Wii Wish you a Merry Christmas!

Well this year my parents win the most shocking and surprising gift award. I was talking with my mom and she told me that they had gotten my sister a Wii for Christmas. So in typical sibling rivalry fashion "I want a Wii, I'm putting in my request for next year." On Christmas we arrived at my parents house and were shocked (Jon more so than me...the look on his face was priceless) as we opened our Wii. My mom said they were planning to give us cash and decided that since we wanted a Wii also to just use that cash to get us the Wii. I've pulled just about every muscle in my back and can barely move but it's so fun.

This year Nathan was really into the whole present aspect of Christmas. After opening every gift he wanted to take it out and play with it. And Emily had no idea what was going on but next year she will.

Christmas Eve:

Making a "Graham Cracker" House

Opening the Christmas Eve gift (always jammies)

Wearing his new jammies

The loot

I will add more pictures (specifically from Christmas Day and Round 2, as I like to call it, the day after Christmas) at some other point, notice I don't give a time frame since I have no idea when it will happen. It could be tomorrow it could be July, lol!

My Yummy Cinnamon Rolls

I have perfected the making of cinnamon rolls in our house. I found the recipe online and made it a bit easier to follow (the original version was all over the place). These are hands down the yummiest cinnamon rolls ever.


Ingredients

* 3/4 cup water
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 cup shortening
* 4 tablespoons sugar
* 1 egg
* 1 package yeast
* 1/4 cup water (if needed, I usually add about 1/2 of this)
* 3 1/2-4 cups flour

Directions

Melt shortening in microwave about 1 minutes or until shortening is melted. Stir in sugar and salt.

Heat 3/4 cup water to about 110 degrees and stir in yeast until dissolved. Set aside for use in a few minutes.

Slowly add about a cup of flour to shortening mixture.

When yeast starts to bubble add to flour and shortening mixture.

Add egg and remaining flour. Knead on counter until no longer tacky, this is when I add a little extra water.

Grease bowl with oil and place dough in bowl and add more oil to coat top.

Place a towel over bowl and let rise until double in bulk (about an hour).

In small bowl, mix 1 cup or so of sugar and add cinnamon to taste.

After dough rises, roll out on counter to about 1/4" thick.

Melt 1/2 stick of butter and spread over dough.

Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over entire rolled out dough.

Roll up dough into jelly roll style and take knife and cut into about 1" to 1 1/2" slices.

Put in pan (I use a stone but you can also use glass or aluminum but it needs to be greased).

Cover with towel and let rise until double (another hour, but I usually make my dough at night and let it rise over night so I have nice hot cinnamon rolls in the morning).

Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes or so.

After they cool you can frost them with your favorite frosting recipe, but I have found they are sweet and yummy enough without any frosting.

My Clean Kitchen

Ok so it took a few days and I only have one "after"picture...but here it is:


Seriously I'm trying so hard to keep my kitchen clean because it was down right NASTY just a few days ago. So nasty that I didn't want to eat anything that was cooked in it.

Who's up for a little game?

A while ago I posted about how sometimes it's easier for me to clean when I am accountable to someone. I do this by taking before and after pics and posting them online for the world to see. It takes courage to post those before pics, but you feel so much better after posting the afters that it's totally worth it. So here it is...my kitchen (granted 3 days ago this would have passed for clean...it was that messy...but I'm hoping to avoid that again).


My goals today while the kids are napping are to shower (haven't done that yet), tend to my shaving accident (see "Ouch" post...it's still bleeding off and on too), and then get my kitchen in order (empty and reload dishwasher, declutter table, clean stove surface). We shall see how much gets done and I will post my afters when I am finished.

If you are brave enough to join me go ahead and post a before picture of any room in your house that could use some attention, clean it, then post the after pics. Leave a comment so I know to come check it out!

He ate it! And asked for more.

Ok so technically this is a Nathan related post but I felt it fit on this blog better than on his because it's kinda a recipe...sorta. Nathan has been quite the picky eater (surprise, surprise...what do I expect). There are literally days when all he wants is milk. Last night we were playing and he said he was hungry and wanted an egg (an odd request since he typically doesn't like eggs). So I made him an egg and added a splash of vanilla and a bit of milk while scrambling it and he gobbled it up and asked for more.

