Do Something Good!

I am not really sure if this drive is happening like EVERYWHERE or if it's just in my town BUT keep a look out for flyers for a back pack drive! There are thousands of kids that go every school year without back packs and other school necessities. One back pack can really really help a kid in need. It may not seem like much but with the prices of back packs almost doubling from even when I was in high school there are some parents that aren't able to afford them. So right now with the sales of school supplies going on is a great time to buy one and donate it! So When I went shopping for Max's back pack I picked up two that I thought he would like, asked him to pick his favorite, and then told him we were going to give the other to another little boy in need and he was totally fine with it! And after school today I took him with me to WalMart to pick up a bunch of supplies to fill the back pack with. I literally bought one of almost everything they had that I could think of that an elementary aged kid would need and I didn't even spend more than $20.00. The back pack was on clearance for $11.00 at Target. So I would suggest you look into this...or just look out for other drives for the kids in your community. Our drop off for these are at our police station just in case anyone from my town is thinking about participating. You don't have to buy the supplies but, why not spend five more dollars if you can?

So theres 2 folders, 2 notebooks, a package of paper, a composition notebook, colored pencils, glue sticks, crayons, black and red pens, a stretchy book cover, calculator, highlighters, scissors, glue, and a 24 pack of regular pencils.

Talk to you soon,
J

The Day Has Come...

To say good bye to my first born's toddler years and hello to his school age years! I have 13 more years of first days of school with him left and this was probably the hardest first day of all. I surprisingly didn't cry but I did get a little flustered as we were leaving thinking about if he was going to have any separation issues...but he didn't. He just said bye to Ryan and I and went back to talking to his new buddy. So today isn't a sad day for me. It's a day filled with joy and pride that for the first three years of his life I raised an awesome little boy all by myself and since then Ryan has been by my side making him even more awesome!!

The backpack he chose =) He loves Buzz Lightyear!

He was trying to make a P for preschool!
So cute!!















Talk to you soon,
J

YUMMMMY SEAFOOD!

My oldest little brother Hugo (22) came down from Northern California a few days ago to spend some time with all of us! He has lived about 12 hours away from us for the last four years!! He moved up there to attend Humboldt State University with his then girlfriend (now wife). Because he lives so far away we only see him like twice a year, so for him to come here for five days is a big deal for us. So my mom (once again knowing her kids all too well) decided to do one of our favorite things and cook a huge seafood feast! She steams crab legs, boils shrimp, and always makes corn on the cob, and this time she made some garlic bread (Hugo loves it) and also made some pigs in a blanket for my picky little Maximus. These happen to be my moms favorite times. Whenever all four of her kids (and now 2 grandkids) are in the same place together, she is happy as can be. So it was me, Ryan, Max, GiGi, my brother Andrew (17), brother Matthew (16), Hugo, his best friend and long time family friend Scott, and my Moma and it was amazing! We ate, we joked, we laughed, and we just had a good time. Hugo goes home in a few days and we'll have to wait a few months before we see him again which sucks, we're grown ups now and our lives have taken us miles apart but hes ALWAYS in my heart. Like my rhyme? =)
So here are some pictures of our seafood night!!

Hugo, Scott, Ryan and GiGi, and Matthew.

Hugo and Scott with some crab legs.

Scott and Ryan being silly.

Scott and Ryan talking.
Matthew and Max waiting for everyone to sit down.

From left to right; Andrew, Mom, Hugo, Scott, GiGi, Ryan, Matthew. Max was on the ground next to Matthew.

=D

Eating

Thank goodness for self timer or else you'd never know I was there!!

The remnants!




Talk to you soon,
J

Thankful Thursdays-7

I actually forgot about blogging today! So as I was checking out everyone's blogs I remembered it was my favorite day Thankful Thursday!! So here we go!! This week I have been beyond thankful for my ENTIRE life. Like I am thankful for:

61. My ability to be honest with myself and everyone else.
62. The way I was raised.
63. My husband who is so happy to make me happy
64. How happy my brothers make Maximus.
65. Friendships that outlast petty disagreements.
66. Gabriella's laughter.
67. My husbands face...(he's just so handsome)
68. Vacations!
69. That my car is officially paid off!!
70. Rainy days that knock our power out so that we can enjoy the rain together.

So what are you thankful for this week?!

Talk to you soon,
J

Sorry I've been busy...

