Pregnancy Complaint # 4,372

It's basically the same complaint I've had for a while.. I do way too much around here. Lee and I did some cleaning of the Living room tonight while watching Forrest Gump and most of Good Fellas. Actually I did most of the cleaning.. Lee did some but he mostly watched the movies. I wound up taking the ornaments and lights off the tree, packing the ornaments away, taking down the tree, getting the box from the basement for the tree, cleaning off the bulletin board, reorganizing the Christmas boxes (after hauling them up the stairs from the basement), rolling up the lights from the tree. Lee packed the tree, brought the Christmas boxes back down to the basement (eventually) did some light mopping (swiffer wet) and a quick run through with the vacuum. Almost forgot about the videotapes.. we finally went through them and got rid of 95% of them since we had no clue what was on them and had no time to truly look at them though there are a few that I want to personally check out before making any decisions. I took some breaks and even had a quick bowl of Ice Cream and chocolate cake (Yum), but I feel as if I did a majority of the work around here tonight. I finally retired to the bedroom to watch the Patriots game, maybe get some knitting done and possibly go to sleep and guess what happened? Yup he followed me. He took over the bed and then when I went to the living room to come here and vent, all I heard was " Cheryl... can I have some ice water with a straw?" "Cheryl... I need you". I have needs too.. I need to be alone... I need to relax. Heck I need to sleep...

Oh and the Patriots won 38 - 35 while I was venting away. Go Patriots.. Perfect Season... :)

Quick update: Hope that I'm not coming off as a big complainer about the pregnancy. I just felt pretty much miffed last night that I'm 20wks PG and still doing quite a bit around the apartment. Lee has been more helpful lately with things like laundry (since it requires many trips up and down the basement stairs). Coupled with being manhandled all night (heck i used to beg for this type of attention from Lee) and the fact that I am sleeping so little lately due to bathroom trips at 4am and Lee's snoring and I was not a happy PG lady.

There's been a sighting of Shamu in our house

That's right... me... I'm absolutely HUGE... Even Lee (who has been so nice to me) has started to crack the jokes and make comments. If it doesn't stop he will be getting hurt.. along with my brother and anyone else who dares to cross the Pregnant Lady.

I've stayed upright and had no bleeding episodes for a whole week... are you impressed ? I know that I have. I did see Dr M this week but it was a scheduled appointment.. We now need to start thinking about Childbirth Classes and taking a tour of the hospital pretty soon. We'll be registering for gifts soon. Fun stuff....

I'm actually excited...

OK so here's last night's picture... 20 wks 1day pg... It was Lee's idea to do another one so soon. Not sure if I'll take another one in 2 more weeks or at the 24 wk mark.

Merry Christmas 2007

Ok so once again here I sit.. wanting to sleep (nap) before going over to mom's for Christmas Eve and guess who is SNORING his head off? That's right Mr Leland P Ringen himself. Ugh... I swear I am going to cause him violence but then Santa won't leave me anything.. trying to be a good girl..

Anyway.. Just wanted to say Merry Christmas and possibly Happy New Year to you all. If anyone is wondering I'm doing fine after Friday's mini scare. Lots of rest on my part though you wouldn't think so since I went to the mall Saturday afternoon to finish my shopping. Also, not totally sure but I think I felt someone move today.. I really have no clue what I am supposed to be feeling at all from these babies. I'll take it..

Lee was looking at my tummy today and was totally impressed by it. He thinks that it's time for another belly shot.. Ok but we'll do it on Thursday since all my other pictures have been on a Thursday and I'll be 20 weeks and 1 day PG. That's the halfway mark. Can you even believe that Wednesday is 20 weeks till May 14th is here? I so need to get moving.. though my mantra lately has been to enjoy every single moment of my pregnancy. I may never do this again so I'm not wanting to rush through any part of it.

Almost forgot.. the girls got a very sweet kiss from Daddy today.. as the McDonald's saying goes.. I'm Loving It..

Life with me is not boring..

I went to an interview today and left at quarter of 12 (noon).. and am justing getting home now at 9pm.. reason.. I wound up in the L & D unit.. I had a really bad BM this morning that had me in the bathroom for 90 minutes (tmi).. I figured that anything I saw was from that but once at my interview I felt like I really needed a bathroom and had a bit of blood in the bowl and on the paper.. Had my interview and acted like nothing was wrong.. went to visit some old co-workers and used their bathroom before I got back on the road and it was still there.. I calmly called my OB and talked to his nurse and she told me that he's left already but to drive myself to our local hospital and go straight to L & D. I practically cried for the whole trip imagining the worst case scenarios. Thankfully everything was ok but they kept me for 2.5 hrs and then I went to my mom's so I could see my brother. So now I am finally home and under orders to rest and relax and let Lee pamper me silly. BTW the interview seemed to go well (though I did have a couple of moments where I felt like I couldn't focus at all). I'll hopefully hear at the end of next week / beginning of the week after.

19 weeks Today

Here's a picture from last week (18wks 1 day)... the girls got their first Christmas presents today.. a set of 5 bibs (to share) and a 5x7 frame each that is magnetic from their Uncle A and Aunt D in CA.

Daddy got a great book from them too... The Caveman's Pregnancy Companion.. Lee loves it..

I usually Love Snow

But today it is really not making my day... I was supposed to go to church this morning and then out shopping with a friend and then much later out scrapbooking.. None of that happened today.. Instead I got up at 6am and sat listening to the news waiting to hear news about church (1st it was delayed due to weather then cancelled) then I got an email that my crop was cancelled too.. I called my friend and left a message that I wouldn't be leaving the apartment today. Instead Lee took me out for a walk down the street to get some treats and then back home. I took a well-deserved nap and am now sitting here doing laundry and trying to figure out dinner.. at least I got some knitting done. I am not a happy camper. At least tomorrow I can TRY to leave here and go to work. Hold on did I just type that I wanted to go to work? Quick take my temperature I must be delusional since we will be packing up the office this week and moving to the Corporate Office on Friday.

At least I have stuff to look forward to later this week.. D is coming home on Friday. I can't wait to see him and get his reaction to what I look like right now.

Oh I watched the girls last night.. we had a really fun time together.. D was adorable as most 2 year olds are and even told me that her belly was big like mine. I asked her what's in her belly and she told me "Soda and chicken" (I swear I only gave her a sip of the soda). S on the other hand decided to draw a picture of Santa for Santa and put it in the fireplace for the elves to come and bring to Santa. How cute is that?? So glad that I didn't stay over at S's house last night.. I would have gotten stuck there today. Not a bad thing.. I just wanted to be in my bed last night with Lee and the kitties.

