hi again

Yup it's me...yup it's been awhile and yup I was thinking of my friend Anna again which brought me to my blog. I figured I hadn't caught anyone up lately. Soooooo my life now is hectic. Summer was great! Spent almost every day at the pool, the kids had swim lessons. it was just an awesome summer! School started, I started a part time job, we moved (super quick move as the house we were renting was foreclosed on) into an awesome house we love! We are not even a block from Loralie's school so we walk just about every morning.

So updates on everyone! Loralie started Kindergarten this year and is flourishing. She's already won one award for "Positive Attitude" and I seriously think that most days they couldn't have given it to a better person because she usually is super positive. She also now has purple and pink highlights in her hair...guess she takes after her momma with her funky style.

Miranda is in PreK this year and is also doing well! She is definately my DIVA! She has a fashion sense, professes her love to all the boys. Well really she loves everyone and is loves animals. (real and stuffed) she barely has any room on her bed to sleep due to the animals she sleeps with. She has also really came out of her shell. She isn't the shy little girl she used to be. And she cracks me up with how blunt she is on things...don't try to trick her because she'll tell you how it is...hmmmmm not sure where she get's that either.

And now on to Tripp. ahhhhhh Tripp, he started a 2.5 yr old preschool class, 3 days a week. It has been a blessing! Gives me time to have a part time job that I like. HOwever oh my lord the terrible 2's have been horrible with him. THere is a reason God sent him to us last as he is our most trying. He looks sweet and innocent but man he definately pushes the limit. He is smart, has a great vocabulary and potty trained at 2.5 but omg he is horrible some days. Other days he's awesome. I call him my sour patch kid, he'll do something mean and then the next min he's super sweet. no matter how rotten I love him a bunch.

My kids have been my life for 6 years now and I finally decided to take a little time for me and get back on the saddle of working. well it sucks because while I love my job, the whole childcare issue and making sure I'm making more than it costs isn't working out too well. and that's stressful. That and the fact that I really have to work around billy and the three kids schedules. Not to mention I'm Loralie's Daisy troop leader, try to volunteer with her schools PTO as much as possible and help out with the younger twos school as well. with Field trips etc. I was sad though that I had to drop my position in MOPS. I loved what I did however with everything going on and that I am working on and with I just didn't have the time and my heart wasn't into it as much. I know they will do well and it was a great way for me to meet all the wonderful friends I have now. ohhhh I've also started to decorate cakes again. I loooove to decorate cakes and had forgotten how much i really do like doing that. I made Loralie a sweet barbie cake (you know the kind where the dress is the cake?). She loved it and designed the dress herself. So My friends daughter saw the cake and deciced she wanted one just like it only using a monster high doll. Well I think it came out pretty cool and she loved it as well as the rest of the family! It was a hit...yay! So maybe just maybe I'll start doing more cakes...I'm making two cakes for our PTO's harvest party's cake walk friday.

Oh I guess you are probably wondering about my weight loss...I have lost a total of 188lbs. I'm lingeing between 133 and 135. I was bummed my insurance claim for plastic surgery on my excess belly skin was denied. That sucks but I'm going to keep trying for that and a boob lift. lol. I'm proud of my progess but still have issues with my appearence but i always have. It will get better. I have also found a therapist who has balanced out my drugs so I'm not a total bitch all the time. and I sleep really really well at night. Too bad pot isn't legal or I could just do that and it would have the same affect I think.

Billy is doing well, job is going well, he hit a deer at 70 and tore up his work van but was okay. I'm not driving him as crazy I don't think and things are great with us. We may even have a sitter lined up some so we can go on dates...lol..wooo hoooo!

So here's the skinny, kids are doing well, I'm doing well (even though with everythign else going on I'm thinking of starting up a small cake business), and billy's doing well.

Oh and I'm also thinking that maybe I'll somehow turn this into a type of food blog as well and post some different easy dinner or party recipes I do. I guess we'll see, as I need to come on here more and get my thoughts out.

Thanks to Anna's baby turning 1, I remembered it's been awhile since I posted. Anna always fussed at me about posting or lack there of. So here I am posting as I remember Anna's sweet baby and how I know she's got lots of love around her but it's going to suck to grow up without her awesome Momma. My son sleeps with a bear Anna gave me and as much as I hate that he wants to, I know he loves it and every night I have to give him and the bear a kiss, and in that sense I know that Anna in her own way is a comfort to my little one. I know Anna is watching over her family and everyone she has touched and I love that a Bon Jovi song comes on and all I think about is how much Anna loved him. So with this last little bit of sadness there is some light. Sweet Bella has turned one and is doing well and has a wonderful family to help them all through life!

