Friday, August 29

We Are Home Owners!!

We closed on our house today. It was a long 1 hour of signing tons of paperwork. The kids did really well considering there was nothing to do for them. I'm so glad it's over with. Now we have a beautiful home and no stuff to put in it, haha. That stuff comes on Tuesday. Wednesday I go for my Florida drivers license. Here are a few pics of the house.


View from eating area.


Justyn & Jacob's room

Formal dining & Josslyn's room

Kids' Bathroom

Living Room

Rich in our HUGE bathroom!

Rich in our shower.

Wednesday, August 27

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY



Monday, August 25

My Beautiful Family

Right before we left Maryland we had our family portraits done by Shelby Leigh. It was quite an experience. First of all it was hot as hell outside, and muggy. Which means the time I spent on my hair was for nothing. Then Jacob fell on the pier and busted his top lip. Then both boys were terrified of the water. Some how Shelby still managed to take amazing shots of our family. Just thought I'd share a couple borrowed off her blog.




My WHOLE world.
The talented Shelby and Justyn.

My Little Drummer Boy

My FIL has a drum set that Justyn looooves to play. I got a video of him that he didn't know I was taking, LOL.


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing - Photo Books

Saturday, August 23

Six Sweet Years...

Oh yea...and today is Rich and my 6 year anniversary of being married. Can't believe it's been 6 years!

Sweet Home Alabama...

Well it may not be my home, but it feels like it when I'm here. We are currently down at my IL's house for a few days. We weren't sure if we were going to come but it had been 4 years since Rich had been here, and we wanted to show off the baby so we stopped by for a couple days. I'm enjoying the coziness the rain from Fay is bringing. Just relaxing around the house, eating yummy food and playing games. We will leave here on Tuesday and be on our way to Tallahassee to visit a friend of Rich's and then down to Tampa to close on our home. I will post some pictures and video of our stay tonight.

Tuesday, August 19

TACKLE IT TUESDAY

Well today my task to tackle was get rid of all the crap we aren't taking to Florida. I can't take pics b/c I already took apart my computer and packed it up. Tonight we have to go through the boys' rooms to get rid of toys and clothes we aren't taking. Tomorrow the packers and movers come.

Fay Fay Go Away!!!

I can't believe this is my last Tuesday in Maryland. The movers will be here tomorrow to start packing our stuff. Thursday they load it and leave. We will either leave Thursday or Friday. Just in time to start driving right into Fay. Oh, you live under a rock and don't know who Fay is? Well then...let me introduce you to Fay.

She is the fierce tropical storm headed straight for Florida. She's going to hit Riverview where my beautiful, perfect, home is. OY! Then she's going to go up the east coast. So that we will get to drive directly through that crap. FUN!

Anyway, that's what's going on. Just been busy, busy, busy, trying to get everything done so we can get out of here. I am going to try to take as many pics and video on our trip and update my blog as much as possible. We lose our internet and TV tomorrow. BOOOO! Ok gotta go Josslyn is hungry.

Monday, August 18

So Tired...

Had a long, fun, weekend. Too tired to write much, but thought I'd share some pictures.

Friday night some friends and I went to PF Changs for dinner.


Angie & Me


Angie needs to take a squeegie to that mess.

Three words for you. Chicken. Lettuce. Wraps.

Lo Mein YO!

That Mojito is beautiful. Angie ain't so bad either.

Angie, Me, Mary Beth

Stacy & Ang

Saturday we went to a going away cook out for Rich

Jacob and Me

Justyn and Me
Just Me

Josslyn and her hoe.

Daddy & Princess

Jacob and his food

The boys playing Rock Band



Sneaking in a feeding.

Friday, August 15

Mr. Smarty Pants

Justyn has been practicing his letters and writing words getting ready for Kindergarten. He is so proud of himself. I love it! Can't believe it's time for him to be a school aged kid. WAaaaah!


Photobucket


FRIDAY FIVE


Five Favorite Comfort Foods



5. Mac n Cheese with tuna in it. My mom and I used to make this all the time as a quick and easy, yet soooo good, meal.

4. Raw potatoes with salt. YUM!


3. Cucumber and onion salad. Rich thinks it's vile. I love love love it. Slice up some cucmbers, onions and smother in a mayo and vinegar sauce.

2. My mom's meatloaf. Best meatloaf you will ever have the pleasure of sticking in your mouth!


1. Ben and Jerrys - Half Baked!!!




Thursday, August 14

Josslyn 8 Weeks

Oy where has the time gone? My baby girl is almost 2 months old. I wish I could stop the clock for a short while and let her stay little. Soon she will be dating and giving us attitude!





