The move is done

HI all….remember me??  I am the one who is horrible at keeping up with blogging.  But, I am working on it.  The move is OVER!  We are finally settled here in humid North Carolina.  THe apartment is fine, the hubby is gone, and the eldest started school.

We stayed at our friends house while we were apt searching and had a great time…it sure is nice to have friends so close!  And they have five daughters….and they are ALL beautiful!  (the twins are pure rays of sunshine…but that might be the age…they are two…and there are two of them…) The baby is a typical Leonard baby…chubby cheeks and all!!  Emma is HUGE and is in school…she’s a little momma like my Gracie, and Helen…wowsers, let’s just say her and Annalea got along fabulously.  We found a place not twenty minutes from their house which is great….we are going to start some traditions (hopefully) of monthly dinner experiments and lots of playdates!!  I love it when you find families that mirror your own!!

Anyway, we are getting settled in and unpacked…now we have to find some furnishings…we had to leave SO much stuff…it was sad, but at least we are purging…and are going to be doing more considering we left a TON of stuff in our friends garage….sigh….There are so many things I need to find….computer desk/chair, bookshelves, table…etc….craigslist is ggggrrrreat!

Carl is gone until the fifteenth…training….he said he is “sweating his boobs off”…hehe….he said boobs…LOL!  We are doing fine with out him…it would be better if he was here, but, we are ok.  The kids miss him, and me too of course, but school started and we are going to belooking into some extra cirricular activities for the kiddos to keep them occupied….maybe Karate….Annalea, however, know is already…she showed me with the toilet paper (yeah…you can imagine that one!).

I am ok as well, I have strep throat…AGAIN…this makes the third time this year..but have been lucky cause the kids haven’t caught it yet.

we are going to have dinner soon and Grace needs help w/ homework….I’ll keep you all posted…and I will try to be more diligent about doing so!!

 

“movin on uuu-up”

Can you hear the music??  LOL!  I am SO excited about moving!  Hubby got a job w/ an offshore oil company and we have decided to move to the Raleigh, NC area.  Many reasons for that choice, career related, nice area, near friends/relatives….and we are going in TWO DAYS!!  I am ready!  Things are wrapping up nicely here at the house.  We have most of our stuff packed, and the garage is left.  But even that has been wheedled down to minimal items.  Car maintenance is done and we are a bit ahead of schedule.  We were hoping to be able to be done on Tuesday so we can relax on Wed and take the kids to WaterWorld.  IT’s supposed to me one of the nations biggest water parks, and we are tired of living places and not seeing the attractions you should see…like living in Chicago and not seeing the top of the Sears tower.  Anyway, its four in the morning and I just logged onto the waterworld site and checked it out…it should be fun!  They have a kiddy park that I think Annalea will LOVE LOVE LOVE!  And I think w/ both of us going, one can stay w/ Sy and Annalea and Grace and the adult can go on the rides appropriate for her, and then we can switch and Annalea can go on some bigger rides too….they have half price admissions after two but I don’t know if we’ll do that…I am just not sure how much “fun in the sun” sy can handle…but we’ll figure it out.

We have been eating take out the past few days….we have a few things left in the fridge but mostly it’s cause we are beat from packing and don’t want to cook!  But, it’s been going ok.  Grace has helped tremendously and has folded probably eight loads of laundry which she despises, but she is being a trooper, helping w/ Sylar and her sister….she’s a Godsend!  The kids are handling this pretty well.  Grace is the only one who really gets that we are moving.  Annalea is stuck on visiting our friends daughter who is her age.  She calls Helen her “sister” tho I think that is b/c she can’t remember her name, or say it really well either.  The H and the L really mess her up for some reason and it sounds like she is cussing cause she lengthens the HEL part of Helen…it’s funny.  But my point was is that she is completely focused on that and the rest doesn’t really matter to her!  Grace is excited to go to, and see and make new friends, but she realized what it all means and is a bit sad.  But, we’ll live near friends, and near-ER to parts of the family.  So all in all I would say this is a good thing!

Well, I got up cause I couldn’t sleep, and now I need to get a drink and head back to bed.  Otherwise, Sy will be up and then I’ll never get any more rest.

I will keep you  posted as well as I can.  We are leaving on Thurs/Fri so there may be a week w/ no internet or email….but, JEN, we can visit!!!

 

Long Overdue

Sorta like Jen’s baby….LOL…j/k!!

