We celebrated our 10 year Anniversary this weekend!

Joe made it home on time Friday for us to exchange gifts and go have a romantic dinner alone! YEAH!! He got me a really nice camera and I got him a weekend getaway trip to Atlanta to go see the Red Sox play the Braves!! He was really excited and so was I. We went out to Mitchell's Fish Market for dinner and had a nice time. It was quiet and the food was good. All in all it was a good Anniversary.

He's leaving again in just a few hours. He wasn't even home for 48 hours this weekend...but those are the brakes! Nothing either of us can do about it and it's way too early in the game to let it bother us. Just have to go with the flow. What other choice is there??

Last week went fine. I was utterly exhausted by the end of the week but that's to be expected. The kids were good and I did my best to keep them busy. The more we do the better they are....even if that's what's driving me to my braking point!!! LOL I'm sure this week will be fine as well. We don't have much planned for the week but I've been trying to find them a little pool for the yard so that when we get home from school they can spend a few hours outside playing in the pool. They love to swim and it surely tires them out. I couldn't believe I went to WalMart last night and they didn't have a darn pool. I want a plastic on and all they had was the blow up stuff. Grrr!!! Maybe after dinner tonight I'll take them and we'll go to Target to see what we can find.

Nicholas is doing so much better these days and thank God we said our goodbyes to Chloe on Thursday. Nicholas is so sweet on Thursday he told me "Mom there is no more school now...I dont have to worry about Chloe anymore and now I can just play will Sissy." So sweet and so innocent!!! I'm glad he's doing better with everything. He's such a sweet and sensitive child and he's just way too smart for his own good. I still plan on following up on his Dr's recommendations but we have to wait for the new insurance to go into effect. Hopefully I'll be able to get him in by the end of the month for an evaluation. More than anything I think I just want to have his IQ tested. I know he's going to blow the test away. He just sees things and thinks differently than other kids....heck even adults sometimes!!! He's really starting to get into the "whys" of the world. But rather than asking me "Why does this or that happen Mom?" He actually tells me "why" things happen. You can see him sitting there contemplating things and then the bulb goes off and he comes to explain the ways of the world to me!! I love his little sense of humor too. He thinks he's so funny. He loves to tell jokes and act silly all in the name of making others smile and laugh. He's got the best heart. He truly cares about others. Most kids this age are still supposed to be self centered but Nicholas is not at all. The other day he wanted to bring something to school because Rylan wasn't able to sleep at nap time and he thought if he brought his Hess truck to school for Rylan that he'd be able to make him feel better. So loving!!!

They start summer camp tomorrow and they are very excited about it. Not sure if they have figured out yet that they don't sleep over at summer camp or not. But at first them definitely thought that they'd be sleeping in tents at camp!!! LOL They will have a blast. Each week has a different theme and I know they'll enjoy it. Mrs. Long will be their teacher for camp so we're in excellent hands for sure!!!!

Well I guess I better do some laundry and start preparing for my week. I feel a little dread coming on but like I said it's way too early to let this get to me. I can do this. It's not the end of the world. There are lots and lots of people in this situation and if they can make it work than so can I.

Thanks for reading and keeping up. I wish I knew how to post pictures on here because I do have some but I have no clue how to do that. Maybe in some of my free time I'll sit and try to figure that out!!!! LOL

New Motto!

I just read this saying and I love it...it has definitely stuck with me!!!

"Seven days without prayer makes one weak!!!"

How true is that???

Oh what fun!

The Luau was AWESOME! We had so much fun. We had quite a few people and I really think everyone had a blast!!! The food was over the top....delicious!! We had such a great variety and everything was so good. The house looked so great....very festive!! Not a soul here could possibly forget there was a Luau going on because there were decorations EVERYWHERE (including little Hula dancers in the bathrooms!!)!!! The hunch punch was a big hit. Everyone really liked it and it tasted awesome despite the 7 bottles of liquor we poured in there. I've never had hunch punch before but it's something to remember....if you can!!! LOL

I really want to thank Kristan and Loraine for all their help. Aunt Ginger and Uncle David did so much too and I appreciate it more than you'll ever know!!! There is no way I ever could have pulled this all off without you guys!!! MWAH....love you all so much!!!

It was so nice to see some old friends that I haven't seen in a while. Thank you Rob and Paula for making an apprearance. It was very nice of you guys to come and I hope you had a nice time!!!

We've already had calls today and emails and texts saying it was the best party in YEARS!!! I just love throwing parties!!! I feel like they just keep getting better and better!!!!

The kids had a BLAST too!!! And we did have quite a few little ones here. They played ALL DAY LONG on the giant inflatable slip and slide that we rented. It was just perfect!!!! The kids were occupied and just had a great time. The worst part was when the guy came to take it away....he broke a lot of hearts for sure!!!! But it was worth every penny and I'm sure we'll be doing it again in the future. Even the adults loved it....we had quite a few drunken sliders!!!! LOL

It was such a great day. A very loooong day though. Party started at noon and I believe the last guests left at about 11 PM.

Thank you everyone for all your contributions and for coming to our Luau. It will be an Annual Event from now on. So be on the lookout next summer for the Second Annual Solomon Summer Luau!!!!! I can't wait....I'm already excited about doing it again!!!!

And now....the time has come. Joe is officially off tomorrow for his new job. A brand new chapter in our lives is getting started. It will be a great change for him and I know he's looking forward to it. He'll be spending the first few weeks on the job in Naples, FL. After that he'll most likely be heading to Canton, GA. So we'll see how it all goes. I'm sure it will be fine. I survived last week and I'm sure each week will just come and go with all of us just doing the best we can.

