Its been too long! We are starting a "New Journey"

I can't believe it has been almost a year since I blogged. I have missed it! Jillian is a little over 2, Jake just turned 15 and Gwen will be 17 in July. Surprisingly I am not heavy drinking :P Our "New Journey" that we are starting is the "Brogna Garden" Bill and I have been planning, we went to a "garden" class at Zamzows. It was really helpful and we hope our garden grows :P If it doesn't.....I am coming to get you Kim! :P Just kidding. If you aren't a garden buff and have questions.....take the Zamzows class and definitely buy the video, Jim Zamzow puts out "Learn Everything you need to know about Gardening" It was the best $10 we have spent in a long time :P You like that plug Kim??? HEHE Wait! maybe I shouldn't plug the video until our garden starts growing! Oh Well!

On Saturday Bill built a compost bin with lattice. It turned out great! Today we went shopping and bought a few things. We had to work our soil over because there was too alkaline. After that we planted 2 kinds of potatoes (red pontiac and russet) Also we planted onions :P In a couple weeks we will be planting some more stuff. I will take pictures also to show our hard work in progress.

Mother's Day 2010

As I wake this morning, I feel so many emotions.......

I am so thankful for my Mother. Now that I am a Mother it is so different! I appreciate her more now than ever. I think I always appreciated her, but never really knew this much. Looking back she did it all. She was able to stay home with us (thank you Dad for working so hard) and was there for everything! She was a wonderful cook and baked all sorts of goodies. (I think that's where I get a lot of my love for cooking!) She helped us with our homework, cleaned our scrapes and soothed our hearts when they were broken. She taught us right from wrong, hugged us, cleaned up after us, drove us places and made sure we were dressed cute, even when money was tight. She did for us and thought about herself last. Now I know she was trying to teach me to be a good Momma! She continues to do things for us and I have realized...she does these things because she wants to....not because she has to. So thank you Mom. I love you very much and only aspire to be half of what you have become!

Next I am thankful for my baby girl Jillian. I came across this quote and thought it was so true! "The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. The woman existed, but the mother, never. The mother is something absolutely new." Rajneesh~ I really never knew how wonderful it could be. She is such a gift. I have loved watching her grow over the year and she amazes me. I used to tell my Hubby....I just want her to say Momma ,hug and kiss me. She does all those things now and it just melts my heart! I always heard Mothers gush about these things, but it is so different when it happens to you! I look forward to all the changes and already miss the things she used to do! Thank you Jillian for all the joy you bring to my life!

I am also so thankful for my Hubby. He helps out so much and I am truly blessed. Without him there would be no Jillian.....and what kind of world would that be?? The other emotion I have when it comes to my Hubby is sadness. Unfortunately his Mother is no longer with us. I wish I could have met her, I wish she could see the kids, but I do know she is with us every day, watching over us! Also his Sister Patty who is no longer with us. She raised him since he was about 8. I know he misses her too terribly and it breaks my heart!

Lastly, I couldn't forget my Step-kids! They play such an important role of my life too. I can happily say, I am not heavily drinking, yet! Now "yet" is the key word :P I know that I am not a perfect Step-Mom , I am learning as I go. It has been so much fun watching Gwen and Jake grow. They have changed so much since I first met them. We have our squabbles sometimes, but for the most part I think we get along pretty darn good. It is a little scary having 2 teenagers around and I hoped it would help when Jillian is a teenager. Now I am hoping for Alzheimer's by then! Actually I am very blessed. They are very good kids. I also look forward to watching them grow.

~Updates~

OMG! It has been too long! So much has happened! Where do I start!?!?!



Well December 17th I got a call from My Mom at 5:30 am that she was in an accident (on her way to my house to watch Jillian) She hit some black ice and slammed into a stone wall. She declined an ambulance. I woke the kids told them to wait to go to school because Jillian was still sleeping. I got to the accident site and realized she needed to go to the hospital. I called a friend and she came over and let the kids go to school and was there for the baby. We headed to the hospital. When we got there we found out my Mom broke her sternum. Later we found out it was much more than that. To make a long story short...She was in the hospital till the 30th of December. During that time...we found out she brokes ribs, was anemic, dehydrated, her kidneys shut down, had emphysema, was on a high ammount of oxygen and much much more! The first Dr. We weren't thrilled with. She was too focused on my Mom having emphysema. The next Dr. realized My Mom was bleeding internally. Her spleen had split. We were very thankful for the second Dr. He is the reason she was able to come home. My Mom stayed with us for about a month after the accident and my Dad came to help her watch Jillian. Every day she is feeling better and getting stronger. She still has some pain and will for some time. We are just happy she is still around!

40 before I turn 40!

