A - M Updates

A is for:
Astronaut - Ella got to go to the Dayton (Air Force?) museum over spring break with her friend Addison and hang out like an astronaut. She had a great day and I was happy about that since we really did nothing over Spring Break this year...I was sick as a dog the whole week.

B is for:
Boston - During the April 15th Boston Marathon this year, terrible bombings occurred that killed 3 people and wounded over 180.  Horrific for Boston, heartbreaking for America, and for runners across the world...just unimaginable.  As a newbie runner for the past 3 years, I have ran 3 Half Marathons and maybe 20-30 other races.  The atmosphere at these races is always so amazing.  The feeling when you achieve a goal and cross the finish line is so rewarding.  I just can't imagine being shocked out of such a high by something so terrifying.  A group of us ran in a Support Boston run on Monday night - 1 week after the craziness.  A group that is usually 40 or so turned into a group of 400+ to support the One Fund Boston.  Wonderful to support and be a part of this.

 

C is for:
Cat - We still have one and her name is still Cleo...and she still likes to lay on her back in the middle of any floor. I think she really misses her playmate, Zoe...

D is for:
Dwight - We happened into some concert tickets (thanks for Donna and Lee) to see Dwight Yoakam at the Bluestone.  The Bluestone is a super cool converted Baptist Church in downtown Columbus.  Great place to see concerts now. He was good but not as good as expected. Too much guitar.  Justin said he was probably tuning up for a concert tour and then I just found out he's playing Bonnaroo...good call JPJ.

E is for:
Emotion - After the Boston bombings, I noticed this on one of my race shirts...nothing brings out the emotions of the people and a country like 9/11 or school shooting situations.  It puts people into action.  You go crazy if you sit still.

 

F is for:

Family - I'm so grateful for such a wonderful family.  We don't spend as much time together now that we all go in 1000 different directions but when we do, we have so much fun and it's wonderful to get together. This was the kids at Easter.

 

G is for:

Green - Ella had strep throat a couple weeks ago.  After she started her medicine, we had to throw her old toothbrush out.  She wanted a new electric one.  So, I bought both E and Silas new electric toothbrushes.  They LOVE them.  They light up and and change colors when they are supposed to brush different parts of their teeth and then it shuts off after 2 minutes.  Worth the money!

 

H is for:

Hair - Si had quite the hair day.  He is digging the spiky look these days and then couple that with a VERY windy soccer game...

I is for:

Itchy Eyes - Poor Ella's eyes are killing her because of her allergies.  I finally made an appointment with the allergy doctor and we get in the first week of May.  I feel bad that I didn't take her in the winter so that they could have tested and given her medicine for NOW!

J is for:

Junk - the ongoing battle in our house continues to be a plethora of junk!  It multiplies at a staggering rate no matter how much we sort, trash and donate...I'm pretty sure our front room will never be more than a "sorting room"!

K is for:

pinK concert - kinda cheating, I know. Saw her in March and she was so amazingly incredible.  I totally have a new-found respect for her music and her as an artist and person.  Loved seeing her and gaining a better understanding of what drives  her.

L is for:

Loyal Customers - Justin continues to work his JCS Construction business.  I will tell you: it is tough.  It stresses me to the max because of the inconsistent income, the problems that pop up on jobs, the stress that it puts on Justin and his body.  But I will also tell you - his people LOVE him.  He is fair, he is respectful of their time and their money.  And when he spends a month or three in their home...the kids absolutely adore him...

 

{Dear Mr. Yonger, Thank you for doing our kicken. And thank you for being so nice. You are fast at doing lost of werk. I give you an A++++++  Your friend,Abigail}

M is for:

Mason - and he will graduate in MAY!!  And wow, this year and the last 4 years when he has been in high school have gone so incredibly fast (remember this?).  Yesterday was his Senior night at track. He has ran track all 4 years in high school.   He has worked hard this year to work out, get strong, eat well and get faster.  

I am so...proud...impressed...grateful...for this kid.  I'm so sad on one hand that this baby boy is no longer my baby. On the other - it is so fulfilling to know that he is growing up and growing into what he wants to do with his life.                                  

(And Ella is to my chin now...really??)

Updates N - Z...coming soon.

