Pictures!

Lets see if i cant get more than one picture in this post :-) Today was one of the few good weather days we've had in the last 6 months. At least. There were only a few thunder storms, and a few stray showers, but, my belief in springtime may be resurected yet! The kids came home from school, and were promptly banished to the great outdoors. Where they discovered the mud puddles that George and I had spent a goodportion of the day, splashing in.
It was great fun, until one of my brothers stopped over, with his (ONLY) child, and his brand new car. Said child was dressed beautifully, in a gorgeous dress, new shoes, and was carrying a sparkly stuffed Easter animal. With mud flying, and bubbles and kites in the air, and crazy hellions covered in mud running about, my brother didnt stay long. After several heart stopping moments of the mud getting too close to the car, and the kid getting too close to the med, he muttered that I have too many kids, and left early. Ah well. Funny thing about children; they tend to be stain free and washable. That being said, I'm going to try and upload a bunch of random photos. If i cant, well, enjoy Kaila, in all her muddy glory. She will be 10 soon. I love this picture, because i dont think it will be too much longer, before my little girl suddenly loses that carefree, happy, innocent little girlishness, as she grows up entirely too soon.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.8

I missed my Blog!

I downloaded a Blogger Droid App, onto my phone, in the sincere hope I can publish something again. I am constantly finding things in day to day life, that make me think 'Oh, that would make a great post!' But, with the computer down for several months, there has just been no way to Blog.

Life here since the holidays has been busy, to say the least! With me working full time during the day now, and trying to cram everything else into the evenings, I dont have time for many extras. So, lets see, how to re-cap three months?
Kaila has made the honor roll at school both quarters so far! She is now tutoring after school. She loves the 'Tutor' status, but, describes her charge as "A rotten nasty, miserable little beast. I hope every day that the little monsters stays home sick." At my dad's recent 80th birthday dinner, one of my brothers began bragging he was tutoring third graders. Kaila was so un-impressed. She announced she was, too.

Lexi is Lexi. She is also doing great in school, but her personality is so much fun. She has informed just about everyone, that she WILL be rich, when she grows up, she will have a mansion, and a Butler. Her facination for butlers has been long standing. For her recent 7th birthday, i actually considered looking to see if i could rent one for the day. The child is steadfast in her wish for a Butler. Do people still have Butlers? Where does one find a Butler? And when one has a Butler, what does one DO with a Butler? I suppose we will find out, eventually, when Lex hires one...

JosephBedoseph. Well. I have bought more science, dinosaur, universe, galaxy, earth, assorted question books, than i ever thought i would own. I cannot keep up with his constant thirst for every single possible thing there is to know about one subject or another. When he settles on something, he obssesses ceaslesly about it, untill he has exhusted all information supplies available. We've delved into so many different subjects, and demands to go to the science museum, than I can possibly count. But he is also a happy go lucky kid, who will happliy pick up, and clean up, (unlike his slobs for sisters...) and who loves to help with any job. He also has adopted Mr. Parker, down the street, a young (er) guy two doors down, who cannot walk into Joe's line of vision, without Joe trotting down to ask if he can help with one project or another. And, Mr. Parker pays in chocolate. (Which would explain the constantly happy Mrs. (Almost) Parker.....)

And then we have George. He is a walking, babbling, head strong baby, who loves to bounce ceaslessly, and has a built in radar device for all things sharp and pointy. He also seems to have a personal vendetta against the toilet paper roll in the bathroom, and finds it his daily duty to unravel it at least twice. He is on the verge of being spoiled by doting siblings, and has recently figured out how to throw an impressive tantrum, but, overall, he is a happy, content baby, who is absolutely, definately a mam's boy through and through!

Me? I'm thinking about going back to school, and working toward my RN license. We will see, though. It may have to wait a few years. Mostly though, I work, and come home and cook and clean and do laundry.... I have a gym membership, and I love to go after work, but, with babysitting issues, and getting back home in time to pick up or drop off kids, or just being too tired, i dont get there as ofen as I would like to. I'm pretty sure I have a husband kicking around someplace. He is gone before I get home, and I am getting out of bed generaly when he is getting into it. I work every other weekend, but am still home by 3, but, by the time I cram everything that needs to be done in, I'm usually asleep shortly after the kids are.

Anyhow, thats a brief update. I am going to see is I can post pictures on this somehow.... be patient! My proper Blog should hopefully be back soon!!

