day #11-30........yeah...yeah

SO here we are on the last day of November. AND he were are with only 10 days of thankfulness on my blog. BIG surprise??? AAAAHHHHHH shut it. lol Well, the good news is that I never really stopped adding (well, until the last week)to thankfulness posts. NO surprise, but they are on facebook. I know...I know...I am sorry. The REALLY REALLY awesome news is that I am still going to share with my blog peeps.

Here we go...

day #11....thankful for our veterans! To all that have served, are serving or will serve, I thank you for serving our country, protecting our freedom & defending our rights. I am thankful for your courage & bravery. A special thankful to my dad, big Pa and father in law, Mike. Thank you and God Bless ALL of our veterans.

day #12.....thankful for lunch dates with my hubby. Ever since the last baby started school full time, I craved my Friday lunch dates with Jason. Now, I am even more blessed because we get lunch dates 3 times a week (sometimes more). Lunch dates rock!!!

day #13...thankful for sports! Thankful for watching them, playing them & cheering for my kids. Thankful for the excitement, the challenge, the competition, the skills, the goals, the determination, the athletes & their bodies, being a fan, being a player, the blood, the sweat & the tears. Thank you for scalpers, nose bleeds, and childhood memories. Thank you for Sundays & Monday nights, March madness, the Bowls, Orange & Black Octobers, Championship rings & long ass droughts.

day #14....thankful for sunday newspapers. Especially free ones from our hotel. Target ads & coupons. OH, how I missed the little things for the last 4 years. AND the best part...I can get ALL the hotels extra coupon inserts come Monday morning. YES, it IS the little things!

day #15...thankful for being able to pamper myself. Even if it is with simple things like a grande peppermint mocha with extra whip, one touch service to cancel housekeeping, blackout curtains, king size bed, w/5 down pillows & down comforter & the luxury to nap ALL.DAY.LONG.ALL.BY.MYSELF!!! Aaahhhh....

day #16....thankful for looking at my dirty wedding ring and deciding to get it cleaned. Unfortunately, they couldnt clean it. WHY?? because two of the diamonds are VERY loose. WOW.....I never, ever, ever get my ring cleaned. WHY today??? I think it was a sign. SO thankful because I would have been so upset if I lost them.

day #17.....thankful for my deal of the day.....$2.99 year subscription to Weight Watchers magazine. Cant beat that. I told ya....its the little things!

day #18....thankful for November 18th as two of my favorite people were born...my big sis Dawn and Mickey Mouse! I love you and miss you both so much!!!! ♥

day #19...thankful for Amazon prime! free 2 day shipping. 1 day shipping for $3.99. No minimums. PLUS NO tax! AND some of the best deals. LOVE waiting until the last week of christmas when things go stupid cheap. An "prime" example is when I bought Jayden itouch for $167 delivered (no tax)w/in less than 48 hrs. AWESOMENESS!!!!!

day #20.....thankful for my in-laws. I LOVE them SOOO much. I really have NO idea where the bad rap for mother-in-laws comes from because mine is THE best. They never try to get into our "business" or given unwanted advice. They continue to spoil all of us ALL the time. AND if wasnt for them, I wouldnt have my cute ...little kids. Although, I am still trying to figure out how Jason came from them.

day #21...thankful for a realtor that knows EXACTLY what I want.

day #22...thankful for new brakes. And a bigger thank you because my husband & his friends ROCK!!!! They did all of them for just the price of parts. SWEET!!!!

day #23....an AMAZING hotel staff.
They have spoiled my kids SO much w/movie baskets, caramel apples, halloween pumpkins FULL of candy, extra chocolate chip cookies right out of oven & Kay's nightly whipped cream cups.
The housekeepers watch Dom to ma...ke sure she gets on the bus safely & when it is too cold make her wait in lobby because they are afraid she will freeze.
They have no problems with late night t.p. drop offs. The housekeepers work around my schedule & always make sure the room is perfect. The front desk rocks as well.....letting me use their address for UPS, USPS & fed ex deliveries, evening dropping off the packages in my room when I am out. AND they always let me have the extra Sunday inserts.
EVERYONE always has a smile on their face....from maintenance, to housekeepers, to the dining ladies, to the front desk and office management. A special thanks to Elizabeth for making sure our stay was as close to home as possible and to Jessica for all the hugs and whipped cream cups. Kayla will miss her.
I cant believe that I am going to say this....but I am going to miss everyone here, not just the staff, but the "regulars". Especially Jerome, the sweetest little boy that we fell in love with. So thankful that we were able to make the Homewood suites....our own Home SUITE Home. ♥

