birthday

All right, so he poops and pees on the floor and he digs through the trash. He "snots" me when I pet him. He has unreasonably high doctor bills. He is kind of stinky. He eats really loud. He sheds hairs everywhere and they will not vacuum out of my van. He steals the kids' cookies. He jumps in my lap every time I sit down to watch tv. He lays on my scrapbook stuff if I am working at my desk. He goes crazy when the doorbell rings, being horribly loud. He chewed a pair of my pink polka dot pumps one time. He follows me everywhere, always right behind me, never giving me my space. Sometimes he runs after cars down the street and won't come home. He's pretty cute. I love him. It's his birthday today. He is seven. He is my doggie woggie, cutie pie, Max. Love ya, you big sweetie!

Goin' green

our rain barrel, please ignore the weeds in front of itsolar powered spot lights
We've been trying to do a few things to save money around here, just like everyone else in the world, and as a bonus, they are eco-friendly too! Aren't we so green-chic? We got this cool barrel to catch rain water from our downspouts, it is awesome. The thing fills up after one decent rain and we use the water to water our flowers and bushes. We haven't used our hose one time this summer! Thankfully, we have been getting steady rains every so often. We got the barrel from my friend Penny, who got it from I have no idea where. She is my go-to girl, she can find anything, and it's usually at a garage sale or off the curb. She rocks! And I got Paul these cool solar powered spot lights for our trees in the front yard. They look really good at night all lit up. They were super easy to install and not much more than the regular electric ones. I've been using the reusable bags for a while now at the grocery. I must say I miss all those little plastic bags I would get each week, they have so many uses, especially for our tiny trash cans. But I am trying to keep my eyes on the bigger picture here... And, today I ordered another recycling bin to be delivered. The garbage men keep taking my boxes of recycling with the regular trash and I was getting a teeny bit irritated, I mean, I was going to all that work to separate everything and they were just dumping it. Urgh! Oh well, just doin' my part to save the earth.

county fair

We went to the fair last night and boy did we have fun. I love seeing all those animals up close. My heart just aches for them. I just want to take them all home to save them from their eventual fates. Paul says I am too much of a softy and that farmers are used to the circle of life. My dream of having a farm somewhere will never come true, I don't have the heart for it. I also love seeing the teeny boppers who are in full summer romance mode, hands in back pockets, lovingly staring at each other as they share a corn dog, how sweet it is, if only for a week! On a related note, I have to say fair food (and Reds game food! love those nachos!) is my favorite food. I just love the fake, not-good-for-you, cheese-laden goodies that the fair offers. Where else can you get cheesecake on a stick, buckets of fries (an actual sign for this one!), and fried Twinkies? The crazy thing, I look forward to going and getting a treat every year, something I never eat, and for the second year in a row, I was so busy chasing the kids and making sure they got their treats that I never got myself anything! Talk about depressed! A pregnant woman should never be denied some good fair food. I guess it saved me some heartburn. All in all, the kids had a blast, Parker was loving the rides and Zoe was wanting to go on them all, even the crazy ones. I am still suspicious of rides that weren't in place a week ago that send my children hurling through the air with barely a seat belt. They each won a game and got a prize. Best of all, we were all together for a great evening.

Zoe

How can it be that my baby girl is riding her bike without training wheels? Paul has been trying to get her to ride for about a year and she's tried a few times with no success. Last night, she said, "I'm going to ride without my training wheels." And she did. With only a few minor bumps and bruises, she was navigating our driveway and the grass. She hasn't ventured out onto the sidewalk yet, she said she would "later." We stayed outside really late just letting her practice and she was so proud of herself. We were too of course. I was glad I had my sunglasses on to hide my tears, I can't believe she is growing up so fast.



On another Zoe note, we have worked out a plan together to clean her room and get it organized for the start of the school year. I had her draw a "map" (basically a picture) of her room. Together, we are going to clean one thing a day (yesterday we cleaned her desk) and throw away all junk/trash (the girl keeps every scrap of paper she finds!) and put other things where they go. After we clean each thing (dresser, bookcase, under the bed, etc.) we are going to cross it off the map. When all things are crossed off, she gets to go to Target and pick out a toy or similar item (I suggested a Leapster game or CD). She is pretty stoked to do this and so far there has been no complaining. Although when I suggested donating some of her unused toys, she said "no way, I have to save them for the new baby in case it is a girl! I will keep them in my room until she is old enough to have them, so she doesn't choke." See how smart she is? She is appealing to my mommy sense and keeping things at the same time, if her teenage years are going to be anything like the preschool years, I am in BIG trouble!

random stuff

In an effort to stick with my scrapbooking/crafting goals I made in January, I have to brag on myself and say that I made 10 birthday cards yesterday! Woo hoo, good for me right? They're pretty basic/plain but the best part of all, they're done! Now I am so excited to have them on hand ready to mail.

