BRANDI'S CATCHING UP WITH LIFE

2011-04-26T04:19:00.000-07:00

The Egg Hunt(s)

About 3 weeks before Easter Megan told me "if you want to get us some Bath and Bodyworks hand sanitizer for our Easter baskets that would be great". Then I said "oh I will tell the Easter Bunny that you requested that". Then she says" you know I don't believe in that because it's pretty obvious that you and dad always know where the eggs are hidden but I still believe in Santa, the elves and the tooth fairy". The nice thing about that is I didn't have to sneak down and hide the eggs before they woke up like in years past. After we were all dressed they went down and got their Easter baskets and we had a nice breakfast, then after breakfast when they were up brushing their teeth we hid the eggs. It was much more relaxed. Oh and you would think by the way they dart after the eggs that they were looking for Willie Wonka's golden ticket. They are so competitive about the whole thing. After they find the eggs the candy goes into bowels that we all share from and they get to keep any coins they find for their wallets. I think there was a whole $3.21 cents in coins...just coins from my wallet and Mikes pocket but to Paige and Megan it was big money.

You know that our dogs were not left out of the egg hunting fun! Paige and Megan filled some plastic eggs with puppy treats and "hid" them while I took the dogs for a walk. Rowdy and Rebel are so accustomed to finding puppy treats in the eggs that I had to keep an eye on the dogs while we were hiding the candy filled eggs for the kids. More than once I had to chase the dogs down to get an egg that they had found before we were done hiding them all for the girls.

I snapped this picture of Miss. Sumann's pretty tulips on the way down to the Easter egg hunt in the cul de sac. We lucked out with the rain and it held off until after 7 p.m.

Here is the Easter Egg Hunting gang. I know that looks like a whole lot of kids for one cul de sac but to tell you the truth there were 8 kids missing (because they were out of town). When the school bus comes to load up it's empty and when it leaves it's full to overflowing because we have even more kids in the cul de sac that is across the street. Oh and I don't want to offend the "middle school bunch" but 4 of those kids in the back row are 6th ,7th and one 8th grader. The 7th and 8th graders were not hunting eggs they were just helping the little kids out.

And theyr'e off...they gave the preschoolers a few minutes head start and told the big kids that they could not get any eggs on the big grass circle. The little kids still needed coaching to find all the eggs in the grass circle it was pretty amusing. There were plenty of eggs to find because each family is asked to supply a dozen filled plastic eggs per kid. Even though we only had one kid in the hunt I sent down at least 24 eggs. I was just trying to get rid of some of our many plastic eggs that have made it back to our house over the past 5 years of Easter egg hunts.

Megan and Hanna looking cute as ever.

Miss. Ella got lots of ohhs and ahhs over her Easter attire.

I had the big lenses on the camera and I caught this cute scene as Bryn, Addie and Ella were checking out their loot from the egg hunt.

2011-04-24T18:07:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter from our home to yours.
I have a bunch of Easter egg hunt photos to share later in the week. It is getting late here and tomorrow is going to be a busy day. I have to get Paige dropped off for school with her big tri-fold project board (I hope it won't be pouring down rain). Then I have to get Megan up early so we can drop Rowdy off at the vet for his teeth cleaning by 8:15 then I will drop Megan off at school on the way back. Then I will go next door to babysit the boys. So wish me luck on a smooth morning and check back soon for Easter egg hunt pics.

The girls found new cute umbrella's in their Easter baskets and just in time for all this rain we are getting. Megan tested hers out when she delivered our eggs and prizes down to Miss. Sheri's house for the neighborhood Easter egg hunt.

Meet Roger Rabbit he lives 3 doors down from us and his family asked the girls to bunny sit for them while they were away this weekend. Yesterday when I returned home from work the girls said "oh mom you have to come down and meet Roger, he's sooooooo cute." So I grabbed Paige's point and shoot camera and went to meet Roger. I have to admit I am pretty smitten with this sweet bunny that is why I went back down with them today and brought our good camera so we could have a little Easter bunny photo shoot.

2011-04-24T14:32:00.000-07:00

Friday while Mike was off fishing and I was cleaning the kids colored eggs. It was the perfect timing since I was changing the tablecloth in the kitchen. They started off with a dozen white hard boiled eggs and ended up with a rainbow of Easter eggs.

They have a tradition of holding up their favorite eggs to get one last photo...so here they are!

Colored eggs today...deviled eggs tomorrow :)

2011-04-22T12:45:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from Mike's b.day a few weeks ago. Megan had a cold so we celebrated at home. I made us salmon, roasted red potatoes and asparagus for dinner. When Paige and I returned from her tap dance class Mike blew out the candles on his Buckeye Blitz birthday cake from Graeters.

2011-04-21T18:04:00.000-07:00

Rebel is like Goldie Locks when it comes to his sleeping routine. Before "lights out" he likes to snuggle up with Paige while she enjoys a book. Then when I come in to turn off the lights and tuck her in Rebel gets up and runs downstairs so I can take him outside one more time. Then when he comes inside he likes to go wrestle with Mike or grab a squeaky toy and annoy Mike as he is watching T.V. After Rebel gets his wilds out he goes back in and snuggles up with Paige. Then an hour or so after I go to bed he comes in and sleeps with me the rest of the night.

Paige was having a hard time believing that he comes back to her room because she's a real heavy sleeper. So heavy a sleeper that she doesn't even move when I come in and snap pictures of her and her pup with the "night view" option on her camera that makes a big double flash. The pup kinda squints and looks at me with the most pathetic look but I just snap away.

I took this picture below shortly after 6:15 a.m. when Rebel was having his good morning snuggle with Paige and I was showing her proof on her camera that yes indeed her pup loves her and always comes back to her bed each night.

2011-04-11T17:55:00.000-07:00

Megan's new shoes!
They are Converse "One Stars for Target".

