Julie's Top 10 Memories from 2008

Here is my top ten list of memories, good and bad, from 2008.

10.) The Blizzard. It came on Cassidy's second birthday forcing us to reschedule her birthday party. We let her open a few presents that day anyway since it was her birthday and got her some cupcakes.

09.) My mom moved to Lancaster. It has been nice to have her close by to see the kids more often, to have dinner weekly with us, and to watch the kids for date night!

08.) Richard was "downsized" from MacTools. We were very fortunate to have a nice severence package though. He essentially had a teachers summer since he didn't fiind another job until mid August.

07.) Family vacation at OBX. We always enjoy our vacation in the OuterBanks and this year my dad joined us for a few days. it was nice to have my dad join us. I hadn't been on a vacation with my dad since junior high school. The kids enjoyed hunting for crabs with papaw.

06.) The fence painting. Man that took forever. We painted, and by we I mean Richard, the fence white this summer and it looks great but took 2-3 weeks to get done with the heat. The kids and I did help with the inside of the fence.

05.) Put a hold on selling the house. Pretty much everyone knew we were looking to move to South Carolina or North Carolina. We love the beach so much and wanted to be within a few hours drive to the coast. Losing the job pretty much halted that! So then we decided to stick around here and the market goes down the crapper! We will wait it out and try again in 12-18 months, sooner hopefully, depending on the economy. I really, really, really am ready to move.

04.) Spencer started Kindergarten. And it was all day kindergarten at that. I didn't know how I'd make it through all day without my Spencer home with me. The first week was stange and sad. But I'm cool now. And Spencer loves school and has a best friend named Zack.

03.) My mommy and me days. I had a fun time with Cassidy at the Wiggles concert, Spencer at Chuck E Cheese and Brenden at the Jonas Brothers concert. It is nice to have a day alone with each kid separately.

02.) Cassidy is potty trained. Enough said.

01.) The Blackout of 2008. Who can forget that one. We had hurricane force winds that left lots of my neighbors with missing siding, shingles, limbs from trees and entire trees and of course without power for days and some even weeks. We were lucky and only lost power for about 6 hours and had no damage to our house or property. My mom lost her power for 3 days and other parts of Lancaster lived 1 or 2 weeks without power. Schools were closed for 3 days using calamity days that I hope they don't need this winter.

So there you have it. I hope you all have a happy New Year and achieve everything you want to achieve in the new year. I wish you all good health, prosperity and love!

Cassidy is a "big girl" now

No more pullups! Cassidy is officially potty trained. She stays dry at night too. I'll still keep some pull ups around for Brenden's game days and long car trips right now as a "just in case" so she doesn't have an accident at the game or in the car. But she's telling me she has to go or just going on in to the bathroom when she has to go and she's telling me at the store too. I'm so proud of her.

We're almost done with Christmas shopping. We are going out this weekend to get a few more things for the kids. We go to Pam's (Richard's sister) house on Saturday night to celebrate Christmas with her and her family. This is the first year we aren't going to her house on Christmas morning ever. Melinda and Jason are going to Montana to visit Jason's family this year for Christmas. We have a game at 5 and have to go to Pam's right after that. Busy night.

Picture with Santa

Not the greatest quality picture I know. I took my old camera with me since it is small forgetting that the reason I got a new camera is because the old one was not performing so well anymore and pictures were turning out blurry, as seen above! So hopefully the picture that the lady took will be better. I can pick them up today after 4pm. Here's hoping she got a good one. I know she took one of Cassidy sticking her tongue out because she commented that she had to get that one because it was so cute. But while it may be cute, that's not the picture this mom wants! If it's crap, I'll take them to the mall. This was done at WalMart where they were giving you free picutres with Santa. And being the penny pincher that I am, I couldn't pass up a free picture.

Countdown to Christmas

Thanksgiving went well here with my mom and dad both here. We have our Christmas tree up, stockings hung and outside all lit up. I'll have to take a picture of the outside and put it on here. I made the Christmas cards today and sent half of them out and the other half will be going out tomorrow. When my writing started getting sloppy due to a whole lot of writing I thought it was time to stop and finish later. I had the text added to the photo cards but apparently forgot to select add so I ended up writing our names on 30 cards and addressing all the envelopes. So you can see why my hand was numb.

Christmas shopping is underway! We have made a good dent in their lists so far. I can't elaborate on items because a certain 9 year old reads this blog sometimes! (Shout out to Brenden!)

Basketball season has begun. Brenden's first game was last Saturday and they lost. But that's ok because there are a lot of kids on the team who haven't played before. They only lost by 7 points so that's not bad. Brenden said that the coach told him that he and Nico played the best that day so he was happy.

Well, that's all I got. Bye!

one week away

Thanksgiving is one week away. I bought the pies and whipped cream this morning. I'm going to get the rest tomorrow or next week depending on the sales. I've been making everything and hosting Thanksgiving at my house for 5 years now. This year my mom and dad will both be here....at the same time. Wish me luck! No seriously, they get along just fine nowadays. They're both here for birthday parties so it will be no big deal. I love making everything. Maybe in a few years we'll be in a little bit bigger of a house and anyone who wants to come is welcome. Of course then you might need to bring a dish.

