Sunday, August 31, 2008

See What Happens When You Don't Go To Church?

Hello!!!!

OK. Yeah, we've been very bad this summer about going to church. VERY bad. And I purposely made an effort to tell myself that it was OK not to go today, because next week is when Sunday School starts and then we will be going every week. So, we'll take one more week off. That's not bad.

Yeah! Right!

Guess who was there today?

*This is who!!! *

Man! I'll be kickin' myself quite awhile for this one!

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Getting All You Can Get

Last night C1, C2, my mom and I went to Walmart.

Here's C1 and C2 trying to con my mom into buying them what ever they can get their grubby little hands on in the check out line.



I don't think she knows what's hit her!

Friday, August 29, 2008

My Great Grandma's House

This is my great grandma's house.

This is the house that my grandma grew up in.

When I was much younger, we would go there and spend what seemed like the whole summer there. I'm really not too sure how long we would stay. One week, two? I do remember having a lot of fun though.

This older picture I got from my grandma. Her two sisters are pictured here and what I suppose are cousins. Her older sister is sitting on the steps and her younger sister is the blond, on the left.

I chose this picture because the front porch was such an important part of the house. I remember sitting there after a bath, listening to the crickets and watching the lightening bugs with my great grandma. I remember watching the cows in the field across the road from this front porch. I remember one time, my uncles and I had found a turtle. We took it back to the porch and watched it.



This picture I took on our day trip a few weeks ago. Not too far from Hocking Hills is where my grandma grew up in a very small town called New Plymouth. It's maybe fifteen minutes from Hocking Hills.

The house has been updated. The banisters have been changed, but four of the five posts are the same. Too bad the fancy woodwork around the top could not have been saved. Takes away some of the charm. I have a feeling though, that the front steps are the same. It's also obvious that the porch is still a very important part of this house.


I'm glad my kids got to see this small piece of our family's history.

I wonder if my great grandchildren will drive by here someday and remember me?

Thursday, August 28, 2008

I Love My Grandma!

I was going through more pictures just now, and I came across this one.


This is my grandma. This picture was taken last Christmas at the Christmas Program at church.

When it came on the screen I instantly started to cry. I guess I didn't realize until just now how much I miss her. She has Dementia and the difference between then and now is huge. She is still very healthy, just her mind is failing her.

I need to make more of an effort to see her. I've let busyness and pride get in the way of what matters.

I love you Gram!!! You are such an amazing woman that I can only hope to be a fraction of who you are!

Pretty Girl

I wanted to post something today, but really have nothing to talk about. I am kind of in a "blah" kind of mood.

When I checked out my
friend's blog I saw she had posted an old photo of her kids. I can do that.

This is from a year and a half ago. C1 and I where on the bus going to Dayton for her 4th grade field trip.

She hates this picture. It's one of my favorites.


Love ya C1!!!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

The Last 15 Years

I found this one on MySpace. Sounded kind of fun. Here goes...

How have you changed in 15 years...

***Fifteen Years Ago Today: 1993***
1) How old were you? 23
2)Where did you go to school? n/a
3) Where did you work? Value City
4) Where did you live? Cridersville, OH
5) Where did you hang out? at home
6) Did you wear contacts? no
7) Who was your best friend/s? Morry and my mom
8) How many tattoos did you have? none
9) How many piercings did you have? ears
10) Did you drive a car? Dodge Colt
11) Had you been to a real party? in 1993? no
12) Had you had your heart broken? in 1993? no
13) Were you Single/Taken/Married/Divorce? Married
14) Any kids? one

***10 years ago today: 1998***
1) how old were you? 28
2) Where did you go to school? n/a
3) Where did you work? Value City
4) Where did you live? Cridersville, OH
5) Did you wear glasses? No
6) Who was your best friend? Morry and my mom
7) How many tattoos did you have? none
8) How many piercings? ears
9) What car did you drive? Mitsubishi Mirage
10) Had your heart broken? no
11) Were you Single/Taken? Taken
12) Any Kids? two

*****5 Years Ago Today: 2003****
1) How old were you? 33
2) What did you do? Processor, Value City
3) Where did you live? Cridersville, OH
4) Did you wear glasses? no
5) Who were your closest friends? Morry, my mom, Amy
6) Do you talk to your old friends? Yes
7) How many piercings did you have? ears
8) How many tattoos? none
9) What kind of car did you have? Plymouth Voyager
10) Single/taken/married/divorced? Married
11) Any Children? Three

*****Today: 2008*****
1) How old are you? 38
2) What do you do? Para Educator
3) Where do you live? Cridersville, OH
4) Do you wear glasses? yes
5) Who are your closest friends? Morry, my mom, Lorrie, Tammy
6) Do you talk to your old friends? Yes
7) How many piercings do you have? ears
8) How many tattoos? none
9) What kind of car do you have? Chrysler Pacifica
10) Has your heart been broken? no
11) Single/taken/married/divorced? married
12) Any Children? Three

There ya go...

