Welcome to the Jungle

Back in the Saddle Again.....

2010-08-05T18:13:00.000-04:00

After almost a year of not blogging, I decided that I should start again. I am finding that the kids are growing up so quickly, that I need to have a space to document their lives (and ours as well). I thought the new title was appropriate as it sometimes seems like our house is more of a jungle than an actual home. We are finding that parenthood is the biggest challenge that we have ever faced--I never imaged how rewarding, challenging and crazy it is! One can only do the best they can do (and sometimes that doesn't feel like enough. I hope this can be a forum to share our lives and express our thoughts and feelings.

End of the road

2009-10-19T13:50:00.001-04:00

As you can tell, my postings have become far and few between. With Facebook, I can post pictures and updates fast and easy. The blog takes a significant amount of time for me and we have so few people who look at it. It has been fun posting items on here and I hope to someday print the postings in some sort of book form. So, with that being said, this is the last post on "A moment in the life of.." Thank you for your interest--please refer to our Facebook pages for updates. Take care.

So Proud - Drew's First Day of Kindergarten

2009-08-30T00:07:00.000-04:00

In the five years that Aaron and I have been parents, we never have had one of those, "well, I guess we must be doing something right!" moments. I think like most parents, we never feel that we are doing as well as we could in being good parents to our children. But, Thursday morning was one of those moments. Drew did incredible on his first day of kindergarten! I kind of expected him to be just fine--he is just one of those kids who adjusts easily to new situations and meeting new people. I feel very lucky for that as I would have been a nervous wreck all day if he would have been upset when we left him. We started the day well--he got up at 7:30 a.m., ate breakfast (I made Pillsbury cinnamon rolls as a treat for the first day), got dressed (I laid out his clothes for the day, so we would not be scrambling to find his shoes or something else that was missplaced by one of the kids) and he was ready with his backpack by 8:15 a.m. We took a bunch of pictures and we waited eagerly for the school bus to arrive at 8:30 a.m. He got on the bus with the other kids and sat in his seat--there is a photo above of his facial expression as he realizes that he is riding the bus for the first time--it is a look of awe and slight nervousness--this is an expression that I have never seen on his face and it cracks me up! We met him at school when the bus arrived. He looked like he was already a pro at riding the bus! We took a few more pictures before he sat down in his new classroom. I think I was more nervous than he was. Luckily and a smart move on his new teacher's part, she had paper, crayons and scissors sitting on the tables and Drew (the little artist he is) just sat down and starting on his project. When the little boy next to him (who lives on our cul-de-sac) got upset when another kid took his seat next to Drew (and who was crying because he was so nervous about his parents leaving him)--Drew moved to another table so that they could both sit together. We said good-bye to Drew and he was just like, "okay, see you later Mommy and Daddy!" After that, some of the parents (and Claire--who would have stayed at school with the other kids if she would have been allowed to do so) met in the library for donuts and orange juice. Afterwards, Aaron (who took the day off from work), Claire and I went to First Watch for a celebratory brunch. When we got home, the house just seemed so quiet. In the prior days, I had been wishing for this day, as Drew was getting anxious and also a little naughty too, but with him gone, it just seemed really odd. While it will take a little time to get used to, I know I will get used to it and it will also give me a little one on one time with Claire--who is not used to receiving all of the attention. Drew's school schedule is odd--he is there all day on Tuesday and Thursday and then all day every other Friday. I wish that they had a more routine schedule--as he does better with being more consistent. But, we will learn to adjust. When he got home, he said the best part of his day was lunch (spoken like a true Mommy's boy!) It will be interesting to see what the year brings!

Happy Birthday to Claire!

2009-08-13T17:11:00.000-04:00

I know I am a few weeks late with this entry. We celebrated Claire's birthday on two separate days. The first day, Saturday, July 25th, Grandma and Grandpa Randolph came to visit us and brought an adorable and delicious Minnie Mouse cake for Claire. We took the kids to get their pictures taken at JCPenney--which has been increasingly more difficult to do since they do not to sit still longer than a couple seconds. Needless to say, the photographer wasn't able to get very many shots--but there were a couple good ones that we were able to order. Then, it was off to Big Boy for lunch and a visit to COSI. COSI was extremely crowded--it was Saturday and rainy--which probably explained why so many people were there. After we got home, we had picnic style food and we enjoyed the yummy cake.

On Claire's actual b-day, July 30th, we headed to the Ohio State Fair. While the skies were overcast, it was the perfect day to go, as the crowds were fairly light and it wasn't too miserably hot. The kids enjoyed seeing all the farm animals (and talking to them too!), a few rides, including Monkey Mayhem and the Merry Go Round and eating ice cream. The unfortunate thing about the fair is how expensive the food is! $7.00 for a large turkey leg? $4.00 for a small drink? Crazy! We had only planned on being at the fair for a couple hours, but ended up spending the entire afternoon there. While I admit I am a bonifide suburban gal, going to the fair with the kids is a lot of fun. After the fair, Claire got her nap in and we went to Red Robin for dinner. While there, she got a visit from Red Robin himself and a special song from the waiting crew (plus a hot fudge sundae!). We then came home to open a few gifts and enjoy cupcakes that I bought at the Pink Moon bakery. The kids had a lot of sugar that day!

Happy Birthday Miss P!

Back in the saddle again!

2009-07-17T20:45:00.001-04:00

We have had a few technical difficulties, which has prevented me from posting a blog recently. We are now back in full gear! Some updates and thoughts since the last blog posting.

1. Claire will be turning two in just a couple weeks. It just seems like yesterday that she was a baby and suddenly she is a kid! She completely understands what we are telling her--and she now often asks, "why?" She especially likes to pull that when she is doing something that she should not. Since she was a baby, she has always wanted to be part of the action, so when we ask Drew if he wants to do something, she will say, "me too!" Her vocabulary is expanding each and every day. She also enjoys making animal sounds and can roar and make monkey sounds (and scratches like one when she makes the sound). She now can go down the stairs standing up--which scares me--sometimes she agrees to hold our hands and other times she just gets mad and says, "no!" She has been a tough nugget in even the earliest part of my pregnancy with her and we don't expect that to change.

2. Drew--oh yes, Mr. Drew. He has a couple opportunities in the last month to hang out with his best preschool pal, Sam. We went to the Splash Pad near our house a few weeks ago--it is a mini water park area at one of the local parks (a great place to take the kids on a hot day and it is free!) and just yesterday, they got to visit each other at COSI's Farm Days. Each year, COSI has a week long event in which they bring in farming equipment and have activities relating to the farm. Drew had fun playing with Sam, milking a fake cow and riding on the mini John Deere tractors. Unfortunately, Drew and Sam will be attending different elementary schools in the fall, but I hope they will still get a chance to hang out with each other. Drew will be starting kindergarten at the end of next month. Given his outgoing personality, he should not have a problem making new friends. The kid can talk (no wonder Claire is picking so many new words up!) and he is very curious about the world around him. He is also dog crazy--he loves dogs. He is particularly fond of his relatively new stuffed animal named Chocolate Coconut (he bought it at Target with his birthday money). He also loves to pet any dog that he comes in contact with--he is always very good about asking the owner before he pets it.

3. My dad came to visit last week and the kids enjoyed spending time with him. Drew enjoyed drawing pictures with him, talking (of course) and watching WALL-E together. He delivered the beautiful framed picture of my grandma and my great aunt Marion when they were little girls. It was the one thing that my grandma specifically told my dad that I was to receive. Since I was a little girl, I always loved the picture and I am honored to have it in our house. But to be honest, I would rather that it was still in my grandparents house and that they were both still here with us.

4. I am excited that I have two Tastefully Simple party lined up for this month. I am crossing my fingers that I will be able to book a couple more parties at these parties. I need to momentum to keep moving along with the business. It has been a slow process, but I knew that going into it. The most exciting thing that I find is that people love the products and have fun at the parties--which is part of the reason I got into this in the first place!

5. We are very excited for our friends, Amy and Jim. They are getting married in Hawaii in September! Amy has been one of my best friends for a long time (and we have been through a lot together) and I am thrilled that she is so darn happy!

