MOTHER AND BROTHERS

The matriarch of the Schifano Family, Caroline flanked by her three sons. From (L-R) Ralph my husband who is the youngest among the brother. His brothers fondly teases him about being the runt in the family. He is one of the hardest working man I have ever met. Larry is the second child. He was the brother that got a lot if injuries as a young boy. He may look scary but once you get to know him he actual has a good heart and will help any way he can. The last but not the least is Angelo the oldest of the brothers. He has the biggest heart and would just about do anything for anyone, the officially chef in the family. Lets not forget the matriarch my MIL, she is a great woman with a lot of courage, patience and love to give around. The three brothers are so different but all with good hearts. I caught the best guy and that is my husband, my honey...

A VACATION AWAITS YOU

Yesterday was the hottest so far this Summer season. At first I didn't think it was going to get that hot but as soon as I would step out on our back deck I would get hit by a wave of hot humid air. It was just so hot that you could feel perspiration popping out on my forehead and back. Our two puppies who normally love staying outside in our backyard could not take the heat even under the shade of the trees. It was totally a good investment on our part that we got our swimming pool. The pool was the perfect way to cool off from the summer heat and the water was so refreshing. In a few more weeks Summer will be leaving us and Fall/Autumn will pave the way for winter.

For those who have yet to go on a vacation you still have time. A great place to go for a family vacation would be at Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing. The perfect place where a husband, a wife, kids and pets can all have a smashing good time. A place so perfectly located that Entertainment and Attraction is just a few miles away from the hotel. They also boast Summer Events for the whole family :

• National Kid's fest
• Annual Downtown Clown Around
• Colgate Country Showdown,
• Father's Day Salute
• Parrot Head Party
  
• and many more

As for Corporations, Company and Businessmen they also have a place for you at the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel where business and pleasure go together. Big function rooms for meetings and convention, a place where fitness and recreation under one umbrella and 18 holes of Championship Golf. Now, that is just the perfect vacation for business and pleasure.

THE GRANDKIDS

Picture was taken last July 18, 2009 on my 31st birthday party. From (l-R) Kristen, Andrew, Lauren, AJ, Kayla Nicholas and of course the youngest Kaitlyn on her Mima's lap. This was such an impromptu picture taking for the whole family since we just realized that we were all there. The kids wearing black shirts are Angelo's kids and Kristen and Nicholas are Larry's kids and the two youngest are my kids. Looking at this photo just make me miss my maternal grandparents even more. How I wish a time would come that we would be gather all together for a family picture as well. I still have more pictures and stories to come from my birthday.

BE SUMMER SMART

"This post was sponsored by Kmart. All the opinions are mine."
This years summer has been fun, and filled with lots of sun and swimming. It helps to stay cool under the blazing heat of the sun by the pool. The kids get water logged but they don't mind one bit as long as they could swim at there hearts content. Just yesterday Kayla started getting in the pool without her life vest on. She has been swimming, jumping and showing us her tricks. Of course the little does not want to be outdone. She follows her sisters every move and will try and try until she gets it. What my husband and I love about summer is that we get to spend a lot of time with our kids and just do stuff as a whole family. Both my husband and I are home buddies and we like staying at the house in our backyard be it swimming, playing with the kids or just a simple barbecue. And with those activities it calls for a place for us to settle down for the day and just watch lightning bugs on our deck. This years summer we have been having our share of thunderstorms. One storm even broke the glass table in our deck. We had no table whatsoever and it didn't help that we had broken glasses all over. We searched for another patio table for our deck but they were all expensive. We ended up buying our new patio table at Kmart. And speaking of Kmart did you know that they are having another of their famous Kmart Bluelight specials. Where you get 70% off on there patio furniture and saved us a lot of money. They also have great choices of men basketball athletic shorts and for women that love jewelry, another 10% off is slashed from diamonds that is already 70% off! To get the latest news on great deals join
Kmart on Twitter and get the smart with Kmart.

MY 31 st

This has been long overdue, the picture from my 31 st birthday celebration last July 18, 2009. My actual birthday was July 15 but we decided to have a family party on a Saturday so that the Schifano family could come. Two of my Filipina friends could not come but I was not disappointed at all since the Schifano clan came in full force. It turned out to be like a family reunion and it made my MIL so happy. I was grateful for my kids, husband and my new family here.

FLYING THE COOP

"This post was sponsored by Sears. All the opinions are mine."

Wouldn't you know it? In a few more weeks school is going to start again and that means back to our old routine of sleeping early and waking up early as well. We are going to have to make the kids fit back into the routine of things. They have to, I am the captain of our ship and I want a man a tight ship. Its going to be pretty interesting this year since Kayla will actually be on the first grade! It still amazes me how time flies, it felt like it was just yesterday that she was just starting Pre K and now she is a first grader.

