Our 2 Cuties!!

Rest in peace, my love...

2011-11-01T08:29:00.005-04:00

In March of this year, I celebrated my 40th birthday. I had quit biting my nails, I had lost nearly 80 pounds and generally speaking, life was oh so good! I was enjoying a very liberating time of life! The summer was filled with memory-making camping trips, everyone was healthy and we all seemed to be filled with much happiness! But life has its own agenda. When you least expect it, tragedy strikes.

On August 5th, the world lost a wonderful person. My beloved husband, Dean, left us. Unexpectedly, tragically...very, very sadly. He was an amazing person and the loss of him has been and will be felt for many years by very many people.

Smart, hilarious, fun-loving, affectionate, loving...there are SOOO many adjectives I could use to describe him! At the top of the list, though, is EXCELLENT father! I know none better, nor probably ever will! His girls were his life and everything he did was ulitimately for them! My girls will always know their father as a hero! That is my goal in life, to keep him at the forefront of their thoughts, to make them remember the wonderful Daddy he truly was!

And I would be remiss to not remember him myself as a wonderful husband! As in all marriages, we had our issues to overcome, but in the grand scheme of life, those issues are now all unimportant, insignificant, completely and utterly meaningless! He loved me dearly and I loved him even more! My heart aches when I remember that I'll never see him again, that he'll never see his girls again, that he'll be missing out on everything this life has to offer!

I never imagined just how hard picking out a casket for your 42 year old husband could be, and I found myself unable to do it! Dean and I had discussed many things, final death arrangements being one of those. He and I both agreed that the ridiculous amount of money spent on final arrangements is SO not needed!! In the end, I gave way to my inlaws. His parents made the decisions and I paid the bill. All I can say is, thank goodness for life insurance! When it is my turn to depart this world, my decisions have been written down and paid for, so my children will not feel the need to spend a lot of money to "prove" to the world how much they loved me. Ah, well...water under the bridge...

So far, we've managed Halloween and Luci's birthday without him. Christmas will come and go as well and life continues to march on despite the tragedies. I have always had a pretty good coping mechanism no matter what was thrown at me and this is no different. The girls seem to have adjusted well and that was my only concern. So the only thing left to do is pick myself up, dust myself off and keep moving forward. Through these past 4 months, I have found out who my true friends are! They are the BEST group of people I have ever met and I am blessed beyond belief to have them all in my life! With their help along with the help of mine and Dean's families, the girls and I have managed to emerge from the shock nearly none the worse for wear! And I have every hope of a bright and happy future for the three of us! We feel Dean's presence around us daily and are hopeful that he is proud of the job we're doing...I'm sure he is!

Miss you like crazy, Dean! I love you, today, tomorrow...forever! Until we meet again...

Quotes:

Seeing death as the end of life is like seeing the horizon as the end of the ocean.~David Searls

To live in the hearts we leave behind is not to die. ~Thomas Campbell

Love is stronger than death even though it can't stop death from happening, but no matter how hard death tries it can't separate people from love. It can't take away our memories either. In the end, life is stronger than death. ~unknown

Summer Adventures

2011-08-02T16:24:00.062-04:00

Sorry to those who follow this blog and have been patiently or impatientlly waiting for my next post! But at long last, here it is! This has proven to be a fun-filled BUSY summer for us! We camped at the same campground for the July 4th weekend as we did for Memorial Day weekend, but I didn't take any pictures. Nothing significant happened and I was more interested in MAKING memories rather than capturing them with the camera. Immediately after our trip, the girls started the Rebecca Kelly Ballet daycamp again. This was Drew's 4th year and Luci's 2nd. Here Luci practises a final pose for one particular dance.

In this shot, you can see Drew in the middle and if you look closely, Luci's head is peeking out behind Drew's partner.

One advantage of the girls being so small, is that they are almost always chosen for the pick-up parts.

The 6 and 7 year old group. Luci prances across stage.

Part of Drew's group. 4 other girls were on the other side of the stage doing a separate dance with scarves.

Yet another prop, a feather duster! This dance was really cute! Can you believe that Drew was one of the oldest girls in this group???

Another prop, this time a hat. Drew was crouched over like this so that the rest of the group could leap over her.

Getting a pep talk for the recital which was performed later that evening. I was once again unable to go as I had booked a wedding. But next year, I already know the date of the show and have it blocked off! Yay! Finally I'll get to see the recital not just the dress rehearsal!

Dean, my mother, Dean's parents and Dan and Tina and the kids all went to see the recital, and the girls got tons of roses as usual! Dean took these shots of the girls with all their instructors. Here's Hillary.

Here's Therese.

Here they are with their favorite instructor, Raul.

And finally, with Rebecca Kelly herself! The girls just love this daycamp! Too bad it wasn't more than a week long!

Last week, my cousin Heather, her boyfriend John and all their kids came up for the whole week. And I was the lucky host who got to see them every night and morning because they stayed with me!! Last year I barely got to see them at all as they stayed somewhere else, so I was SOOO happy when they accepted my offer of lodgings! Hannah and Grace enjoy their lunch with Drew and Luci on the upper walkway of the playgym in the yard.

After lunch, I convinced them all to sit for me for a photo shoot! Hats and hay!

Hannah Banana!

Grace!

Cowgirl Drew!

My little beauties!

I love the lighting effect on this shot of Luci!

Luci is the only one who would stay long enough to let me take a bunch of shots, so I got the most of her. The rest of them ran off to jump in the pool.

Luci was in the house getting her suit on when I snapped this.

We left Heather and her gang on Friday to go to our next camping trip in Mexico, NY, Jellystone Campground. We met up with Sue and Scott, Dana and Tina and Dean's parents and all travelled together in a big caravan. This campground has tons of stuff for the kids to do which is why I like it so much. This year, they have a brand-new bouncy "pillow". Basically, just a huge rectangular air-blown pillow for the kids to jump on. They all loved it...until they all started getting hurt! First Darien came off crying that someone elbowed her in the face. Luci was slightly and momentarily injured, but she's never one to let an injury slow her down when she's having fun, so she was right back at it. I believe Max was crying at one point...not to mention a few other kids not from our group were crying as well. The last straw was when Drew came off the pillow holding her arm and carrying on like I've never seen her do before! I seriously thought her arm was broken! We called it a day for the bouncy pillow and headed back to our camper to assess the situation. Drew wanted to lie down with an ice pack and Dean ran for dinner. After a quick McDonald's dinner, I determined that we should probably take Drew to the ER...just in case! I really couldn't determine whether or not it was broken, so in the truck and to Oswego Hospital we went. Harborfest was going on, it was a Friday night and I had nightmares of spending the entire night in the ER. I was wrong. We were the ONLY ones in the waiting room and they got us right in! Xrays were done quickly and the xray techs let Drew pick out one of the images of her arm so she could take a printed picture of it home with her to keep. THANKFULLY, her wrist was not broken and it was only just a bad sprain. They gave her a sling, some Motrin and all we had to do was wait for the xray tech to print the picture. He came in and said the printer wasn't working, so he gave her an actual xray to take home instead. I can't believe the service at this ER! Absolutely NOTHING like the ER service we recieve at home! Everyone was so nice and they got us in and out of there within an hour or so! Unbelievable! They also informed us that Drew was the 2nd kid that night who had been there from the same campground with a foot injury from the same bouncy pillow! Needless to say, nobody got back on it for the rest of the weekend! Anyway, here's Drew with her new outfit accesory!

Sitting around the campfire!

Grandma and Luci.

Tina helps Sonja with a marshmellow.

On Saturday, Grandpa treated us all to a trip to Thunder Island Waterpark in Fulton, NY. It was a very small park, only about 5 or 6 slides total, a kiddie lagoon with 2 kiddie slides, a small lazy river ride, a mini-put golf course and a cool go-kart ride. As it turned out, the size of the park was perfect as we did very little walking in the blazing hot sun! All the kids could do all the slides but one as none of them made the height requirement. Even Drew did a few slides with Daddy, but she ended up sitting most of the day with Grandma as her arm was really hurting her. Here, Luci comes out of the tube!

Sonja, Luci and Max enjoy the mushroom fountain in the lagoon.

Dan and Max drive the go-karts.

Dean takes Luci and Tina takes Sonja and the 3 cars race! If you know Dan and Dean, you'll believe me when I say that watching it was hilarious! Dean had taken Drew on them earlier in the day, but I wasn't there to take pictures!

On the ride home, we had Max and Luci in our truck. Here's what a few hours in a waterpark and a half-hour drive back to the campground will do to 5 and 6 year old kids! Max, head propped and drool flowing...

And Luci slumped over on a pile of towels. It was a very quiet ride!

Back at the campground, the kids all pulled out some tubes and the river rides began!

Quick lunch break...

Darien poses in the pool.

Jeb flies off the slide.

Cheese!

My crazy girl!

Drew chose to watch instead of swim.

Sue and Darien.

Waiting for the wagon ride at the pick-up spot.

Singing songs on the wagon with Boo Boo.

Back to tubing!

So ends another post. Coming up, we have another camping trip scheduled for Ausable Chasm...I SOOO cannot wait for that!!!

Today's Quotes:

Even in a time of elephantine vanity and greed, one never has to look far to see the campfires of gentle people. ~Garrison Keillor

Campers: Nature's way of feeding mosquitoes. ~Author Unknown

This and that!

2011-06-27T06:44:00.044-04:00

Another post with lots of pics! The Viet Nam Memorial Wall in Washington, DC is beautiful! I saw this when I was 21. They have since come up with a half-sized traveling version which came to a nearby locality earlier this month. Drew's class was able to take a field trip to see it. Here she is with her flag in front of the Moving Wall.

Something Drew's class learned about before their field trip was of a program started in the early 1970's by some college kids in California to honor and remember those who were currently fighting in Viet Nam. They made metal bracelets with the name and rank of a soldier who had either died or was missing in action. My parents bought two of these bracelets which my mother still has to this day. On the day of their field trip, my mom was wearing these bracelets on a chain around her neck and the teachers were so thrilled to have the kids actually see them as they had learned about them in the days before! Here, Drew looks at the bracelets around Meema's neck.

Mom poses with Drew's class for a newspaper photo op.

I thought it would look cool if they all held their flags up! Too bad my mom's face all but disappears! Ha ha!

We finally pulled the little pool from last summer out of the garage attic around the end of last month. I proceeded to unflod the thing and was shocked to see big holes chewed right through! Stupid mice!! As I kept unfolding, didn't a half dozen of those little vermin jump right out!!! In the center was a cozy little mouse nest! Ugh!!! I am not afraid of mice, but they've ruined enough things to really make me hate them!! So as not to disappoint the fish...er, I mean, the girls, Dean decided an investment in another pool would be in order! Yay! Hero of the day! Instead of getting another 12 foot 2 and a half foot deep pool, we decided on a 15 foot 3 and a half foot deep version. The girls were ecstatic! Drew is pretty much swimming on her own now, but Luci isn't confident enough to brave deep water without her floaties. This pool is shoulder deep for them, so not only do they not need floaties, they are actually swimming! Even Luci is swimming underwater all the way across the pool without coming up for air or dropping her feet! I am so happy we ended up getting this size pool, it is just what they needed to really master swimming!

Three amigos! Darien, Luci and Drew

Drowned rat! Darcy after a dunk in the pool!

After they all got a dunk, they proceeded to get the "rammies", what we call it when they get all frisky and crazy after a bath!

The girls recieved some brand new rollerblades this year! Drew is, of course, a natural on them. The first time Luci tried them, she was a bit wobbly and needed someone's hand to hold. And on our little sidewalk, she was practically an accident waiting to happen as our sidewalk heads downhill and has a sharp curve in it. But we brought them over to Grandma and Grandpa's while the girls had an overnighter and when I came the next day, Luci was zipping up and down their sidewalk just as well as Drew!! Dean got an expensive pair of rollerblades for Father's Day, so needless to say, there will be much rollerblading on camping trips!! I'd like to borrow someone's pair to try it out first before I get myself a pair. I'm not sure my knees and ankles could manage, so I don't want to waste my money!

Both girls recently bridged up to the next level in Girl Scouts. Here's Luci wearing her Dasiy vest for the last time!

Sonja also bridged!

Sonja gets welcomed into Brownies!

Drew welcomed her little sister into Brownies!

Drew says goodbye to her Brownie troop leader...

And hello to Juniors!

From Daisies to Ambassadors!

Drew's troop.

Luci's troop.

Drew shows off her wings and bridge patches.

