Thank you all for the birthday wishes. It was a happy day, indeed. Much better than last year, that is for sure.
Colin was very excited about my birthday this year. He acted like it was Christmas morning when he woke up. After he wished me a happy birthday, he said “C’mon mama! Let’s go see what’s downstairs!” I was a bit puzzled…there’s nothing downstairs, I told him. “Yes, there’s decorations! Decorations and balloons for your birthday!”, he insisted. No, I told him…there’s not. “Isn't everybody here? Didn’t they come to tell you happy birthday and bring you things? And…decorations?” Clearly, the boy thinks that the birthday parties he enjoys at his age should be had by all. Kind of sweet, actually.
Most of the day was a pretty normal day home with the kids. Colin decided that he wanted to give me a necklace for my birthday. A necklace in a box. He made a plan that we would go to the store so he could pick it out, then we would wrap it up, and after his daddy got home, they would give it to me so I could unwrap the box, and open it up, and inside would be this pretty necklace. Unfortunately, Emma was very crabby yesterday and needed an early nap, so going to the store just wasn’t going to happen.
When Jeff came home from work, he quickly whisked Colin and a roll of wrapping paper up to the bedroom. They returned downstairs several minutes later…Colin was carrying a small box and card. Of course, when I unwrapped it, it was necklace…in a box (an important detail to Colin). It’s very pretty, and very special, because Colin wanted so much to give it to me. Apparently Jeff ran out on his lunch hour yesterday to get it after hearing about Colin’s little plan. Colin was sad that he didn’t get to pick it out himself, but happy enough that at least he got to give me the gift he had thought of all on his own.
For dinner, we headed over to my mom and dad’s. My mom cooked a fabulous meal with lots of my favorites, and made a cheesecake for dessert…yum, yum. I also received a very pretty sapphire and diamond ring that belonged to my grandma, who passed away one year ago this week. It means a lot to me to have some of her favorite pieces passed down to me.
Tonight we are going to my in-laws for dinner. I requested Giordano’s stuffed pizza for dinner. Yum yum again. I am definitely going to gain some weight this weekend.
I have had an early start to my day. I woke up at 3:00 this morning and have been wide awake ever since. I suspected that would happen, because I took a Claritin-24 yesterday and it has pseudoephedrine in it. It seems that ever since I had Emma, I am highly sensitive to even small amounts of sudafed or caffeine. Having either one of them in my system guarantees a short night’s sleep now. Anyway, I’m off to get something done now. Have a good weekend.
ooo I love Giordano's we went to Chicago for our honeymoon and first anniversary, always our first place to eat when in Chicago. Happy belated Birthday.
I feel te need to repent of my gross miscalculation on your last post. I purchased a 24 pk (not 12) of toilet paper. That makes thing drastically different. Instead of 0.83/roll, it is only 0.42. That makes five squares worth only 0.02. : )
I don't think there's anything that makes me feel more like I'm pouring money down the drain, than buying a bottle of Drano (expensive stuff!) and then - literally - pouring it down the drain.
What is one thing that you just hate to spend money on?
Food. I know it's necessary, but, it feels like I buy all this food for the family, and then in a week, $100 or so in groceries is gone. Granted, it is gone, but kept us alive, but, you know, I just feel like it's out the window so fast.
Mmmm ... hard one for me, b/c I like spending money! :) Right now, health care - I know it saved us a bunch of money, but we pay SO MUCH for insurance, and then copays on top of that ...
Fixing a car. Brent driver's side rear window is not rolling up. When you press the button the motor runs, but the window stays down. Ugh! It's a $300 fix... I am poor today. : (
I also hate spending money on health insurance. I know it's necessary, but it's so expensive!! I especially hate paying for a dr. visit just to have them tell me "it's a virus and has to run it's course" or that there is something over-the-counter that will fix it.
Transportation - train pass, gas, car repairs - yuck! And my JCPenny haircuts. I love getting haircuts but it's an expensive habit that I'm having to get out of. Or maybe I should go somewhere else to get them. Oh! And the dentist.
