A winter wonderland....in late February

 For the second year in a row we've had a relatively mild winter.  We've lived in the country for 9 years and we've experienced some really challenging winters and some near death experiences during some work commutes.  Ha!  In May Mike finally bought a four wheel drive truck and he's used it a few times.  It's a relief to know he has four wheel drive since he's the one who still commutes 35 minutes each way to work.  Last night we had a good snow fall.  Around dusk Mike and I hooked up the sled to the four wheeler and took the boys for a ride.  Everything is still muddy under the snow so by the time we got home both boys looked like the dirty abominable snowman.

 I love my bird houses!  Although I long for spring the snow in our wooded area is so pretty to look at.

Thanks Nana

 Jay's 5th grade homework is starting to make my 38 year old old mind work way harder than what I'm use to - seriously.  Needless to say I feel that I would fail miserably on the show, "Are you smarter than a 5th grader?"  After 3 weeks of verb phrases I could take no more and I called my mother.  She came to the rescue and loved every minute of it.  She loved "tutoring" her 11 year old grandson, however, she still loves retirement and doesn't want to return to a classroom.  But she sure enjoyed getting her teacher groove on with Jay.  I love the picture above.  Mom joked with Jay that he had better smile because someday she'll be dead and he'll need something to remember her by.  LOL!!!

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Nana and Jay working hard......notice the wine next to my mom.  Now that's not something you can't  have in the classroom.  Ha!

Life with Copper......one year later

On Feb. 26 Copper will have been with us for one year.  She brings a lot of joy to our family and there is a part of me that is surprised by how much I love her.  We agreed to get a dog because of Jay.  But one can't help but to fall in love with Copper.  She has the sweetest temperament.  She is loyal, loyal, loyal and our family can't imagine our lives without our Copper.  Her and Jay are thick as thieves and most nights at bedtime you can find her cuddled up with Jay in his bed.  Nick likes Copper too but still has some growing up to do in the dog department.  She was easy to train and like Mike says she's "wicked smart."  She is also very clean - another added bonus.  Mike is still her favorite person in the house.  Just recently she's become my new office buddy.  I take her bed down to my office and she curls up while I work.  I really enjoy having her presence with me all day.  She is a delightful dog.

Luke Bryan concert

 My aunt treated my sister and I to an evening of Luke Bryan.....seriously he is so adorable!  It was such a great concert!!  My ears were ringing into the wee hours of the morning but it was worth it.  Kim and I met up with my aunt and my cousin, Michelle.  It was such a fun night!  Thanks Aunt Karen.

My sister and I went out for dinner before the concert with my momma.  A kid free night is always a nice way to relax!

My love/hate relationship

 Basketball is winding down.  We had an all day tournament yesterday.  It was a long day and every second of it was spent at the school watching ball and selling concessions which leads me into the title of my blog.  I really do have a love/hate relationship with sports.  Sometimes I hate that it can be so relentless and often times I think parents take it way too seriously.  I mean really......the kids are in 5th grade!  But on the flip side as a mother of two boys I don't know what we'd do if our boys weren't involved in sports.  They desperately need that outlet.  Jay has been actively involved in sports since 3rd grade.  Nick isn't there yet but I'm sure he will be.  Sports has not only given Jay that "outlet" but it's taught him teamwork and I've even seen his social skills improve.  He's reached out to teammates during a game, chatted with parents after games and discussed strategies with his coach - all good things.  My only dislike is it can take up so much of your time.  Sometimes I think it's overkill for kids who are still in elementary school.  But that being said I know these days will soon be over.  In a blink of an eye Mike and I will no longer be spending out Saturdays at basketball games.  We'll no longer be selling concessions and I truly do enjoy it.  Even though we're at a basketball tournament all day, we're together as a family.  After the games yesterday all the parents, kids and coaches went out for dinner and it was so nice.  I like the group of parents and I like their kids.  So although it was a long day I really did enjoy it.

 My camera is really not made to take these kinds of pictures.  But I tried to get some shots of Jay in action.  Jay has improved so much this year.  I love watching him zip down that basketball court to steal the ball.  Sure he fouls (a lot of the time) but it's sure fun to watch.

                                                                Get the rebound, Jay!

 Just a few of the boys.  They lost all 3 of their games (bummer) but they played two of them really well and that's all that matters.

 There's a whole other story associated with Nick and the basketball games.  Nick would go to games and come home with money.  The kid is destined to be a politician.  I kid you not.  He would either sell his artwork or clean.  One night when he sold his art work he came home with $2.50.  All day yesterday he helped clean and sweep and he came home with $5 last night!!!!  Nick's greatest gift is his gift of gab.  He's so funny but how he ends up with more money than he came with is still a mystery to me.  However, to his credit he really was quite the helper yesterday.  In between games he would take his giant broom out to the floor and wipe it down.  What a helper, Nick!

