Definitely playing catch up.

It has been too long since I wrote. What has happened in the past month and a half.

*Arianna turned 1 and we had a party for her. Everyone had a great time.

*Brycen got his training wheels on his Dirt Bike and has been attempting to drive it by himself.

*Playdates have picked up with lots of outdoor activities. We went swimming today and Marburger Dairy tour was a huge hit a few weeks back.

*I got my first paying auction in the Butler area! It is June 20th in Sarver, PA. Go to www.auctionsbycassandra.com for more info.

*Arianna is such a big girl. She picked up using the sippy cup within the week of her birthday and she just got discharged from PT. She is right where she is supposed to be and doesn't qualify for services any more. I am so glad that she is doing well.

*Josh finally went to the doctors last week. The first time in 15 years. He had an infection in his lymph nodes. Not sure how you get that but he is feeling much better now after being on an antibiotic.

*These nice days really make Josh and I miss his mom alot. We just expect her to come walking through the woods or stop by on her way home from work. She loved being outside on warm sunny days.

*I am doing well with my diet disapline. I have been really watching how I eat and have been exercising alot. The scale hasn't moved much but I definitely feel alot better and things are starting to tone up. I just got to keep reminding myself that muscle weighs more than fat so that I don't get too discouraged when I bust my butt and I didn't lose any weight.

*Vacation is coming up so quick. We are going to TN to visit a cousin of mine and stay at his lake house. It should be a nice time.

I believe that is it right now. Nothing too exciting to report. Just have been busy doing outside stuff around the house or loafing. Hope everyone is doing well.

It's been a while...

Let me get caught up here. Last Thursday we took the kids to Tractor Supply to see the peeps and duckies. Well at that point they only had the peeps. The duckies didn't make it in yet and actually they should be in now. Road trip!! :o) Brycen loved them! Josh grabbed a few of the peeps and held them so Brycen could touch the tiny animal. So cute!

Friday our vehicle was supposed to be done but he ran into another minor problem. Just a simple seal that needed to be replaced so he had to get the part. We were going to go to the Living Stations at Church with Jack but he forgot about it and plus I couldn't find a babysitter. I didn't think that the kids would have done very well during their bed time at Church with a million other people. So, we went over to Elaine's house to visit with Jack. In her Will she had it that he could live there for up to five years. We really don't care if he stays longer than that. It's not a problem. We had a nice visit! Jack had an Easter Egg hunt for Brycen around the house and he gave the kids their Easter goodies. Some of the things in the baskets Elaine had purchased long before so it was nice for them to have that one last thing from her. Jack made some Apple Dumplings so we ate and talked for a while.

Saturday was the big Easter Egg hunt with the Mom's Group. One of the mom's from the group belongs to a church that was putting on a community egg hunt and she wanted to make sure that we all knew about it. They had 8,000 eggs!!! Yes you heard me correctly! Wow! They had sections roped off and you situated yourself in the category where you belong. 0-3 year olds and so on. I made Josh go on the egg hunt with Brycen so I could take some pictures or attempt to. Boy there was alot of people. After he got his eggs we didn't stay long because we had to go to New Castle to pick up the vehicle.

Sunday was Easter and it was a difficult one since we always spent it with Elaine. We got up early and went to 8:00 am mass and met up with Jack. Church was packed and we got pushed to the front of the room and Josh went back to where Jack was to bring him up with us. The sermon was very touching with it's topic being about death. He broke it down into the three types of people and I was able to fid some easy examples in my own life. Overall live your life to the fullest and don't be afraid of death. When mass had ended I invited Jack to go to the cemetary with us. He hesitated at first but accepted. The funeral home has a gorgeous marker that represents her and the ground is nicely manicured. It was hard to hold back the emotions as Jack broke down. My heart aches now when Brycen says it's time for grandma to wake up. He is too young to miss someone this much. All he wants is to hear his grandma's voice and for her to hold him. *sighs* So, on a different note, my FIL came in for Easter from Ohio. I would say it was a treat but he was just different. Not different like treating us bad but oh I don't know. All I want to say to him is that you are the one who made the mistake with your marriage and with the fact that you never contacted or visited Elaine during her final weeks. Don't take it out on us! At least we had a great meal so that helped ease things a little bit. I really could have done with out my parents ruining things. Would I expect any different from them not really. Just a little understanding would be nice. This holiday was difficult enough so don't be over a hour and a half late for your visit with my children and expect it to be ok and wonder where we were at.