Her shiny pink sneakers that Aunt Shann gave her for her b.day still fit but they are Worn (yes with a capitol W) out but not too worn out to use for fishing and playing in the yard.

2011-03-16T08:09:00.000-07:00

This is the valentine's card that I created for Paige this year.
This is a great project for using up scraps. This would be a fun craft to do at a birthday party too.

click on photos to enlarge and show details.

The girls and I decorated some dress templates to use on cards. We had a fantastic time designing our fashions. Go here and click on "Tempting Templates" in the green column on the left side of the screen. http://www.stampington.com/index.html

We used stamps and embossing templates, scraps of paper, punches, ribbon scraps, jewels and lots of glitter. The lavender creation on the right looks a bit wide we discovered that where you put your accent paper can really change the look of the dress.

For the ones with wings I stamped and embossed butterflies with silver embossing powder. Then I cut them out and had to cut them down the middle so they would fit..so we turned them into frocks for fairies.

These adorable designs below were created by Megan age 9.

These fantastic fashions above and below were designed by Paige age 12.

2011-02-02T10:06:00.001-08:00

What to do when it is icy-snowy and the wind is gusting at 40 mph...
Well after the laundry and floors are cleaned...I say you might as well
Scrap Happy!

I am very pleased with how this page of Rebel turned out. I have a ton of paper but when I stopped in at Scrapbook Art on my way to donate blood last week. (Lucky for me my favorite scrapbook store is in the shopping center next to the blood bank a perfect place to kill time if you arrive 15 minutes early as I did) Anyways I was thrilled when I found this paper last week...the orange the blue the snowflakes...could it be more perfect?
Now it is in a frame in our kitchen.

This is the companion picture of the photo of Paige in the plaid dress below. I love the look that Megan is giving she just looks like she's full of it...being her silly little self and making us all smile. I loved that dress on her as well. She had a swimsuit with the same pattern. It's just pure sunshine and joy!

This was a real quick page. I knew I wanted to use the "C U T E" sticker letters and then I found the red glittered snowflake paper and I cut around 5 of the snowflakes so I could make it look like she was juggling them. Because you know that at 17 months old she was a master juggler! I just like the red and turquoise together plus I have always called Megan "my little cutie".

Mike and the three trout that he caught the day before Thanksgiving. I love how his smile grows bigger in each photo.

I remember taking this picture of Paige back in July of 2005. We were at a car show and we had sat down in the shade to take a rest. She just looked so lovely in her plaid summer dress. I used different punches to make the strips of light pink paper then I added some rub ons for pattern.

This page came together quick after I dug out this circle paper. I like the frosty feel and that the paper has the same periwinkle as her shirt.

2011-01-21T09:07:00.000-08:00

Here are our New Years Eve pictures from our annual jaunt to see the lights at the zoo. It was a rather balmy sixty degrees out this year and little more crowded than in years past when it has been much colder. We had a fun time we stopped at Graeter's for ice cream on our way to the zoo. That seemed like a better idea than hot cocoa this year. While we were enjoying our ice cream cones I snapped a picture of this poster.

Meet Hanna the daughter of the late great snake Fluffy. They had a naming contest on line I voted for Fleecy but Hanna won out. The name is a tribute to Jack Hanna our Director Emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

Megan enjoying her super sour flffy stuff cotton candy. I took a handful expecting it to taste like traditional cotton candy not sour apples.

These pictures look better if you click on them to enlarge. These are the lights around the big lake at the zoo and about every 20 minutes they do a light show to music. The kids and I sat on benches at the West end of the lake to rest our feet and enjoy the show.

I'm so glad that the girls don't think they are too old to ride the carousel horses because I still enjoying watching them ride it's fun to try to snap their pictures as they race around and wave.

Wishing you all the best in 2011 and always...hugs from Ohio!

2011-01-19T06:16:00.001-08:00

We are going back in time for this post...back to the first week of December 2010!

Back in December Megan's school put on their 4th grade musical
"A Kids Life".

The story was about all of their electronics (computers, cell phones, MP3 players, etc. ) going on the blink and they had to entertain themselves the old fashioned way by playing board games, charades and jumping rope and making their own music. They put on a fun and lively show. Megan even had a special part as one of the kids playing charades. It was a really fun to show with a great message!

Megan and her classmates in action.

Megan and her BFF Cameron after the show. I brought Megan's elf, Jasper and his pup Murphy to the show for her so they could see her and her friends perform.

As we were leaving she went up to her teachers to tell them goodnight and her teacher said "I think Megan has a future in musicals, because she really has a presence when she's performing". Megan has already expressed interest in joining the drama club when she gets to middle school. So time will tell...I hope she sticks with it because she's really fun to watch.

2011-01-12T06:13:00.001-08:00

Here are the pictures from Christmas eve day and our evening at Terry and Steve's. We had such a relaxing day. Both Mike and I had the day off work. I baked a chocolate chip cheesecake to take over to Terry's and I also made a big salad. In the afternoon we opened our gifts from our family and friends in California then we got ready to go have pasta and pizza at Terry's and open gifts with them. It was very fun and relaxed...just perfect!

Paige and Megan were thrilled to get two Mario games for the Wii from Pop-pop and Mimi. At first they were all into the Super Mario game but now they have started playing the Sonic and Mario Winter Olympics and they love the figure skating, bobsledding and snowboarding games.

Paige checking out her new Cowgirl hat that Aunt Shann sent her. Aunt Shann went to the Oakdale Cowboy Festival back in the fall and called me to ask what sized hat Paige wore. She had met this lady that makes straw hats and hand shapes them. I think Paige looks beautiful in her new hat!

I think Paige was texting her friend Lauren that she got a Cowgirl hat for Christmas.

Paige and Megan brought over their new Wii games and extra remotes so all the cousins could play together. I know they all look like they are blankly staring but they were also laughing and cheering too, that is why I tried to sneak up and snap some pictures but they were not thrilled with the flash going off in their faces.