I took our family picture again this year. This is the second year I've done it myself and I must toot my own horn and say it looks great! Last years was on everyones Christmas cards and look for this years picture on your Christmas cards as well. I used to send out wallet sizes with everyones cards but Sears started giving fewer pictures in their packages so I decided to start doing it myself. After 10 years of frequent trips to Sears Portrait Studio I've learned lots of poses and love taking them myself. But getting a 2 1/2 year old to smile at the camera that is on a self timer and no one is there for her to smile at is the hardest thing in the world! We put a toy on top of the camera for her to look at and we all said Cheese with her to get her to smile and keep smiling.

Well, everyone have a safe and happy Thanksgiving!

just blogging

Well the sports schedule has begun. Brenden has baketball practices on Tuesday nights at 8 and Thursday's at 5. Strange isn't it. They practice at 2 different schools in the city too. Games will start at the end of the month and go through March. And March is when soccer practice starts for Spencer. In about 2 more years I'll put Cassidy in gymnastics and then I can't even begin to imagine how I'll multitask that if practices fall on the same days for any of them. One of our friends has a kid in soccer and 1 in gymnastics at the same time. And her husband isn't even home in time to help shuttle them to practices. Richard is taking Brenden to the Tuesday practices since it's so late and they don't get home until @9:15. I of course get the Thursday practice since he doesn't even get off until 5. Games are on Saturdays so he'll never miss those. Right now the only activity Cassidy does is toddler storytime on Wednesday mornings at 11 at the library. She loves it. We get to do a craft after the storytime which is good because I'm not crafty so that's the only craft time the poor girl gets. I make ornaments with them at Christmas and hand turkeys at Thanksgiving and coloring eggs at Easter, but that's as crafty as I get. I color with them all the time though if that counts as anything!

School pictures

Here's the boys' school pictures. Spencer is in Kindergarten, and Brenden is in 4th grade.

I'll have trick or treat pics to share when we download the software for my new camera. Brenden was Harry Potter, Spencer was Iron Man and Cassidy was an angel.

I had the stomach flu earlier this week as did Spencer and Brenden. Not fun at all!

High School Musical 3

I took the boys to see HSM3 yesterday afternoon. Brenden and I really liked it, Spencer can't sit still. He sat in his seat but the seat kept folding him up in it so then he'd sit on my lap then back to his seat, you get the picture. He would sigh and ask when it was going to be over and he almost fell asleep. But he did watch it and he is quiet through it but he just got bored and when we watch movies at home he can lay down or sit in a rocking chair. This is only the second movie he's seen in a movie theater, the first being SpiderMan 3 a few years ago. It was a fun afternoon for just me and the boys. I used to take Brenden to see movies after Spencer was born to just have mommy/Brenden days. And he was 4 when we did that and he always sat still and enjoyed going to the movie theater. Last night Brenden spent the night at his best friend Micah's house and they went to Magic Mountain. Watching HSM yesterday and seeing the two boys growing up as best friends and then wanting to go off to college together reminded me of Brenden and Micah. It will be nice if they stay friends forever like that too. It's nice to have a best friend like that in life. Not everyone has that so it's special.

Tonight I'm making a pot roast and my mom is coming over for dinner. I try to have her over at least once a week for dinner. It's been nice having her live close by. So, that concludes my weekend update. Stay warm and healty everyone.

Of Course...

So in yesterday's post I said that Iwas the only one sick. Of course by saying this I then jinxed myself and my house because Brenden started throwing up around 9pm and continued all night and then again this morning. He's disappointed to miss donuts with dad's but he's got to do it the past several years so he's ok with it. So I have a cold and Brenden apparantely has the stomach flu and time will tell what the rest of the family will come down with. Thank goodness Richard was home 1/2 the day for me to be able to go the grocery store and get pedialyte and other groceries without taking Brenden. Mom is busy this morning so I'm hoping she can be here at 3 for me to be able to leave Brenden here while I pick up Spencer from school. So I'm sure I'll have an exciting weekend of multiple sicknesses.

Feeling blah...

I'm sick. Just me. How'd that happen? The boys haven't been sick yet, strangely enough. Usually by this time Brenden has already had his first cold from school. And now that Spencer's in school I figured I'd be in double trouble. But not yet, Thank God. But now it's freezing outside so I already have the medicine in the cabinet ready to go at the first sign of a cough, sneeze, runny nose, or tummy ache! Too bad I'm having to use it on myself! The cat, who is an indoor/outdoor cat, has decided that it's too cold for him outside now and he just likes to go whine at the door so I'll open it and he can decide if it's too cold for him or not. Such a bratty cat! He's 13 and we just let him start going outside this past spring after years of him sneaking out with the dogs anyway, we gave in to him. Not much else going on. My dad is coming over for dinner tonight and tomorrow is Donuts with Dads at the boys' school. That's it for now.

