Addiction to Pinterest

So my friend hooked me to pinterest. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I signed up for this wonderfully addicting website. Basically it is a whole lot of ideas packed into one place, how great is that. You can get recipes, DIY ideas, clothing ideas, organization ideas, hair and style ideas. Well as I was browsing through the site the other day I came across this recipe for honey walnut shrimp (which happens to be my husband and my sons favorite thing to order when we go to Panda Express) so I thought I would give it a try. This meal was sooo good and tasted just like the honey walnut shrimp  from Panda Express. I was very impressed with my direction following skills and the final meal. Here is the website for the full recipe. Try it out, you will be happy!!!  thefoodaddicts.com

Update on the children......

So today is Friday, thank goodness for that!!! Been a busy but fun week. First off it was spirit week at Vanessa's high school and she dressed funny everyday this week. I only have pictures of a couple of days, but Monday was pajama day and Vanessa bought a really cute pair of Spongebob Squarepants pajama pants. She also wore her bath robe and she looked too comfortable for going to school. Tuesday was America day and 50 senior girls dressed as Miss America's. Vanessa was able to be Miss Nevada (state she was born) she was real excited about that. Wednesday was 80's workout day (the best) she was totally 80's!!! Thursday was group day and she originally planned with 3 other girls to be the teenage mutant ninja turtles, BUT one of the girls who was suppose to make the shells flaked and last minute Vanessa and one other friend dressed as gangstas, she was not happy about that. You know how those teenage girls can be. This is her last year at Fort Mill High School and she was all excited and sad about this spirit week. Today is school spirit day because tonight is the homecoming game and we are all attending.

Miss America's





80's Workout, in case you couldn't guess....LOL






Onto the boy......We started our first season game this week and we were the WINNERS!!!! 21-0, we played Clover (which is not a very good team,,,BUT) our team needed this victory and it was well deserved because our boys have been working very hard!!! It was nice to go home that night and have Coach Mario happy and little Mario happy!!!!!

Coach doing his usual mingling!!! As I watch from afar snapping his picture!!!



He must have been happy because he does not like me to take his picture and he stopped for this one!!!

Did you miss me?? LOL.......

So seriously it has been over a month since I last posted and I thought maybe I should share a little update so I can remember what is going on in my own life....We will start with Mario Jr. and a little about what he has been up too....

School has started and Junior is now top dog, the big 8th grade....he is the starting corner for defense on his football team. They have played 2 games and sadly have lost both games. Thankfully the first 2 games are preseason and do not count against us. Mario said to me, "Mom, if I ever tell you I do not want to play football MAKE ME" so apparently he is having fun with the football career, that is until basketball starts...lol Gotta love em right? Grades are good, but he is not thrilled about his teachers, which is nothing new. As I am sure all kids love their teachers, right? Here are a few pictures of my baby young man!!!

He is on the left, #10!!!!

On to Vanessa, she is now working, yup, working. Where in the world does the time go with these kids. I keep saying I will be happy when they are out of my house, but that is a complete lie, yes a lie. I am very sad that Vanessa is a Senior this year and is anxiously awaiting her time when she can move out. I keep trying to convince her to live at home for a year and save money, but you remember being that age once and mom and dad could not tell you anything. Anyway she is working at Brewster's ice cream shop and has quite enjoyed having her own money and I cannot lie, I have enjoyed her having her own money!!! Vanessa is focusing on her grades this year and she is planning on attending college after high school. We are signing her up to take the SAT and ACT by the end of the year, so scary!!! Then in January we will be applying for colleges!!!!!! OH NO!!!! I cannot stand the thought of my little girl leaving the nest:(

I was going to post pictures of Vanessa and realized I need a major update on pictures of her. She is really hard to get a pose out of, I will work on that this weekend....

So this weekend we were suppose to make the kids stay home all weekend and spend time as a family, but low and behold tonight Scarowinds opens, and of course the WHOLE school will be there and the kids just have to be there. So dad and I decided we could use some much needed alone and snuggle time. So we are letting the kids go to Scarowinds and daddy and I are renting a movie, getting take out food, and enjoying the night without the kids!!!!!

I will try and get better at documenting our lives for our memory base because truly I have a horrible memory and this blog is for me to update my life so I can remember what I have done!!!!

Monday Blues!!!!!

     Another weekend has come and gone. Why does it feel as if those 2 wonderful days just fly by week by week, but our work week seems to linger on forever?? I am sure those are the feelings of anyone who works a 9-5er. Which mine is really a 8-5er with my hour lunch break that is always too long.

     So this weekend was pretty good, I spent quite a bit of time with Vanessa and of course I enjoy doing that. Junior likes to get away as much as possible and he does just that. Friday night I did steal the kids away to go to dinner and see a movie. We ended up going to eat at Arby's {one of my favorite fast food} We went to see "Jumping the Broom" which was very good, the kids and I enjoyed our time together. After the movie we just went home and had a laid back night.

     Saturday morning my sister called me at 10:40 and I was instantly reminded that my nephew was having his birthday party for his friends at 11 am and we were invited. So I woke the kids up and told them we had to get ready in 10 mins cause we were going to be late. Of course we were late anyway:) The party was cute, they played water guns, pin the tail on Sophia the donkey, {one kid pinned the tail on Sophia} cars pinata, and we ate hot dogs and hamburgers and of course cake. It was all good and the kids had fun, even the little boy who got stung by a bee, which was very sad.

