Yup, It Was a Snow Day!

Sure enough, we had a snow day on Monday!  I had BIG plans that the kids would help me clean the house so that we could finally get out our Christmas decorations.  See, I told them that we would do ANY of that until they helped me clean and get ready.  So far, they hadn't helped but now they're feeling the crunch!

Of course, I slept for all of 3 hours the night before and woke up with what I think is a full-blown sinus infection.  I am just plain miserable and with two kids who NEVER sleep in when they can (my son was up at 6:30 and my daughter was up at 7:00!), their energy was at about 100%.  My son received a call to go over to snowboard at the ski lodge a few miles from our house.  Absolutely.  One loud one down, one to go...

My daughter made a call to her friend and she asked if they could play.  At first it was going to be here.  Not perfect, but I can totally tune out kids who are playing.  At the last minute, the tables turned and my daughter was invited to THEIR house.  Absolutely!  Last one down and my bed was calling me.  

As soon as my daughter was gone, my son called and said he was coming home.  WHAT???  He was okay, but the friend he went with broke his wrist.  =(  On their second run, he hit the rail, came off it and hit ice.  Slammed right down onto his wrist.  Poor kiddo.  Poor me...my nap plans weren't looking so good...  

Thankfully, as my son is almost 12-years-old, I set him up with food and snacks and he was good to watch a movie I taped for him.  I went to bed and was able to sleep for almost 2 hours.  Just in time for my daughter to come home and me to get back to work.  

Big plans?  Nope.  Didn't come to fruition, but today, while the kids are back at school, I shall clean.  I have one corner of the living room done.  Now on to 98% more messy house!  And tomorrow?  I hope it's all done and the kids can help me decorate tonight.  We'll see...

Snow = Work

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!  

As soon as the temperatures drop below freezing and the ski lodge I work at can start making snow that will stay on the ground, my days of being a stay-at-home mom are done until spring!  That time is quickly approaching and my days of serving french fries and burgers to kids and their parents will be daily tasks.

While I'm thankful beyond words to have extra income, it's also a time of great sadness to me because my kiddos will have two weeks off for Christmas break and I'll be working every day.  I'll just have to make sure that I save enough energy to play with them after work!  Sledding is on my list as we have several sledding hills around our house and possibly ice skating, too.  Then we have our Christmas baking and decorating still to do.  

The question is, will there be a snow day tomorrow or has the winter storm warning been allowed to expire because the snow has stopped?  I'm crossing my fingers for the expiration and all kids will be in school tomorrow...I need to get out Christmas gifts and plan, figure, and wrap!  

The kids  will be disappointed if there's no snow day as they're preparing by wearing the p.j.s backwards and inside out, they flushed ice cubes down the drain, there's spoons under their pillows, and they kissed more ice cubes and tossed them out the door.  Wonder if it works?  I'll find out tomorrow, won't I?

Revelations Abound!

My last posting I confessed to becoming a nasty.  I wondered if I was growing up and finally saying what was on my mind instead of avoiding confrontation...well, I had another revelation, more like an epiphany if you will.

My sweet little girl has been having problems sleeping at night.  She simply can not breath.  Often times, she literally STOPS breathing for about 10 seconds, then her whole body jolts and her arms fly out and her legs kick.  We've been dealing with this since May.  Went to the doctor and have tried lots of tricks, from nasal spray to Breathe Right Strips (I actually LOVE those!).  Nothing worked.

FINALLY we were sent to an Ear, Nose & Throat specialist who within 3 minutes determined that her adenoids were terribly swollen and blocking the air passage in her throat.  Poor little girl has to have surgery in the next few weeks (we're going to hold off until after Christmas break so she can enjoy herself!).  

I have had her sleeping with me for many months now, so much so that she no longer considers the bed my husband's and mine...it is simply HERS and mine!  But here's my epiphany...she hasn't been sleeping but NEITHER HAVE I!  I wake up all night long as she's struggling with breaths and roll her onto her side.  I haven't had many good night's worth of sleep for many months.  I'm sleep deprived!  When I'm tired, I'm not good at anything and my patience level usually drops to a negative TWO!  

January, I look forward to finally having restful sleep through the night.  Can that be a New Year's Resolution?

Cyber Shopping!

Did you?  Do it?  Cyber shopping today?  I tried.  Honestly, I did.  I spent a LOT of time going through all the emails that came my way from all the shops I like to shop at.  But you know what?  I thought it was a waste of time!  The toys that are on sale are crappy ones or for small children, the clothes sales are pretty good but the kids are taken care of and I don't want to buy any new clothes for me because I refuse to pay money for clothes that I PRAY I won't fit into in the next couple of months (yeah, I've been saying that for how many years? - hmph) and the rest of the stuff just seemed junky.  Am I getting picky?  AND a wickedly honest mouth?  

I had a revelation a couple of days ago...I always, and I mean ALWAYS, tried to please everyone and avoid confrontation.  As of late, I feel prickly all over and have I been feisty!  Perhaps I'm growing up and won't take crap anymore?  Who knows, but I realize I have to bite my tongue A LOT as there's much there that shouldn't be said.  Sometimes I don't bite hard enough and exactly how I feel starts coming out!  The old me would never have talked like that.  I keep telling my kids that growing up stinks sometimes.  I guess this is one of my stinky points in my life.  I'm sorry for any smells that may come your way!  Maybe I've been sick for too long.  Coughing, hacking up phlegm, horrible head pain - sinus problems stink, too.   

