Katy Bar The Door

Biking

2009-07-29T18:55:00.005-04:00

Major headlines....

...Wes Learns to Ride a Bike!

(Finally)

I'll just prove it with pictures and keep this short and sweet. After learning on his little bike we moved him up to a bigger bike. He still is having trouble stopping with the bigger bike...but at least he is riding! His idea of breaking (or stopping) is to just fall over in the grass.

Venting...

2009-07-29T16:49:00.002-04:00

Okay.....I am soon going to post some pictures of birthdays and other family happenings...but I read this somewhere else and I have to vent here. Otherwise, if I vented somewhere else...like on Facebook say, I'd have a bunch of "friends" pissed off. They aren't really my friends...just for the record!! I'd like to think my friends are smarter than that!

Delayed vaccinations. It's the new cool way of saying no thanks to getting your child immunized against deadly diseases.

Apparently the new "trendy" parent thing to do now is called "Delayed Vaccinations".
Really? Seriously? Why is it that some people think they are more special than the rest of us? So your kid is so freakin special that deadly diseases just bounce off them without the help of immunity?

The majority of us protect our children through vaccines and would appreciate it if others people would protect their children. If as a parent you aren't smart enough to want to protect your own child could you at least help stop the spread of deadly diseases so that your immune child doesn't infect others? Just sayin!

Last I checked tetanus, polio, measles, mumps and rubella were pretty nasty diseases that usually wont "delay" infecting your child. Rather those deadly diseases that stricken our grandparents and great-grandparents are making come backs these days. Why you ask?? Because more and more parents are wanting to think they are cool and join the "delaying vaccinations" club.

Just ask someone who lived through the days of polio if they would have wanted to be vaccinated against that disease during their childhood! Of course they would have. And, if those vaccines had been available maybe some of their siblings would have survived their own childhoods to grow up.

Get with it people. It isn't cool to not vaccinate your children. It is stupid. It is as crazy to me as the parents who wont treat their children with life saving medical care in the name of religion. Just sayin.

Please vaccinate your children! Don't delay!

Happy Birthday!

2009-07-13T10:03:00.002-04:00

Happy Birthday, Connor! My little guy is turning 5 years old today!

Will post pictures of today and previous exciting events very soon! We have been very busy doing lots of stuff around here!

Summer Fun

2009-06-15T12:51:00.010-04:00

Summer is nearly here and we have been keeping busy. I try to keep the boys busy and then I'm less likely to want to pull my hair out or eat large amounts of cookies while trying not to go crazy.

We have spent a few days in Flint. The boys have a great time...they always do! There was a fishing trip and lots of playing around in the barn. With the new additions of chickens and a baby miniature donkey, there was no shortage of creatures to harass.

Does this grass make my ears look big?

The boys love spending time with Grandpa. My dad took a couple of days off, so there was basically an endless supply of pop, candy and chips to be had by hanging out with Grandpa! How come they never let me eat like that when I was a wee lass?

There were also lots of tractor and four wheeler riding moments....and of course chores to be done.

Basically, every little boys dream come true.

Go Wings and Go Detroit!

2009-05-28T11:12:00.003-04:00

While it was fun watching our Detroit Red Wings beat Chicago, it's on to the big time now. Bring on the Stanley Cup!!! I love watching the finals! Go Wings!

I like to cheer for Hockey Town! I'm hearing rumors this morning that a deal has been reached between GM and the Bond Holders...I can only hope this will prevent bankruptcy. It is the last chance before the June 1 deadline. My fingers are crossed and everyone else in my family is holding their breath!

My fingers are also crossed for a close girl friend of mine (in Ohio) who is having surgery today. I hope you get good results, are as comfortable as possible and have a speedy recovery girlfriend! I'm thinking of you today!

A day with Connor at school

2009-05-11T20:12:00.005-04:00

Connor's preschool had Mom's Day in his classroom last week. It was so fun to see him in school and see how he operates. He is a reserved, but happy little man around others, so I was interested in watching school time to see what he was like with his friends.

I really enjoyed my time with Connor. Watching preschoolers just have always given me a warm, fuzzy feeling inside! We got to make a cool hat, plant a flower, do some painting and play with other cool stuff. Our highlight was the scrapbook that the teachers update throughout the year with their progress. It's amazing to see how much they change in a year of preschool.

It nearly brought me to tears when it was time for us moms to leave. Connor got upset and wanted me to stay. None of the other moms were staying and I wanted him to finish class, so I didn't stay...but those were painful tears to watch fall on his little face. I'm so glad he enjoys school and that isn't the normal reaction to being left there! And the sweetest part was when two of his little friends came up to him, patted him on the back and said, "It's okay, Connor...come sit with us and play!" Still gets me teary eyed!

Connor will attend preschool again next year for 4 days a week. I'm excited he will get another year in preschool. I think he could probably have handled kindergarten next year academically, but emotionally I think he needs to wait another year. By then he will be ready and excited for kindergarten!

Happy Mother's Day!

2009-05-10T11:43:00.002-04:00

What a beautiful Mother's Day! The sun is shining and it's sorta warm....warm enough. I'm looking forward to spending time outside this afternoon playing with the boys.

Chris took us all to breakfast at Bob Evan's. We have to go there because the have good toast! That is what our boys look forward to??? After a good breakfast we stopped at the playground at the school and hung out for a while.

I was surprised with a home-made coupon book from Wes. The best part was that he read it all to me! Chris got me a spa package. I loved it. It's called the Tension Tamer! Can I go every week?

So, have a great day everyone, especially my mom friends! I'm still looking forward to steaks on the grill tonight and a cheesecake that Chris made. Yum!

Facebook

2009-05-07T15:42:00.003-04:00

I joined Facebook today. I wasn't sure that I would ever want to do that. However, my husband uses it all the time and he was starting to know more about my own friends than I did. There is just something not right about that.

So, I joined! I only have 2 friends so far. Pretty pitiful.

How could I forget?

2009-04-27T20:45:00.003-04:00

I forgot to tell everyone the name of my chick! How silly of me.

Wait for it...

McNugget!

He-he! I am just crazy enough to think I'm funny. Did I ever tell you what I would name a pet ferret that my mom would never let me have?

Wait for it...

Farrah Fawcett

Did you also know that Peeps only have 28 calories?

Clearly I ate too many.

Chicks in Flint

2009-04-26T17:43:00.008-04:00

My mom did it again...she is always up to some crazy idea, especially when it comes to animals. Now she has decided she wants chickens (and their eggs) in the barn. It once was a horse barn...now I guess my parents are officially farmers. Shocking! What next? Pigs and goats? No...because my mom will be too freaked out about the new Swine Flu to move to pigs!

Mom and Dad wanted to surprise the boys by letting them help pick out the chicks. The cute little chicks, that will grow into nasty, poopy hens, where fun for the boys to pick out. I'm not really a fan of chickens. What that translates to is...I'm scared of fowl...be it chickens, turkeys, pigeons...not really sure why, but I am!

Besides playing with chicks this weekend we did enjoy some nice weather. It was surprisingly hot on Saturday. The boys got to fly their new kites and play outside. Easter eggs were hunted and way too much candy was consumed. So, by the boys standards, it was a great time!

Here are some more chick shots.

Free and Clear

2009-04-24T15:21:00.002-04:00

Connor is free and clear of any vision problems. I had him checked out today at the eye doctor's office and he is 20/20 in BOTH eyes! Thank goodness. I'm not sure I could have handled dealing with two of these cases.

I have gotten both necessary appointments scheduled for Wes. Now it is a waiting game until he is further checked and tested to decide our next steps. I was warned today that we could get very different options from the vision therapist and the ophthalmologist...I can handle that. I would like options!

I'm ready to not think about all of this stuff for the weekend. We are headed to Flint this evening for the weekend. The weather looks great, so it should be a fun weekend! Now lets hope my mother behaves herself while we are all there!!!

Lazy Eye

2009-04-22T16:23:00.004-04:00

I mentioned at least six weeks ago that Wes had to get glasses. I knew at the time that the reason for that was because his left eye was at 20/20 and his right eye was at 20/90. I understood that this was a possible case of Lazy Eye. The doctor that examined him that day wasn't our regular optometrist. She was compassionate about the whole thing (I guess she didn't want to wig me out?) and I left with the impression that glasses would help him and would bring his bad eye back into range with his good eye. The goal being that he would be seeing with two eyes or binocular, rather with just his strong eye.

Fast forward six weeks to our check up yesterday. I left the doc's office feeling like someone pulled a big rug out from under my feet. The return of our regular, monotoned, emotionless, straight forward doctor was traumatic for me.

Wes does indeed have Lazy Eye or more technically, Amblypia. The glasses have hardly made any difference. Making the prescription stronger will make no difference, so now we are moving on to specialists. Unlike most cases where you see a droopy eye, a turned in eye or a cross-eyed eye, you can't tell with Wes. Those cases make surgery possible because there is a muscle to fix. I don't believe that will be the case for Wes.

I do at least have a better understanding of what is going on. When the brain is presented with a blurry eye and a healthy eye it makes a decision to use just the healthy eye. Over time the blurry eye gets used less and less, becoming lazy. In Wes' case he doesn't use his right eye at all (even with the glasses). The obvious result is permanent vision loss in the bad eye and a lack of depth perception.

I feel so bad for him! He isn't aware that he is only seeing with one eye because it is all that he knows. He never squints his bad eye, shuts it or rotates his head to see better. He is just doing what is brain tells him to do...use his left eye.

It explains why he does not excel at sports involving a ball... he has no depth perception! Imagine not having any peripheral vision out of one eye or basically seeing the world flat without "3D"!

It will be a few weeks before we know anything else after seeing the specialists. The options for therapy include using a patch over the good eye or eye drops in the good eye. Most hope is with vision therapy. We discovered this rather late and at 7 he doesn't have a great prognosis to retrain the brain.

The brain has always amazed me with its complexity and ability to adapt itself. Apparently, around age 7 the brain kinda stays the same or for lack of a better term, stops growing. We are at this crucial stage right now and hopeful we can still "fix" him.

As most mothers will agree with me...it's physically painful to not be able to "fix" our children when they have a hurt or a problem. We just want to make everything better! I feel guilty for having missed this...even though our doctor said there was no way to know. He is doing well in school, so that red flag wasn't there. I just feel crummy.

I made a ton of phone calls today, did a lot of reading, and now there is nothing to do but wait. Frustrating, because his clock on this is ticking away. He isn't getting any younger!

I am taking Connor in on Friday to get him checked out. I want to make sure that he hasn't inherited this too!

The Oprah Show

2009-04-19T10:13:00.010-04:00

My trip to Chicago with Tami, her husband (Jim,) and her mom (Barb), was so much fun!! I felt so lucky to be part of the trip and part of her birthday celebration. Did I mention Tami is turning 40!!!

We got into Chicago Wednesday evening, checked into the Embassy Suites, drank some beer and then headed to Maggianos for dinner. I've eaten there before and their food is amazing. Of course, they didn't let us down. We ate and drank like true Italians! Even the piano guy was great.

We didn't stay out too late that evening because we had to be up at 4:30 a.m. Chicago time! We got to Harpo Studios at about 6:30 a.m. and were happy to find that we were the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th ladies and gentlemen in line. There weren't very many men!! At 7:00 after we were given the no cameras or cell phones allowed lecture we were taken through coat check and security. Security was very tight!

By 7:30 a.m. we were seated in the green room...which isn't green. I know, shocking! It's actually should be renamed the golden rod room. From that point on we just waited and people watched! It was about 8:30 when we were taken into the studio. Our seats were good. We weren't down in the lower section because we didn't have connections, but the studio isn't really that big and we could see everything very well! I'm not expecting to be on camera much, but that's okay with me!

One of Oprah's producers "worked" the audience asking questions and letting us know how everything was going to work. About 9:00 they started filming and out walked Oprah. She looked very sharp, but I would lying if I said I liked her hair straight. I love her hair curly. She needs to listen to me..."Oprah go curly!"

Our show was entitled "Oprah and People's Hero's in Hard Times." The show was dedicated to individuals across the country that are doing good things to help others who are down and out. It was a "feel good" show. Oprah didn't interact a whole lot with the audience. She was just kinda there. Mostly because her guests were not in the studio but via internet/satellite. It took a couple of breaks from filming before she even acknowledged us.

She was funny and polite...but I just got the feeling that she wasn't that into us. Again, shocking! Everyone did laugh when she told a story about her favorite Chevy Chevet! She seemed like she just wanted to get her work done and get the hell out of there. She answered a few stupid audience questions and then bolted. I would have wanted to bolt too if I had been her. I hate it when people ask questions and think they are smart!

Because the show was part of an issue of People magazine we were all given a year subscription of People weekly. That was cool. We went across the street to the Oprah Store after we were ushered out of the studio. That was fun. Another "thank you" goes out to Jim for insisting on buying all of us a sweatshirt!

Here are some photos of us hanging out in the store and taking pictures in Oprah's previous chair. That is the birthday girl sitting in the chair.

At this point I don't know when the show will air. It will probably be about a month based on information they gave us. I do know it won't come out until the corresponding issue of People goes out. Because I'm sure you are all waiting on pins and needles...I'll keep you posted!

Oprah called!

2009-04-08T15:01:00.002-04:00

Oprah called, and she wants me to come and visit her. Well, maybe not exactly. But, I get to go see a taping of the Oprah Show next Thursday! Is that cool or what?

One of my best gal friends, Tami, will be turning 40 this fall. I must insert at this point that I have not yet reached the mid-way point of the 30's...she is just older than me...and way cool, especially for a old-timer turning 40!!! :)

Much to my surprise her husband called me this afternoon saying that he has been trying to pull tickets together for her to go see a taping of the show come this fall.

But, it wasn't working out that way and he has tickets for the show for NEXT THURSDAY!! I thought cool. Tami will love that. After I told him that, I then said I would love to watch the girls for them that day while they were gone. However, that wasn't why he was calling.

He wants ME to go with Tami! Wow, was I shocked! He is trying to set up the details as I type to get the "little group" of us up there Wednesday night, spend the night and then go to the taping Thursday morning. I told Jim to just let me know where I needed to be and when.

Thankfully the boys have fantastic retired grandparents who are happy to watch their only grandsons!! I've already checked...they are available. Now on to more pressing matters.

What to wear?

Government Motors

2009-03-30T10:10:00.008-04:00

Today we are buying a new car from Government Motors!

President O. fires GM's Wagoner.

What? A U.S. President just fired one of America's biggest CEO's? Really?

All loan payments are being put on hold for 60 days.

Future of GM looks bleaker than bleak.

So,I must say that on the day we are set to purchase a new GM vehicle, I'm not feeling strong as a consumer. I had been liking what I was seeing with GM...things were looking like they were getting back on track. I was feeling fairly confident about buying a GM vehicle.

Now..After Pres. O. decides to take a stand, I'm a little anxious about buying a vehicle that might not have a company to back up the 100,000 mile warranty!

To assure consumers reluctant to buy GM or Chrysler cars, the government plans to take the unusual step of guaranteeing all warrantees on new cars from either company. These guarantees would lapse back to the companies once they return to health.

Basically we are buying a car from Government Motors.

Boiler Up!

2009-03-26T14:41:00.003-04:00

Congratulations to Coach Matt Painter and Purdue on a great season. It was a disappointment to see Purdue lose tonight...but UConn has some big, huge giants on their team. Going up against those guys was like going up against a building. Purdue hung tough!

Purdue has a great coach, respectful young men as players and a great future in the Big Ten. I'm stoked to see how well this great Purdue team will play next year!