Until next time which I hope will be alot sooner than last I'll chat with you all later!

Hey

I just was stopping in to check in on some of my friends blogs. I usually do it when I'm thinking of my friend Anna Calise who lost her life way too young. I think of her often and her 4 young children and it just breaks my heart that they have to continue on without her. It hurts when I think I'll never see another post on my facebook, blog, garnets site etc from her and it's been almost 4 months now. It amazes me how someone who you've only known a brief time out of your life can make such an impact on it. Anna was the one person I knew would always comment on things I wrote be it on facebook or here anywhere really. We had a very similar sense of humor mostly telling each other jokes that we knew were soooooo not politically correct but knew the other would laugh and find it hilarious because it was just a joke. We talked on the phone and she would laugh at my super southern accent and I'd joke on her how if I heard her voice in a dark alley I'd be frightened of that tough New York accent. When I heard of her passing it really made me question my faith. I had been struggling this past winter with a number of things but losing such a good person really put me over the edge. I went to bed crying the night I found out and continued asking Billy why would God do something like this. Why would he take such a devout woman away from her 4 young children and her husband who adored her? I couldn't figure it out, I couldn't understand it at all. But finally I am in a better place, I know that Anna was a believer and had Christ in her heart and although she isn't down here with her family she is with them in their hearts and watching over them. Seeing her pictures with her smiling face makes me happy. I have a bear she sent me for one of our exchanges we did over the years that says I heart NY on it. THat bear had sat on top of my hutch since I received it a few years ago. We were packing to move and I picked up that bear and I hadn't thought about it until then, that little white bear is my piece of Anna I can look at everyday (it now is on top of my tv), and be reminded of what a beautiful person Anna was inside and out. I still think of her daily and while my sadness for her loss will probably never go away, I am finally at peace with the fact that she is in heaven and no longer here with us. I do know however that Anna will forever live in my heart and the heart of so many others she touched throughout her life. She was really a wonderful person and I am blessed to have known her.

It has taken me a while to write about this as I just didn't know what to say or how to say it, I miss her, I miss our conversations, the text messages and jokes. But I know she is up above watching over all of us and looking and guiding her beautiful family!

Sorry It's been so long!

Hey everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I've blogged but a lot has been going on! So since Oct we had Lore's bday on Oct 17th, then halloween, Thanksgiving came and we spent the day at my moms with family and it was great! Then came my year anniversary of my surgery! Dec 15th I was a year out and had beat the goal the docs set out for me! woo hoo! My 1 year post op appt was wonderful and they were super happy with me. The only problem I ended up having was my Vit D was low. Then it was Christmas time and we got the best Christmas present ever, we found a house to rent in town really close to the girls school and in a nice quiet neighborhood! The kids got out of school for Christmas break and that weekend we got almost 30 inches of snow! for us that is insane! But it was beautiful! We also had to start packing for the move that we would be doing in Jan. SO needless to say Christmas gifts got opened and immediately put away and packed up!

Jan came with alot of snow and stomach bugs galore...gross! We moved the 3rd week of Jan and got most of the stuff moved in just in time as we got like 2 more feet of snow the day after we got the big stuff moved! With Jan the move and being so busy I found myself in a pretty bad place. I was stressed out and not happy so i went to a counsler and started seeing my "female" doc and ended up having to be on Birth Control again...gah! Feb and March were pretty much a blur as I was sick most of the two months it sucked! However it did wonders for the weight loss!

Now it's April, we celebrated Easter and our 7th wedding Anniversary on the same day. It was a great day! The weather was beautiful and we sat outside the whole day it was wonderful! My mood has been better and things seem to be going better with me. We've been able to go outside everyday and hang out on our deck every evening! It was been awesome and super good for my mood! Now the girls are on spring break and billy's on vacation so we decided instead of going anywhere we were finally going to get our house straight so we haven't gone anywhere we are staying here and working on the house. We may go to busch gardens thurs or friday but it's been so hot almost too hot to wonder around the park..lol. I'm really happy we are just getting the house finally straight. With me being sick and not wanting to do anything it looked horrible! but it's starting to be back on track now! yay!

Well with being sick it has done wonders for my weight loss...lol. I am down to where I'm no longer obese or overweight. I finally for the first time since I was a teenager probably have a normal bmi! yay! I have lost 166lbs! I have lost more weight than I weigh now! and to me that is just amazing! I am so happy with my loss but still don't see myself as a normal weight person. I still see myself as a huge blob...grrr I hate that too. But at least I know I'm healthier now and can keep up with my kids! so I'm going to post some pics of before and 15 mths after surgery! I'm so happy yay! so here they are: