Strep!

Well... I found something to knock me out and keep me off of the computer... strep throat.  I woke up Saturday morning with a sore throat (like a lump) and body aches.. and when I did not feel better by Monday morning I went to the doctor and was right that I had strep.  I actually was so sore and tired that I was not on the computer for 2 days!  Today is my first day back at work, so... I am feeling better.. though not 100% I have not eaten much so I am not very strong.

So.. there is where I have been.
C-Ya!

Happy Thanksgiving.. and my poor Babies!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all! I heard today that T-Day is the last non-commercialized holiday. I truly hope it stays that way. Yes I know people buy extra food... tickets on trains & planes to see loved ones.. and there are T-Day specials on television... but otherwise, it is not about giving gifts - unless you count giving to those less fortunate so they can have their own special day.
Our Thanksgiving was the same it has always is. We went over to my parents and my relatives that live in town came over. And half of us sat downstairs and half up on the main level because there is not enough room on the main level and some couldn't go down the stairs.
Then we came home and just sat and watched TV.
I don't mind not doing much. It is nice to have a couple days off and not adding extra stress.
On the other note... my poor children. Samantha (and her booster seat) fell yesterday off of the chair (due to Jeffrey unhooking the strap) and she fell flat on her face. Then today, Jeffrey slipped while he was climbing up to get the tooth brushes and fell. Thankfully they are ok. I just had mini heart attacks because I was there and couldn't catch them. I never realized that when you became a parent you had moments like these... (well unless it is a major fall, slip, etc.). One of my biggest fears in life is something happening to one of my children. I would die inside...
Well tomorrow is Black Friday. No plans to go out and buy anything (though that could change if Nick gets an ideas). To those braving the crowads - have fun!
Otherwise, life is stressful right now. I think most is just the stress of adulthood. I really hope life is not always like this!
C-Ya!

Another TGIF

Well it is another Friday... funny how these come every week!  And this Friday is nice because it is the first Friday (and weekend) in a couple weeks Nick and I and the kids will be "home".  This is probably also the last weekend before life gets holiday crazy.  And, I know that next week I only work 3 days with Thanksgiving!  Yippee!

I am starting to feel more normal from my trip.  Of course I think leaving home and the weather being fall like and coming back and it being winter has made it harder to adjust.

Otherwise life is same old, same old.  And heck, sometimes that is ok.
C-Ya!

Cool Idea!

Ok... I wish I would have known about this site before I created my PA goodie bag item... I guess they gave the same kind of thing away at the AL retreat.


Very cool!

Pa Trip Group Photo

More pics sooner or later... here is the pic of the whole PA group:


Here are the names:
Back row: Sharon in NJ, KarenB, xnyjewels, kaesmom, Emmasmum, photoalbumlady, klmiller2, lizcmc, Diana in MD, mavslab, Sherri in TX, Railroad Jeanne, Weezie
Next row: Tootsie, plg_flutterby7, mbskts, photogscrapper, nowimscrappin, agent713, honeydo, loridear, ~piggum~, NanaT
Next Row: Pam in PA, Veronica in Aus, janc, Shelley, bheyman, AmberDenise, Julia in MD, toemi
Next Row: deeb, Empress4, Dawn in Pa, janinerachau, buysalot, biscuitscraps, Meg Y'all
Front Row: Shirley in NJ, PaperPiercingDiva

(not pictured: npetercmway)

Me to give...

I often feel in life I do not give 100%. Sometimes because it is easy to coast by.. other times because I cannot physically feel up to it. And it is a hard way to live. I am jealous of those that can stay at home, clean their house and cook the dinners and still have time to scrap or knit. I am jealous of those that can own one company, run another and still have time for a week vacation someplace nice at least twice a year. And I am jealous of those that can better them self and have the time and energy to do so.

I know I don't give Nick and the kids 100%. Often times I sit around while Nick cooks dinner and works on the house or I will be on the couch resting while the kids are playing and I know I should join in. Tuesday night I actually got up and danced with Samantha to some of the songs on the CMAs.. and she was so happy!

I know I don't give my work 100%. Though work is slow.. and I know I am not holding anyone up.. I just wish I could do more.

I know I don't give my friends 100%. Often times we try to make plans and I just sit back because I am worried I will have the money and energy to do what we are planning. And though I know I could drive to their places, I rarely make it a point.

I know I don't give life 100%.
And this weekend I did not give my Scrapshare friends 100%.... kind of bums me out because this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet some of them. Most people said I was so much quieter then they thought I would be ... but I wanted to talk more... I just did not have the energy (though I will admit getting 7 hours of sleep combined in 2 nights never helps).