I took a few days off from blogging.
Actually I wasn't even on the computer as much as I normally am the last couple of days.
It's been quite busy around here...and just a tiny bit stressful.
I love making lists so I thought I would put this blog into list form.
So here's whats been keeping me busy!!

1. We have been having major difficulties with our fridge! I don't know if any of you have experienced life with only a freezer...but its not fun. SO...we bought a stand alone freezer to make sure that our frozen foods didn't go bad. (Thanks Hubby) And finally this morning (almost two weeks later) we got a new fridge delivered from Lowes. It was on the landlords dime so I didn't get to pick it out. But it is brand new and it has enough fridge space. The freezer is a little small but that's not really important right now since we have the stand alone.

2. We've been preparing Max for school!! Trying to get him adjusted to an 8:30/9:00 bedtime and just talking to him about the things he will be doing and stuff. Just trying to pump him up for it that way we wont have ANY issues when that first day gets here. And we've had his friends (and my little faves) over for swimming, playing, cooking, and other fun stuff to celebrate the end of summer!! This is something I plan on continuing for all of my kids every summer until they all graduate from college.

3. I've been spending a TON of time with my kids one on one and on the ground playing with them. I sometimes forget that GiGi will only be this age for such a short amount of time and because we wont be having another baby for a few years I need to soak it all up to last. And Maximus is about to start his school career! This marks the end of his toddler years. He is officially going to be a big kid. I need to soak up these moments because these babies are growing faster than my brain can process it.

4. I have also been planning an anniversary vacation/belated honeymoon trip for Ryan and I! And since we are no longer having a wedding our budget for this trip got a little larger! We originally were going to go on a cruise...BUT THEN...I talked to my mom about it and she (knowing me all too well) told me that she didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I would an all inclusive resort. So we talked about it and I did some research and it looks like were going to......JAMAICA!! I'm sure I'll be blogging about this much more in the future so I'll stop now before this gets too long. =)

5. And lastly I've really been working on myself. I've been looking into myself for the things that I need to purge out of my soul. I am no longer going to stress so hard on the problems in other peoples lives. In the past I have gotten extremely upset for my friends when things happened to them that I felt were so wrong and undeserved. I would get angry and these issues would literally bring me down. I could feel it in my heart, the pain that my friends had. So I decided to literally stop being mad at people I've been mad at for years and talk to these people. The very few...actually only one person that I want nothing to do with EVER is far removed from my life and my family so, if that particular person has nothing to do with us then that person does not exist. I have forgiven those I feel have done me wrong in the past and closed the door on the resentment. I am a new me.

So as of Thursday I will be back to blogging, but staying off of the computer for the rest of the day. I will spend all of my time with my kids, I will cater to my husband, I will treat people I haven't spoke to in years as if I just saw them yesterday, and I will focus on the things that really matter.

Talk to you soon,
J

A wedding gift.

So as I've said before my best friend Evette got married recently...
Well we waited to buy her and Nick a wedding gift because I knew I wanted to make sure we got them something AMAZING!
We decided to get them a 16x24 canvas wrap of one of their favorite wedding photos for their living room. Needless to say it turned out FABULOUS!! It happens to be the best wedding gift I could imagine buying for them, and the happiness on Evette's face was totally worth the money!! So without further ado here are some pictures!!
















The cutest wrapping paper! $3.00 at WalMart!

Just wanted to show that the photo keeps going, hence canvas"wrap". It isn't hollow on the back either! It has a black backing with two little hangy things (I have no idea what they're called but they look like a row of pointy teeth LOL) on the top two corners and on the bottom two corners are two rubber dots, I'm pretty sure those are to even out the hanging and to make sure it doesn't rub onto the wall.

And here's the picture!

Talk to you soon,
J

Thankful Thursdays-6

"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."
--Matthew 11:28

This week although it has been a long one, I am still thankful for so many things!!

51. The noises Gabriella is learning to make. So entertaining!
52. Max's face when we talk about going to school.
53. Ryan, for agreeing to buy a stand alone freezer. LOVE IT.
54. Netflix.
55. My mom for reassuring me.
56. Change.
57. My nightly routine with the kids.
58. Max's new car dancing skills.
59. Common sense.
60. That I know the truth about the things people try and act like never happened.

What are you thankful for this week?
Talk to you soon,
J