Big News

We had the Level II ultrasound yesterday plus an OB appt and we are very proud to announce that we are having not one but TWO little girls in May. I am so excited and once again my mommy instinct was correct (I had an inkling that they might both be girls).. This also makes me freak out a little.. quoted from my HS yearbook, " I, Cheryl Sarno, see myself teaching Kindergarten and raising a family consisting of twin daughters". Insert Twilight Zone music here.. Ok so I'm not a Kindergarten teacher but you never know.

Oh a special note to Jen and Aunt Sue... It is safe to call or email S... He should know by now (I told J last night and asked her to tell him).

Lee and I celebrated last night with Sparkling Cider... darn that stuff is good and addicting.. If it weren't snowing right now... I'd be at the store buying more.. it was that good.

Down she goes

Oh my gosh what a day...

I knew that it was going to be an icy day out.. I just wasn't prepared for how icy.. I went to go out to the car this morning to go to work and I got no further than our neighbor's fence and boom down I went straight down on the belly.. Realized what happened and got myself up and returned to the apartment. Lee heard me come back in (since I was crying) and had me sit down.. Called Dr M and let his office know what had happened. Dr M called me back and asked if I had any vaginal bleeding (nope), is my belly bruised (nope). Told me that I was most probably ok but let's get you in for an u/s today to double check on the kids. So I spent the day at home mostly except for a quick trip out for the u/s. Everyone is fine.. plenty of fluid that protected the babies. I have a scrape on my hand though.

The most stupid part of all of this is that Lee had just ordered some cleat like overshoes for the ice the other day and had them delivered to my mom's. They arrived today. I really SHOULD go pick them up but I'm too wiped out to go over.

Oh btw, when Lee left for work today, he almost fell too but he made it to our car and started it, de-iced it and then moved it closer to our apartment for me.. wahoo.. I am loving him so much right now..

Driving Lesson and a new scanner

I took Lee to the cemetary today to get him driving... He actually asked me to do this. He did fabulous after a small rough start. I kept asking him how confident he felt about driving (I know nagging wife routine). He must have been feeling pretty good since instead of switching places he decided to take to the real roads after 30 minutes of driving around the cemetary. He didn't last long... maybe a block or two before he pulled over and asked to switch back. Not too shabby and I don't blame him since he had two cars come at him from the opposite direction and there wasn't enough room for each other to pass (there were cars parked on our side of the street).





After I took over I asked if we could go to Staples and get a new scanner since the old one doesn't work and will never work with Vista. So we went, we found a nice one that does what we want it to do and took it home and set it up. I am so happy to be able to scan pictures again. I have a lot of learning to do on this one since I knew the old one rather well. Still need to figure out how to get and print the user guide...





So let's celebrate with a picture... This is me with my 15 week and 1 day belly. It's a little on the old side (almost 3 weeks ago) but that's what happens when your computer crashes and your new tower has Vista instead of Windows XP and your old scanner won't work with Vista. There will be a new one taken this week (18 weeks) along with the news of what type of babies we are expecting... boys, girls or one of each.

Careful.. I might crush you

The only part of the pregnancy that I don't like is the comments I'm starting to get from my mom and my oldest brother. I know it's good old-fashioned teasing but it's really starting to annoy me to no end. I used to be thin.. like 125 pounds thin. Then I got way bigger but was able to lose alot of the weight (heck I actually own size 8 shorts). I've really only gained maybe 10 or 11 pounds total since getting pregnant with the twins but I'm already starting to show in a BIG way. I know that I will be getting bigger, much bigger but I really don't like the comments. Then again maybe just maybe if I sit on my brother and crush him, he'll leave me alone.

A wonderful weekend

I love being an aunt... really and truly I do. I love S and D just as much as my own little ones to be. This weekend was so much fun since my brother and SIL had plans last night and it was easier to leave the girls with Mom and I. D is getting to be such a big girl.. I keep wondering what happened to the little baby girl that I could cuddle up with all the time. She's working really hard on Potty Training and even went on the potty at least twice over the weekend with lots of success. She took a nap on the bed that we have for S in my old room yesterday and then S took a nap on my bed in the guest room (formerly my brothers' bedroom) since her bed was occupied. It was so weird to see her little body on such a big girl's bed. After nap but before dinner we took down the Pack n Play that she was using. It felt so bittersweet since it was the second time it has gotten taken down (it's coming back for an encore in May). My old room looks big again. Mom and I then pulled out the new Twin Size Aero Bed that Mom had gotten for her.. It was a total thrill for her.. and for S (who is already planning to sleep on it next time). D 's hair is now able to do ponytails (ok pig tails) but not yet long enough to be braided. She looks so adorable in her pig tails. D is finally at an age where you can have a semi conversation with her and if you ask her to get you something, she will. Well not always but she tries.

S is getting to be so big too. It's amazing all the things that come out of her mouth comment wise. Where the heck did the last 5 years go??? She's looking forward (i hope) to her new cousins and helping Auntie with the babies. It still floors me that she goes to Kindergarten. She loved showing off her new Gymnastics skills (and it was cute to see D trying to mimic her).

Anyway we had a really nice weekend. S helped Mom and I put together and decorate the Christmas tree. Only one ornament got broken this year. That could be a record of sorts. I made sure to update a picture that we have of S and D from almost 3 years ago in March this weekend of the girls sitting in the pink chair at Grandma's house. I can't wait to print it off and include it in some gifts that I am putting together this year and of course include in their scrapbooks too. We played with Barbie for hours and watched some Holiday DVDs and lots of Wiggle Bay.

Feeling so Sad

I just got home from a really great weekend with the nieces.. I'll post about it in a moment but I needed to unload something first.. A friend of mine on a board that I frequent had her twin baby girls too early. She was due in December and the girls arrived in October at 29 weeks. They knew that one of the girls had a heart problem which got fixed through surgery but unfortunately her lungs weren't doing all that great and unfortunately they had to make a decision that was for the best. Baby Brooklyn died on Friday night.. I am so sad for my friend and even though I've been through death issues before with many family members I don't think I've ever personally known anyone who lost a baby so young. I don't know what to do or say for my friend. I was planning on getting her something for the girls off their registry and sending it to them in celebration of the births once they were home. Now I don't know what to do. The other baby is doing fantastic by the way and doing great for being born at 29 weeks. I just am at a loss though for my friend. Sorry if this post sounds rather rambly...

You have been warned

Stay off the sidewalks.. There's an almost new driver in town... His name is Leland and he successfully passed the written test for his Learner's Permit on Friday. I just need to get him driving. Pray for us. lol.

