A couple more...

Playing in the snow....

A minor set back with Gina's hair

When I picked the kids up today Cindy asked if I was putting anything new in Gina's hair. Some sort of oil perhaps?

I said YES! Doesn't it look good? Look...it's still curly!! (turning her around like she hasn't been with her all day).

To which she replied: yeah, I thought so. I've been sneezing all day and I couldn't figure out why until Gina was sitting on my lap and it got really bad. I'm actually allergic to oils.

Seriously?! I wanted to reply "who the heck is allergic to oils?", but that was really out of sheer disbelief that we'd have such a set back after finding such a god send.

So apparently she's going to have crazy hair Tuesday-Friday until we can fix her up on the weekends.

Hmph. And we had come so far!

Apparently he's easy...

Mom, in light of you asking about Myles' birthday today I asked him what he would like. Apparently he wants everything he already has, but a new one.
He first said he wanted a cake. A blue one. Yeah, I don't know.
Then he said presents.
When I said what kind of presents he said a new watch. And a new sword. And a new Santa straw. Oh...and another dragon like this one.
When I said, well is there anything you would like G-ma to get you he said yes....a present. I asked what kind of present and he said one that is wrapped. That he can open and we all yell surprise.

Oh...and balloons. Lots of balloons.

So hopefully that gives you some ideas. :)

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas tree, where will I put you???

As I was taking down the tree and decorations today I was a little sad, realizing this will be the last Christmas I'll ever spend in this house. What makes it even sadder is that I have literally spent every Christmas of my life in this house, besides my college years. It's a little odd.
As a child we'd go to a Christmas tree farm every year to cut down our own tree. Later on we may have just gone to a lot, but the tree was always real. Derrick and I also had a real tree, up until the December before Myles was born. A friend of a friend sold us the artificial tree we have now for a great deal, and although I was a little sad at not having a real one, the realization I was 9 months pregnant with my first child made all that sadness worth it. I didn't want the hassle or up keep of a real tree not knowing when Myles would be born.
We've since come to really like our tree, and even though we don't have the original box it was no big deal as we had the garage. But I think we've (read I...Derrick knew this a long time ago) realized I'm going to have to get rid of it. We don't know for sure where we'll be next year, but chances are storage space is going to be very limited and there isn't going to be room for our big space-taking artificial tree to be kept the other 11 months of the year. (I think I've already filled up all of our closets and under-bed space in my head and we haven't even packed yet).
So, today I ran to Target and got two 6' artificial trees that are in a super skinny box for 6 dollars each. I'm sure the trees will also be skinny and plasticy, but maybe the fact we'll have two we'll make up for it. You know me...the more Christmas stuff the better. And hey...my new saying for all of these little things I'm thinking of that I may not like when it comes to moving, or any difficult season in life for that matter is..."It's not permanent". Soon I'll be able to go get another (bigger and better!!!) tree.
So, if anyone needs a nice artificial tree, let me know. We have one we need to part with.

How's this for a "blast from the past"?

Can you believe that?? For those of you that have come to know me more recently, that's me on the right. I'm sure the way cool bangs (and the fact I'm actually skinny) may make it hard to recognize me. lol That's my friend Michelle and me at her 15th birthday party. In all of our New Kids on the Block loving glory!!

Wow.

I hung out with some friends last night that I've known since high school. It's hard to believe how long we've all known each other. Our kids will be this age before we know it!!!

I love having connections like that. And just wish I had the scrapbooks these girls do to remember it. They have everything documented so well. I bribed Michelle into letting me take just this one.

We hung out playing cards and talking until it was way too late, but man, what a good time we had.

