Like Mother Like Son

This is a picture of my son on his first birthday:


And a picture of me (with my family) when I was somewhere between 12-18 months:


See any similarities?

Merry Christmas

Sorry for the lack of updatation lately. Lots going on. We had a wonderful family get together today after church this morning.

Tomorrow we leave for PA for 2 days, so I had to clean tonight (I can't come home to a mess, that would be sooo stressful for me!)

I have to finish packing, and get to bed since I have to get up early tomorrow and I am worn out!

Reminiscing

My dad is turning 50 next month and I am going through a bunch of pictures to find some good ones of him from throughout his life thus far. While looking through some pictures today, I came across these from high school. My brother and I were both involved in theater in high school as well as a couple of my friends that I still keep in contact with. Sweetiepie (who used to be a fellow blogger as well) and A who doesn't blog, but occasionally reads mine.

The first 2 pictures are from Cinderella my freshman year. That is Sweetiepie and myself sitting on the bench (I'm the one on the right). The second one is of A as Cinderella herself! I'll be expecting your call, A, as soon as you see this. :) You can kind of see me in the blue dress in between the "wicked stepsisters". And the last pic is of my brother playing the Baker in Into the Woods. He was a senior (the year before Cinderella).

Hope you enjoy my trip down memory lane. I always like looking at old pictures of myself, wishing I still looked like that! It's amazing what 11 years and 3 babies will do to a gal! (Not to mention over-eating!)

Our Christmas Card

The tag reads: Let's see who's been good!

Birthday Weekend

Thanks to all who wished me a happy birthday. The day didn't start out well. I woke up with a headache. Then my oldest daughter decides to tell me 10 minutes before she was to get on the bus that she was supposed to have a Secret Santa gift for Thursday. I asked, "as in yesterday?" To which she replied "yes". I remembered seeing something about it on a paper that had been sent home, but couldn't remember when it was. Crap! Now I have to get dressed, get the baby dressed and go to the store and then take the girls to school instead of just sending them off on the bus as usual, and having a nice, relaxing morning.

So I got the kids all packed up in the van as the bus drove by behind me. I put the van in reverse and gently press the gas....nothing. I am on a sheet of ICE! Great! Finally, I got out of the parking spot (oh, how I miss my garage!) and headed to the store. I ran in and get a quick gift and took the girls on to school.

After dropping them off I decided to stop and put gas in the van. I stopped at Speedway and put in my Speedy Rewards card and it took of 2 cents per gallon. Now, I remembered that the last few times I filled up a different Speedway it gave me 5 cents/gal. off. So I drive off, hoping to save myself a few pennies (cheap, I know) and get to the other Speedway, and the price of gas is way higher. Even with 5 cents/gal off, I'd still be paying more. So off I went back to the original Speedway.

I fill up the van then go inside for a French vanilla cappaccino (It was my birthday afterall) and there was a sign over the French vanilla saying to "please select a different flavor". I did not want a different flavor, but I stood there trying to decide which one to get since I was already there. Then an employee came over and opened the front of the machine and said "these are out." NOOOOOO!

As I pull out of the gas station lot, I see the my bank and decide to stop while I'm out and cash my birthday check from my father in law. I pull around the block and back into the lot to the bank. I get to the drive through window and go to put down my window. It's frozen shut! (did I mention I miss my garage?!) At this point, I say, "forget it" and just head home.

When I finally got home, I i.m.'d my hubby and was telling him about how stinky my morning had gone already and he reminds me that the Secret Santa exchange is NEXT week! That just made it worse because now, I had just had a horrific birthday morning for NOTHING!

After guru got home, things did get better. We dropped the kids off at Trin and G's house to spend the night (little man's first sleepover) and went out on a date. We ate dinner at Hoggy's then did some shopping at Marshalls where I got a new purse and matching wallet. Then we went to see Just Friends. That was a very funny move, IMO. Then stopped at Steak 'n Shake for milkshakes after the movie.

Saturday morning I slept in until 10:40, then got up and met a friend of mine (Sweetiepie) across town for lunch and a fun day of shopping. I also got to meet her newest little one who is now 8 weeks old! So cute!