Steve looks pleased with his golf balls and tees!

Here's a cute one of Aunt Terry and Paige.

You can kind of see my new super cute apron that Carolee made me. I love the colors...chocolate brown, mint green pink and a touch of red. I will have to snap a better photo and repost it later.
While the kids were up playing Super Mario on the Wii we were downstairs chatting and playing with the pups.

While Brandon and Rachel were eating dinner I managed to get a few shots of the cousins as they waited somewhat patiently to open their gifts.

They are all looking so grown up... Paige (12), Brittany (18), Megan (9) and Aaron (15)

2011-01-11T05:16:00.000-08:00

The antics of the elves and their pups 2010.

As you may recall Paige and Megan have elf friends that come to visit each year. They arrive on Thanksgiving morning and stay until Christmas eve. This year Oliver and Jasper brought their pups with them. Oliver has a Fox Terrier named Scout and Jasper has a Westie named Murphy. They had lots of adventures with the girls and they played a few pranks as well. For instance they got into the candy canes and started putting them on the tree while the girls were at school and I was at work.

The elves do nice things for the girls too, it's not all practical jokes. Before we left the house to go see Ballet Met's Nutcracker the elves gave the girls snowflake pins for their coats. They are pretty thoughtful elves.

On the night of the 23rd we let the kids camp out in the family room on an inflatable mattress. The dogs seemed to think it was a great idea too. You can't really tell but Rowdy was snuggled up under the covers between Paige and Megan. I dug him out and made him sleep in his dog bed upstairs next to my bed. I didn't want him to get rolled on in the middle of the night.

Apparently the elves and their pups got restless in the middle of the night and decided to play a trick on the girls by t.p.ing the family room. Megan said she woke up at 4 a.m. and she was scared at first because she saw something hanging from the ceiling fan. But then she realized it was just toilet paper so she snuggled up with Paige and went back to sleep.

Oliver and Jasper brought Paige and Megan each an "Amazing Hamster" in a Santa suit. They usually give the girls a small gift on Christmas Eve morning. I think it's a little thank you for taking such good care of them and their pups and for being such good girls.

While we were over at Aunt Terry's and Uncle Steve's for Christmas eve the elves stayed in the car. Paige and Megan were afraid that Aunt Terry's dogs, Ginger and Hershey might think of the elves as puppy toys. On the way home Megan was snuggling with Jasper and Murphy and she was a little sad that they had to go back to the North Pole with Santa. I told her it wouldn't be fair to her elf to keep him here all year because he would miss his friends and family back at the North Pole. I think she understands that having her elf come visit each year makes it more special than if he stayed the entire year.

2010-10-28T12:39:00.000-07:00

R.I.P.
Fluffy

Fluffy the 24 foot long reticulated Python at the Columbus Zoo passed away on Tuesday. After she passed they found a tumor on her ovaries.

Good thing I got to take these photos a few weeks ago.
She will be missed.

2010-10-26T05:53:00.000-07:00

Here are the pictures from back in October when Lisa and I took the kids to the zoo. We had perfect weather and walked and talked a lot. A fun time was had by all!

2010-10-12T06:11:00.000-07:00

While my dear friend Lisa was here in town with her family we let Megan take the day off school to go with us to see the "Savage Garden Exhibit" at Franklin Park Conservatory.
It was quite educational, we even watched one of the plant experts feed one of the Venus Fly Traps and she answered all of the kids questions. Afterward she came over and thanked the kids for being such a good audience and for asking such clever questions.

This is a "Pitcher Plant" it captures it's prey in the pitchers that are really just an extension of it's leaves. Down inside the pitcher is a slippery liquid so when a bug gets inside it is unable to crawl out.

A little Chihuly for your viewing pleasure.

Megan, Lindsay and Chase were having so much fun exploring that it was hard to get them to all stand still for a photo.

I love that I caught this shot of the girls holding hands while they were strolling along.

Lindsay and Megan "take our picture under this leaf"...so glad I did because it's pretty darn cute.

This Venus Fly Trap is as big as they get. If I remember correctly this one was "engineered to grow this big".

Chase was giving an example of how much air it would take to blow a large glass sphere like the one below.

2010-08-25T10:17:00.000-07:00

We spent day #4 of our Orlando vacation at Sea World's "Aqautica" water park. We all had a fun time splashing in the wave pools and going down all of the water slides. Our favorite slide was the one that had the clear tube that went through the tank of Commerson's Dolphins. They are cute little black and white dolphins.

We only snapped a few pictures...some of the kids playing in the sand by our chairs and a few at the dolphin viewing tank when we were on our way out with sun kissed shoulders, despite the fact that we were slathered in spf 55 and 70 we all got some sun.

Paige sculpted a sea turtle in the sand.

Megan our little beach bum at the man made beach of Aquatica.

2010-08-04T09:21:00.000-07:00

Here is day #3 of our Orlando trip. We had to take the kids to Disney's Animal Kingdom because they had not been there since they were 6 and 3. So here we are over half way through our day. We ate at The Rain Forest Cafe at 5 p.m.
I will post the first half of our Animal Kingdom pictures in a day or so.

Trust me it's a lot cheaper to take pictures with cute t-shirts than to buy every cute t-shirt you come across on vacation....plus that blue one would be a little small on Mike.

Paige is spraying the elephant with her spray bottle.

I love the light in this picture...I told her act like you are reaching up to touch the water.

She looks pretty cute for being hot and tired!

First these cute faces and then... they stick out their tongues!

This sign amused me...must be the 15 years of working retail.

I love that their hands are up...this turned out to be a very jerky ride according to Paige and Megan.

And one more picture with the "Tree of Life" in the background...speak no evil, hear no evil , see no evil.

It works the same for hats...taking pictures in them is much more fun and less expensive than buying them...although the kids each got a new pair of (mouse) ears this trip...their ears from when they were 3 and 6 are too small now.

