New routine

• Get up. Setting alarm for 8am.
• Shower. Brush teeth. Do hair and some light makeup.
• If no one is up yet, go make coffee, bottle, and sippy.
• Let dogs outside, throw in laundry. Carry up whatever is in the dryer
• Get Mia up, change into day/play clothes.
• Take Mia into bathroom, brush teeth and hair.
• Feed the cats.
• Bring Mia and myself downstairs. Alex too if he is up (yes he sleeps in. Bless that little man)
• Get Mia in her chair, make breakfast for Mia
• Feed the dogs.
• Make myself eat breakfast.
• If Alex graces us with his presence feed him too.
• If Alex sleeps through, feed Mia, feed yourself,
• Mia goes to the front room to play (coolest, thing about the layout of our house, the front room is right across from the loft where the computer is, so I can feed Alex, and watch Mia at the same time!)
• I go wake and feed Alex. (while checking email, and one handed commenting).
• Drink coffee.
• After Alex eats, burp him, and give him play time on his mat.
• Run down to the basement, rotate laundry. Pet the dogs.

The rest of the day is pretty much up for grabs. Depending on what we are doing, if we are staying home, I usually just putz around the house, cleaning, picking up behind everyone (mostly it's myself!)

Oh and in between the busy morning schedule, is letting the dogs in and out, and if Ed has to work at the Video store, or Wrigley I am getting him ready for work too. (includes making him coffee, juice, and a yummy veggie omelet to go!)

Then around noon I feed Mia lunch, and around1:30 or 2 ish, Mia goes down for her nap until about 4:30 pm, lots of time Alex is up then, I get to play with him, and eat lunch myself.

When Mia get's up it's dinner time, play time, bath time, and the bed time. Alex is usually right behind her and by 8 pm the house is quiet and I make myself dinner (I know, shame on me for eating so late) then get Ed's dinner made for his night shift. After Ed goes, then I space out, blog, and watch t.v.

Get up and repeat...

Cigar water and ruining the YIPIEE buzz...

When my beloved Starbucks had it's final day, I spent the morning then the late afternoon there. Thus getting me some free stuff! 8 free cookies, a toffee, chocolate caramel bar case, and a bag of ground coffee.

Now I have never had Starbucks coffee. Not just the straight "coffee" I drink Mocha's. So I took it home, poured it into the old coffee pot (removing my store brand grounds first) not sure if it would be any good... let's just say it will be hard to finish the store brand and not only exclude myself to good coffee...

Ed on the other hand says it tastes like cigar water. Well.... more for me then!

Sorry to ruin your "Yipiee buzz" or the "Yahoo buzz" you had going this morning Mi. I know you were dead set on coloring all over your placemat (you can with dry erase markers) but I quickly took away your empty plate (previous host of your breakfast banana) and whisked you off to the front room for your morning dose of "The Sunny Side Up Show" on Sprout t.v.

She got over it faster then I thought, but the little voice "Yipiee" or "Yahoo" and some now and then "Woowees" are just enough to make me want to let her cover the walls in ink. But then I quickly come to my senses and realize that is a bad idea...

Anywho, I am off to enjoy my cigar water, and go blog surfing!

Mia and Alex talk about squash and leatherface...

I had a very eventful evening. I have again decided to try and feed Alex food. Mia chooses Butternut Squash. As I am feeding Alex, she is supervising from the footstool. And what do you know, just a few days before little man is 5 months, he eats 2.5 oz of food! (afterwards hungry man chooses to eat a whole bottle with rice!) So while Mia is curiously peering over the arm of the highchair, she keeps saying "Look at me, I am yeverface" translated to "Look at me, I am leatherface" now I have never seen the movies, but I did see Idle Hands, with Devon Sawa, Jessica Alba, and Seth Green. There is a scene where Seth Green says' "Look at me, I am leatherface" and it is just too damn funny. So the when Mia said the other day... " Look at me" I in return said "I am leatherface" and well it just stuck. I think it's just freaking hill-air-ious! (go rent the movie, it's a scary funny movie)

So as I am preparing the above mentioned bottle, Mia is sitting at the table eating her waffles for dinner, with Alex in his highchair watching her. I can hear Mia say "hello" and he says "gerbergahahhhh haha eeeeee" Mia says "ok" Alex again says "gerbergahahhhhh haha eeeee" Mia laughs and looks at me (I was watching from across the kitchen) my heart just melted. Not only was I super excited that my big boy just ate his first food today. But this was Mia and his first ever conversation together. Gibberish it was. But it was music to my ears.