After church Sunday, we dropped the little man off at Trin and G's again (thanks guys, twice in one weekend!) and headed with the girls to an OSU Hockey game that guru got free tickets for. We all had a really good time.

That's about it, sorry this was such a long post, if you're still reading this I'm surprised. We ended the weekend with Grey's Anatomy (very disappointed there was no DH on this week!) and went to bed.


(My new purse)

First Hair Cut

My little man got his first hair cut today! He looks so much bigger now, which of course, I expected. He looks so cute though (as if he could not look cute).

Here are some "before" shots of his long locks:



And some "during" shots:



And some "after" shots:



He did such a great job! He didn't fuss too much. Just a little at first, but it was only because he didn't want to sit down! He was very curious about what was going on, but did not want to sit still very long. That boy is always on the go! The lady that cut it has was a friend of my mom and my grandma goes to her for her hair cuts. She has known me my whole life and said that my son looks just like I did at that age. So he MUST be cute! :)

Why Men Don't Babysit

(I got these in an email from my friend, Sweetiepie. There were other pictures in the email, but these were my favorites. Hope you enjoyed them. That last picture had me dying!!!! )

Reading

I've never really been a big reader. I've always wished I was though. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I am extremely impatient. I mean EXTREMELY! When I get an idea in my head that I want to do something or want to have something. I want it NOW, I want it 10 minutes ago, I want it last week!!!

So for me to actually take the time to read, and wait for days, weeks, possibly months (hey, I'm a busy mom here!) to find out how a book ends takes a lot from me! I am also not a very speedy reader. I am easily distracted and have a difficult time concentrating on reading when there are things going on around me. It took me about 3 months to finish HP4!

Between my not-so-speedy reading and the fact that I don't get the chance to sit down and read every day, it sometimes takes a while.

However, I have been doing a little more reading lately. I'm beginning to really enjoy it. I've been trying to read for a little while before bed each night. I've recently read a few novels after reading reviews from Melissa. In fact, last night, I just finished one called Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner.



Before this book, I read Good In Bed by the same author. She also wrote In Her Shoes which I originally didn't really want to see the movie for, but now that I've read two of her other books, and enjoyed them, I do.



Before that one, was No Place Like Home by Mary Higgins Clark. This book and Goodnight Nobody are both mysteries. It was fun trying to take all the clues and try to figure out "who did it?". The suspense, killed me though. I don't like that feeling. I want to know. I want to know NOW!



But they are all good books and I would definitely recommend reading them. Now I have to decide if I want to get another Mary Higgens Clark mystery novel, or get started on HP5. That one will probably take me until the movie comes out to finish reading. :) One reason I didn't start reading it right after finishing HP4 was because I wanted to see the GOF movie before continuing. If I'd read HP5 before seeing the HP4 movie I would be going insane with suspense right now wanting to see the HP5 movie NOW. I was already dying waiting for 4 after I finished that book.



I must pace myself. Anyone else have any good book suggestions for me? (Keep in mind, I don't really like Sci-Fi stuff, HP is the exception!)

Meet The Coach

Well, our Upward "meet the coach" night was last night. All but one of my girls showed up to meet me and pick up their uniforms and materials. It looks like I'm getting a pretty good group of girls. (6 in all.)

My youngest daughter is on my squad this year. Hopefully that won't be a problem. Last year, I coached my older daughter's squad and there were times I wished I wasn't coaching her team. Not that she's a bad kid, she's not. There were some times that she would try to play the "mommy" card instead of seeing me as her coach. (Does that make sense?)

So on Saturdays, my oldest will be cheering from 10:30-11:30 and my squad will be cheering from 12:30-1:30. So, unless I want to leave for an hour and come back, I'll have to be there from 10:30-1:30 every week! That kinda stinks.

