***STORM WARNING***

So last night we had a bad storm move through, with the possibility of "tornadic activity" (lol, that term always makes me laugh). So, Bill and I put the kids to bed telling them that the worst of the storm was almost through, and there would be NO tornado's. There was still some thunder and lightning, which they've never had a problem with before, but a few nights ago at 2:30am we had this GINORMOUS crack of thunder that woke up Emma and she came running to our room...this was followed by lightning so fast and bright that it looked like we had a strobe light in our bedroom. All was well, and we survived. But, back to last night...Bill and I were watching "Shutter Island" (wierd move, btw) and she at some point had run downstairs and threw this note on the floor and ran back to her room. :) So sweet.


It says:

"Dear Mom and Dad I am scared. Please come and snuggle for 5 minutes. Love Emma.

I just LOVE her!!!!

Emma's Tea Party

A couple of days ago Emma mentioned that she wanted to invite a few friends over for a real life tea party. And knowing me, I jumped all over this idea. Emma wrote out invites for 5 friends, and we planned it for toeday, the first day of Spring Break. After the invitations were delivered at school, I received a phone call from one of the mother's wanting to know if the invite was "legitimate". So, then I called the other mothers and assured them that it was in fact a real thing Emma was planning. Emma had 3 friends over for tea at two. We planned a menu of cucumber tea sandwiches (made espcially for you Opa!), pb&j tea sandwiches (for the finicky sort), strawberries, cookies, and of course tea (decaf). We spent the whole morning preparing/cleaning for our afternoon tea. It was a great success and Jenny (bless her heart) even came up to help with the party. I showed the girls how to put their tea bags in the water and then how to take them out and that a lady drinks with her pinky out (i know they don't do that now-days, but it was fun) and Jenny taught them that a lady always "dabs" with her napkin and never "wipes". We had a fun afternoon of being ladies. I'm so proud of Emma coming up with this idea all on her own, and I had soooo much fun planning it with her and making it happen.

Emma

Emma has created her own personal list of things to do to get ready for tomorrow, which is New Years Eve...



#1...."Take A Nap"



#2...."12:00 Midnight"

Hahaha! I wish I could have "to do" lists that short!!!! Happy New Year to everyone!

Here I am

Forgive me family, for I have slacked, it has been two months since my last post.

I promise to get something in the works in the next few days. It has been crazy with work, sickness, and Facebook! (darn that Facebook!!!)

I love you all!!!

The Children's Museum

Quick post. The kids and I went to The Children's Museum today. It's a good thing it didn't cost us anything (we have a membership), because it was soooo crowded. I figured that with this being a weekend that it would be busy, but I never could have imagined! There is a King Tut exhibit there right now until October so I think it was especially crowded.

Just to give you an idea, this is PART of what I was up against.

The kids and I just visited two of the floors and then a quick run through the Dinosphere. After only one hour, we were ready to go! I told the kids that since it was so busy it was very important that they stay by me. Emma was so cute...any time that I was out of her sight she would slightly start to panic yelling "mom! mommy!!" At least they listened to me this one time! :-)

Here Come The Irish

"Outlined against a blue, gray October sky the Four Horsemen rode again. In dramatic lore they are known as famine, pestilence, destruction and death. These are only aliases. Their real names are: Stuhldreher, Miller, Crowley and Layden. They formed the crest of the South Bend cyclone before which another fighting Army team was swept over the precipice at the Polo Grounds this afternoon as 55,000 spectators peered down upon the bewildering panorama spread out upon the green plain below."

Ok ok, enough of the nostalgia....Bill and I have been talking about taking the kids up to South Bend to walk around campus at Notre Dame. On impulse we made our 2 hour pilgrimage up to South Bend last Saturday. It was cold, drizzeling and a little windy...typical South Bend weather. We went to the book store and bought all of our goods that we would need for another football season. (I TOLD BILL NOT TO LOOK AT THE AMOUNT WHILE I PAID!!!) Then we walked around campus. Emma and Nicho loved all the trees and "meadows" as Emma called them. Really they were grassy knolls and flowers, but it was really cute. We walked by the statue of Father Sorin, the kids didn't seem to care, but I could tell it was bringing back a lot of memories for Bill. So we walked to the "Golden Dome" and tried to get the kids interested in it. It's so beautiful to see in person. I'm sure the picture won't do it justice.

