My Belated 35th Birthday Present

I finally did it. I got my tattoo. I've always thought it would be cool to get one but never knew what to get. Todd and I decided for our 35th birthdays last year that we would each get one. Todd got his last July. Here's the picture of his. I should have gotten mine in December but for various reasons, time got away. So I finally got it done yesterday! I wanted a four leaf clover for various reasons....good luck, being part Irish, and green being my favorite color. My favorite part though is having Todd,Drew,Noah,& Aiden's initials on there. THEY are my good luck and the best gifts in my life and I smile everytime I look down at my "little work of art". I know my mom is probably cringing right now. Sorry mom. Remember when you got upset that Nate got his ear pierced when he started college?? I said it wasn't a big deal, you could always take it out and it would go back to normal. I said it wasn't like he got a tattoo or something. Wait...... that isn't helping my case at all! :) I love it and I'm happy as a clam so that's all that matters. This guy is so funny. You should see some of the signs in his shop. This was the card I got that explained how to take care of my tattoo. Make sure you read #7 and #9. When Todd got his done, he asked why those two were on there. He said he does it to fuck with the college students. (the shop is located right across the street from the university). I think that is hysterical.

Some Days..............

Some days.....I wish I could be my cat. What a life.

Flashback Friday

I've been excited all week to do Flashback Friday today. We were at my parents last Friday and was looking through old pictures so I brought an album home to scan a bunch in. These are all pictures of me from when I was 4 and 5 years old and they all have a special meaning to me. Bear with me, some of these stories will get long. I know my family will appreciate all of these pictures.....to the rest of my dear friends, I hope I don't bore you too much.

This first picture is me with my Grandma Bozarth and my baby brother Matt. My Grandma passed away when I was in the second grade so unfortunately I don't have a whole lot of memories of her. But the ones I do have are great and I have grown up listening to many many stories about her. She gave birth to 9 children....that alone is an amazing feat to me! I don't have many pictures of her so this one is special.

I love the way she is looking at Matt in this one. I don't know if he's trying to fly away or what! :)
Ok, now I get made fun of for this all the time. This was taken when I was 4 years old, sitting on the wall by Niagara Falls. You can see by the look on my face that I was NOT happy about this. I swear to this day, this is why I'm scared of heights and don't care for water. I was so scared I would fall over. My parents insist there was no way I could fall and that there was about 3 feet of ground behind that wall even. I'm not buying it! :)

This is my second favorite picture of me and my best friend Dianna. We are exactly 2 years apart and as you can see, were pretty chummy even when we were little. THIS is my favorite picture of us.
I also get made fun of when I cut desserts to pass out. Apparently my portion sizes are too small for my piggy family. I think it all stemmed back from this memory. I had one of those little cake mixes and made this cake for my dad. Can you even see the cake I'm holding and the microscopic piece he is holding??? I was so damn proud of that cake.
These next two pictures also mean a lot to me. This is my Grandpa Bozarth and me. He was confined to a bed all the years I knew him. He passed away when I was in 7th grade so I do have more memories of him. Unfortunately I was too young to appreciate him at the time, but now I can look back and love him and appreciate him all the more. He got out of bed to come help me blow out my birthday candles and share a birthday kiss.
This is me proudly holding my new baby brother Matt. I remember mom being pregnant with him and I was so excited. I had my heart set on a baby brother so luckily it worked out in our favor!! Back then, kids couldn't come up on the maternity floor so I remember my dad taking me to the hospital and holding my up on his shoulders and we waved to mom and Matt standing in the hospital window. I also love this picture becuase I'm having a really cute hair day. Sue me.
This has always been one of my favorite pictures of me and Matt. I am a little modest so I drew in a cute bikini top to cover my tiny

ta-ta's. Do you love that sly little grin my brother is wearing??

I hope you enjoyed Flashback Friday as much as I did. I can't wait to get another album from my mom and dad's house and take another trip down memory lane. Have a great weekend everyone. It's actually going to be hot and beautiful here for the first time this year. Woohoo~~

The Big Moment Has Arrived......

It has traumatized him for months!

"I never want to lose my teeth"

"Mom, what if I swallow it??"

"What if it falls out when I'm sleeping??"

"What if it hurts??"

I've spent many a moment consoling him. Today, it finally happened.......Noah lost his 1st tooth!! He was so excited when it fell out during breakfast. And NO, he did NOT swallow it, it did NOT fall out when he was sleeping, and it did NOT hurt. So he is a happy little guy who is no longer afraid to lose his teeth. He's also very excited for the tooth fairy to visit him.