I also don't know who my assistant coach is going to be. I haven't been able to contact the lady that was supposed to help me. I've tried calling her and she wasn't at church Sunday. Two Sundays ago, she was excited to be helping out and then all of a sudden, she's nowhere to be found. I'm starting to feel dissed! Maybe she found out she was going to be working with me and decided she didn't want to help out THAT badly. Or, that could be my own low self esteem talking. Whatever the case, I'm still out an assistant as of yet.

The Birth Order of Children:

Your Clothes:
1st baby: You begin wearing maternity clothes as soon as your OB/GYN confirms your pregnancy.
2nd baby: You wear your regular clothes for as long as possible.
3rd baby: Your maternity clothes ARE your regular clothes.

Preparing for the Birth:
1st baby: You practice your breathing religiously.
2nd baby: You don't bother because you remember that last time,
breathing didn't do a thing.
3rd baby: You ask for an epidural in your eighth month.

The Layette:
1st baby: You pre-wash newborn's clothes, color-coordinate them, and fold them neatly in the baby's little bureau.
2nd baby: You check to make sure that the clothes are clean and discard only the ones with the darkest stains.
3rd baby: Boys can wear pink, can't they?

Worries:
1st baby: At the first sign of distress--a whimper, a frown--you pick up the baby.
2nd baby: You pick the baby up when her wails threaten to wake your firstborn.
3rd baby: You teach your three-year-old how to rewind the mechanical swing.

Pacifier:
1st baby: If the pacifier falls on the floor, you put it away until you can go home and wash and boil it.
2nd baby: When the pacifier falls on the floor, you squirt it off with some juice from the baby's bottle.
3rd baby: You wipe it off on your shirt and pop it back in.

Diapering:
1st baby: You change your baby's diapers every hour, whether they need it or not.
2nd baby: You change their diaper every two to three hours, if needed.
3rd baby: You try to change their diaper before others start to
complain about the smell or you see it sagging to their knees.

Activities:
1st baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics, Baby Swing,and Baby Story Hour.
2nd baby: You take your infant to Baby Gymnastics.
3rd baby: You take your infant to the supermarket and the dry cleaner.

Going Out:
1st baby: The first time you leave your baby with a sitter, you call home five times.
2nd baby: Just before you walk out the door, you remember to leave a number where you can be reached.
3rd baby: You leave instructions for the sitter to call only if she sees blood.

At Home:
1st baby: You spend a good bit of every day just gazing at the baby.
2nd baby: You spend a bit of everyday watching to be sure your older child isn't squeezing, poking, or hitting the baby.
3rd baby: You spend a little bit of every day hiding from the children.

Swallowing Coins:
1st child: When first child swallows a coin, you rush the child to the hospital and demand x-rays.
2nd child: When second child swallows a coin, you carefully watch for the coin to pass.
3rd child: When third child swallows a coin you deduct it from his allowance!!

A Change in Plans

Martha Stewart will not be dining with us this Thanksgiving. I'm telling you in advance, so don't act surprised. Since Ms. Stewart won't be coming, I've made a few small changes:

Our sidewalk will not be lined with homemade, paper bag luminaries. After a trial run, it was decided that no matter how cleverly done, rows of flaming lunch sacks do not have the desired welcoming effect.

The dining table will not be covered with expensive linens, fancy china or crystal goblets. If possible, we will use dishes that match and everyone will get a fork. Since this IS Thanksgiving, we will refrain from using the plastic Peter Rabbit plate and the Santa napkins from last Christmas.

Our centerpiece will not be the tower of fresh fruit and flowers that I promised. Instead we will be displaying a hedgehog-like decoration hand-crafted from the finest construction paper. The artist assures me it is a turkey.

We will be dining fashionably late. The children will entertain you while you wait. I'm sure they will be happy to share every choice comment I have made regarding Thanksgiving, pilgrims and the turkey hotline. Please remember that most of these comments were made at 5:00 AM upon discovering that the turkey was still hard enough to cut diamonds. As accompaniment to the children's recital, I will play a recording of tribal drumming. If the children should mention that I don't own a recording of tribal drumming, or that tribal drumming sounds suspiciously like a frozen turkey in a clothes dryer, ignore them. They are lying.