I too hate drain stuff. We have had some good luck with vinegar and baking soda. In a really bad drain, we go with lye. Draino just doesn't do any good on major clogs. Did I mention I have long, curly hair, though? :P
Yeah idk if i will either! He straight out said i have a complex and messed up case :/ that was nice to hear. Hopefully this will fix it, but the paper i signed said that there can be soreness if TMJ is already present.
Friday was my first day with no symptoms at all! I was very excited to get out of the house, Monday I fell but that was the worst of it luckily. Thank you for checking in.
^^And I thought of another one. Toilet paper. Almost as bad as Drano, except you flush it. I bought a 12 pk of Cottonelle for $10. That's 0.83 per roll. Let;s say there's a hundred squares per roll and each time you go, you use 5 squares. That means each time you go you ruin 0.04. Keep in mind, that's if you purchase a 12 pk for $10 and only use 5 squares. Children are usually over-zealous with the stuff and most of us use t.p. for other things too (i.e. nosebleeds, boogies, mummy costumes at Halloween...)
Here are some pictures of what we've been up to lately!
In September, we took a trip downtown to the Shedd Aquarium. We don't have many pictures from inside due to the poor lighting in there, but it was a gorgeous day outside so we walked around a bit by the lake.
We also took a trip to Indiana one afternoon to go applepicking. It was another beautiful day. The orchard where we went had a pretty sizeable kids farm...we could have spent the whole day just in that part. We did venture out to the apple orchard too, and picked just a few apples (the mosquitos were really bad).
There are also some pictures from our most recent camping trip. We went to a nearby fall fest on that Saturday, and also hiked a canyon area. There are a couple of pictures of the Mississippi river, these were taken in Iowa.
Last, but not least, I could not resist the urge to snap of pic of my little girl doing one of her favorite things...checking out what's in the fridge.
Aw that is so cute! The one of the kids and Jeff at the camp ground is really cute! I know medieval style. Mines from the spring banquet i went to last year for medieval. im really excited!
Let's go camping again!! I'll bring the t.p. fyi I grew up in Florida near the Cape. I watched all the Mercury astronauts launch from my front yard. I always wanted to go into space. Nice to know there are still people who think astronauts are cool.
THANK YOU!!! I miss you guys. I heard (in person) from 3 people you put these pictures on before I even got a chance to check. Uh-oh. Was Emma supposed to be sitting in the refrigerator? She's starting to look more nad more like Colin to me. I like the picture of Colin 8 feet up picking apples. Where was the camping trip to? Lord willing, we are coming on Friday. Brent said you asked if we were staying. I think he really wants so he doesn't have to drive home in the dark. We will have to leave right after AM worship though because our gospel meeting starts the 2nd.
Yeah, that's great. We'll probably leave here at 12:30-1 sp we can make it to your house by 3-3:30 so we can get dressed. I don't want our tunics to wrinkle in the car. : )
So, it’s been a while since I’ve posted any updates on our family happenings, hasn’t it? Camping season always seems so busy. We took our last trip this past weekend…Thursday through Monday. The weather was perfect. The trees were pretty when we first arrived, and downright gorgeous by the time we left. Colin had a great time, and we had to laugh as we fielded questions such as “Do bugs pee?” Emma loves being outside, so she did well, although she was trying to cut four teeth at once while we were gone, so she was…a bit cranky. Two of them poked through during the trip, and there are two more which I suspect she’ll cut in the next day or two.
