Under My Rock

Dora the Explorer Grows Up

2009-03-17T15:22:00.000-07:00

I heard today that Dora the Explorer has grown up and changed her image. Some mothers seem to be very upset about this. After reading a little about it I'm kind of glad. Robyn was a baby when Dora came out. She loved that show and from time to time I catch her watching it. Garrett always teases her for watching such a "baby" show. I'm glad that Dora will be growing along with Robyn.

Dora will be focusing on "pro-social themes -- like volunteerism, water conservation, or planting trees to help the environment." This is exactly the type of stuff that interests my 9 year old and I'm thrilled that Dora is not as trashy as the Bratz dolls that are banned from our home.

For more information click here.

Soooo Tired....

2009-03-16T17:06:00.000-07:00

I really had every intention of writing a little blog each day. Last week I was blind sided by some school drama and have been extremely tired ever since.

I'll be doing some research on superfoods and energy and hope to be back tomorrow with something insightful. :)

Is this a surprise?

2009-03-11T15:03:00.000-07:00

I heard something today that surprised me but shouldn't have. Can you believe that Congress voted to give themselves a pay raise? Really, they thought this would be a good time to do that??

"As lawmakers make a big show of forcing auto executives to accept just $1 a year in salary, they are quietly raiding the vault for their own personal gain," the group's chairman, Daniel O'Connell, said in a written statement. "This money would be much better spent helping the millions of seniors who are living below the poverty line and struggling to keep their heat on this winter."

Here's the link for the full story.

Sunny Saturday!!

2009-03-07T13:56:00.000-08:00

Okay, I wish it was sunny but I know in Ohio that won't come until May. I really think the sky is gray from November to May here:) I think this is why Ohio is on the top 10 list of Most Miserable Cities twice (link to Top 10 List).

I'm going to be positive and believe that it actually feels like a sunny day to me, and for a few reasons. The temperature is much warmer, I had a great opportunity to take my daughter to a Mother/Daughter Luncheon and I have peeled myself away from work and Fox News.

I have been letting my addiction to news get the best of me and boy is it depressing lately. After listening to nonstop news from Monday through Friday I feel like I've been slapped in the face all week. The media is telling us that there isn't much hope left for the country and all the hard working Americans are supporting people like Octomom.

Below is a list I compiled of words I could go without ever hearing again. I'm going to point them out, put them in a box, stomp on it, burn it and move on with a more positive outlook.

1. Octomom
2. Bailout
3. Pork
4. Main Street
5. Wall Street
6. Joy Behar
7. Economy
8. Recession
9. Foreclosure
10. AIG
11. Taxes
12. Great Depression
13. Spending Bill
14. Stimulus Bill
15. Budget
16. Deficit
17. Layoff
18. Unemployment
19. Nancy Pelosi
20. Barney Frank

Let me know if you have more words for me :)

I'm back!!

2009-03-06T18:20:00.000-08:00

After a long break I'm ready to start blogging again and I'm going to be doing it on a more regular basis. I'm going to attempt to update the blog each day with stories and opinions relating to the current new stories and anything I come across that may be of interest to other women. You'll be hearing from me again soon!!

Nose

2008-10-18T11:12:00.000-07:00

What Your Nose Says About You

You are objective and logical. You make a good businessperson.

You are helpful and giving. You like cooperating, and you're always willing to lend a hand.

You are optimistic and trusting. You expect the best from people.

What Does Your Nose Say About You?

Robyn's Cheer Off

2008-10-12T14:16:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of the dance portion of Robyn's Cheer Off. As someone that is new the cheerleading scene this was quite an experience. I was completely unprepared. The other parents were wearing team colored wigs and clothes and came with posters, horns and cowbells. Me, I just had my voice and no longer have it :) There were even cars in the parking lot with paint for the cheer off on the windows.

Every event I have attended in this city blows me away. They treat football and cheerleading like they are in the pros. There is a lot of spirit and energy in this city and its really fun to watch. Next year I'll know what to expect and be prepared.

Being Observant

2008-09-18T14:38:00.000-07:00

I feel like I'm always running around in chaos. Today I decided to do my grocery shopping in the morning. I put the kids on the bus and started the mad dash to get it done so I could get back to work. I usually zoom around tuning everything out around me which I know isn't good.

Today I decided to be more observant. While I'm checking out I notice an elderly man starting to bag my groceries. It makes me feel terrible that someone that age is doing that for me. I'm young, I'm strong, I can do that! I start to notice that all the baggers are elderly and it makes me really sad. Is this what America has to look forward to? Elderly people continuing to work, not always because they are bored, but because they are losing their pension, investments and social security.

The elderly man finished bagging my groceries and asked me if I wanted the Load N' Go option. I certainly had to say no to that. At least they didn't put him the child care area of the store, that would have been a real punishment :), just kidding of course.

If you have elderly neighbors and relatives please continue to love them and look out for them. As tough as things are for us right now, they may be even tougher for them.

Wind Storm

2008-09-15T12:22:00.000-07:00

I often think about things that I miss from places that I've lived in the past. On Sunday night I found something that is great about living in our current city. We received an automated phone call telling us that we had a Code Red for Wind and we were not supposed to leave the house or drive if possible. The school district also has the phone set up this way to let us know if there will be a school closing or early dismissal. I love this! I love how they can contact the entire community instantly.
Our wind storm was really something to watch. This definitely goes down as a first for me. The grill went rolling across our deck, our outdoor toy box was picked up and thrown across the yard and the top of our Rubbermaid mailbox was ripped off. Our neighbor next door just had a fence put in last week and part of that was taken down. I am thrilled that we still have the solar cover on the pool. We lost power for about 3 hours and we were the lucky ones.
There were parts of OH where trees fell on homes and cars. I have to tell you with the wind we saw last night I can't imagine what everyone has been going through down south with the Hurricanes. Please keep them in prayer.

Football/Cheerleading Begins!

2008-09-09T17:08:00.000-07:00

Cheerleading and football have begun in our household. We are at cheerleading and football practices 3 nights a week and they each have a game on Saturday. Robyn and Garrett's games have been at the same time at different locations so I haven't seen one of Garrett's games yet but I will the next few Saturdays.

Doug is the coach for Garrett's flag football team and that has been really fun to watch. He has far more patience than I. I think he is just giddy because he truly loves football and its favorite time of year.

Here are some pictures of Robyn. I hope to get some of Garrett this week.

Election Stress

2008-08-30T16:16:00.000-07:00

My biggest guilty pleasure is Fox News. I'm a news junky, I just can't get enough. Its the only thing I put on T.V. when I actually get the remote, which isn't very often. Even when I get in the car I turn it to Fox News Radio. I am driving my family crazy. This has been going on for at least a year already.

Anyway, as I was listening to it this morning I was getting so frustrated and spun up about the upcoming election. I won't discuss who I think would do a better job because I know I'll offend half of my blog readers. I feel very strongly about how I will vote and I usually can see both sides of a story but not this time.

I am so frustrated by the politicians and news media stereotyping and categorizing each racial group and statuses like working class, blue collar workers, single mothers, evangelicals, catholic, etc... When you really think about who is keeping this country divided? Who thinks they know how everyone will vote? I know that when I think of America I do not stereotype or categorize people into groups.

I can't believe that we believe everything these politicians say. Please don't just vote by what they say in their speeches, we all know its fluff. Research their backgrounds, experience and take a close look at the decisions they made earlier in their lives. Take a look at what they were doing before the media was following them around.

First Day of School

2008-08-27T05:36:00.000-07:00

The kids had a great first day of school! They were ready an hour before we had to go to the bus stop because they were so excited!

I did make a mistake and put the wrong bus on Garrett's bag so he was a little lost after school and did not get off the bus with Robyn. Luckily, the bus I assigned him too had a drop off right down the street and we were reunited without me having a heart attack.

The kids gave me lots of homework and my hand is still sore from filling out all the forms. Is there any particular reason they have you fill out the same information on both sides of an emergency form? That drives me nuts!!

We made it!!

2008-08-23T06:16:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was our 10 year anniversary and we made it!!! I have to tell you that marriage gets much easier after the first 7 years! The last couple of years have been so much more fun. I think you get to a point where you know so much about the other that its easier to anticpate what they need.

