Life As I Know It...

Dem Bad, Bad, Bad Puppies!!!!!

OK-so I have been gone for a very long time.  I have been taking care of 2 naughty puppies.  They have been consuming much of my last 8 months.  Consuming....yes, comsuming.  Consuming time, consuming energy and just plain consuming!  Be it dollar bills(literally) or hamburger rolls. So I have decided to keep a running log(or keep tabs on) all of their naughtiness as a way to just plain vent!

Today(or at least just this evening) Moxie laid on the stairs while we were putting the boys to bed and chewed up the sleeve on a pretty new(cool) shirt of Ethan's.  It is now a play shirt or cleaning rag.  Before that I came home from the gym to find Mulligan laying in his crate surrounded by little pieces of a plastic bag.  I looked closer and saw the words, "hamburger rolls"-I had just bought a package of wheat hamburger rolls to use with turkey burgers tomorrow for dinner.  Well, I guess he ate 5 of the 8 rolls that were in there.  That dog needs serious food counseling.  He just can NOT help himself!  He swipes the kids sandwiches off the island when I turn my back in the morning.  Seriously naughty.

So lets see what I can think of in the last 8 mos that has been eaten, chewed, destroyed, etc.:
My eyeglasses(off of my bathroom vanity, mind you)
An entire bag of trash out of the outside garbage can which was strewn all over the yard
a hockey elbow pad
2 almost brand new $35 sports bras
a pair of Trevor's favorite underwear
the rungs on the bottom of 3 of my GOOD dining room charges
wallpaper of the laundry room walls
THE walls!!! The wainscoating and bench seat in the breezeway
5 of my snowmen from the piano room
about 20 rolls of toilet paper
apples from the kitchen counter
bananas from the kitchen counter
Ethan's school book-honestly!
SEVERAL kids toys(footballs, etc)
several shoes
Greg's cell phone case
each other's poop from the front yard
smashed dog food bowls off of the dryer
bird feeders in the yard
driveway stakes
every and all articles from the recycle bin
a $5 bill and 2 $1 bills
several mittens
cat litter
a very good decorative rug

Did I mention I have had to induce vomiting on both-one for eating a chid's toy that was risky and one for eating grapes that can cause kidney damage.

Oh, and did I mention one of them has had to have double elbow surgery?

And they still pee in the house.

I love them, but I don't like them very much.  Hopefully some day I will like them a lot.

Where does the time go???

Busy, Busy, Busy!!! Not enough time in the day! I am soooo excited daylight savings time is one week away and three weeks earlier than normal! YAY! It will be light until probably 7 PM!

We have had winter break-we stayed home but were busy doing various things. One of the highlights was getting to go to a Sabres game and sitting in a suite! It was fantastic! We were so spoiled! It was a very exciting game ending in a 16(8 for each team) player shoot out. Unfortunately the Sabres lost against the Bruins, but it was a great game! The boys are both infatuated with hockey.

On the hockey front, Trev's team made it to the second to last round of the playoffs. They won their first 2 playoff games and then lost to a team that had been basically undefeated until we beat them earlier in the year. We got stomped on, but they really had an unfair team(long story)-Trevor was crushed, but forgot about it soon after entering Pizza Hut with the whole team after the game. Best thing they could have done after the game, proving that you can celebrate even after losing!

My exciting news is that I joined a running group called Moms-In-Motion. It is a nationwide group, with local chapters throughout different states. I have heard that our group is the biggest nationwide with about 90 women. It encompasses all age ranges and women of all different abilities. From what I have experienced so far, it is one of the best things I have done in a long time. My ultimate goal is to run a hal-marathon in the fall and if I stick with these ladies I think it will surely happen! I started out running 3 miles a couple of weeks ago, and yesterday I was already coerced(lovingly) into 5! I was so excited! I am hoping to run the Lilac 10K again in May(I ran it for the first time 2 years ago). These women are always getting together to workout, be it run, bike, snowshoe-it is FABULOUS!

My other exciting thing was receiving my copy of the Memory Makers "Toddlerhood" book which had 11 pages of mine in it! 11 very sentimental pages-I was nervous to send them away, but I got them all back safe and sound and it was so cool to see them in this book. This is one great book!

