End of the School Year....

Ryan's last day of school was yesterday and he came home with his report card. He got straight A's, Principal's Honor Roll. I was so excited, I squealed, hugged him and told him how proud I was of him. He was pretty happy, too, but it's funny, because for the most part, he regularly gets Principal's Honor Roll or Honor Roll, so it's not quite as big of a deal to him. I, on the other hand, having Aaron before, Ryan, who did o.k., but struggled a bit and only got honor roll one 9 weeks in 4th grade, I lose my mind with excitement! LOL Actually, Ryan is more excited about the money Dad now owes him for the A's. Anyway, his Dad and I are both very proud of him for finishing 5th grade with straight A's and getting into the gifted program. Next fall, middle school!

Ryan's 5th Grade Graduation

Ryan has completed elementary school. His school had a couple of events for "5th Grade Graduation". They got to go to The Columbia Restaurant for a banquet luncheon. They were all dressed up and looked so cute! Then, they went to Busch Gardens for a day. Ryan really enjoyed being dressed up and when I told him to bring an extra set of clothes, so he could change if he wanted, he said, "But what if I don't want to change out of this?" He was too cute getting ready that morning and when he got home he said they had a good time. He didn't have quite as good of a time at Busch Gardens because they were divided into groups and no one in his group wanted to ride the roller coasters. They weren't allowed to ride alone, so he didn't get to ride any roller coasters. However, they did ride most of the other rides and he brought home cotton candy for me, Dad and Andrew. I felt bad for him about the roller coasters, because he's like me, a roller coaster person and he was so looking forward to being able to ride them. Anyway, he is now officially in the gifted program and will begin middle school in that program. Congratulations Ryan!

Aaron Turns 20!

My baby boy, Aaron turned 20 this month. We met at Nan and Grandpa's for lunch and cake.

Nan and Grandpa bought him a blackberry curve for his birthday. It was surreal, to think he's no longer a teenager. It's seem like just yesterday he was a baby. He's doing so well. He just completed his first year of college, going full time, and works two part-time jobs. He's been living on his own for a while now and never needs money from Mom (which is good thing, 'cause Mom's broke-LOL). I'm so very proud of the man he has become.

Ryan's Bowling Party

Well Ryan's fall bowling league ended and his team won first place! He also received a trophy for high series handicap. They did awards ceremony and got to "cosmic" bowl two games. His summer league starts this coming weekend. The summer league is 9:30 am Saturday mornings.......aaarrggh. The things we do for our kids!!! LOL We are very proud of him!

Mother's Day....

A nice and easy day was Mother's Day this year. We have a tradition of going to brunch or out to eat every year, but this year, my Mom and I both were not really up to that. The thought of just taking it easy and just being together sounded just perfect. So we went over to Mom and Dad's house and Mom grilled hamburgers and hotdogs and we had all the fixin's. Oh Dad made us Mimosas, too. :) Aaron was there and he had a rose for me and one for his Nan. We ate, talked and listened to Dad's oldies cds. It was great. Later I went to the grocery store, which was a breeze because it was practically empty! Roger went to visit an old family friend in his old neighborhood. So, when he got home, we ate a quick and easy dinner and relaxed until bed. Well, Roger had to go to work, but bed for me. :) Good day!

Catching Up....

I know it's been a while, Donna. :) Here's what's been up since Easter. Ryan went on a cruise for a week with Nonna, Randy, Aunt Karen, Uncle Mike and the girls. He had a great time and has mentioned Alaska to Dad about 3 times now. And yes Nonna he told Dad that, "Nonna said you would have to chip in". :) Rogie told him maybe by then we could all go. I'm hoping so, because I would love to go to Alaska. Anyway, while Ryan was vacationing, Roger and Andrew worked on Andrew's school project for the Cultural Fair. They built a Peruvian pyramid (see pic). It came out great and everyone at school was shocked and amazed. Andrew got best display.

Also, while Ryan was away, Aaron came over to stay at the house with Andrew so Roger and I could go up to Mt. Dora to visit our friends for the weekend. We had such a great time! We stayed up talking and playing cards. We fed their miniture cows (xebu's) in the morning. We went out for Japanese for dinner. I watched Scooby Doo China, as Sadie calls it, with Sadie. We went by Julie's shop and had expressos (even Rogie). It was just so relaxing and a needed get-away for us both.

