Camping

Many, many years ago I remember going camping with my parents and siblings. The memories are not clear. I do have a small scar on one eyebrow from my brother throwing something at me because I was playing with his toy. He wasn't very old and I was probably annoying him. That was the extent of my camping prior to meeting Phil and his family.

One of the first times we went camping together we weren't married yet (but engaged) and we went camping with PV8 and shared the site with his parents. We tented it. Did not enjoy the tenting at all, but did enjoy how relaxed it made Phil and I.

Over the years our enjoyment of camping has continued. We now own a fifth-wheel trailer and are permanent campers at Peppermint Park Campground. We love showing up on a Friday night, slowing down and enjoying the fresh air.

This weekend was perfect camping weather. Cool nights and hot days...We spent hours by the pool with friends. I am burnt, even with spf50, but I had so much fun watching Ben jump in the pool time and time again. Phil enjoys being able to play horseshoes. I love that there is no rush to do anything, including heading home. We left today with no real afternoon plans. Drove home the long way on 47 and enjoyed the beautiful day.

We ended the afternoon with a spontaneous visit to Peg and Jay. Again, enjoying time by a pool. Ben had a blast playing with his Uncle.

Now, I'm hanging out waiting for Ben to be ready for bed, but again...no rush.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

Peace to all who read this blog today and everyday.

Joan

I'm still here!

Life right now is full of ups and downs. We are all getting over being sick.

Phil as always has been super busy. He has been making various repairs of leaks thanks to ice damns on the roof. In addition, he redid the dining room and made it into our bedroom. Here are some pictures. I love it! It came out exactly as I wanted.

This weekend is the Springfield RV, Camping and Outdoor Show. Phil is doing all our shifts since Ben is still sick. It is not easy being home and not being a part of the show. Good luck Frank & Diane!

My family is all doing well. I have a new nephew, Jimmy. He is a doll. We went down to New Jersey to see my sister Amy and her family. Her oldest, Jon, graduated High School. It was a wonderful visit. I wish it had been for longer. Her youngest, Gregory, is beautiful. A nice snuggler.

Work is going well and I've learned a ton. A lot of the projects that I have been working on are now all fitting together. Lots still to learn.

I've been on Facebook. I actually like it because I can hop on for a couple of minutes and see how everyone is. I still prefer my family group pages even though the updates take longer to read they all mean more.

So, off I go to check on Ben. I've already talked to two sisters this morning...what a nice blessing that is.

Peace to all who read this blog today and everyday.

Joan

Wow! What a fun Christmas!

This year, our Christmas was filled with Lego's and a new pet. Here is a picture of Phil working on building one set of the legos.

Ben is loving being surrounded by his legos. We had loads of fun. Five is GREAT!

Oh. our new pet...

What is Christmas without a spider? Yes, Ben got his wish and received "Fluffy" from his Aunt and Uncle. I have to admit that I'm already okay with having Fluffy in the house. And, it fulfilled the rest of Ben's Christmas Wish List.

The day was spend with family and friends. We were thankful that JM came over to watch Ben open his gifts with us. Dinner was great and Ben was on overload. I enjoyed having my nephews stop over to see me. I also was thrilled that on Sunday my cousins Thomas and Steve stopped over with my Auntie Beth. We had a wonderful visit.

Well, off to take down the tree and figure out where all these new toys should go.

Peace to all who read this blog today and everyday.

Joan

Almost five is Great!

Having an almost five year old is so much fun! We have been working on saying prayers each night before bed. Not just the Our Father, but a prayer of thanks. Well, the other night as Ben began thanking God for everything in the whole world, he began to list all the things in the whole world like...the filter in the fish tank, the door to his room, his dresser. Cuter things were the roof over our heads and food in our bellies. He listed things for five minutes. I finally had to tell him to wrap it up. (Mainly I was trying not to laugh and needed to leave the room before I did.)