So this morning for breakfast I asked him if he wanted an egg and he said no. So I asked if he wanted french toast, and he said French toast (when he repeats he means yes, when he says no he means no). He used to love French toast, but recently has been in a phase where he hates it. SO hesitantly I made him one piece of French toast (same protocol for making the egg as last nigh...splash of vanilla, bit of milk). Dipped the bread in and cooked it up. I did add some cinnamon and sugar to the back side of it. Once it was done I really got creative. I cut out two eyes and a mouth and filled them in with fruit (peaches for the eyes and strawberry for the mouth) and added some cheese for hair. Nathan LOVED it! In fact I left the kitchen to change Emily and when I returned he had eaten it all (I was gone maybe 2 minutes at the most, really how long does it take to change a baby?). So I made him another (sans smiley face this time). Afterward I was thinking next time I could use sausage or bacon for the eyes to make them stand out more.

Lessons learned: Let Nathan pick what he wants to eat more often and whenever possible serve it with a smile!

Ouch! (Not for the weak stomached)

Please tell me that you have never heard of anyone dying from (or losing a limb from) cutting themselves shaving. I was shaving my legs on Saturday for Jon's dad's wedding and got myself good. It's not even a cut, it's more of a huge scrap (I even found the piece of skin that was scrapped off floating in the water...ewww). This stupid cut STILL hurts. Every step I take, every time I try to sit on my legs (which I do a lot) I'm in so much pain. I hope I survive my shaving incident.

Walls of Zion (Mockingbird)

I actually stole this from a friend's facebook because it looked fun! You will get to see just how eclectic my iTunes library is thanks to Jon and all his band cd's that get loaded into iTunes. I did it twice, once with the entire library and then once with just my personal play list The answers for just my play list are in ().

I. Put your iTunes/Ruckus/Napster/etc on shuffle.
II. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
III. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!
IV. Tag 11 friends who might enjoy doing this.
I tag anyone who feels so inclined since I don't even know if 11 people are reading this.

1. IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY" YOU SAY?
When I am Baptized -LDS Children's Songs (I Like to Move it- Madagascar Soundtrack)

2. WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
Les Mis Overture: Working Song- Les Mis Soundtrack (Only Time -Enya)

3. WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
"C" is for Cookie- Sesame Street (Beverly Hills -Weezer)

4. HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Same Old Story- Garth Brooks (I Will...But -SHeDAISY)

5. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE'S PURPOSE?
As Long As Your Mine- Wicked Soundtrack (Only Hope -originally performed by Mandy Moore but this version is ME singing)

6. WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Picture a Christmas- LDS Children's Songs (Temperature -Sean Paul)

8. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR PARENTS?
Maybe we Should Just Sleep on it- Tim McGraw (Thy Word -Amy Grant)

9. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes by Carl Maria von Weber: Moderato-Turandot Scherzo -North Texas Wind Symphony (Pon De Replay- Rhianna)

10. WHAT IS 2+2?
The Red Balloon- Anne McGinty (Girlfriend -Avril Lavigne)

11. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Red and Black- Les Mis Soundtrack (The Best Da*n Thing -Avril Lavigne)

12. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Processional and Maria- The Sound of Music Soundtrack (Just Another Day in Paradise -Phil Vassar)

13. WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
Mysterian Landscapes: 1. Point Reyes - North Texas Wind Symphony (This One's For the Girls -Martina McBride)

14. WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Two English Dances: Shephard's Hey -University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Wind Ensemble (One Thing -Finger Eleven)

15. WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
Victim of the Game- Garth Brooks (1985- Bowling For Soup)

16. WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Castle on a Cloud- Les Mis Soundtrack (Little Goodbyes -SHeDAISY)

17. WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Sheep May Graze Safely- Bach (I Like It, I Love It -Tim McGraw)

18. WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Plymouth Trilogy: Carrousel Rag- Iannaccone (Hey There Delilah -Plain White T's)

19. WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Behind These Hazel Eyes- Kelly Clarkson (Boys and Girls -Good Charlotte)

20. WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
American Pie- Madonna (now that is freaky but I'm not willing to say why on a public website or else it wouldn't be my biggest secret) (Because of You -Kelly Clarkson)

21. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR FRIENDS?
Distant Bells- LDS Children's Songs (Hollaback Girls -Gwen Stefani)

