Thursday, December 27, 2012

Not really MIA....

I know it appears as though I have been totally MIA but I have at least been posting on Twitter, so if you follow me there you know my life has been crazy. I have dealt with a sinkhole at my house, a crazy job, a few illnesses of the children and MIL, Jolie starting kindergarten, a crazy job, adding an addition on to the sorority house, did I mention the crazy job?  I know work isn't everything and as much as I try to stop and smell the roses I am consumed with work. I really swear I am going to change that in 2013. But we had a fabulous holiday and hope you did as well. I promise to try for more regular post, we'll see if I can do it!

Sunday, July 15, 2012

Great Weekend

Rich and I have made it a point to start doing more on the weekend to get the kids out of the house and doing more. So this weekend on Saturday we took a family trip to the mall. We started in Dick's getting Jolie signed up for cheerleading, she is so excited. From there we walked around, browsed a few stores, I bought 2 shirts at Macy's one orange and one blue to gear up for football season. Then we took the kids to the play area to run and jump and have fun, they lived it. We then ate lunch at the food court. After that we came home for naps and I straightened the house up a little. Jolie then went for a sleepover with my MIL. Rich and I enjoyed watching an exciting, extra innings baseball game. And then we went to bed! Today Rich played golf this morning, I am so glad he got out with the boys for a little while. While he was gone Avery and I hit Tarhget for some random stuff. Then it was nap time. After nap Rich was back and we went to the pool with the girls for a little while. We got about an hour of swimming in before the weather moved in. Then it was a quick bath for the girls and then the girls and Rich watched a kids movie while I cleaned the kitchen, made dinner and wrote this post. It was a great weekend! Now we are back to it all tomorrow and a super busy work week.

Monday, June 25, 2012

When it Rains it Pours....

So I have been meaning to write this post for well over a week and this is the title of the post I had in my head, although now it is not only fitting to all that is going on in our lives but also to the weather outside. The last two weeks have just been one crazy event after another. It started two weeks ago when we made some changes in positions and titles at work, it was a crazy few days but the good part is I still have a job with the same pay I had, I breathed a sigh of relieve there. Then it was the construction starting on our house to fix the builder defect we have lived with for 7 long years. Next month they will start drilling to repair the sinkhole we have at our house. Last week Monday, I came home from work to discover our AC has not working, super long story short it turns out the construction crew covered our AC unit and it couldn't get enough air so it blew up the capacitor. At 10:30 that night someone was here fixing it. My MIL has been in the hospital for 10 days as a result of her ongoing battle with COPD. My husband has been dividing his time between time with her and time at home, thank goodness he has been off work most the month. At the same time Rich's mom went to the hospital Jolie had her tonsils out. She has done great and should be fully recovered by Friday of this week, that will be her 2 week mark. There were a few rough days with her and some heart wrenching moments of her crying in pain but we are much better now. Avery has been good except for some reason last night when she wanted to play from 11:30 pm until 5 am, it was a long night. Thank goodness my husband took most of the time with her and I got the tail end. Needless to say we were moving super slow this morning, I am on vacation this week so at least I wasn't hearing the alarm this morning at 4am like normal. Yesterday I bought a new car so that was half the day in a car dealership but I will say going in the rain did proof beneficial as I got a great deal on a car I really like. I got a Chevy Equinox and it has the new car smell that makes me so happy, wish you could bottle that smell, the car wash has an air freshner called new car but it just isn't the same! While we are talking about shopping we also bought a new TV for our living room, that was Rich's Father's Day gift that he now refers to as the son he never had, too funny! I went furniture shopping on Saturday morning and got a console to put the TV on and to hold the equipment that goes with the TV, it is so nice, it has sliding doors and drawers and matches our other pieces well. We are going to do a little more rearranging this week so I plan to make a trip to Ikea later this week. The rest of the week I plan on cleaning up and cleaning out my house. With as busy as I have been the little things have been neglected so this is my chance. As you can see it has been a little crazy around here. The weather outside feels just like the storm of events that have been going on within our four walls.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Happy Father's Day

I am so lucky that I have an amazing father. Growing up my Dad loved me, went to tons of dance recitals and sporting events, and shaped me into the women I am today. My father instilled in me family values and a hard work ethic. Today my Dad is still there for me with an ear to listen, a shoulder to cry on, and good advice whenever I need it. Happy Father's Day, Daddy! My girls are also fortunate to have an amazing Dad. My husband is the best Dad I could have asked for, my girls adore their Dad and he adores them. The three of them play together, read together, and give the best hugs to each other. I thank God daily for my husband and the father he has become. Happy Father's Day, Rich! I love you!

