would anyone notice...

...if I start blogging again?? let's see if I'm still on anyone's radar....after 16 months' absence :)

just a little more craziness...

some more house news! Because we weren't real confident the original house deal was going to go thru (for many reasons, mainly being the seller), we decided to keep looking at houses "just in case"....well, we found one we liked much better, was up for immediate occupancy, way less $$ (giving us more for renovations) AND in town w/ a large lot! Craziest part is it wasn't even on our list of homes to look at on Thursday - we just happened to drive by it while we were out w/ our realtor, stopped by & fell in love....our realtor turned to us right when we walked in the front door and said "I just got goosebumps - this is your house!"...talk about crazy! But she was right :) The next day (Friday), our realtor called the original house guy to see if he'd release us from the purchase agreement, (which he did thank goodness) so we made an offer on house #2 which was accepted yesterday (Sat.) - holy crap!!! All of this just proves once again that everything happens for a reason and there's a higher power watching out for us! I'll keep everyone posted as we move thru the steps...hopefully it all goes smoothly and we can start our renovations on the new house soon b/c I reallllly want to have it all done before we move in (including my brand new kitchen - woo hoo!) Oh - and I forgot to mention we sold our house too!!!

Thursday was my last day at Olon...such a bittersweet day for me. I have made such good friends there (which I know I'll keep but won't get to see everyday) and feel like I've learned a lot. I knew before the day began that I would end up being a baby at some point and I didn't disappoint! I probably had tears in my eyes 5 or 6 times...and I kept saying "I even put my big girl panties on this morning so I wouldn't be a baby!"....I guess even the big girl panties don't work every time! So I start my new job tomorrow...1st day won't be too exciting since I'll be in orientation all day but that's ok...I'm still getting used to anwering "Williams Bros." when asked where I work :)

Shane has worked hard the past month getting his S10 ready for the Car Cruise & Show this weekend...he & Nick were in the Cruise while the girls & I all watched from his grandma's house. Both of my "boys" had soooo much fun - neither one of them could wipe that grin off their faces! At one point during the build, we really didn't know if the truck was going to be ready or not but Shane was adamant that he would keep his word to Nick that they'd drive "Pedro" (yes, we name our vehicles!) in this year's cruise...I feel so blessed that my son has the dad that he does! While Shane may not have contributed "biologically", he has more than contributed in every other way in shaping who our son is! And trust me, they are two peas in a pod when it comes to "race cars" :) Here's a pic of my two grease monkeys from the Cruise:

Today was pretty quiet - the kiddos started Religion Class for the year this morning so I got the dreaded Walmart trip out of the way while they were there...then I caught up on laundry since yesterday was spent at soccer game/flag football practice/lunch w/ my girlfriends in Jasper/Car Cruise...Shane took Pedro over to the Carfest around noon so the kids and I spent the dreary afternoon just hanging out. After watching too many episodes of "Diners, Drive-ins & Dives" on the Food Network, I ended up making biscuits & gravy, fried potatoes & bacon for dinner :) Not exactly healthy but super yummy just the same!!

I know this week will hold more of the same craziness w/ the new job, houses, kids' sports, etc but I'll try to stay sane enough to remember it all to re-cap next post!

such a slacker...

No, I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth...just had a little craziness going on the past few weeks! Between accepting an unexpected new job, making an offer on a house, putting our house on the market and all the day-to-day normal craziness, we've been a little busy :) I'll try to tackle each subject one by one...

NEW JOB: so, I've been perfectly content at my current job, wasn't looking to leave but the phone rang on a Sunday night which lead to a couple of interviews and BAM - I start my new job at Williams Bros. next Monday. I'll be working for a company they own called True Rx which is a prescription benefit management company - this is the prescription drug part of your insurance...we process claims, work w/ the client companies and their employees to make smart prescription choices, etc. etc. I'll be the manager so keep me in your thoughts as I start a job I know NOTHING about :)

NEW HOUSE: Shane & I have been looking for awhile but finding a house w/ enough bedrooms in our price range w/ the other amenities we require has been tough! We finally found one that met our needs and after a couple of counter offers, we're good! Only downer is the seller is very difficult to work with and we're not confident the whole thing is going to go thru....what it boils down to is the wife wants to move to be closer to her family but we really don't thing the husband wants to b/c he seems very reluctant to find another home - obviously this needs to happen in order for us to get HIS house! Part of the negotiations was he has until mid-October to find a home; if that doesn't happen, the deal is off so keep your fingers crossed.

OUR HOUSE: The aforementioned buy has obviously led us to put our house on the market - Shane & I were in total "home improvement" mode for a solid month and its paid off - we countered an offer on Friday that we received within the first week on the market! We should know tomorrow night if the offer has been accepted...of course we had to ask for time to find out if we have the other house or not b/c we're not going anywhere if that deal falls through...so stressful!

