13-Year-Old Launches $1Mil Campaign to Save Children's Sight

Please read this young teen's amazing story

Did you know that an estimated 19 million children worldwide are visually impaired, and of those affected, 12 million have conditions that could easily be diagnosed and corrected? Lillian Pravda, an inspirational young lady born with a cataract who received sight-saving surgeries at only 9-weeks-old, founded Vision For and From Children at the age of eight. The organization raises money to provide children without access to eye care, surgery and vision services. After years of building awareness, the organization has raised nearly $100K and helped more than 24,000 children. The now 13-year-old, award-winning philanthropist is taking her mission global with the launch of the "One Million $1 Bills" campaign which will provide the gift of sight to children through vision-related surgery, outreach and services. Funds raised from the campaign will also help build state-of-the-art ophthalmology centers in regions in the U.S. and beyond that currently do not have proper eye treatment available. This is a link to Lillian's story- Vision For and From Children

Halloween

                                             Our Halloween was a fun night!

                                                             My beautiful daughter

                                                Friend, Joe, Alyssa, Ryan and friend

                                                                 Alyssa and Hailey

                                                    Two of my kids with there cousins

                            Just some of the candy they got

Green Giant "Raise a Giant" and Giveaway

Green Giant knows it takes a lot more to raise a healthy child then just getting them to eat their vegetables. Kids these days live in a world that is bigger and scarier than the world we grew up in, and they need help and encouragement to navigate that world with confidence and pride.

Unfortunately one of the hardest things kids have to deal with is bullying. When a child is bullied by a peer it can turn his or her life into a daily gauntlet of fear and anxiety.

What Does it Mean To Be A Giant?
~~Being a giant isn't about being the biggest or the best. Being a giant means standing up for others. It means lending a hand to those who are in trouble and speaking up for those who sometimes find it hard to speak up for themselves.
~~Studies show that an effective way to stop bullying is for kids to simply speak up and say, “That’s not okay” when they see bullying happening.
~~But asking kids to have the courage to stand up to bullying is a tall order and that’s why they need our help.

How Do You Raise A Giant?
~~We’re asking parents to write a letter to their kids telling them how special they are and encouraging them to be part of the bullying prevention solution by being a giant.
~~To get started parents can visit  RaiseAGaint.com and read the letters others have written.

With your encouragement we can help all of our kids create a safer, happier world.

Green Giant is Proud To Partner With: 
PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center
- Green Giant is partnering with PACER’s National Bullying Prevention Center to develop The We Will Generation, an in-school student-to-student curriculum helping students understand how they can handle bullying.
- This partnership enables us to help those impacted directly by bullying – students.

We Day Minnesota
- Green Giant is one of the title sponsors for We Day Minnesota – a stadium sized event to celebrate students who are making an impact either locally or globally.
- By sponsoring We Day, Green Giant is able to provide tips on how to handle bullying with those impacted most – students.

* General Mills is also offering a $25 Gift Card to give to one of my readers

All you have to do is tell me a time when you were bullied or knew of someone that was and make sure you follow me via GFC. Please leave your email address as well.
The winner will be picked on 11/11/13 and will then have 24hrs to send me there mailing info.

 **General Mills made a $25 donation in the name of Our Happy Little Family to the Pacer’s Center for Bully Prevention

“Disclosure: The information and prize pack have been provided by Green Giant® through MyBlogSpark.”                      .        *****Ipdate Winner has been chosen, thank you for all your entry's!

Help the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles join the National Toy Hall of Fame

Help the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles join the National Toy Hall of Fame Great news coming from our favorite green heroes in a half shell... The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are one of twelve toy nominees in contention for induction into the National Toy Hall of Fame 2013!    The National Toy Hall of Fame was established in 1998, and recognizes toys that have inspired creative play and enjoyed popularity over a sustained period. Each year, the prestigious hall inducts new honorees and showcases both new and historic versions of classic toys beloved by generations. The iconic toys are celebrated in The National Toy Hall of Fame gallery located at The Strong's National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York. This year's winners will be announced on Thursday, November 7th.                                                                                                               Vote for the iconic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!   Considered one of the most popular kids' entertainment brands of the 1980s, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles have become an enduring global phenomenon. The Turtles made a totally epic return in September 2012 with the launch of a CG-animated television show on Nickelodeon and an all-new toy line inspired by the show from Playmates Toys, the driving force behind the global toy sensation for decades. Within just one year of its return, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has once again become the number one action figure line in the toy industry!   Below, you will find a link to cast your vote and feel free to share this awesome news with all the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans out there!   http://www.toyhalloffame.org/see-do/2013-finalists-poll