615

2009-03-26T14:32:00.002-04:00

I just burned 615 calories on the Torture Device, i.e. the elliptical machine.

It broke on Saturday and the nice repair man came today and fixed it. The nice repair man was definitely not like the crazy elliptical repair man in my dream who chased Connor and I out of our house and set it on fire?? Yeah, where does stuff like that in our dreams come from?? Really??

I can't say that I missed not having it working, but I am glad to be back into a routine again and burning over 600 calories a day in roughly 35 minutes! That thing kicks your ass!

I found out from the nice elliptical repair man that the calorie counter is very accurate for me because it is based on my weight. So, when it says I burn 615 calories, I actually am. It isn't accurate for Chris. He is actually burning way more calories than it says he is. When I told him that it really made his day. Now I'm just going to have to work harder so that I can burn more calories than him!!!

To Traverse or Not to Traverse..

2009-03-25T15:24:00.003-04:00

...that is the question. We are searching for a new vehicle to replace the Buick Rendezvous. Our lease is about up on the Buick and with low APR (0%) this time we are buying.

This is essentially my car and my one request was that the vehicle have third row seating. I'm tired on not being able to fit more than 5 people in our car or having to pass up driving our boys friends! Along the lines of that request was that I didn't want to end up driving a tank in order to get the third row. And, don't even think about the "m" word...mini-vans are out of the question!

We always try to take advantage of our GM pricing that we get through my dad. That narrows the vehicle down to a Chevy Traverse or a GMC Acardia.

Chris has been so busy at work that I've taken the lead on talking to two different dealerships and salesmen. I hate car dealerships! No, I mean I really, really hate car dealerships. I dislike dealing with car salesmen, I dislike being treated like an uneducated little girl. But there I was today, picking up the Traverse, driving it to Chris' office at lunch, letting him test drive it and then returning the vehicle to the dealership.

It was after we returned that the real fun started. We began pricing the model we are interested in and working that out. I'm okay with that. But then said salesman turns on the afterburners and starts trying to "sell" me the car. Like I'm going to just whip out my checkbook and buy the car! That is when I get completely uncomfortable. I swear I was turning red in the face and not getting enough oxygen. I just hate that!

I did like the salesman and I understand he is just doing his job trying to make a living, but I swear it took every ounce of restraint I had not to turn and bolt out the door.

I recovered and made it out alive. I still have to do it all again and pick up the Acadia on Friday, take it over to Chris during lunch and then return to the awaiting sales trap.

Good times, good times. After Friday, my role is done. I want no part of trying to get a lower price or negotiating more discounts. Screw that and have fun Chris! My work here is done.

Updates

2009-03-17T17:20:00.003-04:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day. I am wearing green today but really don't plan to celebrate the appropriate Irish way. As close as I will get to eating anything Irish today will be my all-time favorite, best ever, Shamrock Shake from McDonald's. It's probably a good thing they don't sell them year round!

Wes' wrist is making good improvement. I got him an Ace bandage to wear on it last night and I think that has really helped. He came home from school today and said it was much better. He is playing the PlayStation right now and when he asked if he could I said "yes, as long as you don't fall off the bed!"

Connor went under water at swim lessons today. Although it wasn't by chose and was really just an accident...he didn't cry afterwards. I view that as progress! Maybe 4 years from now he might get his face wet.

Wes achieved the big 30 dry nights goal last night. As a reward he gets to pick out a new DS game tonight. He is on pins and needles waiting for Dad to get home and dinner to be eaten. When I started that whole process with the Potty Pager I would have never guessed that 31 nights later we would have conquered bed wetting! Rock on! I want to be the new spokesperson for the Potty Pager. I actually wish I had invented it, but oh well.

Tomorrow I will be heading down to Indy to pick up Uncle Stu when his flight arrives. I know he wanted me to come and get him verses his parents. Could have something to do with the fact that I drive slightly above the speed limit instead of 5 mph under the limit. Just guessing! But I got the strong impression from his mother that they could and would have gone to get him...I'll let them take him back!

Alright, time to get dinner in the oven and finish cleaning up the house before Stu gets here tomorrow.

Florida

2009-03-16T13:41:00.010-04:00

Life has been hectic since my return from Florida. I'm just now getting some pictures on here from my trip. I had a great time while I was there. I couldn't hang with the seniors. I don't know how my Grandma keeps up to her busy lifestyle. She golfs all the times, walks every day and just loves life.I want to be like her now, let alone when I'm nearly 80.

Highlights include a dinner at the Country Club, Theater tickets/dinner, multiple lunches, out for drinks...just crazy! And, boy can those old timers drink. I felt like a complete woosie! It's bad when you can't hang with the old guys!

I saw this sign on an "oldie". I knew Chris would approve.

My Grandma's boyfriend is a great guy. I just loved him. They are perfect for each other and I'm so happy that they get to spend time together. As I type this they are headed out on a 11 day cruise to Pannama. (I'm not jealous or anything!)

This is MY boat. It is 65 feet of pure happiness! Apparently someone else is borrowing it right now until I win the lottery...but it's MINE and I want it back!!!

Just some random pictures of us out enjoying the sunshine!

This is hard to see, but a cute little dolphin was hanging out at the pier while we were there. They are so fun to watch!

First, and hopefully last, trip to ER.

2009-03-16T10:56:00.003-04:00

Well, it had to happen sooner or latter, that we would be taking one of our two boys to the emergency room for x-rays. Wes was sitting (not jumping) on our bed yesterday afternoon playing the Playstation and just fell off the bed. I will laugh at that eventually, but not yet. Evidently he landed on his right wrist. The very loud thud from the kitchen below him sounded like he was going to be coming through the ceiling.

I immediately called our pediatricians office and find out where to take him because he is pretty tough and was really hurting. They said to ice it, elevate it and give him Advil. I did all that and we made it till about 10:30. Wes went to bed at 8:00 and then got back up at 10:00 crying and in pain. What to do?? Too soon to give him more Advil, so I took him for x-rays instead of waiting.

We were at the ER by 10:30 and with a doctor by 11:00. The doctor didn't make a very good impression on me. She wanted to know what happened and when it happened. Wes told her what happened and I told her it was about 5:30 when he fell. She then proceeds to say, "And you are just now bringing him in??" Wow, I about fell out of my chair. I explained that I had immediately called our doc's office and was trying to follow their orders. I told her that I was doing what I was told and not trying to be an over reactive mother. Clearly she thought I was the scum of the earth and had beaten my child. I actually had talked to our doc's office twice and proceeded to tell her that! She sulked out and ordered x-rays.

To make a long story short...nothing is broke, just sprained. He didn't get to sleep until 1:00 last night and I felt awful sending him to school today, but I thought it would be better for him than just sitting at home thinking about his wrist constantly. Bitchy doctor wouldn't even wrap it for him...said that moving it around was the best thing.

I understand that she is doing her job and trying to protect innocent children, and I thank her for that, but once she had been informed that I had contacted our pediatrician, had followed their advice and then decided against doctors orders to take him in...she could have been nicer!

I would like to believe that last night was the first and last trip to the ER, but I doubt that is true. Hopefully, next time I won't be made to feel like the worst mom in the world for attempting to get medical treatment for my son!

I'm actually surprised that I haven't heard from Wes' teacher yet. I really do not expect him to make it through the day and I told her to call whenever she felt he had had enough.

Poor guy! I know how pooped I am today, I can't imagine how he must be feeling!

Boiler Up!!!

2009-03-16T10:37:00.002-04:00

Way to go Purdue!!

Thanks for winning the Big 10 Tournament and making my husband a very happy man!

Wes-Man

2009-03-15T15:15:00.005-04:00

Wes has joined the "I Can't See Poo Club" in our family. He failed a vision screening at school, much to my surprise. He had been doing well at school, so I would not have guessed anything was wrong with his vision. He is NOT a big fan of sitting down to read, but I think that is just because he has to make an effort at it. Now I believe his reading skills were a combination of not being able to see well and also not being very "into" reading. Hopefully we can improve the willingness part!

I took him to get his eyes checked earlier in the week and discovered that he is half blind, like the rest of us. His left eye is perfectly fine, but his right eye is 20/90 and farsighted. Poor kid...he can hardly read anything with that eye up close. We got his new glasses in Friday and he loves them.

Apparently enough of his friends at school wear glasses, so it's a cool thing. Thank God! I was dreading a battle with him over glasses. As I was informed in the car to the doctors office, "My girlfriend Isabella wears glasses!" Great, good to know!

I'm very thankful for the vision screening at school. The doctor didn't understand how he was doing well at school when he could only half see. I guess we were just lucky that he was doing as good as he was!

Here are some pictures of our cutie with his new glasses! Pardon his teeth...they are still a work in progress!

Rest In Peace...

2009-03-15T12:11:00.003-04:00

We got word yesterday evening that Chris' Uncle, Bruce, passed away. He died unexpectedly of a heart condition. His wife was with him at the time, so I guess it was better she was there with him, but still sad. This comes as a shock to his whole family.

I was expecting the traditional Monroeville (conservative small town Indiana) services..ie. open casket, visitation, church services, burial and luncheon. But, the plot thickened this morning when we discovered services are up in the air as to what the family plans to do. He will be cremated (which is a shock for this family - not to me...but not the norm in Chris' family) and the memorial, visitation, service is up in the air. Glad I'm not part of that fallout!

Uncle Bruce was a great guy. He was kind hearted, quiet, always there for you when you needed help and had such patience with his nephews and his own grandchildren. He was always behind a camera taking pictures at every family function.

Rest in peace Uncle Bruce, you will be greatly missed.

About to get my travel on!

2009-03-04T12:40:00.003-05:00

I'm headed to Florida early in the morning! Yeah! I'm actually going home to fly out of Flint, because it is cheaper! So, I'm off to Flint tonight and leave at the ass-crack of dawn in the morning.

I've been practically killing myself all week getting everything cleaned, organized and ready for Chris. He is perfectly capable of dealing with everything around here, but I just feel better leaving him with the laundry caught up, food in the refrigerator and a clean house. I know the boys are going to have fun during their "Boys Weekend"!!!

Oh, and speaking of practically killing myself...the elliptical machine arrived last night. The delivery guy told me the box weighed 240 pounds. Chris and I carried all the little pieces down to the basement and then attempted to carry a 200+ carcass of a machine down a large flight of stairs! It was great fun. I'd love to do it again today, but my back says otherwise! The machine isn't even working yet and already it is kicking my ass! I am looking forward to coming back and learning how to use it. Hopefully it won't give Chris too much of a fit putting it together.

Time to finish packing, get Connor ready to visit his Grandparents house and get my travel on!

Oh, and Wes has stayed dry 17 of the 18 nights!!! Go Potty Pager!!!!!!!!!!!

Randomness

2009-02-21T12:57:00.002-05:00

Today seems to be about random stuff.

I've lost four pounds in two weeks. I always work out and have been for about a year. But, I had to stop for two months around the holidays because my ankle was messed up. The holidays is the worst time of the year to not be working out, so my waistline paid the price. I'm back to daily workouts, stopped eating all the candy around here and try not to drink beer at night when I would normally want one while watching a game!! Agh...so everything that is good in the world I can't eat or drink! Gilad and I are tight again. He got upset when I disappeared for a while, but I'm back and I'm in his good graces again!

More important than my four pounds is that Wes is staying dry! Boo-yah!!! Only the one wet morning so far. He has been getting up early to go potty with no accidents. Happy day, happy day!

Chris and Wes are off to Purdue today for the IU/Purdue basketball game. It should be a serious ass-kicking to IU, the kind my husband loves. Unfortunately, it is snowing today and I know the roads aren't great. I will worry about that!

Did I mention it is snowing, again. I'm really done with snow and winter. Connor and I are having a nice, quiet afternoon at home. Direct TV wasn't working a while ago. It better have it's act together soon before the game comes on.

I'm starting my countdown to Florida. Twelve days until sunshine and a relaxing five day visit with Mouse (my grandma).

I'm so excited about the break, but I am equally excited to meet her new boyfriend. She doesn't read this... I believe...so I can use my nick-name for him on here. I call him Sugar Daddy. He is a couple of years younger than her, can hear, plays golf, likes to dance, is social and is in good health. All the requirements I understand in a mate once you hit 70. All kidding aside, he has been wonderful to her. She gets to go and do things she wouldn't do alone, nor could afford. They have been on a five day cruise together and have another eleven day cruise coming up in March. It's just really nice to see her enjoying someones company and not have to be alone! Oh, and the Sugar Daddy part is nice too!

Ok, I guess that is all my random thoughts for this snowy, Saturday afternoon. My parents are coming to visit tomorrow. Hopefully, unless the roads are really bad. They have Valentine stuff for the boys and also wanted to see the scrapbook I did for my grandparents 60th anniversary party.

Their visit means more cleaning for me....but I digress. Enjoy your Saturday!

Potty Pager 4-1

2009-02-19T10:56:00.004-05:00

4 dry nights to 1 wet night...that's our success rate so far for the "Potty Pager". I have been happily surprised at how well Wes is doing at stopping his bed wetting. The pager attaches to the outside of his underwear and will vibrate/alarm when it feels moisture. Due to the fact that Wes is such a sound sleeper, I knew we needed more than just an alarm system!

I'm convinced that the pager is working not as intended, but never-the-less, it's working. The theory is that the pager will go off when it senses moisture, interrupting the wetting. In our case it has only gone off once. Wes is so afraid of it going off that he will hold it (like he is supposed to) to prevent triggering it.

We have shown him what happens so he could feel it, but he seems to think he is going to get shocked! Chris may have jokingly fed Wes' theory a bit, but we have tried to convince him it will not hurt and will only vibrate! We now believe that his getting wet was mostly laziness. He was "using" his pull-up whenever he felt like it, even when he was awake. This was happening mostly prior to falling asleep and when waking up.

The only night he was wet happened at 7:00 in the morning and he just didn't make it out of bed in time. I could hear him coming to our room before he even opened the door. The vibrating, buzzing and crying was enough to wake the dead.

"Mama, get it off, get if off, get it off!!!"

You would have thought that someone was trying to kill him! Like I said, I don't believe that the pager is teaching him to wake up when he starts to go, (I think eventually it would) but has instead made him paranoid enough to hold it. Whatever works!

I know there is a joke there about scaring the piss out of him...but I'm just happy that the pee is staying in!!!!

If you want more information on the Potty Pager go to www.pottypager.com.

Nintendo Props

2009-02-17T15:14:00.002-05:00

I like to give credit where credit is due.

Props to Nintendo for replacing the faulty charger to Wes' Nintendo DS. The charger stopped working a couple of weeks ago. His DS was a Christmas present and he had been very careful with the charger. So, I was surprised when it stopped charging.

I called Nintendo and they simply replaced the charger...with no charge, thank you very much. We got the new charger today and all is well in DS world.

It's nice to have a company take responsibility for their product and have very good customer service.

Good job, Nintendo. Maybe you can work with GM!

Catching up

2009-02-15T15:33:00.015-05:00

I'm a blog slacker. I seem to be endlessly busy in all aspects of life and neglect my blog. I know, shameful. So, I'm going to get caught up on a few events.

My dad's parents (my grandparents by default) celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary at the assisted living community in which they live...or as the boys call it..."the hotel". All of my dads siblings were there, a few of the grandkids and only a couple of great-grandkids. Our boys fall into the great-grandkids category and they were very well behaved. I was proud of them. On my list of things I'd rather not do this little trip was at the top, so I appreciated how boring and icky it was to the boys. Shhh..don't tell anyone, but I thought it was excruciating. If it wasn't for a funny uncle and my supportive husband, it would have been agonizing. Let's just say I showed up and got big points from my dad. Oh, and Obama was there too.

