Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree....

The kids, Joe and I put up the tree last night, and all of the lights on the house Griswald style. So far we have the best decorated house on the street!

I love the ornaments that Joe and I have collected over the time we have been together. We get a new ornament every time we go somewhere on vacation. This is the first new one that we got this year....bought over Easter weekend when we were on a cruise

Over the summer on our trip to the timeshare and our first visit to the Biltmore Estate

This one is from our honeymoon to Rivera Maya

And this...one of my favorites from when we took The Boy and went to New Orleans when he was almost one

From the best family vacation ever last May--Cinderella's castle

I have saved a few "gems" from when I was little, I think I made this hot mess in first grade

Can you guess how old this ornament is?

While I am very happy to have the Christmas tree up, Im not so thrilled about having to yell at the kids (and the cats) to leave it alone for the next month.

Fun with Joe

So, my husband gets this super hot picture taken of him in his honor guard uniform and what does his sister do? Off to photoshop she goes for some of the most picture viewing fun I have had in awhile. (thanks Gina)

First off, Joe goes to the moon....one small step for mankind and all that....

Next we are off to a tropical destination of some sort....one I don't recall being on with him...I must have been super wasted

Yeah, I got nothing for this one.....mostly because I have no flipping clue what those things are (anyone??)

again....he must have been to a game that I was not at either that or he was posting the flag for the game...either way he had great seats....O-H

Joe is way older then I thought he was.....

I have never had the pleasure of seeing this movie with Farmer Smith and his sister Ida....but apparently....they use preservatives in the "tastiest smoked meat in town" (barf)

"I know you are but what am I?" Off to the Alamo to help Pee Wee find his bike.

YUM!!

It's a major award.....from FRAGILE

I hope you have enjoyed traveling with Joe.

Duck.....Duck.......Goose

There is this neighborhood across the street from mine that has a pond. I guess there is a guy out there that every day comes and feeds the ducks corn feed. This story even made the paper so Joe and I took the kids to try and see them. We went at 430 and they were all coming up the street to the area in front of the pond to wait....seriously....they were walking in little groups up the sidewalk. We left and came back around 515 which is when we heard he comes but he must have been there and left because they were all walking back DOWN the street. But, we had some buns and fed them too. The kids thought it was awesome. I think it is cool that this guy does this when it is cold out but at the same time I would be sort of pissed if I lived next door to this area because they were LOUD

this is a LOT of ducks





The Princess gets bread taken right out of her hands

I liked this one

The Boy almost looses a finger

They both have already asked to go back. The city even put up a duck crossing sign on the street across from where we were. Oh, and the GOOSE part of this was across the street in some guys yard.....there were about 10 of them just hanging out....you know....watching me....and plotting the demise of my current iPod.....bastards

Happy Thanksgiving!!

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving.....take some time today in all of the craziness that will be family get togethers to remember what you have to be thankful for in your life.

Im thankful part deux: or, The Sarcastic Version...

I am thankful for grapes.....and fermentation. Im thankful for red and white grapes and for blending of the two, I do not discriminate....I am thankful for all grapes.

I am thankful for scrapbook stuff.....and for the fact that I dont think Joe really has any idea how much money I have put into "preserving our memories", I am thankful for Archivers for having the best scrapbook stuff with which to preserve those memories. I am thankful that I miraculously seem to know what to do with all of this scrapbook stuff seeing as I seem to have missed the athletic, musical, or other talent genes that my brother and sister have.

I am thankful for my iPod....for giving me hours of entertainment at work in both the audio and video variety.

I am thankful for my Wii, and thankful for the fact that The Boy really cant play all that well so I dont have to share much

I am thankful for day care being open on Friday so that Joe and I can have a day together without having to wipe anyone's butt

I am thankful for a teacher at that same day care who is determined to have The Princess potty trained by the end of the year. I wish her luck with that.

I am thankful for Zoloft.....and so is Joe

I am thankful for my stash of unread books.....probably about 50....I love knowing I have my own personal library to pick from

I am thankful for Noggin and the Disney Channel for allowing me to sleep just a little big longer on the couch in the mornings after The Boy and The Princess wake up at dark o clock, and occasionally lets me go to the bathroom without a small person on my lap.

I am thankful for Tivo.....for allowing me to never miss an epidose of 90210, House, Bones, Cold Case, Top Model, Lost or Greek ( I also am apparently thankful for the people who write these shows)

I am thankful to Stephenie Meyer, author of the Twilight series who has given me something new to obsess over since the Harry Potter series ended.

