Happy Thanksgiving

I have a lot to be thankful for.....husband, children, family, home, health, etc etc.

Hope you and yours take the time to reflect on all the blessings, and have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Try not to eat too much!

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Today is my first born's birthday! He is 6 yrs old today. My how time flies. We brought in cupcakes today for his school, he came home with a crown and a sticker, and we went to the park this afternoon. Presents are to follow later.

He's getting so big.

Happy Birthday Ryan!!

Kyle sleeping

Yesterday both boys actually slept in a bit. I went to go check on Kyle, and this was how I found him. Had to get a picture of that! How can that be comfortable?

Ryan's first day of school

OK...I know it was 3 weeks ago. Yes, I'm behind, as usual. Darn myspace. LOL

Anyway, Ryan had his first day of kindergarten Sept 2. It was his first time going for a full day, since preschool was just 3 hours for 3 days a week. He is now going M-F 7:30am-2:30pm. It's a long day for a child who is used to napping after lunch!

He loves it! He had such a blast the first day. He couldn't stop talking (much like his mommy when excited!). He is learning all kinds of new things and new friends. Now if only I can keep him away from the bad influences......

And he's so excited to have a spiderman backpack and lunch box! LOL

I'm so glad my baby likes school :)

Happy Anniversary!

Today is our wedding anniversary! 9 years!

Was hoping for a nice quiet morning with each other for a few minutes before he went to work. Didn't work. Both kids awake before I even got out of the shower. Ah well. Life with kids!!

No big plans this year. Saving it for next year...the big one!

Happy Anniversary Baby! :)

Trip to St. Paul MN

I just returned from my trip to St. Paul MN to visit my childhood best friend. I had such a blast! We always have a good time together

I almost didn't make it there. The trip there was a complete disaster, but it all worked out in the end. I was supposed to take the bus (it is so cheap!!), however the bus went to the wrong bus stop (seriously) and missed me!! Another woman was waiting with me. She HAD to be in MN ASAP because she is a violinist for the Minneapolis Orchestra and had a concert that night. Anyway, with much discussion and phone calls, we opted to rent a car together and drive up. It all worked out. Thankfully!!

Once that was done and I was finally there, I hung out with Marque for a while until Amy got out of work. Then we made dinner (shrimp YUM!). Then we dolled ourselves up and went out dancing! We were SUPPOSED to see Great White that night.....one of the main reasons I went up there. But the show was canceled...I'm assuming due to the venue. I'm really disappointed that we didn't get to see GW...as Amy and I used to go see them all the time back in the 90's. It would have been really cool to go together again. But alass, it was not meant to be. We went out dancing instead! Had a blast...enjoyed good drinks, good company (her 2 friends came along too), but crappy music. A lot of rap...not my style. But it was fun anyway.

The next day I actually slept until 8:30am! Woo hoo!!! Longest I"ve slept in forever! My normal day starts at 5:15am. LOL
We had a total girlie day. We went to Olive Garden for lunch, then we went shopping all afternoon--I got some really cool jeans, a shirt, very cool shoes, purse, oh..and yes, I did get something for the kids too. LOL Then we came back to Amy's and dyed our hair (hers dark, mine blonde) and did our nails. So girlie LOL That night we went out to a bar/restaurant and had some good happy hour drinks and food. When we came back to the house she made us some apple flavored martinis. YUM. My first ever martini.

I had to leave in the morning at 7am, so it wasn't a late night. (real late anyway). Luckily I made the bus this time and all was good.

I can't wait to go back again. I miss my BFF. We had such a blast. Hoping for sometime after the holidays.

Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was Michael's birthday. I just wanted to wish him a very Happy Birthday!

Yes finally

I know....been ignoring the blog again. So much has been going on...where to start??

My childhood best friend got married Aug 9. It was a blast! It was a beautiful wedding, set at the War Memorial in downtown Milwaukee. It was a gorgeous day and everything was perfect.

I had another Great White concert I went to Aug 23 in Greenwood IL. at the Galt Airport. It was an incredible show! Tons of stuff to talk about there...but I don't want to share too much info about it right now. All I can say is it was incredible! Man, I LOVE that band!!!

Ryan started his first day of kindergarten Sept 2. He LOVES it! He goes all day....which is something we both aren't used to. He is used to taking a nap during the day, and I'm used to him being home all day. He seems to be adjusting well, and he really likes school. It's nice having some time alone with Kyle too, and when Kyle goes down for his 2 hour nap, I can either get stuff done around the house, or have some nice quiet time (like now when I'm on the computer LOL).

Ryan also started Awana Sept 3. He is a Sparky this year. Oh boy has he been looking forward to that!! He was bouncing off the walls last night waiting for it! He is going to have a blast. I just hope it won't be too much for him with school, since he doesn't get to bed until almost 9pm on Wed nights. We'll see how today goes at school! LOL

I'm going up to St. Paul MN this weekend to see Amy (above mentioned childhood best friend). We were supposed to go to a Great White show there in St. Paul, but it was canceled. So I'm goin anyway and we'll go out and have a great time anyway! I'll be back on Monday.

