Maxs 7th birthday bash!!!!

The boys had pizza (made by Rusty) and drinks in Maxs room!!!



Then they all, and I mean ALL, went out to jump on the trampoline!!!



Jump jump jump!!!!! Check out the hair!! lol



Then we headed back inside for PRESENTS!!!!



I brought out the cake, Max hadnt seen it yet!! His face is priceless!!!
First time I ever used fondant. At least they could tell what it was, lol!!!



The candle is blown out and the wish made!!



Time to play with presents!!!! LEGOS and Star Wars, oh my!!!



Play, play, play!!!



Max is building, Jack is reading the instructions!!



The friends have all gone home and Max is alone with his loot!!

A good time was had by all, I think!! The pizza was good, the cake was good, the company was great!! Our family and friends were here and Maxs best buddies. The trampoline was a big hit. I still cant believe my lil man is 7. It seems like just yesterday he was popping his bippie out of his mouth to say something to us and then quickly popping it right back in. They grow so fast!!!

Thats all for now!!

xoxo
S

The day I joined my life with my soul mate....

Its my anniversary!!!

This rose is our love rose!! :) My hubby and I have spent 8 years as husband and wife and every year has just gotten better and better!!! We were together a year before we got married, and then a year after we got married, we had our Maxeroni!! It sounds boom boom boom, and well, it was!! When ya know, ya just know!! You may hear people say that and scoff at them, but its true. From the moment I met him, I knew he was my soul mate. How did we meet you ask?? Well its a silly story really. We met.........online!!! *gasp* This was back in 2000 and my divorce from my first marriage had finalized. I was staying home with Brodie and Hannah, who were 2 and 3 at the time. They were napping and I was bored so I got online. I went to a website that had a slideshow of singles. I giggled and got some chips and a Dew and put in my wish list for a guy and watched the slideshow. Blah blah blah munch munch munch. I wasnt taking it seriously at all, because lets face it, some of those guys just flat out scared me to pieces!!! Then HE popped up on my tiny little Compaq screen. His tagline was "Your Search Stops Here!!". I seriously laughed out loud, rolled my eyes and went, "Great, hes cocky!!". I read his story about what he was looking for and liked what he said. Then I figured he would be down in Evansville or something totally not close to me. He was in Nappanee!!!! Well, gosh, this couldnt be real. I was sure someone had snatched him up already, but what the heck, I decided to respond to him anyway not expecting a reply. He replied!!! Let me tell you, it was quite the "manly" reply too!! I got to know all about his vehicles and toys and how much mileage was on each of them and every single detail about them. Right away he was making me smile and laugh!! I wrote him back, and he wrote back, and on and on. This went on for MONTHS before we ever met face to face. By the time we met in person, I was already head over heels for this guy. He hadnt let me give in to my need for instant gratification. I wanted to meet him RIGHT NOW, and he told me no, that he "wanted me to find a fault in him first". Awww!!! I dont really think I ever did, but he gave in one day and came to see me. It was easy going and felt so natural to be with him. The kids met him, and dont tell him I told you this but.........this was when they were big into Blues Clues. They kept calling him something that I couldnt figure out what they were calling him. Rusty figured out that they were calling him Steve, the guy from Blues Clues. LOL!!!! Shortly after that I moved out of my house into a new place. Rusty and his friend came to help. I figured he had to like me if he was willing to undertake that ordeal after just meeting me!! :) Shortly after that, and many trips and visits back and forth to Nappanee/Rochester, he moved in with me. Shortly after that, he proposed. Then you know all the rest!! So thats our story!! I put together a video with 8 pictures from our wedding day to celebrate our 8 years of wedded bliss!! Enjoy!!

I cant wait to spend many many many many many many more years with this guy!! :)

xoxo

S

Max Dot Com

Maxeroni strikes again!!! :)

Yes the Maxeroni's creative juices have flowed again. Im not sure what the first 5 pics are about, you can use your own imagination for that!! You can see he is repurposing the brilliant beads he earned at school though!! lol I do know that the last pic is of his latest creation.....a gondola lift (cable car) complete with zip line. We even have a video for that one!!

He took it outside for a longer zip line!!! Sorry about the sideways video. I havent figured out how to rotate it yet, lol, if thats even possible to do with a movie. Blonde moment.

Enjoy!!! :)
xoxo

Max Dot Com

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I was told by Max last night after he asked if he could use my camera to "make sure I put these pictures on his website"!!! So, like a good mommy, thats what Im doing!!

He got a new Lego kit that had to do with knights and a "monster". Its from the Castle collection and its called Troll Assault Wagon. As you can see, his pictures tell a story. I put them in the order that he took them so that you can enjoy the story he is telling!!

Enjoy Maxs website!!! :)

xoxo

Mommy

Mothers Day

Yesterday my wonderful hubby surprised me with a trip to Koko for SHOPPING and dinner at my favorite restaurant, Hacienda!! Its truly the biggest turn-on for your guy to take you shopping and ENJOY it!!! I got some super cute outfits. Lately I have been in a certain kind of shopping mood where I only get something if I LOVE IT. Yesterday I was the same way. Each store we went in, I walked out with two items that were my favorites in that store. :) Then we went to Hacienda where we had the BEST waitress we have EVER had there or at any restaurant!!! She brought us refills the second we had our last slurp, she brought extra napkins without having to be asked, she brought us a giant thing of ranch instead of the usual skimpy lil bowl, she simply ROCKED!!!! Then we headed home and watched Sleepless in Seattle. I have a ton of awesome movies on VHS, so my kids have never seen them. I am beginning the task of acquiring all these movies on DVD. It just so happens that they are usually found in the $5 bin at Walmart too, which rocks!!

Anyway, today I went out first thing and cut weeds. Eww!! So not my favorite thing to do, but it looks much better now without those things being an eyesore!! Then my kids gave me the cards they made for me. We are now waiting on my mom to show up so that we can spend the day with her. Beautiful sunny days really are the best, arent they!! :)

I hope all my favorite mommys out there in Bloggerland enjoy their special day with their families!!! Remember to kiss those hubbys and kiddos.....without them we wouldnt be MOMMYS!!! :)

xoxo
S

Cuz Aimee made me do it!!! :)

(This blog post is dedicated to Aimee!!! She has been jonesin for a post from me, and although I didnt have anything to blog about, I thought and thought last night about something I could blog about. So here we go!!! The title is.....)

CHANGE

First of all, the pic I chose for this blog CRACKS ME UP!!! I wanted something to do with change, and my BFF Jill always puts things about butterflies when talking about change.....well I found this pic and it had the idea of change with a sense of humor, which is how I roll, so it was perfect!!

Ok, on we go. If you read my Facebook the past week, you know that I was struggling with a bit of change, or uncertainty, or just feeling LOST. You have to know me really really well to know why some things affect me the way they do, and Im NOT going to go into the deep deep abyss that is me, thats for YOU to figure out!! lol Good luck!! Anyway, I will give you a hint, one of the biggest things that drives me is helping people. I love to do it, and I almost HAVE to do it. Its who I am. Well, I have been doing something this whole year that has fulfilled that drive, and it was such a blessing. I never expected it to have the impact it does on me. Lately, that thing I have been doing has felt tampered with. It ticked me off. Then that led me to thinkin that, CRAP, maybe that wasnt what I was supposed to be doing. My degree is in Psych, and in my head, this was the reason for the tampering. So then I got on the "What am I supposed to be doing with my life?" train.........I was happy to get off that train after a day of wallowing and receiving support from friends who often feel in the same boat.

Heres what the end result was: First of all, I only wallowed for a day and then I got back on track. Second, I found out that what I was doing wasnt being tampered with in the way that I thought it was. Third, I decided that even if something was going on, I was NOT going to give it any power (because I cant control it, duh), and I was NOT going to let my self be upset by it for one day longer. It is what it is and Im just gonna be happy with that. Fourth, I decided that as long as Im doing something that makes me truly happy, and that also helps me to help others, then I am content. Fifth, I need to let my sense of pride about certain things go, because it is not a tool in making me the best me I can be.

CHANGE

Heres some more change thats been going on or will be going on soon. We had an Orientation night at the Middle School last week. My oldest son is already at the MS, and in a few months, my daughter will join him there. The change Im talking about is not her going to a different school, but more the girly, becoming a...........a.......................a..................woman.............and ALL THE DRAMA that entails. God, give me strength for THAT whole process!! lol Oh man, this is that kinda change that just seriously stresses me out. I know how I was as a teen, and I know my mother is just sitting off laughing cuz now its my turn. My daughter and I are starting to have a different kind of relationship though. And when she doesnt shoot daggers at me with her eyes, and when she actually discovers that ole Mom knows what shes talking about and only does things for her kids best interests.........she and I have a unique bond. But in the years to come...........ok I cant even think about this anymore, moving on.....

CHANGE

This may sound corny to some of you, but its just how I am. The one change thats going to be coming up that Im just not looking forward to is my Maxers moving on from Kindergarten with a teacher that I simply adore with a class I have gotten to know so well because I have been there week after week, to 1st grade, where it will all start over. New classmates, new room, friends he has made will be in different classes. It just makes me sad. He has someone who really understands him and lets him be him and has helped him to grow so much. Its hard to move on from that. Im not saying 1st grade wont be great too, Im just saying Im not ready for Kindergarten to be over.

Blah, now Im a teary eyed Momma. Im gonna go look at the funny pic I chose, laugh at it, and then continue on with what I was doing before I sat down to type........which was...........laundry.

Hope everyone enjoys this BEEautiful Sunday!!

xoxo
S