Happy Holidays!

We hope everyone had very Happy Holidays and a safe and exciting New Year.

We celebrated our first Hanukkah this year. It was exciting and different. It special for us because it's ours. It's something that the three of us can share and experience on our own. Ethan of course thought it was neat because he got eight days of gifts plus gifts on Christmas day because of the rest of Jared's family. He and I had a talk about nine days of presents and he decided that it would be a good idea not to tell people because they might be sad that they only get one day of presents. This year he got the Nintendo DS he has been begging for, Sea Monkeys, a build it yourself Robot, DS games, and of course clothes from us. His other big gift was a skateboard from Jared's cousin Lisa and Paul. I wasn't sure how I felt about it but so far so good. He's lucky that she bought it for him because I never would have.

We had a family get together on Christmas day and ate brunch and a turkey dinner. The brunch is a Gordon tradition and we usually had gone out for dinners but this year we all decided to stay in. It was really nice to have everyone together and watch movies, play games and just spend time together. With every ones busy schedule this doesn't happen as much as it should.

#4 Chicken Parm

2 - 3 Boneless Chicken Breasts

1 - 2 Eggs

1 - 2 Cups of Bread Crumbs

1 - 2 Tbs of Italian Seasoning

2 - 3 Tbs of Olive Oil

1 jar of your fav Spaghetti Sauce

1 pkg of your fav noodles



Cut breasts in half diagonally and pound with a mallet to thin and about the same size.

Get two bowls; 1st bowl crack your eggs and mix them, 2nd bowl for your bread crumbs and your seasoning mix together. (keep your bowl mixtures separate)

Get your hot water going for you noodles and get another pot to simmer your sauce.

Heat your oil in a large skillet and get your mini assembly line ready. Put chicken in egg get a good coat and put in breadcrumbs, coat well and put in hot skillet. Repeat w/ as many chicken breast you can fit in the pan. Cook till golden brown on the outside and until the juices run clear.

Drain pasta and put chicken on paper towels when they are done. Serve w/ generous portions of sauce on both pasta and chicken.

Happy late Thanksgiving

We have so much to be thankful for this year. Everything seems to be falling into place. Jared's doing very well in school, Ethan is growing bigger and smarter everyday, work, and home couldn't be better (*knock on wood*). I love my family so much and everyday I know that love is returned. Here are some pictures from the Thanksgiving holiday.

Amee came in from Germany to say good bye to her father. Aside from the circumstances for her coming the visit was very pleasant. It was nice to see her and to see that she is doing well.

Here are three generations of Muther - Dockery - Gordon girls.

I also got a picture of all of the boys together. Or as together as boys get in pictures!

Right in time for turkey

We had our appointment to sign documents yesterday for our house and as excited as I was that everything was done and we would receive keys as soon as the loan funded I really didn't want them until today. Just our luck, we get the call at 4:30......."Janae, we have good news. Your loan has funded and you can pick up your keys tonight by 6:00, or tomorrow!" Great right? It would be if people weren't breaking into the houses and stealing the appliances in the houses when no one was there.
Ethan gets off the bus at 5:00 and we race to the house, 45 minutes of being stuck in traffic we finally make it and get the keys and make an emergency bathroom break for Ethan since he is on the bus for two hours in the afternoon. Now it's time to race back to our other house and get dinner on the way. Ethan picked Arby's, which I must say was a really good choice. We finally make it home and we decided that we would take the dogs there and put sheets up in the windows (ghetto, I know) and put a radio on so they think that some one is there and to not steal our stuff!! So we make it home and call it a night at about 10:00.
Jared's Grandma is graciously taking everyone out for Thanksgiving Dinner. In light of what has gone on for everyone lately there wasn't any time or money for any of us to make a decent dinner this year. So we are all thanking you in advance for your thoughtfulness. And we wish everyone a very safe and Happy Turkey Day!!

Eight teeth out!

Who knows how many more to go.... I told him he looks like a rabbit!!

Ethan, 7 yrs, 6 mo, & 16 days

At 7 yrs my little boy is 53" tall or 4'5" tall a (95th percentile) and 71 lbs (90-95th percentile). The doctor said that he is off the scales for his height and that he would like to see him at a little lower weight. I thought the weight comment was a little strange. He doesn't have any fat on him at all. No belly rolls or any inches to pinch. In fact I think he has always been in the 90's percentile range for both height and weight.
I don't know if all parents go through this or not but when you leave the doctor do you ever go "Huh, wonder where that came from?" I love his doctor and he's been seeing him since he was a baby, and once in a blue moon we have one of those visits.
When Ethan was a little less than a year old one of the doctors in the office (not his, a walk in Dr) wanted to send him for x-rays of his skull to check the closure of his soft spot. I remember he even talked to us about a helmet for him to wear. It was a little larger than usual and it worried him, go figure his head was a little larger than usual. It took him every bit of 2 years to grow into the poor thing, before then he would fall, trip, stumble all over the place. But since he wasn't our regular doctor he figured that if we waited a few months and brought him back for a check up with his doctor then we would see the progress. That was a big "Huh" visit!

Sad Week

Jared's father passed away this week. I feel so bad for Jared, Ian, and Amee. They all loved him very much and only wanted the best for him. Parents are parents and children are children no matter how old you are, that is just a fact of life that never changes. I wish them all the love and support they need. We will always remember who Irv was and how good of a man he was, because all in all he was just a man. No one is perfect, we all make mistakes, and we all wish we could have done somethings differently. I know in my heart that he did the best he could with what he knew. Jared will miss him terribly and will always cherish the good times they had.

I love you baby, and I'm so sorry...

23 days and counting!

