My post for Sunday 12-30-2007Last night we had the last sleepover of 2007. We picked Brittany up on our way to the dollar movie theater to see "Bee Movie". It was really cute and funny, too. The girls posed in their robes for me before going up to bed. Tonight we are going to the zoo to see the lights and ice skate. Brittany's mom is going to meet us there and pick Brittany up from us.
Happy New Year!

My post for Saturday 12-29-07If you are looking for our kids just listen for the sound of puppies being trained as in Nintendogs. Santa brought Nintendo ds lites for Christmas and they love them. They are sorta cool. The kids can text message and send drawings back and forth between them . They can go on "bark mode" and their dogs can visit each other too. They have other games but for now they are pretty hooked on the dogs. Paige has a Beagle named Daisy and a Golden retriever named Buttercup. Megan has a Yorkie named Max and a German Shepard named Maggie. Thank goodness they are all computer generated..that would be a lot of dog food and a lot of dog poop!

My post for Friday 12-28-07OH Boy Pac Man Boxers, I didn't even know I wanted these! Good thing Megan saw them when we were out Christmas shopping, she insisted we get them because "Dad loves Pac Man".

My post for Thursday 12-27-07This was the first year that the dog's let us open our gifts without their help. I let Paige pick them out some natural rawhide chews at Mutts and Co. the new dog wash and pet supply store. I tell ya it worked like a charm, we had at least 3 hours of peace and quiet and Rowdy and Rebel were happy as could be.

This is the quilt that Megan and Mimi designed together. Last Spring when Mimi and Pop-pop were out to visit Mimi had Megan color pictures on special paper that she could transfer on to fabric. While Mimi was here we took a trip to the fabric store so Megan could pick out the background fabrics. Then Mimi took all the pictures and fabric home and put it all together. Megan was thrilled to open her quilt and we all love the way it turned out. It's a one of a kind original just like Megan.

Merry Christmas everyone from our home to yours, we wish you all the joy your hearts can hold.

Here's Paige and Megan running down the stairs around 8:15 this morning.

Gingerbread house in miniture. This is the Gingerbread house made of grahm crackers that Paige made in class last week at school. I finally remembered to take her picture with it last night. Today we are making the real BIG gingerbread house so check my other blog for those pictures later today.
Merry Merry!

I guess it's true.....Christmas is FOR SALE!
Yesterday as I was driving home after cashiering in the 12 items or LESS line from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. I saw this in front of one of the houses in our development. I thought this was so funny, maybe because I had just worked an exhausting 8 hour shift, where we had lines to the center isle at times, but this made me laugh out loud. I went home to grab the camera so I could share it with all of you. Happy Holi-DAZE!

My Post for Saturday 12-22-07I took these pictures around 9:45 Friday night. After dinner the kids and I went across the street to visit with Linda and exchange Christmas gifts. Then we came home and made cupcakes. After that the kids got their p.j.'s on and watched "Mary Poppins". Megan was asleep before the chimney sweeps danced. Long week at school and a holiday party too, makes for a sleepyhead Friday night.

My post for Friday 12-21-07Our snow is just about all gone there is one little pile in the front yard, it lasted almost a week. It started snowing a week ago at about 10 a.m. I took these pictures earlier in the week just didn't get them posted . So this is Rebel and his snowball. I took him out one morning it was in the 20's and he picked up this hunk of ice-snow and carried it all over the yard with him. He sat it down at one point but then went and picked it up again and carried it back to the porch. I snapped his picture with it so he could remember it forever. But I drew the line at letting him bring it in the house.
Good by little snowball, I will miss you.

I snapped these pictures before we went to see Santa last night. The girls look so festive in the red sparkle shirts. I will post the Santa pictures on my main blog later. I need to go get ready for work now. Happy HoliDAZE!

Letters to Santa!

The girls wrote their letters to Santa Monday night and then we brought them to the post office last night before going to get our haircuts. Megan asked for a Nintendo DS Lite, an E-Pet, and Elf and and ornament.
Paige asked Santa for a Nintendo DS Lite, a Nintendo dog, and an Elf, she also wants and ornament.
Here is the cute little picture Paige drew on the back of her letter. I love her reindeer, it's so cute.
Santa has his own personal mailbox at our post office. He even sends each kid a Christmas card back. That's pretty amazing since this is his busy time of year. I guees that's what they mean by the magic of Christmas.

We have a corner lot. There are pros and cons to having a corner lot. More grass to mow, more snow to shovel from the sidewalk. But when it is 22 degrees out and the bus stops right outside our dining room window having a corner lot is a good thing. It means mom does not have to get bundled up and walk or drive the kids to the bus stop. I can just pull the window shade up and tell them to watch for the bus. Yep today the corner lot is a good thing.

Here is another picture from last night after the final show of "The Nutty Nutcracker". We are so proud of our little dancer, she worked hard and went to practice every Sunday since the beginning of October. She performed in 6 shows and always had a big smile on her face.

My post for Sunday 12/16/07Here is Paige after the final two performances of C.D.A.'s holiday production of the Nutty Nutcracker. The shows went great and she had a lot of fun dancing in front of her family and friends.

