Simple Summer Survey

This blog idea was taken from my friend Aimee who writes the-mother-loan and she took the idea from someone else.

Simple Summer Survey....Summer is coming to a close and the time has come to reflectand to renew. Instead of a lengthy essay, like the ones you did back in school, fill-in short answers to complete the question-(Fill in as many as you can.)

What I did with my summer vacation.....
Played outside a lot with the boys, extended bedtimes and had a lot of fun!

A book that you read and would recommend to others......
I read "Remember Me" by Sophie Kinsella...her books are 'chick-lit', easy read, fun books. I also read "Last summer of You and Me" and that was very good as well...it is by the same author of the "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" series, Anne Brashares.

A project you completed.......

Planted and grew tomatoes from seeds...waiting for them to turn red, then I will make sauce with the basil and parsley that is also growing in my garden. There is not much that is more satisfying then growing your own produce in the summer. Last year we had a hedge (literally) of green beans, it was GREAT! The boys loved picking the veggies for dinner. I also got some long overdue cleaning projects done this week.

A great outing you had with friends......

Not really any big outings with friends, everyone is so busy during the summer. I had some fun "GNO's" with my other mom friends. We always look forward to those!

A new food/drink discovery...

Pomengrante martini's...yummy!

A new purchase....

I just received an I-Pod touch for an early anniversary gift, it is very nice and has lots of great features and apps to help me have music and pics with me and to be able to get online when I am away from home.

A new attitude you adopted about something or someone....

I need to work harder than I did before and appreciate everything in my life.

A favorite trip you took....

SIC is always a favorite. We have SO much fun at the beach. It is relaxing and fun for us and the boys. We love seeing the family. We also went to Ohio to visit family and had a great time there and at the "Feast". Shortly after that I got to go to Denver, CO to visit my mom. The Rockies were beautiful and breathtaking.

A favor or act of kindness someone did for you.....

Getting a phone call from someone offering to co-teach my preschool-age Sunday school class with me.

An accomplishment of any kind.....

I read about 5 books this Summer and that makes me happy!

What are four things you are looking forward to this fall?

School for the boys (Logan in preschool and Michael in 3rd grade), pumpkins, piles of leaves, candy corn.

Eight is Great

My first baby boy is going to turn 8 years old tomorrow at 845AM. These years have flown by. I remember it all…when I found out I was pregnant after so many months of waiting. When I first heard his heart and saw him on the screen at the doctor’s office. When I first felt him move in my belly. When he was born and I found out that "it" was a "he". How I would hold him and he was so small he fit on my chest and I would lie on the couch for 3 hours so I could hold him while he napped. When he first laughed, first talked, first walked, all his firsts… I love when he runs to me when I get home from work, when he says "I love you mom".

Now he will be 8, he has been "7 ¾" for a few months already…always wanting to grow up too fast. I tell him to enjoy being a kid, that being a grown up is not always as much fun as it looks. He loves to play, to draw, to be silly. I love to make him laugh, and I love when he makes me laugh. When he was a baby I would make him laugh till he got the hiccups. I love days when we can be silly, when I put aside my to-do list and spend time with him, he loves those days too.

He still holds my hand, still wants me to read to him, and sometimes he still asks me to lay with him and sing "Twinkle Twinkle". I love those moments when he still is a little boy.

He is also caring, sensitive and kind. He says "God, I hope everyone is OK" when he hears a siren, donates things to others, and helps his friends. He asks deeper questions about religion and life then he did before. He is a big brother now and he loves his little brother. I love watching them play and seeing him teach his little brother to be silly.

He wants to be an astronaut (and at one time about a million other things too). He loves space and we read a lot of books about it and went to NASA last year. I think what it will be like to sit in the stands and watching him go to the moon on the space shuttle one day. I hope he reaches all his dreams.

Happy Birthday baby boy...I love you!

Interview with Michael

I am stealing this idea from another blog: http://www.the-mother-load.blogspot.com/ you should check out that blog too--it is great!

I interviewed my oldest son and here it is:


1. What is something Mom always says to you?
"how was school?"
That is correct

2. What makes Mom happy?
When I hug her when she gets home
Yes, it makes me very happy!

3. What makes Mom sad?
When I don’t give her a hug
Yes, correct

4. How does Mom make you laugh?
When she tickles me
I love to do that--it is so easy to make him laugh

5. What was Mom like as a child?
She was "kind of crazy" and she used to beat up her sister
I have scarring that proves I was not the only one at fault!

