busy, busy...

Wow, my first week of classes have proven to be even busier than I thought. I really need to learn time management! My first class was nursing 1oo. It is really exciting to finally be learning something directly related to nursing and to meet the people I will be with for the next 18 months. I have a big presentation due in that class at midterm. I think I could already throw up! I'm not a real fan of presentations, so you can imaging how excited I was to learn that I will have another presentation in my English class at midterm! I took English as an online class so I thought I would be free and clear of any public speaking assignments. Well that's what I get for thinking.


Jenn and I spent some time last week and over the weekend with the kids in Mason, with my mom's side of the family. We stayed with my Aunt Julie and had a really good time. Thanks Julie for putting up with us and our wild kids that basically used your house as their own personal playground! We also managed to squeeze in some shopping at the Great Lakes Mega Meet Scrapbook Convention. Lots of inspiration and motivation to get back into scrapbooking...it's just too bad I will be too busy the next 2 months stressing about my presentations!

I think I can get used to this...

Yesterday was my first day home. Not having to get Kennedy and Reid ready and out the door at 6:30 in the morning was nice. The kids seem like they are in better moods too. I went to the college and got all my books for the summer semester. $400 later I am all set! I am getting some reading done so hopefully I can get ahead a little bit. I think we are going to go outside today and enjoy the sun! Here are some new pictures of the kids and my beautiful bouquet of flowers from my friends at JTI.

Reid's new hiding place

Reid and Kennedy

Reid and Fisher

Reid wanted to eat his cereal with a shovel!

Cry Baby...

Today was my last day of work. You would think I would be super happy right now. I'm not. I was emotional as soon as I walked in the door at 6:56 this morning. I have worked at JTI for almost 10 years and I have seen these people more than I see my husband and kids. I have made some life long friendships and I am so sad to go. At 9AM they all threw me a going away party and made me cry...again! I had actually been crying since I walked in the door though and saw Felix, one of our supervisors (he has this knack for it, it wasn't the first time I have cried on Felix's shoulder in the last 9 years ) My plant manager said some really nice things and they got me a beautiful cake and pitched in on a gift certificate at the Glamazon(my favorite hair salon!) and a gift certificate to buy enough scrubs to last me a very long time! You guys are the best! And some of my favorite people got me a gorgeous bouquet of flowers that are making my house smell wonderful right now. After work I went out with Lesley for lunch & some drinks. Angi, Ed and Arend surprised me by showing up too. I had so much fun, all though I think I may have drank a little too much. I'm not a big drinker so the drinks added up fast and it seemed like every time I went to the bathroom, someone would buy me a drink while I was gone. So at some point tomorrow I have to go get my car!

So tonight I am feeling kind of homesick. I feel a little lost without my routine and the people I have been close to for so long. I think things will be better in a week when I start my new routine.I just hope they know how much I appreciate them...

30 is fabulous!

Happy Birthday Holly! Today my best friend Holly turns 30! And let me tell you she makes 30 look really good. On Saturday, Gary's mom watched the kids over night and we got to go out for Holly's birthday party ( thank you so much Patty, you have no idea how much we needed it!). We had so much fun! We started at the Brown Bear in Pentwater, we had the whole top floor to ourselves. Then we moved on to the Antler, and finally finished the night up at the Pub. My feet still hurt! When we got to the pub they were pretty much ready to close the place down for the night. They didn't have a DJ and only one poor girl to bartend for our huge group! They were so good to us though, they got some help to bartend and let Gary and Steve in the DJ booth! I think this was Gary's dream come true, I see a new career in his future:) It was so much fun, thank you Holly!

The birthday girl

The DJ's

Holly, me, Kristen and Alli

Yesterday was so warm, we packed up the kids and went to my dad's to play at the lake. We couldn't keep the kids out of the water. Little by little each article of clothing got wet. I
guess we should have figured that would happen and just let them wear bathing suits

It's so good to be home

I had one of those days where you just can't wait to be home. I took today off of work because I had 2 exams starting at 4pm. I have been studying at the college since 9:00 this morning and I just feel drained. The kids are at my mother-in-laws house with Gary and I am just enjoying the quiet house before they burst in the door.





But Mom....



This morning I walk into Kennedy's room to help her tie her shoes and I notice something on her bed. It looks like writing in bright pink pen. I am instantly angry! So I asked her, " What is this, Who did this?" She of course has no idea. So I look a little closer and realize it says kennedy, with a few lines scratching it out. I am super mad by now and she is crying and saying sorry over and over and then she says, " but Mom, Dad gave me a chocolate chip cookie for breakfast!" That girl is sneaky. She was hoping I would forget about her scribbles on the bed and focus my anger at Gary for giving her a cookie for breakfast! I told her next time she wanted to try to lie about writing on her bed she shouldn't sign it with her name. She has so much to learn! (by the way Gary is definately not off the hook for the cookie thing either!)

As promised...

Better late than never..here is a pic of my "new do " as promised. I am still learning how to do it, but so far it takes a lot less time in the morning. And when I am trying to get my 4 year old daughter, my 16 month old son and my 30 year old husband out the door at 6AM every minute counts!

FYI: I have a stock tip for anyone that likes to play the market....ipod shuffle. Gary and I have purchased 3 since Christmas! The curse of the ipod lives on. I blogged awhile ago about the ipod that I bought Gary for Christmas (ipod#1) that accidently ruined my laptop screen. We replaced the laptop a few days later and last month Gary left that ipod in his jeans pocket and it went through the wash and fried it. Well Gary decided he just couldn't live without one so he went out and replaced it (ipod #2). After that I thought that I would probably use one a lot at school when I study, so Gary surprised me with at cute little purple one (ipod #3). Last week I threw in a load of laundry before I left for work. When I got to work Gary called me and said not to wash the jeans that were on top of the dirty clothes because he thought he left his ipod in the pocket again. I said, "oh you mean the jeans that are swishing around in soap and water as we speak?" So needless to say, we are NOT allowed to give Apple any more of our money and Gary has to sit in his car if he wants to listen to the radio and he is not allowed to own anything smaller than a toilet paper roll.

Bad blogger with a cool purse...

Ok, Ok...Jenn says I am the worst blogger EVER! I know I am. I always want to blog and I think about it daily, but time gets away from me and before I know it, it's time for bed. So I am really, REALLY going to try to be a better blogger...I promise.





So today I left work early so I could get my hair cut. It should have been done a month ago, but I am as bad at making hair appointments as I am at keeping my blog up. I ended up going to Glamazon, which is the salon in the AMAZON building by heritage landing in Muskegon. All I can say is wow! This was my first time there and it was so nice. I was just telling my sister that it has been a long time since I have left a haircut absolutely loving my hair, lately I have been lucky to just walk out with it dry. Well this time I was ready to go out! I loved it and I had the coolest guy cut it. I never thought I would like a guy cutting my hair but he was amazing. So if you are ever looking for a new place to get a cut, I highly recommend Greg from Glamazon. ( it doesn't hurt that he is pretty easy on the eyes too!) I will post a pic tomorrow of my new do.





My sister is having a Lill purse party in May and I am starting to get really excited! I first heard about Lill when my best friend Holly gave me a gift certificate for my birthday. I spent the next 3 days designing my perfect purse, and I loved it! They are a little pricey, but worth every cent. There are a ton of different styles to choose from and you can mix and match any fabric you want. It's a dream come true! I have been trying to get ahead start on the one I want to order at the party otherwise I will be there all night deciding. Here is my favorite one so far, but I am still looking! The next picture is the Lill purse I already own. Every woman needs one or two of these...