Luci's patches hadn't arrived at the time of the ceremony, but she was ok with that!

The first and second-graders held a science fair at school. The kids were seperated into groups and given a project to research, write about and perform at the fair.

Luci's group demonstrated the "phenomenon" of floating water! Put water in a glass, put a plate on top of the glass........

Flip upside down and take your hand away! Voila! The water stays in the glass!!

At another station, Jeb's group demonstrates how to build a bridge over a span using textbooks!

Skipping the quotes for today, until next time!!!

Camping and my little ballerina!

2011-06-02T09:42:00.020-04:00

Ahhhhh, camping season is BACK!!! We took our first trip to a favorite state park for Memorial Day weekend. The kids got the Friday before off from school as they didn't use a couple snow days over the winter. So we packed up and headed out Thursday evening. Drew brought a friend from school with her for the trip. Below, are a few of the many kids roasting marshmallows on Friday night. Friday was cool and rainy all day and everyone needed jackets in the evening, but the weather turned beautiful as the weekend progressed.

The weather got warm and dry enough by Sunday that the kiddie pool and water guns came out!

Even with the crummy weather starting the weekend, everyone managed to have a blast as usual! We're looking forward to our next trip! As hinted in my last post, we finally finished off Luci's room. She is now the happy resident of her very own ballet studio! I found these decals on ebay and they are just perfect!! They look black in the picture, but are actually brown.

These cute curtains match her new bedding set.

Well, the green desk kind of throws off the whole color scheme in her room, but she only just got this desk at Xmas, so I wasn't about to go get her a new one! She'll have to deal! I took a bunch of her old dance costumes from recitals past and actually hung them on the walls and her closet door! They add a nice touch!

Luci has her own personal ballet barre!

This antique 3/4 bed was given to us many years ago and it has been collecting dust in the attic. But it is a perfect fit in her new room!

The barre is slightly higher than it should be for her height, but she manages to stretch those beautiful legs up there anyway! Both girls have once again decided to attend the Rebecca Kelly ballet camp this summer, and yet again, I have a wedding to shoot, so I'll miss the recital just like last year...I am SOOO bummed about that!! But I have blocked off 2 weekends in July 2012 so I won't book another wedding around the recital again!!! I'd rather watch my girls dance than make money! Ha ha!! Anyway, Luci loves her new room as she is totally focused on ballet right now. And I love that she loves it, too! I wasn't a great candidate for it as a kid, so my parents didn't encourage it in me, but I love ballet as well. I would love to bring the girls to a real ballet performance, just to see their faces! Someday....

Today's Quotes:

“Everything is beautiful at the ballet... “ ~from “A Chorus Line”

“Ballet is a dance executed by the human soul.” ~Alexander Pushkin

Long post, lots of pics!!

2011-05-23T19:36:00.058-04:00

My poor computer needs some TLC because it took me 2 whole days to get this post up...SLOOOWWWW!! But, now it's up, so here we go! Let's see...well, surprise, surprise, Luci lost yet another tooth! My 6 year old has now lost more teeth naturally than her 9 year old sister!! The lone difference with this tooth is that she actually pulled it out herself, rather than let me yank it!

I'm wondering how she manages to eat with this many teeth missing!! Remind me to put some chapstick on this kid!

Well, Dean and I took some foster care/adoption classes 2 years ago in the hopes of adopting at least one more, but our journey had to wait until our house was done to pass the home inspection. The longer we waited, the less I really wanted another child! Dean would still love to go through with it, but I'm pretty sure I'm done. So, that back bedroom we had on reserve for kid #3 was now designated for Drew as she had been asking to have her own room for a while now. She is a neat freak and Luci, well, she's not! Drew was very annoyed that her room was never clean because she refused to pick up after her sister! Ahhhh, the joys of sisterhood! So, we got to work on finishing that back bedroom which has been sitting in its unfinished state for 3 years now. As it was a clean slate, Drew got to pick out colors and the theme. I don't know about moms of other 9 year olds, but apparently peace signs are all the rage!! So she got a bright, groovy peace room! Here's Dean mudding the sheet-rock.

We put the girls to work scraping sheet-rock mud off the floor with scrapers.

Finally! The painting can begin!!! Drew starts with the primer!

I got busy and made this headboard all by myself!! Lowes cut the sheet of plywood down to my dimensions, and I got out the jigsaw and cut this wavy design in it. The rest was easy stuff, fabric, foam, batting, staple gun......and voila! I think it turned out fantastic!!!

Here is the color Drew picked out for her walls! Warning:sunglasses required!! Drew and I made the artwork on the wall.

Window trim up, ready to be painted!

The floor is just a sub-floor as we intend to put hardwood in eventually, but that's low on the priority list, so we just painted it for now. Again, Drew chose the color!! Yikes! But it is now done!

The fish tank now resides under the artwork in this bare spot, but it hadn't been moved yet at the time of this picture.

Drew loves her new room!

Once we got Drew settled into her new room, we started right away re-doing Luci's. It is all but finished, but I haven't taken any pics yet because there are just a few last minute additions we're waiting for before I do. But here's a little hint...Luci made this sign for her door!

On Friday, May 20th, Drew turned 9 years old!!!! I cannot believe I have a 9 year old!!!!! We had a small family party for her on Friday evening and a friend slumber party on Saturday. Here is the cake for Friday. AGAIN with the peace signs!!! (Earlier that day, I sent 24 peace sign cupcakes to school!)

Papa had to get his "peace sign" in, too!!

The birthday hat!

Meema's gift of Orbeez was a big hit!!

Darcy giving out the kisses to Meema!

My dad has successfully turned my girls into Yankees fans!

Mazin' Hamsters, we got her 3 of them.

And a Webkinz Hippo with what else, a peace sign on it's butt!

Grandma and Grandpa filled a card with $$!

Ha ha!! I HAD to include this hilarious shot! She was having a really hard time breaking the tape on the gift from Dan, Tina and the kids.

When she finally managed to open it, inside she found a pair of cool peace sign earrings!

Saturday afternoon, the girls had their recital, but I'll post those after all the birthday pics. Moving right along, here are a few shots from the beginning of her slumber party Saturday evening.

One of her cards played the song Happy Birthday using barking dogs. Monty is definitely interested!

The next five pics are the girls' dance pictures. Drew and Luci had a ballet duet and were dressed in Chinese outfits.

Both groups. The older girls in white and the younger set in pink. Drew is on the left 2nd row, Luci is in front, standing in the middle, and my niece Sonja is in front on the left kneeling.

The girls wait in the auditorium before the recital.

This little cutie-pie is Brynn. She is here because her parents fell right in love with Drew when we brought her home! They decided to start the process and brought her home a couple years later! She is tiny, just like Drew. You'd never know she is 5! She looks 3 at most!

Here are the younger girls, minus one.

The older girls, again minus one.

Drew's group on stage during their first number.

I LOVE this shot of Drew! She is simply stunning!

This shot was taken by another audience member and posted on facebook. She tagged me in it, so I stole it for the blog! That beaming smile remained on her face the whole time she was on stage!

Luci in her first number. Her ballet teacher pulled me aside and absolutely insisted that I keep Luci in ballet. Apparently, not only does she have the perfect body type, the perfect feet and perfect timing, but she's got the heart for it as well! She told me that Luci has the potential to go very far in ballet if she sticks with it! Good thing she loves it so much!! Just wish I lived someplace closer to a decent ballet school! Though, at her age, she's fine in her current dance studio for now. If she sticks with it, we'll figure out our options when the time comes.

Luci doesn't smile nearly as much on stage, but it's because she takes it so seriously and is concentrating on perfecting her steps. (She's a bit of a perfectionist...just wish some of that perfectionism would transfer into keeping her room clean! Ha ha!)

Another of Luci's costumes. She danced to "A, You're Adorable" in this bunny outfit.

Part of the dance was shaking her cotton tail! Very cute!

Drew and Luci in their "Tea" number.

In other news, my scale informs me that I have now lost 62 pounds!!! My workout partner, Sue and I changed our gym time from after-school to 5:30am before school. I never thought I'd really enjoy it as I am NOT a morning person, but I'm surprised to find that I actually love it!! I go before the girls wake-up and when I arrive home, they are already dressed and doing their hair! The schedule is perfect! UNFORTUNATELY, last week Sue broke her ankle!!!! Oh no!!!! But, I still go to the gym all by myself as there is a selct group of the same people at the gym every morning that I talk to. One of those is actually a former physical education teacher of mine from high-school! She and her work-out partner give me every incentive to keep going by giving me shit if I don't show up! Ha ha!!! Love it!! This weekend is our first camping trip of the season!!!!! Yay!!!! I SOOOO love camping and this long, cold winter and long, wet spring have given me camping fever very badly!!!! Rain is forecasted for the entire weekend, what else is new, but that hasn't "dampened" my spirits!! I'll love it rain or shine!!

Today's Quotes:

Your birthday is a special time to celebrate the gift of 'you' to the world. ~unknown

I think most dancers would agree that the art of ballet chooses the dancer, not the other way around. ~Kevin Mckenzie

Bunny stuff, singing stuff and a very silly doggie!

2011-05-01T20:11:00.033-04:00

Easter is nothing but a family holiday in this house. We don't go to church and we don't celebrate the rising of anything except the sun for another day. But we do the other usual Easter stuff that involves egss, candy and a very looked-forward-to bunny! Let's start with the eggs. The week before Easter was Spring Break, so the girls did some sleeping-over at friends', cousins' and grandparents's houses. They also hosted some of their own sleep-overs. In the shots below, we see the girls, my niece and nephew, Sonja and Max and my other "niece", Kaydence all decorating some eggs for the big day. I boiled three 18 packs of eggs and set the table up with newspaper and lots of dye....and let them have at it!

L to R: Drew, Luci, Sonja, Kay and Max with their creations!

When Easter finally arrived, here's what the bunny left them! Candy, of course, but also some make-up, toys, jewelry and a couple new ipods! The girls left the bunny some cookies, which were gobbled up by the time the morning arrived! The girls also each wrote the bunny a note wishing him a happy Easter! He wrote them back wishing them the same!

Checking out the loot!

Again this year, the weather cooperated enough to allow an outdoor egg hunt! They needed jackets, but at least there wasn't any snow!!

Last week was Drew's spring concert. Here, she models her new concert dress, shoes and jewelry! She is a stunner, as usual!

Waiting in the high-school auditorium for her turn on the risers!

Sonja and Luci wait patiently in their seats for Drew's turn!

Miss Shorty in the front row, as usual!

In this shot, she was turning a wheel on a stick. 3 others did as well to emulate a large vehicle as they sang Chitty, Chitty Bang, Bang.

After the concert, the girls all posed together.

Drew will turn 9 in just a few short weeks, while Luci and Sonja are both 6. And yet, the 6 year olds are both taller than the 9 year old!

Dean hopped on the 4-wheeler to drag the harrow rake around the yard to pull up some thatch and Mr. Darcy chased after him. Dean was a little concerned that he'd hurt himself, so he reached down and scopped him up to the seat. After a little while, he decided riding was a much better deal than running!

What a goofy dog!

I arrived home today back from my chorus' regional competition in Syracuse. Our chorus nabbed the 2nd place win for the Small Chorus Category!!!!! It's not a 1st place win, but we're still very pleased as we raised our score about 20 points or so from last year's score!! The winning chorus (from Saratoga, NY)performed phenomenally well and deserved their victory!! Beating out all the rest of the small choruses (about 15 or so in our region) is not too shabby at all and we are deservedly proud of our achievement!

On the weight-loss front, when I last stepped on the scale, I found I have lost 57 pounds! Of course, I have yet to try it again after this past weekend of eating and drinking! Ha ha! Tomorrow, it's back to the grindstone when my work-out partner and I meet up at the gym again!

I'm skipping out on the quotes today, I am bushed from my mini-vaca from home and my bed is calling! Goodnight!

Poor Tooth Fairy!!!

2011-04-11T11:42:00.004-04:00

Hmmm, am wondering about the wisdom of the trading of money for teeth...Luci did it again! The very next day after losing her other top baby tooth, she came to me and said, "Mommy, look how loose THIS tooth is!!" I peered in her mouth, grabbed the indicated tooth and gave it a little wiggle. It was by far the loosest tooth she has ever had! I checked all her teeth the night before and it was the wiggliest of her remaining choppers, but it was by no means as loose as it was now! She must have been reaming pretty good on it all morning! So, I tied the string around it (absolutely NO hemming and hawing this time!!! Ha ha!) and one little tug was all it took! I didn't even yank, just pulled a bit and out it popped!

