(Swiped from Suzanne's blog)
Here were my results:
Friday, December 30, 2005
Looking Back at 2005...
Looking back at 2005...
Well, another year is coming to an end. I spent much of the year stressed out, and trying to adjust to having 2 kids, while working full-time and keeping up with household cleaning and such. But there certainly were fun and good times too. I’ve enjoyed watching the boys grow and learn more every day. And I feel like I’ve learned a few things too, even if some of them were the hard way. Here are some of the highlights from 2005:
* My biggest highlight of 2005 was completing a personal goal that I’ve had for many years. When I was about 11 or 12 years old, I made the goal that I would go to all 48 continental states before I turned 30. Well, I started 2005 with only 2 states left to go- Minnesota and North Dakota. So in May, I jumped in my SUV and drove to Minnesota & North Dakota by myself (against Joe’s wishes, but there was no way I was gonna give up on my goal when I was so close to completing it!). I’m proud to say I completed my goal! (and Joe got over it). Now I hope to eventually visit Alaska & Hawaii too, sometime before I die. But for now I'm content with having completed my goal (especially since I'm about to turn 30 in March).
* Over the summer I took both boys for a day trip to Onondaga Cave while Joe was out of town for work. I had a great time with the boys, they both loved the cave (even Adam who was only 7 or 8 months old at the time! He rode on my back in a baby backpack and just looked around and giggled). After the cave tour, we played by the river for awhile before heading back home.
* In October I took Brendan out for a "Mommy and Son date" as part of an early birthday present. We went to McDonald’s and sat at the big aquarium and looked at fish, and then we went to see "Dragon Tales Live". It was a great show! I enjoyed it much more than I expected! They did a great job and had cool lights effects, and lots of singing and dancing. It was so cute to see all the little kids in the audience dancing & singing at their seats. I’ve never seen so many happy kids at once. Brendan really enjoyed it.
* Also this year we went as a family to the Black River area for a fun weekend. We played in the river, went to Johnson’s Shut-Ins, Elephant Rocks, and cooked hotdogs and smores over the campfire. Even though it was terribly hot, we had a great time and Brendan still talks about it.
* Joe had to do some traveling to Nebraska and Iowa with his job this year. He was gone about 4 different times, for a week at a time. Besides our water heater going out the first time he was gone, and our water being shut off (mistakenly) another time he was gone, and the electric company coming and cutting down a bunch of our trees when they only had permission to cut down 3 while he was gone another time, it actually wasn’t too bad. lol
* We started having monthly date nights this year, the first Monday of every month. That was really nice. We knew we’d never get around to it if we didn’t set up a schedule for it, so that’s what we did. We lined up our babysitter for all those Mondays and enjoyed time as a couple without the kids once a month. Most of those we ended up at a local restaurant & brewery because they have all-you-can-eat crablegs on the buffet for only $5.95! But we also saw a movie or two and ate some other places some of the time.
The rest of 2005 was basically just the daily grind of working, house-cleaning, and hanging out around the house with the boys.
In some ways 2005 flew by, and in other ways it seemed to drag on. Either way, I’m looking forward to 2006 and eager to see what the new year will throw our way.
Well, another year is coming to an end. I spent much of the year stressed out, and trying to adjust to having 2 kids, while working full-time and keeping up with household cleaning and such. But there certainly were fun and good times too. I’ve enjoyed watching the boys grow and learn more every day. And I feel like I’ve learned a few things too, even if some of them were the hard way. Here are some of the highlights from 2005:
* My biggest highlight of 2005 was completing a personal goal that I’ve had for many years. When I was about 11 or 12 years old, I made the goal that I would go to all 48 continental states before I turned 30. Well, I started 2005 with only 2 states left to go- Minnesota and North Dakota. So in May, I jumped in my SUV and drove to Minnesota & North Dakota by myself (against Joe’s wishes, but there was no way I was gonna give up on my goal when I was so close to completing it!). I’m proud to say I completed my goal! (and Joe got over it). Now I hope to eventually visit Alaska & Hawaii too, sometime before I die. But for now I'm content with having completed my goal (especially since I'm about to turn 30 in March).
* Over the summer I took both boys for a day trip to Onondaga Cave while Joe was out of town for work. I had a great time with the boys, they both loved the cave (even Adam who was only 7 or 8 months old at the time! He rode on my back in a baby backpack and just looked around and giggled). After the cave tour, we played by the river for awhile before heading back home.
* In October I took Brendan out for a "Mommy and Son date" as part of an early birthday present. We went to McDonald’s and sat at the big aquarium and looked at fish, and then we went to see "Dragon Tales Live". It was a great show! I enjoyed it much more than I expected! They did a great job and had cool lights effects, and lots of singing and dancing. It was so cute to see all the little kids in the audience dancing & singing at their seats. I’ve never seen so many happy kids at once. Brendan really enjoyed it.
* Also this year we went as a family to the Black River area for a fun weekend. We played in the river, went to Johnson’s Shut-Ins, Elephant Rocks, and cooked hotdogs and smores over the campfire. Even though it was terribly hot, we had a great time and Brendan still talks about it.
* Joe had to do some traveling to Nebraska and Iowa with his job this year. He was gone about 4 different times, for a week at a time. Besides our water heater going out the first time he was gone, and our water being shut off (mistakenly) another time he was gone, and the electric company coming and cutting down a bunch of our trees when they only had permission to cut down 3 while he was gone another time, it actually wasn’t too bad. lol
* We started having monthly date nights this year, the first Monday of every month. That was really nice. We knew we’d never get around to it if we didn’t set up a schedule for it, so that’s what we did. We lined up our babysitter for all those Mondays and enjoyed time as a couple without the kids once a month. Most of those we ended up at a local restaurant & brewery because they have all-you-can-eat crablegs on the buffet for only $5.95! But we also saw a movie or two and ate some other places some of the time.
