Wednesday

When I type out that word, I find myself saying it like it’s spelled…Wed, Nes, Day.  hehe…

anyway, life here is going along just fine~~with a few bumps, but you can expect that with life.  Annalea came down with another ear infection.  although this one was more forseeable than the last one.  she has been fighting a pretty kickin’ head cold for about a week…and finally broke down night before last and told me her ear hurt, and woke up crying around midnight.  so we, thankfully, got in to see our new pediatrician (whom i like quite a bit) and sure enough, she has a pretty bad one.  he was describing it to me and said it looks like a flat drum that is bulbous and has bubbles on it from the pressure behind it…it just SOUNDS painful!  My poor baby.  she has been doing her best to be positive, but you can just see her, like a little wilted flower all red around the eyes and a bit glassy.  she tends to lounge and snooze on the couch.  which, for those of you who know her, is so NOT what Annalea does.  She’s a mover and a shaker!  And Grace….is being Grace.  gentle. kind. loving.  and babying her little sister.  Except when it came to who got to sleep with Mommy!!  Grace asked first, but gave in when we talked about how Annalea was sick and if the shoe was on the other foot, then Grace would have gotten to sleep with me.  anyway….here are a few photos of what happened yesterday….

Sylar’s fake fussin’ face~

what a faker!

My poor Annalea~

poor baby

Ok, well, I hope you all have a great Wednesday…and I hope ours is the turning point for the week and she gets better!

Take care!

My Men

sigh.  I have two great men in my life.  How lucky am I….

However, I just had my last phone call for the next month or so from hubby…so it’s a bit sad…but I have to say this: being separated has always been very effective at bringing us closer.  Absence truly does make the heart grow fonder.   Especially if you know that you both want to be together…it just makes you appreciate proximity even more when you’re together.  I really miss him.  Don’t get me wrong, I can function just fine alone….but when we got married I chose to spend my life with him…and it’s just never the same when he’s gone.

Anyway, time will pass as it usually does and he’ll be home….and after about a month I’ll be asking when he’s going out again~LOL!

My man

My little man

Does it get any better than this?

whew…

I guess that hubby won’t be gone until mid-December….he’ll be gone unti mid-November.  wow….yeah, he said he completely forgot about November all together!    So, okay…yeah…I can do a month and a few days.  No prob!

Other news:  Not much really.  I have been thinking for a long time about going back to school.  I just don’t know what it is that I want to do.  I mean I work now…I have the kids, my clients, etc….but pretty soon all the kids are going to be in school and then what?  Where will we be?  Will I be in a position, geographically, to have a nine to five?  Will I need to have one?  Will I even want one?  Should I grow my business or go to school?  Should I go to school to help grow my business?  I just don’t know.  Whaddyou think?

Other than that, we’re fine.  Heading over to the library to pick up a book I had on order and then out for a walk later on.
Hope you all are well!!

The older I get…

The older I get, the harder it is to live the day to day without my husband.  He just texted and told me that he won’t be coming home next week.  He won’t be home until mid-December more than likely.

wow.

I miss him.

log surfing, slobber, and wow.

It’s been a good few days.  Hubby is gone so it’s just me and the kiddos.  Grace has tracked out for a few weeks and here is what she spends her time doing:  LOG SURFING!!

Log Surfing

We went for a picnic and a walk at a park not far from here….she demanded I snap her picture….after she got all ready that is…she is SO eight!

And Annalea, my beautiful blue eyed baby:

So pretty

Who knew I had that in me???  She loved being outside and following her big sister around.  It was a great day…there was a lake, geese, trees and sticks and these weird looking mushrooms….

mushrooms that look like flowers...hahaha

And my boy…my man….this little one melts my heart every time he smiles….or laughs….or farts….or well just about anything he does is just to damn cute.

I know....I am SO cute.

Hook, line, and stinker….oops, I mean sinker!!

i love the crooked faces!

I hope you all are doing well!   Take care!

Mom-lettes, hair dye, and cake

yep…THOSE things are what my birthday consisted of!  It was a SUPERFANTABULOUS birthday.  I would say the best one yet.  It started off early, with me cuddling on the couch with my son and everyone else was completely asleep at nine in the morning.  My phone rang and I answered to the sound of my friends voice saying, “did I wake you?”.  Nope…..just cuddling…she was the first one to wish me a happy birthday and ask if I would be home all day…..for the most part, yep, we’d be home!  (i knew she had something cookin….)  After we hung up, I called the school to say Grace wouldn’t be in…she had been sick and stayed home the day before, it was only a half a day anyway so no biggie.  Then as soon as I hung up my phone rang AGAIN…it was my friends hubby calling to wish me a HB!  wowsers…..i was on a roll!  Then everyone got up and we did some finances and got the day rolling.  Grace and I had made a deal that when I turned 30 (yep I said T-H-I-R-T-Y) that we would go get a strip of our hair dyed some crazy color….well, I never knew it was over $40 to do it and that was AFTER they bleached our dark hair at $65!!!  yeah, uh-huh….we bought some dye for TEN BUCKS and did it at home!  Well, we had a few things to do first…we stopped at the grocery cause I wanted Daddy to make me some omelets (oh my goodness…you have to come over and try them!) and we needed some shredded cheddar….and we had to make some stuff for a bake sale at school (that subsequently got canceled so we distributed the peanut buttery chocolate covered cookies to the kids in the building).  So, when we got home, there was a lovely bouquet of fruit from our friends that was SUPER yummy waiting in the kitchen!  so we nibbled on that and then I made the to be given away treats and Daddy did finances and Grace finished her homework that was due on Friday….and THEN the girls, MOSTLY on their own, made me my birthday cake.  When we were at the store, they were standing in front of the bakery display case arguing that “mommy needed a cake” but they just couldn’t decide on which one….so they said they would just make one!  and picking out the flavor of cake was even harder….icing was easy (Daddy requested chocolate).