Thursday Thirteen




So this is my first Thursday Thirteen. Not sure I can come up with 13 great things in my life to talk about...but I will try.

1. Being a SAHM is the job I have wanted my whole life. I loved playing with my baby dolls and just couldn't wait to have a real one of my own. I didn't even care what the sex was. I just wanted one. Here I am several years later thinking..."WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING?" Ha-Just kidding. I love it. Best job with the most amazing rewards. I have to admit the pay sucks. There are no holidays, no sick leave, no vacation. I get paid in kisses and hugs. I hear so many people say they couldn't do it. Some days I feel like I can't do it. I often wonder if I'm doing a half decent job. Will my children grow up and wish they would have been in daycare, haha? At any rate, I love my job. I work hard at it. I just can't wait for school to start. :-P


2. My husband is one of the greatest men I've ever known. You will not meet a more dedicated person. When he does something in life he does it with 110%, never anything less. While he still isn't perfect (who really is) I couldn't imagine spending my life with anyone else. Not many men would work 2 jobs everyday, go to school (getting A's), get down on the floor with his kids, change diapers (we have 2 in diapers), do dishes, put away laundry, vacuum, read bed time stories, and take the trash out. Yes, I'm spoiled, hehe.



3. I have the most amazing friends ever. Seriously! I don't think I could make it through my life without them. One of my closest friends and one of the most important rocks in my life I've never even met. Which has probably been a good idea for the environment, mankind, and our bank accounts. Soon, my friends, that will all be changing. The Ponstinky I've grown to love is coming to visit me. HOLLA! I cannot wait. Poor Rich. He has no idea. Then there is Jessica. Her and I have been friends since the 4th grade. Who'd-a-thought an insult would lead to us being such great friends 18 years later?! When we are together we are laughing our asses off. Now we are both mommies together. I love it! I can't forget my Amanda. We have made some of my favorite memories together. We have soooooooooo many inside jokes. Best time hands down was our road trip from IL to MD. I wish we would have had a camera, or did we? It was all such a blur. Our dumb asses drove 13 hours straight and we didn't even start until 6pm. WTF were we thinking?! Then I have all my Fort Meade biatches! I absolutely LOOOOOVE them. We had some of the best times together. Then I had to go and get knocked up. Now that I'm moving those days are over, but I hope to keep in close touch with all of them. Who knows, maybe some day we will end up in the same town again. If Angie doesn't keep in touch I will be forced to come back here and beat her up. I will miss going to the gym and the late night talks with Valerie. Love you girls!

4. Food and I have a love/hate relationship that I feel I should acknowledge . I love love love to eat, then I hate myself after. When I met Rich I was 110lbs, now several years and pounds later I need to diet. I'm not that upset about my weight it's the flabby stomach and the sad boobs. I need to get a reduction, lift, and tuck but can't until I'm done nursing Josslyn. I was doing soooo well this time last year. Valerie and I went to the gym a lot. I was eating better. I was losing weight. Then I got pregnant. I'm back to my prepregnancy weight but I want to lose 20 more pounds. When we get to Florida I'm going to walk daily and do some work out videos. Anything to get rid of this back fat...the other white meat!

5. My name is Amanda and I have a serious obsession with shopping. I looooooooooooove shopping. Mainly for my children. My kids always have more clothes than they need and more toys than you can imagine. If I see something is on sale I almost always have to buy it. If I don't it was with great restraint that I didn't. I cannot settle for anything less than name brand. I think it's because growing up we did not get name brand stuff. My mom would always say, "I'm not paying $60.00 so you can wear a triangle patch on your ass!" Then she buy Justyn some Gymboree or Gap clothes, LOL. I love Macy's and I'm positive I could live in there. Anytime I get upset I have to do retail therapy. Retail therapy is the BEST therapy ever. Aside from Ben and Jerrys.

6. It's no secret that I am not a religious person. I've had my issues with "God" in the past. I put "God" in quotes because I personally don't know if I believe. I have a hard time believing in something so great when babies die for no reason. When the 9-11 tradgedies happened. Then there are days when something amazing happens and I wonder if that was "in the works" for me. For instance, we lost Gracie. It was one of the most horrific moments of my life. How could I lose a child I wanted so badly. I believe 100% that had Gracie been a normal, healthy, baby girl that we would have been done having babies. Therefore, Jacob and Josslyn would not be here. I could not even fathom my life without either. So was it meant to be for her to go so I could have my Jakey and Josslyn? All these questions is why I am not sure if I believe in "God" and I'm ok with that.

