Charles In Charge

Meet Charles Duke Perseus Theodore Beloo the V.

I've been wanting a Yorkshire Terrier for about a year now, but either they were too expensive (in excess of a thousand dollars) or they were, ..... wait, no... actually the ONLY reason I haven't gotten one has been due to the hefty price tag.

Imagine my delight when I found, on Craigslist, a woman looking to rehome her Yorkie Pup for a minimal fee! AND she only lived about 2 miles from the house. I went and picked up Charlie the same day and I couldn't be happier!

He's an amazing pup and just as sweet as can be!!

Happy Anniversary to US!

8 years ago, in front of family and friends, I walked down the aisle in a beautiful white gown (a stretch, I know) and met my husband at the alter. We were married by my father and celebrated the union with our children. The night was a blur, but I remember feeling very settled, and very very happy.

We had just about everything working against us and I knew marrying Ed was a risk, but I feel that it has paid off in more ways than I'll ever be able to truly appreciate.

Ed is one of a kind. He's seen me at my best and regrettably at my very worst,and still manages to find my company satifactory. He has a temper worthy of an Irishman, but a capacity for forgiveness that boggles my mind. He lets me sleep in and makes me breakfast in bed and he doesn't laugh when my bathng suit is too small and gives me a permanent wedgie. He spoils me rotten but is the first to serve a reality check when needed. He is hysterically funny and a better story-teller than Aesop himself. His work ethic is unrivaled by anyone in our aquaintance. He works hard (and then even harder) at a career he doesn't even like to ensure we have a roof over our heads, food in our bellies and enough left over to splurge when we want to. AND he doesn't make me pay the bills! He doesn't heed any of my advice but he's always willing to listen to it.

It has been a long hard road for the two of us, but I know without the shadow of any doubts, that I made the right choice that day in April. If we have another 8 years that are half so fun as these last 8 have been, I'll find myself so truly blessed.

Pain, thy name be Slipper Socks.

If you haven't fallen down the stairs lately, you may have forgotten just how badly it hurts to land bottom side down on the edge of a wooden step. My tailbone won't be able to forget for at least the next week.

I knew the slipper socks were a bad idea as soon as I spotted them at Old Navy. All stripey cuteness but two sizes too big. I reasoned with myself, that slippers don't really have to fit, I mean I won't be going in public with them and maybe, JUST maybe, the extra space would generate more heat (?) and keep my toes extra warm. Not exactly the type of thinking that can get a girl into Harvard, but it worked. I went home with canoe sized slipper socks.

As predicted they are super comfortable, but so big that in order to wear them properly the heel sits somewhere around my calf. It looks ridiculous, but my toes have been kept warm for weeks. In retrospect, I probably should have put them away as soon as the cat started attacking my feet in a bid to eat the dangling pom-pom's. A rational person would have saved their legs the abuse, but as we learned earlier, rational thinking isn't exactly my forte'.

The "accident" occurred last night. After putting the kids to bed I looked down and realized my feet appeared to be 3 feet long. As I walked my feet were sloshing around in the slippers (AKA canoes of death) like melted ice cubes in a cooler. In the ultimate act of laziness I decided to forgo pulling them up and headed for the stairs. I made it all the way down and then as I hit the first wooden step on the landing my world turned upside down.

I'm sure it was just a matter of me falling straight on my arse, but in my mind I did a Triple Salchow good enough to make Brian Boitano cry. As my tailbone found the edge of the stair it was a "CRACK" heard round the world.. Pain I haven't felt the likes of erupted from my butt in wave after wave of misery. And instead of screaming or cursing (my usual modus operandi where pain is involved) I actually thought "I'm alright! I'm OK. I'm alright, I'm OK" It's a technique I honed (much to my sisters chagrin) while in labor with my first daughter and it hasn't failed me yet!

So, what did we learn today? Buy slippers that fit or pull them before attempting to walk anywhere near or around stairs. And secondly, I'm an idiot.

FLORIDA: Meeting the Twins.

One of the things I was MOST looking forward to on this trip was meeting the latest additions to the Maurer/Fiore/Thomas clan. Jaxon & Jaylynn. They are of course, absolutely DARLING!! Sadly, My camera battery died 5 minutes after we walked through the door, so I wasn't able to get any spectacular pictures of them, but you can tell from the few I did manage to capture that Jennifer, Jason and big brother Justin are so blessed!






