Forgot the best part!!!!

I blogged about all of the bad but forgot the good - I got my first Coach purse for our anniversary!!! I LOVE it :)

Anniversary....

Well, let's just say the night did not go as planned to say the least!

Our plan was go meet at home, leave by 5:30pm and go to my softball game in Chillicothe (with Justin) - leave there, come home and play in the yard then ice cream or a treat and then Justin's bed time...

Instead, we made it to softball - but when the game started I was the first up to bat. Rob and Justin were still inside the bar because Justin spilled Rob's full Coke all over the table, Rob, etc. So I get up to bat and hit the first pitch pretty good - between the SS & 3rd over their heads....and still get thrown out at first. As soon as I started running both of my legs gave out. It's the muscles on the front of my thighs - both of them! I barely made it back to the dugout and immediately sat down by the fence...I couldn't even go down the 4 steps in the dugout at first. I was sweating and felt like I was going to throw up it hurt so bad. It felt like my muscles ripped away from my leg or something.... So I went and laid down on the bleachers and Rob got the car and we went home. Super long drive because every time he braked or accelerated or turned it hurt so bad. It almost felt like a burning (like when you do squats) all the time and painful. So I came home and laid on the couch - Rob got me some 600 mg Ibprofeun I had left and then got me hot and cold compresses on it for a few cycles which helped dull the pain a little bit. I ended up sleeping on the couch because stairs were not an option. No fun at all. I do feel better this morning when I am sitting or laying, but as soon as I try to walk it hurts like crazy. On top of that, Justin was awake crying last night more than he was sleeping - no idea why! He was just fine, but would not go to sleep.

Has anyone ever had this happen in BOTH legs? I have NO idea how hitting the ball and running did this...like in the first 3 steps.

My husband of course was wonderful though - he took care of me and our crabby Justin who did not want to leave the ball field!

Hopefully this weekend will be more fun than last night was!!!!

Our Anniversary

Today I have officially been Mrs. Brooks for 4 years!

On one hand, it seems like yesterday, but on the other it feels like 14 years.... We have lived in 3 cities, moved 5 times (or 6 if you count the extended stay hotel for 2 months!), gotten laid off/promoted/transferred and of course most importantly being blessed with Justin! It's been a busy 4 years but I could not imgaine going through it with anyone else. You let me be myself, but make sure to bring me back down to reality when I need it :) I can't wait to see what we'll be adding to the list in the next 4 years!

Thank you for being the husband and daddy that you are - I love you so much Rob!!!!

The Hills 5-28-08

Last night we went out an ran a few errands and went to CSC for a treat! They have the best ice cream ever - other than maybe Zehnars (the old barn place) or wherever we used to go in AuGres!

In the last week or so, when we drop Justin off at daycare he has an absolute meltdown. He cries and cries and clings to us. I don't know why! He loves it there; whenever we pick him up he is playing and as happy as can be. His teachers all say that he's good and they all love him, but the mornings are heartbreaking :( Did anyone else ever have trouble with this? I don't know if it's just because he is getting old enough to realize that we will be gone all day? I don't know, but it's really hard on us....

On our way home from town last night there were all kinds of flashers and news crews and such about 4 miles before our house - we thought it must be a bad accident, but it turned out that the police went to serve a guy with a emergency protection order and he fled out a window and then he ran into a field and fatally shot himself. When we first heard the story they just said "a shooting near Spring Bay" which scared me a little, but at least it was not a random act of violence. All of the news reports keep saying "shooting", but if you shoot yourself isn't it called suicide or self inflicted gun shot wound? Shooting just makes the area sound dangerous....

On a happier note - here are a few pics :)

He loves Coldstone....or maybe his mommy does so she tells herself that HE loves it :)
Such a big boy!
The cotton candy ice cream might be a cool color, but it does not taste very good - especially compared to the cake batter....mmmmm......

Go Daddy!

We are so proud of you Daddy! We love you tons :)

-Melissa and Justin

_____________________________________________________________________________________

For those of you who don't know, Rob found out a couple of months ago that his company is moving their headquarters to Madison, WI and if he wanted to keep his job after June 2009, he would have to move there. We love it here, so moving was never really a consideration.

After getting the house sold, finding a new job was next on the list. He applied online to a few places last Thursday night, got a call on Friday morning, had an interview today at 9am, got an offer by 11ish, we met for lunch to go over the details, he put in his 2 weeks and starts at his new company on June 11th!!! It's too bad because he really liked his job at CG - but the corporate world is ever changing I guess! His new company is called Pearl Companies - he's in the Technology division. They have an insurance division, benefits division, automotive group, etc. They are a locally owned company that's been around for a long time. Plus, they own a GMC, Buick, Mazda, Lexus, etc dealership so if we show Rob's employee ID, we get the employee discount - SCORE! Someday......