Rogie has decided to change careers. I'm so very proud of him. He's scheduled to take the FBAT (Florida Basic Ability Test) and tomorrow will be applying for the police academy at HCC Ybor. He's going to work towards becoming a DOT (Department of Transportation) officer. I'm so very proud of him. I know he can do it and I'll be behind him 100%. Here are some pics from the last few weeks. Later!

Easter Weekend

Rogie came home Saturday around 11 am and hadn't slept yet. So he hung out for a bit with us, then took a nap. I ran out to the store for Easter basket necessities and cards. That night, after dinner, we colored eggs. Today we met my Mom, Dad and Aaron at Italian Kitchen for brunch. The food was wonderful and we all ate until we were ready to burst. Aaron headed to work and we met Mom and Dad back at their house, so I could finish helping them file their taxes. I had my camera with me the entire time, but failed to take the first picture. I just completely forgot, as we were visiting, eating , talking, laughing. Anyway, when we got home the Easter Bunny had come! He left two baskets on the table and each had candy, eggs and a game stop gift card. Later, Rogie left for work and the boys and I had a late dinner. Now, Ryan is in bed, and Andrew is getting ready for bed. I'm going to try to get to bed at a descent time tonight, myself. Work tommorow!

Julie & Steve's BBQ Camp Out

Saturday, Roger took Ryan to the bowling alley. He bowled another 158 game. Anyway, I took Andrew for a haircut. He got into some trouble in school and the deal was that as long as he didn't get into trouble and did his best in school, he could keep his hair long, but if he gets into trouble, it gets cut. So, he got a haircut. Then, he and I headed over to the bowling alley. Tina, was there to visit with them. We hadn't seen her since her birthday, so the boys gave her cards and a present. After bowling, Roger took the boys to the apartment (we had to drop his truck back home) and I stopped by the store to pick up a few more things for our trip. Then we all headed up to Mt. Dora for my friend's BBQ Camp Out party. We had a blast! There were tons of people there, Julie and Steve's family, old friends and new friends. We ate too much food and had some wine and beer. We had an Easter egg hunt, including the adults, hay rides, a bon fire, smores (Rogie made his indoors-see pic), and on Sunday we had a class with Julie on how to throw pottery. The boys camped out with my friend's son Jesse and they made it through the whole night! Oh and they have Wii, so Ryan did get a bit of his video gaming in, so not to go into complete withdrawls. We were home before 7pm and exhausted. Poor Rogie had to go to work at 8. But it was a great weekend!

Doctor Visit

Friday, I took Andrew to the pediatrician. I wanted to talk with him about Andrew's health, growth rate, and delays. I shared with him that I thought maybe he had a vitamin/nutrient deficiency. He went over his blood work, bmi (body mass index) and such and said he didn't see any irregularities. However, he wanted to refer him to a geneticist and wrote me a presciption to take him to Tower for a bone test to test if his bones are growing at the rate they should be for his age. I felt better after that. So, I'm going to take him this week for the bone test and we have an appointment with the geneticist in August. Later, the boys and I went to the Walmart and bought some camping equipment we needed for our visit at Julie and Steve's house.

The pic is from our visit.

Our Ryan!!!

Last Thursday we had a teacher conference with Ryan's teachers. Roger was home for the evening, so the four of us went to the school. Ryan has two teachers. His main teacher is Ms. Thompson, she teaches math, science, social studies. His other teacher is Ms. Claudio, she teaches writing and english. We sat with Ms. Thompson first and she was so animated about how smart Ryan is and well he is doing. She said that he thinks outside the box and will raise his hand to ask and/or share other ways to solve the problem. She said that at the beginning of the year, Ryan asked her specific questions about what they were going to be working on and learning in math this year ( i.e. "Are we going to work on integers this year?") She said she has never had a child ask her about math like that before. She was eager to get him tested for gifted and wanted us to consider a magnet school for him to be properly challenged in middle school next year. Then we sat with Ms. Claudio who said he was brilliant and a joy in class. She too was eager about the gifted program and magnet school for him. She said that math and social studies are his strengths, because those are his interests. She said that he struggles in writing because he's just not interested in it. When he does put his mind to it, he excels. She said that is a trait of gifted kids. They only want to work or focus on what they like or what interests them. So, both Roger and I were so very proud of him and happy to sit across from those teachers and hear such a good report. They both said they wished they had a room full of Ryans! I was so proud, but at the same time I thought, "are you sure?" hee hee hee Anyway, it was a wonderful teacher conference. In the picture he's learning to throw pottery at my friend Julie's shop. What a mess, but Julie says if you don't have clay all over you, you're not doing it right. So, I guess Ryan was right on!