The Weekend that Wasn't

This will be a grumpy post - because this past weekend just blurred right into last week and makes it feel like I've just had a super, duper long week with no end in sight. My fun for the weekend included lots and lots of work and tons of laundry.  Justin worked all weekend too.  All I could envision is what it might be like to just go away someplace tropical, with a book in one hand and a big drink in the other. With or without kids but definitely without the computer and the washer/dryer. The most exciting thing this weekend is that Columbus (and most of Ohio) broke the February snowfall record with 30.1 inches.  I suppose that could be why I feel so cooped up and antsy - I'd just like to hibernate.

Silas even asked me on Sunday "can't I just sleep until summer gets here?" 

- my feelings exactly!! I don't think that in my 40 winters in Ohio, I've ever wanted spring to get here as much as this year!

 Even the snowmen have had enough...look how depressed he looks...

 

The leaning pile of snow. It stayed that way all night.

One thing that I've been trying hard to work on around here is some of our eating habits.  I've been reading some books on nutrition and preventing/fighting cancer.  There are a lot of things that I had no clue about. It's been very helpful.  I have switched our pasta to whole grain, trying to cut out as much refined sugar as possible and this week we've eaten apples, bananas, oranges, tons of blueberries, other berries (lots in smoothies), broccoli, carrots, brussel spouts, orange peppers, tomatoes and lots of avocados and salads.

I am having a hard time working more fish into our weekly menu though...maybe tomorrow we'll have fish tacos. And more beans...less meat. Yikes.

The animals continue to be loved...very loved to the point of suffocation.

 And they have claimed the kids' couches as their own...

Silas has been a good sport when I put his hat on...and he looks like a lump-head. He calmly reminds me that his mittens are still in his hat.

An Ella funny:

me: don't lick your sunglasses

Ella: I'm not licking them, I'm cleaning them (with her tongue...)

ick.

Silas has been his rotten self lately.  He is quickly learning the art of manipulation, especially if it involves the Wii or DS.  We really have to watch how much he plays because if we'd let him, he'd stay on it ALL day long!
I've been going into his classroom once or twice a month to help the kids do activities on the computer. It's fun to get to know the kids in his class and his teachers.  His teacher is pregnant and the kids all ask her a bunch of questions about the baby. One girl asked her to open her mouth so that she could see the baby in her belly :)

I am VERY proud of Mason right now.   He's done a good job of keeping his grades up all year, but for some reason, seemed to be slacking in the effort last semester.  When he brought home his interim grades this time he has all A's and today he got a postcard in the mail from his World Studies teacher:

Your student, Mason, has been recognized for...

turning it up this quarter! Mason has really applied himself and is performing at the level we all knew he could.  Great job!!

Yes, GREAT JOB!  I love my kids.  I'm not nearly as grumpy now :-)

Snow Dog, BEPs, Fat Cat and Glam Girls Pictures

This winter is the kind of winter I remember having as a kid - LOTS of snow! Zoe hasn't really wanted to spend too much time outside playing in it. She goes out, does her business and hightails her behind right back inside.

I can't say that I blame her with snow like this. 

 The day after the latest of the big snows, I had tickets to see the 

Black Eyed Peas - they were awesome!

 Miss Cleo has been renamed "FAT CAT" 

And no wonder since this is what we find

around the house...

  

We're learning to never leave any food out on the table, counters, anyplace that Fat Cat is..

The minute that we leave the room, she gets it!

On Friday I was lucky enough to have a case of wine delivered to my doorstep, thanks to Grandpa J.  It couldn't have arrived at a better time - after spending so much time with the kids out of school the past several weeks!
 

Ella soon asked me to empty the box out so that she could 
"make an airplane".

She cut wings out of paper and then taped them up, 
took a piece of tinfoil and cut out a microphone to talk to her passengers. 

  

She made tickets to "the Sun Spa", made a ticket holder to put them in

and also drew a TV inside the box for her 2 passengers, AND 

she served them spaghetti and meatballs at NO extra charge! 

  

She spent a good 2 hours piloting her plane to and from the Sun Spa.

Today she decided that her Barbie needed a bouquet of flowers.

She spent an hour coloring, cutting out and making these flowers.

They are less than an inch long. She took a tissue, twisted it up and put the 

flowers down in it so that Barbie could carry the flowers. 

Not having much patience or artistic talent myself, it amazes me when she does stuff like this!