I've been quite the busy bee lately! Pictures to come!

My Road trip!

Last week I went on my first ever road trip for a concert! I had such a blast! Who would I drive hundreds of miles across the midwest to go see you ask? Come on, take a guess! I bet you know it!

Yep, Great White....only the best rock band EVER. :)

So they were playing in Columbus Ohio Wed. Aug 6. My friend Julie, who lives in Indianapolis, was going, and she was going alone since her kids were going to be in Florida with their dad. I begged and pleaded with hubby, and yep, cuz I'm spoiled (:D) he let me go.
The plan: Drive to Indianapolis to meet up with Julie at her house, then to Columbus for the show, stay at a hotel, then drive back the next day. Yeah, a lot of driving, but hey, that's what a road trip is all about right.

I left at 5:30am on Wed (yes, I must be crazy to leave the early)...it takes about 4.5 hours to get to her place, plus I lose an hour due to the time zones, and I wanted to get there early enough in case of traffic issues. I was driving through Chicago after all.
The drive there wasn't bad at all. Chicago traffic really wasn't bad, and their freeway actually is nice and easy to navigate through. I like their express lanes. Once I got past Chicago there was a slight detour to get on I-65....probably about 10 miles out of the way, but it wasn't a problem following the signs. Once I got on I-65 it was smooth sailing. And holy cats....getting into Indiana is EXPENSIVE!! $3 toll!!! That's more than Illinois! Love ya Jules, but it's expensive coming out to see you!! LOL

I arrived at her place a little after 11am. I made good time. I stopped in to see her house quickly, went to the bathroom, and we were on our way out to Columbus. We popped in some Great White CD's, which we ended up not even listening to since we spent almost the whole trip talking. Get us Great White girls together and we never shut up! LOL

We arrived in Columbus about 3:30-4pm..and made our way to the hotel. We got some phone calls from Dave on the way there saying the boys were at the venue getting ready for soundcheck already. We hoped we weren't too late. Once we freshened up at the hotel, we went to the venue. We got our tickets there that were left for us via the "guest list", but they wouldn't let us into sound check. Security was really tight there. However, we found our way back there anyway! LOL Ratt was the headliner and apparently the local radio station was doing a special promo where some people won tickets for sound check. So we kinda mixed in with them. We got to see Ratt do theirs, and then Great White did their sound check.

After sound check we tried to make our way down to the "pit", or the area at the front of the stage. Unfortunately, the tickets we got from the guest list did not allow us down there...they were for the lawn seats!! We called Dave amist our confusion and he texted Scott (the bass player) to get us in. Unfortuantely communication was not getting back to us, and security was so tight that they said even with the band's approval they still wouldn't let us in. ggggrrrr.
So we ended up buying pit tickets and got our front row. There was no way I was going to drive all the way out there to see them way back in the lawn seats!! LOL

So the first band out was Naked Beggars. They were really good. I don't know much about them, but Julie likes them and said they are good. The lead guitarist was from Cinderella, and his wife is the singer for Naked Beggars. They had some catchy songs and did a great job. I felt kinda bad for Inga though since she was wearing all black and it was really warm that day and she was directlly in the sun! Anyway, they played probably for 45 min to an hour.

Next up was the one and only--Great White!! :)

The set list is basically the same...opened with Call it Rock N Roll. I was standing between Jack and Scott.. in perfect line of view for Michael. :) I've noticed that he never really looks directly out at the crowd in front of him, he tends to look more toward center. Anyway, right away during the first song he saw me and gave me a nod and smile :) He rocks!! hehe
They were awesome as usual...sound was good and Jack was in a good mood, joking around quite a bit. They were rushed for time since they skipped a few regular songs, and of course, since they were opening, they didn't do their extras...Michael and Mark singing. They played an hour, but it was an incredible hour!

After the show we tried to get backstage, as we were invited by Scott. But security were being jerks and wouldn''t let us in. I think part of it though was the whole radio thing....instead of the boys doing their normal meet n greet, they had a formal one with the radio station winners. So no talking with Michael this time around. However, we should have a better chance next time in Greenwood. I hope.

So Julie and I stopped at McD's, since we hadn't eaten since lunch, and then back to the hotel. We made it back to the hotel by 11pm....early night! But we stayed up until about 3am talking!! It was awesome! I loved having not just girly time...but GW girly time!! LOL I don't really have anyone else I can talk with about GW and my love for them, so it was awesome talking with her. We hit if off so well!

The next morning we got up (about 7am), got ready, and made our way back to Indianapolis. I think we got back to her place by 11am. I hung out there watching a DVD she has of the boys, and talking some more. I had planned on leaving earlier, but due to our chattiness, didn't get out until 1pm! I ran into Chicago traffic on the way home, but made it home by 6pm. Not bad. Just in time for dinner!

