30 Day Shred Here I Come!!!

So tomorrow I embark on a fitness journey. A friend and fellow blogger, Sarah over in The Trenches of Mommyhood has challenged some great bloggers to join in the 30 Day Shred. Since I know Sarah personally and I think she is a rockin' blogger... oh and did I mention she inspires me with her nightly jogs to the football field, I thought I better step it up and get involved! So you can follow our journey ( along with some other really awesome bloggers) over here. Wish me luck!!

Zero Goolge ranking.... WHAT???

Oh where oh where did my Google page ranking go? Oh where oh where can it be?
Yea... so I used to be a 3 on the google page rank thingy... I was happy with that. I have seen some 4's and some 5's but I was totally stoked with a 3. It also seemed to get me some really rockin reviews. Since I have changed over to my New Domain... my own dot com ... its gone. Its zero! What??? Does that mean no one searches for me anymore? Shouldnt I get more hits now? Does that mean I am boring and no one comes to my place to read anymore?? HELP!!! What is going on? If you have had this happen to you please please please comment and let me know!!

Summer tour or my home~ Bathrooms and teens room

Summer Tour of My Home continues with the rest of the first floor... bathroom and teens room. Then on to the upstairs bathrooms...


This is our bathroom off the kitchen. We have a toilet,sink and our washer/ dryer here.

This is our pedestal sink... I love it. Its just so cute and fits so nice in this small space.

Built in shelving above the washer/dryer. Hubby would really like to get new front loader washer and dryer... soon we hope!!

I love this simple little wicker laundry basket I found at Target... we use it for beach towels.


Teen's room.
When we moved in this room was more of a "den" or family room but we quickly converted it for Kylie. The walls are my favorite shade of green... a mossy earthy green but not too dark.


She has chosen the lime green curtains to cover the french doors leading out into the foyer... they actually look nice against the green walls and her bedspread.


We had custom curtains already made when we moved in with this color scheme so we used them here. She has a simple twin bed that was given to her by a friends family. It is rustic and older but the mattress is new and she loves it...


This "wardrobe" was under $200 from Ikea and though it was a pain to put together, it is perfect as there are no closets in this room. This holds all her hang up clothes and also has 2 drawers and shelves for her shoes and other teen junk.



This is the kids bathroom at the top of the stairs... simple bathroom but the kids had fun decorating it.


They like the blue and white checkered floor... and the accessories are brown, blue and white. Not too girly or masculine. Great for the girls and Trevor.




Master Bath
This is our master bath. We have a small room with toilet and shower stall... eventually we would love to tear out the once piece shower stall and install a marble shower unit with multiple sprayers... ahhh... a dream....



This picture has a light yellow frame and matches the color scheme so well... it hangs above the toilet in the shower room.


This is the view into the master from our bedroom.. at my fabulous jacuzzi... It is my favorite part of this room...




This is the tile work around the jacuzzi... I love the swirl details...



We have dual sinks in the master... his and hers if you will... LOVE it! Atleast there is no more fighting over who brushes teeth first... I also love the big gorgeous window overlooking our backyard. I have yet to put a curtain up. I just cant seem to do it... the sunlight coming in or moon shining in at night is too nice to cover up.



This is strange. We have a walk in closet and linen closet both in our master bath. Hubby uses this one as his closet... my walk in is off the bedroom...


I hope you have enjoyed another tour of my home. Next week I shall hopefully get to my master bedroom as well as the upstairs kids rooms.


Also: Living Room and kitchen
Foyer and Dining Room

Fridays Fragments & GNO

I am joining in this week... Friday Fragments. If you are new to this... head over to Half Past Kissin Time and join in the fun!!

*This week was busy busy busy... football, football and more football. I haven't eaten a decent meal all week. Canned ravioli, pizza rolls, bagel bites and hot dogs. Man, do you have any idea what that does to a persons digestive system? No? Well I will spare you the details!

*Tonight we have football again, big surprise Right? Then we have been invited to a local bar for a performance by a local band. Are we gonna go? Not sure. Would love to but depends on how long it takes me to get the kids to bed after football.

