on them soon. I assure him that they'll arrive shortly and he can get caught up while I take the kids for a few hours. He's still so amazingly calm about this! We end up swimmimng for longer than we planned and we have dinner reservations at 5pm. Normally we can get ready pretty quickly. But with 1 bathroom this is proving to be a challenge. Brooke comes up with this brilliant idea that she'll keep her swimsuit on, put some shampoo in her hair, and rinse off at the shower thing by the pool right outside our room. Next thing we know Brooke can't get it to turn on so she jumps in the pool... shampoo and all! Good god... they are NEVER going to allow us to come back! =P

Dinner tonight is at 1900 Park Fare. A dinner with Cinderella, Prince Charming, the wicked stepmother and stepsisters. The majority of the girls wear princess dresses to this so Brooke has her Cinderella dress on from last year. And she is NOT happy about it! It's itchy, the sleeves are too tight, it's too short now, etc. etc. We force her to keep it on just for a few pictures... such mean parents we are. ;) Dinner is your typical buffet but everything is nice and hot. We were pretty impressed. Prince Charming and Cinderella made their rounds and they made a big deal about Brooke's dress. Now all of the sudden she wants to keep it on. ;) Drew is quite taken by Cinderella. And Hannah is now completely mortified that I made her get her picture taken with the Prince... ya know anything to embarrass my kids. hehe The wicked stepmother came over to tell Brooke that she looked much better in that dress than Cinderella did. And then asked Drew if he would like to date one of the stepsisters. He wasn't quite as interested in them though. lol As the bill came Matt gulped when he saw it was close to $200 with the tip. He wasn't concerned though because we're on the Dining Plan and it's already paid for right? And what he knows won't hurt him... yet. ;) We all really liked this place and will definitely come back again!

We get back to Beach Club around 8pm and the computers STILL aren't there! Hmmm...now Matt is starting to get antsy. I'm just sure they'll be there first thing in the morning then right?! Drew wants to swim again and so does Hannah. But I am ready to hit Downtown Disney. Brooke volunteers to go with me to shop for a few hours. I'm not buying much yet because we're still here for a long time and I just want to look at everything first. This always drives Matt nuts. He just doesn't see the point in going there multiple times. Men!! I enjoy the one on one time with the kids though and out of all of them...Brooke seems to be the one that needs it most. She patiently waits for me as I look at store after store. We were there so long that we got on one of the last busses back. Lesson learned... it takes over an hour when you're on one of the last busses since they stop at multiple resorts. Wasn't quite planning on getting in after midnight!! Since we were already so late though Brooke and I decided to walk around the resort for a bit and take some night pictures. It's just gorgeous here!! I thought Matt may be a bit worried/mad when we finally got in the room at almost 1am... but he was out cold!! As were Hannah and Drew. Hmm... maybe we'll all sleep in a bit tomorrow.. yea right!

Tomorrow is Animal Kingdom. This isn't my favorite park. But Matt and the kids enjoy it. Gene and Judy arrive tomorrow mid-morning as well. And I'm just SURE the computers will be here by then!!

Day 3... Magic Kingdom

Drew all smiles before going to Beaches N Creme. He was covered in chocolate after eating here! :)

Brooke refusing to stand with Hannah for a picture right outside of Magic Kingdom. Wonder where she gets that sass? ;)

I want to live in this castle!!

Start of the fireworks.

Okay I warned you that it would take me forever to blog this trip! I might be done by the time we go on our next trip!!

So this morning is Sunday morning....day 3 of our trip. The plan is to get out of All star music and move over to Beach Club. Then arrive at Magic Kingdom by 8:30am. Matt, Drew and I are up no problem. The girls on the other hand want nothing to do with getting up. Tough patooties girlies... you should know by now that vacations with us = no sleeping in! ;) The original plan also included having Disney just transfer all of our stuff to the Beach Club. But seeing that since we dumped out the van yesterday and shoved it all back in... we've lost all sense of organization! So we will take care of it ourselves.

We finally make it out the door at 7:50am and head to Beach Club. We pull in and immediately they offer to take all of our luggage for us and valet park our van. An instant look of fear washes over my face! No way in hell am I allowing some poor soul to risk their life at opening the back of this van! If he isn't instantly knocked unconscious by the stroller, then the cooler will get him next. Yep... the cooler... that is full... is at the very top of our luggage. Why? Because were in a hurry to see that castle damnit and we shoved it wherever it would fit! So I politely decline the offer to unload our stuff for us. Matt and I pull a few things out and a bell hop runs over with a cart. Since we don't know if we can get a room or not yet we may need them to hols some of this stuff for us. Why can't we just leave it all in the car you ask? Have you ever seen what deodrant looks like after it's been in 100 degree temps for 10 hours... yuck!! I tip the guy $15 for 3 bags and a cooler. Matt reminds me that I'm a moron and you tip a buck per bag. Oops! Then they insist on atleast parking the van for us... this is a deluxe resort and they remind us this is a perk of staying with them. This really is not a good idea though. See.. in addition to the mounds of luggage, floating cooler and doritos now ground into the seat.... we also have approx. 500 pipe cleaners in various shapes and colors thrown throughout the van. And they are REALLY sharp when they stab you in the leg, butt, eye... you get the picture. And why do we have these? Because this was yet another one of my brilliant ideas of activities for the kids to do. Unfortunately mydemented family quickly turned them into weapons! So at the risk of getting sued... we again politely decline the offer of valet parking. I'm fairly certain by now they think we have a van full of bomb making materials and were being reported at terrorists!!