I quickly call Ed at the video store, they start up there conversation again, and he got to hear it! I need to make a mental note of how cute it was, and remember that when they are threatening each others lives in a few short years...

Motivated = progress

On all different sorts of levels, I am motivated, and so it is in result, I have made progress. No matter how small, or insignificant the progress is. The big thing for me is the motivation is there.

Diane and Joe watched the kids yesterday = I was able to prep for Stamp Camp, clean the art room, and hang out with Ed. We had a huge beer can chicken on the grill with stuffing and grilled veggies.

Diane and Joe still have the kids today = We woke up, went to breakfast, the bank, dropped off Stampin' Up! catalogs to Tammy and Annette, got gas for the truck ($59 GAH!!)

Dropped off and I, let me repeat, Ed sat in the truck while I got to go in and answer ALL the questions about the kids, us, our Religious upbringings, the "godparents" oh they look of sheer terror when I told her about the "Jewish" godparents... after enjoying the look and confused head turn, I quickly told her that my "Catholic" sister was going to be a third godparent over both children. (because Alex's godparents, Nikki and Loren aren't Catholic or Christian either)
That was fun, happy I did it. Clear your calendars the Baptism will be either the Sunday before or after Turkey Day.

Dropped Ed off at home, so he could devote his love and attention to all the dog shit out back. I ran to the grocery store, getting lost in the Halloween isle (LOVE IT!) Didn't get much, just some of those cool window clings that look like blood streaming down.

Came home, mowed the front lawn, Ed finished while I edged, trimmed and blew away all the grass. Ed went in to lay down (before going to work, then to work, then to work...) I hosed down all the webs and mess from the front of the house and garage. Looks pretty! Moved the bird feeder, filled it. Dumped the water garden, moved what was left inside for the winter. So now the front of the house is prepped for decorating. (I SO badly wanted to do it today, but I still have to shower, iron Ed's clothes, and go get the monkey children from the IL's)

I will save that for another day. After Ed goes to work, and I bring home the tots, I will bathe, feed and off to bed with them. Then I will go back down to the art room to clean and finish prepping for class.

Possibly some dishes to be done, but don't hold your breath, and don't even ask about the laundry. It's a small joke, I should probably eat... maybe Taco Bell on the way there. Speaking of, I got a cool email from Spark People website, about working out in the morning. Sounds insane but I think I can do it. I am fat, tired, SO out of shape, and 25 lbs is needed to be gone from my body! Could you imagine if I actually did it? Well at least there's motivation there, right?

Well I must take my sweaty ass to the shower, and go get my tator tot children. Oh and the main reason I got so much done? My Comcast connection was down last night and this morning. So I decided to stay away from here. Hmmm, amazing the things I could get done if I would just walk away...

Full Swing!

Well the babies are born, and business is back up again. This is the greatest thing about being a Stampin' Up! demonstrator. I can work my business around me. When I had Mia I took 3 months off and with Alex I took almost 5 months off.

I am still able to take orders, and now with the new feature on my personal Stampin' Up! website, my customers can order from me right there! Have it shipped right to them! Getting hostess benefits and all!

I have been spending as much free time as I can down in my art room, cleaning it up, and prepping for class. I have my first class on Wednesday! It's called "Go Faux or Go Home" everyone will walk out with a bitty book of at least 15 faux techniques. Like how to make faux buttons, faux tearing of paper, faux linen... all in mini page protectors, with a sample and directions.

The point of the book, is so they can have it sit right by them, when they are working, look up a technique, and wala! Plus the huge upside to faux techniques is for mailing cards. Once you start adding buttons, and brads, and big ribbon, the price on mailing one card gets to be more then you may have bargained for.

So I save my big buttons, or bulky items for 3D projects, scrapbooking, or cards I will hand to someone.

I also changed up my classes a bit. I rescheduled the time for 7 pm, instead of 6 pm. Hoping Mia will be in bed, and my mom can help me with Alex. I am also offering the class if you can't attend. I will make a project for you for an extra $5.

Well I am off to the basement to the art room, Ed just took the little ones to his parents for the night. Quality time for them, and I get some me time right now, and Ed time when he gets back!

A short story on short hair...