Of course, she requested and received another $5 and now she is richer than I am!!! What a kid! Just waiting for her to come say, "I've got a loose tooth again!" any day now! Pretty soon she won't be able to eat!!!

The Tooth Fairy strikes again!

2011-04-09T08:31:00.004-04:00

Luci has had a loose front tooth now for months. I always reminded her to wiggle, wiggle, wiggle...and she would for a few minutes and forget about it again. I wasn't in a hurry to get this thing out of her, I knew it would go EVENTUALLY even if she never touched it. But last night, I got a bug up my butt to finally get it gone and talked her into letting me give it a yank. She hemmed and hawed for quite a while doing what a 6 year old does best, but eventually she gave in and let me try it. I wrapped a double piece of dental floss around it THREE times...each time the floss broke when I pulled. So I broke out the big guns and tied a thin length of ribbon around it, not really thinking it would stay put. But it did and out popped that stubborn tooth! As usual, Luci shed not a tear and giggled at her reflection in the mirror even as the blood oozed out of the gaping hole left behind! The defensless victim was no match for the ribbon!

As usual, the Tooth Fairy received an explanatory note from Luci, telling her the date and time and how much money she would like in return. On the outside of the envelope, are Luci's decorations and greetings.

The Tooth Fairy indeed came last night and left Luci her $5 that she requested. The Tooth Fairy has gotten very generous in her old age...I used to get a dollar, and even THAT was a lot back then when most kids were getting just a quarter! The Tooth Fairy is also going broke! Ha ha!

Today's Quotes:

Losing baby teeth were a part and parcel of one's life - a symbol of growing up, and it is the tooth-fairy that makes this otherwise dreaded and painful process an exciting one - something to look forward to. ~Mansi Maheshwari

The tooth fairy teaches children that they can sell body parts for money. ~David Richerby

Updates

2011-04-04T10:44:00.005-04:00

Well, not too much going on right now, which explains the lack of posting! And no pics in this post, just a quick update on life in our neck of the woods! The weather is SLOWLY starting to feel like spring around here. The days are creeping into the lower 50's which, though not terribly warm, is a much welcomed relief after this seemingly never-ending winter! I have appealed to anyone looking for some extra cash...I'll pay a small fortune to hire a hitman to "take care of" Old Man Winter! The old geezer is too stubborn to die!! I'm sure we'll see more snow before he finally relinquishes his hold on the North Country! Today is rainy, a sure sign of spring! And though I don't consider a cool, rainy day by any means wonderful, it is surely better than cold and snow! Luci's class held their annual class play, the same play Drew was a part of in her first grade year...The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Like her sister before her, Luci was chosen to help make the props and set for the play as opposed to acting a part. She wanted to play the Little Billy Goat, but they chose another kid. A good lesson in "you can't win 'em all!" Anyway, we went to see the short but sweet production and she didn't seem to be upset about not being able to act in it, so it was a success! Maybe in her 2nd grade class play she'll be able to play a part! We're looking forward to Spring Break starting this Friday. The girls' school gave them 2 unused snow days back, so they are off on Friday and they also get the Friday before Memorial Day weekend off as well. That'll be nice as we can add it to our already booked camping trip! Speaking of camping, we have booked Mem Day weekend at one of our fave campgrounds that's not too far a drive from home and we've also booked a weekend at Jellystone in Mexico, NY. As yet, we have plans but have not booked yet a trip to Enchanted Forest/Water Safari in Old Forge, NY and also a trip to Ausable Chasm in the Adirondacks this year. Here's a place I've always wanted to visit and never have, so that'll be exciting! As for Spring Break, we're not going anywhere exciting, as usual, but I DO look forward to shutting the alarm clock off for 10 days! My Sweet Adelines chorus is gearing up for our annual regional competition in Syracuse, NY at the end of this month. We've worked very hard, and are bringing 2 brand new songs to the stage, so I'm not sure how we'll finish. The odds are stacked against us for winning First Place with new songs, but we'll try our best and maybe surprise ourselves! My sister-in-law, Tina, has taken the plunge and decided to join the chorus! I'm happy to have a companion during my 40 minute commute to rehearsal and I hope she loves it as much as I do! She just joined, so it is too late for her to be able to compete with us this month, but she'll be coming along to see what our competitions are all about and to root for the home team!!! We'll be rooming together, so that ought to be lots of fun, even if we don't end up winning! I'll bring the wine and we can either celebrate or commiserate together! Ha ha! Update on the weight-loss front...my plateau has seemingly decided to end as I have now lost 53 pounds!! That's a 35 pound loss since joining the gym in October 2010!! Not too shabby for a 40 year old! It'll be interesting to see what weight my body decides I should be! I've already bought a bathing suit in a size too small in anticipation of summer, but it wouldn't hurt my feelings if I never got to wear it because it ended up being too large by the time swimming weather arrives! :-) Ah, the tricks I play with myself!! It'll be money well-worth spent if that happens, if only for my self-confidence! Hopefully my next post will have pictures...maybe of day trips we decided to take during Spring Break??? We shall see! Until then..... (I'll skip the quotes today!)

March Musings

2011-03-22T08:15:00.019-04:00

Well, it's officially spring! Too bad it doesn't feel like spring! It's still in the 30's here, and though the snow is all but gone, it is still chilly. Patience is a virtue, they say, but I guess I'm not very virtuous because I have cabin fever in the worst way!! Each winter I go through sees me with less and less patience for the snow and cold during such a LONG winter as we always have. I dream of a warmer climate, but it is just that, a dream. Dean will never leave his job up here, nor his family, so here I am stuck...in a cold, frozen tundra until mid-May when the temps finally start resembling something akin to warm. SIGH!!

In brighter news...I'm still enjoying going to the gym (amazingly!!) and it has really paid off thus far! Since 08/09 I have dropped a total of 49 pounds!! I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the idea that I really DO wear a smaller size!! FOUR sizes smaller, in fact! When I first bought a pair of pants in my new size, I thought it was just the brand but that I was probably a size bigger in other brands. On a recent shopping trip for jeans, I brought 3 different sizes in with me to the fitting room. As it turned out, every brand I tried on was the same new size! I didn't need the 2 larger sizes I brought in!! I am VERY pleased with my progress...though I have been plateauing at the 49 mark now for weeks! Methinks it's time to step up my workout again!

Anyway, onto the picture portion of my post! The girls' school celebrated Dr. Suess' birthday with a week-long reading party. The Wednesday of that week was deemed Wacky Wednesday and the kids were encouraged to dress wacky. Luci got right into it and here's her outfit!

Drew, as she ages, becomes more reserved. She opted for a Halloween tee and striped pants, but wouldn't let me make her hair crazy. She's growing up, I guess!!

My workout partner, Sue, is the Pre-Kindergarten teacher at the girls' school. The teachers were also encouraged to get a little wacky and here's what she came up with! She poses with Randy, one of our camping buddies.

After school got out for the day, I took Luci's hair out of the 4 crazy buns I put it in and this is what her hair looked like afterwards!

2 wweekends ago, the girls' Girl Scout neighborhood hosted a swim ingathering. Luci was supposed to go, but she caught the local flu-bug and was left at home in tears and with a nsty temp. (Thankfully, her only symptom was a 6-day long temp!) So, I brought Drew and she had a great time.

Thursday, the 17th, was my birthday. Not just ANY birthday, but my 40th!! Yikes! I am getting old!! Ha ha! Anyway, since getting my Pandora bracelet for Xmas, getting gifts for me has become a little easier for everyone! Here's the charm Dean gave me. It is not a Pandora, but rather a Silverado charm. Buddha sits atop a Murano glass globe. I LOVE this!!!!

Tina had the same idea, but she got me the Pandora version Buddha!!

And Julie got me this Pandora "Best Friends" charm! I was definitely feeling the love by my friends and family this year!!

This past Saturday, we all went out to a local dive to party! Here's Julie and Sue getting their groove on out on the dance floor!

Julie and Al doing a wheelchair dance! Many years ago, Al lost the use of his legs due to a motorcycle accident. But he has weathered the storm pretty well and is as happy as he was before his accident thanks to lots of family and friend support! When I was in high school, I had the biggest crush on this guy! Julie used to date his older brother and that's how we met. I have a picture of Al and I holding hands at a beach, but we never did end up dating. Anyway, he's a great guy who is lots of fun!

The next day, the girls' school hosted a family swim day at the high school. So we grabbed Sonja and even Papa went!

Sonja dons some floaties!

Dean gives Luci a toss into the air!

An underwater shot of Drew. Drew finally got brave enough to give up the floaties and learn how to tread water. She is quite proud of herself!! (I think she was a little embarrassed watching a Kindergartner swimming in the deep end without floaties!)

Today's Quotes:

One good husband is worth two good wives, for the scarcer things are, the more they are valued. ~Benjamin Franklin

When you look at your life the greatest happiness are family happinesses. ~Dr. Joyce Brothers

A blessed thing it is for any man or woman to have a friend, one human soul whom we can trust utterly, who knows the best and worst of us, and who loves us in spite of all our faults. ~Charles Kingsley

Happy Gotcha Day!!!

2011-03-02T18:25:00.002-05:00

How in the world did eight years fly by so quickly????? Our oldest daughter, Drew, was placed in our arms for the very first time on March 2, 2003!!! What a joyful cryfest that was!! I remember every detail so vividly that I just cannot believe it was so long ago!! Happy Gotcha Day, Drew! We love you so much...even more so with each passing day!!

A little work...

2011-03-02T08:10:00.008-05:00

Living in the North Country means dealing with all kinds of weather. In the winter, there's snow and ice and in the spring it's mud. We finished the addition on the house back in '08 (or was it '09??? The memory isn't so good anymore! Ha ha!) Anyway, the hardwood flooring in the kitchen by the back door...the door we use most often...has taken a beating with all the water from shoes. So, we decided to install a tile entryway. Here's the before shot. We took down the baseboard trim and you can see where Dean has cut the wood where the tile will be. On the right, you can see the tiles I picked out. They are slate, and I love the colors!

Here, Dean has removed the closet door (we have included a closet reorganization in this project, as you can see it was desperately needed!)

Wood gone, and tile backer board has been placed.

This is the part where I took over. I tiled the bulk of our master bathroom and found that I happen to be pretty good at it, so I volunteered to do this job as well! Tiles have been laid with spacers and we're just waiting for the adhesive to dry.

Here is the finished product! Grouted, sealed, trim replaced and painted, doors painted and the closet has new shelves and bins installed, but I didn't include them in the picture. I LOVE how it turned out!! This picture doesn't do these slate tiles justice!! Might just have to do this to the other two doors eventually!!

Today's Quote:

The artist is nothing without the gift, but the gift is nothing without work. ~Emile Zola

The Canadian Museum of Nature

2011-02-26T18:24:00.037-05:00

On Friday, we decided to bring the girls to Canada once again to visit a museum. The choice this time, The Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa. The exhibits ranged anywhere from the history of dinosaurs, to bugs, birds, rocks, ocean life and wildlife in different climates. The first exhibit we visited was about the dinosaurs. In the picture below, Luci touches a piece of fossilized dino poop!

There were multitudes of dino skeletons all over the place.

Drew pumps a lever which replicates how this particular dino may have sounded.

My third child, Dean, has his own kind of fun!

Teeny Drew is just a snack for this hungry juvenile T-rex!

At least the girls have a model for learning humor!! (No matter how vulgar!!)

This is the BIGGEST elevator I have ever been in!! It was designed for large visiting groups of field trip students!

Just a quick rest before the next exhibit!

Here is a model of the museum. It looks like a castle!! The building is old, and I forget the history of it at present, but on the backside is a newly built tower of glass called The Queen's Lantern named for the pretty display at night. Google the museum to learn the history and see pics of the tower.

Checking out a large salt-water aquarium...trying to spot and identify all the listed species.

This is a skeleton of a blue whale. It was, to say the least, mammoth!!

What I wouldn't give for a lobster this size on my dinner plate!!!

Looking out a porthole of a ship mock-up.

No, I didn't ask this boy to be in the picture, but the girls thought he was pretty cute! The only Asian boy they ever see on a regular basis is their cousin, Max!

Checking out what a submersible exploration vehicle is like.

It may have been chilly outside, but this Arctic exhibit was toasty, at least!

Drew peeking up through a seal hole...look out for those polar bears!!

Peek-a-boo!!

Playing around some more!

