HAPPY BIRTHDAY CORI!!!!!!!

Paige Here...

I just wanted to get on and update Cori's blog (without her knowing) and tell her what an AMAZING person she is. Happy Birthday Cori, I love you more than words can express, I am not the best with words, but I will try my hardest.

BEST FRIENDS

Forever, For Always, And No Matter What

Cori, With you life is exciting.
With you I can be myself.

With you I feel appreciated.

With you I have fun.

With you I am happier

than I have ever been.

Thank you for being you.

(I am just going to let it all spill out. This could be a long blog and I apologize for it in advance.)

Here goes....

I don't know where I would be without you in my life. You complete me. You are my other half and I thank you for always being there for me and loving unconditionally the way you do.
Your support adds so much to my life. You share my joys as if they were your own. You feel my pain and you cry with me. Thank you for understanding me and loving me as I am. It sounds simple but if means so much to say I feel comfortable with you. I don't have to worry about how I look to you. I don't have to rehearse or analyze our conversations-when we talk I can relax. I feel comfortable with you. I know it sounds so simple....but it means so much. You are so thoughtful. You give me much more than is expected and you expect much less than you deserve. Together we have laughed and cried (too much at times and so much that we pee ourselves) We've Celebrated and helped each other through many hard times. Your support has made my triumphs more meaningful and my losses easier to bear. You know when I need advice, and you know when I simply need you. Everything I could ever want in a friend I have in you. The more I know you the more glad I am that I do. You and I are what FRIENDSHIP is all about. I will love you until the day after forever. Our lives were meant to be shared.

Patrick and the boys cuddling on the couch.

Here is Cori's Birthday Cheesecake

C-Crazy and Fun Loving
O-Outstanding Mother
R-Ridiculously Kind and Generous
I-Incredible Cook

May all your wishes and dreams come true. (You deserve it.)


WE LOVE YOU!!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving

The boys and I went to Patrick and Paige's house for Thanksgiving. I was in charge of Dessert. I started Wednesday night and made the pumpkin filling and a Pumpkin Cheesecake and a Deep Dish Apple Pie with homemade caramel. It was so yummy. I took the boys to Jeff's in the morning and headed over to help Paige make stuffing and and gravy. Then picked the boys up when it was dinner time. We had so much fun and the boys played with all their nieces and nephews. It was a great day.

Me and My little men. I am so thankful for these precious gifts in my life.

here I am all ready to cook. (Paige told me that I was wearing it wrong, but I think this looks right to me. Besides, I always drop stuff on my shelf so I figured I should make sure it is well protected.JJ and Cody Cooking together.


Me with Alicia and her daughter Addison

The "guys" (and Addison) watching football.

In the Kitchen!! Where I love to be and feel I belong. I LOVE TO COOK and cooking with friends is so much fun.

Alicia making mashed potatoes. She looks like she is ready to kill someone, except that she is smiling.

We had snacks for everyone to munch on while we got ready for dinner

Olive fingers. Isaac, Chase and Kate couldn't wait for dinner to eat the olives so we gave them an Olive snack.
"Husband" (Patrick) feeding me a yummy truffle

Getting the table ready for the feast.All the yummy food Yummy rolls. Good job Alicia!!!!

Boys are hungry!!!! STOP DROOLING ON THE BIRD!!!!

Here we are sitting down to eat. Dessert: Pumpkin Cheesecake, Chocolate Pudding Pie, Deep Dish Apple with homemade caramel and Blackberry pie.

THEY WERE DELICIOUS!!!

JJ and Cody and Kate were Talking and hanging out watching Toy Story 2 in Patrick and Paige's bedroom. It was so cute

My little Monkey, Cody

Everyone recovering from the delicious dinner. Hanging out with family. The boys and I had a lot of fun. Thank You Paige and Patrick for loving us as much as you do. We are so Thankful for you both. Thank you for a memorable day and making us feel welcome and opening your loving arms to us. We love you.

Just Another Girls Night

Paige came over tonight for Girls night. We hung out and watched movies. She cut open our pumpkin and we cooked pumpkin seeds. We watched a movie and hung out. It was really fun.

Here I am in my Golden Girls shirt. A couple of girls and I at work bought these shirts and wore them to work today. Here is the pumpkin that Paige hacked into.

I gave Brannigan a bath tonight as well and Paige took pictures. She is picking at herself around her neck.

