Burning Cheeks....

I'm referring to the ones on my face by the way! This weekend we went to see Ron White (the comedian for those of you who aren't familiar with him). He was at the Murat Theatre in Indianapolis where my dear friend Jill Katherine lives. We started off the afternoon having a few pre-show drinks with JillyKat....







It's always FABULOUS to get to visit with Jill!!! I love her!






















AND.... just so happened Nick and Alissa had tickets as well... so we all went together! This was still pre-show :~)










And then it's time for THEE show! No cameras were allowed in the theatre, so this is all you get! But holy moly he is one FUNNY guy!!!!!!!!! I'm still laughing out loud today... hee hee hee hee hee!!!!








And THEN it was time for post-show outing!!!!!!!!!! OOT-OOT! This picture could wrap up the night with no words!!!!!


















And look who made it back out with us after the show !!! Yay!!!















I have Noooooooo idea what we were celebrating??? We're goobers!!!!!!! But don't ever doubt the fun we have!







Nick and Liss in the hotel convenient store. Wonder what they might've been purchasing??? They look like happy customers none-the-less, huh????

Oh what a night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks to Jill, Nick, Liss and my husband for making it such a fantastic evening!!!!!!!!!!! You all are fabulous to me :~)

So it's back to work tomorrow and the kids get their report cards!!!!!!!

9 Months and counting....

... until Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!! Can you all believe that Christmas is a mere 9 months from today??? It hardly seems possible... actually, I'm having a hard time even thinking about it - ugh!!!

So what's been going on in the life of JT? Sports, sports and more sports! Tonight we wrap up the basketball season with a pizza party which I'm sure the boys will love!!!! And over the last week-plus we've started soccer practice and baseball practice! This Saturday we have a double-header Saturday morning in soccer - whew! I'm looking forward to it tho - even tho it's supposed to rain - argh!

Ron White... have you seen him? Comedy Central maybe??? OMG - friggin funny!!! Weelll... this Saturday Nb and I are venturing to Indianapolis to see him LIVE!!!!!!!!!! OOT-OOT! Should be a hoot... I can NOT wait!!!

Anne Alert: (yes, this is equivalent to breaking news on your television except it's a blog-breaker)....

Hard to believe this beautiful, healthy lil' girl once weighed 2 lbs, isn't it? Go ahead... click on the picture to enlarge it and get a good look.... she's a miracle!!!!

I'm also proud to report lil' Miss Anne has been completely off of her feeding tube for almost a week now! She is such a happy lil' girl - full of smiles!!!! Of course, if I could live in that house and kick back in my bouncy and watch the entertainment unfold I would probably be full of giggles as well! Your Aunt Julie is sooooo proud of you Anne!!! xoxoxo

And now back to your regularly scheduled blog:

So I'm getting to that stage of parenting where I just don't understand... Helloooo Fresh Prince of Bel Air!!! If I knew how to insert the tunes to that song I would do so right... "HERE" (go ahead, feel free to take a break and get the tune going on in your noggin)!

Sooooo..... apparently I don't understand the life of a 9 year old boy anymore - no, you're right, I don't - because I never was one!!!! BUT I do know that when it's 45 degrees outside you're going to wear a coat to soccer practice! Seriously... T could NOT understand why he had to wear a coat! I just didn't understand because I'm a girl, and girls are always colder than boys, and he's going to be running around, he's going to get hot,.... I just don't understand! Needless to say - we walked out the door with a coat on! *BAM*! And then when I picked him up he was standing by the concessions shivering - geesh, bet you were glad your mom made you wear a coat... too bad you declined the gloves too - ARGH! Point proven!

So then a couple days later we have a drawing contest... it started with a leprechaun drawing and then we had a draw-off of an easter bunny. See below....

So we signed by our drawings so you can see which is mine and which is T's. Apparently my leprechaun looks more like a cowboy and my bunny ate a few too many cadbury eggs - or so I was told! So T won this contest... it was quite fun! As a matter of fact, the board is still up in his room and last night as I was tucking him in he informed me that he'd like to draw on it again but he thinks our drawings are just great and he doesn't want to erase them! Aaawwweeee!!!!! Amazing what lil' things you can do with your child that can put a smile on their heart!!!

