17 things....

Okay, so it took me a few days (sorry sarah) to come up with 17 things that people probably don't know about me....

1. When I was a kid, I really thought I was going to be a lawyer when I grew up.

2. Before Brian and I got married (and even after we were) I didn't want to have children. (yes... i see the irony:))

3. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE CHOCOLATE. I will eat it at any hour of the day.

4. I was a cheerleader in high school.

5. I was Annie in the school play my junior year in High school.

6. I do not like feet touching me. ever.

7. I really like Dr. Pepper.

8. I'm becoming more of an introvert the older I get.

9. I do not like my minivan. The only reason I drive it is for practicality.

10. I love to travel (and am sad that I don't get to do more of it).

11. I like 80s music.

12. I am sad that they closed the closest Don Pablo's. It might be one of my favorite places to eat.

13. I hate heights and bridges. I think it is more a fear of falling.

14. I don't enjoy addressing christmas card envelopes.

15. I dressed up as Cyndi Lauper for Halloween in the fourth grade.

16. My favorite book is To Kill A Mockingbird.

17. I do not like horror/scary movies.

That's it for me... I suppose I should tag a few people...
so. Sarah Wilcox,
Lori Cramer
Jennie Key (you can do it on facebook)
Meggers (you can do it on facebook too)
Jilly bean (it was good to hear your voice and laugh)
give it a go!

Friday 5

1. When did you last use the edge of a coin (or a knife blade) as a screwdriver? yesterday i tried to use a coin to dislodge plastic books out of a plastic bookcase that is part of a dollhouse
   
2. When did you last use a wire coat-hanger to break into a car? never. i just call the cops to pop the lock.
   
3. When did you last use food or drink as medication? ummm... yeah.
   
4. When did you last use your cellular telephone as a flashlight?ha! i've never done it but i saw my friends Sarah do it while trying to find a pacifier!
   
5. When did you last use a paper clip for any purpose other than to clip paper? every day. i think i used it for #1 after the coin didn't work.
   

Friday Five

1. What usually marks the middle of your day? Usually in the middle of the day, I am in the van waiting at the kids' school to pick them up for the day. I get to read for a bit while E takes a nap as does Abigail. Works out well for us!
2. From whom (or to whom) was your most recent middle-of-the-night phone call? I have no idea. I think we've had a hang-up call. No sugar daddy calls here!
   
3. On what social, political, economic, or moral issue are you in the middle of the road? ahhh... right now I've been wrestling with poverty and the poor. It seems to me that the church is not doing all it can to help them and has allowed the gov't to do it for them. I struggle with that. I don't know if it is right for a follower of Christ to rely on gov't to do what the church was commanded to do. I understand the idea that at least someone is doing something- but is it right. I just don't know.
   
4. How likely are you to give someone your middle finger? not very. unless i'm picking my nose :)
   
5. When were you last caught in the middle of a disagreement that really had nothing to do with you? when am i not- I've got 4 kids!!!
   

Fall Fun

We've been busy little beavers the past few weeks. We moved my Grandma into an assisted living residence last week. The top pic is from move in day. She and Abigail were playing and Grandma was getting Abigail to laugh. It was so precious. Grandma turned 84 yesterday and is doing GREAT!!!! I'm so glad that we moved her. She is a different person- she looks great and seems much more rested and alert than I've seen her in a long while. This week I'm taking her out to buy her a hat for the Red Hat Club (whatever that is). That should be interesting!

Elizabeth and I along with Abigail took advantage of the beautiful weather last week and went to the zoo. We took a lot of pictures of the animals and trees and flowers. While at the elephants, we watched one elephant eat another elephant's poop. Gross. Elizabeth wanted to take a picture. Luckily, you can't really tell what the elephant is doing. Typical 2 year old. Maybe it's a sign she's ready for the Everybody Poops book.

Today was a bit cooler and Brian had the kids outside raking leaves so I could work on a baby quilt for a friend of mine. I got a lot done which was good, but I still have a fair amount to do. I'm hopeful it will get done!

Halloween Wrap Up

So, here are all the munchkins dressed and ready to go for Halloween. Thanks to Sarah for letting Elizabeth use the monkey costume. She loved it! She was so excited to be a monkey. We went to my mom and dad's and made a fire in the firepit (had to do something with all the extra wood we've had from the storm) and I handed out candy while dad and Brian took the kids out. I do need to say that Abigail might just be the cutest thing I've ever seen- not that I'm biased.

Packin' up

Well, since Ike blew in life has been really tough, emotionally. With a newborn, my aunt's crazy accident and death and not having power- it was really overwhelming. Just as I thought I was seeing light, my Grandmother started to not do so well, so my dad and his brother made the decision to move her to an assisted living place in Finneytown. It's been really stressful. My folks are hoping that they are making the right decision, worrying about how long they can afford her to live there, driving over to her house and calling her everyday to give her medication to keep her stable. It's really crazy to see all that they are going through.
This past week I've been over at her condo a few days this past week starting to pack her up and get her ready to move on Sunday. We got rid of 5 huge garage bags of stuff to donate from ONE closet. This week I need to get her clothes all boxed up and ready to go. It's been a mixed can of nuts. On one hand I've thoroughly enjoyed hearing the stories of where she was when she wore some of her evening gowns that are now in my closet; it's been great to see old photos of my grandparents and to see them in a different light. It's been fun to hear stories that I've never heard before. At the same time, it has been difficult to watch her make decisions about what to keep- she kept saying that she didn't want to get rid of it because she didn't want to forget the memories. It was hard to throw things away that she felt were treasures. It was overwhelming to start to pack up and give away a life's worth of memories.
It's also motivated me to start going through our house and declutter it and start getting stuff out of the house so that our home isn't quite as overwhelming.