The drive by myself was nice...I could listen to whatever I wanted and as loud as I wanted! LOL And no whining in the car! LOL

I had such a blast and can't wait to do another road trip again. It will have to wait until next year though....after Greenwood I don't think GW will be anywhere in the midwest again for quite some time. Most of their shows in the next few months are on the east or west coasts.

Thanks Julie for a great time, and thanks to Great White for putting on a great show as always!

BTW- if anyone wants to hear, Great White will be on Rockline tonight (Wed) at 10:30pm. Check them out!

**more pics on myspace!**

Kyle's check up

I'm a bit late on this....I've been crazy busy.

Kyle weighs 22 lbs even and is 31 inches long. He is in the 10th percentile....though small, he's still bigger than Ryan was!! LOL

Kyle is doing well in all areas...the doctor said he's hit all his milestones. He did recommend a speech therapist for a consultation, but I'm debating if I really want to do that yet. I've heard from many people to hold off since he does have an older brother that talks for him all.the.time.

At any rate, he's doing well! Now if only I can get him to listen and sit down longer than 5 seconds!! haha

My baby boy is getting so big.

18 months!

Kyle is officially a year and half old today. My how times flies.

His 18 month check up is on Monday. In my opinion he's hitting all the typical milestones. They only thing he's not doing is talking.
I know it's normal for a second child to have delayed speech, especially if the older one is a talker. But Kyle doesn't say anything. Not even no. or dada. or mama. nothing.
He definitely gets his point across by pointing, groaning, moaning, running over to what he wants, etc.
I'm trying not to be too concerned as once they start talking, I've learned they never stop!! Well see what the dr says on Monday.

Next week is a family week....Bob is on vacation and we will be going to State Fair, Betty Brinn Children's musuem, and all kinds of fun stuff in between. Should be fun!

Happy year and a half Kyle! :)

Punk rock or Rainbow Hair?

Ryan (my 5 yr old) attended Vacation Bible School last week at IBC. This year he actually loved it! We tried it last year, but it didn't work out. He cried most of the time on the first day, and he had told me he didn't want to go back. I think it was too overwhelming for him....300 kids screaming and singing...it's a lot for a 4 yr old to take in.

So this year, it worked out great....he was so excited! After the first night he literally talked the whole way home! He just had a blast.

This year's theme was SonWorld....learning about Christ through an amusement park. Each night was a "theme"...such as tacky tourist, where the kids had to dress up in mismatched outfits, or groovy night, dressing in 60's fashions. One night was crazy hair night. Since Ryan is a boy and has a short haircut, I had to get a little creative.

How's this for creativity?And mommy got into the fun too.




We were rockin the hair do's.

The 3 "r's"...reading, writing, and revising

I haven't posted about my book in quite some time. Just wanted to update on the progress. Yes, progress has actually been made!

I am currently revising/editing, and am finished with Part 1! Woo hoo! That was the hardest one to revise though...I had a lot of changes to make and rewriting to go along with that.

Part 2 and 3 shouldn't take nearly as long since it's more minor changes. Then I will have Monica read through it again and make more changes. It's a never ending battle!

But yes, I still am working on it. It's slow going, but it's still in progress. Hopefully someday you will be able to pick it up at your local bookstore! :)

Pictures from the Great White concert

Some pics as promised from the Glendale Heights IL show. I took almost 50 pictures, but I only put a few here. Check out my myspace page if you want to see all of them! Jack Russell, the lead singer, and Mark Kendall, lead guitarist.

Michael Lardie, rhythm guitar and keyboards, and Scott (ok, please forgive me, I don't know his last name! He's only been with the band for about 2 months), bass
Me with Michael Lardie :) He is sooooo gorgeous!! *sigh*

The party girl lives

I haven't posted at all about all the concerts I've been going to. Remember back in Dec I went to Night Ranger? Yeah, well, that started it all. Then in Jan I saw Great White and actually met Michael and the rest of the band. After that, I was "hooked". If they were coming within a 2 hour distance of me, I was THERE.

I had to wait until June, but I was so there. I again saw Great White in June in Waukesha, opening for Bret Michaels. It was a good show. Not the best I'd seen, since they were opening they had a shorter set list and didn't do a meet n greet afterwards. But I did get to hang out with my friend Julie and her two teenage kids from Indiana, so that was cool.

July 2 I saw Night Ranger again down in IL. I met up with Pattie, though I didn't get to hang out with the band this time around since they had to head out for their next gig right away. But it was an awesome show....they sounded incredible and I love their new song! (check out their new CD out in stores now! LOL)

July 12...I saw Great White again..playing in IL. I was debating on going since it was a longer drive and almost all of it done in construction (IL is completely redoing their expressway....so it's a big pain to drive), but I couldn't turn down the chance to see them. Come on...my favorite band of ALL time? yeah. Had. to. go.

