Hey everyone, long time no talk from me.... sorry busy this summer trying to balance school and kids home. This butterfly was pretty and very summery so I picked it to share. The picture was snapped at Calvert Cliff's State Park, pretty place to go for a short hike and find prehistoric shark teeth!! It sounds like everyone has had a great summer so that makes me happy, not too many grilling/ fun summer beverage days to be had so I hope you all are taking full advantage. We have had a great summer, hiking, biking, pirate boating, wave riding, and pool lounging.... I'm sad to go school shopping for the kids- I like sleeping in!!! Oh well, always Disney at Christmas to look forward to. Promise to write more often, going to make my second iced coffee of the day, pharmacology test tonight... Tara Brenda, I LOVE Grace's hair

I'm So Proud!!

   Hi Ladies! Well, Lily had her first big stage debut!! She helped lead the pledge of allegiance and sang like a little songbird!! Her class had their moving-up ceremony today and I cried like a baby during the slideshow!! She has come so far... Christian is very excited this week also. His school only goes to 5th grade and then middle school here is 6th-8th, so that means he will be like a senior next year being a BIG 5th grader and all :) School for me is also going great, had finals again this week and ended with a 4.0 again, ahhh the sweet smell of success (just so you all know that means my house smells sour due to the fact that I'm never here and Ray is in charge!!!!!!!!)  I can't wait for my 4th of July break, get ready M Bell I'm gonna paint that town of yours red,white,and blue!!! Talk soon ladies, Tara

I'm still here.... kind of :)

   Well, I know it has been a while and I'm sorry for that... Big adjustment going back to school full-time. I am proud to announce that I too have a 4.0!!!! Nursing I guess comes easy to me. We started out with 30 people in my class and now are down to 18, and 2 more are getting ready to leave soon.... morons :) Just can't hang with the big dogs!!!!  As you can all guess I'm knee high in anatomy and flying through it with colors, those fools at that school tried to get some trick questions by me about the heart, what? are they nuts??? 100% is what I busted out for that test and I just keep on smoking them.... let's see what they can do next, right??  Well, in other news, Miss Lily is heading to kindergarten in the fall!!!! Did any of you ever think we would get her there???? My god, what a long ride this has been. So again thank- you all for loving my rotten child and believing in her and me... I love  you all for that.  I'm all HOPPED-UP on diet mountain dew right now and the words are coming out faster than I can type so if none of this makes sense I apologize... I need to go get some reading done for class tomorrow ( yes school on the weekends for me) When I go out on clinicals in a few months I will post a pic of me in my lovely scrubs.... Talk soon, Tara

Happy Birthday All Around

   Well, a big Happy Day to M bell- you do still smell even if it's your birthday!!!! Well, besides being m's b-day; mine is Monday (big 35) and my boy will be 10 on Tuesday. So we should all find cake wherever we all are and eat up... I have my orientation for school tonight, kinda nervous here and Brenda you sounding a little stressed is making me feel that way too.... yikes. We will make it through, I know it. I'm going to get on my treadmill and try to burn some of this anxiety off, along with the cinna-biscuit thing Amy just MADE me eat :) Pure evil is what that woman is!!!! She claimed we were eating it for M Bell's birthday, sounded good at the time.... so we finally joined this decade and got ourselves one of them there high tech dvr's from the cable company!!!! Like my hilljack talk ladies? Now I can go to night school and not miss my favorite shows, what would  I have done without my Hell's Kitchen? Speaking of tv, I hope you ladies ran out on Tuesday and bought Quantom of Solace (James Bond), Daniel Craig is so fine, my god that man is a piece of art. I LOVE HIM. So sexy, I might just put a picture of him up in front of my treadmill and pretend to be chasing him... with that being said, gotta run ladies; that biscuit is starting to settle and if I don't act quick it might lodge in a fat pocket unable to see light ever again.... Lots of Love, Tara

Hey Ladies!

  So here we are again, weeks fly by and time has been slipping away it seems faster than we have it.... so I thought I would be nice to my kids this week and make them homemade "shamrock shakes". I will not be doing that again, my kids took one drink and that was it. What is wrong with these kids.... look at that picture!!!! I worked hard to form those shamrocks out of stinking green candy melts and nothing.... send my all your kids because my are BROKEN.  Enough about that, Lil started playing baseball (on a challenger league) I've got to tell you ladies it is funny, she can hold her own with people on her team that are in their 20's.... what a hoot. She is the smallest person on the team and she has no idea what the heck is going on but she gets up there to the t and whacks that ball and runs and runs- so funny. Christian is also playing, he got picked for majors, I guess that's a big deal??? Ray is going to be a busy man starting March 30 (my official start day on school) Ball for both kids and dance class for Lil, homework, dinner, bedtime routine, It will be like I'm "underway" poor single mom he will be. Maybe he will get in on the blog list and starting swapping recipes for dinner!!!! Hahahaha. Fat chance, he is anti-help. I'll keep you all posted on his new position... Happy week to you all, Tara

   So it finally happened.... Lil lost not 1 but 2 teeth at the same time. YIKES. I wondered what this would be like being on 2 blood thinners for her heart and all.... what a mess, it took us over a 1/2 hour to get the bleeding to stop. She cried and cried but in the end when daddy took her to the disney store all was right with the world again. She is also potty- trained!!!! Yeah and yes for the record she is 5 but hey good things come to those who wait right?? I'm sorry to hear about all the hospital visits going on for b and l. It just sucks to spend any amount of time in those places... I hope all ends well with both of you and your families- if not let me know what I could do to help. M bell, did you post that you ran 4 miles straight??????? REALLY????? I ran 1/2 mile the other day and it felt great, i should have kept going.... now I feel like a loser- i did follow that up with a 30 minute hill climb- the run was my warm-up. I used to run all the time before I had the kids and I would like to start again. I was told about a book called Couch potato to 5k or something like that, it's a week by week training guide, sounds good huh? Well ladies I'm out of steam and it's time to put the kids to bed. Happy thought s to you all, Tara

Oh yeah, if you are smart and I know you all are :) Adele live at Soho needs to put on all your ipods...

