Remember When??

I was just going through some of my pictures I have saved on my computer and I came across this one, which just happens to be one of my favorites of my two FAVORITE BOYS!!! Who can remember Nico being that small........he has changed so much and when I look at this picture it reminds how fast time has gone.

Hope you enjoy the picture and remembering Nico as a baby, not as the Big Boy he has become!

Until our next adventure......

Summer is here?!?!?

I don't want to say it to loud but....................SUMMER HAS FINALLY ARRIVED!!!!

Sorry, I guess I got a little carried away, but with the beautiful weekend we just had..I ask all of you how can we not be so excited!! I truly thought winter was NEVER going to end!!!! I mean think back a couple of weeks and it was snowing for gosh sakes!!!!!

Anyways, we had a great weekend playing outside, getting yard work done and staining the deck yet again this year! I got sunburned which kind of stunk but since it was so nice, I guess that was my stupidity since I lathered my son up, but not me! And even when Nico played with his washable paint set, it couldn't ruin my mood even though he had paint all over him, his carpet and all his craft stuff in his closet.....but how could I be mad when it was my fault for leaving the closet unlocked. So needless to say the paint is in the trash, the coloring books that were stuck together and the playdough container has bit the dust!!!! But like I said nothing could ruin my weekend and I should have taken some pictures because now looking back it was pretty funny, but at the time and the hour and half it took me to clean it up was not so much fun!

Let's all hope that we continue with this beautiful weather and nice breeze in the continuing days because I hoping Summer will last just a couple days extra this year since we could never seem to get rid of WINTER!!!!

Until our next adventure....

Attitude of Gratitude: April 24th, 2009

Who can believe it's Friday already.....seems like time is flying by!

I am grateful for:

1. Good friends and family who helped celebrate my birthday last weekend...I think I ate enough for 3 people!

2. That Baby Stellan made it out of surgery OK, and although things are turning out the way they thought hopefully things will turn around soon.

3. Three pays in April, I know I have used that before but it's still GREAT!

4. Antibiotics that got rid of all my crud I had last week!

5. Along with that the greatest Doctor in the world who continually puts up with me!

6. Nico who is starting to think in the right direction of potty training....I hope!

7. Swimming Classes and Pre-school, it's so good to see him socializing and doing things on his own!

8. Email, Internet and Facebook all of these things help me keep connected with new and old friends even when life sweeps me away from them!

9. Dance Recitals, it is so much fun to see Kait and Kourt work so hard all year and then perform like pros!

10. Thomas the Train who Nico is so into right now, and hopefully we'll be making a Percy the Train purchase VERY soon (going on the big potty for the first time reward).

Happy Friday!!!

Until our next adventure...

Potty Training Update

Just wanted everyone to know that we might be on to something.......

NICO ASKED TO GO TO THE POTTY TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!

Although it was after Daddy had him on the potty, but when Daddy asked him if he wanted to get up he said no "I gotta go to the potty"!!! I know he didn't go but at least he asked, that's the right step.....RIGHT??

Anyways, I am excited and lets just hope he will go so we can buy him Percy the Train he wants so bad!!!

I'll try to keep you updated on his progress!

Until our next adventure........

Sesame Street Live!

We had a great weekend for my birthday, and it started out on Friday when we took Nico to Price Park to feed the "duckies". He is so much fun now, he sees things we miss and loves to learn new things! So taking him to the park this year is always going to be a new adventure! He loves to slide, swing and play with the other kids. We had to bribe him with ice cream to get him to leave, but we'll worth it Almost Heaven has the best ice cream and it's really close to our house which makes it even better!!!

Then on Saturday we got up and Mommy got to sleep in for the first time in......we'll I don't remember but I got to sleep until almost 8:30AM!!! Then it was time for us to start getting ready for Sesame Street Live: Elmo Plays Music and I have to admit I thought Nico would really love and he did for the first half, but trying to keep a 2 1/2 year old entertained for almost 2 hours in a seat is almost impossible but we did it by bribing him with popcorn and grape soda...I know I am a terrible Mother, but in times like this you have to do what you have to do! Anyhow, after the show we went back home for naptime!

All in all it was a fun weekend with Nico, Daddy and Mommy and it was especially nice because the weather was starting to break and we actually could go outside!!!! It's funny how as we get older, and have a child birthday weekends definitely are different then they were before we had Nico but definitely a lot better now!!!

I have pictures at home that I will try to post, but as always if I don't the photoshow will be up next week!!

Until our next adventure..........

Attitude of Gratitude: April 17th, 2009

Here we are another Friday has come, time to be grateful in so many ways!

1. That I wasn't hurt in the car accident I was involved in last Friday, could of been a lot worse than it was.

2. That my car is fixable and should be done with a couple of weeks!

3. That Nico was not in the car with me when I was t-boned last week!

4. That even though I may or may not have been speeding down Diamond, I am thankful the Policeman was as nice as he was and let me go.....plus he is a friend, so that helped too!

5. Nico didn't cry to hard when we left him for Swimming lessons and that his Pre-school teacher Miss Angie is nice even when Nico isn't so much!

