Marley versus Kona

Anyone who has had the wonderful opportunity to have met Marley, our cat, knows that he thinks he is the ruler, and that he calls the shots. Marley can be a very mean cat, but at the same time, can be very nice. We have had Marley since he was about 6 weeks old...so yes he was taken from his mother too soon. I believe since we lived in an apartment, Marley became very attached, and so to this day, he is always in the same room as us. He might be sitting by himself ( especially when he is in that mood ), but he is very near. At night, Marley sleeps between Bob and I. When I come home after work, he greets me at the door, then lets me pick him up, and pet him. I usually sit down and watch TV, and he sits in my lap and purrs...i know, i know...some of you didn't think it was possible. See the other side of Marley is very mean. For no reason, he will jump at you, bite you, hiss at you, and run after you. He even decides that he needs to be fed his wet food in the morning, and if you don't wake up, he will do everything in his power to get your attention, even if it means knocking stuff off the dresser or side tables. So, Marley definitely has a personality...which I kinda don't mind. Now that Kona, the dog, is in the picture, Marley is taking a beating. Kona just wants to play, but doesn't realize he is almost three times the size of Marley. He will run after Marley and bark, and bark, and well...Marley hisses, and swings those strong arms right at Kona. good thing Marley does not have claws! So, it has been pretty funny watching them. Marley asks for it most of the time...he antagonizes Kona. Every evening, Marley will go and sleep in Kona's Kennel. Last night, after I took Kona out, he went to his kennel on his own to go to bed. When I went to lock the cage, I realized that he was actually in there with Marley. I was soooo surprised when Marley did not hiss or anything. The only reason Marley got up was because I was giving him his wet food, and well..Marley loves his wet food. I got a picture of it...

However, the day before...Marley was not so nice...When I am working on the computer, Kona likes to lay on the bed. He usually falls asleep, and it is nice because when he sleeps, then he isn't biting something. This bed though, is Marley's favorite. Marley will lay there when Kona is there, just as long as Kona is right by him. I had a box on the bed where I had some pictures, and Marley wanted to lay in the box. This woke Kona up, and Kona went up to Marley. They started to lick each other and were being nice, so, I grabbed the camera. When I snapped the picture, this is what I got...

So, Marley is definitely hot and cold when it comes to Kona! Marley had better watch out though because at the rate Kona is growing...he is going to be 100 pounds by the end of September!

Happy Birthday Grandpa!!

Today is my Grandpa Napolitan's birthday. He would have been 87! This is his first birthday since his passing last October. Grandpa was such a great man. When I was younger, my grandma and grandpa would come and visit us in California for about 3 months at a time. They were always there for Christmas. I loved Christmas break, because we could spend it with them. Grandpa was always so cute when he drove. Ofcourse, we would always remind him the speed limit was 45, not 25, but we loved him so much, because he was taking us to get ice cream, or to go shopping. I will never forget the time when Grandpa was at my soccer game. We were winning 3 - 0. I got pushed ( I am sure I started that one) but my grandpa didnt like the fact that the ref didnt make a call, so here was this little old Italian man on the side lines yelling and screaming at the ref...my mom actually had to hold him from not going on the feild...now those of you who know grandpa, know he is a small gentle man...so this ofcourse was very funny! I have so many great memories of my grandpa. I wish I would have lived closer to them so I could have spent more time. I am so grateful I got to say goodbye to my grandpa. I believe in my heart that he waited until we were all there to see him one last time. His last words to me were " I love you". I feel so special to have a guardian angel up there watching over my family and I. I know he is there to help me through the tough times, and to smile during the great times...I also know that the reason the Cubs are doing so well is because he is up there shining down on them! GO CUBS!!!!!

Grandpa, I love you so much, and I miss you everyday! I hope you are having cake and ice cream up there, and all the spaghetti you could ever want! Take care of Grandma, and please watch over her! We all miss you so much! Happy Birthday!