#3 Black Bean, Corn, & Turkey Enchiladas

1 lbs ground turkey
1C frozen corn
1 can black beans
Spices: Cumin, Paprika, Salt, Garlic Powder, Minced Onion, Black Pepper
1 pkg of Flour Tortillas (soft taco size)
1 med can of green enchilada sauce (my favorite is Macayos)

-Brown meat w/ spices (sprinkle each on top of meat aprox .25tsp of each +/- depending on your taste)
-Add corn
-Rinse beans in can and drain of all liquid
-Add beans
-Cook for a few minutes until well mixed and hot
-Add .25 of the can of sauce to the meat and mix well
-Spray bottom of pan w/ Pam and put heaping spoonfuls in each tortilla and roll them up, line the bottom of pan and pour remaining sauce over the top of the enchiladas
-Bake @ 350 for 10-15 min
-Add cheese to the top prior to baking if you wish

Proud Wifey

I'm so proud of Jared. He has worked his butt off this semester and has been invited into two separate honor societys for being in the top 10% of his class. Now it's just getting him to join! One you have to pay for so that one is a big fat "No" for now and the other one is specific to engineering and I don't think it costs. In my mind I don't think you should have to pay to be apart of an honor society, your grades should be your payment. But everything costs more than it should now days.

Getting Closer and Closer

I can't wait, the excitement is killing me. Ethan and I started packing last weekend and we have about 4 more weeks until move in time!!

#2 Shepards Pie

We had this for dinner on Tuesday and it was perfect for a quick and filling dinner. Ethan didn't even complain!

1 lbs ground beef or turkey
Spices: Sprinkle on top of meat pepper, cumin, garlic powder, minced onion
1 can beef broth (ckn if using turkey)
1 Tbs flour
1 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbs White Vinegar

3 lg potatoes
½ cup milk

Peel potatoes and chop into lg cubes, add to water, boil for about 20 min
Drain potatoes put back in pot, add milk and mash together

Brown meat in skillet with spices
Add Flour to meat, mix together
Add Broth mix well
Add Worcestershire and Vinegar

Pour meat and gravy mix into baking dish, spread mashed potatoes on top and bake in oven for 15 min or until the top gets golden brown. (I cheat after about 10 min and put in the broiler for a few minutes but you really have to watch it.)

#1 Spanish Rice

You'll need:
1.5 Cups Long Grain White Rice or minute rice for a faster dish
3 Roma tomatoes or 1 lg tomato
1 Tbs +/- Knorr Chicken Bouillon
Olive Oil enough to coat the bottom of the pan
2 Tbs chopped onion
Water

-Puree the tomatoes w/ water
-Saute the onion in olive oil until clear and remove the onion pieces.
-Add the rice to the oil over the heat until fully coated and saute for a few minutes, but don't burn
-Add the tomato puree and mix together
-Add the Knorr Chicken Bouillon
-Cover and simmer till rice is cooked stirring occasionally, add more water if needed

Taste and if all is good then your set, add more seasoning to your taste!! Good luck and let me know if it came out alright or if I need to put better instructions. I have a bad habit of the lil bit of this and that cooking thanks to my Grandma so exacts are a little difficult. It's more of what tastes good!!

Betty Crocker

Everyone knows that I love to cook, bake, create, etc. I just got off of the phone with my Mom and came to the conclusion that there are a ton of recipes out there that no one shares. Mostly due to time and the "out of sight - out of mind" way of thinking. I was suppose to write her some recipes about a year ago and I, of course forgot. (I'm really bad at writing letters) So since blogging is suppose to be a fun and easy way to keep in touch with people and to most of all share, what better way than to post them. My new blog chore is to start posting quick and yummy recipes for everyone to make, eat, create, or pass on. Now it's your turn to share the goods too, don't be stingy!!

Happy Birthday to ME!!

I'm a week late and my birthday high is over. I got exactly what I wanted which was a perfect quiet weekend with my boys. We went to dinner and a movie and Ethan got to play at Kids Quest. That place is like the amusement park for kids. No parents, cool food to eat, and toys and games galore. I think he had almost as much fun as I did. Jared and I went to see "The Kingdom" (5 stars in our book), and the restaurant of my choosing Hooters!! (Jared said as long as I told everyone that I chose it then it was ok.) So, Everyone....I picked it!! As long as you can get past the big boobs and big blond hair then the food is really good and way better than a regular sit down restaurant. So it was a perfect evening followed by a perfect Sunday. I got to laze around in my jammies and watch all my shows I had TIVO'd. AAhhh, then Monday came and it was all over.
Another year come and gone, I'm officially 27 now. Usually when Jared's birthday passes I think that I'm that age to. I forget that my birthday is 6 months after his. At least he was born in the same year as me so I don't get to ahead of myself.

Moving Right Along

We are now set to move into our new house either right before or right after Thanksgiving. I locked the interest rate today and they finished the drywall last week so now it's just the cosmetic stuff that needs to be finished. I am so excited I could scream!!!! Here are some pics of our soon to be humble abode.....

Slideshow issues

Ok, I must be slide show stupid. I follow the directions and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Piece of crap!!! So I deleted it...........I really wanted to post some pics of our trip and some more recent ones of me. I seem to be the one taking the pictures so it's rare for them to be of me. If you were lucky enough to see it then these aren't new to you but still decent pictures!!

Enjoy...

Details of our trip

Thank you Lani for inviting me!! I really had a nice time even though I missed my boys more than I had ever imagined. You see in 8 years this was my second time away from Jared and my first being away from Ethan. Not only do I love Jared more than ever he is my best friend so it's really hard to be away from him. I knew Ethan would be fine because Jared does such a good job of keeping him entertained that for him I would be back before he knew it.

The cruise ship was huge, "Big like the Titanic Mom?" Ethan asked when were getting ready to depart. "Yep, thanks bud!!" The food was wonderful, they had a buffet 24 hrs. The dinners were dress casual and the second night was the Captains Dinner / Formal Night. So we got to play dress up. The group parties were ok, I'm a sucky-don't-even-try dancer. But they had free drinks so I took advantage. On formal night they had free drinks in the lounge so again I took advantage. Needless to say I slept pretty well for having to sleep in an empty bed. I haven't drank that much since high school and probably won't ever again. My new favorite drink is a Whiskey Sour...YUMMY!!