anyway, it was the dern gum best blasted cake there ever was made!!!!  Decorated with foo-foo stuff and finger prints and love.  it was great.  sigh.

THEN we had the BEST omelets ever made by mortal man.  my husband.  the king of omelets.  or as we dubbed them that night….Mom-lets!  I have to tell you I have never laughed so hard.  It started out as us calling them Om-tits.  Mom-tits.  Daddy is great at making Mom-tits.  Dick-lets.  Grace said that dad made omlets with….uh….yeah….she’s getting older.  understanding more.  yeppers.  oh my…..

but, you can get the picture and it was so FUNNY!

after we stuffed ourselves with the cake….of which NO frosting remained…we went into the bathroom and dyed out hair.  it was great.  Grace opted for a split section in her part in the front which came out A-mazing!  Annalea had a strip on the side and I had a “hidden” strip on the side as well….even Daddy got into the game and dyed a strip of his beard….he says it looks like he got sloppy eating beets.  hehehehe.

I even got a phone call from our friend Eliot….he just make me feel warm and fuzzy.  whatta man whatta man.

My daddy called me and sang me happy birthday, and my very best friend in the whole world wished me a great BD as well.

My husband kissed me and told me he loved me…a lot.

My kids sang to me MANY times.

I got lots of cards in the mail.

It truly was a great Birthday.  I loved turning thirty…..

I just might do it again next year!

Just another day in paradise!

time keeps on tickin’, tickin’, tickin’, into the future……Seal I think….

anyway. things are fine here in humid NC. We are finally settling in, getting some furniture in place, and calling this apartment home (for now). Hubby is currently out getting us a storage unit, so we can finally get our things out of our friends’ garage and also out of the living room…it’s small enough without our clutter mucking it all up. We finally got a dining room table last night, of course living without one, which means eating off the coffee table, meant room in the dining room, and now that space is full of, well, table and chairs. Now don’t get me wrong, i love having a table, it makes meal time so much easier, but I don’t like feeling cluttered and smushed together. I guess eleven hundred square feet just doesn’t cut it for me. I guess I need about three hundred more. I can deal with a small living room, small bedrooms, and small bathrooms, but i NEED a good sized kitchen. It’s just a matter of fact for me. I need it. period. But, that’ll have to wait, along with some other unmentionables!

anyway, Sylar finally got a dresser, the girls have a loveseat in their room and hopefully will have some bunk beds. The plan is that after we get our stuff outta our friends garage, the ”men” are gonna build us some bunkbeds. Full on top and a perpendicular twin on the bottom. custom. i like the sound of that. say it with me now…..custom. yeah.

we still don’t have a tv…but i am ok with that. i think we are going to work on getting a larger monitor, or two if you ask my hubby! (i’d be fine with two as well just don’t tell him that!)

the kids are great. Grace is in year round school and is doing well. i like her teacher…she seems to understand Grace and is willing to go above and beyond…at least when compared to last years teacher.

Annalea does her “homework” regularly. She can spell her name/write it as well, and can recognize many letters and numbers. She is coming along quite well. We have some friends who are getting ready to start homeschooling…I have thought about it, and would like to do it, but I fear that it will be detrimental to mine and Grace’s relationship…i just don’t teach well.

Sylar….well, he is almost one. crazy. and walking. also crazy. I mean he really walks like a crazy drunk person…just really tiny. and a super cute butt! it happened over night. he walked a few steps one day and by that weekend he was cruising around. I put shoes on him the other day and he crawled until we took them off and then he was walking all over the place again….and that happened to be in BJ’s (wholesale club). He was super cute walking around after Annalea (who was driving the cart)…..he just might be cuter than that Daddy fellow who was following him!

speaking of that Daddy fellow…..he is doing well too. home for a bit, and then gone for a spell. it works. for now anyway. we’ll see how it goes in the future when he is gone for longer than two weeks. the hurricane’s in the Gulf have been keeping him in….

well, Annalea is fixing my hair, work is calling to me, and hubby should be back from the storage unit run here purty soon.

take care you all and I’ll be back soon!

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