2010-07-24T18:03:00.000-07:00

Day #2 of our Orlando trip ...was Epcot day. It was hot and sunny our luckily most of the rides are indoors. Our favorite ride was Soarin. It's like taking a virtual hang glider over the best of California and you end up over Disneyland watching the fireworks and Tinkerbell flying in the sky.

Paige and Megan with Nemo and Dory in the background.

Megan and I found this very obvious "hidden Mickey" in one of the tanks there.

When we were in the Mexico pavilion I asked Mike to take a picture of this roadrunner because it reminded me of my grandma.

Megan and Paige the Mickey Princesses.

The koi were pretty...but not a Nugget in the bunch.

Hey I think Mike took a picture of this same bunny (or one of his relatives) on this same grass near the Canadian pavilion last time we were there 3 years ago.

2010-07-16T06:04:00.000-07:00

Okay folks I know we have been back from our vacation for a over 2 weeks now and I am finally getting these pictures posted. I have decided to put them on my old picture of the day blog because there are a lot of pictures....and I still want to try and post pictures of our everyday adventures on my main blog...so keep checking in and I will keep posting vacation pictures here...

Paige and Megan fresh faced and ready for their first day at Disney.

This is day #1 or our Orlando Theme Park Vacation of 2010. It happened to be June 21st...the first day of summer and the longest day of the year...the perfect day to visit the Magic Kingdom.

This ride above "Big Thunder Mountain Railroad" is now one of the kids favorite rides. Three years ago we practically had to force them to ride it. We have a rule in our family if you are tall enough to go on...then by gosh you go on at least once.

Megan loves pickles!

Could they be any cuter...with the castle behind them and the little green Mickey..yep it's pretty high on the cute scale!

Oh no! my 12 year old is driving for the first time....lucky for me their was a rail keeping us from going too far off course and there was that "No Bumping the Car in front of you" sign.

O H I O

Mike and Megan waiting for the electrical parade.

The last shot of the night at the park before boarding the monorail and then the tram back to the parking lot.

Last shots of the day...showered and snoozing and having magical dreams.

2010-02-02T07:46:00.000-08:00

After at least two years maybe three (I have seriously lost count) I feel like I need to take a break from my P.O.D. blog. I will continue to post on my main blog and my scrapbook blog. I think I just need a break from the P.O.D. so that will mean more postings for my main blog. I will keep this blog up in case you want to look through the old pictures and in case I decide to resume it at a later date...so until then stop by Brandi's Main Blog

2010-01-22T05:37:00.000-08:00

My post for Thursday, 1-21-2010

Words to live by: You can pick your friends and you can pick your nose but you can't pick your friends nose! Unless your friend is a big headed rock sculpture without hands!

2010-01-20T13:54:00.000-08:00

If you ever have a chance to visit Jenis then do it....it's an adventure in flavors!
I had a trio...of honey vanilla bean, Riesling poached pear and Mackenzie Creamery goat cheese with cognac figs....they were all simply divine!
Megan even decided to try the Honey vanilla bean after I convinced her that there were not any "green beans" in it. She also loved the pear, it taste like a frozen pear the flavor and texture were incredible.

Paige had the Belgian milk chocolate and Megan had the Salty caramel.

2010-01-20T03:53:00.000-08:00

My post for Tuesday, 1-19-10

The girls had the day off school for a "teacher's work day" so after their orthodontist apt. we ran up to Andersons to drop off some donations for Haiti. We donated rubbing alcohol, hand sanitizer, and this 5 gallon bucket with a dozen bags of beans in it. Andersons is working with ISOH/IMPACT, they have a huge box at our store that employees and customers have been filling up since last Friday plus they have been collecting cash donations at customer service. I thought this would be a worthwhile activity for them on their day off school.

We also went to an Art exhibit and to Jeni's ice cream yesterday...I will post those pictures on my main blog.

2010-01-20T03:47:00.000-08:00

My post for Monday, 1-18-09

Yesterday while Mike and I were cleaning in the basement Paige spent the afternoon completing her paint by numbers horse painting. I think it turned out great...now all she has to do is sign it and date it so we can put it in a frame and hang it in her room.

2010-01-19T13:48:00.000-08:00

My post for Sunday, 1-17-10

While I was cleaning/making order of the basement I ran across the box that had my antique hat collection in it. This one still had the price tag on it ($2.50). Megan latched onto it and I think it's up in her room now. She also took my trolls and she is 3 trolls strong into a troll collection. She wore the hat to "Steak & Shake" when we went out for dinner...she has some "hattitude"!

2010-01-19T13:32:00.000-08:00

My post for Saturday, January 16, 2010

The other day before it warmed up into the balmy 40's I snapped some pictures of the snowmen in our neighborhood.

This one is pretty cute, nice bright colors for her scarf and hat, we'll call her Sara (that is also the name of Megan's invisible friend from when she was 3).

Then there's this guy he kinda reminds me of Andy Rooney (ya know Andy Rooney turned 92 this week).

Then there's this fellow...we'll call him "One Eyed Jack".

This fellow is "Frosty" he is the more traditional of the snowmen, with the pipe like in the old days.

I saved the best for last...these guys have to be "Larry, Moe and Curly" if there were ever the "Three Stooges" of snowmen then this is it!

2010-01-19T13:22:00.000-08:00

My post for Friday, 1-15-10

If you notice there are two bean bags in this picture but apparently one bean bag is more comfy than the other because Rebel insisted on "sharing" Rowdy's bean bag.

2010-01-14T17:33:00.000-08:00

Megan's class will be "dew drops" in the enchanted garden. I think they are dancing to the "Sleeping Beauty Waltz". I love her costume, no big itchy tutu and the straps cross in back so no slipping straps on the shoulders! After all these years of dance costumes I tend to notice those things.

For jazz class their character is "Silver" and they will be in the cave of jewels scene. I'm not sure what the name of the song is but it has a nice beat and the kids love it. This silver costume will stand out nice on stage, last year she wore a silver and white lightning costume for jazz and it looked great under the lights.