Good thing I did...because it was the BEST. SHOW. EVER. It was at a festival in Glendale Heights IL..a northwestern suburb of Chicago. Only takes about an hour and a half to get there. To be perfectly honest, I definitely prefer the smaller festivals/venues to the bigger ones. The smaller ones you have a better chance at front row and a better chance of seeing the band. :)

I got there about 3:30pm. I received a call from Julie telling me she was at the hotel and wouldn't be coming until about 4:30pm. no problem. I just hung out at the festival...went on a ride, had a funnel cake, walked around a bit. I was just about to sit down in the area by the stage when she got there. We hung out for a while, until we saw Dave and Gayle. We sat down by them and chatted. The worst part about going to a show is the waiting beforehand!! I always like to get there super early to secure a front row spot. I passed by the time by talking quite a bit with Gayle (great woman...she is awesome!), and Dave showed me his pics with the band. (Dave is a roadie with the band).

At 7pm there was an opening band called Backstage Pass. They actually were pretty good. They do covers of 80's rock. I love that they were really into the crowd...the guitarists came down off the stage and into the crowd, the lead singer came out onto the platform up front frequently, touching people's hands. They handed out "backstage passes" haha to people. It was just their little gimmick, but it was cute. They also handed out white roses to the females....so I ended up with a rose. Very nice.

After their set, was the one and only, Great White! woohoo!! They came out pretty much on time, and started the show with Call it Rock N Roll. They sang many of their hits, plus Mark sang Rooster, Jack sang Paradise off his For You CD, and Michael sang Lovin' Kind :) They were totally amazing at this show. The sound was perfect..absolutely no sound problems at all, Jack sounded incredible...his voice was flawless. And all the boys were in really good moods...constant smiling and goofing around on stage. The crowd was into it, which I think made the band more into it. It looked like they were just having a blast out there.
I know Michael saw me...he was looking my way quite a bit. Not that I know he was looking at me directly, but he was looking my way a lot! :) They played for about 2 hours. The best 2 hours ever! LOL

After the show we stuck around the stage for a while, then wandered our way to the merchandise table. Dave said they wouldn't be doing a meet n greet; the boys were going to go back to the hotel. I stuck around with Gayle for a while..she had to wait for Dave as he was her ride home. Good thing I did stick with her! After the police decided to kick everyone out of the festival, (it was after closing time), Dave told us to come backstage so we wouldn't get kicked out. So I followed Gayle (since I felt like a duck out of water LOL) and we went in the tent where the band was. Michael was standing behind the table and silly me didn't say anything to him at first...and Gayle looked at me like I was crazy! She asked me "Why didn't you say anything to him?" And I said "I can be shy." And at that exact moment, Jack, the lead singer, who was standing next to Gayle but had his back turned, turned around and looked at me "Shy? Aw, Why are you shy?" LOL I ended up talking with him a bit..shook his hand. But I was so taken aback at his comment I never even thought to get my picture taken with him. Duh. LOL

After that Michael was around again, and Gayle called him over. I got up my nerve and said Hi. :) I even got bold enough to ask him for a hug!! :) *sigh* And yes, I did get a hug...a very nice, long, wonderful hug, with a little squeeze. :) He is such a good hugger! I like hugging him because he's closer to my height....my chin rests on his shoulder so it's nice and comfy :)
Afterwards I asked for his picture so I got my picture taken with him. It turned out perfect...he has a nice smile on his face..and well, I'm beaming. LOL
I also asked him if he will ever reply to my message...rather bold of me but well, it was now or never. He had a dazed kinda look on his face, so I wasn't too sure he remembered me. I started to explain who I was, when he said "I know who you are!" LOL He knows me!! :) Of course, at this point in time, I don't know if that's a good thing or not!! haha But he never answered my question since he moved on to someone else. I'm not too sure he wanted to answer it....probably thinks I'm a psycho fan!! (get this crazy chick away from me!!LOL)

I also got to talk to Scott for few minutes. He is the newest member of the band...and he is so sweet. He fits in so well with them...like he's been playing with them forever.
I didn't get to talk with Audie or Mark this time. Hopefully next time.

Then it was all over. The band left, and I was on my way home. It was a late night...didn't get to bed until 2:30am, but so well worth the loss of sleep. I was running on pure adrenaline the whole next day!

I will post pics in the next post. This one is long enough!! It's taken me all day to write it! LOL

Again..the BEST. SHOW. EVER.

I will be seeing them again Aug 23 in Greenwood. They are headlining with LA Guns and Nelson opening for them. The whole gang will be there so it should be a rockin good time. Can't wait!

Are you worthy for Toby?

I know, this is a silly little high schoolish quiz, but I had to.

One of my favorite shows is Degrassi (both Old school and the Next Generation), and when I saw this quiz I thought it was cute.

