OMG - McDonald's!

I just posted about how we went to Ohio to visit CJ's family this past weekend. Well, when we travel like that we usually wind up stopping to eat along the way.

Ummm, I swear, next time I need to take weight loss pills along with me next trip because holy cripes, we had waaaay to much McDonald's! I was just going through receipts and man, we even ate at a McDonald's when we were at the Cleveland Zoo! Needless to say, my kids have had enough crap fod for a very long time!

Family Weekend Trip

I swear, we might as well just buy a motorhome and get some motorhome insurance for as much as we've been traveling lately!

CJ just decided at the last minute it'd be fun to go to the zoo over the weekend. Not the zoo that is 20 minutes from us, not the zoo that is an hour and a half from us, nope - the zoo that is about 7 hours from us, the Cleveland Zoo! So we packed up the Honda and drove to Canal Fulton, OH to visit his family and then took a day to go to the Cleveland Zoo.

As soon as we walked in there was an animatronic dinosaur that Wyatt was NOT happy to see:

The kids enjoying their 'ride'


Cool tree house they played in:

Although it was a lot of driving that weekend, we had a nice trip!

Grandma's Birthday

Well, grandma's birthday party was a hit. We all went out to the Copperhead Grille for an early dinner. Amazingly, the kids were pretty well behaved! Olivia usually is but the boys can get pretty rowdy sometimes.

After dinner we went beck to my mom's for cake and presents. I didn't get any jewelry for her like I had wanted to. I had a pretty awful time with some companies and their customer service. Personally, I think there needs to be better order fulfillment organization too, but I digress...Anyway, the boys picked out a pretty floral arrangement for her to keep in her room and she was pleased with that.

Here are some photos of the kids having cake with grandma!

Cowgirl Up

Every now and then I gotta give a good friend 'props' in public. My friend Nicole has a great blog called Cowgirl Up and it's filled with great information about the horses she has.

From talk about riding lessons to grooming and even all about equestrian clothing - right down to breeches and I just love reading abut it all. Of course she does have some personal poss in there, this is not an informational blog only, it's a good mix!

I Couldn't Even Get Rid of This Piano

We acquired this piano when we got my grandparent's house. My grandpa got it from a friend as he thought one of his grandchildren would learn to play piano but none of us ever did.

I tried to get rid of this thing several times and no one wanted it. I even posted it on the local Freecycle Group and still, no dice. The main problem was delivery - we were not about to deliver it so whomever wanted it had to find their own way to get it.

It may sound silly for me to want to ditch this piano but THIS IS WHY I tried and tried to get rid of the damn thing.

Now that our basement remodel is just about complete, guess where the piano is going? Yup, down there! They can bang on it all they want. Maybe since I taught Olivia to play "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" she'll decide she wants to learn more songs.

Look Who's Ready for Hawaii!

Wyatt is sporting the sunglasses CJ was given when they awarded him the T-Mobile PEAK Award.

When CJ got the award, he also got a stray hat, a pineapple cup with a straw and these goofy glasses. T-Mobile does some weird stuff when they present things to people. We're waiting to find out what the REAL prizes are for winning - yes, he gets more than a free trip to Hawaii!

While Wyatt is all ready to go to Hawaii, I, on the other hand, still don't really want to make the trip!

What to Get for Grandma

My grandmother will be 87 on July 17th. She is starting to show her age and I dunno, I suppose that scares me.

Growing up, my parents and I lived right next door to her and my grandpa and when he died, CJ and I moved in to their house. My grandma now lives with my mom - so she is still next door to me!

She spends a lot of time with the kids. She sits outside with them and watches them as they play. She colors with them, plays games with them, reads to them, etc. I am truly blessed to have her so close and my kids are so lucky to be able to spend so much time with her.

Every year for her birthday she tells me she doesn't want anything and every year I wind up giving her cards and flowers. This year, since the kids are older, I want to get something from them for her. I was looking at this heart jewelry and thought something like this would be perfect since they love her so much.

I know if I get her something she'll be mad but I think deep down she will really be pleased.

Trip to Hawaii

I have to go to Hawaii and I don't want to go. Yes, you read that correctly.

I HAVE to go to Hawaii and I DON'T want to go.

I know, sounds pretty crazy, huh? Well, at least everyone who hears about this tells me that I am crazy....whatEVER!

Here's the story:
CJ won T-Mobile's PEAK award. What is PEAK and why is this a significant achievement?
PEAK Achievement is the ultimate of all T-Mobile awards. Sometime early next spring (I think) a small fraction of employees will be invited to join the Sr. Leadership team for the annual PEAK Achievers Meeting held in the first market T-Mobile launched over ten years ago, Hawaii!
I believe this year about 250 employees attended the award ceremony in March.

I am so so happy for him and couldn't be more proud BUT...I don't want to go. I don't want to fly, I don't want to leave my kids for (almost) an entire week.

I am terrified to fly. I won't even fly from here (Pennsylvania) to Florida when we go to Disney! What the hell makes anyone think I'd get on a plane to Cali, then get on ANOTHER plane to Hawaii?? Seriously?

Leaving my kids is another issue. CJ has it all figured out. He will fly his mom here (from Ohio) and she can stay with the boys and Jeff can just keep Olivia. Well, that would be just great IF Jeff could get an entire week off of work to have Livi and IF it was a summer trip when Olivia didn't have school. However, it will most likely be a spring trip as this year it was in March - Olivia's birthday is in March. Olivia will need to be taken to the bus stop and picked up. She will need help with homework and since it's during school, even if Jeff had off, it would be so much nonsensical driving back and forth for him.

My kids are 2, 3 and 6 - not 12, 13 and 16. I don't feel comfortable leaving them with ANYONE while I go clear across the country!

Oh, the Treadmill

Ahhh yes, I forgot to mention - the treadmill will be one item that will go in the basement. After searching high and low for the best fat burner to use along with diet and exercise of course, I have decided I need to get back on the treadmill!

I have slacked - every since CJ agreed to work a night shift - he's sleeping in the morning and the treadmill is in our bedroom. If I don't use it shortly after I get up, before I start work, I never use it. With it moved to the basement, I will have NO excuse!

Basement Remodel

In case you don't read my UnbalancedLibra blog - we've been busy remodeling our basement! Things are coming along nicely! You can see photos on that blog - just type basement remodel in the search bar of the blog.

We've spent so much money for the remodel, I am not sure we'll have money left to furnish it! No matter though, I've been checking out free online auctions to see if there are some cool and unique things that may fit the basement decor.

Life Goals

I am going to be 36 this year. This has caused a great deal of reflection on my part. Wow - so many changes - most of them have been unexpected.

I started out going to college for Elementary education and after 3 years realized that was not what I wanted to do. I wound up in a 6 month course to be a medical assistant and thought one day I would surpass medical assistant and wear a prestigious doctors lab coat - that was a high standard I set for myself. I got as far as operational supervisor at a plasmapheresis center.

Here I am, 3 kids, married twice, working fro home. Such an odd combo yet it feels right. I would have never gessed this is where I'd be if someone would have asked me 15 years ago!