The rest of 2005 was basically just the daily grind of working, house-cleaning, and hanging out around the house with the boys.
In some ways 2005 flew by, and in other ways it seemed to drag on. Either way, I’m looking forward to 2006 and eager to see what the new year will throw our way.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Wednesday, December 28, 2005
Christmas wrap-up
Okay everyone...take a deep breath...Christmas is over! Whew! We sure had a whirlwind of celebrations the last several days.
Day before Christmas eve: dinner at my cousin's house (about 1.5 hrs west of our house)
Went well, but was crowded and had people from other sides of her family that we didn't know.
Christmas eve: Grandma's (about 1.5 hrs west of our house again)
We went to church service with them at their church. I was very nervous about this, as I wasn't sure how my boys would do. But I'd say for a 5 yr old and a 1 yr old they did amazingly well! Adam was so funny, every time we'd sing a hymn he'd start dancing. lol Then we went back to Grandma's house, had our traditional appetizer-type-foods "meal" and drinks, and opened presents. My 2 nephews (ages 5 and almost 3) were there too, and when all 4 boys get together they get so hyper and loud. So it was chaotic and loud, and I was somewhat frustrated, but overall went well. We didn't get back home until almost 1:30am and then "Santa" still had to come. So it was a late night.
Christmas morning: Santa and our presents at our house with the boys. This went well. We had a nice morning, and the boys had fun playing with all their new stuff. And, there were actually presents for me this year too (including stocking!). That was so nice, as there have been Christmases in the past when Joe didn't get me anything, and he has never filled my stocking until this year. He got pretty much what I told him I wanted and had suggested last week when he said he wasn't sure what to get me. And he seemed pleased with the pole saw/pruner (and other things) that I got him. He's been wanting one for the last few years. But we didn't have very long as we had to pack up and rush off to the next celebration...
Christmas afternoon: Celebrate with Joe's family (about 2 hrs east of our house)
This went fine. Not everyone was there, they had celebrated on Christmas eve while we were at my grandma's (long story) and so not everyone could come again. But we had a nice time visiting, and the boys got more gifts that they enjoyed. Joe's mom, dad, and siblings enjoyed seeing the boys and playing with them. Then off again...
Christmas night: Spend night at my Dad's house (about 1/2 hr west of Joe's family's house)
We stayed the night at Dad's house because we were going to be celebrating there the next morning and we certainly didn't want to drive 2 hours home, and then 1.5 hrs back the next day! That night wasn't so great. They had my Grandma (dad's mom) staying there too, as well as one of my step-mom's daughters, so sleeping arrangements were tight. We put a pack-n-play in their massage room for Adam, Joe and I slept on a futon in the finished basement, and Brendan slept in the same area as us on a fold out chair thing. Adam was not happy and screamed for about 10 minutes before finally laying down and falling asleep. Joe & Brendan did fine, but I couldn't sleep. I laid there awake and heard my step-mom's daughter come in around midnight, and Joe was snoring away, and then around 3am my grandma was up coughing and coughing (she has had a chronic cough my whole life). I finally went to sleep around 4am and Adam was up at 6:30am. So, I was pretty tired.
Day After Christmas: (still at Dad's)
My sister and her family arrived around 11:30am and we all opened gifts and had food. I developed a terrible headache that stuck around for the whole day. We still had fun though. Around 5pm we left and headed home.
Thank goodness I had the foresight to take Tuesday off from work! OMG I don't know what I would have done if I had to go to work the next morning after all of that!
So, yesterday (Tues) the boys went to daycare, Joe went to work, and I had some much-needed down time. Well, time at home anyway. I undecorated our tree, put it outside for Joe to dispose of, went through all of Adam's toys to get rid of a bunch of them to make room for the new ones, cleared some stuff out of Brendan's room to make room for his new stuff, did 6 loads of laundry, and finally moved some of my summer clothes downstairs that were taking up room in my closet.
Today I'm back at work and have several things that need tended to. So, I better wrap up this for now and get back to work.
Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!
Day before Christmas eve: dinner at my cousin's house (about 1.5 hrs west of our house)
Went well, but was crowded and had people from other sides of her family that we didn't know.
Christmas eve: Grandma's (about 1.5 hrs west of our house again)
We went to church service with them at their church. I was very nervous about this, as I wasn't sure how my boys would do. But I'd say for a 5 yr old and a 1 yr old they did amazingly well! Adam was so funny, every time we'd sing a hymn he'd start dancing. lol Then we went back to Grandma's house, had our traditional appetizer-type-foods "meal" and drinks, and opened presents. My 2 nephews (ages 5 and almost 3) were there too, and when all 4 boys get together they get so hyper and loud. So it was chaotic and loud, and I was somewhat frustrated, but overall went well. We didn't get back home until almost 1:30am and then "Santa" still had to come. So it was a late night.
Christmas morning: Santa and our presents at our house with the boys. This went well. We had a nice morning, and the boys had fun playing with all their new stuff. And, there were actually presents for me this year too (including stocking!). That was so nice, as there have been Christmases in the past when Joe didn't get me anything, and he has never filled my stocking until this year. He got pretty much what I told him I wanted and had suggested last week when he said he wasn't sure what to get me. And he seemed pleased with the pole saw/pruner (and other things) that I got him. He's been wanting one for the last few years. But we didn't have very long as we had to pack up and rush off to the next celebration...