Today, we had Ben's friend birthday party. It was supposed to be last night, but because of the bad weather we had to postpone until today. Luckily Ben's two best buddies, Mateusz and Brady, were able to make it along with a his cousin Leslie, friends Sam and Courtney. It was a lot of fun. Ben wanted a Spider themed party. When I ordered the cake to have a spider web and spider, they confirmed that I didn't want Spiderman. I politely said, no just a spider with eight legs and web please. I made gift bags with spider rings, plastic spiders, spider tatoos, and candy. We also played, pin the spider on the web which I made. That was loads of fun.

Ben was great about saying thank you for the gifts, but then was annoyed when people didn't leave quick enough because he knew he couldn't build his new legos until they all left. So, Lego building took place and now he is happily playing. My heart is full!

Well, with the holidays I haven't been able to post as often. Forgive me!

Peace to all who read this blog today and everyday!
Joan

Amazing!

Okay, so I rarely go to concerts. I think that I can count on one hand the number of times I've gone to one...but last night I had such a great time. A group of us women all around the same age, crammed into a small car and drove down to Mohegan Sun. We got there in record time thanks to Johnna's driving ;) We were all very excited to go see Elton John. Alicia had gotten tickets and they were for behind the stage. We figured it didn't really matter, but they were AWESOME. We could see EVERYTHING.

Sir Elton played for three hours straight! How does that man do it? Some of the group didn't enjoy how some of the songs had long piano introductions, but I LOVE that. He'd finish one song take a quick bow and thank the crowd and go right into another song. His band is also fantastic. I loved watching the percussionist with all his gadgets. Really cool.

Throughout the concert I paid attention to the lighting and thought of my nephew Jeff. He would have really been impressed.

Got home by 1:30 am and was up at 8:15 today to go get a haircut. I'm tired, but it was so worth it! Totally going to take a nap today!

I'm supposed to be helping with the Children's Christmas Pageant Rehearsal today, but after about 1 hour Ben looked flushed and had a slight fever so I brought him home. I know he's sick because when I mentioned he needed a nap he said "OK Mom". You know that means he's not feeling well. So he's eating soup right now and then will go down for a nap.

Peace to all who read this blog today and everday!
Joan

Fall

This is my favorite time of year. Things that I love about it
1. The cool, crisp feel to the air
2. The taste of apples
3. Snuggling up in a blanket with tea
4. The sound of walking through the leaves (yes some of ours have begun to fall)
5. Football season, means lots of family time

Today as a family we took a short nap. We really needed it. We had quite the exciting morning. My in-laws renewed their wedding vows at the 9:00 am mass. I was up by 5:30 cooking for a brunch that we hosted for a small group of their friends. Great new recipe that I'm going to use for the holidays. Hash Brown Casserole. It has like 600 calories per serving, but delicious! It was truly a hit. The last group left around 1:30ish. Once up from our naps we took a walk. It was short, but really nice. The sun is out and we saw neighbors out in their yards or walking. I love fall.

We used our new room today...It is really coming along. It fit three eight foot tables with room to spare. I'm looking forward to hosting Christmas. There will be plenty of room for everyone! It is hard for me to believe that Ben is going to be five years old in just a few months. Time goes by so quickly.

Well, off to do some more cleanup here.

Peace to all who read this blog today and everday!
Joan

Priorities?

Do you ever realize that your priorities are all screwed up? What about when you think you are on the right track and then realize you took the wrong track? I'm there right now. Time to re-prioritize my life. The upside for me is that it has been a week where I realize how blessed I am with having Phil for my husband, JM as my extra mom right now, my beautiful boy Ben, my prayer group, BH, and my family.

The tag sale is off for this weekend but almost everything is actually ready to go. With the weather being forecast for rain it is just as well. That would be the icing on the cake to sit out in the rain for two days. I think we are going to do it in October? The tape and mudders are here for the walls in the new room then we can begin painting.