Day #24....thankful that my hubby is on his way home. That means we can leave as soon as Dom gets home from school. Now...,hoping for good weather for travelling.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, I was not able to keep up with my final week of thankfulness. Yeah, nice considering it was THE week of Thanksgiving. OH and I had some things that I wanted to share. BUT NO, it had nothing to do with my normal procrastinating, lack of organizational skills, flakiness, laziness, irresponsibility, carelessness, lack of motivation, etc, etc. REALLY, it did NOT! I was actually sick. It started on our way down to Atlanta and progressed from there. BUT, each day, I DID think of something that I was thankful for. Sometimes, I was drugged up on Nyquil (before we found out it was Strep), so my thoughts might not have been "all there". BUT, they were thankful thoughts none the less. So....no one can say that I am a "quitter" (if thats even a word). My final week of thanksgiving.


day #25....thankful for a safe and somewhat sane 11 hour drive to Atanta. Followed by the most "awesomeness" sister in the world. From what I heard, as I was locked away in the back bedroom, she made an unbelievable Thanksgiving dinner ALL by herself. She also managed to entertain my family and keep everyone sane and happy. Also for Jason who braved Walmart on Thanksgiving day for Nyquil, sprite, fever reducer, etc, etc.


day #26.....thankful for a wonderful sister and husband. Both of them continued to let me moan and groan in the back bedroom AND took super duper care of me with meds, tea, heat, air conditioning, whatever I needed. They took the kids to the Aquarium and Korean BBQ, leaving me with a nice and quiet house.


day #27.....thankful for not losing my mind or the liquids that were in my stomach on the LONGEST 11 hour drive of my life. EVEN more thankful that my husband got us home safely and never once thought about opening the passenger door while driving 75 down the freeway. I guess he likes my whining and moaning.


day #28.......thankful for doctors and antibiotics. NUFF said!


day #29.......thankful for that at least ONE of the 5 of us stayed healthy. Still praying that Dom continues to stay healthy.


day #30........thankful that we are finally on the mend and EVERYONE will be back to school tomorrow. MOST of all thankful that we all made it another month TOGETHER.

day #10.....hubbys job

day #10....thankful for my hubby's job. I know I have bitched & moaned for the last 11 yrs, but deep down I am SO thankful for his job.Yes,it is time consuming, but then again, he is a work-a-holic. But if it wasnt for his work ethics, we wouldnt be where we are today. I really cant complain, especially in this economy. I have been blessed to be able to stay home with our kids for the last 11 yrs because of his job. ADM has been VERY good to us & for that I am thankful.

day #9.....Our Home

Day #9...thankful for our home. Even though I have bitched, moaned, whined & cried about not having a house & having to live in a hotel, I feel SOOOOO very blessed. No matter where we live, as long we are together as a family, we will ALWAYS have a home. A home is what you make with those people that you love & love you back. We may be houseless, but we will NEVER be homeless. AND for that I am thankful.

day #8....Quality Time with the Boy

Day #8......thankful for a day with just the boy & me. 1st time that just daddy, jay and me had lunch together. Then new Jordans for the boy, haircut and Baskin Robbins. Thank you Carrie for having Kayla over and giving us this time. It's these little things that make me SOOOO very thankful!

