Man Down

We've got an injured player. Justin had a job at a food plant on Friday and maimed his back pretty good. Luckily Greg was with him and Grandpa (a chiropractor) was in for the Thanksgiving weekend. I freaked out a bit when Greg brought him home and he couldn't walk without crutches, and Greg and his dad had to help him in from the car and onto the floor.

After 24 hours of ice and adjustments he was feeling better. He can walk - which makes me happy.
However, he cannot lift, bend over, put his socks on or sleep through the night (and he's always had the bladder of a 5 year old) so now I know what it's like to have a 9 month pregnant husband...





Last night the kids vegged and watched movies. They watched on the little DVD player (while Daddy was watching football).


AND...the 2nd man went down...


Silas sacked out at 6:30 last night and didn't wake up until 7am this morning. Delayed turkey-coma.

We're keeping our fingers crossed that the back heals quickly - he's got another big job going on this coming Friday/Saturday.

I'm ending my Thanksgiving weekend with my book group gals (and guy) - a fitting way to end a gluttonous, Thankful weekend!

Let the Games Begin!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

The cooking fun has started around here - the turkey will go in soon, the sides will be made and brought by all the family coming over. There will be 21 adults and 13 kids here this year - pure insanity but I guess that is what Thanksgiving is all about!

This year has been a stressful one - job loss, Margie's cancer and treatments, loss of a friend - but in the midst of bad stuff - I feel so blessed to have a wonderful family and so many great friends. A husband that works hard and loves his family, rotten little kids that will tell me I'm the "best mommy ever" (luckily they don't have another mommy to compare me to!), a warm house with plenty of food and the Freedom to thank God for it all.

I hope we can all take a moment in the middle of what will become the chaos of the holiday season - to just stop, take a look and take it all in. And be very Thankful and grateful for all that we have.

Enjoy the day!

There's a 1st Time for Everything

Our TV bit the dust today - figures...the day before Thanksgiving when we're having 35 people over - but something generally breaks every year at Thanksgiving...

I knew something was wrong when I turned on the TV and the football team was hot pink and neon green. Everyone looked a lot like Shrek. Justin and I struggled a bit with what to do. We have never bought a TV - ours were all given to us (many moons ago) - so we really didn't know the How's to TV buying or what we were really looking for.



We ended up at Sam's because they were close, it was late and we figured we could find a decent deal. We found a nice little Magnavox (to replace the OTHER Magnavox) that has a very nice picture, fits in our TV cabinet (not easy to manage with the new wider screens) and didn't cost us an arm & leg.


We have bought houses, cars, babies (if you consider what we paid for Ella!), and now we can add a TV to that list - we must be all grown up!

Oh the Weather Outside is Frightful

and I'm too cheap to turn the fireplace on!!!
the kids were freezing after playing outside and I turned it on for about 10 seconds...

Justin is at a work meeting (well was when I started this post) - and I decided to take a few minutes to catch up on blogging. We had 5 things we were supposed to go to tonight. A conference for Mason (but he did not give me the right info so we missed it,) the zoo lights opening, Justin had another work meeting that he missed and the calling hours for Doug. In case you are not a BTeam blog reader - check out what the moms in her neighborhood made the family:

These are bears made out of Doug's shirts - how incredibly cool is that? One for Sheri and each of the kids. A true treasure.


We got some wacky, crazy, snowy weather again this evening. Ella and Si went out and played in it a bit while I made dinner. Si gave me a bit of a disgusting fright when he walked in saying "blah, guck, blah" and I saw snow and brown goop hanging from his mouth - I'm truly hoping it was just mud.
Ella lost another tooth recently - the tooth fairy was a little late getting to her but we told her Miss T. Fairy does not work on the weekends...


Dinner tonight was pizza and I cut up carrots, radishes and celery. Silas absolutely CHOWS on celery - the kid will say about 20 times "more cel-ry, more cel-ry" and Ella loves radishes and carrots. I cut up REAL carrots, not those watery baby ones - I always forget how much more flavorful real carrots are.