Home Improvements

This weekend, we finally started and finished the tile behind the stove in the kitchen. When we moved in, we left that part white and didn't paint it because we wanted to put up tile back there. We looked at all different tile, and we never really found one we liked. When we did, it had to be ordered, and the shipping price would be as much as the tile itself, so it wasnt worth it. A couple of weeks ago, we were at Lowes, and we found the perfect tile. It was exactly what we were looking for. I was so excited! This weekend, Bob and my dad put the tile up. Yesterday, I helped by wiping down the tile after Bob put up the grout. I was so excited when it was finished. We have to seal it still, but we have to wait about a week to do that.


I liked doing different home improvements around the house. I wish I had an unlimited bank account because there are so many things I would do. Everything costs so much! One of our next big projects is our landscape. In the back, we want to add a porch. We have the big bricks picked out for that. In order to do that, we need to have the curbs put in around our landscape. And, before we can do that, we need to have the gutters put on. I just havent made the phone call for the gutters yet because...well, if you know me...you know I hate talking on the phone! For some reason, in Florida, the builders done put gutters on when they build the house...if you live here, and you see the rain, you would be amazed that they dont have gutters. When it rains down here....it pours!! So anyways, the gutters need to be up so that we know where the run-off is and such...This will be a big project, and I am sure it will take a while to get done!

On my last post I mentioned it was a big week for me, as I could test to see if Bob and I were going to be parents...well...I still havent tested! However, I still have nothing, so in my mind, I have a bit of hope there. See, after two years of trying, we get so down when the test is negative. Most of the time, I dont even make it to the day for testing, I know about two, three days before that it didnt work. However, this month, I am 12 days late as I write this. Now, this doesnt mean much, I have been this late before! So, I think I am going to just wait it out. If we are pregnant, I will be ok because I am taking pre-natal vitamins, and I dont do anything that will hurt the baby or myself. At some point, the symptoms will show up, and then I will test! If we are not, well then we will know when it comes...so until then, I will continue to pray, and hope that this is the month, and come March, we will be proud parents of a beautiful baby girl or boy!

In Loving Memory of Ed

Thanksgiving 2007 our house!!


Ed was a wonderful man who my family met when they first moved to Florida. Ed and Carol lived in the house next door to the house my parents were renting while they were waiting to move into their house. Over the years, we have all became really close. My dad and brother golf with Ed and Carol whenever they could. Ed and Carol became part of our family. Carol works with Bob too! Last year, Ed was diagnosed with Esophagus Cancer. He surpassed all the odds, and survived the cancer. The cancer was gone, and he was able to celebrate Thanksgiving at our house! It was so nice to see Ed smiling and happy that he had overcome the odds. He did though, have a long journey ahead of him. The cancer had damaged his esophagus, so in order for him to be able to keep food down, he had to have surgery. He went in for surgery in February, and they nicked his lung. Since then, he hasn't been able to breath on his own. On Tuesday, July 8, 2008, Ed went to be with the Lord. I know he is golfing like crazy now! I can just picture him going from golf course to golf course. He sure did love golf! Ed was a great man, who cared so much for Carol. He is going to be missed greatly! I love you Ed...we will miss you forever! Say hi to my Grandpa!!!

Happy Birthday America

What a nice weekend for the fourth of July...the rain actually stayed away...for part of the time. On Friday, Holly, Jason, Bob, and I went to my parents for a cookout and swimming. We brought Kona and Duke! We took them swimming, well, we put them in the pool with us...Kona didnt cry, he just knew exactly where to get out at! The two dogs are about a month a part...Holly and I dont like the way they play sometimes...especially when they grawl...however, Bob and Jason encourage it, so we decided that we will teach the dogs how to play correctly, without the guys around!

