1.5 out of 3

Well, I didn't hit any deer. :) However, I have gained weight and even though Zara did not bite my brother, she did bite the Horse veterinarian. Oops!

Here are some pics of the kids doing horse chores.

Off to the yoop for Mother's Day

My goals for this trip are to NOT hit any deer, gain any weight, or let Zara bite my older brother.

Wish me luck!

Maybe Aveda is in her future...

It just kills me that Brady is such a willing participant (probably kills Brian too). :)

Zzzzzzz

How is this comfortable I wonder?

Adventure Park

On Saturday we went to a birthday party for one of Brady's day care friends. Half of the party was at Adventure Park and the other half was at their house. Adventure Park was crazy. I've never seen so many pooped out kids. Despite being all hopped up on sugar from the party, the kids still crashed when it was time for bed. Sweet. :)

Friday Funnies

I got an email today about raising kids (thanks Mango) and two of the statements really made me laugh:

1. The main purpose of holding children's parties is to remind yourself that there are children more awful than your own.
   
2. IF YOU HAVE A LOT OF TENSION AND YOU GET A HEADACHE, DO WHAT IT SAYS ON THE ASPIRIN BOTTLE:
   
   "TAKE TWO ASPIRIN" AND "KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN"!!!!!

Happy Friday!

How old am I?

I'm 28, but you'd think I was 12 based on the decisions I make sometimes. What grown-up would think that sending a 30 lb child and 50lb dog down a big a$$ slide together was a good idea? I did. I thought it was cute, and it was, until they got to the end and Zara freaked out and trampled all over Brady in her haste to exit. Disaster.

Poor Brady's head smacked into the slide and he split open his chin and his teeth went through his upper lip. Blood everywhere. Of course we were a mile from home and I had nothing with me. No wipes, no water, no extra clothes, NADA. It sucked. And there were a couple of other familes there just staring at us. I was so embarrased and I felt so bad for Brady.

Then after we got home and got everyone cleaned up, Jayda locked herself in the bathroom. She couldn't figure out how to unlock it and was crying hysterically. I had to call Brian and have him walk me through how to pick the lock with a screw driver. (I know - like who doesn't know how to pick a lock?? But I didn't. Now I do.)

What a night.

The only plus side of last night was that I bought a new stroller for the kids. Our old stroller "the lil limo" took a dump, the wheels were all shot and the under basket was torn, so I have been without a duo stroller all spring. After some research I decide on a "sit n stand." So far we like it.

Pictures

The old stroller (we used and abused that thing and on more than one occasion stuffed 3 kids into it).

Sit N Stand

Poor Brady :(

melanoma update

I just got back from the doctors. I need to have 2 moles removed complete with stitches and everything. The first opening wasn’t until May 25th, so I have 4 weeks to stew over my pre-cancerous growths.

Maybe its time to start using sunscreen.

I now know things I wish I didn't

Like...

• What to do if you get a flat tire.
• What to do if the flat tire still seems to be leaking air after it has been patched.

I know I'm doing my gender a disservice by admitting this, but I could have lived my whole life just fine without knowing how to

A. Change a flat tire.
B. Use a tire pressure gauge.
C. Run the air compressor to fill a low tire.

I so wish Brian wasn't out of town.
I so wish I wasn't such an automotive wimp.

On a happier note, here is a pic of Brady and Jayda streaking through the yard

and going down the slide.

I'm obsessed - melanoma on my mind

Three of my friends have had to have pre-cancerous moles removed. Scares the crap out of me. I have some moles that look like theirs did so I made an appointment to go and have mine checked out. I now know my ABCDEs inside out and backward:

A-Asymmetry: Normal moles or freckles are completely symmetrical. If you were to draw a line through a normal spot, you would have two symmetrical halves. In cases of skin cancer, spots will not look the same on both sides.

B-Border: A mole or spot with blurry and/or jagged edges.

C-Color: A mole that is more than one hue is suspicious and needs to be evaluated by a doctor. Normal spots are usually one color. This can include lightening or darkening of the mole.

D-Diameter: If it is larger than a pencil eraser (about 1/4 inch or 6mm), it needs to be examined by a doctor. This is includes areas that do not have any other abnormalities (color, border, asymmetry).

E-Elevation: Elevation means the mole is raised above the surface and has an uneven surface.

(I have also seen E as Evolution: Changed over time.)

For some hot pics click here.

Yummy yum

Friday afternoon I went out to lunch with Erika at an Indian buffet. It was my first experience eating Indian food and it was goo-ood - lots of vegan and vegetarian dishes. Downside - you reek when you leave the restaurant.

Saturday we went to Isaac's 3rd birthday party. Bethany did a Sesamee St theme and totally outdid herself. Here is a sample of her homemade goodness.

I did not get to eat any of that homemade goodness :( because I had to leave early to go and meet up with some LT DZs at Benih@n@ - which was also goo-ood. But super stinky. I reeked for hours after that dinner. Here are some pics.