On Saturday night, Ella went to a Red Carpet gala at Abbi and Alli's.

She got all gussied up in her dress and tiara, spending the evening with the big girls.

  

It was quite chilly but the girls had a great time strutting on the Red Carpet!

Utter Randomness...

If I only had a brain

This week I've been painfully stupid.  I don't know if it's stress, lack of sleep or too much wine (or any combination of the above).  So far I've:

1.  waited for 35 minutes in the atrocious pick up line for Ella after school, only to realize right when I got to the pick up area that she had an after school program and needed picked up an hour later

2.  Looked all over the house for 2 days for the check that I wrote for preschool. I finally just decided to write another...low and behold the 1st check was still patiently waiting in the check book...

Ella lost the cat (somewhere inside the house - the cat was really just hiding from her and Silas). She decided she needed to make a sign to help find her. I found the cat...at 3am when she was sitting in the hallway outside our bedroom door meowing her fat head off.

(sorry for the blurry pic)

The new Apple iPad makes me think of a feminine hygiene product. Might as well name it iSummer's Eve or iTampon. Product Naming department: fired.

I've decided not to wish it was Friday anymore.That means I'm wishing the week away and my life is going fast enough already.  I might not LIKE Mondays as much as Fridays but they'll have to do.

I just read Anna Quindlen's A Short Guide to a Happy Life (while waiting the 35 minutes to pick up Ella. No kidding, the book is that short - the title is very fitting). I love her.  Love her writing and her view of life (see Words to Live By to the left).  Another post for another day.

I haven't mentioned much about being 40 now.  but it's there. much like the 10 pounds I think I've gained since Christmas day.  Is this how it's gonna be?

"Her thoughts now turned to the words of Washington Irving she had taped to her fridge: 'There is in every true woman's heart a spark of heavenly fire, which lies dormant in the broad daylight of prosperity; but which kindles up and beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity'."

This is from an article about a woman named Stephanie Nielson who miraculously survived a horrible plane crash. I've read her blog for quite awhile (she was on Oprah I believe) and just recently read this beautifully written but painful to read article about her experience and recovery. It is impossible to look at anything in my life as tragic or an adversity after reading this.  All I can do is thank God and pray for her.

And finally, say a little prayer that my eyeballs don't get burned out of my skull tonight. My eyelashes have been horrible lately.  Breaking, thinning, just difficult.  I got some "natural" eye lash conditioner to put on at night.  This could be my last night with vision...

oh, and I'm now totally addicted to Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice cream.  I had it on Tuesday night and haven't stopped eating it since (thanks Sarah.)

If the Shoe Fits...

Someone knows Miss Ella Boo very well - my dad got this sign for her 

- and yes, she does save most of the DRAMA for her Mama!

And speaking of (Drama) Queens - Miss Cleo

has found a new place that she likes to call her throne.

 

I thought we were Tough Love kind of parents -

how did our kids (AND animals) get so stinkin' rotten??

More pictures than words

I know that I've posted a LOT of Cleo pictures lately but this cat is just a trip. She sprawls like a Playboy pin-up.

rrrhhhh, growl like a Tiger girl!

Mr. Silas does NOT have a death grip on her -
she is quite happy to be there in his embrace...really.

And this is NOT a pity shot of Zoe...who never gets a picture taken any more...

We've laid out blankets, kitty beds, etc - she likes the PopTart box...
to each her own.

though Ella did try to go around saying
"kitten for sale...5 dolla kitten for sale..."

And this is a tree. And a really pinky sky...2 of my favorite things.

I've had a very rough time taking pictures lately. My most favorite lens is going to have to be shipped off for repair. It just bit the dust which bums me out greatly. But I have a plan...

A Very Unorganized Update

I am way, way overdue on the updating and if I wait around to organize it...it'll never happen. So in no particular order...here is the past week or so!

1. Margie's 9 months post-chemo scan results have come back NED :-) Yippee!! NED means No Evidence of DISEASE!

2. Miss Cleo has had THE awaited appointment and is now declawed and spayed. I LOVE this cat - she is a total doll, but she put some serious hurtin' on our leather couches during the couples weeks that we had her with claws.


3. 6pm or so on a Sunday - Silas and Daddy on the porch enjoying some gorgeous weather. We have been SO spoiled with gorgeous late summer weather. It might look like we have Silas in his pajamas pretty early...but the truth is...he never got out of his pajamas that day. He loves his "lazy days"!

