- now pick your nose!!!

hahaha!!! - such a classic picture - that I encouraged :) :) :)

 

I adore their smiles - and the fact that after this shot they tried to pick each other's noses ;)

never judge a book by it's cover.

this has been on my mind for a really long time and today I was given the courage to write about it...

Never judge a book by it's cover.

While at the gym today I was watching the news and a piece came on about Cory Monteith's death.

Such a sad story.  It was confirmed today that Cory died from a heroin and alcohol overdose.  I don't watch Glee often (only seen a few episodes) so I can't comment to Cory as an actor but I can comment to addiction and the power it has over a person.  And I can say, judging from appearance and fame and talent, I wouldn't have 'pegged' Cory as a heroin addict.

Truth be told... I wouldn't 'peg' any of the heroin addicts I know as heroin addicts. (yes, that's plural.)

Never judge a book by it's cover.

I've been exposed to serious drug addiction for the past 13 years. I personally have struggled with an addiction of some sort at various points in my life as well. I don't feel the need (nor am I really ready) to go into detail about any of that here, but it's a testimate to never judging a book by it's cover... never judging a person based on what's visible and known on the surface... whether that judgement is good, bad or indifferent.

It's not fair to you and it's certainly not fair to the person being judged.

that's all.  something that's been on my mind a lot lately that I had to share. 

Thank you Cory for giving me the courage to post this.  My thoughts and prayers are with your family and and your loved ones.  My heart breaks for them and for you.

June favorite things.

I haven't done a favorite things post in a while so I figured I'd finally do one while sitting here trying to get Miss Gabby to fall asleep... grrrrrrr, this chick is so stubborn!!!

June fav #1 - Geico's Camel Commercial - LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!!!


beyond hilarious - - and I love it even more because I collect camels!!!

June fav #2 - my tervis cups - they are pretty and they keep my water nice and cold!!!

June fav #3 - amazon.com - I found a replacement eye piece for my camera and my favorite book from my childhood - only spent $6, free shipping and I had them both within a few days!!!

 June fav #4 - Despicable Me 2 previews - - cannot wait to see this movie!!!  I am just so excited about it I couldn't resist putting it on my June favs :)

June fav #5 - pilot fine ballpoint pen - - these are the pens my Grammie always used and I love them now just as much as she and I both did back then.  They don't leave 'ink poops' when you write ;)  they are perfect!!!

and just because... here are some of my recent pinterest 'style' finds :)

where ya been?

lots going on the past few weeks - sorry for the lack of updates - hopefully I will get back into the swing of regular posts now that school is out, we are adjusting to Steven's new shift and our vacation is over...

The kids and I just got back from a family vacation to Traverse City, Michigan.  My Grammie was born and raised there - and is now buried there - so myself and 12 of my family members went back for some fun family history exploring and to enjoy the beautiful lake, funky downtown shops and endless cherry orchards.   [and they went to their first drive-in movie!!!]

I had a wonderful time on the trip.  Our drive was about 16 hours and the kids did really really well.  There were a few moments when I wanted to pull my hair out, but overall, they were rockstars!!!  [thank you Up!, Despicable Me, Mary Poppins & Cars for saving me]

I am working on a post with some of my photos - I only took 1,032 - hehe!!!

For now, I will just post this photo of my mom and me, sharing a very heartfelt moment at my Grammie's spot... (despite the emotions and grief here, I think this was one of my most favorite photos from the entire week...)

I  miss my Grammie so much but I know she's with me constantly.  And I have her (and God) to thank for blessing me with such an incredible mother who has continuously given so selflessly to her children and her family.  She is a wonderful listener, encourager, friend, grandmother and mother and I am so very thankful for her!!! :)

love you muchermostestmore ma - thank you for an amazing trip!!!

so long twenty-something...

helloooooooo   ... nope... can't say it... won't say it... no way it's even possible...

blah.

30.

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa... [that's my temper tantrum!!!] ;)

Well, on a positive note, I got more stuff done on my 30 before 30 list :)

#29 - I shot a gun, which was freaking AWESOME!!!  A huge thank you to my big bro (but not my biggest bro - I have 2 older bros!!!) Andy for letting his little sister tag along with him to the range.  He even bought me my membership for an entire year - word!!!  I shot a .22 revolver and I really enjoyed it.  I'm really hoping he and I can go back again soon :) :) :) 

#27 - I've finally organized the thousands of toys we have in the basement.  I put out a lot for our yard sale on Saturday (and hardly sold any b/c there weren't many people - darn heat!!!) and rest of the toys we have downstairs I will donate.  Oh my goodness, it sure feels good to have those toys organized and on their way out the door!!!  We could have opened a toy shop with the amount of toys we had.

#11 - I wrote a will.  I haven't gotten it notarized yet (nor have I had an attorney review it) but it's written!!!  That's definitely a step in the right direction!!!

#1 - pay off my car... DONE!!!  I wrote the final check this morning, using my birthday money :) :) :)  Sweet Blair is ALLLLLLLL mine - she no longer belongs to M&T Bank... word ;)  too bad she goes to the garage tomorrow and is gonna cost me a fortune... boo.