We had a great anniversary. The kids are staying with Doug's parents and I pick them up tomorrow. We went to a movie that was not kid related, Tropic Thunder, and we went to a nice dinner at the 100th Bomb Squad Rest near the Cleveland airport. It was nice to get dressed up and not be on a schedule. We just did what we felt like doing for a change. We get to do that again today. I think we may stay closer to home today and enjoy being in the pool without the kids.

On Monday we get to go to the school's Open House to meet the teachers. The kids start school on Tuesday. Robyn will be in 3rd grade and Garrett will be in 1st grade. I am so excited but I feel terribly guilty for being so excited. I think it will be better for all of us. It was getting to hard to work from home with the kids being here all day. I'll be able to focus so much more and they'll get to see their friends.

Here's a little about what I learned about my children this summer.

Robyn: She has always seemed a little shy around new people but she was able to go up to girls her age that she didn't know and introduce herself and begin playing with them - huge step. She became very interested in softball and became the most improved player for the season. She is very inventive and never lets herself get bored (example - she created a target out of a large piece of paper and set it up outside so she could practice her water gun shooting). She loves chick flicks and I have a new buddy to watch them with. She is very inside her own head about her feelings so I need to help her get it out. She is a completely messy child when it comes to her room. Aren't all great thinkers chaotic like that?

Garrett: He is the best behaved child ever---if he doesn't get bored. He loves to run and has endurance like I have never seen. His best position for playing football is cornerback, you assign him to a boy and that boy will have no chance to score. He has a great imagination for fighting evil alien forces. He loves to joke around and have fun. He also likes to instigate like Grandpa W. He is a neat freak and can't stand his room being in chaos. The time has come where he is not a momma's boy anymore. He has moved on to being all about dad and sports. All this time of Garrett and I being together and not getting along as well made me realize its because we are more lot alike than we thought.

Zoo

2008-08-17T15:02:00.001-07:00

I realized the other day that the kids were starting school in a week and half so we decided to get in some more summer fun.

Doug and I decided to surprise the kids and take them to the zoo. We told them that Doug had to pick up something from a Cleveland train yard and they bought it. They were shocked when we got there. They had only been to the Philadelphia zoo before.

They could not have been any happier and were even more excited that we bought season passes. It was so cheap compared to the price for one day for the four of us. Now we can go every few weeks!

The highlight was definitely petting the stingrays and seeing the sharks and cheetahs.

New Goals

2008-08-10T17:03:00.000-07:00

After an emotionally tiring week I've decided to re-evaluate some areas of my life and make changes. I have been getting worn down by the constant demands of my children along with endless activities and work. I have decided to shift some priorities around to keep my sanity and to keep peace at home.

I'm at a point in my life where I just want things as simple and relaxed as possible. I really feel too young to be thinking like this but I can't help it so here are the areas I'm working on.

**I'm going to stop listening to any music other than Christian. For those of you that know me this is a huge step and a bit extreme. I love music but I am getting so sick of the lyrics and want more meaning. This is really having a huge, negative impact on our youth and I don't think most people realize this. I know, I sound like a mom from the fifties talking about rock and roll.

I feel like there is always so much action and chaos in my mind and Christian music really inspires me and clears my head. As I'm going through my tasks with my iPod I feel a magical peace that helps me to tune out negative thoughts and worries.

**I'm going to make some minor changes to my diet. I generally eat healthy but I'm going to cut out more sugar (Cheerios instead of Honey Nut Cheerios) and eat more fruits and vegetables.

I'm also cutting out the carbonated, flavored water that I've been drinking. I have switched to one Crystal Light Mental Energy Flavored Packet a day, in the morning, and will drink regular water and milk the rest the day. This sounds like a minor switch but I'm pickier about what I eat while drinking water.

**I'm going to get back to regular exercise. This summer I've been relying on swimming in the pool but I'm not getting a concentrated workout. I really need the structure of the treadmill to exercise. To me there is nothing better than getting on the treadmill and tuning out the world. I put on the iPod and sing and dance while I'm running or walking (its a sight to see). I come up with my best ideas during this time.

It seems like injuries, sicknesses and activities keep getting in the way of this time but I'm not going to let it happen anymore. I'm going to make it a priority.

Taking care of myself in these minor ways will help me to be more relaxed around my family. I've been working so hard to make sure my kids were having a fun summer that I haven't had time for myself. Do you believe I haven't had a moment alone since June 5th?

The good thing is that football and cheerleading have started. Garrett and Doug (he's one of the football coaches) go on two nights and Robyn goes on three nights. That means two nights a week for 2 hours I'll be completely alone. When school starts at the end of August Doug and I will have Fridays completely alone. I can't wait!!

Since I've typed all this out I expect you to keep me accountable for the goals that I have set up!!

Unexpected Trip

2008-08-07T16:34:00.000-07:00

On Friday I found out that my uncle passed away so Sunday we took an unexpected trip out to PA so we could attend the funeral on Monday.

On the way we ran into a delay from a serious accident. We made the most of it and visited with the neighboring cars, took pictures (like a good little blogger) and climbed the hill so the kids could go potty. These delays only happen when you have to go to the bathroom :).

The funeral went well and I really felt like I was able to say goodbye. Along with that, I was able to take some great new perspective away with me. We spent time visiting with extended family that was long overdue.

My sister and her son from NC were also able to make it out for the funeral so we all stayed at my parent's house. The cousins really enjoyed playing together again.

Here are some pictures from the trip.

The PA turnpike

Robyn stretching her legs on the turnpike

My dad's wonderfully organized garage (does anyone wonder where I get it from?)

He even puts his Covettes on shelves.

Quick Update

2008-07-30T08:18:00.001-07:00

We have had a busy couple of months with teeball and softball. Both of the kids have now finished their seasons. Robyn won the most improved player for the season and Garrett received his first trophy.

The other picture is what happens to boys when they play too hard at a sleepover.

We have some fun things coming up this weekend so there should be more updates soon.

Facebook!!

2008-07-28T17:26:00.000-07:00

I would love to update my blog, really, but I can't pull myself away from Facebook.com!! Its addicting!! Lori, Alex, Michelle, am I right??

Astronaut Stacey to the rescue!!

2008-07-23T12:38:00.000-07:00

NASA Glenn Research Center

2008-07-21T09:59:00.000-07:00

We had a fun time Saturday when we decided to visit the NASA Glenn Research Center. This was the first time we were there and were thrilled to see all the upcoming events at this location. The kids love anything having to do with space and the solar system. This will be our new hang out and its only 20 minutes away!

We were able to walk around the museum and get an autograph from the astronaut, Lee Morin. He was a mission specialist during the space shuttle Discovery mission STS-110.

Wait until you see our Wordless Wednesday pics!

Goodbye P.J.

2008-07-19T03:55:00.001-07:00

We have had a rough couple of days here. P.J. came out here almost 3 weeks ago. The first week he was a the perfect dog and played with the kids and ignored Taffy when she wanted to play, which was always.

After the first week Garrett was playing with P.J. he started growling and ended up biting Garrett and he had a large scratch from under his to the bottom of his nose that was put there by P.J.' s teeth. We figured Garrett might have been rough with him. We gave Garrett a warning and gave P.J. another chance. The next day Garrett was walking around eating turkey (he shouldn't have been doing this) and P.J. tried to steal it from him and bit his finger.

A few days later Taffy started "playing" with P.J. It was tough to tell if he was enjoying it or not. I know that Taffy completely intended to play because that is all she does. P.J. was showing his teeth a lot and starting to bark at Taffy.

On Thursday the kids came and told me that the sink in the bathroom upstairs was clogged. I went up to look and there was toilet paper clogged in the sink and of course it had broken in to a ton of little pieces. Upon further investigation I saw large drops of blood behind the faucet then noticed pale watered-down blood across the counter. When I asked the kids about the blood Garrett told me that he was bitten again by P.J. and didn't want me to find out because he knew I would get rid of the dog. It must have happened inside his nose somewhere because I couldn't find a cut.

Later the same day Taffy and P.J. were "playing" and Taffy ended up with an open cut under her eye from P.J.

We knew we had to get rid of P.J. so I called the store where I got him. I had thought they got him from the county spca but they had actually got him from the city pound and the store didn't have the room to take him back until another one was adopted. They suggested some training techniques and told me I could take him to a forgotton shelter if I couldn't keep him but I would have to lie and say I found him as a stray which we refused to do.

On Friday Doug took P.J. to the spca. He explained the situation and told him what a great dog he would be for someone without young kids. They said that since he bit someone he had to be quarantined at home for 10 days and couldn't take him until the 26th.