4. Klutzy Silas has struck again. He fell out of the blue porch chair and did a head-dive onto the concrete. I'm seriously surprised that Childrens Services hasn't come calling on us...


5. Silas started his first round of swim lessons at the Y. He did great. I remember when Mason started taking swim lessons - it took about 10 sessions before he'd even put his face in the water. Luckily, Silas has been around pools and water since birth (thanks to the James' lovely pool). He is totally at ease in the water. He was freezing his butt off though.

6. This school stuff is putting a totally whooping on the kids - they either crash out at the end of the night or are manic for hours on end and refuse to even contemplate sleep. Silas often tells me "I cannot close my eyes in my room" - that is his way of trying to get to sleep in our bed. He's been waking up in the middle of the night for the last 5 or 6 days and coming into bed with us. He is not subtle...he'll come in on my side, I'll sit up so he can climb in and then he totally takes my spot and zonks out in an instant, leaving me to move his jello body over into the middle of the bed, where he promptly completes the H between me and Justin, head in Justin's back and feet in my ribs...this morning he was laughing and giggling in his sleep.


7. This wonderfully, beautiful weather that we are having has gotten us outside a lot in the evenings. I would take the weather year-round with a couple days of snow at Christmas.

8. Justin bought new jeans. Finally. Sam's club jeans. Nice jeans, $12 - can't complain. Here he is in his new jeans moments before leaving for work...luckily I had downed several cups of coffee before he left and was pretty observant...

Yes, I told him before he left the house...


9. Mason - he avoids the camera as much as possible. but he still exists. More about him later....

Some Random Updates

If tonight is any indication of how weepy I'm going to be about Mason starting high school in less than 2 weeks, then I am in big trouble! Tonight was the parent orientation night at Bradley. Not even 5 minutes into the principal's presentation, he said "raise your hand if this is your first child going into high school" - that was all I needed to get all teary-eyed for the rest of the night. I'm scared, excited, nervous...and I'm not even the one going to high school. I think it's going to be a great year...brand new school, loved the principal and the teachers that are part of Mason's Freshman teaching team, I am excited to see what types of activities he gets involved in, Friday night football games, dances, sports, maybe some student council...fun!

Ella has been funny this week - she made her bed by herself one day over the weekend, and now she refuses to get under the covers to sleep in it. She doesn't want to mess it up so she sleeps on top of her quilt and covers up with another blanket.
I was very proud of her this week. She has started riding her bike on the sidewalk. She learned how to ride with no training wheels last summer, but only when we go up to the school where there is more space. Last night I put her on the side walk and she was nervous and wobbly for the first 10 minutes and then she was screaming up and down the sidewalk, as fast as can be.



Silas still continues on his rotten, rotten, rotten streak. And we just can't seem to beat it out of him. I think it might be time for a new strategy...but no idea what that might be. Obstinate is definitely the word to describe him right now. We keep reminding ourselves that Ella was very stubborn and tough to deal with at this age, so hopefully Si will grow out of it too!

Cleo and Zoe are becoming best buddies. Well, not really buddies yet, but they are tolerating each other very well and manage to ignore each other mostly. This picture below is the first day that they were starting to get close to one another. Zoe was really wanting none of it but Cleo would come over and casually hang out by her and try to get noticed.

This video is cute - Cleo might have a Silas streak of rotten in her...

She loves to sleep in the baby doll stroller

Cleo has been a prefect fit for the family. She is so laid back, she just hangs out, plays, lets the kids carry her around...we're so happy to have her!

Justin has been VERY hard at work. JCS (his business) has started to take off and he's getting some great referrals. And a very sore back!

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Duh hanging out in the "family room" addition
Quite a significant project!

And I have been very busy with work, the kids, trying to get some photography practice in and just keeping up with all that needs to be done in life. I have discovered that I need 2/3rds caffeinated coffee to operate at maximum efficiency. Half-caf was not getting the job done, full-caf leaves me jittery and on edge.

Our garden is a shambles right now but the sunflowers are beautiful!

We're looking forward to a fun weekend of birthday parties and going to the new Clippers stadium for the first time! I've heard it is fantastic. We'll have to work some swimming in too - looks like temps in the 90's.

So there you have it - some random updates!