Dora the Explorer Grows Up

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....

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?

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!!

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!!

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

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

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

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

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!

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

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

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!!

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

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

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

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

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!!

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!!

NASA Glenn Research Center

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!