The Sunset Zoo

Day 2 -
Kellie and Randy headed back to work this morning, for a typical Monday and Frank and I packed the kids up and headed to the most local of the local zoo's. we didnt have the highest of expectations given that we are in a super small town, but the zoo was actually very nice. it was very clean, very hands on. there was a good variety of animals and the kids loved the playground!

a baby chimp, born this spring! he was super cute and super playful!

a pelican, the boys asked him if he knew where Nemo was!

a bald eagle - they are just so gorgeous! such a strong american symbol...

tuscan was trying to see how close he could actually get to the peacock! they were roaming around everywhere!

my boys, they all looked so cute today!

im not quite sure when it was that they all became so grown up,

but this summer they sure have turned into little men!

we finished up at the zoo just in time for kellie to take her lunch break. she met us at Sonic, a first for frank and the kids and i. super delish - wish we had one in the Buff...we have the commercials, but we're still lacking in the actual establishment!

the kids also had a blast playing on the play ground there.

we spent the remained of the afternoon hanging out around the house. we had hotdogs and burgers on the grill for dinner and then kellie and i snuck out for some well overdo girl time together. we went out to wander the mall for a bit and got pedicures (a tradition for us), had ice cream and starbucks and wandered through target...just like the good ol' days.

its so wonderful to be here, to be spending time with my other other half. there was a moment on the drive down that i was relishing in the excitement of where i was actually driving to when it suddenly hit me that in a week i would be saying good-bye. before i was even half way here, i was crying that i would have to leave. as much as i hate that we live so far away from each other, i am so beyond grateful that we can see each other once a year and pick up right where we left off, as if it had only been a week that had passed.

kellie and i are so blessed to have become friends and to have held on the our friendship over the miles over the years. i cannot imagine my life without her, she is my rock in so many ways. i love her, my kids love her, our husbands love each other! God so had a plan when he brought the two of us together and i truly feel in my heart that it was definitely a life long plan!

now to rest up for another action packed, fun filled day! (only after a teams game of Wii bowling...kellie and i are going to kick butt...)

our KS vacation (day 1)

i know, i havent really blogged all summer, but too bad...i've been making the most of my time in other ways!

we are on our first family of 5 half-way-cross-country roadtrip, visiting kellie and randy (and baby Mac) in Kansas! we left home at 330 saturday afternoon and excitedly pulled in their driveway shortly after 12noon today!

it was a long drive and being the middle of the night for most of it, there really wasnt much to see. but dispite it all, the kids were amazing! they didnt sleep nearly as much as i anticipated they would. we were really hoping they would sleep there normal 9-10 hours during the night, but a movie at 3am is not something we would usually call normal! there was minimal whining/crying the whole 20 hours that we were in the van! what can i say, my boys are amazing!! frank and i even seem to be doing ok, although it sure will feel nice to go to sleep laying down tonight!

when i called kellie to let her know we were getting close, she asked how we felt about arriving to a lunch from chipotle! of course there was no arguement on that one...i think we have an unofficial goal set to see how many times we can eat chipotle in one week! it tasted just as good as we remembered it to be and it was gi-normous! kellie said the size was the advantage to eating in a college town!

once we got the van unloaded, the carseats switched over to kellie's truck and everyone showered/bathed...we re-packed up and headed to Kansas City to enjoy a fun filled dinner at the T-Rex Cafe (operated by the same people that created the rainforest cafe!) and connected to it was a Build-A-Dino, operated by the Build-A-Bear company. so the kids each got to pick out and make their own Dino (thanks aunt kellie and uncle randy for the awesome bday present!!) to my surprise, all 3 boys picked out their dino's by themselves and they each named them on their own too! Tuscan named his Rex, Teo's is Ducks and Cenzo named his Boogie!! they are so cute and the boys love them. they carried them around like a new puppy as we wandered around the outdoor mall.

dinner there was delicious, but the service was something to question. the prices were a reflection of the atmosphere, but all in all the most important part for us was the company! although frank and randy have only even spent a few days together (the last time was the week of our wedding, 5 years ago) they are definitely a good pair! kellie and i got lucky that our primary significant others enjoy each others company as much as we need them too!