Children's Claritin Back to School Allergy Tips

 If your house is like mine, then everyone has allergy from the adults to the kids and yes even my fur                                     baby! I would be so lost with out our Claritin!
1. Be sure to have Children’s Claritin, the #1 pediatrician-recommended non-drowsy allergy brand, on hand!
 2. Multi-vitamins are building blocks to having a strong immune system. Make taking a multi-vitamin part of your child’s daily routine.
 3. Let there be light! Mold doesn't like sunlight, so try to keep your curtains open during the day. Should be easy during the summer months!
 4. Did you know that most pillows trap allergens, dust mites, and bacteria? Monitor the cleanliness of the pillow your child with allergies sleeps on and replace if necessary.
 5. Back to school season means lots of laundry for many moms. Be sure to remove laundry from the washing machine promptly. Allowing wet clothes to sit in the washer means mold can quickly grow there. 
6. Monitor pollen counts and adjust outdoor before and after school activities accordingly. Dry, windy days can be particularly high in pollen.
 7. Showering or bathing at the end of the day as opposed to the morning can be helpful in removing allergens from body surfaces and hair.
 8. Stay hydrated! Always send your child to school with a bottle of water. Drinking lots of clear fluids through the day can help get rid of toxins and flush out body.
 9. Peak pollen production typically occurs in early morning, so try to plan outside activities at other times of the day. 

If there is something I left out or you have your own secret tips then please share with me!


 Disclosure:"As a member of the Children’s Claritin Mom Crew, I receive product samples and promotional items to share and use as I see fit. No monetary compensation has taken place and any opinions expressed by me are honest and reflect my actual experience."   

KaBOOM! Imagination Playground

 Kids should have time to play -- at home and at school. We know that creative play can make kids happy and healthy, but some kids aren't getting enough of it. That's why the makers of Children's Claritin are teaming up with the national nonprofit KaBOOM! to help bring innovative play spaces to schools in need. As a member of the Children's Claritin Mom Crew, we want you to be among the first to hear about this exciting program.

 Children's Claritin and KaBOOM! are helping bring play to kids in need by offering 12 national schools the chance to win Imagination Playground™ equipment. These mobile play sets are comprised of oversized foam blocks that can be assembled inside or outside, giving children of all abilities the opportunity to foster creativity and critical-thinking skills.

 Your vote can make a difference! Join Children's Claritin, the #1 pediatrician-recommended non-drowsy allergy brand, and KaBOOM! to help select 4 schools to receive Imagination Playground™ equipment. You can visit http://Facebook.com/Claritin between 8/1-10/31 to cast your vote for one of twelve finalist schools. The four schools with the most votes will win Imagination Playground™ equipment for their students.

 
Help bring these schools to the finish line!
1.    Chicago, IL – Hanson Park Elementary

