Party Pic-a-palooza!- The Cake

Taylor definitely wasn't too sure of the cake. She did, however, make one heck of a mess!

Party Pic-a-palooza! 2

A few more b-day pics!

Happy Halloween!

From the Steelers cheerleader, the ghost and the vampire, Trick or Treat!!!!!

Pic-a-palooza!!!

It's been awhile since I plastered the kiddos' mugs on here, and I figured it was past time. blogger is being uncooperative (has been a lot for me lately?) about posting a lot of pics in one post, so this will have to do. For now! Tomorrow there will be more, and there will be blood, gore... and Steelers cheerleaders! Wanna know? You'll have to come and see...

But for now, I give you the monsters, LOL

Taylor, enjoying her bath. she's developed the need for splash time lately, drenching everything in reach- usually me! :)

Jake, faking a smile for the ever hated camera. LOL I force him, because someday I'll want more than a random shot to look back on!

Alyssa with the ever present Barbie (they vary, but there is usually one or more in hand, or within reach.. and the drama these women live through! Good Lord!) Also present, the resident lion-cat, Dizz. LOL

Miss T, sporting her Dad's Steelers hat. This is before she took it off and tried to eat it!

One of my favorites.

Miss Lyss and the ever present Dizzle. she claimed at the time she couldn't feel her chest anymore- I don't think it looks like he cares much, huh?

This is the first of many, I'm sure. Lot of holidays and birthdays in the next few months- brace yourself for the cuteness!

NKOTB Pics- 1

Stay the Same (I LOVE this picture!!)

Hangin Out, LOL

Gonna Give Me Some Grown Man?

2 in the Morning- and the JACKET!!!

Hello Danny! (and more jacket)

Simply Amazing

I'm sitting here trying to think of the perfect title for this post, and coming up with nothing, absolutely nothing, that could sum up everything I want to say. I'm not sure I can even put it into words, to describe it for you, Internet. As much as I want to tell you, there are some experiences that simply have no words, or maybe words just aren't enough. I don't know. But, I'm still riding the wave, still walking with my feet off the ground. I'll tell you right now that I didn't take nearly as many pics as I intended- once I was there, I just wanted to watch.

I left with Tami on Friday morning, heading for Cleveland and the boys. We were both excited, and we listened to NKOTB all the way there. We got into the hotel, met up with outr roomies, some other fans, and started to get ready. then we hit Hard Rock and had some food and drinks. Damn they have strong drinks- we all quit with one. LOL Tami was at her meet and greet (lucky gal, I heard it was fantastic) so we were all hanging out- the Blockheads had taken over Hard Rock. We were everywhere. It was amazing to see all the shirts, buttons, even dolls that people had. There was almost a hum, we were all so excited. EVERYWHERE we went that day, we ran into other fans. It was non stop. We seemed to be all over Tower City, just waiting.

me, before getting ready @ the hotel

Then it was time. We headed to the arena, and it was on. I took some pics of Cavs stuff for J, bought a beer with Amber, and walked in to scope out the seating.

Looking out over the arena

That was when I cried a little. It was finally REALLY hitting me- I really was there, in the same building, and in an hour or so, these men would be on stage. It was surreal, and that feeling never went away- I don't think it has yet.

My seats were CLOSE. They had spread it out enough that my section ended up behind Section 1, which put me closer to the stage than I'd thought. 1, 2 and 3 were in the first rows, stretched out all along the side. I was an aisle seat.... which worked out somewhat interestingly as the evening wore on. Heh.

Colby O'Donis was on first and he was pretty good. Then came Natasha Bedingfield. I love her anyway, so that was enjoyable for me. By the end of her set, the energy and excitement was palpable- you could just about reach out and touch it. There was a good 10-15 minute wait in between, and when the lights went down again, we all went wild. then they started, and I did everything I swore I wasn't going to. LOL I screamed like a horror movie queen. I jumped up and down like friggin Tigger on crack. i waved my arms, I pumped my fists. And it was that way for the whole two hours they performed. It was insane. But in a good way.

Spelling out "NKOTB" before they come up through to the stage

"Single"

"Let my song get ya higher"

"Grown Man"

• They opened with "Single", blended into "My Favorite Girl". I was enthralled, all the way through the "Didn't I Blow Your Mind/Valentine Girl" medley. And then, then I saw a familiar video flash on the huge screen they had on the stage. The familiar music started and I was totally lost. "Please Don't Go Girl" is my song, always has been. Seeing my favorite guy sing my favorite song? Absolutely priceless. That was the point, five songs in, when i thought the night couldn't get any better. I was wrong. LOL Amazingly, I hadn't cried yet. I think i was too excited to at that point. Although, i bounced like I had a spring in my ass all through PDGG, hands fisted in my hair for a time, then waving like a maniac as I continued to jump. If that poor man saw me, he was probably frightened. I shit you not.
  

**Blogger is being a shit right now, and will not let me upload more pics at the moment. I'll post more, promise. **

The best part was yet to come. LOL There is a second stage on this tour, in the middle of the crowd. That's where they do "2 in the Morning", "Dirty Dancing" (good GOD!!!!) and "Tonight". Joe's wearing his old school smiley face jacket... you know you remember this jacket. That was when I jumped up on my chair to watch and take pics. Security made me get down. LOL


And when they were done? They walked back to the main stage. Right past me, to the main stage. Less than five feet away from me. I missed Danny, brushed Jordan's wrist, Donnie's wrist/hand , and then Joe's. He semi winked at me, and this is when I got lucky. Lucky I wasn't taken down by security, that is. I grabbed his wrist, and somehow ended up in the aisle, sort of behind him, still holding onto him. I'm seriously lucky that he didn't toss me off, or that security didn't. I can fit my hand around his wrist. And I immediately texted J to tell him I'd touched him. Then I texted again to say I'd grabbed him. LOL

I swear to God I'm not a psycho fan, and thanks so much for not having me arrested, or throwing my hand off of you. I was simply overwhelmed at that point, and had a moment. LOL

I made it till "I'll Be Loving You (Forever)" without crying, and have NO idea why that song made me cry! I cried through stay the Same (got an AWESOME pic of that, and will definitely share that with all of you) and lost it again during Hangin Tough, when I turned and looked all around the arena. Every arm, from the fist seats all the way to the very top row, was waving in the air. That was an amazing moment for me, seeing that.