Just some thoughts

Here I am again... posting away since Lee is snoozing away again.. not exactly fair since I have laundry to do and dinner to make and I'd love to take a nap too but someone has to keep this place going. Guess that would be me. He did help with getting the fridge cleaned out and taking out the trash but my gosh how many naps in one day can he take? Maybe he really is being sympathetic to the pregnancy but this is getting old.

I am now 14 weeks and 4 days pregnant as of this post. Things that are happening around here... I'm getting bigger slowly but surely. Lee is too funny these days. Rubbing and kissing my belly whenever he can. For now I'll allow it unless I start to not like it anymore. About a week ago I HAD to wash my size Large Maternity pants and had to basically shove myself into the size Medium ones that I had bought and thought would take me through the pregnancy. HA... they are were so TIGHT it wasn't even funny. The Motherhood/Mimi Maternity store is slowly becoming a place I visit alot when at the mall along with JCPenney or at least JCPenney.com since I feel like the selection within the JCPenney store is not exactly the greatest at the moment. I had to buy Maternity bras last week. There was seriously no room left in my regular bras and I wasn't about to fork over more money to just outgrow them again. I finally got a correct sized maternity dress from JCPenney.com after my first attempt to buy one failed (I got a Medium and needed a Large). I may hit the Motherhood website for a slightly fancier dress for the holidays. I saw one I liked alot and I just bought it. http://www.motherhood.com/Product.asp?ViewSource=browse&Product_Id=03441524&category_Name=Career&Category_Id=1524&MasterCategory_Id=6
Hope it gets here soon in case I need to switch the size.

My next OB appt is the Thursday after Thanksgiving. I wonder what my OB will do or say at this appt. My next Ultrasound isn't till December 12th and it's the one that EVERYONE wants to know about since we will hopefully be able to find out the sexes of the babies. I still have not had much in the way of Morning Sickness. I do have a not so fun Gag-Fest most mornings once I am dressed and am trying to brush my teeth.

I'm almost ready for Christmas.. Cards and return address labels are ordered, address labels for the cards need to be printed along with the annual letter. I bought some cute Christmas paper today. Now if only our home printer would work with us.. I think I need to start a new Christmas Card Address Book. The one I have has tons of cross-outs in it and some letters of the alphabet are creeping onto other pages for the letter before or after. Trying to remember where I got the current one that I am using. Maybe this coming weekend I'll take a look at the Hallmark Store while I'm at the mall and see if I can find one.

Ok time to go.. need to start the laundry or risk both Lee and myself being somewhat naked this week (noone wants that). Making Rice Krispy Treats for Thanksgiving probably Wednesday night. Offering virtual ones to anyone who actually got all the way down here..

Three little letters I didn't want to see

I am officially considered AMA. That's Advanced Maternal Age for those of you who don't know what that means. Ok some of you (hopefully) are scratching your heads thinking " But Cheryl's only 33 and doesn't that start at age 35? How did that happen?"

Well when you are pregnant with more than one baby the additional babies add 3 years to your risk. So in my case I am 33 with the risk of a 36 year old, therefore I am considered AMA.

I hate those little letters..

Some Updates

I guess someone is reading these posts (Hi Jen!)... so I'm updating on Life here...

First up, the computer crashed last weekend.. I don't even want to THINK about all my files that could possibly lost and all my photos.. even the ones of my ultrasounds.. Wah.. Ok I can rescan them in - well once we get the new tower and the scanner to like each other. So far they are not compatible. I'll figure it out eventually.

Secondly, I got to hear the heartbeats at my last OB appt last week. That was fun. So glad that I had gone to an OB appt with Cousin Kathy and her daughter Janelle so I knew what to listen for. Chugga Chugga Choo Choo.

Third, (and this one occured the same day as my last post and I forgot to post about it) I got to see the babies again on Ultrasound. Baby B was up first and did great till we realized that the baby was sleeping.. so nudge nudge, poke poke.. and baby B stirred, rolled over and went back to sleep (hmm just like me already). Baby A though was ready for us... this baby also did well. We got a great photo of Baby A stretching a leg out... our little contortionist.

Wish I could share the pictures and the ones of my belly but until the scanner and the tower get along (ok after I call HP for help) I can't do much.

Sox Win the Series... no sacrifice needed

Back in 2004 when the Red Sox were in the World Series, I got in a car accident and totalled my car. A couple days later the Sox won the Series for the first time since 1918. At the time I joked that I had sacrificed my car to them and helped them win the series.

Well fast forward to 2007, Red Sox are in the Series again and doing rather well. When they won in 4 games I was totally amazed. I hadn't lost anything (like my car) though Lee did lose his job about a week before the Series started. But I don't think that really counts..

Pregnancy Stuff

I have to admit, I am loving being pregnant so far... Ok so the 3 million trips to the bathroom in a day are not all that fun, nor the queasiness that I get if I haven't eaten something in a while. But I'm liking that there is a reason that I weigh close to what I weighed in January 2005 (when I joined Curves). I even don't mind too much that Lee is starting to call me FAT. I'm even starting to get a belly. Heck I'm earning it... and it's not easy to eat for three. Then again I've been told by my OB that I shouldn't eat for Three and that if I'm not hungry that it's ok not to eat.

I do miss being able to do all the stuff that I used to though. Noone will let me lift anything heavier than say 5 or 10 lbs and getting dressed in the morning and staying comfortable can be a challenge. Even working out at Curves (though still fun) is getting challenging.

I can't wait to see the babies again. I am going for an Ultrasound and Bloodwork on Tuesday morning. I might try to do some quick errands too afterwards. We'll see how I feel after the ultrasound. But I'm taking the day off from work. That's a definite.

Ok I can finally tell

I finally was able to talk to the 2 people I needed to tell my news to before anyone else knows.

I AM PREGNANT....

It took a long time to get to this place in my life and quite a few very legal drugs prescribed by my very nice and really great doctors at MGH. My personal doctor at the clinic called us to congratulate us on our achievement and I think that I'll be saving his message for a while..

Lee and I went up to oldest brother's house to tell him and his wife the very good news. They seemed to be happy for us but at the same time concerned about the financial aspects of all this.

Then when we got home I called my brother who lives in Texas to tell him and he was very happy for us also.

Lee's brother happened to have called us tonight and we broke the happy news to him also.. 2 more siblings to go on that side.. one of which we don't have contact information for and the other who is hard to get in contact with. We'll reach them eventually. But the important people know and that's what matters.

Be prepared to be really bored by all my pg related posts to come in the future..