I tried to change the shading on the picture so you could see the dome...but it didn't work...so now it blends in with the sky. But Bill and the kids look cute.

So then we went to the Basilica and did a quick walk thru...then on to The Grotto. We wanted to walk around St. Joseph's Lake, but since it had been raining, we decided not to. The kids were getting tired so we went back to the car. On our way back this older couple walked by us. It was really funny...they said hi...and the man says "wow, these freshman keep getting younger and younger every year!". It was pretty funny. Bill said we were showing the kids where they will go to college in a few years. Combine the drizzling rain and two whining kids...that equals "let's go".

After that we made our way over to LaPorte. Debbie, Bill's sister, was nice enough to have us over for dinner. It was wonderful to go up there. They have a Christmas tree farm and it's absoultely BEAUTIFUL up there. The kids had a great time! I wish I would've taken more pictures, but as they say hind sight is 20/20! We had a great visit with Debbie and Mike. Mike even taught Nicholas the correct way to dunk an Oreo! It was hilarious!!!! They have a yellow lab (Bo) and a black lab (Molly) and a one-eyed cat (Kelsey). The kids really adored them!!! We left a little after 7, which put us home at almost 10pm. It was a great day!!!!!

I love spending time with my family! Special thanks to Debbie and Mike for hosting us for dinner! We love you!

First Day of School

I really have dropped off the face of the earth! I was enjoying our summer vacay with the kids and have such lost track of time. I will try and catch you up on what we've been up to this summer.

First, I need to tell you that my WONDERFUL husband bought me a laptop as an early birthday present. I got it on Monday. I LOVE IT!!! This one runs on Vista, so I had to download something from Sony so that my pictures would work on this. I have to say that I'm pretty proud of myself for figuring this out on my own. Many times I just wanted to call my bro Rich and have him come do it for me...but I kept telling myself that I could do it...and I did! (I'm giving myself a pat on the back even as we speak...ha!)

My posts will be out of order, but I figured I would start with the most recent event first and work backwards. Emma started 1st grade last Wednesday the 12th. She was so excited to get back to school and see some of the friends she wasn't able to see over the summer. Here are some pics of my big girl Emma!


And here is a picture of Nicholas saying that he wants to get on the bus too! He really was going to miss his big sister that day!

(That's a rug burn on his forehead...no worries, it was gone a couple of days later)

WICKED....Take 2

Last Saturday, the 6th I had a wonderful date with my husband. We went to see "Wicked" for the second time. My wonderful best friend Jenny and her husband Hank (aka "Aunt Jenny and Uncle Hank") came up to watch the kids for us. (Thanks again guys! We love you!) We met our friends Andy and Kathy downtown at The Capital Grille for dinner. It was so delicious! We had Calamari in a sweet chili sauce for an appetizer, yummy! Then we each had a nice juicy steak with sides of parmesan truffel fries and broccolini (that is a cross between broccoli and asparagus....yummy!) For dessert we shared creme brulee...yummy! It was all sooooo good, as you can tell from my "yummy" comments.
After dinner we walked half way across downtown Indianapolis (me in some way cute strapy silver high heels) to the Murat Theatre to go see the show. I have to say that it is sooooo much better the second time. Don't get me wrong, the first time was great, but this was way cooler. Part of it was that I knew the songs so much better, and the other part is that we were 7 rows from the front of the stage. It was so cool to see all of the details in the costumes that I didn't notice before. The sheer power behind their voices was amazing, and I have to admit that I teared up a couple of times. Once at the end of Act 1 when Elphaba sang "Defying Gravity" and then towards the end of the Act 2 when Glinda and Elphaba sang "For Good". I laughed a lot more seeing it this time. There was this guy sitting next to me that was cracking me up because he was laughing too. It was a genuine laugh and I could tell that he was really enjoying the show.
Anyway....after the show we had to walk BACK to the car...that was a painful walk. I have never been so happy to get my shoes off. It was an awesome evening...and since we had bought our tickets in January, I was glad that the day had finally come.

Ahhhh....I heart WICKED!!!!

Happy Birthday Margaret!