He also informed me that he doesn't have anything to put his tooth in like Drew does so I said I'd come up with something for us to make to keep the tooth in. (The Tooth Fairy doesn't like to dig around under a pillow looking for a little white tooth.) I ended up taking him to Hobby Lobby and we bought this little wooden box for him to decorate with his markers. He was really pleased with this creation. I think the Tooth Fairy will like the easy access also.

I'm Free!

I have the house to myself for at least 4 whole wonderful hours! WOOHOO! Yippee!! Whatever will I do with myself? (insert delirious laugh) Oh, I have so many things planned. Fun, relaxation, peace and quiet, all for little ole me.

Wait, did you hear that??? Neither did I!! My house is quiet!

Did I mention that I'm home all by myself?? :)

Up, Up and Away...........

After supper last night, Drew and I decided to take a bike ride. As we took off into the neighborhood, we saw a hot air balloon in the sky. We rode around for awhile watching it and as it came closer to our house, we rode back home to get our camera. This is a picture Drew took from our front porch.



It started heading over towards the mall and we thought maybe it would land over there, so we rode our bikes over that way. It didn't end up landing there, but Drew was able to catch it in his hand for a little while. It got a little heavy though.....

It was a fun adventure for us. I don't know where it ended up landing. We gave up and went home to watch the American Idol finale.

DAVID COOK ROCKS!!!

Sharp Dressed Man--David Cook and ZZ Top


Hero-David Cook and David Archuletta

Two Wheelin'

Noah is just full of accomplishments this week. He's been wanting to ride his bike without training wheels for some time but just didn't have the courage to do it. He would even have them off but just wouldn't let Daddy let go of him when he rode. Maybe it was because he finally got brave enough to swim under water or maybe he's just growing up, but today he took a leap. He rode his bike without training wheels!! And he did it like a pro. I was so proud of him. When he got off of his bike, I just scooped him up and hugged him tight. Still caught up in the excitement, he even went over to the playground and did the monkey bars all by himself, without anyone standing by in case he fell. I'm so proud of his accomplishments this past week but even more than that, I'm so proud of him for facing the things that scare him......and coming out of them with confidence and a smile. That is a lesson I could definitely learn from him.

My Little Fish

Last night the 5 of us went swimming at the Y. Todd usually takes the boys every Monday after school while I'm still at work. Noah was anxious to show off his new "skills" to me so we decided to all go swimming last night. All three boys have always loved the water. Noah had one problem though, he did not want water to touch his face, not even a splash! It makes it hard to teach one to swim when they have that fear. Well, fear no more, Noah has conquered it. He will now swim underwater, jump off the edge of the pool and splash around. He's like a new person. I think the fancy goggles help a bit too and that's ok with me. We didn't get many photos last night but took lots of mini videos.

This is Noah jumping off the edge and going under. You should see how proud of himself he is. It just melts my heart.


Drew doing one of his dives into the pool. I always hated to dive, always got water up my nose and I got so disoriented under water. Drew will try just about anything in the water and does it well.


Aiden sporting a lovely blue noodle. He thinks he's so big swimming around with nothing but that on. He'll even hold his breath and go underwater with daddy! I decided to sign him up for swimming lessons with his big bros for this summer. He's so eager to learn.

We finished off the evening with a trip to TCBY. It was Waffle Cone Wednesday and that is one of our favorite cheap treats!! What a great way to end the evening with the boys.

I just had to add this picture from the other night.

Noah and his Aunt Beth. Seriously, could they be any cuter??

What Does Your Latte Say About You???

Who would have thought my coffee would know me so well??? I guess we are pretty tight. I love you dear coffee!

What Your Latte Says About You

You don't treat yourself very often. You find that indulging doesn't jibe with your very disciplined life. You can be quite silly at times, but you know when to buckle down and be serious. Intense and energetic, you aren't completely happy unless you are bouncing off the walls. You're totally addicted to caffeine... but you like to pretend like you aren't! You are responsible, mature, and truly an adult. You're occasionally playful, but you find it hard to be carefree. You are expressive and friendly, but you are never pushy.

What Does Your Latte Say About You?