Have a great week!

Memorial Day Weekend

What a fun weekend! We didn't really do much, but it was nice and relaxing. We were outside almost the entire time and it felt so good! Justin loves his sandbox (Thanks GG Brooks!) and now whenever Rob or I come near it he makes us take off our shoes - no shoes near the sandbox! We also found a ball that Quincy LOVES and will actually play fetch with - of course they are $7 each at Petsmart, but so far he has not chewed this one up! I just realized that I hardly took any pics this weekend, but here are a few - I'll get more this week.

The first ones are at Tinley Park (First Midwest Bank Ampitheater). I have only been to outdoor concerts at Pine Knob and have had a great experience at everyone. I was extremely disappointed with Tinley Park in comparison to Pine Knob.... Total fun haters. We brought wine and snacks and lawn chairs to tailgate before the show, only to be told to put them away. If you are out of your car you need to be moving towards the venue entrance. WTF? Plus there are skyboxes there, so if you are in the lawn you're looking between the seats and the skyboxes at the performer - it makes it seem more like you're outside of a building looking in rather than just a pavillion roof. Oh, and the big screen up by the roof was not working on our side. Oh well - it was still fun and we learned that we definetly want VIP seats for any future concerts!

Katie and her $3 M&M's :)
Tim McGraw! What a great performer :)
Katie and I at the concert - next time we're getting VIP tickets!
We ended the weekend with a wonderful steak dinner at Katie & Josh's new house. Their next door neighbors have a 2 1/2 year old so Justin has a friend when we go over there! Also, notice the green house in the back ground? That was the one that I fell in LOVE with when we first moved here and put and offer in on and everything....too bad we don't live that close to the Adams!

Random ramblings for a Friday afternoon....

*Softball last night was fun! I am no longer a one-time sub...I've been recruited full time. Sure we got mercied 15-2, but I got one run and an RBI and caught all 3 balls that came my way in left fied. I was pretty happy! The bar we play at is awesome. It has a patio that overlooks the field and the field is lighted, concrete sunken in dugouts, bleachers, a concession stand and everything! I am excited! It's 1/2 hour away, but it's worth it for the atmosphere! All of the players are my age and are engineers at eServ, so it's fun!

*Rob and I found out today that on June 2nd Justin will be moving to "older toddlers" - the next room up. So now not only do I not have a baby anymore, I don't even have a young toddler :( I really like the teachers in his room now - I hope we like the next ones too!

*I am really excited to go to Tim McGraw with Katie tomorrow! Pictures to follow later this weekend!

*I used to dread driving home on Friday (especially a holiday) - I could guarantee at least an hour or two drive home....not in Peoria :) I love not having to deal with traffic anymore! My boss is in town and he is staying the night here just to avoid the Chicago traffic this afternoon/evening.

*TGIF...and even better that it's Friday of a long weekend!!!!!!!

Have a great day!

CAT Softball

Last night we went to Washington for Katie & Josh's (and others!) softball game. Justin stood by the fence almost the whole hour or so and just watched. He loves sports! Madison (Jen & Dan Adler's daughter) was there too, so he had someone to play with! Jen looks so cute and so ready to have her baby - I can't wait to meet him!!

When I was at the game last night I said how much I missed playing softball. Sandy's boyfriend was next to us and he said that his friends had a co-rec bar league team in the area and needed another girl for tonights game, so I said sure! The game is at 9:30pm though! I might be asleep by the 3rd inning... Oh well; at least I can just leave when Justin goes to bed. I have a job site meeting at 7am tomorrow and then a meeting with my boss at 4pm. Could make for a long day!