For those of you who don't know Margaret, she is Bill's mother...thus, my mother-in-law. I love her to pieces. She is VERY funny and VERY unpredictable. You never know what she might say. Well, today is her birthday...number 77. Yesterday we had a birthday party/cookout for her and my neice Hannah. Hannah (Banana) just turned 13 last Saturday. I love her so much and she has turned into such a wonderful young lady, of which I had no doubt, considering that her parents are two wonderful people. I can't believe that when I first met her she was only 2!!!! Children really grow up too fast.
Back to the story.......Margaret had been saying for at least the last 3 months that she was upset that we got rid of her electric can opener when we moved her to assisted living. I guess we figured that she wouldn't need it. Our bad! So with her birthday falling so close to Mother's Day, I figured that I would get her something that would be a surprise. Well, of course I got her an electric can opener. This is the picture of her opening her gift....

Let me paint the rest of the scenario for you...she is turning the box over and over and over...and she says "well, what is it?" I say, "It's a can opener! I thought you wanted one." Then she says....which I thought was so priceless...."Well honey, it's so FANCY!" I wanted to laugh a lot harder than I did. I think the last one she had was that "green" color...and this one was white...maybe she thought it was fancy. I don't know, but "good golly" she makes me laugh! HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARGARET (MOM)!!!!!!
Here are some more pics...Hannah is the beautiful one with red hair. Sarah has the blonde hair and then of course you can figure out which ones are Stephen, Nicholas and Emma. Sorry I didn't have time to edit the photos. Just wanted to get something posted.

Oh Emma, you are so cute!

Nicholas and I were out shopping today. The one place I cannot avoid is Target. I love that store! I had a few things I needed and then I remembered that Emma needed a few more t's for summer. Well, I come across the clearance rack and there is ONE Hannah Montana cute shirt in here size, so I snatch it up. I was thinking to myself that she would be so excited about the shirt. Well, she was excited....and LOVED the shirt. Then she wanted to know how much it cost. I told her it was $8. The next thing I know...this is what I find.....


Emma said she took the money from her piggy bank and wanted to make sure we weren't going to die. How funny is that??? Really it all goes back to our Disney trip when she thought we weren't going to have enough money to get home. I guess our little sweetheart may just really know the value of the dollar.

I'm still here

Yes, I am still alive. I have been working on my post for our DisneyWorld trip. It has obviously taken me longer than expected, seeing as how we've been back for a little over a month...I promise it's coming soon. But to keep you all coming back I thought I would post something recent.

This past Saturday we decided to go to the movies. Bill and Nicho went to Monsters vs. Aliens (and loved it). Nicho did a lot better than expected and said "I loved monsters!" Emma and I went to the long anticipated release of Hannah Montana: The Movie. And please don't tell anyone...but I actually really liked it. I think the part I loved the most was that I went to it with my baby girl. It was a fun mommy and daughter date. There is a song in the movie that I really liked and thought I would post the video for your viewing pleasure...hope it works...



For some reason it brought tears to my eyes. I think most of it was because Emma was sitting on my lap at that point of the movie, and I was so happy. I was really thinking to myself..."Get a grip woman! You are at a Hannah Montana movie and you are going to cry???" So I choked backed my tears and thankfully left it at that. I did wonder though, how many other mom's were doing the same thing....SURELY I have not been the only one! We had a great time and Emma did get up and dance to the "Hoedown Throwdown". Great dance and you will have to get on YouTube to learn the dance. I'm going to! heehee

object width="425" height="344">

Snow Day!

Before I begin, I just want to thank those of you that read my last blog. I know that your prayers are helping. Again, thank you. They are going to need the Lord's strength in these next days, weeks, months, years.

Last week we got A LOT of snow. For us it was a lot anyway. In one day/night we got over 12 inches! (today we got another 4 inches). Anyway, the schools ended up doing a couple of 2 hour delays and one day school was cancelled. This was a very exciting day for the kids and I thought I would post a couple of pictures.






Before that snow last week, I was really hoping that we would get some good snow that the kids could go out and play in. But after a week, and it wasn't gone....and then getting this snow today...I am really really ready for SPRING!!!!