Christmas afternoon: Celebrate with Joe's family (about 2 hrs east of our house)
This went fine. Not everyone was there, they had celebrated on Christmas eve while we were at my grandma's (long story) and so not everyone could come again. But we had a nice time visiting, and the boys got more gifts that they enjoyed. Joe's mom, dad, and siblings enjoyed seeing the boys and playing with them. Then off again...
Christmas night: Spend night at my Dad's house (about 1/2 hr west of Joe's family's house)
We stayed the night at Dad's house because we were going to be celebrating there the next morning and we certainly didn't want to drive 2 hours home, and then 1.5 hrs back the next day! That night wasn't so great. They had my Grandma (dad's mom) staying there too, as well as one of my step-mom's daughters, so sleeping arrangements were tight. We put a pack-n-play in their massage room for Adam, Joe and I slept on a futon in the finished basement, and Brendan slept in the same area as us on a fold out chair thing. Adam was not happy and screamed for about 10 minutes before finally laying down and falling asleep. Joe & Brendan did fine, but I couldn't sleep. I laid there awake and heard my step-mom's daughter come in around midnight, and Joe was snoring away, and then around 3am my grandma was up coughing and coughing (she has had a chronic cough my whole life). I finally went to sleep around 4am and Adam was up at 6:30am. So, I was pretty tired.
Day After Christmas: (still at Dad's)
My sister and her family arrived around 11:30am and we all opened gifts and had food. I developed a terrible headache that stuck around for the whole day. We still had fun though. Around 5pm we left and headed home.
Thank goodness I had the foresight to take Tuesday off from work! OMG I don't know what I would have done if I had to go to work the next morning after all of that!
So, yesterday (Tues) the boys went to daycare, Joe went to work, and I had some much-needed down time. Well, time at home anyway. I undecorated our tree, put it outside for Joe to dispose of, went through all of Adam's toys to get rid of a bunch of them to make room for the new ones, cleared some stuff out of Brendan's room to make room for his new stuff, did 6 loads of laundry, and finally moved some of my summer clothes downstairs that were taking up room in my closet.
Today I'm back at work and have several things that need tended to. So, I better wrap up this for now and get back to work.
Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Baby Jesus
We've been trying to tell Brendan (our 5-yr-old) about the real Christmas story, and every few days reminding him that Christmas is a celebration of Jesus's birthday and we've read him a few stories about it all, tried to explain the manger scene, etc. So now everytime we pass a manger scene he says, "look Mommy it's baby Jesus in there" This morning we had this conversation...
B: Mommy is it Christmas yet?
Me: Almost! Today is Christmas eve
B: Today is Christmas?!
Me: No, tomorrow is Christmas, today is Christmas eve, that means the day before Christmas
B: Oh. So tomorrow is Baby Jesus's birthday party?
Me: Yes, Christmas is when we celebrate Jesus's birthday. Do you think we should make a cake?
B: Oh yes! And then we can take it to Baby Jesus's birthday party tomorrow!
Me: (trying not to laugh) We can make a cake to celebrate Jesus's birthday here.
B: But when will we see Baby Jesus? I want to see him.
Ummm....how to answer that question? lol Luckily he was just then distracted by "Postcards from Buster" on tv and forgot his question. Have to admit, I was stumped for a quick and clever way to answer that one! lol
Friday, December 23, 2005
Doing the happy dance...
Yea! I'm DONE DONE DONE with all gifts...they are bought, wrapped and ready to go. House is mostly clean, food is made, Christmas music is on, laundry is almost done, and I still have 2 hours before I need to be anywhere. Tonight we are going to my cousin's house, just a get-together with appetizers, no gift exchanging there. Then tomorrow night (Christmas Eve) we go to my grandma's church service and then to her house for yummy food and gift exchange. Late Christmas eve night after that, Santa comes at our house! Christmas morning the boys see what Santa brought and get to play for a little while. Then it's off to drive again, this time the other direction to Joe's family in the afternoon/evening for visiting and gift exchange. Then we'll drive to my dad's house late, sleep there, and visit and exchange gifts the day after Christmas with my dad, his wife, and my other grandma who will be there at their house too. Then drive back home Monday late afternoon or evening. Lots of celebrating (and driving around) packed into these next few days! But at least I have everything ready and don't have to be stressing over anything now! Yippee!
Thursday, December 22, 2005
Getting closer...
I'm getting closer to be being DONE with all the Christmas preparations! I'm off today (woohoo!) and have had a productive day. I actually woke up at 4:15am and couldn't go back to sleep, so I got up, ate breakfast, emptied the dishwasher, and made a list of what all I needed to do today. Then when the rest of the house woke up I got the boys ready and made Joe's lunch, got the apple cake packed up that I made last night for Joe's work, scraped frost off both of our cars, and then it was off to daycare. I had 2 trays of goodies to bring in for the teachers & staff, so Joe brought the boys in while I brought in the trays. Then he went to work and I went to try to finish up Christmas shopping...mainly stocking stuffers. Went to the bank, Walgreens, and Super Wal-Mart and was back home by 10am! Then the wrapping began. I've been a wrapping fool today! Almost done...only 3 more things to wrap. Got Brendan, Adam, and Joe's stockings stuffed and hidden, unwrapped Santa gifts hidden, other gifts wrapped. My bedroom has wrapping paper, bows, tags, and boxes ALL OVER the place right now. lol House is a mess, but hey, at least the gifts are getting done! I just need to get one more thing for my mom at Michael's when I go in to town to pick up the boys later. Then, dare I say it, I think I'm completely DONE! Woohoo! So, tomorrow will be dedicated to cleaning the house & car.