2.    Cincinnati, OH – Pleasant Ridge Montessori School

3.    Joplin, MO - McKinley Elementary

4.    North Salem, NY – Westchester Exceptional Children’s School

5.    Union Town, PA – Menallen Elementary School

6.    Washington, DC – Sela Public Charter School

7.    New Orleans, LA – Audubon Charter School

8.    Spartanburg, SC – Spartanburg Charter School

9.    Willis, TX – Parmley Elementary Annex

10.  Vail, AZ – Sycamore Enrichment Center

11.  Santa Cruz, CA – Live Oak Elementary

12.  Spokane Valley, WA – St. John Vianney

Most of our Summer

Most of our summer was spent in the hospital or at doctor appointments for Ryan. It started June 29th, when Ryan had started saying his tummy was bothering him. I didn't think much of it, I just thought it was a stomach bug. The whole weekend he still had the pain, but no vomiting or bathroom problems so now I'm starting to wonder what it could be. Monday comes and the pain is getting worse and he's starting to walk funny and not wanting to play in the water outside. "It had been HOT outside the last couple weeks" By that evening I started to wonder if it was his appendix, even though he really didn't have any of the symptoms other then the pain in his lower tummy. I called our on call doctor and told her everything that was going on and she said it was just a bug going around, but I still had a hard time buying that. I told my husband what I thought it could be and he said no for the same reasoning as the doctor. "no symptoms" Well first thing Tuesday morning with no sleep because by this time Ryan is in so much pain I get him in to the doctors. The Doctor knew right away it was his appendix by the way he was walking, but we still had to go to the lab which took them 6 tries to find a vein and then to the imaging lab to confirm what it was. So they sent us to the hospital to have his appendix removed. Ryan and I spent many hours there till they finally got him in to surgery. He was in so much pain he was out of it! They to could not get a vein so after 3 nurses with 3 turns each, then the panda team which tried 4 times there was no luck. They looked and tried everywhere, my poor baby was so bruised up but not even fazed by any of it. So they were trying to figure out what to do being none of them has ever had that problem, they called someone to ask what to do and next thing I know 3 more people come to try and finally by the third try they find it. So this everyday surgery "Ryan was the 7th appendix's removal that day alone" that should take less then an hour takes close to four hours. "Still not sure why" I do know that he did have trouble once he got to recovery with the IV falling out, his breathing was way to slow and his heart rate was acting up as well. he finally wakes up the next day with some drama, but nothing we couldn't handle other then having to stay an extra couple days. "We were suppose to be staying at the beach for a week, which didn't get to happen"

This will be continued

First Day Of School

Yes I know it's been three weeks since school has started but I still want to post my babies first day of school pictures.

This is Ryan's last year of elementary school:(

5th Grade

This is Alyssa's last year of middle school:(

Alyssa-8th Grade/ Josephs-7th Grade

I kinda forgot to take there picture before school. Alyssa had her hair down and looked adorable and I think Joe was wearing something different but at least I will get to see the difference in there faces at the end of the school year.

 

 

Rev Up Your Road Trip Facebook Sweepstakes

Summer is road trip time, but before you pack the trunk, it's probably a good idea to check your owner's manual for maintenance recommendations. It might be time for an oil change. 

If it's time, remember that motor oil matters. You want to be sure that you or your oil change location pours the American Petroleum Institute (API) licensed oil recommended for your car or truck.

• If you're buying this oil yourself, look for the API Starburst or Donut on the label.
• If an oil change location is installing the oil for you, make sure you know what that shop is actually pouring into your car. A good deal on an oil change is only good when the oil's API licensed and meets the recommendations for your car or truck's engine.

This recommendation is coming from Motor Oil Matters, or MOM for short, a new program offered by the API.

• MOM's goal is to make sure cars and trucks get the oil they need.
• MOM does this by reminding car and truck owners about the benefits of pouring quality motor oils and calling on the carpet those who are pouring lower quality oils.

When the time comes to get your oil changed, be sure to bring MOM's oil change checklist found on the MotorOilMatters.org website. This simple checklist will help ensure that you get the oil recommended for your car or truck.

And now through July 10th, MOM is providing a chance to help you on your way with the "Rev Up Your Road Trip Sweepstakes" on Facebook!

• Enter for a chance to be one of 25 lucky winners to win a $100 Visa gift card for your summer road trip needs. 
• It's easy to enter: just drive over to the Motor Oil Matters Facebook page, give the thumbs up by clicking "Like", and head to the "Rev Up Your Road Trip" tab. Ready, set, GO!

Don't forget: When the oil life monitor or the mileage on your car says it's time for an oil change, it's time. Also remember that car and truck manufacturers recommend specific oil viscosities and performance levels. Check your owner's manual for this information before you have the oil changed.

Check out the MOM website to see if your favorite oil change location's MOM-licensed! If it isn't, show them your copy of the checklist and ask them to sign up.

Be sure to also check out the @motoroilmatters Twitter page for the most recent updates and news while you prep for your summer road trip! And Happy Cruising!

                         "Disclosure- this information was provided by Motor Oil Matters"

Make your July 4th BBQ Extraordinary!