After being home for 2 hours Doug receives a call from the pet store and said they never told us to take him to the spca and that they may put him to sleep. Here the owner had a friend at the spca and they all, including the dog warden knew P.J. which I find a little strange. They arranged for P.J. to go back to the pet store last night.

We are all a little sad but did what we had to do. I know Garrett is used to playing a little rough because Taffy is used to it and we had her since she was 7 weeks old and she is now only 2. P.J. was 5 and just wasn't into that. We talked to Garrett about how to handle other dogs. I just couldn't take the chance of something more serious happening.

**Yippee!! I got the paragraphs to have spaces between them!! I actually had to go into the edit html tab and enter html breaks after each paragraph. I shouldn't have to do that though. Anyone else having these blog issues??

The Alphabet

2008-07-16T11:19:00.000-07:00

I saw this on Lori and Tina's blogs and thought I would get involved in this one.

A is for age: 32

B is for burger of choice: Ruby Tuesday

C is for the car I drive: 2008 Jeep Patriot

D is for your dog's name: Taffy and PJ

E is for essential item you use every day: computer, handy dandy headband, blender

F is for favorite TV show at the moment: Deadliest Catch, Clean House, Big Brother 10

G is for favorite game: Uno, Dance Dance Revolution (talk about hilarious), the pick on Doug game

H is for home state: PA

I is for instruments you play: played the saxophone

J is for favorite juice: Grape Cranberry

K is for whose bum you'd like to kick: I don't think anyone is on my list right now but I'll take volunteers

L is for last restaurant at which you ate: CiCi's

M is for your favorite Muppet: This question pushed my button! I absolutely hate nothing more than muppets!!!! They are one of my biggest pet peeves. Now I know whose butt I would have kicked if he was alive - Jim Henson

N is for number of piercings: 2 that I use, 4 altogether

O is for overnight hospital stays: when I had surgery on my heart in June 2007

P is for people you were with today: my kids

Q is for what you do with your quiet time: no comprendo??

R is for biggest regret: going to school for something that was practical instead of an interest, not knowing myself enough to make that decision

S is for status: Married since 1998

T is for time you woke up today: 5:22am

U is for what you consider unique about yourself: I'm the quickest noodle racer on both sides of the family!!

V is for vegetable you love: green peppers

W is for worst habit: I pick on Doug, tickle, annoy, hide his things, write on his under garments, etc....

X is for x-rays you've had: teeth, knees, head, heart

Y is for yummy food you ate today: Texas Crispers

Z is for zodiac: Aries (wow, that was tough for me to remember)

Wordless Wednesday Watermelon Eating Contest

2008-07-09T13:20:00.000-07:00

Karen (my mommy), Garrett and Jonathon

A New Addition To The Family!!!

2008-07-02T17:13:00.000-07:00

Robyn and I had a fun day at the mall scheduled on Saturday. After some shopping and snacking we decided to go browse the pet store. In there they had 3 dogs that were rescued by the County SPCA. I saw one and I just melted. After calling Doug from the store I decided to bring him home. Aren't Robyn and I dangerous when we are out together? Even Taffy isn't allowed to ride in our new vehicle but our new dog P.J. did.

He is a 5 year old male lab mix that is all up-to-date on shots and neutered. He is housebroken and great with kids. That is what they told me at the store........ We brought him home and he has been a perfect angel. I have never seen a dog behave so well. He has to be in the same room with me at all times and he is so quiet and calm. He doesn't jump and we even had visitors today. I was swimming in the pool and he didn't even try to jump in but he did come over to kiss me when I went to the edge. He is very lovable but he does have a freaky eye color.

Taffy is a little unsure about this. She keeps going up to P.J. to start trouble but he just ignores her and she goes away. She is so confused and doesn't understand why a dog won't play all day long.

I had to wait until today to post this so my parents wouldn't see it. They are on their way to my house as I type. I didn't want to hear the whole what was I thinking speech any earlier than I have to.

How do you like his name Alex??? Make sure you tell hubby about it!

Hopping Frogs

2008-06-23T11:13:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you how I almost missed Sunday School this week.

I was cramming my work in like I always do Sunday morning when Robyn called from a sleepover. She asked if she could bring home 2 frogs that were just like her African frog in her bowl at home. I said fine since we already had the food and bowl for it.

She gets dropped off 20 minutes later by a neighbor and comes in with not 2 but 6 jumping, not swimming, little frogs. She thought they were the same kind but they were not.

At that point we had 20 minutes until we had to leave for Sunday School. I was trying to wrap up work with a difficult customer that wouldn't let me off the live support and trying to think of where I could put these frogs while were at church.

I finally finished my work and got a container to put them in. As I was trying to poke the air holes I cracked the entire lid. From there I got some Saran wrap and my handy dandy large rubberband that I was happy to get the day before, don't ask.

Anyway it just barely held the little froggys in there but it worked and I did not have any escapees. We even made it to church on time.

Later we had the discussion about setting them free and having a long life vs. keeping them and killing them by not having the right environment and food. This is when we took the pictures.

All in a day of a Mom's life! Isn't it great!!

The funniest part of this whole story is that this was me about 24 years ago. Just ask my parents. I love frogs and collecting things with frogs on them. I mean, I have a frog tattoo and all!!

***Why this blogger won't keep my paragraph returns is beyond me. Please excuse the poor formatting. It worked for the top half. I guess I'll have to stop the blogger editing and add my html in there. Another project for another time......

Softball/Teeball

2008-06-19T19:05:00.001-07:00

This was a fun week for us. Robyn won her first softball game ball by batting a thousand and fielding well. Garrett did a great job in teeball and they even took the tee away and started pitching it to him. He does even better that way!!

Comments!!

2008-06-17T14:41:00.000-07:00

This is going to sound strange but if you are reading this now could you click the comments on the bottom right of the post to let me know? I'm trying to get an idea of how many people are reading this blog and trying to decide if I should keep updating this or not. I know there have been some family and friends that have read this and have not left comments in the past. You know who you are!!

Flowers, I think.....

2008-06-12T18:23:00.000-07:00

We've had a lot of fun lately just seeing what is growing in our yard. This is our first summer here so we didn't know what to expect. Here are some pictures of the flowers and weeds that have popped up in our backyard. I say weeds because for all I know some of these are weeds. I only pulled the ones I didn't like. You are looking at the pretty weeds:)

Summer is here!!!

2008-06-07T15:18:00.000-07:00

It's official, the kids are out of school and summer is here. We have been in the pool almost everyday. We have a busy summer planned with softball, teeball, VBS and a trip to PA near the end of the summer. We are also up for lots of pool parties so let us know when you want to come out!!

June!!

2008-06-03T05:23:00.000-07:00

We have been real busy lately. Robyn is playing softball and Garrett is playing teeball and going to karate. Here is a picture of Robyn with her team. That is her all the way to the left. I really need to get some pictures of them playing. They are having a great time and its nice to see them doing so well. Who would have thought that Robyn would be an excellent batter and thrower?? Maybe she found her niche. Garrett has only had one practice so far so it will be fun to see how he does. We know he definitely has the speed!

We have also been revisiting the homeschooling option for the fall. I'm really feeling it would be best for all of us now. I just need to find an extra 8 hours in my day!! Please pray for us as we make this decision. I keep talking myself out of it but when I am praying and going to church it strongly enters my mind and I get excited.

Hollywood Studios Day

2008-05-19T15:05:00.002-07:00

Here are our pictures from the day we went to Hollywood Studios. Doug was brave enough to volunteer to help with the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular. This park was not one of my favorites but we did have fun on the Tower of Terror, The Great Movie Ride, The Backlot Tour, The Star Wars ride and eating at the Sci-Fi Diner.

Late Thursday Thirteen!

2008-05-16T18:39:00.000-07:00

Its late but here it is, my list of thirteen restaurants we ate at while we were in Disney World. The picture shows Garrett eating the smores ice cream dessert at the Le Cellier Steakhouse in the Canada pavillion at Epcot. I think this was Robyn's favorite restaurant because steak is her favorite and it was on the kids menu.