The 5 questions of Sarah

Thanks to Sarah Smoker, I've been asked to answer these 5 Friday questions. I tag anyone who reads this to either 1. Answer these 5 questions in your own blog or 2. Answer these questions by posting a reply to this post.

1. Where's your favorite beach?
Hilton Head Island- Palmetto Dunes although I will say that there was a beach in Belfast Maine that Brian and I visited many moons ago that was breathtaking. We had to walk through this field of wild flowers to get to it.

2. Where's your favorite place to spend money?
Target. They have way too many cute things that I don't need so I try not to go there much anymore.

3. Where's a good place to watch people?
It depends on whom it is you want to watch- there are so many different types of people. Kings Island is a study in anthropology in and of itself (those of you from cincinnati know what i mean).... I also enjoy people watching in Clifton.

4. Where's a good place to be totally alone?
The shower.

5. Where's a place outside of work or school where you're likely to run into people from work or school? The Clippard YMCA. I've run into more people that I went to high school with there. I just stopped going there and go to Powel Crosley now. No offense to those of you I went to high school with. :)

So, Sarah, here are your five answers! Sorry I'm not a bit more witty. I'm tired.

For those with facebook, I posted some new pics of the kids tonight. I'll try to take a minute and post new pics of the kids and stories tomorrow.

Newish pics of Abigail and the kiddos

Just thought I'd post a few newer pics of the kids. They are all doing really well. Abigail is growing up so fast and is such a great baby. We love her dearly. Elizabeth is so cute with her and is constantly looking out for her. If Abigail isn't within eye sight, E is asking where she is and wants to be sure she is okay. It's very tender. Abigail still isn't doing a whole lot: she smiles, she coo's, she eats, she sleeps, she poops, and she likes to look at the little birds on her swing.

Elizabeth is doing great. It is fun having her home with me and getting to spend so much time with her one on one. She is super smart and reminds me a lot of Zach. She is really into letter naming and sounds. She is also wanting to wear lots of twirly dresses and today told me that I had to call her Princess E.

Hannah is blossoming into such a joy. She is a special one. She loves gymnastics and ballet and is doing well at school. She just started violin lessons a few weeks ago and that has been going pretty well. The first lesson she was pretty shy and wasn't too sure about what to do but she seems to be blossoming each lesson. She seems to be picking things up pretty quickly. It's fun to do that with her...now if I could only figure out how to get her to practice. :)

Zach is doing great as well. He's excelling in school and seems to really like learning. Each day he comes home with a 'Rosy Reader' book and reads it to the girls. It's so fun to watch that (and it buys me 5-10 minutes to get ready for the rest of the day). He started cello back up with a new teacher and seems to be liking it and I am SO happy. Eric (his teacher) and I were in youth group together and he seems to be a good fit personality wise. I'm learning how important that is. He's also playing flag football and is a demon on defense and is getting more comfortable with the offense. He's loving grabbing others' flags, but not so happy when they are all chasing him trying to get his!

I'll make sure to update after the big camping trip this weekend. I'm sure it will all go well. :)

Busy creating fun things

Well, every few months I get bit by the 'crafting bug' and as of late, I've been a bit too busy to do much, but I've found some great sewing books full of quick and easy ideas and now I'm thinking I'm Martha- okay, so not really. But, I did just make this really cute blanket for my new cousin. I love the fabric. I also bought some fabric to make a quilt for Abby as well as fabric to make a quilt for another friend of mine who is having a baby early next year. Since I've still to finish the binding of Elizabeth's quilt (it's only been 2.5 years), I thought I'd start the other two and then finish them all off at the same time. We'll see how that goes for me!

I've also got some fun bibs almost finished and ready to show off too. I'll post pics of those when they are finished. Hopefully this weekend, since Brian is taking 3 of 4 kids camping with my dad on Saturday. What a good husband. I'm excited yet I'm not sure if I'll know what to do with myself for almost 24 hours with just a 9 week old little one!

Lions and Tigers and Bears- Oh my...

Okay, so it's not really that bad, but for poor Elizabeth it seems that way. Elizabeth is not exactly overly excited when it comes to animals, especially if it is fuzzy or moves- so that just about includes everything. As you can tell, she's not too keen on the bunny and she entertained the idea of the pony ride for all of 20 seconds. We were at the College Hill Pumpkin Patch this past weekend and while E likes the idea of animals, it's the reality that isn't so great. Two weeks ago we went to a festival at one of the forests near our house and she did touch a pig- a shocking development. I took the photo to prove it.
I was pretty proud of her for getting on the pony. She was pretty good until it moved and then she was done. I give her points for trying!

As you can see, Hannah is the complete opposite. She wants to be a vet. when she grows up and if she had her way, we'd live in Noah's ark.