Our day

We are trying to stay busy to keep the boredom from sitting in on this long break. Derrick had to work yestesrday and then watched the UC game with some friends, so the kids and I needed to entertain ourselves for the majority of the day.
We ran some erronds early in the day, which didn't go so well. However, after coming home to a long talk, some lunch, and a nap, we decided to venture out again.
We headed to the mall and had a great time. The kids were able to play in the play area they have and they both rode the train that's still there (although Gina wasn't thrilled with that). They made good enough choices to earn a treat....and we got two new additions to the family.
Rosie and Rudie (short for Rudolph), two matching bears they made. They each picked out a little outfit for their bear to be able to tell them apart. Myles loves his, Gina isn't too sure. She's asked me to bring it back several times. But, once she discovered that Rosie's dress comes off, she's had a ball dressing and undressing her and carrying her around in her doll carrier.
And, Gina gave us an extended little gift this morning when she slept until 8:00. Although, now that she's up, I know why...she has a cold and is complaining her ear hurts. You win some, you lose some, right?
Derrick is off today so we are planning on spending some family time together, and then I'm getting together with some friends this evening.
This has been a much better almost week off than I was fearing it may be. I was about ready to commit myself after Christmas break, but I think we're finally finding our groove now.
Just in time to head back to work, right?

Update on Gina's hair...

Based on the comments I think I may have misled on you on Gina's hair. While this is a huge victory to us as we have to deal with de-tangling it every morning and for her since she always cried when we had to comb it, it probably isn't anything anyone else would notice.
As a matter of fact, Marilyn when you saw her that was the "after". She didn't get it cut or anything (well, just a little trim from mommy), it's really just a product we found and love because it keeps it from getting frizzy through out the day, and it makes it look a little shinier and keeps it from tangling as much.

Apparently, despite all the intense conditioning treatments we do, the main problem is her hair being so dry. This product adds a little of the natural oils she's missing without weighing it down. It's supposed to be really good for biracial hair, but I think anyone with naturally dry or curly hair would benefit.

Unfortnately, you couldn't really tell a difference from pictures...you'll just have to feel for yourself next time you see her.

New Years Eve!!!

I can't believe it's already the end of 2008!! Where has the time gone?
Here's wishing you all a Happy New Years!!

Hair Victory!

Well, I'm happy to announce we finally have a victory when it comes to Gina's hair. The girl has more weapons in her hair arsenol than most grown women do, yet her hair is still a little...shall we say....crazy.

The day after Christmas I took her into Sally's with bed head and everything so they could see her hair in all it's glory, and when the nice sales lady said "May I help you"? I turned Gina around so she could see the back of her head and said "yes...please tell me how to fix this". She laughed and told me that she thought her hair was beautiful (do they work on tips??) and led me to a product specifically designed for bi-racial hair.
I was a little scared this was just going to be one more product to add to the collection of things that don't work, but when she assured me I could exchange it for something else if I didn't like it, I was sold!!
And I love it!! It gives her her curl back and keeps it from being, as the nice sales lady called it, "fuzzy".
Now we just have to hope it grows a little longer at some point before she's off to school. Unfortunately for her, as much as it grows it just curls right up and doesn't look any longer.
I am already dreading those teenage days with her. I think she's gonna be giving us a little heck for the amount of work it takes. Can you hear it now???

More Christmas

Christmas 2008

Birthday Party for Jesus

At our Church December 21st...
The kids each brought 2 pairs of gloves. One to exchange and one to donate. Gina's were a little large, but that's okay.
They had a great time listening to the Christmas Story and eating birthday cake.

Happy Birthday, Derrick and Merry Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve can be a tough day to celebrate a birthday and really make it special, but we're going to try hard to do just that.
We plan on going to a church service at 6:30 tonight, and then we have a couple of gifts to assemble on Santa's behalf.
I think we'll rent some movies and carry in dinner and have a nice family celebration. As fun as it can be without cake that is. Who doesn't want cake on their birthday?

The kids are at Cassie's today and Myles is SO excited. He loves Cassie. He and Cody (her dog) were playing ball the whole time I was there and I suspect it'll continue all day. Cody is a big dog, so his face is right at eye level with Gina. Gina got a couple of unwanted kissies today before she said "oop...out"!! Any animal is an "oop" in Gina speak.

Myles is really looking forward to Christmas morning. We are going to put reindeer food outside tonight so the reindeer can find our house, and then we're making Jesus a Happy Birthday cake in the morning. Myles thought he'd like a white cake with chocolate icing and sprinkles. He said today he is looking forward to a robot that walks by itself that is big enough for him to ride on. Good luck with that one, sweetie.