Lets start at the beginning. See this little creature I am holding. Well because of her I took this perfectly normal blonde hair...

Had some crazy post partum adventure, and dyed my hair "chocolate velvet" see below...

This has been in my head ever since P!nk came out in 2000. Her hair was pixie short, and hot pink. I liked it, but as the years went by, she got a mohawk, in many colors, and different lengths. When Alex was born, I was living out my mohawk dream through him. Well fuck it, I just went ahead and cut it all off. I mean I obviously wasn't happy with this safe mom hair cut I was rockin'... do I look happy to you?

So yes, I paid the nice girl, Jessica, at Fantastic S*ams to cut my hair like this. She was great and even pulled up a picture of P!nk online right there in the store.

Ed just shakes his head, knows that I have a lot of feisty in me, and if a mohawk is what I want, there is no holding back! Mia just keeps pointing at me saying "Silly Mommy, silly" even Alex just keeps looking at it.

I think it's fun, different, and well as we all know I crave attention like the best of us attention craving monkeys do! So what better way to get the attention of every normal haired person in the hick town I live in, then to cut off all my hair, and stand what ever is left on my head straight up.

Here are a few pointers in case you are interested in getting a fashionable mohawk yourself...

• You need WAY less shampoo! Yikes, I kinda forgot the first time, and lets just say I need to remember Mrs. Erdman's (my first grade teacher) rule of thumb. A little dab will do ya!



• This also goes for conditioner



• I have been wanting to go back to my natural color, and with out realizing it until yesterday, I just cut off all the dye... now to see what blonde is left of the real color...



• You may forget that you have a mohawk, and wonder why everyone is staring at you. Especially weird when your driving and people just stare.



• Buy this fun stuff called "Hard Up" for your mohawk.



• Yes you can actually have a bad mohawk day.



• I look best with make-up done and mohawk styled (otherwise it's dark circles, and a fuzzy strip of hair)



• Be sure to have witty responses for all the ones you will get from others.



• Be sure to be prepared for "Britney Spears shaved her head and went crazy, are you going crazy?" or "did you pay for that?" and my favorite "Are you a dyke now" nice. real nice. No I am not crazy, well not shave my head crazy, just mohawk crazy. Yes I paid for this, and no I am not a dyke. Thanks for being politically correct on that last one though.



• You can use it to make someone not stand so close to you, by rubbing your mohawk in there face.



• It's SO easy to take care of!

Well that about covers the mohawk, it's here to stay for a while, I like it, for now... man how fun will this NOT be to grow out...

A meme for me!

I was reading over at Putting the Fun in DysFUNctional, and saw that she didn't tag anyone for this meme, it was kinda one of those tag yourself kinda games! Wee, tag, I'm it! Enjoy!

1. Where were you 10 years ago?
Lets see its September 2008... so September 1998... that is a fun year! I was just 5 months into my new job as a Cage Cashier at Empress Casino, I was on grave yard, and I enjoyed working with this red head named Jen! (October of 1998 was when Ed started grave yard shift with us!!)

2. What is on today's To Do List?
Well since today is just about over. The list is short, finish blogging, lock up the house, OCD style, and off to bed. More exciting for ya, tomorrow, is a day of cleaning, and tending to the little monkey spawn, oh I mean my loving and adorable children!

3. What would you do if you were a billionaire?
Buy a house. Not ginormous, just big and comfy and FUN! On a HUGE lot, so my parents will have a house, Susie will have a little house by my parents, and Diane and Joe will have a house there too!
Cars! Oh a nice pimped out van! A Plymouth Prowler is my dream car, a pimped out pink PT cruiser for my mom, with pink interior, and crowns embroidered on the seats with "The Queen" on them. A pimped out old school VW Bug for Diane, not sure on the color yet. And whatever my Ed, my dad and Joe want. Oh and a kick ass purple golf cart for Susie to drive from her house to mom and dads, and to me and Eds!
Also I would have vacation homes, one for sure in Arizona, to visit my scuzonian family, one in Hawaii for my mom! One in Oregon, it's amazing there! (And we can say hi to Tony, Carrie and Colin whenever!) and money saved to travel, relax, and for the kids to be educated with!
Then off to Kanab, Utah for my big fat donation to Best Friends Animal Society!
And don't forget the dream of me and my mom owning our own house, so we can sell art supplies, craft supplies, candles, and home decor, with a big wrap around porch to sit and visit on. A big garden to walk through and enjoy. A big garage redone so I can hold card making, scrapbooking classes there. Oh and Jen could have her "Jeni" line of clothes there too!
I think for now that is how I would spend my Billions...
4. Name 5 places you have lived
Marble Street (parents), Richmond Street (parents), Buell Avenue (Ed and me, first condo!), Tallgrass Trail (Ed and me first house!). Sorry that is not 5, just 4!
5. Name 3 of your bad habits
I swear all the time. I jump into EVERYONES conversation, I have no mouth filter. (that may or may not be a bad habit. Some people just need to hear the truth, not my fault they cant handle it)
6. What are your favorite snacks?
Nacho cheese, and tortilla chips, squeeze cheese and crackers, Cheetos, I guess I like cheese...
7. Who will you tag for this meme?
Eh, tag yourself. If you wanna play along, just let me know you did!