Changing the subject. Monday we went over to Jack's and helped the family fill out the thank you's from the funeral. We filled out over a hundred of them and still wasn't done. Ran out of cards so we had to stop for the night.

I was in a little depressed mood on Tuesday. Just coming down from the weekend business and thinking about Elaine. I had a good cry when the kids were napping and it just hurts all over again. When Josh came home he knew I was in a funk and tried to lighten things a bit and offered for us to go out of the house. So of all places we go to Walmart. He hates that store but we needed a few things so he said ok. Walked around the store and ran into some of Butler's finest. :o) The trip helped a little.

Yesterday I sat for two hours in the morning and just wrote in the journal I have for Elaine. I have been writing about events, feelings, things that she used to do, and so on to help keep those memories alive in writing. So that my children when they are old enough can sit and read those things and learn what their grandma was all about. I had Josh read what I wrote when I left to go to the bank. He said everything was very nice and I encouraged him to take time out and write in it himself. I hope he does that because he obviously would have more memories than I would about her. I spent much of yesterday cleaning my second floor. Putting laundry away and just cleaning. Josh had left to have dinner with Jack so I took the kids back upstairs after our dinner to finish things up. Wow were they roudy. Rolling around and jumping on the mommy daddy bed as Brycen calls it. I am surprised I got as much done as I did because there was several close calls of someone falling off.

Today we have a playdate at the local park. It is at 1:00 so I will have to see how the kids do before that. Arianna has been going down for a nap rather early lately and has some more teeth poking through. Such a cranky girl. I forgot my sunglasses at the venue where I had my benefit auction so I am thinking of going to Kohls late morning here to get another pair. That is where I got them and can't find any around here that I liked as much. I am getting things in order around here and I will have to see how this structured schedule during the day works for me. See if he helps keep my mood away from one of being depressed. I think I may get annoyed with the schedule but its worth a try.

I got Arianna's Birthday invites filled out and out in the mail box this morning. So cute! They have Monkeys on them because she loves her Monkeys. Loves them! These next few weeks I will be praying that it is nice for her party along with a little warm so that I can host it outside. If not I will have probably around 60 people in my house. :o) Also I finished up my own thank yous from our end of the funeral stuff. From flowers that were sent to the house along with all of the food that was very helpful during such a difficult time.

Well one of my shows I watch in the morning is on now so I am going to relax on my couch for a bit with my hot tea. I hope that you all have a great day!

Wednesday or is it Thursday?

Boy today feels like Thursday for some reason. Anyways, I am carless at least until Friday. Fun times! Last night I took the Honda and ran to the store to get some milk and a few other things for in the kitchen. While at the store I got my grandma an Easter Lily. My dad has slacked off the past few years on getting her a lily and a poinsetta so I took over that job. She was tickled pink when I dropped her lily off.

Arianna has another therapist appointment this morning at 8:30 am. Her PT yesterday was thrilled with all of the tricks Arianna was doing for her. Sitting up and crawling on her hands and knees. Even pulling herself up on the ottoman. She is making good progress.

My tackling of this house is eeehhh going alright. I really need to do the hustle.... do do do da do do do... anyways hehehe! I got my stashes sorted yesterday at least. Almost everytime I go to the store I may pick up something for Brycen or Arianna being a toy, book, or a piece of clothing. I hang on to them if I bought them big enough for Birthdays or X-mas. The stash for Easter is done and looking good. Both kids are done for their Birthdays. Arianna's in May and Brycen's is in July. I even have a pretty decent start on X-mas. Not too bad for buying a little here and a little there. It seems like each year I get started a little earlier and earlier. Lets hope that my two dont go through a major growth any time soon. Haha!

Well I need to get going here. I jumped back onto the exercise band wagon again after about a month and a half off. No more excuses. I have a lake trip scheduled in July and I want a decent chunk of this weight off. I'm off to do some cardio!