We toyed with the idea of ringing a dainty silver bell to announce the start of our feast. In the end, we chose to keep our traditional method. We've also decided against a formal seating arrangement. When the smoke alarm sounds, please gather around the table and sit where you like. In the spirit of harmony, we will ask the children to sit at a separate table. In a separate room. Next door.

Now I know you have all seen pictures of one person carving a turkey in front of a crowd of appreciative onlookers. This will not be happening at our dinner. For safety reasons, the turkey will be carved in a private ceremony. I stress "private" meaning: Do not, under any circumstances, enter the kitchen to laugh at me. Do not send small, unsuspecting children to check on my progress. I have an electric knife. The turkey is unarmed. It stands to reason that I will eventually win. When I do, we will eat.

Before I forget, there is one last change. Instead of offering a choice between 12 different scrumptious desserts, we will be serving the traditional pumpkin pie, garnished with whipped cream and small fingerprints. You will still have a choice: take it or leave it.

Martha Stewart will not be dining with us this Thanksgiving. She probably won't come next year either.

I am thankful.

(Source: "Today's Woman" magazine, Barbara A Tyler)

Busy Schedule

We've got a lot going on here it seems. Last night my girls started their gymnastics classes. Every Tuesday evening they'll be doing that.



Wednesday evenings are kid's choir practice for the Christmas program at our church. When that is over, they are having kids' praise team practice for our church's children's program, which of course my daughters want to be a part of. That will be Wednesday evenings too.

Starting the week after Thanksgiving, Upward Cheerleading practices begin for Thursday evenings! I will, once again, be coaching a squad. This time my younger daughter's team. (Now to find something to do with my son while the girls and I are at practices since guru is at school Thursday evenings.) Their games are on Saturday mornings starting in January.

I will also be having adult praise team practice every other Thursday evening. I will go straight from Cheer practice, to praise team practice the weeks I'm singing.

Currently Sunday evenings are adult choir practice for the Christmas program.

This coming Monday I will have to be at the church for "meet the coach" night for Upward. I'll be passing out my girls' uniforms and materials for the season and meeting all their parents. What fun! (Not really.)



So that is pretty much what's going on for me. Keeping busy!

The Weekend

My girlies and I had a nice day out yesterday. We don't get spend too much "just girl" time anymore. We left their daddy and baby brother at home to watch football and we went out together.

First we went to lunch at Logan's (the girls' choice). Then we went to see Chicken Little. It was very cute. The girls really enjoyed it! Me too.

Then we did a little shopping. My daughters are both very much girly girls. They love shopping and shoes and make-up. Everything girly.

When we came home, I started a big pot of chili. It turned out REALLY good, if I do say so myself. We all ended up eating 2 bowls a piece! Yummy!

Then today was church. I didn't get to go to the service today though, since it was my week in the infant room. We could have gone to first service, but that makes for a really long day for the kiddos, especially the baby.

This afternoon, I had practice for our Christmas program at church. Then we met my dad at a McDonald's playplace for dinner.

Now it is home for some Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy.

It's been a pretty good weekend!

Trick Or Treat!

Well we all had a good time trick or treating last night. None of the adults dressed up, even though guru's friend, "A" was supposed to dress up as a woman. I even had my camera ready for such an event, but alas, he backed out. Guess he had a bad day at work or whatever blah blah blah, excuses, excuses!

But the kids did their thing for a while around the neighborhood, scoring tons of great candy! (Yes we went with them). Then we went back to their house and just hung out for a while. The kids played, the guys played and the ladies talked. When the guys finally joined us, we had a very in depth conversation about poop. Yes, poop. We talked about how there are little particles of poop on your toothbrush and the process in which it goes through to get there. To be honest, it was actually a quite humorous conversation, regardless of how it sounds. Maybe we were just on sugar highs or something so it just seemed funny at the time. But it doesn't matter now, the point is there were a lot of laughs and fun!

Here are some pics of my kiddos. The baby was once again Tigger but the girls changed their minds about their costumes for last night and went as a cheerleader and a unicorn (we already had both costumes)...