Sunday, June 3, 2012

Back....

I know, I know, I always say I am not going to be so long between post but somehow life just gets in the middle. I haven't posted since the end of March and here it is the beginning of June....to be honest I am not even sure where the time has gone. As we all know I started a new job in January and it is great and I love it but a ton of work that keeps me very busy. My job involves covering open routes and training and since we have had at least one open route since I began it has been a crazy time of running routes, selling, training, and learning myself. I have been anywhere between Sun City, Brandon, Springhill, Dade City, Tampa, and New Port Richey. So that about sums up my craziness there, plus I start working around 4 am every morning, it is so early, trust me I know! I turned 32 in April with a nice quiet birthday celebrated with my husband and children, I loved it. They gave me an awesome gift of a day at the spa so I was in heaven between the massage, Mani/Pedi, and just quiet time. At the end of April we had an amazing 5th Birthday Party for Jolie at Horse Power for Kids, they rode ponies, hung out at the petting zoo, rode a train, ran around like crazy, held snakes, chased chickens, and had the time of their lives. I will do a big dump of pictures soon and show you the party but it was a great time. I spent some time collected all the supplies for that, including a great invite I ordered from Vista Print (I love them). I ordered kid's cowboy hats and bandanas for the favors and we had a horse piƱata for the kid's that was so fun. It was a great day, a little warm but so much fun! Then Jolie turned 5 on May 9th, since we had already done the big party it was just a small family pizza party on the actual day which was really nice. She got a 4 day trip to Disney with my parents and we gave her a really fun day with just Rich and I that consisted of a trip to the movies, Pinkberry, lunch, and shopping. I have to say our day with her was a great time that we all really enjoyed. I think we will be making this a birthday tradition for both girls. Rich and I think days like that and the memories made are so much better than the material gifts, plus these girls already have so much in the way of clothes and toys. Jolie was also accepted into the IB Primary Program at Rolland Park School for kindergarten next year so we are thrilled about that. It is a fantastic program with question based learning for the kids. She went to open house a few weeks ago and is thrilled about it. Jolie graduated from preschool on May 24th in a really cute little ceremony. I have to say it was a bittersweet moment for me as a parent. While I am so proud of her and all that she is accomplishing, I want her to stay little just a little longer. We also broke ground on the sorority house project with a ceremony in March and in real work mode in May. The entire project will be complete at the end of July and I have to say I can't wait. There is a lot going on but thank goodness for the house parents who have managed everything from the ground in Gainesville. Right now I am working on the invite to the dedication of the new chapter room in September so another project for completetion. I think that sums up where I have been but this time I promise not to stay away so long!!!

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Date Day

Today hubby and I got a chance to get out and enjoy sometime together. We went down to Sarasota and saw a Spring Training game and on the way home did a little shopping at the outlet mall. It was a great day!

I took only one picture of us and I will add later when I am not typing on my iPhone.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Sick Little Girls

It has been a long 10 days or so in the Perillo House. Avery got super sick, sinus infection, ear infection, and a fever. From there it went to her lungs and she got thrush. So for the last 10 days we have been on two antibiotics, steroids, thrush medicine, breathing treatments, and all kinds of things. Avery is finally doing much better after a battle, she spent a week and two days out of school and with my Mom and Rich, I don't really have time off yet. Now, yesterday Jolie came home from school with a fever, so it looks like we are doing this all over again, hopefully not as bad though. Jolie, Avery, and Rich are all off of school next week with Spring Break so hopefully that will be enough time for recouping from the illness for the girls, and I pray Rich doesnt end up sick as well. I came down with something myself Thursday, so I have drank what feels like a hundred bottles of PowerAde, sucked on a ton of Cold-Ese, taking several Advil Cold, and some Nite Quil. Hopefully, all that will put me on the mend for Monday as I have another busy week ahead. I sure hope everyone in out house recovers quickly!!!!

