My baby!

He's 2 today! Happy birthday little man! Here are some pictures of him from the past year...







(Yes, he loves these shopping carts at Kroger with the steering wheels!)




And then today at lunch:


I don't know why, but I have a TON of pictures of him sleeping. I considered just making this post all pics of him sleeping this past year! He's just so darn cute while he's sleeping. He's getting so big and has such a great personality. The most lovable little guy! Hopefully I will have some pics from his party this Saturday to post.

If you want to see pics of his first year, you can check those out here.

I need some help!

Somebody out there MUST know a secret. I simply cannot get my kitchen floor to look clean! I don't know if it's the type of flooring that's in there or what, but I never had this problem at our house. I would spot clean the floor frequently, but would only mop, well, let's just say infrequently, but our floors never looked like they were just dingy!

The kitchen is in the front of our apartment, so when you come in the front door, you are basically in the kitchen. So, needless to say, it's a high traffic area. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but it's obviously something. I have mopped, I kid you not, 4 (yes FOUR) times in the last week. Dirt just sticks to this floor! Even right after I mop, the floor does not look clean. I have tried Mr. Clean stuff, generic stuff, and even just bleach and water! Nothing is making any difference. Well, it cleans up some of the dirt, but it always appears that the floor is stained even after mopping. Grr. It sucks! I hate feeling like the floor is dirty all the time.

Someone, please, give me some tips on how to get the floor to look clean and sparkly!! It's driving me nuts!

Uh...um...hmmmm...

Wow, it's been almost a week since my last post. I have started to post a couple of times this week, but when I re-read them, I ended up deleting them because they were too stupid and boring. Ok, so I know this is going to be the same, but I'm going to go ahead and put it up anyway since it's been so long.

My little man is going to turn 2 on Wednesday! I can't believe how time is flying! My BABY is turning 2!!!!

This past Saturday, we had a ladies' brunch at our church. Our pastor's wife was the main speaker. I sang on the praise team for it. The food was really good and they had a cute skit. It was overall a really nice time. If nothing else, it was 3 hours I got to just sit and listen and not have to chase the baby around or break up fights between the girls. That in and of itself made it worth going to (even if I did have to get up way to freakin' early on a Saturday!)

Now the weekend is over. I am pretty disappointed that DH and GA are both overviews of the story lines up until now. I'm ready for some new action here, people! It's what makes the end of the weekend not so blah!

Well, that's it. Hopefully I'll have something more interesting to give you later this week.

My Easter

It was a pretty good one. I sang in the praise choir at church, so I had to be there at 8:30 for practice. We have 2 services, one at 9:45 and one at 11:00. My dad's youngest sister was in town and came to our 11:00 service with him. It was really good to see her and her boys there!

After church, we stopped by to visit guru's mom at the run down bar she works at. We made her come outside to see the kids. (We didn't want them to stink up their Easter outfits in the bar, even though they weren't open yet. YUCK!! It's so dirty in there!) She gave them each Easter baskets, which they were happy about!

Then we came home to change clothes and went right back out to get a small lunch. We really didn't eat all that much because we were supposed to meet my dad, his sister and her family, my grandparents and my grandma's sister for dinner. However, by the time we met up with them, we were still full from our lunch, so we I just got a small salad and guru got a bowl of soup for dinner. It was really good, nonetheless!

After dinner, we all went back to my grandparents' house and the kids (my 3 and my aunts 2 boys who are 10 and 14) hid and found Easter eggs in the back yard. Ok, the adults got involved in that a bit too. But it was fun! Then we had some cheesecake and fresh strawberries for dessert (yummy!).

We sat around and chatted for a little while and my dad and the little man entertained everyone with playing with my son's right shoe (he is famous for taking off ONLY his right shoe ALL the time!) I know, it sounds weird, but the boy was giggling and having a grand ole time playing keep away with his papaw. It was so cute! The older kids were having fun building a fort out of blankets on the bunk beds in one of the extra bedrooms. I remember doing things like that with my cousins there when we were all kids. We always had a blast!