1. Disney's Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show (Polynesian Resort)

2. Once Upon a Time Breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table (in the Castle at the Magic Kindom)

3. Le Cellier Steakhouse (Epcot, Canada)

4. The Crystal Palace (Magic Kindom)

5. Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater Restaurant (Hollywood Studios)

6. Donald's Breakfast at the Tuskar House (Animal Kingdom)

7. Pepper Market (Coronado Springs, our resort)

8. Pizzafari (Animal Kingdom)

9. The Garden Grill (Epcot)

10. Market Street Food Court (Caribbean Beach Resort where we stayed 2 years ago)

11. Pinocchio Village Haus (Magic Kingdom)

12. Electric Umbrella (Epcot)

13. Lotus Blossom Cafe (Epcot, China)

Epcot

2008-05-13T13:13:00.000-07:00

I figured I would start with Epcot since its our favorite park. Our favorite rides were Mission Space, Test Track, Soarin' and Spaceship Earth. We had some great meals there at the Garden Grill and the Canada Steakhouse (I can't remember how to spell the name). This park was beautiful and they had the flower festival going on while we were there. The last picture shows how tired the kids were on our first open to close walk through the park.

We're Back!!

2008-05-11T14:32:00.000-07:00

We came back from our Disney trip on 5/9/08. We had a great time and are sad that its over. Doug is already planning our next vacation. The kids were the perfect age to take there and they were wonderful. They were able to walk through all the parks with us open to close. We went to the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom. We stayed at Coronado Springs and on the last day my sister checked in to begin her vacation with her family so we were able to go on some rides at Epcot together before we left. There are so many pictures and stories, I'm not sure where to begin. Maybe I'll take a few pictures at a time and talk about them. Right not I need to get my house back in order. I have laundry all over the place.

Tadpoles

2008-04-30T18:41:00.000-07:00

I haven't kept up with my blog lately. I just haven't had much to say but I saw something cool today that I just had to share. This is a picture from the top of our pool with the cover on it. I don't know if you can tell or not but these are tadpoles. Across the length of our pool there are two large areas that have water on the cover and both were filled with thousands of tadpoles.

Late Wordless Wednesday :)

2008-04-17T03:08:00.000-07:00

Another Year Older

2008-04-13T03:20:00.000-07:00

We have had a busy week here in the last week. Garrett turned 6 on April 5th, my niece turned 11, my nephew turned 10 and my brother-in-law had a birthday, all of them on April 8th, and I finished out the week by having a birthday on April 12th. Garrett had a stomach bug on Wednesday and Thursday and Thursday night Robyn decided to cut bangs into her hair. Aarrgghh!!

This chaotic week had me thinking about what we've been through just since my birthday last year. In last year I had high cholesterol, a mini stroke, heart surgery and Doug traveling every other week for training. Then Doug was relocated for work, we started looking for houses in that area and moved in November.

The last few months have been really great. I had surgery to check out my heart and everthing looks great and my cholesterol is down. Things have finally settled down for us a little. The relocation has been great for our family. Doug has a regular schedule and is home each day by 4pm and has off on Friday and Saturday. I work around his schedule and the kid's school schedule and feel so blessed to have this flexibility with my job. The kids are growing up and becoming much easier and more well behaved (except for the cutting bangs incident this week :)). I feel like everything is finally falling into place and this is the happiest I've ever been. And we are going to Disney World soon!!! All in all, turning 32 isn't as bad as I thought it would be :)

Tartar Sauce??

2008-04-08T16:08:00.001-07:00

This might be a silly question but what does Tarter Sauce mean? I know what it is but what does it mean? For some reason Garrett giggles whenever he hears this. Whenever Robyn says this to him he gets mad. The kids are saying this over and over again. Am I missing something? Am I now officially uncool? Are my kids saying something bad from a TV show or something and I just don't know it?

Garrett's 6th Birthday!!!

2008-04-03T13:55:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby is 6 today!!

Some of my favorite things...

2008-03-30T11:09:00.000-07:00

I have been looking forward to the Southwest salad at McDonald's coming back since September. Its now back and I've had it twice already. The kids are wondering why all of a sudden I like McDonald's. http://www.mcdonalds.com/usa/eat/features/salads.html I normally hate fast food but this is certainly an exception. The crispy version is best of course.

On another note, our Disney trip is coming quick (32 days) so yesterday we went shopping for an extra suitcase and some shorts and sneakers. Doug actually allowed me to make him over and it was so much fun. I picked out some great outfits and I was able to get him his first pair of casual sneakers. I absolutely love these sneakers and now trying to find a fun pair for myself. I love shoes!!!

Wow, I really feel like I'm doing commercials today for McDonald's and Converse. Sorry, I just get excited about food, shopping and shoes!!!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-03-26T15:28:00.000-07:00

Stacey Attack!

2008-03-23T07:11:00.000-07:00

I thought it was time for another Stacey Attack. I have been doing this to him for years but thought it would be nice to capture this on my camera for a change. He's so lucky I keep my camera in my purse! The best part of this video is hearing all the giggles in the background. DO NOT feel bad for him in anyway. Just because there are no videos of me here does not mean that he doesn't embarrass me! He is usually the one dropping me off so I can run into the store and get something without the kids. He likes to move the car up everytime I attempt to get in. He also likes to yell across the store and ask if that toilet plunger will do the job!! No pity parties for Doug please. Trust me, he doesn't just let me get away with embarrassing him, he gets me back. He's just lucky I can't post on here what I just did to a pair of his underwear :)

Easter

2008-03-22T08:47:00.000-07:00

I came across some "Gospel Wraps" that my Gramma had to decorate eggs. They are the plastic covers that you put over the eggs then you put them in boiling water and they shrink onto the egg. I was excited to find these and be able to think about my Gramma again. I don't believe people in heaven can look down on us but I really wish she could. We are going to put those wraps on the eggs today to prepare for an egg hunt.

When I was growing up we would go to my Gramma's house and have an egg hunt and have Easter dinner with her. I really enjoyed this time and I'm really missing her today. I really wish I could have spent more time with her. I spent most of my time being too "busy" to see her more often and I really regret it. There is so much I could have learned from her.

I have to admit that this Easter is a little hard for me. We don't have a church, our family isn't getting together, Doug has to work and I don't know anyone in this city. I never thought it would be so hard to find a new church. We have been visiting one but its just not the right place for us and I know that. I love going to church on Easter and hearing the sermon and seeing how excited the kids get but this Easter is just making me a little sad. At least I know the reason for Easter and that is all I need!

Celebrity Apprentice

2008-03-21T02:44:00.000-07:00

I was watching Celebrity Apprentice last night and it came down to two people, Trace Adkins and Piers Morgan. These two will go head to head next Thursday night for the finale. Has anyone else watched this show? This has been the only show I've made a point to watch the last two months. I love the regular Apprentice but the Celebrity one has been even more fun.

My vote goes to Trace Adkins. I'm sorry but no matter how hard I try I can't say no to a cowboy with a deep voice :). He is calm, cool and collect and is doing this for his daughter and a severe food allergy charity. He is definitely playing with integrity and heart.

Then you have Piers Morgan who thinks he hasn't made a mistake this season. He is arrogant, rude and demeaning. He could not get along with Omarosa but instead of ignoring her comments he had to get into it and attack her verbally. He also resorted to sending in a spy to see what the other team was doing for a project. I know that some business people feel that they need to do this to get ahead but I just don't respect them for it.

I'm really looking forward to watching the finale on Thursday. With nothing good on TV these days I'm sure the days will go by slowly. Do you know how we pass the time?? Doug and I get to watch TV for a little over an hour each night. If there is nothing on that I'm really interested in he puts on his lovely military, history or nature channels which bore me to tears. I guess I'll be doing lots of reading :). He will honestly watch anything as long as it is in HD. Its the nerdiness that draws me in.......

Here's a thought.....

2008-03-19T16:57:00.000-07:00

If I was sent to jail for some reason, not saying I did anything bad, just stay with me here, I could sleep all day, read books, have a college degree paid for, not cook, not clean, not work, exercise and possibly watch T.V. What's the down side again??

Happy Birthday Taffy!!

2008-03-17T12:42:00.001-07:00

Taffy is now 2 years old! These are pictures of her enjoying her birthday gift.

Vroomm, Vroomm!!

