Are you ready for some football?

JJ is! He was so wore out from this weekend in Southern MD that he fell asleep last night at 8:30, and for anyone who doesn't know him, that's EARLY. He did wake up at 10, came out in the kitchen to get a drink, and then settled himself on the couch to watch the Pittsburgh game, we told him to come back to bed to go to sleep, which he did. But, I had something else on and he told me to put football on, and wouldn't you know, the 1st commercials that come on he tells me to put football back on, as if I changed the channel. Now, time will tell who his team will be, of course I'm hoping Dallas, John's hoping Redskins, but of course, it will be something out there from ours, lol (I just gotta get Uncle Tommy working on him on my behalf, gang up on John.)

Foto Friday

August 06

Oh, I miss this so much, and at the same time I wouldn't give up the now for anything! The years are flying by!

Remember......

My cousin sent this to me last night:
http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/redskeltonpledgeofallegiance.htm
I -- Me; an individual; a committee of one.
Pledge -- Dedicate all of my worldly good to give without self-pity.
Allegiance -- My love and my devotion.
To the Flag -- Our standard. “Old Glory”; a symbol of courage. And wherever she waves, there is respect, because your loyalty has given her a dignity that shouts “Freedom is everybody's job.”
of the United -- That means we have all come together.
States -- Individual communities that have united into 48 great states; 48 individual communities with pride and dignity and purpose; all divided by imaginary boundaries, yet united to a common cause, and that’s love of country, of America.
And to the Republic -- A Republic: a sovereign state in which power is invested into the representatives chosen by the people to govern; and the government is the people; and it's from the people to the leaders, not from the leaders to the people.
For which it stands
One Nation -- Meaning "so blessed by God."
Indivisible -- Incapable of being divided.
With Liberty -- Which is freedom; the right of power for one to live his own life without fears, threats, or any sort of retaliation.
And Justice -- The principle and qualities of dealing fairly with others.
For All -- For All. That means, boys and girls, it's as much your country as it is mine.
-Now let me hear you recite the Pledge of Allegiance:
I pledge allegianceto the Flag of the United States of America,and to the Republic, for which it stands;one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
-Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country, and two words have been added to the Pledge of Allegiance: Under God. Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said, "That is a prayer" -- and that be eliminated from our schools, too?

Halloween Photo Contest

Here I am once again, peddling photos of my son. He's either going to decide to join the Amish community with an aversion to cameras, or he will grow up to work for National Geographic. The rate I'm going there will be no in between.

But, please view my Halloween Costume Contest photo gallery on Parents.com. Use the link below to view, rate, and recommend my photos
http://www.parents.com/app/sharemy/photoDetails.jsp?photoId=287500527

THANKS!!!

Wacky Wednesday

Now I don't feel so bad of the pics of our orange tabby dressed in baby clothes sitting in a bassinet! Taping the feet, now yeah, that I do feel bad about (but blame Tommy for being a bad influence and teaching a kid that.)

JJ's alphabet pages

Most of you know I'm doing a scrapbook for JJ called "The ABC's of Me" where each page is devoted to a letter of the alphabet and of course him. Here's the latest....
A is for Animals
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/klhmendoza/S7300140_edited.jpg

C is for Cowboy
http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y134/klhmendoza/S7300142_edited.jpg

I had to get a kick out of JJ earlier, he was watching Ghostbusters, very enthralled with it, and a commercial comes on, the whole slew of 5 minute ads he's telling me to turn the movie back on. If only I could! Wasn't the reason they started cable was to get people to pay for the shows so they wouldn't have to use advertisers, lol (and just how much am I dating myself by knowing that?) Oh, well, guess those movies will be on the list for his birthday or Xmas.

The last thing to do.....

Tonight is the last thing to accomplish for our fostering, 1 more meeting with the Social Worker for the "family study." We didn't know it would take this long. I know, it wasn't long really, 6 months, but I guess anticipation makes it seem longer. We're really looking forward to things, the possibilities. I know some may think we're setting ourselves up for our hearts to be broken, and yes, we know with growing attached, sadness will happen, but it will be outweighed with what we will come away with. And like with any relationship in life, we can't let the fear of loss keep us from living and enjoying, we'd miss out on too much if we focused on that. So, after this last thing, just the wait until there is a child (or 2) to be placed with us! I do want to thank everyone for advice and moral support! It really does mean a lot to us to know that we're surrounded with great people!

The sweetest thing

There are no words to explain how sweet it is to have a child say "I lub you." (it totally makes watching Scooby-Doo a dozen times a day worth it.)

what gorgeous weather!

Oh, is anyone else lovin' TS Hannah? It's keeping us in, which we sorely needed. JJ and I are still in our PJs. Now, I could've done without running across the yard getting errant soda cans (John says he tied the bag twice - I never knew wind could untie knots!) but so what, I got a little wet, I'm not melting, and thankfully we aren't flooded so I'm not going to float away anywhere. After the busy summer we had, today's R&R has been sorely needed!

Foto Friday

Is there any wonder I am the way I am? My conditioning probably began long before this pic was taken 28 years ago. (I had to sit on my hands to keep from posting this one earlier.)

Luv u guys, lol!

(and is it me or does every guy out there have a pic of themselves dressed up as a girl?)

Already?

When I picked JJ up from daycare his provider, Kristin, was telling me how they were playing "girlfriend/boyfriend" and her youngest daughter said JJ was her boyfriend, he does what she tells him (smart girl huh.) As we were leaving JJ was talking about his day, as usual, then he came out and told me "Ashley's my girlfriend."

And it's begun.....

Since lunch is coming up.....

Do I look like Burger King? Nope, sorry, "have it your way" is not one of my mottos (unless of course spoken with sarcasm dripping off each letter.)

No JJ, its not Pizza Hut, its Digiorno.

"Dowalds" arches can be spotted from miles away by a toddler, same with Cracker Barrell signs.

Here's to a long year to come....

John has his first class tonight, so from now on Tuesday through Thursday nights he will be in class til late, for this semester. Spring won't be any different time wise and the summer will only be only class a session, but he will be going at a higher pace. I just have to keep telling myself, its only a year, its only a year, its only a year (but, I'm forgetting he will then be completng it likely for his RN.)
So, please wish John luck in his studies!

In honor of schools starting....

Since schools are back in session, let's go back a little in time. What did you want to be when you grew up?

Occupation wise my switched around, marine biologist or astronaut were on there with me at different points in my childhood, but I think teaching was the biggest one that stuck for the longest. I still don't really know what I want to be when I grow up (nope, I'm like John, I haven't fully decided yet either.) But, the only thing that really mattered to me was wife and mother, and I couldn't have expected a better job!

Oh, and in case he reads this, Happy Birthday 39th Tommy! Enjoy the last year in your 30's!

Happy Labor Day!

Hope everyone enjoyed their long weekends! We had a nice time spending it away with friends in OC. John's coworker had us over with his 2 girls, who were quite taken with Bran (there will come a day that he enjoys young girls hanging over him) and we also met up with 1 of my friends and her family. So, now just the long wait until the next holiday time off, Thanksgiving, counting down the days, lol. Oh, and I got a snicker trying to explain to Bran that Labor Day was for those that labor, no, those that work, not necessarily those that go through labor ;)