I can never get the little man to look AT the camera! Oh well!

Fall Festival

Well we made it this year to the Fall Festival. The friend that I was supposed to go with backed out cause her daughter was sick. I ended up meeting another friend of mine whose mom is a member of the church putting on the festival. We met at her mom's house and drove out together (caravan style, too many people for one vehicle).

My girls both ended up wearing the same costumes they wore last year. Which is good, cause Halloween costumes are too dang expensive to just be used once! I usually try to buy them big so they can wear them 2 years (I'm cheap like that!) Actually my younger daughter was going to be a cheerleader but at the last minute changed her mind and wanted to dress up as the cow again. That little cow costume is in its 4th year! My oldest wore it two years in a row and my younger daughter is wearing it for the second year. Of course the baby had to have a new costume this year since he couldn't fit his little lion costume from last year that was a size 6/9 mo. So he went from a lion to a tiger, or tigger to be exact. Do I see a bear in his Halloween future? Oh my!

We had a good time. Here are some pics for ya:








(My little snotty-nosed boy!)

Trying Again

Since it didn't work out last year, I'm going to attempt it again tomorrow night to take my kids to the Fall Festival at this church. The good part is, they can still go trick or treating because the festival is on a different night than trick or treat this year. Guru and I have been invited to take them trick or treating with some friends of ours from our church. They have 2 daughters that my girls play well with, so it should be a lot of fun.

On top of those two fun-filled events we will also be attending a "Harvest Hoe-Down" at our own church. Lots of games, prizes, and candy. We should be all Halloweened out by next week!

I've been keeping busy the last few days with appointments (2 dentist appts in the past 2 days: one for me, one for my middle daughter) grocery shopping, being at the hospital with my grandparents (yeah, my grandfather is back in, may be able to go home tomorrow) along with the usual household chores.

My oldest had some extra homework last night due to her being absent from school Monday because of the evil mushroom pizza! I think she's all caught up though. And we're all feeling much better.

I was reminded AGAIN at the dentist that I need to have my wisdom teeth removed. I am SO not looking forward to that,(I've never been under anesthesia before, so that makes me a bit nervous!) but I know it needs done. They are trying to come in and there is not room in my mouth for them and they're beginning to shift my other teeth. That really sucks. I really didn't want to have to wear braces again. Three and a half years in them was enough. Maybe once I get the wisdom teeth out, I'll be able to shift them back with my retainer. [fingers crossed].

Well, that's about all I gots for now! Peace out!

My weekend

Friday started out terribly for me. I won't go into detail about Friday morning, but it just sucked. We were going to go to the Pumpkin Show Friday afternoon, but that didn't work out because of the rain.


Friday night, while guru went to the church to set up for the concert, the kids and I went over to a friend's house to use up the rest of our apples by baking pies. We used her Pampered Chef apple peeler, corer, slicer and made 2 pies and one crisp. I love this thing:

So much fun! That was the only good part of the weekend. The girls had fun playing (when they weren't arguing. Her daughter and mine are just like sisters when they get together! Sometimes that's good, other times, not so much.) Then we ate some hot apple pie a la mode. YUMMY! And watched The Wedding Date.

Then we did our nails and finally headed home around 1:00 a.m. We got home at the same time guru did, so he was able to help me carry everything inside.

Then we had a bout of food poisoning going on in our house. The family ordered some Domino's pizza to have while watching the Ohio State game on Saturday.

One of the pizza's was half mushroom. I was the only one who ate the mushroom pizza. Guru wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole. By the concert Saturday night, I was feeling quite ill. I spent quite a bit of time in the restroom barfing. So NOT fun times!

I ended up leaving early and taking the baby home with me and putting him to bed (since it was past his bedtime anyway), and barfing some more. Then I fell asleep and woke up Sunday morning. I felt a little better, but not great. I ended up not even trying to go to church.

Last night, my oldest daughter ate the last piece of mushroom pizza and woke up early this morning puking. Great! It had to be the mushrooms! Won't be getting that again any time....ever!

Hope everyone else had a better weekend than I did!