We make our way into the Beach Club after parking in self parking... which of course is sooo far away that I think it has it's own zip code! We arrive at the desk and I gently ( threaten) ask the girls to take Drew for a walk. See... Disney is NOT accomodating to a family of 5. The rooms are for 4. You can get away with 5 if one of your children is under 3. So.... Drew is now under 3. :) But anyone looking at him would clearly see that he's not so I must hide him for the next 10 minutes! I assume that we won't be able to get a room until after 4pm but they tell us they have a handicap room available right now. Matt jumps at the chance to unload the van so we take it. As we're finishing up the paperwork they tell us we owe $917. And the guy is new and isn't sure what the charge is for. Now see I rented points through my friend Julie ( again THANKS Julie!!) and I paid her directly for this. And I'm now busy trying to hide Drew... because the girls are fighting over god only knows what! Matt finally gets my attention and I know immediately what the charge is for... the dining plan. Matt was relieved to know what it was for. And he even commented that the price wasn't bad for a weeks worth of nice meals. I'm not going to mention to him at this time that that price doesn't include all the tips and it's only for 4 people... not 5. I'll deal with that later. ;)

We unload the van and head to our room. Now if any of you read my blog last year you may remember that my kids instantly get gumby arms when asked to carry things. And again.. we have the gumby arms! So Matt loads up 3 suitcases and the cooler. I pile up the stroller and Drew is carrying several backpacks. The girls... well they're still duking it out. It's a good thing that we don't have to carry the heavy computers too. ;)

We get in our room and immediately see why people stay deluxe! Compared to the value room... this room is HUGE! We will have no problem with all of us in here for a week! We have a fridge, microwave,closet,dressers and a cute little patio that Matt and I can sit on while the kids sleep peacefully at 9pm... yea right! We also have an unusually large bathroom... which I quickly remember is because it's a handicap room. The toilet is really high... can't wait to see Drew try and pee in that! ;) There is also a pool right outside of our room!

It's now about 8:30am... yes we got all that done in a matter of half an hour! Remember... we're on vacation...and our motto is move it, move it, move it!! We hop on the bus and head to Magic Kingdom. We miss the little rope drop ceremony but sill shove our way through the crowds of people. Now our typical plan is to get fastpasses for space mountain first. But sadly our favorite ride is under rehab until Dec. So Matt heads to splash mountain instead. I head with the kids to fantasy land. Drew is soo excited to ride the ride that he's been talking about ALL YEAR LONG! It's a small world!! Yes... the ride with THE most annoying song ever is still Drew's favorite! We hit everything there within a 1/2 hour..... remember my tour plan keeps us moving fast. Then Drew spots the Tomorrowland Speedway cars. He HAS to ride this he says! Okay... but it's not in the notecards. ;) Logistically this ride is a nightmare for us. You can only have 2 people per car and both Brooke and Drew must have a parent ride with them. So that means I have to ride. Normally this wouldn't be a problem.. but I have a "condition" :) that means I really shouldn't ride this. People purposely slam into each other on this so we need to figure out how to do this. We decide that Matt and Brooke will ride in front of Drew and I. And Hannah will follow me. Now as long as Hannah doesn't decide to be a little turd and crash into me.. then I should be alright. Matt gently ( ie:threatens) remindes her that she can't screw around. Fortunately the ride goes smoothly and we don't have any problems. :)

Lunch is at Cosmic Rays... remember we ate here a gazillion times on our last trip. Matt just loves this place... more bang for your buck as he calls it! He's loving the fact that with the dining plan you just whip out your room key and it's all taken care of. Little does he know that said room key will be worth the price of gold by the end of this trip. ;)

We head to do splash mountain next. Drew is JUST 4o inches and is so excited to get to do this for the first time. I'm bummed that because of my "condition" that I can't ride with him. And also a little worried about how he'll handle that big hill. Turns out he LOVES it and wants to ride again and again. Thank god for fastpasses because the line is close to 2 hours long! They also all ride big thunder mountain multiple times. This kid has NO fear!!

We head out of the park to do some swimming around 2pm. The pools at the Beach Club are amazing! Their big draw is Stormalong Bay. A pool with a sand bottom. Basically a chlorinated beach... how much better can you get!! We spend several hours here and the kids are loving this as much as the parks! Between the slides, lazy river, poolside games and making castles on the beach... there is so much to do!! There are people that come to Disney just to stay at the resorts and never even hit the parks. Now I see why!!

