Goodbye Football Season... see you in August!

'Sheesh!  What a week!  It's been one of those weeks and quite frankly I am excited for the weekend to just de-stress and rejuvenate!  Yes, the Pat's loss was the first wrench in the week.  UGH!  What a devastating one that was.  Even more so that I had a house full of family and friends all sulking, depressed, swearing and so on.  I threw myself into cleaning up the house until 2AM and then went to bed.  By Thursday I was over it.  Hey, it is what it is and at the end of the day, we are all human and it was just a game.  I will still stay loyal and proud to the core because this girl will always be a die hard Pats Fan!  Congrats boys on a great season!!!  I'll be looking forward to August when I can get back in my football groove. 

Other than that it was just a week of crazy schedules and crazy demands.  High stress and no relax time.  Cam is still under the weather with a cold and I think we have some molars coming in.  The other two have stayed healthy thank the Lord.  I don't think I have gotten a good night's sleep all week because I keep waking up to these two little bunnies who have somehow found their way under my covers and snuggled up into me and on top of me!  Throwing them back in their bed takes too much effort so I roll over, hold them in my arms and try to get a little shut eye knowing that this time is too precious to waste and I can sleep when I'm dead.

On a positive note, Mama is down 18lbs in just under a month.  Just two pounds shy of my 20 pound goal before our Florida vacation.  It looks like I'm going to reach that goal and then some.  THANK YOU JESUS!  My hard work is truly paying off and I couldn't be happier.  How I miss my night time wine but I have managed to do without.  I have somehow mustered up an enormous amount of will power and I have stuck to my guns.  I am doing it... I am changing my life one day at a time.  It can be done!

Came across this page on Facebook via a friend.  It struck a chord with me as you know Hannah had a similar diagnosis as an infant.  An AVM is part of the Vascular Birthmark community as is a Hemangioma.  Hannah was within mere days of having her hemangiomas burst, having a stroke, seizing and losing her life.   This little sweetheart did not get so lucky but she is beating the odds..  This one hit home and I sent a donation right away.  Please check out this little dolly's site and if anything, send some prayers their way.   http://www.theloveforlindsaybenefit.org/lindsays_story0.aspx

Here's to the freakin weekend!  Enjoy!

Friday in Patriot's Nation

It's Friday in Patriot's Nation.  I've been here before yet I can tell you that the feeling never gets old.  The sheer excitement that builds up on this day knowing that the big game is only two days away is immense!  We've been here before, but each time is still special.  Will anything ever beat the feeling that the Pats 2002 Super Bowl win gave us?  Probably not.  It was the first time I witnessed grown men cry over a football game.  (And grown women!)  I remember the screaming, yelling, crying like it was yesterday.  I was 4 months pregnant with Hannah during the 2004 win at the time and I was sure I was scaring the crap out of her in my belly.  (While thinking how great it was to raise her a Pats fan while she was still a fetus!)  I remember how it felt to be Super Bowl Champions.  I remember the days that followed listening to Sports radio at work with Dad.  Nothing could wipe the smiles off our faces!  And then there was the trip to Gillette to welcome our boys home and get a glimpse of that trophy.  Rob, Derek, Julie & I.  That split second that I swore I made eye contact with my all time favorite Bruschi!  (I LOVE YOU TEDY).  The parade that followed and the thousands of loyal fans celebrating all over New England.   I'm pretty sure nothing will ever beat that feeling in 2002.  At the same time, I can assure you that a win would put us pretty close to those same feelings we had then.  

I was raised a Pats fan during the time Grogan and Eason were quarterbacks.  I was just a tot but I can still remember our black leather couches and how we weren't allowed to speak when a Patriot's game was on.  How my Mom would pop bowls of popcorn (the old Jiffy Pop on the stove) and we would sit there and stare at the television for three hours while they played.   I remember my Dad teaching me all of the football terms and when the opposite team would be up for a field goal he's make us chant, "Suun, Suun, Suun," in hopes of a miss.  (I still to this day don't know what Suun means.  I'm going to have to ask Dad that.)  Many times it worked.... And the kick is WIDE LEFT... NO GOOD!  Yipeeeeee!  It stuck.  I still do it to this day and I make my kids join in.

I think the best part about living in Patriot's Nation is the fact that it brings our family together.  That feeling of all being their, routing, cheering, laughing, swearing, crying, beating the floor, throwing fits, throwing food, throwing anything that is not tied down at the TV...  It just wouldn't be the same if it weren't done together as a family.  Mothers, fathers, siblings, aunts, uncles, cousins and close friends.  Most of us who at one point must have been an NFL coach... "Why the frig did he pass that?"  .... "Come on Bill... you should have run the ball!!!"  ....  "What the BLEEP!  He's wide OPEN!"  There is always one point in the game where we all feel as though we could do a better coaching job.  It's quite comical when you think about it.  There are also the serious superstitions!  Jerseys don't get washed.  Beards are grown.  The same underwear are worn each game.  Yes.. there are always the superstitions.  I remember during that 2002 game that I had an Aunt who would hang out with my Mandy dog in the mudroom because she loved dogs.  Whenever she moved her chair back into the family room, the Pats would play bad.  Needless to say that by the second half my poor Aunt stayed the entire rest of the game in the mudroom with Mandy and she would occasionally call out, "What's the score?"  (RIP Mandy girl)

And there you have it.  Why I love to be a part of Patriots Nation.  It's a pride like no other for me.  It's all about loyalty.  True Pat's fans are loyal to the core.  I am proud to be a fan of a team that has always played with their heart.  That has always remembered how special their fans are and how much we love them.  There are never any hero's on this team.  The game is played together.  The win together and they lose together.  It's a team effort and they never forget that.  Thanks Dad, for raising me a Pat's fan!  The Murphys are all in their Pats gear today routing on their team! 

All that's left to say is......

 GO PATS! 

BRING HOME THAT TROPHY! 

GAME ON!