Lessons....

Zach is in the middle of a trumpet lesson (my brother drives up once a week, has dinner with us and instructs him for about an hour).  Tonight, Zach has been playing the same piece over and over and over again WRONG.  My brother has been, patiently, reminding him that he is doing it wrong.

Zach (as serious as can be): They probably won't even hear it during the concert.  The rest of the trumpets will drown me out.

Lucky

My children love to read.  And not much in this world makes me more proud than watching my children get lost in a book.  Though I don't tell him this, my heart swells with pride when I find Zach in his bed, way past his bedtime, reading a book, begging to "just finish this chapter".

This summer one of the banks in the area had a challenge: read 10 books, get a bank account with $10 in it.  Zach was all over it.

Yesterday was the last day to go in and open an account with this program so I took both boys down with their reading lists. 

And the story goes like this:

Andrew was at the end of his rope. He was tired and cranky and wired.  Thursdays are hard days and towards the end of the week his behavior gets a little out of hand.

Thankfully, Dan, the man who was helping the boys open their accounts, was very patient.  He laughed with them and fell for Andrew immediately (as most people do).  Even through Andrew's farting (that he felt the need to announce every time - as if the stench wasn't enough).  Even through Andrew's incessant questions about "the vault".  He even heard someone answer the phone "TD Bank, how can I help you?" and it got caught in his mouth (meaning he felt the need to repeat it over and over and over and...).

In the end they both had new passbook savings accounts with $10.  They also walked out with "vaults" of their own (big green TD Bank coin banks).  I gave them each $20 and let them make their first deposits, showed them how to fill out the paperwork and how the passbook worked.  Zach got a lollipop and Andrew informed us all that "lollipops are bad for your teeth" and that he didn't want one.

On the way home Zachary and I had a little conversation:

Z: I'm one lucky kid!
Me: Why's that?
Z: The bank account!  Thank you, Mom!
Me: Oh, honey, you did all the hard work by reading those books.  You deserve it!
Z: That wasn't hard work reading those books!

That's when my heart melted.  Who's the lucky one here?  Him for opening his first bank account or me for having such an amazing child that opening a bank account makes him feel so lucky and grateful?  Not a video game or a new bike but a bank account. 

I am so damn lucky.

Some things I want to remember...

-Yesterday Zach says: "Did you know that Will Smith played a wrestler in a movie called MudMad Ally". Me: "Huh, never heard of that one". Kirby (who overheard the whole thing): "Do you mean Mohammad Ali the BOXER?".

-Saturday on our way home from breakfast with Santa Zachary asks Andrew "whose glasses are you wearing"...they were Kirby's. Seriously, all morning he has been wearing someone else's glasses and nobody noticed? HE didn't even notice...what's up with that?!

-I love that my children are becoming more independent but when it gets to the point when he thinks it's okay to take a different bus home (one that arrives 15 minutes later than his) and put me and Kirby (and both elementary schools) into sheer panic mode - NOT COOL! Yeah, he's grounded and I am NOT happy.

-"I have a train here that could, like, ahhhhh, huh...what?" -Andrew....and all the glory of his attention span.

-My latest Mother of the Year moment: Me in kitchen spilling raw egg "SHIT". Kid: "Bad word". Me: "Oh yeah, SUCK IT! How's that sound". I'd like to thank Roseanne Barr and all that she has taught me...

-Here in the boonies all snow days will be made up on Saturdays this year. I mentioned the Saturday school day to Andrew who is now having an absolute fit because "Saturday is an at home day!!!". Oh, my black and white boy...

-One day I locked us out of the house, making us VERY late for a family party. Zachary says to me: "Mom, I am so furryous". Furryous? WTF?!

Oh man, my kids crack me up. Someday I am going to write a book - they'll be the main characters alongside a bottle of Absolute (the bottle that mom used to help her make it through their lives).

Rocket Launch with Cub Scouts

We spent a couple hours launching rockets with the Cub Scouts on Saturday. It was a beautiful day with little wind. The boys all had a great time!

