Good Morning to me!

Like most of you, I LOVE to wake up to a clean kitchen! There's nothing like walking into the kitchen and no dishes in the sink, everything put away, everything CLEAN. Well, much to my dismay, I walk into my kitchen this morning and this is what I see all over my kitchen floor. Let's see....what do we have here....the packaging for the shrimp and chicken....Aron's clear Drop-Ins for his bottles...random paper...banana peel....flour....


Now, you might be asking yourself, what kind of thing would create such mayhem, foolishness and carrying on?? Well, here is your answer!!! Notice the reciept behind him...yep...that came from the trash too!


He couldn't even look me in the eyes!!!! Good thing I don't have any plans today!

On another note, ever since Alex watched the new Cheetah Girls movie "One World" she is obsessed with Bollywood. She came out of the shower like this, saying that she was from India. What a hoot!


Aron has started his "solids". I'm so sad. It's such a turning point. He is getting big too fast :(


He is happy pretty much ALL the time. Whenever anyone looks at him, he just flashes his big, toothless grin. The people in our church nursery told us he is the happiest baby they have ever seen. Of course, my heart swelled with pride!


Oh, and other BIG news....I got a job working 3 hours a day in the YMCA nursery. I can bring my children and there are a TON of other perks as well (free membership -woohoo!). I'm really excited to get out of the house :) The cool thing is that the nursery is open 8am-12pm and then closes. Then re-opens at 3pm-7pm. So, I could work the am shift, then come home, wait for Alex to get off the bus at 2:15, then chill for a little bit and bring everyone to work with me. They are only open until 12pm on Friday and Saturday and they are closed on Sunday. What a blessing!

Well, that's all for now! I'll post more later as this is the week before school and things are CRAZY!

I have a little problem here.....

As you can see from the picture below, I've got a little problem on my hands! Aron is over 4 months old and still will NOT go to sleep (& stay asleep) unless he is swaddled! How much longer will the insanity continue?! Seriously child, you are over 20 pounds! They don't make swaddle blankets bigger than this! What am I supposed to do? If he wasn't so darn cute, I'd just make him cry it out, but I'm such a sucker and I just keep swaddling him. I am just hoping he will grow out of it (both mentally and physically!)

Hail Storms, Weddings and New Jersey, Oh My!

First, can I say it is good to be home! Whew! I am exhausted!
We have been in New Jersey for the last week because Eddie was in his friend's wedding and we stayed a little longer to enjoy Eddie's family up there. The car trip alone was an adventure all in itself.
It was nice seeing Grandma and Grandpops Rivera, though. It's funny to see them with little Aron. They just spoil him rotten!

Then it was off to the wedding of the century! I mean, these folks went ALL OUT! They had a violinist during the cocktail hour, which by the way, had like 20-30 different food stations, and elaborate ice sculpture...I could just go on and on about it! The reception was fabulous also! The BEST filet mignon I have ever had! Then, as if we didn't eat enough already, on the way out the door, they were making "to go" bags of Italian Donuts called "Zipoli's". Oh.....my......gosh....I think I died and went to heaven on this delicious little puff of a donut!
Aaaaaaaanyhow, here is a picture of Eddie with his friend, Gino. They have been friends since elementary school!


Of course, Eddie was feeling like a "playa" because he got to escort TWO bridesmaids. Hands off, ladies! He's mine! :)


Here is the proud grandparents with their new grandson.


On the way back home to VA, we encountered the worst hail storm I have ever been in. I was so scared I almost started crying! I thought for sure our windshield was going to come crashing in! I kept it together for the sake of the kids, though. We pulled over to a gas station and I took a picture of it!
All of those little white things are pieces of hail. Eddie and were joking that we should stand on the side of the road and make signs that say "Your on your way to hail!" and "Your going straight to hail!" for the cars on the other side that were getting ready to drive into the storm!



Well, that's about it for now. This week is a little crazy. School is getting ready to start up soon and I have to plan the back to school breakfast for the teachers and the breakfast for the kindergarten parents. I'll have to post more on that soon :)

Everybody's Doin' it!

Ok, so apparently I need to post 25 random facts about me! I saw this on Donna and Dolly's blog, so here goes!