Ben is enjoying his toy tarantulas. He still insists that Santa will bring him a real one, but until then he has built Dizzy (that's his plastic one's name) a home complete with bed, blanket, ladder (in case of a fire) and children! Yes, Dizzy is the proud Mother/Father to six baby spiders of all different colors. At least Ben has stopped asking for a baby brother!

I'm off to see Annie tonight at the Elms where my friend's daughter is performing. It is one of my favorite musicals so I am looking forward to it. Tomorrow is church and then a camp show meeting, where luckily I only have to go to part of it.

Well, time to sign off.
Peace to all who read this blog today and everday.
Joan

Time to download...

What a week this has been for me! I was given the opportunity to present to the principals this week. They are such a welcoming group. Already know I'm going to be teased about my Brooks clothes. I laughed with one of the principals today that I'm not allowed to have a bad outfit day now.

I don't feel ready for vacation. Much to my dismay I had planned to stay at work tonight until everything was done. That did not work because the man with the alarm key was closing up shop at 5. UGHH. I hope to swing in there tomorrow for just an hour to clean up. I really don't like leaving things unfinished.

Okay, Ben is so funny. Here is a picture of him being the firefighter. He loves to spend time outside playing like this.

Tomorrow he gets to go to a Princess birthday party. He has decided he will be Prince Darth Vadar. I'll let you all know how that goes.

Back to vacation, I'm very excited as we are going to Mystic Aquarium on Monday, then to Magic Wings on Tuesday then Ben and I head up to the campground for the rest of the week. Ben is going to have his first friend stay with us (the Mom's coming too). Should be loads of fun.

Had a great time catching up with some of my sisters tonight. Those of you I haven't reached yet I'm trying tomorrow. I love you lots.

Well all, need to get Ben to bed.

Peace to all who read this blog today and everyday.

Love ya

Joan

Life is so Good!

I know I have been away and I am sorry. Let me try to catch you up on things.

Last week I went to RBA to go over a project that needed some explanation. It was fun to catch up with JT and DD. I got to see my 3:00 chocolate buddy. I miss the people an awful lot. My former director left for me Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich.


Then we headed off camping where I read the book! It was so funny. Phil kept asking what is so funny. We spent time in Peru. Did you know there was a Peru MA? Friends of our own property and it is only about 35 minutes from our camper. Ben rode his first ATV with his Uncle. He had a full helmet on, but you could see the smile he had on from ear to ear.


Work...well, this has been a truly awesome week for me. I was able to help create two presentations and do part of them. Tomorrow I will be at training sessions with the Principals. I love the energy of the school district.


Oh, yeah, Ben is continuing to ask for a baby brother. I told him that it just doesn't work that way. I, then teasingly said, what about a baby sister. His answer was "NO WAY". LOL


Ben is going to the twins "Princess" birthday party. His invitation came to Prince Benjamin. I can't wait to go and see how big the girls have gotten.


Next week we are on vacation...YEAH.

Love to everyone


Peace to all who read this blog today and everday.

Joan

Sorry I've been away...

I hadn't realized how long it had been since I'd posted. Sorry for all of you out there who looked.

Life is going along just beautifuly. Congratulations to my cousin H on her recent wedding to C. It was one of the most beautiful weddings I have ever been too. I also have decided that I no longer prefer yellow roses. The sunset orange roses that were at this wedding are now my favorite. I made darn sure that Phil knew. Not that he's sending flowers lately, but on the off chance that he does, he knows what I now prefer.

Did you know that I love camping? We headed up first thing on Saturday morning. The boys had already packed most of the car before I even got out of bed. Then, off to the grocery store while the boys went to the local Rocky's for self-tapping screws for the deck and then picked up up my coffee. Even my four year old knows that Mommy NEEDS her coffee in the morning. Not just wants, but NEEDS. He has been known to remind Phil to get me coffee on the weekend. God I really do love that kid! Camping eventhough it rained part of the weekend was full of wonderful family moments.