For my SIL its going to be bittersweet for her. Her oldest son is about to leave the nest and fly off to college. I know she must be feeling sad and happy at the same time. I hope that Steven has everything he needs to be CampusReady for college. Its not an easy feat to just up and fly the coop to start a new life in college. Knowing my SIL Teresa she probably has everything planned out for her son if not, then Sears is there to the rescue. With Sears Campus Ready you get help picking everything from financial planning tips, apparel must haves, and most of all shopping checklist. Its simply exhilarating how sears have found a way to make college life to an easy transition. My SIL is in Mexico at the moment enjoying her vacation but it help so know that she can always check out
CampusReady on Facebook and see for herself.

HELL YEAH, THEY CAN DANCE

I came across this video while doing my usual drops. Its from the show "so you think you can dance?" And let me just say, the couple on this video did prove they hell yeah, they can sure dance up a storm. Well,more like a zombie performance but of the good kind,lol. The dance move was choreographed well and it was executed flawlessly and they did justice to the song as well as the choreography. This is going to be a favorite of mine. Just take a look of the video and see for yourself...

kandj2 8 @ Yahoo! Video

COOL IT DOWN

Summer is already in full swing and that means vacation, vacation, joy rides and many more. I'm from a tropical country and I just love the summer heat and the warm air. In my family I am the exception when it comes to staying cool in the summer, my kids take after their father. They are just like flowers that wilt when it stay under the sun to long or when its too hot. July 22 we went on a ride to Philadelphia to have some summer fun at sesame place. The ride was about an hour long and let me just say that I am thankful for auto air conditioning. My kids were comfortable inside the car while it was muggy and scorching hot outside. I can only imagine if we didn't have any air condition in our car. This summer, make sure that your auto A/C compressor is in tip top shape. If your having problem with your air condition in your car there is only one cool place to check out 1airconditioning, the only place where you get the best of all ac parts, free shipping on all parts, phone and online support and most of all warranty on all parts. Lets stay cool in this summer heat of fun and check them out..

BEE STING OF MEMORIES

Remembering childhood experiences when your older makes it more interesting and much more fun. As I got older my childhood memories seemed vague and unclear. I would only remember snippets and flashes of some of my most unforgettable happy moments when I was really young. After I had my daughter my memory has been kind of rusty, I still haven't recovered from pregnancy brain,lol...Its funny though when you have kids its like deja vu, you suddenly remember things with so much clarity and strong emotions with it. Last week before Kayla returned to her mommy she experienced her first bee sting. My poor big princess cried so much, it was mostly from fear than anything else. She got sting on the foot and would not let us touch her foot let along get the stinger. As rummaged through my huge handbag I finally found what I needed, a tweezers. As I brandished my trusted tweezers for all to see my big princess howl and cried with pain. I would not allow myself to fail, even with the crying I was focused on getting out that stinger. Her crying was all for nothing for she did not even feel when I took the stinger out. A spongebob band aid was her reward and a gum....

I remember those days when we play among the bees in my grandmothers garden. She kind of adopted the bees and let them stay in blooming flowery green garden. When the bees would come out we would run around and play as if it was nothing. I did get stung by a bee but only once. It was as if the bees knew who we were. I miss those days playing with my cousins with just about anything and nothing. Flowers and plants got ambushed by a bunch of kids that wanted to experiment on what fun things they could do with it. We did not destroy any plant though for we knew my grandmother loved them.

With my girls, I'm reliving my childhood everyday through their eyes and let me just say what a fun experience it is...

DOG SHAMPOO FOR OUR PUPPIES

For my 31 st birthday last July 15, we got two puppies. I was totally caught off guard, why? We were suppose to get only one puppy but when we got to Angelo's house Ralph fell in love with the tan looking puppy. We knew that Ralph wanted the yellow lab but I wanted the black one. He just blurted out if we could get two puppies instead of one. I thought he was joking at first but the look on his face told me otherwise. Now, we have two 6 weeks old puppies that just got their first shots today. At least they are not as bad as I thought they would be. What I'm worried about though is the fleas. I saw a couple of fleas on the puppies and I just want to get rid of them before it spreads to our other pets. Since we got them we have given them two bath one was with the flea shampoo that my MIL had. I don't think its working though cause I still found one flea on one of the puppies. For me its very important to find the right dog shampoo. A shampoo that really works on getting rid of the fleas and most of all keeps the dog smell at bay. One of my pet peeves is dog smell and as much as possible I want our dogs smelling nice so our house won't stink like a dog. So the only solution I can think of is getting Dinovite dog shampoo that leaves dog smell cleaner longer, lathers good but is easy to rinse, contains 100 % therapeutic grade essential oils that is good for dogs, and most of all its a natural flea detergent. With all those added benefits what more could we ask for?

IMPROMPTU LUNCH DATE

I has been a long time since Ralph and I have went out to eat, let alone on a date. With two kids and two new puppies we certainly have our hands full. Ralph and I would rather stay home with the kids and have fun in our own backyard. But sometimes its also good to have a special date out with our spouses. After we took the puppies to the vet, Ralph just surprised me for an impromptu lunch date. He asked his mom to watch the kids for a couple of houra so he could take me out to eat. It was so sweet of my husband to do that. I know we are tight on our budget but he insisted on taking me out. Off we went to our favorite Chinese buffet restaurant. We ate and talked, for once we were not in a hurry to leave.