My Awesome Mother's Day

My wonderful Mother's Day started off last night. Todd bought me Lavendar Vanilla massage lotion from Bath and Body works and gave me a full massage in the candlelight. There is not better way to fall asleep. This morning, I got to sleep in, a luxury for every mom, and then I got dressed and Noah and Drew took me to breakfast at Starbucks. The boys gave me some adorable gifts and cards and I had to take a picture of a few of the things. I'm sorry they turned out blurry and hard to read. I'm too tired to go back and try again! This first is from Drew. They had to spell out MOTHER and fill in descriptions about us. I thought it was sweet.


These next two pages were questions asked by Noah's kindergarten teacher and she wrote in the answers. I laughed out loud and some of them. If you know me, you'll get the humor!

This is the boys with Grandma Tunie. Her and Grandpa Ken and Scott came over for lunch and Todd spoiled us with shrimp, ribs, new york strip steak, garlic bread, Third Street fries, and the Olive Garden salad. For dessert he made Crepes Suzette. MMM, lunch was a piece of heaven and we felt spoiled. During the afternoon, Aiden napped and the rest of place played games, watched tv and relaxed. Todd took a much deserved nap!
We went to my brother and sister in laws for dinner with her family and mine. My brother made delicious chicken on the grill, roasted potatoes, and we had asparagus, fruit salad, salad and for dessert, Todd made a Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake that was to die for. The boys had a blast playing and we had fun entertaining Ellie.

Here's the picture of Beth with Blake, Ty, and Ellie

Grandma Paulette with all SIX grandchildren!Me and my Aiden Sunshine
Me and Noah
Me and Drew
Me and my Godson (and nephew!), Tyler. I love his smile. (I'm upset that I didn't get one of Beth and Noah together, I'll have to do that next time I see them) Me and My Boys (could ya keep the tongue in Noah??)
We always like to do a goofy shot. I think we succeeded in looking silly!!
It was honestly one of the best Mother's Days I've ever had. I feel so loved, so lucky, and so blessed to have the family I have. My hubby made me one lucky woman when he married me and even more so when he gave me my three incredible boys. They are the best gifts in my life and even on the worst of days, I wouldn't trade my life for anything. Sometimes being the only female in the house is a good thing. I'm "their girl" and they take pretty good care of me.

Flashback Friday

I haven't done a Flashback Friday for awhile and thought that since Mother's Day is a few days away, I'd flash back on that for a bit. It's hard to believe how far I've come in the past 9 years. I went from being plain ole me, to a mommy!! This was my first Mother's Day......May 1999. Drew was only about 6 weeks old in this picture. This was such an exciting day for me. We got together over at Todd's parents house with his family and my family. It was so special to celebrate my first Mother's Day with both of the first time Grandma's at the same time. This picture was taken Mother's Day 2005 of my mom with her kids and grandkids. It's amazing how in 3 short years she went from 3 grandkids to 6!!

These were taken last Mother's Day, 2007. These are some of my favorite because now I have my 3 special boys.

Me and Drew

Me and Noah
Me and my Wiggleworm. I managed to wrangle Aiden long enough for a picture.

Grandma Paulette and her 5 boys. (May 2007) This year there is a little girl to add to the mix--I can't wait to get pictures this Mother's Day with little Ellie!!

This picture is for my mom. This was taken last Mother's Day of her and her 3 "babies". Nate can't be here for this Mother's Day so I knew she'd enjoy seeing this picture again.

Love you Mom!!
Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms, Grandma's, and Godmother's out there!!

Drew's Joke of the Day

Aiden is sick today, he's been vomiting and very listless. Anyone who knows him knows that he is never like that! Poor babe. Tonight we were all having dinner at my parents house since my baby bro is home from college for a few days. In fact, he was leaving tonight. We were going to try and get a whole family picture of us since we haven't had one since Ellie has been born. But Todd and Aiden missed dinner since he wasn't feeling well. It just didn't seem right without them. He just got sick again but seems to have perked up a bit so hopefully it's all out of his system now. Anyway, I guess you're wondering where the joke is in all of this, huh?? Well, I was tucking Drew and Noah into bed and they were reading out of a joke book. Drew read this joke to me and the two of them were giggling hysterically over it. It really is funny, but hearing them giggle was what perked me up a bit. I needed a jolt to get me out of my funk. So I'm sharing Drew's joke with you.

