Work, Rain, Baseball, And Dinner

So, I tried to get SAT off, but I wasnt able to, With such a small staff at the Scrapbook store, Its not an easy thing to do. So I missed what was going to be Sam's first game. I picked up my patio set before I was off to work, and Dropped off Jake at his game ( they lost) And I instructed Brett to be the photographer for Sam's game, ( since Scott was coaching and he couldnt do it) So Brett took a picture of the Team getting their picture taken, ( I can see that Brett needs a lesson in photography) . It ended up raining right before pictures, ( there is an extra dad in the pic cause one of the boys didnt want to be in it) so we got in the pictures, but no game.
After I got off work I stopped by the house and picked up Jake and three of his friends to take them to Red Robin for his birthday. ( Scott, Alec, Brett and Sam met us there) I asked for two tables, All the teenagers sat at one, and Scott , Sam and I at another. I was close enough to see, but not hear them, so it worked out great. I then Had Red Robin sing to Jake, which he hated, but secretly I think he enjoyed, and they made him wear the funny glasses, ( I have a picture of that too). Then I took some pictures outside of all boys. We went home and they had cake later and all slept downstairs, I told them at midnight they had to be quiet, and that was fine with them all, in fact, when I went to bed at 12:30, only Spencer was still awake, and I am sure Jake was the first to go.
on another note ,As we were standing in the lobby, I was talking to Alec, and a big buff guy in his 20's walked by, and as he did I watched him Size up Alec, it was very odd too see someone do to your son, his expression never changed on his face, he just looked him up and down and up again, and kept walking... I told Alec after he was gone and Alec looked at him and smiled and said " I could take him" and I thought to myself , he was most likely thinking the same thing about YOU. And how strange that was for me to witness, cause as big as Alec gets, he is still and always will be my baby.

Three teenage Boys!

AS of today, I have three teenage boys, Jake turned 13 today! can you imagine? Its insane to think of. We didnt do too much today, cause Saturday night we will have a small party with his friends and cake then. We did have cupcakes tonight, and sang him happy birthday ( I promised I wouldnt sing in front of his friends).
Sam had his first Practice tonight, Scott said it was very entertaining to watch. Sam hit the ball and ran to first, then kept on going into the outfield... But he wasnt the only one who did that. Pictures are SAT and Scott will be the stand in coach for the day, ( the real coach will be out of town) So I am sending Jake to take pictures. here are a couple from today, but I guess I need to show Scott the zoom button cause its clear he didnt use it!
On May 10th I will be doing a sleep study, My DR has been wanting me to do one for years , but I never have, so now I will. I will arrive there at 7:30 pm, ( I dont have to sleep then , thank god)but it will all be very interesting. I will keep you posted.

Sam is in the red pants in the #2 shirt, white shirt in picture two.

Game Updates

Ok, Home from both games, and I guess it went faster than it could have, we won first game 8-0 and won the next game 10-0. This poor team that we played, how sad that they didnt even get one run. Jakes team was on tonight, it was a good night, Jake had a good night too, RBI single and a couple of walks, and a hit by pitch, right in his tricep, and he arm is swollen and bruised in the form of the baseball, I could tell it hurt him more than he wanted to say, but he was all good by the time the inning was over. Ok thats it for now, a picture to share that I took of Jake and his good friend Craig and their teamate Mike before the game started.

Baseball

Today I went shopping for patio furniture. We needed a new set that would seat 6, not just 4 as we have. so I went to a few different stores, deciding on the first one at the first store. Now this set was on sale last week for $399.00 and now it was back up to $599.00 a huge difference! I spoke with the lady there and she said she would ask her manager if I could have it at the sale price last week, and he said yes! they had to call another store to get it for me, and it will be in on Friday, Its a great set with 6 chairs a table two ottomans and a side table too. the only thing it doesnt come with is an umbrella, but we do have one from our old set, or we may buy a different one, we dont know yet. We also bought a new gas grill too. Scott will be spending a good part of May and June fixing up the yard and making us a patio area too.IT will be a spendy project but worth it in the end.
Jake has a game and a half tonight, the half is a make up from a rain out, so it will be a long night sitting out there in the cold, and yes, our beautiful weather is gone and its cold again... So because of the extended game tonight I have seen Scott for a total of 45 mins since Sunday when I left for work at 4:30, its now WED, you do the math..... I guess that is good since it means we dont fight cause we dont see one another. People think we talk to each other during the day, but we dont do that either, he calls sometimes at 11:30 on his lunch, but if I dont get to the phone he doesnt call back. most of our communication is thru notes left on the computer..
Sam has his first TBALL practice tomorrow at 5:30, of course I will be working, but I have instructed Scott to take pictures, so we will see if he does.
Ok, Off to Jakes Game. I will update later.

