The countdown begins...

wow, it's been a while. Things here are going good. let's see since last time Ashlyn's dance group got 1st place at their competition!! Ryan did not play basketball and I have only 1 semester left till graduation!!

Got my grades last week and I got all A's again!! GO ME!! Last days of classes is May 8th and Graduation is May 15th so only 4 1/2 months left! WOO HOO!! This last semester will be crazy again though. i have to go to classes 4 days a week and find time to squeeze in 160 hours at the elementary school by May. Plus work and dance and soccer and the house and that whole being a mom job. I THINK I CAN.. I THINK I CAN.. I THINK I CAN..

just a few more weeks

hey there, things have been crazy around here lately, Ashlyn's 1st dance competition this year is next weekend. Not sure if the group is really ready, they did not have as much time to prepare for this. Last year their 1st competition wasn't until March so I think this one will be interesting. They have been working so hard though. They are dancing to "Wash that Man Right Out of My Hair" It is really cute. Hope they do well.

Ryan is doing well, trying to decide if he wants to play basketball this year. He seems to be growing out of this whole sports thing and just wants to hang out with his friends. I still can't believe he will be 13 in just 3 months. What happened to my baby??

The kids just got their report cards last week and they both did awesome. Ashlyn got A-B honor roll and Ryan just missed it. He got all A's and a C in Math. Next time. School is going well for me too. I only have 4 1/2 weeks till this semester is over and then only 1 more to go!! WOOHOO!!

Everything else is good, I think we are all settling in to Duane's new job. It is still weird not having him around at night, and it is hard having to deal with the kids all the time by myself, but after a few rough months I think the kids have realized I mean business. At 1st they tried to get away with alot but I've had to get a little tough and now things are going much better. Ashlyn still misses her dad alot but he walks her to school now so they have their time and it is helping too. He is much happier when he is here, so it is all for the best.

It's Another Girl!!!

Well, I am an aunt once again!! My brother Bob and his wife Margaret had a little girl today. Well, she is actually a pretty big girl 9lbs 13oz. Her name is Megan Ann!! She is sooo beautiful though I can't wait to meet her. Unfortunately she is in New Jersey so I'll have to wait till Thanksgiving to meet her. The poor boys are so outnumbered. With a total count of 13 cousins - we have 10 girls and 3 boys. Hopefully the next one to come will be a boy!!

Other than that, nothing much is going on here. Same old stuff, school, work, dance, clean that's pretty much how my life runs. I have figured out that I now have less than 7 months till graduation!! Kids are doing well,Duane is great,just trying to get ready for christmas now.

Another School Year Begins

Wow, can't believe it has been so long since I posted here. Let's see. The kids are home!! It was a very long summer and I never thought it would end but we made it. The kids had a blast on their vacations and didn't even want to come home.

My brother got married at the end of July so we all met up in NJ for the wedding. All the kids were in the wedding(16 kids total).It was a great weekend, got to see all my brothers and sister, got to visit with my bestest friend from high school. Who BTW just had a little baby girl last Thursday!! Welcome Olivia!! Anyway, thought I would get to take my kids home then, but they both insisted on going back to my sister's house for a little longer. I am glad though that they had such a good time.

Now, we are all back in school, Ryan started the 7th grade last week and Ashlyn is now a 2nd grader. I am in the home stretch!! Only 2 more semesters to go, May cannot get here fast enough for me. Duane also started a new job 2 weeks ago. That has been a difficult change since he is now working 2nd shift. Ashlyn is especially having a hard time not having Daddy around. But it is still new and we will figure it out.

Other than school Ashlyn is still dancing. She is in company again this year so we seem to be spending more and more time at the dance studio. Her 1st competition is in November this year, so they are pushing to have the routine ready. Ryan is taking the fall off (thank goodness), he is planning on trying out for basketball in the winter but that's about it for him these days.

I never thought I would say this but - Here's to hoping this school year flies by - I am so ready for May!!!

Home Alone

Well the kids are both gone and it is unbelieveably quiet around here. Ryan has been gone for a month now. He is in upstate NY with his grandparents and Ashlyn is in Maryland at my sister's house. She has been there a week now. It is so weird to be alone w/ Duane. That hasn't happened in 12 1/2 yrs :) Although I am enjoying the alone time with him, I do so desperatey miss my kids. Good news is I will get to see them both sooner than expected!! Turns out that Big Brother Bob has decided to get married on July 26th so we are all meeting in NJ for that and I get my babies back!!

Other than that not much is going on here. I went up and met my newest neice last weekend, she is so beautiful and such a good baby. ALMOST makes me want another of my own.

That's pretty much it for me. Only 3 more weeks till I get a break from school!!

It's A Girl!

Not too much going on around here these days. My beautiful new niece was born on Monday. Her name is Avery Marie. I can't wait to go see her. Unfortunately I have to wait till 4th of July weekend before I have any time off to go up there.

Ryan has been gone for a week now. My father-in-law came down last week and took Ryan back to New York with him. I miss him so much already and just want him to come home. But he is having a great time with his grandpa so I guess it's all good. Time for me to stop being selfish and let him grow up. When I go see Avery, Ashlyn is going to stay in Maryland with my sister for a month so it's going to be pretty quiet around here.

Other than that not much else is going on over here. School is going good. I am starting to hate going there every day though. Some days I really need a break from it but if I want to graduate in May I have to keep going. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel so I can't stop now.