Sick kid

I swear that my children have been sick for a month. They can never be sick at the same time. They have to pass it back and forth so that one of them is always sick.

Today we kept Zach home from school even though he was feeling fine. He started with a fever on Friday that lasted through Saturday and came with a cough and the sniffles (oh yeah, this is PRIME H1N1 material). Today the cough and sniffles persisted.

I forgot to call the school to let them know he would be in so the nurse called me to check. I informed her that I was NOT keeping him home for my sake, he was driving ME crazy and that she really needed to thank ME for not exposing him to the world 'cause REALLY he was FINE and could she please ask his teacher to pull together all his missed work so he would stop driving me NUTS.

Now he sits at the kitchen table working on schoolwork. Quietly. Thank GOD for teachers that work kids too hard.

Auction!

No, not THAT auction (although that one starts in MAY and I am SO excited), the Cub Scout Father/Son Cake Bake Auction.

Have you ever been to one of these auctions? Should I say, have you ever been BLESSED to be at one of these events? Have you ever participated? Well, if not, you are sorely missing out.

Here's a brief run down of exactly what you are "missing out" on:

• Three trips to the grocery store because they ran out of food coloring - twice.
• Screaming phrases coming from the kitchen like, "I AM NOT DOING THIS FOR ME - GET BACK HERE".
• A child whining "I want to go to the park, why does HE (accusingly pointing at the younger brother I have been trying to keep out of the kitchen all day) get to go to the park but I don't".
• A finished product with only one missing piece (due to a younger brother getting handsy) that they TRIED (in vain) to fill in with frosting.
• Enough frosting to clog a few of your arteries.
• Enough food coloring to be shitty purple for two weeks (because they used both red and blue food coloring).
• An auction where parents pay OBSCENE amounts of money for a cake that they made themselves (the highest cake went for $100 the lowest for $15) and their children have been sneezing on all night.
• Children who cry throughout the entire auction process because you won't let them bid.
• Children who cry at the END of the auction process because there seemed to have been a mix up and the cake you THOUGHT you won actually went to the person who was sitting directly in front of you (and had already started picking at it before you could even say anything).
• A stop at the grocery store on the way home to buy ANOTHER cake to replace the one you THOUGHT you won but, obviously, didn't.
• Cake at 8pm - past children's bedtimes.

Fun times, fun times....

I'll provide you with pictures of the cake when Kirby decides to get them onto the computer from the camera.

One of THOSE days

Have you ever had one of those days? The days that every single little thing grinds your nerves so hard that you want to scream? Yeah, THOSE days. I am having one...

Z is going through a bag of clothes a friend of mine handed down to him and he feels the need to pose in every-single-thing...including each winter hat and mitten set. Cute most days...today I am annoyed.

Kirby was watching Home Improvement earlier (while searching the web for job possibilities) and laughing at the most ridiculous things. Great that he was having a good time...down right annoying to me.

A isn't doing his work in school. Most days I would chalk that up to a typical "autistic moment". Today I forced him to do the work he was supposed to do at school AND his homework and re-write anything that wasn't "perfect" - meaning something that actually resembled the "A" he was supposed to be writing.

I have sent 3 emails today minus the attachments they were supposed to have. That's always fun (expecially when you are emailing people that you don't even know - way to make a first impression).

Every time I hear, "hey Mom" I cringe a little bit....

It is one of those days that my children should be thankful I don't use corporal punishment...

And I'm not even PMSing.

No pain - no gain.

I don't like pain. Not at all, not in any sense. If it isn't easy, I don't want to do it. And, honestly, this is the story of my life...

I gain weight because it is easier than working out and watching what I eat (which accounts for me being at my highest weight since losing 100 lbs a few years ago). My relationship struggles because I don't want to deal with the pain of putting in the work. My house is (often) a disaster because I don't want to deal with the pain of cleaning it up...the list goes on and on.

Lazy, perhaps. Actually, probably most definitely. But the first step to solving a problem is admitting you have one...right?!