My post for Saturday, December 15,2007I had to be at Anderson's to cashier out in the nursery booth at 8 a.m. yesterday. I got there and plugged both the little heaters in and rebooted the computer for the register. It takes a good 15 minutes for the new prices to upload. In the meantime I went back inside to bet a medium hot chocolate with hazelnut whipped cream from Sacred Grounds and an apple fritter from the bakery (they are made at Der Dutchman and they are the best). It started snowing by 10 a.m. and by 11 the flakes were big and puffy they almost looked like feathers floating to the ground. It made the Christmas trees in the lot look very festive. We sold quite a few Christmas trees, a few wreaths and some pine roping.
These are the only pictures that I took yesterday. Paige was going out to take Rebel for a walk around the neighborhood. It started raining while they were out so when they came in they were soaked. I rubbed Rebel down with a towel. I had the kids throw their outerwear in the washing machine. I figured it was already soaked might as well clean it too. Then the kids went upstairs for a warm bath.
I guess I should get this posted, I need to go curl Paige's pony tails. She has her last two performances of The Nutty Nutcracker with CDA today. I can't wait until everyone gets to see the show. I have seen it 4 times since I was one of the carpool moms. So I know we are in for another great show.

M is for Megan and Merry and Memories.....
do you see that little red heart ornament above her head off to the right? That's Megan at 17 months her first Christmas at our present home. It's hard to believe we are going into our 5th year of living in our "new" home.

My post for Friday 12-14-07


It's official Paige is the winner for the 1st -6th graders for the Gingerbread boy-girl decorating contest at Columbus Dance Arts. There was a message from CDA on the answering machine when I came home from work yesterday afternoon, that Paige was a winner. I didn't tell her when I picked her up for dance. When we got to dance she noticed they had posted the winner for the preschoolers and then she ran down the hall to where the 1st - 6th graders were displayed and she saw her name on the wall. She was so excited. Her prize was a gingerbread house kit, a personalized gingerbread ornament (it even says CDA contest winner for 2007 on the back), some candy canes and some cookies from Cheryl's Cookies. All of her friends were congratulating her last night at dance. When she gets the gingerbread house built and decorated I will share that too.

Despite being a naughty little pup that likes to steal the whole roll of toilet paper and shred it, who grabs the girls stuffed animals and prances around the room while they are chasing him and ordering him to drop it. Despite all his naughty ways, he is still nice to snuggle with. Rebel you keep snuggling up all cozy like and you may just get on Santa's nice list by Christmas Eve.

Being in a dance show is not all make up and glamour just ask Paige.
It's waking up early (6 a.m.) and having to eat breakfast when you are still half asleep. It's sleeping in curlers, and waking up early so your mom can take out the curlers, touch up the curls with a curling iron and then spray the heck out of your hair with Aqua Net. It's wearing lots of make up so your eyes and mouth stand out on stage and then scrubbing it off with make up remover. It's doing stretches to warm up (and to keep everyone focused and not running around) on a gym floor. But it is also singing Christmas Carols at the top of your lungs with 5 other dancer-friends in the car on the way to do shows and it's eating pizza and cookies at the dance studio for lunch. It's seeing the smiles of the old folks at the nursing homes and the kids at the schools. It's finally getting to do your dance that you have learned and practiced for 2 months. It's knowing that your mom and dad are so proud of you for doing your best and making it look so easy and fun.

My post for Tuesday 12-11-07Merry Christmas to me from Carole and Dad!
When I got home from car pooling for Paige's dance shows on Saturday there was a package on the table. It was addressed to me but was from somewhere in Virginia. I opened it up thinking there would be a packing slip or something to let me know who sent it. There was only a package wrapped in pretty tissue and tied with a raffia bow. So I called Carole and sure enough it was from her. She told me to go ahead and open it. I found this beautiful Snow Girl, she looks like she walked out of my favorite holiday picture that Carole and Dad got me a few years ago. Sure enough the Snow Girl figure is made by the same artist. I think that is so cool.
I opened the package after the girls were in bed so they didn't know about it. Paige noticed right away the next morning. We all think our Snow Girl is wonderful. Thanks for the lovely gift Carole and Dad. Merry Christmas!

Rowdy is an Angel even without the wings.Rowdy would be on Santa's G.D.& P. list (that stands for Good Dogs and Pups) even without the angel wings. We found Megan's angel costume in with the Christmas stuff and she wore it all day yesterday. She went up to get her angel wings out of her dress up box but came down with fairy wings instead, because that's what she wanted. While we were decorating the tree Megan was decorating the dog. Good thing Rowdy is old and patient, he just lays there and takes it.

HO HO HO it's Santa Brandi and Santa Mike, Happy Christmas and Merry New Year!

My post for Saturday 12-08-07These pictures were actually taken before school on Friday. The kids had a 2 hour delay on Friday due to some more snow. This is the shirt Paige got for being in the Nutty Nutcracker this season. She was excited to wear it to school so her friends and teacher could see it.
They had their first two shows at two area nursing homes yesterday and they went very well. I am so proud of these girls and one boy, they have put in a lot of hours of practice and they really enjoy what they do. It is so fun to see them dancing and smiling and bringing some holiday cheer to the community.
Oh and somehow this cute little dog manages to get in the picture shoot two. Can you feel the love?

OH Happy Day! Yesterday in Megan's first grade class her name was finally drawn so she could take home Gingerbread Fred. Gingerbread Fred is a little stuffed gingerbread boy, that lives in a gingerbread tin. He gets to take turns going for sleepovers at the kids homes and the kids write about their adventures for Gingerbread Fred's journal. Megan was so thrilled! Gingerbread Fred had a busy night. First he went to Megan's dance class and met Miss. Kay and watched her and her dance friends do ballet and tap.Gingerbread Fred also joined our family for our Christmas tree hunt last night at Anderson's tree lot. He was a pretty worn out cookie by the time we got home. He fell asleep in Megan's Santa hat, sleeping bag style.