I'm back

Did you miss me????

I've been away for many reasons, some more complicated than others, but basically I was trying to get things back on the up and up before I went back to the wonderful world of blogging. So, here's my kids all grown up and heading off to college...ok, so I haven't been gone THAT long, but they have grown a bit since I've been on here.

Trever had his 1st Birthday a week before Christmas. We had a little party for him and he had a blast. His Godmommy (and my dear friend) Michelle made the trip down with her sister and niece - it was wonderful to spend a few days with them. My sister Patti and family also traveled down for the party which I honestly didn't expect - so I was really excited that they came. Papa and Gahma (as Brenna would say) came over as well as Auntie Chris and Jaden and some friends of our with their kids. I think Brenna had the most fun playing with all the kids since they were her age and Trever just watched and giggled at them all. It really was a wonderful 1st Birthday for him. The Big "hit" to the party was the boys throwing a sticky skeleton to the ceiling and jumping to hit it down with a blanket. Really - who needs entertainment when you have inventive kids around. It was awesome to hear all the kids laugh and enjoy themselves.

Christmas was good, not as hectic as it was leading up to be. Christmas morning was fun watching Brenna and Trever opening their gifts then proceeding to play with what the other one got. We spent the morning in jammies and enjoyed the day. Later on we headed to my parents house and had our Christmas with my side of the family. We played our dice game that has quickly become a new tradition. We did 1 round with everyone and then did an adult round after all the kids went downstairs to play. We had decided to not exchange gifts amongst "us kids" meaning me and my siblings and do the dice game. What a GREAT idea - we had such a fun time. There is always 1 or 2 items that are the "hot" gifts and it's so much fun to see who and what gets fought over. This year it was a GTO calendar. My brother-in-law Mike knew what it was when it was wrapped so he made sure he got it. Once unwrapped my other brother-in-;aw David went after it (the GTO man that he is) it went back and forth between them for a time...soon Tera got into it....then Mikie....the Jason and myself....then low and behold MY DAD gets up and takes it away from David...CLASSIC. We all laughed and really enjoyed it. I think that is becoming a huge favorite for us now and we're all looking forward to in again next year.

We traveled up to Minnesota for a quick visit and had Christmas with Jason's family. It was a couple weeks later than we had originally planned but the weather just wasn't cooperating. It was a good time and we all got some wonderful gifts. We took a picture of all the grandkids together and I think maybe 1 out of about 50 turned out. It's tough getting 5 kids to all look at the camera at the same time.

The new year came about with some changes. New plans and things to focus on with our family and a new outlook on our life together. There will be many changes this year. Some things are already set in motion and others will come throughout the year, but we're looking forward to 2010.

I do hope to get back to blogging more. Hopefully I'll have more to say to keep it going :grin:

See you all soon

Parade

A couple weeks ago we went to the parade in town. Brenna had so much fun waving and running after all the candy that was thrown. Trever watched every single thing that went by with suck intent. They both had a lot of fun.

Wordless Wednesday

No more work for today....

well, at least at the moment. I still have over an hour left and anything can happen.

Back to the craziness....

Monster garage sale tomorrow - I'll be up bright and early to get things rolling. I'm making breakfast ahead of time so I can just throw it in the oven at my Mom's for us all to enjoy before the crazy shoppers come. I can't tell you how wonderful it feels to have my house decluttered (for the most part - kind of a mess now since we've been going through everything). You really don't realize how much junk, oops I mean really cool stuff that other people want to buy, accumulates in such a short time.

On to other things....

What else has been keeping my brain busy other than garage sales, being a wife and mother, working and everything else under the sun? A friend of mine and I are starting up our own business. It's a little scary, but the more we talk about it the more excited we get. I'm not going into depth yet as it is in the VERY EARLY stages. There's just lots of preparations that go into it. Finding wholesale suppliers, working out the fine details and setting up the dates and times to launch everything. It will be a crazy ride, but if everything goes according to plan we'll be swamped with more work than we ever thought possible and our dreams to work from home (or at least less hours and closer to home) will come to pass. Please keep us in the back of your minds that everything will run smoothly.

Family things....

Jason has been working more and more lately. Seems that the whole economy thing isn't affecting those needing retaining walls and such....we thank them {grin} Baseball will be back in action on Sunday (no games on Mother's Day) so our weekends will start to seem shorter as we're traveling all over the place to watch him play.