Muffins with Mom

Today was Muffins with Moms at the boys' school. My mom came over this morning at 7:45 to be here with Cassidy. We had a good time and Spencer was happy since it was his first time getting to do this. It surprised me that a mom sitting across from us, who happens to be a mom to kid in Spencer's class, didn't eat anything or even speak to her kids. She told them to hurry up a few times and that sucked to see. When her daughter spoke to Spencer and me her mom didn't say a word or even crack a smile. This is a time to come and enjoy a bit of time with your child before school in their environment and get to meet some of their friends and moms. She looked like she didn't even want to be there. So sad. Anyway, I got to go to Spencer and Brenden's classes after we ate and I got to meet some of Spencer's friends and see him interact with them for a bit. Brenden knows everyone. He's such a social boy. We're walking through the gym like he's a celeb or something, he's pointing and waving at everyone. So funny! One boy kept coming over a talking to him for a bit then he'd have to go because his dad and him were there helping with everything making sure there were enough muffins and juice on the tables. Then I came home and I've been on the quest to find our family picture outfits the rest of the morning. We got home around 11:30. I found a dark green dress for Cassidy and now everyone else's outfit will revolve around her dress. It's easier that way to get hers first and go from there. I'll probably go to Steve and Barry's for the boys because you all know that I'm going to match them. It's just too cute and I have to still do it. Maybe soon I'll stop that since Brenden is getting older, but for now I'm matching them while I still can get away with it! So you all know to look for the family picture with or as the Christmas cards.

The fair

We went to the fair yesterday. The Fairfield Co. fair is the last one in Ohio every year. You never know what kind of weather to expect for our fair. 2 years ago we were in winter coats, last year we were in long sleeves and jeans and no jacket needed and yesterday it was shorts weather. I like yesterday's weather the best, obviously. When its cold, the kids get sick the next week and I'm making 2 trips to the dr in a week for 2 different kids. Luckily, Cassidy has never had anything bigger than a cold yet. So anyway, back to the fair. Brenden is big enough to ride the bigger rides now so he rode those but chickened out of the ferris wheel, even though I was going to go with him, still a no. He kept looking up at how high it was and as we were in line he decided against it. Maybe next year. He was able to ride a few of the rides in Cassidy and Spencer's section too. Cassidy loved the kiddie roller coaster, she rode that with Spencer and Brenden sat behind them. Spencer rode the kiddie ferris wheel alone. Richard and the kids did the gigantic slide (I hate that thing!), Richard held Cassidy for it. I'm not sure if she likes it too well. Her face didn't look happy at all coming down the slide. The boys did that several times and the bumper cars. And of course the ride all toddlers love and mom's love to take them on is the carousel horses. Cassidy picked her "beatiful horse" that she wanted to ride. The boys rode too, I think just because they still wanted to ride something. The kids rode rides for about 2 hours and then we got some deep fried pickles (wow were they sour!) and headed home in time for the OSU football game. We made cheeseburgers with white american cheese for dinner Saturday night. If you've never had that, you've got to try it sometime. They are good. It was our first time making burgers with white american cheese. You won't be disappointed.

Congratulations to my friend Kara from Urbana who had a baby girl Kinley Julianne a few weeks ago. And for those of you who remember my best friend from high school Nori, she's expecting a baby girl in February. It will be Nori's first child.

my little model

I just got back from getting Cassidy's pictures taken and had to share them. How cute is she!!! She's got some little model poses doesn't she.

Spencer's first play date

Spencer had a friend from his class over to play yesterday. It was so cute. The little boy lives down the street from us and was so excited to see us at his house and was very excited to come over and play. He was a very polite little boy too, asking Cassidy if he could play with her first before just getting in the sandbox with her. He has a little sister who just turned 3 so maybe Cassidy can play with her sometime too. Spencer couldn't stop talking about his playdate with Zack last night. He had a permanent smile on his face. He's never had a friend over and has seen lots of Brenden's friends here through the years, so he was so happy to finally have his own friend over. He kept saying "me and Zack played on the swings, in the sandbox, jumped on the trampoline, played power rangers, and played video games". It was so cool to see how happy he was. He can't wait til the next time Zack comes over. Spencer seems to be the man at kindergarten too. There is a little girl named Brooke who always smiles and says a real high pitched excited "Spencer" when she sees him. She totally has a crush on him. She gets so smiley and giggly. OMG it is so funny! And there are always little boys saying hi to him so that makes me happy that he has a lot of friends. He's still a momma's boy though. He wants me to walk him up to the playground every morning, so I do. I did that with Brenden his kindergarten year too. It's cute cuz he'd rather walk with me instead of his friends, so his friends just walk beside us. Everyone else is doing fine, not much else to report.

And now a joke for ya'll:

5 NUNS IN A BAR Sisters Mary Catherine, Maria Theresa, Katherine Marie, Rose Frances, & Mary Kathleen left the Convent on a trip to St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City and were sight-seeing on a Tuesday in July. It was hot and humid in town and their traditional garb was making them so uncomfortable, they decided to stop in at Patty McGuire's Pub for a cold soft drink. Patty had recently added special legs to his barstools, which were the talk of the fashionable eastside neighborhood. All 5 Nuns sat up at the bar and were enjoying their Cokes when Monsignor Riley and Father McGinty entered the bar through the front door They, too, came for a cold drink when they were shocked and almost fainted at what they saw.

