Happy Birthday Jon!

A BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my older brother Jon! He is 37 today! We went to moms and had brownie surprise this afternoon and we took him his gifts! (Happy Birthday to my little brother too, Josh, 26 today-wish you were here to celebrate with us!)

I am back home now and dreading the reality of tomorrow morning, BACK TO WORK AND SCHOOL FOR US!

Hope all had an enjoyable holiday weekend!!!

Holiday Weekend Fun!

Friday morning we went out to fight the crowds. Me and my sister and her stepson's girlfriend Vanessa, were up and in a line that wrapped around a Walmart store and continued on down the street. We made it in and got everything we had circled in the ad and then went to Target and spent some more! All done and finished by 9 am- Whew -then my sister, Christopher and Vanessa came over and spent the night with us! James cames Friday afternoon and helped E putting the lights up on the roof! First time decorating this house! Our newest collection to our Christmas display this year is a 6 foot inflatable snowglobe with a snowman inside and snow that blows around! We had a good time visiting and Kaylee and Christopher got to play together!

Sunday is my older brother Jon's birthday and we will go to my moms sometime in the afternoon to take him his gifts and have brownie surpise!

Happy Thanksgiving To Everyone!!!

Just wanted to put out a big HAPPY THANKSGIVING to everyone! Hope all is having a great turkey day! Anyone going out in the early AM to battle the crowds for the biggest shopping day of the year? Still haven't decided where I'm gonna go. Cause you know how it is, you basically hit 1 store and if you try to make it to another one, they already out of the good stuff! Well, I must get back in the kitchen! Enjoy the rest of you holiday weekend!

I PUT MY DAUGHTERS ON A PLANE TODAY....

Becca and Vanessa are gone... Only for a week, thank goodness. I am going to miss them...This was Becca's frist time flying so she was very nervous. Vanessa is used to it, she flys frequently throughout the year with her dad and stepmom. Their flight was only 1 hr and 10 minutes so it wasn't too bad. Becca went to Sacramento to spend some time with her godmother, she has never been to her home before, she has only visited with her in our town. And Vanessa is meeting up with her stepmom in Sacramento to drive to Oregon for the Thanksgiving holiday with her dad and Lise's family. (It's her dad's Thanskgiving this year...And MY CHRISTMAS, YEAH!)It was nice that we were able to book them on the same flight so Becca had Vanessa to fly up with instead of being alone. Although she will be flying back home by herself. I talked to them about an hour ago, (they had just landed) and everything went fine and Becca said that is wasn't that bad. So that is good, they are safely back on ground and I feel better too! Ohter than that, not too much going on this weekend, just trying to relax and watch a couple movies, get some laundry and cleaning done, typical weekend stuff!

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!!!

Should we or shouldn't we....

That is the question....We got an offer to go to Stateline this next weekend, two night stay, two tickets to see Country singer Collin Ray and two free buffets. It is very tempting, I must say. And my mom said she would come stay here with the kids for the weekend. I just keep reminding myself that the money we would spend there could go towards Christmas. We have stuff on layway that has to be picked up by the 9th. And I know that we will be sitting in traffic for most of our trip being a holiday weekend. We really could use the get-away. I would have to control E at the craps tables and when our spending money is gone, that's it. That will be fun, huh? NOT! Anyhow, I have a few day to think it over before we have to call and reserve our offer.

What would you do???

LEXI IS IN SO MUCH TROUBLE....

SHE ALMOST GAVE ME A HEART ATTACK. TO ADD TO MY 'LOVELY DAY' I HAD, I COME HOME TO THIS EXTRA LITTLE DOG THAT E FOUND IN THE ROAD IN ANOTHER CITY DURING HIS WORK ROUTE TODAY. A LITTLE RAT TERRIER WITH TAGS AND EVERYTHING. HE CALLED AND LEFT A MESSAGE WITH THE OWNER BUT DID NOT GET A RESPONSE FROM THEM UNITL THIS EVENING AND ERIC WILL RETURN THE DOG THE NEXT ROAD TRIP HE MAKES WHEN HE 'GOES UP THAT WAY' SO NOW THE DOG IS VISITING?
OH HELL NO, NOT AFTER WHAT I JUST HAD TO DEAL WITH.
FOR STARTERS, OUR DOG , LEXI HAS BEEN SO GOOD SINCE WE MOVED IN TO OUR NEW HOME 5 MONTHS AGO, (SHE USED TO RUN A MUCK WHEN SHE ESCAPED INTO THE NEIGHBORHOOD AND WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO CATCH) AND NOW SHE JUST HANGS OUT IN THE FRONT YARD WHEN WE ARE OUT THERE AND DOES NOT RUN OFF ANYMORE....
WELL HERE COMES A VISITOR, A PLAYMATE FOR HER AND THIS LITTLE SHIT GOT OUT THE FRONT DOOR AND LEXI BOLTED AFTER HIM... OMG... FOR THE PAST HOUR I HAVE DRIVING UP AND DOWN STREETS TRYING TO GET LEXI TO GET IN THE CAR WITH ME AND KAYLEE...OF COURSE SHE CONTIUNES TO CHASE THIS LITTLE DOG TO THE GROCERY STORE PARKING LOT AND THEN UP ONTO A BUSIER STREET CAUSING CARS TO SKID (ALMOST OUT OF CONTROL) AND SHE ALMOST GOT HIT BY A CAR THREE DIFFERENT TIMES BEFORE WE GOT HER. I ALMOST LEFT THE OTHER DOG BUT DIDN'T, HE IS OUTSIDE IN THE BACKYARD NOW. AND IS GOING HOME TOMORROW.

