Things I never dreamed of saying

"Do not suck on your brothers face!"

"I can't right now, I am cleaning floorboards."

"Yes, he does smell. I hope that was a chocolate he just ate, who gave him chocolate? Please tell me you gave him chocolate!"

"Why do you think I need to go on Extreme Makeover?"

"Pudding is NOT body paint!" Later that afternoon, "spaghetti sauce is NOT body paint." (again, I am a slow learner. I have the video to prove this one!)

"I do not want a pedicure while I take a nap, thanks anyway!"

"I want a new washing machine."

(picture was from our trip to SD. Matt, Rick, Ricky and Kerri went on the roller coaster 100 times)

Updates

Rick: back last week gone next (maybe). Teaching two on-line classes and coaching Ricky's football team again. Today, he is finally enjoying some down-time consisting of watching football, doing yard work and swimming w/kids.
Ricky: maintaining straight A's in school. He is trying to earn an IPod or a trampoline by the end of the year. My vote is for the Ipod. He's back playing flag football again this fall. His team won their first game yesterday. He is playing with a sprained finger (happened first day of practice). Even with the swollen stub he still managed to score a touchdown. Most of the kids on his team are now taller than me. One 11 year old wears a size 13 shoe (men's size 13). Ricky's back in band this year playing drums and bells again.
Kerri: also doing well with all 'A's in school. She chose horseback riding lessons and cheer clinic this fall. She has a new friend that is in her class who lives in our neighborhood. She is very excited about that! She was quite a helper this morning and let us sleep in until 7:45. She got up with Jason, made him breakfast and turned on his favorite show. She then cooked for all of us when I got up. (Maybe she'll take after her Grandpa)She made my day!
Matt: started ADVANCED Apples to Zebra's preschool last week and is chopping at the bit to go to kindergarten. (He gets upset if you forget the 'advanced' part. All it really means is it is a pre-k and 3 year olds are not allowed). He rode his first two-wheeled bike on Friday and has really done well. He is a very quick study. The problem is he wants to do extreme racing (already). His favorite psII game is 'Downhill Domination." He is confident he will be able to master the skill of downhill racing in real life. I am so afraid! He also loves music (all the kids do). Unfortunately his latest "favorite song" happens to be from Panic at the Disco and the language is, well, questionable to say the least. However, he enjoys singing it loud and proud. His favorite verse goes something' like this, "I don't know if you people have ever heard of, closing the G#D D&MN Door." We gave him words to substitute for them but every now and again he slips up.
Jason: Jason loves to finger paint with food. He has discovered his power (some call it the terrible two's). He likes to scream and look just to see if he'll get a reaction. He yelled at the top of his lungs this morning, "Maaaaaaaaaaam," while I was right behind him. When I looked at him with hands placed angrily on my hips he looked right at me and smiled. The little stinker! He is learning to use his words, however with his little devious sense of humor he only uses them when he wants to. He is very good at getting all the kids to laugh at the dinner table. Ask him to show you his nose and he'll shove his finger right up it! Matt taught him how to say, "whaaaaatsuppp." It's Very cute. He just learned another term while watching ball with his dad. He came in here a minute ago and yelled, "first down!" I find it hard to believe the Bills actually got one! (I know, I know they are beating Miami..... while I wish it were not true at least it puts Rick in a good mood!)
As for me: I am trying hard to keep it all together and loving every minute of it. Right now I am working on more pictures to post on this site.