weekend news

IT was a beautiful weekend . The sun was shinning the whole time and today was above 70 degrees. However at Jake's game SAT morning it was windy and very cold. The game was in Tacoma, and it was right by the water, and the wind was coming off of the water. IT was such a cold game, I could barely take pictures, But you know I did!
then I went to work at the Scrap store, I got home around 7 pm, it was a long day, ( Jake and I had left a little after 8 that morning) I had every intention of spending time with Scott and Sam and I ended up falling asleep on the couch for over an hour, till Sam woke me up. Alec had spent the day in Bellevue at a track meet where he PR'd ( beat previous record) so he had himself a good day. Brett spent about 6 hours doing community service for ROTC, so he was gone till almost 11pm. So needless to say, it was a quiet house.
Today was kind of lazy around here till it was time to go to work, again quiet cause the boys were all elsewhere, so it was just Me, Scott and Sam, It was very sad when Sam woke up and had looked all over the house for something, finally he was sitting on the stairs looking he was about to cry and I asked him what he was looking for, And he said " my brothers"... how sad is that?? he got all teary-eyed and wanted to know where Brett was ( who was home when he went to take a nap) I explained where they all were and after a few minutes he was ok, but it was just so sad hearing him say he was looking for his brothers..
Its Jake's Birthday this week, he will be 13 on Thursday, we have plans on SAT for a few of his friends to come over, Go to red robin for some dinner then back home to Have cake and then they are sleeping over. So it will be a loud weekend next week. Its also a friends Birthday on the 25th, So happy birthday to you.

To be as lucky as I am....

So last night was the first night that myself and the other new gal closed the Scrapbook store, and it went well till it was time to turn the alarm on and go. Now I have turned the alarm on every night since I have been there, so no problem there, what you do is one person stays in the front, and the other goes to the back to turn on the alarm. While I was back there doing just that, Dianne was talking to me, but I couldnt hear what she said, so I set the alarm.. well she was telling me NOT TO SET IT, the keys were locked in the door from when the teacher left the store, she locked the door from the outside, and the keychain for the inside lock was stuck in the door, and we couldnt turn the key! So great, do you think either of us knows how to UN ARM the alarm? no, cause we only close, we had no need to know how to do that. So then the damn alarm goes off, and it was like, THREE different alarms, all very loud. I had to laugh at it, it just seemed so typical that this would happen. We knew the alarm co would be calling, so we waited, but it seemed like forever and they didnt, so I called one of the owners, she heard the alarm and started laughing after she knew everything was alright. the Alarm co called and I couldnt get it, so then they called her cell, she said dont sent the police... We Un Armed the Alarm, and ahh, silence was heaven. We got it all set and then left , this time alarm armed and we made it out the door before it went off. I guess everyone has set that alarm off when they first started, so it was just a matter of time for us.
In other news, Maegan had a post on her Blog about your favorite things in life.... asking to hear what ours was, I posted to her a few things, they were the obvious, The Boston Red Sox, Coffee with Raspberry Creamer, And My latenight conversations with Alec... I have been having alot of those lately, and I really enjoy them. At a time in a boys life where most of them stay away from conversations with their parents, Alec and I have been having more and more of them, I love that we have so much to talk about, I really like him. I know, you should love all your kids and I do, but To really enjoy an almost 17 year olds Company is rare I think. He is my friend as well as my son, and I love the relationship I have with him, may we all be so lucky to have such a good and enjoyable realationship with all our children.

Baseball, Baseball, Baseball...

