Black Friday

I love Black Friday. Not that the sales were all that great but I love the crowds and the excitement and the chaos and that it officially kicks off my Christmas season. So I left my house at 3:30 am this morning, shopped until 7:30 and made it work at 8! I got some great deals at Old Navy, nothing at Kohls, nothing at Macys, and a couple of okay deals at Target...not to mention time spent with a great friend I dont get to see often and a yummy cup of Barnies coffee.

So did you shop today?

Happy Turkey Day!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I hope this days find you thankful for many things, full of yummy food and surrounded by loving family.

I thought about writing about the things I am thankful for today after reading my friend Jenni's blog. But I decided I have one ultimate thanks that encompasses them all.

I am thankful for my Lord and creator. I am thankful that he has protected my family through accidents, economic crises, illness, and a million other dilemmas. I am thankful for the amazing family and friends he has brought into my life to share each day, each tear and each laugh with. I am thankful for the man he gave me as a husband, the children he gave me to care for, and even the silly puppy that drives me bananas but brings warm fuzzies all the same. I am thankful for the earth he created that I continue to live in and enjoy the benefits of and I am thankful for the strength he grants in abundance as long as I remember to ask for it, and sometimes even when I don't. I am thankful that despite that Thanksgiving is about pilgrims and indians I have the freedom to be thankful for my God without worry of persecution.

I hope that you have a blessed and wonderful thanksgiving!

Twilight Movie

So I went to see Twilight with some friends last night and it was GREAT! I went in with no expectations, knowing it would pale in comparison to the book, and it did but the movie was really wonderful for a movie. I would not have done the same casting but it worked out. And in the end I really liked the Bella and Edward they picked out.

However as the ending credits roled I remember why I hate movie series...now I have to wait - like a year I'm sure - to see the next and I wanted more right at that moment. My inner two year old was stomping her feet screaming now, now, now in my head. Oh well.

So if you haven't seen it - go see it, whether you read the book or not its a good little chick flick with a few vampires thrown in!

Cruise

We're back! It was wonderful, I have changed my tune though. If you have kids save for Disney, there a million more things to do as a family. The port of calls were great - we went to Key West and Cozumel - and we had a great time. As all vacations it was a tad too short but its always good to come home. And it was great to pick up Max and have him with us again! Here's a few pictures...

Leaving Tampa...pretty isn't it?

Todd and I on the coast in Mexico.

We went on the Trolley tour of Key West - lots of cool information and it was a beauitful day for it. We also had a yummy lunch at a local Cuban restaurant, Le Mason de Pepe.

Onboard.

Pulling into Cozumel...

The kids on the rockwall - at the top ringing the bell, 200 ft above sea.

Stuff...

Last Thursday Tristan was honored as the kindergarten character kid - this is the school's version of a student of the month. They get to go on the morning news, get a free tshirt, pencil and chick-fil-a meal. A newspaper article will be coming soon.

Here's a picture of the Maddex boys, this was Saturday - they hung out, ordered pizza, played darts, etc. This is just on the back porch, nothing fancy.

And lastly yesterday (Tues) was the kids annual Turkey Trot. The kids aren't all that fast but they sure had fun. These are the tshirts they get for running.

Whew.

Life as I know it may return to normal.

Todds birthday went great. He was shocked and thrilled to see all of his brothers in one place, had a blast playing poker all night, and is looking forward to a weekend with them.

The fall festival is over. The inflatables are deflated, the hay picked up by a vet friend and the bills all paid. Hallelujah!

Now I need a long winters nap, and a cruise. :-)

41 hours

Thats how long I ended up being up for yesterday...I did get one 45 minute nap and one 25 minute nap so it wasn't straight but still man I crashed hard last night!

Yesterday when I got off work I had been up for about 25 with a tiny nap which is fairly normal for me. Then I went to the kids school and saw Tristan's thing, went and got the hay (which took WAY longer than I had planned, I had forgotten how heavy hay was). Then I had to make one stop at the mall which happened to be right near Todds dad where I was dropping the truck and it just seemed easier. Then I managed to get home and lay down - but the dog had to go out, the pest control guy came, the UPS man knocked and someone dropped an umbrella on the sidewalk so the nice lady walking her dog had to knock and see if it belonged to us! Argh - now I have to go get the kids. Then Tori has a private swim lesson at our pool so I have to walk down there...by this time its 4:30 in the afternoon and Todd will be home in an hour. Of course then I am too lazy to cook so off we go to dinner. Then my AMAZING friend Christie, came and helped me with a crappy project at 9 and by the time they signs we made were done and the paint put away I crawled into bed at midnight!

Anyway I got a good 7 hrs last night and am ready to hit the road running. Wish me luck today as I have tons to do and I have to be done by 5!

5 AM

and I am tired but happy because this is my last night on the night schedule here at the hospital. I work a couple days next week, go on vacation until Thanksgiving and come back to a set schedule! I will be working Mon, Tues, Thurs, and Fridays which is perfect.