Joe even said it was nice to see me looking "bright eyed and bushy tailed" this morning. And then when he went outside and saw I had scraped off both cars too he said, "well aren't you little miss go-getter today!". lol
Okay, back to wrapping...
Joe even said it was nice to see me looking "bright eyed and bushy tailed" this morning. And then when he went outside and saw I had scraped off both cars too he said, "well aren't you little miss go-getter today!". lol
Okay, back to wrapping...
Wednesday, December 21, 2005
Are You a Slacker Mom?
Are You a Slacker Mom?
Here were my results:
Your quiz results make you a Zen Mom
How do you do it? Even when explosions are all around, you are able to take a deep cleansing breath and chant your mantra "this too shall pass." You are a calming influence on your kids in a hectic world.
(note from Courtney: normally I would agree with these results, however this past year my influence has been anything but calming! Let's hope I can get back to being my usual "Zen Mom" self from now on!)
Are You a Slacker Mom?
Take this free personality test by going here
Here were my results:
Your quiz results make you a Zen Mom
How do you do it? Even when explosions are all around, you are able to take a deep cleansing breath and chant your mantra "this too shall pass." You are a calming influence on your kids in a hectic world.
(note from Courtney: normally I would agree with these results, however this past year my influence has been anything but calming! Let's hope I can get back to being my usual "Zen Mom" self from now on!)
Are You a Slacker Mom?
Take this free personality test by going here
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Favorite Things...
Okay, if you watch Oprah then you know about her famous "Oprah's Favorite Things" show she does each year of things she owns that she loves, and gives everyone in her audience that day everything on her list. (See Oprah's 2005 list here) On a group I'm on we did our own "favorites" list, so I thought I'd share mine here, just for fun.
I'm sure I'll think of things later that I should have put on here, but here's mine...
"Courtney's Favorite Things"
(in no particular order)
I tried to post pics of all of these, but it screwed up the layout of the whole blog so I'm trying it now just as a list without the pics.
1. Canon Rebel EOS GII camera
(love my Rebel)
2. My black leather jacket!
3. Enstrom's ALMOND TOFFEE - MILK CHOC.
(oh my gosh, this is so yummy! My mom's bf sends a box to us every year in December and it is the best! It tastes so much better than what it sounds like. lol)
4. Black and Decker EHC650 Ergo 3-cup Food Chopper
(love this thing! So quick, quiet, and easy to clean!)
5. Pond's Cool Calm and Perfected Pore Shrinking Gel Toner
(cool calming effect feels great to make me feel refreshed in the mornings!)
6. Stacking Recycling/Storage bins w/ angled front with flip lid from The Container Store
(love that you can still open lids while they are stacked)
7. Snack & Dip container from The Container Store
(great convenience for bringing veggies & dip in my lunch)
8. Oxo Good Grips 3-quart Mixing Bowl (or any Oxo products for that matter)
9. Matfer Exopat Nonstick Baking Sheet
(this is great so your cookies/rolls/whatever don't burn on thebottom!)
10. Creative Memories scrapbook albums
11. George Foreman Champ Grill with Bun Warmer
(great for a quick hamburger fix)
12. Whitney Design 3-pack Magic Storage Cubes
(love that these can fold flat when not in use! I use these as laundry baskets now, because I was so fed up with bulky laundry baskets laying around with nowhere to store them. These fold flat and slide in behind our hamper out of sight!)
13. Mary Kay bronze eyeliner
14. Tastefully Simple: Nana's Apple Cake, Absolutely Almond PoundCake, and Cheesy Pepper soup...to name a few!(fast, easy and yummy)
15. Bath & Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar body lotion
(Normally I don't like too many scented things, they give me a headache, but I do love this particular scent of body lotion)
16. Ray Lynch: Deep Breakfast cd
(kinda new-age type music, but nice and relaxing and kinda funky all rolled into one! Hard to explain. lol)
17. Collin Raye: I Think About You cd and Collin Raye: In This Life cd
(I love Collin Raye! Awesome songs with great lyrics. He was never a huge star, but he should have been...best kept secret in country music!)
18. Kelly Clarkson: Breakaway cd
(Yes, I've become a fan of Kelly Clarkson this year. Love the first 5 songs on this cd)
19. And of course I can always go for a cold Bud Light beer!
Okay, now it's your turn! I challenge anyone reading this to come up with a "favorites" list of your own (if you want to and if you have time).
I'm sure I'll think of things later that I should have put on here, but here's mine...
"Courtney's Favorite Things"
(in no particular order)
I tried to post pics of all of these, but it screwed up the layout of the whole blog so I'm trying it now just as a list without the pics.
1. Canon Rebel EOS GII camera
(love my Rebel)
2. My black leather jacket!
3. Enstrom's ALMOND TOFFEE - MILK CHOC.
(oh my gosh, this is so yummy! My mom's bf sends a box to us every year in December and it is the best! It tastes so much better than what it sounds like. lol)
4. Black and Decker EHC650 Ergo 3-cup Food Chopper
(love this thing! So quick, quiet, and easy to clean!)
5. Pond's Cool Calm and Perfected Pore Shrinking Gel Toner
(cool calming effect feels great to make me feel refreshed in the mornings!)
6. Stacking Recycling/Storage bins w/ angled front with flip lid from The Container Store
(love that you can still open lids while they are stacked)
7. Snack & Dip container from The Container Store
(great convenience for bringing veggies & dip in my lunch)
8. Oxo Good Grips 3-quart Mixing Bowl (or any Oxo products for that matter)
9. Matfer Exopat Nonstick Baking Sheet
(this is great so your cookies/rolls/whatever don't burn on thebottom!)