6. Finally, the world had to say good-bye to Michael Jackson. It was shocking to hear of his passing. I think he may have been one of the most misunderstood people in the world--even I was often perplexed by his actions. However, his music shaped my childhood and even when it was not cool to like his music, I still did. I listened to my Thriller record over and over again as a kid and I still know every word of each song by heart. I even had two posters of Michael Jackson hanging on my bedroom walls. My best friend from Oregon, Louanne and I would watch the "Making of Thriller" (they had it on laser disc, which was a precursor to the DVD) when I would sleep over at her house. His music is responsible for a lot of great memories when I was growing up. I was deeply moved by his memorial service and will always feel the void that is now left. While he will be discussed for months, if not years to come, I wish for him and his family some sort of peace.

Niagara Falls - And now for the falls

2009-06-16T20:11:00.000-04:00

I have been terribly slow in our vacation blog entries. It has almost been a month since our visit to Niagara Falls--time has really flown by! The final entry has to be the falls! We visited the falls each day we were there--we could not get enough of them. There has to be something in the water that just makes one feel at ease. The crashing of the water almost sounds like waves crashing on oceanside beach. People from all over the world come to visit these magical falls. We felt like singing (well, more me than Aaron), "Its a Small World!" On our first night, we ate at the Canyon Creek restaurant, which was located inside the Fallsview Casino--it overlooked most of the falls and the food was excellent. Of course, just being able to enjoy a quiet, tasty meal with just the two of us was a very big treat. The restaurant is a Canadian chain restaurant--which I thought was pretty darn nice for such a term. We also went to see the Niagara Falls Legends and Daredevils IMAX film during our stay which shared a few stories about the different folklore and tales of a few people who braved going over the falls. After the film, you enter a Daredevil Gallery which displays several of the different contraptions people used to go over the falls (a few survived and a few do not). It would be interesting to actually to hear the tale from someone who actually did survive. It would definitely be one heck of a ride! To think something so beautiful can be so dangerous! Aaron and I agreed that our next visit would include the kids--as they would have so much fun seeing the falls and participating in all of the activities in the area. We missed the region almost immediately after we left. Luckily, it is only a short six hour drive from Columbus. Thank you Niagara Falls, Ontario for such a relaxing and fun visit!

Niagara Falls - Random Stops

2009-06-15T21:48:00.001-04:00

When Aaron and I go on mini vacations together, we pack in as much sightseeing as possible. We do not like to sit around (which we probably should do, but we never do). I guess we do as much as possible because we have to take in as much as possible, since it would be nearly impossible to do so if we had the kids with us. The Niagara region has so much to offer and is so rich in history. On this visit, we really got to enjoy more of the area and see what it has to offer. One of the spots that we unexpectedly visited (but had been recommended by Kevin at the Kilpatrick Manor) was Brock's Monument. It is a monument (and the tomb) of Major General SIr Isaac Brock, who bravely battled and was killed in the line of duty in the War of 1812. The tomb is massive and quite impressive, along with the view from it. We also made a pit stop to Niagara on the Lake during our stay. We ate at the Old Angel Inn, the oldest tavern in North America. Aaron enjoyed the customary Fish and Chips--which also included a serving of peas and carrots. I enjoyed a more modern Roast Beef Au Jus sandwich. After we ate at the Old Angel Inn, we took a walk down to Lake Ontario and look at all of their quaint shops. We also could not resist a visit to one of their bakeries to sample of their goods. We made a quick visit to Port Dalhausie on Saturday to get a few pictures of Lake Ontario. Those crazy Canadians were wearing bikinis and swin trunks on the beach and it was barely 70 degrees outside. The beach wasn't as quaint and adorable as I would have hoped, but we got a few nice pictures. And of course, we could not resist two visits to the Fallsview Casino-we actually came out ahead the first night we were there and Aaron got lucky by winning $120.00 bucks! The second night was a big dud--we both lost. C'est la vie!

Niagara - The Wineries

2009-06-09T23:31:00.000-04:00

Our visit to the Niagara region was spent mostly visiting the vast array of wineries in the region. The wineries are all unique--some are fancier than others, but all have terrific wines. The regions red wines are more tame than those in California and France, which is fine with me, as I have just recently learned to enjoy a few wines of the red variety. We purchased a bottle of wine at each winery that we visited. On our previous trip, we only visited three wineries. On this visit, we visited seven in total. On our first full day in the region, we visited three wineries near Niagara On The Lake, Inniskillen, Hillebrand and Konzelmann. Of the three, our favorite on this day was Konzelmann, as the guy providing samples was so funny and generous with the wine samples. On the second day, we visited four in the Beamsville/Vineland/Jordan area, Flat Rock, Featherstone, Fielding Estates and Vineland Estates. We had a nice light lunch on the veranda of Featherstone, which was not very impressive on the outside, but the porch was cute and inviting. We toured the winery at Vineland Estates and found the tour to be extremely educational. It is amazing to how complex the process is to create the different wines. The winner for best winery of that day was Vineland Estates, it not only for how beautiful the building and the grounds were. The one thing that we were disappointed by was how the vines looked so sad at this time of the year--the leaves are just beginning to grow. On our last visit, all of the vines were so lush and had tons of grapes on them. Of course, it was September then and it was almost time for their official harvest of the season. Having so many options with the wineries in this area was terrific and just another reason why it would be fun to live in the area (or maybe retire--of course their winters are pretty brutal--which is a definite drawback!).

Return to Niagara - Kilpatrick Manor

2009-05-28T13:51:00.000-04:00

For our second visit to Niagara Falls, we decided to stay at a bed and breakfast--it was more economical (than staying at a hotel near the falls), comfortable and we got an amazing breakfast each morning. The owners, Kevin and Nance Kilpatrick could not have been nicer. They are about the same age as we are--they have two little ones and live across the street from their bed and breakfast. They were also able to offer more information about the area--like which wineries to visit, what restaurants to eat at, etc. The house is rich with history--it was built by the Niagara Falls Parks Commissioner in the late 1800's. The Kilpatrick's have tried to maintain the original beauty of the house, but have kept their renovation work very modern and comfortable. The room we stayed in was called the "Hunniford" (each room is named for one of their relatives). The house itself it in an area going through changes--it was out of the touristy areas, but only five to ten minute car ride to the falls. We enjoyed our visit there and would definitely return (although we agreed the next time we visit the area, we will bring the kids with us).

Update

2009-05-18T17:13:00.000-04:00

I know it has been some time, so here is a quick update on our family.

Drew registered for kindergarten on April 29th. He went through a series of tests--hearing, speech, letter and number recognition, vision, etc. at the school. He had no problems leaving me (it was kind of like, see you later mom!) for the tests and is now extremely excited to begin his new adventures in kindergarten in August. His last day of preschool was last week and I admit I cried when we said goodbye to his teachers. He has come such a long way this year and he had such a great time. He recently had his first solo playdate with his preschool pal, Sam. They are such good buddies that I hope they will remain friends--despite the fact they will be in different elementary schools next year.

Claire is growing so quickly and becoming a playmate to her big brother. She loves to say "Goodnight Drew!" and she thinks Drew is one funny kid. She is learning new words each day. Eyebrows (weird, but she likes to point to them), nose, ears, Calliou, George (for Curious George) are just a few examples of the words she recently learned. She also loves to dance in circles to music and runs like the wind! She just wants to go, go, go! And she is starting to sing--most of which we cannot understand, but we think it is singing! She also is obsessed with wearing her shoes--she wants to have them on all the time--even when she sleeps! Every time she thinks she is going somewhere--she hands us the shoes or she starts putting them on herself. I wonder if this the beginning of a lifelong love of shoes!

Amy and I walked once again in the Race for the Cure on Saturday (this the fifth time we have walked together in it). It is always an uplifting event to participate in. This year, they remembered our local news anchor, Heather Pick, who passed away of breast cancer in November, by wearing bright pink wigs and wearing t-shirts with her picture on the front. In her last appearance on the news, she wore the same wig. It was certainly moving and a fine tribute to a remarkable and brave woman. There is nothing quite like the sight of 44,000 people walking or running in such an event. Amy--same time, same place next year? :)

Aaron and I are looking forward to a much needed four day mini vacation to Niagara Falls, Ontario at the end of this week. Aaron's mom will be watching the kids. Our vacations together are so important to us as a couple. We have been planning our itinerary and look forward to posting pictures of our visit.

The finale of American Idol is this week. Aaron and I both think Adam is going to win it by a mile. Kris kicked it up with his rendition of "Heartless" last week. Honestly, does it really matter who wins at this point? They are all up for record contracts and if they play their cards right, they could be big.

Blooms and Butterflies.