He's also looking forward to his birthday. We are trying to teach him that it's January 18th. His school just sent a newsletter home with January's schedule, and one of the things it mentioned she'd be testing them on is knowing their birthday, address and phone number. Whoops. I've never even tried to teach him those things. And our phone number is a tricky one to learn.

Merry Christmas Eve to all!!!!!!

Holiday in Lights

We had a great evening last night going through Sharon Woods Holiday in Lights. Derrick wasn't able to go into work since it's slow, so we took advantage of his off time and had some family time.
Gina is SO in love with the Christmas lights. And I love seeing her so happy. So I figured the girl was going to have a heart attack driving through this display.
The conversation went like this:
Mommy. Mommy. Mommy!! Mommy?? LIGHTS!!!!
Daddy. Daddy. Daddy!! Daddy?? LIGHTS!!!

Than Myles would say...hey Gina...do you see those lights. And she'd say "yahhhh" (not yeah. Yaw). I love that. Yaw.

We drove through and then went inside to Santa Land. We saw Santa (from a distance), the train disply which Myles LOVED, and by chance as we were leaving all these people started pouring into this room.
I had no idea what was going on in there, but Gina went with the flow and joined the crowd. I stopped Derrick and Myles to let them know we needed to get Gina and we just watched her. She found a mom that had like four kids and just followed behind all of them as they found their seats. The mom looks up and sees Gina and laughingly says "I have an extra". We just wanted to see what Gina was gonna do...she was more than content. lol
Well, it turns out there was a magic show happening. So we stayed for that and Myles loved it. And little Gina just sat on her chair and watched. It was so funny.

It was a good night and another fun memory.

It's getting closer!!

Seems like Christmas day is getting close very quickly! That is a good thing in some ways and a reality check in others.
Our tree has been up since Thanksgiving, our Christmas shopping is now complete, and in fact we already celebrated Christmas with my parents this past weekend and had a great time.
Yet, it still seems like there's so much I want to do. And the bad part about that is, I'm not even totally sure what it is exactly that I want to do.
I just love Christmas and this whole season and really wanted to make the most of it this year....enjoying the whole season and not just awaiting that one day.
We have done some fun stuff, and I know we'll do more, yet it somehow doesn't seem complete.
I almost wish there were more Christmas parties to attend, or lots of family gatherings to look forward to, just to enjoy the fun and spirit of the time. Yet, our routine is largely the same with just work and the normal day-to-day stuff. Maybe that's it. I'm searching for ways to make this time different....more special than all the others.
We have a few fun Christmas traditions, and I think we'll start some others this year. I think those traditions are what everyone really remembers, and what makes this time of year so special.
Everyone I talk to lately either mentions how lucky I am to have kids at the age they are for Christmas or they wish their own kids were young again. There's a certain "magic" to Christmas when young kids are involved. Yet, as a parent, I'm struggling to capture that feeling. It somehow seems unattainable amongst all the other daily needs and routines.
I find myself a little jealous of my friends that are teachers since they get this time off every year...seems like it'd be so much easier to do fun stuff when you're not stuck in the same routine of going to work/the sitters.
Maybe I'm just putting too much pressure on myself though...after all, I do really, really like Christmas. Always have. I just want my children to experience that same joy this time of year can bring.
I wish my parents could stay the whole month, and we could get together with the Kopp's and Smith's so much more often and just hang out, bake, play games and enjoy each other's company.
Looking forward to seeing you all soon!!!

I forgot to mention

the other part to the "cookie story".

(Read the post below before reading this one).

Gina now has a new word and can use it in a phrase.

The word? "cookie".

The phrase? "Mom? Cookie!!"

Maybe there are two apples hanging around this house. lol

If there was ever any doubt....

that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, let me reassure you with this story.

Here's the scary part of this story. We have 2 3-lb tubs of cookie dough in our refrigerator. Can you just feel the weight packing on?? This is so not good.
Dad, we have snickerdoodle cookie dough ready for Sunday!!