Ensenada was amazing, views you see in books or on TV. But what they don't show you in those is the poverty and how the people really live. It's like all of the stories you hear about them living in shacks and working to have those shacks. It's heart breaking and it really does make you cherish what you have. We took a tour bus about 25 miles to see La Bufadora, the sleeping something (I can't remember). It's one of the worlds highest natural geysers. I'm a sucker for nature so this was really amazing to me. You have to walk through the flea market to get there and that sucked. Usually you think flea markets are fun and you can shop and plunder. NOPE, not here!! You have every man, woman, and child begging you to look in there store and buy this and look at that!! Needless to say I bought what I had to and ignored everyone else. You have to keep you head up and a steady pace of almost running to get away from them. I understand they make their livings that way but COME-ON, people would buy more if you leave them ALONE!! I had my first mango w/ lemon and chile powder, a Mexican treat. YUMO...it was delicious!!

I got some Jelly Belly beans for Ethan on our way there, The Harry Potter jelly beans to be specific. DO NOT EAT THESE!! They really taste like what they say and they are gross but funny to watch whoever eats them!! I ate dill pickle which really tasted like a pickle, and vomit, I almost wanted to vomit after the first chew! There is sausage, which George likes A-LOT and dirt, booger, earthworm, and a bunch of other nasty flavors. I feel bad for whoever the taste tester for these things are.

Off we go...

We are on our way to Mexico!!! Wish us luck and a safe return.

Insect Project

For the first time ever Ethan can bring bugs to school. So I let him bring a cricket on Tuesday and he snuck it on Wednesday. Tuesday he got to show the class and they talked about it in science and he was able to pick some grass for it to eat. Wednesday he let it out on the bus, then tried to catch it. Didn't work, he saw it leap back into nature when the bus stopped and he got off. "Mom, now it's free!" Hopefully it didn't get ran over, he would have had a short lived 2nd chance. Can you imagine? "I'm free, I'm free....no more glass jar and no more things poking at me...........Oh sh!t, what's that........SMUSH!!!"
Ethan's teacher sent him to the GATE this week. Jared said that she would only do that if he wasn't showing any problems in his classwork and was finishing to quickly, so this will keep him busy and challenge him. So far he got to start an 'Insect Project' which is basically a report where he gets to draw, list, and explain about 30 different bugs. He will meet with her a few times a week and he will delve into science a bit more and learn a bit more too!

Flowers

Ethan thought it would be nice to pick some flowers for me out of the Casablanca's flower garden. As soon as he picked them we picked up our pace a little back to the room. We didn't want maintenance catching him. How thoughtful though, I told him instead of keeping them for only a few days that I was going to take a picture of them I could keep forever. It reminded me of a movie I came across a few months ago called "The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio " The main characters are Julianne Moore and Woody Harrelson. It is based on a true story of a family in a small rural town with ten kids. There was a part in there where one of the younger boys picked a basket full of beautiful tulips from the neighbors yard (oops!!). The neighbor was so upset at this because she had waited all year for them to bloom and he just wanted to do something nice for his mother...........isn't that sweet!! How could anyone get upset with them for wanting to make us happy and proud; and who doesn't like flowers?

Mesquite

A few weeks ago Lani invited Ethan and I to go on a little trip to Mesquite. We a really fun time. Thank you Grandma!!! Ethan got to swim and splash in the huge pool for hours. They had a water slide in the kid section and he loved every minute of it. Needless to say, he slept really well. Here are some pictures from our trip.

My poor little guy

He made it to second grade, and not only that they had room for him in one of the magnet schools for math and science. So we thought Whoo-Hoo; right!! Well as good as it is for him academically he has a knack for getting under peoples skin and slipping up behavior wise. It only took him three days to get to this teacher. He has a hard time adjusting to new situations and they have no patience for anything there, and I understand. It is a privilege to go to these schools and they don't have to deal with those problems.
I know he is very impulsive but Jared and I can help him control it by making him second guess things before acting at home. But when he is on his own it doesn't sink in quite as fast. He knows the right choices to make, he just gets to excited and forgets. I just bought some herbal meds for him to see if they will help him slow down a little. The reviews on it are all positive and everything in it was approved by the FDA. I searched all of the ingredients and still couldn't find any bad reviews. They have a money back guarantee so if it doesn't work we send them the empty bottles and get our money back. I really hope that this will help him with his impulsiveness and will make him more confident so he will make better choices. Because it breaks my heart to know that he is such a good sweet boy and no one else sees that. They just think he is a very smart boy with behavior problems. Cross your fingers for us!!!

Updates for now

My grandpa is officially in remission. NO MORE CANCER!!! Could we be anymore lucky? Now they are on a nice relaxing, stress free fishing trip. Very Well deserved if I do say so myself. I hope they extend their trip to Vegas. I can't wait to see them again.

Ethan is up to 7 new teeth. It's funny to remember I used to hate losing teeth and I would yank them out at the first sign of loosening. He'll wait and then play with it and wait and then mess with it some more and then wait some more. For being 7 and not having patience in much he has it with those. But he also has my "picker" gene. When he gets a scratch or a bump he will pick and poke at it until it bleeds and then brag about how big his owwiee is. I thought he would have outgrown the band aid stage by now. But I have to be mean and hold out on the band aids until there is gushing blood otherwise he would be covered in Hot Wheels band aids.

"Sicko"

I highly recommend this movie to everyone!! It shows us how greedy we are. It explains how the HMO's of our country are ruling our country's leaders and how the middle and lower classes are suffering. Everyone has heard and maybe even said the expression "The rich get richer and the poor get poorer." This movie will make you physically ill at how our leaders and the insurance companies treat the American people. It will make you want to move to France, England, Canada, heck...anywhere but here. How sad is that? Being an American is a wonderful thing. We have our freedom and a choices that many others don't. I hope that one day our country will do for us what these other countries do for their citizens and make us proud to be American!!!

