First Day of School

This morning Emma started Kindergarten and yes I cried.

I got up early and took Ian to the babysitters. Anyone who knows my two knows how close they are and even though Ian has lots of friends at Sheree's and he loves her he stilled cried because sissy wasn't with him. Of course that made me cry a little but I know he will be fine.

I came back home and Dave and I started breakfast, we made cheese scrabbled eggs, bacon, toast, and some strawberry milk for Emma. While I was finishing it up Dave went and got Emma up.



I love how she is always so happy when she gets up but today you could tell she was happier than normal. We all sat down and had breakfast together and then while Dave got ready for work I got Emma dressed and fixed her hair. This is the one area I feel bad about for Emma. See Dave will be taking her to school everyday because he doesn't have to be at work till later. This means that he will be getting her ready because I will be at work before she even gets up and he will have to help her do her hair. For the last few weeks I have had Emma practice wetting her hair down and scrunching the curls back up and then she can put a headband in her hair. I figure headbands are the way to go because she and Dave can handle those. So since she will be wearing headbands when I'm not around I decided the let her pick how I was going to fix her hair. She wanted it down and curly so I just pulled the front back to keep it out of her face and she looks so cute!

Before we got in the car I snapped a few shots of her in her super cute outfit that she picked out, and some with her new bookbag on which she also picked out. I also got one of her with Dave and one with me.











Doesn't she look adorable!!!

We arrived at school just a few minutes before they were letting the kids in but the three Kindergarten teachers were waiting in the hall for their new students so we introduced Emma to her teacher and just like Dave taught her Emma walked up to Miss Goldman and said Good morning I'm Emma Wilson. I had to fight back the tears at that moment but I put on a big smile and gave Emma a great big hug and told her to have fun. Then Dave and I walked away leaving our big girl with her teacher. When we turned the corner I looked back one last time and Emma had a smile on her face and was happy as can be which is good but it was at that point that the tears came. I'm not worried about Emma at all, she is smart and she knows how to take care of herself and I know she will make all kinds of friends and love school. I'm also not sad because she is getting older, I love that she is growing up. I actually cried more because I was happy for her. She has wanted to go to school for two years now and she finally is which makes me so happy.

Ok now that I have the tears going again I am going to go and find something to do while I enjoy this beautifully sunny unseasonably cool day.

Look Alikes

This past Thursday evening Dave and I had to go to Emma's kindergarten orientation at her soon to be school. We started in the auditorium of the school and the principal, President of the PTO, and all three Kindergarten teachers spoke to us. When they were done they posted a list of students and which teacher each student had and we had to go to that teachers classroom. Emma's teacher is Miss Goldman who is young and pretty and I think Emma and her are going to get along very well.

Once in the classroom we had to fill out some forms and turn them into Miss Goldman. When I walked up to her and told her who my daughter was she turned and looked at me and said "wow your daughter looks just like you". Now Emma was not with us so she remembered Emma from her testing on Monday afternoon and I'm hoping she remembered for a good reason.

Of course this isn't the first time I have heard this, in fact I hear it all the time. It is true though the older Emma gets the more and more she looks like me. When she was first born she looked more like Dave than me but around 18 months the curls came in and ever since then she has looked like me.

My favorite pic of the two of us

Being like me seems to stop at the looks though, personality wise Emma is so much like my sister. Emma can make friends with anyone anywhere she goes, she is so outgoing and friendly and I love that about her. She is also they type of kid who always wants to be on the go and doing something. Don't get me wrong she can sit still and do something for long periods of time but she doesn't like to just sit around the house which I'm sure will drive me crazy when she is a teenager. I wasn't like that as a kid. I was shy and while I liked to go places on trips I also loved to just sit and relax.

I have recently discovered that there is one part of Emma that is like me though. We were in the car driving home the other day and Emma decided to tell me about her problem. It seems that everyday on our way home from the babysitters house in Emma's mind she pretends she is holding a saw and cutting down every tree we drive by. Apparently these thoughts are starting to bug her because she also told me she is very tired of cutting all the trees down but she doesn't know how to stop thinking about it. I'm sure you all are thinking she is crazy but when I was a kid whenever we were driving on the highway I would count the white dotted lines on the road in my head. I used to drive myself nuts doing it but I couldn't stop it. The older I got the less I did it until I finally stooped. I have no idea why I did it or what it means that I did and I really haven't thought about that in years. I guess whatever it is I've passed it on to my daughter and I feel bad about it but it seemed to make her feel better when I told her what I used to do.