Here are some pics from last night:

Justin and Madison playing - until Madison saw my camera and then that looked like more fun to play with :)
"I'll let you take a drink...but you're not holding it" My semi-sharing son!
And that was enough sharing I guess? Next time we'll have to bring two :)
"Go Katie" Justin loved watching the game....especially Katie batting!
After the game, he carried Katie's glove to the car for her and then would not give it up. Luckily, Katie understands how his tantrums can be - espeically around bed time and just let him take it home and we'll give it back this weekend :)

The Hills 5-21-08

The last few days Justin woke up during the night and was more clingy, crabby than normal. I was afraid it was his ears again since it's been 2 weeks since our trip to the ER. I made him an appointment for 2:30pm yesterday. Rob got a call from daycare at about 11am that he was running and ran right into the corner of the shelf....you will see the results in the pics below! Anyways, we took him to Dr. Adams and he said that his ear is NOT infected - yeah!!! He got a clean bill of health. He also said that if you take him to the ER, they will most likely give him antibiotics everytime - whether he needs them or not. So I am going to be more careful and try to just take him to Dr. Adams if he seems sick. It was good though, becuase he was able to look at the bump too and was not the least bit concerned. He said that it won't be the last! He has 3 kids and he said that by the 3rd one, if they get hurt there better be blood or he's not concerned :)

We (read:Rob) also got his play area finished last night - I love it! I came up with the idea, but got really frustrated after the rotatiller kicked my butt and the ground was so lumpy and crappy. I quit and was ready to call a "landscaper" who would do it cheap! Rob said no that he would do it and I am glad - it didn't take him too long and it looks great! We got rubber safety playground mulch for it - that stuff is great! It feels like you're walking on packing peanuts. It does smell bad, but I am sure it will off-gas after not too long!

In other good news - Katie and I have FREE Tim McGraw tickets for this Saturday in Tinley Park! A lady Rob works with won them on the radio and can't go....score! Rob and I were going to go to BR for the weekend, but plans have changed so now I am going to the concert. I can't wait! Katie and I had a lot of fun at the BP/RA/CW concert, so I am sure we'll have a lot of fun here - it's outdoors and it's supposed to be nice out!

Have a great week!

Here are a few pics!

Getting ice cream at Culvers
Playing in the sandbox with daddy...
I love the new play area - it will be nice to not have to mow around the toys!
Okay mom - enough pictures!
The dogs out playing in the yard - about to pounce eachother!
Hanging out with dad!
Being a big helper taking the garbage out....
....and feeding the dogs.....
....good thing I'm here to help! :) He tries really hard, but that target is just so small to get all of that food into!

The Hills 5-19-08

Hello! Nothing too much new is going on here, but I thought I would post a couple of pictures. Sue, Buzz and Godsie were here last weekend. We had fun and got a lot done - thanks for the help!

The little project of making a play area for Justin turned out to be a bigger pain than I imagined. Our ground is so hard, almost claylike and it does not make for easy leveling. Oh well - it will get finished sometime when our arms are not so sore from the stupid rotatiler (sp?)!

Rob and I got a chance to go play 9 holes too - it was nice to get out and golf again! I love my new clubs! I really like the 4 hybrid; I hit that one really well. I was so excited to use my new (huge!) driver, but I can't hit it very well - I ended up using the 3 wood instead of the driver. Oh well! I also beat Rob on the last hole....the only one that matters :)



This is from a few weeks ago - the shed in progress! I will post pics when we have it all done!!!
Grandpa Brooks and Justin on a lunch break
Justin and the next door neighbors playing with Justin's fishing pole in the front yard - that's what happens when the only fish near here are Asian Carp :)












I pulled this bush out all by myself (with a little help from the Yukon) - I felt pretty good after that :)

















Justin and Jenna playing in his sandbox!












Rob teeing off - we don't have any pics of me because Rob has a much more important job than taking pictures...he has to watch where my ball goes :)

The Hills 5-16-08

I know I'm slacking on new pictures, but it's been a pretty busy week. I had a lot going on with work and we just don't seem to ever have the camera around!

On Monday it was nice out so we played outside and then went to a little bar/restaurant by our house called Germantown Grille - it was nothing fancy, but a good little place to get a sandwich or burger.

Then Tuesday we just hung out and went to Coldstone for ice cream.

Wednesday I met with my boss and went to the riverboat casino - fun little story...I am friends with some of the pit bosses there and one of them I saw working valet when I walked in. I asked if he got demoted and he told me that they fired 26 of the 29 valet staff! I guess if you play table games you can give your valet ticket to the pit boss and have it signed for free valet. Most of the valets would take a ticket that was not signed and fake a signature to put the $5 valet charge in the tip jar. They had a little sting operation and busted almost all of them! The sad part is, TJ said he worked the numbers and they were probably all only making an additional 25-75 cents per hour! So now he has to work out there until they can build the department back up because he used to be supervisor of valet before dealing and being a pit boss. At least it's summer and not freezing out I guess!

Last night Katie & Josh came over for dinner and to watch Ugly Betty & Grey's. It was fun! With Justin awake during Betty I would say it was about as far from relaxing as you can get, but then he went to bed and we could actually hear Greys :) I am so glad that they live in Metamora!!!!