Thanks again for all the people that contributed yesterday....it was very much appreciated!!!

And as always....thanks for following our crazy lives via Blogger!!!!

Love and kisses to all!!!

Luau!

One more day till the big event! Wow....so much work but I know it will be so worth it! Anyone who knows me knows that I love to entertain so all the work is just comes with the territory. Once tomorrow comes all the work will be done and it will be time to sit back and sip on Hunch Punch and just enjoy all our friends and family! We're expecting about 60-70 people. Keep your fingers crossed that the weather cooperates and that the rain holds off.

I am so excited. We decided to do this to celebrate our 10th Anniversary as well as Joe's new job. What a great reason to get all our friends and family together!

The house looks great. It's just screaming LUAU!!! Joe thinks I'm crazy and he can't believe all that I've done....but I wouldn't have it any other way. This is what I love to do. I love planning parties and thinking of all the little details right down to the Hawaiian Surf scent in the air!!! It looks and smells like Hawaii in here....how fun!!!!

Joe made it home from his week away. We all survived! Thank God! It's nice to have him home but I won't get used to it because he'll be gone again on Tuesday for the rest of the week. UGH!!! Nope...no complaints....it's too early in the game to even think about complaining. This is what we decided to do and I'll be a champ and just go with the flow. No complaints from me!!!

Next week is the kids last week of school. How did that happen??? I can't even believe that we are finished with another school year. These are the things that happen in life that remind me just how fast they grow up. I wish I could say I'm happy to enjoy the summer with them...but that's not the case this year. Since I'm working now they will be attending summer camp at Assumption. I know they'll have a ball. Their teacher actually runs the camp and will be with them everyday just as she is now so it won't be anything really new to them. Probably just a whole lot more fun than a regular school day!!!!

Well I guess that's it for now. I must say I'm pretty impressed with the fact that I've been keeping up with the blog. Look for a new post on Monday it will contain all the details of our OH SO FUN Luau!!! Mahalo!!! (Don't they say that??? LOL)

Thanks for keeping up with us....we love you all!!!!

Another day in paradise!

Well the rain did let up a little today so I'm very happy about that. I stayed up way too late last night and I am just DRAGGING today! I wish it was already 9PM so I could be tucked away in my cozy bed. Oh well....no such luck!

The kids are going with Grandma tonight to see Bob the Builder Live! They are going to have pizze for dinner and then go see the show. I'm excited for them...I think they'll love it!!! Since we haven't been able to do ANYTHING this week because of the weather I think this will be great for them tonight. I can't wait till they get home and tell me all about it!!!

I have a bunch of shopping to do tonight for the Luau on Sunday. I pray the weather cooperates. I'll be so disappointed if we have terrible weather. I have so much to do but since I'm such a procrastinator it's not too uncommon for me to wait till the last moment and then work under loads of pressure!!!! I think I just operate better under pressure!!!! It's my own fault and I'm not complaining.

I'll update tomorrow about the kids big night out!!! Hopefully Grandma will take her camera and get lots of pics of them at the show. I know they are going to love it!!!

Thanks for stopping by!!!

Love to all!!!

Rain rain go away!

It's been raining for three straight days....and they predict at least 3-4 more day of thunderstorms and hard rains. Nice! I can't stand it anymore. It's just dark and dreary and cold outside. I can't go anywhere or do anything with the kids in this weather. I hate driving in this much rain. So we are forced to just veg out at home! I promised them that we'd cuddle up on the couch and watch a movie today...so I guess that will be the highlight of our afternoon!

I'm feeling so tired and sluggish. Probably because of the weather. I just want to put on some flannel jammies and hide in my bed till the sun comes out.

Well we're half way through the week and we're all surviving. I can't tell if Sam was just being dramatic last night or if she's really having a hard time without her Daddy. But she turned on the waterworks last night for sure. Poor little thing was just crying her eyes out because she wanted her Daddy to be home with us. She actually asked me "can't you just leave and go to the airport to pick up my Dad and bring him home?" Oh boy....hopefully as time goes on it will just become the norm to her and we won't struggle like this constantly. We are doing the countdown till he comes home and I hope that will keep her in check and make her feel more comfortable since she'll know exactly which day he'll be walking in the door. We'll see!!!

For now that is all....if anything exciting happens I'll be sure to come back and post about it. But don't hold your breath!!!

Thanks for reading!

My first post!

Wow...welcome to the 21st Century, Jenn!

This is my very first blog ever. I thought I'd start the blog now since our family is undergoing some major changes.

As many of you know Joe has taken a new job and is now traveling. It will probably be about 20 days a month that he's gone. Yes, it's a little scary but I'm confident that I can hold down the fort and make it work. Might be tough to get used to at first but I'll manage. What choice do I really have anyway?

I do a terrible job of keeping in touch with people so I thought that the blog would give those who want to know what we're up to a chance to follow our crazy lives!

The kids are doing well. Aside from some trouble Nicholas is having at school they are both doing very well. Samantha as turned into a Momma's Girl...no doubt about that. And Nicholas is the same loving, bright, charismatic child he's always been. Some days are harder than others but for the most part they are wonderful children and they add so much love and happiness to our lives. We are so blessed!!!

I'm hoping that Joe being gone isn't too hard on them. I think the fact that they really don't have any concept of time is going to work well for us. I don't think they know the difference between him being gone one day or five! So we'll just see how things go and we'll do our best to make the best of the situation.

I guess it's time to start some laundry and start thinking about making dinner so I better go. I'm going to make it my goal to update the blog every day or so. So check back frequently for updates!

Love you all and thanks for stopping by and checking in on us!