So, I have decided that I hate Billy Blanks (oh and don't even get me started on his perky daughter Shellie who just makes me want to puke every time I see her) . You see, I have started doing a Tae Bo video every morning with Z. I figured I could kill two birds with one stone:

1) Z gets some energy out before he goes to school with the intention of helping his (undiagnosed) ADHD.

2) I burn some calories and (hopefully) don't look like a fat cow at my brother's wedding in June.

And along with Billy and his perky daughter Shellie (gosh, even the way she spells it makes me think PERKY) I have added Lance. Now, Lance I like. Lance makes things very easy for me with The Daily Plate. I track everything I eat, every calorie I burn and every pound of weight I lose. And by "calorie burning" you know that I mean everything from grocery shopping to putting on makeup to SEX (yes, you read that right, you can count sex to your calorie burning) to massage work (some of my recent fitness logs included Tae Bo, folding clothes, washing dishes and shoveling snow). Did you know that massage work (for me, at my weight) burns approximately 417 calories an hour (which is really nice because, on a good day, I have 4 clients which equals NEARLY the amount of calories I am allotted each day) and walking to and from work everyday burns 353 calories...see, Lance I like.

I have been tracking my food for about a week. Honestly, I have not been doing it as faithfully as I should (I skipped the weekend) but it has made everything so much easier and made me really aware of what I am consuming on a daily basis. Did you know that a Dunkin Donuts Boston Creme Donut is 270 calories? That is more than I burn doing 20 minutes of Tae Bo with STUPID Billy and Shellie.

The past two mornings Z and I have gotten up early and done some Tae Bo. Yesterday (day one) I lasted about 10 minutes and then I died. Right on the floor. My heart stopped until the DVD was off...then I came to. Z, of course, being the ball of energy that he is, said "we barely even started". I told him I thought it was enough for one day...

It hurts. Every inch of my body hurts. My hips hurt, my legs hurt, my ass hurts...it's a big reminder of the last time I joined a gym.

But that got me thinking about the "no pain- no gain" concept and my complete inability to put myself through any sort of pain.

Did I think this was going to be easy?
Did I think that I could just melt the pounds away by blogging at the computer? Blogging, BTW, burns about 156 calories per hour.
Doesn't pain = strength?
Don't we all have to go through pain to get stronger?

And then (of course cause I have the (undiagnosed) ADHD tendencies as well) I started thinking about my life in general and how I am apt to give up at anything that seems too hard...

So now, I am on a mission. I am going to do things that are hard. I am not giving myself a time limit or going to say "until" (because that makes things so much easier for me to give up on). I am going to do this today. Today I am going to do things that are hard (like the 20 minutes of Tae Bo I FORCED myself to do - but you can bet your ass that as soon as 20 minutes was up I was DONE). Today is much easier than this week or this month or until I lose 100 pounds...

So, wish me luck, TODAY. Things are going to get a whole lot harder as time goes on...

6, 6, 6, 6

I stole this from Christy over at Heavy on the Caffeine. It's a picture meme. Go to your picture file, pick the 6th folder, then the 6th picture. Post that picture and blog about it.

This picture of Z and Hunter was taken in July, 06 - about 2 and a half years ago. If you look closely you can see that Z is missing a number of teeth. He had just graduated kindergarten and man, oh man, he was a handful. But he was NOTHING compared to Hunter.

That dog was (and still is) a bastard. We loved (and still love) him but MAN, OH MAN, that dog was the worst behaved dog EVER. He loved the kids, they were his "pack". He loved any and all food (except dog treats and his own food). He loved to run (especially away) - there was a time Kirby chased him up the road (Kirby was in his truck) and Hunter OUTRAN him!! He loved to chew anything and everything but mostly the kids toys or shoes. And now he loves Nicki, Rich and Xander who adopted him when we moved and Hunter was not allowed to accompany us.

I can't believe how young Z looks in this picture. He is so tiny and clean and sweet and innocent...yeah, not so much anymore.

And from the pictures I have seen recently, Hunter looks tiny too...not so much anymore!

So I am going to tag Nicki because she hasn't posted since before THANKSGIVING!!