Facts:
America has one of the highest infant mortality rates

France has free health care and college education for it's citizens. They give you a nanny for free to help you after you have a baby.

England gives you 6 months paid and 6 months unpaid for maternity leave. And they don't charge you to have a baby like we do.

There are numerous other facts that are illustrated in this movie that will make you shake you head.

Blinded by the undies

Last week Jared's Grandma who is all of 89 years and in her prime was waiting for the delivery man to pick up a return item from her house. She went to take her daily nap and was woken up by a phone call from the delivery service. Simple enough, right? Get out of bed, walk (because no one over the age of 60 feels the need to run) to the door, open door, great delivery man, have him get item (because why would you, it's the delivery mans job to pick up item) and deed done, item returned. OOopps, did I forget to mention putting on clothes?!?!?! Obviously when you get older your don't feel the need to get dressed to answer the door. Bra and panties is all you need, it covers the important parts! Isn't that what we told our parents when we were young and in good shape about bikinis, and running around the house in our underwear. I guess not much changes, things just aren't in the same place anymore!!

**The delivery man will refrain from having any sort of intercourse for at least one month due to above said trauma.**

Wow

Last year at this time we were in New York. The days were warm and the nights cool lit up with the flicker of lightning bugs. It was absolutely beautiful. As much as it breaks my heart that things didn't work out I love the experience we had as a family. Upon many occasions we have had our challenges and this was one of them.

We had everything going for us. I had just landed an awesome job where within a year I was to be Office Manager and we were looking for a house to make a home. Just when we had everything lined up and set... WHAM... reality sets in!!! We realized that the only way that we could have made it was for Jared to quit school and work somewhere full time. One of the many problems with that was that the economy there was extremely slow and the pay was even slower. I had a hard time trying to find a job that would pay enough and for him to find a job to make up the balance of what we were to need to live off of would have been near impossible. We even considered me working two jobs until I got enough in raises, but as much as we wanted it Jared refused. Above all of those minor things, the entire point of moving there was so Jared could go to school for Physics.

So here we are back in Vegas. In my heart I think there is something about this place that is my home. When I moved from Vegas to Tennessee all I wanted was to move back and I did as soon as I could. Then with my family we try and move away and the temptation of always having a job and never being caught up in the rest of the nations economical problems is too much of a lure. Las Vegas is a bubble that is so separate from the rest of the country, it just amazes me sometimes. I know that I have truly lucked out and found my home with my family and being here I know that we can support each other no matter what.

I would one day love to go back and maybe vacation in New York. Jared and Ethan had some of their first real bonding time as buddies. They started fishing and going for daily walks and looking for frogs and turtles. All of the little things that you miss in the city. As much as I am a city girl the slow country life chokes me up every once in a while. We have a lot of life left to live and no one knows what the future holds. We always work towards our goals and hope for the best and try and prepare for the worst.

Keep it coming!!

I've sat back the past few months and have watched the price on our house go up. It's pretty neat, it's not even built yet and we already have almost $8,000 in equity. They are going to start building it the first week in August. I can't wait!!! I have ideas for decorating and I want to see and do right now. The hardest part is defiantly the waiting. Soon, I say soon we will be moving. Then I'll have something else to complain about. Even the good moves are a pain in the butt.

Whoa Mama

I'm so excited, my Mom told me yesterday that they are going to try and switch their timeshare dates around so they will be able to come here about once a year. It will be nice to see her and her family more often. I have a half brother that is a year older than Ethan so it will be nice for them to know each other growing up.
When I was younger I wasn't always on good terms with my Mom. Her and my Dad went their separate ways when I was about 5 so I was primarily raised by my Dad and his parents. She moved to Louisiana when I was young so my teen years were very hard. She had just met her now husband Jackie and had finally gotten pregnant; great for her, bad for me. So the important dates such as senior prom and graduation she had to miss. As hurt as I was it took me a long time to understand. Now that I have my own family and have grown up some I can see why she had to do what she did.
Now we get along wonderfully and talk every few weeks. So it's true, time does heal and it helps in understanding as well.

Hydrogen Peroxide

This was written by Becky Ransey of Indiana (a doctor's wife), and I want to share it with you. She was over recently for coffee and smelled the bleach I was using to clean my toilet and counter tops. This is what she told me. I would like to tell you of the benefits of that plain little ole bottle of 3% peroxide you can get for under $1.00 at any drug store. What does bleach cost? My husband has been in the medical field for over36 years, and most doctors don't tell you about peroxide. Have you ever smelled bleach in a doctor's office? NO!!! Why? Because it smells, and it is not healthy! Ask the nurses who work in the doctor's offices, and ask them if they use bleach at home. They are wiser and know better! Did you also know bleach was invented in the late 40's? It's chlorine, Folks! And it was used to kill our troops. Peroxide was invented during WWI in the 20's. It was used to save and help cleanse the needs of our troops and hospitals. Please think about this.

1. Take one capful (the little white cap that comes with the bottle) and hold in your mouth for 10 minutes daily, then spit it out. (I do it when I bathe..) No more canker sores, and your teeth will be whiter without expensive pastes. Use it instead of mouthwash.

2. Let your toothbrushes soak in a cup of peroxide to keep them free of germs.

3. Clean your counters and table tops with peroxide to kill germs and leave a fresh smell. Simply put a little on your dishrag when you wipe,or spray it on the counters.

4. After rinsing off your wooden cutting board, pour peroxide on it to kill salmonella and other bacteria.

5. I had fungus on my feet for years until I sprayed a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water on them (especially the toes) every night and let dry.

6. Soak any infections or cuts in 3% peroxide for five to ten minutes several times a day. My husband has seen gangrene that would not heal> with any medicine but was healed by soaking in peroxide.

