Tears

Paco's grandmother passed away in her sleep the other day. Strangely, I haven't been able to really process it yet. My in-laws are planning a memorial service for the end of May - I think that's part of the problem...I need it to be sooner.

We told the kids and no one really said too much. However, two days later, I had this conversation with Pirate:

Pirate: I miss Butterball (Note - Butterball was my cat that lived at my parents house. He died about a year or two ago...sadly, I can't really remember when.)

Me: I know, honey. He was a nice cat.

Pirate: He's in heaven now.

Me: Yes.

Pirate: When will he come back?

Me: He won't come back, honey, once you're in heaven you stay there.

Pirate, eyes wide: Grandma Jane is in heaven!

Me: Yes honey, she is.

Pirate: But that means I won't ever say hello to her again. (Cries a bit and sits on my lap.)

This conversation is what I keep thinking about. I can't seem to cry, though, as sad as I am.

Vodka Drinks in the Afternoon

I am having a wonderful day off. It started out a bit shaky...Paco and I had an argument. But, we went to TBell's first soccer practice and saw some friends, which completely lightened our moods. Then, we came home and got some work done around the house. The girls have a friend over and I had some (two) vodka drinks. How much better can it get?

We are going to a birthday party for my sister's (sister 2) husband. I wonder if there will be vodka drinks there. Tomorrow TBell has a birthday party to attend and we all have a first communion party to attend. Expensive and busy Sunday!

Quick Tidbits

First, here is a link to my latest Associated Content article. Please read and give me 50 million stars!

Second, I won $17.50 in the split-club raffle at a dinner tonight. Woo hoo!

Third (and last), we now have a pet fish named Lava. Our red beta fish was the center piece of our table at the Amherst Youth Foundation Gala this past weekend. Paco and I thought the kids would like him, so we purchased him and brought him home as a surprise. The girls were very excited, but Pirate said that a fish is not a surprise. Oh well...you can't please everyone.

The Joy of it All

I am posting this from my kitchen table. You may be wondering why I would tell you something so silly. Well, I will tell you. We finally have a wireless network! I am using my fantastic new MacBook to give all of my thoughts to you. Yay!

First, we went to one of my boss' house today to pick up the wireless router I am currently using. We met each other's spouses while the kids played. We had a nice visit and were even able to unload some of our stuff (like a girl's bike, old winter coat, shoes, etc.).

Next we went to Aldi, where I got an awful lot for $50. I have some baking to do for a bakesale tomorrow and ended up getting so much more than what I needed. But, I am sure all of it will be used.

Paco and I actually set up a budget this morning. Wish us luck, or pray for us, or whatever you do, as we have never actually used or followed a budget before. We would really like it to work, though!

The plan for tonight, the last "fun" night of school break, is to use TBell's telescope. It is clear and almost 90 degrees here! Hopefully the night sky will be perfect for some family star-gazing.

That's it from here. What about you?

Seriously?

Over a year ago, Paco's sister got engaged. There was lots and lots of discussion about the date then lots of time when nothing happened. About 1 1/2 months ago the hall was finally booked.

Paco and I are splitting season tickets to UB football this year with my father. I had mentioned to Paco that I did not want to miss the Army game (Army is actually coming here to play UB - this is HUGE!) so to not plan on going to that particular game with a friend or anything. He said that he had assumed I would want to go and had planned on attending together.

When do you think sister's wedding is?

And So it Goes...

Time seems to be passing even more quickly now than it was before. Working full time outside of the house is certainly making things interesting around here. My strict 7:00pm bedtime for the kids seems to have fallen by the wayside. Oh well...everything will settle in time, I am sure.

Paco's grandmother has continued to rally each day. I haven't had the chance to see her in over a week, but I hear she is actually sitting up and feeding herself.

We watched Transformers last night. I didn't get it. I mean, I got it, but don't really understand why it was a movie. The story took *forever* to unfold. The acting wasn't all that great. Josh Duhamel is in it, so that at least made it somewhat fun to watch. But, I really don't recommend watching it unless you really like robots or something.

That's all I got...

Weekend Update

The MAC use is going really well. I am actually very confident and the transition has been very easy.

My job is swell. I love it.

Paco's grandmother is not doing well. We were told the end is here, only to have her rally and get better. Then, she got worse. Then better. Then worse. I think you get the idea. It has been a slightly stressful few days. The one upside is that we got to see my sister-in-law and Paco's aunt. His cousin may come tomorrow.

My New Computer

This is my new computer for my new job! While I am a bit nervous since I haven't worked on a Mac in while, I have been assured by many people that the transition will be easy. Even more, I have been told that I will *never* go back to using plain, old windows. I am SO excited!

Need Help Planning a Garden Party?

Then click on the question to get some answers!

I Am Such a Good Mom! (No, really!)

The elementary school kids had a half day today for parent-teacher conferences. So I have my three kids as well as two other girls for most of the afternoon. For lunch, we had sausage and green eggs. Aren't I clever? The kids loved it. Now they are all playing with paper dolls and some elaborate game that involves hand-drawn bedrooms and stores. At least they are all happy. I am trying not to fall asleep, as my corned beef simmers on the stove. Today, this is a happy house!