BLU YOUR WAY TO EXCITING PRIZES

For St.Patrick this year I received a little something-something from IZEA. I got a green shamrock shirt, candies, pencil, card, lei and a BluFrog energy drink. At first it seemed out of sort that they sent me all green stuff but a couple to things stood out the blufrog energy drink. I made Ralph drink one and he said it tasted pretty good and he felt good all day long. No wonder he felt energized, it has more vitamins and minerals than most energy drinks. I still have one can left and maybe I should try it out and maybe it will help me stay in sync with my daughters boundless energy. The makers of Blufrog energy drink is having this huge contest where you get to win amazing prizes. The BluFrog contest is forking away a free trip to Chicago in time for the Lolalloza. What is it? Its only the world's famous music festival! Wow to be an audience and hear different music and beats would be very interesting. If your not into music they still have other great prizes to win, here are some of them:

• BluGamer the Ultimate Gaming Package - Xbox360 Elite Gaming system
• Happu Blu-Year : Trip to New York City on New Years Eve
• Blu Streak - Win a Richard Petty Racing Experience
• XtremeBlu - Win a Trip the the Winter X Games in Aspen

Now which among the coveted prizes would you like to win? Hey you wont win anything if you just sit there and read. Go check them out and join in the contest before it ends.

OUR SOON TO BE PUPPY

This will be the newest addition to our family. Photo was taken July 1 when we visited my BIL Angelo for the day. The puppies have grown so much and they all looked so cute but my heart was stolen by this one black puppy. She had the biggest head among all the black puppies with the most adorable sad face. She looked at me and I knew we were going to end up having a puppy. It didnt help that Kaitlyn was all over the puppy. Ralph left the final decision to me since I am the master of the house,lol. If it it were not for Kaitlyn and Kayla and their love for a dog I would never consider getting one. It also helped that Labrador Retriever are excellent pets for families who have kids. I have seen the way Sam the puppies mommy acts around Kaitlyn.

July 18th is going to be the official day we will welcome this new addition to the family. I still worry about the dog smell and hair but since I know one great product that really helps my worries are laid to rest. Hmmmmm, I wonder if our house will ever be the same,lol

SHOW OFF THOSE CURVES

It cannot be denied that summer makes me laugh, hop and smile. I guess its the blinding sunshine and warmth of the sun that makes me want for Summer to be all year long. I have finally switched my wardrobe from winter to summer and I'm so relieved that its over. I still have quite a few outfits I would like to add to my meager summer wardrobe. Getting a great pair of jeans is the next on my agenda. Something that will go a long way and can be worn anywhere at anytime. I watch this one show that emphasizes on getting a great pair of denim that will go a long way. It matters very little about the cost since once you have found that special jeans it will eventually pay for itself. Were lucky that Armani Exchange is having a big sale " New Premium Denim" starting at $98. I know its a little expensive but hey if the fit is perfect why not right? The Potassium Straight Leg is probably my favorite since it can be dressy and casual at the same time. And the straight cut is most flattering for my figure and it looks good with very high heels. What about if I tell you that you can own one of the many denims they have? I bet that peaked your interest. Its actually very simple, all you have to do is text A|Xvia sms and win a new pair of denims everyday this July. And if you can't wait and decide to purchase a pair of denim from Armani Exchange you get a $20 gift card off your next purchase of $100 or more. But hurry this offer is already in full swing and will end 8/15/09. And don't forget to show off those curves in your new denim.

CANDLE GLOW

Wednesday started off great and without any incident at all. Ralph and Kaitlyn spend most of the afternoon in the pool swimming around.We had grilled steak, macaroni & cheese and corn and it was so scrumptious. It wasn't until 6 p.m. that the power suddenly went out, at first I just thought it was just our house that maybe something tripped. I poked my head outside to tell Ralph about the power when our neighbor went out to check with us. It was the power box across from our house that was acting up again. A couple of weeks or so that same power box blew up and we thought that the electric company already fixed, we were wrong!

To pass the time we all stayed outside on the front porch and watch Kaitlyn play with our neighbor Tracy. We all thought that the power will be restored after a few min but we were very hopeful. After 2 hours the we called to ask what time the power will be restored and we were shock to hear that it was going to be until 11 p.m. Since I was used to power outage in my country I was not worried nor got to bothered about not having power. I decided to find lit some candle and put them around the house so it wouldn't be so dark. Kaitlyn had a blast trying to blow out all the candles.

To cut the story short, our electricity was not restored until 6 am the following morning. Needless to say I was not able to get online let alone do my daily drops. Ralph was pissed and tired since it was so hot he could not sleep. Thank God our meat didn't to waste. As for me I'm really hoping that this wont happen when its winter time. I would probably go nuts thinking about how cold it would get.