Okay so JM is back. I am so thankful she had a safe and wonderful trip to Texas. I so enjoy hearing about where her son and DIL take her for their side trips. I am glad she is back because now I have someone to have a nice lazy dinner conversation with. When she is not here I am rushing to get dinner done, on the table, dishes, bedtime then laundry that I barely have time for how was your day. With JM life is not in chaos. I am eternally grateful she is in our family's life. JM has quite the decision to make for 2009 ...Cruise or Hawaii. I, of course, told her it was a no brainer...Hawaii and that I can fit into a carryon! I asked if her son and DIL wanted to adopt me. She laughed at that one. She also told me I'm not the first to ask. So, A and J if you continue to read my blog eventhough JM is home...I'm available to suffer through a trip to Hawaii ;)

I got together with one of my friends from RBA/BB. It was a lot of fun and a ton of laughs. I need to do that more often. Thanks for such a great evening. Let me know when we can get together again.

I suppose I should get going. Oh...Thursday I find out what my sister S is having. I'm betting a boy, but it could be a girl. I can guarantee it is NOT a puppy.

Peace to all who read this email today and everyday.
Joan

The wonderful blessing of my family!

This weekend instead of going camping we decided to stay home and work on the construction site I call my house. Now, really that meant Phil needed to get some things done because I lost it when I realised I now not only have the room he is working on, but he put a hole in the dining room for a light and fan, a hole in the hallway for a new hard-wired smoke/CO detector, and another similar hole in Ben's room. Now, I shouldn't be complaining as one of my sisters politely reminded me because at least he does things around the house. I really just wish he'd finish it. He is definitely on the right track and is working all alone for the most part on it. Ben helps... he even has his own bucket for his tools now. But man, I really don't like all the dust. Top it off Jane is still away and she balances me and reminds me what is important. So this morning while cleaning I called lots of sisters. Unfortunately some of you weren't home. Imagine that! Here I am actually home and having time to call and they weren't there! (can you hear me laughingly saying this)

Well, those of you who were kind enough not to screen my call THANK YOU! I really needed to talk to you all. On top of that, my sister number 3 invited Ben and I over....THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. I had such a wonderful time catching up with her while her boys wore out Ben. While he didn't sleep on the way home, he had lots to tell his Dad when he got home.

I quickly pulled together dinner for a friend who had surgery yesterday. A group of us from the most recent Cursillo Team are each taking a night. Tonight was mine. We went as a family to drop it off. Silly me, I thought we'd be able to go out to dinner as a family. So Phil dressed in his uniform because he had to work the fireworks tonight, Ben and I headed out. Well, yes Ben fell asleep. So I rushed in to drop the meal thinking that with the car stopped he'd wake up. No go. So, we did take out instead. We did at least have one hour together.

After Phil left, I took Ben outside to play in his pool. Of course he fell off the top of the swingset. Nothing broken just a few scratches and bruised ego. He was more embarrassed I think about not paying attention to what he was doing and losing his balance that he was hurt.

Well family, I am home tomorrow so those of you who missed my call just might get another one! Love you all. I feel truly blessed to have all of you! Some people don't have a list of people they can call. I have a great list.

Peace to all who read this blog today and everyday.
Joan

Mondays...

Mondays are always tough. Why is that? Is it because we cram so much into a few short days? For me it was that I had a hard time with the heat.

After the wedding Mum held a brunch for the out of town guests and some of her co-workers. It was another HOT day. The kids all played in the kiddie pool while the adults hung out inside watching the British Open (I think?) or were looking for shade. Em's house is great for a party. After a short time though I was ready to go to our camper. As soon as we got there Ben and I headed for the pool.

Ben is definitely enjoying the pool. He made great progress once again. He saw the same little girl as a couple of weeks ago and she was doing cannon balls...yes, now Ben does his own version of a cannon ball.