In Celebration of Easter

This morning at church, Paco reminded me how funny church was last Easter. To be more specific, it was the moments before church that were funny. I thought it would be nice to give you all a laugh in preparation for Easter 2008.

So...

...I am now employed! Thanks for all of the well-wishing and prayers! I am very excited and can't wait to get started.

In the meantime, I am working on a large print job for my local political friends and am getting *extremely* frustrated. The printer keeps jamming and the postcards keep ripping and there are roller marks all over the place. Why do I do this again?

My Inner Geek

I just came home from a job interview. Please say a prayer for me...I really want this job! It is a great combination of writing, marketing and technical stuff - my dream come true! I am fighting the urge to email the guy right now (roughly 1 hour since the interview ended) and let him know just how badly I want him to hire me. I realize this is a bad idea, but I *really* want to.

Princess turned 8 yesterday. I have an 8 year old! Crazy. If I were feeling more motivated, I would post a picture. However, any second two kindergarteners and two second graders are going to burst throught the front door - I have no time for play!

And Yet Another

Another article here!

Associated Content Article

Tea Party Games

And Here It Is...

Okay, so it took me a little longer than I planned to post TBell's "after" picture. But, here it is!





She is still very excited about the style. I am getting used to her with shorter hair, although I do really miss her long locks! At least they went to a good cause. (Sorry for the darkness of the photos; I am not sure what is wrong!)

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the big event in Pirate's life: he got "spenders" from Grammy! He is more excited that a person should be about suspenders, but at least he's cute enough to pull it off right now. It's only a matter of time, though, before he turns into Urkel!



PS - Please excuse the very messy floor you can see in the picture of Pirate. I am simply not a very neat person!

A Wedding Story

My grandmother got married on New Years Eve. (Yes, I am aware of the many jokes this statement can generate!) I took the kids on a road trip (along with one sister and her two kids in my car) while Paco stayed at home. (He could not get the day off to go...don't get me started!) While I have proven many times that I am not a great photographer, I am very disappointed this time to not have many great pictures to post. I am putting two here, but I think my sister has some better ones on her blog.


This is the happy couple, along with most of the great grandchildren on our side of the family. The groom has a young great granddaughter and, at the time of the picture, one arriving any time.


This is TBell and my father. I just love this picture.

I have a great picture of my niece, but should probably get permission before I post it. Sadly, it is WAY too early for me to call and ask. (You may note the time this is posted...I have been up for a couple of hours and can't seem to get back to sleep. Ugh!)

Hair Today

TBell had her hair cut last Saturday for Locks of Love. Her hair was down to the small of her back and is now just past her chin! Princess also had this done when she was in Kindergarten, but it was much harder for me this time. (She does look cute now, although all of you have to wait because I just realized I don't have the "after" picture yet!) However, much more importantly, TBell is very excited to have donated her hair and she also loves the cut now. She listed a few people in her class who have all had their hair cut, so it was clearly time for her to have hers done! I like the idea of donating for obvious reasons. But, this time was even more important to me because we have a very close family friend who is in a battle with cancer and I think this was a way for a very young TBell to feel like she is helping.







I suppose it isn't really nice of me to post these pictures without a final one, but at least now you'll come back for more!

'Nothing that's Necessary is Impossible'

That is a quote from a book I recently finished. It kind of made me stop and realize that I had very often, as of late, been feeling sorry for myself and had been thinking that perhaps I didn't want to keep working my current schedule. Never mind that it works for our family and the kids are settled and happy. I was miserable and mean. However, after reading that sentence and thinking about it for a while, I realized that my schedule isn't impossible and shouldn't make me unhappy. It's necessary and therefore doable.

In dinner news, my sister gave me and my kids a mix to make our own hot pretzels. So tonight, we had a "ballpark meal" that consisted of hot dogs, pretzels dipped in cheese and caramel popcorn. Definitely not the healthiest meal, but it was a lot of fun and the kids had a great time. I will post ordering info for the hot pretzels as soon as I figure out what Paco did with the bag; they were GREAT! I was a little apprehensive about them, but they were really easy to make - even the kids were able to do it. And, the taste was wonderful. I highly recommend them.

Fantabulous

Christmas was simply wonderful here. I would love to post some pictures of the children, but I haven't uploaded them yet. Plus, in a wonderful show of intelligence, Paco and I didn't make sure the camera was charged. So, there really aren't that many pictures anyway. Rest assured though, Pirate was THRILLED with his Darth Maul double-bladed light saber. Princess and TBEll LOVED their High School musical things as well as their other gifts. Each one got a new Webkinz, which was also very exciting. Princess did have a momentary moment of sadness when she realized that even though she told Santa every time she saw him (news to me) that she wanted clothes for her Webkinz, she didn't get them. But, I did point out that she has a birthday coming and all was well.

Possibly even more important, the girls were in the pageant at church. They did a great job, of course, and had a lot of fun. (Princess was Gabriel and TBEll as the Inkeeper.) Both sets of grandparents came and had a nice time. Right now, all three kids love going to church...I really hope I can encourage that so it continues!

Come again soon...I am actually going to post a recipe! (I got a Rachel Ray cookbook for Christmas. I modified a recipe tonight and it was GREAT!)