So yesterday after the kids and I got home I decided to make some M8M cookies. I scooped the dough onto the pan and went about my business as the oven pre-heated.
At one point I walked out into the family room and Myles went running out of the kitchen. You know...that guilty "here she comes" run.
I looked around and didn't see anything broken or bloody so I didn't give it much thought.
I proceeded to bake the cookies and didn't realize the problem until I removed them from the oven.
We had a pan full of M&M cookies with no M&M's.
Hmmm...wonder how that happened.
I couldn't even get upset though....I was tempted to do it myself. lol
So yes, I am the tree. Myles is the apple.
Cookies anyone?????

And just a few more....

If the first one isn't priceless I don't know what is. You can so see the difference in their personalities through these pics.
I'll be able to post a lot more now that I have figured out how to get my pictures uploaded onto my home computer....finally.
And Kim...if you haven't started using Picasa yet, you have to check it out. It's photo storing software that allows you to post pics right to your blog.

More pics....

Some pictures from our weekend

What's up in our world

We had a great Thanksgiving, even though we weren't able to make it to St. Louis. We had a quiet family day with lots of good food. We even got our tree put up, which was a lot of fun this year. Myles was very into it and hung almost all of the ornaments himself.
Friday I took the kids over to a friends house and a group of us had pizza, drinks, brownies and played games. I think I must be getting old. lol It was a lot of fun and we all had a great time.
Saturday we all headed downtown to enjoy the Christmas season. We watched people ice skate on Fountain Square, saw the train display, went to the mall and just walked around. It was a lot of fun and not super cold, which made it even more enjoyable.
Unfortunately I had to take Gina to the doctor this morning. She has a (bad) double ear infection and possible strep throat. Poor thing is just miserable and keeps saying "owie". She has the infamous amoxicilin, so hopefully she'll be feeling better in the morning.
Derrick finishes up his training in Madeira tomorrow, and he meets with his boss today to find out which store he goes to next. They are all very spread out, so it may not be any closer, but he likes the change of pace. Hopefully his schedule remains the same, as him being off on Sunday's and Monday's work so well for our family.
I head back to work tomorrow after a long 5 day weekend myself. I guess it'll be good to get in a routine, although I always enjoy my extended breaks.
I think that's all that's happening on our end! Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and a good start to the week!

Our weekend....

Friday night started off fun for me because it was haircut day! I love getting my hair done, especially because I wait too long and end up getting to a point I can't stand it anymore.
Yesterday we went to church, which was a great service to celebrate Thanksgiving Day coming up this week. It was filled with lots of singing, sharing and fun.
After church we had the opportunity to deliver one of the turkey's and boxes of food the church raised to one of the families. We got lost due to bad directions, but it was still fun to do.
We then went grocery shopping at the Wal-Mart by our house as it re-opened, but they re-did the entire inside and we couldn't find anything we needed or they were out of it. Grocery shopping is a yucky enough chore without that being the case.
Today I had to go to the dentist for my turn to have my "cavity bugs" (as Myles calls them) fixed. They were going to fix two of them, but the one was very deep and I couldn't get numb enough, so they just did the one. Still two more appts. to go. Ugh.
Derrick doesn't have to go to Kopco today as they don't need him, so we are enjoying the extra time with him home. I've thought about even putting up the Christmas tree, but I think we'll wait until Thanksgiving.
Hope you are all having a great Monday!

I'm taking over Ally's blog...

For just a second. This is Stacey, and Ally gave me access to her blog to help her fix something. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to say how blessed I am by her, and Ally, your friendship means the world to me. I miss you more than you could know.

A blessed Friday

I'm so filled with Joy today. Through the help of donations at work and a generous company match, we raised a total of 270 dollars for Turkey Donations for our church. I'm so excited. I had no idea it'd turn out so big, and am just tickled pink.
It's amazing how doing something like this and reaching out makes you feel. I just love it.

I'm planning on going to get my hair done today, which only makes it even better. I love hair day.

Plus, I found a pair of jeans for Myles at a consignment store today and they look skinny enough to fit him. Yay!

It's the little things in life, ya know?