2010-01-13T06:46:00.000-08:00

Wordless Wednesday

*Brrrrrrrrr*

2010-01-12T18:05:00.000-08:00

Tonight was the "Big Reveal Night" at dance. The Spring show will be "The Six Hidden Princesses". Both girls are dancing in show #3 which will be in the evening.

This is Megan's costume for tap class. They are piano keys and they are dancing to "Rollover Beethoven" a George Harrison version with a nice piano solo in the middle. Megan loves her costume, they look like they will be easy to dance in. Megan has to wait until Thursday to find out what her costumes for ballet and jazz are....so stay tuned!
Paige's tap class will be dancing in the jungle scene and they are dancing to the "Conga". Miss. Rachel will put together a fast and fun dance for them. Paige loves her costume!

2010-01-12T06:20:00.000-08:00

My post for Monday, 1-11-10

When Paige came home from school she went ahead and let herself in the house since I was next door watching Jake and Evan. When I called her to make sure she got in alright and to ask her to feed the dogs she told me "Mom, I just took some funny pictures of Rowdy and I saved him from his sweater". Apparently Rowdy managed to get his legs out of the leg holes and wiggled himself through the neck hole. This sweater he is wearing is a bit old and just a wee bit stretched out. How old is that dog sweater? Well I don't know the exact year it was purchased but I do know that my childhood dog. Whiskey wore it ...and we had Whiskey back when I was Paige's age.....so I'm thinking it's at least 30 years old.

My dad found the dog sweater when he was moving from the Agnes Cir. house and he sent it out to us for Rowdy. Yep, they don't make dog sweater like they used too!

Do you suppose he's thinking ..."Alright enough with the pictures just fix my sweater, I get no respect....I'm the Rodney Dangerfield of dogs!"

2010-01-12T06:16:00.000-08:00

My post for Sunday, 1-10-10

Christmas has left the building....the ficus tree rules the family room once again!

2010-01-12T06:09:00.000-08:00

My post for Saturday, January 9, 2010

No, Rebel's snout is not swollen! He just has a little squeaky tennis ball in it. Squeak, squeak, squeak!

2010-01-12T05:58:00.000-08:00

My post for Friday, 1-08-10

I snapped these pictures of Paige practicing her clarinet last night. Her band class is learning the "Lucy and Linus" song better know as the theme for "the Peanuts ". She was kinda bummed that the trumpets get the melody and not the clarinets. But the other day her teacher was working with the trumpet section (her teacher plays the clarinet) so just from watching her teacher she learned the notes to play the melody on the clarinet. Paige's music teacher was very impressed that she picked that up from just watching her teacher showing another group of kids.

2010-01-07T13:41:00.000-08:00

Yes it's a week into January and we still have our snow covered wreaths on the windows....it's been too cold and snowy to open the windows and hoist them in. Well, as long as they are down by April I think our neighbors will forgive us!

2010-01-07T06:16:00.000-08:00

My post for Wed. 1-06-10

B.F.C.
Best Friends Club

Megan's best friend Cameron rode home on the school bus with her today. They played with their "Best Friends Club" dolls and ate dinner together.

2010-01-05T19:04:00.000-08:00

Is it just me or do her rosy cheeks make her eyes look bluer?

2010-01-04T16:20:00.000-08:00

They went out to "help" their dad shovel the driveway and sidewalks. We have had light snow all day. Paige measured the snow on our walkway it was all of 1 c.m. I'm not sure how accurate that measurement was since we walked through the snow there when we took the dogs out.
P.S. I don't feel any guilt this morning for letting my kids play in the snow until 8:30 p.m. last night....they had a 2 hour delay this morning so they got some extra zzzz's plus some good memories.

2010-01-03T17:55:00.000-08:00

My newest snowman care of my big sis Shann. She said that Bella gave it some loving. For the life of me I can't tell that the pup was trying to play snow-ball, he's in perfect shape.

2010-01-02T18:59:00.000-08:00

Brayden's 2 month snapshot.

He turned two months old on New Years day...Mike and I went next door so Mike could help Brent move some furniture for Jamie since Chris was out in California watching the Buckeyes beat up on the Oregon Ducks. I was in charge of holding this cute little Michigan fan, he fell asleep in my arms so I guess he doesn't have any Buckeye grudges yet.

2010-01-01T19:25:00.000-08:00

Go Buckeyes....Our Rose Bowl Champs!

Rebel was making like a Buckeye and chomping on an Oregon duck during the Rose Bowl today!

2010-01-01T11:50:00.000-08:00

My post for the last day of 2009
December 31, 2009

Happy New Year from Megan, Mike, Paige and Brandi.
Our self portrait from Wildlights at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium.

2010-01-01T11:44:00.000-08:00

My post for Wednesday, 12-30-09

I took the girls over to visit with Miss. Linda. We had not been out to her new house since August. It was fun to see it all decorated for the holidays. She has Christmas trees all over, covered with angels, snowmen, musical instruments, it was fun to visit and see our dear friend. She also fed us a yummy lunch of baked ziti with meatballs, salad, bread and fresh fruit. We need to get over there more often in 2010.

2009-12-29T20:09:00.000-08:00

Last night our ol friend Tom stopped by and had dinner with us, it's been well over a year since we all got together. He was a bit surprised at how tall the girls have grown. He also gave me a very nice compliment. He said he was telling this lady he knows that works at the local diner that I was raising really sweet girls, and that they are friendly and charming and they always mind. Tom says "I think it's because she was a nanny for so long, she just knows how to raise kids right". Well gee Tom I'm glad you think so...cause my plan was always to raise confidant, compassionate kids that just happen to be smart and beautiful too. I'm a pretty lucky mom!

2009-12-28T19:44:00.000-08:00

Rosy cheek smiles from Ohio!