This was taken in The Queen's Lantern...I was several tiers down.

Seeing what satellite images of the surface of the Earth look like!

What a polar bear den might look like.

Following penguin tracks.

There were penguin costumes for the kids to put on and try sliding down a "frozen" hill on their bellies, just like penguins do! Drew's up first!

Luci's turn!

Even my third child gets dressed up!

And gives the sliding a try!!

Luci puts eggs in an incubator...

A station where you could listen to bird calls and try to imitate them.

It was a fun day for all. It didn't take too long to see everything in this museum, it wasn't very large. But we enjoyed ourselves nonetheless! I'll be researching the other museums within driving distance for the next outing!!

Today's Quotes:

Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere. ~Chinese Proverb

All the world is a laboratory to the inquiring mind. ~Martin H. Fischer

Sneakers and Snow!

2011-02-24T21:25:00.013-05:00

Not TOO much going on in the last month or so, a few things. First up, yesterday, my mom showed up and plopped down a little white box with the word "Pandora" on it. I opened it up and inside was another charm for my nearly full bracelet! It is a charm with a little sneaker on it! As you may know, I have been working really hard to lose weight and get healthier. I joined the gym this past October and I have managed to drop a whopping 27 pounds since then!! In the fall of '09, I dropped an initial 18 pounds, which brings my grand total to 45 pounds!!!!!!!! I can scarcely believe it myself!! My mom is so proud of my achievement (and I am, too!), that she had offered to buy me an expensive pair of jeans when I reach my goal. The only problem with that is, I don't really have a goal and I'm not in all that much of a hurry to lose the weight. I am letting it happen as it happens. I know there will be plateaus and possibly (though not freakin' likely!) small weight gains throughout my journey. So, instead she bought me this charm to recognize my hard work! A sneaker to represent my workouts! It is a very meaningful symbol for me...both for the hard work and for my self-empowerment! Thank you so much, Mom!! I truly do love it!!!

Earlier this month, Mother Nature decided that we needed some more snow! So after a storm or two, I brought the girls over to Scott and Sue's house to make snowmen with Darien and Jeb. Before they started building, they had some sliding fun with the big snowbanks Scott made with the plow.

Onto the snowman making!! I brought over a bag full of old hats, scarves and mittens to donate for our snow people!

Today's Quote:

When friends tell you how awesome you look, drop the "I still have more to go" crap. You worked hard and you deserve the compliment! ~Jillian Michaels

Arts, Smarts and Sesame Chicken!

2011-02-04T10:35:00.021-05:00

Back in September of last year, for my mother's birthday, my brother decided to give her a tattoo for her birthday. For those who don't know, my brother is a tattoo artist. My mom decided to get a portrait of her princesses, Drew and Luci. Here's the start...

Admiring the first stage...

Here's what the first stage looked like when he was done.

Last week, he completed the tattoo. Here is the finished masterpiece! The top phrase is "I love you Meema!" in Drew's handwriting. The bottom, "You're the best!" is Luci's handwriting. My brother is especially good at portrait work and my mom just loves it!

Just another photo of the little diva, Mia. The old adage is true with this dog...the smaller the dog, the bigger the attitude! She can certainly hold her own against Darcy!!

Yesterday was the beginning of the Chinese new year, also known as Spring Festival. We have a long standing tradition of going to a local Chinese restaurant for dinner on the first night of the new year...and last night was no exception! Here's the whole gang!

This morning, Drew and Luci's school held their monthly award assembly. Both girls received awards! Here's Luci showing off her math bracelet! The school participates in an online math program and when a student reaches 500 points, they're awarded a yellow bracelet!

Drew's score is over a 1000 which earned her the next level bracelet, red! She received her yellow bracelet 2 assemblies ago! She should very well get the next color, blue, at the next assembly since she's only about 50 points away from 2000, the required score for blue. After that, if she gets to 3000, she'll get a multi-colored bracelet, a prize the whole student body covets! There was one student who earned a special certificate today for having a score of 8000!! Wow! I can't imagine he does anything else all day long on weekends or afterschool to have that many points but to be glued to his computer!! Not so sure I want my kids getting a score that high if they neglect EVERYTHING else!!

Next came Luci's award for creative writing! Her teachers tell me all the time how smart and advanced she is! I happened to work in her classroom one afternoon last week as a sub aide and that's all I heard about!

Here's Drew getting her award for spelling! This is NO surprise as she consistently gets 100 for all her spelling tests she brings home!

The school doesn't inform the parents ahead of time for what the students will be recognized, so I was completely surprised when they called the names of the high honor roll students and Drew's name was among them!! (Luci will have to wait until 3rd grade before she becomes eligible to earn honor roll!) I know she is smart, but in 1st and 2nd grade she really struggled with math and reading. The school even put her in extra help classes for both subjects. When I'd help her with homework, it was very frustrating as she just didn't seem like she was grasping concepts or comprehending what she read. I figured we'd have academic struggles with her throughout school. But this year, something seems to have clicked in her brain! On her last report card, she achieved the honor roll...and now she's on the high honor roll! I am proud, pleased and happy as can be to know she is doing so well in school! Here she is standing next to her friend Makayla as they call all the names.

My workout partner, camping buddy and good friend Sue is a teacher at the school, but she had a doctor's appointment out of town today to which her husband, Scott, drove her. So neither of them could make it to the assembly to see their son, Jeb, win FOUR awards!!! So, I happily snapped a bunch of pictures for them!

Here's Drew posing with her spelling award and red math bracelet.

And Luci posing with her creative writing award and yellow bracelet!

Fate and Karma have blessed me beyond measure with my 2 girls...not only are they beautiful, but more importantly, they are super-smart little cookies and Dean and I couldn't be more proud of them!!!

Today's Quotes:

Children are apt to live up to what you believe of them. ~Lady Bird Johnson

Listen to the desires of your children. Encourage them and then give them the autonomy to make their own decision. ~Denis Waitley

Success is getting what you want; happiness is wanting what you get. ~Author Unknown

And the winner is.....

2011-01-29T13:14:00.008-05:00

Mia! That's the name my dad chose for his newest little cutie-pie! Mia is definitely a people-puppy! She loves people and constantly wants to be held. Luci decided to park her butt in Papa's room and Mia then decided to park HER butt on Luci's lap for a little nap. This is the room the dogs usually prefer to hang out in during the day, both because my dad's usually in here for most of the day and also because he has a propane heater going during the winter months and it's the warmest room in the house! As you can see, Luci is surrounded by pooches!

Although I thought he was too young to really be jealous, he is VERY jealous of Mia! Last night when I brought her home, he loved nothing more than to romp around and play with her. Today, on the other hand, I think he realized that she's not going anywhere and has put a serious cramp in his "I'm the baby, gotta love me!" lifestyle! Ha ha!! Monty has resigned himself to a new puppy and even baby doesn't give her much attitude, but Darcy is just beside himself!

She is absolutely adorable! Her teeny little head is no bigger than a small plum!

Luci told me she needs her beauty sleep!

My gorgeous Luci.

You can't see it in this picture, but Mia was apparently born with a bobtail. If you look at the last post, in the video clip it is plain to see.

Gluttons for punishment!

2011-01-28T21:14:00.006-05:00

We just can't get enough of those cute little dogs, I guess! Welcome to our new baby...well, technically, she's my dad's new baby, but since she'll reside with all of us, let's just call her another family member! She is a Chihuahua and is 11 weeks old. She doesn't have a name yet, my dad's working on that. I don't really prefer the names he's leaning towards, but it IS his dog! She loves to be held and I can tell she's going to be VERY spoiled!!

Kisses for her new papa!

Just LOOK at that adorable little face!!

Along with her love of being held, she's very frisky and loves to play!

A little clip of the new baby playing with Darcy. Darcy is such a small dog, but next to her, he looks huge!! He's only about 4 pounds or so!

Today's Quotes:

Dogs' lives are too short. Their only fault, really. ~Carlotta O'Neill

Happiness is a warm puppy. ~Charles M. Schulz

Winter blahs...winter FUN!!

2011-01-18T07:16:00.079-05:00

It's getting to be that time of year...the holidays are over. The hustle and bustle of keeping busy over Xmas and New Year's has died down and what's left but the dreariness of a frigid winter with nothing much to do unless you're an avid winter outdoorsman...which we are not! The girls had yesterday off in honor of Martin Luther King, jr. So we decided to make a weekend of it and find something fun for us all to do. I did some online searching and leaned toward an indoor waterpark. I checked Lake George and Niagara Falls, but due to the last minute planning, the prices were too exhorbitant to justify. So I changed directions and looked north...of the border, that is! I found a hotel in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada that boasted it had "Ottawa's Only Indoor Water Park!" So we decided to make it a 2-night stay and we intended on leaving on Saturday. Unfortunately, the weather decided not to cooperate and it started snowing. Dean plows snow in the winter and he couldn't leave his customers unplowed, so we nixed one night and left on Sunday instead, which actually worked out to our benefit! We arrived at the hotel and had a few hours to kill before the pool area opened, so Dean and the girls had a wrestling match in the room!

A little bed jumping is always fun...as long as it's not on the beds at home! Ha ha!!

Interesting story on the bathing suit Luci is wearing...I bought this suit about 9 years ago while Dean and I were waiting to adopt Drew. I saw it in a store and it reminded me of one my mother used to wear in the 70's, except that my mother's was made out of real denim and this one is just denim-colored spandex. I absolutely love this suit and couldn't wait until Drew would fit into it. Fast forward 8 years, Drew is finally big enough to fit into it and she hates it! Luci, on the other hand, loves it...so I guess the investment was worth it after-all! Ha ha!! If only I could look this great in a bathing suit!! (I'm getting there, slowly but surely!! I'm down 36 pounds from the summer of '09!)

Finally, the time arrived and we headed down to the pool area. There was a small kiddie pool that the girls headed to first. Initially, the fountain was not on, and just as I snapped this picture, it started and drenched a very surprised Drew as she waded underneath it!

After a few minutes playing under the fountain, the girls wanted to go in the wave pool.

Here's the view of the whole pool area from the wave pool.

And high above, the water slide! The battery on my camera decided to die before I got any shots of us all on the slide, so I didn't get any of those, but we all had a lot of fun sliding down many times.

I LOVE owning a waterproof camera!

Luci started getting cold and Drew complained of a tummy ache after about an hour of water fun, so we got out, got dressed and walked across the road to Rockin' Johnnys, a 50's themed diner restaurant (certainly a Canadian knock-off of Johnny Rockets!) Mid-way thru dinner, Drew informed us that she wasn't feeling well at all. So, after dinner, we headed back to the hotel to take it easy and watch movies on tv. Drew deposited what dinner she ate into the toilet a couple of times and we all went to bed. Here's the girls just as they nodded off to sleep.

At about midnight, Dean and I awoke to the sounds of wretching. By the light of the tv, I looked over and saw Drew leaned directly over her sleeping sister and vomitting right on her head! Ahhhh!!!! Luci never even stirred! We ran Drew to the bathroom, I grabbed some towels and wiped Luci up and still she didn't wake up! I literally had to pull her out of bed and physically walk her to the bathroom to wash her up and remove her jammies...but I still don't think she was quite awake! After everyone was clean and feeling better, back to bed they went and the rest of the night was uneventful! Thank goodness!! Ha ha! In the morning, Drew announced she felt much better and she wanted to continue with the day's events. Luci woke up and wondered where her jammies went to...I knew she wasn't awake! She laughed when we told what had transpired the night before!

Dean and I, on the otherhand, weren't quite as chipper as a combination of cleaning up the girls and tossing and turning in rock-hard hotel beds made the night's sleep not so wonderful! As evidenced by this shot...ha ha!

Luci lounges in bed eating her breakfast of champions, cheddar popcorn!

Since Drew was feeling great, we decided to go ahead with the plan and hit the Canadian Museum of Civilization. This museum had a lot of different exhibits and sections, but the main gist of the whole place is the history of Canada's people. Here's the first section we viewed, a history of Canadian natives.

There was a set of four huge paintings on the wall, all part of a set called, "Seasons". They were painted by a contemporary Canadian artist whose name escapes me at the moment, but my favorite, seen here, is ironically titled Winter, considering I have such a dislike for the actual season of winter!

Lunch time in the museum.

Here is the view from the wall of windows of the museum cafeteria. The building is the Canadian Parliament Building in Ottawa. The museum itself is located in Gatineau, Quebec just over the river.

Just playing around with the camera...close-up of my handsome husband! I love his pretty eyes!