2009-05-18T16:55:00.001-04:00

As I had my first Tastefully Simple open house yesterday, Aaron decided to take the kids to the Franklin Park Conservatory to see their annual Blooms and Butterflies exhibit. Since learning about butterflies in preschool, Drew has been very interested in learning more about them. The kids had a terrific time and as expected, Drew loved the butterflies. It was also a great opportunity to test out our new camera--the Canon PowerShot SX110 IS. It is still a point and shot camera, but it is a significant improvement over our old digital camera that was three years old. Aaron took amazing shots of the butterflies--something that we could have never captured on our old camera.

In memory of my Grandma Bernice 1918 - 2009

2009-04-21T20:47:00.001-04:00

It is hard to just write a short blog entry to summarize what my Grandma Bernice meant to me and Aaron. She passed away on April 8th at the age of 90. While that is quite an impressive age to live to--I always thought that she would live until she was 100. Despite her age, she just always seemed eternally young to me. There are many adjectives that I could use for her--strong, devoted, blunt, kind, loving and determined. But, mostly, she was just my Grandma Bernice and I loved her very much. To be in her presence (and my Grandpa Bob's) was just so peaceful and easy. She was just always there--even though we always seemed to live so far away. So, to be without her is going to take some time to get used to. The pictures shown include one of me and Grandma when I was 4 years old, the second one is from my Great Aunt Marion's wedding when I was six (and I was the flower girl) and finally, a picture taken of Aaron and I with my grandparents at our wedding reception in September 2000.

Happy 5th Birthday Drew!

2009-04-21T16:38:00.000-04:00

It has been a stressful and sad couple of weeks for us, but it was wonderful to make Drew's 5th birthday a special day for him. Grandma and Grandpa Randolph came to visit on Saturday before his birthday and brought an awesome WALL-E birthday cake (see picture) and gifts! On Monday (his birthday), it began with the not so fun annual visit to see Dr. Williams. Unfortunately, it also meant getting four booster shots. Since I was a little nervous about his reaction to the shots, Aaron volunteered to take him. Drew came through it like a champ! After his visit to the doctor, we took him to Culver's for lunch. He, Claire and I all enjoyed the hot dog kids meal! Aaron had a grown up Wisconsin cheese melt. Then after lunch, it was on to the Columbus Bowling Palace for his first game of bowling. Drew and I got to spend some time together, as Aaron stayed home while Claire took a nap. Drew had a blast bowling--and even beat his Mommy! He scored a 73 and I scored a sad 61! Finally, we attempted a visit to Chuck E Cheese, but after Aaron stood in line for a half hour waiting to order a pizza, we left. Apparently, there was an issue with their registers, but they failed to do anything to communicate with their customers or make an effort to help us parents who were trying to keep two kids happy at the table! Plus, the place is a complete zoo with kids running around and the arcade games making a lot of noise! (okay, I am getting to be a little bit of an old grumpy lady!) So, we went over to the Pizza Hut that was just across the street. While Drew said Pizza Hut was a "boring place", we had a nice waiter and hot pizza and breadsticks in less than 15 minutes. Overall, it was a busy and fun day! It is hard to believe our little guy is 5--that's a whole hand! :)

We could not be prouder!

2009-04-08T20:42:00.000-04:00

There are just some moments when you are so proud of your children...well, I would guess this video clip above would not be one of them. But, it is pretty darn funny! I recorded this right after we had dinner---and the kids were in rare form. For some reason, Claire thinks it is hilarious when I say the word, "yuck." In typical Drew fashion, he had to share his favorite word too. We are working on making his favorite word something else, but for now, here it is.

Breakfast Time with Drew and Claire

2009-03-30T22:41:00.001-04:00

For the past couple of weeks, Drew and Claire have started to eat their meals together at their small plastic table. Drew is actually a little too big for it, but he still insists on sitting there with Claire. It is cute to see the two of them each together. They have conversations--although I am not quite sure what Claire is telling Drew and they pick at each other's food (sometimes they don't mind and sometimes they get upset with each other). I took the pictures above when they were having breakfast together the other day.

Shiny Happy Little Guy

2009-03-29T23:33:00.000-04:00

Drew wanted to have a little photo session the other night before bedtime. This picture just makes me smile. It shows one happy laughing little guy.

Dipping my toes in the water

2009-03-19T21:27:00.000-04:00

After almost a month of consideration, I have decided to become a Tastefully Simple consultant. Since leaving my position with Stewart last September, I have been struggling with not being able to financially contribute to the family. I know taking care of our two children is one of the most important jobs that someone can have, but I pride myself on being able to pay for things myself and not have to rely on Aaron solely to do that. This kind of came to me out of nowhere. I had wanted to host a party for sometime--thinking it would be a nice way to have some of my old and new friends come over to our house. My friend, Cathy mentioned that one of our neighbors was a Tastefully Simple consultant. Seeing that everyone enjoys food and I wanted an opportunity to get to know my neighbor, Sarah better (she and her husband have three children, one of whom is the same age as Drew), I held a party last week and it turned out wonderfully. In the midst of planning this party, I discussed becoming a consultant with Sarah. Now, I would admit I am probably one of the last people to ever do this, but the idea of selling food products that are tasty, extremely recognizable and simple to prepare (especially for someone as cooking challenged as myself!) was very appealing to me. Plus, I like the idea of challenging myself to meet new people and breaking out that mold of being shy that I sometimes put myself into. My goal is to have parties without feeling like I am being pushy or overly ambitious. I want to be geniune about it and grateful as well.
So here I go. And if it doesn't work out that is okay. At least I know I gave it a try and did something that no one would expect.

Drew's shiny new bike and other assorted thoughts

2009-03-13T21:17:00.000-04:00

I didn't realize that it has been almost three weeks since my last entry--time is flying by. We are doing well-we are all ready for Spring to finally arrive. Being couped up in the house has not been much fun. We did have a few days of unusually warm weather--which prompted us to take our first trip to the zoo this year and for Drew to test out his new bike that he got from Santa at Christmas. He is still a little shaky on how to use the pedals, but he enjoyed his new wheels. Attached are pictures of his big ride on the bike.

I also had my first "product" party last night. One of my neighbors, Sarah is a Tastefully Simple consultant and I thought it would be a nice way to get to know her better, as well as have some fun with my friends. Who can resist eating some tasty food samples and enjoying a nice beverage! I had eleven guests--which I was quite pleased about. There was a mixture of people there--a couple women in the neighborhood moms group, a few neighbors, a few new friends from Xenos Fellowship, and my old pals, Amy, Carol and Cathy. We go back to my college days. Heck, I am even contemplating becoming a Tastefully Simple consultant myself!

Aaron is getting pumped up for the NCAA College Basketball tournament. He gets very excited for this time of year. He will be living in his "man-cave" in the basement for the next couple of weeks--he has his fancy television down there. He evens takes off a couple days from work, so he can devote himself to watching the games.

We are back into the swing of the next round of American Idol. Our early favorite is Danny Gokey. I also kind of like Adam--the extremely theatrical goth looking dude. But, everything I see him perform all I can think of is how perfect he would be in Jesus Christ Superstar. While I have never seen the actual musical, I am sort of familiar with the music. Aaron is not a big fan of his. We mutually think that Jamar, Danny's friend and Ju'Not, got the unfairly cut from the contest. They have more talent than a number of the people in the top 11 (formerly 13). Oh well.