6. Birthday, gosh I am glad that another has come around without to much drama this year!

7. Birthday Cards, how much fun is it to come home to find a pile of Birthday cards from various family and friends to show how much you are loved! Thank you!

8. Nice weather, I can't believe that the weather has finally turned and B has the weekend, we'll almost all the weekend off.

9. Motorized cars that Nico finally figured out how to steer and drives around the neighborhood, acting like he is going to get somewhere!

10. Family and friends, when you need them most they are there and when you want to party hard you know who to call.........J/K, I am to old for that crap anymore! LOL!

Hope everyone enjoys the weekend and the outdoors!

Until next time...........

***UPDATE***

As promised, the real story of what happened if you watch closely the second Officer is actually the one who shot the suspect. The suspect was reaching for a second hand gun as he was putting down the assault rifle, and fortuantely the second Officer was there to see him reach for the gun and save the 1st Officer's life.

What my point is that take the New Stories as they are and realize that sometimes the truth isn't always told, and in this case how many were quick to judge..sadly I know I was, and me of all people should know better......

Take a moment to watch this video.

Watch this video and let me know with your comment of what you think happened here and then I will post what actually happened. It caught me off guard even with the open mind of being a Deputies wife, I still was quick to judge. I tease him all the time that he is just a glorified babysitter, but out there it is a crazy world I pretend his life is not in danger everyday, but we all know the truth…..it’s a crazy world we live in and we all need to appreciate our Law Enforcement for what they do for hardly nothing, but for the pure love of their jobs.

Until next time.....

Swimming Classes & Car Accidents........

Not in that order, and thankfully the second part had nothing to do with Nico!! Let's begin with the good news, Nico started swimming classes on his own last Thursday and although I was a little nervous on how he would act...I think he was OK. And the reason I say, I think is because the instructors come and get the kids and towels and then you are instructed to go upstairs and watch them on a TV screen with all the other parents in a room. I guess this is good because they can't see you and won't cry for you, but watching Nico from a 40" screen with 10 or so other sets of parents was a little hard. I can tell you I think he did OK, the teacher never said anything and he sat on the edge of the pool the entire time with the other kids, but when he saw me after then marched them back to the waiting parents he starting yelling, "Mommy, Mommy" and was crying....his face was all red and I am not sure if he was crying the whole time or not. I would think though that they would have said something if he had cried the whole time, right?? Then Chay told me that he cried when he didn't get a toy at the end, as everyone else got a water toy to play with the last 5 minutes or so. So I am not sure what happened and hoping next week is better.........PLEASE!

In other news, yes as many of you know I was involved in a pretty bad accident yesterday but thankfully I was not hurt except for a stiff neck. Apparently even when you have a green light you need to offensive because running a red light is optional...actually the ironic thing is that I watched one guy blow the light and thought OK should be safe now, right?? Not, the guy behind him also took it upon himself to run the light and thought he had a green light...so now my driver side is completely smashed in and his license plate was embedded in my door. Again, thankfully Nico was NOT in the car and I was not hurt. Kiki the best doctor in the world had me call my surgeon and he said unless something changes I will be OK, so I am saying I am on my 4th of 9 lives and apparently it still isn't my time to go! So now since no one was cited and why in the world would anyone stop to see if everyone is OK, it's my word against his.......such is life I guess and I am sure somehow it'll work out, but one thing I do endorse Honda's, I have had two terrible accidents first one in my Honda Accord hitting head-on with a vehicle that turned in front of me and yes I had a stiff neck, but really no injuries...although my car, with $11K worth of damage was hurt but I walked away and now with my Honda Civic being hit directly on the driver side door at 40+ mpg and still no injuries other than soreness....I am definitely saying that I will not buy anything other than a Honda for these reasons and am so fortunate I was not hurt and neither was the other person...I just keep telling myself, "cars can be fixed!"

Until our next adventure!

Attitude of Gratitude: April 10th, 2009

Some much to be grateful for, so little blogging to do!

1. Spring Cleaning: It's nice that I finally got our computer room all organized and even got Bryan to clean out the closet....we'll sort of but we'll finish it up this weekend!

2. Funny stories: I am so grateful for my friend April, who has 3 kids under 3 and a 7 year old who can always make me laugh!

3. Stellan: So grateful that they finally are getting somewhere and hoping that he doesn't have to have surgery next week.

4. Easter Candy: Who doesn't like their kids Easter Candy....oh I mean my candy!

5. Motorized Cars: Thanks to Julie who gave Nico a motorized car that he is finally figuring out how to steer!

6. Pre-school: You won't believe how much he loves it and doesn't even flinch when we leave...growing up so fast!

7. Terri: It's so nice to have my BF at the center to be able to keep an eye on the little guy, and watch him today! Plus there is always the gratefulness that she has been my friend for over 18 years!

8. TGIF: I am so glad it's Friday, even though I have to work half a day tomorrow but sleeping in on Sunday is always fun...OK only til 7 but it's better than nothing!

9. Patience: So glad the swimming instructor has patience and Nico was pretty good, I think, for his first swimming class without us anywhere in site! He is growing up too fast....I'll post about that later!