The words...oh the words!

As I was sitting on the toilet yesterday (and on the phone with Nicki - sorry, Nicki) A came into the bathroom:

A: "what's a predicament, Mommy"

Me: "well, it's a sticky situation"

A: "ewwwww, a STICKY situation"

Me: "well, no, not STICKY really"

A: "oh, it's just an expression"

Me: "Yup, just an expression"

Where does my child come up with this stuff? Of course, I can deal with "predicament" and "expression", whereas the OTHER words he has used in the past...eh, not so much.

On another note, Z is working on his Pinewood Derby car. Any suggestions? We tried baking it tonight. I guess it is suppose to dry out all the water from inside the wood, making the car weigh less so when you add the weight to the back (because it should weigh 5oz in the end) it will go faster...didn't work for us. The car didn't lose a single pound (or ounce, as the case may be).
Although, the house smelled like really nice, warm pine for a good couple hours.

And on a completely different note (VERY WAY DIFFERENT) my "blogga from anotha' motha'" over on the west coast is having a contest. I warn you - THIS IS NOT FOR THE PRUDE AT HEART OR ANY OF MY SIBLINGS. If you can't deal with anything that has anything to do with anything referring to your nether regions DO NOT CLICK THE LINK!! If you are one of my siblings (or Nana Sue who recently started her own blog) DO NOT CLICK THE LINK! I SWEAR, it could burn your corneas!!

Otherwise, go check her out here!

What is going on with today's music?

I promise you that I am not one of those old people that screams about her child's choice in music. If anything, they learn to like new music because I am playing it.

I try not to censor too much of what they hear (well, too much of what Z hears). I typically buy the "radio" version of the song, meaning they do censor any most cursing. And I certainly don't let him listen to things like Eminem (although I will admit that there are a select few songs that I do enjoy that Eminem sings raps performs)whose lyrics typically follow these lines:

The way you shake it,
I can't believe it
I ain't never seen an ass like that
The way you move it,
you make my pee pee go
Doing, doing, doing

Anyway...Z handed me an "updated" Christmas list 2 days before Christmas. Still believing in Santa, he thought that it would be no problem to get whatever he wanted. I had to inform him that Santa would NOT be bringing a Nintendo DS (because I don't believe that an 8 year old child needs - or is responsible enough to take care of - a $130 hand held gaming device). Also on the list were CDs (which he had not originally asked for).

The CDs were not a problem. I have a pretty extensive Itunes library and I know that he loves a lot of the music I listen to (aside from Les Miserable and The Newsies Soundtrack...oh and Phantom of the Opera). I also bought about 15 new songs.

I burned the CDs for him and presented them in his new CD holder under the Christmas tree. I also added them to my Ipod and listened to them while I was washing the Christmas dishes...

And I heard lyrics like this about a woman drunk at a nightclub:

I've had a little bit too much, much
All of the people start to rush, start to rush by
How does he twist the dance?
Can't find a drink, oh man
Where are my keys?
I lost my phone, phone

And this one about the woman with super powers (and, yes, even the radio "edited" version had bitch in it):

Some days I'm a super bitch
Up to my old tricks
But it won't last forever
Next day I'm your super girl
Out to save the world
And it keeps getting better

One about a woman being abused by her boyfriend:

Do you feel like a man
When you push her around?
Do you feel better now, as she falls to the ground?
Well I'll tell you my friend,
one day this world's going to end
As your lies crumble down, a new life she has found.

And one with incredibly bad grammar that encourages you to accept me "just the way I are" and to tip when I strip:

~ Timbaland ~I ain't got no money
I ain't got no car to take you on a date
I can't even buy you flowers
But together we could be the perfect soulmates
Talk to me girl

~ Keri Hilson ~
OhBaby, it's alright now
You ain't gotta flaunt for me
If we go touch
You can still touch my love, it's free
We can work without the perks just you and me
Thug it out til' we get it right

~ Chorus ~
Baby if you strip, you can get a tip
'Cause I like you just the way you are
I'm about to strip and I'm well equipped
Can you handle me the way I'm are?
I don't need the G's or the car keys
Boy I like you just the way you are
Let me see ya strip, you can get a tip
'Cause I like, I like, I like...