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7

Busy Busy Days

this is probably the longest i have gone, without posting a blog. mostly due to the computer being totaly dead, and the operator, namely me, being almost as dead. so, i am attempting to post a blog from my phone, and it is not letting me use any capital letters or most punctuation... we will see how we do.
since i passed my state boards in august, i have been working a lot. i was working two jobs for awhile, one at a nursing home, and one in the skilled nursing facility of a hospital. it was pretty hard, working both. i would just go from one to the other, coming home occassionaly to crash on the couch for a few hours, before showering and heading righg back out again. it  didnt leave much time  for kids or my bed, and it wasnt long before i was completely run down and sick. my boss at one of the jobs told me i had access to every kind of medicine for every ailment... sick or not, drive yourself here, take something, and get to work.... it was a busy few months. both places offered me full time, and i ended up taking the hospital job, which offered mefull time days. it has been sooooo nice, to say the least. i am a charge nurse, which is just an amazing oportunity, right out of school, and i love every minute of it. and i love coming home every day, and seeing my kids, too.
i would love to post pictures, but havent figured that pout on my phone yet, but, as soon as i do, they will be here. till then, i usually put them on facebook.hope everyone is doing well.... this would be a lot nicer if i had use of the exclamation mark....

Technical Difficulties

     Hmmmm. Been awhile since I did a picture-less Blog! However, in the space of the last few months, my digital camera died. It has been a tragic loss, and greatly mourned. I was taking pictures with my phone, and that was working okay. But then Kaila's best friend moved, and her parents let her have a cell phone. Which started an entire campaign for a cell phone for Kaila. The agreed upon age being "Somewhere over the age of at least 12, but before 32..." But, Kaila really worked hard to earn a phone, so, I upgraded, and she got my old phone. My new phone is wonderful. I can take movies, pictures, your pulse, look up random health facts, my Facebook account, maps, do anatomy picture quizzes, read books, hook it to the TV, read Calvn and Hobbes comics EVERY SINGLE DAY!!! What I have NOT figured out yet, is how to upload pictures that I intend to take someday when a actualy home, into my laptop. Which, by the way, was in a deep dark coma for awhile. We were not sure it was going to resurrect again, but, the technical guys in India, who say "Good Karma to you" and "Allah be with you" a lot, came thru for us once again, and managed to bring it back from the brink of no return.
    
     The other reason there are no pictures, is that I am rarely home to take them. I have FINALLY gotten my nursing license, and two jobs. Possibly start another next month. While I am sooo happy to be back at work, and I love both of my jobs, I do miss my kids. And, if it wasn't for my wonderful, amazing, fairy God-mother of a babysitter, the house would probably never be clean. Mrs. Ricely and her daughter, Cheyanne, who gets bored and hangs out with her mother sometimes, go through the house, one room at a time, and just clean it top to bottom. Mrs. Ricely even does laundry!!!! And dishes! And bakes my kids cookies! She is amazing, and I wish she would adopt me. LOVE that lady! And her daughters too :) The other day, they even tackled the black hole - my girl's bedroom. A seriously terrible topic for me, and the one way to make me mad, every time I thought about it, or looked at it, or even attempted to step inside it. Joe is a neat freak, like his mother. Kaila, in particular is - Not. I had almost forgotten that bedroom had a purple carpet.
     On the days when I am stumbling home tired and starving, with no sleep and no time for a dinner at work (Nurses dont DO breaks...) after driving dark and foggy back roads teaming with deer and other assorted animals, who have acres and acres of woodland to play in, but seem to prefer roadways - esp blind curves with no cell phone service, coming home to Mrs Ricely's magic is worth every cent and more that I pay her.

     So. Last time I checked, the kids were all alive and well, George is actually 8 months today! The house was presentable, and still standing, and for someone who rarely has a decent meal, and works a LOT, on my feet, I haven't lost a damn ounce. Other than that, life is good, and eventually I will have time to figure out how to upload pictures off the new phone. Right after I find the time to take them... :)

Big Boy!

When I was pregnant with George, I knew he was a big guy - refer back to any pregnancy Blog, and you will see the chronicles of hugeness. I only gained 10 pounds, but I was absolutely enormous with that child. And even when he was born 3 weeks early, he weighed just about 9 pounds.
Fast forward to his 7 month check-up recently...