Now this morning, I had another brush with creativity, not my own. Parker decided to "color" black crayon on the walls. Three big black blobs and numerous streaks throughout the living and dining room. It took me an hour to "touch up" all his work. I can't believe how angry I can get over things like wall scribbles. Whew, it's mornings like this that make me wish I could just crawl back in bed. Oh the joys of being a SAHM.


update: Wednesday morning
***My husband suggested we go out for dinner after he heard about my day of painting, how sweet! When we came home we found all the trash cans had been turned over and their contents spread all over the house thanks to my little doggie Max. When I yelled at him, he went in the living room and in Parker's room and peed all over the carpet. Ever have one of these days? I counted the minutes until the kids went to bed and I could relax on the couch. Urgh!

what a relief

I am all for civic duty and being a good citizen and all that stuff but I have to say, I am feeling a huge weight off my shoulders for something I don't have to do... serve jury duty. About two months ago I got a summons to be on the grand jury (the ones who decide if a trial should take place or not, not determining guilt/innocence) and I must say I was not liking that one teeny bit. It's not that I don't want to serve, in fact I think it would be an interesting thing to participate in, I like learning new things, but it was for three weeks! I don't know any stay at home mom (or other moms for that matter) who can get reliable child care for three weeks! There was no way my husband could take off, he can barely make it home for my ob visits. So, I was totally stressed about how I was going to be excused. I wore my most obvious looking preggo shirt today and hoped they'd take one look at me and say, "no way, that chick is going to have to pee every 10 minutes" (which by the way is true)! Thankfully, there were enough people who volunteered to serve and I didn't have to get questioned by the judge as to why I could not serve. I left that courtroom in such a hurry I think there was smoke coming off my feet! Honestly, I hope I get called again someday (in about 10 years or so, when my munchkins are older) because I would like to participate and learn. Another example of my true nerdiness!

back to school ads

Today I was reading the newspaper, mostly the ads, and I found myself staring lovingly at the back to school supplies. I can remember as a child getting that new Trapper Keeper and new pencils (I loved those ones where you took the little lead out and put it in the top to get a new sharp one!) and new crayons and feeling like I had won the lottery. In high school, I couldn't wait to start school and get my supply lists from my teachers, it was off to Target for a spree. As a college student, I tried all kinds of ways to keep myself organized so back to school shopping was a fun challenge for me. I used binders, folders, tab dividers, note cards, you name it, I had it! And as a teacher, I literally took stock when the bins at Wal-mart filled up with $.10 folders. I taught in a poor area and many of the kids did not have money to buy their own supplies. Now as a mother of a kindergartner (argh, how can it be?) I find myself scanning the ads for the best deals. I know she won't need a three ring binder or highlighters, probably just some pencils and a folder but I can't help myself. I love to start fresh with new supplies, brand new Crayola markers, Bic pens in every color, crisp loose leaf paper just begging to be doodled on... ahhh! Now if I only had a reason to buy some of these things! Surely something in my house needs to be hole punched and color coded and filed neatly in a binder, I'm off to find something that will warrent a trip to Target's back to school aisle...

home again

We're back from our vacation lots of sun and fun was had by all. I don't know what it is but no matter how fun a vacation is, I love to come home, despite all the laundry, cleaning, and reorganizing that has to take place. I'll be posting again soon, I do have lots to do right now...

off we go

We are headed off on our trip to the lake, don't I sound so refined? "Ah, yes, dahling, the lake is simply wonderful..." anyway, if I can hijack my husband's cell phone(s) we're sure to have a fun time. I will seriously maim or injure anyone from work who calls him, he (and the rest of us) needs a break from everything. We haven't been to Lake Erie since I was pregnant with Parker, isn't it amazing I can remember stuff based on when I was pregnant/nursing/carrying a baby in the Baby Bjorn? I am so excited to go to Put-in-Bay and some of the local antique shops in the area (my hubby gets to go on a fishing charter one day and I get to go "tique-ing"). The kids are ready for swimming and sand, Zoe says we are going to "north Florida" this year, he he he! Relaxation... here we come!!!

zoo

It isn't often that we get all of us in one picture so I thought I'd share. This is from our trip to the zoo on Monday. Boy it was an interesting trip... tons of rain and cold weather (only about 72 degrees!), my hair was a total fuzzball (not good considering we ran into Paul's ex-girlfriend that he dated before me! Why do we have to see people like that when we aren't looking totally hot and skinny?)! We had fun and saw all the animals. We were walking for about 5 hours strait up and down the massive hills at the Cincinnati Zoo. I guess the cold weather kept them active and wanting to get out and have fun. I don't know if anyone agrees with me but I think the zoo animals always look so sad. I just want to pet them all and talk baby talk to them, like I do to my own pets. I swear they do not want to be there all enclosed in a small area and not free. While I love seeing them all in person, there is a part of me that thinks it just isn't right.

our favorite animals 2008:
Zoe: baby peacocks following their mommies
Parker: the ducks in the pond
Paul: giraffes (fresh in their new "giraffe ridge" area where you stand on a platform to observe them up close!)
Me: the apes: gorillas, orangutans, bonobos, gibbons, I love them all!

cute cupcakes

Lookie at what I made! Ignore the Christmas wraps, I was all out of plain ones... I am super excited to have made these cute cupcakes. They are just normal cupcakes but the icing swirl I made using my Pampered Chef Easy Accent Decorator. (I swear I love their stuff, they never have to suggestive sell to me, I'll take it all!) I think they look so cute!!! I will say if you try these at home, make extra icing, it uses a lot more to make these swirly things. I even think they taste better or was it my excitement at their utter cuteness? Who cares right?!