22. WHAT'S THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
My Favorite Mistake- Sheryl Crow (Only God Knows Why - Kid Rock)

23. HOW WILL YOU DIE?
Blessed Are They- Brahms (Earl Had to Die -Dixie Chicks)

24. DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
A Whole New World- Aladdin (All the Small Things -Blink 182)

25. IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
Because of You- Kelly Clarkson (Keep Holding On -Avril Lavigne)

26. WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
If Your Happy (and you know it) (In My Daughter's Eyes -Martina McBride)

27. WHAT WILL YOU POST THIS AS?
Walls of Zion- North Texas Wind Symphony (Mockingbird -Eminem)

Celeb Mom!

I saw this on Natalie's bog and thought it was cute...

You're Reese Witherspoon

Plucky, positive, and fiercely protective, you are, above all else, a survivor. If your husband were to leave you for an attractive younger girl, you'd grab the nearest attractive younger guy and become instantly thinner, sexier, and more fashionable than ever before. Belying your broad comic talents, you're a remarkably private person, a defiant and devoted mom dedicated to raising your kids with the simple, down-home values your folks instilled in you.

Want to see which celeb mom you are most like? Take the quiz:
http://family.go.com/community/quizzes/which-celebrity-mom-are-you-qz/

I LOVE playing tag!

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car) Velvet Town and Country
2. YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (favorite ice cream and favorite cookie) Cookies and Cream Chocolate Chip
3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) Mbjo
4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal)Pink Monkey
5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born) Lynn Long-Branch (added the hyphen to make it seem more "name like")
6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) - Bjomi
7. SUPERHERO NAME: (2nd favorite color, favorite drink put “The”) The Purple Milk
8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers)- Merrill John
9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne, favorite candy) Journey Reese's
10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ) Ann Alan (although technically my mother doesn't have a middle name, long story, but if she did it would be Ann)

Photo Tag

Ok so I wasn't specifically tagged but when someone says "I tag everyone" I guess I'm included. Being that I have a Mac I had to pick the 4th photo, in the 4th folder, in the 4th folder, in the 4th folder...it's just the way these things work. Of course this totally turns out to be a LAME picture. One of the best ways to motivate myself to clean is to hold myself accountable to other people. I will sometimes have a little fun with my "online friends" and pick a room to clean. We all take before pictures and post them online. Then the goal is to clean that room and take after pictures to post for everyone to see how nicely your room cleaned up. I guess I should be glad the 4th picture was an after picture and not a before :)!

I tag: Anyone who wants to play along. Just post the 4th picture in your 4th folder of photo files!

The Pumpkin Tradition

You may be asking yourself, why did they take a picture of a pumpkin on their toilet? Well it has become a bit of a tradition around here. Way back when Jon and I had our first apartment we got a couple pumpkins to carve for Halloween. We carved one and then found those pegs that you push in that light up. I really wanted a picture of the pumpkin with the pegs all lit up, so I had the brilliant idea to take the pumpkin into the bathroom where there were no windows so it would be completely dark and we'd be able to get a picture. This was before we had a digital camera so we had to use good old fashioned film. I snapped a few pictures and couldn't wait to get them developed. When the pictures came back I was shocked to see that you couldn't see the lights at all, just the pumpkin sitting on the toilet. Silly me (in all my 18 year old glory) just didn't think this through at all and duh, we used the flash, so that totally defeated the purpose of using a dark room.

Well we got some laughs from the experience and have decided that from now on whenever we carve a pumpkin we need to take a toilet picture.

Of course being older and wiser now, and learning from experience...not to mention the benefits of a digital camera, we remembered this year to take one without the flash too.

Welcome Baby Tyler!

As of around 3am this morning (I was not really awake when Jon told me the exact time this morning) we have a little nephew! All I know is that he was a big boy (over 10 lbs, quite possibly bigger than Emily currently is and she's 6.5 weeks older, lol) delivered via c-section. I'm assuming it will be a few days before we can go see them (since we have the kids and can't bring them to the hospital) but we can't wait to meet little Tyler. Congrats Dave and Julie!