OTHER CRAZINESS: Kate = volleyball practice or game 3-4 nights per week; Kate = braces week 1 & still going good; Twins = soccer practice 2x per week starts tomorrow w/ games starting Saturday; Nick = flag football starts Saturday; having to keep house spotless for showings; hiring & training my replacement at work; checking off several "To-Do's" before I leave my job - don't want to leave loose ends for the rest of the team; I'm sure there's more but my brain is fairly fried :)

We've been doing some fun stuff too though...Mom & Scott were home this past week so we had dinner w/ them Thurs. nite at our house...Shane is designing their new kitchen (with his cabinets of course!) so we were up until midnight doing that w/ them...I have to give Mom some major props though b/c she was ORGANIZED w/ her notebook full of dimensions, pictures, etc - I totally see where I get some of my "skills"!! I also loved getting to live vicariously thru them - nothing like designing a kitchen with a larger budget than I'm used to!! Can't wait to see the final product.

I spent Saturday morning at the White River Valley Antique Show helping my aunt Anna w/ her flea market booth - such fun hanging out w/ her, Abbie and all of the other family members that were roaming around. And can I say, the food at the Show rocked! I managed to "carb up" quite nicely w/ noodles over mashed potatoes for breakfast then curly potatoe chips w/ cheese for lunch...not exactly a "skinny day" since we also ate dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings but oh well - I've made up for it today by being "good". I also did a little shopping - by far the best purchase was the "retro" metal lunchboxes I bought for Shane & I...G.I. Joe for him and Strawberry Shortcake for me...the exact same one I had in grade school! Love the nostalgia - but feel old that something I had in my childhood qualifies as a flea market find!

So here I am on Sunday nite...trying to think if I've forgotten anything of any merit to mention...watching football w/ my husband and enjoying the quiet of 4 kids in bed...feelin' pretty good about it allllllll!

Weekend Rundown...

Unfortunately, this post will be picture-less...mostly b/c I failed to pick up the camera even once this weekend :)

The kiddos all survived the first week of school...and were excited to be going back this morning so I take that as a good sign! Tonight was our first big night of homework (ugh) but we easily got thru it and still had dinner on the table by 6:15. Its so crazy to me that Katie is giving speeches (I don't remember doing that in 5th grade!) and Nick is learning to read...they're all growing up so fast.

Katie is starting volleyball this week - practice begins tomorrow and her 1st game is the 2nd week in September...my fab friend Steph is her coach so I know she'll learn a lot and (hopefully) enjoy it. Only negative is her games are all at 3:30 - kind of sucks for those of us that work until 5pm and even worse for Shane who works an hour out of town...oh well, its only 6 games in 3 weeks so hopefully our work schedules allow us to get to them all. I'll post pics as soon.

The twins will begin fall Rec League soccer as well as practices for spring Travel soccer here in the next month - nothing like year round soccer at 9 years old! Oh well - I love the game and am thrilled to have the girls following in my footsteps...I hope its something they stay passionate about through high school. I was never in better shape than when Coach Monty was making us run our butts off all season :) Shane will be coaching while I manage the family schedule...I think I need to get one of those SUV stickers that say "Mom's Taxi" b/c that's certainly how it feels sometimes!

Nick will be playing flag football through the YMCA this fall - not sure when those games start but he's all signed up so I'm sure we'll hear something soon. I hope he does well - he's not so great when people take things from him so I hope he doesn't get too attached to those flags!! It should be a character builder for him if nothing else.

We celebrated Shane's b-day w/ a cookout on Saturday - great friends, good food & awesome weather made for a perfect night...it was a late night but still a good one! There was more than one time that I was laughing so hard that tears were running down my face...nothing like making memories w/ friends. I'm sure there will be more made in two weeks when we have our 15th year class reunion...have we really been "adults" for that long??!!!

Happy Monday to everyone...hope the rest of week is good for all!

Back to School

So - I've been a horrible blogger this summer but my "back to school" vow is to do a lot better! Here are the kiddos this morning - all were really excited to go back to school to see friends, meet their new teachers, and best of all...break out the new school supplies!

Katie is in 5th grade, Hannah & Em are in 4th and Nick is in 1st...all had an "awesome" first day (which is what a momma wants to hear!) and no one had any behavior issues..another good thing even though Shane doesn't think the 3 youngest can make it all week without at least one! We'll see!!