Not so Wordless Wednesday...

Alex and Jen!To cute! Jen came over to just chill. We sat by the fire pit on the deck, Alex hung out with us for a while. We drank (I had Mike's Hard Berry, Jen had Smirnoff Grape) first time for me in about 2 years! Watched the MTV VMA's then went swimming! Kinda cold! (water was about 78!)

Disney on Ice!

Who's the cheesy dork? Me! Self portrait of coarse...
We love to wear the ears front to back...
Oh, Mia was so excited! She was in her special Elmo chair, Gramma brought for her, and she had on her ears!
I have now realized that the hardest thing to capture on camera, is anything on ice.
The beginning of the show...

I left my seat for this shot. Diane was in the spirit, ears and all. Mia stood in the isle to see better, oh and there is Ed too (far left)
I was so damn proud of myself. Last shot of Mickey and Minny waving, and I got it! Wee!
Goofy, Chip and Dale, Pluto too.
Goofy, Minny and Mickey (man they skate fast, I have more butt shots...)
Donald and Pluto

Diane got us these awesome tickets, the show was up at the United Center (home of the Chicago Bulls) we had 5th row front and center! Awesome night. Mia had a blast! I really enjoyed the whole show. Of coarse the best part was when you see your little girl just start SCREAMING with joy, when Mickey and Minny come out. Priceless.

Manic Monday on Sunday

Here you are my three questions by none other than... Manic Monday! Play along if you like, be sure to go to Manic Mondays link!

What's worse, physical or mental cheating? Why? I guess if I have to choose one over the other. I would say physical cheating. Mental cheating, to me is like watching porn. And I see nothing wrong with that. I love Ed to death, never ever would cheat on him, but we both agree, porn is not cheating. Unless your the star of one.

Do you think men and women can be just friends? Why or why not? Sure. I had lots of guy friends in High School, and some friends that were girls. I just get along with guys better. They are way less uptight, and aren't so petty about things. Don't get me wrong I love my girlfriends I have now. But my bestest friend in the whole wide world. Well that is the guy downstairs, watching football, father to my children, and the safe to all my secrets, well him and my blog.


How do you feel about dating co-workers? Love it. What better then to date, at night, and see each other all day. It worked for me and Ed for the year we worked together. I would love to do it again someday. Sucks though if your dumped and then have to spend all eternity facing them at work, or one of you is forced to quit.

Where were you.

I woke up early, I had a routine. Just married not even 3 months, I was trying to stay in some sort of shape. I was going to the gym before I had to work as a Personal Banker at a grocery store bank at 11 am. Ed was at Empress on day shift at the time. I did my routine as I did every day of the week, walking back to the locker room, there was a juice bar. At the juice bar there was a t.v.

Now I am no world traveler, and what I saw was on mute. So I was going off of visual only. The image of the place looked familiar. But maybe it was in another country. I thought the movie Entrapment had the same looking buildings... but it looks like New York... but it couldn't be... that doesn't happen to the United States... but it did.

I instantly turned to the rest of the morning gym members. Looking at them running, lifting weights. Knowing that in the next hour or so they too would find out the details of this story, and there life wouldn't ever be the same.

I rush home, and I called Ed at work. Telling him what I saw as I watched the news. I saw them replay over and over and over again. Then as I am on the phone, the second one hit. I remember telling Ed, and he didn't believe me. But there it was happening again.

I then called my parents and they were all ok. and were watching the news too. The next person I had to call was Jen. It was like an urgency for me to contact everyone close to me. Just to hear voices and to know that they were there.

