A Much Needed Break

This morning I made a deal with the boys, if they helped me get something done then we would go swimming.  Progress was definitely made. 
We managed to get all of John Micheal's room packed up except for the bags at the top of his closet and a few clothes.  It is amazing how much stuff we got rid of and yet, how much it seems like is making the move with us.  I am sure the second round of throwing out will happen after the move.  The boys know if we do not have somewhere for something them we will have to get rid of it.  They seem okay with that.  Hopefully they really are.
We headed to Deborah and Tony's to swim with Kimy and Morgan Makenzie.  We had such a great time and we all needed to get out and do something different.  We love spending time with them so much and as always we all had a great time.  After we move we will have to swap where we meet to swim. 

We came home and got Danny's room cleaned and packed up.  It is amazing what we accomplished once we had gotten out and had a little fun.  Definitely what the doctor ordered. 

The boys are going to spend a few more nights in their own rooms and then we are going to move them both into Danny's and break down John Michael's bed, and try to get whatever we can in there so there is one place to go for boxes.  At least the ones from the bedrooms and bathrooms. 

Thanks again Kimy for a great afternoon!  We love you! 

Back to It

So everyone went back to normal today!  YAY! 

The boys had great days at school and Brandon at work.  I think everyone was glad to have a little normalcy back.

I worked on getting some pictures done and getting some things on eBay.  I also managed to get the living room picked up again. 

The downside to everyone being home is that everything gets destroyed and then some.  We will see how long it takes the house to recover from a week of the flu. 

End of the School Week

This morning was the school Mass. As always I love going to Mass with my boys. Spending time with them and Jesus is a great way to reconnect with Christ. It is easy to get busy and not slow down, but this really helps me stay connected and on track.
I came home and got to work around the house and on editing. I am not behind but it would be easy to get there. I am trying to get completely caught up. We will see what happens. I almost have my kitchen back under control, which is nice. Now to get everything I need to on eBay. Who knows if or when it will happen, but I am doing my best. I also have a lot to get shipped, I am hoping tomorrow or Friday. Again we will see.
The weather took my photo shoot to the square in my calendar for next week. Better to be safe than get caught in a storm.
The boys had a great day and John Michael finished the week with all green faces. It was a three day week I know, but it is progress and that is what I love!

Party Hard Sunday

The plan to get up this morning did not happen, in fact everyone in my house slept late. I cannot believe it. I guess we all needed it. We will do better, we will do better, we will do better. Let me rephrase that I will do better! Starting tomorrow that is.

Morgan's 3rd birthday party was today and it was a blast. The boys had the best time. Morgan seemed so excited with all of her presents. She is such a sweet girl, and truly precious. Her party was Strawberry Shortcake, and so cute. Kimy and Steven outdid themselves as always with activities for the kids. 2 water slides and a pool, not to mention the water guns! The decorations were adorable. I loved all of the pink and green. With 2 boys pink is something I do not get to see enough of. It was great to catch up with so many people.

I feel like I am making some progress with the house and all of the editing that I have to do. I have been focusing on the kitchen and of course laundry today. It is a never ending battle, but one that has some hope. The boys are pretty much grounded until their rooms are cleaned. Mainly because I busted my rear earlier this week with it and now they are both trashed. Needless to say I am not a happy momma.

Well, tomorrow I have to finish a presentation and a paper for class and work on some more pictures. I also have to get this house in order.

I cannot believe that July is now a thing of the past. Hello August. So many things happening this month personally and with business. So many blessings! Know that you are all in my thoughts and prayers tonight. Going to take some Aleve for my shoulder and going to bed. Good night all!

Orange Garnish

Today was pretty uneventful, I was not sure if we were headed to the lake tonight or tomorrow so once I had that question answered it was time to get some things done.

Homework, editing pictures, laundry, cleaning house, well those are routine. At least for the next 5 weeks, then I get a one week break from homework at least! It is definitely the small things that matter the most sometimes. I am trying to break up computer time so my children do not think I live on this thing. It will be a little easier to do when school starts. I can get most of my stuff done while they are in school and then the nights will be for the family.

John Michael has become fascinated with fruit and drinks. So today he asked if I could put an orange on his cup. At first I was confused, but then I was with him. Orange Kool-Aid, sliced oranges, all topped off with an orange garnish. He was a happy little man. He even shared his orange with Danny, which is rare.

Well, it has been another late one, but at least I am on time with the blog, well sort of it is after midnight. Anyway. I will see how it all works out tomorrow.

Good night everyone! I hope that you all have an amazing Friday! Know that my prayers are said for all of you each night. Find your blessings and count them each day...they truly are priceless and everywhere. Who would have known that today one of my joys was an orange!