Am I worthy to date Toby?

Answer: You bet I am!!

Boys in a tree

My boys seem to love being in trees. I guess they are training to be "Men in Trees" haha.
I have a picture of Ryan sitting like this in a tree when he was about 17 months, so we just had to do it for Kyle too. It turned out perfect. They love to be outside!

Where does the time go?

Has it really been that long since I last posted? augh.

Time has been escaping me. I'm becoming horrible at time management as of recent. I have so many things I want to do, but it seems to continue slipping away from me. I find myself doing many other mundane tasks instead. Like last night for instance. After the kids went to bed, I cleaned the rat cage (it desperately needed cleaning though...it had been over a month...ick), cleaned up the kitchen, and when I finally sat down, it was already 9pm. I had planned on doing some writing/working on my book (which I haven't touched since I went to MN last month), but with it being 9pm already, it seemed to late. I like to have a large block of time to work on it. Many times I get into my groove and then it's time to quit.
So I watched my soap instead and dilly dallied online. Ok....my excuse for the soap watching....it's getting GOOD! Gosh I'm so addicted, it's sad. LOL But really....some really good storylines are in play right now and I can't wait to see how they end up!
As for the online thing....I've just been obsessed with myspace as of recent. It's been a wonderful place for me lately. I've come in contact with quite a few of my old high school friends that I lost touch with. I found Monica (an old friend) whom has been helping me with my book, and Sandy whom I think God put in my path because of what she's going through. I love myspace! LOL

Anyway, EVENTUALLY (I know I say this all the time) I will get back to writing my book (I'm hoping to tonight or sometime this week) and will make some actual posts here. I've lost quite a few readers here. It was an average of 10 readers a day..now it's 3. blah.

Now that things have calmed down a bit....I will try to post about some of the things I have been doing (trip to MN, GW concert, rummage sale, the kids). It's a matter of time management!!

ggggrrr

I'm so beyond frustrated. I wrote a nice, LONG post all about my vacation in MN, including pictures and all. I was almost done...just proofreading it when POOF!! I accidently hit a button and it was......... GONE. Just like that. ggggggggrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

I'm really not liking blogger anymore. Anyone else have any other suggestions that are free? I'll eventually rewrite that post. Right now I need to calm down.

I'm back!

Ok...after WEEKS of not updating-- I'm here!! Hopefully I will learn to update more frequently. Seriously. honestly. I know I know. But hey, I'm here now. That's what matters right? Hello? Do I still have any readers left?
*chirp chirp*

Darn crickets.

Expect some new posts. Seriously.

Happy Birthday Bob

Today is Bob's birthday.....But shhhhhhh. Don't say anything. LOL He doesn't like to make a big deal of his "day". But I do. hehe

We actually aren't doing anything exciting today. The day is actually going to be more focused on Ryan. Today is also Ryan's last day of preschool. The time has gone so fast. But that's a whole other post.

Happy Birthday Bob!! :)

I've been where??

Please forgive my absentness around here. I have been MIA again. It's not that I don't want to write or that I don't have anything to write about. I just haven't had the motivation recently. I'm hoping to get it back soon as I have a lot of things coming up that will make interesting posts. I will be going on a vacation to St. Paul/Minn, MN this coming weekend...childless! A whole 5 days without kids or hubby...just a girls weekend.
I have some concerts coming up, and rummage sale. So much going on.

Anyway, I wanted to let everyone know I'm still around. I will write when I have something interesting to write about!

It's here again!

The Annual PBS Great TV Auction that is!! Woo hoo!!

So I will be busy all week watching the auction, seeing what I can bid on. LOL

Kyle's first hair cut

So the pictures are finally here!! (I know, it's about time)

It's a month old already, but here is Kyle's first hair cut. I took him to my friend's house where we spent the night. She has a cosmotology license so I have her cut both my boys hair now. It was the best for Kyle since he knows her and he felt comfortable there with her. He ate some crackers and played with a comb while she did it.

And here's the after picture (below). He wasn't happy at the end. LOL But it looks good.

Ggggrrrrr

I was finally planning on writing a blog post tonight- all about Kyle's first hair cute (which btw he got a month ago already). Unfortunately I choose the wrong night I suppose. Blogger is having issues with uploading photos. Blah.

Makes me frustrated.

So there will be new posts soon. When blogger decides to cooperate. :)

My little obsession

I have a confession. I am addicted. Seriously addicted. It started way back when I was young. I would get one, enjoy it, then another, and another. In high school I loved the way it smelled, felt, even sounded. By college the addiction multiplied. It didn't help that each class I had required at least eight of them. After the classes I kept them. Even if I didn't like the class. Now, ten years later, my obsession has seriously gotten out of control. I not only have all those from back in the day, but I have tons more. I get one, and it's not enough. I need more.

I'm seriously addicted to......books.