*OK explain me this... how can little 7 and 8 yr old boys SMELL so bad after 2 hours of running around?? Really. We hadn't washed the "pinnies" ( little shirts that half the team wears to separate them from the other half) in a few weeks and let me tell ya, you did NOT want to be on our corner of the field last night!! Phew...

* I love when I have patients come into my office on State Health Insurance, driving a BMW, with an iPhone and dripping in jewels. Oh and then they complain about the FREE benefits they are given! Gotta love free health insurance!

* Oompa Loompas scare me. Really! The original Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory ( with Gene Wilder) gives me nightmares. I will probably have a freak fest just from posting this pic! * Today was pajama day at my kids Summer Camp. Its their last day before starting school next week so off they went in their jammies. My daughter wore her big sisters slippers ( which were too big) with her flip flops on first!??? Made for interesting conversation among the camp helpers!

* My co worker has a chocolate lab named Chunky. He eats honey nut cheerios for breakfast with her everyday..Today she made him pancakes! Strange... you bet. Thats devotion!

* My second grader got a letter from his teacher yesterday.. it was the sweetest thing. All he needs to bring is a pencil box, pencils and crayons. My 4th grader has not heard from her teacher and she needs a list of things a mile long! Craziness!!

* My husband likes nachos with salsa and cheese sauce. It makes me ill. Just sayin'!

*If you are hangin in on Friday night and want to have some fun, join us over at Ann's for VGNO!! I will be off to football and then maybe out for date night so I will mostly NOT be blog hopping til way later tonight or even tomorrow... but I will be by!!

* Happy Friday everyone!!!

JumpStart Pet Recue for the Wii~ Review

We, here in the Crazy House, had the amazing opportunity to review a pre-release copy of JumpStart's newest game Pet Rescue for the Wii. My kids loved this game and I did too! This is another great interactive game by JumpStart for preschool aged kids and older.

With this game, kids can make their own Jump Ranger and proceed through 30 different games and activities to help rescue all the animal Pets. Along the way, your children will get help from familiar JumpStart characters such as: Frankie, Cj and Hops.






What makes this game so much fun is that its an actual learning game. Just like all the other Jump Start products, it is a fun and interactive way for your child to learn and grow.
My son loved playing and interacting with Cj and Hops... his favorite JumpStart characters. My daughter loves anything she can play on the Wii and the ease of playing the game with our Wii controllers was awesome! My son is 7 and my daughter is almost 10. Though the game is geared to 3-6yr olds, my kids now think of this game as one of their favorite. Between playing Pet Rescue on the Wii and still logging in to the JumpStart website... our house is a virtual JumpStart mecca!!
Pet Rescue will be available for sale on September 1rst at all Walmart stores.
September 2nd it will be available at Best Buy, Sam's and most other retail stores.
The retail price for Pet rescue is $39.99
Also it is important to remember when purchasing video games for your children... that Pet Rescue is the first educational video game available for the Wii and targeted for ages 3-6, but take my word for it... I think kids of all ages ( as well as some adults) will highly enjoy this game!
Another GREAT product from JumpStart!!
Thank you for allowing my family to experience this truly fun and educational game!


If you would like to win a copy of this game for your family, please go HERE and check out this awesome contest!!

My talented running back...

You are all going to get so tired of reading my posts about Football... but really. Tonight we had our first major scrimmage against another team in the league. I LOVE watching my son play ball. I really do. He is really a talented athlete and the other boys on the team are so good! They are really coming together well and working out the kinks.
So I worked all day then flew home to pick up the kids then off we went to the scrimmage that was about a half hour away. We watched them practice then play... we had a couple small injuries.. ( the other team was REAL good and was kicking our butt for awhile but we finally stepped it up!) Trev almost had an interception and almost scored a touchdown but was taken down by a kids twice his size ( OUCH!)

We all piled back into the cars. For the half hour drive home... in the dark... on roads I really don't know, well at all. So there's my handsome little boy talking non- stop all the way home about the game and I am trying to figure out where the hell I am!