GIVE US A SENSE OF HUMOR LORD, GIVE US THE GRACE TO SEE A JOKE, TO GET SOME HUMOR OUT OF LIFE, AND PASS IT ON TO OTHER FOLK

Project Brain Child

Childhood Cancer Awareness

Project Brain Child is an iniative of the Pediatric Low Grade Glioma Association.Members Project is a program sponsored by American Express where cardmembers submit innovative ideas for projects that make a difference. Cardmembers vote on the projects, and the winning 5 projects will receive up to $1.5 million in funding from American Express, awarded as follows:$1,500,000 for the winning project$500,000 for the 2nd place project$300,000 for the 3rd place project$100,000 each for the two remaining finalist projectsThe Pediatric Low Grade Glioma Association (PLGA) submitted their project idea to American Express in August. They will use the funds to conduct a feasibility study to create a National Pediatric Genomic Brain Tumor Registry. The information collected in this registry would allow scientific researchers and medical experts to target specific genetic abnormalities with existing drugs most effectively.The registry will embody all brain tumor types, not just low grade gliomas.Project Brain Child was selected from over 1190 other projects to be in the top 25. As of today, September 17, they are in 9th place.They need to be one in fifth place or better to receive an award. Votes must be cast by September 28.Any American Express cardholder may vote. If you don't have an American Express card, you can still help by spreading the word to your friends.Brain tumors kill more children every year than all other diseases combined. Please help this effort.

just another post

So for my birthday, we went to Olive Garden and then we played putt-putt. That was so much fun! The kids got me the new New Kids On The Block CD that I've been waiting for! It just came out on the 2nd. I got a new camera for my birthday, but I got that in August before the concerts with the kids so I could get great pictures. I love it! It's a sony cybershot. Awesome! I thought my other one was good, but this is a professional one with an awesome zoom lens and I can buy even bigger zoom lenses to attach to it. Mom watched the kids and they played bingo, watched a movie and had popcorn with mamaw. We got home a little after 11 and Brenden was asleep but Spencer and Cassidy wanted to say goodnight to us so they were still wide awake and running around. Other than that not much else going on except for school. Brenden is finding that it gets harder the older you get. I'm finding that I need to brush up on my math! Spencer is loving school and Cassidy and I are enjoying time together. Now, I'm off to the grocery store.

September 5, 1976

Today is my 32nd birthday. Happy birthday to me! I thought I'd share some things I'm proud to have accomplished in my 32 years. My proudest achievement is my marriage and children. I have been proudly married for 11 years and we have had 3 children. They are truly my world. Being a stay at home mom has been more rewarding than any other job I could have done outside of the home. My boys have been well prepared for school from what I taught them while they were home with me for their first 5 years. Cassidy will be as well. We have sacrifcied a lot of material things in sacrificing an income all for the kids and me....I always wanted to stay home with them and wouldn't have missed it for the world. I'm grateful to Richard for seeing how important that was to me and agreeing with the decision for me to stay home. I'm also happy that I did at least start college, I may not have finished, but at least I had the experience. I wanted to be an attorney but that changed when I became a mom. My life isn't what I thought it would be when I was planning my life out in high school. I'd have graduated law school at 24 and wanted to get married after a few years of being a lawyer and have my first kid by 30. My life isn't what I planned, IT IS BETTER. I couldn't be more blessed. I met and married my first love, the love of my life. I've had a good 32 years, no major illnesses to speak of but I am clumsy. I've broken my foot twice and if I can manage to hit my head on something or hurt myself in the process of my day, I usually will! I have a great extended family too. Lots of cousins and aunts and uncles that I'm proud to have as family. My brother is the greatest. We have always been close and I'm so happy about that. I'm also extremely proud of the relationship I have with my parents. I'm close to both of them and cherish that relationship with them both very much. So thanks Mom and Dad for bringing me into this world 32 years ago at precisely 5:52pm!

My thoughts on Sarah Palin

I'm a supporter of Palin for VP. I've sat back and read for several days the bashing and critisizing of Sarah Palin's family values. Yes, her daughter ended up pregnant. That was Bristol's decision, not Mrs. Palin's. Sarah did her job by teaching her daughter right from wrong and how the church feels and how the Palin's personally feel. That's all a parent can do. Let's look at the fact that Bristol is actually showing the family values she was taught by making the adult decision to marry her boyfriend, father of the child. And Bristol knew that she'd be scrutinized and still supported her mother to run for VP, a once in a lifetime choice that she couldn't let her mother pass up. How's that for family values. Standing behind her mom 100% and not letting her decision ruin her mom's chances. That's a stand up girl right there. And she's having the child. Again, showing her family values by realizing that a baby is a gift and not going to ruin her life by having the baby rather than deciding to have an abortion. Something her parents taught her as well. As parents we all teach our children right from wrong and do our best to rear them up well. There is no blame to be placed here on Sarah. Another thing I'm tired of hearing about is that Sarah is forcing her daughter to marry the boyfriend. While some teen moms may not be mature enough or ready to handle marriage and a child at 17, maybe she really is. No one knows the relationship between Bristol and her boyfriend besides the two of them. The fact of her growing up in church leads me to believe that Bristol is ready for marriage and is mature enough to handle all it will entail to be a wife and mother. I support Sarah and Bristol and the family values they've both shown. Bristol is taking a lot of crap and look at how she stood up on that stage with her boyfriend and family last night at the RNC supporting her mom. That's a great family. While Sarah may believe in abstinence and may be disappointed in Bristol's decision to have pre-marital sex, she sure is showing her beliefs in family values by supporting her daughter through this rather than shunning her and being ashamed of her. They are a true American family with the same struggles any other family goes through.

