It is the most wonderful time of the year!

Okay! So it is Christmas time! I will get pictures up as soon as I can. We had a great 3 days of Christmas! Seriously. We had the holiday that never ends.

First we opened our presents. The kids had a BLAST and cleaned house with Bakugon toys! I think count so far Jordan 20 Alex 10. LOL It is unfair advantage Jordan just had his birthday too. Bella and Gracie got their doll house which is HUGE! It is taller then them and has every room filled with furniture. Bella got her hair braider thing that she has been asking for and Gracie well she is only 2. She got a book and the doll house furniture was all given to her so that Bella would have to share with her. The boys got a bunch of new books. Oh and new big boy bed room sets. sport themed. 

Then Nana and Pappy came over with Uncle Rob and Leann. They got clothes from them a TON of bakugon and I can't even remember what else! 

Then off to Grandma and Papa's. where they got DS games which they didn't put down the entire time they were there. Uncle Danny got them a bakugon carrying case which they filled up. Gracie got a whole doggie playset. A stroller carrying case doggie bed and little stuff that goes with it. Bella got a littlest pets play house. =) A good clean sweep. =) Oh and more books and puzzles. 

I got a new laptop!!! My ow Mac. Which will come in So much use since I am a foster coordinator LOL and am online all the time. The old desktop is running So slow so we got a laptop for Andrew and i thought it is my gift so it is really mine. LOL. And then  the basement one has no internet anymore so the kiddies can play all their games and stuff on it. I got Andrew a pair of slippers LOL hey he asked for them this year, last year, and the year before last. So he finally got them. He also got a gift card for an hour massage =) Which he really needs. Poor guy. He works so hard and it is starting to take it's toll on his body. He needs one. I can't give him one for an hour. =)

So now we are off for round 3 of Christmas. =) Like I said I will put pictures up later. Happy Holidays!

Bob: my first Foster dog

Bouncy Bob: He was my first foster along with his sister Delilah. I had him for only about a week before he was adopted. He was hilarious! I would take him, Dee, and Twink to the dog park and he would chase everyone and then come and attack his sister. He is so full of life. Just go go go! A great dog and super easy to potty train too! My boys still talk about him. =) He had a 6th toe on one of his feet too. Kinda crazy looking. =)




Delilah: Oh what a sweet little girl. She hardly ever barked at all! She was a snuggler bug. The girls loved her to death. They would "walk" her throughout the house. She was more laid back. The first night here just just came right in and sat by the boys and I swear she watched the rest of the movie with them. =) She finally got her forever home 2 weeks after I had gotten her. She lives with a runner now which is perfect since she has lots of energy and greyhound in her blood




Mickey Mick! He is my 3rd foster dog. He is still up for adoption actually. He was in a fire that claimed the life of his life partner. =( He didn't eat for along time and now he is basically a skeleton with fur. However he is fattening up and loving life. HE is SUPER clingy.=) He loves to follow you everywhere you go. He also LOVES kids, Mick slept with my boys in their beds while he was here. He is great little dog. Never tried to run away (probably because it is snowing outside) He loves his coat and loves being pampered all day. He is great too because he is housebroken! Yeah no messes for me. He is with another foster family now being TOTALLY babied by their 13 year old daughter. =)




Nina: Oh what can I say about her. She had a rough life so far. She was found on the side of the road with another older puppy. He leg was broken. They took her to the pound where due to financial reasons she was going to be put to sleep. Luckily ARC stepped in and I am fostering her. He leg is in fact broken in 2 places up by her hip bone. So she doesn't sure her leg to walk at all and barely puts it on the ground. If that wasn't enough she was pregnant. So she couldn't have anything done really to fix the leg. She gave birth on Saturday to a still born puppy. It was the hardest thing I think I have dealt with in a long time. She just kept licking him trying to revive him. we named him Blitzen and buried him at my childhood home next to my golden retriever under the "dogwood" tree. Rest in Peace little guy.... And though that was hard (understatement of th world) God must be looking out for Nina since she doesn't have a puppy to nurse she can get her leg fixed and find her forever home. Though it is going to have to be a Uber Special family. She is VERY close to my heart. =)

Those are my little lost souls who I have helped become what they were meant to be. Beloved family pets. The more I foster the more pictures and stories i will post. If you have ever though about fostering please do. There are SO many loving and deserving dogs/puppies at shelter just waiting to be rescued by a loving safe home. And dont forget to check out www.arc-ohio.org we have lots of sweet loving loyal dogs ready for their forever and always homes. =)

Oh my goodness!