Then it was time to head home. We got home and pretty much crashed! It was a busy but fun day.

Today is the girls' last day of Spring break. It's back to school tomorrow. Back to our normal everyday routine. It has really been an enjoyable break with the girls home. This morning, however, I think they've had about enough of being around each other all day every day and they are arguing quite a bit. As much as they aren't looking forward to getting back to school, I think we are all ready to get back to normal. Until Summer time comes that is!

Happy Easter!

The Columbus Zoo

I took the kids to the Zoo today. It was a great day for it. Sunny and 77 degrees. We had a really good time. Well, except that I broke our camera! I was going crazy taking pictures and when we were leaving the petting zoo area, we all stopped to wash our hands. I had the camera under my arm while trying to wash my hands and the boy's hands and it just slipped. It hit the concrete with a crack and the batteries popped right out! Great!

I got the batteries back in it and turned it on and the focus lens didn't pop out. I tried to take a picture, but it was blurry and my screen said error 109. So apparently the focus thingamajig is broken. Looks like we may be in the market for a new camera.

At least I didn't lose the pics I had already taken and I was able to upload them onto the computer. So here they are. Possibly the last pics taken with our old faithful camera.


Lazy gorilla in a swing


Alligators


Crazy goat in the petting zoo area just chillin' on a bench


Another goat taking a nap on a fence


The train

The food court was extremely crowded, so we didn't eat there as I had originally planned, but since we had breakfast on the way there, we were ok. We just stopped and ate at Bob Evans on the way home. Overall, it was a really fun day, just me and my kiddos!

EW!

A big-time executive walked into a bar and sat down next to a drunk who was studying something in his hand. The executive leaned closer as the drunk held the object up to the light.

"Well, it looks like plastic," the drunk said. Then rolled it around in his fingers and added, "and it feels like rubber."

Curious the executive asked, "What do you have there?"

The drunk shook his head. "Damned if I know. It looks like plastic and feels like rubber!"

The executive said, "Let me take a look." He examined it, rolled it between his fingers and said, "Yeah, you're right. It does look like plastic and feel like rubber, but I don't know what it is. Where did you get it?"

The drunk replied, "Out of my nose!"

NOT HAPPY!!!

I am totally bumming right now! Since my hair was not quite long enough to cut 10 inches off to donate with the girls without it being too short for my liking, I scheduled an appointment for today to get it cut. I showed the lady a picture of what I wanted. I told her that I wanted it left a little longer than the picture.

I left the salon practically in tears. Since getting home, I have not stopped crying! I HATE it SO much! It is WAAAAAAY too short. She cut off at least 10 inches. I could have donated it and got it cut for free if I wanted it this short! Not to mention, they surely would have done a much better job with the style.

So now, I just had to call Trin's mom and set up an appointment for Friday to see if she can make it look any better. Now I'm going to end up having to spend a LOT more than I had hoped to, by paying 2 different people to cut it. That's what I get, I suppose, for trying to save a few dollars!

To say the VERY least, I AM NOT HAPPY!!!!!!! Can I just curl up in a ball in the corner and stay there until this crap grows out?!!!!

Donated!

Well yesterday was the day. My girls got their hair chopped off and donated it to Locks of Love. A friend of mine informed me that the salon right around the corner from me, where I was planning on taking them, no longer participates with the program. So I took them here instead.

Here are some before pictures:



Some of the action:



All done:


I think they look really cute and ready for summer! The oldest one was a little sad about cutting it off (even though they were growing it for this very reason). She likes long hair. The younger one, however, has been ready for quite a while, asking me when she could get it cut. After all was said and done, the older one was happy it got cut. She loves the new cut. They are both happy with the way their hair looks now and the feel good about doing something good for someone else.

Nice Day!

