Thank Goodness for my Beautiful Family

I took this photo a few days ago and realized how good I have it. I have a wonderful and caring husband who is my best friend (almost 12 years of marriage and still going strong).......I have 4 beautiful, yet different children, each and every one so unique that they make me smile. Brendan is the gentle, sweet, emotional one. He is the one who truly understands me the most of all my children. We are like twins in some ways with our personalities. Samantha is my spirited one, the one with so much energy that I wish I could bottle it and use it up. She is a strong-willed one but she is also very funny (although she truly doesn't know it)......Delaney is my girly girl. My chatterbox, my sidekick. This girl is so smart and cracks me up at every single opportunity. She says things that truly make a mother proud ("hey Mommy......I love you 3 much. I am 3 years old, so I love you three much. How old are you mommy? (I reply with a gulp and a sigh "35") so she says "then you love me 35 much ok?" She is my cuddle monkey and would attach herself to my hip if she could.

Last but definitely not least is Natalie. My lil' mini-me, girly girl, goofy kid who just lives in the moment. I think that makes her so special. She loves to just be who she is at the very moment she is in it. That makes me look at her with wonder sometimes. She is funny, witty and has her own mind. Even the people at early intervention were baffled. (Natalie, point to the dog- Natalie: "no, no dog. Ball." LOL).

Anyway, I love them all so much and I'm grateful for every second they are here with me. On Mother's Day they hung around with me in the afternoon.......and they reminded me how much fun it was to just throw away the remainder of the day........we climbed trees. And it was fun!

The Porch is Falling, the porch is falling!!!!!

On Saturday, my brother-in-law (who shall remain nameless and will from herein forward be referred to as "Dilly") had a few beers and toppled over taking my screened in porch with him. Unfortunately the porch is busted up, but fortunately "Dilly" is just fine. So Dilly took a Spilly on my porch, now Ain't that Silly???

Ok, now we'll have to call in the construction crew. MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKKKKKKKKKKKKKKE- want a side job?????

Here are the photos ....

Samantha's Hair

I almost forgot to post Samma's hair cut. She keeps telling me that she wants to be a boy. Hmmmm. Anyway, she wanted her hair to be "even" and kept telling me the front was "waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay longer than the back". Grandma thought the same thing. I liked it. But it's her hair and she requested it to be a bit shorter. So here she is.........with "even" hair!

The Weekend

Well, here it is, almost Monday morning. Where does the time go? Saturday night I took my niece, Lacey, prom dress shopping. Samantha came with me and we took some great photos and had a lot of fun. Sunday morning I took Samantha to get her hair cut again as she wanted it more "even" (she thinks like Grandma) and a bit shorter. So I took a few photos of her new "do" and thinks she looks great (even with her missing teeth). So that leaves me to my photos of the weekend.....what do girls do when they are bored? Stick "wings" to their heads of course........LOL! Or perhaps they put plastic cereal containers on their heads and run through the house yelling "oooooooh ooooooooooooh". Or maybe, just maybe, they put their new umbrellas up even though they are told that it is bad luck. Hmmmm. All I know is, my kids crack me up!

Are you feeling froggy?????

Well then let's L-E-A-P!!!! (taken from the movie Malibu's most wanted)- LOL.

My mom and I went out to the Christmas Tree Shop tonight and we had the best time. It has been so long since I've actually spent some "quality" time with her as when she comes to the house (which hasn't been much lately due to the Mother's Day rush at work) the kids are a-hoppin all over her.

So we shopped. We had fun. We went into the supermarket. Laughed some more at the buggy eyed lady. We went into Shaw's too because mom had to get chicken.....and she pretty much double dog dared me to play the lil' machine where you move a claw around and try to pick up a teddy bear. Well, I was so good at this when I was younger and haven't done it in years (it's so addicting). So she gives me 50 cents. She dares me.........I take the dare. First try I miss, but I'm so close because I moved the bear 1/2 way across the cube. Second try and I nab his neck!!!! Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet. Still have it after all these years! LOL.

Last but not least, I found a pair of pants that I fondly called my "cramp" pants. I loved these things. Lived in em as a teen. So here I am, in my "old but comfy" cramp pants making a froggy gesture...........did you say I look stupid????? Well then I hope you are feeling froggy cuz I'm ready to LEAP!