Dinner tonight is at Beaches N Creme. An old fashioned diner at the resort itself. Best hamburgers and ice cream! Yeah... a restaurant in Disney we actually like! Matt goes to hand them the room key to pay our bill and I let him know that were paying cash for this one since we need the table service credits later in the week for a different meal. Okay... so the $917 I just paid doesn't include our first dinner here? No honey... but it's not that expensive. Um yeah... $70 for burgers and ice cream is a great deal. Man.... it's a good thing this guy loves me. haha

We head back to Magic Kingdom to use up more fast passes and see the fireworks. Drew has gone all day without the stroller and is STILL going strong! After we head back to the room and are ready to crash... after all it's almost 11pm. But Drew wants to try out the pool right outside our room. Seriously... the kid has been up for 17 hours without stopping and STILL has energy. If only I could bottle that up somehow!

We finally get everyone in bed by midnight. Only to awake at 1am with Drew crying because he doesn't know where he's at. He's sleeping on the air mattress. Calm him down and then back up an hour later crying again. Repeat... only to wake up an hour later. Okay kid... just get in the damn bed with us and go to sleep! After kicking his way comfortably between us he's finally out cold!!

And in just a few hours we're going to do it all over again... at Epcot!

Day 2.... arriving at Disney!

A Mickey bar always makes things much better :) Gotta eat em fast though in Florida!!

Brooke and Drew having fun at the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground... FYI... it's 4,000 degrees in that place!!

By 7am everyone is up and ready to get back on the road. Since we only had a handful of stuff in the room it was super easy to get everyone out the door. I do a quick check of the room to make sure we have everything. Matt is about losing things so I have to follow after him. This little tidbit of information is important later on. ;)

We offered to stop for breakfast but the kids just wanted to get down there so we ate out of the snack basket in the car. Cheetos and Mountain Dew... breakfast of champions! ;)

We had a 3 hour drive ahead of us and had planned on having the kids play some Disney trivia.... yep complete dorks here! Within 10 minutes the girls are screaming at each other because Hannah keeps blurting out all the answers even when it's not her turn. So we put on HS3... AGAIN.. and tell them to shut up til we get there. Ahhh.. such good parenting skills!

Matt decides he wants to eat a nice dinner in the parks today after all. Previously we had discussed just getting something quick somewhere. And if you know Disney... you know that it's VERY hard to get a last minute reservation.. especially for a party of 5. I spend almost an hour on the phone trying to get something lined up. We didn't have a specific park in mind for today... we were actually going to wing it! So they offered us Mama Melrose ( Italian) at Hollywood Studios. We're not on the dining plan yet but this meal should run us under a $100 so we take it. For you non Disney fans... table service meals are mega expensive at Disney! 10 and over classifies as an adult. We lie about Brooke's age but can't get away with passing Hannah off as 9. ;) So we have to pay adult prices for 3 and kids for 2. Although all of us but Matt pretty much eat off the kids menu! lol

We pull into Disney around 11am. We're staying at All Star Music for just 1 night. Typically you can't get into your room til 4pm but we lucked out and got our room right away. We are all anxious to get to the parks so instead of unloading the whole van we decide just to grab a few things that shouldn't sit in the hot sun... mainly the computers. And the convo goes like this....

Matt: Where are the computer?

Me : You carried them out to the car... so wherever you put them.

Matt: Um no. I carried everything else and you were supposed to grab the computers.

Me: Well I checked the whole hotel room and it was empty. ( and remember I'm perfect and don't make mistakes =P )

Matt: Okay you're SURE that the room was empty?

Me: Yes... I'm not an idiot. You think I wouldn't notice 2 brand new computers sitting there?

Matt: Okay then.. let's empty out the van. I'm sure they're just buried.

Now some of you are probably thinking how could you lose something in a van? but if you look at the picture from yesterday you'll see it was a disaster in there!! So we proceed to empty out the ENTIRE van! Shit everywhere!! And guess what we found... the computer cords... but NO computers!

Matt: You have got to be F'ing kidding me! ( censoring for those of you that don't like our sailor mouths ;) )

Me: Um... I think I know where they're at.

Matt: And where would that be Miss Perfect?

Me: The black computers are on the black bar.. so I must've overlooked them ( said QUITE sheepishly).

Matt: Well now I get to drive 6 hours roundtrip to go get the F'ing computers! Oh my god I can't believe you did this! And I'm going to miss dinner. ( For the record.. Matt does NOT like missing dinner lol )

Me: No... you stay here with the kids and I'll go get them.

Matt: Yea right you would end up in New Jersey and then I would look like the asshole for making you go get them! ( okay he has a point here... I am VERY directionally challenged!) Call the hotel and ask to speak to a manager to make sure they're there. And then we can have them ship them down. God I can't believe you did this!