Didn't fall off the Earth... Really

I've been really busy lately and I apologize if anyone has been trying to read here and hasn't found me posting.. Work has been incredibly busy and home life has been extremely busy as well. Lee and I went apple picking last weekend on Saturday and wound up at Plum Island afterwards... fun day... This weekend some friends are getting married and then on Sunday I have the Memory Walk to participate in. I'm still taking donations at http://memorywalkma.org (you need to put my name in) till October 31st.

I have other news to share but I need to talk to a couple of people before I make my news known.

Lee takes the Wheel

Ok so I sort of pressured him to do it... but Lee finally did some driving today. We went to a local cemetary and after I did a little bit of driving around to get him used to being there, we switched places and I had Lee try his hand at driving around the cemetary. He actually did quite well. I am very proud of him. I hope that we can go again in the near future and then when he's comfortable enough I can get him on the road with real traffic. He still needs to get his learner's permit but I thought we'd see how he did at the cemetary first.

I hope that he decides to get that soon. If we are PG then I won't fit behind the wheel before too long...

Long time no Blog

If anyone else is reading this blog please let me know... I'm starting to think I'm talking only to myself.

So to give you a quick Cliff Notes version of life here... We got through the IVF cycle ok... We retrieved eggs and of them 3 fertilized.. then 1 stopped dividing and 2 were Transferred back into me. We find out next Friday (8 more days) IF we are Pregnant. I'm trying not to get too attached or too obsessed but it's amazingly hard not to do either. I also had a birthday during all this... fun times.. I was supposed to get together with a friend but she flaked at the last moment. Lee felt bad so he took me out Mini-golfing and then for ice cream.. My mom did the same a few hours later.. I think to say that I was buzzed on ice cream is an understatement.

I will try to update the blog as I can and as we have more news on anything.

Go Baby Go

My youngest niece and my brother (her daddy) came over to visit at my mom's today for a couple of hours. She was stuck like glue to Daddy though since usually when she goes there it's to be left in Grandma and Auntie's care. While there we took an unexpected walk up the BIG hill to the elementary school that my brothers and I attended quite some time ago. D did great walking up the hill, crossing the street and continuing to walk for a while longer before Daddy asked if she wanted a lift the rest of the way. She really liked the playground but unfortunately it was a REALLY HOT day out and well everthing she tried was Too Hot for her. In hindsight we should have taken her to the local park that has most of the playground stuff for the little ones in the shade. Another time. But she did great for a newly minted 2 year old. This auntie is very proud.. Oh and I taught her a new phrase today.. "Uh Oh Spaghetti-O's" when she dropped her piece of cut up chicken fingers on the floor. Cuteness.

Happy Early Birthday to me

Ok so I live in a state that has Tax-Free weekends once a year for the past few years to help the economy out and give people a break. Well when my kitchen table broke a few weeks ago, we decided that along with the new table that we would get new chairs too.. My mom had actually told me that she'd pay for 2 of them in order to get back the ones that I had borrowed from her when we had gotten married 8 years ago. Well those 2 chairs became my early Birthday present along with 2 chair cushions to complement our kitchen. We went back today to get 2 more chairs (that I will pay her back for over the next few weeks). I am so happy to have a complete kitchen with furniture that belongs to us. I feel like such an adult now. The new chairs spurred Lee to clean the apartment up a little for me. I continued the trend today by moving around some furnitre and it looks really nice around here. I need to take some new pictures of our place. This is definitely scrapbook worthy to me.

I can't wait to see what Lee has gotten me next week.

It worked...

Hooray and the post from last week is there too... must have just been me.

So what is new here?? Not much.. still slightly upset over my cousin being Pregnant but I know that my turn is coming.. I just need to be patient a little bit longer...

I started some new drugs this week. Fun drugs.. that make my mind all loopy.. but that also get me to work really early some mornings. I can deal with that. I am hopefully going to a FREE concert next weekend. Will be really cool if that happens for me. It will be to see the Beach Boys and is sponsored by a local Oldies radio station. Doctor appts start in earnest this week too. I may be here much more often giving updates. I hope that someone besides me is reading what I type since I would hate for all this stuff to be in vain.

Testing....123

Ok I need to know what is going on here... I tried posting here a little over a week ago and the post never showed. So i'm testing this out... Back in a moment IF it works.

Random Ramblings of late

Funny I have lots to say but no way to truly communicate it I'll do my best here. No clue if it will help.

• We start a new adventure next week, IVF. The baby stuff has been weighing on my mind for a while now. The other stuff we are doing just didn't work for us. I'm truly hoping that this will do the trick. I picked up most of the drugs on Tuesday afternoon while on my lunch break and then had a minor breakdown over the stress of all this on the way back to the office.
• One of cousins told me that she is pregnant. Great, that's news that I wanted to hear (I'm being sarcastic). But she is also a proud new auntie to a really cute little guy. So I'm guessing that somewhere it all balances out.
• My scarf is continuing to grow. It's currently 21" long... hey that's how long I was when I was born.
• Pool party on Saturday for us at Lee's coworker's house. I can't wait for it to happen. I need some space out time and relaxation time. I might get it there.
• I finished the 7th Harry Potter book Sunday night right before I went to bed. It was good. Lee's reading it now.
• I worked on the new kitchen table over the weekend. It looks great. Might need another layer or two of poly but that's easily done.

Guessing that I'm done rambling through this post.. Thanks for listening.

We're Just Wild about Harry

The newest and last Harry Potter book is here and we have a copy.. It arrived at approximately 8:30am and I've been reading just about since it arrived. Last night we went to Hogwarts Square to celebrate... it was kind of fun watching the crowds.. We did attend one party at one store.. we got some sweets from Honeyduke's and made Wands at Ollivanders before leaving to go home. We also saw a small part of a concert (line up included Harry and the Potters along with Draco and the Malfoys). The warmup band wasn't very good though..

Other things that we've been up to.. well a couple of weeks ago our GLASS kitchen table fell apart (the legs broke). Luckily I caught the glass before it hit anything and broke too. Lee tried to fix the table but it was not repairable at all. So I got to finally buy the table that I've been keeping my eye on for years now.. I finally got a chance to put it together and start staining it today.. Tomorrow I'll finish the poly job and then move it inside to the kitchen.. next project (once I either have the money or my mom buys them for me) is to get a couple of chairs and possibly stain them too.

More news of the scarf and other assorted ramblings

sorryt if I'm boring anyone with this but I am loving Knitting.. and after another setback with the scarf I'm proud to say that I'm figuring things out and now have at least 14 inches on my scarf... only 30 more to go.. then the last 4 rows of just the knit stitch and I can think about other projects.