Anyway, i know for all you dedicated readers, that it has been FOREVER since I posted and I truly apologize. Life has just gotten away from me. There has been so much going on that each time I sit down to write a post something comes up and I have to walk away from the computer. Work, as usual, is keeping me busy, Grace has had a TON of things going on, leaving me, Sy, and Annalea to ourselves mostly. She went to CA to see her Aunt last week and had a fabulous time…and came home with a tan to be envied! SHopping, swimming, eating, and just having fun…I am so glad she liked it. The plane ride was a little overwhelming, but now that she knows what to expect it should be “easy peasy” the next time! ANd then this week, meaning yesterday and until friday, she is camping with her riding instructor. They left yesterday w/ the horses and we are going to pick her up on Friday night. We get to join them for a chuckwagon dinner and hayrides. THat should be fun and it will let Annalea feel like she gets to participate too. Cause all she says now is “where is Grace?” and when the answer is camping, she wants to go too! She is getting so big….geez, they ALL are. Annalea is four now and has that fascination with poop and pee. Yeah, i forgot about this stage…it’s funny tho…she tells Grace “i love your poop!” then they both laugh hilariously!! Too cute. And Sylar is super mobile now and goes everywhere he can. He is definitely a Daddy’s boy. As soon as Carl comes home he heads straight for him…and he cries and cries if Daddy doesn’t pick him up right away. wow…it took longer for me to lose the girls…sigh.

On to another subject….work. As in Carl’s job…yep…still looking, but hopefully something will come up soon. He has gotten the interest of Bridgestone Tires in NC…so that might work out well. It’s near our good friends and that would be really nice But, we’ll see. We have a few other things looking positive so I’ll keep you posted as to how that pans out.

That is about it for now. I have to get some work done or the day will get away from me and tomorrow will be here and I’ll still have no work done!

I hope you all are well, and even tho I don’t write, I think of you all often and read blogs (for those of you that DO blog)

Have a great Thursday and I’ll try to post more when Grace gets home from camping. OH yeah, one of my clients (and good friend) is opening her cafe this weekend…how exciting is THAT!!!

Here is the link to where Grace is camping this week…it looks awesome!

http://www.mlazyc.com

 

Garage sale, dinner out, and travel

We had a fantastic garage sale this weekend….we got rid of a TON of stuff and even made some decent money.  SO of course we went out to eat…to RED LOBSTER which I think is everyones fave!  It was SO YUMMY!  Anyway, things have been going great…except my computer pooped out on me the other day…thank the Lord that we are blessed with our fabulous friend Tom aka the computer wizard!  He can fix just about anything (while he’s driving to work!).  So, I missed a day of work, but the computer is now purring like a fat bellied kitten and work is screaming at me to get done!

My hubby is getting ready to head out for work and will be gone for about ten days, Grace is leaving on Friday to head to her Aunts in California.  So the weekend is going to be me and Annalea and Sylar.  We are going to have some steak for dinner, movies, popcorn, and pool time.  I am trying to make it very fun so she doesn’t feel left out that everyone else is gone and we are still at home.  And of course this will be the longest she has ever been without her big sister.  (me too)

Other than that the homefront is good…we are waiting on the birth of our dear friends fifth baby…should be any day now…pray for her that it comes fast and smooth.

And pray for safe travel for my hubby and daughter.

I have to get to work now.  Have a great Wed everyone!!

 

Summer is here!!

So it has begun….sunshine, playing in the sprinkler, late nights…..yep…summer is definitely here.  Annalea asked last night if she could stay up cause the sun was still out.  Nope…sorry kiddo…you get up waaay to early to make me stay up later!  Anyway, things are pretty smooth here.  Grace has the flu…crazy huh?!  So she is relaxing and snoozing, watching the boob toob.  Annalea is playing in the sun coming through the windows, and Sylar is just about asleep here in my lap.  Mondays don’t seem so bad in the summertime….tho that could be because every day is a Monday (or Friday) for me for about two and a half months!

We are going to have our garage sale this weekend so we are sorting and getting ready for that…who knew how much junk we had???  We have lots going on in the next few weeks.  Car maintenance was supposed to happen this weekend but it didn’t…Brian ended up helping our neighbor (elderly couple) clean their gutters and he fixed their sprinkler (what a nice guy eh?!)  Garage sale this weekend and then next weekend Brian and Grace will both be gone, then the weekend after is Annalea’s Birthday (4) and we are heading up in to the mountains….and then July is here and we had BETTER have someplace to go by then!  So pray that God pushes us in the right direction!

There isn’t too much to report…here are a few pics of this weekend hangin at the house…

I just love my kiddos…they are so beautiful!

Hope you all have a great Monday!

 

WOo-HOo!!

I am in this fitness competition I guess you would call it…and the winner gets about 1500 big ones….and I just had my second weigh in and I lost SIX pounds!  Yeah me!!!  I am second as of now…but the lady in front of me doesn’t have nearly the amount to lose that I do so I am off to a GREAT start!

Family is well, we are going strong on the house and should be ready to move in July…..now if we just knew where too!!!!

HOpe you all have a great Memorial Day and I’ll post more later–I just wanted to share my good news!