Now this is the part that if I was a "normal" woman I could make myself cry to show how truly sorry I am. ;) But being that I cry like once every 5 years... I just can't do it. lol So I stand there looking like an idiot as I dial the number to the hotel... which of course I have right with me...because I'm organized and never forget anything. =P so on with the phone call...

Me: I need to know right away if we left our computers in our room

Mgr: Okay maam... I can't get a hold of housekeeping right now so I'll call you back in 4-5 hours.

Me: Um..okay.

Matt: Give me the god damn phone! I'll take care of this myself!

Um yeah... I'm not digging myself out of this hole very well am I? lol The mgr. confirms that yes the computers ARE there! Matt gives them the shipping info. and tells them to bill his work account...which he'll pay for when he gets back .Should only be about $30 or so and we'll have them in 2 days. Matt apologizes for getting upset with me. Are you freakin kidding me? I'm the one that needs to do some serious ass kissing!! Had the roles been reversed I would've ripped his head off for being so careless. =P

So first major catastrophe of the trip behind us... or so we think. More.. much more.. on this as the trip goes on!

We grab a quick lunch and then hop on the bus to studios. To Drew the bus ride is just as fun as the parks. We're buying annual passes so we must purchase these before going in the park. Matt has a hard time swallowing how much these cost us... so he just basically walks away while I get them. lol I remind him that we did save 10% off of them thanks to my friend Julie Weber( thanks again Julie!!). But he's quickly learning that there isn't really any real savings in Disney! ;)

As we enter the park the kids are so excited to be back in Disney! We hit some of our favorites and just take our time enjoying the atmosphere. Drew was getting a little tired and a bit cranky. But a mickey ice cream bar always makes everything better! Messy... but better!

Dinner is fairly early... 4:30. I'm a little concerned that there aren't many people in the restaurant. Table service is always packed regardless of the time of the day... esp. in the summer! We have this same place booked for later in the week so we're hoping it's good. Me being the adventerous eater I am =P... I order a 4 cheese flatbread pizza. The kids gets pasta and Matt orders something weird. Can't remember what it was... but if it's anything other than basic spaghetti or ravioli it's weird to me! We get our food and all realize that this is NOT typical Italian! The sauce is super spicy! And the cheeses on everything taste like they've been ferminting for years! Yuck! None of us care for this place at all. Looks like we'll be finding someplace else to eat later on in the week!

We leave shortly after dinner and head back to the hotel. The kids are dying to swim! They swim for a few hours while I just lounge on a chair and go over the next 2 weeks plans. It's Saturday and Matt's parents arrive on Tuesday. We have a HUGE surprise for them that the kids are just bursting at the seams over. :)

We turn in early as we need to check out in the morning and head to Beach Club. And tomorrow is Magic Kingdom!!

Disney... finally!!

WOW... could I possibly be more of a blog procrastinator??!! I've been home over 2 weeks now and have yet to make a single post about our trip! Good excuse though... these kids and their crazy schedules are running me ragged!

Unfortunately... due to the continues craziness... I can all but guarantee I won't finish a day by day report of our trip. ( ya know... just like last year lol). But I'll atleast give it a shot. :)

So off we go!! The journey down there....

Matt had to go into work for a few hours before we took off... big surprise there! I drove him up there at 5:30am so I could then just pick him up on our way out of town. I thought for sure I would get back home and have a few hours to myself to get things wrapped up. WRONG! Brooke and Drew were sitting on the front porch waiting for me.... at 5:45am! Okay... maybe since they got up so early they'll sleep some on the way down. ;) The plan is to leave the house at 9:30am and then pick up Matt. I'm moving right along getting things in the van when Matt calls and says he's ready to go... a whole hour early! Shit... I should've known I wouldn't have quite enough time! I throw everything else in the van and off we go. All sense of organization in that van has gone out the window!!

Now my intention is to not drive AT ALL on this trip! I really prefer to just play the ring leader with the kids and let Matt do the driving. But a I pick Matt up I see that my plan is quickly going to fail. He hops in the passenger side before I had a chance to slide my big butt over. Damn! He proceeds to tell me how many miles I must drive within so many minutes in order to "stay on track". Alrighty Clark Griswald. ;) We make it Mason ( by big butter Jesus for you non Ohio people) and we SIT! Yep.... 40 minutes into the trip and we already hit our 1st traffic jam. Oh joy! Matt recalculates again how many miles I must make up within the next few hours to keep on track. =P Make it through Cincy and then onto Kentucky. Kids are doing great and havent' even turned on a movie yet! Don't ask about the amount of snacks they've eaten so far though! Then we get my very 1st ding on my new van! A rock hits the windshield and cracks it!! I really hope this isn't an omen for how this trip is going to go. And just a few miles after that... we hit ANOTHER traffic jam!! This one is huge though. We inch our way along and after an hour or so we finally make it out of there! By this time we've spent 4 1/2 hours driving what shouldve taken no longer than 2 1/2! I am DONE driving! I've done my fair share ( fair in my book anyways).

