concert

i am so looking forward to this evening! heather, jodi and and friend of heather's and i are going to see cheap trick, poison and def leppard. back in 1992 heather and i saw def leppard at the kellogg arena. they put on a good show. i just want to scream and sing my lungs out. also excited to see heather and jodi. i can't even remember the last time i saw either of them. i should really get out more often.

this has been a word from nicole

sunny days, stormy nights

i am very happy and content these days and i am loving this feeling. i spent four days at my sister's with the kids. we held our annual garage sale. sister had cleaned out her attic and she had so many baby clothes, it was a little overwhelming. we did pretty good our first day. i had a large santa for sale and we posed with it around the garage sale. we were laughing so hard, but soon after our picturing taking someone came and bought our santa. we were a little sad to see it go. the pictures are up on facebook if you want to see them. on our second day we were rained out. so i say to sister, why don't we take our baby stuff to once upon a child. so after drying the clothes and packing up the car we left. we had two hampers, three baskets full of clothes, plus a high chair, jumper, and toys. all they bought was the high chair, jumper and a small basket of clothes. sister was not happy. i was a little surprised but oh well, at least we tried. anywho, this once upon a child in wyoming, mi is awesome. they had great stuff. i was able to get all of holly's polo shirts for school next year. on our way home we stopped to pick strawberries. it was so nice, just the two of us laughing and talking! Sunday we celebrated brenna's birthday. it was a beautiful day but i had taken two tyenlols (500 mg) each and i was so drowzy that i fell asleep in ethan's bed.
on monday holly started her summer religious education classes. she will be making her first communion next spring. the program is just awesome! in the fall she and i will attend classes together for further preparation for her first communion. being in second grade is so exciting. your not so much a little kid, you have more responsiblities and then at the end of the school year you make your first communion. i am just so happy for all that holly will experience this year!!
so you're wondering what my stormy night is... jay is laid off. he could be placed in another plant but it's just a waiting game now. i have much hope that everything will work out. sister has been a big support and God is leading our way!

can i scream

i'm living in a pickle jar and i can't get out. is it just me or has the cost of living (can you believe there is a cost to just live) gone up, no skyrocketed. is it just my area or what? jay's pay has not gone up and nor will it go up anytime soon. ford has taken from their employees bonuses, raises and "the cost of living" pay has been cut because the cost of living has not gone up. oh really ford? may i come live in your ivory tower? the everyday things are just getting too much. when i think of all that needs to be paid and what won't get paid i almost start to shake. we got into a pinch a few months ago with my traffic ticket and our water bill. now i am scrambling to catch up. never in my married life have i come so close to going to a food pantry. but i wouldn't qualify anywho. how in the hell does sista stretch a dollar to make it two? how in the hell can i keep treading water when i am so tired?
this has been a word from nicole

a little bit of this and a little bit of that

i heard from replacements ltd and they are buying all my silverware. two pieces were bought at a discount because they were not perfect. so in total i will be getting....$548!!! sweet fancy moses, that is right! i'm taking most of that to chicago.
speaking of chi-town...i found out that on second mondays at the field museum admission is free. yes, i'm there. the zoo, free, also there. beach, assuming it's free. where will i spend my little fortune? american girl, of course. we are having lunch there and that alone is a pretty penny. $21 per person. please like holly or brenna could even eat $21 dollars worth of food in one sitting. but holly very much wants to take her american girl doll there and have the whole experience. okay that is a lie. i want to go and do everything. you can even get you picture taken with your doll and they put it on a fake cover of their magazine. how cool is that. maybe i'll borrow brenna's doll and get a pic taken.
so is anyone else sick and tired of this jon and kate crap. they all over the news. you just can't get away from her hideous hair. why would you go ahead with season five knowing your marriage is in trouble? i will not watch their show anymore or buy any magazines that have them on the cover. news is not even news anymore.

this has been a word from nicole

summer

can you smell it? can you feel it on your skin? it's almost summer!!! much to my sister's joy her summer vacation starts today. holly and andrew are not out until june 10. i just love the beginning of summer. there really are no worries and no rushing to be somewhere. i always have so much hope that i will be able to do so much during the summer. so here is what i hope to do this summer (depending on money of course):
garage sale at sisters (i almost start all my summers this way)
chicago in july at the condo i won at st. rose's auction...beach, navy pier, american girl, zoo
concert with heather, jen, and nicole (love bites)
craft show/flea market at the wayne senior center
worlds largest yard sale with jay in august
ethan, micala and maybe brenna come stay with us for a few days or weeks or whatever works
this has been a word from Nicole

silverware=money

we (meaning me and the kids) spent mother's day with my mom. jay went to his mom's. my sister and her family were there, as well as, my cousin, renee, her two kids and her mom. in total there were eight kids there. my cousin, her kids and her mom live in florida. it wasn't the warmest of days on sunday but compared to our winter it was a nice day. the michigan kids had on short sleeves, or a dress or shorts. the florida kids had on jackets and hats. you would have thought a winter storm was brewing. it was a very nice day with my family. after we ate my sister, jim, micala and me sat around the table talking "shit," when diane brings up how she is going to sell some silver on ebay. a lightbulb went off in my head. so i start asking questions about silver and silverware. you know, real silverware from the olden days. in my mind i saw the box of silverware my grandma gave me 16 years ago. i knew that had to be the real deal. could i actually have a small fortune in my basement? as soon as i got home i pulled out the box and looked for the markings, sure enough, towel candlelight sterling silver. if you brought this set today it is well over $5000! dollar signs are dancing around in my head. the things i could buy...things that we needed. this would so help out if i could just sell it for the right price. so today i called a place that buys silver. the going rate for sterling silver is $5 an ounce. the silverware weighs about 5 pounds. wow! $400! i wondered if i could do better. i called my sister's friend, julie. she knows things that most people don't know. she said to call replacements ltd sometimes they buy things from people. i called and yes, they are buying my patteren of silverware. now i am waiting for an email about what pieces they are looking for. i know some people would keep this silverware and pass it down to the next generation but i figure, if i don't sell it the next person may and why shouldn't i get the money, because i need it.
this has been a word from nicole

bye, bye small town

yesterday we went to wayne's historical museum. i was able to ask about william houston. unfortunately, they did not have any pictures or infomation on him. only that he had a brother that was captured by the confederacy. anywho, although the museum was small jay and i found out alot of interesting things about our boring town. wayne was founded in the early 1800's and has gone through many, many changes. in the 1960's the state told this little town that a major road was coming through so figure out where to put it and in that one statement little wayne was changed forever. wayne was once a thriving town where you actually did all your shopping. it was kinda like hastings. you walked to downtown and did your business and went home. everything was here. but now that we have michigan ave it has broken up the town in two places and it is now not a friendly place to shop or walk. so to the genius of the state of michigan, thank you for destroying another small town.
this has been a word from nicole