misadventures of Labor Day

So yesterday was different. First we woke up and Brenden turned on the tv....or at least tried to. It wouldn't turn on. It's stinkin brand new. We got it in the end of May! It's a 50" Plasma, Richard's dream tv! So he tried to call the # for customer service and of course they weren't open due to labor day. So then I start looking for the warranty and receipt. I have a box in the basement with all household warranties. I go to it first...it's not there. Where could it be? The 3 hour search began. I looked everywhere I thought I could have put it twice! Never found it. So I go to put the address/phone book away and see papers sticking out of it and there it was in the back! Why you ask, I'm not sure. I have no idea why I would have put it there except for maybe wanting it close by in case we needed it and I wouldn't have to dig it out of the box in the basement. Genius idea Julie. I searched for ever and it's always in the place you least expect it and of course the last place you look! While I was looking we rather enjoyed the quietness without the TV on. The boys have tv's in their rooms so they played some video games but also played outside a lot too. We brought the old tv up from the basement and put it in the living room around 7pm so I could watch my One Tree Hill premiere last night without having to watch it upstairs in our bedroom. Life was nice without the TV for a while, we'll have to do that again sometime! But it won't be anytime during the weekdays because I'm a soap opera aholic. And one more thing, we stapled the receipt and warranty to the cover of the manual and put it in the box with all the others so I won't have to do an all day search again. Until of course I put something else in a stupid location that I think I'll remember but clearly won't!

Not another Hurricane

Geez! With my brother living in Florida and Richard's sister Carolyn living in New Orleans, I worry everytime there is a hurricane. Generally my brother gets the most of it, but Katrina did a number three years ago and Carol evacuated. Richard just spoke to her and they've decided to stay this time. YIKES! They are not in the immediate flood zone is all I know and they didn't get flooded last time and she's concerned about the looting. Carol and Bob are military people. I'm worried for the looters if they come around her! But seriously, can all my family and friends who read this just say a little prayer for Carol and Bob that they will be safe and no harm come to them or their house. She will evacuate if flooding threatens them, just so you all know.

God Bless you Carol and Bob. We love you!

Spencer started Kindergarten

Well, the time has come and Spencer started kindergarten this past Monday Aug. 25. As we were leaving, as if I wasn't sad enough, Cassidy said "you forgot Spencer mommy". Well that just made me more sad and the tears I was holding back started coming down. He's the second one now to be in school. Brenden is in 4th grade and he told Spencer this morning that he'll look for him at recess. That makes me feel good to know that his older brother is looking out for him and is willing to make his little brother feel more comfortable at school. I had to go in the bathroom this morning after Spencer gave me a big hug because I was tearing up and I didn't want him to see me. He asked for tissue for his pocket because he said he might cry a little. He's more shy than Brenden so I think he'll cry quietly to himself a little. That's how he is. He's the break your heart crier. He's so quiet about it and it just makes you sad when he cries. Brenden cried on his first day of kindergarten for just a bit after I dropped him off, and he's the social one! It's weird here with just one child again. I haven't had just one at home for a long time. Spencer wrote me a card that says " I love you mom, Spencer" because he wanted me to have it today when I got sad. It's hanging on the fridge.
Last Sunday I took Spener to Chuck E Cheese, just me and him, for some mommy/Spencer time alone before school started. He was so happy. We spent 3 hours there and played everything and just had a good time together. He is so good and didn't even ask for anything, I asked him if he wanted me to buy him a toy. He picked one and I let him pick another one too on top of what little things he won with his tickets from the games. We had a great day together. I enjoyed it so much, especially when he put his hand on my leg and scooted close to me when we were eating and he said "I love you mommy". Melts my heart. And now he's in kindergarten. My little mommy's boy is growing up. He's such a sweet, loving, kind, wonderful little boy. I'm so proud to be his mommy.

Weekend update

Well, last night I had the best time with Brenden at the Jonas Brothers concert. I felt like a kid again! I was screaming like a teenage girl but I refrained from jumping up and down and dancing so I wouldn't embarass Brenden. It was so awesome! Brenden was screaming and said his throat was sore when we left. My ears were ringing from all the girls screaming around me. A group called the Veronica's performed first and I liked them so much I'm thinking of downloading some of their songs. Demi Lovato was next and she is great. She reminds me of a young Kelly Clarkson, she's got an awesome range. Then came the Jo Bros. and they just ROCK! Though Brenden was outnumbered by girls by like 500:1 , not really that much, but everywhere you look there are screaming girls! Me and Brenden had so much fun and I was happy just watching him have such a great time. He was clapping, jumping, screaming, singing, and waving his hands around. The teenager beside him looked at him one time when he was singing and just smiled at him. I could tell she thought it was cute that he knew all the words to the songs. This was his birthday present. I'm sure it's one he'll never forget.