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Where has the last month gone?

Well, I started my new job about 6 weeks ago and it is going great and I love it, however, I have been the definition of busy. We are short several sales reps and are in the process of training new hires as well as getting through the everyday activities plus I have been in several trainings. On top of all that I gave my first trade ride presentation less than a month into the job and I conducted a training exercise with the sales team this past week. Next week I am giving a small presentation for Sweetbay. Oh, I also forgot to mention that this is a huge display time of year for us with March Madness coming quickly so I have been selling those displays in and watching them go up, which has been a lot of fun. I have been working early mornings and then do emails and plan until pretty late at night. I have to admit there are days I felt overwhelmed but I am loving it!

Rich and the girls have been good, both kid's have had offend on runny noses and coughs. Rich and I got away for our 5 year wedding anniversary a couple of weeks ago. We went to Downtown Disney for the weekend and it was so much fun. The kid's stayed with my parents and were very good. Jolie went to a birthday party last weekend, that was fun and we are going to another birthday party tomorrow, which will be fun! Other than work and the kid's things have been quiet and Rich and I are starting to settle into a new routine which is nice.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Semi-Homemade and Target Dollar Spot

So as a quick update things are going well....we have just been crazy busy!  My new job is great, I really love it, I have a ton to learn and there are days I feel completely in over my head but it is a great adventure and is a challenge I am enjoying.

On to my little Semi-Homemade Projects and some finds in the Dollar Spot at Target....

First off, my MIL had been in the hospital but is home now and trying to recover.  So to do something nice for her I made some of these delicious chocolate chip cookie sandwiches, I had made them during the holidays and they were a huge hit so I figured it would be a great pick me up for her.  Not to mention they are super easy to make, especially since I use a few short cuts.  Here is a picture of the supplies I started with, actually I had already started so you see a few cookies already baked and cooling.
All I do is buy the Toll House Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies (follow the baking directions on the package).  I let them cool and then I use a butter knife and put a generous amount of Chocolate Frosting on one cookie and then put another cookie on top making a sandwich.  Below is the final product.
This is a great treat that takes less than 30 minutes start to finish!!

So this weekend I decided to do just a little Valentine's decorating in our house.  Since one of the mail accent colors in our house is red it is pretty easy to make V-Day stuff go with that.  While at Target yesterday I bought two small heart wreaths in hopes of adding some ribbion (that I had left over from Christmas projects) to connect them and make a little bigger statement on the front door.  Here is the picture of what I had to work with.
However, as I got started I realized that the little ribbon hanger at the top of the wreaths was long enough to use to attach them, perfect, this made it really quick and easy, I created a little door decor for $5.00 and 5 minutes of my time, here is the finished product.
Okay, two things, I tried to fix the orientation of the picture and blogger hates me and won't let me, the other thing is don't pay attention to the dirt all over my front door....I have already told my husband that we need to bust out the pressure washer but at least the little wreath is cute!!!

I also bought two little hand towels for the guest bathroom downstairs and hung those, they are cute and simple and for $2.50 well worth the money, don't you think?


My last project of yesterday was finding something to put the kid's hair accessories in, they were every where, it was insane.  So I had this little wine bucket sitting around that a supplier from my former job gave me in a gift bag during the holidays.  I really had no use for the little bucket as I have a ton of others but this one did have a unique shape that I thought would be perfect as a bucket holder for the kid's hair bows.  So I took the little bucket and some red spray paint I had left over from Avery's birthday party outside and I got to work.  Here is what it look like as I started.

Not the best picture as I had it on a plastic bag to start spray painting but you get the idea.

Here is the final product, filled with bows, as you can see we don't need anymore hair things in our house!


Then for a future project, towards the end of next month I also bought this, I know at The Dollar Spot if you don't buy it when you see it, it won't be there when you need it or want it.  So I will add a bow to this to make it hang on the front door but that will be in another post.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Changes are here....