Shane's 35th birthday is tomorrow and since its a weekday, 2nd day of school, also his cousin's birthday, etc. etc., we went to Evansville on Saturday to go out to eat (Red Lobster - yummo!) and do a little shopping...can I say how much I love that my hubby likes to go shopping?! We took the kids too so it was some good family time. I'm sure the kids will say the 1st stop at the mall was their fave part of the evening - candy store :) I can't say I minded my custom Jelly Belly mix either! Tomorrow, the kids & I will all give Shane his gifts, eat dinner (his choice) then head to school for Open House...after that we'll head to his grandma's to celebrate his & his cousin's birthdays...busy busy (as usual!) We're also having a cookout this Saturday so he's basically having a week-long bday celebration...not a bad thing!

That's it for now but I'll post again SOON!

Yes, its been almost a month since my last post...

What can I say? We're a crazy busy family of 6 and I'm just a bad blogger :) I always think I need to upload pics every time I post and that just takes forever on my PC so I always talk myself out of posting...silly I know but its the only excuse I can come up with! BTW - there won't be any pics w/ this post!

Here's what we've been up to lately...

The kids are having a great time 3 days a week at the YMCA day camp along w/ their Mondays at Gma Beth's and Thursdays w/ Abbie or Steph. Dad & Beth bought the kids a pool (one of those 3-4' deep, aboveground inflatable pools) so they have a blast swimming and keeping Gma on her toes :) Abbie or Steph take them to Summer Fun in the Park every Thursday...so far they've gone on a nature hunt, tie-dyed t-shirts, made arts/crafts...all fun stuff! They always have fun at the Y too - their days are pretty structured there but fun is part of the structure so we all win that one! Fridays are Field Trip Day so they've gone to Rainbow Beach a couple of times, Evansville Zoo, Spring Mill, the Loogootee pool and will soon go to French Lick for the train ride, McCormick's Creek and Rainbow Beach a few more times.

As a family, we've gone to a Dubois County Bombers game w/ Shane's parents (I highly recommend this for anyone who loves old time baseball!), made a trip to the drag strip in Lyons, hosted a very wet 4th of July cookout at our house, saw "Transformers 2", will be going to another Bombers game tomorrow w/ friends and Holiday World is in our future next Thursday.

We're also hitting our "House To-Do List" very hard b/c we're thinking of putting it on the market soon...our neighbor sold his house in less than a month - that's the good news b/c we think our's could go quickly too - the bad news is our new neighbors....really nice people but they took over 2 weeks to mow their yard and have their dog on a chain in the backyard. This coupled w/ a few other "issues" in our neighborhood have made us think we'd rather move than re-model our house w/ a huge addition.

This seems to be a fairly bland post - hopefully I can get some pics posted soon!

Happy 6th Birthday Nick...Mom is just a little late :)

My baby isn't a baby anymore...that's all I can think of! Five years old still sounds young - SIX years old sounds like a big kid! Nick turned 6 on 6/6 - a very busy day for our household since five out of the six of us were very involved w/ my cousin's wedding. We started out our day having breakfast at Nick's choice of restaurant - he & Shane rode in "Betsy" which is our '67 Chevy pickup that Nick LOVES...we hope she lasts until Nick can drive her :) After breakfast, I took the girls to get their hair done for the wedding while the boys went to do some "guy stuff"...once we got home, I painted the girls' nails then got myself ready. Nick & I headed to Anna's to meet up w/ the rest of the wedding party for pics (the girls passed out favors after the wedding so they weren't required for pics at this point) then went to the church for more pics. The wedding was beautiful and went very smoothly - Abbie & I were Jess's personal attendants so basically, we got to tell everyone what to do :)

The kids all had so much fun at the wedding reception - especially Nick & Kate who danced the night away w/ Max! I'm thinking Nick didn't mind sharing his birthday w/ the wedding since he got to "rock out" (Nick's words, not mine!) all night...how many 6 yr-olds do you know that can sing the entire chorus to "Come on Feel the Noise" by Quiet Riot?! He was quite the hit...

We had Nick's actual birthday party the last weekend in May - we rented a gi-normous inflatable water slide and invited friends from his kindergarten class along w/ other friends & family...talk about madness! We had 13 kids vying for a turn but we managed to keep control...for the most part! Nick chose a baseball theme - I had fun putting together treat bags w/ baseball tattoos, rubber bracelets, baseball cards, bubble gum & a wiffle ball but the cupcakes were my absolute fave...I think they turned out sooooo well!

(Doesn't the look on the boys' faces just say it all?!!)

Nick has also already celebrated his birthday w/ the Coy's, us (twice), the Matthews', the Deitz's, my mom, the Otto's - this just leaves the Beasley's (Mom's family) which we'll celebrate w/ on Fathers' Day...he's literally had a month-long birthday! what a lucky kid...and we're pretty lucky he's our kid :)