I'm Going There

I just have to vent about this election season. I think that it really is bringing out the very worst in people. The things I see in the media, comments written on message boards, and emails that fill my inbox daily, it's making me sick. We are a country very divided. It's getting to the point where if we state our own opinion we know someone is going to jump down our throat. Thankfully I have NOT had to experience this for myself in real life, but that is because I keep my political thoughts to myself. I really hope that we as a country can reunite, put the politics behind us, and support those who win office in November.

I'm NOT Superwoman!

I am having a very rough moment right now so feel free to ignore my vent. Nathan won't take a nap for the second day in a row, Emily is constantly wanting to be held, Jon is working 16 hour days. I just can't do it all anymore. I am not Superwoman. I have so much on my plate between two kids, maintaining the house, being primary president (and trying to prepare for a program that is just 3 Sundays away and sill not completely written), being membership vice president of the MOMS Club, and being in the Michigan Concert Choir that it has finally taken it's toll on me and I can't do it anymore.

Even just typing that little bit has seemed to just taken the weight of the world off my shoulders.

And WHY on earth do baby swings have 6 speeds when all my kids seem to like is the fastest setting????? I just put Emily in the swing to type this knowing that she hates the swing when I remembered that Nathan hated it too unless it was on the fastest setting so I just turned up the speed and Emily is so calm and almost asleep.

UPDATE- Right after typing this I made the decision that I could no longer do choir. I think that really was my breaking point. I wasn't enjoying it anymore because it was more of a hassle than it was worth. I also have come down with a nasty cold (all stuffed up, sore throat, headaches [achy all over really], cold and hot spells, but no fever [thank goodness]) so I am sure that has aided my feelings of inadequacy. Thanks for all your words on encouragement. Nathan is now napping again, and in a couple weeks I will be shipping him off to preschool 2 mornings a week . It will be good for him to have time to be active with other little toddlers and it will give me time to focus on Emily and get the things done that I need to do.

A New Tradition

We decided to start a new tradition today. It all started with the East Detroit High School Homecoming Parade. Because of the parade we couldn't get the the Warren Harvest Hay Day until it was almost over. We had planned on getting a free pumpkin but when we got there the line had a 2 hour wait and they couldn't guarantee that we would even get a pumpkin. So we came home and ate lunch when and then I had a brilliant idea, lets go to a real pumpkin patch and pick a pumpkin. We had so much fun at the pumpkin patch that we decided to make this an annual event. Next year we will pick apples too.

Adding to the fun of family traditions we also decided that we will go to a cut your own tree place to get a Christmas tree. We have to do these things now, make all these great family memories, because before we know it we will blink and our kids will have kids of their own.

If you want to see pictures from the pumpkin patch check out Nathan's blog (there are a few on Emily's blog too).

If you have a few minutes...

A friend of mine has entered a photo contest and it's the last 2 days vote (voting ends 11:59 EST on Oct. 1). If you wouldn't mind voting for her photo I would appreciate it. The link may not takle you directly to her photo, so look for the black and white pic of a little girl laying on her daddy. It's titled Autumn's Family.
http://www.parents.com/app/voting/index.jsp;jsessionid=UOFP4SYDELFPNQFIBQ4SCZQ?id=/templatedata/parents/voting/data/1221842129126.xml&sid=5

Two kids is exhausting

but worth every minute! Really though, considering I'm here alone most days, all day due to Jon's hectic schedule it isn't too bad. I'd say it's hardest when both kids are awake and needing my attention at the same time, which isn't very often yet since Emily still sleeps a lot.

In other news, yesterday we played hookie from church (shame on us) to go to Dave and Julie's baby shower. Nathan and Emily will soon have a little cousin (within the month) and we can't wait to meet him.

Oh yeah, I've been tagged again. Jen, I promise I will do it soon but it's a lot longer than the other one and I don't get much time to do computer stuff anymore.

All Future Emily Posts

Will now be on Emily's blog: www.growingupemilymichelle.blogspot.com or click the link to the right.

Introducing Emily Michelle

Around 2:00pm the agency called and asked us to come in to sign some more paperwork. We were less than thrilled with having to drive out there and come home without a baby. We even asked if they could email us the papers and said they couldn't because they were court documents. While on the way our caseworker called and said Emily was being released and they were going to get her. Around 6:00pm we saw and held our little girl for the first time. It was well worth the wait, she is perfect. We have a few pictures as things are still busy around here (Jon had pep band rehearsal at 7:35).