2008-03-16T11:24:00.000-07:00

In this picture you can see what we have now instead of the truck and the motorcycle. Yes, Doug got rid of his motorcycle. You can send your condolences to our email address, I'm sure Doug will appreciate it. He's handling this very well considering he liked both of his vehicles so much. In my defense, this was not my decision. We have been talking for a while about getting a new vehicle since the van was getting up in miles and the truck has seen better times. We test drove and researched a lot of different vehicles and decided this would be a good fit for the size we needed. I was not a part of buying this vehicle and I'm very grateful to Doug for that, he even picked my favorite color. I hate the stress of those situations so I just had to go in and sign my name and pick it up. I'll have to get a better picture of it when its parked outside. Its a Jeep Patriot 4X4 and Doug says its my new vehicle but lets be serious, I hardly leave the house. We still have the Venture van and Doug is planning on using that for work but I'm hoping he uses both since he likes the Jeep so much. It will be nice to finally have two vehicles that both kids will fit in. I always had to have the van before because it was more difficult to get booster seats in the truck and there wasn't much space.

Go Back To Bed If You Can!!!

2008-03-13T05:20:00.001-07:00

Let me first start by saying that I am a morning person. Most peopleI've encountered will agree, I'm almost annoyingly happy in the morning, right Kristy? My biggest thrill of the day is unloading the dishwasher, opening the blinds, making the beds and starting laundry. Like I've admitted before, I'm a dork.

Anyway, I've had a rough morning. It started last night when a child, whose name I will not reveal, overflowed the toilet. I didn't notice until I heard dripping from the downstairs bathroom ceiling.

This morning I get up and the air purifier is still running near the damp spots and it still stinks (by the way if you have a solution to get rid of the smell let me know). I stumble down to start working and I listen to the news. All I hear about are the climbing gas prices, the stats regarding retirement when my generation reaches that age and a governor that was involved in a prostitution ring. As if I'm not irritated enough, both kids are up by 6am which is not normal. They are normally struggling to get up at 7:30am. A child points out a nice big stain on the ceiling in the downstairs bathroom from last night. Robyn decides she is feeling sick (she says this everyday because she hates school) so I tell her to eat something and that will make her feel better. She still feels sick and has a fever so she will be staying home.

Its now only 8:30am and I'm scared to continue my day. Can I just go back to sleep and start over?? I wish I could but now I have to start my 7 hour work day so I can be ready to take the kids to return our library books that are due today while Doug sneakily buys Garrett's birthday gift.

I'm Famous!!!

2008-03-12T13:27:00.000-07:00

Everyday when I start working its 5:30am so I'm always around to watch the news on the Daily Buzz from 6am - 8am. This is my favorite news show because it covers the biggest news stories but also has a fun edge to it. Anyway, they have a section where you can submit your weather pictures and I sent some in last week of the earlier snow storm. They actually put them on there today!! It was so weird to see my name and pictures on the news!!! I'm a celebrity, no really I'm just a dork that has nothing better to do, then I blog about it :)

Buried In Snow!!

2008-03-08T16:46:00.000-08:00

Here are pictures from our latest snow. This storm was much more interesting since the city is out of salt and they are not plowing the roads. Doug is scheduled to work tomorrow but we aren't sure if he is going to attempt it or not. He has a great 4X4 but they can only do so much in over a foot of snow on the road and with snow drifts in different areas

YIIPPEEE!!!!!

2008-03-06T18:06:00.000-08:00

We had success!!!! Garrett finally tied his shoes. He did have trouble doing the double loops so we just stuck with the other method. Doug stopped helping since he is left handed we were afraid that was confusing him too. The last two nights I sat down with him and we practiced for about 15 minutes. Tonight he finally got the hang of it. He now earned the new Scooby Doo movie that we have been bribing him with since September. Hopefully he will tie them without a fight for school tomorrow then I will go buy the movie.

Shoe Tying

2008-03-04T15:14:00.000-08:00

I thought I would be nice and take off the auto Disney music. Really... it was just driving me crazy when I was checking my blog.

Anyway, I have a question for all my mom friends out there. How did you make your kids learn to tie their shoes? Robyn was tying her shoes as soon as she turned 4 because she was very independent but as it looks now, I will need to go to college with Garrett to tie his shoes. We ALL have showed him a number of times but he refuses to try and fights it until we have to go somewhere and we end up doing it for him. Do I just make him walk around with his laces untied? We go to the bus stop at 12:25pm so I told him TV and computer are off at 12 and he was to work on tying his shoes until its time to go. Yesterday he screamed and cried until I finally had to do it to make the bus. I'm baffled, how can a kid not want to do this?? He will be 6 next month, this just seems ridiculous to me. This also refers to buttoning shirts too. There must be a trick to this boy that I'm not getting. Please, someone help me before I go insane.

200th Post!!!!

2008-03-03T05:19:00.000-08:00

I finally made it to my 200th post!!!

I was really anxious for Tackle It Tuesday so its a day early. I've been going crazy organizing and its making me feel so much more relaxed in my house. There is nothing worse than working at home and seeing a mess grow around you. Thank goodness I had a laptop so I could work away from this desk!!!

Out of EACH kids room I was able to collect 2 large trash bags of trash and 1 bag of clothes for Goodwill. I will never again buy a happy meal because of those little toys!!! Now that I've done that the kids have to keep it that way!!!

Election Time

2008-03-02T06:04:00.000-08:00

I am so upset over this entire election situation. I have been wanting to talk about this for some time now but I get so upset about it I can feel my blood pressure rising. Is anyone brave enough to discuss their feelings on this one??

I personally feel that I can't trust any of the candidates. Until now I couldn't even decide on the lesser of the two evils on the Democrat side. I'm a hard core Republican and I am scared for this nation right now.

Robyn is furious at the possibility of a female president. She really wanted to be the first. When I was homeschooling her at 4 years old I watched the debates with her and she became very interested in politics. I'm excited that she has already asked to watch the debates in the fall. I just wonder how much she understands at this point.

Disney Chain

2008-02-29T11:06:00.001-08:00

If you look real carefully to the right of the picture you will see the colorful chain skillfully crafted by Doug and the kids to show how many days are left. If you look close enough you can see Mickey and Donald at the end and beginning of the chain to monitor the progress. Can you tell we are excited yet??? I've just recently lost it but Doug lost it months ago. Its even more exciting now that the trip has been paid off in CASH!!!!

This was a very exciting week for me because my work probation ended and now I am a permanent employee with benefits!!!! I really love my job!!!!

Snow Days!!!!

2008-02-28T03:38:00.000-08:00

Here are pictures from our snow days this week.

Please note the music, I will torture you all with Disney tunes because I am excited! That's right, Disney tunes for approximately 60 days. Don't worry I will rearrange and add to the list to maximize your enjoyment. You guys thought Doug was excited, now I'm getting excited and you will all pay!!!!

Disney!!!

2008-02-27T19:25:00.000-08:00

We are getting excited about the trip so I thought I would play different Disney music to celebrate!

Tackle It Tuesday

2008-02-25T15:07:00.000-08:00

Here are the pictures of walls painted. No more orange and yellow!!! Now I just have to decide what I want for furniture which is always difficult because I am picky and cheap. It is such a relief to have these rooms painted. Its so much more relaxing in here now.

I just want to say that I have the best "Stacey Attack" video footage right now of Doug challenging Garrett in Dance Dance Revolution and I chose not to use it. He is so lucky I love him!!!

Kristy Has A Blog!!

2008-02-23T08:26:00.000-08:00

My sister finally has a blog. Yippee!!

Update

2008-02-19T05:25:00.000-08:00

It's really been a while since I've had an update here. I've been really busy lately so I figured I would just do a quick update on everyone. I'll try to get back on schedule this week.

Doug has been busy with his normal schedule and having some training and meetings. All of that is done now so he has been working extremely hard at home. In the last month he has replaced the flooring in the laundry room, replaced the utility tub and faucet, painted the family room, living room, dining room, kitchen and hallway, and replaced the faucet in the full bath. He is worn out! He still wants to paint our bedroom, the bathrooms, laundry room and yes, the garage. He also spent a lot of time cleaning for me on Friday since my parents were coming out and I had to work. When he learned that the vacuum wasn't working that great he went out and bought the Dyson Animal. Now he wants vacuuming to be his job all the time. What a great guy!!! We have also paid off our Disney Trip for May and he could not be happier.

I've been busy trying to get the balance between work and home down. On the 26th I will be a permanent employee with benefits!!!! I love my job and really look forward to learning more. Last Wednesday I had to go into the hospital to have my heart checked. This was the follow up surgery to check the progress of the healing from my surgery in June. They knocked me out and went in through my throat to take a look. Everything looks great and I can stop my meds now! I've had a chance to spend more time with my friends and I've had lots of fun. My parents also came out to visit and we had a great time going to the Great Lakes Science Center, the mall and doing Dance, Dance Revolution with my mom!