I DON'T KNOW KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO IF LEXI GOT HIT BY A CAR, I WOULD HAVE FLIPPED OUT.....

WELL SHE GOT A SPANKIN' AND SHE IS ON TIME OUT ON KAYLEE'S BED STILL.

Terrible Tuesday...

Well today was a tiresome long and extended day at work. We were recently sold and bought out by a much bigger corporation and the changes are now beginning. It's very scary and at the same time a learning opportunity to have to learn and incorporate changes and inherit new policies. Especially when you are one of the people that will eventually be helping staff understand changes and policies and be one of the ones able to ask questions too and make changes with if so desired. Some updates and meetings are not ones that I have been enjoying lately...(like today) and they seem sometimes to last forever. In a big conference with your most 'loved' colleagues sitting all around you discussing major stuff that is happening at work: sometimes these meeting are mediocre and we laugh and have lunch together and some are sit down with your pen and notepad, (no lunch, yet) and listen and make serious decisions at the workplace and the people working there, (like today).

Well enough venting for me, I guess for now anyways. I feel like I've gotten some off my chest!

Kids are having soup tonight for dinner...I am so exhausted and don't feel like cooking and the CMA's are on tonight along with my favorite program, House. I will have to flip back and forth but at least that may cheer me up a bit this evening.

As for the pic I posted, that's obviously how I feel today...

hope everyone else has had a better day....

Another Manic Monday...

It's just another 'Manic Monday'...remember that oldie but goodie! Well, Happy Monday to everyone- Hope everyone had a good weekend. Happy Veteran's Day to those who were able to celebrate it! You can pretty much see & read how my 3 day weekend went.

Anyways...on a good note, E and I shopped and the two younger kids J & K are done for Christmas! YEAH! They are so done for this year! I must stay strong and as I finish shopping for my teenagers, NOT buy anything else for them....DO YOU KNOW HOW HARD THAT IT??? I must compose my WILL POWER... Any suggestions?

Well here I am during our Walmart shopping trip on Sat. night....(E just wouldn't stop snapping pictures of me and my outfit he double-dared me to wear!)

I AM JUST KIDDING.....LOL LOL LOL :)

WASTED TRIP...

Well, after driving out to visit my brother and standing in line forever, they would'nt let us in cause Kaylee's birth certificate that I have is the one from the hospital and it isn't excepted there. It has to be the a real copy, stamped and embossed and crap. (Rules & Regulations) Whatever.... Now I have to go to the county clerk's office and pay to get hers.
Oh well, I guess I should have it anyways, huh.
Maybe we'll try again next Sat morning and I'll leave earlier too to try and avoid the lengthy line.

Taking Children To Visit Parents In Prison?

Should we or shouldn't we? Iv'e asked myself over and over again and something keeps telling me it's just not a great idea. Although J & K are aware of where their father is at this time, I don't see a prison visiting area appropriate for children. And then I think, 'What if it were me in there, I would hope that my someone brought my daughters to see me, even if it were only once'. So, I've decided that I'm going to take them tomorrow morning to see their dad. He is my brother, although he has major issues he needs to deal with in life, at least this visit he will be sober and may actaully enjoy seeing his 2 oldest children that I have had legal guardianship of for 3 years now. And then again, that is no justification for my reasoning to take them to see him now, is it? So I'm reassuiring myself that my reasoning will be that he is my little brother and he does have a birthday coming up and then Christmas and he won't be around for any of it, (not that is isn't his own fault, because it is, and not that he really has been the in the past) But I feel a little sorry for him for missing all of it again. (he missed it 2 years ago as well while serving his first term) And on another note, there is no one else paying him a visit any time soon either.

I have read and read again all visiting guidelines, not like I would be breaking anything, but just so I am educated in the whole process. I have never visited at a prison before and I don't know what to expect other than information I have been reading.

So, I guess I'm asking for some prayers and a 'good luck' that our trip goes well and any feedback from anyone is greatly appreciated.

Ok now I'm going to get ready to go Christmas shopping and put some stuff on lay-away! Cause Eric should be home from work soon and Santa Claus is coming to town soon!

HOUSE on FOX (and Hugh Laurie)

I LOVE HOUSE.... Anyone else into House on Tuesday nights at 9 on Fox? There's just something so sexy about him!