 

Time flies

wow…I can’t believe its almost june!  Where has the time gone people???  I am doing well, in a walking cast so I can function!  And sleep is good cause it can come off during the night :)  I still can’t do any good exercise so I am diligently watching what I eat.  I also joined a 12 week challenge that a friend of mine is hosting.  We do weekly weigh in’s and have a trainer available to answer questions and what not…and the best thing is the winner gets a cash prize~whoo hoo!  LOL.  Anyway, the kids are good, Grace is out of school next friday.  Then it’s SUMMERTIME!  It is looking to be a great summer.  Grace is flying out to Cali to see her aunt for a few days, we are moving (don’t know where yet) and we are purging our stuff (which is great).  Annalea is her normal adorable self.  She is definitely Carl’s daughter….very smart-ass-like.  sigh.  she is going to be a tough one…very much like her Dad and very loving to boot!  Sylar is growing like a weed.  He is about 8 months now and is a mover and a shaker.  It seems he went from being stationary to being everywhere at once!  He is doing a quick army crawl now, and tries to cruise on anything he can pull himself up on.  He seems to be progressing a bit faster that the girls did…I guess it helps make up for the lateness later on!  He is about done w/ baby food….he LOVES to eat whatever we are eating…he has one tooth and two more just about in.  But he still won’t sleep through the night…but neither did the girls until about one so no biggie there.  Anyway, Brian has been in for a while and it looks like, if we leave in July, he won’t be going out anymore which is great!  We are purging our stuff and getting ready for a big garage sale and then we’ll donate the rest.

That is about all on the homefront.  THings are moving along quite smoothly!  I will try to write more than once a week now that I have this one legged thing downpat!!  Take care all!

 

Happy Mother’s Day

I hope you all have a wonderful Mother’s Day…I know I am.  I am being loved and catered too…although that might have something to do with the fact that I broke my ankle yesterday!!  LOL. Yep.  You read it right.  I fell over a crack in the sidewalk.  I thought it was a bad sprain but my doctor said that if I heard a pop, which I did, I needed an xray…so we went to the ER and sure enough, it popped so fast that the tendon pulled a piece of my bone off….so we are off it until we can get in to the specialist tomorrow…I”ll keep you all posted!

I have a new blogsite for my weight loss efforts:

http://www.blogtolose.com/profile/Mary

I have lost 37 lbs so far and I am really praying that this doesn’t cause me to sabotage myself.  I have to really watch what I eat since walkin/running is out the window!

Anyway, my brunch is ready so have a wonderful day all!!!!

 

creme brulee, squirrels, and no exercise

These days just seem to fly by!!   We had a friend visiting this weekend and ate out at an Italian grill called Carrabbas.  Now, STOP what you are doing and find one near you and GO.  I said GO GO GO!  I absolutely love this restaurant.  The salad dressing, great, the dinners, superb, and dessert…just roll me in it!  We went nuts and had their creme brulee first!  WOWSERS!  THen after dinner, we had a chocolate concoction and it was even better.  anyway, ten pounds later…..

a friend of mine moved so we helped them on Sunday and then our friend left….that night, Annalea came to us and told us that she saw a squirrel in the office.  Uh-huh.  ok honey.  IT was probably a mouse.  I told her i would get some traps on Monday morning.  So, on MOnday morning, I was holding Sylar and talking to Brian in the kitchen and a SQUIRREL ran through my legs!  I screamed like the girl that I am!  Brian was going to go to work but was convinced that he was needed at home.  Grace stayed home as well to watch Annalea and Sylar while we squirrel hunted!  We got him out and proceeded to clorox and carpet clean.  THe good part is that we got two rooms packed up, ready for the move.

Speaking of, we don’t have a destination yet.  The calls are coming in but we are still waiting for “The Job”.  I will keep you all posted.

My weight loss blog is moving so I will add the new link here in a bit so you all can stay up to date.

I am going to take a nap.  Sy had been sick and not sleeping well so I am taking advantage of this nap!

Have a great hump day!

 

I love horses

So yesterday we went out to the farm and Grace had another lesson.  The rest of the week is supposed to have yucky weather so we went Tuesday and Wednesday and are taking the weekend off.  IT was great cause Brian went w/ us…so that meant I could help with Grace and Daddy watched Sylar!  Grace and I got to work w/ Cinnamon’s feet…that was cool.  We got her to “give” so we could pick out the mud and yuck from her hooves and then Grace moved on w/ brushing, saddling, and riding…she looked fabulous up there on Cinnamon.  Grace has come such a long way since we started….and I LOVE that she loves horses too!  It was a lot of fun…got some good pictures, and it was a great sunny warm day.  Now today on the other hand, is supposed to be colder and possible rain/snow mix.  I am heading to a friends to help her pack up, she is moving on Sunday.  I don’t know how much help I’ll really be w/ the two younger kiddos but at least I can help a little 

Other than that there isn’t much going on.   We are all doing well and waiting for the summer to come!!  Grace only has about five weeks left of school..isn’t that nuts??