I then went to the bank, we were all numb, talking and listening to a radio that we had in the store. Then as we listened, they fell. We cried. Customers of the grocery store kept coming to us, listening to the radio with us. More details of another building. And one into a field. Your mind races, "who is on those planes? Do I know anyone? Who is letting this happen? Why? Who?

Even scarier, the bank had to stop people from with drawing large amounts of money. I was at a grocery store branch and believe me we didn't have squat for cash on hand. We couldn't cash out all that people wanted. They were angry and scared. So we closed early.

That was a day I know I will never forget. A day that my children will learn about in school, and there lives will never understand the life we had before this day seven years ago.

It always reminds me of when my cousin was here with her daughter, 6 months at the time. Visiting our gramma, who was very sick. And when Ed and I went to take her to the airport, we all went to the gate, and sat and waited for there plane. That was just 6 months before.

Ed and I we were supposed to fly to Ireland for his cousins wedding. But because of the security, and the fear that we would be trapped outside of our country scared us. So we stayed home.

Directly I had no one die because of that day. But a few people I know shared these stories... A friends cousin worked there. He had the day off. It was his kids first day of kindergarten. Another friends Uncle was supposed to be on one of the flights, but he forgot his wallet and had to return to the hotel. In turn missing his flight. And on a celeb note, if you watched the Real World New Orleans, Julie was supposed to take one of the flights. But because of a fight with her boyfriend. She slept in, planning to take a later flight.

It's amazing the day to day events, that we do. That one wrong turn, could have made it all right. One more damn red light could save you in the end. Missing your alarm, not getting on that train, plane, bus. Whatever. Everything we do, it affects the rest of our life. Minor or not. I know we always say, what if... well what if happened that day. What if you slept longer, called in sick, forgot something, or just got lucky.

My thoughts to those who lost someone that day. This day seven years ago. September 11th 2001. It is now just seven years later, and that day is as clear as today is to me. I remember details and I will never forget that morning at the gym. That morning standing in my living room at the condo, on the kitchen phone watching the news, and telling Ed. That afternoon, standing at the bank as they fell.

Never forget... never forget...

The home of my dreams.

I live there. You may be confused, no you didn't miss a post about me winning the lottery. Well maybe. I have won the husband lottery and now lucky me, I also won the perfect daughter and perfect son lottery.

So add to it, I love our home. I love the fact that there are now 3 floors of living space. Now that the basement is a t.v. room and the art room is finished. It is perfect. The garden is becoming what I want, and now I have all winter to create and come up with the layout for next years garden!

If I can just keep it clean. Enjoy the space I have. Make due with what I have got. And enjoy the life Ed and I have created. I have them home of my dreams.

It's not a mansion, and no I have no maid. I bust my ass all day cooking and cleaning. And I stay up late to blog or scrapbook. Ed works 2 sometimes 3 jobs, to keep the roof over our heads. But with all that we do, I learn to appreciate it, and I love it. Love the life, the home, the way we are and the home we come to every day. I love what it is that makes our life tick.

It's what you do. If you love the life you have and enjoy it. Then you make every thing you do worthwhile. Enjoy the home, apartment, loft, bed, whatever it is you have. Weather it's one room, a home or maybe two. Make it yours. And rock it.

That is what my life is. Rocking out what I've got.

Shhhh.

There all sleeping.

Ed. Asleep in our room.
Alex. Just went down for his nap.
Mia. Just went down for her nap.
Cats. Asleep in the chair.
Dogs. Asleep in the media room.

LOVE. IT. Let's drink like RockStars, and get something done...

Happy Labor Day

Ola! And Happy Labor Day to you all!

I can't stay long, I am spending the day with my family! Yes MY family, not extended in anyway. Proud to say that the 4 of us (still crazy to say!) are enjoying a nice day together.

We had a great breakfast of omelets, and coffee. In my ever so clean kitchen (I busted my ass in there yesterday!) After breakfast Ed and Mi wasted no time getting ready to swim. I am going to get Alex fed, and off to the pool myself!

I will blog more later, oh if you are looking for something cool to look at. Here is my Stampin' Up! website, poke around... enjoy! (let me know what you think!)

www.creativemaniacs.stampinup.net

Maniac Monday not my answers.