10. Creative Memories scrapbook albums
11. George Foreman Champ Grill with Bun Warmer
(great for a quick hamburger fix)
12. Whitney Design 3-pack Magic Storage Cubes
(love that these can fold flat when not in use! I use these as laundry baskets now, because I was so fed up with bulky laundry baskets laying around with nowhere to store them. These fold flat and slide in behind our hamper out of sight!)
13. Mary Kay bronze eyeliner
14. Tastefully Simple: Nana's Apple Cake, Absolutely Almond PoundCake, and Cheesy Pepper soup...to name a few!(fast, easy and yummy)
15. Bath & Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar body lotion
(Normally I don't like too many scented things, they give me a headache, but I do love this particular scent of body lotion)
16. Ray Lynch: Deep Breakfast cd
(kinda new-age type music, but nice and relaxing and kinda funky all rolled into one! Hard to explain. lol)
17. Collin Raye: I Think About You cd and Collin Raye: In This Life cd
(I love Collin Raye! Awesome songs with great lyrics. He was never a huge star, but he should have been...best kept secret in country music!)
18. Kelly Clarkson: Breakaway cd
(Yes, I've become a fan of Kelly Clarkson this year. Love the first 5 songs on this cd)
19. And of course I can always go for a cold Bud Light beer!
Okay, now it's your turn! I challenge anyone reading this to come up with a "favorites" list of your own (if you want to and if you have time).
Christmas shopping, last weekend, etc
I don't like shopping. I can't stand crowds. I am annoyed by people who sit in the way in the parking lot waiting for someone to load their car and back out of their space. So, this time of year I am really frustrated when I attempt to go to the store! lol I tried to run out to get a few things on my lunch break today, and it took forever! And then, I didn't even find a couple things that I needed, so now I have to stop AGAIN at another store after work (when the crowds are even worse). Gotta love it. But I'm still smiling and still playing Christmas music :)
I'm sure everyone knows the song "The 12 pains of Christmas". That came on the radio while I was in the car...haha!
I'm almost done with Christmas shopping. I still need more for my mom, but today I got the things I needed for Brendan & Adam's daycare rooms and kid exchange and teacher gifts, except for the ingredients to make up a big tray of crackers, cheese, and treats for the rest of the staff there. I was going to try to bring that in tomorrow, but I don't think I can do all of that tonight after work, especially since Joe won't be there to help with the boys until later tonight. Guess that'll have to wait another day (or two).
Oh, I don't think I posted about the weekend. Saturday Brendan went to a birthday party for one of the little boys in his daycare class. Then later that night we went to a Christmas party at my boss's house. It was nice, but not many people were able to come.
Then on Sunday, we celebrated Christmas at my mom's house Sunday. It was chaotic with the 4 boys (ages 5, 5, 2, 1), but still fun. Brendan is loving his new games for the Leapster we bought him for his birthday. He's been playing with that thing almost every spare minute, and in the car on the way to and from daycare. He also has been begging for Madagascar and has been asking me every day if we have it, etc, etc, and we finally got it from my mom, and last night I thought he'd be so excited when I said lets watch it, but no...he said "aww, I don't want to watch that". Kids! *I* wanted to watch it, so I did. You know, I was really disappointed. I thought it was going to be such a good and funny movies, but I guess I got my hopes up too high. It was cute, but I think they could have done a lot more with that storyline than they did. Oh well.
Tomorrow is my last day of the work week- I'm off Thursday, Friday, Monday & Tuesday! Woohoo! Looking forward to that!
I'm sure everyone knows the song "The 12 pains of Christmas". That came on the radio while I was in the car...haha!
I'm almost done with Christmas shopping. I still need more for my mom, but today I got the things I needed for Brendan & Adam's daycare rooms and kid exchange and teacher gifts, except for the ingredients to make up a big tray of crackers, cheese, and treats for the rest of the staff there. I was going to try to bring that in tomorrow, but I don't think I can do all of that tonight after work, especially since Joe won't be there to help with the boys until later tonight. Guess that'll have to wait another day (or two).
Oh, I don't think I posted about the weekend. Saturday Brendan went to a birthday party for one of the little boys in his daycare class. Then later that night we went to a Christmas party at my boss's house. It was nice, but not many people were able to come.
Then on Sunday, we celebrated Christmas at my mom's house Sunday. It was chaotic with the 4 boys (ages 5, 5, 2, 1), but still fun. Brendan is loving his new games for the Leapster we bought him for his birthday. He's been playing with that thing almost every spare minute, and in the car on the way to and from daycare. He also has been begging for Madagascar and has been asking me every day if we have it, etc, etc, and we finally got it from my mom, and last night I thought he'd be so excited when I said lets watch it, but no...he said "aww, I don't want to watch that". Kids! *I* wanted to watch it, so I did. You know, I was really disappointed. I thought it was going to be such a good and funny movies, but I guess I got my hopes up too high. It was cute, but I think they could have done a lot more with that storyline than they did. Oh well.
Tomorrow is my last day of the work week- I'm off Thursday, Friday, Monday & Tuesday! Woohoo! Looking forward to that!
Monday, December 19, 2005
I've been tagged
Okay, I was tagged by Kdubs, so I had to comply! lol
The rules for this particular meme are as follows:
Remove the blog name in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add yourself to the bottom slot.
1. Hanuman
2. Running2Ks
3. Queen of Spain
4. Kdubs
5. Courtney
Then you get to select five people to pass the love on to.