10. 3 pays in April: What could be better than Bryan getting paid 3 times in April....I love these months!!!

Happy Easter all!!

Until our next adventure...

Sesame Street Live: Elmo Plays Music

Not that Daddy is to excited, but since it's my birthday we got tickets to Seseame Street LIVE!!! I can't wait to see Nico with all the music, characters and fun! Since they are in town, of course we had to get tickets. I am sure everyone will be excited to hear all about our adventure next weekend...

Until next time.......

We got tickets!!!!

I am so excited, I was researching a train ride for Nico because he is sooo into trains these days and found his favorite, Thomas the Train in Peninsula, OH! So of course I had to buy tickets and it happened to be on the weekend that Daddy had requested off!!! I can't wait for Nico to see Thomas and all the fun things they have to offer, he is going to be so EXCITED!!! That or Mommy will be for him...LOL!

Until our next adventure.......

We made it!!

Nico made it through the first day of Pre-school with no tears, no pouting, nothing but pure fun and excitement for his first day of Pre-school!!

We got up this morning, I had to wake him up...got dressed, ate breakfast and brushed our teeth until it was finally time to go! Grandma Beth showed up so she could see where to pick him up and be there for another one of Nico's 1st's! We met the teacher, Miss Angie and he was off to play with all the toys! He met his first friend, Mason who was already there and I am sure many more after we left. After we gave them all his stuff it was time to say goodbye, he gave me a hug and a kiss, and Bryan too and then he was off again to play! Never even looking back or having any tears......we hung up his coat on his hook and I was off to work.

Grandma Beth went to pick him up, and they said he was really good. He colored a picture, played in the big room and I am sure many, many more that hopefully he'll tell me tonight. All in all when I talked to him after school he was so excited and had to tell me all about it. I think he had a great time, and I am sure he can't wait to go back tomorrow!!!

It was also very nice, that my best friend Terri works there and gave me an update that he was doing great!

So there it is the adventures of his first day of Pre-school, and the beginning of the many, many first days of school he has ahead of him!

Until our next Nico adventure.........

Attitude of Gratitude: April 3rd, 2009

I have to say I have really enjoyed these weekly rituals of what I am grateful for because we all have lots of things to be grateful for and writing them down, really puts things in perspective! So of course, I am grateful for:

1. My stepdad's central line being put in without any problems!

2. The nice guy who let Nico ride on the backhoe yesterday!! How nice was that to make a 2 year old's day!

3. Birthdays and lots of reasons to celebrate!

4. Stellan who seems to be at least taking a turn for the better, the prayers are definitely helping!

5. Even though I am sad it's over, I am grateful for growing up with ER and having all those years of watching them!

6. Flower Factory, gosh I could spend an entire day in there and not buy anything, but of course we did last night!

7. Sunny days, gosh how much it has to be able to go outside with Nico after work!

8. Good friends, it's so nice that we have our core group of friends that are more like family to us!

9. Easter time, how much is it to color eggs with the little ones and now that Nico is older I am sure it'll be a lot of fun!

10. Peach tea, I just got some yummy peach tea last night and I am enjoying my morning cup as I type this post!

Well there it is, my list! Hope everyone else has a lot of grateful moments to share too!!

Until our next adventure.....

Please, Digger ride, please!!!

I wish I could download the text I got from Bryan today, it's a picture of Nico on a Backhoe after a friend of Bryan's, Max was talking to Bryan and Nico when his boss came up and unloaded a Backhoe. Of course, Nico who has been eyeing them all week in the allotment went over to the boss of our friend and put his arms up, and said "please digger ride please?" Of course with those blue eyes and cute face who could resist?? So the nice man, picked up Nico onto the "digger" and gave him a Backhoe 101 Lesson. Nico got to control (well he thought he was) the Backhoe for a few minutes by pushing the buttons and making the bucket go for a ride in a circle or two, and pushing a few more buttons, but then it was time for the guys to start working. Believe it or not, I know it's shocking Nico wasn't in their plans today! It was so nice that they let him take a ride and he was in heaven, it made a cute little 2.5 year old day that he'll probably never forget.

Although as he was getting out of the "digger" he said "Dump truck, ride in Dump truck please!" Of course Bryan said no, but it was too cute! If we can figure out how to get the photo off the cell phone, we'll post it!

Until our next adventure.....

Happy 2 1/2 Birthday Nico!!!

Nico's 1st Day home

October 4th, 2006

Nico & Chay, February 2007

Nico-4 months

Chay-6 months

Nico & Mr. Browny
August 2007
10 months old

Nico on his new swing set
July 2008
20 months old

Nico at Ft. Benning, GA
2 years old

Who can believe that Nico is already 2 1/2 and so many things are changing, from starting pre-school on Monday to being in his own Swimming class that week also! He is getting to big to fast, and looking back at his baby pictures I can't believe that he has gotten so big and independent!!! I hope you guys enjoy the few favorite pictures I have posted to take all of us down memory lane....

Until our next adventure....Pre-school.........hopefully Mommy doesn't cry to hard!!!