I am thankful for Edward Cullen.... even if he IS a fictional charicter....I am also thankful for Robert Pattinson...my new gimmee (move over Josh Hartnett) who plays him in the movie.....he can bite me anytime he likes.

I am thankful

I am thankful.

I may not say it much in the craziness that is every day life but I really am thankful.

Im thankful for my family. For my beautiful children that make me laugh every day, for the hugs and kisses that they give me, for the pictures they make that hang on the walls at home and for the way they love each other. Im thankful for Joe....the love of my life and best father there is. For how he loves our kids, and takes just as much of a role in their day to day life that I do, how he plays with them, snuggles with them and defines "daddy" in the eyes of someone who had forgotten what that was like. Im also thankful that he cooks.....since I dont so much do that.

Im thankful for my mom....how she raised me to have good judge of character, and to love God. How she was both mom and dad to me for most of my life, for being there for me when I need her to be and for loving me unconditionally as only a mother can. As an adult I am thankful for her friendship now too, how she has taught my sister and I how to be good moms. Im thankful for my children's maw maw who loves them so much and plays with them and makes memories with them that they will always have.

For Jim, for being my stand in father and paw paw to my kids who have no idea that he is not my real dad

Im thankful for my brother....for memories of being forced to play dungeons and dragons, only being able to walk on certain colored carpet squares in the basement, for walks to the store to get candy and stopping to play in a drain pipe on the way.

Im thankful for my sister....for all of the memories of being little....for shoving our beds together so we could sleep together, for being woken up in the middle of the night to be told that Santa came, for her older years when we started to be friends as well as sisters....for all the times we did not get caught doing things we should not have been doing, for my maid of honor, being pregnant together and now being mom's together, and for 3 beautiful nephews.

Im thankful for Joe's family.....for having 3 big sisters and lots of nieces and nephews to love and cousins for my kids to grow up with, for his mom and dad who I love.

Im thankful for my friends that I have met in all times of my life.....for the friends I grew up with that are still in my life, my AOII sisters who are my partners in crime, keepers of all secrets and who are my best friends that I will grow old with and most recently for my work friends (even the one who no longer works here).....who are no longer just "work friends" but make it so fun to have a job where you get to "play" with your friends all day. For my friends of the "sweet" variety....you are some of the best friends I have ever had, I just wish we could see each other more often...but I am thankful for those get togethers......

I am thankful

What Im reading.....

....Since Twilight is over that is. I'm current reading Change-of-Heart by Jodi Picoult. She is one of my favorite authors and she writes about very controversial topics like mercy killings, school shootings, pregnant Amish teens....good wholesome stuff like that. I am slowly making my way though her books since it has only been within the last year or so that I discovered her. I don't know where she comes up with the stuff she writes (I guess that is why she is a best selling author and I'm not...among other things of course) This one has made me think a lot about the choices I would make in this situation....A man is convicted of murdering a woman's child and husband. The woman is pregnant at the time of the murder. He is sentenced to the death penalty. Fast forward 11 years and his sentence is about to be carried out but he wants to donate his heart to the little girl who is the sister of the girl that he killed (did you follow that) who has a heart condition and needs a transplant. So, as a mother.....do you accept the heart of the man that killed your child and husband in order to save the child that you still have? I know that the chances of this situation ever really happening in the world are pretty non existent....but it is an interesting thought. I have yet to finish so I don't know what happens. I think I would do it though.....anything to save my child. I know there is always the chance that another heart would become available (although in this book time was running out) but how can you take the chance when you know you have what could be the fix right there? How about you?