And now it's JT - T competition #2:

Sunday evening I decided to go for a walk and T informed me if we went to the track where he could run that he would go with me. Yay!!! So we walked to the track (yes, I savor these times when it's just us, fresh air, no distractions... amazing conversations come out of these times)... anywho - so we get to the track and we run a mile together. And I KNOW I'm not supposed to be running, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity. So we run a mile together, and then we walk a mile together and chit-chat about life, and THEN we decided to kick it up a notch again and do sprints and race each other. I mean... in my head I'm thinking I'm going to win this time because my legs are a lot longer than his, and according to physics it should all work in my favor - right?! NOPE... WRONG! He demolished me!!! To the point where I had to laugh out loud AT MYSELF! Granted, I feel as tho my son is very athletic-oriented... he loves sports, loves to exercise, loves to run, etc... but I still never imagined being a foot-plus shorter than me that he'd beat me so bad! HA, HA, HA!!! Good times! And the icing on the cake - as we were leaving the track to walk home I was thanking him for going with me and letting me know how much fun I had with him and how much I appreciate him exercising with me. His reply "No problem, I'm always up for taking a risk." I was like WHAT??? How is exercising with me a risk???? He just laughed and shook his head and informed me... I wouldn't understand! Are you kidding me????

So 2 out of the last 3 battles we've had to re-cap:

1. To Wear a Coat or Not Wear A Coat - Mom Wins

2. Leprechaun/Easter Bunny drawings - T Wins

3. Racing at the Track - T Wins

Calling all moms...... I need some suggestions on some challenges that perhaps I can come out as the Winner!!!!!!!! I'm starting to realize my age in all of this! I remember the days I could've drawn an easter bunny and told T it was a dog and he would've loved it! Just like this Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader.... T will be in 5th Grade next year.... what on earth am I going to do??? I can't win this game! I am doomed all - I am doomed!!!!!!! I'd like to say the fun is just beginning, but I think T has raised the bar this year and it's going to be a whole new level of fun!

Oh - and in closing... do you know what else I have learned in the last couple of weeks! My 9 year old son was holding hands with his girlfriend on recess!!!! Holding hands??? Did you read that right??? It's friggin Fourth Grade!!!! He is MY baby - he can't be courting some girl around on recess - OMG! I mean... I'm glad he has a girlfriend - he's always liked girls... he never went thru that "girls have cooties" stage. And this lil' girl is oober cute and sweet, but it's still just a shock to the system to hear! Ugh!

Okay - I'm gonna sign off before I hit the wrong button on accident and delete my rambling blog! It was good to talk to everyone today! Gotta get back to work.... XO!

HEART

My heart has been wrung out so many times it's bound to be wrinkled!

When dieting....

When dieting, remember; What's on the table eventually becomes what's on the chair.

A.S.A.P.

This is from an email that was forwarded to me, but I wanted to post....

Ever wonder about the abbreviation A.S.A.P.? Generally, we think of it in
terms of even more hurry and stress in our lives. Maybe if we think of this
abbreviation in a different manner, we will begin to find a new way to deal
with those rough days along the way.

*************
There's work to do, deadlines to meet;
You've got no time to spare,
But as you hurry and scurry-
A.S.A.P. - ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER

In the midst of family chaos,
"Quality time " is rare.
Do your best; let God do the rest-
A.S.A.P. - ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER.

It may seem like your worries
Are more than you can bear.
Slow down and take a breather-
A.S.A.P. - ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER

God knows how stressful life is;
He wants to ease our cares,
And He'll respond to all your needs
A.S.A.P. - ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER.

HAPPINESS

Happy is the woman who can laugh at herself; she will never cease to be amused.

Now isn't that the truth????? A big Happy St. Patty's day to all!!!!!!!

Viva.... Las Vegas

So Vegas was an absolute BLAST!!!!!!!! 5 days is a looooooooooooong time in Vegas tho - whew! I was glad to be home!!! I had a wonderful time while I was there tho.... we arrived on Tuesday, after an hour-delay in the plane at Indianapolis - cheese n rice! It was ridiculous - the luggage compartment latch had to be fixed which took all of 10 minutes, but then the mechanic didn't fill out the paperwork properly and he'd already moved on to work on another plane... so 50 minutes later he makes it back over to correct our PAPERWORK!!! Are you kidding me? So we were boarded and sitting on the plane for an hour before we even backed up from the boarding dock - ugh! I kept good spirits tho and on we went :~)

Arrived in Vegas around 10 a.m. Vegas time - the weather was BEAUTIFUL! 74 degrees with a lil' wind! After we arrived to our hotel, we hit Ceasar's outside bar for one of their famous orange slushy drinks... mmm-mmm-mmm!!! I toasted all of my fellow Vegas'teers, and on our way we went. That day/evening we really didn't venture far from Bally's, as we were just glad to be in Vegas, relaxing and having some cocktails. It was a long day, so we had an early night - had a quick dinner at Margaritaville and called it a night!!