7. Fill a spray bottle with a 50/50 mixture of peroxide and water and keep it in every bathroom to disinfect without harming your septic system like bleach or most other disinfectants will.

8. Tilt your head back and spray into nostrils with your 50/50 mixture> whenever you have a cold, plugged sinus. It will bubble and help to kill the bacteria. Hold for a few minutes, and then blow your nose into a tissue.

9. If you have a terrible toothache and cannot get to a dentist right away, put a capful of 3% peroxide into your mouth and hold it for ten minutes several times a day. The pain will lessen greatly.

10. And of course, if you like a natural look to your hair, spray the 50/50 solution on your wet hair after a shower and comb it through. You will not have the peroxide-burnt blonde hair like the hair dye packages but more natural highlights if your hair is a light brown, faddish, or dirty blond. It also lightens gradually, so it's not a drastic change.

11. Put half a bottle of peroxide in your bath to help rid boils, fungus, or other skin infections.

12. You can also add a cup of peroxide instead of bleach to a load of whites in your laundry to whiten them. If there is blood on clothing, pour it directly on the soiled spot. Let it sit for a minute, then rub it and rinse with cold water. Repeat if necessary.

13. I use peroxide to clean my mirrors. There is no smearing, which is why I love it so much for this.

Happy Late 4th!!

Yesterday was the 4th of July, so Happy Late 4th to everyone. We stayed home and invited family over for a BBQ. Yummy chicken, steak, and Boca Burgers...........mmmmm....... We watched movies and enjoyed the day off. After dark we watched a few fireworks and called it a night. Boring, blah, but what else are ya going to do with a Wednesday off. Right smack in the middle of the week and to top it off all the good fireworks are illegal. Which didn't stop any of our neighbors. But at a $500 - $1000 fine, I think I'll just watch theirs.

What a pain in the A**!!

One month gone by way to fast. As much as I can't wait to get into this house I hate all the hoops they make you jump through to get into them. I have to take a "First Time Homeowners" class. It doesn't matter that this is our second house, it's the rules!! I got a book to review and I had to send in my monthly budget and how much we can save. I'm surprised they didn't want our blood types and Ethan as collateral. The only saving grace is that I know that we'll love it once we are there. We got to pick out everything from the counter tops to the carpet and tile. I'm anxiously waiting a start date for construction so we can see where all of our hard work has gotten us. November can't get here soon enough.

The Curse

My boys are cursed with "Perfectionist-ism". About two weeks ago I was reviewing Ethan's classwork and on the back of one of the papers here was a tiny rip from where he had removed (very carefully) something he had glued to it. Next to the rip was a note from his teacher "This is what he wanted tape for!". I find it amusing that she would get bugged with something so small but my poor Ethan knows how to find any ones pressure points, and boy has he found his teachers. He like his Daddy is very proud of his schoolwork and the tear; no matter how small, was unacceptable.

Proud Mama

I couldn't be prouder. Ethan came home today with new library books and they aren't Spongebob. We go to the public library fairly regularly and it is usually Spongebob or Scooby Doo books. But when he goes to the one at school he usually gets decent books. He's read everyone of the Black Lagoon books; "The Teacher from the Black Lagoon", "The Janitor from the Black Lagoon", there are tons of them. And today he came home with "Falling Up" and "Where the Sidewalk Ends". He plopped down on the couch while Jared watched the Yankees play and read about 8 poems. It's nice to know that he is interested in good wholesome things instead of the mainstream.

I took him for his bi-yearly well check this past week and he measured 52" tall and 71 lbs. I figure by 4th grade (if I'm lucky) he will out grow me since I'm only 62" tall. He's at the age where he is embarrassed to be in his underwear around people let alone being naked in front of anyone, so when his doctor asked him to take off his pants to check for hernias he had a giggling fit. He wouldn't even unbutton his pants he slid them to his knees and I couldn't look!! As soon as his doctor was finished he yanked his pants up faster than I have ever seen=) It's sad when little boys outgrow their mommies, cause we know that we have seen that tushie more than anyone else in this entire world.

We did it....We did it...

All I can say is "Holy Cow, we did it." We bought a house today! I signed the contract this afternoon and it should be finished in November. Kind of a long time to wait but now the wait is worth it. I finally got all of our crap together this time before we went and viewed the property. So this time everything really should work out. I love it, and I love it more because we aren't moving again for a very long time. I still have a garage full of stuff from the last move. I got so tired of trying to find things I started re buying them. I can't even park my car in the garage because it's so full. I just felt that if I unpacked and hung things up then we would be here for a while. It's one of my weird things. We've been living with the minimum and it's going to be nice to unpack all of our things and hang pictures on the wall and paint and decorate and, and, and.....

Click on the link below and you can see the floor plans and an example of what it looks like!!! If you select the interactive floor plan button select the B elevation on the left side and this is more of what it looks like.

http://kbhome.com/Plan~PlanID~00850726-230.1552.aspx

2007 Yankees

What a little man he is becoming!!

Baseball is over for the year and now what? Thank goodness Ethan is in school most of the summer because I wouldn't know what to do with him. It's bad enough Jared is out of school for the summer. He doesn't consider one online class school. I tried to enroll him in three classes for the summer but the aid only worked this year for spring and fall. UNLV is so weird, they hardly give out any scholarships, so when they give something you are really grateful. But I can't complain to much, he got a grant for this year just not for summer courses.

I think boys are way better at being troublemakers that girls. That is until they are teenagers, then girls get their streak. Ethan is having a steady track of having at least two not so good days per week. At this point it doesn't matter what it is, if it doesn't go with the flow of things he's in trouble. My poor baby is cursed with being impulsive. He acts before he thinks and it causes most of his mishaps. Last week he was looking for his friend in the bathroom at school and decided the easiest way to do this was to peek over the stalls. It's pretty funny in the big picture but Jared wasn't very happy when he had to go for his first parent teacher conference. What could the principal say? "Um, your son is a peeper." He's not that old yet, and it was in the boys bathroom. I keep telling myself that he will out grow this streak and then everything will be fine!!

