Isn't this what Sundays Are For

.....accomplishing absolutely nothing!! I've developed a new obsession for blogs so I've been tweaking mine and browsing tons of others. Trying to get ideas and clues on how to do things!

Flashback Friday

Flashback Friday this week - Featuring Gregory

Gregory will soon be turning 13 and entering 8th grade! I can hardly believe I will be the mother of a teenager (am I really that old???). When Greg was born, digital cameras were not a hit...maybe not even invented?!? So the following pictures are the oldest ones that I have of him on my computer and because I'm not getting my scanner out anytime soon - I'm featuring Gregory when he was five - the year he started Kindergarden. In these pictures, he is the same age as Joseph is now and he is getting ready to start kindergarden.

I love you Gregory! I wish I could keep you young and innocent for many years to come. You've been wonderful and never give me a hard time. You've made all the right decisions so far in life and I'm going to wish upon every star in the sky that it continues.

Flashback Friday

My very first car was a Dodge Colt which I'm pretty sure was brand spankin new in 1985! My car payments were less than $100 a month! I got the car right after I graduated from high school in 1990 as you can see my tassle is hanging from the rearview mirrow. Also you will notice a yellow ribbon tied around the mirror because during the early 1990's the Gulf War started. I remember the night we started bombing like it was yesterday. The only car I have a picture of is my first - and what a milestone that was in my life!

Since this beauty, I've owned about six other cars! But never with any of these have I reached the mileston of OWNING A VEHICLE THAT WE HAVE PAID OFF! I'm so excited to have a great vehicle that is only five years old and I still love - that is now payment free!

Joseph Turns Five

I can't believe it - Joseph has turned five! We asked him a couple months ago what type of party he wanted and he said Indiana Jones. Joseph will fixate on things, and this was it - so we started the planning. I made small cloth messanger bags and whips for each boy and then bought them brown foam Indiana Jones hats. When the kids arrived they started the festivities with pin the hat on Indiana Jones.

From there, they earned their costumes - so off to the tent went the little guys and out came eight Indiana Jones'.

After that it was on to the snake pit. They had to test their balancing as they walked the plank and the reward - if they were brave enough, they could capture their own snake! Once all the boys conquered the snakes, they were given a map piece which directed them to the Cafe.

Set up for sampling were boars eyes, monkey brains and jungle worms...anyone daring enough to try a sample???

After the feast, the next map piece directed them to the sand pit where, if they dug deep enough, they would find gold!

When the loot bags were full, on to mummy the mommies!

The final map piece directed them to the buried treasure. Find the X marking the spot, grab your shovels and DIG! When the treasure was unearthed, it was full of pinata makings.

Slacking....

Well, I've been slacking in the blogging lately! This summer has been nothing but moving in fast forward. Since the whole remodel project began the first of July, I've barely had time to sleep, let alone anything else. And here it is the second week into August and I still have one more bedroom to finish on the other side. Nona and her family moved in a week ago and since then, it's harder for me to go over and work because 1 - I don't want to bother her, 2 - all her stuff is there and trying to work around it is driving me insane and 3 - whenever I try to go over and leave the little boys with Greg, they always wander over and how in the world can I get anything done with four boys running crazy!

It will get done eventually along with all the other projects I'm planning in my head and I will spend time with the kids at some point before they have to go back to school!

Flashback Friday

July 2004

So flashback Friday is a little late this week, but it's all because of these two little guys. These handsome boys are my nephews, Daniel (red) and Jason (blue). This picture is from their first birthday and they are modeling their new rides made by none other than Uncle Steve! At the time, I was 8.5 months pregnant with Joseph, busting at the seams, praying labor would come at any minute. This past weekend we went to Buffalo to celebrate birthday number 6 for Daniel and Jason. They will be going into first grade; they have moved on from wooden harley rockers to big two wheeler bikes! Where has the time gone! Happy Belated Birthdays Boys!! We love you and are glad that every year we are there for your birthday!

Flashback Friday

While I was pregnant with Joseph and about 4 weeks from delivery, the Department of Corrections decided to reorganize and Steve who had been at Dry Hill was going to either be relocated to Sing Sing or he could "put his name on the list" for something closer....and safer. We'll after lots of research, sleepless nights and worries, we decided on Five Points Correctional Facility. Steve had some Paternity leave to take after I had Joseph, so after his leave, he had to start at Five Points. We (me, Greg and newborn Joseph) moved into Steve parents house while the search for a new house started. Every time I had available I would meet Steve at the outlet mall and we would scour the areas for someplace to call home....what an ordeal that was. Five Points is located in Ramoulus, NY pretty much in the middle of nowhere and I was not having that. I'm a social girl and if there was not a Wal-mart or Mall within 20 miles, I wasn't having it. We decided on Canandaigua, NY. It still meant about an hour drive for Steve, but it was closer than the 2.5 hour drive from Waterown. Canandaigua was a gorgeous area to live, the school system was excellent, there were stores and mall all over, downtown was the place to be and his sister and family were less than an hour away and Rochester was only 30 minutes.

We moved down in March, Greg was enrolled in school, we found an awesome apartment but the luck stopped with me finding a job. Steve was working days and I wanted to work nights so I would not have to leave a newborn with strangers and the cost of living was a little high, which meant day care expenses were over the roof!

We lasted until September - I was miserable and wanted to be with my family. Joseph had just turned one and we found out that we were having another baby. I wanted to come home and would not take no for an answer! Not to mention that Greg's dad was giving me a hard time and every other weekend I had to drive to Syracuse for the swap. This was not a fun drive with a very cranky one year old, being five months pregnant, and a very unhappy Gregory who wanted nothing to do with seeing his dad. Plus, I was doing this alone.

Steve transferred to Gouverneur and we came home!! We often travel to Buffalo to visit Steve's sister and will make a point in stopping in Canandaigua for lunch, a wander around the mall and a drive by our old place. Every year they have an awesome craft show that crowds the main street and overflows onto all the side streets. Conveniently, it always falls on the weekend we have to go to Buffalo for our nephews birthday! Next weekend, July 18th, I'll be hitting the streets of our old stomping ground....Steve and I often remark that when we retire we would like to move back to the area - steering clear of Five Points!!

The blog picture is a row of cottages along Canandaigua Lake that I took during our relocation. Here are a few more.