Our anniversary was January 29th and was a great weekend. We met up with our Purdue football buddies (minus Amy and James -sniff-sniff) for lunch and a Purdue basketball game. It was a strange game against Michigan...but the end result was all that mattered...Purdue won! Chris and I continued our weekend together (minus the boys) by heading over to Indy for a night on the town. Our dinner at St. Elmo was amazing. They have the best steaks around, and their service and attention to detail is top notch. They had a very private table, with flowers for us, away from all the major dining rooms. Chris broke the "no gift" rule for the weekend and bought me a beautiful heart shaped pendant I had been drooling over from Kay's. If you look closely you can see it in the pictures. Our weekend together was the best.

Wes did a great job in his annual musical at school. This years first grade musical was called "Bugz." It was very cute and well put together. Every child was given a line to say and each child participated in at least two musical numbers. As usual, Wes went along with being on stage and saying his line, but did so with the least amount of acting enthusiasm as possible. He just isn't a stage performer. He inherited that trait naturally. Don't get me wrong, he was cute and smiling and participating...he just didn't go the extra mile like some of the kids who acted like they were in High School Musical part 10. Props again to the teachers for pulling for a nice, timely program!

We are going through the "Stop Bedwetting 101" course at our house. Wes has always, always been a bedwetter...every night. We have tried all suggested methods and nothing will keep him dry at night. In case it isn't showing through my blog writing...I'm really, really done with bedwetting at my house! I've suspected that there is a level of laziness involved here, but he is also the deepest sleeper I've ever met, so who knows?? When our ADT smoke alarms have malfunctioned in the middle of the night and awaken Chris and I to heart attacks, him and his brother just slept away. Scary!!! Upon taking Doc's advice I ordered the Potty Pager. I'll be posting more about this endeavour, but last night was a success. Wes is scared to death of the thing going off. It acts as a pager and also has a buzzer. (Chris has been teasing him that it shocks him) Let's just say the pager part is 30 times more powerful than a cell phone on vibrate. I think it will wake him...but we shall see. Again, more to come.

Oh, and not to short change Connor....here's a cute random picture of Connor.

I know there have been other events around here that I would have liked to blog about but just didn't have the time. Hopefully, I can keep up better now that I've tackled the big events.

More to come on "Stop Bedwetting 101."

Happy Anniversary

2009-01-29T16:03:00.001-05:00

Happy Anniversary to my amazing, thoughtful, kind and loving husband. Nine years ago today I married my sweetheart. I loved him then and I love him even more today. I didn't know that was possible.

Today he is my best friend, my hostess cupcake cohort, my negotiator, my peacekeeper and the world's greatest dad! Thank you for your kindness, your patience, your love and your commitment to me and our family.

We are playing it low key today but we get to escape this weekend to Indy for some much deserved one on one time. I'm looking forward to a night out, great food and even better company.

Happy Anniversary!

Stupid, stupid, stupid

2009-01-16T10:26:00.003-05:00

No school today. Probably the -18 degree temperature at bus stop time had something to do with that.

If you listen carefully you will hear the sound of me screaming..."Nooooooo" at the top of my lungs. The boys didn't have school today and they don't have school on Monday. I have a four day weekend with them and they can not go outside to play and we can't go anywhere in this cold.

Wait for it...it gets better.

Wes lost his DS all week for calling me a jerk. Yeah, no one ever said that 7 year olds make great decisions. Not two hours into our day today this goes down.

I'm working out downstairs and Connor comes down to tell me that Wes won't play with him. I ask why..."Caus', Wes is playing his DS"

What???? I bolt up the stairs, which I'm sure Gilad would have approved of as part of the work out because I'm sure took the stairs faster then his near 60 year old ass could have.

And what do I find...Wes, sitting in his room playing his DS, which HAD been safely stowed on the TOP shelf of our closet. Besides the fact I'm stumped as to how he got the DS down, I sure wasn't speechless. Boy did I scream and yell at him. I've been asked nearly hourly all week when he can get his DS back and I'd already answered that question several times today, so there was no doubt he knew he was screwed at that point. Because getting caught playing it pretty much spelled death sentence.

As far as I am concerned he lost any chance of getting the DS this weekend, playing Wii with Connor and I this afternoon and maybe even lost his trip to Purdue with Dad on Sunday.

Why, Wes?? Why?? Why did you have to ruin everything with one stupid move??? Not to mention he could have broken his neck climbing our shelves in our closet standing on my exercise ball???

So, basically my peace for today is shot, my peaceful one child Sunday has been shot.... all because of that stupid DS. If the damn thing wasn't so insanely expensive it might have flown out a window. Oh, but wait...it's -14 degrees outside so I'm sure even the damn window is frozen shut.

Stupid weather. Stupid DS. Stupid exercise ball. Stupid Gilad!

It's cold...

2009-01-15T12:48:00.003-05:00

...it's really, really cold. And, I'm tired of winter.

Folks, I grew up in Michigan and I know what cold winters are all about. But this is nasty cold. It's past noon and it is still only -4 degrees outside. That is just crazy ass cold. We have had daily snow all week with it starting to pile up outside.

Good thing we had our furnace fixed last week. I thought 57 degrees in the house was bad, hate to think of what it would be now. Sorry, I digress.

We had a school delay this morning, but it really didn't make much difference. We got a lot of snow yesterday, so I wasn't sure if the delay was for the snow or the cold. I guess I will know tomorrow morning. The predicted temperature at bus stop time is -5.

So far the highlight of my morning was running the snow blower to clear our sidewalks, again. When it is -4 with wind chills somewhere around -25 and the snow coming out of the snow blower hits you in the face, that sucks! Even after a hot shower my cheeks feel like I went 10 rounds with a 2 x 4.

I'm pretty much the snow removal team of our household. Chris leaves in the dark and comes home in the dark and that makes clearing the driveway difficult. I've also been afraid that his Honda wouldn't make it up the steep drive with snow on it. So I've cleaned...and cleaned...and cleaned some more.

It's worth good brownie points. Our anniversary is coming up so I'm expecting good rewards!

Catching up and Happy New Year!

2009-01-03T13:17:00.012-05:00

Really? It's 2009? Really?

The holidays just flew by and dragged me along for the ride. I'm just now starting to catch my breath and put my feet on the ground. We had a very busy, traveling holiday. Our time in Flint was spent with a snow storm there. We were fortunate to make it back home between rounds with only rain to drive in.

We spent Christmas Day at our house with just us and the boys. It was an interesting day. For some reason while we were gone the thermostat for our furnace became confused and had a problem. The highest temp we got in the house on Christmas day was about 58. A bit cold for momma. The boys didn't notice because they were way to happy unwrapping presents and getting to play the new Wii. I think Mario Cart is their most favorite game, ever!!!

The day after Christmas we headed over to my in-laws for the day. When we left the house at 10:15 it was 32 degrees and raining. The roads turned to a sheet of ice right in front of us. They were the nastiest roads I have ever had the privilege of driving on. If it had been any other event other than Christmas that we were headed to we could have went back home. As it was we had to turn the car around twice to find roads free of spun out cars. A good time, not! It warmed up during the day and we got to drive home in fog. A great way to start and end the day. I'll not say more than that about the rest of the time so that I appear nice.

Other fun events over the holiday break included playing Guitar Hero, a trip to Purdue for a men's basketball game, playing Guitar Hero, a New Year's Eve Komet's hockey game with the boys, playing Guitar Hero and Uncle Stu spending the night playing Wii and you guessed it... Guitar Hero.

There are other great stories involving missed Christmas dinners, the shooting of a car-struck deer in my parents yard, Connor trying to flip off Grandma, Wes calling Connor a "piece of penis" during Christmas at the In-laws, and so on and so forth. I'm not sure, but I might be suffering from post-traumatic-stress disorder.

I'll say no more and show you the pictures instead. Yes, those are the bad haircuts I'm responsible for.

Holidays and Bad Haircuts

2008-12-20T16:09:00.003-05:00

We are headed to Flint tomorrow to celebrate Christmas. We will hang out there until Christmas Eve and then return home. Santa only seems to know how to find us when we are at our home. Thank you, Santa!

I'm apologizing now for the horrendous haircuts on my boys. They desperately needed haircuts this week before we leave tomorrow. Unfortunately our dear friend, John, who always cuts the boys hair has been without power thanks to the ice storm. So, what choice did I have but to whip out the clippers and cut all their hair off?

Connor looks fine...it's short on him but his hair is always shorter than Wes. Wes on the other hand definitely got the worst "do" of the two. He never fusses for John but he went nuts when I tried to cut his hair. He cried! What? Yes, he cried and if he knew enough to know what a bad buzz cut looked like when he looked in the mirror, he would continue to cry.

My mother is going to kill me when she sees them. I don't blame her....but it will be all I hear about for the next four days. Damn ice storm! I'm going to attempt to go back over Wes later tonight with the clippers and see if I can make it better. I'm sure that will work!!! NOT!!!

Ice Storm

2008-12-20T16:01:00.006-05:00

Like most of the country, we seem to be getting our fair share of shitty weather. I would certainly classify a half inch to an inch of ice as bad weather. It sucked here on Friday. We were so, so very lucky to not lose power. Most everyone around us has been out for over 24 hours. We were only out shortly, but I was reminded how much our boys depend on electricity...and how quickly the house seemed to get cold!!

I took a few pictures. This is my attempt at cool photography. After looking at them on here it appears I failed. I am sad that our very nice birch tree took a bad hit. All three major parts of it are on the ground and one of those three have split. With temperatures staying well below freezing I'm not too hopeful that the rest of the tree will make it.

Wes' Birthday

2008-12-20T15:54:00.007-05:00

Wes celebrated his 7th birthday last week. With the chaos of the holidays and dealing with bad weather, I haven't goten around to posting some pictures. I got to go into his class that day and I was glad I did. It was fun to watch him wig out on sugar with his classmates. Good times.

Star Wars is all our boys seem to want to play with right now. I have a feeling this will be a very Star Wars Christmas.

Holiday Mail for Heroes

2008-12-08T14:22:00.002-05:00

Holiday Mail for Heroes is a great program sponsored by the American Red Cross. They have a goal to deliver one million holiday cards to American Service Members, Veterans and their families in the US and around the world.

The deadline to participate in this program is Wednesday, December 10. All cards must be postmarked on the 10th or they will be returned to the sender.

I'm excited to be able to go into Wes' classroom this week to provide the supplies for him and his classmates to make cards. This is a neat way for our kids to appreciate being home for the holidays and thanking our service men and women for their sacrifices!

In case you are interested:

Holiday Mail for Heroes
P.O. Box 5456
Capitol Heights, MD 20791-5456

(This replaces the program of sending cards directly to service men and woman at Walter Reed Hospital. Walter Reed will not accept cards addressed to recovering soldiers.)

Big relief

2008-12-08T13:43:00.002-05:00

I met with Dr. Hicks this morning at Fort Wayne Orthopedics to get my bad ankle checked out. I have been having problems with it for the past month or so. It has been 10 years since I had it fused with surgery. I manged to get all my old records/x-rays from home (thanks to my aunt) and took them with me as a comparison.

Thankfully everything looked the same and none of the screws had moved. I was so concerned that something would need fixed. A new pair of orthotics was suggested as well as the walking boot I am currently wearing. It's way better than a cast and it was suggested that I use it when my ankle flairs up...as it has been.

I'd forgotten how much fun it is driving with my left foot. But, just like riding a bike, I got the hang of it again. I'm glad there wasn't anyone in the car with me while I was getting the hang of it! And for the record...it is not illegal to drive with your left foot. I've checked!

Now my mother can stop NAG, NAG, NAGGING me about my stupid ankle. I swear if she asks me one more time how it is doing I'm going to scream! I hope she goes back to worrying about GM and my Grandma and leaves me alone.

On to more important things...only 18 days till Christmas. OMG!!!

I'm happy to boast that all my shopping and wrapping is done. The house has been decorated for a while too. It's nice to have stuff done and just be able to enjoy the holidays. I intend to do some baking soon. I've gotten a bunch of old recipes from my mom that she used to make and that I loved. Looking forward to that!

My birthday is tomorrow and Wes' is Friday. Chris suggested we move my birthday to June when there is less stuff going on. Not sure we are going to get an evening out to ourselves. Sniff, sniff. My parents are coming back this weekend to spend Saturday night. It just seems like there is always something going on. Hence why I am so happy to have my shopping/wrapping done!

I'm torn...

2008-12-05T13:06:00.003-05:00

...between my family who are desperate for a GM buyout and my personal opinion that there shouldn't be buyouts!

I grew up in Flint, Michigan. We lived in Flint township, not the city of Flint, but our mailing address still said Flint. Without any siblings in my life I had the good life. I wasn't overly spoiled, but I always had what I needed and my family "played" Up North in Michigan with boats, cottages and now horses. The Flint I grew up in was a GM town, but is now just a ghost town. On my last trip home I was appalled at what is happening there. Nearly everywhere you look homes have been for sale for years and more are just abandoned. There are absolutely no jobs to be had anywhere and staggering poverty.

My parents and my grandparents are dependent on GM.

My grandparents live month to month on their $800 GM pension check. They have struggled with money their entire lives. They are not the kind of people who ever treated themselves to luxury or squander a penny. Actually, they are the cheapest people I have ever met. And now their assisted living apartment rent, which pays for the heat, electricity and food is dependent upon GM. They will have nothing if they loose their pension. They are completely dependent on GM.

My parents are dependent on GM. Dad works in the Flint Metal Fab plant and has been there since the day after he graduated from high school. He has been offered every buyout that has come to his plant, knowing full well his plant is terminal. It only has another two or three years left before it is slated to close, if not sooner. He could retire but they can't afford for him to retire. Namely because of their horses.

Now I feel sorry for my grandparents because they scrapped along in their lives just to get what they have. I do not feel sorry for my parents. The writing has been on the wall for years that this meltdown was coming. They have chosen to ignore every warning and continue on the path they have chose. They could have sold horses. Dad could have taken classes and found a "new" occupation. He could have looked for a new job. They could have left Flint...but instead they have chose to stay. And now they have no options.

My mom has the lawn and garden family business that she runs with my uncle. It has also been failing for years. When you live in a town failed by GM your business will fail too. I know my parents haven't given up and left town because the Lawn Shop, but because of their decisions now they are trapped.

If GM folds, as it will without a bailout, my parents are done for. I agree that bankruptcy for a car manufacturer will not work. We are getting close to needing to replace a GM lease and I won't purchase a GM car without knowing I will have a company and warranty to back up my car in five years.

So, I'm torn. I most certainly do not want my grandparents left with no place to live or my parents left with nothing. But I can not agree to government buyouts. I didn't agree with the financial institution bailout and I don't agree with this one. I believe in survival of the fittest and in evolution. I believe that if a company can't figure out over the course of a decade how to pull itself together or evolve, then they don't deserve to be in business. They failed. They have become extinct. My parents believe that GM has made those changes and it is the failure of the lending institutions that has brought this on. Maybe that is true and I'm being too harsh.

If Chris and I failed in our finances no one would give us money hand over fist. I don't believe it is the taxpayers responsibility to bail out a company that plain and simple failed. And I believe that even if the government actually gives them the money, that GM still will not make it. GM will just struggle on for a couple of more years and continue to fail. I even agree with Bush when I read this quote..."he is concerned about providing taxpayer money to companies "that may not survive." Ok, me agreeing with Bush? Come on people, what are we coming to in Washington?