Tonight Sue, Godsie (rob's grandma) and Buzz (rob's aunt) come into town! It should be a fun weekend! Rob and I are hoping to get the shed finished - we still have to finish siding and put up the door. It's hard to do with Justin home because he's such a big "helper". Also, one of the areas of our yard looks like it used to be a flower bed of sorts, but it's all weeds and grown over. Our plan is to tear everything out of there and put a border edge on it with the rubber mulch chips to put his sandbox and slide/climber thing on. That way we don't have to mow around it and have it kill the grass all summer. We'll see if we get to that!

I'll post pics this weekend or on Monday! Have a great weekend :)

Woo Hoo!

I think we finally found somewhere to live that might not crumble with the latest economy? Thank goodness we have Big Yellow and more hospitals than we can handle :)

This was on the news this morning:

Peoria's housing market second highest in nation

By Ashley McNamee
Posted: Wednesday, May 14, 2008 at 6:18 p.m.

PEORIA, IL -- It seems like everything we've been hearing about the economy is bad news, but there's some good news about Peoria's housing market.

CNN says Peoria is the second best performing housing market in the nation.

They say Peoria's median home price increased almost 10.5 percent in the last year.

Now the median home price in Peoria is almost $119,000.

One broker manager says it's Peoria's slow, but steady real estate market which helps it buck the national trend.

"The Peoria economy is still really strong, between Caterpillar and the medical industry and education," said Nancy Koch. "So that's the bottom line, if you've got a strong economy, good jobs, good employment, our real estate market will be great."

Cook says the average sale price of a home in peoria also rose $5,000 over the last year.

YEAH!!!!!!!!

Okay, this is my 400th post since I started my blog and I am happy to say it's VERY HAPPY NEWS.....we only own ONE house!!!!! Our closing was today and it's done and the papers are signed! Rob and I are so happy to have this behind us!!!!!

Weekend in Chicago!

What a FUN weekend! I had more fun than I have had in a really long time. Our whole family was together again; that does not happen nearly enough! With us in Illinois, Mike/Ry/Amanda in Michigan and mom and dad in Nevada it is hard to find time when we can all just hang out for a few days.

My mothers day was perfect! I got to be with the two biggest loves in my life, plus my whole family... All of us mothers were together (except Aunt Cathy - we missed you!). All was well until about 4:30pm that is when we had to say goodbye; then the waterworks started and didn't really stop. It is so hard saying goodbye!

Rob and Justin got me new golf clubs - I love them! I can't wait to get out and try them out soon :) They are purple and grey...so pretty! I will take a pic soon. I could only see them for a minute and then we had to put them away because my little monster (Dennis the Menace as Aunt Connie nicknamed him) wanted to swing them in the house...not a good idea!

Here are some pics from this weekend. There are lots more on our Picassa site - here's the website address:

http://picasaweb.google.com/brooksfam.blogspot/ChicagoMay911th



Mommy and her angel :)

Playing bubble hockey....
....concentrating so hard!
Intense game of euchre going on :)
Gramma and Justin reading before church on Saturday morning.
Alec and Grandma before church

Justin beating up Blake with a pillow!
Alec and the coolest godparents ever :)
Morgan and sexy Justin
A family picture! It was SO GOOD to all be together in one place again - it went by WAY too fast!
Getting a "poke in the nose - kabooma" from Great Grandpa. I don't think that Grandpa was expecting one back quite so hard :)

A friendly game of Texas Hold 'Em - 8 to 12 year old style :)
That's my little brother - it was starting to get drunk out!
Amanda, Mikey and Aunt Mo-chelle











Me and my mommy!















Papa and Justin reading books

Gramma and Justin being silly!
Hanging out on Mother's Day with my boys :)
This picture is PRICELESS! What you can't see in the picture is the walk up the stairs about 3 minutes before this was taken. They were all down playing with the Jacob's PS3 (like they did most of the weekend!). Amanda said to Ryan, "I was going to get you a PS3 for our wedding, but now I see you would never stop playing it". Then he got one from GG Rosebush for graduation - the look on her face says it all :)
The family with GG Metzler (minus Justin because he was napping; I wish he was in this!)

A graduation cake for Aunt Manda & Uncle Ry - congrats again guys; we love you!

Happy Birthday Uncle Mikey!!!!

Sorry this is a day late - we love you and can't wait to see you :)

Love,
Rob, Melissa and Justin

PS. Remember these toys? I wonder if they still make them.....