So when I posted my 2012 post a week or so ago I alluded to big changes coming for The Perillo's, well the changes are here! I am ready to announce the biggest change for me.....on Monday I put in notice to my current employer. I accepted a job with Coca-Cola Refreshments in Tampa as a manager. I am really excited, it is a new opportunity with a great Americian classic. There are sure to be challenges there like any job but I think this was an amazing opportunity not just for me professional but for my family. It is going to leave me with more time with my family with less nights and weekends. I begin this new chapter next week Tuesday and I am thrilled. While I will miss all my friends and a lot of my customers at Premier this is going to be a great new adventure.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Avery's First Day of School

On Monday of this week my baby went to school for the first time, she looked so cute and she did so well!  I took the picture below right before we left for school on Monday morning, she even had her little coat and a lunch box that looks like a bumble bee that isn't in the picture.  When Rich picked her up they said she did GREAT, I even called and checked on her at noon just to be sure she was okay.  The only thing she is still working on is napping on her mat, she has been use to napping in a crib so this will be her hardest transition but she will get the hang of it.

While Avery has been going to school all week Jolie is still in NC with my parents.  They sent this picture of her on Monday afternoon, she is having a blast!!

It is really cold up there so she hasn't gotten much chance to play in the snow but she has had a blast and has been keeping my Mom and Dad VERY busy, I think they will need a vacation from their vacation with Jolie!!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

What Will 2012 Hold?

As we begin a New Year it is a great time to reflect on the previous year and make wishes and dreams for the coming year.

2011 was a great year in the Perillo home....we spent the first full year with our second daughter, we watched Jolie grow and develop into an amazing little lady, we reached some major personal goals, and we had a good time along the way. Now don't get me wrong 2011 wasn't all sunshine....we saw the health of my Grandmother decline, I had major surgery and a hard recovery, Jolie did several rounds of lung issues, we both suffered through some difficult times at work but we survived to tell the stories and the good by far out weighted the bad.

As we enter 2012 there are a lot of things on the horizon, we know for sure there a changes coming for our household. Avery starts school tomorrow so that changes things, hopefully for the best as we will have one drop off and one pick up until Jolie goes on to another school in the fall. There are big changes coming for me (unfortunately I can't share in this public forum yet but I promise I will soon). We are awaiting Jolie's acceptance letter to the school we applied to for her in the fall, we have already heard she was accepted but to see it in writing will make it our true reality. We are very excited about Jolie graduating from her VPK program as she is truly thriving in it, she is reading really well, does double digit addition and subtraction and this semester she will begin in multiplication. I know I am totally biased as her mother but she is just so smart and so beautiful, she really is something special and I feel truly blessed to be her mother, I can't wait to see her continue to grow and mature. Rich has settled into his career nicely and things are looking up there so as I said we are going into 2012 with the greatest of hope for an amazing year.

With the dawning of a new year I find myself looking forward to the promises of the new year but also setting some goals for myself, resolutions makes it sound negative and part of what I want to accomplish this year is keeping a positive attitude. So in 2012 I plan to work on having and keeping a positive attitude, being a better wife, mother, daughter, and friend, I want to build a better relationship with God, I want to share my relationship with God with my children more, I want to walk a more righteous path and remember that good or bad the Lord has a plan for my life. I know I have lofty goals for the year but I hope to put the effort into reaching them everyday, and on days when it all seems impossible I will remind myself of the reason I made these goals and that is my wonderful husband and beautiful children, they need me and deserve the best of me.

I hope that you enjoyed your New Years Eve last night, we had a really chill, really quiet night but it was fun. We stayed home, I cooked a nice dinner filets and all the fixings, then we put Avery to bed and my cousins came over, we just hung around talking, laughing and watching Dick Clark's Rocking New Year's Eve on TV. We toasted with a little bubbly at midnight and went to bed shortly after. I have to say I have begun to love our quiet NYE's at home...they have Ndola some what of a tradition over the last few years. Jolie is in NC with my parents still, the are hoping for snow sometime tomorrow and Tuesday so they won't be back until later in the day Friday. They too had a quiet night in last night as well, in fact Jolie started watching Nina's countdown on Sprout (for those of you without children it is an educational kid's TV network) and was passed out by 10. Jolie is having a great time up there and I know Avery has liked being an only child for a few days and being the center of Mommy and Daddy's attention. I am off of work tomorrow, however, Rich has to work and Avery is going to school for the first time so tomorrow will be pretty busy and I have a few small projects I want to get done around the house while I have some quiet time to do them then it is back to work on Tuesday.

Happy New Year, may it be your best year yet!!!!