The Train Room....The Saga Continues.....

Last weekend, Roger and Andrew went to a train show expo-type thing in Plant City. They came home with quite a bit of stuff. This makes me happy and yet sad. I get excited at the thought that maybe they will be able to make some "real" progress on the train set/layout. Yet, I also realize that I shouldn't get too excited because it's Roger and Andrew and now there is just MORE STUFF in the room and NO MORE progress. Well, to be fair, there has been a little progress, just not as much as I'd like to see. I do have to keep in mind that Roger's time is limited and there is only so much Andrew can do without him, so I try to remind myself of that. But, I would love to see that layout really start of come together. Also, this last week, the boys came home with report cards. Ryan did well, as usual. However, last 9 weeks he did have a "C" in writing. This 9 weeks was better, he brought the C up to a B. So, he had 6 A's and 2 B's. Once again, Dad owes him a small fortune. :) We did stop at Game Stop yesterday and let him spend some of his credit. He's been dying for Pokemon Platinum for his DS. So, he got it and the gaming book that is now out, too. It wasn't too bad and now we've widdled to small fortune down a bit. From there, we went to visit Aunt Karen, Uncle Mike and the girls. We had a good time. Today, we mostly hung around the house and did housework, laundry, dishes, changed sheets on beds, etc. Roger and Andrew went by Nonna's to pick up some mail and went by Hobbytown for more train stuff. I went to Wal-Mart and did some groceries. So, it was that kind of day, chores and errands. Well, tomorrow starts a new week. Can't wait!

We had a great birthday get-together party at Aunt Karen and Uncle Mike's the weekend before last. Here are some pics of Ryan and Kaylee partying. We went about our week otherwise, school, work, etc. Aaron did come over and I did his taxes for him Thursday night. Then he hung out for a bit with Mom and he showed me his MacBook. That thing is SWEET! It was a good visit and yes, he'll be getting a refund. On Thursday my company offered overtime through Sunday, so I signed up. I worked Friday with 1 hour o.t. and got up early Saturday morning to put in 3 more hours. We didn't go to bowling b/c Ryan was sick and I wasn't feeling too great either. By 2:00 that afternoon, I was sick as a dog! I remained that way until Monday, at which time I was just sick, then by Tuesday quite a bit better. I'm still not 100%. Today I made a trip with Andrew all the way to the urologist for a procedure he was to have done, only to find out that I was a day off and the both the appointment I thought I had today were yesterday! So, yes we missed them both and have to wait 3 to 4 weeks to for the procedure. The other was a meeting at Ryan's school regarding the gifted program. I left a message with the teacher, today explaining my stupidity. Well, I'm soooo tired. I have to get ready for bed and go to sleep.

The Birthday Continues.....

We took the boys over to their Mom's today for a mini-party for Ryan. She had her place decorated and lots of balloons. She had teryaki shrimp (b/c that's what Ryan requested, of course) and cake and icecream. Ryan got cards from his Mom and sister, Nicole and a gift card to Target. We hung out there for a little over an hour and then headed home.

Once we were home, Roger and Andrew rode the mini-bike they've been working on and managed to get up and running. Then Andrew rode the mini-bike and Roger rode the four-wheeler for a bit. Since Kaylee and Ryan's birthday party was cancelled due to Karen and Kaylee (and Andrew for that matter) being sick, we moved the Mom visit to today. All in all a good weekend anyway.

Ryan's Birthday!

Today was Ryan's 11th birthday. Yes, he made it to 11. :) Roger was able to come home for a bit today on his way back up to Zephyrhills, so it worked out well. We ordered Chinese food and then Dad secretly took his new bike out of my trunk and put it in the garage. Then we got Ryan downstairs on the premise that he needed to help bring some empty boxes to the truck, so Dad could take them to the compactor on his way out. Dad told him to open the garage for him and there was the bike. He took all the paperwork and such off it and rode it immediately. Then we headed upstairs for other presents. He opened Andrew's first and got one of the X-Box games he wanted, End War and a gaming code book for Gears of War II. Then he opened two from me and Dad. One, of course, was a bike chain for the new bike and the other was a new Action Replay (cheat code software) for his DS. He had one, but lost it, so he'd been itching for a new one for a while. Then Dad had to go back to work. Ryan played with the DS (with the Action Replay), Andrew played the X-Box and we had St. Patrick's Day cupcakes. We're having cake Saturday and Sunday, but I wanted something for tonight. Publix only had St. Patty's Day cupcakes, so that's what we had and they were good!