Looking to take your 4th of Julycelebration from ordinary to extraordinary? Make Suddenly Salad® your specialty!

By using quick and easy stir-ins, Suddenly Salad can be whatever you make it: a simple side dish, star of the backyard BBQ, or a crowd-pleasing main course.

 With seven delicious flavors, there’s a Suddenly Salad mix for everyone and for any occasion. Simply follow the instructions on the box, or visit SuddenlySalad.com for delicious recipes.

Try the  Red, White & Blueberry Pasta Salad recipe for your 4th of July BBQ.

I sadly didn't even know they had seven different kinds! I have tried three of them and I loved them! I'm not saying  any of you should try this but I can eat a box by myself! One of the things I love about this product is that I can take them to potlucks and know everyone is gonna love it. "Yes this is my go to dish family and friends"

“Disclosure: The information has been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.”

2012-2013 First & Last day of school

This year has flew by! I can't believe it's summer break already. Our kids had a good school year over all, of course with some teen  friend drama here and there, but I think I finally got Alyssa to see what her so called friends have been doing. It has been breaking my heart having her come home the last couple weeks so upset because of these kids who treat each other so bad. Alyssa had her first boyfriend this year , went on her first date, had her first b-day, Christmas and valentines with a boyfriend but she realized shes not ready for that just yet. Let's see how 8th grade will be;) Joe has made some new friends in middle school that haven't been the best influence but we stopped that real quick now we are just trying to keep tabs on his social life being he tends to go along with what might be going on at the time. As for Ryan he had a good year not much to report on his year.

 

First day of 7th grade

Last day of 7th grade

                                                       First day of 6th grade

Last Day of 6th grade

                                                          First day of 4th grade

Last day of 4th grade

Our new home Room 1

So I have been slow at updating the progress of our new home, but I will start to post pictures soon.

 Our pantry and cupboards were so nasty I don't know how anyone even put food or dishes in them! It took me two weeks, a lot of bleach and finally two coats of paint in them before I finally put stuff in them and was able to eat here.

As for the room with the massive amount of wallpaper-

We spent 3 days off and on trying to get it off and tried many different things that people told us to try or we found online and that stuff was stuck! So my husband read somewhere that we should sand it down smooth, put a couple coats of oil based primer "which is sticky and hard to get off your skin" and then he re-textured the whole room. Yes it cost a bit more but we would still be pulling little peaces off today if we hadn't spent the extra money. The process took a few days. Here a picture of the wall after all that was done but before we put the final colors on it-

It's kinda hard to see but you can notice the wall paper under all of the stuff that was done. 

He chose to go with Oregon Duck colors!

We also replaced the nasty carpet with wood floor.

The pictures are not that good but you get the idea and we also replaced the bottom wall boarder with a new white boarder, but I didn't take a picture of it.

Abs of steal

I'm sure many of you have already seen this but I had to post a picture of it! 

I really don't want to know how many people would really want this. I'm sure there are many people out there in this wonderful world of ours;)

Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme cereal review & giveaway

Now you can enjoy the delicious taste of Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme in a breakfast cereal from Big G. 

With an irresistible taste the whole family will love from a brand you trust, new Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme cereal is made from 100% whole grains with at least 14g of whole grain per serving (at least 48g recommended daily). Best of all, Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme cereal has only 9 grams of sugar per serving and is a good source of Calcium, Vitamin D, and 10 other essential vitamins and minerals. 

$1.10 off one box of Hershey's Cookies 'n' Creme cereal 
http://bit.ly/12fE0V9

 My family are big cereal fans! We always have no less then 3 boxes in our house, so when the cookies 'n' cream arrived in the mail they were more then exited to try it! They all loved it and when my son took it to school for lunch, he was happy to tell his friends that its a new cereal and promised to bring a baggy with some in it so they could all try it being his was already in the milk. He said they enjoyed it as well. We have yet to find it at any of our local stores but I'm sure it will be on our shelf's soon..

One of my lucky readers has a chance to win the same prize pack that I received which includes-

• Box of Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme Cereal

• Cereal storage container

• 2 Cereal-To-Go containers

  
  
  
                                              Just fill out the form below
  
  

  a Rafflecopter giveaway
  
  

  Disclosure: "The information and prize pack have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark."