One of our favorite vacation spots--Niagara Falls, Ontario

2009-02-23T19:42:00.000-05:00

Having never been to Niagara Falls, I always thought that it was one of those tourist trap destinations with tacky souvenier shops. But, since it was a relatively short drive (six hours from Columbus) and I had never seen the Falls (Aaron went when he was a kid), we thought we would give it a try as an extended weekend visit to celebrate of sixth wedding anniversary (Drew stayed home with Grandma Randolph--and this was a year before Claire arrived). After doing my research for the trip (which I love to do in preparation for any trip we go on) I discovered the Canadian side was filled with different wineries and a cute little town down just north of the Falls called Niagara on the Lake. Needless to say, it was one of the best mini-vacations that we have ever gone on. The wonderful thing about it is that you feel like you really traveled far to get there--which made it even more fun. Canada knows how to show its American tourists a good time! We kept quite busy in the short weekend visit that we had. We arrived on Friday afternoon and left on Sunday morning. The Falls are amazing to view and it was a blast going on the famed Maid of the Mist steamboat. We got soaked as the boat got relatively close the actual Falls--normally, I would hate getting wet, but it was completely worth it. We visited three wineries--Chateau des Charmes, Peller Estates and Jackson-Triggs--which is a very small fraction of the wineries in the area. We were pleasantly surprised by how expansive and elegant the wineries were that we visited. They were comparable to the wineries and vineyards in Napa Valley (not that we are any wine connisseurs or anything--but we had a couple brief visits there on our visits to see my brother and his family). Finally, we spent a few hours in the cute little town, Niagara on the Lake (I just like the sound of it). It is filled with cute shops, pubs and little inns, etc. Unfortunately, we did not get to see the lake, despite its obvious location. The road between Niagara on the Lake and Niagara Falls is beautiful too--probably one of the prettiest drives that we have ever been on. Needless to say, that I cannot say enough about this place. In fact, we are going to visit the area again in May. Plans are already underway for this visit. This time around, we plan on staying Thursday through Sunday--so we will have one more day to enjoy. Niagara here we come! :)

COSI - a visit with the frogs

2009-02-17T22:09:00.000-05:00

Aaron had President's Day off, so we decided to take a trip to COSI - the Central Ohio Science and Industry center. They recently opened an exhibit about frogs and we thought Drew and Claire would enjoy it. I was a little skeptical since the Columbus Zoo has a fine display of various frogs in their Reptile exhibit. The exhibit was interesting, as many of the live frogs that they had on display were completely different from the ones at the zoo. The attached picture of the wax frog (I forgot it's complete name) looks like how I feel in the mornings (especially after a long night with Claire! :) Drew enjoyed saying hello to the frogs. After our visit to see the frogs, we visited the Ocean and WOSU-TV exhibits and then I took Drew to see the 3D movie, "Fly Me to the Moon" on COSI's extreme screen and Aaron took Claire to the Kidspace play area to run around. It was a nice afternoon and the kids were able to get a little one on one time with their mom and dad respectively.

Well, so much for growing out Claire's bangs!

2009-02-17T22:02:00.001-05:00

I tried very hard to let Claire's bangs grow out--but it was getting to be too much of a struggle to keep her hair pulled back. So, last Sunday, I took her to Cookie Cutters to get her second official trim. The stylist only took off a little around the edges (to give her some sort of bob do) and trimmed up her bangs. Claire did amazingly well this time around. No tears were shed--she didn't want to get out of the chair! I admit I am disappointed that we could not grow them out--but we will give it another try. But, for now, at least we can see her pretty blue eyes and she can see things clearly without the long line of bangs preventing her from seeing all the wonderful things around her.

Holy Cow! Miss Claire has eyes!

2009-02-06T22:46:00.000-05:00

For the past several months, we have been attempting (well, me) to grow out Claire's bangs. I had weak moments when she was a still quite little to cut them and of course, she had her first official haircut in October. But, I am trying to stand firm on my decision to let them grow out. It has not been easy and I have had many moments where I just want to get the scissors out and cut them. The primary reason why it is has been so difficult is that little Miss Claire is not a fan of barettes in her hair. She pulls them out almost the second I put them in. But, lately, she has reluctantly (at least for longer periods of time) allowed me to keep mini pony tail holders in her hair. She looks a little something out of the eighties with a ponytail on top of her head--but at least I can see her blue eyes. And heck, she might even enjoy seeing things as opposed to her hair. Attached is a before and after shot of our hair transformation!

Drew--the Big Red Dog

2009-02-06T22:38:00.001-05:00

The teachers at Drew's preschool are brillant. Each week they chose a theme for the week--and this past week was Clifford the Big Red Dog. Clifford happens to be Drew's favorite fictional dog--so of course, it is his favorite stuffed animal, favorite cartoon, favorite book, etc. Needless to say, the ended the week with a big bang. The kids were asked to wear red. Drew picked out his red shirt the night before (which has never happened before) and to get all geared up for the next day--he watched a Clifford cartoon (he has the whole set on DVD) and had us read a Clifford book at bedtime. When I came to pick him up on Thursday, he proudly the displayed the brown make-up they put on his nose and his dog ears--that he had cut himself. He said that he got to be Clifford that day. Nothing could be better than that. I had to document his joy in pictures.

The ineffectiveness of a timeout

2009-02-06T22:26:00.000-05:00

Our method of punishment (at least the first warning) for Drew is the timeout--which involves standing in the corner with his face to the wall. It used to be somewhat effective. It would involve him standing in the corner from anywhere to a minute to 20 minutes (the 20 minute one only happened once and it was because he used a permanent black marker to literally decorate our entire guest room). After his timeout, we would ask him why he got punished and if he learned from it. Well, as of a few days ago, it is no longer effective. When Drew is in the corner, Claire likes to join him there. Drew finds this very funny and he usually ends up laughing with Claire. The attached photo sums it up quite well. I swear one of these days the kids are going to go to overthrow their parents and take control of the house. But, any ideas for effective methods of punishment are always welcome!

Happy Birthday Aaron!

2009-01-26T20:05:00.000-05:00

With the craziness of my brother and Matthew's visit, I did not get an opportunity to wish my husband, Aaron a proper happy birthday on our blog. His birthday fell smack dab in the middle of their visit. I took Aaron out to dinner at PF Changs on the Saturday evening prior to their visit (thanks again to Amy and Jim for watching the kids). We also enjoyed coffee and cheesecake at Barnes and Noble after dinner. It was so nice to have some quiet time as a couple! On his birthday, my brother treated everyone to Quaker Steak and Lube. The boys were tempted to try the hottest wings on the menu--the Atomic chicken wings--but wimped out and went with a more milder flavored wing. I will never understand a man's desire to eat chicken wing that is so hot that makes you sweat and your eyes water. We finished the evening with a decorated chocolate chip cookie from Giant Eagle. Happy 36th Birthday Aaron--cheers!

Matthew and his shadow

2009-01-26T19:47:00.000-05:00

My brother and his son, Matthew recently visited us from California. It was good to see them and we were grateful that they made the trip out to Columbus. Drew was extremely happy to see his older cousin and to spend hours playing with him. Claire tried her best to fit in. It was a short visit, but we tried to fit in as much as possible in the few days that they were here. Whatever Matthew wanted to do, Drew wanted to do as well. Being from California, Matthew loved the snow and playing in it. Aaron, Drew and he built a snow fort (well, it looked more like an igloo). Aaron treated the boys to video games at Magic Mountain and we all spent the afternoon at COSI. They boys seemed to really enjoy the Ocean and Gadgets exhibits at the museum. Matthew also participated in one of the live science shows as well. With all the fun he had, he told my brother that he didn't want to leave. As you can see in the pictures, Drew was literally Matthew's little shadow. They thought it would be funny to have a picture of their backsides (don't ask) and of course, their funny faces.

Happy belated Anniversary

2009-01-18T22:16:00.001-05:00

I just realized yesterday that I completely forgot my parents 41st wedding anniversary. With my mom's health and everything else, I just forgot. I used to be very good at remembering special dates--but my memory has really gone downhill since having two kids. Ugh.

Anyway, this picture was taken in my grandparents living room after my parents got married at the Minneapolis City Hall on January 13, 1968. They were both so young--my mom was 21 and my dad was 23. Both of them look a little unsure about what lied ahead of them. But, I must say that my mom looked beautiful in her very simple, but elegant dress. With them in this photo are my aunt, Joyce (sitting next to my dad) and my mom's friend--I have no idea what her name is, but I dig the glasses!

Happy belated anniversary to my parents!

The magic of Calliou

2009-01-14T14:04:00.001-05:00

Who would have ever guessed a bald four year old boy would be the cure all when Claire wakes up in the middle of the night? Calliou is a cartoon on PBS--it is about a little boy, his family and all of their adventures. The kid sometimes gets on my nerves, as he can be a little on the whiny side. But, hey, if it pacifies Claire when nothing else will--then we are happy to watch it--even at 3 a.m. in the morning. Luckily, we haven't had one of those nights in a couple of weeks. We not sure what Claire finds so calming--it may be the gentle voice of the narrator or the bright white background. We are still a little puzzled why they don't give the poor kid any hair. Oh yes, Claire also likes to dance to the music at the beginning and end of the show!

Olga and Vladamir

2009-01-13T10:11:00.000-05:00

A couple days ago, the kids thought it would be fun to put on one of my winter hats. When Aaron saw the pictures, he said the kids looked like Russian orphans. So, I have officially re-named them Olga and Vladamir (when they have the hat on that is!)

A Filmmaker in the making?

