Summer 2011 Begins In Pictures

Mothers Day 2011

I am so fortunate to have 6 children in my life who make me happy (and mad sometimes).  :)  I do not know what I would do without them because each of them have a very special place in my heart.....

Evan, I love how you just come and talk to me and make me feel like you trust me with things that you wouldn't trust telling others.  

Elyse, I love how even when I'm having a bad day, you smile and say something sweet that can always cheer me up. 

Valerie, I love how your witting and funny personality can make me laugh so unexpectedly so many times.  You come up with some of the funniest things.

Ashlynne, I love how you make me feel loved because you are so affectionate towards me, always wanting to snuggle or give me a hug.

Gersito, I love how you smile at me because it makes me know that you are happy at that moment and I love it when you are happy.

Ian, I love how you are still so young and so into your Mommy because it is a great feeling to feel loved unconditionally.

Justin, you are the most amazing father and husband.  Although we have been through so much together, there is no doubt in my mind that your love for me right now is stronger then it has ever been and I love that feeling.

Enjoy....the happy song!

Easter 2011 -- Happy Easter!!

Our favorite 6 people wish you a Happy Easter! 

Val's Lacross Game!

I finally got to go to one of Val's lacrosse games.  Here are a few pictures of her supporters.  :)

Easter Candy and Stares. :)

What a busy week so far.  Training is going good, but on top of that, my office is moving so I've been working on meeting deadlines and packing up my office.  I've also been trying to get things ready for Val's birthday and Easter.  I actually went to the grocery store to pick up Easter candy.  That was somewhat embarrassing.  I had so much candy in my cart (as one would expect with 6 kids), and people were looking at me like I should calm down on the candy.  When you think about one chocolate bunny per child, that's 6 bunnies in my cart - not to mention any other candy to fill the baskets.  To prevent the crazy stares, next time I think I'll bring a picture of my 6 kids and hang it on my cart.

Well, I hope all is well with everyone and hope to hear from you on the comments section!

Us

Family photos will be coming soon.  Well, at least it is my goal to take pictures of our entire family.  I have not done that in a very long time.  With that said, here is an older picture of Justin and I.

A Day In the Life of......Me.

Training is going well.  Tomorrow marks the first time for 7 miles.  Last night I walked 5 miles.  It took me about 1-1/2 hours.  I wish I could run it so I had more time in my day, but by running, I am not helping myself train - so I walked.  This week marks the first week alone without Justin.  It has been pretty tiring to say the least.  For an example of a normal day in my life when Justin gone....this is how it goes......
 
I wake up at 6 a.m. to get myself and 6 kids fed and ready for the day.  By 7:25 a.m. we are all heading out the door.  I drop off Ian at day care and by 8:30 a.m. I'm at work.  I work all day (usually through my lunch break because I've got so much work to do).  So, by 5:00 p.m., I'm rushing out the door just to sit in traffic for an hour.  Driving to and from work is my favorite part of the day because I can just sit and relax and listen to music.  By 6:00 p.m. I pick up Ian from day care and rush to pick up Valerie from lacrosse practice by 6:30 p.m.  At 6:40 p.m. I arrive home just to cook dinner (or finish cooking dinner if Ashlynne helps me) and to feed the crew so that by 7:20 p.m. we are rushing out the door to get to Lifetime to train for the Susan G. Komen walk.  By 9:30 p.m. we rush home to get ready for bed (which usually requires a bath for the little one).  By 10 p.m., all kids are in bed and its time for me to shower and get ready for bed myself.  By 10:30 or 11:00 I finally lay down in bed and fall fast asleep because at this point I'm exhausted.

Although I'm busy, I'm trying to enjoy every moment, because there will come a time when all this will be gone because our kids will be grown and I will not know what to do with myself with all my free time.  I guess I can always rest then.  :)

By the way, I wonder if anyone ever reads this blog anymore.  If so, I would love to hear from you.  Comments are always welcome!!  

Our Crazy Wonderful Life...Which Can Only Get Better!

Well, Justin is gone and for the first time its me + 6 kids.  I'm not sure how married couples do it juggling kids, a dog, kids' sports/activities, jobs, keeping up with their home, yet alone find time for each other.  Yet....somehow we manage to do it most days and train for the Susan G. Komen 6 nights per week.  Then there is Justin.  He makes his own sacrifices for our family.  Being gone for weeks at a time, missing out on seeing our kids grow up and missing their activities and even some holidays.  Leaving for a job and feeling like his life is put on hold while his family keeps going.  Hopefully these days will come to an end soon and when that day comes, I'm sure people will hear our celebration half way around the world.  :)

I don't know how Justin and I have managed to make things work especially because its almost like we have a long distance relationship, but I can say that we are so lucky to have what we have.  After all the things we have been through (and trust me it has been a lot), we have grown closer together.

So, although we are crazy busy, we are surviving.....and very happy doing it!

