Happy New Year!

2009 is upon us so I thought I should take a moment to reflect back on 2008 and the highlights for me and my family.

I think as I grow older I will look back on 2008 as "my year"...why you ask? Well, I think finally I found myself and I became 100% comfortable in my own skin. I sought out solutions and they made me a stronger person for myself, my family and hopefully my friends. In some respects I could call this my "ah ha" year and I am grateful.

2008 was the turning point for my career I was given the green light in February to start moving forward with new ideas at work which have lead to a more enriching a fulfilling work life. I am not going to say it hasn't been hard but at least I am secure in my job and enjoying what I am doing.

2008 has been a big year for the kids, Lauren is a big first grader learning and speaking Spanish daily and growing before my eyes. This year it has become clear that he next 10 to 11 year before she goes off to college are going to go by in a flash, so I am trying to enjoy them and her infectious smile as much as I can each day. Jackson has become quite the young man, he is my old soul child, wise beyond his years and his words of wisdom makes me smile each an everyday.

2008 has been a big year for Dan, first he had many surgeries to repair the beating that the Army has provided his body over the last 20 years and we believe that he is on the mend. However 2008 will be remembered as the year that Dan retired from the military after 20 years of service. I am so proud of him and his accomplishments, he tends to downplay the good things that he does and I for one like to be his cheerleader and remind him of how wonderful he is as a solider, father and husband.

2008 brought household change for me, I have always worked outside the home and relied on Daycare specifically a daycare center for my children, to me it felt more reliable and stable. After many ups and down in the au pair/daycare world I decided to make the jump to in home care which would allow for my children to be home in the summer as well as allow them to have play dates and other great fun instead of being in daycare. I must say I wish I had made the move long ago. I was able to find a preschool for Jackson which I adore and the kids really couldn't be happier. As a matter of fact just yesterday Jackson asked when Ms Celia (know to some of you as Rosa) was coming back. That tells me that he is fond of her or that she is not as strict as I am and he wants her back :) LOL

2008 also brought me the love of writing and a place to release my thoughts and talk to those who have like interests and those that don't. Blogging has been a sort of therapy for me and each of you have played a roll in that and for that I thank you for the bottom of my heart!

In 2008 I decided it was time to get back in shape, so in January I set out on the journey that most do that time of year and I am a happy to say I stuck with it and lost 25lbs. Then on a bit of a challenge I set a goal of running my first ever 10K (6.2 miles). I did that in Oct and I then did 2 more times turning in my best time of the year in my last race. Who knows the years ahead may hold a marathon for me!

Yes, 2008 has been a great year.....so is it possible for 2009 to be better...in a word YES! There are big things coming in 2009 I can feel it. For those of you that have ever had the opportunity to see rolling thunder here in DC on Memorial Day weekend you will relate to the this...2009 feels to me as though I can hear it roaring just like the roar of the motorcycles before they take off for their rolling thunder ride. There is a certain rumbling in my life right now and it all feels good and I look forward to sharing it with all of you over the coming year!

Happy New Year may 2009 be your best year ever!

***Don’t forget to enter my Giveaway you have till Friday at midnight eastern!

Giveaway!!!!

It's Giveaway time!!!!

Really, it's I screwed up and you benefit time! LOL
I bought these games thinking they worked in our PS2 wrong!!! So you get to benefit. If you have a Portable Playstation or know someone who does then this is the giveaway for you.

Way to win!

1) Leave me a comment as to why you would like these games and you will be entered for the drawing.

2) If you leave a comment and post about this on your blog I will give you 2 entries.

3) And if you tell your friends and they come to leave a comment and let me know in that comment that you referred them you will get an entry for each comment referral!

Drawing Ends on January 2nd at 12am eastern time.

Here is the Prize! 2 PSP games One is Scooby Doo and the other is Hot Wheels
Good Luck!

Christmas Wrap up...and a giveaway!

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, I know we did. The kids are still on their Christmas high and I have finally relaxed to the point that I have slept in till 8 am almost every day since I have been off. Although that is going to come back and bite me when it is time to go back to work January 5th!

Here are a few pictures form our Holiday some are of my mom with the kids. Mom came over for Christmas Eve. Then on Christmas Day we opened presents and hung out in our PJ's all day as a family finally about 4pm we got ready for Christmas dinner at our dear friends house.

Brother Sister Love

Lauren and her favortite gift, notice who she is singing to

Dinner with the Andahazy's

Dinner at my house with my mom

My mom and the kids

All in all a great holiday! So how was yours??

Giveaway Announcement!!!
I will host a giveaway this week!!!! I have 2 Playstation Portable games to give away, so if your children have a PSP check back soon!

Leapin' Lizards!!!!