Ryan's Birthday

Well my baby turned 11! I can't believe how fast my kids are growing up! It always sounded so dumb when people would tell me watch out they grow up so fast, but now I know what they mean. The time just fly's by! Well Ryan decided to have a party at John's incredible pizza which was fine with me because I always have so much fun at that place! Well this post wouldn't be complete with out pictures. Y'all know how I love to post pictures!

                           
            We love you Ryan!!

I just might be a little crazy!

When we moved in to our new house we noticed the previous people must of had a major ant problem being there were ant  trap things everywhere and dead ants in some places that they didn't even bother to clean up. So one of the first things I did was spray the crap out of this house for any and all bugs. Well I keep finding stragglers every so often but what has  been pissing me off is every single night since we've been here I wake up to one on me which is just nasty! So I keep seeing how people say cinnamon works best to keep them away so last night I put it all around me in my bed, on my night stand and on my head board. Well today when my daughter and husband noticed I think they thought I was crazy, but you know what I didn't wake up to any ants on me last night.

Our odd family tree!

I wasn't sure if I should post this or not because some people may not look at the whole picture before judging us.

Well I am married to my stepbrother, which some people think is disturbing. Well you see I met him the month after I turned 13 when our parents first started dating. We moved in with his dad a year later and my husband moved out soon after that. At that time he had a girlfriend and I didn't think of him in a relationship kinda way. Well I didn't see much of him after he moved because he lived out of state with his girlfriend. Well I turned 18 and about 5-1/2  months after that he was able to get transfered to California and move back home. It wasn't long after that we realized that we really wanted to be together and after dating less then a month we ran off to Vegas one day when he got off work and here we are 15 years later still happily married to the love of my life.

Now I know some people look at our situation as we are family but we weren't raised together! Some people think we were to young or moved to fast but after being married for 15 years I really don't care what people think.

Now the point of this back story is because I had always wondered if my kids would ever talk about family trees in school, because I remember as a kid having to draw one. Well Alyssa came home the other day and was a bit confused as how to make one. " she doesn't know my husband's mom being she passed away when he was 16 and she never really knew my dad" I think her teacher might of been a bit confused when he was helping her so he had her bring it home for help from us and all i could do was laugh. Well also  told her to make it a crooked tree!

Crayola's big colorful birthday adventure

      
To celebrate their 110th birthday, the 8 original crayons are throwing a birthday bash at the new fun-omenal Crayola Experience, the world's only interactive Crayola family attraction. Right now, they're out on a colorful adventure to spread the news, and you're invited to join the fun!
 
How can you join in on the fun? You can FOLLOW the crayons on their adventure, LEARN more about each color and enter to WIN a trip for 4 to celebrate their birthday and the Grand Opening of the all new Crayola Experience this coming May, 2013!
 
Visit the Crayola Facebook page and click "enter now" for your chance to be first in love when the Crayola Experience reopens.
 
The new Crayola Experience features four floors of new interactive exhibits and one-of-a-kind attractions that will bring the magic of color and your child's creativity to life! The winner will be among the first to experience the fun, along with a three- night, all-expenses paid stay. It's an experience your kids will never forget - and neither will you!

Crayola has always been a hit with my family! As a kid I remember being excited every time I got a new box of them, and it was always a treat when we got the big boxes of them. Now that I have kids of my own we enjoy being able to color with them. Crayola has so many other neat things that has kept my kids busy for hours. It may sound funny but I love the smell of crayons, it brings back many childhood memories!
 
"discloser-Crayola provided me with this information!" 

We got the house!

After 15 years of being married, 3 kids and 12 moves we finally gave in and we bought a house! We got the keys late Friday night and moved all the big stuff in over the weekend.

This house is so dirty, I can't believe people with 4 little kids under 5 can live that way. I had 3 kids all 14 months apart so I know how hard it is to keep stuff clean but what I'm talking about is dead spiders and bugs in every single window seal, cob webs from top to bottom. The bathrooms are nasty! One of the kids bedrooms has wall paper from top to bottom. Three different wall papers and it has been a pain in the butt to take off so far. I will post pictures of all the stuff we will be doing to this house as we go. For now I will leave you with a picture of the room with all the wall paper.