I recieved an email that had questions about our country. It had 30 questions, and I got 24 correct. I would have to say that although that is pretty good compared to others who took it, I should have had a 30! I am a teacher, who teaches this information...I need to refresh my mind...maybe that is what the summer is for. This questionare asked questions about our constitution, how america became free and such. It amazes me how many Americans dont know much about the FREE country they live in. One thing that is very important to me is to be patriotic. Now I am not saying we should all just wear red, white, and blue all the time, and yell and scream out that we are Americans..but what I mean is that, it is important to remember where you live, and how lucky you are to be ina free country, where you can be who you want to be. I know our country has a long way to go, to accept people for who they are, but atleast in our country, you dont get stoned by the government for it. I dont understand how people can say such horrible things about the United States. I know we have many things that need to be changed...but when you compare us to other countries, we should be glad and grateful we were blessed to live here in America. With the elections coming up, I know our country needs a strong president. I know who I am going to vote for, but I will not get into that, because personally, neither of the canidates in my opinoin are the best, but hey, I couldnt do it, so I wont complain. It is sad though to see a country, called the UNITED states be so divided when it comes to politics. How sad...I mean honestly, there are more important things to fight and argue about. I would love to see the day they both Republicans and Democrats can admit that they do agree, and that we should all just get along! Anyways, enough about politics! My main point really was that people should be proud to be an American, and should respect their country. As a teacher, I expect my students to be respectful during the pledge of allegiance. I dont require them to stand or even say the pledge ( religious rights come into play ), but I do expect them to stop what they are doing, and respect those who are standing and saying the pledge. That flag is a symbol of our freedom, and symbol of all those men and women who have fought and who still are fighting for our freedom.

Alright, so this week is an exciting week for me. Every month I tried to be optomistic, even though I just get shot down every time....but one of these months, I am going to get those two lines and will be the happiest girl in the whole world!!! I am not on medication at the moment...since I had my operation, I cant take medication until August, so really, I dont think anything will work without it, but there is always that chance it will...so keep your fingers crossed for me :)

Gotta love the Pets!

We have had Marley, the cat since we first moved away to school together back in 2001. We both loved cats, and since we didn't have one at home, we decided that we needed one when we went away. Bob bought Marley also to keep me company, since I lived alone...well at the time. Marley is a very unique cat. He thinks he is either a human or a dog...cant quite figure it out...he just definitely doesn't think he is a cat. For example, he loves water, he follows you to wherever you go, and talks back to you, and he annoys you to death when you are sleeping and he thinks it is time for you to get up. Did I mention that he bites too? Yes, this cat bites everyone and everything! Don't get me wrong here, this cat can be the nicest cat ever, until he decided to just snap...it is kinda like he taunts you, then will get you to pet him, then...snap...he bites! Thank goodness he doesn't have front claws! Anyways, he has been the King of the house...up until about a month ago, when baby Kona, the dog came along.
Kona is about 12 weeks old. He is a yellow lab, and is growing very fast!!! When we first brought him home, Marley didn't really care...he sniffed him, and walked away. Kona sniffed, and was completely scared! Once Kona got used to the fact he had a new home, and became comfortable, he decided it would be fun to chase Marley! Marley asks for it though half the time...he will walk up to Kona, stare him down, and then run! Kona will then chase Marley, barking and barking and barking at him. Yesterday, Kona pinned Marley to the ground! Marley got in one great hit ( Marley has the strongest punch I have ever seen ). I ran to...believe it or not...Marley's rescue! I really think that Kona just wants to play, but I don't think he realizes he who he is messing with!
Having a puppy is the craziest thing we have done. I love the dog to death, and he is so cute, but what work!! I mean this is a lot of work. I have to have eyes on him at all times so he isn't biting something he isn't suppose to, or running off to pee. He is pretty good at going to the door...unless we are at Holly and Jason's house...then of course, I say...he has to pee, and Bob says, he just went...all while the dog is peeing on their brand new carpet!!! In the mornings, he goes completely crazy! Runs all over, biting everything, including me!! I usually take him for a walk in the morning, and then play fetch for a while. He will then sleep, and I will try to get some things done around the house! That is until Marley so quietly walks up to Kona, sniffs, and then here we go....World War 10!!!! It is very interesting!!!
We are getting used to having a puppy, and before we know it, he will be old enough to be left out of the kennel when we are gone, and wont be as hyper and crazy! Marley will never change...but I am ok with that...he has personality! Our neighbors told us that a puppy is harder work then a brand new baby!!! I guess we will have to wait and see!!!!