Robyn has started to enjoy school more and is loving her cooking class. She goes once a week to the Young Chef's Academy and learns how to make meals and kitchen safety and nutrition. So far she has made us Cheese Manicotti for dinner. She really gets excited about this class and loves the other kids there. She is still begging to be homeschooled so we are considering that but Garrett does well in school and I would hate to homeschool only one child. It just wouldn't be fair.

Garrett is Garrett! He is taking karate now and is doing really well. He is really an athlete. He is having a rough time adjusting to half day kindergarten after being in all day kindergarten at his old school. He is really ready to be there all day. He gets bored very easily. Yesterday he came up to me with a goatee drawn on his face and a tattoo drawn on his back, way too much time to think! I'm really trying to find ways to keep him busy while I'm working. Luckily he still loves to cuddle with his Mama and this gets us through most days.

Taffy is really calming down. She is down to 70lbs. She lost 4lbs since we moved here because of the fenced in yard and more freedom. She is very patient and loyal. She loves to cuddle and of course, play. Her 2nd birthday will be on March 17th. Her favorite thing to do is sneak on the chair in living room to nap while looking out the window.

Don't have time to proofread, don't giggle if there are funny errors. I have to take Robyn to the bus stop and start working.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-01-29T17:43:00.000-08:00

Tackle It Tuesday

2008-01-28T12:29:00.000-08:00

Here are pictures of our project. We replaced the floor in the laundry room and replaced the utility tub and faucet. I say we but Doug did most of the work but I was available for the entire project for motivation and emotional support :). We want to paint the laundry room and add a Bamboo curtain to cover the furnace/water heater area. We are going to paint the living room, dining room, kitchen and family room first though. I can't stand the colors there now!!

Menu Plan Monday

2008-01-27T13:36:00.000-08:00

Here is the plan for the week in no particular order:

Chicken Nacho Bake and Corn

Salad with Chicken and Tortilla Strips

Omelets and Peaches

Carribbean Pork 'N Rice and Asparagus

Baked Chicken, Scallped Potatoes and Green Beans

Homemade Pizza

Here is the recipe for the Chicken Nacho Bake if you're interested.

Prep 10 min Total 40 min

4 small boneless skinless chicken breast halves (1lb)

1/2 cup chunky salsa

1/4 cup sour cream

1/2 cup tortilla chips

1/2 cup mexican shredded four cheese

**I also use taco seasoning to sprinkle on chicken**

Preheat oven to 400 F. Place chicken on foil-covered baking sheet. Slice 3 cuts on top of each chicken breast with a sharp knife. Top each chicken breast with (taco seasoning**) salsa, sour cream and tortilla chips. Bake 20 min. Remove from oven; sprinkle with cheese. Bake an additional 10 min. or until chicken is cooked through(165 F). Makes 4 servings.

My Favorite Commercial

2008-01-25T05:01:00.001-08:00

I just can't get enough of this commercial!!!

Heath Ledger

2008-01-23T05:20:00.000-08:00

Another day another celebrity death....usually I'm not surprised but I have to say that I was to hear that Heath Ledger died. I REALLY liked him from 10 Things I Hate About You and Knight's Tale. Doug loves the movie Knight's Tale and he watches it everytime its on TV and I didn't mind since he was so cute, it was like a bonus. I know all the facts aren't out yet but I'm really hoping it wasn't a suicide. I really feel bad for these celebrities who struggle and search, if only they knew what we already know!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-01-22T17:58:00.000-08:00

Animations provided by MySpaceAnimations.com

Tackle It Tuesday

2008-01-21T15:37:00.000-08:00

I'm not only blogging, but I'm a day ahead. I can't wait to see how long this lasts. Anyway, I'm sitting here at the Young Chef's Academy where Robyn is taking a weekly cooking class and I have learned how to pirate internet connections with my laptop named Chip. I know I'm such a dork.

Our Tackle it Tuesday for the week will involve Home Depot. We were distracted by the holidays and birthdays but now we are going to start working on the house. We made up a list of things that we need for small projects so we are going to pick some of them up tomorrow. Here are some of the things we are going to do, hopefully, in the next month.

Scrap off old tile on laundry room floor and put new flooring down
Replace utility tub in laundry room
Repair leaky toilet noise ( I don't know what this involves but luckily Doug does)
Install new faucet in utility tub
Replace some outlets that are not holding plugs well
Paint almost every room in the house (I hate orange!!!!!!)
Replace sink faucet in master bath

Wow after looking at this list I am being really optimistic. Okay maybe two months.

I'm Motivated!!

2008-01-20T18:05:00.000-08:00

Its Sunday night and I'm preparing for another busy week. I was able to get ahead by grocery shopping on Saturday. On Saturday night I had a chance to visit with some friends and we had a great time. I spend most of today working while feeling extremely sleepy and sore from dancing. I didn't get to sleep until 2:30am and Doug had to work so I got up at 7:15am with the kids. I'm not what I used to be!!!

I've decided to get some help with organizing and cleaning my house since time is an issue now. Here's what I came up with, I figured its worth a try:

http://www.flylady.net/

I'm off to a good start:

Monday: Cheesy Chicken Bake with Carrots

Tuesday: Sloppy Joes and Corn

Wednesday: Veggie Casserole and Biscuits

Thursday: Honey BBQ Tenders and Asparagus Spears

Friday: Oriental Chicken and Noodles, Green Beans

Saturday: YUM, YUM Hamburger Helper (yes, I am sarcastic)

Sunday: City Chicken, Rice and Peaches

Normal??

2008-01-16T05:38:00.001-08:00

After doing that weird meme the other day I was thinking about how strange I was. I could have keep going with my list and my family could have given TONS of input. Just when I thought I was the weirdest person I knew, I watched American Idol. After seeing that show it put things in perspective and I realized that if I was to stand in that room I would probably be the most normal, boring person there.

Happy 34th Birthday Doug!!!

2008-01-15T05:42:00.001-08:00

Robyn is 8 today!!!

2008-01-13T16:13:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it but my girl turned 8 today!!! We celebrated by having a family party on Saturday. Today she had two friends from her old school over and we went to the Painted Penguin at the mall to paint ceramics. She had a great weekend and I don't think there could possibly be any gift she wanted that she didn't get between Christmas and her birthday. We are looking forward to celebrating Doug's 34th birthday on Tuesday.

You Make Me Smile Award....

2008-01-10T10:44:00.000-08:00

Thank you for the award Shaunda!!!
You Make Me SMILE: Bring Happiness to the world...
I'm passing this award on to Michelle, Rachel and Robyn!

7 Weird Things About Me Meme

2008-01-09T18:31:00.000-08:00

I been tagged not once but TWICE thanks to KC and Tina. This is difficult, I don't really want everyone to know how weird I am. Here are 7 Weird things about me:

1. I hate for anyone, including Doug to touch my pillow. It kills me to sleep away from home without my pillow but I don't take mine anywhere because I don't want it to get dirty. If I had the time and energy I would put a new pillowcase on each day. I even have to flip my pillow each night before I sleep on it so I'm not sleeping on the same side each night. I know, really strange. Sometimes Doug will mess with me and flip it to confuse me and it drives me nuts. I started flipping his pillow in the morning when I make the bed and he doesn't know about it.

2. I dance every morning while I'm doing dishes and making lunches. Garrett is always entertained and dances along but Robyn just gets embarrassed and thinks I'm a dork. How can you be embarrassed when its just family??

3. I absolutely have to snack on popcorn at night and when I have to work I just stick my face in the bowl and use my tongue to get the popcorn out so I don't get my laptop greasy. I'm lucky Doug hasn't taken a video of this yet.

4. I have to wear shoes or slippers around the house at all times. My floor never seems clean enough for me and I don't want my socks or feet to get dirty. I can't bear to stand on a crumb. This is really bad when you see it in writing. I am getting more neat freakish as I get older. Hopefully working will change this. I did try to walk around in my socks today but it only lasted 10 minutes.

5. Sometimes I have a 10pm spaz out. I get really hyper and start picking on Doug and jumping around. It drives him crazy because we usually go to sleep at 10pm. I've been better since I cut back on candy and caffeine but it still happens sometimes for no reason.

6. I like to hide things from the kids and Doug and watch them look for it. I don't know why I mess with everyone but it really makes me giggle.