Here's a few of the boys with their coach, Erin, watching the other team, who won the tournament, get presented with the trophy!  It was a good day!

Shame, Shame, Shame on me

I feel like a dog walking around with my tail between my legs.  No sooner had I published my previous blog when Mike came home from work with the above shelving unit for my bathroom.  We have a "situation" in my house that has been on-going for 9 years.  My master bathroom is not finished.  We have a sink and toliet.  It really hasn't bothered me so much but the boys are getting older (and grosser) and to be honest I'm tired of sharing a bathroom with them.  The straw that broke the camel's back was last week when after breakfast Nick decided that instead of chewing and swallowing his sausage he would spit it into the bathroom sink.  When I discovered it several hours later it looked just like how you would picture it........dried sausage chunks!  It was in that moment my complaining to Mike - to get me out of the boys' bathroom - got a little louder.  I knew finishing our bathroom is not in the budget right now (see earlier blog about finishing our fireplace) but I wanted to do my hair, make up, etc...in our bathroom.  I was fine with showering in the boys' bathroom but I was tired of doing my hair and having them come in and poop......stinking up the bathroom something fierce.  So tonight my husband surprised me with this shelf.  All of my hair stuff, contacts, make up, etc....is now in its proper place.  Hallejah!  Trust me this was God's gentle nudge, reminding me that I am married to a good man. Mike's good like that.  I remember several years ago I mentioned to him how much I liked to read in bed but I didn't do it very often because I would have to get up after reading to shut the lights off.  Mike installed a switch with a remote so I didn't have to get out of bed anymore to shut the lights off.  He knew how much I love to read and I wasn't doing it because of something simple - so simple he knew it would take him 5 seconds to do. So turns out I did get spoiled on Valentine's Day.  Life is good..........

Valentine's day with my 3 boys

 I attended Nick's V-day classroom party today.  The little girl below made the adorable Owl valentine.  I thought it was the cutest valentine.  Of course I tried to get a cute picture of Nick and K. but as you can see Nick was rather uncooperative.

So what's it like celebrating valentine's day with my 3 boys.  Well they spoil me rotten.  I woke up to hugs from both my boys.  My husband sent me flowers today.  Okay I'm fibbing big time but I just wanted to see what it felt like to at least write the words......spoil me rotten.  Last night I bought the boys a big valentine day chocolate chip cookie.  My husband loves them.  Just about the time he was ready to sit down and enjoy his Jay sliced his finger from whittling a stick in his room - again!  I was snuggled up in bed watching a movie when I heard the kitchen sink running and Mike saying, "How many times do we have to tell you to not whittle sticks in your room?"  Jay got a pretty good cut on the same finger he had surgery on 2 years ago.  Playing basketball this weekend should be interesting.  Then at one point during the evening Jay encouraged Mike to get me a Valentine's day gift.  Mike asked me if he should and if I wanted one.  Really Mike!  Personally I think Valentine's day is kind of a stupid holiday but every woman would like to be acknowledged in some small way.  Then to top it off Nick sat down and drew his dad a big Valentine's Day poster with I LOVE YOU, DAD in bright red - forgetting about me.  Bo-hoo.  Yes, I'm having a bit of a pity party.  I love my boys but they are boys.  Thoughtfulness does not come naturally to them.  Fortunately they are a work in progress and I have some pretty tough skin.  A good cosmopolitan will cure any broken heart I may have tonight.  Hee, Hee, only kidding......sorta.

My Monkeys

Today my mom and I took Nick and Lauren to Monkey Joe's!  Nick and Lauren are a good combo.  They are 18 months apart and when you take everyone else out of the equation (meaning the other cousins especially older cousin Jay) the two of them do great together.  I love the above picture.  Lauren was a wee bit short so Nick would pick her up and help her.  It was so cute.  

                                        One of Nick's famous........gotcha moves.  Really Nick!

 When Nick stopped lifting Lauren up, she simply hung onto his shirt and got up that way.  Way to be resourceful, Lauren!  That's my girl.

It was so nice spending time with my niece, Nick and my mom.  Lately I've felt like Nick has been shuffled around so much from running to Jay's events that I wanted to do something special for him that was all about him.  Adding Lauren was an extra bonus!  I don't get to spend enough time with that girl so it was nice to do something fun with the two of them.

Lordy, Lordy we are all 40......except me

 This weekend was so enjoyable.  Mary and her hubby, John and Mike and Jenny came over for dinner (No Kids!!!) on Saturday night.  The reason (like we need one) was to celebrate 40!  My hubby turned 40 first on Dec. 19.  Jenny turned 40 on Dec. 21.  Mary turns 40 on February 18 and Mike Ausili turns 40 in May. Mary's hubby, John is 42.  Me, on the other hand.  I'm 38.  Hee, hee.  But seeing all my friends turn 40 makes me look forward to it.  I love these girls and their husbands.  And yes the above 40 poster was done once again by my sweet Nick!

