17 Days and Counting.......

I have never been a big fan of change, but here it comes! Phil's retirement is right around the corner and I can say that I am not ready for this change AT ALL. When I was little I hated anything that was different from the norm....camp, end of the school year, not having my Dad around all the time, etc... And now we are closing in on one of the biggest changes in our life. I woke up the other morning and realized that my husband is not going to be a policeman anymore. Pretty weird feeling. I have to laugh to myself that I think this is such a big deal...Hellooooo I must say, how do you think Phil feels about this? He is afraid that he may have an identity crisis. We joke about the uniform, but really I must admit we are both pretty scared about this change in our lives. He is really excited about his new career in Insurance - he talks about it all the time. He is making contacts, getting leads and talking about it to all of our friends...and he doesn't even have keys to the office yet! I know he will do great because he is such a people person. The same skills that have made him the ever famous "Officer Phil" will take him far in his new job. I have been so proud of how well my brother has done with my Dad's company and it makes me happy to have 2 of my favorite people working together. I know my Dad would be really happy about that one. What I haven't figured out is how I am suppossed to work without him. I mean, we are team..good cop, bad cop you know how it goes. We drive to work together, eat lunch together, share an office, answer each others phones, finish each other's sentences, do work for one another to ease the other's workload. I told Phil I don't want to be like every other couple I know...I love the fact that we can have a married life and a work life. I love being able to look over at any point in the day to see him. But, change here we come. Thankfully, I have a new partner that will be fun to work with...we get along and he doesn't bring a big ego. I have a lot of great friends at the department so I know my work day won't be a bad one. But all the same, I am still sad about him leaving.....

Peace, Love and Happiness

Well, the weekend is over....Normally I would be feeling that blaa of another Monday morning! Today, I was thinking about what makes my life so good? As I sat down with my third cup of coffee I realized the list is so long...where do I start? I was catching up on friends blogs, facebook and emails and I realized how full my life really is. I have a great husband whom I love more than anything...he is my soul mate. What could be better than that? I have three of my own kids who bring me so much joy and happiness. I have two great kids that came to me when I married Phil and now their significant others. I have a granddaughter and one more on the way. This weekend we had Alex, our 3 year old granddaughter who is only 4 months older than Kaden overnight. She is a cutie...taking great joy in how funny her Poppa is and having lots of fun playing with her Uncle Kaden. She fits right into our crazy household. And I have great friends..both near and far. I was reminded this morning how lucky we are as a family and how much we have to be thankful for.
Kaden loves to have his Mommy and Daddy take naps with him..I know you are thinking how hard that must be:) Right before he falls asleep, he'll plant a big kiss on me and tell me (with a lot of emphasis) "I love you mommy." He told my grandma this weekend "GG you are cute." He knows how to reach out and grab your heartstrings. I must brag about Caitlin and Matthew...Matthew received straight A's on his report card and Caitlin is doing an outstanding job on her auto project. We went out to dinner on Saturday night...I must say we were a little concerned about taking 3 kids to Saucy Bistro to celebrate my Mom's birthday with family. I gave the "we are going to a nice restaurant lecture", packed a huge bag of goodies for Kaden and hoped for the best. These days it is hard to make it through a meal at Bob Evans! Well, three hours of dining later and they did awesome!! I can't say we were able to visit much as we spent all of our time entertaining them, but when several people came by to tell us how beautiful our family was and how well behaved our children were I knew we had pulled it off! So, mission accomplished!
These days, we are busy counting the days down until Phil retires and waiting for the new chapter in our lives to begin. But, until then I will enjoy my days at the station with him and be thankful for what we have. His retirement also means I will no longer be working 2 days a week at night. That is a mixed blessing as I enjoy my 2 days at home with Kaden, however it is tough to be with him all day, go and work 8 hours and then come home and only get a few hours of sleep as I still need to be up early the next day to get kids off to school. I am not really complaining as I have really enjoyed being a part-time stay at home Mommy....I will miss this time:) Well, I have rambled quite a bit (must be all the caffeine)...Barney is over and Kaden has begun to scramble the remotes and I have about 6 baskets of laundry staring at me. I really have found peace, love and happiness......

Bring on the Snow!

The first big snow fall of 2009 has hit....finally! The kids were starting to think that snow would not be seen here this year ~ they just can't appreciate the Cleveland winter yet can they? Snow dumped hard & fast and they spent all of last weekend sledding on the hill in our neighborhood. Kaden spent HOURS in the driveway with his Dad, helping shovel all the snow and having a little fun as well!I must admit that I didn't brave too much of the cold and head to the hills to gather pictures of Caitlin and Matthew, but they sure didn't mind the cold as they were outside for hours! We have begun "Project Phil Retirement" and I am knee deep in party plans. I can't believe the date is almost here! It is both exciting and a little scary....a very drastic change in our lives. Phil and I are are so used to working together and sharing an office and now we will be like everyone else we know!! I am not sure I am ready for this, but none the less we are excited. Phil and I have been busy at work trying to get ready for this transition. We recently joined Facebook...I jokingly told him that it was just another way to drive him crazy once we aren't working together anymore! We are looking forward to an adult night out as Kaden is heading to Grandma's for a sleepover. A much needed night and morning without any kids! Hope everyone is staying warm:)

Happy Holidays!

Well, I have decided to give this blogging a try. Can't promise much as I have never been much of a writer, but I figured it is a good way to keep in touch. I have enjoyed checking the sites of my cousins Erin & Claire to keep up to date on their little ones.....so here we are! The kids had a great Holiday are we are doing well as we begin the New Year...2009! Caitlin is a happy 5th grader at Ruffing Montessori and doing awesome. Matthew once again has made high honors in the 3rd grade at Avon Heritage and Kaden....well Kaden keeps us on our toes ALL THE TIME! He is a ball full of energy and it is hard to believe he is almost 3 years old. He has started the New Year off fully potty trained..yeah! and is talking up a storm, constantly trying to reason with us and outsmart us at every corner. Well, I promise more to come....