The weather is just lovely (so far) today. It is supposed to rain tonight, but this afternoon has been very pleasant. After my younger daughter got home from school today, we went to lunch and then the park. It is a nice, breezy 62 degrees outside! A great day for a trip to the playground! Here are a few pics from our outing:


Little man on the swing


Little man on the slide


Monkey girl


On the seesaw

I am so glad I have this camera phone. It doesn't take the best quality pictures, but I never remember my regular camera, so it has come in handy on more than one occasion!

They're Back!

That's right, the Dairy Queen dream pie blizzards are back! I LOVE coconut cream pie, so when I saw that one of their new flavors was a coconut cream pie blizzard, I had to try one.



I must say, it was good. The top was yummy, the middle kind of bored me, it didn't have much flavor, but the bottom was awesome! Just like an actual pie, the crust was at the bottom. So, once I got to the bottom of the blizzard and started getting chunks of pie crust with the coconut mixed in, it was all good!

I still must say, however, that the banana cream pie blizzard is still my absolute favorite! Has anyone else tried these? What's your favorite flavor?

Who Knew?

I am loving this minivan! It is so pretty. I really want one:


Honda Odyssey

It just looks so sleek and nice. And with a push of a button you can open and close the sliding doors and hatch. Love, love, love that. That would be very convienient!!

Now, I am not ashamed to say that I LOVE minivans. I realize I am only 26, but I have 3 kids! It is so great to be able to separate my children if I need to, so whatever we have MUST have third row seating. It also needs to have space in the back for whatever I need, such as a stroller, groceries, luggage if we go out of town, etc.

With that in mind, my second choice for a vehicle would be this:


Honda Pilot

It has third row seating and space in the back for "stuff". It does not, however, have the convienience of doors that open at the touch of a button. However, it is still very nice in every other way.

My only problem with these vehicles is the price associated with them. They are out of my price range. (Hey, we're getting 5 people by on one income here!) But, a girl can always dream, right?

Cause Ya Gotta Have Friends

I am blessed with a wonderful group of friends. There are 5 of us that started our small group when we were going through the 40 days of community study at our church. We were all friendly with each other before but during that time, we all became really close. We didn't want to stop meeting weekly, but finding a time that would continue to work for all of us was difficult. So, we decided to turn our small group into a Sunday school class. We would all already be at the church on Sunday mornings anyway.

After the first of the year, we began a Beth Moore study called Believing God (which, btw, is very powerful). However, another ladies' class wanted to join us for this study. It has been really nice getting to know other women in our church and making new friends, but it leaves us with less time together as a small group.

So, we decided last month to start getting together monthly to catch up. Last month, we met at TGI Friday's and ate dinner and just sat around and chatted for a couple of hours (don't worry, we all left generous tips).

This month, we got together last Friday and went to the Funny Bone to see Gary Valentine. We made a reservation for 6:30 and all met there to have dinner and chat before the 8:00 show. After that, it was still kind of early so a few of us stuck around the mall and caught a movie. It was so much fun. I SO enjoy hanging out with these ladies. They are great! We always have so much fun together.

I can't wait for next month. Any ideas on what we should do at our next get-together?

The Key To Your Child's Heart

I was really looking forward to this new book we are starting at our Tuesday morning women's study today. I read the first chapter yesterday and was really excited for the discussion. I always learn so much from the other moms and leave with a refreshed attitude. We just finished the first study and are beginning this one.



However, when we got there, my little man did NOT want to stay and play. I left him crying with the other kids (and the lady that is paid to watch them) and went on in to the study. He usually will calm down after a few minutes. Today was different though. He was in the next room and I could hear him screaming and calling for me (usually the kids are on the other side of the church, but today they weren't for some reason). My heart was breaking just listening to him. So I snuck out and tried to comfort him for a few minutes and then went back in. I had just reached my seat and sat back down and heard him start screaming again. I couldn't pay attention to the discussion at all because I was too distracted by him. After a few more minutes of his screaming, I finally just gathered my things and left.

I was very disappointed that I didn't get to stay. Hopefully next week he'll be back to normal and will stay. I think he is just really tired today. He didn't even want to play with the basketballs in the activity center at the church. He just wanted me to hold him. I guess he's just having one of those days that he just wants his mommy. I better just enjoy them while I can because this too shall pass.