2009-01-13T10:01:00.000-05:00

I could not resist sharing one of Drew's works. He has a great sense of creativity and since he was very small, he has made many interesting pieces. This morning, after I came down from taking a shower, I found this little masterpiece. Drew says it is a movie theater, complete with a film projector and movie screen. He also says the movie is about Playhouse Disney (Handy Mandy, what is really showing on the actual television) and that it magical. "Movie theaters are also fun and I like Wall-E and Bolt, the Superdog" -- this a direct quote from Drew.

Let's do the time warp again!

2009-01-11T16:30:00.000-05:00

Last night, I was reminded just how old I am starting to feel. I met my friend, Cheryl, her friend, Lynn and her son, Kevin and his new girlfriend at Average Joe's for a couple of drinks. I had not seen Kevin in probably eight years and holy cow, he looked completely different! He is a full grown person--not the young teenager that I remembered him to be. The funny thing is that I don't feel any different, but the kids that I knew in my teens and twenties have completely grown up. The same also applies to the kids I used to babysit who lived across the street from us when I was a teenager. They are now in their twenties! Corey recently became a father. Where does the time go? I probably will say the same thing in ten years when Drew is 14 years old and Claire is 11 years old. We will have a moody teenager and preteen on our hands who will want nothing to do with their annoying parents.

Speaking of going back in time, every now and then I will look at the people on Facebook who went to my high school. I admit I was pretty much a nobody in high school and I could not wait to move on to bigger and better things in college. Yesterday, as I was looking at the people, I found the guy who I had the biggest crush (there were several boys that I had crushes on, but this crush lasted the longest) on in high school. I stalked this kid, but never said a word to him. He looked nothing like what he did in high school--he had grey hair and horned rimmed glasses on! It was a shock and needless to say, he is no longer very cute. I have found a lot of the guys on Facebook from high school who were once skinny and had a head full of hair are now bald and quite chubby. Don't worry, I shared this entire story with Aaron--who didn't seem to think it was all that interesting. I guess it just goes to show that there is justice in the world for all of those guys who ignored me in high school! :)

Finally, an update on my mom. She has gained some weight and is now up to 100 lbs (give or take a pound). While she is not completely out of the woods--everyone with hospice and the nursing home are very encouraged by her progress. A month ago, we were told to prepare for the worst. So, once again, we remain on the roller coaster--but at least we are going up the hill. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers--I believe they really helped us and my mom. My brother and his two sons are flying out here for a visit in a week and a half. My brother had thought it would be a visit to say goodbye to my mom--but she proved him wrong. I think she really wanted to stick around to see him again and she is getting her wish. I am glad that they are visiting and Drew is thrilled that both boys will be visiting. They visited us just before Claire was born and Drew absolutely loved seeing and playing with them. It will be interesting to see how little Miss Claire interacts with them. She will probably want to be in the middle of their fun too.

Happy Birthday Cheryl!

2009-01-07T15:44:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to my friend, Cheryl! She and I go all the way back to Ashland Chemical Company. We both started in January 1996 (I started as a temp in June 1995) and oddly enough, we share the same birthday! Neither one of us are still at Ashland, but I am glad to still be friends with her after all of these years. The photo below was taken at DisneyWorld in October 1996. During the company's very good years, the division we worked in treated us to a trip to the Tampa/Orlando area. We got to visit the Magic Kingdom for an afternoon and evening on one of days there--I thought it was one of the most magical and colorful places that I have ever been to (I thought that about Orlando in general). In the photo is my friend Cheryl, our fellow co-worker and crazy mama, Amy (this woman can swear like no one else I know!) and me. It is a great memory.

Updates

2009-01-06T21:41:00.000-05:00

For some reason, I am always a little sad to let the year leave us--it is the same emotion that I have every year as Aaron and I watch the crystal ball drop in Times Square. I guess it is because I never felt like I accomplished as much as I would have liked or just sad to know that we will never get this time back again. But, it is time to start 2009!

Claire is now 17 months old. She is a little girl that is constantly on the go--she loves to run around the house (well, a quick step). She is learning new words every day and she is beginning to know the different sounds animals make (thanks to the book, "Moo, Baa, La, La, La!") Speaking of which, she loves for us to read her books--she will walk over with her book of choice, throw it in our lap and say, "reeed!" And, she will sit still for the entire book--something that we were not able to get Drew to do until he was at least two years old. And of course, she loves to dance to the theme song of "Calliou" and I found her bopping her head to Beyone's "Single Girls (Put a ring on it)" when we were in the car today.

Drew, our crazy 4 1/2 year old. He just returned to preschool today after the long two week Winter Break. I almost understand that Staples commercial that they play at the beginning of the school year with parents dancing in the aisles to "It's the most wonderful time of the year" song. Of course, his preschool only lasts for two and half hours each day-but I will take what I can get! He loves going to school--so I don't feel too bad about being excited about him going back. He is showing signs that he might actually like having a little sister--I find them playing together every once in a while and it is the best thing to see. I hope that they become good buddies, because they will need each other as they go through life together.

My mom continues to take us on a continuous roller coaster ride. She came to visit on New Years Day and again last Sunday. She is talking quite a bit--which is so weird and nice to hear because for a very long time, she hardly said a word. She asked if we planned on having more kids (the answer to that is no), if she could drive my car (once again, the answer was no) and if my stomach was flabby after having the kids (the answer to that is yes, but then again, my stomach has always been flabby!). It has been like that moment on Grey's Anatomy a few years ago when Meredith Grey's mother came out of her Alzheimer's state and she was normal for a few hours. I am not sure what her official weight is this week--I will know tomorrow. But, when she visited our house, she ate three Dunkin Donuts, marshmellows, chips and drank Coca-Cola.

Aaron, myself and the kids had lunch with Amy, Jim, Lisa, Bill, William, Stephanie and Brad last Saturday at the Gahanna Creekside Grill. It was so nice to see everyone. It is an annual tradition for the four of us to get together for the holidays--this year we mixed it up by inviting our respective husbands, fiance and children. It is hard to believe that we have known each other for 15 years. I think we have collectively experienced every life experience that you can have at our age. And the stories that we could tell! Most of them involve a good laugh--I am always exhausted from laughing so much.

Finally, I went to see "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" last Friday night. I went by myself as I am been so anxious to see a movie (which I love to do) and there wasn't time to find someone to watch the kids--so Aaron stayed home and watched football. I thought I would enjoy going solo-but it was kind of lonely. Anyway, the movie was terrific. I thought Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett were a great team. It has shades of "Forrest Gump" in it. The movie was long--but I completely lost track of time while watching it. I am anxious to see "Revolutionary Road" with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. I was obsessed with Titanic ten years ago (yes, I have seen more times than I would like to reveal) and I am happy to see them team up again for this movie.

Hooray for Amy and Jim!

2009-01-03T19:48:00.000-05:00

One of my best friends, Amy announced today that she and her boyfriend, Jim got engaged on New Years Eve. We are very happy for her and Jim! Amy and I go back all the way to OU and ever since we became friends, she has been the one person I can count on (and Aaron too). She loves our children and treats them as if they were her own nephew and niece. We knew Jim was a good one when he come to help Amy babysit Claire and Drew last Spring. He had to deal with some interesting situations while they were here! :) The kids instantly took to him and he is now known in our house as "Mr. Jim." So, congratulations and best wishes to Auntie Amy and Mr. Jim!

Okay, Mr. Wiseguy (aka Drew Randolph)

2008-12-28T15:14:00.001-05:00

Once again, I am having some fun with my new printer/scanner today. I cannot resist sharing Drew's preschool group photo. Only two of the little boys in the photo are not smiling and Drew is one of them (he is standing and is the third from the right). He has his "I am a little wiseguy" look on his face. I am sure the other moms looking at the photo are thinking, "this picture would be perfect if it wasn't for the two little boys who are not smiling!" Oh well, I think it just makes him stand out from the other little boys Aaron and I laugh when we look at this photo. I am just amazed that they were able to get 14 little boys to sit still long enough to get the picture!

A Blast from the Past - August 1988

2008-12-27T14:29:00.000-05:00

I am testing my new computer printer/scanner/fax machine that Aaron gave me for Christmas. I had wanted a new printer, since our old one was horrible. But, I am most excited about the chance to scan old photos from the pre-digital era.