Now, I am not a prude. These are things that my kids hear on the radio every day. I wonder...is this a sign of my getting older? It's not that I don't like the music (honestly, I enjoy all the songs above)...but I am not so sure about allowing my son to hear music that demoralizes women, encourages lousy grammar (and cursing) and encourages drinking...I mean, he is 8!!

And if all this isn't bad enough, A has the memory of an elephant. He takes things and locks them in immediately. Today in the car we were listening to the radio, per usual, and we heard the latest Nickleback song. A immediately learned the chorus and began to sing:

You naughty thing
You’re ripping up the dance floor honey
You naughty women
You shake your ass around for everyone
You’re such a mover
I love the way you dance with anybody
The way you swing
And tease them all by sucking on your thumb
Your so much cooler when you never pull it out
Cause you look so much cuter
with Something in Your Mouth

Lovely....

A few quick thoughts...

• I hate undecorating from Christmas almost as much as I hate decorating for Christmas. But I have discovered that Kahlua helps...
• Z is a lot like his mother when he plays games. The trash talk is unbelievable and he is determined to win.
• A is a lot like his mother when he eats. If it looks edible he eats it (I can't assume that the fake gingerbread ornament on the tree tasted all that good - but it looks like A only tasted his foot but by tasted I mean too a bite out if it...).
• Those little mittens that they have for kids that allow the top half of the mitten to pull down and it exposes a half glove (while the kid's hand is still covered)...yeah, they pretty much suck.
• Dick Clark makes me cry every year. I can't watch him anymore since his stroke without breaking down.
• Any person that would stand in NYC amongst millions of people in subzero temperatures should be checked for a severe mental illness.
• I sent out my Christmas cards late this year. The majority of my family probably didn't even get them until after Christmas AND I don't feel badly about it.
• I should probably never blog again after having a drink...

Happy New Year!! I hope you all have a healthy, happy, prosperous year full of family, friends and good food...and Kahlua :)

A night out with....zzzzzzz....I'm sorry - what were you saying?

If you are here for the contest click HERE. The contest will end on Thursday December 11th and the prize will be mailed out on Monday. You can earn multiple entries so go forth and spread the word!

I have discovered just how old I really am. Remember when I turned 30? Remember how I told you all that 30 was NOT old? Well, this weekend I discovered that it is.

We had a relative busy weekend. Really we only had a busy Saturday but it felt like it lasted all weekend. That is how old I really am.

My nephew's celebrated their birthdays on Saturday and had a joint/open house birthday party. I, of course, had not picked up their presents. So after working for a bit that morning we went off to buy their gifts. I wrapped in the car (or really just threw them into gift bags) and off we went to celebrate.

Z was staying with my sister for the night and A had his very first sleepover and Grampie and Nana Sue's. Kirby and I were headed out for a night with old friends.

We were all nervous about the sleepover and were grateful to hear that Nana Sue would be sleeping in the spare bedroom with A. He is an awful sleeper and often gets up a half dozen times a night. He was also very nervous about the sleepover. Being autistic he loves his routine and this was way off course for him.

After dropping the boys Kirby and I headed out for dinner before we met our friends. The plan was to meet at a bar around 8pm.

7:30pm: I was ready to get on with it. I wanted the night to be started already. And I wanted it to be over shortly after.

8pm: We meet at the bar that is EMPTY because nobody really starts going out until 10 or so. I have already had one drink (because we got there a little early) and am ready to start working on my second (or fall asleep on the comfy leather couches that we were sitting on).

Chris, Josiah (the Birthday Boy) and me

9: Josiah is in the middle of a very interesting story. We are sitting side by side on those comfy leather couches. He's talking away and I yawn. Right in his face. Horrifying. Embarrassing. He looked at me, rolled his eyes and turned away. One of my oldest, dearest friends. I haven't seen him in a few months. It is his birthday and I can't stop yawning.