Our Easter

I hope y'all had a wonderful Easter! We spent Easter at our parents house with other family and friends. The weather was perfect, which was a nice change being that since we have lived here it has always been rainy and gloomy outside. We had a barbeque with lots of good food and the kids all had a good time playing outside and looking for eggs. Funny thing is our parents are still finding eggs that the kids didn't find.

Ryan's thoughts

 So anyone that knows my little Ryan knows that he is a very serious kid, its sometimes hard to joke around with him because he takes everything so serious. So a couple example from the last couple days are when we were in the car and I had said something about Alyssa not having a boyfriend anymore and he stops me and says wait she still has one and Alyssa says um no I don't and he says I think we would all know if they broke up because she would of had mom stock up on all kinds of ice-cream and she would be watching sappy girl movies in her p.j's, crying and eating ice-cream out of the tub. I then asked why would he think such a thing and he said well that's what they do on T.V! Well my little Ryan really in truly thought that's what all girls did when they break up with someone, and I had to convince him not all girls do that.

"I'm not sure I have him convinced of it yet."

 Another example of his random thoughts is when we were eating chicken and Kevin asked Joe he wanted a wing and Ryan said why would you even ask him something like that, it sounds so gross and of course my wonderful husband and kids had to go in to detail why he would call it a wing "I wont go in to those details being they were quite disgusting". He was so mortified to find out that his favorite food was really a chicken at one time. When we asked what he thought it was he said I'm not really sure maybe something like a fruit but not that it was a real chicken. I then asked why would it be called chicken then he said just a made up name, you know like you named me Ryan and your name is mom. I wonder if we will be able to convince him to eat chicken again.

Ryan's Sculpture

Today after school Ryan comes running to my car all excited with a little Chinese food box in his hand. So when he gets in the car he said he had an epic day and so of course I asked why and he hands me the box and said cause I got to bring my awesome sculpture home. So as I look at it and ask who is it suppose to be, he say me of course so I quietly giggle "so I thought" and said oh ya it is. Then he very offended like asked me what my little laugh was for, and then proceeds to say it's awesome right!?! So as any parent would do, I lied through my teeth and said it looks identical to him and how awesome it was.

It his twin, RIGHT

Buying a house! Maybe

Well after being married 15 years and moving 11 times I finally gave in to my husband and decided to buy a house and boy has it been a learning experience. First thing I didn't know was that some realtor's have you sign a contract and a lot of people I have talked too have  never heard of it either. When we sent him a letter trying to get out of the so called contract he guilted me in to staying with him and boy has it been a roller coaster with him! He is one of those know it all kinda guys and the type of guy that knows everything even when you try and tell him he's wrong he will hear nothing of it, so I have learned just go with it. I told him where I wanted to live and he showed me many houses that were about 20 minutes from my kids school and after I told him many times no to that area he continued to show houses in that area, so I had to look for myself and tell him about 15-20 houses I wanted to see.We are willing to live in a major fixer upper and don't have very many request other then we want a 4 bedroom and we want to stay in the same school district. I found a major shit hole that I seen a lot I could do with and after our realtor refusing to let us see it we decided to go behind his back ans see it, funny thing is that when we decided to put an offer on it he was right there to help us. Well after going back and forth with the owner and giving them our earnest money the owner decided to drop off the face of the earth and not talk to anyone not even his realtor and not sign the final papers so that house didn't happen and it took awhile to get our money back. Well I had given up on wanting a house and our realtor found one on accident in the neighborhood I wanted and it's a four bedrooms and  we liked it so we put our offer in and got all our wants accepted and the house never even had a chance to hit the market. Everything is still going as planed and if it goes well we will be moving in on April 15th.

KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED FOR US!!

Birthdays

As usual I'm a little late on posting these, but I can't forget the special birthdays in February. My father-inlaw birthday was the 10th my very sweet little nephew turned 4 on the 20th which was also my 15 year wedding anniversary and my very handsome, caring, loving and sweet son turned 12 on the 28th.

I love all three of these people very much and want to wish all of them a very Happy and very late Birthday!

                                                   My Father in law

                                                   My nephew Aiden

I can't seem to turn this picture over, but this my sweet son Joe!