Oh the joys of parenting.

The Dance

So Saturday night was my girls' father-daughter dance at school as I mentioned. Here is a pic of them and their daddy getting ready to leave.



They looked so cute. My oldest daughter gave me a hard time about the dress. She wanted to wear her Easter dress from last year instead. She finally decided to wear the new dress (obviously). But it was not an easy thing, convincing her. That girl is sooooo moody. I don't know where she gets it! :)

I tell you, I am not looking forward to a few short years from now when my girls become teenagers. They are already so, extremely moody and hormonal! Just wait until they hit puberty, wait until they start getting PMS! Oh what horror that will bring! I think guru and our son will need to have their own place to live when that day comes. It will, assuredly, not be pretty!

Anyway, they apparently had a great time. Guru posted about it as well. You can read that here.

What's up?

Let's just start with the important stuff, shall we? Kevin Covais finally got the boot last night. WOO HOO! Now we just need to kick Bucky off next week and we'll be good.

I've been working on a couple of projects for school with my 3rd grader. First, I had to come up with a costume of sorts for a museum her class did. She was Helen Keller. You can read more about that here. Also, we have been searching the internet for facts about the snow leopard. She has been working on a science project on endangered animals and that's the animal she chose. The final draft is due tomorrow. I hate when they have stuff like this to do when they're so young, cause I get stuck doing a lot of it. A lot of the stuff they have to do requires parental assistance. I've already been through grade school, thank you.

I've also been running all over the place the last couple of days trying to find dresses for my girls that they can wear to their father-daughter dance at school this Saturday. I finally found some this morning (at the 7th store I looked at!!). And they were 20% off too! I also got them new shoes and tights and some little rings and neclaces for their daddy to give them for the dance. I will definately be posting some pics of them.

Thinking about donating their hair over spring break. I know there are places that will give free shampoos, cuts and styles to people who donate their hair to locks of love. I know Kenneths does for sure. I'd like to get my hair cut when they do (though, mine isn't long enough to donate) but I don't really want to pay that much for my hair cut, even if theirs are free. I know, I'm cheap. Or, perhaps, financially challenged would be a better way to put it?

Well, that's about all I've got for you. Maybe I should jump on this Thursday 13 bandwagon. Then, at least, I would have to update at least once a week. Maybe next week.

What, what?!

Was anyone else a little surprised to see Ace in the bottom three tonight? I admit that last night was not his best performance, but it wasn't his worst. I was also surprised that Lisa was bottom 3. I thought she did well last night.

Let me just say that I am tired of Kevin getting through! Why are these parents letting their 10 year old daughters stay up late enough to vote for this guy? And who is voting for Bucky? Stop it, I say, stop!

I bet it's the same people who kept voting Scott Savol through last year!

On another note, I sprained my ankle on Monday. The one that I am always twisting. I stepped down wrong and it just buckled. I heard it crack about 8 times. I thought I was going to be ok though. It hurt like a mother at first, then I got up and started walking around on it and it didn't seem so bad. I figured it would be good to go again by Tuesday. Wrong!

When I got home and took my shoes off, it was pretty swollen. I put ice on it and propped it up. It hurt so bad, I couldn't fall asleep that night.

Now, two days later, I can walk on it, but not for long periods of time. It is still quite swollen and hurts. I went grocery shopping today and went to several other stores in search of supplies to make a leprechaun trap with my kindergartener. So, I was on it a little too much today. Hopefully it will be even better tomorrow. I'm going to try to stay off of it as much as possible.

I would post a picture of the trap, but my camera is in the diaper bag in my van. Great place for it, huh? Sorry, but I don't feel like hobbling down the stairs and outside to get it tonight. What? I already told you my ankle is swollen! I know, I'm a baby. Maybe tomorrow.

You Know You Are Living In 2006 When...

* You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.

* You haven't played solitaire with real cards in years.

* You have a list of 15 phone numbers to reach your family of three.