the twins got a little fussy on the ride home tonight, but i guess thats to be expected after all we put them through in the last 24 hours! another 4 hours in the car was probably not our best choice, but we got it out of the way at least! and by the time we got home they were so sound asleep that we changed them into their jammies and they rolled over in their beds and we never heard a peep!

kellie and randy are working semi-normal hours this week, so tomorrow morning frank and i will be heading to the Manhattan Zoo with the boys and the GPS! we plan to meet kellie on her lunch break and im sure the evening will be filled with something fun for all of us! so stay tuned, my plan is to post everyday we are away!

a dedication to kellie...

i know life is throwing you yet another curve ball this week...and my thoughts and prayers are with you that things happen they way they are supposed to. you are one of the most amazing women i have ever known, the most devoted wife, my greatest friend ever, a supportive sister and wonderful daughter...and better yet, you are going to be such a loving, nurturing mother, i cannot wait to walk this new path in life with you!

i read something today and i felt it was written for you, so i wanted to share...i hope it helps pick you back up this week! i love you.

Grow where you are planted...

i know you sometimes wonder if life has any real worth. but i assure you that i can use you to impact those around you. just as i used Paul in prison i will use you wherever you are or whatever circumstances you are in. let me water you with my holy word and you will begin to bloom wherever you are planted. come to me in prayer and let me empower you with my spirit. even if you cant see the harvest of your hard work now, i promise that others will one day look back at the time you were in their lives and remember your acts of kindness, words of wisdom and love for them. so for now, my valuable princess, let me help you blossom in a world that is searching for the meaning of life. love, your king and gardener of life

i cannot begin to imagine doing what you do, sacrificing so open-heartedly and just doing because you know its the right thing to do. you are amazing, both you and randy and i am so blessed to have you both in my life. i will forever be indebted to the years you have so graciously served my country to protect me and my family. i know right now you are feeling uncertain about where you should turn, but know that you have what it takes to make the right decision for your family. together you have come this far, through thick and thin you have grown even closer. this is just one more bump in the road, another page to add to your story called life. one more adventure to someday share with your children/grandchildren...it will all work out, no matter what...have faith and dont stress...stress wont help anything!

love you tons and cant wait to be there with you to hug you in times like this!

i am alive!

summer is always a pretty busy time of the year, for everyone i think. we all try to cram in as much as we can in the few short months that we have! and we sure have been doing a good job. that is why i havent seemed to find the time to blog. im sorry, but i guess it just means i have my priorities in order??!! im not spending as much time in my day in this darn computer. instead im playing baseball with my boys, going for walks after dinner, eating popsicles out on the deck, reading books before bed, working from home to pay off debt, taking day trips as a family, celebrating birthdays and just loving life. so i guess if you really want to know whats been going on this summer, you'll have to come over and spend a day with us to find out for yourself! im sure my boys would be happy to share a popsicle with you!

ill try to do a more office recap with some pics from this month soon...but for now, im going to try and finish a scrapbook page that i started over a month ago! wish me luck!

im sorry...

i am so sorry that i have failed you (me) with blogging this month...i started off so good and then i fell of track...again!

but i am here now, happy to report that my crazy boys are growing well. they have all had doctor appointments this week and here are their stats:


Tuscan - 3 years old....35 lbs....38 inches....50th percentile for height...75th percentile for weight (doctors comments - "you must be a solid boy, because you dont look like you should be 75th for weight!! you're lean!")






Matteo - 19 months old....24 lbs, 13 oz....33 inches



Vincenzo - 19 months old....25 lbs, 2 oz....33 inches



i dont have the other stats on the twins because frank took them to the appointment, i got there after my own dr. appt just in time for shots so frank could head to work. frank got the fun part, i got the heartbreaking part...

other than that, life has been life...pretty normal, pretty busy and i've been working a ton! trying to get all my time in on the clock before the weeks get busier with the fun stuff!! so when the fun stuff kicks off (on june 30th) ill try super super hard to keep you posted on all of it! until then, enjoy your summer as much as we are trying to enjoy ours!

AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!

that is about how i have felt since somewhere around 330 today, shortly after i got the bright idea to take a nap. how stupid i can be sometimes. it wasn't like i was overly exhausted...just moderately exhausted. i haven't opened in about a week, and i did today so i thought maybe a nap would be a good idea. well that idea exploded and turned into my own version of "shannon's terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day!" or how ever that book title goes.

i'll spare you all the gruesome details of my misery and jump to the part of the day that actually made me laugh through my frustration. i gave all the boys their bath and while taking them out one at a time, placing them each in the twins bedroom to get diapered and dressed...Cenzo was the first one out tonight. by the time i had Teo out of the tub, Cenzo had gotten himself unwrapped from his towel, off the toddler bed and walked over to where Tarzan was sleeping in the corner of the room.

"whats that noise?" i thought to myself..."the fan? no...oh my goodness, Cenzo NO!!!" to late, he was already peeing on the poor dog!

they say that payback is a (fill in the blank), so i guess that was tarzan's payback for all of his horrible days as a puppy!

and somehow at the end of the day, when they are all sound asleep - dogs included - i find a small space in my heart that still managed to hold on to some love for them. thankfully my heart seems to forget about days like today easier than my mind does because i have full confidence that i will start over tomorrow with my boys consuming 99% of my heart, only to slowly, or quickly, see how they can make it diminish!

thank goodness we apparently dont remember the bad times as the kids grow up, we somehow only seem to remember the good...at least thats what the "im so grateful to be past that stage" moms tell me!

a bit of randomness...

no pictures from today...just a few random thoughts

1. i am sick of changing three sets of size 5 diapers. my 3 year old needs to stop saving his poops for naptime/bedtime when he has either a pull up or diaper on. its getting really old really quick and i think he may need to start changing himself if he doesnt want to change his ways!

2. i made a fabulous dinner tonight, it was very healthy and it used up some of the things that were leftover in the fridge...amazing! oh and the kids ate it...even better!

3. took the boys for a walk tonight to kone king...nonna gave them money for ice cream because they did such a good job eating their dinner while i cut her hair. wish she could be here with that bribe every night - the ice cream was really good and the walk to get there, while pulling the wagon, was pretty nice too! but apparently a kiddie cup and a small arent enough for me and my 3 sons...next time they each get their own kiddie cup! (partly so i dont have to share my sprinkles!!)

4. i think i am developing an "addiction" to geotrax...yes the kid trainset toys that fisher price makes. the boys have quite the growing collection of them and i just discovered so many new ones that we have never seen on ebay! i want to buy them all...anyone want to offer me a 3rd part-time job to pay for this?? dont worry i havent started bidding yet...but i want to!

5. i hate unloading the top shelf of the dishwasher, along with the silverware tray...there is to much little stuff and i just hate it.

6. i get irritated when anyone other than me folds the kids clothes. outfits should be folded together...the twins matching/coordinating clothes should be piled together so they wear them at the same time, just make it easy to put away when you fold it and put it in the basket the right way. duh! makes sense to me...otherwise put it away yourself!

7. i wont go in my basement after dark, particularly if i am home with the kids by myself. ya never know what/who might be waiting down there in the dark corners...could be a spider, could be a killer...i'd rather never find out!

8. im sick of this allergy season. my nose hurts inside and out...my throat has been to scratchy and i just dont want it anymore!

9. i am super excited to celebrate the fact that frank and i have paid off nearly $5000 in debt so far this year...not counting what has been paid off with our regular monthly car payments! thanks dave ramsey...your program really works! our debt snowball is really rolling! and we still have 6 months before the year is over!

10. i love my husband, my boys and my life so much lately. i am finally starting to feel very secure with where we are at and i owe 100% of it to God, not only for answering my prayers personally, but for putting other people in my life who care enough about me and my family to also pray for us. He is amazing when you find a way to put all your faith in Him. if you haven't tried it, you should!

have a good night...i think i might too!

my super hero...

after working a less than desirable shift today (130-815pm) i have to say, i was NOT disappointed to come home and find that my three amazing little boys were still awake! they were all in their beds, but awake....so i was able to sneak into their rooms and smother them with kisses, listen to their giggles and say good night!

moments later, i was sitting at the kitchen table enjoying a delicious extra foamy, non-fat, no h20 chai and a warm apple fritter with my husband, when i noticed a little boy poking his head around the corner. only to my surprise, it was no ordinary little boy....it was Super Tuscan! to darn cute he is too, so cute that its hard to be mad at him when he gets out of bed to do silly things like this!! so i thought i would share my joy for the night....