Living the Good Life :)

5 miles down!  Training is going well.  Its good for the kids too since they get some exercise.  Things at home are going great too.  Justin has been able to be home to help with the adjustment so this first week with all 6 kids could not have gone any better.  Life is definitely good right now!  :)

Catching up again!

Again I fall behind on blogging.  So much has happened since I last blogged.  Let's see, the biggest news is Evan came to live with us so now all 6 kids live with us full-time.  It feels so good to have all of our kids under one roof.  It may be hectic and crazy (especially when Justin is gone), but there really is a peace having all our children together.  It just feels right.

Another accomplishment - 4 miles.  Well, actually I've done 6 miles in one day but I split it up throughout the day.  Tonight I did 4 miles all at once.  In fact Justin even went with me.  He actually did 3 miles and then took Ian swimming.

Well, I will try to be more consistent with blogging, but right now with so much going on, I'm not too certain I can make that happen.  As always though, I will do my best!

Until next time....

First Week Down

Wow, I really did not realize how much time it was going to take to train.  The first week is down and its been a big adjustment for everyone.  At this point, I feel overwhelmed and somewhat cranky (poor family).  I'm one week into it and I feel like I've biten off a little too much.  Then I think about how my life would really change if I was ever diagnosed with breast cancer.  All the work I would miss and all the time for treatment.  At least I'm not missing any time off work (except for Friday, August 19th). 

I am blessed to have a healthy family and to be healthy.  I think when my hubby comes home things will run a little more smoothly.  Although, the first week he is home we will havea housefull.  My step-son Evan is coming for Spring Break along with Valerie's best friend Kayla, and our good friend J and his girlfriend.  Life is about to get just a little more busy for a week. 

I love my crazy life, but WE just need to make it through August 21st!  :)  At least I have an end date to my madness.  Most cancer patients don't.  This is really making me realize how truly blessed we are right now.

Have a great day everyone!

Monday, February 28, 2011!

Training begins this Monday!  Hooray!  I've attached the training schedule in case anyone is interested in seeing it.  We will be signing up for membership at Lifetime which will be good.  For those of you who don't know, Lifetime is a gym.  Everyone in the family is interested in joining, excpet I'm sure Ian doesn't fully understand it yet.

Things have been going great and we are all staying busy.  It will be interesting to see how much busier working out and training will make us.  I'm also interested to see if the kids will work out by me.  I told them I didn't want this to take away from our time together and they all promised to work out near me so we can still be close to each other.  I'm interested to see how long that lasts.  (wink, wink)

I also wanted to specifically recognize my father-in-law, although he might be upset with me if he knows I'm making a big deal out of this, but I just wanted to say thank you because he made the first donation to support me in this 3-day walk against breast cancer.  And, not only did he support me in this, but he has supported me in many things.  He has definitely been one of the best father-in-laws a girl could ask for.  I'm definitely one lucky woman with him in my life.

24-week training schedule

Have a good day everyone!

Its almost time!

Well, its almost time to start training.  I've got until the beginning of March to take it "easy" at home (if that is even possible) before I begin the challenge of fitting in a scheduled training into my schedule.  Let the joys begin!  :)  I'll post my training schedule within the next few days!

Valentine's Day 2011

Valentines Day was awesome!  Last year was a difficult one, but things sure have been good so far this year.  And this year, I can say Valentines Day was great.  Justin surprised me and came home for Valentines Day.  Then I was surprised with roses at work.  Then Justin picked me up from work and took me to Murray's Steakhouse.  The food and conversation was great!  Then we went ice skating for the first time for both of us at The Depot.  It was really nice.  We both looked liked fools out there, but we didn't care.  There were no major injuries, except Justin's skate rubbed a raw spot on his ankle.  Later that night, after exchanging gifts, we went out for a few drinks and played darts.  It was definitely a good night.  It sure was nice to be together and not have a care in the world except for each other. 

Here are a few pictures from the evening....

Getting ready for Valentines Day 2011

Its Time To Blog Again! But......

It's time to blog again, but this time ts going to be a little bit different.  I will still be blogging about our family, but it will be more about how we all work together towards my commitment to help outside of our home.  This blog will be me sharing with you ups and downs as I juggle our large family, my full-time job, and my training for my new commitment to the Susan G. Komen 3-Day Walk for the Cure.

Most of our family blog followers will probably wonder why in the world I'm deciding to do this since I am always complaining about needing more time in my day.  And wouldn't this just take up more time to train, blog, and fund-raise?  Yes it will, but isn't that the point of supporting something?  To give of yourself for others, to make sacrifices in order to make a difference in our world.  I have committed to fund-raise at least $2,300 and many, many hours to train so that I can walk 60 miles in 3 days (August 19-21). 

Will you please join me and support me during this experience?  Donations are really appreciated.  To read more about why I'm doing this and to make a donation, please visit my Susan G. Kome profile by clicking here.  My Susan G. Komen Profile

If you want more information on the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure, please click here:  Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure

THANK YOU EVERYONE!!  I am looking forward to hearing from all of you in some way!