Have a great week - I really mean that!  =)

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

I hope you and your family had a blessed Thanksgiving filled with much love, laughter and joy.  We sure did!  My family woke early in the morning and we had a lazy morning of playtime and t.v.  Well, I worked on my computer getting the discounted pricing completed for our line of Planet Jill Photo Jewelry at The Memory Boutique.  If you haven't seen it before, please check it out....it's beautiful and makes a wonderful keepsake you and your family will cherish for years to come!

After computer work, I quickly showered and headed over to my parent's house at the farm.  My mom always cooks up food to feed an army, and she certainly outdid herself yesterday!  I think she had a 19 pound turkey for 13 of us, two types of stuffing (my Dad's family always had oyster stuffing when he was growing up and the girls in OUR house growing up just didn't LIKE it!) to please my Daddy's palate and the rest of us, too!  One oyster stuffing with chicken gizzards and one sausage stuffing for us, as my Dad calls us, "whimps".  I'll be a whimp, heck yeah!  (((shudder))))  I just can't eat oysters cooked or not!  Can you say slimy "loogie"?  =)  Of course, there was homegrown mashed potatoes (grown whole in the garden, not mashed!), gravy, fresh Polish kielbasa, homegrown corn and butternut squash, homegrown cabbage in coleslaw, rolls, and a cranberry jello ring.  Grandma also served "kid wine" but no alcoholic versions for us big kids.  I could've brought some but didn't think about it so I have no one to kick but myself on that one.  The food was fabulous and I think tastes SO much better when it's a homegrown version!  You can tell by my typing, no?  ;)

Dessert consisted of homemade pumpkin pie, apple crisp, pumpkin cheesecake (yeah, I brought that compliments of Sara Lee because, "Nobody doesn't like Sara Lee!") and more cranberry jello ring.  This is one of those days where you make sure you don't wear tight pants and can either wear a big sweater over your tummy or unbutton for a bit!  

Nice to spend time with my sisters and parents.  The niece and nephews came and went quickly so I didn't get to spend much time with them, although who's kidding who...they don't want to spend time with ole' Auntie here.  Oh well.  Some day they might like to talk to me again.  

My husband is the dare devil shopper of the family.  He was up at 3:30 yesterday morning and at 3:00 today hitting the stores.  He goes early and gets all the goods in his cart so when the official sale starts at 5:00 a.m., he's in line ready to check out.  He was back by 6:00 this morning and we haven't spoken yet because kiddos are around!  I guess I'll find out what he purchased after they go to bed, providing I don't crash with them.  I tend to do that...fall fast asleep with my kids when I lay with them!  Tired Momma, I guess!

Please enjoy your weekend and be safe!  Don't forget the little shops and specialty shops in your town...tomorrow is Small Business Saturday as a reminder to remember the shops owned by hometown families.  Big box stores are nice, but gosh, so are the specialty shops that offer service that's unparalleled!  Enjoy!

Memories...

My cousin posted some of her special memories of Busia and Dziadzia's house on Facebook today, and even though my family didn't go up to see them very often, the times we DID go have brought such great memories flooding back to me!

My Polish grandparents, Busia (boo-sha) and Dziadzia (ja-ja) Brzezinski, lived 3 hours north of our home in a small town named Cedar in Northwest Michigan near Traverse City.  They lived in a large, old farm house which seemed a MILE (although I think it was more like 1/4 of a mile) off the main road down a twisting, often times steep, sandy driveway that wound it's way through the biggest, tallest, rolling hills that looked like cliffs towering over the top of us.  In the summer, fall and spring, cars would be able to drive down to the farm house.  In the winter?  The giant hills that towered over the driveway acted as a funnel where the snow drifts would inevitably fill in completely.  The cars would have to be parked up at the top and we would have to trudge down the hills to the house.  My family was never lucky enough to have a snowmobile waiting, but there was always a large, wooden toboggan we could put our luggage on to pull down the hill.  

Once in the house, we would be welcomed in by the loud noises coming from inside.  My mom has 13 brothers and sisters, so add in spouses and their children and the house was filled to the brim!  Often times it was SO loud no one would hear us coming in!  We would enter and immediately feel the warmth from Dziadzia's stoked furnace.  To add wood to the fire, Dziadzia would have to bundle up, go out the door and around the side of the house to get into the basement where the wood stove was located.  He didn't want to do that often so when he went out, he filled it up good!  He would fill that baby up to the top with wood, and as the fire started blazing, the blower (which was a huge grate on the dining room floor large enough to have 4-6 of my cousins standing on it at the same time) would start blowing the most wonderful, dry, warm air.  It felt welcoming and comforting for the first 20 minutes.  After that, we all started taking off layers eventually getting down to just t-shirts and light pants because we were sweating so!  