I have been scrapping quite a bit lately-finally got a new version of Photoshop back on my new computer so i can share a few pages. I am going to a long crop at the end of the month and I can't wait!

Even though playoffs are over, we still have a few big hockey events left-2 weekends of tournaments-ugh. I will be happy when that is over! Glad there are no more practices during the week.

I am so ready for Spring and being able to feel the warmth of the sun on my face!!! :)

Sharing a few of my new pages:

Hey Baby it's cold outside!

OK-so last winter stunk in the respect that we had no snow at all to play in or enjoy. Now we have some snow and it is so darn cold that it is pretty much dangerous to be outside! School was closed on Tuesday due to the cold and we were cooped inside all day long. Thought we may have a rough day, but it was actually quite relaxing. I think it was just the break the boys needed. We played some pool and some card games. They played on their Wii and I cleaned a little. It was all good!

I DID, indeed, have an ear infection last week so I am on antibiotics and have felt a little cruddy all week. We all have the sniffles and coughs around here.

Where the heck does the time go-I had such a list today and I am almost out of time! So far I have:
1.) Gotten the boys up and out the door.
2.) Edited some and ordered a whole bunch of prints. Finally! Seems as if I hardly take any photos in the wintter! Probalby because we are not outdoors as much and I dread indoor photography. Most of these photos were from Xmas and our recent trip to Fla. Editing and uploading to order is a major time zapper!
3.) Ran on the treadmill for 35 minutes and 25 minutes of weights.
4.) Wrote a thank you note.
5.) Had to run to Trevor's school to bring him lunch money(oops) and brought in his space project while I was going.
6.) Got blood drawn while I was out.
7.) Did 2 loads of laundry(at least in progress).
8.) Paid a few bills(including new furniture which is now officially paid off-YAY!)
9.) Brought the garbage can and recycle bin in in the freezing cold!

Ah...it feels good to wtie it out! makes you realize all that you ACTUALLY do accomplish!

Now I am off to a Nutritional Book Study group and then to a Dr apt. with Trevor. Then later it is off to work my shift att he Veggie Coop I am doing this winter. Fresh organic veggies every two weeks! I am going to get this healthy eating thing down yet! Just have to give up my suger! :(

Anyway-that is it for now!

Have a great day!

Oh my aching ear!

Was up almost the entire night with a terrible earache and sore throat-woke up at 2 am and never went back to sleep and unfortunately I hadn't fallen asleep until after 11. It is going to be a long day. I ended up going to the couch at 4:30 and rewatching an old episode of Grey's Anatomy. I took some Tylenol and felt a little better but I can still feel a lot of pressure in my ear-much better than last night. So the question is...do I call the dr. today???? We all know how much worse throats and ears get at night even when they feel better during the day. Why is that anyway??? Greg said to tell the kids I wasn't feeling well this morning and they would be good. UM, NO! They can't seem to get along for 2 seconds. They don't realize how lucky they are to have one another. I guess that is probably quite normal, but aggravating none-the-less! Enough of that!

Trevor's hockey team beat an undefeated team on Sunday! The team has walloped everyone they have played by like 10 points and we actually beat them 2-1! It was INCREDIBLE! It never ceases to amaze how exciting it can be to watch 7 and 8 year ols play hockey. Trevor had gained a great deal of confidence on the ice this year. He has scored several goals and is so fun to watch! And then there is Ethan. I can't wait to watch him play ganes next year. He is going to be an animal out there! He is obsessed with the game of hockey-he LOVES to watch the Sabres play and knows the names of every player! He brought home a book on hockey from the library the other day(remember, he is only in Kindergarten!)-his attention span for the sport is amazing.

Well, a pretty boring post, but I felt like typing for a minute before I am off to work. I must come home and start working on that planet project with Trevor. The question is, how do you spray paint something when it is freezing cold out. I tried doing it in the garage but it is way too cold and not working well. Hmmm.....this could be interesting.

I'll leave you with one of my favorte new pages. This is from the Poppy Ink kit which I adore to pieces!

Ta Ta for now!

Random Thoughts...