Reasons?

Is there really a reason for everything that happens in our lives? Is there a reason why people come into our lives and leave? A reason why I do this or that? It seems as though telling myself everything happens for a reason makes certain situations acceptable, and understanding. I can accept the fact that this or that has happened for a reason, and that eventually, I will see what that "reason" was. I look at my life, and I know I have many things that I have dreamed of. I have a great husband who loves me dearly, and would pretty much do anything for me ( even shave his ugly beard :) ), I have a beautiful new home, a loving family, awesome friends, and a good job. I have to remind myself daily that I have all of these wonderful things, and that in general, life is good.
Deep inside, I know that life isn't really THAT good, and that the one thing that would complete our wonderful lives is a child of our own. We have been trying now for two years. I know two years doesn't seem like a long time, but for two people who have dreamed about the day they could be called mom and dad, and look into their very own eyes, two years seems like eternity! Everyone keeps telling us to hang in there, and to not think about it, or the big one: Everything happens for a reason. Well I have been going through my past two years of life, and trying to find that very reason. I try to think of what I would or wouldn't have, had we got our Gift from God in our first year of marriage. I try to think that there is a reason, there is a special baby that is waiting to be a part of our family, to call us mom and dad, and to love us! Here is what I have come up with:

1. Bob is younger than me, and maybe, just maybe, he needed these two years to prepare himself. Anyone who knows me, knows that children have been apart of my life always, and that I was pretty much born to be a mom. That doesn't make me a perfect mom, but I would like to think that God made me this type of person in preparation, that one day, I will be a loving mom. I have seen Bob grow so much in the past two years. Watching him with my niece or nephew in the past two years, has assured me, Bob will make an awesome dad! He is definitely ready now!

2. When we started trying for a baby, we had brand new jobs, lived in a brand new state, and we were getting used to our new life together. Having a child would have added stress, and possibly made the miracle not as rewarding. Children are a special gift, and they need a parents love and affection at all times. Everyone knows that my first year of teaching wasn't exactly a breeze! Being pregnant and dealing with all of that mess would have not been good for the baby, or I! Bob and I both love our jobs now ( well Bob always did ), we have the hang of what is going on, and we even now have a house to welcome this bundle of joy into ( that room is patiently waiting ).

3. Everyone who knows me, knows that I have wanted to me a mom since I was about 5...maybe even before that! I have always had this imagination of what my house would look like with a baby, with all the baby items...the Chicco Stroller, the Restoration Hardware Crib, nursery bedding from pottery barn...I mean I have honestly had this all planned out! I know exactly what I want...or at least I think I do! I like to say that I would go back to work after our precious angel is born, but maybe, just maybe, the reason is...I wont go back. So, God is waiting for Bob and I to be ready, financially ready, for Madison or Brady to be born. Well, I know that I may not get everything that I want for this baby, but I do know that our children will be loved, and cared for, and completely the center of our lives! So, we definitely are ready for this financially, physically, and emotionally.

So, these are the reasons I have told myself. I am sure I can look at our lives more in depth and probably come up with more reasons, even though, in my mind, there should be no reason why I have to wait, and others just get! But, in order to make my life somewhat normal, I have to agree, that everything does happen for a reason. In my heart, I know that God will bless Bob and I with a son or daughter. I know I will be able to be a mom. I just need to continue to be patient, and accept the fact, that there is a reason!