We stop for gas and to get lunch. How the kids are hungry is beyond me though... the amount of snacks being consumed is quite alarming! The restaurant is super packed though so we decide to just get it to go.... and yes the kids are just fine with this! ( We've been known to push our kids without stopping a few times ;) ). Hop back in the car and I make sure my butt is firmly planed in the passenger seat!

The rest of the trip is fairly uneventful. We finally turned on a movie after 6 hours or so. We had about 40 movies with us and all Drew wanted to watch was Mamma Mia and HS3. Hannah was in pure hell. lol We thought for sure the kids would sleep... remember up at 5:45am! But we got about 20 minutes out of Drew and that was it!! Dinner was also eaten in the car... per the kids request. And we arrived in Valdosta about 13 hours after leaving Dayton. We had previously paid for a hotel there because we thought it would be too much to make the trip all in 1 day. Turns out we definitely should've just kept on going straight to Orlando... it's only another 3 hours.

So my van is TRASHED, my kids have eaten their way down to Florida and Matt and I have survived our first leg of a long road trip with the kids. We all agree ( yes even I ) that driving is MUCH easier with a big family than flying. No stress about overwight suitcases, delayed flights, etc. And it's a hell of alot cheaper!!

I had 2 bags packed just for the 1 night stop so we didn't have to unpack the whole van. We grabbed those, the cooler and both computers....Matt had to bring these because we're going to be gone so long that he needs to be able to get some work done daily. We booked a room with 2 king beds only to get in there and find that we have a fold out couch and a double bed. Oh joy. The girls bitch and moan about having to share a bed... but no way are either Matt or I going to sleep on that thing! Drew of course just sleeps inbetween us... as usual. =P

Almost ready to go!!

I had great visions of taking the last week and packing in an orderly fashion. Due to it actually getting hot out... we ended up swimming everyday instead. ;) So last night everything was pretty much thrown into suitcases and shoved in the back of the van. If you know me at all... this is soo against my Type A personality. lol But the sun was calling my name... and the sun won!

We have atleast a 15 hour drive ahead of us. We've NEVER driven that far! The new van will definitely help keep the fights to a minimum with the dual dvd's players, etc. But I know damn well it won't eliminate them all! The kids have assigned seats....basically Brooke has to sit by herself. lol She just irritates the hell out of the other 2 so she gets a row all to herself. ;) I have a HUGE basket of snacks and we'll have a cooler as well so they can just eat their way down to Florida. lol This also goes against my Type A personality.. because I cant stand my car dirty! But I'm taking one for the team. Matt and I are the type that just want to get from point A to point B with as little stopping as possible. We figure we'll have to stop 3 times for gas. And are planning on those 3 stops being no loner than 5 minutes each... the kids are going to kill us! haha

We'll be gone 17 days all together. 14 days at Disney and 3 days at a beach resort about an hour from Disney. I'm used to being with my kids all the time.... but not used to sharing a hotel room with 1 bathroom for that long! I much prefer the 4 bathrooms at home. lol Should be interesting to see how this goes.

I have planned this trip down to every little detail... remember Type A. ;) The notecards are ready, dining reservations are made, etc... now we'll see how much we follow them. We're down there for a long time and actually plan to RELAX some this trip... but Matt and I have never relaxed on a vacation. It's on the notecards though so we have to do it right?

Are you sure it's summer?

Usually by this point in June we are all a lovely shade of leather. ;) But not this year! The weather has been.... well complete crap! We've had so much rain my yard now is neon green.

I've always tolerated living in Ohio because a few months out of the year we can actually enjoy the weather. But we've been stuck inside day after day. I have a million projects I need to do but haven't done a single one of them. Instead I've just hung out with the kids, playing with them, watching movies with them... and of course keeping them from killing each other. ;) Hopefully this dreary weather will lift soon....otherwise I'm about to pitch a tent to whoever will take me in Cali. haha

We leave next Friday for Disney. It had better be sunny there!! My plan was to have all the suitcases out by now and packing started. Um yea... that hasn't quite happened yet. =P Instead I have a bunch of crap dumped in a corner of my room that needs to be packed. Being that I pack for all 5 of us I really need to get my ass in gear! It's the rain's fault... it's making me procrasinate!!

I'll be doing a pretrip report before we go. I'm sure it will involve plenty of cuss words as I get frustrated at the fact that I'm running around like a mad woman trying to shove everything in the van. ;) And I plan on doing a much better job in actually finishing the whole trip report... but I'm sure I'll slack on that too. ;)

Finally updating this thing!

Wow.. it's been a long time since I've posted on here. But now that the school year is over things are finally settling down a bit... well as settled down as you can get with 3 kids!