6. How old is Mom?
33 yrs
Exactly correct...for one more week!

7. How tall is Mom?
6 ft
hahaha funny

8. What's Mom's favorite thing to do?
Watch Jon and Kate plus Eight
Yep!

9. What does Mom do when you're not around?
Goes on the computer
Right again!

10. If Mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
For becoming Miss Pennsylvania
What a sweetie!

11. What is Mom really good at?
Playing Wii fit
Now if I would just do it more often!

12. What is Mom not very good at?
Wrestling
Lies! I can out-wrestle him anyday! :)

13. What does Mom do for her job?
Banking
Yes!

14. What is Mom's favorite food?
Pizza
Actually burgers and fries but, pizza is near the top.

15. What makes you proud of Mom?
How she is very nice and kind and gentle
He says I am a great nurse.

16. If Mom was a cartoon character, who would she be?
Supermom
:)

17. What do you and Mom do together?
Soon we will go bowling and we play Wii together


18. How are you and Mom the same?
We are both human
Love that answer...

19. How are you and Mom different?
Mom is a girl
...that one too!

20 How do you know Mom loves you?
After work she always hugs me
:)

21. Where is Mom's favorite place to go?
The mall
...Without the kids

Baby turns 3

My baby boy just turned 3 and is not a baby anymore. He will always be my baby boy. He is sweet, feisty, stubborn and loving. I love him so much. I love when he says "mommy I la you!" It is so cute the way he says "la" instead of "love". All day he says "I la ….( ice cream, burger, toys, food, soccer, roars, etc)" It is great and I am cherishing every moment. Roars are dinosaurs, by the way. Yesterday, on his birthday, we heard "I la to look at roar bones". And he had a GREAT time doing just that!

He is also testing the limits and learning the boundaries. I am putting my foot down on the "quiet, mommy" and "shhh" because he does not say it in a nice way. It is still funny when he says it but, I do not laugh I put him in time-out. He is SO strong willed that sometimes it can get very frustrating but, I am sure it is very hard to be 3 and be trying to learn how to express your feelings. The other battle is the potty. We do well for a few days then bad again. I am trying not to stress about it and just realize that it will happen eventually.

He is smart and loves animals and dinosaurs. He knows a few dinosaur names and I love to hear him say "ceritops". He knows all the animals—rattles of all their names when he sees pictures of them. When he says rhinoceros it sounds like a motorcycle starting up "rhininininos". And then there is "elephanant" with its extra syllable. I love this age with all its mispronunciations and bigger sentences. My older son now says "spaghetti" but, I will always remember when it was "bisgetti".

I love you, my baby boy, and I am looking forward to all the new things you will do this year!

2 Years Ago Today...

...I started my career in Banking! It was a great move for me and I love my job. I still remember where I was standing (in the kitchen) and what I was doing (feeding Logan in the high chair) when they called to offer me the job. I have met a ton of great people who have become good friends. I have learned so much about banking, businesses, and what I am able to accomplish if I put my mind to it. I was really nervous 2 years ago taking that drive up to the training department for my first day...how would the job go? Would I like it? Would I be able to handle it? Would I do a good job? Where would I be in a year? 2 years? Would I be a Branch Manager? I had never done business calling before, gone to mixers, or been really involved in the community. 2 years later I am a Branch Manager for 1 1/2 years, on the Board of the Chamber and I go to almost all the mixers. I am in the Lions Club, planning a Gala and I participate in other activities when I can. I really love learning about other businesses, meeting CEO's, going after the "deal" and getting the "deal".

I like researching businesses, finding out who the owners are, trying to get an appointment to see them and finally getting in the door. The biggest surprise for me was how long that process can take. It can take months and months of talking, checking in, emailing, etc to get a meeting and more time to get accounts, etc. Thankfully I am persistent or I would be going crazy!

My husband is very supportive with me learning my job, the after-work meetings, classes I am taking, etc. He wants me to be CEO so he can stay home with the kids so, he really does not have a choice! :) It is cool, too, because my oldest son can understand what I do and he asks how it is going and did so-and-so decide if they were coming to my bank or "are they still thinking about it?" I have taken him to different events and he can see how nice it feels to help out and give back.

I spent a long time in retail and the change to banking was a great change for me! I look forward to going to work everyday and I am proud of the success I have had in my career.

25 Random Things About Me

25 things are a lot to come up with--if you want to do it and make less of a list that is fine!