Busia would work in her small galley kitchen and make the largest, biggest, most delicious meals I had ever tasted!  We ate so well when we went up north.  Busia's brother, Uncle Leonard, owned the IGA store in Cedar where he had the best, home-made Polish meats in the world!  Busia would buy Uncle Leonard hot dogs and smoked kielbasa and serve up platter after platter of that wonderful meat along side numerous platters filled with eggs, toast, fried mashed potato patties and so much more for breakfast.  Lunches and dinners were just as memorable with fresh creek trout my uncles would catch that day to giant bowls filled with creamy coleslaw, tender, homegrown vegetables from Busia's garden, fresh home-made baked bread and our absolute favorite, Busia's chicken (I'll be sure to post the recipe soon!).  We were NEVER lacking in the sweets department either as my uncle worked at Chef Pierre where they made the best pies, cakes and dessert cups.  Busia's freezer was stocked with the wonderful treats and she wouldn't hesitate to pull them out for us!

The best time of the day was at night when I would sit on the stool in Busia's kitchen while she would knead loaf after loaf of home-made bread.  The smells that floated from that kitchen made our mouths water in anticipation!  The little cousins wouldn't have the patience to wait, but I sure did and it was such a wonderful time getting to talk to Busia privately without 15 cousins there vying for attention, too.  When it was time, Busia would pull out the gorgeous brown loaves from the oven and, with a twinkle in her eyes, ask if I would like to try a bite.  She'd bring out her big bread knife, cut a slice of the piping hot bread and pull out her fresh butter and home made preserves for me to slather on and enjoy.  Oh, the sweet memories!

Off to bed we would go, and my family always ended up in the myszy room ("meesha" or the "mouse" room), a room with a little door that looked much like the little doors in the Willy Wonka movie for the oompa loompas.  My dad would have to bend over and duck through the door to get in and out. There was a large bed for my parents and three small beds for us girls.  Busia would have the room filled with, and I don't know how to spell this in Polish so I'll spell it phonetically, pa-shzjeen-as.  They're goose-feather and down filled blankets Busia made.  We were so warm and toasty all night long, although sometimes if it moved just right a feather would poke through and pick our legs or whatever body part it touched!  Remember that Dziadzia didn't go out in the middle of the night to stoke the fire so we had to make sure we were warm until he went out in the morning to get the fire going!  We dressed quickly and made our way down the squeeky stairs as fast as we could to get to the furnace grate and smell the wonderful breakfast Busia would be preparing for us to feast on.

During the day, once all the adults would get tired of us kids making noise upstairs and down, they'd bundle us up and send us out on a journey of discovery and pure joy!  The winter was fun with sleds on the giant hills (although one of my cousins claimed she hit a pole so we had injuries, too!) and digging the most amazing tunnels in the giant drifts surrounding the house.  The other seasons were just as fun walking and running up and down the rolling hills (sometimes rolling down!) and finding wonderful keepsakes as the hills were filled with Petoskey stones.  

I'm sad we didn't get to spend much time up north, but the memories I DO have are priceless to me.  Thank you, Cousin Katie, for helping me to remember.  I'm thankful for the wonderful memories and will keep them alive in my heart so that I keep my grandparents alive in my heart, too.  I miss you Busia and Dziadzia! 

Turkey Leftovers Made OVER!

Today, I'm thankful for leftovers because they make tasty meals as is, and when you get tired of eating them that way, they can be made into other dishes!

Yeah, I should be watching what I'm eating because I have that constant struggle with weight issues, but come on.  Sometimes (especially around the holidays) you just eat the good stuff and deal with the excess hiney (okay, and thighs, and belly, and flabby arms - argh!) at a later date.  Anyway, my Momma and Dad used to make sure we ate everything and wasted very little because there were starving kids somewhere in Africa and it would be sinful to waste while they were wasting away.  I think I took that too seriously because I have ALWAYS cleaned my plate.  Just ask my butt!  

We had a bunch of leftovers from the Senior Luncheon Thursday including the stuffing and turkey.  I found a super-duper yummy recipe that sounds kinda wacky and weird, but my husband just told me for the FIFTH time (no lie) that it was truly a fabulous dinner I made tonight.  I have to take this recipe and give it five stars.  Want it?  =)  Here it is!

Thanksgiving Leftovers Stuffed Shells


1-12 oz. box jumbo pasta shells

2 c. cubed cooked turkey

1-1/2 c. stuffing

1-4 oz. cream cheese

1/2 c. Parmesan cheese

1/3 c. sour cream*

4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

1-1/2 c. turkey gravy

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9x13" pan.  Cook pasta al dente (approximately 13 minutes).  Place turkey and stuffing in a food processor and pulse until finely ground and combined.  Mix with cream cheese, Parmesan, sour cream* and 2 cups mozzarella until well blended (you can do this with a paddle in the food processor or by hand).  

Spread 1/2 c. gravy on the bottom of 9x13" pan.  Stuff pasta shells and place in pan.  Top with remaining gravy and 2 cups mozzarella.

Bake, covered, for 45 minutes.  Uncover and cook for an additional 10 minutes until top is browned and bubbly.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.  

Note:  a 6 oz. package of stuffing can be used instead of leftover stuffing and 1 can of cream of chicken soup can be used in place of the leftover gravy.  