Just stuff.

Arianna has her PT appointment this morning at 8 am. We had to cancel last week due to my MIL's funeral. Arianna is doing so good. Sitting up on her own, crawling on her hands and knees and pulling herself up. Yay!

Josh got some prices on the front differential for the Tahoe and it wasn't any where nearly as bad as we thought it would cost. He just went ahead and ordered the part and one of the guys at the shop will install it for cheap. Now I just have to watch how much I drive it until it gets fixed. We don't want the oil level in the differential to get to low or to run out of oil completely because it will burn up the gears inside. Then it will cost over a grand to fix. Right now it has a continuous slow leak of oil and obviously when the vehicle is warmed up the oil leaks even more. Will just have to play it by ear this week for my running around and playdates.

I can't believe we have snow this April 7th! It's not the first time having snow in April but it has been a long time. I think I just might go out to the garage and bring some pellets in for our pellet stove. Sounds like a good day to snuggle up by a fire and watch some movies with my lovies!

Monday, Monday...

Today we had a playdate at the local mall but Brycen still has a little bit of a cough. I feel that the croup went into full blown allergies. Fun times! Arianna's and his eyes are all yucky when they get up in the morning. Oh yeah allergy season is the greatest time of all! I received three beautiful bulb gardens when my MIL passed and they are in full bloom. Gorgeous but my kids probably don't think they are so gorgeous.

On my agenda for today is to clean, clean, clean and more clean along with some laundry thrown into the mix. We have been company just about every day or every other day so things need to be in tip top shape.

My weekend went well. I had my charity auction for the local Blind Association and it went very well. The items totalled 212 and the auction itself went an hour and a half passed when I thought it would end and ran an hour over schedule. Everything sold and the Blind Association was very pleased with the amount of money we raised. We surpassed their goal! Yay! I received so many compliments and even an applause at the end of the sale. That always makes me feel good.

Oh what a beautiful day yesterday was. We spent most of the day outside and did some yard work. I weeded my flower garden and trimmed some shrubs. Josh moved a tree that was planted too close to the garage. We took a little walk and his aunt and uncle came over to visit with us and the kids. JL stopped over for a little bit and had a couple of beers. It was a very nice and relaxing day!

Today looks so beautiful outside but looks can be deceiving. There is a cold front coming in so it is very windy outside but that sunshine is abundant today. I hope everyone has a great day leading into an even better week.

Leading into the weekend.

Last night was nice. Arianna's appoinment ended up getting canceled due to the therapist not feeling well so we got everyone ready to get out of the house. It was so warm and the sunshine felt so good. We took everyone up to the cemetery. It was hard seeing the spot where she is at. Geibel's have the ground looking very nice. The palms are all woven over the grave site with flowers decorating it. The footspray is at her feet and the lid spray at the top. Very classy looking instead of seeing dirt. We took the kids for a walk around the cemetery. Looking at grave monuments and trying to see how old some of the people were. This is something Josh and I have always done. Even when we go on a weekend trip somewhere and we see an old cemetery we would stop and walk around. Clean off a few graves and just be a peace. During our walk we were coming up on Josh's grandparents graves along with some others in the family when I looked over towards where Elaine is. The sun was coming through the clouds and beams of rays stretched over the whole cemetery. Just beautiful! I started to tear up and looked at Josh. We embraced and knew that this was her turn to go to Heaven.

On our way home from the cemetery Josh's one aunt called and wanted to come over to see the kids. We were almost home so we said "sure". It's been nice having company just stop over, especially to see the kids. Aunt S. came over and played with the kids in the back yard for a little but until it started to get chilly. We retreated back into the house and Aunt S. continued on her walk around the farm.

Today I have to meet up with the Blind Association at Boscovs. I wanted to go over how they have the room set up and to drop off my equipment. My mom is going to watch the kids for me which is nice. I just told her that I have an appointment. Well I do. :o)

It is almost 7 am here and I have some work to get done before I start to get the kids up. I hope that everyone has a good weekend and if you are in the area please stop by the Boscov's auditorium between 10 am and 2 pm on Saturday. Lots of very nice items that were donated for the charity auction.

Tahoe disaster!

