Sweet Caroline

I am so glad I took the trip to Texas to see my Aunt, Uncle, cousins and Grandma. And she got to meet her GREAT-grandsons-which was such a great joy for me to bring to her!
Me and my grandma, aka "Ms Sweet Caroline" according to some of the old men in her retirement community-apparently a lot of them have little crushes on her, which embarrasses her completely but we all think it is pretty cute.

One of my favorite photos from my trip, my grandma, who will be 90 years old here soon. You can't really tell so much in the photo as in real life, buy Grandma has BEAUTIFUL skin and complexion, which I think is because of her Native American (Navaho) and Mexican heritage. She is just gorgeous.

Another favorite photo, the boys and their Great-Grandma:

Dear Bill

Five years ago today, I walked down the aisle and met you at the end of it. One of the most fun and amazing days of my life and the start of our life together. I am amazed at how quickly the years have passed, and how it seemed, when we first got married, time just stood still.

I can't thank you enough for being my rock, my best friend, a most amazing husband, and an adoring father. You make even the most normal things fun and exciting-like sitting on the couch on Sunday and watching 24-and there is nothing I look forward to more than spending the next 55 years with you. Except maybe watching the next season of 24 with you.

I dug up some old pictures from our honeymoon because I knew you would enjoy seeing them again. (And because I have not scanned any of our wedding pictures onto the computer yet)

Us in front of the amazing pool at the Grand Floridian Resort at Disney World

Our honeymoon in Disney World was just amazing. News traveled fast too! Wherever we used our hotel cards to pay for items, they knew we were on our honeymoon and we got all kinds of free gifts, pictures, pins, wine (whoohoo!) and "hops" to the front of ride lines in celebration. We even had a gift basket waiting in our room after our first day out and about with great gifts. The free wine around Epcot was my favorite "Disney Magic touch..."

Our champagne carriage ride around the Disney Park was so fun and relaxing and perfect before seeing the fireworks.

I love you, Happy Anniversary!

Movie Night With The Neighbors

I'm quite blessed to have awesome neighbors all around me and many of them have kids or grandkids pretty close in age to my children, so that is even better! I have to say though, my son is in love with two of our little neighbor friends who also have a stay at home mama that I love, so it turns out to be perfect for us all when we have play dates!

Our latest was yesterday evening and it was a PJ movie night! It was so fun and came at perfect timing, because I was feeling a little depressed-bored-what-to-do-tired-of-the-park funk coming on. Caroline, one of my said awesome neighbors and mother of the two adorable kids my oldest son loves, brought over her kids, right after dinner and baths, along with a huge bag of popcorn and all of us in our PJs (us mamas, too!) sat down to watch Pinocchio. It was SO fun and reminded me so much of when I was little and having movie nights with my sisters.

The kids loved it, and really enjoyed hanging out with each other and eating popcorn like at a real movie theater! A fantastic and free way to break up the nightly routine into something fun.
Here is JR with his sippy cup, all ready for the movie to start:

Here is the gang, from left to right: Little Dude, Cole, Caroline and Keely. Note that there is also a wine glass; adding wine to any play date makes it super fun, esp when you get to share the wine with a wonderful friend!

Thomas The Train

Due To the BlogHer ad rules, I had to move this post to my review site; it seems the free tickets to see Thomas the Train was over the amount that BlogHer deems OK for me to talk about (which is a rule because of the paid ad space on my blog that BlogHer sells-which by the way I haven't made any money from in the last year...)so I might be rethinking being a memeber of BlogHer, since not only am I not making any money from it, but they can also tell me what I can or can't review and what "free" items I can try out and talk about and I think I'd rather be the one that decides that. In the meantime, you can read about our adventure to see Thomas the Train Here.

I Have a New Phone

Oh I am back! That is, I have a phone again! YAY!

Though it was nice to know that I was not accessable 24/7, it was also very weird to not be able to get in touch with anyone. All I can say is thank goodness for Facebook, or I wouldn't have been able to get anyone's phone numbers ever again. It's funny, but I so rarely even email people anymore, most of my communication is over the phone or through texting, so to not have it for a while was crazy for me!

Anyways, I am back, and so, also, is a cold bug.

Yes, the kids and I all got sick over the weekend, and we gave it to poor Bill who had to fly back to Alabama to work yesterday. So, I am sitting here, sipping some hot thera-flu and trying to catch up on all the work I missed doing over the weekend.

And I'm playing with my new phone. No, I didn't get the iphone-that would have been awesome, but for the cost, I just couldn't afford the increase in the plan. ANYWAYS, I'm super excited about the one I got-apparently it is made from recycled products AND it has a slide out keyboard to make texting super quick. Whoo hoo! And the best part? It was free, since my contract was up and I was eligable for a phone upgrade. Lucky timing at getting my phone washed, eh?

In Which I Washed My Phone

So for the last few days I have been pretty sick with a cough and cold, and finally today was feeling better. So much better that I got up off the couch and actually started on the pile of laundry I had growing on the bedroom floor.

And so, I threw all the clothes into the wash; I went on about my day, and then got ready to go out with some friends and the kids. When I went to call Mike and Beth, to let them know I was heading out to meet up, I realized what a blunder had occurred.

I can't find my phone. ANYWHERE.

I ripped the house apart looking, and with each overturned couch cushion and randomly moved item, a sinking feeling grew within me.

Yes, I washed my phone.

And not just a little wet either. By the time I realized what I had done, that load of laundry was well on its way to drying. In fact, it was on its second round in the dryer, since my dryer is dying and I haven't found a good spot(read I'm lazy) to hang my clothes line yet.

I'll have a new phone by this weekend, with my same number, but if you want me to be able to call you, then you'll need to call me, or shoot me an email with your number, because I don't have any of them anymore. They were saved in my phone. And no where else.

So, what is the lesson to be learned from this?

Laundry is evil and should never be done. And perhaps I just need to slow it down and stop with the crazy multitasking. Or at least remember to check my pockets along with the boy's pockets, when doing laundry. And to have a hard copy of all phone numbers so I can then call people and let them know my cell phone has been killed off by a washing machine, in the laundry room, with a gentle wash cycle.

Ready For My Nap

I have so many things I'd love to write about right now, but honestly, I am just too tired.

The hubby, Bill, is still in AL working, so I am alone here in NC with the kids. And it isn't bad, I have friends and neighbors that I invite myself over to (yes, you read that correctly. I'm not shy, I'm calling you up and coming over cause I'm board and need to talk to someone that can pronounce l's).

But being full time single work from home mom has me worn out already, and it has only been two weeks.

So, I am finally off to catch up on work, since the only good time I can find is currently at 11pm at night.

Perhaps tomorrow I can get to writing about some of the things I want to share. Or even get that nap in I keep trying to take but never seem to find the time for.