Drew plays peekaboo!

And Luci shows us what her teeth look like after eating a chicken burger and brownie. Yum!

After lunch, we headed back into the exhibits. Drew is shown in a replica of a school house called Toles School. The school was specifically for black students in the early to mid 1800's.

Luci practices some writing.

Something you hardly ever see anymore...payphones!

Luci loved the "elevator stairs".

Much of the place was decorated for the upcoming Chinese New Year. The museum was located very near Ottawa's Chinatown.

There was a very impressive Children's museum in the main museum as well. I used to be impressed with The Strong Museum of Play in Rochester, NY until I saw this place! IT WAS AWESOME!!! Here, the girls try on costumes and make their stage debut!

This costume fits Luci's personality perfectly!

There were several places where the kids could stop and make arts and crafts. Here, they make jewelry.

Why even bother with the afety glasses?! Ha ha!

Drew models her new bracelet.

And Luci shows off her necklace.

A very colorful bus, I think representative of the kind you'd see in India. Drew mans the wheel.

I don't think Dean's ready for Drew's driving yet!

This form of transportation is a little safer, I think!

The girls each received a "passport" upon entering and they had to stamp each page as they went through at different stamping stations.

Luci makes a tin butterfly in Mexico.

Drew's...donkey?

Dean reveled in this part...since he works at the locks back at home. He sees this stuff at work in real life, so when he saw this boat crane, he got right into it with the girls!

Swabbin' the deck!

Drew tries out the typical bed in ancient Egypt. This little room, among others, was in a huge pyramid replica that was too big for my camera to to get!

Camel rides, anyone?

My third child plays some sort of middle eastern instrument.

Puppet show!

And who's behind the screen making shadows???

Luci's a girl after my own heart!

Kimonos and a zen garden...in Japan!

More arts and crafts!

Drew's creation.

And Luci's little guy.

Well, we spent a little bit of money, but it was all worth it! The girls had a blast...even with the unfortunate 24 hour belly bug incident! I'm so glad the girls are finally at an age to really start appreciating museums, I absolutely love them and to be able to go on a semi-regular basis really excites me! During next month's break, we intend to go to another museum in Ottawa with the girls, The Museum of Natural History. That one has dinosaurs in it, which the girls are really excited about! It's been many many years since I've been there and I confess I'm excited, too!

Today's Quote:

Living is like tearing through a museum. Not until later do you really start absorbing what you saw, thinking about it, looking it up in a book, and remembering - because you can't take it in all at once. ~Audrey Hepburn

Mr. Darcy is now Dapper Dan!

2011-01-13T08:08:00.011-05:00

I'm not the only one with a new haircut...Mr. Darcy had his very first trip to the groomer yesterday! I was just so used to seeing him all fluffly and scruffy, that I wasn't sure I would really like the outcome of a haircut for him! But, being a poodle, NOT getting groomed is NOT an option!! Matted hair can be painful and the hair that grows in their ears can cause ear infections! So off he went! Here's Mr. Scruffy before.

And here's the result...SO adorable!! He weighs somewhere between 3 and a half to 4 pounds, but it looks like the groomer took 5 pounds of hair off of him!!

I can't believe I was worried that I wouldn't like the new haircut!! He's so cute now!

Friends of ours, Jody and Dallas, have a female toy poodle named Five-O who is just one week older than Darcy. I was telling her that the two of them would make beautiful puppies together!! The only problems with that scenario: 1.) They're both too young yet. Mr. Darcy's umm, equipment hasn't even developed yet!! (And as soon as he's old enough, he's getting snipped!) 2.) Mr. Darcy isn't registered. 3.) Five-O lives in Maryland and Darcy is in NY. 4.)The bulk of the work would be on Jody and Dallas as they're the ones with the female!! I'm sure they wouldn't appreciate that one little bit!! Ha ha!! But it's a fun thought anyway!!

He was in my lap and was looking at himself in the mirror.

The next 2 shots are very blurry because he was in my lap and I was just too close with the camera, but they were cute, so I included them.

And of course, Drew loves him to pieces no matter what he looks like!

Going in for the wet kiss on her cheek!

Today's quotes:

Buy a pup and your money will buy love unflinching. ~Rudyard Kipling

There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face. ~Bern Williams

New year, new hair style!

2011-01-06T07:54:00.004-05:00

Anyone who knows me well knows I get bored with my hair frequently. I change the color and style so often that the people I see only a few times a year are usually surprised at how different I look everytime they see me again! Well, it was that time again! I made an appointment with my hairstylist, Marc, the ONLY person allowed to touch my hair, yesterday and when I sat down in his chair, I said, "I don't care what color or style you do, just make it different. You have free reign, don't even tell me, just do it!" Obviously, I trust him!! And for good reason because here is the result.

In the shot below, the flash was once again too strong so my face is washed out, but it's a better shot of the front of my hair, so I included it. The style isn't much different than what I had. Marc says he wanted to keep it somewhat long because when I walked in the salon yesterday, he really liked my hair longer...it's way longer than I usually have! (Try to avert your eyes from my messy sewing/computer room! Actually, this is MUCH less messy than it usually is! Normally you cannot even SEE my table top! Ha ha!)

And the back view. I LOVE this color combo!! I have had my hair entirely black with candy apple red streaks, black with bright blue streaks, completely blonde, bright auburn and every combination in between! My inner "artiste" dictates how I want to express myself on the outside, so it has been pretty wild in the past! The current color and cut is relatively tame compared to past hair styles! I just love my hairstylist, Marc!!

Today's Quotes:

Life is an endless struggle full of frustrations and challenges, but eventually you find a hair stylist you like. ~Author Unknown

Hair brings one's self-image into focus; it is vanity's proving ground. Hair is terribly personal, a tangle of mysterious prejudices. ~Shana Alexander

I'm not offended by all the dumb-blonde jokes because I know that I'm not dumb. I also know I'm not blonde. ~Dolly Parton

Luci gets another Tooth Fairy visit!

2011-01-04T10:07:00.004-05:00

Lost tooth #3 for Luci! She lost this one on 1/1/11! Say, "Cheese!"

Today's Quotes:

Other than a dimple in a cute little chin,What's more adorable than a toothless grin?~Azu "Betty" Espezia

In this pocket you will find, A teensy, tiny tooth of mine. So while I sleep where dreams are made, Let's see if you can make a trade.~Author Unknown

2011!!!!! Out with the old (garbage), in with the new (life!)

2011-01-01T09:55:00.038-05:00

An old year has departed...thank goodness, and a new one has begun! Before we commence with the new year party pictures, I just had to show off my new BLING!!!! I admit, I'm a bit obsessed with it right now, it's so pretty! And I cruise the Pandora website frequently making my mental list of what charms to add next! I just love it!

Last night, we packed up some food, beverages and the girls and headed over to the house of our good friends, Scott and Sue. (Sue, you might remember from previous posts is not only a camping buddy but also my workout partner!) Dan and Tina met us there and we geared up to ring in the new year together! The kids were on hyper-speed the entire evening! Occassionally, they would settle down long enough to sit in front of the tv for a movie, but never for more than 10 minutes or so at a time! Sue made up some beds on the floor for them, popped them some popcorn and hoped for the best. Unfortunately, they not only didn't last long, they had a popcorn war and it went EVERYWHERE!!! At least they had fun!

Max and Sonja napped earlier, so they were in good spirits!

Mine didn't nap, so I thought they'd crash early...boy, was I wrong!! Luci practices for the big countdown. (Note the popcorn-covered floor behind her!)

The adults drank responsibly the whole evening, which we are thankful for this morning!! But we had as much fun as the kids! We joked, played games, Scott dug out a big box of old pictures and we laughed til our sides hurt!! Scott is a childhood friend of Dean's, they've been friends since Kindergarten!! He had some great shots of Dean from the 80's!!! All I'll say is hair and acid wash jeans!! Woo hoo! Sue and I have been friends since I was in 9th or 10th grade...she's a few years younger than me, but we became friends when I started dating her older brother way back when!

And as usual, wherever Drew goes, she's doing cartwheels.

Just before the big countdown, Dean and I pose for a shot! Happy new year, honey!! Here's hoping our 2011 is stronger, better and even happier than 2010 was!!

3, 2, 1......HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!!!!

MUAH!!!

Drew toasts the new year with a sparkling glass of "champagne"! Actually just sparkling grape juice, but they loved it!

No, Sue...don't do it!!!!

After the celebration of midnight died down a little, we put the kids to work cleaning up their mess! Actually, Luci INSISTED on helping, and soon after the others joined in!

There's no denying they had fun!!

Dean actually made it to midnight with very few snoring episodes...but as soon as he sat down, all bets were off! GOING...........

GOING.............

GONE!!

Followed shortly thereafter by his brother, Dan!!

The kids, however, discovered a second wind and started a dance party!

Jeb does a mean robot!

Drew's isn't quite as convincing! Ha ha!

Darien looks like she's cheering on the whole group in this shot!

And where was Luci during the dance party? Off in the other room drawing!

But she finished up shortly and joined the others!

She shows off her split skills!

The video clip below is of Dean and Luci doing the Just Dance 2 game on the Wii.

I am SOOO glad to see the end of 2010!! Although 2010 was WAYYYYY better than 2009, it had it's share of ups and downs. The garbage I thought I had disposed of at the end of 2009 kept resurfacing in one form or another a few times throughout the year. And though my outlook about the whole thing remained surprisingly strong, it wasn't without it's lion's share of unwanted stress and painful reminders! I find it extremely bizarre that a person who hurt and scarred myself and my family...my ENTIRE family, grandparents included, would think that sending a Xmas card to said grandparents would think this a rational thing to do! It's actually kind of scary considering her mentally unstable state of mind...kind of like a Fatal Attraction scenario where the psycho keeps doing things to maintain some kind of a link to the family she nearly destroyed! Ah well, I learned last year that trying to understand psychopathic people is akin to banging your head against a brick wall! The best thing to do is just smile and move on!! (Although I am not against obtaining an order of protection should the unwanted contact continue!) At least now, these grandparents have a better understanding of just how much of a pathetic freak-show this person is! Probably not the "feel sorry for me" response she was hoping for by sending it in the first place. Almost sad, really....note I said ALMOST! At least she holds some entertainment value, if nothing else.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to the new year and all it promises! My motivation to keep going to the gym has inspired me to seek the services of a personal trainer who works at the gym where I'm a member. John has created a customized workout for Sue and I and also recommended books and diet advice as well...his mom is a nutritionist, so he knows a thing or two! He has watched the usual workout we do and has promised that as long as we follow his advice, we should lose weight twice as fast (or faster!) than with what we're doing now. I am super excited, inspired and very motivated...and I think Sue is as well!!

I'm also excited about my photography business! This past Xmas season was my busiest to date! Normally, after senior picture season died down, I'd get a few Xmas pictures cutomers, but not many. This year I was getting calls left and right for Xmas pics! So, though I WILL slow down for the rest of winter and spring, I actually look forward to the break!! Dean and I have again started working on the inside of the house trying to get all the little jobs done, especially that back bedroom that has yet to be mudded! Once we get that done, we still plan on moving forward with the foster care/adoption process we started last year! Little by little, this house is becoming the one I always dreamed of! (Well, if it were located in some place with year-round warm weather, it wouldn't matter what it looked like...it would automatically be my dream home!! Ha ha!!) And come hell or high water....the house WILL be sided THIS year!! We nixed the Disney trip we were supposed to take in December for this very reason...so it had better get done!!!!!!

Yep...2011 promises to be a GREAT year!!!

Today's Quotes:

The Old Year has gone. Let the dead past bury its own dead. The New Year has taken possession of the clock of time. All hail the duties and possibilities of the coming twelve months! ~Edward Payson Powell

Every man should be born again on the first day of January. Start with a fresh page. Take up one hole more in the buckle if necessary, or let down one, according to circumstances; but on the first of January let every man gird himself once more, with his face to the front, and take no interest in the things that were and are past. ~Henry Ward Beecher

MERRY XMAS!!!!!

2010-12-25T22:05:00.033-05:00

Another Xmas has arrived and has ended with sleepy kids and hubby snoring! It was one of the better ones, I have to admit!! Let's back up and begin where the festivities started. Last night, as we do every year, we packed up the kids for our Xmas Eve tradition of going to Grandma and Grandpa's house to open up gifts from and to them. We had a great dinner and then proceeded to what the kids couldn't wait for!! We all gathered in the front room and I turned the tv on the holiday music channel. Some ballet from the Nutcracker Suite was playing, so the girls naturally started dancing! Luci and Sonja dance a duet.