Yesterday I took the Tahoe to the dealer to get inspected. I normally wouldn't deal with these people but we get free inspections for the life of the vehicle since it was purchased there. Since we get free inspections they always pick the car appart. Try to find something wrong so they can get some sort of money out of the deal. Well the break sensors was the issue this time at the cost of $250. No way so I took my car and went home. Josh took the wheels off and cleaned the sensors so all is well. Well maybe...but not really! He had the car on the jack and was getting ready to put the jack stands under the vehicle when the it fell off of the jack. Not good! When the Tahoe came down the jack cracked the housing for the 4 wheel drive. Ouch! It is leaking oil from the housing and must be fixed. Hopefully we can fix it cheaply but no matter what it won't be too cheap. This time we can't fix this ourselves due to the fact that the axels have to be taken off to get to the part and the part may cost $3,000 to fix. Definitely don't have that extra chunk laying around.

This morning I took the Tahoe back in and got my sticker on the car. They noticed the oil leaking under the car but didn't investigate it. Whew!

What a beautiful day outside! Too bad the kids sleep all afternoon for me but they have all evening to enjoy the nice weather. Arianna has a therapist appointment at 4:30 and that usually runs about an hour. After eating some dinner I was thinking about taking everyone up to the cemetery for a walk and to visit my MIL's grave. That all is on hold until Josh takes a look at the vehicle to see if I can even drive it. *sighs* Not sure what to do this weekend with my auction on Saturday. Just play it by ear.

I'm off to straighten up a bit before the therapist gets here and get Ari up from her nappy.

TGIF!

This mornining I am going to finish logging in all of my items I am getting rid of. Last night I went to the store to purchase more safety pins and hangers so I didn't have to do that today. Yay I will be done with this children's clothes storm that hit my house!

Arianna has a progress report with the service coordinator this morning at 9 am. Just to see how she has been these past three months and to sign on new services. She is starting into PT. Yay! Right now it will be only twice a week until more spots open up. Better than nothing.

After the progress report I am taking the kids to our local mall. My Mom's group is having a playdate in the playzone and since I called off from playdates twice this week I really want to make this one. Let Brycen play with his buddies and for me to get around other people since I've closed myself up in my house this week.

This evening we are going to visit with my MIL at the hospital. I'm going to give her the option today if she wants us to bring the kids. They are both healthy now and she hasn't seen them in about a month. If not I'll have to see who can take them for me.

I hope that everyone has a happy and safe weekend!

My weekend went like a whirl wind and blew away yet again. Friday we went to the Ross Park Mall for a playdate at Build-a-Bear. It was a lot of fun! Surprisingling Brycen didn't want to make a bear for himself but he helped make one for Arianna. So cute! He visited with his buddies and then we did a little shopping and got back on the road.

Once we got home, everyone had some lunch and it was off to take naps. For me it was a time to pick up toys and straighten up the house before my friend Katie came over. On my way to Ross Park I called Katie to see if she could sit at my house while my two napped so that I could go to a memorial service for a friend. Her and her son Nicco came over and I was yet back on the road.

The memorial service was for a long time customer of my dad's auction and a friend. This gentleman was a very kind soul and I would stand and talk to him for a long time when our paths crossed. I've known him since I was you and knew his fiancee and her family even longer. I went to elementary and high school with her children. The gentleman died very quickly and very unexpectantly. Everyone was still in shock even after a week after his passing. The firehall where the service was held slowly filled up past capacity. People filled all the chairs and lined the walls eagerly waiting for the paster to pray with them and reflected on the life of their friend. My heart felt full after listening to scriptures and about this mans life. I'm very glad that I went and very thankful for Katie to watch my children so that I could attend.

When I returned home I talked to Josh about the service and quickly made dinner. Gotta love Lent! Tomato soup and grilled cheese was on our menu that day because it was quick and easy. Everyone quickly ate dinner and then it was off to the motorcycle shop. One of Brycen's most favorite places next to grandma's house. Josh needed a tire for his bike as well as to order some parts for the dirt bike. Brycen was in awe as he gazed over the rows of motorcycles, quads, and dirtbikes. He wants to climb and sit on them all so we had to remind him that he can't sit on these ones. At home we allow him to sit on our bikes and quad when we are in the garage. During our wait for the tire to get mounted we looked at helmets. We tried to get Brycen to try one on be that wasn't going to happen. With his birthday coming up we were going to get him a helmet so that this summer we can teach him how to ride his own dirtbike. Oh well maybe next time.

