We Survived the Holidays!

The holidays arrived early this year with our first celebration of Christmas starting with Jack and Bonnie. Even though they've moved up to Traverse City, it worked out that we were able to keep the tradition of having our first Christmas with them once again this year. 2008 turned into a pretty crazy year for them, but things are looking pretty positive for 2009!

One full month of office parties, family gatherings, Christmas programs at school and church, meeting up with friends...everything was spread out this year and even though we had a blast, we also breathed a big sigh of relief Sunday night after our last one.

My grandma came home from Florida to spend Christmas with all of us. She's not very thrilled about the cold weather we've been having although today it was almost 50 and last week it was only 1. That's Ohio weather for you!

*Just realized that I started this blog and never finished it. Will publish as is!

"Life's Too Short to Have a Bad Cup of Coffee"

A quote from Mr. Heather

Christmas Shopping/Date Night?

Last night, Mr. Heather and I dropped the kids off at Grandma and Grandpa's and headed out in the cold to fight the last-minute crowds to shop for the girls. It is unusual for us to go out shopping together as a couple since we typically take turns watching the girls or stop after work while they are at school. Anyhow, we gave ourselves a budget and then let ourselves loose in Toys 'R Us! It was a blast! Without the girls, I was able to actually watch some of the patrons...like a grandfather looking for the puffiest pom-poms and the store employee hopping on a kid's bike and I never once even had the urge to tell them "no". Guess their ad is true...Toys 'R Us is the place "where a kid can be a kid!" Mr. Heather and I spent some time going down every aisle and checking out all the possibilities. We eliminated some of the toys for the following reasons: too loud, only played two songs, wouldn't hold their interest for longer than 10 minutes, couldn't hold two children at the same time. I couldn't convince Mr. Heather into letting me get them each a Cabbage Patch Doll, but I didn't find one that spoke to me either and it wasn't on their lists. Hopefully, we chose wisely. However, Zoe has come up with some doozies lately...such as asking Santa for a big googly-eyed turkey that says "You're a princess, Zoe." When Mr. Heather pointed out that Santa might have a hard time finding that, she reassured him with, "Don't worry, Dad. His elves can make it!" Mr. Heather and I had a hard time arguing with that logic so we decided to drop it and stop asking her what she wanted for Christmas! We still have a little bit of last-minute shopping to do, but I'm looking forward to gift-wrapping today. Merry Christmas!

MY FIRST SNOW DAY!

All 6 districts have officially closed today...finally! Yippee skippy! My first snow day in my new job! The rule is that ALL six must close before we close. I've been checking since 5:30 a.m. and the last school now just closed at 7:55! (Don't worry, I made "good use" of my time checking my email and catching up on reading other people's blogs!)



The other great news is that Mr. Heather found my new favorite tea (caffeine-free) TAZO in my two favorite flavors: Passion and Wild Orange. (I had brought home my empty packets from a conference to show him.) I'm not sure how long it's been in the cupboard because he forget to tell me he picked it up and they didn't get put away with the rest of the tea . However, the good news it that is was a pleasant surprise!

Now I have to decide what to do with all my extra time...go shopping? Wrap presents? Bake Christmas cookies? Watch a sappy Christmas movie on Lifetime?

Where's the Snow?

It was here, but now it's gone!
I actually took these pictures in November.

Winter Wonderland

Charlie Brown Thanksgiving!

We let the girls stay up late tonight so they could watch "Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving". We popped some corn, which ended up scattered all over the furniture and floor (of course) and all plopped in front of the TV for a half hour. Doesn't sound like much, but the kids liked it. ABC is showing it again on Turkey Day @ 8 and starting Dec. 1st will have their 25 Days Until Christmas programs-a different show every night! The girls and I can't wait....Mr. Heather seemed to enjoy this evening, but I'm not sure he'll be able to hang in there for an entire month! I'll keep you posted! Have a Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble! Gobble!

"Kisses"

This morning, I took Sammy with me to the store and as soon as I parked, she started saying, "Look Mommy! Kisses! Kisses!" I looked up at the window display but couldn't see anything that would make her think of kisses. As we walked through the store, she looked at the aisle of festive red and green and exclaimed again, "KISSES!" She was trying to say "Christmas!" Isn't she adorably sweet?

Ten Things I am Thankful for.....

10. not having to buy diapers anymore! Samantha is officially potty-trained at 2.5! She caught on quickly compared to her big sis (who has served us well as Samantha's own personal Potty Coach!)

9. having a reason (like we need one) to work on our house. We volunteered to host Thanksgiving this year for both sides of the family (on two different days) which has prompted me to hang pictures on the walls, wallpaper the laundry room, and put up curtains, valances, and matching chair covers....and the list continues! Love it! Mr. Heather & I both love the fact that we are reducing clutter!

8. being able to park my car in the garage! (Really, it's the little things in life that make me happy!)