The constuction site is moving along slowly. With the wedding and my need to go up to the campground, not much has happened in the last week. The big closet is sheetrocked and I hope to have a ceiling in the room by the end of August. Weekends are for fun, not work.

I love catching up on my older sister and her blog. You can see it on the right of my blog. She has decided to go back to college. I have to say I keep toying with the idea and now that I am working a less stressful job (at least at the moment) I am again contemplating it. We'll have to see. As always money does come into play. Some days I wish it really did grow on trees.

My roomate from college checks this blog from time to time and so I must do a little call out to her and say HI and that I am so glad you are checking this. Now you need to create a blog so I can comment on yours...By the way, we took a picture at the wedding of everyone there that either works or went to the Elms. When it is available I'll post it for you to see.

I hope everyone at RBA is doing well.

Peace to all who read this blog today and everyday.
Joan

The Final Wedding

Wow! What a beautiful day for Sheila's wedding. It was sunny, but very hot . Here are some pictures from the day.

This is Ben with his teacher. We stopped there before heading to my mom's house. His friends were giving him the "Thumbs Up" and lots of high fives.

The wedding was very hot and I spent a lot of time making sure Ben kept his jacket on. It was all worth it...look at these shots...

The Bride with Ben and the flower girl, my niece.

Just missing the Bride.

We has so much fun!

Dancing cousins.

It was great to see everyone! Love to all.

Peace to all who read this blog today and everday.

Joan

PS updated this a little to remove pictures of his friends.

Realizations

Today was a moment where I realized I have SO much to learn.

My manager is great and is gently reminding me that it is okay to sit back and absorb what is going on around me. Not everything is my responsibility to deal with. My gut is telling me to "DIVE IN JOAN. GET IT IN GEAR. "

I have always had a job where there was the expectation that you dug in right away. I'm not saying I'm not digging in, but I am just not buried under the job before I even get started. That is a new experience for me. A welcomed change!

The change does feel right but I do miss all of my friends at RBA. I miss my lunches with TF, JT and SB. I miss talking through the cube to LR.

Hey my payroll friends, I met my new payroll friends...I'm sure I'll like them as much as I like you guys. Oh, guess what...I heard, but haven't found yet... there is a lending library here too. We can expand your options too. I'll let you know what I find.

No real Ben stories today other than he is learning to swim. He is now putting his face in the water. Tramatic day with a sliver today. I swear you would have thought I was amputating his foot with all the crying and carrying on he did. I wanted to tell him that he didn't cry that much when he broke his leg!

This weekend is family picnic at my Aunt in Granby. It'll be great to see everyone. I hope everyone is having a great week.

Peace to all who read this post today and everyday.
Joan

Sometimes you never know...

It all started with trips to the firestation with JM back when he was little. You would think that Ben's obsession with the fire department would begin to wear off over time, but here I was last night walking the neighborhood with Ben putting out "fires". Odd since there was no sign that there were fires in the area, but Ben put on his fire coat and hat, carried his plastic ax, wore his fire boots (really last years snow shoes), and carried his "medical kit". Being only 4 he's not allowed to wander alone so the "fire chief " had to go also. So, yes, doning my white fire chief's helment and carring my own medical kit, we wandered our neighborhood putting out fires and helping "heart attack" victims. Did you know that last night it was really hot out...Did you also know that Ben's gear is all black. After a while I was able to talk him back into the airconditioned house with the promise of an ice cream sundae.

I also started my new job yesterday. I finished Day Two and am beginning to feel a part of things. It is not easy joining a team that has been working together for so long that some are retiring together. The great news is they are amazing, dedicated professionals so I am in good hands. Dress code is very different than Brooks Brothers. It is nice to have the choice! I'm learning the recruiting side of HR which is very different.

I came in on my first day to fresh flowers from my boss's garden and a gift bag with a self development book - How full is your bucket along with a new tea mug and teas. Yeah! I felt very welcomed eventhough she had meetings most of the day. Luckily I am pretty self-reliant and she had left me a small stack of information to read.