Getting Down to Business

Last week the day before school started I made the HUGE mistake of starting a book. Whenever I have a book that I am reading, it is all I want to do, therefore other things do not get done. I was behind on laundry, bills, keeping up with the dishes, feeding proper meals to my children. You get it.

Well, yesterday morning I finished the book! So last night I was able to fix a good meal, do ALL the laundry, and get the whole downstairs clean. Feels good!

With all that caught up I can now concentrate on some other things that I am responsible for at the schools. Saturday is the kick off for the Band Pride Sale. I am the chairperson for that and it is one big undertaking! Also, I have a PTO meeting tonight that I need to prepare for. I should be planning an outing for my Girl Scout Troop. And there are still things I need to get done in the house before winter.

I feel good about getting it all done. I know I can do it!

I just can't let myself start another book.

Monday, August 25, 2008

JELL-O

Just a little while ago while eating supper, C1 noticed that I had mixed up some blue Kool-Aid.

This excited her greatly. She wanted to know if she could put some in a little container and keep it in the refrigerator.

Why?

Because in the morning it would be Jello and she could pack it in her lunch box for school.



(Sometimes this child scares me)

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Gator Driving

This afternoon we went to my cousin's house for a cookout.

Her son took all the kids for a ride on their Gator.

Here they come


and there they go!


"I have to go slow," J said, "or I get grounded from it."

Good to hear J!

Friday, August 22, 2008

Gotcha!

Today is our Principal's 50th birthday!

Last night my friend T and I took it upon ourselves to decorate the front lawn of the school. We placed fifty candles made out of swimming noodles in front of the school.





The best part? We had told no one we were going to do it! I hope it's a big mystery today. We even got the janitor in on it. We needed him to change the marquee out front.



Happy Birthday D! Hope you have a good one!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Dog Days of Summer

This morning before I left for school I decided to bring the dog in. It was warming up outside so I thought he would be more comfortable in the house.

Well my mistake! He was already comfortable! He was laying on my chaise lounge just as big as you please. I hope he was enjoying it. One of us might as well today.


See the look on his face when I tapped on the door?


"What? Can't a dog get a little rest around here?"

Oh! Does he have it easy or what!?!

First Day!

Well, we made it!

We got B's schedule, found his classes, and headed to the mall. We got his glasses adjusted (they got bent on his last Boy Scout trip) and did some shopping for him. We left "the kids", as B calls them, at my grandma's so it was just he and I for a change. We even did lunch. It was nice to spend time with just him. Although he was worried about getting home to hang out with his friends on the last day before school.

After we came home, C1, C2, and I hung out in the backyard. Them swimming and me reading in the chaise lounge. Yes, there were things to do inside, but I wanted to enjoy the sun. Soon, it will be gone! Not looking forward to winter. We had enough last year to last us awhile.

Anyways, last night we got everyone's stuff labeled and packed up.

C1 had the most. She went for the co ordinated look this year, obviously!


C2 just had the basics,


and B just took what he needed for today. You know, you can't carry more than you need. That's so not cool!


We took our annual picture in front of the tree and they were off!



Now I have a few hours until I need to go in. Thank you D for that!

I think I'm ready!

Sunday, August 17, 2008

I'M NOT READY!

School starts in two days. Today we had a family cookout at my grandma's so I spent the day there. Tomorrow morning I have an OSHA meeting. There goes the whole morning. There are things that I need to buy yet for B. He also needs to pick up his schedule tomorrow afternoon. (He was on another Boy Scout trip during his scheduled time.) Nothing is labeled for C1 or C2. With the Olympics on we have been staying up late to watch them. No one has been going to bed early to prepare for getting up early. I wanted to get some things done around the house before school started, that hasn't happened. I am beginning to go into panic mode. I have felt so down all week, because now summer is over. I thought that our day trip would help, but not really. I haven't even been able to make myself go into the school to talk with the teacher I work with. I just can't do it. I'M NOT READY! I LOVE my job, and once I get in there and get started, I WILL be fine. It's just the thought of the busyness, the running, the homework, trying to get everyone in bed on time, the spending of extra money, I'M NOT READY!