7. my new job and the people there who it fun! Even my boss is cool!

6. the anticipation of Christmas! We are already playing Christmas music, have all of our decorations up except for the tree and the lights for outside! Hope to get those up this weekend!?!?!?

5. for our daughters' teachers! What a blessing to have people we can entrust with our children and know that not only are they well-fed, safe, and taken care of, but they are learning and loving it!

4. the direction of our nation under new leadership.

3. of the opportunity Mr. Heather and I had this summer to travel with friends!

2. our families; they bless us each day with their time and talents and enrich our lives with their presence and love.

1. our friends and fellow blog readers who keep me laughing!


Extra Special Bonus goes to Mr. Heather, who helps me balance my life!

Thanksgiving Prep

Thank God for Grandparents! The in-laws watched the girls today while I did some major cleaning....went through all the kitchen cupboards, scrubbed the pots and pans, emptied the canisters of flour, sugar, etc. to wash, lined the oven drawer, laundered the potholders, and polished all of the silver (ha!). You get the idea! Just a good old-fashioned cleaning with some elbow grease! Mr. Heather put in a days' work at the Mountain working on tech stuff. The girls came home with OSU tattoos courtesy of G & G. I couldn't get them to pose for a picture to share with you so you'll have to live without! Regardless, we are getting closer to being ready for our Thanksgiving company! Tomorrow, the basement! Another fun day!

Mrs. Cleaver I am Not

Try as I might to be the domesticated little housewife with two kids and a full-time job, I am not a Mrs. Cleaver...even if I quit my job, I don't think I could still be June. Tonight my kids threw money down the toilet...like we need any help with everyone talking about the "recession"! Later, Sammy informed me that she didn't love me, but refused to let me put her down without screaming. And finally the dinner I prepared burned on the stove. However, I was able to paint a little, plant tulip bulbs, and run a couple miles on the treadmill. I should at least get an "A" for effort! Thank goodness that every day is "a new day with no mistakes in it"! (Anne Shirley)

Good Morning?

This morning Zoe popped up and thought it was still nighttime. When I told her it really was morning, she immediately burst into tears and exclaimed, "But I never fell asleep!"

My Girls

Another Life Lesson

Here's something else I just recently discovered about myself. I no longer fit underneath the bed. Not one single bed in our house. Thought you should know.

I'm pretty confident that an adult would not fit under any of our beds. It's just the first time I actually checked.

I'm not sure when this actually happened, but I made the discovery last week while playing hide and seek with the girls. How bizarre. If any of you can fit under the bed let me know. Just curious! That will give you something fun to do on a Friday night.

A Ray of Sunshine & Election Day

Called up my cousin Sally and did a little bit of catching up! It was great to talk to her! She is so bubbly and fun-loving! She's just a lot of fun to be around! I really miss her!

However, I'm still feeling overall grumpy....I've been having a little bit of anxiety with the whole election thing. Mr. Heather has been sitting on the fence up to last minute driving me crazy. My daughter voted in her Pre-K class and voted for McCain. (Did I teach her nothing?!?!?) I woke up this morning at 4:15 ready to vote. Arrived at 5:45 only to discover that our polls didn't open until 6:30, not 6 (they thought I was showing up to work the polls). Drove back home, got Zoe on the bus, and ended up taking Sammy to the polls with me. She was the only 2 year old there. It took 45 minutes and she was pretty good until I was actually voting and then she shook the booth plus the lady's booth which was right next to me. Nice. We survived. Now just impatiently waiting for the results!

BLAH DAYS

It's been rainy for several days now...very dark, very gray, very cold, very ugly days. Tomorrow they are predicting SNOW! I wanna be on a very warm, sunny island right now! Cruise anyone? I really believe I have that weather disorder thing...you know where the weather affects your moods. Some people think it's a bunch of crap, but I don't know...I can see a direct correlation in my life...or at least today anyway. Hmmmmm...maybe if I can't go on the cruise (Mr. Heather has been heckling me lately as I'm only person on the planet who isn't seriously worried about the economy b/c I keep making plans to SPEND money instead of SAVE it!) I'm just DREAMING! Cut me some slack here! Ok, so no cruise might be equivalent to tanning bed. And don't you all start writing me about the hazards of the tanning bed either because I'm as white as ghost right now. Guess that's fitting for Halloween. Now the tanning bed is out..so on to self-tanning lotion....Far cry from a cruise. Enough....it's time for a long bath and then bed! I'm beat! Tonight I'm going to dream about white sand beaches and teal-colored water.....

Back to Jogging

Mr. Heather & I started jogging together again. It was time. Unfortunately, it wasn't in time! I stepped on the scale this morning and I hit that magic number....my MAXIMUM weight. I'm not one of those people who is unrealistic about this number. For my height, there is a healthy range to be at and right now I'm at the tip-top. That's the bad news. The good news is that we started out with 1.5 miles and we only walked for two one-minute sessions during that entire time. Here we go! Cheer me on!