Megan had her friend Meghan over today and they tromped around in the snow with Paige and played on Jake's swing set for an hour then came in for hot cocoa.

2009-12-27T20:11:00.000-08:00

Looks like we may end up having a white New Years instead of a white Christmas. It started snowing big tissue paper flakes just before dark tonight.

I had to go out and grill the ribs in the snow. They turned out perfect. I had baked them for two and a half hours at 225 on the broiler pan covered in foil. The trick is low and slow (plus add some water the bottom of the broiler pan and cover them tight with heavy foil). I brushed them with some Montgomery Inn sauce and they were finger licking good.

2009-12-27T20:08:00.000-08:00

My post for Saturday, 12/26/09

Here's a cousin shot from Christmas at Aunt Terry's.

2009-12-27T20:04:00.000-08:00

My post for Friday, December 25th, 2009

Merry Christmas from our house to yours. Wishing you a joyous Christmas and a New Year filled with peace.

Love and hugs, Brandi, Michael, Paige, Megan, Rowdy and Rebel

2009-12-27T20:00:00.000-08:00

My post for Thursday, December 24, 2009

Paige and Megan hanging up their stockings and saying good bye to their elves. But not to worry Oliver and Jasper promise to return again next Thanksgiving and they are going to bring their dogs along next year too!

2009-12-24T06:41:00.000-08:00

My post for Wednesday, 12-23-09

I had to work a quick/busy 4 hour shift at Anderson's today. Then spent 2 hours running errands for Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner prep and picking up my new old glasses. I got new lenses in my old frames so I can decide if I like/need no line bifocals.
Needless to say I was too busy to snap pictures when I got home. But I do have these cute shots from Tuesday when we stopped by Deb and Bud's to take Joe out. Don't you just love their Christmas tree it looks like it could be in a magazine. They keep it in their sun porch and you can see it through their family room doors. Joe looks so handsome in his new winter coat too.

2009-12-24T06:36:00.000-08:00

My post for Tuesday, 12-22-09

The girls and I had lots of errands to run on today. The first was mailing their letters to Santa. They should be receiving a card from him in the next day or two.

2009-12-24T06:33:00.000-08:00

My post for Monday, December 21, 2009

The girls came over and played with Jake today. That was nice because while Evan was napping I was able to work on our Christmas cards. Megan enjoyed playing with Jake's soda fountain play dough machine.

2009-12-24T06:28:00.000-08:00

My post for Sunday, 12-20-09
Monthly Mugshots with the snowman hat!

2009-12-19T18:12:00.000-08:00

I'm glad I snapped these pictures this morning because when I got home tonight most of it was gone. I love the thick coating on the bushes it looks like frosting. Driving to work along the river road it looked like a Christmas card.

When I took the dogs out at 10 last night it was just starting to snow, the mulch around the street trees was barely covered. I was a little surprised when I heard the snowplows go by this morning when I was getting up at 5:45 a.m. I woke the kids and made them look out the window they were surprised too...but then they went right back to bed. I had to be to work at 7:45. It was a long day cashiering. People were either very nice or very rude...it was a day of extremes!

Rowdy was not thrilled with the snow at all! He did not want to come off the porch, but he was on his leash so he didn't have much choice.

Rebel on the other hand has to put his nose down in the snow and run around like a jack rabbit. Here he is making yellow snow!

2009-12-19T18:08:00.000-08:00

My post for Friday, 12-18-09

I snapped this picture during Megan's class party today. Since it was the last day of school before their 2 week winter break I let her take Jasper to class with the promise that she would not take him out to recess. Jasper had fun visiting with all of the other elves.

2009-12-19T18:03:00.000-08:00

My post for Thursday, 12-17-09

Megan's ballet class was dancing to the "ice skating" song from the Peanuts. It was adorable!

2009-12-19T18:00:00.000-08:00

My post for Wed. 12-16-09

Wordless Wednesday

2009-12-16T04:23:00.000-08:00

My post for Tuesday, 12-15-09

Last night was the girls last tap class before the winter break. They won't go back to dance class until next year in January. I let Megan wear Paige's "sleigh keeper" costume that she (Paige) wore in the "Nutty Nutcracker" 2 years ago. It's just a tiny bit big on her so she will be able to wear it again next year if she wants. Might as well get our money's worth out of it, instead of letting it sit in the costume box. Plus it was a good excuse to take some fun pictures.

2009-12-16T04:19:00.000-08:00

My post for Monday, 12-14-09

Jake and Evan our neighbor boys.

2009-12-16T04:16:00.001-08:00

My post for Sunday, 12-13-09

Surprise Picture!

Sometimes when I go to upload pictures onto the computer I find a "surprise picture" like this. Paige must have been messing around with my camera last week and took a self portrait of her and the pup.

2009-12-13T06:41:00.000-08:00

My post for Saturday, 12-12-09

While I took Paige and her friends to the dance party last night Megan and Jasper had their own party. Megan ate pizza with her dad then they had "Snow Ball" cotton candy while they watched the new "Phineas and Ferb Christmas Special" on the Disney channel.

2009-12-13T06:36:00.000-08:00

My post for Friday, 12-11-09

I snapped this picture of Paige before we went to the "Eagles night out dance party" at her school. We picked up her friend Brooke on the way there. I had volunteered to chaperone so I was able to get the girls in for free. Sydney met then their after her basketball game and then shed came home with us and spent the night. They all had a fun time, dancing, eating ice cream sundaes and talking and laughing.

2009-12-10T17:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Megan brought home this colorful Natasha Wescoat inspired painting. I love how colorful and fun it is. To learn more about the artist that inspired this work go here: http://www.natashawescoat.com

2009-12-09T07:18:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Bud's birthday!

Deb was in Chicago for work. So on our way to tap dance classes we stopped by to take Bud a card and cupcakes that we made for him. I also got him a 6 pack of Winter Celebration Ale, because you need to celebrate your birthday!