My first blog featuring a scanned picture is from August 1988. I was fifteen years old and I was in Oregon visiting my friends, Kathy Embick and Julie Grossharth (now Carattini). After I moved to Ohio, I missed my friends very much (we lived in Beaverton, Oregon for five years and we moved just before my fourteen birthday) and my parents agreed to let me fly out to Oregon for a two week visit. It was great. The first part of my visit was with Kathy Embick and her family--we stayed at a house they rented on the Oregon Coast. The second week was spent with my friend, Julie and her family in Beaverton. We had a lot of fun goofing around. One night we went to see Dana Carvey at a theater in downtown Portland. Julie had won tickets to see him and he was pretty funny. Anyway, the attached picture was taken before we left for the show. My visit is definitely a highlight of my teenage years.

Christmas-the aftermath

2008-12-26T22:01:00.000-05:00

Our Christmas this year was very hectic. Aaron and I were running around for two days straight. So, we are both pretty wiped out, but we had a good time and ate a lot of food. The kids had a terrific Christmas and enjoyed being with their respective grandparents on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Santa was very good to them--despite the many warnings to Drew that Santa might just leave him coal if he did not behave better. Drew was like a wind up toy--he was just so excited for Christmas that he could not contain himself. Luckily, he slept until 7:15 a.m. on Christmas morning so we could get a little more sleep. Drew received a very cool bike for Christmas, along with a bunch of other goodies and Claire received a play kitchen and other goodies as well. They both received aprons with their names embroidered on them. They can wear them when they help us in the kitchen. Claire was more impressed with the big bows that were on the bike and play kitchen more than the toys themselves it seemed. Attached are a few photos of the festivities. The family photo by the tree was a little tricky to get this year-Drew is in a phase where he enjoys making funny faces when he gets his photo taken. This is the best one of the four that were taken. We hope your holidays were merry!

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-25T00:18:00.000-05:00

I would just like to take a moment to wish to those reading my blog (all one or two of you! :)) a Merry Christmas! I hope you have a wonderful day celebrating with your families.

The good news is that my mom gained two pounds this week! From what the nurses said at the nursing home that is quite unusual (but good). But, like I said earlier, we have to be cautious and hope that she continues to gain weight. She is still very, very fragile and she has a very long road ahead of her. With her weight gain, she is still only 95 pounds--and 5 feet 8 inches. My mom (along with my dad) were able to come over today for a nice four hour visit. She has not been out of the nursing home in quite a long time. She ate a little (not as much as we would have liked), watched the kids run around the house (Claire gave her many kisses and kept handing a little plastic ball to her), look at the Christmas tree and open the gift we bought her. We were grateful to have her here and we hoped we made it as nice as possible for her.

We try to be as grateful as we can for what we do have--and for that we feel very lucky.

Merry Christmas again.

On the roller coaster....

2008-12-19T20:15:00.000-05:00

My dad received a positive phone call from the nurse case manager with the hospice group yesterday. My mom has been eating much better since the nursing home starting giving her real food (albeit softer foods that she can easily chew) instead of the pureed food that looked like--well, I won't even say. The nurse case manager said that she would be surprised if my mom has lost weight this week (they weigh her on Monday mornings). We have been down this road many times before where we will hear positive news, only to hear bad news a few days later. It is a perpetual roller coaster ride, so our own sanity, we try to not to get too excited about positive news. I am trying to get everything in place so that my mom can visit our house on Christmas Eve. She is very anxious to leave the nursing home--even if it's only for a few hours. I hope we can pull this off well.

Our official visit with Santa Claus at Easton Town Center

2008-12-19T20:00:00.000-05:00

To mix things up this year, we took the kids to visit Santa Claus at Easton Towne Center (which is a little further away than our usual mall hang out of Polaris Fashion Place). The cost for an official 5 x 7 photo with Santa was only $5.00--which was quite a bargain considering the Santa photo-op at Polaris costs a minimum of $18.00. Aaron took a half day off of work, so we could avoid the crazy crowds. This Santa looked pretty geniune too. While we waited for Santa's little photo elves to take the official shot, I took a shot of the kids with Santa. The photo elves were not very good--in fact, they seemed quite confused. The woman in front of us could not decide which package to purchase. Which was fine--unfortunately, it took four photo elves to help her out. Meanwhile, Claire, Drew and even Santa were getting a little restless. I had to tell the photo elves that our one year old was not going to last much longer--so they finally took the picture. Needless to say, the photo I took turned out to be much better than the official shot. Oh well. It was still nice to spend some time together--we had lunch, walked around and even stopped to buy some yummy cheesecake to bring home at the Cheesecake Factory.

My mom, Liz Carlson

2008-12-15T22:37:00.001-05:00

In late 2001, my mom suffered a relatively minor stroke--that was not detected until several months later. The ramifications of that stroke (and many other "mini-strokes" that she experienced in the following months after the initial one) lead to her being both physically and mentally disabled. For a good part of the past seven years, she has lived in nursing home facilities. She is only 61 years old. To say that it has been a difficult journey for my family is an understatement. For me personally, it has been painful to watch my mom slip slowly away from me. While she could drive me crazy more than anyone else in my life, she and I were very close to one another. We could talk for hours at night together and we talked on the phone daily (sometimes more than once). She was the glue (as I think most moms tend to be) that held our very fractured family together. But, what makes the most difficult to deal with is that she has never had a chance to be the grandma that she always wanted to be. She loved her children unconditionally and I know how much joy her three grandsons and one granddaughter would have given her (three of which were born after she had her stroke and subsequent illness). I could not have predicted how difficult being a mom would be without having her guidance and support. Unfortunately, she is now in the fight for her life. She has lost a significant amount of weight and hospice is involved in her care. We have been told that she is quickly losing her battle--but no time frame can be given as to when she might finally give up this fight. She is a tough woman and that is why she is still with us today. While I have been quiet about my mom's health--I really feel like I need to share this with everyone. After all, I want to celebrate who she is and who she used to be. She deserves that. Sadly, there are few pictures of her with grandchildren, but the one above I cherish greatly. Shortly after I gave birth to Claire last year, she and my dad came to the hospital to see their new granddaughter. My mom got the opportunity to meet and hold Claire (Claire's middle name is Julianne--which honors both Aaron's mom, Julia and my mom, whose middle name is Anne). She just stared at her for what seemed like an eternity. For that, Aaron and I are so grateful.

A Winter Wonderland--that is, a very cold, but pretty one!

2008-12-05T23:26:00.001-05:00

Last night, we took the kids to the Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo. I thought it would be a nice evening, as there was little wind or snow or any other kind of item falling from the sky (we have seen a little bit of everything in the past several days). However, it was 24 degrees outside. I bundled the kids up in a couple layers--so I thought we would be covered at least for an hour or so. Aaron was a little hesistant about it due to the bitter chill in the air. But, as soon as we walked into the zoo, I was in awe of the lights--they were quite impressive. Drew was bouncing up and down with the excitement and Claire pointed excitedly at the lights. He also enjoyed the huge train exhibit (held inside) and the photo above shows him jumping for joy in excitement watching it. We lasted for almost an hour--with several visits to a couple exhibits held indoors (the train exhibit we visited twice). I plan on taking Drew again solo, as Claire is at the age where if you leave her in the stroller too long, she gets antsy and wants to walk--which is fine and dandy, but when its 24 degrees out and she is still a little clumsy walking on concrete--it is better to let her do in the comfort of our warm and reasonably child proof home. As you can see in the picture--she is not too thrilled with the lights towards the end of our visit.

Christmas at Franklin Park Conservatory

2008-12-05T23:11:00.000-05:00

Last Sunday, our good friend and family photographer, Amy met us at the Franklin Park Conservatory to take our family picture for our Christmas card this year. With two very squirmy kids, it can be quite a challenge. Amy is always up for the challenge and is a great sport about it. The kids love their "Auntie Amy" and they like hanging around her. The Conservatory was filled with a huge number of poinsetta plants--which make it quite festive. My personal favorite is the Palm House--a large, glass enclosed area that looks like a tropical forest (with some poinsetta plants and a few Chiluly sculptures thrown in). They typically host wedding receptions, company parties and other events in the area. The good news is that Amy took a terrific photo of the four of us (a rare occurance--just to get a picture with the four of us in it, much less all of us looking at the camera!) You will see the photo on our Christmas card. But, here are a few outtakes from our photo session! As you can see Claire is never too keen on Drew putting his arm around her. It is a trust issue! :)

Girl Power! (and Boy Power too!)

2008-12-05T23:03:00.000-05:00

As I mentioned in my previous blog, if I say "Girl Power" to Claire, she instantly raises her fists in the air like a little super hero (and a big grin). I am quite proud that she knows exactly what I am talking about. Attached is a picture of her in her full power super hero mode. Drew, being ever the follower, likes to throw in his "Boy Power!" Ah, these two are going to conquer the world!