1. Carolyn
2. Kathie
3. Daphne
4. Janet
5. Cathy
6. Beth
Now, on to the questions!
What were you doing 10 years ago?
Well, lets see...10 years ago, I was in college and engaged. That’s all I can think of! lol
What were you doing one year ago?
One year ago I had recently given birth to my 2nd son! I was on maternity leave from my full-time job, and getting ready for Christmas.
Five snacks you enjoy:
1. brownies
2. tortilla chips and salsa
3. hot wings and beer
4. Cheetos (the crunchy ones, not the puffy ones)
5. Doritos
Five songs to which you know all the lyrics:
1. All I Need by Jack Wagner- LOL! This was one of the first songs I knew all the words to way back when. Too funny.
2. I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor (sp?)
3. Several of Collin Raye’s songs
4. Several kids’ songs
5. Oh I don’t know, there are too many to name! lol
Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:
1. Pay off any and all debt
2. Put money away for my kids’ college educations
3. Pay cash for the addition on our house
4. Get a newer car- I love my Kia Sportage suv, but it has over 150,000 miles on it!
5. Travel whenever and wherever I want (in the USA)
Five bad habits:
1. Too much time on the computer
2. Being a martyr when I’m stressed
3. Procrastinating
4. Being late to work
5. Mountain Dew ;)
Five things you like doing:
1. Scrapbooking
2. Camping/Canoeing
3. Traveling in the US
4. Playing cards/games
5. Taking pictures
Five things you would never wear, buy, or get new again:
1. leg warmers
2. tight-rolled pants
3. tights
4. oversized sweatshirts hanging down to the knees
5. granny panties (I’ve never owned any and don’t plan to, I went straight from little kid undies to bikini ones)
Five favorite toys:
1. Computer
2. Canon Rebel camera
3. Digital camera
Ummm...don’t really have any others, I guess the
DVD player and CD player lol (can you tell I'm not really up with the times in the way of technology toys? heehee)
The rules for this particular meme are as follows:
Remove the blog name in the top spot from the following list and bump everyone up one place. Then add yourself to the bottom slot.
1. Hanuman
2. Running2Ks
3. Queen of Spain
4. Kdubs
5. Courtney
Then you get to select five people to pass the love on to.
1. Carolyn
2. Kathie
3. Daphne
4. Janet
5. Cathy
6. Beth
Now, on to the questions!
What were you doing 10 years ago?
Well, lets see...10 years ago, I was in college and engaged. That’s all I can think of! lol
What were you doing one year ago?
One year ago I had recently given birth to my 2nd son! I was on maternity leave from my full-time job, and getting ready for Christmas.
Five snacks you enjoy:
1. brownies
2. tortilla chips and salsa
3. hot wings and beer
4. Cheetos (the crunchy ones, not the puffy ones)
5. Doritos
Five songs to which you know all the lyrics:
1. All I Need by Jack Wagner- LOL! This was one of the first songs I knew all the words to way back when. Too funny.
2. I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor (sp?)
3. Several of Collin Raye’s songs
4. Several kids’ songs
5. Oh I don’t know, there are too many to name! lol
Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:
1. Pay off any and all debt
2. Put money away for my kids’ college educations
3. Pay cash for the addition on our house
4. Get a newer car- I love my Kia Sportage suv, but it has over 150,000 miles on it!
5. Travel whenever and wherever I want (in the USA)
Five bad habits:
1. Too much time on the computer
2. Being a martyr when I’m stressed
3. Procrastinating
4. Being late to work
5. Mountain Dew ;)
Five things you like doing:
1. Scrapbooking
2. Camping/Canoeing
3. Traveling in the US
4. Playing cards/games
5. Taking pictures
Five things you would never wear, buy, or get new again:
1. leg warmers
2. tight-rolled pants
3. tights
4. oversized sweatshirts hanging down to the knees
5. granny panties (I’ve never owned any and don’t plan to, I went straight from little kid undies to bikini ones)
Five favorite toys:
1. Computer
2. Canon Rebel camera
3. Digital camera
Ummm...don’t really have any others, I guess the
DVD player and CD player lol (can you tell I'm not really up with the times in the way of technology toys? heehee)
Not listening...
Not only do my kids and husband not listen to me, but I tried to log on to my home email from work this morning and got this message:
"An internal error occurred. Please try again later and contact yourISP if the problem persists. Description: The RPC server is not listening."
Figures. LOL!
"An internal error occurred. Please try again later and contact yourISP if the problem persists. Description: The RPC server is not listening."
Figures. LOL!
Friday, December 16, 2005
My poor beloved Black River area!
As you may have heard (it made national news!)...
LESTERVILLE, Mo. — Water poured through a breach at a hydroelectric plant's rural reservoir in southeast Missouri on Wednesday morning, washing away homes and vehicles, authorities said.
*sigh* This is our beloved Black River area. This area is such a special place for me and Joe. No, we don't live there, we're probably about 4 hours away, but gosh we spend a lot of time there. We use to go there about every other weekend in high school for camping and float trips, c
ontinued to go a few times a year through college, and now years later we still try to go at least once or twice a year...truly some of the best times of my life! This is also where we baptized both of our boys, in the Black River, because it holds such special meaning and memories for us, and it's such a beautiful area.
The top photo is of the reservoir that broke, but the other photos here are of what parts of the area looked like BEFORE this incident. Isn't it a nice area? I just love it.
We were just there a few months ago...we took the boys for a family trip to the Black River, Johnson's Shut-Ins, and Elephant Rocks. All in that area. Actually I believe I posted about that trip, so it's probably in the archives of my blog. Yes, here it is.