Then.. the icing on the cake. Me- getting ready for bed... washing my face... listening to daddy and Trev getting ready for bed, taking a jacuzzi and talking football. And MY son... my 7 yr old darlin... totally talking like a professional. Talking plays and runs and holes, and defense tactics... I was so proud.
I am biased. I have some favorites on our team. Not to say the newer kids aren't shaping up to be awesome... But..
Bug
Caleb
Tyler
Mitch
Sawyer
Logan
Jacob
Jack
Owen
these are the boys that I get excited over. These are the boys that I believe my son will play ball with for years to come. These boys are the talent behind this team... though I firmly believe I will be adding to this list soon.

I just cant believe this is our third year and my son gets better every year.
Again, I am biased. My son gets this game... he gets the plays... he fulfills them to the best of his ability.I often wonder if I would still think he was amazingly talented even if he really wasn't. At least I get confirmation by his awesome plays and touchdowns and words from coaches and strangers about his abilities.. But.. alas..I must remind myself... its 9:30pm and he is only 7. He is curled up watching Spongebob and almost sound asleep! Ahhhhh....
Football!

WW~ Beach days

Of course, for Mostly Wordless Wednesday I have to use some of my photos from Cape Cod...
This is the hole that Jojo dug and then got stuck in. Seriously... it was so deep that once she got in it was up to her belly... and once the tide came in she got stuck in the wet sand! Hilarious!!
Steve and my niece Abbie playing in the sand... she didnt much care for the wet sand so she was trying to make a sand castle with the dry sand!! Hilarious!!
This is my posin' Jojo... always camera ready!!
Steve and Abbie again this time running for the baseball...
Trev and Steve playing baseball on the beach. Abbie is sitting on the stairs watching!

Cape Cod` 2009

We had a great weekend at Cape Cod. We got there Friday around 2 and hit the beach right away after unpacking. The weather was beautiful and we hit no traffic going down. The waves were a little larger than normal with the hurricane moving up the coast but just enough for the kids to really get some great body surfing going!
It does take some getting used to for me... this girl who grew up on a lake in Maine... to get used to the waves and the sea air and the salt and sand everywhere, all the time. Steve and I have been together for almost 6 years and I have been down the Cape with him atleast once a year but I still can not manage the wavy curly mess my hair becomes after 10 minutes on the beach... the sand stuck ... well... you know! The wind on the beach blowing more sand into all the bags and blankets and the creatures that lurk in the water, that always seem to bite ME! The outdoor shower and pine needles everywhere and the old house that Steve's father is committed to keeping in the original state he bought it in 1960!!( frugal.. cheap... take your pick!)
But its all worth it when I see my kids smiling with their dad... enjoying the waves, collecting more seashells than I could possibly know what to do with, and watching my husband truly relax. For those of you familiar with OCD of any kind you can understand why my hubby just cant relax. Really. Anywhere. Even sitting down at night and playing his video game.. his minds-a wanderin'. But not at the Cape. He reminisces of times long ago when he was a boy growing up there. He tells the kids stories of their Nana Carol whom they were never lucky enough to meet. He smiles and cries while breathing in the sea air as he sleeps the best sleep of his life... every time we are there. He can barely fall asleep here much before midnight every night yet there... after a full day of beaching it.. we were all out cold by 9:30 every night.

Then there is the packing up and leaving. The wet, salty towels and bathing suits.. never fully dry from the sea air... the trash we cart home because his dad refuses to buy a trash can ( another strange quirk from the old days ??) and the sand all over the back seat of the car. And the tears... and the moans of "cant we stay another day??"

Its not my Maine... its not the house I grew up in with the 3 bathrooms and the tv's in each room and the aunts and uncles cooking Fried Dough and full breakfasts and the jet skies and the tubing behind boats... but its my husbands past.
So we will continue to go, year after year... and make our own memories for our kids. Maine one weekend in the summer then on to the Cape the next!