So I just now realized it has been almost a month since I last posted! So much has happened here. I have started fostering doggies with a WONDERFUL rescue called The Animal Rescue Center. www.arc-ohio.org =) Had to put that in there. =)

Lets see We went to a birthday party this weekend which was SO much fun! It was at an indoor inflatable place and the kids had a blast! Gracie wouldn't get out of the big jumper thing. =) The boys got to see their friend who they haven't seen in over a month. It was fun. Silly me forgot to put our names on the gifts we got. LOL

Sunday we met up with Jordan's biological mom. We all went bowling. It was actually kinda fun. I was a little nervous about it. He hasn't seen her in a LONG time. But they had a blast. He got birthday/Christmas presents form her and he loves playing with them. It was nice. Hey as long as she is a positive person in his life that is good with me. =) A kid can never have too much love. And it went well so we will be doing it again.

Alex's bio dad has decided to email us back finally. We offered him to see Alex also and he had the nerve to demand our phone and address then say he can only come on months when Alex is in school. HELLO we aren't taking him out of school or disrupting his life when he has school work to concentrate on. Ugh. I mean no offense but we have Alex we know him and his scheduel. Don't make demands when you aren't in charge.

The girls are crazy as usual. Gracie is hitting the terrible 2's in full force. She is constantly telling us to go away or she will say "I'm angry" and then she will run away. :) SO hard not to laugh when she does this stuff. She is much more vocal then Bella was. She knows what she wants and when she wants it. Lord help us when she is a teen. Bella and I are working on letter recognition in preparation for kindergarten next year! I can't believe she is going to kindergarten already. I am so not ready.

Andrew and I are doing great actually. Fostering dogs has really helped keep the peace. LOL Seriously, I have wanted to go back to school but as of right now we just can't afford it. So I wanted to work which again isn't possible right now. SO I found an ad on craig's list asking for a foster for 2 shepherd pups. And BAM! LOVE IT! I am actively helping find foster homes for the dogs that they rescue. I am heling to find people to adopt the dogs we have and I love it! i really feel like I am making a difference in the world. =) One dog life at a time. So anyway me having purpouse (besides being wife and mom) has really made me a much more well rounded happier person. Thus making life better for all in my house. =) That and thanks to an awesome friend Andrew now has a pool table and a passion of his own...dirt bike riding. Thanks Mike. =P But it makes him happy and gives him some "man" time. Hey it works for us. Everyone should foster and ride dirt bikes. =)

Happy Second Birthday Gracie Goose!

More pictures of us =)

Here is my beautiful Boo Bunny. She is the princess Bella for Halloween. =)

Here is my knight in shining armor! Alex the great!

The littlest princess Gracie (and the green dragon Twink in the background)


Jordan the Brave
















Here are our pictures from Halloween. We had such a blast! I made each of the kids costumes this year! We had a theme. =) The girls were the princesses and the boys the Knights. Twink our dog was the green dragon. =) We went all around the nieghborhood and got SO much candy. Thanks to my mom and dad who came by to hand out the candy. =)

The littlest Princess ever. I made Gracie's costume in about
a night and got SO many comments on how sweet she was. At
Great Grandma's nursing home she was the Bella of the Ball. =)
All the residents loved her and when we went through the haunted
part she just said "Hi Spooky man" to each guy who jumped out.
LOL My brave little thing. =)











Alex, Jordan, Emily, Katie, Gracie, and Bella.
All dressed up for trick or treating at Great
Grandma's nursing home. Bella loves her older
cousins so much. She held their hand the whole
time we were there. She wasn't scared
either of the scary men. =)












Here are the sweetest little guys ever!
The Knights protecting their little princesses.
=) Alex loved the haunted house part.
He likes to get scared.
Jordan though hung back with Auntie Jen,
Gracie, and I. LOL. And he screamed like a little girl.
=) My sweet little guy. =)

Happy Halloween!
Here are the girls along with their friends at our Halloween Play date party. All the kids loved to play pin the nose ont he jack-o-lantern. We also guessed how many candy corns in the pail. =) So much fun!