First things first! May 10 Madison Joanna made her appearance into the world. 8 lbs. 9 oz. and 20 inches long! And as expected TONS of red hair!! She loves to sleep... just like her mommy and daddy. ;) And she's a really good baby.... unlike my rotten little monsters. It's nice to sit and hold a baby that isn't screaming their heads off!

We had a visitor last week. My friend Tina came to stay the night with us before heading to Cincy for a wedding. She had never met the kids and they just adored her. We really wish her visit could've been longer! Although she's from sunny LA and would probably be bored to tears after more than a few days here. lol

The girls are both happy to be out of school for the summer! Hannah's break is a short one as marching band starts as soon as we get back from vacation. ALL day practices pretty much every day til school starts! She was voted freshman class president too so she'll have lots on her plate for next year. Not worried one bit though.. I know she can handle it all! Brooke won't start cheer until later in July. But I still don't see much of her. She has met so many kids in the neighbor hood and is constantly out playing! Drew is missing his preschool friends but not missing leaving me... he is still such a mama's boy. =P He claims he's going to live with me forever! He's also going through this phase of saying all those lovely bathroom words... ya know... poopy, butt, wiener, peepee,booby, etc. I got lucky and the girls never went through that phase. Should've known Drew would never pass up the opportunity to call me a weiner butt though. ;)

Happy Birthday to Me!

Yep.... 1 year older today. And I'm sure there are more wrinkles on my forehead to prove it! I keep digging to find those grey hairs and have yet to find any... so I'm still safe there... for now. =P

Our plans for today were to head to Kings Island. But with Brooke and Drew really sick with bronchitis that's not going to happen. All is not lost though.... the sun goddess is begging for me to come visit her. So I will be setting up my lounger, making a little cocktail and visiting her in just a bit. :)

Matt already gave me my gift... the coach purse I bought. ;)

Happy Easter!

Dying Easter eggs is something we do every year....even though none of us really much care for them. I always have to look up directions for how to boil an egg since I only do it once a year... thank god for google.

Hannah is much too cool to stay home on a Friday night these days so she missed out this year....which of course thrilled Brooke and Drew because they got to do more eggs!


Just getting started.




Brooke...being the artistic kid she is... insisted on coloring on all of her with white crayon beforehand.





Drew actually likes hard boiled eggs and just couldn't wait to bust them open!


And as usual... he gives you a visual of his mouthful of eggs.... ewww he actually eats the yolk! What is wrong with this kid?!


Pretty eggs... we actually did 2 dozen.... which will sit in my fridge for a few more days... at which point I will tire of gagging when I open the door and will throw them all out. Good thing eggs are cheap!

I got mother of the year award this Easter. =P Hannah offered to help me fill the eggs with candy that we were hiding. When she came downstairs I had all the baskets filled and she saw everything in hers. She said, "Ohh I love all that stuff mom!". Damn!

Brooke still believes... or atleast pretends like she does. Not really sure. Her and Drew had an all out fight looking for the eggs...god forbid if they SHARE!

Easter's over now and I have baskets FULL of candy sitting on my counter. I'm trying to ignore the M&M's calling my name.... but man it's hard! =P

Hope you all had a wonderful Easter!

Spring Break

Okay so we didn't make it to Florida this year. I really wanted to go but Matt couldn't get off work. Next year I AM going though... even if I have to take the kdis by myself!! I need sunshine and warm temps!

So we made the best of it and we spent the week doing something different everyday.

Monday we went swimming at the Vandalia Rec Center with our neighbors. Kids had a blast. Of course I wouldn't much preferred swimming OUTSIDE in Florida!

Tuesday we went shopping at the mall. Shopping at the little beach shops would've been better though!

Wednesday we hit the outlets. Just this one day of shopping cost more than our trip would've! lol I picked up a little birthday present for myself... a cute summer Coach purse.

Thursday Matt was able to take a 1/2 day off and we went to the Train museum. Really neat! Then we went to the aquarium in Newport. For some reason that was super packed so we didn't stay but 15 minutes! =P

Friday we went to a movie.

The kids said they had a good week... but we all agreed that we're going to Florida next year!!

3 years

It was 3 years ago today that Grandma passed away. But yet she still brings a smile to my face almost daily. We often think about what she would say at certain things and immediately laugh as we know it would be some wise crack or sarcastic comment. lol

Even though she's gone.... she continues to bring all of us joy. :)

Happy Belated Birthday Drew!

I had alot going on last week with Jess's shower so I haven't had a chance to post about Drew's birthday. He's 4!!!! I no longer have any toddlers in my house. It makes me a bit sad that I no longer have little ones... but then I quickly remember how hard the last 4 years with this little monster have been. lol At 4 he is FINALLY sleeping through the night! He usually comes into my bed at some point in the middle of the night but he's no longer waking me up for hours at a time!