If GM were a horse I would call the vet and have it put out of its misery. I realize how a failed GM will devastate my family as well as this entire country. I get it probably more than most people because I grew up in Flint. But there has to be a better way then giving them our hard earned tax money.

Giving them what they want is only prolonging the inevitable. And, then who is next? Who else wants to go and beg to our government for free money? Steel companies, airlines, states like California? Heck, maybe I should drive to DC in my GM car and get in line?

I wish I had the answers and I realize what a tough job our politicians have on this one. I literally feel torn in half about this. After another blow up on the phone with my mom today I also realize that I can no longer talk to her about it.

I guess I will just watch and see what happens, because that is all I, or any of us can do.

Random Update

2008-11-11T07:42:00.007-05:00

I couldn't think of a better title! I've been a slacker on here lately, but we have been so busy as a family. The weekends have been full and will continue to be so all throughout the upcoming holidays! So, here are a few recap pictures of what has been going on with us!

Wes was so stoked to get to "meet" Icy at the local hospital's Halloween Party. Icy is the Komets mascot.

"Enjoying the straw maze, I am"

Yes, that is a really, really big pumpkin!

Grandpa, the boys and their favorite barn kitty!

Trick or treating on Halloween night.

I Voted!

2008-11-04T16:00:00.002-05:00

Did you???

There is still time...get out and vote, especially if you live in Indiana. I'm hearing today that it could all come down to us??? Now that is a scary thought. Good thing my vote cancelled out my husbands vote.

I was lucky to be able to go vote at 1:00 today. I didn't stand in line at all. According to the friendly ladies where I voted, it was the only time of the day there were no lines. Most everyone else I talked to around here stood in very, very long lines.

I'm smart and lucky. Now if my guy wins, I'll be even luckier.

Millennium Park

2008-10-13T18:49:00.015-04:00

Millennium Park is....wow, what to say! First of all, it is a huge, 24.5 acere park now connected to Grant Park. It contains all kinds of sculpture, amazing landscaping, an outdoor concert venue and is probably one of the most popular destinations in Chicago. I'll get to the best part, people watching in a bit. Let me at least appear to have paid attention to other things besides the crazy people in the park!!

I was completely impressed by the flowers and landscaping. The views of the city were none to shabby either. It was odd to me to see huge buildings and yet be surrounded by vibrant flowers.

I loved seeing "The Bean" which I discovered is actually called The Cloud Gate. I like "The Bean" much better. It's basically a big, stainless steel bean. Loved it! It's also lots of fun trying to take your picture with its reflection...and as Chris also discovered, it's fun to mess with other peoples pictures!

Ok, so now lets just stop with the nicities and get down to what was really so great about the park....the crazy, wacky people who were in the park! I love people watching! It's the best!! I'm not sure how best to prove how good the people watching was other than to show you the pictures and tell you about the pictures that got away.

There were several wedding parties in the park for obvious picture reasons! I guess I have missed out on the newest wedding trends, but I believe this is what hooker brides ask their best friends to wear.

I think she was actually proud of her dress. Can you tell? And, these poor sailors got sucked into nearly ever photo opp with every bride.

Ok, sing along with me now...."One of these things is not like the other, one of these things just doesn't belong!"

Now here is just an example of a people watchers dream come true. You got bad bridesmaid hanging out waiting for her photo opp, the other bridal party whoring out to the sailors and then you have Asian girl that just appears out of no where and practically starts undressing herself for her own photo opp. WOW!!!!

And then, just when I thought is was safe to leave because all the great spotting had been done, in strolls Miss Thing In Pink! Hold the boat folks, I'm not going anywhere.

and....she brought her pimps along too!

Yup, my friends, you can't make this stuff up!!!

Oh...and there was more. It was like worlds collide when the "Bad Bridesmaids", met up with the "Good Bridesmaids" and the "Vision in Pink" for a photo opp all together. Wow! Then, right after all that cleared out we had a crazy old guy dressed in a bag pippers uniform, with no bag pipe, that came strolling by saluting anyone who would make eye contact with him!

Truly, it was complete people watching fullfillment! A dream come true.

Chicago!

2008-10-13T15:19:00.012-04:00

Chicago was fantastic. Chris and I had a wonderful weekend together (just the two of us) celebrating 10 years ago that we "reunited" in Chicago! We had a blast and the weather was gorgeous...almost too hot!

After dropping the boys off at G & G's house Friday evening, I drove to Napanee to meet Chris. I had forgotten that Napanee is home to a very large Amish population. I was reminded of that Amish population as I was driving down back rural roads in the dark trying to dodge buggies and cycles! Yikes!

He and his crew had a Friday night football game at Northwood High School. It was the first, in a long time, that I had a chance to watch him officiate. I enjoyed myself and got a good taste of high school and middle school children. Mine are never allowed to grow into that breed! Agh...they were awful!

After his game was done we drove on to Merrillville to spend the night. It was well past my bedtime but I managed to stay awake for some food at Buffalo Wild Wings! I guess that is a standing tradition that the crew always eats there after a game.

We drove into Chicago on a beautiful, sunny, Saturday. For old times sake we went past downtown and into the Lincoln Park neighborhood, where Chris had his apartment. This is the same small apartment that we managed to co-habitat for a few months after we were married. We took a few pictures for the boys to see where we used to live!

It's the building with the black door.

We then proceeded downtown to an early check-in at the Renaissance Hotel. The hotel and the room was gorgeous. We have stayed at many different Renaissance Hotels and they have never let us down. It was perfectly situated on the river at Wacker Drive. Which was a great spot to walk to Michigan Avenue and Millennium Park. Millennium Park was an event all in itself and worthy of a second post!

We joined the thousands of shoppers and Chicago Marathon Runners who were walking up and down Michigan Avenue. To our disappointment, FAO Schwartz had closed their store. We had hoped to do some early holiday shopping for the boys. Oh well.

After relaxing, after all our walking, we got ready for the highlight of our weekend. A virtual beef feeding frenzy was in store for us at Fogo De Chao. It was the most full I have ever been after a meal. The food was amazing. And, it just kept coming and coming for as long as I could take it....and the mashed potatoes were great too. I finally had to stop after I thought my button on my dress jeans was going to pop off and wound some other diner. And, as if that wasn't enough...the amazing wait staff overheard us talking about our 10th anniversary and brought out this huge piece of chocolate cake with "Happy Anniversary" written on the plate. We were both surprised! It was all I could do to walk out of there.

It was a beautiful evening to walk and we had a great time! After an hour or two I started to feel like I could breath again...I really have never been so full. Thanksgiving meal has nothing on that place.

Sunday was the Chicago Marathon. Obviously, we were not running the race, but we watched it from the 18th floor of our room. That is about as close as I will ever get to a marathon! Runners started going by on the street below at 8:00. You could tell the real runners from the fun runners. The real runners were hauling ass and had the trucks with the camera guys following them. The real mass of runners came by much later!

We headed back to pick up the boys Sunday and just hung out for the rest of the day. Thankfully, Chris took today off, so it was nice having him around for the long weekend.

I can't thank Chris enough for remembering this special anniversary for us and for finding a way to make the weekend happen. Thank you for handling all the arrangements, reservations and taking the time off to spend the weekend with me! You are the best! I'm looking forward to many more anniversaries with you!

Happy Birthday

2008-10-05T11:10:00.003-04:00

Happy Birthday to my Grandma, Mouse. Yes, that is what I call her and I always have. Don't ask, I don't know why! Anyway...Happy Birthday to Mouse. When I called her this morning in Michigan she was debating going to "see the Indians". Which is code for going to the casino. Good luck if you go!

These were some pictures the boys sent to her today!

Miss You!

2008-10-05T09:21:00.003-04:00

Chris is headed out for business to Colorado today. Sniff, sniff...I will miss him. I'm always sad when he isn't here! Fly safe, Hun! Funny, I always told him that when he traveled every week....like he has any control over his flight!

But, I definitely have something to look forward to while he is gone. Chris and I will be headed to Chicago next weekend to celebrate a 10 year anniversary. It isn't our wedding anniversary, but it is the exact weekend that we "reunited" 10 years ago. We are both very much looking forward to roaming around Chicago together, just like old times!

I'm on my own till Thursday, so hopefully my little dudes will behave themselves. Have a good week everyone!

Post Turtle

2008-10-02T12:35:00.003-04:00

I get lots of e-mail jokes and such, but this might be my new favorite!

This is the best short summary of the Palin phenomenon.

Post Turtle

While suturing a cut on the hand of a 75-year old Texas rancher, the doctor struck up a conversation with the old man. Eventually the topic got around to Sarah Palin and her bid to be a heartbeat away from being President.

The old rancher said, ' Well, ya know, Palin is a post turtle.'

Not being familiar with the term, the doctor asked him what a post turtle was. The old rancher said, ' When you're driving down a country road and you come across a fence post with a turtle balanced on top, that's a post turtle.'

The old rancher saw a puzzled look on the doctor's face, so he continued to explain.

"You know, she didn't get up there by herself, she doesn't belong up there, she doesn't know what to do while she is up there, and you just wonder what kind of dumb ass put her up there to begin with."

Curious?

2008-09-24T16:07:00.002-04:00

I'm curious how the whole current financial drama is going to play out over the next few days. I see that McCain wants to suspend his campaign to return to his real job and try and "fix" things.

Apparently his fix, and our current crappy administrations fix, would be asking American taxpayers to cough up our hard earned money. Where exactly do they think all this money is going to come from in order to fix things? I fail to see the logic of asking us taxpayers (some of us who seem to have our financial affairs in order) to pay for the mistakes of businesses and individuals who screwed up.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but if I went out and overspent thousands of dollars on credit no one in their right mind would just give me the money to pay it back??

Crazy!

Pumpkin pickin'

2008-09-22T11:31:00.008-04:00

I took the boys to Flint over the weekend. Chris was in his happy place with a Friday night game and a Saturday Purdue game. Rather than stay home bored with the boys, I headed to Flint. As usual, the boys had a blast hanging out on the farm.

While I thought it would be too early, the pumpkins were mostly ready to be picked. What the deer hadn't eaten were starting to rot. Something about the weather this season was not good for pumpkins. So, the boys helped find pumpkins in the field while us grown ups did the "harvesting". That was a good work out I might add. I can't tell you how many times I almost fell on my butt trying to get through the weeds carrying a huge pumpkin!

We were almost all covered in mud by the time we were done. We then got to haul all the pumpkins up to the barn, wash them and stack them. Dad saw fit to let the boys take turns with being hose handlers. So by the time all that was completed I was a muddy, soaked mess! And, you guessed it...the boys loved it!

They got to ride the big tractor, fling poo or spread manure, drive the golf cart, drive the 4 wheeler and get dirty. Basically ever little boys dream come true weekend. Oh, and there was a new barn kitty to play with as well.

Findlay Reunion

2008-09-14T15:45:00.003-04:00

I took the boys with me on Saturday for a mini University of Findlay reunion with my Findlay friends. All three of the gals live in Ohio. There is Laura from Columbus, who was my maid of honor, Stephanie from Cleveland and Melissa from Findlay. We all vary in different life styles but we enjoyed getting together and visiting for the afternoon.

Counting my two boys there were 6 kids total and mostly close in age. This was nice because the boys had new friends to play with. Although, once they discovered the Wii they didn't venture too far from the living room. The Wii is definitely on Santa's list this year. It will have to be highly monitored, otherwise they would just play it all the time. Much like how we currently only will allow Play Station to be played on weekends.

Anyway...I digressed.

Saturday was a lot of fun. It was nice to get caught up with everyone. Plus, we made a trip out to the farm. I haven't been out there since I graduated, 13 years ago. They have made some nice improvements and the barns were completely full of horses. And, much nicer horses I must add from when we were there. We were one of the first classes in the English program, so it was in its infancy. I'd give an eye tooth for any of the horses they have there now!

It made me want to start riding again. Not an easy taste for our current life style. It was a fun day and I'm glad we all found time to make it work.

Take a hike, Ike!

2008-09-12T19:23:00.002-04:00

My thoughts are with all Texans tonight as they prepare to be hit by Ike tonight and tomorrow. This storm chicken would be well out of there by now, but for those that stayed, be safe and good luck!

Haflinger National Horse Show

2008-09-12T18:44:00.005-04:00

Thursday I was able to escape with Connor for the day to head down to the Indy area. My parents have been there for most of the week at their Haflinger National Horse Show. They took three horses with them this year. They were only showing their five year old, Deb, in halter classes and driving their other two geldings. I wasn't able to be there today while they were driving. Darn! I enjoy watching mom and dad drive. She is tough to beat!

I was happy to see them do well while I was there. Their mare won her halter class and then took Senior Grand Champion Mare. She was then up against the Junior Grand Champion Mare and got Reserve Grand Champion. Which, was a joke because she was a way better horse than the one that beat her...and I'm not just saying that because I'm a sore looser. I will always tell mom the honest truth of when a better horse beats them. But that wasn't the case this time. I've sat and judged those classes for years and I know enough to know they got screwed! Nothing you can do about it. I felt bad for my mom because she wanted Grand Champion more than anything! Not to mention that mom can be scary at horse shows so it is always better when she wins!

Here are a couple of pictures from while we were there.

Connor did great!

2008-09-08T12:48:00.004-04:00

Big sigh of relief here. We made it through the first day of preschool for Connor. And, I do me WE. I shed most of my tears last night with just Chris and got it out of my system.

Connor was excited and happy to be at school this morning. Tami and I walked Connor and Zoe into their classroom and off they went. I manged to get a kiss from him and Zoe took him by the hand and away they went. I get bonus points for not shedding any tears. I was just really happy to see him be okay with it all. He seemed to really enjoy playing on the playground the most.

We took them out to lunch at Pizza Hutt afterwards to celebrate their first day. Good for Connor! I did manage a picture or too...perhaps Chris can get them on the computer for me later!

Connor and preschool

2008-09-05T10:32:00.002-04:00

Just got back from Connor's preschool open house. He did very well and was good with his teachers. We stayed for a while because it takes him so long to warm up to different places. I'm sad to be taking my "baby" to preschool. I had to actually hold back tears a couple of times while I was watching him explore. It just doesn't seem possible.

Monday is his first day of school and I'm sure I will be a babbling idiot then. Looking forward to that...NOT!

Politics

2008-09-04T12:42:00.003-04:00

I don't like to talk about politics.

There is a standing agreement between Chris and I that we do not talk about politics, ever. We do not agree on any single aspect of politics. Nothing positive ever, I repeat, ever comes out of my talking about politics with Chris. I guess you can say that with certain aspects of my relationship with my husband, opposites attract. I'm a Democrat, he is not.

I know I shouldn't do it here either...but I have to make a few comments about politics and mainly the newest poster girl of the week. No, I did not watch the Republican Convention last night so that I could listen to Sarah Palin. Shocking I know...especially because I'm a woman and a mom and I'm supposed to bow to her mommyness. I'd rather have the remaining nine toenails I have ripped out one at time than tune in to listen to her or the rest of her party. In all fairness, I didn't watch the other "historical" convention hoopla either.

I wasn't going to be voting for the McCain ticket, so it isn't like putting her on the ticket swayed me or anything. But I want to say this about her... I'm sure she is a great speaker, I'm sure she is an up an coming Republican, I'm sure she could be a terrific Governor given more time....but as a mother..she sucks.

I obviously have none of the basic details of how she mothers her children. I don't know if she reads them a bed time story at night or car pools them around to practice. I don't know if she has sewn many Halloween costumes or suffered through bad pregnancies. I'm sure she can make just as mean of a chocolate chip cookie as the rest of us moms. However, she has no business being on that ticket and subjecting her family to all that it brings with it.