Saturday Cell Phone Mosiac on a Sunday!!

Yes... Yes... I know. Today is Sunday but we were at our Cape House all weekend and I forgot that we dont have internet down there. Sometimes I get lucky and pick up some WiFi but not this weekend... so I am adding an entry for The Saturday Cell Phone Mosiac... just a day late!
I am sure I will uploading a ton more pics from our mini-vaca over the next few days on my Photo blog... but here are a few good ones from my cell!
Next week be sure to link up and join in this fun one here!

Some of MY good things!

I love finding new and awesome blogs! A few weeks ago I came across a great, new and fun blogger. Loulou is a totally rockin blogger with 2 darling little boys and a fabulous love of shopping and LV bags, much like myself! Her postings are usually a fun foray into her life with her adorable little men and she makes me smile when I read her. Today she posted a great post on the things that she is "good at" and the things that make her who she is. I thought to myself... novel idea. Sometimes we, as bloggers, write about the unpleasant things, the things that irk us and sometimes I find myself bitchin about things I dont like. So I thought I would steal the idea, and of course link to her post ( you really have to check her out) and so here are some "Good" things about me... what I love and what makes me ME!

I am a really good cook. And I totally enjoy cooking for my family and friends, when I have the time.

Nothing makes me happier than having a housefull of family and /or friends over. I love to entertain even if it just a casual cookout or dinner.

I have learned that there is nothing better than sitting down in the evening and watching my son play football. Even with all the craziness of work, camp and running around, it really is so exciting to see him doing so well and having fun!

I am a great friend. I only have a handful of close girlfriends but those that consider me a good friend, I think would agree, that I am faithful and am always there for them, no matter the distance or space between us.

I LOVE my family dearly. I cant imagine living far away from them ever again. I depend on all of them too much and I think they depend on me as well.

I love my hair. I have finally found a haircut that works well for me and I love that I get so many compliments on it!( just wish my hair was straighter!)

I love that I can afford to get my nails done every 2 weeks with my daughter. I have always had crappy nails naturally so in my teens I discovered acrylics and gels and even when I was a hairdresser I would have someone else tend to them. My teen is a nail biter so we invested in gel nails for her last year and she loves them! We go together every other weekend and its our mommy-daughter relaxing time.

I am a great worker. I love my job, and though I wish I was still working part time, I enjoy getting up and going to my job almost every day! Sometimes my coworkers piss me off ( who's don't?) but I still love what I do after 10 years and enjoy working with the patients and doctors in this field.There is no better feeling than watching someone put on a new pair of glasses for the first time and being able to see!!So cool!!

I miss my "papa" and think of him often. It puts a smile on my face daily to think of him singing up in Heaven and being proud of me and my kiddos. (I know he is!!)

Aside from my husband, my mom is my best friend! ( and I LOVE that!)

I don't like to be alone or go somewhere without my hubby. I like that about us. We really do just about everything together. Some people don't get that... but we waited a long time to find each other so we really truly enjoy being together. As a family!

I love to shop and am not ashamed of that. I wish that I could win the lottery and be able to shop all day long! What??? Nothing wrong with that. As Loulou said... its good for the economy.

I LOVE that I am spoiled enough ( thanks Steve) to own several REAL Coach and LV bags. Oh, and a few Kate Spade and Prada too!

I am very stuck up and high maintenance. Some even call me "shallow" but only my good friends! I dont take offense to it. Hubby and I work hard for all we have and our kids come first always. They never go without!

I love that my teenager and I have mended our relationship over the last few years and have become very good friends. I enjoy the woman she is becoming.

I do not forget but will always forgive. Sometimes I am too quick to forgive someone who wronged me and thats OK.. I still love people and always seek the good in everyone.

I make a mean apple pie... oh and I recently learned how to make a killer Shepards Pie ( thanks Julie)

I love that I have great skin. Only major issues I have ever had are on my shoulders... and the blemishes there are only mild!