My Gamers

Saturday was bowling. Ryan's average is 113. He bowled a 103, 115, and 119. So he did good, consistant and good. Roger, Ryan and I went to the bowling alley then on to WallyMart. We picked up a few things including two of these little folding chairs for the boys (see pic of Ryan). I figured they could use them to sit in while playing the game, because they keep using my computer chair. We treated ourselves to take-out that night, which was awesome. Mostly because I didn't have to cook and Rogie didn't have to clean up. Then, around 11:00pm the 3 of them started playing on-line with Uncle Mike. They took turns, so they all (including Rogie) could play with Uncle Mike. Andrew went to bed around 1:00am, but Ryan and Roger were up playing until 3:00am and 4:00am, respectively. The boys aren't usually up that late, but I was good fun time with Dad, whose been working a lot and whose weekends are getting shorter and shorter (He got home at 11:30am Sat. just in time to go to bowling and is leaving in about an hour tonight). So, today I had some time to myself this morning, because they were out like lights! I was pretty nice. :) Then, once I got everyone up, I cooked "breakfast"- it was noon- for them and later Roger, Andrew and I went birthday shopping for Ryan and Kaylee. Once we got home, I cooked and we ate and here we are. Roger is getting ready to go back out to work and I will be heading over to my Mom and Dad's to do their taxes for them. Yes, I AM a good daughter. ;)

Finally.........

I haven't been able to update this blog as often as before. I just completed week two of my new job and and it's going good, so far. I quite enjoy it. Working from home has it's up side and down side. One of the up sides is that I'm home alone for most of my day. No office, no other people, no phones ringing, no customers, just me. I like it because I find I can really focus on my work and the day goes by pretty fast. Once I came home from the training class in Gainesville, I started working on "auto-review". That means every file (search) I do automatically goes to a "reviewer" who checks it, edits it if necessary and then sends it to the customer. Said reviewer then sends me an email to let me know what changes were made, if any, or that none were made. I was on auto review for my first week and about half of the day Monday of this week. Monday, I had an aweful day. Computer issues!!! My brand new computer is awesome, however it has Windows Vista, which apparently doesn't play nice with Internet Explorer. I fixed the problem, though (Karen, please let Mike know I didn't need him, I did it all by myself!). Well, I did have my brother on the phone with me for a bit for some support, but I actually did it myself. So, in and amongst my trials and tribulations, I check my email and I get one that says, "Congratulations, you're off auto review". I couldn't believe it. So for the rest of the week this week I was on my own. If we have an issue or are unsure about anything we can still "request review", so I did do that for a few of my files, as I am still learning their processes and procedures. All in all I like it. Anyway, enough about work. Rogie and I went on our monthly "date night" last weekend. We decided not to go out on Valentine's Day due to the crowds and all and went last Saturday. We just went to Longhorn, but it was great! We waited for our table in the bar and had a drinkypoo, then we had a wonderful dinner, just the two of us. I had the filet and lobster and Rogie had the filet and salmon. I loved being able to spend time just us and talk and laugh. We both needed it. Ryan bowled good last weekend. He was very consistant, 126, 125, 132. He is doing great! I took the boys for a visit with their mom and sister on Saturday after bowling. Tina and Nicole had just moved into a two bedroom house Tina is renting in St. Pete. The visit went good and everyone got along. The boys played with the animals mostly, since there are some new additions to Tina's house now, kitties. Andrew and Roger started working on the mini-bikes that have been rotting in our garage for a year and a half. Andrew has been working on them mostly while Roger is working during the week. He and Roger got one running last weekend, but the tires needed air. Andrew took the tires off, took them to get air and put them back on this week. Tonight I was cooking and I heard....rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr outside the window. I went downstairs and Ryan told me Andrew was riding the mini-bike and quick to tell me that he was also wearing a helmut. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics of him riding (didn't want to leave cooking food), but I will this weekend and post them next time. Happy Friday to all!

Experiments

The the few moments during the day that Ryan isn't completely obsesses with playing X-Box live, he has managed to find an interest in a book he is reading. The book is about science and at-home type experiements. Today we had to pour syrup, water and oil in a glass so we could see how they layer and don't mix with each other. He also set up an experiment with 2 parts sugar to 1 part hot water. That one is going to take a few days, but it has a string in it and it's should crystalize or something. I don't know and I'm not sure he really even knows, but we'll see in a few days. I love that he has such an interest in these things. I wish I could get him less interested in the gaming.