Wednesday - NB had conference from early a.m. thru noon. So I got up, showered and walked the strip. The sun was beautiful, it was peaceful and I thoroughly enjoyed the walk - from one end to the other and back took me approximately an hour and a half - that included my stop at Starbucks (the one daily treat I promised myself). It wasn't a strolling walk either - I kept a pretty good pace - especially after the Starbucks kicked in. I did a little shopping, a little gambling and by then NB was out of his meetings. So we ventured down the strip towards the MGM, did some shopping, took a nap in the late afternoon, went out that night, saw the awesome twins at Harrahs at teh dualing piano bar and went night-night at a later hour, but still decent.

Thursday - NB was up and out early for his conference. I got up, showered, made my trip to Starbucks, and by then Josh n Kelly were arriving - yay!!!!!!!! It was soooooooo good to see them in Vegas - there's nothing like bringing a part of home on vacation with you. So while Nb was in conference we ventured down to the mall, had a couple drinks and got back just as Nathan was finishing up. The 4 of us then ventured down to M&M world to pick up the kids a few souveneirs, stopped at Tropicana on the way for lunch, sat outside and watched all the construction across teh street - amazing!!!!!.... and before we knew it we had made it down to NY, NY - so Kelly and I rode the coaster, then to Excalibur - so heck, we'd made it this far we might as well walk on down to the Ice Bar at Mandalay Bay. Soooooooooo cool - if you ever go to Vegas you must, must, must experience the Ice Bar - called the Minus 5 degree bar actually - but everything inside is made of ice - even the cups you drink out of.... friggin awesome!!!!!!!!! Stayed there and had plenty to drink, so we left there late and took a cab to Hard Rock and ate at the Pink Taco. Finished up there and called it a night.

Friday - FINALLY was able to somewhat sleep in according to Vegas time. Kelly and I mostly shopped all day while the guys gambled. We were celebrating her bday a day early - so it was her night. We went to Trevi in Ceasars for dinner - it was an AWESOME Italian restaurant she chose. Yumm yumm yummm! Left there and hit the twins at the piano bar. Not only were we entertained by them, but we were also entertained by plenty of the company around us - whew! Stayed up waaaaaaaaaaay late for us - wowzers, I was BEAT!!!!!!!

Saturday - time to go home! I woke up with horrible sinuses (too many days of being surrounded by smoke) and so I was ready to go home. We finished Vegas with a lil' shopping in Margaritaville, one last stop at Vegas and spent the rest of our trip people watching.

GREAT time, GREATER friends, and the GREATEST was getting home to see my lil' man - oh how I missed him!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See below post for a few pics...

Vegas Pics

Dualing Piano Bar at Harrahs with the infamous twins........ THEY ROCK!!!!!!!!













The Pink Taco @ Hard Rock Cafe - dinner post-ice bar

























The guys and our really awesome bartender on the outside of the ice bar




















Kelly and I after the ice bar experience





















........and us with the ice bar penguin :~)

Doesn't the lower half of this look like the Scream face? It was ice on the tap - but this was outside of the ice bar

Kelly drinking her luscious drink with NB

KLL and Mr. Penguin

All suited up and leaving the ice bar

Not many people get to see this side of Excalibur... but WE DID! (thanks Joshua - LOL!)

Sitting at the Tropicana having lunch and watching the amazing construction going on across the street for the Cosmopolitan hotel and casino

Our cab driver informed us that so far 8 people have died on this construction site

The famous and always-visited Margaritaville!!!!!!

La Cantina restaurant inside the Miracle Mile shops

My Bucket List

Place an X by all the things you've done during your lifetime.....