All in all? Best show I've ever seen. All five of them were having a ball, everyone seemed in tune, comfortable and just super relaxed. Donnie cried a little when he spoke to the crowd, and even though they are always saying this city or that is the loudest? When they said we were louder than Boston, I thought the roof was going to collapse from the noise. And the last words? "Ohio, we love ya.... See ya next year."

Yes, yes you will. I can't wait to do it again. I'd do it again today. There just isn't any way to properly describe the experience, and if I tried, I'd come off sounding like an idiot. It really is magic, the way they interact with one another, with the crowd. They truly have an appreciation for their fans, a humility, that is very very touching. Being told that this experience has gotten a man through a rough year, the ending of a marriage, means a lot. Sound odd? Not to me, because maybe now they finally understand what they did for us, still do in some ways. Maybe now we are their escape as much as they were ever ours.

All in all, it was the best time. the city was great, seeing sights, etc., was fun. But for that show? For that two hours, I'd have done almost anything. It was unbelievable, still is, that I was really there. It honestly was a long time coming, and it proved to me that sometimes the best things in life don't happen once in a lifetime. Sometimes, they happen twice.

Pic-a-palooza!!! Kids, "Kids", and Pets!

**If you're looking for the sound check vids, scroll down.**

First up, the Jake man in a RARE picture... he's decided he isn't fond of the camera. So, rather than fight him, I sneak and get an occasional pic.



My favorite of Taylor so far, i think. she's so delighted it kills me!



More melt your heart from the ruler of our house. Cheeto face and all! :)



Dizzle. I always wonder why our cats run away......



My girls, chilling in a pile of toys. LOL Note the cheeto, still, on Taylor's face. She is an addict. I am an enabler... LOL.


Miss Lyss and her cat, Patrick. We **think** it's a Patrick anyway....


Lyss in her hat... we're on a hat kick around these parts lately....


Yeah, he looks thrilled about it... I made him wear the hat. Love it.


More cowboy hat!!!


Introducing Oliver! He is brand new, a little terrier mix who will not grow large, will not howl like a jackass all hours of the night, and more than likely will not cause me to sever tendons in my foot, unlike the previous dog, who did just that. By running into a darkened room- a being renovated room, filled with junk... and with my JMM CD's... one of which entered my foot. There is so a joke there, but I will let that go......

What i got today... and yes, that IS my screensaver. Ahhhh, life is good.......

Pic-a-palooza (How We Have Grown)

I've posted a lot of pics of Taylor since starting this blog. she's a baby, babies are cute, and they change so much, so fast. Like today, she started drinking from a sippy cup, which I am trying NOT to call her "cuppy." That's a hard one to break.
But, anyway. It made me think, and that led me to post some pics of all 3 of my rugrats when the older two still WERE rugrats. So, here we go. In no particular order, Zee Growth of Zee Small Ones. :)






This is Alyssa at one month, celebrating her first Easter. you can't tell, but the pants she's weating have little carrots and bunnies all over them. Yes, she was only one month old. And not impressed. :)





This is my guy Jake @ 2 months. He sported a preppy look as a baby- the shorts were khakis and that shirt buttoned over the other one. Too cute.



Miss Lyss @ 7 months. Her first christmas was coming up, and she loved the camera.



Jakers @ 1 month. He was peaceful his whole first year... then he walked... LOL.








Alyssa's first birthday. Anyone remember Bear in the Big Blue House?? He's on her head. And looking at this pic, I see just how much my girls look alike.



Jaker's first birthday party. He loved tearing into all those gifts!



My oh so serious guy @8 months, chillin in his Exersaucer. This was pre-walker, and pre busted up toes for me!


My babies, he @ 1 month, she @ 23 months. Yup, they are THAT close together. And I so loved that hat.



Miss Lyss turning three. Shortly after this picture, she yanked the barrettes out of her hair and cried about it. She wanted those presents, NOW.



Mr. Basketball @18 months. Look at that gorgeous head of hair! Yes, we are a binky bunch.



Me with Lyss @ age 3, on NYE in our new house. Yes, again the binky.



My first born @3 months, with her Pooh. I have one similar to this, somewhere, of her with the Stay The Same cassette. Mr. McIntyre, even then... LOL.



Miss Taylor Madison @ not even a whole day old yet. My last born, always baby, baby.




Jake at four, in preschool. Curls no more....



Miss Lyss on her first day of kindergarten. she thought she was uber cool that day, I'll tell ya!

Jake, thuggin @5.



The toothless wonder @ 5 almost 6.



Taylor today with her brand new friend, Sippy Cup. Sippy Cup was an immediate hit, especially filled with juice. also a hit, vanilla pudding, broccoli carrot and cheese baby food, and cheese puffs. She did not notice my not so subtle crying as she chugged out of the cup while grasping a Mum Mum rice cracker. too fast, too fast, too fast they grow up.




Miss Lyss and the Jake man, today. It flies, doesn't it? You blink, and it's gone. Amazing.Absolutely amazing.