     After the birthday party we decided to go to Carowinds because at the time the weather was very nice and cool, but of course when we get to Carowinds the sun was blazing. Just Vanessa and I went with the Carsto family, this was when Mario Jr. left us for most of the rest of the weekend. He was invited to his friends house and so before we went to Carowinds we dropped him off. Vanessa and I spent a couple of hours at carowinds and we had enough. We left and took Bryana  with us and we all went to Wendy's for dinner. Vanessa ended up leaving her purse there and we had to make an emergency trip back to Wendy's that night. That night I watched The Lincoln Lawyer because I heard it was really good, I thought it was ok, but I could have gone without seeing it.

     Sunday was just a cleaning and lounging day, I did make Mario come home from his friends house so he could clean and then he went right back over there. After all this typing, it does seem like I did a lot this weekend, but waking up on Monday morning is always a reminder of how quickly the weekend passes.

Anthony turns 6!!!!!!

     Yesterday my nephew Anthony {who by the way is like my second son} turned 6 years old. We had the pleasure of hosting his family party at my house last night. I will start from the beginning, the reason my family moved to South Carolina was so I could be her full-time childcare provider. When we first arrived in South Carolina Anthony was only 5 months old {reason why he is like a second son to me}. I watched my sisters 4 children for 5 years until little Anthony started Kindergarten last year :(   I cannot tell you how much I miss watching my 3 nieces and my nephew on a daily basis. At the time there were definitely days that drove me crazy and I could have lost my mind, but looking back I would not have changed it for anything. They are like my second little family.


     Okay so the birthday party, Uncle Mario made spaghetti and meatballs for dinner {so yummy} salad and cheese garlic bread. Anytime anyone has a birthday Uncle Mario is also the designated cake maker because he makes the most delicious cakes ever!!!! So this time he made a chocolate on chocolate cake with {wait for it} Reese's pieces on top ....... YUMMO!!!!!! The cake was amazingly good {should not have eaten it but what can I say} So the whole time we are eating dinner Anthony is repeating "when do we open the gifts" and of course he was the first one to finish his plate and was bugging us all to hurry up and eat so he could get to the presents already. Here are some pictures courtesy of Vanessa and her cell phone..........

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANTHONY!!!!!!! We Love You!!!!!! Is he not the cutest little boy ever and he has the personality to match!!!!

Right now his likes include Captain America and Thor {he just watched the movie last weekend with his family}

Cake with the Reese's Pieces (amazing)

What a cutie pie, seriously!!!

Weapons of mass destruction....lol

All he asked his mom and dad for was a drums set because he has started a band and he is the drummer, so he tells his mom "how can I be the drummer without drums" lol.....so the night before his birthday I searched on craigslist and found this set for my sister to buy for 40 dollars.....they were perfect!!!!

Captain America

Drum lessons from mom...he is in big trouble

Rockin out

Always say I Love You to your loved ones......

This weekend was the bearer of some really sad news for our family and it made me realize how precious our lives are and how we should always remember to say "I Love You" to our loved ones. My sister Kathy lost the father of her youngest daughter on Friday night in a horrible single car accident. She had seen him that day and heard the news Saturday morning. I cannot imagine what she is going through, how unfortunate for her and her children. She is also pregnant with their second child. He was only 38 years old and will never get the chance to meet his unborn child or see either one of his kids graduate high school, get married, or have children of their own. Our lives are so fragile and we must make each moment special and always tell our loved ones that we love them and we are blessed they are in our lives. Michael Greene will be missed.

 Please keep Kathy and her family in your prayers as they deal with this incredibly sad situation and always prayer for those you love. Kathy, I Love You and I will continue to pray for you and your family.

When You feel Lonely

When a person you love passes away
Look to the night sky on a clear day.
The star that to you, appears to be bright,
Will be your loved one,
Looking upon you during the night.
The lights of heaven are what shows through
As your loved one watches all that you do.
When you feel lonely for the one that you love,
Look to the Heavens in the night sky above.

Here is the link to the accident
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/52159471-78/crash-utah-killed-nevada.html.csp

Dinner for two!!!!!!!

Vanessa is such a sweet daughter (when she wants to be). When I got home from work yesterday, the house was cleaned (thanks to Vanessa and her brother Mario Jr.) and Vanessa was busy with the finishing touches on dinner. She had the table set for two and she had purchased a CD called Dinner for Two which was playing the most soothing music. Vanessa had prepared a 3 course meal for her and I to enjoy (the boys had football conditioning so they could not join us, which was okay with us). The beginning course was salad and bread sticks (yes the theme was Olive Garden because that is Vanessa favorite restaurant) then the main course was chicken fettuccine ("Yum-O" Rachel Ray!!!) then for dessert we had strawberry shortcake (Amazing!!!!). We enjoyed some nice light conversation and ate like little piggies:)

Thanks so much to my beautiful daughter for an amazing meal and you can most certainly make dinner anytime you would like!!!! I Love You Vanessa!!!!