Other news in my (our) life... not much to report.. I love grilling out on the back porch and so far have been doing that alot.. enough that Lee bought me a book on grilling. I have a feeling that I am getting grilling tools for my upcoming Birthday. Hmmmm will be interesting if that happens.

Far as I know Nana is holding her own... I mean someone would hopefully call me if there was news to share. Though I did hear that her circulatory system is shutting down.. which isn't good news.. I may need to make a few calls if I don't hear anything soon.

I've been reading up a storm lately in anticipation of the newest Harry Potter book coming out. I can't wait. Currently reading a good book that I just got yesterday (I know I know, but I can't go very long without having something to read) called Table for Five and is written by Susan Wiggs. I have read about 3 of her other books and am eagerly awaiting a third book in a series that she is writing. She's really good.

Guess that's it for now..

I'm a Knitting Fool aka Is It Cold In Here

So I finshed my knitting lessons a couple of weeks ago.. I finally decided on my 1st project.. It's a scarf and I like how it's coming out.. I'm on my 2nd no make that my 4th attempt at it though.. The original one that I started was too thin since I was following the instructions and only did 16 stitches,... well I guess my yarn wasn't thick enough and when I got 8 or 9 inches in I realized that somehow I had reversed the pattern and tried to take a few rows out and wound up undoing the whole scarf... ARGH! Ok I thought, I'll just start over... famous last words.. especially since I added in some more stitches to get a better width. I had to take it all out again and then got a knot that I couldn't get out.. ok try again.. and again..

I've got at least another 7 inches going and the scarf is the right width (20 stitches seems to be the right amount). I might actually get the scarf done before Winter starts since it needs to be a total of 45 inches.. I may even make another one for Lee.. if there is time before winter gets here.. maybe by next Winter..

Long Time No Post

Sorry about that. Just been a BAD few days and life is just running me into the ground.

To catch you up:

• Nana is still with us and holding her own. She is one stubborn woman.
• My life long dreams of a family are still on hold, for now.
• I have another new job, which I really like so far. Much better than the last one I had.
• Lee and I are doing more "stuff" together and it feels good to have such a great connection for once.

I'll try to keep this more up to date. I'm too tired to do much more tonight. Till then.

Say It ain't so

I got a phone call last night about my Grandmother last night from my oldest brother. It seems that she is possibly dying and only has a few days to live. I'm going to miss her quite a bit. I have spent the last 3 years not visiting her since for me it is so hard to see her since until maybe 8 years ago she was a strong and vibrant person who was just getting older and starting to make mistakes. She has Alzheimer's and hasn't known who I am for a few years now which is hard for me to deal with. When my dad died a few years ago she would ask about him all the time and unfortunately we would lie to her.. tell her that he had just been there and didn't she remember seeing him just a few minutes ago. Not nice of us to do to her but it was the only thing that we could think of to get her off the subject. She just turned 93 in May and shares a birthdate with my oldest niece (they are 88 years apart in age) . According to my brother she is comfortable and no longer eating. Death is considered imminent and I'm hoping that she at least is still with us on Sunday. I want to say Goodbye to her.. It's only right.

Once more with feeling

Tomorrow is my last attempt at something I've wanted my entire life.. I have plenty of other chances left if tomorrow doesn't work out but I'm sort of hoping that this time things work out for me (us) .

We had a nice night (after a quick blow out that blew over quickly, thnakfully) having a cookout on the back porch. I even bought marshmallows to roast with but I think instead I might need to learn how to make Rice Krispy treats. Yummy.

Losing My Religion

There will one less Catholic in the world after approx 11:30am tomorrow. ME. I've been a Catholic my entire life.. till now. Ever since my dad died I've been extremely doubtful of all the stuff that being a Catholic means. I tried really hard to attend Mass or at least to go on Easter and Christmas but even that limited amount was too hard at times. This past December Lee and I went to California for a longish weekend around New Year's. We stayed with Lee's brother and his family. Anyway while there we attended church with Lee's Mom. She's Unitarian Universalist and I really liked the service.. So when we got home I started looking into local UU churches and decided that we would try the one in my hometown. So tomorrow we will both be signing the book as members of MUUC and I'll become a Unitarian.. though when we have kids I might still baptize them in the Catholic church and also have them dedicated in the Unitarian Church. Decisions decisions.. well at least there is plenty of time to decide that one..

Life Sucks

I've had a really bad week this week... I kept holding out hope though for a piece of good news that I was really hoping to get on Tuesday.. but it never came, so back to square 1 once again. Hopefully for the last time..

Old time Photo

Here's our Old Time Photo... We did a Civil War Era one... Hopefully if we do this again we'll do one of Lee's choosing and that would involve the 1930's and gangsters... should be fun..

We had a really nice weekend.

Oh my gosh what a nice weekend we had up in Rockport. The cottage was cute as could be and was perfect for us. A full bathroom, a nice bedroom with a Queen bed, kitchen and eating area, a living area and a small deck. The only not so nice part of the weekend was that it rained. A lot. But we had the best time... I even convinced Lee to do old fashioned photos. I'll post it later since I still need to scan it. We hada great time walking all over Rockport. I had gotten Lee a Got Lobster shirt in Boston and I didn't give it to him till Saturday morning. He loved it and decided to wear it that day.. especially since we were going out for Lobster Dinner that night. Sunday we turned in the key to the cottage and then went for a long walk around Halibut Point State Park. It was a really nice day for it. We climbed all sorts of rocks and had a great time taking all sorts of pictures. On the way home we stopped off at Woodman's in Essex for lunch. Yum. I can't wait to go back up to Rockport again.

I can't wait to get away this weekend

Because once again I am without a job... (I had typed up a whole post but the computer ate it).. The doctor (that's me) prescribes getting away and just relaxing.... but I am still so upset that this job didn't work out for me.. I had perfect attendence and no reason to be let go (I was a temp).. the reason I got is pure Nepotism... the siblings and children of permanent employees are coming to work for the summer.. it stinks... I got no warning that this was going to happen though since it was decided on Friday and I got told Friday night once I was already home. No time to even say goodbye to people i cared about and wanted to stay in touch with. it sucks.. At least Lee and I are getting away this weekend ... time to just relax and be... and I can't wait.. plus it's Lee's birthday weekend and I have a few surprises for him... this will be fun...

Has it been a Year already???

Today has been a hard day... my horoscope predicted a bad day... I should have listened.. ugh... I'm not going into it... too depressing and I'm already depressed enough... cause one year ago today was my last day with the Toddlers..