* original recipe called for mayonnaise, but I don't like that flavor in casseroles so I substituted sour cream and it was delish!

Enjoy all the wonderful holiday leftovers!  =)  

Oooooh - I'm REALLY Behind!

I accepted the challenge to be thankful for something every day in November.  It's not that I'm NOT thankful, it's just that I've been so stinkin' busy and forget to type!  I'm going to be happy, I must admit, when I can post once a week.  =)

My husband, who works for Heartland Sweeteners and sells Ideal No-Calorie Sweetener, covers the Midwest and some big accounts on the East Coast so he travels A LOT.  That means I'm the alpha parent, and having two kids that are very active in after-school activities and sports ALSO means I'm the alpha TAXI DRIVER!  

Shoot, yesterday I was gone all morning working at a senior citizen luncheon at church.  We served 68 seniors a turkey dinner for lunch!  =)  Got home in time to go to the bathroom, change my clothes and head out to pick up the kids from school to go to Navigator ARTisans for a ceramics class (the kids, including my 11-1/2-year-old son, LOVES it!), then ran to my son's school to volunteer for the pizza kit fundraiser product pick-up, left my son there to run to my daughter's school for conferences (she's doing great and we're so proud of her!), drove like a maniac BACK to my son's school to finish with all the pizza kits and pick HIM up, then drove around for an hour to deliver the kits he sold.  The kids wanted to eat pizza for dinner but I knew by the time we came home and finished homework, it would be well after 9:00 p.m. and there would be no time for pizza makin'.  So I dug around in the bottom of my purse looking for change and we ate another healthy dinner from our go-to-it-fast place, McDonalds.  Too bad my van window's broken because I can no longer go through drive-thrus as the window doesn't go down...have to run in so I don't embarrass my kids!  =)

Came home at 8:15 and my daughter reminded me that her salt-dough was due tomorrow.  Didn't have enough salt!  Left the kids home practicing trombone and a recorder as I frantically  ran to the grocery store that is THANKFULLY 1/2 mile away.  Picked it up, came home, made dough, the recipe stinks (or so I thought) because the flour didn't all mix in and there were flour balls all over the big lump.  Tried to knead them out, but holy mackerel!  It was taking forever!  Left it and promised my daughter I'd make a new batch in the morning.  Kids and I were in bed by 9:30.  Ugh.

Up at 6:00 a.m. and made another batch of that crappy salt dough.  AGAIN, little white flour lumps all throughout the massive green glob.  What the heck am I doing wrong?  Burned my hands kneading through the hot crap hoping to get rid of those darn little balls while the pile was still hot.  Didn't work.  Threw the blob in a Ziploc and told my daughter to pretend it's snow balls on the ground when she makes her maps.  What a good girl.  I could tell she was embarrassed because she said, "Yeah, I don't think this is right.  No one else has white lumps in theirs.  But that's okay, Mom.  I can just make my map and make it look like a mountain with snow or something."  I sure hope she GETS to make mountainous terrain and not a stinkin' valley!  Poor kid.  

I know that I'm driving my kids crazy working on our upcoming holiday open house for The Memory Boutique as I'm spending a lot of time on the computer, but soon that will be behind us and I hope to have more time to spend being a mom!

SO!  Today, I'm thankful for my wonderful kids once again. I think it's good to be thankful for blessings over and over and over! Boy, oh boy, do they have to put up with a bunch of craziness from their mom and they still come back lovin' me just the same.  I am blessed more than I can ever say and I am thankful beyond words!  I can't wait to hug them when they get home today.  Please be sure to hug your loved ones, too!

Whoops! Missed A Day!

I missed typing yesterday, but to be honest, I needed a break.  Busy day kept me away from the computer...I seemed to be on the phone ALL DAY LONG!  It all started with my friend Julie's call at 7:45, then Mary called, Sr. Andreina from church called, my husband called, my Mom called, Mary called again, I called Mary, I called Barb, Barb called, Mary from church called, my husband called, Wendy called, Mary called again, my husband called again, I called my husband, I called my Mom....it went on and on!  Took all the way to 1:45!  

Then I rushed to school to pick up my son, quickly came home to pick up snacks for my daughter's Odyssey of the Mind team meeting, Mary called =), ran to the store to buy snacks as I realized I didn't have anything, made it to school to collect the seven team members, had my son run the tar out of the kids for 15 minutes on the playground while I talked to a mom, got the kids their snacks, had to leave early to go train at the ski lodge where I will be working when it snows (all new computerized cash register screens - fun!), rushed back to school to get my kids, ran out for dinner because I didn't have time to make anything, ran to the grocery store to buy food for the kids (breakfasts and lunches as we were out of everything!), ran home with the kids to get homework finished, cleaned the litter box, yelled at my kids, practiced spelling words, yelled at my kids, threw a load of laundry in, yelled at my kids, finished spelling words, yelled at my kids, loaded the dishwasher, yelled at my kids, washed up for bed, yelled at my kids, everyone piled in my bed, and FINALLY fell asleep!    Whew.  I tire myself out sometimes.  The good news about the whole entire day yesterday and today?  I ate very healthy and have pledged (as of yesterday) to eat healthy and finally lose these extra 60 pounds I need to drop.  But that's a whole other story for another day.  