7. Every New Year's Day I go around to everyone in the family pointing out what they haven't done since last year like bathing or brushing their hair or teeth. I also like to announce that everything they do is the first time they are doing it in the new year. By the end of the day I'm even annoyed with myself but its fun while it lasts and I'm creating memories, right?

Wow after seeing this list typed out I feel so exposed! I'm thinking OCD may be a problem. I'm happy though so it doesn't matter.

Healthy Plan for 2008

2008-01-06T14:06:00.000-08:00

I'm hoping by putting this writing that I can get back on track. I've learned that sitting still for an extra 40 hours a week can be detrimental to your buttocks! Here are tricks I've used in the past that have worked.

1. No stretchy pants allowed. I feel a lot more guilty eating Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby and Cool Ranch Doritos in tight jeans.

2. Exercise for 30 minutes a day. I do this first thing in the morning otherwise I make excuses and it doesn't get done. I plan for 7 days a weeks so that if something comes up its not a big deal.
3. I'm going to eat 3 meals a day and 3 snacks! This helps to keep my metabolism up and if I schedule the snacks in there just right I'm not always hungry. For breakfast I'll have Special K with strawberries, oatmeal or fruit smoothies. I'm going to try and have soup, tuna fish and turkey sandwiches with celery or carrots on the side for lunches. For snacks I'll have the special K chocolate drizzle bars (because its chocolate!), pretzels, light Breyers Yogurt (I love Key Lime Pie), Club crackers or fruit smoothie. I'll have the normal family dinners because I'm lazy and won't cook two separate meals. I'm going to look up some low-fat meals that I can introduce to the family. My kids complain about dinner anyway so it doesn't make a difference. I always have smart balance microwave popcorn for a snack before bed. This kind helps to keep my cholesterol down and its low in calories.

4. I'm giving up pop, again. I've learned that for me, even drinking diet pop makes me crave more salty snacks. Diet pop=big butt

5. Drink water the entire time I work and throughout the day. I already do this and I feel much better.

6.This sounds kind of silly for weight loss and weight management but shower each day and do your hair and makeup. I know this takes a lot of time but it helps you to feel better about yourself during the day. I struggle with this now since I work at home and only leave the house for grocery shopping and church. Boy, I need to get out!

7. If you are craving something just have a reasonable portion of it. Denying yourself will lead to snacking on everything in the house.

8. If you don't want to eat it don't buy it. The rest of the family LOVES this one.

Trust me there is no other way to lose weight besides diet and exercise. There are only 8 tips that I can think of now so if you are trying to make some healthy changes just try a few at a time and add to it.I used these tricks and I went from a size 14 (after each of the kids were born) to a size 4 and have been able to maintain it. I'm still studying for my personal trainer certification so if I see some good tips I will post them too.

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-01-06T14:00:00.001-08:00

New Year Resolutions

2008-01-03T10:29:00.000-08:00

After reading Rachel's blog it got me thinking about things that I wanted to change for 2008. That was the first time I stopped to think about it. Here's what I came up with (no specific order):

1. Organize and stay on top of paperwork. Paperwork drives me crazy and it multiplies at such a rapid pace!!

2. LISTEN to my children more.

3. Get back to exercising and maintain my weight. I'll post my tricks on my next post.

4. Get closer to God by getting involved in church and bible study.

5. Get better at balancing work and family.

Update on Andy

2008-01-02T09:04:00.001-08:00

Cindy sent an email letting us know how he is doing:
Just an update to let you know that we are finally home from the hospital.
Andy did have another seizure Thursday night, but then Friday morning he started drinking Coca Cola and was able to keep that and 4 bits of Vanilla pudding down. Sat, Sun & Mon he as able to keep real food and milk and water down and all of his medicines.
He is still having blood pressure issues and is on medicine for that and 2 seizure med. He is being weaned off of 1 and onto the other 1 over the next 8 days.
The good thing is we are home now and he is getting stronger and able to play.
Praise God.
WE have to continue blood draw checkups to monitor his liver function (due to the medicine) and his kidneys to make sure the inflammation clears out of them and they continue to function ok.
The Drs. said hopefully in 3 months he will be fine and everything will be cleared out and he will get to go off all of his medicine and be back to normal. He is also on a very LOW sodium diet. That is fun because everything he is used to eating has salt in it, so we are changing that too.
So now I am a part time nurse too :) :)
Thanks for all of your prayers and support during this rough time we have went though.
Cindy

Wordless Wednesday

2008-01-02T06:21:00.000-08:00

Andy

2007-12-29T17:59:00.000-08:00

Andy is doing much better today. He is able to hold down food and walk around. They are thinking about releasing him in the next few days. I haven't heard what the doctors have said about what he had. Thank you for your prayers!

Prayer Request

2007-12-27T19:22:00.001-08:00

I have a prayer request for my nephew Andy. He went into the FTMC emergency room last Thursday night with complications from strep and ended up having seizures. They transferred him the Akron's Children Hospital on Saturday and he is still there. The doctors aren't certain what is going on yet. He can't hold down food, he has high blood pressure, blood in his urine, headaches and had another seizure tonight. They decided to sedate him tonight and have a group of doctors come in to do more tests. Please pray for him and his family.

I Attacked My Mom This Time!!

2007-12-23T05:51:00.000-08:00

We had a rough start to our trip. Doug threw up all day and was sick the whole way there because of his root canal meds. I went to take Taffy to be boarded and she didn't have a voluntary vaccine that was required for that boarding facility so she had to come with us. At least we found that out before we went to Disney!! Anyway, once we got there we had fun and I was able to "Stacey" attack my mom for the first time!

Weary Wednesday

2007-12-19T07:49:00.000-08:00

I've been so busy I haven't had time to blog. On Monday morning Doug woke up in a lot of pain and had to go to the dentist. It turns out that he needed a root canal and had that Tuesday morning. Today he woke up and is very nauseaous and tired.

We had a snow day on Monday so the kids were home. I've been working 12 hours a day the last two days since we are traveling for a short trip to visit my parents. I'm not even packed yet and I'm leaving soon!

My sweet hubby came home with a laptop yesterday after his root canal. We had been talking about getting one since I'm working on the computer so much and ours was slowing down. I got it all set up and using it now!!!

I have to go feed Garrett lunch, get on my weekly ops conference call and pack as long as Doug is feeling better.

2007-12-15T14:45:00.000-08:00

This video needs some explaining. For those of you that don't know Doug absolutely loves to talk about weather. When we went to a birthday party today in a church gym they had a blue wall and he just couldn't resist the urge. Do you see what I have to put up with? This is why I "Stacey" attack him so much.

Wordless Wednesday

2007-12-12T03:37:00.000-08:00

Robyn, Garrett and cousin Chase

Our Family

2007-12-10T18:12:00.000-08:00

I saw this on KC's site and just had to do it. Thanks KC!!!

Hot Tub/Menu Monday

2007-12-09T16:00:00.000-08:00

Its official, thanks to pushing from Eric, our hot tub is open. Doug and I tried it out for the first time last night ;) and we tried it out with the kids tonight. It was so dark out I actually couldn't see them through the camera when I took this. Its so nice and relaxing to sit in there and hear ice bouncing off the pool.

Here's a list of what we are eating this week:

Stuffing and Chicken Casserole
Pizza Burgers
French Onion Soup and crackers
French Bread Pizza
Eggs and Bacon
Pork Chops, Corn and Couscous

Ultimate Attack!!

2007-12-03T08:31:00.000-08:00

I had the ultimate attack on Doug Friday night. I'll give you some background info first. I received a call that we were still in the running to win a new car but we won a $200 in a shopping spree and we just had to listen to a 45 minute presentation on a cleaning system and give them our opinion. If we let them come over that night it would be $500. I figured I can tolerate 45 minutes for a $500 shopping spree. The person came over at 8pm and did his speech. He was not done until 11pm. The guy was very annoying at the end trying to get us to buy an $1800 vacuum system. Not only did I make Doug listen to a 3 hour cleaning presentation but I actually got him to do the test vacuuming. Doug was thrilled. When we logged on to see where we could spend our $500 we were extremely disappointed and wanted nothing from the site. What a disappointment! I'm such a sucker but at least I can torture Doug with it!

Other than that we had a good weekend. We took the kids to the Home Depot work shop and they made memory boxes. I think they have these workshops every month with different project and completion pins. They gave the kids their own aprons and they got a pin for completing the project and were able to keep their memory boxes. Both kids loved it and they can't wait to go back.

Doug Attacks This Time!!