We were originally going over for a BBQ but the stars just didn't line up and we were only able to stay a couple of hours. :(

FLORIDA: Happy Birthday to ME! :)

11680 Days
1664 Weeks
384 Months
32 Years.

I didn't think Ed would be able to top last years "All day Shopping Birthday Extravaganza" but springing for a trip to Florida that just happened to fall on my birthday was pretty gosh darn awesome.

Yes, I was happy to see all of our old friends, yes I loved having a hotel room right on the ocean, were the five star restaurants a treat? You bet! But there was one thing that made this birthday (and trip for that matter) absolutely spectacular: GOODWILL. No, I don't mean like goodwill toward your fellow man, I mean Goodwill, like the thrift store.

As soon as we got into town I was itching to pass the kiids off to Ed and get to work on finding some bargains. And did I ever. The Stuart, Jensen Beach and PSL Goodwills are the BOMB. Yes, you have to dig a little and sort through each and every piece sometimes, but in the end I struck it rich. I hit the Gymboree/Baby Gap MOTHERLOAD, most of which still has the original tags on them. Woot Woot!

My name is Leslie and I am a Goodwill whore.
I stopped trying to deny it years ago.

BEST BIRTHDAY EVER! :)

Photo by Dominick Fiore.
He's got skillz.

FLORIDA: Bowling & the art of being exhausted!

One of the highlights of this trip was being so fortunate to spend time with our old friends the Cristoforo's. Wednesday night we were treated to a DELICIOUS dinner in downtown stuart, followed by family bowling. "Uncle Mike" taught Dom and Diana how to bowl and the rest of us had an even better time watching them all get the hang of it!

Dom and Diana passed out promptly after the bowling, but I was sure as soon as we got back to the hotel they'd wake up. Not only did they sleep through the extraction from their carseats, they slept all the way up to the hotel, up the elevator, and even slept through their pajama-ing. It's been a LONG time since they've had so much action! LOL

FLORIDA: Fun in the Atlantic

Stuart, Florida.

What a perfect day!

We were SO excited when the clouds finally parted, the winds died down (sort of) and mother nature gifted us ONE perfect day. The water was still frigid, but somehow Dominick and Diana braved the icy waves and had themselves some serious fun in the sun!

FLORIDA: Two little Bikers

With nothing much to do with the Uber gloomy weather we brought with us from TN, we thought the kids might enjoy looking around the local Harley dealership. (AKA: Ed is itching for a new bike)

Dominick was quick to pick out a beautiful 3 wheeler for me and a nice little ride for himself and his sister, sadly (Or thankfully) Ed didn't find what he was looking for so the search for the "perfect ride" continues.

FLORIDA: Playmobil and Homeschooling on the go

One of the things I love best about homeschooling is the portableness of it all. And being able to get your handwriting assignment done while listening to the sounds of the waves crashing on the shore ain't so bad either!

Brooke wasn't able to get away from school and was left at home in the capable hands of her older sister. As she so eloquently put it "If you're not going to Disney, I'm not interested."

But the one thing we did do whilst in Florida (that Brooke was peeved about missing) was visit one of our Family favorites: THE PLAYMOBIL FUN PARK in West Palm Beach. Our (Odom) family was introduced to Playmobil toys while living in Europe and I was THRILLED When they became more readily available in the states. Over the past few years Brooke, Dom and Diana have amassed quite the collection, so a visit to Playmobil land was definitely in order. Admission is ONE dollar and you can stay and play for as long as you'd like!

EARTH

Dominick and Diana both awoke in good spirits and were able to finish their morning lessons early, as a special treat I decided we'd watch "Earth" to fill in our science time.

I've seen portions of the content of the movie through specials like "Planet Earth" on the discovery channel, but having it edited so masterfully for the kids was great. They're starting to understand the cycle of life and the food chain and while some of the animals weren't spared their lives (Even though the kids yelled "RUN AWAY") it wasn't gruesome.

The end brought all of us to tears. Poor Daddy polar bear!