I haven’t updated on Emma in a long time, but she is growing up so quickly. She started walking last month, at nine months old. We were visiting my parents and she just let go and took four steps! For the most part, she usually only takes four or five steps, then drops down to her knees since she can crawl much faster. The past couple of days, though, I’ve noticed her walking more and more. Today she walked almost the whole length of the family room, that’s the most I’ve ever seen her do. She’s getting there, for sure. Also, on our camping trip, she said her first word…duck, and she was proud so she said it about 50 times. She has been saying mama, dada, and hi, for a while, but duck is the first “real word” as I like to call it. She’s getting big all of a sudden, too. She always seemed like a little peanut to me, but just in the past few weeks she has had a real growth spurt. Or maybe she just seems bigger up on her feet. In any case, it’s going fast. Her birthday - December 4th - will be here before I know it.
Colin has been doing well, too. I think he will be sad when the weather gets cold and he can’t be outside playing t-ball anymore. The boy sure loves t-ball. He hits pretty well, too. He has been begging to go to preschool, and I considered it, but in the end I wasn’t ready to let him go just yet. Instead, I signed him up for a couple of park district classes, and he’s been enjoying that. Still, there’s hardly a day that goes by that he doesn’t remind me that he wants to go to school. His new favorite show is Sid the Science Kid on PBS. He loves that show. Unfortunately they have a LOT of reruns, so it seems every time he turns it on, it’s one he’s already seen. (“This one AGAIN?”) His reading has been coming along, too. He has some of those First Readers books that he can read very well. He’s just teaching himself as he goes…I’m pretty impressed.
Jeff and I recently celebrated our 10 year anniversary. I still can’t believe it. And actually, today is the anniversary of our very first date…15 years ago. Why does that make me feel so old?? I was 17 then, he was 18. It won’t be much longer until we can say we’ve been together for more than half of our lives. Crazy. Anyway, we celebrated by having a little two-day getaway to a very nice Inn along the Fox River in Geneva, IL. But the real treat comes next June, when we are taking a 2 week vacation to Alaska. I have been working very diligently (read obsessively) to plan the trip. We will spend a few days in the Anchorage area, then take a domed rail car up to Denali National Park where we’ll spend two nights. Then we’ll head back down to Prince William Sound and embark on a 7 day cruise down through the Inside Passage to Vancouver, BC. I am SO excited about it!
Well that’s about all for now. Have a happy weekend.
Happy 10th Anniversary! It is kind of weird when you've been married a while. Mark and I met when we were both 19 and we've now been married over 31 years. His mom loves to tell me I've had him longer than she has so if there's something wrong with him, its my fault!! Give Emma & Colin a big hug from me!!
I got Emma to say duck for me Wednesday night - I changed her diaper for Jeff, and she looked at me and said duck. If Jeff hadn't already told us about her new word, I would've thought she was calling me a duck! Or maybe telling me to duck ... :)
I'm so excited about your Alaska trip. I can't wait to sit down with you sometime so you can show me everywhere you're going! :)
Happy Anniversary. We love Alaska! In 2006 we did a one week cruise out of Seattle and in 2007 we flew to Anchorage and rented a car and drove for a week. Both were wonderful and we plan to go again!
It's so fun when babies start walking isn't it? My niece Leela loves to say "duck" too :)
Happy anniversary! Your getaway sounds so nice. Aaron and I went to a hotel in St. Charles on the Fox River for our 2-year anniversary a couple of years ago and it was lovely. Alaska sounds incredible!
We did Royal Caribbean. Grand Caymen Isl., Jamaica, and Cozumel. This January We are taking a disney cruise(Kids too) We loved cruising so much we decided to take the kiddos. When we cruised w/o the kids we thought, "Man this is not a place for kids." Then decided to take them. We even talked my parents into going in Jan., and My aunt and Uncle. (who have never cruised) It will be a first for everyone! Be sure one night to check out the midnight buffet! Even if your not hungry!
Alaska! You guys will love it. My aunt and uncle live near Anchorage. The glaciers are a must see. Be prepared for LOTS of rain. My parents went about two years ago in June and it rained most of the two weeks that they were there. Make sure you wave to Megan and Jimmy while you are there too! lol
My husband's sister has 2 children with autism... they have one girl that is almost 9 and is not autistic, and then 2 boys that are 7 and 5 that are autistic...