In my defense, aside from Chris, Kirby and I are the only ones with kids. And Chris only has his kids part time. We are the only ones that go out once every 6 months. Still, it is only 9 and I am so exhausted I can't even suppress a yawn in someone's face?! O-L-D!

Me and Kirby laughing at something hysterical Will is sharing

Me, Will and Leah - the last bar

11: We decide that the first bar has gotten a bit to "yuppy" for the rest of us. It is time to find another bar. ANOTHER BAR? This bar, although less yuppy, is PACKED. Standing room only...I refuse to stand all night in a bar...I am too old for this. Eventually we get a table for the 5 of us, we sit, we drink a bit more, we visit...

Thankfully, I am not the only one that is exhausted:

Chris the DD...

Kirby and I made it home a bit after 1am. The house was quiet, there are no kids...nobody to wake us in the middle of the night. Nobody to interrupt our quiet time together.

I FELL ASLEEP.

Let's be honest here, I am sure you parents can relate, time without the children is so infrequent that we do our best to enjoy every moment of it. To take advantage of every second alone with our significant others. Not me...I sleep.

Seriously...can't even enjoy a night without the children. I fell asleep probably before my head even hit the pillow.

8am: Alarm rings for us to get up and go pick up the kids from their sleepovers. I scream at it to shut the hell up - I am trying to sleep.

9am: After hitting the snooze button 6 times I scream at the alarm again...but roll out of bed and hop in the shower...

And all day Sunday all I wanted to do was sleep.

It was a wonderful night. I love to see Josiah and Leah. We were the best of friends in high school - we were inseparable. We don't get together nearly enough. This time was to celebrate Josiah's birthday. In fact, the last time the three of us were together was to celebrate Josiah's birthday...we need to get together more often.

Maybe next time we can do a nice game night...maybe Bridge or Cribbage or Canasta...aren't those the games that old people play?

Oh, and for anyone interested, A had a great sleepover with Grampie and Nana Sue. Although, I am not sure how often his old parents will be enlisting them for help anymore...

October in Pictures

Things are, to say the least, crazy around here. Do we expect anything else in Crazy Town? I think not.

Your prayers are appreciated for my family through a rather difficult time. I will post as I can.

Until then, enjoy the pictures of our month!

TGIM

I love Mondays. Truly, they are my favorite day of the week. Don't misunderstand me, I love spending time with my family on the weekends...but Mondays are good.


We had an incredibly busy weekend. There were many wonderful things about it but I was, unbelievably, ready for it to be over. For things to slow down. For our routine to be back.


Thank God it's Monday!


Saturday was Z's first Cub Scout outing. They all built model rockets and met at the den leader's house for a BBQ and a rocket launching party. Unfortunately I was not able to attend. Instead, Kirby took both boys (which he seriously deserves a merit badge for). I hear they had a great time (until Z shot his rocket a second time and lost it in the woods) and the pictures came out great.

I, on the other hand, spent Saturday in the car. Well, not entirely in the car, but about 10 hours of my day were spent in the car. Monica, Loren and I went down to CT for Andrea's father's funeral.

It was heartbreaking and sad and awful and every other thing you can imagine when a man dies too young. He was only 58 but from what I understand (and I did not know him) he lived a very full life. He loved his family more than anything, loved his job and loved my brother (but, of course, who wouldn't).

We felt it was important that we go down and support Alex and Andrea through this time. So I left at 6:30 am to meet them at Monica's house (nearly an hour from mine) and we traveled another 3 to meet up with Kolbe and Dana at Kolbe's house in CT (I don't know what it is with my younger siblings falling in love CT folk) where Kolbe then chauffeured us to the funeral, burial and "reception". I arrived back at my home around 9:30 pm...exhausted.

I am glad we went. It was hard and long and tiring but I am glad that we were there. And all considered, it could have been an awful trip but it wasn't. Monica only nearly killed us once (but really it was only me, she and Loren would have survived the crash).

Sunday was a very busy family day.

We started the afternoon by going hiking. The last time we hiked as a family A was still in a stroller. Not so much anymore.