One more week. That's all I want. One more week.

Then I'll be ready. (maybe)

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Day Trip

Yesterday we took a day trip.

School starts on Tuesday and we had not done anything as a family this summer. With the kids' schedules, the restaurant, and time going by too quickly the summer was almost over without us having done anything. I hated that! I did not want to say that we did absolutely nothing all summer. So, Wednesday was our only chance. M was off, there was no band practice, and everyone was home.

We decided to head to Hocking Hills for the day. We had gone once when B was maybe three years old as a family. Then maybe five years ago my grandma, the kids and I all went. So actually, as a family of five, this is the first time we have gone.

We started with Rock House. It is the only enclosed cave. C2 was a little worried about bats. M assured him there were no bats. Maybe bears, but no bats. That gave him something else to worry about.





After that big hike we decided to do an easy one. We headed over to Ash Cave.






We had a picnic lunch and then headed out to our last cave, Old Man's Cave.






We all came home exhausted and sore but overall we had a good day. Everyone got along, helped each other, and enjoyed the sights.

I wish we had more summer!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Day At The Museum

Today C1, C2, and I went to the Allen County Museum. We had planned on just going through the Children's Garden there, but when we got there there was a Garden Club meeting going on so we wandered into the museum first.

It was actually nice to go this time of year. We almost always go around Christmas time for the Christmas Tree Festival. Without the crowds, we got to look around a lot more.

One of my biggest memories from going to the museum when I was younger was the Noah's Ark exhibit. That area is always closed off during the Christmas Tree Festival, so I wasn't even sure if it was still there. What it is is an electronically animated story of Noah's Ark. The man that built it lived in this area and donated it to the museum. The gentleman that turned it on today told us it is 110 years old. Pretty amazing! I love that I got to share that with my kids.

After looking around upstairs, we headed down to the basement.

C2 is not the bravest soul. He was really starting to wig out on me down there. He was sure the area where some floor tiles were missing was a bobby trap! He then became certain that they would close the museum with us still inside. (We were the only ones in the basement) So, before he totally lost it, we took a picture of them in front of an antique firetruck.



Back upstairs he relaxed a little bit.




Then we headed back out to the garden. The meeting was over and everyone was gone.






Even this little guy was enjoying a pear he had picked from the tree.



Nice day!

Saturday, August 9, 2008

WOW!!!

All I can say is WOW!

Did you see the Opening Ceremonies for the Olympics last night? They were spectacular. The kids and I watched all four hours! It just kept getting better and better. There were times that I actually felt like clapping. I oohed and awed the whole time. A few times I got choked up too. So beautifully choreographed, it was mind boggling.

This is the best video that I could find this morning on YouTube. It pretty much covers it all.

Friday, August 8, 2008

Working On The BIG Show

Last night was Family Night at Band Camp. They didn't have this when I went to Band Camp. Maybe we were too far away. It's only a 40 minute drive to see these guys, so it's not too bad. You are to arrive no earlier than 7:30pm and are strongly encouraged to leave no later than 8:30pm. That's what the paper really said.

When we got there, we were greeted by this sign.



Thank you, glad to be here.

We got a few minutes to visit with our "students", then we got to watch their show. This is what they have worked on all week. This is their "main"show. This is what they will take to competition and use for a few games.

The theme is West Side Story.





After the show, we had time to walk around with our "student" a little while. We saw where his cabin was, he pointed out other spots in the camp, and we visited.

We know that there will be many stories he has to tell. You can see it on his face when we say..."So, what happened at Band Camp?"



I can't wait to hear them all!

This one time,at Band Camp...

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Cousin Time!

This morning my mom had an appointment. She was babysitting for my cousin's kids. So, I dropped her off at the appointment and headed to the park. My own kids were at home with M. They were still sleeping.

Here's the fun we had.

I pushed them on the swings,




they climbed the rock wall,



and they dug with the diggers.



They all went down the slide!







The best part was when I pushed them on the merry-go-round! B didn't think I could push it as fast as he could.

He was the first one telling me to stop! He though he might get sick!



Who's the bad ass now B?

That's what I thought!