She knowingly, with all the facts prior to making her decision, chose to be on the republican ballot with a 17 year old pregnant daughter at home. Her daughter will need her. She knowingly chose to be on that ticket knowing that she has an infant child at home. Let alone an infant with Down Syndrome. Her infant will need her. She knowingly chose to walk away from all five of her young children so that she could further her career based on the token move of a desperate old man grasping at straws. All of her children need her.

I have on rare occasions been away from my young children for more than a few days at a time and they miss me. Dad does a great job and the boys are just fine upon my return, but they miss me and I miss them. I couldn't imagine being away from them for the kind of commitment a presidential campaign entails.

No mother in her right mind would dare put her young pregnant daughter into the limelight. Especially knowing that the press would be all over it and she would be dragged through the news. I'd sooner give my right arm before bringing national attention to an unwed pregnant daughter and a child with a disease. Using her mommy goodness to win votes is disgusting. Even if the press hardly touched those stories everyone in the country knows her daughter is pregnant. That is just not okay!

I don't like her for a lot of reasons....she is pro NRA, she believes Roe vs Wade should be overturned, she wants to teach creationism in schools, she has no international experience and she is a Republican...but allowing negative attention to be brought on her children based on her own political career should be the definition of bad mom! Even if she were a Democrat and I agreed with every single one of her policies I would still feel the same way. What she is doing is shameful.

Once again, I'm probably all alone in my boat, that's fine. I'm used to being the wacko with weird religion and political beliefs. I won't take the token bait that McCain is hoping moms across the country will bite upon. Don't expect me, a proud woman and proud mom to be singing All Praise Palin. She should be ashamed of what she is putting her daughter and other children through. All I can hope is that for the sake of her children McCain takes a shit and Sara gets to go back home to Alaska to do some hunting, fishing and grandchild raising.

"I Kissed a Girl....

2008-09-02T18:52:00.003-04:00

....and I Liked It"

The context of that song may be a bit off, but my six year old son kissed a girl, and he liked it. Yes, there are so many things wrong with that statement, that I don't even know where to begin!

I guess I could be happy that he likes girls. I'm trying to hold onto the positives at this point. I know that is what my husband was thinking, he just hasn't had the nerve to admit that to me yet. The girl he kissed is his six year old best friend and neighbor. She has been best friends with Wes for nearly 3 years and their birthdays are two weeks apart.

Apparently she told her Dad that Wes kissed her. The kiss in question happened Sunday while our families were together for a cook out. We spent the afternoon next door and Chris smoked a pork butt (which was great - I must add). We had a great afternoon and evening. Played lots of ladder toss, drank lots of beer, ate lots of food, played dominoes and apparently Wes did some kissing! Who knew?

He is six! What the hell? After Chris asked him tonight if anything weird happened on Sunday he fessed up.

"Does kissing count as weird?"

Hmmm....let me think about that. Hell yeah... when you are six! I think my eyes just about popped out of my head at the dinner table. My innocent six year old is kissing?

If I hadn't been so appalled and near crying because my six, did I mention he is six, year old son was kissing his best friend I probably would have been laughing. He was obviously super embarrassed because he dropped his dinner fork about 4 times and kept giggling. Eye contact didn't exist much either.

We had a nice long chat and according to him she asked him to kiss her. To which he obviously obliged. It seems that there was a second kiss that he decided to give to her. After talking to Tami it sounds like it was mutual and no one put them up to it. Worse yet...experimentation at six. I also believe that her having an older sister probably had something to do with this. Wes just doesn't know a darn thing,or so I thought, about kissing and relationships. He never watches that stuff on t.v. and I know her and her sister are always talking about boyfriends and all that stuff.

I guess this is the point that I become thankful that I don't have girls.

Obviously we told him the problem with kissing girls at a young age, especially his best friend, and he agreed that the proper age for kissing is 20. I asked that he wait till he was 18, but he thought 20 sounded better. Far be it for me not to agree with 20.

I feel some gray hairs sprouting this evening.

Big day, big day....

2008-08-20T12:16:00.002-04:00

...it's back to school today!

Wes is hopefully enjoying his first full day of first grade. Kindergarten for him last year was half day, so he is taking a big step today by going to full day. He will be eating lunch as school, having recess on the "big playground" and riding the bus home.

He was very excited about school today. I'm happy that he likes school and doesn't seem to get stressed about new things like this. I can't wait to hear how the day went for him.

On a mom note...I'm a bit sad about his being gone all day. While the peace is sure nice and Connor is loving it..it's just hard to believe that my little boy is old enough to be at school all day. Where has the time gone? I don't want him to grow up just yet.

It's Official...

2008-08-15T19:49:00.002-04:00

...football has begun.

Chris had his first of a series of officials football meetings last night and tonight is his first game to ref. Even though he says, "It's just a scrimmage"...it's the first of the high school football season. I have to get my game back and start the boys and my Friday night rituals!

And something else football season means....school starts for Wes next week. Thank goodness. I didn't think I was going to make it another week with a bored first grader. He is excited to go back to school. Good for him and even better for me. Connor will start pre-school a couple of weeks later.

ADT update

2008-08-08T17:03:00.002-04:00

Props to ADT. I must admit that I didn't expect much to happen with ADT. I was wrong. It was nice that they took me seriously and decided it was worth the time to fix things at our house.

A repair tech was here earlier and replaced the basement fire detector. While here he also looked at and changed batteries in another problem area in our house.

Thank you ADT for good customer service and hopefully fixing our fire alarm problem.

Fire ADT?

2008-08-06T10:27:00.002-04:00

It happened again at 2:45 last night. It has probably happened, with us at home, 3 other times and always at night. Every time it happens I swear it takes a couple of years off our lives.

You are wondering what IT is, aren't you? Our very loud, very intense, ADT fire alarm went off again at 2:45 in the morning. This happens from time to time and there is no logical reason for it...according to ADT. It is terrifying to wake from a dead sleep to a deafening alarm and a male voice blaring "FIRE, FIRE, LEAVE IMMEDIATELY". And, of course there is no fire - thankfully! Another scary part of this is that our boys do not wake up. I know they are sound sleepers...but it is mind boggling to me they can't hear it. I believe the neighbors could hear it.

Chris and I bolted out of bed. I failed to get the alarm turned off upstairs during my heart attack and Chris ran downstairs to turn it off. We have this routine down now. I grab the phone because ADT will be calling in seconds from when it goes off to decide if they need to stop the firetruck.

Yes, a firetruck is deployed automatically unless ADT tells the fire department it is a false alarm. We have been out of town when this has happened and the firetruck came to our house. We have also been home when this has happened and somehow missed the call from ADT only for me to have to greet the firemen at our front door in the middle of the night. That was embarrassing. It NEVER happens during the day, of course.

You can see that that this is highly frustrating. I've tried to deal with ADT about it and I refuse to pay for a service call to fix their problem. Last I talked with them the basement fire detector (which is always the one with the problem) had been put on stand-by to not do this, but obviously something has changed.

Now here is our dilemma. We keep talking about firing ADT. We hardly ever use the home security part. However, I do feel safe having the fire service (even if it doesn't seem to properly work) because it would definitely protect our house if we ever actually had a fire. Hell, firetrucks have been out to our house twice. The system also has a dinger on the doors whenever a main door is opened. That is my favorite feature. I know if the boys have gone in or out and it really helps to keep an eye on them. No one can get in without me knowing it.

All that being said, the heart attacks in the middle of the night are getting old. We can never get back to sleep because it is just terrifying to wake up like that. I could only think last night after going back to bed what could have happened and I really never got back to sleep. How would we have gotten out, would we have been able to get out the main floor, would we have to use the fire ladder....aghhhhh.

So, we don't know what to do. I'm going to call ADT back again today and "talk" about last night...but I don't think anything will come of it. Anyone out there had this problem?

Girls Weekend Revisited

2008-08-04T11:27:00.008-04:00

We had a great weekend. I would recommend this trip to anyone looking for a quick getaway, families included. We loaded up the car and left around 5:00 on Friday and it only took us about 2.5 hours to get to South Haven, Mi. We went to our camp ground, which I will give high points too.

South Haven Family Campground was easy to find and almost brand new. Any concern I had about the facility being clean were quickly gone. Our cabin was just as cute as could be and very clean. It had two beds that could sleep 4 on the "main" level and then a loft that could also sleep children. Plus, it had AC or heat, if you were there in the winter. Directly across from us were the bathroom facilities and they were also very clean and had individual showers with doors that you could lock, a bonus.

We had some very interesting neighbors. Let me just say that they provided lots of entertainment for us while we were sitting out in the evenings. I will say no more! They informed us once (and I think they thought we were lesbians) that we were the quietest neighbors they have ever had. I don't think they thought it was a compliment, even though I took it that way.

We spent Saturday making our way from South Haven, to Saugatuck and then to New Douglas. Each town had lots of fun shops, cool places to eat on the water, beaches, and bonus, wine tasting shops.

We made our way to only one winery on Saturday and that was Fenn Valley. We were there with less than a half hour before their closing. That wasn't a problem, but the ladies behind the counter serving us were grumpy. They hardly even conversed with us. Which, isn't generally the way wine tasting works.

We had a great time in the tasting room for Tabor Hill Winery located in Saugatuck. The gentleman that helped us spent lots of time with us and answered lots of questions. Plus he carded us...that made our day!

While in New Douglas on Saturday we came across a little wine tasting room called Corkscrew. They make their own wine from purchased grape juice. We were the only two people in the shop and the gentlemen there spent lots of time with us explaining how certain wines are made. He was lots of fun!

Sunday we packed up and headed out to roam around the Benton Harbor area. I think we actually ended up in St. Joseph. We lucked out and found a large antique show going on. That was interesting to check out. We went through a few shops and then headed out to find a few more wineries in the area. Along the way we came across the town of Coloma. The Glad Peach Festival was going on, who knew?

We checked out the Glad Peach Fest and then headed to the Karma Vista Winery. Karma Vista had very nice views perched on top of a big hill. We enjoyed tasting there. There was an expensive painting there that I just loved. Had I known at the time that my husband, back home taking care of the boys, had purchased himself a new toy (a Play Station 3) I may have pulled the trigger on that painting. Probably best for our budget that I didn't know!

Our last winery of the trip was Contessa Wine Cellars. Contessa wasn't there. Just two odd girls who weren't very talkative. They did have a cat, but that was about the coolest part of their place.

We had a fun time. I ended up buying a lot of wine, local fruit, and a new purse! It was relaxing and as always, full of laughs with Heather around. We get in so much trouble together. Thank you to Chris for taking care of the boys this weekend, I couldn't have gone without him.

If you are interested in visiting any of these places check out the following:

www.southhavenfamilycg.com

www.karmavista.com

www.taborhill.com

www.miwinetrail.com

Girls Weekend

2008-07-31T17:37:00.003-04:00

It's that time of the year again. As summer draws to a close Heather and I take off for our annual Girls Weekend. Last year we had a fantastic time in Traverse City, Michigan. We visited a lot of wineries, did a lot of shopping and ate some great smoked salmon.

As much as I would like to repeat our trip there, we have some time restraints on us this year. We opted for a mere 2.5 hour drive to the South Haven and Saugatuck, Michigan area. The region has a lot wineries, a must, as well as shopping, dinning and new this year, camping. Sorta camping....we decided to try a small cabin at a South Haven campground. It has plenty of beds, electricity and AC!!! It is supposed to be very hot this weekend. The AC better work...or I'll be getting my travel on to somewhere else!

I should have a wrap up next week. I'm really looking forward to shopping, drinking lots of wine and sitting around a campfire with my best girl friend eating 'smores and cheetos.

Japanese Beetles Stink!

2008-07-31T16:40:00.006-04:00

For the first time in my life I am experiencing the Japanese Beetle (JB). Apparently I have either been oblivious the past couple of years or the little leaches hadn't found our property. Let there be no doubt that the JB's have landed...and brought all their buddies with them. Damn things.

(See here is a picture of the little leaf eating monster)

They have been munching on my very large Birch Tree probably for a while before I figured out why the leaves were falling off. I caught them fairly early on one of my small new ornamental trees in the back yard. So, last week Chris and I set off to Lowe's to find the much talked about Bug Bag and some pesticide to kill the little shits! I value my expensive trees too much to just let them be a bug salad bar.

I wasn't too convinced that the Bug Bag would help...other than attract more of their little buddies into our yard, boy was I proven wrong. I assembled the thing in the house and then carried it across the backyard to its chosen location. I was being swarmed by the nasty things before I even got the thing in the ground. The two bags in the yard were easily filled in 48 hours. This still may mean that we are just drawing in all the local JB's, but combined with the pesticide on the trees they liked, they are no longer eating my trees.

Apparently, and this is what I found amusing, the JB is a very sexual bug and is drawn into the bug bug and be with its buddies. In all practicality there is a big bug orgy going on in my yard. YUCK!!!

I'm sure you are ready for the yuckiest part. The bags filled quickly and I had to change them. The smell coming out of that thing was worse than a porta potty at 3:00 on a 95 degree tailgating day! Needless to say the double bagged bag is in the garbage can outside our garage. You can even smell it from across the street at the mailboxes. Sorry neighbors. At least tomorrow is garbage day.

So, wherever you live...I hope you don't have Japanese Beatles and if you do...step on one for me! The only good Japanese Beetle is a dead one!

Fun Week

2008-07-28T14:17:00.003-04:00

Chris and I had a great week to ourselves. I was able to spend a day at the lake with Heather. After Chris was off we ate out at all our favorite places, went golfing (I just drive the cart), saw Get Smart and Batman, slept in and relaxed in each others company. It was a great vacation. As always, going back to work after time off is never easy!

The boys also seemed to enjoy their week at G & G's house. It was a good learning experience for Connor in preparation for preschool. He hasn't been out much on his own because it always seems like Wes is somewhere with him. Connor went into his own age group at VBS and never complained. It makes me a bit more comfortable with preschool just around the corner.

I have to say that I really liked both movies we were able to see. I used to watch the Get Smart shows and found them funny, so I was stoked to see the new one with funny man Steve! It didn't let me down. Chris and I were the only one in the theater and I had lots of comments. He wasn't familiar with Max Smart, so I had to explain a few sayings. There was one scene that I was laughing so hard I had tears! So, if you are looking for a comedy, I would suggest Get Smart!

The other movie we went to see was Batman. I was a bit hesitant to go see it because I'm not the biggest follower of the series and didn't want to be clueless. However, it was fantastic. I told Chris when we sat down that I just didn't know how there could be a second Joker and that I would only think of Jack as the Joker. Boy was I wrong. This Joker stole the show! I never once thought of a past Joker. It was a great movie and I now understand what all the hype is about!

The boys and I are trying to get back into our summer routine this week. So far I'm catching up on laundry, dishes and cleaning up the house. I was a slacker last week.

I have to post again on two topics....Japanese Beatles and Wes loosing his front teeth. Those to come...after swim lessons and working out.

Vacation or Stay-cation

2008-07-23T11:06:00.003-04:00

Life has been busy around here lately. Hence, my lack of updating. Wes had a week of zoo camp and I was back and forth across town two times a day. Throw in swim lessons, baseball twice last week and some other summer functions, and we have been busy.