I dislike my stomach and arms ( I have very large arm muscles and wont ever have teeny tiny skinny arms ) but I have great legs and a cute butt... oh... and I wish my boobs were a bit smaller but they are pretty fabulous!!

Well... thats about it for tonight! Hope I didnt bore ya... and I hope I inspired you to think of some good positive things about yourself!
Sometimes we are too hard on ourselves and deserve a little pat on the shoulders!

computer issues....

I am back today after a brief time out... our internet/phone/cable has been having issues. We have Charter here in Mass and a few months ago I combined all 3 of our services for their "awesome" bundle package. Yea... awesome !!
Seems they like to crash the whole grid about once a month ( on a saturday it seems) and when that happens, we lose everything... and to top it all off, we have little to no cell service on our property. We are literally in the dead zone. So picture my hubby standing on the corner of our deck, holding the cell up high on speaker phone so that he can call them and complain.

That aside... we added a $10 charge for faster speed on our internet as hubby and now teen have been playing online video games.. then I have one or both of the kids on the other laptop and me on mine. We tended to freeze up so adding the faster speed was working a bit better.
Until this week when I would randomly get booted offline while, of course, working facebooking or tweeting on something important and the only way to get it to work was to shut down the main modem for a few minutes and then turn it back on and reconnect.

Even yesterday that wasnt working. Once we rebooted, my computer couldnt even find the damn wireless connection.

So in comes the cable guy tonight armed with a new modem and spends 2 hours fiddling around only to tell us we need a new modem. Uh... DER DER DER.

So he hooks us up and all is well though I still only have 2 bars sitting here in my bedroom. Whats the point of having wireless if I need to be sitting on top of the damn modem??
So anyhoo... I am back for now... we shall see how long it lasts! Hubby says I am jinxing myself.. we will see!

Tour of my home~ Living room & kitchen area

Tour of my home continues this week with the rest of the downstairs... minus teens room ( as it was not even close to being clean enough for me to photograph)

This is the view into the kitchen from the dining room. We had an amazing island ( which of course is covered with Dunkin Donuts at this photo moment... )
In the island is a bread box and a pull out cutting board. I love it!!
Here you can get a glimpse of the open shelving over to the left... I use this to display my wine glasses and cocktail stem wear that we got for our wedding.
I love the stainless steel appliances...they were already here when we moved in so our old black fridge is in the basement... we use it to store extra food and water for the gym.

The large "pantry" style cabinets are our favorite thing about our kitchen. The doors open up and fold outward and inward with 3 layers of shelving behind...so cool!



This is the downstairs half bath off the kitchen. The flooring is hunter green and white and runs throughout the kitchen and into the bath. It matches perfectly with the granite on the counters and island in the kitchen. We have a washer and dryer here in this bathroom. The door to the right is our 2 car garage and the door to the left is a HUGE closet. Great for winter coats and also the dogs food!!!

This is our deck off the kitchen and living room. Not really sure why but we have 2 doors about a foot apart... one off the kitchen and then sliders off the living room ??? Strange design but we like it! We have a double deck... two- layer.. if you will....

See... second level...and our shed. (In which the four wheelers and snowmobile are housed and currently home to our little friend "Sonic" the hedgehog who is living underneath!
This is the view out onto the deck from the living room. French doors and a slider...
And here is my living room. I have to say I cheated on this one and posted this pic from about 6 months ago. We now have an additonal tv set up next to the entertainment center... this is a bone of contention between hubby and myself. He is a video gamer and has gotten my teen daughter hooked on the game as well so they have dual video games nights online and they play side by side... I HATE IT! Atleast he puts the extra tv away if company is coming over!
But we do have this gorgeous gas fireplace, designed with the same green marble from the counters in the kitchen. We use the fireplace almost year round.. more for ambiance than heat but its great!

Next week stay tuned for MY sanctuary. My bedroom. While hubs is playing SoCom down here in the living room I can be found in my awesome bed on the laptop. I am hoping to get teens room cleaned enough for some photos too... her room was a "formal" den when we moved in and we have redone it to make the perfect "teen suite"