KETCHUP~

Pete & Bob before the race

Saturday morning we headed downtown for a 5K.  Bob and Pete ran while me and Beckie hung with the kids.  They had a ton of cool stuff  set up in the Galleria for the kids to do.

Sunday was my birthday and also a fund raiser for Bob's cousin Samantha.  The turn out was amazing and I just want to thank all of our friends who attended.  I know a ton of money was raised for the Scholarship Fund that was create in her name.  Thanks for showing the love!

After the fund raiser, Bob took the kids home and I went out to Mulligans for a few drinkies.   

Today I spent the day recovering from the busy weekend and I can't wait for Halloween this Friday!

THE PERFECT FALL WEEKEND~

Pumpkin picking & pumpkin carving.
Late night pumpkin seed snacking.
Warm apple cider & kettle corn.

Tree houses and hay rides.

Raking leaves then jumping into the colorful piles.

How did you spend your weekend?

ROAD TRIPPIN'~

Road trippin' to Chicago this weekend with Bob and Jess.  I'm in search of some good tunes to drive to.  All comments will be greatly appreciated!  I have a bunch of i-tunes cards ready to use :)  

FALLING INTO THE SKY~

Last weekend we went to the drive in with the kids and this was the sky that we enjoyed on the way there.  I couldn't get over it's beauty although this picture isn't even close to capturing it.

It has been brought to my attention that Denny has been dominating my blog posts.  Am I playing favorites here?  Of course not.  D man has been very "bloggable" lately but I promise the next post will include lots of Gracie.

Hope everyone has an awesome weekend and please take my poll to the left!

CH-CH-CH-Changes~

Well our day and night without kids is over and it is back to the daily grind.

We went to Stacia's party on Saturday but only stayed for a couple of hours.  She lives kinda far away so a lot of people wanted to get closer to home the later it got.  So we were back in our neck of the woods by 9pm.  Everyone wanted to go out and usually going out is going to a bar.  

I have to realize that when we are kid-less, we don't need to go to a bar, there are other things to do.    For some reason I am still programed that way.  

I am sure it didn't help that I was in a bad mood.  So as much as I didn't want to be around people, I'm sure they didn't want to be around me also.

It's hard to explain, but I feel like a lot of things are changing around me.  I always thought that I embraced change, but now I am not so sure.  There are new relationships, new break-up's, new people,  and it's harder for me to get used to than I thought it would be.  

FRIDAY FUN~

Bob and I bought a Macbook last week as an early anniversary and joint birthday gift to ourselves and each other. I am still getting to know my lovely Macbook which is the likely reason for so many blog posts this week.

 One of the fun features is called photo booth.  Every time I use it I can't help but think of Nina and her love of photo booths.

I can't believe it is Friday already.  Weeks rarely go by fast anymore, but this one did and for that I am a happy mama.   Saturday we are going to be kid free thanks to Gamma Debbie and Papa Joe.   

One of my BFF's, Stacia, is having her birthday party Saturday at her Mom's new house.  Pool volleyball, cornhole, more food than you can stand and flowing cocktails!  Bob and I are in serious need of a day like that and a little break from our little lovelies.  

Doggie Style

We made our first trip to the dog park this weekend and it was dogalicious. We had such a good time and I am sure Archie did also. It was a Sunday afternoon, 60 degrees and there were about 30 dogs running around.

Our enormous puppy was a hit. Everyone was loving on him and asking us a million questions. Archie was a rock star I must say and he did so amazing with all the dogs. If any dog gave him any shit, he just walked away. Bob and I sat on a bench with G&D and watched all the action. Surprisingly, Arch didn't even try to get his hump on. We were so proud. I know I usually bitch and complain about the dog, but I do love the big fluff ball.

THE NEXT YEAR OF MY LIFE

I recently celebrated my 31st bday. The last year of my life was a bit rough. It's like I turned 30 and things started to really stink. I let myself go physically, mentally and spiritually. I feel like I have not been my self and it has had an affect on my daily life.

Mike's death is something that I have had a hard time dealing with. It's almost been a year, and even my Doctor told me last week that it is time I "get over it.' He didn't say those exact words, but he said the grieving period should be over after 6 months, 1 year max. It all sounded so matter-of-factly. I didn't take it personally, I think everyone reacts to things their own way.
So the point of all of this is that I want to spend this next year taking better care of myself. I need to get back in shape, get back to church and take more time for my mental well being.

I feel like I have started this journey this past weekend. Bob and I enjoyed every moment with the kids and with each other. We didn't do anything special, we just spent good time together. And, we finally made it to church on Sunday morning.
We also took some time this weekend thinking about expanding our family. Sunday we went out and looked at Goldendoodle puppies. We didn't bring one home with us (surprisingly) but we are going to continue to look until we find just the right one who will fit into our family.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Oh That Yucky Feeling...again

When you live in Cleveland, you are used to this feeling. Sports fans who read this will know the feeling I am talking about, (in Cleveland or not.) Non-sports fans may think I am crazy.

The only good thing from this is that we can finally get some sleep around here. Games starting at 8:30 and not ending until 12:30 a.m. are taking the life out of me. So that's the good news. Oh, and of course, like we always say here, THERE'S ALWAYS NEXT YEAR. That should be Cleveland's tag line.

My last post I wrote about how everyone is so happy and lovin' life. I guarantee when I go out today people are going to be crabby patties and moping all around. Come on peeps...there is always next year.
Did I mention we had tickets to game 2 of the WORLD SERIES?

Life goes on. The Buckeye's won on Saturday though. I didn't get to see any of the game. I was at my friends baby shower having a good time. Then I got so stinkin' sick to my stomach and my head was throbbing. I had to call Bob and have him pick me up (waking Denny from a nap). I came home and rolled up on the couch with a book then fell asleep.

Sunday we went to a Pumpkin patch place that had face painting, corn mazes, hay rides...all that jazz. I took lots of pics but they are on my other camera that I need to develop the film. What do you call those? Sunday night before the game we carved them. Grace has a princess pumpkin, Bob and I have Chief Wahoo and Denny's is a mix of scary/funny, which fits him perfectly. Bob kicked butt with the carving this year.

That's all I have. I'm off with the kids to get some stuff done and enjoy the last obnoxiously warm day.

There's always next year.

FEELIN' THE LOVE

Denny, Grace and My Grace @ the zoo

This may be one of those posts that are all over the place, so I apologize in advance. It's Monday morning and I am feeling kinda blah.

Our weekend was filled with:

• movies (Summer is over, so Friday night movie night is back)


• new furniture in the living room


• pots of chili


• card games of Shanghai rummy


• sunglasses & underwear shopping with Tracy


• Buckeyes & Browns football


• an afternoon dirty-thirty birthday celebration for Stacia (she's the last one of us to turn the big 30)


• new books. I ordered "Into The Wild" and it arrived on Saturday. I can't put this book down, which is why this post is gonna be short. I need to read more of it and I recommend you do the same if you haven't read it yet.
  
• The Cleveland Indians clinching the AL central division championship. Go Tribe!
• My husband being too good to be true. Up until Saturday, he had worked 12 days straight. Usually on weekends, he sleeps in on Saturday and I sleep in on Sundays. This weekend, even though he has been working his butt off, he got up with the kids both days. He wanted to spend the mornings with G&D and he wanted to give me a break also. He rocks, I know.