This week, however, Chris and I are on vacation...or as Chris likes to call it, Stay-cation. For some strange reason, Chris' parents decided they wanted to keep the boys for the entire week to attend VBS at their church. That's Vacation Bible School for those like me that up until this week had no idea what that stood for. I'm feeling guilty and a bit lost without my boys around, but I think I can tough it out! :)

Chris and I are going to enjoy ourselves just hanging out and spending time together, at home. We got the yard work done with morning and the rest of the day to play. I think we are going to go and see a movie this afternoon, followed by dinner with Heather and listening to Mike play!

I may have my doubts about the VBS thing, but I'm sucking it up and enjoying Stay-cation! Rock on! I feel like a guest in my own home!

Connor's Birthday

2008-07-14T10:50:00.008-04:00

"Guess what happened? I turned 4!"

Connor had a great day yesterday. He had lots of fun with his friends and family. It was a gorgeous day and we were outside for most of it playing. Tami, Jim and their girls came over for a lunch time cookout. Then later on in the day Chris' parents came over for pizza and cake. Thank you to everyone for his cool gifts. It appears that his top 5 picks would be:

1. Water guns
2. Bubble gun
3. Bubble mower
4. Hotwheel cars
5. Sponge Bob jammies and sheets

Happy Birthday, Connor

2008-07-13T10:25:00.003-04:00

Happy 4th Birthday wishes to Connor today! We are having our neighbor friends over for a lunch cookout and a "party". I try not to do kid parties, so I'm attempting to fool him into thinking he is having a real party. He is getting to spend the day with his friends and family, and that seems to be what makes him happy. Plus, he has a cool Sponge Bob cake, Sponge Bob decorations and is ready to party!

Later we are having his grandparents over for pizza...so out of all of that I'm sure I'll get some good pictures.

I just had to say that I can't believe he is turning 4 years old today. It seems like just yesterday that he was a tiny baby. I think he will always be my "baby" even though he has changed so much recently. He will be starting pre-school in less than two months! Another huge milestone!

Have a great day Connor and "Happy Birthday!"

Happy 4th of July Weekend

2008-07-07T09:14:00.010-04:00

Happy 4th of July to everyone. Our family enjoyed the weekend immensely. My parents came down on their annual 4th of July weekend over night trip. They spent an extra night with us this year, Friday through Sunday, and the boys loved every minute of it.

Once they get Grandpa in the house the fun never ends. If it wasn't fishing on the pond, swinging on the swing set, playing cars, riding bikes then they were after him to play more...poor Dad! I know he was tired out when he went home. They love being catered to like that. It breaks my heart to watch Wes get sad when they have to leave. I wish they could spend more time with my parents.

On Friday Chris treated us all to pulled pork done on his smoker. It was fantastic. Even my mother, picky patty eater that she is, liked it! I made home made potato salad and chocolate cake. Between all of that I felt like I ate constantly this weekend. Mom brought in a cheese cake to add to my desert frenzy. The worst part is she left more than half of the thing here! So I'm struggling to stay on the healthy eating wagon.

We all sat on our deck and watched the neighborhood firework celebration. You can usually count on several homes shooting fireworks over the pond or within view of the deck. There were fewer families home this year, but we still had a great view of some great fireworks. The boys also got to play with sparklers. We watched just as many, if not more, fireworks Saturday night!

Saturday we celebrated Connor's 4th birthday while my parents were here. His actual birthday is this Sunday, the 13th, but they won't be back again that soon. He had fun opening his gifts and decorating Sponge Bob Square Pants cupcakes. (more desert in the house) My parents got him a new shirt, a book, gardening gloves, a bean bag toss game and the biggest hit of all, a bug box complete with a net. I happened to be with her when she bought that $5 gift and wouldn't you know that out of all that other stuff he went nuts over that. You can pretty much still find him walking around with that net in his hand looking for bugs. I actually saw Chris help him catch a fly in the house yesterday!

I spent the week leading up to the 4th going crazy cleaning the house and doing odd jobs we had been putting off, like staining the deck, painting the trim around the front door and edging the sidewalk..but I'm happy to say that it was all worth it. The house and outside looked great and I think it may have even impressed my mom, although you will never hear her say it! WE had a great weekend and I hope that all of you enjoyed your 4th of July traditions as well.

Wes and Coach Pitch Baseball

2008-06-25T11:22:00.002-04:00

Wes had his first official baseball game last night. We signed him up through our YMCA for their Coach Pitch Baseball program. So far, we are very happy with the program. He had a practice last week, with the weekly format being a half hour practice followed by a half hour game. His coach is a former employee who used to work with Chris. We were a bit concerned about that, but the guy is doing a great coaching job and I'm thrilled Wes got him as a coach!

Practice was funny last week watching these 1st and 2nd graders fielding the ball and trying to use their gloves. Wes was right about where the rest of the team was...he has a lot to learn. I was a bit concerned about how he would do at the game last night, but he did great.

They rotate putting everyone out in the field for one team and letting the entire other team bat. Probably standard operating procedure, but new to me! Wes got a hit, made a play by fielding the ball and had a lucky play at 3rd base. The ball literally bounced into his glove! That got a few laughs!

He had a great time and we got ice cream afterwards! Bonus!

Warning...long post with many unrelated topics. Read at your own risk!

2008-06-18T14:39:00.008-04:00

This has been a strange and busy week so far. When school is out I really struggle to keep some form of a schedule going. I know it helps me to keep that and it also helps the boys, but so far, I've not done a good job of having anything resembling a schedule!

Here are a few things that have gone on so far this week:

Wes started Coach Pitch Baseball last night. He seemed to really enjoy himself. He has a lot to learn but he also has a good coach. Shocking, because the coach is a former employee who worked with Chris. We were afraid for awkwardness, but I didn't notice any and he seemed really good at working with the boys!

My regular doctor just up and cancelled my appointment for Tuesday with less than 24 hours notice. Hmmm...if I had done that I would have been charged. When I called to reschedule there wasn't an apology or even an explanation. Nice!

Wes had to have two painful warts "removed" from his right foot. Through our foot doctor we tried medication, but it wasn't working and they were really bothering him. Our doc didn't want to freeze them because Wes has always been great at her office and she didn't want him to have a bad experience. He has never complained about getting his orthopedics made or anything with her...but we probably spoiled that yesterday. We had them froze and it hurt him. I felt so bad. Everyone who I had talked to who had warts frozen said it was quick and didn't hurt. Not for poor Wes. She kept the freezing agent on each one for about 50 seconds and he was crying and hurting. Let me just say, that I felt like the worst parent for asking doc to do this procedure. Hopefully they have been taken care of and will not return.

I mowed the yard today. No biggie, but my ankle/foot was bothering me last night. So, I know I pushed it today with the yard. My ankle acts up all the time and I'm used to it. I usually just ignore it. By the time I crashed on the couch last night it was really hurting and I put ice on it. Haven't done that in years. I thought that after I went to bed I would just fall asleep and it wouldn't bother me. No luck. I couldn't sleep with it hurting...so I did something else I haven't done in years, took a vicodin. Now that did the trick. I woke up in the middle of the night and was like "wow...I'm high as a kite!" Let's just say I had a lot of weird dreams after that, but my ankle stopped hurting.

I also made my mom mad today. I haven't accomplished that in a while, at least to my knowledge. She was complaining about the price of hay. The weather has messed up the hay season, along with the price of fuel for tractors, and the price is going way, way up for hay. I suggested that seeing it was getting so expensive to keep horses that maybe it was time to get rid of them....all of them, even the good ones! That didn't go over so well. When she asked why she should sell them, I told her because they wipe out all their money and they make them sick...not to mention all the hard work they do on the farm. Her response was that it doesn't make HER sick! Being in the barn has given my dad Farmer's Lung and my mom has "asthma". I don't believe that she really has asthma, rather allergies to the barn...but that is what her quacky doctor told her, so it must be FACT! So, I guess it's okay to just make dad sick. He has to wear a breathing apparatus while he cleans stalls or does anything with hay. Does that sound like fun, especially when it is in the 90's outside? She is crazy.

Some of my plants in the new landscape aren't doing well. Actually, it's just the hydrangeas and they are dying. They seem to hate me. I know they need lots of water and I keep giving it to them...in return what do they do? They die. Only 2.5 of the 5plants are still alive. I have to call the landscaper and talk about it....but I don't want the plants death to be my fault...so I'm doing what I do best. I'm ignoring the problem. The plants haven't come back to life and I still haven't called the landscaper.

Along the same line of avoidance, I have a bunch of business decissions to make about my Silpada business. I haven't had a party in months and it isn't for lack of trying. It's the time of year where I will soon have to be retiring pieces and ording from the new fall line....I'm just not sure of what to do.

If anyone is still actually reading this....I appologize for the rambeling and remember I did warn you at the top.

Hopefully things get on track around here before we go to Flint this weekend. And, hopefully mom will be done being pissed at me, seeing I will be staying with them! Chris has to work all weekend so I'm taking the boys to Flint to hang out. We will probably have to put hay up this weekend too. Damn! I hate doing that...almost considering not going...but I know how much my dad wants to see the boys...so I guess I have to go!

Happy Father's Day

2008-06-15T11:18:00.006-04:00

Happy Father's Day to two of the greatest men in my life. First, I want to thank my Dad for being a great father. He is patient, kind and loving. While he has always been those things to me, he been all of those and more to my sons! Wes and Connor literally worship the ground he walks on! They are always wanting to see him and never wanting to leave him. That's a pretty good indication to me of a terrific grandfather! I wish I could wish him a Happy Father's Day in person, but I haven't figured out how to be in two places at once.

Now, onto the most important man in my life, my husband. You are a fantastic father and have been from the day our boys were born. While you work a ton of stressful hours to take care of our family, you never slack on us! You have always been there for your boys and you are a great role model for them. I love watching you play with our boys, even when you get whacked in the shin with a hockey puck or when you have to tell Wes for the 20th time to turn the Sorry card over.

Thank you for being a great dad and a great husband. This is one of my favorite quotes and sums up how I feel about my husband as a dad. And, a great dad he is!

"The most important thing a father can do for his children is to love their mother."

Henry Ward Beecher

Disney Magic!

2008-06-13T11:50:00.016-04:00

Our family had a great time at Disney. The boys really enjoyed themselves and I was glad we were able to work this trip out during Chris' Orlando conference. We left on Saturday and got in late that evening. All of our flights, coming and going, were on time and had no issues. Nice job Airtran!

Sunday we picked up our PT Cruiser rental car and then headed to Disney. I thought Wes was going to wet himself in his excitement over the car. As you can see, he thought it was very cool.

We took the Monorail to Magic Kingdom from The Contemporary Hotel. It was a bit of a wait and we had issues getting back..we took the wrong Monorail...so watch those lines if you use them! The boys really enjoyed riding the Monorail. I believe they thought it was a Disney ride!

The boys did fantastic while at Disney. They handled the heat very well. Connor just walked and walked and never once complained about how tired and hot he must have been. I saw kids twice his age being pushed around in strollers. We got into the park around 10:00 and left a little after 5:00. I congratulate Disney on finding ways to help keep the kids cool with outside misters and water areas. Plus, many of their rides are inside and very well air conditioned.

Wes had his top five list of attractions, with his favorite being The Indy Speedway. His other favorites included The Railroad, The Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor and the Jungle Cruise. He had numerous great comments about people and places....but I loved it when, on our late drive to the hotel he said, "I smell exhausted"...translation, I smell exhaust. I on the other hand, did actually smell exhausted!

Connor's top five attractions included, the Astro Orbiter, Tomorrowland Transit Authority, Cinderella's Golden Carrousel, The Railroad and The Magic Carpets of Aladdin. His top saying of the week involved Epcot. We could see the big "ball" from our room and Connor stuck with naming it "Fcot". He also decided palm trees should be called pine palm trees.

Neither of the boys, especially Wes, were into the big rides. Most everything we went on did not have a very long wait. The famous, Dumbo and Tea Cup rides had huge waits. I just couldn't justify that for our boys. A lot of the rides had the Fast Pass System, but we didn't have to wait in a long line anyway, so we didn't use Fast Pass. The longest we waited was for "it's a small world" which was about a half hour. And, well worth it...I loved that ride. I very much remember going on that ride with my Grandparent's who took me when I was ten. I also enjoyed going back to the Swiss Family Treehouse, Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress and Snow White's Scary Adventures. Disney has obviously added some new attractions in the past 20 years. I would highly recommend Mickey's PhilharMagic 3-D Spectacular. It was great with very cool effects. I also enjoyed the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor. Nice air conditioning in both, I might add!

We only spent a day at the Magic Kingdom, so obviously we couldn't do it all. We didn't get to walk through the Castle because a show was going on out front. We also didn't get to see/meet very many characters. The boys really weren't into that, even though I had made them autograph books. We did get to meet Buzz Lightyear. He rocked. Connor hide behind Chris. We also saw Woody and his girl friend...can't remember her name. We did get to see all the characters during the afternoon parade.

The conference Chris was attending was at the Orlando World Marriott Center, and we stayed there. It was a gorgeous resort and the largest Marriott in the world. After our day at Disney we hung out at the resort for our remaining days. The resort had different children's activities throughout the day and we took advantage of those. Afternoons were spent by the pools. We had lots of fun and I managed to keep the boys occupied! Plus, we requested a room facing Disney so that we could watch the fireworks at night. We were on the 18th floor and had a great view for both Epcot and Magic Kingdom's fireworks.

This was a great trip for all of us. Chris obviously had to work and was stuck inside all day, but the boys and I had a great time. I am very happy that we made it to Magic Kingdom and the boys had that fun experience.

Hey, Hey, Hockeytown!

2008-06-05T08:36:00.003-04:00

Way to go Red Wings!

Another great game, right down to the final 3 seconds. I'm pretty sure I was holding my breath the last minute of that game. Wow!

I'm totally thrilled that they won it last night. Mostly because I didn't want to be flying to Orlando on Saturday evening and not get to watch game 7! Silly me!

Michigan fun

2008-06-02T20:02:00.002-04:00

The boys and I had a great weekend in Michigan. Since Chris was in Chicago and we didn't need to be back for him to go to work on Monday or for school, we decided to stay till today (Mon). It made for a fun weekend because we didn't have to leave early on Sunday.

Thanks to Hometown Days in Swartz Creek, it was like we had our own personal entertainment. After a cookout at my dad's Church on Friday we went to a great fireworks show. Then Saturday we had curbside seats for the parade...which was basically a sugar parade. I've never seen so much candy thrown out during a parade. It got to the point that I was motioning for the people to not throw candy at us. I would wager that they had as much, if not more, candy than they looted at Halloween. Saturday afternoon was pretty much spent watching the boys bounce off anything and everything. But, they had fun. We also went to a car show and had a fire in mom's fire pit.

So, it was a busy, fun and tiring weekend. It was nice to spend one on one time with each of my parents. It never seems that I get to do that and it was worth it! I also got my Father's Day shopping done and some last minute stuff taken care of before we leave for Orlando.

I got to watch the Red Wing's game with my dad. That was just like old times. With any luck the Wings will wrap up the series tonight and hoist Lord Stanley's Cup. I'm treating myself to a beer tonight!

Heading..

2008-05-30T11:01:00.002-04:00

...out of town to Flint within the hour. The boys are really looking forward to this weekend. I plan on enjoying the weekend and I know Chris is having a good time with his buddies in Chicago. Good stories should follow.

Great weekend

2008-05-27T13:19:00.004-04:00

Our family had a great weekend together. Friday night was deck night. We had a fire in the chimnea, snacks for the boys and drinks for the adults. Then Saturday night we got invited next door to Tami's house for basically the same thing. The Wings were also able to win game one on Saturday night. Go Wings!