*sigh*
On that note... I did try to get some sleep last night... but I still feel so out of sorts... and it does not help that I came back to winter - especially since I hate winter.

*sigh*
C-Ya!

Reading this..

So I decided to read my blog... to go back and kind of look what I have written this year.. and I realized that I cannot read my own stuff... it just seems weird.  I do hope it is more entertaining for you to read - no matter when you stumble upon it.

C-Ya!

Back to the real world.

Wow... vacation is over... back to getting up before 7, working for 8 hours and blending in to the world!
My vacation was great.  I felt so wonderful to have so many people excited to meet me.  It was like I had known everyone for 10 years.  For those that care to hear the story.. I do plan to type it up and post it.  Right now I am trying to de-process everything.  Thanks to everyone involved for everything!

So back to the real world.  I guess it ain't so bad.  I got to enjoy my kids, spend time with my wonderful hubby (who is already thinking of a trip for just the 2 of us) and went back to work with great co-workers.  At least I keep telling myself that.

Of course I also came back to winter in MN.... yuck... it is raining out now but it should turn to snow later and we may get 3 to 5 inches.

Oh... and Happy Belated Birthday to my husband, Nick.  He had his 30th birthday on Saturday!  I cannot believe I am married to a 30 year old!  (Ha!!)

C-Ya!

Klinger

Hey all, I am back from PA/MD!! I will let you know all about it later.. it is late.. I need to go to bed.
I just wanted to post this.
Why do deaths seem to come in 2s? Last year I lost 2 Grandparents within 6 months of each other. And now 2 animals (don't freak Rox - it is not Mollie!).
My parents cat Klinger died earlier today. He was 23 years old. The story of how we got Klinger is an interesting one. He used to be my neighbors cat, the husband got the cat right before they got married... and because my neighbor would sometimes take care of me - my first memory of him was as a kitten.
Klinger was an indoor/outdoor cat till the last year of his life. Because of this I saw him a lot outside growing up. Well one day the neighbor had a baby... and he was unshure of that.. 4 years later they had another child.. and he started spending more time with us. I think it was this time that he would hang out at our house and my Dad would call the neighbor and say we were letting Klinger out and it was cold outside, so could you call him home. My Dad always said he was not our cat.. yes we may feed him off and on, but we were not going to have a litter box. Well he was spending more and more time with us and the neighbors bought a dog - Klinger never liked other animals. So he pretty much packed his bags and moved in.
After a short time my Dad would be the one responsible for him getting his shots and after doing that for a couple years he put his name on as the owner at the vet. And then the big day... he bought him a litter box. We knew from then on he was ours.
This year has been a hard one on Klinger.. we knew his health was getting bad..cats just don't live as long as he had.. well Dad stopped letting him outside without someone to follow him... then he moved the aforementioned litter box upstairs... then he created a little barriered corner for him in the litter box. At the same time they found a tumor in his neck, found he needed IV fluids every 3-4 days and he was losing weight.
Well this weekend when knew his days were close to over. I guess he stopped eating and was sleeping in the litter box because it was more comfortable. This morning after my Mom left for work, my Dad got up and he found him dead in his bed.
It is hard knowing he is gone. Though I knew he did not have long. The person who took it the hardest is my father. Because he is home much of the day - they kept each other company. I feel so bad. I went over there today after I got off the plane (with Nick and the kids) and Dad made us dinner and I went and saw Klinger. My Dad and Brother will probably take him over to be creamated tomorrow.
Bye Bye my first Baby!!!

Sorry this post is a downer. I did have a ton of fun on my trip and I was so excited to see my husband and kids. Like I said, I will write it down soon.
Well off to bed... tomorrow it is back to work!
C-Ya!

Packing and more..

Well I am about 85% packed for my trip... still need a couple more goodie bag items.. and I need to pack toiletries and a couple things that are in the laundry. I think I am doing good. Starting to feel like this is really going to happen.
Nick came home this afternoon... and I was home because my Dad was sick, so I had to watch Samantha. It probably was a good thing I was home.. I am still sick. I only hope I feel better tomorrow for my travels. It is great to have Nick home.. I miss him a lot..
Well, I doubt I will be online much till Tuesday, so to all am I going to see, I cannot wait; to all I am leaving, have a good time without me.
C-Ya!

PA trip Itinerary!

Hey.. for all those out there that know me... I thought I would let you know where I am going to be when I go to PA... here is a summary (identifying info has been taken out):
Thursday, November 10
Depart MSP airport 1210pm Transfer in Chicago 540pm Arrive Baltimore, Maryland
Picked up by JR & transported to JB's house.