GO Magic!!!! Alex's last soccer game was a sad victory. The team finally played like a team
with passing and follow through and really working together. Alex rocked defense! He blocked the ball
from getting any where near his teams goal. He "super kicked" the ball out to his team mates and
really played the best game yet. Afterwards they got a ribbon and a treat. Oh and the pile on the coach.
=) He says he want so to play indoor too. I think he found his sport. =)

Our day at the Children's Museum. When you first walk into the museum yo don't think it is that great. It is small and kinda crowded. But then you let the kids go and MAN it rocks! We stayed for over 3 hours. They have a nursery rhyme area for counting and colors and stuff. And a water area which Gracie LOVED! They get to wear tiny little rain coats and stuff. SO cute! And then they had a nieghborhood area. A two story house with medical center attached were the girls favorites. They also had a grocery store and a bank a bus and so much more. The girls had a blast!

As a final fun day we went to Memphis Kiddie Park with a friend of ours. It was a beautiful day and for the most part the kiddies were good. =) Bella nd Gracie had a blast! We even went on the roller coaster. Bella got over her fear from last year but Gracie freaked out! Then once the ride was over though she didn't want to get off. Silly girls.

De-Stressing

Though many may not know I too have stressed out times. Many people view me as super mom taking care of my 4 kids while my husband is away for the week. All the time without usually letting on that I am stressed or over whelmed. Well, I do get that way.
Especially when like now my favorite monthly friend rears it's ugly head. So like most chocolate is in my diet and stress. Today especially. It was going well I volunteer at my boys school in the library room and Gracie comes too while Bella is in school. She was running around all crazy playing Hide in Seek. Which is she runs and "hides" by closing her eyes while you try not to laugh while your looking all over for the invisible Grace Ann. LOL We came home and stress started piling on.
By the time the boys came home I was ready to cry. So we went to the valley and walked. My favorite de-stresser. BUT even that couldn't be peaceful since everyone and their mom called, texted, IM'd, or emailed me on my cell. UGH! By the time we were home (2 hours later) I lost all my hair... okay that is an exaggeration but you know what I mean. I decided right then I was shutting off my phones. All of them. The house the cell and the computer. DANG if my stres didn't just dissappear!
The kids took a bath while I rinsed off (cold shower later that nmight it was hot today) the boys a shower. Then they got out got in PJ's and cleaned up the house while I made dinner. DANG It was SO peaceful and nice. We did spelling words while the girls listened to a boook on tape in their room. Then Alex read to Jordan and Twink (the dog) slept on the floor.
SO moral of the story. Technology while it is great sometimes. Needs to be turned off to de-stress. I had the BEST time with my kids once those Dang things were off. Such peace and happiness. A night I am sure the kids will remember as a great one!
And we will be doing it again tomorrow! =)

This is a GO Me day!

Ok. This is so silly. BUT Monday we had friends over and Bella nd her little buddy turned off the pilot light on the watre heater. Ugh. So that night didn't notice anything. i always take my showers in the morning and the kids all take showers so we had enough hot water stored up. So Tuesday morning came around and I was just thinking it was taking a long time to heat up (it usually does) well I ran out of time so I just washe dmy face and brushed my teeth and went about my business. Then last night I did the dishes and so thought that was why I had no hot water. Well this morning still no hot water. UGH! So i went downstairs and sure enough the water heater was turned off. SO after much mental berating of myself I gave up. Called Andrew crying b/c if I can't do this the world will end LOL. So I TAKE a FREEZING cold shower and all looks better through my eyes. Guess I just needed to "chill OUt" LOL. I go back downstairs and BAM got the stinker lit! Ta-Da. So today is a go me day! Not to mention I almost have Bella's halloween costume made. Then Gracie's and the boys are super easy! =) So Oh yeah Go ME!

Soccer

So I am a week late and haven't downloaded pictures yet but here are the boys games in detail.