Sleep Testing

So I went to my doctors office today for my annual poking and proding, the most action I have seen for awhile, and she has come to the conclusion that I might be suffering from Sleep Apnea. Therefore on December 16th at 7:45 p.m I will be checking into the St. Vincents sleep clinic to undergo some sleep testing. I am not quite sure what this entails, but I am sure I will be hooked up to a lot of wires. God, I can only hope they make a video of this so I can watch and listen to the god awful sounds that probably escape my mouth in the middle of the night. My kids probably think they have a monster sleeping in the room next to them. I am hoping that in having this done, I will be given the possibility of a few good nights sleep. As of this moment I wake up 7 to 8 times a night for no apparent reason. All I hope for is to feel rested enough to start exercising and taking off some of this weight. I want to stay awake with my boys to watch a whole movie and not ask what happened at the end or watch it after they go to sleep to tell them I enjoyed it. My wonderful papa is going to come up and watch the boys overnight so I need not worry about them and they will have one on one time with their pops. Keep your fingers crossed.

Halloween

The Boys and I met Patrick and Paige at Sweet Tomatoes for dinner. The boys ate for FREE because they were dressed up. (Can't beat Free)

We Trick-or-Treated in Paige's sister's neighborhood. It was really fun.

Here I am with my boys.

JJ was a rock star and Cody was a Biker Chopper dude.

I drew nipple rings on JJ. It was hilarious.

I have a tear in my eye from laughing so hard. JJ has Heely's and he was going down a hill and Paige leaned over to me and said, "He is gonna crash hard" and sure enough right when she was done saying it he bit it and crumpled on the ground. It was hilarious. He didn't get hurt but we had a good laugh.This guy scared the kids pretty bad this year. None of them would come close to the candy, Not even JJ would get too close. It was so funny.

Paige's sister Heather has 3 kids. Her son Jacob is Cody's age and they are best buds.

The boys had fun playing and eating candy after trick-or-treating.

This is Paige's Niece Brooke. She is such a cuddler and I had fun holding her.

She thought JJ was funny with his crazy hair.

Family Counseling

So, the boys and I, under the advice of cody and jeffrey's doctor, are going thru family counseling sessions. We are doing this to help our family heal from all of the stress and anger that seems to be running rampant thru out our house. So far the outcome has seemed to help. We have learned to communicate with each other using words instead of hitting and throwing things and cussing on my part. I am going thru some very stressful times and have a lot of my own anger to deal with and I am very worried that it is affecting the most precious things in my life. The last thing in this world I want is to harm my children, whether it be mentally or physically, not that I would hit my kids. They seem to hit each other.
Some of the things we have incorporated into our routines are eating dinner together every night, whether it be a bowl of cereal and toast or a full BBQ steak dinner. We talk about what each of us did that day, good and bad and how we dealt with it. I have come to find out that my amazing 10 year old has what he calls his angry journal. If something makes him so angry or mad he writes about it and ponders it for a day or two and then he rips out the page and throws it away along with his angry feelings. I have learned that he is a very forgiving young man whom I am very proud of. He has seen a lot for his young age and the therapist says he is a very well adjusted young person.
My cody man has learned that he may get more out of me and his brother by simply asking. There have been fewer and fewer of his screaming and hitting the wall outburst, and he is not so dependant on his flannel pillow. I have learned that he is pretty smart and very observant. More observant than I gave him credit for.
Both of my young men have made me very proud and given me the strength to be a single mom. I know I don't do it all by myself because I have an amazing support system of friends and family, whom I couldn't live without. Jeff has even come around a little and will soon be invited to join us for a session of therapy. I have been sharing what we talk about and I think it has opened his eyes a little, even if he won't admit it.
All in all, I am a very big fan of talking out your problems and concerns and highly recommend it to anyone.

Back to School Night Ice Cream Social

Tonight was Back to School Night at the boys school. It was an Ice Cream Social. Paige came with me to meet the boys teachers and to see their classrooms. It was a lot of fun.

Brookwood Elementary

JJ is in 5th grade this year and this is his teacher Mrs. Belanger

This is JJ's desk
This is JJ's Classroom

Cody with his teacher Mrs. Hansen

Cody is in Kindergarten this year and loves his new classroom

Where do we sign up for the PTA?

A Night of Gordon Ramsay!!!

Paige and I LOVE Kitchen Nightmares and Hell's Kitchen. We are so excited that he will be coming straight to our living rooms every Thursday night. WE LOVE GORDON!

And here he is in Action!!!

Happy 6th Birthday Cody

For Cody's Birthday, We met up with Patrick and Paige at Shari's and enjoyed a delicious dinner. I can't believe my baby is 6 years old and in kindergarten. I am an emotional wreck.


Yummy Milkshakes
Patrick and the boys
Paige and I
Nice Patrick