• Length - 28.5" 95-97%
• Weight - 21 lb. 75-90%
• Head - 46.5 cm 97%

My baby has outgrown his infant seats, every scrap of clothing he owns, zipped right through diapers - he's in a size 4 already, is too big for the strap on baby carrier (thus the reason for me carrying his cuteness through 2 battleships and a submarine on a recent trip to the Buffalo Waterfront and War Memorial). I am pretty sure that, though the youngest of my brood, he's going to be the biggest. His easy going good humor make me think he's going to be a gentle giant though! So, without further ado, some pictures of the child in question...

Don't judge - he has no teeth to rot out yet....

Broadening his horizons, at the library

Hanging out with my brother, Luke.

Playing trucks with Joe


And now, just because I happen to have some cute pictures of the other kids, here are a few of them thrown in, too! :)

Below, Lexi in 2 different Halloween coustumes - angel and clown. Our Village recently had a Carnival, with a parade to kick it off. We were going to walk over to watch it, and Lexi dressed for the occassion. She only ended up wearing the angel part of the get-up though.

I was cooking hotdogs on the grill the other night, and Kaila had just picked this rose. She was sitting in a chair right behind me talking, and I turned around and HAD to get this picture - I love it!

This below, explaining the meloncholy look...

Before Katelyn moved, she brought Kaila this swing - apparently this is where they spent most of their time together, while at Kate's. So, Kaila spends a lot of time on it. And, like me, she tends to get lost in a book when she needs a break from the world. And, of course, the unsung best friend, ever loyal, by her side. Buster ADORES his Kaila.

Thit boy has always used everything but the stairs to get on and off the porch.... The times I have looked out the livingroom windows and seen the kids standing on those railings, with my heart in my mouth are countless. Lexi has proven she can not only climb onto those railings in heels, but shimmy up the posts, as well. I know several of the ER staff by name now....

And last but not least - LOOK!!!! Lexi's hair is making wonderful progress!!!!

Of This and That

Craziness. Thats what life has been around here the last few weeks. Two and a half weeks ago, I took my State Boards, finally, and passed! Which, if you read my Facebook, you already know, but, still, I am still thrilled about it! Now I just have to do the whole job thing. I set out to do just that, the other day. All dressed up, and looking professional, in the most uncomfortable shoes I own, I headed out. The first place - not hiring. Left a resume. Ditto for the second place. The third place just laughed. Gotta love today's economy. So, I headed off to the Mother House. It's a convent/retirement home for nuns. I grew up a good little Catholic, and I was due for a miracle, so, where else would I go? I'm bee boping along, watching for the driveway to the Mother House, which leads way up this long and winding driveway, and ends in front of an enormous building up on a hill. I vaguely note there is a car behind me, but there were so many turns, I couldn't see it, and really would have forgotten it all together, IF, it wasn't a police car. I pulled into a parking spot, idly wondering why the police are there, turn off my truck, and gasped in TOTAL SHOCK, as he pulls up behind me, and proceeds to turn his lights on!! AT THE MOTHER HOUSE!!! He walks up to my window, and it's this short little guy, who proceeds to direct the entire conversation at my chest. Nice. I look at him and say
"Are you ALLOWED to do this here??" Because, seriously, I was trying to decide what to do with my GUM, for fear of going to hell, if I spit it out the window here. This guy was asking for lightning bolts.
"Do you know why I pulled you over?" He demands
"No, I really really don't"
"Well YOU were SPEEDING!!!" He yells at my cleavage.
"At the CONVENT??"
"NO! On the road! How many tickets do you have??"
"None."
"Really? I don't belive you! How many points on your license? When did you get your last ticket?" He questions my confused boobs
"Um, I have no points, nothing on my license, haven't had a ticket since I was 18 or 19, and it was for parking. Sorry."
"What are you doing here?" He demands suspiciously of my chest
"I am job hunting." I say, noting the nuns plastered all over the windows.
"GIVE ME YOUR LICENSE!" I hand it over with a sigh. Seriously? Who gets pulled over at a convent? Really, this is just too twilight zone.
Moments later he comes marching back to my truck, waving a yellow slip of paper.
"I am giving you a ticket for doing 39 in a 30. You need to do me a favor and slow down." He growls at my - well, you know. "Good luck on the job hunt."
"Well, officer, I think you have just killed my chances of getting hired here." I remark drily.
"Oh, just tell them you had a question for me, and flagged me down."
"That is so not believable, with your lights on behind me - OMG, You want me to LIE TO THE NUNS???!!!!" I asked increduously
"Well, go try Absolute in Allegany. They're always looking for people there. Good luck and slow down!" He waves with one last lingering look southward, and off he trots. OMG.
This is the point where I notice my toes are literally bleeding, from my shoes. Nice. I toss them to the passenger floor, and start up the old Trail Blazer, and put it in reverse. To the sound of a terrible awful noise in the vacinity of my front end someplace. My head is on the steering wheel at this point. It was obviously a sign. I went home. I will try again next week. Hopefully without the police escort. That jerk is so ging to hell.
PS, On the way out, I notice that all the speed limits for the entire area is 35 MPH. I was doing 4 FREAKING MILES OVER THE LIMIT. Nice