Alex: This year they are learning positions. 3 in back, 3 in front and goalie. Each kid gets to play each position. Which is good I guess unless it is a close game and you kid is in the goal. Ugh! Poor Alex he was in the goal and they scored on them. It was then their lead by like 2 goals. So not his fault if they lost just made him sad that he couldn't stop the ball. Then to make matters worse someone kicked the ball up in the air to clear it out of the mess they were all huddled in. And of course Alex gets kicked with the ball int he face! He goes down. Poor kid. Had a ugly light bruise for the next few days. BUT he sat out one round (inning, quarter whatever it is called)and then went back in! That is my team player! Poor kid. his team wound up loosing like 4 to 2. Oh well. He plays with 3rd graders and 2nd graders however I think it is only him and one other 2nd grader with all 3rd graders on his team. Guess that will make him better later on. =)

Jordan: Oh the woe! We have had a hard time with him this year. At first he was practicing ont he wrong team. On a team with 2nd and 3rd graders. Then we found the right team and together they won the game. This past Saturday though they got beat BAD! The other team only had 4 players and one sibling of one of the players who was in kindergarten. So like 4 1/2 players totaly. Compared to their 7 players. UGH Jordan didn't go to the ball but basically just stood their and waited for them to give himt he ball, which of course didn't happen. So needless to say they lost like 20 to 0. Not even kidding. His team stunk. He had another practice yesterday and Andrew went with him to see how his coach was coahing since this year Andrew couldn't coach them and hey I am wondermom but I have NO idea about soccer and it's rules. SO he went came back and was like no wonder they lost so bad. The coach is just having them run around. Not like passing or dribbling or anything just running around. I thought maybe she was teachingf them not to crowd aorund the ball but to pass to each other. but he said no. Just running around. =)

So we will see how they do this week. I will try and post pics of this weeks games soon.

Why are panties so hard. =P

Okay, So I have been potty teaching Gracie. Lets just say she is teaching me some new things. I worked hard with both my boys and they were about 3 before they even kinda got it and more towards 3 1/2 before they were perfect on potty time, wiping, and all that jazz.
Bella was SUPER easy! She basically just took Jordan into the bathroom with her for one whole day and she was done. He was her little cheer leader making a huge deal out of pee and poo on the potty. SO that was it one day and I played a minimal role just potty flusher.

Now it is Gracie's turn. Thanks to a friend ours her daughter came over and showed Gracie how it was done. Then with the help of another little boy and a firend of our we went to the zoo with he helped get us in the groove of potty time. The whole trying every 5 mintues in every bathroom the zoo had. Multiple times. =) But thank God they were their so that I didn;t feel like Gracie was holding them back. =)

So now we got it down... almost. We can't do panties or pants.

She can life the dress or skirt to make sure no mess gets on it but she can't figure to pull the panties down before making potty. So she sits panties on on the potty and goes. Then is SO proud that she did it not knowing that she still made a huge mess for mommy to clean up. Sow hy are panties so hard? She can pull them down and pull them up. She just doesn't associate that with going ont he potty. My husband says not to worry she will get it and until them just let her be nakie from the waist down. I guess he can be right. I remember though a girl in my school who never wore panties. not even when she had a skirt or dress on. Yuck.

I am totally disheartened

Today is a blue day.
The girls were up at 6:30am and usually go right back to sleep however today Bella was up and ready to start her new day. Which in itself isn't bad. Then I made breakfast went over spelling words with Alex since his test is today and they were off to school. I went back into the kitchen to see my dog Twink eating the breakfast casserole right off the oven. It is gone. She has a big appetite.
Then our social worker called us. I am so saddened. That is an understatement. For those who don't know. I have adopted my son Jordan and he is now offically mine. This has brought our family closer and Jordan and I now have something no one can take away no matter how hard they try. I love him like he grew in my own body from my own soul. And in a way he acts more like me then any of my other kids. =) His Bio Mom had to make the single most difficult desicion of her life. To let her son go. Yes it was to us who have loved him and taken care of him for his whole life but still. That is THE hardest thing she will ever had to do. And I commend her for that. For thinking of Jordan and not herself. For doing what is BEST for Jordan.
Andrew is now adopting Alex. I went to college and got a baby no degree. LOL. Alex's father has been flaky at most. He never wanted me to have the baby and offered to pay for my abortion. Though I am pro choice for me there is no choice. I Had to have him. I loved him the minute I found out I was pregnant. I "knew" I was pregnant from the moment of conception. He is my little man. My heart and soul and my little "brown berry" I had Alex here in Ohio with no contact from his bio dad until he was around 3 months and no support until the courts in Medina made him pay around 6 years later. He hasn't been in Alex's life and had moved clear across the country. And of course now that Andrew, the ONLY dad Alex has ever known wants to adopt Alex. To make things official. To give him his name. NOW Bio Dad decides to fight. So we are going to court. Paying for lawyers, and court reporters, for social workers, and everything else all because a selfish 30 something year old man is only thinking of himself and not what is BEST for Alex.
I am so discusted at this point with the way Bio man has carried himself. He is a selfish person. I am not saying that signing your rights away to your child is not hard. Like I said before it is probably the hardest thing a parent has to do. But if you know your child is going to a better family. To someone who loves him and has a postive relationship and can be there for him all the time and you know you can't be living clear ACROSS the frickin COUNRTY! And you haven't in the past. I mean really wouldn't you realize that the best thing is to say good bye. Knowing that we would if you wanted send you up dates like pictures and such. Hello I keep a blog. =) You can see him and know about him all the time. As much as I write. And I try to write alot. It just makes me SO mad and angry, and sad. I am just not having a good day. I need a hug. =)

