Random Picture Challenge!

Joining in with the Random Picture Challenge started over at 4 little men and girly twins! This is picture 44 from my November 2007 folder! I know it says November 2nd on it but for some reason I hadn't downloaded my October ones and they went in my November folder!

Chris was out town on a long business trip and the kids were missing him a ton so we took a bunch of pictures before school and sent them to him!

The ruthless cycle of life.

I don't want to write this post. I have procrastinated writing it for a few days but it is all I can think about so therefore I must get it out. My dear dear friend that I have known for over 20 years is sitting at the hospital watching her dad deteriorate ...his organs are shutting down and he is probably not going to make it through the weekend. I hate that this is happening. He is a great person who spent his life making other people happy. Watching her go through this is painful not only because losing him is a loss for the world but because it makes it so real that in the near years to come all my friends will have to deal with this in their own lives. That I will have to see it happen to my parents. The circle of life is unstoppable and doesn't discriminate. As we ourselves grow older and see gray hair and wrinkles pop up our parents also age and we take over that roll of caregiver. As our children grow and change into adults themselves we too will move on to a new stage. All this is terrifying to think about but necessary since it is inevitable.
I hope for comfort for my friend and her family in this situation. It is hard to remember that through the pain the happy memories will eventually break through and instead of making us cry they will make us smile.

CEL-E-BRATE good times COME ON!

This is a little tribute to my sister, Abby, on her 33rd Birthday! She is trapped inside during a snowstorm with two little boys so I thought I would give her a laugh! Plus people keep bugging her to do the 25 things about me on Facebook...so I figure I will just link it here so she doesn't have too!

33 Things about Abby :)

1) Abby is the funniest person she knows (and I know except myself of course:)
2) Abby is a great listener. She always knows what I am saying and gives great advice.
3) Abby loves her boys and would do anything for them.
4) When Abby was little she fell off the front steps with a curtain rod in her mouth and had to go to the ER and have surgery. When her 5 year old accidentally hit my 4 year old in the head with a shovel (don't ask) over the summer I think we both had flashbacks to that day.
5) In her next life she is going to be a private investigator.
6) Wine is her favorite food group.
7) She doesn't like doughnuts or really any breakfast foods.
8) Just the other day our parents were arguing about whether Abby was turning 32 or 34 this year. Imagine that they were both wrong. At least they knew which day her birthday was on.
9) She likes girly things especially makeup. Thank God for Sephora!
10) She spent time as an exchange student in Germany.
11) We used to be mortal enemies as kids but now we talk 3 or more times a day and see each other multiple times a week.
12) She stole the name Owen from me ....well it was my BOY name and I never had one so I guess she didn't' technically steal it.
13) She dated her now husband Jeremy for months before she introduced him to her family.
14) Abby loves to gamble especially in Vegas.
15) Abby had a terrible experience with the birth of her first son and I think it took a great deal of strength and courage to have another child. Nick was worth it too he is a doll.
16)Snow and ice on Abby's birthday is nothing new...on her 2nd bday in '78 we had a huge blizzard that shut down the city for a week. During the blizzard our brother went down the stairs in a laundry basket and broke his arm and my dad had to drive him to the hospital in the VW van.
15) Abby never wore braces
16)...but has had glasses since she was little.
16) She prefers baths over showers
18) ..and a pool over the ocean.
19) She has an obsession with squirrels ..one in particular.
20) She has a secret drawer.
22) She likes to be right and usually is.
23) She is a DVR addict.
24) Once she got a popcorn maker from her husband as a gift and she cried. I think her husband did better this year.
25) She can keep a secret (unlike me).
26) She makes the best coffee and hot sandwiches.
27) She and I constantly owe each other money for one reason or another.
28) We both hate it when our Dad is mad at us..our Mom we don't really worry about but our Dad we do for some reason
29) She has an odd affinity for Bobby Flay. Not just his food but him. She made her husband take her to his restaurant in Vegas and secretly hoped she would meet him.
30) She is always on time or early.
31) She is a stickler for correct grammar.
32) She has a personalized license plate on her car.
33) Her word is as good as gold. She says she is going to do it it is done

I hope you have a great day little sis'! Happy Birthday!