I have three huge five shelf bookcases downstairs FULL of books. Books of all kinds....from children's books (mine from when I was little...I'm not including Ryan's and Kyle's books), to college textbooks, to the classics (Pride and Prejudice, A Christmas Carol, etc), to poetry, to books about pregnancy and babies, to biographies, to Women's Fiction. My husband's books are down there too...which include computer/technical books, sci-fi, comic books. In fact, those bookcases aren't even enough...they are overflowing. I have piles of books on the side too. I have one whole shelf dedicated to VC Andrews from when I was into her books. I have a shelf dedicated to reference books (grammer and writing books), a shelf dedicated to pregnancy and baby books (a great baby name book that I just love!), I even have my high school yearbooks on a shelf there.

I can't seem to ever get rid of any books. This past year I cleaned out the basement and there were many books I read and didn't care for, but I couldn't part with them. Why? Because I just feel it's a total shame to get rid of any books! It's hard for me to part with them. Unfortunately I had to...I was running out of room and hubby said I couldn't buy anymore if I didn't read/get rid of the ones I currently have. I got rid of the ones like some of my college textbooks (like finance and spanish) that I will never use again. And various others I read once and know I won't pick up again. But it was difficult to do.

I suppose I always had an obsession/love for books. I remember being in fifth grade and my teacher would read us a chapter of a book during the last fifteen minutes of class each day. I loved sitting there listening to her read. In fact, she was the teacher I credit my love of English to.

In high school I had more of an obsessin for writing rather than books. I still read, but because we had to read quite a bit in classes, I mainly wrote as opposed to read.

In college I also didn't read much outside of class. I majored in English and didn't have time to read outside of class! Each English class usually had at least eight books per semester. If I took more than one English class a semester (which is not really recommended btw), then I would be reading about 16-20 books a semester...and that's not including the textbooks from the other classes. I was in my room or the library a lot! Most people would probably be turned off by that, but honestly, I was in my element. I loved all of it. The poetry, the drama, the American Lit, the British Lit, Eastern Lit, even Shakespeare. (I really didn't like Chaucer though). It was also the way the professors taught too....they deeply cared for the works they were teaching. It was awesome to see that passion in the way it was presented.
And of course, I graduated with a BA in English Lit.

After college I stopped reading for a while. I think I was burnt out from all the reading! Plus, I had a job and had a social life and wedding to plan. But my books always went with me wherever I went. They traveled with me when I moved in with Bob when we got married, the moved with me when we spent a year and a half in Omaha, NE. They moved back with me to Wisconsin. They made each trip with me.

The last five years or so I have been back into books (and writing). When Ryan was little I would read to him every night before bed. I wanted him to love books just as much as I do. I want him to realize how amazing reading is. He loved it until he was about four and discovered TV is so much cooler. He won't read books before bed now, but he does pick out a book once in a while and look at it. I also make a point to read in front of him. I tell him mommy is going to read now. Many times he'll pick up a book and sit down next to me and read. Well, tell a story through the pictures anyway since he can't read yet. I hope someday he will become a lover of books too.

I love going to Goodwill, or rummage sales, or book sales, and picking up books for cheap. It's really inexpensive, and I've already found some really good ones there. I found the hardcover of Jodi Picoult's Tenth circle there. Rummage sales are awesome to find new and old books.
And there is no way I can go to a book store such as Barnes & Noble. I haven't been there in years. Every time I go there, I cannot walk out of there without at least one book in my hand. I could spend literally all day in that store.

I would love to go to the library one day. However, I have to wait until my kids are a bit older. Ryan is old enough now that I can take him...but he's a very loud and rambuncious child....he talks constantly, so he wouldn't be quiet enough to take him. LOL And Kyle...well, he's quite young yet. He loves to tear pages out of books! LOL

I will never understand the whole concept of ebooks. Yes, it's good that people want to read and can get it that way. However, for a book lover, it doesn't make sense to me. I love the feel of books, the texture, the sound the pages make when you turn them, the smell, seeing the words in print. It's so much warmer and homey. Reading on a computer screen can seem cold. I honestly hope that ebooks will never take the place of real books.

So now you know my true obsession. Now, I'm off to attempt to work on reading one of my bazillion books I have!

Kyle's first time in the snow

Here are the kids in the 50 billion inches of snow we got this winter. LOL I declined to take Kyle out until just recently. He wasn't too fond of the snow, I think partly because his snowsuit was too big and bulky. Poor thing could barely stand in it.

6 word memoir

I was tagged with this from Shawna at This is Me.


As I read yet another book review of a memoir this weekend, my husband told me that I should write one. I said that my story would be much too short and rather boring so when I ran across the following book I decided it was just my speed. A six word memoir! Written by Larry Smith and Rachel Fershleiser, Not Quite What I was Expecting: Six Word Memoirs by Famous and Obscure is a compilation based on the story that Hemingway once bet ten dollars that he could sum up his life in six words. His words were- For Sale: baby shoes, never worn. There’s a video on Amazon with examples from the book, it sounds like a fun read! I’d like to start a six word memoir meme and here are the rules:

1. Write your own six word memoir
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere
4 .Tag five more blogs with links
5. And don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

So here's my 6 word memoir:

Christ is the way to happiness.