Bella isn't it amazing

I have spent the summer trying to get Bella to learn her letters. botht he capital and lower case. I did get her to know shapes and colors and she can write her name VERY neat actually but she just wouldn't do the letters. We have watched letter factory. tried writing on the windows, in pudding, everything that worked wit the boys and to no avail. SO she has started preschool this year and BAM! They are working on a letter a week. She comes home yesterday get the Aa off the fridge and tells me what it is and the sound. Well I will be! She just doens't want to do it for me. =)

Alex my little math wizard

So I have no idea where he gets it from. Maybe Pappy and Uncle Rob. Alex is a little math wizard! He has taken 3 tests so far this year and has gotten 100% on each one! I am so proud of him.
Now if we can only get him to have better hand writing. =) His teacher this year is a real stickler to nice good handwriting with finger spacing and everything. He has horrible writing but we are working on it more and more. This week he has all the words right so we are really concentrating on the writing. So hopefully he can get 100% on these tests too. He has been getting like 93 90% because of his handwriting. UGH!

Well my Wisdom teeth are out.

For better I guess. I have been in an uncomfortable place since they tried to get my wisdom teeth out almost 2 weeks ago. I went to a Wonderful Dentist who tried with novicane to get them out but they wouldn't budge and left me hurting and bruised for a week. However he did recommend another oral surgeon and TA DA! They are gone! I don't even really remember getting them out. I remember telling them I had 4 kids and them said each child and age then BAM! Nothing I woke up in mybed at home! Let me tell you they have me on anti-brusing, anti-inflamitory, antibiotic, and mouth wash! LOL But I woke with no headache or soreness really. And unlike my unlucky brother I am not swollen or bruised. =) So thanks for the prayers. I was totally freaked out about being put to sleep but it all worked out.

My sweet little Alex. He has to read each night to either himself or his siblings. Well last night he chose to read to his favorite "siblings." Twink and Petey laid peacefully next to Alex...well Petey on his lap... while Alex read to them from his favorite book. Rotten House series from RL Stein. We also found the Buster series he likes and can read well too. I can't belive how far he has come in school and with reading. He is going to have a voracious appetite for reading like me. =)

My crazy hat kids! Seriously what am I going to do with these silly little kids?

Here we are in Mr. Roger's Nieghborhood! We rode a small train around the perimeter first. Then we got to ride on Lolly the Trolly though the actual neighborhood. It was SO fun! King Friday told us that we had to tell each neighboor that they were invited to a hug-a-thon ball.

"Come one come all to the hug-a-thon ball!"

So we told Lady Elaine, Danielle Stripped Tiger, The Platypus family, The Owl (can't remember his name) and the other friends. It was SO fun. Bella said it each time inviting each friend. But the boys only got into it the last few neighboors. And once the ride was over they had a HUGE billboard describing how Mr. Roger personally helped design and make the neighborhood come real. And then they documented his life. Very sweet.