Spring School Picture

April 2007

Rookies Season is coming to a close

This years little league season finishes today. The playoff games start on Thursday and that will depend on how many more games they play. If they win then they continue and if they lose then that's it till next year. Our team hasn't been playing as well as they could lately, so I would really love for them to at least win one playoff game. Because up until now they don't keep score, so all of the past games were like practice. Keep your fingers crossed and lets hope everyone brings their "A" Game.

Patience

We are going to look at houses today. All of the new homes are offering incentives to try and sell them so we are going to see just how much they are willing to give us. So wish us luck because we could be buying a house today. I found the one I love, it has everything that we would need for a long while. The schools are within walking distance and there are parks within the community. There is new shopping and a whole lot still under construction. Above all that there is enough room for us to grow; more babies, maybe?!?!?! One day, but we have to have the house first. I swore that we would do things in order from now on. If we could afford a house then we would get one now if not then Jared would finish school first. So my goals are 1) House, 2) School, 3) Baby. Nothing to extravagant or out of reach. Just all things that require a whole lot of patience.

Good News

I know I'm late, (of course) on reporting the last news I heard on my Grandpa Bill was that he had finished up with the radiation and had a few more rounds of chemo to go (or the other way around), either way he had a few scary moments but all in all he is recovering well. I'm really excited and relieved for him. I can't even begin to imagine what it's like to have to go through something like that. But to go through it and live to tell about it is amazing to me. People do it more and more everyday. Medical technology is truly under rated. The things that the doctors can do to help us make them heroes.

Sad Truth

I have to admit, we are junkies. TV junkies that is! We have shows recorded and scheduled and we can't keep up. The Tudors started 4 weeks ago now, and it was excellent. We have only seen the first episode and have the following 3 to watch. I love the Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel so we are dedicated to that show and are actually caught up on that one. The Sopranos started a few weeks ago and we are one episode down on that one. We should be able to watch that one tonight. It was hard to not ask questions about it. Everyone, and I mean everyone watches The Soprano's. I had to shush people today so they wouldn't ruin it for me.

Let's see what else............oh, Grey's Anatomy. I love - love - love that show, but I can never keep up. They show to many reruns mixed in with the current season, so I never know when it's a new one or not. The Black Donnelly's was good to, but again we lost track.

You see it all started with the MLB Extra Innings. Cox and the stupid Directv. I'm not fond of the unfamiliar and because of stupid Cox and they couldn't make up their stupid mind about the stupid MLB crap we are now stuck with Directv. Don't get me wrong 500 and some odd channels are great but if you can't record a show and watch something else then what is the freaking point. Tivo is great I love the idea of it but it really sucks in combination with satellite TV. So a warning to anyone interested in Tivo, only use it with regular cable tv. It has something with the signal being unscrambled with the receiver and it can only do one at a time. So therefore you can only watch and record one program at a time unless you are watching a previously recorded program. blah....blah...blah....

Success

This past week was pretty busy. We had 3 birthday "party's" and two baseball games. Ethan scored 3 runs and got on base every time he was up to bat. His game has improved tremendously!! Except for now I think he knows it. He gets so excited that he swings at every pitch and lucky for him he's gotten hits off them. I'm sad for him because the season ends next month and doesn't start again until next February. Jared gets out of school the second week of May so they will have the boys baseball time again. It sucks because it's going to get really hot really fast, and that will limit their playing time.


We went to a new Italian restaurant called Nora's Cuisine off Flamingo and Jones. I loved it!! The pasta was excellent and the prices weren't too bad. Our all time favorite is Montisano's, they have the best of just about everything. It's authentic Italian food, and the garlic knots are to die for...mmmmmm....now I'm getting hungry!!! Anyway the whole point of going to Nora's was for Ian's birthday party dinner. I think for the first time I got a picture of him with a smile on his face.

Do you think he had a good time?!?!?!?!

And my darling Jared.....we went to a new Chinese / Japanese restaurant called Pumi in Henderson, and we struck it again. Excellent food and a really great time. Sad for me.....no pictures of the dinner. The flash gives him migraines so I have to sneak my pictures. :)

The Best Birthday Ever

Green faces and all!!! He loved his party, he loved his gifts, and everyone had a wonderful time.

Happy Birthday to my boys

Ethan is turning 7 on Tuesday. Holly cow 7.......seven......I can't believe that he is seven. He is so big and smart and handsome and he's growing up. We are having his birthday party today at the park and of course the weather is crappy. I am hoping that it stays clear for at least an hour or so in the afternoon so he can have a decent party. People finally RSVP'd and this was suppose to be his first real birthday party.

Jared turns 27 on Monday. We are getting old!! Another year down and who knows how many more to go. Let's see I don't know who is more spoiled Jared or Ethan. I got Jared a TIVO and MLB Extra Innings. He's had the Extra Innings for the past 3 years and loved it but the cable companies couldn't make up their mind so we went with satellite instead and got the TIVO. Drama for baseball. But he works hard so he's worth it!

And let's see, how many more birthday's could we have in April? We start out with Alan on the 9th (Happy Late Birthday), my Mom is on the 14th, Jared, Ethan, Ian on the 18th, and Rollie on the 28th (in case I forget Happy Birthday as well).

We wish you all many, many happy birthday's to come.

1st Run Scored

On Monday's game my baby scored his first run. Not only was this his time making it past 1st base but he scored!!!

His second at bat and first pitch he popped it up in short center field and made it to first; next batter..........he runs to second............next batter..........he makes it to third............and another batter..........he slides into home plate just before the catcher can tag him out!!!

Phew.........I was excited. Can you tell??

Rules of Baseball

Ok, the first rule of baseball is Keep you eye on the ball. Because if you don't then typically bad things will happen. For Example.......getting the laces imprinted across your nose. Can it get any worse, without breaking it I mean?