I won't tag anyone since I can't really think of anyone who would do this....although maybe Sandy might. :)

If you are up to the challenge, feel free!

Honestly....I swear

I swear I didn't forget about you....or this blog. I really haven't.

I just have other priorities I guess. My book has been a huge thing for me lately. I've been incredibly motivated thanks to a friend of mine who has offered to critique it for me. So I have been busting my butt trying to finish editing it so she can read it. I don't have too much left to edit either...so we are almost there. Then the sad part....I will have to edit some more!! LOL Edit, edit, edit. The joys of writing. :)

I've also been critiquing her book....so that comes with quite a bit of reading. So mainly if I'm not writing my own, I'm reading hers, or I'm on myspace!! haha I know. But I've really been enjoying it lately.

I had some time on Monday since Ryan spent the day (and 2 nights) at grandma's and I just had Kyle....but I opted to be the Domestic Engineer (haha) and clean the house. Or parts of it anyway. Always something to get in the way. Why would I want a clean house anyway?

Anyway, I will take time out of my busy schedule soon to update. I have some cute pictures from the church Spring musical Ryan was in. It was adorable!

It's a sad day in Wisconsin

I believe my heart has just been broken. I am crushed.

Brett Favre has just announced he is retiring. Oh what a sad sad day for Packers fans everywhere.

Honestly, I suppose it is time for him to retire. He has been in the league for 18 years, 17 of those with the Packers. He has broken just about every record possible. He has mentioned that he is just not there mentally anymore to be able to play everyday at Superbowl strength. And I don't blame him. It has to be hard to be "on" every Sunday....and even before then as he needs to prepare for the games.

I will miss him terribly. I love the Packers, but honestly Brett was the main reason I watched the games.

It's the end of an era.

Good luck in the future Brett! Your fans will certainly miss you!

I'm going to go crawl into a corner now and cry for a while.

What have you been up to?

Good question. Not much. Just haven't really had anything exciting to blog about recently.

I've been working on my book as much as I can. I found motivation to continue on with it and I'm so excited to finish it! I'm about half done with editing (the first time anyway) and am in the process of having a fellow writer critique it. I'm on my way!

I've been trying to read again too. I miss reading. I have been addicted to books lately (that's another post) and figure it's about time I should probably start reading some of them. I'm currently reading Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. I haven't gotten very far yet...it's a big book so it might take me, oh, about 6 months to read! LOL

Kyle is very interactive now, walking really well, giggling, playing, etc, so I've been trying to spend time with him. He has become rather picky about eating lately. I'm not used to that as Ryan has always been a good eater.

I need to register Ryan for kindergarden next week. Yikes. I can't believe in just 6 months or so he will be going to all day school. Gosh they grow up way too fast. It seems like just yesterday he was a baby.

Oh yeah, and Kyle is now officially off the bottle. He started to wean himself. He slept through the night two nights in a row, so I put them away. Last night though he had a rough night, but we got through it. Now I'll need to start weaning onto whole milk.

That's about all for now. I'm still around....just been doing other things!

My angel has wings.....

Tomorrow is the anniversary of my miscarriage. The day I lost my baby. I was 9 weeks along. I had to have a D&C done.

It still hurts and I'm still sad. I don't think it's something we ever get over. But I know it happened for a reason and I will someday meet my angel baby.

I will light a candle and say a prayer tomorrow for my angel.

Kyle 1 yr pictures

Kyle's one year check-up

My little chipmunk is doing great! He is 19 lbs 6 oz and 29 inches. He is in the 5th percentile. I was a little disappointed about that as he was in the 50th percentile at 6 months. But the doctor isn't worried because Ryan is small...he never made it above the 5th percentile so Kyle is right about where his brother was. LOL

He is right on target and perfectly healthy.

Our next task is to wean off the bottle (wish me luck) and to switch from formula to whole milk. I will be doing this slowly sometime in the next...few weeks or so. I'm a little nervous about taking away the bottle. He only has one bottle a day, but it happens to be in the middle of the night. Guess eventually I'll have to suck it up and deal with crying for a few nights!

He received two shots and took them very well, though he was cranky this evening.

Ryan got a shot too. He had to have the second chicken pox vacc. He was so brave...he told the nurse he was going to go first. LOL I let him have a lollipop. :)

My baby is now a toddler. Time sure flies.

First time eating cake

Kyle's first time eating cake was rather interesting. He wasn't too sure of it at first, which I thought was odd as he usually is eager to get anything and everything into his mouth. I think though by this time he was tired.

Mom!!!!! What IS this?????