I woke up yesterday morning with the thought that my work week was over, Cause I had put in my days for Walmart, It was my day off, and I knew that the next three days at The Scrapbook nook wouldnt be "work", How fun is that? I am really enjoying this new schedule and job, so its all working out!
Saturday Jake has a baseball game in Tacoma, now for those of you who dont know the area, that is a Good 30 minute drive, no big deal, but I cant stay the whole game, I have to be at work at 12. The game starts at 10, so I will get to see a good portion of it, but more times than not, the last part of the game is the BEST part of the game! He didnt have a game last night, this was the one week that he had a game on Monday and not Wed, so I have already missed a game this week... Alec starts baseball next week, he is playing on the same team that he has played on/with for the last four years, ( this is the fourth) they are all looking forward to it, the always have such a great time, and watching them go from boys to men over the years has been very interesting to say the least! LOL... SAM start t ball next week too!! cant wait for that, he is very excited.
So I still think I have ADD no matter what Maegan says.. although I did think for a few minutes that maybe Maegan is right, but I am still leaning towards the other thing...

Is it just me?

I swear there is something wrong with me, I dont know what it is yet, but I know there is! I am leaning towards Adult ADD, cause my mind goes all over the place at times, I will be doing one thing, and start thinking about needing to do another, and even though the first thing needs to be done, I will start on the next thing. And Why? why dont I finish the first thing before going on to the next project?And I do this ALL the time... I notice it at work alot, I will be doing one thing, then walk by something and go to clean it up and forget for hours that I was doing something else untill I walk by it again! And when I get an idea or want, I will obsess on it till I get it, whether it be a thing, or a person. ( I cant really explain the person thing, Its more if I want to do something with a person, or see someone, I kind of get stuck on it till it happens) and then after I get whatever it was I was obsessing over, I feel better. So what the hell would you call it? And if its not AADD, what is it then? or is it nothing, its just me, so I should just deal with it?

Sam had so much fun hunting his easter eggs this morning, every time he found one he said " Oh Another Egg" and just kept looking, and what a surprise when he found out the Eggs had chocolate in them! LOL.. he loved it, and didnt think twice why it was just him hunting, and that the easter bunny left his brothers baskets on the table.
Jake locked my keys in my car today, he was in there getting his baseball bag so he could go play ball with Alec and his friends, he came inside and asked if I had another set of keys to my car, which I dont, So I said, why ? he told me what he did, I asked him if he had his stuff out of the car, he said yes, and I told him to go, I knew I had a alarm key somewhere, and I knew it didnt have batteries.. So lucky I found it in the Junk drawer! I didnt know if it would be there or not, so I was happy when it was. So Off to walgreens I went to get some batteries, then over to say hi to Shelly, she gave me a fabulous new Coffee mug from DisneyLand, it is HUGE, and some coffee from starbucks and a giftcard from there too! It was a thank you for watching her Dog while she was gone....
Here is a picture of Sam's loot from this AM, and A LO that I made the other night...

It has been a boring couple of days around here, spring break has been winding up, and Easter is tomorrow. We never do much on Easter, Sam hunts eggs/candy in the AM and then we have dinner, but other than that , not too much. Sam and I will go over to see Shelly in the morning, She got back from CA on Friday and I wasnt here when she picked up her dog, so I want to pop over and say hello.
I stayed at work tonight and scrapped after we were closed, it was an employee crop, a kind of get to know you crop. It was good, I only got two layouts done, but I was only scrapping for about 3.5 hours, so not too bad for me, ( I take a while to do a LO) I did one from The weekend we went to Friday Harbor, and I love it, they were all just scenery pictures, but even with no-one in the pictures, it is a great LO. I also did Sam's 3rd birthday.. yeah, It took me 8 months to do it , But its done now!
Scott got on my nerves tonight, he wouldnt help me hide the eggs for Sam, in fact, he was asleep on the couch when I was hiding them, that annoyed me, so I woke him up and told him to go to bed if he wasnt going to help me, so I could hide some on the couch. It reminded me of a bad Easter Eve with Jeff, and he wouldnt help me hide candy for the boys ( and it was THREE that I was hiding it for ) he had his own reasons for not wanting to help that I would rather not post here, and still even all these years later ( I think this was 9 years ago) I still remember how mad I was at him, and how selfish I thought it was of him to do......
So I am pouting right now as if you couldnt tell, its times like these that I think, If I wanted to be a single mom, I would be.......
Ok,
HAPPY EASTER EVERYBUNNY!!!

