Difficult Week

This past week has been one of the most difficult that our family has had to face in years, Tom's beloved grandpa passed away Tuesday night. He was the most generous, kind, loving & thoughtful man and I loved him dearly, he was always so good to me! My children are mourning their PaPaw and their little hearts are breaking. I'll be back to blogging soon.

Blogs, Blogs & More Blogs

Lately I've spent way too much time blog "hopping" I find a new blog, then I have a look at some of their favorite blogs and so on... I've been reading several "new" blogs about adoption from China, I hope someday to adopt and I love reading about families who have adopted. I thought that I would share with you a few of the ones that have really caught my eye, enjoy!

Three Peanuts, their daughter has the prettiest wardrobe I've ever seen!

Football & Fried Rice, I love the title of this blog, too cute!

Unexpected Paths, I just found this blog today.

The Leonard Family!, a beautiful family!

GIVEAWAY DAY!!!

My mother introduced me to a new line of skincare products from DHC, their products are WONDERFUL! I love these little individually wrapped soap films, there are 40 in a box, you will be amazed at how clean & fresh your face feels! Just leave me a comment and you will be entered to win a box of these little miracles in a box, LOL!! Have a great day :)

Landscaping

We have started several projects around the house this week, the first on the list was having the yard cleaned and the landscaping changed. Yesterday the man that is working for us power washed the house, storage building, the fence and all the concrete, it looks so much better already. Today he has torn out all of the old landscaping in the front of the house and will be starting on the back after lunch, I can't wait to see what everything looks like when he's finished!

Deal Of The Day

Ballard Designs have their 18 inch pillow cover with inserts in duck white for $11.99 this also includes free monogramming, WOW!!! I just ordered two for the boys room.

Happy Shopping!!! :)

A Little Of This & A Little Of That

I spent yesterday morning at my favorite scrapbooking store just browsing through the wonderful new things they had gotten in since I was there last. I just love pretty paper, I inherited this from my lovely Aunt Kathy, she is my Dad's baby sister, sometimes I think I belong to her instead of my Mom & Dad because we are so much alike.

I have started working on a few projects for the house, I love Spring it makes me want to work. The lawn service is here today getting everything ready before I open the pool, the boys are always excited when they look on the calender and see the date for the pool to be opened.

One of my main outdoor projects for this year is that I want to finally get my screened in porch in order, it seems to be a catch-all for everything. I have been looking at Coastal Living Magazine online for inspiration who knew that you could spend so much money on a porch!

I have been wanting to find a new perfume, I have worn Tresor by Lancome for years, I received a sample of Van Cleef & Arpels Oriens this week and my oh my it smells wonderful! What perfume do you wear?

Kelly's Korner is hosting Show Us Your Life, today's topic is about your typical day. My daily schedule is usually the same Monday-Friday:

6:45am-8:00am "The Morning Rush" we need to leave the house by 7:45am in order to be at school by 8:00am (sometimes we make it, sometimes we don't). During this time I make the beds, fix breakfast, pack lunches, dry the boys hair, ties their shoes (yes they are 11 & 9 but they like the way Mommy ties, LOL) and drive them to school. I call my Mom for our daily talk on my way home, by 8:15am I'm in line at McDonald's for my morning Diet Coke!

8:30am-9:30am I start the laundry, eat breakfast while reading my favorite blogs, check facebook and poke around the Internet.

9:30am-12:00pm I get ready for the day, do housework, manage the household.

12:00pm-3:00pm I run errands, visit Tom's grandfather in the nursing home, eat lunch and pick up the boys at 3:00pm.

3:00pm-5:00pm I spend time with the boys doing whatever they need for the day.

5:00pm-6:00pm I cook dinner and usually wash a load of laundry.

6:00pm-7:00pm Dinner and cleanup

7:00pm-9:30pm Family time

9:30pm-10:00pm Bedtime routine

10:00pm-12:00am Me time, I usually watch my DVR shows from the day, read or scrapbook.

Starting next week I will be volunteering at the nursing home a few times a week, I'm really looking forward to this, some of the residents never have visitors.

This Is What Happens When....

You don't go to Wal-Mart for three weeks; you spend $425, you leave the store with two carts completely full, the hatch on your Suburban won't close without rearranging the bags, it takes two adults 15 minutes to carry everything into the house, and you have to clean out the fridge & pantry to make room for all the cereal you bought before the coupons expire. I will never ever go this long without visiting the dreaded Wally World again! On the sunny side of things, the sun was shining in Kentucky today and I was happy to be out and about, even if it was at Wal-Mart, LOL!!

Have a great evening!!!

Mommy Needs A Break

Being a stay-at-home wife & mother is more than a full-time job, it's a 24/7 job and sometimes I need a break! The last time that I did something totally for myself was in 2006, I went to a scrapbooking retreat for a weekend, I had a wonderful time, I missed my husband & sons but I came back with my batteries charged.

I feel guilty as I'm writing this because both of the boys are home sick again today, Tom is hard at work and I'm sitting here typing while the dishes are piled in the sink, dirty laundry covers the floor, the beds aren't made, I don't have a clue what to fix for dinner and Weight Watchers & Krispy Kreme had a fight today, Krispy Kreme won by TKO! All of these things need to be done and all I can think of is a weekend off! I'm out numbered 3 to 1 by boys, I have been my whole life, I have 3 brothers (no sisters), I have 2 sons (no daughters) and for the time being I don't even have a close girlfriend to grab a quick lunch with. I need a break!!

I read a lot of blogs written by mothers of sons, I think that we all should get together in a central location and have a fabulous, frilly, pink filled weekend of all things girly!! If anyone is interested please let me know I would be more than happy to arrange a weekend getaway!

Sick Day

Both of the boys are home from school today with what I think is strep throat (again) we see a new pediatrician at 3:00pm this afternoon. In the meantime they are playing with Play-Doh, they are 11 & 9 and still love this stuff; I know that they are a little old to be playing with it but I look at them and can't help but think Johnson will be driving in 5 years and Jonah will be a teenager in 4 years and I cherish the innocence of their play.