 Copper isn't shy.  She cuddled right up with Jenny.

 My two favorite girls.  Love them and the times we share together.

This is Mary's husband, John.  Mary and John spent the night with us on Saturday and John slept on the couch.  Once again Copper was not shy and curled right up with John.  John is a dog person and didn't mind.........bless him.
I am truly blessed to have these girls in my life.  They both came into my life through someone else and I firmly believe God put both of them in life at just the time I needed both of them and our friendships have only grown through the years.  I've been friends with Mary for 20 years and Jenny for 18 years.  Every time we get together we pick up right where we left off.  This morning the four of us sat around and drank coffee and relaxed.  Before we knew it was 11:00!!  We could have sat in our living room drinking coffee and talking in front of the fire all day!

Nick & his Nickness

It's that title again but what else can I possibly say when it comes to Nick?  Yesterday he and I were in the car listening to the radio.  The station we were listening to was having a St. Jude telethon so stories were being told.  Nick intently listened which I welcomed since he was being loud and obnoxious during the car ride.  You could have heard a pin drop as he was listening to the stories being told about the sick children.  After one of the stories Nick asked if I could rewind the story and I told him I couldn't do that since it was live radio.  He then asked me what a zucchini is.  I replied it was a vegetable.  His next question was, "So kids who get sick have to eat vegetables?"  Huh?  I told him that everyone should eat vegetables especially if you're sick.  Nick was silent for a moment and then said, "So kids with zucchini eat vegetables."  And then it clicked with me......leukemia!  I explained to him what leukemia was.  It was a cute moment and we were able to talk about St. Jude and it's importance. 
Today he announed to me that one day when he's a redneck dad (clearly the boy has been watching way too much Duck Dynasty) and his kids want one of those plastic/outdoor houses.  Nick said he would use his chainsaw and put more windows in the plastic house so his kids could have plenty of windows to look out of!  Too funny. 

Our big project

Nine years ago Mike built our house (most of it).  Unfortunately there is still a lot of things left to be done.  The entire house is a work in progress.  Slowly but surely things are starting to come together.  Mike is now working on the biggest project thus far, our fireplace.  When we moved in 9 years ago all we had was the fireplace.  Since that time Mike built the hearth around it, tiled it and framed in the rest.  The two holes you see on either side of the fireplace will be built in book cases and the rest will be stone.  It will be beautiful once it's done.  Stay tuned.  I'll post the before and after pictures and Yes, it should be completed before the end of 2013.......I hope.

Honor roll........woot, woot!

For the first time Jay made honor roll!  We are happy, happy, happy in our house over this.

Our lazy Friday afternoon

This is what our Friday afternoon looks like today.  Notice Copper.  She is really too big to be a lap dog but she doesn't care.  She'll do anything to fit on Mike's lap.  She loves him.  He is hands down her favorite person in the house which I find odd considering he's not a true dog lover.  He's good to his own dog but to be honest he only likes his own dog, not other peoples dogs - see what I mean he's really not a true dog lover.  The boys are involved in their games, Copper is resting, Mike is warming up from working in a cold warehouse all day and Yup, you guessed it, I'm blogging.

A sweet spot indeed

Recently it occurred to me what a sweet spot my family is in right now.  I don't have any babies in the house, no toddlers and no teenagers.  I know many people long for babies after their babies aren't babies anymore. I'm not one of them.  Sure I loved cuddling my babies and I enjoyed the stage when I was going through it with them but do I want to go back?  No thank you!  I really enjoy the stage my boys are in right now.  I am loving their independence but I also love they are still young enough to cook them breakfast and enjoy their company every morning and afternoon when I see them jump off the bus.  Even though they are growing and making more decisions on their own (especially Jay) their innocence is still front and center.  I don't have the drama associated with the teenage years......yet.  I try to never take anything for granted but I'm human and I am guilty, at times, of doing just that.  My boys make me laugh everyday and not just the occasional chuckle but one of them can get a full blown belly laugh out of me everyday.  What a gift God has given me.  It's true what they say, "A mother holds her child's hand for awhile, their hearts forever."  I will treasure these sweet moments with them and with every season that changes I will hold dear the memories and look forward to watching them grow.

Nick Shots

 I went to download some pictures and look what shots I found on my camera.  Nick and all his Nick-ness clearly got a hold of my camera and decided to have some fun.  Nick looks just like his brother in the picture above.  The blue eyes were the only feature that gave him away.  Crazy boy!