1. I have my NASD Series 6 license. I used this licensure for when I used to trade mutual funds for GE Financial.

2. My very first job ever was a lifeguard at Poplar Forest Pool in Forest, VA. I was only 15 and a half at the time!

3. I have never lived in one house for more than 6 years. My parents get tired of houses really quick!

4. I am on the Board of Directors for my daughters school.

5. I am addicted to the Style Network channel. I watch pretty much everything on there. Clean House, Peter Perfect, Dress my Nest, Whose Wedding is it Anyways, How Do I Look, What Not To Wear...you name it, I watch it!

6. We took a family vacation to Hawaii a year and a half ago. It was Alex's first flight ever! What an experience...your first airplane ride is 12 hours long!

7. I went to a Huey Lewis concert (It's Hip To Be Square!) and got to go backstage to meet him! I thought I was soooooo cool!

8. I went to a NASCAR race and got passes to the VIP lounge and hung out with Elliott Yamin. I also got to go down in the 'pit and see some of the drivers and their cars. I don't even like NASCAR, but it was pretty darn cool!

9. I was a cheerleader in high school. A base.

10. I met my husband while we were both working at Wingate Inn in Lynchburg, VA!

11. The only kind of coffee we drink in my house is fresh, local coffee beans we grind ourselves. And when I mean fresh, the beans can't be more than just a couple of days old.

12. Every week I am obsessed with finding out which store has the cheapest diapers on sale. This week it's Food Lion. $7.99 for LUVS and I had a coupon for $1.00 off! One time, Kroger had them (LUVS)on sale for $5.99! I thought I was going to go into cardiac arrest!

13. My most favorite job I have ever had was when I worked at The Closet in Lynchburg, VA at River Ridge Mall. That store was the BOMB!

14. I have a birthmark in the shape of a foot on my inner thigh.

15. My dream job is to join the cast of Reno 911. Either that or be on MAD TV.

16. My husband and I are going to retire in Bermuda. We had a our honeymoon there and just felt like we belonged there.

17. I can not have any of my food on my plate touching each other. I also can't eat off of another person's fork or spoon. This includes my family.

18. I failed 4th grade.

19. My parents let me believe in Santa Clause until I was 12 years old.

20. On various occasions, my dad drove me to school in his latest "toy"- one time it was a Monster Truck, one time it was a Limo, one time it was a Lamborghini...etc.

21. I am an excellent swimmer, but I HATE swimming laps!

22. My friend Angela (aka-Crumbs in my Butter) and I used to scare the living crap out of my niece and nephew by pretending to be some crazy person named "Karen".

23. I am only 5 ft. 2 inches tall. :(

24. About 2 years ago I had Lasik eye surgery! Best decision I have ever made!

25. I can not go to sleep at night unless I read first.

I'm Baaaaack!!!!

Whew! Finally! I'm back from the 'burg! Alex went to Camp Hydaway! How awesome is that??! I remember going there as a kid! It was always so much fun. It's changed a lot since then. They have cabins with a/c and a huge slide that goes into the lake. Alex spent the night there all week!
I took some pictures-
This is the hill that I remember walking up and down and up and down as a kid...


This is a view of the big slide that goes into the lake from the top of the hill..


This is the new pavillion..


This is the field behind the pavillion. We used to play tons of water games there and the building to the left is where we used to eat all of our meals!


This is a close up picture of the slide. This thing is huge!


This is the "beach". The sun was shining right at me, so it's not that clear. But if you look hard enough, you can see the dock in the middle that we used to swim out to and dive off of!

No 'chokin!

This weekend Eddie, Alex, Aron and I went to Fresh Market. Normally, we just get some fresh cheese and a few other things that you can't get at normal grocery stores. Well, wow....take a look at these artichokes!

Also, I am a HUGE fan of pancakes, however, they MUST be THIN! I can't stand really thick and "cakey" pancakes. I saw this little gem at Fresh Market and I have to say that I love it so much, I'm thinking about writing a book about it "Swedish pancake mix and me...that sort of thing is my bag, baby"!!!!

To top it all off, my little man has been making the "model" face lately...you know...Zoolander??!!

Happy Independence Day!

These pictures were taken at Eddie's work picnic yesterday! It was a ton-o-fun!!!