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!!!!

Charlie......

I forgot to mention my little doggie, Charlie was freaked out the whole time I was painting and I could tell he was thinking "what the heck is going on here, momma??" I took a picture.....isn't he the cutest little doggie?? In the back by the door is Mitch our other doggie, who could have cared less what I was doing:)

Reposting pictures

I am trying to repost my pictures because for some reason they are not showing up when I try to view them on my blog.....so here is another try:)

The New Dining Room

Friday night we went to the comedy club with Karrina, Michelle, Melissa and her boyfriend, we had a great time and enjoyed the show.......

Saturday morning I tricked convinced Vanessa to go to Garden Ridge with me to pick out pillows for the living room so we could decide what colors to paint. Here are the pillows we decided on after a long search for the right pillow....I hope the pictures are clear enough, since I cannot find my camera and I have to use my crappy phone......I get a new upgrade in one month so I will be able to take better pictures then.....



From these pillows we decided to paint the dining room and the hallways tan.....before and after







the only other thing I need for the dining room is the perfect placemats and candles for my home sign......

Here is my break down

gallon tan paint- 19.98
home sign for the wall- 24.99 50% off 12.50
fabric to reupholster the chairs- 13.98
center piece- 9.99
new dining room- priceless

To Paint or not to Paint??????

So I recently moved from a 3 bedroom townhouse, which we rented, and I was not able to paint any of the rooms. Needless to say we had the opportunity to stare at white walls for a year and a half. So you can understand why I almost fell to the floor with excitement when my new apartment landlord gave me the news that I could in fact paint the walls at my apartment. I was shocked, I did not think any apartment complex gave you permission to paint or maybe I just never lived in the right ones:)

Now I have the painful dilemma of whether or not to take on the task of repainting every room in my apartment. I really really want to, but we all know how involved a project like this can be. However today is Friday and we have a long weekend because of the fourth of July, so I am thinking painting party this weekend. Now for the next dilemma........

What colors do I want to paint?????? I have a tan couch so tan for the living room is out, my sister suggested I paint a light blue and at first I was like no way, it just did not sound like a match for me, but the more I think about the color and try to picture it in my living room, the more I like the idea. So I went to Behr.com and did a interactive color pallet and found 2 that I might go with.

I am thinking this for my living room (this is not my living room, just like the paint color)



I am thinking this for my dining room (again not my dining room)


I am thinking this color for my kitchen, I love the color purple


I am sitting here racking my brain trying to think of the perfect colors.....I think I am going to go to the store tonight (well maybe tomorrow, because we are going to a comedy show tonight) and buy new pillows for my couch and pull the colors from the pillows....also I will consult my older sister about this issue as well.....anyway I hope everyone has a fantastic 4th of July weekend. I will post before and after pictures if and when I decide on paint colors.....