-Hair dyed red never looks "natural"
-Boys are dirty
-Dogs are dirty
-Boys are loud
-Dogs are loud
-When all is said and done(and they are all sleeping), boys and dogs are a blessing
-Running on a 25 degree snowy day is actually quite nice if dressed properly
-Before buying your friend the cute shirt you found at Marshall's for $2.00 find out if she is pregnant first
-7:15 comes WAY TOO early for someone in this household and it is NOT pretty
-Having lots of friends makes the world a better place
-5 year old boys can be obsessed with hockey
-Some people really should not be on American Idol tryouts
-Patrick Dempsey should be voted the hottest man alive(2nd to dh :))
-McDonald's new Hazelnut Lattes are delicious-just do not ask for fat free, decaf-you are NOT at Starbucks people!
-Styrofoam balls are way overpriced(2nd grade planet project)

Ahhhhh Portofino....

No, not Italy unfortunately-twas a hotel at on the property of Universal Studios in Florida. It was a pretty cool place and just so happened to be where I met up with Greg on his 40th b'day this month. He flew from Italy to Florida-I was wondering why we had not met in ITALY! The boys and I flew down to meet up with him since he had to be there to attend a trade show. We spent a couple of days at Universal and Islands of Adventure which was great because it was so uncrowded. And then we went to Gatorland! Yeeha! Trevor got to sit on the back of a gator(its mouth was taped shut, but still a little freaky to me, the mom!)

The pool was a big hit because it had sand around the edge of it like a beach-the boys had a blast playing in it and then going down the waterslide 50 jillion times.

Just wish we had gotten some family photos or one of Greg and I together.

Overall Trevor and Ethan behaved extremely well-no complaining at the parks with all the walking. The only thing they really drove us nuts with was fighting over pushing the elevator buttons and opening the hotel room door(good grief boys!).

So we are back to reality. And Greg is traveling quite a bit these few weeks and there is hockey and pinewood derbies and all things of those sorts. And NO SCHOOL on Friday-WHAT? When did that happen? So what shall we do?

On the scrapbooking front, got 11 pages back in the mail yesterday and was hoping there would be a copy of the book in with them-but nope. Wonder if it is out yet. Sent my Arctic Frog pages off to CHA and will share here when I can. Wish I had decided to go to the show now knowing that a couple of the girls from the team will be there that I would love to meet! And I made it onto the design team for a local scrapbook here near where I live. That should be fun!

I guess that is enough of an update for now. Thought I should get some less scary photos up here!

Hope you are all well!

Want to laugh...

Sorry, I can't help it! I was playing around on my computer and found some more! This is what my kids do when I scrapbook! I am feeling a little down and beaten up at the moment and these sure made me laugh! LOL!LOL!

New Pages...

Actually been scrapping some here and there!

Off to Florida tomorrow to celebrate Greg's 40th birthday!!!

Should have new Arctic Frog papers to work with for CHA when I return-they are fantastic! Can't wait to get my hands on them. The colors are to die for!

ta ta for now!

Our offspring...

Ethan was going for the Michael Jackson look-what do you think?

Can you tell we are having way too much fun!!!!

Happy New Year!!!!

Finally back! It has been a whirlwind of a month-December always is, isn't it? Crazy, but FUN! Recuperating from our vacation home and getting ready to go to Florida this week for Greg's 40th birthday! Holy crow-I can't believe I am married to an almost 40 year old!

Christmas was great-the boys got a Nintendo Wii and are loving every minute of it(so is dad). We got a train to go around the tree before Christmas. We thought this would be a fun new tradition to set it up around the tree every year. It adds such life to the room and the tree!(there is already MUCH life in the room-LOL!)

I got a new comuter!! A Mac! I am having fun playing around and learning(infact, I still can't find the photos I wanted to insert here from Xmas-ugh)-but so far I LOVE it!

Here are a few SCARY photos for you:

Been scrapping a little here and there-I have a bunch of new pages. Here are a few:

Oh, and I just found my Xmas photos! :) However, I can't seem to get them to load!

Enough for now! Just wanted to give an updated post! Hope you are all enjoying the New Year!