To be thankful

2008-12-02T17:29:00.000-05:00

In a year that has brought a lot of challenges and sadness for our family--I try to remind myself of all that is good and what I should be grateful for. Here is my list.

1. My husband, Aaron. He is a good man. He loves me for me and that is always a very good thing. He is handling a lot on his shoulders right now with his job, our finances and family issues.

2. My always curious little boy, Drew. The kid is constantly asking questions and building strange little structures from the most obscure items in our house. And he is one of the friendliest kids around--he is never shy to say hello. Plus, he is starting to share with his sister (without being told to do so). While he can be a major challenge at times--I am very proud of this guy. Sometimes I feel like I learn from him instead of the other way around.

3. My spirited daughter, Claire. This little girl is going to rule the world someday. She has been a firecracker from the earliest stages of my pregnancy with her. She loves to smile and raise her arms up in the air when I say "girl power!" Plus, the girl can shake her rump like no one else when she hears music. And she doesn't put up with any nonsense from her big brother.

4. Our home. While we pay out the ying-yang for it and we have to sacrifice a lot for it-we are grateful to be living in it. We are happy to have found it when we did (it took us over a year to sell our first house--we had to list it twice!).

5. Our friends--who are like family to us. We just wish we could see them more often.

Holy Cow! One excited kid at Christmas

2008-12-02T17:23:00.000-05:00

This clip from YouTube cracks me up! The little boy and his sister are beyond excited to open his Ninento 64 unit. It is the kind of reaction I had when I received my Mickey Mouse record player at five or my cool purple comfortable when I was eleven (I was a little weird--I liked home furnishing items at a very young age). I hope our kids get that excited one day for a gift that they are anxiously awaiting for Santa to bring. Not sure it will happen this year--but it will happen and it will be great.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFlcqWQVVuU

Claire with the Coon skin hat!

2008-11-25T22:20:00.000-05:00

It is Carlson tradition that goes back to my Dad's childhood days--the Davey Crockett inspired coon skin hat. It is a terribly ugly looking hat, but somehow it is has landed on the heads of my dad, myself, Drew and now Claire. The original hat my dad had as a kid no longer is around, but my dad found this hat on E-bay and had to buy it for Drew a couple years ago. Claire likes to wear it and then share it with everyone else. You cannot help but laugh when you put it on (or try to do so because it is too small for Aaron and I). Animal lovers--please note that the hat is not real raccoon fur--only synthetic fur and tail.

Grandpa Bob

2008-11-17T21:22:00.000-05:00

Recently, it was the second anniversary of my Grandpa Bob's passing. I miss hearing his voice when I would call my grandparent's house. He would always say a big "hello!" and then say, "well, hello there Jennifer!" He was never one to talk very much on the phone--but he left a big impression in the first minute of the telephone conversation. We took Drew to visit Grandpa Bob and Grandma Bernice in April 2006, so that he could meet one of his three (at the time) great-grandchildren. It was our last visit with him--but I was so grateful that we did it. I will always remember him laughing and clapping as Drew played at the piano while we enjoyed a family dinner. The only thing I regret is not getting a picture with him and Drew--I had planned to do it the last morning we were there, but Grandpa was not feeling well. I miss him tremendously. The attached photo was taken when Aaron and I were on our way to Minneapolis for his memorial service. The photo in a weird way represents the feelings I had on my way up there.

Drew's famed art piece--Indian Corn!

2008-11-05T23:58:00.001-05:00

Drew brings home a ton of his art projects from preschool and I love each one of them. I have been keeping them in a basket on top of our refrigerator (which seems to be one of the only safe places in our house these days). Last week, as I was picking him up at preschool--one of his teachers mentioned what a great job he did making his of paper Indian corn. Drew was quite proud to show Aaron and I his masterpiece. I thought it was so cute that I had to take a picture of Drew proudly holding his piece of art.

Random thoughts about the election and being a mom

2008-11-05T15:59:00.000-05:00

First, I just want to say that no matter what your political preference is, last night this county made history. A moment that I never thought would come--but it has. Honestly, I just think that after eight years, our country was/is ready for a change. That is pretty typical. I was on the fence this summer about who I was going to vote for (and that has never happened before). I did vote for Barack Obama yesterday and I felt good about my decision. I do not envy the position he is in now--it is going to be a very tough job. I think John McCain is a good man--who has fought for his county in war and in the Senate and deserves our admiration and respect. Hopefully, this county can take the words from Senator McCain's speech last night and move this country forward together.

Second, after being home full time with the kids for just over a month--I have to admit that it has been a huge learning curve for me. Everything I thought that would be resolved by me staying home still remains unresolved. The house is still messy, I still stink at cooking dinner (well, not the easy stuff like Sloppy Joes, brats, spagetti, etc.) and I am still exhausted. I have renamed both of my kids "the tornadoes" because they can mess up a room in less than ten minutes. Just when I think I have one room looking somewhat respectable--the two of them come in and it looks the same before I cleaned it up. Ugh. I need some foolproof good recipes that everyone will enjoy in this family--not an easy task. I have always struggled with balancing my roles as wife, mom, employee, friend, daughter, etc. I am not sure I will ever reach that point where I think I have got it all figured out.

Spiderman and the Puppy Dog

2008-11-01T15:22:00.000-04:00

We could not have asked for a nicer fall day than what we had for Halloween this year. The weather was perfect for pictures in the yard and trick or treat night. Each year, I like to take the kids out in the yard and take pictures in their costumes when the sun is still out. Trying to get a picture of the two kids together (and both smiling) is quite a feat--but I gave it my best try. I put Claire in Drew's puppy dog costume--he wore it for Halloween when he was 18 months old--Claire is just a few months younger at 15 months old. I figure I will keep putting Claire in Drew's old costumes until she is old enough to care about it. Heck, she may be wearing the Spiderman costume in a few years. Of course, I may not be able to resist dressing her as a ballerina or princess. We took both kids around the circle we live on and then I took Drew to take on the rest of the neighborhood. We received our fair share of candy. Aaron stayed home to watch Claire and pass out the candy. This year, we had a ton of kids come to our house--by the end of the night, we were passing out quarters and full packs of bubblegum (that we had bought for ourselves). My dad came over to help pass out candy and I think he enjoyed helping--it had been a long time since he had done that.

Imagination Parade at Drew's Preschool

2008-11-01T15:12:00.000-04:00

Watching little ones parade in their Halloween costumes is probably one of the cutest things to see. On Thursday afternoon, Drew and his fellow classmates at his preschool had their annual "Imagination Parade". It was Drew's first time participating in such an event and he did wonderfully. He proudly wore his Spiderman costume. The kids received treats from the staff at his school. There were some very imaginative costumes, a police officer, an old fashioned golf player, Peter Pan and one little boy dressed up as Slash--complete with the full wig and guitar. It was pretty darn funny. After the parade, Drew and his buddies in his class (14 boys--no girls!) had a celebration in their classroom.

Pumpkin Carving with Daddy

2008-11-01T15:00:00.000-04:00

On Wednesday night, we brought out one of our pumpkins to carve. Aaron did the honor this year of doing it. It has been a long time since we had carved a pumpkin and it was Drew and Claire's first time to watch the fun and exciting process! Drew thought it was fun to touch the gooey insides of the pumpkin. He also wanted to take the pumpkin seeds and grow a huge garden of pumpkins--so we could have in his words "pumpkins all over the porch!"