There were three dinosaurs stranded on a deserted island. One day the first dinosaur found a bottle in the water, and he pointed it out to the other dinosaurs. The dinosaurs raced out and got the bottle. When the bottle was opened, a genie came out. He gave them each one wish. The first dinosaur wished to be in his homeland and -clap- he was gone. The second dinosaur wished the same as the first dinosaur and -clap- he was gone. And the third dinosaur said, "Gee, it's going to be lonely here without them. I wish they were back!"

How's that for a blonde dinosaur joke? :)
Thank you very much. I'm here all week.

This Is What Happens.........

When You Let Your 6 Year Old Borrow Your Camera...............

I think he has a future in photography.......or maybe modeling.......

Wierd Happenings......

The wierdest thing happened this morning. Aiden and I were cuddling in bed and he points over by my closet and says "What that?" I thought he was referring to the bag I had sitting on my dresser with my 2 new awesome pairs of capris in them. He said "No, that, who is that?" I'm looking at my closet and seeing nothing that even closely resembles a person. It's about 7am and the room is completely light so there are no shadows. I ask again and he says "That guy over there". I asked him what the guy looked like and he kind of shivered and said "That boy scary!". He just kept looking over there and talking about him. After awhile, he asked if we could get up and I said sure. He started to get off the bed like usual, looked over that way, and scrambled up onto me and asked me to carry him out. As we walked by the closet he kept looking over there the whole time. After sitting in the living room for awhile, he asked where the boy went and I asked him if he could see him. He said no. How wierd is that?? Now, I know Drew and I are avid Ghost Hunters watchers and I do believe in the paranormal but I also do not think there is anything in this house. It was spooky, bizarre, and kind of neat at the same time. Things that make you go hmmmmm.....


UPDATE: Later in the morning I was in my bedroom picking out clothes to wear. Aiden comes in, turns the light off, and goes and stares at that same spot again. I asked if he still saw the boy and he points and says "right there." He had me lift him up so he could point to him and he kept pointing to the air in front of my closet. I'm surprised it didn't creep me out more, I guess I was more intrigued than anything. I know children are more receptive to that sort of thing and it makes me wonder if he really did see something. I did get a little creeped out when I was getting dressed though. I kept wondering if ghost boy was seeing me naked! :)

10 Years Ago.............

10 years ago today I was in Florida for my best friends' wedding. (Geez, that was the last time I was down there!!! Dianna, I need to do something about that!) What a fun weekend it was....good food, good weather, good fun, good family and friends. You two are a wonderful match. Preston, I can't imagine anyone better to take care of my best friend. Dianna, you are a lucky girl and the two of you have created a beautiful family together.(that I miss very much!!)
Happy Anniversary to the two of you and I wish you many, many more years of happiness together. Love you both!!!

D, I was bummed that I didn't have any pictures from that weekend of just you and I. But I found these two special pictures.............

Please ignore the oil slick on my forehead and chin. My skin doesn't like humidity.

The House That Jack Built......Is Building.....

Ok, I know my family is groaning over that title but, c'mon, that's good. :) For those of you that don't know, my dad's name is John, often called Jack by people he grew up with, and he and my Uncle Tim are building a house for him and my mom. I'm trying to get pictures throughout the process.

This is Day 1 when they dug the hole. The boys are getting a kick out of seeing all of the construction equipment. It was pretty neat to see them breaking ground. It's really happening!!

We went to John Wood Community College this morning to sign Drew up for a few classes at the Children's College this summer, so on the way home we swung by and got to watch the cement truck. Aiden really enjoyed that.
Grandpa John is in the white shirt.

It's been so exciting to see this long time dream of theirs finally begin. I'm so excited for them and look forward to all the wonderful memories our family will make there. I will cry like a baby though when they sell my childhood home. It will seem too wierd to not visit ole Hazelwood Ct. anymore.

Onto other subjects before I get too sentimental. Mom brought these beautiful lilacs over the other day from her lilac bush. I love, love, love, the scent of them. When the boys came home from school I told them to smell them. Noah takes a big whiff and says "They smell just like I died yesterday!" Hmmm, not sure what that means.

I took some pictures at Noah's soccer game last night. He scored a goal too. He was so excited and proud of himself. Go Noah!!! (he's the blue shirt on the far right)

Big Kick!!

Afterwards the 5 of us went out to eat at Gem City Pizzeria with Johnna,Mark and kids along with another couple and their 2 kids. We had a blast and the kids all behaved so well, especially since we were there FOREVER! We can't get enough of their chips and salsa either.

Happy May Day everyone!!