My dog bites

Yeah.....so what. I still like her better then most people I know! My poodle Scarlet is 13 years old. Aside from family and a few high school friends this is the longest relationship I have had with anyone....including my husband and children of course. We have another dog, a one year old Yorkie named Stitch who after a year has still not learned to crap outside. I like Scarlet better then him. Scarlet started out as my sister's dog. I was in college home for the summer when we got her. I thought she was super cute of course but did not spend as much time with her as the rest of my family once I went back to school. Giving an 11 year old a poodle when she wanted a chihuahua is not the best idea I have ever heard of and needless to say my sister did not really take responsibility for her. Once I graduated from Ohio State and got my own apartment my new BFF came with me. Scarlet has been my constant companion ever since. She has been there when bad relationships ended and she was there when the best relationship began. She has always been a GREAT dog, she potty trained easy, she never chewed up things other then her toys, she never USED to bite. When Joe and I moved in together she just took over that house the same way she has every other place we have lived. She accepted a new baby into the home two times with not too much complaining. Cant say the same about the Yorkie but he is starting to learn who is boss. The older she gets the more opinionated she gets. She does not like the vet or getting groomed and this is where the biting comes in.....a few years back she started to snap at the vet and ever since they have put a muzzle on her for appointments--this teeny little muzzle to keep this big scary dog from biting. Pet Smart will no longer use clippers around her muzzle because the tries to bite them (the clippers). Her favorite person to bite is probably my friend Kim who is her stand in mom when Joe and I go somewhere over night. Kim used to be able to come into my house and just let her out. Then Scarlet caught on to this game and wont come for her when she calls. So Scarlet goes to her house now and bites her I would say at least twice a day (yes I realize she is a GREAT friend). She only bites Joe and I when we are trying to *ahem* clean her up on occasion when she has had some *ahem* trouble going potty. She also on occasion (okay, probably every day) have accidents in the house but give her a break....she is like 1000 years old in people years.

So why do I put up with a dogs that bites me, snaps at my kids , will almost take your finger off over pizza crust, and pees in my house? Easy.....she knows all my secrets, all the bad things about me as well as the good and still loves me...she is always waiting on the back of the couch when I get home from work, she gets more excited then I do about nap time.....need I say more?

Go Bucks!!

Today is Ohio State/Michigan day which is pretty much Joe's favorite day of the year. He and I are all decked out in our OSU finest (well, I'm wearing a t-shirt and comfy pants) and we are having one of his friends over to watch the game (in surround sound.....like we are having some big ass party) The kids each have outfits....a jersey for The Boy and a cheerleader dress for The Princess. Yeah, they are still in their jammies and are not so interested in getting dressed. Our OSU flag is flying!! As I sit here typing this we are watching the teams leave the field and of course they are trying to start a riot with each other before the game even starts. I love this rivalry! In Ohio we get SO excited for Ohio State football that a friend of mine had her little boy and husband stomping Script Ohio in their yard in the snow this morning....and then spray painted it. Sorry it is upside down but you get the point.
GO BUCKS

Twilight movie.....

Sigh. Swoon. I dont even have words.

Is it just me or.....

Are these parents that are using the "safe haven law" to drop of their children that they just cant parent for discipline reasons taking total advantage of this system? The safe haven law to my understanding is meant to be for women who want to give their NEWBORNS up for adoption in mostly anonymous situations in lieu of leaving them somewhere to die. I picture the teenage girls who hid their pregnancies and want to give their child a safe place without letting anyone know what happened. What I don't picture is mother's who have raised their children into their teenage years only to decide that they can no longer handle them and just want to give up and get rid of them. Maybe I am being naive seeing as my biggest discipline problems at the parenting stage that I am at is getting them not to snatch toys from each other but I just cannot see EVER being at a point with my children where instead of getting them help I would just give up and leave them not knowing what kind of circumstances that would lead them to. Yet it is happening all over the place. Seems like I have seen numerous stories where this is happening on the news....and the parents want to remain anonymous.....of course they do.....

Yes, I am seeing the Twilight movie at one today. I'm sure I will update on that later.

One More Day....

I have an obsession (if you cant tell from the two blinkie things on the right side of the blog) with the Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer. If you have not read the series then get thee to Target and pick up the first book. It is funny what a cult it has become...everywhere I turn someone knew is telling me about this cool new book they are reading called Twilight. Even on random blogs that I read...someone is always starting the series. I decided back in May to finally see what the fuss was all about. I generally have NO use for any sort of vampire books but this sucked (ohh, no pun) me in so fast that I had the first 3 books in the series read within a few weeks. Then I had to wait.....and wait....for the final book to come out last August. I have since gotten my friends Erin, Bree, Laura, Brandy, my cousin Jessi, and my mom to read them. Most recently my SIL has picked it up. It is so fun to watch everyone fall in love with a fictional character the way we all have.....it is actually kind of not healthy. I think Joe may vomit if I drool over one more movie trailer. Which brings me to the title of this blog....one more day till the movie!!! Tomorrow my 4 friends, my mom and I are all putting on our geeky bought or made Twilight shirts like 12 year olds and heading over to Easton in what is sure to be 2 hours of swooning. Do I realize that it is extremely unhealthy to obsess over a fictional character.....yes. Do I care....not so much.

In my prayers.....