Finally new pictures.

Ethan as a Yankee....

Goodness I'm behind

Lani won a cruise to Mexico today and a bunch of stuff last week with the news station here. She's got to be the luckiest people I know. I can't win anything. I don't like to gamble because I know that I'm going to lose, so I typically don't play.

People think that when you live in Vegas that you gamble all the time and the hookers walk the streets (all streets) and that you spend you free time in the casinos. Well anyone who lives here or knows someone here knows how untrue all of those stereotypes are. Locals hate the strip and never go there unless it's for a specific reason, show, club, etc. Jared and I went to the strip for our 7 year anniversary. We went to dinner and a comedy show. We had a blast and lost about $50 in the slots. Again, my bad luck rubs off onto him. I should make him rub on his mom so we can get a good win. Just one, that's all we need!!!

I was reading an article in the news yesterday stating that the cost of everything has increased and the pay rates haven't (gee we needed them to tell us that). But it actually said that people in, I think 2003 were actually doing better than us due to inflation now. So basically we all need to ask for raises (that we won't receive) to even up the odds a little. I'm anxiously waiting for the day that I don't have to worry about the petty things. I know that I am truly blessed in what I do have and I need to quit complaining about what I don't, but what fun would that be?!?!? Soon I know that everything will fall into place and we will have all we have ever desired, it's just a simple matter of time and hard work. Something we are more than capable of.

To tired.......Hhmmmm

It's pretty sad when your so tired it hurts to run. Ethan had a game this morning and again I don't know who won. He didn't get any hits today :( They changed the pitching rules after the first inning to quicken the game and not many of our younger players got any hits. But he did good fielding and got grass stains on his pants, so job well done.

After the game Jared's mom Lani came over and we went to the mall for a whole 30 minutes. Basically once we got there we both realized that we didn't have shopping money this week and soon left. So she decided to go home and we all decided it would be a good idea to go and practice. BAD IDEA!!! It seriously hurt to run............now who has that??? Too Lazy, Too fat, Too Tired......but come on it shouldn't hurt. My conclusion is that after sitting in the sun for 3 hours and being very indecisive about everything it was time to come home. So now here I am nd now I'm way to tired to cook the steaks I pulled out for dinner, so I delcare tonight "Metro Pizza Night"............All in favor say I............

Back to the norm...

Well Jared is back in school and so is Ethan. We had our first game last night, and I'm not sure who won. I don't even know if they keep score or not. It was fun but a late night, we didn't get home until 9:00. But me being the kick a## mom I am; as soon as I got Ethan from school we got homework done, made a full dinner, the animals were taken care of, and then it was off to the ball park to meet daddy. I don't know how many more times I can do that good of a job but I gave myself a pretty big pat on the back.

Ah, tonight was an easy night. Ethan had peanut butter and jelly (his fav.), Jared had sushi, and I had a pot pie. A girlfriend at work recommended a sushi restaurant and Jared is in heaven. Me, I can't stand fish, let alone raw fish. I get the heebeegeebees every time I smell it. I wish I liked fish but it's just one thing that I haven't acquired a taste for.

Open Season

Tomorrow is opening day for little league. The teams will be introduced and the games will begin. Two games a week at least and the season ends sometime in May. Playoffs............who knows. It's going to be crazy busy =]

Jared was on spring break this past week and Ethan was on track break so they got to go to the park, I think everyday twice a day to practice. It's nice now that Ethan is older and Jared can do more with him. They are identical in every way, which is mostly a good thing. Look out when they have a bad day!!! When they both get going......whoooweeee.... They have the same temperament, it's hilarious. When I laugh at them for getting so flustered at the stupidest things of course; needless to say it doesn't help. But it makes me feel better, and that's what counts right???!!!

I think they are getting pictures taken soon so when they do I will surely post them.

Happy Birthday

This weekend we have Jareds Grandma Ann and my Grandpa Bill. We are all going to Olive Garden tomorrowfor Nana's birthday dinner.
..................and as for Grandpa Bill HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!! WE ALL LOVE YOU!!!!!

Happy Birthday

This weekend we have Jared's Grandma Ann and my Grandpa Bill. We are all going to Olive Garden tomorrow for Nana's birthday dinner.
..................and as for Grandpa Bill HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!! WE ALL LOVE YOU!!!!!

Good News

Well an update of the not so good news a few weeks ago. My grandpa starts chemo this week and they expect a full recovery. It will take a while and he will under go treatments for months but as of now no surgery. They caught the cancer soon enough to treat without it. So, yay!! We will keep up our prayers and positive thinking. Lots of love to you all =)

Quote of the Day

Well, not today's but more like yesterday's but I still thought it was pretty funny.
"Grow a sac class" (by DR)
Now you have to understand that where I work it's construction and a bunch of guys who love to work around girls as long as they aren't girly girls. If they yell at you and you cry, they wonder if they can keep you around because inevitably you are going to get yelled at again. Now lets see in the eight years I've been there I think I've gotten yelled at maybe once or twice, and much to your surprise I didn't cry. No, I'd get pissed and cry over stupid stuff like raises and fair treatment. But now that we are corporate they can't get away with as much =) Either that or I've been around long enough that when they are being A**holes I ignore them, or tell them to shut-up.
There is one girl in particular who is fairly new, and I guess both of her bosses make her extremely nervous and have made her cry over dumb things that typically anyone in her position would know. It's her job and you have to know how many employees you pay each week?!? But I guess 'brain fart' is more what happened.
So now there is a particular course that girls in our line of work must complete upon arrival.

"Grow a Sac Class"
Course Description: Learn to ignore the A**holes, it can be a long or short class depending on how you learn. You learn such techniques as to smile while you are really pissed. Venting all of your frustrations on Innocent drivers that are to slow so by the time you make it home you are full of smiles and joy. And most of all the hardest to master, saying "Oh, I'm sorry. I must have misunderstood. Yes, I'll have that in one sec.". When you really want to say, "If you would have asked for that in the first friggin place you could leave me alone so I could do the 50 other friggin things you asked me to do!!!"