DR. GREGORY HOUSE (Hugh Laurie) is devoid of bedside manner and wouldn’t even talk to his patients if he could get away with it. Dealing with his own constant physical pain, he uses a cane that seems to punctuate his acerbic, brutally honest demeanor. While his behavior can border on antisocial, House is a maverick physician whose unconventional thinking and flawless instincts have afforded him a great deal of respect. An infectious disease specialist, he’s a brilliant diagnostician who loves the challenges of the medical puzzles he must solve in order to save lives. House’s roster of medical cases are the inexplicable ones other doctors can’t solve, and he has assembled an elite team of young medical experts to help him in his effort to solve these diagnostic mysteries. House’s team includes neurologist DR. ERIC FOREMAN (Omar Epps), who might have a slightly suspect past; immunologist DR. ALLISON CAMERON (Jennifer Morrison); and old-money intensevist DR. ROBERT CHASE (Jesse Spencer). House also has a good friend in DR. JAMES WILSON (Robert Sean Leonard), an oncology specialist with whom he consults on a regular basis.
There’s also some volatile chemistry at work between House and DR. LISA CUDDY (Lisa Edelstein), the Dean of Medicine and hospital administrator. Cuddy is in constant conflict with House over his duties at the hospital, but even she must admit he may be the most brilliant doctor on the staff. With a patient’s life in the balance, House will do whatever it takes in the race against the clock to solve the case before it takes a life, from sending one of his team to break into a patient’s home in search of clues, to attempting a controversial, high-stakes, trial-and-error form of treatment to see how a patient responds. House’s methods may be suspect, but his results are not.

The Wedding Was Beautiful!

Well they are official now. Mr & Mrs. James & Melissa AhPuck. Everything was absolutely perfect. Christopher had nothing to do with the tux so he didn't walk down with Jeremy as a ring bearer but that was ok. There are so many thank you's to people for helping: Beth & Minnie for all you guys did (which is too much to mention), Melody (all your hard work and decorations were grogeous) Marni-for helping us decorate and helping with Christopher during the wedding! James' dad, Ron for the wonderful food he made! and to Jean for singing for the wedding! Tawnee & Dave: you guys were awesome photographers! And Heather & Steve for' instant' pictures for us! Madonna and Becca for video taping!, Amy for helping with Melissa's make-up, Dilsia for coming down and hanging out with me and helping me and my girls with our hair! I know there are so many more thanks to people so for anyone I didn't mention, THANK YOU!!!! And here are some pics from Melissa and James Big Day!....

Rehearsal and Preparation for Her Big Day!

Reheasal and dinner was very nice...We had fun and my sister got her bridesmaids a beautiful pearl set (necklace, bracelet and earring. We all wore them for the wedding. Thanks Sis! James Dad and his wife joined us after rehearsal for dinner! We went to a steakhouse in Yucaipa down the road form the church! It was yummy! Here are some pics form rehearsal and dinner!

Trick or Treat! October 31, 2005

We had a great Halloween this year! I got home with the kids a little early on Monday, and got our pumpkins ready and then got them dressed up and set up the fog machine, candles, scary music and more for ourselves and for trick or treaters. Eric took the kids out for the first round ( a couple blocks) of trick or treating and I stayed home and passed out candy. When they got back, E got up on the roof with our big red- eyed skeleton on a rope and as trick or treaters came up to the porch, he'd drop it down and well, some were startled and some were not!, but it was fun none the less. Jeremy wanted to go more candy hunting, so I took him around the opposite blocks, while K stayed back with Becca and Eric to finish passing out candy and attempt to scare a few! Vanessa was out walking it with her friends as a princess this year and scored big on candy!

It really was fun and reminded so me so much of how my brother, Sean and I LOVED Halloween! We had so much fun every year at this time!

So, to sum it all up, we had fun and the kids looked great! And we had a lot of trick or treaters too!

Hope everyone had a fun and safe Halloween!

Here's K and J with neighbor kids, Donovan & Diego! They all look great and ready for candy gathering! 

we're ready for treat or treating now! 

J gets some help from K on this spell! 

J stops his carving to cast up a spell with the smokin cauldron!

K pulling out all that yucky pumpkin stuff! 

Dig, dig, dig out the seeds! 

Our 6th Annual Halloween Bash...

Was the best one yet! We had such a great time this year. The food was great and not a bit leftover and the first keg was empty by 10:30pm and they went for another! There was no drama or arguments between anyone which was wonderful! Everyone thought Eric and I looked good as The Incredibles! We had a lot of friends who brought friends, neighbors, who brought friends and family, who brought friends come and a lot of people were in costume which makes it funner! Some of the costumes we had this year were: Christmas Tree and Present (Heather & Steve) Free Mammogram Machine and A 'Peanut' M&M (Our friends Mike and expecting mommy, Jana) The Big Bad Wolf and of course Little Red Riding Hood, My sister was a devil and James a crooked Doctor, Hail Caesar and one of his wives! (Aaron and Dilsia) Stephanie came in with the Wet T-Shirt Contest ribbon on and the BIG HUGE Blow Up Boobs! It was so funny!Tami (the little evil fairy) and David (an evil caped ghoul) had a blast. David was shit-faced by the time they left and was being so silly. Darrell and Melody came and were grapes and a devil! Melissa and James and Aaron and Dilsia spent the night and we all went to breakfast when we woke up! It was just great, I don't have pictures of everyone, there were too many and I would of been flashing pics all night! Hope you all enjoy the ones I am posting! Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!