He began his birthday by taking a treat to preschool. He spent most the week going back and forth on what to bring.... finally decided on choc. chip cookies. His school has a policy that the items must be store bought... thank god! I'm not into that whole I'm going to outdo the other mommies with my spectactular treats. I HATE to bake!

I had thought of doing a big birthday party for him but then had flashbacks of Hannah's 4th birthday in which I did a whole carnival theme complete with a Genie who did balloons... with 40+kids! Mass chaos! Yea...Hannah was definitely the first that got spoiled rotten! Brooke had a party with about 10 friends at McDonalds. Drew... he got an afternoon at the park with a bunch of friends... mainly because I was bored and wanted to sit and talk to their mommies. lol

Everyone keeps saying that they can't believe that he's 4 already... I can!! My life has completely changed since I've had him. My house is no longer quiet... EVER! And I've become a much different mom. I used to be that mom who looked at those kids in the grocery store with the dirty faces, running all over the place, knocking stuff over and think my god can't they control their child?! I now know they have a Drew... a little monster that is going to do whatever he pleases regardless what you tell him. ;) I've learned to grab the camera when he tells me to come and look at what he's done instead of getting upset about it. It's pointless.. the kid is destructive and that's that! His father is STILL the same way at 34 yrs. old... so now I just embrace it. :)

But along with being messy, loud and constantly in motion... he's also the MOST loveable little boy in the world. I've yet to meet someone who doesn't melt when he smiles at them with that adorable face of his. He is such a momma's boy and I love that he thinks I'm perfect... because that's the way it should be! ;)

Happy 4th Birthda Bubba!! I look forward to seeing how you grow in the next year. You've just started to discover the joy of bugs and everything else that skeeves me out... so I'm sure the next year will be a memorable one!

Well there goes my social life!

Just got the list of events that we're REQUIRED to work for Marching Band. Good god... do they think that I have nothing better to do than spend the summer/fall working concession stands?! We have to do the following...

6 Dayton Dragon games.... I volunteered to work the bar but I'll be wrapping weiners instead.

2 Varsity Football games.... volunteered to be a cheerleader ( apparently they have a weight limit for those uniforms now. =P ). So I'll be wrapping weiners there too!

Clean up after 2 Football games.... I know how much shit we leave behind in the bleachers... NO WAY in hell am I cleaning up everyone else's shit. So my plan is to hide until it's all done. ;)

Work the band premiere... this entailed from parking busses to selling baked goods to wrapping weiners. I don't have the best track record parking so the busses are out. I would love to work the bake sale but I think they're afraid I'll eat all the Rice Krispie treats. ;) And I really don't want to wrap weiners anymore than I have to. So I'll be working the ticket gate... hidden motive here... I'll let all my friends and family in for free! haha

Soccer games... concession stand again! Good god!

2 playoff games...schedule to be determined at a later date. Yes... I have NOTHING better to do than to be at their beck and call to run up there and wrap weiners!

There was also mention of basketball games, car washes, flower sale...blah blah blah. Some of these are optional... who in their right freakin mind would want to sing up for even more stuff!

Brooke is also going to cheer this year which will require us to work a few of those games as well. Oh goody!

Now you would think with all of these things that you are REQUIRED to volunteer for that you wouldn't have to pay to be in the band... yea right! I still have to cough out $800 a year for this and that's just band fees. Doesn't include all the money she'll need for games, contests, etc. Doesn't include tickets for us to go to all these things, food, etc. So basically I'm really getting screwed here. lol

Yep... I'm a blog slacker!

Actually I'm just too damn lazy lately to update this thing. ;)

Guess I have about a months worth to update on.

Matt turned 34... I'm up next! =P

Went to Vegas... had a great time, drank too much, had a great time, gambled too much, had a great time... and I'm going back this fall!

Finally above freezing here... day time temps anyways. Dusting off the lawnchair and officially already have tan lines! You know me... gotta get a jump start on things.

And I think that about sums up the month. Bet you all can't wait for next months update. =P

Newsflash!

It's cold out!

I hate snow!

I hate winter!

It sucks!

I miss my lawnchair!

Happy 14th Birthday Hannah!!

I woke up this morning thinking about the day Hannah was born.... well not that actual day because I try and block that from my memory. lol But the few weeks that followed. I remember Matt and I spending hours talking about our hopes and dreams for this beautiful little baby girl. I must say she has FAR exceeded all of those!! Hannah has this thirst for knowledge and determination is unbelieveable. If Hannah puts her mind to do it... not only will she succeed... she'll be at the top! I repeatedly have adults ( teachers, parents, etc. ) come up to me to tell me how lucky I am to have a daughter like her. And they're right... I am very lucky!!

She's a good kid all around. She doesn't give into peer pressure and has no problem standing up for what she believes in... even if it's not the popular decision. Of course we get the occasional teenage attitude... can't be a teen without it. ;) But she's a good kid that is growing up MUCH too quickly!