Just Call Me The Tooth Fairy!

O.k., so Ryan is too old for the tooth fairy, but not too old, of course, for the money. Actually, he has lost 5 teeth in the past few months, and I've just kept them. No tooth fairy, no money. So, since he lost the 5th one today, I thought I'd suprise him with some change for his bank. I told him, " I know you're too old for the tooth fairy, but I thought I'd put some money in your bank for all those teeth I have now." I only gave him $.50 per tooth, so $2.50 total in change right into his bank, but he was cool with that. :) Today, I survived my first day. It was pretty cool. I got the boys off to school and while still in my jammies, sat down and went to work. I think I did pretty good today. Running the searches and such is actually quite enjoyable, since it is what I do and I do miss it when I haven't done it for a while. I have to keep track of my time, which is going to take some getting used to, but I think I did pretty good with that, too. It was a long day, though, and I almost put off blogging for sleep. No more taking a nap if I need one. :( And, Karen, no more eating bonbons and watching Oprah. LOL I did get dressed on my lunch break, just in case anyone is wondering. Only because I had to run out to the store, though. I had Bay News 9 on behind me all day, so I got to keep up with the latest news including the President's big signing and the shooting at the Publix Distribution Center in Lakeland, at which Roger was supposed to be, but was delayed (thank God). All in all it was a good first day back to work. :)

Last Day Of Being Unemployed.....

Today was pretty uneventful. I just caught up on household chores and ran some errands. The boys hung out most of day playing video games or hanging outside. Tomorrow is my first day at my new job. So we will see how it goes. I'm a little anxious, but feeling o.k. I do get to work from home, so I can work in my jammies if I want to and don't have to put make-up on or drive in traffic, so that part is pretty cool. I'll get up with the boys early and get them off to school, by then I will have had at least my first cup of coffee and then I can just sit right here and start my day. I'm going to try to get some sleep here soon. Good night!

No Place Like Home......

Man, being away sucked! Well, not all of it. Being there with one of my closest friends, Denise was great. She and I got to hang out together, train together, laugh uncontrollably together, stress out together, eat together and most importantly.....drink together. We kept each other sane. Denise had a smoking room, but I did not. So, we spent our evenings hanging out in her room, comfortable smoking, watching t.v., having some wine and doing crossword puzzles. But, being away from the fam and home, that part sucked. I was sooooo happy to be home Friday. This job starts Tuesday, b/c we're off for President's day, so I'm happy about that. It gives me one more day to take care of some things around the house and some personal stuff I need to tend to. When I was home last weekend, Roger and I went grocery shopping at Walmart. We came home with a box that we used to put some of groceries in to make it easier and quicker to bring them up stairs. Ryan asked me for the box, so I gave it to him. Later I was putting some clothes away and heard Ryan call my name from his room. The picture above is what I found. I just about died laughing and, of course, ran to get the camera. That kid flippin' kills me!! Andrew is just about finished with his drawing I posted previously. Above are the most recent pics I took of it. The doors look like the creepy skeleton guys is ripping through them. The second pic is close up of just that part. It's pretty cool. He amazes me with his artistic talent. Yesterday, we went to bowling and Ryan bowled another 160+ game, I believe it was a 162. He received a badge for his last 160+ game and a pin for a 400 series. After bowling we took the boys for haircuts, then over to the mall so Andrew could buy a couple of t-shirts at Hot Topic. Yes, t-shirts, but we're making progress......neither are black, nor do they have skulls. :) The four of us ate a little dinner at the Food Court......Hibachi San.....yummy, then we headed over to Best Buy. Ryan spent his "good report card" money on Call of Duty World At War and Andrew got a CD. From there we headed over to Mom and Dad's to try to find the router I bought when I lived there, but it is nowhere to be found. So, I'm going to check my storage closet just to be sure, but I think I'm going to have to buy another one. :( Once we were home, I did mine and Roger's taxes and we will both be getting a refund!!!! Well, barring the government rejecting them, we should get refunds. Anyway, so those of you who we are in debt to, and that's pretty much everyone we're related to and a few others, you should be getting at least a payment towards what we owe you. Whooo Hoooo! On a side note, thank you all very very much and believe me, I feel blessed every day to have family and friends like you. So, on that note, that's all the news that's fit to print on this end. Until tomorrow.......