Back to Blogging.....

Sooooo..... I think I'm back... I just need to take a break from vacation photos! If you can believe it, everyone is asleep. Amanda went to bed easily, Nick only needed to be tucked in twice, Gabby is in a Motrin-induced sleep with a 101.5 temp, and Steve was so exhausted he nearly fell asleep when I was having a conversation with him. So as you can see.... I have a chance to blog...

Let me jump right in by saying I really haven't felt like blogging lately. Last week we got some devastating news... our 9 year old Lab, Tug, has lymphoma. One minute we were taking him for his regularly scheduled check-up and 2 days later we had an appointment with a veterinary oncologist. I know he is not human... but the news was still heart breaking. He has been a member of our family since before I had kids. He is the best dog, shows unconditional love, never yells or gets mad at me, and listens better than any other member of the Herdoiza family. Without treatment the prognosis is grim.... so Tug began treatment last Sat. and hopefully he will begin to return to his old self. I am feeling hopeful............. we are doing the right thing for Tug at this time.

What a Great Dog! I always loved this picture because it looks like Tug is smiling. I took this photo 2 or 3 years ago when I was taking test shots with my new camera.

On a totally different topic.... I found these huge bubble wands for the kids... They blow gigantic bubbles and are very cool!

See what I mean by GIGANTIC bubbles.............

Not to be out done by his sister......

Gabby was having a great time watching all the bubbles float by... I love her expression.... So sweet...

Now this picture cracks me up.... I timed it just right... Nicholas is floating away in one of the gigantic bubbles.... There he goes.... the ultimate Bubble Boy!

Not to be out done by her brother... Amanda had to give it a try... It was hard to get the timing down as perfectly as with Nick... There were a lot of factors involved.... The bubble had to be big enough... then she had to chase after it... then she had to center her head in the bubble... then I had to take the picture before the bubble burst. Not quite as believable as Nicks, but Amanda might fly off at any minute .............

We were playing on the the driveway with the bubbles because Steve finally got his weed whip working for the first time this summer. After numerous attempts to fix it, lots of help from Dad Gerwatowski, and finally realizing he had the wrong ratio of gas and oil and the wrong oil...... Steve got the darn thing started. Wow! You can finally see my flowers that were growing behind the jungle of grass.


I love this time of year when the flowers go crazy!! The impatiens are beautiful and so easy to take care of... and did I mention they even flourish in a jungle!

I've been passing the time baking lately.... I tried this recipe from Martha Stewart's Cookies cookbook. These are double chocolate chunk cookies. They look yummy, but I was a little disappointed. If I make them again I will forgo the milk chocolate and make them with dark chocolate. They were best right out of the oven.... a couple days later they were stale.... UGH!

What is going on here?????? That is Gabby in Amanda's hamper. A lot of times I do laundry in the kitchen..... well.... I pretreat stains in the kitchen.... then I can watch Gabby wander... and she usually stays out of trouble. In the laundry room, she spills Tug's water bowl, gets into the dog food,climbs under the wash tub, and she likes to pull out the dryer sheets, then she moves into the hall closet right off the laundry room and starts emptying shoes, etc. Now do you see why the laundry room is UNSAFE! There is much less trouble in the kitchen, only hampers, and they have breathable mesh. Everything was fine until she wanted to climb out and got stuck. What a stinker!

Finally... I just love this picture... Dad doesn't see Gabby that often so I'm glad they did some bonding......

Well, I think I'm off to read. Until later........

Will the Vacation Pictures Ever End??

I can't believe I'm still posting pictures from our "vacation" which was over 2 weeks ago. I have new things and new pictures to talk about. Oh well..... Let me finish with the tail end of our stay in Florida. The only photos I have yet to upload are the ones from Disney. Slowly I'm making progress................

Here are photos of everyone playing in the pool at Mom and Dads. Nicholas and Amanda were playing bumper boats and trying to knock each other off and into the water...They had some lousy attempts and eventually Steve and I would go and tip them off.....

Swimming on Daddy's back...

Amanda was so happy when Grampie got in for a swim.... He kept warning her that when she least expected it... he would get her!

We got to hang out with Michele everyday during the vacation.... She is so much fun....

Gabby really loved the pool this time.... Here she is giving a kiss to Grampie....

Swimming with Aunt Michele.....

I thought this picture was hilarious. You know how Gabby likes to explore and get into trouble.... It looks like this time her exploring might have paid off.... in cold hard cash.... look what she found in Grammie's purse... and she can't move her hands fast enough to collect her payout :)
I adore this picture too. It looks like the two are having a great conversation....

Bathing Beauty #1....

and Bathing Beauty #2......