Today?  I'm thankful for my extended family.  I received word today that my sister's ex-father-in-law passed away today after a long battle with illness.  Expected, but sad all the same.  It made me think of my whole entire family and I'm thankful for all of them!  My mom's family is quite large (she has 13 brothers and sisters) so you can only imagine the get togethers we have with all my aunts, uncles, cousins (and spouses) and their children.  My dad's side is much smaller but he did have 5 brothers and sisters so I am blessed abundantly with many aunts, uncles, cousins and second cousins.  We've been through so many good times and some very difficult times together, but in the end we all love each other and that's all that matters!   Now throw in all the wonderful relatives I received from my husband's family and I KNOW I'm blessed!  Thankful today for each and every one of my extended family...LOVE YOU!

Thankful for My Sisters

I've been blessed with two older sisters and I'm thankful for them!  They're very close in age - my oldest sister was born October 3rd and my other sister was born August 28th so they aren't even a whole year apart!  They don't always get along and I often think it's because they ARE so close in age.  

I came along five years later and am often the "in-between" sister because I can talk to both of them while they don't really talk much to each other.  =)

But when we come together as a family, we always have such a good time.  Take today for example.  We all came together to celebrate my Dad's birthday.  Boy, I haven't laughed this hard in a long time!  We shared difficulties, we shared our week's adventures, we teased each other and laughed a lot while eating the most wonderful food my Mom prepared. 

It was a wonderful day and I'm thankful for my wonderful sisters!

My Furry Babies

I grew up on a farm and obviously was surrounded by animals at home.  And my sisters and I befriended and named them all.  Each year I named a black angus "Freddy".  We had about five Freddies!  Shucks, my sister Theresa even had a favorite chicken she trained that would sit on her shoulder.  It's truly amazing we never had lice, or just awfully lucky, I'm not sure what to call it.  Gosh, I'm scratching my head just thinking about it!

Included with all the farm animals was a barn full of cats.  One summer, we had over 25 cats and I loved sneaking out to the barn to yell, "Here kitty, kitty, kitty!"  The cats would come running from all different directions.  Ever see Ace Ventura - Pet Detective where he stands in the middle of the room and all of his animals come running to him?  Yup!  That's how I felt!

It was only natural to take on a kitty we rescued when my husband and I lived in Saginaw.  He was an injured, wild kitten so moving in with us was scary for him at first.  Oscar, as we named him, adjusted well, though.  And so did we.  See, I was used to OUTDOOR animals, not INDOOR ones.  But I fell in love and found my best little friend who would cheer me up whenever I needed it.  Oscar was my first "baby".

When we moved first to Seattle and then to Rockford, Oscar was there with us.  We decided that he would need a kitty friend when I found out I was pregnant so as God would plan it, on my way to work at church, I saw a sign that said "free kittens".  I stopped and that was all I needed.  Found little Bella.  And the two became fast friends.  

All through the years, my kitties were my source of joy (they're so funny!) and comfort.  When I had a bad day, I would talk to my husband and then find a kitty to pet.  Sometimes I would go to the kitty first and THEN talk to my husband!  In 2007, I had to have Oscar put to sleep and the pain I felt in my heart was so intense.  It was one of the saddest moments in my life holding my dearest little friend as he died.  =(

But now I have two new kitties who I think were brought to me by Oscar Angel.  It was meant to be for these two...Hurley, a rescue kitty from Crash's Landing No-Kill Cat Rescue in Grand Rapids, MI and Chenelle (a.k.a. Nellie) who came from my sister's house where the doggy door invites more in than just dogs!  

Bella loves to lounge on the steps (and get a good tummy rubbin' every now and then!).

Nellie & Hurley resting together in one of our large Easter baskets (no longer used for Easter!)!

Bella, Hurley and Nellie are good buddies and they all bring me much joy and give me unconditional love.  They're my furry babies and I love them and am SO thankful for them!  If you ever want a pet, please consider rescuing a shelter animal...they have so much love to offer and need to find their forever homes!

My Daughter's Awesome!

The other day, I was typing about my son and my daughter asked me, "How come you aren't writing about me?"  I told her that her time was coming and here it is!  Because today, I am very thankful for my sweet daughter...


Years ago, I wasn't sure if I was ready to have another child.  We were blessed with my son and I honestly thought (stupid, huh?) there was no way I could have enough love for another child because I loved my son SO much.  I turned it all over to God because, "For I know well the plans I have in mind for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare, not for woe! plans to give you a future of hope."  -  Jeremiah 29:11.  If it was meant to be, it would be.  


God knows His plan for us because we found out we were going to have another baby!  I did question whether the love I had for this baby would be enough, but she was born and after that, the love abounded and there were no more doubts.  I love BOTH of my children with all my heart and there is a lot of my heart to go around!