From the motorcycle shop it was off to the Clearview Mall to see race cars! Also on the favorite list of Brycen's. The mall hosted the Lernerville Raceway cars for the public to view. People were everywhere at they were able to get those desired photos and to even touch their favorite cars. Brycen walked around each car and made sure that their tires were in check. :o) After viewing the race cars it was finally time to go home and to remain there for the rest of the day.

Saturday was relaxing as we spent time outside in the warmth. This weather is such a tease! Then on to Sunday...just another lazy day.

An update on the kids. Brycen seems to be feeling a lot better. Josh took him to the doctors on Saturday and she was quite puzzled. He didn't seem like he was getting worse but obviously wasn't getting any better. So she put him on an antibiotic and he is perking back up. Arianna started coughing in the middle of the night like Brycen was so I might get the doctor a call and see if she can fax a prescription over to the pharmacy. On Saturday Arianna had yet another Physical Therapy evaluation. She had one when she was around 7 months and didn't qualify by just a hair. When she went in for her 9 month check up the doctor was still concerned over Arianna's development and thought that now she was showing a delay. The evaluation showed that there was indeed a delay but not significant enough for her to qualify for services. However, the PT did give a clinical opinion that Arianna is showing some weakness in her belly and arms and that she would benefit from services now so that she isn't tremendously behind. I talked to the service quardinator yesterday and she is going to look into getting services started for Arianna. Yay! Since she was born early like Brycen was I have been nervous about her development and she has been with the system since she was born. It takes two months of evaluations to get in and the doctor told me that it was a good idea to get her in early. So far we have just a therapist that comes in and checks that she is meeting milestones.

Aside from all of that I have been ironing up a storm! I am getting all of my children's clothes that they have out grown and preparing them to be gotten rid of. It is rather depressing in a way. Looking over all of their cute clothes and remembering them when they were little into particular pieces. Also, it is a major reality check that I won't be having any more children. I understand everything that Josh and I talk about about having just two. It is easy to fit into my life. Two children are plenty for me to take care of and chase after. Plus I would like to find a job in a few years and help contribute to providing for my family. However, I just have that feeling that I am not done with having children. I love my children very much and feel so blessed that I have been provided with one of each. My pregnancies are very rough and we lost our first peanut at 10 weeks and 4 days along. Josh reminds me about how rough my prenancies are when I swing into the conversation about children. I never ask to have any more but just talk about not feeling that I am done. I shouldn't be selfish and should just enjoy what I have. Maybe in a way I feel cheated because I have never been able to get my pregancies to go full term and to enjoy all of those little kicks and bumps even longer. I don't know. A lot of these feelings got stirred up with me getting their old close prepared to be gotten rid of.

On that note. I need to get both of my little monters up and ready for their day. Brycen has a chiropractor appointment this morning. He has been complaining for 4 days about his back hurting. He had such a bad cough and was having coughing fits in the middle of the night. Saturday morning it lasted for 2 hrs and nothing worked. No steriod and no breathing treatment was cutting it. All of that coughing most likely through off his alignment. We will see how the visit goes!

Getting caught up...

Finally my website is up and running. Check it out at www.auctionsbycassandra.com.

I still have more laundry and straightening up to do today. It is a never ending story when you have children.

Arianna has her therapist appointment this afternoon at 4:15 for just a follow up of her milestones. Saturday she has another PT eval. Dr. Selvaraj still isn't happy and feels that Arianna is at least a month behind. The little one still won't get herself into a sitting position and isn't pulling herself up on furniture. The month behind is her adjusted age for her being 6 weeks early. Lets see how this eval goes. She was a hair from qualifying the first time. I honestly just think the little peanut is lazy. If I sit her down on the floor with some toys she will sit there for several minutes and have good control. Oh well!

I'm going to get back to my crocheting before the kiddos wake up this morning. Relax a bit before I get my butt in gear.