My evolution as a Mom.

I was reading something today about a first time Mom declaring that her baby's first birthday cake would be the first sweet treat that she had ever tasted. This made me smile. I remember when I had Caroline 10 years ago. I followed the rules to a T. I treated the pediatrician like God and poured over child rearing books daily. I followed every arbitrary rule ever written about how to raise a baby. When I couldn't get the rule exactly right I felt like a failure. Caroline absorbed my insecurities and anxiety. She was extremely shy as a little girl and stuck to my leg like glue. Preschool was a painful experience for both of us. She cried and cried and I cried and cried. By the time I had my second I was busy with a two year old and so I was a little more lax with the rules. I only consulted the books every other day and didn't call the Dr. every time Olivia coughed or ran a temperature. Olivia is shy too but not as painfully shy as Caroline and she has an easier time with new situations. Three years later my last little bundle of joy arrived. By then I had a 5 year old and a 3 year old and no time to worry or focus on making everything fit into the box. I let her have fries and ice cream by 7months and **eeeekkkkk** even a few sips of pop. She had a pillow in her crib before she turned 1 AND I she watched TV (not just Baby Einstein either!!). We visited the pediatrician only for well baby visits and I am sure she droned on with some sort of wisdom but I don't think I heard her. Amelia is well adjusted and self confident. She does well in new situations and has a wonderful vocabulary.
I love all three of my girls individually and equally but I have to wonder if they popped out of the hatch with their personalities set in stone or if my parenting made them the way they are?

Overcome with toxic fumes.

You know those friendships that you really cherish and really want to keep but end up being toxic? The ones that change you into a blubbering kid hiding under the desk instead of your usual confident self. The ones that suck the ever loving life out of you yet you keep bouncing back for more. I find that I have rid myself of almost all those types of relationships in my life but there are a few I just can't seem to dissolve. I have worked extremely hard at building my self up the past few years. Being positive and beginning to love myself for exactly who I am, warts and all. Then one little thing happens and it sends me off into the corner again. It is totally exhausting. My hope is that as I was changing and maturing these people were too and when we meet again things will be different. That the whole make up of our relationship will be more balanced and genuine. That one person doesn't feel and exhibit superiority over the other. The bigger more important question though is why I keep giving the benefit of the doubt to people who are willing to throw me into a cage with a lion and look the other way.

Not me Monday!

I am once again participating in the blog carnival Not me Monday! Started by Mckmama over at My Charming Kids!




I could never have taken the kids to Target just to waste time... that would have been silly and caused me to spend lots of money.

My sister and I did NOT take 5 kids out to dinner and ply them with pop and mini donuts to keep them quiet. NO WAY, that would have been bribery!

I seriously did not consider making a tape of myself saying "find something to do!" "clean up your mess" and "time for bed" so I didn't have to repeat it over and over ....

There is no way I made Chris go shopping with the girls and I at Justice (major tween shop) especially not on his birthday weekend...nope not me!

I did NOT watch 48 Hours Mystery the other night even though I knew the person would be convicted because they always are and I did NOT tell myself I have to stop watching this show...even though I know I won't.

I didn't start hyperventilating when I saw the forecast for MORE snow this week that could delay or cancel school once again...that would have been silly!

There is no possible way I woke up at 3am because I heard the Wii music echoing in my head only to realize it was a horrible nightmare about the mii's chasing after me.

Random Picture Challenge!

Taking part the Saturday Random Picture Challenge started by Brittney over at 4 Little Men and Girly Twins! This is the 30th picture from my August 2007 file!
It is a picture of the first day of school. Caroline would have been entering 3rd grade and Olivia the 1st grade. Amelia would have been 3...so just in the picture for fun! I made them pose in the first few pictures and told them to do something funny in this one....