Weezbot!

Hey, if you get a chance, leave a comment on Weezbot's Blog....she's my niece and would love it if she could prove that someone's reading her blog. Ummmmm...by the way, same goes for her aunt! Tee hee!

October 13th

My cousin Chad and I at a school district that we both serve in different capacities. We both presented that morning. He gave Child Abuse Training to K-6 teachers and I spoke to 7-12 teachers regarding local report card and curriculum issues. This pic was taken by my cell phone so it isn't very good, but I want to share it with my grandmother...who would've ever guessed we'd grow up to work together!

Cousins!

Samantha and Zoe just adore their baby cousin Andrew! They loved chasing him around and playing together. Andrew loved their train table, especially the bridge! We all enjoyed the time we were able to spend together. He's a cutie!

Bowling Green State University

The old Alma Mater.....
I had a workshop in Wood County, so decided to walk the fall campus afterwards...
in heels...which my feet protested later!

This is the seal of BGSU that Robert & I stood on after my graduation ceremony!

Met my friend Shelley for dinner that night at Max & Erma's. We had so much fun, laughing, talking, and catching up. We haven't had a night like that in way too long! The phone calls or visits with the kids underfoot just isn't the same as having our own girl time! What a great visit! The waitress decided we should try to get together more often because we were having so much fun together! She's right! Love you, Shelley!

Here she is with her new beau!

More Garage Fun

I've been working on the garage...that's been our goal off an on for...well, hmmmmm...ever since we moved in!?! It'll be two years this Christmas! Changing jobs didn't help because I had to move all my personal belongings out and brought it...you guessed it...straight to the garage! I finally have it organized and put away with the exception of 3 SMALL boxes! I'm pretty pleased with that. Maybe today I'll finish! The goal is to get the cars back into the garage for the winter weather. Fun blog today, huh?

CHICAGO

Jennie & Bruce ran the Chicago Marathon...all 50 states were represented and over 100 countries. Pretty mind-boggling when you think about it. Robert & I left the girls with grandparents and headed off the to the Windy City. I enjoyed the trip immensely! Here are some of my favorite pictures!

WICKED was in Chicago! Brought back fun memories!

These pictures are not in chronological order, or any order for that matter!
Here we all are after the race! (Don't we look exhausted after watching them run?)
No one made any plans to meet up, but we actually were able to find each other (Jennie borrowed someone's cell phone!) We are so proud of you both! Way to go!

The Guys

This is me having fun with my camera!

Jennie with her folks who are super fun, super sweet people!
We love hanging out with them!

You know you're in the big city when crowds gather around the horses on patrol!
They were beautiful creature and very well taken care of with bright shiny clean coats.

If I were to run a marathon, I think it would fun to dress up as Wonder Woman...this group was a trip! They had Super Man, Batman & Robin, Cat Woman, The Joker, and more!?!

The Duo Running Machines!

Jennie's Family Bar in Chicago...awesome food, great fun atmosphere!
We highly recommend it!

Did you know there are moose in Chicago?

At the American Girl store...this tree house is $250.
Who wants to get me one for Christmas?

Driving into Town....

Family Fun Fest for Fall!

Our church puts on the best family fun day a kid could ask for: pony rides, bouncy gyms, huge inflatable slides, trampoline jumps (with holsters), train rides, hay rides, cotton candy, popcorn, hot dogs, live music, face painting, and MORE! Everything is FREE, which is awesome because who likes to spend an astronomical fee for one day of fun and/or tell your kids no? However, with all this fun stuff planned, our kids looked longingly at the playground as we passed it on our hay ride. This is so ridiculous because they both go to "school" with great playgrounds but this definitely topped their list of fun for the day and right up there with the snow cones! We take them to this park periodically for picnics and a day at the park and they LOVE it!

Noah's Ark Bean Bag Toss
(The bean bags were actually animals, how cute is that?)

Apple Fall Festival

Sammy finds an apple in the orchard!

Sammy wants things to go her way....
she's pouting because she wanted to walk in the road instead of the grass.
Papa finally talked her into action by offering her a ride!

Zoe climbing trees! Good old fashioned fun!

After the festival, we headed to Bluffton...a beautiful little college town....
we took the girls to the Grammy's old playground...Mommy & Uncle Tim used to play there too when we were little with our cousins.

Andrew joined us for our weekly hike!
He had great news for us; he's going to be a big brother!

More hiking!

Grandma, Grammy, Uncle Tim, Aunt Wendi, and Sammy enjoy the nice autumn day!

Father & Son

Sammy thought Great Grandma's goose was the neatest thing!

My mom is young at heart!
My dad and I followed this up with a game of tetherball!
We had a blast!