Drew's solo.

Max has no interest in ballet, but that kid sure can eat!! He was still polishing off what was left of his dinner while watching the girls dance.

While waiting for Grandma and Grandpa to tidy up in the kitchen, the kids got a little rambunctious. Max steals Papa's hat and makes his getaway!

Meanwhile, I received a Xmas Eve gift of my own in the form of a footrub from my honey!! I NEVER turn down a footrub (and I seem to be getting lots of them, lately!!)

The kids attack Dan!

Even Darcy was getting rambunctious...he destroyed one of Grandma's plants, the little turd!

Messes all cleaned up, we finally get to the gift-unwrapping phase of the evening! Grandma starts passing them out! The girls each got a Zipfy toboggan, books and lots of jewelry to go in new jewelry boxes! From Aunt Tina and Uncle Dan, they got Teacup Piggies and a couple of presents that they weren't allowed to open until the next day (so as not to ruin the surprise gift from Papa.) Dean's parents were VERY generous to Dean and I as well!!! We are very thankful to have such wonderful parents!

My mother drove into town to shake some jingle bells outside the window, but the kids were so loud, they never even heard them! Ah, well! Lesson learned for next year! After the gifts were all opened, Dean shows Drew Santa's current location according to NORAD on his phone.

Drew was in a hurry to get home for some strange reason...hee hee! So at about 7:30, we packed up and headed home. The night before, the girls were invited to spend the night with Sonja and Max, so we had all day Xmas eve to put together some gifts for them. My mother bought these desks for the girls and Dean put together another computer so each girl would have her own machine! Ahhhh, no more hearing, "It's MY turn for the computer!!" When we arrived home from Grandma and Grandpa's, the girls took down their last Xmas countdown stocking, opened up their new Xmas jammies, bid a fond farewell to Timothy the Shelf Elf and then headed upstairs where they got their big surprise!

My mom also bought them their own 32" LCD HDTV for their bedroom! Lucky little girls! The tv in our own bedroom isn't this big! (Nor is it a flat screen, for that matter!!) They took a super fast shower and then jumped into bed watching their new tv until they fell asleep!

Santa arrived sometime that night and here's what our livingroom looked like!

Most of their presents come from us and they're aware of that. Santa brings just a few SPECIAL things! For Luci, he brought a pink bean-bag (theater seating for the new tv!) and four new Webkinz, a moose, caterpillar, chihuahua and a Blufadoodle...a sort of blue peacock.

Drew got the same, but her Webkinz are a tie-dye puppy, a pink peacock, a signature golden retriever and a miniature black poodle (that you just KNOW she's going to name Darcy!!)

I just love Xmas-time...for many reasons, but especially the decorations! I LOVE my tree!!

This morning, Darcy woke me up around 4:45 wanting to get into bed. An hour or so later, I finally got tired of just laying there not being able to get back to sleep, that I got up, got dressed and headed downstairs to wait for everyone to arise. As I'm turning lights on, I notice headlights in my driveway...my mother had arrived EARLY!! So I let her in and we waited together. We didn't wait long as Monty came barking when he heard my mom's voice! Anyway, I always love taking that first picture of the girls when they see their goodies for the first time!!

They wasted no time in demolishing the wrapping paper!

The surprise gift from Papa that I mentioned earlier...a Wii! This was a huge hit...not only with the kids, but with the adults as well! Dan and Tina got the girls 2 Wii games: Life of the Party and Just Dance 2. They also got a Zhu Zhu game, Family Game Night 2, Carnival, Cooking Mama (2 maybe??) and whatever the one that comes with the doll...something about babysitting. The Wii game itself came with Wii Sports and Super Mario Bros. So they have PLENTY of games to keep them busy!

They also got Zhu Zhu stuff up the wazoo! There is an entire guest bedroom with nothing but Zhu Zhu tunnels and rooms in it!

And as we do every year, even the dogs were given gifts! They love to open them (esp when there is a yummy treat inside each one!!)

My dad took the girls out shopping to pick stuff out for Dean and I. Luci picked out this smart ensemble for Daddy!

Papa and the dogs snooze after a very busy morning!

Dean tries his hand at Wii bowling.

Luci's turn!

Drew's unique ball launching style! It works because she kicked everyone's butt when it came to scores!

This is Luci doing the Wii boxing. We all loved her moves in the ring!!

As with Dean's parents, my parents were very generous to not only the girls, but to Dean and I as well! We are so lucky to have our parents and we love them so much!! Thank you!!

After all the frenzy died down, the girls carted all their new stuff upstairs to their room. I am NOT looking forward to finding the room for it all!! Later on in the day, Dean's parents came over as well as Dan and Tina and the kids and my brother, Thadd, his girlfriend, Sarah and her daughter Kaydence for Xmas dinner. I made my famous homemade Mac n Cheese and my dad boiled a ham. It was delicious and we all stuffed ourselves silly! We played a couple of Scrabble games while the kids went wild again until it was time for everyone to leave. It was a truly wonderful holiday spent with all the people we love and who love us! Even without all the gifts, it still would have been a truly wonderful day for all! I was having so much fun that I never pulled my camera out again, so I missed lots of pics, but the memories are still great!

And on Monday morning, my holiday will get a little bling blingier when I take some of my holiday cash to the jewelry store and buy myself a little trinket that I've been wanting for quite a while...a Pandora bracelet! :-)

Hope everyone had a simply fantastic holiday...we sure did!

Today's Quotes:

This was the best day EVER!! ~Drew at bedtime tonight!

The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other. ~Burton Hillis

One of the most glorious messes in the world is the mess created in the living room on Christmas day. Don't clean it up too quickly. ~Andy Rooney

I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. ~Charles Dickens

Winter wanderings...

2010-12-22T10:39:00.027-05:00

Xmas is closing in fast!! Here's just a collection of pics kind of mish-mashed together. Below is the new tree I got the girls this year. They wanted a white one that was bigger than the one they used to have.

After years of talking about getting one, I FINALLY did it. Timothy, our Elf on a Shelf, arrived and began hiding right away. Here he is hanging from the livingroom light.

And one of my personal favorite spots, on one of the golden reindeer on a shelf in our livingroom. His spot this morning was trickier...in the Xmas tree! The kids looked for a while before Sonja finally spotted him!

Mr. Cute himself, Darcy in a cute Xmas sweater. He hates wearing clothes, so it doesn't happen often!

Baby with her mesmerizing eyes!

And Monty posing.

This past Sunday, Julie invited the kids to her house for her annual Xmas cookie decorating party.

Cousin It...aka Luci!

Even Ben got in on the action!

Julie's grandson, Jackson. He preferred eating the frosting to actually decorating cookies!

All the kids with their finished, edible masterpieces! Back row, L to R: Luci, Drew, Sonja, McKenzie, Max. In front, Hannah, Jackson and Sarah.

Max liked Kenz and showed her by handing out the hugs!

Monday night, I took the girls out to a local campground/beach. Some businesses and individuals set up 30x30 light displays throughout the grounds. It was a decent effort for the first year, but it was so well publicized that I'll bet next year's project will be even bigger and better! I might just sign-up for a display for my own photography business! We'll see!

The girls decided to have a camp-out in their room, so we dug out their sleeping bags and plugged in this electric campfire.

Last night, Sonja and Max decided to spend the night and this morning they got bundled up and went outside to play in the snow. Snowangels!

Say, "CHEESE"!

Darcy LOVES being outdoors!

Dean hooked the sled up behind the 4-wheeler and they had a blast!

On the weight-loss front, I am now down 35 pounds from last summer! Yay me!! I meet Sue tonight at the gym and after our work-out we're getting 10 minute chair massages! Last week we had a 5 minute massage and it was heavenly!! Looking forward to the 10 minute one tonight!

Today's Quote:

His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, and the beard of his chin was as white as the snow. ~Clement Clarke Moore

I love Christmas. I really do love Christmas. I love being with my family and I love snow. I love the music and the lights and all of it. ~Christina Applegate

Snow provokes responses that reach right back to childhood. ~Andy Goldsworthy

8 days......

2010-12-17T17:15:00.024-05:00

Tick, tick, tick....why is it when you're a child, Xmas seems to take F.O.R.E.V.E.R. to get here, but as an adult, it seems to come swooping in leaving us little time to get everything done??? Ah, well, one of the side-effects of aging, I suppose! This past Monday, I had my beautiful niece and nephew, Sonja and Max, over for some Xmas pics! Here are the end results of that session!

I guess the fates decided to be kind to me by granting me not only beautiful daughters, but a beautiful niece and nephew as well!! Aren't I the lucky one! The next night, my Sweet Adeline chorus held our semi-annual Holiday program in a local church. We performed a short but sweet program to a small but appreciative audience! Dean brought the girls to watch. Here they are posing in front of the church's Xmas tree. Little hams!

Dean snaps a pic as I walk in to take my place.

These pics were taken by a friend of the chorus, Mary Ann G. I snagged them from facebook. I am in the front row all the way to the right.

The girls' school holiday concert was yesterday. Here's how they were sent to school...I figured I better get a picture of them with neat hair and clean dresses as I had no guarantee of their condition by the time I showed up for the concert which was held after lunch! Aren't they gorgeous??

As it turned out, I had nothing to worry about...they were both in nearly the same condition as when I sent them on the bus! Here's Drew in the 3rd and 4th grade chorus...shortest one, as usual!

And Luci in her multi-age class chorus (1st and 2nd grade).

The kid to her right is named Gannon and I graduated with his dad. Gannon is quite a cut-up and I've been informed he's got a bit of a sweet-spot for Luci!

In this shot you can see him attempting a hand-grab on Luci, even though that wasn't part of the choreo! Ha ha!!

After each grade or class chorus performed, all the students came back for a finale! Here's Luci waiting to start!

And Drew, out in front of everyone!

Another class lined up in front of Luci's so she made every attempt to peer over their heads to see if I was still snapping pictures!

It was a great little concert, as usual!! The kids did an amazing job!

In other news...I am now down 15 pounds from the beginning of October and my motivation to keep going to the gym is as strong as ever! Until the next post....

Today's Quotes:

At Christmas play and make good cheer, For Christmas comes but once a year. ~Thomas Tusser

It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air. ~W.T. Ellis

16 days and counting...

2010-12-09T07:41:00.006-05:00

The girls' school pictures came in finally. Here are this year's results. My opinion....eh, I do a better job! But they're cute so they look great in most any picture regardless of who's behind the camera! Here's Drew and her rockin' hair-do.

And here's Luci. Her hair was much neater than this when I sent her to school, but I guess you can't expect the photographer to actually CARE what they look like! I've already had no less than 6 people say, "I'll never order school pics again...I'll just take my kid(s) to you!" I'm also reminded that I should really clean my scanner glass!

In my last post, I posted pictures of the girls at the local Santa parade. The picture I thought would be in the paper (the city mayor talking to the girls) was actually replaced by this one!

And it just wouldn't be Xmas without a trip to mail some letters to Santa!!

Today's Quote:

In this age of instant coffee, overnight rush deliveries, and 30-second media sound bites, it's not surprising that children have discovered that their letters to Santa Claus can be sent by email.~Patrick Flaherty

He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree. ~Roy L. Smith

21 more days until Xmas!! Yikes!

2010-12-04T17:17:00.038-05:00

Winter has arrived! These 2 shots were taken just the other night as our first full snow fell. They are dressed this way because I wanted this year's Xmas pics to be a little different than the usual fancy dress type I usually take. I got these hats and scarves and waited for snow...and waited...It was getting later and later and I usually have my Xmas pictures done before December even arrives, but the weather wasn't cooperating! (How crazy is that...ME wanting it to snow!!) So, the other night, I set up my white backdrop, put up all my lights, dragged in 4 heavy potted cedar bushes for a winter-like background and as I'm pulling the last one in...it starts snowing!! Murphy's Law!! Anyway, I got the girls dressed and we headed outside. Here's what we ended up with!

The shot below is what I'm using for our Xmas cards! I think it turned out great!

Back to November for a bit...Luci's birthday landed on Thanksgiving this year which is the night we had a very informal family party for her since most of the family was in attendence for Thanksgiving anyway! That Saturday, we had a "friend" party for her at a local bowling alley. Her class is 38 kids big and every one of them were invited, so I was hoping not everyone would be able to go!! Thankfully, she ended up with just 13 kids, so that was a big relief for me! I also gave her permission to invite just 3 classmates for a sleepover later that night. (And with the addition of Sonja, Max, Drew and Hannah there were a total of 8 kids sleeping over! It actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would turn out! Everyone got along well with each other, no one went home in the middle of the night and no one got injured...so all in all a very good night!)