Day #7.....Sisters....Dawn & Steph

day #7....thankful for sisters, mainly mine, Steph & Dawn. Thank you for being my best friends. Thank you for my 1st tattoo. Thank you for running off softball fields to help me deliver babies. Thank you for sharing your Barbies, even if it was through threats, force or divorce. Thank you for always having a place for us to stay. Thank you for sharing your love of food, shopping & Disney with me. Thank you for yelling every time we swam & getting us in trouble. LMBOPIMP Thank you for putting up with my sarcastic hubby. Thank you for being high maintenance just like me, for I always have a trump card to throw out with my hubby. Thank you for long rides to Aunt Pats that spanned over 4 decades. Thank you for throwing me hundreds of awesome baby showers & wedding showers. Thank you for sharing in my enthusiasm for "$7" sale items. Thank you for the texts of awesome new purses. Thank you for being my biggest cheerleaders.Thank you for the quality time when I "accidentally" locked us in the upstairs bedroom. But most of all, THANK YOU for being the BESTEST SISTAS anyone could ever have. <3

day #6....MY MAN...Jason

day #6...thankful for the hubby, Jason. "Who'd a thunk" that this 4'11", very liberal, big city, ghetto ass Cali girl would have fallen in love with a 6'4", conservative, small town, New Mexican Asian, "cowboy" in a club in Hollywood?? Well it happened & it has been 11 yrs. He has blessed me with a couple of awesome babies & loved our oldest as his own. He is the best provider anyone could ask for, working his butt off everyday to give us an amazing life. He continues to put up with my crazy, dysfunctional, overly emotional, critical, nagging, fruity, disney freakish self. He keeps telling me that he loves me & that I am beautiful despite my ever changing size of clothes. On top of that he thinks that I am the best shopper in the world. Thank you Jason for loving me....

Day #5....Kayla

day #5....thankful for the baby, Kayla! After a wonderful pregnancy we received the MOST difficult baby EVER. The 1st night in the hospital is still so vivid, as I remember when the nurses came in to tell me to let her sleep in the bed with me because she was keeping the whole hospital up. I knew right then we were in for a REAL treat. AND boy, were we EVER.....she cried and cried and cried AND CRIED for 365 days straight. BUT then EVERYTHING change, she turned into the most delightful little princess anyone could ever ask for. Being blessed to stay home with her has been truly amazing. I have enjoyed every minute of it. She has made me appreciate being a mommy on a whole other level. But most of all she has made our family
complete.

DAY #4....Jayden

day #4...thankful for mama's boy, Jayden. A long, difficult pregnancy gave me the most perfect little baby boy. I was blessed to have him sleep all day & all night. From there he turned into an amazing little man, with a kind heart, empathy & compassion for others. His intelligence amazes me on a daily basis. He makes me yell, smile, roll my eyes & laugh all at the same time. He is all boy...from running around in his underwear, to laughing at the words "butt, poop & penis", he can clear the room with the best of them. I love that he is not the "typical" kid, with his love of the 80's, Michael Jackson, Elvis, history & politics. His goals are on top...playing at USC, then the NFL with a back up plan of being the the first Korean president. And one last thankful....he picks all the good teams! ♥

Day #3....Dominique

day #3...thankful for my baby girl Dominique, a precious gift given to me 16 yrs ago. I truly believe she saved me, she gave me something to live for. She made me want to be a better person. Her Asperger diagnosis has not only taught me, but my other children how to be accepting & tolerant of others differences...to NEVER judge because we dont know their story. She has showed me how to celebrate the victories instead of dwell on the challenges. I learned that "IT" is not a disability BUT a special ability.

30 Days of Thankfulness!

It is November. Crazy...isn't it? I swear it was just the first of the year a few days ago. Time goes WAY TOO fast. November is a time of being thankful. Thankful for everything that we have. I know all I have done is bitch and whine for the past few months because of this crazy ass move. But, deep down I really am thankful for SOOOO much. To be honest with you, this crazy move has made me REALLY appreciate everything that I do have. Yesterday on facebook, I started my "3o days of thankfulness". Basically, everyday, I will write about what I am thankful for...no matter how big or how little...I will share them with you. To others, some of my gifts may be "out there", boring, expected, etc, etc but each one I am thankful for. SO here we go....since I am a day late on here, I will start with day #1 and #2. Enjoy....



Day #1.. . For my Heavenly Father for He makes ALL things possible. Without Him, there would be nothing to be thankful for.



Day #2.....My life. EVERY part of it. The good, the bad and the ugly. It may be crazy, hectic, unpredictable, stressful, slightly irrational, overly dramatic and extremley emotional. But it is ALLLLL mine. ♥