Saturday, January 31, 2009

This just might work

Check out this Da bib. I am foaming at the mouth over this. Over here at the 'Burg house our little guy is a really messy eater. His collars never look the same after a meal. I have never seen this bib before.Two of a kind is giving one away. Even if I don't win one I am definitely buying one. Now if someone can make something that actually cleans his face. Umm....

Prayers

I just learned that Little Tuesday lost her cancer battle yesterday. She was only two years old. Please keep this family in your prayers. They have three other children including Tuesday's twin sister. My heart goes out to them.

More snow?

The kids went off to school on Tuesday with hopes we would get snow that day. The snow and ice came. CLOSING school on Wednesday. Did I mention they already had Thursday and Friday off for in service days? My kids have had a five day weekend.  It has been a long four days already. I heard last night we could have a nor'easter sometime next week. WTHeck? These kids will go nuts. O.k. I will go nuts. Send good vibes our way. NO SNOW!

Art supplies

I never grew up is having another fab giveaway. Art supplies. When I was a kid I loved to shop for pencils and crayons and markers. Truthfully I still do. There is nothing better then opening up a brand new pack of crayons. I hated to share my brand new crayons with anyone. Well I still do,just ask my kids. If you want to win some art supplies for your kids or your self visit her site before February 6th.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Looking for an awesome stroller?

I never grew up is having a really cool contest. She is giving away a Bumble ride Indie twin stroller. Yes you read that right. I don't think you will find a better twin stroller then this one folks. You can personalize each side of the stroller for each kid. I love that idea. If your kids are anything like mine,each one wants their own color. Can we talk about the basket? The thing looks huge. I am already thinking what I could fit in it. So if you are looking for a great stroller go check out her site. But you better hurry,contest ends on Friday.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

I miss you a little..........

Today makes the 11th year without my Dad. He lost his battle to Kidney cancer 8 days after his 43rd birthday. On a cold December day we were told my Dad only had 6 more weeks to live. How do you cram a lifetime of memories into 6 weeks. How do you start letting go while still hanging on?  How do you say goodbye to one of the most important people in your life? How do you tell someone how much they mean to you without breaking down and crying? How do you cope and function for your three small children? If you are like me you live in denial. Pure denial. You convince yourself he will be o.k. You would tell yourself he would live and totally amaze the doctors. I totally set myself up. I honestly didn't think he would die until the day before he did. My dad was an amazing guy. It wasn't just me who thought so. The day of his viewing the people were lined up down the block to pay their last respects. He meet my Mom when I was 8 years old. I was his daughter from that day on. Plain and simple. He never treated me any different then my brother. I learned trust and security from him. My bio Dad left my Mom when I was 5 and I wasn't a very trusting kid. I was welcomed into a huge Italian family. It was just what my Mom and I needed. Two years before my Dad died I heard a song by John Michael Montgomery called I miss you a little. I remember listening to it and thinking it was a sad song. It took on a whole different meaning when I heard after he died. I miss you a little... a little more each day. How true is that? I miss my Dad more today then the day he died. If today you get a chance listen to this song and tonight when you see the stars say hi to my Dad.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Letter to my Dad

Dear Dad,
Today marks 11 years since we last saw your smile,heard your laugh,and felt your hugs. A lot has changed since you have been gone. Your 6 year old granddaughter is now 17. She is getting ready to take her drivers test. I guess she won't be needed that little tykes car you bought her anymore. She is still the same little girl she was then,just taller. I can picture the two of you going on shopping trips. Do you remember when she was two and you took her shopping? What started out as just a dress turned into a dress,new shoes, a new purse and a head bow? I can still hear you laughing telling me the new dress didn't match the old shoes and well the purse looked so cute with the dress. I have to tell you she is still like that. Everything matches. Only the whole outfit for 50 dollars? You would be lucky to get her shoes for that. She has turned into this extremely posed young adult. You would be so proud of her. 

The little tornado is now 14 almost 15. Remember how she would barely talk and when she did you couldn't understand her? After years of speech class we can't shut her up. How I wish you could hear her. She has turned into this strong full of wonder kid. I often ask her what does she remember about you. "Not much" she will reply. It breaks my heart to hear that. It was what I feared the most. My kids not remembering you. 

Little foo-foo turned 13 this past year. The little girl who would sing Celine Dion songs now sings for chorus. I can still picture her singing "My heart will go on" to you. She had no idea what that song meant. To her it was the most popular song/video at the time. To the rest of us it was the story we were currently living. She has more memories of you then I ever expected her too. She was only two when you died. I don't remember much when I was two but she does. She use to talk to you a lot but I'm sure you know that. The first time she did that we were coming home from the mall. We heard her talking away in her car seat and her sisters were sleeping in the backseat. I asked her "who are you talking to?" She looked at me said I'm talking to my "Pop-Pop". It was the first of many times she would do that. 

We have a new youngest child now. Bubby is a very very active 20 month old. He looks just like Tornado and has Foo's personality. I think you would have gotten a big kick out of him. I have been trying to find ways for him to know who you are. It's tough.