* You e-mail the person who works at the desk next to you.

* Your reason for not staying in touch with friends and family is that they don't have e-mail addresses.

* You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

* Every commercial on television has a web site at the bottom of the screen.

* Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn't have the first 20 or 30 (or 60) years of your life, is now a cause for panic, and you turn around to go and get it.

* You get up in the morning and go on line before getting your coffee.

* You're reading this and nodding and laughing.

Who Called It?

Thats right, I DID! Right here.

So at least I'm not the only one who sees that connection! You think Ryan's been reading my blog?

I'm not sure which guys will leave this week, but if it were up to me, it would be Chic...er Kevin and Sway. While I think Sway did better this week than last, I still don't think he's great.

I'll tell ya who did lay the smack down tonight and that's Chris! He nailed that song! I can see him winning this thing.

Elliott did a great job as well, but Chris has the look as well as the voice.

As for the girls, Katharine (no, I didn't misspell it, that's how they spell it on the website) and Kinnik are my picks to leave.

We shall see tomorrow night.

Priceless

Idol Look-Alikes?

Mixed with






This is who I see when I look at these idols. Do you see any other resemblances?

Sorry

I haven't really felt like blogging lately. It really isn't fun for me anymore. Mostly, I think, because I'm incredibly boring and don't have anything blogworthy. I still read other people's blogs, just don't have anything I feel like blogging about personally.

My girls are off school today for a Parent-Teacher conference day. Fortunately, neither one of their teachers needed to see me for anything at this time. That, of course, is good because there's nothing like dragging 3 kids (one of whom is not yet 2) into a school for a conference with a teacher!

They are also off Monday for President's Day! So, alright! Four day weekend! Two whole, extra days of the kids being here ALL-DAY-LOOOOOONG! Woo Hoo! Can you tell I'm ecstatic? Yippee! (end sarcasm)

So, really, as you can tell, I have absolutely nothing of importance or interest to share. Hence, the lack of recent blogitation.

Have a Great weekend all...both of you!

6 Years Ago...

My youngest daughter was born!

I had gone to bed between 11 p.m. and midnight feeling absolutely no signs of labor. I woke up at 1:30 a.m. with contractions 2 1/2 minutes apart. We arrived at the hospital around 3 a.m. At 5:55 a.m., she made her way into the world weighing 8lbs 5oz and was 20 3/4 inches.

Today she is 6 years old! It is so hard to believe she has gone from this:


to this:


Now she is in kindergarten! Where are all my babies going? (My youngest will be 2 in a couple of months!) I'm getting old! Sometimes I can't believe I'm old enough to have 3 kids, the oldest of which is in 3rd grade!

Happy Birthday, Sweetie!

Help Wanted Ads And What They Really Mean

COMPETITIVE SALARY: We remain competitive by paying less than our competitors.

JOIN OUR FAST-PACED TEAM: We have no time to train you.

CASUAL WORK ATMOSPHERE: We don't pay enough to expect that you'll dress up; well, a couple of the real daring guys wear earrings.

MUST BE DEADLINE ORIENTED: You'll be six months behind schedule on your first day.

SOME OVERTIME REQUIRED: Some time each night and some time each weekend.

DUTIES WILL VARY: Anyone in the office can boss you around.

MUST HAVE AN EYE FOR DETAIL: We have no quality control.

CAREER-MINDED: Female Applicants must be childless (and remain that way).

APPLY IN PERSON: If you're old, fat or ugly you'll be told the position has been filled.

NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE: We've filled the job, our call for resumes is just a legal formality.

SEEKING CANDIDATES WITH A WIDE VARIETY OF EXPERIENCE: You'll need it to replace three people who just left.

PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS A MUST: You're walking into a company in perpetual chaos.

REQUIRES TEAM LEADERSHIP SKILLS: You'll have the responsibilities of a manager, without the pay or respect.

GOOD COMMUNICATION SKILLS: Management communicates, you listen, figure out what they want and do it.

(Courtesy of The Funny Bone)