So... July is a busy month in the Herdoiza family.... we celebrate Megan's birthday, followed by Dad's, and Steve's. Here are the birthday boys....

Amanda and her Grammie planned this elaborate soiree..... she had a fancy tablecloth, plates, cake, candles, and these balloons.... They said Happy 1st birthday and Amanda took some markers and fancied them up so they said Happy 41st birthday.... Here is her handiwork.... my party planner......

We were pleasantly surprised to find out that Bob had a meeting in Florida at the same time we were visiting Mom and Dad... he stopped by for a short visit and some cake... It was great! I love this picture of the family. Everyone looks so Happy!

I even look pretty happy!

How do you have such soft and silky hair?

The humidity just makes mine go CRAZY!

People do say I'm as sweet as sugar..... What do you think Grammie?

So Cute..........

Here are some photos of when we moved over to the Hammock Beach resort. One day we played at the beach.... our friend Jim Cushing grew up in Hawaii and he was teaching the kids how to grab a wave....he was determined to put a smile on Amanda's face..

Easy as 1 2 3...........

I think he succeeded in bringing a huge grin to Amanda's face....


Then it was Nick's turn to give it a try.........

Another wave....another success... leave it to the guy from Hawaii.......

Aunt Michele came to play in the ocean.....

and in the sand............... The sand tunnel was very impressive....

Nick in the sand....

I just really like this photo................

The kids played some tennis in the stifling heat.... Nicholas and Jack Martin were playing a mean game of doubles on clay....

And who were their opponents.... none other than Amanda and Steve.............. Hi-fiving in-between shots....

And I have to put in a picture of the reason for this entire 20 year reunion...... the Tennis team and Coach Toricelli.... Go Cats!

I know.... will the vacation pictures every end..... Until later......

My Morning Nightmare!

Today started as a NIGHTMARE! I was up at the usual 6 a.m. to workout, and I was trying to get a lot accomplished before bringing the kids to camp. I don't work on Wednesdays so...unfortunately it is my cleaning day. After my run I thought....I'm all stinky and yucky...I might as well clean the shower and tackle the bathroom. I'll throw the towels in the washer after I make lunches for the kids. I'll be a few steps ahead before leaving. I had a school enrollment meeting for Nicholas today, and I wanted to get a lot of these chores done beforehand. Well.....while cleaning the shower I noticed the bottle of Tilex was broken. In fact, the nozzle was cracked where the bottle attaches and locks. Wouldn't you know I dropped it in the shower spilling some. It was a new, full bottle, so I picked it up and made a mental note to put the Tilex in a new container. Soooooo....I finished the bathroom, took a shower, got dressed, went downstairs to make lunches, and see who was up and needed breakfast. So far everything was going well. The kids were having breakfast, and I decided to go get the basket of towels sitting in the bathroom. So where is the nightmare you ask?????

Let me preface this by saying....my bathroom is "beautifully" carpeted. The previous homeowners, or the builder, carried the carpet from the bedroom and walk-in closet to the bathroom. I always thought this was a terrible idea. Everyone spills things in the bathroom..... Who carpets their bathroom? I was just waiting for the day.... would it be red lipstick, nail polish remover, hair dye, mouthwash.... or maybe an entire, brand new bottle of Tilex with BLEACH.... You guessed it. I went to grab the Tilex bottle off the counter (which I had set aside to remind myself to replace the broken bottle) and it slipped right out of my hands. In slow motion, and to my horror, I watched the Tilex bottle with BLEACH tumble and spill all over the carpeting. Glug, glug, glug..... it seeped right into the carpet. I screamed, and quickly reached for the paper towels to sop up the mess. I flew downstairs and grabbed my handy wet vac. (After all it gets almost anything out of the carpet...remember the diaper disaster last year...) Unfortunately, this was a disaster of epic proportions. As soon as the bleach came into contact with the carpet it ruined it.

I guess it could have been worse....... if the basket of towels weren't in the way.... more surface area would have been ruined. Instead only the top of the basket got a lovely splattering of bleach. Now my navy towels have beautiful pink splotches running through them. I guess that gives me a reason to get some new towels.... Anyway, I was so disgusted with myself.... even if it was an accident. I looked down surveying the damage and realized I had also ruined my shirt, this one covered in white splotches. UGH! In my haste to get one more thing done I created a huge disaster.

Anyway.... I took the kids to camp.... my skin smelling of bleach... in a very foul mood. Steve called me on my drive home to see if my day was improving..... he reminded me it could only get better. He was happy that now he wouldn't have to worry about spilling hair dye, toothpaste, or cologne on the carpet.... I already did the damage and nothing would be as disasterous. I know that he was smiling inside. All those times I warned the kids and Steve to be extra careful....
UGH! Until later............