Organizing

Well I am on schedule again, at least it seems that way. Today we had to deliver a disc so that the Hilldale 5K Graduation DVD could be finished up, then we took Brandon lunch because he forgot and Thursdays are his long days. Then we went to the Book Rack in Trussville. I was able to take several books and I also got several books. I am waiting on Jodi Picoulti to publish he next but for now I am reading a lot of Fern Michael's, Nora Roberts, and James Patterson. I am definitely a reading junkie. I am working on getting all of the Suzie Stackhouse books and then I will start reading that series. The boys also got a book. I am so glad that they enjoy reading. Then we came home and watched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and then worked on the den and office. Well, they started working on the den and then they started playing. That is so frustrating, but I do not know how to break the habit. I am working on it though. Danny wants the Spiderman movies so I have told him when the den is done I will get them for him. We shall see if that is enough for him. I also started putting my wine glasses in my cabinet. I love it, now to get the rest of them in there. At least there are some. Hopefully that will be motivation. Anyway. Tomorrow is jammed and I am tired. I will say a prayer for all of you. Good night!

To Nana's House We Go

So today is the first day of June! WOW! It also starts the hurricane season, which I hope is in slow motion until after we go to the beach. I am so ready, and we have 17 days! I cannot wait and neither can Brandon or the boys. We are planning on going to the lake this weekend to do some work and enjoy the weekend. Then next weekend we will stay home and get ready for the beach. Get the oil changed, the tires rotated, all that fun stuff.

Anyway, the boys are super excited about going to Nana's today to spend the night. I know that she is excited too! It is going to be good for all of them.

Brandon and I thought about going out to dinner, but decided to stay home. We were both so tired and there is so much happening here.

I did almost finish the kitchen. Oven, microwave, and all that completely cleaned. The pantry cleaned out. Tomorrow I will work on the refrigerator and packing Amy's box. If I get a box, if not I will pack her box up ASAP.

Well, Happy Birthday to Jessica! I hope that you have had a great birthday!

Good night everyone. Know that you are in our thoughts and prayers!

Catching Up...

So I have one week off from class, that means one week to catch up on so much! I know that it will happen though, there is really no other option I am leaving open. I thought about calling to request an extra week. Hmmmm. We will see where I stand Thursday afternoon, and then I will make a decision. I wish I could take a break until baseball was over. Oh well, it is all good. One day I will be done.

So tomorrow's goals include laundry, the living room, the upstairs bathrooms, and the scrapbooking messes that I have. While I will not scrapbook, I am just going to try to make it organized chaos instead of just the chaos that it currently is. Progress report in tomorrow's blog. I am also hoping to catch up on editing pictures, both professional and personal. Today I was able to finish the April 1st wedding that I had the pleasure of helping shoot. Tomorrow I will be starting Q and U weddings, we will see how far I get. I know some teachers are waiting on them though. Again. Progress report tomorrow. I am excited about these though. Then I have product shots and a prom session to edit. Seriously hoping to get caught up this week. Of course the more I have to do the more business I am doing, which is a good thing, at least in my opinion! Com on you know you want some pictures?!?!

So Danny's baseball game was moved to 6 this afternoon, which was kind of nice. The boys played great and it was a great game! They did lose though. It was a great one though, and in fact if we could have scored more than 7 runs in an inning we would have won, instead we tied it up. Coach Cale is a great coach and is really helping these boys turn into very good baseball players. Thanks for all that you do coach! Danny has gotten better every game and that just makes a momma very proud!

Well now I am off to bed. Before I go to bed as always I will be saying a prayer for all of my friends and family. You are all such amazing people. If anyone wants to come see the boys play I know that it would mean a lot to them. I will have to get the schedule posted for you soon or just call me and I will get it for you. They love a cheering section, seriously who doesn't!

Pinewood Derby

So by far this is my favorite night of cub scouts. I love the Pinewood Derby probably because so many of the boys are so involved and so excited!
The boys did great, as always there are some who get upset, but they will do even better next year. I know our Wolves Cubs, who were obliterated last year as Tigers came back and almost won it all. Go boys! Our winner was Wyatt, a Bear Cub. Congratulations!
Danny was going to attempt the race and then baseball, but we did not make it. We tried. Of course we got a very disturbing call from his coach. His coach is great and you can tell takes a great interest in the boys. He is also knows a lot about baseball and how to really make the boys shine. Anyway, it appears that Danny said some not very nice things. We talked to Danny for a while tonight and he swears he did not do it, but he is still apologizing to the boy and his dad Friday at practice. Anyway, I just pray it NEVER happens again, as he definitely knows better.
The living room is almost back to pre Spring Break condition, just a few more things to take care of. I would have gotten it done if I felt better. Hopefully tomorrow. I love Spring if only I could get my sinuses and allergies to join me in my love.
Well, it is 9 and the boys are still going so I am off here to get them to bed and then myself to bed! By the way I was up on time this morning. YAY!!! Before I go to bed I will be praying for all of my friends and family. I hope that you all have had a great Wednesday and that your Thursday is full of many blessings!