Here we are riding all the kiddie rides in Racoon Lagoon. The first ride the boys and Andrew got to do was The Howler! I couldn't belive theyw anted to go on it. LOL It spun around. I am not a spinning ride girl myself. But they loved it. Next Jordan went on a ride that spun you areound andaround then tilted like a tilt a wheel. UGH! I begged him not to bnut he did. And he LOVED it! Andrew and him went on again! While they were doing that Alex, Gracie, and Bella came with me on the hot air balloon ride. We rode twice too since Gracie wouldn't get off the ride. =) Then the kids rode all kinds of fun little rides. The boys rode with the girls more to make the girls happy. It was kinda little even for them. But they rode motorcycles, these little cars that the boys had to hand pump to make them go. the dragon that spun slow and lifted up and down. And of course the Old Time cars. A classic. They had such a good time. And theboys were on their very best behavior! After we went to Racoon Lagoon we went inside the water park area. I wish I had gotten pics of that but I was afraid my camera would get ruined. But they had a blast! The girls stayed with me in the little kid part while Andrew took the boys down the BIG slides and the wave pools.

Story Book Forest

These are our pictures of Idlewild Park. We went this summer with the kids for a long weekend, and had SUCH a blast! We went to storybook forest first since we got in early and the rides weren't open. The girls liked it more then the boys but they all had fun. We tried to guess which rhymes were where. Pictured (starting at the top left) This is the HUGE storybook that you get to walk through to start your journey. Then you can visit the school house. Al the kids got to sit in these tiny little desks even the boys had a hrd time getting out of them. Then you got to dress up as Raggedy Ann and Andy. Ann ( a person dressed up in her outfit) was sitting on top of a huge rocking chair and reading nursery ryhems. Gracie just walking downt he pathway. She loved the real animals. Then we visited the Good Ship Lolli Pop. Here a pirate gave you a peice of his treasure. All the kids as trains. The kids running through swiss cheese are 3 Blind Mice. Jordan and Gracie eating poridge with the 3 bears. Alex adn Jordan trying to get the sword out of the stone. A pictue of the shield that tell the story of King Arthur. Bella and Gracie as the 3 pigs. The kids with Old King Cole. A magic carpet ride. and More with Daddy and Old King Cole. Last pictrure is me. Andrew snapped it randomly. =)

Hot Dog Dive!

Well it was a GREAT way to end the pool season. They call it The Hot Dog Dive! All residents can bring their dogs into the pool and and let them swim, fetch, chase, and be a dog for 2 hours! I took the 4 kids of course and then my parents Nan and Pappy came also. We had never seen so many dogs before all in one place. So many breeds and all being nice and playful to each other. It was mother nature at her greatest! Of course Alex and Jordan went and played with everyone elses doggies but ours! The girls took Nana into the sprinkler park part. And Pappy loves the dogs and threw the ball the most for Twink. It was SO fun! At dinner that was all the boys could talk about was how much fun it was and of course asking each other which was their favorite dog. Alex liked the Chihuahua from Mexico and Leo the golden mix. Jordan liked this beagle poodle mix, and a lab named Bubba. Now that the pool is closed though we will be going to the lake more and more to cool off. Though the sprinkler part is still open on hot days. Can't belive the kids are back in school now and summer is coming to a close. This Hot Dog Dive was one to remember. A day the kids will never forget.

I am officially Jordan's Mommy

Well after much planning and worring. It is official I am Jordan's Mom. I have been his "mom" since he was a little over a year. Though we never had the money we have saved and saved and now it is official. We went infront of the magistrate last Thursday and had everything finalized! I am So happy. now our family is almost complete. We still have Andrew's adopting Alex day in October. But for now we are happy and content. =) I can say with 100% certainty that no matter what Jordan is my child and we are family never to be separated no matter what. =)

Went to the Botanical Gardens

So I took the kiddies to the botanical gardens last night with a great friend of mine and her husband. We had SUCH a blast! Seriously it was so fun! I had never been but Alex has once with his school. Anyway they have butterflies that fly all over. Not like the zoo where you may see one or two. NO they were everywhere and ALL kinds. One HUGE on was sitting on a log like 5 inches from the walk way. Then we got a snack and let the kids play int he children's garden and they had such fun watering the flowers with little watering cans and of course the tree house and sand box. Then we listened to a band and spun around in circles and played tag. It was a night to remember. Such fun to just let loose and be a kid again and not a grouchy serious adult. Not like I am all that serious ask anyone I know. =)

Alex is 7!