Don't you just love this family portrait of Bud, Joe Boxer and Deb? They had then taken a few months ago by the same photographer that did their wedding pictures. This is a wrapped canvas and it looks very much like a painting. I LOVE IT! I especially love how it is taken from Joe's perspective.

2009-12-08T04:09:00.000-08:00

She's super, super, she's super duper!

Super Girl!

2009-12-07T13:40:00.000-08:00

He' 3 today...so here are three cute pictures of Jake to celebrate! I watched Evan for a few hours today while Jake went to breakfast with his mom and dad then to Chuck E. Cheese to play.

2009-12-06T19:13:00.000-08:00

Paige and Megan in their festive frocks!

I took some cute pictures of the girls before we headed out the door to Paige's clarinet concert at Expresso Yourself Cafe tonight.

2009-12-06T19:08:00.000-08:00

My post for Saturday, 12-05-09

Jake turns 3 on Monday!

He had his birthday party earlier today so after dinner the girls and I went over to take him a gift. We got him a set of building blocks, they don't take batteries only imagination! We also got him 3 Hot Wheel cars to go with them.

2009-12-04T17:58:00.000-08:00

Megan jumping for joy!

She was jumping up and I was trying to take her picture with her feet off the ground...this was the last and best shot.

2009-12-04T17:44:00.000-08:00

My post for Thursday, 12-03-09

Megan's dance class fashions.

This is what Megan wore to ballet. I remember wearing legwarmers when I was in 8th or 9th grade, but I was not a ballet dancer. I was wearing them with jeans and sneakers to a San Francisco 49er's game with my best friend Lisa. She was wearing them too. I'm sure we looked like the biggest dorks, but we thought we were so cool. I hope that when Megan looks back at this picture she will see how darn cute she looks in her zebra print legwarmers that she bought with a gift card that she got for her birthday. I just hope she never says "Mom how did you let me go out of the house like that!?". I'll say "it was the style back then and you looked adorable!".

This is what she changed into for jazz. She could wear the same outfit from ballet to jazz but she hates tights.

2009-12-03T06:29:00.000-08:00

My post for Wednesday, 12-02-09

Wordless Wednesday....

2009-12-03T06:23:00.000-08:00

My post for Tuesday, 12-01-09

Our new 9 foot tall Christmas tree from a box.
I think it looks pretty good. Should we tinsel or not...we are still trying to decide. Paige say's "it doesn't smell like Christmas". I am going to take her up to Anderson's this weekend so we can get some fresh pine boughs to put in our big brown vase so it will smell more like Christmas in our house. Some people have told me to get candles but to me those pine scented candles always smell like soap so we are going for the real smell of pine.

2009-12-02T04:21:00.000-08:00

My post for Monday, 11-30-09

If you have read my main blog then you know that "The Elves" are back in town. Oliver and Jasper must be big Taylor Swift fans because they brought the girls her new Christmas c.d. on Sunday morning.

2009-12-02T04:17:00.000-08:00

My post for Sunday, 11-29-09

Grandma and Grandpa stopped by they were heading back to Georgia on Monday. We were putting up our brand new out of the box 9foot Christmas tree. This was the best shot I could get before they all got a case of the sillies.

2009-12-02T04:11:00.000-08:00

My Post for Saturday, 11/28/09

I had to work from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Black Friday and from 8:30 to 4 on Saturday so needless to say I have not taken any pictures since Thanksgiving....so here are some leftovers. Go to my main blog for the rest of the Turkey day photos.

Jei on guitar and Uncle Dave on drums rocking out to "On the Road Again".

2009-12-02T03:58:00.000-08:00

My post for Friday, 11-27-09

Nothing says Thanksgiving like orange roses and fuchsia Peonies. This is what I came up with for our Thanksgiving centerpiece. The flowers are from Trader Joe's of course.

2009-12-02T03:56:00.000-08:00

My post for Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Turkey is done!

2009-12-01T05:38:00.000-08:00

My post for Wednesday, 11-25-09

Mike ran up and got his red vest on so he could be twins with his mom, ahhh they are so cute!
Girls rock...young girls and girls that are young at heart!

2009-12-01T05:34:00.000-08:00

My post for Tuesday 11-24-09

It's pup in a blanket...Rebel stealing the covers from Paige.

2009-12-01T05:29:00.000-08:00

My post for Monday, November 23,2009

Six dollar roses from Trader Joes....worth every penny, they remind me of the ones I carried on my wedding day...and they smelled like roses too.

2009-11-23T04:25:00.000-08:00

My post for Sunday, November 22, 2009

Another Sunny Sunday filled with typing up Paige's book report, doing housework, baking, and watching Nascar.

2009-11-23T04:21:00.000-08:00

My post for Saturday 11-21-09

Santa Paws and Paige

It's bad enough that the stores start putting Christmas stuff up before Halloween and then start playing Christmas songs before Thanksgiving, but do we have to dress up the dog before December?

2009-11-23T04:18:00.000-08:00

My post for Friday 11-20-09

Smile Your on Candid Camera :)

Paige was snapping pictures of the dogs just before Megan walked in the door from getting off the school bus.

2009-11-19T04:11:00.000-08:00

Paige's self portrait

Last night before I went to bed I took some pictures of Rebel on Paige's bed then I sat the camera on her desk. I grabbed it this morning along with a book that I need to take back to the library and sat it on the bathroom counter while I was combing her hair. Paige picked up the camera and said "I am going to take a self portrait of myself in the mirror just like Aunt Shann does". I had to remind her to turn the flash off and to hold the camera down so she could see her pretty face.

2009-11-18T19:09:00.000-08:00

Tonight was Paige's last riding class for 2009. Now she will be counting down the weeks until the Spring classes start. She got to ride bare back so she was a happy camper. She rode bare back for the first time last year on her last day of class, so now it's "her tradition".