Today I felt like I was part of the group and that I'll be able to contribute to the success of the Team. It is a great feeling. I'm researching technology and offering suggestions. I'm also trying to learn everything I can about how schools work. Not an easy thing, but really, its only day two! Sometimes I do notice that I expect much more of myself than is realistic too.

It is now pretty late and I need some sleep so I am refreshed and ready to go tomorrow.

Peace to all who read this blog today and everyday.
Joan

Never enough sleep

Why is it that no matter what time I go to bed, I'm still tired? Is it the bed? Is it my thyroid condition? Could it be the stress?

Ben last night was so tired, yet wouldn't fall asleep until about 8:30. He did not have a nap so he should have been able to crash about 7. Which would have meant I could have crashed by 7:05. No such luck. I did finally go to sleep after 9 which is still early, but I'm yawning away.

Ben is just a doll though. Poor kid had an accident, because I forgot to remind him to go to the bathroom before bed. He's so grown up already because, he changed his clothes...put the dirty ones in the laundry room...then told me the bed was wet. I said to him (not really thinking it was wet due to past experience) to just use his blankets and we'd fix it in the morning. Well, this morning I checked on him, he covered the wet spot with the other sheet and was curled up in his blanket sound asleep. Yes, the bed was wet. That's what I get for not listening, buy hey it was 2 in the morning!

Tonight we are meeting regarding the 2009 Camp Show. We are not on the committee (I am grateful for that), but we are advisors to the chairmen so we are off to do our duty. Besides, I really enjoy Frank & Diane and miss seeing them each week. They are making us dinner besides. What is also great is they are totally in love with Ben so that makes it easy for us to be there with him. They GET what it is like to be so involved and have a little one.

Sheila's wedding is just a few weeks away now. I'm very excited for her. I still have not found THE outfit. Not sure why my outfit matters, but want to look good. The sitter emailed that she could stay overnight if we want to get a hotel room. That might be fun for Phil & I. Need to look into that.

Well everyone, have a wonderful day today.

Peace to all who read this blog!
Love Ya
Joan

Weekend...

What an odd weekend I had. First I caught up on lots of sleep. I truly needed it. Saturday began with my sisters at breakfast. Was thrilled to see Sheila, Peg and Mary and have quality time. We reminised about a dear friend Marge who had passed away. Then, the four of us headed to Holy Cross Church for the funeral mass. What a tribute to a life lived to the fullest!

After mass I gathered up my boys and headed to a graduation party. What a fun time. Ben had a playmate which made the party so much more enjoyable as we did not have to entertain him. Plus with the fenced in yard there was no place for him to go. It was great to catch up with our friends! Thanks Brian and Michelle. Once again a great time!

Yesterday was construction day. Phil has begun the work again on our front room. He was building the closet. Ben of course was out there with his tools doing his best to help. During one of Phil's trips to the H.D. Ben decided that we needed caution tape put up for the construction site. So now my front door in side has "caution tape"...really it says police line but that doesn't seem to matter since Ben can't really read yet. So, no...no crime has been committed at the house, just a "dangerous" construction site. Hard hats are required by the crew chief Ben.

As I left today all I could do was laugh. Ben also had loads of fun playing with Phil's caution cones in the back yard. I'll try to post some pictures soon.

Have a wonderful day. Peace to all who read this blog.
Joan

Sunshine

What a beautiful day today is going to be! The sun is already out and bright and shiny. I left our sitter with instructions that Ben should go outside as much as possible. He is currently hooked on a new Veggie Tales' movie that Phil bought him. It caused much morning heartache yesterday when we left for preschool as he didn't want to leave the movie behind. I have to say that I really enjoy Veggie Tales and this one is Sheerluck Holmes. Its is about how to be a good friend, which Ben could really use to learn.

This weekend is packed with activities, some sad and some very happy. I'll post more on Monday.

Peace to all who read this post.
Love ya! Joan