As Emma gets older I hope she doesn't hate looking like her Mom and having inherited the crazy parts of me, but only time will tell.

Say What Wednesday: Nuts

This week I have decided to join in Say What Wednesday over at Two Little Monkeys. It's really cute so you should go check it out if you haven't yet.

Sunday evening after Emma got home from her camping trip the kids and I were laying on the couch together and Emma was eating some candy the sitter had got her over the weekend and Ian was munching on a can of Cashews. Emma decided she wanted to play a game and this is the conversation after that:

Emma: Whoever likes my candy raise both their hands

(we all play along and raise both our hands)

two seconds later....

Ian: Whoever likes my nuts raise both their hands!

Of course we all raised our hands but Dave and I were laughing hysterically. Of course Ian was talking about the cashews he was eating but Dave and I couldn't help but laugh.

Our Date with Ian

Saturday evening after Dave got home from work we took Ian to Magic Mountain. I was a little worried that afternoon that our plans for putt putt wouldn't happen because we had some rain come though but it cleared up by the evening.

When we first got there we were all hungry so we started with some pizza and a hot dog for Ian. The whole time we were eating Ian kept talking about the yellow car ride in the arcade area so as soon as we were done eating we let him take a ride.



Next we went out and started our game of putt putt. Ian caught on fairly quickly and while his form wasn't always right he still managed to hit the ball pretty well.





After hole 6 or so Ian decided that he didn't like the starting places for each whole so he would walk up to the hole and place his ball about two feet away.

Our next stop for the evening was the batting cages where Dave played a few rounds and Ian got to try on Dave's helmet.



Last stop of the night was the arcade where Ian played a bunch of different games and won lots of tokens.







It was really nice to have some alone time with Ian and I'm pretty sure he enjoyed it too.

Canes and Video Games

This weekend Emma is with her friend and the babysitter at the babysitters camper. That means it's just Dave, Ian, and I. When I picked up Ian yesterday evening and Emma didn't come with us Ian had a minor meltdown and would not stop crying.

Since Dave was closing I decided to give him a call and see if we could meet him for dinner. I knew that would get Ian to stop crying and it worked. So we headed up to see Dave but when we got there he informed us that he had a customer coming in. So it was just Ian and I for dinner. I decided to give Ian the choice of what to have for dinner and he choose Rasin Canes which sounded great to me.

Apparently Ian was very hungry because he ate all of his chicken strips and fries and then he stole some of my chicken and bread. After dinner Ian and I came home and he asked to play some Mario Cart on the Wii. Two hours later he was still playing Mario Cart but he was having a blast so I couldn't make him stop.

So far today we have cleaned the house, got lunch, and I made a tent in the living room for Ian to play in. Once Dave gets home we are hoping to go play some putt putt with Ian. I'll let you know how it all goes tomorrow.

Put it in Park

Earlier this week I had dinner with my friend Jenn (who I see often and talk to everyday) and two of our friends that we had not seen since High School. As any typically dinner with old friends goes we talked about all the stories from high school. One of the stories my friend Kristina brought up was one I had forgot even happen but it made us all laugh.

Around the time all of us were turning 16 my baby brothers dad Kirby had a beautiful Mustang. One afternoon Kristina was over and I think we were working on a school project. Whatever it was we were doing we had to run to the store and we were able to talk Kirby into letting Kristina (I didn't have my licence yet) drive the Mustang. I still can't believe he said yes but her did and we thought we were so cool driving around in it.

We eventually got to the place we were going and but when we went to leave the car wouldn't start. Of course we both completely panicked, we thought we had broke Kirbys car. The car he LOVED. I don't remember how long it was or how we figured it out but eventually we realized that the car wasn't in park.