Here's the latest...

The hospital has kindly asked our agency to stop calling for updates, they will call when she can be released. I have found out they are waiting for bilirubin lab results. I'm assuming the results came in yesterday and they didn't like them so they had to do it again today. Can't they just send us home with a lamp or something??? I WANT MY BABY!!!!! This is exactly why if I ever get pregnant I am doing a home birth.

So that is all we know and all we will know until the hospital calls. This is just killing us. Jon has now taken off two days of work, right at the beginning of the school year and we still don't have our baby. 3 hours till the social worker goes home, and we have to wait another day. I really thought hospitals want babies released quickly (especially ones that aren't paying to be there), this is already day 4!

The Nursery

Well since I still don't have any baby pictures to share I will share pictures of what kept us up until 4am last night and kept us busy for most of the morning after we woke up.

Another Baby Update

I know lots of people are checking for pictures and updates so I thought I'd fill you in on the latest. The baby still has not been released from the hospital. They are waiting on a lab result and the doctor won't release without it. As every minute that ticks by our chances of bringing little Emily home today decrease as well, since the hospital social worker has to be present for release and he leaves around 4 or 4:30. We are very frustrated to say the least.

Tag, I'm IT!

Tagged...by Stephanie

THE FIVE

10 years ago I:
1. starting my sophomore year of high school
2. a varsity cheerleader
3. broke my arm on my birthday and had surgery
4. met and started dating my husband
5. was in the school musical, "The Wizard of Oz"

5 things on today's "to do" list:

1. Clean Emily's room
2. Paint Emily's room
3. Put the crib together
4. Go to Babies R Us (I know it's Sunday but I think these are special circumstances)
5. Get my last good night of sleep before being very sleep deprived for a few months

5 snacks I enjoy:

1. Chocolate
2. French Fries
3. Fruit snacks
4. Ice cream
5. Homemade bread

5 things I would do if I were a millionaire:

1. Pay off all of our debt, save for retirement, and college funds
2. Offer to do the same for family and buy my dad boat
3. Build a house on lots of land, not a huge house, but a house large enough to fit our future family
4. Adopt lots of babies
5. Maybe try my luck with IVF

5 places I have lived:

1. Keasbey, NJ
2. Somewhere in PA (poconos area)
3. Farmington Hills, MI
4. Kalamazoo, MI
5. Warren, MI

Five jobs I have had:

1. Tubby's Subs
2. Mervyn's in the Children's Department
3. Colorguard instructor at Farmington and Avondale High Schools
4. Cheerleading coach at Boulan Park Middle School
5. Teacher/Substitute Teacher in Eastpointe, Farmington, Detroit

I tag...
Whomever was inspired by this and
1. Christine B.
2. Natalie H.
3. Jen B.
4. Tia M.
5. Robyn B.

Rules:
Each player answers the question themselves. At the end of the post the player then tags 5 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment letting them know that they've been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person that tagged you know when you've answered the questions on your blog.

Ask and Ye Shall Receive...

Did I really just say I was bored and that baby #2 might help get rid of the boredom? Is Heavenly Father reading my blog? While I am still trying to be cautious, I am just too excited to not say anything. LDSFS called today and we may have a little girl in our very near future (like she was born today!). We don't know much other than she's African American and was born today. I'm waiting for LDSFS to call me back. We are asking people to please pray that if she is meant to be ours that we will have another smooth and easy adoption. I will keep you updated. And Melissa, if this works out I am totally taking you up on your clothing offer.

UPDATE: Our caseworker just called me back. He met the birthmom and was able to find out lots of information. Unfortunately his phone battery died in the middle of our conversation so I don't know everything yet. She is a tiny little thing, only 5lbs 11 oz and 18.9 inches long (Nathan was 6lbs 6 oz and we thought he was small, 19.25 inches). Her birthmom has 10 other children, but does not have custody of any of them. The birth father died in March, so while that is sad, it does make things a little easier as far as the adoption is concerned. The earliest the baby will be released is Sunday. I'm hoping our caseworker will call back soon because I want to know when we can see her and meet the birthmom.