Speaking of dinner, the other night we were all eating dinner and Si had some broccoli on his nose. Justin picked it off the end of his nose and put it on his plate. Silas looked at him (much like the face in the picture below but without red eyes) and said
"why you put my boogie on your plate??"


He's been saying the funniest things lately but most would be Too Much Information for most. Though I will need to blog them eventually so I don't forget them.
He is also doing a very good job with the potty training.

Ella had her Parent-Teacher conference this week. She is going a bang-up job in Kindergarten. of course her teacher LoVeS her..."always as sweet as can be" - I'm going to video the head-spinning-spewing-green-goop thing that she does when she doesn't get her way - to show her teacher...

In Loving Memory

of Douglas Barlay - he died very peacefully yesterday with Sherilynn by his side.

All our love and prayers to the BTeam.

BARLAY Douglas M. Barlay, age 44, Sunday, November 16, 2008 at The Ohio State University Hospital. Graduate of Bishop Hartley High School (1983) and The Ohio State University with a B.S. in Industrial Design. Veteran US Navy Operation Desert Storm, USS Saratoga. Dedicated Prosthetist with Hanger Orthopedic. Committed to Engaged Encounter and it's philosophies. Lifelong member of St. Catharine Church and member of the Knights of Columbus. Survived by his wife, Sheri Lynn Barlay; children, Victoria, Rebecca, Koen and Katharine; parents, Karl (Priscilla) Barlay and Faith (Dick) Criner; sister, Erin Taphorn; brother, Andrew Barlay; father and mother-in-law, Bert and Mary Lou Seymour; lifelong friends, Rick Ochs and Ann and Gale. Friends may call Thursday 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. at EGAN-RYAN FUNERAL HOME, 403 E. Broad St. Rosary Thursday 7:45 p.m. Mass of Christian Burial Friday 10 a.m. at St. Catharine Church. Burial St. Joseph Cemetery. Friends who wish may contribute in Doug's memory to St. Catharine Church, 500 S. Gould Rd., Columbus, OH 43209. The family does not know how to begin to thank the countless family, friends and community who have been so generous and life changing. You assured Doug that his family would be among good friends.

Snug as Bugs

Scrub-a-dub-dub - Time for the tub
Behind your ears
between your toes
Scrub-a-dub-dub - Splash in the tub

Coax you out
Wrap you up tight
Snuggle you close
Prepare you for night

Nuzzle your neck
tickle your toes
Cherishing each moment
how fast it goes

ALL ABOARD!!

We have had a couple big days around here! Si decided on Tuesday that he'd start going potty on the potty (he's gone some at Kelly's but not at home).
He went Tuesday night and twice on Wednesday morning. Today he went several times at home AND at Kelly's!


Yesterday, since he'd done such a good job, we went to Target and got a prize from the $1 bin. He picked a train. What's funny is that because he got this for going potty, he calls it his POTTY TRAIN - ha!

The down side to this...I find him BUTT NAKED on my new area rug...

Hopefully this is the beginning of the end of DIAPERS!!

The Flip Side of the Weekend

While Justin and I were out gallivanting around Ohio this past weekend, I knew my kids were safe and secure in the hands of Sarah and Brian...

They were Monster Robots (key word MONSTER - natty light box being the "robot"), made monster faces, made cake and decorated it with about 10,000 sprinkles and then Si and Brian wore their "beards" while watching football

Saturday night after their pizza dinner…Si was sticking his finger in his mouth, trying to get any extra pizza out of his teeth, when he looked at Sarah and says, “I need a Q-tip for my teeth”

Apparently we don't allow sharp objects in our house!

Celebration of Learning and Cincinnati = Fun Weekend!