For now... she still enjoys being around us. lol Yes we're "uncool" at times... but for the most part we're allowed to be seen in public with her. ;) She enjoys that were the youngest parents in her group of friends. haha

Tonight she's having a bunch of friends over for pizza and cookie cake.. because regular cake just isn't cool these days. ;) I'll be sure to take lots of pics... much to her dismay and get them on here!!

Happy 105th Birthday Grandma!

That's how old Grandma would've been today if she was still here with us. The fact that she made it until 102 still amazes me... yet I know we all wish we could've had a few more years :)

I see alot of her in the kids....

Hannah has her ability to be a good listener without always offering an opinion. She can also be a little nosey just like Grandma ( remember her and Gladys lol). And she also has her determination! If grandma decided she was going to do something.. then that was that... nothing got in her way! Hannah is definitely the same way!

Brooke definitely has her spunk! She can be so entertaining... and so was grandma. Along with that she has her sassiness and gusto to just spit out whatever they're thinking. lol Grandma had a long list of classics that still make us all chuckle. :)

And Drew has her contagious smile. If Grandma was smiling... you just couldn't help smiling right along with her. Drew is the same way....just melts your heart!

It's been almost 3 years since she passed... but all the memories are still very fresh. From having her wonderful fried eggs when I was little.. to having a beer with her when I was older..... I am very fortunate that she made it to 102!

Happy Birthday Grandma... we all miss you!!

39 more days!!

39 more days til we're in Vegas again... woohoo! My cousins keep telling me that it's going to be too cold to soak in the sun while I'm out there. This is the same cousin that just told me that they're having a cold snap...it's ONLY 60 out there! Hell... that's a freakin heat wave to us! So I am quite confident that I'll be able to worship the sun gods for a few hours while we're there!

Jess actually volunteered to stay with the kids while we're gone! She'll be 8 months pregnant by then but she still insists! I guess I better throw her a pretty nice baby shower huh? lol

Apparently we have another 5-7 inches of snow coming our way tonight/tomorrow. Fun fun! =P I just keep sniffing my sun tan lotion hoping it will all go away!

8 and -6

What are these numbers you ask? That's what the high and low is going to be tomorrow. And this is the regular temperature. Factor in the wind chill.... and I have 2 words.... F*** this! =P I'm only sensoring it because my parents read this and would be appalled that their sweet little daughter uses words like that. haha

Now seriously... when you have a HIGH of 8 degrees that's just inhumane and cruel. But yet here I sit... in Ohio... for what I'm now accepting will be my fate for the rest of my life. =P

Atleast last year I was smart to book a flight out of this place I call hell in the winter months. We hit Ft. Lauderdale for a few days and oh how wonderful it was to be able to walk around without a parka on for a few days. My toes even thanked me for squishing them in the sand and bringing them back to life. Who cares if we had to sit on the runway for an hour while they deiced the plane so we could take off... we were going someplace warm!

But this year... nada.. zip...nothing! I'm doomed to sit here trying to pick my nose hairs apart... as they're frozen solid at the moment... and put my feet in the fireplace to keep my toes from falling off! I now have 2 out of 3 kids sleeping in my bed because my upstairs is soo cold!

Thankfully I'll be hitting Vegas beginning of March! I asked my cousins what the weather will be like and they said upper 60's maybe 70.... and probably too chilly to sit by the pool. Are they kidding me.... that will be a freakin heatwave to us!

Feel sorry for me.... this sucks!!

Happy Birthday Brooke!

A quick snapshot of Brooke this morning... she wasn't too thrilled that her first day back from break was on her birthday. haha


Brooke's new room


Another angle


The letters I made for her



The rest of the letters




Today Brooke is 10... wow! She still has such a little kid personality so it's hard to believe she's 10 already! I love that she'll still play for hours and can be just as silly as Drew. :)

Lately Brooke has been having the typical middle child syndrome. When we moved in this house almost 2 years ago her room didn't really change much. The girls shared a room at our old house and we bought them bunk beds and all the matching pieces. Since it was all still fairly new furniture and bedding we kept it and put it in Brooke's room. Hannah got all new furniture and bedding since she was getting her own room. And Drew got new stuff too since he wasn't in the crib anymore. Brooke felt like she got the shaft. =P

So for her 10th birthday we offered to let her redo her room however she chose! She had to keep the furniture since we weren't about to replace that! But she could pick out all new bedding and accessories and we would paint the room as well. We went to Pottery Barn and she found HOT PINK striped quilts that she was dying to have ( thank god for sales!!). She picked out sheets that had pink and brown in them and decided the new colors for her room would be pink and brown. Like pepto bismol pink. lol Matt painted the whole room and put up a chair rail to divide the colors. And I decorated some wooden letters with all my scrap stuff. The room turned out really cute and she just loves that it's what she picked out!

Since the room cost a fortune to redo... that's the bulk of her gift! And she has no idea that we have anything else for her. ;) She's also getting a hot pink Ipod which I know she's going to love!!