Hhhmmm, guess I'll put it in my mouth and see what it is.

Ok, not bad. This could be good.

oh yeah!! Bring on the sugar high!!!!

Kyle's birthday party

We had Kyle's first birthday party on Sat, Feb 2. It was a small party of just family and friends. Kyle had a blast. He was in a good mood and lasted well all afternoon. I gave him an early nap and it actually worked out pretty well. He loved opening the presents...he received mainly diapers, clothes, and a few toys. A nice ride on firetruck from mommy and daddy though was probably his favorite gift.

The balloons I get every year for my children on their birthday. It's a tradition I've made for my kids. Something special I get for them for their birthday. It always matches the theme of the party. For Kyle it was just a 1 yr birthday boy party.

Ah...the best part. The cake! Ryan blew out the candles for his little brother.

I had the cake made at Pick N Save. I love the way they do it there. I just gave them a napkin with the design on it and that's what they did with it. It turned out perfect. And it was delicious!

Sorry for delay

My how time gets past me these days.

I haven't been posting much due to several reasons:

Illness. This has been a bad season for my family. We all have been sick off and on for the past month. I think it's because Ryan is in school and brings home all the lovely illnesses. The achy/fever flu went through our household a few weeks ago. Once we all got over that, the stomach flu came with a vengence. I think now we are all finally back up to normal...for now. Who knows what's going to hit us next!

myspace. I have literally been obsessed with myspace recently. Funny how that happens. You go from not liking something at all to completely loving it. Actually, that's how most things in my life go. I remember feeling that way about Bob, and then I married him. I felt that way about computers (I seriously felt I had no use for computers whatsoever) and look at me now! It was the same with myspace. I refused to go on it for the longest time. Then I opted to get an account just to see what the hype was about. And then I found friends. And I realized Michael was on there and could be his "friend". And I started liking it. Little by little.
About a week ago an old high school friend whom I haven't talked to since graduation I think found me on myspace. It was so exciting to hear from her! And it really made me think. Could there be others out there? So I spent several hours searching all over myspace for other high school classmates. And it didn't stop there. No. I went on a search for friends from college. I found some from high school, but didn't find any from college. I'm not surprised as the colleges are much broader to find someone in.
So I have been constantly checking my myspace, keeping updated on it, writing messages, etc.

my book: I'm still attempting to finish editing my book. I'm half done with it now. But I have very little free time these days (and what little free time I have seems to be taken by myspace!!) so it's going slow. However, as mentioned above, I found a friend from HS whom is also a writer. She has written several books (non published) and seems to have more experience in the whole attempting to publish thing. She has motivated me to write more as we are going to exchange books to edit/read. Very exciting!

At any rate, I'm attempting to keep up on here.

Book Tag

Shawna at the Homeschooling Experience tagged me with a book meme. I couldn't pass up an opportunity to do a book meme.

The Rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book of at least 123 pages.

2. Open the book to page 123

3. Find the 5th sentence.

4. Post the next 3 sentences.

5. Tag 5 people


"And as they sit together in the car, his father revisits a field 209 kilometers from Howrah. With his fingers lightly grasping the bottom of the steering wheel, his gaze directed through the windshield at the garage door, he tells Gogol the story of the train he'd ridden twenty-eight years ago, in October 1961, on his way to visit his grandfather in Jamshedpur. He tells him about the night that had nearly taken his life, and the book that had saved him, and about the year afterward, when he'd been unable to move."

~The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri

I had just received this book from a friend of mine. She read it and recommended it to me. She likes to buy books, read them once, and then usually gives them to me. Me, on the other hand, am a book hoarder. I collect them! I haven't started reading this one yet. I just hadn't put it away yet! hahaha

I don't have many people I can tag that hasn't done this yet. So Cindy, it's all for you girl! gives you something to do while you are waiting for that baby girl to make her appearance!

Storm of the season

We had a huge snowstorm last night/today. The biggest one we have had in a long time. We got a total of a foot of snow. Everything was closed: schools, churches, malls, businesses. The snow was packed up so much I could barely open the back door.

The view from the front door....you can't even see the sidewalk or road!!

Here is after Bob shoveled part of the deck so he can at least get to the shed where the snowblower is! Nice foot of snow on top of the about 8 inches we already had from last week.

Happy Birthday Kyle!

Just in case I don't get to post tomorrow.....

A big huge Happy Birthday to Kyle......who will be ONE tomorrow!!! :)

I can't believe the baby that I tried so desperately for, that I spent over two years trying to conceive and wanted so badly, is now one years old. Where did that time go?

He is becoming quite the young boy already, with his very own unique personality...so different from Ryan.

He's very independant and curious. He loves to explore the world around him and that of course means getting into everything.

He's already walking, though he still prefers crawling as it's faster.

He's not my "baby" anymore.....as now he's considered a toddler. My precious boy :)

Happy Birthday Kyle Michael. We love you!