Drew on left and Jordyn (one of the slumber party attendees!)

Luci with her very best friend, Elizabeth, another sleep-over guest.

Luci grabs a ball and steps up to the end of the lane...

She places it on the ramp, aims and lets go.....

STEEEEEEEEE-RIKE!!!!!!!! Way to go Luci!!

She was VERY excited after getting that strike!!

Hannah prefers not to use the ramps.

Sonja gives it a go!

Max's turn!

Enough bowling! Cake and present time!!

Every girl's favorite present! Moolah!

My third child, aka Dean, aka my adolescent husband...starts a wrestling match with some of the boys.

This afternoon, I dressed the girls again for our town's annual Santa parade. Here they are waiting for Santa to arrive!

While we were waiting, the Mayor decided to interview them for a newspaper photo-op.

My brother's girlfriend, Sarah and her daughter, Kaydence waited with us!

A local Boy's and Girl's Club put together an informal choir and they sang Xmas songs on the steps while everyone waited for Santa.

Drew, Kay and Luci wait anxiously....is he coming yet????

Police lights...one of the very few times when it's actually a GOOD thing to see these!

Even the Grinch made it!

At last!! Mr. and Mrs. C have arrived!! (For those who don't know, my mother plays Mrs. Claus every year!)

Luci knows who it is, but she's very good at keeping it a secret from other kids so as to not spoil the surprise! Luci gets a big hug from Meema...er...Mrs. Claus!

Santa's arrival is also the signal to light up the City Xmas tree!

Hannah (next to Mrs. C) walked in the parade with her girl scout troop. Drew and Luci opted not to do it due to the chilly weather...see temp board over Mrs. C's left shoulder!)

Frosty offers warm hugs inside City Hall while we waited in line to sit on Santa's lap.

Ho, ho, ho!!! (Did Santa get up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? How about a freakin smile, huh?)

Well, Mrs. C always wears a happy face at least!

Drew, Luci and Kay...say cheese! I said, say CHEESE, SANTA!!! Someone poke him and see if he's still alive!

After posing with Mr. and Mrs. C, the girls were treated to hot, fresh popcorn and candy canes! Then it was home...tonight is family movie night where we'll be watching some of the old clay-mation movies, like Rudolph, Frosty, etc. Looking forward to that!

Today's Quotes:

Santa Claus wears a Red Suit, he must be a communist. And a beard and long hair, must be a pacifist. What's in that pipe that he's smoking? ~Arlo Guthrie

Why is Xmas just like a day at the office? You do all the work and the fat guy with the suit gets all the credit. ~Anonymous

Santa Claus has the right idea - visit people only once a year. ~Victor Borge

Happy 6th Birthday, Luci!!

2010-11-26T10:19:00.012-05:00

It was a memorable day in our house yesterday for more than one reason! We enjoyed having family over for the usual Thanksgiving feast AND it was also our little Miss Luci's 6th birthday!!! Let me be a usual proud mom and humor me while I extoll some of the many virtues that are our Luci, won't you? ;-) Let's see...besides being an extraordinarily physically beautiful little girl, she is more importantly a very kind, thoughtful child. She never ceases to think of others before herself! Don't get me wrong, she is a typical 6 year old, so she certainly has her days, but truly not often!! She really does think of others more than herself! At her first Parent-Teacher conference this year, we were so proud and happy to hear her teachers tell us that she is a gifted academic! They encouraged us to pursue a Gifted and Talented program for her!! When her report card finally came...we were flabbergasted!! For first grade students, our school district gives a 1 through 4 rating for each area of grading, 1 being well below average and 4 being well above average). Luci's report card was peppered with a large majority of 4's (probably 75% of the entire report card was 4's!) The rest were 3's (at grade level)...although she did have one 2...for "responsible use of art supplies!" Just like a true artist! Ha ha!! She reads and writes well above her age/grade level...so much so that her teachers have encouraged her to bypass the usual first grade books and choose instead chapter books! Chapter books for a child who just yesterday turned 6 years old!! I have a hard time throwing away some her writing assignments as they are just so darned impressive! Yes, to say we are extraordinarily proud is indeed an understatement!! She is sweet, loving, polite, funny and all-around adorable! And we couldn't possibly love her any more than we already do! Okay, enough bragging...thank you for indulging me...on to the birthday celebration!

Papa keeps a tight hold as Drew, Sonja and Max take turns dishing out birthday spanks!

As it turns out, it was also Monty's birthday yesterday, too! He didn't find his birthday spanks as humorous as Luci found hers!!

PRESENTS!!!!!! She was dying to get to this part of the evening! Drew took it upon herself to make and wrap a gift for Luci herself! What a good big sister!

Money from Grandma and Grandpa! Yay!!

Papa's gift was the big hit this year...a whole pack of Zoobles!! (Yeah, I had never heard of them before either!) The look on her face was priceless!

Jumping for joy at the site of all those Zoobles!

The book we got her wasn't as impressive to her...but I think she'll enjoy it once the novelty of the Zoobles wears off a little!

She did like the Barbie and Barbie clothes we got her, though!

And I would have been remiss to NOT get her another Zooble!

Happy birthday Sweet Pea!! We love you so much!!

Today's Quote:

Now We Are Six - A.A. Milne

When I was one, I had just begun.

When I was two, I was nearly new.

When I was three, I was hardly me.

When I was four, I was not much more.

When I was five, I was just alive.

But now I am six, I'm as clever as clever.

So I think I'll be six now and forever.

This and that...

2010-11-23T17:05:00.038-05:00

Life has been busy as usual for me! First news of the day...I got another job now that it is the slower season for my photography. I am a teaching assistant for all buildings of our school district. It is on a call-in basis, which suits me just fine! In other news, Drew had yet another piece of artwork chosen for the art gallery located in the high-school. That's 2 years in a row! Looks like we have ourselves a bonafide artiste! Here she is being held aloft by Daddy to show it off. It is a Japanese Koi fish.

In the last couple of weeks, the local girl scouts had their investiture and rededication ceremony. Here's Luci reciting the promise with her partner.

Sonja and Luci are in the same Daisy troop, and their troop leader is an adoptive mom of 6!

Dean keeps Max busy during the ceremony.

Here's Drew's Brownie troop performing a skit.

The girls' dance studio has finally started a boys' hip hop dance class. The video below shows Max trying it out for the first time!

On November 12th, my dad celebrated his birthday! In September, I shot these pictures especially for the occasion! If you couldn't tell, my dad is a die-hard Yankees fan and he has happily gotten the girls to be Yankees fans, too!

Here they are presenting him his presents!

And a yummy cheesecake with candles to blow out!

Here are the finished photos displayed on his shelf! Happy birthday, Daddy/Papa!! We love you so much!!! Hope you enjoy your pictures!!

Just a couple of shots at a family baby shower. (The flash on my point and shoot camera is quite powerful and close shots like this one tend to get washed out.)

And what post would be complete without some shots of that cute new puppy of ours? Monty loves him to pieces now!!

Mr. Darcy is at that age where he's getting into mischief! He had the "rammies" one evening and decided his food needed to be spread out!

No, Darcy, your food dish is NOT a diving pool!

Can't possibly get mad at this adorable little fuzz-ball!!

Well....Baby can easily get mad at him!! She wants nothing to do with him and tells him so any chance she gets!

Sonja holds him for a shot!

Max gives him some loving!

Drew's last remaining bottom tooth wasn't in any hurry to go anywhere on its own, so I took matters in my own hands and yanked it out! Surprisingly, Drew was happy to let me do it and didn't stall and cry and get all nervous and jerky this time! I tied the string and waited for the drama to begin (have I mentioned how much I HATE drama???) Anyway, as soon as it was tied, she closed her eyes and said, "I'm ready!" She took me by surprise! So I yanked after getting over the shock and out it flew! Absolutely no tears!!! So below, she poses with the little pink box left by the Tooth Fairy containing the usual $5.

Now that that little sucker is gone, her adult tooth can finally move forward! (And it has already started!)

Tina called me up one day and told me about this benefit show happening on the Akwesasne reservation. There is a young child who benefitted, though I neglected to find out what he was suffering from. Anyway, it was a drag show! So 3 of the 4 coven members decided to get together and go! Dean happily volunteered to fill-in for our absentee member, Heather! I was shocked, but glad to have him along!

Bette Midler

Uhhhh...don't know who she's trying to be! Ha ha!

Not all men can pull off a convincing woman...example #1. This queen sat right next to Julie at our table, so I requested a quick picture! Unfortunately, I only had my little point and shoot with me, and I was too close to get a decent picture, the flash is just too strong!

Other men, however, make not only a convincing woman, but also a beautiful one at that! This is Naomi Diamond. She was gorgeous and a phenomenal performer as well!

Tina Turner

Dean deposits some cash...um, somewhere on this queen!

Don't miss the video below!! It's a good one, though very dark! (Yes, that is Dean with some more money!)

Last week, Dean lost his last remaining grandmother (his father's mom). Over the weekend, there were 3 wakes and a funeral on Monday. Dean's cousin, Kirk, made the trip home from London, England to attend. He stayed with us for a night. This past summer, he stayed with us for a weekend as well, so the girls already knew him. They just love him and didn't want him to leave! Here's Kirk and the girls.

Kirk is movinghome to Canada in 2 years and has invited us to stay in his London home for a vacation before that. Needless to say, I've been checking on the cost of flights to London! :-D

Let's see...other news...well, anyone who knows me won't be surprised to hear that my Xmas decorations including outdoor lights, have been put up (and have been up for over a week!) We finally got around to "finishing" up our livingroom. The ceilings have been mudded, sanded and painted. The crown molding is up and painted. The walls are painted and my floor...the bane of my livingroom is "sort of" finished! Dean spackled all the cracks between the planks and then sanded the entire floor. We chose a color and painted it. I say it's sort of finished because eventually, when the money becomes available, we'll be putting down a hardwood floor. In the meantime, I always hated the subfloor due to the cracks. Everytime I swept, the dirt would just deposit itself into the cracks and you could never get the floor clean unless you took a vacuum to every single crack! Now that the cracks are no longer there, sweeping is a breeze! (Actually, sweeping is only a breeze when Mr. Darcy is sleeping since he thinks the broom is an oversized chew toy that I'm moving around specifically for him to chase!! It's pretty funny to watch, but when you're trying to sweep it can be a real pain in the butt!!) I have a beautiful new light installed in the larger livingroom and Dean has promised me to install the other one before tomorrow when we host Thanksgiving dinner at our house for the family. On to other news...I am now the happy owner of a gym membership. I have been going for the last 2 months and am happy to report that I have lost 12 pounds since my first workout on October 1st! Add that 12 pounds to the 20 I dropped last year after a painfully stressful summer/fall and I am now down 32 pounds from last year!! I am delighted with my results so far, and I must say, I am surprised at my motivation to keep going! I have had gym memberships in the past, treadmills, diets, fad tv ad gimmicks...I've tried them all! But the one thing they all had in common was that I never continued to use them! I was a little nervous to plunk money down on something that could have ended the same way, but this time I found a work-out buddy, my friend, Sue! Together, we keep each other motivated and I find that I go to the gym even when we don't make arrangements to meet up! I think my stressful year last year changed something inside me...I even quit chewing my nails after 38 years!! They say stress isn't good for your health...but I have a sneaking suspicion that certain kinds of stress are VERY good for your inner strength! I have said it before and I'll say it again...nothing bad can happen that something good doesn't come from it! I am a FIRM believer in this sentiment! Anyway, I will most likely be posting again sooner rather than later with pictures of the Xmas decor in my new livingroom! I just love it!! Until then....

Today's Quote:

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Happy Halloween!!!!

2010-11-01T05:56:00.016-04:00

Our Indian Summer lasted all of 3 days, this year...:-( But we took advantage of what little of it there was by getting outdoors! Dean made a huge leaf pile for the girls and I dug out the camera for the occasion.

Even the dogs were loving life on this afternoon! Monty has officially declared that he likes the new puppy, Mr. Darcy! His nose was out of joint for a few days, but he called a halt to his pity party when he realized how much fun it was to have a new playmate.

Luci likes Darcy well enough, but Drew is absolutely in LOVE with him!!