Chaos Reigns Again

Well it's that time of year again. All the end of school activities, Ryan's school play next weekend, Ashlyn's dance recitial 3 days later, plus I started new classes at the college this week. I have to take summer classes this year which really stinks. But they only offer these 2 classes over the summer so if I want to graduate next May I have to do it. Unfortunately it will cause great problems this summer with the kids and babysitters. So both my babies are going away this summer. Can anyone see the huge mental breakdown already? Ryan will once again go to upstate NY to visit with my in-laws and Ashlyn will be spending the whole month of July at my sister's in Delaware. Hoepfully it will go by fast. I am already stressing about not having either one of them at home. That's pretty much all that's going on here I'll try and get back next week and post pictures of the play and the recital.

Happy Day!!

I took my last 2 exams for this semester today!! Got 100's on both of them!! Now I have 2 weeks off!! Well that's about the highlights of life over here. Don't have my final grades in yet. But if my calculations are right I believe I got A's in all 5 of my classes this semester which is way cool. Other than that I am going to NJ with my mom this weekend. A friend of the family is getting married on Saturday, but my favorite part is I get to visit my bestest friend Stacey. I haven't seen her in almost 4 years so I am pretty excited. Unfortunately we will only have the afternoon to spend together. i wish i could stay longer but I must get back to Duane and the kids. Hopefully I get a chance to go up there in August after summer classes are over.

Hey Strangers!!

Wow it really has been a long time since I last posted. Although nothing really interesting has happened since i was last here. Ashlyn is done with her dance competitions. She turned 7 last week. I can't believe how fast she is growing up. She had her 1st slumber party, there were 9 girls and they had a blast. I was a little nervous but they all got along great and the night went smoothly.

Ryan has been working hard learning his part for the play but nothing else really going on with him.

I am almost done with this semester at school. we finish up classes this week and my last exam is next wednesday!!! Unfortunately i have to go to school this summer so i only get a 10 day break before classes start again.

we are working on plans for the summer. Ryan wants to go spend time in NY again at my in-laws and because of my school and sitter problems with Ashlyn she will be spending July in Delaware with my sister :( Hopefully this summer will go by fast because i don't know how well i will function without my babies. The panic is already beginning to set in when i think about it and it's still months away.

Busy, Busy

Wow, it has been a couple of crazy weeks here. The last 2 weekends Ashlyn had her first 2 dance competitions. I was hoping to post some pictures but keep forgetting to bring my camera card to work with me. Anyway, Ashlyn has 2 routines she does for competition. One is a tap routine with 3 other 6yr olds. They have done so awesome. They got 1st place for their division at both competitions!!! The 2nd routine is a production number with all 30 something girls from the company. At the 1st competition they got 2nd place but unfortunately didn't place at all in the 2nd competition, but they still did awesome. I am so proud of her. The girls weren't doing so well during practices so I was a bit worried, but the were so awesome on that stage. We have one more competition left but that's not till the 1st weekend in April.

Ryan's big news is he tried out for the spring play at his school. They are doing Alice in Wonderland and he wanted to be the Cheshire Cat. He has never done anything like this before so I was worried he might not get any part just chorus or an extra since their are many other kids who have been in plays before. But he got the news today that he did get the part of Cheshire Cat!! There are actually 3 cats and he is cat #1. I am so proud of him too!!

Other than that school is going well, I SHOULD be done at the elementary school on April 10th!! So then I will only have classes at the college. That will free up quite a bit of time for me and hopefully let me get some resembelance of order back into my life. I have had no time to do anything lately. Spring break starts on Thursday and I am so looking forward to a week without school. It's so unlike me to say this but I can't wait to have time to clean my house. It literally looks like several bombs exploded in there.

Guess that's it for now. I'll try and get those dance pictures up soon :)

Where Has All the Time Gone??

Wow, I can't believe February is almost over. Things here have been really good. Really busy but good. I am halfway done with my co-op so only about 76 more hours left at the elementary school!! My classes at the college are going really well. I start a new class next week, hopefully that won't add too much extra work.

It seems if I am not at school or work I am at the dance studio with Ashlyn. They have been having alot of extra practices. Their 1st competition is on the 8th of March. She is so excited, I hope they do well, they have all been working so hard.

Ryan turned 12 on the 17th. He went to his 1st school dance that weekend. He says he even asked a girl to dance and she said yes. I am so not ready for this part of being a mom. I really wish he would stay my little boy.

Who Am I??

one of my instructors wanted us to describe ourselves and our feelings on life at the moment/ things we've learned as we've grown. These are just a few things I found. Thought I'd share :)


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I'm Back!!

wow, i can't believe it has been an entire month since I've posted here. Sad to say things have been really busy here but at the same time nothing really exciting to tell you about. I started a new semester at school, which includes doing co-op at the local elementary school, so basically that means I am not home much anymore at all during the day. It is kind of fun being at the school though. I am working with a 1st grade class and they are pretty good kids. I love the teacher in there too. She is really nice.

Ashlyn's dance is going well, they have about 5 weeks before their 1st competition so we are spending alot of time at the dance studio these days. And Ryan is ready for spring soccer to start. luckily we still have a few months till that starts.

Today Duane and Ryan went to a car show so I took Ashlyn ice skating for the 1st time. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures though. I was afraid to bring my camera bacause it has been 15 yrs since I skated and I wasn't sure how well I would do. Didn't want to smash the camera :)

I realized today that in 3 weeks my baby will be 12yrs old. I mentioned this and he quickly pointed out that in 55 weeks he will be 13. Talk about wanting to cry. I still cannot believe how big he has gotten. They definitely grow up way too fast.

Well, that's pretty much it around here. Life is busy but good.