2009-11-17T07:18:00.000-08:00

We are so proud of you Paige....for getting a 3.67 G.P.A. in your first quarter of middle school. That is pretty darn good since she missed 6 days of school when she had the H1N1 flu. She had 3 test to make up in Pre Algebra.

I drove Paige to school this morning (not because she missed the bus) so I could watch her receive her Honor Roll certificate. They had a little ceremony in the commons to hand out the certificates. The teachers told us "make sure you take their pictures because they love having their pictures taken"

2009-11-17T07:10:00.000-08:00

My post for Monday, 11-16-09

Paige taking a little hide and seek break to play with Evan. Paige was saying "this is how old (7 months) Jake was when they moved here". Jake will be 3 on Dec. 7th....time sure does fly by.

I was next door watching the boys until 6 last night. Mike was home but the girls wanted to come over and say hi after school. When Jake saw them come in he says "lets play hide and seek". So that is what they did.

2009-11-17T06:57:00.000-08:00

My post for Sunday 11-15-09

Megan and Addison her "Best Friends Club" doll that Cameron got her for her b.day in July. If you are thinking that Addison's skirt looks a little short it's because Megan was borrowing clothes from her "Webkinz" and from her "Friends 2 B Made Dolls". Hey whatever works!

Last week Megan came home from school and said "the only thing I can think of that I really want for Christmas is an "American Girls" doll". This was kind of a surprise to me and Paige since the only time Megan really plays with her dolls is when Cameron comes over. I asked her why she wanted an "A G" doll and she said "all the girls at school have them and bring them to school and play with them on recess". Well she knows that I do not allow toys to go to school, not stuffed animals and especially not dolls that cost about a hundred bucks. She was a little upset until I told her about these dolls they have at Target, "Next Generation dolls" they look very similar to the "American Girl dolls" with a more reasonable price. We went on line and looked at them and she thinks they look cool. Plus you can get one doll with two outfits and accessories for under forty bucks. We all know it's about the outfits and accessories! So I think she will be putting this "Next Generation Doll" at the top of her Santa letter.

2009-11-17T06:01:00.000-08:00

My post for Saturday, 11-14-09

Evan is 7 months old today.

I watched him yesterday while Jamie took Jake to the zoo and out to lunch with a friend. Evan started clicking his tongue yesterday. He was so proud of himself and the new noise he could make.

2009-11-13T16:48:00.000-08:00

Paige and I had some mother and daughter time tonight or as she puts it "just me and you". We went to get haircuts and then we stopped at Pei Wei Asian Diner for some dinner. I love their mandarin orange green tea. I had the firecracker chicken and Paige had the honey chicken. She likes their brown rice and I like their brown fried rice. The veggies are just right...crisp tender.
While we were out Mike and Megan had a father daughter date. They went to pizza at Donatos then they went to the pet store and played with puppies. The best part was they stopped at Graeter's and brought home a pint of toffee chip and black raspberry chip.

2009-11-13T03:52:00.000-08:00

My post for Thursday, 11-12-09

What you don't see is his little nubbin of a tail wagging back and forth.

2009-11-13T03:47:00.000-08:00

My post for Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Wordless Wednesday (almost)

Thank you to all of our men and woman that are serving our country today and those that have served in the past. I Thank you and your families for your dedication, your sacrafices and for keeping our country free and safe.
God Bless

2009-11-10T07:49:00.000-08:00

I was at J.C.Penny last month looking at jeans for Paige. I did not find any jeans for Paige but I did pick up these cute little zebra print leggings for Megan. Best seven bucks I have spent lately.

2009-11-10T06:00:00.000-08:00

My post for Monday, 11-09-09

The girls came over to Jake's after school. This thrilled Jake...he loves Paige and Megan. Paige built him a huge train track for all his little battery powered trains. Then Paige and Megan attempted to put all the trains on the track and keep them from crashing. It was pretty amusing. Paige kept saying "clean up in aisle 5". Megan was the clean up crew of course.

2009-11-10T05:48:00.000-08:00

My post for Sunday, 11-08-09

Megan brought this cool-colorful Hawkins inspired cityscape home she made it in her art class at school. They have a wonderful arts program with an amazing teacher. They use a lot of recycled items. This is all painted on recycled cardboard.
My favorite part is the ice cream truck. Some kids made race cars, V.W. Bugs, even Limos but my girl made an ice cream truck...because she is an original...and oh so cool!

2009-11-10T05:37:00.000-08:00

My post for Saturday, 11-07-09

We have a new neighbor boy and we are all in love with him!

Meet Brayden Michael he was born on Nov. 1st. His mom (Cristee) and his dad (Brent) are thrilled beyond belief. Brady's (that's what he goes by) due date was 10-24 so when he was a no show they induced Cristee on the 31st. Good thing they didn't wait any longer...this boy is a whopping 9 lbs. 15 oz. and 21 3/4 inches long. As you can see he has huge feet and hands and the cutest little pout I've seen since Paige was born.

2009-11-06T17:44:00.000-08:00

Today was wear your crazy hat for "Spirit Day" at Paige's school. She got this hat when she was five years old when I took her to see "Dralion"when it came to town. I can't believe the hat still fits her but it does. It must have been big on her when she first got it because it fits her fine now at age 11.

2009-11-06T17:36:00.000-08:00

Thursday 11-05-09

I didn't take any pictures today...but here's one from my Monday with the neighbor boys. Evan is sitting up like a pro now. He's such a cute little "hunk"...just like his shirt says.

2009-11-06T17:33:00.000-08:00

My post for Wednesday 11-04-09

We took down the Halloween decorations today. These were the roses from the Halloween party.
They were pretty good for two buck roses.

2009-11-06T17:27:00.000-08:00

My post for Tuesday, 11-03-09

Paige had a band concert at school tonight. The 6th grade band played a few songs and Paige played some chamber music with two other girls.

While we were at Paige's school for the concert Aunt Deb was snuggling on the sofa at our house with Megan (who has the flu) and Rowdy...who just likes to sleep as much as he possibly can.