...................I love my job......................

Yankee

Ooohh..........I forgot. Ethan is playing little league!! Now if there is any sport on in our house it's baseball, and if it's any team it's the Yankees. So imagine Jared's excitement when the coach called two weeks ago and introduced himself as the coach for the Yankees. Ethan was pretty excited too since the only players he knows by name are Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. So now he's officially a Yankee.
So far he enjoys the practice he just has a lot to learn as far as what to do when it's not your turn. Sitting down and playing in the dirt is not acceptable when you have balls coming from every direction. Luckily we have had no injuries but we've only had 3 practices so there is plenty of time. So far our biggest obstacle was the cup. Jared was on his way home from school so I got the pleasure of explaining what it's for and why we (boys) wear it. Any talk about private parts is pretty funny and embarrassing, especially when your not of the same sex. He got a pretty big kick out of it though. Now he just runs funny!!!

Post-it's

I thought this would be a great idea. Giving our "outer" family an "inner" scoop on us. But the key really is to keep up with it. I have to really think about doing anything or as anyone who knows me I forget. If I don't have a post-it note on my forehead I'll forget it. I am notorious on making a shopping list, and then forgetting it at home or work. Or even better than that, I'll be on my way home and know I need to stop somewhere and since it's not on my usual way home I'll forget and have to make a second trip to complete the task. If you don't believe me, I did it on Friday and made Jared go with me at 7:00 at night to make the much needed CVS trip.
You should see my desk at work, on any given day I have at least 5. And the ones that are there for more than a day or so turn into furniture; so there again my problem, I forget to look at them. So a promise to myself is to mentally POST-IT.................. I will update this more often. There you have it!!!

I stand corrected...

Ok so I assumed that my grandparents had a pop out trailer and that made me jealous enough, but now I find out that it is a 30' travel trailer with all of the amenities of a new home. Holy Cow!!! All I have to say is "I want one!!"
I'm making a list of all of the things I'm going to tell myself in 30 that Jared and I are going to do. First the kids are out of the house by 18 or in college and then we are going to retire. Second we are going to travel the country and see and do whatever we darn well please. Third; we have to see a Yankee game, that's top priority in our house. Then when we have that done and out of the way we are going to travel the world. Then after striving to live up to all of this we will be broke and living with our kids and maybe just maybe they will be kind enough to let us hook up our travel trailer to their house. But you never know after kicking them out to live the lavish life of world travelers they might just see that as selfish and make us go park it at a campground!!
Ah, the dreams............ If you don't have them then you have nothing but reality, and that can really suck. You have to mix it up every once in a while!!!

Retirement

I know that we have A LOT of years before that day ever comes, but I seriously want to follow in my Grandparents footsteps. This is one thing I really admire about my Mom's parents. They live on their farm that they have be on since before I was born; and plant what they want when the season is right. My Grandma redecorates and builds onto their home in her spare time. They pack up and go to the lake for 6-8 weeks at a time and fish or watch the trees blow in the wind. When they need to go home to take care of business they go home. They recently bought a travel pop up trailer with a monster Dodge truck to pull it with. Now they can go anywhere anytime. After my Grandpa's cancer procedures they are planing a trip to "where ever the road takes them". That's the retirement I want!!!

Snow

Holy Crap....So far there has been a reported 9' of snow in Oswego County NY. That was about 50 miles northwest of where we were, not far in BFE. They got the "lake effect" snow from Lake Ontario. Everyday they report more. Jared gets bummed out that he's not there for it but I tell him that he would be the one on the roof shoveling, scooping, kicking the snow off so it doesn't cave in on our heads at night. So am I glad to be back in Las Vegas..........um yeah, I think so. And my darling husband will learn to agree with me since he's never lived in it or had to do anything in it. Maybe one day we'll go visit the snow to get his fix, fixed.

Unfortunate News

This past week we found out that there is almost 100% chance that my Grandpa Kennedy has colon cancer. The last update I heard was that he had all of the diagnostic testing done and it all pointed to cancer. Now they are just waiting for the final testing to finish up and then they can plan surgery to try and remove it. He has been through so much in the past few years that this is a real blow to the heart. He was hit by a train a few years ago and survived with little permanent damage. Then this past year he had, I believe had a cyst that was cancerous on his hand. In January he got the final word back that they had removed all of the cancer from his hand. Wham!!!! Now you have colon cancer.............what a shame. He is a survivor and a pile of strength. And he has a wonderful support system. I know that he will be OK and maybe in the next few years we can all plan some sort of vacation and visit them or they can visit us.

Halloween

We got creative this past year and decided that the cartoon characters had had their day. When he was a baby we made him a skunk and a turtle. Then when he was about 3 I got really ambitious and made him a Yankee player (Daddy was proud). Then we did super heros because all boys love anyone super!! This year we create Frankenstein. Next year he wants to be Freddy Kruger. I hope he changes his mind about 5 or 6 times or at least until he forgets about it.

Snow in Vegas

It doesn't happen very often but when it does it's a huge deal and of course no one can drive worth a crap in the rain and let alone in the snow. On the far south side of town we got a whopping 4"!!! People made snowmen.......but at about 9 - 10 am they melted. It was short lived but snow none the less.

Rainbow's in Vegas

This one I actually got pictures of, there were two. One on top of the other.

Colorado has the most beautiful scenery

The Aspen and Pine Trees.















The aspens in summer.
















The Rocky Mountains.


































The Colorado River.

The Tooth Fairy even has inflation...

When Jared and I were little we got a quarter. Now she gives $5.00 per tooth!!! What has gone wrong here. All I can say is I hope they fall out very slowly.

Yay...

So I think I finally figured this out. We have a generic website!!!