In Search of The perfect Bat....

that is what we did for a few hours yesterday.Jake , Sam and I went to several stores, in search of the perfect baseball bat for Jake. He is getting a new bat for his 13th birthday on the 27th of this month. Now most of you who read this probably do not know how much these things can cost, I know I certainly had no clue how much they were till my boys were in search for them. Alec once got a great deal on a bat, a used one from his friend for $50.00, and it WAS a great deal, new this bat retailed over $200.00. So we looked at bats ranging in price of $149.99 to $329.99, yes, you read that right. Jake thought he found his bat when he left Score sports.. it was $204.00 and perfect for him... then we went to GI Joes, found another one that would be perfect for $149.99... and he thought it would be great cause he would have money left over and could buy some new gear. ( I am not sure what else he needs, we did leave GI JOES with a new cool batting helmet) . As we were driving home we talked about checking online at a great place I know of, bats are always on sale there..... So he did, and wouldnt you know it, there was the perfect bat , at the low low price of $219.99.... this was a bargain you see, regular cost $320.00. And THIS bat, is the BAT of the year he says..... THE YEAR..... lets hope he uses it for more than a year.

Batting cages went well, only Jake batted, Brett did not go with us, and Sam was too little. ( he hates that hes too little) Jake also had practice later in the day. I also got my nails done. Last night was my night at home, we hung out , had dinner and watched LOST... then Alec came home and we talked about his day, also mentioned to him how the red sox lost big, and everytime I turned it on, they would do something bad.. I left to get Jake, and they scored a run, I came home, and Manny hit into an inning ending double play, Or Wells gave up another homer.. I just turned it off for good and said I am bad luck today.

My confession....

David Ortiz signed a 4 year deal with the RED SOX yesterday... This means nothing to most, but it means alot To Alec and I. It means we know he will stay in Boston and become this fixture for the red sox, The "go to guy", the one you can always count on in a clutch to hit someone home, or is good for a homerun when needed, He played a HUGE part in the RED SOX beating the skankees to get to the World Series in 2004. This ALSO means to ALEC, that its safe to ask for A David Ortiz Batting practice jersey for his Birthday. And you do have to think about these things these days... can you buy their Jersey, will they still be with the team next year? I still feel for all those people that Got Johnny Damon red sox merchandise for their loved ones for Christmas, how sad that they had nothing better to do with it at Christmas but to burn it.

On the Homefront... I am off tomorrow, which means what in my house? well Spring break time too, so I am taking whatever boy of mine wants to go, to the batting cages. I know Jake is in, and So is SAM, if the have cages slow enough for him, I dont know.. Alec may go, and the jury is still out on Brett, But I will be sure to take some pictures and post here.

And now to my confession ..... I enjoy watching "the Girls next Door, The playmate bunnies" or whatever its called... I love those girls, And Hef is not too bad either. But the Girls, Holly and Kendra are my favorites.... I admit it, I like watching this show...

Spring Break = small kitchen fire on stove

It wasnt that bad, Alec was making bacon and eggs, I was sitting here at my computer, and then I hear him say " Damn another fire" I didnt know what he was talking about so I asked him, he went on to tell me that the stove was on fire, I peaked over, sure enough the burner plate was on fire, flames aflowing.... it died down as we watched it . So I think its time to get some new burner plates (its easier than cleaning them) I hate when people cover them in foil, effective, yes, but I hate the way it looks.
Also, first day into spring break and Sam broke his T-ball T.... pretty new, about two weeks, and somehow its broken. Brett thinks it can be fixed with some duct tape, Again, I hate the way that looks, so no.
I got a call from Carrie today, she is visiting family back east, Was at Fenway Park when she called me! She had just taken a tour, and wanted to know if I wanted anything, lol , silly question Carrie. I told her to go to Quincy Market for some lunch and some shopping. I cant wait to see the pictures she took today.
I did my easter shopping last night with Alec, I told him the story of when I was 7 and lived in Brockton, it was the night before Easter, and I had woken up to go potty, I could hear mom talking so I didnt think it was very late, but then all of a sudden I looked into the living room and saw all those pastel foil wrapped chocolates, all over the living room, I ran into the bathroom, then back to my room without looking again... and it was then that I knew that either the easter bunny didnt mind that mom was still up, or that mom herself was the easter bunny... That is the only one I clearly remember finding out wasnt real, not Santa, or the tooth fairy, Just the Easter bunny...

RED SOX 4-1 record Skankees, 1-4 record

I just had to print that... it looked so good to see the Skanks in the basement.. yeah, we are only a week into the season, But that doesnt matter, I will have it in print that they were in the basement with the exact opposite record of my Boston Red Sox...
Alec and I have been able to watch all the games this week on MLB extra innings... and we will continue to watch them all cause we are going to subscribe to it, its too good to pass up, and with the DVR I can record them in case I am not home.. so I will be able to watch all the games that are on.. How cool is that??

