This one is for you Aunt Rita!

Last year when we were in Florida for Christmas my aunt Rita gave us these necklaces to wear in the park at night.  We did, and then packed them away with the Christmas stuff.  We didn't get to return to Florida this Christmas but Rita and Sarah did.  We missed hanging out with them in sunny Florida so we took these pictures.  Maybe next year.

Quiet Little Christmas

So Jeremy is always asking for wacky stuff that he really doesn't want.  This year was no different and he asked for a helicopter.  He should have known better and I know he is happy I didn't get the yoga pants he was joking about.

They both got a dvd. Emily was Big Bang Theory 5 and Jeremy was The Avengers.

A new book. Emily was Candy Shop Wars 2 and Jeremy was Jimmer (I can't remember his last name).

Emily got Taylor Swift's Red cd and some repair work on her car.

Jeremy was shocked when he opened his new Ipod touch.  He had not asked for this but we knew he really really wanted it.

My Family

So this is my family.  We are lined up oldest to youngest.  Yvonne, Me, Jan and Joe.  Yes, Joe is the youngest but only by a few minutes.  Oh, and my mom is there too.

This is my mom and her grand kids. Erin, Emily, Sydnie (I know, why doesn't she have and E name?) Jeremy and Jacob.

This is all of us. Back: Yvonne, Me, Jan & Sydnie. Middle: Dan (Yvonne's husband) Rob (My husband) Mom & Joe. Front: Jeremy, Emily, Erin & Jacob.

These guys really love each other.  Erin almost 21, Emily closing in on 18, Jacob 15, Jeremy 15 in May and Sydnie 13 on January 1st.

In these shoes

These shoes have walked miles on my feet.  I happen to love this brand and style.  I have worn them for at least 15 years.  I get a new pair every year.

As you can see I keep the past couple of years on the shoe rack for doing jobs that I don't want to wear my new ones doing, like mowing the lawn.

For the first week I had my new treadmill I put on my trusty Reebok's and walked 2 miles a day.  After each walk my feet would just scream at me, "These are not the right shoes for this". Yes, my feet actually said that.  So off I went with my 20% off coupon to Kohl's to find a good pair of running shoes.  These Fila's were on sale and with my coupon only cost me $28.00  My feet are so happy!

To my surprise my favorite Reebok's were on sale this past weekend and I went to get my annual pair.  I had my trusty 20% off coupon and off to Kohl's I went.  I was deeply saddened when I discovered that my favorite style is being discontinued. They didn't have my size among the last few pair they did have so I was left to pick out a new favorite.  I found these Nike's on sale and with my coupon paid $25.00 for them.  The purple swoosh did help make everything ok.....for now.

Sad sight

So we kicked off the month of December by waking up on the first to a puddle in front of our fridge.  Sadly the poor ole thing died during the night leaving us no choice but to throw everything away and go purchase a new fridge.  This is my new freezer with the meager supplies I picked up at the grocery store.  Who can live without butter, cheese, chicken and bacon?!

These are the only two things that survived the big thaw.  Under no circumstance should you toss out CHOCOLATE!  These did not get devoured during the stressful day but are safely back in the freezer waiting a more worthy emergency :)

All dressed up

In November it became apparent that the kids needed new church clothes.  Jeremy has been asking for a suit and this is how my handsome young man looks in his new suit.  He also got a new shirt and new dress shoes.

While we were looking for new dresses Emily came up with this shirt and the sweater below to go with her skirts that still fit.  They look great with jeans too.

These two dresses were on the clearance rack at J.C. Penney.  The blue one is Liz Claiborne and the polka dot one is by Alyx.  They were $29.99 each.

Say hello to my little friend

This is my new treadmill.  I have a goal of losing 44 pounds by my 44th birthday in July.  As you can tell I am set up in the basement but I have a Ipod outlet and a small t.v. so I'm good.

My awesome husband heard me mention that I didn't have enough room to put my glasses, book, water, house and cell phones so he hooked my up with this bin zip tied to the handle.  It is perfect!

A Thanksgiving get away.

After we enjoyed our Thanksgiving lunch we loaded up in the car and set off to Traverse City.  It's a 3 1/2 hour drive from our house.  The kids were so excited to be hitting the road at 2:30.

By 3:30 I was the only one still awake in the car.  It's a good thing I was the one driving.

The wardrobe in our room looked too much like the passage to Narnia so Emily gave it a try.  Ours lead to no where.