ANOTHER UPDATE: The birthmom doesn't want to meet us and most likely doesn't want any contact. The baby will most likely be released Monday but it's possible she can be released on Sunday. For all intents and purposes we have a daughter. We are hoping to see her tomorrow, but our caseworker can no longer be our caseworker since he's working with the birthmom so until they know who will be working with us we may not get to see the baby until discharge. They are going to see if we can get put on a visitors list or something so we can go see her.

UPDATE: Ok, here's the latest. We tried to go see her with one of our social workers today, but the hospital said their policy is to have THEIR social worker present, how doesn't work on weekends :(. So we will not get to see our little girl until Monday. However unless the doctor doesn't discharge her (which is the only hang up at this point) she will be home with us on Monday. The agency will pick her up and bring her to the office where we will go to pick her up. This actually makes life a lot easier since the agency is in the same city that my parents and Jon's dad live in so we won't have to double back after dropping off Nathan somewhere for the afternoon.

I am so bored!

You would think that having the house essentially to myself would be a good thing. Jon's at band rehearsal, Nathan is asleep...but I am BORED out of my mind. Maybe if this was a once in a while occurrence I would really enjoy it, but this is what my entire fall and most of the winter is going to be like. Just me all by my lonesome, trying to keep myself busy. Can't go anywhere because the munchkin is sleeping. Well maybe we will get another baby here sometime soon and that will definitely keep me busy and I will not be bored anymore. And now I feel like I am rambling so that is it, I'm done.

The TOYS are HERE!

I think I am worse than a kid a Christmas time. About a month ago I applied to host a Fisher-Price house party. Well a few weeks ago I was notified that I was chosen and that I would be getting close to $300 worth of Fisher-Price toys shipped to me FOR FREE!!!!! They have arrived today and I am so excited. If you live in the area and for some reason I didn't invite you to the party shoot me an email. The toys are geared for kids 6-36 months. My party is on September 6 at 11am.

If you are interested in learning how to host FREE house parties check out www.houseparty.com There are a variety of parties coming up soon (although I must say none as cool as this one).

Homestudy

I thought people would like to know that we are on our way to baby #2. We had our homestudy visit last week and we should hopefully be approved for baby #2 within the next month or so. We are hoping for another quick, easy adoption, but you never know with adoption.

Our new car

We were not planning on getting a new car. At least not yet. We were going to wait until next summer, but then we saw a great deal and we couldn't pass it up. We are now the proud owners of a Mommy Mobile (aka a minivan). We got a base model 08 town and country. It doesn't have any of the cool features that you see in the commercials but it has all the space we could possibly need (or at least we hope it's all the space we could possibly need since it has to last for 10 years). I already love driving it!

OUCH!

I can be such a klutz sometimes. I was at a friend's house for a play date carnival and tripped on the cement patio. I fell and scrapped up my entire left leg. My knee, my leg, my ankle, and my big toe. At least if there was a place to fall and get hurt it was at a play date with lots of other moms on hand. They all jumped into action and got me cleaned up in no time, lol!

Memories

Alright, this seems to be the "trend" going around the blogs I stalk. So now of course I have to do it too. However since I haven't given this blog addy to anyone I will have to do some foot work and write my memories to everyone else first so they know where to find me.

1. Leave a comment on my blog, one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

So neglecting this blog

I am totally neglecting this blog. I feel like everything I want to blog about belongs on Nathan's blog, since it's usually about him. So if you are one of the few people that read this blog, I apologize, but if you really want to read about what's going on check Nathan's blog, www.growingupnathanmichael.blogspot.com.

We've become addicted

to facebook! So just randomly Jon and I (separately I might add) decided to join facebook and there is just so much to it we are fighting (well not really, we've been pretty civil about it) over who gets to use the computer. It's been fun so far. Michelle has talked with a few friends that she hasn't seen or spoken to in over 7 years.

It's done!!!!!

Well for all intents and purposes it is done. What could I possibly be getting so excited about? Our deck. We started building it in 2006 and it is now essentially done. We have to do a few things to it, like the skirt (lattice) and water seal it, but the railing is done and we can now let Nathan on the deck without being in an arms reach. I'll take some pics and post them soon!

And another blog added to my list

OK so Nathan has his own blog but I decided sometimes I want to write about the whole family. So here it is another blog that I have to maintain. I must be crazy. For now I am just adding some blogs of friends, family, and a few others I blog stalk, it's nice to have all the links in one place.