So its 5 am, I have been up since 7:15 yesterday morning with an hour nap and I have about 6 hours to go before I can sleep. Tristan is receiving an award this morning at school so Todd and I have to go see the presentation, then I have to switch cars with my father in law, pick up 10 bales of hay, and switch vehicle back and then I can go to sleep for a couple of hours.

I brought a book, The Shack, haven't started it but heard great things but my eyes are killing me. And I think its the kind of book you have to pay attention too ya know?

I am really excited for this weekend. I hope Todd loves his surprise and I have tickets with Taylor and my mom to go see Phantom of the Opera. I have seen it before but neither of them have. Love it.

Alright back to work, pictures to come this weekend of lots of fun stuff...birthdays, fall festivals, soccer, swimming, etc.

Deja Vu

Scroll down for pictures of Todd's "new" SUV. See directly below what happens when it takes on a deer.

10 days, we've owned the car 10 days. And my toilet is broken and this is the most stressful week of the year.


But Todd walked away again, thank God for small miracles.

Weekend Update...

Not like the SNL version, a real one.

Friday night I went and saw The Secret Life of Bees. It was great, very true to the book. Saturday was soccer ALL morning. We had photos and then a game (which Tristan made 4 of the 5 goals this week). We had a nice day of getting errands done and cleaning up. Dave and Rhiannon invited us down to the beach with them so we all had dinner at the Palm Pavillion and then walked on the beach, for five minutes...it was so windy (translate cold). This apparently did not phase Ty in the least as he army crawled through the freezing sand, too cute.

Today I attended a charity lunch at the Safety Harbor Spa, I was very young compared to the other guests but it was nice. They had Chinese auctions (I won a princess for a day package for Tori - two childrens hairdos, two manicures and a basket of hair junk). They also had a fashion show which was remarkably good, stuff noone else in the room would wear but still fun.

I guess its that time of day, gotta go switch some laundry, pick up after everyone, tuck the kids in and get ready for another crazy week! Hope everyone had a good weekend.

Brett

Let me introduce you to Brett...my daughters boyfriend.

WAIT NO STOP! SHES 8!!!!

Yet Brett has called 6 times in 3 days to talk to Tori. Apparently he has his own cell phone and is allowed to call her on it. Then when I thought it was bad it got worse...she brought him a stuffed animal today without telling Todd or I about it and he brought her a necklace, a hemp necklace but a necklance nonetheless that she is now wearing. I ask her why shes wearing it and she's says "Because its from Brett, he had his brothers girlfriend make it!"

God grant me the peace...

Neat quote/Sad death.

Thought this was a neat quote...

"Rosa Parks sat so that MLK could walk, MLK walked so that Obama could run..."

And this is sad to me...Michael Crichton, author of The Adromeda Strain, Jurassic Park, Congo and a boatload of other great books and co-writer of "ER" died today at age 66 of cancer.

Is November over yet?

Okay not that I want it to be over...but if we could skip to the 20th that would be fabulous. This first 2 weeks is totally overwhelming for me...Todds birthday, the fall festival, orthodontist appts, and of course I took on extra hours at work because I wanted play money for our cruise. After 2 days of being out of my house for almost 12 hours straight of work and kids activities only to come home to make a meal and do laundry I am OVER it! OVER it. And of course I want to lose 5 lbs before the dumb cruise so despite that I am so tired I can hardly fold laundry neatly I am trying to run 3 miles daily.

Todays the 4th? 16 days...in 16 days I will be sailing off to Mexico with a drink in my hand, and coming home to thanksgiving and shopping and Christmas decorations...let the countdown begin!

Vote!!!!

I hope everyone voted today or prior today!

While observing the insane lines on my way to work today I had this interesting thought.

People argue for the "separation of church and state" on a regular basis and yet 9 out of 10 polls I passed today were located where? Yep churches. Funny how we can't let them affect our decisions but we need them as conveniences often...polling places, welfare assistance when the system can't handle one more, aid for those who need it faster than the government can process the paperwork, and prayer for our country when nothing else seems to work.

Okay stepping off of my soapbox for now...it was a long day!

Soccer Season Kick-Off

Tristan's team has been practicing for awhile now but today was the official kick off of the season. Tristan is bigger, and older, than the other kids on his team which translated to "the star of the team and the only one to score any of the 7 goals their team had". When we signed him up the way his birthday fell we could choose to be in the 4,5,6 group or the 6,7,8 group but since this was his first year and he wanted to play with his friend Ben who was not 6 until October and had to stay down we chose young. Oops. Hes a little rough for that. But he had a great time and if nothing else it builds his confidence right?!

The last picture he actually proceeded to kick that one into the goal!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween was a little crazy but fun. We had to go to buy the car, visit my grandma who lives close but not real close, and then hit our little cul-de-sac where all the neighbors buy specifically for our kids since they are the only ones in the neighborhood. Then we headed over to the West's house for pizza and trick-or-treating with Ty. Lots of fun! Tori was Princess Jasmine, Tristan was the RED power ranger.