Oh my little baby boy is growing up So fast now! Heading off to second grade and growing more and more. I hardly recognize him from his baby pictures. He just celebrated his 7th birthday. We had a sleepover party for him and a few friends at our house and then had a family party too. He got TONS of toys and such from everyone. It was a really nice time. And he got to eat 2 cakes and hack at a pinata. =) More pictures to come.

AWESOME new up and coming Music group!

http://www.myspace.com/pvillianentertainment

Check them out they rock seriously!

Twink

OMG! I ave had a break through! Last night we took our dog Twink to the beach. We try and do this at least 3 times a week just to let her run out some energy. Well usually we have to watch her to make sure that she doesn't run off after another dog. She isn't aggressive just barks at them. ANYWAY, these super nice ladies one with a boxer lab 3 yrs old and another with a 6month husky. They PLAYED with Twink! She went up and barked and barked but her hair eventually laid flat and she played! The husky followed her all over the beach and Twink had fun! With other DOGS! We are so happy that she might finally be getting use to the idea of doggie play dates. =)

On vacation!

SO we just got back from a mini vacation. it was SO much fun! We went to Idelwild park in PA. OH so much fun! For those of you who have never been. It is an amusement park specifically for kids. Even Gracie had a blast! We went down a day early and got to sleep in a hotel. VERY nice! LOL We swam the whole day in the hotel pool and then ordered room service for dinner. And they even did a little "treasure hunt" for them. They gave us little clues throughout our stay for the kiddies to find other clues. Then the next day after a bad night of sleep! =( We went to the park. MAN! I swear we haven't had so much fun as a family in forever! We totally needed a vacation. The kids were angels and Andrew and I had such a blast taking them on rides. Jordan even went on this ride that was like the old fashioned "Rotor" which just spins you and spins you. UGH! Andrew took him on that while the rest of us went on the balloon rides. SO much fun!

Oh Friday why is it bittersweet?

Oh Friday. I have been looking forward to Friday since Wed. It is my last day to watch the girls I babysit for and Andrew and me can spend the whole weekend doing nothing, but playing. However I got the worse news this morning. I found out my bestest friend has been admitted in the hospital. It is iffy on her diagnosis but they are thinking lukemia. I am so sad I have know her for about 4 years now and we have so much in common. She is your "call her" friend. You know something happens and she is the first person you think of you have to "call her" and let her know what happened. It is just so sad. Her daughter has autism along with DeGeoge (spelling is prob wrong) and it is like can't they just catch a break? So anyone reading this I hope you offer up a prayer for her. She is going to need it in these coming months.

Andrew and I met about 6 and a half years ago. We met through a mutual friend (thanks Tina) and found that even though we both had a boy from a previous relationship that we had SO much in common. We use to go and sit in Home Depot parking lots and talk and talk for hours about life and what our pasts were and where we saw ourselves in the future. We married while I was pregnant with Bella so about 4 years ago. We have raised out boys together as brothers and they are in ever sense of the word. We have had our ups and downs like ever marriage but we have found that it makes us stronger as a couple and as indiviuals. He works long hours and does HARD work to make sure that I can stay home with the kids and give them every advantage I can. I love him. It can be that simple. I just do. I love him no matter what. Though we can drive each other crazy sometimes we know that we have each others back. We look out for each other and our family. That to me is what a marriage should be. And you know now that we have 4 kids together we can't always get away like we use to to talk. But on some cold nights we will go in the van with pop corn and soda and just talk like we use to.