And last but not least, Brady had an eye doctors appointment today and his vision is getting better. Now with his glasses on, he can see 20/40 out of each eye, separately, and with both eyes together, he can see 20/25.

He's mad at me again

Last memorial day we planted a couple of Maple trees (1 for each kid) out in our backyard. We thought it would be neat to watch them grow along with the kids.

However, Zessie (the dog I adopted without Brian's consent), had other plans for those trees and little by little she has been destroying them. Brian did everything in his power to save them: he wrapped them in tape, sprayed that black junk on them, trimmed back the areas she chewed on etc., but last night Zessie finally won. I honestly don't know when she did it, but this morning when I looked out of the window this is what I saw:

Poor little tree #1

Poor little tree #2

Brian officially hates me and the dog. I think we might need to find a new home.

BRRRiinnnggg

Ugh I hate the phone. I never liked talking on the phone, even before I had kids I didn't like it, and now that I do, I hate it even more. I'm always distracted (thinking of what I should be doing instead of wasting time on the phone) and usually end up interrupting whoever I'm talking to, to yell at the kids. Brian on the other hand loves talking on the phone. He's worse than a 13 year old girl. So now that he's out of town, he wants to talk to me on the phone. I just can't do it. So he's mad at me and now I'm mad at him for being mad at me. Its one vicious little cycle. We both need to bend a little or its going to be a long spring/summer. (He is going to continue to be out of town on business for a looong time to come, which also sucks.)

So on that happy note, I wish you a very happy hump day.

The weekend in pictures

Brian's parents were here this weekend. We spent a lot of time outdoors - the weather was beautiful.

Here are Bri and Brady playing baseball at the park. Brady loves to pitch.

Brady throwing to Grandpa.

Grandma pushing Jayda.

Cleaning the fridge. Food out.

Gross shelves!

Food back in. As you can see, we had a lot of good food this weekend too. Oink oink.

We went out on Saturday night to Granite City Brewery (first time there - very yummy).

And last but not least, the dogs. :)

He passed

Brady did really well with his pre-screening. I feel like a cheater though because I kind of knew what to expect - thanks to April's experience with her son.

For all of you that have yet to send your kids to prescreening, here is what they test you on:

Ability to listen and follow directions.
Ability to remember (they play a game really similar to memory).
Ability to draw shapes.
Ability to stack blocks.
Ability to jump over a line and then walk a straight line heel to toe.
Ability to count and tell you how many of a certain thing there are (Brady had to count blocks).
Ability to describe objects (colors, textures, etc).
Ability to use logic (they start a sentence and want your kid to finish the sentence, for example, a horse is big and a mouse is??, a bird flies, a fish?? a brother is a boy and a sister is a??, a door is made out of wood and a window is made out of??).

It was all very interesting and I was super glad that Brady knew it all. Whew!

They test 3 year olds differently then 4 year olds, so I have no idea what 4 year old testing is like. Thankfully I won't have to find out. You only have to pass pre-screening once. :)

Random little tid-bits

Brady has pre-sreening for kindergarten tomorrow morning. I'm nervous. How silly huh? Like it really matters if he fails - its not like they are going to ban him from kindergarten... Will they?

We just found out that Brian has to go out of town all of next week for business. :( For the most part the kids, dogs, and I do ok when he's gone, but the nights are rough. I usually cave and let Brady sleep with me. Truthfully, I think its just as much for my sake as it is for his. ;)

Brian's parents are coming for a visit this weekend. I so look forward to their visits - not just because its nice to see them and they always bring goodies with them, but also becasue I get so much done when they're here. I think I'm going to clean the fridge and re-organize the closests, cabinets, and pantry during this visit. Woo hoo!

AND small little world... my new next door neighbor is a DZ alum. One day she had on a DZ shirt and I had to do a double take. Its not like I was ever a super big sorority girl, but still... it is kind of nice to talk about junk like that.

This past weekend I went crazy in the kitchen. Food everywhere. Dishes everywhere. But the end results were pretty nice (see pics).

Overall the weekend was pretty good. It was a nice Easter and the kids have plenty of toys and candy to keep them in business for a long time.

**The only downers of the whole weekend were**

*That the kids were lacking on sleep and were hyped up on sugar so a lot of tears were shed. Church yesterday morning was a diaster. Brady decided to throw a tantrum because he couldn't sit next to me (Jayda took his spot) so he layed under the pew crying and yelling no mama. We left church about 1/2 through.

*And poor Bethany was sick - we felt so bad. All of that yummy stuff and she could hardly eat. Bummer city. I pray I never get ill around a holiday. ;)

I’m off tomorrow and probably won’t post again until after Easter.

Here are my weekend plans:

Tonight I got suckered in to having “drinks” with my old softball team. Luckily I’m bringing the kids with me and won’t have to stay long.

Tomorrow I’m off and so are the kids (no day care), so we’re going to play.

Saturday we are going over to Kim and Chris’s house for Andrew’s b-day party.

