In a Matter of Seconds.....

I thought I would give the boys a treat and let them colour. They love colouring but there were a few simple conditions. Both boys were eager to start colouring and promised to abide by the rules....1) don't bother dad, 2) no coming in the kitchen while I cook and 3) no colouring on the walls or objects.

I was checking in on them and they seemed to be doing fine. Greg went to sit with the boys while on his break and that's when he told me to come and see the boys. I can usually tell from the tone of his voice when it's to see what they have done. I was just peeking in on them...what could they have possibly done in a matter of secs so to speak. I start thinking they drew all over the walls or something like that. Below are the pics of what they did. More pictures can be found at the usual spot. I couldn't really get mad as they technically followed the rules and were drawing me a really cool picture.

Working From Home

I got a call from my work today that the site will be closed due to the weather conditions. This is the first time since we moved to NJ that the snow was so deep. There was no way that Greg was going to be able to drive in this condition especially since the route he takes is a whindy road. So here are some pics that I just had to post that we took while I was taking a break. You can totally see how much Sasha loves the snow.



I have added a video of the boys playing in the yard without the snow so you can see how deep it is today.

I Need Reminding....

Aughhhhh......I need some help reminding me that although things are bad they could be worse. However, that doesn't stop me from thinking....just once I would like things to go right the first time. I am tired of making all the phone calls to get things right, taking long lunches to fix things all the while trying to get things back to normal. I'd just like one day for me not to think.

Hummmmm....done venting. Okay, things could be worse. I just peeked in on the boys sleeping so soundly with not a care in the world. To my guys I am a beautiful good mum.....so now I am back to smiling.

We Got a New Home....Yeah!!!!

Finally we moved out of the one bedroom suite as we bought a home. You have to imagine 2 adults, 2 kids, and 2 dogs in a very small place. It was very hard for Greg to keep his sanity.

We are settling in to the new place but there are still boxes everywhere. The kids are happy with a place to call home, the dogs are happy as they have a yard, Greg is happy as he has his own room(s) (he wants the basement too)....and me...well it's my job to make sure they are happy and stay that way. No...I didn't get my own room, but hey, I am easy to please.

I have posted a couple of videos on our You Tube site. In the meantime, I am not going to lie, I miss my home in Cali. We didn't have that big of yard but the great amenities made up for it...6 pools, a lagoon, and the Olympic pool was heated, dog parks etc. So while I take some pics of our new place I have posted some of our home back in RSM.


Our RSM home


I loved my kitchen




The Lagoon


Just because....

Leaving California

I cannot not write about our journey to New Jersey...that was an ordeal to put it mildly. You ever do something and then when you look back on the event you wonder how you ever did it and how you will never do it again. Well...the trip leaving Cali to NJ was just that.

First it took 3 cars to get our luggage, dogs, crates, and us to the airport. At least the relocation department had us depart from John Wayne so no long lines like at LAX. We had to do some switching around with the contents of the luggage so it met the weight limit. Then trying to get the dogs shipped took another hour as the ladies at the counter had not done a dog shipment before. At this time I don't have to tell you how fussy the boys were getting. Then Greg had to pass the dogs through security before taking them down to cargo. Lucky for us no one was waiting in line so I didn't mind too much that it took so long.

I was able to make arrangements with a cab service prior to leaving that would be able to hold all of our stuff. However, things never go right. I told the service I would call upon landing but they showed up before we had gotten off the plane, which was a bit of a problem as our flight was delayed. On top of that Greg had to wait for the dogs in cargo. People over here are not as friendly as in Cali. Long story short, surprisingly everything fit....even the unassembled dog crates.

We finally made it to the hotel at which point we had to wake the kids up again. The first time they finally fell asleep we landed in NJ an hour later. Then they fell asleep in the taxi and woke up when we arrived about 30 mins later. So now we have 2 cranky kids and 2 grumpy dogs that want out of the crate and about 6 luggages to take to the 2nd floor. So as one of us has to stay with the kids, you can imagine how tired poor Greg was making trips back and forth to get all our stuff to the room. You can see how large the crates were in the pics. Click on pictures to see the rest.

Meeting Santa

We went to an old friends for a Christmas party. Wendy, LaShon, and Jamie used to work with me at Sizzlers....the good old days. We unfortunately were missing Mary. The party was at Wendy's where she had Santa visit with the kids. We all had a really nice time, especially since it had been so long since I had seen my friends.

Holidays 08

Okay, I am going to have to be real brief for giving an update for the holidays. Otherwise, I will never catch up on current stuff.

As all our stuff had been packed up before my return to California, we got to stay with my dad. It was actually quite nice and I think my dad welcomed the noise. The kids would go and wake up Grandpa as soon as they got out of bed. My poor dad never complained once about being woken up at 5:30 am on his days off.

My aunt was visiting from England and we thought we were going to miss her. But I guess it was fate for her as she got to see the family. The last time she visited Ethan was only a few weeks old. I think she enjoyed seeing both kids. Which reminds me I need to give her a call.

I think everyone was happy to have things turn out the way it did. Frustrations aside, it was really nice spending the time with family. Believe me this time was very frustrating asking my sister to help out with last minute things etc, trying to get stuff finalized with the move, taking care of the dogs so they could travel.....a lot of headache and stress. But at the end of the day when you know all the frustrating stuff is still there being around loved ones makes such a difference, on how you handle things...basically on everything.

I will not post pictures here. You can check them out on our Shutterfly site.