When I got home that evening I was telling Dave about the story and like any man he shook his head and said what is it with women and doing that. Now normally a comment like that would tick me off but not this time. I actually think he might be right this time. Other than that time I did it once and my uncle had to come get me because I thought my car was broke. I also now that my sister and few other girlfriends have had similar situations. So why is it that we can't remember to put the car in park?

Happy 7th Anniversary

Today is Dave and I's 7th wedding anniversary. It's kind of strange this year for me. We aren't doing anything today because it's a Monday and Dave has to work. I will actually be going to dinner with a bunch of girls from High School instead. Anyway Dave and I aren't doing our typical dinner and night out this year. We figured that we did that for four days in Savannah, plus we had my reunion Saturday night so that kind of covers it.

Since Dave and I were together through most of my High School years seeing all those people brought back so many feelings and memories for me and most of them revolve around Dave and how much I truly love him. We have grown up together and we have been lucky enough to grow closer and closer to each other. He is truly my best friend, I love to just hang out with him and talk to him about anything. There isn't anyone in this world that can make me laugh as hard as he can and NO ONE gives hugs like he does.

If you would have asked me 7 years ago if I would love Dave more I would have looked at you like you were crazy, rolled my eyes, and said absolutely not but I would have been wrong. Everyday I love Dave just a little more and I can't wait to see what the next 7 years have in store for us.

Happy 7th Anniversary Dave, I love you!

10 Years Ago

Back in January my two best friends and I started planning our high school classed 10 year reunion. It took a ton of calls and allot of research but we finally decided that we would have a Meet & Greet on Friday evening, a family picnic Saturday afternoon, and a main adult only event Saturday evening.

We picked a local bar for Friday evening and I was told by those that attended that it was nice. The picnic was at the YMCA park just outside of Groveport and it had a nice playground with a fort for the kids to play in. The main event was at the Elks Lodge in Grove City. We choose it because the price was low, they had a cheap cash bar, and they allowed outside caterers without an extra charge. Since our class didn't have any money left in our account from high school everything had to be paid for with ticket sales. To help keep the cost of the tickets down we went with Heavy Horederves instead of a full meal. We were also lucky enough to have my friend Jenn's husband DJ for free. I actually think it helped that he was DJ'ing because that gave Dave and Shanna's husband Scott something to do as well. Instead of our husbands just sitting and talking they got to pick the music and talk on the mic.

It seemed like everyone had a good time and they were grateful to us for planning the event which was nice for us to hear since we worked really hard to do it. Even if they didn't have fun Shanna, Jenn, and I did and I think that's all that matters.







In honor of the Groveport Madison Class of 1999 I will leave you with our class poem.

Party Hearty
Rock & Roll
Drink a Keg Smoke a bowl
We kick ass
Sex is fine
We're the class of 99

Summer Cold

No I am not referring to the temperature for once that is actually hot this summer. I am referring to the chest cold I have obtained.

I woke up Saturday morning feeling like death and it continued all through the weekend and it's still going strong. My chest feels like it's on fire and I can not stop coughing. I have coughed so much that I'm pretty sure I've pulled some muscles in my chest. I did that once in high school and if my memory is correct this feels allot like it.

I did suck it up some this weekend and attended my MIL's 50th birthday party. We had a nice small gathering a Highbanks Park. Sharon is the third of seven kids in her family and all of them came with their kids and their kids kids in some cases. In order to make it easier on everyone we all were in charge of bringing different things for the meal. Dave and I were in charge of buns and chips. I had planned on making my homemade salsa but the cold got in the way of that. In face Dave was the one that had to go to the store and get our stuff so it turned out to be a very good thing that we got some easy items. I was very happy when we arrived that the shelter house Dave's Aunt choose was in the back and in the shade, it made it much easier for me to sit there all day. Dave and the kids played on the near by swings allot and they also played a little catch and kick ball with the gloves and balls we brought with us. There is only one thing I am disappointed in and that is that I forgot to get a picture of the finished platter we made for Sharon. It turned out so good and she really liked it. If any of you are in the central Ohio area I highly recommend Color Your World at Easton.