2007-11-30T12:34:00.000-08:00

Doug finally decided to attack but he did not have the camera to embarrass me luckily. We went into the store today while the kids were at school and he decided to follow me with his toes on my heels the entire way through the store. Even after I acknowledged it and laughed he continued until I got mad. Does that mean we are even?

I had a great week! I had a surprise visit from Lori and my in-laws and worked 34 hours. I'll be working the other six over the course of the weekend. I love this job! I really didn't think I would find another job as good as Visalign but this has been surprising me. I'm basically working as help desk support. Tickets from clients come in and I have to help them and file them accordingly. We do most of it through the internet and the team uses MSN messenger to chat and we have conference calls 3 times a week. I also have training calls. The team seems like a group of girlfriends and they are a lot of fun. The sad thing is I would rather talk to them than go out in my new town and meet people. I only left the house for 30 minutes this week. I am way too comfortable in this house!

Wordless Wednesday - Cuddle Bear

2007-11-28T04:31:00.000-08:00

May 2006

November 2007

Back In The Game!!!

2007-11-26T13:57:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, I certainly did. We had a great time hanging out with Doug's family. We even had our first snow of the season out here. On Friday we looked at cars but are still undecided. We also took the kids to see Enchanted. It was a great movie and we all enjoyed it. On Saturday we went to buy Doug's Christmas, Birthday, Valentine's Day, etc.. present. Our older TV started to go so we bought a new LCD or something TV. I don't know much about it, I just know its bigger and expensive.

Today was an exciting day for me! I just started a new job for the first time in 6 years. I was really intimidated at first because I was bombarded with emails, logins and links. I had 4 and a half hours of training and conference calls today. The first week or so will be a lot of training on the phone and computer, then I will be able to have my own schedule and just meet with the team on the conference calls 3 days a week. I will be working 40 hours a week. You never know what to expect when you meet people and companies over the internet. I am very excited that this seems like a great company and I am much more confident in the job now. I think until today I still had it in my mind that they would let me down and it would end up being a scam but I know its not now. There was a lengthy interview process and after seeing all thats involved and all that I have access to I can see why. This should be fun!!

Now, if I can just learn to balance the working/family deal. I have been waiting for my license in the mail that says that because I am now a working mom my house does not have to be clean. Does that usually come in the first week??? I know that my family will have to pitch in and we've talked about it. So far Doug is the only one helping. The kids are going to have a rude awakening.

Tackle It Tuesday

2007-11-20T06:57:00.001-08:00

I have a lot things that I want to get done today. I have been playing with Garrett in the mornings until he goes to school and I'm not getting as much done. Yesterday I attempted some Christmas shopping and only bought one gift. Today I'm going to a different place when Garrett gets on the bus so I'm hoping I have more luck. The stores were packed yesterday so I can't imagine what it will be like after Thursday. I want to at least get the kids' gifts done while they are at school.

Other than shopping I want to rearrange our family room. Its just looking too cluttered to me and its driving me nuts. I also need to do laundry and mop the floors. Last night I started putting addresses in the computer so I can print out labels for Christmas cards so I need to finish that today along with tracking down new addresses of people that have moved.

The kids have off tomorrow so I'm hoping to sleep late tomorrow and get some studying done for my personal trainer certification. I'll also have to start baking for Thursday. I only have to bring two things so I'm lucky!!

Christmas Decorations

2007-11-19T06:39:00.001-08:00

This weekend we decided to decorate for Christmas. I wanted to put more boxes in the attic and couldn't do that until we took the Christmas tree out so I figured why not just decorate a week early? As you can see I haven't attempted painting the living room yet. That is going to be an overwhelming task because that orange textured paint goes through the upstairs hallway, half the living room, dining room, kitchen and family room. All the rooms kind of flow together so I'm not sure how I'm going to paint yet and what colors to do. My philosophy is to paint and buy furniture to match. Doug wants to buy the furniture then match the paint.

This has really gotten me in the Christmas mood and I'm downloading Christmas music as we speak onto my iPod. When Garrett gets on the bus I'm getting some Christmas shopping done today.

When Doug gets done work today we have an appointment to schedule our Disney World trip with a travel agent. You just can not understand how excited he is!!! This has been his world for the last year. He is reading the Birnbaum's Disney book constantly and everytime Garrett grows he checks the books again to see what rides he can go on.

Sexiest Man Alive??

2007-11-15T09:57:00.001-08:00

I heard today that Matt Damon was the sexiest man alive. My first thought was "really"? I thought it would be someone that could make a dirty looking pirate sexy, like Johnny Depp, or someone that can dance smooth, like LeBron James in a commercial last year. After thinking about it, I changed my mind. What could be sexier than a man in the suburbs that loves his wife, helps to raise his children and stays away from the tabloids?

Wordless Wednesday

2007-11-13T18:39:00.000-08:00

Menu Monday

2007-11-12T11:37:00.000-08:00

Here we go again, I can't believe its another week already. I did my grocery shopping this morning and I'm all set for my menu. I love grocery shopping now that I can drop Garrett off in their supervised play area. I could have used this YEARS ago. Doug is traveling overnight this week so I cheated and have a couple of easy meals for me and the kids.

Homemade Pizza

Sloppy Joes and Corn

Steaks and Veggies

Breaded Boneless Chicken and Rice and Cranberry Sauce

Fish Sticks and Carrots

Cheesy Hashbrown Casserole and Green Beans

Beefstew Soup and Grilled Cheese (Goldfish soup for the kids)

Busy Week

2007-11-09T11:46:00.000-08:00

Wow, not only did we move in a week ago today but we were lucky enough to have Grandpa Wolfgang come out for a visit earlier this week. He brought out his newer corvette (he also has a 1969) and came to see the new house and spend time with us. As you can see the kids intoduced him to xBox. My dad and Doug have been working on house projects all day while my sister-in-law kidnapped me and took me to the mall. I love that mall and I'm thinking about going back tonight or tomorrow for some glow in the dark miniature golf with the family. The kids have been wanting to use their money to buy some build-a-bear clothes which is also at the mall. The mall is only 10 minutes away!!!!

Wordless Wednesday/Bad Hair Day

2007-11-07T06:10:00.000-08:00

Menu Monday

2007-11-05T11:43:00.000-08:00

For everyone that was curious, Doug did get the birdhouse down and there was a great hornet's nest inside. Its a shame that it wasn't active, that would have been You Tube ready. I guess it was good for Doug though :)

The kids started school today. We had a tour of the school this morning and it goes in a figure eight around the gym and library so the kids shouldn't get lost. Robyn is at the 3rd, 4th, 5th grade wing and Garrett is on the other end of the building. Robyn looked a little shy when I dropped her off. She is in a program called Excel and its a 2/3rd grade class. There are mostly boys in her class but there was another girl starting there today so she should be happy. Garrett didn't have to start school until 1. I dropped him off in the main lobby where his teacher was picking up the rest of the class off the bus (apparently there are no car riders in the school??) and he just jumped in line and barely said goodbye. I'm letting them both ride the bus home today. The bus stop is right in front of my house which is really nice.

I did have time to get a menu together for the week, its pretty basic though.

Beef Stew Soup and Corn bread muffins
Country Chicken with Bread and Mashed Potatoes
Meatball Sandwiches and Corn
Spaghetti and Cheddar Garlic Biscuits
Swedish Meatballs and Green Beans
Good 'Ol Hamburger Helper Mac & Cheese (Special Child Request)

I Moved!!!! / Stacey Attacks Again!!!!

2007-11-04T08:48:00.000-08:00

This video is from the day the movers were packing. I decided I wanted my frog birdhouse to come with us but the ladder was at the new house.

We are all moved in and I'm almost unpacked. Tomorrow the kids will be going to their new school so we will be getting all the school supplies in the right backpacks today. Garrett is very excited (although he only goes a half a day) and Robyn is a little scared because there will be 3rd graders in her class too which she isn't used to. I'll let you know how it goes.

Halloween / Last Post Before Move

2007-10-30T16:43:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures from our night of trick or treating. My neice and nephew went along for the trip.

This will be my last blog before we move into the new house. On Wednesday they are packing everything up, Thursday they are are loading the truck and Friday we will be moving in. I will be back online as soon as the powerful Verizon decides to give us DSL (yes there is sarcasim in my tone). We are supposed to have DSL on Monday but they have the 14th listed so who knows. Doug spent a total of 5 hours on the phone trying to get it sooner since I need to be on early next week for my job interview.