Today is a sad day in my little Internet world. I'm going to be posting a blog from my friend Lauren because she put it all together so well. (thanks Lauren) Here is what she posted on her blog yesterday, today is the funeral for a friend of mine's husband....Please keep the Row Family in your prayers.

From Lauren's blog....
We'll start at the beginning...About 6 1/2 years ago I logged onto a wedding planning website called The Knot and joined the message boards there. I stayed on those boards until a few months after my wedding, when we decided to start trying for a baby. There were many of us headed in that direction so we went over to an MSN board for mommies/pregnant ladies/etc. A smaller group of us then moved on to a different board on MSN and this is where I met some of the most incredible women I'll ever know.We are from all over the country and even a few in Canada and one military wife over in Europe. We've been together for about 5 years now and consider each other best friends. All 100 or so of us! Many of us have met up once or twice a year for what we call a GTG (get together). Our GTG in Boston was honestly one of the best times of my life. This year I met up with a few of the girls for a smaller GTG at the New Jersey shore, which was a fun and relaxing weekend. One person I've become very close to and consider one of my very best friends is Melissa. She lives here in the Houston area and we get together often and talk off the board nearly everyday. All of these women have been there for me through some of the most difficult times in my life. They have been there for me emotionally and even financially. When you come home one day to find a card with money and gift cards from a group of "internet strangers", you know they are more than that. We have developed a sisterhood. We have been through marriages, pregnancies, miscarriages, still-births, divorces, post-partum depression, poopy diapers, terrible 2's, starting kindergarten and more, all together.This past weekend, something happened to one of our dear and beloved friends that has shaken us all to the core. Our sweet friend Andrea lost her husband and father to her 2 young children, to a tragic and untimely work accident. We are all so heartbroken and sad for Andrea, Jacob & Sydney. These are the times we wish we all lived near each other because at that time, we all wanted to run to Andrea and be with her. We were and still are hurting for her...to lose your spouse so young, to have to explain to your children that their daddy isn't coming back, it's just not fair at all. Several of the girls on the board immediately started making plans to drive...even 5 hours or more, or fly to Buffalo to be there for the funeral and to be there for Andrea. They are all on their way, as I type. To drop what you're doing, sacrifice time with your family, children and at work, to be with a friend across the country in a time of need...that is true friendship. A friendship I am blessed to be a part of.May God bless Andrea, Jacob & Sydney. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers.

This group of ladies has come to mean so much to me and I love them all so much. I have been to 2 of the larger get togethers and a few smaller local ones myself. I'm so glad that some of them were able to go to NY to be with Andrea. I have spoken to them this morning and they spent the evening with her and her family last night, they got to meet Matt's family and Andrea's family and just keep saying over and over how strong they are all being right now. So if you have a moment today, please say a prayer for Andrea and her babies.

So...

Where and how to I get a cool blogger layout (a free one at that)??

Scrapbook Camp.....or, Yes I'm a nerd...deal with it

3 of my girlfriends and I spent the weekend in Amish country drinking, sleeping Scrapbooking. This was our 2nd annual trip out there with a local scrapbook store here in town. We stayed at Carlisle Inn in Sugarcreek Ohio which is a really really nice hotel out in BFE that just HAPPENS to have 3 wineries within 5 minutes of it. As you can imagine, a combination of scrapbooking and wineries is enough to do me in. We did get a LOT done (27 pages thank you) but a lot of wine was also consumed. Unless you were Bree who is pregnant, in which case not a lot of wine was consumed. Jenn, Bree, Brandy and I all snuggled in together in a room for the weekend and it has been rumored that perhaps I snore. Loudly. Whatever. We also made some interesting new friends while we were there including a lady who has NINE children whom she home schools herself. Joe was extremely happy on Sunday when I got home because the Boy and the Princess did not get as much sleep as I did.

In other news....my birthday present came early and today are making my feet extremely happy. I'm wearing Ugg Boots and my feet are making out with them as I type.

Stay tuned for further ramblings of my life (and Joe's) including my Twilight movie countdown....yeah Team Edward!!

Ready.........GO

Okay, I'm giving blogging another try. I set this blog up awhile ago and then never did a thing with it because I figured that most of my stuff goes on the kids site, but then I have realized....that believe it or not Joe and I have things that go on in our world too. Since I have so many other blogger friends I like to keep up with (both in real life and on the net) I'm going to cave to pressure and join them. If you want to read along I can't promise it will be the most exciting thing in the world, but then you never know....every now and then I DO get attacked by a goose.

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