7. Ben and Jerry's Half Baked is amazing, and that is ALL I need to say about that!

8. Only 8 days until we move. OMG I can't believe it. YAY! We have been waiting for this for so long. I can't wait to see my IL's and show off the baby. Then it's off to close on our house. HOLLA!

9. I also love high thread count sheets. I remember when we bought our first set of high TC sheets Rich thought I was effin crazy. He told me that it didn't matter, it was just a ploy to get your money. Now he haaaaaaaaaas to sleep on high TC sheets or he bitches, LOL. He's so high maintanence, LOL. If you don't have high TC sheets, I highly recommend them. Flippin' amazing.

10. I adore breastfeeding. I think every mother should try it. Yes this coming from the chick who was so against it with Justyn. If you would have told me then that 3 years later I would breastfeed I would have told you to get real. I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE it. I love that I don't have to wash bottles. I love that I get so much sleep at night. I love that I can spend the money I'm NOT spending on formula on cute dresses, outfits, and bows. I love that I'm giving and gave the best to my child. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!

11. My cameras! I am all about taking pictures of my children. It's borderline obsessive. I love capturing every moment in their lives. I have a Canon Rebel XTi that I couldn't live without, even though my husband thinks it was a waste of money. Has he seen how many pictures I take? I also have a little Sony Cybershot for those days we are out and I don't want to lug the beast around. Then my newest edition, our Sony HD Digital video cam. Now I can really capture the goofiness and share it with everyone I know, lol. I'm hoping for Christmas to get some new lenses for my Rebel. Oh Saaaaaaaaanta!

12. Just one word for you....BRAS!

13. My dad. Grandma. Linda.

Wednesday, August 13

Sincerely, Justyn

Justyn is pretending to write a letter to me and he's talking out loud as he's "writing" it and it says...

"Dear mommy...I would like to watch Cartoon Network. I'm sorry I didn't listen. I won't do it anymore. I won't mess up my bed aaaaaaaaaand I won't break my window. Thank you daddy for fixing my window curtain with my track. I'm sorry for all this stuff. Can I have my blocks back?"

(Shoulda used this as my "Wordless Wednesday picture, haha)



Wordless Wednesday

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY
"Mama's Medicine IS the Best Medicine"








Tuesday, August 12

TACKLE IT TUESDAY





I swear last week EVERYTHING in the house was clean, and now...well...LOOK! We move in 10 days, is this what I'm going to deal with next week? I hope not. Today I'm going to tackle this laundry room. Check back to see if I did...

Wish me luck!!!

Yep...that's MORE laundry!

What is sad is there is already a load in the washer...sigh.

Don't forget to leave me a comment so I can come read up on what you are tackling today!


Tackled It!!!


Why Blogging About Blood Cancer Is Important To Me....

Back in February 2001 my dad was dx with Leukemia. I remember when he told me he acted as if it was nothing. Telling me not to worry and everything would be ok. Yea right. I already had 1 parent with cancer, and now both. He told me the DRs said his only hope was a bone marrow transplant. I joked around with him and told him that I hope to be the last one tested to be a match. He laughed and said that wouldn't be a problem. I stressed about it constantly. Not the fact of me being tested but just afraid no one would be a match. My mom could see how scared I was. My mom was an avid People magazine reader. She couldn't go to the store without picking one up. Some times she would go to the store for the magazine, haha. Anyway there was an article about this young doctor who may have found the alternative to marrow transplants and chemo for some leukemia patients. It was a little pill called Gleevec...



It wasn't even FDA approved yet. I sent the article to my dad. He asked his oncologist about it, who in turn sent him to MD Anderson in Houston, Texas where I was living. He was 1 of 50 people in the U.S. to be placed on this medication. It was scary. Not knowing what this was all about and if it would work or make it worse. It was one of the fastest FDA approved drugs in just a few weeks before the trial time was even up. My dad is doing great 7 years later. There is always the possibility the cells will become resistant to the drug, but for now he's living life and enjoying time with his grandchildren.






I hope that you will take the time to blog about blood cancer, or any cancer for that matter. These days it seems like it's not about if you will get cancer, but when. It's scary times my friend.

Post about the importance of blood cancer research, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Friends of Heroes, The Light Night Walks, or how you have been touched by blood cancer. Please include a link to the Friends of Heroes blog (http://www.friendsofheroes.org/blog) and this post. Also make sure to tell us in your post what prize you'd most like to win. Then leave them a link directly to your post below on MR LINKY. (1 chance to win for each post you make, so make sure to post each day during the event for up to 7 chances to win.)


This isn't about winning, it's about fighting, raising awareness and living.