Friday, November 11
Morning: Tour of the MD/PA countryside and outlet mall
Afternoon: Arrive at BR Retreat Center

Saturday, November 12
At BR

Sunday, November 13
At BR
Morning: Catholic Church
Afternoon: Back to JR’s house

Monday, November 14
Depart Baltimore 105pm Transfer in Chicago 555pm Arrive MSP

And if you know my cell I will have it with! Less then 2 days.. wow!!
C-Ya!

Again, Welcome..

More and more people are finding my blog everyday. I am telling more people, some are linking to me, others are just blog surfing and come upon this blog. I have to say WELCOME to all. Take time to look around, maybe scroll all the way to the bottom and add your pin to my map (can't put it on the side), and feel free to leave a comment. I welcome constructive criticsm, I would hate to have a blog that was no fun to go to.
Also, if you are a new blogger or maybe want to start one, if you have any questions, feel free to ask. I know some basic html code - though this was created out of a template. And I love to help.
So, again, welcome... I hope you enjoy your stay!

Day off..

With Nick out of town, and Jeffrey having to go to and from preschool, I took today off. And I truly hope to get a lot of stuff done... first I have to get off of the computer. I woke up with a runny nose and am hoping that it goes away by Thursday.
A reminder today is VOTING DAY.. I went and voted already - though the only race in my area is school board.
Well one more day till Nick is home.
I did an interest survey a couple weeks ago to find out what I should maybe look for in jobs.. I came out high in bookkeeping, politics and public speaking.. They all sound like fun jobs.
Ok... off the computer...
C-Ya!

Butterflies

I have butterflies.. not the flying around kind... the nervous kind.  I am so nervous for my trip and it is really hitting me that I am going there in less then a week.  I am not nervous about the retreat or meeting a lot of new people... I am excited about that.  I am just really nervous about flying and leaving my kids and only getting to see Nick one night before I leave.  I was having butterflies earlier.. it got better... but I started thinking about the trip more and they came back..  and when I have butterflies.. many times food just does not agree with me...

Ok.. I thought writing this would help me but it isn't.. so I am signing off... before I do.. I will post my PA iternary before I leave if anyone is wondering.

C-Ya!

Blog Roll!

If you look on the left hand side of this blog you see a list called Blog Roll... well check out some of those links... those are other people I know that have blogs!! All the ones that start with SS are my internet friends on Scrapshare.com (so far none of my IRL friends have decided to start a blog, :( )..
Check them out..
And if you are a family member or friend that want to see you name added to that side.. let me know..
C-Ya!

Fun with maps..

I found this site on a blog of someone I know.. you
can make a map of the states you have been to... so I
did.. though some of it is guessing because my family
took 2 road trips to Florida and back (by way of
relatives).. and I include PA.. though I don't know if
we drove through there on my confirmation trip from NY
to DC.. but I will be there on Friday, so...

ETA... here is the address for the map: http://www.world66.com/myworld66/visitedStates

It's a Scrapshare thing!

Ok... Nancy.. this is for you...
Scrapshare is down.. every other person is at some retreat now (or will be next week)... so life on my favorite scrapbooking board has been slow. Thankfully we have a temp board or I think I would pull my hair out. You see, I have made a lot of friendships online.. and next week I get to meet 42 (?) of them - most for the first time!!! So far most people have not said I am crazy for flying across the country to do so.. especially since Nick is hunting right now.. I will deserve a vacation.
Though today has been ok... dropped the kids off at my parents and then I went to help a friend start on her albums... now I am home.. all by myself... and the peace is so nice. I watched "Catch me if you Can" on ABC... wow.. it was really good.
Now I am online when I should be in bed.. need to get up for church tomorrow..
C-Ya!

Hunting Widow Part 2

Well... it is part 2 of Nick's annual hunting trip to South Dakota... and all I can say is uggh. I am still tired and sick (though getting better).. and he is sick too. He will be gone from Friday till Wednesday and besides Saturday till Sunday when my parents will have the kids overnight, I am in charge by myself. I am just not used to this. I mean, at least my father in law is usually in the house even if he is being a bump. I am also working Monday and Wednesday.. which means me getting both of them ready (Jeffrey for day care and Samantha to be with my Dad) in the morning and then getting out early to get Jeff from day care. I am taking Tuesday off so I can get Jeffrey to and from preschool and be with him.
Tuesday is also my day to pack for my own trip, vote and get odds and ends done.
I think I will need this trip after the next 5 days.
Well.. I suppose I should get back to the kids... I turned on the teletubbies and they seem to like it.
C-Ya!