Croup

I'm so over croup. Myles has it again, and this time Gina does too. I just hate this little bug. They sound awful and there's just really nothing you can do. They are both at the sitters today as I've been told that the cold that caused the croup is contagious, but not the croup itself.
Tis the season I guess.
It's so cold here now and I just haven't been able to get warm all day. I'm looking forward to going home, cranking the heat up, and just having a calm, snuggly evening.
Hopefully they get to feeling better soon!

Myles at the dentist

I am so proud of my big boy! He had to go today to get two cavities filled. I was so nervous and didn't know how he'd respond, especially cause they were giving him laughing gas.
We just didn't say anything about it as we didn't want to worry him.
They gave him the laughing gas and novacaine and he did so well. He didn't move or even flinch. I've never had laughing gas before, but after seeing his reaction, I may ask for it next time. lol He just watched tv the whole time (wonder pets) and I thought he was going to fall asleep at one point.
He did get a little scared and start crying as we were leaving because his mouth was so numb and it freaked him out a little, but we ran by Dollar General on the way home, and that made everything all better.
I was afraid he was going to bite his lips/cheek because he kept playing with it, but he did well.
They even let him keep his little pink "nose" they administered the gas through, and he's so proud of it. He's such a big boy now, but he looked so little in that dentist chair. I know I was so much more nervous than he was. My stomach was a wreck.

Unfortunately next week it's my turn...well, turn 1 of 3 that is. It'll take 3 visits to get all of mine filled. :(
But hey, maybe a little laughing gas and some Wonder Pets will make me that happy too. lol

Anyway, it's cold here and we even had snow flurries today. I'm off to bed for an early night so I can warm up under the covers, and Derrick is already there. He has to be in Madeira at 4:30 in the morning. Yuck.

Have a good night!

An inspirational evening

The bible study I was doing ended a couple of weeks ago, but the group decided to get together tonight as a celebration. We all went to Riley's restaurant in Greenhills. It was a great opportunity to get to know some of them better and just have a good time. Janice, the pastor's wife, was there and I just really like her. They have two boys, ages 2 and 4, so we have a lot in common. She had her boys with her and it was nice to be able to see them since they are normally in Sunday school and have a chance to talk with her.
I had to tell her that I was not laughing *at* her as she struggled with the boys, it was simply that I knew I would have been going through the same exact thing if my dynamic duo was there. Moms, especially those with kids the same age, always just have an immediate connection.
While there, I ended up having a conversation with the woman sitting next to me that was almost identical to a conversation with Kim yesterday...a conversation about reading the bible.
When things like that happen I don't think it's coincidence, I think it's a message. So I became inspired to start reading my bible to learn and get answers to some of the questions I've had. I was given some good advice and tips on where to start, and I think it's going to be good, and much needed.
If any of you have any other tips...a good book to start on, ways to make it more meaningful, etc, please feel free to share. I know there a million ways to go about it, but I was thinking that given the season I'd start with the first book in the new testament and see where that leads me.
I think I need some sort of Bible 101 class...a Bible for Beginners so to speak to lay out all of the basic, simple things so I don't feel so lost and so far behind. But, since the bible I have has an introduction to each chapter as well as study notes, I think I just need to dive in.
And what a great time to start!

Aren't these the cutest thing ever?

I found the neatest website yesterday, I could spend hours looking at it. I love these and think it's something I can actually pull off!!

You just take a fudge stripe cookie, turn it fudge side up and then place a large marshmallow dipped in melted chocolate chips on top. Yellow frosting for the buckle.

More blue pants funnies

So Myles is very into "helping" Gina. As most of you can understand is help isn't always wanted or even helpful, but he loves being the "big brother".
So last night he wanted to help her change her clothes. It didn't matter that it was almost bed time and I was encouraging jammies, he really wanted to put blue pants on her. And new socks. And the shoes he loves.
And bless her heart she just laid on the floor and let him do it all.

When I asked him why he wanted her to wear blue pants so badly he replied:

"She's beautiful when she wears blue pants. If she's beautiful I'll be nice to her and not mean".

Ah, the magic of 4 year old logic.

Halloween 2008 pics

We had a great time. We went trick or treating around our block and then went to a Harvest Party at the church where they had games and snacks and movies, etc. It was a great time.