Sunday we’re going to Church (yes, sadly we are the Christmas/Easter church goers), Brian is going to take Brady skating again, and then we’re headed over to Bethany and Josh’s house for Easter dinner. Jelly beans and dinner rolls here I come!

Happy Easter everyone!

Helloooooo

I get this email every year, and every year I bust out laughing.

I've been busy at work and haven't posted much lately. I will give you a little weekend re-cap though:

Friday night - went out to eat with Mike, Renee, and Brooke. Left my camera at home. :(

Saturday - shopped like crazy with Brady and Jayda while Brian was taking a FF class.

Saturday night - went to Bethany's b-day party. Left my camera at home. :(

Sunday - Brian took Brady skating, and for once Brady didn't cry the whole time. I have a picture of Brady wearing his little hockey skates, gloves, and stick, but of course, I left my camera at home and can't post it. :p

The whole great big couch, and they choose to sit right next to one another

They make me smile.

Reading together - Stalking shadows (bored cat)

This is what the tub looks like when an entire bottle of bubble bath is dumped out

Good job Brady.

Please wear green

for our St. Patrick's Day party on Friday, March 16th. That is what the sign at daycare said.

Think my 2 kids would cooperate? No! Jayda was adamant about wearing her purple butterflies and Brady wanted to wear his Mater shirt. I’ve long since given up arguing with them over clothes, so our green tattoos will just have to do (I love the T@rget dollar section - they always have holiday appropriate tattoos). I’m even sporting a little leprechaun tattoo.

Southeast Michigan 2007 Walk Now for Autism

Jacktown Walkers (or see Sally under my friends link)

Why Walk for Autism Research? Walk for Autism Research is the signature fundraising event of Autism Speaks. It is the nation's largest Walk program dedicated to autism research, with events spanning the United States and now, the globe - with new events scheduled in Canada and the U.K!

Walk for Autism Research is a volunteer-led and volunteer-driven event. Just as Autism Speaks's origins are grassroots, so are the Walks! All it takes is one (or 2, 3 or 10) individuals coming together and saying "We want to bring Walk for Autism Research to our community."

Poke me

I had my yearly checkup with my neurologist today and at the end of the appointment I got sent to the lab for my yearly bloodwork. This is the first time in my whole life that they have struggled to get blood out of my veins. I have a big vein in my right arm that has always been my go to guy and it failed me. It would flow really good for a couple of seconds, start trickling, and then stop - then she'd wiggle the needle around and the process repeated itself for 3 viles worth. It was not fun and my arm hurts. The labtech claimed I must be dehydrated and my vein was collasping. Right. I had already consumed almost 32 ounces of water and it was only 11:30am. I'm quite sure I was not dehydrated. I think the labtech was the one messing up. I'm still a tad bitter.

Oh happy day!

We ride again!

Random weekly recap

What a week. Could be one of the first weeks I have ever worked a full 40 hour week since I graduated from college 7 years ago. I don't know how everyone else does it on a regular basis.

I did get to have T@co Bell with Erika on Monday for her birthday though and that was bliss.

There were zero daycare incidents.

Bri flew out to CA on Thursday and is coming back tonight late. Life is a tad more difficult when he's gone. Sure could have used him this morning when the Jehovah's Witnesses came knocking. To make an extremely long story short, Brady opened the door for them and I was in my underwear. Not good. Or maybe it was because they left immediately.

Speaking of Brady, I let both him and Jayda pick out what they wanted to wear this morning and this was it: (its kind of hard to see but his shirt says happy halloween and his sweat pants are atrocious - Jay did an ok job)

Oo la la

Yesterday Bethany and I discovered the joys of the Human Touch Robotic Massage Chair while we were out shopping. I could not believe it. It actually does a good job - I mean a real good job. Brian could easily be replaced. If everyone in my family pools together their money this could be my next Christmas present. :)

I also called our daycare director today to discuss the never ending biting saga. Turns out the biter is now on probation (and was sent home last Thursday) and if anything else happens agains the biter is going to get the boot.

I'm ok with that.

I thought I moved away from the yoop - what is this?

Update on daycare - my daycare was closed today because of the snow. I guess I'll have to wait until Monday to resolve things.

The bite that broke the camel's back

Jayda got bit for the last time today at daycare. I could not believe I had to sign another accident form when I picked her up. (It was the same biter too.) Tomorrow I am informing them that either the biter goes or we go. Enough is enough. The whole thing makes me crabby. If I have to look for a new daycare I am NOT giving them 2 weeks notice.

AND Brian went straight from work to the fire station. He has to spend the night there because of the severe weather. I guess the chief wanted to make sure all of the guys would be readily available for first responder calls. Blah blah. At least he is getting paid for it. Still it makes me crabby.

AND I was informed by my manager at work that I needed to start getting into work earlier and staying for the allotted 8 ½ hours. Doesn’t seem unreasonable, but you should see what other people get away with. On the whole I’m rather saintly in comparison.

It has not been a good week.

According to “The Secret” I’m attracting all of these negative things to me. Must think positive and start attracting good things to me - like a better job and a better daycare.

HA