The Fair and being unplugged

Every year we go to the "Fair".   I think the first time my parents brought me I was 2 years old and we have been going ever since.  So of course this tradition has carried over to my children.  The boys' first trip was when they were 8 months old.  And Madi's first trip she was about 4 weeks old.  It's just something we do every year. We bring Mema and Papa with us every year too.   The kids love seeing the animals and of course the rides.  And my all time favorite, funnel cake! Yummmmm

One of the sheep decided to kiss Madi's hand, she loved it

Petting the horses that were there for the shows

I love this picture, it makes my heart happy :)

runnin' with the chickens!

Kris loves chickens and has plans for a chicken coop at home

Indian Ladder had a display for the orchard.  Another place we visit a few times a year.

Having fun in the hay maze

Of course, the RIDES!!!

Madi loves them too now

Havin' some greasy fair food, of course we can't skip that! :)

I have been without a phone  now for a few days and honestly, I don't miss it.  Is that strange?   My phone broke and I have 1 month left on my contract.  Let me give you a little back round.   I did not have a cell phone until 2 years ago.  My husband surprised me with an iphone.  While I loved the gesture, and it was convenient to text or call when I needed to, the $106 bill always made me cringe.    I can think of so many other ways to spend $106 and a cell phone isn't one of them. I was on the lowest minute plan they offered (450 mins) and I ALWAYS had more than 1000 rollover minutes!    My family is insisting I need a phone and I can understand their reasoning.    I think I'm going to get an "unlocked" phone and just do a $25 plan from Virgin Mobile or Straight Talk.  It will allow me 300 mins and unlimited texting and Internet use.    Do any of you use this type of service?  

  I also deactivated  my Facebook account.   It was for a few reasons, but nothing really big.   I feel FREE for some reason.  I think I just like the "unplugged" feeling.  Who knows maybe I'll go back, but maybe not.   I miss being able to text my favorite southerner whenever I want.   But other than that I can't think of reasons I love it.  I'm not much of a tv watcher, I probably watch an hour of tv every month or so.  I make up for it on the computer, that I am sure of!     Since when have we as a society need to be in constant communication?  Maybe I'm just behind the times........

XOXO

Last Day

For years I thought about this day.

I know I have been non-existent, but been so very busy.  Our house sold after being on the market for 3 1/2 weeks.   I feel so very blessed that it has sold and so quickly in this terrible economy.   However, I can't help but feel so bittersweet when I see this home (not just a house) empty.  Empty........

So many memories made here, so many firsts.   First visit from Santa,  first steps were taken here,first words were said here.   First place to realize that one of my sons was not developing at the same rate as his twin and to understand why.  First place to overcome the sadness and embrace his diagnosis and realize it was a blessing to us all.  First place we took the training wheels off.  First visit from the tooth fairy.   First place to swing on a swing set, play in the sand and stay outside from dawn till dusk in the summer.   First place to play in the neighborhood and first place to be shunned when someone else had "cooler" toys.    First place to bring home baby sister.   First place that our love has grown beyond what I ever imagined.  

 It's hard for me to say goodbye.  But I know that there are many more memories to be made.   Please come with us for the ride, will you?

XOXO

Happy Birthday Johnny and Kris!

My boys turned 10 on Saturday, TEN!  I can't believe it.  I can't believe that a decade has gone by since we became parents to these beautiful boys.....

Posing on the kitchen floor for a quick picture!

And best of all, blowing out candles with our family!!!

Can you tell the boys like wrestling?!?! 

XOXO

Merry Christmas and prayers for a friend!

I had every intention tonight to show off my baking and write the so many things I am thankful for this Christmas.

After having an EXTREMELY crappy day.  And trying to make up for it, to my poor children who sadly were at the brunt of it.   I sat down to regroup and catch up on my blog reading, but click on facebook first.  I  then found out that my dear friend Edie from
Life in Grace  had a horrible house fire a couple of days ago.  While I do not know all the details, I do think they lost everything.  But they all got out and they are safe.     I am asking my blog friends to please keep Edie and her family in your prayers.  If you haven't visited her blog before, please do.  She is loving, caring, funny, Christ-loving, southern girl, who can bake up a storm!!!    I am praying for her and hoping she posts to let us know how they are doing!  Again, please keep them in your thoughts and prayers!

We are hosting Christmas Eve dinner and then spending Christmas Day at my parents house.   So I am leaving  you with this message......

A day filled with firsts, fun and fear!

All week we have been anticipating Madi starting her VERY first day of preschool.  And when I say preschool, it is one day a week for 2 hours...  Not really "school" so to speak, but a nice place for Madi to play with other children her age.  And that means Mommy gets a whole 2 hours to herself!  

Well, I have been talking about doing something for ME for quite awhile now, but never seem to get down to doing it.   So I decided that when Madi goes to preschool I am going to ride horses again.    I rode competitively when I was a child, teen and adult.  Before children!  I haven't been on a horse in 13 yrs.   But honestly, it's like riding a bike and I was jumping by the end of the lesson!   I had to take a few breaks, because even though my legs were pretty tight still, I was OUT of breath!  I was huffing and puffing after being in a 2 point (you are out of the saddle and supported by your legs) in just two times around the ring.   Then I got a shooting pain in my head but it went away quickly and I was fine.   I just over did it a little bit, but when I took the break, I felt fine after.   I'm sure I'll need a cane tomorrow, but it felt OH so good!  