My daughter was born on a sunshiny, September day in 2002, and has blessed our lives every day since.  She's a sweet, funny, beautiful, outgoing young lady and she's so full of love.  She's a little snuggle bunny (that happens to be one of our favorite books, too!) and is a Momma's girl.  Sometimes a little too much as she won't spend the night away from home because she misses me too much, even at Grandma's house!  I'm not going to push her too hard, though, because I know the day is coming sooner than later when she won't even want to be in the same room as I am!  I am treasuring each and every day with my sweet, sweet daughter and will thank God daily for blessing my life!  Here's some pictures of my gorgeous daughter: 

Fall 2010 - Pickeral Park - pictures by Mary Moseley Photography

Getting ready to jump....

Going up....

BAM!  She's very agile!

And she's a ham for the camera!  Pictures by Mary Moseley Photography.

Candy Corn Witch - 2010 Halloween (from Mom's camera!)

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Today, on Veteran's Day, I'm obviously thankful for all the brave men and women who sacrifice(d) their lives to defend our country by protecting and serving to provide freedom for all of us.  They are true heroes who deserve so much more than they receive!  And let us not forget their families, too.  They are also brave and self-less as they let their loved ones go!  True heroes, each and every one of them.  I pray for blessings for all Veterans and their families, whether they still remain with us or have gone before us.

Veteran's Day also has another very special meaning for me and my family.  Today we celebrate my wonderful father's birthday.  Over the decades of my life (there have been a few...), all the memories I have of my Dad are so fond.  He's been one of my heroes!  I've always felt safe growing up and knowing my dad was there to protect us, he could build anything, he could repair anything, he was the perfect example showing me and my sisters that hard work pays off and that you always give 110% to anything and every thing you do.  He taught us to recycle long before it was the "in" thing to do, he raised our own food on our farm organically (and still does!) and we ate like queens!  He loves us unconditionally, he taught us about our faith and was, and remains, a living example of how to live our faith.  I make him sound perfect, yet I know he's not.  He's made some mistakes and still does occasionally, but he tries and that's worth more than gold!  It's not easy being the only guy in a house full of gals and there were many times when we put him through the paces.  It made us all stronger in the end and only strengthened our bonds of love!

Garden planting day!  Dad with my two kids after planting potatoes.

Now that we're all grown up, we still go to Dad for help and he's always there for us.  He's retired from working many long, hard years at General Motors and is now working hard on his farm.  We love going to the farm to see him and Grandma and my kids think it's the best place in the world to be.  He's the best Grandpa and my kids adore him and love him to pieces!  

Even though my parents don't have a computer with an internet connection, I want to wish my Daddy a very happy birthday:  Happy Birthday, Dad!  I love you!  

My Son's A Great Kid!

I grew up in a home where the only guy was my Daddy.  My mom, two older sisters and I were the majority (poor Daddy!) and I truly knew nothing about boys.  I always had a blast with my boy cousins, but heck - they only came over for a few hours and they were always on their best behavior, I'm certain.


So my first child I was blessed with?  Yup, a boy!  And today (and every day of my life!) I am thankful for my son.  What an amazing adventure this has been for me.  My son is and has always been so full of energy there is rarely down time in his life.  We constantly struggled with him as baby just to take naps!  He WOULDN'T.  Plain and simple.  He wanted to be with people and when napping, that just didn't work for him!  


He's constantly moving (unless, of course, there's a really good show on t.v.) and he will choose play time outside over t.v. 9.85 times out of 10.  He's good at any and every sport he tries and is a super athlete.  This boy of mine is SO extroverted that he literally goes crazy if he can't be with at least ONE friend (unfortunately, mom doesn't always fill the bill on this one).   He doesn't even like SICK days because he gets lonely which really isn't bad as his attendance at school is awesome! 


While he was growing up, I tried to embrace his "boyness" and learn as we went:  the loudness, the roughness, the destructive play, the energetic jumping and bouncing, the urge to shoot and kill something and all the good stuff, too, like super creative play, the sweetness, his intelligence and talent.  Why, I have had to turn over my living room to him for days as he created cities and towns using masking tape on the carpet to make roads for his Matchbox cars, the Lego villages he built and the Imaginex castles he creates to war with others! 


My son (as most will say about their own) is the most amazing boy I have ever known in my life!  He's cute, funny, loving, outgoing, and not in the least bit shy!  He's super creative and loves to put on shows where he makes the words up as he goes along.  This isn't one of his "creative" videos he creates with friends, but here's a video clip of him sitting in an "electric" chair on a little mini-vacation at a hotel water park (sometimes, the game room is more fun than the water park!):

Excited!

Today, I am excited beyond belief!  After a couple of months of hard work (mostly by Mary), our new website at The Memory Boutique will officially be launched today!  We are very proud of this site as it's been a labor of love...and it turned out, if I may say so myself, freakin' awesome!!! Stop by and take a peak.  Heck, there's so much to see you'll need more than just a peak - sit a spell, enjoy and think "Christmas gifts, Christmas gifts, Christmas gifts!" as you brouse!  =)  

So what am I thankful for today?  Well, I am most thankful for my good friend and business partner, Mary.  She is the type of friend who will be there through thick and thin (and has she been there for me!).  She's super smart, ultra-talented and works her tail off for The Memory Boutique.  God can't bless a person with a greater friend, and I'm so very thankful for her!  

What A Day!

Sunday is to be a day of rest, no?  Yeah, for whom?  It wasn't for me!  