Joe and I would like to be able to go down and be of some help somehow, but considering the time of year, working full-time, and what would we do with the boys, well, it just isn't very possible for us. But our hearts are definitely there!
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Christmas Lights
LOL, have you seen this website? Here's a blurb from the site...
UGLY CHRISTMAS LIGHTS.COM
"This site is here to show those houses where the residents are likely celebrating a happy holiday, but have no sense of decency in how they choose to celebrate. We will show the garish, the ugly, the weird. For your own sake, and the sake of your neighbors, do not try this at home."
Click HERE to go to the website
UGLY CHRISTMAS LIGHTS.COM
"This site is here to show those houses where the residents are likely celebrating a happy holiday, but have no sense of decency in how they choose to celebrate. We will show the garish, the ugly, the weird. For your own sake, and the sake of your neighbors, do not try this at home."
Click HERE to go to the website
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Let's Talk Christmas CDs...
John Nilsen: A Midnight Clear
I have had this Christmas cd for many, many years. It is my favorite. Actually my Mom had it first, and I loved it so much that I bought my own copy when I moved out many years ago. It's a nice relaxing instrumental cd of Christmas music. There aren't a whole lot of instrumental cds I like, but there's just something about this one that I love.
Kidz Bop Christmas
I just bought this cd tonight at Wal-Mart for $9.97, and played it in the car for Brendan and Adam on our drive home. It's great! Very fun, upbeat cd of all the great Christmas songs that kids tend to like...Rudolph, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Frosty, Jingle Bells, Run Rudolph Run, and more! Brendan loved it, and I have to admit I enjoyed it too! Definitely a keeper!
NOW That's What I Call Christmas
Wow, this cd has all the classics that I remember my parents playing as I was growing up, and all on the same cd! And by classics I mean they actually have the right artists singing it, not a remake. Johnny Mathis, Bing Crosby, Elvis, Nat King Cole, Beach Boys, Carpenters, and even Bruce Sprinsteen's famous version of Santa Claus is Coming to Town...mixed in with current things too. This is a 2-disk set, the whole first cd is classic stuff, the REAL Christmas music. The 2nd cd has some classics mixed with some more recent artists such as Celine Dion, Britney Spears, Luther Vandross, Boyz II Men, etc. I'm not as crazy about those, too R&B sounding for my taste. However I got this cd set for only $9.97 at Wal-Mart and the first disk and first half of the 2nd disk is so worth it. Wow!
John Berry: O Holy Night
John Berry sings the best, most powerful "O Holy Night" I've ever heard. He has a nice voice on all the songs, but "O Holy Night" is the one he especially shines on.
Saying Goodbye to our Awesome Babysitter :(
Last night was a mixed bag. For our date night we started at a local bar & grill and pigged out on hot wings and a pitcher of beer. Unfortunately it was really crowded with college students though. Guess we should have known better than to go there on finals week huh? Oh well, I felt kinda old in there, but we still enjoyed ourselves. Then we headed to the mall. I had the hardest time even finding anything I wanted to try on! I'm so shopping impaired. lol I need a fashion expert to show me what would look good on me. Where's Sam when you need him?! (Extreme Makeover fashion guy). I did find a pair of brown pants on sale for $9.99 and a silky button down shirt for $7.70. That was it! After 4 different stores, that's all we bought. And the shirt and pants don't even go together, so not even a complete outfit! LOL *sigh*
It was kinda sad when we got home, because we had to say goodbye to our babysitter. That was the last time she will be babysitting for us :( She graduates from college this week, and is moving. I am so bummed out, especially for Brendan's sake because he absolutely LOVES her!!! He always cries when she leaves, but usually he can be consoled by telling him she will be coming back again. This time, she won't be coming back. We did give her a little gift and a Christmas card with the boys' pictures in it. Brendan made her a snowman ornament. And we took a picture of her with the boys. When I get the pictures developed I will put one in a frame in Brendan's room for him. Luckily her friend will be taking over as our babysitter, so I can at least introduce her to Brendan as "Mary's friend". He'll like that much better than just some random stranger.
Actually, Mary was also one of my part-time employees at work, so I need to hire someone to replace her at work too! I will miss her. She's a great employee and a wonderful babysitter!
It was kinda sad when we got home, because we had to say goodbye to our babysitter. That was the last time she will be babysitting for us :( She graduates from college this week, and is moving. I am so bummed out, especially for Brendan's sake because he absolutely LOVES her!!! He always cries when she leaves, but usually he can be consoled by telling him she will be coming back again. This time, she won't be coming back. We did give her a little gift and a Christmas card with the boys' pictures in it. Brendan made her a snowman ornament. And we took a picture of her with the boys. When I get the pictures developed I will put one in a frame in Brendan's room for him. Luckily her friend will be taking over as our babysitter, so I can at least introduce her to Brendan as "Mary's friend". He'll like that much better than just some random stranger.
Actually, Mary was also one of my part-time employees at work, so I need to hire someone to replace her at work too! I will miss her. She's a great employee and a wonderful babysitter!