More to post...but this is first

You know, I really wish I could be one of "those people" that blog a lot. Really though, as much as I yell at myself for not doing it...I just have to be realistic...it just isn't going to happen. So, everyone, don't expect too much from me, not that you already do. I do have to say that I have recently become addicted to Facebook and find myself on there more than I am on Blogspot (sorry!!!). I just feel that if I post a blog, I have to have pics with it. I do have more posts coming...but there is one that I have to get out to as many people as I can.



On a more serious note...we have friends down the street who's son passed away on Sunday. He had a VERY rare form of cancer called desmoplastic small round cell tumor. It is predominantely in males and happens at a very young age. The percentage of children who live past the age of 10 is very small. I would LOVE for you to read his story. Please vist his website www.caringbridge.org/visit/jacksonpalmer

Unfortunately, with the way insurance companies work, Jackson met his "life-time max" a while ago. His family has had to pay out of pocket for further treatment, and then Hospice care in their home. If you can donate...we URGE you to donate to the Jackson Palmer Donation Fund rather than the "other one"...to make sure that the money goes to where it is really needed.

His sister is in Emma's kindergarten class and Emma is worried that Olivia will get "the cancer" too. Emma seems to be ok, but has a lot of questions. I will ask only one thing...please say a prayer for the Palmer family, to give them strength to get through this difficult time. Thank you so much.
I have a lot to post....like Emma's party, Christmas, funnies...and will get those posted tomorrow....or the next day...or the day after that....

Emma and her room

Before I begin, let me just preface by saying that last night I was talking to Cheri and she told me that I needed to check my blog because ALL of my latest posts were "missing". I don't know where they might have gone! I think somebody must have hijacked them! Oh dear! Let's hope that it doesn't happen again. ;-)

So, on with the story....This is Emma...


Most of you already know that Mom, Dad, Nicki and Addison are coming to visit for a week right after Christmas. We are all sooooo excited about it. I told Emma that Nicki was going to be sleeping in her room. Emma is very excited about this, and talks non-stop about it. I have to say that she comes up with the cutest things to do and say, and I know that I should blog about them more often, but I don't. Don't ask me why. Yesterday she said she was going to play in her room. I told her that she needed to clean it up too. She loves to clean her room (not sure where she got that from), so off she went! A little while later she called for me to come see her room. She is always so proud of herself. So I walked into her room and this is what she showed me. I will explain after each picture. It's too cute!


She said, "I hid my calculator".


She said, "I put all my writing stuff away".


She said, "I hid all my other stuff". (blanket lifted for your viewing pleasure)


She said, "I made my bed".


And she said, "I put my books together here, and cleaned out a drawer so Aunt Nicki will have somewhere to put all of her stuff!"

It was much funnier yesterday when she showed me, and I guess you just had to have been there. But for any of you who know Emma very well, you know that in order for her to give up ANY of her space, she just really, really must love you! (Even if it is just a night stand drawer!)

Go [Oakley] Hornets!!!!

Ok, well I wish I could claim for my insight on this, but no...it is Bill. I bought this shirt for Nicho before school started because I thought it was cute yet still boyish enough for him to wear. Then the other day Bill makes mention of Nicho's shirt and says something like "Go Oakley Hornets!!!" Then it all comes clear in my head! I just told him that I did it on purpose. Yeah, I don't think he believed me.

Calling all Oma's!!!!!

Before I begin this post, let me just say this one thing....NO I am not dead, nor am I in hiding either. However, I have been working a lot (like 5 days a week!!!) and am so exhausted when I get home that all I want to do is make dinner and then veg on the couch. I'm so sorry to those of you who have missed me. I'm not even sure if anyone even checks my blog anymore because it has been so long. I will not even make empty promises to do better (I've done that before after a long absence). I will say that I will try to do my best. You have to understand that there really isn't anything going on here that is worthy of blogging about.

Bill and I did go out last night to dinner at one of our favorite places for our 9th anniversary. That was so nice to go out to eat without the kids. I wish the night could have lasted longer.