( ) Gone on a blind date
( ) Gone on a recent date
(X) Skipped school - of course, but I always had a note from my mom so does that count???
(X) Watched someone die (unfortunately)
( ) Been to Canada
( ) Been to Mexico
(X) Been to Florida (and I need to go back!!! I am soooooo ready for summer!)
(X) Been to Hawaii
( ) Been to England
( ) Been to France
( ) Been to Ireland
( ) Been to Germany
( ) Been to Australia - my brother went one year tho
( ) Been to Alaska
( ) Been to Africa
( ) Been to China
( ) Been to South America
(X) Been on a plane - and I'll be on one Tuesday heading out to Vegas - yay!!!!!
( ) Been on a helicopter
(X) Been lost - we used to drive around with a 12 pack and TRY to get lost!!! Good times!!!
( ) Gone to Washington, DC
( ) Had a great Valentines's Day Date
(X) Swam in the ocean
(X) Cried yourself to sleep
(X) Played cops and robbers - it's been a while tho
(X) Recently colored with crayons - whenever I get a chance!!
(X) Sang Karaoke - HA! That was a joke tho - drunkfest more like!
(X) Paid for a meal with coins only - if you count the diet soda I had for lunch my "meal"
(X) Been to the top of the St.Louis Arch
(X) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't
(X) Made prank phone calls - oh those were the good times - 2 lines, prank calls, hee hee hee
( ) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
( ) Been down Duvaul St in Key West
( ) Been to the Southern most point in the U.S.
( ) been to the Northern most point in the U.S.
(X) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose & elsewhere - and THAT BURNS!!!
(X) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(X) Danced in the rain - I love, love, LOVE dancing, walking, and running in the rain!
(X) Been skinny dippin'
( ) Been cow tippin' - never did but we talked about it a lot during our country cruises back in the day!
(X) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(X) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(X) Watched the sunrise with someone - that's been a looooooong time too!
(X) Blown bubbles - I do daily with my gum
(X) Gone ice-skating - andI can NOT ice skate!!
(X) Gone to the movies
( ) Been deep sea fishing
( ) Driven across the United States
( ) Been in a hot air balloon
( ) Been sky diving
(X) Gone snowmobiling
( ) Looking forward to seeing someone in the next 24hrs - no but in 48 hours I'm looking forward to seeing Elvis in Vegas
( ) Lived in more than one country
(X) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets - Bullskin's good for that!
(X) Seen a falling star and made a wish
(X) Slept under the stars
(X) Seen a comet
( ) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
( ) Seen the Statue of Liberty
( ) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
( ) Been across the Golden Gate Bridge
(X) Been on a cruise
( ) Traveled by train
(X) Traveled by motorcycle
( ) Been horseback riding
( ) Ridden on a San Francisco CABLE CAR
(X) Been to Disneyland/ Disney World - it's been too long, I need to go back!
(X) Have a special someone in your life
(X) Truly believe in the power of prayer
( ) Been in a rain forest - been to a Rainforest Cafe tho
(X) Seen whales in the ocean
(X) Been to Niagara Falls
(X) Ridden on an elephant
( ) Ridden on a Camel
( ) Swam with dolphins
( ) Been to the Olympics
( ) Walked on the Great Wall of China
(X) Kissed someone in the last 24hrs
( ) Saw and heard a glacier calf
( ) Been in a cave
( ) Been caving
( ) Been spinnaker flying
(X) Been water-skiing I'm no good at this either!!
( ) Been snow-skiing
( ) Been to Westminster Abbey
( ) Been to the Louvre
( ) Swam in the Mediterranean
( ) Swam in a bioluminescent body of water
( ) Been to the Great Pyramid in Egypt
( ) Been to Greece
( ) Been to Rome
( ) Been to the Vatican
(X) Been to a Major League Baseball game
( ) Been to a National Football League game
( ) Been rock climbing
( ) Been to Stone Henge
( ) Been to a private tropical island
( ) Been sailing
( ) Seen the Grand Canyon
( ) Walked across the Brooklyn Bridge
(X) Been a part of history
(X) Seen history happen
( ) Been on a military base
( ) Been in the military
(X) Been hired
( ) Been to the top of Pikes Peak
( ) Celebrated New Years in Times Square
( ) Been to NY City
(X) Been to Chicago
( ) Brewed your own beer
( ) Made your own wine
(X)Smoked a pipe
(X) Smoked a cigar
( ) Been to see the Liberty Bell
(X) Meet a celebrity
( ) Juggled in front of a crowd
(X) Given a speech - I hated speech class!
(X) Have been disappointed by someone recently
(X) Knew something you wished you didn’t
(X) Played a musical instrument
( ) Written an original song
(X) Written an original poem
( ) Written a book
( ) Been published
(X) Been in the local paper - more than once!
(X) Mailed a hand-written letter via snail mail (USPS)
( ) Started a new relationship in the past month
(X) Been to a concert
( ) Been to an opera
(X) Been to a play
(X) Been in a play
(X) Been in love
(X) Been betrayed