Therapy

I’ll bet most of you didn’t know this about me but I am in therapy. I am sure some of you are thinking ‘thank God’ while others wonder where I get the time. All I can tell you is that I have been in therapy for years and have had many great “sessions” as well as a few failures along the way. Last night was probably one of the most enlightening sessions I’ve had in a long time. Allow me to explain but first you’ll need to understand the type of therapy I receive. It had to be flexible to fit into my life, which wasn't easy. So my therapy had to come from many places. Some of which you will understand and some I couldn’t explain even to a licensed therapist. My therapy comes from painting walls (often the same wall more than once), refinishing furniture, Bunko nights, going to the grocery store by myself, chatting with a girlfriend who understand that just because your two year old is throwing a temper tantrum in the background doesn’t mean you have to get off the phone, camping, camping, camping, camping, visits from my in-laws (no, I am not kidding), turning my phone off on Monday mornings so I can clean without interruption, a friend who offers to take my kids even though she's just as bogged down, writing (even though I lack the skill), and reading, are just a few. I have also had many “therapists” most, if not all of them, did not even know their roll or the impact they have had on me. In fact, if you are reading this you’ve probably been one of my “therapists” at one point or another. I hope you get the picture. So, on to what went on last night. My therapy session came in the form of a night out with three other women. A friend of mine invited me to a church sponsored comedy night. I was exhausted and hesitated to go but for some reason I knew I needed to take advantage of a girls night out. While the comedy was clean it was also gut-wrenchingly funny. About half way through the show the laughter came to a screeching halt. One of the comedians began to talk about her struggle with depression. She became very serious and the audience listened intently as she recounted her struggles, the downward spiral, the darkness, and finally about her journey back to the stage, back to pursuing her passion. The show ended with more comedy, and like seeing a great movie I came home having experienced so many emotions all in one night. It was fabulous. It took me two hours to fall asleep when I got home, even though I was full-blown exhausted. I kept thinking about how the comedian had explained her depression. “It is like painting your sunglasses solid black and wearing them around for thirty days,” she said. "You can’t see straight ahead but you know life is going on around you." I related it to my Grandfather who had Macular Degeneration. He was legally blind for the last few years of his life and similar to wearing the glasses of depression he could only see through peripheral vision. I began to think of all the peripherals we see (what people drive, what they wear, where they live) and how warped we can get when we focus on those things instead of what is right in front of our eyes; the people, friendships, and the love. I spent all afternoon on Sunday picking up and doing things for Rick, for his Birthday, focusing on the peripherals of what would make the day great. Looking back I now realize that the night before HE gave ME the best gift of all. He came home from another stressful, long week of travel, walked in and kissed me hello. “I love you,” he said as always. I was in my fabulous torn t-shirt and stained sweat shorts, looking ever so lovely (picture Oscar the grouch from sesame street) and I said “really?” To which he replied, “there is one thing in my life I have never doubted and that is my love for you.” ... I may be a little slow because it took me until last night to really appreciate his reply. I have to say that my cheap form of therapy has really paid off. It's not a great car or nice house that makes me feel lucky, happy, or keeps me sane, it is all of you!

Family Photo /Camping in SD

We took the kids camping in San Diego over the summer. This photo was taken at the SD Wild Animal park. It was a lot of fun.
We went with some good friends from our old neighborhood. We spent time at Legoland, Balboa park, the beach and of course the Wild Animal park. More pictures to come.

cruise 2006

The picture was taken in the city of Avalon on Catalina Island. Ricky hasnt cut his hair since. Matt and Jason have grown tremedously since this photo was taken but they're still my little hams. Every picture of Matt comes with a funny face. Kerri has also grown a lot since this trip. She is almost up to my chin (doesnt say much, does it :).

photo

He made it!

Rick made it home and will be with us for two days. He and his co-worker were able to get the last two seats out of town. Although he was completely exhausted (both mentally and physically) he did take an hour to sit out on the back patio with Ricky and I and watch the lightning. It was quite a show!

Wake-up call

The day started at 6:15 with a dream-wrecking, phone call. As the stupid song played on my cell phone I realized I had to get up and answer it. Who would call this early? I remembered Rick is supposed to fly home today. My heart stopped. Is Rick O.K? I opened up my phone and said, “hello.” It was the airline calling. The girl on the other end asked if she could speak with Rick. My heart started up again, they wouldn’t ask for him if his plane had crashed. I gave her his cell phone number and asked why she was calling. She gave me the bad news. His flight, and the one after it, had been cancelled.
Great, I thought, thats all Rick needs. He has been in Long Island working all week and was scheduled to fly home today. Actually, he planned on flying home on Thursday but the people who line his pockets and put the food on our table had other plans for him. They wanted him to stay and take the heat for things that were beyond his control. Sounds like fun, huh? To graciously reward him for his hard work they did offer to fly him home for two days over the holiday weekend (allowing him enough time to mow the lawn and clean the pool but not long enough to go camping and actually relax a little as we had planned). It now seems the airline had other ideas for him.
So, why did the airline call me and not Rick directly? It remains a mystery however I do have a theory. I believe they wanted to take me away from and ruin my vacation. You see, when they called I was on the deck of a luxury cruise ship. I had a beautiful tan, a flat stomach and was sipping on an ice-cold fruit drink. A gentle breeze cooled me like a fan while the sun warmed the wooden deck surrounding me. There were people all around but it was amazingly quiet and tranquil. Quiet and tranquil that is until I heard the annoying sound of my cell phone. I did not want to get up but I knew I had too. The ship, and all that came with it, disappeared in a flash. As I got up to answer the phone I swear I could hear my pillow calling me, “come back, come back, your ship awaits.” But reality soon sank in and I quickly realized what’s really waiting is a dirty diaper, complaints of boredom, hunger, how unfair I am, and worst of all another day without Rick.

An inspiration

Over the past 12 months I have been introduced to the world of blogs. Having read several sites over the past year I have been inspired to start my own. I love the idea of being able to keep in touch with people I care about but cannot talk to regularly. It is a beautiful thing! Those of you I have to thank for the experience know who you are! You have given me peace of mind, opened my eyes, and in some ways changed the way I view the world.

With that being said my plan for this site is to share with you what is going on in my life. Before you all doze off to the thought of family life in the suburbs I have to tell you that there is never a dull moment around here. I will do my best to entertain you and keep your attention. In return I hope you'll feel free to coment and share your thoughts and your own stories.