Today I'm taking Spencer to Chuck E. Cheese for a mommy/Spencer day since I've gone to Wiggles with Cassidy, Jo Bros with Brenden and now this. I didn't want to leave Spencer out and since he starts Kindergarten tomorrow, today is the perfect day to take him.

Richard still has to download the program for me to download pics from my new camera. I'll try to get him to do that today so I can share the pictures with everyone.

Side note: Please remember Hadley Fox in your prayers. She is nearing the end of her cancer journey. You can read her mom's blog to the left under Hadley's name for more info whenever you want.

The last few weeks

Geez have I been busy the last few weeks. On the weekend of the 9th I went to West Union and stayed at my dad's for the weekend so I would have time to visit all my family down there. On Saturday we visited my grandpa Bill, then went to my dad's for a nap for Cassidy, then off to Terri and Tracy's for the rest of the day to swim. Hollie, Derek, Heather, Trey, and Hunter were all there too. We had a great time swimming and they cooked out. Heather took Cassidy in the pool for a bit and proved to me that Cassidy can swim with just floaties on and not floaties and a ring (scaring me to death!) and Spencer did the same! The boys loved going down the slide and Brenden did the diving board a few times too. On Sunday we went to Vickie's and visited with her family and Judy and Jim. No trip to West Union is complete without seeing Judy. Even on trips that I don't have time to stop by her house, I stop by the flower shop.


This week (11th-15th) Spencer has been in kindergarten camp from 9:30-11:30am to get kids acquainted to school and meet the teachers. This will be the first year for all day kindergarten so the camp is good for kids who've not gone to pre-school or been in day care (Spencer!). He cried a little on the first day and that was it. Now he's excited to start school for real he said. I however will be crying on the first day because it will be different for me to just have one child at home, but I won't cry til I get home so I don't upset Spencer. When Brenden started school I started crying before we even left the neighborhood but managed to suck it up and hold it in when we got there. I'll be able to go up on the playground with Spencer and take him to his line and stay with him until the bell rings. Brenden's teacher was old-school and didn't let us do that. She said it makes it harder on the kids. I'd think ripping them away right at the side of the building makes it harder but whatever.

The Wiggles concert with Cassidy was Wednesday night(13th). She danced and sang and then got worn out and sat down and watched them in a trance the rest of the time. She loved it. I bought her a Wiggles backpack and butterfly glowstick that she waved around all night long. She picked out the backpack over toys and shirts, I let her pick. It was so fun to watch her enjoy the Wiggles who she watches on TV every day and she was just mesmerized. It was a very fun mother/daughter night. I'll have pictures uploaded soon of the concert. I took these on my new camera and have to download the software to then upload my pictures.

And finally, Richard started his new job this past Monday (11th) and likes it there. It's different being downtown he said and there are freaks that walk between the buildings all the time which is weird and it's not the best thing to see when you have your precious Camaro parked outside all day. I'll have to share a picture of the camaro too. He loves that car. And the only downside is the insurance is sooo much more expensive at this place. It's more than double what we paid at Mac Tools. It's gonna be @500 for medical, dental, and vision for the family. And he has to pay $30 for parking too. He's right downtown off of I-70. The drive is certainly better than the old drive. Now it only takes him 30-35 mins vs. 45mins-1hr before depending on traffic. It always took him 1 hr to get home, I know that and now he's home in 35 mins. So that's awesome. Now he'll be able to make it to soccer games on time and basketball practices too.

Next post will be the pictures of the Wiggles concert and a few from the trip to Dad's. Sorry it's been so long since I posted.

Summertime fun

Well, on Sunday we took the training wheels off of Spencer's bike and he's doing great. So I thought I'd share some pictures of him riding his bike and other summertime fun here at our house.

Of course Brenden had to show off some moves too. He likes to scare me to death now with his tricks.

This is what Cassidy was doing while they rode their bikes and she didn't want to ride her Dora bike. So she's sitting at the tree and playing with the mulch. Now some fun in the pool. Neighborhood association rules state we can't have a pool unless it's inground so this is as much backyard pool fun that we can have. Pools can't be over 1 foot tall. How crappy is that. Ok, how crazy is this picture! Brenden had been balancing it on his head and I took a picture of it on top of his head and I also got this one too. It looks like it was placed there but it's not, it's as it was falling. Cool picture isn't it. And Cassidy is helping me take pictures. Here she's taking a picture of me while I take one of her.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer.