Brenna took a nose-dive on her way to the swings at daycare the other day. You know how you run as fast as you can to the swing, plop your belly on the seat part and hang on? Well, I guess Brenna missed the swing entirely. Poor thing. They said after she got all cleaned up she ran full boar to them again only this time she didn't biff it. That a girl, don't let the pesky ground shy you away from having fun. She has been such a character lately, I find myself laughing more and more everyday. Last night she was getting ready for the bath. This kid LOVES to be naked, I can't help it, she just really likes it. So...after I got her ready to go in the tub she wanted to run and see Daddy first. I followed her out to the living room and she says "Daddy...daddy look....I nak-ed" Then she proceeded to "bring it around town". That's a little sponge bob thing (which I don't think she's actually seen) where she bends her knees and rolls her hips/bum in a circle (like if you were doing the hula-hoop, only no hoop). It is the funniest thing ever. She then ran back into the bathroom ready for bath. Lord help us with this one.

Trever is rolling all over the place. Back to belly, belly to back - he's a cruisin. Another fan of being naked, he will do a full belly laugh when you strip him down. Someday these two will do the "awe, mo-om" when they find out I blogged about how they like being in the buff, but they will know just how cute it is when their kids do it too. Trever is our talker. He would talk to you all day long if he could. He gives out the smiles freely and is such a flirt. He's a BIG boy, very long and is currently in 9 month clothes. Anything smaller pulls on his crotch and shoulders so much.

Well, that's what's going on for us (in a nutshell). Summer is going to be pretty busy for us I'm sure. Between baseball, trips to Minnesota, Trever's Baptism, family reunions....it'll go by fast that's for sure. I'll be sure to get back here to post as often as I can and will share pictures.

Baseball

Jason had his first baseball game of the season yesterday. The kids and I went along to watch.

J went 1 for 2 with a walk. His hit was a bunt single - the man's got some wheels let me tell you. He even had a stolen base. Good Job Babe!

Brenna liked watching her Daddy play ball. Her little nose was out of joint though when he first went out onto the field....She wanted to play baseball with her Daddy. It didn't last very long - she had lots of running around to do.

Trever loved the fresh air. He pretty much lounged on a blanket on the grass the whole time.

No Pictures

I don't know what it is about posting that I feel the need to only post if I have pictures to include. I want to be the person that blogs everyday (or at least every other) but when I sit down to write something, I'm usually at work and have no pictures on these computers...so I don't blog. I really don't know why that is.

So today I decided that I must blog AND with no pictures. It feels kinda weird actually, but I'm sure I'll survive (I hope)

What is going on with us you ask? Well, here's a little bit of a run down.

Jason is in the mixed of starting a new job - maybe. He's actually stuck in the middle of 2 places and is having some second thoughts about his decision. You see, Jason is an EXTREMELY hard worker and is very good at what he does. This is demonstrated time and time again - most recently as the new job hired him on the spot and the current job is fighting to keep him. What is a guy to do? As great as it sounds to have 2 jobs fighting for you (especially in this economy) - it's really tough on him and makes him question if he is doing the right thing. As a loving and supporting wife, I have expressed that I will back him 100% in whatever he decides. I have pointed out pros and cons for both places and have tried to help him search deep down on what he wants to do and what would make him happy.

Here's some things to compare

current-pay raise to stay
new-small pay cut to start, potential for higher pay down the road

current - farther away, more gas and wear on truck
new - closer, less gas and wear

current - enjoys who he works with for the most part and knows how they work
new - all new people and new relationships to develop, don't know how they work

current - guaranteed work in the winter = steady money coming in
new - no guarantee - more than likely be laid off for the winter = time with kids

current - usually home in time for dinner and time with the kids
new - won't be home much during the week during the summer - even some out of town work and will be gone for weeks at a time

current - variety of work - some of them not his favorite things to do
new - will only do hardscapes which is what he really enjoys

there are other things to consider, but these were some of the things he has to ponder. Again, I'm behind him all the way. Sometimes that grass is greener on the other side, sometimes it's just a different cow's crap. I've been praying all day today that the right thing will make itself known to Jason and that he feels comfortable with the job he decides on. God has a plan for him and I only hope he can open his heart to let it be guided by Him.

If you have any suggestions or other aspects to consider, please leave a comment. I'm sure there's a bunch of things we haven't looked at yet. Thanks