Monday, December 12, 2005
Tis the Season to be BUSY
It's been several days since I've been on to write much of anything! Suddenly I was busy busy. Thursday was our 2nd snow of the winter. Unfortunately this time it was going on during the morning commute to work. There were so many accidents on the highway! I went by 4 just in a 4 mile stretch. One of the accidents happened right in front of me. Some idiot went flying by in the passing lane and just then we topped a little hill and traffic was backed up from another accident. The guy couldn't stop, he tried to go on the shoulder and then swerved back into traffic and caused a 3-car accident just two car lengths ahead of me. Luckily noone was badly injured, and all 3 cars almost immediately got over to the side so that everyone could go by. It was such an emotional drive in to work that morning. I could see all these accidents, and every few minutes all sorts of police and ambulances would go by with their lights flashing and sirens screaming. Eventually I got up to the main accident, and they let the car in front of me go on, but stopped me and the line behind me of traffic. This put me just feet away from the scene, I had a perfect up close view of the car up on it's side, and the person being pulled out on the back board. What a shame. I had tears streaming down my face for most of the drive in that morning. I felt so bad for all the people involved in all the accidents. How quickly you can just be driving along fine and then wham, life throws a curveball. Yet another reminder of how precious life is and how we should never take it for granted.
But, on a happier note, Saturday was a cookie share and potluck type gathering with the moms group I'm in. That was nice. Brendan had fun playing with the other kids, and there were even 2 other little ones that Adam kinda played with too. Food was yummy, cookies were yummy, and it was nice to get together with friends and their families. That night at home we watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Brendan. We do the Blockbuster online thing, and that was one of the movies that came in the mail. It actually was pretty funny! I wasn't expecting to like it at all.
Sunday was the monthly scrapbooking crop. I actually got a few pages done! lol Again, got to visit with a few of the ladies in the moms group that also scrapbook. Then after I got home, Joe hunted for a little, and then we settled in for Sunday shows. I was so disappointed that Desperate Housewives wasn't on! But we enjoyed Grey's Anatomy as usual.
OH NO!!!! Just this instant I just realized I forgot to watch the Survivor Finale last night!!!!!!!!!!!!!! UGH!!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe I did that!!!! *sigh* SShhh...don't anyone tell me what happened...I need to see if anyone taped it! Oh man, I am just kicking myself!
*sigh*
Oh well, anyway, tonight is our date night. It was supposed to be last Monday, but we were sick, so we rescheduled with the babysitter for tonight. Last night in bed Joe asked me what we wanted to do for our date night. I said I don't know, maybe see a movie? And then I asked if he had anything in mind. He said he was kinda wanting to take me shopping. Huh?! That really surprised me since he knows I don't like shopping and I know he hates spending money! lol He laughed at my startled reaction and said he knows that I've been wanting new clothes and he wanted to get me some for Christmas, but he didn't dare pick out anything for me. Now, you have to know my husband or have heard me talk about him before to realize what a sweet gesture this was on his part! Lets just say, there have been years that he didn't get me anything for Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, etc, etc. He's kinda hit and miss. So the fact that he is thinking about what to get me for Christmas and it's still 2 weeks before is a huge thing! lol So, we're thinking we might just grab something kinda quick for dinner (Chinese buffet?) and go shopping for some clothes tonight. Like I said, I don't like shopping, but I am in such terrible need of clothes that I will gladly go this time.
This whole week looks to be busy, we have places to go several nights this week after work, and then we're celebrating Christmas at my mom's on Sunday, so I better get a move on finishing up Christmas shopping too! Tis the season!
But, on a happier note, Saturday was a cookie share and potluck type gathering with the moms group I'm in. That was nice. Brendan had fun playing with the other kids, and there were even 2 other little ones that Adam kinda played with too. Food was yummy, cookies were yummy, and it was nice to get together with friends and their families. That night at home we watched Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Brendan. We do the Blockbuster online thing, and that was one of the movies that came in the mail. It actually was pretty funny! I wasn't expecting to like it at all.
Sunday was the monthly scrapbooking crop. I actually got a few pages done! lol Again, got to visit with a few of the ladies in the moms group that also scrapbook. Then after I got home, Joe hunted for a little, and then we settled in for Sunday shows. I was so disappointed that Desperate Housewives wasn't on! But we enjoyed Grey's Anatomy as usual.
OH NO!!!! Just this instant I just realized I forgot to watch the Survivor Finale last night!!!!!!!!!!!!!! UGH!!!!!!!!!!! I can't believe I did that!!!! *sigh* SShhh...don't anyone tell me what happened...I need to see if anyone taped it! Oh man, I am just kicking myself!
*sigh*
Oh well, anyway, tonight is our date night. It was supposed to be last Monday, but we were sick, so we rescheduled with the babysitter for tonight. Last night in bed Joe asked me what we wanted to do for our date night. I said I don't know, maybe see a movie? And then I asked if he had anything in mind. He said he was kinda wanting to take me shopping. Huh?! That really surprised me since he knows I don't like shopping and I know he hates spending money! lol He laughed at my startled reaction and said he knows that I've been wanting new clothes and he wanted to get me some for Christmas, but he didn't dare pick out anything for me. Now, you have to know my husband or have heard me talk about him before to realize what a sweet gesture this was on his part! Lets just say, there have been years that he didn't get me anything for Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, etc, etc. He's kinda hit and miss. So the fact that he is thinking about what to get me for Christmas and it's still 2 weeks before is a huge thing! lol So, we're thinking we might just grab something kinda quick for dinner (Chinese buffet?) and go shopping for some clothes tonight. Like I said, I don't like shopping, but I am in such terrible need of clothes that I will gladly go this time.
This whole week looks to be busy, we have places to go several nights this week after work, and then we're celebrating Christmas at my mom's on Sunday, so I better get a move on finishing up Christmas shopping too! Tis the season!
Which Reindeer are You?
| You Are Blitzen |
 Always in good spirits, you're the reindeer who loves to party down with Santa. Why You're Naughty: You're always blitzed on Christmas Eve, while flying! Why You're Nice: You mix up a mean eggnog martini. |
LOL! Found this cute quiz thanks to KDubs blog
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