Our friends, Kim and Ryan, were able to stop by on Sunday night for dinner. Chris pulled out all the stops and did a great smoke. The pulled pork was so good. We also made homemade potato salad and chocolate cake. It was ALL good. The best part was sitting outside on the deck with another fire and enjoying good company with our friends.

Monday we took it easy! Oh, and the Wings won again.

All in all it was a great weekend. The next two weekends hold more of the same. I plan on taking the boys to Flint this weekend. Chris is going to Chicago for four days for his annual "guys weekend". His football buddies have started meeting up once a year for the "guys weekend". Which, I think is great because he doesn't get to do enough stuff like that!

My parents have lots of fun stuff planned for the boys. I believe we are going to a cookout on Friday night followed by fireworks. Saturday should be a local parade and car show. Throw in many trips to the barn, golf cart rides, tractor rides and the boys will be in heaven!

Disney is less than two weeks away. We are all getting excited for that.

Memorial Day

2008-05-26T16:52:00.003-04:00

I would like to thank the families of all brave soldiers who have given the ultimate sacrifice, their lives, to protect our country and our freedom.

If you are a veteran, or a current military family, my family would also like to say thank you for all that you have done to keep our country safe and give us the freedoms that we are enjoying today.

As I watch my boys running around happy in our back yard I do not take lightly the fact that they are safe and we are free to make our own choices.

Thank you and Happy Memorial Day

"You have weird hair"

2008-05-22T17:24:00.004-04:00

"You have weird hair"

This is what Connor, in his most polite voice, told the window inspector who visited our home today. (At least Connor didn't tell him he looked like a girl - because I know that is what Wes was thinking)

The friendly, early 30's, young dad type was cool about it and said it was no biggie. I on the other hand, was mortified and wanted to crawl under the couch and join the multitude of matchbox cars already in hiding.

The gentleman simply had naturally curly hair. It wasn't your crazy white-boy-playing-college-basketball-at-Stanford hair...just curly hair.

In my most stern voice, (because I was trying not to laugh and so was the window inspector) I informed Connor that not everyone in the world looks the same and we all have different colored hair that isn't necessarily straight!

As if that wasn't embarrassing enough, the window inspector got whacked in the shin by a flying puck while we were in the basement checking the windows. While Yzerman and Chelios thought they were the bomb and were attempting to show off, a stray puck hit the poor guy in the shin. He took it nicely, considering he had shorts on and I know it hurts like hell!

I'm sure he was a happy man to leave our house! He probably is also grateful to be the inspector and not the installer!

Cavities suck!

2008-05-20T08:20:00.006-04:00

It has been roughly twenty years since I have had to have a cavity filled. When I was a kid I swear I had a cavity every time I went to see the dentist. Then, like magic, I just stopped getting cavities.

Well, imagine my surprise a couple of weeks ago when my flirtatiously cool dentist told me I had a cavity. I actually thought he was joking. Fast forward to last night, and after the third round of numbing shots, he was definitely not joking.

After the first series of shots I couldn't feel the right side of my head. This included my forehead, temple, ear, nose and eye. All cool if you have been drinking too much, but not the general area in which the dentist will be drilling with his loud, large drill. Second round of shots proved to get closer to the general area. My jaw, cheek and some small areas of the inside of my mouth were numb, but still no where near drilling numbness.

Finally, after round three my lower right teeth, most of my tongue and most of my lower lip was numb. So numb that I sat in the chair drooling on myself while the cavity was filled. So numb that the nurse laughed that I couldn't move my tongue at all and so numb that I sounded like I'd gone three rounds with a bottle of tequila and swallowed the worm.

You can imagine the joy upon my arrival home to find my dear, loving husband, Chris, made fun of me for pretty much the remainder of the night. By the time we went to bed, around 10:30, I had gotten feeling back to most of my face/head and my lip and tongue were thawing out.

Today my mouth hurts. Not the tooth where he filled the cavity, but the back of my mouth at the jaw where he gave me all those shots. Nice. Note to self. Brush more often, floss every day, eat less sweets and pray for no more cavities! Because, cavities suck!

Plan Scape

2008-05-17T09:44:00.008-04:00

The landscaping is nearly complete. It's fantastic. The actually landscaping is done, but they need to come back next week and try and level off a part of our yard that always holds water. We had the both sides and the back of the house to complete. The front was already done. In addition to the three sides of the house they also added a large pine tree, 2 large red maples and another tree (not to up on my trees).

Plan Scape, did a fantastic job. I am way to picky about stuff and I couldn't find a single thing to pick about! From the way their crew put up with the boys watching them out every possible window to how nicely they cleaned up....they were fantastic! Thank you Phil for a job well done!

Now the pictures. It was at sunset last night and they light is pretty bright, but the general idea comes across. It's raining now, so getting better pictures isn't going to happen today.

So excited!

2008-05-16T13:15:00.001-04:00

Our landscaping is almost finished!

Will post pictures soon!

So excited!

Definition of accident

2008-05-13T16:14:00.008-04:00

"event occurring by chance or unintentionally"

Wes just cut most of the front of Connor's hair off.

Apparently it was an accident.

I just got done defining what an accident is to Wes.

One does not take out his "pre-school scissors", get Connor to sit and hold still, find the "right" spot and then cut off said younger brother's hair... accidentally.

12:23 a.m.

2008-05-13T11:00:00.007-04:00

12:23 a.m.

That is roughly the exact time that the Komets finally won game 7 of the Turner Cup playoffs. We were all there, physically more than mentally, for the end of the game. Connor was asleep in his chair and Wes had finally stopped crying about wanting to go home and go to bed.

It took 3 over time periods for the Komet's to pull it off, but they actually did win. What a long night and an even longer day. I volunteered to go to the zoo for the day with Wes' kindergarten class. That in itself wore me out, but add working out, a swim lesson for Wes and I was done. More like burnt, like toast!

If the Komet's hadn't blown a one point lead with less than one minute in the game, we all could have been home by 11:30...but that would have been too easy. I guess I have until November to recover from last night. It might just take that long before Wes wants to go back!

I was glad we stayed through the overtimes because we got to see them win and enjoy their cool trophy. I admit, I would have been really pissed if we had stayed for 3 overtimes and they would have lost, but that wasn't the case. Chris was pretty happy that wasn't the case either. He knew I would have rather gone home after one overtime, but I stuck it out for him. Now I have to pay further for it today with 2 very, very grumpy boys. I literally had to drag Wes out of bed this morning...and he was NASTY!

The funny thing was that while we were eating dinner Chris suggested driving separately to the game. I couldn't figure out why. We go to games all the time and never drive separately. I usually won't let Wes go to a game on a school night, but I made an exception last night. I never gave Chris' idea much thought because I guess I just didn't grasp how long the game could possibly take, or that we could have possibly still been there at 12:30 in the morning. Good idea Chris, sorry I did listen.

Way to go Komet's and congrats to a great season.

Happy Mother's Day

2008-05-11T12:24:00.004-04:00

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. For some of us this is a day of relaxation, eating a special breakfast, opening cards and gifts or a special dinner. It is a happy day for my family and at the end of the day I always feel appreciated. However, I know there are many, many moms out there celebrating their Mother's Day in different ways.

For those moms who have precious little ones who are sick in hospitals, big children who are possibly spending the day in harms way while serving in the military or for the moms who have suffered the loss of their child...I wish you a day filled with warmth, love and appreciation for your sacrifices as a mom. You may not be getting presents and hugs from your child today, but please know there are many of us moms who are thinking of you and sharing our thoughts with you!

Happy Mother's Day to my mom, my Grandma and all my "girl friend" moms! I'll have some photos of my weekend and a good wrap up later on!

Mother's Day Tea Party

2008-05-09T14:33:00.007-04:00

Today I was honored to attend a Mother's Day Tea Party hosted by Wes' Kindergarten class. It was so nice. They decorated each of the tables with flowers, decorated cups and treated us to cookies they decorated. Wes was very proud of the cookie he made for me...and I was happy to eat it. I couldn't say no now, could I? After looking at the size of my butt in that kiddie chair, it's a darn good thing I only ate one cookie. Maybe it was no coincidence that it was a pig cookie??? I was the pink pig, in case you couldn't tell.

We were also treated to a class cookbook with each of his classmates favorite recipes. The cutest part of that is on the bottom of each recipe was the students own version of how to make it. Funny stuff.

The highlight was the performance of three "mom" songs. Wes does not much care for singing along with a group and you could tell. But he put some effort into it and I had to laugh at the pained expression on his face. It was like Chris standing there looking back at me with a pained "I don't care which shirt Honey, they both look nice on you!" expression.

The moms also got to take home a hand painted tile and our cookbooks. This is another chance to express my gratitude to Mrs. Eckman and the amazing opportunities she gives her students. All of the children were so happy to have us there and proud to show off what they had done for us. Thank you Mrs. Eckman for taking the time to pull all of that together.

And thank you Wes for being such a loving son! He was all hugs today!

No money for you...

2008-05-07T14:12:00.008-04:00

http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=805049

I was surprised to see Purdue listed in this article. There are certainly others that come to mind ahead of Purdue in the failing to meet academic standards. Could it be a sign of more trouble for the Purdue Basketball team? I'm a firm believer in academics first, sports second.

Study up boys, or no money for you!

I Voted!

2008-05-06T12:31:00.005-04:00

I know what you are thinking, "So what, she voted?" This is the first time I've ever voted in Indiana and I've only voted a couple of times prior to that while living in Michigan. So, it's a big deal to me to say that "I voted". I feel good about having gone out to vote! And, I also feel more invested in the outcome of our primary today and who our Democratic party will eventually nominate.

I wanted one of the little stickers that proudly proclaims that I voted, but I was told when I asked that they didn't have them. Darn. That would have made it even better. I pretended it was for Connor when I asked, but I would have worn it proudly.

Now everyone is thinking that I am an degenerate citizen of this great country for not having voted in years, but I can explain that. Mostly I haven't had a candidate who I felt deserved my vote or one whom I detested enough just to go vote against. I do detest our current president and can say that I didn't vote for him or against him. But at the time I had no interest in dragging along a newborn and 3 year old to vote, no matter how much I disliked him at the time of the last election.

While voting today was very simple, I've feared in the past it wouldn't be. My voting experiences prior to today included hour waits in line, equipment that I didn't know how to use and no one willing to explain what to do. Today was so simple. I didn't have to stand in line, a nice volunteer walked me to the voting computer and explained what to do with it and then I voted. The whole thing was a no brainer and I was out the door in less than 10 minutes.

Connor even said to me..."Mom that was quick!"

Now I guess we just wait and watch as the Democratic party devours its own. It isn't going to be pretty folks!

Happy Cinco De Mayo!

2008-05-05T10:00:00.005-04:00

I plan on celebrating Cinco De Mayo with a little margarita action after the boys are in bed. It's the least I can do to show my enthusiasm for the month of May!

We had a great weekend spent mostly outdoors. The weather here was okay on Saturday and gorgeous on Sunday. On Saturday we took the boys to Solfest at Fox Island, an Allen County Park. It's more like a nature preserve, but run by the county. The reason we decided to go was because our friend Mike, Heather's husband, was singing. There were a ton of musicians lined up for the weekend, but we were just interested in him. The boys attempted to sit and listened with us (good thing he only played for a half hour) and then we walked around the park. It was fun. Wes wanted to catch tad-poles that we watched in a big puddle. Of course he wanted to catch them with a stick..and we had nothing to put them in...to Chris' delight!

After completing our required yard duties on Sunday we spent the afternoon relaxing outside. It was a beautiful day. Chris used his smoker to make a meatloaf for dinner. Good stuff. He is becoming rather skilled in the smoking department. I'm still anxiously awaiting my smoked Salmon! Maybe for Mother's Day?

Wes also got a little golf action in. He needs lots of help! Hopefully he will take after his daddy in the golf department. I am hopelessly lost at that game. Connor had to join in the fun too. I think Connor's clubs are way easier to use!

Last day, last place

2008-05-01T15:48:00.003-04:00

Today was our last day of bowling...sniff, sniff. Normally I'm ready for our season to be done. We always bowl following the school year schedule but end a few weeks before school gets out.

I wasn't ready for bowling to be done. Knowing that I will no longer get to bowl with Tami made it sad for me. Even sadder to me was that it was the last time Connor gets to go to "bowling school" with Tami's daughter, Zoe. They are such good buddies. According to Zoe, Connor and her will be getting married some day. The kids get to go to an awesome babysitter at the bowling alley while we bowl. Somehow they started calling it "bowling school". The "Grandma" who babysits them is in her 80's. Today was her last day as well. Lots of suppressed tears when we all said our farewells today!

And, drum roll please....we finished....wait for it....in....LAST PLACE! Wow, I guess I don't need to further explain that we do indeed play for fun. Obviously, we suck! But we had lots of fun staying in last place.

What?

2008-04-29T17:22:00.004-04:00

The significance of what I'm about to post about may seem lost to most readers, so see the post entitled, "Dog Gone" from March for enlightenment.

My in-laws called to confirm that it was okay for them to bring "the dog" over later in May to stay at our house while they are out of town. "What?" Excuse me, did I just here you correctly? Seriously, after a long pause on the phone the first words out of my mouth were, "What?"

I can't believe they would even consider asking us that question. We tried to politely explain the badness of what had happened during her not-so-long-ago two week stay, but were they listening? Clearly they were not listening or they never, ever would have asked us/me to watch "the dog" ever again.

I can best relate this to a babysitter we had at our house on only one occasion. She was young, hyper and even before we left the house, had the boys running around like little monsters. I knew when we returned later that night when the boys were still up, and still running around like monsters, that "things" had not gone well. From what the babysitter said to us and the look of terror on her face prior to leaving, I knew I would never be able to ask her to babysit again. And, I have never asked or will consider asking her.

It's like that folks! But, instead of our experience lasting only one evening, like it did for the babysitter, our experience lasted for two frickin weeks. And they asked us again. What?

The worst part was his dad, who needs to start using his hearing aides again, clearly misunderstood something Chris said. I was told on the phone that Chris had said it was okay for her to stay here. Smartly, dad-in-law decided to check with me first. That was when he got the "What?" on the phone and "Chris never mentioned it to me."

Clearly, "the dog" is not staying here! I feel really bad saying no. Especially considering how many times they help us out with the boys....but really, shit on my carpet, pee on my carpet, vomit on my carpet, nearly biting my friends daughter in the face and just not liking her are all really substantial enough reasons to say no dog. And, I feel bad for Chris because he has to tell them no. I know he wishes that we had never agreed to watch her in the first place but the reason we did is that we thought two weeks in a kennel was a bit much, even for "the dog". So now our origional attempt at a good deed has gone to the dogs and it biting us in the ass.

Weekend

2008-04-28T09:51:00.004-04:00

Our weekend was busy. The boys went with Chris to Monroeville for a car show on Saturday. While they were gone I helped Tami paint her garage. I'm not a fan of painting, but I took pity on her because they are trying so hard to get their house on the market by the end of the week. The garage looked good after a coat of white paint and I had fun helping her! The boys got a big kick out of the car show and Chris seemed to enjoy taking pictures of "Whiskey Tango" and people trapped in the 80's. He is going to get himself in trouble with his new camera! I'll just laugh when he does!

While the boys were in M-town with the grandparents, they decided to spend the night. That meant Chris and I went out to our favorite Mexican hang out for dinner. It also meant the I broke most all of my recent food rules and consumed a large amount of margaritas with chips and salsa. What could I do? We had a pitcher! It was a fun evening! Plus, I worked out both days this weekend, so I earned it.