1. Take a cooking class ~Dutch Oven
2. Do a Living Will
3. Lose weight
4. Plant a garden
5. Scrapbook Jillian's (my almost 1 y/o Daughter) first year of life
6. Drink more water
7. Get a passport
8. Take a hot air balloon ride
9. Start exercising regularly
10. Enlarge and frame a Wedding picture
11. Use my Hubby's (DH's= Darling Hubby) Airline passes more frequently
12. Become more organized
13. Have date night with my DH 1 time every 2 weeks
14. Grow my own herbs
15. Learn how to make pot stickers
16. Cook more from scratch ~ no cake mixes, or boxed foods
17. Take a Family trip with my parents
18. Stop cursing in front of my young Daughter
19. Go back on Weight Watcher's
20. Add some color to my walls in my house
21. Be more aware of my posture
22. Utilize the Public Library more
23. Start a Birthday Calendar and send cards
24. See the Grand Canyon
25. Learn to use and be comfortable with a gun
26. Plant a tree
27. Take a day trip with Gwen (my 15 y/o Step-Daughter)
28. Take dancing lessons
29. Set healthy boundaries ~ read Boundaries By Henry Cloud, John Townsend again
30. Do the "Love Dare" with my DH
31. See myself 1/2 as sexy as my DH does
32. Blog again
33. Read more
34. Become debt-free (except my Mortgage)
35. Try not to procrastinate (this one must be really important...had on the list 2 times!)
36. Feel comfortable in my own skin
37. Be the best Mom/Step-Mom I can be (I have a almost 1 y/o daughter, 15 y/o Step- Daughter and a almost 14 y/o Step Son
38. Start making my own cards again
39. Read "Total Money Makeover" again with my DH, listen to his show online and DVD'S
40. Do a budget again

Jillian's first Thanksgiving!

Well this year we all have a lot to be thankful for! 2009 has been a good year! We had Jillian! What a blessing she has been. She is such a happy child and that I am very thankful for. I am also very thankful that everyone is healthy. Dad had some issues with Vertigo, but we think we figured out the problem and working to fix it. We all have had a few bugs go around, but for the most part everyone is good. The other thing I am very thankful for....We don't have to put Jillian in daycare! Bill watches her Mon and Tues....My Mom watches her Wed-Fri. It is a huge help and My Mom does so much more than just watching Jillian! I have to say everybody pitches in and helps out. What more could you want...right?

Thanksgiving was very nice. We had the kids and ate a wonderful Turkey dinner ~with all the fix ins. Jillian even had turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy and a taste of pumpkin pie. The whole time she ate she talked....nom nom nom...mmmmmm It was too cute. The kids Mom came and picked up the kids later, My parents left and Bill, Jillian and I all went down for a nap. We woke up and had pumpkin and chocolate cream pie ~yummy~ I think Jillian enjoyed her first Thanksgiving! I know I did!

Bad Blogger!

I have been a bad blogger lately! I need to be better...will I be? probably not, but I can try!

• This year is supposed to be a really bad...flu (H1N1) season...so I decided to try and nurse Jillian all the way thru it. I am really glad I have nursed this long! I know its not for everyone and I respect that. Some women love it, some women hate it! Well...this all said....Jillian has 8 teeth! Sometimes I wonder what I am thinking...lol Actually it is pretty good so far...she usually only bites me when she is falling asleep.
• Like I said before Jillian has 8 teeth (4 upper 4 lower). She has been a wonderful baby during this. I am quite impressed. Yes she gets whiny, yes she gets fussy and sometimes she can be downright pissy, but for the most part she is happy! I am truly blessed.
• Of course as a (New) Mother I have to broadcast her achievements! What kind of Mother would I be if I didn't?! She has been sitting up for a long time and she tried crawling she preferred backwards tho....really she would walk rather instead. She is standing while holding on to things...she pulls her self up to stand and she also stands for a few seconds without anything. OH...the joys of when she starts walking! I am scared! LOL She drinks from a sippy cup and eats a ton including:cheerios, teething cookies, plums, peaches, carrots, zucchini, chicken, apples...squash, sweet potato and avocado were not her favorites. We are trying new things all them time. I think she will have enough teeth by next month to eat steak! LOL She claps (in a funny way) and loves to dance( just like her Dad and Brother) She has flown to Phoenix and to Portland and is a very good traveler (I am very happy about this!) Hopefully she stays like this. We also drove to Tahoe with her and the kids in the back seat. She did just fine. She plays peek-a-boo and talks a lot....wonder where she gets that from?! A little while back Grandma was talking to her...saying....MAMAMAMA Jillian crinkled up her nose and said DADADADA. She is also developing a ton of funny facial expressions! I just love watching her. She makes me giggle. I am sure there are a ton more things she does, but I can't remember everything. If you have had a child...you understand. Your child takes your memory with em!

Off to Portland ~the meeting of Jillian's future Hubby

Jillian I decided to go up to Portland for a few hours. My Dear friend Katy (from NY) was visiting her sister. This was Jillian's second trip on a plane (the other was Phoenix) and she did great! Plus Daddy has never flown with us either. We will have to go somewhere that he can come :P A second set of hands would be wonderful! I hope that Jillian stays a "good" traveler! Jillian and I flew in on a Saturday about 11:30am. Katy picked us up and went back to her sisters. We ate, and her sisters son...who was 2 months younger than Jillian met and played. The first thing Katy said when we walked in was...Jillian meet your future husband! He was a real cutie! Around 3pm Katy drove us back to the airport to get on our flight home. It was a short trip, but we had a great time. It is always nice spending time with friends. Thank you for inviting us and tell your Sister thank you too!