John picked up Madi for me and brought her to the barn.   We took pictures with my iphone but it was so dark they came out pretty bad.  Madi LOVED the horses, I see a future equestrian! :)    She was SO excited and kept squealing with delight, I SEE HORSEY!!   It was so cute! 

We finally left to go to lunch, the three of us.   We went to one of our favorite homemade bagel shops.   I stood in line while John washed his and Madi's hands and got a table for us.  While I was standing in line, I noticed my eyes felt like someone had taken my picture with a BRIGHT flash.     I wasn't quite sure what happened and thought it was the fluorescent lights in the shop.   I ordered and paid and it still wasn't going away.  In fact, it was getting worse.    Now it was hard for me to focus.   I sat down and told John that I thought something might be wrong.  He must have thought I wasn't serious because he was eating his lunch and cutting up Madi's sandwich.    The fluorescent lights were now making the flashing SO bright and I couldn't focus on anything inside.  I got up to go outside and told him I would be right back.  When I got outside it wasn't much better.   I sat in my truck for a minute and closed my eyes, but I could still see this flashing.  Now I was starting to get extremely nervous because it was now getting so bad, I knew I couldn't drive.    All these crazy thoughts were going through my head!  Was I having a stroke?    Was I going to die any second from an aneurysm?   Was I going to get my boys off the school bus today?  I knew that I had NEVER expereienced ANYTHING like this before.   Then I remembered back to the riding ring when I had the shooting pain in the right side of my head.   Now these, I have had before and while they do scare me when they happen, nothing ever happens afterward so I ignore it.  Probably stupid.     But remembering back to the pain in my head, I start getting EXTREMELY panicked and walk back inside and inform John that he needs to take me to the ER.   I get in his truck, he straps the baby in and I immediately started crying.  I am thinking all these crazy thoughts, telling him how much I love him and the kids and I just want to be with them.  I'm praying through this and trying to keep somewhat control because I don't to scare Madi.    Hard to do when you think you are on death's doorstep.

We go to my physicians office (which is next door to the hospital) and they are on lunch so the door is locked.   John had already walked up to the door and was back by the other door when he saw and nurse and told her what was happening.   My Dr (who is also a friend of my father) came out immediately to get me.   The flashing was slowing down.  Ironically, my doctor has had a brain bleed (aneurysm) the same kind Brett Michael's had.  So he immediately asked me about the head pain.  He asked me on a scale from 1-10 what was my level when it happened with 10 being the worst.  I said well it was not constant, but when it happened it was probably a 6 or 7.  He said, well I'm pretty confident that if it was a brain bleed you would have felt like someone was hitting you in the head with a baseball bat.  I then explained in great detail what happened.   By this time I was feeling back to normal with the exception that my blood pressure was probably triple what it normally is.     He said, I'm pretty sure you had an Ophthalmic (Ocular) Migraine.  I had NEVER heard of this before.   He still set me up for an MRI and another follow up appointment with him, and told me to Google Ophthalmic (Ocular) Migraine when I got home.  So I did.  And I was reading thinking, yes this is what happened then I saw the little "movie" picture of what it looks like and that is EXACTLY what the flashing spot looked like, but SO badly I couldn't see through it.

Please take a look for yourself HERE  Make sure you scroll down to see the "movie" on the right.

Has anyone ever had this?  Were you as SCARED as I was the first time it happened?

I'm sorry this has gotten so long and God bless you if you are still reading this!  But I needed to write it all out, as I am still processing it.   I am VERY thankful that this is NON life threatening.  But it literally scared me half to death and was another LOUD reminder of how we need to think of each day as a gift!  Tomorrow is promised to no one.  

I pray every single day.  But today I prayed harder and I can't even begin to explain the comfort I felt even when I was in full panic mode.  I would start to panic and then pray and feel calmed.  God is so good.   Really.  
XOXO

Update on visit and weekend fun

Well,  the visit went GREAT!  Not only did the kids love the school but the school thought the visit went great as well!  I'm being cautiously optimistic.  I know that sometimes these things can backfire (with Kris) so we are going to send him in for a few more "full" day visits and see how it goes.  For the time being we will try 1 or 2 days a week and work from there.   Johnny was  THRILLED that his brother was going to school with him and Kris felt the same way.   I hope this works out for them.  I am praying for what is the right thing to do and I know that God will lead the way.   When they got in the truck after I picked them up adn asked them how they liked it and both with BIG SMILES said, we really liked it mom. I instantly started crying.  It was just such a relief.   We have some more meetings and things to work out, but it's looking pretty good.  I will keep you updated on this!