Inniswood Gardens - Fall 2008

2008-10-26T22:11:00.001-04:00

I took Drew and Claire to Inniswood Gardens last Monday morning to get some lovely autumn pictures with the two of them. We had visited the park in July when my good friend, Amy had taken photos of them with the beautiful gardens as a backdrop. Well, it was nearly impossible to get the two kids to sit together for longer than ten seconds. Claire was running off somewhere and Drew was off gathering leaves, rocks, sticks and pulling the flowers (which is a big no-no). Drew is also in the stage that if Claire is getting her picture taken--well, then he needs to be in it too. Needless to say, after a half hour of frustration--I decided to hang it up. But, I thought I would share a few of the photos. Happy Fall! :)

One of my favorite places: The Cloisters/The One and Only Ocean Club-Paradise Island, Bahamas

2008-10-26T21:07:00.001-04:00

The majority of this blog will be about the kids, but every once in a while, I will share a few tidbits about Aaron and I. We rarely get many opportunities to do things together alone as a couple--which is just part of the reality of having kids. But, as the kids get older, we will need to make a point of it, as it makes us stronger as a couple and ultimately, better parents too! This may become a blog feature--our favorite places that we have traveled to. At the end of March this year, we took a four day cruise together on Royal Caribbean--it was the same cruise that we took for our honeymoon, but we did very different things this time around. We visited Nassau, Bahamas, Royal Caribbean's private island, Coco Cay, Bahamas and Key West, FL. While in Nassau, we decided to take a ferry taxi to Paradise Island to visit the Atlantis resort and a few other places located on the small island (which we did not do on our initial visit). Two of the places I researched on tripadvisor.com (a great resource when planning a trip) were the Cloisters and The One and Only Ocean Club--which are located on the same property. Along with our visit to Key West, this was one of very favorite moments of the vacation. The Cloisters is a section of an old French monestary that was brought over in the 1930's by a wealthy businessman who was enamored with the island. The best thing about it was that we were the only ones visiting it--which was terrific! The One and Only Ocean Club is an amazing resort (and one that we will never be able to afford--unless we win the million dollar lottery!). We enjoyed lunch at their oceanfront outdoor restaurant--which was right on the water! Needless to say it was the most expensive lunch that we have ever had and probably ever will have--but the view and the food (especially the pina coladas!) made it completly worth it!

Drew-Halloween Through the Years

2008-10-26T17:49:00.000-04:00

Halloween cannot come soon enough for Drew this year. He is already telling us, "Happy Halloween Mommy and Daddy! After much discussion and debate, he finally decided to dress up as Spiderman this year--even though he had no idea what Spiderman really was. More to come on that this week. But, with the holiday arriving this week--I thought it would be fun to do a retrospective of Drew's Halloween costumes. This year will mark his fifth Halloween--and third as a trick or treater! When he was six months old, he was Winnie the Pooh; a year later, he was a puppy; at two years old, he was a lion and last year, he was Thomas the Train. It is always a lot of fun to take pictures of him in his costume and he has always been a willing participate in the photo sessions.

Miss Claire--What a difference a year makes!

2008-10-20T20:22:00.000-04:00

I admit there are days where I feel like Claire has always been a part of our family, but it was only 14 months ago when she arrived. She has gone from being a little peanut--at only 6 pounds, 13 ounces when she was born--to a big girl of roughly 26 pounds and 31 1/2 inches tall! She is now walking more confidently, saying an occasional word we can recognize and screaming at the top of her lungs (with a sly grin!) when she doesn't get the full attention she wants! These pictures were taken on the same day--October 20th--only one year separates them!

Claire's First Official Haircut

2008-10-20T19:58:00.000-04:00

On October 8th, we took Claire to get her first official haircut at Cookie Cutters. We thought it would be nice to do it around the same time we took Drew for his first cut. Plus, I did not want to risk trying to cut her bangs again, since I am not very good at it. She started out good--as you can see in the close up photo (the one with her in the pink cap). But, as soon as the hairstylist started to cut her hair, the waterworks began. I told Aaron that she was like one of the model contestants that cry on the "makeover episode" of America's Next Top Model when the chop their hair and dye it the complete opposite of their original hair color. Nothing would pacify her--a lollipop, honeybee cracker, the Little Einstein show playing on the television, our laughing, etc. The hairstylist gave her a slight trim and little damage was done. She stopped crying almost immediately once I got her out of the chair. As part of the "first cut" package they give you a certificate with the child's picture and a lock of the hair they cut. Needless to say, the photo of Claire is priceless--her eyes are full of tears and her mouth is in full pout action. It will be fun to bring it out someday when Claire is older and having one of her diva moments (which I am sure there will be plenty of!)

Drew, the little Bobcat!

2008-10-14T21:26:00.000-04:00

Last month, Drew and I went down to OU to meet our friends, Amy and her boyfriend, Jim and Lisa, her husband, Bill and their little boy, William for lunch and to watch an OU football game at Peden Stadium. Needless to say, it is always a lot of fun to go down to Athens to visit the campus and remember all of the fun things we did in college. Aaron and I try to visit the campus each year--usually in the fall. It is fun to bring the kids too--although I admit it is a little strange bringing a little one to campus. Drew loves to visit the campus and seems to feel right at home. As with our visit to Circle S Farms, we had hoped to have a somewhat cool day--but it was almost 90 degrees! Being excited about the trip, Drew had slept very little the night before, which made him more of a challenge then usual, since he wanted me to carry him around the campus. I forgot how steep the rolling hills of OU can be--especially carrying a 42 lb. 4 year old! I think I lost 5 lbs. in water weight by carrying him around so much and sweating in the stands! Anyway, attached is a picture of Drew with Rufus the Bobcat--the official mascot! Drew loves to meet these furry creatures and give them hugs. Oh yes, the football team lost that day--but with a long tradition of losing football games--OU alumni have learned to accept this. And as we did as students, we only stayed until the Marching 101 played at halftime. While I was busy chasing Drew around while they played, they were a lot of fun to watch (well, as much as I could see) as they danced on the field.

Brutus Buckeye at the Schott

2008-10-14T16:59:00.000-04:00

As you can see from the photos on our blog's title page, we paid a visit to an odd exhibit outside of the Schottenstein Center on The Ohio State University campus a few weeks ago. Basically, it is the same Brutus Buckeye statue dressed in different themes---Elvis Brutus, Coach Tressel Brutus, Hippie Brutus, Butter Brutus (in honor of the annual butter cow at the Ohio State fair--and Drew's favorite Brutus), Phantom of the Opera Brutus, Coach Tressel Brutus, etc. The statues surround the Schottenstein Center, which is home to the Ohio State Men's and Women's Basketball and Hockey teams and hosts a variety of concerts and other events. While I am not the biggest Buckeye fan (Aaron, on the other hand, is a huge Buckeye fan)--it was kind of fun to see them. We are trying to get as many outdoor activities packed into this month, as we know that winter is only weeks away--ugh. The older I get, the more I detest winter.

Annual visit to Circle S Farms

2008-10-13T13:43:00.000-04:00

Since Drew was only a year old, we have visited Circle S Farms with our good friend, Amy. This was our fourth visit to the farm and Claire's first time. Aaron stayed home to finish some yardwork that we haven't had the chance to finish all summer. We did the traditional activities--petting the goats, visiting the hay barn, pertaking in their yummy pumpkin donuts, taking pictures in the fall photo op area and of course, the hayride to their pumpkin patch. While the weather was not exactly idea for fall activities--a hot 80 degrees with the bees swarming around the farm, we had a good time. Claire enjoyed the bumpy ride to the pumpkin patch and she hummed along to the sound of the tractor pulling us. Drew loved playing and made some friends in the hay maze--of course, trying to get him out of the maze tested my patience. There were many parents grumbling that they should have not let their kids in the maze, since it was so difficult to get them out!

The Santa Maria

2008-10-12T21:13:00.000-04:00

For months, we have promised Drew a visit to the Santa Maria--a replica of the original ship Christopher Columbus and his crew sailed when the arrived in the new world (by complete accident, I must add). So, yesterday, with the weather being so nice, we finally took Drew and Claire to tour the ship. It is located in downtown Columbus and is docked in the murky waters (I wondered what might be floating in it!) of the Scioto River. It had been assembled in 1992 for the Ameriflora display that year and in honor of the largest city in the world to be named after the explorer. Aaron and I were a little skeptical about how interesting it would be for us, but as it turns out, the 45 minute tour aboard the ship was actually quite informative. Drew and the other little ones on the ship got to pull the rope and sit in sleeping quarters of Columbus. For being such a long tour, Drew did amazingly well and listened attentively to the guide. After the tour, we stopped at Battelle Park (which is located adjacent to the ship's lcoation) and let the kids play for a few minutes. They especially liked the statue of the Hound Dog (which is what they are both sitting on in the last two photos. In looking at the pictures of Drew, Aaron and I just realized tonight that his shorts are on backwards! Oops!

My First Blog

2008-10-12T21:08:00.000-04:00

I am very excited about creating this blog. It is a great opportunity for me to share what is going on in our lives. I felt very inspired by my good friend, Amy and my old school friend, Julie, who have terrific blogs. It is always so much fun to see what is going on in their lives. The ways in which we can connect with one another now is amazing--I know I sound like an old lady when I say that, but it is true.

With that said, thank you for viewing our blog.