So nice to hear....

ITs so nice to be told how wonderful your child are, Sure , you think they are good kids, they are yours, you better think so, But when someone else tells you how wonderful they are, its always great to hear.... Here is a bit of a email I got from My Mother in law about the Day she spent with Sam:

I had the BEST time with Sam last Saturday. He is the most absolutely PERFECT little person I have ever known. I was so impressed with his behavior -- he traveled well, didn't even play with all the toys I had packed into the back seat, he just looked out the window and told me everything he saw, he was so delighted with everything, even little stuff, like seeing balloons tied to a post! I thought that was so charming. He really seemed to enjoy the Tram ride at NW Trek, was interested in all the animals, and be sure you don't say anything around him you don't want repeated -- the Tram driver would say "Eleven oclock! Mountain goats!" and Sam would say "Eleven oclock! Mountain goats!" He told me everything he heard her say.

When it was time to eat I headed us for the cafe there but he said "Let's go to your house." He said it several times - "I want to go to your house," and I felt really bad about not taking him there. I asked him if he'd like to come and spend the night at my house and he said yes. I truly do think he would and he'd be happy. I mean, we had ZERO problems about anything, I felt like we were real pals.

I see other kids his age running around with tantrums and whining and begging for stuff, but not SAM. You and Scott are doing a FABULOUS job with raising him. I mean it! He is very enjoyable to be with. You have FOUR very wonderful sons and I love them all.


Isnt that a nice letter? remember , Sam is 3 1/2, its nice to know he "travels well" lol...

Something So Simple as a Smile.....

What a couple of crazy days I have had, Today was the last day that I worked two jobs, going from the Nook from 10-2 to WM from 3:30-11. I am so tired and so glad I dont have to be doing that again, I dont know how people go from one Job to the next like that....
In other news, Jake had a game tonight, which I was going to be able to go to no problem, I was going to be off work at 6, and go to the game. Well at 5:15 My Asst Manager asked me if I could stay to train one of the new girls, I said I would, BUT Jake had already left the house for the game, So I couldnt call him to tell him that I wasnt going to be there.... And all I could think about was Jake looking for me the whole game.... And I knew that he would, cause he likes it when I am there. So I told one of the other managers the situation and asked if I could take an 1.5 hour long break so I could go see some of the game, She said yes, so I did. And I am so happy I did! When Jake found me in the stands ( and I was sitting on the other teams side with a friend from that team) He smiled at me and gave me a nod.. and a wave with the glove. My friend thought that was so sweet, she said her son would never do that... I saw Jake up at bat twice, having a walk, with two stolen bases, and scoring on that, then A RBI single. I left right after that and went back to work, They won the game 14-2. And as I was driving back to work all I could think about was the smile on his face when he had his RBI single ( at that point it was the tying run) and how glad I was that I saw it.. .it made my day, and I love that something so simple as a smile from your son, not even directed at you, can make your day.....

TGFF!

Thank God for Friends... what would you do without them? There are few friends in life that you can count on, to help you out, no matter what, and I have been blessed with Many of those types of friends.... From the ones close by who help me at a moments notice with Sam, or the ones far away who are always there for support and comfort. They are wonderful to have, and you can never have too many...

What a long weekend it was! Work took up most of it, Jakes Game got rained out on Saturday, leaving me to a very lazy morning before work, I think it even rubbed off on Scott a bit for he had a lazy weekend too...

Sam went to Northwest Trek with his Grandma on Sat! He had a great time looking at all the animals, ( Linda said they saw 25 different ones) He talked about the beaver and the and cat with the short tail the most, and how the bunnies were scared of the cat with the short tail. It was his first adventure out alone with his Grandma, and I think it went well for both.

Today is the start of a crazy week for me, I worked all weekend like I said, and Today, Tues, and WED I am working at the Scrapbook Nook from 10-2 for training, then At WM from 3:30-11. I hope to get WED night off from WM for Jakes Game, and some rest, then I start my regular shifts at the Nook Thursday night. It will be a long week, but they wont all be like this, so its ok. I am already lacking sleep, I havent been able to sleep since SAT night ( out of sleeping pills) so I will be making a call to the DR today at some point and get some more.

Ok, Wish me luck!