This weekend was a busy one.  We started out by yardsaling on Friday (pictures and post to come!), then an early Mother's day dinner for my mom because she will be away for Mother's day.  Saturday our boys joined a kickball league at the YMCA which was TONS of fun (and I forgot my camera, BAD MOM!)  and then there was baseball, followed by take out at my sisters house with her family.   
  Today we went to church, then a birthday party and then did YARD work ALL day today!  The yard totally needed it. It was a VERY warm weekend here in Upstate NY so we broke out the sprinkler and had a little fun!  Hope your weekend was awesome! :)
xoxo

Music in blogland.....

You know, I have thought a lot about this. I know there is much debate about music on blogs. But I have to tell you, I think some blogs become addictive from their awesome playlists. Honestly! I have been following Enjoying the small things and I purposely put this particular post in. Read Kelle's story (she will be on CNN on Tuesday) and her fantastic photography, you. will. be. blown. AWAY!!!!! I promise! And in all honesty, I have NEVER heard a more fantastic playlist on a blog. And the best part is, she changes the order almost daily. :)

But back to music. I can hear a song that will take me back to my childhood. Or one that takes me back to my wild and crazy early twenties. There is something to be said for the way music moves us. It affects us most definately. I am a lover of almost all kinds of music. So I have decided (after a nice glass of Rex Goliath Cabernet Savignon) is that I don't "judge" a blog on whether they have music or not. I have found new music I have never heard before on blogs. For instance this song Face of a Faith by Nellie McKay. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I couldn't find a video to post of it. But it's wonderful, I promise.

So I guess the moral to this story is. Music is good, no matter where it is. I think the music should not matter whether you are big blog or not. Be yourself, not what you think you should be.....

I'll leave you with some crappy pictures of the AWESOME Coldplay concert I went to in July that I STILL think about daily. There are better pictures on my sisters camera, but for now you'll just have to deal with the not-so-great iphone pictures. It was the most fantastic show I have ever seen and I'm SO HAPPY I splurged on second row seats!!! I bought behind the "pit" but next time (and I hope and pray there is a next time) I'm getting first row PIT! THAT Is how good it was!!! Enjoy!!

Doing what you love....

If there is something I have learned in the last few years, it is do what you love TODAY. Tomorrow is a gift and not guaranteed to be there! Life is entirely too short to wait. I don't want to sound morbid, but after the passing of two very young people in my family in the last few years it has made me realize just how precious life is.

With that said, I am going to start riding again! I rode and competed for close to 20 years. It is something that has never "left" me, but actually has become a part of me. I have never "outgrown" it, yet knew I would always go back some day. I have both boys riding since they were five. But I haven't been on a horse in over 10 years! I am looking forward to the enjoyment, exercise and the fun that I always had riding. Riding horses (English anyway) is the original core training!

I'm glad I can share my continued journey here with you! Also, say a little prayer my ole' bod can take it! ;) I also wanted to add that in while keeping in the "do what you love" attitude I am also becoming the crazy lady who wears rhinestone hair barrettes, a lil' bit of crazy jewelry and more daring with clothes than I have been in a long time!!! I will say that this new outlook on life has made me feel more myself than I have in a LONG time! And it feels good! Do something for yourself today, you'll feel great and you'll thank me!

Summertime is almost over!

I can't believe that it's the end of August already! Where does the time go? We had a VERY fun and busy summer. We had family staying with us, a big fourth of July party, vacation and alot of FUN! It's winding down and slowing down. Getting ready for the new school year to start. I think I might be the only mom who loves NOT having the morning routine of school and wish summer was a bit longer.

We went to Saratoga racetrack last week and our boys had alot of fun. I didn't think they would like it there but they had alot of fun! Here is a picture of them in the "walking circle" where we went to watch one of my uncle's race horses walk into the race. And also another picture of them with Aunt Dana and their cousin Jeana they adore :)

The Gala

This past Saturday night was the annual Autism Society Gala. This is the 4th annual gala our local chapter has held. It's a great night of dinner, dancing and most of all raising money for awareness and funds for autism. They had 3 pro-football players there this year signing autographs, it was very exciting! I have to ask John who they were, lol. At the moment I can't remember. They had a wonderful silent auction and a live auction.

My father gets a corporate table every year. Of course I remembered I brought my camera at the end of the night! Here are a few pics! The first one is my sister Dana, my husband John and me. And the second is my childhood friend (after all these years!) Anna and I! It was a great night! :)

First snow fall!

It's very unusual here in NY not to have snow before January. I'm one of those people that needs to have four seasons. And I think I'm almost blue when we don't have snow on Christmas. But I'm glad to see the pretty snow here, even if it's just for a day or two. I had to take a picture of it adorning my bird bath that attracts all kinds of birds in the spring and summer. I love the snow, but I hope it doesn't push spring back when her time comes!

Well, I did it!

I'm amazed at how long it took me to name this blog. Actually, maybe embarrassed is a better word. I decided that it was truly taking so long that I should shower and think about it. There were a few contenders. The French Nest, Wildflowers, Chickadee, Something Old and Something New and La Maison to name a few. Then in mid lather, The Thrifty Gypsy came to me! Anyone who knows me, whether it be in person or online, knows how fitting this name is. My quest for treasures and bargains seems to be never-ending. It's a hunger that goes hungry, a thirst that goes unquenched. Hey, it could be worse things right? Anyway, welcome to my blog. :)