Pack Meetings and Traditions

Tonight was our pack meeting for cub scouts. It was a great night and strangely enough, we focused on scouting past and the 101 years of traditions that scouting has in America. The boys who are currently in Cub Scouts have not been involved but for a few years, but they have parents, grandparents, and even great grandparents who are involved or have been involved in scouting. I hope to see all of these boys progress and become Eagle Scouts. Scouting teaches them so much about life, God, family, and just doing the best that you can. These are all great boys who have the potential to truly become amazing men!

So I have been working in the house, today was focused on the den, which is also the play room. I have a lot to get done still but I have two bags, two boxes and lots of larger items for the donation bins, and I am not done yet. We will see how much I end up keeping. I am always a little sad when I overhaul this room because the boys are growing up and this makes me face that reality. Getting rid of the old, and making room for the new. It has to be done, but it is bittersweet.

So I heard about Toomer's corner today and I am sad. We were contemplating a day trip to the lake Sunday to inventory what we need to do before the summer. I am considering making that a trip to Auburn now. What to do? I am pretty torn, we really do not have the money for a 2 hour trip, but I do not want to miss seeing the trees one last time. I hope that they can save them. Now, as far as "Al from Dadeville" he sure was a cocky SOB when he called into the Paul Finebaum show so where is he now? He claimed that he did not care that it was illegal, so why exactly is he in hiding? I get that this man is an Alabama fan, but there is no way that he is an Alumni of Alabama or any SEC school. His lack of respect for traditions shows that. I hope that he gets caught and is put in an ORANGE jumpsuit for a long...long time. Furthermore, I am seriously doubting his accusations against Auburn. Why would they have rolled Toomer's when Bear Bryant died? The jersey on the statue maybe. Here is the thing though one of those is almost 30 years old, the other did not do any damage to the statue. A simple removal and it was all cleaned up. I personally would not have spent money on a jersey to gt to a statue. That is not vandalism though, what this guy has done is horrible and completely classless.

The picture is of the boys at Toomer's in December.

Well, I am off to bed. I really thought it would be before 9, but what can I say the news had me hooked with the Toomer's information! Before I go to bed as always I will be praying for my friends and family. I have a special request from a friend who is trying to get a job in this market that is hard so please pray for her, it is down to her and one other person. I will also be praying for the Toomer Oaks! WAR EAGLE!

The day that started with a backpack!!!

Well if it was not enough that we started this morning late.... I was so proud we all slept late, and somehow managed to get in the van and into Irondale with time to spare this morning. That was until Danny asked where his backpack was. The very backpack that I told him to get on his way downstairs. So we turned around came home got the backpack and took John Michael to school. On the way into John Michael's school I noticed Danny was not wearing his belt, which is a uniform essential. So we came back to the house so he could get his belt and then finally off to his school again!

Monica vs. the House got off to a late start because of the backpack adventure, but still in today's episode Danny's room was the target and I got a bulls eye. I even got a head start on tomorrow which is the den. This is the room that I am scared of. Seriously! Today alone two bags to the trash and two to donations. I have been tossing bags from my Christmas 2011 shopping in there so now it is time to get them somewhere until time to wrap and give. I am proud to report that currently Monica is defeating the house.

Well, it is almost 9 and unless a miracle occurs and Danny's goes to bed (his bedtime is 8) then I will not make it in bed before. Oh well, I will not give up. Before I go to bed as always I will remember all of my friends and family in my prayers. While today was super hectic and definitely not my ideal morning, it was a great day and it was productive! Remember even when things do not go what we perceive as right does not mean that they are wrong just that we have to make it work. I was very irritated this morning and then a few deep breaths and I figure that there was a reason, maybe it was just for the few extra minutes with Danny. Whatever this morning was meant to do it did not ruin my day! Enjoy each day and the blessings that it holds.

Spaghetti with a Sprinkling of Love

Dinner tonight was spaghetti. I made enough to freeze some and to make some baked ziti and freeze it as well. John Michael decided that he wanted to add sprinkles to the spaghetti and of course Danny followed suit. Well, adding it too all of the spaghetti was not going to happen so we let them add it to their plates. It was pretty humorous. Danny added a few too many, and he fixed another plate, but John Michael said that his was perfect! They definitely made dinner time even more enjoyable than usual. I love our family dinners, they mean so much and I hope that the boys will continue this when they have families of their own.