and i am also happy to say, we started our day off with a 4 mile walk today...something we havent done since last summer but something i hope to continue whenever time is on our side! it was awesome, the boys were all in strollers, but seemed to love every minute of it. our destination today was beth's office, the boys surprised her with flowers from our yard and in return she and the ladies filled them up with candy! they loved it, the boys and all the ladies!

now im off for another round of rummy and a movie with my husband...i kicked his butt at 500 the other night...so lets see if i can do it again!

introducing...

now 3 days old...baby boy conorozzo has a name!! it was announced early this morning and i would like to share it with all that have been wondering! Nico Richard...an amazing, stong and unique name for a boy i know will live up to it! he is gorgeous...i cant wait till i have a few more pictures to post.

but until then...there is more exciting baby news to share (no we are not expecting!) but Kellie and Randy are! i am so excited for them. i have known since about an hour after she found out, but per her request had to keep it a secret, for reasons that i completely understand and respect. but now that they have seen the heartbeat, had very positive blood test results and have made it almost to the end of the first trimester...the word is out and i can share my excitement with everyone i know!

they are tenatively due Dec. 31st. a baby shower is being planned for the weekend that we take our roadtrip out to KS/CO to visit them, i am totally excited that i will have a chance to be a part of it, especially since Kellie was here to be a part of mine 3 years ago! and hopefully, if we get lucky, ill be able to fly out to see her after the baby is born for a few days! she never met any of my kids till they were 10mos (tuscan) and a year (the twins). so hopefully with this round of visits we will be able to squeeze in some baby time sooner than that...and if we are really lucky, her and randy might be able to make a trip out here sometime next summer so we can show them, as a family...what nice WNY weather can be like. they were here the week we got married, in July, but it was such a busy week that we werent really able to share "home" with them. and kellie has come out in March (my baby shower) and November (the twins bday) neither of which had very nice weather!

but anyway, we are saying our prayers that God's plan falls into the same path as our wishes. and celebrating so many lives this week! what an amazing way to enter the most beautiful, fun filled season of the year...let the summer begin!

(oh and i colored my hair today - red low lights, blonde high lights...wanted to be a hot momma for summer! and since my hairstylist - aka my mom - has dissappeared out of my life again, im back to doing it myself...and it turned out awesome, ill take a pic tomorrow after i get ready for work so i can share it with all of you!! im so proud!)

simple sunday...

went to church...what a wonderful sermon it was, explaining the biblical view on alcohol - did you know, drunkenness is a great sin, but the consumption of wine - in moderation is considered a gift from God? good to know!

went to work, nothing to report there - sundays at starbucks are never fun, partly because i hate working on sunday (aka - family day in our house) and mostly because it just isnt busy. i am so used to the early morning rushes so to work anything else is almost excruciatingly boring.

came home and just when i thought i had nothing much to report for the day, i read something that i want to share with all of you, especially my mom/mom to be friends, this is something we all need to remember....

i am borrowing a book, from a great friend, called His Princess, love letters from your King by Sheri Rose Shepherd. they are just little one page readings that are so amazing, you feel like you just read a wonderful book! this was my reading today...

my princess, run to win... you, my princess, are destined to win. i know how tired you often become, just by trying to do and say all the right things. take that pressure off yourself, because i did not put you there. the world may judge you by what they see and hear, but i look within your heart, my child. i see your desire to please Me, and i see your struggle to please others. if you want to win this endurance race, you must let go of your need for the approval of others and seek My will and My pleasures. simplify your life, and let go o f the burdens that weigh you down. you'll find that My grace will lighten your step and My favor will even draw others to join you. yes, at time you will stumble and fall. but dont worry. i am here to help you back up again - as often as it takes. make it your daily passion to run with Me, and i will carry you over the finish line of your faith. together we will win!

love, your King and your Champion

so tonight i share this with all the amazing women in my life who on a daily basis put way to much pressure on themselves to get the "job" done right. i know we are guilty of it and this is such a perfect reminder that we dont have to be perfect, we dont have to be super fast, we just have to do it side by side with our Lord. what a breath of relief that is, isnt it??

think about this as you begin a new work week tomorrow and know that i love you all!