Your son has now graduated from high school and college. He went to the college he said for years he was going to go to. It was hard on him when you died. He lost his best buddy and he was lost. He has changed a lot over the years. I can see the two of  still being best friends. Now if we could just find him a nice girl to settle down with. 

Mom is healing. She went years of just grieving. I think she expected you to walk thru that door at any minute. Who didn't? She was afraid if she moved on she would leave you behind. The problem is we have to move on. She bought her 1st house a year ago. Can you believe it? I was so proud of her. It was one of the hardest things she ever had to do,leave your old house. She did it. It was the best thing for her. She is completely different. There is a smile in her eyes I haven't seen for years. 

I wish I could say we are the same people we were 11 years ago. We are not. We all lost a part of our soul that cold January day. This year has been a little harder for me. I think it is because I realize all the things you are missing out on. The laughs. The hugs. The smiles. Most of all the memories. I know I will see you again someday and we will have the biggest party ever.

Until that day,Dad........


Saturday, January 24, 2009

Baby Bargins

Project Mommy is having a fab-u-lic-ious giveaway. A baby bargins book. If you are like me and like to save money anyway you can,this is the book for you. Go on over here and check out the contest.

Got game?

I just realized no football games are on this weekend. None. Zilch. What in the world are we suppose to watch now? If my girls have their way it will be something on MTV. I can only take that channel for so long.  When did MTV stop playing videos? I can remember getting up on Saturday mornings just to watch the video countdown. I just found out Total Request Live is no longer on. 

Anywhoo back to football. Did your team make it that far? Are they in the Super Bowl? My Giants didn't make it as far as I would have liked. They had a better season then some other teams I won't mention. You know the team that knocked them out.  We will be rooting for the Steelers.

P.S. don't tell little guy there is no football this weekend.
The jersey he is wearing belonged to my 13 and 14 year olds when they were 3 and 4. Trust me that is the only reason he is wearing that team.



Friday, January 23, 2009

New Years Eve Sweater and Skirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

New Years Eve Sweater and Skirt GIVEAWAY!!!!

Another really cool grosgrain giveaway. She makes the most beautiful things. Her sewing leaves me in awe. Go check her blog out. 

I finally broke down......

  and went jean shopping. I hate jean shopping. I have put that off for as long as I possibly could. I am talking my jeans had wear out marks on the knees. Oh I kept making excuses. I'll lose some weight and then I can buy them in a smaller size. Or I'll just wait until they are on sale. Nope. Had to do it yesterday. I was starting to look like a rag-a-muffin. So I walked into the department store. Looked around and suddenly remembered why I hate jean shopping. Nothing ever fits right. The color is always wrong. Can we talk about the price of jeans. HELLO. I think anything over 30 dollars is way too much for jeans. After about a hour of looking I found three pairs to try on. Only three. You guessed it. I only found one pair that fit my tough standards. I did look to see if they had another pair exactly like those,after all I wasn't coming back for jeans again. Nope. Did I tell you I was also shopping with my 20 month old? Oh yea. 

Thursday, January 15, 2009

The Lunch Date Blouse GIVEAWAY!!!!

The Lunch Date Blouse GIVEAWAY!!!!

Love,Thursday

Love is playing in the snow with your big sister. Love is playing in the snow with your baby brother who is 11 years younger then you. I often worry about the age difference between our little guy and the teenagers. Will he get to know them? Will they still want to spend time with him when they are grown? But on this day, I didn't think of any of that. I just sat and watched a sister trying to teach her brother how to make a snowball. I hope they have more snow days in the future.

Wordless Wednesday-A day late



Wednesday, January 7, 2009

It never fails

Have you ever noticed when you save up money for something,you suddenly have to fix something else. Everytime. We finally decided to totally redo the kids bathroom this weekend. We have been "planning" on redoing this room for a long time. Something always came up.  Last Friday morning I am sitting at the computer and hear my kitchen sink gargling. I ran around checking on the sinks and drains. Nothing. I sat back down at the computer and heard it again. That's when it hit me I was doing laundry and everytime it drained I was hearing it in the kitchen sink. I called Hubby at work and he said he would check it when he got home. Yep before he got home the outside drain started to over flow. Thank goodness our neighbor down the street had a special plunger for the drain. The drain started going down and I thought problem solved. Until Tuesday morning. I woke up to the sounds of Hubby plunging the drain. We called the plummer after that. The poor guy shows up today in the middle of our ice storm to snake out our sewage drain. Problem,tree roots. Anyone want to come over and cut some trees down?

Thursday, January 1, 2009

2009

Happy New Year!!!!

Can you believe it is 2009 already? I can't wait to see what is in store for us this year. A few weeks from now we will have our very first Black president. I am really hoping he can turn this country around. I hope jobs pick up. I hope houses get built. I hope our troops get to come home. 

Wishing you and yours a very Happy New Year. May all of your hopes come true.