Justin and I went to the CML (Columbus Metro Library) Celebration of Learning on Friday night. It's one of my favorite annual events - combining food, wine, the beautiful downtown library and a wonderful author/speaker. This year Roy Blount Jr. was the author. I had not heard of him but he was SO funny and had a great southern accent.
The food was fantastic - there are usually 8-10 or so local restaurants that cater it and you go around to all the different "stations" and fill up on their specialties. Jeni's Ice Cream was there also - I had Dark Cocoa Gelato and Justin had something pumpkin flavored - both to die for!

A few pictures - taken with the cell phone camera so they are not great.

1st floor of the main library - looking up at the 2nd and 3rd floors

Entering into the childrens area

My kind of kid area - open bar had been set up :)

On Saturday we dumped the kids off at Sarah and Brian's and headed South to Cincinnati. I had a work party (an early holiday party) and it was great fun. We ate and drank well (again!) - and we stayed the night in Cinci.
When we got back, Ella went to see a movie with a friend and Silas crashed - he must have been really worn out!

Happy Birthday to My Mama!

We love you!!

MUM's the Word

(My beautiful "Point Pelee" Mums)

Speaking of MUM, when it comes to "taboo" topics like my salary/finances, my sex life and my political views - you'd sooner hear more about sex and money from me than about politics...but there is no doubt that these elections were a defining moment in history - and would have been with either outcome in the Presidential election.

I realized yesterday and today that something was different about this election on a personal level - that is - I truly cared about the outcome. Along with most everyone else in the U.S., I have felt we have not been on the right track. For some (most?) it may be the economy, taxes, etc. And while those things are certainly very important to me, more important than the price of gas is the state of our values and work ethic in America. Corruption and greed seem to be the norm any more. I don't think our kids are getting the right messages, and often, I don't think that We the People are sending the right messages (I'll speak for myself on that one).

No one can walk into that Oval office and in 1 year, 4 years or even 8 years, fix all that is "broken" with the government, the economy, the war - not Obama, not McCain (maybe Robin Williams) - but I feel good about this "change in management".

My take on a great leader:

-A great leader is not "all-knowing" - they cannot do-it-all, know-it-all, be-it-all.

-What a great leader CAN do is inspire - encourage - and give hope. They will lead by example. A great leader will surround him or herself with the best talent and create highly functional, effective teams to drive success.

-A great leader will delegate, give responsibility and expect accountability. Great leaders encourage us to work harder and to expect more from ourselves.

I know that I have taken the "smooth sailing" of this country (in my lifetime) for granted. I have no doubt that I could and should be working harder - expecting and accepting more responsibility for the state of my community and my country.

I feel inspired...I feel encouraged...I feel hopeful...

P.S. - While I value your opinions (or at least your right to have an opinion) - I don't want to know it...unless you have something inspiring, encouraging or hopeful to add!

A Last Fall Hurrah...

While Fall technically doesn't end for quite awhile...we all know in Ohio, this is about as good as it gets. Next week we'll probably get snow.

A few pictures...as usual.

Once again, my fruit bowl has been corrupted. One guess who the culprit is

All That Remains - of my garden. A very sad day.

But what beautiful shrubbery we have

The wacko-jackos will be put to rest tonight as well, tomorrow is garbage day.

Too Much Fun!

We went to a Halloween Costume party at the James' - what a GREAT time we had! Here are some pictures to prove it...

I went as Sarah Palin. Justin was Todd, her commercial fisherman husband. He could have been the Gordon Fisherman too I guess.

I had my red jacket, glasses, $10K price tag on my jacket and baby Trig in my Bjorn carrier.

As I was getting ready, I realized that I looked like hell and had very little time to get ready. So, I went with it....mussed up hair, penciled in black bags under my eyes...and made myself a tag to wear:

The Girls - Jodi, Jen, ME, Beth


Jill and Doug were great as Juno and Paulie

Jay and Brenda or rather, Hugh and his PB Bunny

I won't tell you who's behind this is...

Fun Fun evening!!

Why I HATE Moonsand