I was away at my Stampin' Up! Conventional with my friends on Sunday and Monday, with my Open House, and new furniture, and the day at the Scrapbook Expo, I am trying to catch up on some regular posts that I like to do. I was talking with Ed the other night, and I asked him the Maniac Monday questions. So instead of my answers this week, I will post his! Enjoy!

Is there something you’ve dreamed of doing for a long time? Why haven’t you done it?
Shark Cage Diving! or Sky Diving. Either way I want to dive!




If you could make any fictional character come to life, which one would it be?
Besides Jessica Rabbit? (from Rodger Rabbit if you didn't know)


If you could have a $10,000 shopping spree to one store, which store would it be and how long would it take you to spend the $10,000?
Either Menards or Best Buy!

Name three things you wanted as a child but never got.
Nothing really came to mind for either of us on this one. We were both lucky kids, and didn't really ask for to much and what we did get was good enough.

Party like a rock star

Or an insane mother of two with a husband that works 3 jobs? Yes that is me. I am just plain retarded too. I stayed up again last night until 2:18 am. Glutton for punishment and got up with Alex at 7:02 am...

"Well I a sure you were doing something productive!" you might be saying. Well sort of. Ed needed his Wrigley uniform washed, and since he just took it off and gave it to me at 8:00 pm, I waited until 9:30 to start wash. So I thought, great idea, I will play in my art room for a bit.

Then it was time for Big Brother After Dark on ShowTime so of coarse who can resist? Oh then I found out (While Michelle and April were again ragging about what a horrible mom Libra is) that I have WAY more channels then I thought! I do have the Soap Opera channel (good for Susie when she stays here) and I have Sprout too! (Great for the kids!)

So two episodes of Extreme Makeover, and some sorting of the Art Studio later, I finally dragged my butt up to bed. Mmm yes Weaky up crying at 7:02 am was perfect... I am exhausted... not quite sure how Ed is still upright at this moment. He got home from his midnight shift at 6:20 and was back up again at 7:40 to get ready for a meeting at the Video store. But right home, uniform change, his dad will be here to pick him up to go to Wrigley for the day, come home and sleep maybe a few hours. Then off to the night shift job again! Phew. Thank goodness, he only has a night game at Wrigley tomorrow!

Two hours.

That is all daddy gets so everyone shut the f*ck up. Seriously. Sophie doesn't bark until Ed is home and in bed. Mia screams in her room after an ALL day play day with Gigi, she didn't nap (not because of Gigi either, Gigi came after nap was to be taken) Mia just took the opt out on the nap.

Well it's down to 1 hour and 15 minutes, Ed is alseep with the big box fan on high, a few feet from his head. Mia is done screaming but now playing in her room. And Weaky is alseep in his crib. Cats and Dogs are fed and sleeping. I still need to get Ed food made to take to work tonight, and to get his uniform and clothes set up for the next two days of nonstop jobs.

But the house is clean, and smells of Meadows and Rain thanks to Febreze. I am going to make some sort of dinner for myself and Ed. And pass out infront of the t.v. for about 40 minutes...

Running Tab...

I want to keep a running tab of what I am doing today... I am near the computer most of the day, so I am going to try and log a normal day around here... just for blog sake... I will try to keep it short so it's fast and easy to read... even though it will be long...

3:25 am Finally fall asleep, after many hours of folding laundry and cleaning house.

9:10 am Roll out of bed. Check email while children are still sleeping

9:20 am Doorbell rings, Village inspector here to recheck the electric on the pool. PASSED! Yeah!

9:30 am Go back inside, and up to get Mia. Change Mia, bring her and dirty laundry down for breakfast. She climbs in and snaps her belt shut on her booster seat, get placemat, bib, and sippy for Mia. Make oatmeal for us, and coffee for me. Eat.

Bring laundry down to the basement. Get dogs, from kennels in media room. Throw in a load, carry up dryer load from last night.

Mia is still eating and content. Weaky is still sleeping. I take each dog one at a time into the 1/2 bath off the kitchen, and apply Frontline (they are also on Sentinal for Heartworm disease nothing like spending a paycheck on dog meds), since Sophie dear brought us in a tick yesterday. They do well with that. Feed them breakfast. Let them outside after a while.

Finish breakfast, Mia is "ALL DONE!" we clean up breakfast, and up the stairs with clean laundry we go.

Mia is TOO excited because she see's her ever so beloved Bobby Jack "MONKEY SHEETS, MOMMY!!" are on top of the basket. Mia helps me with changing her bed. And no clean bed is complete with out a clean kid to go with it. So off to the tub with Mia.