Gracie Ann. My littlest egg. Gracie Spacey, Goosie, Little Mimi, Chichi Mar e chi. Oh the wonderful names we have. Gracie Ann is my last baby and she is definatly making it easy to not want more. =) She was my little one who hates the ground. I wore her in a sling all day everyday. She walked at 9 months and then hated to be confined. LOL Go figure. She still sleeps with me once in a great while. Usually after a night terror. She too has personality to boot. She is more reserved around everyone. She is a huge Daddy's girl and hates it when he leaves for anything. She has a sweet tooth a mile long! Loves to eat cookies and candy and pie and all kinds of junk and will actually go right into the cupboards and help herself. Just yesterday she ate once piece out of a half loaf of bread and gave the rest to the dog Twink. She has a special bond with Twink. I would guess since she feeds her all kind sof people food. But who knows maybe they just understand each other. Gracie is such a sweet heart. She kisses and has said " I Love You" before any of the other kids ever did. She is only 20 months so her personality is still coming out. But No worries I know she is going to be the baby. Alreadys he tattles on her older siblings and loves to see them get in trouble. Her face is just as taunting. She loves ot be outside to play. Swimming isn't her thing. She will walk in the water and like low sprinkles but not much else. Just this summer she went in on her own in the baby pool part at our local pool. She will go down the SMALL little slide but really just like to walk around and see the other kids. She was my biggest baby at 8lb 9 oz but has now shrunk. LOL I guess she got my little gene. That and my crazy hair. I love her. No doubt about it. She is definatly the typical "baby" of the family.

My little Boo Magoo. I have been blessed with a girl. After the boys I wasn't sure (as I am sure most moms are) that I could love another baby as much as the ones I had. Well I do! The heart is amazing! BooMagoo, BooBoo Bunny, Bella Boo, Mimi, Cha Chi Mar a Chi, oh all the silly things we call our babies. The lasting one still to this day is Boo. Andrew and I both saw Monsters Inc witht he boys and Boo in the movies looked just like Isabella. Isabella RuthMarie. What can I say. She is the Diva. Was while I was pregnant. She was always flipping around doing twirls and such. She was a diva then and now is even bigger then life! She loves Jordan to no end. Sh eloves to follow him around and even more to boss him around. He has the whole world on her little finger or so it is to her. She definatly has her father on her finger. She is the queen bee. The boss, the head honcho. The number one brat. =) Being bossy is her thing. She loves to play as long as it is what she wants to play. If not she just wlaks away and does her own thing. Her favoorite pet is Petey probable since she can pick him up (he is a chiahuahua) and dresses him up like a baby. She is sweet and loving. Definatly needs her mom and dad all the time. She follows us around the house. She is 4. LOL She has her own way of doing things and it is usually making someone (her brothers) do it for her. She is a slob. Each bedroom has it's own laundry baskets. Her clothes make it all over the floor but none in the basket. AND she dresses and changes more then once a day. If I were to guess she could definatly be a movie star someday. She loves to preform infront of people and is always singing and dancing aorund the house. In her school plays she is def the shinging star. With personality to spare she is one of a kind, my little Boo. And we wouldn't change her for anything.

Jordan, Jordan, Jordan...My little clown. He always makes me laugh. The funny things this kid can think of. He is always getting great reviews by everyone around him on how funny he is. He loves to make people laugh and one day will be a great comedian! He is everything his other siblings aren't. Heis hilarious! He is extremely outgoing. Jordan also LOVES to be dangerous. He loves roller coasters the flying swings and will go on any ride you can think of. He loves water slides (even ones that scare me.) We went to Great Wolf Lodge and while we were their he went on EVERY ride he could. Nothing stops him. If he puts his mind to something it gets done. He takes after me. One memory that will neve die is when I ask them to bring down to the alundry room their empty hangers. Alex just throws them on the ground. Jordan on the other hand is like me he hangs them up by COLOR! He loves to pick up and help clean the house. He never...well rarely argues about doing his chores and helps motivate the other kids into getting theirs done too. If they don't he will help them finish. He HORDES money! If someone drops a penny in a store no matter where it is he will find it! He has eyes like a eagle. Jordan is compasionate and understanding. He knows his boundries and pushes the envelope. This can lead to him getting in trouble but of course only at home. =) He still needs a rest once a day for about an hour. I think this has to do with him never sitting down. =) He LOVES to sing! Anything but especially opera. I know! His favorite food is anything. He is my BEST eater. He will try anything and often in the grocery store will pick out our new food to try. He always will eat at elast one bite. He was the first to ride without training wheels which I think is because he is such a little dare devil. He loves to play all day and with as many friends as he can. Everytime we go to a park or pool he is the first to make a new friend. He loves his sister Bella. They pal around and are inseparable. He loves school and has been waiting to go to first grade since the first day of kindergarten.He is HIGHLY competitive with Alex and is almost at the same level as Alex in school work. Jordan with out him my life would be so serious and I definatly would not laugh as much as I do now.