We have another early basketball game, but it is a lot of fun. Danny is loving it. I am a little sad that they only have tomorrow's game and then one more.

Time seriously seems to pick up a little each year. They get older, busier, and the clock speeds up. I wish that it would slow down some. The blog is allowing me to make sure that I enjoy each day though. Everyday is a blessing and this allows me to really think about all of the blessings that I have.

Well, I started on laundry catch up this afternoon. The heater/ac man assures us that the leak is not coming from there, but we went through this a few years ago, and after paying 2 plumbers guess what it was...the AC. I swear I do not know what to do. If money were not an issue it would be easier, but money is a HUGE issue. I will just wait and see I guess. I will keep you all posted.

Tomorrow after the game, before the birthday party that is before the UAB game....seriously going to be a busy Saturday I am hoping to get Danny's room done. I am making it a project that he tackles with me, whatever we do not get done tomorrow will be done Sunday! I am determined, that means next week after the Valentine's festivities I will be able to tackle the den (which is also the playroom) and the office (which is also the catch all. I worked on it some to get all of my taxes done, but there is a lot to go!

Well, it is still not before 9, but it is all good. I will be remembering all of my friends and family in my thoughts and in my prayers. I hope that everyone has a great night. A friend of mine's husband left at noon today for Afghanistan. I am praying for his safe return and for her and her son. They are amazing people and have faith, but prayers also give them added strength so please remember them and all our troops and their families. These men and women put their lives on hold for America and should always be respected!

Snow and Valentine's Preparations

John Michael's Valentine's party is tomorrow so we finally went to Target and got some Valentine's and the bag of candy that I was supposed to bring the other day. Better late than never....and it is not really late, just really cutting it close. Well, we went on and got Danny's and then I got a few things that I needed to get I was out of Ziploc bags...craziness.

Well, we had a visit from our favorite Aunt B today. The boys adore her and so do Brandon and I. It is always great to spend some time with her.

School's are already delayed 2 hours tomorrow morning because of the snow threat that is now here. The snow is so pretty though, I almost forgot how pretty it was since we have pretty much only seen ice this winter. We plan on getting up in the morning like a regular day so we can have a little bit of time in the morning before school to play. As pretty as it is a day at home would really not hurt my feelings, I like to play in the snow...and take pictures ;) with my men. I am hoping that Brandon is at least delayed too that we we can have some family fun before the day starts.

Today on Monica vs. The House John Michael's room was the headline. Monica won! Closet cleaned out, drawers cleaned out, under the bed cleaned out. I have three bags and two boxes of clothes to get rid of and added to the special clothes that I have from the boys. One day I will make a quilt or something from it so that they are actually used. We shall see I know how to use my sewing machine now but quilting is a whole different monster. I will definitely try will just regular material before I take the scissors to the clothes, blankets, and bibs that I am just too attached to. There will be no episode tomorrow if there is school since I will be there taking pictures at the Valentine's party.

Well, it is after 10, so not before 9. I am going to keep trying though! Before I go to bed tonight I will as always pray for all of my family and friends. I have a special intention that I would love prayers from you all for. Thanks in advance.

Flying Ace

Well, today was a gorgeous but cold Tuesday. I had a lot to do, but am glad to say that I was able to get our taxes completed, they are being reviewed now, and then I will file them. I felt like it was worth it to pay the extra with the business included. I cannot wait till I actually have gains instead of losses. 2011 is a year of great blessings so this could be one of them.

John Michael had a great day at school. They had a dentist come to visit them, and this really made his day. I have to say I am glad that he liked his visit, now maybe he will be excited when we go visit the dentist. I plan to call tomorrow to make appointments for us to get cleanings.

Danny also had a great day, but his was slightly longer than his brothers 8:30-2. Danny was at school at 7:45 and he was there until 7:30. It appears that 12 hours at school is playing a toll. He was exhausted when he came home. We did get homework done though, we will redo the spelling test practice in the morning though, he was falling asleep writing. We did have a few minutes of fun with his airplane gun though, that I am now calling Flying Ace. That little thing moves!

Tomorrow Monica vs the House starts playing again and the episode will feature John Michael's room, this includes drawers and closets. Recaps will be available on tomorrow's blog.

Well, definitely not before 9...in fact almost tomorrow is more accurate, but it is all good as I got to spend some time with my best friend. She is the one who knows too much and I do not have to talk to daily to know that she is there, and the same goes for her. Very few people stay in your life and have the impact that she has had on mine. I love you Amy and thank you for everything!

Before I go to bed, I will be remembering you all in my thoughts and in my prayers. Many intentions have been on facebook, or sent through e-mail or text and you should all know that they are never ignored! While I often wish that I could do more for those I care for, I always will pray that the situation becomes what you most need and desire.