Sick Day

Well, this cold has really caught up with me. Even though I slept 8 hours last night I still woke up tired and feeling like a huge weight was on my chest. So I am home sick today.
And I have not been able to really rest.. first I had to get Samantha ready for day care, then I had to get Jeffrey ready for preschool and get him there.. now we are getting new windows. Oh well... I will maybe get rest later.
C-Ya!

TV

Some of you may know I am a TV junkie!!  I just love it.  Well lately I have not been able to see as much TV between having 2 kids to deal with and 2 other adults to gain control of it.  Anyways, I was just thinking about how this TV season most of the new shows seem to have promise.  On CBS every new show has been extended.  And other networks are doing pretty good too.  And tomorrow starts the November sweeps, so this is the time when the big guns come out.  No reruns and specials.. as well as special guests.  Should be fun. 

So I am sick.  Right now I really only feel it in my throat.. and I am more exhausted.  Like I said yesterday, I knew I was going to get sick.  And I am just not the kind of person who can get more sleep and rest up like Nick and avoid getting sick.  I just hope these are minor colds and we get better quickly.  I just dread cold and flu season now that I have kids, especially since between day care and preschool, as well as my work, we will probably get it.

C-Ya!

Phew..

That is my life right now... crazy!  Yea, I know this isn't crazy for many others but for me, at this point in my life, it is busy.  Now that Samantha's birthday and Halloween is done, Friday Nick leaves for hunting.. he comes back next Wednesday, then I leave for PA (via MD) on Thursday.  Plus.. I have choir practice, Creative Memories (I hope) and hopefully getting stuff done around the house. 

I don't know how others do it... especially those with multiple kids, in multiple activies while both parents work full time.  I would go NUTS!

And right now I am hoping I do not get sick (or if I do, it is mild) with the kids both having their coughs.  Being a parent, of course I cannot not comfort my children when they are sick... unfortunately that means I have a chance of being sick myself.

Well..back to the grindstone..
C-Ya!

Halloween!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Well yesterday... as you see..kind of behind..
We carved our pumpkins Friday night. Nick and I each did 2 (one from a pattern, one freehand). Here we are carving them..

And here are they all lit up.. the ones on the left Nick did, and I did the other 2.


This year Jeffrey was Tigger, Samantha was a Bee and I was a Cat (Nick did not dress up this year).

And here are they in the wagon and walking.

Because they had both been coughing earlier in the day they were not up for much trick or treating. I think we ended up hitting 10-12 houses. We left my Father-in-law at the house to hand out candy.. though I think we did have less trick or treaters. I will say.. the kids did good saying "Trick or Treat" and "Thank You". Maybe next year they can enjoy it more.
And now I am sad.. because Halloween is such a fun holiday.. and now it gets cold out and snowy. *sniff*
C-Ya!

Samantha's Birthday

Friday was Samantha's 2nd birthday and life has been so crazy that I have not posted about that... Halloween will follow in a separate post.
Friday was good. I took the day off and spent time with her.. then in the afternoon I took her and Jeffrey to their well visits. Jeffrey at (about) 31/2 yrs is 34 lbs (50%) and 37+ inches (I think - 30%). Samantha at 2 yrs is 24 lbs (25%) and 34 inches (I think - 50%). Otherwise they checked out good. The doctor could not see any problems! They did have their iron levels tested just due to the age of our house. Oh.. and Jeffrey had his vision/hearing checked and they looked good. After, we stopped at Toys 'R Us for a couple more bday toys... which completly wore me out.
Here is Samantha in her "birthday shirt"...basically each kid has a shirt (Jeffrey's is Daddy's and Samantha's is mine) that is an adult shirt.. and every year we take a pic of them on their birthday to watch them grow into it.

And then Saturday I think I cleaned... kind of a blur.
Sunday was the party. I made tortilla roll ups, beer bread, simply salsa, little wieners (Nick did those) and a cake.
Here is a pic of the cake.. I did a pudding poke cake and "split it up" and also a pic of Jeffrey waiting to eat it.

Like I said in a previous post... there was not many guests...just my parents and Nick's 2nd cousin (and her family) showed.. oh well...more food for us...
Here is Samantha and Grandpa (my Dad).. and another pic of her when we were opening gifts.

And of course it was Nick's party too... so they got sang to together. Here is them and also a pic of Samantha and I (that actually turned out well

So... I think she enjoyed it!! She looked like she had a lot of fun. Jeffrey loved the gifts and we had to keep reminding him that they were her gifts to get first crack at. I just cannot believe my little girl is two! And Nick appreciated that I tried to have a party for him!
And I think today she has her day care party.. so more fun!!
C-Ya!