We had a all night Monopoly game.  I felt like I didn't get the memo on wearing plaid pajama bottoms and a black t-shirt.  These guys were still going strong when I called it quits at midnight.

This may look like a pretty lake scene but in reality it is a sad look at how low the lakes are in Michigan.  The water should be up to the road, not a mile out.

On the way home we stopped at our favorite pizza shop for what we think is the best pizza around.  We only went up north from Thursday afternoon to Saturday morning.  We did some shopping and some swimming while we were there also.  All in all it was a great get away with NO cell phones.  Now on to Christmas!

The proper way to eat a SnoBall

When I heard that Hostess was going out of business I went down to the local store to grab my favorite treat Snoballs.  To my surprise the Hostess shelf was empty.  Lucky for me this store had a gas station out front and ta-da!  I bought the last 3 packages they had.  I will now show you how I was taught to eat one of these treats.

First you take a snoball and put it on a napkin or paper towel so you don't get the coconut all over the place.

Then you peel the marshmallow shell off the cupcake.

You eat the cupcake first.

Then you eat the marshmallow shell.  It is so yummy this way.  Farewell Snoballs, I will miss eating your yumminess.

Mean Mom or Life Lesson

So, here is how my mind works.  I was taking a shower on Saturday and the water wasn't draining properly and my mind went to thinking that I needed to remind Rob to clean out the gutters before winter set in.  After my shower I asked the kids if either of them wanted to clean the gutters.  Emily agreed after I said I would pay her.  Before we headed outside I thought that Jeremy shouldn't get off so easily so I taught him how to clean out the tubs drain trap.  I think this is an equally gross job.

Emily started out standing on the shed to clean the garage gutters out then did the sun rooms gutters.  The challenge then was to do the upper gutters.  In the back of the house it is a little easier because you can stand on the sun room.  That is until we realized that  Emily wasn't tall enough to reach so I had her haul the extension ladder up.  We learned a very big lesson.  Someone should always be there to hold the ladder for you!  I stood there completely helpless as Emily was taking her last step before transferring onto the roof when the ladder slid out from under her and down she fell!  Thank God it is only about 8 feet to the sun room roof.  She has a nice bruise on her butt.  After she got her wits back she was able to lower one of the ladders down to us so we could send Jeremy up to hold the long ladder for her.

I give her all the props in the world because I would NEVER have gotten back up there after a fall.

While Emily was up on the roof Jeremy had to get all the leaves that pile up between the shed and the air conditioner raked up.  I do not want to encourage any critters making this corner of my house a home for winter.  So, am I a mean mom or a mom who taught her kids good life skills?

Honors, Mentors and Black Belts, Oh My!

Wednesday, October 10th was a busy day.  Emily was inducted into the National Honor Society.

Jeremy was able to give Phil his mentor pin.  Phil was instrumental in helping Jeremy achieve his Eagle Scout rank.

On Saturday October 12th Emily earned the rank of 2nd degree black belt!

Richie and Emily love being in class together.  They are both high kickers and can kick each other in the head if they want to.  Richie got his black belt today.  Yes, this is them posing for me.  I'm glad the restaurant owner didn't kick us out!

Why did I keep that?

I call this the evolution of a trick or treat bag.  I broke out the Halloween buckets today and I found all of these modes of collecting candy.  I look back and can remember which kid carried which bags and can think of a costume that was worn.  My kids stopped going out for candy 5 years ago, the year Emily was diagnosed with diabetes.  Jeremy didn't have to give it up but he chose to support his sister.  I wondered why I kept these but then Emily said "Cool, I can use those for my kids."  Yes, I put them all back in the tote and hauled them back to the basement.

Give me strength

If any of you know me you know I hate a cluttered room.  This is how Jeremy left his room today while he attended a football game.  Some of it is clutter, some of it is home work, all of it gives me a head ache.  I just shut the door.

Say it isn't so!

I can not believe that the summer shoes are all on the rack. 

Stacked up winter clothes waiting to go in Emily's drawers.

Bagged up summer clothes waiting to be put away.

Long sleeved shirts all hung up.  These are all sure signs that winter is on its way.  My problem is that it is only October 7th.  We are running in the fifty's during the day and the thirties by night.  We have already had our first frost warning too.  I normally don't drag out the socks and shoes and warm clothes until mid to late November.  I am not a happy camper.