I can't believe it's truly been a year.. some days it feels longer and other days it seems like yesterday.. It had started out as a fairly normal day (though it was raining so we had to go to the playroom instead of outside).. the kids were doing well, no one had gotten into trouble (including me).. and it was hopefully going to be a better day.. (kid got bit the day before and I got a warning that anything else happened I was out). Then we went to the playroom and the kids were playing somewhat nicely.. or as nicely as 10-12 Toddlers can play. I was guarding a door and Stacey and Jessica had most of the floor space covered.. but as usual weren't truly paying attention.,. I was busy making sure that noone tried to escape on us.. and my attention was on the kids nearest me.. then it happened.. the same kid as the day before got bit over a walking toy.. argh... I was so upset i had to excuse myself and run to the ladies room so the kids wouldn't see me cry or hear me swear.. composed myself and went back to the playroom to help get the kids back downstairs and tell Patty what had happened.. I was quickly taken to a seperate room and told to wait and then sent to get lunch and go to the other site to wait for the Director to deal with me. It was a LONG wait.. finally at approx 3:30pm I was told that my employment was over. Go back and turn in your stuff. get your belongings and say goodbye to the kidlets..

That was a year ago..

I often wonder about the kids and how they are doing.. most of the kids that were in that room are now Preschoolers .. or have moved away. I think about visiting but know that it would cause a major disruption.. I tried a year ago to get another childcare job but it didn't happen for me.. I'm back to working in an office setting.. which I like but I so miss the kids..

this all doesn't excuse my actions today on a board I frequent.. but it is a part of how my day went today..

Bina's five today..

My niece turned 5 years old today... It's got Auntie feeling teary and hormonal. I still remember Steve calling me at around 10pm to say (over and over) "Hi auntie Cheryl"... and then telling me all her details.. and going into Boston to visit at the hospital the next day... and telling the camera that now that she's a whole day old that she's going to Disney World and that I'd pay if needed. My niece and I have been buddies ever since.. she finally said my name on my 30th Birthday when she was 2... she hasn't stopped yet.. Every time we see each other she usually screams "Auntie" and then runs into my arms.. any time that she spends a night at Grandma's, I spend the night too and the one time that I didn't stay for a night she looked like a lost puppy.. (broke Auntie's heart)

As of today she's 5 (and finally going to Disney on Sunday) and is now a Big Sister to 1 little sister (who loves to tag along with big sister). She shares this special day with her Great Grandma (my Nana) who she is partically named after (nana is 93 today) and loves to spend time with. I love her just as much as I will my own kids and in some ways I consider her part mine (I'm her Godmother) . Happy Birthday Baby... may ALL your dreams come true..

Going to Bonkers

and I didn't go Bonkers... it was actually a nice place for a kid's party. S had her 5th Birthday Party with her friends there. Everyone seemed to have a great time... D loved the carousel and I think she rode it at least 6 times.. and some where right after another.. Amazingly she never got dizzy but learned a newish word (well to Auntie at least) "Horsey" and I think she said "Cheryl" but it was loud and I couldn't really hear her. I can't wait for Wednesday since that is S's actual birthday and I'm going over to the house to celebrate with her, D and their mom and dad. I'm trying not to think about the fact that she is 5 yet. and let's not even think about D turning 2. At least we have 3 more months to contemplate that one. and I need to find a Thomas cake pan.

Knit 1 Purl 2

I finally started my knitting lessons last week.. I seem to have a knack for it or at least that's what my teacher tells me.. I had my 2nd lesson tonight and I learned how to do the Purl stitch, I learned the Knit stitch the 1st week. I've been practicing alot between the lessons. And taking things apart a lot.. I make lots of mistakes but it's ok... I'm still learning. Next week I'll be learning how to possibly do both stitches in the same row... In the meantime I'll still be practicing my knits and purls.

Change is in the air

I can feel it... I can practically taste it... is it the good weather (finally) that has me in a good mood for once or is it something else.. I really don't care what it is.. I know that I feel like a new person.. but there is alot happening around here lately. Our church is possibly getting a new minister, S is turning 5 in a few days (8 more days till her actual birthday), I'm changing religions (that's another post) and there is a slight possibility that I'll be Permanent soon at work. Lee and I are getting more playful together too.. Saturday I unfortunately got into a bit of an argument with him about something that wasn't fair on my part (how his family treats him and how he lets them perceive him and how it upsets me) . Later that night (after a long talk), Lee asked me to sing to him while in bed.. ok I'm not the best singer but I can hold my own. I wound up singing him 2 songs from Jesus Christ Superstar (I Don't Know How To Love Him and Everything's Alright) . Back to my original reason for posting, I found myself practically singing to myself at work today and while on lunch break I found myself actually singing outside IN PUBLIC on the way to the bank and getting my lunch.. I don't know what the heck is going on but I like it..

Do you like ROLLERCOASTERS ?

I love them... Really I do... I love the whole experience... The waiting in line and watching other people enjoying the ride, finally having a turn to get on the ride, that first big STEEP hill that you have to climb to even have enough momentum to get you through the ride. The thrills, the chills, I love it all. Don't get me wrong though, by the time the ride is about done, I'm done too. I want off but I also can't wait to do it all again.. Ok so where the heck is Cheryl going with this very obvious metaphor you ask? Don't worry I'm getting there. I also like Merry Go Rounds.. heck according to my mom it wasn't till the day after her ride on one at 41 weeks and 2 days pregnant with me that I decided enough was enough and I was coming out.
Here's the important , where is she going with this part..
For the past few years (yes years) my life has gone between these two extremes.. the roller coaster and the Merry Go Round. Lately I feel like life has been in Merry Go Round mode.. I'm going round and round in circles and getting nowhere quickly.. no permanent job in sight, things with Lee and I not being the best between us, no babies in my arms (well with the exception of my nieces and my friend's babies). But finally I feel like I'm getting back to the Roller Coaster part of my life.. I'm in the line waiting still to get onto the Roller Coaster but I'm enjoying the scenery and watching other people enjoy the same ride that I can't wait to get on. I know that pretty soon I'll be next to ride the Roller Coaster and that I'll enjoy the ride and that eventually I'll start to scream that I want off but that once off I'll want to get back on the ride again.

Ok to those that are still lost (that is if anyone is reading my blogs), my job situation is starting to look better, I'm learning so many new skills that I know I can use in many ways, I'm also noticing that things between Lee and myself are really good at the moment, and there is a strong possibility that a baby might be in our future sooner than later. So bring on the Roller Coaster, I'm ready, willing and able.

More Anniversary images

Lee doesn't take a great picture sometimes
My pretty outfit.....