#2 - do something fun with my blog pertaining to fitness and/or fashion - - I think I've accomplished this through all my half marathon training posts, my monthly 'favorite thing' posts and my pinterest find posts!!! (never did one for April though - oopss!)  Here are some of the 'pins' I've been obsessing over lately :) :) :)

#30 - Have a kick butt birthday party - - when I put this on the list it was kind of a joke between Steven and my oldest son - - they always joked about throwing me a 'Justin Bieber' party when I turned 30.  WELL, boy was I SHOCKED when what I thought was a 'girls lunch' yesterday turned out being a WONDERFUL surprise 30th birthday party!!!  WOW WOW WOW - - it was beautiful and we all had a really nice time.  I am SO grateful to my family and friends - you all are SO incredible!!!  No worries... we took lots of photos... I will post some soon!!!

okay - so let's recap - there are still some things I haven't done - most of them cost money, too much money and will need to be postponed for a little while! (a tattoo, painting, landscaping and redecorating my office).  I'm bummed I didn't go skiing or snow tubing but the winter just sort of went too fast :/  I do have plans to take Gavin ice skating very soon - I wanted to take him on Sunday but they were closed because of Memorial Day.  We can definitely scratch the bikini on my birthday thing.  I have lost weight - I'm 3 lbs shy of what I weighed in 5th grade, which feels pretty darn good to say on my 30th birthday - but still going to pass on the bikini!!!  In regards to chaperoning a field trip, I really didn't put much thought into that when I put it on the list; given the ages of my nieces and nephews, they don't take many field trips. I didn't conquer my fear and ride a horse - I had a couple friends offer for me to come over to their farms and ride - but I never found the courage to get it arranged.  It's a pretty serious fear - I think they are beautiful animals but they scare the begeebers out of me. :(  Baby books... oh my goodness... Gavin's baby book is basically done.  Gabby's baby book is a little emptier than Gavin's but still have a decent amount done.  Gage's book is barely complete at all... poor 3rd child. :(  Gage's will be the first one I work on when I find the time to sit and focus and get photos organized!!!

  
Maybe I will take my friend Jody's advice and give myself a 15 day grace period - like you get with your mortgage.  Check back in 15 days - maybe by then I will have a few more things crossed off!!!  And check back for party photos :) :) :)

400th post - silly words from g-cubed!!!

holy smokes, this is my 400th post... that's insane!!!  I've had this blog for 4 years now (when I found out I was pregnant with Gabby...) and before that I had another blog where I wrote mostly about Gavin. I'm certainly not a great or clever writer but I've loved looking back at different posts and reminiscing about my kids, their milestones, silly moments, cute photos... that's what keeps me writing.

So, in honor of my 400th post - and in honor of Mother's Day (yea, I'm late, so what!!!) I decided to copy off the wonderful Kelly and ask my kids some fun questions about their mommy!!!  

g1: Gavin Arthur (6)
g2: Gabby Louise (3)
g3: Gage David (2)

1. What is something mommy always says to you?
g1: you always say NO when I ask about the green gum in your purse

g2:  you tell me I'm silly

g3: grace.

2. What makes mommy happy? 
g1: food and soda - (thanks Gav - not what I was expecting)
g2: birthday balloons
g3: Caillou

3. What makes mommy sad? 
g1: fighting
g2: not listening
g3: diapers  (hahahaha!!!)

4. How does your mommy make you laugh?
g1: making silly faces
g2: dancing fun
g3: sing funny songs

5. What was your mommy like as a child?
g1: cute
g2: a girl
g3: I don't know

6. How old is your mommy? 
g1: oh, I know! 29!
g2: 6 years old
g3: a baby

7. How tall is your mommy?
g1: big
g2: bigger
g3: tall like poppop

8. What is her favorite thing to do? 
g1: go to stores
g2: go for a walk
g3: dance

9. What does your mommy do when you're not around?
  g1: clean up
g2: chew gum
g3: play

10. If your mommy becomes famous, what will it be for?
g1: being an all star
g2: coloring
g3: eating (nice one Gage, thanks!!!)

11. What is your mommy really good at? 
g1: working
g2: driving
g3: funny faces

12. What is your mommy not very good at? 
g1: cooking
g2: finding us when we play hide & seek
  g3: hockey

13. What does your mommy do for a job? 
g1: help people
g2: work hard, I don't know
g3: give hugs (yes actually, this is true!!!)

14.What is your mommy's favorite food? 
g1: crab, fish & spaghetti
g2: spaghetti & pancakes
g3: chicken nuggets

15.What makes your mommy proud of you?
g1: cleaning up my room and being a best friend
g2: cleaning up the downstairs
g3: hands are not for hitting (you got it Gage!!!)

16. If your mommy were a cartoon character, who would she be? 
g1: Nicki Minaj from American Idol (bahahahahaha!!!)
g2: Doc McStuffins
g3: Yoda

17. What do you and your mommy do together? 
g1: get a hair cut
g2: go shopping and laugh
  g3: do pictures (I guess he means take pictures)

18. How are you and your mommy the same?
g1: same eyes, same nose, same head, same feet
g2: same nose and we are both girls
g3: same eyes and face but you're bigger

19. How are you and your mommy different? 
g1: mommy works and I don't
  g2: you run races
g3: I'm a boy

20. How do you know your mommy loves you? 
g1: you take us to do special things

g2: lots of 'I love yous' :):):)
g3: love you so much, moon & back
 
21. Where is your mommy's favorite place to go?
g1: Target

g2: Target

g3: Grammie's house

 

*more mother's day photos to come...

flowers, weeds & meatballs - oh my!!!

been in a blogging slump... boo.

crazy busy with work... lately there has been lots of pregnant teens to counsel... lots of babies born... lots of tears shed... lots of praises given... lots of hugs... lots of stress. 

oh... and lots and lots of Mother's Day cards written to almost every client that made an adoption plan for their child since I started with Bethany almost 6 years ago... did you know the day before Mother's Day is Birthmother's Day?

one nice thing about my job right now = the flowers outside the office 

 (I don't care if these are 'weeds' - I like them!!!)

crazy busy with life... t-ball, yard work, groceries, laundry, end of the year kindergarten stuff, organizing millions of things... but I'm trying to remember not to be too crazy busy that I miss special moments with these adorable meatballs...