We went to church for 9:00 a.m. mass (beautiful!), stayed after for pancake breakfast (yummy!), went shopping for some shoes for my son (men's size 10!), came home and found a leak under the sink (bummer), dropped my kids off at my friend's house to play (fun!), came home and saw the dishwasher is full of grey, yucky, standing water in the bottom all the way up to the door (ugh!), went to The Memory Boutique Open House (awesome!), picked up my kids (sweet), came home for 25 minutes and quickly ate something gross from the freezer (not entirely sure what it was and the kids certainly didn't like it!), rushed off to teach religious education (inspiring), ran the kids out after religion to purchase a healthy meal consisting of double cheeseburgers, Big Mac Snack Wraps and french fries for dinner (heartburn), came home and stuffed my daughter in my bed (angelic once asleep!) and am currently fighting with my son (grrrrr!) to get him to bed while I try to type.  So far, he's winning, but not for long.

Today, I'm thankful for my wonderful children.  They are so sweet and loving and make me laugh each and every day.  There are times when they fight like cats and dogs and other times when they are so kind and loving to each other it nearly melts my heart!  

Both of my children are so full of love and know exactly when I need a hug and a kiss, and they're both right there each and every time to make all the pain go away.  Today they both told me they loved me more times than I can count!  I am truly blessed and thankful for them.  I LOVE MY KIDDOS!  

Sweet and "Saucy"

Thankful For Today

Today I am sad, but I'm so thankful for my wonderful, loving family.  Dear Grandma Bea passed away yesterday and when you lose someone you love, there's a lot of time to think about what you lost but also think about what you still have.  I'm blessed to have a wonderful family!  All of them...from my immediate family to my extended family and even my "non-related" family - all those in my life whom I am close to and spend time with and love dearly (yeah, you all know who you are!)!  

Grandma Bea at a family reunion this last September

I spent the day at our Open House for The Memory Boutique and will be heading over to church for a Harvest Hoe Down with over 40 types of chili to enjoy for dinner!  It's a great night with lots of chili to sample (and I don't have to do dishes - woo hoo!).  Heartburn tonight?  Yeah, most likely, but this hoe down only happens once a year so I'll get out my Shaklee Chewable Calcium tablets and enjoy the evening!  


Enjoy your evening too and be sure to hug your loved ones!   Peace....

SO Thankful for Grandma!

Last night we received a phone call from my husband's mom that Grandma was being taken to the hospital.  It's not looking as though she'll be with us much longer, so I'm going to jump ahead to what I'm thankful for today:


I'm most thankful for a wonderful grandmother-in-law who accepted me into the family from day one as though I was ALWAYS her granddaughter.  She showed me what it was like having a grandma.  Not that I didn't have grandmothers, mind you, but one lived north of Traverse City and I didn't see her much (she passed away at the very early age of 68 when I was only 13-years-old) and the other actually lived next door (the country kind of next door) but she wasn't what I call a "normal" grandma.  She needed our help and our relationship was more like an adult taking care of a child (me being the adult and she being the child).  


So here I meet a grandma, one that I dreamed about having all my life!  Both Grandma Bea and Grandpa Lee were special and I'm thankful that my life was blessed with their presence.  


As I prepare to go to The Memory Boutique open house, I'll be praying for you, Grandma Bea, and I love you to pieces!   xoxoxox

I've Been Challenged!

A high-school friend on Facebook has accepted the challenge to post something she's thankful for every day in November.  Hmmmm, 30 days (although I've missed a few already).....am I thankful for that much?  The more I thought about it, the more I thought, "Heck yeah, I am!  I need so many MORE days than just this!"  


I've accepted this challenge and I will do it here!  So today?  I post that I am so very thankful for my husband who loves me when I'm at my very best and who loves me when I am at my very worst (and all the times in between!).  Thankful, thankful, thankful!  


What are you thankful for today?

Happy Belated Halloween!

So what did YOU do for Halloween?  My kids and I went to my parent's house for Halloween dinner.  My Mom makes brains, bat wings, ghost poop, zombie barf - the good kind of Halloween food!  The kids didn't carve pumpkins yet so I had them bring them with us (my folks live on a farm and have free-range chickens so I thought no one would mind a little mess!)  I gutted the pumpkins for them and we tossed the guts on the lawn for the chickens.  They love Halloween!  

The kids had fun carving their pumpkins...my son watched The Food Network Pumpkin Carving Contest and while he didn't get to do anything he wanted (limited carving supplies at Grandma and Grandpa's house!) we did let him cut a hole in the back and stick our fog machine in it.  It turned out very cool but sadly, I didn't get a picture of that.  =(


Then we rushed home and I had the privilege of hosting ten 11 & 12-year olds!  They came over at 5:30 (trust me, the noise was unreal!) and were so excited they didn't eat a bit of the massive Halloween buffet I prepared for them before they went out trick-or-treating at 6:00 p.m.  This was the first time they went alone through the neighborhood without a parent tagging along.  What a big step for them (and me!)!  My son's the metallic red faced person.

What a fun night they had!  They came back to our house at 8:00 p.m., ate a bunch of food, dumped their bags on the floor and did some massive candy trading.  It ended up being such a wonderful night with wonderful friends!  