Me after dessert was eaten...

Eight Wonderful Years Later

Awww what a cute couple... I'll explain the photo above in a moment... especially since it's the only one of both of us together from the entire night... We had a wonderful night even though it had rained... Hmmm sounds familiar to our wedding day. We got to the restaurant (Italian) and I got called "Bella" many times.. had wonderful service and wonderful food. The whole night the lights were going slightly up and down for atmosphere and it was cool but right before our dessert they went out completely. The owner then announced that most nights at Dolce Vita are a special occasion, but tonight at Dolce Vita we have a very special occasion, an anniversary... He then lit a candle on a piece of Tiramisu and brought it over to our table and he and our waiter sang to us.. It was the BEST Tiramisu we've ever had. Better than the one at our wedding. The picture was taken right after this happened. We decided after dinner and the wonderful service that this will be OUR restaurant from now on. I'll try to post more pictures from this night later... I'm losing the battle of pictures here.

A Look Back in Time... to 1999 specifically

Tonight let's look back to the beginning... the beginning of what you ask? The beginning of our life together (Lee and mine) on April 17, 1999... Here is a nice picture taken after the ceremony...

Gosh I look so young in it... and Lee looks so handsome... another day I'll post a more recent picture... but for now let's just ponder on what these two people are about to encounter in their lives over the next 8 years... tons of love, some fighting, counseling, the birth of two really adorable nieces, quite a few weddings of other people that are important to them, lots of trips within the state and out of state, the death of both their fathers (mine in 2001 and his in 2005), fertility issues, becoming a non-smoker ( Go Lee!!!), losing religion (mine) ,etc.

The list is exhaustive and continues to grow everyday... but it makes me appreciate this somewhat young couple who have no idea what is ahead of them. On this one day for them life is easy... life is fun.. and it's time to party.

My legs are shaved

Which can mean only one thing... time for me to get all dressed up. Our Anniversary is tomorrow (though it may be today by the time I actually hit POST. I can hardly believe that we have been married for 8 years now. It's been a long strange trip so far and our lives are so far from what I thought they'd be by now. By 8 years I thought that we'd have kids.. at least one. So far none but we are working on it. I also thought that we might have moved from the one-bedroom apt that we started renting literally 2 or 3 weeks before the wedding. But I don't need to dwell on the should of /could ofs, because there are so many other adventures awaiting us that we haven't even thought of or dreamed of yet. We are going out to dinner tonight (close enough to Midnight) at a new restaurant to us. We have money to pay for our meal and hopefully enough to get us to Rockport in May for Lee's birthday celebration weekend also. Recycling the bottles and cans works out very well for us along with saving the spare change we have in Lee's pockets and my purse (not all the time though). Well off to finish laundry and get myself to bed. I have a big day to get ready for . Need to pick out a dress to wear.. or a skirt combination. Anyone a fashion consultant???

Our Girls

Ok so I really and truly doubt that anyone is reading the blog so I'm playing with the options and thought I'd add a picture of our girls Squirt and Nora. You can see that they are a bit furry but we love them so much. They have added so much love to our lives in the past 8 years.

BTW, Squirt is on the left and Nora is on the right and the photo was taken maybe 2 years ago (I truly don't remember).

I'm going to attempt to add pictures every so often so you (me) can see all the changes in our lives over time. Next week I'll be able to add our Anniversary picture and wax poetic about being married for 8 years. I still can't believe that we've been married that long. Feels much, much longer. Maybe because we have been together as a couple for 14 years now. I can't believe that I'm almost the same age that Lee was when I met him. Ok feeling really old now.

Stop the Presses...

I finally got around to taking car of my car today (yesterday)... I got the oil changed and got my new inspection sticker (I was walking a fine line with that one). The inspection sticker was the more important of the two though I could feel the car being sluggish due to the oil needing to be changed. I was very successful at avoiding being pulled over for 3 months and getting a ticket for the inspection sticker being out of date unless the police know my MO these days. Gosh that is a sad commentary on the local police.

I also went and visited Daddy today. I stopped on my way and got half a dozen roses to divide between him and Papa Sarno. No water was to be had but I got a great idea.. Use the snow as water. Looked good to me. Hope it lasts the weekend. As usual I lingered and kept telling him that I love him. Hard to leave him there but eventually I am able to leave and head home. Yes I talk to dead people.

Cheryl is found with White Powder

Now don't get too excited... I'm not breaking any laws (yet).. but I have a sinus infection and a touch of Broncitous. So I'm on amoxicillin for the next few days. Those of you who know me really well know that I HATE to swallow pills of any sort. I usually resort to hiding my pills (when I can) in food. Food of choice for the next few days : Chocolate pudding laced with amoxicillin 3 x a day. Yummy.. I can see the pounds piling on already...

Auntie is exhausted

Ok I think I can finally post about the weekend with the girls. It was fun and very eye-opening about what mommyhood can possibly be like for me. I had a fabulous time with the girls but my gosh they take alot out of me. D was happy to be with me most of the time (a new thing for her) and I think I read Grandma and Me and Chicka Chicka Boom Boom way too many times to her. I might need a 12 step program to get those two books out of my head. Her speech is doing great. I could usually figure out what she was saying but there were quite a few times that I had to ask Grandma what she was saying or have S interpret. I love her Thank yous.. they come out Tank yoo. Very cute. S was adorable too. She and Grandma butted heads many times but luckily Auntie was able to smooth things and be a buffer. S kept asking me to do her hair in braids (french braids) too and on day two of these requests, even D was looking for a new hairdo. Those pigtails didn't last though. S finally got her 2nd present from Lee and myself from Christmas (yeah we suck).. a Barbie Dollhouse with 2 Barbies and some Barbie clothing. She loved it and had a great time playing with it. Well at least till D woke up and discovered it.

Lee missed me quite a bit while I was at mom's with the girls but he got a chance to spend time with the girls and me on Sunday. We had fun at the park together and gave Grandma a needed break. But I am one very exhausted auntie... I literally fell asleep at 10pm last night.

Auntie!!!!!

That's how I got greeted tongiht when my older niece saw me at Grandma's house. She ran straight into my arms and then showed me where her tooth used to be. I can hardly believe that she's already lost her first tooth and another one is wiggling it's way out too. She's not even 5 yet.