Johnny Depp = Yuck!!

   I agree with Amy, this guy is yucky all around... and I lso think think the pirate movies are dumb, just my opinion though... How are all of you fine ladies? The sun is out today and not so cold, I must be a wimp now because I'm cold all the time- even in 40 degrees. I still would be wearing my flip-flops in Oregon... Ahh the good old days. Not much going on here just looking forward to school next month- I'm so bored at home (sounds crazy I know). I read what I want and work-out when I want but I'm not happy doing this. I've decided I need to go mack-one (sp)  in order to be happy. I apparently thrive on a crazy lifestyle. Dinner for us this week is :

      Cajun fried potatoes w/ turkey kielbasa

      Fish tacos w/ guac.

      Spaghetti and a salad

      Soup and a grilled cheese ( i was really lazy that night)

      Chili ( if the weather is cold this weekend)

      Shake n bake chicken and green bean casserole- because it sounds good

      I'm going to also try a new recipe I found for homemade mac-n-cheese  (a new twist)

      And if I feel like it Laurie I'm going to make your Orange Bran muffins I love so much

God, we are hungry hippos!!!! I will also be stalking the girl scout cookie stands to get my fix of thin mints..... enough said from me ladies. peace out Tara

      

Home sweet home :)

       Back now for about a week and boy am I glad to be home, our hotel was not that great (at all) and traveling is exhausting.... Lil did great and if her cardiologist down here thinks she looks good and her ventricle functions stay where they are we don't have to see Boston again for 2 years!!!!! Whoooo Hooooo!!! So we (or should I say "I") are gearing up for Valentines day.... I love it, nothing better than flowers and chocolate... I could not wait for Ray and I bought myself flowers yesterday :)  they look pretty on my new dining table so I don't feel bad at all...What are all you fine ladies doing this long weekend?? I think Ray is cooking me dinner Saturday, I hope he plans on the dishes too- when he cooks it's a nightmare in there.... thanks for all the well-wishes for Lil. You are all great friends to us and it means the world to me that you care for my little lady the way you all do. Brenda, how is your little guy doing? Any better? Hope so, Christian had a melt down when we first moved here (nothing to do with meds though) we ended up in the ER. He just needed a moment I guess and has been fine ever since, thank- god for that. Happy Valentine's Day Ladies!!!!! Tara

Boston...

  Off to beantown ladies; I'll let Amy know about Lil and she can post an update for me. I hope you are well and have made it through the last batch of storms to hit... I'll try to do my blog Monday afternoon when Lil is out of recovery....Love to you alllllll Tara

A big shout to all you fancy girls

   So, thank-you first and foremost to miss miss MB for fixing yet again my blog- did she do a great job or what???? I know she came down to visit but we made her work- poor gal :) We had the famous taco truck tacos and yummy yummy yummy.... I need another recipe from your condiment section please...the salsa stuff with black beans and I think green pepper. Thanks also to AP (aka big butt- her words not mine.... and I know she is going to kill me for that!!!!!!!) but hey we are all friends here right. She opened  her house up for the kids to destroy and us to lounge around and eat in- how great... So we had fun and wish the rest of you ladies could have been there, so Brenda, I'm going to check out of the local library Huck and the gang so you don't feel left out and maybe the ladies will do so too- our new nerdy hi- class college girls book club. I draw the line at the Iliad though.... your out of luck there sister. I'm still cold here and now fighting a cold too, great just in time for our trip to Boston, pray ladies that Lily does not get this or else we will have to reschedule and what a pain that will be.... I'm off to take a hot shower so I can breathe again!!!!!!!! Ta Ta, Tara

Happy New Year Ladies!!

  So I am alive and well-been crazy busy doing nothing....I swear I don't know what I do with my time but it's not good.... you would think I sit around all day watching tv with the way my list of things to do is growing and growing...We had a great holiday in Ohio with my hilljack family.... the whole family was there except for one uncle and nobody knows why he did not show- he just got released from the can and was out on the streets again so who knows ( I said hilljacks remember) Well you all sound great and I'm glad for that. Brenda nice job sticking it out- it's tough out there in the school world with all the little size 2 girls running round, good for you, and good luck. I'm not starting school until the end of March, maybe sooner though . I have already been accepted into the LPN program but yesterday I tested high enough to be considered for the RN program ( the pre-req. for that program starts in Feb.) I have a decision to make and soon- not sure what I want yet...stay tuned.....all else is well. We are traveling back to Boston at the end of the month to throw Lily  back in the heart cath. lab. They want to see what she looks like a year post-op from her big rebuild. Please say a little prayer for my little miss. Her work-up day is Jan 30th and the cath itself is Feb.2nd. We will be heading north around the 28th and returning around the 4th or 5th. A big happy new year to all of you and HAPPY BIRTHDAY A !!!!!!!!   Tara