So now I am just trying to get rid of this nasty cough before this weekend and my 10 year class reunion. Something tells me it will be tagging along with me. :(

Movies, Movies, and more Movies

Dave and I have finally joined the Netflix bandwagon. Looking back I'm not sure what took us so long. For the past three, four, maybe five years we have been renting the movies from our OnDemand which has worked fine and we didn't think the $3.99 price tag was too bad. It was cheaper than going to blockbuster or the theater.

Amazingly enough neither of us have ever wanted to see a movie that we couldn't find on there or at Blockbuster until a couple Sunday's ago. In Savannah they mention on numerous occasions the book and movie Midnight in the Garden of Good an Evil. Somehow Dave missed seeing that movie when it was really big and if you know Dave at all you know there is no way he has ever read the book. After we took the out of the Mercer-Williams house Dave said that he wanted to rent the movie when we got home to see what it was all about.

So the Sunday after we got home I stopped in at Blockbuster but they didn't have the movie. In fact one of the employees did a search for it and Blockbuster has never carried it on DVD only VHS and none of the stores around us had any copies. Feeling a little bummed I went home and did a search online and was able to find a DVD on sale for $.25 but it seemed silly to pay $5.00 in shipping for a movie that cost a quarter. It was then that I decided to check out Netflix, there website had a free two week trial and since they had the movie in stock and it said it would arrive in one business day I said what the heck. During the sign up process for the trial you of course have to pick a package to have once the trial is over if you don't cancel in time but I was surprised to see how cheap it was. Way cheaper than what we spend in OnDemand movies each month. It made me even happier to see how quickly they have shipped our movies out to us, and even better than that is all of the movies you can watch on your PC.

In the last week and half the kids have watched 7 or 8 movies on the computer (it's been raining allot) and I have watched about 10. The best part is I can put my headphones in and watch one on the laptop while Dave or the kids are watching something else on the TV. I've been able to watch all the chick flicks I want which has helped with my horrible stressed out mood lately. So thank you netflix for the great services you have given us and don't worry we wont be cancelling you.

New Recipie #2

Tonight I tried the second new recipe I found yesterday on Food Networks website. I wont give you the real name of this one but it was a Lemon Chicken and Pasta and it was not good. The kids took about three bites each and refused to eat anymore. I wouldn't say it was that bad and I did eat what was on my plate but I did not enjoy eating it.

Dave is closing tonight so I called him and asked if he wanted me to save him a plate or not and he said if I wouldn't eat it he probably wouldn't so he will be stopping on the way home to grab something.

I guess one out of two isn't bad but I was really hoping for another simple good recipe to add to my weeknight meals. Now here is where you can help. I would love it if you could send me one or more of your favorite recipes that are no more than 40minutes I would love you! PLEASE!!!!!!

A Day of First

My MIL's 50th birthday is next weekend and Dave hasn't been able to think of anything to get her for her birthday that we can afford. It seems the older she gets the harder it is to figure out what to get her for birthday's and holidays. Last week when Dave and I were talking about her birthday he mentioned maybe getting her some kind of memento but he still didn't know what.

This morning I left the kids at home with Dave and I went to do my grocery shopping. While I was standing in the slowest line on earth an idea popped into my head out of nowhere. After I got home and put the groceries away I jumped on the computer to see if there was a pottery painting place nearby that was open on Sundays.

I got lucky because there is one at Easton Town Center called Color Your World. There website explained that you just go in and pick your piece then paint it however you want. They will fire it and it will be ready in a week. So Dave, the kids, and I headed up there. we picked a wavy platter and I put both the kids hand prints on it with their names painted under them. The kids also had me paint We love you across the top only we used a heart stencil instead of the word love. I really like the way it looked and I'm really hoping it looks great when it's done. I've never done anything like this before but it was really fun. I think the kids and I will be going back again and maybe next time I will let them pick something to paint.

By the time we got home it was time to start dinner. I have been stuck in a cooking rut lately because of the crazy stress I've been under so I decided to get on Food Networks website this morning while I was making my grocery list and I found a couple new and quick recipes to try. The one I tried tonight was Rachel Ray's Chicken Mug Pie and it was delicious. It was also easy and quick to make which makes it a winner in my book.

Now I am sitting in my chair with a very full belly wishing it weren't Sunday evening already. Hopefully the good day from today will rub off onto tomorrow.