Anyway, that is my adventure for the week. Lets see if I can find some pictures of the rest of life around here lately!

The girls found an old play tent and set it up outside, and decided to camp out. I figured they would be in before midnight. They actually slept out all night!

George continues to be the happiest baby ever...

Joe has been saying forever, that we needed to go on a date. I asked him where we should go? He looked at me like I was a moron, and said, "You know mom! The Niagara Falls at Sunset?" Where did THAT come from?? I don't know any grown up men who would even THINK that. So, I suggested we go see the monster truck show at the Cattaraugus County Fair, last weekend. Which elevated me to best mom in the world status for the evening... Below, is the truck we rode on. Which was SO MUCH fun!!!!!

If you really look at the picture below, you will see Joe has a Winnie the Pooh recieving blanket tied aorund his neck, as a cape. He has been "Super Joe" for awhile now. (Yes Sara, there are Super Joes on both coasts...) Anyway, he tried his darndest to get his bike to fly, pedling madly up and down the road for over half an hour, yelling "DID I FLY THAT TIME, MOM???" No, unfortunately, he never did get it off the ground. Ah well. Shortly after that, Super Joe came in for his bath. I was standing right outside the bathroom door, folding laundry, and he calls, me in. "MOM! The boats are all sinking! What are we going to do??"
"I guess Super Joe is going to have to save them." I say
"Nope. Super Joe is on break, drinking beer. They're gonna sink."
Oh dear.

Our niece, Jasin's brother's daughter was married. George discovered balloons - he likes them...

Lexi informed everyone she was going to be the bartender. She made $3.50... I really am looking like supermom, this post, aren't I? my children are not as exposed to alcohol as you would believe.

It was a fun wedding, balloons, bartender, and all!

And, sadly, Kaila's best friend moved to Michigan. It was extremely emotional for everyone. But, we wish them all the best, and we will see them on visists back to NY :)

Anyhow, that is a little of our last few weeks here. It seems like every day has something jammed into it, and I can't believe that soon, the kids will be back in school, and I will (hopefully) be working again. Hopefully I can get more posts up here soon!

Best Friends Forever

     When Kaila began Pre-K, 5 years ago, she met Katelyn. The two of them became fast friends, and have inseperable since. We didn't know Katelyn's parents very well, but, over time, they became good friends of ours, too. Many a happy hour has been spent with Brandy and Shane, Katelyn's parents. And Kate has been with us for just about everything. Last year, the school decided the girls were TOO close, and decided to put them in seperate classrooms for third grade. They were heartbroken. But, not even the school could seperate our girls. They were still together almost constantly, any time they could manage, both in school and out.

     Imagine my horror, when, one day at the playground with our combined 8 kids, and 3 spares (IMAGINE the looks people sent us, as we trotted 11 children down Main street!!!) Brandy announced they were moving to Michigan. WHAT??? Shane, it seems, was accepted into law school there, to get his Doctorate in Law. Oh. Well. What do you say? "NOOOOO YOU CAN'T TAKE KATELYN AWAY FROM US!!!!!" Just didn't seem they needed response at the time. They will be leaving in two weeks. :( So, I dug through all my photos, and had a bunch of them printed. Then I made a shadow box collage of them, one for each girl. Here are a few of the pictures from through the years. Someone asked who was going to be sadder at this seperation; the girls or the parents. I have to admit, I teared up, when going through these pictures!

Aren't they just so darn sweet? We are going to miss that whole family so much! We are hoping Shane is a fast learner, and they come back as soon as possible!!!!