Visiting with my Brother

My brother was up to visit last week from Florida. He stayed with us for a day and Mom's for a day and then he had a family reunion on the Truesdell side in Manchester area. It was nice to have a few days with him since I only see him once a year, but I talk to him at least bi-weekly, sometimes weekly. Here's a picture of Mom, me, brother (Kent for those of you who don't remember his real name other than brother since that's what I call him!) and my 3 monkeys all of whom have decided to have their own expressions in the picture. You'll notice that Brenden is the one posing and smiling because he knows I'll keep taking it until I get a perfect one. But I decided to share this one with you to show their personalities a bit. We were taking pictures on my camera and on my brother's camera so they were pictured out by this time and being ornery!

We had a nice time and hope to all go on vacation next year together at the OuterBanks.

I also wanted to share this picture that I took of my cousin Erika leaving the church at her wedding on the 12th of July. There is a bubble right in her face which I didn't notice when I took it. I love this picture. And yes, I will forward it to your email Vic and Tammy. Congratulations Erika and Nic.

Fun time at the Wynonna Concert

Wynonna was at the Lancaster Festival last night and I was at the concert with my mom. It was awesome. Her voice is beautiful. She sang "Love can build a bridge" and "Grandpa" from her days with her mom and "Only Love" and "No One Else On Earth" from her albums (others too but these are the ones I can remember off the top of my head) and she sang the Christian song "I Can Only Imagine" beautifully too. She sang with the Lancaster Orchestra band and did covers of a lot of other songs too cuz with an orchestra she can't really do all her country stuff without her band. This is part of her orchestra tour. Nonetheless, she was great, covers or her original stuff, didn't matter to me. She could sing the phone book. She looked great too. She had a little boy come up on stage who brought flowers to the stage for her and she had his mom take their picture together. That was cool. She got his name and age (Travis, 8) and told the audience that she thought is was great that a kid knew who she was. A toddler was dancing down front at one point and she had her camera guy put him up on the jumbo tron....that was sooo cute! She is so friendly and really is great for a family crowd. She loves the little ones. I'll remember that cuz if I see her again I'll take the kids and maybe I'll get to meet her. She told stories and sang and I just really enjoyed the concert. I listened to her as a kid with my parents and then when she went out on her own I listened to her of my own free will. If she comes to your town, I recommend seeing her. You won't be disappointed.

I love New Kids......Still after all these years!

Ahh, they make me feel like a silly school girl all giddy and giggly everytime I hear their song come on the radio. I've saved their video on DVR and the kids love to sing and dance around with me too! They are coming to Cleveland in October and if they come to Columbus or Cincy I'll be going to that concert. I'm a little scared to drive to Cleveland since I don't know that area at all and it's 3 hrs from here too. So, if they come around here, I've been asking Richard for tickets for my birthday so I'm hoping they add another stop in OHIO! Any one else still loving the New Kids? Do you get that same feeling? This is the first time that I think I've embarrassed Brenden (not in front of friends though...yet!) cuz I get so excited and screechy and he rolls his eyes and makes a funny face at me. I've told him all about my New Kids and how they were the big thing...15 years ago....before Hannah Montana and Jonas Brothers and I went crazy for New Kids the way kids go crazy for Hannah and Jonas Bros. Ahh, they make me feel young again!

a big girl bed and a birthday party

As promised here are pictures of Cassidy in her big girl bed. I still have to take a picture of it alone so you all can see what it looks like. And I'm throwing in a picture of her on her last night in her crib too. She loves her Dora bed as you can see! Her room looks cute and has Dora stick ups on the wall and everything. I did the stick ups during her nap so when she woke up she came in and was pointing to everything telling me what and who they were. It was so cute. She said "Awesome" about her room and that is what she had just said when I took the picture below.

Along with giving her a big girl bed she had to give up her binkies. That has gone amazingly well. She cried about it on the first day during naptime but didn't cry again that night or since. She has however caught Brenden's cold (and Spencer too) so she hasn't slept through the night in her new bed yet. She sleeps with us when she's sick cuz she's so restless and wakes up so much and with her right beside me I'm there to wipe her nose in the middle of the night. I've always done this with all the kids when they were this small.

On to birthday news for Brenden. He turned 9 on June 23 and had a skating party at the skating rink on June 21. We got him Jonas Brothers tickets and he was so excited! I kept that a secret from him for like 2 months and I was so happy to get those for him!!! He had said he wanted to go but when Richard first looked up ticket info he saw something that said the tickets were like $500 so we told him there was no way that would happen. Then I looked it up and found out when they actually went on sale and got them for way under $500! We are not on the floor cuz I didn't think he'd be able to see over everyone standing so we are just 6 rows up on the side, but we have a front view of them...does that make sense? I'll put up pictures after the concert which is August 23rd. Mom got him a Nintendo DS which hasn't left his hands too often in the last 2 weeks. We had about 15-17 kids at the party and it was probably the best party yet. He's had parties yearly but this was the first low maintance one for me and Richard where all we had to do was the cake! He got a lot of money from friends and we gave him money too to pick out a video game or two that he'd like. And here are a few pictures:

Getting big isn't he! Brenden skating Brenden and friends....minus a couple of kids who had to leave early.

Spencer skating

Cassidy skating

Have a safe and happy fourth of July everyone!

The finality of it....