Ok so for you long time readers you know I had an au pair several years back. At the time it seemed like a great idea, the cost was equal to what I was paying in daycare and the thought of having a young lady from another country who could become an extended part of our family seemed intriguing, plus there was, what I thought at, the time bonus factor of having someone who lives there. Our first Au pair Ok, it was our first time and we learned a bit with her. Our second one not great we had to send her packing after 2 weeks because she was totally unable to drive. Our third a total mooch who cared more about partying like and American girl and finding a sugar daddy then about my kids. We sent her packing after 5 months. It was ugly, we basically got tot he point we couldn't trust her and we needed to strike fast. We informed her (we did talk with the program counselor first) that we were going to rematch (let her go) and explained that the events of the prior weekend were the final straw.

So that was Sept 2008, we have not heard from her once since then. No I'm sorry for the way I acted, or thanks for all you did for me (digital camera, trips with us etc.) and no communication with the kids. This bothered me the most because I couldn't understand how you could spend 5 months with these kids and not want to check in to see how they are doing.

So fast forward to last night, (yeah you know what's coming but keep reading anyway!!!) I pull in the driveway, I notice there is a strange car with NC plates across the street from my house, ehh the neighbors must have friends over I thought to myself. I walk in the garage door, head up the stairs and I hear voices, Hmm one of the neighbors must be over I think. I turn the corner and there she was! Fernanda the au pair we sent packing 15 months ago has returned from Brazil and she is not alone her sister who is an au pair now in NC is with her. She reaches out smiling to give me a hug, I am in shock I am sure my face looked like this!

My husband then hands me a drink which I thought was diet coke, no that would be rum and coke!!!!...I knew I loved this man. Dan ushers us into the family room, where we have chit chat, I am sure my mouth is still hanging wide open. She is here in my house acting as though all is fine like she left under wonderful terms (trust me it was bad).

The kids really weren't sure who she was and they are nice enough to her but not like they were with Abby when she came to visit in Oct. We wrapped up our visit and she says to me I am sorry for the way things ended, I have missed not hearing from you or the children. I will say I felt for her, however living with her for 5 months I knew something was up. She kept looking at me like she wanted to say more but I think she could tell I wasn't buying it. As she walked out the door she said she hoped to be back to visit soon because she now has a 5 year visa.

I have a number of theory's as to why she appeared but I will take the high road (until proven wrong) and say she came by in the spirit of Christmas and was genuine in her apology.
here is a picture of all of us as well as one with her and the kids.

Thoughts???

BTW even while typing this I am still stunned that she showed up totally unannounced, from Brazil no less!

Don't forget the Box Tops!

So it's that time of year again ....It's time to line our tables with food and happiness to share with our family and friends, As the Box Tops coordinator for my child's school, I feel it is my duty to remind you as you pause at the shelves of your local grocery store or as my neighbor says "Food Hole" look for products that bare the Box Top symbol on them! Why you ask? Well, for each one of those logos you collect, your son or daughters school will receive 10 cents to use towards buying educational supplies for their school. Our school was able to collect enough Box tops that we received a check which allowed us to purchase a smart board for one of our class rooms. These smart boards cost near $2500 a piece.

To make collection fun the Box Tops website has all kinds of neat seasonal collection projects. So in the spirit of giving purchase form Box top products and cut out the logos for your school. I even have the Grandparents and some of my coworkers involved.

Lastly Don't forget about the Marketplace, when you go to the Box Tops website click on the Marketplace tab and you will find a ton of online merchants that will give anywhere from 1% to 5% of your purchase tot he school of your choice.

Happy Holiday's !!!!!

Bah humbug

So every night this week I have had some sort of evening commitment, be it personal or work (mostly work), I have not run since Sunday’s race and I feel crappy because I am eating at all these events. I have a ton of wrapping to do and I still have not found the perfect gift for my husband! Over all the season has taken me over and not in a good way.

2 days ago I came home about 7pm (mind you I left the house that morning at 6am)only to find he house in total and I mean total disarray. I can’t stand to walk into the house after a long day and find it a mess. It makes me crazy. I am one of these people believes that everything has a place. My babysitter is great about getting things picked up and put together before I come home, my hubby on the other hand…… not so much.

I had hoped that the mess I saw was only in the basement which I could deal with, but no the mess continued to the kitchen and up the bedrooms. So of course I was stomping around putting things away, Dan asks “what’s the deal”, I explode! I think it’s a combination of the pressure of the holidays, the work load I am carrying and truthfully a bit of jealousy that hubby is home for the next month until he starts his new job. However since he is home I would think that things would be a bit more put together. I don’t think I have ever had him come home and the house is totally destroyed. I know I am whining I am just tired. My husband is a great guy and he tries very hard to please me. I feel bad that I acted the way I did a couple of nights ago. I know this time of year is supposed to be fun and joyous but as I get older it seems to lose a little of that every year.