I love being around the girls. S and I have a great relationship. It just about killed me that I couldn't stay over tonight. I have to work in the morning and I hadn't even packed my bag yet for staying over. D as usual freaked out.. we could all see the wheels turning in her head. "Mommy and Daddy and S brought me to Grandma's house and Auntie is here too.. something is up. I'll just cling to Daddy till I feel ok being here". Within 20 minutes of being at Grandma's house she had calmed down and was playing well on her own and going through the books we keep for the girls. Tonight she pulled out Chicka Chicka Boom Boom (for me) along with Grandma and Me (for herself) .

and It's Beginning to Snow

This line has been in my head since about 11am this morning as it started to snow here today. For those that don't have Broadway tunes in their heads 90% of the time, it's from Rent. One of my new favorite shows.
Anyway, I'm home early today from work. The snow was beginning to pile up quickly here and the powers that be decided to close the office early. Unfortunately a dinner meeting that I was supposed to attend got cancelled tonight. I was looking forward to it. Hopefully it will be rescheduled for next week or the week after.

Off to enjoy this extra time at home today...

Sunday Night Musings

I'm sitting here at 11:30pm listening to Lee snore in the bedroom. I wouldn't mind that he's asleep for the night since this is a usual thing for him on a Sunday night (and I'm usually trying to finish up laundry), but he's been in there since at least 6:30pm. Anyone else guessing that the time change hit him hard? I was going to make us dinner tonight too.

I spent time with the girls today. I love being an Aunt. I get the love and cuddles that I crave with the benefit of being able to walk away at the end of the day. I know that someday when I am a Mommy that I won't get the walking away benefit anymore but for now I'm enjoying it. As usual when I got there S was excited to see me and D had no clue what was happening. D then dissolved into tears since she equated having both me and Grandma being over to Mommy and Daddy going out. We calmed her down after a while and I think Mommy putting her in for a nap helped too. S and I then went down to the basement (aka toyland) to play together. I was able to convince S to draw me a picture for my refridgerator. It's adorable. She drew me and then she drew herself. She also signed her name. After she was done I had her name the letters in her name. She did fantastic. Later when I got home I added the date and her age. We then went back upstairs and played her Memory Game with the Disney Characters. She's really good at this game and was great at making the matches. She wound up helping me make my matches too. We also watched a Barbie Fairytopia Movie together (while I french braided her hair twice) and then played Barbie Fashion Show on the computer. In 2 weeks S and D will be spending time at Grandma's house since Mommy and Daddy are going away for Daddy's birthday. Auntie Cheryl will be helping out Grandma quite a bit with the girls since Grandma's patience is not as long as Auntie's. Can you say sleepover at Grandma's for Auntie? Lee will love that.

Calling All Cars

I found my socks. The ones I thought I had lost last weekend. Not sure where they had been for the last week but I found them at the base of my dresser when I was putting away laundry from this weekend's laundry adventure. Maybe I dropped them when putting away my socks last week. I really don't care. Though now my record is perfect once again for not losing socks in the laundry ever.

Lee and I went out on a date tonight (Saturday). He wouldn't exactly tell me where we were going but I followed his directions willingly. We wound up at a place called Good Times. It's basically an arcade with an indoor batting cage, pool tables, Ping Pong tables, a bar, food and a small basketball court. They also have 3 lanes of Bowling, a small Go-Cart track and a couple of small amusement rides. We had a nice time being there. Three hours there went really quickly and I found out that I still do well at Skee Ball. They had a photo booth which we attempted to try but it wasn't working. From doing Skee Ball and other games we wound up with 155 tickets to turn in but there was a really big crowd at the Redemption area so we decided to wait till our next visit to redeem them (plus we might be able to get something much nicer than say a harmonica). We ended the night with a trip to Burger King for a quick meal but they were already closed and the drive thru line was very long. Instead we wound up at Seven-Eleven and bought some munchies for when we got home. All in all a good night for Lee and I. I truly hope that we do something like this again soon.

A little job security today

I haven't had a normal permanent job in a while. My last permanent job was teaching Toddlers age 16 months to 2 yrs 9months. Before that job the last permanent job I had was with a Long Term Care Insurance company and that was at least 2 or 3 years ago. The Toddler job ended last year in May. So it's been almost a year since I exercised for 8 hours a day every day whether or not I wanted to. Since May I've done quite a few small temp jobs that led to no where quickly. I am currently working in an office environment that is laid back (jeans every day people . not just on Friday). I'm a temp and have been there for 6 weeks now. Well today I decided to basically check-in with my supervisor and make sure that Friday would not be my last day (the agency had told me at least 6 weeks duration). I was elated to find out that they love me and hope that I will be there for a long time. It made all the stress that I put myself through to be a fabulous worker worth it. I had already told my supervisor maybe a week or two ago that I love being there and should the opportunity to become permanent happen I would want to be considered. So her comment to me today made me happy and made me feel a little more secure about my job.

Welcome to my Blog

Ok Deep Breath everyone... I'm starting a Blog... what about, I'm not exactly sure yet. Maybe that's why I named it Cheryl's Ramblings since I tend to ramble. Be patient with me. I'm new to this. I'm not sure how much I will or won't have to say, but I know that I do talk alot.

For anyone that doesn't know me I'll give a quick snapshot of what my life is at the moment. I'm Cheryl and I'm 32 years old (I'll be 33 in August). I've been married to a great guy named Leland (but I call him Lee mostly) and we live with our two cats Squirt and Nora. Lee and I will be celebrating 8 years of marriage in April. So far we don't have kids but hopefully that will change in the near future. I love kids and I love to scrapbook. I have 2 adorable nieces who will be 5 and 2 this year. I love to scrapbook about the girls and it shows since the older one has 3 or 4 albums already and the baby has 2 albums so far.

I guess I'll sign off from here for now. I hope to keep this blog somewhat up to date. Well if I can find my way back here.. someone send me some breadcrumbs to spread so I can find my way back.

A quick edit to say that I didn't actually post this at 10pm eastern time... I changed the time manually. Opps.

The horror...

Have I mentioned yet that I'm quite the drama queen?

I did laundry the other night and I was doing well... everything that I could wash got washed and I was in the process of folding and putting away when it happened. I LOST A PAIR OF SOCKS! A little backstory... In the entire time that I've been doing laundry (since age 12 or 13) I have NEVER EVER lost a pair of socks. My record was perfect and then I go and lose a pair of socks. They aren't in the washer or dryer since I know they made it to the bed (I fold in the bedroom usually) and I remember folding them with all my other socks and Lee's stuff. But somehow between folding and putting away they disappeared. I hope that I find them. I really liked them (they are grey and have snow men on them) and I love to wear them in the winter. I had Lee and myself check under the bed, around the bed, his sock drawer, my sock drawer, other drawers. Zip, Nada, Nothing. If anyone sees them, please tell them to come home. I have a perfect record to protect.