Now Christmas carols are playing....I LOVE IT!

Lollipops are Good Sellers!

Well, I'm a day late in posting but I wanted to share that the lollipop sale was a HUGE success!  We sold (drum roll please..........) 492!  Those babies were flying out of the baskets faster than we could count!  One little gal came in with an order (there's 40 flavors and she had the list) from her neighborhood.  She had the flavors highlighted and the number of each required.  She bought 28!  All I can say is that's one SWEET neighborhood!  


Yes, it was a very busy but good day.  Our 6th grade helpers were fabulous and they did a great job selling.  I can almost hear the Blue Man Group banging....  =)


Have a wonderful day!

Fundraisers

Last year, my husband was unemployed so I quickly found work doing whatever - where ever I could.  One job working at a ski lodge kept me working 45-50 hours a week.  I saw my kids when they woke up and was able to get them breakfast and on the school bus before I had to go to work, but didn't get home until well after bed time.  That was a hard adjustment for a full-time mom to go to work and take care of others instead of my brood!  One of the saddest parts of working (aside from not being able to spend time with my kids) was the fact that I wasn't able to volunteer at school like I normally did.  


SO!  Now that my husband is happily employed (thank God!), I'm back to the full-time mommy status and am volunteering like crazy making up for lost time, I guess.  Dumb of me, I know, as I can barely keep the kitchen floor swept, but we'll manage.  We'll have dirty socks, but we'll manage.  ;)


Tomorrow starts one of the big commitments I have signed up for - Lollipop Coordinator!  My son's school, his particular section called the Fine Arts Magnet, has numerous fundraisers to earn money for the special field trips they take.  This lucky group of 87 students gets to charter busses and go to Chicago this coming spring to see the Blue Man Group!  Yeah, I'm going, too!  F-U-N!!!  Anyway, I have over 1,400 lollipops that were ordered, sorted in bins and are ready to be sold to the kids during lunch time. (We guarantee job security for dentists!)  Tell me this lollipop doesn't look good...mmmm, orange vanilla whip!   =)

Have a wonderful, sweet day and give your sweethearts a big hug and kiss!

Young Fellas Can Scrap, Too!

My son, Jonathan (11-years-old), started using Story Rock Publishing's My Memories Suite digi-scrapping program. Well, I asked him if he was ready to share some pages and he sure is! He's up to 32 pages in the album and still has about 50+ pictures to scrap. =)

I love how he chose all different kinds of background paper. At first glance, it didn't seem very cohesive, but to him? It's totally awesome! It made me realize that scrapping doesn't always have to be "perfect" and all pages "matching". This is an art from the heart and whatever you like is how your pages should be! Have fun with it (like my son is) and enjoy sharing your memories with others. I learned a great lesson from my son and I'm thankful for that. And Jon's album? I'm having so much fun going through and looking at all the colors and patterns he chose. I think my kid's fun!

I'll post a couple here today and a few more later as he finishes the album. He's having such a great time and it's fun for ME to see HIM having so much fun! Can't wait to get them printed up and put them in a cute (well, I guess it has to be cool) album for him to show his buds!

Men Can Scrap!

White Caps Opener - Spring 2010

I've been flipping (or should I say "clicking"?) through my albums that are finished and am ready to send them in for printing! I forgot about a page that my husband created. Guys really can scrap and I think my husband's really good at it! He sees things differently than I do and his creativity is much different than mine.  It's nice to have two different perspectives in our scrapbooks rather than just my own.  


Chris and the kids went to our local minor league baseball park to watch the opening game with grandpa this last spring. The REAL reason they went was for the free snuggie for the first 1,000 fans (yup, we now have 3 snuggies that say White Caps on the sleeve!). 

They had a great time and took lots of pictures. My husband wanted to give his dad a special Father's Day gift so he created this page and had me print up one copy for him (I know - I should've printed an extra copy for us to keep but I didn't - kick, kick, kick). He chose a baseball background paper (sorry - I can't give credit to the designer on this one because I don't remember!) and started putting pictures on the page, including an image he took of the tickets, program and newspaper article (I thought that was pretty creative for him to THINK of that!). Once finished and printed, we put the picture in a nice frame and gave it to Grandpa. He loved it! 


Do you have some pictures from a special event that you can put into a collage? They make great pictures to hang on the wall or have sitting on a desk or mantle (create a 12 x 12 and you can size them down to any size square!). Have fun with all those memories!

My Daugther's 1st Communion Invite

I created this invitation utilizing a photo by my business partner, Mary Moseley of Mary Moseley Photography. I threw on the 4x6 guides, played with the opacity slider a smidge and added text. It was fast, easy, and if I DO say so myself, made a most beautiful invitation! I had them printed on pearl paper and it just sparkles. LOVIN' it!

Some simple layouts...

This is my son's whole team at their last game that was played on the varsity field. The last 2 games were on the varsity field...that's a BIG deal to these boys!

These pictures are from a trip to King's Island and Hilton Head...

Sometimes the pictures speak louder than words so I don't always use text and I don't always use a lot of embellishments. I like a clean, crisp look on some while other albums I create have lots of embellishments. It all depends on the theme and the look I'm going for!