Blue Job is a quick mountain (I was told 15 minutes, but it probably took us closer to 30 - little legs and little attention spans). The view is incredible and well worth the effort.

After the hike we went to visit with my grandfather for a bit. He and his girlfriend will be heading down to Florida on Saturday for 6 months. I wanted to say goodbye.

Every year it gets a little harder to say goodbye.

My grandfather will be 81 at the end of this month. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease maybe 10 years ago and each year it gets a little worse. I know that one year he will leave and he won't come back. That kills me.

For as long as I can remember we have had Saturday night beans with my mother's family. Every Saturday (except when they were in Florida) we would meet at my grandparent's house for baked beans and hot dogs. My grandmother use to spoil me rotten because I hate baked beans. She would make me a tuna fish sandwich every week instead.

The tradition has continued even since my grandmother passed away over 8 years ago. Instead of meeting at Gramp's every week we rotate. I live too far to be in the rotation (thank GOD) but my sister Monica and Mom don't. So each week the family gathers at someone's home.

Because of the medication that my grandfather is on he has a low tolerance for loud noises. He has never been an incredibly patient man but he has gotten much worse over the years. He would never yell at anyone but we can certainly see when his stress level hits. Therefore, my family doesn't spend a lot of time with him while he is home. A doesn't understand what it means to be quiet or slow down...then I get stressed out and then nobody is having a good time. I try to see them every other weekend or so when beans are at Monica's or Mom's - where Gramp can leave if it gets to be too much.

Though Gramp has gotten older he has certainly not lost any of his wit. He promised me that we would not get a good picture. He told me flat out that he would stick his tongue out. I told him he would fit in with the rest of the family. And his daughter did the same damn thing.

My grandfather is a huge part of the reason I will vote democrat in the upcoming election. Without stem cell research I do not believe a cure will be found for Parkinson's. While it will not save MY grandfather's life it will save someone else's. I can't begin to explain how awful it has been to watch the man I have always looked at as so strong wither away. His brain is there, his body is not. He gets embarrassed, he is easily frustrated and it breaks my heart.

After visiting with Gramp and Lorraine and Aunt Deb for a bit we went to my father's house for the last Movie in the Barn of the season. We watched The Wizard of Oz - a family favorite. It ended way too late, it was long, it was FREEZING in the barn - but we all had a great time.

We got the kids home around 9:30, threw them in bed and I fell asleep on the couch...

I love Mondays! Now I am off to clean my carpets (YES, again, this potty training thing isn't working out like I had hoped)...

Thursday's Thankful Thirteen

1. I am so thankful that Z and I and our amazing team climbed Mt. Major this past weekend and raised nearly $700 for breast cancer research.































2. I am thankful that whatever was on my camera with a couple of those pictures didn't ruin the whole stinking shot!!

3. I am thankful that Andrea's father was able to walk her down the aisle and that she and Alex were able to be be there with him when he passed away yesterday morning.





4. I am thankful that we made it through the entire day yesterday without any accidents with A!!

5. I am thankful that we have had beautiful weather for the past week or so.

6. I am thankful that the weather should hold out this weekend. Long enough for Z to shoot off his rocket with Cub Scouts and for us to take a hike Sunday as a family.

7. I am SO grateful to have family that is so incredibly close. I am not sure I survive without them.

8. I am grateful that I have NEVER faked it (hey, I never said that all these would be beautiful...just things I am thankful for).

9. I am thankful that this election is almost over. No matter who you are voting for just be sure you do it! VOTE!

10. I am grateful that Kirby is willing to work his butt off trying to get out of work a few hours early so I can be with my brother and his new family in CT tomorrow.

11. I am thankful to have been raised in a family that is open and accepting.

12. I am thankful that I was forced to try discovered bison meat. It didn't taste any different in the stew I made (got it at the regular grocery store in the butcher's department). I am also so excited that I figured out how to strike through something!

13. I am thankful that I made it up and down that mountain even though I am WAY out of shape AND my knees were killing me. It has given me a renewed vigor to start hiking again.