Mom: Thanks so much for letting me use your camera (mine is broken :( - good news is, I'm getting a new one for mother's day!!!!!!! Shhhhhhhhhhh. Don't tell anybody :)

I'm bacccccccccccccccccck!

Ok, it's been a while since my last blog but I have had so many things going on over here. First, I had to deal with my own health issues, then I had to play catch up with school because they just had to make me write many papers to make up for my lost "classroom" time. As if extra clinicals and studying for my final were not enough, poor Ms. Natalie got rushed in for an emergency tonsilectomy as her apnea was severe and her breathing was very retracted. Her throat was becoming obstructed and she just could not wait any longer for the surgery.

So here she is, my lil' princess, just a day after her surgery. Of course, she is up a lot at night crying in pain, but some Tylenol with Codeine and a bit of lovin' from her mama are helping her through.

I got by with a little help from my friends and family

As you can see, I'm back to blogging....it's been a while now hasn't it? When I left the hospital I still was not feeling good at all and it is still taking it's toll on me (getting old is horrible! I want to be 17 again.....waaaaaaaaaaah). I am feeling better than I was, but there are times when I still want to just sleep the day away (as if that will EVER happen).

So I just wanted to let everyone know that one thing is true; a close to almost death experience is quite scary and changes the way you look at things. I thought I was invincible because I was still young (35 isn't that bad right? Although I am half-way to 70- yikes!)- anyway, I lived in this bubble that all was well and that nothing could ever happen. That bubble burst now and it's strange to see how differently you view the world. The birds chirp a bit louder (were they always that noisy?), the wind blows a bit harder and you can actually feel it brush through your hair (or is it just damned cold in NE these days?)....hmmmmm. I will say everything seems clearer. The kids laughter cracks me up and the little annoying things don't seem so annoying anymore (although it does get me crazy when the kids interrupt me when I'm on the phone.....right mom?)-

Anyway, I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has been there to help me the last few weeks. Mom, you are a god send and I don't know what I would have done without all your help while I was in the hospital and when I came home. It was Easter weekend and I know how busy you were at work, but you listened to my fears and sat with me in the ER for what seemed like ever. I'm so glad you were there when they came in and broke the news......I so needed you at that moment.

Dad: Thanks for coming to the hospital to see me and for just listening to my fears. You made me laugh when no one could and I truly think you are amazing. Thanks for just letting me put my head on your shoulder and bounce things off of you. I love you!

Brian - thank you for being the amazing husband that you are. You handled all the kids, getting them to their play dates, keeping up with the house, laundry and dishes. You handled all the kids' mini crises and as hard as it was sitting back and watching it all, you truly can get along without me now can't you? The kids were dressed in their Easter best when they came to get me and I will never forget how beautiful they all looked. So thank you for being able to juggle the household when I couldn't. It truly means a lot and I love you more than you know.

Jen G.- thank you for listening to me cry a LOT. You are truly a wonderful friend and I truly don't know what I'd do without you either. You are my rock at times and you really hold it together like only a true "sister" friend would. So thanks for calling me to check on me every day....I love you much.

To Auntie Ann: Thanks for coming to see me at the hospital. Those places are definitely no fun as you know and it was nice to see a familiar face to help get my mind off things. You are a wonderful aunt and godmother and you are a truly caring person. Thanks and I love you.

To Billy, Katie & Lacey: Thanks for being my cleaning ladies (no pun intended Billy) and for just being there for Brian. You guys are so wonderful and it is nice to know I always have family I can count on. The kids love you and love being with you. It was so nice to know that I didn't have to worry about the little things. Katie: Thanks for being there to watch the kids for all my dr.s' appointments and blood work runs. You have more energy than anyone I know.

For everyone who sent cards: Korkutis Family, Uncle Tony & Diane. Thank you for the well wishes.

Ann Marie: Thank you for e-mailing me every day to see how I was feeling and for just letting me chat openly about things. And Catherine: thanks for attempting to come over with Tyler in the early a.m. It's the thought that counts. Speaking of which, we need a play date!

So thank you everyone for the cards, phone calls, and well wishes. When it comes to raising kids, it sure does take a village to raise them and it sure takes a good networking support from other mommies and friends to help a person pull through a tough time.

I love you all and remember: Life is too short so dance when no one is looking and sing as loud as you can. Be a goofball. And those little birds that were once so darned annoying, are so not annoying any more.



Stacey