We are taking down the crib today. Last night was the last time anyone will sleep in that crib for 15-20 years (when Brenden has his first child....it had better be at least this long!). Cassidy is 2 years and 3 months old and it is depressing me to take it down but it's time. She is getting a Dora toddler bed in place of the crib. She is really excited about it because she loves everything Dora the Explorer. But this letting go of the last baby thing is sucky! I sold the swing and playpen and highchair and all the other big baby things last summer. But this makes the baby days be gone forever. Cassidy will be the last baby in our house. And now she's not a baby anymore....she's officially a toddler. I don't want another baby, I just want her baby days back! I love when the kids are babies. I don't mind the not sleeping at all. I have always wished that for the first 6 months of a baby's life they didn't grow so dag on fast! And now taking down the crib makes me have to deal with the finality of it all. There will be no more baby days around here. So today I'll cry and tomorrow I'll be fine with it cuz the Dora bed is cute and it will make her happy to sleep in a big girl bed and I know that 3 kids is enough for us! I just won't be watching any of the baby videos any time soon, that's for sure! I'll post pictures of the Dora bed soon! And in the next post I'll tell you all about Brenden's 9th birthday party! It was great......Ya'll come back now, you hear!

Check out Hadley's blog

I'd like to ask you all to read Hadley's blog (link is to the left) to read about her story. She is a little girl at the end of her battle with cancer. I've been following her journey for three years now. She's got remarkable strength, as does her mom.

Having Fun at the Beach 2008

Well, you all know me, so I hope you have some reading time right now cuz this could get long! Here we go.....Vacation was great. We arrived on Saturday May 31 around 6pm after 12 hours of driving. That's not bad considering the stopping time. We only stopped 2 or 3 times on the way down. The kids are amazing in the car. The DVD player helps, but really there were times when they weren't watching anything and we didn't have the radio on and they were just so quiet! Amazing! Now, how can I get that to work at home? My dad arrived on Sunday evening and stayed til Wednesday morning. We had a nice time with my dad there. I haven't been on a vacation with him since the late 80's when I was in junior high and we went to Myrtle Beach (the same year hurricane Hugo hit.....I remember cuz I asked if hurricanes hit here, and his friend said not really, sure enough, 3 months later Hugo wiped out where we were!). While my dad was there the first full day (Monday) was breezy and coool (75) so we didn't swim but we did play at the ocean and collect shells. Tuesday we went to the Currituck Lighthouse and climbed to the top (except Dad) and walked around the Whalehead Club at the Currituck Sound (this is where the lighthouse is located). Climbing to the top of the lighthouse was a lot scarier than I anticipated. I thought we'd be enclosed up there, but you're not! I said to the boys "hug the wall!" and I seriously turned my body to the left to take a picture of the sound and then to the right to take a picture of the ocean, all while still hugging the wall myself! Richard was holding Cassidy. Wednesday morning dad left in the midst of an air quality warning due to a wildfire burning somewhere that started by a lightning strike and the wind was blowing the smoke our way. So we stayed in that morning cuz you just couldn't breathe outside, it was that bad. But it had blown out to sea by afternoon so we then went swimming (our house had a private pool). Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were just spent chillin at the ocean or the house and cooking out and swimming or playing at the beach. Cassidy loved the beach but would get scared when the boys would obsessively talk about the crabs and freak her out. We got to see a couple of guys surfing, which was neat cuz I've never seen that. The undertow there is bad so the kids aren't allowed past their knees cuz it will grab them and take them out quickly. Spencer, Cassidy and I were sitting at the beginning of where the water comes up to and a wave just went right over all of our heads and rolled Spencer. That's how strong it is. We found some awesome shells, saw a jellyfish washed ashore (YIKES!), and Richard and the boys saw a blue crab. They went crab hunting one night with my dad and then 2 other nights as well. They brought a crab back each time in a bucket and released it at the house. Then Cassidy was playing with the flashlight in the house saying she's looking for the crab. She'd crouch down and look down the stairs, it was cute. Brenden enjoys riding the waves at the beach and Spencer loves looking for shells, as does Cassidy. We all had a really nice time. Next year we are hoping to meet my brother there and take mom and rent a house with an elevator. That would be nice to have a big family vacation together. So now comes the picture segment. Enjoy.

Here is our family picture on the beach.

The kids on the beach. The biting flies were out so Cassidy wouldn't stand again. The Currituck Beach Lighthouse. Us at the top (after climbing 214 stairs). See where the railing is and why it's scary???!!! We felt like Cassidy would fall right over and it was just scary, trust me! The view of the Currituck Sound from the top of the lighthouse. The view of the ocean from the top of the lighthouse.
Dad, me and the kids on a bridge at the sound. The boys looking for shells with grandpa. Brenden playing in the ocean and riding the waves. Spencer playing in the sand, building a sandcastle. Me and Cassidy finding shells. Spencer swimming in the pool Brenden jumping in the poolCassidy swimmingAs safe as she can be! Cassidy with arm floaties on, holding a ring, while sitting in her turtle.

The boys getting water for their sandcastle that they never finished!The kids looking out at the sound. I love this picture! The kids on the beach