So I am hanging on by a thread if I can make it to the 23rd I will have a full 12 days to just be with the family and hopefully relax a bit.

Are you feeling the pressure of the season? If so how do you cope with it?

I promise to be in a better mood in my next post!

Blogs ...comments and how to get them

Ok I have been doing this blog thing for over a year and I love my readers but I have hit a wall, I am not sure how to get over that wall. What is the wall you might ask. Well it is a bit narcissistic in nature I want to know how I can get more readers. Readers = comments and comments drive me even more to write. Sad huh? So I want to know what your secrets are for gaining readership? Do you drop by others blogs and leave comments?? Do you advertise on other blogs?? Giveways??? Tell me what your secrets are I need to know because as I was once told I am a comment whore!

I am so so Happy!

Ok today was my final 10K of 2008 I have to say I went out with a bang!!!!!! Below I have listed my times from the last 3 races for those who don't want to bother with reading through them let me just say I ran 6.2 miles in 1:03.14 that would be 10:11 miles!!! YA FREAKING WHO for me!!!

Marine Corps 10k Oct 26th
Bib FName Age Sex ClockTime Pace
1751 STEPHANIE 36 F 01:06:53 10:46.2


Marine Corps Turkey Trot 10 K November 15th
Bib FName Age Sex ChipTime ClockTime Overall DivPl Divtotal
91 STEPHANIE 36 F 1:11:26 1:11:26 451 32 45

Jingle all the way 10K Dec 14th
Place Div/Tot Num Name Age Gun T Net T Pace 5k
1362 185/292 1870 Stephanie 36 65:39 63:14 10:11 33:18

So here I am with my feet up watching football about to take a nap, I think I have earned it !!!!!

Some time for me

So yesterday I had things to do, a doctors appointment, Jackson's school Christmas play and ...... a trip to the spa!!!!! I have been collecting gif certificates all year and finally I took some time for myself to use them. I booked an 80 minute massage (deep tissue) and a 50 min facial. The facial was divine, however the massage was in a word Painful!!!! Yes painful, while it was happening I it felt ok, not horrible however by the time I woke up this morning I was so so sore. My back and neck are sore to the touch. If I didn't know better I would think I had bruises all over. I am going to assume that it is because I had a deep tissue massage because I would hate to think that I spent all those gift certificates for a terrible massage.

Sunday I am running in my final race of the year. It is my hope to beat my time of 1:06, the weather will hopefully cooperate as it doesn't look like it is going to rain and the temp is going to be about 45.

Have a great weekend and see you next week.

Cheating “What did you say?”

Ok I had a very strange conversation with a friend the other day. This friend and I talk about once a month and we are close we have know each other for a long time. However the conversation I had the other day blew me away. I actually had to stop and ponder both the friend’s situation as well as take a look at myself to see if I am just totally naive.

So during the course of the conversation the subject of affairs came up I think were talking about he latest celebrity scandal and I said I just don’t see why or even how you could have an affair (I was referencing people in everyday life not celebs) my comment was answered with “well I’ve had one” I was dumbfounded! I responded with “what did you say?” This is a person who I would have least expected to cheat. Of course the girl in me took over as I peppered the friend with questions, when, who, where, how long, is it still going on were the first questions out of my mouth.

The friend went on to try to explain why, lack of intimacy, family events (death, sickness etc.) and children. I was in such shock! While I have know that this friend has had their share of life events it never struck me to think it was effecting the entire relationship to the point that there had been no intimate contact in over a year!! I have never really known anyone who has, while married, cheated. I understand the idea that things get boring, or old hat and that people get into a rut but there is no way I could see me seeking other means with regard to a physical needs.

My friends went on to tell me the details of the affair which lasted all of a weekend since it was on a business trip. The spouse knows nothing of it and the friends has no plans to come clean and says no plans to stray again either. However my guess if you did it once and got away with it what would stop you from doing it again?

So when I mentioned this conversation to others I was shocked to find there are several in my large circle who have indeed had an affair, of course there were varying degrees of affairs. Some thought talking to someone via email was considered an affair while others were the Full Monty so to speak.

It made me realize that I am truly lucky that I have a loving husband and that we communicate! It appears to me the common theme in straying seems to be a lack of communication.

Happy Monday December 8th!

So the weekend went by in a blur what else is new? I had the best run I have ever had and it’s odd because it was biting cold 22 degrees outside with a wicked wind, guess I was running fast because I was cold! But I did 5 miles in 51:14 that is 10:15 a mile not to bad. Hopefully I can do that on Sunday when I race in my final race of the season the Jingle Bell 10K in Washington DC.