1. I love my husband and he is my best friend.

2. My oldest son wants to be an astronaut and I hope I get to watch him go into space one day.

3. My youngest son loves dinosaurs and I hope he becomes an archaeologist.

4. I am not patient…at all. Sometimes it is a problem. I am working on it.

5. I wish I could balance the family/work thing better.

6. I am addicted to Coca-Cola.

7. I sing in the car all the time.

8. I still know all the words to the 80’s hairband songs (Poison, Warrant, Slaughter, etc).

9. I taught Michael a lot of his baseball skills the summer after I had Logan.

10. I really like to play softball and wish I was better at it/more in shape.

11. I like the smell of coffee but, don’t drink coffee.

12. I cannot eat non-breakfast foods before 11AM—once Mike made soup for breakfast and I could not even stand the smell.

13. I really love my job and hope to go far in banking.

14. I would love to live at the beach.

15. I am very competitive.

16. When I was younger I wanted to be a record producer and even got information from the Full Sail school.

17. I also wanted to be a lawyer because of "LA Law" then I had to interview one for a project and it did not sound that fun anymore.

18. I watched "Models Inc" and was very sad when it was cancelled.

19. I can recite "The Cutting Edge" and "Major League" because I have seen both movies a million times.

20. If I am flipping thru channels and "Shawshank Redemption" is on I have to watch it.

21. I am a big smart-ass, which has to be very much curbed at my job.

22. I always get places early.

23. I am nervous about getting lost when I am going somewhere for the first time.

24. I cannot eat "Marie’s Southwest Ranch" dressing—I had it right before the first time I got morning sickness. I could not even look at the bottle. I made Mike give it to his parents.

25. My favorite thing to do is hang out with Mike when we are having fun and laughing a lot.

Juggling...

Lately I have been thinking a lot about juggling. Maybe because some who love me think I juggle too much. Don’t we all, though? I have a husband, 2 boys (7 1/2 and 2 1/2), I work full time, teach Sunday School and have other work organizations that take up some time too.

I like to think of myself as a well trained juggler, all my balls perfectly spaced, gliding through the air, falling and going back up, the routine never faltering. But, lately, I feel more like a member of a beach volleyball team (without the super-toned body) diving to get the ball before it hits the ground and, in the process, getting a lot of sand in my face.

Hence the emergency Bed and Breakfast weekend coming this weekend for hubby and I to take some well-needed "us time". He is the one I love the most but, the one who has to always wait because the kids can’t or won’t. We are trying hard to make "us" priority #1. That really is how it needs to be—if there is no "us" than it all falls apart. Thankfully, we have a great relationship and communicate with each other, and he is awesome and helps out so much around the house. So, we have talked about what we need to fix and pay more attention to in our relationship and started working on those things.

The main thing is getting time to communicate when we both walk in the door—that is a tough time with dinner to be served, spelling to be practiced, animals to be played with and baths to be given, etc. and…all that needs to happen between 6-8—you see our problem. We are going to institute a 10-minute rule where Mike and I get 10 minutes of kids free time when we get home to talk while we get dinner on the table, after that the boys can come in and talk. That way we can cover the days events uninterrupted.

I am really looking forward to the weekend. It will be very nice and romantic and just what we need. Well, I must go the laundry ball is falling fast and I need to catch it.

10 Things I Like with "L"

My first blog will be an assignment from my friend Aimee who blogs at http://www.the-mother-load.blogspot.com/ you should check it out--her blog is great!

So...here goes...

Love—The love that my husband and I share is the best. The kind that develops when you have been with someone a long time. (May 8th 2009 will be 16 yrs together and August 31 will be 13 years married). It is nice to be with someone that long and have the bond and understanding that we share.

Life—I try to enjoy everything. I have a great husband, 2 great boys and we are all blessed with our health. I try to always remember how lucky I am for that and appreciate every second.

Logan—my baby boy, at almost 3 years not really a baby anymore but, will always be my baby. I love seeing him learn everyday and see his imagination bloom "hurry mommy here comes a t-rex!" as we are crossing a parking lot. He is my feisty, loving, crazy, sweet boy.

Lost—Best show on TV—starts next week, I can’t wait! ‘nuff said!

Leaves—The leaves that grow in my garden especially the ones on the plants that we started from seeds. Looking forward to another great crop of green beans!

Leis—the ones you get in Hawaii that are real flowers and smell pretty. I could really go for one of those right now, especially if I was actually IN Hawaii when I was wearing it.

Leiby’s—I LOVE ice cream and Leiby’s is one of the best—I just spent a lot of time figuring out how I could get ice cream on the list.

Luciano’s—My whole family, they are all great! I am truly blessed.

Mrs Langan—Aimee is a great friend. She is the mother and Catholic that I aspire to be. She has twice as many kids but, always seems twice as composed and together. We don’t get to talk or hang out as much as I would like but, when we do we never run out of things to talk about.

Leisure time--It does not happen often but, those times where I have no where to be and nothing to do except relax with the family are the best times of all.