Last night was Halloween...and it was SOOO COLD!!! I went out with my long down-filled winter coat and still froze!! The kids, on the other hand, didn't seem to notice just how freezing it was! They had a blast as usual! Here are all the kiddies in their costumes. L to R: Sonja as Spider-Woman, Drew as a blue M&M, Max as Spiderman, Luci as a unicorn and Ana as a Fairy.

Trick or Treat!!!

After both sides of about 3 blocks, we steered them back to the cars as I could no longer feel my toes and Ana's mom started with an ear-ache. We hit Grandma and Grandpa's for a half hour or so and then we went home...short and sweet! Between the parties at school, Meema's goodies and trick-or-treating, they managed to score quite a haul of candy! Now that Halloween is over...bring on Xmas!!! In a couple of weeks, my house ought to look like the "Santa Hurricane" came and hit it! Can't wait!

Today's Quotes:

Nothing on Earth so beautiful as the final haul on Halloween night. ~Steve Almond

When witches go riding,and black cats are seen,the moon laughs and whispers,‘tis near Halloween.~Author Unknown

Southern hospitality and puppy breath!

2010-10-23T23:47:00.066-04:00

Over Columbus Day weekend, I and two of my best friends, Julie and Tina, drove to South Carolina to visit another of my best friends, Heather, who also happens to be my first cousin. She had lived here in the same town as me for her entire life, but in January of this year, she packed up her kids and pets and shuffled on down to sunny SC to be with her soul-mate, John. And she couldn't have made a smarter move! Anyway, I digress.... So, the three of us piled into Julie's SUV and made the trek down. Here we are stuck for two hours on the Washington, DC beltway. (We skipped this joy for the ride back!)

When we finally arrived, it was 3:30am and John and Heather were awake and waiting for us! We stayed up another hour just reminiscing, but Heather had to work in the morning, so we went to bed. The next morning, we enjoyed BEAUTIFUL weather on their patio. We spent each morning out here and chatted constantly!

Hannah runs down the driveway.

This is also their driveway looking the opposite way. They must be a half-mile into the woods! It's just gorgeous where they live! Their only near neighbors are John's mom, grandparents and his sister and her family.

The kind of weather we enjoyed down there happens but VERY rarely for October up here! There were flowers, butterflies, anoles and tree-frogs everywhere!

Here's one of those anoles now!

John takes us for a walk into the woods on his property.

This valley in the landscape is actually an old railroad bed. WAY back before the civil war, it was used to transport cotton and other southern crops. When the war started, it was used to send northern troops down to the south. John tells us it is part of the Underground Railroad system and used to be lined with safe-houses. I find the southern history fascinating!

At one spot along the railroad bed, there is a tire swing that John treated the girls and Julie to rides.

For the duration of our stay, this is how Grace spent most of her waking hours. She is in 2nd grade and at the time was trying to finish up her FOURTH Harry Potter novel!!!! Just amazing!!

And this is how we spent much of our time there...chatting!

Hannah played "Where's the Button" with me for quite a while!

On Saturday, John and Heather treated us to trip to Charleston. We went straight to the Battery and I was simply awestruck at the beautiful, old, historic and HUGE Southern homes there!

On Sunday, just the ladies visited a local park called Swan Lake-Iris Gardens. It is is one park separated in two by a 4 to 6 lane highway.

One of the South's famous Cypress trees!

The first part of the park included manicured lawns, scultures and plenty of white and black swans, ducks and geese. On either side of the afore mentioned highway are towers that you climb or take the elevator to a wooden walkway over the highway to access the other side of the park. And though the first side of the park was beautiful in its own way, I was supremely impressed with the 2nd part! It was a swampy, marshy wilderness filled with tall Cypress trees with branches burdened by heavy tassles of Spanish moss. I found it all absolutely beautiful!

A kind older southern gentleman was gracious enough to take our picture all thogether on the boardwalk. The "Coven" together again!! (Please note:Neither I nor my friends are actual coven members. It's a nickname we came up with for our little quartet of friends that kind of just stuck!)

One of the towers.

And the wooden walkway spanning the highway.

Just a neat photo I liked of some evergreen conifer tree.

Lizzie taking a snapshot of the fire we enjoyed each night on their patio.

Not sure how I got these out of order, but the following 13 photos are all of Charleston. Heather and John outside a coffeehouse named "Baked".

I'm not 100% positive, but I believe this is part of "Rainbow Row", a long stretch of historical buildings that are colorfully painted.

This shot was taken from the restaurant where we enjoyed dinner, The Noisy Oyster. It is looking towards the Gicci (sp?) market where we shopped earlier in the day. To the left, you'll see a roof-top terrace with lots of lighted umbrellas. We ended up checking this terrace out later in the evening.

At The Noisy Oyster, enjoying cocktails, delicious food and GREAT company!

We all laughed so hard this night our facial muscles were sore! (Not sure what was going on with Heather's scowl in this shot, but I can assure you we all had a wonderful evening!)

John and Heather stroll hand in hand down an old cobblestone lane.

Here's the coven again in front of a really pretty fountain along the seashore.

The lovebirds!

No really, he was NOT drunk! He's actually a t-totaler, but he has such a remarkable sense of humor that he seems constantly high on life!

The ladies-only trip was a much needed refresher for us all. I was sad to leave Heather, John and the kids, but it was even worse knowing I was leaving such gorgeous weather to go back to the frozen tundra back home! Ah well, it'll be a reminder of why I need to go more often!!

Back home, I brought Dean over to meet Mr. Darcy at the breeder's home. I think he is as smitten as I am!

The day before we were to bring Mr. Darcy home, Dean got a call from one of his buddies asking Dean if he'd be interested in a 9 month old black lab puppy who was going to the pound if she didn't find a home! Somehow, Dean figured this might be a good idea, so we went over to check her out and ended up bringing her home with us. She was a VERY good dog, but she was just too rambunctious for the other 3 small dogs and they were held hostage in my dad's room when she was in the house! She just wasn't a good fit for our house, so after some searching, we finally found her a new home with friends of ours. At last report, their six (adopted!!) kids had fallen madly in love with her and mom was afraid that if she even tried to give her back there would be mutiny in their house!! She was a very happy girl and I'm so glad she's a great fit for her new home!!

Mr. Darcy finally made it home! He came home one day before he turned 6 weeks old. I just can't get over how adorable his little teeny face is!!

For several days, Monty was PISSED!!! You can see it in his face in this shot!! But he has gotten over his aversion to Mr. Darcy and is now happily chasing him around the house! I knew it wouldn't take long!

Tuckered out, sleeping belly up in my arms!

And last but not least, check out what I found in our garage yesterday!! I never looked it up, so I'm not sure what kind of owl it is, but I'm assuming it's some kind of barn owl. It was approximately 8 inches or so high and maybe 5 inches wide. Beautiful bird! (Though now I'm a little nervous to have Darcy walking around in the yard!!)

Today's Quotes:

Some people go to priests; others to poetry; I to my friends. ~Virginia Woolf

No road is long with good company. ~Turkish Proverb

Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same. ~Flavia Weedn

The last hurrah!

2010-10-01T18:02:00.036-04:00

We managed to squeeze in another camping trip last weekend. We stayed pretty local and camped at a nearby private campground with a beach...not that it was warm enough to swim! On Friday night, our kids and Scott and Sue's kids all stayed at home with grandparents and we enjoyed an adults-only camp night! Friday also happened to be rather warm, though a bit rainy, so we took our adult beverages and a light over to a pavillion across the lane from our campers and had an enjoyable and fun evening talking and reminiscing! Below, Scott tries out his son's bike!

On Saturday, we retrieved the kids and brought them to a wildlife festival being held in a nearby town. There were critters there I had never even heard of before! Everyone, kids and adults alike, enjoyed it! Luci is brave enough to pet a snake.

Hey, look...it's King Julian!

This is a wallaby.

It's hard to see this toucan's huge beak behind the feeder dish!

A baby alligator!

Luci in the bouncy house!

It appears as though this camel is gobbling up the girls' hands, but those hands had some yummy food in them!

All the kids got goody bags, so they posed with some of their goodies! L to R: Jeb, Darien, Drew and Luci. Cutie-pies!

A bubble wall...check out Darien's pose!

Inside the visitor's center at the hydro-electric dam.

Sue peddles as fast as she can to generate enough power to raise the light to the top!

Back outside for a horse-drawn carriage ride!

At the end of the day, we took the kids back to the campground where they proceeded to have a blast as usual. The next morning, while we were packing up the campers, we gave the kids some left-over food to feed the seagulls. The picture doesn't do it justice...it was like a scene straight out of the movies, "The Birds"!!

Tonight, I brought the girls over to Uncle's house so we could visit with Mr. Darcy again. The breeders live directly across the road from Uncle! While waiting for the visit, Luci announced that the tree in Uncle's front yard was sick (since it was completely brown on one side) and she proceeded to grab handfuls of grass to cover it up.

It wasn't long before Drew got in on the action! When they were done, Luci proclaimed that the tree felt much better! Silly girl!

Uncle is an avid hunter, and being that today was opener for bow-hunting, Uncle had alot of his hunting clothes hanging on the porch to dry from his early morning foray into the woods. Drew decided to try some of them on! Check out those size 13 boots!

And at last, we got to visit the puppies! Here are Mr. Darcy and his brother. My dad slipped that he was planning to give us the other dog for Xmas as well as Mr. Darcy, but Dean promptly put a kabosh to that! Too bad, we could have had a Mr. Darcy AND a Mr. Bingley! Bummer! Anyway, Mr. Darcy is the one underneath in this photo.

LOOK at that adorable little face!!! How can you not fall in love with this little guy?! His eyes are finally open, his ears are taking shape and his fur is starting to curl! I can't wait to see him in a week or two! He'll be a little fluffy furball by then!

Jersey is a great mom! Dinner time!

I finally got a shot of the dad...here's Jake! He's slightly larger than Jersey, but both are still quite small!

Mr. Darcy on the left and the almost Mr. Bingley on the right! They are so freakin cute!!

Today's Quotes:

Whoever said you can't buy happiness forgot little puppies. ~Gene Hill

There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face. ~Bern Williams

We've adopted again!!!!!!!!!

2010-09-22T19:37:00.011-04:00

I've got your attention now, don't I? Hee hee! Well, more on the adoption news in a bit. First up is Meema's birthday surprise! Today is my wonderful mother's 39th birthday! Yes, you read that right, she is 39! (Again!) The girls surprised her with some hand-painted flower pots and a dvd collection of some of her favorite movies...Ma and Pa Kettle! Here she is with the girls, her presents, cards and cake!

She thinks about her wish before blowing out the candles...

And out they go! I hope she gets her wish!

And here's her cake...a yummy cinnamon cheesecake! Meema, we sure hope you enjoyed your birthday, today! We love you very, very much!!!

And now....what I know some of you've been waiting for...our adoption news! Yesterday, we officially adopted a new puppy! He was born 2 weeks ago, on September 6th. (We should have him home by the middle of November!) He is a toy poodle that I've named Mr. Darcy. (Anyone who REALLY knows me will not be surprised to learn I've named him after my most favorite movie character from my most favorite movie EVER!!!) Chances are we will call him something else for short, but his official name is Mr. Darcy! Here, Luci holds him! Isn't he the teeniest, cutest little thing?!

And though this picture is slightly out of focus, Drew shows us his sweet little face close-up! His eyes are still closed as yet, but the breeders tell me that they started noticing yesterday that one of his eyes is slowly but surely opening up!

Here's Mr. Darcy curled up with his larger brother.

SOOO stinkin' cute!!!!!

This is Mr. Darcy's mom, Jersey.

The breeders gave me this picture tonight. It shows the whole litter on their birthday! I believe Mr. Darcy is the top puppy closest to the mom. The two smallest puppies in this picture never made it past a couple of days. They think the mom may have rolled on top of them, poor little things! They took a picture of the runt next to a cigarette lighter to show just how small he was! He was literally not much longer than the lighter!

The girls are SOO excited to get the puppy home! Ever since our visit last night and tonight, Drew has talked of nothing else! It's going to be a LONG 6 more weeks waiting for this little guy to come home!! We'll go back for a visit in a couple of weeks. He ought to be alert and frisky by then...and probably pretty fluffy! I can't wait to see him at that age!

Today's Quotes:

Few women admit their age. Few men act theirs. ~unknown

The more I see of man, the more I like dogs. ~Mme. de Staël

A dog is not "almost human" and I know of no greater insult to the canine race than to describe it as such. ~John Holmes