Saturday we took the kids to Jackson’s preschool to have Breakfast with Santa what a huge hit and it got me out of having to fight the families at the mall to see the man in red. So of course since their Santa sighting they are on the Christmas countdown every time they see something on TV they want they say I am going to put that on my list! My thought is it’s too late because you saw Santa already! But I keep that thought to myself; go ahead say it I’m an evil mom!

Saturday night brought snow to our house nothing major just a wee dusting but it was pretty to look at and even more fun watching the snow fall while sipping a glass of wine in the hot tub!

The hubby is now walking thank goodness!!!!! I was afraid if another week went by I was going to lose my mind. He has been a huge help, folding laundry and cooking dinner. I am the luckiest woman in the world to have him as my partner in life!

Thanks for all the kind comments on our Christmas decorations, I am looking forward to seeing everybody’s soon.

Up coming topics this week:
I am sorry what did you say?
I need a wife or a secretary!
I’m a narcissist, help me!


So I still have not gotten caught up on the blogs I missed over Thanksgiving and sadly my reader reads some absurd number like 452, I am trying to get through them all but I am think I am fighting a losing battle. So even if I don’t comment I really am still reading trust me!

Are you ready for Christmas?

I think I am but inevitably every year I end up running around at the last minute looking for gifts for those that I have forgotten. This year I bought a lot online as well as shopped throughout the year. So now my guest bedroom looks like a warehouse with all the boxes and piles I have everywhere.

When we arrived home Friday from NY I was like a woman possessed and I stay up till all the trees and all of the house decorations were done...OK I didn’t do the outside lights since it was so late and it was still technically November :)

I must say that when I came downstairs Saturday morning it was rather heart warming to see all the decorations up it put me in the Christmas mood. So here is a little taste of what my house looks like over the holidays. (i couldn't get the picture of the kids tree) What about yours? Care to share some photos? I would love to see all the different types of decorations used by people. So here’s your homework go write a post about your Christmas Decorations. Go on get going!

I survived Thanksgiving

...........not only did I survive it I actually enjoyed it. As I have blogged about before when I was growing up Thanksgiving was just me and my mom and in my eyes it was really no different then any other day except I was required to dress nicely and there was a a lot more food on the table. I always wanted to have a Thanksgiving where there was a ton of family, a dash of fun, and a pinch of typical Thanksgiving irritability. Well, I finally experienced it and I liked it.

It started with our 8 hour drive to NY, I work in Silver Spring MD just outside Washington DC proper, on a good day it takes about 45 mins to get to Baltimore from there Tuesday night on our way to NY it took us an hour and a half! Whihc ment we still have 5 more hours to go! My hubby was great and drove half way before getting tired and needed to put his foot up. I took over just in time for the snow to start falling and visibility to decrease rapidly. I forged on with 2 kids asleep and a hubby that was about to get carsick from sitting in the "way back" of the sequoia, while I was doing 70 miles per hour.

We arrived at 12 midnight, of course by that time my 4 year old had peed himself so I had to shuttle him in first (Nana took care of his wet clothes) then help hubby and Lauren well she was bright eyed and wide awake so she skipped into Nana and Pop pop's with no assistance. I then had to shuttle the bags from the car along with all our other crap. After about 45 mins of small talk it was off to bed for all us.

Wednesday morning I got up and decided I would go for a run in the fresh country air. It was 25 degrees and spitting snow but I powered on. I however forgot that they live in a hilly area so as I huffed and puffed my way up hill I made a mental note not to run this route again. Wednesday also brought my SIL and BIL and their kids, so if you are keeping track we now have 4 kids ranging in age from 3 to 6, and 6 adults. Quarters were a little tight but hey is was family it was all good.

Then came Thursday and another run for me. When I got back I stayed away from the kitchen hopefully I was not talked about. See I don't like having people in my kitchen when I am cooking... actually I don't like to have other people help me when I am cooking, you can sit in the kitchen all day long. It's something about bumping into each other and not knowing where stuff is that bothers me. So I chose to hang back, I did however help clean up after every meal so I wasn't a total slacker.

1:30 pm brought the arrival of my husband's Aunt and uncle, so now we have 8 adults and 4 kids! Dinner was at 3:30 everyone was ready. We said grace Jackson pointed out his Thankful candle and we proceed to dish out food. Then my FIL's patients ran out. Kids were reaching for food, getting up from the table, being loud, then there were smart remarks about everyone not being able to fly first class (inside joke to long to explain) All in all it was to me a perfect Thanksgiving what I always dreamed it would be.

I sent my mom flowers and wished her a Happy Thanksgiving, she seemed to be fine and is excited for Christmas Eve. I dare say I think I may have found a happy balance between families.

Here are some pictures from the weekend enjoy, now I am off to catch up on my blog reading my reader read 409 when I logged on this morning sorry to say but some if not most of those blogs are not going to be read, but I will do my best!

The familyBefore the meal

Me and the kids

Me pigging out

The table