Now that that part is taken care of, I will get on with my post. Picture this...I was driving the other day to pick up Nicholas from pre-school. I was stopped at a light and I look over and there is this yard sign in front of this nursing home or assisted living home. I read it and was thinking to myself "yeah, yeah, ok, they must be desperate because they always have a sign up there, must be a pretty crappy place to work." And then, I'm like, "wait a minute!!!" and I read it again. I started laughing so hard and fumbled for my phone so I could take a picture. It was too good to be true! I had never, ever, seen any company that was hiring for RN's, LPN's, CNA's and OMA's! See for yourself if you don't believe me!!!!



So, now I am calling upon any Oma's (of which I know of only one!) If you would care to move to Indianapolis, I know of a job opening! I'm not sure what the pay is like, but I'm sure it's more than what your grandchildren pay you now!

Emma got her school pictures back, so I will try and get that posted this weekend. I love and miss you all! Take care!

The Wheels On The Bus Go Round And Round (First day of school)

Well, the day is upon us. The first day of Kindergarten for Emma and Nicholas's first day back to pre-school. I do have to say that I didn't cry when Emma got on the bus. I think it made it easier because she was with friends. She was so excited to ride the bus!

Waiting for the bus at the bus stop!




Here comes the bus! All the kids were so excited!




Emma getting on the bus! I wasn't sure if she was even going to say good bye to us!




Bye bye Emma!!!

We'll see how she does on her first day. I pick Nicholas up at pre-school at 3pm and then we'll pick up Emma from the bus stop at 4pm. I can't wait to talk to her about it.
My original plan was to do something exciting with my day (I took today off). But really I've just been enjoying the peace and quiet, so I don't think I'll be going anywhere.
I'll let you know how the first day was! Love you all!

Emma loves her daddy!

Just something funny and sweet to share with you all....

Yesterday afternoon we were driving back from Aldi's (a little grocery store here) and we had brought along Emma's friend Cole (he lives next door). They are great friends and are looking forward to starting Kindergarten next week. Anyway, back to the story...They are in the back seat and were talking non-stop. I stopped at a light and was watching them in the rear view mirror. And this is Emma..."my daddy works at a hosipal (that's how she prounounces it). I have the best daddy ever!" And then, with the cutest look on her face, she says with a smile, "HE calls ME a PRINCESS!!!" I just thought that was the cutest thing ever! I just wish I would've had my camera with me so I could have caught the look on her face.

Just had to share that with you!

BEST HUSBAND EVER!!!!

I just have to proclaim to the world that I have the BEST, MOST UNBELIEVABLE, CARING, SWEETEST, NEED I GO ON husband in the whole world!!!!! Not ONLY did he work 11am to 11pm...(that's 12 hours, folks,in an Emernacy Room) but he came home and changed clothes and then went to Borders and purchased us the 4th and (final???) copy of the "Twilight" Series. Yay!!!
I have trueley enjoyed Stephenie's quotes of the day and am looking forward to reading the book. I'm so tired now. I need to call Bill and find out where the heck he is!!!! (I have the BEST husband EVER!!!!)

I look forward to your coments on the final?? book. My love to you all!!!

Happy Father's Day! (please forgive me for my absence)

I know, I know, I know! It's been awhile. But, in my defense, I have been THINKING about posting. Time just gets away from me. Also, there hasn't been a whole lot going on to post about. We are busy getting ready for our drive to Idaho. We leave Indianapolis on the 24th, hopefully around 5am. We will also have my WONDERFUL niece, Kehli with us. I am really excited about that. I have always felt especially close to Kehli since we are both "middle children". She is such a sweetheart. We can't wait to be out in Oakley. It is going to be so much fun! Now if I could just fast forward through the 2 day drive that would make it even better. No, really it will be a great memory building experience. I just wonder how many times we will hear "are we there yet???" Hahahaha!

So, let's see, what have we been up to? We went to the zoo on May 31st (that was the last day before our membership expired). The zoo has two Koala's until September so we had to be sure to see them. And then of course we went through the Ocean's exhibit (twice). It was actually a nice day, so we were there for a couple of hours.




I also want to wish all of you dad's out there a Happy Father's Day! I hope your day is filled with much relaxation and grilling! Bill had to work today, so that really stinks. We will hopefully be able to grill out tomorrow evening if the rain holds off.

Take care and hopefully it will not be as long before I post again....but I am NOT making any promises. I have enjoyed reading all of your blogs though!