In memory of my Grandma Bernice 1918 - 2009

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!

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!

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

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

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

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

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.