Sunday was spent in our own garage cleaning out the mess that winter brings. We got stuff hauled outside, things stored in the attic and a good sweeping of the floor. It is nice to actually be able to see the second half of the garage floor.

So, it was just an average weekend. I felt like all I did all weekend was work, but oh well.

I'm stoked about having the second half of our landscaping done this week. I talked to our landscaper this morning and it sounds like he will be here at the end of the week to do the job! I'll have pictures of that, for sure!

"E-I-E-I- Oops!"

2008-04-25T09:07:00.007-04:00

Congratulations Wes and the kindergarten classes at Covington Elementary for a great musical show. Our family and many others, were treated to the kindergarten musical last night. G & G came along to watch Wes' on stage singing and one-liner debut.

They obviously had a barnyard theme and all the children made hats/masks to help them represent their appropriate animal. Wes' class were pigs, with girl pigs being in pink and boy pigs in tan. Wes also got to go up to the mic and recite a line he learned. His line was "My name is Old McDonald. I'm a farmer, can't you tell?" Well, no, actually! A lot of the lines were pointless because the children did not wear costumes. Oh well!

Wes was nervous all day about the show, but you wouldn't have known it while watching him on stage. He waved to us many times and was next to his best friend, Ayana, the whole time. I got a couple of tears at one point when I was watching the two of them next to each other on stage. I'm so sad for him that his friend will be moving away. I need to tell him today or this weekend. The for sale sign should be going up at their house and I want him to hear it from me and try and explain it all to him.

Wes did a great job, as did all the children. I was impressed by the fact that the teachers were able to pull this off considering the morning classes never practiced with the afternoon classes, and vice versa. If it had been just singing, it would have been easy, but many of the children had lines to come up to the microphone and recite! Thus, making it very challenging for the children and teachers.

A huge thank you to Wes' teacher, Mrs. Eckman, the remaining kindergarten teachers, the music teachers, art teachers, other staff and volunteers that made last night possible. It was apparent that they all put a lot of time into this show. Also apparent was the amount of effort the students put into learning their music and lines.

(Wes and Mrs. Eckman)

Great job everyone!

I'm sad

2008-04-22T09:46:00.003-04:00

Life has been going good lately. For the most part, the boys have been behaving themselves. Now that the weather has turned and they can get outside every day to play. A week ago they decided to get "artistic" with a pair of scissors and cut holes in their pants....that was definitely bad. But, since then, all has been well.

I have been working out nearly every day. I made up my mind that I have about ten to twelve pounds to loose and some major toning up to do. The trip to Orlando is a great kick in the butt for me. It is motivation to tone up for a new swim suit.

I need a new swim suit that is appropriate to wear in public with the boys. I've got a great, tiny bikini that I like to wear when I'm alone. For Orlando that suit would not be appropriate, nor would it be appropriate with the condition my body is currently in. SO, I've started SLOWLY loosing weight but mostly I've been reshaping my body. It is cool to start to see a difference and is all the motivation I need to keep working out every day! Chris scored huge brownie points for pointing out that he could tell a differnce.

But, why am I sad (see title of post)? One of my best friends, who happens to be my neighbor, just broke the news to me this morning that they are moving to Indy. Damn! We do everything together. Our children are weeks apart in ages and play together all the time. We babysit for each other, we bowl together, we carpool together, we signed up for pre-school together....get the idea. This is so sad for me.

Having Tami as a friend has gotten me out of my shell. Before we became friends I didn't really know anyone in our subdivision. I have other friends around town, but none that I see every day and do everything with. None that I could drop my boys off in the event of an emergency. Well, I shouldn't say that. All my friends would take my boys in an emergency, it's just they all live a half hour away!

Knowing that she is moving away is devastating. I can't imagine how upset the boys are going to be when they find out both of their best friends are moving away. I'm not even going to tell them for a while. I know it will be a while before it happens, they haven't even put their house on the market yet...but knowing it is coming is heartbreaking.

I feel like my life has been put on hold. Will I have someone or find someone to bowl with me next fall? Will I be able to get Connor to pre-school on time with out having carpool help while Wes waits for the bus? Will I be able to volunteer at school next year? (We took turns watching each others kids so that we could volunteer at school) Will the boys make new friends that they and I are comfortable enough for them to go over and play?

I'm sad.

Did you feel that?

2008-04-18T09:41:00.001-04:00

I woke up at 5:30 this morning to the bed shaking. I thought maybe Chris was having a bad dream and I woke him up. We couldn't figure out what was happening! Our bed was shaking along with everything in the bedroom. The tv set was rattling in the large cabinet and I felt the room shaking. I got out of bed to investigate and was had no idea what was going on. I actually opened the cabinet door and tried to hold the tv still, to no luck. It probably lasted about 20 - 30 seconds!

That my friends, was my first earthquake. I never really got back to sleep and then heard on the radio when the alarm went off that we had an earthquake. We had an earthquake in Northeast Indiana?

It made me feel better once I realized what that was. I thought I was going crazy. I kept saying to Chris, "Did you feel that?" At least I'm not crazy.

Arrgh!

2008-04-16T16:48:00.003-04:00

The weather is beautiful, life is hectic and the boys have been naughty. It seems they have managed to come up with nothing but head shaking trouble the last few days. And by head shaking I mean..."Why on earth did they do that?" Wes has been mouthy. Which, isn't completely uncommon! But, they have been doing naughty things.

Take today as an example. While I was working on laundry and picking up around the house they took their own pair of children's scissors and cut a quarter size hole in each of their respective pair of pants. While they were at it they also cut a small hole in the armchair cover for our lazy boy chair! What? I was even paying attention, not that I don't usually pay attention, but it seems like they usually do bad stuff when I get a call on the phone or I'm working on the computer. And by bad stuff I mean getting ice cream or cool whip out of the freezer and sneaking it into the family room.

I was furious. I tried the old approach of telling them that they could explain what they did to their daddy and why they did it, when he comes home from work. And, they could think about what their punishment should be. I was hoping they would fret all afternoon about it, but they clearly do not care. No fretting is happening.

I was getting ready to leave for the Y to work out when I discovered the cut clothes. I was so upset that I wore the wrong tennis shoes to work out, so I couldn't jog. More anger toward them...

They wanted to play at the big park by the Y but I refused. I felt torn by that because I had planned on letting them play there and it is a beautiful day outside, but I told them no as part of their punishment for what they did at home.

Why does parenting have to be so difficult?

A Disney Surprise

2008-04-11T17:12:00.006-04:00

I'm shocked tonight at what has turned out to be a surprise family vacation. Last weekend Chris mentioned that he was going to have to go to Orlando in early June for a 3 day conference. He would be leaving on a Sunday and returning on a Thursday. I thought, "okay, good to have on the calendar"! I always appreciate him letting me know stuff in advance.

I realized he was actually hinting at my joining him to take advantage of the free hotel. Normally I would be all over that, however I did not wish to leave the boys behind. I suggested that if we were that close to Disney maybe we could find a way to make it a family vacation. I knew he would have to be in meetings during the day, but I figured I could entertain the boys. They love staying at hotels! Plus, this might be the cheapest way we could afford to do Disney! And, Chris gets to save his vacation time for later on in the summer.

As it turns out (this has taken all week to unfold) we are all going as a family. Yeah! We have the cost of our airfare, meals for the boys and I and Disney tickets. We are going down on Saturday and then we will have Sunday to ourselves to do Disney. While I'm aware that one day at Disney isn't much....it's better than nothing and will give our boys a taste of Disney. They have never gone.

Here is the best part. Our hotel stay was confirmed today. The Marriott in Orlando, where we will be staying, is the largest Marriott in the world. What? How did we manage to fall into that? The Orlando World Center Marriott Resort & Convention Center is beyond gorgeous. Plus, it's only 2 miles from Disney. I'm thinking that the boys and I can find a way to entertain ourselves with the 6 pools, water slides, sandboxes and other amenities that will be available to us while Chris is working his conference. I'm now feeling a little sad for Chris.

I can't wait to surprise the boys with this trip. I've tried to keep it quiet and we are going to wait a while and tell them. But, I'm so excited to see the look on their faces when we tell them they get to go to Disney. I'm so appreciative that Chris was able to work this out for all of us. It means so much to me to get to take the boys to Disney, plus have some fun in Orlando.

Spring Break!

2008-03-31T12:23:00.005-04:00

We had a busy weekend. In between watching basketball on tv we managed to go to a Komet's home game. That was fun and probably the last regular season game for us. They have extended their home winning streak to something like 25 games. Good for them. Play offs start soon.

My parents came down to visit for a few hours on Sunday. It is a long drive for just a few hours, but that is all they ever seem to do. Mom mentioned maybe next time they come they would stay Saturday night and go home Sunday. Wow, what a concept! Of course, that means someone else, besides her, would have to take care of the horses!

Today marks the start of Spring Break for Wes. I've been trying to plan out the week but a few key things haven't fallen into place yet. My Dad, who works for GM, might be laid off this week. If that happens we will try and plan a visit with him. If that doesn't work out then we need to plan something to do each day so that the boys (and I) do not go stir crazy! I've got ideas for each day but I hate to say yes to our friends and then cancel if we can make plans with my dad.

Anyway...we went to the "big" library today and it was a zoo. I guess everyone was thinking the way I was and it was full of kids....and loud! It should be a bit warmer this week but it's rainy today. Not much of a play outside day. Darn weather doesn't seem to know it's Spring Break!

Dog gone

2008-03-28T11:15:00.002-04:00

My family will never own a dog. For the past two weeks our family (mostly me) watched my in-laws dog while they were gone to Phoenix to visit their other son, Stu. We offered the option of "the dog" staying at our house because they were going to kennel her for two weeks. While I'm not a big fan of their Aussie, I felt two weeks of kenneling was extreme.

So, Chris and I talked it over and we made the offer to keep "the dog" and they accepted. I had a system worked out so that she could go out in the backyard on a long rope. Even though our back yard is fenced, she could easily have gone under or over our fence!

The past two weeks have been difficult, to say the least. "The dog" was stressed out here and despite being outside A LOT continued to make messes on our carpet. Which, pissed me off. She is not kept in a crate, so just putting her up was not an option. My family is strong believers in being able to crate a dog and our dogs have always been able to do that. So, toward the end of her stay she was either outside, in our laundry room (where she conveniently never made a mess because she would have had to stay in it) or sleeping at night in our room.

I was soooooooooo damn happy when the in-laws returned and retrieved their dog. We will never, ever own a dog and I firmly believe that after our cat goes to kitty heaven we will no longer own any pets. The cat was my mistake before we owned our home. But, I do not like having animals in my home and we never will again!!!!

Seven things you might not know about me...

2008-03-18T11:25:00.007-04:00

So, I didn't some up with this idea, I'm stealing it from another blogger. I rather liked the idea and thought it would be a fun change of pace.

1. I wore white Keds (tennis shoes) on my wedding day. No, I'm not a fitness junkie and I really do love cute, wedding shoes...but less than 5 months before our wedding day I had a second ankle surgery to fuse my right ankle. I spent the months leading up to our wedding in physical therapy hoping that I would be able to walk down the aisle minus a cast and without limping. Function beat out fashion for my wedding day. I did decorate them and they looked very wedding like!

2. I have no siblings. It's just me. When I was little and if someone asked me if I had siblings I would say "No, I'm a lonely child". Along those lines, I come from a very small family and I am the only grandchild on my mom's side. My boys will sadly never have first cousins and I will never be an aunt and Chris will never be an uncle. I think my parents did a pretty good job of making sure I wasn't spoiled, but I will admit that I got to do a lot of stuff with my grandparents that most kids do not get to experience. We traveled all over the place on their boat and I always spent time with them in Florida. This is another reason way I am so close to my Grandma and my Grandpa, who has passed.

3. I have a very bad habit of picking at my lips. I have always had a fixation with picking at things. I started out sucking my thumb and did that into elementary school. After braces for my teeth began, I moved on from thumb sucking to picking at my thumb. I don't really remember at what point I stopped doing that, but I have a very bad habit of picking my lips instead! Sadly, Connor constantly picks at his finger nails. Sorry buddy. That neurotic tendency definitely came from me!

4. I love sports. Not playing them, mind you, but watching and being a fan. My favorites would be college football, college basketball, professional hockey and then professional football. I despise professional basketball (I really think most of the players are just hoodlums!) and I don't care for baseball - too boring! One of my favorite times of the year is coming up with March Madness. For the past two years I have come so close to winning the pool I have been in, but no cigar. Maybe this will be my year!

5. I really like curling. Back home, in Michigan, we could get Canadian channels that had curling on all the time. I would sit and watch it for hours and everyone in my family, including my husband, thinks I'm nuts. It also doesn't make much sense that I like it, considering I think baseball is boring...but I also respect curling because last I'd heard there were never any curling/steroid scandals! I would love to try it some day. Unfortunately, I do not think there are any curling places around here. I guess I will have to stick with bowling.

6. I nearly died from childbirth with our second son. I was untreated for a type of preeclampsia called H.E.L.P Syndrome. A nasty little problem that nearly cost me my life. Connor was delivered via emergency c-section under general anesthesia. Chris wasn't even allowed in the operating room. I was so upset about him not being present for the birth of our second son. I guess under the circumstances I could see why he wasn't allowed in the room, but it still upsets me that he wasn't able to be there for Connor. I probably had H.E.L.P Syndrome with my first pregnancy but the symptoms were not as pronounced. Probably a good thing for Connor that it wasn't as bad with Wes, otherwise Connor might not be here. No more children for our family!

7. My family has horses and I used to be a riding instructor. I graduated from the the University of Finlday with an Associates Degree in English Equestrian Studies. I rode hunter/jumpers and competed at horse shows in Michigan. I loved jumping and so did my Thoroughbred mare. I went on to get my Bachelors Degree from the University of Michigan - Flint in a "real" degree, but all the while I was teaching lessons and had roughly 30 students most of the time. I enjoyed it, but with marriage and a family horses have become a part of my past. Some day when we can afford it, and my boys have grown up considerably, I will return to horses and get back in the saddle.

So there you have it. Seven things you didn't know about me. That was fun and I would encourage you to do it!

Godspeed, Reece

2008-03-17T13:57:00.003-04:00

It is with so much sadness today that Chris and I realize our friends are spending their last moments with Reece. There was nothing else for doctors to do for her little heart. Her family will be saying goodbye to her today and she will be removed from the machines...her body free.

To anyone who may be reading this today, please say a prayer for a peaceful passing for Reece, for strength for her parents and for the rest of her family. While they will miss her dearly they have said that God created her, protected her and will now take her to be with him.

Godspeed Reece and fly high sweet angel.

This weekend

2008-03-16T10:13:00.005-04:00

It has been a good family weekend. Chris was out of town on business for the later part of the week. The boys were excited to have him back when they got up Saturday morning. I'm reminded when Chris is gone of how much I need him at home and how much I miss him. We all went to the Komet's game last night and they beat Flint. Today we are just taking it easy. Hopefully Illinois can beat Wisconsin today in the Ben Ten Tounrey. Much sadness was around after Purdue lost.

On to the sad news of the weekend. We are being told by Reece's family that it isn't likely she is going to survive past this weekend. After the surgery they did last week doctors were just yesterday able to get her bleeding under control. They don't know why she is bleeding and they have nearly run out of options. Chris and I do not know the agony of what Evan and Lisa are going through and the decisions they will have to make today, but we do know the agony of having to watch dear friends bury their children. It is the worst thing anyone should have to endure and we are struggling to understand why horrible things like this have to happen to young children.

Hug your children, love your families and enjoy the reminder of this weekend.