I clean the bathroom and talk with our neighbor (Paul, had his Great Grandson last month, Sharon is doing well since her knee surgery last month, and we both agreed that Jim (other neighbor) fell into the Japanese Beetle catching bag gimmick, not good for us neighbors and we quickly told him to take them down) all while shooing Chloe from Mia room, because she was barfing there. I need her to barf in the hall on the faux wood floors. Easier to clean.

11:10 am That brings me up to now. Be back soon.

12:03 pm Talking to Jen. Folding laundry, Mia is FINALLY done with her bath, laying on my bed watching Elmo Palooza (thanks Piper!) Weaky is up and changed. I will feed him in a second...

ok. It is 7:36 pm. I obviously didn't keep blogging all day as I had planned. Good news is I just worked right through. I am exhausted. I washed floors, vacuumed rooms, unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher. Fed Mi lunch and dinner.

My beloved mommy came by. AWESOME. She chilled with the kids, and I power cleaned the first and second floor.

Oh and as soon as Ed got home at 6:30 I took his Wrigley uniform to wash for tomorrow, asked what jobs and what times he needed to be ready for tomorrow.

I need to get him jeans, sweatshirt for tonight. Dress shirt, pants and tie for 2 hour meeting at Family Video tomorrow morning, which will also be used for tomorrow night, minus the tie, for tomorrow night shift. And the uniform ready around10:20 am tomorrow. Did you get all that? Because I need to do it again for Sunday... sigh...

The Biggest Loser.

That will be me! Ed and two of his co-workers are going in together to play the Biggest Loser together. $25 a person, makes for $75 for the winner. I am just going to play along, since we don't have $50 to blow on this game. Either way I will win... right after I have 14 Pizza Puffs, and a Snickers Ice Cream bar... NO! I mean I will eat eggs, chicken, pork, veggies... chocolate, sugar, carbs, oh sweet carbs!... I mean fruits, water only, healthy...

Well good luck to me anyway. Jen we need an official Pizza Puff date. Stat. And the Weenie stand down the street re-opened. Must bid farewell to my beloved Pizza Puff, Biggest Loser starts Tuesday... maybe I will be lucky and get a stomach virus again and lose 12 lbs in a week...

Oh so the stats so far on me is 133 lbs and going for 107 lbs that is 26 lbs in 3 months. I know I can, I started doing so well a few weeks ago... well then I was whisked away on my amazing birthday weekend and well you know how that goes! And for the record Ed is 206 and aiming for 175 and for all the math genius' that is 31 lbs.

As said in almost all the Adam Sandler movies "You Can Do It!"

Maniac Monday on Sunday

Using no more than 10 nouns, and ONLY nouns, describe yourself.

Mom. Friend. Artist. Photographer. Sister. Teacher. Reader. Lover. Enthusiast. Talker.



If you owned your own store, what would you sell?

Oh this is easy! "Creative Maniac's" will be the store where you can buy craft & art supplies, fun house and garden decorations. Plus an area to hold classes, from scrapbooking and card making, to maybe garden lessons or tips on decorating. I of coarse I can't do this myself, I would need the only person I have ever wanted to own a store with, my mom.



We have both dreamed of having a store, to sell and share what we both love. I can imagine a house redone to be crafty, artsy, and just what everyone wants to visit. With a big wrap around porch for snacks and relaxing. And the whole place surrounded by an amazing garden. Plants from my mom and me, plus donated from friends and just people stopping by.



I think it can be done, but not now. Down the road, me and my mom...



If you were to name the most comforting thing for you to hold in your hands, what would it be?



Ed's hand is first that comes to mind. Knowing that when I hold his hand, I remember that we are one team that can do everything and anything together. I am also comforted by Mia's and Alex's hands. Knowing that I am comfort to them when I have there hand.



My mom or dad's hands too. I still go to them for comfort, and holding there hand is always a good way to start. (even though a relaxing day in the gazebo, sipping coffee is a good way too!)



My sister Susie hand. Susie needs me, because of her disorder, Dystonia, she can't communicate with others through speech, so I help out. And when we are in a crowd I grab her hand to lead her through. But as much as she needs me, I know that I will always need her hand to just remind me that I will always have my sister.



This was a very emotional Maniac Monday. It was a good one, probably one of my favorites.